Kurama.

"You're hard-of-hearing," I signed. I received a deadpan look of irritation from her as she knew exactly why that was being used, but she accepted it.

She stayed close to me as we traveled through Gandara. Jin gave me a quick glance before veering off in elsewhere when we were halfway to headquarters. Aiko's demeanor changed when we stepped foot into Yomi's tower. Her body tensed, and her back straightened. She, too, was thinking of a way out.

She took in the sight of the gaudy design and decorations of the castle, considered regal for Makai. As we stood in the elevator with our escort, who hadn't spoken since our exchange on the hill, I racked my brain with reasons why she'd be here.

I wondered if she had a reason planned for why she was here. If Yomi suspected she was part of Barrier Regulations and Enforcement, it would cause trouble. So much, in fact, it could spark the war she was so desperately trying to prevent.

"Lord Yomi is in here." Our escort stopped in front of Yomi's main conference office. It was then that Aiko seemed to relax.

The doors opened to reveal Yomi at the head of the conference table, waiting patiently. Aiko sat across from him at the other end, and I took a seat next to her. There was a long moment of silence as the hard-of-hearing girl stared down the blind man. He was no doubt listening to her heart rate, her blood flow… her breathing.

"I'm surprised Kurama allowed you to visit Makai," he said, a faux-welcoming smile playing across his lips. "Makai is a beautiful place, but very dangerous for humans. Especially one who is equal to an upper D level youkai in strength."

She didn't respond. He continued.

"Oh? No excuse?" His smile never faltered. "I know you can lip read. Or am I too far away for you to see properly. Shall I move closer?"

"I'm hard-of-hearing," she replied. "Not deaf."

"Then shall I ask why a Barrier Regulations and Enforcement employee is wandering around in Makai?" His voice dropped, taunting her.

She cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not a Barrier Reg employee."

"Then—"

"And I wasn't here to visit Kurama." She cut him off. "I was visiting Yusuke. I decided to stop by before heading home."

"Ah, the boy who will take Raizen's throne—"

"So you don't have to worry about me being anywhere I shouldn't," she cut him off again, voice dropping to match his. I worried letting her speak for herself, but if I jumped in too eagerly I could tip him off. "And I don't mean to be rude, but I was on my way home. I'm not meant for this realm, like you said."

He seemed to let the concern of her position in Reikai go. She began to stand from her chair, and he redirected the interrogation.

"I see Jin was escorting you. A fine favor Kurama did for you, no?"

"It was," she agreed, still standing but not having moved from the table.

"I'd rather have someone I trust escorting her," I interjected. "I couldn't stop her from visiting, but I could at least make sure she was as safe as possible."

"Please, sit." He gestured to her as one of the younger female secretaries entered the room with a tray in hand. Her off-white robes flowed past her as she walked around the table. She set a cup of tea in front of Aiko, then me, and then Yomi. "I'm curious about you."

"I don't like talking about myself to men," she replied. "No offense."

"Yes, it seems you have quite a distaste for men from what I've seen." That sentence had her sitting back in her seat. "Which is why I'm curious about you and my dear friend Kurama here."

"I'll admit there were times I didn't like him much either."

Yomi faked a short laugh. "But you do what you can to keep his identity hidden in Ningenkai, from what I've seen. You influence your Reikai friends, no?"

She didn't respond, and I worried he could read her as easily as me. He could. She worried he would expose that she really was part of Reikai, but I knew that wasn't where he was going with this. That objective ended when he knew he couldn't corner her into outing herself as a Barrier Regulation and Enforcement employee. But I began to wonder if that was ever his plan, because if he couldn't get to my mother... this was his chance to get to her.

"I wanted to commend you on your efforts to help such a man. Knowing his past and everything he's done, and you still trust him, let him so close to you."

My gaze flickered to Aiko, who remained expressionless. Unfortunately, a poker face here meant nothing.

"Oh?" she hummed. "What kind of man is that?"

He hummed as well. "Surely you know everything about him, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

She shrugged. "He used to be a thief. And killed plenty of people."

"Human girls are strange," he mused. "But you're even stranger. To trust a man knowing that."

"He's the only man who hasn't hurt me intentionally."

"You trust him well." Yomi nodded. "To think one who has hurt many, betrayed many, wouldn't betray you as well."

She didn't respond, but her poker face was faltering.

