***The Next Evening***

Yukiko walks into her dorm room after a shower, her mind in a daze. She had been in a daze all day, in fact, ever since the mission last night. She and Takashi had barely spoken since then, but she could feel his eyes on her from time to time. She knew that he had expected her to say something. But after seeing that vision, she couldn't find the words to speak.

She was locked in the sights and feelings of the vision, and she hasn't been able to break the aftershock of it since. So much sadness and hate had flowed through her at that time: emotions that were not hers, but felt just as real... just as painful. She can still feel it. Besides foreseeing prophecies, Yukiko's power is her sensitivity to the past, future, and feelings of other people.

She lays down on her bed, thinking of the kodama they met yesterday and his friend. Yukiko was now connected on an emotional level to the person she was supposed to fight, which is a dangerous connection to have. She can no longer fight that kodama, and, to top it all off, if she doesn't fight it, she knows who will.

"What should I do?" she sighs.

A quiet buzzing sound is heard from the desk. The caller ID on the phone reads, "Ren".

She decides to answer it, "Hey, Ren. What's up?"

"Hey, Yuki. Nothin' much, but ya know, we haven't seen ya all day, so we thought maybe somethin' was up with ya, actually."

"No, sorry.... hey... Ren, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Well... hypothetically... suppose you were obligated to get rid of something that bothers other people, but then, you get attached to it. What would you do to solve the problem without... getting rid of it entirely...?"

Ren stays silent for a minute, "I'll need to think 'bout it. In the meantime, come to our place."

"Why?"

"Pizza party!" Ren exclaims with excitement, "I'll give ya an answer by the end of the party. Promise. So, make sure ya come, 'kay?"

Yukiko sighs, but with a smile this time, "Okay. I'll come."

"Great! See ya in a bit!"

After hanging up the phone, she gets dressed and heads over to the boys' dorm. She walks down the hall, reading the name tags on the doors until she reaches the one that read, "Ryuzaki Leo & Mizu Ren".

Most students in the dormitories lived with roommates. Those who didn't have roommates, like Yukiko, were rare since they required either a lot of money, genius-level grades, or filling out a request form with special circumstances approved by the Headmaster. Yukiko gained her exemption from having a roommate through special circumstances. After all, if she had a roommate, they would surely figure out that she's a Shadow Spirit in no time. Spirits are typically troublemakers for both humans and other creatures, so, naturally, they're not well liked.

Yukiko knocks, then opens the door when she hears a shout saying, "Come in!"

"Hey Yuki!" Ren greets her, his sky blue eyes sparkling from all the excitement.

"Glad you could make it, Miyamoto," Leo welcomes politely.

Ren and Leo are complete opposites, yet they seem to get along very well. Ren is loud, outgoing, and carefree. Not to mention, he's also childish and impolite, though easy to forgive. Leo, on the other hand, is more quiet and reserved. He's mature and polite, but Yukiko always believed that there's something kind of mysterious about him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the child-like Momoko dressed in a baby blue cat-ear hoodie. She stares at Yukiko, smiling happily.

Yukiko returns her smile, "Good evening, Momo-chan, and Leo-kun, Mizu Ren.".

She sits down in the floor along with the rest of them, besides Ren, who was sitting in a chair backwards. Picking up a slice of pizza, Yukiko listens to everyone returning to a conversation they seemed to be having before she arrived. It was about some guy from class chasing down a kooky old man who stole his ice-cream.

Listening to them, she realizes that this could take her mind off of her current situation with the kodama.

Ren must have realized I've been distracted today and decided to summon everyone together to cheer me up.

Times like these are the only times where Ren actually looks like a clever person to Yukiko. She silently thanks Ren for his great idea, and spends the rest of the evening laughing and hanging out with everyone.

Momoko leaves first, and Leo accompanies her to make sure she gets back to the girls' dorm safely. With those two gone, it is just Ren and Yukiko left in the room. It remains quiet for the first minute or so after the others leave.

Ren breaks the silence first, "Well, I thought 'bout what ya asked me, like I promised. Now, I'll give ya the answer I came up with. If I like somethin', I'd wanna protect it. If my responsibility was to make sure it didn't bother other people though, I'd make sure I did my duties. So, I thought that there's gotta be a way to do both: stop it from botherin' other people, yet still keep it safely nearby."

At Ren's words, an idea strikes Yukiko's mind.

He is correct. There must be a way to do both..... And now, I know how to do so!

"For some reason, you're really smart tonight! Thanks so much, Ren!"

"Yer wel-.... Wait a sec, 'fer some reason'? Whaz that supposed to mean? I'm always smart, y'know! Oi, ya listenin'?"

Ignoring Ren now, Yukiko quickly leaves the room and runs back to her own. After her chat with Ren, she finally understood exactly what it is that she has to do. Quickly, she grabs a light, black jacket, then dashes out of the building. Takashi's face flashes through her mind as she runs through the shadows of the night. For a moment, she takes out her phone and looks at it.

"Should I call him..?" she wonders aloud.

No... He would definitely disapprove of disregarding the original mission and doing it some other way only for the sake of the kodama's and my own feelings. Instead, he might even stand in my way and attempt to complete the mission as he was commanded. I am not a part of the Knights Order. I'm only here because Takashi blackmails me to assist him. In the end, this isn't my responsibility... but...

"I cannot simply leave him be!"