AN: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you like the chapter!

Three Days Before Leaving Elpedite:

I woke to motes of dust swirling through the sunlight above me and piano music drifting up from downstairs. Nathaniel was the one playing. He'd started when he was seven and had built up the skill since then. He was quite good now, but, being locked away from the world, he couldn't play for anyone except Mika, Ruetile, and me.

Staring at the ceiling, I listened. He played something light and bouncing for a while. But it stuttered, and began to dim. It wandered for a few minutes, drifting between melancholy and emotionless tunes. Then it crashed into an angry cacophony. I could almost see my brother attacking the piano keys. He still played beautifully, but knowing that was coming from him made my heart ache.

He stopped abruptly, and after a few breaths, he started the light tune again. It sounded hollow this time.

I took a deep breath and rose. Music was a healthy way of expressing your emotions, right? Maybe I should talk to Adrian about letting Nathaniel see a psychologist. Adrian wouldn't like it, but Nathaniel's behavior was starting to worry me. Things like the music he played and the jokes he made were getting darker. His grades were dropping, and he was speaking to me less. It had been so gradual, slight changes over months, I hadn't noticed at first. But one night he'd gotten a perfect score on his anatomy exam, and when I congratulated him on it, he burst into angry tears and ran to his room.

I didn't know what to do, and he'd refused to talk to me when I'd gone to comfort him. I had the awful suspicion I was the source of the problem, or at least a big part of it.

Forcing myself out of my room, I headed downstairs. In the living room, Nathaniel sat at the piano bench, his fingers dancing over the keys.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say hello, my pocket screen beeped three times. Nathaniel's music stopped. Only one person had my number.

Nathaniel met my eyes with a grimace as I accepted the call, heading for the front door. "Hello," I said as I stepped outside.

Adrian answered, his voice tighter than usual. "I've sent a hovercraft to pick you up. It will be there in five minutes." A storm of muffled voices crowded the background of the call.

"What's going on?" I asked, glancing back into the house in time to see the screen in the living room turn on by itself.

"You'll find out when you get here," he snapped. Then in a muffled voice, "Then run it again, it has to have some reading. You, get me a report on the AMS for the past hour. Now." The AMS was the Atmosphere Monitoring System. It usually scanned for foreign missiles and satellites that could be aimed at Elpedite cities. Clearer again, Adrian said; "You'll be on security as soon as you get here."

He hung up. I reentered the house to find Nathaniel watching the news. A red box in the corner of the screen indicated this was an emergency broadcast, that the channel could not be changed or the screen turned off.

The woman on screen had on a blue and white uniform with a copper medal on her jacket, marking her as a media officer. She muttered into her earpiece. A second later she straightened, faced the camera and spoke. "This emergency broadcast is due to an explosion that occurred in the tenth sector of Thani City approximately twenty minutes ago. Although we do not believe the affected area will grow, or similar incidents will occur, the citizens of Thani City are encouraged to take shelter immediately. If you have any information on this incident, call the number below, or contact the nearest city patrol officer."

As she repeated her message, video shot from a helicopter played next to her. It showed a cloud of dust pluming from a crater punched into the city street. It tore an office building in half and centered on the field of rubble that used to be the street. Flashing lights in the street marked emergency vehicles while tiny figures ran through the rubble, some in formation heading toward the crater. At the center of the impact, a spark of light gleamed through the dust.

"What is it?" Nathaniel asked, his gaze fixed on the screen.

"I don't know. Adrian didn't tell me." I shook my head, refocusing. "Nathaniel," I faced him, "a hovercraft is going to pick me up in a minute. Adrian wants me on security."

Nathaniel's face fell. "You have to go, now?" He glanced at the footage of the explosion.

I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to of course, but I didn't have a choice. "No one knows about this place and the house's security system is on high."

Nathaniel looked out the window at the pine forest. "Okay." He probably didn't feel much better about it, but he knew I couldn't stay, and nothing he said could change that.

The hum of a hovercraft rose as a shadow flew over the house. It landed in the clearing by the lake, about five hundred feet away, buffeting the pine trees nearby. I picked up by work bag in the kitchen and slung it over my shoulder before returning to the living room. Nathaniel met me there and wrapped me in a hug. I returned the embrace.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I said into his hair. "You're safe here and I'll call you soon." I patted him on the back and released him. He sniffed, clenched his jaw, and nodded.

Nathaniel watched from the door as I walked down the path to the hovercraft.

The woman waiting by the hovercraft door held out a small scanner. A black helmet concealed the top half of her face. "Identify yourself," she yelled over the engine.

I waved my wrist over the scanner, and it flicked on a green light. The woman nodded, tucked away the scanner, and waved to the door. I boarded the craft and took my seat next to a man wearing the same uniform, facing straight ahead. A moment later the woman sat beside me and handed me a helmet.

Once it was on, the woman's voice crackled in my ear. "Alice is onboard. Clear for takeoff. Over."

"Understood. We should arrive at Thani City in thirty minutes. Over." The craft lurched upwards. As I watched the forest blur beneath us, I wondered what this was going to turn into. I didn't think a missile could have caused the damage—the area affected wasn't big enough. Someone could have planted a bomb, but it would have been difficult with the citizen monitoring systems.

Hopefully, my presence would be unnecessary, and this would be explained and over in a week. But a sense of dread swept over me as I remembered the spark in the center of the destruction. A tiny light at the center of the chaos that was too small and focused to be a fire. A normal light wouldn't have cut through the smoke, and a laser would have cast a line through it. Whatever the light was, it was entirely new.

