"You... neva ansahed me, Ninten."

He hummed, brown eyes glancing to the blonde girl by his side before looking back out to the moon lit snow. A few months had passed since the events which had brought him and this girl together. Events that, he was certain, he would never forget.

"Ninten?"

"Yes." Not a question, but the answer she wanted. A soft gasp sounded as he turned to face the other young teen, clasping her hand in his, placing their foreheads together. "The answer is yes."

And as she smiled and closed the distance, the stars seemed to shine brighter.

xXx

His head hurt.

It was the first thing he was aware of as he regained consciousness. His head really hurt, like someone had hit him in the back of the neck with a heavy pipe. However, as he tried to move his arms to feel for any injuries, the movement only made his migraine worse and he was forced to give up. Minutes trickled by as more of his senses made themselves known and he realized that his head not only hurt, but he was cold, wet, and exhausted.

Something had happened. There was no question about it, especially since he had no memory of how he had ended up in this situation. Gritting his teeth against the pounding in his skull, he forced himself to sit up and look at his bleary surroundings.

He was, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of a smoggy night in Beika, in what looked to be an alley, judging by the boxes and trashcans he could see around him. It was only when he shook his head to ward off a sudden spell of dizziness that he found he was soaked because it was raining quite heavily. Wonderful. Well at least those questions were answered.

Now, what had happened?

He scowled, closing his eyes and listening to the rain as he retraced his steps before waking up here. He remembered the mission. Simple and flawless. Getting in the Porsche with Aniki and driving back to base. Running into Vermouth and being invited to drink at a local bar with her and his partner. Then... Nothing. A hazy blank between the bar and here. Perhaps a hangover? No, Aniki would have kept him from drinking too much. Speaking of which...

Where was Aniki?

He moaned, massaging his temples. So many questions, with no answers in sight. The migraine was unbearable now and for a split second, he wished he could have remained unconscious until it went away. And on top of that, he felt a bone chilling weariness, as if he were recovering from some horrible illness and his fever had just broken. Wait, fever. Heat. Fire. He had felt fire. Intense burning fire that he could have sworn consumed his entire being. Yes, he could remember leaving... somewhere and then the fire struck with intense pain. The memory made him cringe and he clutched his chest as if feeling it again.

For some reason, he couldn't help but feel... small. Small and helpless. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time and it was one he didn't like. Growling, he raised a hand to run through his short black hair, but froze at the sight before him, the growl dying in his throat. His sleeve... It wasn't supposed to bag and bunch up so much on his arm. He was a very large man and his suit and trench coat had been tailored to fit him perfectly. Come to think of it, his entire coat felt a bit baggy.

He needed to stand up.

Now.

Ignoring the pulsing in his head, he placed a hand to a slimy wall, resisting the urge to pull back in disgust. While it took him a few tries, he eventually managed to hoist himself up fully, stumbling only slightly before finding his balance. For a few minutes, he allowed himself to simply stand there, focusing on his breathing and the rain as his knees shook. Why? Why was he so tired and weak? He hadn't felt this physically worn down for years, since before he had met Aniki. He looked down at his feet and couldn't help but scowl, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

His coat wasn't supposed to be touching the ground. At most, it was to be somewhere around his ankles. And just as it felt, the article of clothing did look unnaturally baggy. Almost as if...

The cold hard truth hit him and he paled, lifting a hand and staring at slim fingers he had only seen in his youth. No. This was impossible.

Impossible? You of all people should know that nothing is impossible.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, shaking his head softly. "I thought I was done with such... oddities when I ended up here." Ah, that voice. So soft and young. It only further confirmed his suspicions.

He had shrunk. Somehow, he had lost who knew how many years and was younger again. About thirteen or fourteen if he had to guess. Odd how calm he was. Maybe it just hadn't fully sunken in yet. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he blinked, looking towards the source.

A butterfly, pink and yellow and silver, perched on the wall and lazily opening and shutting its wings. Well now... he hadn't seen one of those for quite a while. In fact, he hadn't seen them since... Gently he held out a hand, watching as it flew to perch on his finger as a calming aura surrounded him. "Where'd you come from?" As expected, there was no reply, save for the insect flying off and vanishing from sight. What had that been about? Was it a sign?

He needed to find Aniki.

