I don't know when I noticed life was life at my expense
The words of my heart lined up like prisoners on a fence
The dreams came in like needy children tugging at my sleeve
I said I have no way of feeding you, so leave

-Indigo Girls

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Part 9: Family

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Eyes down and hands clasped before her like the obedient little girl her parents still thought she was, Momomi followed the small crowd of overdressed adults along a busy sidewalk in Kyoto. This was the first family meeting on "neutral ground," under the pretense of allowing Momomi and Kazuharu to get to know one another better in a less intimidating setting, seeing as the two of them were supposed to be getting married and all.

And where better to allow the Young Lovebirds to get better acquainted than at a high-end restaurant, eating tiny portions of artistically designed food-like product under the watchful eyes of both sets of parents? Her mother had grilled her on etiquette up until the last possible moment, and Momomi was fairly certain that she was expected to sit quietly, eat daintily, say nothing, and do her best to appear happy and appropriately fertile.

Without warning, however, a hand grasped her elbow, and she looked to her right to see Kazuharu raise his other hand to his lips in a "shush" gesture. Once he was certain he had her attention, he winked once, and then pulled her down a side street before she could do so much as yelp. Within seconds, he had half-dragged her around a corner and placed his back against the wall, then took an exaggerated peek behind to make sure they had not been followed.

At this point, looking quiet, dainty and fertile went right out the window. "What the hell was that all about?" she asked her fiancé, who was even now grinning as he pulled out his cell phone and started hammering away at it. "What are you doing?"

"Texting my parents to let them know we're okay," he winked.

Momomi was nothing short of flummoxed. "But we... we're supposed to be..!"

"Oh, we can go back if you want, but to be honest, you didn't look like you were looking forward to it at all."

"But... won't you get in trouble for this?"

"Ehh, maybe," he snorted, giving her a roll of the eyes. "But it's at least as likely that they won't even notice we're gone. Besides, they'll be talking business the whole time, and... I'd rather talk about you. That was what this was supposed to be about, right?"

She very nearly cracked wise out of sheer reflex, but as he said this, Kazuharu smiled at her so openly and earnestly that the jibe died before it could reach her lips. To Momomi's shock, she realized that he actually meant it.

"So, Momomi-chan," he said as he put away his phone and offered his arm, "what sounds good to you? Noodles? Sushi? Teriyaki?"

"Sushi," she said carefully as she took his arm. She wasn't sure what he was up to, but she'd play along for now.


Hazuki peered down into the inky depths below as she dangled her feet over the abyss that was the central atrium. "So how many levels are there, anyway?" she asked.

From beside her, Eve took a sip of her tea. "Why do you ask, Hazuki-chan?"

"Just wondering if it's infinite," Hazuki replied, turning her gaze upward to look into the likewise impenetrable black. "I never thought to ask Lilith that, even as many times as we came back here."

"Ah, I see," Eve nodded. "Well, it's... difficult to explain..."

"Yeah, I know, mortal minds like mine..."

"...but you could say that the Great Library is infinite... within limits."

Hazuki blinked a few times. "That's..." she began, but quickly trailed off.

"I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms," Eve shrugged.

"Actually, it makes a certain kind of sense," Hazuki admitted. "Something infinite, but not all-encompassing. Which explains why we have things like the Universal Garden and those damned dragons."

Eve did not reply, and when Hazuki looked over she saw that the goddess who had been her sister was staring down into that infinity beneath them. "Thank you for coming, Hazuki-chan," the deceptively petite girl whispered.

"Why wouldn't I come to visit my sister when she invites me for tea?" Hazuki smiled softly. "I'm the one who suggested it, right?"

"Still... it means a lot that you've forgiven me for... abandoning you," Eve sighed.

Hazuki swung herself down from the railing, then helped Eve down as well. "You know, I had a dream about you a few nights ago."

"Oh? Do tell."

"It was brief, but very vivid," Hazuki went on, feeling a slight blush creep over her cheeks as she remembered some of the images. "I was bringing you tea in bed. You were kneeling on the mattress, with a sheet just barely over your lap, and your hair was covering you just enough to make me wonder if my dreams have a network censor."

"I take it I wasn't wearing much?"

"Other than the sheet, no. And I wasn't much better: I had a man's shirt on, completely unbuttoned, and... pretty much nothing else."

"I... see," Eve nodded. "So... you still have those kinds of dreams about me, Hazuki-chan?"

Hazuki shook her head, grinning at the memory. "That's just it: it wasn't that kind of dream at all. It didn't feel like the morning after a night of sex, it didn't feel like foreplay, it felt... comfortable. Make no mistake, you were... you were beautiful, but..." She again shook her head at the thought of saying this to her Hatsumi. "It didn't hurt to look at you, the way it sometimes used to. I didn't feel that same hopelessness or self-loathing at the idea that I was taking something I had no right to. I felt... free. Free to enjoy being with you, even in that vulnerable state."

"So you dreamed of me naked... to show that you were over me?" Eve said with a raised eyebrow, but she seemed to be holding back a smile of her own.

