Yoko was feeling very badly about splashing hot oil onto Sugino's face, but she was quickly forgiven. Sugino's first priority was finding his wife. The next place he looked was the small training room. Sure, he had to venture outside to get to it, but at least there was an overhead cover to shield him from the downpour. The thing was, he had forgotten to put on his shoes before venturing out, and so his socks were soaked almost immediately. He didn't like that.

When he got to the training room, he knocked first before sliding the door open. The room was a little bit smaller than some of the other dojos around town, but much bigger than Sugino had expected it to be, seeing as Kantaro didn't make a lot of money. It was amazing that he could earn enough money to keep his house. Anyway, it was warm in there, and Sugino was grateful for that.

Maybe he was enjoying the heat just a little too much, because the next thing he knew, he was curled up on the tatami mat feeling drowsy. He sat up and cried out.

"Oh-no! How could I have fallen asleep! My dear Muuchan is still missing!"

Sugino sprang to his feet and searched the entire room. He looked behind the weights, around the sharp spear collection, and even in the cleaning closet, but Muuchan wasn't there. He sobbed, and just before he could turn to leave, something hard hit him in the head. He crouched to the floor and held his head. He was in pain, until a deep, nonchalant voice spoke from somewhere above him.

"Hey, Sugino."

Sugino recognized the voice and looked up. Haruka was sitting alone in the high rafters, looking down at him. Immediately, Sugino's face lit up, and he waved at his friend. Haruka didn't wave back.

"Demon eater! Demon eater, how are you?"

"I could be better."

"Oh, well that's understandable! Your master isn't all that nice a guy!"

"Whatever."

"So, what are you doing up there?"

Silently, Haruka pointed to a spot right next to Sugino. He looked to where the pointed finger was aiming at, and saw a Kodama sitting on the floor. It was what had hit him on the head, though it didn't look like it should have hurt so much. Sugino picked it up and examined it. He gave it a try, but he just couldn't figure out how to get the red ball on the stick on the top of the toy. After a good while of trying to get it to work, Haruka asked for it, and Sugino threw it at him, annoyed. Haruka caught it, and played with it. He easily got it to do what is was supposed to do, and it made the white goblin jealous. He turned away and huffed.

"Say, weren't you supposed to be looking for Muuchan, Sugino?"

Haruka's reminder shocked him, as he completely forgotten about her yet again. He yelled and ran for the door. However, just before he left, he remembered something else, and turned back towards Haruka, who was still sitting on the beam.

"Say… didn't Yoko give you a job, too?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah… Weren't you supposed to be babysitting Kantaro or something?"

"Whatever."

And he kept playing. When the training room door slid shut, Haruka looked up. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.

--

Muuchan followed the stray kitty for a long time, but it was quickly becoming clear that the kitty didn't like it. After a while of walking, it started to run, and Muuchan only matched its speed. Then, it went around a garbage can, and Muuchan laughed happily. She tried to follow, but when she got near, the kitty jumped out and scratched Muuchan on the face. Acting like a balloon, she shot out and flew in the sky for a minute. When she landed, it was in a park.

It was getting dark and the rain hadn't let up, and now, she was sitting somewhere al alone with her head hurting. Sitting down, she pouted. It was another minute that she stayed there, until she heard someone behind her. Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up. She was in the arms of a little girl with a red umbrella.

The girl was pretty, and her blond hair reminded her of Kantaro. The girl smiled down at her, and then she frowned, seeing the scratch. She brought Muuchan over to a bench and set her down on the seat. Then, she reached into her pocket and pulled out something, placing it over Muuchan's scratch. It started to feel better. Muuchan reached up to see what had been put on her head, and felt the bandage. She yipped happily and jumped into the girl's arms, giving her a hug.

Then, another sound caught Muuchan's attention. It was loud. She jumped out of the girl's arms and rounded the corner to see a large horse walking by, carrying a passenger seat. She loved horses, and immediately jumped on the seat when the horse stopped, allowing herself to be pulled around. What she failed to notice was that the horse passed right by Kantaro's house, where her husband was desperately searching for her.