It seems that every time I promise to update faster, the exact opposite happens. I'm sorry, guys! I did have the half chapter done by the time I posted the sixth, but I kind of neglected it for a while. School's rough, but it isn't any different than usual, so blame it all on me. Thank you for bearing with me!

HUGE thank you for everyone who took time to review: 0Harry. J. Potter0, immaNinjax00, b. mars312010, Wu Jin Fen, OoOXylionOoO, Lord Mortensen, Azucena17, Dev's inferno, Fleeing Reality, Aaron Leach, semexx, Trandele, RockaRosalie, Gigglemachine, Firehedgedog, moondanceluna, Penny is wise, Dancing in the Rayne, S, carolaineclipse, Regin, PinkIsMyColor,TNM-Writer, Star, Elfhunter, SimFlyer, kazanayeahbuddy, AwesomelyMe2015, THE BLACK PRINCE OF DARKNESS, Srutokirti, Lutcy and anonymous guests.

I even got a flame. Even though the user didn't sign in, what she/he said indeed made sense. Thanks for being honest with me, and I hope I can improve so the story won't be screwed.

_EDIT 17/05/13:

A few reviewers pointed out that this chapter is too anime-esque. Honestly I didn't realize it until I re-read the chapter after I read the reviews. So after a super long (and awesome!) advice from dreblspooky, I fixed things up a bit by changing some bits that I thought were too anime-esque. And I added some Renesmee's insight. I did intend to make her somewhat immature, but I don't want you guys to hate her, so hear it is. It became super long, I'm sorry. Please bear with me! Thank you, dreblspooky!

A reader pointed out some grammar errors, and I fixed the ones I could fine. However, I'm not a native, so my english is still limited. If you find any errors, don't hesitate to tell me. It really helps! :)

DISCLAIMER : I own nothing. Except the plot and some original characters.

Words : 7457

Thank you LadyLiterary for beta'ing this mess!

After casual snarky comments on his underlings' incompetence, the leader almost cheerfully left the room, his white cloak moved silently as he walked in human pace. The woman he had considered a valuable side-kick for such a long time followed him, a pile of books in her hands, carried with unsurprising ease. "So what is the next plan, sir?"

"Ah, it's good to have those cowards on our backs, eh, Galene? I dare say we should take a special measure for the next one."

"And what special measure may that be, sir?"

"More army. The same kind."

"And how do you plan on doing that, sir?"

"You know," The man winked, almost flirtatiously. "The usual."

Chapter 7 – Doubts, Faith and the Heart

Few days had passed since their little incident and it had become almost peaceful. It was somehow a relief that the Japanese Ministry was heavily occupied that night, allowing them to leave the mess in peace. However, the next day the papers were printed, and Harry wasn't that surprised to see their little incident becoming a headline, with only a picture of a destroyed shore and the ashes of the vampires, seemingly unimportant. Their names were, fortunately, left undiscovered.

It was now Friday already, and raining heavily outside, causing both of them to feel quite comfortable to stay in the room. Both were happy with the solitude, no one had bothered the other…yet. Renesmee was on the bed, drawing a sketch of something that she refused to let him see.

Harry now found himself sitting comfortably in front of a fireplace, scribbling against a paper with a pen. Harry didn't understand why he never thought to bring this to Hogwarts before; it would've saved him a lot of time. The pen had proven its efficiency by allowing Harry to write a pack of letters in a mere hour—an hour! He had finished the last letter that he was going to send to Arthur, tossing the letter with a small pile of letters for Ron, Hagrid, George and Draco Malfoy—he didn't know why he wrote the latter, really.

And now Harry frowned hard at the innocent little paper, the third paper he had crumbled out of turmoil from his inner dilemma. It was foolish, yes, but he just couldn't make up his mind to write it down. The first one was too mushy, the second was too happy, and the third was too…honest. Harry bit the edge of his pen, trying to find a way to start the letter.

Dear Ginny,

I'm really sorry for everything, that I messed up, that I was a jerk. But I can assure you that it won't happen again—

No, Harry scratched the line again. Perhaps he needed to go to a writing class.

"What are you doing?"

Harry's body jerked violently in an instant, purely on instinct. Renesmee had been blatantly creeping up on him now, since her little secret was out. For some reasons, she found it amusing, how Harry would over-react to every little thing. She was lucky that he wasn't carrying blades around, but still, Harry bent over from her to protect the paper he was holding, moving it away from her view.

"You have no sense of privacy, do you?" Harry deadpanned. He would not give her the pleasure of seeing him losing his calmness.

Renesmee smiled, "Don't be so dramatic, Potter."

Then her hand went to approach the crumbled papers on the floor. Harry's eyes went wide when the realization struck him, but Renesmee's movement was too fast to compete with. In a second, the crumbled papers were already on her hand, and she smiled victoriously.

