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"He took it pretty hard," Jarrett said. "I -- I almost feel like he blames me, somehow. We don't speak of it. It wasn't long after that that he started pushing really hard for another guardian spirit, and then of course the whole Amarok thing happened. I tried to talk him out of accepting a parasitic spirit. They're too unpredictable. But pain can make one reckless, I suppose. Luckily he seems to have gotten one that rarely stirs." The other three men listened carefully. It was the most any of them had heard the man say at one time.

"There's no reason for him to blame you, Jarrett. People just withdraw sometimes when they're hurting," Tsuzuki said.

"He doesn't blame you," Hisoka said, staring off across the stream. "I can read his thoughts and emotions, but I think it's something you need to discuss with him directly instead of hearing it from me." Jarrett nodded.

"I'm sure you're right," Jarrett said.

Hy and Byakko waded back to shore, splashing each other playfully.

"So Hy was dumped by a hundred year old mama's boy. Ouch," Watari said, fiddling with a pile of gears and scrap metal he'd pulled from seemingly nowhere.

"Perhaps if I'd been a better father --" Jarrett began, falling silent as Hy and Byakko bounded towards them.

"I curt on oo!" Byakko struggled to say, a silver fish between his teeth, slapping him in the face with its tail. He spat it on the ground, batting at it with his hand. "I caught one too!"

"Good job, Byakko," Tsuzuki said with a smile. Jarrett pulled out a long knife and began to work on preparing one of the fish quietly.

"Pass me a fishie! I want to try out my new invention!" Watari said, presenting a rather frightening contraption with serrated blades that looked like a piece of hi-tech torture equipment. "The slicing, dicing, fish fillet extracting work of genius, Mr. Fred!" Watari bowed slightly as Hy and Byakko applauded. Hisoka gaped at him for a second, and shook his head as Watari and Jarrett set to work.

"Do we even have any kind of plan besides wandering about aimlessly? I would have thought a creepy albino human would stand out at least a little around here. Wouldn't his presence be sensed?" Hisoka asked, leaning back against a tree and folding his arms.

"I was thinking the same thing. Maybe Muraki has no soul after all," Hy said with a shudder.

"There are more ways to breach the boundaries of our world than entering the way you have done," Byakko said with a strange sort of seriousness. "In ancient times, there were even tribes of peoples who were welcomed, as they sought nothing but our wisdom. But it is human nature to exploit power. The living are both our creators and our destroyers. Our computerized realm was meant to guard against this kind of invasion. Clearly there were oversights. Those who enter by these means are not always as easily detected."

The men stared at Byakko in awe at his changed demeanor as he explained.

"How do they avoid detection?" Hisoka asked. Byakko rolled his eyes upward thoughtfully.

"I dunno," Byakko said, seeming to return to his usual state as he returned to playing with his fish, his striped tail twitching in excitement as he pounced.

"Am I the only one who thinks that was a little weird?" Hisoka asked the others in a low voice. Tsuzuki smirked.

"It's not when you know Byakko like I do," Tsuzuki said, giving the playful shiki an affectionate glance. "He's still a tiger, even if he acts like a kitten most of the time."

"He reminds me a little of you," Hisoka said with a small smile.

As evening settled in, the men set up camp and planned to follow the stream at first light until they found a place where they could cross it. Tsuzuki and Hisoka took the first watch while the others slept as a precaution. There was no way of knowing what manner of beings inhabited these woods, nor how friendly they'd be towards their uninvited guests.

Hisoka sat close beside Tsuzuki as the night grew chilly, following his partner's gaze to where Hy had snuggled up beside Byakko, both of their fanged mouths gaping peacefully as they slept.

"Poor kid," Tsuzuki said with a sad smile. Hisoka nodded thoughtfully.

"You know, I was thinking, after Jarrett told us that --" Hisoka said uncertainly, his brow furrowing.

"Yes?" Tsuzuki asked, placing an arm around his lover and looking at him in the fire light.

"If -- well, if circumstances were different -- I was just thinking how lucky we are," Hisoka whispered, the flames reflecting in his large green eyes as he stared at them. "After all, we are both men."

"True," Tsuzuki said, waiting for Hisoka to continue.

"It never felt strange to me that -- well, that I wanted you. I was never around people very much when I was alive, and I never really thought about such things," Hisoka said with a shrug.

"Well, we've faced enough prejudice in our lives for other reasons. I think we can both relate to how he must feel on some level," Tsuzuki said. Hisoka shook his head, meeting Tsuzuki's eyes.

"I can't imagine what it would be like if I weren't allowed to love you," Hisoka whispered. Tsuzuki kissed him tenderly, and pulled him up by the arm as he stood.

"What are you doing?" Hisoka asked, as Tsuzuki led him through the trees. "Shouldn't we be watching the camp?"

Tsuzuki swept him into his arms without answering, backing him against a tree as he reached beneath his partner's shirt, caressing his smooth skin as he claimed his mouth in a searing kiss. Hisoka moaned into his mouth as he wound his arms tightly around the older man, pulling off his jacket as he did so.

They sank towards the forest floor, Hisoka wincing as the bark of the tree scraped his back.

"I'm okay," Hisoka said reassuringly at Tsuzuki's look of concern, pulling the man towards him with eyes full of longing. Tsuzuki climbed upon the boy, nuzzling his ear with his lips, his hands snaking their way to the button on jeans, when Hisoka stiffened.

"Did you hear that? I thought I heard someone laugh," Hisoka said in a panicked whisper. Tsuzuki raised his head with a deep frown, his lids still heavy with lust.

"I'm going to kill Watari," Tsuzuki muttered.

"Shh! I hear -- was that a flute?" Hisoka asked in wonder, pushing the frustrated shinigami from him and looking around in the darkness. Tsuzuki turned around as they heard a rustling sound.

"Looks like a rabbit," Tsuzuki said, straining his eyes in the direction of the disturbance.

"Looks like a familiar rabbit," Hisoka said warily. "What is he doing out here? Do you think he's been following us?" Tsuzuki leapt to his feet.

"Let's see if we can catch up with him," Tsuzuki said, taking off through the trees.