Village in the Forest

Tsuru walked past the gates that led into the city, waved to a guard, and headed towards the center of town where her favorite spot was. The center of town had this beautiful fountain, and what surrounded it were all these cute little shops, the blacksmith's place, and the inn.

When she got to the place with the giant fountain, she put Sep down and started putting a few of her instruments together: her flute mainly. Today she'd brought her flute, violin, tambourine (in case Sep wanted to join in), and guitar for if she decided to sing. Which she had actually yet to do, but she wanted to try today. She wished she could have brought more of her instruments, but they were too heavy to add to her already heavy bundle of instruments.

"Alright Sep. What should we play first?" She asked the little, whatever it was. The creature only responded with a flick of it's tongue.
"Alright. Violin it is then." She said, smiling at her little pet that decided it wanted to play too.

So that day, was started off with a very bright and happy violin tune.

Yuuta Masaki

Yuuta placed the newly made sword into the water as a huge cloud of steam burst into his face from the contrast of how how the newly made blade was and how cold the water from the stream was. He shook out of it a moment later, and decided to leave the sword there to cool for a little while he took off his gloves and tossed them to the side.

"Alright!" He said, stretching his arms, "Time to go outside and scare people again~" He giggled childishly before walking out of the blacksmith, being in quite a good mood since he got to explore far beyond the hidden village and even got to hear the waves of the ocean after walking a few days to get near the shore.

While walking outside, he heard music and turned his head. Yuuta saw a girl near the fountain in the center of the village. She was playing the violin and because of his lovely eye sight, it took him a little while to recognize who she was, and once he did, he grinned and waved, "Morning, Tsuru! Pretty song you're playing today!" He grinned like always and looked around at the trees in the village, trying to find one which was bushy enough to hide him to scare someone in the early morning that day.

"Mmm... Maybe I should try pranking Oskar?" He wondered since the guard was his close friend after all, "Maybe Mr. Trainer?" Yuuta referred to Michio, "Or perhaps aunt? No no... she'd get mad at me... and probably whack me on the head again!" He laughed at the memory of the one time he scared Sakine so much that she hit him on the head, hard, "The young miss is too fragile, so I can't do that either." Yuuta said since he knew that the headmistress had her own problems to deal with as the leader of the village also, "Aww... hopefully more humans come..." He sighed since he liked the humans quite a bit actually.

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Sakine Dedori

Sakine smoked out of her pipe before blowing a ring of grey clouds out from her mouth. It probably was bad for her health, but seeing how everything about her was unknown, she decided that she still had quite a lot of time left before anything of that sort were to happen.

The woman closed her eyes and listened to the birds chirp, hearing the sizzling of water when her nephew dipped the weapon into the water, and the wind when it would blow by. Those were the things that she liked most about the village, which is why she stopped by so often. Not only that, but she also loved the people who stayed there, despite her sometimes hostile personality towards them all.

She opened her eyes after hearing upbeat sound of the violin that echoed from the center of the village and looked outside her own private house she bought, seeing how she was there so often, "Hmm.. that sounds like that silly little performer girl, Tsuru..." She let out a small sigh, not a bad one as she got up from her laying position, tapping the ashes of the pipe outside and walking to the door of her small traditional house, "I think it's about time I got out and stopped being lazy."

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Rin tentatively entered the village, she had been on the move almost non-stop since the previous morning and was looking a little worse for wear. She was a little scared to be honest, she didn't know what kind of people lived in the village or how they might react to her showing up, but she was tired and hungry and her desire to fix that pushed any fear away from the forefront of her mind.

Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of music off in the distance, and where there was music there were people. Rin slung her bag over her shoulder and quickened her pace towards the source of the music. She finally came to what seemed to be the center of the village, there was a small crowd around the woman who was performing. It was at this point that she hesitated. What should I do?... Should I announce my presence? She took a deep breath and stepped forward, speaking up after another woman nearby had praised the performer. "Y-Yes, you're quite good." It was at this point that she had noticed the performer's incredibly strange clothing (Or lack there of). How can she just walk around like that?! This place must have some strange customs... She shook the thought away as she tried not to blush or look too awkward in this group of strangers.

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Huh.

