LAUREN'S FAN FICTIONS

During lunch, I stepped into the counselling room, but Mr Mochizuki wasn’t the only one waiting for me; Sato was too.  

I crossed my arms. “What’s going on?”  

“There you are,” Mr Mochizuki said when he saw me. 

“What’s this about?” I asked again, not budging from my spot next to the door.  

“I want you to stay calm, and just hear him out. I’ll be here the whole time,” Mr Mochizuki said. 

I sneered down at Sato. “Make it quick. I don’t have all day.”  

“Sato. You going to say it, or am I going to have to?” Mr Mochizuki asked. I raised an eyebrow. Sato, eyes glued to the floor, refused to make eye contact with me. “Fine, I’ll say it, then.” 

“No! No… I’ll do it…” Sato swallowed thickly, and then with palpable regret, opened his mouth. “I was the one who put that photo in your mailbox, Haruka."

"Photos," I corrected.

"Um, right. And I was the one who took that photo of you two and sent it to Reina… It was all me.” 

I gnashed my teeth hard enough to break them. “Why?” 

“Because I like you, Haruka! I was upset that you rejected me.” 

“I’m a teacher, so I accept my blame in all of this – fine. But Haruka? What’s she done? It’s inexcusable, hurting her the way you did,” Mr Mochizuki said. I tapped a finger against my arm as I watched them. 

“What was I supposed to do? You don’t get what it’s like, to be ignored by girls… You’re Mr Perfect!” 

“So you enjoy seeing Haruka suffer? Is that it?” Mr Mochizuki cut the boy off in a quiet voice as he continued to play the victim. His eyes bore into Sato. “We don’t hurt the people we love; we protect them. You’re a smart kid, Sato. And I don’t just mean your grades. All the teachers here are impressed with you.” 

“Mr Mochizuki…” Sato trailed off. 

“Is this really how you want to use your brain? Tormenting people? Don’t use your smarts for hateful purposes. Use it to take care of those you love.” 

“It’s not about being smart, Mr Mochizuki… I’m just an awful person…”

I’ll say. 

“If you really were awful, you wouldn’t have come here with me today, to apologise. It takes a great deal of courage to say you’re sorry to those you’ve hurt. It’s not something just anyone can do, especially face-to-face. You can start over, hit the reset button. You’ve got the strength to do that.”  

“I’ve heard enough,” I snapped.  

“Haruka…” Sato said. I walked over to them and, placing my palms flat on the table, and leaned forward.  

“I want the others.” 

“Others?” Sato asked. 

“The other photos you took. I refuse to believe it was only those one. Give me your phone.” Sato gasped.  

“I-I’ll delete them!” he said. 

“Your phone. Now.” My voice had dropped several octaves lower as I snarled at him. He hesitantly handed me his phone. I went straight to his gallery and scrolled through the photos. There were dozens of me. “Not only did you take photos of me, but you took photos of Mr Mochizuki too.” I didn’t look at him, but I knew he was awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot. My thumb abruptly stopped scrolling when I came upon a photo of someone else. My head shot up, my face red and my eyes sharp. “Is there an actual reason you took photos of my cousin?”

“I’m so sorry!” Sato bowed low. I clicked my tongue, wiping his gallery clean of any photos he had of me, Mr Mochizuki and Eito. I tossed the phone back to him and he fumbled to catch it. “I’ll never do this again. I swear!”  

I clicked my tongue as Sato ran towards the door. He didn’t say anything more before running out.

I scoffed. “Unbelievable.” 

“Sorry to spring that on you like this,” Mr Mochizuki said. 

“I don’t even know what to say at this point.” I turned to look at my teacher, my face relaxing. 

“I had a hunch he was behind all this, to be honest. I think rejecting him in your stead pushed him over the edge.” 

I arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying this is my fault?” 

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. You did nothing wrong; in fact, you did everything right. He’ll be properly reprimanded for what he did… Sato just let his heart take a little too much control. There was nothing you could’ve done here. Know that you’re blameless in all of this.” There was a gentleness in the gaze that settled on me. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but I knew that meeting and hearing each other out, would put an end to all this. Thanks for talking with him… instead of punching him in the mouth.” 

“The only reason I did that was because you were here.” I gave him a small smile. “Thanks for looking out for me.” 

“No need to thank me. You’re important to me.” There was a subtle difference between how he said it this time and the time he told me I was an important student. One that I immediately picked up on. I was happy about it, but I didn’t want to acknowledge that feeling.

Mr Mochizuki made an appearance at homeroom in the afternoon. 

“Mr Mochizuki! You owe us an explanation!” Reina was the first to speak up. 

“Yeah! What is this?!” 

“Settle down, I’ll explain everything.” I sat with my chin in my hand and stared out the window as he spoke.  

“You’re dating one of the girls in our school, aren’t you?!” I heard Reina shout.  

“No, I’m not. The teacher in that picture is me, and I was with a student, yes. But that student, who will go unnamed, has had a stalker following her. I ran into her on the way home, and saw her back, to make sure she was safe,” Mr Mochizuki explained.  

“Who’s the student? We deserve to know that! You owe us!!” 

My head snapped to her. “You’re not owed a damn thing.” Reina abruptly turned to me. 

“Haruka, settle down,” Mr Mochizuki said. I ignored him.  

Throwing my hand in his direction, I snapped, “He explained the situation, what more do you want? Why do you want to know who it is? So you can bully her?” 

“You… You’re the girl in the photo, aren’t you?!” She cast an accusatory glare my way. Her friends gasped. 

“If it were, it’d be my bodyguard walking me home, not a teacher.” The rest of the class seemed to accept my answer. “I don’t know who that student is, and I don’t care either. I’m just sick and tired of listening to you griping about a bunch of bullshit day after day like you’re some brat in middle school!” Reina’s face was red with anger. “Let me ask you something, Reina. If you had a stalker, would you want the whole school knowing about it? Or how about if it was a female teacher or a male student in that picture? But it wasn’t so that doesn’t matter to you, does it?”

“Alright, that’s enough!” Mr Mochizuki raised his voice at me. I sat back against my the back of my chair and crossed my arms. “Telling you who it is would be a violation of that student’s privacy. I’m sorry that this has caused so many of you such distress. I never thought it would.” He bowed low before everyone, truly apologetic. The girls who were frothing at the mouth in rage mere moments ago were quieted by the humble apology. It hurt me to see him apologise to these people. People who don’t even care. I sighed. “Unlike the rumour going around, that student is in no way special to me. Each and every one of you is important to me.” His eyes met mine for a split second, but they were off me in a flash. The rest of the class relaxed, sated by his words.  

“Fine, yeah… I guess Mochi’d never do that to another student,” Reina said. 

“Yeah, he seems like the type to be interested in older women, anyway,” Tsukishiro added. 

“I’m not saying a word more,” Mr Mochizuki said with a confident smile. The kernel of happiness that had seeped through my darkness was long gone.  

Mr Mochizuki didn’t say anything about my outburst that night, but the tension was palpable.  

“Mr Mochizuki?” I asked.  

“Yeah?” he replied. 

“Here’s your key back.” I set my key on the table with a delicate clink and Mr Mochizuki stared at me, wide-eyed.  

“Haruka…” 

“We know who’s been stalking me now, and Sato won’t be a problem anymore. I’ll move out tomorrow.”

“Right.” 

“Thank you for everything, really. You’ll never understand how much it all meant to me.”  

“Not long now till that math test. Don’t start slacking now, okay?” he said with a smile, but it wasn’t reaching his eyes. 

“I won’t.” I was thankful that he didn’t reprimand me for what happened today. Or was I? If he’d been mad at me, would it have hurt this much to leave? The next time we saw each other, it’d be at school. We wouldn’t be able to hang out anymore. “I’m… going to miss this.” I looked around the room.  

Mr Mochizuki rested a comforting hand on top of my head. “Yeah, me too.”  

I startled, not looking directly at him. I couldn’t look at him. I knew what look he was giving me; If I saw it, it’d fill me with false hope. I’d had enough pain.  

I wanted to say it… I want to be special to you. I want to be more. How can I? 

“I’m sorry.” 

I gasped and looked at him. Did I… say that out loud? He closed his eyes, unsure how to answer. I’d had enough pain? What a laugh. If that were true, why did I open up? Why did I let him in? Why did he let me in? Just… why? This was never meant to be. It was a pointless love.  

“I… didn’t mean to say that out loud.” I pushed his hand off my head and retreated into my room.  

The meeting was adjourned and everyone began drinking. Ai stared, mouth agape, at the passed-out humans in front of her. “How do they call themselves samurai when they’re so passed out? What if the enemy breaks in here at this moment? What then?” “We’re all on guard. And when push comes to shove, they spring into action automatically. It’s just second nature for them. So don’t worry. You’ll be fine,” Takasugi said. “It’s not me I’m worried about, but fine. I’ll take your word for it.” Ai rolled her stiff shoulders. Takasugi took his shamisen in hand and started strumming softly. Ai didn’t realise she was staring at him until he looked up and their eyes met. “Would you like to try playing?” he asked. “Me?” Ai raised an eyebrow. “You just pluck one of these strings, and it makes a sound. Try it.” Takasugi took her by the hand and pulled her into his lap. Ai stiffened. Takasugi’s arms wrapped around her and he placed his hands on top of hers. It felt intimate. “Then, you do it just like this…” The string made a quiet but resonant sound. Ai smiled. “Just takes a bit of practice. It’s really not that hard.” Takasugi guided Ai’s hands across the strings. “Got the hang of it yet? Think you’re ready to try it by yourself?” Ai nodded and plucked at one of the strings. The sound was melodic and soft. She struck another. And another. The music she played was gentle; beautiful even. “You learn pretty fast.” Takasugi sounded surprised. Ai looked at him over her shoulder with a mischievous smile. “I actually already knew how to play it.” Ai turned back to the shamisen and played another song. She was keenly aware of Takasugi’s gaze on her concentrating face before they scanned the rest of her body and rested on her moving hands. When Ai stopped playing, she sighed softly and leaned her back against Takasugi’s chest, her head on his shoulder. “What?” he asked. “Nothing.” Ai closed her eyes, a content smile playing on her lips. “Have I stolen your heart away? Is that it?” he asked teasingly. Ai opened her eyes to find his full of determination as he stared down at her. “Think what you will.” Takasugi’s arms embraced Ai tightly around her waist. As he took her chin in one hand, she heard some stray notes from the shamisen. Looking into his eyes, she felt as though she was being pulled into another world. He stared as deeply into her eyes as she was, but she couldn’t tell what was going through his mind. He leaned in closer, his breath grazing her lips as he sighed. Remembering the first time his lips were on hers, Ai felt the heat rush to her cheeks. “You’re not even going to try to resist?” “Why would I?” Ai asked. Taksugi’s lips, nearly touching hers, curved into a seductive grin. “Silence isn’t the same thing as consent, you know? How am I supposed to know what you want?” Takasugi’s arms held her more tightly as he whispered in her ear. “I thought you were such a good girl… We haven’t even known each other very long. But, if you like, I can show you a few more things I learned overseas.” He stroked her neck, her hair standing upright. Ai rolled her eyes and maneuvered herself out of his arms. “You have a real talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, you know that?” Her voice had no edge to it as she said that. Without waiting for a response, she left.

