Search for Kyūi Arc: The Hunt Begins

Their footsteps could be hearing echoing throughout the deserted hall as they walked. Anton, along with Achilina, had apparently arrived at their destination, and were navigating through a hall that twisted and turned, and when they approached a fork in the road, took the left route.

"When did he have the time to construct this?" The girl said irritably. "I hate all this walking. He could have just installed a lift that moved from place to place and required a password or DNA sampling. It would have been so much easier!" She whined.

Anton placed a hand on his forehead, frowning. "He's never been known for taking the simple way out of anything. Besides, the exercise can't hurt you." As they approached a titanium door, Anton placed his hand to it.

"Recognized. Anton Jaeger, you are permitted to enter." A cool, female voice sounded throughout the hallway. Anton and Achilina simply stepped through the door as if it didn't exist and continued walking into a brightly lit room. On first sight, it looked comfortable. A few armchairs, several bookshelves, it looked more like a scholar's study than a hideout.

"Is he here?" Achilina asked, a note of impatience in her voice.

"Of course I'm here. Why wouldn't I be?"

From one of the bookshelves, a man stepped out from one of the bookshelf alleys, an open book currently held by the spine in his hand. His eyes jerked up from it, half-lidding. His eyebrows raised, and he gave a smile with his teeth showing. "Hiya, fellas...." He greeted, a smooth tone filling every word. "I take it the big brawl's over and done with?"

Achilina and Anton turned their attention to where he was, Achilina still looked irritated. "Yes." Anton said sourly. "I owe you cash by the way. Your kid sister was the one who finished him off."

"I told you before, Anton...." The man answered, readily holding out one of his hands for his winnings. The other one was still holding his book. "Betting anything against me is just going to be your economic suicide."

Anton took out a bag that was jingling with coins and threw it at Taiki, still with a sour look on his face. "On a different note, I expect you'll be having some company soon Taiki."

"Hm?" As Taiki caught the back, his ears perked up at the words. "Who?"

"Your daughter, Aoi I believe her name was? Your step-mother, and, apparently your wife." Anton counted them off on his fingers. "Your father was surprisingly adamant about not associating with you at all, and mentioned someone called Tereya, whoever that may be."

"I figured...." With that, Taiki closed the book and let out a small sigh. "Though, I can't say I'm surprised to see only a few of the family willing to come after me. But I guess they've finally accepted the fact that I just don't want to be associated with them anymore. The ones who are still trying to find me as well as her are just wasting their precious time."

Achilina chuckled. "At least things should get fun from here on out. It's been boring cooped up and doing nothing." With her excitement, Anton and Taiki could both feel her spiritual pressure beginning to rise.

"Don't get too excited, Achilina." Anton said cooly. "They'll be hard pressed to find this place, weil, it's kept under concealment even I have to admit would be difficult for myself to break. A few children and a Hollow won't be breaking in anytime soon."

That news immediately shot down the young girls good mood.

"I wouldn't get too relaxed...." Taiki commented, walking over towards the nearest bookshelf. He slid the book within its boundaries, apparently having had his fill of literature for the time being. "My family has an awfully annoying way of breaking boundaries and beating the odds when the time comes for it. One moment, the enemy thinks they're too relaxed, and the next moment, they're right on top of you! It kinda drives me mad just thinking about it...."

"Have you inherited any of that?" Achilina asked, her tone rather rude.

"'Course...." The man answered. "How else do you think I got so far? For people like that, some things just fall right into place like a automatic puzzle. I'm just one of the few who's willing to take advantage."

"So," Anton began, before Achilina could say anything else. "Their objective is the girl. What do you intend to do? Move her?"

"It all intends on how they get her." Taiki responded, folding his arms across his chest. "If anything, I could just have her stay and give them a big surprise. They've probably thought that I've corrupted her against her will, forced her to stay by my side."

Achilina chuckled darkly but said nothing more. Anton was smiling, but it was unknown if the smile reached the eyes hidden behind the shades.

