Disclaimer: Yoshitoshi ABe owns Haibane Renmei; I don't. I only own Aoi.

Aoi starts to take off here, and the mystery begins to deepen. What do her white wings mean, and how will the Haibane Renmei, as well as the townspeople, react?

And yes, I'm toning down on the "Aoi is freezing" joke...that truly was partially a joke, and only one person has ever understood the deepest part of the joke; Aoi, meaning blue, and she's "blue with cold"...but whatever. That isn't the real reason why I named her Aoi; the joke just seemed to fit.

Aoi found herself walking with everyone else down a very long hallway, filled with many doors leading into unkown areas. Her footsteps echoed faintly in the corridor. Overhead were old lights.

Aoi had the vague sensation of all this stretching on into infinity. She couldn't explain why she felt that way. Just the sensation of endless myriad paths going in infinite directions...

She eventually was led around a corner and down a set of stairs, and shortly after, to a door that led outside.

A brightness, unlike anything that had penetrated the guest room, assailed her eyes now, and for a few moments, she blinked while alternately shivering with the sudden cold she felt.

Aoi forced her discomfort aside, although she could not stop from automatically hugging herself. Instead she concentrated on her surrounding.

She was in a large courtyard. A bright whiteness of snow lay over everything, although the ground was trampled by footsteps of all sizes, as well as wheel tracks. She could see at least one stone bench and, further along, a well.

All around her rose large, large buildings, towering over her at least three stories. There was also a large clock tower. She could also discern a high wall.

"Wow," she murmured. "Is this all yours?"

"It is where we live, yes," answered Hikari. "You can see now why we nearly missed your cocoon."

"Yes, I see that," Aoi just stood and stared wonderingly. It would be hard keeping track of all the rooms in a place this enormous.

"Well it also means you have plenty of rooms to choose from," said Kana cheerfully. "Come on, let's go get our bikes." she strode ahead rapidly towards an archway across the courtyard.

"Be glad some of the snow melted the other day," Nemu wagged her finger after the figure hurrying in front of them. "Or we'd be walking."

"Except maybe for Aoi and Reki," Kana called back. "Walking? Aoi'd freeze before we got there."

Aoi stifled a laugh. "I'm getting a feeling that any references to my freezing is starting to become a joke," she said.

Hikiari flushed at Aoi's comment. "It looks like it, I guess," she admitted. "I'm sorry my spare shawl wore out or I'd have loaned it to you. Today does, however, seem to be a pretty nice day for winter."

"It is all right. We can't control these things," Aoi answered her. "Just like I am having a hard time controlling these things."

She jerked her head slightly in the direction of her shoulders, and wings. The wings on her back twitched, as if to prove her point, and the group laughed as they also reached the archway.

"I'm sure Reki told you already that you'd get used to it," smiled Hikari.

"I sure hope so," Aoi glanced back over her shoulder, and in response her wings twitched again. "I do not like not being in control of my body."

"A little practice and you'll be fine," Rakka came hurrying up from behind them, her hands on a bicycle's handlebars. "I do advise practice, though. The Renmei will eventually want to see you, Aoi, and it will be easiest on you to be able to control your wings by then."

Aoi blinked at her. "They will want to see me?"

"Oh yes," said Hikari, prepared to hop up behind Kana as she came around wheeling a bike with extra foot grips. "The Communicator always meets with a newborn Haibane. There is a reason you'll want to control your wings by then."

This only made half sense to Aoi. If the Communicator wanted to speak with her, what did her wings have to do with it?

"We can discuss that later," called Reki, bringing her scooter around as well. "Okay, Aoi, hop on, and hold on tight."

"Okay." Aoi climbed onto the scooter behind Reki and trustingly put her arms about the older Haibane. The others indicated that they were ready also, two to a bike. Satisfied, Reki started her scooter and rode on off.

Aoi gave a slight gasp and Reki felt her arms tighten about her middle.

"Are you okay?" she called back.

"I'm fine," Aoi gasped. "I don't think I was expecting it, really, that's all."

She swore, though, that she felt her own face go whiter than a sheet. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer behind her ribs as well.

"Do you wanna switch to a bike?"

"No, it's okay," Aoi said, breathing deeper now. "Please go on, Reki. I'm fine now."

Her arms around Reki relaxed even as she spoke. Reki smiled to herself, glad to know that Aoi wasn't truly afraid. It had just been unexpected for her.

Aoi gave a deep sigh and laid her head against Reki's back, feeling her heartbeat slow back down. Yes, it was all right.

The dim realization came to her that she'd been on a scooter before...how, she didn't know. It certainly hadn't been here. Just, like speaking, it was one of those practical things she recalled, without knowing how she had aquired the knowledge to begin with.


Rakka had to pedal hard to catch up with Reki, although Reki was now going slowly so the others could keep up with her.

"Reki, stop for a minute," she called. "Let Aoi see the Hill of Winds!"

"Well...all right," Reki supposed she should not have been so surprised. Kuu had loved this place and had passed that love to Rakka.

Reki, too, enjoyed it, although she had always felt that such a bright place didn't belong with someone in darkness like herself. It hadn't fully stopped her from spending hours outside anyways, painting...

Aoi wasn't sure what they meant to show her, but she soon found out. They had just passed a bridge over a river, and she'd been doing her best to drink in the scenery around her, despite the scooter whisking her over it.

When Reki stopped, though, and Aoi looked over to see immense windmills whirling loudly from several places on a large hillside, she smiled, a smile which began to grow. Her blue eyes sparkled in delight, and impulsively, she let Reki go and slid off the scooter.

That hill called her.

"Aoi!" Reki sounded startled, but she heard no voice forbidding her.

Aoi did curb her impulse to run, though, and stood a few steps away, hugging herself against the cold and closing her eyes for several seconds, taking a few deep breaths. The air whooshed into her lungs and seared every part of her body, down to her toes, and she could swear for a moment that the ground disappeared from beneath her feet, as if she'd taken flight.

She didn't notice Reki staring at her. Wearing that shoulder cape and standing in the wind like that, Reki was reminded, for just an instant, of Kuramori, although the two would hardly resemble each other were they ever to meet.

The sight of Aoi standing there caused Rakka to laugh. "That was my first impression of this place," she called over. "Don't worry, Aoi, it's natural."

Aoi turned around and laughed lightly. "Yes, very much so. Sorry, Reki," she apologized, coming back to the scooter and getting back on...or at least, floating over? She didn't know. She could still barely feel the ground, and her whole body tingled.

Reki, however, was chuckling. "It is no problem," she assured the younger girl. "So long as you don't freeze. The Hill of Winds seems to inspire things in people. I don't understand why, but there it is."

"I took a deep breath and suddenly had the sense of flight," Aoi confessed quietly. "Does that sound...strange?"