Oskar was where he found himself every day, near the gates to the eccentric community he was fortunate enough to call his home. He was leaning against a wall in the same fashion he always did, his hands clasped in front of him and pressed against his stomach. He observed those that came and went, as he always did, with an otherwise unchanging calm expression. He shifted slightly here and there throughout the day, and would occasionally change his post, but nothing too eventful ever happened. No exorcists came around, and nobody really caused trouble. All in all, it was a fairly peaceful existence for the inhabitants of the forest.

Today, it wasn't much, a frequent performer made her way past the gates, and even went far enough as to acknowledge Oskar with a small wave, to which he responded with a slight shift of position and a nod. She had been around there for a quite a while, and even with all that amount time of having her around, all Oskar knew about her was that she was a Youkai, her name was Tsuru, and she had a pet named Sep. He also knew that she liked the center of town, and enjoyed playing violin for the people there. He actually had a decent view of the center from where he was, angled in such a way that a slight turn of his head would allow him a side glance of whoever was crowded there.

Nobody yet, except Tsuru, and she seemed to be setting up. It wasn't long after that that she began to play, and Oskar turned his head back to the gates in time enough to see a girl approaching. He didn't really react in any way except shifting slightly and silently following her with his eyes as she walked past him. She seemed timid, and exhausted from the state of her. Neither of those things deemed her a threat, and so he just continued to watch her with a side glance as she approached the center to, Oskar assumed, listen to Tsuru play.

It was during this side glance that he also noticed Yuuta, probably looking to get up to no good, and Sayo, the headmistress. Yuuta had been his friend for some time now, the both of them sharing patrol duty during evenings. It was this time with Yuuta that he was actually able to get to know him and get close to at least one person, and Oskar was happy that he had at least one friend in the area after being there for so long. It was convenient, also, or maybe coincidental, that Yuuta turned out to be a Youkai of a red fox, while Oskar was a Youkai of a red lynx.

And then there was Sayo. Poor, poor little Sayo. The poor little Sayo who had her family killed when she was only eight years old. The poor little Sayo he had personally observed grow up into a respectable woman, and a respectable headmistress at that. He likes her, enough that he enjoys being around her more than most of the other people in the village. He also sympathizes with her, taking into account her past as well as comparing their duties. And this shows, considering that he frequently makes orchid heavy flower arrangements for her, and has been since she was a little girl. He's not sure why he's continued to do so for so long, maybe he feels like he owes it to her parents, which he had served under prior to her. Or maybe he just likes seeing her happy. He'll never officially tell.

He shook his head from his thoughts then, however, and unclasped his hands so he could press them flat against the wall he was leaning against and push himself off of it. He then wiped them both off on his pants before making his way over to the center now as well. He approached Yuuta first, nodding to all of the others he passed. He assumed most of them, or at least Sayo and Tsuru, were used to the pleasant feeling that emanated off of him like tendrils, but the girl that had strolled in, had she been close enough to him as he passed, would probably have experienced a very intense feeling of relief and then have it stripped from her after he got out of proximity.

Then again, he wouldn't know unless she later addressed him about it, so he continued to head towards Yuuta until he ended up within a foot of him. He gave him a nod and slid his hands into his pockets.

"Yuuta."

Yuuta Masaki

"Yuuta."

"Hmm?" He turned to face Oskar and grinned, "Oh hey! Morning Oskar! Ah man... And here I wanted to play a prank on you... Oh well, maybe at night I can try to prank someone else, that'll be funny!" He giggled just by thinking of it before he immediately felt a strange... aura, you could say, coming from behind him.

Yuuta turned his head back slightly and saw a young girl in a kimono, not someone from his village for sure, being held up by Sayo, but stood still for a long while. clueless towards what was going on and was instead in his own little world for a while, 'Odd... I could have sworn I sensed a strange feeling back there... What could that-' Then then he looked back at the young girl again and sighed at himself, "Yuuta, you're an idiot..."

"We have to help her!"

"A-ah, y-yes Ma'am!" He said after getting out of his own little daze and rushing over and taking the other side of the girl. He studied the girl carefully as he said to Sayo, "We should take her to the inn. It's probably the most comfortable place to be, and the stream is closer from there too."

