NEW ARRIVAL

The next day found the young couple having breakfast with Madoka's parents on the hotel's rooftop, a place reserved exclusively for Mr. Pagott's personal guests. He had joined them and they were talking when Kyousuke asked, "By the way, what's with all the security, Mr. Pagott?"

Mrs. Ayukawa looked at him and nodded. "You noticed it too?"

Andrei looked up from his soup. "The accident at the factory was no accident. It was sabotage."

"Why have security here?"

"My boy, you don't get to where I am now without making a few enemies, some of whom are quite determined." Andrei chuckled dryly. "Besides, my guard dogs are bored out of their minds with nothing to do, so I thought I'd help out."

"Bored, huh?" Madoka remarked. "They don't look like it." All the security men she had seen wore identical expressions of alertness, although they remained courteous and helpful.

After they had finished Andrei excused himself, saying he had to get back downstairs to greet arriving guests. "It's a little custom of mine."

"Kyousuke and I will accompany you," said Madoka, biting down on a chocolate mint from Cardiff's proffered tray. "I'd like to see the city… if you don't mind, Mama, Papa."

"Not at all. I think we'll tag along," said Mr. Ayukawa.

"Would you? That'd be great."

"We'll just change and meet you downstairs. Dear?" Mrs. Ayukawa nodded.

"I think I'll change too," said Kyousuke.

So it was Madoka alone who accompanied Mr. Pagott to his accustomed place atop the landing near the stairs which led up from the jetty. She watched him as he greeted a few guests, sometimes after being prompted by Cardiff, sometimes on his own volition. It didn't escape her notice that a few of the security types lurked nearby.

"How do you know if someone is coming?" Madoka asked after Andrei had greeted one who had come up the stairs noiselessly.

"The wind, girl," he replied, turning towards her with those sightless eyes. "It brings smells to my nose." He turned to stare down the direction of the stairs, grimacing. "I pride myself on being able to identify many perfumes. It's a remnant of the time I used to chase skirts like there was no tomorrow."

Madoka chuckled. "Really? I somehow can't picture you as a woman-chaser, Uncle."

"It's true, unfortunately. Got me into a lot of trouble at times." His head turned as a thought struck him. "That fiancé of yours, he's not like that, is he?"

"No," she replied. Because if I ever catch him with another, he's going to be very sorry… "But for a long time, Uncle, when we first met, he couldn't choose between me and my best friend. He's usually indecisive, so…" She went on to narrate how they first met, and how things dragged along, until Kyousuke, one summer, had to finally decide on the girl he would declare his love for. Of course, that girl was Madoka, and everyone concerned ended up getting hurt as the love triangle broke apart.

"This girl, this Hikaru, what happened to her?"

"Oh, she went to America for a while to pursue her dreams. Then she was kidnapped and we ended up going to New York to rescue her. After that she went back to Japan. She lives with her parents now in Hokkaido."

"And she still keeps in touch with you?"

"Yes, Uncle."

Andrei was quiet for a time. "I think it was noble of you to try and step aside for her sake. Noble and foolish."

Madoka mumbled something to the effect of "it seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"But how do you feel about the way things have turned out now?"

She stared out to sea, the water winking and twinkling like a jewel with too many facets to comprehend. She didn't know why she was telling him these things. It wasn't like they were close or anything like it. But it felt nice to have someone to unburden herself to. He was a good listener. "Honestly, Uncle? It still hurts, after all this time. I wish there were some other way things could have turned out…"

"And you three could still have remained happy and things stayed the way they were," Andrei finished for her with a sad smile on his face.

"Yes. I suppose I've never really forgiven myself for hurting her," she murmured. "I feel so guilty about wanting him all for myself. But Uncle, now that I have Kyousuke I'll be damned if I'm going to give him up for anyone or any reason."

"Of course." Andrei reached out, searching for her hand. Madoka put it in his own and he gave a quick squeeze. "However, you did what you thought was best and followed your heart, and I believe that is all that can be asked of a person in such a difficult situation. Besides, I think it would have been worse if things had turned out differently."

"How so?"

"Well, from what you've told me, I think Kyousuke would have been unhappy with Hikaru. He'd have probably pined for you and that would have poisoned their relationship. It would have been more of a betrayal of your best friend than what did happen. You would have turned out to be a real villainess then, Madoka."