Setting out
Aoi slid out of bed. It was well into the morning, though the sun was not yet shining over the Yūrei Ōkoku. Clouds were covering the area however, and the sky was suiting Aoi's mood. She walked into the bathroom, and began to brush her teeth. She poured water into her cup, gargled, and spat it out. She sighed and turned on the hot water in the shower. Might as well take one before setting out. She walked out of the bathroom, stripping out of her outfit and putting on a robe. Grabbing a rag, she stepped into the shower, closing the curtain. After a moment, she began singing, the song too fast to actually hear the lyrics, but it's tone was mournful, and it carried downstairs where Miharu, Megami, and Adela were sitting. The men of the house were apparently still asleep.

Megami was lying on the couch, hands folded across her stomach. Her ears were the first to pick up the song, eyes closing as she listened for a moment. Then, unconsciously, she began to hum to it, knowing the song from heart due to having heard it before.

Miharu's attention turned to the upstairs shower. "She's singing?" She asked, not paying attention to the obvious. "Who sings in the shower?"

"Don't be rude, Mi-chan...." Megami scolded gently, eyes still closed.

"I know, I know." Miharu said, sighing. "But, what is she going to do if she doesn't find Kyuui? What will she do if she finds Kyuui and Kyuui wants to stay with Taiki?"

"Miharu....Taiki stabbed Kyuui through the back in front of us. There's no reason she would possibly stay with him." Megami answered, her voice a bit incredulous at Miharu's words.

"I'm just saying it's a possibility." Miharu said, shrugging. "Maybe she will. Through mind control or of her own free will, it's a possibility. I hope Aoi doesn't react the wrong way if that happens..."

"...."

Noticing her mother's icy silence, Miharu ceased conversation with her, turning her attention to her sister-in-law. "Adela, what do you think about what I was saying?"

Adela took a sip of what seemed to be water, but it was glowing slightly. She frowned. "Aoi..." She took another sip, apparently choosing her words with care. "Doesn't deal with rejection well. Or when things do not go her way. She grew up rather spoiled, Taiki, Ahatake, Tereya, and myself generally giving the children anything they needed, training them to make sure they became strong. The last time Kyuui rejected Aoi, she just stopped."

"Stopped?" Miharu asked curiously.

"She became similar to a doll." Adela explained. "She just sat there, barely moving. We had to move her from room to room, put her in bed and things like that."

Immediately, this caused Megami's head to snap towards Adela, an expression of alarm. "You.... can't be serious....!" She protested. "That's just not.... normal! I mean, sure, depression does mean isolation from others, but you can't seriously be saying she willingly turned herself into a vegetable?!"

"I know it's not normal, but she did do it." Adela replied sadly. "Completely shut herself down of her own will. It was disturbing to see actually."

Immediately, Megami buried her face into the arm of the couch, forearms resting in front of her. "Just....great...." She muttered, clearly frustrated. "Two of our own family are potentially traitors and one of them could be possibly planning on committing suicide if things don't happen the way they want it to. Is there any way that we could be able to talk her out of it?"

"Not to my knowledge." Adela replied. "She's bent on getting Kyūi back. She's in love with her, and people do strange things when they're in love..." She trailed off.

Miharu frowned. "I have a real bad feeling about this..."

"I have a worse feeling...." Megami added regretfully.

Due to their discussion, they hadn't noticed the singing and the running water had stopped. Aoi must be out of the shower.

"Is it wise, now, to let her go on this search to find Kyūi?" Miharu asked, sounding worried.

"I doubt there's much we can do to stop her." Adela replied. "I'm going along, since I've been searching for Taiki for awhile. Unfortunately, he has a 'kill on sight' policy with me during times like this. He never has listened to me."

"Why not? You're his wife, aren't you...?"

"Yes, but I'm also an Arrancar." She said, laughing a mirthless laugh. "Taiki is the 'black sheep' of the family, the only one have an extreme dislike of Hollows. Due to Ahatake's influence, most of the family either deals with Hollows, has Hollow powers, or both. Taiki despises Hollows and seems to have a distaste of Hollow abilities as well." She flashed back to the time where he had pierced her in the stomach on a date, centuries ago, and told this to Megami.

"My God....!" Megami had to hold her mouth with both hands, shocked at the information. "W...why did you stay with someone like that?! You could've gotten yourself killed!!"

