Reborn

Akiko gladly accepted the clothing. "Thanks for the clothing," she said politely. She looked at the doctor's daughter and smiled. "Sure, but I should probably put these clothes on first," she told the girl before heading back upstairs. She entered her room and quickly put on the new clothes. She then raced downstairs and turned to the girl. "Let's go!" She said enthusiastically.

The daughter, Gema, blinked and nodded with a slight smile. "Yes, let's." she walked outside with Akiko. As they passed the people that milled through the streets, Gema seemed to get a bit more uncomfortable. "Gema, here's your order." A vendor said, beckoning them towards the shop.
"Thank you, Charles." She said and he sighed.
"Yeah yeah, but listen, I can't keep doing your old man favors. I need my money-"
Gema nodded but before he could finish, hurried back to Akiko. They wandered through the vegetables and fruits, Gema choosing carefully each one, and handing Akiko a few. She looked nervous as she handled the apples.
"I can't thank you enough for helping me." she said quietly, as she fished for the money in her pocket.

Akiko noticed Gema's uncomfortableness. She wished to ask the girl what was bothering her, but she didn't want to make her feel worse. She smiled at Gema when she handed her the ingredients. "You're welcome," she said to the girl, using her friendliness as a way to calm the girl and help her become more comfortable.

Gema paused a moment then gave a weak smile. "Ah yeah." she said as she handed the vendor the little change. "This should tide us over for the next few days." She walked with Akiko toward the bakery and fidgeted with the vegetables in the bag. "My name is Gema by the way..." she said when they reached the door. As the door opened, the wanted poster on the front of it was hidden but not before Gema saw it. She felt the guilt hit her hard and her hands began to tremble as she stood in line with Akiko. The room suddenly felt really small and her stomach was twisting in knots. She tried for a smile and seemed excited as she looked at the different pastries and cakes. "They have delicious sweets here. My favorite is the cinnamon bread." she said, pointing at the loaf of bread that was fresh out of the oven. "What about you Akiko? Anything you want, my treat." 

~~~
"Ow! Gods of hell-" Katsuo hissed, pulling away from the doctor's needle. The doctor rolled his eyes and stuck the needle into the fabric near a washing basin. 
"You're fidgeting only made this worse." He grumbled and Katsuo's eyes narrowed.
"If you learned how to do your job correctly then there wouldn't have been a problem." Katsuo knew his comment had stung, he saw the old man's jaw clench and heard the knuckles pop. But he didn't care and showed it when he dismissively tugged the clean shirt over his head. 
He did however realize he owed the man something for his troubles and reached for the money purse at his waist.
"Look, it isn't much but it should cover the room and care." Katsuo said, Handing the man the bag. Instead the doctor shook his head and pushed it back towards Katsuo.
"Don't worry, it's all been taken care of." Katsuo frowned in confusion but the doctor simply motioned toward the flap of the door. "Your swords and things are on the table and the girls should be back with breakfast soon. Go sit and we'll see what we can do about that headache of yours." Katsuo felt wary of the doctor's smile but guessed it was nothing more than some old timers mood swing. He didn't expect to walk out of the room and find men in armor bearing the king's insignia waiting for him and blocking his only exit. Instantly his eyes found his swords in the hands of one of the guards and felt years of fighting strategy catching up with him. He tried to dart for the guard with his weapons but his arms were suddenly restricted by two guards. He put up a fight, twisting and knocking their hands off of him but was jerked back by the collar of his shirt when he went for his swords again. "Well well well Katsuo we've been looking everywhere for you." A guard in richer clothing announced, striding towards him. The grin on his face as he handed the doctor a large bag of gold was the last thing Katsuo saw before something struck the back of his head and everything went black

"Gema," Akiko said, "That's a pretty name." She smiled at the girl. "I'm not that hungry. Besides, I should head back and see how Katsuo is doing." She stands up and heads for the door of the shop. She looks back at Gema. "Is there anything else you want to buy first?"