Reki paused a moment. Flight? That was something Kuu would have said. "I'd say not," she said at last. "I have always thought there was more than one reason why it was called the Hill of Winds, besides those noisy windmills."

"I know what Aoi means," said Rakka, quietly now as she pedaled beside Reki. "Come on, though, let's get to town. I know my hands are getting a bit numb, and I'm not wearing a summer dress."


Eventually Aoi could see the town come into view. Houses started to appear, and people, although they huddled into their coats and didn't spare the Haibane a glance, so intent where they on getting to where it was warmer. Aoi was privately glad for this; nobody noticed her wings.

Eventually they reached occupied streets. The rows of houses, close together, sheltered them some from the wind.

"It isn't too far now from the thrift shop," Reki announced. "I'll at least hand it to the guy who runs it for keeping it toasty warm inside."

"You'll have to hand it to him for more than that," piped up Rakka. "He's got a magic touch for locating stuff. Especially when it comes to getting ten of a single item for the Young Feathers."

Reki just laughed. "You are right," she admitted.

They soon turned into a side street, and parked their bikes close to a green door.

Aoi slid off Reki's scooter and went to the door with the rest of them. She paused, however, at seeing a plaque beside the door, with a strange symbol on it. Intrigued, Aoi bent a little closer to examine it. A straight line with two downward-slooping lines attached to it, curling on the ends, and those having an extra curling line added to them, and a circle above the figure.

"It means Haibane are allowed to shop here," whispered Nemu from beside her. "You already know that the places where Haibane can shop and work are very limited, Aoi. Whenever you see this sign, you are permitted to shop here for what you need. You'll find them at various other older establishments, too, any that have successfully operated for more than a full human generation. You'll also find them at any eating establishment. We are not restricted, at least, on the purchase of food."

Aoi nodded. If a Haibane was bound by the rules she had been told, then a system like this made sense. None of her new friends seemed to be lacking in any way for what they truly needed. Indeed, they seemed fairly well taken care of, even bound by these rules. And for a place where nobody was allowed to leave, it sounded like a blessing in disguise.


Pots and teakettles clunked dully as Nemu reached over and opened the door, leading them into a cozy, warm area.

Or at least it was warm. When Aoi entered, experiencing the exquisite thrill of thawing out, she could also see rows after rows of clothing, mixed in with a number of other racks filled with used items of every sort she could imagine. A bit more junky than cozy, she decided, but there was a definite warmth in here despite this.

"Welcome, be there in a second," called a male voice, entering the room bearing enough boxes of things to impede his vision. He hefted the boxes down onto the floor behind the counter with a grunt, before standing up and stretching. Finally he turned to look at them.

He looked perhaps in his late twenties, Aoi descided, and his face was a bit scruffy, as well as his manner when he looked at them and said something about Haibane coming in from the cold.

However, when he turned his smile at them, Aoi was relieved to quickly discern that it was also warm, and so were his eyes.

"Hello ladies," he greeted them cheerfully. "In for more winterwear? Don't blame you. Even warm out there is still cold."

"We are," said Reki. "Or at least one of us in particular."

She nodded over her shoulder, where Aoi was standing there, a little uneasily. The shopkeeper noticed her then and smiled in his scruffy way.

"Oh, somebody new," he commented. "Hello there."

"Ah--hello," Aoi whispered, immediately feeling shy and nearly backing away from him a little.

"Hey, now, I'm not an old grouch or anything," he laughingly chided, wagging a finger at her. "Gimmie a chance, all right?"

He gave such an endearing grin that Aoi felt herself melt, and her shyness start to fade. She liked how open he was. Her return smile was much less timid.

"That's better," he commented. "Now, let's see if we can remedy the fact that your friends brought you in really, truly dressed for the opposite season, shall we?"

She was, however, very surprised when he reached over and lightly touched her halo, chuckling to himself about something, although she could only discern the words, "it stuck at least."

She didn't have time to be puzzled. He indicated that she follow him to a rack full of clothing meant for young ladies.

"Pick out an outfit here," he indicated. "Then we'll see about coats. Get something warm."

"Ah, yes," was all she could think to say as she reached over and looked through the long row of dresses and skirts. A prettier dark blue skirt caught her eye, and she pulled it off the rack to take a closer look.

It seemed to be of a heavy fabric, with the waist and hemline embroidered in red. Wearing it, Aoi figured that it would reach at least to her calves, probably lower.

"Well I can promise that one will wear well," commented the shopkeeper. "Just if you get a skirt, you'll need a blouse, and probably a sweater."

Aoi nodded. The blouse she located was also a dark blue, and had a round neckline, but about the neck was trimmed a similar red color as the skirt.

"Must've been an outfit; how'd I miss that?" the shopkeeper commented to himself. "All right then. It should look nice with those white wings of yours. The darker blue will highlight the white."

Aoi froze.

The others, who had been poking around at the store's various other shelves and racks, also paused. The shopkeeper wasn't unaware of the glances they exchanged among themselves.

"Aw, c'mon," he protested, moving his hands downward in a calming motion. "It is a bit curious but it don't really matter to me any. Sometimes one or another Haibane is born with different wings. My old granny was full of tales, so I just take it in stride."

"Did your 'old granny' ever tell you of one with white wings?" Reki came up protectively behind Aoi.

"Oh, you'd be surprised at some of the stories I've heard," he said cheerfully, as if none of this truly mattered. He beckoned them both over to the coats as he did so. "Your new friend here is probably the first in many, many years, but yes, my grandmother knew such a Haibane when she was a girl. It has happened before--and by the way, what is your name?" he suddenly turned and directed his question to Aoi.

"Aoi," she said softly, her face burning red.

"Blue," he said immediately. "Well it suits you, I'd say." He began thumbing through the coat rack.

"Did...did your grandmother ever tell you anything else?" Aoi ventured, beating Reki to the question.

"Ah, well...she didn't go into great detail, I'm sorry to say," the shopkeeper pulled out a coat, dismissed it as too big, and put it back. "I do know that she got friendly with her. Thought she seemed nice enough. What really stuck in her memory, though, was that when the white-winged Haibane was born, she wasn't the only one there with wings of a different color at the time. That other poor Haibane, though, did not have white wings. I don't know much beyond that, I'm afraid."

Reki looked shocked, while Aoi looked both fascinated and relieved. So--she wasn't the first! It didn't help her in terms of knowing who she was, or why she'd been born this way, but it was a relief to know that, even different, she wasn't the first Haibane to have ever had white wings.

"Well, as I said, it doesn't bug me none," the shopkeeper chatted away. "Others may stare a bit, Aoi, and comment, but I'd not be too concerned. Maybe some of the younger ones have never even been told a Haibane can be born with white wings. It may help you to get hardened to all the comments you are bound to hear at first, though. Just saying."

His last sentence turned very kindly towards her. Aoi sensed he was sincere, at least.

"Well," he sighed, changing the subject back to coats, "None here really fit you. There are some here I could alter a bit, though, take in the hems and such..."

