I apologize if this chapter is a bit hard to understand. I don't think everyone will. But good on you if you do!

-Purple

When we had made our way to the Hot Springs, after stripping down in the changing room and wearing nothing but a white towel, as well as me taking a long time to finally step out of the changing room in front of the others, we spent a good while soaking in the warm water of the springs. Although I had promised to Nanako that I would come and spend time with the others, I was highly uncomfortable. The anxiety I was feeling was not as bad as what I had felt during the beauty pageant, but I still longed to be clothed and unseen. While the others relaxed and shared nonsensical gossip, I stood off to the side and faced away from them, simply waiting for this ordeal to be over and done with.

It wasn't long before Yukiko-san turned her head to me and spoke. "Come on over," she said, "There's plenty of room."

"Huh?" I said, looking back at the girls, who were staring at me with concerned yet welcoming expressions. "O-okay…" I cautiously waded backwards through the steam toward them, not wanting them to get a very good look at me.

Immediately, they began to scan me over. I started to think that perhaps it was a bad idea after all to come with them. "Wow, Naoto," Rise-san said admiringly, approaching me until she was a hair's breadth away. "Your skin looks so soft. Can I touch? Can I touch?" The others rushed over as well, crowding around me until I felt very uncomfortable.

"Huh?" I said, feeling my face go hotter than the steam was already making it. "U-um…"

"Wow," said Yukiko-san, "It really is smooth."

"You're so lucky," said Chie-san, "You have such fair skin and silky hair…" she began to run her fingers delicately through the back of my short navy blue hair, sending an uneasy shiver down my spine and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"No unneeded body fat, either," Rise-san teased, reaching her hands down through the water and playfully squeezing my hips.

I suddenly squealed at the touch. "H-hey, where are you touching…?" Even though it was just playful affection, it was far too much for me to handle. My body seemed to seize up in discomfort. I wished for a moment that I had not come, but I tried desperately to cling to the reason why I did. I had wanted to make Nanako-chan happy, and if this is what it took to make that happen, it must have been worth it. Still, I was beginning to regret even coming to the inn in the first place. I wondered if I would truly enjoy my time here, or if it would just be another awkward ordeal to suffer through. I caught Nanako-chan's face out of the corner of my eye and quickly broke out of the teasing hands of the other girls to rush through the warm water toward her. "Ahem, N-Nanako-chan!" I stuttered, desperately trying to come up with an excuse to escape from the other girls. I tried to quickly think of something to talk to Nanako about, but the only thing that was on my mind about myself ended up coming out of my mouth. "Um… A-are you okay with staying over someone else's place like this? Aren't you scared?" I certainly was.

"No, it's lots of fun!" Nanako-chan said cheerfully. She looked as if she has been watching in amusement as the other girls molested me. "At home, I'm always alone until big bro comes back."

"Oh…" I hadn't realized that. Yes, Dojima-san's frequent absence was not a surprise for me, but the fact that Nanako-chan was always home alone during the day came shockingly. I had assumed that she at least had some sort of caretaker while Dojima-san was at work. This news broke my heart. It was hard to picture Nanako-chan alone with no one to look after her. "I-I see…"

"But I'm good at staying home alone," Nanako-chan said proudly. "I always do what my dad tells me, like not opening the door for strangers."

"Wow!" Chie-san said to her, "I bet he's so proud of you!" The girls looked as if they felt sorry for Nanako, and it seemed like they were flashing glances at each other, thinking about what they should do in order to take her mind off of it.

Yukiko-san finally spoke up. "Hey, Nanako-chan. Do you want to swim around?"

"Can I!?" Nanako-chan seemed bewildered.

Yukiko-san nodded. "I've been swimming here since I was young."

"Do you still do it?"

"Huh? Umm…"

"...Why are you hesitating?" Chie-san asked uneasily. Everyone began to giggle.

"C'mon!" Rise-san cried cheerfully, "Let's race to the other side! Whoever loses owes everyone a fruit milk!"

"I want lemon soda," Yukiko-san added.

