Five years ago

When Nathaniel was five, and I was twelve, I realized how this life was affecting his development. He had nannies, but they were always replaced every other month.

I stepped into our home as the nanny rose from the couch. I nodded to her as Nathaniel dropped his toy elephant and ran to me. He hugged my knees and pulled me back towards the toy-strewed carpet. I snorted. "Sure. I'll play."

"Nathaniel, do you want to tell your sister how you've behaved?" the nanny asked, sending him a raised eyebrow.

Nathaniel didn't even glance at her. He picked up a soft frog and dumped it into my hands as I took a seat next to him. I sat, staring at my brother as he played with his toys. The nanny repeated her question more insistently, but her voice sounded distant, like she was on the other side of a thin wall. Nathaniel continued to play with his elephant, ignoring the woman. Something clicked.

"Nathaniel?" I asked.

He looked at me with a curious smile. I frowned and turned to the nanny.

"Is that what you're talking about? Him ignoring you?"

Her gaze darted from me to Nathaniel. "Yes, miss."

I looked back at Nathaniel. This was the nanny's first day, and usually I had to let them know that Nathaniel wasn't going to respond to them much. Nathaniel only responded to his care takers when the matter was important.

But it was odd.

I glanced back at the woman. "Um . . . "

"Sylvia, miss."

"Sylvia, what age to children usually start talking?"

She hesitated. "One, miss."

I flinched. How did I not know that? Why didn't I notice? He had plenty of children's shows, ones that taught kids letters and numbers. I had assumed Nathaniel would pick up on it. The nannies had tried bringing his silence up with me, but I shut them down. I was arrogant, refusing any help from them, determined to raise Nathaniel myself. Now he was behind and it was my fault.

My face twisted as panic flooded my veins. "Please leave." Sylvia nodded and left, the door beeped as it shut behind her, confirming her exit.

"Nathaniel, come on, we're going upstairs." I plastered a calm smile back on my face as I took his hand. The thought of bringing Nathaniel upstairs with me was revolting, but the idea of leaving him with a nanny after this revelation felt even worse.

I helped Nathaniel into his shoes, bright pink ones with blue cartoon cats animated on the sides. He smiled as the cats ran across the edges of the soles, and I noticed his eye patch had slid onto his nose.

Ignoring the guilt bubbling up inside me, I reached out and readjusted it. Nathaniel watched me, his smile gone and his expression on the verge of worried. I reinforced my smile, refusing to let him see my worry, before poking him on the nose. "Boop."

He giggled and pushed my hand away. My smile grew a fraction more genuine as I pulled him back to his feet and we left for the elevator. Nathaniel's curiosity drew him to the elevator buttons. He stepped toward them, hands outstretched to press as many as he could, before I grabbed his hands, spinning him around.

"Jump when I do," I said as the elevator slowed. I knew Nathaniel wouldn't get the timing right, so I grabbed him under the arms as the elevators momentum slowed abruptly. I jumped, letting the momentum carry us higher than we could on our own. He giggled as we landed with a thud.

We stepped out of the elevator and past the soldiers. I stopped at the receptionist's desk. "Is Adrian here?"

The man's gaze flicked up, then away. "He's on the training floor."

Another elevator ride later, during which Nathaniel pressed two extra buttons and we repeated our jump, we got to the training floor.

A boom echoed through the sterile room as we entered. Adrian's arm swung back in a blur, returning to his side after delivering a blow to his sparring partner. The man stumbled back, coughing and clutching his throat from the hit Adrian landed with his false knife.

Adrian let him retreat from the match as he turned to face us. A smile spread across his face as he panted.

"Hello. What are you both doing here?" He slipped the dull knife into his belt, striding past his scientists and assistants to us.

"I needed to talk to you about Nathaniel." I said, a sneer curling my lip despite my effort to suppress it.

"What about him?"

"He's five. He should be talking by now, shouldn't he? And ignoring his nannies isn't normal either, right?"

"You're right. A child with normal development should be speaking and responding now." He grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "But what do you want me to do about it?"

I stopped fighting my sneer. "You tell me. You're the adult here."

Adrian knelt, getting closer to Nathaniel's level. Nathaniel's grip in my hand loosened as he tried to pull away, but I gripped him tight. He was safest near me.

"Well, he doesn't have any other children to talk to," Adrian said, eyeing Nathaniel, "but there is a program that might help. It's the Children's Development and Interaction program. It's supposed to help children learn to interact with others after traumatic experiences."

"He doesn't need therapy; he needs friends."

"Exactly. Here." Adrian waved a hand, gesturing one of his assistants over and took a screen from him. He tapped it a few times before handing it to me. On it were a series of children's faces, all with a name and a number beneath.

"What is this?" I asked, scrolling down the sea of young faces. Each photo was different, a girl sitting in a park, a boy holding up a crude painting, a girl who's cheeks were bright from cold.

"They're children who've been donated, in a way. Every child on that screen is dead." My gaze snapped up to meet his, but he continued. "Their parents decided to donate scans of their brains and personalities to construct AIs to help this program's cause. Like a memorial to the children almost."

I stared at the faces of the dead kids, trying to wrap my head around the idea of letting Nathaniel talk to digital echoes of people. It was wonderful, the perfect answer to my problem. But it was horrible, holding the echoes of children in limbo, using them as easily as copy and paste. But I didn't have any other options.

