Hmm, the chapters from here on out will be pretty tough to write, because so much is happening, but I think you readers will enjoy them =)

...OK, so that may be an excuse, and it's not the only one, haha. I can only point you to my list of fics, if you're really that curious ^^;

Anyways, the point is that getting two chapters in at a time may be a bit harder. Oh well.

Thank you for all those who fave'd and alerted and reviewed! The last one is best (of course), but the first two are a close second! Thank you!

Chapter 11

He was sitting atop one of the grassy knolls within the forest when he heard a whisper. Over the past week, he'd come to associate the sensation with Rinne's version of a yell.

Immediately, he was on his guard. When the forest spirit called, it usually meant trouble. He spread his senses out, but there was nothing especially unusual…

Except for over by the west, where he had fought his first demon. There, walking on the road, was a human.

That in itself was not of importance, and he had just started to relax when he suddenly felt that the human had taken a complete 90-degree turn off the road, and straight into the woods.

The barrier was of two layers, Kousetsu had said. One was an aborted attempt, but it was powerful enough to mask most auras. This was the one that extended past the road and into the farm fields. The next started in the woods.

The human had just set foot past the second layer. If he had the slightest ounce of spiritual power, then the spirits were sitting ducks to him. Judging from the strength of his power, too, this was no ordinary person. An exorcist, perhaps?

Either way, there was no time to lose.

The man had just barely enough time to look up before he pounced, and the two were a flailing pile of limbs kicking up a storm of sticks and stones. Round and round and round and round…

At the bottom of the hill, they broke apart. He stood at a bit of a distance, panting, watching the other.

Despite the small tumble they had, the exorcist – for he couldn't be anything else – still looked like he belonged on a movie set. Even his clothes seemed artfully rumpled in a way that was almost intentional.

He stood some distance away, watching the man straighten his glasses. He stayed hunched over, just in case the other would try anything funny.

"Hmm," said the exorcist, breaking the silence, "so you're the one who's been causing all the trouble around here."

The man must be talking about the incident in the fields; he didn't remember going out any other time. There had been small-time demons who had attacked afterwards, but they were always within the barrier – had accidentally wandered in and decided that they quite liked the territory. "That was just an accident."

The other took off his hat and dropped it to the ground. "You're not quite what I expected when I received this offer. More talkative too. That's quite unusual. Regardless, I'm here to do a job."

"Stop! I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"No one will, if things go right. It would save both of us a lot of trouble if you relocate."

Neither made a move.

"No," was his simple response. Regardless whether he wanted to or not, the others couldn't very well up and leave. Some spirits were attached to the land in that way, especially these ones.

"That's too bad. Then will you let yourself be sealed?"

Before the man had finished his words, though, he felt someone close in on him from behind. On instinct, he ducked … and a katana soared over his head, barely missing his scalp.

It came down again, and this time, he jumped back. "I think I'd rather you two leave this place," he said. He didn't want to talk to them too much. Being this close to the exorcist was making his head hurt; he was so contentious.

The demon who had attacked was a humanoid. She held her sword in both hands, raised and on guard, as she placed herself between him and the exorcist.

As he was sizing her up, though, another presence appeared behind him. He turned his head and came face to face with another humanoid, this one with ram horns. She leapt forward, hands outreached at throat level.

He promptly swiped her down with a kick, and winced at the heavy thud her body made.

"You're pretty strong, for someone who doesn't like to fight," came the exorcist's voice, but he had no time to turn around because he was immediately set upon by the spirit with the sword. He shifted to the right, to avoid being skewered.

He reached into his pocket to pull out one of the charms. Suddenly his hand was jerked back, spilling the sheets of paper onto the ground. His arm was wrenched backwards. He almost turned, to try and pull his arm back, but then he saw a streak flash in the corner of his eyes. Aborting his attempt to free his hand, he leapt forward, almost twisting it in the process.

The sword slid into the dirt, smooth like cream.

He reached forward. The charms were too far, and drifting farther in the wind.

Again, the sword came. At the same time, a thread of hair wrapped around his throat this time. He wrenched his arm away. Pain shot through his shoulder – by now, he was sure it was dislocated. It was hard to move, too. Grimacing, he kicked, luckily catching the charging assailant in the face.

