Black hair burst through the treetops and ruffled as it was turned sharply back and forth to scan over the lush canopy. Another rustle of leaves and the head vanished back into the upper limbs of the tree. Sayuri slid slowly down from her perch and onto the thicker branches below, moving like a monkey with bare, calloused, and scratched hands and feet. Her cloak hung loose and open over her shoulders until she found the largest, widest limb of the tree and curled up to consider.

It was a bright night, marked with a nearly-full but waning moon, and the silver light gently pierced the leaves like needles. From where she was crouching, the feral woman would have been nearly impossible to spot from the ground by anything resembling human eyes. She remained still for a long, motionless minute, then shrugged and slowly crept out along the heavy branch. A rustle and crash of leaves brushing past each other echoed briefly through the woods as Sayuri leapt into the next tree.

She couldn't remember why she'd come out here. The quarry wasn't any good any more, especially since she'd found that cache of steak knives and refilled her pockets, so that wasn't it. Her attempts to collect the components for chemical bombs were stymied, but there wasn't anything for those to harvest out here. Maybe she'd meant to set the whole thing on fire, except that it was too wet for that, and burning down the forest wasn't on the list. It would be pretty, though. She stopped in the crook of the next tree and considered adding that to the list for as soon as the place dried out. As she sat, her mind drifted back to when she had spent months out in the woods, training at night and sleeping up in the trees during the day. The young woman smiled and rest back, breathing the smell of the forest deeply.

From higher up, far out of sight of the wild one, there lay a wooden construct, motionless, seemingly lifeless, its arms laying limp at its side with its fingers splayed out as the girl on the lower branches sat and savored the earthy smell of the foliage. Unseen, however, was the spirit that lurked, and the broken strings that hung about the branches when the girl crashed through them during her movement through the tree. The broken strings had woken the slumbering form from its rest, quickly sending her spirit out for a quick look to discern the identity of the intruder.

The girl looked far different from the others she had seen around this school, she was far more.... dirtier. Well, she had been resting long enough anyway, and who would've thought that a playmate would still be awake at this time of the day, certainly not an opportunity the demon doll would pass up. The ghost withdrew back into her physical home, the gears in her joints starting to grind slowly as the monster awakened, the gem on her chest and amber colored eyes starting to glow a devilish red.

The doll sprung into action, jumping down the branches until she was above the girl, diving straight down towards her in a whirlwind of twigs and leaves.

At the first hint of chemical smell, Sayuri was back in the present and curling quickly up to a tight crouch. Her eyes scanned the ground swiftly as her nose pulled hard at the air and identified the stench as wood lacquer. When the crashing came from above, she almost fell out of the tree in her panic. The creatures were supposed to be too heavy and slow to come up in the branches. They were her place.

She cursed sharply and swung herself around the trunk to catch a glimpse of the three red glowing spots and the human shape containing them. Her cloak fluttered briefly behind her before the feral woman bounded across a thinner branch and launched herself into the next tree over.

Woodstain looked human and female. It had to be some sort of lie or disguise. No Sister would turn so traitorous, not here. She couldn't trust that appearance as a gauge of stength anyway, and, without that information, flight was the only real choice. Bare feet padded softly and sent leaves fluttering and shuddering against one another in a sharp rustle as Sayuri reached the next trunk. She hopped up to a higher limb at a right angle to her previous route of escape and took another glance back in the hopes of discerning what this attacker was.

The doll missed her quarry, striking at the branch the girl was sitting on earlier, and quite easily breaking it in two before landing at the base of the tree, the broken branch crashing down a foot or so beside her. The heavy sound of gears filled the forest air as the construct slowly got up, the kimono she was wearing draping gracefully around her form as she stood erect in the moonlit forest floor.

Only now does the girl see clearly what had come for her.

She looked fairly human, but her skin shone very bright in the moons light, and her exposed shoulders were not that of a human, they were those you would see in articulated mannequins. But the way she moved, if it weren't for her lacquered skin and doll joints, one would swear that this girl was indeed human. The wooden girl looked up at the feral one, it expression that of mischief as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"You move nice... care to play a game?"

Sayuri crouched tighter on her branch and stared down at the doll. Under better conditions, she realized, the disguise would have worked, and she'd have found herself again defending a more feminine monster from its smell. Her own messy fray of black hair curled out as she pulled tighter into the thick collar of the filthy old brown cloak. Only shadowed eyes looked back through the limbs and leaves down at the possessed doll.

"Wh-what sort of game?" the dirt-stained woman asked after a brief pause as she considered her opponent. Normally, the creatures didn't pose it as a question, and it gave Sayuri hope that this one was weaker than the others and potentially mortal. She shifted slightly in her little perch and prepared to leap again, in case Woodstain wasn't much interested in parlay.

The doll widened its grin, its porcelain fangs showing as she smiled mischievously at the feral woman. "I dont know... how about a little game of... TAG!"

