Well, it's official; the new update day for Kaze no Fantasia is Saturdays... when fanfiction dot net decides to work with me. This chapter should have been up yesterday, but the site was apparently having some issues. And this was after I'd sat there for over eight hours finishing the chapter. Whee...

Here's a fun note. If ya'all would go check out Big-sister on deviantart (that's big-sister dot deviantart dot com) you'll find a few sketches of Mana. Ironically, these are done by my little sister. Sis has an interesting style- the eyes are a little narrow- but it's still a pretty good idea of what Mana Koyama looks like. Stop by and leave her a few comments. Maybe it'll get her to draw more!

On another note, I now have an item of extreme cuteness. The Jin cell phone dangle Ray got me finally came in the mail, and it is so adorable! My cat seems to have some issues with it, though; she keeps randomly walking over and batting at it. As a result, I have to carry it around with me everywhere, and I'm thinking of hanging it from my favorite necklace. There are no fangirl motives here, nope, not at all. I'm just protecting it from my cat. Yep.

And as for the chapter itself, we finally see how Mana displays her sense of humor. There are two little 'jokes' she plays in the chapter involving objects that have been somewhat vaguely described. E-cookies to anyone who can actually tell me what both those items are, by name. It's vague, but the hints are there.

Now for a few notes on Japanese culture. First of all, I've actually been doing research on the school system. It's harder to find information on the middle school system, but since it's so similar to the high school system I've been able to piece things together that way. School in Japan, at least for older students, really does take up six days out of the week, although Saturdays are generally half days and a time for clubs and things to meet. There's no janitorial service to speak of; the students themselves do the cleaning after school. And the rules on clothing and hair are very, very strict.

Also, in this chapter it's noted that Mana stands out, a lot. Japanese culture, especially for people her age, has a lot of stress on uniformity. Kids in school have to dress the same, use the same handbags, even look the same- again, there are strict rules on hair. They can actually make you change your hair back if you try to dye it or perm it. Mana, being of mixed heritage, just doesn't look right in a way that's usually reserved for girls who don't take life quite so seriously. A good example of that kind of snap judgement is the manga Peach Girl- Momo, who is on the swim team and thus has a tan and light hair, is immediately judged to be an irresponcible party girl by a lot of people who meet her on the streets. Mana has to deal with similar sentiments, although to a lighter extent- she's anything but tanned, after all. But she still stands out.

Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed or put this story on their favorites. It's a super-great motivation to me to know that people are actually reading my story, even better than my mother breathing down my neck. I like hearing everyone's feedback and opinions, so keep it coming. Thanks!

So let's go!


Jin thought he was seeing a definite theme with this bookcase. The upper two shelves were stacked two rows deep with novels. They weren't the kind of things a young girl would read; the fact that many of them had dust on them was just further proof of this. The books on all the lower shelves, however, were definitely those of a teenage girl. He spent the morning flipping through the different books, starting at the top and working his way down, trying to find something to take outside with him. One or two titles on the shelves looked okay, but most of them... Jin picked up yet another volume, flipped through it, and tossed it aside. Fluffy romances were not his idea of an interesting read. They'd probably just make him even more bored than he already was.

What he really needed was to get away from this building for a while...

There was a soft groan from the balcony doors. "You're making a mess."

Jin blinked as Mana stepped inside. "Do ya always come inside from there, then?"

"It's easier than the front door." The girl dropped her book bag on the couch and set to work pulling a pair of black rubber bands from her hair. The wind master just paused, glancing at the clock. Wasn't this far, far earlier than she was usually home? He didn't usually keep track of the hour of her comings and goings, but he was certain she was early.

Mana actually sat on the edge of the couch, struggling with the golden locks, and Jin raised an eyebrow. Something else that was new, then. She'd never worn her hair like that before. "How come ya got yer hair in braids today?"

"I got yelled at by a teacher." The girl wrinkled her nose. "I'm not supposed to wear it down, but I hate braids and pigtails. They're so childish." She shook her head, letting her hair come loose and fall back down around her. "So today I basically got an ultimatum from one of my teachers; either braid it properly or dye it black. I braided it."

