Event Horizon: Shattered Hearts - 100Y - Private

Lineage: +100% Jewel
Golden Lacrima: +25% Jewel

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Last time on the totally awesome adventures of totally awesome people who do totally awesome things with totally awesome spells... Samira and Kaori had managed to defeat a massive snake that was destroying things from Desierto to the border of Bosco and Fiore, leaving a rather high body count as its legacy. Kaori had started strong, dealing more damage than any of the firing squad or knights who were attacking but ultimately it was Samira and some strange new power of her's that killed the beast. The celestial summoner had passed out afterwards, giving Kaori no time to ask about the attack she used and even after she woke up the ninja didn't care to ask- she was just glad that her friend was back in action. It had seemed to be a reoccurring scene where Kaori was leaning against Samira and holding her for comfort, one that had only played out a time or two vice versa and those weren't by choice for the green haired girl so much as it was Kaori not taking 'no' for an answer... which... could technically be classified as felony if Samira pressed charges for battery and sexual harrassment... Samira had chosen this moment to ask a very peculiar question. "Did you have a friend when you were little that you trained with? One not of your clan?"

The question was quite strange since previously, Samira had never asked about Kaori's past at all and her question was asking for information regarding a very specific portion of her past. Kaori had straightened up and looked at Samira with an inquisitive look about her. She wasn't suspicious of Samira, if the woman were going to betray Kaori she could have done it dozens of times already. "Well... of course..." Kaori responded while blinking a couple times. The question was actually quite silly if you took a moment to analyze it. Were Kaori a normal member of the clan, such a question would be far more appropriate since they rarely require doing anything beyond taking care of their village and serving the clan's head. However, Kaori- even as a child, was Nobility among nobility, the daughter of a clan leader. Even in other countries nobles and their children were highly active in maintaining relationships with neighboring countries, and other nobles. "As a noble I was required to see various other nobles as a child in order to create ties to other families, creating new alliances and even retaining or regaining old ones. Some of these friends would go on to trying to court me, but end up falling short and out of pride become enemies... afterwards becoming corpses. But there are five of them that never became an enemy that I still keep in touch with... I can tell you about them if you'd like?"

---

"When I was four my mom had told me that I was going to begin training to play my role as Saia's right hand and advisor. Even though we weren't enemies back then, I was still considered a curse to the clan in his eyes and he never let me forget it...." a pulse of magic power had been felt, converting the room to one with paper walls and hard wood floors, a very traditional Midi home. A young male voice was heard through the walls of the room saying "Mother, she has no place at my side! A spy would grant me far more honor than-" a woman's voice had interrupted him "Be silent, Saia! She is your sister whether you like it or not and she will support and protect you till your last dying breath." The sliding doors swung open to reveal the three individuals in the room with Saia storming out bearing a sour expression. Kaori was much younger looking but her hair still dangled down to the floor. Her ruby eyes shifted and looked to the floor and her mother, who bore the same face as the one Samira originally saw Kaori with when she finally did see it, had let out a sight while getting to Kaori's level. Kaori spoke softly, sweetly as though she would never become the monster she was presently. "I-If big brother doesn't want me to be his advisor... I don't mind-" "No child, you must show these people that even those born different are capable of showing the same heart. If the deepest desire of yours is to become a serf, then you have my blessing; but my deepest desire is for you to be so much more... You'll be attending a dinner with me and some other nobles in a few days. Take that time to think over what you want." she left the room, leaving Kaori alone so she could go attend to Saia. "I never told my mom this, but back then I wanted to be a priestess and avoid fighting entirely." Kaori said just as the vision was fading.

When the vision faded back in, they were in a room with white walls and royal blue granite floors with many gold decorations adorning the room on shelves and tables. There were only two people in this room, leaving a lot of empty space and awkward silence. Across from Kaori was a young boy with brown hair in a kimono. He was looking at the table while playing with his thumbs. "Kirei was the first outsider I met. His clan was more of a peaceful one, scribes and poets, philosophers and whatnot. His father had wanted to arrange a merging of clans, stating it was mutually beneficial so my mom had gone to hear him out." A woman walked in the room carrying a tray with tea and some snacks, setting it down on the table and bowing to the two children. "Excuse me, servant." Kaori had called out, causing the woman to pause. "Yes Lady Leraci?" she asked respectfully. "Would you mind asking the lord if I may roam the grounds?" The servant shoot her head before saying "You were both requested to be kept here. The lord does not wish to risk your getting lost, or worse, injured in his estate." Kaori stood up and bowed to her. "I understand, thank you."

When the servant had left the room, Kirei had stood up saying "If you want to go outside, I have a special way that I use whenever father grounds me." He then moved over to a rug and rolled it back to reveal a trap door. "Don't let my sweeter demeanor fool you, I was still devious back then." Kaori said to Samira. The vision version of her had looked at the trap door before walking over and opening it. She and Kirei looked at each other before grinning, having found common ground in being troublemakers. The vision had faded and when it came back, they were in a large dojo with Kirei trying to pick up a bokken but seeming to have many problems with it. Kaori had begun laughing at him which was met with red cheeks and him shouting "Don't laugh at me!" in a whiney tone. "I apologize. I'm not accustom to seeing someone struggle so much in lifting a training sword." Kaori replied. "Well if you're so tough, let's see you do it!" he replied, not expecting Kaori- a delicate looking girl, to be able to do it. Kaori walked over and grabbed the same sword, lifting it with both hands and making a few movements. They were rough and it was obvious the sword was too heavy for her at the time, but she was still able to do it. "Hey, Leraci... why did you call me Kirei?" "Because it's your name. We're to become allies, correct? May as well get used to using each others first names." Kirei had looked at Kaori while blinking a few times, not used to someone with her outlook on things. "Later that day, I found that Kirei's family was quickly losing money. His father had already sold a great deal of land to pay off debts, and the only thing my clan stood to gain was a few more meat shields and a lot of liability. Ultimately, Kirei's family was denied but nothing bad resulted from it. His father had allowed us to be friends in hopes we'd grow closer but I could never marry someone as weak as he was. I have a clan to guard and I don't intend on becoming a widow because I abandoned my other half, or creating widows and widowers because I had to guard one person."

---

A new vision started with Kaori running past quite a few people in what seemed to be a market setting. The houses nearby seemed slightly run down, but none of them looked like they would be collapsing anytime soon. The adults all looked down, moving their hips to angle their legs away from the small child rushing past them while laughing. Behind her a mail voice shouting "Lady Leraci, please slow down!" while two men rushed after her, being hindered by the busy market street, trying to catch her. "We were in Kage no Mura, a village that we won from an enemy tribe that no longer exists." If Samira asked what happened, Kaori would only tell her "An accident." and nothing more. After some running, Kaori had bumped into another small girl of the same age wearing white robes with gold accents, both of them falling to the ground afterwards. Kaori sat up while looking around to find what she hit and saw the other girl, quickly grabbing her hand to help her up saying "My apologies, I wasn't-" "Little miss!" the voice was getting closer. Kaori resumed running but forgot to let go of the other girl's hand, verified by Kaori telling Samira "I... actually forgot to let go of her hand..." with an awkward tone. Kaori ran around the corner and behind a shop stall and kneeled down. "Um... excuse me, c-could you release my hand?" a voice called from behind her, causing mini Kaori to go wide eyed. "I- I'm sorry, I-" "Leraci." Kaori paused, blinking a few times while processing why someone knew her name. "How... do you know me?" Kaori asked, unable to comprehend the extent of her fame. "You're the daughter of Lord Leraci. My name's Iade (Ee-uh-day), Mizuho Iade. Why are you running from those guys Lady Leraci?" Kaori puffed her cheeks at her, she honestly hated being addressed as nobility...

Kaori: "Call me Kaori, and I don't like them- so I left their watch."
Mizuho: "Oh-okay... Ummm... Kaori. You shouldn't run from your caretakers though."
Kaori: "I don't make a habit of it, these two are just obnoxious. The others are much more fun."
Mizuho: "Why do you find them obnoxious? I-if I may ask..."
Kaori: "They won't let me eat sweets, or pet the kitties, or help people carry stuff, or do anything."
Mizuho: "But those things are all undignified. You must preserve your family's image, and sweets are unhealthy."
Caretaker (Mizuho): "Hey! Where'd Lady Iade go!?"
Mizuho: "I'm sorry Kaori, but I have to- (stopped by Kaori pulling her)"
Kaori: "Come on, let's go play!"

Kaori gave a soft chuckle. "Mizuho was always a very sweet person, quite innocent and well mannered- just like you." The vision had transitioned to Kaori and Mizuho approaching a door at the back end of an alley and Kaori knocking on it, an old woman opening it and recognizing Kaori immediately. "The old lady was someone I visited every couple days. Her son died in the battle where my clan claimed their village and she had no grand children, but was still very kind to me." The old woman had let Kaori in and the vision had faded out once more. "Mizuho was a terrible fighter, but she was fun to be around. She got better as she grew up, but that's cause she had been made aware of a merging with Kirei's clan that my mother and father helped arrange. Kirei would inherit her clan's name, as well as be subject to acting as Mizuho's support. The two would share land, wealth, and the burden of protecting it all. Growing up Kirei fell in love with Mizuho, but she only went through with the wedding because it was her duty... she saw Kirei as a friend, nothing more. The wedding was quite eventful... much bloodier than they normally are." Kaori's tone was very nonchalant on the last part, as though bloodshed at a wedding wasn't as abnormal as she said it was.

---

The sound of battle and the smell of blood had been produced several seconds before the transition had been completed. The nine year old version of Kaori was wearing a black ninja outfit with a white scarf around her neck. She had charged at the head of the Leraci forces with a wall of platinum scarves behind her, gold behind them, crimson behind those, and the rest of the white scarves in the back where they belonged. "Normally, the strongest are sent first in order to counter the enemies who always used their weakest as cannon fodder. Our weak stayed at the rear and helped kill enemies that were injured. However, my brother wanted to see me die. He put me thirty feet out in the front line with no support... and got pissed every time I came back alive." Kaori had vanished just as she reached the first enemy, reappearing and spinning with her sword to kill three men in a single hit. She vanished again and blood, heads, and limbs were sent flying. It was obvious that she was numb to killing by the fact that this Kaori, at just nine years old, was in front the men who were twice her age at the youngest and was killing without mercy or fear. The enemies weren't wearing the standard samurai or ninja armor that denizens of Midi wore... they were wearing plate armor with lions engraved on the shoulder guards and metal helmets. One of them had came at Kaori and swung his broadsword in an attempt to remove her head, but the hand was swiftly cut off and he was impaled by a man with a gold scarf.

A man with a horse had began charging down the field towards them and Kaori used her foot, sliding it under the broad sword and lifting it, got the soldier's sword in the air before performing a spin kick and hitting it on the bottom to turn it into a projectile. The blade bounced off the knights armor which only made young Kaori annoyed. She grabbed a nearby broadsword off some other dead person's corpse and began charging through the enemies towards the horseman. One man tried stopping her be she sent her katana through the bottom of his helmet, leaving it with him while taking the sword he dropped from the air as it fell. The world began moving in slow motion, reflecting the adrenaline kicking in for Kaori. Everyone was larger than she was, stronger than she was, but none were faster or had more skill and experience than her... Kaori had sped up her movement and the enemies began piling in on her. The first two had their swords rammed into their groins, dropping their swords while reaching down out of reaction. Kaori grabbed them while spinning and cut their heads off, all within seconds and continued moving towards the horseman. The next two men had begun preemptively blocking their nether regions and Kaori jumped while spinning, removing the tops of their skull from over shooting the jump- she was aiming for their necks. Kaori had pressed her feet on one of their backed, pushing off as the man fell dead and landing on the head of a nearby enemy with her legs curled around his mask. She spun to release a loud, distinct snapping sound before letting herself fall backwards into a roll that she recovered from and charged at the horse that was more than three times her height. Kaori countered this problem by sliding on her knees and spinning under the horse, removing its legs and sending the beast to the floor. She sprung up while the knight was flying forward, vanished, and reappeared over him to bring the sword down on the back of his neck and run it all the way through. The whole time Kaori didn't speak, grunt, or release any form of battly cry as the men around her on both sides were doing. The scene of Kaori tearing through enemies had continued until the last one had been slaughtered and their general was brought to her by two of the platinum scarves along with two more things... A young boy was thrown down in front her along with a young girl, blonde, curly hair on both of them. They had brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin but not so much that they were dark. They were crying from fear as well as the black-blue bruises they had on their arms, and faces. "As the daughter of Lord Leraci, their fates are yours." one of the platinum scarves said, offering his katana to Kaori.

Kaori took the blade and walked to the general. He was on his knees with the two men holding hom down, but his eyes were at Kaori's level since she was still a child. She pointed the blade at his face, raising it as she got closer so when it came down at last, his head would be at the halfway point on the blade. "Por favor, ahorrar a mi familia" he muttered with tears flowing down his eyes, the children looking up with dirt coating their chins screaming "Padre!" Kaori was a killer, and she glanced at the children before walking towards them with the blade lowering, grinding the tip on the floor. The man tried to jerk himself free but ultimately failed, he began screaming in his language for Kaori not to harm them. She stopped in front the young boy, her ruby eyes were the only thing visible through her mask and narrowed on the boy. One of the men grabbed the back of his opulent clothes and brought him to his knees like his father who began screaming with more desperation. Kaori held her free hand out and a katana flew across the battlefield, landing in it. The sword had a golden hibiscus dangling from the hilt, designating it as her personal blade. She raised the sword over the boy's head and the girl began crying even more, planting her face in the dirt and screaming. The boy's father grit his teeth, shut his eyes tight while crying and looked away saying "Lo siento, mi hijo." under his breath. The sound of metal being shoved into dirt was heard as Kaori rammed her sword into the ground in front the boy. The father opened his eyes wide expecting to see a head rolling, but instead, saw Kaori's sword in front his son with the ninja walking away. The platinum scarves released the boy and his father and began following Kaori without question. The father was able to untie his children since he was never tied up, and he was free to do as he pleased... "It was a test. If he attacked after that, I would've killed him and his children instantly... My reasoning for letting them live was nothing more than the fact that none of them were in a position to fight, there was no honor in killing them."

The vision faded and they were in a room with a bed, a much older version of Kaori was undressed from the waist up. She was covered in bandages all along her torso, chest, and right arm. Her face was her true one instead of her mother's since she wasn't awake to reapply the transformation spell. A bin next to her had many bloodied ones in it and on her other side was a night stand with her mask. Kaori picked it up gently and put it on before looking around, looking for clues as to where she was. "I'm not sure how long I was out for, but I would've died if not for them. I was asked to take care of a bandit camp and got ambushed while making my escape. It was eight years after Saia's betrayal and I was no closer to killing him than the day I started..." A boy with curly blonde hair walked in, his brown eyes focusing on Kaori. "You're awake" he said in his native tongue, Kaori replying "Who are you?" in the same language. "My sister spent quite some time bandaging your wounds, I was beginning to think she was bandaging a corpse." he joked, earning Kaori's annoyance. "I asked who you are!" she shouted, her voice muffled by the mask. She let out a pained sound while grabbing a newly formed and expanding red spot on her stomach. "Hey, relax or you'll open your wounds up!" he shouted in a worried tone. A girl walked in with similar features asking "What's going on here?" before saying "Oh, she's awake." the girl stepped into the room fully saying "Please don't worry, you're safe here. My name's Christina, this is my brother Julio." A third person entered the room, a slightly older but much easier to recognize face; the general from before. Kaori narrowed his eyes on him "You're..." "General Angel Hernandez... former general. You're that ninja girl from the battle in Midi, the one who spared me and my children, correct?"

Kaori: "What do you plan to do with me?"
Angel: "You were unconscious on the side of the road, bleeding. Julio recognized that tattoo on your arm and we decided to take you in. Christina was surprised when you randomly changed how you looked while she was cleaning you up."
Kaori: (annoyed) "I asked what you plan on doing with me, not a story."
Angel: "Christina spent a great deal of time keeping your wounds closed and clean. I don't plan on wasting that if you think I was going to harm you."
Christina: (Walks out the room during conversation start and returned with a sword) "This belongs to you I think... (places sword next to Kaori)"
Angel: "Stay here as long as it takes for you to recover."
Julio: "You could stay with us forever if you'd like!"

"Julio was a good guy. I almost fell for him, but not fully- I had other things to take care of before I could let myself think of relationships. His sister was playful and liked teasing him, but she was also very kind. I was at their place for half a year, during which time they trained with me whenever I asked. Their style of sword play was different from ours so we traded wins and loses often, but we all had fun. Leaving was difficult for me, but I had a mission to complete. We still keep in touch on occasion... Julio got married to some aristocrat and Christina has men trying, but she doesn't like any of them."

---

"There was also Oji-san. I met him when I was four and his name was too long for me to pronounce. He helped me with hand to hand training by holding the boards for me." Another vision came that showed Kaori standing behind a door, peeking into a room with an old man in a treasure hunter's outfit talking with her father. Samira would have a very good idea of who he was and possibly come to realize that their fates were intertwined long before she met Kaori. It seemed their meeting was over since her father bowed to the man and left the room, ignoring Kaori as he passed her by. The old man had stopped at the door and looked at her, Kaori looking at him with large ruby eyes while blinking. He kneeled down and got to her eye level and greeted her. "Hello there." he said in Kaori's native tongue. "G-good morning." Kaori stuttered out, lacking the distinct slur that most children had at such a young age.

Oji-san: "What is your name little girl?"
Kaori: "Kaori..."
Oji-san: "It's a very nice name. You may call me (name was muffled out)" Kaori said to Samira "It's a name I don't fully remember... so it's fuzzy."
Kaori: (looks around)
Oji-san: "Do you like stories, Kaori?"
Kaori: (nods slowly)
Oji-san: "I travel quite a bit, I can tell you some later if you'd like?"
Kaori: (cheeks turn pink with a large smile) "Y-yes... ummm... Oji-san."
Oji-san: "Oji-san? I'm not that old, am I?"
Kaori: "Yes!"
Oji-san: "Well, I guess when you compare..."
Kaori: "Can you tell me a story now, Oji-san!?"
Oji-san: "Of course, but first I need to unpack."
Kaori: "I'll help!"

"That old guy was pretty nice. He told me about adventures of going through old ruins, finding really expensive things and even showed me a couple. Outsiders were always happy to see my abilities, and he loved that I could show him the past in ways the relics alone never did. He told me about his family, and that he missed them quite a bid, especially his granddaughter who had him tell her stories too. Him leaving hit me pretty hard, all outsiders leaving did... they were the only people I could use my powers around without being scolded for it." The vision had transitioned to the old man and Kaori in the dojo, him copying her movements as she did them slowly for him. "He was open minded to new things, but wasn't able to keep up with me if I went full speed. He told me stories while training with me. Saia hated hearing the stories of a 'gaijin' and always avoided the dojo, which was a bonus for me." The vision transitioned to a loaded up cart with the old man getting ready to board it. The small Kaori ran out her very large home while screaming, tears at the corners of her eyes as she grabbed his leg. "Nooooo! I don't want Oji-san to leave!" she shouted through the fabric causing the man to let out a very small chuckle. He pried her off and kneeled down, bringing her into his chest and saying "I have to go home to my family." the old man pulled a small, ornate compass out from his shirt pocket and put it in Kaori's hand. "Here, if you ever go on adventures or get lost, this will help you find your way." Kaori looked at the compass and nodded slowly. The old man had stood up to board the cart and depart, but Kaori had tugged the back of his clothes making him turn around. She grabbed his hand and pulled on it, letting him know to get back down on her level, which he did. Kaori reached behind her neck, undoing the magnetic clasp of her pendant and held it out for the old man. "Here, never forget me, Oji-san." Kaori said before hugging him and planting a kiss on his cheek. She did so very quickly, awarding him no time to even reciprocate the action before she ran back in the house. "That pendant is two of a kind, a treasure of my clan that's existed from the very first clan leader and his wife. It would be the first time in our history where an outsider was allowed to own it. After that day I never saw Oji-san again..."

---

Kaori had looked at the bed as the last vision faded, holding her hands with a tear already running down her cheek. "Then... there's Shara." her voice reflected the ending of Shara's tale, and it wouldn't have been the first time Samira had heard the name. "When I was five, my mother and I were traveling between villages when we came across a carriage that was abandoned. The horses were dead, so we assumed that it had been a raider attack but still, we checked for any bodies so a notice could be sent to the correct family. She went inside the carriage and when she walked out, she was holding a small girl. Through the open door I could see the floor boards that she moved to find her hiding spot, and there was no one else nearby. We took her back to our home and treated her, and she got better." The visions had returned and it showed Kaori and Shara in the dojo together, though, as Kaori's ten year old self. "Shara wasn't obligated to fight, she was allowed to be part of our clan and took up a back stage position. But that didn't stop her from picking up a sword." The vision showed Shara and Kaori going at it, trading hits and neither side making any progress in beating the other. It'd be the first time that Samira would ever see someone match Kaori with skill rather than brute strength. Even against the Celestial King, he had used his strength to keep Kaori at bay more than his sword skill. "She never held back against me, and I did the same for her. I'd say she was better than me since she didn't have any magic, and she would argue that I was better than her since I had one more win than her. We were best friends, sisters to the end and even shared the same birthday. No one, not even Saia or my father could give her crap without my stopping it. It was the only times I ever stood up to them, and it scared them every time."

