HOME | DD

Description
Tenkahana, Tiger of the Silent Island

Crow of the Many Evils keeps a watchful eye out upon the realms. He is a malevolent figure of the spirit world, the dimension where demons/oni's and fairies/youkai exist. He is as powerful as he is grim, leaving death and strife behind where ever he goes, causing nothing but pain for mankind when he slips past the thin veil between his world and the "real" world. He is an ever-present force, one that will never go away as long as the hearts of the mortals hold hate, sorrow, and despair.

Silent Island is an island that sits on the border between the spirit world and the human realm. Upon rare occasions, when human sailors become lost at sea during storms or in a fog, they find themselves trapped on the Silent Island, for when a mortal crosses the veil they can never return. Its location cannot be placed on any human map; it will appear to the mortals only when they reach the edge of the veil, regardless of where at sea they are. The few humans (and half-humans) that are trapped on Silent Island live in a Valley near the Island's Eastern shore. The main island is mostly forest and mountains, and home of the thousands of spirits that call this furthest point of their realm home.

The youkai tigers that live in the snowy mountains surrounding the small human village took it upon themselves to become their guardians. The tigers are twice as large as any tiger from the human realm and are wise in the ancient arts of the deep forest mystics. The tiger would not venture near the human village in the valley, but kept watch over them when they enter the tigers' mountain home. They learned long ago that a human made a poor meal, lacking the ability for magic their meat couldn't quench the tigers' hunger or replenish their strength. It was the human's ability to farm and cultivate the land that impressed the tiger greatly, adapting quickly and surviving some of the harshest circumstances in the island's unique nature.

Anko of the Valley, a human girl only of the age of three, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by Ori the Monkey. Ori took the girl, not for food, but as a wife. Anko had been with her mother gathering food from the forest one evening and he had overheard the little girl's singing and was smitten by her little voice. He wanted her as his own, and knew to take her young because human life is so brief and he wanted to keep her as long as possible.

The little girl's cries did not go unanswered; a tigress was on the prowl nearby that evening. She heard Anko's plea to be let go and her longing to be return to her mother. Having bared cubs before, the tigress felt for the little girl and knew that her mother would be heartbroken and forlorn without the child. The tiger followed after Ori and the child, but Ori was much faster in the trees then the Tiger was on the ground, and the tigress fell behind. The Tiger stayed on Ori's scent, even though he has been already out of sight for hours.

It was daybreak when the tiger caught up with Ori, but the child was gone, and the monkey was wounded. Ori had taken shelter in a hole in a tree to tend to his wounds; something had broken his tail and left him with a bloody gash in his leg. The Tigress intruded on his sanctuary and enquired about the little girl. Ori was quick to tell her about being attacked by an Oni, and it taking the girl away from him when they crossed paths; it seized her from Ori, leaving the monkey wounded. The Tiger demanded that Ori take her to where the demon was. The monkey took her back to where the girl went missing, the girl's scent was faint, leading off deeper into the forest, but the demon's wasn't there at all--leaving her to believe it was a Oni no Kuro (demons of the dark). Shadow Demons have no scent and they are the only ones to live in the Island's Deep Wood; most youkai avoid their layer and try to stay far from it. The demons have been known to snare spirits that fly over their lands, eating their magic energy. The tigress and the monkey hurried into the Deep Wood with the hope that the human's lack of magic would keep the girl safe from the demons for a while.

With the sun rising ever higher in the sky, Tiger knew that the shadow demons will seek shelter in the dark, slinking away into caves and hollowed out trees, making them even more dangerous to encounter, but easier to find then when they are out in the open at night. The youkai trees were most helpful when it came to finding the hiding demons, but none of them remembered seeing any of them with a human. Tiger and Ori had no other choice but to investigate the whereabouts of as many of the shadows they could before the night returns. But, as the day wore on, the two of them were still empty handed, not even a peep from the girl was heard nor a trace of her sent was found. Surely by now Anko had to been killed and discarded, the smell of her blood should be all over the thicket, but there was no trace of the girl. The night spirits that they have encountered recalled that they saw the girl being taken away to the east where the caves were. The duo hurried east, having very little time to make it to the caves before the sun sets.

