Author's Note: Merry Christmas! This is the beginning of the moment we've been waiting for. I hope everyone enjoys it...


Mina gravitated toward the little stalls that lined the streets, preferring to stay out in the open for the moment. She tried to stay out of the way of passing youkai, but several pushed past her, bumping into her hard enough to nearly knock her over, and casting dirty looks her way. That didn't matter, though. At least she was here.

A table of jewelry caught Mina's eye. The stall vender watched her carefully with large bulging eyes, as though expecting her to attempt to steal something. She ignored the insult and examined the gold and silver displayed across the tables. Most of them seemed to be just normal pretty jewelry, but she sensed that those set out on a section of black cloth had magical qualities. Some even glowed. She didn't dare touch those; who knew what they did? Rather, she carefully picked up a silver necklace lined with stones the color of her mother's eyes.

As she looked down at the necklace, the air suddenly changed. Others noticed, several youkai glancing around. Even the vender turned his bulging eyes to the crowds. Something was different. An invisible force tugged at Minako's core, a fog setting in her mind. She looked up through crowds to see Alice. The girl smiled, darting into the chaos. Mina set down the item—what had she been looking at? It didn't even matter.

She pushed through the crowd, excusing herself as she received various responses of aggression and disapproval. They wouldn't hurt her. She reached the edge of the stalls and watched the curly brown hair disappear into a tent. It stood out against the rather dull surroundings, drawing in all of Mina's attention. The tent itself consisted of magnificent red and cold fabrics draped over solid poles supporting each corner, rising up in the center as though by some invisible force pinched it between two fingers and held it up in the air. Things like wind chimes and gold coins adorned the fabrics, blending with the rich colors. How beautiful! It seemed quite reminiscent of the beautiful clothes she had seen on the women who attended the gathering. She had seen quite a few rich gowns as she waited outside.

But she wouldn't wait outside the tent as she had the gathering.

"Alice?" she called out, pushing aside the drapes that seemed to make up the doorway.

Inside, a woman looked up and met Mina's gaze with chocolate brown eyes. Her hair fell in thick brown curls around her shoulders, very similar to Alice's hair. But Minako must have made a mistake; this woman was older than Alice.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Mina stammered, noticing the pointed canines as the woman smiled. "I thought you were someone else."

Looking into this woman's face, her stomach tightened and something told her that she needed to leave. There was something off about this place, this woman. She could sense something—was it her aura? She must be a powerful youkai.

"There is no need to apologize," she said—her voice held a thick accent that Minako could not quite place, much like Alice—and motioned to a pile of large pillows at the other side of the small table she sat at. "Sit down. I have exactly what you are looking for."

Mina meant to run, but her mind felt foggy and she couldn't remember why she had distrusted this woman. She could be Alice's mother, they looked so alike! Come to think of it, there was someone else with that thick curly hair and strange accent. Who was it? She reached back, but her mind could not conjure up a memory.

She sat down. The table rested low to the ground, and Mina stared absently at it. "What was I looking for?"

"Some novelty from this demon city, no doubt!" the woman laughed. "I have just the thing. Would a reading suit your fancy?"

Mina rubbed at her forehead, a slight frown setting into place. "I don't have any money…"

"Oh, there is no issue. I am feeling generous."

The woman had layers upon layer of billowing skirts, and from some pocket within, she withdrew a deck of cards. Minako watched as the woman shuffled the cards, spreading them out across the table and running her hands over them until she finally picked one up and set it on the table face up.

"The dragon," she purred, "Strength, power, knowledge. How impressive…"

Staring down at the picture of the black dragon, frozen mid-roar, Mina felt a chill run down her back. The woman left the card there and ran her hands over the spread-out deck once more. After a moment, she chose another card. This one showed a young human girl with an upturned face, tears brimming in her big blue eyes and streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh…" the woman said, tapping the card with a long nail, "The child. Fear, weakness, a potential not quite met. Such a shame."

Mina shifted uncomfortably, "What does that mean?"

Apparently ignoring the question, the woman reached into the deck one last time and set down a card. Mina waited, but she did not say or do anything for a while. She stared at the card, a simple picture of a large stone sitting in the middle of a dirt road.

"Interesting," the woman finally said. "The roadblock."

Mina watched as the woman gathered her cards and shuffled them once more before putting them back into a pocket somewhere in her skirts.

When finished, the woman nodded, "It would seem that you have a great potential for power and strength, however something is in your way, stopping you from reaching your potential. You are attempting to go somewhere, toward some goal or away from some threat, but there is something in the way."

Mina laughed humorlessly, "I do feel like that sometimes."

The woman did not laugh. Instead, she caught Mina's gaze and held it, seeming to stare into her very soul. "I could help you."

"How?"

The woman reached down into the skirts, this time managing to pull out a small crystal ball. She set it delicately on the table. Once Mina looked inside, she found it nearly impossible to look away. It was foggy, like Mina's mind seemed to be as of late. However, more interesting were the two strands of hair intertwined loosely in the center. One straight and the other curly, both quite dark in color. It was as though one had been plucked from each woman's head and placed within this dainty crystal.

"I am a reader, but I have other talents, as well." She smiled, setting her hands on top of the crystal. "You merely need to rest your hands on mine and your dreams will become a reality."

"What do you mean?" Minako frowned, feeling quite uneasy about the whole thing. How could this be real? It seemed far too good to be true.

"You have seen youkai and priestesses with strange magic, no? It is very similar." That smile did not fade, encouraging Minako to relax as the fog set in again. "I am offering you a way to experience your full potential. The strength and power that you have not had access to as of yet. And free of charge! It would be best to take the deal before I feel less generous and change my mind."

Mina's hands inched forward, hesitating as they hovered just above the crystal ball.

"Go on, it will be fine, Minako," the woman smiled. "Trust me."

With that, she set her hands down, feeling the woman's skin against the palms of her hands. It felt strange. A sudden chill ran through her body. Something was wrong. How did this woman know her name? She looked up, eyes widening with fear of the unknown. She tried to pull away, but her body was frozen and the world began spinning. Mina could only hear the woman's voice echoing in her mind as the world went dark.

"Trust me…"