"80 gold."

Joshua looked over the cards in his hand to look at Jason. "You sure about that bet? Sounds pretty steep."

"It's just gold." Jason shrugged. "Like you said, it's no fun if nothing's at stake." Joshua smiled and nodded at that. "And after we leave this world, it becomes kind of useless."

"And you and Konata are here for, what? Several months, at least, until the war is over. And believe me when I say 'several months at least.' It could go on for a couple years or more."

The old stone fort was shrouded in darkness, completely silent except for the two gambling partners who were keeping watch for any possible enemy movement, although the black armor of the Daein army provided adequate camouflage at this hour. The Greil Mercenaries, a small band of just under twenty soldiers total (and "soldiers" was a loose term), were camped out here, as they escorted the last surviving member of the Crimean royal family to the neighboring nation of Gallia. Jason had just a cursory understanding of the entire conflict between Crimea and Daein, but Konata was an avid Fire Emblem fan, and for the past week had been telling them just what was going to happen next.

Not that they were here for the complicated political situation. Once Ike's mercenary band had accepted how young both Konata and Jason were (not that it was even unusual for this world), they had realized their value, both in combat and in training. And, in Konata's case, even tactics. Apparently, arranging all those raids and battles in games had made her something of a prodigy.

For the time being, no soldiers were sighted, it was the middle of the night, there was no clock to tell just how long until morning, and Joshua had decided to pass the time by playing a few hands of cards. And of course there was money at stake, otherwise it just wouldn't be interesting.

"Speaking of Konata, where'd she go off to this time?" Joshua asked.

"Out training. Excuse me, 'grinding,' as she calls it," Jason replied. "If it keeps her in a good mood, it's fine by me. You know how it is when you leave your home world."

As a matter of fact, Joshua had taken this assignment because, being from a different Fire Emblem universe, this one was at least close to being home. He still wore the black clothing typical to Jehanna, his home nation that was unheard of in this place. As for Konata and Jason, they had taken this particular assignment - Konata's first full-time mission - just out of what was available at the time. Konata only seemed to like taking missions in worlds she was familiar with, anyway.

"So she's out again... So when was the last time she stayed in one universe for at least 24 hours?" Joshua asked. "If even for that long."

"Oh, that's not a problem for her. It's more like she can't go... 48 hours without going outside somewhere."

Joshua smiled at that. "Yeah, come to think of it, that sounds about right." He glanced out over the moonlit fields. This old fort was located in a fairly large clearing, with thick forests and jungles all around. No need to worry about Daein soldiers in those, they were far too difficult for a fully equipped army to trek through. "When does she find time to sleep? It's just impossible to go so long without any rest."

"Not for her," Jason said. "It's willpower, mostly."

Joshua nodded. "Shoulda known. Anyway, why'd she go out, anyway? I thought she said she was going to help on watch duty tonight."

As he said that, Konata reappeared a few meters away. Even through the darkness, Jason could see an unfamiliar blade strapped on her back. Really, it was hard to miss, because it was absolutely massive, nearly as long as she was tall.

"So what'd you find this time?" he called over.

"Check this out." She had that grin again. Actually, it seemed it had been a while since she had gotten that mischievous expression. It was good to see it again. She reached behind to pull the sword out of its sheath, and as she did, it erupted in flame. "The legendary blade Laevateinn... I've been looking for this for days. It's one of the rarest items in the game!" Referring, of course, to that old MMO she used to play all the time. And, in a way, still did.

Jason turned over to his companion. "So... Flaming swords. What's the verdict?"

Joshua squinted as he looked at it, and rubbed his chin. "I'd say... Probably not."

"Huh?" Konata looked at him.

"I've never seen anything like that in this world. Even if someone did have a sword like that, it would be a priceless treasure, most likely bestowed by the gods themselves. Not to mention you'd get a nasty reputation using that in battle. So, no."

Konata had walked over next to their game of cards, and set Laevateinn down into the dusty ground by her feet, her hand on the hilt, while the dirt around the blade blackened from the heat. "So... I can't use it? That sucks."

