This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.

4/13 Saturday

After School

In you and I,

There's a new land...

Ai.

Ai, wake up.

You're late for school, you have to wake up.

Wake-

"-there? My... lady?"

The repeated sensation of a tide lapping over her, then retreating to do it again, wasn't what woke her. That was a familiar, almost comforting sensation. A natural metronome that filled her ears with the gentle crashing of waves. One could go to sleep to such a rhythm, and some frequently did. To her, it was more welcome than any lullaby. The sea was where she found peace.

The problem was that she couldn't quite remember what had led up to her washing onto this beach. Or where the beach was.

"My lady?"

Aiko stood. The voice calling to her, though unfamiliar, helped her rise faster even if she couldn't yet determine exactly where it was coming from or where she was. It was definitely a beach, but it didn't feel like Tosashimizu's southern coast.

"Thank goodness, I was worried for a moment that I was too late. You must be careful. This is a dangerous place."

Finally, her senses recovered enough to pinpoint the source of the strange voice. It didn't fit anyone she had ever heard before, sounding if anything like an overly dignified butler. That didn't match the speaker's shape though.

Then again, she wasn't exactly sure what kind of voice would match what she was looking at now.

It wasn't human, that much was obvious. It was a humanoid shape of average height, but the entire figure was coated in a suit of flowy, form-fitting silver armour that shone with the orange sunlight overhead. His arms and legs alike covered in segmented greaves that looked like metal talons. The chest piece was swept back and wider than it could be on a human. His helmet distinguished itself with a massive faceplate like a hooked beak, and side-mounted eyes like... Like a bird. Is he...?

The massive round eyes on the side of the creature's helmet focused up, furtively scanning the shoreline for possible threats, the beak opening as it spoke. "This is someone else's Land, my lady. But if we must proceed, then so be it." She noticed just now that the thing also bore a large broadsword in its left talon with a sheath at its hips, and a large wing-shaped shield in its right, all made from the same gleaming metal.

"Are you...", she hesitated, knowing full well how ridiculous this question sounded. "Are you that falcon from before?"

Beaks could not smile, but the creature's eyes slid back in the approximation of one. "But of course! I couldn't just sit back and let those awful harpies threaten your dignity, my lady. I am your sworn protector, after all."

"My sworn protector? Who are you?"

A bit miffed-seeming, the strange bird-knight puffed up his gleaming chest in pride. "Hmph. I am Sir Pelagio. And as I said, I am your sworn protector. I saw you venturing into the gate to Faraway Lands, so of course I had to follow you."

"Far away lands?" The bird-thing was making some sense, just not enough for her liking. "But I didn't go anywhere. All I did was..."

Her last moments of consciousness before this caught up then, remembering chasing Mira down to the Yume Bay... and what had followed. The door made of the sun's last light, the green flash, the whirlpool...

That voice.

"You chased that other girl through the gate to Faraway Lands", Pelagio explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Two words, not three. That is important. Faraway Lands. The dimension where human dreams are realized. Forgive my curiosity my lady, but what do they teach you in school these days when you're not being attacked by vicious harpies?"

"Nothing about this", she promised shakily, the bird-thing's words prompting her to look around and confirm her suspicions.

After just a minute's examination, she decided the bird-knight-thing was probably right. This was a place like nothing she'd imagined could exist on Earth.

To her left was a long shoreline of dull gray sand, the most familiar part. The sea beyond that looked mostly the same, except for the texture. The vast stretch of rippling water beyond it was completely black instead of blue. Even more reflective than normal water, it was lit up by collections of stars and nebulae that she saw nothing of in the sky above it. That sky was a cast of pitch black as well, though stencilled with orange afternoon light arranged into massively intricate patterns spanning the entire sky which no star could ever create. If they were letters or numbers, she couldn't say.

It's like space... in the sea. It's a space-sea. She could make out the shapes of a few other islands around, but they were all too far away to make out clearly.

