"Who is that?" Rei stiffened, her posture defensive. Zero placed an arm across her own. "It's fine. That's Hanabusa."

"Who?" Rei looked up at him questioningly but still obviously on guard.

"Aido. He works under Kaname. Well I guess 'works under' is being generous. You should remember him. He basically worships the ground the guy walks on." Zero rolled his eyes and focused them on the figure sauntering over towards them. Behind him Zero could make out another shadow even further back and keeping his distance. "The guy coming behind him, that's probably Kain, here to make sure Aido behaves. Truthfully I had assumed they were both killed in the Association's purge. Eh, I guess Aido really is a cockroach…"

Zero picked up Rei's dropped bags and again grabbed her hand, pulling her the last feet over and past the Souma town's boundaries and into what he figured should be safe territory.

"Kain and Aido?" Rei repeated, running the names through her memory to determine if they rang any bells. She didn't recall Kaname mentioning them before, but being that they were vampires she'd have to assume they were from his past life and had presumably returned to his side now that he had resumed his former role. This thought made her grimace and she immediately disliked the vampire strolling her way, a phony smile plastered on his face.

"Zero!" Aido called cheerfully. "It's been too long!" He paused. "Or maybe not long enough?" He chuckled, immediately turning his attention from Zero to Rei without awaiting a response. "And Rei…" Aido's smile slipped just for a moment, but Rei caught it and applauded her earlier assessment of him. He was trouble. "So great to see you again as well. Kaname sent me." He said stiffly, still trying to keep the smile on his face. "He has information that he knew you would want and didn't want to delay in getting it to you."

"Sorry… have we actually met before?" Rei asked slightly perplexed. 'Zero said I should know him, and he's acting as if he knows me, but I feel as if I would definitely remember such a pompous, arrogant, as-'

"Wha- You're kidding right!?" Aido scowled at her, his outburst interrupting her thoughts. "I mean we've met at least two other times!!" His jaw dropped as he looked rapidly back and forth between Rei, Zero, and Kain, apparently hoping for some type of acknowledgement. Kain shrugged. Zero yawned. Rei peered at him closely. 'Yeah, definitely someone I would remember. Remember to avoid like the plague…'

"Right…" She forced a semblance of a half-smile to her face. "So Aido, you said that Kaname sent you with information."

Rei moved forward towards Aido. Deftly the vampire side-stepped her, brushing his nose dangerously close to her neck as he did so. "I understand," he said darkly, "that Lord Kaname has taken a serious liking to you, Vampire Hunter." He hissed the last two words into her ear. Rei looked up to see Aido's eyes gleam at her. In a flash, she pivoted, spinning easily behind the vampire and grasping and twisting his arm with her. Holding him firmly in place, Rei leered over Aido's shoulder and whispered lightly. "Then I'm sure you also know that I'm no longer a hunter. However…" and adding emphasis to the word, she twisted Aido's arm at an unnatural angle, causing him to grunt and bend back. "I am still perfectly capable of inflicting serious damage." She let go of him and gracefully spun to face him again. Leaning forward and giving him a sweet smile she finished. "Only if need be, of course."

"…Of course…" Aido threw her a petulant look and stretched his arm uncomfortably.

Kain, who looked out of place and noticeably uncomfortable, was standing to the side, obviously worried that things were going awry, but Zero had also stood to the side, watching the encounter with fascination. His first instinct had been to reach out to protect Rei, but he quickly remembered who she was by nature and had instead forced himself to sit back and watch. As usual, she didn't disappoint.

"So..." Rei continued, the smile gone and her face all business. "Can you please relay the information that Kaname sent you to give us? If he sent you all this way I have to assume it was important."

Aido pouted and glared silently at Rei, as Rei ground her teeth and took a menacing step towards Aido. The tension began to crackle in the air between them.

Kain's eyes shifted nervously between the two of them. "Aido, seriously. We're here for a purpose. If Kuran were to find out about this…" He took a tentative step forward.

At the mention of Kaname's name, Aido's eyes sharpened into focus and his body immediately relaxed. He sighed. "Forgive me Lady Rei. I forgot myself briefly. If Lord Kaname thinks so highly of you, it must be for good reason". Unceremoniously he retrieved some papers from the knapsack at his side.

"Allow me to provide the documents that Lord Kaname asked me to give you". Placing the papers in Rei's outstretched hands as Zero stepped over to join her, Aido met her eyes.

"It seems that Lord Kaname has located the whereabouts of the witch that you are searching for."

