World 1: Departing Ways

"I will grant your wish. In exchange you will travel to different worlds and clean up the holes left behind." Yuko said. "Watanuki, go fetch that from the storehouse." Watanuki nodded and disappeared into the house.

"So what are the specifics of this job? I haven't been told how I will get to these 'other worlds' and how I'll find the source of the holes."

"You'll be searching for something that contains a great deal of power that doesn't belong in that world." Behind her, Watanuki came back out with a fat black and white cat in his hands. "You'll be using this to travel." She held out the cat to her.

"A cat?" Hana's eyebrow rose curiously as she eyed the cat.

"Yes. It's almost the same thing as Mokana, only its' physical appearance. Mokana has the power to travel through dimensions and so does this thing."

"Ok…I'll take your word on it…but a cat?"

"Don't call me a cat!" the thing suddenly opened its eyes and sprang on her head.

"Wha-? It talks! The cat talks?" Hana exclaimed as the cat began to beat her on the head with its stubby paws. "Ow! Hey! Stop that!"

"It seems the two of you will be getting along quite well." Yuko mused. "This is Natori. Not only will he allow you to travel through dimensions, but he'll also act as a translator and a communication device between you and me."

"Communication device?"

"You'll understand later on. Also this thing also acts as a compact suitcase; he can fix all your stuff inside."

"I'm not sure I follow…" Hana muttered.

"Natori, would you kindly take Hana's bags?"

"Fine, fine!" he huffed. "Geez, I finally wake up and the first thing I'm greeted with is do this, do that." Natori opened his mouth wide and tendrils of light shot out. It enveloped her duffle bag until she couldn't see it anymore. Suddenly it vanished and Natori closed his mouth with a gulp.

"He-He ate my bag?" Hana cried as she grabbed his mouth and yanked it open. She froze as she found herself staring down into a black abyss. "Eh? What is this?"

"I didn't eat it! Let go of my face, you brat!" Natori hissed and head butted her.

"You abusive cat!" Hana snapped as she held her injured head.

"I can hold the dimensional portal open for a brief amount of time so I'd advise you to hurry and prepare yourself." Yuko advised. "I'll give you some pieces of advice before you go. When you go to a different world, there is a distinct possibility that it might look like this one?"

"What do you mean by that?" Hana asked. The shadows were stretching even longer as the sun continued to sink like a rock.

"There are alternant realities of this world in different dimensions. No matter how much the scenery and people look the same as they do here, they are all different. The people will have different memories and personalities, even if their faces are the same. Don't forget that. Also it would be best to not get too involved with the people there. Only do it if it is necessary."

"Why is that?"

"If you get too attached to the places you visit, you will cease to be a traveler. Too many attachments will wear you down. To be a traveler is taxing enough, so you don't need the extra burden."

"I see…so you feel that it will be better for me to remain an outsider wherever I go?" Hana's eyes turned solemn.

"You will be an outsider where ever you go in those worlds. You will never be a part of those worlds." Yuko told her.

"I know that." I knew it from the beginning. But still…to disassociate yourself from people is still tough…

"Natori will be able to sense the presence of the objects in each world so it'd be best if you carried him around with you at all times. Also I will give you a protective spell." Yuko held out her hand towards Hana, as if she saw stopping her. Suddenly, a blue summoning circle appeared on the ground underneath Hana's feet.

What is this? Magic? Hana thought in surprise. She could suddenly feel something coursing through her. It didn't hurt or feel cold; more like a warmth similar to that of warm, coursing water. A protective spell? What does she mean by that?

"This spell will protect you when you travel to other worlds. There will be dangers. You will meet remnants of the evil that has caused chaos through the world. The group that went on ahead, their destiny is to fight that evil." Yuko told her as she finished the spell.

"An evil? What kind? Like super bad guy like?" Hana stared at her hand, but saw no change.

"It is a greater evil that you can imagine. You will never have to face it head on, but you will encounter the remnants of his actions." She paused for a moment. "It is very likely that it is one of those remnants that killed your family." Hana's head snapped up at Yuko's words. "Are you thinking of revenge?"

"I…don't know…the possibility of finding the exact one who killed my family would be slim…Besides, what would I do? Kill it? What good would that do? My family would grieve if I had to kill something that killed them; they wouldn't want that." she said softly. "I will put my faith in these people who are traveling on ahead of me. I know that they'll take care of the remnants for me."

"That may be, but you'll face the remnants when you travel as well. They'll be guarding the worlds in order to make sure that the holes are not fixed up. They'll stop at nothing to make sure you do not succeed. Even if you say that you have no intention of killing, you might possibly have to in order to keep yourself alive."

"I see…but I don't have a weapon…to kill with…" she mumbled.

"You won't need to worry about that until the time comes; the protective spell will keep you safe for the time being. Now, it's time. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"When you travel through the dimensional rift, there's no telling where you'll end up. There's nothing I can do about that; it'll be purely up to chance."

"I understand."

"Don't forget to read the book I gave you and take this as well." Yuko reached out and handed her a thin rectangle made of plastic, similar to a credit card. "It's a universal credit card. As long as you know where you are, this card will have the currency of that area on it."

