Fan Fiction ❯ Corruption of an angel ❯ Teaching a vagabond ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

Teaching a vagabond

It was close to three in the morning when Tenshi arrived back at the castle; he had gotten lost in the dark forest, and the storm only slowed him down more. He did mange to take refuge in a cave as he waited for the storm to pass, but it still had not let up and he was sore from the other days events. Tenshi opened the large doors to the castle, with some difficulty at first, and entered the large home. Strangely enough there was no noise anywhere, indicating that everyone was probably still asleep; Tenshi sighed and dragged himself up the stairs, nearly tripping over some cat that had decided to lay there.

Once at the top of the stairs, Tenshi noticed that the door to Tomoe's room was open slightly; sticking his head in the door and looking about, Tenshi saw that the room was unoccupied. //Where the hell is Tomoe? \\ he thought, turning away from the door and walking to his own bedroom, //surely he didn't leave last night \\. Sighing to himself, Tenshi lied down on the comfortable bed and listened to the sounds of the sleeping cat girls breathing. The sound of his chamber doors opening, didn't even make him stir, he was sure if anyone wanted to speak with him, they would simply address him and be done with it.

"Hey, Tenshi" a voice chimed, which he immediately recognized, causing him to sit up and stare into the amber eyes of his best friend, "where were you?" Tenshi remained silent for a while; he was busy looking at Kaia, her normally braided hair fell around her lovely face and her nightgown became translucent from the moonlight, showing off all the curves of her young body. "I was in the forest yesterday afternoon and I met someone" he told her, finally removing his eyes from her and staring her in the eyes "I helped someone out and sort of lost my way coming back". Kaia smiled and sat down on the bed next to Tenshi, "good, I was worried about you" she whispered, so as not to wake up Nami, "I was afraid that Sakura had found you, and wouldn't let you go until you listened to her". Tenshi smiled as Kaia began to giggle quietly; the sad thing about what she said was that it was more then likely very true that Sakura would do that to him.

"Tenshi, did you ever find that guy?" she asked sitting closer to him, "you were pretty set on finding him". Tenshi nodded and moved over so that Kaia could be more comfortable, "I found him" Tenshi said scowling, though it went unnoticed by Kaia, "he was the one I was helping, that's why I was so late getting back tonight". Kaia made a noise of understanding and lied down on the bed next to Tenshi, "you seem kind of angry about that, why?" she asked lying on her side to see the Chouwan better "did he do something to you?" Tenshi shook his head and smiled at the azure-haired girl and lied down next to her, becoming face to face with her, "nothing happened, we just got into a fight, that's all" he assured the girl.

"A fight? Did you kick ass?" she asked laughing slightly but then stopped when she saw the look on Tenshi's face, "sorry". Tenshi shook his head and reached out to tuck back some of Kaia's hair that had fallen in her face, "don't be sorry, we never really finished the fight, it ended in an unusual way" he explained.

"How so?" she asked, a light pink hue on her cheeks at the closeness between her and Tenshi, she just hoped he didn't see her blushing. Kaia snapped out of her daze when she heard Tenshi asking if she was all right, which she quickly confirmed with a nod. "Okay, well, you know how it goes" he explained "he pissed me off so I hit him, he hit me back, so I scared him somehow, and I left him there". Kaia nodded again, and noticed Tenshi's eyes closing, "you're tired, got to sleep Tenshi" she told the young man as she was about to rise to her feet, but Tenshi reached out and grabbed her wrist, ushering to lie back down.

"I will if you stay here Kaia-chan" he told her; Kaia thought about the ultimatum and her heart fluttered with a thousand butterflies before she lied down next to her sleepy crush and covered him over with the fine silk blankets that graced the bed. "Hey, your sheets are better then mine" she teased, snuggling into the extravagant material; Kaia had noticed a few changes in her friend lately, like the fact that he now seemed to show an interest in her, she could only hope that he was not just messing with her. Kaia laid there in complete silence listening to the rhythmic patterns of Tenshi's breathing and the patter of the rain hitting the veranda door, it was as though the world itself was composing its own music for all to hear.