"Dear Ginny," She read in a pompous voice, sounding amazingly like Umbridge, "I've gone all of my sleepless, fruitless night without you in my arms. I have tried to face the lack of your beautiful, brown eyes staring right into mine. I knew I had hurt your heart, but—"

A vein popped on Harry's forehead and Renesmee broke to a fit of mad giggles, unable to continue, looking like an immature schoolgirl. "Dude—this is brilliant!"

The witty comeback Harry was preparing died on his tongue, as he spluttered in confusion. "Bri—brilliant?"

Renesmee laughed again, still unable to reply, and Harry felt a little hope sparking in his chest. Perhaps he hadn't completely sucked at all...

"Who the hell—" She gasped for air, "—are you trying to prank? Your teacher?"

Harry laughed too, before realization finally came to knock his head over. "What?"

"This is—this is super cheesy!" Renesmee half-cringed, half-giggled, as she wiggled the paper in front of his eyes. "Who are you trying to prank? Professor McGonagall won't fall for this!"

Harry, completely red-faced, snatched the letters away from her hand. "Give it back!"

"Oh, come on, Harry," She teased, slapping his back with such force that he almost fell. "I can help you with this, ya know!"

"It's not a prank," Harry stated flatly, trying to compose himself. He opened the crumpled paper to reread the lines Renesmee was laughing at. "It's for Ginny. My girlfriend."

Renesmee chuckled for a while, before she faltered, as if she did not expect this. "Your girlfriend?"

"Well, probably not a girlfriend. She kind of broke up with me before I left Britain," Harry smiled sourly. "I just…can't believe I messed up. I mean, she's the best girl I could ever hope for," A small smile crept to his face. "She's vibrant, tough, and a bit pushy. But she's also worldly, strong and independent—why am I telling you this? Hey, Renesmee, you said you could help me?"

While Harry's face was hopeful, Renesmee's face looked confused and blank. Then without warning, her face contorted into one of intense anger as she shouted, "DO IT YOURSELF, YOU PIG!" and then stomping out of the hotel room, leaving Harry alone.

Flabbergasted by her explosion Harry could only gape at the doorway, which was still recovering from the force of her push, and wonder what the hell he did wrong.

The sun wasn't even up yet, but a pair of green eyes twitched slightly as they opened. Ignoring the soreness in his right hand—most likely because of a bad choice of sleeping position—he slowly sat up in his bed.

It didn't look like Renesmee had come back. Still a bit dazed, he decided to spend the early morning with a cup of green tea, hoping to enjoy the little peace as it lasted in a medium-sized bathtub in their room. He probably should've done this at night, when the magical bubbles were fully in effect.

Needless to say, the sensation was wonderful.

The heat of the water was a little bit too much at first, biting his skin bit by bit, so much that he was sure some of his body may be a little burned. But as his body adapted, he felt much more relaxed, far more than he had felt in a while. He let his body be drowned in the peaceful aura as his head rested on the dull edge of the square bathtub. Harry didn't notice when, but now the room was filled with a nice, strong scent he couldn't recognize, accompanying the steam. Part of him was alarmed that this could be an elaborate trap, but his guts commanded him to lie down. He was screwed if it was indeed a trap; but he really couldn't care less. Slowly his eyelids lowered, drifting to unconsciousness and taking him into a peaceful, gleaming darkness...

The door opened loudly, and Harry jumped in the water. In a split second, he had his wand in hand, pointing to the invader. All he could see was a figure behind the thick steam. He was tempted to point the wand to his eyes but the steam slowly cleared, and the vision became crystal clear.

Renesmee stood there, also in a fighting stance, but her body relaxed once she realized that there was no danger. Instead, a rose started to color her cheeks, moving underneath her skin until her face was bright red. Harry lowered his wand.

"I thought you were someone else," Harry said, relieved. Seeing at her rigid pose, he attempted to melt the ice. "See anything you like?"

If possible, her face had turned redder, much to Harry's amusement. He waited for a flabbergasted denial, a cute witty comeback or a little humph. But all she did was brush past the door, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Harry sighed. It had been a day already, and she was still ignoring him.

"Where have you been?" Harry stood up to wear some clothes—he was suddenly not in the mood to bathe again.

He shouldn't expect to be answered now, but he walked out of the bathroom—fully clothed—to see her on the coach, a newspaper on her hands.

"Look," He sat next to her, but not too close, to keep her personal space. "Why are you ignoring me?"

Renesmee kept on reading a newspaper, as if it was actually interesting.

"Did I say something to offend you? Did it have something to do with the letters? With Ginny? If something's not okay, spill it," Harry carefully chose his words. "You're free to say anything."

Few seconds passed, and Harry's shoulders slumped. He decided to use a different approach. "Are you trying to make me leave you?"

That statement got a reaction out of her, but not to Harry's expectations. She stood up, with tears in her eyes, her eyes blazing with anger as she glared at him. "FINE! LEAVE ME!"