"Well..." said Aoi, trying to push her spinning thoughts from her mind as she located a very pretty, large white shawl, trimmed with dark blue ribbon around the edge, and not too different in style from the one Nemu was wearing.

The shopkeeper looked over her shoulder. "Oh, I can guarantee that will keep you warm," he said with a cheerful smile. "Nice, woolen,and warm. I also advise a sweater then, but with both, it should keep you warm even when it is very cold."

Aoi nodded, and after a little more hunting managed to find a dark blue sweater to cover the blouse. She also quickly located a few other necessary garments, including stockings.

The others had picked out various items of clothing as well by this time, and carried them to the counter. Aoi was very surprised when the shopkeeper whisked her new clothes out of her hands.

"Musn't let you go back outside in that thin dress," he chided. "Now for my extra-special service!"

Without further ado, he whisked out a pair of scissors and started up his sewing machine. The other Haibane chuckled to themselves at Aoi's astonished look.

Within a few moments he was thrusting her garments back into her hands. The blouse, sweater, and shawl all had new wing slits, well hemmed.

"I've gotten used to making those," he chuckled. "Practice makes perfect, eh? Now we'll ring you all up and then I have a side room where you can go and change."

Before she could even respond, he turned his attention to the others, and began ringing up their items.

Obligingly they took out reddish-brown notebooks, and Aoi swiftly noticed that each of them had the same symbol on them that she had seen by the door to the shop--the symbol of the Haibane Renmei. It was enough to remind her that she didn't have one.

"Here, Aoi, you just sign this." Again before she could speak, the shopkeeper handed her a small board with paper on it. "And leave a feather. I figured you'd not have a notebook yet."

Aoi, still wordless, just nodded her head and took the pen Hikari offered her. Quickly she signed the sheet, but when she struggled to reach a feather from her wings, they just twitched and refused to hold still.

"Here, let me help," offered Reki, noticing Aoi's frustrated glance. Carefully she selected a feather and pulled quickly, causing Aoi to wince.

"Sorry, I tried to mind your scabs," Reki apologized. Aoi nodded her understanding and handed the form, and feather, to the shopkeeper. He cheerfully pointed out a fitting room Aoi hadn't noticed before, and she gathered her new clothes and headed in that direction.


When Aoi stepped back out, she certainly felt a lot warmer than before. The skirt of her outfit ended just shy of her high black shoes. After a little struggling, she had finally managed to figure out the basics of making her wings obey. Putting on the blouse had been a tussle, but the sweater and shawl had gone on much more easily.

"Aoi, you look so nice," Hikari complimented her. "And now you won't--"

"Don't say 'freeze', Hikari, please?" Aoi begged her.

Hikari just laughed nervously. "Well, you look good anyways," she amended, her face going red.

"You look ready to hit the town," the shopkeeper said as he cheerfully waved them from his shop. "Come back soon, ladies!"

Aoi turned and bowed her thanks to him before turning and hurrying to catch up to the others. He was very kind, and she wished she knew how to repay him for that.

She found herself ignoring the chatter of the others, though, on the subject of lunch, and how Kana had to go to work now and how Rakka had to go back to work this afternoon and take the halo mold with her and...

She shut it all out. Her mind was focused on what the shopkeeper had so nonchalantly let slip about Haibane with white wings. He had restrained himself upon mentioning others with 'different wings' however, and Aoi suddenly got the feeling that the subject of Unblessed Haibane was probably more whispered about than discussed out loud in polite society.

"I have to go back too," Nemu's voice suddenly intruded on her thoughts. "And Hikari, didn't you promise to help with the kids again this afternoon? The Housemother doesn't have ten hands, I'm sorry to say."

"Yeah," said Hikari, reluctantly. "And I should also locate the material used to make Aoi's wing covers."

Aoi and Reki glanced at each other. They were the only ones, they realized, who hadn't put forth a vote to return to Old Home.

"If Aoi wants to see more of the town, I'll stay with her," Reki volunteered. "This is all so new to her."

"Agreed," said Nemu, not saying the fact that Reki was probably wanting to guard Aoi from others who might mock her instead. She couldn't always. Aoi had already shown a willingness to face what she had to.


It didn't take long for Aoi to notice, even as the others drove off on the bikes, that Reki's eyes were a million miles away.

"You're thinking about it too, aren't you," she said quietly, making Reki snap back to the present. The older Haibane blinked and looked at her directly, then pushed back from the wall she'd been leaning on to approach her scooter.

"I was," said Reki slowly. "There was more in what he said...than I think he knows."

"Do the humans not understand the Haibane then?" Aoi asked as they got onto Reki's scooter.

"They know mostly what they see, or hear if a friendship happens to grow between one of them and one of us," answered Reki. "Nemu is good friends with a human woman named Sumika. I'm sure she's told her some things."

She felt Aoi's arms tremble around her as she started the scooter. "Don't worry," she called over. "They may stare some, but don't let it affect you."

Aoi nodded. She didn't know if she'd end up with people afraid of her, but all she could do, she figured, was do her best to be a good Haibane, and prove them wrong. And, even if there was a dye in existence to make white wings gray, she'd also already decided not to accept its use. She did not know why she had such a strong impulse to be taken for who she truly was.


Aoi silently sipped soup from the oddly-shaped bamboo bowl she'd been handed by a smiling cafe owner.

Reki was just absentmindedly stirring hers.

"It is going to get cold, Reki," Aoi nudged her gently.

"I'm not really hungry," Reki answered, but she automatically swallowed a little steaming soup to distract Aoi. She had too much on her mind.

Aoi hid a shrug. What could she do? Her mind momentarily wandered back to even getting these soup bowls that now warmed their hands.

The cafe owner, a middle-aged gentleman, had blinked with obvious surprise when he had noticed Aoi's white wings. He was about to open his mouth to say something when he had seen Aoi stiffen and an uncertain look enter her eyes. Reki had also stepped up protectively behind her.

In the end, he had decided against making a comment of any sort. He just shrugged and cheerfully filled two bamboo soup containers, handing them both to Aoi while Reki used her notebook to pay.

"I like it when I get new customers!" he had called after them, waving goodbye. "Be sure to come back!"

At least he hadn't seemed afraid of her, Aoi reflected now, slowly taking another sip from her spoon. Still, she'd just been given her first real taste of what it would mean to have wings of a different color than normal.

"Aoi?"

Aoi swallowed her soup a little faster than she meant to. "Yes, Reki?" she asked over the scalding sensation in her throat.

"Do you think you can handle it?"

Aoi looked at her for a moment before Reki fluttered her wings, and then she understood.

"I will do my best, Reki," she answered somberly. "Even if there is a dye for white wings to make them gray, I don't think I want it."

Reki gave her a long look. "Are you sure about that? Everyone might end up treating you differently. That cafe owner wanted to say something. We both saw that."

