Kumo awoke with sand in his mouth and a straw in his hand. Prickles of grass poked his bare legs as the sun glared at him.

"You're finally up," Suna whispered. "That's good."

He gathered his strength to sit up, rubbing his aching head. "What happened to Ren? Was that all a 'dream'?"

Suna swirled around him until her form changed to that of a sphere. "Silly Kumo, baku cannot dream. It'd be too dangerous. Besides, Ren and Astro are gone now."

Even though he had an idea of what would happen if a baku couldn't eat, it still made his neck hairs stand up. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on it, looking away. "Oh. That's too bad. I wanted to play with them a bit more."

"You almost got your straw stolen! That's why I warned you about wandering in others' territory."

Kumo flinched at her scolding. "Sorry... I just felt a bit lonely with just you and me. You don't want friends, Suna?"

The sandman watched him, then sighed. "You're more than enough."

At that, he chuckled. Despite knowing each other for two decades, that was the first time Suna ever alluded to them being 'friends'. "I'll be careful from now on." He turned to her with a smile. "I promise."

"Great. I need to get Lady Tsuki's permission for you to stay here until we can recover your territory in Tokyo." She returned to being a cloud of sand, glowing whenever she spoke. "You stay here. Don't do anything stupid."

Kumo hopped to his feet, now fully awake. They were in the countryside where there were more insects than people. How annoying. Still, he saluted her off as she flew in the opposite direction of the sun. "You got it, Susu!"

Suna clicked her tongue at the old nickname, but said nothing in response.

Once her mineral body disappeared from view, the baku spinned to face the desolate town. Compared to the urban areas, it was less congested. Which meant less food. Kumo gave an exhausted sigh. With nothing to do, he contemplated going to sleep before catching sight of big humans running up a hill to their house. A mischevious grin spread across his face. It wouldn't hurt to explore, right?

With his mind set, he sprinted after them. Once he reached the hill's top, Kumo squinted to see the adolescents. However, he was distracted by the sight before him. Rows of utility poles supporting cable wires decorated the sidewalks, planted in front of tightly-knit homes. Far beyond it rested a thick forest ripe with vibrant trees. Something about the scenery made a shiver crawl down Kumo's back. Everything looked familiar, which confused the baku. He'd never eaten here, so why did he recognize the weathered houses?

He shook his head to disperse the thoughts. This place is welcoming, that's all. After brushing off his black jacket and shorts, he ran off to nowhere in particular.

"Suna said I shouldn't be too careless," Kumo muttered under his breath, staring at the sidewalk in deep thought. A park came into view when he looked up, littered with children. He headed for the swings, one which was free for the taking. "She didn't say I couldn't have fun." Even if he didn't age, his child-like mindset longed for freedom from responsibilities for once.

After settling in his rubber seat, the chains holding it airborne rattled. While Suna was gone, he could do whatever he wanted. At first, Kumo stretched his legs as hard as he could to gain some momentum until his swing started doing its job. He wanted to catch up with the little girl next to him who kicked her legs up every so often to reach a tree branch.

So Kumo skidded his sneakers on the sand and took a few steps back. He hopped in his seat to join her, making silly faces he knew she couldn't see. Her light giggles reminded him of his sandman, causing him to laugh with the girl. The cool breeze picked up Kumo's black hair whenever they reached the ground, then pulled it back the moment he felt he could touch the sky.

Behind them, the woman who pushed the girl gasped. She grabbed hold of her swing before ushering her away. "Come on, Sweetie. It's dangerous over here."

"But Momma, the elephant wanted to play!" she protested, staring at Kumo with wide eyes. Her little arm stretched to him as tears threatened to fall.

"There's no elephant," the older lady snapped. In fact, nothing was there in her eyes. "Now come on!" She glared straight through Kumo, who'd since stopped his swing, before dragging her whining child over to her husband.

The baku waved the girl goodbye with a forced smile. Once they left, he wiped the sweat from his forehead while glancing at other children. None of them paid him any mind, instead sneaking peeks at the sobbing little one being comforted by her father. Kumo returned his gaze to the ground, muttering, "I'm not an elephant."

He puffed out his cheeks with a huff while using his foot to move the swing back and forth. Chuckles interrupted his sulking as a light wind tickled his cheeks. They were mocking, spiteful voices laced in a venom Kumo knew all too well. After all, he used it when playing tricks on unsuspecting humans in his spare time. The baku lifted his head to spot four children resembling his age watching where he sat.

"What're you doing? You never gave Sachiko a turn!" the boy in the center chided with a scowl, nodding his head to a pig-tailed girl beside him.

Kumo looked around with wide eyes to see if someone was behind him. They can see me? He pointed at himelf, tilting his head while his thin eyebrows knitted together.

"Yeah, you. Get up!" The girl, Sachiko, marched to Kumo, then grabbed his white shirt. She held her chin up with a deep frown stretched across her face.

A thousand questions zoomed through Kumo's head. Did I touch them by accident? Are they baku? Where'd that boy come from? Before he could speak his thoughts however, someone else did. It was a low, shaky voice rumbling from Kumo's chest.

"I... I don't want to."

Kumo gasped, patting himself down. What's going on?

Alas, his own voice refused to come out, as if someone'd just poured wet cement down his throat.

Sachiko's brown eyes narrowed at Kumo. Her small hand tightened its grip, pulling a boy up from the swing. He wore a white cotton tshirt over a pair of black shorts. "Oh, really?" she seethed out between clentched teeth before throwing him on the ground. "Too bad."

"Wait, that's not fair! There are other―"

"Shut him up, Taka. He's annoying." Sachiko waved her hand in nonchalance, not even bothering to look the fallen boy in the eye when she sat down right through Kumo.

Taka, the boy who spoke up first, smirked. When Sachiko's target attempted to get up, he stomped on his back. "Got it."

Kumo watched as he kicked and punched the cowering boy without mercy. At first, Taka was the only one beating him.

Then the others joined in.