"Ne, Kaia-chan?" Tenshi mumbled, causing Kaia to turn her attention towards him and away from the soothing melodies of nature, "Hai, Ten-kun?" she asked facing him yet again. She noticed that his eyes had changed from a normally pleasant pale green to almost at dark purple, but she didn't say anything, she always knew to expect strange things from Tenshi. "Do you know if that dove came back yet?" he asked, his eyelids falling constantly with every word; Kaia shook her head and smiled when she saw Tenshi's face become placid and his breathing became shallow, indicating that he was now asleep. Kaia yawned and covered herself with the covers and unknowingly to Tenshi, she snuggled next to him, and breathed in his scent //he smells like fresh rain water and lavender \\ she thought //he probably went sprawling onto the ground again \\.

Kaia breathed in deeply and closed her tired eyes, "Aishiteru Tenshi" she whispered before falling into a lovely dreamed filled sleep.

***Back in Rokushin***

"What the hell is he talking about?" Kodoku Ukai tried to wrap his mind around the letter he had just received, "kill a king, what has Tomoe gotten him involved in?" Ukai sighed and pocketed that letter, he knew that something like this would happen to Tenshi, why not, the poor kid had been through hell most of his life anyway. Ukai began to pace back and forth to the point where he was sure that the floor to his room would have a large indent in it, "but what will I do?" Ukai asked no one, "perhaps if I went there, without Tomoe knowing of course"

Ukai looked out the window and saw his mother and father sitting under a Sakura tree, enjoying their time together, "ah what the hell, I'm going" he said, running to his drawers and removing his clothes. After packing lightly and writing a letter to his mother, he set off, on horseback, towards the path to Yoake. "I just hope that I will be able to help Tenshi when I get there" he said aloud "I don't know why, but I'm, sure something is about to go down there". Soon Ukai became nothing more then a spot in the horizon, leaving behind his family.

Back at the Ukai household, Hitomi Ukai walked in from the sun's bright rays, even though she had been given her eyesight back for about four days, it still took some time to get use to all the new sights. Walking into her home, she immediately realized that it was missing something; she knocked on her son's bedroom door and waited for a response. After a few minutes she opened the door and was met with nothing more then the warm breeze from an open window, "Kodoku?" she asked, "are you here?" Again there was no response, she noticed there was a piece of paper on the table. Picking it up, she read the roughly scribbled kanji,

Dear mother and sure to be disgruntled father,

I have received a letter from Tenshi, and something is up with him. I'm concerned for his safety, so I am off to Yoake in search of him. Please don't worry about me mother, I know you are right now as you're reading this, but I will be fine, I promise. I'm not sure where I will be staying, and I can't allow Tomoe to know that I will be there. I heard of a race called the Shoujin, a group of shape shifters, whom I was told worship the moon god Yue.

Please mother, don't worry, I'll be back soon, and hopefully I will bring Tenshi back with me, as well as the others. I love you with all my heart and soul, and I will never leave you. See you when I can,

Love,

Kodoku

Hitomi placed the letter down and sat on her son's bed; she knew to well that if she tried to help her strange son, that he would do the complete opposite, so she decided to drop it. The only thing that worried her though, was what she was going to tell her husband, //damn, he's not going to like this \\ she thought looking out the window at her husband. //It's bad enough he hates Tenshi for what he is, but Kodoku left to help him will only further enrage Yamato. Sighing to herself Hitomi and hid the letter, she would just have to make up a lie to tell her husband, until their son returned, to bad she was such a bad liar.

***Back at Yoake***

Sunlight poured into the large room, and illuminated the sleeping forms on the large canopy bed. Tenshi laid there, completely ignorant of the new day, with his arms around the small body of Kaia, whom was resting her head on his chest, both completely unaware of this small fact. Kaia was the first to wake up; she looked to her right and saw that she had fallen asleep on the Chouwan and that he was holding her securely in place. She began to blush again and tired to move his arm just enough to get free, but to no avail //gods, for someone who's not that big, you're sure a heavy sleeper \\ Kaia thought, once again trying to remove her arm, "hey Tenshi move your ass!" she said.

