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Tao came back from the village smiling, not only did he get the ore, he got it in under five minutes as well. The assassin-theif was in a very good mood. That was... of course... until someone tried to rob him as he was walking off the high-way.

"Hey, you there, whats in the bag?" The 5'9" weasle-like man asked.

"You've got to be joking... ok I'll be nice, move, before I kill you." Tao said incrediously... sadly... the man took too long to reply and had a katar and a dagger protruding from both sides of his neck. Resheathing the katar and leaving the dagger in his neck Tao continued on his way home... STill... in a good mood.

((drat... Tao should've stayed in town... xD))

Arriving at the Theatre he walked outside and opened up a window that vented the basement, Tao's room, he tossed the bag in there and would get it later. He was oddly energetic. And there was only one good way to rid himself of such energy.

He started into the woods, taking the long way towards the village and keeping a lookout for any bandits, or fellow thieves... good thing about the immortal thieves, they couldn't die. So Tao could occasionally beat on them without worry.

Taketo became lost in thought, and was staring up at the night sky. As he was waiting all he could think about was the strange things that have been happening recently. He felt like a huge mess, but kept his outer appearance to be simple as possible, even though he felt no one was around. He closed his eyes and began to recollect everything. He slowly became frustrated with himself and tried shaking it off...but it just eventually led back to yet another recurrence.

This is ridculous. Why am I so upset about this? I could careless...but do I really mean that. And still...it was just so hard to deal with the fact that Nadeshiko seems to look up to me. Though...it is kind of nice. What am I talking about?!?! Ugh...why is my return been such a confusing, mashed up bunch of--

Taketo suddenly heard his name and saw Kosho down below. He thought he was pretty well hidden, but it seems his hiding place didn't pass this thief. He looked down into the lit up area around the sycamore. Taketo cleared his throat as he was spoke out toward Kosho, in a low tone.

"No...no one but me."

By the gods, how long had she lingered here?

The thought was what jolted Saku awake. She had fallen asleep in the theatre and hadn't the slightest idea how long she'd been here. Her quest for knowledge had failed utterly and she realized that lounging about the theatre alone would do her no good. Since no one had attempted to find her, she could assume that there was no assignment for her. With that in mind, she was free to do as she chose. Trouble was, what did she choose? She drew a sighing breath before rising in one fluid motion.

Her bones were stiff from sitting for so long. She raised her hands above her head and the bones in her shoulders slipped in and out of place with a wet pop. Her elbows were next before she rotated her wrists for the same release. Curling her fingers they did the same. She bowed her spine backwards as far as she could and the procession of sharp cracks filled the air. Bending forward she relieved the tension in her lower spine. Nearly all of her joints could lock up if she did not periodically stretch them. Others thought it was painful, for her it was actually the opposite. She started to move and found her hips and legs near painfully sore. Sighing a quick jerk made her hips and knees pop. A quick flash of pain gave way to sense of relief and drew another sigh from her. She balanced on one leg and rotated her ankle before switching to the other. When she took another step and received no sign of protest from her body she knew she was ready.

Not even pausing a moment longer, Saku exited the theater. She would return to her garden till she was needed and possibly for even longer. It wasn't as if anyone would miss her. She drew the fresh air into her lungs, letting it fill her with a sense of peace before exhaling. Her life as an immortal had been like this for ages. She lived from moment to moment, not knowing her future or ever really caring. For all she knew, she didn't have a future, merely an endless series of nows. Saku brushed the thought aside as she stepped into her sanctuary.

Welcoming as always, she felt a sense of home almost instantly. The scent of wildflowers enveloped her and lulled her into smiling. She walked along the stone path towards her token boulder and hoped on. Spinning she descended into a sitting position in the same motion. Closing her eyes she began the deep steady breaths that would eventually bring her to a meditative state.

With a simple touch, her soft skin clung to the cold stone, like a glue, until she pulled it away. Shinobu took in a deep breath of chilled air, exhaling fog, and glanced to the skies.

"Aoki should be nearly here by now." She whispered under her breath, keeping a reminder that her sister was not hopeless, and should soon have caught up.

