AN: Wow, I think this is a new record for how fast I got this chapter up. I'm really proud of this chapter and was really excited to post it, so thats probably why. I hope you enjoy it! (Posted 10/11/18)

Five Year Ago:

The elevator hummed as we descended. The buzzing white light bled away the little color in the room. I stood rigid, hands clasped behind my back. My collar felt too tight, but I didn't dare move. I glanced up at Adrian.

His back was to me, facing the doors of the elevator. I couldn't quite see his face.

We'd practiced this, relentlessly, for the past three weeks, and Adrian had made it clear that screwing this up would have severe consequences. I just had to say nothing, follow Adrian and show absolutely no emotion.

I'd be fine.

I opened my mouth, and shut it again.

Adrian glanced back at me. "What is it?"

I flexed my hand, very aware of the scars from the surgery running across them. "It's called the Alice System, right?"

"Yes," Adrian said, his voice tinged with impatience. "Get to your point."

"Call me Alice." I didn't feel like myself anymore, and if the whole of my country was going to know me as Alice, I might as well be Alice. Adrian had told me I would need to change, evolve. That might be easier if I left my old name behind.

Adrian smirked and turned away. "All right, Alice. Now be quiet."

Adrian stepped out as the elevator doors opened. I followed close behind him. When we reached the end of the short hallway, Adrian opened the door and searing sunlight streamed in. I didn't squint against the light, keeping my expression neutral and unbothered.

As the door swung open fully, Adrian adopted a beaming smile and raised his arm in greeting. A roar of applause rose as I followed Adrian across the stage. I faced forward, not looking around at the crowd and cameras I knew were there.

Adrian reached the podium and waved down the applause with an amused smile. I took my position two feet behind him and two feet to the side. Once everyone was silent Adrian spoke. "Hello, citizens of Elpedite. Thank you for coming to, and tuning in, to tonight's announcement." He continued on, rambling about the people of Elpedite and the war and other propaganda.

I focused on one point at the back of the crowd, and didn't look away. I couldn't fidget, or blink too often, or breathe too quickly. Standing here, still, was all I had to do, and I'd done it for hours during rehearsal. I listened only for my queue.

"And so to support your family on the front lines, I present the most advanced weapon of our time, Alice!" Adrian swept an arm in my direction.

I took two steps forward, and snapped a salute to the crowd. "Alice, reporting for duty."

And with my heart pounding and cameras flashing, the crowd exploded into applause.

Present:

I pounded on the door to Sakura's room. "Sakura, be downstairs in five minutes. Wear something you can run in."

A thud sounded behind the door, followed shortly by a muffled: "O-okay!"

I descended the stairs, wearing my new armor, minus the breastplate. The kitchen was empty. The horizon glowed with the coming sun, giving the hardwood and the glass of the windows a golden glow, and casting long shadows across the floor. In the kitchen, I set about making two cups of coffee. I forced myself to stand still, even though nerves pushed me to pace, as I waited for the kettle to heat. It was stupid to be nervous about this. It would be easy after all. Well not easy, I'd never taught someone before, but it would be simpler than most things I'd done. There would be little risk of death or serious injury. Likely, the worst that could happen would be an inability for me to teach, or an inability for Sakura to learn. If that happened, we'd call the whole thing off, or figure out a way to make it work. The consequences were so insignificant; I couldn't understand why I felt so on edge.

When Sakura entered the kitchen, wearing a folded shirt tucked into tie-up pants, I held out a mug of coffee to her. "You're going to want the energy."

Sakura accepted the cup with both hands. "Thank you."

We finished our coffee quickly and I led Sakura outside. When we stood on the grass of the yard, I stopped and faced her. "We're going to start jogging. Keep up with me, and if I stop to do any exercises, do what I do and as many as I do. Tell me if you need a break because you might pass out. Otherwise, push yourself."

She balled her fists and nodded. "I can do it."

"Good. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth." I turned, and jogged around the side the house, Sakura footsteps thudding behind me. I knew Sakura would need to build up some muscle. Anything she'd had before the journey had been stolen by her coma. To get her in shape, and keep myself there, this would be our morning routine for our stay here.

I'd looked up a route on Syaoran's map the night before. It would take us through some of the smaller streets to a park, where we could go over martial arts techniques. I'd thought about using the café after hours by clearing the tables and chairs, then setting up a mat. But that took money we didn't have right now, and the park had grass and an open space, so it would do.

Our run went well. Sakura had a hard time keeping up—I could tell from her heavy breath and shaking hands—but she did it. When I stopped to do push-ups or crunches, she followed my lead immediately and without complaint.

The park was mostly empty when we arrived, with only a few people on benches or by the fountain in the center. I slowed to a jog, then a fast walk as we neared an open patch of grass.

I turned to Sakura and pointed to a drinking fountain. "Go get some water, then we'll work on some basics."

"Okay," she panted.

As she walked away, wiping sweat from her eyes, I remembered she was a princess. Not that I'd really forgotten, but she didn't really act like one. She didn't try to control the people around her, and she hadn't treated anyone with disdain.

Did I want her watching over Nathaniel? She was a decent person now, but would that change as her memories returned to her? Although, she'd already retrieved a few memories and hadn't gotten colder. And Syaoran seemed grounded. He probably wouldn't like her if she was cruel before she lost her memories. She could be pretending, but I'd spent enough time with Adrian I was fairly certain I could tell when someone was lying, and I didn't think Sakura was.