Rei gasped and unconsciously grasped Zero's arm to steady herself. She hurriedly flipped through the papers in her hand, scanning them in haste and an erratic craze. "That's impossible. How did he manage this?"

Aido puffed his chest out and gave a smug smile. "Nothing is impossible for Lord Kaname! He has a vast network of connections and can accomplish things that no ordinary human or vampire can."

Zero glared at the smarmy vampire. He couldn't help the envy that had gripped his heart. He was elated that they had information about finding their son, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that it had been Kaname that had been able to give this gift to Rei instead of himself. He glanced quickly at her face as she eagerly tore through the documents. Her eyes were alight with renewed fire and he only wished that he could have been responsible for that look on her face.

With a loud gasp, Rei turned to Zero her eyes frantic. "Zero, I think this is really it! I think Kaname's done it…" She thrust the papers at him and began pacing around muttering to herself about their next steps and seemingly forgetting both Aido and Kane, who stood awkwardly off to the side, uncertain of what their new purpose was now that they had accomplished their mission.

Zero feigned a smile and began reviewing the papers in detail. Rei was right, they did seem to be legitimate. The information was in line with the bits and pieces that they had already deciphered and the location made perfect sense with everything that they knew so far. Kaname had found the missing pieces and solved the puzzle for them. With the information that he and Rei had just learned on this voyage, they now knew where to find her and hopefully how to defeat her as well.

"Umm," Aido stepped forward, looking unsure of whether to speak up or not. "Just a few other things... Lord Kaname wanted us to rush here to tell you because he knew that you would not want to wait to get this information, but he also said that he intends to come and help you. Getting this information required him to travel great distances but he will be on his way. It is his hope that you might wait so that he could assist you in person…"

At these words Aido looked timidly to Rei. It was obvious to her that Kaname had already told the vampire what to expect from Rei's reaction to this request. She didn't plan to disappoint him. Again, smiling sweetly at Aido, Rei tilted forward and batted her eyes at him, her voice oozing honey and charm.

"Please tell Lord Kaname that I am forever indebted to him for this information and his assistance. I can never repay him and I'll never forget this," She cleared her throat and stood up straight, shifting to a firm, no-nonsense tone, "However. As he is clearly very aware, I won't wait one more second then necessary to find this woman and get my child back. So NO. There will be no waiting for Lord Kaname's assistance. Zero and I are moving out immediately. Right?" Rei looked to Zero for assurance.

Zero found himself a bit taken aback but pleased at Rei's inclusion of him in the decision. He had fully expected her to just charge ahead, with or without his input. He nodded emphatically and grabbed her hand. "Absolutely. I'll be right by your side"

The information received from Kaname was completely accurate as expected. Aido and Kain had left to relay Rei's message back to Kaname, Aido doing so with a sour look on his face- Obviously upset with having to explain to Kaname about Rei's complete disregard of his wishes. Rei didn't care. She would forever love Kaname for bringing her this close to her son, but no way would she stop now. She knew he'd understand, hell he probably hadn't expected anything less. If he had, he didn't truly know her.

It had taken a day and a half of buses and hitchhiking and another day of traveling on foot but Rei and Zero soon found themselves arriving on the outskirts of a town that for all intents and purposes looked to be small and extremely dated but otherwise fairly normal, if not mostly empty. The town was so tiny that Rei and Zero could almost see clear across it to the open, empty fields that lay beyond. Rei didn't see any paved streets, but the few townspeople she saw walked steadily across the dirt road, moving between homes and the market place. Many seemed to be drawing towards a large building housed toward the back of the town.

Rei took a deep breath as she looked around, grabbing Zero's hand and giving it a hard squeeze. They'd been going non-stop working together since they'd left the N/A compound and she felt like all of their work had finally reached its climax.

After their foray into the town of the Souma Clan Zero knew there was some trepidation from both himself and Rei about entering into yet another one of these towns. But this one was different. This one was the town. It was the one they had been looking for, he could feel it and he knew there was nothing that would stop either him or Rei from stepping foot into this this town and finding their son.

The old town looked barely alive and pretty much deserted but it felt much different. Rei could feel something here that resonated in her bones. She couldn't place the feeling, but it had an extremely strong presence. She didn't think she would classify it as sinister, but it didn't give her the warm and fuzzies either. She looked up at Zero to see if she could get a read on his feelings. Zero's face gave nothing away. It was intense and she could see he was deep in thought, but for once she felt miles away from understanding anything that might have been going on in his mind.