Adela let out a chuckle, as mirthless as her laugh. "I know, but I can't help it. I do love Taiki. But that's just another thing he hates. My unwavering attachment to him." She sighed. "I do wonder where Tereya and Ahatake went wrong with that boy."

"Did they have anything to do with your relationship with Taiki?"

"Well, Ahatake has only encouraged it." Adela said, smiling. "Though, that may be another reason for Taiki's dislike of me. When Ahatake found out I liked Taiki, he rather forced him to keep me. I'm grateful to him for that, but Taiki is just the opposite..."

So, it had been a bit of their fault as well.

But Megami wasn't one to point fingers. It was rude, pointless, and got no one no where. She continued with the questions, now curious to learn more about the relationship hers stepson had with the family. "I suppose that's a reason as to why he hates his father...." She concluded softly, eyes drifting down at the ground. "Guess it was the fault of both sides...."

"Taiki has more of a reason to hate Ahatake than Ahatake does to hate him." Adela went on. "Ahatake's never accepted Taiki's dislike of Hollows, forced him into marrying me, and, if I am right, favors Midoriko over Taiki."

It was a string of cruel facts about Ahatake Megami never knew. It was a really terrible feeling crawling across Megami's skin, eyes downcast in what seemed like clear sadness and disappointment. "Did you.... ever talk to him about it?" She asked, glancing over to Adela for a moment.

"Talk to whom?" She asked. "Ahatake? Or Taiki?"

"Well, I was talking about Taiki, but.... both can do, too...."

"Well, Ahatake was only supportive of my relationship, so he was already working in my favor." She said, swallowing the rest of the strange liquid in the cup. "However, after Kyūi and Aoi were born, Taiki became much more... I guess mellow is the word. He became more like a husband to me, and definitely like a father to them. Talking to him about past problems seemed pointless then."

"How did he act like he was towards you now? You seemed so.... perfect for each other, didn't you?"

"Ahatake obviously thought so." Adela replied, chucking the glass into the rubbish bin, where the tinkling of breaking china was heard. "I think so as well. I thought Taiki thought so after the kids were born, but, I'm beginning to think he loathes my very existence."

"What happened to make you break up?" Megami was now gazing at her with full attention, alerted by this new news.

"We haven't broken up. Taiki just enjoys pursuing items on his own agenda." Adela said simply. "This has got to be the second time he's done this, though last time he didn't kidnap one of the children. I'm not sure what he was planning on then, and I don't know what he's planning on now."

At this, Megami re-directed her eyes to the floor in a downcast manner once more. "Do you think he might be planning some sort of revenge?" She questioned. "I'd figure that would be one of the main reasons why he did it.... though, I don't have any idea why he would drag his own daughter into it, though...."

"You may be right, but I doubt it's as simple as revenge." Adela shook her head. "If he wanted to do that, he could have achieved that here. He's inherited Ahatake's power and Tereya's attitude, which, in my opinion, is a deadly combination." She frowned. "Though if that is what he's planning, we've got problems. Now that Ahatake is a mere soul, though a powerful one nonetheless, now is the time to strike..."

"We've got to go as soon as possible...."

They heard movement coming from the stairs, and they saw Aoi reach the bottom. She was wearing a fur hat, a pure white buttoned coat, as well as knee-high white boots. She looked up at them. "It's time..."

"Here we go...."

Taking a deep breath, Megami lifted herself off of the couch and looked over at Aoi. "We're all ready." She said calmly, arm resting on the arm of the couch as she sat on it. It would be a search for their dismantled family.... there would be the possibility that she would have to confront her stepson. But she had her own relatives with her. They were good to rely on, and that thought strengthened her resolve even more. They would succeed at their mission, no matter what the cost was.

Miharu looked up. "Would you guys mind if I tagged along? I could provide transportation and things like that. Who knows how long you'll be out there, and how far you'll have to go."

The mother nodded in affirmation. "Absolutely. I was just about to ask, anyway...."

Miharu smiled. "C'mon Aoi. We'll find Ōni-san together, and get your Kyūi back." Aoi smiled back at her. Miharu grabbed what appeared to be a piece of parchment, scribbled something down, and left it on the table. "Alright, let's roll!" She had a reason herself for wanting to find Kyūi. She had been kidnapped while Miharu was fighting Taiki. She was kind of obligated now.