"You can't use it here. But, say, we go somewhere where that kind of thing is more common, and you can just go crazy," Jason told her.

She sighed as she put the sword back in the sheath, and it vanished completely as she held it. "Back to the normal iron and steel, then. Anyway, did I miss anything? No attacks?"

Joshua laughed. "Does it look like it? You're just fine."

Then they all heard a noise, which had almost become unfamiliar over the past week, spent entirely in this fantasy medieval universe. The unmistakable sound of a cell phone ringing.

"That yours?" Konata said, looking at Jason.

He had already taken it out, and looked at the caller ID. He frowned, hesitating briefly before looking back up at her. "It's Kagami."

Konata said nothing for a moment, the grin disappearing again as she remembered, then, "I... figure I should know what this is about, shouldn't I... Go on and take it. You should probably step out, though."

"Right." Jason quickly stood up and started towards the forest.

Chapter 16

All That I Had Known Of This Place

Jason walked out of the fortress, heading down a set of steps as he headed for the woods. He took a deep breath before answering the phone. This was going to be difficult.

"Hey, Kagami. Haven't heard from you in a while." He tried to sound cheerful. He continued walking into the forest, finding some isolated spot where one could talk on a twenty-first century cell phone in the middle of an ancient feudal society. Thank God for Eclipse's absolutely outstanding coverage.

"Yeah... Sorry. There's just been a lot going on around here..." Her voice was different. Tired. Sad.

"You don't sound too good. Is something wrong...?" The hard part wasn't trying to act like he knew nothing, it was much worse knowing that he was at least partly responsible for it. But Konata had made that choice on her own, even requested that she herself carry out her own (faked) murder. If she had all those weeks to think about it in advance, she must have been serious.

"Just like I thought... Nobody told you, did they?" Kagami's voice was growing fainter, and it had already started out much more flat and emotionless than her usual self. "About..."

"What happened?" Jason was now taking on a more serious tone. He at least thought it sounded convincing.

"I... I really don't know how to say this... Konata was..." She hesitated briefly. "She was murdered."

Jason took a few moments of pause for dramatic effect, before responding, "What...? That... can't be true. I mean, I haven't heard from her in a while, but I figured..."

"It was about a week ago. She was coming home from her job. You know, at the cafe in the city? It was really late at night... Someone shot her. None of us even heard about it until we got to school... The principal called an assembly and told us what happened." It was obvious how hard it was for Kagami to say these things.

"I can't believe this..." Jason said, still hoping it sounded honest. The worst thing he could do now was come off sounding like a bad actor. Kagami really believed her best friend was dead, how would she react if it sounded like he wasn't even concerned?

Apparently she believed it, though. "I figure the worst part is that they don't even have any suspects... This guy... Whoever did it, they're still out there somewhere. And can you believe there wasn't even any motive? I heard that Konata still had her wallet and all her money, when the police..." Her voice trailed off.

"I really wish I could do something for you," Jason told her. And he could, if he really wanted to, but at the risk of getting both himself and Konata fired... No matter how hard it was, he had to keep up this act. Kagami still thought that he was in the same world as her, in a suburban home in Vermont instead of out here in -

Realizing that, he noticed something else. "Come to think of it... what time is it over there in Japan? Isn't it the middle of the night for you?"

"Yeah, it's about..." There was a pause, as Kagami apparently checked a clock somewhere. "It's about five in the morning. Don't worry, it's not like I'm even able to sleep much lately. I was already awake, and I suddenly remembered you. And, also, I wasn't going to say this, but I... I knew about you and Konata. I just didn't say anything."

Now here was something confusing. Obviously she wasn't talking about what first jumped to Jason's mind, if she knew the truth she wouldn't sound so depressed. "What do you mean...?"

"I knew what you guys were doing. Pretty much from the start, actually... I just never said anything. You guys were... dating, weren't you?"

