Moonlight and rain fell freely upon the forms of two young warriors as shadowed trees framed the muddy road. The forest had been the only witness to their battle. On the outside, Sozin's face remained stoic, but on the inside, he had to admit, he couldn't believe that he actually won. The entire fight was exhilarating yet scary to to think about. Admittedly, that was the closest he had come to death in a long while, making the taste of victory that much sweeter upon his tongue.

"Hmph," Sozin grunted, circling around to Kira's side as he studied her. He sheathed his katana behind his back with a click when he was sure that he had immobilized the woman. "Nothing more than pretty face after all..."

"Fuck you," Kira spat, her cheek in the dirt and mud splattered on the side of her face. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Sozin lowered himself into a crouch. "I've paralyzed you from the neck down. Don't worry—it's not permanent. The effects will wear off after some time, but I had to as there tends to be a lot of... struggle... when I handle my targets," he said in dark emphasis.

Kira strained to look back at him from the ground, her dignified eyes darting in worry.

Seeing her expression change, Sozin let out a few light chuckles. His head fell and shook in disapproval of himself. He turned to her with a more apologetic face. "Relax," he continued, a little softness slipping into his voice at the sight of her. "I'm just here to do my job. For what it's worth, I like to consider myself a civilized man and a professional."

"That makes me feel so much better..." Kira's brooding eyes flickered away. "What difference does it make if it's gonna be you or them?"

Sozin's brows hardened back into the furrowed state they were usually in. "The difference is I'm going to get paid."

"And here I thought you were just another one of their lackeys. You have no idea what they're going to do to me."

"Probably a lot of bad things..." Sozin wrung his hands together as they exchanged gazes and the woman's ire dug into his soul. "Look, I'm sorry, lady, but what happens to you isn't my concern. It's just business—I follow orders and I get paid. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, yeah, asshole? I figured that," Kira sneered. "This isn't the first time I've been a victim of men just following orders. Men like you are the reason this world is rotten. How do people like you even sleep at night?"

"Men like me? Is that it?" Sozin piqued in interest. "You know, you may not like what I'm doing, but what people like you never seem to understand is that the opinions of others don't pay my bills and they don't keep me alive. I learned that the hard way so don't compare me to everyone else. You have no idea what kind of man I am nor what kind of man I wish I could be."

Kira didn't say anything back. Her gritty, orange eyes merely stared at Sozin intently as though she was trying to peer into the depths of his soul.

"It's a shame, but we all have our own problems to deal with and you're just the solution to mine. Maybe if we didn't, the world would be a better place." Sozin retrieved some rope from underneath his cape. Gripping Kira's wrist, he said, "Those eyes aren't a natural color. Are you spiritborn?"

Kira slumped her head back in the mud and stared straight ahead into the darkness of the forest. She didn't say anything. Not a single word. She didn't like the idea of being in such a compromising position, much less the fact that she had been defeated by this hooligan. Her displeasure clearly marked her face. Every part of her was screaming to get out of this paralysis he had put her in.

Sozin frowned as he bound her hands behind her back. "I could tie this rope much tighter if I wanted to. With how nice I'm being, the least you could do is be polite and entertain my conversation."

"I have nothing to say to you," Kira muttered.

Sozin moved down to her lower legs, binding them at the ankle. "Well, you better get comfortable because it's going to be a while before we get back to Hirata Estate. As for your weapons..." Sozin set his eyes on the two muddied katana resting nearby in the dirt. He removed their sheaths from Kira's sash and inserted them into his own. Bending down to take the swords, he turned his head back to her and said, "It would be bad if you got your hands on these again. Maybe I'll sell them. You won't be needing them anymore, will you?"

Kira picked her head up again and cast Sozin an icy glare. She'd been using those swords since childhood—her master had bought them for her when she was still a budding prodigy—and she knew every inch of them like the back of her hand. To see them go was to see a part of her life disappear, but it wasn't like she had a choice. She swallowed painfully, shutting her eyes in graceful acceptance. It was a curse to get too attached to things, but it seemed impossible to not feel attached to those swords when it was the last thing she had of her master.

