[Wind & Earth]

"Yes, onward, you cheeky steed, you," Byakko purred, running one hand through the mane of blue in front of him and nuzzling the delicate ear poking out of that same mane on the other side. Said ear smelled like candy, very much like candy, really. In face, if he wasn't mistaken, his entire mount smelled of sweet delicacies.

"Or perhaps we should stay here while I determine why you smell so delightful?" His hands massaged the tense shoulders in stunningly easy reach and he purred. Consciousness was a fleeting thing and as it slipped from his grasp his arms slid down around the shoulders he had just been molesting in a surprisingly firm grasp.

He would not fall even as he snored lightly against the back of Smitigo's neck.

[S-O-Y]

He nodded as he felt the man get a little to comfortable on his backside. Adjusting his grip on the man as he felt him fall into a slumber, his massaging coming to a cease, he sighed as he walked up the street headed east of the city. He had no idea where he was going but they would be heading somewhere. After quite a ways of walking though, the sound of a car horn could be heard behind the two. Smitigo turned slowly eyes wide and chest beating hard. He was surprised after such silence.

A white sedan came driving up along the side of the curb stopping right beside them. Windows tinted heavily, no one could be seen that was in it. A click could be heard and suddenly the drivers window began to slide down revealing a red haired man, his eyes hid by a dark pair of black shades sitting on the brim of his nose.

"What'cha got there buddy!", he exclaimed loudly seeing that the man was passed out that Smitigo was holding onto.

"Shut up Oraku...", Smitigo replied back.

"Just tell me who that is already. And I'll leave you to alone."

Realizing to himself that he never actually remembered the name of this man, even if he did or didn't receive it from him. Shaking his back to wake up the man, he hoped it would work. Oraku began to tap his fingers on the windows edge trying to have patience.

"Do you not know who this stranger is your holding. Dont tell me you have gone to the dark side as well. Now if thats the case then jump in skipper. I do with an adrenaline rush right now.", he brought his shades down to wink at Smitigo, their ember red coloring magnified by the darkness in the background. The car seemed to be filled with shadows.

[Wind & Earth]

"Se~ei, shtop it. 'M tired," Byakko grumbled, holding on tighter to his bed and hiding his face against what he vaguely recognized as a firm back. His tail formed, curling through the air in a way that showed how comfortable he was. Somebody else was near and all he could tell was that their voice was red. The only person he knew like that was Suzaku.

"Zaku, make Sei stop and behave and continue being a good mattress," the man whined as his tail curled around the upper thigh of the person he believed to be Seiryu, who would never admit to being a good resting spot even though others made beds out of Seiryu's element all the time. Water beds were supposed to be rather comfy and warm - just like Seiryu in his opinion.

[S-O-Y]

Oraku's left eyebrow shot up as the cat-man groped Smitigo's thigh suddenly, a smirk spreading across his face unevenly.

"Well, well, well Smity. Looks like you got a feisty one there but what is this name he is calling you eh?", he asked in an intrigued tone.

A harsh blush rushed into Smitigo's cheeks suddenly as he felt violated within seconds. The man upon his back began to voice an opinion that spoke out names unfamiliar. Either he was dreaming and just sleep talking or he was seriously unaware of who he was around. Sighing hard as his back began to get smothered, he tilted his head up and closed his eyes. Right now he was uncomfortable both physically and mentally, and the fact that Oraku was now around, that just made his emotional state stressed out too. Turning his head to look at the sedan again, he opened his eyes and narrowed them at the red haired man.

"I have no clue but I'm sure its something that has no meaning to me. This one seems delusional and sadly amnesic. Not a play toy. Just an adventure buddy."

Oraku chuckled to himself inside the darkness of the sedan only soon to stick his head completely out the window, a swift breeze rushing through his hair rustling the strands of ruby.

"Hmmm. Sounds pathetic but still interesting."

He looked to the piggy-back rider and rolled his eyes.

[Wind & Earth]

The wind blew, re-energizing him and tossing his hair. His white ears formed, twitching and bringing all sorts of new information to his brain. Whom he was using as his mattress was pleasant, but not familiar. The other was strange, as well.