Lowering his hands, he glanced around him before inhaling and placing his hands to his heart. He hadn't used IT in years. There had been no need to with Aniki around. As he tapped into the unused, yet so very familiar power he couldn't help but sigh at how... right it felt. Like a guilty pleasure he constantly denied himself. Once he had enough of the power gathered, he smiled.

"PSI Lifeup Beta," he whispered, the long neglected words odd on his tongue. A green light glowed for a few seconds and, once it died away, the migraine and exhaustion had vanished completely. Checking his pocket for his wallet, he then looked up to the barely visible stars, thinking up a plan of action. Clothes. Then getting a decent night's rest before finding out what had happened to him and where Aniki was.

He nodded and started walking.

xXx

He had received quite a few looks when he walked into the store. Then again, he didn't really blame them; It wasn't everyday a young teen walked into a store in the middle of the night wearing a coat much too large for him. Still, the coat was becoming unbearably heavy from the rain and he had no idea how long he was going to be looking for Aniki. It was best to be prepared.

A journey from long ago had taught him that lesson.

As he wandered the store, searching for the one section he needed, a woman walked up to him and scowled before covering it up with an obviously fake smile. "May I help you?"

"N-No thanks."

The smile vanish as she snorted and walked off. If Aniki had been here, he would have frowned at such disrespect. He however shrugged it off, too timid to protest. Not being good with girls didn't help either... Finally he spotted what he needed and started looking through the selection of shirts they held when one in particular caught his eye.

It was a t-shirt, horizontally striped in blue, red, and white. As he ponder why this design in particular had grabbed his interest, his eyes wandered to a pair of blue jean shorts hanging nearby. Slowly it hit him and he couldn't help but smile in a strange sense of nostalgia.

His old outfit. Before he had become a member of the Organization.

Without a second thought he grabbed the shirt and shorts, scanning the area before grabbing an orange neckerchief from a shelf as well. He wasn't exactly sure why he was recreating his old outfit from before. Perhaps it was for a sense of security, preparing for the moment the realization of his situation dawned on him and the panic set in. Now however he needed those blue sneakers. The shoe isle couldn't be that far from here. Walking in a direction he hope was correct, he paused as he passed a sporting goods isle, eyeing a bat before grabbing that as well. He felt safe with some sort of weapon and he knew a child his age would not be allowed a gun.

Once he had gathered everything he needed, including a backpack for supplies he would buy in the morning, he walked to the checkout, depositing his items. The man eyed the shorts curiously, looking at him soon after. "You do know it's fall right?"

"I like shorts." The man opened his mouth to reply before shutting it. Time passed by for a while before he spoke up again. "Anything else, boy?"

"... That baseball hat too, please."

"Alright..." The total was rung up and he quickly handed the man some cash before grabbing his purchases and ducking into the bathroom to change, glad that no one else seemed to be around. First things first, he emptied his pockets into the front of his backpack, unable to hold back a scowl. His phone was missing. Had he left it somewhere? Or had someone taken it? Regardless, there wasn't much he could do about that. At least he still had his inhaler and ATM card.

Zipping the pouch closed, he then proceed to undo the front of his wet trench coat. As he started to peel off the coat though, he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror and froze.

The young face of Ninten Kaspar, a boy he thought long dead, stared back.

He felt his arms shake as he grimaced. No. Relax. Don't let it get to you yet. You can't break down here. Change, find someplace to stay, maybe even use a payphone to call Aniki's cell, since yours is missing. Still, he bit his lip as the coat, then the suit came off and was then replaced by his new clothes. He looked at the wet pile of clothing and tried to decide what to do with it, in the end deciding to toss them. They were ruined anyway. Forcing himself to take deep, calming breaths, he shoved the clothes into his bag to throw out later.

A loud gunshot shattered the silence.

His entire body tensed, eyes widening as someone screamed. It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with guns. Over the years in the Organization, he had used them quite a bit. Had even killed, though not as much as his partner. However, he was also used to being able to flee the scene before anyone noticed and, judging by how close the gunshot had been, there was a high chance there was a dead body outside the bathroom he was in. Even worse, he could already hear the wail of sirens approaching, a sound that always made him anxious.

They won't suspect a kid though... Right?