Gema's eyes widened a little as her mind began to race. Wasn't she suposed to be keeping this girl busy? After all for all they knew that man she was with was a crazy murderer, they couldn't have her be punished by the guards if she tried to stop them from taking him. "N-not really." she muttered and caught up to Akiko. She was feeling the weight of her guilt for selling these two out on her shoulders, to the point she felt like she might stop breathing. "You know, I was really-surprised when you two showed up." She said, her eyes on the ground. "I felt really bad for you-that you might have had nowhere to go." She swallowed hard and looked back at Akiko. Her heavy conscious was getting the better of her and she realized she wouldn't be able to keep this secret for long. "I didn't mean any harm by it..." she finally said but left a gap for Akiko's understanding. "We needed money and it was the perfect opportunity." her eyes flooded with tears but she made no move to fix them. "I'm sorry...." she said unable to meet Akiko's eyes.
~~~~
Katsuo's body hit the back of the containment carriage that was parked behind the doctors shop and the subtle ache somewhat woke him. His body didn't seem quite awake yet and seemed disconnected from his brain at the moment but his nerves were like live wires. He could hear voice around him, and felt the hard wood  rattle beneath him. Someone was entering that room with him. He heard the door slam but his vision was a little blurred.
"Not so tough now, are you Kat?" It was the voice of the better dressed guard, the one Katsuo assumed was the captain. The foot steps got closer and Katsuo tried unsuccessfully to move away. He discovered his arms were bound by chain but his feet were left free. In a way he found it insulting, as if they were calling him an easy target. Katsuo smirked and gave the captain a shrug. "Compared to you, I feel godly." 
The captain gave him a hard kick in the side and Katsuo doubled in pain. 
"That was for the prince." he snarled, glaring at him. He stared at him a moment before he huffed. "I don't get it. Why would you of all people be responsible for something like this-?"
"I didn't-" Katsuo barked but his voice was overpowered by the captain's.
"He trusted you, gave a soulless creation of death a chance for life, and you took his life." Katsuo watched as the captain pulled one of Katsuo's swords from his waist and poised it over Katsuo's neck.
"Aren't you breaking rank here?" Katsuo said, his eyes never leaving the blade.
"Screw rank. You deserve a death by your own sword." The captain sneered and brought the sword down. Katsuo cringed reflexively and his eyes closed in anticipation of the quick death. Instead everything went silent. His eyes opened slowly then widened when he found the blade was hovering a hairs length from his neck. He looked to the captain in shock and found he was frozen like a statue.
"What the hell-?" he breathed but a bell like laugh cut him off.
"Not hell, I'm afraid my dear Blade." The silky voice echoed around him in a strange way. It came from a woman that suddenly appeared out of the shadows and strode toward him.  He'd never seen this woman before and yet she seemed so familiar, her long black hair, her dried blood colored eyes, and odd beauty commanded his attention.
"Then who are you?" He said as he watched her hand glide the sword away from his neck with a secretive smile.
"Just death." She said and Katsuo finally realized why she was so familiar. He'd seen her face the night so long ago when he had first been pronounced a Blade. She was the Goddess of Death.

Akiko looked at Gema with confusion. She had absolutely no idea why she was crying. Then, she started to piece the bloody shirt and the weeping girl together. She turned serious and looked at Gema. "....What did you do?" she said, a mixture of concern and seriousness.

Gema looked up sniffling. She was trying her hardest not to let the crying crack her voice. "That man you were traveling with...He's wanted by the royal guard for murder." She said and tried to guage Akiko's reaction before she continued. "There is an enormous bounty on his head and my family could use that money, after we spent all that money on that phony cure for my sickness..." She stood a little taller and folded her arms to hide the tremble. "I'm not telling you this to benifit him, by now the guards probably have him detained. I just felt you should know, so that you know the truth before you decide wether to risk your neck saving him."
~~
Katsuo stared at The Goddess of Death's face as she knelt down beside him. He flinched in fear away from her hand, making her smile. "I'm here to provide you with a bit of help." She said and her eyes suddenly glowed bright red. The chains that bound his hands suddenly rusted to dust allowing Katsuo to sit up uneasily. He steadied himself by leaning on the wood wall behind him, still trying to appear braver than he felt at the moment. It wasn't everyday someone was face with Death itself, unless it was direly important. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What's the catch?" She blinked slowly and her eyes returned to their original cold stare.