They had a quest.

Blinking open his eyes, Byakko stared down at the one holding him for a long moment, then looked to the other. No, neither of them were like him. That did not mean they weren't interesting, but it made them awkward and difficult.

"Candy? Wants the sweets, this one. I join? You help?" The red one seemed wicked and there were things will ill intents within that vehicle of motion. His current steed seemed familiar with it but uncomfortable, though that may have in part been his own doing. "Traversing miles as if they were inches, this creation makes traveling simple. Combustion moves us forward into the night?"

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo looked over his shoulder, a look of confusion on his face. Oraku's eyes followed Smitigo's as well, his own face showing the same emotion.

"I take it you want a ride?", Oraku asked trying to hold back a smart remark.

Rolling his eyes as his counter-part stated the obvious, he sighed softly and stepped down from the sidewalk and over to the sedan still managing to keep the cat like man upon his back.

"Candy huh. Well I'm sure I can help you out with that if that is something you would like, but as for means of transportation, Im sure Oraku wouldn't mind helping us get to where we were headed via piggy ride", Smitigo said over his shoulder in the process of walking towards the white vehicle.

Oraku brought his head back into the car with a shake of his head.

Another adventure with Smitigo...This aughta be fun., he said sarcastically to himself as he rolled the window up.

[Wind & Earth]

"There are seats within this shell mounted to wheels. If there is room to spare, won't you assist us on our quest for holy sweet things that send pleasant signals to our brains and quell a deep urge within our bodies? While not entirely noble, it is not made with ill intent nor destructive purposes, though perhaps, that is not what you work towards," Byakko hummed thoughtfully, reaching out to touch the strange machine. It was cool and slick as if newly waxed, polished to a military shine.

In the gloom of the town, it was slightly harder to determine whether it was because of the fluorescent lights upon poles or from true care and elbow grease.

"Into the light, into the shining light of day whilst our tummies be rumbling we fly into the sky with thought of licorice strings and peppermint spools! Got any rocks? I need some. My next quest will be for freezing rocks made of monoxide di-hydrogen for use in liquids of imbibe-ment... of some sort. The name being of some western culture of a European type upon solid masses of non-metals. Yes?"

[S-O-Y]

The man was babbling it seemed and Oraku was aware of his intelligence now. Being an odd character that from the looks of it was more than human, he wondered how Smitigo had come across this one. Turning around in his seat, the passenger seat to be exact, he watched as the door opened to allow the other to entry. Looking over to the right catching a plum eye, he waited to say something till they got in the vehicle.

"You can get off my back now", Smitigo demanded politely as he stood beside the door, his back to the car.

Oraku shook his head and turned around in his seat.

"And as for what you were saying, Im sure we can find you some rocks later. Right now we need to finish our adventure...don't you think?", the blue haired man asked over his shoulder as he waited for the rider to dismount.

[Wind & Earth]

"Perhaps," Byakko huffed, reluctantly crawling off the blue-haired male and into the vehicle. The entire thing made him slightly nervous because he could not feel the wind within the cab.

This was part of how they had locked him away and kept him down for so many years. Thankfully, it was not too musty and there seemed to be some sort of dingle-hopper to roll the window down, which he did once he got to the far seat. The resulting breeze made him smile widely even if there was a creeping sensation of evil within the car his escape was assured.

His ears twitched and he turned to look at the driver. The car was a bit longer than most of the others he had observed.

"Rocks, freezing rocks with liquid qualities?"

[S-O-Y]

As the babbling man slinked off his back, Smitigo sighed as he heard the window on the other side of the car already being rolled down. The man was quick that was for sure and obviously he was allured by complicated sweets. A smile spread across his pale face as he stepped up into the sedan and took his seat on the black leather. Looking over at the red haired man and back to his new friend he blinked and looked straight ahead seeing a head full of purple strands in front of him "Yugure...I believe we are going to Hopeless", he began and then quickly looked over to his adventure buddy again, "It was Hopeless we were headed to right...er...wow. Your name? What was ur name again odd one?" Smitigo felt dumbfounded for not remembering if he had asked for those details earlier. His memory wasnt the greatest out of the three of them. The red haired man shook his head with a snicker as the violet man started the sedan up. Closing the car door, Smitigo sighed and looked at the man by the open window again for help.