Ai shouldn’t have left. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she ran smack into the one person she didn’t want to see.

When the king, Zyglavis and Kuro left, the area around the reflecting pool fell silent in their absence. Shiro could look at this fountain forever and never get bored.

“You can see everything in so much detail. I’d almost forgotten how amazing it is. I wonder, is it because of the water you filled it with, Hue?”

“Maybe. But I can’t create pools of water this clear on Earth. The clarity of water has a lot to do with the divine energy present at any given location.”

Shiro hummed. “Oh, I just remembered…”

“What is it?”

She sighed. “Zyglavis totally wrecked the mansion. Leon and Teo held him off, but they can’t be too happy about all of this.”

“Leon’s probably kicked back relaxing, waiting to hear the good news. And Teo… He’s probably pretending to be worried about you and using that to pick up girls.”

“Frankly, none of those would surprise me.” She smiled. Even now, Hue was hard to understand sometimes.

“You’re thinking something arrogant right now, aren’t you?” Hue asked teasingly.

“I would never!” she grinned. Hue’s hand moved smoothly to play with her hair

“Shiro.” Hue’s blue eyes were too beautiful. Shiro felt as though she could drown in them. He took a lock of her hair and kissed it. She never thought she’d be here again. Be with Hue. She was terrified of the unknown when she first met him again. But her wish actually came true. She never spoke of it, tried not to think of it, but it became a reality. “You’d better get back to Earth soon.”

“I suppose I should. I can’t stay up here indefinitely,” she replied.

“But before you go… There’s something I want to show you. Come this way.” Hue took Shiro by the hand. His fingers felt unusually hot as they intertwined with hers. “You can touch me as much as you want from now on.”

“So can you.” She felt a blush creep onto her cheeks.

“Let’s go. The evening breeze should cool those red cheeks of yours.”

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“I would never.” Shiro chuckled when he threw her earlier words back at her as she followed him.

The stars outside glowed far more brightly than the stars she’d seen on Earth, but the most beautiful part was the flowers. A hundred different varieties, each more beautiful than the last, all in full bloom.

“Beautiful, right? You used to love this place,” Hue smiled at her.

“I never stopped.” Shiro walked along the stone path, admiring the flowerbeds and inhaling the pristine fresh air of the heavens. Watching her, Hue snapped his fingers a few times. Now that his mark was gone, he didn’t have to touch her to use his powers anymore. “What are you doing?”

“The last night we spent together on Earth… We were drinking alcohol from Earth and you said something… You sadly mentioned that, after drinking the alcohol I made, you couldn’t drink anything else.”

Shiro smiled wryly. “I never could, even before.”

Hue chuckled. “You looked seriously resentful. But we don’t have to say goodbye anymore. So, please forgive me.”

“Typical Hue. Even in love, you never change.”

“Oh. Well, if you’d rather me be sweet to you, I can do that too.” Hue brought his face close to hers. “But if I do that, I don’t know how far I’ll go. Are you okay with that? What do you want to do, Shiro?”

“You always did love to tease me.” Her chest hammering in her chest, she didn’t dare pull away. Hue smiled and narrowed his eyes affectionately before snapping his fingers. A water jug appeared.

“Have a seat. I’ll treat you to something truly first-rate.” Hue carefully inspected the water jug and a variety of bottles of alcohol before selecting a drink. The gold liquid he poured into her glass looked like the alcohol of the gods in the stories humans made up.

“It’s delicious. The drinks you make really are the best. Sitting here like this with you… It’s almost hard to believe our lives were just in danger.”

“You and the Earth… Everything is safe… I’m so glad.” Hue leaned against her. “If I’m not touching you like this, a part of me still can’t believe I’m not dreaming.” Shiro ran her hand through his midnight-blue hair.

“It’s not a dream, Hue.”

“That’s just how miraculous what just happened feels to me. We’re probably going to have to perform many more such miracles.”

“We can do it. Honestly, I still can’t believe it myself. After everything I went through to save the Earth all those years ago, to be the one to throw it into chaos again…” Shiro shook my head in disbelief. “Lying to myself about my own heart, about love. Even denying the nature of my own feelings.” Hue poured a different variety of alcohol into her now empty glass. This one was a beautifully fragrant, cherry blossom pink spirit.

“The Earth will be okay as long as neither of us do that again.”

“I know. Even if we fight or argue sometimes… As long as we don’t close our hearts off, we’ll be fine.”

“You’re right. Besides, a fight happens when both parties face each other honestly and share their opposing viewpoints. Occasional confrontations like that just go to show how strong our love really is.”

Shiro smiled softly. “That was a very ‘Hue’ thing to say.”

“I must take the utmost care not to wear out my welcome with you.”

She laughed. “You’re starting to sound a little drunk.”

“Yes, on you.” Her cheeks flushed crimson. “You’re intoxicating, Shiro.” Hue moved her head to press her forehead to his. Her skin burned hot where it touched his.

“Are you seeing my future?” she asked.

“Yes.” He smiled.

“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re seeing, even without asking you. I know you’re in my future. You never wear out your welcome. How could you? I’m only here now on the strength of my love for you.”

Hue’s cheeks flushed. “Do you realise what you’re doing to me? You say the cutest things when you drink. That’s a bad habit. I hope you’re not like that in front of everyone.” Shiro chuckled. “If you keep letting your guard down like that, you’ll find yourself in trouble. Like this.” Her world was flipped upside down, and flower petals fluttered in the air. She was lying on a bed of flowers, Hue lying next to her. “The stars feel even closer like this, don’t you think? You love the stars, so I thought you might enjoy this.”

“It’s beautiful…” Shiro's words were little more than a whisper.

“I’ve always wondered why humans look at the constellations in the night sky. I mean, how could they connect the stars and see lions, and bulls, and even young men carrying jugs of water? But… I feel like I understand now. Ancient humans must have seen what they wanted to see in the sky.”

“Modern humans are the same. So are gods. When I look at this sky, I see nothing but you, Hue.” Shiro smiled at the sight of a comet shooting through the sky. “Humans always wish on shooting stars. But whenever I saw one, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I only ever had one wish. To be with you again. And after you returned to the heavens, I thought that was it. No matter how many shooting stars I saw, it would never matter, because you were already gone.”

“Shiro…”

“So the fact that we’re here together now makes me incredibly happy. Happier than I thought possible.”

“You really are nothing but trouble. I thought I told you to stop saying such cute things.” Hue responded by flashing her a devastatingly gentle smile. He pressed his forehead to hers again. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again. I would look into the reflecting pool, unable to touch you, yearning for you… But now…”

“Yes, you can touch me. As much as you want.” Shiro took his hand in hers. “I want you to.”

“What did I tell you about saying cute things…? Wait, never mind. I might as well let myself enjoy your offer. I’ll stop trying to tell you how cute you are. It would be faster to just show you.” Shiro smelled Hue’s natural scent more strongly. His lips, still wet with alcohol, trembled slightly as they touched hers. After a few seconds that felt like a sweet eternity, he pulled away and smiled. “I saw even more of your future. I’m never losing you again, Shiro. No matter what you say, I’m never letting you go.” Shiro started to say his name, but Hue silenced her with a flurry of kisses. Kisses hotter than any comet in the sky. “I won’t repeat myself, so listen carefully… I love you. Only you could capture my heart like this. Only you are this precious.”

“Hue…” Unable to express herself in words, Shiro cupped his cheeks in her hands and brought his face closer until their lips touched again. She couldn’t get enough. She wrapped her arms tightly around him as they kissed again and again.    

THE END

 On Monday, I was about to leave after club practice when I saw a note stuffed into my shoe locker.

“Ooh, is that a looove letter?” Yuka asked playfully behind me. I turned a sour look on her.

“A love letter? To you? Doubt it,” Tsukishiro said, having shown up.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eito snapped at him. 

“It’s okay, Eito,” I turned a smirk on Tsukishiro. “Tell me, why do you think it’s unlikely for me to get a love letter?” 

“Well, you have kind of an off-putting personality...” he avoided my eyes. An off-putting personality... and yet these two idiots insist on involving themselves with me. 

I barked a laugh. “You really think guys ask me out because they like my personality? That is just adorable, really,” I mocked him. 

“She’s the prime minister’s daughter, genius. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they actually like her or not,” Eito said, leaning against his locker with his bag slung over one shoulder. 

“Seriously?” Tsukishiro asked. 

“Uh-huh,” I replied. 

“That’s so shallow,” Yuka said. 

I arched an eyebrow at her. “Why are you mad about it? I’m the one dealing with it.”

“It still pisses me off,” she said. I didn’t get it. 

My eyes fell back on Tsukishiro. “Are you telling me if you asked me out, it wouldn’t have anything to do with who my parents are?” 

“Exactly.” My eyes widened at his response. He meant it.

“That’s...”

“Adorable?” he asked.

“Admirable. But don’t expect other guys to be as sincere as you,” I replied as I opened the note.  Tomorrow, after school, meet me in the A.V. room.

“You’re not actually gonna go, are you?” Tsukishiro asked. 

I shrugged. “Probably not.” 

 That night I was unpacking my bag in the living room, trying to fish out my math books for our tutoring session when the letter from earlier slipped out.  

“What’s that? A letter?” Mr Mochizuki asked.

“Not what I’d consider a letter but you could call it that.” I shrugged.

“A love letter?” Having seen what was on it, an eyebrow arched on his forehead. “Who’s it from?”

I waved the letter in front of him. “You see a name on this thing? Cause I don’t.”

“A love letter from a mystery admirer.” He placed a few fingers to his forehead, thinking something over. “You going to go?”

“I’m curious about who it’s from.” The opposite of what I told my classmates, mostly because Eito was there. He had this ridiculous notion that he had to deal with these annoyances on my behalf which was in and of itself, also an annoyance. 

“Anyone you’re hoping to see there?”  Mr Mochizuki asked. You? I smiled wryly.

“Not particularly. But whoever it is is going to be in for a nasty surprise.” I waved the piece of paper in front of his face again. “I don’t take well to these things.”

“Love letters?” he asked.

“No, orders. This thing doesn’t even have a ‘please’ in it.”