"How does this work?" I asked, looking back to Adrian.

"You can pick one or two of them: I recommend two. I will have them installed onto the computer of your home and screens. They will look exactly like normal children, but they'll only show up as projections in your home and images on your handhelds." Adrian tapped the screen, bringing up a photo of a see-through child, a soft glow surrounding them as they stood in a living room. "They won't have their actual AI personalities for a few weeks, but a therapist-like setting to get your brother accustomed to them. After that though, he can talk to them and play with them like normal children, only immaterial."

I nodded slowly. "I'll pick two by tonight."

"All right." Adrian said, standing up.

I turned to leave but Adrian's hand on my shoulder stopped me. "I have something to tell you." His voice lowered, more serious. I faced him and waited, bracing myself for what his tone implied. Red danced across Adrian's eyes as he smiled down on me. "You remember what this is?"

"Yes."

"You're going to have surgery in a few weeks to get one of your own."

My hand, despite holding Nathaniel's, felt like ice. Everything he'd been doing for the past two years was starting to come together. I'd suspected it for months now. I was growing ignorant of the normal world, but not stupid. All the constant training, the choice, and now this. It stripped away what little hope I'd been clinging to, desperately hoping I was mistaken, but this took away my last sanctuary of denial.

Adrian watched me with a cold look, letting me piece it together before he spoke. "You understand. And you've been getting closer to the truth now. I suspect you know what's coming now." He knelt down again, looking me in the eye. "You'll need to stop this pathetic game you're playing and let go." He watched me for another moment before standing and walking back onto the training mat. "I'll speak with you again later."

I turned and walked back to the elevator, Nathaniel's hand in mine and the other gripping the screen. I didn't let myself think on the revelation. That would come later, after I was out of Nathaniel's sight. Numbness crawled across my mind as I leaned against the elevator wall. I couldn't find the motivation to stop Nathaniel from pressing every button he could reach.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I chose Mika and Rutile to be Nathaniel's new friends. They'd both died when they were seven, so a little older than Nathaniel, but that might be best. I didn't want the equivalent of two more chaotic children for the nannies to babysit. A child that was older would have more maturity, if only a little, but not old enough to be distant from Nathaniel.

I didn't look into their families or how they'd died, just stuck to their ages and personalities. Tapping the screen, I sent Adrian my decision as Nathaniel played with his toys on the carpet. One hour later, a panel opened on the glass wall next to me. The message 'to the guardian' scrolled across the dark square in soft white letters.

I stood from the carpet and walked over to tap the panel. The panel split, and two faces stared at me from the wall.

One was a boy, Mika. His hair, the color of a starless sky, fell to his shoulders. His warm eyes matched his chocolate skin and thick eyebrows. His calm smile, and eyes held a maturity beyond his age. The other face, Rutile, was a girl with pale skin, a mess of freckles and choppy short blond hair. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Hello," they said in unison, "are you the guardian of Nathaniel Velafied?"

"I am. And you're Mika and Rutile?"

"Yes, we will now temporarily shut down our therapy setting and introduce ourselves."

Mika blinked and gave me a warm smile. "Hello, I'm Mika."

I watched him, trying to see past the screen to the boy this was supposed to be. "Hello, Mika. I'm Nathaniel's older sister."

Mika nodded. "So is that Nathaniel?" Mika's eyes moved to look over my shoulder.

"Yes, that's him. So can you tell me what you're like?" I still watched the boy's eyes, realizing that the question of these children's minds would haunt me.

Mika shrugged. "Well I've been told I'm kind, calm, and I've heard 'mature for my age' pretty often."

"Hmm." I said, and looked to Rutile.

"Heya," she said, grinning.

"Rutile, right?"

"Yep, otherwise known as trouble. But I'm tons of fun. Nathaniel will have a great time when I'm around." She grinned, joy glittering in her eyes.

"I hope so. So, you should meet him now. You'll be returning to you 'therapy settings' for a while, right?"

Mika smiled softly. "Until Nathaniel is prepared for more natural child interactions, yes."

"Okay. Go ahead then."

Mika and Rutile's images vanished, and behind me a light flickered on. I turned to see two glowing figures, Mika and Rutile, standing in the room. Nathaniel froze, toys forgotten, and stared in confusion between the two children and me.

I knelt beside Nathaniel. "Nathaniel, these two are here to meet you. They want to be friends."

Mika knelt beside us, smiling warmly at my brother. "Hello Nathaniel. My name's Mika. It's great to meet you."

Rutile joined us, wearing a matching, plastic smile. "And I'm Rutile. Would you like to play?" Rutile held out a hand, and bubbles sprang from her palm. They were projections, like Rutile, but Nathaniel stared at them and reached out to grab one. It popped when he touched it and he laughed, reaching out to grab more of them.

I smiled, feeling some of the darkness lift from me as Nathaniel laughed. Despite my unease, I'd made the right decision. He'd needed this.

Getting to my feet, I left Nathaniel to get acquainted with his new companions. In the kitchen, I sat down and took a deep breath. I needed to start thinking about Nathaniel more. I was busy but that was no excuse. I was his big sister and I needed to take care of him. This antisocial issue wasn't his only problem, he needed school and hobbies too. I would need to ask Adrian about that.

My screen buzzed and I glanced down, a small seed of dread appearing in my core, and pulled the device from my pocket. A black box of text informed me that Adrian wanted to see me.