"He did not seem to have bad feelings about it though," Aoi answered steadily. "He was curious. You know what, Reki? This may end up simply teaching me who here is worthy as a friend. If they are going to spend more time staring at my wings than looking into my eyes, even after they get past their surprise, then they are not worthy as a friend."

"Aoi..." Reki stared at her, astonished.

Aoi closed her soup container, although it was still half full, and laid it aside. She too was suddenly no longer hungry.

"Such a friend is far less likely to betray and abandon you later," she said, very quietly.

Tears filled her eyes at that point, and she did not even know the source of her pain. Its origin was lost, but the pain was still there. Aoi suddenly sensed it clearly. The pain of loss, of someone she loved dearly and cared about. It was not from this time, but something in her remembered.

"Hey, now, don't cry," said Reki quickly, very surprised by the sudden change. It was impulse that made her put her arm around Aoi, because she hadn't expected that reaction at all.

Aoi just trembled, blinked a few times, and her tears were gone. Gingerly Reki released her.

"I'm all right, Reki," Aoi murmured. "I am sorry. You must think me very strange. I don't know where that came from."

"No, I understand completely," Reki told her with a smile, hiding her own pain. Aoi's words resonated with her. They resonated far too strongly.

Aoi drew in a deep breath. "Maybe that was too awful a thought," she murmured. "I...after all, it is only fair to give people a chance first, right?"

"Well..." Reki began. How could she tell Aoi that? That she'd long since stopped trusting people? Yet Aoi was in for a world of darker pain if she learned for herself the hard way.

"Reki?"

Reki turned towards her, a feeble excuse on her lips, which faded abruptly when she met Aoi's penetrating stare. For just a split second their eyes locked, and Reki suddenly felt stripped of everything she hid herself behind. Quickly she looked away.

"Here," Reki picked up Aoi's half-forgotten soup bowl and pushed it back into her hands. "It'll get cold."

It caused Aoi to smile at Reki's abrupt attempt to cover her feelings. She decided to play along and forget what she'd seen in Reki's eyes. For just a second she'd seen a great deal of Reki, and she could not quite comprehend what she had been privy to. All she knew was that it had been very private. "You first."

Reki picked hers up. "You are stubborn."

"And you are not?"

"You won't grow strong if you don't."

"What about you?"

"I'm done growing."

"No, you're not."

"What gives you that idea?"

"Your head is still swelling."

Reki looked at her, startled, and Aoi just burst out laughing. Reki followed a moment later.

"I will," Reki conceded after she stopped laughing so hard. "If you stop sounding so much like Hana. That girl is going to be a bad influence on you."

"I'm going to have to talk with Hana more then," Aoi said mischeviously, but she re-opened the container of soup and started to finish it.

"Dig in," Reki sighed. "And I was about to exercise the authority of a senior Haibane on you, too..."

"I don't think that exists," Aoi answered between mouthfuls.

"And you are so sure because..." Reki trailed off.

"I've already seen enough of you all to realize that you all work together to keep Old Home running," Aoi sounded quiet now.

It made Reki pause, and a sort of distant look came over her face. "You are right on that count," she answered. "Nobody wants to slack...because they are all good Haibane."


They finished their soup and put the disposable containers in a garbage can.

"Did you want to see the wall up close before we go back to Old Home?" asked Reki. "They are an impressive sight."

Aoi glanced ahead. She could already see the tops of the wall looming over the rows of houses across the street from where she and Reki stood.

Still...

Her eyes strayed to the tops of the walls. Even from this distance those walls seemed to have something to say.

"Yes," she murmered.

"We must not get too close, and we definietly must not linger," warned Reki. "The rules forbid it. Come on."

She left her scooter parked, and they walked. Reki knew nobody would take it. This town was too honest for that.

The narrow concrete streets took them closer and closer. So intent was Aoi on the wall by now that she no longer noticed when she recieved the occassional staring at her wings from passerby, and muted whispers.

She did not even notice when some of the elderly in the streets simply smiled in curious understanding when they saw her wings. They remembered, if fewer in the younger generations did not.

Nobody stopped to comment, though, and very suddenly, the Great Gate Square spread out before the two girls. It was large, and the design focused on bringing attention to enormous gates. Snow was everywhere, and here and there, people were walking, talking, and generally going about their daily life.

Beyond that, Aoi could see immense walls looming up and over her, high, taller by far than any building she'd seen so far in Glie.

"Oh my..." was all she could say.

There was something in those walls. They radiated...Aoi didn't know what. Those walls seemed to be saying something her ears could not hear. She could not explain it. It fascinated her, and yet terrified her at the same time.

Reki's words about the walls being forbidden made a whole lot of sense all of a sudden, although Aoi didn't know for sure why this was.

"It isn't a Marketing day," Aoi heard Reki suddenly say. "What are they doing here?"

"Hm?" Aoi's eyes had been focused on the distant tops of the walls. She tore her gaze from them and looked downwards, finally noticing the large gates set into the wall. Two stiff, stern guards were on either side of the door, surrounded by ferociously snarling dobermans. Definetly not people to cross.

That was not, however, what Reki had been talking about. Not far in front of them were three figures. Two were dressed alike, with long brown robes and hoods that hid their eyes, and bindings covering their lower faces. Only their noses could be seen.

The third figure was also dressed in brownish robes, but different. While his grayish-white hood did not come down so far, he had a very strange mask on, with a single hole in the center where his eyes would have been, and lower down, another small hole where his mouth was. On his back were what looked like brown wings, but they did not seem real. Bells hung from holes at the bottom of these false wings.

Two of them, the one in the mask and one of the two with his mouth bound, were moving their hands. They formed different shapes with their fingers, back and forth.

"Are they talking?" Aoi whispered, fascinated.

"Yes," whispered Reki. "The ones with their mouths bound are the Toga. The other one is the Haibane Renmei Communicator. The Toga are the only ones ever allowed outside the walls. You must never touch them, or attempt to speak to them, Aoi. It is forbidden. Likewise they'd never come near us."

This was a very strange thought to Aoi. The bindings over their mouths almost seemed to prevent them from speaking, by force. All their language was made to flow through their hands, and the odd shapes of their fingers.

"What are they saying?" she whispered, mesmerized by watching their hands. It was like a strange, hypnotic dance, and Aoi yearned to know the meaning of that dance.

"I don't know," Reki answered. "Only they know the language. Normally Toga only appear in public when they bring in goods from the outside to trade with the town. Seeing them here is very unusual. The Haibane Renmei Communicator also doesn't usually appear in public unless it is Market day. This is rather odd."

"The Communicator--the one in the mask?" Aoi whispered. "Is he the one who..."

She trailed off.

"Yes," answered Reki, and there was a sudden edge to her voice. "He'll be the one who speaks to you when you are summoned to the Temple. He is an official Communicator, and only Communicators are allowed to speak with words."

