"Out beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I'll meet you there." - Rumi

Yui crashed down to her knees in the alley, she was trembling. Hunger pangs had left her weak, her stomach ached, her mind felt lost and hollow, days had gone by like a blur as she rotted on the asphalt. Her withered body looked practically skeletal, yet no one had stopped to say anything to her. She gently caressed the corpse in front of her, easing her trembling fingertips over the man's supple skin. It had been weeks, maybe even months, since she had eaten.

She swiftly lunged her mouth down at the man's neck, secured her teeth around it, and ripped upwards. She chewed: tendons, jugular veins, thyroid, trachea, and blood. It wet her mouth and poured down her chin, like red ambrosia. She swallowed and went down for more, and more, and more. Her strength was flooding back to her, her kakugan snapped into being, black eyes lost in the euphoria of the feast.

Having eaten her way cleanly through the man's neck, she grabbed his severed head with one hand as she ate and threw it like a ball, it felt as light as a feather. The sound of the skull shattering filled the entire dark alley as it crashed into the brick, condensing into an almost flat paste of flesh, bone, and sinew. Unlike some ghouls, Yui hated the taste of brains.

She made her way to his torso and sank her fingers into the hole she had used the last of her strength to punch clean through him. Her knuckles braced together as she leveraged her fingers opposite of each other, her muscles flexed as she ripped his torso open, this was her favorite part: all of the plump organs sitting inside the ribcage.

By the time she was done little was left but bone, shredded clothing, and what was once the man's head. She felt her kakuhou returning from its shriveled dormancy, her mind felt refreshed and awake. She was filled with an incredible energy that bounced in her heart, desperate to move, run, even dance. She leaped onto a dumpster, and from there onto the roof of the small store. The moonlight soaked her face, of all that desire to celebrate she allowed herself only a small smile. Her first meal in America was delicious, and she was grateful for it. She grounded herself and brought her mind back to the font of moderation that she knew had kept her alive so long.

Leaping down to the ground, Yui shoved her hands into her skirt pockets as she strolled down the streets of San Francisco. The air was chilled, and an oceanic breeze whipped her skirt in the air. There were fewer people than a normal night in Tokyo, under the street lights she finally noticed how filthy her uniform had gotten. She had been wearing it for weeks, so it was natural that it was dirty, but blood had completely soaked the front of her once sky-blue skirt, and the white button-up had a clear trail that led up to her neck. She grabbed the end of her skirt with both hands and stretched it a bit to get a better view, instead, she noticed that her fingers were still caked with viscera. As she studied herself she heard what were at first whispers, but they slowly grew louder. She focused and made out a deep female voice: "Do, do you think she's okay?" She glanced up to see a group across the street, four young pale faces, made slightly amber from the street light.

Yui cocked her head, were they *concerned* about her? She wasn't sure how long she had been in America, but she knew she had spent several days starving by a dumpster before that unfortunate man happened into the alley. She must have watched well over a hundred people walk right past her withered form, and now these four are worried over a little bloodied clothing. Yui felt frustrated with the seeming inconsistency of humans, as she turned away from them, however, they started to cross the street. Hurriedly, the four jogged across the asphalt, but practically froze as they hit the curb. "Jesus!" a girl shouted, "Are you okay?!" Yui felt her kakuhou twitch as she pivoted to her left to face them. They looked about her age, 18 - maybe older, Yui thought as she studied their shaking hands and wide eyes. The two men wore their hair long, one was blonde and the other brunette, and were dressed oddly similar, blue jeans and loose-fitting flowery button-ups. The two women were of far more diverse appearance: one of the women wore short, fluffy, auburn hair and thick glasses. Her shirt was sheer and black, it resembled a nightgown more than anything, she had a bright orange skirt that fell to her ankles and was loose and flowing. The other woman had the shortest hair Yui had ever seen on a woman, it was black and clung close to her head, and she wore jeans a black shirt with an odd print Yui didn't recognize. Yui had never seen such strange fashion before, it bewildered and intrigued her.