Unaware of their meaning, Sozin examined the fine workmanship in the glinting moonlight before sheathing them on his person for later down the line. "Weapons of this quality are hard to come by. In fact, I already know that a pair of these will fetch a fine price on the market..." he said in dark greed.

The chilling breeze decided to jump into the conversation at that moment and pushed up against Sozin's cape. Standing there in the silence, it became uncomfortably apparent that they were both cold, mucky, and soaking wet from the rain. He felt a sudden craving for the dry warmth of his manor. What were they doing just sitting around out here? Not wanting to waste any more time on this job, he rolled Kira over, getting mud all over her back and hair, and threw her up onto his shoulder like a caveman. Despite her slim form, she was a lot heavier than he expected her to be.

Sozin felt her weight settle into his bones and let out a chuckle. "I know you're not supposed to say this to a woman, but you really don't look like you would weigh this much."

"It's the muscle..." Kira replied flatly.

That was the last thing she said. After that, it was a long and quiet walk back to Hirata Estate.

Sozin supposed it was inappropriate for them to be engaging in a conversation so he didn't make any more attempts at having one even if he wanted to entertain himself. His eyes began to wander. It was boring for a while, and a little lonely because not even the birds were awake to sing them a song anymore, but after a couple hours of listening to the wind hum and watching the leaves blow by, the large palace came into view from the forest road.

In the spirit realm, Sozin beamed with a wide grin at Wolf. "There's the palace! After this, we're gonna go home and celebrate in the morning with a big breakfast! You said you wanted to grab steaks, right?"

"Yeah..." Wolf said, his voice lacking enthusiasm. "You did well..."

The night was in full bloom and not a soul was to be seen as Sozin entered the hamlet. He made his way up to the palace and past the guards. The towering arched doors to the great hall swung open with a heavy creak. Talro and Takeda were waiting for him all the way at the other end. Sozin headed over and gingerly set Kira down on the floor in front of where they sat while an empty expression dwelled upon her face like she had sucked herself into another world. She still chose to say nothing, remaining a complete mute even as Takeda kneeled down by her side and carefully inspected her with groping hands.

"She's dirty, but seems to be in good condition," Takeda said with a glancing nod to his father.

Impressed, Talro said, "You work fast, shinobi. I see your reputation has not been exaggerated."

Sozin shuffled in his feet. He wanted to leave already. "My payment?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, of course." Talro motioned for one of his servants to hand a small coin purse to Sozin. "As we agreed upon."

Sozin undid the silk string securing the purse, wanting to ensure that it contained the appropriate amount of money. Inside it were 25 coins—senarii—valued at one-thousand sen each. They made large and expensive purchases quite easy to make.

Sozin smirked and tipped his head in respect. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Sozin took one last glance at Kira before turning around to leave. He'd long since gotten used to that corrupted feeling in his heart that pervaded him at the end of jobs like this. Normally, he felt good at the end of a job. No line of work was quite as interesting as his. It was out of doors, indoors, mentally stimulating, and gave him an incentive to stay in shape. Although he was working for the scum of society, scum paid well, a lot better than any honest profession ever could, and by picking the right contracts, he only ruined the lives of other undesirables. As far as Sozin was concerned, he was cleaning up the underworld for the underworld and considered that to be rather therapeutic, however, the feeling of a job well done wasn't so satisfactory this time. The woman had nothing to do with any of that.

But it was just business.

Right?

Just business, he told himself. I have my own problems.

Not for much longer anyway. He could pay back the debt he owed and continue living life having learnt his lesson. He was a man of discipline. If he didn't have that, then what did he have that made him so different from everyone else?

Sozin headed out the way he came. He marked the location of his home on the map he was carrying with an X so he could find his way back. He didn't think he needed the map with the sense of direction that he had as a hunter, but it did make the whole getting around thing a lot easier. Gazing at the map, he found himself outside of the estate and on the roads and byways connecting Ishida again. After a long day, he was left feeling like he would pass out as soon as he collapsed onto his futon. While he was more than ready to call it a night, all the while, Wolf had been pacing around restlessly and ruminating in the background unbeknownst to him.