Aoi clasped her hands in front of her nervously. "I think...I ought to be told what to expect, then," she said softly.

"One of the others could tell you better than me," whispered Reki. "That old man likes to preach, though, just a warning."

Aoi blinked at Reki in astonishment. Reki seemed very devoted to the ways of the Haibane. To hear her speak like that was unexpected, and sounded incredibly irreverent.

Reki wasn't lost on the look Aoi gave her. She just smiled. "Oh, don't mind me," she waved it off. "He and I don't get along, that's all. He seems to get along well enough with Rakka. Speaking of which--"

She stopped suddenly. "Rakka was supposed to return the halo mold to him today!" she exclaimed. "It is unlike him to be around here right now...she must stuck waiting for him to show up at the temple."

One of the Dobermans at the gate had been eyeing them warily for some time now as they stood there and whispered, and now he got up and took a sudden step at them.

Reki noticed immediately and stepped backwards, grasping Aoi by the sleeve.

"Come on," she urged, tugging. "We can't stay so close to the wall any longer. We'll get into trouble."

But the Toga and the Communicator had stopped using their sign language. Aoi felt pierced to her core when the Communicator paused a moment, then looked specifically in their direction.

Right at her.

Aoi froze.

She could not see past his mask and yet she felt him looking straight through her.

What he saw, she didn't know. But it had to have been something. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest, and her whole body was icy. She was shivering and yet Reki's tugging could not budge her.

"Aoi, I am not going to get picked up by the Community Watch," Reki said impatiently. "Let's go."

The communicator finally turned his head, and Aoi's body unlocked. Unsteadily she followed Reki's pulls, tugging her back further into the town and away from the walls.


"I'm sorry," Reki panted as they got out of sight of the square, and Aoi had breathlessly gasped what had held her against Reki's pulling. "That old man can be intimidating when he wants to be. I should have expected that look of his would make you freeze. We just can't stay near the walls long. They are dangerous. Those rules are there for our own protection."

"Reki..." Aoi gasped, feeling as if every ounce of strength had drained from her body. She reached out, holding onto the side of a building for support, breathing heavily.

"Aoi? Are you all right? Damn, I should have known." Reki reached over and touched her forehead. It was warm to the touch.

"What..." Aoi didn't know what was going on. She felt so weak.

"It is common with newborn Haibane so soon after moving around for the first time," Reki said softly. "Emotional strain, and physical exhaustion. Come on, let's get you home. You'll be fine by tomorrow."

Aoi just nodded and pushed herself up from against the wall. Exhausted as she felt, she could walk, although Reki kept a close eye on her as they made their way back to her scooter.

"I'm sorry," Reki said as they walked along. "You're still recuperating, and here I was dragging you all over town."

"It is not your fault," Aoi said with a small smile. "I was the one captivated by all the sights. Glie is such a new place to me."

The way back Aoi again had to put up with the stares of those who noticed her wings, quite obviously much lighter than those of Reki's gray ones. She could not help but hear a few whispers.

"White wings? I've never seen white wings."

"What does it mean?"

"I think they're pretty."

"She's not the first. I'm an old man and in my childhood there was one..."

"Should we be afraid?"

"She's so different!"

"It can't be the same as those with black feathers. I mean, she can't be cursed, can she?"

"Who knows? Maybe white is a different form of sin-bound."

"And maybe it isn't."

"Do not speak so openly of the sin-bound. It is rude."

Reki sighed on hearing the whispers, and cast a sidelong glance at Aoi. Aoi was biting her lip and looking troubled; Reki could not tell if she was distressed at catching these whispers, or simply exhausted in general.

The one thing Reki did notice was that very few of the glances cast their way were of outright fear or malice. Most seemed curious. It was understandable, right? If white wings hadn't appeared in so many years, then, at least at first, people would be more curious than afraid or condemning. It would change when they found out some answers...or if time went by with none.

One whisper, though, made Reki's stomach clench. The whisper that perhaps white was a different form of sin-bound. Was that true? She'd never before heard of such a thing. Her black feathers were the mark of her sin. Was white a different version, but still in the end a signal of darkness? Was Aoi sin-bound after all?

Reki could feel her own temples starting to throb. She and Aoi reached her scooter, and wordlessly she climbed on, and Aoi slid on behind her.

It was not until they were past the town and back out in the open when the cold wind stinging their cheeks seemed to wake back up.

"Are you okay?" Reki called back to her.

"I'm all right," Aoi's voice barely reached her over the scooter's noise.

"Can you bear the things they said?" asked Reki, deciding not to mention the comment about sin-bound she had overheard. If Aoi found this too hard to bear, she'd make sure the Renmei gave her a potion, if it existed, to dye white wings gray, and then in some way or other, make Aoi use it.

"I'm all right," Aoi answered. "Most were curious more than anything, I guess. They should get over their shock in time. It is just..."

She felt Aoi's arms jerk spasmodically around her.

"You overheard it too, didn't you? Is white a different form of sin-bound?"

Reki swallowed. Guess I wasn't the only one who heard that then.

"I don't know," Reki muttered. "That is an awful way for anybody to view those white wings, Aoi..."

"You've been thinking it too!" Aoi's voice reached her, firmer this time.

"We just don't know the answer to that," Reki responded. "It shocked me but I don't want to think of you like that, Aoi. We'll have to save the true answer to that question for the Renmei."

Aoi sighed. "If it is true, then..."

"Then...?"

She could sense Aoi's spine stiffen. "Then I'll face it," came the resolved reply. "I do not know the way out, but I'll find it. There has to be a way."

Reki suppressed a shiver of sadness. Aoi was made of far stronger stuff than she had assumed at first. Her words and feelings were brave, and not faked for the sake of appearance. However...what if Aoi spent seven years hunting with no resolve then, as she herself had done? It would destroy her from the inside out.

And why should she automatically fail? Came the mocking thought from the back of Reki's mind. She does not seem to be inclined to act as stupidly as you did, Reki. She will probably end up like Rakka, overcoming her issues and finding forgiveness.

Reki cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Aoi was leaning tiredly against her back now, eyes closed, but her face showing hints of her troubled emotions. A mixture of protectiveness and understanding managed to touch Reki then. I truly don't want her to be sin-bound to begin with. She still might not be. What do those gossiping townspeople know for sure? And even if she is not, she is still as different from the others as I am.

Aoi sensed Reki turning to briefly glance at her, but did not open her eyes, and did not say out loud her own thoughts, which were simply, And if I can find a way out, Reki, surely you can too. You've been so kind and yet you suffer...


The scooter arrived back at Old Home a few minutes later. Aoi, gathering her limited strength, got off and picked up the parcels containing the blue summer dress and Kuramori's shoulder cape. Hesitantly she held out the second one to Reki.

"I think this should go back to you and Nemu now," she said quietly. "I have no more need for it."