"I've never been one to do things the sensible way, have I?" Hazuki chuckled.

"Perhaps not," Eve agreed. "But... all the same, I'm glad you've moved on, Hazuki-chan. It's... such a blessing to have you back, even if..."

"Hm?" Hazuki asked as Eve trailed off and looked down toward the stone tiles beneath them.

"Even if... I don't deserve you," the younger Keeper sighed.

"Stop that," Hazuki softly implored her, turning to take Eve's free hand in her own. "Everything I am and everything I have came from you. Without you, I'd have died a miserable shell. How can you think I don't deserve you?"

When Eve did not answer, and indeed could not even meet her former sister's eyes, Hazuki nodded slowly and went on. "It's because of how poorly things went with Kaori-san, isn't it?"

"It was my hope," Eve sighed, "that I could try to make some form of amends by visiting each of the ones I'd left behind, to tell them the truth of who I was, and what they were because of me. Kaori already knew, of course, but... since she was the most recent, and since she'd endured so much already, I wanted to comfort her." The young immortal shook her head. "I believe you've already heard how that turned out?"

"I have, yes."

"Before that, I visited Ryofu-chan, and... even though for her it's been many years since I left her world, she's still deeply traumatized by it. She seemed happy to see me, but..."

Hazuki sighed, remembering the horrible story she'd been told by Ryofu, and the quiet, monotone voice the young general had used when telling it. "You can't blame yourself for that, though. What happened in her world was hardly your fault, and if not for you, she'd likely have met the same fate."

"Perhaps, but... she was such a happy, carefree child, Hazuki-chan, and it was so hard to reconcile that with what she became."

"But that's no reason not to keep trying, is it? Surely there will be other sisters who'd be happy to see you again?"

Eve looked up at Hazuki and smiled sadly. "For every Chikaru to be inspired by me, though, how many Hazukis were there with their hearts left in ruins?"

"I..." Hazuki started, feeling that same heart drop as her own words were repeated to her. "I was angry when I said that," she whispered, suddenly too ashamed to look into Eve's eyes.

"Perhaps, but you were also right, Hazuki-chan. I've certainly left some messes." She indicated a nearby bookcase that had been completely cleared except for a single book, which appeared to be vibrating slightly. "My sister in this world has Maker powers that defy description, and even though she's not aware of them, she's strong enough to subconsciously rewrite her world on the fly. I'm terrified of how that meeting might turn out. Thankfully, she has friends who keep her in check, but for how long? I'll have to face her soon, and Lilith has already said that if it goes poorly, she may be forced to take drastic action."

"I don't think I went to this world," Hazuki said as she peered closely at the humming tome. "But there are some others you could start with, you know. Milka, Rushuna, maybe Yōko, certainly Mutsumi..."

"Perhaps," Eve repeated. "But I dare not visit any of them until I discover the location of our intruder." She then froze, looking very much like she wished she could take back those last words.

"Ah, good," Hazuki nodded. "I was hoping we'd get to this part..."


Konno Shin liked to consider himself an open-minded fellow. Of course, as a homosexual man in an arranged marriage with a lesbian woman, he also liked to consider himself one of the luckiest people to walk the face of the Earth. In the months since marrying Miyuki, he was continuously amazed at how much he had come to love his wife as a person, even if neither of them had any desire to do That Thing that married couples do. At least, not with one another.

And so, when Miyuki had arrived home from an emergency visit to one of her school friends with a dark-haired late-teenage girl in her company, he was initially amused and determined to be happy that his wife was finally going to have someone to share That Thing with. But it hadn't taken long for Shin to realize that there was much more to the situation than this. The girl (introduced to him as Kurasagi Akiko), while obviously very attached to Miyuki (and, by his reckoning, very attracted to her as well), nonetheless had the hollow, beaten-down look of someone who'd recently borne an incredible loss.

After Akiko was shown to a guest room and left in the care of a maid who promised to prepare a bath for her, Miyuki pulled her husband aside to try to explain. "I'm sorry, Shin," she sighed. "I know I should have asked you first, but she had nowhere else to go. She'll need to stay here for a while."

"You don't have to explain, Yuki-chan," he assured her. "Is she an old schoolmate of yours?"

"I thought I didn't need to explain," Miyuki smirked.

"Well, no, I don't suppose you have to, but... a little bit of the story wouldn't hurt, if it's something you can tell."

"There's a lot of it I can't," Miyuki said with an apologetic smile. "She's not in any kind of legal trouble, so don't worry about that. You could say that... she's recently lost everything. Her entire world, as she knew it, is gone. At some point, a pair of... let's just call them powerful women will be taking her in, but not until they get their own house in order. In the meantime, she needs a safe home, with people who will understand some of what she's been through."

"You don't have to say any more than that," Shin nodded, holding up one hand to stop her. He could guess the rest just from how the other girl had looked at Miyuki. A young lesbian who'd been cast out for being what she was, no doubt. Perhaps even someone who'd been brave enough to stand up for herself in a way that Shin had not, and had paid the price for it.

