Secrets of the forest....

Light felt relieved a bit, that Megumi wasn't the last Kitsune in existence. And he was getting a history lesson to boot, which helped to sate the former test subject's curiosity a bit. He listened quietly to her story of the one her clan served, from Light remembered his Captain saying. Kami was supposed to be some sort of holy being, in Light's line of work sometimes meetings with divine figures was necessary. But he didn't know much about religion and spirits.

"Interesting, although it seems that you have been as my friend says 'Reassigned to Antarctica.' My friends tell me that Japan is a land rich with history, I'll need to learn more as we seem to be staying here for quite some time. If you are willing to teach me the culture then I'm up for learning." Light said, a smile on his features.

He then bit his lip and decided to say something else "You might be wondering why I have not fled in terror at you appearing Megumi-san, it's because I combat the evil supernatural elements of this world alongside my friends. I went to a school for the supernatural, now I work to try and bring peace to the unsuspecting folk and use my powers for good."

Megumi blinked slowly as she processed what Light had just said. Wow...this guy really didn't know how you talk to people at all. Even after spending the last several decades in a deep slumber and awakening to find a world very different from the one she had last seen, she felt she had the better grasp of social etiquette. Light seemed to have attached to her like she was supposed to be some sort of history teacher to him, and while she certainly felt sorry for him, she wasn't sure she was quite ready to give him a full historical and cultural synopsis of Japan. Certainly not when she'd just caught up on it herself. As for the rest of what he had said...

"...Um, OK. Well I figured you hadn't 'ran in terror' because I'm not all that terrifying," she said, gesturing to take in the slender build and baggy clothing, "I mean sure, there's the ears, but have you seen some of the things people wear these days? They have headbands with ears like this on, people pay money to look like I do all the time! Also, given the sense of magical ability, muscular physique and generally combative bearing, I figured you'd seen things stranger than a girl with fox ears before."

OK, now I'm confused, are we fightin' 'im or wat?! Ya wanna fight 'im, I'z can tell!

"Shut up Maw!" Megumi snapped, her patience wearing thin. She knew that The Maw fed on whatever raw, negative emotions it could, and its voice would only become more insistent as...and that was when she realised she'd told the Oni spirit to shut up out loud. She stopped in her walking for a moment, anxiousness and annoyance plain in her body language as she turned to face Light fully.

"Look, what you do with your friends all sounds very impressive, but I've got my own little corner of the world I'm keeping safe, and I should get back to it," she said, gesturing to where she had been facing just a moment ago, "You're clear of the outer ring of warding, so anywhere from here to the forest outskirts are safe for you to train in. Best of luck to you Light, and the rest of your friends," she said with a slight nod, moving to walk past him and back the way they had walked, deeper into the forest

Light had reached the location that Megumi had showed him, he was grateful for the kitsune showing him this place. Perhaps now he wouldn't have another incident, who knows the nightmare could have been even worse. Light didn't want to comprehend that, no way.

But considering how Megumi had acted just now, Light's curiosity perked up. He knew the kitsune was going to leave, but Light wanted a few things cleared up first. Granted Japan did have a lot of odd things, but since coming here he and his crew had learned to separate "Odd but alright." and "Odd and dangerous." and Light couldn't help but be a bit concerned right now.

"Uh Megumi-san wait please, I just need to ask you a couple of things before you go. This Maw that your referring to, are you in some kind of danger? Will you be okay?" Light asked, the outburst was just sudden and the former test subject's curiosity was mixed with a bit of worry.

Megumi paused to glance back over her shoulder at Light, her intention clearly still to leave. Despite his lack of ability for tactful conversation, she could see he was concerned, although whether that worry was directed at her, or some unknown threat he interpreted her comment to refer to, she couldn't say.

"I'm the guardian of a sacred grove - danger is part of the job. I've been doing this for a long time though, so no, I'm not in any greater degree of danger than I usual am," she said with a dismissive shrug, "I appreciate the concern, but seriously, you're a couple of thousand years too late to help with any problems I want dealing with. I can handle my own situation."

She turned back to face Light, trying to think of a way to brush him off gently. If he wanted to practise whatever it was he intended to do out here away from the wards, he was free to do so, but the last thing she wanted was for him to bring some of his friends over and poke around, possibly setting off more of the wards or damaging them. If she gave him just enough of an answer to satisfy whatever curiosity he had, she could leave him to it and hopefully not have to deal with a host of strange people tramping around near the grove.

"Look, I'm sorry if I come across as a little quick to snap, but I'm not really comfortable with talking about it much, so I'll give you the short version and you can get back to your training. The reason I'm stuck guarding this grove while my clan moved on? There was an Oni, an ogre spirit that called itself The Maw that wanted into the grove, but it wasn't all that bright and was easily turned aside by the wards. But it would just turn back up again, over and over, and it was a constant effort to keep the wards strong enough to deflect it. I felt it was better to try and banish The Maw, but the village elders advised against it, and I...I thought I know better," she said, tapping her foot irritably as she recounted her foolish actions, "I snuck into the temple, found the most powerful banishing spell I could find, and I confronted The Maw. The spell worked, in a way, but something went wrong and its spirit was bound to mine, so now whenever I get frustrated or annoyed I can hear its voice in my head. As punishment, Inari allowed the rest of the clan to return to the heavenly realms, leaving me as the only guardian."

She gave a sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly from the effort of recounting the story, but she straightened up a moment later. "OK, so now you know it's not a threat - just a stupid mistake that I've got to carry around with me for however long until Inari chooses to release me from my guardianship. So if there's nothing else, I'm going back to my grove," she finished, turning her back once more to leave.

Light thought something was up, he might have a hard time with reading and writing. But he was no fool to be sure, Light did recall his Captain Mr Carlson relate to him the story of the sprit inside his katana. How the sprit who could only know himself as Asura gave his life to save Japan against an Oni demon centuries ago, although Light strongly doubted the two things were one in the same.

The former test subject remained quiet as Megumi told him of her story, she had been blinded by her confidence and acted recklessly. Although it could be seen as a pyrrhic victory for her race, alas however the kitsune was forced to pay the price. When Light heard that this Maw was now bound to her, he pictured it as her dark side. One that cared for only suffering and violence, like how Light could have turned out if he hadn't met his friends. But still Light was smart enough to tell that it did bother Megumi a bit, but he admired her for being upfront about it.

John nodded to her and then as she walked away he said to her "It may have been a mistake, but you couldn't have known it at the time. Take care Megumi-san, your secrets are safe with me I assure you. See you again sometime." the former test subject smiled and gave a wave as he let the kitsune leave the area.

"Sure," Megumi said flatly, giving as non-committal an answer as she could muster. She just wanted to leave, to be away from this guy, his questions, and his self-assured opinions. Had he not listened to what she had said? She had been told by the village elders that she was being reckless, that there was no need to banish the Oni when the wards were simpler to maintain and carried less risk. She'd had those older and wiser than her telling her it was a bad idea, and she'd gone ahead and done it anyway, because she felt she was in the right. Without a backwards glance, she slipped between the trees, leaving Light to whatever he intended to do.

She wove her way towards the nearest of the outer wards, angrily snatching at the threads that connected it to the grove, and with a thought she transported herself back to her home amid the ruins of the old village. Ears twitching with irritation, she strode over to her tent and threw herself onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow. All she wanted to do right now was sleep, and forget that the conversation had ever happened. She was sure Light had meant well, but she didn't feel she'd be too upset if their paths never crossed again...