Reki gave her a long stare, suddenly remembering how much Aoi, wearing that, had reminded her of Kuramori.

Gently she put her own hands on the parcel and pushed it back towards Aoi. "Keep it, if Nemu agrees. It will do you good this spring. It did nobody any good sitting in Nemu's storage unused."

"But she wanted to remember your friend with it!" Aoi protested.

"She'll remember it when she sees you wearing it," Reki smiled back. "I do not think she'll say no."

Aoi nodded, whispering her thanks. Reki walked close beside her as they made their way back up to the guest room, for Aoi's exhaustion was still very evident. She did not tell Aoi her own thoughts on the shoulder cape. She had no hopes left of salvation for herself, but maybe Kuramori's goodness still lingered in that garment, and it could help Aoi find hers...that is, if she truly was sin-bound.


There was a bench hidden in the depths of the Temple Garden. Rakka sat on it, tense and nervous. From what she could figure out from the attendant's silent hand signals, she was to wait here with the halo mold until the Communicator returned. She could not attend to her job inside the walls until he took the mold from her.

At long last she heard a jingling of bells, and suddenly Washi was standing a short distance from her, cane in hand.

Rakka stood up and, holding the mold to her chest for a moment, pressed her wrists together in the standard greeting.

"I apologize for having you wait so long," he acknowledged her. "There were some issues I had to attend to. You are returning the halo mold?"

Rakka's right wing moved, jangling the bells attached to it. She held out the parcel and he took it from her.

"The new Feather will be summoned to the temple tomorrow," he told her. "A notice is being put up on the bulletin board at Old Home as we speak."

Rakka gave him a nervous, troubled look, something he did not miss.

"The issue with the new Feather's wings will be addressed then," he told her gently.

Rakka drew in a sharp breath, biting back the words she was forbidden to utter without expressed permission.

"Is there something you wish to say? I give you permission to speak," he granted her.

"Is she in trouble?" Rakka burst out. She had worried about Aoi's wings constantly since first entering the Temple, and what Washi had to say about the matter.

"She is a newborn," came the calm reply. "The matter of her wing color will be dealt with when she is summoned tomorrow. You need not have fear for her."

Rakka nodded, and bowed, turning to attend to her job. She knew without being told she'd been dismissed. The old Communicator's words had been comforting, even if they had truly told her nothing she could understand. Still she was suddenly certain that Aoi would be all right when facing him. The rest she would have to find out later.


Reki, in the middle of preparing dinner, had just come out of the kitchen to quickly check on a sleeping Aoi when she spotted Nemu also back in the room, looking very uncertainly at a piece of parchment she was holding in her hands.

"I wasn't sure whether to wake her," Nemu whispered, looking up when she sensed Reki staring at her from the curtained-off area.

"She needs her rest; by tomorrow she should not be plagued by weakness," Reki answered. "Besides, I was going to wake her when dinner was ready. What do you have there?"

Nemu simply put it in Reki's outstretched hand. "It is from the Renmei."

Reki thus knew what it was even before she read it. Of course. It always happened. The Renmei summons, and this time, for Aoi.

"Tomorrow morning," Reki mused. "Not surprising."

"But Rakka's already returned the halo mold, and she never goes until the afternoon," fretted Nemu. "Unless she wishes to go in early..."

"I'll take her." A bit more sharply than she meant, Reki's voice cut into Nemu's thoughts.

"You?"

"Me," Reki asserted firmly over Nemu's stare. "There are things that old man should end up telling Aoi, and I also want to be there. And..."

Reki trailed off abruptly, before simply ending it with, "...there are other things I must know out of him as well."

Nemu chose not to question her. Those sleepy eyes of hers always saw more than she ever told anyone else. Patiently waiting for her own Day Of Flight, she had the time to observe others. Reki had been preparing to leave them all...and now she wasn't. Nemu knew this with a certainty. Of course Reki would probably want to know why, and would seek her answers from the Renmei.


"Aoi? Wake up; it is time for dinner."

Rakka's voice intruded on Aoi's sleep, and the sensation of being gently shaken sent pain lancing through her shoulders and sides.

She awoke with a gasp and a wince, stiffening and drawing away from Rakka's touch.

Rakka drew back at once. "Oh, sorry, Aoi! I should have remembered about your wings!"

"It is all right." Aoi looked at her with sleep-bleary eyes. Although it hurt to do so, she forced herself to sit up from her stomach-sleeping position and rubbed her eyes, yawning.

"Time to wake up, Sunshine!" Hikari said cheerily from where she stood beside the veranda windows. She suddenly blanched when Rakka started to laugh, and glanced outside at the darkening sky.

"Ooh...maybe I should've said Starshine, then, huh?" she amended, with a nervous titter of her own.

"It doesn't matter," said Reki, her smile indicating that she found it all very amusing. "As soon as Kana wanders her way back in here, we'll be ready for dinner. In the meantime, Aoi..."

She picked up a piece of parchment from the table and handed it to Aoi, as the other girl arose from the bed and shook out her skirt so it fell into place neatly.

Her face visibly whitened as she read the message, and so did the knuckles on her hands, going from too-pale to no color of any sort.

Hikari watched this, worried. "Reki, what is it?" she asked out loud nervously. "Is that Aoi's summons from the Renmei?"

"Yes," Reki answered. "Nemu found it a few hours ago on the bulletin board."

Aoi felt all strength leave her body, and she abruptly sat back down on the bed. She was still very white, and she laid the parchment aside with a sigh.

"Aoi, you should not be afraid," Rakka said kindly, sitting beside her and picking up the parchment herself. "It isn't as bad as what you are imagining."

The look Aoi gave her was still troubled. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder and, after concentrating a moment, managed to make her wings flutter under her own command.

"See? That is a good thing right there!" Rakka said, forcing a cheerful smile onto her face. "You can already move your wings somewhat! That will be a big plus to the Communicator."

"You've mentioned before that it is a good idea that I move my wings," Aoi said softly, taking a few deep breaths. Color slowly came back into her face.

"It is, and I'll explain why while we eat, if that helps," Rakka said reassuringly. "I asked him, Aoi."

"What?" Reki's eyes snapped up, and she abruptly ceased setting the table. "Rakka, did you question the communicator about Aoi?"

Rakka blushed deeply. "Um...a little," she admitted. "He didn't answer in any way I could understand, but he said that she was simply a newborn, and that I need not fear for her."

"Hmph!" Reki shrugged. "It is just like him to be so cryptic." She strode over to the bed and plucked the parchment from Rakka's hands. "You won't have to go alone, Aoi. I'll go with you tomorrow."

"You will?" For some odd reason Aoi felt a sense of relief. She didn't even know how to get to the temple, and she dreaded visiting it alone.