In the other room, Nathaniel laughed, but the sound did nothing to drive away the return of the dark weight in my heart.

Present:

There was a stillness to the night here I'd never experienced. A hush of human voices and crackle of fire replaced the roar of machinery. I walked down what I supposed was this world's equivalent of an alley. The back of wooden stalls and shops faced a narrow dirt road. The buzz of crowds slipped through cloth walls as shadows played across them and smoke rose from the chimneys.

There were plenty of torches and fire pits here, and I hadn't found a single electrical light. As I passed a man pulling a wooden cart, I realized, with some bemusement, that this world likely didn't have electricity at all. Which was terribly inefficient, considering all the manual labor and fuel everyone was burning to perform simple tasks that machinery could complete in less than half the time.

I'd chosen an alley to avoid the main street. Too many strange people and stares greeted me on the more crowded roads.

The System followed the lines of the streets I walked, calculating the lines and angles to formulate a map. I kept my back to the towering castle in the center of town in an attempt to find my way out of the maze of stalls and houses.

Eventually the alley gave way to small, dark houses. Then they grew sparser until I passed a dilapidated shack, the last structure before an open field. Knee-high grass stretched far into the distance, broken by the occasional grove of trees, until it met the mountains on the horizon. The moon hung above them, shining along with millions of stars.

I knew the city lights of Elpedite hid most of the stars, and so had the lights of the Hanshin republic, but I hadn't imagined that stars, not outshined by a city, looked like this. They scattered across the atmosphere like gleaming dust, shining white and blue.

Nathaniel would have loved to see this.

The grassland extended into the night without a sign of anyone else. I took a few steps before increasing my pace to a run. The grass hissed against my legs and boots as I left the town behind.

Setting myself at about ten miles an hour, I ran for at least twenty minutes, changing my pace as I needed. The System kept track of my heart rate and breathing, informing me of suggested corrections with a flash of small blue letters in my vision.

I slowed to a stop, panting as I looked back at the town. Dim lights flickered among the shadowed structures. The castle crouched above the other buildings, a shadow blocking the stars. A gentle breeze tugged at my hair and ran across the grass, rippling the field like the sea.

I stood, gazing into the night, and letting my breath return to normal. After a moment, I pulled off my jacket and laid down in the grass.

I was the only one out here, and the solitude helped me relax just a bit. Only the call of insects reported any life. The isolation guaranteed Adrian wouldn't be able to hide amongst a sea of faces, and I doubted he would wander out into a grassland.

The stars blinked at me as I stared at them, blades of grass brushing my face. Nathaniel's absence pulled at the edges of my thoughts, but I refused to let it pull me down. Tomorrow I would fight whatever battles needed to be won to keep moving, but until then there was no point in exhausting myself. Instead, I could order my thoughts.

The first unknown: what was so familiar about Syaoran's movement? Was it the speed of his strike, the arc of his leg, his stance? None on their own reminded me of any style I'd seen before. I plucked a blade of grass, keeping my fingers busy. So if it wasn't an individual component, that meant it must be the whole. Looking closer hadn't led anywhere, but what about an even larger picture? If I looked even farther than the fight, at Syaoran's movements in general. The way he walked, the way he moved . . . nothing I thought of told me anything. Until I thought about the way he turned to talk to me.

When he spoke to me, his head was angled a little farther to his right than necessary. The same way Nathaniel tilted his head.

Syaoran is blind in his right eye.

It explained his sudden movement back in the market. He wouldn't have had a clear view of the man grabbing Sakura until she yelled.

I dropped the blade of grass, my frown deepening. The information was important, but I didn't know what to do with it. Syaoran seemed to be functioning well enough on his own. I made a note to watch for it in the future though. If I spotted an obvious weakness due to the issue, I would need to let him know.

I stared up at the stars, my mind falling silent for a brief time. But I couldn't keep order for long. A thought drifted through my head, persistent and scratching.

These people are good people. And I'm not.

Syaoran was a boy simply trying to help his friend. Fai seemed goodhearted, willing to help out if he could. Sakura's gentle demeanor could be contributed to her condition, but that was probably just her personality. Kurogane's behavior clouded my perception of him, but he hadn't done anything blatantly bad. He postured and pouted, but in the end he willingly helped Syaoran without any true malice.

How long would I be able to maintain the appearance of being a normal girl? I'd already come off as strange, but I knew something about the way I saw the world was skewed. Adrian had gotten what he wanted, and for the past few years I'd gone numb. The things that used to tear at me barely crossed my mind anymore. I wasn't any better than Adrian.

But the hardest part was I didn't even know what was wrong. I didn't have an example of what a normal mental state might be. Regardless, I had no doubt something about me was fractured, like a broken bone that healed wrong, and that the others would find out what, even if I didn't. But hopefully, by then I would have found Nathaniel and we could stay at a safe world while the others moved on.

I sat up and sighed. I didn't know why I was hung up on this. All I had to do was travel with them until I found Nathaniel. Simple.

I stood, pulling my jacket back on and ending the pointless line of thought. I started back, sprinting back through the sea of grass to the flickering town. It was time to get a knife, and I knew how to get one for free. I didn't feel like trying to figure out this world's money system or worry about getting any.

Wading back into the maze of houses and low hanging smoke, I weaved back to one of the darker alleys I'd passed. I stopped at the start of the narrow street, looking around before unfastening my sword and climbing onto a crate against one of the shadowed buildings. I reached up, placing my sword on the roof before jumping back down and making sure it was out of sight.