"What?" he mumbled, looking up sleepily, his hair disarray and his clothes looked like he had slept in them for weeks on end, "what do you want Kaia-chan?" Kaia, finally having her arm freed, patted his head lightly and smiled at him, "nothing at all Tenshi, I just wanted to have circulation back in my arm" she chimed "and now, I'm going to go get dressed and go for breakfast". Kaia smiled one last time and scurried out of his room quickly down to her own room. Tenshi shrugged lightly and pulled himself out of bed; he then noticed that Nami was no where to be seen, "that's weird" he stated "normally she would be here". Yawning loudly Tenshi walked over to his trunk; he dressed in a white long sleeved tunic, a dark purple vest, black pants, brown boots, and gloves that had the fingers cut off half way. Once he was done he went down the hall to get Kaia.

Tenshi knocked at first, but there was no answer; he tried again, and instead of waiting, he walked in. Standing there in nothing but a necklace was Kaia; the two of them stared at each other for several seconds before Kaia let out a shrill, nerve wracking scream. "TENSHI, GET THE HELL OUT!!!" she screamed, blushing new shades of red; Tenshi stood there in complete shock and didn't move even as objects came flying at his head ,WHAT ARE YOU DAFT? I SAID OUT!" Tenshi's mind finally registered what he saw and he turned away, blushing about the same colour as Kaia, "ah, forgive me Kaia-chan!" he yelled, keeping his back turned to the girl, who at the moment was trying to salvage up her clothes and dress as quickly as she could.

Finally dressed in a dark long sleeved tunic, a belt tied around her waist, black leggings, and ankle high boots, she tapped Tenshi on the shoulder, giving him the okay to turn around. "Yes I forgive you Tenshi" she said, then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "but don't ever let it happen again!" Tenshi nodded, a goofy smile plastered to his face as he looked at Kaia, he had never seen her so angry or wanting to hurt him so much at that moment, so he couldn't help but laugh at the look she was giving him. "Hey, what's so funny?" she asked, baring her teeth, looking like a ravenous wolf ready to tear apart its prey, "you better not be laughing at me kuso gaki".

"Maa, maa Kaia-chan, let's not get into name calling" he chided placing his hands up in defense, "I'm sorry that I didn't knock again and that I barged in unannounced. But, I don't know why you're so upset, I've seen you like that before, ahahah". Kaia scowled at him, and released him from her grip causing him to fall to the floor, "that is true Tenshi, BUT I WAS ONLY SEVEN THEN, I'M SEVENTEEN, I'VE GOT A LITTLE MORE NOW!" she yelled in his face, causing him to cower slightly into the floor. Kaia sighed when she looked down at Tenshi, his eyes were wide, he had his common smile on, and he honestly looked like a child at that moment, even though he was older then her by a few months. "Tenshi, you're such a child at times" she laughed, holding her hand out to him, which he took, "you can always make me smile".

Tenshi smiled and dusted himself off, and realized that when he had came into the room and saw Kaia, he noticed the necklace, along with other things. "Ne, Kaia-chan, I've never seen that necklace before, where did it come from?" he asked approaching her; she lifted the necklace up and observed it before laughing.

"Someone gave it to me" she said walking from the room, closely followed by Tenshi.

"Oh, by whom?" he asked, walking by her side, "was it your mother or father, or the queen? Or perhaps one of the princesses?" Kaia looked at Tenshi strangely, he was being quite inquisitive lately and almost jealous, but that was just some stupid little fantasy, he wouldn't care. "No, Zujou Yoake gave it to me" she said, "he thought I was pretty and said that a beautiful woman like myself should wear beautiful jewelry". Tenshi felt a pang of jealously, he didn't know why, but he suddenly had the urge to run into the market place and find her all he could, just to show how much he cared for her. "Hey Tenshi, because of what you did this morning, why don't you treat me to breakfast at a restaurant?" she asked flashing an innocent, girlish smile at him, "please?"

"Of course Kaia-chan" he said fishing out his wallet and counting all he had, "hai, I have enough, so let's go". Kaia smiled brightly and steeped up next to Tenshi and looped her arm in his, "okay, I'm ready to leave when you are" she beamed. The two of them left the castle, passing many different people, and little children playing in the puddles from the night's storm. "Wow, this place is really busy today, and it's not even that late" Kaia stated while she viewed the terrain and the people, "but then again, Yoake is a lot more popular then Rokushin, that and they are so different". Tenshi nodded and proceeded to find a good place to eat; he turned his head to the direction in which Kaia was now pointing.