As she returned, she caught my eye and smiled. I couldn't imagine her with the cold look Adrian wore.

"Okay," I said when she reached me, mentally resetting myself, "you're a princess. So it's likely you've had some training already. We'll see as we go if you've retained any muscle memory, but for now we'll start simple. Which foot is your dominant one?"

She blinked and stared down at her own feet. "I don't know. Is there a way to tell?"

"Yeah," I said and pointed over her shoulder. "See that tree?"

She turned to look. "Yes. What abou—!"

I shoved her between the shoulder blades. Her right foot shot out first to catch her.

"Your right foot's dominant," I said.

Understanding lit behind her eyes. "Oh, I see."

I set my stance, my hands up, hips and shoulders squared, and my left leg forward. "This is the stance we'll be using. Because your right leg is dominant it will be in back, where it will give you most of your power and balance."

As I spoke, Sakura carefully looked me over, then mirrored my stance.

"Stay there," I said as I dropped my stance and approached. "Your hands are in a good spot. Unless you're blocking a strike, always keep them there. Raise your back ankle off the ground a few inches. That way you can push off faster."

Sakura made the proper adjustments as I pointed them out. There was so much to go over, I was having trouble deciding what to prioritize. Trying to tell her everything right now would overwhelm her, and she'd learn nothing. So I stuck to the very basics.

"Okay," I said once I was satisfied with her position. "We'll start a simple exercise. I'm going to move, and you'll follow me, while holding your stance. Like this." I showed her how to step forward with her front leg first, while pushing off with her back. Then the same in reverse.

I faced her. "Keep me within arm's reach." I stepped back.

A half second later, she followed me with an exaggerated step, but the order she moved her feet was correct. "Good."

I continued to move forward, back and to the side, changing the pacing as I went. After she'd gotten a better feel for it, she was keeping step with me. She flashed me a grin. Not wanting to encourage the idea this should be fun, I didn't return it. Her smile dimmed, and we continued.

"We'll move onto a few drills. You should practice these when you have time until they're instinctual. You can ask me or someone else to help, if you like, or do it on your own."

Sakura hesitated, then relaxed. "I understand."

I set myself next to her, facing the same direction. "We'll start with a jab and cross. These are punches, but they start with your feet and hips. Breathe in beforehand, and hiss your breath out with the punch."

I showed her how to throw a jab, starting with a slight push of the back leg and a quick movement of the elbow.

She mimicked me, but her wrist was at the wrong angle. "Like this," I said, holding out a straight fist. "Otherwise you might break your hand." I showed her how to deliver the impact with the first two knuckles of her hand. For the cross, I showed her the small twist to my hips and back leg.

"Will I learn any kicks?" she asked once she'd practiced a few rounds.

"Not yet." I crossed my arms. "Kicks are powerful, but if you don't know what you're doing, you'll throw yourself off balance, or give the enemy a chance to break your leg." She winced. "Syaoran can do it because he has good balance, and pulls his leg back before the enemy can grab it. As a general rule, always protect your head and body, but your next priority should be your legs. Without them, you can't run, and you can't fight well."

She shifted her weight as she did a slow jab, watching her own feet as she did so. "I see."

After that, I showed her some elbows, and then we did some very gentle sparring. I mostly wanted to show her the importance of keeping her hands up. A couple of times, she let them drop, and I swatted her cheek, not enough to sting, but enough to let her know she'd made a mistake. By the end, her hands were by her face and didn't waver an inch.

We left the park just as the day was heating up, and made it back to the café. As we entered, Fai groaned, slumped against the bar with a cup of water in his hand. Mokona waved to us from their perch on his head.

"Good morning Alice-san, Sakura-chan! You're such hard workers!"

"Good morning, Mokona-chan," Sakura said. Her eyebrows creased in concern as she examined Fai.

"Hangover?" I asked, skirting passed them and into the kitchen.

Fai moaned and Mokona burst into giggles. "Yep!"

Sakura stuck her head into the kitchen, hesitant to leave Fai. "What's a hangover?"

I snorted as I opened the fridge. "It's a headache you get when you've had too much to drink." I decided he deserved this after leaving Sakura, Syaoran, and me to run the café opening night so he could buy alcohol. "He'll be fine in a few hours. Get a pan for me."

Sakura retrieved a pan and together we made enough scrambled eggs for ourselves, Fai, and Mokona.

"When you're done exercising you should eat something with protein," I said as I scraped the eggs onto four plates. "It helps build muscle."

We returned to the bar with two plates each. I gave one to Mokona, and Sakura gave one to Fai. Mokona opened their mouth and inhaled their serving in one gulp. Fai thanked us, but made no move toward the food. Sakura flashed him a pitying glance. After Sakura and I were almost finished with our plates, Fai raised his head and managed a few bites.

"Could I please ask you both to help me run the café?" His smile became a grimace. "I might be a little slow today."

"Of course," Sakura said.

I gave him a flat look. "So long as you stay here this time."

He rubbed the back of his head and gave me a thumbs-up. "I promise."

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

When the first customer came in, I was reminded that I had no clue what I was doing. Sakura and I were the waitresses, while Fai and Mokona managed the bar and kitchen. It should be pretty simple—most of the food and drinks were premade the day before. Sakura had the tables on the left side of the restaurant, and I had the right. When a customer came in and it was my turn, I'd take them to their table, get their order, and bring them their food. Simple. So why did this seem so intimidating?

Sakura took the first customer. There shouldn't be too many. It was our second day open.