Satisfied, I tucked my hands in my pockets, hunched my shoulders, and kept my eyes on the ground as I started down the alley.

Piles of garbage littered the edges of the road and thin, weak light occasionally flickered through the back of the buildings and onto the alley walls. I slowed when I passed the huddles of people leaning against the walls. But despite some dark looks and hushed mutters, they didn't stop me.

I was going to turn back when three more men came into view. I slowed again, but this time I got what I wanted. One of the men stopped talking to his companions when he saw me, leaning away from the wall to get a better look at me. "Hey, isn't she one of the foreigners from this morning?" he asked his friend. The man turned to look at me, along with the third man. A series of low mutters passed between them before they broke from the wall and blocked my way. "How about you come with us to see the Ryanban? I'm sure he'd love to talk to you."

I stopped, my gaze flicking over them before remembering I was supposed to be meek and cast my eyes at the ground. These men must have been part of a gang, or just the Ryanban's underlings. They wore borrowed power like a medal, and their crooked smiles and awkward stances, which were probably supposed to intimidate me, seemed comical in their incompetence.

"I'm not looking for trouble," I lied. "Would you mind letting me pass?" I held out my arms in a show of civility, and to keep a barrier between myself and any swung fists.

The man scoffed. "No, bitch. You'll be coming with us. If you behave we won't beat you to badly" He took a casual, unworried step towards me, hand outstretched.

I took three measured steps back, letting the man distance himself from his allies. I tilted my body, holding my left arm slightly closer to him and keeping my right one angled behind me. The man took my suggestion and latched onto my left arm.

He'd done exactly what I'd wanted, leaving his right side open and undefended. I broke my performance and pulled my left arm to the side, yanking him off balance while I slammed my right fist into his face.

He let go, staggering back a step and blinking as the System flickered on. I step forward, spun, and swung my foot into his head with a crack. He crumpled to the ground as his friends yelled, pulling knives from their shirts and running forward.

I sighed, relieved that this world used knives and not magic. I spun, running back down the alley and looking back at my pursuers every few feet. When one of the men outpaced his companion by several yards, I spun, skidding to a stop. He sprinted towards me and pulled his knife back. His form was pitiful. He broadcast his movements so early it would have left an amateur with plenty of time to block or move. This would have been easy even without the System. A blue arc curled across the space in front of the man: The System highlighting the blade's path.

I leaned back, as the man's knife hissed across the space I'd occupied. He slashed two more times before I caught his arm. I latched onto his wrist and kneed him in the stomach as I curled his hand in on itself, forcing the blade from his grasp.

I gripped the blade, flipped it, and slammed the hilt into his head, dropping him.

His companion filled the space he'd left, swinging at me in a horizontal arc. I flipped the knife again, blade out, and caught his blow on the blue path he'd projected. The metal screamed as the knives clashed before I stopped their momentum.

The man blinked at me as his arm shook, trying to force mine into yielding. "But you're just a kid! What the— Blue— Your eyes? What's wrong with your eyes?" His face contorted as he looked into my eyes.

I took advantage of his bafflement and drove my fist into his nose. He gasped and stumbled back, his hand shaking. I kicked the knife from his grasp, sending it bouncing off the side of a wall and onto the dirt.

He stared at me for a second, blinking and trying to dam the flow of blood from his nose. I waited to see what he'd choose. I had what I wanted, so if he wanted to leave, I had no problem.

He turned and ran, only the sound of his feet on dirt reporting his escape. I watched him disappear around a corner.

A moment later I realized I was smiling. The realization chased the expression away and left me cold.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Quietly, I slid the door to 's house shut. The others slept on the floor in futons, except for Kurogane, who was slumped against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed, but his breathing and heartbeat were too fast for him to be asleep. I'd woken him, despite my effort to keep silent.

I let him be and sat against the wall next to the door. After claiming my new knives, I'd retrieved my sword and wandered a few back streets before returning here. I had a rough map of the city now. It was circular, with the Ryanban's castle in the center and houses of decreasing wealth spreading out from it. However even the nicest houses seemed to be in disrepair. The Ryanban must have been making trouble for everyone, indiscriminant of wealth or social status. Which meant his reign wouldn't be a long one, regardless of his magic. Adrian had taught me that power was maintained with a calculated balance of fear of punishment and reward for following orders. Raining down fear with little reward for loyalty would destroy a leader's position eventually.

I pulled out my knives, one seven inches and the other nine, letting the System analyze their angles and strength. The crude blades would only be useful for cutting, attempting to use them for deflecting bullets would be disastrous as the bullet would shatter the metal. Their composition and build would barely hold against a blade from my world, but they would do for now.

"Did you steal those?" Kurogane asked, his eyes open now.

I slid the nine-inch blade into the empty sheath on my belt. It wasn't an exact fit, but it would work. "Yes. If you have the traditional sense of what is and isn't stealing." I tucked the other knife into my jacket.

He raised an eyebrow. "And what would the nontraditional sense be?"

"If a person decides to take away the human rights of another, they forfeit their own. Including their right to own things. I got attacked and took compensation. I wasn't stealing because they didn't have the right to own anything anymore."

"That's an interesting way of looking at it."

"Apparently." I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

"I don't see any blood on you."

"I wasn't injured."

