Chapter Eleven

As Yuichi trampled through the underbrush, making no effort to conceal his noise, Chizu pattered behind, focusing on the beauty around her. As they headed deeper into the valley, surrounded by two mountains towering on both sides, the terrain became hillier and the trees sparser. The ground was covered in lush grass dotted with pink, blue, and yellow wildflowers, broken by the occasional mossy rock jutting out of the ground. Perched on the rocks were tokages of many colors happily sunning themselves. When Yuichi passed by, one by one they squeaked in alarm and scrambled for cover.

Chizu studied the rocky mountainsides, noticing cliffs and caves winding through them. She wished she had endless amounts of time to explore them, or just relax and watch the world below.

"Come on, Chizu, you're going so slow!"

She looked ahead to see Yuichi quite far away from her, almost out of shouting distance. She picked up her pace and hurried to join him.

"I'm trying to enjoy the scenery, Yuichi. Why are you in such a hurry?"

He scratched at his head. "Well, I'm not. But it's just so nice to be able to run again. I want to run and run forever!"

Chizu laughed. "Well, what's stopping you?"

He grinned at her. "Nothing! As long as you keep up!"

"Ok, try me."

Yuichi needed no more encouragement. He broke into a sprint towards a forest near the end of the valley. Chizu ran after him, enjoying the wind on her face and the softness of the ground. The blue sky stretched above her and the meadow stretched ahead of her, inviting her to run forever.

Ninjas didn't go in open meadows. They were always hiding away, lurking in the dark.

She was so glad she wasn't a ninja anymore.

XXX

By the time Chizu reached the forest, Yuichi was nowhere in sight. Chizu had discovered that as a cat, she could sprint faster than him, but as a rabbit, he had significantly more endurance. As she leaned against a tree, panting, she heard the sound of a babbling brook.

"Yuichi? Where are you?" she called. For a long moment there was only silence. Panic crept into her voice. "Hello?"

"I'm by the stream!" his voice called, echoing slightly through the redwood trees.

"Thank the Maker," Chizu whispered, making her way towards his voice.

Yuichi was drinking from the stream by messily slurping water through cupped hands. Spot sat nearby, munching a bug.

Pretending she had never been worried, Chizu crouched next to him and lapped water daintily from her hands. "You can really run," she said quietly.

"Wow, a compliment coming from Chizu? I'll take it," Yuichi said, pulling a thin rock from the stream and throwing it like a disk at the water. It hit the water with a splash.

Chizu curled her tail around her toes. "What's that supposed to mean? Do I never compliment you?"

He shrugged, searching for another rock. "Well, I wouldn't say that, but you tend to focus on the negative, let's be honest."

She bristled, despite knowing he was right. "How?"

"Think about it. How many times have you told Gen he had a good idea, verses telling him he had a bad idea?"

"That's because Gen has a lot of bad ideas."

"I don't think they're bad." He put a pile of flat stones next to him and started throwing them at the water, one by one.

She snorted. "You're also the kind of person to attach wings to your motorcycle and ride it off a cliff, thinking you'll be able to fly like your sensei."

"That was just one time!"

There were so many other examples she was tempted to bring up, but she found herself more curious about what Yuichi was doing.

"Why are you throwing those rocks like that?"

"I'm trying to skip them, but this stream is too rocky. Have you never skipped a rock on a river before?"

She looked at him wryly. "I lived in a city all my life. No, I haven't skipped a rock, farm boy."

"Hey, I'm not just a farm boy anymore." Spot yipped in agreement and settled on Yuichi's shoulders as he sat down. "I am a samurai."

They sat there in thoughtful silence.

"What kind of samurai do you want to be?" Chizu asked. "Are you thinking of gaining employment from a lord, or being a ronin like your ancestor?"

"I'm not sure," Yuichi said. "Hey, wait – how did you know Miyamoto was a ronin? Have you been reading my comic books?" He studied her expectantly, a wide grin on his face.

She blushed. "Well, maybe a little. Hana let me borrow the ones you gave her. They're really good, even the Dragon Ball ones."

"I know, right? Dragon Ball is great, but it's all made up stuff; the ones about Miyamoto are actually real! Er, well, most of them are. Some of the creatures he fights do seem a little too mythical."

"Like the giant centipede? Come on, has anyone ever seen any of those in real life?"

"Well, I know the demon-possessed wolf was real. I've read about him in history books."

She shuddered. "I wish he wasn't."

Yuichi leapt to his feet, brandishing his sword. "If I met him, I wouldn't be scared! I'd look him right in the eye, and tell him off, just like Miyamoto did!"

She smirked. "I'm sure you would."

