The pounding on the door went perfectly in time with the throbbing of my head as I pulled the pillow and blankets over it. That did it... no more closing the bar and insisting to finish the last four drinks that were jokingly ordered right at last call. My tongue felt like a cat had slept on it, my vision was hazy, my clothes were... somewhere...

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"And if someone doesn't stop trying to break my door in, I'm going to break their fucking neck!" I sat up, snarling as I faced towards the hall and the offending door. Bad move. REAL bad move. Instead of stopping once I'd sat, my body decided to keep going, right off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. In a rather ungraceful heap, I silently cursed my stupid luck, the alcohol that made me this way and my own sanity for taking a leave of absence the night before.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

That did it. I grabbed the bed, pulling myself up to stand and staggered towards the door with murder in my eyes. I waited until just when the pounding started up again and reached to the knob, flinging the door open and glaring at the S.O.B. who thought this was amusing. Jason. I fucking knew it. He took one look at me, growling at him with my hands on either side of the doorframe, and just blinked.

"Mornin', Ren." He said nonchalantly with that smug look that made me want to shove him down a flight of stairs. He crosses his arms and let his gaze move over me for a moment. It wasn't until he spoke next that I realized why. "You know... if I'd been the landlord, I'd have you kicked out for reckless endangerment, indecent exposure and the crime of having the worst case of white boy's disease I've seen in a long time. You need a tan, man."

I was about to move forward and grab his throat when his words finally sunk in. I looked down at myself, realized just what he was talking about and immediately slammed the door in his face.

"Aw come on, Ren... you look so CUTE when you step into a cold hall buck naked."

I stalked back to my room, grabbing the first pair of pants I could find and slid into them quickly. By this point, he'd already started the knocking again. "If anything's gonna get me kicked out of here, it's you!" Shooting that comment over my shoulder, I then turned, aiming for the door again. So help me god, I was going to kill him.

"Knock knock... who's there... Jason..."

"KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF!" I opened the door again, reaching out and dragging him in by the arm. Slamming it closed once more, I pushed past him and headed for the kitchen. He moved as though he was going to pipe up again but stopped as soon as I spun around, my finger in his face. "So help me.. if you don't let me get coffee, you won't have to worry about college next year. It's rather hard to get a degree when you're a corpse."

"Temper, temper... sheeze, you wake up in a bad mood." He took the advice though, and fell into a chair, waiting for me to come back out. As I started the coffee pot, I heard the TV start up and the sound of channel surfing going on in full force. I grumbled to myself about bad moods being caused by idiots with no life... then stopped and realized. I'm one of those idiots.

High school's over, college is not an option... only thing I got going for me is the fact that I can con just about anyone into giving me a job. If I don't have the qualifications... I'll fake it. That's how I learned computers, after all. You sit in front of one long enough, you'll learn something. So rather than spend every dime I had to go to college and learn shit that won't do me a bit of good once I get out, I decided to take the direct road. Learn hands-on and take it from there. It had worked so far, and I for one was glad I'd made that choice. Regardless of what some thought, it wasn't that I didn't have the brains for college. I considered myself as being too smart for it in fact. I'm not spending all my hard earned cash on an education that gives me the same right as anyone else to say 'Ya want fries with that?'. Besides... I was making more money now than half my friends were. Felt damned good.

Steaming mug in my hand, I moved back into the living room, raking a hand through the flame-red hair that always had a mind of its own. I dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged as I sipped my coffee and tried to figure out just what it was we were watching. I groaned, leaning back against the chair Jason occupied as I realized what it was.

"News? Oh for chrissakes, at least find something interesting."

"It is interesting... how the hell do you expect to know what's going on?"

"This is New York... open a window and you'll hear someone bitching about it."

"Very funny." He shifted, sitting on the remote so that I couldn't make the grab for it that he knew was coming."

"I hate the news and you know it. Too depressing. If I want to see how many people died today, I'd go get a newspaper." I set the mug down and turned, making a lunge for him. "Now gimme that!" I hit him head on, knocking the chair backwards and sending him skittering across the floor. Claiming the remote as my prize, I sat back down again as if nothing had happened while he picked himself up and cursed just loud enough for me to hear. "Temper, temper..." I mocked, imitating his earlier tone.

"I can't believe this.." I whispered, walking along the riverbank, my eyes cast down on the ground. I could barely see, I was so angry, but I couldn't cry. I don't know why... I should have been. One hand was clenched into a fist and buried deep within the pocket of my coat, the other held the pink slip that I had just received not an hour ago. I'd wandered since then, just walking... no true destination in mind. I didn't want to face Jason right now. He'd try to cheer me up and I'd likely just deck him. I threw my head back, shouting at the top of my lungs, loud enough to startle the birds into flight. "I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!!!"

