OCTOBER 13th, 1984
Rokkenjima Island

"Aaaah, that steak was to die for!" Battler cried as he flopped back into the sofa cushions, patting his stomach with a pleased sigh. "I can't believe you get to eat food like that every day!"

"Gouda-san's meal was indeed delicious," George agreed, relaxing into one of the parlor chairs with a far milder echo of his younger cousin's claim. "He must have gone to great effort to prepare it for us."

"Heh, it probably wasn't that hard," Jessica dismissed, her grin and following praise softening a claim that might well have come off as flippant otherwise. "He pulls off feats like all of the time- He just turned it up a notch for the sake of the conference."

"Seriously?" Battler asked in half-amazement, half-disinterest, the vague tone beneath the question prompting no real answer. And Jessica must have understood that, for she allowed the conversation to trail off, leaving a comfortable silence to sprout up between the three that was filled only by the sound effects of some cartoon show and the laughter of the youngest two cousins.

In a sense, it was a quiet moment all three needed. They were sincerely complimenting the skill of the chef, but the topic was more a place of refuge for them, rather than a real topic of interest. It was just far easier to focus on that, than what was said over lunch.

It wasn't like anything bad really happened. No one had been fighting- The worse that had been shared were a few thinly veiled snipes between the adults, and even those had been spare and quickly overwhelmed by the majority and their well-meaning intent to have a happy reunion. The siblings had shared news with one another, the in-laws had traded their opinions of the meal served, everyone had cooed over how cute Maria and Ange were getting, Battler had been ribbed left and right about his height and grades and if he had any special someone yet… Really, if anyone outside the group had been listening in, they would have observed nothing more than the conversations typical of any normal family get-together!

But, there had been one outsider to the group- A doctor, who had been introduced to Battler as a 'Dr. Nanjo'.

And the reason he was there…

"Will we get to see you here on the island the whole weekend, Dr. Nanjo?"

"I… believe so, Ushiromiya-san."

"Dr. Nanjo has been good enough to stay with us often, Eva-san. Especially this last month or so- Father says he greatly enjoys his company."

The smile faded from Battler's face as he considered to that echo, and he slowly opened his eyes, just to stare up at the ceiling.

"…hey, Jessica." He dropped his voice for the sake of the girls, watching television on the other side of the parlor, but there was no denying that the somber edge that marked his mumblings due to his quiet tones. "The old man- He's not doing well, is he?"

Jessica took a quick checking glance towards the kids, and after seeing neither had noticed the question, she answered- Deflating somewhat as she leaned her back against the arm of the sofa. "No, I don't think so… No one's willing to ever admit anything, but he's been holing himself up in that study of his more and more often this year. I see him maybe once every seven days, if that, and that doctor friend of his really has been around a lot. He's nice, don't get me wrong, but… It feels like he's haunting the place, just waiting- Like some grim reaper or something."

"…could Grandfather be avoiding us, to hide his symptoms? Or that he is too sick to handle even a meal with us without tiring?"

Jessica shrugged at George's hesitant question, not even turning to face them. "Who knows… He's as lively and stern as ever when I see him. It could just be Grandfather being Grandfather."

Maybe so, but there was no denying their parents feared the worst. They might have played at ease during lunch, in front of them, but all three cousins knew exactly why they had shooed the kids off as soon as desert was cleared, shutting themselves away in the dining room.

There was only one topic those adults would likely work so hard to keep from their ears.

"…aaah, come on!" Battler threw himself to his feet with an impatient spring, bringing all eyes in the room towards him and his determined frown. "What are we lazing around here for?! We've got a whole island here, don't we? Why don't we go exploring or something?!"

"Explore?" Ange echoed, words lilting on a clear interest, only for Maria to override her with a dragging tease of a warning.

"Uuu- Not the forest, we can't go in there. That's the witch's wood."

"-eh?" Battler peered curiously down at the girl, squatting before the television. The witch's- Where had she picked that up? The- phrase sounded pretty familiar when he thought about it, but that wonder was all but buried beneath an uneasy pang that hit him, seeing the delighted grin Maria had said that with.