It was then that Wolf decided to speak up.

"Hey, Sozin..." Wolf managed to utter.

"Yeah?" Sozin said.

"There's something I think I should tell you."

"What's that?"

"Uh..." Wolf hesitated, chuckling nervously. "I really think we should go back."

In the spirit realm, Sozin snapped his head around to look at Wolf. "What? Why?"

"Yeah, about that... there's another thing I gotta tell you too," Wolf said. "The eyes of that woman-"

"She's a spiritborn, I know," Sozin cut in.

"Yeah, that's true and all, but—and you're gonna love this part," Wolf chuckled, "Do you, ah... do you remember that little story I told you when we first met?"

"You mean the one with the fox?"

"Yeah..."

"I think I know where this is going..." Sozin grinned in disbelief, shutting his eyes tight and pinching the bridge of his nose. It wasn't funny as much as it was outright ridiculous. He chuckled but then let out a tired groan.

"Don't laugh—I'm serious," Wolf said. "I could recognize those eyes anywhere. She's the spirit animal of the woman we just turned in."

"I know you're serious. So what are you trying to tell me exactly?"

"What do you think? I'm telling you to go back. We can't just leave her in there."

"Go back?" Sozin said like it was an insane idea. "Hold on a minute. Can I at least ask why first? We got what we needed."

"Because she saved my goddamn life, maybe? How do you think that's going to reflect on me if we don't do anything? The lone wolf doesn't abandon those who have been loyal to him. We've got the money now anyway. There's nothing to lose."

"Except our lives and reputation if we get caught." Sozin crossed his arms. "You know, hearing this is a bit strange coming from the guy who says not to worry about girls. Come on... You think a woman like that would've looked our way twice in the past, let alone glance?"

"I know, I know, but this one is different," Wolf said. "You just gotta trust me because I've known her spirit animal in a previous life. We have to bail her out."

"That was a previous life and in another world. What makes you think they're even close to being the same?"

"I mean, just look at the two of us. We're not the same, but we're pretty damn similar."

Sozin sighed in frustration. "Couldn't you have told me this earlier? I would've loosened up the rope so she could get free on her own."

"I..." Wolf hesitated and let out a huff of exasperation. "I didn't want to mess up our night, but it was going to kill me if I didn't say anything. Listen, you can beat the shit out of me later for it, okay? Let's just go back, all right? The fox saved my life. I can't just throw something like that away, especially not when I still owe her a favor."

Turning around, Sozin started to walk back in the direction of the estate. Even if he disagreed, his brother's word was always final. "So much walking..." he muttered to himself. "Fine... I kinda felt bad too... I suppose it's only right."

"Thank you," Wolf said. "And for the record, this is a one-time exception."

Perfect.

Just perfect.

So how was he supposed to get back in now?

He couldn't go in normally. It would be suspicious if any of the estate guards saw him returning to the palace grounds and then for Kira to go missing only a short time after. He would have to make it look like she escaped again which meant no one could know that he returned to get her out.

"We're gonna have to sneak in, Wolf," Sozin said. "I don't want anyone knowing that we came back."

"Not a problem for a guy like you, is it?" Wolf said.

Sozin let out a chuckle. "Maybe... It's not like we're trying to assassinate the Emperor, but we'll see. I have my limitations..."

For the most part, the perimeter of the estate was rugged and hilly and acted as a natural cradle for the palace and hamlet within. Since he had been through the area before, from what Sozin remembered, all of the guards were stationed around the palace. He decided to avoid the hamlet entirely, seeing as there was no point in going through there, and opted for climbing up a steep, cliffy hill that curved around the side of the hamlet and up to the palace instead. It was much better for him to reach the palace from the rear that way and under the cover of the forest as well than to try and go in through the front.

