Author's Note: My deepest apologies for how long this took to get out. I was feeling a little depressed and uninspired recently, so I needed a little break to recharge.

Chapter Seventeen

Breakfast was soon going to be served in the Tohno mansion and Kurumi was still asleep. Origami volunteered to go wake her up but Kotori had beaten her to it and rushed out of the dining room to go wake the slumbering Nightmare.

Origami sat back down and informed one of the two maids that Kurumi would probably most enjoy a Japanese breakfast when asked if they should prepare that or a Western breakfast. She then politely excused herself for a moment.

Kotori made her way to the guest room where Kurumi slept and slowly opened the door to peek inside. The first thing she noticed were the older girl's cloths strewn about. As she walked in her eyes were immediately drawn to the bed. Kurumi was fast asleep with her game console still active beside her pillow. She was sleeping on top of the covers in a loose tank top and panties.

I already knew she was a total slob, but eesh!

Kotori crept over to the bedside and peeked at the game console, it was some kind of sci-fi visual novel she was playing judging from the character on the screen waiting for her response. There were some kind of monsters behind the character and some giant robots fighting them. Kurumi was probably up so long she feel asleep at what was probably the best part.

Kotori moved in closer still and started nudging the slumbering ex-spirit and mage of darkness. "Kurumi! You need to wake up! Breakfast will be served soon!"

Kurumi groaned in irritation and covered her head with her pillow, knocking over her game console in the process. "Damn it Kotori. Let me sleep!"

"You wouldn't have a hard time waking up if you didn't stay up all night playing visual novels!" yelled Kotori next to the older girl's covered head.

"Visual Novels are more interesting than real life, or anime…" she groaned in protest.

"Anime is very interesting! But you're right, they suck if they're an unfaithful adaptation of a good visual novel. But anyway! Come on. You gotta wake up and have breakfast already! And how could you let this room turn into such a pig sty?! Come on! Wake up and clean up! Don't make the poor maid do it for you. If you did this in our house, my Pops would have an aneurysm!"

Kurumi just muttered something inaudible while waving a lazy hand at the red haired girl to shoo her off. Kotori snickered in response while easily dodging her hand and then dove in to tickle her into waking.

"You know I'm not ticklish…" she said in a low and emotionless voice.

"I didn't know that. But I bet it still annoys you!" said Kotori with a cheery smile.

Kurumi's red eye opened at Kotori and then suddenly went vacant and void and she stared with a growing and very frightening toothy grin. "But I know you're very ticklish!" she said in her best yandere voice while pulling Kotori into the bed with her where she started to tickle her sides without a shred of mercy. "How dare you disturb my slumber Kotori-chan! I will tickle you to death a thousand times for this!"

"Ahhh! Hahahaha! Stop that! You're so mean! Hahaha! I was just trying to get you up for breakfast!" she exclaimed while giggling hysterically before slithering out of Kurumi's arms. The older girl got up and then started chasing her around the room cackling with insane laughter.

As soon as she found an opening Kotori bolted out of the room as fast as she could run while Kurumi took a deep breath to clear her 'yandere' expression and replaced it with her normal one.

"Since I'm awake now… May as well start the day…" she said to herself before she started picking up her cloths to tidy up as suggested. "Heh… Annoying as it was, I miss the days when she woke me up that way…"

In that instant Kurumi slammed her fist down into the mattress and broke down into an uncontrollable sobbing fit, falling to her knees beside the bed. She quickly grabbed a pillow and screamed into it at the top of her lungs. "Damn it! I missed that so much!"

Meanwhile, Origami peeked around the open door but said nothing as she made her way back to the dining room.

Kotori was seated beside Origami as breakfast was served to everyone, including at the empty spot reserved for Kurumi as they still awaited her arrival.

"No way. You and Kurumi are going out to practice archery today? Can I come with? Please Origami?"

Origami smiled and pat Kotori on the head, "Of course you can. This disruption in our lives is only temporary. When things get back to normal we're still going to take the school to the nationals and I expect you to be on our team. So we have to keep training you."

"Do you think Kurumi will stay in the school and the team?"

"I hope so. I don't see why she wouldn't."

Kotori threw her lollipop back into her mouth and smiled with satisfaction. "I feel good today. Like I know everything is going to be alright."

"That's because everything is great! We got Kotori here. Origami is here. Even scary Kurumi!" said Yoshinon.

Yoshino smiled cheerfully in response, "Yes. Everything is much better when everyone is together. I just wish Ciel was here too. I miss her."

"She'll be back soon. Then we'll all be able to start being a proper and complete family," said Shiki while reaching over to pet Yoshino on the head.

Kurumi entered the room elegantly dressed and ready for the day. She sleepily wished everyone a good morning before seating herself beside Kotori. "I'm sorry I'm late everyone."

"Rough night?" asked Arcueid to the black haired girl seated across from her.

"Rough life…" she said before putting her hands together about to give thanks when her head turned to look into her blind spot and she saw Kotori there.

Kotori looked at Kurumi's narrowed crimson eye and cringed at her expression. "What is it Kurumi?"

"Even here you spoil your breakfast with treats in the morning?" she said while reaching out to try and snatch the lollipop out of her mouth.

Kotori bit down on the lollipop and groaned in protest as Kurumi tried to pull it out of her mouth.

"Lollipop, lollipop. Oh lolli lolli lolli lollipop," sang Kurumi in a low and cute voice before reaching out to tickle Kotori's side a little which made her release the lollipop with a loud popping sound.

"Got you! Now eat your breakfast!" she said while putting the lollipop into an empty side of her own plate.

Akiha, Shiki, and Arcueid blinked at the little display between the two girls.

"Amazing… Kotori's mother used to do exactly that to get her to part with her lollipops," observed Arcueid.