"Uh, wh-what!?" Chie-san said lazily, "Me too!?"

Rise-san had already turned toward the wall on the opposite side of the hot springs. Pointing to it, she began to cheer as if she were an announcer. "On the count of three, everyone has to swim toward the other side until they reach the wall. The first person to touch the wall wins! The last loses! Ready? One… Two…"

"R-Rise-san," I said, "Do I have to do this too-?"

"Three!"

With a huge splash, all of the girls began to tear through the water toward the wall. I sputtered as water splashed into my eyes and mouth, and took a moment to regain my bearings before hesitantly swimming after the others. I hadn't had much experience with swimming, so I was not very good. Still, I managed to catch up to the others, and I was just barely behind Chie-san and Nanako-chan.

"Is this really a good idea?" I called out over the sound of the splashing as the others scrambled to get into first place. "Yukiko-san, is this type of conduct allowed at your inn?"

Yukiko-san was giggling joyfully. "What do you mean 'this type of conduct'? Fun? Of course it's allowed!"

"This is what you call fun!?" I looked around at the other girls, especially at Nanako. They were all laughing and enjoying themselves, unaware of the future, past, or even present, for that matter. They didn't seem to care at all about the seriousness of things that had been happening as of late, which frustrated me, but as the idea churned inside of my brain, I quickly realized that being unaware of that seriousness was the entire reason that they were able to laugh and enjoy themselves. By simply casting out negative thoughts and feelings and simply letting the good flow in, these girls were able to bring themselves into this lax and jovial state, and enjoyed the smallest things to their best degree. This, as I now realized, was the entire meaning of "fun", and knowing this, I let out a hearty laugh at my own stupidity. I had known this all my life, yet for some reason I had always turned my back on this knowledge. Feeling the warm water rush passionately through my fingers and around my body, and parting through the rising clouds of steam with the wall in front of me as my only goal for the moment, I let myself smile. "Yes, I suppose this is fun."

I heard the slap of skin on wood, and saw that Rise-san had been the first one to reach the wall. Laughing happily, she announced her victory. Following after her were Yukiko-san, Chie-san and Nanako-chan, and I was the last to touch my hand to the bamboo fence. Panting softly, I stood up in the water and smiled.

"Ooh, sorry, Naoto-kun!" Rise-san said playfully, "You owe us all drinks!"

"That's okay," I grinned, "It was fun."

Rise-san's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then she grinned brightly and nodded, happy to see that I was enjoying my time with them.

"This is really fun," Nanako-chan cheered as we all drifted back to where we had initially been standing.

"I'm glad you're having fun, Nanako-chan," Yukiko beamed.

"We should do this more often," Chie-san said, "I mean, Yukiko's parents let me come over whenever without having to pay for anything. I'm sure they'll do the same for all of you!"

"That would be nice," Yukiko-san said, "But remember, Chie, we can't control how busy the inn is. It would have to be on a day like this, when there aren't many people here."

"Yeah," said Rise-san, "I'm really glad we're the only ones here right now."

"I wonder why, though," Chie-san said, "Usually there are more women in here, even on less busy days."

"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Yukiko-san said, "Maybe it has something to do with all the negative attention the inn's been getting lately… Seeing as it's the place where Ms. Yamano stayed before-"

"S-Shh, Yukiko!" Chie-san suddenly cut her off, "Don't forget, Nanako-chan's here! You don't want to scare her…"

"Hm?" Nanako said, cocking her head to the side.

"I-it's nothing, Nanako-chan," I said quickly. It certainly wouldn't have been good if she had found out that Mayumi Yamano had been staying here when she was killed. I didn't want her to not be able to sleep, and I'm sure the other girls didn't want that either. "Just don't worry about it, okay?"

Nanako nodded once. "Okay."

"Check out my dead man's float!" Rise-san suddenly let herself sink into the water, and a few moments later, she floated back to the surface chest-first and rested there for a while with her lungs full of air, keeping herself buoyant.

"Wow, you're good!" Nanako-chan said.