Present:

"You'll use this to start," I said, handing Sakura the knife hilt first. It was a basic but reliable single-edged blade, about seven inches long. Eventually I'd train her to use two at once, but she'd start with one for now.

Sakura accepted it carefully, turning it over to look at it. I'd just returned to the café from a trip to the weapons stall at the market. I'd sold the knives I picked up in Koryo and used the money to help pay for new ones for Sakura and me. She was progressing well, and had managed to punch me in the face a few days ago. She'd immediately stopped to apologize, which was the last thing she should do in a fight. Once I told her that, and assured her I was fine, we continued.

I would have liked to wait longer before introducing knives, but with the oni around, she needed to know how to use some kind of weapon. And Sakura took what I said very seriously, so I doubted she would treat the knife like a toy. I'd wait a few days, and if she used the weapon responsibly, we'd get her a gun.

When she'd finished looking over the knife, I handed her the sheath. "This goes on your belt, or the inside of your shirt, and your knife stays there until you need it. Understand?"

"Yes," Sakura said, sheathing the knife before strapping it to her side.

"One thing you should know about blades is that if you're fighting someone with a knife, you're going to get cut. There are ways to minimize the injury, but you need to be ready for the pain, so always be in that mindset."

I pulled a mock knife from my belt. It flashed silver, but the edge was a blunted, so it couldn't cut anyone. "You can hold it in a regular grip," I demonstrated. "This has a slightly better reach, and you can stab this way." I flipped it into a backhand grip so the flat of the knife faced my arm. "Or you use this hold, which will make it hard for your opponent to block, but you can only use overhead stabs.

"Try to block this," I said, and swung the knife at her ribs. Sakura immediately dropped her arm, catching the swing on the blade of her arm, like I'd taught her. But with the backhand grip, she'd blocked my arm at the place where I held the knife. Had it been real, her arm would've been sliced open. "See that?"

Sakura nodded, lowering her arm to get a better view. "How do I block it?"

"You don't," I said. "With this style of knife fighting, it's nearly impossible to block. It's better to dodge and strike while they recover from the swing. Your opponent has to be close for them to do this. Use that to your advantage. Your elbows can deliver powerful strikes. Use them if your opponent is close enough."

We went over knife use and defense for the next hour. I showed Sakura the basic strikes, the areas to target like the neck, armpit and the inside of the upper arm, stomach, places with arteries. For stabbing, she'd want to aim blow the ribs with an upward strike, where she'd likely hit the lungs.

Sakura's color drained as I went over those, but she pressed her lips together and listened, repeating the mock strikes on me when I told her to. I finished the lesson with the importance of keepingyour knife. It was worse to have a weapon you couldn't keep that to be unarmed. If your opponent took your weapon, then they would wield it against you, and you'd be defenseless.

When we entered the café, Fai waved at us from the counter. "Well done, you two. Hungry?" He pointed to two steaming bowls in front of him.

"Yes," Sakura groaned, taking a seat at the bar. "Thank you!" She took a huge bite of noodles and closed her eyes. "It's so good."

I took a seat beside her. "Thanks."

"Alice-san," Fai said, "could you help Sakura-chan and I with some shopping today?"

"Sure." There wasn't much else for me to do during the day, considering oni only came out at night and the café was closed for the day. If I went shopping, I could look for a store that sold silencers, or fake guns for Sakura and I to practice with.

Once we finished our lunch, Fai led us to the market street. It was far busier than the grocery store Sakura and I had been to. Someone bumped into my arm as I tried to side step them. I nailed them with a glare before they drifted on. "What do we need?" I asked, wanting to get this done as quickly as possible.

Fai leaned on his cane, using his free hand to slip the shopping list from his pocket. His limp was improving; a few more days and he'd be back to normal. "We'll need flour, eggs, bread, milk, cinnamon, chocolate, coffee beans, and sugar."

I nodded, opening the door to the shop for Fai. Inside, Sakura and I split up, seeking out what Fai assigned us bringing it back for approval or correction. Fai paused when all that was left was flour.

"We're going to need at least four bags of flour," Fai said, squinting at the twenty pound bags of flour in the corner before glancing at the full bags of groceries Sakura and I were already carrying. Even Mokona, perched on Fai's shoulder, carried a jar of cinnamon. Fai snapped his fingers. "We'll order them now and Big Puppy can pick them up later."

I was sure he'd be thrilled to hear that, but we didn't have enough hands to carry it now, so it would have to be.

As we exited the store, a young boy sprinted past, hurling pamphlets as he went. "Notice! Oni attacking regular citizens!"

Shifting my groceries to one arm, I caught one of the pamphlets. A glance at the strange symbols reminded me I couldn't read it. It did, however, have a tiny picture of an oni on it. It was a bat-like creature, with long claws and too many eyes. I winced at the idea of dealing with an oni that could fly.

Fai and Sakura leaned over my shoulder to look. "It seems the attacks have escalated," Fai said, glancing around that the people around us. Many had paused to look over the pamphlets, and worried mutters were growing around us.

"I still don't get why the oni wouldn't attack civilians," I said.

Fai smile sharpened a bit. "I'm not sure either. It doesn't seem quite right, does it?"

We shared a glance, and in it I saw that he didn't buy what Outo country said about the oni either. We knew something was wrong here. I nodded, not ready to discuss a potential dangerous topic further in public. I didn't know what we were allowed to question.

