*happy dance* Houston, we have PROGRESS! I am on a roll with this story! Well, enjoy the new chapter, told from Tobi's perspective! And... waot... could that be FORESHADOWING? *gasp*

Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 21: On the Way to Ryoshima Coast

Voices… he could hear the sound of prayers in the air, prayers and chants and spells he couldn't understand. A brush, dipped in rich black ink, drew symbols on his surface, and with each symbol, he felt his power grow. One, two, three… the light that the symbols gave off grew with each stroke, every prayer and wish buried into his skin. There was nothing else – nothing but the prayers, and the ink, and the growing power within him. Nothing else but this dark place…

The sun poured down on Tobi without warning, and he held up a hand to shield his eye from the sudden onslaught of light after so much darkness. He'd gone into a sort of meditation during the night, and had only been pulled out by the light and the bustling of his human companion. He rolled over, waiting for his sight to adjust, and stared when Iris came into focus.

"Rise and shine, ya big lump," she said, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Come on, we're losing daylight!" She lifted her bag from the ground, and started walking. "Don't make me start without you!"

"Miss Iris…" Tobi got up, glancing around and seeing that the fire had been doused, as well as the basin emptied and put near the exit of the tunnel he'd carried her through the night before, "what are you wearing?"

"Huh?" She glanced back at him, then looked down at the wrinkled garments she'd put on. "Oh, these are the clothes I was wearing when I first came here." The top was stained a light brown, and the bottoms were a dark blue and seemed to be a material he didn't recognize. Strips of fabric were wrapped over the area around her left eye as a makeshift bandage, as well as all over her arms. "Man, I missed wearing pants." She smiled a bit to herself, and started walking again.

"What happened to the rest of the gown?"

"Cut it up, used it for bandages." She paused, brow furrowing, as they started up a slope of land leading to the bridge. "I sure hope Kushi doesn't mind…"

"Who?"

"Nothing, never mind." Tobi glanced at the bridge, and caught the first bustles of people crossing – one or two, but still people. He quickly unwound himself, and slipped into her back, sticking out enough to get a good view of anything. Iris glanced down. "Good call."

"Don't want to attract poor attention to you." Tobi returned his attention to the path ahead, feeling himself tense up as the human voices grew louder. Iris limped a bit as she reached the top, and if he'd had lungs, he would have sighed in relief at what he saw.

The few people who were on the bridge were merchants and customers, and Iris walked past most of them without a second glance, keeping him hidden from sight. She stopped at the one vendor nearest the bridge, and Tobi could make out only a few words from the conversation.

"…Thank you!" Iris gave a respectful nod to the vendor, and walked away.

"What was that?" Tobi whispered, and Iris glanced down.

"Getting directions. Apparently I'm on the right track to find out about this "Lady Ayame" everybody's talking about, I just need to…" She looked up, and froze. "…Cross the bridge."

"What's the matter?" Iris stared ahead, eyes wide and pupils tiny, an unreadable expression on her face. She was shaking a little bit, and the color had drained from her cheek.

"I… I don't…" Iris swallowed again, "I don't… particularly… like b-bridges." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just don't look down…"

Tobi watched her take a step towards it, then another, then another, picking up the pace as she got on, eyes squeezed shut and sweat trickling down the sides of her face. She broke into a sprint, and sped to the other side, until she miss-stepped, and fell face-first on the ground.

"Iris!"

"Made it…" Iris pushed herself up, and looked back at the bridge. "Ugh… I hate bridges. Bad memories…" She got onto her feet, dusted off her knees, and without another word began walking down the path that led to the darkness – darkness and voices that Tobi could hear even from this far away.

"Where are we going, again?"

"Ryoshima Coast."