Mr Mochizuki’s eyes widened. “That’s why you’re going to go?”

“Why else would I go? It’s not like I care about any of this.” I crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it. It landed in the trashcan a few feet away.

“Pretty good aim.” Something in his voice sounded almost relieved. I raised an eyebrow.

“I should hope so. I am in the archery club.”

“Let’s get back to the practice tests. While I’m correcting your last one, you can go ahead and solve these here.” He was back to being the stern teacher I’d come to know and love, and I turned my attention back to the tests.

 After school, I made my way to the A.V. room. I didn’t know who sent the letter but I wasn’t particularly surprised when Sato turned up a few seconds after I did. 

“You came,” he said.

“You wrote me that letter,” I muttered. 

“Uh-huh. I’ve liked you for a really, really long time now, Haruka. Would you wanna go out with me? Be my girlfriend.” There was zero preamble in his words. I almost grimaced. If I was being completely honest, Sato creeped me out.

“I looked him straight in the eyes. “Sorry, Sato. I like someone else.” I gave him a formal bow and attempted to walk past him on my way out. He grabbed me by the arm and pushed me up against a desk. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” 

“I love you. Can’t you see that? What do I need to do to make you understand? Maybe a kiss could show you?” 

“You’re insane.”

“Just a peck, nothing big.” I shoved him off me, but he grabbed both my arms, pinning me. “Haruka...” 

Alright, if he was willing to go this far, there was only one thing I could do. I rammed my knee hard between his legs. He cried out in pain and stumbled back. A normal girl would have run at this point. But I wasn’t normal. I grabbed his hair and shoved his head down to my knee. I could hear the crack of bone breaking as I shoved him against the black board. Grabbing him by the collar, I launched my fist. I missed, hitting the board right beside his face. His eyes widened.

“You ever pull a stunt like this again, I promise you, I won’t miss.” Keeping my fist against the board, I let go of his shirt and watched as he ran from the classroom. 

“Haru!” I heard Eito’s voice just as the sound of Sato’s receding footsteps began to fade. 

I shook my fist and turned around. “Hey, what are you doing here?” I knew he’d show up. 

“I heard fighting,” Eito said, stepping into the classroom. 

“I wouldn’t call this a fight,” I replied nonchalantly. 

Eito’s eyes fell on the drawing board where my fist had left a rather large dent. He looked at my hand as I hopped onto one of the desks. 

“Your hand...”

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt.” 

“It looks broken.” He took my hand and applied pressure to my knuckles. “Can you feel that?”

“Of course I can feel it.”

“But it doesn’t hurt.”

“No.”

“Does this hurt?” He pressed down on my knuckles harder. 

“No. For god’s sake, Eito, how many more times do I have to tell you? I don’t feel pain.” 

Eito dropped my hand. “Right. That’s the only reason you survived, right?” 

My eyes widened as I was taken back to the day I uttered those words. “You heard me say that?” 

“Yeah.” I didn’t respond. Eito slammed the back of his fist against the board. “Dammit, Haruka!”

“Eito...” I frowned.

“You are always so quick to throw yourself under the bus for us. Sacrificing yourself. Is that why you did it? Because you knew that no matter what they did to you, you wouldn’t feel it?” 

“No,” I answered, my voice hoarse.

“Then why?” 

“I wanted to protect you.”

“Then is it really that hard to believe that sometimes I want to protect you too?! You’re my cousin and my best friend. Stop being a martyr for once and let someone else in!” I had nothing to say in response. He’d figured out why I really came: so he wouldn’t be able to get involved. I’d never seen him get this emotional before. He sighed. “Get that looked at. Just because you can’t feel it, doesn’t mean it isn’t broken.” I nodded, avoiding my cousin’s gaze as he left. 

I sighed and walked over to the window. “You can come in, you know. No use lurking in the hallway.” 

“You knew I was there?” I heard the clack of Mr Mochizuki’s shoes against the tiles as he came into the classroom, closing the door behind him. 

“Yeah.” 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“I don’t believe you.” I heard him approach me. He pulled me towards him, his hand on the back of my head. My eyes widened as I heard his heart pound against my ear. I was in his embrace, held in his arms. 

“Are you alright?” he asked again. A quiet question, spoken in a pained whisper. His arms tightened around me.

After a long moment of silence, I said, “No.” I pulled myself away, looking down. 

“I’m here. Everything’s okay now.” I nodded, stepping back. “What happened?” I nodded my head in the direction of the drawing board. “You did that?”

I held my injured hand up with a wry smile. “Congenital pain insensitivity. It’s a genetic mutation that makes the person unable to feel pain.” 

Mr Mochizuki’s eyes widened. “You have it?” 

I nodded. “You want to know about that conversation between me and Eito just now...” I said matter-of-factly. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” I nodded again. “So, was Eito...”

“The person who sent me that letter? No. It was Sato. I rejected him and he forced himself on me.” I gave a wry chuckle. “I may have gone a little overboard with the self-defense. Then Eito showed up and we had an argument.” I heaved a long sigh. “I’d better get this looked at.” I left. 

 I had texted Pierre that I’d be late to work today. Aunt Ran only gave me an exasperated look when I showed up at the hospital. She didn’t bother asking questions, only told me to be more careful as she patched me up. After work, Mr Mochizuki stopped by to walk me home.

“Thanks for coming all the way out here,” I said. Kei couldn’t pick me up today; he was busy investigating my stalker. Although after what happened today, I had a pretty good idea of who it could be.

“Of course… I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you. About Sato… I never realised he’d be this dogged.”

“He’s the least of my problems right now,” I said. 

“I know you’re going through a lot right now and I don’t want to freak you out even more, but… You need to be careful of him.”

“I think I’ve proven I can take care of myself,” I gave him a cheeky smile, to which he laughed. 

The days seemed to breeze by, and before I knew it, it was the day of Ichijo’s birthday party. I didn’t want to be here. It took everything I had not to go into his mansion wearing a sneer. I settled with a look of apathy plastered over my face. Akira was going to be at the party, and I forced the butlers to get me an extra invitation for Yukino. Although, she was there to keep me in check more than anything else.

Before the party, I met with Ichijo in his personal office. “Hotaru… You’re so lovely…”

“Good evening,” I forced out.

“I am truly sorry for keeping silent all this time. You’re beautiful. You look just like your mother.” I almost snapped. You have no right to mention her. “I’m sorry. You must have been lonely.” If that mattered to you, where were you?

I shook my head half-heartedly. “I wasn’t.”

“Hotaru…”

I crossed my arms and looked down past my nose at him. I let every emotion I was feeling show plainly on my face. Anger. Disgust. Distaste. I sneered.

“I wasn’t lonely, because I already had a dad.”

“Hotaru, I…” I could tell I was hurting him, but I didn’t care. He had no right.

“Don’t,” I said harshly. “I won’t call you ‘Dad’, because you’re not. You might be my father, but you don’t get to show up after 17 years and act like you care. When I needed you, you weren’t there. So, no, you don’t get to call yourself my dad. The man who raised me, who helped me up whenever I fell, who shaped me… He is my dad. There are only two reasons I’m here tonight. One, you sent your butlers to do your dirty work and I wasn’t about to let that slide. And two, I came to tell you everything I couldn’t before. Tomoki asked me to give you a chance, so I’m willing, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you. Understand this, Kazuma, you will never replace my real dad.” Having said my piece, I gave him one last glare before turning on my heel and leaving his study with every bit of grace my real dad had taught me.

I found him further down the hall; he’d been waiting for me. I took his arm as he held it out to me with a wry smile and he led me to the party hall. My dad was just as furious as I was, if not more. He had wanted to have a word with Kazuma himself, but I had told him to leave it to me, assuring him that I would tear him a new one so bad it wouldn’t even be necessary for my dad to rub salt in the wound. And that was exactly what I did.

I entered the hall and immediately spotted Yuma and the others, eyeing me and my dad.  I sent them a smug smile for good measure. 

“I’m going to get a drink.” Dad kissed my temple. He had always had a talent for reading the room.

I walked over to the butlers. Yuma glared down at me. “What did you say to Mr. Ichijo?” he demanded.

I smiled cruelly. “Gee, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“If you offended him in any way…” Yuma had the utmost respect for Kazuma, but that had nothing to do with me.

“If I offended him, what?” I walked up to him until our faces were dangerously close; sparks flew. We had a staring contest for what seemed like an hour, neither of us letting up. I finally snorted and took a step back. “If you love him so much, you can go ask him to be your dad. But unless you’ve lived my life, experienced every hell I had to go through, I don’t particularly care for your opinion.”

Kazuma walked up to us; the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. “Hotaru,” he said.

“What.” My voice was cold.

“Would you let me introduce you?” As his daughter? Not bloody likely.

“No.” I didn’t bother looking at him before walking away. I caught sight of Yukino; she was sneering with her arms crossed, her eyes trained on Kazuma. She looked like she wanted to throttle him.

“Aren’t you tired? Take a break. Have something to drink,” Kazuma said as he walked up to me after his birthday speech. 

“Cut that out,” I said. “Quit acting so buddy-buddy with me. You and I are not friends.”

“No, we’re…”

“You say anything along the lines of father and daughter, I swear to god…” I glared at him.

“Hotaru, I understand your feelings…”

“Do you, now?”

“I know what it’s like to grow up in high society…”

“Oh, really? Funny, so do I.”

“This wasn’t the life I wanted for you.” His eyes were sad as he looked at me.

“Lot of good that did. I grew up in it anyway.”

“I never—”

“You never what? Never wanted this? Never wanted Akira to reach out?”

“That’s not what I…”

“Akira saved me. I would have ended up in the system if it wasn’t for him.”

“I know. I just…”

“Save it. I don’t care to hear your excuses. I already told you where I stand. That won’t change.” Slipping my hair over one shoulder, I made my way to my best friend. Yukino stood against the wall with two champagne glasses in her hands.

“Drink?” she asked as she held one glass out to me. I gulped it down in one go. “Good job keeping yourself contained back there. If it were me, I probably would have punched him.”

“I’m still deliberating on that.”

“If I had to guess, I’d say you’re still seeing red and your blood is dangerously close to boiling over. Maybe you should get some air?” I shook my head, snatched her glass out of her hand and downed it too. “Alright, then maybe you should focus on the next problem.” She turned and subtly pointed somewhere. I looked at where she was pointing and saw Tomoki.

I sighed. “What are you going on about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Hotaru. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Yukino’s tone was authoritative. It was her no-nonsense voice. I sighed, defeated. Tomoki’s eyes met mine, and he startled. Again. This has happened at least four times since I got here. Maybe more. Yukari was beaming next to him. Yukino stiffened and nodded her head behind me. “Public enemy number one is headed this way.” She took the glasses from me and left me.