We were on our way back to the café when Sakura paused. I turned to see her staring into a window of a music store. The display had dusty sheet music, music stands, and a collection of small instruments.

"Would you like to go inside, Sakura-chan?" Fai asked.

Sakura snapped out of her daze, her face reddening. "No! It's okay. I didn't mean to slow us down."

Fai laughed. "We're not in a hurry. Come on." And he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Sakura looked at me expectantly. I shrugged, and followed Fai. The eggs had to get to the fridge, but they'd be fine for a little while.

Inside, Sakura and I set our bags down by the door, out of the way. The shop was a tiny thing, with the walls stacked with sheet music. Racks displaying various instruments were crammed together, leaving just enough space the let people walk between. But in the back of the shop, a grand piano took up the corner.

Fai and Mokona examined a set of drums set against the right wall. Well, Mokona jumped on them while Fai laughed. Sakura drifted over to a polished violin, her fingers hovering over the strings.

"Can you play anything?" I asked.

She frowned. "I don't know. But some of these seem . . . familiar? What's this one called?"

"A violin." Nathaniel could play the violin. He'd stopped playing it as often in favor of the piano, though. I wondered again where he was, and cut the thought off before it could escalate.

Sakura nodded and moved on, her gaze already fixed on another instrument. I wandered the other way, glancing over the various pieces at I went. I saw flutes, and trumpets, but some things I didn't recognize. A three stringed instrument, a little like a banjo, leaned against one of the shelves. Another instrument was like nothing I knew. It was a single board, with stings stretching from one end to the other.

I reached the piano in the back. Dust covered the keys, but underneath it was in good shape. My hand hovered over it. When Nathaniel was little, and was just starting to play, his fingers were too small the reach all the keys, so he split the notes in half.

He'd sat me down at the bench and shown me what keys to play for the left hand while he took care of what the right hand should have played. The notes he played were always the main part of the song, with my notes taking more of a background sound.

I let my fingers hit the keys in a quick set of notes. As I expected, it hardly sounded like a tune without the other half.

"You can play?" Fai asked, behind me.

I drew my hand away from the keys. "No."

Fai blinked, but didn't press it.

Sakura appeared from between the shelves. "What was that?"

"A piano," I said, pointing over my shoulder. "You can try it, if you want."

She glanced at Fai, and he gave her an encouraging smile, gesturing to the instrument. Excitement lit her eyes as she approached the piano. When she reached for the keys, she froze, frowned, and sat down at the bench. Her back straightened and hands held in the position I'd seen Nathaniel use hundreds of times.

A moment later, she was playing. A simple, happy tune that spun in on itself before burst into another round. I leaned back against wall, listening as Sakura lost herself in the song. When it was finished, Fai and Mokona burst into applause.

"Amazing, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blinked, registering what she'd done, before her face burned red and she hid her face in her hands. "T-thank you." She rose. "We should probably go now. The eggs might be getting warm."

"Oh, yes," Fai said, eyebrows rising like he'd forgotten that detail.

We were back on the street, only a block away from the café when Sakura stumbled to a stop. She blinked at me, her gaze growing distant and her weight shifting. "I think . . . "

I dropped my bags, took hers with one hand, and caught her against my side before she went limp completely. She'd been working so hard lately; I was surprised this hadn't happened before. Now was probably one of the better times for it.

"Good catch," Fai said, taking the bags from my hand. "There's a bench over there where you can set her down."

I nodded, pulling Sakura's arm over my shoulder and gripping her around the waist. I set her down on the bench Fai had indicated, making sure she wouldn't fall off before retrieving our bags and moving them to the bench. Fai and I took a seat on either side of Sakura to wait. "She's been doing better lately," Fai said. "Even if she did pass out today."

"Yeah," I said. I hoped that meant she'd wake up in a few minutes, not hours. This wasn't a bad place to wait, though. The bench faced a park with a nearby river. Squirrels ran back and forth between the trees as teenagers played catch in the grass. Two women relaxed on a picnic blanket set up by the water, holding hands.

Something burned in the back of my mind. A feeling somewhere between déjà vu and dread crept up on me. I scanned the park. Adrian wasn't here, and everyone seemed normal. But as I watched I knew there was something wrong with the scene.

"Fai," I said, "is there something strange here?"

Fai tilted his head. His smile dimmed, so I knew he was taking this seriously. "I take it besides the oni?"

"Yeah. Like, here, specifically," I waved a hand at the park.

Fai tilted his head and stared at the park for a long moment. "I can't say I see anything."

I propped my chin in my hand and scanned the people again. I could almost hear Adrian drumming his fingers against the bench behind me. "You're looking at it the wrong way," he said. "What's the better question?"

"The better question?" I whispered into my palm. I looked again. Everything here was normal.

"What's missing?" Close. But not it. I glared at the bricks beneath my feet.

"Who's missing?"

I hissed in a breath as it hit me like a blow. I could be wrong. I had to start looking before I could be sure.

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

I debated staying quiet and waiting until we got to the café. But city hall had known when a oni attacked us there. If it had to be said, maybe here was the better place.

"Have you seen any children since we got here?" I asked, my voice low. "Not teenagers, but babies, toddlers, anyone younger than ten? Any pregnant women even?"

"Oh," Fai breathed. His expression betrayed a flash of surprise before slipping back into calm. "I can't say I have."

It could be my imagination and paranoia getting the better of me. I was on edge, with The System malfunctioning and the oni prowling around, I could be seeing problems when they weren't there. But I'd keep an eye out for kids. If I saw any, I'd know I was wrong. If I didn't, then I'd know my concern was justified. "Let's not talk about it until we've watched for a while." And until it was safe to talk about.