"I did not used to be blind," he continued. "And I was not the last partner he betrayed."

"So you brought me up here to try and turn me against him?"

"No. I can assure you, I'm merely curious about you. You trust him despite his past and actions." His fake, commending smile was seconds from being wiped off his face. I tensed in my seat. "You don't think once you've ensured his safety, to life in the comfort of Ningenkai, that he wouldn't dispose of you like he did the others?"

My eyes settled to Aiko, whose poker face was completely gone. A sorrowful expression replaced it. My heart rate picked up. She wasn't giving in to this, was she?

"Of course, people can change." He switched his direction again. "For your benefit, I truly hope this time he has."

"What's the point of all this?" she asked, a tired breath following her question. "You know I don't work for Barrier Reg, you know I trust Kurama… I don't get it."

"Straightforward. I like that in people." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he rested them on the table. "I merely wanted to meet the girl who helps Kurama."

"It seems more like you're trying to turn me against him."

He gave a coy smile. "Oh, did you take what I said as a warning?"

She scowled. "No, it felt like a pathetic attempt at manipulation."

As much as I knew I needed to keep her tongue in-check around Yomi, watching her spit venom in his face was too delightful to stop. I knew I had to stop her, and I would…

"I appreciate the so-called warning," she continued. "But it seems strange you'd be so interested in me. I can only assume you want to use me as leverage against Kurama as well?"

He didn't reply, he was too pleased that she figured out his angle. It was an obvious one, but he must have thought she wasn't too bright. If he watched her in Natsume's company most often, it was no wonder.

"That's more telling about you than it is him." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Kurama has shown me different sides of himself; I've watched him grow as a person. But you?" He could hear the sharpness in her voice, the tug of her lips curling into a cruel smile. "You're as ugly a person as you were before, I'm guessing."

Yomi's face dropped ever so slightly, his smile faltering. He returned his smile taut and in place.

"Kurama, how did you blind him?" she asked without looking at me, still staring Yomi down. "And why?"

"He was reckless. He cost the lives of many men under my command," I replied after hesitation. "I couldn't have a partner like that." At this point, I believed it would have been better that the assassination went through.

"Hm." It was a disappointing hum that sent a sharp chill through a vein in my heart. She still hadn't looked at me.

"You didn't want to be caught, is what you're saying," Yomi said, dragging my glare to him.

Aiko stood. "While I see where you're coming from, I'm sorry to say I still stand by Kurama." Yomi smirked in amusement. I was caught by surprise. "While Kurama has done many things, he has tried many ways to atone for his sins. Admittedly, some he may never be able to atone for."

I felt myself growing lighter in my chair as I listened to the young woman speaking.

She pushed her chair in behind her. "But you? I don't know you. I don't particularly want to start knowing you, either. From what I can tell, though, you seem to be the same bitter man you were all those years ago."

A bouquet of pride bloomed in my chest at her words and vines snaked their way into my stomach to take root. My glare stayed on Yomi as his expression remained the same. While the flowers in me didn't die, they trembled in the wind of anticipation.

I needed to get her out of here before she was trapped, or worse.

"I'll be going then," she replied, bowing her head. "A pleasure, really."

She was an easy target now, even if she was off-limits before. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but Yomi was the runner-up in that department. When she left the room, I hurried her to the exit. They wouldn't attack inside, surely…

They sprung a couple yards away from the entrance. To be fair, maybe Aiko hadn't gotten under his skin. She was nothing more than a pawn to him, after all. It was always personal. It was never about Aiko mouthing off, it was about hurting me. He was smart about it, to use Shachi's old following to do the work. I could never prove it was him behind this.

It was a scare tactic, to beat me into submission. I could only hope that's all it was.

When we reached the outskirts of the city, where the city met some woods, I stopped running. I turned back to face the group. She paused and looked back before realizing she needed to keep running—to meet Jin. She disappeared into the dark forestry.

None of them would get past me.

My whip extended immediately, slicing through a henchman who thought he could pass me. It sent a message to the rest of them, that they had to deal with me before heading after their target. Unfortunately for them, I was out of their league, and their lives ended in mere minutes.

Blood splattered onto me and painted the greenery below a myriad of unnatural colors. Reds, blues, and purples settled into the grass and trees around me as I retracted the whip. I turned on my heels to catch up to her.