"That wasn't what I was getting at."

"The thugs didn't leave unharmed, if that's what you're asking. But I didn't kill anyone."

"Hm." Kurogane shifted and shut his eyes again.

I sighed, staring through the ragged hole in the roof. The edge of the moon, a cold sliver of silver, peeked into the house. Together we waited for morning.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The sun shone hot and bright onto Kurogane and I as the report of hammer falls passed between us. Kurogane and I perched on Chu'Nyan's roof, repairing the hole the wind storm had left. Fai was in the house below us, occasionally passing up boards or nail and sipping his tea in-between.

Chu'Nyan, Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona had left this morning to explore the city and see if Mokona could detect a feather. Mokona had said he felt something, but was unsure. However, the Ryanban's sudden rise to power seemed a bit too miraculous, and with the timing, too coincidental.

The sun burned off the roof and ground in waves, so I'd removed my jacket, leaving me in a tank top, before starting on the roof. I grabbed another tile from the stack and set it in place, the System highlighting the best space to set it with a blue square.

"Alice-san?" Fai called up to me, shielding his eyes with a hand.

"Yes?" I asked, slamming my hammer down.

"I have a question about The System, if you don't mind. You told us what it does, but could you explain what it is? I've gathered that it's not magic, but I can't think of another explanation."

I grimaced at the nail in my hand. "Do you know what a computer is?"

"No, I can't say I do."

I raised an eyebrow at Kurogane.

"I don't have a clue," he said.

"It's . . . a machine that thinks. But it doesn't think like a person. Not the System anyway. It thinks in numbers, angles, distance, and probabilities. It helps with things like this." I gestured to the roof with my hammer. "It uses my eyes and measures the difference between them to calculate depth, then other things like angles and lengths. Then it highlights the most structurally sound place for each tile."

"How do you get it to do that?" Kurgane asked.

I shrugged. "The same way you move your arm, or hear the sound of me talking. You just do."

"What happens if it breaks?" Kurogane asked.

"It can't. There are three separate control centers in my brain that make sure if one malfunctions, the others will shut it down and repair it immediately."

"I assume it wouldn't be pleasant for you if it broke or shut down," Fai said, taking a sip from his tea.

"Yes, but there's the safety check. If the System shuts down from say, a lack of power, it shuts down completely just before the battery is completely empty. If the shutdown wasn't controlled, then some parts could still affect me, interfering with my reflexes or sight."

"Somebody put a lot of thought into that," Fai said.

The conversation fell into silence as Kurogane and I hammered away. I muffled thunk and a hissed cursed made me glance up.

Kurogane shook his hand, his thumb bright red. "Why are we working on her roof again?"

Fai handed me a board, smiling despite Kurogane's pain. "She let us stay over at her place last night. This is something nice to do in return, isn't it?"

"But . . . a kid like that living on her own." Kurogane said, his anger dying away. I glanced up at Kurogane before returning to my work, jaw clenched.

"Well, Chu'Nyan did say her mother died . . . " Fai said.

"Okay," Kurogane said, "so how long do we need to stay here for?"

"That's up to Mokona."

"About that," Kurogane said, "is it all right to take the princess out like this? You never know if she's rowing the boat or asleep at the oar." It was a good point. Sakura wasn't always lucid, so dragging her into a busy market might not be the best idea.

When Fai answered, his upbeat tone had vanished. "She doesn't have enough memories yet to return to the old Sakura-chan again. She's only been able to retrieve two feathers. Even if a few of her memories have returned, she doesn't really have her will or consciousness back. Not the Sakura-chan we're traveling with now. That's why we- the two of us who are just here to travel between worlds- can't really object. And even if she gets all her feathers back, she'll never be able to remember Syaoran-kun."

The air between us grew somber, and I could understand the pain of Syaoran and Sakura's predicament. But at the same time, I felt a strange distance from Syaoran's reaction. Sakura was alive, wasn't she? There was a future for them. Wasn't that enough?

Fai continued, "But Syaoran-kun's still searching isn't he? He's going to travel all the words and find Sakura-chan's scattered fragments of memory, no matter how painful it will be for him in the end." Fai's cheerful tone returned. "In any case, it's our job to make repairs while waiting for them to come home."

Kurogane leaned over to look into the house and at Fai. "So . . . " he said, eyes narrowed, "how does that give you the right to relax and drink tea?"

Fai laughed. "But I'm supervising Kuro-pippi's hard work."

"The hell do you mean 'supervising my work?' What about the brat across from me!" he yelled, pointing at me. I raised an eyebrow as Fai laughed.

"Alice-san seems far more responsible than you Kuro-pin," He said, grinning, which of course caused another round of yelling from Kurogane. I focused on my work, waiting for his tirade to end. After a few more minutes of grumbling Kurogane stomped down the ladder, leaving me alone on the roof.

I raised my hammer, about to bring it down when I heard a distant howling to my right. I stood and shielded my eyes, looking for the source of the sound. About a block away a violent swirling storm spiraled like a drill into a clearing between some of the buildings. I checked the rough map I'd laid out the night before. That's the market. Shit.

"What is it, Alice-san?" Fai asked.

"A wind storm just tore through the market," I said, climbing down the ladder.

Fai grimaced, rising to his feet. "Well, that's not good."

"I'm going to check on them," I said, pulling on my jacket and picking up my sword.