"I will," Reki nodded. "It is no trouble. I need to speak to the Renmei anyways about something else. In the meantime, Rakka, telling Aoi what to expect during dinner is a good idea. Afterwards, you can practice with your wings some more. Rakka is quite right, Aoi, when she says there is nothing to truly fear from your visit to the Renmei. It is mostly just an interview, nothing more."


"I'm baaack!" crowed Kana as she strode into the room. "And I managed to aquire a little shadow on the way in here, so be prepared."

"A shadow? What sort of--" Reki began, before a blur of laughing pink came rushing happily into the room. "Oh."

"Hi there!" giggled little Hana, ending her whirlwind entry into the room by going directly to the guest bed and climbing up on it beside Aoi, and tugging on Aoi's sleeve excitedly. "Hi, new girl! I've come to eat with you guys tonight!"

"Well, if that isn't good news!" Aoi let the little girl's mood infect her, and she played along, picking up the little girl as she herself stood up, and automatically looking around for a bench that would fit her tiny size at the dinner table.

"Hana!" Reki scolded. "Did you sneak away from the House Mother again?"

"Well no, not exactly," said Hana nonchalantly. "I didn't want the dinner she served! The housemother said eat it or I'd have to take my chances with you guys, because either way I would not get what I demanded for dinner."

"Hana, do not argue with the housemother on what is placed before you," Reki began to scold, before she noticed Aoi humming to herself and finding the special bench they used for the Young Feathers who visited. She set Hana down and picked the bench up, then pretended it was very heavy, so that Hana scrambled over and picked up the other end.

In reality, the bench wasn't heavy at all, and Reki knew it. It was smart of Aoi to let Hana think she was helping. The little girl's face beamed with pride.

It made Reki shrug and smile to herself. The Young Feathers were so spirited it wasn't always a sure win to argue with them. Sometimes you lost, and it appeared this was one of them. The other older feathers didn't even seem to blink with their tiny guest inviting herself to dinner. Another place setting was produced for her, and that was it.

Besides, Aoi seemed momentarily diverted from her worry. It was an interesting twist, but it looked like she clicked with Hana instantly.

"...And I've learned lots of wing tricks!" Hana was already happily chattering to an intently-listening Aoi. "Would you pick up that banana for me, Aoi?"

Puzzled, Aoi did so, and watched as Hana turned around and extended her arms out in front of her.

Abruptly her little wings came together over the banana. She giggled as Aoi, surprised, lost her grip on the fruit.

The banana didn't fall, for Hana's wings held it tight.

Even Kana seemed impressed at that one. "Now that is a cool trick," she remarked.

"Yes, well, don't attempt it, Aoi," Reki advised. "You would hurt yourself."

"Maybe right now," Aoi countered. "But that was a really impressive trick!" She smiled at Hana while retreiving the banana. Hana beamed at her.

"It was, for once," Kana herself was still very impressed. "Imagine how much more I could handle if I could hold things with my wings, as well as my hands?..."

"I don't think our wings are meant to be used in such a fashion," Reki mused as she set bowls of food on the table. "What if they got stuck that way?"

"That's ridiculous," Kana dismissed. "All the young feathers can clap their wings together, although this is the first time I've seen any of them hold something with 'em."

"They started that to annoy the house mother and myself," Reki shook her head, smiling, as she started to fill her plate.

"Looks like they succeeded, from the way you're complaining," Hikari chuckled.

Reki sighed and leaned back in her chair in defeat. "I give up."

Aoi and Hana looked at each other, and simply grinned.

"Can you move your wings yet?" asked Hana a few minutes later as everyone began to eat.

"Well, kind of," Aoi admitted, fluttering her wings a little bit.

"Oooh, let me practice with you!" Hana begged. "I taught Rakka!"

"Did you now?" Aoi asked, glancing at Rakka. The messy-haired Haibane blushed and nodded with a nervous chuckle.

"Practice after dinner then," Nemu said, overhearing. "And don't overdo it, Aoi. It is good to get your wings working, but they are still sensitive and your skin is still covered in scabs."

Aoi nodded her understanding before glancing back at Rakka. "Um, Rakka?" she asked. "Would you tell me now? About what I should expect from the Temple visit?"

Rakka looked surprised for a moment, then nodded her head. "Certainly."


Aoi quietly listened over the course of dinner. The bells, the silence, the Haibane Renmei notebook. She decided not to mention the fact that Hikari had forgotten to tell her all this before her own first temple visit.

Aoi in her turn told Rakka how she'd seen the Communicator at the Great Gate Square earlier in the day.

"So that is why he was so late," Rakka sighed in relief. "I could not imagine what he was doing...I sat there for quite a while."

"It was strange for both him and those Toga to be in the square when it wasn't Marketing day," Kana mused. "I wonder what they are up to."

"It is unlikely we'll ever know the answer to that," said Nemu placidly. "It must have been important, though, at least by Renmei standards."

"Well, whatever the case, Aoi, I would not worry too much," said Rakka optimistically. "He seemed scary at first to me. I found out he's actually a nice man. You'll be all right; I'm certain of it."

Aoi nodded. "Thank you for cheering me on," she said softly. "I'll face him, no matter what. It is just one of those things I know I have to do."


"In, out, in, out..."

In the end, Aoi did submit to Hana's wing exercises for a little while to please her. The child had a sunny nature that had quickly seeped into Aoi's heart, and already she was immensely fond of the little girl.

"Do you see how easy it is?" asked Hana, when Aoi's wing movements matched hers without pause. "It is no trouble at all."

"No, it isn't," Aoi admitted. For a six-year-old girl she had been remarkably right here. It truly didn't seem all that complicated to control her wings, if she stopped fighting to make them obey and just flowed with it instead. "You are such a good teacher, Hana!"

Hana beamed a smile at her, then suddenly stood up and bowed formally. "I am happy to have been of service to you!" she announced.

"And now it is time for our helpful teacher to get back to the Housemother before she has a fit," announced Reki, who had watched the whole affair with great amusement.

Hana marched over and threw her arms around Aoi's legs, holding on tightly. "No! I'm not done having fun here!"

"It is getting close to your bedtime," Reki tried to reason with her.

"So what! Teachers can stay up late and go to bed at any old time they want!" She held onto Aoi's leg tighter and made a stubborn face at Reki. "I'm teaching the new girl, so I get to stay up!"

"You know, Hana," Aoi said quickly, catching the little girl's attention. "Except for Shorta I've never met the other kids. I'd like to see them, but I don't know the way, and I need a big, strong girl to show me there. Do you know anybody who can help me?"

"I can do it!" Hana volunteered at once, raising an arm in the air. "I can show you the way! The other kids wanna see your wings! We all want white wings now, but the Housemother is mean! She agrees with Reki, and says we can't paint them!"

"Paint might damage your wings," Aoi said. "And the Housemother is worried about that. But yes, Hana, why don't you show me the way?"