Suddenly, from inside her head, Rei heard a voice. It was low, but sharp and clear. 'Turn back now…It's your last chance. Continue forward and you won't be able to go back'

Rei gasped and stopped in her tracks. She knew the voice hasn't spoken out loud, but it was so vivid….She turned to Zero to see if he'd experienced the same thing. Zero had stopped as well, but it was only because Rei had. He looked at her in mild confusion.

"Rei? What's going on? What happened?" He asked, his face was concerned and his eyes darted around. It was obvious to Rei that he hadn't heard anything, but he knew her well enough to know that if she stopped in her tracks then something was going on.

Rei hesitated, "I heard something….someone, Zero. In my head." She didn't worry about how it sounded. Zero would believe her, she had no doubt about that.

Zero's eyes sharpened and he reached out to touch her. "Just now?" He looked around the area in earnest. Flexing his hunters skills and stretching his senses, searching for hidden dangers. "What did it say?"

Rei told him, and he paused in silence. "Strange that it only spoke to you. I wonder what that means?"

She had been thinking the same thing. There must be some specific reason that it didn't speak to Zero. Maybe it couldn't? Maybe it was another Souma thing? Maybe she was the only one in danger? If so, why?

Rei brushed it off. Sure it was probably important, but they didn't have the luxury of time to sit and think on it right now.

Zero gazed down at her. "What do you think? You want to pause or you want to keep going?" He asked out of courtesy. He already knew the answer of course. They were going to keep going. Whatever this was, it obviously had some special link to Rei and he needed to be prepared for whatever came next. His gut told him that she was going to be the one in danger and if he wanted all three of them to get out of this alive he would have to stay sharp and keep his wits about him, because Rei was definitely going to need him.

Zero wasn't at all surprised when Rei gave her head a hard shake. "No." She replied "We're not stopping. Let's go."

He continued forward alongside her as they both searched cautiously around the seemingly empty area, looking for signs of life or habitation anywhere. The few people they'd seen before they'd stepped into the town seemed to have vanished now. Coming in Rei had seen a group of little girls playing jump rope and a woman tending to a small flower bed just in the middle of the town, but as she scanned the town for them now, none of them were anywhere to be seen.

As Rei stepped forward, she suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen. It came out of nowhere and it was so intense that she immediately doubled over and dropped to her knees, biting back a howl of pain as she clutched her stomach. Zero was down beside her in an instant, his arms protectively covering her and his neck craning to scan the landscape in search of any hidden assailants.

"What happened Rei? Where are you hurt?" He asked. His eyes shifted quickly to her torso, running across her body to identify the injury and then darting back to once again monitor their surroundings.

"Aaah," Rei moaned, stumbling unsteadily back to her feet "No, it's fine. It's internal. Nothing hit me. I felt it from inside."

At this Zero snapped his attention back towards her, his hand now flying to press gently against her stomach. Feeling for anything abnormal under her skin. This felt eerily similar to their experience at the old Souma town. Even if it wasn't the same person's doing, he was sure it the same type of dark magic at play -which told him that they were in the right place. They had finally found her.

As Rei stood hunched over with her hands on her knees slowly waiting for the pain to subside, a small, barefoot girl came bounding towards them, seemingly from out of nowhere. Her filthy brown hair was strewn across her face and matted to her head. Even still, as she came to a stop in front of them she flashed a charmingly sweet grin at the two of them. The grin lit up her dirty face and stopped Rei and Zero in their tracks, their blood running cold. The girl's eyes glinted darkly in her beautiful little face with a cold smile that didn't quite reach them. Cheerfully she called out to them.

"You shouldn't be here you know? If you turn around and go now you just might stand a chance."

The grin dropped in an instant, the dark eyes flashing dangerously, "On the other hand, If you choose to stay, you'll definitely regret it."

Both Zero and Rei found themselves unable to move. Unable to do more than stand and stare as the girl confronted them. Then out of nowhere an older woman in a soft bonnet appeared, glancing nervously at Zero and Rei, she grasped the girl by the shoulders and began to pull her away.

"Come child, you know children are not allowed out here, it's time for the meeting- go join the others." The woman was obviously frightened and she quickly tried to pull the girl away from Zero and Rei, trying to drag her back to the comfort and safety of whichever home they had suddenly appeared from.

The scowl on the girl's face suddenly stretched into a bright, wide, smile, her eyes scrunching in exaggerated joy.

"Okay, well bye then! Don't say I didn't warn you 'kay?"

She giggled a girlish laugh, wiggling her fingers at the two of them before allowing herself to be pulled off by her mother, wrapping a thin arm around the woman's waist and looking up at her as they disappeared into the building in the back of the town.