"Well, I'm coming." Kurogane said, throwing his hammer over his shoulder. "Anything to avoid this crap."

I nodded and left the house, Fai and Kurogane behind me. We weaved between houses, following the fastest route. We rounded the final corner and found the market ravaged. Stalls were broken in half, their awnings torn, wares littered the street, and people huddled to the sides.

Syaoran crouched on the ground, blood streaming from his forehead. Sakura was at his side with Chu'Nyan, both of them staring at the Ryanban's son. The man laughed in the middle of street, hands on his hips.

Chu'Nyan stood. "You have to call for Daddy when you're losing a fight? You're pathetic!"

I walked to stand by Chu'Nyan and the others. "So he called the wind again, huh?"

Syaoran glanced up at me. "Yeah. I tried to fight him but . . . "

Watching the man laughing in the middle of the chaos made me grit my teeth. A familiar anger crept into my veins, tensing my muscles and curling my fists.

"Mokona," I said, "Have you figured out if there's a feather here or not?"

Mokona shook his head. "Mokona can't tell. It's still too fuzzy."

"Which means we'll have to assume the Ryanban has one. Right then." I stepped forward, away from the others and into the middle of the street.

I wanted to see how I fared against an opponent with magic. Syaoran weathered his fight with the man without being severely injured. I had more skill than Syaoran, so I'd likely have a better time fighting this man. So, if I was going to test out my skills against magic attacks, this was a good place to start. This enemy was predictable, stupid, and had already shown off his strength. A man this power hunger wasn't going to hold back, so I doubted he had any surprises. And we would be going after the Ryanban and his son soon, so there was no point in holding back.

The man stopped laughing, eyeing me as I glared at him. "What do you want? Are you stupid?" He asked, blinking at me. I thought about saying something about the feather to startle a reaction out of him, but I didn't want to give the Ryanban any warning about what we were after.

The man narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. You're the one who beat up my lackeys last night."

"Yes. That was me."

The man grinned. "I guess I'll have to beat some respect into you. And I'll be taking that sword too."

"Okay, take it." I flipped my sword and tossed it to him, hilt first.

He gasped and stepped back, letting the blade hit the dirt before picking it up. "What are you up to?"

"I'm testing something."

"You—Fine! Come and see how your test goes." He swung my sword to point at me. His stance was unbalanced and his grip on the sword was showy and loose. Running the System up to full power, I waited for the man to lose his concentration. I didn't have any doubt he was unpracticed in sword fighting and hand-to-hand, but the magic he wielded concerned me.

The man stared at me, brows drawn and nose flaring. "Well? Come—"

I darted forward, closing the gap between us before he swung my sword at me in a wide arc, air hissing against the blade. I ducked, coming up just after the sword passed over my head, and slamming the heel of my palm into his wrist, breaking his grip. The sword spun from his hand, landing in the dirt behind me with a thunk. I didn't give the man any time to process what I'd done, and drove my fist into his stomach, sending him stumbling back.

Kurogane snorted, but I kept my eyes on the man, my fists raised.

The Ryanban's son gasped in a breath, shooting me a vicious glare. He flicked his wrist, an ornate fan snapping open in his hand. He swung the fan down, a wave of wind roared from the fan, towards me.

I dove for the ground next to a stall, wedging myself in the corner of the wooden frame and the ground. I put my curled my arms over my head and braced myself. A moment later, the wind roared over me, rattling the stalls and snapping the fabrics.

But my hair fluttered in the air, more like it was drifting through water, rather than being torn at by a gale. I pulled my hands away from my head in confusion, staring at the world around me. The stalls swayed in the wind. The others had shielded their faces against the dust and force of the whirlwind. But my hands didn't waver against it, instead the gale wound gently between my fingers.

I stood, holding a hand out in front of me. The wind snapped my clothes, but it didn't threaten to pick me up or throw me into the nearest stall. Compared to the people and objects around me, the wind was barely touching me.

Turning to locate the Ryanban's son, I found him and we locked eyes. He stared at me, mouth open as bits of cloth and wood whipped past me. I turned to face him, and charged. He took a step back, preparing to flee as his confused expression turned to fear.

But before I could reach him, the System's warning lit up my vision half a second before a ceramic pot, flung by the wind, shattered against the side of my face. Pain exploded through my head, stopping my advance. I dropped to a knee as the wind died around me and I tried to stop the road from spinning. I blinked past the blood trickling into my eye as the Ryanban's son ran down the road and out of sight.

Standing, I wiped the blood from my vision and put pressure on the cut on my eyebrow. That was stupid of me. Of course there would be debris. I plucked a shard of pottery from my collar as the others joined me.

"That was great Alice-san." Fai said, he and Mokona clapping.

"Yeah," Kurogane said, "until you got taken down by a pot."

"Yes," I sighed. "I know that was stupid. I'll be more aware if it happens again."

"But that was interesting. How did you do it?" Fai asked, tilting his head.

I shrugged. "I didn't do anything. I just noticed the wind felt more like a draft."

"Hmm." Fai slowly nodded.

"Hey, your friend needs medical attention." Chu'Nyan snapped. Syoaran protested as she tried to help him up, waving a hand, but Chu'Nyan persisted.

"What happened?" Fai asked, taking Syaoran's other side.

"I injured my foot when he called the first wind storm." Syaoran said as Fai and Chu'Nyan turned around with Syaoran, starting back to her house.