"Ooh, what a giant spring! I'll show you all my Teddie-paddle!" The voice was loud and sudden, and came from right behind us. Before I had a chance to turn around, there was a colossal splash right beside me. I saw Yukiko-san falter backward out of the corner of my eye; something had hit her. I saw this just before the huge splash of water slapped into me and soaked me from the head down.

"Ow!" Yukiko-san cried, "What the- HUH!?"

What had hit her quickly rose out of the water and stood against the rocks on the side of the spring. When I turned around it didn't take me long to realize that it was a person- Not only a person, but a boy, and not only a boy, but Teddie. I tensed up immediately, seeing that Teddie was not the only person who had suddenly walked in. There before us stood the three other boys as well: Yosuke, Yu, and Kanji.

"Y-y-you guys!?" Chie-san stuttered.

"Wh-wh-wh-why are you guys here!?" Yosuke-san looked just as confused as us for some reason.

"Th-that's my line!" Chie growled.

At once, all of us scattered and dashed through the water to the edges of the spring. I arched up against one of the corners, panicked and enraged. The only thing I could think to do was to hastily grab one of the wooden buckets that were stacked up against the sides of the spring and whisk it through the air at the boys, hoping for it to hit. To my pleasure, it smacked Kanji-kun in the face. The others were also throwing buckets, as it was the only thing we could possibly think to do to get them out of the hot spring and prevent them from seeing any indecencies. Soon, a flurry of buckets being thrown was pounding down on the boys.

"Hold the line!" I heard Yu-san order through everything. The other boys complied, trying to find their bearings through the storm of literally raining buckets.

Rise-san let out a loud, shrill cry of terror as she continued to throw them, and the rest of us would not stop either. I wondered briefly why there were so many buckets.

"Retreeeeat!" Teddie cried out before clambering back out of the water

"It's an honest mistake!" Kanji-kun cried.

"We're not gonna forget this!" Yosuke-san whined before the four of them finally stumbled out of the room.

"We'll have to punish them later," Chie-san said once we had picked up all of the buckets and stacked them back in their rightful places.

"Wow, you got 'em good!" Nanako-chan said.

"My aim's pretty deadly, huh?" Rise grinned.

I was still in shock from the incident. It took me a while, but I had finally caught my breath and ceased my panicked shaking. "I wonder if they caught a glimpse…"

Suddenly, Yukiko-san looked up as if she had remembered something. "Oh… It's actually the guys' turn to use the springs now." Everyone stared at her in rage and confusion, but she laughed as if it were hilarious. How could she have forgotten something like that…!? It was because of her foolish mistake that the boys may have possibly seen things I had no intention of anyone seeing! "I got the times mixed up… Ahahahaha!"

"Are you serious…?" Chie-san said, "Crap, I think we went too far with them…"

Indeed, now I was beginning to feel bad for them… Especially Kanji-kun, who I had hit multiple times with the heavy buckets. "Er… What should we do?"

"Oh," Rise-san said, "It'll be fine as long as we keep quiet about it! This'll just be between us girls!"

"Do you want to race again, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked Nanako.

"Yeah, let's race!" Nanako looked happy.

I smiled. It was as if her happiness radiated into me, as well as everyone else. I felt for the moment that as long as she was happy, I was as well. "I'm going to win this time," I said.

"Okay," said Chie-san once we got back to the room, "Which movie do you guys want to watch? Golden Lotus? Jade Tiger? The Legend of the Black Warrior? Ooh… Maybe we can break in my new Trial of the Dragon! The sequel's coming out soon, anyway!"

"Ooh, the new one looks cool," Rise-san said, "One of my dancers is an extra in that movie. It's her first acting role and she was talking about how fun the filming was a few months ago."

"That's so cool," Chie-san said excitedly, "Hey, you think you could hook me up with some of the actors? You know, arrange some sort of meeting with me?"

"Uh, I don't know," Rise-san said, "I don't know the actors, and I don't think that dancer knows them very well either. She just worked with them in the same movie."

"Oh," Chie said, "Right. Sorry about that."