As she remained silent, pondering Andrei's words, Kyousuke arrived with her parents in tow. "Well, shall we go?"

"Okay." Madoka nodded. She leaned closer to Andrei and whispered. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Don't mention it." She took hold of Kyousuke's arm and they all took their leave of the old man.

"What was that about?" Kyousuke asked as they went down the stairs.

Madoka shrugged. "Just small talk, dear."

------oOo------

Cardiff offered his master a glass of wine, which Andrei took and held in his hand.

"She is a complicated woman," he remarked, sniffing the liquid's bouquet. "Why is it all my 'nieces' have such wonderful love lives?"

Cardiff laughed. "I find it strange to hear that coming from you, sir."

"Yes, well…" He fished out a large oval locket from where it had been under his shirt, hanging by a fine gold chain. Opening it, he stroked the cameo inside with his thumb. Ah, my Christiana, he thought. I miss you very much.

He remained there for another half-hour, greeting arriving people. Cardiff remained by his side, ready to assist if needed.

Another guest was arriving (he could hear the shush-shush of sandaled feet plodding up the steps) and he prepared to say his greetings when a puff of wind blew something that made Andrei stiffen is his wheelchair. He sniffed.

"Good morning," he called out loudly. "Welcome to the Hotel Adriano." Behind him, Cardiff bowed and smiled at the new arrival, a young lady in a royal-blue minidress and jacket that set off her waist-length blond hair and azure eyes.

"Oh… good morning," came a surprised-sounding reply, strongly colored by a foreign lilt.

"Your pardon, miss."

"Yes?" The woman paused in mid-stride and turned towards them.

"I haven't smelled a woman who used that perfume for a long time. It's jessamine, right?"

The woman smiled a brilliant smile. "Why, yes it is."

"It was also my wife's favorite perfume," Andrei said, smiling back. "Might I have your name, miss? I'm Andrei Pagott, owner of the Hotel Adriano."

The woman pushed strands of wind-blown orange-gold hair from her face. Cornflower-blue eyes looked at milky-white ones as her lively voice told him her name.

"Hikaru Hiyama. Glad to meet you."

------oOo------

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you were coming here," Madoka said reprovingly at the younger girl that night at dinner.

"I told you it was a surprise for Madoka and sempai," replied the vivacious girl with a megawatt smile. "Say, you don't mind, do you? My coming here?"

"No, of course not. In fact, I'm glad you're here."

Kyousuke, mouth full, nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it is," said Mr. Ayukawa. "The more the merrier, eh?"

"Hikaru is glad. I was worried how you'd react to me turning up unannounced."

Mrs. Ayukawa shushed her. "Stop talking nonsense, child. Eat up."

During the meal Hikaru narrated how her trip had gone. She had wanted to arrive at the hotel earlier, but had lost her way twice, and had to roam the city for three hours before she discovered the way to the hotel. "It looks so old," she remarked. "Just like I stepped into a 1940s movie."

"Kyousuke said the same thing," said Mr. Ayukawa.

As the others continued to pay attention to their food, Madoka touched the other girl's arm. "We've got so much to catch up on."

Hikaru nodded. "Yes, we do."

------oOo------

"So, Madoka-san, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" It was early the next morning when Hikaru asked her the question. They were alone on the roof deck, having taken breakfast earlier than the others, and were watching the sun rise in golden hues from its watery grave.

"Well, I'm still a slave to the grind, Star-chan. What about you?"

Hikaru smiled at the use of her long-ago nickname. "Oh, I'm doing fine." She fiddled with the long sleeves of her beige shirt. "I got myself a job at NHK."

"Really? Congratulations! But I thought you were going to audition for another musical."

Hikaru shook her head. "Nah. I don't want to be reminded of that yet."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I've started taking up self-defense classes too."

Madoka chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just remembered a saying, 'Boxing is like dancing, only there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.'"

Hikaru laughed. "Yeah, it is, I think. It really is good to see you again." They leaned against the low railings of the roof deck. Her voice was gentle as she said, "I've missed you. Both of you."

"Same here," Madoka replied with equal tenderness. "We're all so busy with our lives, I'm afraid there's simply not enough time for us to go visit one another."