"Just a small deal...You realize your abilities as a Blade, swear loyalty to my cause and help me solve a bit of a problem." She said and Katsuo sneered.
"Or what?"
"Or else I kill you right here, right now, very slowly and rip your soul to peices myself." She giggled and Katsuo gulped. That sounded....painful.
"What's this problem?" He said and she smiled a little brighter.
"This war between myself and Life has become a bit taxing. It seems he has forgotten his place, and his warriors are following that example." She gripped his chin, her peircing stare leaving him motionless. "He and his warriors have gotten out of hand, causing more problems for the human's than this war requires. I need a Blade and a Sealer to take care of them before this continues."
Katsuo stared at her a moment before he found his voice though it was quieter than before. "Why me?"
"Not just you. That girl Akiko as well." She said then shrugged. "I find you two....interesting." She released his face and got to her feet, offering him a hand up. "Now the only question is, do you accept Katsuo?" He stared at her hand a moment, mulling it over. Accept Death's offer or die. If he accepted he could be killed as well by at the hands of Life? Then again what was he giving up anyways by accepting? A life as an outlaw? He took in a breath and took her hand, getting to his feet.
"I accept." He said and for a moment he saw a purely malicious grin color Death's face before she disappeared.
When she disappeared the spell over the guard war off and he stumbled forward in shock. Katsuo didn't waste time and kicked him in the head, sending him to the ground unconcious. Katsuo gathered his swords from the unconcious guard and thought a moment as he looked at the uniform.
Moments later he slipped out the back of the prisoners carrige dressed in the guards armor. He looked around for a moment to make sure he wasn't being watched before he slipped away and began heading away from the area. He barely got a few feet before a guard got suspicious and began to call after him. In a split decision he ducked around a corner into an alley, watching with a breath of relief as the guard passed by him in a sprint.
'I wonder if Akiko's alright..I've got to find her.' He thought, watching for more guards around the corner before slipping into the crowded streets.

Akiko stood in shock. She didn't know what to say or do. The blood stains on Katsuo's shirt and the murder finally connected. <i>What should I do?</i> Akiko thought. <i>He seemed like a nice enough guy, but he's wanted for murder...should I help him.</i> Akiko kept pondering, but she soon reached her conclusion. She turned to Gema and asked, "Where did the guards take Katsuo?"

Gema watched her for a moment then sighed. 'She choses death over some man, stupid decision.' Gema pointed down the road a ways in the direction they came from. "The town law states that local authorities have to approve a capture of any convict before they are allowed to take them to the royal city. My guess is they should be at the military outpost/jail a few blocks from my fathers shop." She said then shook her head. "You know going there could get you detained as well, right?"
~~~
Katsuo was having a bit more trouble at finding Akiko than he normally would have. Not just because of the mixes of strange people and having to be careful not to run into any guards. What his real problem was had to do with his vision. Sporadically his vision would waver and suddenly the color from the world around him would fade, instead of people he saw blurs of a specific color, varying white shapes that would have a tinge of red. He would blink but it wouldn't fade away, only disappearing when he least expected it. He was begining to wonder if the goddess of death had put a curse on him or something but then why would she have sunk low enough to ask him for help if she was just going to curse him? He was pulled out of his thoughts when his vision changed to that colorless world again and he nearly tripped over a box that was near a vendors shop. He minuvered his way around it, attempting to appear like he meant to do that but something caught his eye. It was an all red figure not too far off from where he was standing next to a completely white one. The white figure seemed abnormal since all the others had traces of red mixed in somewhere, but the all red figure made him uneasy. He moved to side of a crowd looking at a shop and tried to get a better look at the all red figure. Little did he know he was staring at Gema who stood beside Akiko, trying to convince her not to leave.

Akiko looked at the girl. "I know, but I have to help him," she stated. "He helped save my life. I have to return the favor. Thank you for your help." Akiko turns to look in the direction of the outpost. 'I hope he's okay...' she thought to herself.

