~Madoka~

It hurts me to see these people affected by the tsunami. They wander on the wind along the coast, nowhere to go. They sit at the edges of the waves and cry for the ones who didn't make it out. They sift through the ruins for memories and haunted photographs that they'll never get back, but they'll keep on looking forever, here and wherever else they end up.

One look at all of this, and Tsubasa already knows that we cannot do it all. We can do a lot, but this is more than a lot. This is a gargantuan burden. I can see defeat in the slope of his shoulders and the weariness in his eyes.

Despite their evident disaster, these people welcome us with open arms. They pull us in to the little shelters they've built from the ashes and force upon us what little food they've found washed up in the surf. King and Gingka look to Tsubasa and Chris, hopeful; but he shakes his head. We can't take their charity because we're not here to get it, we're here to give it.

Tsubasa tells me to sleep, but I refuse. I follow him through the piles that once were homes, and we search for somebody who knows Cogs, who can take care of her.

As we walk, he whispers under his breath, "It will probably be better for her if she stays with us."

"This is the only life she's ever known."

"And it's gone now, Madoka." He turns to me. For a second he seems to falter, and then, "Her father is gone. I asked her where her mother is, and she says she's never had one. Her brother is in Russia. Her father was her only family."

"She can stay with these people. They tried to take us in; they'll adopt her in a heartbeat."

"They have nothing to give her. This colony is broken. It will take a long time to rebuild. She can at least stay at the WBBA until then. She'll have Yuu to play with."

I am silent because I know he's right. He cares for Cogs. He loves children. It's a good quality.

After darkness falls, he and I give up searching. Cogs crawls into my sleeping bag beside me, and I don't stop her. She needs somebody right now. From what I can gather, she's only about four years old, and she's all alone. I am making it my duty to provide as much comfort for her as I possibly can.

~Tsubasa~

I watch Madoka take care of Cogs, getting her up and ready in the morning light; she is frustrated because she doesn't have a hairbrush for Cogs. Cogs's hair is pretty much a mess, and it makes me wince to look at it; maybe...

My hairbrush is still in my duffel bag. I hold it in my hands. I know its weight, its contours; I've had this for a long time. My hair is gone now, and Cogs needs it more.

When Madoka takes it from me, grateful, her finger brush mine, and any regret I had about letting Cogs have it vanishes with Madoka's smile. Madoka, though, has never had long hair and doesn't know what to do with Cogs's so it doesn't get tangled. Cogs lets me braid it back with one of my elastics. My big clip is far too large for her thin hair. I wear it around my wrist now, and it fits perfectly; that's how thick my hair used to be.

After I see to Cogs, I attempt to pull my singed hair back into order, gather it at the nape of my neck; it won't stay. It's too short. I hate it. The blackened ends stick out and fly up all over the place. I steal a bandanna from Chris's duffel bag and tie it around my head, pirate-style. I'm sure I look ridiculous, but at least those flyaway strands won't irritate me all day.

I head down out of the trees to the beach, where I see my team swimming in the early morning sunlight. Madoka and Cogs see me coming; Cogs giggles.

"I know I look like an idiot", I say before she can tell me so. My face is turning pink again.

"I think you look nice", Madoka says. "Right, Cogs?"

"You look like a pirate", Cogs tells me. "Or a thief." Of course, she pronounces it 'feef'.

I stand at the edge of the surf and blow my whistle: short-long. The call to gather. Everybody straggles in reluctantly. Chris squints at my head. "Is that my - "

"Yes."

"It's so annoying when you do that", Ryuga mutters. I ignore him.

"It's time to get to work, everybody." I assign half of the team to search-and-rescue. Keith and Jason lead them. Chris, Gingka, King, and I will search in the water for lost objects. That's what I tell them, since Cogs is here; we all know I really mean dead bodies. I tell Madoka to take Cogs back to the campsite, or to play with her; she doesn't need to be here if we find what we're looking for.

Ryuga surprises me by saying he wants to join us. I let him.

Normally, I would leave the sleeping where they lie; but the fisher villages are very traditional. They hold on to their loved ones long after they're gone. If we're to bring comfort and safety to these people, the best thing will be for them to know the lost are resting safe.

The five of us line up about a hundred yards apart, knee-deep in the water. Our beyblades do the work for us, parting the waves clean down to the bottom. Watches and loose change lie tangled in fishing line and yarn; it doesn't take much work to locate the dead. We part the water for visibility and a team of villagers runs out to the spot to retrieve the resting. After about 20 launches, though, your arms start to get tired. My shoulders ache and the burns on my back are starting to sting from the salt spray when I feel little hands pulling on the bottom of my shirt.

For a moment I think it is Yuu. He would do the same thing when he wanted my attention. But I look down and see Cogs instead, the water up to her chest. "Tsubasa! Tsubasa!"

I scoop her up out of the water. "You shouldn't come out this deep, Cogs. A riptide might carry you away."

"I know how to swim", she tells me.

"I'm sure you do, but please don't do that again. Stay with Madoka."

"My beyblade and me can help you", she says earnestly. "We can find lost things. Daddy said I have sharp eyes."

"Your beyblade isn't quite strong enough yet to part the waves. You might lose it." I carry her back to the beach. Madoka takes her from me, her eyes turned downwards. I go back out to help the others.

~Madoka~

I let Cogs play in the water, on the condition that she not go in past her waist. There are crazy riptides after the weather we've been having. Cogs desperately wants to help 'find lost things', but I tell her to keep her beyblade in her belt and not launch it, or it will sink.

Cogs does not listen. She launches her beyblade while I am not looking, and then I hear her cry out in dismay. "My Pisces! Madoka, it sinked!"

"I told you not to launch it", I say sternly. "You're going to have to wait until one of the boys comes back so they can find it."

But Cogs runs out into the surf, past her waist, to her collarbone. "Cogs!" I call. She does not turn.

Cogs is going to have to learn to listen if she's going to stay with us. I wade out after her, but the girl swims like a fish; when the water gets too deep, she kicks off the bottom with a killer breaststroke. She has a powerful launch to get her beyblade out that far.

Then she disappears underwater, diving to the bottom to look. "Cogs!" I call again. She doesn't surface. Can she hold her breath, too? I search for her violet hair frantically. Then I see her.

Impossible. A four-year-old can't get that far in so little time! "COGS!" She's a hundred yards out to sea and still going - I was right! An undercurrent carried her away. I can't swim that fast. I scream for help. I hope she can keep herself afloat.

Then Ryuga is beside me. He rips his coat off and tosses it ashore, then plunges into the water after Cogs. Ryuga is going to save a child? Who would have ever thought?

He lets the riptide carry him in her direction, streamlining himself to the flow to jet forward faster. I think he's caught up to her, but I can't see that far out. Tsubasa runs out in front of me but jumps back when the saltwater hits his burns. He retreats to stand beside me. He looks like he's panicking.

All of a sudden I catch a flash of violet hair, a glimpse of a white t-shirt; they're moving fast to the side. "He did it!" yells Tsubasa. "He used his momentum. When the riptide surged left, he went with it and managed to throw himself out of it. Come on!" He starts to run up the beach. They could end up two miles further down.

Tsubasa calls out that he can see them. I hold my breath as Ryuga swims in slowly, tired out from pulling against the riptide. Cogs is clinging to him, wide-eyed. Her beyblade is in her hand. She didn't let go of it through all that. With the right cultivation, she'll be a strong blader someday. Maybe Tsubasa's right and she does need to stay with us.

Ryuga shoves her at me and collapses on the sand. I think it's safe to say now that he's earned his place with us.