Yes, he had been very lucky indeed, the way things had turned out.

"She'll need clothes," Miyuki went on. "She literally has nothing more than the clothes on her back. And books, too: this came right in the middle of her schooling, and I think continuing to study on her own will help her."

"Whatever she needs," Shin agreed. "I'll have someone pick out a few things in her sizes for the moment, until you have the chance to take her out shopping."

Miyuki smiled wearily, then leaned in to kiss her husband on the cheek. "Thank you, Shin. You're a good man. Which is probably why you're not straight, of course."

"Ehh, don't be so hard on the breeders," he shrugged. "They didn't choose to be born that way. So... what should we use as a cover story?"

"We can say that she's my live-in piano tutor," Miyuki said, answering quickly enough to make it plain that she'd already given this some thought.

"Oh! And will this tutoring actually happen?"

"She's agreed to it. And since I've never forgiven myself for giving up lessons..."


For a long time, the only sound was the ever-present ticking of a distant clock. Eventually it was Hazuki who broke the relative silence.

"So... tell me about what's going on?"

"I didn't ask you here for that, Hazuki-chan," Eve said quietly. "Please believe me."

"I do," Hazuki assured her. "But here's what you may not be considering: even if you had asked me here for that, I wouldn't be upset."

"I made you a promise," Eve whispered. "I told you all that if I had anything to say about it, none of you would ever be called upon again to fix another of my mistakes. You... were so upset with me, Hazuki-chan, and rightly so. This should be my problem to solve. Only... I don't know if I can."

"I was upset," Hazuki said carefully, "because it looked like you were being irresponsible. If this intruder of yours sneaked in while you were trying to put things right with Kaori, well..." She shrugged. "That's different. So tell me what happened. Is it another dragon?"

Eve shook her head. "Nothing so overt as the Devourer, no. This was something of an opposite to me, if you will. It's... difficult to explain..."

"Mortal minds like mine," Hazuki nodded, waving dismissively.

"As near as I can tell, though, whatever it was entered the Library and hid itself in one of the books. And I don't yet know which one."

"Went into a book? That takes Souma, doesn't it? Not to mention the hat, or whatever power Aaya and Ken-chan have."

"It's complicated," Eve sighed. "You've heard about the three aspects of Souma, haven't you?"

"Healer, Maker and Guardian," Hazuki nodded. "Chikaru told me about it. That doesn't explain what the hell Aaya is, of course."

Eve looked thoughtful for a moment, and it took her several starts and stops before she got any words out. "Aaya is... different," she eventually said, gesturing with one arm to indicate the Library. "More than that, I cannot say."

"Because I'm not allowed to know? Or because you don't know?"

"Mostly because I don't know," Eve admitted. "I can say with certainty that he is no enemy of ours, though, and that's why Ken-chan has always been welcome here. But at any rate, I was talking about Souma. It's actually more complicated than just the three aspects..."

"Naturally," Hazuki nodded. None of this got to be simple, after all.

"...but for the most part, that way of looking at it holds up. Lives, worlds, and the strength to defend them. I don't want to go too deeply into the Traveler aspect, because it's not really separate: it's entwined with all three of the others. Everyone touched by Souma has some affinity with it. That's why you can pass between worlds."

"But we don't have enough of it to do so on our own?" Hazuki ventured. "Wait, does that make Aaya a fourth to you and Lilith and Yamiyama?"

"No, because Aaya is different," Eve reminded her. "He doesn't have Souma. His power is... something else."

"There are powers other than Souma, then?"

"There are... a few," Eve said, looking increasingly troubled. "Hazuki-chan, there is much that I simply cannot tell you, and you're beginning to ask questions that are putting me in an awkward position. I don't want you to think I'm being evasive, but..."

"But you're being evasive for a good reason," Hazuki chuckled, giving her one-time sister a lopsided smile. "Fine, fine, I'll turn down my mortal curiosity a notch. So what can you tell me about the thing that got into the book? If it doesn't have Souma, what does it have?"

"It has... the very opposite of Souma, or at least an aspect of that power."

"Opposite of..." Hazuki frowned. "You mean death?"

Eve shook her head. "Death is part of life, Hazuki-chan. What I'm talking about here is the opposite of creation."

With those words, Hazuki could all but feel herself go pale. "So... it has... un-creation? Destruction, even? Like the Devourer?"

"Not like the Devourer, no. He was..." Eve closed her eyes and gave another tiny sigh.

"Something I don't need to know about," Hazuki finished for her. "Okay, so there's someone with what amounts to anti-Souma in one of the books. Are we talking about a being like yourself, or someone more like me?"

"I think it's someone more like you," Eve nodded slowly. "A mortal being suffused with the power of... for lack of a better word, decay. And if that's true, that it is a mortal being not of our creation... Lilith and I may be powerless to interfere."

Hazuki thought about this for a while. "Would I be powerless to interfere?"