“Hotaru, come here. I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine,” Kazuma said.

“Don’t order me around,” I hissed at him, making sure no one else could hear. In front of me stood Tomoki’s father, as well as Mr. Koishikawa, the CEO my brother and I had a lunch meeting with.

“Hotaru, it’s good to see you again,” Mr. Matsuba greeted me.

“Likewise.” I smiled.

“I had no idea you were Kazuma Ichijo’s daughter… I knew Akira adopted you, but to think…” Mr. Koishikawa mused. So against my wishes, he went and told people I was his daughter. I wasn’t sure why I expected anything different. 

“What’s this? You two know each other already?” Kazuma asked.

“The Ichinomiya Group often does business with Mr. Koishikawa. You didn’t know that?” My words had a bite that I knew only he would be able to pick up on.

“I suppose… that makes sense.” Kazuma quickly recomposed himself. “It’s Mr. Koishikawa’s daughter who Tomoki’s engaged to.”

“I’ve met her, too.”

“What beautiful children they’ll have. I can’t wait,” Kazuma said, oblivious to my growing agitation.

“Nor can I,” Mr. Koishikawa added.

“They aren’t even married yet. Don’t you think it’s a little early to say a thing like that?” Mr. Matsuba asked.

“You’re one to talk. When we were having those drinks the other night, you were talking about what you wanted your grandchildren to call you,” Kazuma said.

Mr. Matsuba laughed. “Was I?”

Listening to them was torturous. I slipped away and sat down at one of the tables, my head in my hand. Not five minutes after I sat down, Yukino joined me with another drink. She slid the glass to me and sat down across from me. She didn’t say anything.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.

“What do you want to do?” I didn’t have an answer. “You know, you’re always so assertive with everything else. I know why you’re hesitant on this… You’re scared.”

“Scared?” Yukino nodded. “I’m not scared, Yukino; I’m terrified.”

“I know. But nothing will ever change if you keep running away. You know that better than anyone.” Logically, I did know. But this was… Yukino put her hand on top of mine. “You know, that night at Akira’s party… When you two played the piano together? I saw your eyes. They looked so alive. You looked alive. More than I’ve seen you in years. It’s because of him, isn’t it?”

“So, what am I supposed to do?” I repeated my initial question.

“I might have one idea.” She looked behind me with a significant expression. I looked over my shoulder and saw the grand piano in the middle of the hall. “You both share the same language. Use it.” A small smile formed on my lips. “I’d go with Fur Elise if I were you.” Yukino got up and walked away. I downed the glass in front of me and got up to find Itsuki.

Itsuki prepared the piano for me, and I sat down. “Miss Ichinomiya would like to play the piano for all of you who were so kind to come here today for her... associate as he greets his 65th birthday. Please bring your attention to the piano.” At Itsuki’s invitation, all eyes were on me.

“I’d like to dedicate this song to someone who means more to me than I ever could have anticipated.” I stroked the smooth keys before putting my fingers on the correct ones. I looked up and met Tomoki’s eyes. I smiled softly at him before looking back at the keys on front of me. I closed my eyes for a second. And then, I played. I put all of my feelings into my fingers as they played. My memories of him flashed to the forefront of my mind. All I could do was hope that he would receive my message. But it was like Yukino said; we shared the same language. I knew he would understand this song.

Tomoki was the first to clap as soon as I finished. He was looking right at me as he applauded.

“Hotaru.” My dad stroked my hair. “I’ve never heard you play with such emotion before.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I, um… I need some air.”

“Of course.”

I slipped out of the hall. I rushed down the stairs and came to a stop at the bottom. My one fist was clenched and I could feel the blood trickling through my fingers. I clenched my teeth, angry – at what, I wasn’t sure. I slammed the back of that same fist against the wall next to me. It didn’t hurt.

“A lady shouldn’t punch a wall like that.” His voice only made me clench it tighter against the wall. More blood flowed through my fingers, down my wrist and fell to the floor in droplets. I clenched my teeth more, not daring to look at him. His breathing was ragged as I heard him approach me.

“And a butler should be more composed than this, so I guess we’re both failures,” I retorted, my voice hoarse. I dropped my hand and looked at him. “Why did you come after me?” 

“Good question… I don’t know myself.”

“You don’t know.” I chuckled dryly. “How very unlike you.”

“Miss Ichinomiya.” He fixed his eyes on mine. “You played well,” he paused, “Very well.” He took my hand, and, as he was about to put a candy in it, startled. “Your hand…”

“It’s fine.” I tore my injured hand from his grip and went to hide it behind me back, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, embracing me. My eyes widened. “Tomoki…”

“Would it be wrong of me to think… that your performance back there was for me?” I didn’t say anything as I felt the corners of my eyes sting.

“You’re more important… than I ever could have anticipated,” I whispered the same words I said before I played the piano. He held me tighter.

“Hotaru…”

I startled when he used my first name. But I relaxed soon after. “What?”

Tomoki was silent for a long moment before he spoke. “I love you.” I gasped, loudly. “I love you, Miss Ichinomiya.” I tried pulling away to look at him, but he wouldn’t let me. “I’m not letting go of what’s important to me anymore.” I inhaled sharply, my heart racing. Or was it his? I couldn’t even tell. “I can’t deceive myself. You taught me that. I can’t give up on something I love. I don’t want to again.” I bit my lip as I felt it start to quiver, and my shoulders trembled.

That evening, try as she might, Ai couldn’t fall asleep. As she sat on the veranda, staring at the crescent moon, she heard the faint sound of a shamisen being strung. Ai followed the sound until she came to a stop outside a room she didn’t recognise. She slid the door open slightly and found Takasugi playing the shamisen, a languid expression on his face.

“Is someone there?” Takasugi asked, abruptly stopping his playing. Ai slid the door open all the way.

“Hey,” she said, not stepping foot inside the room.

“It’s you, huh?” Takasugi didn’t appear particularly upset at finding her there.

“Yeah. I heard you playing the shamisen.” She nodded her head to the inside of the room.

“You were still awake?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Ai shrugged.

“Well then, come in.”

Ai smiled and stepped into the room, filled with objects from around the world. She hadn’t seen much of the world herself, unlike Emi, and she found it wondrous. Ai looked around the room, unable to hide her fascination.

“This is incredible…” she mused.

“Everything you see here has been imported from overseas. Some of these things I’ve purchased from traders. Others, I brought back myself, from Shanghai.”

“You’ve been to China, then? Have you been to other countries, too?”

“I have. Let me tell you, when you sail the oceans, and see how many different countries there are, it really starts to change the way you see the world.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Ai walked around the room, looking at all it had to offer. She bent down in front of a glowing, see-through object. Like glass. “Glassware.”

“You’ve seen it before?” Takasugi asked, surprised.

“Not in real life. My sister went to many countries and brought back books for me to read. Sometimes she made sketches of the things she’s seen.”

“I see. I’ve been to countries where this kind of gorgeous object is commonplace. How about these exotic dolls…? And aren’t these textiles magnificent…” Takasugi unfurled remarkable fabric adorned with unique patterns.

“It’s like paradise…”

“Yes, the countries of the world have many beautiful objects to appreciate… But those same countries are also capable of polluting our country with nightmarish substances, like opium, for example.” Takasugi picked up his shamisen and once again began plucking away at it. “I’ve already seen what that stuff can do to people. The horrors I witnessed in China… And I hear that it’s begun to infect parts of Europe, as well. Left unchecked, opium is enough to rob a nation of its dignity. I pray that such a fate is not in store for our glorious nation as well.” As he said that, Takasugi struck one final, loud, discordant note.

Ai’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re pretty patriotic, aren’t you?” She sat down on the sofa next to him. 

Takasugi chuckled. “I guess I am. So, tell me… Who do you believe are your true enemies?”

Ai looked up at the ceiling as she mulled his question over. “My enemies? My enemies have always been the demon hunters, I suppose. My sister won a war against them, but I’m sure they’ll be back at some point. As long as we exist. Plus, pure-blooded demons don’t exactly like half-breeds either. We’re pretty much outcasts. We don’t fit in anywhere.” Ai smiled wryly as she looked back at the man next to her. “Who are your enemies, Takasugi?” she asked.

“The real enemies, you see, are those foreign countries. These foreign countries swarm around Japan like vultures, eyeing it hungrily. If we continue to allow this to happen… We’ll be picked apart and ruined, like so much carrion.” Takasugi cast his eyes towards the floor. Ai could tell he was deeply concerned and she could empathise with that, but she didn’t agree with him. Not entirely.

“Well, if you’re going to say that about those other countries, then you’d have to say the same for Japan.”

Takasugi’s eyes flashed to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that I don’t think it’s a nationality thing. Think about how and why opium is being distributed here. Things can only be sold if there’s a market for it. All I’m saying is that evil deeds, greed, war… All those unpleasant things… It’s a human thing, not a nation thing. But I also know that it’s not all bad. People can have a lot of good in them, too.” Ai smiled softly. “I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings; I just don’t think it’s as black and white as you make it out to be. You should know that better than anyone. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I can’t blame entire countries because of the actions of a few rotten apples. Governments and militaries aren’t the only things countries are made up of. And not everyone who comes here from abroad does so out of malice.” Ai averted her eyes for a moment, before going on, “But look, this is just my opinion. You don’t have to agree with it. I know it probably sounds wishy-washy to you…” Ai smiled wryly. “Anyway, you should just do what you believe in.”

Takasugi’s eyes were unwavering as he looked at her. “I am.”

“Does the Choshu have a lord?” Ai suddenly asked.

“What?”

“I was just wondering, if the Choshu had a lord, if he couldn’t convene with the Shogunate to put a stop to this opium business?”

“If it were so simple, do you think I’d be posing as some backwater soba shop owner? The people in charge of running this country are easily led astray… It’s as if their eyes are incapable of perceiving what’s right in front of them. If they were to become more heavily involved, I shudder to think what might happen.” From the profundity of the sadness on his face, it was clear that he was doing everything he could.

Ai looked away, an awkward expression on her face as the corner of her lips twitched. “Yeah, I can’t really argue with that.”

“Explaining the truth to power will not bring about justice… My master… He recognised that, in order to preserve peace, our nation must expel the foreigners, and close its shores once more. For this, he was killed by the Shogunate.” Takasugi struck at the strings of his shamisen violently. Nope, Ai definitely couldn’t agree with that view.

“Your master, huh? Maro mentioned before that the three of you used to go to school together at Shoukason Juku.”

“That’s right. It was a fine little school. We studied mainly under our master, Shouin Yoshida. Master thought deeply about the changing face of this country, and what sort of nation we ought to become.” Takasugi’s eyes narrowed as he lost himself in his memories. Ai’s, on the other hand, widened.