He swallowed, pulling his backpack on and grabbing his bat before peaking out. Sure enough, there was a body, the woman he had seen before with the forced smile. Officers were already at the scene and he swallowed before reluctantly walking out. No sooner had the door swung shut when a taller man, wearing a blue suit and sporting a moderately sized mustache, looked up and marched toward his direction, stopping right in front of him and leaning right into his face. "Oi! Can't you see this is a crime scene?"

He backed away slightly, nose wrinkling as he smelled alcohol and cigarettes on the man's breathe. For some reason, he could feel his throat constricting, his lips quivering as he found himself unable to speak. What was wrong with him? While he had some difficulty talking to strangers, he was usually able to at least mumble a reply if someone asked him a question. As the man continued to glare at him, he bit his lip, backing against the wall behind him in an attempt to escape that grey eyed stare. If only he had his sunglasses. Then he'd be able to try to ignore it.

"Otousan! Stop it, you're scaring him!"

"Well? What the hell are you doing here?" the man barked, ignoring the feminine voice behind him. He could feel his eyes start to sting, his vision starting to shimmer. Oh Player, he... he wasn't starting to cry, was he? He was better than this! He was Vodka, one of the top agents for the Organization! Or, at least, he had been. Now he was just a young, lost teen stuck in a crime scene and being stared down by a man who towered over him. After hours of dodging and avoiding the situation, the full extent of everything that had happened hit him as he shuddered and clamped his eyes shut to avoid the inevitable tears to no avail.

He didn't expect a pair of strong arms to embrace him, nor a soft voice cooing to him in comfort. Flinching in confusion, he parted a brown eye to see a young woman bending down to his level, her blue eyes narrowed at the man from before who was now grinning as he chuckled nervously. "R-Ran..."

"How could you! He's only a kid!"

The man, this girl's father, snorted before pointing in his face. "He shouldn't be snooping around the crime scene! Bad enough the brat is always under my feet, I don't need another nosy kid getting in my way!"

"That's no reason to scare him!"

Her father huffed before storming off, shoving his hands in his pockets as he returned to the crime scene. Once the threat was gone, he realized he was trembling, the tears streaming down his face. For the first time he was glad Aniki was nowhere to be found. The idea of the blonde seeing him this upset was a horrifying thought. Something brushed against his cheek, interrupting his thoughts, and he blinked up to see the girl from before dabbing at his face with a handkerchief. She had to be in her late teens judging by her face. And her long brown hair and bright blue eyes suited her nicely.

Finally noticing his staring, the girl smiled, a warm and friendly gesture much different from what he was used to from women. "Are you ok?" Not trusting his voice, he nodded and the smile brightened as she continued. "What's your name?"

He sighed, glad that his name was practically untraceable here. "K-Kaspar. Kaspar Ninten."

"Kaspar Ninten?" He nodded again. "That's an... interesting name."

"Y-You can c-call me Ninten... If-If you want." He could feel his cheeks heat up as he stuttered, wringing the bat in his hands and he looked at the floor. He wished he was better at dealing with girls. Her giggling at how flustered he was getting only made it worse.

"So what are you doing out so late, Ninten-kun?" His grip on the bat tightened as he bit his lip. Slowly, her smile morphed into a frown. "Are... Are you lost?" For the third time he nodded, hating how the simple motion was becoming a habit. The girl hummed and tapped her chin, deep in thought before the smile returned. "Are you hungry? Otousan's office isn't too far of a walk from here."

He remained quiet, thinking over the offer. Come to think of it, he was a little hungry, unable to remember the last time he had eaten. And maybe, if this girl didn't mind, he could stay with her family for the night and borrow their phone in the morning to call Aniki. Mind now decided, he looked up and allowed himself a small smile. "I-I would really appreciate that, maam."

"Call me Ran," she stated, standing up straight and offering a hand. He hesitated briefly before taking it, following as Ran led him out of the building and into the night. The rain from before had finally died down it seemed and his new companion let go of his hand to clasp her own, staring at the sky. "The stars are out!"

He was about to look up when he spotted a butterfly similar to the one before, maybe even the same one. As Ran stared into the stars, he gently caught the insect, once again enjoying the calm aura the magical creature emitted. Still, he couldn't help the scowl that overtook his lips as he looked at it, barely noticing as Ran started walking off as he lifted his hand to the sky. "What are you doing here anyway? Why are you in a world with no psionic energy?"

"Ninten-kun? Are you coming?"

The butterfly flew away as Ninten hurried to her side.