Hello all! Here is the second chapter! I worked really hard on it! :)

Anyway, please review if you think this story should continue. I still have to plan out a bunch of things for the trajectory of this story, and reviews would make me more confident that it's worth the effort. Thank you!

It did not take the jinrou much time to scale the hill's sloping back. The sun was blazing down around him, but the heat did not make him uncomfortable as he trudged upward. It reminded him of the summer weather he'd always enjoyed this time of year, before summer had ever brought anything deadly into his existence. Natsuno was partial to the things of summer- the tall, hushing grasses, the leaves speckled with sunbeams, the warm rainstorms. This was the reason he had preferred to leave his window open while he studied in his room, until a rather annoying outside factor had forced him to keep it shut. Back when his biggest problem in life was the simple irritation he'd felt at living in this backwoods village and having to deal with its residents….most of whom were now dead. He would never again have to nod politely at their small talk or pretend not to notice as they bunched together and gossiped about him as he wheeled his bicycle down the road. Never again….but not at all in the way he had wanted. He had not wished to play a part in their lives, but that didn't mean he'd wanted them gone. They were just people; they had done nothing to invite the death the okiagari brought upon them. They had deserved to live peacefully in their backwoods village for as long as they pleased.

As he neared the hill's crest, Natsuno halted suddenly and locked his feet. There was something….something gray drifting through the air in between the trees. Ashes….? But these smelled different than the fire-ashes from below. These smelled like….death. Death and pain and burning. Natsuno's extra-sensitive nose brought him to the destabilizing realization that he was watching the crumbling ashes of dead okiagari fluttering past his eyes.

He recoiled at the scent and glanced back down the hill's slope, immediately thinking to leave and find a different hill to climb. However, the desire to know what had happened drew his eyes upward again. Had the okiagari fallen asleep and been caught in the sun? Had the wildfire burned them? Was there anyone or anything still up there? Natsuno listened to the carried silence of the wind, slowly edging his way around the girth of the hill toward the source of the ashes. He heard nothing to indicate any remaining life aside from himself among the dead trees. He was tiptoeing along when something caught his eye- something like a discolored smear on the trunk of one of the trees. Below it lay a miniscule pile of ashes. With each puff of breeze passing over the hill's crown, a bit more of the ash rose up and swirled away into the sky. Lying discarded around the base of the tree were a few tangles of knotted rope. Natsuno closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, wishing he had not come to investigate. If the rope was still here, that meant the okiagari had not burned in the fire. Afterward, the humans must have tied them to the trees that were still standing and let the sun come up to do its work. Up ahead he could see similar discolored smears on various trees, as the ash continued to trace its airborne way through the silent woods. What an awful way to die. It wouldn't have been quick, either. Natsuno had no illusions about the atrocities the okiagari had committed in Sotoba, and their just punishment for it; but this level of vindictiveness truly disturbed him. He turned away from the grisly scene and began to walk back down the hill, taking care not to look behind him. Whatever they had been, at least the okiagari were truly dead now; dead as he ought to be, as he would be, as soon as he could….

Natsuno's resolve not to look behind him was broken as his sensitive ears picked up a small, fragile sound that seemed to come from within the dead trees he had just left. At first he assumed it was merely the cry of a passing bird, but then he detected it again- a soft, whimpering noise. Furrowing his brow, he traced backward a few steps and listened for it again. There? No- there!- he was fairly certain it was coming from the other side of a charred, felled tree lying near the top of the hill. The tree was rather large, and its collapse had ripped its entire roots system out of the ground. Therefore, the huge slabs of earth still gripped by exposed roots were blocking Natsuno's view of whatever was behind them, making that sound. Carefully, the jinrou edged his way up through the distasteful maze of ashes toward the horizontal body of the tree. Could it be an okiagari who was not yet fully dead? Or perhaps it was someone clever, like Tatsumi, trying to lure him into venturing closer. One of the thoughts that had been lurking in the back of Natsuno's mind since he had awoken was the high probability that if he had survived the explosion, Tatsumi must have as well. There was no way to deny the more experienced jinrou was stronger than him. Natsuno did not think it amiss to assume that Tatsumi could probably do anything he could do, and then some. Shoulders tensed, prepared for an attack, Natsuno bent his body and crept warily around the downed tree, craning his neck to see into the shadowed expanse on the other side.