The forest grew darker with each passing moment; the Tiger's legs became weak and tired having to carry the wounded monkey on her back as she pressed forward. The sun fell behind the mountains just as the Tiger neared the entrance of the caves. With a mighty force, the darkness spewed out from the cave's mouth, sending the tigress and monkey backwards into the sky. Above the trees, the darkness twisted and writhed together; and out of the corner of her eye, the tigress spotted the limp frame of Anko being lofted up from the cave into the black mass. The mass bulged and contorted, forming long black wings and empty eyes, the visage of the wicked Crow formed in the new night sky. With a horrible call, Crow of the Many Evils flew off over the ridge and vanished, taking the child along with him.

The tigress and Ori the Monkey cried out in protest and pain, having come so close to Anko, only to have her snatched away. Having watched what has transpired below, Koi the Moon Mystic swam down from the heavens to console the couple. Koi told them that Crow had taken the girl across the veil into the human realm, and would abandon her there like he has done so many others of her kind. Koi advised that if they bring her back before the next full moon, Anko would be able to return to this world and to her family, but any longer and Anko would be trapped in the human realm forever.

Commandeering a small boat, Tiger and Ori were lead by the Mystic to where the Crow had vanished. Passing through the veil was a long and arduous task, even for youkai, spending five days at sea before drifting to the shore. The Moon Mystic disguised the tigress and monkey as humans, a homely traveling commoner and his daughter. The Koi told them to follow the darkness, and they will be able to find the Crow and the girl. The Crow will remain in the mortal world for two weeks, to return when the full moon reaches its peak. The koi could not help them any further, for her powers are limited in the mortal realm, and she had already spent her energy disguising the couple's appearance from the humans.

The two youkai traveled first to the nearest human village, not knowing anything about the layout of this land, they agreed that it would be best practice to find someone who could become a guide. Asking the humans for assistance in the town was the most difficult part of the task; many of them ignored the strangers' request for help. The two of them told them about looking for Anko, which for reasons they said was their grandchild/child, and has been taken in the night by a dark figure that they have tracked down this far. Uzura Keiyou, a young traveling swordsman barely out of his apprenticeship, heard of their quest from the other villagers. He had been in the area for a while now, and thought he could take advantage of the couple and of any money they happened to have on them along the way. Keiyou offered his help in returning the girl to them, and was willing to join them as a guide--as long as they are willing to pay for his way. The two agreed, reluctantly. Ori, being a master of tricks and cheats, knew this man's type and how to deal with them. The monkey kept his eye on the young samurai. Ori told Keiyou that he would be paid when they return to their town in the west; but Keiyou still didn't waver his choice to stay with them.

Keiyou thought the couple to be very odd, especially for a father and daughter. He noted that the father took direction from the daughter, more so then what an honorable woman should do. But the woman's spirit was undoubtedly very powerful, frequently he would find himself staring at her, more willing to answer her questions, and talk more on some subjects then he usually would. He's had affection for girls before, several, but there was just something about her presence that made him feel at ease, even if she was very unorthodox in her commanding but quiet manor. Ori, the old man, was another matter; Keiyou was always on edge around him. The old man would suddenly appear at his side from thin air, practically. Every time he thought he was alone; the old man would then appear at his side only moments later. The old man had a howling laugh and a mischievous smile on his hairy, wrinkled face. He would talk to Keiyou about subjects on gambling and women, frequently trying the patience of his daughter. Keiyou found many of the conversations entertaining, but somewhere just outlandish and foolish--all where nothing but nonsense.

They wandered the area for a week strait, every where they went there was another battlefield or a town stricken with illness, each day their discoveries becoming worse and worse. Keiyou wondered why they were constantly coming across the aftermath of such misfortune, but the two couldn't give him a clear answer. The youkai knew that it was the path of the Crow of Many Evils, but they were reluctant to tell the human about the demonic spirit they were trailing. They allowed Keiyou to deal with the mundane troubles they came across: human bandits, talking with the locals if they had seen the child or her kidnapper, and locating shelter. Ori earned money from the towns from gambling, using his skills and cheats to swindle brothels and taverns out of their gold. The Tigress, having chosen the name "Tenkahana" (Snow Flower) to be called by, spent her time during the day with Keiyou, studying his training and his information gathering prowess. During the night, "Tenkahana" and Ori explored the nearby lands, looking for spirits that could help on their real search, to find the Crow or where he had hidden the girl Anko.