The clock ticked off several long seconds while Eve's face twisted with misery. "You're asking difficult questions again, Hazuki-chan."

"But would I be able to fight against it?"

"You're not my pawns, or my playthings," Eve said wretchedly. "I didn't give you Souma so that you could save me from my own short-sightedness. I..."

"Hatsumi..."

At the sound of this name, softly spoken, Eve ground to a halt and turned tearful eyes toward Hazuki.

"Hatsumi... would I be able to fight against it?"

After another long silence, Eve nodded once.

Hazuki returned the nod. "Then I will. Not because I have to. Not even because the idea of someone rotting one of the books from the inside out makes me sick to my stomach. I'll do it because I'd fight anything to keep it from hurting you again."

"You know," Eve said with a wistful smile, "Ryofu-chan said something very similar to that when I visited her. She said that she'd always protect me, if I ever needed her again. It was... humbling to hear that then, and it's just as much so now."

"Don't let that stop you from asking us, though," Hazuki insisted. "When you find out which book it is, call on me. I want you to."

"...Thank you, Hazuki-chan."


Kaname took a slow sip of her miso and looked anywhere but at the man seated opposite her. As always, she figured it would be better to let him start the conversation. And truly, what small talk would she make? How are you? How's mother? How's business? That would imply that she actually wanted to know.

For a long time, the only sounds were the low murmur of conversation from the restaurant's other patrons, and the ever-present tink of chopsticks and other utensils. Then, finally, Kenjō Noriyuki cleared his throat and spoke in a gruff voice. "Still wearing your hair short, I see."

"Shaved off your beard, I see," she replied without looking up. "Too much salt in there with the pepper?"

If anything, his tone darkened. "Your mother and I were very disappointed when we received word that you resigned as student council president."

"Is that so? Well, darn it all, you found me out. I did it strictly to embarrass you. Just like everything else I do."

"Let me see if I've got the full list," he sneered across the table. "Resigned as student council president. Quit the tennis team. Gave up the opportunity to compete for the Etoile position. On dormitory probation for an offense that the nuns won't give us particulars about, but which mysteriously happened at the same time that you quit the council. Am I missing anything?"

"You forgot 'kicked off the kendo team,'" Kaname reminded him.

"Are you that determined to sabotage your future, Kaname?"

"Maybe if you'd been paying attention, you'd notice that I'm also in the top five of my class in all subjects. And isn't that the point of going to school, really?"

"High marks have nothing to do with your future," the man grated. "You're building a reputation as a dilettante and a troublemaker. What man would want that in a wife?"

"Oh, here we go," Kaname sighed, rolling her eyes. "Still trying to follow that tired old path, are we?"

"I'm talking about your future, and your duty," he insisted. "It's going to be difficult enough already to find you a husband due to your... your condition..."

"You mean the fact that I'm not a virgin?" Kaname said in a conversational tone.

Noriyuki loudly shushed her, then took a look around the restaurant to see if anyone had been listening. "Don't say that in public! It's shameful!"

"Oh, it's shameful, is it?" Kaname smiled, finally looking up to meet her father's furious eyes. "Does it shame you that your daughter's not a pure woman?"

For a moment, it looked like the man might break his teeth under the force of his clenched jaw. Kaname then leaned forward and said the rest in a voice just over a whisper.

"Then maybe you should have thought of that before you whored out your nine-year-old girl for the sake of a f*cking promotion."


Hazuki pushed off from the railing with both feet. As promised, the area in the atrium was more or less zero-gravity, and before long she alighted on one of the large crystals that drifted through the open center of the Great Library. Looking back, she saw Eve grinning at her from the central hallway. "I always wanted to try this," she called back. "What would happen if I fell, though?"

"You'd drift to one of the railings eventually," Eve shrugged. "Or I could always throw you a rope, I suppose."

"I wonder how many of the mysteries of the universe could be solved by judicious use of rope?" Hazuki mused.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that one," Eve laughed. "Are there any other secrets I can unlock for your mortal curiosity, though? That is, if I'm allowed?"

"As a matter of fact," Hazuki said as she hopped to a neighboring crystal, "I was wondering what you could tell me about time travel?"

Eve's pronounced forehead crinkled in thought. "In what context?"

"In one of the last worlds we went to, Lilith and Ken-chan and I, we arrived about a generation too late, like usual, but when I heard about a former empress named Sarara... well, it gave me a strange feeling. So Lilith got Kogechibi to turn back the pages of the book while we were still inside, and we went back to the time in which Sarara lived. And... it was you."

"Yes, it was," Eve nodded, her smile fading.

"So... we actually went back in time, and I remember being really irritated with Lilith for not suggesting this earlier, because we had arrived in every world too late to find you, and it seemed to me that a little time travel could have fixed everything. But then when I saw you... when I saw Sarara... I ran toward you... and then everything faded to black, and we were suddenly in another time entirely. After that, Lilith refused to try it again, but wouldn't tell me why."

"I'm afraid that was my doing, Hazuki-chan," Eve sighed. "You see... I didn't want Lilith following me, so... I arranged things so that she could not enter a world during a time in which I existed."