Eyes wide, Harry frantically grabbed Renesmee to prevent her from leaving. "I don't know what's going on but you have it all wrong! It was a joke, okay? Why did you think I went all the way to save you if I was just going to leave you? I don't have the heart to do that."

Her expression softened, but Harry could still see anger in her eyes. He decided to ask, "So what's all this about?"

Renesmee closed her eyes. Harry waited patiently as her chest raised, trying to calm herself. But when she opened her eyes, her expression did not falter. "You're really that much of an idiot, are you?"

"Excuse me?"

She didn't stop there. Her eyes were now challenging, as her face went closer to his, only a part by inches. "You're an idiot. And a pig. And I hate you, you thoughtless jerk!"

That stung. And Renesmee seemed to know it. He stared at her and suddenly his guard came up, the anger in Renesmee's eyes mirrored in his . "Okay, I tried to solve this problem—which I don't even bloody know about—but if I'm such an idiotic pig of a jerk, then maybe this doesn't need to be solved at all!"

His tone wasn't harsh. But it was clear that he was upset as he said the last words to Renesmee, and they stared at each other for a while, emerald to chocolate, both burning with anger. Then the chocolate finally dropped the gaze and walked out of the room, leaving Harry alone.

He didn't know what to feel. Logically, he had every damn right to be mad since she wasn't even telling him what the problem was about. She was supposed to tell him right away, right? They had talked heart-to-heart that night when the incident occurred. Something so small and trivial shouldn't bother her to this extent.

A sound of shriek interrupted his thoughts and Harry looked around for the source of sound, past the window. His eyes widened as he rushed to the glass door to slide it quickly, preventing the furious-faced Shinji from crashing like Pigwidgeon. When he did, a stack of letters was suddenly dropped right on his head, and the owl hooted, circling the room before flying off to the sky again.

Grumbling, Harry opened the letters. The first one was Hermione, a rather long letter considering she could've just called him. While hers was long, the content wasn't so foreign to Harry that he honestly preferred to read the others. George sent him a pack of new prank set, persuading him to use it to some civilians before he departed. He was a bit mortified of this idea, but thought that pranking Renesmee would be nice. Draco—Harry had insisted to call him by his given name now—surprisingly returned his letter, even though it was short and began by questioning Harry's sanity.

He didn't miss the lack of letters from Ron, Ginny and Arthur. The last one made him worried—was Arthur mad at him too? He shook those thoughts away and began replying to some of the letters. It was nice to keep in contact once in a while.

It was almost humorous.

The situation, that was. Harry walked off the long trail, his knees a little sore, as he struggled through the seemingly never-ending stairs with sweat pouring down his back. Renesmee ignoring him wasn't the only thing that was currently irritating him to no end—it was also the blasting heat of the sun and the unreasonable magical protection that didn't allow magic. Basically, according to the ancient rules, one must go by foot to reach the top of the Kamiki shrine.

He had postponed this day long enough since his little outburst with Renesmee. He had spent said days visiting the markets, meeting new people, just to gain the feel of the town. The civilians were warm and almost too lively, which attracted him more. He didn't forget to hold back, though, as he occasionally caught his photo on Ministry's newspapers, where of course he looked like a complete crap. The photo was probably taken without Harry's consent, seeing as the blue pajamas he was wearing—with a tiny bit of his boxers sticking out—in the picture were being sold to the public.

In all of the business, Harry had also countered some Japanese vampires three times—eight in number—but they were nowhere near the first ones' level. While it was rather easy defeating them, Harry couldn't say it wasn't irritating. The irritation increased fourfold by Renesmee's lack of gratitude, or at least, attention. Harry didn't expect her groveling at his feet, but a simple 'thank you' would be nice.

But that wasn't the humorous thing in the situation; it was Renesmee's presence. Both of them had walked far enough to reach half of the pathway, but had said not a word. He didn't even know why she was coming along, really. A part of him was eager to turn around and tell her off, but the majority of him decided to leave her be. According to the distant sound of her footsteps, she was probably walking six or seven steps behind him. The feeling of her burning gaze on his back wasn't unrecognizable either.

Approximately twenty minutes later, they finally reached the top. There was a huge, silver bell that looked as old as the town itself, a place for offering under it. Harry tried to calm his heavy breathing as he gaped at the sight of Sakura trees—weren't they supposed to only bloom in Spring?—lined elegantly on his right and left and ending just in front of the shrine. He was also a bit annoyed by Renesmee's state of easiness, not even breaking a sweat. She could probably reach the top in two seconds anyway—it was a mystery for him that she insisted on keeping up with his pace.

"Do Not Ring The Bell Without A Reason" was carved to a big stone, and Harry quickly shook that tempting thought. He didn't spare Renesmee's a glance when she stood next to him, her hands held together as she tossed a few coins and immediately prayed. When she left, Harry finally grabbed some coins off his pocket and tossed them inside, the sound of irons clanging echoed at the silent hill.