"We should watch the first one, then," Yukiko-san said. "You're the expert on kung fu movies."

"Well, it is my favorite," Chie said with a smile. "Okay! Let's pop this baby in!"

It didn't take long before the DVD was in the player, the movie was playing and the smell of popcorn, candy and drinks we had bought earlier at the convenience store across the street filled the room. We were all wrapped up cozily in yukata and the blankets that Chie-san had brought from her house. In the dark of the room, lit only by the shine of the TV's screen, we were all huddled together in the chairs we had pulled away from the table and in front of the TV. I tilted back the bottle of melon soda I was drinking and allowed the cold, carbonated liquid to flow into my mouth and down my throat. I hadn't even realized until I lowered my arm that Nanako-chan's head was resting calmly on my side, and she was leaning contently up against me. I was unsure about what to think at first, but then I smiled and gently wrapped my arm and the blanket I was wearing around her. Perhaps Rise-san had been correct. Maybe Nanako-chan did have a sense of purity and innocence about her that most other children did not possess… Or perhaps it was just that I hadn't realized the power of a child's innocence until now.

When the movie ended, Rise-san, Yukiko-san and Nanako-chan had all fallen asleep. Chie-san and I had to wake them all up in order to get them all into their futons. I had become very tired as well from an exceptionally long and emotional day, and felt it was best to get to bed early. My futon was next to Nanako's, and when we were all settled in with the lights out, I made sure that Nanako-chan was peacefully asleep before I let my eyelids close, and I drifted into a deep sleep.

"I am thou."

"W...What?"

"Thou art I."

It was my own voice, and though my vision was foggy and I was sure that I was unconscious, it didn't take me long before I realized who was speaking. Of course it didn't take me long; it was as if I was realizing that I was the one doing the talking. After all, it was indeed me.

"Sukuna-Hikona…"

"Yes. You have come to me in the midst your dreams, because I have called you here."

I kept thinking that my vision was blurred because of my unconscious state, but when I tried to focus my mind, I noticed that what was before me was simply endless fog. Through the fog, however, I saw the flap of two white wings as wide as an eagle's, and two times as long. The grey fog swirled around them, revealing their blue stripes. However, the faint outline of the wings was all that I could see through the fog.

"Why have you called me here?" I asked.

"Since your rescue, and my transformation and integration into your heart, your fate has been idle." I saw the wings flap again, stirring more fog. "Your heart has begun to open to those around you, and I grow stronger with every moment you spend opening your heart. However, no matter how much the bonds of others will help you on your journey, remember not to become lax in your efforts."

"Lax…?"

"Soon, your journey will be idle no longer, and you will encounter a critical ordeal in which the choices you make will be crucial to the outcome of your fate. Do not falter, and keep the truth in your heart about who you are." The wings flapped again, and fog swirled in front of me with the displacement of the air.

"What is this place?" I asked, "Why is everything covered in fog?"

"It is the fog that lies in the confines of your heart," his voice echoed. "And with each step you take toward the maturity of your heart, the fog will begin to clear, and I, as well, will begin to take a new shape."

"When will that happen?" I asked.

"Your heart will mature progressively throughout the time that you spend keeping it open. When you learn who you are, I will take a new shape. When you learn your place in the world, I will transform yet again. Still, I will be the same being throughout my maturity, exactly as you will."

"Maturity…" I said, thinking to myself. "Do you have any idea when exactly my heart will have fully matured?"

I saw two fiery, golden eyes pierce the fog between the two wings. They stared into the blue-grey of my own, ensnaring me like the trance of a snake.

"It will awaken in the arms of one who does not live by the principles of man. It is the kin of the shield and the axe; it hears the whispers of the past by the light of the moon. White will awaken in Black, and Black will awaken in White. This, Daughter of the Light, is the fate you and I are intertwined within."

I stared silently into the fog for a long time, trying to digest the words that he had just said. Try as I might, I could not get myself to understand any of what he had told me. "Sukuna-Hikona… I apologize, but, I do not understand."