What was she…

"-I was thinking we could go to the beach." Battler turned about at Jessica's interjection, successfully distracted by the hesitance in his cousin's voice, if not the suggestion. She snuck a look towards the door as she spoke, as if expecting someone to appear. "But we have to wait here first. After we got kicked out of the dining room, I asked Kumasawa-san to tell her to come meet us here."

"-her who?"

But neither of them answered him. When he looked to George, he found the older man looking to the window, smiling to himself in an odd, relieved manner, and before Battler could ask or turn the question on Jessica again, there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me…"

"Ah," Jessica cried, bouncing away from the sofa edge to make for the door as George sharply rose, and Battler and the kids could only look on, perplexed. "It's fine, come on in!"

…it was a girl.

A pretty, dark-haired little servant girl opened the door, eyes shyly caught on the carpet as she shuffled in and made a little bow. "I hope I'm not disturbing you…"

"Ah, there you are! I was afraid they kept you caught in the kitchen again." Jessica rushed over and moved fully behind the girl, pressing her encouragingly forward into the room. The girl looked less than thrilled about it beneath her demures, but Battler could barely register that, caught as he was in an unblinking daze. He stared, mind straining under roaring thoughts that just would not connect, trying to figure out why he recognized-

"We were all waiting for you!"

"I- I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Not at all, not at all. You know everybody, of course– Though, you haven't seen Battler in a while, huh?" The blush that seemed permanently stained on the girl's cheeks spread a little farther as Jessica not only drew their joint attention to the servant, but called out Battler in particular to interact with her. "Hey, you remember Shannon, don't you Battler?"

And finally it clicked.

"-Shannon-chan!" he cried, the surprised relief of revelation in his smile. "I'll be, is that really you?! No way… Didn't you turn out pretty?!"

"T-that's kind of you to say, Battler-sama. It's good to see you again."

Battler was more than ready to dismiss the stumbling niceties, curiosity about this unexpected familiar face leaving him anxious to sweep them away in favor of more familiar chatter- But Shannon's shy smile bypassed him before he could even manage it, focusing on the other man in the room with a warm, steadier smile. "And you, George-sama…"

"Likewise, of course," George offered the girl a soft grin, as if to reassure her, and indeed Shannon seemed to calm under his gaze, as if she had found some anchor against her own nerves within his smile.

It was curious thing that made Battler pause, intrigued but still thrown off by the exchange, and in that stutter something tugged on his pant leg.

He looked down to find Ange there, frowning up at him. "You know?"

"-ah, of course I know her!" Battler scooped the girl up in his arms, bringing her on eye-level with everyone else. "This is Shannon-chan, she was working here the last time I visited, too- I never would have guessed you'd still be here!"

"Battler!" Jessica smacked at his arms with a sharp glare, making him jump and glower back at her.

What?! He'd meant he was impressed! Not many people would stick with a single job that long, would they? Especially if they started that young!

Before he could begin to doubt his own wording, though, Shannon dipped her head, a faint smile at her lips. "Yes, the family has been good enough to keep me in their service for a long time."

"Good for us, you mean," Jessica emphasized, her expression brightening as she turned her focus on her. "I for one am relieved you're still here, Shannon."

"Don't go saying it like that, Jessica-chan… We're all glad to have Shannon-chan here with us."

The shy flush that had popped up on the girl's face when Jessica spoke went deep red at George's soft input, and while Shannon looked pleased with the compliments, Battler couldn't shake the feeling that he had goofed up somewhere. It knocked him off balance, and he rushed into a question with an awkwardly smiling, stumbling haste. "We were just talking about going to the beach, you want to join us?"

"Ah… Thank you, but my break isn't very long- I have to go clean the second floor in half an hour."

"Ah, that so…"

Too bad, but before he could really come back from the necessary refusal, Jessica jumped in with a quick, "That's why I brought this!" She held out a deck of cards she must have had in her coat pocket, grinning widely. "I knew you wouldn't have a long time, but you can stick around long enough to play a game with us, right? I promised Maria-chan I'd show her how to play Daihinmin."