The redhead sat up a bit. "They can't actually force ya to dye yer hair, can they?"

"Yes, they can." Mana sighed. "I get off easy because my hair is naturally blonde and they all know it. I'll just wear the braids for a couple of weeks and then go back to taking it down. There's only one guy who ever calls me on it anyway, and that's usually only when he's in a really bad mood." The corners of her mouth quirked. "Now if he saw your hair, on the other hand, I think he'd have a few words to say about it on a good day."

"M'kay..." Was she trying to tell him something there? Jin studied the girl carefully. The healer actually had some of her color back today. "Why're ya home so early today?"

"You don't know a lot about the education systems here, do you?" Mana kicked her shoes off. "Saturdays are only half days. Tomorrow I don't have to go to school at all. I would have been home an hour ago, but my group got stuck with cleaning." She stared down at the clutter of books around him. "Looks like I have to do some cleaning here, too."

Jin grinned sheepishly. "I'll pick 'em up."

"Thanks." The girl stretched. "I'm going out for a while today. I'd like to check your bandages when I get home, if that's all right."

Jin nodded, picking up a book. He was starting to get used to Mana's habit of casually conversing with him. "Where ya gonna be goin'? Is it gonna be anywhere interestin' to be?"

"I'm just going out with the twins. We go out for karaoke every Saturday night."

The redhead blinked. That could be fun and interesting. Hell, just getting out of this apartment would be fun and interesting to him. "Do ya ever take guests with ya, maybe?"

Mana looked over at him, her expression startled. "Ah... not typically. It's always been just us three."

"Oh." Blast, now he could feel himself getting even more bored. Eh, they probably wouldn't have had any songs that he knew anyway. "Wot else can a body do for fun around here?"

"In this area, not much." The blonde sighed. "Are you that unhappy indoors?"

"It's not that I'm unhappy. I just got nothin' to do." Jin picked up a book; by the cover alone it was identifiable as yet another flowery romance. "This may be all well and good for a girl like yerself, but it's hardly that entertainin' for someone like me."

Mana studied him critically for several long moments before sighing and heading towards her room without a word. Jin frowned; it didn't seem like the girl, at least as far as he knew her, to just walk out on a conversation that way. Had he just offended her? Had he sounded too ungrateful or something? He started putting the rest of the books away a little faster, taking care to at least keep them slightly grouped by series. It wouldn't do to annoy her any more than he already had...

He was reaching for one of the last books when Mana dropped a volume of manga in front of him. "Give this a try."

"Wot is it?" He picked the book up curiously, checking the title. It didn't sound overly girly, at least... "It's not another romance, is it?"

"Ah... only on one level. It's also a very, very popular action series. And there are almost thirty more volumes in my room."

Jin raised an eyebrow. That could keep him amused... if the story was any good. "I'll give it a try."

"Good." The girl's mouth quirked. Jin stared. That didn't look like a smile right there, it looked like a smirk. "You'll like it. I promise." Mana headed for the hallway. "I'm going to get ready to leave now. You behave, okay?"

"Awright." Gee, she said that a lot. Jin watched her head into the hallway, amused. What, exactly, did she think he was going to do? Shaking his head with a smile, he headed out to the balcony. The least he could do was give the book a try. Reading wasn't always his thing, sure, but he needed something to do. He sighed, flopping onto the swing. The wind felt stronger today…


Mana used the service elevator to get out of the apartment building. She liked her shoes, pretty platform sandals with purple ribbons that wound up her legs, but they weren't exactly good for getting down the fire escape. Ducking into town, she found Sachiko and Hachiko already waiting at the café where they usually met on Saturdays. It always made her smile just a tiny bit to see how the twins dressed outside of their school uniforms. Hachiko always looked cute, with frilled socks and pleated skirts and pretty button-up tops, while Sachiko preferred the comfort of baggy jeans and loose t-shirts. Hachi carried a purse and had clips in her hair; Sachi stuffed a wallet into her pocket and pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail. Hachiko wore lip gloss and a bit of mascara; Sachiko called them both freaks for wearing make-up at all. Mana thought it was just funny that you could tell practically everything about them from how they looked side by side, dressed how they liked to be dressed. Mana tugged her own violet skirt down slightly and adjusted her pink sweater-jacket; seeing how rumpled Sachi looked always made her self conscious. "Hey!"

