Chapter XV: HARDCORE.

CHAPTER L1

Our principal was very strange. Not only did he have his very own Yesman, but he also had the unofficial teacher’s pet of the whole school. This was, of course, Athena Corinth. If there was one thing she lacked, it was creativity. She was seemingly normal for the stereotypical nerd, following the framework of the nerd, left by the patricarchs of nerdom in the mid eighties. Normal nerdy clothes. Normal nerdy hair. Normal nerdy personality. THe only thing about her that was unique was her strong interest in what she called "the faerie girls". 2

Besides her naturally fate-given annoying ways, which included her obsessive compulsive disorders and her perfectionist way with school policy rules, she had found the first hint of Musicana. And she clung to that smallest clue for the end of time. 3

Of course, we never expected that our faerie forms would return on Earth. Or, perhaps, we had totally forgotten that this night would be a full moon, leaving us in our rooms with sincere panic. Knowing that we had to watch the “Gate of Moonlight”, we did our best to sneak through the darkened back woods, where no eyes would see us. We usually had the flowering Eninzil in hand, the blossom that had always held back our faerie forms. But we found we had none. 4

Neither did we expect Athena to be taking a midnight stroll. But who could predict what the strange Athena would do? Out of the corner of her eye, she must have seen our peculiar faerie-like silhouettes, brushing behind the woodlands. Now, the average passerby would consider it an eye trick, a mirage, but Athena? One as cocky and right as Athena would not be deterred. "There are faeries-I believe it!" she would say continuously. Of course, sane people disregarded her as a likely figurative crackhead, while fellow nerds said "right on-the magical power of faeries!". We hoped that the former was more common, since we didn't want the secret to become a popular theory to the people of Mihama, but we kept our eye on Athena, hoping nothing would grow from this. 5

“Everyone hates her, especially when she's always ranting on about faeries," Aspen noted as we walked out of school one day. 6

Sabrina, Topleaka, Roxy and I all secretly winked to each other, relieved that it did seem that the majority of people considered Athena a figurative crackhead. But we couldn’t' let our guard down. 7

“What kind of retarded theory is that anyway, faeries?” Aspen snickered. “I think she read too much of Peter Pan…” I was praying that Musicana worked nothing like Neverland, in that whenever some high school punk said “I do not believe in faeries”, one of us faeries would drop dead. “And honestly-how does she think people are going to buy into that? Does she think it’ll make her popular or something?”8

Sabrina was about to open her mouth to say something, then shut it just in time. Encouraging this talk would not help us, that’s for sure. Before we knew it, this whole faerie business would die. Or at least, we prayed every night that that would be the case. But then came the dreaded, unexpected question. 9

“What’d you think, Haruka?” Aspen asked. “You’re absolutely silent. That’s usually a sign of a killer.”10

“?!?!?!”11

“The silent ones are the ones that kill,”12

“Wha- but that’s only for like Clue or Mafia!”13

“Still, what do you think, Haruka chan?”14

“…A-ano---“ I began nervously. I had never really lied about anything before, but how could I deny being a faerie? “I think---it-it’s kind of…o-odd,”15

“Good,” Aspen patted my back firmly. 16

As we departed for classes, I looked to Sabrina nervously. Where was all of Athena’s rumors going to lead? I saw her mouth, “Don’t worry,” and somehow, I felt relieved for a time. 17

~18

For the longest time, we really thought that Athena didn’t have any followers. But we were wrong. 19

The shocking news hit us when we were sitting at the lunch tables after school, waiting for a club to start. Tien, with her indigo black hair rustling up against her cheeks, raced towards us, taking a seat right next to Sabrina. “Did you hear?” she asked us. 20

“…What?” Sabrina asked, having no idea what she was talkig about. 21

“The faerie girls! They were seen again a few nights ago! Like before, it was a full moon. Someone else even saw! Athena thinks that they change in the full moon-kind of like werewolves!” 22

Our look passed across the table as our eyes grew to three times their normal sizes. Since when did Tien care about the faeries? When did Athena see us last? How was she catching on so quickly?23

“Some of us who believe in the faeries are going to gather at the next full moon to look for them-you all have to come-especially you, Sabrina!”24

“Wh-why?”25

“Because-you’re all into animals and nature and all! Wouldn’t it be cool to discover a brand new species?”26