Though he was worried for the girl in front of him, something overran those thoughts, 'She's a human...?' He wondered, 'Like... like the young miss?' He could help but feel a bit more excited than worried because a human had never visited in so long, and there weren't any humans besides their headmistress, "Anyways, the inn would be the best place to put her, at this moment."

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Sakine Dedori ~ Yuuta Masaki

"What's with all the commotion this early in the morning?" Sakine asked silently to herself, watching the people in the village freak out over someone who had entered the village. She didn't bother to help out since they seemed to have had it all under control, but knew she'd come to check up on how things would be going later.

She let out another puff of smoke from her mouth before leaning onto the delicate wall of her traditional house, and still watching from afar, 'Could that be a human...?' Her eyes widened at the thought as she continued to keep her eyes especially on the girl with the kimono, 'To find this place you have to first be lost... and there have been so many terrible rumors about the forest we're hidden by... Why would someone be running away from their safe home all of a sudden... Suspicious...' She said, narrowing her eyes again.

"Oi, Yuuta." She called out to her nephew, who didn't much younger than her actually even though he was around 70 years older, "That girl... she's going to need water, isn't she." She said, though in a way, is kind of sounded like she was offering to help, but because of her pride as a woman, she was never going to state it so clearly.

"Ah?" He asked, looking at his aunt and nodding, "Oh, yeah! Go ahead and get some water from that stream actually! I don't think we have any more lying around in the inn, and if we do, it'd be more hot than cold. We can't have that, so would you mind?" He asked politely while adjusting the girl's arm around his neck and slowly walking at her pace towards the inn.

Sakine sighed and began to head off on her way to the water, grabbing a small bucket along the way, "Sure, sure kid."

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Rin blinked in surprise as one of the women in the crowd quickly moved up to her, "Huh?" Before she could get out much of a reaction the woman had already moved to begin supporting her and called out for help. Do... Do I really look that bad? She let out a little sigh before speaking, "Uh... I-I can wa-" She was however interrupted as one of the men in the group moved up to take her other side.

Despite her efforts to prevent it, she began to blush as became embarrassed by all the attention she was receiving. She contemplated pulling away from the two helping her along but decided that would just attract her more attention, and it seemed they were going to be leading her to an inn which was an idea she quite liked. She spoke up quietly to the two and gave a friendly smile, "Um... Thanks for helping me, I'm um... Really sorry for being a bother. My name's Rin by the way, Rin Kamiya."

Michio hardly slept the night before. He was up all night in the forest in wolf form running around and finding peace and quiet. He loved the serenity of the forest, especially when he couldn't sleep. Every so often Michio thinks of his past, of how he came to be and of his dead family. Being the man he is Michio thinks of everyone in the village as family, but his blood family is long gone. It wasn't that he felt sad or upset, it was their fate to die as it everyone eventually. Besides demons that is. He left the village at around three in the morning and ran around hunting small rabbits and relaxing near the lake. At sunrise he made his way back, jolting through the forest. On his way back he grabbed a couple of herbs and a jug of clear water.

Michio trained everyone in the village, since he became trainer he made it clear that everyone needs to know how to use a sword, even if just a little. Even the headmistress had to know how to defend herself. He transformed into a normal state and walked until the gate came into sight. Something was not right though, where Oskar? Michio swore under his breath as he entered the seemingly unprotected city. The group of them seemed to be carrying a girl into the inn. What's going on? Michio was confused but he entered the inn right after them.

He could hear some rambling but nothing he understood yet. He entered through the door and saw Sayo, Yuta, Oskar, and someone else. A girl that seemed to be in a very fatigued state. "The innkeeper will lead us to the room now." Michio made his way through the group and approached the girl "Let me see her." Although the girl tried to stay on her feet he knew that it was only temporary, she would collapse any moment. He grabbed the jug and threw a couple of leaves in there, then he used the hilt side of Tanto to mix them and crush the leaves. "Here drink this. It might be bitter but it will help you regain some energy and replenish any thing in your body that is ready to give out. I suggest you go rest immediately."

Michio had a sort of commanding tone about him, he was older then just about all of them. He was their mentor and knew most of them from birth. He would protect every single one of them with his life if he had too, but he did like to play to commanding figure, although now wasn't the time.

