Here we go, the plot is taking off. Digital brownies to anyone who can guess who the caller is, and cookies to whoever can guess the name of the man in the background. Please, R&R.

Jade wandered downstairs at around nine a.m. her brown hair a mess. It had tangled together, framing her face in a matted mess. She straggled into the white-tiled kitchen, where Emily stood at the stove, frying eggs. Emily could be a good cook, it's just that she didn't have the patience to actually cook a meal. Nemu was the best cook. She made exotic dishes from numerous continents and seemed to know exactly how the girls would respond to each one. Jade decided that this was most likely because the woman had been a part of their lives since they were in high school, acting as an older friend and councilor while all three girls were coping with adoptive families. None of them had known who their parents were, or where they were originally from. It was if they had simply appeared out of nowhere at a young age. All of them had been taken in by good families who had made sure that they had good lives. Emily and Jade were both still in contact with their adoptive parents. Amber's had died in an unfortunate accident just before her eighteenth birthday, which left her without a legal guardian. Fortunately, Nemu had stepped in as the new mother, taking her into the house with the other two girls, who were already renting rooms. Nemu had been a friend of Jade's adoptive mother, and felt that it was her responsibility to care for the girl until she came of age.

The older woman had always taken care of all three of them. Jade had met her at the movies during her sophomore year. She was there by herself, as was Nemu. The older woman had approached her and asked if they could sit together since they were the only two in the theater. Two hours later, they had already made plans to go see the sequel together, having kept a running commentary during the entire show. Jade's foster parents had approved of her friendship with the older woman, believing that someone as mature as Nemu would be able to help her by giving her advice as she moved through stages of life that Nemu herself had completed not long before. Since Jade's adoptive parents were getting on in years, they felt that they could not keep up with a teenage daughter, and had welcomed the help that Nemu offered. She quickly became a family friend, and was like an aunt to Jade.

Emily had met Nemu when the woman was working as a librarian at her school. Emily had never been very academic and was struggling through a research project. Nemu had taken pity on her and helped with finding materials and resources. Emily had been very grateful to the older woman and often came down to the library for assistance with homework.

Each of the girls had a different relationship with the landlady. She was not just their landlady. She was a teacher, a helper, a friend, a senpai. She had offered each of them a place in the house, at first not wanting to take their money, but in the end, the three of them talked her down, convincing her to accept a ridiculously small rate in addition to utilities.

Jade wandered to the fridge and pulled out the jug of orange juice.

"If you drink from the jug again, I'll hit you with this pan," Emily told her.

Jade smiled slightly.

"That was only once."

"Yeah and it was nasty. You left your amebas in it."

The younger woman chuckled and poured some juice into a glass.

"Do you even know what amebas are?"

"Nope."

A set of feet on the stairs alerted them that Amber was up. Nemu would not be down until she had thoroughly showered and gotten ready.

"So, did you have any rendezvous with your dream man?" Emily asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Jade.

"Yes. The fifth dream," she replied, putting the orange juice back on the top shelf of the fridge.

"The one where you confess your love to him?" Amber asked, picking up on the conversation as she stepped through the doorway.

"Yeah."

Emily flipped two eggs out of the pan and onto a plate before replacing them with two more.

"What about you, Amber? Any more visitors in the mirror?"

Amber shook her head.

"No, today I saw a sakura tree outside my window. Then I heard a man's voice."

"What did he say?" Jade asked, turning to face her, the cup of juice in hand.

Amber's cheeks turned red.

"I can't tell you," she murmured.

Emily grinned, obviously unrelenting because of the alarm clock.

"What? Did he as what color underwear you had on?"

Amber shot her a look.

"No. He told me that I was more beautiful than the sakura blossoms."

"Oooh, so he's hot and romantic."

Amber pointedly ignored her and pulled a glass out of the cabinet. She filled the glass with milk.

"Well, I'm just glad that I didn't get stuck with dreams or visions," Emily quickly changed the subject.

No matter what Amber had done, it was not fair of Emily to mock her about her visions.

"No," Jade snorted into her juice, "You just have an unhealthy obsession with the color dark gold."

Emily gave her a look before finishing the last pair of eggs. She had placed two over hard eggs on each of four plates. Knowing the drill, the other two picked up their plates before moving into the dining room. The table in the dining room was much too big. It could have easily seated twelve people, and Jade always felt like they were expecting other guests to arrive when they ate there.

Jade sat to the right of the head of the table and Emily to the left. Amber took her place on Jade's other side. This arrangement had never been verbally decided. It had simply come into being.

Emily took a stab at her eggs, her light hair sticking up every which way. A result of her strange sleeping habits. She glanced up at the ceiling as she placed her fork in her mouth.

"Hmm..." she chewed slowly.

Amber picked up on her thinking.

"Nemu is taking longer than usual."

Jade nodded, in the process of meticulously cutting up her own food.

"...Nemu has been acting strange lately."

Amber made a small noise of affirmation, her mouth too full to reply properly.

"She's always on the phone," Emily muttered, her fork hanging limply in her hands so that the prongs rested on her plate, "And she never lets us answer that one number."

Jade frowned.

"That's right. She even told us specifically not to answer it..."

Amber was silent for a moment before adding her own statement to the conversation.

"Nemu knows something about what's happening to us. Every time I talk about a vision or Jade talks about a dream, she suddenly changes the subject. I think she's hiding something."

