Not always as they seem..

*Scene opens as sun rise, with Saity asleep on Ryu in a clearing in the forest*

Saity woke up groggily the next morning. She quickly rolled off of Ryu, who inturn woke up as well. She sat up holding her head, having healed her injury had taken a lot out of her. The previous nights events quickly flashed through her mind and she jumped up, \" Hope! Ryu what did you do with Hope?! Where is she?!\" She asked quickly pulling him to his feet by his neck. Ryu held up his hands showing he hadn\'t done anything, \" Calm down Saity she\'s safe. I left her with a friend, and he can be trusted with anything.\" She calmed down a bit, her ears sinking a bit, \" Oh...sorry.\" She let him go and looked around. \" So where is this friend?\" Ryu stretched, \" He lives in a village close by, come on we\'ll go there and rest.\" He said as he walked off with Saity following after him.

*Scene fades then opens to the inside of a small house, Hope playing with a small puppy with a man in his late 40\'s sat at a table drinking from his glass*

Hope smiled brightly while she played with the puppy. \" So mister Jake, how do you know Ryu?\" The man, now known as Jake smiled and set his sup down. His hair was light brown, it had been dark once, but thankfully time had taken it\'s color, not the hair itself. His face was stern, and showed few lines, but those who looked at him knew he\'d been though a lot in his life time. \" Ryu was the son of a friend of mine. Ryu\'s father, well got in a tight spot and lost his wife. He came to me badly injured, but Ryu was fine. As his friend he asked me to look after and raise Ryu for him. So I did.\"

Hope sat cross legged on the floor holding the puppy in her lap, it was a small husky. \" What happened to his mama and papa?\" She asked curiously. Jake smiled a bit, though it held sorrow in it. \" Ryu\'s father, like Ryu now, was a demon hunter. He came across a shape shifting demon that he couldn\'t defeat and angered him greatly. The demon in return killed Ryu\'s mother and went after Ryu. However his father got there in time to save him. Though he was too buisy running from the demon to fight it off. He got injured...and managed to escape. He came here to me for help. I..tried to help him and close his wound..but he was lost once he got in the door.\" He told her looking down at the glass in his hand.

She cocked her head to the side, \" A demon hunter? Why would anyone want to hun demons?\" Jake laughed a bit, \" Demons are horrible creatures, the kill ruthlessly and have no heart. Even the half breeds need to be killed.\" She looked down deciding not to tell him about Saity. \" Why does Mr.Jake hate demons so much?\" He looked over at her, \" Much like Ryu\'s father demons killed my family...they took my wife and little girl from me.\" Hope sighed and looked down at the puppy playing with it\'s ears. Jake put on a smile and set the glass down, \" So what about you? Where\'s your family?\"

The puppy curled up in her lap falling asleep. Hope was silent for a minute before telling her story,
\"Mama and Papa were killed. Saity helped a man once..it was her job in our village to heal the sick. He was hurt bad and Saity helped him. The mand asked her to be his wife but Saity told him no. She did not like him Mr.Jake. Scias went away and we all thought he would stay away from us. But he came back Mr.Jake....he had powers...magic powers...most of the time he stayed in the form of a tiger...he killed everyone...mama and papa forced Saity to take me and run away...so she did. She ran as far as she could and we got away. He still hunts for her though...he found her last night..I hope she\'s ok.\" She said worriedly.

