She would not go out for another couple of weeks. Not leaving her hut while nursing her wounds. While she was now much stronger and more durable, she remained a normal person for the most part. So her wounds healed at a normal rate. Especially something like this. She would be limping for a long time.

Despite this, she wasn't suffering at this point. Mimi was taking care of her food since she was hurt. The girl had a far better position now than she had before. So she could take care of Kou with the money Kou gave her. At least for now that was how things were arranged. It was strange how much beauty could help someone, wasn't it? She should try to take better care of herself. But then again... No let's not do that. She didn't know what she wanted to do with herself. But she did not want to become a whore or something like that in the future.

Her injury and current situation gave her a lot of free time. "Bored..." With a huff Kou rolled around. When she was inside her hut, she had begun to wear her nice robes all the time. They were so comfortable. Whenever she wore them she also felt like she had an easier time absorbing the energy around her. That by the way was what she did with all her newly found free time. Breathing. Sounds boring, doesn't it? She was slowly turning insane from it too. She could certainly stay cooped up for a long time but this was getting out of hand. She wanted to move around.

So after another few days she had had enough. Stepping out of her box she put weight on her injured leg. It felt weak, but it did not hurt anymore. She had a light limp and the scar left behind was rather unsightly. Yet after a few jumps and running in a circle for a bit she had adjusted to it for the most part.

Today she would go out!

So using her good leg she jumped up onto the roof. God this felt amazing. Obviously, she had not forgotten to add dye to her hair and put on her usual rags. It was just about to be dusk at this point. She spent most of her days sleeping, being awake at night for the most part. Like a wild animal, she jumped over roofs quite often. Even running on all 4's since it was easier with her bad leg to keep balance that way.

It had been a long time since she had simply stalked around. She had no specific plans today. She had food. So her purpose today was simple entertainment. And she wasn't the only one looking out for that. The streets of the red-light district were filled with bright lights. Filled with a myriad of different people. There were Soldiers, Merchants and artisans. Rich and poor. All kinds of people. She loved the red-light district at night. Busy and loud. With lamps shining like stars.

Well. She liked looking at it that is. From a distance. She disliked interacting with people immensely. One had to force her to go down there and interact with people in a meaningful way. The only thing she would ever do was steal and quickly leave the busy streets. So from a distance, she enjoyed watching the lively scene.

Hopping around she watched. Her eyes were so much sharper now. She could see the distinct movements of people. She actually spotted 2 pickpockets just by watching them from above. A sly smile spread across her face as she followed those two for a short while. One was a young boy. She had no idea how old, but probably around 10? The other was a middle-aged man with a feathery hat. Kou kept an eye on the boy but did follow the middle-aged man more closely.

He was really good! His fingers were quick and precise and he made no mistakes. Moving through the crowd as naturally as possible. However, even he didn't notice the shadow that snatched his bag. Before hopping back to the roof. Kou had a large coin purse in her mouth, and was giving an amused grunt as she opened it up. Quite a bit of silver and some copper. Pretty good! Before she would've never tried something like this. But now she felt empowered by her strength and speed.

She had brought along the backpack the bounty hunter had. Having put the small bag that held many things she had stolen from the boy inside it. It was a bagception. She put the coin purse into the small bag. It still amazed her how such a small bag could hold things larger than itself. But she was used to it now! Kou wasn't too concerned about the middle-aged thief. He clearly made much more profit today than the amount this small purse held.

After jumping around, she quickly found the boy again. He had left the main street and entered the slum area. Arrived at a small muddy plaza around a well. There were people here too. Normal people look a lot less glamorous. Seamstresses are still working at this time, sitting in front of their houses. Waiting for their husbands to come home. There was a forge that basically ran the entire day pumping out weapons for the Lord's army.

And there were a lot of ill-looking children. Much like Kou. Or rather not so much like Kou anymore as her proper diet and frequent washing had done wonders for her. Still she did not appear out of place with her dirty clothing, dislocated nose, limping foot and messy hair. She looked a little healthier now.

The children were currently playing with a leather ball. Kicking it around each other. There were no teams. Everyone tried to get the ball for themselves and there was a wooden pole in the middle! Whoever hits the pole with the ball will get a point. It was a rough sport. But the kids liked playing with it. Kou hasn't been here for quite some time. She had never joined in and always stayed in the shadows watching from a distance.