On the way back, Sakura, Syaoran, and Chu'Nyan recounted the events of their visit to the market and the ensuing battle. Apparently the Ryanban's son had been about to beat an old man and young woman for not paying an impossible tax, when Sakura had jumped in the way. Syaoran had thrown himself in front of her, which caused the fight between the man and Syaoran. Syaoran had been winning, until the wind storm hit.

Sakura sat with Syaoran, bandaging his ankle as Chu'Nyan sat with the rest of us. "The Ryanban stole that fan from my mother. It's how the Ryanban's son has been keeping people under control." Chu'Nyan looked and the floor and clenched her fists.

"Even so, why haven't the townspeople risen up yet?" I asked. A leader, no matter how powerful, couldn't slave drive their citizens before their people rebelled, left, or died.

"We've tried a lot," Chu'Nyan said, "But we were never able to set one finger on the Ryanban. The Ryanban's castle has some kind of magic around it. Nobody was able to get close."

Fai turned to Mokona. "That accounts for the strange energy that Mokona sensed, doesn't it?"

Mokona nodded. "With all the weird power around, Mokona can't tell if there is a power wave from the feather or not."

Fai turned to Chu'Nyan. "What about that son of his? Have you considered holding him hostage?"

I nodded but Kurogane grimaced. "Isn't that idea a little late in coming?"

Chu'Nyan shook her head. "We can't! The Ryanban uses magic to watch every part of the town of Ryonfi! If anything happens to his son . . . "

Fai crossed his arms and looked at Syaoran. "Just like what happened with Syaoran-kun yesterday and today, hm? You'd get hit with a magical attack." Fai paused, his smile falling to a thoughtful frown. "I think it's likely the Ryanban has found a feather."

Syaoran's eyebrows shot up as he glanced at Fai.

Kurogane crossed his arms. "That wouldn't add up. It was only a short time ago that the feathers were scattered, right?"

"We're in different dimensions. It's possible that time flows differently in each of them," Fai said.

Now even time is bending? Wonderful. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, but dropped my hand when something occurred to me. I'd never seen the power source Adrian found, only where it had been kept. A small container, with a window that let out a glow. Adrian had found it weeks ago, but if time could be bent between worlds, then that exclusion was void.

"Syaoran," I said. "What caused the explosion in my world: it could have been one of Sakura's feathers."

Syaoran's eyes widened. "Really? Where would it be now?"

"I'm not sure." I frowned. "It could be in Elpedite, my world, or it could have been blown to random world like myself, or . . . or Adrian could have it." The idea that Adrian could still have the feather, if it was one, fell like a cold shadow across my back. If the feather could give an overwhelming amount of power to that kudan back in the Hanshin republic, then Adrian could use it for unlimited monstrosities.

"Thank you for letting me know, Alice-san." Syaoran said, smiling.

I nodded. "But we should focus on the feather that might be here for now."

Syaoran nodded and stood. "I'm going to the castle. And if the Ryanban has a feather, I'm taking it."

"Wait!" Sakura cried, grabbing his arm. Sakura's eyes were brighter, more lucid than they'd been in hours. "Syaoran-kun, you're wounded!"

He smiled at her. "I'll be fine. If there's a feather, I'll get it back for you."

Sakura frowned, but hesitantly let go of Syaoran's arm. She didn't look happy with Syaoran's decision, but she probably realized she couldn't stop him. It was a smart decision, and I felt a sprout of respect for her grow within me. For a moment, she reminded me of Nathaniel.

"Wait a moment," Fai said, holding a hand up. Syaoran tensed, but Fai waved. "You can relax. I'm not trying to stop you. It's just . . . the magic of the Ryanban is pretty strong. If you simply walk there, you'll never succeed. At the very least, we'll need enough power to create an entrance to that castle."

"Can't you do something about that?" Kurogane asked.

Fai beamed. "Impossible!"

Kurogane glowered at Fai's cheer.

"Mokona will ask!" The little creature bounced onto the floor.

I had time to raise an eyebrow before Mokona shot a beam of light from the jewel on his forehead. The light condensed into an image of Yuuko, her back to us.

She turned, "Ah? Mokona . . . how are you?"

Chu'Nyan, Sakura, and Syaoran all jumped back. "It talked!" they cried.

Well that's convenient. I wasn't surprised. Video chat was the primary form of communication in Elpedite, but apparently that that wasn't true for some of my companions.

Kurogane sputtered, staring at the woman's image.

"Mokona sure is convenient at times," Fai said. He was the only one in the room besides me that didn't react in bewilderment.

"Convenient?" Kurogane snapped at him. "There a limit to how convenient things should be!"

"Relax, this is normal in my world. Well, the moving image part anyway," I said. "Yuuko, we're having some magic trouble. We could use your advice."

"Oh?" She smiled. "What trouble would that be?"

Syaoran, recovered from his distress, spoke. "We think there's a feather in the castle of this town. And the ruler is using the feather's power to abuse this place."

"I see," She said. "So you have to break through the magic to enter the castle?"

"That's the problem." Fai said.

"Why would you need to contact me? Fai can use magic, can't he?" she asked Fai with a raised eyebrow.

"I turned over the source of my magic to you."

She frowned. "The markings held your magical power in check. Your magic now is what it was originally meant to be."