[Wind & Earth]

"Byakko. I am Byakko," he stated distractedly, turning to look at the man beside him. The evil man sitting in front of him was giving him weird vibes. Well, perhaps it was more just the feeling of darkness rolling off him in near palpable waves. It was almost as if he could lick them, they were so thick.

Waves of darkness probably wouldn't taste very good. Instead, he put out a hand and touched them.

"Whoa. Weird. Hey, Mr. Purple, you've got touchable waves of darkness, you know? Touch. Touch. Poke. Pokey poke," Byakko burbled, touching and poking the waves. "Purple. Purple. Pokey. You almost feel like me, but darky and stuff. I'm all windy and stuff. Wind and I have a tiger form like thingy."

His ears flicked and he noticed that in the strange, rectangular mirror that the red one seemed red all over.

[S-O-Y]

Before accelerating the engine to the sedan, Yugure turned around and looked back to the blue haired counterpart behind him.

"You mean to tell me that you dont even know this ones name but yet you trust him to ride on your back?", he asked in dee voice, his tone coming off a little to serious.

Smitigo looked over to Yugure without even turning his head. Blinking a few times, he decided not to answer and just nod his head. Another snicker could be heard from Oraku the red haired man. Eyes switching over to the pronounced 'windy tiger' man, Yugure smiled a sweet smile and winked his only visible eye, the other hidden by white bandages wrapping in a messy pattern around his head, neck, and torso.

"Weird you say huh...I would call it unique. Glad to know that my true colors have changed though. I was getting sick of the black."

Turning around in his seat to move the car forward with a quick shift between park to drive, A soft jolt could be felt as the car started forward, a soft chuckle could be heard underneath the engines rumbling from the violet man. The man sitting next to him rested his head back against the head rest, a few long strands of his red hair fluttering in the wind coming from the open window. Smitigo turned his head away from Byakko and sighed, pushing himself into the comfort of the black leather seats.

[Wind & Earth]

"You almost feel like that Cocoa man. Coco. Koko. Yeah, that. 'Cept he was mostly black and red all over with the tiniest bit of the greenest green green green you'd ever seen. His purpley purple daughter was all territorial, though. Wouldn't let me pet his pretty hair," Byakko pouted, hugging his knees as his ears lay flat on his head. He did fairly well at looking absolutely dejected at being rejected.

"You actually feel a bit more like her but without the inner demon that wanted to eat my entrails if it would make the daughter's daddy happy. That wasn't a very good day. Too still with no wind." Trailing off, Byakko pouted a little longer before sitting forward and poking at the front seat passenger.

"Red Spidey Thing, how can you drive if you have eight legs? Well, twelve. No, eight. Stop that. Your metaphysical body keeps shifting in and out of this plane in a way so that I can't tell if you have four or twenty legs." The gray-eyed man stopped for a long moment, pointing at certain spots near Oraku as if silently counting.

"Twenty-eight? Or was that sixty-four?" He silently begins counting again.

[S-O-Y]

The car stopped at the mentioning of "Koko". An air of tension began to cloud up in the vehicle, Yugure body showing the same signs of tension as a cat would show in pride of fight. Turning his head slowly, his only visible eye narrowing at the turned down eared man. "What makes u bring something like that up? Are u telling me you know about Kokoro somehow. And what do you mean by there is similarity between me and his demon child...". Yugure's attention was sparked now, his own mind waundering within itself at the possiblities of things ironically. Oraku looked over to Yugure as the tiger man started talking about spider legs. "What is he talking about Yugure?", the red haired man asked in a hushed tone, "I dont have that many legs. Are you on drug perhaps?", he asked Byakko turning around in the process as well. Sitting still with thee feeling of interogation going on, Smitigo stayed quite biting his upper lip in the process.