Meago stretched her eye cloth in her hand after she had washed her face in the river. she was on an assignment and couldnt be lazy now. she tried to ribbon and walked forward. "w...what the hel-" she felt the ground vibrate and she turned to see a police force headed towards her "shit..." she grumbled pulling her hood on her covering her ears and horns she walked forward still till a man grabbed her by the shoulder "miss! what are you doing so far from the city!!!" he explaimed with suspicion and curiousity "well you see..." a man went to grab her hood and she dropp kicked his legs from under him. the police man grabbed her from bhind and ripped her hood off snarling "its a creator..." he said and she kicked her feet wildly as he pulled the weapons from her back "COLD HEARTED ASSHOLE!" she said as he took them. those weapons where a part of her as a creator, she wouldnt be able to fight with any other weapon but those, it was like taking a little bit of her soul away

"take her to the city, we will have a trail and a lynching it seems" he laughed as they dragged her towards a carriage with bars. she kicked a man so hard in the chest he spat blood back onto her and collapsed "AND FOR GOD SAKE KEEP HER CHAINED!" another yelled as they clasped chains on her wrists and connected them to her ankle chains behind her. she growled and snapped her jaws at them

"how the hell can she even see with that stupid cloth on her face?" one grumbled as he slammed the door.

she pushed herself back against the carraige and muttered incoherently 'at least im headed towards my destination... still... this is a rather difficult pickle ive gotten myself into' she thought and sat perfectly still for the rest of the ride memorizing every bump in the road and every turn from the time they entered teh city till the time the carraige stopped and she was hit rather hard in chin so she would fall to her side and the man could grab her by the chains and drag her on the pavement "you will pay for your sins demon" she spat as he dragged her through the jail

"Tae Paer Saji O!!!" (may death take you) she yelled at them, her native language was the only comfort she had as they strung her to the cieling bars so her feet hung off the ground 4 inches.

she kicked wildly before giving up and she growled 'this is not the way i will go out!!!!' she thought after hours though her hope was dwidling as much as her strength in her arms and bleeding wrists

"Jhori air tia caedaes, sai cos Ai eis tharer..." (Life is my keeper, to him i am faithful.) she repeated over and over in the tongues of old to her people. as the gaurds walked back and forth she remained motionless

'why does he abandon me ...' she thought and felt a warm embrace 'i abandon no child, my dearest meago' his voice flooded her with a sense of relief 'i have been with you since birth, my brightest star. i wish one task upon you...' "anything!" she yelled making the gaurd stop and stare at her 'i pass judgement onto you my child, take life from those who are not worthy, and i will always be with you' she felt the warm of the gods lips on her forhead as the chains fell. she nodded her head and raced towards the bars kicked them and slamming then right from teh wall onto the gaurd. she grabbed his keys from hsi belt and ran towards a holding closet, she grabbed her weapons and ran from the building, she kept running until her feet where num 'i will not disappoint him!' her smile was beaming. she had met her god once, when she was in the temple they where taught how to meditate and call upon gods strength to keep them from straying. and once when she was young, he had appeared at their temple, given her the weapons she held so firmly, and told her that she was of great value. because of this ego boost she had counted herself higher rank then the others in her class. and didnt mind showing it.

she took in a deep breath before looking through her cloth, it was there for a reason, she could sense the chi energy of anyone who wasnt pure human through it. her eyes darted back and forth before she saw a little red dot walking in the distance but the cloth's powers where not infinit, they had to be soaked in holy water and prayed for after a certain ammount of time or it was just a useless piece of cloth. she pulled the cloth around her neck and proceeded to snicker and pull her hood over her features walking into public smoothly and calmly without being noticed. she walked forward until she heard yelling of police then she quickened her pace and ducked right into a man dressed as police, he seemed to be having a hard time of walking though as he had nearly toppled into her. she grabbed him in a hold around his neck and yanked him into the alley pulling him further and further into uninhabbited darkness and away fromt he crowd "listen... i need to get out of this district and into the nearest temple... you will help me or you will die right now" she said into his ear. "do you understand?"

(Yay Ama!! Now I can get the ball rolling *metaphorically of course*! Sorry if this is kinda long )
When he was suddenly grabbed his vision settled back into its original state as he was dragged into the alley by the stranger. It was a woman, he could tell by the voice, but not Akiko. Katsuo’s eyes narrowed when she ordered him to get her out of there and take her to some temple.