He closed his eyes, holding his hands together. He breathed calmly, for awhile, letting himself try to believe in something so abstract.

His brain was filled with images of his mother smiling, her hands pressed on the chest of his beaming father, with Sirius and Remus beside them. Then an image of Fred's goofy smile, Collin's star-struck eyes, Lavender's annoying, girly shriek popped up. A crying mother that he didn't know pleading for the life of her daughter. A proud father with his eyes opened wide, lifeless. They were replayed in his brain like a cassette, giving him both happiness and intense grief, twisting his insides.

He wished them well, and hoped wherever they were, it was a nice place.

A small white orb, not intense but shining brightly, popped out of Harry's chest. It lingered for a moment in front of him, as if to say something, before dashing skyward in a blink.

Are those…His prayers?

A smile made its way to Harry's lips. It was unbelievable; how such a little thing made his heart clenched as he stared at the now cloudy sky. Such a trivial little thing, like praying shouldn't matter. No one had granted his wish to taste what it was like to actually have a family. No one had freed him from the wrath of Dursley's when he was only a little kid. No one, not one person, prevented the imminent doom when all he wished for was peace. No one had answered his prayers when he pleaded for no more deaths.

Yet now emerald glistened at the sight of the sky, lingering at where the light had disappeared.

For once, he let himself believe.

I'm.. kind of new to this kind of thing. I don't really believe in anything. I don't even know if praying matters or not. But now we're standing in front of a shrine, and maybe it's good to give it a shot.

I wish happiness upon my family. I hope for their sake, they're not too worried. I hope I'm not causing as much trouble as I think I am. Let mom be happy, with dad by her side. Let them be safe from the wrath of Volturi. I don't want to cause that for them—Just please, make it work out. Somehow.

And I wish that I can be better—more understanding, nicer, more polite, more mature. And somehow stronger. I hate being a burden; I hate being the helpless one and all I could do was to watch him struggling in a fight that's mine.

I wish things would work out somehow. For my parents, my family, myself. And Harry. I hope he's not truly mad at me—I think I'll go apologize. It's my fault after all.

Are you even listening? Well, if you are, please note that this is genuine and I hope you will spare some time to at least consider it. I know I don't have the kindest heart, but I'm willing to make up for it.

The entirety of the thought only lasted for three seconds. She hesitated for awhile as she watched Harry from the corner of her eyes, before retreating to jump to the top of a tree, hidden between the pink petals. After she was completely out of his sight, Harry tossed some coins and began to pray.

His face looked genuinely pained as he prayed. His prayers would not be like hers. It wouldn't contain of selfish desire. It would be filled with the wishes for others' sake. The mere thought twisted her insides; how could someone as nice as him be stuck with her? All she had been was a burden. A complete parasite that fed off him while demanding so much from him. She let him protect her, to engage in a fight that was never his in the first place. She dragged him down to deal with her problems while she stood like a statue. Too afraid, too soft and too weak to do anything.

Tears slowly fell to her cheeks again. It was infuriating.

Perhaps it would be best to go home after all. The chance of Harry hating her now is high after all; why should she make things worse? She could go home at let Harry be on his own. God knew he wouldn't miss her presence. Or at least, she hoped he would, but he wouldn't need her.

But if she went home, everything would go back to usual. To the point where she was always being protected like a bunch of collectors protecting the rarest ruby. No—that would not be the best analogy. Her family loved her, as she loved them. But going home now would only re-form the barrier between her and the world; even worse, strengthen it.

Or perhaps things would turn out well. If only she was stronger.

But how? She was born half-human. This human quality made her weaker than most vampires. It was pure biology. Because of her heritage, she would be forever cursed with the inability of protecting herself.

No. She could not blame her parents for this. They would fight to death for her. And she would do the same to protect them. The question was, she didn't know how.

A sound of wood rotating against the wind recalled her to her surroundings. The bronze-haired girl jumped from tree to tree until she found the source of the sound. Her eyes stared at an old monk under her in curiosity. The human was dressed in ordinary monk's clothes, the yellow one she had seen in a lot of movies. He was doing some movements that she couldn't recognize, as if dancing with the wind. His eyes were closed and his breath was steady, as was his heartbeat. It should've been nothing but a weird, old geezer acting oddly, yet her intuition told her that it was much more than that.

"I know you're there, young un."

Renesmee almost jumped, as she resisted the urge to flee. The old man had somehow detected her presence—she knew that there were no others around. She leapt from branch to branch until she had reached the ground, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't spy on you like that."

"Oh, don't worry," His rough voice answered, still moving and drowned in his peace as if no one was interrupting. "I'm glad there's still such a young seed interested in this art of ours."