After some heavy trekking through the brush and terrain, Sozin poked his head out from the cover of the treeline and into the short clearing between the forest and the palace. The myriad of connected buildings that made up the extensive palace grounds came into view from the edge of dense thickets. Not too far away, a few bored souls were mindlessly patrolling the palace walls as they clearly hadn't had much to do in a long time. Judging by their demeanor, it seemed like the guards rarely, if ever, encountered anything serious to deal with, so none of them were showing any due diligence in conducting their uneventful duties. That was always good to see. It made things easier for him.

Now that he was here, he not only had to avoid any residents and guards, but also figure out where Kira was. Sozin rummaged around inside one of the pockets of his cape. Luckily, he still had the garment from earlier that he could use to track her down.

The men walking along the wall would frequently come and go in pairs, whistling and chatting to stave off their boredom, their eyes sometimes grazing across the bramble where Sozin was hiding. When he saw an opening in the patrols, Sozin bolted for the palace wall as fast as he could without making any noise, stepping lightly and quickly to silence his footsteps. He ran up the palace wall and vaulted over, landing onto the stone on the other side as though he had jumped onto a cloud. He was inside of a dark alley scattered with a few crates of food and several washing lines strung high up across the gap with clothing. The clothes waved and fluttered in the gentle breeze. Hopefully, Kira wasn't downwind of him or else this was going to be a lot harder to pull off.

Blending in with the shadows, Sozin moved to the mouth of the alley, keeping a low profile as he surveyed the scene before him. Security was more lax on the inside of the palace than he had expected it to be, but he supposed that made sense since it was so stringent on the outside. Only a few pairs guards were posted by the doors of what Sozin assumed to be important buildings while a few more ambled down the walkways.

Sozin could see the great hall at the front of the palace. Kira probably wasn't there anymore, so he sniffed the garment and then the air. Leaning out from the alley to catch some of the breeze, he realized that the smell seemed to be coming from a small shed across the dividing stone walkway. Glancing both ways, there was nobody looking, and Sozin darted for the shed. As soon as he reached the door, he slipped inside, shutting the it behind him with a stealthy swiftness that only a shinobi could pull off.

Inside of the shed, the smell was still weak but much stronger than when he was outside where only strays of the scent managed to escape beyond the walls. Shelves with various sundries, chests, and tools lined the interior. In the corner, there was a hatch where the scent continued to emanate from. Light escaped from the cracks in the hatch.

"Wonder what's down there," Sozin murmured to himself.

Curiously, Sozin opened the hatch and a ladder led down into a stone tunnel. He wanted to go down, but it would be unwise to do so without being sure of who or what could be waiting for him. Since he had no line of sight on the corridors, he listened carefully for any signs of trouble, cupping his ear with his hand for a few moments to hear better.

He heard nothing at first, but then the faint sound of a cell door opening came from somewhere at the other end of the tunnel. Something heavy and wooden was dropped onto the stone floor.

"Wash up!" a guard commanded rudely. "I'll be back for you in a few minutes. Lord Takeda won't accept you as you are now."

The heavy iron door of a cell closed with a metallic shut. There was no response.

Footsteps receded into the distance and then another door shut. Silence held strong.

The silence made it seem like the coast was clear, but just in case he was wrong, Sozin sniffed the air again, this time checking for the smell of another person. There was nothing except for Kira's smell and the dissipating scent of the guard, so he crept down the ladder and into the tunnel. The tunnel stretched on under the palace grounds. Torches were secured onto the walls by mounts, and they lit up a long corridor of empty cells. At the end of the hall was a set of stairs leading up to the door where the guard had left. It was also right by where the only occupied cell was.

Sozin wasn't sure what reasons a man like Talro could possibly have for needing this many cells. There were no good reasons that came to mind at least, but it probably wasn't anything good. Human trafficking was the best guess he could produce.

Keeping an eye on the shadows underneath the door, Sozin drifted up to Kira's cell, as quiet as he could be but ready to move in case they decided to shift and twist to warn him of an intrusive person. Kira's dejected form was sprawled across the floor flat on her back. The bucket of water and rag draped on the rim that the guard had left her were still untouched.