As soon as they'd gotten a good distance away, both Rei and Zero crumpled to the ground, gasping in deep breaths and staring at each other.

"What was that?" Rei asked, clutching her chest.

Zero heaved next to her, trying to catch his breath, but said nothing as he stared at the disappearing figures ahead of them. Once the girl had gotten close it had felt as though a giant boulder had been pressing on his chest and a haziness had formed around him. As soon as she and the woman had gotten away from them the weight and veil had lifted. Now his brain felt foggy and and he felt oddly tired as though his energy had been drained from him. Glancing towards Rei he could see the puzzled expression on her face as she slowly pulled herself up a hand pressed to the temple of her head.

"This can't be good…" she mumbled hesitantly. Zero's eyes flickered over her shoulder, suddenly drawn to movement in a window in one of the homes behind her. He could see shadows there, eyes maybe? Staring at them. And it was more than one pair. Pressing his lips together, Zero let his eyes slowly trail down the short line of dilapidated homes on the road, movement and shadows lay behind most of the windows. They were watching them. They all knew they were here and they were all watching and waiting. No, none of this could be good…

He took a short step towards Rei's side, his arm instinctively reaching out to draw her near him. "Rei…" he began

"Yeah Zero, I know. I can feel them."

The hesitancy had left her voice and it had hardened. Zero knew she was steeling herself for the battle that was yet to come. He needn't worry about her, best to start preparing himself instead. There was serious danger here, and it was the worst kind, because they didn't know exactly what kind it was.

Now that they felt certain that they were in the correct place, and they had a small sense of what they were up against, Zero and Rei wasted no time in preparing themselves with the special tools that they had brought. A weapon that Kaien had created for them as well as the amulet and dagger that they had located at the Souma compound. Everything that they'd been working for had brought them here and they'd have to pull out all the stops now.

Before they could continue further into the town, another small child ran from out of another home. This one wore shoes and was a little more well kept. The kid stopped a few feet away from them, looking shyly upwards at the two of them. Not moving and not saying anything. Rei was on guard and Zero immediately began scanning the area for signs of an ambush. After their first encounter he had no idea what to expect. As they watched, another child with long red pigtails sprinted out and looking at them with cold eyes, stopped to grasp the hand of the other child. She stared silently at the two of them for a moment, before breaking out into a huge faux smile that made no attempt to reach her eyes. "Too bad. You were warned." she called out in a sing song voice from between clenched teeth, before turning and darting off, pulling the other child along behind her.

Rei shivered. Creepy.

"What kind of place do you think this is?" Zero asked in a low tone as they continued towards the main building.

Rei shook her head slowly, her eyes still casing the town as they walked. Way up ahead, she saw another figure, it appeared to be a woman with long silver hair wearing a thick black cloak. She exited quickly from an open door in one of the homes, stopping briefly in the middle of the road to stare wordlessly at Zero and Rei, before pulling the hood of her cloak over her eyes and taking off towards the large building.

Rei's eyes followed her as she ran. "I honestly don't know, the kids… the people… It's strange. I can't really get a feel for what's happening here."

"We've been waiting…"

Startled, Zero and Rei spun around in unison in response to the small voice speaking behind them. A young girl with long black hair stood in the road, her head lowered and her arms held behind her back. She didn't look up as she spoke.

"You're to follow me." She spoke softly and stood still as a statue.

Zero looked to Rei. She shrugged. Why not? They'd obviously known they were here from the second they'd stepped foot in the town. She speculated that most, if not all of the town were not just regular inhabitants. This entire town was somehow connected…

Rei stepped towards the girl and Zero followed suit. As soon as they moved, the girl turned and began heading westward of the direction they had been going. Rei shot Zero a puzzled look. Where was she taking them?

Suddenly the girl stopped in front of a small nondescript home on the road. She raised an arm towards the door.

"That way. Her attendant will greet you there."

Zero hesitated, but Rei walked purposefully up the rotting stairs to the home's deteriorating front door. She figured if the people of the town wanted to attack them they could do it in the road just as good as in the home. None of it really mattered to her at this point.

But before she could reach the door it opened and a middle-aged woman with stark white hair cut into a bluntly sharp bob stood in the door way. Rei and Zero recognized her as the mother from earlier, though she was no longer wearing her bonnet. Rei wondered briefly how she had managed to make it from the building in the back of the town to this home without her or Zero noticing.

"I'm Ulma" she said stiffly. "I attend to Saiu. I believe you've met before and it seems you've travelled quite a distance to see her again. Please come in."