And this time she settled down again. She had no intention joining in. She simply enjoyed watching. But the luck had it that a stray ball flew right towards her. Directing the children's attention towards her, none of them were wary. They instinctively recognized that Kou was similar to them.

"Kick it!" One of the rowdy boys called out and charged Kou to get the ball back. As Kou jumped to the side, she kicked the ball. It flew over the boys head and it hit the pole dead on, flying a few feet into the air before landing on some poor boy's head. For a moment there was silence. Then loud cheers came from the crowd.

Kou had acted without thinking about it. And was instantly frightened that this was far to much attention So she retreated into the shadows. Of course, the children did try to get her to play more. But she resisted, shaking her head a lot and backing up further into the shadows. Still that shot was kind of fun. But the thought of getting out there and openly playing made her shiver a bit. So for the duration of the game she would kick the ball whenever it came in her direction. But never made any attempt to run forward.

It seemed strangely often that the ball came towards her! And every time it did she kicked it against the pole. She was having fun enough while still being in her comfort zone. But soon the game ended as a bell rang and the children dispersed. Kou herself also hooped back onto one of the roofs. Unsure what to do with herself she made her way to her favorite spot.

The old watchtower.

Climbing it was so much easier now than it was before. Even with her damaged leg she easily made her way up. Sitting down and looking out at the city and the starry sky. "Mh." She found herself in a rare moment of reflection. The last couple of months to a year flashed before her. It was weird. She had been on her own for so long already. Her life had never really changed. Almost every day was a battle. But that one heist changed everything. That bag she had gotten had given her a new way to live her life. It alone had made a huge difference in her and Mimi's lives.

Mimi became even prettier. Luckily nobody would complain about that, and it should not get her into any problems right? Kou felt a bit anxious about that. Mimi's change wasn't super drastic so it was easy to hide. But would she change too if she got to the point Mimi got to? Furthermore, why did it take her so long to reach that point?

She closed her eyes and felt inside of her. The void inside had almost entirely filled at this point. It was maybe another day or two at the hot spring before it was full to the brim. She had no idea what would happen when it did. Yet she felt a sense of anticipation for it. It was difficult to explain and she could not get her mind behind it. Still she knew, felt it... could taste it on her tongue. That was something she HAD to do.

To be frank the feeling scared her quite a bit. It was something different than your body telling you that you are hungry or thirsty. This was more like... everything down to her very soul driving her towards completing it, and.... it just wasn't something she was used to.

Anxiety seemed to be everywhere her mind could wander. Kou was bad at dealing with that kind of stuff, so she stopped thinking about anything. Flopping down on her back she started up into the sky. Her mouth opened as her eyes glazed over. It was sort of an escape. She never had a big problem emptying her mind, just staring at the sky and thinking nothing. It made all of her problems and other things go away.

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It took almost an hour before she recovered from that state. With a refreshed mind, she made a choice. She would spend the next few days outside of the city near the hot spring. It was dangerous because wild animals would roam there at night but she wanted to do this in one go. Upon returning back to her home she waited for Mimi to show herself. As a result, she wanted to let the other know that she won't be here for a couple of days.

"Oh? I don't know if that is a good idea, Kou? Aren't there wild animals?"

Mimi seemed worried about it but Kou shook her head and said, "I'll be fine." She mumbled. Kou wasn't quite sure how strong she was right now. She was probably capable of handling her own based on how she had defeated the two men before. "Take... care.. Mimi." She waved briefly, but before she could leave Mimi handed her another bar of soap.

"Take that.. if the same thing that happened to me is going to happen to you, you will need it. It's nasty, lot's of goop comes out of your pores and sticks to your skin...so you gonna wanna bring spare clothes." Kou scrunched her nose lightly. Into her small pack she stuffed one of the robes she got from the young boy. At this point it was a lot more dirty and shabby and she had torn off the ornaments. So while it's inside was still soft and warm, it looked just slightly better then her usual clothes.

"Thank you... I'll be back." She handed Mimi some silver coins from her loot pile before heading out. The Pink head giving a light shrug. "Take care."

