Previously:

"Hmm… All right." Hope agreed. Faith was obviously very excited about it, and it's not like they'd figured out how to get back to their own world yet… Plus the further away they got from the Kou Empire the better, since she didn't know how upset Kouen might be for ditching him like that. He definitely wasn't going to be pleased. "We'll do that as well, if you don't mind. Thank you for your kind offer of hospitality."

"Yaay~!!" Aladdin and Faith cheered, slapping each other a high-five.

"You really want to go that badly?" Toya asked.

"… Yes, because we made a promise… with a friend." Aladdin said with a smile.

Chapter 22: Family

"… I see." Hope said thoughtfully once they had finished exchanging stories in private, considering everything she had just heard. "So that's what happened…" She was a little surprised by how cool Aladdin seemed to be with the fact that they were from another world (Faith had let him in on that when he saw her trying to use her phone while they were lost in the desert, and had to explain what it was). But it seemed he wasn't exactly normal himself.

"Man, I can't believe you just accidentally strolled into a dungeon like it was nothing… You even got yourself a Djinn!! I'm so proud!" Faith said, pretending to tear up.

"You've been through a lot, huh?" Aladdin asked Hope with a smile. "That Ojii-san sounds scary…"

'Ojii-san…?' Hope thought, sweat-dropping. He was only twenty-eight… "Y-Yeah, but… um, Aladdin-kun, you said you're looking for Djinn Vessels, right? How much do you know about them?"

"Hmm, not much." Aladdin replied honestly. "I'm mostly looking for them as a favor to Ugo-kun… But it seems like they can be found in dungeons. Ah, speaking of which, can you call your Djinn out so Ugo-kun can talk to him?"

"Huh?" Hope said, slightly taken aback. "Uh… Sorry, but I don't think I know how to do that… My Djinn doesn't really seem to do much. I haven't heard a peep from him since he went into my ring."

"Oh… That's too bad." Aladdin said, disappointed. Oh well, Ugo-kun seemed to be feeling a bit shy today anyway.

"Hey, is it really okay for us to keep traveling…? Don't we have to get you home?" Faith asked seriously as she eyed their zippered tote bag, suddenly remembering her sister only had a limited amount of meds in it.

"Yeah, but… It's not like we know how, right?" Hope said with a small frown. "Actually, I think keeping your promise to travel with Aladdin and your other friend to clear more dungeons is a really good idea. I don't know if it was the same for you, but when I went through the portal at the entrance to the dungeon, I was pulled into some kind of wormhole, a vortex of swirling light, that was just like the one that brought us here."

"Now that you mention it…" said Faith, thinking back. "I'm pretty sure that portal brought us to a different planet…"

"Right?" said Hope, lighting up with excitement. "That's why I think figuring out how that worked, and learning as much as we can about the Djinns and the dungeons, could be our key to getting home!"

"Ohh! See, Aladdin, I told you my sister was a genius!!" Faith said excitedly, beaming with pride.

"Mmn!" Aladdin agreed with a smile. "I don't really get it, but that sounds impressive, Hope onee-san!" He was a little sad to think they might end up leaving, though…

Later that evening, the whole village gathered around a large bonfire for a very lively supper. Judging by the fermented horse milk and a variety of other dishes being served, the Kouga Clan's culture appeared to have a lot in common with the Mongolian Nomads. The fermented horse milk had a slight sour taste, but once you got used to it, it was pretty refreshing and it sparkled softly on the tongue.

"This is fun. It's like one big happy family." Hope said with a smile as she sipped her horse milk.

"Yeah, reminds me of our Louisiana side of the family." Faith agreed, stuffing her face with fried dumplings.

"They're all relatives…?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, they are all from the Kouga Clan." Baba answered with a smile. "For more than a hundred years, we've been living and dying together, being born and falling in love… The same blood flows inside us."

