~~~~~~~~ Father Fujimoto and Shuku~~ Two years later

Shukura sat quietly in her temple, candles surrounding her, but none were lit in the morning light. In the center of the marble and elegantly tiled pavilion shrine, Shukura sat in the center, in front of a great statue of the temple, of the Moon dragon on the cushion for her to sit on. Her area was sectioned off by a lace curtain sheer enough that one could see her form inside. The roof of the pavilion high above was adorned with complex glass windows, of moon phases and the dragon, up in the night sky. The sunlight through the glass cast colors on the tiled floor of the pavilion, adding a majestic feel t the place.

Steps lead to the shrine from the village below, the pavilion was surrounded by a thick, lush pine forest. People came every now and again, prayed, then left, leaving an offering once and awhile. The offerings of people to the great dragon surrounded Shukura's area, and the statue. The area was slightly elevated and the offerings lied below it.

Shukura's hair was long enough to almost reach her lower back, her bangs were pulled into her face, covering the right half of her face, hiding her eye and the scar, and to partially protect it from the harsh light of the sun. She wore her dress, this one exposing her shoulders and collarbone. The dress had long sleeves, The fabric was soft and flowed with her movements. It was a long gown done in purple, silver, and navy. A small head dress of cloth and gems rested on her head, the cloth from it hiding her face. Makeup had been applied to hide any visible scars.

Shukura was 13 now, but her heart had been isolated. She trained, did her orders, recited her prophecies, and sat in her shrine. She had no friends, nor did she need any, she had decided on a goal, but she would have to be patient for her to reach it. And how bittersweet it would be.

A man walked up to the shrine. His hair was grey and a pair of circular glasses rested on his nose, tinted yellow. He wore solid black, his outfit was formal, but not a suit and tie. Behind him was a 13 year old boy, he was stiff and dressed similarly to the older man. He seemed nervous as they walked up the steps to the pavilion. When they walked inside, the boy gasped in amazement at the shrine. The older man had a similar reaction, but less childish.

"Wow, this place is really something, so big and fancy." The older man stated, and the boy nodded in agreement. The two spotted Shukura sitting in the center of the temple, and the older man gave a polite bow.

"Hello there Lady Priestess. I am Shiro Fujimoto, and this is my son, Yukio Okumura. Nice to meet you." The man greeted, the young boy quickly bowed as well. Shukura rose from her seat and walked out of her area so she was visible.

"I am Shukura Ryuunome, but I assume you know that. It is pleasant to meet you as well, Father Fujimoto. Lord Kazuko is in headquarters, he is waiting for you." Shukura did a slight bow and walked over to a specific tile on the floor, and tapped on it with her bare foot. The floor opened up and a staircase lead below.

"Yukio, I want you to stay here, I'm sure you could chat with Lady Shukura, she seems nice enough. I'll be back." Fujimoto waved then walked into the stair case and the door sealed itself. Shukura walked back into her seat, and looked at the boy for a second. He was nervous, and shifted his balance from one foot to the other.

Shukura pulled on a string and the curtains were pulled to the side, and she flipped the cloth out of her face. "Would you like some tea?" She asked, and the boy seemed to almost jump.

"Um, sure." He answered, definitely nervous. Shukura reached behind her and grabbed the kettle of tea the maids had brought her earlier, and poured the boy and herself a cup.

"Don't be so tense, So, a kid your age is an exorcist? You must be skilled in your area then." Shukura handed the boy a warm cup of tea and he blinked.

"I just became one. So..." Yukio didn't know what to talk about with the girl, they seemed to be the same age, but Shukura seemed much more mature and experienced than him. "What's this shrine to? It's so big and fancy, must be something important."

"It's the shrine to the Moon Dragon, he's the protective deity of the Hunters and this village. He's said to be wise and ancient, and all-knowing of future and past. Why did you become an exorcist?" Shukura asked the question almost suddenly.

Yukio blinked. "To.. get stronger, so I can protect my brother. He doesn't know about any of this though, so I have to protect him." He answered.

"Hm. Personally, I don't have anyone I need to protect but myself. And I have no one to protect me, so I have to be strong. I don't understand the need to protect someone. I have my goal to reach, and a dream to oversee." Shukura replied, and the boy looked confused.

"Don't you have any friends?" He asked and Shukura closed her eyes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm the priestess, I don't have friends nor need them. No one wants to be friends with someone like me." The boy blinked, a thoughtful look on his face. He took a sip of his tea and looked down into the liquid.

They sat their in silence as the sun rose above up higher into the sky, when Shukura sighed.

"Come up here with me, it probably isn't very comfortable down there. I won't mind, this seat is plenty big enough for two." She offered, noticing Yukio shifting around every 15 minutes or so. She gestured for him to sit down beside her.

Shukura smirked as the boy went red. She found it funny that the boy seemed so nervous and formal. He got up and sat next to Shukura and she sighed.

"So, tell me about this brother you want to protect enough to become an exorcist." Shukura offered, trying to start a conversation with the guest.

"Oh... ok." He blinked, "Well, were twins, and he's the older one." Shukura blinked, wasn't it supposed to be the other way around. "His name's Rin, and he always gets into trouble and into fights, then comes home all beat up, but from the stories, the other guy has it worse." Yukio chuckled.

Shukura listened as he talked about his older twin, the conversation went on for a few more minuets. The ground rumbled and the door opened up and Father Fujimoto walked out.

"Hey, you two look like you're getting along. So Lady Shukura, I have an offer to make you." He said, then he walked up behind Shiro. Her father.

"Yes, what is it?" Shukura straitened up and became statue stiff.

"Well, since you are a valuable person in the Hunters, and you are old enough to decide whether you would like to stay and train as a Hunter or come with me to train as an exorcist. It's completely your choice." Shukura blinked, her composure breaking for a mere second before going back into place. She glanced over at her father and his glare said she was supposed to refuse and continue her training here, under her father's supervision. Sure, it was her choice, but every choice had consequences. There was no choice here.

"As much as I love to leave my temple to go see how exorcist train, I have my duty to uphold here. As priestess, I must remain here." Yukio looked slightly disappointed, but Shiro figured that the stiff way she said it, it wasn't what she wanted. He went to say something but Lord Kazuko spoke first.

"She has decided to stay here and remain within the possession of the Hunters. She will stay here and continue her training by our standards." He said, his tone still almost monotone and lacking any emotion at all. She was just an item to him, a possession.

Shukura watched as her father went back down and she relaxed. "You are not a possession, but a person too." Shukura looked up at a sad looking Shiro. "If you wanted to, you could come with me anyways, and there would be nothing he could do about it." He offered again, now that her father had left.

Shukura let out a sad laugh, no joy seemed to come from her at all, it was all dead. "It would be better if I stayed here, I've never been a person, just a doll to be sat on a shelf. If I were to leave my shelf, then they would come and get me back, by any means. I wouldn't want a war to be broke out over who holds my hand and hears my words. Leaving would be selfish of me. I'll leave my shelf eventually, but when I'm stronger, I don't have the strength yet, but I'll bid my time, the fly away, on my own wings." Shukura said solemly, she had her plan to follow, and until then, she would stay.

Shiro nodded in understanding, a small smile on his face as he figured out what the clever priestess was going to do. Yukio coked his head to the side, not yet able to understand the metaphor.

"Well then, I hope we meet again, Shuku." He waved goodbye, and Shukura blinked at the nickname.

Smiling to herself, she was a person, and she was going to do her plan, and see the sun through a person's eyes, not a doll's.