She narrowed her cat-like eyes in his direction as he began to scold her. She saved his life, and yet here he was, telling her it could have been a mistake. Then, a sly look crossed her face. "I knew you couldn't have been a thief or a monster. If you were, you were a horribly one at that since you were the one on the side of the road. So even if you were a monster, you were a novice. And I can handle that." Her arrogance showed, although she was in no mood to brag. Meiko thought of why she was out here, trying to escape the clutches of her brother. She shuddered at the memory, and replied, "No death wish. Just nothing to fear." She grinned widely.

Her grin was wiped clear off her face when he picked her up without warning. She squirmed on his back, her heart pounding fiercely in her ears. "I can walk...!" She whispered loudly in his ear, but ceasing her squirming. If she moved around too much, she would cause the both of them to come tumbling to the wet ground. Her kimono was already dirty enough, she didn't need to be covered in mud as well. "It really was no problem, just put me down and we'll look together." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to keep herself hoisted. Meiko whimpered quietly, fearful he was going to drop due to his lack of strength. "You're still weak San, please put me down. We'll move faster with both of us on our feet." She racked her brain, trying to think of the last place she had seen shelter around here. She couldn't think of anywhere though.

Meiko shared a headache with him, and her muscles in her legs ached as well. When she healed others, however much she healed them, she took fifty percent of that and felt the pain herself. Meiko had to heal San completely, so she was feeling half of the pain he was in. Within a few hours though, the demon blood in her had begun to heal her aching muscles, but there was still a lingering pain. "Well San, it's nice to meet you. Even under these dreary circumstances." She smiled sheepishly and leaned her head back against the thin tree she was resting on. Her short white kimono was wet, but luckily she had a thin velvet red dress under her kimono. She wasn't dressed like a peasant, and she wasn't filthy like one. But she didn't have the look of nobility about her either.

The corner of her plump red lips tugged up into a sly grin as she rose a thin brow to question him. "I'm not sure I can trust you to keep the both of us safe after seeing how you ended up last time you tried to protect yourself." Meiko's eyes slid shut slowly as she rested quietly, but she wouldn't allow herself to fall asleep. "No, I'll just sit here and we'll both get the rest we need." She wanted to light a fire, but the rain was still coming down lightly, and she knew it would die out quickly. The sun was beginning to slowly set on the horizon, night was rushing towards them.

She opened her eyes, revealing golden orbs. In the distance, she could see the faint colors of a fading rainbow. It brought a smile to her face, and she took it as a good omen; Kyto would not find her tonight. "Where are you heading?" She asked him, turning her shimmering golden pools back onto him. "What happened to you out there on the dirt road? Was it a rival, or an enemy? Or just a crew of thieves?" Meiko was curious, it was in her nature. Atop her head, her tiger ears flicked backwards as she awaited his answers.

Meiko blinked in surprise at his question. Money? He wanted to know if she had saved him for the money? Then suddenly, a smile spread across her lips and she started to laugh quietly. She didn't know how to explain it to the boy, but she didn't need any money. How could she tell him she had healed him because she was told it was the right thing to do? To help people in need was just the right thing to do., and she was always taught to do the right thing. Meiko's laughter died shortly after it started, and she smiled at him, her eyes shining brightly.

"I don't need your money, stranger. You don't think that I know your possessions were taken?" She paused, turning her head to gaze out the trees onto the empty road. "Monetary gratitude isn't the thanks I expected. Just give me your name and your company until we're both feeling better to move along, and that will show me your gratitude." Meiko slowly turned her head back to stare at him. "I saved you because it was the right thing to do. I couldn't just pass you by and leave you to sit out in the rain and die. What kind of world are we living in if we can't count on one another to pull us through when we need help?" Meiko asked him, although it could have been a rhetorical question. "So, your name is...?" She spoke slowly and clearly, in case he had not heard her before.

She drew a sharp inhale of breath as a man slinked past the tree she was carefully hidden behind. She held her breath, waiting a few long terrifying moments before he vanished out of sight. A slow sigh escaped from her lips, and then she pressed them together in a thin line as she waited a moment more, making sure the coast was clear. She slipped out from behind the tree, and fluttering her flimsy fairy wings, she took off into the sky.


Meiko landed softly outside the village, peeking into the wooden gates to gaze thoughtfully at the villagers. Most were just peasants, but there were some that held their heads high, they must have been the middle class. She slipped through the gates, tangling herself into the market place crowd. Meiko opened her hand at her side, rubbing her thumb and pointer fingertip together. A bit of bronze dust drifted from her hand, and a bronze coin magically appeared in her hand. She picked up an apple, and handed the false money to the man. In a few hours, it would disappear. She ate the apple quickly, and discarded the core.


She slipped out the other side of the village, walking along a dirt road. A few hours ago, it was sunny out. The weather had taken a turn for the worse however and now it was dark, and rainy. She looked to the side, seeing a hump of clothes against a tree. The head attached to the top of the clothes was angled to the side, and a huge gust of wind brought the scent of blood. Meiko tucked in her fairy wings, making them invisible to others and crossed the distance between the unconscious body and herself.


Meiko knelt down next to him, carefully brushing the blood by his lips away with her thumb. She held his face in her hands, whispering, “Wake up…” She turned his face up towards her, trying to get his attention. She withdrew her hands, spots of blood staining her hands. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she stared down at him, contemplating on what to do. In the end, she cupped both his cheeks in her hands again, and her hands began to glow a brilliant golden red color. She had healed him, but it had cost her her own health.


A few hours later, he had awakened. Meiko had dragged him into the shelter of the forest, protecting him the heavy rain. Meiko was still light headed, but with time, she had gotten better. When he finally awoke, she smiled over at him cautiously, unsure what the outcome would be. “You’re in the forest. Right outside of a village, off the side of the road where I found you.” She paused, licking her bottom lip before shifting against the tree she was sitting against. “Do you remember what happened to you? Why were you all beaten up? You lost a lot of blood, but most of your injuries should be gone. There may be a bit of aching, I can’t take away that pain.” Meiko waited for his response, but quickly added, “My name is Meiko. What’s your name?”