But it was the content of this large island spread before them that made Aiko seriously wonder if she'd merely hit her head while chasing Mira and was now having the most bizarre dream of her life, even by her standards. The beach quickly tapered off into a flat sheet of metal just ten feet ahead of them, continuing on into the place's main structure.

Aiko wasn't even sure if she could call it a city. It had thousands of lights gleaming from its spires and bulb-shaped windows that outshone the late afternoon sun, but no city would have all its structures be so round and small, the largest being a mere thirty feet in diameter. It reminded her more of a forest. A giant, tightly-packed metal forest.

But if it was indeed that, then it was also more high-tech looking than any city she'd seen, including fiction. Every 'tree' held collections of complicated looking circuitry and switches, decorated with buttons of every colour and shape. The 'branches' connecting the trees were strong-looking metal pipes that periodically glowed. She could even see signs of activity further on into the place, though none of it human unless humans could fly in this 'Faraway Lands' place. On a whim, she tried leaping into the air and was disappointed.

"What... what is this place?"

Sensing her worry, Pelagio stepped between her and the metal forest. "You were chasing your friend, yes? She went through the gate. I'd say this is her Land."

"Her Land?", Aiko echoed, thinking that saying the words out loud would have them make more sense. They didn't. "This is Mira-senpai's Land?"

Pelagio nodded, his beak tapping his chest plate as he did. "So her name is Mira? Yes. This is Mira's Land, the world where all of her deepest desires are granted."

That didn't sound so bad to Aiko, but it definitely clashed with how imposing some of these 30th-century-looking spires were starting to look. I thought a world that granted your wishes would be a lot prettier than this. I mean, I guess it is kind of pretty with all those fancy lights on, but...

"So Mira-senpai is in here, then?"

"A valid assumption", Pelagio confirmed. "This Land exists solely for her pleasure, after all."

Which thankfully settled the question of what she had to do next, pressing her lips into a resolute line. "Then I have to find her."

Pelagio regarded her carefully, putting his sword into a sheath at his waist. "It is a dangerous place", he repeated. "But my lady is courageous. I shall protect you from whatever may come."

That was actually more of a confidence booster than it sounded. Whatever the bird-knight might also be, his stern dedication was reassuring, particularly if this really was the same white-feathered saker falcon who had saved her from Kujou's gang days ago. If not, how would he know about it? Questions can wait for later.

Playing along, Aiko gave a small curtsy with her uniform's skirt and laughed at his antics. "I appreciate it, Pelagio-san."

For the first time however, the bird-knight looked less than pleased. "Hmph. Please, my lady. I humbly ask that you call me sir Pelagio."

"Very well", she accepted. "Thank you for accompanying me, sir Pelagio."

That simple concession was enough to restore his mood and he pointed with his free talon. "Onwards then. To Mira's Land."

"To Mira's Land", Aiko agreed, facing the metal forest with new resolve. Into the woods, it's time to go.

It may be all in vain, I know...

Pelagio didn't react to it much, but to Aiko the 'Land' only got weirder as they walked further in. The floor began to drop out soon after, to be replaced by a twelve foot wide walkway, stretched out over the valley that quickly became a dark chasm concealing the bases of the 'trees'.

The walkway split often, quickly becoming a vertical maze leading to various openings on each 'tree'. More helpfully, many of the walkways actually had built-in conveyor belts that took them forward without needing to walk. Each one was also protected by fields of shimmering violet energy 4 feet tall on both sides, making it impossible to fall off unless you were trying.

It was around that time that Aiko became aware of the bustling denizens of Mira's Land. More dramatic of the two kinds were the robots of various shapes and sizes, ranging from simple disks to half-bipeds, all glowing with the same electronic light. Most of them were flying around the place at impressive speeds, operating the various switches and contraptions on the trees without a single wasted movement. Others shared the walkways, trundling along on wheels or small purple hazes that allowed them to float inches off the ground.

Less common were actual humans, though none of them seemed to care about Aiko or Pelagio much. Man and woman alike were all dressed in spiffy-looking multicoloured shirts and gowns, commonly decorated with wide rings or ovals near the neck, wrists and waist. After seeing a few of these types, she worked up the courage to speak to them.