Hachiko looked up from the poster she was reading in the café window. "Hey, Mana. You look better today."

"Thanks." Mana adjusted the strap on her purse. "So where are we going today?"

"We'll rent a private room. The next contest here is next weekend." Hachi stood up straight. "Can we get snacks first? I'm hungry."

"I thought you'd never mention it." Mana made a mental note to have a chat with the cheery twin later. "Lunch feels like it was twenty years ago. Can we get pastries?" The blonde made an effort to not sound too hungry. It already felt as at least half of the energy she had fed the night before had been used up. Jin was definitely stronger than she'd first thought he was; there was no use in denying it any more. Not after her conversation with Hachiko... Mana blinked. Sachi was staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah." The girl shoved her hands into her pockets. "Let's just get something to eat."

Mana felt a sudden dawning apprehension. Sachiko was showing every possible sign of yes, something is wrong, and usually she was more than happy to share those troubles if only for the malicious glee of spreading it around a bit. So for Sachi to say that no, there was nothing wrong, when clearly there was something wrong, it meant that it was the kind of wrong that couldn't be talked about in public. Which meant... the blonde groaned. She knew what this was going to be about. She just knew it.

Sure enough, Sachiko waited until after they had gotten their snacks and gotten to the karaoke room to talk. The private rental rooms were, Mana knew, fairly soundproof. If Sachi started yelling, it wouldn't make a scene. And Sachi looked ready to yell.

Instead, she just glared. "I'm still mad at you."

Mana sighed. "Sachi, I did what needed to be done."

"No, you didn't, because what you didn't do was tell us about it. What if something had actually gone wrong?" Sachi's hands were on her hips. "What would you have done then?"

The blonde sighed again. "Look, I get the point, okay? No more secrets."

"There weren't supposed to be any secrets in the first place. We'd already agreed to that."

Mana did her best to keep her voice casual. "No, there weren't supposed to be any secrets about official casework. This was different."

There were several seconds of silence before Sachi got up and grabbed the microphone. "I hate you sometimes. Pick a song for me, would you, sis?" There was no reply; Hachiko seemed to be laughing too hard to hear her. Mana felt the start of a tiny smile. Well, they could be a pain in the neck sometimes, but watching the two interact could be pretty funny. It made it hard to stay annoyed with them.

That, she considered quietly, and it was hard to stay in a foul mood when she actually knew people cared.

She took off earlier than usual that day, using shopping as an excuse. Well, it was the truth, she mused. She did have a few things she needed to pick up before the stores closed. Either that or she got to risk a bored demon making even more of a mess in her home...

Mana sighed inwardly as she pushed her door open that evening. That had been a trial, and half of it would probably have to go back anyway. On the plus side, there hadn't been too much of a wait to pick up takeout on the way home. She looked around. The living room was quiet, at least. So was the rest of the apartment. "Jin?" There was no answer... but the balcony door was open, she saw. Raising an eyebrow, she headed outside. The demon boy was sitting on the swing, completely absorbed in his reading. Mana rolled her eyes and dangled one of the takeout bags by the side of his head. "Jin, dinner."

He actually jumped. "Oi! Where'd ya come from this time?!"

"From the front door." Mana held up the meal. "Are you going to take this, or should I set it inside?"

"I'll take it." Jin was openly staring at her as he reached for the bag. Mana sighed.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ya look different today." The apparition tilted his head. "Ya don't dress like that for school."

"We're not allowed to." Mana settled onto the swing; eating outside sounded nice. "This is how I like to dress when I go out."

"Ah." And of course he seemed more interested in eating than conversation once the box was opened. Mana raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the graphic novel he'd been reading. It had been forgotten the moment food entered the picture, poor thing. The healer blinked. He was on volume twelve already? "Do you like the series?"