The vision transitioned to a room at night time where Kaori was holding Shara just as she did Samira before they fought the snake, even singing the same song while gently rubbing her head. "There came a time where Shara began having nightmares where she saw herself betraying our clan, killing people left and right. I started sleeping with her so she'd feel safe and be able to know when she woke up that it wasn't real." The vision then changed, Kaori and Shara were back to back fighting against numerous enemies. "Several days later, it was revealed that her nightmares were warnings from the divines..." one of the men Kaori had killed had a hibiscus dangling from his neck, the same one Ikuchi had. Shara was crying as Kaori was, neither wanting to kill their clansmen but having no choice. The battle continued around them as Kaori said "We killed the entire village that day... every man, woman, and child had been killed. Nine hundred people, and I remember all of their names as well as that dead look in their eyes while they attacked us. Shara and I spent the next few years finding out what happened, and found her family along the way." the scene changed to show a man and woman welcoming Shara home as Kaori then said "I forced her to stay with them. She was my sister, and the only true family I had left... I wanted her to be safe."

The vision had changed to a much older version, a whole seven years had passed and the two of them were in a cave, exploring. "I had been gone for years, but constantly allocated resources to keep an eye on her. On her birthday... my birthday, I returned to visit her and we went out to the mountains. We loved it out there since none of the animals were a danger to us so long as I was around. Shara was in front, making sure it was safe to step forward while carrying our lantern." The other girl had walked forward and a sword was shot all the way through her, Kaori had rushed forward with her sword drawn but the person was already gone. She dropped to her knees, gently removing the blade from Shara's stomach while trying to heal the wound. Every time a clot formed, the blood would gush out and break it. Kaori had leaned into Samira and held her tightly, crying but letting the scene play. It was exactly like the one where Samira had been stabbed, except there was no Caeles Cantri to help her... Kaori had kept going, kept trying until she collapsed from exhaustion. Moments later, she got back up with sweat streaming down her face and mixing with the tears and kept trying some more. The vision faded and Samira would see Kaori laying the lifeless body in front of her parent's home and kneeling next to it, the mother collapsing and the father screaming at Kaori. "This was your fault! You had planned this, vile witch!" Kaori protested, but ultimately was driven away, banished from his lands.

The vision transitioned again to Kaori standing in front of a massive army with her cat mask on. The real one had forced herself to face her past and watch the vision, though, still crying. Samira would see the army behind her, platinum scarves at the front, then gold, then crimson, and over two thousand whites... She saw the enemy raise their blade and arrows began raining down on her army, all the men huddling close together as specific units raised a shield to the sky and forming a tiled roof. Kaori was thirty feet in front them, standing still as arrows rained around her to form a perfect circle. She drew her sword and raised it before vanishing and reappearing in the middle of the battle. She spun and cut off a man's head while her army attacked, that man was the one who was in charge of signaling the archers- meaning everyone would now resort to attacking however they saw fit. She vanished again and reappeared in front of two men, spinning and cutting them across the waist before vanishing again. Every time she appeared it was long enough to kill someone, and then vanish again. "Because I failed to protect her, I was the scapegoat and bore the burden of her death. Her father had his armies march on my land, and we slaughtered them. I had abandoned sentiment and marched my army through his lands, razing every village to the ground and ensuring no one survived. Not even the wooden foundations of their homes were left in our wake, and when I arrived at his home I killed him for abandoning my little sister in that carriage." The vision had changed to show Kaori standing next to a motorcycle with her hands on her hips, announcing "Lady Ceostra needs someone to come with me to the desert. We'll probably die, but there's a chance of finding something valuable. Anyone volunteers?" very loudly. Out of the crowed of people, a girl with green hair stepped forward and announced that she volunteered to go along. Kaori had leaned back on Samira, resting her eyes and wearing a gentle smile. "Then there was the green haired woman with no combat experience I met in a castle. She was a weak fighter, but became my source of joy, best friend, and most reliable ally... and reminded me of what it meant to be human, and how to become one again. So tell me... what caused you to ask about my friends?"

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Samira let go of Kaori when she felt movement and straightened up as well. She had noticed the peculiar look she had received as a first response and blinked innocently towards it. Perhaps it was too strange a question coming from her. Never had she asked for details regarding the ninja woman's past. Any information she did know had been told to her without being prompted. The one opportunity she did have had been back right before they entered the Ancient Ruins for some clan related weapon that had been hidden away. The timing had been inappropriate as far as she was concerned, and she had turned down that chance to inquire about certain details. That mission alone ended with more questions than answers, but never did the topic come up again later on. Things always seemed to happen before a simple conversation could go in that direction. Yet, there she was, asking about Kaori's childhood when she had just woken up from a week long sleep. The timing was certainly odd for someone that was not being given random dream visions. Then the answer to the question had been given, although the way it was put made it seem like it should have been obvious. The embarrassing feeling of appearing stupid coursed its way through her. Apparently she had been wrong in assuming Kaori didn't have many friends as a child. Plenty of acquaintances, sure, but not friends. Kaori had went on to explain how the noble relationships and alliances worked, which was something Samira knew a little about just from being a learned person. As predicted, many of the so called friends could barely be labeled as such since they had become enemies. The one from the vision she felt was much closer than that. Maybe she should have phrased her question to mean only of those within that category rather than some typical average "friend" that became an enemy and then a rotting corpse. It had been mentioned five of the friends she had from childhood remained. A small number but admittedly exceeded her own number of...zero. Friends weren't exactly a priority of hers growing up. "Please tell me," Samira said with a nod towards the question of her wanting to know more about the five remaining individuals that were considered Kaori's friends. "It is important." One of them had to be the one from the vision she had sometime ago. All she had to do was find out which and go from there.

Kaori began her tale, starting with how she was supposed to be an advisor for her brother but she was looked at as nothing more than a curse. Samira felt a magic ripple spread throughout the room, and with it the scenery began to change. A Midi home from what Samira could tell from pictures she had seen in books. Arguing voices could be heard and soon the door slid open, revealing a younger version of Saia, a much younger Kaori, as well as their mother. The first face of Kaori she had seen was that of her mother and with the scene currently playing it had been proven to be true. The scene continued to play as the two watched, although Samira blinked in surprise and turned to look at the other mage when she mentioned she had wanted to be a priestess and avoid fighting. A statement that was hard to believe if one were to see the older Kaori fight, or at least knew a little about her. Her past certainly changed her. As far as Samira knew, she herself was nearly exactly the same as she had been when she was little. There were some differences thanks to certain events that had taken place since becoming an official mage, but it was not as grand in scale as Kaori's.

Shortly after that vision had faded, another one had taken its place. A fancier room the scene turned into, and within it was a young boy and a young Kaori. The first friend on the list from what Samira guessed. The one from her vision was female so he could be crossed off as the one she was looking for. Regardless, Samira focused on the scene and Kaori's words. Just because the boy named Kirei was not a match to the girl of her vision did not mean Samira was not interested in knowing a little more. She smiled as the children made some mischief by sneaking out of the room, and then laughed lightly as the child Kaori showed Kirei she could do more than he could with a wooden sword. Then the frown came when the troubles surrounding Kirei's clan was explained. They were allowed to remain friends at the end of it all. There was an agenda behind it, but she had mentioned it was a peaceful clan to begin with. The two never became closer than friends, and Samira could agree with the logic behind it. Kaori was a leader and had a clan to protect and look after. Not just anyone would do.

The next vision started with the younger Kaori running through a busy market place setting. She was being chased, probably by those that were supposed to be keeping an eye on her. The current Kaori beside her had mentioned winning the village from an enemy tribe. Reasonable and expected. However, what was strange was that it did not exist anymore. It was honestly a common occurrence in Midi, but still she was curious as to what happened to it. "No longer exists? How so?" She had asked while still watching the movie-like magic do its work. The reply was just two words: "an accident." That resulted in a questioning look from the green haired summoner as she turned her head once more to look at the other. No more was said and it was evident there would be nothing. Samira let it go, concluding that it was probably best if she did not know. Not to mention she was prying enough as it was. Her attention went back to the scene as the young Kaori bumped into another small girl. From there, the poor thing was dragged along by her hand by the ninja that had forgotten to let go before taking off. The words by the present time Kaori made Samira smile. There would have been some laughter added in but she forced herself to hold it in. It was nice knowing Kaori had some awkward moments as a child and even peaceful ones. It wasn't always filled with violence and chaos after all. The two children talked some more just before poor Mizuho got dragged along to play instead of returning to her caretaker. The following words from the Kaori beside her were accurate, if not for the mannerisms and innocence, then for getting dragged along for the ride by a certain ninja woman. The two girls approached a door that was soon opened by an old woman that the young Kaori visited often, and from there they were let in, ending the vision. Another explanation was given, that time going into detail on how Mizuho and Kirei merged their clans by getting married. "Bloodier?!" Samira was quite taken aback that weddings in Midi were bloody to begin with, and even more surprised that the one featuring her friends was more so than normal. She was starting to feel blessed for never venturing into the land. Oh, wait. She was probably still going to have to go into it, wasn't she? Friend story two down. The girl in it was not the one from her vision.

Another scene began to transition in. First the smell, then the audio. A battlefield was next from what Samira could guess. The scenery fully came in and with it was a battle garbed nine year old Kaori leading walls of troops with different colored scarves. Samira knew from experience that each color was for a different rank. An explanation for why she was so far up front was given, which resulted in the summoner just disliking Kaori's brother even more. He really was heartless. The battle began, but not against other ninja or samurai, but against plate armored opponents with broadswords. Kaori was strong even back then. That was something Samira already knew, but it did not make seeing someone so young fight like that any less pleasant. Honestly, she could barely watch for the entire duration of the battle. Having a child go through such an ordeal was not something she believed in, but it was a common practice in many countries, including parts of Fiore.

The battle came to an eventual end and upon reaching that point a man thought to be the general of the enemy forces was brought to Kaori, along with two children. Samira watched intently as the scene unfolded. For a moment even she thought the young ninja would have killed them despite the whole scene being part of a tale regarding a friend somewhere down the line. However, they were all freed and left there to do as they pleased. It was a sort of logic that barely made sense to Samira. Then again, since she was not exactly a warrior it was probably why honor codes did not click so well in her head. The children were one thing, but the general had been at a point of being able to fight originally. Why was he not killed then? There was also the fact the children could grow up only to become a strong enemy. It also made little sense when she connected it to the time when in the Ancient Ruins and Kaori had killed at the time harmless mercenaries aside from one. Samira just could not fully wrap her head around what went with the honor code and what did not.

The battlefield surroundings transitioned into a room where an older and injured Kaori lied, although she seemed a little unaware of where she was and who had been nursing her wounds. Shortly after the real timeline Kaori explained she would have died from an ambush if not for the mysterious good samaritans, a boy walked in. He looked similar to the younger boy from before, and due to the entire scenario being a story about them, it was easy for Samira to remember and conclude who he was, as well as the girl that walked in soon after. The ninja of the past seemed to not recall the two at all based on the interactions, but that was understandable. It had been years since she had seen them, and it was only for a few moments. When the older man stepped in, it was clear he was far more recognized. More suspicions from the ninja of the past, but the family trio seemed very good natured and had been thankful for their lives being spared so long ago. The last statement from the one called Julio was a little much and could have caused Samira to fall over if she wasn't already seated. Either a little too bold, or a little too naive. It was a cute suggestion though. The scene came to a close with the real Kaori going into further detail of those pair of friends. The boy she almost fell for, which was an unexpected comment. Nevertheless, it seemed her duties had taken priority over anything relationship related, and so they had remained friends and nothing more. Something about duty being a priority before relationships changed though due to obvious evidence from certain events. Samira dared not point that out, however. It would only make things awkward if not depressing. Letting her mind skip over that sort of questioning, she instead mentally crossed off their names as possible matches for the one in her vision.

The next one was for someone called Oji-san. Samira really had no idea what that meant. While she knew languages of other countries from her youth, Midi was not one of them. She was not even allowed to travel there back then even though she had been to others. It fell under the category of too dangerous for a young and delicate child from Fiore most likely. The fourth story telling magic movie began to play, and as the older man faded in Samira stopped breathing for a moment. Now she understood why the dark version of Kaori had mentioned telling stories about him. It had seemed like an odd suggestion before. Her eyes watered as she watched. Admittedly she was focused more on the old man than the younger Kaori. The very man she had not seen in many years due to his passing; her grandfather. He had mentioned a long time ago about meeting a young girl in Midi that reminded him of herself, but being three years old at the time she barely cared to remember such a detail. It was strange to know the young girl he met so long ago was someone that had later become her close friend. Strange, yet made her happy all the same. The words said about him brought her comfort in knowing the interactions between the two of them were pleasant. So much so that an outsider like he was had been labeled as a friend and became part of a story she did not expect to hear or see. The fourth vision made a final transition featuring his departure. The child Kaori had become attached to the point that she did not want him to leave. It was much the same way for her when he left for one of his journeys and could not take her with him. The more serious scene made her laugh slightly due to the resemblance, but for the most part it was contained. Her green eyes continued to focus on the scene as her grandfather gave the child Kaori a compass she had not seen in many many years. He always had it with him, but when he had returned from that Midi trip she never saw that particular one again, even though she had checked his pockets for it the moment he came home. After the compass had been given, he had been given a gift as well. The young Kaori undid the clasp of a pendent she wore and handed it to him. Samira blinked, recognizing the piece of jewelry she had been given by him when he had returned to make up for the missing compass. At the current timeline's Kaori's words, it was stated it was actually a rare item and a treasure for her clan. That figured. Only he would end up walking out of a country while unintentionally gaining something so important. He was a well liked person in general and he had some extreme luck on his side during his many ventures. Although, now that she thought about it, she now owned something that belonged to Kaori's clan. She should probably mention that at one point, and also explain the fate of the one she called Oji-san.

The fourth vision faded. Samira had expected the fifth to start like the others, but there was sadness in Kaori's tone that made the summoner look over and take notice of the tear running down Kaori's cheek. Shara? She had heard that name before. Once again the memories of what happened while in the Ancient Ruins had come to the forefront of her mind. The name had been mentioned after she had been stabbed by some mercenaries while attempting to go through one of Janus' portals. Kaori had lost herself in a painful memory that resulted in a powerful spell activating, one that she had seen a couple of times since then. The ninja had passed out, but Samira had been healed back then as were others that the spell was used on. Based on what happened back then, and the sorrowful tone now, it did not go as planned if the same thing had happened to Shara.

Samira listened quietly and did not once interrupt. The girl named Shara had been found abandoned and taken in even though she was not of the clan. The visions started up again, revealing that the girl was the one from her dream. Well, it was the last one so it had to be by process of elimination, but there was a chance it could have been none of them. Listening more, it became clear that the two girls were very close. Samira never had that herself, but one could also argue that even though Kaori had someone like that she had to go through the pain of losing that person. That was the predicted ending Samira had come to. She watched the transition where Kaori was sweetly singing and comforting Shara, much like had been done to herself before receiving a couple of slaps to the face. Even the song had been the same. As the scene transitioned again it was also revealed the girl's nightmares were more of a prophecy. The two had taken part in eliminating an entire village of Kaori's clan that day. Then a few years later, Shara's parents had been located and she was left with them. A decision that on paper seemed to be a good one, but either she missed the part of how and why she was abandoned or it was not told. Although, staying with them was certainly safer than accompanying Kaori on her missions.

Another transition to where they were older. As if someone had been waiting for them, Shara was stabbed by a sword without warning, and the one who had done it had vanished. Samira watched the visionary Kaori try to help her friend even though it was futile. As for the current Kaori, she seemed to be affected by the scene, which was understandable. Samira allowed her to lean against her and cry with no judgement. Now she understood why the ninja had reacted the way she had back during her own incident within the ruins. It was almost exactly the same. Another transition filled with an event that hurt even her just to hear it. The comment made by the father was uncalled for even if he had just started to grieve his now dead daughter. A deserving slap was required, but apparently he got much more. The next vision had showed a battle started by the father of the girl that was much like a sister to Kaori. A battle that was clearly fatal for him and his people. Samira looked down for a moment, thinking something that drastic was overkill. Defeating the army would have sufficed, and even taking her revenge on the man himself was something she could see. To take out all of the villages and the people within them though? People that had nothing to do with it aside from affiliation? It was how war worked, especially with a pissed off leader. Samira knew she did not have what it took to do something such as that. Then again, neither did Kaori, who had wanted to be a priestess once.

There was a sixth vision Samira did not expect since only five friends had been mentioned. It was the time she and Kaori had met. The ninja had been looking for someone to accompany her on a mission to the Forgotten Desert. Only she and one other had offered to tag along, and fate had once again connected them as she was chosen for the journey despite her weaknesses. Her cheeks turned slightly pink at the words spoken next. She felt her friend was over exaggerating things a bit. Best friend she could take and maybe the fact she brought some joy to her life. Most reliable ally though? She knew very well there were others far better in that area. She liked compliments and statements regarding her doing anything of significance, but she certainly was not used to them at all. It was hard to take them as true statements with full accuracy. "I think you over exaggerate just a little bit," Samira said in an uncertain tone as her gaze went off to the side. Now came the part of answering her question without sounding completely crazy. While Ikuchi was well aware of certain dream sequences randomly occurring thanks to a bored top level being having fun in her head, Kaori was not. Her green gaze returned to Kaori and stared at her seriously. "I had a dream some time ago that I believe is of importance. Honestly, I put off thinking about it for too long, but a second one happened while I was out. I do not dream unless provoked, usually by my spirits, but I have a feeling it was not them." Samira failed to mention who she thought was giving them, but as much as she could assume she wasn't all that certain. The two dreams she had gotten recently were...clean. His dream jokes generally were of a different genre that made her feel dirty and consider running out of the room in embarrassment just thinking about it. "You were the main focus, and so I think in some strange way I am supposed to use them to help you in some way. I had originally thought that I was supposed to find a friend of yours that was also in my first dream but..." Samira trailed off, knowing full well finding a friend that was alive was impossible. The one in her dream had died some time ago. "The other girl in my dream was Shara. I was mistaken with my thought process." The only other thing she could think of was maybe visiting the gravesite of the girl if she were buried, but how that was supposed to help Kaori in anyway she was not certain. "I despise deciphering dreams. They tend to not make any sense to me. Far too abstract." How did dream reading differ from using some imagination to solve even more vague ruin puzzles and such? Probably best if one didn't attempt to ask and point it out. On account for what happened the last time she had brought up being unable to decipher dreams, she would never again seek help with it.

Deciding to let her failure of a solution fade away, Samira distracted herself by going back to one of the visions. "One moment," she said and then began moving away from Kaori, who had been leaning on her, and shimmied so that she was along the edge of her bed. Slowly she removed herself from it, nearly falling in the process since it had been some time since she last stood up. It also didn't help she was a bit clumsy at times to begin with but for her pride's sake she would not think of that fact. Using the bed as a support, she made her way around until she was in front of her vanity desk. From there, she had to let go of the bed and make her own wobbly way over to the piece of furniture. Upon the desk was a jewelry box that the summoner opened as soon as she reached it. Within it was many forms of jewelry and accessories, but the one she actually took out was a pendant that would look very familiar to the ninja. The very one she had given the man she called Oji-san nearly two decades ago. She turned and gently held it out for Kaori to see from where she was. "The man you called Oji-san I suppose could have been known as Souniro if you took out all of the other redundant traditional names. Souniro Nassar. Professor, researcher, and someone that did not know how to retire from old fashioned adventures." A smile came on her face as she described him in such words. She had admired what he did and all of his stories when she was young, and loved tagging along on the more safer ones when she was younger. "He was my grandfather." Was being the significant word regarding his status. The smile faded, replaced with only a frown. No tears were shed as she thought of his passing, but it was evident her mood had switched to a more melancholy one. "He died around ten years ago. I am sorry you could not see him again before then. From the vision I see you became attached to him, and you to him if he gave you that compass. It was my favorite one to play with at the time." The last sentence had a childlike bitterness to it as Samira looked to the side and recalled her childhood self. It was such a pretty compass, and she had pouted for weeks until he got a new one. One could ask why he just didn't give her her own. He did. She just always preferred his. Hers could have been the most awesome and beautiful one ever while his was a cheap piece of plastic, and she would still go for his just because it wasn't hers. The logic of a spoiled three year old.

Samira cleared her throat and forced the childlike pouting away. She continued holding the pendent and with a straight face said, "He gave me this pendent when he returned from that trip. Although, since it was a gift you gave him and not myself and the fact it was probably too important an item for a young girl to give away like that in the first place, you can have this back if you like. I do not mind." Well really she minded slightly. All those years she had thought it was a treasure her grandfather had found just for her. Kind of silly actually when one thought about it, but it was the thought process of a three year old that never really had the more mature mind pick at it. Still, the item was an important treasure for Kaori's clan and likely had traditions placed with it considering its age. The four year old version probably didn't even give any thought at all to giving it away that easily, and to an outsider of all people. In the back of her mind she wondered if Kaori even still had the compass. Most likely not considering how eventful and unpredictable her life was.