"Hmm… Family, huh…?" Aladdin mused, staring into the fire as he remembered how Ugo had once told him that he had no parents or family. The Djinn had said he was an existence different from other, normal people, that he was special… But being 'special' was lonely. He looked at the happy faces of the people of the Kouga Clan and watched Hope and Faith as they interacted with each other. The twins had somehow been drawn into a competition to see who could shift this huge random boulder that was sitting in the middle of the plain. "Family… how lucky…"

"What are you saying?" said Baba. "The people who live on these plains are living together as one. Now that you're here, that includes you. We will be your family." Baba told him, smiling as she placed a hand on his head. "You're Baba's child now!" Aladdin stared at her for a moment in surprise, but as her words sank in, the boy lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I love you, obaa-chan!!" Aladdin cried happily, blushing, as he threw his arms around her.

"Ho ho ho ho… Koff…!" Baba laughed, choking when Aladdin tightened his grip. A very ominous cracking sound was heard.

"Don't squeeze too hard!! Her neck!" Toya shouted anxiously, rushing to her grandmother's rescue.

"Look, look Aladdin!!" Faith said excitedly, holding up a huge platter of sweets. "Look what Hope won me!"

"Hey, those are for sharing!" Hope chided her.

"Wooow!!" Aladdin said, loosening his grip on Baba in his surprise. "You moved that big rock all by yourself, Hope onee-san!?"

"Well—" Hope started to explain.

"No way!!" said Dorji and his friends. "I'm telling you, that's cheating!"

"Yeah, using tricks is playing dirty!" said Boyan.

"What 'tricks'?" Faith asked, annoyed that they were still arguing over this.

"Yeah, all I did was use a sturdy plank and a smaller rock to make and lever and Fulcrum. And you never said we couldn't use tools." Hope reminded them.

"Well, she's got us there…" said Bator.

"Hohoho… Don't be such sore losers~! You're men now, aren't you?" Baba said with a Cheshire cat grin as she munched on one of the pastries with Aladdin.

"Ah! They've gotten to Baba-sama!" Boyan cried, while everyone else laughed good-naturedly at the little conspiracy the girls had going.

Meanwhile, the enemy was approaching from the east. Troops bearing the colors of the Kou Empire had just reached the edge of the mountain, and from a height they could see on the distant horizon a dim light from the Kouga Clan's bonfire. The steps of the great empire towards the village's domination were drawing closer.

But the others were blissfully unaware of the approaching danger, so they were still taking it fairly easy the next day.

"Hmm, then are you the 'troopers'?" Aladdin asked Dorji while Toya was showing Faith and Hope how to milk a mare.

"Yes. We live, work, and fight alongside horses, since the ancestors of antiquity. And when needed, I shall also fight bravely for the clan." Dorji explained proudly.

"Whoa, horse's milk is good~!" Aladdin said, alerting them to the fact that he had started drinking straight from another mare's teat. And the mare did not look happy.

'He wasn't even listening…' Dorji thought, chagrined, as vein popped on his forehead.

"You can't drink it directly!!" Toya said urgently as she ran over to stop the boy, flustered.

"That's right! If you drink too much, you'll give yourself the runs!" Hope added, concerned.

"Eh!?" Aladdin and Faith said, startled. Really…? From drinking milk?

"Seriously?" Faith asked, sweat-dropping.

"Yeah, mare's milk isn't usually consumed raw, because it tends to have a strong laxative effect. Instead, it almost always gets fermented into a drink like Airag, or the milk wine we had last night." Hope explained. "Fermentation also destroys the lactose in milk, converting it into lactic acid, ethanol, and carbon dioxide. This makes Airag acceptable for lactose intolerant people, which includes many Mongolians. Without fermentation, mare's milk contains significantly more lactose than milk from cows or yaks."

"You're gonna make a great anthropologist someday." Faith said, patting her sister on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I intend to!" Hope replied with a grin.

"What's an anthro… whatever you just said?" Aladdin asked curiously.

"Hmm, well… an anthropologist is basically someone who studies all the different ways people live… It's the study of what makes humans 'human'." Hope explained brightly, deciding to spare him a more complicated summary. "I think it's really interesting, because if you pay close attention, you'll see that even though lots of things change from culture to culture, the important things never do."