"Agreed," Fai said.

One of the teens whooped as he caught the ball before hurling it to his friend. She caught it and the group ran further into the trees, leaving the park empty and quiet.

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

"Change of plans," I told Sakura as she set a bag of sugar on the counter. "You're learning how to shoot tonight."

Sakura nearly dropped the bag, sputtering. "Already?"

"Yep. The oni are dangerous, and I think you're responsible enough." That, and Outo was starting to freak me out. If something was about to change, or if we had to leave quickly, I wanted her armed and ready.

I poked my head out of the kitchen to see Fai at the bar. "Fai, we're going to Sarah's Lucky Shot. We'll be back in an hour or two."

He waved. "Have fun!"

"Right now?" Sakura asked.

"Was that the last of the groceries?" She nodded. "Then yes, right now."

"Okay," she squeaked, trailing after me as we left out the back door. She'd only been asleep for a short time, so we still had a few hours before sunset. I wanted to get back before dark.

"What should I know?" Sakura asked, falling into step beside me.

"We'll start you off with a revolver," I said. "They have fewer shots than a pistol, only five or six, but they're more reliable and will force you to be careful with your shots when you fire." I slowed to look her in the eye. "Guns aren't like knives, or punches. You can't pull your strike at the last second if you realize you've made a mistake. Once you pull the trigger, that's it. There's no taking back what you've done, no minimizing the damage. So you treat every gun you see or hold as if it's loaded. Even if you know it's empty, it isn't. That way you never point it at someone you don't intend to kill. Got it?"

Sakura's brow creased in concern. But there was conviction there too. "I understand."

"Good." I faced ahead and picked up my pace. "I'll tell you more once we get there."

About ten minutes later I swung open the door to Sarah's Lucky Shot. The bell above the door rang, and Sarah peaked at us from behind the counter. After the sound of a closing drawer, she rose. "Hey Rabbit," she said. "Need more ammo?"

I'd been by several times now to buy bullets, more than the average customer, apparently. "Not this time," I said, crossing the room to the table of revolvers, gesturing for Sakura to follow. "She needs a revolver, preferably 9 mm."

Sarah approached, eyes narrowed in thought. "How about this one?" She picked up a gold revolver with a five shot barrel and a curling rose engraved on the side. "It's 9mm and a nice compact model." She handed it to Sakura.

Sakura took it out of reflex, but froze as soon as she had it, glancing at me.

"Point it at the floor," I said. "And lay your finger over the trigger guard, not on the trigger." I picked up one of the other revolvers and demonstrated. She followed my instruction, gripping it with both hands.

"Can you grip it comfortably, or is it too big?" I asked.

"I think it's okay?" she said.

I took the gun, handing her a bigger model. "How does this compare?"

She held it for a second before shaking her head. "The first one was better."

"All right then," I took the gun from her hand and set it down before handing Sarah the first revolver. "We'd like to test this one."

"Fantastic," she said. "I'll meet you in the range."

As Sarah stepped behind the counter, Sakura and I took earmuffs from the bin next to the shooting range door and put them on. Then we stepped inside. We were alone, so we had our pick of the booths. I chose a center one and turned to Sakura. She glanced up at me, fidgeting with her sleeve.

"I'd recommend you do this. But if you're scared, you don't have to," I said. I didn't want to force her into anything. She had the power to make her own choices, and I wanted her to know that. I didn't want to be like Adrian.

She took a deep breath. "I'm nervous, but I want to do this. I'm just scared of making a mistake."

"I'll be here to check you," I said. "I'm not going to let you mess up. As long as were both careful, you'll be fine. And it's just a weapon. It only does what you make it do."

"Okay," Sakura let out a breath, and some of the tension eased from her shoulders.

Sarah entered, the pistol at her side. "Here you go. The five test shots are already in."

I extended a hand. "I'll be firing first." Sarah handed it over.

Turning to aim down the range, I paused, opened the barrel and removed one of the bullets. "This is a bullet," I told Sakura. I explained to her how the gun powder in the back half of the bullet exploded and propelled the front half down the barrel at 1,500 feet per second. I went over the cylinder, trigger, grip, and hammer. When I was done, I raised the gun with both hands and aimed at the target.

"You'll aim by lining up the front and back sights on your target. When you fire, take a breath in, let it halfway out, then steadily squeeze the trigger." I cocked the hammer, and pulled the trigger. The gun fired with a bang, leaving smoke streaming from the barrel.

Sakura watched with wide eyes, her gaze flicking from the pistol to the new hole in the target, millimeters away from the center.

"And again," I said before firing a second time. This time it was a perfect shot.

I lowered the gun. "How many bullets are left?" I asked Sakura.

"Three," she said.

"Good. Always keep track of how many shots you have." Keeping the gun pointed down, I extended it to her. "Remember, point it at the floor and keep your finger off the trigger." As I spoke, Sarah pulled the target back down the track and replaced it with a new one before sending it back out.

Determination lit in Sakura's eyes and she accepted the gun with both hands, following my instructions. I moved aside and let her step up to the firing panel.

"I want you to raise the gun, aim, and fire the way I showed you. Brace for the recoil, don't drop the gun, but if you do, do not try to catch it."

She nodded, eyes locked on the weapon. Taking a breath, she raised the gun, and aimed. She let out her breath slowly, and carefully pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gun fired, and Sakura jumped, but kept her hold. She lowered the gun a few inches and checked the target.