She hadn't made it too far because she'd been met halfway by a crony who must have been waiting for her here. How? I bit my cheek as I glazed over my ki, suppressing it to sneak around them. Aiko crouched on the ground in front of him, holding her abdomen with a pained, frustrated expression.

I plucked a seed from the back of my shirt's collar and let it blossom into a rose.

His deep voice echoed in laughter, bounced off the trees surrounding them. "You put up a good fight, even if I am holding back."

His last words. I flung the rose, letting the tip pierce through his trachea. His mouth gaped open in shock as his hands rose to touch the rose's stem. She took the moment, letting her ki flame around her clenched fist. Sprinting, she shoved her hand into his open mouth. She let her ki expand, and his head exploded from the heat around her fist.

She stumbled back, bloody and wounded herself, as the body crumpled the ground with a dull, heavy sound. She wiped the chunks of muscle and bone from her face and shirt as she looked around for me with tired, sad eyes.

I lept from the branch where I had been hiding and landed a couple yards from her. "How badly hurt are you?"

I could smell the blood from here. Ideally, it was a simple cut.

She winced when she smiled, standing upright but failing and hunching over in pain. "It's a bit deep; I can't lie…"

I hurried to her side, my hands hovering around her as she sucked in a pained breath. "I'm sorry. He must have slipped past me."

"No, he was waiting out here," she replied with a calm voice, bloody hand reaching up to touch my face. It stopped as she saw the red stain that covered her hand. I took it and let it rest upon my neck. "It was like he knew we had Jin out here waiting. Jin leaving earlier was obvious enough."

I searched for Jin's ki in the area; he was farther out. Aiko was bleeding fast; he'd cut deep. A paste would slow the bleeding and numb the pain, but not close the wound. It would also take too long to make.

"I'll carry you," I said, reaching for her. "Jin is close by."

She wrapped her arms around me, as tight as she could in pain, and I hoisted her up. Steadying her, I kept myself balanced as began picking up speed. There was no avoiding the leaping, the landing…

Every sudden, rough movement had her gritting her teeth in pain and tightening her hold on me. Maneuvering through the dark forestry, it was a race against time before any more henchmen appeared.

"Did you really do that?" she asked suddenly, voice strained to seem composed.

"Do what?" I asked, knowing what she was referring to.

"Try to kill him," she responded. "Blind him."

"I've made many enemies. You know this."

"So you did."

I didn't respond. For some reason, I didn't want to admit to her that I had.

"Was the reason said back in there... Was that the real reason?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you ashamed to admit it?"

I paused, almost physically as well. Jin was close. I could get her to him soon.

"You're telling me you don't see me any differently, even after that?"

"I knew you did things like that," she coughed, and blood splattered against my jacket. She grimaced and muttered a small apology. "I'll admit seeing a victim does make things a bit different. But..."

"But?"

"Would you do it again?" She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, leaving a stain behind.

For some reason, I wanted to admit to her I would.

"Yes, if it meant protecting someone dear to me."

She smiled at that, as I thought she would.

"It's not about you this time," she said quietly, head resting against my shoulder. "That's why I don't see you any different. I never saw you as the person you were; the person I've heard about, the person you've told me about. I've only seen you as you, and the person you've shown me."

I didn't reply. I had no response to give her. Nothing that formed in my head could find its way to my tongue. A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed, yet I couldn't seem to manage it.

She inhaled sharply as I landed, having jumped over a large root. I gripped her tighter as we sped through the forest. Jin felt my ki and had already begun flying over to meet me halfway.

"I never would have thought you were this way," I said, and immediately regretted it.

"I never was this way before," she laughed before gasping in pain. She gritted her teeth and exhaled roughly. "At least, I don't think I was."

"I think you were." I smiled.

"Maybe a little." She smiled as well.

"Kurama!" Jin's voice carried through the trees above us. I skidded to a halt as he dove through the branches from above. "She'll attract a horde if you keep running her around like that."

"I know," I sighed, arms taut to keep her close. "You need to get her back to Genkai's before there's too much blood loss."

"Then let'er go."

I hadn't realized he was reaching for her, arms already outstretched. I looked to Aiko, who was smiling at me, one side of her lips slightly stretched up enough to pass as a smirk. I cleared my throat before slowly passing her off to Jin.