"Excuse me", she called to out one attractive-looking couple sharing the same conveyor belt walkway as her. "I'm looking for Mirambela Sorano. Have you seen her?"

The woman pushed aside a voluminous red hairspray mod haircut and laughed good-naturedly. "Oh, of course! Everyone here would love to visit Princess Mira. Let me guess... you want to get her autograph on something?"

"She really is amazing", the black-haired man with her followed up, pointing at the tallest and widest 'tree' in the Land. "The greatest genius in the world... she spends most of her time in the central spire, coming up with new inventions to make our lives better. You probably won't be able to get in though."

Aiko stared at the huge spire extending to the heavens, noticing only now that the highest concentration of the flying robots was around there. "Why not?"

The lady shrugged as if the answer was obvious. "As I said, everyone would love to be able to visit our dear princess Mira whenever they want, but her time is valuable. If she's busy, then the sentry robots won't let you in. Be careful now, dearie... if you try to force your way in, the sentries might just cast you down like you were common filth!"

"I'm a friend of Mira-senpai", Aiko said confidently, trying to push aside memories of their last few interactions. "I'm sure she'll have time for me."

"A friend of the princess!", the man sounded very impressed with her. "Well, don't let us keep you, go right ahead and visit our pride and joy."

"They seemed... nice", Aiko remarked once the couple were gone. "A bit too perky, but who am I to talk?"

Pelagio was less excited, merely watching for any robots that came too close to them. "Hmph. It's true. I have seen far less pleasant cognitions."

Sensing his concern, Aiko stopped and let the belt take her the rest of the way to the next junction. "Cognitions?"

Pelagio followed suit, gesturing with his taloned greaves to another woman passing them on a higher walkway who waved back to them.

"These appear to be humans, but they are not 'real' humans like the kind that populate your dimension, my lady. Like the robots you see, they are merely the product of your friend's deepest desires, nothing more. As such, their intellect can be somewhat... limited."

"That's mean", Aiko pouted. "They seemed perfectly fine. Helpful, too. Now we know where to find Mira-senpai."

Pelagio offered no further opinion, merely looking with a raptor's keen eyes towards their towering destination, a spire like none that had ever existed on earth. She could have stayed here for days marvelling at all the bizarre technology around them, but she couldn't forget why they were here.

As expected, there was more and more machinery evident to Aiko the closer they got to the spire on the walkways, most of it operated entirely by robots. Massive cubes of circuitry swelled, and occasionally a small branching section of walkway would detach and become an independent floating platform for the 'cognitions' to travel on.

"Mira-senpai has quite the imagination to create all this", Aiko observed once they had used one of the floating platforms themselves.

"Agreed", Pelagio said more distantly. "Since this world was formed out of her own subconscious. Just be careful now. A Land usually has strong defences around its ruler, out of the fear that someone might take them away."

That warning stopped Aiko's brisk walk. She peered across the next web of walkways they had to use, spotting a pair of box-shaped robots clearly guarding the walkway leading directly into the spire.

"But... we're here to get Mira-senpai out of here. That's why I went in."

None of the machines or cognitions around her reacted, but Pelagio looked alarmed. "Please, my lady. Be careful of what you say here. If we must save your friend, then we shall... but broadcasting that to her own protectors is unwise."

Sure enough, the instant the two of them got near the box-bots, one of them held up a two-pronged metal claw, speaking in a monotone machine voice that buzzed harshly on strong consonants. "Halt, citizen. Princess Mira does not wish to be disturbed at this time."

Aiko shrugged. "I'm Aiko Tsuruga, her friend. I think she'd like to see me."

The single white light that must have served as the machine's eye began to flicker rapidly. "Processing. Processing. Searching database for friend listing Aiko Tsuruga. Listing not found. Depart, citizen."

Aiko could hardly believe it was that simple. They hadn't come all this way just to get rejected by a walking toaster, though she could tell by the way Pelagio was tensing up that he was getting ready for something to happen.