"It's a good one," Jin mumbled around a mouth full of tempura. "I never realized ya had a sense of humor, though."

Mana gave him an innocent look. "Oh? What do you mean?"

"Ya ever actually take a gander at the guy on the cover? It don't take a genius to see that kinda resemblance. 'At kind of red is hard to come by."

Mana focused on her food, determined not to show any sort of response. "I'm sorry if you think that. It's just a coincidence."

"Yeah, right." Jin poked her in the side with a chopstick; she squeaked in spite of herself. Damn it, why did he do that? "I'm startin' to figure out when yer lyin' to a person."

She forced herself to keep her expression straight. "I never lie."

"Sure ya do. See, there it is again." Jin sat back with a smug look. Mana forgot her poker face in turning to look at him. Why did he have such a cocky grin?

"There what is?"

"Ya gots a tell." Jin grinned. "It ain't obvious, but it's definitely there."

Mana stared, dumbfounded. "I do not have a tell."

"Sure ya do." Jin took another bite, looking over at her with a mischievous grin. "Kind of a fun one, too."

Damn it, was he making fun of her again? Why did he do this to her? Mana scowled and opened her dinner. "I do not have a tell. Someone would have noticed it by now."

"Ya do, too, so says I. And it isn't something anyone else could notice but me, so there."

And try as she might, she couldn't get him to say another word about it all evening.


Jin found he could only half pay attention to listening for the coughing that night. Sleep didn't want to come, either, not with his head so busy. He hadn't been lying when he said the girl had a tell; whenever she was trying to pull a fast one on somebody the air around her shifted just a tiny bit faster, a nervous reaction that she could do nothing about. No one else would ever notice that, but he did. He could always tell a person by their wind, and Mana's told him a lot of stuff that she probably didn't want anyone else to know. The girl was a complicated little lass, but he thought he was starting to figure her out.

He wasn't even sure when he'd gotten to sleep when he found sunlight streaming in through the window. Jin blinked a few times, frowning. He couldn't remember hearing anything last night. Had Mana fallen asleep without being ill, or had he fallen asleep before it happened? Stretching as he stood, he headed out into the hallway... and stopped as soon as he came into sight of the kitchen. Mana was up, but she looked half out of it as she vacantly poured herself a cup of tea. "Eh, you okay?"

"Ngh." The girl didn't even look up. Jin frowned. He was used to her not being the most social person in the morning, but this was new. Had she only just gotten up? He glanced at the clock and gaped; he hadn't even known she was capable of sleeping that late...

And then she came around the counter, carrying her teacup, and Jin's eyes went wide. The girl had fallen asleep in what she'd been wearing last night, and the little purple skirt that had seemed short when he'd seen it yesterday seemed even worse now. That and he hadn't realized she'd been wearing that itty bitty white tank top under her sweater. Normally a girl who wasn't wearing much wasn't that much of a shock to him- he'd seen some real winners, and a couple of really bad losers, back where he'd come from- but seeing a girl dressed like this when he was used to her fairly modest school uniform... Jin shook his head. "Oi, ya look like a mess. Go get yerself decent, that ain't polite when ya've got company."

It was as though she didn't even hear him. Mana brushed right past him without even looking up, her teacup clenched in her hands and her eyes only half open. Jin turned to watch her go, only to turn back towards the kitchen fast. That skirt was even worse from behind!

The wind master tried to act natural when Mana came out a half an hour later. She sounded almost cheerful when she said good morning to him; he found he could barely look her in the eye as he mumbled a reply. Facts were facts, and the fact was there was no polite way to tell the girl he'd seen her underwear. It would be better to just chalk it up as another lesson learned; apparently Mana woke up slowly. Very, very slowly. Slowly enough, in fact, that she didn't even seem to remember nearly bumping into him earlier. That was good, he decided, just as good as the fact that she'd put on a long bathrobe before she'd come back out. He didn't think he was too fond of that skirt of hers now.