Kaori had blinked a couple times when Samira said 'one moment.' and shifted aside when she was trying to get out of bed. She held her hand out towards Samira with eyes glowing violet in preparation to use telekinesis to catch her as she started to fall, but Kaori relaxed slightly when the woman caught herself. Kaori stayed on edge as Samira shakily made her way across the room towards a vanity set with a jewelry box on it, something Kaori could have easily brought her if she had asked the ninja to. What she took out from that box made Kaori's eyes go wide as she softly said "M-my pendant..." from astonishment. Samira had explained that one of Kaori's friends was actually her grandfather, something that didn't actually surprise Kaori as much as it probably should have. It's said that destiny has a very odd way of making itself apparent to those caught in its web, and the two of them were most definitely caught in that web to the point where escape was futile. If anything, knowing that the two of them were related made Kaori feel happy since she could find a reason why they had grown so close, so quickly. They already knew each other even without knowing they did, and had a very thin string that drew them closer. She felt a bit bad that she had taken possession of a compass that meant so much to Samira, but she wasn't in any position to return the object on account of the compass being in orbit.

Samira had applied a fair bit of logic as she tried returning the pendant, stating that it was given to her grandfather and not herself, and that it was probably far too sacred to be given away in the first place. Kaori gently took it, holding the small crystal in her hand and looking at it with a bit of a soft smile on her face. Sitting on the bed with Samira standing in front her, she took a few moments to hold the pendant while remembering that she had the other one in her room. On her right arm, a blue bracelet formed that would give Kaori the power that Aquarius had. Water began rising and covered the openings for the windows of the room, blocking the light out entirely and making it so neither could hardly see. "These pendants are far more than just a rock with some gold." Kaori said softly while raising the pendant by the chain. A red bracelet formed on her right arm, granting Kaori the power of Ira, the fire spirit. A small red flame formed in the hand that wasn't holding the pendant, granting a bit of light in the darkened room. Kaori held the pendant above the flame and then dipped the gem inside the fire. "These stones were forged by my absolute eldest grand parents, who united a group of common villagers and fought for their right to live as free people." the flame was then consumed by the pendant and an orange and gold light began shining from the stone that sent forth an array of symbols on the walls and floors of the room. "The sword I gave Amaterasu tells the story of my clan, and everything they did after being formed. These pendants tell the story of how we got our start." The light faded and Kaori let the sea water fall, bringing light into the room as she stood up. She set the pendant back in her own palm with the chain over the stone. "There's two of them in the world because aside from being part of our heritage, they're also keys to unlock a power that even gods fear. At any point in time there's two guardians, and no guardian is allowed to own both pendants. I didn't know this as a child, so my giving him the pendant had nearly resulted in my being exiled; luckily, my father loved my mother and didn't feel like exiling her too. It seems that destiny had wanted me to be the guardian of one since I ended up possessing the second one in the end..."

Kaori took Samira's hand and sent the pendant back down in it before wrapping her fingers around it. She then pulled herself into Samira's chest and wrapped her arms around the woman in a warm embrace. A gently kiss was placed on Samira's cheek before Kaori rested her head on her shoulder and she said "As far as guardians go, you're more fit for the job than anyone I currently know." Kaori released her and then took on a more business like stance, looking at Samira with a focused expression. "If it's alright, I'd like to access your memory of those dreams." Once Samira said it was alright for her to do so, Kaori would close her eyes for a few moments while she created a link between herself and the other mage. While linked, Samira would notice that there were a mix of emotions... implying that either Kaori's medicine was weak, or she wasn't currently on it at all. "Your last vision was in Hosenka. I'm not quite sure what the significance of my mask was, but I did catch the glimpse of you waking up to see you had a physical version of your own. I advise bringing this since it seems we'll be going to a Spa town."

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Samira allowed Kaori to take the pendant from her hold with a small smile. She watched silently as its rightful owner took a few moments to look at the piece of jewelry. It was an item the ninja woman likely thought she would never see again. Admittedly, a more surprised reaction had been expected. Instead, aside from the softly spoken words upon seeing the pendent, Kaori was calm and unsurprised that it was Samira of all people that had ownership of it for so many years. Then again, she herself wasn't exactly jumping up and shouting "omg no way!" when she saw the vision of her grandfather with the child version of Kaori. Still, the other's reaction, or rather lack there of, came off more as if she had expected that historical tie they had together. Samira wasn't exactly one to think too much about destiny or intertwining fates. To her, it was a surprising coincidence. A good and pleasant one that made their friendship stronger in knowing they had some sort of link since the time they were children, but still a coincidence regardless.

Green eyes blinked as a blue bracelet had formed around Kaori's arm. That was new. Her gaze then looked up towards the windows as water began to cover them and darken the room. The power to form and control water like Aquarius. So, Kaori was also capable of taking her summon's powers as her own. Samira focused her gaze back to the bed where her friend should have been, but with the newly added darkness within the room it was hard to see much of anything. The pendant was more than just a traditional piece of jewelry that had been passed down through the generations? A small flame appeared within the darkness, lighting up the room a bit and allowing Samira to see the red bracelet on Kaori's other arm. The powers of the one called Ira. The gem was then placed inside the flames, and as Kaori spoke of the unification of villagers that became her clan, the flames had been consumed by the pendant. Samira watched in awe as a orange and golden light shined from the pendant and formed symbols on the walls and floor of her room. She couldn't exactly read them since learning the language spoken in Midi was still on the to do list, but she was sure they told something of importance, and sure enough the one line summary told to her was how the clan came to be. Funny how she had the item all those years but never knew it could do such a thing. Of course, it was abnormal for her to ever consider placing her jewelry into a fire just for the heck of it, and no clues that she was aware of specified to do it.

The pendant combined with Amaterasu's new sword told pretty much the entire story of Kaori's clan, much to her being fully unaware of it due to the missing steps required to get the opening of the story. Short moments later, the symbols faded as did the light from the gem. The natural lighting of her room was allowed to return as the water window coverings fell and Kaori had taken a stand, leaving the bed. More words were spoken that were more surprising than the last. Not only did the pendant tell an origin story, but it was considered a key for some sort of major power. Samira blinked and had no words. Kaori's error for giving it away was great, but she was a very young child. Her clan really would have exiled her for something she didn't know about? The traditions and customs of the country were harsh indeed, and Samira would forever be thankful that she was not born into it herself. No doubt she likely would have died long ago, or become someone she could not even imagine being. It had worked out for Kaori in the end since she was not exiled on account of her mother, and she had the second key in her possession so it would always be safe. What it unlocked though was something that made her curious, but there were things that were probably better off not knowing about. Although, if Kaori did have the other pendant, then that meant giving her the original back broke the rule of a guardian not being able to have both of them. Obviously she didn't consider herself as a worthy candidate since she was not of Kaori's clan. The way Kaori normally put it, she was a part of Gisen's. Allies, sure, but it was doubtful one of an allied "clan" qualified. Samira would have suggested letting Ikuchi hold onto it since he was always loyal to Kaori and was powerful enough, but he was still off doing whatever he was doing. As far as Samira knew, he had never returned or even spoken to Kaori since the time he had originally left. That left...well pretty much no one that she knew of.

Before she knew it, she had become the guardian of the pendant once more, although more officially. Kaori had gently took hold of her hand and set the pendant within it before force closing her fingers around it. Samira's face was one of confusion as she stared down at her hand. Her mouth opened so she could decline being given such an important item, but before words could actually form she was in an embrace as Kaori got closer and wrapped her arms around her. Green eyes widened and got even larger as the ninja kissed her now pink cheek. Samira had tried to protest the next spoken words about her being more fit than anyone else, but only incoherent sounds came out. They were barely even full words. The ninja sure had a way with making her sound much more important than even she thought she was. A nice rub for her pride and ego, although still embarrassing when done with hugs and kisses. Samira was not fully used to such forms of affection that she could take it in with a straight face.

She was released from the embrace and the other woman had gone to a more focused expression, as if it had never happened. Back to the topic of dreams it was. At the mention of accessing her memory of the dreams, Samira's cheeks went from pink to a whole face full of a crimson coloring. Any normal person wouldn't think Kaori meant anything by it. Unfortunately, normal people had not exactly gone through what she herself had the last time someone wanted to see visions and dreams. Anytime that part of her life was placed in the mental bin of to be deleted, it had a habit of coming back up unintentionally. Like that particular moment. Surely she didn't mean... No, she couldn't of. Kaori had special powers the other did not. Those would be used instead, right? Maybe? How were they used again? Face remained a shade of deep red even after trying to convince herself that was not what Kaori had meant. "Uh...Well...I," Her eyes were all over the place as she looked at everything in the room but Kaori. The hand not holding the pendant had even started to nervously run through her hair. Nope, she couldn't do it. She turned around and distracted herself by taking time to place the pendant back into the jewelry box; a task that took much longer than it needed to. Can't blame a girl for buying time. Samira lacked a Twix bar, after all.

Samira fidgeted with the other jewelry within the small box, but much to her dismay that only lasted for so long. The box had closed. There many other things she could come up with to prevent a dream reading and delay it to the point of never. It was going to get rather silly though. She really needed a spell that made her disappear just for moments like that. Clearing her throat, the nervous summoner turned back towards Kaori with a small but obviously embarrassed smile on her face. "Ummm..." More playing her her hair as she looked at the wall beside her. Her gaze then forced back onto Kaori. "As long as you do not do anything..." Samira trailed off for a bit, allowing for a few seconds of silence. She wasn't sure what word to use for that. "Abnormal." It was considered abnormal, wasn't it? For her it was anyway.

Thankfully, Samira's worries were a bit of an overreaction. The link made was way...cleaner than the one made previously. The most that happened was being able to feel mixed emotions. The possibility of Kaori not being on her medication had already been a thought due to the reactions the ninja had displayed since Samira awoke, but it seemed more evident while being linked. Once Kaori had finished analyzing the visions, she gave her analysis of the second one being the spa town Hosenka. That made sense and Samira had been there before quite some time ago to take down a Titanoboa at the request of her guild leader. Was it really the only spa in Fiore though that she could make that conclusion so quickly and easily? Well, she supposed it was more than she had herself. The first dream was still a mystery for now. "Hosenka it is then. I am not sure what we are supposed to find there, though. That one was more vague than even the first."

Samira then looked at the ceiling, tapping her cheek with her finger in thought. Where had she put that mask anyway? It wasn't on her desk or vanity nor on her nightstand. Those were the most logical locations. As Samira walked over to her closet and disappeared inside, Serqet materialized, wearing the mask in question. Her index finger was placed vertically on her hips as she made a "shhhh!" sound while looking over at Kaori. She had decided to play ninja for a few days while Samira was out. After having heard her summoner had awoken, she thought it was probably best to return it before she noticed. "Sneak, sneak, sneak," The spirit whispered repeatedly as she made her way over to Samira's desk. Off came the mask and it was gently placed on the desk. "Mission accomplished!" At her success, victory music began to play in the room, courtesy of Apollo who had suddenly appeared as well and snapped his fingers to create the amazing background music. "We're giving our girlie the day off so keep an eye on her, would ya?" he whispered before looking at the closet and very much knowing the music had probably ruined the sneaking mission. "She's coming! Lets skedaddle!" The two spirits disappeared into particles that vanished as Samira walked out of the closet. "Did you hear music?" Samira inquired, thinking she heard something while she was inside the closet looking for the mask. Obviously she had no such luck in finding it. Then she noticed it on her desk, resulting in first an eyebrow twitch and then a quivering lip at the depressing thought that she was becoming crazy. She let out a sigh and looked to Kaori. "Well the mask has been located. Before we depart for Hosenka though I would like to first take a shower. My daily regimen has been altered slightly." By daily regimen she most certainly meant an hour long shower in the morning and then again at night. There were more things involved as well, but she was not going to go into great detail. Why could she not have done such a thing on Kaori's ship? Because Samira had a feeling with the resources and power Kaori had, she could very well have them transported to Hosenka in a matter of seconds. Shower first, transport later.

Assuming Kaori was okay with it, Samira would disappear into the bathroom where she would be for the next hour. If she remained waiting, pretty much anything in the summoner's room was free for her to look at. After about twenty or so minutes, the door to the room would fly open. A boy looking about the age of ten with short blonde hair rushed in before quickly slamming the door shut and locking it. The sounds of children voices could be heard on the other side, clearly looking for him and wondering which way he had gone off to. As they faded off, he let out a sigh of relief. "Those minions of hell have finally figured out my disguise!" Kids in town always had some weird thing about wanting to approach him ever since they first saw him in his full lion form. Cuddly they called him. How insulting! Honestly, he was afraid of all the attention they kept giving him. He preferred being locked in desert ruins alone! What method of madness did he use to evade such clinging creatures? Pretend to be one of them! It gave him much less attention that way. However, those things were too clever. With their devious minds they had found out his true nature and had plotted against him! Dangerous things they were. Anhur turned around, expecting to see that one spirit that had been hanging around earlier and a sleeping Samira in bed. Instead, all his golden eyes saw was Kaori. "Oh...it's you again," he said in a tone that held no sort of surprise whatsoever. One could say her being there was more of an annoyance to him rather than some pleasant meeting. "I guess she's awake then?" He hadn't really made any sort of visitations since things went down. The now mortal spirit wasn't exactly close enough to Samira to really care about her well being. He held no contract and had only been staying since she had the key that was apparently still very useful for giving orders. It was true he could have grabbed it and taken off while she was asleep, but there was usually someone around keeping watch over her. Plus he didn't exactly have any plans on where to go just yet. If Kaori had taken off before he had entered the room, he would just hop onto the empty bed and wait for Samira to get out of that ridiculously long shower.

Samira had shown no issues with following the extremely vague vision even though it very well could have been a dream and nothing more, which would lead them to Hosenka for literally no reason and had begun looking for the mask from the dream. Upon exiting the room to enter her closet, Sequet, one of Samira's spirits who took the form of a woman with a scorpion tail had appeared in the room with the mask on. Kaori watched with a confused look as she saw the spirit move across the room and place Samira's mask back on the vanity set where it should've been. Another spirit appeared with a victory chime and informed Kaori that she would be in charge of keeping Samira safe for the day, to which the ninja bowed and said "Understood." just before the same spirit mentioned it was time to get gone and the two vanished. Samira had entered the room, inquiring if Kaori had heard music but hadn't warranted enough time for Kaori to inform her that her spirits had returned her mask before mentioning that she'd need to take a shower. Shortly after, the sounds of children screaming was heard coming down the hall. Normally while walking around towns, this was normal... but there weren't many mothers in the guild, or at least, not enough to justify the amount of voices and hearts Kaori was locking onto. Well, Kaori normally vanished for weeks at a time so it was entirely possible for a mass pregnancy to occur. Wait... Ikuchi wasn't in the guild hall for months so that was very unlikely, unless someone brought a massive harem... or Gisen had a random orgy and Kaori wasn't invited; then again she'd never show up to that sort of thing, not even for pay.

Kaori had blinked when Anhur had came into the room, quickly closing the door in a minor panic while calling the children hell beings. The only reason Kaori knew who it was, was the fact that his heart reflected his personality even if his face didn't. "Sup Annie." Kaori said when he commented on Kaori's presence, giving him a nice, cute nickname all of his own. "ANNIE!!!!" a loud voice called with Kaori's other, other side coming out and holding Anhur in a very tight embrace. If he would order Kaori to get her other side off of him, Kaori would lay down on Samira's bed and cross one of her legs over the other and say with a teasing tone "She doesn't listen to me. If you didn't think Samira was inferior to me, she could get her off... but she's much too useless in your opinion for that." Kaori still had some resentment over what happened in that desert city when he initially thought Kaori herself was his summoner and had a difficult time believing Samira was worthy of his power. If he'd try to break free of the sky-blue eyed copy's grip, he'd find that Kaori was much stronger than she looked. The original Kaori would yawn and turn her back to Anhur and her clone before closing her eyes. The clone of Kaori would end up braiding Anhur's mane if he ever returned to his lion centaur form, adding pretty pink bows to the ends of them with a wide, cheerful smile.

Upon Samira's exiting the bathroom, Kaori would get off the bed and wait for her to be ready to go. While she was going around, grabbing her stuff and drying her hair if needed, Kaori would tell her "My original plan was to use Recon-One to get there, but since you took the time to shower already I guess we can use my genie." Kaori would say calmly while feeling somewhat off. It wasn't enough to be obvious, but it was enough that Kaori had taken notice even if she didn't look like it. Once Samira was ready to go, Kaori would say "Snoop Genie, get us to Hibiscus Suits in Hosenka." after which their surroundings would change to an extremely different setting. Lacrima lanterns produced a warm lighting effect on velvet and bloodwood furniture, a woman was standing at a counter that, like the rest of the wood in the room, was made of bloodwood with a gold design embedded in it. Unlike 'Hibiscus' in Hargeon, the walls of this room were made of polished obsidian. One could only assume a much sturdier material was behind them since obsidian was essentially volcanic glass. "Welcome back Miss Leraci." the woman from the counter would say before making her way to the two women. She stopped in front her and gave a gentle bow before asking "Will you be staying in town, or just visiting?" to which Kaori replied "Just visiting, we're here to find something." The woman then turned to Samira, stating something the verdant woman had heard many times before. "Welcome to Hibiscus Suits Miss Nassar. I've heard quite a bit about you so it's truly a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Kaori had been holding the mask and noticed the two sections that were lit up, one blinking and one solid. The solid one was half the mask, and the blinking one was only a very small portion. "Sammy, if you ever need a place to stay in Hosenka you can use my suit. There's nothing there worth hiding from you, and it'd make me happy to know you were somewhere that's comfortable." Her choice of wording could be interpreted in multiple ways; either as her implying there were things she'd hide from Samira, or that she wouldn't hide anything from her- whichever Samira took it at wasn't Kaori's concern. Kaori was stopped before she could leave by the hotel's manager who informed her that there was some paperwork that he wanted a second opinion on. She had asked Samira iF to wait for her outside since it shouldn't take too terribly long and that she'd be out shortly. If she did agree to wait outside, the second she got out there Samira would be knocked over by a massive blast of warm air originating from something that cast a large enough shadow to completely cover Samira herself. The being was twenty feet from the ground up, and easily thirty feet from snout to tail tip. It approached Samira, clicking its mandible at her while showing the four or five rows of six inch long teeth within its red, glowing mouth. If she tried backing away, the monster would drop the nail of one of its feet on her to pin her in place while moving its head over her and slowly opening the mandibles and mouth behind it wide enough to swallow half of Samira if it wanted to, and breathing in. The force of the wind entering her mouth would be enough to lift Samira's hair towards it, letting it fall back down upon finishing its breath. The toe was removed from Samira and the creature stepped back before laying down with its head on Samira's stomach, a gesture that monsters seemed to enjoy giving her.

Kaori had arrived not long after and stopped upon seeing the sight, blinking a couple times. "Sammy, did you get a new pet?" Kaori would ask, not knowing what in the actual fuck the thing on top her was. Kaori approached once more and the creature lifted its head while resting a toe on Samira to keep her in place, treating the girl like a new toy... a very squishy, fleshy, fragile toy. The creature opened its mandibles and mouth wide once more and began breathing in towards Kaori who only replied by resting her hand on the monster's head and gently rubbing it's snout. She closed her eyes and created a link between the two of them, feeling that the monster was friendly. The creature removed its toe from Samira and stood up, turning to its side to reveal a piece of paper taped to its stony head and leaned over. Kaori took it and said "Hyot Spa Resort, penthouse suit." while reading it. Kaori vanished and reappeared sitting on the monster's head, which was large enough to support her and if Samira didn't want to get on, a violet glow would come over her and she'd find herself being lifted onto the monster's head. Kaori would sit her in front of her with her legs to either side of Samira, holding onto her waist and pressing her body against her's so they didn't fall. "Take us to Hyot please." Kaori would say and the monster would stand straight again and begin walking at a reasonable pace towards the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the manager was already expecting them and had given Kaori a golden key. He told them which elevator to take and left them to their business. Kaori had been keeping an eye on the mask and noticed that the small piece that was blinking was solid now, meaning they were where they needed to be. As soon as the 'ding' went off to signal that they'd arrived at the penthouse, a distinctive "AUNTIE KAORI!!!!" was heard in a very high pitched and upbeat tone just before a small figure shot through the elevator doors and tackled Kaori to the floor. Kaori was stunned and hugged the little girl back out of instinct before she even knew who it was. Looking slightly to her right where the girl's head was, Kaori saw Ashley and a tear moved down her face. "A-Ash...ley?" she said, feeling her heart skip a beat. A more mature tone had spoken in a slightly embarrassed fashion saying "I... told her to at least wait till you exited to do that..." originating from Gabriella, who was standing not far from the elevator door. "Ikuchi's getting some groceries and should be back soon. Please come in, I'll make some tea." she said calmly. Kaori had let Ashley get off her before getting up and entering, sitting at one of the sofas in the room. Ashley had crawled up and sat on Samira's lap with a bright smile on her face. "Thank you for keeping Auntie Kaori safe Miss Samira." she said before leaning on her and cuddling with the woman. The sight was cute enough to make Kaori relax slightly and take on a more serious look as she began contemplating what the hell to say when Ikuchi got back.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The disguised Anhur had twitching eyes the moment he was referred to as Annie. He had a proper name. One that had the same amount of syllables as the girly nickname he had been given so it made no sense to be given a nickname that was shorter to say. Sure technically it wasn't his name, but rather the deity he was copied from. That still didn't mean he would approve of such a ridiculous sounding feminine name. "It's Anhur," he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared over at the ninja woman. A look that was a lot less intimidating than he was going for considering he was still in a disguise that was a child. "Not-" As he was about to finish his sentence something else had done it in his stead. Another version of Kaori with blue eyes, who happened to be too clingy for his liking. He had been caught up in a sudden embrace that made him feel as if he were being used as an oversized teddy bear. "Get...off!" The disguised spirit had attempted to push her away with no success. In that form he may have been smaller but he should still of had his true strength. Was the desire to cuddle a trait that somehow empowered the user with godly strength? Wait no, that was just a little too farfetched. "You! Command this thing to release me!" Obviously the words were meant for the original; the original that showed no signs that she cared whatsoever. The words she said left him dumbfounded, speechless even. As far as he was concerned Samira was irrelevant to the matter at hand. The clingy abomination belonged to the ninja. "If I didn't know any better I would consider you useless by this point too!"