“Shouin Yoshida?!”

“You’ve heard of him?” Takasugi asked, surprised.

“From my sister, yeah. She spoke quite highly of him. Did he ever tell you about the oni war?”

“No, most of us thought that was a myth. So your sister was involved in that war…” Takasugi looked up at the ceiling.

Ai barked a laugh. “Involved? She led the charge. My sister did what no oni has done in over a thousand years. She united the divided oni clans to stand as one; she led a revolution. And she won. She swore an oath to her people that she would create the dawn of a new era, and she did. Even in the face of adversity, she never backed down.” Ai puffed her chest out as though she were speaking of her own accomplishment.

“You really look up to her, don’t you?” Takasugi’s eyes were tender as he gazed at her.

Ai smiled. “I do… She’s the best sister I ever could have asked for… Tell me about Master Shouin. I want to know.”

“Master did not merely expound upon his students. He engaged us in dialogue. It was a true exchange of ideas. He nurtured our intellectual development. We did not spend all of our time in a classroom. We took trips to the mountains, and the ocean. We learned much about the world around us.” Takasugi’s voice thickened with sadness as he reminisced about his teacher. He and his friends were fortunate to have had such a rich upbringing. “When Master became aware of the threats being imposed by foreign invaders, he was brave enough to speak up, for the safety of our nation. And how was he rewarded for his efforts? Well, you know the answer to that. As if he were the one threatening the Shogunate, Master himself was slaughtered.” His voice became quieter the more he spoke, revealing his feelings. Anger, and a deep sorrow.

“That’s why you decided to continue his work, so to speak. To honour him.”

“Exactly. That’s when I realised. There’s no longer any true justice in this world. If there ever was… And if the world wishes to persecute us, and call us criminals, then so be it. Let us be judged then, based on the success or failure of our so-called crimes.” Ai looked down, not saying anything. A moment passed. “Is something wrong? You’ve gone quiet all of a sudden.”

“I was just thinking about what you just said about justice… My sister said something similar before…”

“What did she say?”

“She said that justice didn’t really exist, because it was relative.” Ai looked up at him. “You know, subjective. What is good? What is evil? Who decides? People believe what they want to believe, see what they want to see. They’re capable of justifying just about anything, but what one person thinks is right, someone else might think is wrong. I believed her, and I still do, but I think that maybe I was just trying to make myself feel better. Because I’m the same. I justify taking people’s lives by saying it’s the only way for me to survive. And it is. But I’m still the one who makes that choice. I’m the one who decides that my life is more important than the other person’s.”

“Maybe, but that would mean that we’re the same…”

“You think so?” Ai tilted her head to the side.

“You said it yourself, the world isn’t black and white.”

Ai chuckled wryly. “That’s true.”

Takasugi cast a world-weary glance at the night sky as he sat by the open window. “Let me play you one more song.” Once again, he began to strum away at his shamisen, the melody sorrowful and heartrending. Ai closed her eyes as she listened, feeling every note tug at her heartstrings.

“Give up, Zyglavis. This is not going to go like you want it to. I’m going to risk my life, but not out of hopelessness. I’m going to do it to help you find that ‘fourth option’.” Hue looked down at Shiro’s face.  “You’ve been spouting nothing but nonsense since I got here. Enough is enough. How about some silence?!” Zyglavis yelled, quickly pointing his palm at them. A shot rang out and Zyglavis clutched his hand, blood seeping through the pristine glove. Kuro laughed sinisterly, holding her gun in front of her face. “Kuro!” Shiro exclaimed. Her sister would face extreme retribution for this. Kuro stepped in front of them. “I have faith in my sister. Shiro isn’t going anywhere.” Kuro’s voice had a very dangerous edge to it. “Kuromi…” Zyglavis said. “There is no ‘fourth option’. I guess I have to teach you that the hard way,” he said. “You really don’t know when to call it quits, do you?” Hue returned fire with quick energy balls of his own. The two gods were evenly matched in power. “If you had just surrendered on your own… I was going to give you a peaceful death,” Zyglavis said, his words directed at Shiro. “I don’t care what you say. I won’t let you harm this girl. I will protect her this time,” Hue answered. “‘Even if it means I have to sacrifice myself’, right? Your favourite motto…” A mocking grin appeared on Zyglavis’s face. Hue, however, responded to Zyglavis’s words with a calm smile. “That’s what I used to believe… But now I know I was wrong.” “What?” Zyglavis asked, his eyes wide. “It hurt to lose the goddess.” “I have a name, you know…” Shiro mumbled. “But I really was wrong to call what she did ‘being sacrificed’.” “You’re just playing with words now. She gave her life to save the Earth. What is it called, if not a sacrifice?” Zyglavis asked. “It doesn’t matter what it looked like to you or anyone else. What matters is the truth. If the Clotho didn’t see it as a sacrifice, then we’re misrepresenting what she did to call it that,” Hue said. “Hue...” Shiro muttered.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” “Zyglavis, the goddess never stopped hoping for the best. She risked her life believing in the future. She came to me without giving up. And now she’s done it again. That’s why… I won’t say ‘I wish I had never met her’ anymore.” Hue squeezed her hand tightly. Shiro remembered what she had said before she gave her life to save the Earth. “Hue, I’m so, so happy I fell in love with you. That’s why I want to bring love to Earth if I can… I want to help humanity to recover their ability to love as you taught me to love.” Yes. She believed in her decision completely back then. There was no reason for everyone to be forever saddened by what she did. “I’m getting sick of listening to you.” Zyglavis launched another attack. “Enough!” Kuro snapped her fingers, creating a protective barrier around Shiro and Hue. “Do what you need to do, Shiro.” She took a fighting stance in front of Zyglavis. Shiro nodded as Kuro smiled over her shoulder. “I can tell you the truth now. I’m not doing this as an act of self-sacrifice. Not for the Earth, and not for your soul. I’m doing this because I want to protect you,” Hue said. “Why?” Shiro asked. “It’s not like you to be so slow. Isn’t it obvious?” “I want you to say it.” “There’s only one reason I want to protect you. I’m in love with you. I love you, Shiro.” “Hue… Are you sure? I’m me, but I’m not the same I was back then.” “I know. I love you because you are you, Shiro. How many times are you going to make me say it? Or… Can you see right through me? Do you already know I want to say it over and over again?” Shiro threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too, Hue. I always have. And I always will. I thought I could never tell you because I’m human now. I was so scared of my own feelings that I tried to hide them. But it was no use. I love you. I love your snarky humour. I love your sarcasm. I love that you have hidden weaknesses. I love everything about you. And I am so, so happy that I fell in love with you.” I looked up at him. Hue’s eyes widened. “Shiro…” “Which is why I will save this world. I will save this future. Our future. Please, Hue. Trust me.” Shiro’s eyes were serious as she looked at him. “You had to bear your pain alone for a long time. But I’m here now. I won’t leave you again.” “Shiro. I will protect you from anything and everything that ever tries to hurt you. And I promise… I will never leave you,” Hue said, smiling for a moment. She smiled back and nodded. Then, she did what came naturally. Her clothes gradually changed until she donned her godly form. Hue gasped. “Shiro, that form…”

With a calm smile on her face, Shiro confidently stepped up to Kuro. She wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder from behind as Hue had done mere moments befor, and pulled Kuro to her. “Hands off my little sister!” Shiro held out her palm and several red threads shot out towards Zyglavis, trapping him in a red threaded cage. “Impossible…” “Quit your griping for one damn minute. You’re such a pain. The Earth is already back to normal so just shut up already,” Shiro snapped. She looked down at the fountain as it started to glow. The scenes of Earth reflected on the water gradually began to change. “The rain stopped… The Earth’s climate is stabilising,” Zyglavis said. “What in the world is happening…?” Hue asked, looking from the fountain to me. “The crisis is over,” a strangely comforting voice filled the air. Zyglavis, Hue, and Kuro all spun to the source of the voice, their eyes wide. Shiro could only smile wryly as she let the threaded cage dissipate. She turned to the gentle light until a god exuding divine energy appeared. “So your heart has learned to love again.” “Yes, Your Highness,” Hue answered. Zyglavis, Hue and Kuro bowed to the king. Shiro followed suit. The king, smiling quietly, looked back and forth between Hue and her. “That question wasn’t directed at you, Huedhaut,” the king said. “Huh?” Hue asked. “You regained your ability to love quite a while ago. Your mark vanishing was proof of that.” “You can’t mean—Then, my mark of sin wasn’t… Didn’t I sin by interfering with death when I kept the goddess’s soul on the wheel of rebirth?” “I did not punish you for that. After losing the person most precious to you, you lost yourself in sadness and rejected love. That was your sin.” “Don’t tell me you didn’t figure that out until now…” Kuro muttered. Shiro lightly elbowed her. “My darling Kuro. It seems you are as quick as ever.” The king turned back to Hue. “You refused to see why the goddess gave her life… Instead, you told yourself love meant sacrifice and loss, closing your heart to the world.” “Your Highness… You knew all of this all along? You knew all this would happen?” Zyglavis asked. “The goddess offered her life to save the Earth. That was the first and only time a god had attempted such a thing. Not even I could predict how a gamble that unprecedented would play out. I knew that if his heart were to be saved, only one with the soul of the goddess of fate could do it, but to think that she wasn’t a reincarnation at all, but the goddess herself in human form…” The king smiled at me. “You have accomplished something truly splendid, Clotho. No, I suppose your name is Shiro now.” Shiro smiled back, unable to answer. “Then, allow me to ask you again. Have you opened your heart to love again?” “Your Highness…” “Well… the answer is already clear, but I thought I’d ask anyway.” Shiro took a deep breath. “It’s true, Your Highness. After Hue left, for a time, I’d forgotten something very important. I’d forgotten why I saved the Earth in the first place. But I remember now. I saved the Earth because I wanted to give humans what Hue had given me.” She the corners of her eyes sting. “Zyglavis, you seem to have misunderstood one thing. Huedhaut also made the same mistake,” the king said. “What do you mean?” Zyglavis asked. “This girl did not lose control of her divine power because it was too much for her control. I did not expect her to be able to use divine power either, but… This human showed surprising skill when linking her powers and her heart.” “I don’t believe it,” Hue said. Shiro smiled wryly. “I had a feeling that was the case. My heart prompted the release of my divine powers which was what threw Earth into chaos. I… did exactly what I told Hue not to do.” She rubbed her arm and looked to the side. “I rejected the love I had always had in my heart for him.” “That was indeed what caused the rain,” the king told her. She nodded. “I see. Long ago, she chose to give her life to save the Earth out of love. For her to then reject love…” Zyglavis mused. “Yes, her rejection of love threw the Earth back into chaos. The planet really could be destroyed by such an imbalance in energies,” the king said. “Which you already knew. And you also already knew how to fix it.” Kuro stepped next to Shiro. “You knew?” Hue asked, his eyes wide. “Yes. I would have told you, but you were so adamant about using the stars in your right eye to stop it, I had to talk you down from the ledge first,” Shiro told him. “Now then, I hope everyone is clear on exactly what happened. Perhaps now you can see what path to take in the future,” the king said. “Thank you for your words, Your Highness. I take them all to heart,” Hue said. “Thank you, Your Highness,” Shiro chimed. “You can never lie to your own hearts about the love you feel again. Oh, and by the way, your death could also disturb the balance of energy on Earth. So don’t worry, no threats will be made on your life. Isn’t that right, Zyglavis.” The king glanced at Zyglavis and smiled a smile that sent shivers down Shiro’s spine. “Forgive me, King, but this girl is romantically involved with Huedhaut. Such relationships between gods and humans are forbidden. It is a sin for—” “There’s no need to raise your voice, Zyglavis. That should prove entertaining as well,” the king said. The corner of Shiro’s lips twitched. “Besides, I’m not even human,” she mused. “What?” Zyglavis narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t know if it was because of what Hue did, but right now, the most accurate term for me would be along the lines of ‘demi-god’.” “Don’t be ridiculous. Something like that isn’t—” “Possible?” Shiro cut Zyglavis off. “Please spare me. Give up your idea of what you think is possible or impossible. Nothing about this situation is normal. Do you honestly think a human would be able to what I did?” The king laughed. “Indeed, you are not entirely human. Those who are bound together by the threads of fate have the strength of will forge their own paths. You, Shiro, are capable of doing just that,” the king told her. “I will,” she said confidently. “‘I’? You’re not alone. Are you trying to get back at me for before? I’d appreciate it if you replaced that ‘I’ with a ‘we’,” Hue smirked at her. Shiro chuckled. “Yes, you’re right. We’ll create our future. Together.” She squeezed his hand, interlacing her fingers through his. The king chuckled. “Today turned out to be a good day. I suppose this was destiny too. Isn’t that right, Shiro?” “Yes, but, well… It’s a destiny we created ourselves, by our own hands.” Shiro peered back into the reflecting pool, seeing beautiful images of the Earth. “Let’s give this our all. We’ll probably have a lot of obstacles in our path… But…” Hue started to say. “We will. I know we can build a wonderful future together.” Shiro smiled.