Jake smiled a bit to reassure her, \" I\'m sure Ryu will take care of her. Ryu\'s a strong demon hunter, if anything he\'ll keep her safe. He\'ll deffend anyone he\'s said he would.\" Hope shook her head, \" Saity will not like that..she wants to fight forherself.\" Jake looked at her curiously,\" Your sister must be a strong girl to be able to avert a power demon such as Scias for so long. How did she get so strong?\" He asked her starting to wonder how a human girl could do such things. Hope looked up at him with a frown, \" Do you promies not to kill her?\" She asked sadly. He instantly became more curious, \" I promise...why?\" Hope looked away, \" Saity\'s a half breed. But she\'s not bad! She\'s good and looks after me real well Mr.Jake! I swear she does!\" She said quickly in fear he might hurt her. Jake looked away but shook his head, \" I\'m not going to hurt her Hope..not if you say she cares about you.\" Hope smiled and the Husky woke up hearing footsteps outside. It leapt from Hope\'s lap and barked at the door. \" What\'s wrong Shadow?\" She asked the pup...though knew she would get no answer.

The door opened and Ryu walked in, but only got a few feet before Hope jumped up and clung to his leg, \" Ryu! Where is sister?! Is she ok? Did you keep your promise?\" She asked, but heard a cough from behind Ryu and let go of him as she looked. She smiled brightly seeing Siaty, who in turn knelt down and picked Hope up. \" Oh Hope I\'m so glad you\'re ok.\" She said hugging her. She looked over at Jake, \" Thank you for watching over her sir.\" Jake nodded, \" The name\'s Jake Saity, and anything for a friend.\" He said reffering to Ryu.

*Scene fades, then reopens in the same room, Hope asleep on a couch while Jake, Ryu and Saity sit at the table talking*

Jake set his glass down and looked at Saity, \" So Hope tells me your running from Scias...is that true?\" He asked curiously. Saity nodded, \" Yes..it\'s true..he hasn\'t left us alone for years..everytime I come close to beating him...he escapes.\" Jake nodded and looked at Ryu, \" Even with the two of you fighting you did not defeat him?\" He asked in confusion. Ryu shook his head, \" No, she refused to let me fight him, affraid I would get hurt, besides it is her fight to deal with.\" He said taking a sip from his drink. Jake shook his head, \" You two need to work together if you plan on stopping him. Now that he knows Ryu he will try to kill him aswell.\"

Saity sighed and got up pacing around the room. \" We know now where he hides...but without being able to hide ourselfs there is no way to surprise him. His magic lets him sense anyone approaching. He only missed Ryu because he was buisy with me. We need to distract him...then take him by surprise.\" She explained and Jake nodded in agreement. \" Yes...I beleave there is a way to weaken him...each of his gifts he gained seperatly. His tiger form seems to give him the most power. It gives him strength, stronger senses, speed, and the ability to hide in shadows. If you take that power away, he should be easier to defeat.\" Ryu looked over at him, \" Right...and we do that how?\" Jake smiled, \" Bye tkaing it away from where he recieved it. Off in the west there is a lake..a deep lake at that. An underwater cavern holds a shrine built to the tiger god. Only those strong enough to touch the tigers eye...a gem hidden in the shrine...can posses the tiger god\'s power. If you destroy the eye...his power should dissapear.\"

Ryu nodded in understandment, \"Then we go to the lake, and destroy the eye. Something tells me it\'s not as easy as that though..\" Jake nodded, \" It\'s not..the lake is guarded by a water dragon...it only lets few pass that can convince it. Not to mention Scias will know what you have planned and will try to stop you. You have to be faster then him to the eye...if he retreaves it...then there is no way for you to destroy it.\" Saity nodded, \" We\'ll have to try and beat him there then. He\'ll have to teleport there...the dragon won\'t let more then one group pass a day. So teleporting will slow him down a bit..he\'ll need to find the exact location of the cavern before he can get in it.\" Jake smiled, \" My you\'re a quick one. I guess my assumptions on demons weren\'t completly true.\" Saity smiled back at him, \" I have no choice but to be quick...if you\'re slow, you get hit.\" Jake nodded, \" So tommorow...we leave for the west.\" Ryu looked at him confused, \" We?\" Jake laughed, \" You don\'t think I\'d let you have all the fun did you?\"

*Scene fades with the three staring at each other, and Hope peacfully asleep on the couch with Shadow.*