‘As if there isn’t enough going on.’ He thought, his impatience getting the better of his control over his mouth.
“That’s a pretty big demand miss.” He grumbled then pressed the heel of his foot down hard on her foot, using the moment delay to shift his weight to the side and break from the hold. He took a step back from her and took a stance for a fight if one arose. “But threatening me with death? I’ve got bigger things to worry about.” When he blinked and suddenly everything was back to that strange colored vision. It was only for a split second but the aura of color around her was one of a very light blue one that almost hurt his eyes a little to look at. He was left a little startled when his vision went back to normal and he stared uneasily back at her. That was when he noticed the ears and the…horns? ‘What the hell is she?’ He thought, especially when his hackles rose at the odd feeling he got from her. Something about it spelled something out of the ordinary. His brow furrowed but his frown didn’t falter, even when he heard the guards not too far away, barking out orders to “find the convicts.”
"I don't have time to screw around here with you. What makes you think I'd help you?" He huffed half to himself, half turning towards the alleys entrance. 'I've got to find Akiko and get the hell out of here.' He thought though wasn't sure exactly where to even start looking for her, not when he had this chick to deal with.
~~~
(Kay now to add some action!)
Gema blinked watching Akiko leave with certain confusion. How could she help someone that was a killer, a murderer, regardless of some debt?! She shook her head and was about to turn and head back to her father’s shop till she felt a stabbing pain hit her heart. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, coughing up blood and gasping for a breath. This had happened before, multiple times throughout herlife that seemed to get worse and worse. The doctors had proclaimed it an incurable illness of hers that was soon to kill her if not fixed. And though she suffered through tremors and immense pain, no one in the crowd seemed to notice her. The only person that did stop was a dark cloaked figure that seemed to appear from nowhere.
“Poor thing, seems you reached the end of your life span.” A female voice cooed before kneeling beside Gema. She placed a pale hand on Gema’s cheek, with skin that felt cold to the touch and made Gema shiver in response.
“I-I don’t want to die.” Gema cried, the disparity and fear crippling her. That fear and desparity to live was just what the cloaked woman secretly wanted, as she smiled ever so slightly.
“And you don’t have to die, not yet, child. I have a greater purpose for you.” Just like the woman wanted, Gema nodded, instantly wishing with all her being for anything but death. It was quick and painless, Gema’s vision blacking out as her soul transformed. The last thing she felt, was an ripping sensation that seemed to separate her from her body before the world and consciousness faded.
~~~
A group of guards ran past Akiko shouting out orders over the noise of the crowd. One ran into her and nearly sent her to the ground. He caught her shoulder and tried his best to steady her. “Sorry, Y-You wouldn’t by chance have seen a man that looks like this?” He held up a wanted poster with Katsuo’s face on it before frowning. “Oh, and a woman-wearing odd clothing. Very shifty looking?-” He asked.
Suddenly a loud roar interrupted him before he could speak again and not too far off screams of terror filled the crowds. People instantly scattered away from something the square, causing mayhem and chaos to spread like wild fire over the terrified citizens. A large monstrous creature that had the looks of a large ugly red beast crushed a vendor’s stand by bounding on it, its jowls dripping with the blood of a man it had just attacked.
“Tainted soul!” A woman shrieked as she ran past the guard and Akiko with her child in tow. The guard looked petrified with everyone else before taking off in a sprint in the opposite direction of the beast, leaving Akiko alone. The creature sniffed the air and instantly its eyes locked on Akiko. The strange thing was the eyes were all too human, a beautiful crystal blue that seemed too soft to be twisted into that of a blood thirsty creature.
‘Kill her! Kill the Sealer!’ A voice hissed in its head and the creature leapt from the rubbled of the shop and blood and made its way towards Akiko with the intent to kill.

Akiko looked at the monster with shock and surprise. She quickly leaped away from the monster. She looked around for Gema, but didn't see her. She then realized that the monster was Gema and that something happened to her. "Gema, please! Stop this!" she shouted at the monster, hoping to reach the girl deep down inside. 'Katsuo, where are you?' she also pondered.