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Things had gotten hectic fast and Oskar was, like always, calm. He did as Sayo instructed, because it was Sayo and took her place under Rin's arm to hold her up. Not that it lasted long, mere seconds passed before the room was ready and Michio appeared out of nowhere and took command, like always. Oskar knew that he didn't mean it most of the time, but it was just in the man's blood to lead. And so, knowing that he was not needed anymore, he nonchalantly slipped away from the group just as easy as he had been dragged into it. It wasn't anything unusual, the rest knew crowds weren't entirely his thing. Sure, he wanted to make sure that the girl was okay, but he couldn't possibly maintain composed with all the commotion going on. Besides, Yuuta or Sayo would tell him later on and he had a very important flower arrangement to do.

Well, not very important, per se, but important enough to him. And hopefully important to the person they were intended for. And as Oskar found himself nearing the gates to the place again, he couldn't help but think that although he didn't really hide them well; His feelings for Sayo might as well have been his best kept secret considering how oblivious she was to them. Hell, he wasn't even sure himself if he actually had any feelings for her. He knows that he has a special affection towards her, but is either too scared to fully admit it to himself, or too prideful. Even if he secretly strives for a companion.

This was no good, of course, Oskar was supposed to be calm. He was known for being calm. If somebody were to approach another member of the community and be "Oh, who's that guy over there?" and point at Oskar, that other person would go "Oh, that's just Oskar. He's the calm guard guy." He was so calm he was renowned for it. But these thoughts didn't make him calm at all, oh no, they made him flustered and confused and angry and sad. They upset him.

He let out a sigh as he reached his intended destination; His home, a small hut just outside of the gates. It was necessary for his position as a guard to be living on the outskirts rather than the inner workings of the city. The hut was quaint, with only one bedroom. But it wasn't to the inside he was headed, it was through and to the back garden. Which, admittedly, was pretty damn impressive. And he took immense pride in it, it was wonderfully cultivated and filled with all sorts of flowers, even some types that you could only find in his garden unless you wanted to take a four thousand mile trek to the other side of the planet. But the exotic ones weren't his prize tonight, no, it was the orchids. It was time to get to work.

It was a simple arrangement, at least to him. He tried to make every bouquet different, and this time he was quite proud of the end result. It was hand tied, and assorted in circular layers. The outer ring comprised of cymbidium orchids, whilst the inner rings comprised of white and creme roses, yellow freesia, pale yellow stock and ending it with a collar of lemon leaves. He then wrapped the stem in satin and tied it off with some spare ribbon. And then he just stood there, holding it in his hand and staring at it, unsure of how exactly he was going to present it to her, especially considering that she was busy with the girl, whom Oskar recalled saying her name was Rin.

He'd have to think up some excuse.

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It was a whirlwind of activity even after they had arrived at the inn. A room was acquired rather quickly and Rin felt a pang of guilt as she saw the woman, Sayo, give the innkeeper money for the room. "I promise I'll pay you back Sayo... I'm really sorry about this." She looked over at the innkeeper as she began to move to show them the way, but they were stopped by yet another stranger. The white-haired man didn't seem to hesitate in the least and his commanding voice intimidated her a bit. He began to throw some sort of herbs in a jug to prepare some sort of concoction, and he apparently wanted her to drink it. "Eh?... Uh, no, I mean thank you but... I uh, I really think I should just get some rest and maybe some food..."

Rin was looking a little overwhelmed at this point and began to feel dizzy. All the walking she had done and all the stress of her current situation started to get to her. "P-Please, really, I'll be okay... I just want to sit down for a bit. I really didn't mean to cause this much of a commotion." She looked down at the ground with a sigh, apparently quite genuinely sorry about all that was happening. These people are so nice... I'll have to make sure to make it up to them when I can. Stupid Rin... I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard.

Yuuta Masaki ~ Sakine Dedori

"P-Please, really, I'll be okay... I just want to sit down for a bit. I really didn't mean to cause this much of a commotion."

"Don't worry Don't worry!" Yuuta patted her on the back, but gently, since he knew that she wasn't in the best condition, "We don't get very many visitors, only my aunt, maybe a few travelers here and there, but not many people like you. N-Not saying like, as in you as in people who aren't feeling well! But like... you know... people." He said, trying to find a good way of explaining it.

