MagicxMusicxMelody: I do have the last word in this chapter. You might be able to make a plot out of them all! What they want will come later, since I'm backtracking a bit here.

Cherry-Tree: Alice is normal? She's still acting weird in my eyes. There's a lot of "otherwise" in here.

GoldenPiggy: You might be right about the alternative objective. Just saying. Basically, everyone has some influence on Alice's fate.

Marshall arts: I only hope it's not too complicated. A twist of fate, I guess?

ahmedzafar malik: Thanks for reviewing!

Flopi216: Thanks for reviewing!

Cup of Violet Tea: You must really want them separated, don't you? Much to your satisfaction then. Masquerade hasn't messed with Alice, but guess who'll get "messed with" instead?

InnocentDiamond: You're welcome! I'll let you decide on Alice's friend's identity. I think doppelgangers just borrow someone's appearance.

SSR: Happy Mothers' Day! Kind of succeeded in making breakfast...

Runo: Not like you burned anything.

Dan: Totally expected of you, though.

SSR: Good point! LET ME STRESS ABOUT GRADUATION WHICH IS LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY FIRST! Enough with tangents.

Alice: Twentieth chapter already... :O

SSR: Told you all that this story would hit the 20 mark! I own nothing but the plot!

Chapter Twenty

When the Time Comes

...

...

Alice and Shun remained silent for a while as they tried to think this through.

"I'm pretty sure that I just accidentally happened to pick a 'great blessing' in 'wishes and desires' because there is something that I really want back." Shun clarified. "It's just a coincidence that you happened to pick the exact same thing."

"But a third time would be proof, right?"

Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Thrice is proof.

After going through six times of trial and error, Shun had enough and straight-forwardly answered, "But there isn't a third fortune stick, so there isn't proof."

"True, but you know, we met first time at the diner, and the second time today. I wonder if I'll meet you again a third time after today outside of school."

"So only time will tell."

Alice laughed in response, and Shun couldn't help but be relieved of his anger. "Okay, I give in. You have a point. Now that you mention it, I actually do have something that I really want. Maybe we'll both get what we want in due time."

"In due time, indeed. Wait, are you going somewhere?"

"Of course I am. You're all better now, and we both got our fortunes. For free." she emphasized cheerfully. "That's pretty much it. I'm shocked yet glad that we got identical fortunes."

"You are?" Shun blinked a couple times and shook his head. "Sorry. It's just that at first, you sounded upset, but now you kind of don't. To me, if you were someone who I didn't know and got the exact same fortune as me, then that would creep me out."

"But we have met, and not to be weird or anything, but I feel like this really brings us closer in some telepathic way."

"Telepathic?"

"Telepathic."

After another moment of silence, the two burst into laughter again, with Shun calming down first after clearing his throat. "That reminds me. I'm not sure if my friend knows or not that I'm here. It's been like an hour already."

"So I guess we should go our ways now?"

"Oh no, not that. My friend and I will have to be here for a while." He left then right and asked, "Do you mind if I walked with you to wherever you need to go?"

"Of course not. I was kind of hoping you'd ask since I have to walk a long way by myself. Let's go through the back gate. It's closer that way."

"Good point."

...

...

"My legs really hurt..."

"Then let's stop here and rest."

Marucho took a seat on the first step and fanned himself, but Julie stood up and leaned against the railing. "Why would Alice's friend think Alice and Shun's fate lie in our hands? Even as Guardians of Time, we really don't have that much authority other than to stand by and interfere if necessary, and even that is heavily restricted."

"Yet Masquerade gets to travel everywhere and do whatever he likes. That's like the only thing that's not restricted. But if you think about it, we technically can nullify each other actions, depending on what they are." Julie looked up the stairs with hand above eyes. "They probably picked a fortune by now. Doesn't really matter."

"What makes you think they'll definitely do that?"

"Alice might not at first, but Shun does, and he might convince Alice to do so, too. I know that during present day, Shun picked a weird fortune, and Alice picked a terrible fortune. She was supposed to tie it to the pine tree, but instead she kept it on her and even had the desire of picking it back up after dropping in on the ground, which ultimately led to her death! What is wrong with her?!"