"But if she entered during a time in which you didn't exist, and then went back in time..?"

"Don't forget that Kogechibi is an aspect of myself, though," Eve explained, allowing a small smile to return. "Lilith was clever enough to try asking her assistance, but... you could say I added another safeguard to prevent that from working. If Lilith ever came too close to finding me, Kogechibi would feel it and turn the pages away from my time again. I was very proud of myself for thinking of it, but... I never thought it would happen to you as well."

The crystal upon which Hazuki was standing had by this time circled closer to her original jumping-off point, so she made another graceful leap to land once more at her former sister's side. "Hatsumi... when you were Sarara, did you know who I was, as I came running toward you?"

"Yes," Eve whispered. "And I was... shocked, to say the least. The look on your face, the desperation in your eyes... the very same look you gave me as I disappeared from your world..." She trailed off for a moment, then took a long, slow breath before she continued. "I saw Lilith behind you, and... I realized that somehow, you had come to find me. After leaving you, I had always hoped that you might have found happiness without me, and lived out your life, but... there you were, the very Hazuki-chan that I remembered from my last day with you. You had crossed worlds for me. That was the next-to-last mortal life I led, Hazuki-chan, because after that I knew that I needed to find you. And then in my next life, I tracked you down to the Universal Garden."

Hazuki closed her eyes at the mention of this place. There was another question there: one that needed asking, as much as she dreaded it.

But first things first. "Shall we have some more tea?" she asked.


Kazuharu's choice of sushi restaurant, in spite of being mere blocks away, was about as different from their original high-end destination as it was possible to be. Not that the place was shabby or run-down or anything: it was cozy, somewhat loud, dare it be said even quaint, but also very... pedestrian. It was nothing like Momomi would have expected from a rich man's son trying to impress his future bride.

Moreover, as became evident when several of the cooks and servers waved to him and loudly called him by name, this was obviously not his first time in the establishment. After they were seated in a corner booth, the owner of the place came out to personally greet him and to coo over his date, but to Momomi's continued shock the old man was very friendly, informal and even family-like rather than holding a deferent "impress the wealthy" attitude. Their drinks were brought by a waitress who, with one hard smile, made it very clear to Momomi that many people were going to be watching her to ensure that she was worthy of the young man seated opposite her.

"I love coming here," Kazuharu grinned when they were once more alone. "Good people, great sushi."

"I see," she said doubtfully. "You, uh, come here often, then?"

"Well, we're fairly close to the university," he explained. "The shops and restaurants around here are used to dealing with students. We keep them in business rather than eat the dormitory food, and in turn they put up with us."

For a brief time, Momomi had the feeling that whatever type of food she'd requested, Kazuharu would have been able to lead her to a similarly cozy place where everyone knew his name. Somehow, she found this deeply unsettling.

"I can make a few suggestions if you'd like," he offered, indicating the menu. "I've tried just about everything they serve here at one time or another."

"Thank you, but I'll pick something out," she nodded, giving him a tight smile.

"Anything you'd like," he said with an easygoing wave. "Of course, if I'm going to be your husband, I should get in the habit of making sure you get what you'd like, shouldn't I?"

Momomi blinked slowly at him, wondering if perhaps that had been sarcasm. When he merely went on smiling at her, she was forced to accept the idea that it was not. Due to the fact that she had been attending St. Spica since the age of eleven, it could be said that Momomi did not know very many boys of her approximate age (unless she counted Amane, perhaps). Were they all this hopeless in the company of women?


"Can I pose another difficult question?" Hazuki asked as she poured each of them another cup of tea.

"Mmm, more about the secrets of the universe?" Eve smiled.

"Not this time. Actually, this one's probably going to be more difficult on my side than yours."

The soft smile faded. "Ask me, then."

Hazuki took a few steps away and looked around the small kitchen where not so long ago four schoolgirls had planned their attack on a horde of dragons. "Kaori's story got me thinking about what happened in the Universal Garden," she said at last.

"I forgave you for that long ago, Hazuki-chan," Eve said quietly.

"You're well ahead of me, then," Hazuki sighed. "There's something I've been wondering for a while now, though." She ground to a halt, unable to get the words out.

"Tell me what's troubling you, Hazuki-chan."

"If I hadn't stopped," Hazuki said thickly, "would you have really let me kill you? And would it really have killed you, or would you have just re-formed here in the Library?"

Eve looked down at the cup in her hands for a moment. "I wouldn't have stopped you," she said at last. "As for the rest of your question... I honestly don't know. We were outside of creation, so it's at least possible that I would have died a final death."

"You took that risk?" Hazuki choked out, as her throat tightened painfully. "Why? Did you know I wouldn't go through with it?"

"As much as I'd like to say so, Hazuki-chan? No, I didn't know. I thought your Souma and your grief might have driven you mad, and... if so, I was to blame for both. And if I had done that to you, well... I would deserve whatever happened to me. Creation would find another Keeper to take my role... and maybe this one would not abuse her powers the way I have..."