"Lady Tomoe..." Sozin spoke up.

Without much spirit, Kira picked her mud-caked head up at the sound of a familiar voice. The rest of her body was still lifeless and didn't move at all. Her eyes creased in confusion when they fell upon Sozin. "You..." she said, not sure how to feel about seeing him again. "What are you doing here?"

Sozin gripped the cold bars of the cell. "It seems our paths are destined to cross again. I'm here to get you out..."

Kira stared at Sozin, studying him for a second. "I can't possibly fathom why, but I'm not going to complain. You're gonna need the key then. The guard locked the door."

"I don't need the key. I just need the guard to come back," Sozin said. "When he returns, get him to open your cell somehow. You can do that, right?"

"Of course I can do that."

"Good..." Sozin glanced back to the shadows underneath the door. "I'll knock him out once he opens it."

Sozin retreated into the neighboring cell. He waited in silence for a short while. A few minutes later, the approaching sound of footsteps and opening of the tunnel entrance signalled that the guard had come back.

The guard didn't sound so happy to see that she was still dirty. "What's the matter with you, woman? Why haven't you cleaned yourself up?" he demanded to know.

Kira gazed at the ceiling from the floor. "I can't..." she said in dissatisfaction.

"What do you mean you can't?" the guard replied, then raising his voice. "Come on now! On with it! Lord Takeda won't like it if I keep him waiting on you."

"There's no way for me to move. The man who captured me paralyzed me from the neck down. If you want me to clean up, then you're gonna have to come in here and do it yourself."

The guard gave a depraved smirk. "Really?" he drawled with salacious intent. "If that's the case, then I'd be more than happy to help out." He reached for the ring around his waist that held the key to the cell door and opened it. "Been a while since I've had some fun."

In the neighboring cell, Sozin took that as his cue to start moving. He snuck over while the guard's attention was completely focused on Kira. In one smooth motion, Sozin clasped his hands around the guard's head, the man's eyes widening and his lips on the verge of blurting out in confusion, but it was too late, and Sozin snapped his neck with a vicious twist before he was able to do anything. There was a horrifying crack, Kira winced, and the guard went limp, his heavy body collapsing to the ground in a heap.

"Just another beast running on impulses," Sozin muttered in disgust.

"Well," Kira said in slight astonishment, "I see you have more than one way of paralyzing someone."

Sozin turned his attention back to Kira and something resembling warmth found its way onto his face. "That's the lethal method. Are you all right?"

"Yeah..." Kira said. "I'm fine, but I can't move."

"Not a problem," Sozin said. "Can I put my hands on you?"

"I believe you already have," Kira said dryly.

Sozin rolled his eyes. Crouching down, he rolled Kira onto her stomach and delivered a series of quick but precise finger jabs into the muscles of her back.

Kira felt her chest unlock and let out a gasp. Relief came flooding in, washing over her face and filling her to the brim of every arm and leg. "Oof..." she breathed as the rest of her body came undone and revived. It was quick but the procedure was done in less than a few seconds.

Sozin stood up and extended a hand to the woman. "You should be good now. Let me know if you feel any lingering stiffness."

Shifting over onto her side, Kira looked up and was a little confused at why he was helping her. She was still grateful for his assistance and gladly took his hand.

"Thanks," Kira said as Sozin pulled her upright. She groaned and rolled one of her shoulders in a circle, feeling it pop. "That felt weird. You should be my chiropractor."

Sozin snorted in amusement. "You're welcome..." he grumbled in a low voice.

For a man, Sozin stood at just below average height, but for Kira, however, now that they were standing together, it became clear that she was fairly tall for a woman. Her geta sandals probably gave her an inch or so, but she was eye-to-eye with him. There were no hard and fast rules when it came to the size of warriors, but it tended to be the case that samurai were bigger than ninja. Not always though. Unlike his father, Sozin could never consider himself a tall person. In some ways, that was a good thing. Given his profession, it meant he attracted much less attention and had an easier time hiding in plain sight.