Suddenly, the doll rushed forward, the flaps of her kimono flowing through the air as she sped towards the tree the girl was perched on. Despite being mechanical, the doll had unnatural grace and flexibility, demonstrated as she reached the base of the tree before jumping upwards, reaching heights humanly unattainable, grabbing a low branch and using it to swing herself up onto a higher branch and jumping to another in one smooth motion, flipping and tumbling till she came to the same level as the girl. The feral one followed the dolls movements as best she could, spotting that the construct was heading for her yet again, warranting another leap into another tree.

The doll followed suit, managing to keep pace with her quarry as they flew thru the branches. The girl had the advantage of experience, managing little more that a few minor scrapes as she leapt from branch to branch. The doll was more reckless, plowing through the foliage haphazardly, her flowing kimono snagging and tearing while attaining nicks and scratches all over her exposed frame, Yet still she kept following, the look on her face unchanging, still wearing the same devilish grin as she continued her pursuit.

The small woman kept dodging and swerving and ducking through the branches as she evaded on instinct. Her mind was slowly turning as leaves and branches stung at the edges of her face that barely escaped the collar of her cloak. Maybe the doll was actually playing by the normal rules. Maybe she could use that.

Bare feet landed on a looser branch and stuck long enough to spring off the sway of the thing to launch Sayuri up over the canopy for a moment before she shouted back at Karakuri.

"Alright then! I won't be it for long if you catch me!" She laughed, once, in a nervous tremble, as the moon's glow caught her fully at the apex of her jump. The sound disappeared for a moment as she slid back through the top level of leaves and swung around a thick branch on roughened hands, tearing them slightly, then leapt onwards to the next tree. The laughter came back, mirthful this time, as her mind accepted the game and resolved not to lose. The pain in the soles of her feet and the sting in her fingers were wonderful, spurring the feral girl onward as her fear dissolved in some deranged, forgetful, childish glee.

"Run run run!" She called back to her, never has she seen a playmate who actually was playing with her. She leapt in pursuit of the girl, smashing through branches as she started to take this game much more seriously, slowly but surely gaining ground on her quarry. The girl may know the trees well, but the doll had a distinct advantage over her prey; She doesn't grow tired. The doll only rested to pass the time, but in the presence of such wonderfully agile playmates, her gears were running at full crank as she gave chase to the feral one.

Soon enough, the rigors of tree jumping were taking its toll, and as the construct constantly kept her on the move, time to rest wasn't even an option. The girls leaps and jumps we're taking a second longer to execute, her movements were becoming sluggish, and even as the branches around them rustled and snapped, the wooden demon could clearly hear the girl's laboring breath. It would only be a matter of time now before the real game begins.

Sayuri gasped and laughed and dropped down the edge of a tree to spring into thick ground brush. The cloak fluttered just at the edge of the doll's grasp before gravity added a slight boost of speed. By the time Karakuri reached the ground, the wooden hand reached out and met with the dirty brown cloak, then the flesh underneath.

Something clicked back into place, jarred by the touch, but only half-registered with the student's damaged mind. She was it, which meant it was her turn to chase, which meant that the monster was going to be running away now. The obvious advantage didn't sink in with her as she dropped into a skidding, crashing crouch through the loose ferns to try and reverse directions. If she was going to catch back up with the faster creature, she'd have to pounce now and get a hold of her while she could, then break away back up into the trees.

Indeed, the doll had managed to tag the student, and it was her turn to get chased. The student managed to get to her feet and lunge at the doll, spearing it with her shoulder and sending it and her crashing into a nearby tree trunk. The tree shook with the force, but as soon as the dust settled, the doll fell limp into the girls shoulders. Pulling back, the doll slumped onto the ground, its eyes dull and lifeless, the pendant lacking luster as the construct lay sprawled on the roots of the tree.

Perhaps, the feral one had broken it with that little stunt, or maybe its spring had unwound. There could be a myriad of reason why the doll had stopped moving, why its gears no longer turn, but one thing was for sure though, the forest had become silent again, only the girls tired and ragged breathing echoed through the trees, and the shifting leaves the only things sounding a response.

Sayuri had done a lot of dumb things in her life. Most of them she'd done since coming to the school, admittedly, and most of those were after her mind had broken. Still, when she analyzed what she was about to do in retrospect later, she wondered what had happened to her reason.

The young woman stepped up in front of the fallen thing and waved a hand in front of Karakuri's face.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit you like that. Umm... I'll still be 'it' if you're feeling alright, or we can stop playing," she said, slightly concerned. "You're not faking, are you?"

She leaned closer and tilted her head to one side, taking her attacker's shape in slowly, inspecting every inch of her tattered kimono and the darkened eyes and amulet. Brown eyes scanned swiftly over what her broken sampling of information said was a strange playmate. She finished the slow breath in she'd started as she'd bent close and frowned. Poor Woodstain wasn't moving.

"Well, it depends on what im faking..."