While Samira was still showering and the original Kaori taking a nap, or at least pretending to, that left him alone to deal with the sky blue demon that held onto him. At one point he had managed to use his smaller size as an advantage to escape, but as he went for the door he heard the sounds of the children he had managed to lose earlier pass by. Damn! That short brief pause was all it took for him to be pulled back into the hug he considered as a nightmare. The disguise fell off shortly after, and somehow the Kaori clone had managed to get him to stay still long enough for her to style his mane and add ribbons to it. He grumbled during the whole thing, displeased and wondering why he wasn't doing more against the cheerful and rather annoying foe. Had he given up completely? One could say he almost did, but he had finally reached the limit of his patience. The kids outside the door should have passed by now, and if not they were sure as hell easier to get away from than the blue eyed Kaori. While she was busy braiding yet another section of his mane, Anhur took the opportunity to use some of his power to encase her in a transparent pyramid. Out of the room he went as if his very life depended on it. There was no telling how long that would hold her, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Sometime later, Samira had walked out of the bathroom. A set of her normal clothes were already on because apparently she keeps a set in there somewhere for convenience. "Much better," she said as she continued running a towel through her hair. The girl was very much oblivious to the fact she had just kept Kaori waiting for over an hour. She was also quite unaware of what had been going on while she wasn't in the room. The evidence that the blue eyed Kaori existed had disappeared by that point. The towel drying of the hair came to a pause when her friend had mentioned her original plans. "You did not intend on using the genie from the start?" It was the quickest route that she was certain Kaori would have taken, which was why she requested time to shower to begin with. She almost felt bad, but she was certain if there was anything Kaori needed to take care of she would have gone off and done it instead of waiting in her room. The offness that Kaori was feeling wasn't obvious to Samira and so it was not noticed or mentioned. Then again, with the medication, the lines of normal for her friend and what wasn't were blurred and hard to recognize.

The towel was then tossed in a hamper before she continued getting herself ready, although there really wasn't much left to that. Her hair would remain wet and left to dry on its own after a simple first brushing. The second would come sometime later when it dried. Add on her usual accessories and she was pretty much set. There really was no need to pack for a long journey since they were using the genie to bypass the travel time, and she doubted what was in Hosenka would keep them occupied for days on end. Maybe. Everything about it was awfully vague, but she knew there was a reason for it. "Oh, I almost forgot. I should write Anhur a note in case he stops by." Oblivious to the fact he had already stopped by, and even more oblivious on the fact he cared very little about her in general. A simple note was then written about where she would be and who she was with. It felt a little weird doing such a trivial task. She was used to others already knowing such things because they were already inside her head anyhow. With that done, Samira stated that she was finally ready to go.

The surroundings changed once the genie's magic took effect. The bloodwood she had seen many times before; all in rooms and buildings that belonged to Kaori. She owned a place in Hosenka too? The woman really had a knack for business ownership. Samira took the time to glance around while Kaori spoke to the woman behind the counter. It was rather cozy, although the walls were something that caught her interest. It reminded her of Anhur's stone form, and she had the odd urge to go over and touch it. An urge that would remain there since her name was mentioned before she could sneak her way over to the wall. Her eyes focused on the woman who was a stranger but had already knew her name without first being introduced. Her head tilted curiously. Another one that had heard a lot about her. Just what sort of things were they hearing anyway? Kaori couldn't have possibly told all of these people about her in such detail. "Thank you. I do wonder what it is everyone seems to hear about me though." She turned her questioning gaze over towards Kaori, expecting some sort of comment. Instead she found her somewhat distracted by the mask. A smaller section of it was blinking, but so far there were no signs to indicate what that exactly meant. Samira had opened her mouth to say something about it. An action that was interrupted as Kaori mentioned she was allowed to use her suite if she ever needed a place to stay while in Hosenka. A kind gesture that normally would have been given an immediate smile and a word of thanks. Instead, Samira frowned. The words that had followed she felt were unnecessary. All they did was cause her to contemplate what sort of things Kaori would hide from her. The reverse theory of there being nothing to hide could have been used, but Samira very much doubted there were no secrets to keep. It had been done before as a form of protection, after all, and as a leader of a clan there were sure to be things kept away from even the closest of friends. "I will keep that in mind the next time I am here. Thank you for the offer, Kaori." It was best to not bring up secrets. Samira could respect whatever may or may not be hidden from her. She already knew a good deal more than she probably should anyway. Samira turned around and begun to head towards the exit when she heard some other voice speak up and get Kaori's attention. It caused her to turn back and stare curiously at the pair. Business that could not be put off for another time it seemed. She had been asked to wait outside until its conclusion, which she thought was reasonable. Outside the building known as Hibiscus Suites she went.

Once Samira had exited the building and allowed the doors to close behind her, she had only gone a couple of steps before a rush of warm air flew past her and knocked her backwards. The action of falling caused a short scream before the oofing sounds of colliding with the ground. What in the world? It was not her first time in Hosenka so she very much knew that was not a normal occurrence. What was normal with the spa town? Being overrun by monsters apparently. Samira first noticed the dark shadow cast over her. That...was not normal sized anything. A really bad feeling was starting to course through her. She looked up to see the source of the shadow and instantly came to regret it. Danger alarms were set off. The girl was in no position that was advantageous. Samira begun backing away as the creature came closer, all the while going through her keychain for a spirit to summon. Unfortunately, it was usually hard for her to concentrate on which key was which when in a panic. Every spirit she had tried to call on to deal with whatever monster species that was supposed to be had been summoned wrong. Therefore, no spirit came. Even hers had standards and rules to follow, and none of them were exactly on watch duty to come out and deal with the problem on their own.

The monster had caught up and pinned her so she could not move. How was no one else noticing what was going on?! Her keys were dropped and still she tried to pull herself out of the creature's hold. "I may not look like it right now, but I am very dangerous! Now release me before I remember how to summon my spirits properly!" The human toy was intimidating indeed! In the most laughable sense. Her angry scowl was quickly erased as the creature's teeth got even closer. Yep, things were about to get bad. All she did was step out of a hotel building! How could something so common and safe lead to her getting eaten by a giant monster?! It was honestly too embarrassing to even think about considering she was in a monster hunting guild.

Well being mean didn't work. Time to be nice! "Please?" The word came out rather fearful and certainly showed that it was all she had left. An awkward smile was on her face as the creature breathed in, the strength of it even lifting her hair off the ground. Somehow she had a feeling her plea wouldn't work. Then, as if by some miracle, the creature removed its hold on her. She blinked in disbelief. That was apparently a thing. Before she could celebrate her victory and make a getaway, the large creature had plopped its head right onto her stomach. How she was not squished would not be wondered about. Too busy was she in her wtf state of what was going on. Several question marks appeared above her head and her facial expression went blank. The scene was strangely familiar. "I am not to be used as your personal cushion..." Why did monsters seem to think she was the perfect choice as a pillow? Samira gave the creature a poke on its snout as a hint to get off, but the creature seemed adamant in its choice of a pillow. With a sigh, Samira began her attempts to pull herself out from under the weight of the creature.

Kaori had come out shortly after, but certainly not to save her. The question about the creature being her new pet was facepalming. "...Does this really seem like the sort of creature I would choose as a pet?" She hoped the answer was no, or she had been leaving impressions of herself she did not want. The creature lifted its head, giving her a moment of freedom. The summoner rejoiced! Then the toe came down again to pin her to the ground once more. The woman sweatdropped and fell into a momentary fit of despair. She was doomed to be treated as a weird pillow forever! Kaori had a short interaction with the unknown monster, resulting in Samira finally being released. She slowly stood up while grabbing her keys. Her cheeks puffed a bit, annoyed slightly as she was a bit envious that Kaori was treated rather normally while she...was a plaything. A toy. A cushy pillow. An object that shockingly enough has not been buried and hidden in the ground just yet. Her face went into a dead zombie state as she thought about it again.

As if things couldn't possibly get any worse, Kaori appeared atop the creature's head, as if she actually planned to use it as a mode of transportation to the next destination. Did it not seem a little odd that they were expected and a letter had been sent telling them where to go? Suspicious indeed! Honestly, even though the thought was technically correct, it was just an excuse not to get on the thing. Rough rides made her nauseous as it was, and there was no telling what sort of vehicle that thing would turn out to be. Plus, it was just creepy. "I would rather-" Her sentence was interrupted, and with eyes going wide, she was covered in a violet glow and lifted from the ground. The new placement was right on the creature's head in front of Kaori. "Not..." Samira let out a sigh of defeat, although she was none too pleased at being forced to ride whatever creature that was. She was perfectly content with walking on her own. At the very least Kaori had a tight hold on her. It brought a feeling of safety that allowed her to relax a bit. The last thing she wanted was to fall right off when the monster got going. Although, the ride wasn't as chaotic as she thought it would have been. Walking would still be preferred next time.

They soon arrived at the hotel that was named in the note. Samira couldn't wait to get off the terrifying friendly monster, and once she was free she made a power walk rush for the doors before the creature got the brilliant idea of using her as a pillow or cuddle buddy. While on the elevator, Samira stared at the mask Kaori held, noticing as well that the smaller piece had become solid. It seemed the weird scavenger hunt was going to be easier than she thought. A little too easy. "I wonder if we should be concerned on how quick and easy this has been," Samira stated, allowing the odd worried feeling that was in her show itself in her face. She had no idea what the pieces or dreams meant, and yet some random unknown person had expected them the moment they arrived? Not just expected, but apparently was also one of the puzzle pieces. It was lining up a little too perfectly.

The elevator dinged, signaling they had reached the penthouse of the mysterious person or people. Samira had taken her glance away from the mask and faced forward, prepared to make her exit as soon as the door opened. The plan was ruined as the elevator had been invaded by a familiar young girl that rushed in the moment the doors opened. Kaori of all people had been tackled to the ground by the small human cannon ball. The sight was enough for Samira to forget her worries and giggle. Every time Samira had seen Ashley she had been worried about Kaori and often asked about her. How she was, when she was coming back, etc etc. It brought even her a little happiness just watching the little girl finally get to see the ninja again. That lasted only for a few short moments. If Ashley, and even Gabriella were there, then that surely meant another one was somewhere nearby as well. That was soon confirmed by Gabriella. Suddenly, Samira wanted to go back outside where that creature was rather than stay and wait. She had not exactly prepared herself for the encounter. It was with extreme will power that she forced herself not to turn around and instead made her way to take a seat on an empty sofa. Her thoughts traveled away for only a few seconds before she felt something hop onto her lap. Back to reality she went, and with blinking eyes, took notice that the lap invasion mastermind was Ashley. She smiled at the words said to her, even if she thought they were a little bit silly. The girl had said something similar when it came to the few times she went with Ikuchi on missions. As far as Samira was concerned, she barely did anything. Those two had a habit of taking out problems without requiring help. The most she could remember doing that didn't cause more problems for Kaori was slapping her as a wake up call. Everything else did more harm than good. Kaori had even cried and lost herself in forms of medication as a result of her. "Kaori is too strong for even me to be of much help." The words were a form of reassurance to the girl so she wouldn't really know just how close the ninja had really come to death, or that she was slightly broken. The small laugh that followed was also forced, but should have been convincing enough for a child.

Samira held onto the child as she cuddled against her, but said nothing more. Her eyes glanced over towards Kaori, who had been silent and looked to be in serious thought. There were many words that needed to be said when Ikuchi returned, she was sure. As far as she knew it would have been the first time since Kaori disappeared that the two had seen each other. Now that she thought about it, she never did get to accurately explain certain details. The ninja had fallen into a fit of tears the last time she had tried. Then there was the fact he had avoided Kaori. She really had no idea how that would be taken considering he was already fearful enough for having attacked Kaori that one day many months ago.

The summoner then cast her gaze down at the floor to allow her own thoughts to drift. She hadn't allowed herself to even think about Ikuchi since the day one of her spirits made her cry by saying things that were actually very true and logical. Samira was even starting to believe that he would remain gone, thereby avoiding seeing him again and the awkwardness that would come from it, as well as the horrible and uncomfortable feeling that was now growing within her. She didn't want to be in the room anymore and the more time that passed the more anxious she felt. The only reason she stayed put was because she thoroughly believed the dreams were meant to help Kaori, and it seemed she was the only one receiving them. Poor Ashley though would likely notice Samira's hold on her tightening, possibly to an uncomfortable point. Why had he called her Sammy right before he disappeared? Was she still hated or wasn't she? Forever unforgiven for something she had no full control over? That wasn't even going into questioning all the many confusing and contradicting things he did. She wasn't even sure how she was supposed to act. There were unresolved feelings there; ones she knew that shouldn't have existed but had formed anyway. It was common for her to deny them in the past, but certain spirits had gotten a little more than annoyed about the situation. Returning to that state would only cause further disruption and aggravation for them. Thank goodness none of them were in her mind space to comment.

For the time being, Samira remained eerily quiet. With as many issues and questions she may of had swarming in her head, Kaori's was priority. It was why they were there in the first place, and she was not about to bring any of her own into the mix.

Ikuchi was leaning on the inside of the elevator as it went up. He was able to smell Samira's presence and was wondering exactly what would cause the celestial summoner to be visiting him. She didn't have any need of him since she was with Kaori, so there was a very small chance of her needing to ask him for assistance. At the same time there wasn't a chance in hell that she was there to visit, last he checked she wasn't particularly fond of the dragon god after he told her he hated her with a passion. He had recently gone to check on her and saw she was very much alive and by the fact that she wasn't feeling any pain he knew Kaori was alive and well. Upon arriving at the top of the elevator shaft and hearing that distinctive 'ding' just before the door opened, Ikuchi got ready to confront Samira and ask why the hell she was there when a feeling of hope had washed over him like a tsunami from hell and made him go wide eyed behind his mask. His heart skipped several beats and he slowly turned his attention to the small woman, smaller than Samira at least, who was standing in the middle of the room...

---

Unease was radiating through the room, though, not coming from Kaori. Ashley and Gabriella were both unaware of it since they couldn't feel the woman's heart like Kaori could. Kaori had looked at Samira as she began holding onto Ashley tighter, the small child's expression reflecting minor discomfort; though, Ashley didn't vocally express it. Kaori's expression had gotten sadder as she remembered the vision she had and knew that such things could make reunions quite awkward. Samira wasn't fully repulsed by Ikuchi, the fact that she had a minor attraction to him was something Kaori knew- something Samira could never hide. Kaori forced herself not to cry, Samira was closer to being Ikuchi's than her's. Kaori didn't want to force herself on Samira, so she told herself that she'd be Samira's friend, her sword, her shield, her armor, and anything else she needed her to be... and Ikuchi could be her lover if that's what she wanted. Kaori tried to keep that pain to herself and she gently slid over to Samira, taking one of the green haired woman's arms and removing it from around Ashley. She then slid her hand into Samira's and held it while leaning on her and closing her eyes while trying to keep the pain in as best she could, the fact that she finally realized that she forgot to take her medicine was made apparent by how hard it was to suppress her emotions. "Daijoubu..." Kaori said softly before adding in "...itsudemo soba ni iro yo." the full sentence meaning 'It's okay, I'll always be here for you.' in Kaori's tongue. Kaori's other hand reached over and wrapped into Samira's arm so she was hugging it, an action that proved to be comforting to Kaori and made her hope it provided the same solace to Samira as it did her. If Samira would allow it, Kaori would remain like that for quite some time with Ashley relaxing and staying on her lap.

Kaori had sensed a level of agitation growing as the source came closer and knew it was Ikuchi. She knew that he couldn't smell her, but he could smell Samira so he likely thought she was there alone. The ninja stood up and walked to face the elevator, looking at it with a stoic expression at first but as the hand pointing to the numbers got closer and closer to the top floor she began to feel less confident. It had been so long and she never tried finding him, she never sent him a letter, or even bothered to check if he'd sent one. She was busy handling other matters and felt nervous that he would hate her even if Gabriella and Ashley didn't. Gabriella had walked over to Ashley and took her hand, saying that it was best if the two of them left the room. Ashley wasn't an overly combative type so she nodded and went with the archangel to give the three of them some time. The elevator dinged and Kaori was halfway between 'I'm the fucking boss, bitch!' and 'Shit, shit, shit!' while Ikuchi appeared to be ready to 'shit, shit, shit' his pants. Kaori saw how scared he was before feeling the fear and made her way to him, the dragon taking a step back while preparing to get hit. What he didn't expect was for Kaori to gently press herself into him while resting her hands on the sides of his abdomen. Her hands slid behind him and formed a full hug while Ikuchi's jaw remained open. "M-mas... ter..." he stuttered out while raising his arms slightly. He was conflicted, unsure whether to hug Kaori back are remain still and his posture had reflected it since he was halfway to hugging. Ikuchi slowly let himself return the hug, blinking behind his mask while feeling like shit for not sending his letter. "You're... not angry?" he asked in a completely confused tone.

Kaori released her hug and stepped back with a gentle smile on her face that quickly turned to a scowl. She punched him in the stomach with a fist of magic that made his barrier shatter instantly while shouting "OF COURSE I'M ANGRY, YOU JACKASS!" She then took a breath and looked at her servant with much softer eyes and, using a tone that was the exact opposite of her previous one, "But I also missed you." Ikuchi had looked into Kaori's ruby eyes and saw things that made him feel even worse about himself. He saw that she had suffered, that she needed him for support and she wanted him to be there for her even though he was ordered to stay with Ashley. Ikuchi was supposed to return at some point, he could feel it and knew he messed up. He got on a knee and bowed his head. "I will accept any punishment you see fit." he said in a humble tone. Kaori looked at him while closing her eyes and thinking about the situation. "You didn't abandon the mission, but you did abandon me... which I can forgive you for. However, there's something that I can't forgive you for..." she said but didn't specify that, that 'thing' was what he did to Samira. Ikuchi was smart enough to know that whatever it was, it was something that was very substantial. Kaori pointed to an unoccupied room in the suite while resting her hand on her hip. The well dressed man stood up and walked to the room fully prepared to accept his fate. Kaori followed after with her arms crossed under her chest.

The door closed behind Kaori and a pair of sisters showed up in the room sitting next to Samira, one holding a small cat-like creature in her arms. The dark Kaori had materialized outside the door while aiming a curled, wicked smile in Samira's direction that carried the message 'Try and get past me if you think you can.' without her needing to utter a word. Ira had laid her head down on Samira's lap while using the rest of the large sofa as a bed. "Show time." she said calmly. Almost immediately after the sound of someone being smacked was heard loud and clear through the room along with the sound of someone rather large being sent flying into a wall, most likely Ikuchi. "HOW DARE YOU VIOLATE HER YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Kaori's voice shouted much angrier than Query expected. "I hope she doesn't kill him." Ira said nonchalantly as another pair of smacks were heard, Ikuchi not saying a word. The kitten in Query's hands let out a small meow and began fidgeting. The spirit put the kitten on Samira's shoulder and it meowed into her ear. "YOU THINK THAT SHIT'S FUN!? HOW'S THIS!" Kaori shouted. "M-master, wh-what are you doing with that tea ket- AHHHH NO, MASTER!!! NOT LIKE THIS!!!" his words went from curious to mortified. "You really should sound proof that room..." Ira commented, turning her head upwards to look at her sister. "Ashley won't hear anything." Query replied. "NO- K-KAORI, NO MORE!" the sound of a chainsaw was heard through the door followed by a pair of loud 'thuds' that shook the room. "That's kinky." "How lewd." the sisters said while the kitten began licking Samira's ear and pawing her face for attention.