She'd hit it dead center.

"Nicely done," I said, surprised at her accuracy. "Now do it again."

She fired two more times, taking careful aim. They landed five and three inches away from the center, which was impressive for someone who'd never held a gun before.

We ended up leaving with Sakura's new revolver, her hip holster, and ammo, and I ended up getting a 9mm rifle and some magazines for it. I wouldn't use the rifle as much as my handgun, but I wanted something that could manage longer distances, if I needed it.

As we stepped onto the street, I pointed to Sakura's revolver, gleaming on her hip. It was empty, but Sakura had continued to treat it as if loaded. "That stays holstered unless I tell you to use it, or there's a matter of life or death. Not if you feel like you can helpful, but someone will absolutely die unless something changes."

"I understand," Sakura said. "I promise I'll be careful."

Her seriousness settled my nerves, but a small part of me still questioned my decision to give her a gun already. I didn't know how she'd handle a high stress situation, or how aware she'd be of the people around her. But I'd prioritize gun practice over everything else until I was sure she had enough training.

Darkness fell over me. The sun was setting, stretching the shadows of the trees across the pavement against orange light. "All right. Let's go." We set off for the café. On our way there, I watched for any children, or any sign of them. There was nothing.

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

"A little to the left," Fai said.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead gave the piano a good shove. It slid into place, the legs squeaking against the hardwood.

Fai shook his head. "No, sorry. Back to the right."

I looked at him, then the piano positioned roughly on the corner of the café. "It's fine." I left to take a seat at the bar.

He slumped against the bar. "But it has to be perfect!"

"Then get Kurogane to do it." I wasn't sure what imperfections Fai was seeing. It looked fine to me.

Fai's apparent disappointment vanished beneath a smirk. "Good idea."

I glanced over my shoulder at the instrument. "Why did you get it anyway?"

Fai shrugged. "It might be nice to have some music in the café, especially since we know Sakura-chan can play. I think she had fun when she did. Now," he straightened, "I'm going to find Big Puppy."

When he left the bar I sighed, glaring at the piano. I'd always associated music with my brother, pianos especially. Having one would be a constant reminder that he wasn't here, and I was trying not to think on that. I wanted to find him, of course, but now that I knew he wasn't in this world, there nothing I could do but wait. With the difference in the flow of time between worlds, even rushing wouldn't do any go.

A set of footsteps descended the stairs. I turned to see Sakura, yawning. "Good morning, Alice-san."

"Morning," I said.

When Sakura caught sight of the piano, she paused. "What's that doing here?"

"Fai bought it for you."

Her face reddened as she approached the instrument. "That was very nice of him. But I'm not sure how well I could play it."

"You played like you've been practicing for years," I said, flatly. "Your music is fine."

She pointed at the instrument. "Do you think I could . . . "

I waved a hand. "It is for you."

The last of her hesitation gone, she sat at the bench and raised her hands. Then her fingers were flying across the keys, dancing out a slow, light melody. It was nice to sit there for a bit and listen while the morning sun gleamed off the piano and hardwood. But memories of similar mornings with Nathaniel tinted it all a shade darker.

By my elbow was a stack of large paperback booklets. I picked up the first one open, and found sheet music.

When Sakura had finished her song I raised the booklet. "These are probably for you too."

Sakura joined me and took the papers. She opened the book and frowned. "What is it?"

"Sheet music," I said, frowning. "Can you read it? Or do you have something different in Clow?"

She shook her head. "I can't read it and . . . I don't know if Clow has music like this. I can't remember." She set the papers back down, a distant sadness in her gaze.

"So you've been playing with muscle memory?" I asked.

"I think so. I just sit down and play."

"Okay." I rose from the bar, gesturing for her to follow. She did, and sat down next to me when I took a seat at the piano bench. I didn't know much about playing, but I could tell her the little I did know.

"The white keys are labeled A through G. This is A, B, C . . ." I tapped the keys as I went. Sakura watched until I was finished. "The keys correspond to the dots on the scale," I pointed to the notes on the sheet, "but I don't remember how. You'll have to ask someone else."

"You play the piano?" she asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

"No," I said.

"Then how do you know this?" She gestured to the keys.

"My brother can play. I helped him, when he was little." Nathaniel had been eight when he recruited me to help him play. After several times of stopping me with, "No, not that one, that one," I'd told him he needed to be more specific. So he'd taught me which letters corresponded to which notes.

"Would he teach me, when you find him?" Sakura asked.

I gave her a small smile. It would have no real effect on the future, but I appreciated her use of when not if. "I'm sure he'd love to."

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

Bang!

Sakura jolted against the recoil, but kept her grip on the pistol. She glared at the green bottle she'd missed for a third time. The glass sparkled in the sun. But she raised the revolver and fired again.

We'd found a nice place away from town to practice at. I'd checked in at town hall for shooting ranges—Sarah's Lucky Shot was nice, but too busy—and one of the Emmas had suggested the hillside at Madison Grove. It was a location that allowed firearms use, and the hillside would catch any bullets fired.

I'd lined up empty bottles and cans from the café on a fallen log for Sakura to shoot at. She'd hit the first one dead on, sending the can spinning. After that it had taken several shots per target, but after a few minutes she'd gotten it down. I'd started a cycle of waiting until she hit the targets with one shot consistently, before moving us farther away and starting again.

"How many shots left?" I asked.

