When Ora awoke, she was immediately struck by the delicious smell of something sweet.

"Oho, what's the occasion?" She wondered aloud as she wandered into the kitchen. Once upon a time she had wondered how it was Seishirou was always able to get into her apartment regardless of whether or not it was locked. But those thoughts had led her to realize that she could not always remember living in an apartment, and suddenly the strange gaps in her memories where she could not say what she had been doing, or if she had even still been existing, had frightened her away from conscious pondering.

"I just thought we should have a proper breakfast before setting out on a proper adventure today."

"A proper adventure?" Ora took a seat, watching him cheerfully pour another round of batter into the pan.

"Well, there isn't much point in sticking around here all day now is there?"

"Are there really days here?"

He glanced at her over her shoulder and she shuddered, recalling that that was another subject that she preferred to shy away from. Time, it seemed, was far more slippery here as well and the thought that it was not flowing in any particular order or at any particular rate was disorienting at best.

His point made, he expertly flipped one last pancake onto the enormous stack beside him, snatched a bowl full of strawberries and whipped cream and glided across the kitchen to slide smoothly into a seat at the table.

"So this adventure..."

"Mmhm?"

"Is it dangerous?"

"It might very well be." He grinned as he drenched a pancake in syrup.

"Good."

.

.

They were on a train once more. Sue reflected that it was strange, sitting here completely stationary and yet getting somewhere. It made travelling seem somehow less like travelling and more like not going anywhere at all.

"Subaru?"

It took a moment for her companion to stir from his reverie. "Hm?" He turned to her with that distant look, as if his body was here but his mind was still far away.

"Why are the sakura white now?"

His gaze sharpened slightly. "What?"

"You said that they used to be pink but now they're not. I thought maybe it had to do with pollution but I can't think of any reason that that would turn them white."

Subaru stared past her out the window at the forest of steel beyond. "They're naturally white actually."

"Then why were they pink at one time?"

"Have you ever heard of the Sakurazukamori?"

Sue shook her head and Subaru gave an odd look.

"Really? Well it's a legend I guess you could say. An old one."

Sue watched him with rapt attention.

"They used to say that the reason the sakura turned pink was because there were bodies buried beneath the sakura trees and the trees drank their blood. The Sakurazukamori was supposedly the one who put them there."

"Supposedly?"

"It's only a legend." Subaru turned to look out the window again.