Renesmee nodded, feeling a bit more confident. "Is it always so…peaceful?"

"Deserted, you mean?" The man replied, his tone flat and unchanging, but held a feeble aura in it—Renesmee was suddenly reminded why she had always wanted an old grandfather. "It has been like this for years now. I'm the only one here, since my apprentice left long ago. Most wizards nowadays think of this place as a hassle. Let's say, common wizard's arrogance. Why would mighty, magical people want to climb this far just to pray in a small shrine?"

"But isn't this the Ministry's doing?" Renesmee asked, interested. "If that policy makes people go away, why keep it?"

"Oh, no, kin. People began to twist stories," He chuckled. "Kamiki shrine has been protected from magic for centuries. It was neither the policy of the government's, nor the Magical Law. It is none other than the Law of Magic itself."

Now she was really confused. "Isn't Magical Law and Law of Magic kind of the same?"

The man chuckled again, but this time, instead of answering, something smashed into her head with a loud crack. Her head didn't even move an inch, but her eyes were wide, staring at the scattered pieces of wood on the ground, before drifting to the eyes of the monk who looked as surprised as her own.

They were surprised for two different things; hers for his surprising speed, his for her unbelievably hard head.

She focused herself as a pair of dark, beady eyes narrowed into slits. "Indeed. I knew there was something wrong with you."

"Our kind, monks with magical power, could feel people's essence of life when we had reached a certain level of meditation. And I, young one, am one of the oldest around," He continued. "Your orb of life is one of human's, yet your shell is of a blood-drinker."

Renesmee fidgeted, unsure if she should tell him or not. Which one would be wise? Would the old man try to catch her like the others, or would he understand?

She decided not to reply.

The old man brought back a hand, keeping another stance. "You're a dark creature. For you are unknown, you are far more dangerous than the others."

Renesmee resisted the urge to snort. Her? Dangerous? She couldn't even properly defeat a vampire.

For a second, she desperately wished for Harry's presence. Then she mentally scolded herself—why was she being so needy?

"I can assure you, I'm not dangerous," Renesmee said. "I'm different, but I'm not dangerous. My strength isn't like other vampires. I don't even drink human blood."

The old man narrowed his eyes into slits again, but this time in confusion. "Indeed. You're telling the truth. I can feel it."

The man's eyes glinted with morbid curiosity, sending her an uncomfortable, piercing gaze. She didn't look away, as she was mirroring his actions. How could a mere human be this strong? How could someone so seemingly feeble be fast enough to match her speed? Time? Experience? Renesmee wondered as she observed the old monk. It was supposed to be the exact opposite. She should be the one cornering him, being the extraordinary creature the Cullens had always been proud of.

Yet she was weak.

She was never hungry for power; she had never desired the top. She preferred having an adventurous life where she could be as free as the birds. She couldn't care less about power. But that thought only lasted until the incident occured. When she felt the hopelessness, the dread to be at the mercy of such evil, and all she could do was to hope for other's help—it was pathetic. Renesmee grew up treated highly, so importantly as if she was the only diamond. Her whole life had been a gleeful life, but a careless one. Her life was endangered from the moment Volturi found out about her existence. It was never going to change, no matter how fooled she was under the facade of peaceful life.

Suddenly, without thinking, she blurted out. "Can you teach me?"

Slits turned into slightly opened ones. "Teach you what, young un?"

"That art of yours," Renesmee chose her words carefully. "I need to get stronger. I swear I won't work for evil. But I need to be strong—to defend myself and those I love. Or maybe not. Maybe I just need to use this to defend myself. If I'm not good enough to protect, at least I won't be a burden," She closed her eyes as Harry's image popped into her mind. "Not anymore."

He was quiet for awhile. "May I assume that you have the photographic memory as well, young one?"

"Actually, yes, I do."

The rest of the day was spent listening to the old man—who revealed that his name was Kentarou—lecture about the theories of martial arts. This was where her skill came in handy. She memorized every word he spoke and captured his movements in her head, mirroring them while Kentarou corrected her. This went for hours until she earned an approving nod from him, and when the sun was going to set, he bid her farewell.

Since Kentarou told her that she was allowed here anytime she wanted a fortune cookie—he even gave her the password for his underground residence—Renesmee didn't bother to get home quickly. She stayed around, practicing the stance and the motions he had taught. The tricky part was pulling out her inner energy—she highly doubted she had one, but Kentarou did say she had the soul of a human. It took a great deal of concentration, but once, Renesmee felt there was something different with her kick. Kentarou said that once she was able to master this, she'd be much faster than she was now, even more than the other vampires. This had been her motivation, but it was rather hard to manage.

She also learned that she couldn't use jujutsu against vampires—mainly, because of the impractical use of turning opponent's force against their own. If she twisted a vampire's hand and threw him against the ground, the ground would be the one to take damage.