The door flew open with Ikuchi running outside, a tea kettle warped around the groin region of his pants and his shirt torn quite nicely while shouting "SAMIRA, SAVE-" his mouth was covered by a massive cat paw while a tentacle wrapped around his torso. The muffled sounds were heard as he tried to shout something and was quickly pulled back in the room. "Was that...?" "Yes." Query didn't specify what it was, her sister already knew. The Dark Kaori simply stood and smiled wickedly, giving Samira a bonus incentive to stay her ass right on that couch. The kitten had jumped down and landed on the side of Ira's head and began walking towards Samira's hand if she wasn't already holding it while meowing. A sound that sounded a lot like metal clanking together was heard came from the room just before Ikuchi shouted "I'M SORRY MOMMA!!!!" making Ira wonder what the hell Kaori just did to warrant that reaction. A rhythmic beeping sound was then heard, like the kind that happens when large trucks are reversing just before the sound of wood snapping and a very painful and agonizing scream was heard. "I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN MASTER!!!" "DAMN RIGHT YOU BASTARD!" the kitten began brushing against Samira gently. "NOT THE METAL- N-NO! MASTER THAT.. THAT DOESN'T GO THER- GAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Ira blinked and Query tilted her head curiously. "WHO'S A GOOD PUPPET? WHO'S A FUCKING GOOD PUPPET!?" Kaori shouted angrily. "I'M THE BEST PUPPET, MASTER- FORGIVE MEEEEEEE!" the sound of a monster screaming was heard just before a schoolgirl shouted 'IIIIEEEEE- TASUKETE NASSAR-SAAAAAAAAAN!!!' from the room. The door exploded with Ikuchi halfway out, his mask half broken to reveal the most terrified eyes any of Kaori's victims had ever produced. He was fully naked on the floor, slowly crawling forward with the spiky head of a pineapple sticking out of his back door, through the tea kettle wrapped around his pelvis. He was trying to crawl away with the dark Kaori looking down at him and raising an eyebrow. "WE'RE NOT DONE HERE FUCKER!" Kaori shouted "MERCY- SAMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" his shouts were met with what seemed to be a monkey tail wrapped around his neck and pulled him back in. The door splinters lifted and reformed the door where more muffled screams were heard coming from. The sound of a jackhammer was heard just before Ikuchi flew through the door once more, flying across the room and upside down into the wall on the opposite side before sliding down. This time he was fully clothed with the tea kettle and pineapple completely missing. "NOW APOLOGIZE!" Kaori shouted through the door.

Ikuchi vanished and reappeared in front Samira on the table on his fists and knees, pressing his head firmly to the wooden surface. "I apologize for my actions Sa-" "WITH RESPECT!" "M-miss Nassar, my actions will never be repeated with you or any other woman." his mask was missing and let Samira see his absolutely horrified eyes as he turned his head to peek upwards. Ikuchi had seen some shit this day, and his eyes reflected it. Kaori walked out of the room brushing some dust off her arms before straightening her outfit. "And from now on you call me Kaori." "Y-yes Mas- K-Kaori." the two pieces on Kaori's mask had stopped glowing and only the half end was left solid. Another piece had began blinking in the direction of Midi, which Kaori figured would be their next destination. Kaori would wait to hear Samira's reply before asking if she was ready to go to Midi. If she was, they'd be teleported to Recon-One to relax a bit before going to the next zone. Samira would be in Kaori's room with the ninja's head on her leg and notice Kaori was breathing abnormally, much heavier than normal.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Even though Samira's hold on Ashley had been getting tighter and tighter as time passed, she had thought she had otherwise been doing a decent enough job of hiding her own concerns and feelings. However, just like with her being unable to hide the times she was weak and tired, she was unable to hide her uneasiness and worry from Kaori no matter how hard she tried. Spirits were always in her mind and knew everything she felt and thought as it was, and now there was someone close on the outside that was able to do nearly the same thing. It was unfair and, considering why they were even there, made her seem selfish. She wanted to keep her feelings and thoughts secret at least until everything with Kaori was settled. Samira had felt some movement on the couch as Kaori slid over to be closer, which caused the summoner to look up from the floor and turn towards the ninja. Her arm had been removed from around Ashley by then, and her hand held by Kaori's as the woman leaned against her with closed eyes. A few words were spoken, none of which Samira understood fully. The language of Midi was one she was never taught during her childhood years, and while both the spirits of Amaterasu and Susano knew the language, she had not been given lessons by them. Still, she felt comforted by the words, and got the sense that her friend was telling her everything was going to be all right. There was still some sadness though, and her eyes softened as Kaori hugged her arm. If Kaori had sensed her anxiety about the little reunion then she had to of remembered knowing some of the things that went on while she was away. Samira knew that had to of brought pain to the ninja, no matter the fact that she could hide it very well. Another unintentional stab. She was getting tired of making them, but it was just too difficult to hide what she wanted to so Kaori wouldn't be affected.

Samira's lips formed a small smile as she continued staring at Kaori. How the white haired woman could stand being so kind and gentle towards her she didn't know. Surely there were more people in the world that were more deserving of her love and affection. It was at that point Samira knew she had to take Susano's words even more seriously than she already had. She was tired of hurting Kaori, and her feelings for Ikuchi were nothing but damaging for even herself. Samira knew she had to forget them permanently and not just when he wasn't around. Samira then said some words of her own that were in a different language; an ancient language of ancestors long forgotten, or so Isis had informed her several years ago. The meaning of which could be translated from books as: 'I'm sorry for always hurting you, my friend.' Words that would have been better spoken in a language Kaori could understand, but Samira didn't want to ruin the comforted state of Kaori. Plus, adding in her own mystery words as if it were a game made her feel a little bit better, regardless of their meaning. The two mages remained that way, with Ashley still on her lap and probably thankful that she isn't being squeezed like a teddy bear anymore, until Kaori stood up and walked over towards the elevator.

Samira blinked as Kaori left the couch and again as the ninja stood in front of the elevator. She may of gotten a little too comfortable and was surprised by the movement and the fact there was now only cold air where a warm person once was. Straightening herself, Samira watched from where she sat as the hand pointed to different floor numbers. Someone was on their way up and with Kaori's reaction it had to of been the one they were waiting for. The child on her lap was about to be used as a huggable teddy bear until Gabriella came over and led her away. Sadness was in her green eyes as she watched Ashley and Gabriella leave. Now she was alone on the couch with nothing to hold onto or hug to get through her uneasiness except herself, which she did not do. Her hands rested on her lap as she watched the scene unfold before her.

From where she sat Samira remained quiet as Ikuchi seemed to be afraid of Kaori and had taken  a step back from her. The end result of the first appearances of their reunion was a hug; one that seemed to confuse the servant from what Samira could tell. His part of it was rather reluctant and unsure. Then he asked a question that made her cringe even before seeing the punch that came as a reply. It had been sweet up until that rather ridiculous question. At the very least Kaori had admitted she missed him and that his fears about being able to return were an overreaction. She figured Kaori would not be so heartless over that. The two of them were too close for that. Confused blinks as the dragonhound in man form got on his knee and bowed his head while saying he would accept any punishment she would give him. As far as Samira was concerned she thought the punch was it. Granted, she was a lot more lenient than Kaori. However, the confusion only grew when she overheard that he could be forgiven for his abandonment, but there was something else that was unforgivable. Her naivete kicked in as she did not even consider what he could not be forgiven for was a certain activity he had done with Samira, and admittedly, had been the one that even initiated it.

Her eyes followed as the ninja and servant disappeared into an empty room and closed the door. There had already been a show of violence so it was quite strange to hide anymore behind closed doors. It was then more beings had entered the room; the spirits known as Query and Ira appeared on the couch next to her, and the dark Kaori materialized in front of the closed door the original and Ikuchi were behind. The creepy smile was noticed and caused Samira only to arch a questioning brow in her direction. What exactly was going to happen that the dark half felt it necessary to block the door from anyone intervening? Not all too concerned about it, the woman decided to put her focus on the cat-like creature one of the sisters was holding, ignoring the one that laid her head on her lap until she spoke. The finger she was going to use to poke the kitten halted and she looked down at Ira. "Show time for what?" There needed no answer from anyone in the room. The sounds of a smack was heard, along with a crash against the wall. Then the woman could only sweatdrop as she heard Kaori's yell. "She...no..." That was what she was so angry about? Ira's comment about hoping she didn't kill him just made the sweatdrop grow. She knew Kaori was sad over it and may have been angry at him for daring to do such a thing while she was gone, but beating him over it was a little much. If Kaori really did know about that act then she should have known Samira wasn't exactly fighting him off. Although, one could say he may have taken just a little bit of an advantage of the situation, but it wasn't as if he planned to do so originally. In some weird way that Samira could barely understand given the other options that were available, he thought he was helping.

More smacks were heard as Samira did her best to ignore them. He did say he would accept any punishment. The kitten was placed on her shoulder and meowed. As cute as it was, she couldn't quite focus on it while knowing some form of beating was going on in the next room. Then more shouts and...something about a tea kettle? Whatever was going on Ikuchi's voice was of a tone she had never heard him use before or one she even thought was possible. The sisters made small comments about sound proofing the room, but Query declined to do such a thing on account of Ashley not being able to hear it. "I do not exactly want to hear this either..." Samira commented with a weak smile. It was a little creepy how everyone in the room was content to sit there and do absolutely nothing while something horrible was going on. How horrible it was going to get was something she could not even imagine. By the time the sounds of a chainsaw and loud thuds that shook the room were heard, she had had enough. Just what was going on in there?! Whatever it was needed to be stopped since it had clearly gone too far. The kitten had been trying to get her attention, but still it remained ignored other than her picking it up and holding it while removing herself from the role as Ira's head pillow. As she stood, the door suddenly flew open with Ikuchi running out of it. The sight of his condition made her pause. What the hell? The sight was ridiculous and she had gained a burst of confidence to waltz past the dark Kaori so she could tell the original that such actions were not required. Before she could actually act on the confidence, however, a massive cat paw had emerged from the room to cover his mouth and prevent him from finishing his plea for help. A horrified expression crossed her face and all confidence evaporated. As the tentacle came out and pulled him back in, her eyes became round and white while her mouth was wide open. What the fuck was that?! Nothing had ever made her sit back down so fast as that. Samira even went as far as to lift Ira's head so she was resting on her lap once more. She never moved from the couch. Nope. Not at all. Couch was safe. Couch was nice. What a lovely couch!

The kitten was placed beside her and she moved her finger around so it could try and catch it with its paws. She even played with the tiny ears and tail. The distraction did nothing to stop the sounds from the other room. Metal clanking could be heard, or at least that's what it sounded like followed by...Ikuchi calling Kaori Momma? Oh, my. She really didn't want to know what went on in there to get that sort of apology. More horrified expressions while listening to what was going on. "You are all really content with listening to this?" Query and Ira did not seem at all bothered by it, and of course the dark Kaori would not bat an eye. Samira was one that approved of torture if it was something necessary but...well she really didn't think she'd be listening to it and certainly not when it concerned someone she thought she cared about.

Beeping sounds. Wood splitting. Agonizing screams. Samira would be scarred for a long time just trying to imagine what was going on and trying to fit things with the sounds and reactions. Metal? Puppet?! And what on earth was that schoolgirl squeal that followed the sounds of...she really didn't know? It was starting to sound like some weird dirty piece of fiction. The door exploded with Ikuchi slowly crawling from it, and certainly not in his normal confident and smooth state. He looked absolutely terrified. Her eyes had to focus on something else though when she realized he was naked and...well she really didn't want to question if that was really a part of a pineapple she saw in a place where it logically should not have been able to even fit. In the dictionary under the term 'overreaction' would probably be Kaori's picture and story on how the term would be used correctly. She just hoped Ikuchi's story didn't end up being under pineapple or tea kettle. The only reply she could give Ikuchi as he shouted a different version of her name before being pulled back in by a monkey tail was picking up the kitten and holding onto it as she sunk further into the couch. In no way was she getting herself mixed up with his weird and unusual punishment. He did say he would take any punishment, so really, she couldn't find any reason to feel too guilty for not helping him. Not that she could anyway... All right, she may have felt guilty and began to worry more on whether he would actually survive or not. Perhaps she should have forced a discussion beforehand, but she really did not think they would run into Ikuchi there, and she certainly did not think he'd get that sort of treatment for something even she didn't punish him for. Not like she could anyway. Damn barriers. Something akin to a jackhammer was heard before Ikuchi was thrown out the door to smack against and slide down a wall. At least he had his clothes on that time, and even the tea kettle and pineapple were missing. Still, neither would be looked at the same way again. The angry command to apologize was heard from the other room, but Samira could only look down at the floor in a depressed manner rather than be overjoyed that the ninja had beaten him into it. She knew very well the apology was likely not going to contain what she really wanted him to be sorry for. He appeared on the table in a more submissive form to her than he would normally ever be and he had apologized, respectfully even, although that had been ordered as well. The respect on using her last name was a minor thing. She cared not for it. All she wanted was something she did not get. Not even close.

Samira looked at him as he raised his head and saw his eyes that were still filled with horror from what he had seen and went through a few moments before. Meanwhile hers were sullen and sad. That was not what she had wanted. What Kaori did to him as a form of punishment for pissing her off was fine. There would be no grudges or anger for the overreaction that had taken place. However, when it came herself, she had other things that needed an apology for. The one he had given seemed to be for that one time for that one activity, and not for anything else. She wasn't sure of the significance on him having to call Kaori by her name instead of master, but at that moment Samira didn't particularly care. The kitten was gently given back to Query and she removed herself once more from being Ira's pillow. "This is ridiculous. Get off the table, please," she said calmly as she stood up from her seat, being polite even though she could feel anger grow inside of her. Assuming he did what was requested, almost immediately her hand raised and swiftly went through the air to smack against his cheek in a very hard slap. Harder than any slap she had given him prior and even harder than the ones she had given Kaori. She honestly wasn't even sure if his barrier was weakened or down anymore, but that was not going to stop her from doing it regardless. The woman lacked her friend's strength to do any physical harm normally, but at the very least she still tried to make it mean something. It was also the first one she had given him that did not have an apology for it come right afterward.

"Are you so traumatized that you have forgotten you have already apologized for that? What did you think you were accomplishing by doing it again while under the command to? It means absolutely nothing to me and only serves to fulfill what is required to save yourself from Kaori." Her tone of voice was furious and the narrowed eyed glare matched as she spoke the words. Ikuchi had already apologized back in Minstrel, so either he didn't fully mean it then, he was hoping she had forgotten it or wouldn't mind getting it again, or she was correct in her spoken theory. There were so many other things that could have been added on to make it worth listening to, but there was nothing. It was probably not even thought about at all. "You are a coward, Ikuchi. Either an ignorant one or a cruel one. You claim to hate me, but you do so many things that contradict such a statement." Her hands were at her sides and balled into fists as her nails dug into her palms. The lid on her bottled emotions was starting to loosen, she could feel it, and moreso as her eyes began to water. "Do you even realize what you are doing each and everytime? You cannot possibly be so stupid or oblivious. You are too cruel. Saying you hate me and then doing things that only bring me closer to you just to have you go back to not caring if I even exist as a person rather than an attachment for Kaori." Samira knew very well some of the things such as keeping her alive and even helping train her was something he did for Kaori's sake, he had said as much. However, he had done other things that only confused her and messed with her head and feelings. She never did know where they stood due to it. People do not embrace those they hate, they do not give them head pats, they do not hold them when they cry, and they do not listen or care about what may be upsetting them. None of those things were ever required to keep her safe and unharmed for her friend's sake. Assuming she was not prevented from doing so, Samira would step forward so she could wrap her arms around him, forming a hug and pressing her cheek against his chest. "The worst part about this is that I cannot even hate you for everything you have done to me. I have tried, but it is always short lived. I should not have to explain why." Whether the hug was allowed the words would remain the same, but afterwords she would tighten her hold slightly. "Keep in mind what you suffered in that room may have been terrible, but its duration was short. You have kept mine ongoing since even before that day, and still you have not put an end to it. Instead you give me the repeated and empty apology of a cowardly servant. You are toxic, and I should have listened to Susano a long time ago."

Samira exhaled deeply through her nose, ended the hug, if that was a thing, and took a step back. There was evidence of tears that had broken free from their cage as she looked up at him, but no longer were her eyes angry or sad. They had a sort of confidence and decisiveness within them. If he would not end her torture of mixed signals then she would just have to do it herself. "You either hate me, or you do not. There is no inbetween. If you must act nice as some form of tolerance then so be it. Do not hug me, do not attempt to snuggle me while I sleep, do not act like you care when I am upset and hold me, absolutely no head pats, do not beg for my help like you did during your 'punishment', and most of all do not call me 'Sammy.' That is a name for those that are above the status of ally, which is all we are as you made it clear some time ago. I do not care that you put the word 'good' in front of it. I hope you understand what I am demanding because all of these are things you have done, but do not fit what someone that hates me would do. I am tired of being confused and depressed over you, and so the only thing I want is for you to stop being so cruel by doing the things you do." Samira slowly reached up, but not to give him another slap. Instead she gently touched the cheek she had slapped, or tried to slap if the barrier was up at the time. A weak smile was on her face and fresh tears began to flow from the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks. "That was the apology I wanted, and you could not even do that for me. How can I forgive you when you cannot even forgive me for something I did not intend?" The hand was then brought down and she looked away from him as she stepped to the side and went around him so she could join Kaori. Her steps halted halfway there as she realized she nearly forgot something. "By the way, welcome back, Ikuchi." She did not turn back around as she said the words, and her tone reflected that it was more of a polite thing to say rather than something that brought her joy. Much different than the one she had given Kaori on her return. With that said, she nodded as a sign that she was ready to go, and the two mages were teleported to Recon-One.

The two were in the ninja's room. Samira had at first thought it was silly to rest before going to Midi, but she supposed she may of been biased. She had done enough resting while doing pretty much nothing but sitting on a couch, and she wanted to be distracted so she wouldn't have to think anymore about their last setting. It was a real mess. Emotionally and mentally. For others, physically, but not so much her. Kaori's head was resting on her leg, and as Samira looked at her she became worried. Now she understood the reasoning behind resting. Something was off with the ninja, she could tell by the heavy breathing. It wasn't normal for her. There were suspicions regarding her medication, but she wasn't sure if that was what was causing the abnormal breathing or not. The summoner petted the ninja's head comfortingly, much in the same way Kaori had done for her in the past. "Are you feeling all right, Kay?" She asked in a concerned tone, and even using the nickname that was often used when she was either vulnerable or worried. "You did not take your medicine today, did you? Is heavy breathing a side effect?" It didn't exactly dawn on her to question the mask at first. The reason they even went there was still pretty vague. Kaori tortured Ikuchi a bit, and the pieces representing that had stopped glowing. If her first vision was accurate about a past friend of Kaori's, then the mask was leading them to people that were close to her. She was still not sure of the reason why or what it had to do with the mask itself though.

If the medicine was the issue, Samira would recommend taking it and even offer to get it for her. Otherwise, the summoner would trust that the reply that it was not was true and move on. "Is it from whatever the blinking pieces of the mask mean? As far as I can tell the pieces became inactive as soon as you resolved your issues with Ashley and Ikuchi. I do not know what was supposed to happen from it though. As for the one in Midi...we know who it is supposed to represent, but I do not know how we are supposed to claim her piece." The one that piece belonged to was quite dead from what Samira knew. She had a spirit that could talk with the dead, but she didn't want to use him to raise a soul that was in a peaceful afterlife. As for Kaori, she had a lot of power, but Samira doubted speaking with dead souls was part of her arsenal. Then again, there were some spirits that Kaori had that she was unfamiliar with. They really weren't used all that often in front of her. Although, if the mask pieces really were what was making Kaori feel unwell then she was more concerned about heading to Midi. It didn't seem like a good idea even if she had originally thought she had been given the visions as some form of aid. Kaori wouldn't of been of the same mindset though, she knew. The ninja would want to see it through regardless of what concerns there were. The unknown was starting to get annoying, and if she ever saw who kept giving her vague visions she was not going to be kind towards them. At all.

Kaori heard Samira ask if she was okay, even using her nickname which served to make her happier when she used it. It's not that it was rare for her to use it or anything, Kaori just felt happy to know that Samira was comfortable enough around her to use it. The petting motion, Samira's fingers brushing over Kaori's hair softly served to help her relax and steadied her breathing a bit. She had asked if Kaori forgot to take her medicine, also inquiring if her current condition was a result of such a mistake. "I'm... okay..." she said between breaths, it was a blatant lie. The fact that Kaori had to take a breath between words was more than enough proof of that. "I may have.... forgotten." she said, referring to to her medication. If Samira pointed out that Kaori was lying, she would say "I'm... sorry..." before closing her eyes. 'My medicine's on the Ark of Destiny, I'll be fine with some rest' would be the next thing she'd hear in her mind. If Samira stuck around, she'd feel Kaori grabbing her leg in her sleep. While she didn't know it, Kaori's dream was a nightmare from when when she was fighting Samira and Ikuchi. That day, Kaori was very much aware of what was happening but was powerless to stop herself. It was like watching a crime from behind a bullet proofed, glass window. If Samira had done something to try and calm her, singing to her, or even talking to her- anything to let Kaori know that she wasn't alone, she'd notice the ninja relaxing. If at any point Samira managed to lay down, she'd find Kaori instinctively snuggling up to her, resting her head in the other mage's chest while holding her warmly.