Mana hummed as she worked in the kitchen, snatches of a song or two he'd heard before and bits of a few that he hadn't. She seemed to be contemplating something; the stove almost claimed more of her hair twice. Finally, once they were actually eating, she seemed to decide it was time to be chatty. "You want to get out for a while, right?"

"It'd be nice." Jin shoveled another bite of egg into his mouth. He wasn't sure exactly how she cooked the things, but they were always pretty good. Looking over, he noted the girl nodding.

"I've got some shopping to do today. Do you want to come with me? There's a condition, before you answer."

Hadn't her friend Hachiko said the exact same thing? "There's always a condition," Jin replied with his mouth full. He swallowed fast as Mana wrinkled her nose. "Wot's it this time?"

The girl reached over to the end of the couch and picked up a couple of bags. "You need to wear something less conspicuous than what you've got on. Can you try some of this, please?"

It was worth it to get outside for a while, he told himself forcefully. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Good." Mana looked pleased. "I'll let you use the bathroom first today to get ready. I need to finish my shopping lists."

"Ah... thanks." Damn, that meant a bath was involved with her girly soaps. He hadn't even thought of that. The kid was good. He made a vow right then not to touch the shampoos. He was not going to smell like a piece of fruit, not even to go outside...

Well, at least the girl had the sense to pick simple, masculine clothing for him. It took trying a few times to find a pair of denim jeans in the bag that actually fit him, but the three t-shirts all seemed to be about the right size- probably a result of how many times she'd bandaged him, he noted ruefully. Yesterday evening she'd said he was just about healed. He had simply nodded, thanking her even though she'd told him something he'd already known. Jin flexed his right hand into a fist, quietly studying the silver loop around it. The truth was he was starting to feel his strength coming back to him, even through the healer's seal. The wind was getting a bit stronger to his senses. Soon he might even be able to use his yoki without Mana removing that damned cord...

"Are you ready to go?"

Mana was peeking into his room. For a moment Jin felt a bit nervous at the sight of the same pink sweater she'd been wearing the day before, but it looked like she had a flowery yellow sundress on under it. She looked very sweet and innocent, he decided. He dropped his hand to his side. "Yeah, I can go now."

"Cool. Ah, don't forget your hat before we go. Most humans probably can't see that horn, but I don't want to take any chances." The girl headed back into the hallway. Jin followed her as she grabbed a purse from the couch, obediently pulling the hat down over his head. He watched as the healer locked her front door and headed out to the balcony. This was what, the third time she'd used the balcony instead of her front door?

"Oi, Mana, how come ya do that?"

"Do what?" The girl slung herself up onto the wall and actually jumped across to the fire escape. Jin stared.

"That." Mana blinked across at him. Jin sighed. "How come ya come and go from the stairs like ya do?"

"Ah… it's easier." Mana stepped back, and Jin realized she was waiting for him to follow. He did. "I did something with a college group once, and they've been bugging me to do it again, but I don't feel like it, so I get up to my apartment this way to avoid people. It's good exercise besides."

"Okay." Weird kid... "What'd ya help 'em with?"

"I worked with them for a movie thing. It was a film club." Mana shrugged. "There was an audition for it. I only tried the audition so I could write about it for school. The school likes it when you volunteer. I didn't expect to get picked to do anything, and now that they have an approval they want to do a version with an actual budget."

"Only yer sayin' no this time?" Jin followed her down the series of stairs. "That's not a very nice thing to be doin' to them. They want yer help." He blinked. "What did ya do to help, anyway?"

Mana looked back up at him with a flat expression. "What do you think I did? I acted."

Jin stared down at the girl, trying to picture this. He couldn't. "So they want ya to do the same part again, is that what I'm hearin'?"

"Yes." Mana climbed down a ladder and dropped to the ground. "It was tiring, though. I've got enough to do for my own schoolwork already."

Jin dropped down behind her. "Ya seem to manage yer schooling just fine, from what I've been seein'. Ya should take the chance to do somethin' nice when it's given t' ya. Who knows, ya may even have some fun." He poked her lightly in the arm. "Ya don't seem like the kinda girl to turn her back on someone when they be needin' her. I know that much about ya already."