Konata was leaning against the wall, staring out into the night. Kagami had called. Of course. From her point of view, she thought Jason was still living in the same world. She should have known that one of her friends would be calling at some point... Konata had blocked everyone's number from her own phone, just in case they dialed her number on accident or something, but they found the fake phone broken at the crime scene, so it's not like they would try anyway...

Mostly Konata tried not to think about home. It wasn't her home, not anymore.

Even so... She had decided she did want to hear about the conversation, whenever Jason got back. At least know what was really going on back there. All that chaos that she had undoubtedly caused. But it had been necessary.

This was where she was supposed to be. Konata had settled on that fact, accepted it, and told herself not to question a decision that had already been made and could never be taken back.

Joshua had taken the north side of the fort, leaving her here watching the south. Nothing was moving out there, she had no distraction from her thoughts...

A faint glint of something.

Enemy armor?

On closer inspection, Konata could see movement out there. Eventually the orange glow of a torch, and around it a small band of soldiers in the black uniforms of Daein. She couldn't see much detail, but they had stopped moving. Maybe they were discussing something...

Still glancing over her shoulder, she circled around the center structure of the fort, within the inner wall. Her pace quickened.

"Joshua. They're here. Wake everyone up."

"They found us?" He had nearly been falling asleep.

"I don't know. I couldn't tell if they know someone's here..."

"Gotcha. We'll take position, but we won't strike first. Could you tell how large the force is?"

"They at least have more men than we do."

"Ha. No surprise there." Joshua hesitated. "Is Jason still out there? Talking to that friend of yours?"

Konata had been doing her best to get that out of her mind, but there it was again. "Yeah... He hasn't come back yet. Listen, you go get everyone ready. I'll stay out there and keep an eye on them."

Returning to her post, Konata could see that no further movement had been taken so far. As long as they were in sight, it was too early to relax, but even so, Konata couldn't focus on the upcoming battle. She tried desperately to divert her mental energy to coming up with a battle strategy.

Jason couldn't believe what he had just heard. Had Kagami just suggested...?

So she had noticed that Jason and Konata had been spending a lot of time alone together. Obviously Kagami would never assume what was really going on, so this wasn't too bad of a guess. Really there was no problem if she wanted to think that way. Hearing it had caught Jason off guard, though.

He had finally reached a suitably remote point in the woods. The cover of the trees blocked out just about all of the moonlight. It was pitch black except for the faint glow of the phone's backlight. It was risky, there was so much risk of tripping on a vine or a rotted tree stump, but getting out a flashlight would open him up to possible discovery. Enemy or not, it didn't matter when you were using modern conveniences here.

"...Hello?" Kagami said, waiting for a response. "You're still there, right? I'm sorry..."

"I'm still here," Jason replied.

"I didn't want to let either of you know that I had it figured out, since you were doing so much to keep it secret... But now that she's gone... I thought I'd let you know. Don't worry. I'm not jealous or anything. Now that she's gone... There was no way to know that this would happen, how little time she had left, so... Now I'm actually glad she had you. Oh, and sorry if I'm making this awkward for you..."

"N-no, it's okay. Really," Jason replied. He'd never really seen Konata that way, but if Kagami wanted to believe that, she could just go ahead. It was better than explaining the truth. "Hey, so how has everyone else been doing? I can't even imagine what it must be like back there."

Kagami stopped as she thought for a moment, deciding where to start. "Well, Tsukasa's pretty much terrified of going into the city anymore. I suppose I don't blame her. It's safe as long as you stay with the crowds, Konata was alone when it happened, but still... And Tsukasa was the one who first became friends with Konata. Back at the beginning of our first year at Ryoo. They were always so close." Kagami gave a short, quiet laugh, then said, "Remember the Athletic Festival? Tsukasa was working so hard with her, trying to prepare for it. I think she really looked up to Konata."