I glanced at Fai, who kept his eyes on Yuuko. Interesting. He didn't want us to know what they really did. He'd purposely lied to Yuuko about them, hoping she'd play along. 'Held his magical power in check' made his power sound unstable and destructive. Between this and Fai's battle in the Hanshin Republic, he was beginning to look more dangerous than Kurogane.

"Despite that," Fai's smile faltered, "without those markings who could expect one to be able to wield their magic."

"Fine." Yuuko said. "I'll hand over something that will help break the magic arts surrounding the castle. But I'll expect payment in return."

"But we don't have anything to give you," Syaoran said.

But Fai stood and pulled his staff from the wall where he'd left it earlier. "How will this do? It's a magical device. Can you use it?" Maybe this was his way of trying to make up for the lie? I could overlook the secrecy, but I would remember the implications of the revelation.

Yuuko nodded. "Send it through Mokona."

Mokona's mouth expanded as Fai offered him the staff, swallowing the whole thing. I blinked, sighing as I dismissed it as more magic. Mokona shrank back down to his normal dimensions a moment later. A second later, Mokona's mouth opened again and a compact, black object rocketed out. The object smacked into Syaoran's waiting hand. He now held a small dark orb, smoky spirals curled beneath its marble-like surface.

Syaoran held the orb up to the light. "This will defeat the castle's magic?"

Yuuko nodded. "Aim carefully at whatever the barrier may be, and it should do the rest."

"All right," I said, "If no one has an issue with it, I say we get this done now. The Ryanban knows we've been going after his son, and I don't want to wait around for him to come after us."

Syaoran walked to the door. "Let's go."

As Syaoran and I headed for the door Fai grabbed one of the sets of clothes Sakura had won. "Kuro-pu and I will be out in a minute."

I stepped out of the house as Kurogane growled, "Why do I have to wear that?"

Chu'Nyan and Sakura leaned against the stone wall surrounding Chu'Nyan's yard, talking quietly as we waited. Syaoran stood next to me in silence. "Syaoran, can I see the orb for a moment?" I asked. I wanted to see condensed magic up close. So far the magic I'd seen had taken the form of giant beasts, destroyed buildings, or carried people through the air, but this looked like a large marble, neutral and inactive.

"Oh, sure," Syaoran said, handing me the orb.

I reached out and took it with my right hand. I had my gloves on, but the second the orb fell into my palm, it felt like fire lanced across my hand. I flinched, but managed to keep my composure. I didn't want to risk dropping the orb, and breaking it or activating it.

Instead the moment I felt the pain, I glanced at Syaoran's palm. It was unscathed, and he hadn't said anything, so it probably didn't hurt him. I grabbed his hand, pulling it back over before setting the orb back into his palm. The moment the orb left my hand, the pain receded to a faint throb. Syaoran blinked, looking back and forth from me to the orb. I carefully pulled away my glove, revealing my glaring red hand. The System classified it as first degree burn, but borderline second degree.

"What happened?" Syaoran asked, frowning in concern.

"I'm not sure. When I grabbed the orb it burned me. Even through my gloves." I inspected my palm, and had the System check for any abnormalities, but it seemed like it was just a burn. It would heal within thirty-six hours.

"Well, that's strange," Fai said, walking towards us with Kurogane.

"That doesn't happen for the rest of you, does it?" I asked, slowly pulling my glove back on.

Fai tapped the orb. "Nope."

Syaoran shook his head. "I don't feel any heat."

I rolled the fact over. It was the third inconsistence I'd found now. In the Hanshin Republic, everyone had a kudan but me, in the market the magic wind didn't harm me like it had Syaoran, and now this marble burned me while to the others it was a harmless orb.

"I'll be avoiding magic then." I flexed my hand, testing the burn against my glove. It was unpleasant, but not unbearable. I'd use my left hand for the day, but if I had to use the right one, I could push past the pain.

"This won't be a problem, will it?" Kurogane asked, tugging on the collar of his new robe.

"No, I'm ambidextrous. Let's go," I said, turning to walk out of the yard.

Chu'Nyan started walking with us. "Isn't it dangerous to leave Sakura-chan alone? Who's staying with her?"

Fai stopped, eyebrows raised. "You're staying with her." His tone wasn't demanding, but more like the answer was obvious.

Fai's calm reply was met with explosive aggression. "No!" Chu'Nyan shouted. "I want to go with you!"

"The Ryanban's castle is protected by some powerful magic," Fai said softly. "This is going to be dangerous."

"I'm prepared for that! I'm going!" she yelled, clenching her fists.

Fai smiled and rubbed his forehead. "Hm. I'm not getting through to her." He looked over to Kurogane, his gaze expectant.

Kurogane's head spun to face the street so fast I expected to hear his neck break. "I don't have any talent for explaining things to kids."

"Because you're so shy?" Fai teased. Kurogane stiffened, but remained silent.

Realizing her efforts were fruitless, Chu'Nyan grabbed Syaoran by the arms and looked up desperately. "I'm going to go and take down that Ryanban. I have to avenge my Omoni. I'm going with you!" Her voice started to break. "It's okay, isn't it? Syaoran!"

Syaoran pulled away from her, his face like stone. "No," he said "You will stay here."

Chu'Nyan looked towards me, I waited by the entrance to the courtyard. "Alice?" she choked out. I silently pushed off from my position against the wall and followed Syaoran from the courtyard. I didn't feel like arguing with a vengeful child and we had a dictator to kill. I liked the easier option.