"You know, I've never done anything like this before," I said to Fai. I leaned against the bar at my back. Fai stood behind it, his hangover diminished enough that he could function politely, but he was using a cane to take some of the weight off his twisted ankle.

"Me neither," he said watching Sakura work. "I think we're all trying something new today. It's kind of fun, don't you think?"

I snorted. I would not define this as fun.

Maybe I should look at this differently. It was new, and I wasn't good at it, but it was an opportunity. I hadn't given much thought to what would happen after I found Nathaniel, but we would have to settle somewhere, and that meant getting a job. If I practiced some new skills now, it would be easier to find work later.

A woman stepped through our door and glanced around expectantly. I inwardly groaned, despite knowing it was for the best, and pushed off from the bar to greet her.

I managed an empty smile when I got to her, trying to remember what Sakura had done. "Welcome. Please follow me." I turned and led her to a small table by the window. When she'd settled in her chair I took out my note pad. "What do you want?"

Puzzlement flashed across her expression for just a moment, before returning to a polite smile. She looked over the menu for a moment. "I'll have a regular coffee and one of the Witch's Cake."

I scribbled it down. "Okay."

I turned and met Fai's eyes. He gave me a thumbs up. Sighing, I reached the counter and read off the order to him.

"I think you did pretty good," Fai said, pouring the cup of coffee.

I nodded, not believing him, but not caring enough to disagree. He handed me the mug of coffee and a plate with the cake on it. I returned with them to the woman and set them on the table.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." I retreated to the bar to watch the door. This wasn't terrible. If things stayed like this, I'd be fine. Not good at it, but I wouldn't ruin anything.

For the next few hours, things were okay. At most we only have five customers at a time, and I stayed with my pattern of set greetings, questions, and responses, which seemed adequate for most people.

Then, around four, things began to pick up. Our five customers suddenly became twenty, and the air of relaxation became a clattering of plates and the drone of too many voices. I managed everything fine, handling requests and responsibilities in the order I'd received them, but my focus began to fray.

Two men entered as I was setting down a mug at one of my tables. I went to greet them—counting twenty-two people in the cafe—and guided them to their table. As I seated them, I took out my notepad.

Behind me, a glass shattered against the hardwood. I jumped, glancing back to see Sakura trying to balance a plate stacked with dirty dishes, and glancing anxiously down at the glass shards at her feet. Fai appeared with a broom and dustpan, waving off her apologies.

"Excuse me," one of the men snapped. I turned my attention back to the table to see him glowering at me. "I want the coffee cake and a mocha."

He'd barely closed his mouth when his companion spoke. "Witch's Cake."

I blinked, my mind catching up to their orders. When I went to write it down, I realized I dropped my pen. I bent down to retrieve it, rising faster than necessary. Glancing over my shoulder, I counted twenty people in the room.

I wrote down their order. As I turned to leave, one man slapped his menu against my side. "Take these." Pasting on a blank expression to mask my rising annoyance, I took their menus.

As I approached the bar, something moved in the corner of my vision. A woman on my left was walking towards me. I watched her approach, unwilling to turn away, until she moved to step around me and towards the exit.

Three more people entered as she left.

"Alice-san?" Fai asked.

My attention snapped back to the bar, where I'd been standing for several seconds. "Uh, yeah. A coffee cake, a mocha, and a Witch's Cake."

He didn't move to get the food. "Is everything all right? We're getting busy, so if you need help just ask."

"I'm fine." I held my voice flat.

He nodded, and moved to get the order. I turned to put my back to the bar, and watched a man walk to his table, my hands itching as he passed me.

"Here you are," Fai said, handing me a tray with the food.

I took it in one hand and weaved between the tables. Someone tapped on my arm as I passed and I nearly dropped the tray.

"Miss, can you get me a fork?"

"Yes," I said, pulling my gaze away from them and gritting my teeth.

I reached the table and set down the plates, my hand shaking as I did so, causing the glass to clatter against the wood.

"Excuse me," one of the men said.

"What?" I asked, keeping any sharpness from my voice with effort.

"You gave us the wrong plates."

"So switch them," I said, turning away. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but they had their food, so I wasn't dealing with it.

I handed Fai my tray and took a fork from the rack on the counter. When I looked up, I counted twenty-five people in the room. One man was moving toward the door. Two women were being seated by Sakura. Another man waited at the entrance for me to show him to his table.

Once again entering the maze of tables, I dropped off the fork with the party that had requested it. Someone stood up next to me and I jolted away from them, ignoring the look they shot me and moving onward.

I reached the man and gave him a sharp nod. "Follow me."

He did, seemingly unbothered by my abruptness, and took his seat without issue. After taking his order, I made my return to the bar.

I was almost there when a woman sitting at the table next to me moved her hand too fast. It would've been fine, except the first thing I registered was the flash of silver in her hand.

The last shred of my control kept me from hitting her, but I ended up frozen in place with my hands locked into fists. The woman gave me a confused look as she set down her fork. My legs refused to move forward, even though I needed to get out of this room, and I knew if someone touched me, I was going to lose my last fragment of reason and punch them.

"Alice-san," Fai said, appearing at my side, his brow furrowed. His hand hovered over my elbow before I shot him a glare. He hesitated, then wiped away the look of concern with a smile, retracted his hand, and stepped between me and the table. "Would you mind helping in the back for a moment?"

