Inu turned the corner and headed for the sliding doors of the basement level of the main building. From there he could hear a pair of lively voices. They were Liv and Fabian. Was Liv laughing?

Peeked inside the spacious room. The two youths stood in the middle of the room in playful fighting positions. Liv now wore the white robes that were standard in the temple as Inu had requested. He felt that it hadn't been achieved through his influence, though.

Suddenly, Liv disappeared only to reappear right behind Fabian. She turned immediately with a practiced movement and unclasped her, revealing a round rock of some kind. The rock then grew into a thin spike which she used to poke him in the back.

Fabian squealed and jumped forward. "You said you wouldn't stab me this time!"

Inu chuckled. He had expected the two would make friends while at the temple. However, he didn't know it would happen so fast. Had Liv hypnotized the poor boy during the last few days?

Liv heard his chuckle and turned. She was smiling. Who knew the girl had such a bright expression? "Good morning," she said, wiping off some sweat.

Fabian noticed as well and sprang up with embarrassment before bowing.

Inu smiled at the two, putting a hand up in greeting. "Hello, you two. Liv, you aren't abusing Fabian now are you?"

"Hey, he wanted to know what I was practicing. I merely obliged my gracious host," Liv replied, feigning an air of nobility.

"Fabian's father is your host. Make sure to be careful not to break anything. These sliding doors are quite fragile."

"She was careful," Fabian butted in a little loudly, growing awkward straight after. "I saw."

Inu smiled at the handsome boy. "Thank you. But could I have the room with Liv?"

"Of course," Fabian said quickly before walking swiftly out of the room. Inu could hear running steps after he had left sight.

"He's... nice."

Liv turned her eyes back from Fabian's trail and scoffed. "He only gets like that when you're around. Figures. His father and his people have told him stories of you since he was young. You're their ideal, you know. The strong, the humble, the—"

"Yes, they need a figure to aspire to. But that is not me they see. Only an abstraction."

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"For sure. Otherwise, they'd include 'the smartass' in the list." Inu gave his usual little chuckle before walking up to Liv and requesting the thin spike from her hand to observe it. Liv handed it over and started to explain its properties. "It's a hard but easily shapeable rock. Because of its size, I can keep it in my hands even as I transport myself. It's thin, but I can consciously keep it reinforced to penetrate the hardest skin. It's also—"

"You've spent a lot of time with Fabian. That's good," Inu said."

Liv put a hand on her hip and frowned. "Thought you wanted to know about my dear piercer there."

"I can observe it myself. I've seen quite a few weapons."

Liv threw her hands in the air. "Ah, yes. Of course. The all-knowing." Inu eyed her until she yielded. "Fine. Yes, I've hung out with Fabian. What do you care?"

"Nothing," Inu said, stretching the word. "You two fit together."

Liv furrowed her brows, giving Inu an accusing look and kicked him lightly on the shin. "What do you mean fit together?"

"I mean fit together. You're good for each other."

"Why do you have to make it sound so..."

"Transactional?"

"Weird," Liv said and grinned. "Tch. You weirdo monk."

"I'm not a—"

Liv pushed her fingers up her ears. "What? Can't hear you."

Inu gave her a deadpan look before laughing along with her.

"So what have you been doing?" Inu asked after the chuckles died down.

"Nothing much. Talked about this and that. Where I've been. What he's heard. Your name came up more than a few times. Hah, look at your face! Your legend really does bother you. Well, anyway, we also went outside and he showed me around. Don't worry, I only peeked around. But still? This place is nice."

Inu smiled warmly. "Then what's all this for?" he asked, handing the so-called piercer back.

Liv looked down. "What?"

"The training," Inu addressed the matter with an intentionally conversational tone.

"Huh, well, you know," Liv said looking up with a questioning look. Then her eyes began to widen and Inu wished she wasn't so smart. "Don't tell me..."

Inu frowned. "Liv, don't go jumping to conclusions—"

"That's why you insisted on coming here. Isn't it?" her tone grew aggressive. With the piercer in her hand and her eyes hard as ice, she could look quite scary. "This is the location you told me about. The place I could live happily in... after I gouged my eyes, that is." The skin between her eyes crumpled up with anger and she pushed Inu. She was stronger than he remembered. She walked forward and her lips began to tremble. "Is Fabian a part of it?"

"No," Inu said shaking his head. He felt a need to emphasize. "No."

Liv took a sharp breath and forced her gaze away. "I can't believe you. I trusted you and you just schemed behind my back. Is anything about you genuine?"

Inu frowned. "Liv, I only did what—"

"You thought was best for me, right?" Liv spat.

"Right," Inu said, letting his tense body loose, hunching his posture slightly.

Liv shook her head with disappointment and made her piercer back into just a round rock before walking off.

She was too smart to listen to anybody else's reasoning. And the gods with their twisted humor also made her too smart to be influenced by other means.

Inu was lost. He just wasn't good enough. That's why things ended badly. His hardest never seemed to be enough. So maybe...

Maybe it was time for him to stop trying and be rid of his hellish ideal. What if that was the way? What if that had been the way all along?

If that was the truth, just how much blood were those hands of his covered in?