"I DONT HAVE TIME FOR YOU!!!" she yelled at him her eyes turning to a bright blue she pulled her weapons from her back , her crystals hanging off of her clothing and jewlery began to glow aswell and she looked in a different direction. one filled with screams "you are lucky... it seems i dont need your help in finding my target" she raced away from Katsuo spinning her weapons she darted past people who where running. she reached the demonic looking gema and stopped infront of her

"Sor shor shi eil ael sai si merysol" (this will be an end to the sufforing) suddenly without warning she started hacking away at the dark form "you are of my kind... but tainted..." she whispered as she lept side to side delivering blows "and i promised... to never let that happen, through death is life... accept it" she said stopping her attacks black blood dripping through her blades drizzling onto her feet as she huffed getting ready for her next attack

Katsuo didn't know wether to be shocked or thankful that odd girl had run away. The only downside was she ran off because of that loud roar and the mass sounds of panic coming from not too far off. 'Again, I really need to get the hell out of here.' he thought with a sigh before darting in the direction of the chaos. When he reached the nearly empty space of the square he found Akiko and the other girl battling it out with a rather large rogue tainted soul. The girl was doing a number on the thing but didn't seem to be getting any true effect in stopping it. The soul just kept shifting and fighting, not really caring that it looked like a bloodied mess of torn flesh and muscle.
He first went over to Akiko to make sure she was alright.
"Akiko, back me up with that lightning trick of yours. We need to get rid of this thing before it hurts anyone else-" he paused and noticed how Akiko was looking at the monster and frowned a little. "Something up?" Another roar from the tainted soul drew his attention back to the fight.
Whatever was left of Gema was fading fast, leaving the fear as the fuel for her now tainted soul. She snarled at Meago in a way challenging her to come any closer to her with those blades of hers.
Her target was Akiko, the voice in her head kept telling her that but this woman was getting in the way. She would have to get rid of her first. Gema leapt forward at Meago and swipe at her with jagged claws that were sharp enough to cut her in half. Instead her claws caught a nearby wagon and the stone road, sending rock showering everywhere. She tried to snap at her but stopped mid lunge and fumbled to the ground with a yelp. A section of her hind leg had a deep gash were Katsuo's sword had struck, but it wasn't as devastating a blow as it would have been on a smaller soul. Gema still got back up with a loud snarl as she tried to attack again with a blind rage at whatever got in her way though she had a pronounce limp.

"THIS WILL END!" meago ran forward with a bare hand slicing into the tainted souls chest she pulled from it the pieces of a pure soul, when the darkness engulfed her slicing around her she kept the sould right ot her own chest until the black fell and the light of day was left. "through death..." she whispered looking at the battered and torn soul "is life" with the small magic she could cast the soul started to bind together until it was almost whole again. she grabbed her water looking husk around her waist and the soul slipped in easily

"now..." she said looking up at Katsuo with a bloodied mouth and torn shoulder "you going to take me to a temple to release this soul or not?!?" she huffed rubbing her soft cow ear in pain from where it had been struck

"i need to get out before anyone else finds me in this human world" "i have three souls to deliever to Kyr." ((kyr means god btw... if you dont kno what lang ive been using its elvish lol >.< i kno im laame lol))

Akiko helped Katsuo fight the tainted Gema until Meago finished the job. She looked down at Gema's prone form, in shock and in sorrow. She looked at Katsuo, tears in her eyes. "...." she then hugged Katsuo and let the tears fall, having been partially traumatized by the experience.

Meago turned to look at the two before she let her frown harden into a glare as she cleaned her blade 'theres nothing i can do to relate... so you shouldnt even try' she thought taking a step towards a barrel of water dunking her arm into it to get the blood away from her cut. she splashed some on the spots where she had gotten splashed with the demons blood and turned slidding her weapons into their holsters "....please" she said after a moment looking like the words utterly hurt her to say it "its in the best interest of... your friend here-" she said holding up the pouch with the souls in it "if we get to that temple..."

Katsuo's face fell blank in surprise when Akiko started crying and suddenly crying. He awkwardly held her for a moment, giving her head a light pat. "Just-uh-It's okay.” He said, frowning slightly. He wasn’t good with consoling people, especially not women in tears. But he would give it a try to help Akiko cope. So they could move on of course…. “Think of this as why our jobs are important. So, people don’t have to live like that. As cliché as this sounds, she’s in a better place.” He murmured, then cleared his throat. “Now don’t cry so much.” He said gruffly but his expression was soft as he pulled away from her.