The two of them ventured to the restaurant and went in; just as the two had thought it was packed, only a few tables remained, "I don't know if we will be able to get a table Kaia-chan" Tenshi explained looking around "it's pretty busy". Kaia was about to respond when a young woman, probably a few years older then them came up to them. "Ohayo, welcome to Yami no Kage, pub by night" she said cheerfully "I'm Amiko, and I'll show you to your table". Amiko led through all the people to a table set up near a window, "here you are, a futari table" she beamed. Tenshi and Kaia remained quiet at what Amiko had said, she really thought that they were together, but before they could correct her she had left them with their menus to wait on other people.

"Well that certainly was odd," Tenshi said, breaking the relative silence, Kaia nodded in agreement, and stayed quiet as she looked over her menu. Aside from her thoughts about Tenshi's behavior lately, something else was bothering her. "Hey Tenshi, have you noticed anything weird about Tomoe lately?" she asked, causing the silver-haired youth to look up from his menu, his demeanor changing from his normally gentleness to a harshness she had never seen before. "Yes, I've noticed that he has changed rather drastically within the last few months, things about him are starting to surface" he explained. "Just yesterday, a man by the name of Atsuko Yamasaki told me that he had been tracking down and researching Tomoe for so long, yet he knew nothing of me".

Kaia listened intently, she wasn't entirely sure what Tenshi was getting at about how drastically Tomoe had changed, but she needed to ask him something. "Tenshi, how can you deal with it?" she asked looking down sadly; Tenshi looked at her in confusion, he wasn't really sure about what she was talking about. "I don't quite understand what you are talking about Kaia-chan" he told her; the cerulean-haired girl sighed and was about to reply when the waitress came back, flashing a sickeningly sweet smile. "Okay, have you decided yet?" she asked; Tenshi picked up the menu and pointed at the name written, as did Kaia. Once the waitress left, Kaia tried to finish what she was going to say, but yelling in the far corner cut her off.

"Hey guys, let's not get hostile, I only asked for some directions, and if beating your asses in poker for a little fun is so bad I'll leave you to your business" the voice of Li Yamasaki explained, "so thanks for your time, oh and your money". The four other men at the table snarled and sneered at the black-haired youth; one of the four men unsheathed his dagger and stabbed it down into the money and folded paper that Li was reaching for. "You fucking brat, there is no way you're leaving now" the gruff man snarled, he stood up and towered over Li, "you're nothing more then a no good cheat, and the only way you are leaving this place is in pieces". Li smirked at the threat, he turned away from the men and began to walk, but stopped when he heard them rise from the table.

//Shimata, I can't go five minutes with out getting in shit \\ Li thought //well I best see what they want \\. The thief turned to the group of men, and mentally kicked himself for being so foolish, all the men, obviously part of a gang, now stood with their swords drawn. "Time for us to sharpen our blades, hehe, wouldn't you say so boss?" a ratty looking young man asked. The man was referring to the other man that had pulled the knife on Li. "Yea Hekomei, should we cut his fucking head off just to see him bleed?" another man asked the leader, obviously named Hekomei. Li smiled nervously and threw the money back to the angry men, "um, hey now guys let's not get hostile" he said nervously.

Tenshi and Kaia meanwhile were trying to push past people to see what was going on; it really was amazing how a crowd could form so fast and that not one person was even bothering to stop the feud that was commencing. "Hey, move please" Tenshi asked ushering people to move aside, allowing him a path to see what all the commotion was about. Once he got there, closely followed by Kaia, he finally saw what the entire ruckus was about. Standing there against four men almost half his size, was the conceited, pig headed asshole from yesterday, to put it so bluntly. "Oh hey come on guys, I gave you your money back, what more do you-" Li stopped when he saw Tenshi out of the corner of his eye, //well this is fortunate \\ Li thought //I'm sure he'll help me…I hope \\.

Li backed away and stood next to Tenshi, "hey, I've been looking for you all morning man" he said smiling brightly at the Chouwan, "um, you willing to help me out kid?" Tenshi scowled at the raven-haired youth for referring to him as kid; before Tenshi could respond two of the men lunged forward and held Tenshi and Li in place. "Well, called for help did you brat?" Hekomei asked, directing his question to Li and taking the handle of his sword and poking Tenshi in the face, "he looks a little weird". Tenshi clawed at the arm that pressed against his throat cutting off his air; he slowly reached behind his back and carefully unsheathed his dagger.