"Uu- Needy! Needy!" Maria cried as she finally got up from before the television, overhearing the name of the game.

"W-well," Shannon stumbled, grinning down at Maria as she popped up at her side. "I'm afraid I've never played that, myself."

"Don't worry, it's fairly simple," George assured, motioning invitingly to the end table with an easy confidence Battler wasn't used to seeing on him. "I could teach you in a few minutes, and we would still have enough time for a game."

"-then I'd be happy to join, George-sama," Shannon answered, looking simply delighted with the idea as she followed his lead to the table.

Battler moved to follow them, but Jessica caught his arm.

"Not yet- We can tell Maria how to play over by the television."

"Huh? But why-" Battler was cut off when Jessica tugged again, not away but down to where she could put her hand to his ear and whisper, out of the hearing of the curious-eyed Ange, still in his arms. "Because, they haven't had a chance to talk to each other yet! We should leave them alone for a bit?"

"Eeh?!" Battler jolted back, but thankfully didn't burst out loud enough that George or Shannon looked up… from where they were sitting together, leaning close to talk as they smiled at one another. "Are, those two an item?!"

"Heh, sort of," Jessica crossed her arms, smiling over at the pair with the satisfaction of someone pleased with their work. "They haven't said so yet, but they're both obviously into each other, and they've stopped outright denying it when I suggest it to them separately. They just need more time and space to feel it out together, you'll see."

"No way…" Battler never would have guessed! …and given he was likely just seconds from making even more pointed compliments to the girl he remembered with fuzzy but fond recollection, he felt grateful for Jessica warning him before he went and embarrassed himself too horribly.

"-what are you talking about?" Ange asked, frowning up at the two like they were trying to hide something from her. –which was technically true, but Jessica just gave off a quick, sharp laugh with a wave.

"Nothing, Ange-chan! –hey, you want to learn to play the game with along Maria-chan?"

"Uu- Play with Maria-chan, Ange!"

"-cards?"

"-yeah," Battler answered, knocking himself out of his lingering daze enough to set the girl down on her own feet, grinning at her. "Daihinmin's fun, Ange-chan. You'll like it!"

His little sister didn't look quite convinced, but she willingly watched as Jessica started pulling out the cards and explaining the rules… Freeing Battler enough to change peering over his shoulder again… To catch George chuckling at something as he pat Shannon on the head, prompting a new blush from the girl.

George-aniki and Shannon-chan, huh? He chuckled to himself, a quiet, subdued emotion he couldn't quite place flowing through him as he turned his back on them again, focusing on the girls. Good for them…

"-are we really certain Grandfather is coming?"

"Enough, Jessica. We must be patient."

"You're not wrong, though- Granddad's sure taking his time with this one."

Shannon watched as Battler leaned in enough to whisper that, earning back a quiet agreement from Jessica.

She could see their profiles as they spoke, but neither turned to look at her. They had both smiled at her when they entered, and looked for excuses at first to look her way and mutely include her in the family proceedings… But it had been twenty minutes since the family sat down to await the arrival of the Head for dinner.

In that time, they had forgotten her.

Shannon stared into that reality with blank eyes- Coming to life with a soft smile only when George or Maria looked to at her from across the table and their cousins' head. George- He had seemed strangely tense when she first met him in the parlor, with his cousins. No one else had seemed to notice, but she had… But he had calmed since, his smiles growing more real during their precious chance to speak alone over the card game. It was the gentle, warm man she knew so well that looked at her from across the table, and she treasured every look. Every glance was like an anchor of light to her, there in that silent, tense room.

A distraction, from her…

She slowly turned her gaze slightly, giving in to the impulse to look at her- At the woman with long, golden hair, and the stylish outfit, who stood just beside Shannon.

Beatrice…

The witch- She had been there, beside her, all afternoon. Every moment Shannon was in the parlor, every second since the family filed into the dining room, Beatrice had been there, too.

She hadn't said anything- Not once. She never interrupted Shannon's work or distracted her from the people around her.

She was just… There… Staring…

Not at Shannon- But Battler.

She looked at him like she was drowning, the usual sharp, determined manner of the witch completely stuffed out with a single look at that young man, leaving behind a woman broken, and stifled.

