Yuyuko walked down the cobblestone path in her family garden, as usual during the day. She was looking for a new routine other than this, but she was happy with it. "Wonder what else I could do for the day..." She asked herself, her head down a bit.

"Maybe you would like to explain to me why this tree won't bloom, Miss Yuyuko?"

The girl lifted her head and turned to the side. "Oh, Youki, you scared me." She said, panting lightly in shock.

"I apologize Miss Yuyuko. But, I am rather intrigued by this tree." The swordsman said, looking up from a small patch of flowers at the withered tree.

"Oh? You mean this? It's a cherry blossom. It...just never blooms. I never seen it bloom once in my life." Yuyuko replied.

"Hm..is that so? Do you and your family have any idea why it won't bloom?" Youki asked, looking over to Yuyuko, who shook her head. "I see. If I might ask, what are you doing here?"

Yuyuko smiled lightly. "I always take walks in the garden. It's calming and peaceful." She said as Youki walked near.

"I must admit, it is. But don't you ever get bored with the same routine?"

"I do." Yuyuko sighed. "Are you still trying to push the sword skills on me?" She asked.

The half phantom chuckled. "No, no. I won't push you to do something you don't want to do. It would be good for you to know. It'll keep you occupied and who knows, it might come in handy one day."

Yuyuko nodded, her eyes following Youki's ghost though. "If..you don't mind me asking...how come you have a ghost following you?" She asked, seeing it make small circles around him.

"This? This is my ghost half." He said.

"Ghost half?" Yuyuko asked, confused. "You're part ghost?"

"I'm a human/phantom hybrid. The Konpaku family comes from a long line of half breeds." Youki explained as his ghost half slowly floated to Yuyuko and circled her.

"Um..what is it doing?" She asked, looking at it.

"He's just observing you is all. Our ghost halves have free will, but they cannot leave a certain distance of their body otherwise both the ghost and the human start to die. But Tera knows how far his range is."

The girl blinked. "Tera? You named it?"

Youki nodded. "Yes, I named him. It makes it easier to identify who I'm talking about, rather that saying 'ghost half' or something with the same meaning over and over." He called Tera over, the ghost quickly coming back and floating next to Youki's right shoulder, it's tail falling to the ground and coiling up like a snake.

"Does your granddaughter have one?" Yuyuko asked, sliding a fan out of her kimono sleeve and opening it, fanning herself off.

The swordsman smiled. "Why don't you see for yourself. Lady Hikari asked me to bring her today so you can meet her."

"She did? Well..alright then. Where is she?" Yuyuko asked.

"She's not too far. She wanted to go pick some flowers and I told her to meet me back here."

Yuyuko sat down under the slight shade of the withered tree, still fanning herself off. "How long do you think she'll be?"

The question answered itself with the rapid sound of light footsteps. "Grandpa Youki!" A light voice yelled, the footsteps getting louder.

Youki knelt down and chuckled lightly. "Don't run Youmu, you'll trip." He warned, still seeing the very young girl barrel towards him, arms filled with flowers. The black ribbon, off center on her head, bounced around, occasionally in front of her eyes. She wear similar clothing to Youki in color and style. She had a skirt that reached to her skins, a white button down blouse with a green vest over it. Small ghost wisps adorned the frills of her skirt and vest. "Grandpa Youki!" She called out again, smiling happily.

Yuyuko giggled, hiding it behind her fan. "Such a cute granddaughter Youki."

The swordsman smiled. "Thank you Miss Yuyuko."he said, picking up Youmu as she grew closer. "Youmu, this is Miss Yuyuko. She is Lady Hikari's daughter. Say hi." He said.

Youmu blushed lightly and covered her face with the flowers in shyness.

Yuyuko giggled again. "It's alright, I won't do anything bad. I'm Yuyuko. It's nice to meet you." She smiled, standing up.

Youmu slowly pulled her face out of the flowers, a small ghost poking out from behind her back. "H-hi...I'm Youmu Konpaku." Youmu said, shy still.

Yuyuko smiled. "Nice to meet you Youmu. How old are you?" she asked politely.

Youmu struggled to move her flowers into one arm. As soon as she did though, she raised her free arm and held her hand up, holding up her fingers. "This many!" She said proudly.

"Oh my, five!" Yuyuko giggled. "You're a big girl, you know that right?"

Youmu nodded happily, smiling widely. "Grandpa Youki says I'll be as strong as him one day too!" she said, looking at her grandfather.

"Yes, yes, that is true, but not at this age. It'll take years of practice and dedication." He said, spying Youmu with a puzzled look.

"Dead...eh..ka...shun?" the hybrid girl asked.

"That means that you stick with something until it's finished. Like...uhm.." Yuyuko said, thinking of something to compare to.

"Like a flower Youmu. Think of it like that. Do you plant a seed and leave it to grow on it's own? Of course not. You water it, tend to it. And with that, a healthier flower will bloom. If you don't it still might bloom, but the chances are slim. Now do you understand?" Youki explained, putting down his granddaughter.

Youmu nodded. "Uh-huh!" She said, her ghost half floating behind her.

Yuyuko looked at the two. In her eyes, they looked nearly alike, even their ghosts acted the same way. "So, Youmu, is that you're ghost?"

Youmu looked over to Yuyuko, who in her eyes towered over her. She nodded. "That's Myon!" She said. "She's my ghost half." the silver haired girl giggled, pulling Myon over and squeezing her tightly. "She's really soft!" She giggled.

Yuyuko smiled. "I bet she is Youmu." She pat Youmu's head a few times, then looked at Youmu. "Very nice granddaughter Youki."

The swordsman bowed. "Once again, thank you Miss Yuyuko."

"No need to thank me, Youki. I would love to see her come by more often, if that is alright with you."

Youmu's ear perked up. She quickly looked up and grabbed her grandfather by the leg. "Please Grandpa Youki! Can I come with you more often pleas?" She asked, hugging his leg tightly.

The older girl giggled lightly, hiding it behind her fan. Youki sighed lightly and plucked the girl from his leg, then knelt down. "You may come...but you cannot spend all of your time picking flowers or playing with Miss Yuyuko or staying with Lady Hikari. If you come, I except you to help me with my gardening for at least an hour and for you to practice your swordsmanship for another half an hour. It doesn't have to be done all at once, but by the time I take you home for the night, it must be done. Understood?"The silver haired swordsman explained.

Youmu nodded, understanding. "Uh-huh! I got it Grandpa!" She said, smiling.

"Well then, I can't wait to spend time with you Youmu." Yuyuko said, fanning herself off again.