"Well, anyways, all I'm saying is that we're actually pretty glad someone would come along!" Yuuta said, sitting on the window sill, but making sure not to fall off since it happened sometimes, "It has been lonely here with just the same people, no offense." He giggled towards the villagers he grew up with that were in the room.

'She's a human, she's a human, she's a human!' Yuuta began to kicked his legs back and forwards like a child, being really excited for someone who finally visited, that wasn't a regular. He always liked to watch humans, and he just liked the race in general too, but for no specific reason. Any time a human came to visit, Yuuta would always come overly excited with these things, and sometimes, a little too excited as well.

While he was day dreaming, and smiling to himself like an idiot, something hit his head very hard as he cringed and bent down, holding the top of his head tightly out of pain, "T-that hurts..." He mumbled.

"Shouldn't you be worrying about her health, idiot." Sakine said, and put the bucket full of water back onto the floor. She grabbed a small towel that she brought with her along the way, soaked it into the bucket of water from the stream, and then placed it over the girl's head, asking her to lay down.

"S-sorry... I was just really excited that someone came by is all..." Yuuta sighed and then looked up at Rin, "Miss Rin, you don't have much of an idea of where you are... do you..."

Michio cleared his throat. "Don't argue child. Drink it will help you recover faster." Michio was not going to take no for an answer. So he urged the Jug towards her. He turned just in time to see Sakine hit her nephew on the head. "Shouldn't you be worrying about her health, idiot." Michio tried to hide his laughter. "Miss Rin, you don't have much of an idea of where you are... do you...". He put the leaves back into his pouch and cleaned his hands with a handkerchief he had at his side. "Why don't we let the Sayo and Sakine take care of her until she is rested? Let's try not to overwhelm the girl." Michio walked towards the door, "Speaking of, Yutta, there's something I need you to make." He opened the door and stood on the side of it waiting for Yutta to get out. "Make sure she drinks that."

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Rin blinked at the white-haired man's words and tone. It reminded her of her father. A bit of anger bubbled up inside her but she quickly smothered it away. He... He's just trying to help... She didn't have anything to say to him, but she took the jug, she still wasn't sure if she'd actually drink it, but if she took it perhaps he would stop pushing her on it so much.

One of the women from earlier, apparently named Sakine, showed up and smacked Yuuta on the head, the comical scene put a bit of a smile on Rin's face. She looked over at Yuuta, "Ah... No, I really don't know. But I'd be happy to learn about it later, heh..." I'm not surprised they don't get many visitors though... This place is in the middle of the forest. Me being a visitor really does seem like a big deal for them, considering how everyone's reacted so far...

"Why don't we let the Sayo and Sakine take care of her until she is rested? Let's try not to overwhelm the girl."

The white-haired man had finally said something that made Rin happy. "Y-Yes, I would appreciate that, but uh, thank you all very much for all the help and concern... Once I feel better I'll make sure to thank you all properly." She gave a meek smile to Yuuta and Michio.

Tsuru was actually really worried about the fallen girl. But she could leave her post for this was her work. But instead of the happy tunes she was playing, she switched to her flute and started to play calm and peaceful songs. With a few sad songs mixed in that could have made and old lady cry.

She put her flute down and looked at Sep. "Maybe you should go check up on her."
The little creature nodded and followed the people who had left.

Sakine Dedori ~ Yuuta Masaki

"I... I hate to say it, but Sakine has a point Yuuta. We can worry about making friends later... Okay?"

Yuuta sighed, glancing at the human for a mere moment, but then putting a regular smile on his face as he always did and nodded, "Alright, Young Miss! As long as you asked, then I'll hold off making any new friends for now!"

Sakine sighed a bit towards how her own nephew didn't listen to her, but she understood since the two had a bit of an unusual relationship, so she only kneeled down and listened to the whole conversation between everyone, and watched over the human, knowing that they were much, much, much more fragile than a youkai, 'Humans have a short life... don't they... Only living to around 80 or 90 years...' She thought about it, and then how long she's been living and thought to herself, 'If that were so... I'd probably be dead years over years ago... Kinda glad I'm not a human really...'