Sozin started to remove the pair of twin katanas that he'd taken from Kira from the sash around his waist. "I, uh..." he said as his hands worked to get them off his person. He managed to remove them and held them out for her to take. "I believe these are yours."

Kira took her swords back with a rightful and satisfying snatch. She inspected them for a brief moment before tucking them into her sash where they belonged, saying, "They are... I see you haven't sold them yet. I'll try not to stab you with them."

Sozin stuck an wary hand out, his eyebrows raising as his face lit up in concern. "It sounds like you're joking, but please don't. I came here in good faith."

"Relax," she said with a smirking jeer, "I'm a professional..."

"Great," Sozin said in a lukewarm tone. "I rescued a comedian."

Kira brushed herself off. "Not yet you haven't. We're still in the lion's den."

"Hopefully we won't need our weapons." Sozin turned to leave. "No one knows I came back for you, so let's get out of here before someone notices that something's wrong."

Kira gestured in front of her with her hand. "By all means, lead the way..."

Sozin led Kira down the corridor of cells to where the ladder was. They climbed up into the shed but had to hunker down as a pair of guards wandered by unannounced. The shed was made of cheap wooden planks and had a few small openings and cracks that Sozin could see through, if just barely. He used one of the peepholes to keep track of the guards through the wall.

"So, shinobi..." Kira whispered. "What's the plan?"

"For now, we just have to run over to the other side and into that alley over there," Sozin whispered back, trying to get a good view.

"And then what?"

"And then it's over the wall, out of the estate, and as far away from this place as possible. As long as you follow my lead, we'll get out of here in one piece."

"Sounds easy enough. I'm guessing you've done this sort of thing before?" Kira said.

Sozin glanced at her. "Going back on my contract? No... Sneaking out of places? Yes..."

They waited until the guards had left. Once they were gone, Sozin cracked the shed door open a tad and peeked out to ensure that they were in the clear. Except for a few unattentive guards in the distance, there was nobody to see their escape.

"Okay, move! Sozin said, running out of the shed.

Kira followed and the two warriors darted into the alley, submerging into the shadows. At the end of the alley was the wall where Sozin had entered from. With skill and speed, he kept running and stealthily ran up the wall and clasped onto the edge, peeking over the side to check for any dangers. He didn't see any guards, so he dropped back down.

Kira looked on in astonishment. "Um..." she said, raising an amused finger, "You're gonna have to give me a boost because I don't know if I can do that."

"No problem," Sozin said. Standing in front of the wall, he lowered himself into a high crouch and held his palms together in front of him. "I'm ready when you are. The wall's pretty high so make it a good jump."

Kira backed up from Sozin, making sure to give herself enough space to run. When she thought she was far enough back, she dug her feet into the ground and burst forth. She jumped onto Sozin's palms and he launched her messily onto the top of the wall.

Kira was clumsy in a way that reminded Sozin of his younger years. He watched as she clambered over the wall and landed onto the other side with a grassy thud. Sozin was quick to follow behind her but in a way that was a lot more quiet and graceful. He landed right next to her where she was waiting for him.

Sozin stifled a laugh from the back of his nose. "Nice landing," he sniggered.

Kira merely blinked at him, bringing her lips together into a frivolous, carefree pucker.

"Okay..." Sozin giggled under his breath, waving her along with his hand. "This way."

They ran out of the clearing and into the cover of the thickets before any guards could show up. Sozin felt a lot more comfortable here under the protection of the trees. There was no one that could possibly see them at this point so there was no need for them to rush anymore. To get them off the hill, he simply retraced his steps, but navigating wasn't the hard part, it was figuring out how to climb down the bluffs with another person that proved to be troublesome. Although things were a little tougher now, he made it work by using the length of his grappling hook to help Kira who had no experience in the way of rock climbing or any sort of climbing at all. Somehow, they managed to get out of the estate without either of them getting hurt and reached the safety of the roads.

"Not bad for a samurai..." Sozin said as they walked through the dark forest.

"Ronin," Kira corrected. She wiped her sweaty brow. "You don't get tired doing that?"