He was staring off into the distance, as he liked to do when entertaining his fantasies about fighting villainous threats. Gen and Kitsune always got annoyed when Yuichi did this, because they felt left out. But Chizu was content to let him have his fun. She closed her eyes and breathed in the pine-scented forest air.

"Just imagine…twenty armored alligators, thugs hired to raid a village of helpless farmers. And you and I are the only ones standing between them and the city. Think we could take them?"

She opened one eye. "Oh, so I'm part of this?"

"Well, yeah! I mean…if you want to. You're a pretty good fighter, and I could use the help."

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Ok, sure, I'll join you. As long as I have my naginata."

He pointed his sword, still sheathed in its decorative handle, at Spot. "And look, they've got a giant tokage with them! I've never seen anything so vicious!"

Spot lashed his tail and growled, making a commendable effort to get into character.

"I'm sure I can take care of that," Chizu said, trying to stifle her laugher at the absurdity of the thought of Spot being a terrifying beast. With acute agility, she pounced on him and tried to keep the slippery tokage captive in her arms. He "eeped" excitedly and wriggled from her grasp, lunging at Yuichi and clamping his jaws onto his ear.

"Oh no! I'm being mauled!" Yuichi thrashed around overdramatically while Spot clung to him, refusing to be shaken off.

"I'm sorry, Yuichi, he's just too strong," Chizu said, dissolving into fits of laughter. "You'll have to do this on your own."

Yuichi collapsed to the ground, with Spot happily chewing on his ear.

"It's too late. I've been devoured."

Chizu swallowed, suddenly unamused. Too soon, Yuichi. Too soon.

Yuichi didn't seem to notice her discomfort. He started tickling Spot and the two of them rolled about happily.

A strange bird noise drew Chizu's attention and she remembered why they had come here.

"Yuichi, I don't want to interrupt your fun, but we did promise Karasu we wouldn't take too long."

He bounced to his feet and helped her stand up. "You're right! And I really do wanna find that kirin."

"Let's start by finding that waterfall. She said it should be further down this way."

Together they followed the stream as it weaved and wound its way through the mountains. As they headed upstream, the small stream they followed met with a larger, wilder stream. The mountainside was covered in twisting, strange trees that she didn't recognize, and in many places the ground was covered in moss instead of grass. The stones grew into boulders, and Chizu started to pant with exertion as they made their way deeper into the rocks. The sky blazed over them a brilliant blue, and stony mountains loomed in front of them. Everywhere Chizu looked, there was a breathtaking sight.

"There!" Yuichi said, pointing. On the other side of the river, they could see a waterfall just through the trees. "We're so close!"

She could see him studying the rocks jutting just above the fast-moving water. "Yuichi, careful. It's pretty deep, and the water is probably stronger than it looks."

"I'll be fine," Yuichi said, dipping the tip of his foot into the water. "The current doesn't feel bad to me."

"Fine. You go first then."

For some reason, Yuichi hadn't moved yet. He was still facing the river, but he seemed lost in thought.

"Yuichi? Are you okay?"

He turned to her, an odd look on his face. "Wait. I have an idea. Can I…carry you across?"

She flicked her tail with surprise. "What? Why?"

"Well, you carried me to safety from those ninjas. I want to return the favor."

"Um…" she found herself stammering, feeling unusually shy. Come on, Chizu, keep it together. "That's really sweet of you, Yuichi, but I'm fine doing this myself. It's be easier for the both of us."

He planted his feet and squared his shoulders, looking her straight in the eye and swallowing hard.

"P-please. I really want to do this. I want to know that…" he hesitated. "I want to know that you can trust me."

Chizu's ears dipped backwards before she could control herself. "What do you mean? Of course, I trust you."

"Then let me carry you."

She gave one more look at the rushing water, feeling more and more flustered. "Fine, whatever. Just don't drop me." Her frustration softened when she saw how relieved and happy Yuichi looked. She stood stiffly as he approached, but he picked up so gently, she felt herself relax a little.

"You can trust me, Chizu. I've got you, and I've got this."

She eyed the slippery rocks. "If you say so. I still think this is pointless."

Spot, who was nestled comfortably around Yuichi's shoulders, beamed at her and gave her a kiss.

"You're not helping, Spot," she muttered, hiding a smile.

"Here we go!" Yuichi said, jumping onto the first rock. He wobbled for just a moment before gaining his balance and jumping to the second. Chizu could see that the next exposed rocks were too angular to stand on. Yuichi darted from one to the next with nimble, calculated movements hindered only by the weight he was carrying.

"See! Almost there- "

Yuichi's sentence broke as he landed on the slick part of a rock and fell headlong, bringing Chizu and Spot down with him into the rushing water. Chizu sputtered and gasped for air as she tumbled through the river, hitting several submerged rocks. She could see Spot struggling near her, so with every ounce of her strength she shot towards him and scrambled to shore on the other side of the bank.