"Right..." Mana headed off down the alley. Jin followed along at her heels, happy just to have a chance to stretch his legs. Human jeans were actually pretty comfortable. Who knew?

"So where're we gonna be goin' today, anyway?" Mana turned to look back at him. "Ya said ya got some shoppin' to do. Wot kind?"

"Just grocery shopping, mostly, although I'm going to need to stock up a bit on other things if you're going to be staying with me for much longer." The blonde actually turned and walked backwards for a moment. "I mean, it's not like you have anywhere else to stay while you look for your friend, right?"

Jin blinked. She sounded... hopeful. Poor kid, she was lonelier than she let on. Jin shook his head, swallowing slightly. "No, I don't. I don't have the slightest clue where I even am, to be totally honest with ya. If I could stay with ya a bit longer, that would be some sorta good help."

Mana actually smiled, and again Jin was struck by the fact that she looked completely different when she showed some signs of being happy. She turned back around before he could comment, watching where she was going as they came out of the alley. "Okay, then, we've got a couple of things to pick up for you to start with. Just the basics, really, but they're important. And I definitely need to stock up on some groceries, I'm used to cooking for just myself. Come on."

It turned out the girl was amazingly easy to follow in a crowd. Mana was nimble enough to get just a bit ahead of him, but she was impossible to actually lose with that hair. All he had to do if something distracted him from actually keeping an eye on her was look around for that golden head, and there she'd be. He followed along, his hands shoved into his pockets, noting the way the people around them would glance at the girl as she passed them by. Jin frowned, wondering if she noticed. The kid stood out. The kid stood out a lot. It wasn't just the color of her hair, either, he noted; the texture of it was different from theirs. Mana's hair was fluffier than the straight black locks of the people around her. It had more bounce and wave to it. As they walked, a crowd of kids- all boys, all probably around their late teens- openly stared at the girl as she passed. Jin shot them a glare as he brushed by them; they turned away quickly and went back to what they'd been doing. She was a kid. A person wasn't supposed to look at a kid like that. The healer girl didn't even seem to be aware of it.

Mana finally stopped and turned to look back at him outside a large market. "Do you have any sort of preferences about food and things? Is there anything you really don't like?"

"There's more stuff that I do like than I don't." Jin followed the girl inside, pausing with her while she grabbed a little hand basket. "Although if ya don't mind, do ya think we could get some soap that doesn't smell like somethin' ya eat? It's just a little bit emasculatin'-like havin' to be scented like a fruit."

She should have been laughing. The look in her eyes was that of a person who would have been laughing. Mana's shoulders shook slightly, her mouth quirking, but she didn't laugh. "I'm sorry about that. Don't worry, though, that's one of the necessities I mentioned."

"Good." Jin studied her expression. She seemed cheerful enough in her own unusual way. In fact, she started to hum again as she headed towards the aisles. He followed along after her, pausing here and there to look at the colorful displays on the shelves. Oh, good, she was serious about getting a different kind of soap... Jin raised an eyebrow as the girl studied the shelves and grabbed a green bottle. Did her whole expression just light up? The wind master stared. Yes, she was actually smirking slightly as she dropped it into the basket on her arm. That made him curious. "Eh, wot's that there?"

"Something not emasculating." Mana turned and headed down the aisle quickly. Jin raised an eyebrow, quickening his step to catch up to her.

"That ain't funny. Come on, now, let's have it."

Mana's mouth was twitching. "I have to pay for it first."

Jin reached over, catching the edge of the basket with one hand, and pulled the bottle out. His eyes widened. She did have a sense of humor. That was the only explanation for it. "Cute..."

"It suits you." Was that... no, not quite. For a moment there, he thought he'd gotten two smiles in one day. Mana looked up at him innocently, and Jin started to recognize the expression for what it was: amusement. She thought this was funny. He let go of the basket.

"Yer a brat."

"That's a new one. I don't usually hear 'brat' from people." Mana headed off towards the next aisle. Jin followed her without being told to. "Actually, that's kind of pleasant."