He adjusted her haphazardly, clumsily, afraid of hurting her-which he did regardless. I sighed, knowing he meant well, but my irritation at the sight grew.

Finally, he had her held like I had.

"Oh, Kurama," Aiko said, her smile still lingering. "I always thought you were this way, too. Even before. Even just a little."

"I never was this way before." I found myself smiling. "At least, I don't think I was."

"I think you were."

"Maybe a little."

Jin looked between us as the silence came. When he realized the conversation was over, and we were merely smiling to each other, he lept into the air. I watched as they flew through the branches and grew smaller in the sky.

Aiko.

A sharp, stinging pain flourished in my arm. After a hot bath, Yukina tended to my wounds. She pressed a wet cotton ball to the cut in my arm. After she disinfected it, she let her hand hover over it. A soft, cold brush of air came next.

I was falling asleep. Yukina took the hint and stopped talking to me earlier when all I'd done was grunt in response. She hummed a melody to herself; it was a soothing melody, cheerful and lighthearted. I recognized it; it was a popular pop song. Maya must have shown her it.

"The tape was fast forwarded," Yukina said, jolting me out of my dozing.

"It'll take a while to get there," I replied. "Couple thousand hours or something." I couldn't remember.

"Maya did something with it," she said, moving to another cut. She had tended to the gash in my stomach earlier, but it was too deep to fix on the first try. "Manually fast forwarded it, I believe?"

"Let's see what Hiei found," I mumbled to myself, looking around the room for the remote. "It's in here, right?"

"It is," Yukina responded, standing briefly to fetch me the remote. She placed it in my hand before sitting back down to work on the large gash that went across my abdomen. "Koenma advised us to be very careful watching it, and to only watch what's needed. The footage Mister Hiei said."

Mister. I snorted. They were the same height. Then again, I bet he was older than her. Yukina looked very young. I wondered how old she was.

I fiddled with the remote to turn on the television and VCR. It flickered on and the VCR played, showing an all too familiar interrogation room. Surely, not the one I had been in, but they all had the same layout so far. Soft, strained, and tired whimpers filled the room through the speakers. I lowered the volume so nobody passing by could hear.

It occurred to me then. I wondered if it was okay to let Yukina watch this, and I turned to her. I should have her leave. Before I could open my mouth, she surprised me.

"I've been subjected to torture before," she said with a small smile, one bordering on having come from a place of darkness. "Don't worry, Aiko. I'll be fine."

Despite being surprised, I didn't press any further and turned back to the screen. Then, as the victim came on screen, I again worried if she should be watching. It's one thing to go through it and another to see it again, to relive it…

My eyes glanced over to Yukina. She watched the girl with blue hair and striking red eyes that mirrored hers scream on camera. It was as if she was being filmed with a hand-held camera. Yukina's expression changed slightly, to something even darker, and if I wasn't worried before I was truly regretting my choice to let her watch now.

"Do… Do you know her?" I managed, and I wondered if I should have asked that.

"I do." She kept the eerie smile.

It was only unnerving because Yukina's smiles were very warm and genuine. Even when they weren't genuine, they were very convincing, and still very warm. This one was forced and stiff. Her eyes didn't smile with her, and it gave an eerie vibe of hatred.

"That is Yue's granddaughter. Her name was Yumemi," she replied, voice as quiet as the volume on the television. "I knew Yumemi. She was obsessed with finding out what happened to Yue. Yue died a couple hundred years before Yumemi went missing."

"I guess we found where she ended up, haven't we…"

Yukina nodded. "May I tell you about us, Aiko?"

I paused the video and turned to face her. "Yeah. Of course…"

The hateful smile melted some, and the genuine smile I knew from Yukina peaked out. It was brief, but enough to remind me that girl I knew was still there.

"We Ice Maidens are very solitary. We keep to ourselves, to our clan. No outsiders, no going outside the island," she began, eyes resting on the floor between us, as if she was recalling everything. "That is partially because we fear what can happen to us, and rightfully so, as we are hunted for our tears."

"Your tears?" I found myself whispering.

She answered, despite it being rhetorical. "Our tears solidify and go for a hefty price on the black market."

"So when you said you've been tortured…"

She nodded, and continued.

"Yue left the island one day. For decades, she didn't return. One year, she did. She told stories of how she watched youkai being round up and carried away to be tortured," she sighed. "She said she had almost been one of them, and that was why she returned."