"Two," she said immediately. She fired again and the bottle burst into emerald shards.

"Next time, reload as quickly as you can," I said. "Don't rush, but move with purpose." The down side of revolvers was that they took longer to reload. I wanted Sakura to reduce that time as much as she could.

After Sakura shot the last can, she lowered her revolver and flicked opened the cylinder. She took five bullets from the ammo box and slid them in methodically, before snapping the cylinder shut. It took about ten seconds, which was decent, and she would get faster as she did it more often.

"Good. Gun down," I said, picking up my grocery bag of cans and bottles. I walked to the log and set up the last five targets before reaching for the rolled up paper and nail at the bottom. I unrolled it, walked to a nearby tree, and nailed it in place with the hilt of my knife.

When I returned to Sakura, she had a sour look on her face. "Aim for the head," I said, pointing to the human silhouette on the poster. "Head shots will kill the enemy instantly, in most cases. Body shots are easier to make, but probably won't kill them immediately, which means they'll still have time to fire on you."

When I fired on my enemies, I always took head shots. I figured it was a kinder death, to be unaware that it had happened, and to feel less pain. The alternative meant leaving them enough time to process that their body wasn't working, to see the blood pumping out of them, and to realize their life was about to end. That the people who loved them were about to be devastated, and they'd never see them again. Enough time to feel the pain, the bullet, and the cold creeping up their hands.

I'd hoped that if I ever made a mistake, they'd show me the same kindness.

I glanced at Sakura. "When you've landed ten shots, we'll call it a day."

Sakura nodded and shot the last five cans, then reloaded and aimed at the poster. She hesitated.

I crossed my arms and stared at the target. "Remember, the kind of people you'll have to shoot at aren't good. They're the kind that would hurt you or Syaoran if given the chance. It's their choice to attack you. Don't feel guilty for dealing out the only reasonable response."

"What if I talked to them?" Sakura said. From the tone of her voice, I think she only half-considered it an option.

"The decision to kill is a heavy one. Regardless of if it's made by someone who only wants to hurt you, or in self-defense. You won't have the time or composure to talk them down." I watched the light glint of the shells casings at Sakura's feet. "The people I shot couldn't have stopped me with words." It was cold, and might scare her, but it was true and something she should hear.

Sakura gave me a concerned look out of the corner of her eye before nodding. She refocused on the target.

Bang!

"Good try," I said. "Again."

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

Sakura fiddled with the strap on her shoulder. "Do I have this on right?"

It was her first time wearing her new gear. I'd gotten her a set similar to mine: a breastplate, arm guards, bullet and blade resistant shirt and pants, and steel-toed boots. "It needs to be tightened." I gave the strap a quick yank, fixing the lopsided set of her breastplate.

Fai who was half asleep on the bar, gave her a thumbs up. "Very cool, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blushed. "Thank you."

Syaoran, who had been on his way to the back of the café, paused. His shoulders tensed as his eyes flicked over Sakura's armor and pistol. "Are you two going oni hunting?"

Sakura grinned. "Yes! Alice-san and I are going to Tsubaki Road." They held each other's eyes for a moment before both their gazes slid to me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to come, Syaoran?"

"Yes, please." He blushed, bowing slightly. "I promise not to get in the way."

"As long as you two don't distract each other." If they got lost chatting with each other while we were out, I'd send Syaoran back.

Syaoran and Sakura's faces blazed red as Fai laughed. It was a bit reassuring knowing Syaoran would be another pair of eyes with us. Shrugging my rifle onto my shoulder, I opened the front door. "Let's go."

"Happy hunting!" Fai said, waving us off.

Sakura and Syaoran fell into step behind me. For the first few minutes, they remained silent, following me through the streets while the moon, nearly full, hung above us. We took the back roads, so the street lights were dim and few. Several flickered as we passed.

When we were about a block away from Tsubaki Road, Sakura picked up her pace to walk beside me. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to an easy area. I've been here before, so I know the kind of oni we'll be dealing with. They usually come in waves of about ten. For the first wave, you'll stand back and watch the way they move. For the second wave, you'll work with me to kill them." Unlike the area with the wolves, the oni here were actually easy to kill. I'd hunted here three times and nothing strange had happened, so this was the best spot I could think of to start Sakura off.

I looked over my shoulder to Syaoran. "You can watch our back, but don't step between Sakura and I and the oni. If you do that, you'll put yourself in the line of fire and you may get shot."

He nodded. "I understand."

Minutes later, we arrived. Unlike most oni hunting grounds, this wasn't an alley, but an actual street with benches and streetlamps. The place empty of people; most of the buildings here were warehouses.

I pulled my rifle off my shoulder, holding it pointed at the ground. "The oni here are spider-like, about two feet tall. They're quick, but tend to pause on their way to you."

From behind a bench, one of the creatures scuttled into the road. It had six legs, and its body was about the size of a soccer ball. It blinked at us with a pair of yellow eyes. I raised my rifle, aimed, and fired. The oni flew back, bouncing across the stones and dissolving away.

Another was already crawling out of the gutter. I allowed this one to spot us and scuttle closer. After about ten feet, it paused, slowly walking to the left and blinking at me, before moving closer again. This time when it paused, I shot it.

"They don't really deviate from that pattern," I said, aiming at the next one. "It's best to shoot them when they pause."

When the first wave had finished, I stepped back next to Sakura. "We have about three minutes. You have five shots, which means you'll need to reload. When you do, stay calm, I'll cover you for however long you need. Anything you miss and gets within ten feet of us, I'll take care of." I looked to Syaoran. "And Syaoran has our back."

