Herein

Misoka played his fingers across the delicate glass rim in front of him, listening to the sounds of the rain outside. It was intoxicating, the steady rhythm invading the peace of the deserted bar; Not even Katsura got up this early. This peace, however pleasant, was not destined to last... a rattling of the handle on the front door shook the Fox-Demon out of his ravine. He looked to his door, only to see it shake again, before someone started pounding.

Curiosity got the better of him as he slowly stood and walked towards the entrance. Each step made the rattling louder, and he sped up, fearing that the weak lock might snap under the pressure; Sure enough, he wasn't five feet away when it did.

Into the Moonshine fell a drenched girl. She laid there, shivvering for long moments before she sat up. She pushed her long, matted hair out of her eyes and looked up at Misoka. "Sorry," she muttered, "I just don't like the rain..."

"Right," Misoka nodded. "Well... you should le-" Before the Fox-Demon could finish, a bout of pain hit him, tearing at his stomach and stretching out to his limbs, forcing him in two. Gentle hands were soon rubbing his back, easing him to the ground. They left and the door closed, and after a minute returned with a damp cloth.

"Are you okay?" the girl muttered. Misoka managed a nod. "Right, and I'm the living reincarnation of Luna... is there anyone else living here?" Another nod. "Where?"

"U-upst-stairs..." He prayed to the Goddess that she wasn't a burglar and listened as her silent footsteps dashed behind the bar and up the stairs. Hopefully, someone would be there to help...

He cried out at another sharp prod of pain, hissing as he held his stomach tightly, trying to squash the sensation. When would he be cured? Would he ever be cured? If not, than why hasn't the Goddess had mercy on him and taken him quickly? Did he deserve this?

"Misoka!" It was Nozomu's voice, and soon enough the young Vampire was by his side, pulling him up to rest in his lap. Misoka opened his eyes just a little, seeing Nozomu's messy, bedroom hair and the girl over in a corner, bitting her lip. "Hold in there Misoka! It'll be alright!"

Something strange was happening to the girl... she didn't look right. He concentraited on her instead of the pain: sad look, glazed expression, drooping ears, lowered tails... Wait, tails?

"Can I help?" she muttered. Nozomu looked up at her.

"What can you do?" he asked, noticing her large ears and tails, but not registering what they signified. "He can only wait this out, you can't help him!"

"I can try," she muttered as she walked towards them. She nealt down beside them, and for awhile, she seemed to shimmer silver and gold. "I can try to take it away... I haven't done it in a long time, but I can still try..."

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"Nekoi!" he laughed over his shoulder. He was ten now, and still couldn't believe that she had been with him and the pack for four years now... "Come and catch me Nekoi!"

"I'm coming!" her voice was closer than he expected, so he started running faster.

"You know you're not as fast as me!" he called again, this time turning and running backwards to stick his tongue out at her.

"Watch out!" was her only reply. He blinked at her, but before he could call back, he fell...

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"What can you do?" Nozomu demanded.

"I can't garentee anything..." she muttered with a smile. "But it will not hurt him anymore if it fails."

"So do it then!" he growled. She nodded as she hesitantly reached forwards and touched Misoka's cheek... Misoka started glowing silver as she continued to glow gold. She closed her eyes as she felt the Fox-Demon's pain...

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"Aki!" Nekoi jumped down after him, doing a tight flip and landing mere metres away. She rushed to his side as he groaned in pain. "Aki... Aki, are you alright?"

"F-fine..." he smiled, coughing up blood. "I'm just... fine..."

"No, no your not," her eyes shone with tears. "You have to be more careful... but rest, I can help."

"How?" he laughed, only to cough blood again.

"I can take away some of your pain..." she grinned, and without asking touched his cheek. She started to glow gold as he glowed silver, and some of the blood withdrawed from his mouth... only to bleed in her's. "See? Now we share it... like everything else..."

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Misoka still could feel the pain, but could sit up through it. The girl pulled back, and the glowing seemed to be nothing but a figment of their imagination, along with her tails and ears... "Thank you," Misoka bowed his head low. "You are truly a mystical creature..."

"Mystical?" her laugh was forced as she stratched the back of her neck. "That was just an... um... pressure point? Yeah... a pressure point that helps with pain..."

"Who are you?" Nozomu asked, looking her up and down. "And why do you look like a drowned rat?"

"I have that talent," she grinned. She sat back, pulling her knees to her chest. "What is this place?"

"It's a bar," Nozomu answered, pushing Misoka down to rest until he felt better. "The Moonshine... why exactly is a pretty young lady like yourself doing out in the rain, soaking wet?"

"You usually get soaking wet when you're out in the rain," she answered happily. "Now... do you need help getting him up to his room? I saw some other's down the hall."

"No," Nozomu smiled at her. "I'll be fine on my own... make yourself cosy and I'll be back in a minute, alright?" She nodded and watched as he picked up the Fox Demon and left through the door behind the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief, she fell back on her elbows and let her tails wave around her.

"That was close," she muttered, sniffing the air as she stood up. "They can't know I'm one of them... not yet at least..."