The man holding Tenshi screamed as the cold silver ripped through his vital organs, spilling blood everywhere, causing him to lose his grip on Tenshi. The other men came at Tenshi, but he easily evaded their attack and using the sword of one of the fallen, he dealt critical blows that had the men to their knees. "Wow, for such big guys, it doesn't take much to knock you down" Tenshi remarked turning his attention to the man that held the annoying vagrant, "let him go, or I won't hesitate in painting the walls with you blood" he warned. The man smirked and pulled a knife to Li's throat.

"Haha, go ahead kid, I ain't afraid of ya" he scoffed, dragging the blade along Li's neck gently, "I'll kill em, if ya don't believe me boy". Tenshi smirked at the older man, and approached slowly, "and what makes you think I care?" he asked; Li's face fell at what the silver-haired youth had said, he honestly thought that Tenshi was a good person. Tenshi noticed Li's expression and stared at him reassuringly, "iie, I do care, I would be rather heartless if I allowed someone as foul and dismal as you to kill an innocent person, even if he is a cheat", Tenshi explained. Now in a stance ready to fight the larger man, he waited patiently for the man to take up his offer, "Ha, I ain't givin' up you hear me kid" the thug laughed, "so I'll just be killing this here innocent cheat".

All time seen to stop for Li as the insane man that held him pulled the blade back and proceeded to drag it across his jugular "IIE! TENSHI-SAMA!!!" Li yelled feeling the blade go across a little but then stop. He looked up and saw Tenshi in mid air, his sword rigid as though it had hit something rather hard. Li felt the arms around him loosen and watched the knife fall to the floor, which were shortly followed by a grunt and a loud crash. All the people around gasped at what they had seen and one of the gang members shook in fear from the action of what Tenshi had displayed. "You" Tenshi said pointing at the only standing member of the group, "take these assholes out of here, I don't care how you do it, just get the hell out, now!"

The man nodded quickly and began to pick up the fallen gang members and bolted out of the restaurant as fast as he could. "Ne, Amiko-san, is it at all possible to have our food to go?" he asked, looking around at all the stunned and shocked people, "um, and quickly?". Amiko nodded and ran into the back; the people continued to stare at the three teens and whispers went around about them. Amiko scurried out and handed Tenshi and Kaia their orders before bowing, "thank you for stopping those men" she said, bowing again, "we've had a bit of trouble with them before".

Tenshi smiled and nodded at her, "well, I was glad we could help, now we must be going" he said, leaving everyone to his or her business. Outside Tenshi and Kaia found a secluded area to sit by, in front of a fountain that over looked the market place. The two of them ate in silence and Kaia kept sending strange looks to Tenshi, which he ignored; he knew quite well what she was thinking, but he would have preferred to keep it silent.

"Okay, what the hell was all that!?" a voice asked; Kaia and Tenshi looked up to see Li standing there, with his arms crossed and a scowl plastered on is face. Tenshi smirked and continued to eat, "I knew you would come looking for me, you're very predictable in your ways Yamasaki-san" she chided, placing his utensils down. Li scowled even harder at the pale-eyed youth, "you know shit about me Chouwan," he seethed "you can't even begin to comprehend who I really am"; Tenshi nodded slightly before he pushed himself of the ground and approached the taller man.

"I know enough to understand why you came to look for me" he stated, "I treated you with kindness, regardless of your behavior towards me, and I helped you. I know that in your entire life, no one that you had ever met, had treated you with that much respect and did not criticize you for who you are". Li remained silent; every single word the strange youth said was true, there was something about the little freak that drew Li to him, frankly he felt like moth to a flame. "Hikari, I need to know what you did to that guy, what sort of sword technique was it? And can you teach me how to do that?" Li asked facing the other teen, "please tell me".