[Wind & Earth]

"Your air, your aura, you feel dark like this man I met once? This darkness was also present in his daughter. You know the man? Do all dark people know each other? It was just a comment about the darkness and how it feels. The spider man's legs keep moving in and out of focus, shifting. It's like they're not his, rather someone else's overlaid on his body. A part? A combination of people? He doesn't seem alone in his own body," Byakko stopped at that, thoughtful about all these things that he could put into words but he had just been having trouble pinning down mentally.

"That is all. I do not know you or what manner of dark creature you are, if a creature at all. No offense meant, I assure you," the blue-haired man assured the driver as much as he could. His ears were down, tail curled up next to him, reflecting his mood.

This was initially about candy, right?

[S-O-Y]

Yugure inhaled slowly as the tiger man began to explain himself. It wasn't that he was upset that he had mentioned the name, but the fact that he compared the two. It was in fact true that Kokoro and Yugure were similar. Not by race or alignment but by blood and companionship. Gritting his teetch, Yugure turned around, his bandages rustling in the process. Looking to Yugure and back to Byakko, Oraku rolled his eyes and turned around as well. "Seems like someone is a little touchy today", the red haired man said under his breath as he began to stare out the windshield. The clouds were gathering over the hours that had passed for it seemed like a cold front was headed into the city. Thank the heavens they were headed out. Smitigo, nudging Byakko, asked him in a hushed voice, "We are intending on going to Hopeless correct?..." A pair of oceanic blue eyes starred into the gray pair beside him. Hands gripping the steering wheel, Yugure began to loose patience on where he was driving to. "Have we decided yet?"

[Wind & Earth]

Once the purple-haired man had backed off a bit, Byakko slunk back down against the seat, pouting and wondering why he had reacted so oddly. The redhead's reaction made him want to roll his eyes and stick out his tongue, but he resisted - barely. Smitigo's question caused a great amount of confusion.

"I thought we had already decided to go to Hopeless. That great candy place that opened up recently... two months ago in the random place on the edge of town, defying the town's famous shops by being unpredictable," the grey-eyed man pointed out, knowing that they had already discussed their quest. How did the addition of these two men change their destination?

Byakko was confused.

To make himself feel better, he stuck his head out the window to enjoy the cool wind blowing. This is what he had lived so long for - simple, fresh air.

How old was he now?

The question left an unsettled feeling in his stomach, so he ignored it for the time being. No one knew. If he really wanted to know, he would have to ask someone who had lived longer than he had.

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo nodded after Byakko replied with the destination again. Sadly his memory was being affected by the other emotions in the car. Yugure with his touchy mood, and Oraku with his michevious nature, it was like putting his own mind into a blender and pressing the 'puree' button. That was the only bad thing of being a halfling of a greater source. A creation of mutliple things. A sigh escaped his lips as he replied to the driver, "Hopeless it is Yugure. The infamous candy shop is where we were headed. I need to stock up on candy sadly...", he trailed of with as he watched Byakko stick his head out the window like a dog. What an odd fellow, he thought to himself. Rotating the steering wheel to the left, Yugure directed the car towards the new destination they were headed. "Hopless it is then, candy or not. Oraku, do you think we could find anything useful in that city today while these two adventure buddies go candy shopping?", the purple haired man asked the passenger. (Pt.1)

[S-O-Y]

The reed haired man turned his head slightly and showed he was in thought with a blank look. "I do believe there might be a few things of interest to us there. Im sure why the buddies back there lally-gag around, we can look around ourselves and see what we can find. How does that sound?" Yugure smiled while keeping his eyes on the road. "Sounds fine Oraku." Smitigo, rolling down his own window, allowed the wind to blow through his hair even more, the cool wind stripping whatever warmth he had on his face away quickly. Thoughts of what candy he could stock up on ran through his head. He was tired of candy drops, so he was considering switching back to suckers. Hopefully Hopeless had a good variety. (Pt.2)

[Wind & Earth]

"Hopeless, Hopey, Hope, Hope, Ho~opeless," Byakko hummed, enjoying the wind in his hair. Nothing could compare to this feeling of freedom. That is, until he remembered the other people in the car.

Glancing over, he was thankful to find them paying attention to anything but him. With that reassurance, the blue-haired male went back to enjoying the fresh feeling of wind on his face. Tail curling back and forth, he breathed deeply, picking out all the impurities in the air.

