~+Ying.&.Yang+~

"ah" he said and looked at the ribbon and stopped rubbing it "my mother said that when i was given to her, i had this ribbon tied around my arm" he said and held it up

"its just..." he felt a frown hit his face "a piece of string" he mumbled and smoothed it gently one more time before balling it up in his fist

"its just a silly piece of string" he said and looked up at hiro

"i want to know more about our situation. did your teacher tell you anything about what we have to do?" he asked curiously as he dodged the question of his ribbon

Hiro shrugged at the question, kind of sensing something was off with the topic of the ribbon. He thought back on the time at the tea house, how Zen had told him he wanted to find where he was from. Hiro knew he shouldn't pry into Zen's life when he didn't even know him that well, it wasn't the best thing to do. "You know as much as I do. Only that we're protecting some kind of balance at a time of great need, something we have to train for. It's odd though, I mean the world doesn't look like it's in turmoil." he said, moving to his bed and flopped back on it. "Then again I've been stuck in a religious city. The most news that comes through there is if some new vision predicted rain." He said with a sigh. "So, a new temple, a new lesson. Think this one will be even more challenging?"

zen fell back on the bed limply "i hope so... maybe one where it takes more then 5 minutes to end the lesson" he said and watched as hiro laid down

"goodnight" he said and turned on his side still lightly tracing the ribbon for a little bit before closing his eyes and falling asleep

they where woken up rather rudely by the monks rushing around. before zen even had time to rub his eyes they where handed supplies and shoved out of the temple "goodluck!" the monk called before the doors slammed behind them and they where both standing dazed and confused in the snow. zen didnt even realize that he had had a loaf of bread shoved into his mouth and it was hanging out of his mouth groggily as he grumbled yawning nearly dropping the bread

"what the helll..." he grumbled setting down the ton of crap that had been shoved in his hands. he pulled out a map and saw the little red dot that was their next location "ok so... we go down the mountain and then around... causen in the winter the pass through is closed. itll take a day or two longer but i dont see the problem. ahh! we are getting close to the Shin-Lee bath house!!!" he yelled excitedly "ahh... but its out of the way.. i guess maybe after this temple we should.... go see if there is balance at the bath house!" he said with a bright smile taking a bit of the bread shoving all the items into the large backpack taking the things from hiro aswell and pulling the backpack on

"ill hold the stuff. i need to keep my strength up " he said and took another bite before handing the bread to hiro

"you hold the map~!" he said and started walking down the mountain cheerfully

"common slow poke!" he called already almost halfway down

Hiro grumbled to himself as he tried to steady himself on the path. The stones and dirt were wet with melting snow and some patches of ice still were in the way. He slipped and slid, his light frame catching the ice and causing him to stumble. And it didn't help that he was tired as hell. He cursed under his breath at Zen's cheerfulness, especially the fact that he was able to walk on this path weighted down and quickly. Hiro didn't want to have to make Zen carry all of the stuff but he didn't have room to argue. In fact the only thing he really had to do was mess with the map, not exactly much. He should have been frustrated or felt useless but he wasn't exactly complaining. "Hey, turn here, I think it's suposed to be right." He said and took a turn. He slammed to a halt and stumbled a bit when he ran into a broken bridge and a river bellow. "Shit, you've got to be kidding me."

"ah..." zen looked over the bridge and immediately jumped backwards after seeing the water "alright um... well we cant cross so we should find a different way, is there another bridge around?" he asked even though the current in the rive was one that they could easily get through

Hiro raised an eyebrow at Zen, the look obviously unimpressed. The water didn’t look to deep and seemed crossable. Then again wouldn’t the water be really cold? Was Zen’s reaction over the thought of getting sick because of being wet in the cold weather? He shrugged it off, not really wanting to wade in freezing water either. “Hmm, I’m not seeing any others…” He said and looked on the map then around them. A small trail was barely visible, one that Hiro had to squint to see in all the brush from the dead trees that covered it. “Well, there’s a smaller trail, that might lead us to the same place if we continue down a bit further towards the east. Seems like a hassle though and I can’t see it on the map...” He said seriously considering just going across the river.

"sounds good!" he said and started walking down the path 'ah... water' he thought a frown tugging at his face as soon as he had turned away from hiro

after walking forever zen stopped and felt a vibration under his feet "did you-" he said turning only to get knocked off his feet by one of those huge monsters again. he slammed into a tree with a grunt and shook his head snow flying in all directions he dropped the bag and pulled out his sword.