"Okay!" came the eager reply as Hana let go of her and scrambled to get the coat she'd carelessly dropped in the hall. "Hurry, Aoi, and grab your coat. Last one outside's a rotten egg!"

Aoi laughed and went to go find her sweater and shawl. Hikari went over and nudged Reki, who was chuckling to herself in amusement.

"You know that if the Housemother gets her hands on Aoi she'll not be back for a while! Aoi won't be back till they're all in bed--the Housemother'll see to that!"

"Oh, I know," Reki shook her head, but she was still smiling.

"Reki!"

"You're right," Reki shrugged, but still smiled at Hikari's scolding look. "I'll follow in a short while."

It was only fair, Reki figured. She shouldn't let Aoi wander into that old dragon's den by herself so totally unprepared. Even though she'd been letting others take over her responsibilities, this was still technically her duty.


"Hana, do you know how late it is?!" The housemother immediately proceeded to scold the little girl--who paid absolutely no attention to it--before she realized the figure who had accompanied Hana was not one she knew.

Oh," she said, then straightened up. "So!" she snapped, "You're the new girl everyone here has been endlessly fussing about, aren't you?!"

"Um...yes, Ma'am," Aoi said hesistantly, before bowing politely. "My name is Aoi. Are you the Housemother?"

"I am," the little old lady replied, standing tall and firm. Nary a smile cracked her face. "Well, as long as you're here, you can be of some use to me. You good with kids?"

"Ah, well...I don't know," Aoi admitted.

"Oh, Aoi's great!" piped up Hana eagerly. "Hey, everybody! I was a teacher today! I taught Aoi how to move her wings!"

"Teacher? I wanna teach, too!"

"Hey, everyone! It is true! She's got white wings!"

"Lemme see!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Shorta wasn't fibbing! Man, her wings are so white!"

"They're pretty!"

"I want white wings! I still say we use paint!"

Aoi was suddenly surrounded by nine different children, eagerly poking and peering at her wings.

"Be careful!" said Hana importantly. "Her wings are still new! You'll hurt them!"

A thump of a cane firmly on the floor startled everyone. The housemother stood there like a dragon, tall and proud.

"Nobody will be painting their wings. Yes, Aoi's wings are white, but her wings are not Aoi. All of who she is, is what makes her Aoi. Not just her wings. Is that understood?"

"Yes, housemother," everyone chorused. The children scattered as the Housemother approached Aoi herself, saying out loud, "Well, we will see how good you are with children tonight, my girl! I do need help at times getting all these kids into bed. You will fit the bill tonight nicely, I think."

"I will be pleased to do what I can," Aoi answered with a small bow, already deciding that she'd not let this woman order her about as if she had no mind for herself. She firmly faced the old lady. "Do you keep storybooks here?"

"Over there," the old woman pointed to a wall full of books with her cane.

"Are they ever read to?"

"Sometimes. Often at the library, but once in a while here as well."

"Ah. All right," Aoi said, then raised her voice so all the kids could hear her. "Hey, everyone!"

All the kids paused in their play to look at her.

"Who here wants a really good bedtime story tonight?"

"We do! We do!" came a chorus of eager voices.

"Well then..." Aoi went to the bookshelf and pulled what looked to her like a really thick storybook off the wall. "Everyone who manages to tidy up this playroom and get ready for bed--quickly and without fussing--gets to hear a story before they go to bed!"

The children gleefully began to scramble around and gather up toys, paper, crayons, and trash and put them in the appropriate receptacles.

The housemother looked at Aoi for a few seconds. Aoi was very surprised to see a sudden bit of warmth enter her hard brown eyes and a small smile hover at the edges of her lips. "Well, I think I'll keep you here at least a night a week, my girl!"

Aoi blushed. "What I did just seemed logical."

"That isn't the point." The housemother's hard voice softened unexpectedly. "You know, I knew a white-winged Haibane in my youth, and I knew her really well. Me, her, and the grandmother to that thrift store owner in town. We were a trio, and I was very sad the day she disappeared from my life."

"Was she...a good person?" Aoi said, feeling her chest tighten a little bit.

"She was sad at times, but underneath that sadness, she was a free spirit. Loved the Hill of Winds. Those were happy days for us."


Reki arrived just in time to find Aoi helping a load of children wash up and get into pajamas, and not at all surprised at finding her doing so. She had known the Housemother would try and put her to work immediately.

"You can do your share," the housemother commanded, thrusting a bundle of pajamas into Reki's arms at once. "Come on, get to it and help. You've been slacking, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," Reki grumbled, "old dragon..."

This, however, was whispered, out of the old lady's hearing.

"They're being obedient tonight, and you can thank Aoi for that," said the Housemother.

"All I did was promise them a story!" Aoi protested, pulling a long, warm nightgown over Hana's head and holding the hem steady as Hana's little wings burst through the back of the garment.

"They've got a weak spot for stories," Reki shook her head, amused.

"Every child loves a story," Aoi countered with a smile.

Under the housemother's watchful eye, the two girls quickly got all the children ready for bed, before gathering back into a cozy corner with all their pillows. Hana immediately placed herself on Aoi's lap, something she considered a seat of honor, apparently.

Every child lost herself in the storyteller's voice, which took them out of this dorm room and into a different faraway place, a magical place, filled with royalty, dwarves, witches, adventure, and a happy ending when good triumphed over evil.


Aoi stretched herself, ignoring the twinges of pain in her back, as they stood in the entryway to the kids' building.

"I do hope you consider helping out at least once a week," said the Housemother as Aoi reached for her shawl. "They like you. I do presume, of course, that you wish to explore other job options first."

"I will try my best," Aoi promised her. "At least once a week. There are some other jobs I'd like to try as well."

The old lady nodded. "Well, good night then," she said as the two Haibane left, entering the courtyard in the dark of night.

Reki sighed. "So, I see you survived your first official Haibane job," she joked. "The Housemother is something else."

"She's not so bad," Aoi said, to Reki's surprise. "She might look hard, but she does love those children."

"Yeah, she can be tough, and she calls them brats, but I do know she loves them," Reki admitted. "They are just an intense, energetic handful! Are you tired?"

"A little, but I enjoyed myself. I won't mind helping with the kids sometimes. I do not believe I can do so full time, but sometimes is okay."

"You were really good with them," Reki cast a glance back over her shoulder back at the dark shadow that was the children's building.

"Yes, I found that out. I like children, I suppose. I don't think it is what I want to fully devote myself to, though," Aoi considered. "I don't think even my patience stretches that far."

"You'll do fine. Hana adores you."

"She's sweet," Aoi said without hesistation. "I don't mind how much she shadows me."

"Sweet, yes, but also very willful," Reki chuckled. "You will have your hands full, I promise you that! Now I think you should go back to bed...your first full day as a Haibane and you were so weak earlier this afternoon, and then that woman had you chasing after kids. You will sleep tonight!"

And by the next morning, Aoi discovered that Reki had been quite right about that.