There was only two days left to find the girl. A spirit tree told Tenkahana that night that it had seen the Crow passing over two days ago. The Crow had been following the river that flowed at the tree's roots, and was taking shelter in the hollowed out trees during the highest part of the day. The trees had told her that the crow was keeping Anko in a deep sleep and hidden inside a black cloud. She was to head where the rains fall in the mountains, at the source of the river; she would find the girl among the storm clouds.

Tenkahana and Ori left before Keiyou had awakened later that morning. Ori left what was left of the money he had swindled in the young samurai's possession, as payment for his help. The two quickly made their way up the river and into the mountains, keeping a uneasy watch on every shadow and hole they passed on their trek up the dense woods of the mountains. The sky became dark quickly, even though it was hours away from dusk. The rain fell hard from blackened clouds, but it was the cloud that didn't rain that the two of them were looking for. They shed their human appearances, returning to the beasts that they truly are and pressed ever deeper into the mountain range, and closer to their goal of saving the child.

They found the small black cloud at the heart of the storm, but neither of them were able to reach it. In one last desperate act, they called out to the Crow of Many Evils to show himself to them, to come forth and face them. Intrigued by this proposition, the Crow showed himself in the dark clouds above them. He scoffed at them, having heard of their quest to find this human child, and the only reason he had kept the child instead of leaving her in the woods was because the two of them were looking for the child. He wanted to know why they would go to such trouble for this human, when he has dragged dozens past the veil before, and would have no second thoughts on doing it again. Ori was quick to tell the crow that he wanted the child for his bride, and demanded her return to him. This only amused the crow even more, calling it such a selfish reason for the child. Tenkahana asked why the Crow had taken the child, and why he demanded that they justify their reasons for wanting to return the girl to her home. The Crow told them that humans needed pain in their heart as much as they needed joy, the woman that lost this child will feel pain and sorrow for the girl's loss, but when she has another child she will only love it more or push it away. Humans are adaptable creatures, as they have witnessed after long observing them, the child wouldn't know any different if she lived on this side of the veil or the other. She would grow up, find a husband, and have more human children, then grow old and die, if something doesn't end her fragile existence prematurely.

Tenkahana replied that she didn't wish to cause the child's mother pain that she could understand the love between child and mother, having bore and raised cubs before. Even if the crow could find his pleasure in causing such pain to people, she would try her hardest to prevent it from happening. It is her honorable mission that her kind and herself had taken upon themselves to look after and protect the humans of the valley, and it is her duty to return the child to her mother.

The Crow enjoyed her speech, and was willing to let the child go, but as he done so, he had to inform them that they are already too late to take her back. As soon as they entered his magical rain, they had been lost in a bubble where time moves much differently than it does on the outside world. While it only seemed like half a day has passed, on the outside world, two days have already came and went. The full moon will rise tonight, and there was no time for them to make it down to the shore before sunrise, where as the crow could fly such a distance in a matter of moments. With a mocking call, the crow and his magical rain vanished, leaving the clear night sky above. The youkai traveled back down the mountain with the still-sleeping girl, disheartened that their quest hadn't succeeded and the little girl would not be able to return home to her mother and family on Silent Island.

On the banks of the river, Keiyou had been searching for the past two days for his two charges, the man and his daughter. The fishers that he came across as he traveled up and down the river had no recollection of the couple going by. He had followed their tracks up the side of the mountain, but when they had suddenly stopped, he became very concerned about their safety. Keiyou didn't want to be blamed for their murder, being the last person with them, and was in sudden possession of all their money and supplies. If he were to find their bodies and return them to their village, he hoped that they would be gracious enough not to kill him.