"Mm." Yui groaned with a nod. The group studied her and attempted to make sense of the situation, Yui appeared as an innocent-looking woman beyond the gore that coated her uniform and hands. Her raven-like hair was matted and shined with oil and dirt, but her eyes were calm - almost emotionless. "Is that... your blood?" the blonde man finally spoke up. "No," Yui replied plainly, her tone was soft and quiet, she then turned and resumed walking down the sidewalk. The group exchanged bewildered glances before the short-haired girl quickly caught up to the bloodied figure and walked alongside her. "You know, if you walk around looking like that the pigs are gonna pick you up." Yui looked at the woman next to her, "Pigs?" she asked in a confused voice. "Yeah," the girl continued "you know, cops."

"What the hell is Ash doing?" the brunette man whispered, far behind the chatting girls.

"She seems dazed, maybe we can help her." the remaining girl replied.

"You're crazy, she looks like she just dissected someone"

"We don't know what happened Dan, maybe someone attacked her!" she scoffed.

"Well, she is pretty." the blonde man whispered.

"Oh for fucks sake."

"Cops." Yui whispered as she stopped, she stared off into the dark street ahead of her. Ash reached out and grabbed Yui's bloody hand, "You should come home with us, we'll get you cleaned up." Yui's eyes snapped to Ash's face, fear hit her like a wave as she felt the stranger's skin on hers. She thought about running, she thought about killing the woman in front of her, she thought about eating her, but she couldn't - there was genuine kindness in her green eyes. Yui followed as Ash began to tug her hand back towards the other three, and strengthened her grip slightly.

"How could I trust these humans?" Yui thought to herself. Humans were food after all, something to hunt, the path to power, her only sustenance. And yet she was drawn to these ones, with their kind eyes and soft voices. Ash's hand felt so soft in hers, so warm, it reminded her that no matter the circumstances, *he* had been human. She shook her head as she tried to forget. "I'm not trusting them," she lied to herself, "I'm just waiting till I'm hungry again."

Ash's voice resonated in her mind.

"Home."

Yui examined that word on the tense, silent walk to the group's car, hand in hand with Ash. Was home merely a place that's yours? A place you lived? Or was it somewhere with family, with people who cared for you? Regardless, Yui had never had either. Memories of cold, clinical lab rooms filled her head. She lived there, grew up there, was that her home then? She grew used to that cold, the delicate tenseness of her freezing skin. Cold linoleum flooring. That was one thing she had noticed since she left Japan; everywhere else seemed warmer. Even now, Yui thought, in the dead autumn night as the group finally reached their car: a beige 1966 Cadillac Coup de Ville. The girls slid into the back seat as the blonde man started the car, he turned his head back and looked at Yui, seated in the middle, "Sweet ride right? My old man got it from me right before I skipped town to head out here, its probably..."

"Cal.'' Ash interrupted with a stern voice, "now is not the time."

"Oh come on Ash, you can talk to her but I can't?" Cal whined as he slid his eyes back to Yui, meeting her blank stare, "So, what's your name anyways?"

"Oh christ, really..." Ash started before being interrupted, "Yui" the bloodied girl whispered. Everyone in the car looked at her.

"Well, I'm Cal."

"I know," Yui whispered, causing a giggle in the girl with glasses.

"And that's Dan," Yui said as she nodded to the man in the passenger seat. Dan and Cal exchanged nervous glances as they realized that Yui must have heard their conversation earlier.

"You're Ash." Yui said as she squeezed her hand. She then turned to her left, to the girl with the thick glasses. "I'm Mary." Yui nodded.

The rev of the engine broke the awkward silence that followed, as the car waded into the empty streets. Before too long it had entered semi-dense traffic on its way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Yui was forward across Ash's lap, her shoulder budging against Ash's chest so that she could get a better view as they crossed the bridge. "Do you not live in the city?" Yui asked, showing a new level of inquisitiveness to everyone else in the car. "No," Ash started "we all came to San Fran for the Summer of Love two years ago, when that blew over though we moved into a small commune north of Strawberry." Yui slid back into her seat "commune?" she whispered. "Yeah, we..." Ash started before being interrupted once again, this time by Cal, "Yeah we share just about everything, it's pretty mellow, helps us escape from the consumerism of modernity." Ash and Mary rolled their eyes.

"I'm not sure I follow" Yui whispered.