"Too bad it didn't work out," Jason said, remembering how that had gone. He had really come pretty far with these girls. When he first took the assignment in that world - it wasn't a request, it had been completely against his will - he was dreading that year, in a boring universe, with nothing going on. And here he was, actually wishing he could go back for at least a day. Maybe once it was summer there, then he'd visit again. "What about Miyuki?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, she hasn't really been herself lately..."

"It sounds like none of you have."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I've never seen Miyuki break down like this. She usually keeps her calm so well. I guess we're all just scared. It could... happen again." There was a note of fear in Kagami's voice that really didn't sound like her.

"You're right. I never would have thought something like that could happen to Konata..." Which was the truth, though not in the way Kagami thought, Jason reminded himself. Even after just a year of training, Konata was nigh invincible. It would be impossible to sneak up on her like they had made it look. "Hey, if you ever need to talk to someone, don't hesitate to call me. I'll be here."

"Thanks."

There. They were moving towards the fort. Just like she had thought... and, Konata realized, she almost hoped they would. That was almost sick, really, hoping that the enemy would attack their position, putting everyone in mortal danger.

"Konata. Is it Daein?" She turned around to see Commander Ike, already decked out for battle. Blue hair wasn't so rare in this world, Ike's spiky hair was a shade identical to Konata's own. His tattered red cape blew gently in the breeze behind him.

"It looks like them. Is everyone ready?" Konata could see they still hadn't lit any torches. A good strategy, they could at least take advantage of the cover of darkness. Despite the sorry state of the fortifications, they still had the advantage of defending rather than attacking.

"Yeah. So, do you have a plan?" Ike was looking at her solemnly. He had started asking her straight out for suggestions on the battle plan.

"Well, we've got a few entrances on this side. It looks like they're coming straight on, so put our best men on this side," Konata said. She gestured to the doorways in the crumbling, moss-covered walls. "Princess Elincia is inside, correct?"

"Of course. Preferably we'll be able to keep her out of sight. It's best if they never see that she's travelling with us."

"We should probably have someone right in front of the entrance to the central building. Staying inside the walls. Just one person, send everyone else to guard the outer entrances."

Ike lifted his sword over his shoulder. "I'll hold the inner gate, then. You take the main entrance, Konata."

The main gate? "Seriously...?"

"You're already fully prepared for battle. Everyone else still needs a few minutes to wake up. So you take the front gate. You, Joshua, and... hey, where's Jason?"

Konata was again reminded of Kagami's phone call. "Jason... stepped out for a bit. He said he wouldn't be long."

"What? Where could he be going this late at night? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Uh..." Konata couldn't think of an excuse right now. Too much going on. "He... didn't say. He just said he'd be back soon." But would he?

Ike sighed, and turned to take his position. He hurried off around the front of the building, leaving Konata alone for the moment, waiting for the rest of the troops to come around and help her. At least the enemy forces were still away from the entrance. As they came closer, Konata could begin to see it was a small force. Only about a hundred or so...

An army of a hundred? Konata smiled. No problem for someone who had grown up in the Tokyo suburbs.

Kagami, sitting at the desk in her darkened room, looked at her watch.

"Oh, I just realized the time... We've been talking for a while now, haven't we?" she said. And talking to Jason again had, in fact, made her feel a little better. Still, she hated being the one to tell him such bad news. Really, his girlfriend, already halfway around the world, had just been killed... That had to be tough. She couldn't even relate, not really.

"Really?" He paused. "Heh, you're right. You should probably be getting ready for school by now, shouldn't you?"

"Yeah. Even with how crazy it's been around here, we still have to keep going on like nothing happened." Maybe that was the worst part, just having to ignore it. "So... I'll talk to you again sometime."

"Sure, sounds good... Anytime."

"Uh... Goodbye, then."

"Bye." She heard him hang up on the other end.

Closing her phone, she set it down on the desk and stared at it for a while. Not much else to do. She had to use her cell because she didn't even remember his number. It was just stored in her phone's memory, so she had used that.

It had been awfully quiet back on Jason's end. Usually when you called a cell phone, there was some sort of background noise, and without it there was a feeling that something was missing. She hadn't heard anything other than...