"Aoi?"

Megami turned once more to look at the girl. She motioned for her to take the lead. "This was your wish. So, I think it'd be appropriate for you to lead the way." She said, giving an encouraging smile.

Aoi nodded. As they exited the building, she shot like a bullet down the street, the sun still not shining. Everyone else followed suit. The city was beginning to stir, possibly everyone else could feel the mass of spiritual pressure running through the realm. Due to their speed they reached the beach in no time, and kept running, right over the water.

"You don't think he's in the Yūrei Ōkoku?" Miharu asked Aoi. The white-headed girl shook her head. "No. I highly doubt he'd stay around here."

"Agreed...." Megami added in. As she ran, the slapping of her feet caused the water to splash against her legs. But she could've cared less at the moment. "He'd be a big dot on our sensing radars. There'd be no reason for him to stay within the city."

"That leaves so many places to search." Miharu said worriedly. "I guess we can cross out the Seireitei. There was too much destruction there, so, even if he had been there, he's probably gone now." Aoi nodded silently. "Knowing Tō-san, he'll choose a place where it would be difficult to find him. For all he know, he could be under this ocean. With our luck though, we'll find him."

"With luck...."

"This could very well end in failure." Aoi said sadly. "But I'm risking it."

Adela chuckled. "I know who she takes after."

"So, Kā-chan, what places have you check so far that we can rule out?" Aoi asked, not turning around.

"In all honesty, I haven't gotten far. I've check every inch of Yūrei for good measure, I've checked the Seireitei before the incident, I've even checked the World of the Living."

Aoi sighed. "So, what are the knowns places we can check?"

Adela started thinking. "Well, there are various Soul Societies for the various countries in the World of the Living. The Yūrei is merely a "Seireitei Expansion". The ones I know of are Aether, Britannia, Hemel, Yāolù, and I believe ShinKi as well."

"And he could be in any one of them...." Megami muttered grimly. "Where do we start?"

"There's also Hell..." Aoi murmured before anyone answered Megami's question. "The one place I doubt we can get into, since none of us is a Togabito...."

Miharu took it upon herself to answer her mother's question. "I guess it all depends on which Soul Society is closest to where we are now." She looked around for help. "So...which is?"

"Aether!"

Megami immediately answered it, remembering something. "Your friend Ezra had came from Aether to Yūrei, didn't he?" She asked rhetorically. "Well, he certainly couldn't have been willing enough to travel from the farthest Soul Society to the one we're in, so it has to be nearby!"

"Yes!" Miharu grinned, and she drew her Zapakutō. "Let's try and get there as fast as possible. Improvise, Kyūmu!" As she spoke these words, her blade vanished, and became a cloud large enough to seat more than the four of them. Despite having grown, she apparently still enjoyed childish modes of transportation. Miharu jumped on, and, to the surprised of Aoi, she did not fall through.

"C'mon, this'll get us there faster than walking!" Aoi followed suit, and jumped onto the cloud, turning her blank face to her mother and step-grandmother.

Immediately, Megami hopped on and sat herself onto the cloud, sitting on the lower part of her legs. "Good thinking, Mi-chan!" She complimented.

Adela hopped on last, eying the cloud suspiciously. "This thing will actually work?" She asked.

"Of course." Miharu said, grinning. "My Zanpakutō controls it. Now, I must ask you all to hang on, and not to scream." She positioned herself in an upright seating position on the cloud, gripping onto it, actions that were mimicked by the others. "Now, Kyūmu... to Aether!!"

The cloud, hearing orders from Miharu, immediately shot off faster than any of them could run, tearing across the water like a bullet, the force of the wind almost blowing them all off.

"So, what do we do when we reach Aether?" Miharu asked the group at large. "Anyone know what it's like?"

"I can only speak for myself!!" Megami explained, keeping her voice to a loud volume as to overpower the roaring of the winds and rushing of the water. "I haven't seen anything of Aether. But I have heard that it refuges souls that are of the North American nationality back in the World of the Living! It's just like the original Soul Society, with its population consists mostly of Japanese who have died in their country. I'm not sure about the other places, though...."

"Ah... North America." Miharu frowned for a moment. "Anyone know any English?"