"Why don't we let the Sayo and Sakine take care of her until she is rested? Let's try not to overwhelm the girl."

"Yes, you don't have to worry about Rin anymore, Yuuta and Michio."

"Exactly, listen to your elders and shoo." Sakine said, literally shooing her nephew like she would to a fly, "You're not needed here, and the same with you." She looked towards Michio, but didn't shoo him away since she knew she could only be harsh and cruel to Yuuta, and not the others, despite that they were all acquainted with each other for probably over years.

"Ehhhh?" Yuuta asked, a bit surprised he wasn't needed, "I have to leave? But Miss Rin's going to be lonely if she's only with an old hag the whole day!"

Again, he was whacked on the head, and for a better reason than before, "Shut up and leave." She said, pushing her nephew and the trainer out the door before shutting it and letting out a sigh of relief, "Finally, all the men are gone. They're so frustrating to work with..." She turned towards the human and unlike most times, smiled, like something you'd see from a mother before saying in a gentle tone, "Hopefully they didn't bother you too much, dear. If so, I apologize in their absence." It sounded polite, perhaps far too polite, but she knew she had to be like that towards strangers, and eventually got used to the strange works she had to say.

"Sakine, is it okay if you watch over Rin alone for a little while? I hope it isn't any trouble. And I hope you don't mind, Rin."

"Ah, sure thing." Sakine said, doing a slight bow as she left since she was the headmistress, and should get the most respect out of them all, even though they were all close like friends or family even. Once Sayo left, Sakine turned back to Rin, putting an arm onto the table, a small cup of sake in her hand before asking, but sounding completely fine unlike most people who wouldn't be able to hold their liquor, "So, you're a human, aren't you... Tell me, where do you come from?"

Yuuta Masaki

Yuuta sighed, putting his arms behind his head as he wandered around the perimeter of the village, something he'd usually do at night with his friend Oskar, the guard, but since he didn't feel like working at his blacksmith, he decided to do it a bit early, "Right when a human comes along... I get excited... and then they just decided to leave me out like that...? Ahhhh... it's not fair!" He grumbled childishly.

He then heard something in the distance, and first thought it was an animal, some animal that could be hunted or course, and he liked going around outside the village when he was free to waltz around at his own will, so he looked around, making sure no one would see him take off, before he sprinted past the trees, hopping over the tall village wall like it was nothing, and it really wasn't since he often did it every day and got used to the height.

But a moment later, he also realized that it wasn't an animal that he head, "Is that the Young Miss?" He wondered quietly to himself, seeing his friend in the bundle of trees. He put his sword back into his sheath, since he was thinking it would be an animal he'd get to hunt, and approached her, hearing her cough worse and worse, but when he said something, he pretended not to hear anything, as he thought it may make her uncomfortable to talk about such a subject, "Oiiii! Young Miss! I think Miss Rin may need you soon!" He called out in a cheerful manner as he always did.

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Finally Rin was able to lay down. It wasn't until she was off her feet and resting that she truly realized how exhausted she actually was. I guess really did push myself too much...

"Hopefully they didn't bother you too much, dear. If so, I apologize in their absence."

She shook her head, "No, I'll admit I was pretty overwhelmed but... Being overwhelmed by kindness is certainly nothing to apologize for." Rin gave Sakine a warm smile, she really felt comforted by the woman's presence. She gave Sayo a nod as she quickly left the room, a little curious what had her in such a hurry. Though she was happy to be resting now she felt... Icky. More than anything she wanted to take a bath, and maybe get some food.

"So, you're a human, aren't you... Tell me, where do you come from?"

Rin tilted her head at this statement, Of course I'm a human... What a strange thing to say... But I wonder... If I tell the truth and say I just ran away they might try to get me to go back... But I don't really want to lie to these people... She scratched her cheek as she thought, "Um... I'm... From a village some distance from here... I got lost so I don't really know where it'd be from here, but I don't really have anywhere to go back to anyways, so I guess it's not too important." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, deciding to tell the truth, well, mostly anyways. It was at this point that her stomach emitted an audible growl in protest of its emptiness. Rin's cheeks darkened in response, "Heh... G-Guess I'm hungry huh?" Ugh... How embarrassing...