"No fair… I don't know how you knew about that but you shouldn't abuse that power you have over me…" said Kotori with a depressed voice.

Kurumi reached out to pet her on the head, "Don't spoil your meals by having sweets before you eat and I won't have to," she said with a smile, then put her hands together and gave her thanks before she started eating.

Later that morning the three girls walked together towards the sports center. Kurumi and Origami with duffel bags containing their change of cloths around their shoulders and their bows wrapped neatly in protective cloths, Kurumi's in white, and Origami's in black.

Kotori couldn't help but remark on that. "That's so cute. You two have your bows wrapped in each other's colors!"

Neither girl took the bait and simply kept walking.

Origami was the first to speak after a moment of silently enforced awkward silence from the older girls. "Kotori. I think it's time we filled you in on why we're really going today."

"You two aren't gonna make me practice all morning while you sneak off to a love hotel are you?"

Kurumi snickered at that, "Under other circumstances, that wouldn't be such a bad idea. But no. Not today. Now listen carefully because you need to be on the same page now. We need your help with this little project."

Getting Kotori into the sports center turned out not to be an issue as long as she was under their supervision. The staff remembered the two older girls and allowed them all in while Origami paid their fees for the use of the facilities and the use of a bow for Kotori.

"Kotori-chan? Does your Kyudogi fit alright?" asked Kurumi while checking to see how the younger girl was doing.

"Yeah. It fits perfectly. You two got my size exactly right."

"Glad to hear it. Later today we should take you down to that store we shopped at and get you a bow to use. Not that there's anything wrong with the bows they have here. But do you even have your own?"

Kotori shook her head while adjusting her cloths. "No. I guess I never really knew if I was going to take it seriously enough to justify buying my own."

"How do you feel about it now though?" asked Kurumi.

"I think I'm ready to commit to it. So yeah. I think I should have my own bow."

"Good. That's very good. I'm glad to hear it. Come on. Let's get started. Remember, we're just focused on teaching them Kyudo for now. Later we'd like to get them to come hang out with us and then we'll see what we can make of it."

"It was such a sad story… Are you sure you can find a way to help them?"

Kurumi sighed, "I don't know. But I'm going to try my hardest."

Kurumi started by helping Kotori to correct her posture, "You're too tense Kotori-chan, relax a little."

"Mind your foot placement, you're going to lose your balance that way Kaguya," explained Origami while demonstrating the correct way to stand.

"Yuzuru, you too, you're too rigid in your posture. You're not a robot executing preprogrammed instructions. You need to relax as well," explained Kurumi while correcting the quiet twin's posture.

Kurumi and Origami both stepped away far enough that they could see all three of them. "Alright. Try again you three," the dark haired girl ordered.

All three raised their bows, drew, and fired. Kaguya hit herself with the bow string and her arrow didn't fly far, Kotori's arrow didn't fly straight, and Yuzuru was still far too tense and rigid in her movements for anything resembling proper technique.

"I believe we have much work ahead of us," said Origami.

Kurumi slowly nodded.

Four hours of explanations, practicing, demonstrations, and frustrations later, all three of their students were showing signs of improvement. Kotori was shooting straighter, Kaguya had learned how to properly hold the bow and shoot without hitting herself, and Yuzuru was starting to relax and slowly stop thinking so technically about her movements. It was a subtle difference in the case of the quiet twin, but an important one. Origami had taken a particular interest in the robotic twin as she saw many of her own beginner's mistakes in her while Kurumi noticed that Kotori and Kaguya seemed to be identifying with each other's issues as well which let her give them both her attention and instruction without favoring one over the other.

"Well done Kotori-chan. That was beautiful. You're getting it now," said Kurumi with a proud smile to the youngest girl before moving on to chastise Kaguya for her her own posture.

Kotori couldn't keep the smile off her face and had to take a moment to let the emotion run its course before she managed to recompose herself and resume her practice.

"Kaguya, you need to calm it down. You're being way too dramatic in your postures. Just be natural. Every one of your movements is like a cheesy action movie poster. Take it down a notch. You're not impressing anyone."

"Mere mortals can not comprehend the sheer awesomeness of my-"

Kurumi tapped her on the top of her head with her bow. "Save it for Twitter. Be true to yourself here or you'll never get this."

"Ow…" she moaned softly while rubbing the top of her head.

When Kurumi walked down the range to check with the white haired girl Kaguya leaned over to Kotori. "What's with her?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kotori.

"She's so intense."

"You noticed that huh? She's really nice once you get to know her. But yeah. She's intense. By the way. What are you going to do after we finish with practice?"

"I don't know. Practice more I guess?"

Kotori sighed, "Don't you do anything for fun?"

Kaguya considered it for a moment, "I find this to be fun!"

Kotori shook her head, "Alright. We're all going out after this. You and Yuzuru are coming with us. There's a lot of fun stuff out there you gotta try."

Fuyuki

Shirou and Waver emerged from a police station, each with a stack of papers and then got into a taxi to head to their next destination.

"Ryuudou Temple please," Shirou told the driver.

He then turned to Waver, "I really can't tell you how much I appreciate this. It would have taken me days to finish all this on my own."

"There's no need to thank me Shirou. Whatever I can do to help make this process as painless as possible, I will do," he answered with his usual serious voice.

"You must care about Taiga a lot if you're going to willingly submit yourself to this. Her father being who he was means getting involved in anything to do with him is going to get a lot of questions asked."

"It's not exactly like that Shirou. It's been thirty years. I just want to help her if I can."

"Doesn't matter how long it's been. Do you care about her?"

"Would I have gotten mixed up in this if I didn't?" he said while holding up the stack of paperwork.

"Probably not. No. I guess I'm just trying to ask what your intentions are? If you have any at all."

Waver sat back in the seat and considered the question. "I don't have any intentions. Even if I did, this wouldn't be the time to pursue them."