"HIRO!" he yelled and jumped infront of hiro blocking the blow towards hiro with his sword

"now would be an awesome time to use your fire" he grunted as he slide against the weight of the beast in the snow as he used his sword to brace against it the blade not effecting the tough skin on its arms and legs

Hiro jumped when Zen suddenly was thrown away and the intitial shock of the attack left him imobile for a moment before his concentration returned to what he had to do. And he couldn't fight down the angry spell it brought over him. "Ah hell-you'd think that-not even one moment of gosh damn peace around here!" He hissed the fire instantly lighting and forcing the demon back with a wave of fire that washed over Zen without causing harm. The demon jumped back from the flames and Hiro hit him with another powerful hit. The monster roared at him and the snow around them had dissapeared. A flame snaked its way up Zen's sword heating it to a skin melting tempurature before fading and taking up a floating ring around Hiro. "See this is why I hate snow-AND why you don't use un marked trails!" He huffed, not really mad with Zen just the situation.

"ahh." zen said when the pressure of the weight had lifted. he swung his sword before running forward stabbing the monster in the stomach ripping to the side he jumped onto its back. he ran as it swatted at him and he reached the head driving the burning blade into its neck sending it to the ground.

zen huffed watch from the melted snow making his long hair cling to his back face and shoulders

"ehh..." he mumbled with a quick flick of his sword the blood falling from it "yes, but think of it as a good deed, its apparently our job to get rid of these things now, so... that makes one less" he said with a weak smile trying to find the silver lining in everything

"itll be ok" zen said and picked up the backpack again shifting it more comfortably on his shoulders.

"hey..." he said and noticed that a fallen tree had fallen across the river from their battle

"think we could cross on that?" he asked with a sideways smile. he headed down and stepped lightly testing it

"seems safe enough. come on" he said and took a few steps then froze when he looked down at the water. he let out a yelp and darted to the other side nearly falling off he panted his eyes wide as he hit the ground on the other side. he rolled in the snow happy he had made it to the other side without falling

Hiro watched Zen and saw the whole thing. He was so lost on the situation however and thought the yelp and scramble for the other side was because he was hurt or something. "Zen?" He called before walking across the log swiftly and over to where he laid in the snow. The guy seemed pretty damn happy for someone who he thought was injured. "You alright?" He asked skeptically. He wasn't sure what it was but he had an inkling of a thought that it had something to do with the water...

"yeah... i just prefer ground to water, anyday!" he said and smiled sitting up shaking the snow out of his hair. he realized how foolish he had been and stood up with a clear of his throat "well i suppose we are on our way then" he said and started walking again.

they walked until the snow under their feet turned to dirt and then to grass and the temperature had increased dramatically. zen took in a deep breath of the dry air and smiled "nice and warm now~!" he said and looked around "so ~ what does the map say? where are we?" he asked shading hsi eyes with his hand and looking around the large opening they where standing in

Hiro actually smiled at the warm breeze that tugged at his hair. He loved warm weather, the feel of the sun. It was just something about the heat that made him feel so comfortable, un like in that frozen waste land. "Ah, let me see." He looked at the map and noticed the red circle was only a good two miles away. And even better it was by a lake. "We're not far. A little while longer and we'll be at Ogawa lake. It seems the temples near there.."
(COuldn't tell if you wanted a beach area or a lake?)

(lake is perfect)

zen nodded and saw the lake on the eastern most side of the clearing with the temple on a hill just on the other side of the lake

"i think i see it~" he said and cheerfully started walking

when they reached the town and walked up to the temple he blinked seeing all the balance symbols hanging around the village and up the temple stairs

"well..." he started but the monks flooded out of the temple with confetti balloons and other celebratory decorations being flung

"THE RETURN OF THE BALANCE" they all screamed and zen actually jumped a little grabbing his hilt

'what the hell..' he mumbled as the rest of the town chimmed in

Hiro was surprised to see the town so quiet while being this decorated, but was taken aback when they all started parading their arrival. He even stepped closer to Zen as the people swarmed them.
"What's going on here-?" He tried to ask a monk but the man was simply grinning from ear to ear at him.
"They look kind of scrawny to be the balance, mommy." A kid of around 10 said to his mother in a loud whisper before she could scold him. Hiro glared at the kid right before a man threw confetti in his face. The confetti that billowed in the air near him and some that was trapped in his hair, burned away as his temper got the better of him.
"Will you all just calm down and let us get to the temple already!" He snapped and looked to the now startled monk that had once been grinning. "You-Have you all lost your damn minds? " He said with eyes narrowed dangerously.