"Before I answer...." Megami looked to her other companions, asking a quizzical eyebrow. "How about it? Anyone besides me know how to speak American?"

They all shook their heads. "I don't, but my Zanpakutō could probably let me understand them and speak their language if I need to." Miharu said, smiling. She loved her Zanpakutō since it was so useful.

Megami nodded her approval. "Good, good!" She exclaimed. "So we'll be doing the talking in the case that we need to!"

"Doesn't Tō-san speak different languages as well?" Miharu asked curiously. She had once heard her father rambling on about something in what he told her was German.

"Mhm! He knows German, and I think he also knows a bit of French. Though, I don't remember how he learned it...."

"Wow." Miharu said, her voice slightly full of awe. She noticed her cloud began to slow, and looked down. They were currently hovering over what seemed to be a ring of islands. "I think we're here."

"Let's head down and check it out...." Megami suggested. "Though, I don't know what's exactly down there. Neither again.... I doubt any of us do."

"Kyūmu, descend!" Miharu ordered and the cloud rapidly flew down towards what (from a bird's-eye view) appeared as the largest island. It pulled out of the dive neatly, and they all jumped off the cloud, which sealed itself back intoa blade for Miharu. They looked around the island, which was indeed large, and seemed fairly deserted. "So, where do we start?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Aoi replied quietly, looking around as well. "While we were in the sky, I counted about nineteen, maybe twenty islands in this region. We have a long search ahead of us, though it could be made easier by simply asking for directions."

Megami sighed heavily. "All right, then...." She looked around for a moment. "I'm sure there has to be some civilization around. We've got to find some sort of neighborhood first before we do anything. Not to mention, we don't want to act too out of place, here...."

"This island seems largely uninhabited." Aoi was speaking almost like a robot now. "I can't detect anyone within about 10 miles of us, though there are souls living on the farther side of the island. I suggest we head there."

The rather eerie tone caught Megami's attention. She looked over her shoulder, a concerned look coming over her. "Aoi..." She muttered, placing a hand onto the girl's shoulder. "Listen.... I know we're not close. But you've got to have some hope! We're going to find Kyūi and Taiki, rest assured! Even if we have to travel the ends of the world, she'll turn up."

Aoi nodded, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she was trying to smile.

"We should move." Miharu said, sounding a bit anxious, and they set off. As they moved, Miharu decided to ask more about languages. "So, what are the main languages of Aether anyway?" Miharu asked her mother.

"Hmm...." Megami thought about it for a moment. "There's English, French, and Spanish, for the most part. But the United States, as they call it, have a variety of languages from other countries. Sadly, I only know English, but that's hopefully where you come in."

Miharu grinned. "Leave it to me." As they moved across the island, they began to see hints of civilization, houses began to show up, some more like cabins than actual houses in cities. Apparently, this was more of a rural community. They stopped as soon as they saw two women conversing rapidly in Spanish, their words audible though not understandable.

"¿Has visto esa nube en movimiento?" One of the women asked, pointing up at the sky.

"¡Sí! ¡Sí! Lo vi descender hacia la isla no hace mucho tiempo. Tal vez sea una invasión?" The other women replied, her expression seemingly both worried and excited.

"....yeah, I'm not getting in that." Megami muttered bluntly, knowing that this situation was out of her league.

"I got it." Miharu said, drawing her blade, and wordlessly releasing it. Nothing seemed to happen, but the words the women were speaking suddenly began to make sense to Miharu and the crew, as if the women were speaking in Japanese.

"So, if we're being invaded, what should we do, head to sea?" The first woman asked again.

"Yes, that cloud couldn't have meant anything good." The other woman replied, nodding seriously.

"Uh oh...." Megami lowered her voice to a whisper. "They saw us coming down. We've just arrived and already we've caused up some sort of stir.... hopefully, this won't turn bad."

"Um..., excuse me?" Miharu spoke up, and to the two women, it sounded like Spanish. They turned their attention to her. "Um... that cloud was us. Don't worry, we're not here to cause a disturbance."

One of the women's eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here? As you can see, this is a poor village. There is not much for you to steal."

