Shintaro rubbed his eyes until everything became hazy, then rubbed some more. His vision was slowly going bad, but it was so minor it didn't impair him unless he strained his eyes too much - for example, reading too long.

Which was exactly what he was doing now.

Konoha, in a thirst for knowledge, kept asking so many questions Shintaro simply took him to the library. He knew Konoha couldn't help it, if Shintaro forgot everything about... well, everything, he'd be frazzled too. Would he? This wasn't the time to think about it.

"Shintaro, this second paragraphs talks about a runaway Mage. Who is Mage?"

"What did I tell you about whispering?" Shintaro scolded the best he could in a low tone. People were staring, it was making him feel sick. "'Mage' is not a person. It's a classification. A Mage is someone who harnesses magical powers, like summoning fire from nothing or telekinesis. We don't have a good history about mages, that book explains it better, so please keep your voice down." In hindsight, he should've gone to the royal library, as he had connections who would understand the situation and a better wealth of information. However, Shintaro felt it would be disrespectful, especially since he wasn't part of the family (and wasn't going to be anymore).

Shintaro was honestly surprised Konoha hadn't been at least arrested yet. With that appearance, he looked like a Mage or even a witch. Did people assume he was okay since Shintaro was with him? They shouldn't, especially since Shintaro was... well, nothing.

Konoha seemed to catch on to instructions, because this time, instead of calling out a question, he pointed to it in the book. The mage's mother was a witch who was very possessive of her daughter.

"A Mage who is really evil," Shintaro explained in a voice he wasn't sure Konoha could hear, "Executed on the spot."

Konoha nodded and kept reading. Shintaro relaxed, beginning to nod off. Maybe he could get some real sleep in...

"-Shintaro."

Of course not.

"Shh."

"S- sorry." Konoha whispered, then pointed to another section in the book. It was scribbled all over, a whole section was torn out, and the odd thing was, it just continued afterwards as if it hadn't happened. There was no note of this in the book cover.

"It was omitted..." Shintaro mumbled. He'd have to go to the royal library soon. Shintaro knew some about the history of the nation, but not enough to explain what a book could. Maybe he'd ask someone there why the public library was omitting historical texts.

Shintaro could figure out why, but he didn't want to admit it.

/

The boy swallowed. He didn't want to accept what was happening, but his father had been preparing him for this since he could retain memories.

So he knocked on the door.

No less than ten seconds later, an older woman answered the door. "Come on in, Hibiya! Is your father with you?" She leaned heavily on the door for support, and the wrinkles around her eyes did not help in proving any sort of youthfulness. Hiyori's nanny. She took care of Hiyori while her parents were busy being dead. Her sister took herself completely out of the equation for some reason, and it pissed the fourteen-year-old off. "Dad is taking care of something. Where is Hiyori?" His father said it was imperative to keep Hiyori close now more than ever. He didn't get it, but he wasn't complaining.

"She's in her room, let me get her." Nanny gave him a look that said 'you're not going in her bedroom if your life depended on it,' and hobbled to the back of the house. As she did that, Hibiya closed the door behind him and made himself comfortable on the chair in the first room. They didn't have much furniture, just bare necessities, which was natural for peasants without jobs. They relied on Hibiya's dad's farm for food. His dad owned the Amamiya family farm, which provided a percentage of food and livestock to the royal family for a few generations now. Since they only gave a certain percentage each month, there was always some left over for Hiyori and Nanny. That's how they survived. And now, after what happened this morning, he was certain it was coming to an end. His dad didn't even tell him why.

"No food? Gee, Hibiya, you're really slacking." Normally Hibiya would react, but he couldn't bring himself to - she didn't know what was happening.

"Hiyori, dad said I need to protect you."

"Protect me...?" Then it all sank in. Her parents must have prepared her for this, too, before they died. "Hibiya, did your father tell you why?"

"Because the farm is being repossessed."

A strange look washed over Hiyori, almost as if she was relieved. "...well, why don't we play a game until your dad comes back?"

/

Shintaro awoke to Konoha poking his arm gently. "Shintaro... I think we overstayed our welcome..."

He blinked himself awake to find two librarians staring at them from afar. What was with everyone today? Did he miss a memo about history books?

Shintaro stifled a yawn, stood up, and grabbed the books. "Let's put these back." For some reason, he didn't want to go alone. Something felt odd. If someone attacked, Konoha would be his human shield.

Konoha followed like a dog would it's master as Shintaro put the books in their proper places. When he turned back, however, a flash of blue completely clouded his vision. "...what the hell-"

"-Shintaro?" It was a strangled, kind of familiar voice...

It seemed to call him home.

Was he going to see Ayano?

"Hey... Shin-"

He couldn't recall anything after that.