Tamao looked up from her book as Chikaru made the short climb up the grassy rise of Tamao's favorite Reading Place before enacting an overly theatrical collapse at the younger girl's side, ending up flat on her back. "Could someone tell me why it is that family is always so difficult?" Chikaru asked, seemingly posing this plaintive question to the world as a whole.

"Lunch with your mother went well, then?" Tamao asked, gently patting Chikaru on the top of the head.

"I graduate in a few months, I'm the president of Lulim for the third year running, and she still tells me it's not too late to transfer to Miator. Meaning no offense to the storied history of your place of schooling, Tamao-chan, but I think it would be less painful to be nibbled to death by a horde of rabid hedgehogs than it would be to put myself under her thumb like that."

Tamao giggled at the metaphor, then winced as she thought about it a little more. "Well, she's bound to be proud of the school that she's an administrator for, I suppose. Did it offend her that you wanted to go to Lulim? Did she think it was to rebel against her?"

"No, because she knows I wanted it because of Naoko," Chikaru smiled wanly. "Lulim has a better program for special needs, so she never questioned Naoko going there, but... she's always made it clear that she wanted... better for me."

"So the inter-school rivalries aren't restricted to the students, eh?"

Chikaru cocked an eyebrow at her. "Tamao-chan, I think the administrators have it far worse than we do. I've overheard conversations that would make student council meetings look like afternoon tea with Hello Kitty."

"How terrifying."

"Indeed. But at least when she asked me, in her own elliptical way, about these rumors that I'm involved in a torrid threesome, I was able to look her in the eye and tell her that I haven't kissed either one of you." Here, her smile turned decidedly sardonic. "So score one for celibacy, I guess."

Tamao briefly ran her fingers through Chikaru's dark hair. "You'll tell me as soon as you're ready to give her something to talk about, won't you?"

"What? And lose my bet with Shizuma?" Chikaru teased, though Tamao was more certain than ever that she could see a hint of frustration behind the humor in her eyes.


Over the course of their lunch, Momomi learned a few things about Kazuharu that she would not have expected. First of all, he was surprisingly easy to talk to, and before long she was telling him all sorts of details about her tastes in music, fashion, movies, books, and even studies. He listened attentively, and she could all but see him making mental notes and trying to capture every detail.

Secondly, he was kind of a goofball, and didn't seem to care that she knew it. At the same time, he was perhaps the most genuine person Momomi had ever met: either that or he was a better actor than Kaname could ever hope to become. He was humble without seeming falsely self-effacing. Not once did he try to impress her with his family's wealth, or talk about his car, or brag about athletics. He made this date all about her, from the moment he pulled her off the stage their families had carefully constructed and sat her down in a college-area sushi bar.

Third, because of the above, Momomi was quickly figuring out that if she had to marry this guy, she would completely rule the roost. He was already eating out of her hand, and she wasn't even trying yet. She had no doubt that she'd be able to charm anything out of him with at most minimal effort. She'd cut her teeth on the constant feint and parry of her relationship with Kaname, after all. Kazuharu wouldn't stand a chance.

To her surprise, though, this realization made her feel strangely uncomfortable, and she couldn't put her finger on why. Would she get bored at always getting her way? Would she miss the challenge of having a lover who could also be an adversary?

"So what do you want to study at University?" Kazuharu asked suddenly.

"University?" she repeated, somewhat surprised at the question.

"If you want to go, that is," he added.

"What makes you think I'd get to?" she frowned.

"Because if you want to, I think you should go," he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "I'd back you up a hundred percent."

He would, too. She could see it in that disarming smile of his. "Well... I haven't thought much about it since I heard about the engagement," she admitted. "Even with the prestige of St. Spica, it's really all about test scores now, isn't it? I guess I'd have to see what I qualified for."

"Ah yes, St. Spica," he nodded. After a pause, his grin deepened. "Okay, I have to ask this, so please forgive me for being a stereotypical male. Are the rumors about those three schools true?"

"Which rumors?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Well, I guess it's always going to sound different from the outside, but... the joke has always been that Astraea Hill's major industry is yuri and its primary export is lesbians. Is there really that much of it going on up there?"

She blinked at him. "You're right, that is a stereotypically male thing to ask."

"Sorry, sorry," he chuckled. "I always figured that like most rumors, there's probably a tiny kernel of truth to it, but in this case it's mostly just wishful thinking on guys' parts."

"Or wishful thinking by guys' parts," she muttered.

Kazuharu had been about to take a drink, but stopped before his laugh could become a spit-take. "Well said!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're picturing me with another girl right now, aren't you?"

"Oh, God no."

"What, you've got a problem with lesbians, then?"

He winced at this. "No, not at all. True love without having to deal with men? More power to them, I say. I just... don't think it's decent to think about the woman I want to marry in that way."