"Yeah, but I'm going to take every chance I get!" Hikaru proclaimed. "Friends like you don't grow on trees," she added shyly. "I know it's rather awkward for me to be here like this, but I couldn't help it: I don't want to lose either of you."

Madoka found her heart too full to speak. She hugged Hikaru to her. "Don't worry, I don't either."

Unbeknownst to them, Kyousuke had just stepped out of the elevator. He saw them, and something in their embrace made him stop in his tracks. He watched their hair, golden and raven, intermingling in the breeze, as different as the girls were themselves. But, different though they were, both were still very important parts of his life. They embraced as if they were desperately trying to ward off the effects of time, souls retreating deep into the shell of their friendship for solace, temporary though it might be.

This was no time for him to be here. After all, he thought with no small amount of sadness, who was the one who tore them apart? Not wishing to disturb them, he closed his eyes, concentrated, and vanished from the rooftop into thin air.

Madoka looked up. She thought she had heard someone exit the elevator, but there was no one there.

"Hey, Hikaru, there's something very important I want to ask of you."

"What's that?"

"I'd like you to… well, it's okay if you can't… I'd like you to be my maid of honor… if you want to, that is."

Hikaru's eyes lit up. "Really? Would I? Of course I would!" She laughed in glee and jumped up and down in Madoka's arms. "You're so lucky, big sister."

Madoka found her laughter infectious and chuckled along. Hikaru gave her another big hug, squeezing her friend tightly.

"Madoka-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Hikaru broke away from her to look at the lightening sky.

"What?"

Hikaru considered how to frame it. "Don't take this the wrong way, big sister," she cautioned, standing in front of Madoka. "I know you're engaged and all, but I really thought you two would be married by now. I mean, you two love each other very much, and none of us are getting younger…"

Her friend was silent for a long time. Then to her surprise a tear emerged from one eye and ran down the side of her face.

"Madoka? What's wrong? Did I say something? 'Cause if I did…" She gently turned her friend around.

"I'm sorry… something's been bothering me for a long while now, that's all."

"You can tell me," prompted the younger girl, going to her purse and digging out a piece of tissue, which she offered. "Come on. Spill the beans. It won't do you any good keeping it in like that."

Madoka accepted the tissue gratefully. Dabbing at the corner of her eyes, she said, "Don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

Hikaru nodded.

"As in no one, not even Kyousuke. If you do, I'll never ever speak to you again."

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Madoka paused, trying to consider the wisdom of asking advice from a girl who had been dumped by her own lover. "You know, you're right in saying I love him and all… but when it comes to marriage, I… I'm afraid, Hikaru."

"Afraid? Why?"

Madoka spoke in a small voice. "It all started with a conversation I had with Kyousuke's cousin Akane a long time ago."

It was one day just before summer vacation. She and Kyousuke were on their third year of college, and she had dropped by his family's apartment prior to going home. Also visiting were Kyousuke's cousin Akane and her little brother Kazuya.

The brown-haired girl who had once been infatuated with her had engaged her in small talk. It turned to the topic of their relationship.

"So, Madoka-chan, like, you're going to go all the way, aren't you?"

"What?" exclaimed Madoka, startled.

"Er, let me rephrase that… You're going to love him with all your might, aren't you? Because you two are made for each other."

Madoka colored. It was all the answer Akane needed.

"So cool!" she trilled. "I wish I had someone to lose myself into…"

Madoka cooled down somewhat when she heard that. "Lose yourself into? Don't you think that's a bit dangerous, Akane?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if the relationship goes, what happens to you?"

"Then I'll work hard to make sure it doesn't! Besides, don't you think it's selfish to hold back just because you're afraid, when the other person so obviously loves you? It's true! I've never seen my cousin look so stupidly happy so often."

Madoka shook her head. "I don't know," she said, remembering Hikaru. "Relationships, well, aren't always written in stone."

"I don't care if it's written on rice paper!" Akane wailed. "I'm the only one among my classmates who still hasn't got a boyfriend!"