"Important things?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes." said Hope with a soft, affectionate smile. "People we love… things we want to protect… everyone has them. You do, too, right?" Aladdin smiled.

"Yeah!" he said brightly.

"Oh, good answer!" said Faith. "That might be worth a piggyback ride."

"Hmm… Women and children really don't understand the concept of a warrior…" Dorji said as he stood next to Toya, watching Aladdin play with the twins. His face was a little flushed.

"Fufufu…" Toya laughed softly. Dorji might have gotten bigger, but he was still just as shy as ever. "You… are stronger than before. But I'm worried…" She said as the wind swept across the plain, blowing through her hair. "I hope the day when you have to go into battle never comes. It would be such a blessing if we could all go on living together like this, wouldn't it?" she asked with a smile. Dorji looked at her.

"You don't need to worry, Toya." He said seriously. "I'll protect you, always."

"Aladdin, don't!" Hope said worriedly.

"Oh c'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" asked Faith.

"He could break his neck!! That one doesn't even have a saddle!" said Hope.

Hearing that, Dorji and Toya immediately whipped their head around to see what they were up to.

"Hey, hey! How do I ride a horse?" Aladdin asked excitedly, already scrambling onto one's back.

"Stupid! Amateurs don't ride horses!" Dorji yelled, flinching in shock. Was this kid trying to get himself killed!?

"!!" They all gasped when the horse suddenly reared up, taking off like a shot.

"Aladdin!!!" The twins shouted in alarm, chasing after him. But it was no good. The horse was too fast!

"Whaaaa!!!" Aladdin cried, clinging to it for dear life while it tore through the village.

"Someone stop the horse!!"

"This kid is gonna die!!"

"Watch out!!!" Dorji yelled as the wild horse bucked and leaped into the air.

"!" The twins gasped, surprised when a young woman suddenly galloped up out of nowhere and grabbed hold of the reins as she jumped onto the back of the rampaging beast. In a matter of seconds, she had the horse completely under control, and Aladdin was safe and sound.

"Are you all right, young boy?" his savior asked pleasantly. Aladdin stared up at the elegant young woman in astonishment as she smiled down at him.

"Alaaaddin!!" The twins yelled as they sprinted up to them, beating Dorji and the rest of the villagers there.

"Th-Thank goodness… you're safe…!!" Hope said as they skidded to a halt, panting as they tried to catch their breath. "Thank you… very much… for saving him…!"

"Y-Yeah… Thanks… a bunch!" said Faith, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

"It was my pleasure." The young woman said politely as she helped Aladdin down off of the horse.

"Wow, that was really…!?" Aladdin winced, surprised when Hope suddenly gave him a good whack on the head. "O… Onee-san!?" he gasped, startled to see how angry the twins looked after that initial flood of relief. The kind and gentle Hope had multiple veins throbbing on her forehead.

"Don't you ever do something like that again, you here!?" She scolded him sternly.

"Yeah, you scared the crap out of us!" Faith said with a frown, putting her hands on her hips.

"You could've been seriously hurt!! Do you realize how lucky you are this nice onee-san was able to save you!? Did you thank her properly yet?" Hope asked strictly.

"Th-Thank you, onee-san…" Aladdin told the young woman who had just saved him, trembling slightly with shock at Hope's sudden transformation. He really hadn't been expecting that at all. Hope let out a sigh.

"All right, come here…" she said, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry I hit you… just try to be more careful next time, okay?"

"… Okay…" Aladdin said, forgiving her almost instantly as he snuggled up against her soft chest.

"Yeah, seriously, be more careful…" Faith said, sweat-dropping. Her sister was 99% angel, but you did not want to tap into that last 1%...

The young woman who had saved Aladdin, Ren Hakuei, smiled as she watched the exchange, thinking those sisters must have been very worried about their little brother. It made her think of her own… But now was not the time for that. The arrival of her armed escort was a firm reminder of that.