Tobi wandered aimlessly though the forest. He had heard the rumors about a village hidden somewhere within. With nothing else to do he had decided to try and find it. Though the only way to find it was to get lost, or so the rumor went. Getting lost was something Tobi was good at, with his sense of direction it was a wonder he hadn't walked off a cliff yet. He had been walking for about four hours and decided to take a quick break. He finished off his water skin and just sat admiring how pretty the forest was. Hopefully I'll come across the village soon, or atleast a stream. I need more water. As he leaned against a tree he could feel his katana digging into his back. So he moved a little to ease the pressure. It was all so relaxing until he heard a twig snap. Tobi shot to his feet, katana already drawn. He cautiously moved toward the direction of the sound. Another snap from a different direction caused him to freeze. Looking around he could see many sets yellow eyes watching him from the bushes. Must have stumbled in wolf territory. His muscles were relaxed, he had a loose grip on his katana, and he kept his breath calm and even. He was ready.

Tobi walked away, leaving the bodies of the wolves for nature to deal with. The only injury he had from the battle was a bite on his right shoulder, from when one of the wolves pounced and tried to bring him to the ground. The tear in his shirt revealed the very beginning of his scar. After walked for another twenty minutes he saw it. The village. Quickening his pace he entered and started looking around. It looked like a normal village, Tobi didn't get what was so special about it. He heard music, it sounded very pretty but something else caught his attention more. He sniffed the air, something smelled good. Maybe there's somewhere to eat nearby? Following his nose instead of his ears, Tobi set off in search of food.

Tsuru, who was currently taking a break because her lips was numb, sipped some water from a small flask.
"I wonder if Sep found them..." She said out loud.


It took awhile, but Sep finally found the people and the girl who had to be taken away. He scuttled up to her and placed a little foot on her foot as if asking, "Are you okay, miss?"
He actually pulled off a pretty caring face for a little monster.

It didn't take long for Sakine to shoo Michio and Yuuta out of the room. The door closed shut behind them and Yuuta ran off. Michio sighed. I'll get him later. Michio slowely made him way out of the inn and into the village square. It was mostly empty, and like the usual Tsuru was playing her serene tones. The village sounded alive, it was peaceful. Michio approached and sat on a rock near by. "You're getting better every day Tsuru." Its one thing to know how to hunt and to use a sword, but its a completely different thing to be able to play music like this. Michio was a peaceful, only showing expression's very rarely. He liked music though, it relaxed almost as much as turning into a wolf and running to the forest. Michio hated these "days off" where he didn't have to train the villagers. He sat for moment listening to Tsuru's music but quickly snapped out of it. His wolf insticts hit him and he looked towards the gate into the forest. "Someone's close." He cloud smell the blood of dead wolves, it was a talent Youkai had with their nature spirit. Michio knew as did everyone else that wolves are not hostile to villagers, they even act as second guards. It could be a traveler, but then again it might be something worse. "Oh well, might as well go check it out." Michio stood from his seat and casually made his way into the forest, following the scent of whoever that was lurking in the woods.

It didn't take long, the scent was strong. It mixed in with the blood of animals. The stranger was spotted almost instantly. He noticed that the stranger was hurt and noticed that he was not a threat, maybe just a lost human. That makes two in a day. Without scaring the stranger Michio walked from behind a tree. "You look hurt, are you lost?" Michio spoke with a fairly serious tone - the usual.

Tsuru dipped her violin to Michio as a thank you, but stayed silent as she concentrated on bringing the piece of music to life.
'Wonder where everyone's going today. It's never this busy.' She thought.


Sep reached for its little nose to try and dull the pain. He looked up at Sayo with big, sad, wet, eyes as if saying, "That hurt. Why would you do that?"
He lifted up his little tambourine and shook it till it jingled to show he was Tsuru's, having a feeling that's why she freaked out.

"You look hurt, are you lost?" Tobi turned to the sound of the voice, hand unconsciously going to his katana. He was a little jumpy after being attacked by those wolves. He saw it was a white haired man. "Hurt? No this is nothing." To prove his words he rotated his shoulder. "Lost? I was until I found this place. I heard the rumors and thought I'd try and find it." Tobi took his hand off the katana's hilt and held it out to the man. "My name is Tobi Katsuragi, what's yours?"