"Chizu! Are you and Spot okay?" Yuichi clambered onto the bank after them, fur muddied and drooping from the river water.

"I'm fine." Frowning, Chizu felt Spot's body to make sure none of his bones were broken. Thankfully, the tokage seemed shaken, but fine. He licked her face repeatedly and clung to her neck when she tried to put him down.

They sat on the riverbank, shivering, trying to warm their soaked fur in the sun. Chizu didn't say anything, but she could see Yuichi trying to make eye-contact from the corner of her vision. She ignored him.

"I'm so sorry," Yuichi said, sounding like he was going to cry.

Chizu blinked, feeling suddenly bad. "Hey, it's ok. I know you tried your best, even if it was a dumb idea."

She turned to face him, but now he didn't seem to want to look at her. He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his back to her.

"But now you're never going to trust me."

"What? Yuichi, you're acting weird. When have I ever said I don't trust you?"

"Well…" He sighed. "I don't like to say anything about it because I don't want you to feel bad. But I notice how when you're with me, Gen, and Kitsune, you're always off to the side, like you need space away from us. You hesitate to try new things with our group, and you like to focus on what could go wrong. Even when everyone else seems comfortable, I can tell you're never fully relaxed. And you like to go off on your own…a lot."

He grew quieter. "Maybe I'm just overanalyzing everything, just like you do." He laughed bitterly. "I just can't help but feel like you've never felt completely safe with us. And I'm afraid that one day, you're going to leave…and…and never come back."

Chizu stared at him, speechless. How long has he been living with this fear?

"Yuichi. Listen to me."

She took him by his shoulders and forced him to face her. "I know I can be a little anti-social. I'm still getting used to having friends, and sometimes I do need space. But I do feel safe with you and the others. Itrust you, and dropping me in a stream isn't going to change that."

His chocolate brown eyes brightened with joy and he hugged her tightly, catching Chizu off guard. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that," he said, voice choked with emotion.

Chizu held him close. "I'm not leaving you, Yuichi. I promise." A warm feeling rose inside her chest and spread throughout her whole body. As she sat there, watching the sunlight dance in dappled spots of light on the ground and hearing soft birdsong in the trees, she felt like she was dreaming.

She waited for Yuichi to let go of her, but he didn't. It was as if he didn't want this moment to end either.

"Yuichi," she said softly. "We should keep going."

Spot perked his head up and squeaked. When Chizu broke away, she could see that Yuichi looked just as flustered as she felt. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but hesitated.

"Come on, Yuichi. You're not one to keep thoughts to yourself. What is it now?"

Chizu's heart was pounding. She knew what she was hoping he would say, but she prepared herself to be disappointed.

"Um…Chizu? I want you to know…I'm really happy you're my friend. And…if you were interested…" He glanced around nervously until Spot nipped him on the leg, startling him.

"Ow! Okay, Spot, okay." He looked straight at Chizu and spoke his next words in awkward chunks like he was speaking in a secondary language. "I like you. I would be interested in courting you if you were interested too."

Chizu clasped her hands nervously together, trying to control her elation. "Yes! I would be interested, I mean, I am interested, or, well…you know what I mean." Her tail wriggled with joy and she glared at it, forcing it to stay still.

A relieved smile broke across Yuichi's face. "Wait, are you serious? I didn't think you liked me. I mean, Kitsune kept saying it, but I didn't believe her." He picked up Spot and spun him around. "Did you hear her, Spot! She likes me too!"

He paused while Spot squirmed in his hands. "Wait. What do we do now?"

"Uh…what do you mean?"

"I've never courted someone before. And I really wasn't expecting you to say yes."

"I haven't either." Chizu put a hand on his shoulder. "I guess we'll just have to take it one day at a time."

"That's a good idea. How about-hey, Spot, stop struggling!" He put the tokage back on the ground and tried to focus on Chizu, but Spot kept jumping at him and nipping his leg. "What's wrong?"

Chizu studied the forest around them. "Maybe he can sense an animal nearby? Oh ghenzi," she breathed.

"What?"

"Don't move."

Standing in a clearing not far from where they stood was the most majestic creature Chizu had ever seen. It had a light green body built like a horse's, a lush mane and flowing tail of teal fur, blue horns like an elk, and whiskers like a dragon.

It was like no creature she had ever seen.

"The kirin…" Chizu whispered.

Spot "eeped" loudly. The kirin tossed its mane and launched itself into a run.

"Quick! We can't lose it!" Yuichi cried, racing after the creature along with Spot. Chizu dashed after them, feeling light as a feather. Joy had given wings to her feet, and she was more than happy to use them.