Momomi quickly realized that an opportunity was presenting itself, and that her efforts to rule that roost could begin even now. Bringing a practiced, coy smile to her face, she stared directly into Kazuharu's eyes. "Come on," she purred. "Are you saying it'd upset you if your wife brought another girl home with her some night?"

He stared back at her, and his face took on a surprisingly contemplative look, given the subject matter. "Hmm. If you were to bring home another woman as a lover, I think... I'd probably want to find a quiet place in the house to curl up and die."

She blinked twice, having not expected this answer at all. "What for?" she asked.

"Because," he said slowly, "that would mean that there was something that my wife needed that I couldn't give to her, no matter how much I wanted to."

Purely by reflex, Momomi once more wanted to crack wise, but again something in Kazuharu's eyes killed the retort before she could give it words. To her deep shock, she realized that this was not the standard macho reaction, where his puffed-up male ego would be crushed, or his vaunted prowess in bed would come into doubt.

This was a man who truly wanted to give her everything, and would move heaven and earth to do so. This was a man who would measure his life by her happiness, and to find himself unable to personally fulfill her every wish would tear his heart out.

Momomi now recognized the uncomfortable feeling for what it was. It wasn't fear of boredom. It wasn't despair over losing the combative aspect of love that she knew so well.

It was the idea that Kazuharu was probably the most relentlessly, maddeningly decent person she had ever met, and not only would she happily fleece this honest, trusting man for all he was worth, but she was already formulating a plan on how to do so. And it came naturally to her.

She didn't know what exactly that said about her, but at that moment, she was sure she didn't like it.

"Momomi-chan?" Kazuharu said, frowning at her silence. "I'm sorry, that was my fault, pay it no mind. So what do you think you might like to study?"

The moment passed, and she did her best to get back to the game. Maybe if she ignored that nagging feeling, it would go away.


Finally, their stroll around the Great Library brought Hazuki and Eve back to a familiar shelf, in front of which Hazuki's book lay on the floor, open. "Thank you, Hazuki-chan," Eve smiled up at the taller girl.

"We should do this again sometime soon. Who knows, maybe by then I'll have finally used up all my crushing angst."

"It may be some time before I can see you again, but... thank you for today."

"Call on me anytime," Hazuki assured her. "And by anytime, I especially mean when you find out which book it was. I mean that."

"I'll let you know," Eve nodded. "With any luck, the next time we speak I'll be able to tell you that it's all been taken care of, and that you needn't worry."

"I want to worry about you," Hazuki reminded her. "Let your overprotective little sister be... well, overprotective once in a while."

Eve's smile took on an absurdly cute shyness, and Hazuki found that she just had to hug the smaller girl. So she did.

The gesture apparently took Eve by surprise, as she quickly went stiff in Hazuki's arms, but after a moment she relaxed against her and just let herself be held. Hazuki tightened her arms around the goddess, and brought one hand up to rest in Eve's golden hair.

Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, though, something stirred deep within Hazuki, and while it was not Souma, it was nonetheless very real, and aching in its familiarity. Her heart started beating faster, and suddenly she was fourteen again, and it was that day under the blossoming cherry tree, when she'd held Hatsumi against her and first recognized these feelings for what they were. The day that the warmth and softness of Hatsumi's body against hers no longer inspired comfort, but desire. The day that she realized she was in love with her adopted sister.

And it was a feeling that, here and now, she knew that she should not be having. She closed her eyes and tried to will her racing pulse to subside, hoping that Eve would somehow not have noticed.

She knew better, though.

"Hazuki-chan?" Eve whispered against her.

"I'm sorry," Hazuki sighed. "I guess... maybe I'm not as over you as I thought I was." With very real reluctance, while at the same time hating herself for feeling it, Hazuki released Eve and took two slow steps back.

Rather than be upset, though, Eve took her hands and smiled. "It's okay, Hazuki-chan. You haven't done anything wrong. First loves can have that effect on anyone. It doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean you love Chikaru or Tamao any less."

"Right," Hazuki nodded, hoping that she would be able to convince herself of this. Years of practice at self-loathing told her otherwise, though.

"Keep in mind that you're talking to a fertility goddess," Eve winked. "I've had a lot of practice at knowing whether or not hearts are true."

"I appreciate that," Hazuki said, letting out another short sigh. "Hopefully they'll be as understanding."

After giving Hazuki's hands a last squeeze, Eve knelt to pick up the twin-crowned Hat of the Keeper from where she'd left it after summoning Hazuki from the book, and placed it back on her head. Immediately, she began to glow with Souma, and she extended one hand back toward the taller girl. "Give them both my love," she smiled. "More importantly, give them yours."

"Always," Hazuki smiled weakly, reaching to take the offered hand. As soon as they touched, the world went green, she felt a familiar pull, and she was on her way home.


Kaname took another sip of her miso and enjoyed the silence, though she fancied that she could hear her father's blood pressure rising in the wake of her last comment.

"This wasn't about a promotion," the man said at last through gritted teeth. "This deal changed our lives. The nice house you get to live in? The fancy school you get to go to? All of that comes from the deal we made."

