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[I apologize for any flagrant spelling errors in the post previous to this one. I typed it up rather quickly.]

Shinobu, now standing not a few steps away from her sister and Taketo, was still miles away in her mind. She could vividly see both Haru and Izumo lying amoungst bl*odied bodies before her, drenched in red. It was like something out of a nightmare.

"What is going on?!" she exlciamed before rushing up between them, unaware of which to rush to first, she knew that, physically, there could be nothing wrong with either, but, having more than her share of experience in the feild of mental attacks, they could both be in serious danger.

She bit her lip. Unable to choose, and then remeber when, not Haru, not Aoki, but Izumo had retireved her damaged body from the wood after Melora's attack, how he'd taken her into his room and cared for her, and he'd put aside going after Melora, to help her. She took one last look at Haru, and shuddered, before sprinting for Izumo. She had to repay the favour.

Shinobu stopped beside him, pushing bodies aside with grunts of strain, and uncovered him. She laid a palm on his forehead, and then swiftly changed it to his neck, checking, just in case, for a pulse. If she were in sound mind, she'd not've bothered checking for a pulse, because she knew that it would be coursing, thumping below her fingers no matter what, but having just veiwed both Izumo and Haru lying in piles of d*ad bodies. Posibbly some of the msot horrifying images she'd ever seen, next to that dream with Hamani. She was hardly sane.

Sure enough, she ticked up a pulse.

"Oh... Izumo..." she said lightly, wishing she were physically stronger as she attempted to hoist him unto her own back. Shinobu was succeeding until she had to fight her way through the corpses, in which she tripped up slightly, but kept on going, stuggling greatly.

She couldn't bear to look at Haru.

((Okay. CHRIST. I'm INSIDE.. INSIDE! Not standing in a pile of dead bodies, SMILLING, and talking to Taketo like I really don't care!))

A glance outside, and she whinced. Shinobu had gone after Izumo first. A quick scan of her thoughts, and Aoki felt betrayed.

'Izumo... Didn't take care of you... I did. I went to fight Melora, so your wouldn't hurt anymore. Me. I went after Hamani, and all my friends, I betrayed them because I thought it would help you. So why?' Tears flowed from Aoki's eyes. 'Why do you love him so much more? Or is it just because he did something for you?'

*In this case, love is such a strong word. Unless Shinobu actually did love Izumo, I have no right to use the word. But there are more than one kind of love, Aoki's refering to their bond as sisters.

She turned to Taketo and nodded. "Come on. I'll help." She smilled like she thought everything was fine, and inside, she burned with sympathy for Haru, an annoyance towords Izumo, and just an empty space where her sister should have been.

Opening the window for them both, Aoki jumped out, sun highlighting the graceful decent.

Hearing a male say her Sister's name, she froze and turned to see Haru. Placing a hand on his forehead, and smilled sweetly at him.

"Haru. Sister is helping Izumo-onii." Aoki choked out the last word. "She sent me over here out of her concern for you." It's just a white lie. " So, Taketo will help me bring you inside. You can stay in my room untill you get better. My sister will finsih tending to Izumo, and she'll come to make sure your alright."

Pushing the bodies away, she sat with her feet tucked under her obi. Aoki lifted his head up and placed his head on her knees, humming a soft tune. "Taketo is way stronger than me. I probebly couldn't carry you, even if I tried." She blinked, feeling she might have insulted him. "Oh! I mean, it's just I'm so weak. Your not fat, far from it! I- I really don't-" Aoki paused and pooled down at his purple hair. Koh's face popped into her mind and she sighed sadly. "I don't measure up to much."

She looked up at the window. Yul must have been wondering what the hell was going on, and Taketo was probebly wondering why she had just jumped from a second-story window. Smilling at her sister, she continued to mask herself with a friendly smile, like someone you could shelter yourself in forever, but in fact, Aoki just wanted out. Away from being a theif, always in the middle of everything because she was the sister of Shinobu, in which everything always revovlved around, awaky from responsibility and friends, new people and the stench of blo*d all the time. Maybe that day at the village was a good idea after all. Looking at all the dead bodies, she blinked. Okay... Make it a week far away.

There he stood, in the middle of a dark, twisting jet a smoke. Everywhere he looked, to his left, his right, the smoke was spiralling around him, out of control. He couldn't understand what it was, where he was, all Izumo could understand was that whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. Occassionally, flecks whipped out at him, lashed him. He knew better, that they couldn't hurt him, but it did hurt. The tendrils became ever more fierce, whipping at his legs, his arms, his face, as if they were trying to purge him from their world, their domain. He would have none of it.

He reached down to his blades, set his hands upon the hilts, intending to draw. Before he could do anything, the pillars of smoke jetted up and away, revealing where he was. He stood outside the theatre, among a field of corpses. He could see the bodies, freshly coated in blood, and hear their spirits scream out. Some for vengeance, some crying out in vain that they would never again see their loved ones. He didn't understand. What, he wondered, could do something like this?