As the moon reached its apex in the sky, a thick fog fell across the river. From the river a white koi rose from the moon's reflection on the water and greeted the young samurai. Shocked by the apparition, Keiyou was too frightened to disobey the koi's offering for it to follow her. Only a short ways up the river was Ori and the Tigress, along with Anko. They too were caught in the fog created by the moon mystic. The moon mystic began by telling Keiyou that the monkey and the Tigress before him were the couple that had hired him to become their guide. The Tigress and Ori told him the truth about why they had came to this land, and about Anko not being able to return to her home in the spirit realm.

Anko was now awake, enjoying the food that Ori had given her. The child listened in on the conversation between the youkai and the samurai, but couldn't understand most of what was being told, only barely comprehending that she was not able to go home again. Keiyou asked what they wanted him to do. He told them that he couldn't take care of a small child on his own, he was a fighter and it was no place for a little girl to be. The Koi agreed, but that is not what she wanted to ask from him.

The Koi told them that there was only one way for the girl to pass through the veil again. Because there was no time for her to go to sea before the sunrise, the only way left was for a youkai to give up their right to go through the veil to the mortal. The human would be able to pass through the veil like a youkai as well as become ageless. The Tigress had agreed already to do the exchange with the girl, and it was to be Keiyou's duty to become the Tigress's guide in the mortal world. Keiyou accepted the task. After spending these past two weeks with Ori, the Tigress no longer feared that the monkey would cause harm to the girl. Ori had vowed not to peruse the child until she became of age and able to make her own choice, until then he will try to be her friend. The Koi made the exchange between Tigress and the child Anko. Upon reemerging from the waters of the river, the tigress was given human form, for she had lost her white tigress appearance along with her ability to cross between the worlds. Anko came out of the water with snow-white hair and blue eyes, but was still the same in every other way.

It wasn't until night of the following day did they make it to the mouth of the river and to the sea's shore. Tenkahana and Keiyou said their goodbyes to Ori the Monkey and Anko of the Valley. Koi the Moon Mystic guided the Monkey and child back out to sea, where no mortal dared to go, back across the veil that separated the world of the spirits and the realm of the mortals, to an Island that sat at the furthest edge of the world beyond the mist.

All characters belong to: Lyette "MYU2k2" Pickerill

Description
Tenkahana, Tiger of the Silent Island

Crow of the Many Evils keeps a watchful eye out upon the realms. He is a malevolent figure of the spirit world, the dimension where demons/oni's and fairies/youkai exist. He is as powerful as he is grim, leaving death and strife behind where ever he goes, causing nothing but pain for mankind when he slips past the thin veil between his world and the "real" world. He is an ever-present force, one that will never go away as long as the hearts of the mortals hold hate, sorrow, and despair.

Silent Island is an island that sits on the border between the spirit world and the human realm. Upon rare occasions, when human sailors become lost at sea during storms or in a fog, they find themselves trapped on the Silent Island, for when a mortal crosses the veil they can never return. Its location cannot be placed on any human map; it will appear to the mortals only when they reach the edge of the veil, regardless of where at sea they are. The few humans (and half-humans) that are trapped on Silent Island live in a Valley near the Island's Eastern shore. The main island is mostly forest and mountains, and home of the thousands of spirits that call this furthest point of their realm home.

The youkai tigers that live in the snowy mountains surrounding the small human village took it upon themselves to become their guardians. The tigers are twice as large as any tiger from the human realm and are wise in the ancient arts of the deep forest mystics. The tiger would not venture near the human village in the valley, but kept watch over them when they enter the tigers' mountain home. They learned long ago that a human made a poor meal, lacking the ability for magic their meat couldn't quench the tigers' hunger or replenish their strength. It was the human's ability to farm and cultivate the land that impressed the tiger greatly, adapting quickly and surviving some of the harshest circumstances in the island's unique nature.

Anko of the Valley, a human girl only of the age of three, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by Ori the Monkey. Ori took the girl, not for food, but as a wife. Anko had been with her mother gathering food from the forest one evening and he had overheard the little girl's singing and was smitten by her little voice. He wanted her as his own, and knew to take her young because human life is so brief and he wanted to keep her as long as possible.