The ship had reached its destination a few moments before Kaori had woken up on her own. The ninja had opened her eyes and sat up, blinking a few times to wake her eyes up before rubbing them to clear any potential irritants from her tear ducts. Upon looking to her side, if Samira was still there, she'd shout "KYAAAA!!" in a high pitched squeal while also flailing so hard she fell off the bed and hit the floor with a resounding thud. Of course, if Samira wasn't present, this event wouldn't occur. Upon recovering from the fall, Kaori would look out the window and see the village outside and know that she was home. If Samira was in the room, Kaori would turn to her and say "We're here." with a slight smile that was mostly warm, but not the warmest that Samira had ever seen- but it was close. If Samira wasn't in the room, she'd hear the announcement over the intercom.

Recon One was hovering over the path leading to the entrance of the village with a long ramp leading down. As Samira looked around, she would notice the village had no walls at all. The buildings were made as traditional Midi style buildings and all were very well maintained. The path lead to a massive hill where the sides of the hill were made to resemble large stairs, houses built on each 'step' with a very large one at the very top. Kaori turned her head and looked out over the horizon with saddened eyes. If Samira was looking, she would see the one thing that separated this village from every other village in Midi... Surrounding this village, as far as the eye could see... pushing the tall grass back for over a kilometer, lining the hills in the distance and going over them, even continuing past the horizon... Stone pillars that were one foot wide, and three feet high were arranged exactly two meters from each other. Kaori looked away toward the ground and began walking down the wooden walkway. As soon as her and Samira reached the bottom Kaori would say in a soft, sad tone "This is my home. Each of those pillars is someone either Shara or myself had to kill." On each side of the pillars was the name of the deceased written in Midi's native tongue. The top of each pillar had a small indent where incense could be placed. Kaori would begin walking up the stone path leading to the village. "The first holiday of our clan translates to your tongue as 'Remembrance.' It's a day where everyone from every village in our lands pay respects to them. Here, we light incense and give a prayer. Other villages take to gathering at the front of their village and bowing in the direction of this graveyard, a touching act since they're not required to do so. When we bury our dead, we cremate them and place half the ashes in urns and make jewelry with the rest of the ashes. It's not abnormal for a bottle of sake to be buried with them, in case their spirit gets thirsty." Kaori let out a light chuckle at the last bit, the old ways were strange to her but she had no reason to go against that particular tradition.

If Samira had asked why there were no walls for the village, Kaori would reply coldly "We keep no walls so as to not be rude to our enemies... walls would get in their way when they're trying to flee." Upon entering the village, Samira would hear the sounds of people being quite busy. Banging metal, the sound of a blacksmith at work was the first. Off in the distance would be a young man, roughly fourteen holding metal lumps and inspecting them. "The blacksmiths are at the front of the village so imported metal doesn't need to go far. That boy there's in his last year of training to be a blacksmith, it's the only reason he's allowed to choose which pieces to buy. I still think he should've taken his mother's role as a potter, but he wanted to make weapons and armor." Kaori would explain while walking. Kaori had taken a turn from the main road onto a side one that lead to a stairwell leading up the hillside that in turn, lead to a massive, flat area. In the middle of it was a large pond in the shape of a rectangle and in the middle of that was a platform made of smooth, black marble. On the platform was forty children, all around age eight arranged in five rows of eight. Each child had a metal katana in their hands and were following the movements of their instructor, movements that Samira would remember from her training with Ikuchi. "At age three we're made immune to the emotional consequences of death. At age five, we learn to kill with our hands. At age seven, we pick up a blade. Everyone in this clan is ready to fight at a moment's notice, and fully prepared to die." Kaori would say softly while approaching the group. "Chotto matte!" she shouted, each and every student stopped and lowered their blades before bowing to Kaori. The ninja bowed back and scanned the group before pointing at one of the boys in the middle. The other thirty nine students moved to the outskirts of the pond and the one Kaori pointed at took his position at one of the ends of the platform with his instructor watching. Kaori took a spot across from him, the two bowed to each other and took a fighting stance with their swords at the ready. The two went at each other, Kaori blocking every hit while the boy tried to keep composed. He quickly grew tired of being blocked and put his foot too far forward, and Kaori used it to her advantage. She slid her foot behind his heel and pulled, putting him on the floor with her sword to his neck. His trainer called the match and Kaori helped him up, bowing to him. She told him "Your training is going well." and he replied "Not well enough to be your guard." both in their native tongue. The instructor had made her way to Samira and said "Gaijin." with a friendly tone. "Do you wish to test one of my students?" she added, the tone was respectful with no intent of boasting. If Samira decided to do so, Kaori would watch from the sidelines and tell her she did great whether she won or lost. The fighters of her clan were all powerful, even at a young age. Kaori's advantage was experience, something that all of the children lacked.

Moving on from there, Kaori would continue through an arch and up another set of stairs before stopping at a fork in the road. She would then grab Samira's hand and give a bright smile while pulling her up the path on the left towards a large building. Inside the building was wooden floors with paper sliding doors, each having a sign above them written in Midi's language. Kaori had stopped just before one and paused before gently pulling back the door and poking her head past the rim. "Kaori!" a childish voice came out loud and joyous. The ninja stepped into the room and one of the children got up from their desks and ran to wrap his arms around her legs. "H-Hiya-san!" the teacher shouted in disapproval. "Daijoubu." Kaori said with a smile, gently rubbing the boy's head. The boy released Kaori's legs and took her hand. If Samira was at the door, Kaori would take her hand and pull her into the classroom. Inside, she'd see that the Leraci Clan was more than just swords and blood. The students were all at desks with books open and at the front of the class was an astrology chart, showing they were learning about the stars and their locations in the night sky. 'Look at them and say what I say.' Kaori would tell Samira in her mind. 'Orewa. Nassar, Samira. Hajimemashite.' would be the next thing, and then Kaori would tell her to bow to the class. If she did this, the little boy holding Kaori's hand would let go and move to Samira while pulling on her. Kaori would take a few steps to the side and the boy would pull on Samira's arm till she finally got down on his level. Once she was lower to the ground, he would hold his hands out like a cup and a white-blue flower would form in it from magic particles that he'd then place in her hair. "My name Hiya, Kouta." he would then say before stepping aside to reveal the other children had stood up. Another boy had stopped in front her and formed the same flower, placing it in her hair and saying "My name... is Aya, Shiro." before letting the next child get their turn. At the end of the twentieth child, Samira's head would be adorned with glowing magic flowers from each of the children and the twenty first would be standing nervously in front her. She would look up, showing her sky blue eyes while shakily holding out her cupped hands and struggling to form the flower as the others had. She managed to form it and placed it on the top of Samira's head, but as soon as her hand left it the magic popped and caused the other flowers to pop as well, showering Samira in magic particles. The girl hung her head and grabbed one of her arms. "Don't look away." Kaori said harshly in her tonuge, shocking the child into looking her direction. "Do what you do best and do it with pride." she then added. The small girl looked at Samira and held her hand out in a bowl shape again, closing her eyes tightly and forming a ball of magic in the hand. A small chirp escaped the ball just before the magic ball crumbled away and revealed a small dove in her hand. "M-my... my name... T-todo, Mi-Mizuho." she said while looking at Samira with scared eyes, unsure if she'd be seen as a failure or not by the gaijin. Once Samira had taken the bird, it would turn to magic dust and Kaori would come over and get on one knee, rubbing the child's head. The child looked at Kaori, expecting a scolding for failing but only saw a smile. Kaori said "There's no shame in failure, only in giving up. You did well, Todo-chan." which made the girl take on an expression that made it seem like she had an epiphany.

If Samira had said anything to the girl to uplift her, the child would give her a hug and say "Arigatō, nee-sama!" with a slight redness in her cheeks. Kaori would bow to the class once more before letting Samira know they had to go. Once the door had closed, Kaori would stumble slightly and caught herself on the wall, leaning on it to keep her balance while breathing slowly. Her breaths were uneven and the ground was blurred and she felt sick. Kaori would raise her free hand on rest it over her eye while she focused on breathing. After a few moments, she would stand up again and say "I-I'm okay. It passed for now." and continue walking down the halls and leaving the school from one of the back doors. From there, they would go up more stairs in the back-alley of the village until they came to a waterfall on the opposite end of the village that they entered from. Kaori would press her back to the walls and slide along the narrow footing, carefully moving behind the rushing water and entering a large cave hidden behind it. The walls were lined with swords and pads, the floor was perfectly flat and obviously altered for a purpose. "My grandfather was the last clan leader. None of the trainers would teach me since I was... different, so he took me here to train. After my brother betrayed us I ran here to be alone. Shara's the only other person who knew about it... she brought me food everyday and held me while we slept every night." Kaori walked to the far end of the large cavern and pressed a specific rock on the wall that didn't look any different from the rest of the wall that caused a slab of rock to move and reveal a staircase leading up. "Come." Kaori said and went up the stairs.

They emerged from an opening behind a set of bamboo and as Samira exited, Kaori would move a patch of grass over the small, human sized hole in the ground that acted as an entrance or exit depending if you were coming or going. "Being the clan leader is more than just making rules. You have to have a relationship with the clan, they need to trust you and believe in you. The clan lives to serve and protect the clan leader, and in return we live to serve and protect the clan." Kaori would explain while following another path that still lead up the hill. After the several hours of moving they'd gone through since leaving Recon One, the two wizards would arrive at the massive building at the top of the hill. "This is my home. Most of my servants are helping the village, so I'm afraid you won't meet many of them." Kaori began moving, walking past the gates and through the halls, past countless artifacts and bookshelves and weapons. At the rear of the estate was a lush labyrinth that Kaori entered without a second thought. "If you're from outside the family, it's easy to get lost in here. We've actually lost a couple servants because of how many twists and turns this place has." Kaori said nonchalantly, as though that sort of thing were normal. At the end of the labyrinth was a large shrine with two young girls cleaning the floorboards who stopped and looked at Kaori. "Leraci-sama!" they exclaimed in surprise. Kaori stepped forward and said in her tongue "The sun rises on fields of embers, the moon on fields of ash. The day breaks on new beginnings, and forever we move on." the two shrine maidens took on a more serious look and bowed stood up before bowing. The doors to the shrine were opened and Kaori invited Samira inside. The central room was quite small, containing an opening in the floor with steps leading down. When Samira got to the opening, the two shrine maidens would pull the top of their staves off to reveal blades that were pointed at her. "Matte!" Kaori shouted, earning confused looks from them. "Daijoubu." Kaori said and the two women bowed while sheathing their blades, letting her pass.

"This is where my family's remains are stored... Every clan leader, their wives or husbands, and eventually mine are here." Kaori would explain while walking down the long hall and grabbing one of the torches from the wall. Kaori stopped in a room that had thousands of rings on the walls with different colored gemstones inside them. On the left side of the room was only a hundred or so, but the rest of the thousands lined the walls of a long hall. "The rings on the left belong to the previous clan leaders, the ones on the right belong to the people I killed. The gemstones are made from the ashes we don't bury. Any ashes left are thrown into the field to keep the soil fertile." At the end of the hall was another door that upon being opened, gave way to light. A balcony like area was beyond the door consisting of a plot of grass with a single tree growing in the middle. The tree was a cherry tree that had pink gemstone hearts dangling from its branches, shimmering in the sunlight to create a magical effect. Under that tree was a girl sitting on her knees. She looked at Kaori, who had tears in her eyes and a jaw that had slightly dropped. The girl stood up and Kaori took a step back, grabbing Samira's arm for comfort. Kaori slowly released Samira and took a step forward "Sh-Shara?" she asked. The girl moved towards Kaori, quickly picking up pace and shoving herself into Kaori's body and a tight embrace. Kaori was speechless and only stood there with tears running down her face. Shara pulled back from the hug and wiped some of them away only for them to be replaced by more tears. "Why are you sad, big sis?" she asked. Kaori could only stand there, staring at her in disbelief before falling to her knees. "I'm... so sorry." she said, naturally in her native tongue. Shara got on her knees too and wrapped her arms around Kaori's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Shara. I'm... I'm so sorry." Kaori said while crying. Shara rubbed the back of Kaori's head gently.

Shara: "You think it's your fault that I died?"
Kaori: "B-but, it is."
Shara: "No, it isn't."
Kaori: "I didn't protect you, I- I..."
Shara: "You didn't know what would happen."
Kaori: "It should've been me."
Shara: "It wasn't your time, sis. It was mine."
Kaori: "But-"
Shara: "It's okay."

Kaori wrapped her arms around Shara's waist and began crying more, screaming that she was sorry while Shara gently rubbed the back of her head while saying "It's okay..." in a soothing tone. She began singing the same song that Kaori sand to her and Samira to help them settle down, and slowly Kaori had fallen asleep. "I love you, big sis. I always have, and always will." were the last things she said before gently laying Kaori on the grass and getting up. She walked to Samira and gave her a hug if she would accept it. "Thank you for keeping my sister safe. She feels the need to protect everyone and pushes herself too far, I can't thank you enough for keeping her alive." Shara would say in Samira's tongue. "When I died, her heart broke and a part of it stayed with me. She healed over time, but now I can feel that so much is missing... The part of her heart that called me here can't sustain me forever, so promise me you'll keep my big sister safe. Not just from her enemies, but from herself." Sasha looked at Samira with only love in her eyes and the kind of desperation that love can breed. "If you promise me that, I'll tell you where the last piece is." she added as an incentive. If Samira promised to protect Kaori, or promised to try, Sasha would wrap her arms around Samira and say "Thank you." before starting to glow and fade away. Sasha would place her hand on Samira's sternum and say "The last piece... is here." just as her hand touched Samira. At that moment, she vanished, leaving Samira to tend to Kaori. Stress and crying had a weird way of draining a person's energy, especially in Kaori's condition.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Samira had listened to the weak reply and almost sighed as the words reached her ears, but she held it in. It had not been long ago at all that the ninja had slapped her for lying about her well being. Saying they were fine when they were clearly not seemed to be something they would share time and time again, back and forth, over and over. No anger would fill the summoner that time, however. She understood and just did not have the heart to make things worse. The head rubs had stopped for a few seconds, and Samira closed her eyes. There had been suspicions regarding Kaori neglecting to take her medication the whole day, and now it had been confirmed. Some guilt was there considering she was partly to blame, having been a distraction for some time after their mission to end yet another celestial spirit clone. Still, a small smile had formed on her face. "I know you lie to me," she said gently, opening her eyes again and continuing to glide her hands along Kaori's hair softly. Kaori had managed to apologize for trying to lie, which, for the moment, Samira thought to be unnecessary. She barely apologized for the time she had lied herself and would not have done so if her friend had not reacted the way she had. The next set of words were done mentally rather than vocally. The small smile turned into a deep frown. The medicine was back on the Ark of Destiny. She doubted Kaori would be completely fine with just rest, but without a way to get back to the Ark herself she knew she would have to trust her on that statement. "Is that so? Very well. I will remain here with you while you rest." If there was one thing that Samira knew, it was that Kaori had better rest when she was not left alone. Or, at the very least, that was what it seemed like.

The summoner sat there quietly as the ninja laying on her lap fell asleep. Remaining mostly still for long periods of time did not bother her at all. She was the patient sort, and it had not been the first time she had played the role of a pillow or teddy bear. Some time later Samira noticed the ninja woman grabbing her leg, tightly even. The girl sighed, guessing that the rest was not entirely peaceful. "I do not suppose you have an invader providing you with random dreams as well?" The statement was made in jest to herself. She had no way of knowing of the nightmare Kaori was actually having, but regardless, her voice rather than silence seemed to make the sleeping ninja relax slightly. It actually reminded her of the time Kaori had sung to her and how soothing it had been. An effective sleep aid! A shame when she opened her mouth to try singing nothing had come out. Samira was much too embarrassed to create the words. Even with Kaori sleeping she dared not attempt to sing in front of another. She never even sung when by herself really. Instead she just hummed a slow and sweet sounding tune while gently moving the ninja off her leg and repositioning her so that she could lie down beside her. Near instantly she had found herself being used as a snuggle pillow as Kaori had latched onto her and pulled herself in. The summoner let out a small chuckle, not at all embarrassed since she had already experienced such an embrace many times before. "I seem to have the role as everyone's snuggle pillow." An exaggeration, of course. She wasn't everyone's. It was just rather interesting how many times she had found herself as such. Her own arms wrapped around Kaori to hold her in return, providing additional comfort to help her sleep; something that not even her once dear Mr. Fluffles could provide. "I think you have been the only one I have not minded though. Is that not a bit strange?" Of course there would be no answer since Kaori was asleep. Samira wasn't really expecting one. It was somewhat of an outer thought that she was questioning herself about even though it had been directed towards a sleeping person. Not wanting to put too much thought into it, Samira let it go and resumed her humming from earlier. Eventually, she too had fallen asleep.

What Samira had woken up to was a high pitched squeal that brought her back to reality from her dark blank sleep world instantly. Her body jumped in place even though she was lying down, and then she heard what sounded like something crashing onto the floor. Her brain barely had time to even get back into full working mode before her eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up. Instinctively, she grabbed onto a pillow and threw the fluffy weapon of deadliness in Kaori's direction, not remembering just yet that it was actually Kaori and that she was in her room on Recon 1. The pillow obviously missed as it had been thrown randomly and without aim. Not to mention the target had already moved to the window and was looking out. "Kaori?" Samira questioned, still half asleep and still putting her thoughts before sleeptime together. A few seconds more and she finally got it. They were traveling to Midi, and, judging by the ninja's words, they had arrived. "Wait. That was what you were screaming about?" Were they supposed to have woken up before they actually arrived? Was there some sort of time schedule she was unaware of? "If I was supposed to wake you up before arriving you should have told me." Oblivious Samira.

Following Kaori, Samira made her way down the ramp of Recon 1 and onto solid ground. Now that they were there, she was actually excited. With what had happened previously and the mystery of the mask and its glowing pieces, she had nearly forgotten it would be her first time seeing the country of Midi. That excitement vanished completely once she saw all the stone pillars. It didn't take a genius to guess what they were, and she knew the reason for why there were so many of them. She turned her focus towards following Kaori and listening to her as she spoke. Her people had a very complex tradition when it came to the way they handled their dead. It fascinated Samira, and she had a feeling Kaori was explaining it to her because the ninja knew she enjoyed learning new things. She smiled and made a small laugh of her own to match Kaori's regarding the portion of the explanation that went into burying a bottle of sake with the dead. "I think I have a few spirits that would approve of that tradition."

Samira had noticed the lack of walls and asked about them, thinking it was just a design that was normal in the country. Honestly, with the answer she got she almost wish she hadn't inquired to begin with. "Oh..." The reply to her question was fine by itself and was logical...and oddly considerate. Kaori's cold tone was a different matter entirely and made Samira think she had brought something up that she should not have. The village itself was actually lively with busy people, and the summoner began to realize how much she stood out from them. Her green eyes darted around the village and took in everything. The notes regarding the blacksmiths, and even the boy that Kaori had pointed out, were mentally stored for later documentation. She stopped walking and watched them work for a bit, and before she knew it, Kaori was up ahead and had taken a turn off the main road. Samira rushed her pace to catch up and soon the pair had reached an area with a large number of children gathered. They were practicing with a type of sword while doing movements that Samira herself had done during some basic training provided by Ikuchi. She still attempted it every now and then to try and improve, but just by looking at the children she realized how outclassed she was even by them. As Kaori informed her of what sort of training came at different ages, Samira should have been impressed that the children of her clan were capable of such things, but all it did was make her frown and become sad for the. "So young..." The comment was softly spoken to herself as Kaori had already left her side to approach the group. A child being prepared to fight and die was just something Samira could not understand. There was logic in it, she knew, and it was just how things worked there. It was based on survival and the needs of the clan. Still, the summoner believed a child should actually have a childhood and remain innocent. They grew up too fast in a setting such as the current one, and would have to do things no child should ever have to do. She could barely stand some things herself even as an adult. It was sad, but necessary.

The small fight between Kaori and the boy she had chosen to be her opponent was watched with curious eyes. How the fight ended was obvious, but the summoner still had to sweatdrop at how skilled the boy was regardless. Samira was terrible in comparison and she began to feel really bad about it. Apparently starting training while young had its advantages. During her little moment of analyzing her own horrible skills, the instructor had come towards her and said a word she did not quite understand. The rest was clear enough though so as far as she could tell it must of been a sort of title that was used in the village. "Test one of your students?" Samira repeated, eyes blinking in disbelief. It was more like one of them testing her. Honestly she felt Amaterasu or Susano would have been suited to act as testers. She wasn't about to use her magic though. After all, she had been the one to be asked, not any of her spirits. "I suppose I could try," she said with some reluctance. The most likely outcome would be her losing, but she wasn't really someone that didn't try. To decline would mean she was afraid to even attempt it. Samira had a little more pride in her than that.