I took a deep breath, and nodded. I couldn't see the woman anymore, and the new request helped me move my attention away from the situation. My legs unstuck, and I moved passed him, eyes locked on the kitchen door. I made it, and shoved the door open, trying to diffuse some of the energy locked into me with the motion.

When the door closed behind me, and the clatter and drone of voices from the other room died, some of the fire left my blood. I took a breath in, and let it out in a shuddering sigh.

The door opened and Fai entered, a mug in his hand. "Coffee?"

I nodded, and he handed me the mug, not stepping any closer than necessary. I took a gulp, burning my tongue, but the coffee grounded me.

"Are you all right?" he asked after a moment.

I finished the mug and set it in the sink, my hand shaking. "I should work in the back from now on. I'll wash dishes."

He tilted his head. "That's fine. You don't have to keep working though, if you're not feeling well."

"I want to." There had been too many people in the other room; too many sounds and half-seen movements. I would be fine back here, where I could wash dishes and still be useful, because standing around doing nothing would make this feeling worse.

I didn't want to work in the café. But I still hated that I couldn't do something as simple as serving tables in a tiny café. It proved Adrian right. I wasn't good for noncombat work, and I never would be, because I couldn't stand to be in a room of people longer than a few minutes. I would never get the practice necessary to learn.

Fai hadn't moved to leave. Maybe he was waiting for me to change my mind.

"You should go back out front," I said. "Sakura will need a hand." I turned away from him towards the sink.

"All right," he said, his smile returning. "Thank you for getting the dishes. We were starting to run low." I heard the door open briefly, letting in a wave of noise before it swung shut behind him.

Once the water was steaming, I grabbed the soap and a plate smeared with frosting and got to work.

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

The rush hour died away a few hours ago, and I'd run out of dishes to wash. Which meant spending any more time back here would be hiding. I dried my wrinkled hands on the towel before returning to the shop front. It was black outside, the sun having set while I'd been away. The only people in the café were Fai, Sakura, and Mokona. They all looked at me expectantly as I entered.

"Dishes are done," I supplied.

"Thank you, Alice-san." Fai said.

I sat at the bar next to Sakura. "I'm sorry I bailed on you." It was awkward, but I felt I owed her an apology.

She waved her hands. "Don't worry! I just hope you're feeling better."

"I am." I didn't feel like I needed to punch anyone, but I'd exchanged that feeling for a sort of resigned exhaustion.

The door slid open, and Syaoran stepped in. He walked with a slight limp on his right leg. Scrapes covered his face and hands and his clothes were in tatters. He held a new sword at his side, a rope tied around the scabbard and hilt keeping it sheathed. "Hello," he said with a smile.

"Syaoran!" Sakura exclaimed, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

Fai's eyes widened. "Did you get attacked by an oni?"

"No," Syaoran said, "it was just a good day of training." He pointed upstairs. "I'll be back. I need to change."

Kurogane silently entered a moment later, taking a seat at the bar and propping a new sword against the counter.

Speaking of training. I turned to Sakura. "Would you like to train some more? In about an hour?"

The fatigue cleared from Sakura's eyes immediately. "What will we work on?"

"More movement practice," I said. "And some blocks."

Sakura nodded. "Okay."

Fai leaned over the counter and handed Sakura a small jar. She blinked from it to him. "That's a healing salve. Could you take that to Syaoran-kun?"

She clutched it with both hands, nodded vigorously, and vanished upstairs. Fai left to the kitchen, returning with a tray of three steaming bowls of noodles. He set two of them in front of Kurogane and me.

"Thanks," I said.

Fai leaned against the counter, propping his head in his hands and giving us a sly smile. "So, how were your first days as teachers?"

Kurogane glared at Fai, his mouth full.

"Fine," I said. It occurred to me that Kurogane might have some experience teaching. It would be smart to ask him about how to teach Sakura . . . if I could figure out what to ask. Maybe I should start with a broad subject. "So, what are you starting with to teach Syaoran?"

"Kid's gonna need to work on his balance. He's too sensitive on his blind side."

"He has a new sword. Have you started on sword work?"

He snorted. "No. It'll be a while before he can use that."

This was kind of useful, but not really what I needed. I should just say it. "I don't have experience teaching. Any advice?"

He paused eating long enough to glance at me. "Your style is pretty different than mine. You should probably think about how you were taught."

Of course his advice would be the exact opposite of what I was trying to do. I felt like slamming my head against the counter. "Oh," I said instead.

About an hour later, Sakura appeared before me. She'd changed from her uniform back into workout clothes. "Ready!"

I rolled up the sleeves of my work shirt. "We'll work in the backyard." I'd prefer we work inside where the lighting was better, but the hardwood wasn't safe terrain. Instead Sakura and I slid open the doors that faced the backyard, letting as much light out as possible.

We started with the simple movement exercise again, then on to some basic defense. Sakura caught onto those quickly, blocking my mock strikes with the blade of her arm with enough force to rattle her opponent's bones.

I decided I should show her some emergency tactics for when the enemy was too close. When I demonstrated how to clap your hands onto someone's ears, bursting their eardrums, and then gouge their eyes, Sakura hesitated to copy the motion. It was a basic technique, so I didn't think I was introducing it too early.

"What is it?" I asked.

Her mouth twisted. "It's silly, but it just seems so violent."

Ah. Well, I should lay this out, then. "It is. And it's going to get worse. After this we're going to move onto knives, then guns. You asked me to teach you how to fight, and I'm going to. But a fight isn't a little brawl both parties walk away from. That's a game."