Syaoran nodded emphatically. "Of course."

Sakura nodded and took a deep breath. She took her revolver off her hip and checked that it was loaded. Then she raised her gun and waited.

When the first oni crawled out of the shadows, I aimed for it and waited. A second later there was a gunshot and the oni was thrown back, crumbling away as it landed.

"Good work," I said, shifting to aim at the next one. It ran toward us and paused. There was another gun shot and a flash of sparks just beside the creature. "That's fine. Try again."

The thing lowered its weight to run, just before Sakura shot again. This time she got it.

"How many shots left?" I asked.

"Two!" She sounded confident. Sakura downed the next two oni as soon as they appeared.

"I've got it," I said. "Step back and reload." Sakura left the corner of my vision as her revolver's cylinder clicked open. "Syaoran, how's the back?"

"Clear," he said.

I took care of the next two oni before Sakura returned to my side. "Ready."

I held my fire and let Sakura down the next two oni. The third had gotten pretty close while she'd been busy, about fifteen feet. She missed again and it ran toward us. I fired, and it went bouncing across the sidewalk.

"Sorry!" Sakura said.

"Don't worry," I said. "You're doing well. Adrenaline will make you shaky, which will throw off your aim, so try to calm down."

"Two behind!" Syaoran said before there was the thud of impact. "One! I've got it." The sound of a second kick landing sounded.

The last two oni appeared simultaneously. Sakura took a few seconds, but then she fired in succession, and hit them both dead on.

"Very good," I said. I watched the street for a few seconds before lowering my rifle. "Clear. Next wave in two minutes."

"Clear," Syaoran said.

Sakura holstered her gun and beamed at me and Syaoran. "I did it!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness," Syaoran said.

"Good work," I said, reloading my rifle. "Do you want to stay for the next wave?"

"Yes!" Sakura clenched her fists. "I want to try to get all of them this time."

"Then get ready," I said.

Sakura loaded her revolver and was ready when the first oni crawled out. She managed well, only missing twice and firing again to correct the mistake. When she needed to reload, she moved quickly enough that I didn't have to cover her. When the wave was over, I hadn't fired a shot.

"All right," I said, lowering my gun. "Let's move back for now."

When we'd left Tsubaki Road Sakura holstered her revolver with a grin, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I did it!"

Syaoran beamed at her. "You've improved a lot!"

Sakura blushed. "Thank you." She turned to me. "And thank you so much, Alice-san."

I shrugged, not entirely sure what to do with the thanks. "You're welcome." I scanned the horizon, and found the clock tower. "I was going to stop by town hall on the way back. Do you mind if we head out a little early?"

"I'm okay," Sakura said.

Syaroan nodded. "Me too."

"All right," I said, turning to head down the street.

Town hall was only a block off our route, so the walk there was quick. We ascended the marble steps and entered the bright building. Inside was quiet, with only one other person speaking softly with one of the Emmas. I approached one of the open desks, the Emma giving me a glassy smile as I approached.

"Hello," she said. "How may I help you?"

I crushed my hesitation. I would ask a simple question, and regardless of the answer, I'd leave. It was a risk, but I wanted some clue as to what was going on.

"Could you tell me where the nearest maternity ward is?" I asked. I figured asking for a location specific to children was a bit less conspicuous than outright asking where they were.

Emma tilted her head. "There are no maternity wards in Outo country. If you believe you are pregnant, you must inform the nearest city official immediately. Do you believe you are pregnant?"

"No," I said quickly. My blood chilled, but I shut down my expression, letting nothing out. "I thought I heard someone mention one, so I was curious." It was a poor excuse, but one the AI might buy. Hopefully, no alerts had been sent. "Goodnight."

She waved as I left the desk. "Goodnight."

I kept my pace under control, despite the desire to sprint from the building. Syaoran and Sakura fell in step at my side. Syaoran glanced over his shoulder at Emma. "What was that?"

"Later," I said, my eyes fixed on the exit.

Sakura and Syaoran shared a concerned look, but kept quiet. When we'd left the city hall several blocks behind, and I checked to make sure we weren't followed, I slowed.

"There aren't any kids in Outo," I said.

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"I haven't seen anyone younger than ten since we got here, and Emma just said there are no maternity wards here."

Syaoran frowned at the pavement. "I don't think I've seen any either."

A man approached us, glancing our way. I met his eyes with an icy expression before glancing over his hands and jacket. As he reached us, I slipped my hands into my pockets. Then he looked away, passing by us as his shoes clicked on pavement. "Let's keep our discussions of it at a minimum," I said, once he was out of earshot. "I don't know what's going on, but there's a reason people aren't talking about it."

Concern crumpled Sakura's face. "If this is like Jade, maybe we can help."

I shook my head. "Whatever is going on, the government knows about it, which makes this whole country our enemy, not one unknown individual. The best we can do for now is watch and listen. And ask very careful questions."

Sakura frowned. "All right."

Syaoran's jaw tightened, but he nodded and set his gaze on the sidewalk.

I wasn't done looking for answers, but Emma's focus on me after I'd asked the question chilled me. Something was wrong with Outo. We'd have to find out soon what it was, or leave.

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

The café door slid open with a bang, nearly causing me to drop the glass I held. I turned to see Kurogane trudge through the door, three twenty pound bags of flour on each shoulder. Our eyes locked for a moment before I looked away, continuing to stack glasses behind the bar. We hadn't spoken since our argument, and I was fine with that. Logically, I knew I should try to clear the air and avoid future problems, but I didn't think I could sort out an argument with anyone besides my brother. All evidence showed I had awful people skills, and I didn't think Kurogane's could make up for mine.