"I just said we're not here to cause a disturbance." Miharu said exasperatedly. "Listen, have you, by any chance, seen a man with long white hair, and a girl with equally long white hair, traveling around these parts?"

The other woman shook her head. "No. We rarely leave this island, and people rarely come to this island, and trust me, someone matching your description would have stood out."

"Great...." Megami slapped a palm to her face. They had gone here for nothing! "Not exactly the information we were looking for...."

Adela frowned. "There are still nineteen more islands. And while we're questioning, we should search for their spiritual pressure."

Miharu nodded. "Thanks." She said to the women, and they began to move again, traveling to a total of five more islands and interrogating the residents, but always getting the same result.

Nothing.

It wasn't until they reached the sixth island from where they started that it seemed things may start to be looking up. They had reached an island and were talking to an old woman. Since seemed to speak English, Miharu decided to let her mother interrogate.

"Uhm.... excuse me.... miss?"

Megami approached cautiously, her Japanese accent tainting the English-spoken words. She folded her hands in front of her, trying to look as modest as possible. She stepped in front of the small group. "We happen to be looking for a pair of long, white-haired individuals traveling around here. One's a man and one's a younger girl. Did you happen to see them?"

The old woman looked up from a book she was reading, entitled The Encyclopedia of Bat Eyes. "Actually, yes." She said in a small, feeble voice. She was ancient. "The man had a determined look on his face, and the girl was rushing along, her own face rather blank. This was awhile ago, maybe a few months. But I still remember. I can feel the spiritual pressure of individuals. His was terrible..."

"Oh, no.... blank eyes....?"

Concealing her fear, Megami shook her head and focused on the woman again. "Do you remember which direction they were headed to?" She asked urgently.

"They seemed to be heading to the northernmost island." The woman said, pointing gnarled hand north. "Before you leave dearie, would you and your friends be interested in staying for lunch? I'm preparing something special." The book trembled ominously in her hand at the mention of "special".

Comically, Megami recoiled, staring at the book incredulously for a moment. "Ah...!" She managed to stutter. "Thanks for the offer, but we're in a really big hurry. C'mon, you heard her." She quickly motioned towards the group with her. "Northernmost islands!"

The mention of blank eyes seemed to renew Aoi's resolve. Perhaps Taiki was controlling Kyūi.

"Well, be careful." The woman warned, her voice slightly ominous now. "I fear that even if you find what you seek, things will not go as you intend."

"We didn't come this far just turn back from rumored failure." Megami answered, giving an assuring smile. "We'd like to see for ourselves."

"Alright. Look after yourselves." And she returned quietly to her book as the pair shot off. Miharu looked worried, something that was noticed by Adela.

"Mihara, what's wrong?" Adela asked. She was one of the only people to call her Mihara. At first it was a simple mispronunciation, but then it stuck with her.

Miharu frowned. "Well, I've been having a bad feeling since our discussion this morning, and what the old lady said back there just added on to it."

"Would you stop it?" Megami scolded, looking over to stare over at Miharu. "What does she know? She's assuming the worst, nothing but a pessimist!"

"Maybe she's psychic?" Adela offered unhelpfully. Aoi shot an icy stare, and Adela looked away.

"Either way, she said her stare was blank." Aoi said, turning back to face the water they were running over. "That must mean he's controlling her!" She could not keep the hope out of her voice.

"Then we'll have to break that control...." Megami concluded. "By any means possible!"

"Killing him is the easiest option..." Miharu murmured, hoping no one would hear.

"And the most preferable." Aoi replied, having obviously heard her.

At this, Megami remained silent. She could've guessed that feelings towards Taiki would not be welcoming. There was nothing she could really do. Unless they got there, she would just have to bear with it and go on.

As they continue moving straight through the islands, Aoi was struck by a thought, the same thought Miharu had mentioned earlier. "What if she's put of the mind control, but she doesn't want to come back?" Aoi murmured, talking about Kyūi.

"That's it."

Megami was just about fed up with the rather negative and pessimistic talk. Her lips took on a rather irritant scowl, eyes narrowing in clear aggravation. "Everyone stop, right now!" She ordered, voice commanding and not hiding the firey disappointment she held for the demoralized group. She heeded her own order, skidding and stopping herself from advancing any further.