Dan groaned, "Jesus Cal, don't go acting all smart for the pretty girl. I know you haven't actually read any of those books I brought to the house"

"They're too long!" Cal protested, "Besides, I get the gist from all your lecturing, just because I don't use words like proletariat and boar-geeo-geze or whatever doesn't mean I don't understand."

"Its bourgeoise, idiot."

Yui tuned out from the boy's bickering, it was starting to bore her, and her curiosity was still peaked by these strange people. "If you don't live in the city, why were you there?" Yui asked, to no one in particular, as the car pulled down the street into Strawberry. Mary gave a large toothy grin and reached into her colorful, rug-like, bag. "For this!" she said proudly, as she pulled out a gallon plastic bag filled to the brim with dark green buds. Yui squinted at it as she tried to get a better look in the dark. There was silence in the car as the group awaited Yui's reaction. Second after painfully quiet second passed as Yui examined the bag in front of her.

"I am unfamiliar." Yui whispered in the dark.

"What!?" Mary exclaimed, shocked. "You don't smoke?"

"Smoke... what?" Yui replied, eyebrow raised.

"Pot!" Mary Yui stared at her blankly.

"You know, Reefer?" Dan said, side-eyeing the seemingly naïve girl.

"It's Grass Yui, or, uh, Mary Jane?" Cal said, shaking his head in bewilderment as he trained his eyes on a streetlight.

"Yui, it's marijuana. Lots of people here smoke it." Ash said, consolingly.

Yui felt embarrassed and looked down at her lap, "My apologies everyone, but I can't say I've heard of any of those things."

A hearty laugh filled the car and lifted a smile onto Yui's face, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about Yui, some people were more sheltered than others I guess." Ash said softly as she caressed Yui's hand. "Where are you from, anyway? I came down here from Seattle myself."

"Tokyo."

"Oh! Well, your English is pretty good!"

"Except she doesn't know what pot is..." Cal chimed in, only to be met with a loud thud as Ash's foot kicked the back of his seat.

"How long have you been here?" Ash asked quickly, hoping to distract Yui.

Yui tried her best to correlate her memories, starvation had taken a severe toll on her mental faculties for the majority of her journey. "I'm not sure..." Yui whispered, as her eyes traced Ash's hand, "Not very long."

Dan looked over his shoulder at the girls in the back, his eyes tracked the blood across Yui's clothes, and then made their way to Ash's eyes. A silent message of concern and anxiety. Ash knew that if she didn't ask soon, someone would. Everyone had done a good job acting normal so far, she thought, but they could only ignore the obvious for so long. Ash took a deep breath.

"Yui..." the girl looked into Ash's eyes, "Can I ask... what happened to you?"

Yui's heart accelerated, whether she would admit it to herself or not she liked these humans so far. She couldn't tell them the truth, maybe there was a route to sympathy here.

"I don't remember." Yui lied.

The boys looked at each other, Mary turned and looked out the window. It was not a comfortable answer, but it was one they could accept, though no one could ignore the convivence of such an answer none of them would be the first to call her a liar. Yui felt like her heart was beating out of her chest, she felt guilt over how badly she wanted them to believe her, embarrassed even. It made no sense, there was nothing logical about it, but, she wanted to be their friend. She felt her eyes begin to wet, she prayed no one could notice in the darkness.

"That's okay," Ash whispered. "No matter what happened, you're safe now." She leaned to her side and hugged Yui. It was a warmth unlike any other.

"I'm sure I have something you can wear..." Ash said as she dug through her "wardrobe" - a spot next to the bed where she piled her clothing in a tall mound. Her room in the mobile home was cramped on account of her sharing it with Mary. Yui stepped over scattered laundry and discarded bottles of alcohol as she made her way to sit on Ash's bed. It was midnight, and the sounds of crickets emanated through the darkness outside. Mary crawled onto the other mattress laying on the floor, setting her glasses on the floor. She tucked her hands under her head, "so, what do you think?" The commune was composed of numerous mobile homes, RVs, and even tents, that bore a delightful character to Yui. The mobile home, really the entire commune, was filthy, and Yui loved it. The floors beige carpet had grown an odd color, and trash was everywhere, evidence that the people here live life to its fullest, she thought. She thought about how far she was now, from those sterile facilities in Tokyo, and the bright, white, orderly flowers. Here nature grew wildly, and untamed, not sectioned and pruned. Here the community gardens overflowed with different vegetables, and nature was revered. It was incredible, she thought. She wanted to be apart of it, the filth and the fun.