As they drove further in silence, they saw two figures up ahead.

“Tomotsu! Masao!” Tohru called out to them.

“Bro!” Tomotsu, Tohru’s younger brother, exclaimed happily.

“Tohru!” Masao smiled. To put it delicately, Masao was… strange. He didn’t get on well with Natsuno and Rin often ended up giving him a hard time about a number of things.

“Here we go. Let’s ride!” Tomotsu ran over to the car. Masao followed but stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on the back seat.

“Meh. Who cares?” Masao said.

“Why? He probably has the A/C on and everything,” Tomotsu protested.

“I said I don’t care! If you wanna go with him, be my guest!” Masao turned on his heel and ran off.

“Masao!” Tomotsu shrugged at Tohru and ran after Masao. “Wait up!”

“What’s wrong with him?” Ritsuko asked.

“Masao kinda hates Natsuno. Natsuno doesn’t really give a shit either way.” Tohru had barely finished his sentence before Natsu hit him on top of the head with the back of his fist. “The hell you doin’, Natsuno?”

“Why do you think I told you to leave me alone?!”

Rin sighed again as she thought back to when she first met Natsu. It was painfully obvious that he didn’t want anyone getting close to him. The older villagers were always gossiping about him, saying he didn’t seem to be adjusting well to the village; they weren’t very used to newcomers.

Rin first met Natsu at Tohru’s house. She had been sitting leisurely on the deck outside while Tohru watered the plants. That was when he walked by, pushing his bicycle.

“Oh, got a flat?” Tohru suddenly asked. Rin looked up and saw the new kid indeed had a flat tire on his bicycle. “Hey, you’re the kid from the workshop, right? Roads here in the country are a lot rougher than they are in the city, so that’s gonna happen a lot. Lemme patch ya up.”

“No thanks,” he replied curtly and attempted to leave.

“Hey, Rin, hold this quick,” Tohru handed her the garden hose and rushed to catch up to Natsuno. She watched them as she closed the tap to turn the hose off. Tohru grabbed onto the seat of the bicycle, stopping Natsuno. “Dude, don’t sweat it. It’s what neighbours are for.” Natsuno ended up letting Tohru take care of it. “You should probably keep a repair kit around, though. I’m Tohru Mutou. And that’s Rin Hanazawa over there,” Tohru pointed in her direction. She smiled softly in response and casually waved a hand. “What’s your name?” Tohru asked him.

 “Yuuki. Koide. Whichever.” Natsu’s answers were curt.

“Different from your pops? What about your first name?” Tohru asked. Natsu looked away from him. “Calling people by their last names gets confusing. I’d rather use your first.”

“It doesn’t matter. Thanks for the patch,” Natsu took his bike and made his escape.

“Come back sometime!” Tohru called after him.

It wasn’t even a week before he came back. Rin was at Tohru’s house again that day.

“I got another flat,” Natsu said reluctantly, his expression somewhat sulky. 

“Your pops told me your name,” Tohru said. Natsu looked at him in surprise. Tohru clicked his fingers. “Natsuno.” 

Rin imagined it was Natsuno’s plan to ignore everyone and get out of the village as soon as possible. So much for that idea. At some point, Rin had started calling him Natsu instead of Natsuno and the three of them were best friends ever since.

Tohru dropped Ritsuko off at the clinic. She gave a wave before disappearing into the building. “Natsuno, you asleep yet?” he asked. Natsu still had his eyes closed.

“Wide awake.”

 It was twilight on a Sunday. Natsu, Tohru and Rin were all hanging out in Tohru’s room. Natsuno was reading a comic book while Tohru and Rin played a video game together. It was a leisurely evening; nothing out of the ordinary, until the door to Tohru’s room swung open and Masao burst in.

“Did you hear, Tohru?! Nao, the contractor’s wife, is –” He stopped mid-sentence when he spotted Natsuno on the bed.

 “Oh, Masao, ‘sup?” Tohru greeted him without looking away from the screen. “What’s up with Nao?”

“She’s dead.” Rin pressed a wrong button on the controller, which ended with her character dying a gruesome death.

“Shit!” she cursed.

“Isn’t she a bit young?” Tohru asked, unfazed by his friend’s virtual demise.

 “Yeah. But they just buried her. Shimizu recently kicked the bucket, too. I think there’s an epidemic going around,” Masao declared.

Rin’s character respawned and she started playing again. “And you’re happy about this, because?”

“No, I –” Masao, seemingly unable to counter her retort, turned his attention to Natsuno instead. “Man, Natsuno, you’re such a jerk for turning down Shimizu’s bequest. Are you inconsiderate, or just lacking emotions? No normal person would turn down the bequest of some poor girl who died so young.” Rin rolled her eyes. She couldn’t understand what he found so amusing about constantly provoking her friend.

“So what if she was young? You or I could die tomorrow, too,” Natsu retorted. 

“I-I’m not gonna die yet!” Masao yelled.

“That so? It’s just a matter of luck.”

“B-but my life’s just beginning! I have so much left to do!” The more Natsuno spoke, the more riled up Masao got. 

“I think that’s just a problem with how you live.”

“So you’re fine with people saying that when you die?” Masao continued his fight-picking.

“I’ll be dead. What would I care?” Natsu countered.

“No no! Shimizu must be rolling in her grave right now! She’ll probably claw her way out to come after you!” Rin tensed. That was the last straw. She paused the game, got up from the floor and walked over to the boys.

“Masao…” Rin said warningly. Masao slowly, tensely, turned around. Rin crossed her arms as she looked at him past her nose. “Enough. I don’t appreciate that kind of joke.”

“You believe in the dead rising, Rin?” Masao asked, nervously scratching his temple while she stared him down.

“Whether I believe in it or not is irrelevant. The dead should stay dead, even if it’s only in theory,” she answered coldly.

“Grow the hell up,” Natsuno stated. Rin realized Masao’s comment upset him as well. She frowned. Masao turned back around and lunged at Natsu.

“You move here and start giving me this shit?!” Tohru pushed past Rin and held him back, locking his arms around Masao’s, under his armpits.

“Give it up, Masao.”

“Why are you on his side, Tohru?! He’s wrong!”

“He may seem cold, but he could just be calm,” Tohru desperately tried to defend Natsu. Masao pushed him away.

“You’re taking his side, Tohru? You two are always on his side! I’m going home!” With one last glare at both Tohru and Rin, he stormed out of the room. Rin sighed in exasperation and seated herself in front of the TV again.

“Natsuno, you’re the clever one. Be nice,” Tohru said.

“Give it up, Tohru. You’re wasting your breath,” Rin retorted.

“I’m sleeping over,” Natsuno said, his voice tired. Rin spun her body around on the floor to look at him as he collapsed over on Tohru’s bed.

“Man, that’s my bed!” Tohru protested.

“Call my parents. I can never sleep well at home.”

Tohru sighed. “I’m going to go get a drink. Would you like anything?” he asked Rin.

“Oh, sure,” she replied. She turned her attention back to the TV, staring at the frozen screen. 

After school the next day, I stared at the mark on my practice math test. I had only scored a sixty. No surprise there, I supposed. I could barely concentrate and I didn’t finish the test in time. I remembered what Mr. Mochizuki said before the test.

“If you can’t score high enough on this test, it’ll be tough to pass the midterm with a ninety.”

I reviewed the test, but I didn’t take anything in. Then I heard a thud from outside the classroom. I looked up. Eito was the only one with me. 

“What was that?” I asked. Eito shrugged. I stood up and exited the class to see what was going on. In the hallway I found Sato and Mr. Mochizuki talking. I arched an eyebrow at them, but went back into the class.

“What was it?” Eito asked quietly.

“Dunno. Just found Sato talking to Mochizuki,” I said, my voice flat.

“Sato, huh…” Eito mumbled. 

“What?” I asked. 

“Why is Sato taking remedial classes?” Eito asked. 

“How the hell should I know? Why don’t ask him?” 

“He’s always staring at you,” Eito said. I shrugged. I wasn’t particularly bothered by things that happened all the time anyway. 

“I bombed that test today,” I muttered as soon as I got home that day.

“Because you didn’t manage your time properly. That bad habit of yours rears its ugly head once again,” Mr Mochizuki told me.

“It never happens on other tests…” I said.