"That's not like her," Emily's eyes were distant as she absentmindedly tapped her fork against the edge of her plate, "We've always been kind of a family unit. She's never kept secrets from us before, and this is a big deal, you know?"

"Yeah," Jade frowned.

The phone in the kitchen rang, interrupting any further conversation. Jade rose quickly and ran into the kitchen. She pulled the wireless phone from the receiver, not bothering to look at the caller ID as she pushed the 'talk' button.

"Hello?"

The voice that answered from the other end was friendly and masculine.

"Hello! How are you today?"

Jade was surprised. She did not recognize the voice.

"I'm fine," she said slowly, "And you?"

"Me? I'm doing well, thank you for asking!"

Another man began speaking in the background. Jade could not make out what he was saying, but he sounded like he wanted the man on the phone to stop with the pleasantries.

"Yes, yes, I'm getting there," the man on the phone said before once again speaking to Jade, "I'm looking for Ms. Miakage. Is she there?"

"We haven't seen her yet this morning. I don't know if she's up yet."

The man laughed heartily.

"Oh, so she's sleeping in. I wish I could do the same."

Jade felt her lips quirking. The man's good humor was contagious.

"Maybe you'll get to nap later in the day to make up for it," she suggested.

He laughed again.

"That's a good idea."

The man in the background spoke again, louder this time.

"Sorry, I'll get back on track!" he said to him before returning to Jade, "Could I leave a message with you, Miss...?" he trailed off inquiringly.

"Jade."

"Alright, Miss Jade. Would that be alright?"

"Of course, I'll pass it along to her when I see her."

"Wonderful! Could you ask her if six o' clock tomorrow at the Paper Moon is alright?"

Jade cocked her head, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'll make sure to ask her as soon as she gets up. Should I write down a callback number or...?"

"Oh, no, it's fine! I think she already has it," the man in the background spoke again, "Well, I had better get going! It was nice speaking to you, Miss Jade!"

He hung up, leaving Jade with only a dial tone.

"You too," she muttered to the headset.

Curious, she pushed a button, bringing up the caller ID of the most recent call. After a moment's pause, she set the phone back in the cradle and returned to the dining room.

Emily had finished with her eggs and was waiting for Jade's return. She cocked a brow at the younger girl.

"Who was it?"

Jade was silent for a moment.

"It was that number."

Emily's eyes widened.

"Seriously? What happened? Who was there?"

Amber looked at Jade with an expression much like Emily's, waiting for more information.

"It was a man. He was very nice. I got the impression that he was easy going. He asked me to deliver a message to Nemu."

"What message?" Amber asked.

"He asked me to see if six o' clock tomorrow at the Paper Moon was alright with her?"

Emily frowned.

"What the heck? Is this her secret boyfriend or something?"

Jade shook her head.

"No. He kept getting off track and chatting with me. There was another man in the background who reminded him to get back on task. I don't think it was a date. Though I wondered that too."

"This worries me. I mean, I don't want to doubt Nemu in any way, but I don't think its safe for her to be meeting up with strange men...especially since she's been acting so strange lately," Amber said softly.

"Shh, I hear her coming."

A set of feet on the stairs preceded a greeting.

"Morning, girls!"

They each called back their own greetings in reply.

Jade quickly scarfed down her remaining eggs. Emily and Amber exchanged a look.

"Sorry for taking so long. I've got some things to take care of today so I had to get ready."

The girls peeked into the kitchen to find that Nemu had indeed gotten ready. She was dressed in a blue button-up blouse and black dress pants. Her silky black hair was pulled up in a half back, drawing more attention to her pale face. As usual, she had just the right amount of makeup on. She glanced into the dining room, smiling with her black eyes.

"I heard the phone ring. Was it anyone important?"

There was a moment of silence in which the girls exchanged glances. Despite Nemu's light tone, it was a loaded question. Finally, Jade answered.

"A man."

"Ooh? Did one of you lucky girls finally land a date?" Nemu's tone seemed to be teasing, but there was an underlying current of worry.

Jade looked pointedly at the table as she continued. A feeling of guilt had welled up inside her. She was sure that the man was connected to whatever Nemu was hiding, and therefore to the strange events of present. However, she felt like she was betraying her friend's trust by prying. After all, she could have looked at the caller ID, but she chose not to, half hoping that it would be the forbidden number. For just a moment, she was tempted to lie. Instead, she told the truth.

"He was looking for you. He asked me to pass on a message."

All sounds from the kitchen ceased for just a moment. Then they resumed.

"Oh? What did he say?" Nemu asked in the same forced light tone she had teased them with.

"He asked if six o' clock tomorrow at the paper moon is alright."

Nemu walked into the dining room, holding a bowl of cereal. Her lips were curved in a smile, but the expression did not reach her eyes.

"Hm, I'll have to call him back on my cell phone as I'm doing my errands today."

Emily smiled, attempting to act normal.

"Did you finally score a date, Nemu?"

Nemu laughed and shook her head.

"Oh no, we're merely old acquaintances. We bumped into each other recently and were looking for a time to catch up."

"Mm-hm. You'll be bringing him over for dinner in no time."

Nemu smiled genuinely.

"Oh, Emily. What would I do without your sense of humor?"

Jade and Amber glanced at each other again. Whoever Nemu was meeting, they were quite sure it was not just an old acquaintance.