She fell backwards, sword skidding over the earth until it hit a tree and stopped.

Then, he heard something. He swiveled his head around, casting about for the source of the sound, the low, steady murmur…

…but the noose around his neck tightened, and he only managed to work out a gargle before air was cut from his lungs.

He drew his lips back in a snarl, annoyed. In desperation, he swiped, hand curled like a claw, at the bindings.

They snapped with surprising ease. He fell backwards, gasping.

Not wasting any time, he tried to relocate the sound. He lifted his head, and there, at some distance, knelt the exorcist. He was holding one hand up, eyes closed. The other hand rested on what look like a vase, around which was drawn circles and symbols in the ground.

He didn't recognize it; he didn't know what it was. He just knew all his hair stood on end and a feeling of dread was permeating through him, all the way to his toes.

He leapt to the ground, fingers scrabbling over the dirt. He had no time to lose.

Suddenly, the chanting stopped. "You're a special case, but you can still be sealed away. Don't think you're safe just because you're what you are." As though those words were a signal, thin black tendrils burst from the vase. There were hands, fingers splayed wide, reaching towards him.

They came closer, and closer…

He saw the smile of victory on the man's face.

But just before they reached him, they stopped. More precisely, they bounced.

"What?" cried the exorcist, and this time he was the one who had a smile stretched across his lips.

Because what was on the ground were the runes he had learned from Kousetsu, the one that created a barrier. He hadn't been sure it would work, but luckily, they seemed to be in complete working order. Silently, he made a note to thank the old spirit for the sore hands and tired eyes that day.

Taking advantage of the shock, he threw himself forward, hoisting himself up with one arm. Before the other could react, he struck.

The exorcist fell backwards with a shout.

Before the exorcist could try the same trick again, he leapt on top of the man, one hand locking the other's wrists over his head to prevent movement. The other struggled, but to no avail. "You should leave this place. If you come back again, then I'll chase you again, and if it happens yet again, I'll do it yet again."

"You … how did you…"

"Take your servants and go!" With one last annoyed growl, he heaved himself backwards and off the exorcist. He turned tail, not sparing the exorcist another glance, and, with a slight throbbing pain starting to blossom all over his chest and side, he bent over and picked up his charms.

Perhaps he should start being better prepared, so something like dropping all of them at once wouldn't happen again.

He disappeared back into the forest, leaving the human lying on the field.

As he approached the spot where the rest of the spirits were gathered, one of them left the group and approached him. When he saw that it was Igari, though, he stiffened and slowed his pace down. He just didn't want to meet the boar, simply because the spirit never had anything good to say.

And sure enough… "I thought we have already gone over this. Leaving your opponents alive is just an invitation for them to return."

He was tired, and he was irritated. He did not want to be dealing with this. "I simply didn't want to kill him. That would have created problems none of us want to deal with," he said, as he continued walking.

Igari grunted. "Excuses. You need to strengthen your resolve, if you are to be the Lord of this area."

It wasn't like he wanted to be it. It was forced on him. However, he didn't put these thoughts to words; it was troublesome, and he didn't have the energy for an argument.

Admittedly, it wasn't bad. He continued walking, without a response, towards where the others were waving to him. Ren broke into a rolling gait before leaping onto him with a happy cry and a slew of questions. The others gathered around him too. Despite their cold bodies (with the exception of Ren, who was actually a live Tanuki), he was surrounded by warmth. A smile of a different sort from before worked its way onto his face and into his heart.

However, there was still a feeling of something missing. Despite the obvious difficulties inherent in being on two different sides of a battle, this was the first time he'd met a human in what felt like forever. No, for him, it practically was the first time.

They were enemies, and they were dangerous, but he was human. A void that had only been a tiny hole had grown into a gaping abyss of longing over the past few days, and he hadn't noticed. Rather, perhaps it was because it was easier not to notice, or perhaps it was because he hadn't recognized it for what it was.

Nevertheless, he made plans to leave the forest tomorrow.

After a long, good night's sleep, that is.