Samira had been given a metal katana to use during the little duel, and she chose a random child out of the group. It wasn't as if she could tell the difference of their skills before choosing so she didn't completely get her ass kicked by whichever one was the best there. The bowing and taking a fighting stance were done, as Samira had seen it done during Kaori's match so all she had to do was mimic that part. What followed after was the actual duel. The child was a lot faster than Samira expected now that she was actually participating in the fight. She managed to block and evade just fine, but she wasn't exactly able to do much against her opponent either. Then she started moving in ways that sort of confused the child. Rather than follow the combat sequences and movement she had been taught by Ikuchi, she started to move like a panicked girl from Fiore that had no idea what the hell she was actually doing. Put in a little of whatever the heck Anhur had been teaching her, and it ended up being one confusing mess for the kid. What the hell sort of fighting style was she using?! Then the most embarrassing part that should have been expected from all that knew her; she dropped the weapon. As clumsy with weaponry as ever. It pretty much ended right then and there considering she now had no weapon to block with and a sword was pointed at her. Well, at least she could say she tried. Depressed and humiliated shoulder slumping followed. She really couldn't take Kaori's comment on her doing great seriously.

Following Kaori through the village once more, Samira was soon interrupted from her humiliated state as her hand was grabbed by the ninja. The smile on her face made her forget what had happened previously as Samira was now too busy wondering what had made her so cheerful all of a sudden. She was pulled along down a path that led to a large building and inside they went. "I wonder what this place is if she is so excited about it," Samira commented quietly to herself as she looked at the paper sliding doors and the signs above them. They came to a stop at one, and sliding the door open, Kaori poked her head in. Watching the action caused the green haired woman to tilt her head slightly in wonder. A child's voice then spoke the clan leader's name and Kaori stepped inside. Samira stepped closer towards the door and took a quick peak inside. A classroom of sorts. Her eyes then traveled to see the child that was clinging to Kaori's legs. A soft giggle left the summoner at the sight. The children really did respect and loved seeing her. She had been content to stay by the door while Kaori visited the class, but she soon found herself being pulled all the way into the classroom instead. Awkwardness spread through her. What was she supposed to do now? The answer came in the form of a mental message. All right. With a wide smile, Samira repeated the words she had been told to say, although she had no idea what they meant. Her name was in it though so it was probably just an introduction of sorts. "Orewa. Nassar, Samira. Hajimemashite," she said in a kind and happy tone before taking a bow.

In response to her assumed introduction, the little boy that had been holding onto Kaori moved towards her and had begun pulling on her arm. Samira had understood what it meant just by dealing with Ashley, who had done the same thing a couple of times. She blinked, wondering what it was he wanted from her. The woman knelt down so she was lower and on his level and looked at him curiously. "Yes, little one?" The child then created a white-blue colored flower from magic particles and placed it in her hair. It surprised her greatly. One being that he could create a flower from magic, and then again when he had placed it into her hair. It was really sweet and brought a smile to her face. He introduced himself and stepped aside, revealing that the rest of his classmates had stood up. Well, that was an interesting tradition...if it even was one. She was not all that certain. Each child in the classroom had formed beautiful flowers and placed them into her hair, creating the ultimate hair accessory while making a good memory of her meeting them all.

Number twenty one had taken her place in front of her, a nervous looking girl that appeared to be having trouble with creating her own flower. Samira did not think little of her though when it came to the struggle of using the magic, and instead just kept on giving a reassuring smile as she waited. The flower was then formed and placed on her head, but had popped upon placement. The other flowers upon her head had also popped. Covered she now was in magic particles, but that was of a lesser concern. Seeing the girl look so pitiful for her failure made her sad. Samira was about to comfort the child when Kaori's voice snapped her focus away. The tone was harsh, and she couldn't really understand what was being said to the child. Whatever it was though seemed to have worked, even if she disapproved of the tone herself. The girl tried again, only that time the end result was that of a magic dove. The summoner was impressed. She had a lot of magic power, but even she could not create something like that. The created dove was accepted and then returned to dust. It was a little sad she couldn't keep it forever, but she enjoyed getting flowers and a dove, however temporary they were. She watched with a smile as Kaori dealt with the child more kindly and had even reassured her that she did well. "She speaks truly. Always try your best, Todo.  Never give up on the challenges you will face in life. They make you stronger, although sometimes it may be hard to tell. Just know that with each failure you will learn something and are that much closer to your goal. The dove you gave me is proof of that." Her words were said kind and gentle, and as a response the child hugged her. Samira's eyes widened, full of surprise from the child's sudden course of action. Considering the children were brought up to be warriors at such a young age she hardly expected them to be so affectionate towards a stranger. The hug was returned and, even though she couldn't really understand the words, Samira assumed they were words that showed Todo was grateful. She was happy, a feeling that was the complete opposite of when they were in Hosenka. It was not something that would last.

Samira stood up fully and mimicked Kaori's bow to the class. They were now going to leave the building and head elsewhere. Once the door had closed, however, Kaori took a turn for the worse. The stumble was not what worried Samira. That could have easily been a case of tripping. Odd for the ninja woman to trip, but it was possible. Maybe. What did worry her was the return of the abnormal breathing patterns, and how sickly her friend looked to be. "Kaori, do you need to rest?" It was obvious she was not all right, so Samira completely skipped that question. She got closer and held her to act as extra support to prevent Kaori from collapsing completely in case it came to that. Kaori had said she was fine and that it had passed, but still the summoner was concerned. The happiness she had felt a short while ago had disappeared completely; replaced by fear and worry. Much of the same as it had been back when she feared Kaori to be dying during her long absence. For now, she kept quiet about it, but if it happened again she told herself she would have to be more forceful and make Kaori take a rest. An...interesting thought considering who had the most power between the two of them. Technically, she couldn't make the ninja do anything she didn't want to do, but she would insist and demand regardless.

Samira followed Kaori closely and kept her main focus on her well being rather than the village itself. Eventually they would come to a waterfall, which they were apparently going behind. Another element of fun filled adventure that she would have to come back and experience a second time in order to appreciate the full effect. Presently, her mind was too worried to have fun with the act of sliding past a waterfall to find a hidden cave. The surroundings were taken in as Samira glanced around the cave, noticing the weapons and altered ground. She listened to the explanation of the significance of the cave to Kaori and remained quiet. Shara again. Obtaining that piece was still a mystery, but she supposed they were heading in the right direction. A staircase was revealed and, upon the request to follow, Samira did so. More walking and more little bits of knowledge for the summoner until they came upon a massive building. That was her home?! No wonder she didn't really like ruins or their normal puzzles. Kaori practically lived in a puzzlefest. "That is all right," Samira said in regards to most of the servants not being present. Another chance may come by one day. "I will point out that getting to your home is a little...difficult." That was probably the point, but it seemed to go a little bit overboard. It even had a labyrinth! The summoner was stunned for a moment when the ninja had said they had lost servants to it, and in such a tone that made her think she was used to that happenings. "No one ever went to look for them?" The poor girl felt really disturbed by that, especially given she was one of those outsiders that could get lost in it. Her curious nature was drawn to taking a different path just to see, but thankfully her more smarter side won the inner argument. She stayed close so she wouldn't get lost unless she actually tried to.

Past the labyrinth was a sort of shrine with two women that were cleaning, but got more serious as Kaori said something to them. Samira thought nothing of it and continued on following. The rest of the village had been no big deal and welcoming, so why would they be any different? A very wrong assumption. She had clearly just been invited inside and yet the two women still pointed their blades at her. Samira stepped back from the opening and put on a really confused look. There could not possibly be anything she had done wrong. She would have been told otherwise in order to avoid getting stabbed by a guard lady. Awkward. The two sheathed their weapons though and allowed her to pass. An embarrassed smile and slight wave to them as she followed along. Now she understood one of the reasons why she was never allowed to come with her grandfather whenever he went to Midi; she would have gotten killed with her level of curiosity. Still would actually after having experienced that encounter.

Samira continued being Kaori's shadow as they walked through a long and dark hall. One room they went through had thousands of rings on the walls. An impressive sight that had the summoner wide eyed until Kaori mentioned what they represented. "There are so many..." An obvious statement that reflected her thoughts. There were too many. They came across another door that led to an area that was quite pretty. Samira had never seen a cherry tree before and, with the light and the gemstone hearts along its branches, it made an everlasting first impression. The girl though...that was the confusing thing. In fact, the girl that sat under the tree should have been a sight that was impossible. Kaori's reaction of grabbing her arm and taking a step back let Samira know that she was not the only one that saw her. Honestly, she was concerned it was another vision playing with her at first. With the two reuniting, Samira took some steps back to give them space. Her being around was not really required, and she felt a little bit out of place. Still, she made sure to watch and listen. It was rather touching, and now she hoped Kaori would be able to let what happened to Shara go. It had not been her fault, and she could stop allowing it to haunt her. An ending that made even Samira smile and feel hopeful.

The ghost of Shara had laid the sleeping Kaori on the grass and approached her. Then, she did something Samira did not expect. Much like with Todo, the summoner was wide eyed and surprised when she received a hug, although that time even more so. She had not done anything that she believed would earn her one. The hug was not returned due to being stunned. The next set of words she heard was of how Shara was grateful towards her for keeping Kaori alive. It touched her, but also hurt at the same time. Sure Kaori was alive, but Samira had a habit of causing her emotional pain without intending to. She looked at Shara as she looked at her and noted the desperate look. Protect Kaori not only from her enemies but from herself? That had been done before, but just barely. The only reason that come to an end was because the dark Kaori had wanted it to. "I promise to do what I can." Fully promising that she would protect her would have been empty. That could only be promised if she was able to do so one hundred percent guaranteed. Samira was not about to make an empty promise. Instead, the best she could do was promise to do what she could. Naturally, that would mean she would keep trying until she died. She didn't need an incentive for that even though Shara had offered her one. Kaori had been the first friend she made aside from her spirits, and the first real person she had grown attached to that was not related to her. As selfish as it was, she would be doing it for herself rather than for Shara. Kaori was too important to lose.

The ghost thanked her and hugged her once more, that time receiving Samira's end of it. The two did not know each other, but still they had something in common, and that was to see Kaori safe. Shara began to glow and fade away. Samira had released her hold as she watched the ghost leave that plane of existence. Shara would not do so before doing as she had promised though, and that was the reveal of the final piece. Her hand was placed on Samira and with her words the summoner was let known that she was the final piece herself. Shara was then gone, and Samira was left there standing alone to deal with the information given to her. Honestly it should not have been as surprising or mysterious as it was. The pieces prior were all linked to people close to Kaori; Ashley, Ikuchi, Shara... There was just one problem: all of those pieces were from people that had been absent for a while. Samira had been with Kaori several times since the whole thing started. Why was her piece still missing? "What am I doing wrong now?" Samira questioned herself in a saddened tone while looking down at the grass. It was almost maddening. She didn't know what to do. Her spirits weren't even around to ask for advice, and while she could call on them it would not have mattered. They likely would not have any idea if she didn't.

Samira made her way over towards where Kaori had been placed and took a seat on the grass beside her. She gently moved the ninja so her head was resting on her lap, much like it had been before they arrived in Midi. At the moment, it was all she could do for her. There was no need to wake her, and as far as she was concerned Kaori needed the rest anyway. Nor was there a reason to move her. The current area was peaceful enough, and she lacked the strength to carry her out. The silence and lack of movement was making her own eyes grow heavy as time passed. "Do you think she was wrong, Kaori?" Samira asked the ninja as she slept in a quiet and weary voice. "You should have been able to get the piece that was with me by now if it were true. It confuses me." She let out a sigh. "Maybe you will get a vision with the answer instead of me for once. I am tired of dreaming." And yet, if Kaori remained sleeping and unresponsive, Samira would drift off to sleep as well.

Just as Samira was beginning to drift to sleep, her initial comments all falling on sleeping ears and earning no response as a result, she would feel something that very well could be the worst she'd ever felt. Samira would feel something cold running up her spine, an icy wind taking over the area while the hearts dangling from the cherry tree lost every bit of their shimmer. Not a cloud in the sky could be seen and the sun was high overhead, but the area still got darker as if someone or something had been taking all of the joy and life from the world. Samira would feel something trickling down her body, slithering through her skin, under it, crawling eerily without tact. She would feel something else wrapping around her abdomen, caressing her in all the most terrifying ways. Something was crawling through her chest, under the skin, under the bone, past her lungs... Samira would feel as if something were grabbing her heart, preparing to crush it. "Such a sweet girl..." the mature voice would whisper in her ear and Samira would feel weight on her back, the pale arm beginning to materialize across her stomach first. After that, the woman's other arm would be laced across Samira's chest from shoulder to shoulder. A gentle kiss would be placed on her cheek before the voice said in a whisper "You really shouldn't fall asleep in strange places Sammy... bad things can happen."


Warmth was beginning to return to the world as the woman finished materializing. Samira would feel the hand grabbing her heart release as the woman stood up and moved to stand in front Samira and the woman. She would come into Samira's field of view just as her feet finished materializing with golden slippers on. The warmth and light would begin returning and Samira would see a woman no taller than she herself was standing before her. She had blonde hair that was loose, hanging freely with the ends gently flickering in the cold air that was slowly regaining its warmth. Her minidress was golden with black accents and she wore black under it. A cape was warm across her back with a velvet underside and a bright, golden top that reflected light brilliantly. The woman's eyes were blood red and lacked the same gentle nature that Kaori's ruby ones had. She didn't look anything like the white haired ninja, so it was easily assumed that this woman was in no way, shape, or form part of Kaori. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the surroundings changing immediately to the metal walls of the Ark of Destiny. The shelves that housed teddy bears were vacant, the broken table completely gone, and Samira would find herself sitting on Kaori's bed with the ninja fast asleep on her lap. The woman Samira had met would be sitting with a smile that normally would seem gentle, but on her, it would make the air quite tense. In her right hand was a crystal clear glass with red liquid in it that swished gently as the woman turned the glass. "Don't worry about her... I won't let her wake up." she would say, her crimson eyes narrowing on the summoner. If Samira had a stoic face on, the woman would narrow her eyes further. "So you think you're strong..." she would say in a grim tone just before the sound of the door locking would be heard. Samira would find herself in chains, locking her to the bed. "Don't look up." the woman would say, and if she did, Samira would see the vacant shelves were lined with porcelain dolls that were all looking at her. While looking at her, blood began forming at their eyes and trickling down their faces as they all said 'Play with us...' which quickly turned to 'Join us...' The chanting would go on for several minutes until the woman flicked a gold ball at her forehead, after which all would return to normal.

If Samira wasn't trying to look strong in front her, the woman would take the time to toy with her in other ways. After showing her the dolls, of course, the woman would still toy with her in the same way. "Such a sweet, innocent human... Some would swear you were without sin, but I know your heart better than you ever will." Samira would see the scenery change to the day Ikuchi helped her understand her dreams and she'd see and hear herself in the act. "You enjoyed it... Deep down you wanted it more... you wanted it in the proper place. You weren't thinking of your friend, you weren't thinking of anything beyond pleasure." If Samira had looked away, she'd find herself being forced to watch. "Look at that smile... how happy you were, such a naughty girl..." The room would grow dark and Kaori would vanish, Samira would be standing in the middle of a spotlight alone. "You constantly compare yourself to her... How useless you are, how you think she only lets you be helpful. She can do everything herself, your spirits aren't even needed... She can teleport herself, Janus is useless. She kills armies by herself... Kali, Amaterasu, Sasuno, Skadi- all of them are useless. You are useless." Samira would find herself standing amidst the temple of Anhur at the talking doors. "Oh look, the lesbian, the coward, and the useless one made it this far." The doors opened and Anhur was behind it, pointing at Kaori, then the cowardly man, and Samira last. "You cannot be serious." he said, the disappointment seething through his teeth. "Such a disappointing person... So disappointing that whenever you fight an enemy your spirits have to help you... Every. Single. Time." Samira would find herself standing at the border of Bosco and Fiore with the giant snake in front her, mostly dead. "You were so weak... you know the ninja could have finished it, but you know she let you do it... But you were so weak that 'he' had to step in..." Samira would see herself looking at the ground with a grim smile... Her head raised to stare at the battle with eyes that resembled more of a snake's than her own. "I told you I was here to help." the voice that came from her was her own, but the choice of words wouldn't be. Both of her hands went forward with the palms out and facing the direction of the colossal serpent. A large amount of dark energy was summoned forth and formed into a crackling sphere that was then sent towards the giant snake, exploding into dark lethal particles as it made impact.

The room would return to normal and show Kaori once more. "Well, that's enough of that." The woman stood up and walked closer to Samira and Kaori, reaching over to the ninja's side and holding the satchel. The band that it normally dangled from phased through Kaori and she began opening it. "I wonder how long before she finds this..." she said, forming a gold and black key in her hand that had a grail at the end of it before dropping it in the bag. She closed the satchel and rested it on Kaori's vanity set. "You could give her the medicine... or you could make it so she never needs it again. Of course, one is easier than the other." she would say while placing the satchel. She raised her hand and formed the fingers to snap, but didn't finish the motion. "The bands that tie humans together are quite small, the part of her inside you is very large. Of course... A certain Dragon God did show you how to open it." Angra Mainyu turned her head and showed one of her crimson eyes to the summoner "Of course... that only means losing your innocence again." she said before snapping and erupting into gold and black particles. Samira would be left responsible for making the choice, as well as telling Kaori about the method. If Samira did mention it, Kaori would ask how Samira knows about heart strands, mentioning that her magic has very little to do with the genre most of the time.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Samira had almost slipped out of consciousness and entered the dark and empty world that existed while she slept; the world she had grown to despise being in on account of higher forms of power taking a hobby in morphing her sleep world into dreams and nightmares that she would rather not have. Sleep was necessary though, even for her normally resistant mind. For once, that time around, she may have preferred to be dealing with whatever lurked in her dream state next rather than face the incoming presence of the waking world. A cold feeling creeped along her spine, causing her to shiver and open her eyes. Something was off though. It was not a random case of the chills, and even though an icy wind blew through, the feeling was not of a natural weather phenomenon. Samira's basic human instincts were on high alert, and a great sensation of fear spread through her. The sunlit balcony grew dark, and even the cherry tree with all of its dangling hearts had become dull. It was alive, but only in the most technical sense. There was no bright sense of happiness and joy, there was practically no soul. Samira felt as if she had been transported to a mirror world that was empty of emotion and contained only death.

Everything within the summoner told her to run, but she could not make herself move. Something unnatural was crawling under her skin, bringing more discomfort and uncertainty. Samira broke into a cold sweat as it continued on with her being unable to see the source or do anything against it. She had been around plenty of spirits to recognize when there was a trace of one around. However, even if there were some similarities she knew something was off with her conclusion of it being a spirit. Very off. The invasion of her body continued with more overly creepy caresses until it deepened and well beyond the layer of skin. With terrified eyes she could only sit there as she felt the presence work its way through her chest until it had reached and clutched her heart. So close to death she was as whatever the source was held onto the strong and yet very delicate organ firmly, or at least, that was what it felt like. Samira still couldn't really see what was going on to confirm she wasn't dreaming. Her mouth opened, the thought to call to Kaori for help. Her spirits were not around to take notice of her high amount of fear and desperation, or to realize she was a crushing heart away from death. The link between them was currently off. No actual words were formed though as only short and incomprehensible sounds managed to fully escape from her throat.

A voice whispered in her ear, one she did not recognize at all. The newly arrived being began to materialize slowly. Samira could now feel the source pressed against her back and could feel the arms around her, although she did not look down to actually see them. Her gaze was kept forward with fear and confusion within them. She felt a kiss placed on her cheek. It was an act that would have normally been sweet and harmless, but the one she had just received felt more threatening to her and cold. The advice was true, but the last thing she expected was to have such an encounter that far into Kaori's territory.

The grip on her heart released, giving Samira a great wave of relief and allowing her to breath. Her breaths had slowed a great deal while in the previous state. Hand over heart as if it offered any sort of protection against another intrusion, the girl took deep breaths while glaring at the now fully materialized woman that stood in front of her. Surely she was an enemy. In no way was it a part of Kaori. It couldn't have been. There was no sense that she was an ally either. The mysterious being looked and felt far too villainous for that. Before she could ask who she was the woman snapped her fingers and Samira found herself on the Ark of Destiny in Kaori's room.

Unknown to Samira there was one spirit of hers that had remained. Of course, she didn't really know that he existed so far in her mind space to begin with. He was mostly out of touch with what the green haired woman had been up to. Much like herself before she had woken up and begun to track down the pieces to Kaori's heart, he was out of it and resting. Too much energy had been spent eliminating the remainder of that clone of his after he had already been using energy just to escape his prison partially and create a space for him in her mind. The grip on her heart was enough to wake him, the threat towards her life and therefore his way out being too great to ignore. What he sensed through the summoner did not please him at all. While Samira may have been a little ignorant to the "spirit's" status, he could tell immediately. Any of her spirits could. They were copies of actual gods themselves, and that was just what the strange blonde haired woman was; a goddess. Her presence annoyed him. Humans could go their entire lives wishing and praying to meet just a single higher deity and yet the girl that would release him from his prison had met yet another one. He was as close to a god as a spirit could get without being the Celestial King himself, or a Zodiac that was wielded by a very powerful wizard. His original had made sure of that. Close was evidently not going to be enough if Samira was surrounded by the real thing. Not that he would ever admit to being less powerful than them, however. He was far too arrogant for that, and much too possessive and territorial to enjoy Samira being in the presence of that one. He would not interfere though. Not that time. The actual life threat had passed. What the goddess intended to do he did not know, but he lacked the power at that moment to do much except watch. He had little interest in Samira's mental stability, of which he had planned to break himself anyway. Whatever the goddess spirit did would just make his goal that much easier. He turned off his link and went back to being dormant.

