The first thing she was aware of was the rain.  Pounding from overhead and down on her in a steady rhythm.  Dragging at her clothes and making them heavy against her skin.  Water dripped from her hair down into her face.  The next thing she was aware of was the cold, a constant shiver racking her soaked body.  Then the feeling of the ground underneath her, hard and made of stone or hard packed dirt. 

Sound filtered in next, booming thunder and the loud sound of rain hitting the ground and the roofs of nearby buildings.  The wind whistling through the trees, branches striking each other and the occasional crack as one snapped and crashed to the ground.  Her eyes flickered open only for her to slam them shut as lightning cracked across the sky overhead lighting the area she was in with a blinding flash. 

Shion groaned as pain shot through her head.  She waited a few moments and tried again.  Brief flashes of light, thankfully not overhead this time, illuminated an alley between two buildings.  Water running down the sides and pouring from the roofs.  She was lying sprawled on the ground, her legs twisted uncomfortably, clothes drenched, hair plastered to her face. 

Why was she lying here? 

She frowned and tried to think past the throbbing in her head but couldn’t seem to focus.  Fighting the shivers that wracked her body with every breath she tried to push herself upright.  Only for a shooting pain to rip through her side, dumping her back onto the ground with a muffled shout.  Tears filled her eyes and mingled with the rain still pouring on her from the sky above as she rested a trembling hand on her side and then pulled it up so she could see in the brief flashes of light.

Red, crimson red, stained the skin. 

Shion stared for a moment, water wasn’t red, wasn’t thick and sticky.  She was bleeding.  She pressed the shaking hand back down, hissing as the pain finally registered leaving her gasping for breath.

Why was she bleeding?

The question echoed in her head but there was a sense of growing weakness in her body and she knew she was going to need help if she was going to survive.  So she shoved the question aside, gritted her teeth and carefully leveraged herself into a standing position.  Once upright she leaned against the wall behind her, sucking in air, head spinning as the world danced in front of her.  She could feel a tremble in her fingers and legs as the alley seemed to go in and out of focus. 

Panic set in for a moment but then there was a whisper in her ear ‘this way’ even as a spark of Opal danced in front of her eyes.  As she took a staggering step after it, a sight shield wrapping around her, she distantly registered that her Purple Dusk was drained and that she was using her Tiger Eye.  It was a flitting thought though, there and gone again in the space of a heart beat.  Her gaze focused on a gleam of Opal that seemed vaguely familiar.  She stumbled as she exited the alley, dark eyes noting the rumpled pile of cloth and the gleam of metal stained red that she kicked with one foot.  Then she was out in the empty street everyone with common sense having sought shelter from the storm.

Later she would wonder what she had tripped over, later she’d come back to this place to see if a body had been in the alley.  Later Shion would wonder if she had killed someone and if so why.  Now though nothing else mattered but getting to wherever she was going.  With every step liquid flowed between her fingers, her clothes grew more and more drenched with water and blood, the weight dragging at weakening limbs.  Fog filled her vision, as the light became a thread wrapped around her wrist tugging and pulling as she fought the urge to let her legs fold under her and just sleep. 

As the urge to sit, to let her eyes close and the darkness take her grew the voice changed becoming more insistent and demanding.  Taking a feminine tone she recognized that called and cajoled her whispering, 'This way.  Don’t stop.  Almost there.  This way.  This way.' 

The words became a mantra sounding in her ears even as her vision narrowed to a pinprick of light and a brightly colored string.

Then suddenly she was aware that the pounding sensation of water from above had ceased.  She blinked at the door only an inch from her nose, vaguely realizing that the rain hadn’t stopped she was simply standing under cover of some kind.  She reached out a hand, leaving streaks of red on its surface as she rang for entry.  Moments passed and she rang again, knocking on the door as well enhancing her hand with a touch of Tiger Eye.

When it finally slid open Shion swayed and as the individual stared through her with a wary expression she realized the sight shield was still wrapped around her like a second skin.  As darkness seeped into the corners of her eyes she let the shield slip away, revealing herself to the person in the doorway.  She would have explained herself as their eyes widened in surprise and they took a half step back in reflex but before she could speak she finally lost the fight to stay conscious.  Everything went black as if a switch was flipped and she felt her body crumple to the floor, distantly hearing a call for help.  Just before the darkness took her under completely she could have sworn she felt a gentle hand on her brow and a voice telling her she was safe.

It had been a most peculiar disturbance, truly. When the little Warlord Prince (for Ureshi-sa always had a reputation for many of its sons being of that caste, even if Naoji and a couple others were not) had come running into the back room making claims of a spirit, Naoji hadn't been sure what to expect when Ryuuen had practically sprinted towards the entrance, exchanging his own presence for the youth instead. The First Son knew his cue then and instantly knelt down upon the floor with a reassuring smile, a trickle of calming Craft flowing through the embrace he offered his little brother.

"Steady, young Prince. There is no ghost. The darksparks of those passed watch over us in peace and from a distance," Naoji murmured, moving about getting the youngster tucked back into bed, even while the voices of Ryuuen and Chie rang clearly within the walls of Ureshi-sa.

Someone had been injured. A Black Widow, a revered Lady, was what he'd surmised from the urgent-sounding conversation. It sent his instincts both as geisha and dark-jeweled Warlord into high alert, but he kept that same wave of calm ebbing through himself as he managed to get the smaller son situated back and waited for him to fall back asleep entirely.

Moments later he followed the psychic bearings and sounds of Healer and Warlord Prince into one of the other rooms, padding fluidly and silently to come up on Ryuuen's side, his eyes first watching his mentor intently and offering a wisp of that same, soothing Craft via a light squeeze of the older man's shoulder. Naoji's own gaze darkened at the grim nature of what had happened and he was in agreement that it needed to be dealt with and documented, but that was for later when the Black Widow - of whom he almost felt a distant sense of familiarity about, but that he couldn't actually pinpoint - woke up.

Even that didn't seem to happen for some time, with the four of them taking rotations every so often as the night progressed. Naoji had barely stepped out of the room from his last round and began to prepare the okiya for the next morning when Ryuuen's voice across the Summer Sky caught his attention, causing the Warlord to sweep promptly back into the room and Chie appearing only moments after himself. The pair of them moved to the other side of the bed, but while the Healer got close enough to make her assessments and vital checks, Naoji knew enough to stay out of the way while being appropriately nearby if the Black Widow needed anything.

"Is there anything I can get for you, Lady? Something that would help put you further at ease or make you more comfortable?" he asked softly from where he was standing, hands lifted just so to convey that none of them meant her any harm - safety was paramount, and who knew if she even knew where she was? - and inward energy coiled reflexively at the ready for any request she might've made.