"You're right in that it wouldn't be. But. She's still single you know. I don't even know when the last time she was on a date was and she's not getting any younger. Neither are you if I may say so."

The older man chuckled at that, "You're right. I'm not. But like I said this isn't the time for it. I will confess that the thought had crossed my mind. But it has to wait for the proper time."

"When the times comes. You'll have my support. She likes you. I can tell."

"Do you even think she could handle any of this? If she knew the truth?"

"She's need to be eased into it. She saw something once and freaked out. We had to hypnotize her and make her forget what she saw. So when the time comes, have a plan for it."

"I'll keep it in mind. But this isn't the time," added Waver.

"No. It isn't the time."

"Have you thought about making other arrangements for her? It probably won't be safe for her in your home for much longer if we continue to take action."

"I've thought about it. I'm thinking about sending her to Misaki as well. I've already spoken to Akiha Tohno about it. They're willing to take her in. I feel bad about turning their house into a refugee camp but with the way things are going…"

"DEM have been driven out of Italy. But they're not going to take that lying down. Stories about attacks on DEM offices are making the rounds in the mainstream media. Stories about fights between our Enforces and the Wizards are appearing in tabloids. We managed to keep that out of the regular press. But that will only last for so long. In this day and age it's very difficult to maintain secrecy. A war on this scale is bound to attract notice if it escalates any further."

"All that means is that we need to make our next move very soon. Strike while the iron is hot. I think we should plan it for after the Funeral."

"I agree."

Misaki

"When I asked what you thought we should do, I have to admit this was the last thing that came to mind…" said Origami as she looked at the store in front of her.

Kotori smirked to herself, "Well. If we want to go to the pool, we need swimsuits don't we?"

Kurumi lightly smacked Kotori in the back of her head.

"Hey! What gives?!"

"How do you intend to pay for anything? I'm broke, you're broke, the twins don't have a Yen between them… The only one of us here with any money is Origami. Shouldn't you have run this by her before you brought us here?"

"Well I'm not broke. Akiha gave me a budget for these sorts of things," explained Kotori.

Kurumi nodded, "Uh-huh… Come on. Let's move," she said while pulling Kotori by one of her long red tails.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop that Kurumi!"

"Come on ladies. I know exactly where we can go to have a good time on a reasonable budget."

"It figures…" said Kotori with weary eyes as she looked at where Kurumi took them. The gaming arcade.

The twins looked around at all the entertainments being offered by the establishment. Kaguya with wide eyed wonder and Yuzuru with indifference.

"Keep an eye on them Kotori," ordered Kurumi before walking towards the cashier with Origami.

Origami was about to pay but Kurumi stopped her, "Naa. Let me get this."

The white haired girl gave Kurumi a very skeptical eye. "How exactly do you plan to accomplish this?"

Kurumi pulled out her wallet (her actual wallet) and handed the cashier a membership card. "Could you tell me if this is still valid? It's been awhile since I was last here."

The cashier took the card and swiped it through the computer to check its balance. "Hmm… Must be some kind of glitch in the system. It should be valid but there's no information coming up. That's never happened before. If you don't mind waiting I could try and resolve this with my manager?"

Kurumi sighed, "That won't be necessary. Could I just pay cash?"

The cashier handed her five cards, "You just take these to any of the machines and place your cash into it to top up the cards."

Kurumi nodded, "I remember. Thank you so much," she said before the two walked away.

"Did that mean what I think it means?" asked Origami.

"Yeah… I don't exist here anymore either."

"I'm sorry if this experience has caused you any pain."

"Don't be. As long as we have fun. That's what's important."

The first thing Kaguya and Yuzuru wanted to do was challenge each other to every two player game available, starting with the air hockey table. But rather than let them, Kurumi suggested they team up against Kotori and Origami.

"Why don't you play with Origami? Isn't she your girlfriend?" asked Kotori with a tone of annoyance.

"Awww. That's so cute. You sound jealous. Afraid I'm going to steal your best friend from you?" asked Kurumi with a sly voice.

"Impossible," stated Origami with finality. "She will always be my best friend."

"And there you have it. You're also playing at this because of one simple reason," Kurumi said while pointing at her eye, "Depth perception is good for games like this. I don't have that."

Kotori sighed and turned to Origami, "Shall we kick their butts Senpai?"

Origami nodded her head and turned her attention to the table where she took up one of the paddles while Kurumi paid for the game and got it started. Origami took the puck out of the dispenser and set it down on the table, she gave it a solid whack with her paddle and sent it flying towards the goal on the other side of the table.

The twins both went for it. But instead of hitting it back they instead started knocking each other's paddles around, fighting over who would get to hit it back while the puck sailed smoothly into the goal.

Kurumi palmed her face while they started arguing over who would serve it.

Kotori groaned in irritation, "Would one of you just serve the damn puck? Who gives a crap who does it let's just play!"

Damn it, they're suppose to be sisters. The way they act with each other is just wrong. But maybe this is what Kurumi wants out of this? She must want them to team up and learn to co-operate. That way they can learn about being sisters.

Origami groaned in irritation and looked over at Kotori and then back at the twins.

If we're going to have any chance of this we need to hold a carrot in front of them. Something to get them to stop competing with each other and compete with us instead. Kotori can probably antagonize them into considering us their mutual enemy. I on the other hand… I'm not sure what I can do to motivate them.

Origami looked over at Kurumi and their eyes met. Sensing Origami's inner conflict Kurumi simply gave her a nod and then turned to the twins.

"Alright. I think I know how to motivate this match. The winning team gets to make the losers do anything they want."

Kotori blinked. "Wait… WHAT?!"

"Are you afraid we'll lose?" asked Origami in a calm voice to her best friend.

"What?! No way! You and I can't lose! It's impossible!"