Had it been crickets?

But right now, it was just the middle of the afternoon back in Vermont, unless her concept of time zones was completely off. It was kind of weird, she would have expected to hear other people talking, maybe cars or something if he was outside... But no.

She didn't think too much of it. Who knows what he was doing? They had only been talking about how things were going back here in Japan, he hadn't said anything about where he was or what was going on in his own life. Just like it had always been, actually... Even when he was going to Ryoo with them he had never mentioned much about his old school or even his family.

Kagami decided to talk more about his life, next time they talked. She didn't even know who any of his friends back home were.

She looked up at the bulletin board over her desk. It was covered with photos, some of them several years old, the oldest ones from back in middle school, and the newest from just a couple months ago. Only one with Jason and everyone else, but... Konata was in over half of them.

Even for a crazy, obsessed otaku with a serious detachment from reality... She'd been a really good friend.

Knights were usually the easiest to take out.

Carrying a huge steel lance and weighted down with heavy armor, these unmounted soldiers weren't designed for speed, only attack power and defense. Still not much good against magic users, but someone with the proper skill to manage all of that heavy gear could still be a valuable part of an army.

Not so with this one. As Konata ran towards him, kicking off the wall to launch herself into the air above his head, he barely even had time to register that she had landed behind him before a few quick slashes to the back finished him off.

"A shame you can't do that in turn-based combat..." Konata mused.

She considered her own class to be myrmidon and/or swordmaster, most likely leaning towards the second, higher-ranking position. Her fighting style, while she tried to maintain a balance, focussed on speed rather than pure power or defense. It didn't matter if you were able to avoid taking hits and get in multiple strikes yourself.

"No time to stop," Joshua said. "There's more on the way."

The torches mounted on the walls were still unlit, intending to cause difficulty for the invading army but also hindering the mercenaries at the same time. Konata turned and saw the gleam of a lance coming - invisible until seconds before it would hit. Dropping her sword on the ground, she grabbed it by the handle, inches above the point, and pulled. The soldier lost his balance, tumbling off his horse, who galloped away into the darkness. Konata rammed the blunt end of the spear into his helmet, and, satisfied with the lack of movement, picked up her sword again.

Joshua was to her left now, fighting some foot soldiers. None of them could seem to hit him, he shifted mere inches away from their blades moments before they came down, and responded with a quick stab of his own.

The two of them were holding this entrance all by themselves. And, as Konata realized, they were exactly the kind of character you weren't supposed to use in a Fire Emblem game: overpowered, taking on all the enemies single-handedly, depriving other units of experience.

But there were no experience points here, and everyone else was quite busy enough. You had to adjust your tactics to fit the reality of combat.

Hearing the footsteps coming up behind her, Konata whirled around and dashed forward at the black-robed mage, finishing him off before he could initiate a spell.

But even in the thick of battle, she realized she was still unable to get her friends from home out of her mind. Jason still hadn't come back, most likely he was still talking to Kagami... Konata wondered if she even wanted to hear what they had been discussing. It couldn't be anything good.

She almost lost her concentration, another mounted soldier was dashing towards her. She braced herself for the next clash.

Having finished the conversation, and now slowly working his way through the pitch-black forest, walking almost entirely blind, Jason began to hear the unmistakable sound of steel on steel, magical lightning strikes, frantically yelled commands in the midst of conflict.

"Perfect. Just what we needed," he said to himself.

Summoning a battleaxe in his hand, the brief flash of white light illuminated the area. In the split second of light, he could see that he was not alone. A figure in a dark cloak stood several feet away.

As the darkness returned, even darker after the momentary flash, he called out to whoever it was. "Who are you?"

A voice responded, female, but muffled: "I'm on your side."

"Very well..." This was getting interesting. Might as well trust her for now, he could hold his own if she turned on him.

The figure lit a torch, providing some light. Her face was still concealed under the hood, but she carried no weapons or magic tomes that he could see. Perhaps she was telling the truth, she was a friend... But in war, you could never be too trusting in a situation like this.