For a moment, he couldn't breathe. Natsuno did not need to breathe since turning into a jinrou, but he often preferred to do it anyway. It kept him connected to a sense of normalcy which was false, but reassuring nonetheless. However, for a moment of time he physically lost the ability to exhale as his eyes caught onto a figure crouching low in the shadow of the fallen tree. It was not the blue, spiked hair of Tatsumi he saw, but the messy blonde locks and earnest face which he had come to know so well as a human. It was Tohru Mutou, on his knees with his legs tied together and arms roped behind his back around the trunk of an upright tree. His clothing was torn and smudged with soot, but he looked otherwise unharmed, and Natsuno realized that the collapse of the tree beside him had cast a wide enough shadow over his former friend to shield him from the sun. It seemed to have been a temporary salvation, however, noting the current position of the sun. As it rose higher in the sky, it would cause the shadow to recede and finally expose Tohru to the deadly sunlight when it came directly overhead. Natsuno observed the scene critically, all the while finding himself affected by a strange paralysis that prevented him from moving either forward or backward. A large rock seemed to have lodged in his throat, stifling his voice even though he could not think of anything to say. Tohru's head was bowed, and he was still unaware of Natsuno's presence as he shifted his body around in a desperate quest to escape. Where exactly he thought he was going to hide within the burned-out forest, lacking any leafy branches to block out the sun, was anyone's guess. His soft, miserable sobs cracked against Natsuno's ears as Tohru tried again and again to draw his feet underneath him to give himself some leverage for pulling against the rope binding his hands. However, his bound legs simply refused to move that far, each time falling back to the ground as if broken. Tohru sobbed harder and bent his torso forward as far as he could, glancing fearfully over at the line of sunlight which was only a foot away from him. At that moment, he raised his head and caught sight of Natsuno. The jinrou could not help but flinch as the tear-soaked eyes widened and his former friend gave a sudden, shuddering gasp. The okiagari's eyes were half-terrified and half-hopeful as Tohru lifted his head to take him in, the same expression that had greeted Natsuno every time his undead friend had materialized outside his window to drain more of his blood, driving him closer and closer to death. Now Tohru gave a sudden shiver and whispered in a tiny, pained voice, "Natsuno….are you really….?"

The jinrou recoiled at the unwanted familiarity in the name. "I told you not to call me that," he growled, his voice cold and flat. There was a parturient pause as Tohru's eyes filled up with fresh tears. "Natsuno….please…."

"Don't you dare!" the other male shouted, suddenly furious. "Don't you dare talk to me like before! You did this to me!"

"I'm sorry…." Tohru swallowed hard, still staring beseechingly up at his former friend. "Natsuno, please, I-"

Natsuno's face contracted. "Shut up!" he yelled harshly, turning his back to avoid looking at the object of his rage. "Goddammit, you always-"

"WAIT! Please don't go!" Tohru begged, beginning to sob convulsively once more, having apparently interpreted the jinrou's turned back as a sign that he was about to walk away. "Please N-Natsuno, don't l-leave me here…."

Natsuno clenched his fists, still refusing to turn back around and look at the trapped okiagari. "Why not? Why shouldn't I go? You left me to die alone! I wanted to help you, I offered to run away with you and find a solution, but instead you bled me out and killed me! And I wasn't the only one, was I? How many lives have you ended to feed yourself?!"