Renesmee visited the shrine every day, with Harry, even though they were still ignoring each other. She had promised herself to not let any tears fall, but it was harder when Harry's eyes looked so cold and unforgiving. She knew it was her fault for being annoyingly possessive of someone she didn't possess. Harry had every right to be mad at her, while she had none. She knew, but she couldn't help the boiling in her insides when he did it with nonchalance.

That night, she was alone as always. It was quieter than it usually had been, giving Renesmee the stillness she was aiming for. She felt closer to the peaceful mind, closing her eyes as she tried to reach deep within...

But her eyes snapped open when she sensed a presence. Harry's presence. He was walking towards her, and she could feel her palms sweating. Her heart beat fast like a pounding alarm, but she forced the calm facade. She didn't even budge until Harry stood right in front of her.

"Brilliant idea," He complimented.

Renesmee unsurely nodded.

"It's pretty clever to improve your power this way. If done right, you can damage the others critically," He kept his tone mild. "Brilliant, really."

"Y-you want me to teach you?" Renesmee asked hopefully.

"If you don't mind," Harry smiled.

Harry moved a little closer, and tried to form a martial stance, with his right leg on the front and the other on the back. He drew his hands closer together in a crossing stance before letting his hands stop in front of his torso. It looked as if he was trying to break his pulse apart. Harry's usual stance involved of simple, yet strong standing, focusing his energy and concentration on his hands. That looked better on Harry; more relaxed and flexible. This one looked like a statue.

"Er…could you relax for a bit?" She hesitantly moved his left leg so it moved a few inches in. "And relax your shoulders. Your arms should stay strong, but not this still..."

Renesmee put her hands on Harry's shoulders. They were so close that she could breathe in his scent. Her heartbeat intensified when she realized that they were now at eye level, where his eyes stared into hers with fondness.

"I-I'm sorr—"

"Don't be."

"Can't you just let me finish?" She shook her head, a bit affronted. "I'm sorry. I was immature and stupid. I had no right to be mad, okay? I'm sorry. I even snapped at you like that…"

"Why, though?" Harry asked curiously.

A deep pink hue colored her face as her hands tugged at his shirt. "I…I can't tell you."

He stared at her for awhile. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me."

Her face fell. She sort of hoped him to demand the truth. "You don't want to know?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Harry said softly. "Hey, at least we're cool again, aren't we? So how do you relax, but stay powerful at the same time?"

Then she knew that her chance was blown up. Her eyes darkened for a second, before she snorted. This was enough, she supposed.

"Well, you're forcing your hand and that way, you'll just restrain a few muscles—"

Her voice stopped when she sensed vampires around them, her ears perking up. Harry noticed this and demanded, "What is it?"

Renesmee grabbed him and put him on her back, despite his confused protest. This isn't good.

"Vampires."

She could feel Harry stiffening on her back. "How many?"

"Two, if not more."

Harry sounded relieved, much to Renesmee's increasing nervousness. "Well, you'll take them down."

Renesmee pumped her feet to go faster, only a hundred meters away from the gate. Once they were out, only then could the battle would turn out less than hopeless. Harry cursed, and Renesmee knew he had spotted one of them. She took one full leap to jump above the gate, but a hook made impact with Renesmee's stomach, her body immediately backed away as she landed in front of the bell.

Two vampires appeared, seemingly some of Fuzename's pawns. Renesmee swallowed her nervousness and gave them an awkward, flying kick to both of their faces. It didn't have the desired effect, but at least the vampires backed away for a few meters. Growling in anger, the vampires charged again, this time from opposite directions.

She jumped as high as she could to the sky, and knew that the Vampires mirrored her.

Inner peace...

Her legs split to shoot a devastating kick for both of the vampires, each of them bounced back to the ground like a shooting star. Harry gave a whistle.

"Nice," He smirked.

Renesmee wiped her non-existent sweat. "Oh, shut up you."

Renesmee dodged the blow to her windpipe as her body rolled to kick the male Vampire in his balls. The man screamed. Harry grimaced, but Renesmee felt no guilt for that one. However, the other one suddenly appeared behind her back and before she could move, she was sent flying, her back striking the enormous bell.

The bell rang loudly, followed by a sound of shriek. Suddenly she couldn't feel Harry's weight, and turned around to see Harry running towards something. A vampire rushed for Harry, but Renesmee jumped off the recovering vampire to kick the rushing one like an axe.

The Vampire's head was cracked almost half-way. She hesitated for a split second, but then her body moved to snap the head in half. However, her leg was caught by the other and she let out an embarrassing shriek. Her opponent then tried to crush her with a fist, but she rolled fast enough to evade it. The attack was blind, even though it was powerful. The speed was also overwhelming, but with a simple dodge and jump, Renesmee stepped on the vampire's head to capture it with her thighs. She rotated her waist and a loud crack followed, as she fell back on the ground with a head.