"Impossible you say?" asked Kaguya with a devilish grin. "Shall we put that to the test Yuzuru?"

"Taunt. Put forth your greatest effort. It will only provide us greater satisfaction when we defeat you."

Kurumi smiled very happily, "Oh. I think it's on now!"

"This is so undignified…" said Kotori as she massaged the shoulders of Kaguya.

"We lost. That is all there is to it," said Origami while giving Kaguya a hand massage.

"I have to admit, those two know how to live it up," said Kurumi with a big smirk as she took a sip of her cold drink in the Arcade's lounge. "Though, I have to wonder. How exactly are you two so good at every single game in this arcade?"

"Our competitions of course. We've battled each other across every one of these games in our thirty-third contest to see which of us would be the master of the arcade. It was a draw," explained Kaguya.

Yuzuru tilted her head slightly at Kurumi. "Perplexion. One might ask you and Origami a similar question. How is it the both of you excel as you do in archery?"

Kotori and Origami each turned their heads towards Kurumi and suddenly the ebon haired magus was on the spot with all eyes on her.

"Well…" she started before taking a breath, "I suppose the story of Kyudo is the story of my life…" she lowered her head with a hand held to her chin as she took a long moment to gather her thoughts.

In that moment Origami took a sharp breath and her eyes darted to Kotori who was listening with inquisitive eyes locked on Kurumi's crimson eye as it rapidly shifted from the left to the right.

The next day they were back at the sports center, on the archery range, dressed and ready with their bows. Kotori was holding a brand new bow in her hand as she notched an arrow and started her draw. It was a black carbon fibre bow. It wasn't what Kurumi or Origami prefered but it was ideal for a beginner, particularly one who wasn't as obsessed with the practice as they were.

"It's not an easy thing to put into words," Kurumi started again. "For me, Kyudo is a search. Growing up I was never sure what I wanted to do with my life. Every path was open to me. I excelled in school, I could master everything I put my mind to. But when I started looking for a goal to achieve in the long term. I came up with nothing. Kyudo was something my father introduced me to one day but that I just wasn't interested in."

Compared with the previous day the twins were much more engaged. Origami was instructing Yuzuru while Kurumi was instructing Kaguya. Both divided their attention between their respective students and Kotori. There wasn't anything difficult about what was being taught today. The focus was entirely on the fundamentals. Which was what Kyudo was really all about when you stripped away all the pointless aspects of sport and competition. It was something that was easy to learn, but difficult to master.

Kurumi and Origami each took some time out to get in a few shots while their three students watched them. Each took a turn to shoot while the other watched to asses their movements and technique. To the untrained eye, both moved like a mirror image of the other as they went through the eight steps. But to an experienced eye, the differences between them were many.

"I suppose I was in a phase where I wasn't really receptive to what Kyudo had to offer. Back then I was more interested in what my magecraft had to offer me. One day, a few years after that particular day. I got to see a proper Kyudo Master giving a demonstration. The way he practiced Kyudo was very different from the way I saw my father do it. For him it was all about hitting the target. I found that boring. I could hit that target every time. There's nothing challenging about that for me. I think Origami knows what I'm talking about here..."

Origami watched as Kurumi went through all eight steps to launch four arrows at the target. Kotori and twins were more impressed with her accuracy than they were with her posture, but that was what Origami was watching. Kurumi had a relaxed and calm posture, one that wasn't weighed down by doubts or self-consciousness. Her draw had certainty to it, her release had hints of pride. Her arrows existed in the target long before she'd fired them, and she knew it. There was almost an arrogance to her finishing stance as she brought her fists back to her hips. But these feelings she demonstrated in her postures, it was evident to Origami that they were things which she was struggling to discard from herself. Things she wasn't proud of, but not ashamed to show.

"Indeed. I know exactly what you are talking about. When you practice any other Martial Art, you have an opponent. Someone to challenge you. Someone to push you to your limits and beyond. Someone to overcome. But in Kyudo. There is no opponent. There is no one to defeat. There is only yourself. When I see the Masters practice in the Dojo, I wasn't merely impressed. I felt my heart move... the stillness, the calmness, the clarity... you can feel it."

Kurumi stepped back while Origami stepped up to take her place, she sat seize with her bow and began to prepare herself. It was boring to the three beginners to watch. But to Kurumi it was the most beautiful thing her one eye could ever see in her life. As she notched her arrow and began to rise up from her seated position through the steps she became as transparent as glass to the raven haired girl. Origami had the outward calm of a still winter's day. But she was a raging blizzard just beneath the surface of her carefully maintained façade.

Origami nodded to Kurumi, "I told Kotori once that I didn't believe in spirituality. But you can't deny the existence of something like it when you practice Kyudo properly. Anyone can be taught the steps. They can go through them, fire an arrow, and hit a target. They can make it all look right. But that isn't Kyudo. We all have our demons and our fears that we have to face. In something like Kendo, you have someone to fight. Someone to push you against those fears. But in Kyudo there is no such thing. You are up against only yourself. When you understand this, you understand that hitting the target is meaningless unless you know what you're aiming for."

Origami's draw was aggressive. But as she prepared to release it became clear that she wasn't interested in hitting the target. Hitting the target was just a side effect of what she was really doing. The target wasn't what was down range of her. The target was actually herself. That became clear in the relief which was evident in her posture after she released the string. The arrow was a part of herself that she didn't want, and she was loading her negativity into the arrow and discarding it. Origami was a practitioner who took the concept of doing battle with yourself to an extreme.

Kurumi couldn't help but look away. "You're still the same in the way you shoot Origami," she said to her as she approached to start exchanging notes. "When you shoot, you're not launching an arrow. It's more like… Instead of an arrow, you're notching in a part of yourself that you want to get rid of. And you're shooting it at a version of yourself that you want to defeat. You take this all very literally, but it's still so beautiful to see."

