With the words of an anonymous reviewer, I will try hard to write this, if only for my own satisfaction. Please feel free to enjoy this too, though!

The dining hall was quiet, rimmed with crystal and silver all along the arches of the ceiling, and it was only us three: King Ashura, Kurogane-san and me. Silence stretched out miserably, but only Ashura-O seemed unaffected by it. He just sat there, smiling calmly as he ate into his main dish.

For me, however, was worse. I rarely had an appetite, and today was not an exception. I stared down the dead eyes of the butchered pig at the center of the long table. The three of us were spaced out, none of us wishing to be with the others—especially not Kurogane-san and me. The fight that had broken out between us and the incident with the nurses both plagued, at least, my mind.

My face flushed as I remembered how the nurses had treated us. It was apparent, even with Kurogane-san's strength that the women would easily overpower us with their numbers, and it was a quick thing. They had swiftly had us stripped and searched before we could even think to react.

My face turned an even darker shade of red at the thought of seeing Kurogane-san's naked body. It was strange enough to see myself without clothes, but another being? Humans and magicians had such similar body structures that it shouldn't be natural.

I remembered clearly at how different we had looked; Kurogane-san had been completely tan with strong muscles. Healthy, fit. And then there was me; skinny and pale, looking more like a scrawny rat next to his brawny self.

The nurses had squealed when we were exposed, but became even louder when my face had instinctively blushed deeply at the realization at what they'd done. They said something about Ashura-O finding me a… what was the word they used?

Someone cleared their throat, drawing me away from my thoughts. It was Ashura-O.

He stood with elegance, shifting his eyes from me to the other boy like it was unnatural for us to be separated from each other. "You two are quiet, and you are not eating much… did something odd happen with the nurses?" he reckoned.

Kurogane-san snorted, and I ducked my head down, a new blush heating my cheeks. Ashura-O raised an eyebrow at this, but did not inquire us for more. He walked around the table along the left aisle, until he stood next to me. "Shall we go, then?" he asked with a smile. I looked up at him, embarrassed that the blush still hadn't faded from my cheeks. He held a hand out for me.

"What will… we… be doing?" I wondered, not wanting to include Kurogane-san in my 'we'. Kurogane-san poked his meat with a fork awkwardly, and sat his chin on the palm of his hand as if bored.

"All three of us," the king began, to assure me that this included the boy. "Will take a trip around the castle so our guest knows where everything is."

I slumped in my seat, showing them both how upset I was about this idea. Truthfully, the king had already informed me that this would end up happening, but I still wasn't happy about it. Even with Kurogane-san sitting so far off, I could picture his naked self as it had been in the hospital room. The gauze on his nose didn't even slightly sway this vision.

Kurogane-san stood up halfway, and I carefully looked away so I wouldn't end up picturing him below the waist. "Will we be seeing those horses and men that helped us?" he questioned.

"Indeed. Especially the first three. They are currently in a condition that you can visit them in."

Kurogane-san was stunned. "They're alive?"

Ashura-O nodded, but said no more.

And that was enough to get Kurogane-san interested in following the king. It was in moments that he was beside us, and Ashura-O then turned his attention back to me. I was not accustomed to wandering the castle alone, so I was practically being forced to follow them this time. King Ashura knew this, and with a tired sigh I stood, not even bothering to take my king's offered hand.

Not seeming bothered by my disagreeing nature, the king of Seresu turned and led us out of the dining hall, into the main corridor. Kurogane-san walked right at the king's heels. Dejected by the lack of opinion in the matter, I trailed after them, far behind the two.

"…There, my good boy from Nihon, is the weapon's room," I heard my king inform the boy, who gazed at it with some barely-contained excitement. Ashura-O smiled at this. "And there, outside that window, is the arena, where you can either go horse-back riding or train. The stables are to the north of it."

He glanced back at me, with that smile still plastered to his face, and I dropped my eyes immediately. There was no need to get involved with that.

"And here is the medical hallway. Of course, you already know this, don't you?"

I looked around, which only made me recall more recent memories. I flushed brightly, staring hard at the tiled flooring. And because of this I almost missed seeing Kurogane-san steal a look at my face—which was now blood-red at the cheeks. I flushed even harder when I noticed, fanning my hair over my face.

Kurogane-san turned away with a grunt, and the tour continued as if nothing had happened.

I wondered why Kurogane-san hadn't even spoken a word to me since the incident with my twin. I stopped where I was in the hallway, looking to the side, where a window showed a vast majority of the arena outside, thinking…

It had not been the first time I had questioned why Kurogane-san was here, not even close. I had been wondering that ever since he dropped down from the sky. But how it seemed all-the-more important a subject. Where had he come from? Why was he even here? Ashura-O had said that he was an important piece in my life… but why?

'If I keep this up, I'll get a migraine,' I told myself, frowning a little at the falling snow. 'But wouldn't he have come from a family? His home and his friends are all back there on his world. He doesn't belong here. He's entirely different from me. I can't go back to my birth world. He needs to get back home… somehow.'

I blinked down at the arena, noticing something just outside the snow-covered stables. The mare from before, and she was looking right at me. I hadn't noticed her before because she blended in so well with the snow and the ice. She stamped her foot and snorted mist at me. Even from so far off, the black star on her nose was quite visible.

Unable to help myself, I raised a hand and waved. It made me feel stupid; why was I greeting a horse? And yet, after I did, the mare bowed her head in respect. She understood.

And I wanted so very much to ask her how she did, and I felt even stupider for it.

Even so, I turned away from the window to head for the stables. Just as soon as I did, my fogged mind suddenly became clear. Weren't there two others with me?

I was alone.

Nervous, I swallowed, and I ran off in the direction of the stables. The hallway seemed to stretch, and I could almost hear Ashura-O saying how much I was under separation anxiety. I couldn't seem to care, or even feel embarrassed anymore. My heart pounded in my ears.

Surely they would be there, waiting for me… right?