I'm so sorry… Shannon wanted to help her, but it was her fault, and she wasn't even really willing to do the one thing that would relieve the witch.

'If, by the time Battler comes back, these sprouts have yet to wither, and you wish for it, I'll return these sprouts to you.' …that's what you said, wasn't it?

Clearly, the sprouts of love still lived, within Beatrice's chest… But Shannon had no room for them anymore in her own- She had already planted new seeds there, and they were just beginning to spring up, grow into some far more wonderful than she could have ever hoped for. She couldn't dig them up, to replant what Beatrice sheltered for her.

And, even if, she were free to take them… Battler had not come back…

Not for her.

He doesn't remember. She was certain of that. She hadn't asked, and Battler certainly knew her, that much was true… But he had not said anything- Had only implied his own ignorance.

'I never would have guessed you'd still be here!'

Never would have guessed… If you were so certain, that I was no longer a servant here, then why didn't you come back for me?

The answer was simple… He had forgotten. Or, her fears had been right, and he had never meant it as a promise to begin with. She had invented the promise and the trial with her own hands.

She did not know… And really, it did not matter. Not for herself anymore.

But… the witch…

"…he really, came back…"

Shannon clenched her teeth, fighting the urge to reply to the witch no one else could see. But she still thought the question.

-had that been said out of joy… Or sorrow…?

"Pardon me." All eyes turned to the door to find Genji there, bowing in the entrance way. "He has arrived. I present to you, the master of Rokkenjima, Lord Kinzo Ushiromiya."

Those who had not already risen in anticipation jumped to their feet as the familiar, imposing figure of the lord filled the doorway.

"F-Father," Krauss started, thrown suddenly out of his conversation with Rudolf by the patriarch's appearance. "We're so glad you could join us-"

"Save your veiled complaints," Kinzo cut in with a passing impatience, his eyes already busy surveying the rest of the people at the table- The faces of his own family, shocked and fearful and relieved all at once. "So, you all came this year."

"O-Of course we did, Father," Eva answered for them all, putting on a smile more brave than true as she stood up. "We have all been looking forward to it- To seeing you."

"I admit we were a touch anxious," Rudolf admitted with would-be nonchalance as he tugged at his tie. "-when you didn't show up for lunch today."

"Yes, I'm so glad to see you look well," Rosa agreed, slowly easing into a smile that cracked like a plate slammed to the ground as soon as Kinzo answered her.

"Well? HAhahaha- I am perfectly fine! You think I am so frail that I was avoiding you because of my health?! Fools!"

"-it is only natural, isn't it, Kinzo-sama, for family to worry for one another?"

The politely hesitant, yet firm counter from the doctor sitting on the far side of the table drew a quiet, considering noise from the master, and he moved without further word for the first seat.

As he sat, his eyes slid up again and, seemingly at random, found Shannon.

The gaze of the master was stern enough in passing, but she was used to that much. It was the way it hung pointedly beyond a moment that made the servant girl look down at her shoes.

He did that sometimes… Had been, off and on, for months. Just, stared at her, like she was out of place somehow. Or, perhaps, that she was in the wrong place?

She didn't know what to make of it, but it made her nervous.

As such, she blocked out much of the conversation, only staying honed in enough to catch her name, should it be mentioned, or a call for more water.

Instead she listened to Beatrice, still standing beside her. Still staring at Battler.

"…I do not understand him. Why does he remember you, but not his promise? Why did he greet you so warmly, but never come back- Never write? Did you ever matter him… Or didn't you?"

It does not matter, Shannon wanted to say- But she could not. That would be too cruel. It might harden her own heart as she needed to, but it would hurt the witch- Belittle the feelings Shannon had left to her- Feelings she had called too precious to give up, once upon a time.

Yes… What did that say, that she even now considered that pain and love too precious to simply forget, and yet she was not willing to accept them?

"-and that is all you have to say?!"

The sudden yell tossed Shannon back into the reality before her- The family having dinner before her. A dinner that had stalled, because-

Kinzo was standing, face lit with rage as he stared at-

Battler.