Kaia ran over to the two men and stood between them, keeping closer to Tenshi though, "yea, that's a good question, what was that anyway?" she asked. Tenshi looked down and fiddled with his thumbs, "um, well you see, ahaha, that wasn't a sword skill at all" he mumbled, "I just saw that guy about to slit Li's throat and well, I did the only thing I could think of". Li and Kaia inched closer to him with questioning gazes, "which was?" they asked in union, narrowing their eyes at the nervous Chouwan.

"Well my tactic was to run, jump and hit the guy over the head as hard as I could" he said timidly, causing the other two to glare daggers at him, "THAT'S IT!?" they yelled causing Tenshi to back away from the ravenous teens, "you're no swordsman, you're just some lucky son of a bitch" Li concluded, walking over to the fountain and stealing some of their food. "Hey that's mine you little vagabond" Kaia nagged, which Li replied to by sticking his tongue out at the infuriated girl. Kaia ran up to him and flipped him over into the fountain, which elicited a low growl from Li; Kaia simply sneered and went back to the little picnic. Tenshi approached Li and smiled at him, "you best not get on her bad side" he warned, "she is quite strong and would be a tough match".

Li laughed quietly, as he stepped out of the fountain, tripping as he did so and went sprawling onto Tenshi, "I hate water" Li said removing himself from Tenshi and sitting in front of him, "I hate annoying women and know it all pricks like those guys in the bar". Kaia scowled at Li when she heard the part about annoying women and the fact that Li was still to close to Tenshi for her liking, "hey boy, why don't you back off from him?" she said, motioning to the two young men. Li smirked and wrapped an arm around Tenshi, "what's wrong girl, afraid I might take him from you?" he asked then wrapped both his arms around Tenshi's neck and hugged him, "aww you, know he's so cute, I can't help but hold him".

Kaia jumped up and stormed over to Li, "I'm not afraid of anything now let him go, you're freaking him out!" she yelled, trying to pry the raven-haired youths hand from Tenshi's neck, "I said let go, you stupid little vagabond!" Tenshi looked between the two, who at the moment were fighting over him, "maa, maa, please stop, you're hurting me" Tenshi said calmly, but his pleas went unheard as the other two argued over who was better suited for him, "I SAID STOP IT!!!". Both teens let go of Tenshi and went flying back, but were soon up again glaring at each other like there was no tomorrow. "She/he started it!" they said together, "grr, stop saying everything I say"; again their words mingled and it sent the two into non-stop hour of arguing over everything imaginable.

Tenshi watched in bleak fascination as the man and woman argued back and forth, occasionally strangling each other. //This is a rather odd occurrence \\ he thought //I've never had a guy I just met hit on me and right in front of my best friend. His attitude sure changed towards me, I wonder what brought on the sudden change? \\. Tenshi blinked and realized he had spaced out, Kaia and Li now stood over him, not arguing, which sort of surprised him, "so, you two done fighting?" he asked looking back and forth between the two. They both nodded and looked down, "we have nothing left to argue about" Li said before sitting down next to Tenshi, Kaia soon following.

"Um, so Yamasaki-san, why are you here?" Tenshi asked, hoping the answer was good and clean. The taller man shrugged and leaned against a tree that was nearby, "I was just joking with you, you know that right? He asked, becoming serious, "and the girl made a perfect target to piss off, because it is quite obvious that she cares for you in a different light". Kaia remained silent, she wasn't about to let him know that he had gotten to her. Li smirked when he saw the look on Kaia's face, "don't worry freak," he said referring to Tenshi, "I may go for both sexes, but I'm not about to rape some kid and his girlfriend".

Tenshi's eyes narrowed at the statement, it wasn't so much that he was angry at what Li had said about him, but he threw Kaia into all of it, "Yamasaki-san, how can you expect people to show respect for you, if you fail in showing it to them?" he asked. Li smirked, which Tenshi was starting to believe was his trademark, it only made him dislike the brash youth, "I treat people with as much respect as they deserve. The way they act, their personality, these among other things are what I will respect and pride, nothing more as long as they meet my expectations," he concluded. Tenshi was about to reply when Kaia stepped up, "that's bullshit, you can't expect people to change to fit your pathetic views on what a person should be" she explained. "You're only following some stupid idealistic thought that was placed in your head by whom ever it was that raised you. The person that taught you that, is a god damn fool, and you're no better. Your life was saved by Tenshi, but he didn't have to, he could have let that bastard rip your head off, but he protected you, and yet you still treat him like shit!"

