Taichi's POV:-

Ayano closed the call with such force she almost broke the cell . She refused to look up at me . For a few moments , she breathed slowly while I patiently waited for her to calm down . Her grip on the phone was tight as she released it into flames (not destroy , but un-summon)and then moved her hand to my shoulder .

"Thanks .for .the. save."

Her voice was on edge and painfully obvious to the fact that it was forced , but it was sincere . I couldn't help but struggle with myself as to whether or not tell her about the source of the energy being Taka's deathbed . It might be important for her to know this since...Taka has messy black spiky hair ...in a style similar to Kazuma's . Heck , he and Kazuma even had practically the same face . Plus , he uses a kannagi flame ,though neither of us knew how he got it ...until recently. But, there's no guarantee it's him because A) They didn't see his face which either of them would have recognised and B)... Taka's dead . Man , what to do?

"Ayano..."

"Wonder who it is this time?..."

I looked at her in surprise . I expected a more emotional response or complete emotional shutdown but...she just looked as pissed off as she would be if anyone else messed with her loved ones...no , something was ...off.

"...seriously , Taichi . Can you believe another idiot is actually trying to use Taka's face to trick me . Don't know how he created the flame but they should realise that I'm not going to let my guard down ."

She shook her head as if in disbelief and looked at me , as if , waiting for me to agree , waiting for me to help her believe it . But I couldn't make the situation seem lighter than it was . It's critical time right now and if something big's going on , ...we need to be prepared.

"I...I...don't think it's that simple , Ayano ..."

Her eyes hardened but I could see her pleading me to say it was nothing special ,...but that wasn't what she had to hear ...just what she wanted,...and personally , what I want too but...

I took in a deep breath and began to raise us both into the air , she knew I was going to tell her what a part of her already figured out. The dreading expectation in her eyes proved it.

"...after all ..."

She looked down as we landed on a nearby roof so people couldn't see or hear us.

"...if they wanted him to affect you , then he would have shown his face , but he didn't and...even if he could have copied his face, it's impossible for someone to copy kannagi flames , ...you know that."

"What is it,then? Maybe some kannagi who had black hair . It's possible , maybe taken after birth and no one ever knew about him , maybe..."

She rambled trying to find an explanation that revolved around anything but Taka. I let out a rough sigh .

"Maybe , somehow Taka..."

"Don't ..."

Her voice was low , demanding ...no,commanding .

"...he's dead."

"I'm just saying that maybe..."

" . ..No. He .died .right in front of me . . End of story . It's not the first time someone's tried to use his memory against me . This only means that whoever attacked Misao wanted to give a message and if they know about him , then they must be involved with the dimensional..."

"The source of the youma's energy came from the dead zone of the battle ...where Taka died."

Ayano froze , turning to me with eyes wide with disbelief . I made sure not to look at her and my body instinctively braced itself for an attack.

"...Cristy said energy can't be destroyed or created , so if they somehow absorbed his energy ,... not that they did or even that the they of the youma-thing and the they of the Misao-thing are the same people but..."

"Why didn't you tell me?..."

I looked at her . Her eyes were narrowed with rage ...and pain . I prepared myself.

"Ayano..."

"HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?"

She yelled throwing a punch at my face . I ducked and raised my arm to block the kick that followed .

"AYANO . CALM DOWN."

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN , YOU LITTLE..."

I didn't give her a chance to continue as I tackled her around the waist and launched us both into the air . She didn't wait for long before she flipped herself out of my grasp and jumped but it was enough time for me to take us away from the city . I turned just in time to block a burst of flame launched at me .

"LISTEN TO ME ,AYANO."

She fell onto the side of a mountain and immediately launched herself back into the sky , coming straight at me with fists raised . Her eyes were narrowed , her mouth clenched .

"NO!"

She was struggling .

The next second , she was in front of me delivering a fury of punches and kicks which I countered and dodged . We were in my element but this was not a real fight . She was holding back .

We both were .

I shot her into the mountain but she quickly regained her footing and released a barrage of flames at me . I quickly dodged and reappeared behind her with my elbow raised for a hit but she ducked at did a back kick releasing more flames at me and summersaulted away from me as I dispersed them . I looked back at her .

She was still .

She was standing in a typical battle stance. One leg in front of the other , arms apart . But her fists were tight and her head was low , her bangs covering her eyes as she took in deep breaths . Neither of us had broken a sweat not were we breathless . She was just trying to calm down .

I lowered myself to the ground . We were on top of a mountain . Our hair was blowing in the wind . I looked at her and began to steadily make my way towards her , not letting my guard down .

En-jutsu artists are powered by emotions . That is why extraordinary feats are accomplished when they are pushed to the limits . Anger , sorrow , happiness , desire ...the stronger emotions that make us loose ourselves to our instincts produce stronger flames . But the offside is when a flame user increases in power , their emotions are heightened . The more in tune you are to your emotions , the more powerful your flame ...and the more easier it is for you give in to your instincts.

Ayano's always had an affinity to fire-spirits and hardly ever hid her opinions or thoughts ,except when it came to her family or to admitting her own pain. I should have known dropping the ball so suddenly would lead to her anger . I did know . But it just slipped out and Ayano couldn't control her emotions , so as usual she resorted to violence . Her attacks weren't lethal and I could easily dodge them and take her down . We both knew that she had to let out some steam and hopefully that was enough. Although it ended sooner than I thought .

She's getting better at calming down.

I was standing right next to her , her mouth was closed and she breathed slowly now. With one final deep breath , she looked up at me , eyes narrowed and lips pursed. She let out her breath slowly.

"You okay , now? "

She nodded.

"Call Cristy and tell her about Misao ..."

Her voice was even , steady and after she finished talking , her body visibly relaxed ...and so did mine .

"Got it."

I said , taking out my cell.

"...also tell her I'm coming ."

I gave her a pleading look . She knew that Cristy was probably the person who told me to keep quiet . Not that I wouldn't want to protect her , but I tend to just blabber everything I know unless I have a reason not to . She sighed .

"Don't worry , I'm not angry at her . She worries too much about me ...how can I be angry for that ?"

I sighed in relief . Because of her family's don't-care-about-anything-as -long-as-we-get-things-done nature , Ayano tends to overlook secrets that are meant to protect her . After all , she's kept a number of secrets from her loved ones to protect them , so she can't really judge . I was brought out my musings by a sharp pain on my arm.

"Ow!"

Ayano just punched me.

"...what was that for?"

I whined .Ayano shrugged with a small smirk .

"I don't blame her , but you most definitely deserve it . Seriously , you, my friend are completely..."

"Don't say it. I already know ."

I quickly said with a small blush before pressing call .

She slowly mouthed 'whipped' with a smile before jumping of the ledge . I rolled my eyes . Seriously , how many times do I have to hear that . My girlfriend's voice came through the phone.

"Taichi , what is it ? Joe and Steph are here preparing to check out the location of the energy-source."

And Ayano's going there right now as well ,great .

"Hey Cris , gotta tell you something ...I'll make it fast cause you might have a slightly edgy visiter soon ."

"...you told her , didn't you?"

I sighed.

"Well, some thing's have happened..."