The little girl's cries did not go unanswered; a tigress was on the prowl nearby that evening. She heard Anko's plea to be let go and her longing to be return to her mother. Having bared cubs before, the tigress felt for the little girl and knew that her mother would be heartbroken and forlorn without the child. The tiger followed after Ori and the child, but Ori was much faster in the trees then the Tiger was on the ground, and the tigress fell behind. The Tiger stayed on Ori's scent, even though he has been already out of sight for hours.

It was daybreak when the tiger caught up with Ori, but the child was gone, and the monkey was wounded. Ori had taken shelter in a hole in a tree to tend to his wounds; something had broken his tail and left him with a bloody gash in his leg. The Tigress intruded on his sanctuary and enquired about the little girl. Ori was quick to tell her about being attacked by an Oni, and it taking the girl away from him when they crossed paths; it seized her from Ori, leaving the monkey wounded. The Tiger demanded that Ori take her to where the demon was. The monkey took her back to where the girl went missing, the girl's scent was faint, leading off deeper into the forest, but the demon's wasn't there at all--leaving her to believe it was a Oni no Kuro (demons of the dark). Shadow Demons have no scent and they are the only ones to live in the Island's Deep Wood; most youkai avoid their layer and try to stay far from it. The demons have been known to snare spirits that fly over their lands, eating their magic energy. The tigress and the monkey hurried into the Deep Wood with the hope that the human's lack of magic would keep the girl safe from the demons for a while.

With the sun rising ever higher in the sky, Tiger knew that the shadow demons will seek shelter in the dark, slinking away into caves and hollowed out trees, making them even more dangerous to encounter, but easier to find then when they are out in the open at night. The youkai trees were most helpful when it came to finding the hiding demons, but none of them remembered seeing any of them with a human. Tiger and Ori had no other choice but to investigate the whereabouts of as many of the shadows they could before the night returns. But, as the day wore on, the two of them were still empty handed, not even a peep from the girl was heard nor a trace of her sent was found. Surely by now Anko had to been killed and discarded, the smell of her blood should be all over the thicket, but there was no trace of the girl. The night spirits that they have encountered recalled that they saw the girl being taken away to the east where the caves were. The duo hurried east, having very little time to make it to the caves before the sun sets.

The forest grew darker with each passing moment; the Tiger's legs became weak and tired having to carry the wounded monkey on her back as she pressed forward. The sun fell behind the mountains just as the Tiger neared the entrance of the caves. With a mighty force, the darkness spewed out from the cave's mouth, sending the tigress and monkey backwards into the sky. Above the trees, the darkness twisted and writhed together; and out of the corner of her eye, the tigress spotted the limp frame of Anko being lofted up from the cave into the black mass. The mass bulged and contorted, forming long black wings and empty eyes, the visage of the wicked Crow formed in the new night sky. With a horrible call, Crow of the Many Evils flew off over the ridge and vanished, taking the child along with him.

The tigress and Ori the Monkey cried out in protest and pain, having come so close to Anko, only to have her snatched away. Having watched what has transpired below, Koi the Moon Mystic swam down from the heavens to console the couple. Koi told them that Crow had taken the girl across the veil into the human realm, and would abandon her there like he has done so many others of her kind. Koi advised that if they bring her back before the next full moon, Anko would be able to return to this world and to her family, but any longer and Anko would be trapped in the human realm forever.

Commandeering a small boat, Tiger and Ori were lead by the Mystic to where the Crow had vanished. Passing through the veil was a long and arduous task, even for youkai, spending five days at sea before drifting to the shore. The Moon Mystic disguised the tigress and monkey as humans, a homely traveling commoner and his daughter. The Koi told them to follow the darkness, and they will be able to find the Crow and the girl. The Crow will remain in the mortal world for two weeks, to return when the full moon reaches its peak. The koi could not help them any further, for her powers are limited in the mortal realm, and she had already spent her energy disguising the couple's appearance from the humans.