"You couldn't have had these delivered?" Kurogane asked.

Fai leaned across the counter. "It was too expensive. Thank you, though!" Kurogane muttered to himself as he dropped the bags on the counter, little puffs of flour bursting from them.

Sakura entered carrying a box of clean glasses. She set the box down next to me and glanced around. "Where's Syaoran-kun?"

Kurogane glanced out the window. "Still training."

I looked outside at the already black sky. I wondered what training Syaoran could be doing at this time of night, but shrugged it off. As soon as I finished setting up the bar, I was going out myself.

"Hello everyone!" Yuzuriha sang as she and Shiyu entered the café. Her dog followed silently at her heels, ears flicking.

"Welcome back," Fai said.

They took their seats at the bar and ordered the usual as Fai got to work. I paused, the glass in my hand hovering an inch from the counter. I could try pressing Yuzuriha for answers on the missing children. Not directly, of course, but she was probably one of the better people to ask, and Shiyu was speaking with Fai. Yuzuriha would be less stern than Shiyu, and less likely to follow the rules. I set down the glass. Across for Yuzuriha, I leaned against the counter.

"Yuzuriha, could I ask for your advice?" I kept my voice soft, not low enough to be strange, but not loud enough to pull the others' attention.

"Sure," she set down her fork. "What's up?"

"My little brother might be moving to Outo soon, and he'll need to find a new school. Could you recommend any nearby?"

She looked at the counter. "Hmmm. Well Kagami High School might be a good one. But he'll have to talk to the school he's going to now before moving here. Once you're here, the schools can't really work out a transfer."

I shook my head. "He's only nine, so he'll need an elementary school." Nathaniel was actually twelve, but I wanted information on younger kids. I'd seen plenty of teenagers around, Yuzuriha being one of them.

Yuzuriha's eyebrows rose. "He's nine?" Her mouth twisted into a frown. "You might want to talk to your parents then . . . cause, you know . . ."

I blinked. She'd implied this was something I should already know, and she didn't want to talk about it. I decided I could press once. "I know what?"

Her confused expression deepened, but didn't take on an angry or suspicious tinge. "Well there's . . . an age restriction for moving into Outo."

She shifted in here seat, glancing away from my gaze. There was more there she wasn't saying, but she was uncomfortable now, and I didn't want to push her much farther. I couldn't work out why a law like that would be in place, or why there weren't any maternity wards here. There may have been a disease that only affected the very young, but I hadn't heard about it, and if there was such a disease there would be some kind of information campaign.

"Ah, right. I forgot," I said, looking to Fai out of the corner of my eye. Fai glanced away from his conversation with Shiyu and met my eyes. He gave me a slight nod. He'd heard. Kurogane was already staring at me when I looked his way. He remained still, but there was something steely in his eyes that told me he'd been listening as well.

"I'll get that out of your way," I said, taking Yuzuriha's empty plate and heading for the kitchen. Her baffled expression smoothed away as Fai asked her how she liked the new recipe, pulling her into their conversation.

In the kitchen, I set the dirt plate in the dishwasher just as Sakura finished putting away some clean pans.

"Would you like to review some anatomy?" I asked. She should know some basics at least, so she'd know where to strike and what parts of her body to protect.

She perked up with a nod. "Yes, please."

We returned to the bar and took the two seats on the end. I took a pen and napkin, and scribbled a rough drawing of the human body. I marked the rough locations of major veins and arteries as Sakura nodded along. I'd just started on the skull, mentioning that the temple was its weakest point, when the front door flew open with a bang.

All heads in the bar turned to see Ryuuo panting in the doorway. "We saw the new oni!" he said as Syaoran stumbled in behind him. Both their clothes were torn, and bloody scrapes laced their skin. Syaoran was covered in dirt and had a dazed look in his eyes as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Seriously?" Yuzuriha said, jumping up from her seat. "Where?"

"Mirai Park," Ryuuo said, straightening. "There were so many oni. They were all stronger than I've ever seen."

Syaoran's glassy gaze lay fixed on some point in the distance. Sakura approached him, and his eyes cleared. They had a brief exchange in quiet voices, Syaoran giving her a reassuring smile.

I drifted over. "What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Syaoran glanced at the floor. "We were attacked by oni, a horde of them. And the new oni was controlling them."

"So?" I gave him a sharp look. "You've seen them before, and now you're acting like you're in shock. What happened?" If some new threat had shown up, I wanted to know.

Syaoran looked at Ryuuo, who was recounting the adventure with wild gestures to a captivated audience of Shiyu and Yuzuriha. Then in a quiet voice he said, "I saw someone from Clow."

"So a look-alike?"

Syaoran shook his head. "He recognized me. It was the man who taught me to fight."

I couldn't fit it together for a moment. But it would make sense somebody else had the ability to travel between worlds. And it was odd that Syaoran had crossed paths with them twice. But it didn't explain his confused daze. "He was your teacher, and you saw him while you were fighting oni under control of the new one. . ." I grimaced. There was a gap between Syaoran's apparent reunion and the appearance of the mysterious, humanoid oni. And I thought I knew what it was. "Syaoran, what was the new oni?"

Syaoran looked past me and into the distance. "It was my teacher: Seishirou."

AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review if liked anything, they always make my day!