She died a couple hundred years, huh… So, at least two hundred? When did the barrier go up?

"The elders didn't believe her, nor did they care." Her voice turned icy. It may have been my imagination when the temperature began dropping… but when goosebumps began prickling upon my arms… "She had left us, so she meant nothing to our clan anymore. They exiled her."

"So Yumemi has been in search of Yue this whole time?" I asked.

Yukina nodded. "At least, she supposedly was. I always wondered what happened to her, when she decided one day she wanted to know the truth as well. And to know the outside worlds." She glared at the paused television screen, where there was a poorly-timed pause of Yumemi's fearful face. "Yue was treated like a spectacle. That was what happened when you left our clan, abandoned us. You would be hunted; you would be tortured."

"And that's exactly what happened, no doubt," I mumbled, looking back to the screen.

"Press play, please," she said. "I would like to see what happens of Yumemi."

I did as she asked without second thought and turned back to face the screen. Contrary to it being an interrogation, there were no questions asked. Just some of the men's laughter amongst Yumemi's cries. I didn't have to keep my eyes from watching Yumemi and instead focus on the men, because now it seemed to be from her point of view. So far none of them had looked familiar, but it seemed they were the preliminary torturers. I was beginning to doubt Hiei's call. After a few minutes, a pair of men entered the observation room.

I couldn't make out their silhouettes until they stepped up to the observation window. Then, three girls trailed in behind them. I blinked, shocked, thankful. It was them. It was Natsume, Hayashi, and Fukui. The two men were Natsume's and Hayashi's fathers. The girls were much younger, maybe eight or nine.

Hiei had actually recognized her from my memories. I couldn't believe it. Had I been let down so often this entire time that I was truly this shocked? It seemed so. The cut in my stomach burned and I gasped in pain, but with a second's pause I was crawling for my bag across the room. He picked up his compact fairly fast.

"Yumemi. Yumemi is an Ice Maiden from Makai," I said. He blinked in surprise, as if I was talking too fast. His binky bounced idly in confusion as he listened. "Yue's descendant? She was captured by Border Patrol and tortured. Her torture was recorded on Chapter Black."

He paused for a moment, stared at me. "Yue was executed by the Ice Maidens."

I grinned, heart leaping in excitement. "Sloppy work Border Patrol did, then. Someone in Barrier Reg killed her. That's what her files say?"

"You shouldn't be letting Yukina watch that…" Koenma's eyes narrowed, looking past me. His jaw tightened; his chubby cheeks going taut.

"She's the one who recognized her." I could see where he was coming from but I was willing to take the help. …Even if it was from someone who may be reliving it all over again just from watching it.

"I'll send over Yue's files," Koenma sighed. "Be careful with that tape. I don't think I need to tell you how bad it is. That clip alone is a taste of what's on there."

I nodded and waved my hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know."

He left first, and I closed my compact.

"Aiko," Yukina called to me. I turned to look at her. "Who is this little girl?"

She pointed to the screen, and I slowly crawled back over to look at the television. Yukina politely paused it for me, and I sat down. I looked at the two brunettes on the screen. Natsume's wild, curly hair was unmistakable, leaving the second little girl to be Hayashi. It couldn't have been anyone else, could it?

"That should Hayashi," I replied, glancing back to Yukina. "Why?"

Chills ran down my spine as Yukina's face seemed colder than before. The striking, unnerving smile plastered across her face again.

"Does she wear what looks like pearl earrings?"

I nodded, remembering them easily. She'd worn them since I met her.

"Those are Yumemi's tears."

Breath caught in my throat.

"In the beginning, they were filming with a disposable camera, one you buy from the convenient stores. It was likely hers to begin with." Yukina's facial expression was as cold and stiff as ice, and just as chilling, with her small, angry smile. It hadn't changed since she'd laid eyes on Hayashi.

"I guess that is how it ended up in Chapter Black," I said. "Someone must have gotten it before they got rid of it for good. No way would they would let it go somewhere on record."

Yukina shook her head. "Chapter Black is not made that way, Aiko. It is alive."

Excuse me? "It's what?"

"It's alive. The tape," she replied simply, eyes never leaving the screen. "It didn't use to be a tape. Before these video cassette machines were made, rumor has it that it was a film reel. It's its own entity. That is how it has recorded things from before technology."

