Présage of Veracity

Chapter Three

Ren
It felt as though the moon was teasing him as Ren padded through the woods in the quiet night. It was only moon-high and he felt like he'd been trekking along for hours.
Ren wanted to find out more about Suzume's past. She wasn't like the rest of the Présage of Veracity, she had an odd air about her that Ren couldn't sense on everyone else.
    He moved across the frost covered ground, the moonlight lighting his path through the willow trees that guided the way to a small clearing. Ren stopped before a small stream of clear, glistening water and raised his head to sniff the air, pausing so that he could listen for any sounds of movements before he leaned down and gently cupped the water in his hands and sipped from it, the cold stinging the edge of his nose. When his eyes opened once more, he wasn't in the quiet clearing, but in a labyrinth of sakura trees.
    "Yoshihiro!?" He softly called, keeping his voice low. Ren waited a heartbeat before he turned to leave, clearly giving up.
    "Boo!" A voice shrieked as he felt something pound against his chest, knocking the breath out of him as he stumbled back, catching himself on a low branch of a tree. He opened his eyes to see his pursuer, luckily it was just the person he was looking for.
    "Yoshihiro!" Ren snapped, aggravated. "What was that for?"
Yoshihiro was a strong Nekomata who Ren grew up with. He hated him often because of his teasing demeanor. Ren still didn't know much about him though, even if it seemed he wasn't closed off at all, Ren sensed there was something he didn't know.
    Yoshihiro tipped his top-hat, a smirk plastered on his face. "Just seeing if you're still weak, old friend." He said teasingly. He swung his marotte, pushing it behind him so he could lean against it and study Ren. "And I'd say you are."
    Ren just scoffed and leaned his back against the tree. "I need a favor."
Yoshihiro's smile grew. "Oh-hoh? A favor from me, my friend? What shall it be?" He asked, clearly enjoying their conversation.
    Ren sighed, ignoring his cheery attitude and continued. "There's a new Présage of Veracity member. I know you do well with predictions. I don't know, but something's not right about her." He explained, examining Yoshihiro's expression.
    Yoshihiro nodded, then without giving himself away he stood up off his marotte and smiled at Ren. "You know I'd have to leave this realm in order to do a reading."
    Ren flinched at those words as if they had some secret meaning behind them and swallowed the bile that began to rise in his throat. "I know."
    Yoshihiro lifted Ren's chin with his marotte and gave him a mischievous grin. "Then it's settled." Yoshihiro paused, then with a smirk he continued slowly. "But you'll owe me two- no three pounds." He concluded.
    Ren felt irked at the fact of him demanding money, but he shrugged it off and nodded reluctantly. "Fine, okay. Whatever."
    The odd Jester looking Nekomata laughed and took his hand snarkily, shaking it. "Good doing business with you Ren Makino!" And with that, Yoshihiro disappeared, leaving Ren there by himself under the sakura tree.