Sakura broke her gaze from mine, staring at her feet. She needed to understand that every fight was a fight for your life. The reason I had been so irritated with Ryuuo was because he'd treated a fight like a game. The decision between firing a warning shot, and just shooting him, had been a close one. Anytime someone came at you with violence, you had to assume they wanted to kill you and act accordingly.

I crossed my arms. "I'm going to teach you how to hurt the enemy until they can't hurt you. Which means punching, stabbing, breaking bones, and yes, gouging eyes. If someone wants to kill you, you kill them first. You don't have time to care about them if you're protecting yourself, or someone else."

Something lit behind her eyes at that last part and she glanced back at the café, where Syaoran sat at the counter talking to Kurogane, his injured ankle bandaged.

I sighed. "Regardless, it will be your choice whether you use what I teach you. I won't force you to pull the trigger. But you may have to choose between the person you're fighting and the person you're protecting."

She met my eyes, and stared straight into me. "Have you had to?"

"Yeah," I said, looking her in the eyes. "I've pulled the trigger every time."

She frowned, the same way Nathaniel did when he was trying to decide what I purposely hadn't said. Then she shook it away. "I understand." She shifted her feet, and clapped her hands together at head height, the move I'd demonstrated to burst eardrums. "Like that?"

I nodded. "That's right." I didn't know exactly what Sakura had decided, but she'd must have found some compromise within herself. And I hoped I'd done well explaining it to her. I was trying to balance myself, between stressing the seriousness of this and letting her make her own choices. I'd probably skewed something, though. I shook away the thought and refocused. She'd found some way to resolve what I'd told her. I'd have to leave it at that.

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

A while later, after Sakura had collapsed into bed, I descended the stairs in full gear. Kurogane sat at the bar, shooing Mokona away from his tea. When I entered the room, he paused to looked me over. "You going hunting?"

I checked my spare magazine and slid it into my pocket. "Yes."

"Don't you need you partner for that?"

"They told me I needed a partner. They didn't say I had to bring her."

Kurogane snorted. "Guess that's one way of doing it." As I passed him, he swiveled on his stool. "Hey, avoid Baker Street. Heard there some strange oni there."

"Where is that?" I couldn't read the street signs.

"It's by the—no you didn't go there." He grimaced, likely trying to come up with some landmark.

A white blur leapt onto my shoulder, knocking me off balance for a moment. "Mokona knows! Alice-san can partner with Mokona!"

"There you go," Kurogane said, turning away. "You get a guide; I lose the pest."

I raised an eyebrow at Mokona. "You're not afraid of the oni?"

Mokona pushed back their ears and straightened. "Mokona doesn't fear anything."

I doubted that, but decided having them along would be fine, especially if they knew which street to avoid. We left the café and headed west, toward the areas with weaker oni.

As we passed beneath a street lamp, Mokona started softly singing. "Goin' on an oni hunt. We're gonna catch a big one." I considered trying the same alley as the other night, but decided the creatures that had been there last night would overwhelm me if I went alone.

At the start of our journey, there were people all round us. A couple lounging on a bench, a bicyclist passing us, a group of laughing teenagers running into a restaurant. But after a few darkened store fronts, and a turn down a dark alley, everyone vanished.

"Creepy," Mokona whispered, a laugh still in their voice.

"Uh-huh," I muttered, pulling my gun from its holster. "How far is Baker street from here?"

Mokona pointed north. "A few blocks that way."

My boots splashed through a puddle as I turned south. The moon hung full in a clear sky, its silver light shining off the puddles that dotted the way. As I approached, something rippled in one of them.

I aimed my gun as something slunk out of the water. Four paws dripped out of the shape, and when it stood, fully formed, a ragged wolf with three lantern eyes and a crooked maw stared at me. It growled, crouching.

Bang!

I shot it in the third eye. It whimpered, flinching away as it disintegrated into shadows. Two more wolves slunk out of the corners of the street.

Mokona muttered something like, "Bad doggies."

Although these oni looked intimidating, they were much slower, and took fewer shots to bring down than the ones from last night. The only time I really broke from a walk was when one of them appeared out of a puddle beneath me. Even then, a quick step, a kick, and another shot was the easy fix.

I'd counted fifteen slain oni when there was a pause. I took the opportunity to reload my gun. As I was looking down to slide the magazine into place, something moved to block the moonlight.

"Uh-oh," Mokona said, cheer gone.

A hulking figure blocked the alley and stood around ten feet tall. It had the shape of a dog, but sharpened antlers stretched from it head, and its jaws were split vertically and horizontally. Three yellow eyes rolled to meet mine.

"Yeah," I breathed, already backtracking. Only weak oni should be here, but my trust of that rule had already been shaky. It was time to go. I fired one shot into the oni's front leg and ran. The wolf yelped, but a moment later heavy footfalls thundered behind me. Mokona crouched low, gripping my collar. Water splashed up around me as I blazed through a puddle.

"Is it gaining?" I asked Mokona. If I could use The System, it could calculate the distance based on the sound. But now I didn't know if I could risk looking back.

"Yes!"

We were approaching an intersection in the streets, and as we neared the corner I ran straight for it. As soon as I made the corner, I saw a wall of wolves waiting for me and skidded to stop. My leg slid out from under me, kicking up an arc of water as I scrambled back to my feet. Firing a few shots at the pack, I turned and ran. A howl and the patter of smaller paws let me know the pack was in pursuit too.