"But... I am her friend! I helped her! Can you... check your list again?"

"Processing. Searching database for friend listing Aiko Tsuruga. Listing not found. Depart, citizen."

Damn. She fought down the urge to hit the robot. "Sir Pelagio?"

But it wasn't Pelagio who spoke up next. The sound came from behind them, loud and blaring and nearly as mechanical-sounding as the guard bots were.

"She is not Princess Mira's friend. Seize her!"

The rest happened too fast to follow, only put together properly in her memory afterwards. The guard bots' eye lights shifted from dead white to the angry threatening red of traffic lights. Their claws reached out, only to clatter uselessly on the walkway- Pelagio's sword had lashed out in a blink and severed both appendages.

But that did nothing to stop the other sentry robots around, or the huge one behind them that had spoken to them, drawing Aiko's frightened eyes to it. In mere moments, she found herself being grabbed by several sets of strong metal claws and forced down onto the walkway against her will. Beside her, Pelagio was being restrained by four more of them, cursing but unable to move his sword arm or shield.

Only the big one who had spoken was free, clomping towards them on a pair of heavy steel hooves the size of telephone poles. This one was fully bipedal and humanoid, but it was also nearly eight feet tall, fancy body plating far more technological than Pelagio's covering nearly every inch.

Nearly. But the thing that shocked Aiko the most about this robot had nothing to do with how strong its body plating looked, or how big it was. She'd seen many a robot on TV that was bigger and tougher.

It was those final inches that set her hair on end. Above all that mechanical muscle and circuitry and exposed cable plugs, the body became even more humanoid, finally giving away to dark brown flesh starting at the neckline and travelling up.

Aiko stared up past that, into Mirambela Sorano's leering face.

4/13 Saturday

After School

Noel Vitienne had lost all awareness of time or his own body. He knew at some point that he must have gone to Tosashimizu general hospital and requested to be let in to see Ayano Furusato.

He must have heard a refusal at that time, because he was still seated in one of the chairs in the main lobby. All he could do then was sit there and imagine what must be happening in the closed ward.

Beeping life sign monitors keeping careful track of the girl's nearly nonexistent pulse.

Clear IV lines jammed into the skin stubbornly refusing to let the patient die.

White-coated doctors speaking in hushed tones to each other the byzantine language they spent over five years and a fortune to learn.

And the body of Ayano Furusato lying motionless on a cot, her eyes and lips stubbornly shut, normally vibrant dark hair resting dead on the cushions, pale-skinned body giving no sign of ever waking up.

The red sketchbook seemed to help somewhat. It let him look through pages of images based on times when his head wasn't throbbing and his bones didn't feel like dust.

"Pretty."

The single word dragged him from his stupor to see the source. The woman standing over him was nearly statuesque and pale as Ms. Mattora, though definitely in a lower bracket for age between Noel's own and adulthood. More striking were her earrings, crystals of clear ice the nearly same tone of dark blue as her swirl of stringy hair.

Eyes an unusually near-white shade observed the sketchbook before turning to him. "Is that who you're here for now?"

"Yes", he said without resistance. It didn't matter to him if this person thought him overly sentimental for reacting this way over someone he'd only met a few years ago. He'd been called far worse things for being sentimental and crying when sad. Mainly by his father. "They say she's going to die."

"'They' aren't perfect", she told him sternly, taking the adjacent seat to look closer at his sketches. "If there wasn't a prescription medicine I needed to get here, I wouldn't be caught dead in this place. 'They' act like the living Gods of their little world in here, but you'd be amazed at how many cases they get where they can't pinpoint the cause."

As he closed the book in embarrassment, her expression shifted into something friendlier, though the smile still seemed like something she had to put on instead of a natural feature. "There's still so many things that humanity can't explain or comprehend, wouldn't you agree?"

As before, Noel didn't have the strength left to make any kind of counterargument. Luckily, he did agree with her statement. If every great mystery or vast unknown area in the universe was mapped out and quantified, that would leave no room for wonder. No room for doubt... no room for faith.