“Look, if you don’t want to give up, then you’ve got to suck it up and push through. Med school is gonna kick your butt if you’re not driven. You’ve got a dream to realise, so there are only two options: go big or go home.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing. What, you think I haven’t been trying?”

“Then you’re not trying hard enough.”

“How can you say that?” I stood up, fuming.

“Hey. Can you honestly say you’re giving 110 percent? Can you?”

I snorted derisively and sneered at him. “Like I want to hear that from someone who gave up in his so-called dream. Sorry I can’t be oh-so perfect like you.” I lashed out, my voice carrying an icy edge to it I hadn’t heard from myself in a while. I stormed into my room and slammed the door shut.

 I ran my hand through my hair. Talk about being an ice queen. He didn’t deserve that. I was angry because he was talking the truth, and I hated it. I was the one who wanted to fight the odds and aim for med school. He was only trying to help. I hadn’t been working as hard as I knew I could. It wasn’t his fault. Unable to sit around any longer, I headed for the kitchen for some water when I noticed light seeping through Mr Mochizuki’s door. I poked my head in and found him preparing for his lessons tomorrow. He was up late working… He was working so hard, doing everything he possibly could… How could I have said something so cruel to him? Gave up on his dream? He wasn’t someone who would do that for no reason. Attacking something like that… 

He wouldn’t be the teacher he was if he didn’t work hard. Always thinking about his students, staying up late to prepare for classes. I owed him an apology. I remembered how he played to his strengths when he wanted to apologise to me, and I decided to do the same. I brewed some cocoa and took it to his room.

“Hey,” I said softly as I knocked on his door.

“You’re still up? Get to bed or you’ll sleep right through your alarm tomorrow,” he said.

I shook my head. “I’m… really sorry about what I said earlier. I lashed out and that was unfair of me. You did nothing wrong.” My lip quivered and I bit it.

“Felt good to get all that off your chest, though, didn’t it? We can’t carry the weight of those kinda feelings around with us all the time.” How could he be so cool with this? Not only did I yell at him, but I also attacked something that was obviously very fragile to him. He was always so understanding, so accepting… Felt good? No, it didn’t. It felt like crap. I didn’t say anything that I really felt. I looked down and noticed some clump in his hands.

“What are you doing?” I cocked my head to the side.

“Oh, this? Just a charm I’m making for the soccer club. It’s nothing special… Just a little prayer to help them win.”

“That’s… kinda sweet, actually.”

“I was gonna make each of the guys a soccer ball, and stitch their number on it.” My eyes widened. “What?”

“Don’t tell me that’s supposed to be a soccer ball.”

“That was the plan, anyway, yeah?” I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t see it? You’ve got the black and white bits here, and then you sew them… Erk! Damn it.”

“Prick yourself?” I walked over to him and put the mugs down on his bedside table.

“No, just grazed it.” He looked away.

“Don’t even bother trying to hide it. I see right through you.”

“Psh, I’m a man… and it takes more than a little needle prick to hurt me. Here, now look. Doesn’t that look like a soccer ball to you?” He held up his shoddily sewn black and white monstrosity.

“No, it looks like a rice ball.”

“There are rice balls shaped like soccer balls, I’ll have you know.”

“That isn’t one of them.”

“Just, look with your heart, not your eyes.”

I sighed. “Give me that, Pocahontas.” I snatched it out of his hand.

“Hey! I can sew just fine.”

“The state of your project speaks louder than anything you could say.”

“Right, sorry. I think I’ve met my match with this sorta stuff.”

“You need to be more precise about cutting. Soccer balls have a very specific pattern.” I spoke as I tried making a decent soccer ball for him. “A 3D one may be a little tough; I can do it, but it takes a lot of time. If you’re good with a flat charm, this ought to do it.”

“Wow, colour me impressed.” I shrugged. “Haruka… Would you, uh, mind helping me? If I were left to my own devices, I’d end up making a bunch of rice balls.”

“What did you think I was doing?” I asked, brushing off the astonishment I felt at him turning to me for help.

“You’re a lifesaver. Seriously.”

“Can you iron the number patches on?”

“I can do that much.” He smiled broadly. Together we continued making the little soccer charms.

“We only have three more to go,” I said.

“We might actually be able to get through all of ‘em tonight.”

“If only you’d come to me sooner.”

“I couldn’t have asked you to help; you’re not part of the soccer team. Besides, I just…” He stopped himself from saying more.

“Don’t like relying on people?” You’re just like me.

“Well, yeah. I’m a never-say-die kind of guy. But…” he trailed off.

“But?” I urged him to go on.

“Working with you has been pretty fun.” The iron in his hand, he turned a big smile on me. My stomach somersaulted, despite myself. “Can’t even remember the last time I stayed up late with someone, chatting… Probably not since I was in high school myself, working on the school festival.” That big, innocent smile was one I’d never see in school. I was happy that he was enjoying hanging out with me. We continued working for several hours after that and before I knew it, I was asleep on his couch.

 When I groggily opened my eyes the next morning, I found my teacher fast asleep next to the table, cheek resting in the crook of his arm. It was a bit of a thrill thinking how I spent the night in his room with him. My eyes fell on him once more. Sleeping like that, he was going to wake up with the worst bedhead. I was reaching for his hair when he shifted, his head finding my shoulder. I froze, unsure of what to do with this new, sexy weight. I could feel his heat through the thin fabric of our clothes. For a moment, I imagined what it would be like if I could snuggle with him, his arms wrapped around me. The thought made me want to slap myself. I poked his forehead.

“Hey. Wake the hell up.”

He opened his eyes drowsily. “Hm? Oh, sorry about that.”

“Hmph. Be thankful I didn’t push you to the floor.” Realising what I just said, I raised a finger. “That came out wrong.” He snapped back from me, to sit up straight in his seat.

“What’re you staring at?” he asked.

A mischievous smirk spread over my face. “You’re cute when you sleep.”

“So I’m ugly awake?” He jabbed a finger into my forehead. Damn, he wasn’t even frazzled. “I don’t think you’ve got the time to be clowning around right now.” I looked at my watch. “Alright, let’s hurry and get ourselves ready.”

“Don’t forget to take the charms today. I don’t want all that hard work wasted,” I said.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll make sure to bring them.”

“Mind if I keep this?” I pointed to his disaster of an attempted charm.

“If you want it, it’s all yours,” he said.

 I arrived at school bleary-eyed and sleep deprived. After lunch, I stepped outside for some fresh air and watched the soccer team from afar.

“Mochi, you made these charms?!”

“More or less…” Mr Mochizuki said.

“Damn, Mochi Stewart over here!”

“There’s no way we’re gonna lose our next game, now!” The players were elated with his gift.

For a moment his eyes met mine. Don’t tell, he mouthed to me. I smiled slightly, and I swore I could make out a smile on his face too. I found a charm dangling in front of me.

“You made these, didn’t you?” Eito asked.

“What makes you say that?” I asked nonchalantly.

“I know your handiwork.”

I smiled wryly. Eito knew everything about the stalker and my living with Mr Mochizuki. My teacher would probably throttle me if he knew I told someone, but there was no one I trusted more in this world than my cousin. 

That weekend Tomoki gave me a dress and jewellery and told me to wear it. He wasn’t wearing his uniform. I had raised an eyebrow at him, not pleased with the way he was bossing me about, but humoured him nonetheless. He proceeded to take me to a concert hall.

“A piano concert?”

“Yes. You’ve been to places like this before, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but it’s been a while.” The words spilled out of me before I could stop them, “At the party, you looked so happy when you were playing.” When he didn’t respond, I glanced at him from my peripheral.

“Once, I won the top place at a piano competition held here. I quit after winning. Playing at the party the other day was the first time I’ve played since then.” He looked at his hands and squeezed them into fists.

“You love to play…” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but I did.  

“It’s starting. No conversing during the concert,” he said. I smiled wryly. There was such a gentleness to the look on Tomoki’s face as he listened.

“I wish you could say you like something if you like it, without obligations,” I whispered, my words carried off by the gentle music in the air.

The concert ended, and Tomoki took me to a French restaurant.

“So you are human after all. Glad you’re not a robot,” I remarked.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you eat. You don’t run on gasoline.”

“No, I run on electricity.”

“What?!” I made a show of being shocked. “Then you really are a ro—”

“I’m kidding. Obviously, I’m human.”

I chuckled. “I know.” I grinned.

“You…”

“Thank you for today. I hadn’t been to a concert like that in such a long time. Listening to the piano was very soothing.”

“Actually, it really is supposed to help you relax. They say it can help lower blood pressure.”

“I heard about that,” I mused. “I used to listen to it before I went to sleep at night when I was younger.”

“It’s not only the piano. Listening to music has a variety of effects on the body.” Tomoki was animated during our conversation. We shared a deep passion for music, and I loved talking to him about it. The time flew.

“Desert was nice. Not too sweet,” I said after we finished.

“You make it sound like you don’t like sweet things.”

“I don’t.” Tomoki’s eyes widened. He clearly wasn’t expecting me to say that. “Well, maybe it’d be more accurate to say that I try to stay away from them as much as I can for various reasons. I drink it more than I eat it. Like in coffee and tea, and if I really have a lot of work to do, I drink energy drinks.”

“Those are worse than desert.” He looked at me like he really wanted to scold me.

“If I need energy, I need energy. Balancing it out is what you get paid for.”

Tomoki sighed, and I grinned.

 After dinner, Tomoki took me home. He praised me on a job well done, to which I playfully rolled my eyes. Just as I was about to go inside, the alarm of the tablet beeped loudly. I took it out of my handbag and saw the words Etiquette Lessons Complete flash on the screen.

“Finished, huh…” I muttered.

“It would be more correct to say that the lessons are finished for me.”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” I asked.

“You’re right. This is my last day as your butler,” he replied.

I nodded, my expression calm. “Let me guess, the wedding?”

“Yes. I’m getting married in 10 days.”

“I… see. And then you’ll be working for someone else. Abroad.”

“Yes. This was decided a long time ago. My time has been limited, and because of that, I asked a lot of you. For that, I am truly sorry. I didn’t want to phone it in. For Mr. Ichijo, I wanted to make sure you’re someone who anyone would look at and say, ‘That is a fine lady’. To perfectly honest, at first I thought it was hopeless; you were so defiant. But… today I understood. You are a fine woman.” He softly placed a candy on my hand. Clutching the candy in my hand, my arm hung limply at my side. “At first I was doing this for Mr. Ichijo. But as I watched you apply yourself with such determination… I realised that at some point, I was doing it for you, too. You already know how hard it is to belong to an industrialised family. I know I can’t change your mind about Mr. Ichijo, but if I could ask you just one thing… Please give him a chance.”

“I’ll go to the party and meet him. But I can’t promise you anything.” I looked away.

“I understand.”