Now what was I going to do... If I couldn't find another job fast, I'd be on the street. I couldn't stay with Jason... he may be my best friend, but damnit, we'd kill each other. If someone had told me I had a god watching me at that moment... I'd have laughed my ass off at them and likely knocked them into the river.

When I got home, there was a package waiting for me there. Not outside the door, or even downstairs in the mailbox... but on the floor *INSIDE* my apartment. I immediately want on the defensive, scouting the entire place before finally assuring myself that no one was there. Who the hell had gotten into my apartment and why would they leave something instead of stealing things??

It was wrapped in plain paper, and was heavy when I picked it up. I took off the paper carefully, my jaw hanging slack when I saw what it was. A fan made of solid diamond! Jesus, that would pay for anything I ever wanted!! But some part of me rebelled against that idea immediately, and I knew that no matter what happened to me, I'd never be able to sell it.

I sat on my bed most of the night, looking at it in every detail. I even did a bit of research on the web and found reference to it. It wasn't a fan, really, but a tessen, it was called. The only thing that even mentioned a diamond one was on a page that was dedicated to Ancient history and there was only a brief notation on it. It had apparently been carried by a bandit who was sworn to one of two gods that entered a 'holy war' for lack of a better term. My gaze drifted back to the fa-... tessen, and I lifted a brow. It looked kinda old... could it be the same one?

The rest of the night was spent in darkness, my face illuminated by the computer screen as I moved to dig up whatever information on this war that I could.

*"What do you say, Eiken... you want your girl back, you gotta fight me..."* I saw myself leaping into the night, four wolves jumping into the fray behind me as I laughed, fading from view... Then a light flashed before me, blinding me for a moment.

I was in the middle of a festival, the lights and sounds overwhelming in their intensity. A hand grabbed me from behind and I was looking into a pair of violet eyes that were alive with wonder. "Come on, Tasuki! Let's see if I can win a prize over there!" The light came again all too soon....

"NURIKO!! Open your eyes, damnit!" Come on Nuriko, you're scaring Chichiri... Miaka's run off because she thinks you're really dead... the joke's over, I'll forgive you, just open your eyes!

It was the first time I can ever remember waking up in tears... I was curled in my bed, hands tightly clutching the sheets as my face pressed against the damp fabric of my pillow. What did it mean... what the hell did it all mean?? It was then that my eyes caught something in the darkness... a light that shouldn't be there. I knew this place inside and out, no red lights were anywhere near here! I yanked the covers back and saw the source... against my forearm gleamed a crimson symbol. Chinese... that much I could recognize before stress took over and I screamed. At least I think I did... my neighbors beneath me started banging against their ceiling, yelling for me to shut up.

I couldn't even think straight... I sat up, moving back as if that could distance me from it. My next reaction was to claw at it until the tears came once more, my arm aflame with pain. All I succeeded in doing was raking the skin nearly away, leaving a patch of blood and shredded skin... and that damned symbol glaring in the night. I grabbed the tessen... looking back, I think it was instinct, but I didn't know what else to do. Dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, I ran out the door, letting it bang open against the wall, not even bothering to close it before I bolted down the hall. Eyes wild, I must have looked a fright. If Jason had seen me, there's no telling what he'd have done.

I kept running, not stopping until I was well into Central Park. Not the best of places even in the day, but I didn't even notice. All I knew was that my world was dumping itself on its ear and I was trapped. No where to go... I looked down at my arm then, and all that I saw was torn skin and blood. The mark was gone for now, at least. I dropped into the grass then, holding the tessen tightly as I tried to regain control of the emotions and thoughts that were running rampant in my mind. It was the scream that jarred me from my self-depression, making me jerk my head upright. That voice.. it sounded like...

Turning slowly, I saw the scene before me. A girl, running from a man who had to be at least three times her size. No one needed to think twice to realize what was happening. But what I saw was different, and to this day I don't know what made me think it. I saw a frail figure, making a leap of faith to try and move away from a creature that was half man, half wolf. I saw the thing reach up, moving to impale the smaller man on it's claws, and something inside of me snapped.

Snarling deep in my throat, I stood, running towards the two as fast as I could. I never saw the girl run past me and turn to watch her 'savior'... all I saw was a monster before me who had killed once. I'd be damned if he'd do it again. Not this time... not to him... not again! I knew who I was... it all came back with the memory, the adrenaline rush that let me leap into the air to defend one long dead whom I saw in my mind's eye. As far as I knew, I was being given another chance... a chance to save one that I had failed in the past.

"REKKA... SHIN'EN!!!"

To Interlude