"You're not worried about being seen?" Jason asked. "No doubt Daein's got these woods surrounded."

"Nope. Let 'em come. We'll deal with them," the figure responded.

"So confident. And you're just going to keep that hood up?"

"Sure, why not? I like the mysterious look." Something about her was familiar. She seemed to be dropping her guard, possibly stepping out of an act. "You're supposed to be guarding the old fort over there, right?" She lifted an arm to point.

"Yeah."

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, curious.

"Long story, I can't really explain at the moment," Jason said. He hadn't come up with a cover story yet. It would have been a good idea to have been thinking of that... "We should really be heading back."

"Sounds good to me. I'll lead the way."

Following the light of the torch she carried, Jason followed her. Just how far had he gone into the woods, exactly? He hadn't been paying attention, if this person hadn't showed up with a light, he could have been lost until the sun rose. That phone call had distracted him, he hadn't been thinking of the most basic survival plans... This probably wasn't a coincidence, this girl - whoever she was - showing up like this, nothing was 'just a coincidence'. Who was she, anyway?

"Oh... Konata. There you are." Turning to look at the timid voice, she saw it was Rhys. A young, orange-haired priest who served as their field medic, healing injuries with his staff.

"Yeah. We're doing just fine here. How's everyone else?" Konata asked. Rhys would have been making the rounds, in the inner circle of the fort, healing the fighters without stepping into harm's way himself. Her usual tactics for healers was to keep them within the inner circle of fighters, in the second or third line from the front, and it worked as well in real life as it did in games.

"It appears the defense is going as you planned. No casualties to report," he said, trying to smile. Fighting bothered him, he was a true pacifist, but Konata appreciated how he was able to look past that and focus on helping them win each skirmish.

"Good... Listen, we're completely okay. No injuries here. You go help someone else."

"Absolutely!" He hurried off towards the east entrance. In that direction, Konata could see the faint colors and shapes of Shinon and Gatrie, some of the other mercenaries, holding their own at their assigned location.

She had almost looked away for too long, she barely had time to hear the footsteps coming up behind her -

A flash of an axe blade in the air above him, and the attacking swordsman fell.

"Jason! There you are!" Konata said. The impatience was obvious in her tone.

"I'm not late, am I?"

She looked over at his companion, who remained silent. "No, we've only been fighting for about an hour and a half so far."

"That long?" He sighed. "Sorry."

The cloaked figure was already holding her own against the waves of attackers, lightning shooting from her fingertips. So she was a mage. And she hadn't been lying about being a friend. That was about all he knew about her.

"Who is that, anyway?" Konata asked, nodding her head in the direction of the new ally.

"No idea..." Jason said.

"Listen, once we're done here..." Konata hesitated before continuing. She raised her head up, looking straight into his eyes, trying to muster up some confidence. "I want to know everything Kagami told you, alright?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Until then, I've got some making up to do."

It was still going to be another hour or so before this siege was finished. They were coming from all sides now. Konata and Jason stood guarding each other's backs, weapons raised, ready for more.

Finally, the last sounds of metal clashing with metal had died down. The sky was beginning to glow a dim orange as the sun prepared to rise. And, to her surprise, Konata was actually feeling a little fatigued after this battle.

Commander Ike came towards them from inside the walls of the fort. "We're all clear," he said flatly. "Regroup inside."

Konata looked around. Only herself, Jason, Joshua, and... whoever that other girl was, the mage in the brown cloak. Her voice sounded familiar for some reason. Dead soldiers laid on the ground... She could see that none of them were faces she recognized, and they all wore the same black armor. There was some grim satisfaction, which she had grown accustomed to over the course of the last seven days, knowing that another battle had been survived. For the time being, this was her lifestyle, her home.

"Well? You heard the man," Joshua said, putting his sword back into its sheath. "We're meeting back inside."

