"Because he is a vampire... Why else...?" a strange, familiar voice said. "What...?! Who said that?!" Ai yelled. "In the river, my dear...." Ai looked down, and there was an enstranging neko such as herself, but looked different and was pale-red. But she had Ai's voice!
"Who are you...?" Ai said nervously. Ai did not like where this was going. The neko in the river started to laugh.
"Why, Ai... I am you." The neko started to form out of the river, and a dark-red beam shifted from the moon to Ai. After it was done, Ai collapsed. "Ugh... What was that...?" The neko from the river disappeared.
"I... I should go back to the camp." She walked away with an echoing cackle following her.
"Well, we're back. Hey, Karasu, did Ai come back? Karasu....?" Saishi asked. Karasu was sleeping over the log next to the fire. "He must have been stoking it. I see with no one around, what else could he have done?" Riku said.
"Karasu?" she said, walking over to him. "Karasu...?" He was sleeping so innocently.
Saishi scowled. There she goes again, falling for him! he thought infuriatingly. Karasu woke up. "Hm..? Oh, Riku, it's you... Well, Ai was looking for you... Where is she?" The two flinched. "We don't know... We saw her, but I don't think she saw us... Um, I'll go look for her," Saishi said.
"And I'll stay here with Karasu," Riku offered. "Oh, fine... But hurry, Saishi... I really need to tell you three something important..."
He nodded, and then he went to look for her. Where could that little cat be? Saishi thought to himself. Where do you think, Saishi...? She is searching for your heart... a familiar voice said. He stopped. "Who's there...? Show yourself!"
Oh... have you forgotten me that easily, my child...? the voice replied.
"No... Y-you can't be... Mother...?" Saishi said, his voice faltering. The voice started to chuckle softly, and soon the voice faded altogether.
Saishi went on walking. How could it have been Mother? She killed herself after have killing Father, he reassured himself. "Ai? Are you there?" he said after have not feeling her presence.
"I'm right here, Saishi-san." He turned around, surprised. "Ai! Where...? How...? Don't sneak up on me!" She soon blushed. "Sorry... Um, Karasu said he had something important to say... So let's go back to the camp." Saishi nodded slowly.
As the two walked, Saishi became a bit suspicious. This must be Ai, but how was it possible that I was not aware of her presence? Hm... maybe I'm just losing my touch, he thought to himself.
"Finally, everyone is here. I thought we would never be able to go on," Karasu said. "Well, what is the big news, Karasu?" Saishi asked.
"Well... I knew that I would change back to my original form. I never told you guys how everytime I would change back to a human form why it was a different human."
"So, why did you change into a different human?" Riku asked.
Karasu was silent, closing his eyes, his head tilted in the red light. "This moon, last year, caused my transformation. On this very date, I changed into a werewolf last year. And for some odd reason, nowhere else is able to see this moon. Because as soon as I left these woods, the moon was a pale white again. When I went back into the woods, it was red. And it wasn't just the moon's effects, a werewolf was dying. He told me so, and then he bit me. He told me to treasure the gift, but I always thought he cursed me... As soon as he died, I turned into a beast. But when i went back to a human, I was that guy! But not, because of the moon's effects, I'm back to myself."
"Well then. All is well now, right?" Saishi said. Karasu shook his head. "No. I'm not sure if I will not be a werewolf anymore, but it was you guys that I was afraid of. Saishi, Ai, I'm not sure if you two could be exposed, since you two are already creatures of the Magick. Riku, I'm pretty sure nothing else will happen to you... I was a neko before, as you all know, so... The red moon can change you into anything, and these woods are a bit mysterious in its own ways. If you all met someone who said they were someone you knew, they were probably lying, trying to get you into their trap."
Ai and Saishi flinched. Karasu noticed and then asked, "Did something happen to you two?" Saishi returned to his form. "Of course not. I just hope nothing like that will happen to me." Ai blushed and then said, "No... I just hope I do not meet a strange person either..."
Karasu nodded. "Fine. But we better stay here for awhile, just to be safe..." Riku stood up. "If these woods are already strange and the moon is only red in here, then shouldn't we leave?!" Karasu stared at her. "There is someone here who can give me the right answers, alright? Her name is Princess Tsukino. I read about the history of these woods when I was younger, but since I've had the first-hand experience of being exposed to its magic, then the princess should be real. She is the Princess of the Red Moon, so she should be here tonight. Hopefully."
Then a childish laughter was heard. "What was that?!" they all yelled out.
Will someone play with me tonight? Werewolf, if you play with me, I will answer any questions you have!
