The two left and walked through the village. Dylan and Rose found some benches along the street and decided to take a break.

          “Whew!” Rose exclaimed, collapsing on the bench. “That was fun!”

          “Yeah,” Dylan sat next to her, “I’m glad you’re having fun.”

          Rose smiled. “Hey, Dylan?” she began. “Tell me, what’s it like to live in Osuku?”

          Dylan grinned. “It’s like living in the human world, except more boring.”

Rose giggled. “Come on, there must be something you love about your home? What about your family?”

Dylan paused. “I have a father and a younger brother. My mother died when my brother and I were born, and my father has been raising us by himself.”

“I bet you and your brother are close, huh?”

Dylan shook his head. “We were. You see, my father is one of the guardians of Osuku. Thus, his responsibilities will be passed down to one of his sons. However, my brother saw things differently. He came upon a yokai one day, and instead of killing it, he ate it.”

Rose gasped. “He ate it? Why?”

         “He said that it was to better understand the enemy,” Dylan sighed. “However, he became corrupt with the            habit of wanting more power. He later broke one of the major laws of Osuku, which was to kill a human.                He wanted the family legacy and guardianship all for himself. He tried to kill my father and me, but luckily              my father managed to stop him. However, not before my brother killed a human. He was a guardian from              another country. This was considered treason, and as a punishment, my brother was stripped of his title                 and powers. The last time I ever saw him was when my father banished him from the human world.                         Since then, I have always blamed myself, thinking that I could have done something for him.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s alright,” Dylan shook his head. “When it comes down to it, he brought it on himself.”

The two were silent for a moment. The sounds of the festival became small.

“Now,” Dylan began. “You’ve dug into my past. What about yours? What’s your arrogant old man?”

Rose chuckled. “He’s just…bitter….”

“About what?”

Rose took a deep breath. “As you know, my father is the guardian of our town, and my brothers are set to replace him when the time comes. Just like you and your family. However, what you don’t know is that neither my father nor my brothers can see auras.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “What?”

Rose nodded. “It’s true. My father did at one time, but I guess after my mom died in a yokai attack, he…lost it. Guess the grief was too much for him. The reason my mom died was that she was protecting me.”

“So, your father and brothers blame you for her death?” Dylan suggested.

 Rose nodded. “It was just a little kid, but he was mad. Since then, he started to beat me as a means of ‘discipline’. My brothers joined in as bullies not long after my father started. However, by doing this, he lost his ability to see auras. I guess the blessing didn’t like that he was tormenting his youngest. In any case, I started to see auras after my mom died, and that made him angrier. He did everything he could to make sure that I failed him, but…that didn’t stop me. I trained and got stronger over the years in subtle ways. Now…here I am!” she smiled.

“Yeah…” Dylan lost himself in her smile. How could she smile so brightly after everything? “Hey, Rose---

Suddenly, a voice announced for everyone to go to the clearing. Immediately, everyone headed to the front of the village. Rose didn’t know what was happening, but Dylan knew. Dismissing his thought, Dylan invited Rose to the clearing. She accepted, and the two followed the crowd. The clearing was massive, and everyone stood around. In the very front stood a man on a stage. In his hand, he had a bow and arrow. The whole crowd waited in excitement as they watched him fire it. The arrow flew the sky and pierced a giant balloon that hovered over the crowd.

Floating down was colored powder with some water. Dylan assured her it was safe. Everyone was engulfed in the colored powder, including the man on stage.

            “The Holi Festival will now begin!” he announced.

In an instant, music started to play. Dylan and Rose were covered in purple and green. The two grabbed each other’s hands and danced around to the beat of the music. Dylan held Rose close and spun her in a dance while he pushed her away to catch her in another.

Before the two knew it, it was sunrise. They had spent the whole night dancing and laughing. However, they didn't want it to end. 

             "I guess," Rose stammered. "It's time for me to go home." 

              "Yeah..." he sulked. 

Just then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a beautiful bracelet. He quickly ran to the vendor, hoping to catch them before they closed. 

               "Excuse me, sir!" He yelled, running to the vendor. 

The vendor looked up from his work and greeted Dylan with a smile. "What can I do for you, young man?" He asked.

             "I was wondering if I could buy that bracelet, good sir?" Asked Dylan, pointing at the jewelry. 

              The vendor smiled. "It's for the young lady over there, I take it?" 

Dylan blushed and chuckled a bit. 

             "Ah, young love," the vendor chuckled. "You know, this bracelet comes with a necklace. One for the lady                  and one for you. All at the same price. What do you say?" 

Dylan's face turned beet red. The vendor took that as a yes. Dylan handed him the money and made his way to Rose. 

With a smile, he told her to close her eyes. She hesitated but trusted Dylan enough. Rose felt her hand being moved. She then felt something on her wrist. 

             "Can I open them?" She asked. 

              "Yeah," he whispered. 

Rose opened her eyes. She glanced down at her wrist and saw the most beautiful bracelet in the world. It was simple but charming. A black twine bracelet with a silver star charm. 

            "I love it," she gasped. 

Her eyes looked up to Dylan. Around his neck was a necklace with the moon. It was a black twine choker as well, with a silver moon dangling in the center. 

            Dylan blushed. "I'm-I'm glad..."