Li scowled at her and pushed himself to his feet, "you have no right to tell me what I am harlot" he sneered then picked up his belongings and slung them over his shoulder. "You and your little freak are the ones that I've been told never to respect and treat with dignity, you're the type that is ruining the world and causing all the wars". Kaia watched as the lewd man began to descend, "those wars, you fucking fool, are caused by people like you" she yelled to the retreating form, "and the reason why you dislike people like Tenshi and I, is because we can think and defend for our selves". The thief only continued to walk away; Kaia was about to run after him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Tenshi smiling at her, "all of what you said Kaia-chan, was truth from your heart and soul" he boasted, "however, growing up in the society that he has, made him only willing to understand the plight of those that are on his level".

Kaia nodded slightly, she was now determined to make the ignorant youth understand what they were all about, "I'm sorry that I lost it Tenshi" she apologized, "I just hated the way he treated you". Tenshi grinned at his friend and hugged her lightly with one arm, "think nothing of it, his comments don't faze me, and they never have" he chimed, "I am who I am, and I prefer to stay that way". Kaia smiled and hugged him back, "good, now, since breakfast was ruined, we should do something else, something fun" she beamed, "I know, let's go look at the shops, maybe we can find some good swords hehe". Tenshi nodded quickly as he was drug to the many shops lining the busy streets, the morning's events still fresh in his mind.

***Outside the castle***

"AHH THAT STUPID BITCH!" a fist flew at a tree, and caused the wood to break of in a large chunk, "who the hell does she think she is anyway, she had no right to talk to me like that!" Li leaned on the tree he had disfigured and breathed in raggedly //she was out of line, she had no right to put my father's views down \\ he thought sliding down the tree and staring at the small river, //but, why does it bother me so much, what she said? \\. He remained there for what seemed like an eternity when he heard footsteps approaching him, "well, I guess you really are learning Li" Shinji commented, he looked down at the beaten older man, "her words cut you deeper then any blade, did they not?" Li turned away from the annoying boy, he wasn't about to dignify him with an answer, but instead thought of a way to get back at the belittling girl.

"Don't even think of hurting her with your sword, while she only used words which spoke truth" Shinji warned. "I hate people that feel they can only be strong, if they inflict harm on those who are weaker, so if you want to fight a weak person, then you best be fighting yourself". Li growled and stood up, nearly knocking the shorter boy down, "quite with the philosophy kid, I don't need any more shit from you" he seethed, pushing Shinji out of his way, "I will deal with things my own way". Shinji watched the disgruntled youth walk away //I can't seem to get through to him, perhaps someone else will be able to \\ he thought, before turning away and disappearing again with out a trace.

***Back in the market place***

"Iie, can't walk any further, legs too tired, as well as arms" Kaia looked behind her, Tenshi was holding all the newly bought goods that Kaia had purchased and was now trying to keep up. "Hey you need some help Tenshi?" she asked walking over and removing two of the four items, "there, now we are even, okay?" Tenshi nodded and proceeded walking through the busy town, looking about at everything and everyone. He stopped abruptly when he slammed into Kaia when she suddenly stopped, "hey look over there!" she beamed, pointing to a sign that plainly said "black smith" in bold letters, "let's go, I need a lighter sword, and you need one too". Tenshi didn't resist as he was pulled into the shop by the vivacious girl, "hai Kaia-chan, I think you're right, I do need a sword," he said looking around at all the different swords.

"Yes, I found it!" Kaia exclaimed, she held up the sword she had chosen, it was fairly long, one edged blade, with a light handle, it looked perfect for her and her size. Tenshi nodded enthusiastically, before turning is attention to the many blades that littered the walls, until he saw one that caught his attention, it was double edged, long, and the handle was heavy, with a dragon wrapped around it, that allowed for the hand to grip perfectly. "Hey, now that's you Tenshi" Kaia cheered "now let's pay for them and try them out!" Tenshi sweat dropped when he watched Kaia purchase the swords and the look the blacksmith was given the sword-wielding girl.