"Dirty air, but still air and free air is better than old, stale as bread air," he mumbled to himself, putting a hand out into the stream of air created by the forward moving vehicle. The metal monstrosity rumbled along almost pleasantly, but the man with the incorporeal tiger tail was unused to the sound and could not help but compare it to some sort of dragon with a gastrointestinal issue, which made riding along within it very awkward.

Were they the cause of the problem or a solution?

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo looked out the tinted window with a gloomy face on. The adventure that commencing now involved so many other that now it felt like a group outing. Time away from the other two seemed to come around less and less now that they were all moving in together again. It had been a few months since the seperation, which was unexpected then as well, but now Yugure asked if unity could take place again. They were given titles, and were told what they needed to do and he was now "The Weatherman"...what ever that meant. Sighing to himself, he continued to stare out the window, occasionally looking up and the gathering clouds in the sky. Overcast and a possibility of snow was in the future, he said in his head. Stirring in his seat, Oraku exhaled roughly as the man behind him continued to babble. Turning here and there, Yugure steered the car in the next city's direction, the miles decreasing as each minute went by. Hopeless, What a depressing name for a city, Yugure thought as he kept straight forward.

[Wind & Earth]

Byakko hummed idly, eyes slipping closed so that he could focus on the wind better. Awareness of the three other people and the rumbling machine slowly faded away until all he could smell and feel was the cool breeze and his own self. His claws were warm and safe under his jacket, metal tags on his belt clinking every so-often much like a wind chime.

There were words on the wind. If he could just listen a little harder, then he would be able to hear them. His ears flicked forward, eyebrows furrowed, as he strained to catch something just out of his range of hearing. Exhaling slowly, Byakko curled his tail around his waist, stilling the metal tags so that there was less distraction.

He could almost make out the words now as he concentrated with all his might.

[S-O-Y]

It was quite in the car and Oraku was done with it. Turning around in his seat, looked at the back of the man hanging out the window almost and smirked. "What are you anyways might I ask?", he said to the man in a louder voice to over talk the wind blowing into the car. Smitigo, shocked by the rude and random question by his counterpart, frowned in the red head's direction. Oraku caught his half's frown and stuck out his tongue childishly. "I'm just curious. Its not always bad to ask questions yaknow. That IS the only way we will ever find out anything", he proclaimed to Smitigo causing the blue haired boy to roll his eyes like so. Yugure continued to focus on driving, his eyes on the road, but his mind on other matters.

[Wind & Earth]

Jerked back into the car by the noise, Byakko blinked open his eyes to stare at the redhead for a long moment. He had just been about to hear the wind. It was very important and yet here he was, back where he started, no closer to hearing the message.

"Why did you break my concentration? To simply ask what I am when it is obvious unless you are blind? I am what I am and can do simply all that I can. What are you, spider of crimson, that you hide your legs and appear almost human but for the soulless gaze of your eyes?" Byakko pouted, tail flicking back and forth irritably in the restricted space of the backseat. Even now, he felt the pull to try and hear the message, but he couldn't center himself very easily in this moving vehicle, especially with Mr. Suddenly-Inquisitive in the front seat.

"I have already informed you that I am Byakko and have the ears and tail to boot. Have the stories sunk into obscurity so quickly? From the way my captors were going on about me and my companions, we would be the stars of monster stories for ages to come, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo felt the tension in the air for Oraku had lost his smirk as the tiger man replied abruptly. "Im aware of your feline appearance and catty nature you oddball, but that doesnt mean you must snap at people. I was not aware you were listening to the colors of the wind, for you merely looked like a mutant dog sticking his head out of a window. Now, I will excuse you back to your doing and leave it at that", the red haired man spit out with distaste. "Oraku, must you always be so rude?", the driver asked over his shoulder keeping his focus on the road. "Me!? Why do u ask me that, you should be asking the cat boy back here while he accuses me of being spider man!!!", he exclaimed as he turned around in his chair and huffed after he narrowed his eyes at the guest. Smitigo sighed and turned his attention back to the gathering clouds outside the window.