"I adore it." Yui said with a wistful smile.

"Here Yui, try this on," Ash said as she found a frilled white summer dress with yellow flowers, wrinkled from weeks of being buried in Ash's wardrobe. Half an hour later Yui emerged from the bathroom in the dress, Mary and Ash were dazzled by the woman in front of them, a simple change of clothes and a shower had seemingly made her into a completely different person. "Now you don't look like you murdered someone," Mary said lightheartedly with a laugh. Yui faked a giggle. Ash blushed.

"Um..." Yui mumbled as she stood awkwardly in the room's doorway, unsure of what came next. Yui had gotten used to Ash's marching orders. The other girls looked up to her a tad confused.

"What... now?" Yui whispered, staring at the floor, embarrassed by her need of direction. "Now, we sleep." said Ash as she lay down on her back, her head impacting an off-white pillow with a whisky stain on the corner. "Nooo," Mary followed with a grin "Now we smoke!" she announced, as she triumphantly held a single rolled joint in the air.

"I rolled it while you were in the showering. Pretty good eh?"

"Dan's are still better" Ash teased with a smile. Mary scrunched her nose at her.

Yui sat down on her knees between the two mattresses. "What does it do?" she asked in a quiet, voice that sounded sweet to Ash's ears. "You probably won't feel anything the first time" Ash mumbled as she sat up to face Mary across from her. "But when you do..." Mary began, emphatically, "it's hard to explain, but I think you'll like it."

Mary picked up a small white lighter and lit the tip of the joint. After a quick drag, she looked to her left and handed both items to Yui, "Just try to do what I did." Yui took the joint and the lighter and stared at them for a moment, she put the joint up to her lips but Mary spoke again before she could light it, "Now remember, don't suck like you're whistling, just light it and breathe in." Yui replied plainly and swiftly "I don't know how to whistle."

"Just, breathe it in Yui. Give it a go." Ash said, frustrated with Mary's tendency to seemingly overexplain things. Yui lit the joint and felt the warm smoke pour into her mouth and down her throat, and then the coughing started. Yui desperately outstretched both hands in Ash's direction, waiting for her to take the lighter and joint away. Ash and Mary shared a gentle laugh as Ash took both items, "That's totally normal, it'll be like that your first couple of times." Ash said with a smile as she put the joint between her lips and lit it. After another rotation, and another fit of coughing for Yui, Mary laid back on the mattress and begrudgingly announced "I'm stoned." "Already?" Ash replied, disappointed. "Mhm..." Mary hummed as she began to fall asleep, extinguishing the joint on the carpet.

Ash's head felt heavy as she turned to look at Yui, "You feeling anything?" "My spine tingles a little" Yui replied plainly. Ash chuckled "That's weird, but it's normal to not feel much your first time. Next time will be fun though."

Ash laid back on the mattress. "Where do I sleep?" Yui asked with a tremble in her voice. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Why don't we just share for tonight?" Ash whispered as Mary had begun to snore. She slid to the edge of the twin mattress to make room for Yui, who lay down on her side next to her. Ash laid her side to face her. "I don't know what you've been through..." she began to whisper "The boys were a little afraid of you, I don't expect you to tell me anything, but I want you to know that I trust you. You're going to be safe here." Yui had never heard such kind words, there was a new warmth in her heart, something she had never felt before. Her eyes began to wet, "are these tears?" she thought as she wiped them with one hand. They were. She felt confused. "Thank you." Yui whispered, but Ash had already fallen asleep. She must have been more tired than she looked, Yui thought. She reprimanded herself for sharing a bed with a human. She knew she would regret it if she grew too used to a warm bed and a caring voice. Old voices echoed through her mind as she shut her eyes and attempted to sleep.

"There is no place for us, for you. I hope you know that. You can run if you like, but you'll regret it. No one is going to save you. We have no home."

For the first time, Yui began to think he might have been wrong.