"We're going north!" Mokona cried.

"I know!" We'd have to go north, or towards the oni behind us. I just had to take the chance.

As I approached the next intersection, I slowed. When I got a clear view of the next street, another pack waited for me.

I swerved away, picking up my pace again. This seemed strangely organized. Could the oni plan? These were wolves, so maybe they had a pack mentality. If they were, they were driving me towards something. And we were running towards Baker street.

I searched for a fire escape, a dumpster, anything I could use to get up off the street and onto a rooftop. And then I spotted a drain pipe.

Using my momentum, I hooked a hand around the pipe and swung myself up, using both hands and feet to clamber up the wall. When I was moments away from reaching the roof, the pipe broke, a jagged edge slicing into my palm. I hissed, lunging to grip the intact section of pipe as canines snapped in the air next to my ankle.

I threw myself over the rim and rolled onto the shingles.

"Safe!" Mokona cheered.

"Not yet," I said, pushing myself up and back into a run. I headed south, back the way we'd come. The smaller wolves wouldn't be able to get up here, but the bigger, warped one stood nearly a story tall and could probably jump up here easily.

Just as I had the thought, a thud rattled the roof. A glance back revealed the creature straightening from a crouch, growling as it lunged for me. Its claws tore shingles away from the roof and sent them flying behind it.

I glanced right, seeing the wolf pack following us down in the street, and on the left a deserted street with benches and lamps.

But something caught my eye. I looked farther, across the street, to the power lines.

A figure, draped in a cloak, balanced on one of the utility poles. They stood motionless, except for the snap of their cloak in the wind. Shadows concealed their face, but they were looking in my direction.

My attention snapped back to the wolf, now inches from me, as I heard its panting breaths right in my ear. I would have considered jumping from this height without The System, but it was the only option left. I leapt from the roof, and Mokona gasped.

I landed, rolling to lessen the impact, and folding an arm around Mokona to cushion them and hold them in place. A spark of pain lit in my knee, but my momentum carried me back onto my feet, and I was running again.

Pausing for just a moment, I turned, shot the wolf as it landed. I aimed for the eyes. It flinched but my bullets ricocheted off without leaving a scratch. It was already moving toward me again and I ran.

"Damn it!" I snarled. If I had The System, I might be able to take this thing. I'd be faster, more precise, and able to maneuver around its predictable movements. But right now my legs were aching, my knee was burning, and I was slowing down.

I approached an intersection and decided I might be able to lose this thing if I weaved through the streets. I turned the corner as fast as I could, and registered Ryuuo's shocked expression a second before I collided with him.

Pain burst across my cheek as I bounced off him and onto the pavement. With a yelp, Ryuuo fell onto his back. He pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his reddening forehead.

"Rabbit?" he said, staring at me with apprehension.

Souma stared down at us in surprise. "Are you al—"

I scrambled to my feet and hauled Ryuuo with me. "Up!" Aiming my gun the way I'd come, I stepped back just as the wolf skidded around the corner.

"Oh! All right!" Ryuuo said, his confusion turning into excitement. He reached for his sword as Souma drew her blades.

I fired into the oni's eyes before it could move our way. It shook the bullets away like they were flies before growling at us.

"Huh," Ryuuo said, sounding more surprised than concerned, "that's weird."

"Yeah," I snapped. "Can we fight this thing or do we need to run?"

Ryuuo hefted his blade. "We got this." He swung it downward with a shout. Bright green light erupted from the blade, spinning across the space between us and striking the wolf across the chest with a bang. The wolf staggered but righted itself and charged, antlers pointed out like knives. I ran to the side, firing at its head and chest.

Ryuuo took a second to register the wolf barreling toward him and ran. My shots burst against the inky fur in little gold flashes, but didn't do much to distract it.

"Hey Souma, a hand?" Ryuuo yelled, running to put a lamppost between himself and the wolf.

Souma stepped silently behind the oni and with a flash hurled her blades at its legs. It staggered and turned on her, snarling. I aimed at its eyes and fired.

This time, finally, the shot hit with a burst of inky blood. The wolf yelped and pawed at its missing eye.

"Good shot!" Mokona said, patting my cheek.

The wolf's remaining two eyes narrowed as they focused on me.

"Back to this then," I muttered, running for a lamppost. But I realized within moments that I didn't have enough distance. I turned my head to catch a glimpse of it swinging a giant paw and threw up and arm to cover the right side of my head, and Mokona, just before the blow struck.

It hurled me across the pavement and I landed on my side, rolling before coming to a stop, and launched myself to my feet, looking around to find the oni.

Ryuuo must have landed another hit on the wolf, as it was stalking circles around him.

"You okay?" I asked Mokona.

"Mokona is all right."

I nodded. "I'm going to throw you," I told Mokona. I plucked them from my shoulder and tossed them up onto the nearest roof.

"Whee!" they cheered. They landed with a bounce and turned to wave at me.

Once they were out of the way, I checked to make sure the wolf was still focused on Ryuuo, then examined my side. The armor had held, to my relief, but there were oily slashes across my ribs, where the claws should have sliced me open, and likely serious bruising beneath.

"Rabbit," Souma said, appearing at my side. "Are you all right?"

I reloaded my gun with a flick of my wrist. "Fine."

The wolf was limping now, its missing eye oozing inky blood. I raised my gun and fired at its face. Souma took that as her cue to get back into the fight and flung her blades at it in silver arcs. Ryuuo, running from the oni, spun on his next step and used the momentum to slash horizontally, sending another arc of green energy at the oni.