As they climbed the short flight of steps up into the center of the fort, Konata turned to their new ally. "Hey, good work out there. I appreciated the help."

"You weren't so bad yourself, Konata."

"Wha -?" How did this girl know who she was? Ignoring that for now, she joined the small crowd of mercenaries. Everyone here was accounted for. Another successful fight with no casualties. Mia looked a little beat up - she was that purple-haired myrmidon girl who had joined a few days ago. Although there were no strictly-defined classes in the real world, Konata still used them mentally, to help herself stay organized.

"Everyone gather all the supplies we can carry," Ike said, addressing the entire band. "We're leaving here as soon as possible and heading out for Castle Gallia. And please, move quickly."

He stepped down, walking through the crowd. As he passed the girl in the cloak, he stopped. He looked at her strangely for a moment, not recognizing her as someone he knew.

"I'm sorry, you are -?"

"I'll be leaving now. I'll see you all again, I'm sure of it." Apparently she was trying to sound dark and mysterious, but there was evidence of trying too hard in the way she said it.

"I... I see." Ike wasn't sure how to react, so he continued on to help gather weapons and rations for the next march.

The sun was rising now, casting an orange glow over everything. As the cloaked figure left, she motioned to Konata and Jason, apparently to come follow her away from the rest of the troops. They both received the hint and trailed after her, stopping just inside the edge of the woods.

"So you were using magic. Lightning, correct?" Jason said. "And... Not using a spellbook, I noticed."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"By the rules of this world, magic can only be performed with the proper spellbook in hand, or a staff for certain other non-offensive spells. To be casting spells with your bare hands, you must be quite gifted indeed. Or perhaps..."

"Crap, seriously? Why didn't you tell me while we were still fighting?" She took down her hood, finally showing her face. The familiar ice-blue hair and dark red eyes. Ayanami.

"Rei? What're you doing here?" Konata asked in shock.

"Well, I intended to come practice the new spells I just learned, but apparently I'm not allowed to do that here..." Rei said, glaring at Jason.

"I thought you were more into piloting mecha. What are you doing with magic all of a sudden?" Konata asked.

Rei was grinning. "Sure, I still do a lot of stuff for NERV, but on the side I've been trying to learn other stuff too. I figure I might as well have some fun, as long as I've got access to other worlds."

"But what's with the whole getup? Just for fun or something?" Jason asked her.

"Like I told your commander, I'm not staying with the rest of the army. I've got school to go to. I'll just drop in for a battle whenever it's convenient, I thought it was best to remain faceless. Mysterious, all that," Rei said, shrugging. "I didn't expect to see you guys here, though. So how do you get back home, Konata?"

"Um..." Konata was looking down. "Actually, I'm... not anymore."

"You mean...?" Rei's eyes were widening, as she stared at Konata's regretful expression. "I get it. So you're going full time now, just like Jason."

She was staring off, not looking at either of them. "And I don't think I'd recommend it, either. At least, I'm still adjusting." She lifted her head to look at Rei. "For the time being, anyway."

"Hmm..."

Jason spoke up. "By the way, Konata, you were asking earlier about my phone call."

"That's right!" Konata wasn't sure whether to be excited to hear from her old world, or depressed that it would only ever be second hand. "So... what did she have to say?"

"It's not so good. I've never heard Kagami act like that... I guess everyone's really shook up by the whole thing. She said nobody heard about it until the day after at school. I guess the police didn't find your body until about two in the morning."

Rei cut in. "Found her body...? What's that all about?"

"I had to fake my own death in order to leave," Konata explained. "Yeah... pretty tough. So what else?"

"Well, mostly they're worried about finding the killer." A grim smile came across Jason's face. "I hope they don't arrest anyone... People are still on edge about the whole deal. They still think 'he's' out there, waiting for another victim. That should all die down in after a while, though."

"This all sounds like it turned out perfectly, then," Rei said.

"Do you mind?" Konata said. "I can't believe I did this to everyone..."