"Well let's go now Tenshi," she yelled, running to the door and dragging Tenshi and their belongings along. Kaia, along with Tenshi, ran out into the field outside Yoake market place and placed the newly bought weapons on the grass. Tenshi collapsed on the ground to relax and rest his feet; he watched as Kaia undid the cloth around the katanas and picked them both up. She clashed the two blades together and smiled evilly at Tenshi, "so Hikari, you willing to spar with a little girl?" she asked, tossing the other sword to Tenshi, "come on, show me what you got!" Tenshi smiled and stood, new weapon in hand, "alright Kaia-chan, you're on" he concurred standing five paces away from her and getting into a stance.

Kaia nearly jumped for joy as she did the same, quickly losing her childish attitude and facing Tenshi with a look of determination burning in her eyes. "Don't go easy on me Hikari" she yelled placing the sword up to her eye level, while Tenshi kept it to his side, the point to the ground, "as long as you don't either Ishu" Tenshi asked, causing Kaia to smile again. The two waited and as soon as the wind changed directions, they charged at each other with unknown speed. Kaia ran at Tenshi with her sword in the air, while Tenshi ran with it by his side. Kaia made her first move by slashing at him vertically, while Tenshi dragged his sword, cutting the grass as he did so and meeting her slash horizontally causing sparks to fly from the metal. The impact from the collision caused Kaia to lose her balance slightly, but she regained her footing and came at him again.

For five minutes they dealt critical blows to the other, but both remained evenly matched, neither would fall nor give in. Kaia came at Tenshi and jumped in the air, going behind him and hitting him with the back of her sword, knocking Tenshi to the ground. Kaia gasped in astonishment, she had knocked Tenshi to the ground, and he wasn't moving, "*gasp* Tenshi, are you all right?" she asked running to his side and kneeling down to him, "oh please say something". Kaia rolled Tenshi over on to his and stared down at his pain filled face, "oh my god, I'm so sorry, please don't be dead" she pleaded, receiving a groan in response. "Iie Kaia-chan, it would take a lot more to kill me" he assured, opening his eyes to see the concerned, tear streaked face of his best friend, "I'm fine, please don't cry".

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think I'd be able to hit you that hard, I didn't know I was a good fighter" she stated, pulling Tenshi into a sitting position. Kaia turned her attention away from her injured friend when she heard laughing coming from behind Tenshi, "hahah woah, are you way off little girl". Standing there with a smug expression on his face was Li; "You really think that you could actually hit Tenshi, then you really are pathetic" he laughed, "Tenshi was ready to turn around while you were in mid air, but he saw me and it cut off his concentration. You're no swordsman girl, so stop playing with the big boys". Tenshi rose to his feet and raised his sword; "enough of those harsh words to Kaia, Yamasaki-san" he demanded, " and I will not have you disgracing her, now fight me".

Li smirked, he then unsheathed his sword, ripped off his cloak, and approached the shorter youth. "Very well if that's what you want kid, then bring it on" he jeered. Tenshi was about to step up when Kaia put her arm in front of him, "Kaia-chan?" he asked. The girl turned to Tenshi and smiled, "no offense to you Tenshi, but I'd much rather fight him myself" she asked. Tenshi looked between her and Li before stepping aside, "all right, but be careful Kaia-chan" he whispered, "and take him out". Kaia winked and ran over to the thief smiling with the knowledge that Tenshi believed in her, "well, you want a fight, then fight with me!" she yelled "COME ON VAGABOND, LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

Li smirked and stepped up to the girl, towering over her in the process, "okay bitch, I'll fight you" he agreed, "I need a good warm-up, especially if I want to fight your boyfriend over there". Kaia scowled, it was a look that Tenshi had never seen on her before, "belittle me all you want vagabond, but I won't let you say anything about Tenshi" she warned, "if I lose and you hurt him, I'll rip your heart out". Li was a little shocked at the statement, mostly because of the harshness in the girl's eyes and the malice in her voice, "very well girl" he replied. "Then I guess I'll have to hurt you until you can't move, then what will you do, when I hurt your precious Tenshi?"

Kaia felt the rage boil inside her, she bolted from where she stood and ran towards the pillager, "you better get ready vagabond" she yelled, "because when I'm through with you, you're going to wish I killed you!" Tenshi watched as the girl threw herself into obvious danger, but he stayed his ground, he already knew who was going to win.

End chapter 7