"Wot do ya usually hear from people?" So she did notice the stares? Or was this about something else completely? Ahead of him, Mana shrugged.

"Oh, this and that." She tossed a toothbrush into the basket; he assumed it was for him... and then a comb followed it. Jin winced as she turned towards him. "Once we're done here we'll need to take all this back to the apartment, but then do you want to go get something to eat?"

"That sounds nice." Jin tilted his head. The least he could do was try to help, right? He nodded towards the basket. "Ya want me to carry that for ya?"

There, that was the slight softening for the eyes that seemed to fill in for smiling when the actual act seemed like too much for her. "That'd be helpful, actually. There's a bit I need to get." Jin nodded again, taking the tote from her. It took them a while to get through the store- the basket started getting a lot heavier than he'd expected before too long and the clerks looked at him funny- but being able to go out for lunch was very, very worth it; Mana actually got them boxed lunches from the store so they could eat in a park. It was small, but the breeze ran through it freely, and Jin thought he felt just a little more of his strength returning. Even the healer seemed happy sitting out in the open, although in the sunlight, although Jin noticed that she looked a bit pale again. Ah, she'd take care of herself. She knew he was there if she needed the energy.

He sat back once his lunch was finished, looking up at the clouds. The human world had a nice sky, nicer than the one he was used to. He smiled to himself and flopped back into the grass. "Ya live in a good world here, ya know that?"

"Thanks." Mana sounded far away. He glanced over; she was actually staring up at the sky the same as he had been. "It's a nice day today."

Jin grinned in spite of himself. "Ya keep starin' up like that, it'll turn your eyes blue." Mana blinked and looked down at him. He leaned over to poke her lightly in the side. "Ya got pretty eyes as they are. Ya don't need to go dyin' 'em like that."

Mana looked away. "That's the silliest thing I've ever heard."

"Which part of it, though?" Jin sat up, poking her again. She squeaked lightly. "Come on, look over this way. It's not nice to ignore someone who's talkin' to ya."

Mana glanced his way briefly before doing a double take that should, by all rights, have pulled something in her neck. "What the hell?!" Jin pulled back, startled, only for the girl to lunge towards him and jerk the hat on his head down hard. "What the hell happened to your ears?!"

Oops. Wow... he'd made her swear... "Em... I probably shoulda told ya about that. They tend to stand out a little when I'm in a good mood..." Mana stared up at him in disbelief, her hands still firmly clasping the hat. Jin shifted. "Ah... sorry?"

"I don't believe you sometimes," the girl muttered. The redhead winced. That didn't sound too happy. "How long will it take for them to go back to normal?"

"Well, it's not so simple as all that. There's not exactly a set time on it, see? They just kinda do as they will." Mana sat back. Jin thought he heard her groan softly. He sighed. "Ya want to go home now, don't ya?"

"That's a bit harder to hide than the horn," Mana mumbled. "You should have warned me about that." She sounded... discouraged? Jin frowned. "We should probably head home before it gets worse."

"It won't." He reached over, tugging the girl by the arm as she tried to stand. "Let's not go just yet, please? I've got the hat on, and it's nice outside. I don't get to see nice places like this too often, not with a sky like that." Mana looked down at him uncertainly. Jin tugged harder; he didn't want to go back inside yet. "Please? Give me just a bit more time out here?"

Mana stared down at him... and then, to his surprise, she settled back down. "Fine. There aren't too many people around here anyway. But if it gets too noticeable, we're going home." She spoke firmly, in a no-nonsense tone. Jin nodded, relieved. He appreciated all the girl had done for him, but he needed to be out in the open wind a bit.

"Thanks, Mana. Yer a good lass."

A soft 'humph' was his only reply.