"And it's been bothering me ever since," Madoka concluded, more composed than a few minutes ago. "I love him very much, but… how much of myself must I lose to Kyousuke Kasuga? I'm worried that when I marry him I'll lose my own identity." She nervously scratched her wrist. Smiling ruefully, she said, "Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

Hikaru patted her shoulder in encouragement. "Madoka-san, I think you're worrying needlessly. I don't think you'll lose part of yourself at all. If anything, you'll gain by learning more about the person you love—" she felt a lump growing in her throat and fought to keep a straight face "—than anyone else on the planet." Laughing, she added, "Listen to me. I sound like a DJ on 'Advice for the Lovelorn.' Hikaru Hiyama, Professor of Psychology. You've got to trust him more, big sister."

Madoka thought about what she said. Trust. The usual sore spot with her. Because she had been forced to take care of herself, she had learned to not immediately trust the things that made her happy. Like the times when her parents would return to Japan. She had found she'd be happy while they were home, but after they left she was all alone again. There were always people out there who had wanted to take advantage of her: the girls who had befriended her but were actually recruiting for their gangs; the boys and men who thought they were cool and tried to put the moves on her; now, the sleazy people who comprised the sordid underbelly of the music industry. She had learned to protect herself, to stay apart from others, in order to shield her soul from the too-rough fingers of the world.

"Funny how I'm asking you for advice now. Usually it's the other way around."

Hikaru smiled. "Hikaru is glad she's not a total doozy, you know," the younger girl said. "Consider it part payment for all the times you helped me. But this'll cost you, Pick no Madoka," she added, using Madoka's sukeban nickname.

"How much, Hiyama?" asked Madoka, smiling.

"Come with me to town," said Hikaru, "and let's go sightseeing together. Just the two of us. Even lovers need time apart from each other."

Madoka, after a moment's consideration, nodded. "It's a deal."

------oOo------

After Kyousuke had teleported off the roof, he found himself rematerialized in mid-air. Three feet below him was the floor… and an old man in a wheelchair.

Oh, no! he thought, just before plunging down. There was a welter of noise, pain, and confusion, and a momentary blackness as his head struck something hard.

"Oww…" he heard a voice groan as he tried to deal with the spinning of his head. Something about it tickled his fancy, but he couldn't resolve what it was, what with the pain and all.

The first coherent thought he had was if Andrei Pagott was alright. He was sure who it was whom he had crashed into—unless there happened to be another old man with a shock of unruly white hair in a wheelchair staying at the Adriano. The second thought was why was it still so dark? He tried to open his eyes, then realized with a start that they were already open. Yet everything remained black.

Deciding that he was probably still stunned, Kyousuke rested. He focused his attention on what he was feeling, trying to further assess the damage to his body. And the signals he was getting were disconcerting. He couldn't explain it, couldn't understand it. But he felt very different. As if a heavy concrete block were sitting on his chest. As if he was very, very tired.

"What's going on?" he heard the voice say again. With sudden clarity he realized what had been so unusual about it: it was his own! But it sounded so remote and faraway.

He tried to talk, and the raspy sounds that issued from his own throat served to further alarm him.

"Are you alright?"

Suddenly the voice shrieked. "I can see! I can see! What…" There was a silence, then the loud sound of footfalls going away on a smooth tiled floor. Again a silence, then a loud bellow.

"Holy shit!"

"Hey, don't shout so loud," Kyousuke tried to tell the voice. He tried to get up off the floor, rolling away from the hard thing that was digging into his side. He touched cold metal, felt the cool floor.

A pair of hands gripped him and hauled him upright. "What the hell is going on?" came his voice, harsh and angry and more than a bit frightened.

"Ah, I think I'll need to explain." He tried to steady himself and almost fell over. "But keep quiet or else we might never get back into our own bodies, Mr. Pagott."

"…Kyousuke?"

"Yes."

The arm holding him upright adjusted itself, and there was the sound of something being moved. "Here. Sit." Kyousuke sat, and, feeling with his hands, found himself in a wheelchair.

"Please explain what has happened." There was a short burst of Italian which sounded rather uncomplimentary, then "Before I go out of my mind."

"Where are we?" Kyousuke asked. The old man's voice lingered in the silence.

"Just outside my room."

The ESPer's mind was suddenly racing a mile a minute. "Bring us inside, please. And close the door."

When the old man residing in Kyousuke's body had done so, Kyousuke began to explain what had happened. After his account, Mr. Pagott/Kyousuke Kasuga snorted.