"It's too late now. You made your choice." They all fell silent for a while. Some voices could be heard from the direction of the camp, too far away to be understood. "And there was... something else, that I wasn't expecting."

"Huh?" Konata turned back to look at him.

"Yeah. Kagami apparently noticed how close we were getting, how it seemed like we were spending so much time alone together..." He almost laughed, an awkward expression was coming into his face. "She thought we were dating."

"What? No... No, we're not like that, right?" Konata said. "I mean, we're just... friends. And we work together. You're like my mentor or something."

"Right. But I still went along with it, just because she was completely convinced, but... Nothing like that's going on."

"It's not?" Rei said. When they both turned to look at her, she quickly added, "I mean, I kind of wondered, but... I didn't really think... that... Never mind."

"Back on the subject..." Konata said, waving her hand, "Everyone's... so upset, and there's no reason for it... We really can't tell them any of the truth, can we..." She sighed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you it could turn out like this," Jason said. "Besides, it's only been a week. It's still such a shock to them. They'll all get better over time... You will, too."

"Only a week..." Konata repeated. She stopped, realizing something. "A week since... I died... Left, I mean... Since May 21st..."

"What is it?" Rei asked.

"So it's May 28th in that world now..." Jason said, starting to nod. "I get it now."

"It's my eighteenth birthday today. Technically." Konata was starting to smile a bit, her old familiar cat grin that nobody had seen for what seemed like ages. "I'm old enough to play all those hentai games now. Not that it ever stopped me before, but still. And I'm not even home to celebrate it... That's a shame."

"You play what?" Rei said, shocked.

"Yeah, I've never understood it either," Jason said.

Konata ignored them, they were unenlightened. "I just hope... that nobody had anything planned for me. Back home."

"Well, it's not much, but I suppose... I could look for somewhere that you could practice using Laevateinn. After all, something like that requires a different sort of skill than a regular sword. You'll need some practice with it. I'll help you," Jason said.

"Right, I almost forgot about that... That would be great!" It was good to see Konata so cheerful again. It was like her old enthusiasm had returned.

"I still don't know what's going on. What's that part about?" Rei said.

"Konata found a flaming sword," Jason explained.

"Is that all?" Rei said. "Heh, I should really be used to this sort of thing by now. How do you get all the cool stuff before I do?"

"I have finely honed instincts when it comes to rare items. I find all sorts of stuff like that," Konata said proudly. "Jason, if you could really find somewhere that I could practice with it, I'd really be looking forward to that."

"No problem. So Rei, when are you going to be back?" Jason asked.

"If you ever have a battle coming up, just call me. I'll be sure to find one of those spellbooks you were talking about... I dunno, can I just use it as a prop or something? I'd really just like to use my regular magic. It took forever to learn."

"That's fine..." Jason said. "But really, we have to call you? Do you realize how hard it is to take a phone call in this world? Phones aren't even supposed to exist here."

"God, so many rules..." Rei said. "Anyway, I should really be heading back now. You're here for...?"

"However long it takes to end the war," Jason finished.

"It was nice seeing you again, Rei," Konata said. "You're heading back to go to school then? Have fun with that."

It was probably also time for the two of them to get back to camp and help pick up. They had to physically haul everything on the marches, magic couldn't be used here to transport anything. They were roughing it. It was part of fitting in with this world. Maybe it wasn't so bad, getting to fit in somewhere like this, though. And then, when all was finished, moving on somewhere completely different, starting a new, albeit temporary life there...

Whatever the next world would be, fantasy, futuristic, or even what Konata would consider present-day, she was looking forward to it all the same. There would barely even be time to consider this world boring and routine before she'd be in the next one, and the one after that, and everything that would come after that.

And it was always good to be somewhere that you were considered useful. Making some new friends - acquaintances, really, she'd have to leave them behind anyway. But really, the best part was not having to worry about being prepared for the future. No pressure to settle down or get a job, she was already powerful enough to keep working this job at a fairly relaxed pace, having whatever funds were necessary provided for her.

She would get used to this.