"ahh..." zen said and put an arm around hiro "what he ment so say is... you really shouldnt have gone through so much trouble! thank you all so much!!" he said and they continued to cheer but a little more cautiously

"be calm hiro, they are just being friendly" he said and kept his arm drapped on hiros shoulders

"thank you all but we really are very tired! we have been traveling all day!" zen said and the monks hushed the crowd and escorted them back into the temple

"its so lovely to see you both! we have the traditional garments just as your past lives left them!" he said as they walked to the back of the temple

"ah... dead people clothes... awesome" zen said with a bit of a shiver

Hiro's anger was stifled when he felt the pressure of Zen's arm on his shoulders. He was sure why, because normally he would have been pissed with the person. But for some reason Zen's words actually did stick. He took a deep breath and followed obediently though the monk in front started spouting some craziness about keeping their clothes from a past life. "I didn't even know I had a past life.." He said in response to Zen's unease at the clothes. He looked around at the temple and realized how open it was with gaps in the roof to let in sun and bright colors tying the place to a happy spring like setting. It was the only thing he could notice without feeling strange for being comfortable being with Zen.

zen walked with hiro until the monk led them to a shrine with two stone statues of men with two robes on them.

the man pulled the robes off the statues and handed them to both of them bowing

"our great lords!" he mumbled and zen raised an eyebrow looking at the black and white clothing they had. he pulled hiro with him into a near by room so they could both get dressed without the monks watching.

when they walked out the monks gasped and clapped. they were pretty traditional clothes, zens shirt lay much more open though the sleeves short while hiro's was a much better fit in the chest and was long sleeved.

"the eye of strength" the man said and put a purple stoned necklace that had a green gem in the middle stone around hiro's neck then he turned to zen

"the ring of fire" he said and slipped the tiger eye ring on zens finger

"i think you have it backwards... he's the one with the fire ability and im the one with the strength" zen started as he reached to pull the ring off and the mink yelped

"nono! you wear the opposite of your strongest point. they have a bond with Ying and Yang, they let each of you know when the other is in trouble. some say they even have telepathic abilites when close to one another!!!" the monk raved clapping excitedly

zen looked at the ring and then back at hiro and mouthed 'crazy' to him

Crazy was right. Hiro hadn't been in a situation more odd in his entire life. But what could he do but accept it, he was apparently Yang after all. He lifted up an arm to examine the outfit before his eyes fell to the necklace around his neck. With this he can tell if Zen is in trouble? And now apparently could read his mind? He shook his head slightly. 'Yeah right.' he thought then looked to the over ecstatic monk. "I don't get it, why do we have to have all this. Aren't we just supposed to train and get the heck out of here?" He said, not wishing to draw more attention of both humans and those demon things by wearing this get up.

"oh yes training will begin later but now is a time of celebration for our village! the protectors are here to stay!" he said and zen frowned but when they where led to a huge outdoor table that was covered every inch with food he felt his eyes get wide and a huge smile pull across his face

"ahhhh i think we can rest for a bit eh hiro?" he said and quickened his pace sitting at oneo f the two spots at the head of the table where 'ying and yang' were suppose to sit. zen immediately started chowing down eating his body weight or at least thats what he felt

the villagers would come up and place more food or gifts on the table as they ate with the monks and then zen felt a tap on his sleeve and he stopped and looked down at a little girl. her face bright red she offered a small beaded bracelete with long tassles.

"oh? for me?" he asked and she nodded and he took it putting it on his arm ruffling her hair

"thank you very much-" he started and she suddenly shouted

"i love you!" and then ran off

zen blinked and looked at hiro "ahhh...."

the monk smiled and chuckled slightly "children are told the story of how you saved our village from darkness, your are a great protector to us we will never forget what your past lives have done." he said and zen nodded and looked at the little beads. it was obviously made by a child but he felt a very strong feeling of responsibility wash over him when he wore it. "i understand then..." zen mumbled trailing into thought 'its not a game anymore..'