Harry tossed her a match, and she lit the fire. She stared at the purple smoke quietly, watching the stones turning into undesirable ashes. She had killed five vampires so far, and the guilt of killing them never really decreased. It wasn't unknown that the opponents she was fighting were evil and intolerant, and would most likely kill her if she didn't end their life, but she found herself oddly numb at the sight of lifeless body that died in her hands.

A small, inhuman cry snapped her back to her surroundings. It was coming from Harry who sat still in front of the bell. Carefully, Renesmee approached him. It appeared that it wasn't Harry at all. In fact, the noise came from the snowy white baby bird that was curling in his arms.

It was beautiful. "What is it?"

Harry looked shaken—for what, she didn't know. "Japanese Phoenix."

She didn't know what to say, seeing Harry in this state. She desperately wanted to help, but she didn't understand. So, she commented, "It seems oddly attached to you."

That seemed to be the wrong statement. Harry's face looked pained, but it was gone in a flash. He now had a solemn smile on his face. She continued, "It seems as if…it wants to follow you."

Harry shook his head immediately. He stood, and placed the little bird under the bell. No one said anything for a while until Harry broke the silence. "There's a monk in this shrine, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Renesmee answered. "A kind one too."

"Then she should be okay," Harry said. "Right, Koori?"

"It has a name?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I can't really call her bird, can I? It should be fitting, since her element seemed to be ice. I have only encountered a fire-type back home," His finger tucked on the phoenix gently. "Farewell, Koori."

"So," Harry said after the quick moment of serenity. "How was your fighting experience?"

"It was surprisingly easy," She croaked out. Harry was calm as ever. She supposed it was a good example—to never be distracted like this in a battle—but she couldn't bring herself to believe that.

"Seeing their moves, it's a very high chance that they're newborns," Harry sounded bored.

"You're so calm," Renesmee tried to sound casual. Instead, her voice sounded hurt.

Harry's gaze now focused solely on her, and softened somehow sadly. "I'm sorry…I just kind of forget. Are you okay?"

"Forget about what?" Renesmee pressed. Harry didn't miss the lack of answer to his latter question.

"That you're not my underling," Harry pinched the bridge of his nose—a habit she had seen for a while. Seeing the confused look on her face, he elaborated. "You're not some junior Auror I can command. You still have the guilt, the burden when you take a life—even a life that threatens to take your own. You're still innocent. Just…a normal girl. A pretty soft-hearted one at that."

Renesmee suddenly found her feet incredibly interesting. "I…I'm not that innocent. I'm not that kind. I'm egoistical, hot-headed—" She closed her eyes, remembering home for a while. "I'm spoiled and I know nothing—"

A hand ruffled her hair, and her chocolate eyes found his again, giving her a strong sense of deja vu. "Innocence is not necessarily a bad thing," Harry whispered. "If possible, keep yours."

Maybe one would find it odd how Renesmee was captivated by his penetrating emerald eyes. It wasn't just the pure beauty—it was also the warmth and confidence radiating from it. And in this moment, they were filled with curiosity and confusion—as if challenging her to confront her fears.

"I—"

"Oh, look, that's Shinji!"

She was close. She was so close! The cursed owl flew sharply past the Sakura, causing pink petals to fill the air. As the cursed owl set its claws on Harry's shoulder, the package fell to Harry's hands. The owl chirped almost lovingly at Harry, but gave Renesmee a cold glare. Renesmee fumed, but Harry's laughter stopped her.

"You're one smart owl, aren't you boy?"

The owl chirped proudly, looking really pleased. Renesmee tucked its butt with a finger. It roared.

"Hey!" Harry sounded offended, as if Renesmee tucked his butt. "You're hurting him."

Renesmee grumbled, though she wasn't really annoyed. In fact, she felt bubblier than she usually was—she almost found that cursed bird cute. She intended to joke about it, but Harry's head turned upwards. Renesmee mirrored his actions to find a bright pink kanji glowing above the shrine.

"Shōchō?"

"The ministry," Harry hastily told her. "On most occasions, it's the Aurors."

"Oh, good," She relaxed.

"No, it's not!" Harry hissed. "I don't want to get interrogated, or worse, made into another headline!"

"What happened?" Kentarou's voice shouted from a far. "I was asleep for a while and—Dear Kami!"

"You. Were. Asleep?" She shouted back in disbelief. Kentarou's mouth twitched downwards.

"Ah, the Aurors. I assume things might have been bad."

Harry seemed ready to flee. Renesmee sensed that this was the time to part with Kentarou. She opened her arms to hug him—but drew her hands back and bowed.

"Thank you!"

Kentarou appeared surprised, but bowed back nonetheless. "May Kami bless you with their power."

Harry hastily bowed—somehow managed to stay polite—and dragged Renesmee. This time, Harry didn't groan when Renesmee took him on her back.

