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Mirohoshi shrugged, as though he'd gotten used to the idea entirely. He hadn't, and he figured he never would. One didn't 'get used to' the idea that things wanted to eat them.

"Well, that's what I'm figuring anyway. The more I learn to control it, the stronger it gets, and the more they decide I look like a better meal than the souls do."

It was a crazy theory in all reality, one Mirohoshi had no way of backing up, but it's what he thought. When it came right down to it, it had to be right. He was the only living creature he'd ever seen or heard about them attacking. Well, up until Sanyu anyway. He couldn't believe he'd never caught it. Maybe her power was naturally hidden or something...He'd have to investigate that theory later.

Ah damn, the hard questions were starting now. These were questions didn't really have answers for, questions that he simple didn't know how to respond to. And she had that look in her eyes that said she really wanted to know, so she could do something with it.

"To be honest, I don't know. I have no clue what it is. And I'm not sure on how you can control it. As it's apparently rare, I'm guessing it manifests differently from one person to the next, so I'm assuming the method of control is different."

Mirohoshi went on the defensive immediately. He really didn't want to hurt Sanyu, but if he had to, he'd hurt her bad. This wasn't a game, there weren't rules to play by any more.

"You better believe I know how I'm controlling it. And there ain't no scientific nothing to it. It's my power." His voice was low, quiet, hiding none of his anger.

Mirohoshi never took kindly to screaming, especially when someone was asking for help. It just wasn't something you did. But, luckily for her, he wasn't the type to lose his temper either, especially not in a violent fashion.

Then he noticed it. The power, the energy, the pure rage running through it. And all of it was focused in one tiny little area. That arm, that one single arm, with more power than he though he had in his entire body. He could channel power, he knew that, but could he channel that much? He didn't think so.

He knelt next to her as she hit the ground. Her question of "Why...?" was so quiet, so desperate, so painful, he had no room left for anger. Gently, he lifted her from the ground, keeping the bad arm towards his body, so he could gain some control on it if it tried to spasm. He knew she wouldn't be happy, but at least he wasn't taking her to the hospital.

He turned a left at the very next corner. His apartment was only a few blocks away.

Mirohoshi did his very best not to panic. The last thing he wanted to be carrying was a Sanyu preparing to go off in a fit of rage. Carrying Sanyu wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the whole fit of rage idea definitely wasn't good. Luckily for him, it was merely a fit of frustration.

Sanyu's power worried him. He'd noticed the emotion in it the first time, and had watched it again this time. Her power was different from his, more internal, for lack of a better term. To him, it was like comparing a hair dryer to a curling iron. The hair dryer took energy and blasted out in force, whereas the curling iron drew in energy and forced it to its own needs. A strange analogy perhaps, but it had the possibility of being accurate. It was as though Sanyu needed an outlet for her power, because her human body couldn't handle it.

Finally, they reached his apartment. Somehow, Mirohoshi opened the door without dropping Sanyu or knocking her off of anything. He stepped inside, closing the door with his foot and carrying her to the couch. He took a step towards his kitchen to get a drink.

"Would you like anything?"

The dark eyes that followed Sanyu's movements were soft, understanding, and warm. It almost hurt him to watch her curl up, knowing that it was an instinctual response when one was feeling vulnerable and weak. He felt bad, having dumped so much on her in such a short period of time, but he didn't know what else to do. It wasn't exactly a normal situation.

A soft smile lifted his lips as she requested the hot chocolate, and he disappeared into his kitchen. In a short period of time, he reappeared, two steaming mugs in hand. He placed one mug on the coffee table in front of Sanyu, taking a seat on the other end of the couch with his and taking a sip. The drink was creamy and rich, made with milk, not water, which made all the difference.

He looked over at Sanyu, watched her for a second. "It started when I was about 13." His voice was quiet, almost far away. "I was playing in the local park, just like any other kid. It was hotter than hell out that day, bright, sunny, all in all a relatively nice day to be outside playing.