Origami inclined her head slowly at the compliment, "And you are arrogant. There's no other way to describe the way you shoot. You're good and you know it. You're not proud of it, but you also aren't ashamed of it. It's a part of yourself that you accept and embrace, but also want to discard. You just don't know how."

Kotori scratched the top of her head, "You two drew those conclusions from watching each other shoot arrows?"

Kurumi and Origami both turned to Kotori. She and the twins were sitting seiza against the back wall where they could watch the two practice.

"For you Kotori, it's still about hitting the target. Executing the eight steps is still about making it look right," explained Origami.

Kurumi slowly nodded in agreement. "If you were as devoted to this as we are. You'd see the subtle differences in our postures and techniques and be able to interpret them. To you this is still a sport. But that's alright. We can both see how much you enjoy it. As long as you take it seriously and not treat it as though it were only a sport, then you'll be able to reach our level as well. You could even surpass us."

"Oration. I believe I now comprehend the purpose and practice of Kyudo. However, I fear my words alone may not be sufficient to properly express my thoughts on the matter. At least not at this time."

Kaguya looked at her twin sister and nodded, "Yeah. I think I get what you're saying too. Can we try this again?"

Kurumi and Origami both gestured towards the targets. And then stepped aside. "By all means," said the ivory haired girl.

"That's what we're here for," added the smiling ebony haired girl.

Kotori stuffed her phone back into her purse before taking a sip of her soft drink at the sports center's cafe. "They're having the funeral tomorrow night at our house."

Kurumi looked away from Kotori. "I see…"

"Sorry… I probably shouldn't have mentioned it."

Kurumi shook her head, "Don't be sorry. I'm not upset with you. This was my fault. I became arrogant. I thought I was infallible. I allowed myself to forget the consequences of even one moment of weakness, and this was the result..." she said through clenched teeth.

Origami reached out to take a hold of her hand for moral support but Kurumi just crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath, she didn't even look in Origami's direction to notice the gesture which was made.

"Anyway… Kaguya. Yuzuru. I'd like to talk to you both about something."

The twins put down their respective drinks and gave the magus their full attention.

Kurumi finally looked at Origami and the silvery haired girl nodded in support.

"I found out what happened to Yamai. How she split into both of you."

"Does that even matter anymore?' asked Kaguya.

"Curiosity. I am wondering the same thing," stated Yuzuru.

"It matters because the way it happened means there's a chance you could both continue to live as you are now."

"That's impossible!"

"Agreement. That seems highly unlikely. Request. Please provide details."

All eyes were on Kurumi as she slowly nodded her head and sat back.

"Yamai was captured by DEM. I don't know how. They experimented on her, specifically they were trying to figure out how to extract a part of her Sephira Crystal. Because their experiment failed and Yamai escaped, the crystal was left damaged from the procedure. Over time the damage grew until the crystal split. Resulting in both of you coming into existence,

It's also because of that the two of you have to eventually recombine your crystal. The reason for this is because it's trying to repair itself. In theory, and with your co-operation, we could find a way to fix your crystals so you won't have to recombine it."

"Querry. How could this be achieved?"

"I don't actually know just yet," started Kurumi and both twins looked like they were ready to jump up and cut her off but he held up a hand to them to say she wasn't finished yet. "I have it on the highest authority that this can actually be done. But without both of you being in agreement and willing to help, I couldn't even begin to figure out how to accomplish this."

Kaguya was livid in her response, "So all you know is that it can be done, but not how it can be done?!"

Kurumi slowly nodded.

"I'm not buying any false hope today you stupid human!"

Kurumi balled a fist and slammed it down on the metal table hard enough to put a dent into it thanks to her self-reinforcement, also knocking down glasses and shattering them. "That's good because I'm not selling any!"

Kurumi then took a deep breath after getting shocked looks from the others around the table while thanking all the higher powers that the establishment itself was empty except for one waitress who felt it wise to keep her distance for now.

"I'm not just a stupid human… Until very recently I was a spirit like you. So I know what I'm talking about… The only question the two of you need to figure out the answer to is whether or not you're willing to finally act like sisters, admit you love each other, and start fighting for your mutual survival instead of selfishly competing to see who lives and who dies!"

"That's easy for you to say bitch!" yelled Kaguya.

"Agreement," added Yuzuru in her flat monotone, "You are incapable of comprehending the nature of our situation."

Origami was the only to quickly butt in and offer retort, "You're very wrong about that Yuzuru. Kurumi understands your situation better than you do."

"Dismissal. That is highly unlikely. None of you are capable of understanding our situation."

"Do you two even understand that you're sisters? Do you even know what it means to be sisters?" asked Kurumi. "If you had any clue at all there's no way you wouldn't be jumping at this chance I'm offering you! If you have a sibling, you have to love them with all of your heart, and be prepared to do anything to care for and protect them! No matter the cost!"

"We understand better than you do!" yelled Kaguya. "Of course I know what it means to be sisters! Do you honestly believe that I don't love Yuzuru with all my heart?! Do you seriously believe I'd ever allow her to die for me?! I would rather die myself! There's just no way she'd ever let me!"

"Agreement. That is why we must compete. Neither of us are willing to allow the other to self sacrifice. However, were I ever presented the opportunity I would gladly give up my existence for the sake of my sister, and have attempted to do so on many occasions."

"And that pisses me off so damn much! You're always a martyr! You take everything on yourself and refuse to allow me to ever help you with anything! That's why you ended up such a shallow and emotionless robot!"

Yuzuru shocked everyone at the table by shedding a tear at her sister's words. She then stood up and bent down to talk into her sister's face. If she were able to raise her voice, she'd probably be screaming at the top of her lungs just now. "Refutation. I take those words and throw them back in your direction. Because you're no different."

