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"No, I mean innocent," Rubuke rubbed the back of her,"Its hard to tell to explain it.. but, ... uhm... forget about it." The tengu grumbled at being unable to tell Lumine what she meant. "I will try to figure it out in a while," Rubuke responded.

"Well that's why! I am still not good enough to match my father's demands, just like Maemi wasn't. I think he just got grouchy after Samuro ended up crippled. Brr..I am a bit nervous about having to use the nodachi now. of course, I need to return with it in hand, which I why I came back...I need a relic weapon..." Her thoughts returned to the Rouki blades but she sighed. "I don't think anyone would think highly of me. There is no reason for that!"

"Hey... be nice!"

"...You... Lost... .... it-...?"

Rubuke blinked dumbfoundedly, her smile waning and dying into a perplexed empty expression as it sunk into her mind. She sort of slid off the armrest as Lumine Continued to speak, not visibly flinching when her wings pressed against the backrest of the couch. Her wings did spasm in complaint, but they were still as the tengu stared at nothing.

After a moment, the gray and black winged tengu leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knees and grabbing her head and knitting her hands into her hair,"How.... How will I explain this to my father?! He won't be able to ever look at my face! ... The Family... the family name is done--..." Her shoulders were shaking, out of nerves, out of fear. "I shouldn't have told Father to put the sword in the shrine for mourning period, I shouldn't have insisted he leave it there--." Rubuke seemed to be sobbing at this point. "If I had just taken it the day she died-!"

"Now... Now the Kenkaku have nothing! No Swordsmen, no courtiers, no nothing! Not even passage into the Elite guardsmen...." Rubuke openly sobbed now, her small frame shivering and she sniffled,"Father is never going to acknowledge me now--!"

Rubuke continued to sniffle and sob as Lumine tried to comfort her. It wasn't until the celestial put her hand on her that the girl looked up slightly at the dying girl. "It's still up there...?" she almost stood but she only shifted as her wings weighted her down, once more tearing in helplessness.

Her eyes, round and red looked at Lumine as if asking for an answer,"I... I can't fly. I can't go back home like this because I can't find my way back... I can't go home much less to that place." She wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palm,like any lost child would,"I can't move through the woods by foot like Maemi did. I am stranded here until my wings heal." The tengu sobbed a few times and tried to calm down as she looked at Lumine, still looking for that little bit of guidance,"If the blade isn't returned, then we will lose all credibility as guardsmen; If we can't keep our legacy safe, why would we be trusted with the well being of our kin...?"

Her words sounded repeated, as if she had heard someone say them before her. At last able to quiet down she explained,"The relic weapons were crafted once by the very first tengu to make their home here. They are the oldest things in the village, pretty much, and they stand for the strength and power of the guarding clans... No one had ever lost their weapons before... Except for the Imutou clan that was usurped by the first Kaninus..... " Rubuke sighed, her one good wing limping into the couch,"I told my father I'd return with the nodachi and that he'd see I was a good guardswoman, just like Maemi and Samuro had been. If I return to tell him the blade is lost, up somewhere in the mountain.... our family won't live it down--" Her voice wavered again, but she tried to remain collected this time.

The Kenkaku child was distressed and , in her state, looked like nothing more than a lost and confused child fearing their parents reprisal.

The smack was enough to make her cheek throb a bit. Rubuke blinked at the impact, bringing a hand to her face, staring at Lumine in some sort of shock. She still bore that sort of broken look but she seemed to pay attention to what Lumine had to say.

More shocking than the hit was the hug. Having grown in an aristocratic home, Rubuke wasn't used to displays of affection. Maemi had been the only one to hug her and pet her hair often, but with the death of the older Kenkaku, thar sort of connection had died. Rubuke melted into Lumine's hug, having missed that affection. She was speechless for a little while, but she wrapped her arms around Lumine and hid her face into the ex-celestial's shoulder, clinging for dear life. A few moments passed and Rubuke refused to let go.

"... You are right, I really have no point in crying...." she finally croaked,"But I can't let you come with me. Lumine, aren't you here to spend time with your family? I will leave when they come back, really, that way you guys can be together." Part of her didn't want to cut the hug,"Maemi wouldn't forgive me if I took you on a walk you'd never finish, y'know? Once Michiko and Ochiba return... I'll just leave."

"It's not like I fit in here anyway, right?" Rubuke chuckled wanly on Lumine's shoulder,"Some as much of a pain in the a** as I am deserves to be with the other asses: My family."

"Sister-in-law?" Rubuke asked tilting her head towards Lumine,"Ah you are right. Is it sad if I said you are probably my favorite family? Maybe just under Samuro when he isn't a depressed jerk." With Lumine's pats, the Kenkaku Child began to relax her grip on the ex-celestial, though she was still melted by the affection.

"Thank you for that, Lumine. I guess you are right. When we both feel better, we will make the trip, okay? Even if I have to fly you there to make sure you don't get tired!" Rubuke pulled back at that, her hands on Lumine's shoulder as she smiled,"That way you get to see the mountain , and from it's tip, everything in Genso--!"

There was a door knock. Rubuke turned to the door startled. Aside from the knock that melted in the silence as if it were a trick of a prankster spirit, there was nothing resounding, "Did you... hear them talk?"

Instinctually, Rubuke stood, reached for one of the Rouki blades and stalked to the window. While a hand held the blade pointed down, she leaned into the wall to peer through a tiny space between the drapes and window. "It's the shinigami...."

The Kenkaku's eyes seemed to bulge at something,"She is helping Michiko walk apparently--! "

"No,no,no! Lumine---Wait LUMINE?!" Hanari froze, staring in disbelief, with a gapping mouth dumbly making motions as if she were to say something.It wasn't till Michiko lifted her head that she waved a hand in front of her.

"Lumine, she didn't do anything-" Michiko said wearily. The wolf seemed a bit scratched up, other than the heavy cut she had from the rakes of claws on her left leg, it could be assumed she just fell and tripped down a sort of mountain side."Ochiba and I stepped into some hostile territory. They had us fried..."
Ochiba hoped up with a cracked lens. Her bunny ears looked dirtied, and her clothes a bit roughed up."They got us by surprise, Hanari saved us, she just poofed us out of there."
"Lumine....?"
"Your boss brought her back, Shinigami, for a short time."
"Yeah," Rubuke came to Lumine's side just now,"At least someone in court knows morals."

"we left in a hurry and for nothing. The doctor had absolutely nothing," Michiko muttered in a small growl, "Thankfully, Hanari happened about and was there to save us. We really couldn't have made it through without her."

Rubuke stretched her wing a bit, pretending to be unaware of how she covered Lumine a bit more as the ex-celestial backed up behind her. "Seems you all ran with some luck this once, here, I will help Michiko back inside...." She moved forward and took the wolf from the shinigami, easing her over her shoulder and supporting her weight before leading her back inside.

Hanari nodded at Lumine, watching the two tengu disappear indoors and Ochiba moving to attack to Lumine's shirt, grabbing a fold to hold onto. "Ah.... Not a problem... I just happened upon them... oh!" Reaching to her chest she undid a buckle, releasing an item that hanged on her back. Reaching around she pulled the Kenkaku Nodachi. "...I.. picked this up... I don't have my scythe, but I rather not carry something that does not belong to me,...Lumine."