They all stopped, each wearing a look of surprise on their face, except for Aoi, who looked blank, yet annoyed.

"What is it?" She asked in a monotone sort of voice.

"I cannot believe you are talking like this!!!" Megami snapped, glaring at the two younger Kurosaki. "Ever since we started this, all you've been talking about nothing but whether or not Kyūi, despite being brutally wounded by her own father, would actually stay with him!!!" She folded her arms across her chest. "Sure, these may be possibilities, but you are sticking to them like glue!!! It's ridiculous and it's just making you feel worse off than we should be!!"

"Kyūi seems to prefer Taiki over me." Adela said, and Aoi nodded. "She did as a child at least, and whenever he randomly left, she would get very upset."

"Much more so than myself..." Aoi murmured.

"Taiki is a skilled fighter. While the wound he inflicted on her may have looked fatal to us, he could very well have avoided in major arteries or vital spots to ensure Kyūi's survival." Adela continued. "He's also a smooth talker. He could very well persuade her to stay with him."

"Adela...." Megami switched her arm positions, placing her hands on her hip. "In the times that you've spent with Kyūi, how did she react?"

"What do you mean by that?" Adela asked, confused.

"I mean how did she act while she was around you. Was she happy? Angry? Somewhere in between?" Megami's voice held a rather irritant tone. But she couldn't help it. All of this negative talk was just frustrating to deal with, even for her!

"Kyūi was nearly always happy." Adela replied. "She was a cheerful person, but it was just more apparent when Tai--"

"Hold it." Megami abruptly raised a finger for Adela to stop. "It does not matter if it was more apparent when Taiki was there. If she loved and appreciated you.... then doesn't that mean something? Doesn't that mean she holds an attachment to you, too? As long as that exists, then you have that chance to help her. The more you worry about failing, the more likely it's going to happen!"

She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "It's tough, and it hurts." She continued softly. "But we have to be strong. For her sake, and possibly for your husband's. All right?"

They all nodded. Apparently, Megami was in charge now.

"We might as well press on." Aoi said in the same monotonous voice. "I'd like to find her and get her back as soon as possible." She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. "And besides. Rakuen is getting impatient."

Megami nodded. "Right. C'mon!" This time, she led the way of the group. She would make sure there would be no more negative talk. They needed to stay strong for what they were about to do, and even more so once they found the group. It would be a tough thing to accomplish.... but she knew by now the Kurosaki lived to endure. A smile came to her face at the thought.

They kept running in silence, and night began to fall before they could even think they were close to the northernmost island. It was then that Miharu spoke up. "So, what do we do when we find Onī-san?" She asked the group at large. "Though I mentioned killing earlier, that isn't really something I want to do. I like my brother."

"If we can convince him otherwise..... then we won't have to...." Megami said to her. "I'd rather keep the killing to a minimum as much as possible."

"Same." Miharu agreed. She loved her brother, especially when she was a little kid. "When we find him, let's try taking the high road and talking before anyone draws any weapons." It was obvious the last part of the sentence was spoken at Aoi.

"Agreed...."

Night fully began to fall and it soon became to dark on the water to see much of anything else, and everyone was forced to stop on the nearest island, where they were taken into an inn by a young woman, who set them up in a large, rather comfortable room. As they settled down into the room, Aoi sat down on her bed, looking very impatient and muttering to herself.

It was obvious that the simple stop was taking its toll onto her.

However, Megami made no attempt to console her. Despite her earlier words, despite the fact that they were searching for her, the girl just wasn't acting like herself anymore. She stretched, letting out a yawn. "Well, I don't know about you all.... but I'm going inside the bathroom to take a shower before I go to sleep." She turned away from them, walking inside and grabbing the doorknob behind her. She paused for a moment, however, before shutting the door behind her.