When all the attacks struck, the wolf howled and stumbled to the ground. After a breath, it dissolved, pieces of it flaking off like burning paper and floating away.

"Yay!" Mokona exclaimed, clapping. "Great work Rabbit! Ryuuo! Souma!"

Ryuuo grinned and flashed Mokona a thumbs up.

Once I was sure the thing was dead, I stood beneath Mokona's perch and held out a hand. They bounced off the roof and onto my palm, before I set them back on my shoulder.

"Is Rabbit okay?" Mokona asked in a somewhat quieter voice.

"I'm fine." And I was. My knee was aching. So was my side, and there was a bruise was forming on my cheek from my run-in with Ryuuo, but I was in decent shape considering. Souma and Ryuuo sheathed their weapons and joined us.

Souma looked back to check the street. "Rabbit, where's is your partner?"

"Back at the café."

Ryuuo crossed his arms. "You know you have to have a partner, right?"

I glared at his sardonic tone, and he flinched. "I was told I needed a partner. Not that they had to be with me."

"While that's technically true," Souma said, "if you go hunting without your partner, no oni will appear."

"That makes no sense," I said. "Why would an oni care if it attacked me while I was alone or not?"

Souma and Ryuuo shared a puzzled glance. "Well," Souma said, "it's just the way they are." I stared blankly at them. Maybe their confused look was caused by the oni's inexplicable behavior, but I had the feeling it was directed more at my question, which was bizarre. If these monsters were such a problem in this world, should they be interested in understanding them?

"Well, that thing attacked anyway." I thumbed over my shoulder to the spot the wolf had died. "So explain that."

Ryuuo squinted at the spot. "I think that was Ro-3, at least. Where were you hunting?"

I pointed down the street. "An alley a few blocks that way. I was told it was one of the easier sections."

"Did it have a bunch of smaller wolves, showing up slowly?"

"Yes."

Ryuuo's brow creased. "Yeah, that should have been an easy street. Did that thing just show up?"

I nodded. "Any idea why it was there?"

Souma cupped her chin. "Well, there have been reports of oni attacking non-hunters, and rumors of a strange new oni that can control other oni. It's supposed to look like a person. But I'm not sure how reliable the information is."

"Wait," I said, remembering the figure on the power-lines. "I saw someone while I was running. There were watching me from a utility pole."

"Seriously?" Ryuuo said. "Can you show us where?"

"Okay," I said. "But if anything else shows up, I'm running." I didn't like the idea of looking for this thing. But I wanted answers, and the spot wasn't that far away.

After a few minutes of backtracking, we made it to the street, dark and abandoned. The power-lines hung empty. A cool breeze blew my hair into my eyes, and I brushed it away. "This is the place," I said. I glanced up and down the street, but found nothing that hinted someone had been here. "I'm going back to the café."

Ryuuo looked at me in surprise. "Aw come on, aren't you curious?"

I waved an arm across the street. "Do you see any clues?" There was no one here, and no trail to follow. Baker street may have offer something, but I wasn't prepared to go there tonight.

"We'll go with you," Souma said. "I think I could use a nice cup of coffee, after all this."

Ryuuo sighed. "Same."

I shrugged and turned to head back. I didn't really want Ryuuo hanging around, but I owed them after leading a giant oni their way.

Our journey back was quiet. I didn't know what time it was, but I got the impression it was late even by oni hunter standards. The people I'd passed earlier had probably gone to bed now.

I slid the café door open, stepping aside so Ryuuo and Souma could enter behind me. Ryuuo took two steps inside before meeting my gaze and freezing.

"I should leave this here?" he asked, reaching up to grip his sword hilt.

"Correct," I said.

"Come on!" he whined, but set his sword down. "I just helped you kill a giant wolf. That's gotta build some trust."

"No," I said, turning away. I'd trust him after he hadn't done anything else stupid, and we'd left Outo behind.

"A giant wolf, huh?" Fai asked. He stood behind the bar, already pouring a mug of coffee for Souma, who taken her seat. "That sounds exciting." I grimaced.

Mokona leapt from my shoulder and onto the counter. "Rabbit was so cool! And so was Ryuuo and Souma."

Fai raised an eyebrow. "Big Puppy said you were going to an easy zone."

I threw up my hands. "I did!" I was starting to think this world had it out for me, between breaking The System and weird oni chasing me.

"We think the new oni had something to do with it," Souma explained.

"The one that looks like a human?" Fai asked, handing Ryuuo his coffee.

I nodded. "I think I saw it while I was running from the wolf." I frowned, remembering the hooded figure and how still it was as it watched me. "It was gone when I went back to find it, though."

"Ooh," Fai grinned, "mysterious."

Movement caught my eye, and I glanced up to see Kurogane enter the room. His usual expression of mild annoyance broke to astonishment when he set eyes on Souma. The mug he held slid from his hand and shattered on the floor.

"Souma!" he said, marching over to the woman. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding Princess Tomoyo."

Souma stared at him blankly.

I glanced between them before putting it together. Kurogane must have recognized Souma from his world, hence the mentioning of his princess, and this Souma must be a look alike. He looked more troubled than I'd seen him before. Not upset really, but something closer to disturbed.

"Ku—Big Puppy," I said, grimacing as I fumbled the name. His attention didn't break from Souma. "Big Puppy," I said, sharper. "You've mistaken her for someone else. Like when I thought I recognized Nathaniel."