"I can still hold out faith", he croaked. "Faith that, however slim her given chances are at returning, that it is possible. Or that even if she should die, that it was for a greater reason... though I must hope for the former outcome."

"Can't say I agree with the latter", she agreed softly, holding out a long-nailed hand. "Sorry. I'm Cecille Yumika. I just came here to get my medicine, but then I recognized your school uniform, and I saw your face."

He considered it how long it took that name to click to be just one more sign of what kind of shape he was in. "Ah... you are related to Principal Tetsuo Yumika? Are you his...?"

"His sister", she cut him off fast, knowing full well that while she would never be able to pass as a student, she did look young enough for someone to arrive at the other logical conclusion. "His daughter is here too, actually. Tosashimizu isn't big enough to have more than one major hospital."

"His daughter", Noel repeated dully, not wanting to hear about yet more tragedy.

"In the same ward as your friend", Cecille explained, her voice equally drained of feeling despite her earlier words. "So you can probably imagine his reaction to this situation."

He considered it likely that their principal was having a reaction not unlike his own. Emotional numbness and grief, covering up a mad desire to find whoever was responsible for it and make them pay.

But there was no one responsible. What little information he'd gleaned pointed only to the victim. Even with an obvious target, he couldn't forget his oath. And try as he might, he couldn't quite forget the accusing tone of Ayano's parents, blindly seeking a target in a similar state to his own, and finding it in the one other person who had cared about her enough to start asking questions.

The weight of that accusation prevented him from looking Cecille in the eye, and he felt a hand gripping his chest as though she was worried he might fall out of the chair. "Looks to me like this was much more than some simple high school fling. And yet, you're the only one here."

Noel amazed them both with a brief, whispery laugh. "She wasn't exactly the most popular student in Koashimizu. Well, she was, but then... some students don't like that she had me as her boyfriend."

He still couldn't quite look up into Cecille's face, but he could feel the anger radiating from her regardless. "And that idiocy's still happening. My brother's useless as always."

There was the strange urge to defend the man who shared in his grief, and he decided to act on it. It might help get his mind off worse things. "How unkind of you. He tries."

"He tries and fails", Cecille corrected sharply, swiftly transferring her anger between targets as she stood. "He always fails. I honestly can't say if it's just horrible luck or if he's got some kind of failure complex... but the end result is the same. Don't count on your principal for much, if anything. I made the same mistake once."

This sounds... complicated, he mused. His family were at home, thousands of miles away. He didn't like entertaining the idea that he had travelled to Japan, studying abroad just to get away from certain less pleasant members of that large group for a while, but it would be a lie to claim the thought had never entered his head.

Now here he was with a family just as divided by boundaries and personal beliefs. "It sounds as though you two have had a difficult time understanding one another. My siblings are sometimes the same way."

Cecille barked a scornful laugh. "That might be the most polite way of putting it I've ever heard. Yes, I suppose."

Noel stood, facing her now that he was able to properly lift his head again. Talking to someone like this seemed to have shed the weight. He spread one hand around the hospital in a gesture. "Then I must repay your kind advice with some of my own. You'd do well to reach out to him when the time is right. Perhaps you two have reasons to remain at odds, but he is still family. Blut ist dicker."

She didn't look as impressed as Noel had hoped by his speech, but at least she didn't laugh at him. Far from it, in fact- she put one hand to a regal chin as if contemplating his words. "Well I hope you never change your tune about that- because that would mean you've seen his true face, and suffered for it. You..."

Taking a brief look around to ensure no one was watching, Cecille snapped her long fingers, a most un-adult expression taking over her face. "You know what? Screw it. I can't stand seeing somebody else like this. Not when there's something that I can do about it."

Admittedly unreliable danger senses tingling, Noel took a step back. "Miss Yumika, I must protest."