Tohru shook his head wildly and wailed, a pitch of pure misery, as if the memory of his crimes was causing him physical pain. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't want to do it, but- but Tatsumi said- Tatsumi said he'd kill my family if I didn't!- and I couldn't, I couldn't let them die, I couldn't stand it, especially if they might rise up and become monsters like me!... I-I'm so sorry, Natsuno…. I couldn't go with you….even if we did get away, Aoi and Tamotsu and mother and father would still be-"

Natsuno finally turned around to glare directly into Tohru's eyes. His former friend seemed to crumple under the weight of his gaze. Tohru bowed his head low to the ground, his shoulders trembling convulsively. He whispered, "I know….I know that doesn't make me less of a murderer….I know I hunted other people's siblings and mothers and fathers to save my own, and they would probably hate me if they knew….oh god!" Tohru's body spasmed in pain as a ray of sunlight touched the tip of his elbow. Squirming and struggling desperately, the okiagari was able to lean himself away from the poison light, but just barely. It would be mere minutes until he had no more room to maneuver. Natsuno's heart was thudding wildly against his ribs, making him feel more human and more vulnerable than he'd often felt even when he was human.

Shivering in terror, Tohru peered upward again. There was a dreadful gleam of finality in his rust-red eyes. "Natsuno….I understand….if you don't want to save me. I know I don't deserve to live. But please, please Natsuno, will you kill me quickly, before the light comes- please? There are some stakes left over at the top of the hill. You're strong enough to do it….Natsuno…."

"Stop saying my name!" the jinrou ordered in a raw bark, taking a step backwards in shock. "You- you- damn you, how can you ask that of me?!"

"I'm sorry!" Tohru cried, pulling desperately at the rope which bound his arms around the tree. The terror in his eyes had reached a fever pitch, and Natsuno wondered if he even knew what he was doing. "I'm sorry, Natsuno….you've been so kind to me….you gave me your blood, and I….oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god," the okiagari whimpered, staring at the glowing expanse of sunlight beside him as if it were the worst thing in the world. "Please Natsuno, please just do this one last thing for me, and I promise you'll never have to think of me again! Don't let me burn! Please, I can't stand it- I don't want to burn! It takes so long to die that way, Natsuno, please-!"

Clenching his teeth, the dark-haired boy abruptly wheeled around and began to stride away toward the top of the hill, telling himself that he just needed to put some distance between his ears and Tohru's terrified, pleading voice. He could still hear it as he made the short trek upward, every few seconds whispering "Please….please…."

Standing upon the hilltop, Natsuno observed that Tohru had been right- there were several hand-carved stakes lying haphazardly in the dirt, along with a sturdy metal hammer. The humans seemed to have left in a hurry after tying up the okiagari, for what reason Natsuno did not know. Taking a few more steps forward, he suddenly drew back in a defensive crouch as he spotted the dark shape of a body propped up against the base of another tree. After a few moments of staring, however, he realized that it was just an empty blanket, likely used to carry the stakes and hammers. To be absolutely sure, Natsuno crept up behind the tree and kicked the blanket, breathing a sigh of relief when it fell open empty. Turning around, he gazed back down the hill and over the charcoal forest, pointedly avoiding looking at Tohru and his frantically staring eyes. He could see Sotoba from here, or at least the clear-cut remnants of where Sotoba had been. Some buildings were still standing, but he didn't see a single one that appeared to have been spared the fire's ravages. The little village he had always hated was burned to the ground, the survivors had presumably fled, and everyone else was dead….and for this moment, there was no one else in the world except for him and Tohru. Natsuno stared at the grainy stakes; he picked one up and weighed it in his hand. Could he do it? Hammer this thing through Tohru's heart? After everything the okiagari had done, to let him live would be unjust…. If he steadied his hand and drove it in with all his strength, it should only take a minute, a blessing in comparison to the slow, torturous death his former friend faced if he decided to walk away…. But pounding the stake into Tohru's heart meant taking direct responsibility, killing him with his action rather than his inaction. Was one truly worse than the other? Tohru….he was the one responsible for Natsuno's sorry state. And yet…. And yet, in the end, this was not about Tohru Mutou, what he'd done or what he hadn't done. This was about himself, Natsuno Yuuki, and what he could stand to do, and where he met the edge of his limitations. In a breath of clean air from the higher sky, Natsuno realized that despite what Tohru had done to him, despite what he himself had become, he had not moved on from the human he had been in the woods on that night, the one who had flung the stake to the ground and offered his blood to his friend to ease his pain. He was still that stupid. He could not kill Tohru. But then, what the hell was he supposed to-?