"I'll take a nap until Kā-san gets out of the shower, so I can take one as well." Miharu said, yawning and laying down on her bed. Adela climbed into her own, and they were asleep within minutes, leaving Aoi alone to peruse her thoughts. They would reach the northernmost island tomorrow, hopefully by morning. They'd get a bit of sleep here, but she would be sure to rouse them at the crack of dawn. They'd grab a small bite to eat and then set out. She wanted to get this done. The sooner they got Kyūi back, the sooner she could return to being happy. She sat there in silence, the only sound being that of running water. Then, the sound of footsteps broke the silence, causing her to look up. She just saw that looked like a ponytail of white hair slip right by, and she caught the scent of various things. Ramen, blood, and... Kyūi? She got up, walking towards the door and looked out. Down the hall, she saw the ponytail of white hair turn the corner, and she took off after it.

Could it be?

She turned the corner and saw a girl walking at a brisk pace. She was heading towards the exit of the inn. Aoi gritted her teeth. Megami would be worried if she left, but she had to go and see. She took off at a run, but the girl only seemed to increase her own speed. She walked into the lobby, which was empty. The innkeeper must be asleep as well. The girl opened the door and walked into the crisp night air, leaving it ajar as if inviting Aoi to follow. She did so, and the girl kept moving over to the beach. When they reached the sands, she stopped, looking out over the ocean. Aoi got to where she was, and, for a moment it was silent, only the wind and the tides audible. When she spoke, her voice was croaky.

"K-Kyūi..." She stuttered over the name. "Are you Kyūi?"

Silence. And then the figure began to move again, walking towards the water.

"WAIT!" Aoi yelled, but the figure kept walking right into the water. Aoi began to follow, but she was repulsed by something. Soon, the figure was completely submerged. Aoi fell to her knees, and sat there, shaking for a moment. Droplets of liquid hit the sand, darkening it. She was crying. Somewhere in the sky, Anton was watching her for a moment, frowning. Then, out of nowhere, Achilina joined him, a wide grin on her face, which vanished when she saw Aoi was not underwater. When Anton spoke, his tone was serious.

"Achilina, why would you go and do that? We are supposed to watch her, not intervene. Taiki only instructed us to watch."

"I was bored," replied the young girl, unabashed. "I suppose it was you who put up the shield that stopped her from follow me into the water?"

"Yes." The man replied, irritated. "Try to control yourself." He put emphasis on the last two words.

The girl sighed. "Alright..." With that word, they vanished.

After a near half hour of sitting by the ocean, Aoi stood up, wiping the tears from her face. She walked slowly back up to the inn, and arrived in her room to see Megami sitting on her bed, in a dressing gown. The water was still running, so Miharu must be showering.

"Ah!"

Megami looked up in surprise. "There you are, Aoi!" She remarked, giving a polite smile. "I was surprised to see you gone. How was your little trip?" She sounded nice, in order to create a bit of a warmer situation for the girl.

Aoi frowned, sitting down next to her step-grandmother. "Miserable." Aoi replied hollowly. "I'm...not sure, but I think I may have seen Kyūi. She was walking down the hall and I followed. When I called out to her, she didn't respond..." She breathed in for a moment. "Then she walked right into the ocean. Something repelled me and I couldn't follow."

"Aoi...." Slowly, Megami sat up and looked at her in concern. "You've been in a rather upset state every step of the way.... maybe you just thought you saw her?" She suggested.

"No." Aoi shook her head. "When she passed, I picked up scents. Two: the scents of Ramen and blood, were actually confusing. Didn't understand why I could smell that, though those are two of my favorite things. Then I picked up the scent of Kyūi. I don't think my nose was lying to me."

"I don't see why she'd walk into the ocean, especially in the night when it's cold!" Megami said. "I doubt anyone in their right mind would do that!"

"Explain why I was repelled." Aoi spoke again. "I didn't imagine a barrier."

"Someone is watching us." Megami answered, giving a solemn look towards Aoi. "I don't know if it's just something created by Taiki or not, but someone knows about your feelings for Kyūi and decided to exploit them for their own entertainment. And that someone is toying with your mind."

Aoi frowned. It made some sense. "Alright." She yawned only slightly. "I guess I'll get to sleep." She hugged Megami before hopping onto her bunk bed. Tired, she was asleep within minutes.

A rather short acceptance....

But Megami didn't mind. Instead, she allowed herself to stretch out on the bed, folding her hands behind her head. She closed her eyes promptly. It would be tough reaching the northernmost islands.... but she was sure they would make it. Hopefully, everything would go as planned, and there would be another happy ending as it had always been.