A meeting in the restaurant [Yuriko]

Slowly his arms would wrap around her as he rubbed her head slowly and gently as he continued to comfort her, the feeling of her crying on his shoulder was enough to make him sad and even frown as she apologized to him. He would stop rubbing her head as she continued to speak to him and when she had finished he would cup her chin and kiss her before looking into her eyes," Yuriko you have nothing to be sorry about and with today being our first meeting i do not expect you to just tell me everything. If you have things you do not want to tell me that is fine for i will wait until you are comfortable to tell me what it is you want. We all have our secrets, but no matter what i will stay by your side and comfort you," he would give her a small smile as he continued to hold her.

His arms would wrap around her small frame again and hold her close to him, enough to where she could feel his heart beating on her skin if she chose to pay attention to it. He was going to be here for her no matter what and even more he would comfort her until she felt better. Moving his lips to her ear he would smile as he whispered to her," I will be here for you as long as you need me and if you need to cry, yell or let out your frustration on me. I will be the sponge to take everything you are holding in," he would sit and hold her until she had felt better and wanted to talk more to him, but for now his body would be her pillow.

Yaju hadn't been the type to comfort and help someone, but for Yuriko he would let down his shields and do it for her.

Yuriko stayed silent for a long few moments as Yaju comforted her, she was slowly beginning to regain her composure and would soon be calm enough to speak again, but for now she would simply press herself close against his body, listening to his heart beat steadily and inwardly praising any deity above that would listen that he was alive. That he was here, with Yuriko, holding her close and comforting her. She felt for the first time in a long while that she must be blessed by some sort of cosmic being, as there was no way she could truly be this full of luck on her own, that such a good thing could happen to her out of the blue. As Yaju kissed her, Yuriko's eyes closed slowly as her body began to slump as she listened to his words. They made sense, she understood that he was right and perhaps, Yuriko thought, she had been a little childish to rush to conclusions so quickly . . . But how could she help it? She was still so young, and so much had happened to her over the past few days that changed her life completely. With that in mind, could she ever just be normal? She banished the thought from her mind, replacing it with what Yaju had just said, that he would be by her side. It made her feel much better knowing that she would have someone to be by her side no matter what. 

Slowly, her smile formed back upon her face and as he whispered she simply nodded and whispered back, mostly speaking into his chest due to her position but loud enough that he would likely hear. "I think I am fine now, Yaju . . . But thank you . . . Thank you so much . . . For everything." As she spoke, Yuriko's hand cautiously went to one of his and attempted to intertwine, as she began to drift off, both the exhaustion from the outburst and comfort from Yaju causing her to do so. Soon enough, she was fast asleep, her breathing becoming deep and slow. She smiled softly in her sleep, a sign that she was now much better, and that perhaps things would be that way from now on . . . 

Yuriko slept soundly, not stirring at really any sound or movement for a long while. Though occasionally her eyes would bat open as if she was awake, but they merely gazed around her surroundings before drifting close once more. She did talk in her sleep, as well, though most were things that were rather plain such as: "Mother . . . Can I have another cup of tea?" --- "I do like chocolate, thank you for asking . . . " --- Among other things, save for the very last thing she mumbled before her sleep deepened completely: "I love you, Yaju . . . "

It was something when Yaju, the one who had went through most of his life without the love of anyone unless his mother had given it to him could embrace someone so lovingly and tender enough to calm them down and listen to reason. It was times like this that made him see that through his animistic tendencies and no fucks attitude he still had a heart and even more so he had the ability to love.  His ears flickered happily as she thanked him and a smile formed on his face as he locked fingers with her and held her hand," You are welcome Yuriko...its been a while since i have felt my own heart pump his loud and hard...you have certainly made this wolf howl in happiness and i thank you for allowing me to meet you," a soft chuckle would leave his lips as he looked down to see her falling asleep.

Slowly he would pick her up into his arms while being careful not to wake her," I guess she tired herself out after all..i do not blame her after all, she is one cute girl," his head would tilt as he listened to her speak in her sleep. At first he would wonder what she was talking about until she had said something that made him stop in his tracks as a large smile came on his face," I love you as well Yuriko and sweet dreams," planting a soft kiss on her forehead he would take her to the room she would be sleeping in, taking the time to slowly place her inside of it and cover her up.

Silently he would walk out of the room before turning around and looking at her with a smile on his face knowing that good things could come from this in the future if they allowed it to grow. Closing the door slowly until it was cracked he would walk over to his room where he would sit on the bed and stare at the wall only to lay down on the bed. Although he wasn't tired he had a lot of things on his mind and something more precious to protect no matter what. Seeing this as a new motivation for him, he would smile knowing that the future would bring him something great.

