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"I know you," Byakko said, bounding over to Hisoka and squeezing the stiffened and startled boy. "And I know you," he said, flinging himself into Watari's arms, making the scientist giggle with delight. "But who are your friends?"

The men gathered outside of a small hut where Mat-gwas had built a fire, preparing them a soup the from vegetables in his garden. It didn't smell particularly appetizing, but they were in no position to complain. Byakko rocked on his heels, eagerly staring at Tsuzuki's friends while Watari absently scritched him behind the ear.

"This is Hy and Jarrett. They're American, so this is where they came to find their shiki," Tsuzuki explained. "We met them when Muraki starting acting up again after Kyoto." Byakko looked at the two men curiously.

"Who are your shiki? Anyone I know?" the tiger god asked.

"Do you know any shiki from Eden?" Tsuzuki asked. Byakko shrugged.

"A couple," Byakko said with an oddly coy expression.

"Hohoq is my guardian spirit," Jarrett said.

"Oooh, good one. I don't know him, but I've heard of him, since he watches over the west gate," Byakko said, turning his eyes to Hy. The shiki gave him a strange look, gracefully drawing closer to the boy and gazing at his golden eyes. They stared at each other intensely for a moment before Byakko started to laugh, startling Hy slightly, who shook his head as if coming out of a trance.

"Is it really you?" Byakko said happily, receiving a confused look from Hy, as well as the others. "Fine, be lazy then, you old wolf," the tiger spirit said dejectedly after a few uneventful moments.

"You know Amarok?" Hy asked. Byakko nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep. He used to say he'd never let a human get him. He must have gotten tired," Byakko said with a wistful smile. "Can I see your scar?"

"Um, I guess," Hy said uncertainly, blushing. He stood before the tiger god, and lifted his shirt, revealing a long, white scar across his flat, light brown belly. Byakko studied it intensely, as if it would answer a question he longed to ask. Hy trembled slightly, pulling his shirt back down and avoiding the tiger god's eyes as he sat back down.

Mat-gwas served them little bowls made of hardened clay, and sat among them, glancing about nervously.

"So, Mat-gwas, what news have you of the recent events in Eden?" Jarrett asked. Mat-gwas' nose twitched, a look of panic in his eyes.

"A human has come unheeded, they say. The King is not pleased, and has given orders for all those guardian spirits with human masters to take caution. It has caused tension. Guardian spirits are naturally conditioned to answering to their masters, but even this loyalty cannot come before the King's command. Or at least, it shouldn't," Mat-gwas said, fixing Byakko with a pointed gaze. The tiger spirit was napping, curled against an annoyed Hisoka's leg, twitching every so often as he dreamt.

"Have you heard anything about where this trespasser may be located?" Jarrett asked. Mat-gwas shook his head.

"We're to report anything suspicious, but it's not as though I run into anyone often out here," the little man said with a sigh. "The higher level spirits are the ones active in the search. You'd best seek one of them out for answers. Are you looking for this invader as well, then?"

"Yes. We want to know why he is here," Tsuzuki said.

"Probably wants power. That's the only thing foolish humans value," Mat-gwas said sadly.

"We appreciate all your help. Should we wake the kitty and move on then?" Watari asked.

xxxx

They walked for what felt like ages, Hy and Byakko at the lead, chatting and laughing. Tsuzuki wondered where they got such energy. Jarrett was quiet and brooding as ever, but there did seem to be an odd tension between him and his partner that was new. Watari tried to engage Jarrett in conversation, but his responses were distracted at best, and the scientist finally gave up.

Byakko came to an abrupt stop.

"Um, I think there's a city out there somewhere. It's been a while," Byakko said, scratching his head as he led them through the forest.

"We're hopelessly lost aren't we?" Hisoka asked.

"Probably," Tsuzuki answered with a sigh.

"Hey, Jarrett," Hisoka said. The other man looked at him questioningly, as though he'd been deep in thought.

"Yes?" Jarrett asked.

"You've been here before. Do you have any idea where we are?" Hisoka asked. Jarrett looked around him, as if he were noticing his surroundings for the first time.

"It is perhaps vaguely familiar, but when I was here last Hohoq was guiding me. I believe the landscape tends to change in subtle ways over time," Jarrett said.

"Well that's just great," Hisoka muttered as he trudged along.

Tsuzuki was beginning to become worried for his frail partner by the time they came upon a large stream. They were all exhausted by this point, with the exception of Byakko, but Hisoka had taken on that stooped gait that Tsuzuki knew would lead to the boy's collapse if they didn't stop soon. He knew the boy would be to proud to say anything, and he didn't dare to voice his own concern. Luckily the party had seemed to stop on its own, as Byakko puzzled over the raging obstacle in his path.

"Was there always a stream here?" Byakko asked himself.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting hungry," Tsuzuki said, stifling a yawn.

"I could try to catch us something," Byakko said, receiving a resoundingly negative response from them all.

"Hey, Byakko, there aren't any fish gods or anything are there?" Hy asked, staring at the rushing water.

"Um, I can think of one," Byakko said, his eyes rolled upward in thought. "But what are the chances of us catching two in one day?"

"That point is logical enough for my acceptance," Watari said. "Just leave it up to me!"

Hy and Jarrett set up a small campfire, while Watari fiddled about with some odd things he had pulled from the seemingly endless recesses of his labcoat.

"I think there may be a gate to a parallel universe somewhere in that coat," Tsuzuki mused as he and Hisoka sat at the water's edge.

"I try not to think about it," Hisoka murmured, letting his weariness show for just a moment as he leaned heavily on Tsuzuki's shoulder. Tsuzuki smiled warmly at the weight and wound his arm around Hisoka, kissing him lightly on the lips, knowing the boy must be even more worn out than he expected by the fact that he didn't protest this public display of affection.

"Voila!" Watari announced, presenting Hy with a make-shift fishing rod he'd fashioned from a metal pointing rod and some twine.

"That's awesome, Watari! I dug up a grub or two, so we're good to go," Hy said happily, rolling up the legs of his jeans and kicking off his shoes.

"The boy will use any excuse to go fishing," Jarrett said affectionately as he watched Hy and Byakko splash into the stream, Hy warning the tiger spirit not to scare off all the fish. "He caught so many on the pretense of teaching Michael that they were smelling up the house." The others turned to Jarrett in interest at his first mention of his son since he'd asked them not to mention him to Hy.

"So, um, where is Michael?" Tsuzuki asked hesitantly, since Hy was well out of earshot. Jarrett sighed.

"He has gone back to Romania with his mother. She -- well, let's just say that she didn't approve of Michael remaining with us any longer," Jarrett said with a pained look.

"Because of his relationship with Hy?" Hisoka asked quietly.

Jarrett nodded, watching as Hy proudly held up a fish he'd pulled from the water, he and Byakko laughing joyfully.