"I am not an emotionless robot!"

"Clarification. No you are not. However you are a bombastic glory seeker."

As Kaguya stood up and drew a breath to literally yell back in her sister's face Kurumi had already stood up and got between the two to separate them.

"Enough! It's obvious you both love each other so why don't you both want to live?! I just told you it's possible but it requires both of you to set this stupid contest aside and help me to help you! The only thing I need is a little bit of your time to help me study the problem so I can devise a solution!"

Kaguya sat back down and crossed her arms with a huff, "Well. What do you think? Speak up," she said to her sister.

"Disbelief. I am unconvinced that this is possible. However. I am willing to give Kurumi the benefit of the doubt for now."

Kaguya slowly nodded, "I agree. But if she fails…"

"If I fail. You can do whatever you want with me. I don't care. But I will not fail!" she declared firmly for the twins.

"Maybe we should go back to practicing? Before tempers run amok here?" suggested Kotori.

"I second the motion," added Origami.

Fuyuki

Shirou waved at Tohka to stay seated while he stood up to go answer the door bell. Behind the front gate were two strangers he'd never seen before in his life. A dark haired man and a red haired woman.

"Good afternoon. May I help you?" he asked them politely.

"Good afternoon. Is this the Emiya residence?" the man asked with the same polite tone.

"Yes it is. I'm Shirou Emiya," he answered with growing curiosity.

"How do you do? We're sorry to intrude on you like this but we have an important matter we'd like to discuss with you. My name is Akio Itsuka. This is my wife, Kasumi. We've been searching for years but it was recently brought to our attention that our daughter Kotori is living here with you. We'd like to see her and bring her home with us."

Shirou tried, but he couldn't keep his eyes from narrowing suspiciously at the couple.

After all these years? After Rin and I tried to find her living relatives. After everything that's been happening recently? Now they show up at my door? Too much of a coincidence...

"I had to send Kotori away for a short while to stay with some relatives. We've recently had a tragedy in the family so I thought it was best she not be here for this. Funerals and grief. She's had enough of that in her life I think."

Shirou didn't get the reaction he was searching for from them. They looked annoyed instead of concerned. He could have misread their expressions, but whatever the case, it wasn't what he'd look like in their place.

"Would you like to come in and discuss this? We're preparing for a funeral right now but I can spare you some time."

Shirou brought the couple into his living room and invited them to sit at is table. Tohka quickly brought out some tea to serve their guests before taking a seat beside Shirou.

"You're very pretty miss. Are you his wife?" the woman asked.

Tohka blushed and shook her head, "No. I'm not. I came here from America to learn about Japan and stay with this family for a while. They've been so very kind and helpful and allowed me to stay indefinitely because I don't think I want to go back."

Tohka… You're amazing. I have to tell you that after this.

"I see. I'm sorry I misunderstood," she apologized.

Shirou took a quick breath before he started speaking again, "I'm a widower. My wife passed away three years ago. Now it's just me and my daughter."

"She's our daughter..." the man said with an annoyed tone.

Shirou closed his eyes and put up his hand. "I understand how you must feel. But until you can prove it. You're just two strangers who came to my door asking to see my daughter." Shirou gestured to the pictures on the walls around them. "Please have a look around. The pictures can tell the story. My wife, may she rest in peace, put up all these here. You'll see Kotori in almost all of them after we adopted her. She became our whole world."

"Do you know what her favorite food is? What her favorite color is? What her favorite toy is? Do you even know her real name?" the woman asked with desperation bleeding into her voice.

Are you being serious right now lady?

Shirou was stupefied, but otherwise unmoved. "American Hamburgers. That's her favorite food. Her favorite color is black, because it's a strong color. She was never interested in toys, as a child she liked to read manga and watch anime. As a teenager she only likes those things more. Her grades are in the top ten of her school. She's a rising star in the Archery Club. And her real name... is Kotori Emiya."

"Her name is Kotori Itsuka! She likes to play with dolls. She likes to eat cookies. Her favorite color is white!" the woman yelled viciously before being embraced by her husband.

Shirou shook his head, "She'll be fifteen next week. She's not a child anymore. She's a teenager. She's highly intelligent. She's skillful with technology. She's strong willed and hard headed. She doesn't take crap from anyone. She's respected by her peers, and she's loved by her family."

"Her birthday is in August! And she'll only be fourteen!" the woman protested.

"We celebrate the day we adopted her as her birthday. Obviously we had no way of knowing what her actual birthday is. We just had a guesstimate of her age. Obviously her intelligence puts her ahead if she's actually turning fourteen this year."

"You're a single father Emiya-san. Perhaps she'd be better off with us?" the man asked trying to sound reasonable.

"I'm a single father yes. But I'm not alone in raising her. She has an aunt who lives here with us. We have Tohka who's 'unofficially-officially' become a member of our family. She has aunts, and an uncle in another city whom she's staying with right now. Along with a cousin who's just a bit younger than her. She has a best friend who sets a good example for her and who always supports and encourages her. She's hard working. She's getting the best possible education. She had the third highest grades in junior high. She's in the top ten in High School now. Her best friend by the way, is the number one. Kotori is smarter than all of us here combined. I couldn't be more proud of her. So before you come into my home and think about imposing yourselves on us and disrupting her life. Think about all of that."

"I have a right to have my daughter back!" the woman yelled furiously.

Shirou nodded his head, "Yes. Of course you do. But unless she actually wants to go with you that isn't going to happen. I will fight to the death for my daughter. We legally adopted her. After an exhaustive search for you I might add. The government tried to locate you. We hired a skilled investigator to look for you. It was like you didn't even exist. Everyone assumed you'd died in the fire and there was no trace of you. I'm very sorry this happened to you. But I will protect my daughter. Even from you if I have to. So if you want to fight me in the courts to take her back, that is your right, and I invite you to try. But I warn you. If you care at all about her. Remember that it could take years in the courts. She'll be an adult and on her way to university before we get a decision. And the only thing you'll have brought her is grief."