All of a sudden, the cloak which adorned the girls neck and back flared out, cuts appearing at the edges of the cloth, slicing swiftly inwards and stopping shy of collar. The cuts made no sound, no tearing, just smooth, straight and seamless slices made with lightning speed, turning the material into inch-wide strips that hung from the collar. The strips took on a life of their own shortly after, extending up and around the girl, surrounding her completely. The doll's spirit had taken control of the garment.

A strip quickly wrapped around her head, covering her eyes completely while several strips tore the flimsy rags covering the feral ones breast before wrapping around the base of her orbs, encircling each over and over, making them jut out from her chest in an obscene manner. The other cloth strips grabbed and forced her arms across her front, straight jacket style, pulling her forearms back till they were tight against the bottom of her breasts, with yet more cloth wrapped around her hands, turning them into useless mitts before wrapping both arms together in multiple layers of material. The cloth strips flew and wrapped the girls body several times, layer upon layer upon layer building up and weaving themselves into a tight body harness. The final result was a sight to behold.

The girls head was encased in a sort of hood, several layers of cloth covering her eyes, plunging her into darkness, leaving only her mouth, ears, and nose exposed. Her body was encased in a sort of seamless straight jacket / crotchless leotard; One could see the arms were crossed, but it looked like they had melded to her body, with her legs, sex and bound breast the only things left uncovered and unfettered. The only part that remained of her original cloak was its collar, the rest had been twisted and deformed into the thing which was now trapping her.

"Fufufu... Lets see... Im "it" now... so I guess you better start running... came the dolls voice, dripping with playful malice.

Sayuri was done playing. Every tendon and muscle in her body ached as she tensed against her own protection, now binding her. The shredding has spilled her pack of wrappered and dried food onto the ground at her back, and the small pockets filled with weapons dug at her skin amongsth the coarse fabric, but that was a minor thing compared to the reshaping of the cloak.

"My home!" she screamed, shrill, high, and completely lost in a burning, seething, blind rage. "You stupid whore! I'll rip your goddamn eyes out and piss in them! I'll burn this whole damn forest down with you at the middle and feed the ashes to the fish! I swear by every God that I will see you dead!"

She didn't run away. Some deranged, animal part of her brain remembered fighting in darkness, remembered how to remember where her opponent was. With all of her strengh, she kicked the limp doll square in the head, then curled back into a crouch and slammed herself again into the thing's wooden body. Her screaming continued, a fast stream of obscenities and threats and hate, until the words were gone and the only thing left was a series of primal, terrible, angry cries.

"Wow.. you got quite a head on your shoulder... and a mouth to match..." said the ghastly voice as the girl blindly pummeled the doll whichever way she can, slamming the lifeless thing with her shoulders, her back, her knees, and everything else she can bring to bear on the thing. One could hear the wood cracking as each blow landed, the bending of metal as the outer shell started to cave, but suddenly there was a rustle, and her last attack landed with a dull thud on the grass covered ground. Slowly, the clicking of gears began to surface from the background noise, as well as what sounded like wood creaking, both seeming to come from straight ahead.

"Hehe.. well you know what they say.. 'Mi casa es su casa'... or something..." The doll didn't know how fast the girl could react while blinded... so she just had to be faster. With little warning, the constructs hand grasped the collar of her former cloak, its fingers gripping tightly on the fabric before it quite easily lifted her off the ground. The doll spun round on its heels several times, taking the feral one for a ride and disorientating her before flinging the girl to the ground, the landing cushioned a bit by the finger thick cloth wrappings. The cracks and tatters on its form had now completely repaired themselves, but the girl didn't know this of course, she just knew that she had given it quite a beating, but still it stood... and moved... with amazing strength.

"If you dont want to play tag, then lets play another game...." the doll stated as it swayed its hips to and fro.

"Marco..."

Years spent underground had taught Sayuri useful tricks for discerning direction and depth using just her ears. As she crashed on the ground, her mind reeled and tumbled around. She lost sense of down for a terrible, lurching moment before her equilibrium settled itself. Most of Karakuri's words were lost to her as one knee curled up beneath the bound girl, then the next.

Even after she realized what new game the cruel spirit was trying to play with her, Sayuri remained still kneeling on the ground. Her arms shoved as hard as they could against the bonds until they ached and trembled, then pressed still more until, after a few minutes, the girl collapsed forward panting again.

"Stupid bitch." Words came back to her. "I'll kill you. Crush your ugly face. Rip out your eyes. Burn you alive. Burn you. Burn. Burn. Burn." She kept repeating the word as she slowly got back to her feet, then went silent aside from soft pants of anger and exhaustion.

Her ears focused tight on the grass around her, but found nothing. She remembered the game after a moment. Her teeth clenched tightly at this strange humiliation, having to play along with the filthy thing that had ruined three years of stitching and repairs and care and love in ten seconds. At least it still smelled like home, she consoled herself briefly, before muttering a single word through her teeth.

"Marco."