He blinked at me, glancing once again at Souma before understanding lit his eyes. "Oh." He turned his gaze away from her to glare out the window, his jaw tight.

Fai leaned over the bar to poke Kurogane in the cheek. "Silly Puppy!"

That snapped him out of his haze. He spun on Fai to knock his hand away an instant after he'd already retreated.

Ryuuo set his empty mug on the counter with a clatter. "All right! I'm full of caffeine and ready to get back at it!"

Souma turned to Fai. "Could I see the check, please?"

Fai handed her the bill and Souma handed him her money card. Fai swiped it over the register and a quick chime rang out. He handed it back to her with a, "Thank you."

"Thank you for the coffee," Souma said, as she rose.

Ryuuo waved as he picked up his sword. "Yeah, thanks! Hopefully next time we meet, the Rabbit won't be running from a wolf." And with that he fled after his partner.

Kurogane glanced down at me. "A wolf?"

I groaned and ran a hand down my face.

Fai took the dirty mugs from the counter. "Rabbit-san ran into one of those strange oni we heard about. Luckily, Ryuuo-kun and Souma-san were in the area. Mokona, could you help me with these?" Fai disappeared into the kitchen, Mokona bouncing behind him.

"So," Kurogane said, "that kid back in Jade really did look like your brother."

"Yeah," I said. I understood his surprise. It was hard to be ready for people that looked exactly like someone you knew, and not be them, even if you had been warned. But something Kurogane had said bothered me. "You seemed concerned that your Souma might be here."

Kurogane looked out the window. "Souma is one of Princess Tomoyo's best guards. If I'm not there, she better be."

"So you're one of you Princesses guards."

"Yeah." He gritted his teeth. "I am."

Wasn't sure how, but I'd touched a nerve there. "Why?" I asked. I wasn't really sure how the word got out, or why I'd asked it. Maybe because I'd always equated a ruler with someone like Adrian. Or the new Rane of Synia, who threw her country into war to get revenge for her wife's death. People loved them because of propaganda, not because they actually knew them. And most people who got close enough to Adrian to see through the lies, were there to get ahead, and didn't care about the corruption.

Kurogane didn't seem like that kind of person to me. But I could have been wrong.

His eyes snapped back to mine at the question, surprise erasing his annoyance, before it returned as anger. "Because she's the Princess."

I frowned. Kurogane was very perceptive. If he was one of the head guards for his princess, he must have seen through her façade. I wasn't sure how that fit together. He didn't seem like someone who only cared for their own gain. He'd found a way to free the Kiishim in the ryanban's castle without killing her, and had agreed to train Syaoran without roping him into some deal. Could he really serve a princess that loyally, with his level of perception, and not question her?

I should let it go. Defuse the argument before it got started. But instead I dug at it. "Is that the only reason you need? That she's the Princess, so she must be good, or powerful, or the perfect bloodline, or whatever your world values?"

Kurogane's lip curled. "Princess Tomoyo has earned her position countless times over. The people I fight are coming to kill a selfless woman who works to protect and aid her people every day." He leaned back. "I heard what you said to the princess, the one here, about the enemy. 'You don't have time to care about them if you're protecting yourself, or someone else.' You get it, so why are you confused about this?"

I remained silent, my expression empty. Maybe his princess was a decent person. It was obvious my companions all came from very different worlds, so maybe his had a genuinely kind ruler. Otherwise, I couldn't line up Kurogane's intelligence and morals with knowingly serving a corrupt leader.

His eyes narrowed. "You work for your country's army, for your king, right? Or your Ryanban or whatever your leader is called. You're protecting your brother, but you can't develop the skills you've shown with casual practice."

I didn't like where this was going, so I tried to redirect the topic of conversation. "What about you?" I snapped. "When you aren't protecting your Princess, which countries are you trying to dominate? Are you just spreading the strength and prosperity of your perfect country under the hard but fair hand of your leader?" Sarcasm dripped from my words.

Kurogane slammed a hand onto the table next to me. "Our borders are the ones being threatened! Our people just want to live their lives—" He froze. His eyes lit with realization before narrowing. "Your country's at war," he said, suddenly quiet. "And you're the attackers."

Well, he'd figured it out. "Yeah," I snapped, tired. "We are."

"Why?" Something was working behind his eyes, but I couldn't place it. He kept looking me over like he could fit me into his understanding of something.

I snorted. "Because Elpedite is the strongest country in the world, and to bring peace to the world, we must expand our perfect rule to it. Or some bullshit like that."

"Well, why the hell are you fighting if you don't believe it?"

"Because," I snarled, "my king is a fucking psychopath who manipulates everyone around and below him. So you think, say and do what he wants, or he kills you. I kill who he tells me too, because it's always me or them, and I'll always choose me!"

I shoved myself away from the counter and passed Kurogane. Exhaustion had made me lose control, and now I was going to pay for it. It was better to cut this argument short and go to bed before I made things worse. I should have ended it long before now. I'd be stuck traveling with Kurogane until I found my brother, and the more he hated me, the more dangerous he could be on the trip.

I ascended the stairs to my room and slid the door shut behind me with a snap. Tomorrow, I'd keep things as simple as possible: train Sakura, help with the café, and avoid Kurogane until he'd cooled off. Which might be never.

AN: I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. A favorite scene maybe, or what you think of the interactions between Sakura and Alice. Please leave a review if you can, they really make my day. Thank you!