I gaped, staring at the television screen. "So… this is—"

"Another rumor has it that it was a god's toy," she replied. "Enchanted, if you will, to be able to feed upon the evil of the world. To record it. A record, in hopes that those who saw it would learn to not repeat its mistakes."

I blinked slowly, still unable to move my gaze from the television. "Unfortunately it makes its watchers a bit extreme, from what I hear…"

She nodded. "About Hayashi… The men talked about using her tears for jewelry. Your dear friend Hayashi's pearl earrings are Yumemi's tears."

My friend?! My mouth gaped open, ready to reply, but I wasn't really in a position to correct her. Not when my kind hunted hers down… I forced my lips to clamp shut.

"Be careful around her," she said, catching my attention as she stood to leave the room. "Our tears, when solidified, can do many things when you are knowledgeable of ki."

I sat in silence as she closed the sliding door behind her. The room felt cold. I ignored the stabbing pain in my stomach as I stared at the paused screen where a young, brunette Hayashi could be seen in the background of the observation room.

It didn't feel right to ask Yukina what she meant. I didn't feel I deserved to.

Maya.

The rushing waves beneath my feet had been calming, soothing. They caressed my skin and beckoned me into the waves, to forget all my troubles. The moonlight hitting the water was surreal and comforting, reminding me of a time I'd never lived. But for Aiko, who had returned from the city after a long day, the night at the beach was just any other night. It was often when she returned from a torture interrogation that she was hasty, frantic, and eager to jump ship and blow her cover, and tonight was no different.

It had been roughly two days since she returned from Makai, but I wasn't sure what triggered this freak-out. The trip, the interrogation with Natsume she returned from, or maybe both.

"Slow down," I said quietly, trying to reach for her as she paced around me. "What happened?"

"I saw the earrings," she spoke fast. "She actually has the earrings. They're Yumemi's tears. She wears them, why? Because she's sick in the head? I can't even ask without giving a tip that I know something about them. They look like regular pearl earrings."

"What are you even talking about?"

Prince Koenma and I saw this the most, her neuroticism. I had a feeling Kurama did too. Had she ever shown this in front of the others in the cause, we'd surely lose their courage.

"Yukina pointed it out, when we watched part of the tape," she replied, hand raking through her hair to push it out of her face. She turned on her heel as her words per minute began growing. "That the earrings are tears from her clan and they're solidified and then they can do something? Stuff? I can't even ask Yukina, I'm too ashamed to even look at her."

"What happened with Yukina?" I knew better than to even bother asking in hopes of getting an answer. It helped her, though, to hear something other than her own voice and thoughts, even if she'd rarely answer.

"Nothing, Yukina's alright." She waved her hand dismissively. "I mean she fucking hates humans secretly, but I don't blame her. I kind of do at this point too. I hate myself, that's for sure."

"Slow down."

Aiko crouched and put her head between her knees and yelled. "I don't even know who I am anymore! I do things I hate! I forgive people for things I hate! It... It all..."

I knelt next to her, feeling the wet sand sticking to my skin. "You're Aiko. And you're the head of this operation. Now slow down and tell me what happened tonight."

She paused and took a deep breath. "The usual. Torture."

I nodded. "Okay, nothing out of the ordinary. Now, who did you forgive?"

"It's like I'm getting used to it. It doesn't hurt as much anymore." Her voice trembled. She didn't look up to me. I wasn't sure if she intentionally ignored my question. "It comes so naturally. To say those things, do those things."

I placed a hand on her back and began rubbing in small circles. "That's normal, but you're not like them. You feel remorse. You don't want to do it."

"How will I live with myself after this is over? If I'm even alive after."

I paused, my voice softening. "You know you're doing this for the greater good."

"I can't do this anymore. I can't hide anymore. We need to act." She shot up, knocking me back into the water as it came crashing onto shore. "This has gone on too long."

"Are you sure?" I asked, standing quickly to avoid being soaked whole. "You need to think this through. Talk to the prince first."

"I…" She didn't want to. She wanted to rush in fists-up and blazing, but she knew better. I didn't have to work hard to convince her to think twice. She was scared of who she was becoming. "I will. This can't keep going on. I have to make riskier moves."

"Like what?" I approached her but she'd already began walking back to the forest, back to Genkai's compound.

I worried, alone in the moonlight with the crashing waves, what I encouraged her to do.