"Fate is not for one to understand, but to learn," he said with another gusty flap of his wings. "It is our amalgamated mission to learn exactly what our fate is to become. Until then…" he flapped his wings again, and this time, the fog began to swirl around him, until it began to cloud what faint vision I did have of him, steadily burying him in the thick mist. "Your fate will remain clouded in the steadily yet slowly clearing fog."

I became frustrated that this mystery could not be answered right away. "What do you want me to do? You call me here wanting to converse with me but then tell me nothing but useless, vague prophecies!? You clearly haven't changed at all from that monstrous copy of myself who tried to rip out my organs and turn me into a man!" My fingers curled into fists, but then I remembered that Sukuna-Hikona, though wiser in his words than myself, was indeed the same doppelganger, my Shadow, though not as hostile. Of course he had not changed. In fact, he was not only my Shadow, but myself. If I did not know the answers to these questions, then he could not have known in detail either. I nodded slowly and hesitantly accepted that I would have to find the answer to these questions on my own, as any good detective would. "Very well," I said, "I shall do my best to solve this case as well."

With each flap of his wings, Sukuna-Hikona disappeared deeper into the fog. My own mind became foggy as well, and I felt the darkness of non-lucid sleep begin to swallow me. I heard Sukuna-Hikona's voice utter one last phrase before I saw nothing but black. "All things are about to change."

"Naoto-kun!"

"H-Hm…?"

I opened my eyes to see Rise-san standing over me, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You were moving a lot in your sleep and looked like you were having a nightmare or something…"

I slowly sat up, seeing that Nanako-chan was sleeping soundly beside me. I also noticed that Chie-san and Yukiko-san were not in the room. "What's going on?"

"Chie and Yukiko went back down to the hot springs. I was gonna go too, but I wanted to stay here for a bit and make sure you were alright."

"I am fine," I said, rubbing my eye. "It wasn't even a nightmare, really… Just… A lot to think about."

"Wow," Rise-san giggled, "Sounds like you can't stop thinking even in your sleep. Well, what else could you expect from a Detective Prince?"

I chuckled quietly.

"So," said Rise-san, "Do you want to come down to the spring with us again?"

"What time is it…?" I asked.

"It's about eleven at night… But that means that no one will be there, and the bath is open to women right now. And we checked the schedule… So we shouldn't have any mishaps like last time…" Both of us shivered simultaneously.

"What about Nanako-chan?" I asked.

"Oh," said Rise-san, "We already told her that we're going down for a bit. So if she wakes up, she'll know where we are."

"Okay," I said, "I suppose a bath might help me to clear my mind before going back to sleep."

"Great," Rise-san smiled. "Let's go, then."

Chie-san stretched as we all waded in the warm, steamy water yet again. "Ahh, this feels great. I love love LOVE being able to take a bath any time I want!" I wasn't as nervous this time, and the warmth felt great on my skin, which had cooled in my sleep. It helped to both wake me up and relax me, and my mind was clearing steadily after my confrontation with Sukuna-Hikona. Questions still raced in my mind, but I was doing my best to accept the fact that the answers would not come to me until it was time.

"How's Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked Rise-san.

"Fast asleep," Rise replied with a smile.

"Hey," Chie-san said, "Did you know Ms. Kashiwagi and Hanako-san were staying in the room next to ours?" This information made the hair on my back stand on end. I didn't even want so much as to hear their names after the incidents earlier this day. Chie continued. "The two seem to get along pretty well… I'm surprised."

"They come and stay here now and again," Yukiko-san said, "Usually they come to cry when something breaks their hearts…"

"Huh," said Chie, "I guess they were really devastated from losing to Naoto-kun…"

I had hoped that no one would talk about it. I didn't want to remember it for the rest of my life. "P-please don't bring that up again…"

"Well, they do make a good team," Rise-san grinned.

The four of us relaxed in the hot spring for a good while before heading off to bed. I closed my eyes and let the warm water churn around me, feeling the steam swirl about my face. Like the mist in my heart, it engulfed me as well, and I wondered distantly what fate awaited me in the depths of the thickest fog.