I looked back at him, a wry smile playing on my lips. “Also, you’re wrong about me, Tomoki. There’s nothing ‘fine’ about me. There are things about me and my past you don’t know. That nobody knows. Because if they did, I’d never be able to set foot in high society again.”

“Miss Ichinomiya…”

I shook my head. “Never mind. It’s not important. The point is, I’m likely not what you think.”

“I don’t think. I know.” My eyes widened. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I do know you.”

“I… see.” I looked down so my bangs would fall in front of my eyes. “I knew you had a fiancé, so I figured this day was coming,” I murmured.

“Miss Ichinomiya… Would it be wrong of me to think… that your performance back there was for me?”

I didn’t answer, instead opting to open my front door. “Thank you for everything you did for me… And, Tomoki?” I looked up. “Be happy… okay?” I didn’t wait for an answer before going into my apartment and closing the door behind me. Pressing my back against the door, I sunk to the floor. I rested my head against the cold wood. I was getting left behind again… No, that isn’t what this is. Tomoki… I love you. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to love anyone. Not like this. When did it happen? When did he become so important to me? I didn’t have an answer.

Shiro opened her eyes and found herself next to the reflecting pool in the heavens.

“Hue…” she choked out.  

“You… What in the world are you doing? Travelling through a different dimensional zone to reach me. That was not a sane thing to do.” Shiro chuckled as she got up and stumbled forward. “Don’t move. You really did a number on your body.” She didn’t listen to him, instead running at full force and throwing her arms around him.

“I can’t let you die,” she said. Shiro slowly looked down at the reflecting pool. Just like before, she saw the world she loved in complete chaos.

“This is all my fault. Being with me took you back to our past. And now, even your power has returned…”

“None of this is your fault,” Shiro said.

“The nonstop rain is affecting Earth in a variety of ways. If it continues, ecosystems will start to fail. It will lead to Earth’s destruction. I will take responsibility for everything.”

“Hue, my powers didn’t come back because I never lost them in the first place,” she told him. Hue’s eyes widened and Shiro softly touched his hair. His hair, the gentle, all-encompassing blue of the night sky. “This isn’t your fault, and you don’t have to do this by yourself. You’re always so awkward and you don’t rely on other people.”

“Not everyone is as good with people as you are.”

“I like that you’re awkward, and I don’t mind that you can be hard to understand sometimes, and I love your gentle nature, too. I don’t want you to disappear.” She coughed.

“You’re really exhausted, aren’t you?” Hue held her hand.

She shook her head. “I’ll recover.” She smiled up at him. “I really missed you, Hue.”

“You really are a fool, Shiro. I should know. I’ve been watching you the whole time.”

“You never came to see me.”

“Shiro.” Hue smiled. As he quietly wiped her wet cheeks, he spoke, “I still have the stars in my right eye. As long as I have them, I can fix anything.”

“You can’t! If you use the stars in your right eye, you’ll cease to be a god. You’ll die.” Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I can’t allow you to do that.” Shiro wasn’t at all surprised to hear that voice.

She turned around. “Zyglavis.” She knew he’d follow her here. 

“The situation has changed. The power this human possesses is stronger than I thought,” Zyglavis said.

“What do you mean?” Hue asked.

“Look into the reflecting pool. The Earth is in a crisis, and she’s not even there now. She’s affecting the entire planet negatively just by being alive. I don’t have another second to waste. Give me the girl, Huedhaut.”

“Do I look like I’m about to say, ‘Yes, sir!’ and hand her over? I don’t need another arrogant minister in my life. Leon is enough.”

“So you’re going to mutilate your other eye? She said it herself. If you lose the stars in both your eyes, you will die.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t change my mind,” Hue replied.

“What a fool. I thought you were an intelligent god. I was mistaken.”

“I don’t care what you say.”

Zyglavis’s voice boomed. “The former goddess laid down her life for the humans… Now, you’re going to lay down your life to save the goddess’s soul. Following in her footsteps? And on top of all that, you’re trying to lose another eye in front of the same fountain where you lost the last one. Wise man of the heavens, I wonder how much of this future you knew would come to pass.” His words were like a splash of cold water.

“You knew this was going to happen?” Shiro asked, looking at Hue.

“I suspected it might. My ability to see the future has its limits. I can’t see the future as it pertains to life and death. If I saw that… I’d want to use what I saw to change things,” Hue answered.

“You both want to protect each other… Ridiculous,” Zyglavis said.

“No matter what Zyglavis says, I will win this fight. I won’t let you die,” Hue told her.

“I’ve heard the pain of pulling the stars from your eyes is like torture. It’s madness, Huedhaut. This time, though, I’ll stop you before you’re able to experience that excruciating pain,” Zyglavis said.

“My, my. You never get tired of your own voice, do you, Zyglavis?” Shiro gasped and looked to the side.

“Kuro. You plan to stand in the way too, I see.” Zyglavis glared at her where she leaned against one of the pillars.

Kuro scoffed. “I bargained with the king when I became a goddess to be able to still see my sister. Do you really think I’d stand by while you try to kill her?”

“Ridiculous.” While Zyglavis was distracted by Kuro’s presence, Shiro felt the divine power from Hue emanating throughout the space. He held her from behind, his form changing.

“I’ve decided to protect you this time, even if you hate me for it.” Glowing with power in his god form, Hue reached for his right eye.

“I won’t let you!” Another gale, stronger than before, radiated from her body. “I love you too much, Hue! I won’t let you die!!” Golden light surrounded her as she tapped into her godly power. This wasn’t the end. She wouldn’t let it be the end.

When Ai opened her eyes the next morning, Kusaka was the first person she saw. She felt a bandage being wrapped around her arm. 

“That isn’t necessary,” she said by way of greeting. Kusaka hushed her in that annoyed way he always got whenever she declined his medical expertise. Ai sighed as she looked down at him. “You really were a doctor.” 

“You can tell?” Kusaka asked.

“By your technique, yes.”

“Well, I think you’ve got more important things to be worried about than my medical technique.” Kusaka chuckled as he put away his supplies. “You managed not to inhale any of that smoke last night, right?”

Ai shook her head. “No, but… what was that stuff? I’ve never smelled anything like it before.” It smelled dangerous. 

“Well, you see…” Kusaka paused for a moment, seemingly unsure of how to continue. He let out a breath. “That was opium smoke. It’s a narcotic drug, smuggled in from overseas. Made from poppies.”

Ai sat up and looked in front of her. “Oh.”

“Small amounts can be used medicinally, but if taken in heavy doses… it can almost make you lose your mind.” 

Ai nodded. “I know what opium is.” That would certainly explain that samurai’s odd behaviour. And why smelled funny. 

“If you’d inhaled any of that smoke, there may not have been anything I could’ve done for you. You remember the first night we crossed paths with you? That man that Takasugi cut down… he was also under the influence of opium. If we’d let him out of our sights, there’s no telling how many people he might have terrorized.”

Ai looked up at the ceiling, leaning back on the palms of her hands. “So that’s what’s been going on…”  

“Gen, want me to take over?” Yoshida came into the room.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Yoshida took Kusaka’s place, carrying a jug of water. “Glad to see you’ve woken up,” he said gently. “I heard Takasugi jumped out of a second story window with you in his arms. Pretty wild stuff.”

Ai shrugged. “Nothing I can’t handle. How is he anyway?” she asked.

“He’s doing fine. Just a few scrapes and bruises, like yourself. Nothing too serious.”

“That’s good.”

“That’s good? That’s a funny reaction for you to be having, isn’t it? You’ve gone from attempting to murder him… to being thankful that he isn’t hurt?”

“How do you know about that?” she asked.

“A-ha! So I was right!”

Ai turned her face away. “I just got tricked, didn’t I?”

“Pretty much.”

Ai sighed. “I was never going to kill him, just so you know.”

“Then what, eat him?”

Ai whipped her head to him. Yoshida was wearing a knowing grin. “He… told you about that?”

“No, but Kazuya did.”

Ai’s eyes widened. “Kazuya?” Kazuya would tell a human about their lineage? Has he completely lost his mind?! Emi would freak if she knew. Then again, Ai supposed she wasn’t one to talk considering she revealed herself to Takasugi her first night in the annex. 

“I’ve heard the stories about how the Choshu helped oni clans a few years ago, but I never imagined I’d ever meet a real oni. Most of us thought those were just legends.”

“Yeah… I guess it’s a hard thing to believe unless you see it with your own eyes… So, Takasugi didn’t inhale any of that smoke either, right?”

“No. We are very well aware of the dangers that smoke poses. The more opium a person inhales, the more they lose themselves to sheer pleasure. They start to lose all connection to the real world, becoming, essentially, a walking corpse, who can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.”

“Are the authorities aware of this?”

“They are, but it’s practically impossible to control the flow of this kind of substance. Once imported, opium is sold under the cover of night, and passed freely from hand to hand… Even last night, in the red-light district, several of the partygoers, and a few of those girls fell victim,” Yoshida explained. Ai exhaled, furrowing her brows. “If word of this got out into the real world, it would become a serious problem. We don’t want to let that happen. That’s why, at the wholesaler, we’re going to…”

“You’ve said quite enough, Maro.” The screen slid open, and Takasugi appeared. “You said you were just going to bring her some water… I thought you were taking an awful long time…”

“We can’t keep her in the dark forever. There are some things she needs to know. You’re too secretive, Takasugi.”

“Loose lips sink ships, Maro. You’d do well to keep that in mind.”

This time Yoshida got up to leave, and Takasugi sat down on the floor.

Ai nonchalantly downed the water that Maro had brought her. “And that’s why, at the wholesaler, you’re going to burn a bunch of warehouses stock full of opium to the ground.” She held the jug firmly on her lap in both hands as she slowly turned her head towards Takasugi. He was glaring at her. “It wasn’t hard to figure out.” Ai brought a hand up and counted on her fingers the factors that led her to the conclusion, starting with her pinky. “You’re known to burn things down. Opium was smuggled in and is likely being stored someplace. You want to rid the city of opium.”  

“Clever…” He obviously wasn’t at all happy that she figured out his plans, which only made her grin. “You look like you’re doing well.”

“Was I not doing well before?” Ai tilted her head to the side.

“You were sleeping for a while.” Ai shrugged. “Kazuya was here.”

“I heard,” she said. 

“He told me to give this to you.” Takasugi slid a brown paper bag towards her. Her smile faltered as she took it. “He seemed pretty worried.”

“I don’t really know him all that well, to be honest. But he’s friends with my sister.”

“I see.” Takasugi took Ai’s hand. The touch of his fingers was gentle, so as to feel barely there. Ai didn’t know what he was thinking, but she looked down at their hands, avoiding his gaze as she felt her heart speed up. She gently laced her fingers through his.