"The deal," Kaname mock-sighed. "I love the way you call it the deal. Is that how you sleep at night, papa? By thinking of sending your little girl to get raped by a gangster as the deal?"

"Saiga-sama is not a 'gangster,'" Noriyuki started.

"And I also love that this is the part of what I said that you object to," Kaname interrupted, still smiling. This had been building up for a long time, and now that it was finally coming out, she wanted to relish every moment of it. "Fine, then. Saiga is a sick f*ck with an incurable Lolita complex who just so happens to have enough wealth, power and clout to be able to make deals with his subordinates to get what he wants. And oh, yeah, he's a gangster. Don't give me any crap about how legitimate his business is. I've done some spelunking, papa, and I know much more than you think I do."

Noriyuki fumed at her for a moment, then made a visible effort to compose himself. "You should learn to think better of him," he warned her. "It just so happens that Saiga-sama and I have been discussing a possible match for you. Do you remember Hoshi-kun?"

"Hoshi-kun..?" Kaname gaped. "Saiga's kid? Am I on drugs here, or are you seriously telling me that you want me to marry that bastard's son?"

"Hoshi-kun is a fine young man..."

"If he turned out to be anything short of a basket case or a serial killer, it'll be a miracle," Kaname spat back. The smile was gone now, as more memories were dredged to the surface. "Did you know that Saiga made him watch, papa? 'Son, now this is what you do with a woman.' I'll be amazed if that poor kid has a shred of sanity left."

"It's not as though you have a lot of prospects, Kaname. This may be your best chance. You'll be well taken care of."

"Oh, I have no doubt. With him as my father-in-law? Yeah, I'm sure I'd be taken care of. Forget it, papa. I won't do it."

"Are you thinking you have a choice?" Noriyuki said coldly.

"Okay, then," Kaname said, bringing the smile back to her face and leaning across the table. "Let me spell it out for you, then. I. Will. Not. Marry. Him. More to the point, I won't marry any man you choose for me. And do you want to know why?"

She waited a moment to let her father answer, but when he did not, she continued. "Because I'm queer, papa. I'm a dyke. Your little girl is a rug-muncher. And I'd be more likely to bite one off than let one inside me again. Are we clear?"

Kaname sat back in her chair and waited for the reaction. By the deepening color of his face, he'd never suspected this, which was sadly unsurprising.

"It's that damned school," he growled. "I knew we should never have sent you to an all-girl school like your mother insisted. Well, that can be corrected. It's not too late to pull you out of there, you know."

"Really?" Kaname said, arching her eyebrows. She then almost laughed as she realized that she was about to quote Hazuki, of all people. "Papa, do you really want to put me in a position where I feel like I've got nothing to lose?"

"You have a duty to your family..."

"No, papa. No. Let me tell you exactly what's going to happen. I'm going back to St. Spica to have glorious sex with my girlfriend, and you're going home. If you even try to remove me from school, I'll tell mother all about the deal, in every excruciating detail. If you continue this insane marriage idea, I'll expose Saiga's so-called legitimate business. And if that sick son of a bitch touches me ever again, I - will - f*cking - kill - him."

Noriyuki took a stiff breath, and Kaname watched the veins on his forehead pulse until they looked like they might burst. "You mustn't say such things about Saiga-sama," he hissed. "If you do... I may not be able to protect you."

"Oh, yes," Kaname nodded, rising from her seat and throwing her napkin onto her plate. "Because you've done such a fine job protecting me so far."

With a mix of disgust and what looked like genuine surprise, Noriyuki shook his head at his daughter. "What happened to you, Kaname?"

"I found an angel to forgive my sins, papa," she smiled coldly. "Good luck finding one for yours."

She stalked out of the restaurant, leaving her father seething in his chair.


As soon as the glow faded, Eve knelt to pick up the book that Hazuki had chosen for her home, closed it, and placed it back upon its shelf. Her fingertips lingered on the spine of the tome for quite a while as she sought out the five presences of Souma within.

The reassuring smile she'd tried to give Hazuki slowly disappeared, and Eve became all too aware of the sound of the distant clock. With Lilith still working on repairing the damage done by the dragons, that sound had been Eve's only company for quite some time now. She tried to hold onto the memory of Hazuki's voice a little longer, but it was already fading.

To be honest with herself, she wasn't sure what had compelled her to ask Hazuki to join her for tea. More specifically, why had she only asked Hazuki?

"Maybe I'm not as over you as I thought I was," she repeated, wondering if Hazuki had any idea how mutual those feelings were.

Eve took a deep breath, then, and got back to work: there were many books to sift through yet as she tried to track down her uninvited guest. As tedious as it was, and as lonely as it was, it was something she needed to do, and as she herself had told Hazuki once before, loneliness was the very least she deserved after everything she'd done.


Next: Rage


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hazuki's meeting with Sarara took place in episode 14 of Touka Gettan, another production of Studio Deen. Hazuki, Lilith and Ken-chan guest-starred in the episode, making it more or less a "lost story" of the Yami canon.