Later that evening, sitting on the balcony again, Jin gave his wind abilities a try. The air didn't want to bend the way it usually did to pick him up; he tried a few times, but there just wasn't enough pressure for a lift. The redhead frowned. He just needed to tap a little more power. If he could push a little harder past this stupid seal, he'd have it. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feel of the air around him. He knew the feeling of the wind, the way it bent around him, the way it enveloped him, the way the breeze mingled slightly with his breath. He knew it. Now he just needed to make it do what he said... The breeze picked up around him, swirling slightly, rocking the swing. Almost... almost... he closed his eyes. He almost had it. He almost had the wind back. He almost...

There was a sudden crashing sound from inside. Jin's concentration broke, his eyes flying open as his feet connected with the ground again. He couldn't have gotten more than an inch from the balcony floor, but an inch was still progress. He peered inside the door curiously. "Hey, are ya ahright in there?" There was no reply. Jin stepped inside. "Mana?" Again, there was only silence. Jin frowned, heading around towards the kitchen... and froze. The girl was on the ground, her face an ashen sort of white. She was unconscious. Jin's eyes went wide as he knelt down; the crash had been the plate she'd been holding falling to the floor. Reaching down, he took hold of the girl's forearm, feeling for her pulse. Her heartbeat wasn't strong, but at least it was steady. He took a deep breath, his eyes landing on the cord on his own wrist. Damn it. Damn it. What the hell had he done? His power hadn't been leaking through in it's own, it was happening because the seal had been cracking, because Mana was too weak to hold him!

The girl stirred lightly. Jin held his breath, but she didn't wake up. Reaching down, he carefully pulled her into his arms and stood up. She seemed light enough as he carried her over to the couch, settling her down on the cushions as gently as he could. "Hey there... come on, wake up..." She stirred again. "Come on, Mana... come on, open yer eyes. I didn't mean to hurt ya, just open yer eyes." The girl shifted; he caught her shoulder, shaking it lightly. "Come on, just a little more..."

Pale violet greeted him. Mana's gaze met his slowly, as though it hurt her to focus. "You... broke it..."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Jin brushed her hair back from her face as she tried to sit up. "I thought it was just leakin' a bit. I didn't realize I was full out breakin' it."

Mana leaned heavily against the cushions. "I didn't... no one's ever broken the seal before..."

"I started feelin' strong again around yesterday. I didn't realize it was crackin' like that." The girl was trembling. Damn it... "Are ya gonna be okay?"

Mana nodded weakly, staring down at his wrist. Reaching forward, she took hold of the silver cord. Jin froze. She couldn't possibly have the strength to hurt him, right? "I guess there's no use for this any more, is there?" He shook his head slowly, not wanting to talk, afraid of making her change her mind. Mana studied the strip of silver for a moment before pinching it slightly... and slicing it clean through with her thumbnail. Jin stared as she settled back against the couch. That was all it had taken? "What did you do?"

He swallowed. "I was tryin' to use my yoki. I could feel it there, I was just tryin' to get to it. I didn't realize it was gonna do that to ya..."

"Now you know, I guess..." Mana looked up at him and almost smiled. Jin stared at her. Was she trying to make him feel better, after what he'd done to her? "It's okay. It's my own fault. I underestimated you..." She shifted lightly, trying to sit up on her own. Jin pushed her back down. "Jin..."

"Yer stayin' right here until I'm sure yer okay." The girl stared up at him before giving him a tiny nod. He watched as she settled back down. "Do ya need anything?"

"I'm hungry." The girl's tone was soft but blunt as she looked him straight in the eye, and Jin realized with a start that she probably didn't need anything from the kitchen. He sighed. Well, fair was fair, right?

"Fine..." He couldn't resist. "But there's gonna be a condition for this." Mana stared at him blankly, not even bothering to ask what it was. Jin sighed. "I'll share my energy with ya, but ya gotta get me a better hat. That stupid thing itches."

Mana's mouth twitched weakly. "Deal."

"Good girl." Jin patted her on the head. "Yer gonna be okay now. I'm gonna make sure of that. It's only fair after ya've been helpin' me the way ya have."

And there it was; faint, but definitely there- a second smile in one day. It was different from the other two smiles he'd seen. It was quieter, more peaceful. But, as he told himself firmly, it still counted. It was definitely a smile.

He let her feed.