"I'd brand you a liar in a second," he said, "if it was not for the undisputable fact that I am in your body and seeing my own talking to me." There was the sound of a chair being scraped on the floor, and creaking. "However, I do find this experience a novel one. And enjoyable. After being sick and blind for more than five years… I think you understand."

"Yes, well, we have to get back to our own bodies as soon as possible."

"And just how do we do that, young man?"

Kyousuke pictured himself calling Mr. Pagott a 'young man.' "We have to knock heads together. It's how we got exchanged in the first place."

"No way. My head's still swimming from the last one."

"But Mr. Pagott…"

"How did you slam into me in the first place? I heard nothing, smelled nothing…"

Kyousuke was desperate for the conversation to end and for Mr. Pagott to give him back his body. "Please, sir…"

"Answer my question, Kasuga-san."

"I-I can't. It's a family secret."

"Oho. So your family can do this as well."

Kyousuke cursed himself inwardly. "Mr. Pagott…"

"I only insist that you answer my question because your answer may explain some strange things have been happening around here recently. Tit for tat, okay? Otherwise I might not give you your body back." Evidently Mr. Pagott was used to twisting arms to get his way.

Madoka! Kyousuke thought. The thought of her being fooled by this impostor, this ghost in his shell, crushed him. There would be no limits to what Mr. Pagott could get away with once he met with her. He could try to impel him with his mind… but no, he couldn't even see where he was to aim his Power. Feeling utterly helpless, he gave in.

"Alright. I'll answer your question." Kyousuke narrated how he had gone to look for his fiancé, found her room empty and gone to the roof deck. Then he had seen the two girls talking, decided to make a quiet, hasty exit, and teleported himself elsewhere.

"But sometimes my aim isn't too good," Kyousuke/Andrei said. "I materialized above you and that's when this happened."

There was a long period of silence. Finally Kyousuke's voice spoke. "You can exchange bodies, and you can teleport. This is all so unreal. But I was familiar with magic once. I never thought I'd experience its like again."

"It's not magic. It's ESP."

"Pshaw. To a blind man all paintings are alike." The voice changed, as if it was talking to itself. "Yes, yes, now I see… Very well, Kyousuke Kasuga. I will return this body to you. But I must warn you about something. There was a man outside your girlfriend's room two nights ago."

"What are you talking about?"

Mr. Pagott went on to explain how they had become aware of certain people, who had arrived a week or so before Kyousuke and Madoka did, acting in suspicious ways. They put a watch on them and discovered they were looking for something or someone in the hotel. With that knowledge, they put a guard on all floors of the hotel with microcameras and were able to catch one obviously scouting out the second floor, particularly Madoka's room.

"We saw her talking to him. After that, we observed him hurriedly making a report to whoever his superiors were, and decided to take him in for questioning."

"What does that have to do with Madoka and me?"

"Kyousuke, now that I know what you can do, I think that man was looking for you. All of these people had these gadgets we knew nothing about. Now I think they were using the devices to track you."

A cold chill crept down Kyousuke's back. "How?"

"Maybe they can track you with your power. I can't think of anything else they would be interested in here at the hotel. Does Madoka have any enemies?"

"Except for her competition in the music business, I don't think so."

"I see. That settles it then. They're most definitely interested in you… but you know, you had already left Madoka's room when she talked to that man."

Kyousuke thought about it and came to a frightening conclusion. "That means they must think Madoka's the one with the Power…"

Although he couldn't see it, Andrei/Kyousuke nodded. "You see my point."

"Mr. Pagott, please! Give me my body back! I have to go to her!"

"Don't worry, Kasuga-san. You may not know it, but all of you have been under my protection since you stepped foot on this island. She's not in any danger."

Frantic, Kyousuke reached out with his mind. Andrei watched in amazement and anger as the gold locket containing his dead wife's portrait was flung into the air. It landed on the floor with a clatter.

"Hey!" Mr. Pagott almost struck out blindly at him for that, but something in the young man's desperation to be with his loved one touched a long-buried memory within him. He sighed.

"Alright already, Kasuga-san. You don't need to wreck my room to make your point."

When the exchange was done, Kyousuke took the old man back to his bed.

"Mr. Pagott, I must ask you to keep this Power of mine a secret," he pleaded. "If you reveal it to anyone else it will have dire consequences for me and my family." Kyousuke told him of what happened the previous times his family's Power had been found out.