The two youkai traveled first to the nearest human village, not knowing anything about the layout of this land, they agreed that it would be best practice to find someone who could become a guide. Asking the humans for assistance in the town was the most difficult part of the task; many of them ignored the strangers' request for help. The two of them told them about looking for Anko, which for reasons they said was their grandchild/child, and has been taken in the night by a dark figure that they have tracked down this far. Uzura Keiyou, a young traveling swordsman barely out of his apprenticeship, heard of their quest from the other villagers. He had been in the area for a while now, and thought he could take advantage of the couple and of any money they happened to have on them along the way. Keiyou offered his help in returning the girl to them, and was willing to join them as a guide--as long as they are willing to pay for his way. The two agreed, reluctantly. Ori, being a master of tricks and cheats, knew this man's type and how to deal with them. The monkey kept his eye on the young samurai. Ori told Keiyou that he would be paid when they return to their town in the west; but Keiyou still didn't waver his choice to stay with them.

Keiyou thought the couple to be very odd, especially for a father and daughter. He noted that the father took direction from the daughter, more so then what an honorable woman should do. But the woman's spirit was undoubtedly very powerful, frequently he would find himself staring at her, more willing to answer her questions, and talk more on some subjects then he usually would. He's had affection for girls before, several, but there was just something about her presence that made him feel at ease, even if she was very unorthodox in her commanding but quiet manor. Ori, the old man, was another matter; Keiyou was always on edge around him. The old man would suddenly appear at his side from thin air, practically. Every time he thought he was alone; the old man would then appear at his side only moments later. The old man had a howling laugh and a mischievous smile on his hairy, wrinkled face. He would talk to Keiyou about subjects on gambling and women, frequently trying the patience of his daughter. Keiyou found many of the conversations entertaining, but somewhere just outlandish and foolish--all where nothing but nonsense.

They wandered the area for a week strait, every where they went there was another battlefield or a town stricken with illness, each day their discoveries becoming worse and worse. Keiyou wondered why they were constantly coming across the aftermath of such misfortune, but the two couldn't give him a clear answer. The youkai knew that it was the path of the Crow of Many Evils, but they were reluctant to tell the human about the demonic spirit they were trailing. They allowed Keiyou to deal with the mundane troubles they came across: human bandits, talking with the locals if they had seen the child or her kidnapper, and locating shelter. Ori earned money from the towns from gambling, using his skills and cheats to swindle brothels and taverns out of their gold. The Tigress, having chosen the name "Tenkahana" (Snow Flower) to be called by, spent her time during the day with Keiyou, studying his training and his information gathering prowess. During the night, "Tenkahana" and Ori explored the nearby lands, looking for spirits that could help on their real search, to find the Crow or where he had hidden the girl Anko.

There was only two days left to find the girl. A spirit tree told Tenkahana that night that it had seen the Crow passing over two days ago. The Crow had been following the river that flowed at the tree's roots, and was taking shelter in the hollowed out trees during the highest part of the day. The trees had told her that the crow was keeping Anko in a deep sleep and hidden inside a black cloud. She was to head where the rains fall in the mountains, at the source of the river; she would find the girl among the storm clouds.

Tenkahana and Ori left before Keiyou had awakened later that morning. Ori left what was left of the money he had swindled in the young samurai's possession, as payment for his help. The two quickly made their way up the river and into the mountains, keeping a uneasy watch on every shadow and hole they passed on their trek up the dense woods of the mountains. The sky became dark quickly, even though it was hours away from dusk. The rain fell hard from blackened clouds, but it was the cloud that didn't rain that the two of them were looking for. They shed their human appearances, returning to the beasts that they truly are and pressed ever deeper into the mountain range, and closer to their goal of saving the child.

They found the small black cloud at the heart of the storm, but neither of them were able to reach it. In one last desperate act, they called out to the Crow of Many Evils to show himself to them, to come forth and face them. Intrigued by this proposition, the Crow showed himself in the dark clouds above them. He scoffed at them, having heard of their quest to find this human child, and the only reason he had kept the child instead of leaving her in the woods was because the two of them were looking for the child. He wanted to know why they would go to such trouble for this human, when he has dragged dozens past the veil before, and would have no second thoughts on doing it again. Ori was quick to tell the crow that he wanted the child for his bride, and demanded her return to him. This only amused the crow even more, calling it such a selfish reason for the child. Tenkahana asked why the Crow had taken the child, and why he demanded that they justify their reasons for wanting to return the girl to her home. The Crow told them that humans needed pain in their heart as much as they needed joy, the woman that lost this child will feel pain and sorrow for the girl's loss, but when she has another child she will only love it more or push it away. Humans are adaptable creatures, as they have witnessed after long observing them, the child wouldn't know any different if she lived on this side of the veil or the other. She would grow up, find a husband, and have more human children, then grow old and die, if something doesn't end her fragile existence prematurely.