"NATSUNO! NATSUNO, HELP ME!" The jinrou jumped out of his skin at the sound of the agonized voice, screaming for all it was worth. With only the faintest idea of what he was doing, Natsuno scrambled around on the hillside, grabbing the hammer, the blanket, and several stakes, before racing back down the sooty slope and skidding to a halt before Tohru's writhing body. The sunlight was gleaming upon his left arm and a part of his legs, causing the flesh to crackle and horrible burns to bloom like deadly flowers. The okiagari screamed in horror, no words, just inexpressible pain. Cursing, Natsuno dropped all the heavy items in his arms and lunged at Tohru, throwing the thick blanket over the side that was exposed to the sun. After a few moments, Tohru stopped screaming and began to moan as the wounds scabbed over and healed. Natsuno held him close, using his own back to block any more rays of sun from reaching the other. Helpless, Tohru pressed his trembling body into the jinrou as if it were the last thing he would ever do. Slowly, slowly, his eyes opened and he gazed into Natsuno's face. Just as slowly, they moved past him to settle upon the stake and hammer lying on the ground a few feet away. A tremulous, tragic smile spread across his gentle face. "Thank you….Natsuno…."

"Don't thank me," the jinrou answered gruffly, leaning upward and moving over Tohru's left side. Making sure the okiagari was still shielded from the sun, Natsuno reached out his hand and drew out his claws, sinking them into the heart of the rope binding Tohru's hands. Tohru's expression turned from resigned to confused as Natsuno sawed roughly with his claws, finally splitting the rope and catching Tohru as he tumbled weakly forward. The jinrou shoved the other back into the sliver of shade still remaining, and spread the blanket across the ground. "Climb onto the blanket."

"Natsuno….?" Tohru asked, staring hesitantly up and him.

"Climb onto the blanket and curl up in the fetal position. Now." Natsuno demanded, scrambling out into the sunlight to collect the stakes and the hammer. He was going to need these later if he ran across any other okiagari, especially Tatsumi or that villainess, Sunako.

Tohru obeyed, although he had to drag himself awkwardly onto the blanket because Natsuno had forgotten about his bound legs. The jinrou considered trying to free them, but glanced over the tiny amount of shade still protecting Tohru and decided he would deal with that later. It wasn't as though the okiagari would be able to walk through the forest, anyway. Hurrying back to his side, Natsuno shrugged off Tohru's attempt to touch his arm and gripped two diagonal corners of the blanket. "Hold still," he commanded, pulling them over the okiagari and tying them securely, so no light could get in. He did the same with the other two corners, and then proceeded to stack the stakes and hammer on top of the strange bundle. Calling upon his unnatural strength, Natsuno drew a deep breath and lifted the blanket into his arms, feeling Tohru's body tense up within it. "Can you-" he started, and then cut off- he had been about to ask if the other could breathe all right in there. Stupid question. Instead, he stepped very tentatively into the sunlight, and waited for a moment. "Are you okay right now?" he queried.

"Yes," he heard Tohru's soft voice respond, muffled by the blanket's thickness. "Natsuno….where are we going?"

"I don't know," the jinrou responded, beginning to trudge toward the top of the hill again. Carrying Tohru was going to be difficult, but he would manage. "But I have an idea of where we are, so….I'm going to try to find a good location. You should sleep. You're supposed to be asleep right now, anyway. When you wake up, we'll be….somewhere else. Away from here."

There was a silent pause, and then Natsuno felt the edge of a hand press against his chest from inside the blanket. "Thank you, Natsuno…." The jinrou tossed his head and did not respond, and the blanket grew quiet and still after this. Reaching the top of the hill, Natsuno stared out for a moment before coming to the conclusion that no particular direction appeared any more promising than another. They were completely surrounded by destruction. Adjusting the blanket in his arms, Natsuno shrugged darkly and began to trek down the hill's other side, determined to keep going for as long as he could. The wind funneled overhead, and the traveler squinted his eyes against it as he once again carved a path out into the unknown.