Haruka found himself looking out at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a small village nestled below. Behind him rose a dark curtain of ancient pines, shrouding a small path with deep green shadows. He stared for a minute, while his brain tried to place what had happened.

I was…affected by Kantarou's power after all, it seems. Ibaragi said he would relive his memories…does this mean I've been dragged into one as he experiences it? He tried to look around at his surroundings, only to realize he had no control over the body he was peering out of. Well, this at least confirmed that he was somehow trapped in someone else's body. As the owner of the body turned and bent down to look in a small pool of water, he felt an electric shock as he saw the person's face. It was Kantarou's own eyes he was seeing out of-the pale skin and silver hair, and the familiar dark red eyes gleamed at him before a breeze shivered the surface of the water. But this was a much younger version of his master-although his face didn't change much, he still looked very young here. He was a poor judge with human ages, but he guessed this boy was in his early teens. With his keen eyesight he quickly noticed that this version of Kantarou was not wearing his standard red and white hakama-the dull robe he was wearing looked faded and well-used. More importantly, he noticed that this younger man did not have the scar he was familiar with crossing his chest.

So this is what she meant by reliving his past…I get the feeling I won't like this either. He would have tugged at his hair in frustration if he had control of this body-it seemed like he really was along just for the ride. If he couldn't even move any limbs or even his eyes, how could he do anything for Kantarou? They were both going to have to sit through a re-enactment of the past where they could only watch what happened. Haruka knew that Kantarou was probably reliving this particular memory right now along with him, since this was where he had ended up. He sighed inwardly and resigned himself to being a silent observer. At least he would finally know what had happened to the exorcist, and he wondered if he might discover a way to free them both from Ibaragi and Raikou's trap from reliving this event. It must have been an important memory, particularly if these past events were related to what was happening to Kantarou's power and what they planned on doing with it. And still….even if his master didn't know he was there, he could at least be there with him. The least he could do was watch what happened without shying away from it.

"Kantarou! Oi, freaky little brat, you were supposed to be helping down at the family temple today!" A harsh voice broke the quiet on top of the cliff, and both Haruka and Kantarou felt the younger boy's body flinch and look around quickly, seeking a place to hide. He looked around, and finding nothing close enough, shook himself and straightened his shoulders, turning back towards the woods to face the owner of the voice. It was eerie for both Haruka and Kantarou, seeing from his eyes, as they could sense and feel what the younger boy was experiencing. Right now he was obviously terrified by the arrival of the unfriendly voice. Heavy footsteps crunched up the path towards him (them, now!), and they had a glimpse of a large heavyset man in traditional exorcist robes. They were in much better condition than the young Kantarou's, and his face was red from fury and exertion as he huffed up the path towards the cliff edge.

"You had better come with me now, boy…you already know you are going to be punished for not showing up. Do you want me to add my own for having to come after you?", he snarled at the boy, grabbing one of his arms and shaking him hard as he spoke. "You should be grateful your powers are useful to the Ichinomiya family-who would have kept an oddity like you around if you weren't? Your own mother left you behind for us to use as we see fit because it was the only way she could bear the shame of producing a bastard offspring like you." He mopped his face with one of his trailing sleeves, and then turned on his heel, roughly forcing the young man to follow behind him or be dragged on his face.

"Please….don't pull so hard. I'll walk. I won't run away, I promise," he mumbled as he was jerked back towards the pathway heading into the melancholy green of old pines. It won't do me any good until I learn more….if I can't control my spiritual powers I won't be able to get away for good. The two observers watched through his eyes, each thinking of what the older man had said. Kantarou was remembering how much he had wanted to get away from his life in the Ichinomiya family household. Haruka was thinking he wanted to beat the old bastard dragging the kid to within an inch of his life, and that he could understand why Kantarou had such a warped personality sometimes if his family life had been as bad as it looked from this. It surprised him though-he had always assumed someone with powers as strong and controlled as his master's had come from a family of exorcists or onmoyouji. He just hadn't expected him to have been mistreated by his own family though….what Ibaragi had said was true. They really had just used him then. Huh…no wonder he relates better to youkai if this is what he was used to from his human family. His view of the approaching forest blurred a little as a few tears rose up in the young man's eyes, quickly wiped away by his free hand. They walked into the vast forest, the trees pricking the sky like cathedral spires. An ominous aura seemed to swallow them up as they entered and moved towards the village, and the heavyset exorcist picked up his pace, not wanting to linger in the eerie atmosphere. The young Kantarou's eyes spotted a few shadows that moved alongside their path, and he smiled a little in acknowledgment. The youkai in the forest at least called him their friend. He would put up with his so-called responsibilities to the family a little longer if it would give him enough power to take care of himself and what he cared about someday.