Tenkahana replied that she didn't wish to cause the child's mother pain that she could understand the love between child and mother, having bore and raised cubs before. Even if the crow could find his pleasure in causing such pain to people, she would try her hardest to prevent it from happening. It is her honorable mission that her kind and herself had taken upon themselves to look after and protect the humans of the valley, and it is her duty to return the child to her mother.

The Crow enjoyed her speech, and was willing to let the child go, but as he done so, he had to inform them that they are already too late to take her back. As soon as they entered his magical rain, they had been lost in a bubble where time moves much differently than it does on the outside world. While it only seemed like half a day has passed, on the outside world, two days have already came and went. The full moon will rise tonight, and there was no time for them to make it down to the shore before sunrise, where as the crow could fly such a distance in a matter of moments. With a mocking call, the crow and his magical rain vanished, leaving the clear night sky above. The youkai traveled back down the mountain with the still-sleeping girl, disheartened that their quest hadn't succeeded and the little girl would not be able to return home to her mother and family on Silent Island.

On the banks of the river, Keiyou had been searching for the past two days for his two charges, the man and his daughter. The fishers that he came across as he traveled up and down the river had no recollection of the couple going by. He had followed their tracks up the side of the mountain, but when they had suddenly stopped, he became very concerned about their safety. Keiyou didn't want to be blamed for their murder, being the last person with them, and was in sudden possession of all their money and supplies. If he were to find their bodies and return them to their village, he hoped that they would be gracious enough not to kill him.

As the moon reached its apex in the sky, a thick fog fell across the river. From the river a white koi rose from the moon's reflection on the water and greeted the young samurai. Shocked by the apparition, Keiyou was too frightened to disobey the koi's offering for it to follow her. Only a short ways up the river was Ori and the Tigress, along with Anko. They too were caught in the fog created by the moon mystic. The moon mystic began by telling Keiyou that the monkey and the Tigress before him were the couple that had hired him to become their guide. The Tigress and Ori told him the truth about why they had came to this land, and about Anko not being able to return to her home in the spirit realm.

Anko was now awake, enjoying the food that Ori had given her. The child listened in on the conversation between the youkai and the samurai, but couldn't understand most of what was being told, only barely comprehending that she was not able to go home again. Keiyou asked what they wanted him to do. He told them that he couldn't take care of a small child on his own, he was a fighter and it was no place for a little girl to be. The Koi agreed, but that is not what she wanted to ask from him.

The Koi told them that there was only one way for the girl to pass through the veil again. Because there was no time for her to go to sea before the sunrise, the only way left was for a youkai to give up their right to go through the veil to the mortal. The human would be able to pass through the veil like a youkai as well as become ageless. The Tigress had agreed already to do the exchange with the girl, and it was to be Keiyou's duty to become the Tigress's guide in the mortal world. Keiyou accepted the task. After spending these past two weeks with Ori, the Tigress no longer feared that the monkey would cause harm to the girl. Ori had vowed not to peruse the child until she became of age and able to make her own choice, until then he will try to be her friend. The Koi made the exchange between Tigress and the child Anko. Upon reemerging from the waters of the river, the tigress was given human form, for she had lost her white tigress appearance along with her ability to cross between the worlds. Anko came out of the water with snow-white hair and blue eyes, but was still the same in every other way.

It wasn't until night of the following day did they make it to the mouth of the river and to the sea's shore. Tenkahana and Keiyou said their goodbyes to Ori the Monkey and Anko of the Valley. Koi the Moon Mystic guided the Monkey and child back out to sea, where no mortal dared to go, back across the veil that separated the world of the spirits and the realm of the mortals, to an Island that sat at the furthest edge of the world beyond the mist.

All characters belong to: Lyette "MYU2k2" Pickerill