"Mmmm, sometimes I do, but it takes a lot more than a couple of rocky hills and a steep incline to get me tired. That's just par for the course as a shinobi."

"Jeez... You make it look easy."

"I could say the same about your swordsmanship."

"We all have our strengths," Kira said. "Thanks for getting me out of there. They don't even know that I'm gone."

"For now, at least." Sozin glanced back at the palace in the distance. "We should put some distance between us and this place. I'm glad we got out of there because I gotta say, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Oh, really? You fucking kidnapped me—I couldn't tell," Kira said.

Sozin burst out with a hearty laugh, a sense of cheekiness running through his breath at her abrupt brashness. He threw his hands together into a clasp and sucked air through his teeth. "Right, well, that's over now, and I got my money for it," he said with the grin of a millionaire, wiggling the small coin purse strung to his torso.

Kira's eyes fell upon the little bag of money and then returned to the lit up expression on Sozin's face. He had a strange brand of smile that she had never seen before—the signature kind that you don't ever forget about a person once you see it. "Now that we're out of there, I've been wanting to ask you something..." Kira fiddled with one of the swords on her hip. "Why did you decide to come back? I thought what happened to me... wasn't your concern..." Her voice trailed off into a pensive drop. The disappointment that leached into her final words seemed to stain the air. It was obvious that she'd been thinking back to what Sozin had said.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I almost didn't come back." Sozin put a hand on the back of his neck. "I'm not too proud of it, but I did feel bad. And the crazy thing is, it turns out that our spirit animals know each other, believe it or not, so I couldn't just leave you there."

Kira raised her eyebrows in doubt and surprise. "You're joking, right? What are the chances of that? You've never even seen my spirit animal."

"Is it a fox?"

"Yeah. How did the hell did you know?"

Right away, Wolf materialized into existence, popping up next to Sozin from a cloud of ash and smoke in all his shady and aloof grandeur. "Because I told him," he interjected.

Hearing their conversation, Vesper came into existence too and materialized next to Wolf from leaves and wind. They both stood between their spirit users, separating them. "Valenos..." she said in a smooth voice.

"There you are!" Wolf flashed the fox a toothy but faintly sinister grin that resembled Sozin's own. "I was just about to ask you to come out."

Confused, Kira's eyes swapped between Sozin and Wolf. Despite being different species, both of them bore a curious sort of resemblence to each other. She imagined that Vixen and her probably appeared the same way. "I don't even know what's going on. Can someone fill me in before you all start talking?" Kira spoke up. She'd been excluded out of enough conversations in her life for it to have left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Sorry, Kira, I forgot to tell you about this guy," Vesper said with a sideways glance. "He's a... former acquaintance of mine."

Wolf walked with a bounce in his step. "The karma's come back in full swing! If you weren't a strong believer before, Vesper, I bet you are now!"

"To be honest, you had me worried for a minute, Valenos. You traded us in for money. I actually thought you were going to abandon us," Vesper said.

"Oh, come on. I wouldn't do that. Not after what you did for me. We came back... I just had to convince my brother here." Wolf gestured with his head towards Sozin.

"Your brother?" Kira remarked.

"Hell yeah, my brother!" Wolf said. "We're brothers in fate. Right, Sozin?"

"Yep..." Sozin breathed in a dejected huff. He stuck his hands into the pockets of his baggy hakama and thought about how much he wanted to go home.

Vixen turned her gaze towards Sozin. "So this is your spirit user?" she said to Wolf.

"Just call me Sozin..." the shinobi with exhaustion. The past 24 hours had worn his body down, and he was beginning to feel all that fatigue as it marinated into his bones and bled through the corners of his voice.

"Sozin, huh?" Kira repeated with interest. She had heard that name before several years ago as it had spread like a wildfire. The news of the Daihachi family's slaughter had been rampant for weeks. "You're... a shinobi..." she said tentatively. "You wouldn't happen to be..."

Sozin stopped her with his hand. "I am..." he interrupted without shame. "I'm Sozin Daihachi."