With her injured leg holding her back somewhat, she still made her way to the hot spring quite quickly. As always there was a group of monkeys present. But most of them knew Kou at this point and there was no ruckus. Instead of getting to it right away Kou started to gather a bunch of fallen wood around her. Breaking down young tree branches and saplings here and there. As she started to build herself a little shelter next to the hot-spring. With how strong she was now she could even roll over a couple of boulders to make it a little more secure.

After about an hour of work a primitive small hut was constructed. It was not much but it was enough. With boulders as walls and sticks and wood as the roof she had spread moss and earth over it so it should keep the rain out. It didn't even look super out of place. Just a couple of moss-covered boulders. Inside her new home she spread more moss around the ground before covering the moss with a couple of dirty blankets she had brought with her.

"Mh.. comfy." She was content with that. It was soft sufficient to sleep on and so she rolled back and forth a few times to flatten it out, giving a light giggle as she did. A proud smile spread across her face as she gazed at this little house on the outside. "Outside base...". It was not quite large enough for her to stand inside, but she could crawl inside. It was good enough. And with the hot-spring so close it would not get too cold either.

Clapping her hands she sat on top of her temporary home as she wiggled around looking at the hot-spring. "Mh..Start now.. or later." It was getting late at this point but her body was filled with anticipation. A soft vibrating sensation she could feel at the end of her spine and in her head. She was tingling! Rubbing her body lightly she gave a huff.

"Mh...Get to it then... won't be able to sleep anyway." She mumbled before throwing off most of her clothes and hopping into the steaming pool. Having been here a lot recently she had found out that she was able to hold her breath for quite a long now. As long as she stretched it, she would be able to remain under the water almost half an hour while taking in the energy from the water. However she did not feel like straining herself and so she came up for air every couple of minutes.

Of course, it would not be fun to just absorb the energy. Instead Kou who was much more comfortable with animals started to play with the monkeys. After bringing a leather ball, she thought the animals could play by throwing it in between themselves. The monkeys were very smart and happily joined in on the fun. Whenever Kou needed to recharge her mental strength. Absorbing the energy was exhausting. It was not like just breathing it in and zoning out.

Instead she had to filter out the energy and only take what she wanted, discharging the rest into the water around her. And since she still had trouble with the process and was not quite sure what she was actually doing it was still a process she had trouble with. So there was a need for play time in between her training sessions.

She seemed to be enjoying her time here quite a bit. There were no people around and no street noises. She seemed quite comfortable with that. "Maybe I should move here." She muttered quietly before dismissing the idea. She couldn't really get much food out of here. Also, it was still out in the open, unlike her hidden nook sanctuary, which was openly assessable by anyone who just happened to come by.

Shelving that idea for now, she shook her head in disappointment. There was also Mimi. While Kou was clear that she should not get too attached to anyone she did like Mimi a lot, even if she could rarely show her affection to her. While she was caught up in her thought process, she suddenly got surprised by one of the monkeys growling. It was late at night at this point. There was rarely a time when the monkeys left the springs. Only to do their business somewhere and to hunt for food and move around, they would sleep nearby. She had never been here this late so a scene like this was foreign to her.

There she saw it. This massive beast appears to be made entirely from muscles, with gleaming golden eyes. This creature was a tiger. Or at the very least that was what Kou thought. But she did not think Tiger's size would be as great as this. This creature was taller than a grown man. It was eying the monkeys with contempt as it walked towards the spring. Its stride was powerful yet graceful at the same time.

Finally the creature spotted Kou and tilted it's head lightly... taking a sniff in the air it's eyes widened slightly before it lowered its head slightly, staring at the girl that was frozen in the water. Kou could not move at all. Everything screamed to run away but she seemed to be glued to the spot. Her body was not listening so she bit her lower lip hard. The pain made her able to move again so she jumped backwards.

Despite this, the creature did not chase her. It remained staring at her and stared at her for a while. And then shockingly it started to talk. "You! Are you the one dispensing the fire energy into the spring?" Having no idea what that meant Kou wearily tilted her head, still ready to dash at a moment's notice. With no response, the large creature gave a soft growl before stepping forward to sink into the spring, giving a satisfied grunt. The creatures speech was rough and unclear. It spoke much like Kou in a slow unskilled way.

The non-threatening attitude of the creature had made Kou relax a little bit. Maybe this was a creature she could actually talk to. Therefore, while keeping a reasonable amount of distance she came back over staring at the Tiger. Their similar colored eyes met. "You are a human child? No.. you smell like a spirit to me..." The creature was engaging in idle conversation suddenly. Kou tilted her head lightly. This was still a bit overwhelming... but then there was a light cough.