"Ok…that's interesting…and helpful…" Hana stared at the card before slipping it into her pocket.

"If you need to get in contact with me, Natori will tell you how. Now then, Mokana," Yuko held out her hand.

"Righty! I'm ready!" the black rabbit came bounding out of nowhere and lept into her hand.

Here goes nothing then…I'm really going to be leaving…Hana thought and let out a sigh to steady her nervous heart.

"Hana!" Zack's voice cut through the stillness and her eyes snapped towards him. He stood there a few yards away, out of breath like he had run all the way to find her.

"Zack?" she stood there in confusion. "Why are you here? Did you follow me?"

"Heck yeah I followed you!" he huffed. "What's with that letter you left me? Leaving? Taking care of your pets? Why are you suddenly just leaving?" he ran towards her but was stopped by Yuko's hand.

"You can't come any closer otherwise you'll be lost in the fabric of space." Yuko warned.

"And what do you mean by that? Why are you leaving without telling me, Hana?" Zack demanded, his face hurt.

"This was something I decided to do. Please understand…" Hana smiled as Mokana's jewel on his forehead began to glow and he opened his mouth wide. A glowing circle appeared under her feet just like the protective spell. This circle was different; bigger and bursting with more power. She could see the surprise and slight fear on Zack's face as light sprang up from the circle around her.

"Wait! I want to come with you!" he protested trying to lunge for Hana, but Yuko kept him back. "Why can't you just trust me? I want to be by your side, Hana, like I always have!"

"You can't go with her. She has paid the price for her wish and her wish alone."

"Hana! Just tell me why you're suddenly leaving!"

"This is my dream, Zack. I want…to travel…to find myself. It's not that I don't trust you; I do. You are the closest thing I have to a brother, my best friend. Please take care of Yoru and Tristan for me. Please don't worry about me, I'll be back soon." Hana could only smile at him, trying hard not to notice the pain written on his face. The beams of light began to form a canopy over her, encasing her like a bubble.

"Please, Hana! Don't go! I lo-," he began to say, his hand reaching out towards her, but then she was gone in an instant. There was a flash of light and then Hana disappeared before his eyes just as the last rays of sunlight brushed again the yard. Zack stood there, in shock, staring at the spot where she'd been. Her smile hung in the memory of the last few seconds.

"It's over now." Yuko's words fell on deaf ears.

"What…just happened…?" Zack asked quietly, clutching at his aching chest. It was just too much for him. One minute she was there then she was gone.

"Her wish was to travel and I granted it by sending her to another world."

"What do you mean by that?" Zack shouted, his fists clenching so hard that his knuckles turned white. His eyes remained locked on the ground, trying to process what the woman was saying. "Another world? Do you mean…she's dead?" His eyes stung like he was going to cry.

"She's not dead, just in a different dimension." Yuko stood there looking at him with a look that hinted nothing. Maru and Moro were next to Watanuki, staring in silence. "Since you are here, you must have a wish. Come inside and tell it to me and I will grant it."

"Grant…my wish…?" Zack's eyes, full of desperation, rose at the chance.

"Yes, this is a wish shop; I can grant any wish for the right price." Without another word, Zack's legs stared to move towards the shop, enticed by the proposition of a granted wish.

Where am I? Hana thought to herself as she felt the world rushing past her. She opened her eyes for the first time since she had left Yuko's shop. The image of Zack's pained face burned in her mind and made her chest hurt. He looked…so hurt. I hurt him. What kind of friend am I? Slowly she began to take in her surroundings. She was floating through a dark tunnel lined with small photograph looking tiles. Each was moving extremely fast, too fast for her to really judge what they were. They looked like clips from movies, or reels from someone's memories. Flowing and changing they moved past her.

"It feels like I'm falling, but I'm not falling. What is this sensation?" Hana said aloud, looking around for the cat named Natori. "Hey, Natori? What is this? Where are you?"

"It is the dimensional rift. It's like a tunnel between worlds." His unseen voice responded. "I'm busy teleporting you at the moment so try and do something creative."

"Well aren't you a charming cat thing. Natori was it? I think I'll change your name to Fat Louie since you're so fat. And you remind me of the cat from The Princess Diaries."

"How dare you? You insolent brat!" Natori shouted at her. "My name is Natori! N-A-T-O-R-I!"

"Annoying cat…" Hana muttered and closed her eyes. It felt weird to have the world rushing past her like she was falling, but not falling. This is still al so weird…I never thought that I'd be traveling through a dimensional tunnel. Who knew that there'd be so many unknown things that I'm getting to experience? If I hadn't ran into that shop…would things have stayed the same? Would Zack have not showed that painful face? Or would I have been forced to go to America? So many what ifs. It's kinda tiring…

Soon, gravity took a hold of her and jerked her out of the comforting, dream-like falling sensation. Cold air suddenly rushed past her, whipping her hair around. The images around her were ripped away as the tunnel faded. Her eyes snapped open in time to see the ground come hurtling towards her.