"We could just take her back the way you took her from us," the man said with a leveled tone at Shirou.

Shirou sighed and shook his head, completely unimpressed "I've been threatened by greater beings than you Itsuka-san. Don't go there. Instead of making threats. Perhaps we should try being reasonable adults? Let's try to think about what is in Kotori's best interests, and go from there."

"Being with her real parents! You couldn't ever love her like we do! We've been searching for her for years!"

I don't need Kotori's bull shit detector for that one…

Shirou sighed, "I'm not sure why you haven't found her before now. My wife and I made no effort to hide her from you or anyone. We did everything properly. I can show you all the paperwork, right now. And another thing, I understand your grief. I want us all to resolve this in a civilized manner, but I'd just like to ask you to remember that you are in my home, and I will not tolerate another slight about my love for my daughter. The love I have for her is not for anyone to question. Not even you."

"There's no need to be antagonistic Emi-"

Shirou's head snapped to the man and he spoke very firmly with him, "You came into my home and threatened to take away my daughter. Don't talk about being antagonistic. Now. If you want to visit with Kotori, under the supervision of my family, that can be arranged after she comes back from my brother's house."

Damn it. My tongue slipped. If anyone tells Shiki I said that, I'm going to deny it and be very angry!

"Why can't you get her back here now?! We've been searching for her for five years!"

"Then you should be able to wait a little longer to see her again? I think Shirou probably already explained we're about to host a funeral here? He doesn't want Kotori to be here for that. It's going to be a big funeral with a lot of people coming from all over Japan to pay their respects. It's going to be very sad," explained Tohka.

"Yes. We read about Raiga Fujimura in the newspaper… The fact that you're close enough to a dirty criminal like that is cause for even more concern about if this is the right environment for our daughter," said the dark haired man.

Shirou slapped his hands down on the table in exasperation. "Alright. That's it," he said while standing up. "You've threatened my daughter, questioned my love for her, and now you've insulted the man who was like a grandfather to me. I'd like you both out of my house now. I gave you every opportunity to be civilized about this but I'm afraid that's no longer possible."

"Wait! Please! Before you throw us out? May I have a look around? I want to see where my daughter grew up," the red haired woman asked with desperation.

Shirou now knew where Kotori got her looks from. Her mother's daughter whichever way one looks at it. But he wasn't going to have this. He shook his head and gestured towards the doorway. "That's a perfectly reasonable request. But I'm afraid your husband has worn out your welcome here. I'd like you both to leave and not come back. I won't ask a third time. If you want to continue this. I suggest you hire a lawyer."

Misaki

Shiki Tohno waited patiently outside the junior high school with a small smile on his face. There were good memories in this place. A few bad ones too but those aren't the ones he chose to focus on. He only had to wait a few minutes before Yoshino came walking out, a bright smile on her face when she saw him waiting there for her. Both Yoshino and Yoshinon were wearing the school uniform which he couldn't help but find adorable beyond the ability of words to express.

"Hey Yoshino. And Yoshinon. How was your day?" he asked them once they were near enough.

"It was nice. I learned how to bake cookies today," she said while reaching into her bag to pull out a plastic bag of cookies. "Would you like to try one?"

Shiki took the bag from her with a proud smile, opened it and took one out to try before resealing it and handing it back to her. "Mmm! This is really good! It's like perfectly sweet!"

"She worked super hard on them!" declared Yoshinon.

"I don't doubt it. So the girls are all at the Sports Center practicing Kyudo today. Would you like to go see them and then we can all walk home together?"

Yoshino looked up at the taller bespectacled man and nodded with a bright smile. "That sounds nice. But what is Kyudo? They seeme to like it a lot."

"It means 'the way of the bow' which is basically Japanese Archery. If you wanted to give it a try I'm sure they'd be happy to teach you."

Yoshino nodded, "If it looks fun I'll try it."

"That's good. You should try new things whenever you get the chance. You need to find interests and hobbies. They help make life more enjoyable and fun," explained Shiki.

"Do you have any hobbies?" the little girl wondered.

"Well sure I do. Unfortunately I had to grow up to learn to appreciate things like that. As a young man I was… Well. I'm not sure what my excuse was. Meeting Ciel and Arcueid changed me a lot. Anyway. To answer the question I like reading. I also enjoy batting cages."

"Batting cages? What's that?"

"Ahh. It's this thing where you stand with a basebal bat and hit balls that are thrown at you. It was actually Kotori's mother who introduced me to it. I found it to be a lot of fun and she needed someone to compete with because her husband couldn't swing a bat to save his life."

"Everyone always talks about Kotori's mother. It's like she's still here somehow even though I know she's gone…"

"She was an outstanding woman and we all miss her very much. But we're off topic now. You should try finding things you enjoy doing. Sports, martial arts, games, crafting, a hobby can be anything. For example, Akiha practices Aikido. She got into that when she was in High School. Ciel is into costume design. And Arcueid loves photography. She started out as a model but got curious about being on the other end of the camera and now she's a full time fashion photographer."

"What's Aikido?"

"It's a kind of martial art. You should probably actually talk to her about that. It's a way of fighting without actually hurting the person who's attacking you. Rather you make them hurt themselves with whatever it was they were trying to do to you. I don't fully understand it myself incase that wasn't painfully obvious."

"I don't want to hurt anyone… Why is there so much violence in everything?"

Shiki sighed, "Violence can't always be avoided. It's a sad reality of the world we live in. But it was just a suggestion. You could try art, dance, writing, I don't know… There's so much out there you have yet to be exposed to. So many wonderful things in this world I want you to be able to experience."