It was a thrilling chase. They followed the kirin through the forest until it opened up to a large grassy slope that wound through silvery boulders. The kirin gracefully bounded from rock to rock, gaining ground much faster than Chizu, who found herself running out of breath. As soon as Yuichi stopped to rest, she joined him.

"We're- *pant* almost there," Yuichi said, gearing himself up to run again. "Do you think it will let me ride it?"

Chizu laughed through her gasps, keeping her eyes trained on the kirin. "Of course not. It's a wild animal. I wish I could pet it though."

The kirin stopped and looked down at them, its magnificent body posed against the crisp blue sky. Then, with one giant bound, it disappeared around the side of the slope.

"Do you want to keep going?" Yuichi asked as Chizu flopped down on the ground and admired the mountain view.

"No. We saw one of the rarest creatures in the world; that's enough for me."

Yuichi sat down next to her and Spot settled in Chizu's lap, squeaking softly. She sighed with happiness, watching a bird soar hundreds of feet below them.

"What do you want to do next?" Yuichi asked. "My whole life I've wanted to be a samurai, but you were never allowed to be anything other than a ninja."

Chizu scratched Spot's chin. "I don't know. It's strange choosing who I want to be, but I'm not sure what I need to be. I feel like I'm still finding myself."

"Well, whatever you decide to be, you know you'll always be a redeemed child of the Maker. Just like I am, first and foremost before all else." He smiled at her. "That's enough for now, isn't it?"

She returned the smile. "It's always be enough. But I can't wait to see what I become." She squinted, noticing a strange bird in the sky. It seemed to be heading upwards towards them from about a mile away. "Do you see that? It looks like a bird with more than two wings."

She could tell he had spotted it too. "That doesn't look like a bird. It looks like…oh ghenzi. Is that Lotus?"

Chizu rose to her feet, concern rising in her chest as she studied the object. "How in the world can that be Lotus? Can she fly?"

"I don't know. The kitsune in Usagi's comics never flew. At least, I don't think she did. Wait…maybe she did."

She could make out the nine-tails and the bright green kimono on the creature flying towards them. "You can't remember if the kitsune could fly?"

"Chizu, calm down. If it's just Lotus, we're fine. She helped me escape, remember?"

"But why is she flying towards us? How does she know we're here?" Chizu's fur stood on end. "We need to get back to Kaiyo and Karasu. They could be in trouble!"

"But we have to wait and see what Lotus wants first!"

The sight of the kitsune floating closer and closer made Chizu want to get as far away from there as she could. It was simply not natural for any animal other than a bird to fly, and the sight chilled her blood. "I don't like this, Yuichi. She might have helped us, but she's still a kitsune. She's dangerous!"

Yuichi looked at her, looking frightened but relunctant to move. "But what if-"

"Yuichiiii!" Lotus' voice called. She scudded onto the ground and hit her head against a stone, yelping in pain. The tips of her nine-tails were aglow with an unearthly white light.

"Lotus!" Yuichi scooped her up. "Are you okay?"

Lotus shook her head violently. "No!" she screeched. "Yuichi, my okaasan is very angry! She hasn't been able to stop talking about killing you and when she said she was going to go looking for you I had to find you first!"

Spot whimpered and hid between Chizu's legs. She glanced around, praying desperately she wouldn't see a second kitsune flying towards them. Thankfully, the sky seemed to be clear.

"How did youfind me?" Yuichi asked, setting her down gently on a rock.

"I'm a kitsune. Once we know someone's scent, we can always find them again."

Chizu and Yuichi looked at each other and winced.

"So…your okaasan can find me too?"

"Yes! But she's taking the clan with her so I was able to fly and beat her here."

Yuichi grabbed at his forehead as though trying to force himself to think hard. "What do we do? Will she be able to track me if I get far enough away from her?"

"I don't know," the kit said.

Chizu placed Spot on her shoulders and patted the naginata on her back to make sure it was still securely fastened in place. "We've got to find Karasu-Tengu and see if she can take us to the farmhouse as soon as possible. There's no time to waste!"

Yuichi looked at Lotus, who was slumped on the rock and breathing hard. She looked exhausted and on the verge of tears.

"Grab onto my back," he said, turning. Without hesitation, Lotus leapt onto his back and clung to him tightly, her tails losing their glow and hanging downwards in a bundle of pink-and white fluff.

"Who's Karasutengu?" she asked weakly. "Is she the Yokai my okaasan kept yelling about?"

"Yes, and she's going to get us out of here. Hang on," Yuichi said. He nodded at Chizu and she nodded back, every muscle tense and refueled with adrenaline.

"Let's go."