Yuriko awoke with a start several hours later, having slept most of the way through the night but having felt a strange force drawing her awake, and then slowly after that out of bed. She donned her dress carefully, replacing the swim-suit she had been wearing with the elaborate Gothic style of her dress as she then glanced at herself in the mirror, offering a faint smile to herself before leaving the room quietly, descending the stairs and slowly beginning to move toward the entrance of the home. Yuriko would normally never go out during the night, for she had in the past been deathly afraid of the dark, a fear truly only eased by the jutsu that she had created to combat it. 

With that in mind, she softly uttered "Shiryoku no Kyu" as a small sphere of yellow-tinted light formed above her palm, levitating above it as she walked like a sort of lantern without a handle, or a light-bulb without a shade. While the light was admittedly not very bright, it did enough to ease her fear as well as light the way for her enough as she turned the knob as carefully as she could and began to walk out, toward the depths of the caves where a force unknown at the time awaited . . . Biding time. Perhaps the strangest thing of it all to Yuriko was not the fact that the force was drawing her closer, but the aura which it held was very similar to her Mother's, which only deepened her desire to find the source. 

She would likely not have noticed if Yaju had seen her leaving, or heard her, as her mind was too transfixed on the simple thought of moving closer and closer to this force, to embrace it. To hold it. No matter what, she would do so, Yuriko thought to herself as slowly a red light came into view and then slowly, illuminated by the soft glow of her Orb, a blade stuck within the wall. 

Smiling softly to herself for some unknown reason, her mind going blank of all things but the blade, she approached it carefully yet deliberately. Reaching out to touch the hilt that was now clearly made of some type of bone.

Yaju was currently unaware of Yuriko leaving the house due to him being on the opposite side of where he was doing something to his curse seal to keep it in check and furthermore to make sure that he doesn't lose himself. Being in the lower levels of the caves, he would be surrounded by an unique circle that would keep his chakra suppressed so that anyone would not be able to sense him. With the ritual underway he would perform three hand seals (Hare, Boar, Dragon) as he felt his chakra harden for a moment before stabbing him where the curse seal was and changing its appearance into a set of claw like lines.

He would muffle his agonizing pain long enough to finish the ceremony and from there he would drop to the ground and shudder. It was a pain that he for once that he could not take and furthermore he would stand up slowly, knowing that he needed to do a little more before leaving. With no shirt and only black pants he would go to see where he buried the other "him" and looked at the sword he had used as a marker, knowing what this symbolized for him and nodded," Its time to return to that stage," taking the large sword from the ground he would walk off and seal the area so that no one could ever enter but him.

Having his old sword in his hands he would begin to walk back to the house when he had felt the chakra of Yuriko outside of the house and went to go see what she was doing, but would not reveal himself. Instead once he came to the area in which he was at he would simply watch her with his Byakugan before leaning silently on the cave wall. As he watched and listened he would wait until she was about to turn around and head to the house to seemingly disappear before she would turn the corner and quickly made his way to the house.

Getting there first he would sit the sword into his room and get in the shower, forgetting to close his door. In the event that Yuriko would be coming back to the house she would be able to identify him as being in the shower and if she needed him she could simply call out to him.

As Yuriko gripped the bone hilt of the sword, she let out a high-pitched scream which lasted for only a moment before being muffled by the darkness that quickly surrounded her. Within moments, she was staring at the image of a strange woman with olive skin and dark, jet-black hair, with eyes that were covered by bandages - which seem to be the only things covering her mostly exposed body. The woman in question whispered softly into Yuriko's ear: "You are my new Wielder, Yuriko Nori." before reaching to Yuriko's chest as her hand phased through her body, grasping onto something and slowly pulling it out with excruciating pain. The item in question was revealed to be a white sphere that swirled with energy, reminding Yuriko of one of her many Orbs yet somehow, much more important in nature.

As she stared deeply into the orb, Yuriko realized just how small a life truly was, how little it meant to anything other than a Human. Lives were not a gift given by Gods, but a luxury that humans took for granted, a luxury which this sword wanted to be shared upon her as well, something she desired. It was then that the sword spoke, with a small smile playing upon her face: "So you understand already, Yuriko. Humans take their lives for granted . . . But we---- We can change that. You and I can make them understand a life's true value and perhaps you will be able to use that to your advantage. We can be Goddesses, if given the time. How would you like that, Yuriko? --- You will even have this back--" At this, the blade motioned toward the sphere which now lie in her palm but however was already beginning to absorb into her as if it were never there in the first place. "Your soul will be mine, until you grant me the strength to break free of my bonds, until we gain the power to show all humans just how valuable their lives are. Of course, sometimes the only way to show them . . . is with blood." The blade's human form then knelt in-front of Yuriko, who by this point had dropped to her knees due to fatigue from the immense pain she had experienced, as well as simply awe at the woman before her. Every word she spoke sounded as if it were God herself speaking to her, and perhaps, Yuriko thought: Perhaps she is God, in a way. Finally, it spoke to her the name that had not been told until this moment, it's voice both a hiss and a purr at the same moment in time. "I am Aufero, Ancient Blade of the Darkness. You are my wielder, Yuriko . . . And how lucky you are." --- Yuriko nodded in agreement before her vision suddenly went black and before she could even realize why, she was unconscious.

