'Waaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgghhhh!' Battler gripped the railing, holding on for dear life. 'Isn't this boat going a little too faaaaast?'

'I don't think so,' George observed, standing perfectly upright.

'Hey, George-aniki, how come you're standing so straight while I keep getting thrown- arooooound!'

'It's something called balance, Battler,' George chuckled. 'You can learn it in many martial arts classes.'

'No way!' Jessica grinned. 'Look at Maria, she's only six and she's in total control! It's only Battler who's such a complete wuss!'

'Uu - ! Battler's a wuss!'

'Shut up Jessica! I'm gonna grope yooooouuuuu!'

As the four young ones wrestled and chatted happily with each other, they failed to notice all the adults had disappeared from the deck, away from any young ears. Deep in the dark confines of the lower decks, the adults, Rudolf, Kyrie, Eva, Hideyoshi and Rosa cramped together in one space, ready to start their own family conference. Rudolf lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and began to speak.

'Put that out,' Eva snapped.

Rudolf smirked, and threw it out the window. He began again. 'Alright, ladies and gents, let's go over the plan one more time. Step One: Call out Big Bro on his poor stock decisions. If he slips by, move on to Step Two: Call him out on Grandfather's death - '

'You don't need to tell us,' Eva barked. 'You think we're stupid?'

'Well, not exactly, but some of us may be a little...far away,' he walked over to Rosa, sitting quietly in the corner, and playfully patted her head. 'Right, Little Sis?'

Rosa jerked his hand away in irritation. 'I'm paying attention.'

'I still think it's a bad idea to say Grandfather's already dead,' Eva huffed. 'There's a high chance he's still alive, and if he is, well...'

'Don't worry, he's deader than a doornail by now,' Rudolf grinned.

'And who decided that?'

'Erm, we did?'

'No, you did.'

'No,' Rudolf said, clapping his hand on his wife's shoulder, and she rewarded him with a rub on the back. 'The two of us did.'

'I think you're forgetting who's the eldest here,' Eva growled.

'So?' Rudolf said. Hideyoshi, seeing trouble looming, quickly stepped forward.

'It doesn't matter anyway if Grandfather's dead or not,' he said hastily. 'I mean, either way - '

'Dear, it does matter,' Eva said. 'You know Grandfather is. The illness is only making him worse. Next thing you know, he'll just leave the inheritance to some servant just to spite us.'

'Funnily enough, I agree with you, Big Sis. Wouldn't put it past Grandfather in any way. But a businessman's always got to take risks, right, hon?'

Kyrie rubbed his back again, and Rudolf allowed a contented smile to creep up on his face.

'I still think it's a bad idea,' Eva said sourly.

'I think it's a good one,' Rosa said quietly, and then winced as Eva shot a glare at her.

'A-anyway,' Hideyoshi said, in a transparent attempt to resolve the tension, 'There's no point talking about it now. Why don't we go upstairs to play with the kids?'

'Come on, Hideyoshi,' Rudolf began.

'We don't belong in their world,' Kyrie finished for him, her eyes glittering brightly. Hideyoshi rubbed his brow and said nothing. Rudolf took out another cigarette.

'I said put that out!' Eva shouted.

Rudolf ignored her, and went over to the window. He gazed at the island, approaching slowly, and took a deep puff. 'I don't know why I even come here anymore,' he muttered, almost to himself. 'I hate this place.'

He threw the unfinished cigarette into the water, and turned to face his siblings. 'Alright, get some rest. We'll need all the strength we can get.'

'Woo-hoo, it's bigger than I remembered!'

Battler grinned, skipping up the pathway like an excited child. Kumasawa, struggling to keep up with him, chuckled. 'Oho, you haven't changed since I last saw you, Master Battler.'

'I can't help it Granny, it's been years! It's all coming back to me, woo-hoo!'

'He's like a five year old,' Jessica sighed.

'Really? I think that's part of his charm. Oh? What's that, Maria?'

'Uu - ! That rose - it looks like it's dying!'

'That's unfortunate. Don't worry, we can make it get better. Here...'

Soon, they had reached the mansion, and Kumasawa opened the double doors for them. Battler immediately shot through, admiring every single corner of the mansion. 'Haha, all the memories are coming back! Right here is where I first tried to grope you, Jessica, remember - ?'

'Ahem.'

Genji was standing by the hall, as motionless as a statue. There was no way to tell if his cough had been accidental or intentional. It was hard to tell anything from him, as usual. He was as stiff and robotic as Battler had remembered.

'Welcome to Rokkenjima,' he said, bowing. 'Masters Battler, George and Maria.'

'Hey, thanks Genji.' Battler noticed a portrait hanging behind Genji. 'Wait, who's that? I haven't seen her before.'

'It was hung a year after you left, Master Battler.'

'Huh,' Battler looked at the person in the portrait. 'She's pretty cute.'

'She is the Witch of Rokkenjima,' Genji said, with a straight face.

'What?'

'Oho, that's right, Battler,' Kumasawa chimed in. 'She comes out at night, playing tricks on all the servants...'

'Stop that,' Jessica scowled. 'Can we see our rooms now?'

'Oho, of course, milady. Right this way.'

As they left the main hall Battler couldn't resist looking back at the girl in the portrait. She had a certain charm, a kind of cuteness that made her appearance instantly refreshing. It was a young girl in a white dress, about seven or eight, sitting delicately on a chair with her arms on her lap, smiling. Her hair, which streaked down her shoulders, was a bright, burning blue.

'Hmph,' Will said, studying the portrait closely. 'So this is what else you changed.'