She blinked. "Protest about what? You don't even know what I was planning on- oh. Okay, you can just go ahead and purge those kinds of thoughts from your head. I'm 34 years old, you idiot child. I might get arrested for so much as implying anything like that. Although, I suppose with your looks, you must get offers from the girls at school all the time, right?"

He couldn't smile just yet, but she had brought out a stronger laugh he thought had been lost forevermore. "The ones who aren't afraid of the wrath of their peers, yes. And my name is Noel Vitienne, miss Yumika."

"I knew it", she said triumphantly. "Some of the kids at the school I teach at actually dye their hair just to look like you. It's funny seeing them try to compete with each other." Brushing her own hair back, she matched his earnest stare.

"I was talking about something else. Something I found out about when I was young." Watching through the window over his head as the moon began to emerge from behind a cloud bank it had covered in unearthly light, she nodded, smiling. "If you're up for it, meet me at Shiritsu Nakanohama after lunch tomorrow. Trust me, Mr. Vitienne... this might change your whole world for the better."

No... this is wrong.

This wasn't Mirambela Sorano. It was impossible, for quite a number of reasons now that Aiko had the time to consider it.

Mirambela wasn't eight feet tall, for one thing. The face cruelly smirking down at her was only looking with one normal eye, though even that was an orb of searing molten red and gold that couldn't have possibly occurred in a normal human. Her right arm tapered into a utilitarian cylinder that was probably a weapon, and the other was a heavy steel gauntlet with red lights emitting from the palm.

The other half of her face was taken up by more of the same flawless metal plating as the rest of her body, with a round red machine lens jutting out where her other eye should have been. The lens made miniscule movements independent of her other eye, adjusting itself as the massive machine with her friend's face spoke again.

"She lies. She is not Princess Mira's friend. She is filth, trying to infiltrate the spire and threaten the princess!"

Aiko winced, and not because of the accusation. Mira's dark lips were opening to speak, but when they did so, the voice that came out was a revolting mishmash of Mira's own accented voice, and the harshly buzzing mechanical tone of the sentry bots. Both were far louder and more emotional as she made her accusation.

Could it be Mirambela? She knew so little. Was this what Faraway Lands did to people unfortunate enough to stumble through the gate of green light? No, Aiko decided in complete confidence. This bipedal machine had none of Mira's grace or her kindness in her. It had her face, and it had her voice. Nothing else.

"You!", she struggled to grunt out, cold metal claws digging into her chest. "What have you done with Senpai? Answer me! Why do you have her face?!"

The mechanical hulk ignored her, the part of her lips that was not consumed by space-age technology twisting into a cruel grin. "Stupid filth doesn't belong anywhere near princess Mira. Cast her down into the darkness where she belongs. Her stupid accomplice as well! Two more for the cleansing!"

"Acknowledged", a dozen security bots chorused with much less enthusiasm. Then she was being lifted up against her will, dozens of unyielding machines forcing her over walkway's protective field as she and Pelagio both screamed in protest.

She had two seconds to stare into the chasm before it swallowed her.

Waking up in strange places was getting to be a bad habit. It had allowed her to develop a checklist of what to do first.

People nearby, check. The place was extremely dark, with only faint light shining down from above, but Aiko did see a man leaning near a metal pole.

Surroundings, check. The pole was one of many which she realized had to be the bases of the mechanical 'trees'. They were larger at the bottom, but she saw no switches or gadgets covering them as they had above. The only lights were the ones up where she had been.

"Uuugh."

The noise came from directly beneath her, and Aiko sat up with a start. Pelagio lay sprawled at her feet, obviously alive but beaten.

"Sir Pelagio", she observed in dismay, horrified that she had squashed him in the fall. "You saved me. Don't worry. I'll get help for you."

The bird-knight made a noise that couldn't be identified as affirmative or negative, but he couldn't get up to stop her anyway.

"Hey!", she called out as loudly as she could to the leaning man she'd seen before. "My friend needs help! I need a medic over here!"

But the man was clearly different from the cognitions she'd spoken with in the land above. He was dishevelled with overgrown, dirty hair and wearing only rags. As he turned to the noise, Aiko saw that his eyes were... off. Out of focus and colourless, unable to zero in on what was making the noise.