When she awoke, several moments later, the shadows were gone as well as the human form of Aufero, yet the blade remained by her as if to say: "I am real". With that, Yuriko slowly stood and took the blade in her hands, trudging off in a daze back to Yaju's home, which upon entering she meekly stated, "I'm back . . . " before beginning to ascend the stairs and move to the room, where she would wait if not stopped before then. Her footsteps were not as soft as per usual, but not heavy either, they simply seemed to lack the weightlessness that she had held in her happier state. They held a gloom around them suddenly, but every so often Aufero's words would return to Yuriko and she would smile faintly, remembering that she was blessed, that she had seen a God and was even her instrument. Perhaps, Yuriko thought, This is my destiny.


As she began to walk by the bathroom, the blade continued to emit its pulsing red and black glow, though since it had retained at least a fraction of its former power before being stuck within the wall of the cave, dark energy in the form of shadowy black mist leaked from it and up to the elbow of Yuriko's arm, if seen it would give the appearance at first of her arm simply vanishing part-way into blackness, but upon closer inspection the skin could be seen underneath unharmed, yet still very much mingled with the blackness that befell the blade. 

Yuriko then stopped, turning to look inward to the bathroom as the blade seemed to pulse, inquiring: "May we?" as Yuriko simply shook her head to the deity within the blade. While she may or may not be a Goddess, Aufero would not have the pleasure of hurting Yaju, at least not now. Not after all they had been through in the past few days. In such a short time she had grown to adore him, and even Aufero could sense it within her mind as she made the noncommittal gesture of disagreement. The Goddess within the blade, as Yuriko had deemed her inwardly, simply allowed the decision for now, wanting to at least see the man before casting judgement upon his life. For it was possible that he may be able to assist the two in their quest to show Humans the errors in their ways. 

Yuriko now simply stood there, as Aufero's thoughts slowly leaked into her own, waiting for Yaju to either notice them or wait until he finished his shower where she would be standing in preparation; Not to attack, not quite yet. But to see how much he was truly willing to give for her, for both her and the blade.

The shower had filled is mind with questions that he needed to find out about himself and suddenly he had found himself within a landscape that he had not been to in awhile. Smiling the embodiment of his own feral nature and mind looked down to him and chuckled," So you have finally returned to your roots and have summoned me once again, good to know that the runt can never escape his past," the wolf looked down on him and trapped him within his paws and raised him to eye level. Yaju chuckled and shook his head for a moment," I can never escape the past or even who i am for that matter so why don't i just embrace the feral and make it better, besides i have new plans for us that requires a more...wild touch," chuckling he would return to the outside world and smile.

His red hair would slowly stick to his body as hit seemingly looked like it was longer and more wild, and his yellow eyes had once again returned to their most feral nature as he smiled and scratched his head," Looks like its time for the wolf to return from his Den and this time there is no turning back from this," his eyes would look towards the ceiling and feeling the water hit his face, knowing that once he took this route it would be no turning back. Slowly the water would turn off as he dried himself off except for his hair in which he would step out with only shorts on and the towel over his shoulders.

Sensing or rather smelling Yuriko outside of his room he would look to her and chuckle," You are up awfully early what is the occasion dear? Could you not sleep and you wanted to join me perhaps," his eyes went over to the blade she was carrying for a second and then went back to her before remembering the cave and decided not to say anything about it. He would invite her into his room, sitting down on the edge of his bed while he studied her slowly and looking over to his own blade.

If she were to come in he would relax and look into her eyes for a moment before smiling," So do you have something on your mind dear or is there something else you want to discuss," he didn't know what happened in the caves, but she felt different or rather off in a sense and if he didn't find out why he would just let it play out and see what the results were.

Yuriko's mind buzzed with the thoughts of both her and Aufero, one half of her wanted to blurt out everything that had happened in the caves, how she now felt as if she had a true purpose but also as if she were trapped in a sort of nightmare. The other half wanted to show him, to drag the blade across him softly and whisper out: "Be mine, forever . . . All you have to do is give me your soul and we can be together forever and ever." This of course was mostly Aufero's thoughts mixing in with her own, causing a horrible mixture of both sadism and her love for Yaju, it was almost torture just to think, due to all the images in her mind and all of the words booming forth from the blade whom demanded blood.