"I hadn't been paying much attention to anything, just hopping around in the sprinklers because of the heat. One of my friends called out to me, trying to get my attention. I think he'd wanted to play baseball. Past his shoulder, I could see another kid.

"He was younger than us, looked to be about 10, and just barely that. His hair was blond, and the ball he was playing with was a bright red. It was just a regular smooth ball, made for bouncing and not much else. I remember that.

"Up to that point, everything seemed normal. I had figured I just hadn't seen the other kid because I was busy playing in the sprinkler. No big deal. But then his ball got away, bouncing into the street.

"As kids are apt to do, he went after it. But a car was just coming around the corner, and hit him. Or rather, it should've hit him. But I watched as it drove right through him. The kid wasn't effected any more than the car was, as though it were NORMAL.

"I ran home after that, as fast as I could. As soon as I got home, I crawled under my covers and cried like a baby until I fell asleep. After that, I did my best to ignore them. But it just doesn't work that wait...I couldn't pretend forever.

"It wasn't until about 3 years ago that I started to realize why. Of course, it probably would've been sooner had I not been trying so hard to ignore them. One night, I just snapped. I couldn't stand it any more, couldn't watch the souls getting attacked by those....creatures.

"I wasn't thinking then. I just charged. And I connected. I'm not even sure it had realized I was there until I hit it. It seemed awful surprised that I could hit it, mentioned that it found the fact interesting. Then it hit me. Damned, I can still remember that shot. And I remember thinking I need a weapon. When I hit the ground, I had one.

"At the time, I wasn't sure how, but there was a staff in my hand, albeit a glowing red one, but a staff all the same. For a while, we fought. I was clearly losing. The staff could block its attacks, but couldn't seem to hurt it.

"Finally, I decided I wanted a blade, and a big one at that. And half my staff answered that thought. Instead of a staff, I was wielding a naginata. The blade dispatched the thing quickly, cutting through its hard skin and tearing through that dumb-a** mask it had on....Then it just disappeared.

"Since then, I've learned to use my power. I draw in energy from outside, forcing it into a coherent shape. I have a lot of energy of my own, and can use it, but I gain far more power by drawing my strength from what's outside. Your power feels different to me though, like all of it comes from inside.

"I think that may be your problem. I think you need an outlet, a focus, a conduit. Maybe your power can be focused into a single 'something', but I just don't really know."

He took another sip of his hot chocolate. He knew he'd said a lot, but he thought he probably needed to. He thought it might help her understand.

Mirohoshi sat at his end of the couch, watching Sanyu carefully. He was quiet, merely drinking his hot chocolate until his mug was empty, then placing it coffee table. He leaned his head back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, as though he wasn't totally sure what to say.

Suddenly, he spoke, his voice still quiet and far away. "I never talked about it. Not to anyone.

"Of course, for me it was different. They weren't there for my entire life like for you. By the time I saw them, I already knew it wasn't a good idea to tell people you see things that they can't."

He shrugged, as though it was just something he'd learned to live with. Of course, for him, it was. "It's not like I didn't want to though. But still, you're the first person I've ever said a word to about it. And if I hadn't been so certain you could see them too, I never would've talked to you either...."

He shrugged off her pseudo-compliment, as it just didn't mean much to him. For him, it wasn't something he'd already been chastised and punished for. It had started late enough that he'd already known to keep his mouth shut, and people just didn't know about him. He stood slowly, gathering the cups, then brought them to the kitchen, dropping them in the sink.

She was stretching out as he walked back in, and his eyes lingered on her body, a male habit he wasn't exactly attempting to break. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of a class, as he wasn't aware she was in school, but said nothing.

A soft smile lifted his lips as she thanked him. "Well, maybe not to you, but to me, I did. There's not many others like me that I know of, and I'd rather keep them in one piece."

He stopped for a second, thinking. "Anyway, what are you doing after your class? Maybe we could work on figuring out your little problem here..."