"Gaaahhhh", the man grunted dully, a thin stream of drool running down his face. "Gooooooh."

Aiko bowed her head in sympathy. She had never seen a legitimate, mentally deficient person before, but she's heard the stories and this man fit all the signs she had heard about. Whatever his condition, he obviously wouldn't be of any help to her. "I'm so sorry, but I need help for my friend... hey! Anyone? Help! We need help! My friend is hurt!"

Unfortunately, while she did see other people as she walked further into the dark forest, they all seemed to be in the same condition as the man. One of them, a woman, was butting her head against a column for no discernible reason. Beside her, a man was muttering gibberish to himself. One of the other women was at least a bit more active, running between the trees and laughing disturbingly at nothing. Looking closer, Aiko saw that the woman had Ms. Mattora's elegant face.

Aiko breathed deep, refusing to let the horrors of this place get to her when her friend needed help. Both of them did. Mirambela was still here as well, no doubt under the protection of that awful machine woman copying her face and voice.

Heading back and testing to see, she confirmed that the fallen Pelagio was indeed as heavy as he looked. Too heavy for her to lift and carry. What then? Do I dare leave him in this place? Will the people here hurt him?

"My lady."

Aiko looked down. Pelagio still looked dazed, but he was slowly standing back up. "Fear not for me. I gladly lay down my life to protect you from harm. I do not require-Oooh..."

He groaned and nearly fell back down, but Aiko was there to catch him. "Sir Pelagio... here, lean on me. I'll get you out of here." He was still quite heavy, but she could bear it. She had to.

It was that slow trip through the darkened woods that made her wonder about the time. It had been the tail end of the afternoon when she had gone through the so-called 'gate' into this strange world, and she knew several hours at least had passed since then. Yet, the faint orange glimmer of the afternoon sun continued to aid them.

"Time-ugh. Time passes differently in Faraway Lands, my lady", Pelagio answered when asked. "In your world, it is still-ah... the early evening. You need not worry about being feared missing like that other girl."

"Incredible", she noted. That was one less thing to worry about, but it did remind her of something else. "Ayano-san... did she come here too?"

"Most-ah! Most likely", Pelagio confessed over the howls of the mad. "Not here specifically, because this is Mira's Land. But I consider it most likely that she-ugh. That she travelled through the gate to Faraway Lands, my lady. Perhaps she found her own Land."

"And it killed her", Aiko finished in bleak terror. "Or close enough. She wasn't breathing at all."

"Not exactly", Pelagio corrected her. He looked about to explain further, but then the worst pain yet overcame him and they had to stop, Aiko setting him down next to a small column. "My injuries are taking far too long to recover", he complained, round eyes blinking up at her trying to hide the pain. "I am... worthless to you like this. You should go. Leave me be."

The suggestion sounded ridiculous to her, and she let him know with her face just how ridiculous it was. She bent down, examining his wounds but finding no obvious signs of the pain. First Aid wouldn't help a bird. "A knight serves and protects his lady", she told him sternly, human eyes focused in on his side orbs. "But the lady has to respect her loyal knight in return. Otherwise, it's just slavery."

"My... lady", Pelagio whispered, his falcon eyes misting over. "You are so... very wise... and kind. I am... honoured to be your sworn protector. If to remain here with me is what you wish, then I-ugh! I shall... abide."

He means it, she realized for the first time, feeling hollow. This isn't just some silly game he's playing. He actually wants to protect me. He attacked Kujou for me. He's been watching over me the whole week. He's not even human, and yet... I...

Words weren't enough. Not for this.

Brushing herself off, Aiko leaned down and planted a light kiss on his metal beak. "I'm just another girl. Just a high school student, trying to find a new home there. I don't know what I did to earn you as a guardian, but whatever it is... I'm glad that I did. Thank you, sir Pelagio."

Birds couldn't blush, but she felt the emotion behind his words. "It is... my honour, my lady."

o