He looked to Meago and examined her shoulder and the soul pouch. “Alright, it’s not that far from here.” He motioned to her shoulder, “The priests there could take a look at your shoulder for you.”
‘And it will be the best place to wait out the guards.’ He thought.
He noticed people around them began returning from their hiding places, most of them staring at the three of them with fearful eyes. Next came the calls of “demons”, “death’s dogs”, “life’s liars”, “someone call the guards”, alerting Katsuo it was time for them to leave. “Let’s get going.” He moved towards a cart that was beginning to leave and paid off one of the men loading it to let them on. “They’ve agreed to get us out of the city, we’ll have to walk to the temple.” He told them offering to help them onto the back of the cart.

meago scoffed at his hand and jumped up onto the cart with ease slidding to the back of the cart and sitting pulling her hood back up over her head "demon... how dare they mistake my gifts to be demonic.. " she mumbled folding her arms. the truth was it did hurt her. she was one of the only creators at the temple she was trained at. and was always told that the features of the cow was a curse, that she was ugly and disliked by the god. she knew better. she was chosen by her god and loved by him. there was no way that her only parent her only love would ever do anything that wouldnt make her stronger.

she took the cloth around her neck and rubbed it softly against her chin and lips feeling its silky touch calmed her. it reminded her of her gods silky kiss on her forehead. 'travelers are only temporary' she thought looking at the two 'but they will slow me down..'

Katsuo glared a bit towards Meago and shrugged before taking Akiko's hand and pulling her up to join them. "After we reach this temple I say we ditch this chick." He grumbled loud enough for Meago to hear as he sat beside Akiko with his arms folded. He looked towards Akiko who was being rather silent and sighed as a way to get her attention."Hey Akiko, I needed to tell you something. Look, I'm sure you heard it from that Gema girl and most likely half the town, but the royal guard thinks I killed someone important. It's probably alot for me to ask you to trust me, but believe me when I say I didn't do it-I couldn't have-not to-" He stopped himself from rambling and looked at the floor for lack of anything else to look at. The cart was silent a moment as they passed through the first city wall and were headed towards the outer reaches of the defense wall. The guards over looked the merchants cart, having bigger things to worry about with all the panic that had started over the tainted soul showing up, missing fugitives and the presence of Death's and Life's warriors causing trouble.
After a moment he looked back at Akiko with a small smile. "So, still thinking about traveling around with me?" He asked, remembering what Death had told him. She wanted him and Akiko to solve this problem of her's. He meant to tell her about what Death had told him but now just seemed like a bad time, especially with this new girl hanging around.
"So got a name?" He asked the girl with the cow ears though he honestly didn't care. He was just giving Akiko time to mull over her choices to leave or stay.

"meago..." she grumbled "what about you two... akiko and..." she said and blinked realizing that they would know she was eavesdropping by already knowing akiko's name

"sorry... you guys just talk loudly..." she mumbled her ear twitching as it folded and pressed to her head while she rested her head on his knees with an almost pout on her face

(eep too many study guides to finish and so little time!)
Katsuo shrugged. "Really I didn't notice." He said then noticed her pout. He was a little confused by it but not enough to ask why. "I'm Katsuo and yeah, this is Akiko." He said and gave her a half smile. "I would say its nice to meet you, Meago, but there was a pretty rocky first impression, don't you think?" He gave her a look of question. "Any particular reason why you were so hell bent on getting out of the city that quickly?"

Akiko wiped the tears from her eyes and got into the cart. She heard Katsuo explain himself and talk about ditching Meago. "....I don't think we should ditch her....She did help us with Gema....." she said somewhat softly, still feeling depressed over Gema's transformation and death. She looked at Katsuo and smiled weakly. "I believe you," she said, "You helped me when you could have just run away....No murderer would do something like that." She turned and looked at Meago. Something didn't feel right about the girl, but Akiko was willing to give her a chance. Should she betray them.....Akiko will deal with her herself.