"This is infuriatingly embarrassing."

"Oh, you'll get your chance to show off, rude boy," Renesmee smirked while Harry's right eye twitched in response.

But her smirk faltered at the sight of fire circling the shrine, accompanied by the distant sound of Aurors discussing. "Is there a chance we could hide?"

"Unlikely," Harry said.

"Or we could just explain."

"Even more unlikely," Harry jumped off her back. In his hands, the package was torn enough to see shining blue metal. "I think I have something pretty cool."

The package he was holding opened with a swift move, revealing a shining huge motorcycle that previously managed to be wrapped in the little box. Before she could even contemplate the situation, Harry brought her to the side-car and rode the motorcycle.

"It's from Ron's father," Harry stuffed her a letter. His fingers moved quickly to push the buttons in complicated order. His right leg stomped on the ratcheting lever and the motorcycle roared back to life. Harry grinned.

Renesmee, however, was still not convinced. "And your plan is..?"

Her eyes dramatically widened as the surrounding shifted in a blur. Suddenly, they were shooting towards the night sky, with speed that almost made her breathless. She turned around to the shrine to see Kentarou waving at her, a smile tugging on his lips. She felt bad for leaving the Auror matter to old monk like himself, but perhaps the monk took pleasure in it, as the monk looked giddy—there was almost no more visitors, after all.

"Harry! The Aurors!" She bellowed.

"I know," Harry answered, still grinning—his confidence was worrying. The motorcycle jerked, and for a second, Renesmee believed that they were going to fall.

But then the motorcycle dashed through the sky. The machine started to become invisible, and then her hands, moving to her body. She looked at Harry in alarm, but he merely winked. Once they were completely dissolved with air, Renesmee could see both of them clearly again. However, no outsiders could see them at this point.

She decided to ask questions later. Instead, she gaped at the view from the sky with a content sigh, her head feeling light. The colors, the wind, the euphoria—everything was dazzling her and she sat there, wide-eyed, waving at the town that couldn't see her, her stomach merely held back with a seatbelt. Aurors vainly searched for them, spells that resembled fireworks going haywire in the sky. The machine dashed in zig-zag to avoid curses, like a twisted version of a roller-coaster, causing Renesmee to laugh. Harry's hand shot up and a burst of red light exploded in the sky, revealing a smiling girl that closely resembled a singing Renesmee.

Not knowing what to say, her eyes found his to express her happiness. But she was lost—a fact that she both hated and loved. Harry didn't stop grinning, and she found that his grin was contagious enough to force her to grin back.

Even if the Aurors heard her excited screams, no one could locate where they were. After a few more colors on the sky, they successfully departed, leaving the Aurors behind.

"This used to belong to my godfather, you see," Harry told her. "It was broken, but Arthur repaired it. Good as new."

Renesmee returned the smile. Harry told her that they were leaving Japan, and this was going to be the last—with him, at least—visit to the country. The night blowing against her skin gave her chills, increasing fourfold with Harry's joyful laughter that combined with her own. To her joy, Harry tossed her a magical camera which he bought on the way to the shrine.

"It's a shame that we didn't get to take the fireworks," Harry said loudly, seemingly forgotten that she could hear him just fine. "But take some of the town while you can, will you?"

Ignoring him, she clicked the shutter to take a picture of Harry with his complete mess of hair, a petal stuck in the middle of it, with a lightning scar decorating his forehead. He wasn't smiling, but the corner of his mouth twitched up as he spoke to her earlier. She ignored Harry's protest as she giggled at the picture that was immediately printed. Unlike a muggle camera, the printing was smooth and detailed, with decent coloring and the moving figures.

Harry looked a bit grumpy because of the forcibly taken photo, but he seemed to take amusement of it as well. Renesmee let her voice ring in the open air. She felt oddly gleeful that night. Perhaps because of the fact that they were flying—the idea of it still amazed her—or that they just ended her fight. Regardless, she felt content, even with the presence of spoiled Shinji, who vainly tried to get Harry's attention to its own.

A completely insane idea appeared in her mind. A simple wish that turned to be desire to stay. Is it possible? Is it too far-fetched to hope to extend this adventure? To hope for Harry's presence by her side? To wish to be completely free from her family, and explore the world to her heart's contents?

She did not ever want to go home anymore. At least, not now.

Just to clear things up; Renesmee is a teenager, so I think it's perfectly normal to feel this way about Harry this soon.

I have always thought flying motorcycle is way more fun than brooms! Who could last that long with that uncomfortable thin stick, anyway? :/

Koori : Ice in japanese. (pronounced : Ko-oh-ri) I had an inner debate with ice, frost, blizzard going on. Decided with Ice, since the options are Koori, Shimo and Burizādo.

Shōchō: Ministry

Kami : God

This one is longer than usual, so have the heart to review, okay? ;)

Love it, hate it, couldn't care less, let me know!