A very large and old looking monkey with a bright red face suddenly appeared as he was leaning on a large primitive staff. "Oh, Lord of the Mountain, I ask for forgiveness for this one. She has joined us recently and does not ye.." The giant Tiger gave a rough growl "Enough, I'm not here to bother her and cause problems for her." Kou stared at this even more bewildered. The Monkey could also talk... what a weird situation this was! They were talking about her too so she herself gave a light growl. She was here after all!

Both of these creatures blinked and looked at this small growling creature. The Tiger gave a wry laugh while the monkey lord coughed. He bows towards Kou who looks at him like a silly.. bowing to her. "I didn't see any reason to bother you, but I'm the lord of monkeys."

But then the Tiger growled "So she is the one that has been dispensing the energy here?" Unto that question the Monkey Lord gave a light nod. "Yes she has." With that the Tiger glanced at this small child. Although she looked human, she smelled like a spirit, which was the primary reason the tiger did not attack her, and was in fact rather friendly. Spirits are a rare lifeform after all!

A spirit was a creature that was born from the land. Weak spirits would govern a spring or a small lake, while powerful spirits could govern entire countries. They were at times nature and the concepts of nature personified. For a beast like the tiger meeting a spirit was good fortune as it could use the spirits' energy for cultivation! Due to Kou's constant use of the hot-spring both it and the monkey lord had gained self awareness due to naturally absorbing the fire energy inside of it.

"I only came to check. The fire energy you have been giving off to the spring has been very blessing to me and these folks. It has helped us reach a higher level and enabled us able to speak." The Tiger explained. This stunned Kou - so these animals have been taking in the energy she could not? That nasty grimy energy that was so hot and fiery? She made a face before shaking her head. "Mh..If it helps... " She took a moment to formulate her sentence before speaking. "I want to stay here... for a few...days. I already built a house." She pointed to the house she built.

The Tiger followed her gaze and laughed, "That is fine. Fine. It is appropriate for young people to ask permission. But you are helping us with what you do so why would I ever refuse?" the creature sank down into the bath. "Now come and bathe, do the thing you do.. so I can take in the energy directly." It was not so much of a command but a request.. at-least from the tone of it. Kou still looked wearily, however she had always gotten along with animals better than with people, so this was actually less scary than people.

In fact, the tiger itself did not feel anything negative towards Kou, instead it was thankful and did not want to anger the spirit. Once a beast had awakened, they would be much like Kou herself. Wanting to improve themselves further and attain superior strength!

Sliding back into the water, staying quiet simply complied, making both animals grunt in amusement. She simply sank back down and continued to absorb and disperse the energy. She could not understand why anyone would like this grimy and nasty energy! She felt like throwing up whenever she tried to absorb it. So weird!

Shaking her head a few more times she banished these thoughts from her mind as she continued her strenuous journey of absorbing energy.

It was in the early hours of the morning while it was still dark outside that she stopped. Exhausted and ready to fall asleep right away she crawled out of the spring and into the small house she had prepared for the night. Before entering, she shook herself like an animal to dry herself off a little before slipping into the warm robes she had prepared inside already. They had turned into her pajamas of sorts recently.. just so comfy!

The next day she woke up to the Lord of the mountains still in the hot-spring! The creature was enjoying it and it looked like it was surrounded by fiery energy. "I'm glad to see you this morning. Thanks to you I made more progress today!" The creature said with a smile as it reached out with its massive paw. The gesture made Kou freeze in place. However, in the end she only got a light pat on the head by a paw that was almost as large as she was. A surreal feeling!

With the barrier broken Kou made her way forward. She was still a child after all, and here was a perfectly large animal with lots of cuddly parts. So now the tiger found itself with Kou sitting on its head! The girl seemed to have lost her fear of the creature in an instant! She could feel it in her heart that this tiger was not her enemy, it was a weird feeling but she was very sure of it!

"Fluffy." She mumbled while combing her tiny fingers through the fur. The Lord of the mountains was rather surprised by this. Now it was on the creature to be shock frozen. No one had ever been so brazen in front of it. However nothing came of it. The creature just sank slightly further into the water letting the child play.