The air got heavier. Since they were now spirit animals, Wolf and Vixen looked at each other in mutual understanding. This was a different life and they decided to let their spirit users talk things out normally. They quietly assimilated back into them to let their conversation flow as it should.

"Are you surprised to hear that?" Sozin continued in no particular tone. "You look like you are..." Though his face had matured, he was still that same boy from before, perhaps not in mind or in body, but most definitely in spirit.

"A little... There's quite a bounty on your head. Maybe I should turn you in to the authorities for what you just did," Kira joked.

Under his cape, Sozin felt the delicate area on his lower chest with the grace of his fingers. Pain emanated from the spot as he breathed in. "You already broke one of my ribs. I would say that's enough, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose..."

"How did you recognize me?"

"If memory serves, you look a lot different than you do on your poster. Frankly, I was hardly able to, but I happen to be good with people. Very good..." Kira said with a sly and roguish expression. "It's one of the perks of being blessed with the fox spirit."

"I see... Well, I hope you can reserve your judgement," Sozin said. "There's a lot more to that story than most people realize."

Kira watched with softness as the moonlight painted her face. "I'd say I've judged you enough for one day. I can tell you're not a bad person. Whatever forced your hand and caused you to kidnap me, I hope the issue resolves..." Kira peered away thoughtfully and then looked back at Sozin. "It seems everything worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Fortunately... Just so we're clear, the job wasn't anything personal," Sozin assured her. "No hard feelings, right? I wouldn't want anyone coming back to try and get revenge on me."

Kira gave a hum of amusement. "Don't worry about it—I won't hold a grudge. I'd say you've redeemed yourself."

"Good..." Sozin said. His thoughts turned to their spirit animals. "You know, the bonds that tie us are somewhat amusing. You still haven't told me who you are. Your skill with a blade is quite impeccable."

"Oh, me?" Kira said like that question couldn't possibly be directed at her. "I'm just a wandering samurai... A nobody."

"I don't believe your skill qualifies you as a nobody. How did someone like you end up in the hands of the Hirata clan?" Sozin asked.

Kira rubbed her arm as a cold gust of wind brushed past, taking leaves along with it. "Well, I was on my own until Talro's son—that bastard of a man, Takeda—happened to see me in public. He had his lackeys kidnap me in the middle of the night while I was sleeping because he fancied the way I looked. Can you believe that? They took me back to the palace to be... consummated... into one of his wives, but I managed to escape. Then, you came into the picture."

"That doesn't sound too pleasant," Sozin murmured with some remorse.

"It really wasn't..." Kira said.

Sozin glanced towards the road in front of them which was now a junction splitting into two directions. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't be in the picture much longer. This is where we part ways."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Kira said.

"No, that's not it," Sozin said. There was a hint of depression in his voice. "I've just had a long day chasing you around and I'm sure you're tired too and want me out of your hair." Sozin pulled out the map he was carrying from one of the pockets underneath his cape. He unfolded it and traced one of the roads on the map with his finger before pointing in front of them. "You see that road? The village I took you from is in that direction. Take the map. It'll help you get back to where you were."

Kira let out a sigh. She grabbed the map, a little surprised and also confused by the man's gesture. Most men were always trying to spend time around her, so it was strange to see one so eager to pull away. "I know my way around Ishida. I don't think I'll need this, but thanks."

"I don't doubt it," Sozin said as he turned away towards the other road. He took a step and was about to start walking, but then he glanced back to say something to her. "Make sure not to get kidnapped again, yeah?"

"I'll try and stay out of trouble," Kira said.

And then, just like that, the two warriors parted ways and the forest returned to silence.

Sozin would go on to pay his debt. That was the last time he thought he would ever see that woman again, but the strings of fate were bound to cross. Later down the line, Kira couldn't help but notice the sizeable X marking the location of something on the map he had given her. She had a good idea of what it was and who she was going to see again when she got there. She would have to, as her problems had only gotten worse, and she had found herself in need of the services of a shinobi.