Standing out there, along the side of the cafe she'd just been sitting in, waiting under the moonlight for her sibling to arrive, Shinobu couldn't help but feel... watched. She turned her head this way and that, unable to shake the sense, and yet unable to see what or whom it could be. Last time she'd attempted this mission, Melora had come after her, tearing through the woods like the plague, to string along victims on chains, a link of which Shinobu quickly became. But this time there was no chance of that, she'd already seen to the child's safety, and felt certain now that Melora had calmed from her havoc before.

I don't know why but... I feel more responsible than any for bringing her this pain... I should've thought twice... immortality isn't a blessing, not at all. not for her, at least.

A snowflake chanced upon Shinobu's palm, that which she promptly brought to her face so she could watch it melt from the warmth, catching it's into a mere droplet, and sliding away, off her skin, and down, lost and forgotten, into the drifts below.

I just want to take it all back. Just because I'm stuck in this body for all eternity doesn't mean she must suffer the same... I just wish I could fix it all... and...

Her guilty obsession returned.

...see Haru once again... I suppose me leaving like this is no more than running away from my fears. Whatever Haru hurts for, as goes for Melora, I just hope that it will remedy soon.

Juromaru's eyes flashed open and he lept to his feet. There was something in the air that was tugging at his mind. He rushed past Yue and into the theatre. He ran into his room, threw his armor off into a corner and dropped the bag of jewels onto his hammock. He was smiling, Saku was back. Time to see how much she'd grown since she left. Juromaru had a slight affection for rubbing her skills with fire into the ground. And he wasn't about to miss this chance to show her up. He quickly grabbed a cloth and cleaned his blade. All he could think about was Saku. His mind raced with memories of battles gone by, he'd won everytime, and he wasn't worried about losing to her now. Something about having a rival fire manipulator around made his blood boil. He laughed as he wrapped his chest in bandages and rushed back outside.

"SAKU!" He stood out near her favourite place to be. She had to be around here somewhere. "SAKU!"
Juromaru's hand twitched as his fingers rested on the hilt of Kiba. He could feel her, but where was she...

"SAKU!!!"

((Edaniel, did you get the picture for Aiyoku?))

[I have a few really nice ones, already prroved by Tsubasa, that you can chose from. Really nice. i'll sned them to you, then you can choose.]

{Winter is a rather romantic season...But it can also be the lonliest...}

[Very true.]

Fai looked at the clothing he had stolen from before, looking them over carefully, before smiling. Definitely him, he thought with a smirk.

It was dark blue; Fai's favourite colour. The pants were black, and they were silken. They were almost in the style of the Chinese clothes, with a pair of slippers to boot. He smirked at them; he had never enjoyed sandals, rather going for the footwear that would cover his entire feet instead of just some of them.

Slinking into an alleyway much like Kosho had done, he slipped on his clothes, and ran his fingers through his hair quickly, before he folded his clothes up, hiding his weapons on his person in various places; need to be protected and all. He then slipped his clothes into his clothes, hiding them comfortably, and walked out of the alleyway, walking down quietly towards the sycamore. He rather liked his choice of clothes, and he was rather proud of himself, really. He thought he did nicely.

Juromaru felt the flare of her energy. He smirked and laughed lightly to himself as he heard her voice ring out of the willow before him.

"Pleasure? Hardly, the honor is mine. I haven't even seen you in so long. I don't know why you never write." He smiled as he watched her move. her body was taunt with muscle and power, she'd been training. With each step he could feel the pulse in her body. Behind her eyes lurked something that he had seen many times before. He will, her drive. He laughed with glee on the inside.

My dear, you're not the same as when you left, no, not remotely. I wonder what you've been up to...

The snow that was gently falling was being melted and evaporated in the air. Between the two fire users the immediate surrounding environment was heating up at an exponential rate. The snow that was between and around Saku and himself was melting away. Soon it was all gone and the garden area they stood in looked more like it did in the middle of summer rather than what it did in winter.

"Truely little Saku-chan, you don't seem to be as little as you used to be."

He looked her over carefully. He noted every aspect of her figure. Her fans were always on her person. He smiled. There was a certain tone in her stance that screamed her want to rub him and his ego into the dirt. Juromaru smiled, he welcomed it.