Not what, he realized, but who. He was still here, and across the field, Izumo could see him, chasing after stragglers, cutting them down. It had to be stopped; no matter what reason these soldiers, these mortal men, had come here for, there was no justice in cutting them down where they stood, and especially none in killing those who would rather flee than fight. Whoever he was, he had to be stopped. Leaping over the bodies in large, bounding strides, Izumo charged at the figure, leaping at him and knocking him to the ground. He pinned him down, holding down his arms, preventing him from using the blades held in his hands as a defense. He peered down into the man's eyes, gazed upon his face. Beneath all the blood, the caked on dirt, he recognized him. This man, this terror, this vicious... murderer, was Izumo. It was himself.

It couldn't have been... he would never do something so cruel. Would he? Could he be driven to such a level of ferocity that none were spared the end of his blade? He shuddered at the thought.

No. It couldn't have been him. This, thing, was not who he was. It couldn't have been. His momentary lapse in focus, however, was enough. The Izumo he looked down at flailed, threw him to the ground while freeing itself from a pinned position. It rose to its feet quickly, as did Izumo. There was only one way to end it, he supposed. He reached down for his own blades. His hands were seared by the touch of the hilts. If he couldn't touch them, he had no chance of fighting with them. So now he stood before a monstrosity, also an expert blade-wielder if it had any inkling of Izumo's own skill, and he was unable to fight back in a similar fashion. Unarmed combat seemed his only option.

It charged before he had a chance to make a move, lunged forward and skewered Izumo on the end of its blade. The menace grinned wrly as it raised its blade, extending its blade-holding hand over its shoulder, preparing to land a final blow. Izumo was shocked and stunned, he could feel pain from the blade piercing him. The monstrosity swung the blade hard and fast, the blade aiming for Izumo's neck...

Everything went pitch again. There were no more pillars of smoke, no more bodies, and no more... of himself. His eyes fluttered, the ground beneath him was moving slowly. Another dream? He became vaguely aware that someone, or something was carrying him, with some trouble it seemed, but still doing so. He was grateful.

"Th...ank... you..." he managed to let slide over his tongue and escape his chest. He closed his eyes, and let himself slip back into unconciousness, hoping not again to see it... himself.

[Lol, yes Dark, by saying my character's name you've greatl pizzed me off.

Don't be so silly, I don't offend so easily. Only if you play my character for me, when it isn't called for will I be sh*tted out.]

Shinobu, still heaving Izumo across the grass, nearing the back door to the theatre, had her eyes and ears blocked out so strongly that she was amazed she'd been able to hear his soft 'thankyou.' This somewhat made her happier, to be appreciated, atleast she was repaying him for all of the help he'd given her before, it even helped to made the laod seem lgihter.
Then these peaceful thoughts were knocked, crashing down when she recieved a shockingly unhappy message from Aoki. She felt sympathetic for a spell, and then a tense wave of anger washed over her. How could Aoki be so cross with her? She'd just had to make one of the msot traumatic decisions she could remember and Aoki felt for respect for that?
She fiercely began to message her sister back again, but cancelled it when she came staright face to face with her sister at the door when she was going in.
Despite the load on her back and the immense pain she felt from leaving Haru there she still had enough energy to bark off one of her kid-sister's ears.
"Aoki! Firstly, how dare you be reading my personal thoughts! It's my buisness not yours, and second, don't lie to me, you know very well that Izumo was the one who brought me back from the forest when Melora attacked, not you, I know that for a fact because I woke up in his room with him there beside me, you were nowhere to be found!"

(( I think it's a damn good thing I'm not even concious right now, because I don't even want to get near that crapstorm. ))

[Sibling rivalry. ^^ Hey, they can't allways be best friends. That's just not natural.]

Shinobu watched her sister leave and didn't move to stop her. She was deeply dissappointed in the tantrum, especially the fact that she'd the gall to raise her voice to an elder, no less her own sister! It was just downright shameful, and to prolong the conversation further would only give reason for such misbehaviour to continue, best to leave things as it were. She was simply unahppy that her sister had not matured above verbal teasing and useless comparences.

'I never read your mind, the only mind connection I've had with you, apart from this,' she messaged 'was hearing the message that you passed into my mind.'

After this, Shinobu promptly blocked out her own mind, closing the link between the sisters, and continued on down the hall, in a slightly different direction than her sister, heading towards the nearest staircase.

Yul jumped as he watched none other than Shinobu stuggling up the stairs with Izumo on her back, and winced at this. Not only was Izumo easily much larger than her, but Izumo wasn't looking so hot either.

"Oh dear, could I help you with that load?" he offered.

Shinobu looked up, having hardly noticed Yul at first, her mind being so captivated in what she'd just witnessed.

"Oh... yes, thankyou."

"Not a problem." Yul replied as she helped to hoist Izumo's legs up over his shoulder, taking a spot behind Shinobu, who had Izumo's upper body and torso, and they both continued up the stairs.