The blonde had mentioned she wouldn't allow Kaori to wake up, resulting in Samira holding onto the ninja that was sleeping on her lap protectively. The words of her not to worry was hardly reassuring. Her heart had nearly been used as a stress ball! Samira may have had a habit of being a poor choice of character, but she felt the woman had earned the title of not being too trustworthy. The summoner just continued to glare at the woman. Now that she was no longer caught off guard, she could concentrate on hiding her actual fears and forcing herself to appear calm and collected. It was something she had done many times before. Unfortunately, against that one, it backfired a great deal. "Who are you?" She would demand, but never did get an answer. The woman seemed offended that she was suppressing her fears and acting as if she were a strong person. The locks on the door clicked, causing Samira to look over towards it just before the sounds of chains were heard, and she found herself locked to the bed by them. Her head snapped back to look at them in surprise and then she was told not to look up. She had to ignore the warning. Not just because her curiosity said to, she could fight that off, but because at that moment Kaori was vulnerable and could do nothing if the eerie woman decided to do harm to her. That left Samira to act as the only defense. A poor one as far as she was concerned, but still she would not allow herself to appear as such. Too bad the stranger knew just what sort of triggers to use.

Samira defiantly looked up, and any words that she may of had been about to speak got caught in her throat. Dolls. Porcelain dolls. Cute decorative objects that many people adored. The very things that Samira feared and considered evil and soulless. Ironic considering in times past she had been very doll-like, at least, for many years up until she met Kaori. They all stared at Samira with their wicked eyes. Blood flowed from their glass eyes and down their porcelain cheeks, all while chanting in an eerie and possessed manner and demanding she join them and play. The girl tried her best to remain calm and not freak out and start pulling on the chains to make an escape through an obvious locked door. She remained sitting there, but she was sweating and went into a hypnotic daze. Then something hit her forehead, snapping her back to normal reality. A small cry of pain was sounded as her hand went to her forehead. Now she was starting to wonder if the "spirit" was just there to toy with her, and for what reason. She couldn't have known before that thought just how bad it would get, and just how well someone she didn't even know knew her. One scene after another, each one taking a little piece of her mental stability away.

The first was seeing Ikuchi and herself together during that time, only her current self was watching it happen as if she were part of an audience. She would have never said she was sinless or innocent, and that was one part of her life that proved it. It was an act she had been greatly ashamed of, so much so that she could not even come to hate Ikuchi for it. Not once did she refuse him or try to end it. She let it happen, and practically melted just because she had some feelings for him and desired the attention and affection. Her mind had known it would mean absolutely nothing at the end of it all, but the rest of her did not care. Seeing it in action right in front of her was disgusting, and it made her sick to be reminded of how weak willed she was when it came to him. Not even a single day had passed since she had told herself she would get over him, and he was already coming up again as a topic to be used against her. And it was working.

"You enjoyed it..."
"N-no I-" The sounds of her past self said otherwise.
"Deep down you wanted it more..."
"I wanted to stop..." Words of her past self making her claim void.
"You wanted it in the proper place." The demands of her past self could be heard before Samira could deny it.
"You weren't thinking of your friend, you weren't thinking of anything beyond pleasure." The words echoed in Samira's head, and the sounds made by her past self drowned out any and all thoughts. She covered her ears and looked down at the floor with wide eyes. That wasn't true. The whole thing had started out with her wanting to know more about the visions and how they related to Kaori. Ever since then her path had been nothing but finding and helping Kaori. Was the mistake of being with Ikuchi so inappropriately going to haunt her forever? She couldn't stand watching it anymore, and certainly not hear it. Her small method of self defense was futile; she was forced to keep watching as the blonde made even more comments.
"Look at that smile... how happy you were, such a naughty girl..." The sight was all the more sickening as the woman pointed that out. Samira did not like the smile her past self had on. It was the smile of happiness brought upon by the dirty side of pleasure. A smile that made her seem as if she were nothing more than a common whore. Naughty was actually the least offensive word the cruel woman could have used to describe her during that time.

The room then grew dark and Kaori vanished. A sense of alarm hit her just before the clicking sound of a spotlight echoed. Samira found herself standing under it, and quite alone. More vocalized stabs were made against her. Almost everything said was true. Kaori could do everything she could. When they had first met, Samira could at least provide some versatility and support in various ways, but now, as Kaori got stronger and acquired more powers and spirits of her own, she had no need of her "support." The ninja could do nearly everything she could, but better. There was just one thing that the woman was wrong about though, and was something that lit a fire of anger within Samira. "None of them are useless!" She shouted, defending her spirits. The girl then held her arm as her anger passed and her heart sank. "It is just me..." Her voice was much more quiet and disheartened tone. A spirit can be powerful, but they were only as useful as the summoner that controlled them. They didn't let anyone down or her; she let them all down and gave them a bad reputation as an effect. She was useless and weak, not them.

The scene changed once again to the temple of the lost desert civilization where they had found Anhur; one that as of yet had shown no form of respect for her, and why should he? The rest of her spirits were obligated to stay by her side and defend her; he was not. Hearing the talking doors call her useless once more, along with the flashback to Anhur's reaction to realizing he was to be her spirit, made her feel worthless. The additional comments made by the red eyed woman just made it worse. So weak, worthless, and insignificant. She couldn't cry from it, but she was more broken. Samira made no difference to the world or anyone in it. She may as well have been invisible or did not exist at all. One could say she mattered to Kaori, but in reality the ninja would have been in a better place if they had never met. Many things would not have transpired to cause her friend pain or suffering.

When the scenery changed to the location where they had ended the colossal snake, Samira barely recognized it. She had no memory of the time when the hidden spirit had temporarily taken over her body. The point was true regardless though. Kaori had still been strong and willing to fight the last she was aware of while she couldn't even hold onto her keys. She had been weak since the battle began and offered no help. If it had not been for the newly acquired spirits that made a contract with her at the last minute or Kaori's mana crystal, she would have provided no support at all. And even then something else had finished the battle rather than her.

The room turned back to normal and Samira was back to sitting on the bed with the sleeping ninja on her lap. Samira barely noticed. Her eyes were glazed over and lost. There were now more cracks in her mental state. One step closer to being completely broken. The green haired woman did not even move as the more dangerous one walked closer. So casual were the blonde's words, as if she was merely having fun poking at all the things that scarred her sense of self and had grown bored. Her eyes blinked as a key formed out of thin air and was placed in Kaori's satchel. That was supposed to be a new spirit for Kaori? Her green eyes followed her as she placed the bag on the vanity set, but the summoner dared not speak. After all of that, Samira did not want to have to see such a spirit again or give her a reason to mess with her mind some more. There had been other twisted spirits she had met that belonged to other summoners, and they had disturbed her. However, the one currently standing in the room was the worst, and it seemed it was one she would be seeing often if she were to come at Kaori's call. It was unsettling, and she feared she would have to constantly worry about that one.

For some reason the one that had been so cruel had given her a form of hope. There was a way for Kaori to never need the medicine again. That had to of been what the pieces of the mask were about, and with her being the last piece, they were so close to curing Kaori. Samira's eyes gained more life from that simple statement. "How? Please, tell me!" Her voice was in a state that not many would ever hear it; desperate and on the point of begging if the woman would have refused to tell her. Samira's pride was set aside for that one moment in order to get an answer. She didn't care what it was, no matter how hard it would be, so long as she could cure Kaori and make up for her part in the ninja's suffering. With the answer about a certain dragon god having shown her how to open it, Samira gave a confused look. Her mouth opened and had began to say something, but she let her sentence trail off. The method couldn't possibly be... Then the answer was made even more clear. It really was what she thought it was. The blonde then disappeared in a cloud of particles. "W-wait!"

Samira was now alone in the room aside from Kaori, who was still sleeping. She had thought she was prepared to do anything, but she really did not expect that. None of the other pieces went that far... well Shara's didn't. Truthfully, she had no idea what sort of madness fully went on behind that closed door back in Hosenka. Her cheeks burned as she thought what she had to do. How was she even supposed to bring such a topic up and suggest it? What if the "spirit" had been lying? Then there was, as the "spirit" put it, "losing your innocence again." Seeing herself the first time had made her sick enough as it was. The circumstances were very different though. She would be choosing to take part beforehand, and for a result she wanted more than anything at that point in time. Her mind was clear to make that choice instead of just submitting due to inner desires. There was just one other thing that made her pause. Samira had learned from her own experience how awkward and hurtful something like that could be when the feelings were not mutual. Granted, it was slightly different. Samira did not hate Kaori like Ikuchi had hated Samira. The feelings were still there though, and the summoner knew very well how Kaori felt. She only loved Kaori as a friend and nothing more. Doing what was required may just make it worse. If it was the only way though... The least she could do was allow Kaori to make that choice beforehand, which was something Ikuchi did not do for her.

Taking a deep breath to gain confidence, Samira gently shook Kaori to try and wake her. "Kay, you need to wake up. It is important." Her words were softly spoken, and she ran her hand over Kaori's head. She would continue her words and gentle shakes until the ninja had woken up. Waiting for her to wake up on her own was possible, but Samira would allow herself to be a little bit selfish. She couldn't keep going with that on her mind and imagining the outcomes to what she had to tell Kaori. Once the ninja had awoken, any questions regarding how they got onboard the Ark of Destiny would go unanswered. She wasn't mentioning that cruel woman and how badly she messed with her mind. Instead, Samira went straight to mentioning the information about her piece. "I found out some things while you were resting," she began to say, her words calm and serious. "Shara informed me that I have the final piece to your heart. It may sound a little confusing since if that were the case you should have been able to reclaim it by now. I do not know very much on how that was supposed to work." Samira grabbed Kaori's hands with hers and gently held them. "I was told how you are supposed to get it though. We have to... we have... ummm," her confidence evaporated and her eyes that were once looking at Kaori's shifted towards the side. The woman's cheeks turned a pink shade from her embarrassment. Too bold of a topic! She never spoke of something like that and certainly never brought it up! "We have to...do...it," her last two words were in a whisper, and as she looked at Kaori again her face had gotten more red. If she had been asked what that meant even after seeing her clearly embarrassed face, Samira would whimper slightly before letting go of Kaori's hands. "You know..." A shame Kaori had tore her plushies or the summoner would have bumped them into each other to symbolize what she meant. With the child-like way she was handling just saying what they had to do, it was a wonder how she got through her time with Ikuchi the way she had. Instead of saying the word she spelt it, all in a whisper in case the gods came down and smited her for daring to do such a thing. "The piece I have is large and so requires a more...unique approach. I think. It was what I was told."

A question regarding heart strands was asked and how she knew of it, of which Samira hesitated to answer. Rather than answer with words, she pointed towards the satchel that was on the vanity. The key that the "spirit" had left should still had been in there. If Kaori left to go check it out, Samira would allow it and sit there for a while patiently and trying to gain her calmness back after bringing up that humiliating topic. If Kaori did not budge then she would find Samira acting a little less like herself and doing something completely sudden and rather bold for her. She grabbed onto Kaori's shoulders and leaned forward, the end result of her lips pressing against the ninja's. If Kaori had gotten up to check out the satchel, the same thing would happen only Samira would have to make the extra effort to get up. Either way, Samira had turned her mind off for that instant in order to make that sort of move. She wanted her friend to know that she was prepared to go through with it for her regardless of how embarrassed she looked and felt when bringing it up. The summoner did not know about the sort of links that allowed Kaori to tell how she was feeling like during the time when Kaori had kissed her but felt nothing coming from Samira. The current moment would be a little different. There was love coming from Samira, and even though it was that of a friend, it was strong. She would probably feel her own importance to Samira and the fear the summoner had of losing her.

The lip contact broke as Samira quickly pulled back. Her mind was back in working order and was falling apart a bit from what she had just done. "Sorry..." she said while looking away and running her hands through her own hair nervously. "I just wanted you to know that I will do this for you, Kay. You have to make the choice yourself though."

Kaori heard someone calling her name, a voice that was very familiar but was being dulled down by the haze of her deep sleep. Again, the voice called and she felt herself being shaken. The voice said that it was important and resumed shaking her. Out of instinct, Kaori raised her hand and placed it on Samira's nose while pressing her palm down on it. She felt too much resistance, certainly it was the wrong spot so she began moving her hand, patting the top of Samira's head and then the side and then her nose again looking for that stupid button. She felt her hand being removed from the alarm clock that in retrospect was much warmer, softer, fleshier, and softer sounding than her actual alarm clock... also oddly shaped. Kaori slowly opened her eyes to Samira saying something was important. Normally the summoner waited for Kaori to wake up before presenting information, even if it was important. The fact that she was trying to wake Kaori meant that this was much more important than normal... "I found out some things while you were resting," she said, the look in her eyes let Kaori know she wasn't going back to sleep for a while. "What's up?" she asked in a very groggy tone, her eyes still half closed.

Samira: "Shara informed me that I have the final piece to your heart. It may sound a little confusing since if that were the case you should have been able to reclaim it by now. I do not know very much on how that was supposed to work."
Kaori: (blank stare of sleepiness)
Samira: "I was told how you are supposed to get it though. We have to... we have... ummm,"
Kaori: (Begins straightening herself and sitting on her knees, on the bed while rubbing her eyes and waiting to find out what to do.)
Samira: "We have to...do...it,"

Kaori tilted her head and blinked a few times with an inquisitive look. She wasn't sure of the connotation of that since normally when people say 'we have to do it', they're referring to a specific action that requires a great deal of resolve like charging into a wall of enemies to make an opening for a greater force to pour in and finish them. Samira hadn't stated anything to be done, and Kaori wasn't taught any other meanings for the phrase and could only reply by saying "Nani okonau?... Um, do what?" quickly remembering that Samira knew about as much of Midi's language as Kaori knew a dolphin's. The answer she received was... surprisingly what she expected, but was still enough to make Kaori's eyes turn to white circles in her head. "You know..." Samira had spelled out the verb making Kaori's face turn just as red as her own, the thought of going that far hadn't even registered in the ninja's mind before that moment. Kaori had known that there was a part of her still with Samira. The piece on the mask never once blinked, and it was only ever a solid color when they were near the target. Upon reuniting with Ikuchi, she felt more 'whole' than before- meaning she had regained something she lost. Kaori had known that there was a very large piece with Samira by the amount of the mask that was glowing, and she also knew that you can't fit what was essentially a bowling ball through what may as well had been a one inch pipe. She also knew that certain activities could make that 'pipe' get larger: hugging, cuddling, being shocked- anything that threw the person off guard and made them vulnerable... including more intimate things like kissing, making out, and reproducing. Kaori had asked Samira exactly how she came across the information on how to expand the size of their link, and was answered by the summoner pointing to her satchel that was resting on the vanity set. Kaori hadn't bothered questioning how they got back on the Ark of Destiny since Snoop Genie, Ikuchi, and Query were all capable of the feat and could easily come to Samira's call. She closed her eyes and lowered her head while focusing on the bag and sensing a new magical presence within it, a celestial key. She was about to call her spirits and find the new member but was quickly shocked when she felt a pair of lips pressing against her own. Kaori moved to force Samira away, stopping as her hands hit the summoner's shoulders. Kaori's eyes were wide and her cheeks turned bright red, even redder than before. 'Sammy doesn't feel this way about me, I- I have to stop her before she does something she'd regret.' Kaori thought, her natural assumption being Samira was possessed.

Kaori had sensed something within Samira that made her heart skip a beat. There was love coming from Samira for Kaori. It wasn't the same kind that Kaori had for her counterpart, but it was strong enough to let Kaori know that she was fully aware of what was going to happen and ready to accept any and all consequences. She also sensed that there was a part of Samira willing to accept Kaori in a much higher position, it was weak, but it was there... an ember in a dark tunnel, gracefully floating away. Kaori had begun closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss to return it, but then Samira stopped and left Kaori very unsatisfied- she wanted more. Samira had turned her face from the ninja and said she was sorry. She began saying something else, but Kaori had reached over and turned her face before pressing her lips to the summoner's again, cutting off whatever the hell she was going to say.

---

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Following the very embarrassing, but not necessarily unwelcome method by which Kaori had reclaimed the last portion of her heart- Samira would wake up in one of the rooms in Hibiscus rather than in Kaori's room on the Ark of Destiny. The ninja didn't exactly know how to face her friend after all the trouble she was put through, and she needed some time to get her thoughts together. She sat on her bed with her back against the back board, knees pulled into her chest and head resting on them. Ikuchi had opened the door silently and leaned against it while crossing his arms over his chest. He moved his arm over and gave the door a couple taps to let his master know she was no longer alone. Kaori gently lifted her head to reveal not a single tear was shed and blinked a couple times while looking at him inquisitively. "Master-" "Ahem!" Kaori interrupted him with a very 'subtle' pissed off look. Ikuchi let out a sight "My apologies, Kaori." "That's better. Now, what is it?" Kaori replied and relaxed her face. "Samira has gone through many efforts, trials, sacrifices, and hells to get you to this point. If there was anything you could say or do to make her separate from you, I think it would stop just shy of killing her while not possessed." It was with that, that Ikuchi turned to face the hallway and stop halfway. "I believe we should talk to our ship warden, he seems to have left the keys to the shuttle in the ignition. It also seems launch preparations are made, how sloppy." He said in a suggestive tone before leaving the room entirely, leaving the door open.

Kaori let out a frustrated groan and buried her head in her knees again. "Summoner, you okay?" the sound of Ira's voice was heard, though, not in Kaori's mind as her other spirit's would be heard. Kaori turned her head to expose one eye to Ira, who was floating over Kaori with a concerned look on her face. Kaori grabbed Ira and pulled her down to the bed, the red haired spirit let out an audible yelp out of surprise and turned red when she realized Kaori was cuddling her, with her head on Ira's chest. "I believe your servant was trying to tell you to go talk with your lover." a soft spoken, mature voice said from not far away. Ira began hugging Kaori back and rubbing her head while blinking, still not used to having an affectionate summoner... That, and Kaori's reputation for brutality did not coincide with... this. "I know..." Kaori groaned, not denying the status Query had given Samira. Query was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at her sister and summoner cuddling. "What do you think Ira? You agree with Iku too?" Kaori asked, wanting to get a third opinion. "You'll need to face her eventually, it'd suck if you two became awkward around each other- so yeah." the spirit replied. "I never stated I agree with his opinion... but yes, I do agree." Query commented, making it official. Three for three, Kaori was outvoted and she got up while making her way to her wardrobe to try and find something suitable to gift her. "Kaori, I believe I have something she would find more valuable than any human item. Consider it a gift from us to her for saving you." Query said calmly. Kaori turned to see that the spirit was standing directly behind her with a peculiar object in her hand, one that Kaori took and looked at curiously. The spirit explained what it was, and how it worked and Kaori had liked the gift herself since it meant she'd be able to protect Samira. Kaori also took a small wooden box with a hibiscus burned onto the polished cover to act as a gift from her clan, and not just Kaori herself.

Kaori left the room and the two spirits vanished in a puff of red and azure particles. Kaori had taken the shuttle down to Earthland and made her way to Hibiscus, but found it was empty and figured Samira had gone back to the castle. She vanished and reappeared next to Sammy's window, peeking through to see her sitting at her desk writing something. She would feel the chair pulling itself back a bit just before Kaori appeared sitting on her as though she were riding a horse. Them being fully clothed meant nothing weird was happening, though, Kaori was kissing Samira. Samira would feel Kaori's heart pounding, embarrassment filling her along with happiness. Kaori wrapped her arms around Samira's shoulders and disconnected the kiss before resting her head on her arm, her face in Samira's direction. Kaori had kissed her to establish a connection with the summoner, so she could feel Kaori's heart and know her words were true. "I'm sorry for that, you can hit me later if you want." she said in a soft voice before tightening her hug on Samira, pulling herself to press firmly against the green eyed woman. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for everything... I ran away because I couldn't control my magic and didn't want to hurt you. I was scared that you'd hate me for letting the false version get to me, and I didn't want to face that reality. I was so ashamed of myself that I couldn't face Ashley or Ikuchi, so I left Gabriella to care for them. I was so broken that I stopped eating  and made everyone worry, and you were completely unaware- I'm sorry for that. I'm a coward, too afraid to talk to her closest friends and allies and I'm sorry for being so weak." Before Samira could say anything, Kaori had pressed her lips to hers again and closed her eyes. Their current position would make pulling or pushing away quite hard... 'You're the most amazing person I've ever met, and I owe you so much. You're able to contract so many amazing and fun spirits. You care about others so much that you make me look like a devil, and you're so smart it terrifies me. Seeing you nearly become a child at the sight of artifacts makes my heart skip beats, and I feel happy when you're like that. I feel calm at your side, and never want you to feel mad at me again.' Kaori disconnected the kiss and the hug, but remained sitting on Samira. She would see Kaori's eyes glistening with tears running down her face. "I know I don't have a chance, but I do love you." And the whole story came full circle...