"your sleeping quarters are on the top floor i hope they are to your liking. tomorrow we will begin your training." he said and the monk walked away. zen took a sip of his drink before looking back at hiro and feeling something hot hit his own face

"ah... i like the colors of the bracelete. thats it..." he said took another drink of the lovely plum sake in his cup

Hiro watched the exchange and felt a small smile come to him at the sight. It was adorable, though he wouldn't say it aloud. "Yeah, a nice gift from a fan." He said taking a drink. He was feeling a bit more relaxed now that he knew what was going on. They were important to these people, maybe to everyone. But he couldn't help the feeling that he liked it better when things weren't this complicated. But at least he didn't have to worry about this alone. He glanced at Zen and felt that he could rely on him. It was odd but he could sense it. "Oi, and don't eat too much ya know, you don't want to get sick." He said noticing how the people kept refilling the food Zen ate.

zen stopped and looked at the plate "i was wondering why the more food i ate the more appeared..." he said with a chuckle. after about an hour of drinking and eating zen hiccuped and stood "thank you all very much for the meal~" he slurred bowing and stumbling towards the temple again.

"he said *hiccup* upstairs, right hirooo?" he said dragging the o's out as his pink face looked at hiro while he fought to keep his balance

Hiro wasn't much of a drinker, unless he was distraught. So at the moment he was fairly sober but Zen on the other hand...Hiro saw him stumble and having trouble trying to keep walking correctly. He even didn't see the slight step down that lead out of the back area and towards the temples grand stairs. "Zen-san, careful!" He reached out and took Zen's hand to to keep him from falling off the step before helping steady him. "Jeez, so much touble. These tile floors are slick so please be more careful." He said to him and coaxed him to the stairs. "And now we have to go up stairs...great." He muttered under his breath and looked to Zen. "Come on the rooms are up here I'm guessing." He said tugging on his hand to lead him upstairs before he ended up slipping and getting hurt. 'So much for reliance.' He thought, not really meaning it. He still found Zen's company nice, even when he had this much to drink.

"ahhh... hiro-sama" he mumbled leaning into him as he looked wide eyed at the stairs

"its so far away!" he dragged himself up the stairs holding onto hiro's hand when they reached the top it was just one large room with brightly colored piles of cushions everywhere and a few oil lamps but the ceiling was filled with paper lamps. there where no real walls just drapes over the openings. zen smiled at the largest pile of pillows and simply fell back but held onto hiro's hand taking him with him

"ahh... so comfy hiro..." he said with a yawn. he let go of hiro's hand and pulled the ribbon from his hair looking at it with a smile before grabbing hiro's hand tieing the ribbon sloppily on one of hiro's fingers. "keep it safe for me?" he said and closed his eyes with a sigh his hands still loosely clasping hiro's

Hiro was surprised by the room and relieved that there was some form of light. He however was even more surprised when Zen pulled Hiro with him to floor. Though Hiro's eyes had widened in shock before they hit the pillows, his expression held a bit of annoyance. "Zen-don't just-" He began to say as a way of getting onto him for sending them both to the floor. But he was stopped by Zen suddenly taking his hand and tying that ribbon of his around his finger. "Keep it safe for me?" The question made him blink, all annoyance washing away as he watched Zen close his eyes.
"Ah, Zen, I don't think that's a good idea." he said but Zen seemed to be out like a light. Hiro was silent a moment before he realized his hand was still held by Zen. He pulled it away gently but caught a glimpse of Zen's messy tying skills. He straightened it out all the while confused as to why Zen would trust him with an object he treasured. Hiro shook the thought of to drunkenness and let a hand glide to his cheek. The cheek felt warm to his touch, so much more than usual. 'maybe I'm a little off myself...' he thought, not quiet understanding he was blushing. A breeze came in mixed with the warm and fresh scents of nature he loved, sending him to sleep quickly and still unknowingly close to Zen.

zen felt his eyes flutter open when one of the curtains moved letting in a stream of light

"ahh..." he grumbled softly turning to see hiro still asleep and almost touching his nose.

zen instantly felt heat hit his face and he blinked and looked at the ribbon around hiro's hand. he smiled slightly and then sat up careful not to wake hiro and walked to the bathroom to wash up,

he pulled the robes back on pulling a brush through his long hair walking back to the sleeping hiro "ahh. wake up" he said and gently shook hiro's shoulder

"we should get ready for training" he said with a smile extending an apple out to hiro for breakfast