Yoshino was about to respond when Shiki's phone started to ring. After a moment to get it out of his pocket he narrowed his eyes in irritation before answering the call and bringing it up to his ear. "What's up Satan?"

"Very funny Tohno."

"Oh I'm sorry Emiya. I guess I mixed up your number with someone else."

"I don't have time to screw around with you right now. Are you with Kotori? I'm trying to reach her but her phone's off," explained an anxious Shirou.

"The girls all went to the sports centre near our house to practice Kyudo. That's probably why her phone's off. I'm actually on my way there now, I just picked up Yoshino from school. Don't worry, they're perfectly safe there."

"When you see her, have her call me. It's important," he said in a tone which implied dire consequences should he fail to be prompt in reaching her.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me Emiya! I'll be there in fifteen minutes, give or take. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Just one more thing…" Shirou took a deep breath and paused for a long moment before speaking again, "Thank you. For looking after them."

"You don't have to thank me for that Shirou. I hate you. But your family is my family. Besides. Someone has to make sure Kotori doesn't turn out like you."

"Yeah? Well it's a good thing Akiha is there to make sure she doesn't become like you either!" he yelled before hanging up the phone.

Shiki sighed and hung up his phone. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Silly Shirou."

Later that night Kotori sat on her bed with the phone in her ear listening to her father explain the story of what happened that afternoon. She sat silently, her eyes devoid of anything resembling life as the worst possible outcomes of the situation ran through her mind.

"Kotori-chan? Are you there?"

"I'm here Pops…"

"You're very quiet. It's not like you."

"I love you. I want to stay with you. I don't care who they are. The whole thing could have been a misunderstanding with everyone's emotions running high. But even if they were perfect saints… You're my father. Not him. And I won't insult my REAL mother's memory by ever calling someone else by that name."

"Would you be willing to at least meet them at some point? Explain your feelings on the matter yourself? That might make things easier."

"I'll think about it. But my first instinct is that I'd rather have nothing to do with them. They insulted our family in our own house. That's not a good first impression."

"They told me when your actual birthday is. Do you want to know?"

"No. I don't. My birthday is next week. I don't give a crap when I was actually born. The day I became your daughter is all I care about!"

"I never doubted it. I just thought you deserved to know everything that's happened here."

"I appreciate it Pops. I guess I'll meet them if it'll make them go away and leave us alone. But I don't want anything to do with them. I like my life just fine the way it is… But..."

"But what?"

"But… I wish all these bad things would stop happening to us. It seems like that for every good thing we have, we get two bad things for it. What did we do to deserve this Karma?"

Shirou chuckled into the phone, "I don't think that's the reason for it Kotori. If I'm going to be perfectly honest. I suspect there's more to it than these people wanting their daughter back. They should have been able to find you years ago if they really wanted to. So I'd like you to be extra vigilant and never be anywhere alone. First DEM tried to kidnap you, and now this. I don't know what they want with you but I'd really rather not find out."

"We know someone who probably knows but isn't telling us. I think I should go get some answers out of her and I'll get back to you with what I find out."

"Be careful Kotori…From experience I can tell you that this sort of thing only does more harm than good. I obviously can't stop you if you choose to pursue this. But just be careful. You might not like what you find out."

"I already know that Pops. But I'd like it even less if something like this split us up for good!"

"That won't happen Kotori. You know I won't let it. I'll use every resource I have, call in every favor, I'll fight tooth and nail if I have to. Not even over my dead body will someone take you away from your life."

"I love you Pops."

"I love you too Kotori-chan. Be smart, and be safe."

"I will. Take care, and tell Aunt Taiga I love her too. And Tohka as well."

"I will. I'll call you tomorrow to check up on you. Don't turn off your phone."

"I was on the archery range…"

"I know that now. But I didn't know that earlier. Send me a message next time."

"I will. I promise."

After hanging up the phone Kotori let it drop from her hand onto the bed before falling over and curling herself up into a fetal position. There she remained perfectly still for not less than twenty minutes before Origami knocked on the door and let herself in. It was almost dinner time and Kotori was the one who was late this time.

"Kotori?" she asked with concern as she slowly made her way over to to her best friend laying on the bed. "I take it your conversation with your father didn't go well?" she followed up before moving aside Kotori's phone and then sitting down on the bed beside her.

After a minute of silence, Origami gently placed a hand on Kotori's shoulder. Silently letting her know she was there for her.

"I miss my mother. I wish she was here now. Everything would be alright if she were here," said Kotori in the saddest voice Origami had ever heard from her. Her heart shattered at how helpless her normally exceptionally strong friend sounded.

"For what it's worth. You're not alone. More than you know, you are not alone."

"I know I sound so selfish. You lost both of your-"

"That's not what I mean Kotori. I only mean that you don't have to shoulder this alone. I'm here for you. And you're also surrounded by family here. We'll all help each other through these difficult times."

Kotori put her hand on Origami's, taking off her shoulder and holding it tightly. "I don't know what to do… It's easy to sound strong for my father's sake. But I feel so alone. Even though I know what you told me is true."

"Why don't you come have dinner with us. Then you and I can sit down and talk it all through. Whatever it is. I will support you."

Kotori nodded her head and slowly sat up with Orgami's help. Suddenly she grabbed and embraced her tightly. "I love you Origami. You're my sister."

Origami winced internally at the remark. "I'm your best friend. And I do love you very much. I'll always be here for you. I'll always be on your side. Know that."

This has to stop. It used to make me feel good to know she thought of me that way. But not it just hurts… She has to know she has a real sister who loves her more than anything in the world. I can't lie about it… But I can't tell her unless she asks me. The truth has to come out. Kotori needs her sister. And Kurumi needs her family. Neither of them are as strong as they pretend to be. I'll find a way to make it happen. Everyone deserves to be happy. And their happiness is standing right in front of them...