Turning his head in Kyousuke's direction, the old man shrugged. "Who'd believe blind old me? They'd chalk it up to senility or dementia. Besides, you don't live here. But you're right. It will put you in danger, more danger than you are in now." He nodded once. "I will keep your secret. But a favor?"

"Yes?"

Andrei told him. Kyousuke somehow found himself not surprised. "I'll have to think about it, sir. If you'll excuse me, I have to see Madoka. I'm not free to make this decision alone."

"Indeed you are not," said Mr. Pagott. "You are very wise for a young man. When you leave, please send for my butler. I think I'm going to throw up, my head's spinning so…"

After the dour Englishman had arrived to see to his master's needs, Kyousuke headed straight upstairs to the rooftop—this time by elevator. His mind was roiling with the recent tumultuous events. He was wondering whether Madoka's godfather could be trusted.

When he reached the roof there was no one there. He checked her room. Not there either. In quick succession he visited the dining room and the garden, the small Pagott family museum and the dock. She was nowhere to be found.

Anxious by now, Kyousuke rushed back to Andrei Pagott's room. There he found her talking with him, dressed as if she were going out.

"There you are!" he said. "I've been looking all over for you."

Madoka regarded him coolly. "Kyousuke, what have you been up to?" Her eyes flicked towards the man seated in the wheelchair.

He paused and nodded somberly. "He knows, Madoka. It was an accident."

"Have you agreed to his request?" A fine eyebrow arched delicately.

"I was hoping to ask your opinion."

"It's totally up to you," she replied. "I don't want to influence you in any way."

------oOo------

Though made aware of possible danger, Madoka still insisted on going out with Hikaru. Kyousuke protested and tried to introduce himself into their group, but she was having none of it.

"I can take care of myself, okay?" she had said. Kyousuke was insistent, she was unrepentant, and they were on the verge of another fight when Hikaru interposed herself between the two.

"I'll look after her," she had told him after taking him aside. "Sempai, just this once, I think you two need some time apart. Okay?" Somewhat mollified, Kyousuke had relented, but still kept on Madoka's case, telling her to watch her step. She, still irritated, nodded abruptly, and left with Hikaru. He didn't mind, as he was used to her mercurial moods.

He remained on the top landing of the stairs leading to the jetty watching as the small ferryboat pulled away. The sun had already risen high enough to beat down on his unprotected head, and he was turning away for the shelter of the lobby when Andrei, accompanied by his shadow Cardiff, came up to him.

"Kasuga-san. I've put a bodyguard of mine on that boat," he said. "His orders are to keep out of sight, tail Madoka and make sure she remains safe."

"Thank you. That eases my mind a lot." Kyousuke pushed the windblown black hair out of his eyes.

"Would you like to do something to take your mind off your worries, and at the same time help ensure her safety and yours?" asked Andrei.

"Yes, I do."

"Then follow me please." Whispering an instruction to Cardiff, the trio left.

------oOo------

"Sempai sure was worried about you," Hikaru commented, watching the island growing smaller as the boat went on its way, rising and falling sedately in time with the swells.

"Yeah. He gets on my nerves that way." Madoka was smiling as she said it. "Sometimes he's such an old fogey."

The blonde girl grinned.

------oOo------

"When I said I was willing to help you, this wasn't quite what I had in mind," Kyousuke said, wincing as one of Andrei's guards cinched the straps girding the bulletproof vest he wore. After it fit to his liking, he put a loose black sweatshirt over it. Over his legs was a pair of black pants. A pair of black boots shod his feet.

"I'm not asking you to go fighting or anything like that," said Andrei. "We just want to use you as bait."

"That's not exactly reassuring."

"All you need to do is use your power. The bulletproof vest is just insurance. After all, I wouldn't want to make Madoka a widow before she even got married." The old man chuckled.

The thought of bullets piercing his beloved pink body make Kyousuke cringe. "You thrive on this stuff, don't you?"

"I was a soldier long before I became a businessman, Kasuga-san."

The guard nodded at Kyousuke. "He's all set, sir," he told his boss.

"Good. In two hours you can begin."

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Just use your power, is all. Leave the rest to us."

"What will you do?"

"We will act like a cat and wait for the mice to come out of their burrow," answered Andrei with a grin of satisfaction. "Then we will catch them."