Eventually she mustered up enough of herself to speak in at least partially her own words, Yuriko's voice was shaken and clearly between two worlds, but nonetheless she spoke: "I want you to help me, Yaju . . . I need something from you, so that . . . So that nothing bad has to happen, and we can be together." As she spoke, Yuriko turned the blade idly in her hand, moving it around impatiently before eventually bring it up to show him - yet at the same time not relinquishing the blade, being at least an arms length away. "I found a Goddess in the cave, Yaju . . . " She said as a soft smile played across her face, and for only a brief moment she felt the immense pain that taking Aufero had caused, that having her soul wrenched from her body gave her. All of it was so excruciating to the girl who had just learned to love for the first time . . . And already may lose such love.

If perhaps he was close enough, or his senses acute enough to enable it, he could both see the shadows covering Yuriko's sword-wielding hand as well as hear the faint voice of the blade which, for only a moment, spoke not within Yuriko's mind, but aloud. "A soul . . . " Is all that the blade says before falling silent once more, leaving him in silence with Yuriko who simply stared from the blade to him with intense anxiety, already she was appearing very worn from this situation, as the blade was quickly drawing what little stamina she had away from her, beginning to cause fatigue from within. Soon, she would be in no condition to stand, but for now she would do just that, stand there and watch Yaju with intense eyes.

I want you to help me, Yaju . . . I need something from you, so that . . . So that nothing bad has to happen, and we can be together.

Yaju stood up for a moment as he looked from the blade to Yuriko slowly at first before closing his eyes and reopening them, seeming for a second that he was upset, but truthfully he was concerned for what brought about this change in her. Seeing her move the blade around slowly made him wonder if that was what she had claimed from the caves, its scent was definitely of the caves but it held something inside of it that even he could not determine what it was. Slowly he would exhale and take a single step forward," Yuriko what is it that you require from me? I will help you if you need me to, but at least tell me what it is that you require," although at her last bit of her sentence he would blink and settle himself nearly three meters from her," Yuriko we will be together, we already are," giving her a small smile before taking another step forward.


"I found a Goddess in the cave, Yaju . . . "

It was now getting to the point where he was considering taking the blade from her and putting her into his bed so she could rest, something was wrong with her and he could tell as he felt himself moving closer to her out of care he would kneel down in front of her, well aware that she still had this blade in her hands but it didn't matter. For now his eyes would meet hers as rubbed her cheek softly and went to look at the blade. It was at that moment he could see what seemed to be shadows enclosing her hand which would make him slowly move his eyes back up to her before hearing the voice.

Blinking he would pull Yuriko into a hug and hold her, knowing that something had happened to her, but why her of all people was the question on his mind. Moving from the hug he would look into her eyes," What has happened to you dear?," he didn't want to lose his first love this quickly so he moved back and sat on the floor looking at her or more specifically the blade. The growing discontent had begun to show in his eyes as he spoke more directly to the blade itself than Yuriko," what have you done to her?," his eyes staring at the blade with a somewhat hostile intent.

Yuriko meekly accepted the hug, though the hand in which Aufero was held twitched in anticipation, she held the impulse back. The impulse that wanted her to bring the blade through the man she now loved, the same impulse that had made her see the truth of it all and the fleeting nature of her own life, and that of all humans'. She did not speak for a few long moments after he had asked what happened, and when she did her voice sounded pained, yet clear. "I understand so much more now . . ." Yuriko said, as he looked into her eyes, offering a reassuring smile to him. "I never want to hurt you, Yaju . . . That is why I need . . . --" As she spoke the last word, Aufero's voice seem to echo from the blade in unison with hers. "Your soul . . . " 

Upon his query, Aufero replied within Yaju's mind; The same partial-growl of a voice which Yuriko had heard in the cave was in her tone. "I have shown her the truth that none of you Humans seem to understand, soon we will liberate the souls of so many others . . . If you are the first, then Yuriko shall be with you for as long as you live, but if you refuse . . . We will be forced to strike through you or perish doing so." As she finished her speech, Aufero's threat was quite clearly made evident as Yuriko lifted the blade and aimed it toward Yaju, staring ahead at him with both a mixture of pain and seemingly feelings of being betrayed. "You will not help me, will you, Yaju?" Yuriko asked with a frown, then adding. "You do not believe me, do you? . . . I want to free others . . . and you . . . I can bring an end to life being taken for granted, I can make them cherish it as if it were their child."

Yuriko then began to tear up as she cried out: "I love you! I do not want things to end so soon . . . I want to be together forever, and this is the only way . . . So please . . . " Yuriko lowered the blade slowly, keeping it tight in her hand however. "Just let her have your soul . . . and we can never be separated." She finished, staring intently at Yaju as the sword pulsed softly at her side, the darkness around her arm seeming to whirl and twist within the light. Her eyes had already seemed to take on a soft glow to them beyond her natural red, yet now appearing more-so. She waited there for him to respond, or for the blade to command her, either she would listen to, one she would obey without question.