"Julie, now's not the time to be hating on people. If she really is a Guardian of Space, she would actually have the power to step in and do what Masquerade does, but-"

"But Masquerade won't let her!" Julie then shouted and jumped up and down. "Yes! Everything makes sense now! But wouldn't that mean that she's just using Alice as a...dummy? So awkward."

"That would explain why the two look alike. Okay, let's take a deep breath and ascend the stairs. I very much doubt that they would still be here, but come on."

"Right behind you." Marucho made the first move, but Julie felt something behind her and turned around. Maybe I'm just feeling things, but it wouldn't be the first time Alice's friend followed me. She tightened her grip on the railing and walked up.

Indeed, Alice's friend was following Julie and watched the two Guardians of Time afar from a tree.

You have no idea what you're up against. She her hand go from the tree and sighed. If only I could perform complete materialization...

...

...

"That's it?! You planned on walking all the way here?!"

Alice tilted her head and blinked. "What? I like flowers. Every so often, I come over to this grassy field behind the shrine and park to just lie down and relax."

Shun nodded skeptically and watched Alice, who fell with her back down onto the grass and move her hands and arms. "Well, I have to tell you two things. One, you're not going to make any snow angels like that. And two, it's not my fault if you get bitten by ants or anything."

"Trust me. Aside from occasional harmless bees, ladybugs, and butterflies, there aren't much bugs here." Alice sat up and waved her hand. "The least you can do is sit down."

"You said so." Shun sat down and crossed his legs. "I had no idea there was a place like this here."

"Probably because you've never been through the back gate of the shrine."

"Good point...again. What do you do here?"

"Sit, stare into space, maybe for even hours. But of course, I have to go home eventually."

"Something on your mind? What's bothering you?"

"Not much. I mean it literally that because it's not something that can be dealt with in a day or so, but I'm confident that I can deal with it myself. But that's still not the least of it." She plucked a yellow flower in front of her and held it up. "Usually, I don't pick flowers because that kills them, but this one was just right there, staring into my face."

"Because you're as bright as the sun with that yellow dress on?" Shun shrugged his shoulders after Alice gave him a dissatisfied frown. "Just saying. You really are a bright person, though. Don't let your problems weigh you down."

"Thanks. I rather hear that than saying my face is a bright sun." She tucked the yellow flower into her hair and smiled. "Speaking of bright, how do I look now?"

"You look—what the...?" One blink, and Shun was seeing someone—or something—other than Alice. Rapid flashes of yellow sped across his eyes. Then his eyes perceived what looked like a smirk, but it definitely wasn't Alice's face. Wait, I know this face. I saw it earlier at-

Another blink, and everything was normal again. "Shun, what's-"

"Now you look like the sun." Shun quickly interrupted with heavy breaths, still thinking about earlier.

"I guess you're right. How about this purple flower?" Alice tucked the other flower into her hair and tapped Shun's shoulder. "I think purple suits me better, don't you think?"

I saw three flashes of yellow in present day when Alice got killed, but that face...still strange yet familiar, like I've seen that somewhere. He rubbed his eyes and looked up before turning over to Alice. "Sorry for not paying attention. Purple suits you...very well." Shun blinked again and paused. In front of him was indeed Alice, but in an indigo dress, not the yellow one like he point out earlier. Don't tell me my eyes did this to me again. "Alice, how did you become-"

"So pretty? Too bad she can't stay like this..." She walked close and stared into Shun's amber eyes with her chocolate ones. "...because she will end up destroying herself as last resort when the time comes."

SSR: Cliffhanger! I have yet to tell what the seventh charm is, but that's for Chapter Twenty-One.

Julie: Which is a multiple of seven.

SSR: (moded) True... Nevertheless, I tend to save the creepiest things for last. Does everyone understand what happened in the last few paragraphs?

Runo: Previous yellow flashes were in Chapters 1-2.

SSR: And I never got back to them since. Just leave a review.

Everyone: Happy Mothers' Day!