'It's my game after all.' Bernkastel said. A cup of tea had appeared in her hand, and she sipped at it delicately, giving her an excuse not to look at him again. 'The witch of Rokkenjima should be my piece, not Beato's.'

'This could change a lot of things.'

'Yeah, but not much.'

'Who is this new girl in the portrait?'

'Isn't it your job to figure things out?'

'Then let me ask: is this portrait, or rather this new Witch of Rokkenjima, based on a person?'

'Yeah. The girl in the portrait is based on a real person that actually existed.'

'Is this person directly related to Kinzo Ushiromiya?'

Bernkastel licked at her tea slowly before opening her mouth to give an answer. 'I refuse to repeat that.'

'Then she isn't?'

'Maybe. I sometimes get bored answering useless questions, you know? Using the red just takes so much effort.'

'I don't like this,' Will growled. 'You've changed too much.'

'Hmm? What was that, piece?'

'Kinzo Ushiromiya's love for Beatrice was the one thing that made him human. You've gone and tarnished it. I don't like this.'

As soon as the words left his mouth he found himself, inexplicably, floating at the bottom of a dark sea. Cold water entered his lungs, suffocating him, and he thrashed uselessly against the frigid water. The pressure was crushing him, holding him in a chokehold, and then he found himself back at the table, soaking wet. Bernkastel hadn't even moved her tea cup.

'Did you have a nice swim?' she remarked lightly. Will fought to keep his face under control, and bit his tongue.

'Well, if you're really that concerned...' Bernkastel set the cup down and began picking at her fingernails. 'All of the Ushiromiya family are acting the same as in the previous games, aren't they? I just changed the name of the witch of Rokkenjima, okay? That's all.'

Will kept his mouth shut.

'No objections, then?'

Will shook his head.

'Then let's continue with the game.'

'Shannon, your bosom's grown tons! Let me have a little squeeze, ihihihi...'

Jessica knocked him into the ground. 'What kind of thing is that to say to a lady?'

'S-sorry...'

The color returned to Shannon's face. 'M-maybe next time, Master Battler, if milady isn't around...'

'I wonder if you'll ever grow up, Battler,' George said.

'And I wonder if you'll even propose to Shannon, George-aniki!'

George instantly turned a shade of white, and Shannon went even paler than before. 'W-what do you mean?'

'Come on! It's obvious!' Battler grinned. 'Jessica told me everything!'

'N-no-no, not everything,' Jessica stammered. 'Well, I mean, I gave a few hints.'

Battler's grin grew wider. 'And you, Jessica!' he cried, thrusting a finger at her. 'You've got a thing for that new servant Kanon, right?'

'W-what?'

Battler's smile was intolerable, and Jessica wiped it off by slamming a fist into his head. Battler went down again, gasping.

'Hey, what's all the ruckus about?'

Rudolf appeared, wiping a lock of hair from his forehead. He stopped dead when he saw Shannon. 'My, my, Shannon, you've grown quite a bit, haven't you?'

'Y-yes, Master Rudolf...'

'And I have found just the person to serve tea tonight during our conference. Kumasawa was supposed to do it, originally, but her face, is like, you know...?'

'Uncle Rudolf,' George said. 'I invited Shannon and her brother to play cards with us tonight.'

Rudolf waved his hand, 'Nice save, George. You're a charming young man, you know that?'

'What - '

'What's all this about, old man?' Battler asked warily. Although Rudolf had already apologised and Battler had since re-entered into the family, there was still a level of frostiness between them that would take more than a year to cool.

'Oh, well, I was looking out the window, and I saw what a fine day it was, with the waves and everything. So I was gonna suggest that you kids go out there and frolic on the beach for a while.'

'Uu - !' Maria smiled. 'Maria wants to go to the beach, uu - !'

'Of course,' Jessica smacked her head. 'That's what we do everytime. How could we forget it?'

'Shannon, you come too,' George. 'And bring Kanon along. I'm sure he needs some company.'

'Thank you, Master George.'

One by one, the young ones chattered out of the room, Battler being the last to leave He fired one last parting shot at Jessica and then turned to face his father. Rudolf was already walking away, holding something to his face.

'Hey, old man!' Battler called out. 'Are you smoking!'

'Gar - argh,' Rudolf stuffed the cigarette back inside his pocket. 'Can't even have a little smoke to myself, huh?'

'You're not supposed to smoke inside the mansion!'

'It was just a small one. No one would know.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Battler scratched his head. 'Anyway, what was that all about? I thought you and the others were discussing something downstairs.'

'Yup. Well, things got so fired up we decided to take a break. And I went here. On a whim, I guess,' Rudolf shrugged.

'That bad, huh?'

'What?'

Battler bit his tongue. He had long since suspected that the family conference wasn't all roses, judging from the expressions his parents had when they had trudged out of the dining hall. Eyes downcast, sweat shining on their foreheads, and a slow, slouching gait. And yet, he didn't want to say anything more, unwilling to cross the icy barrier that stood between them.

'Heh,' Rudolf grinned, and patted his son's head.

'H-hey! Old man, I'm not a kid anymore!'

'I don't know about that, Battler. Well, it's been fun seeing you guys. See you later.'

He started to walk away.

'Hey, old man!'

Rudolf turned.

'You - ' Battler looked away awkwardly. 'You - take care of yourself, okay?'

'And you'd better not smoke,' Rudolf called back. 'Kills the lungs.' He gave one final wave, and then resumed his long walk back to the sitting room, where his simmering siblings were waiting. As he did, he looked out the window, and saw five young people running along the coastline, their figures shimmering brightly in the sunshine.

'Heh,' he said to himself, rolling an unlit igarette between his fingers. 'Well, that's one thing which keeps me from jumping off this bloody island.'