“Heheh…” Sabrina considered how she had not only seen faeries, but how she was one herself… “I think I’ll pass. I’ve got something that night,”27

Tien frowned. “Its not soon, ya know. It’s the next full moon. How can you know if you’ve got something that day?”28

Sabrina never panicked. At this moment, it looked like she almost might. But, as always, she thought fast. “Because-the next full moon’s the Joya-no-kane …the New Year’s bell…Who’s gonna have time for watching for faeries?”29

Tien beamed with inspiration, “Maybe then…everyone who’s waiting for the new year will see the faeries, and then it’ll be proven fact!” she grinned, running off, “Thanks, Sabrina chan!” 30

“…” Roxy glared at Sabrina, as if this was her fault. 31

“There’s an easy solution to this,” Sabrina narrowed her eyes back at Roxy. “We just go to Musicana before the full moon comes-like, when its still light. Then we just stay there until the full moon’s over, as we usually do-“32

“But-“ I frowned. “There’s the point about Joya-no-kane …If we’re not seen there, that’ll be suspicious…You know? Like Tien said, everyone’ll be there.” 33

We all frowned, thinking as hard as we could, trying to find a way out of all of this. To change the topic, Topleaka shot forward, “Since when did Tien care about the faeries? Is she siding with Athena then?”34

“Of course she’s siding with Athena, dolt,” Roxy muttered, playing with a pencil wrapped around her fingers. 35

“As to why she’s into faeries…I have no clue.” Sabrina frowned. “I’ve known her a while, and she’s never said anything about faeries before.”36

“Perhaps it was just a secret obsession,” Roxy smirked. 37

“Un,” Sabrina shook her head annoyed, “Its besides the point. We’ve gotta think of something to do about this-“38

”Sabrina-chillax,” Roxy looked up, “We’ve got what-a month or so? I mean-how long is it between full moons?”39

“3 weeks or so,” Sabrina replied,40

“Well then,” Roxy leaned back a bit, “We’ve got three weeks to come up with something,”41

“Will we honestly remember to deal with this?” Sabrina asked everyone at the table. 42

“OF course!” we replied unanimously, going our separate ways. 43

~44

Two and a half weeks later, we had forgotten everything about the full moon and Tien’s suspicions. That is, until we saw Tien talking with Athena. Somehow, that sparked a memory in half of us. 45

“JOYA-NO-KANE !” Sabrina and I gasped. 46

“Nani?” Roxy turned to us, Topleaka still shocked at the uniting of her friend and enemy. That’s when she noticed it wasn’t just Tien and Athena. There was a group of people following-all of whom were talking about the sighting of the faeire girls. One minute, it was a crack-head theory, now it was the most popular idea floating around. What had changed? “Oh…mi…gosh…” realization hit Roxy. “What the heck are we going to do…?” 47

“Hey guys!” Tien grinned innocently. “We’re thinking to meet at the ‘Lake of Shining Waters’ on Saturday night after Joya-no-kane to look for the faerie girls!” 48

The four of us froze instantly, tossing furtive glances, wondering what the heck we could possibly do at this point. “Why the lake?” Roxy improvised. “Don’t you know faeries hate water?”49

The group looked at each other nervously except for Athena who said shocked, “I didn’t know you knew about faeries! What else do you know? Where did you learn it from?” the questions continued to bombard poor unsuspecting Sabrina…50

“Um—I thought-that was just-common knowledge…” she replied, looking around for an exodus.51

Tien grinned shyly, “Of course it is! That’s why we’ll just meet somewhere else-where do you think, Sabrina?” 52

Roxy, Topleaka and I gave pleading looks to Sabrina-discreetly of course-as to let us talk about this first. But then again, Sabrina was the smart and sensible one among us and gave a good place. “They like covered in places-like woods. So I’d suggest the edge of the woods by the apartment complex…” she said naturally. 53

“Of course! Faeries-and woods—“ faerie followers chatted amongst themselves. I smiled at Sabrina. What a great choice! The woods were on the opposite side of Mihama, so we could quickly reach the portal to Musicana and stay until the end of the evening. 54

“Thank you Sabrina!” Tien looked up, “So-we’ll see you there, right?” 55

The emerald head shuttered. “I-I can’t,”56

“Why not?” Athena threw a suspicious glance across our foursome. 57

“The Joya-no-kane-I’ve gotta help with that-“58

“But that’s before midnight…Tien pleaded. “we’re going to that, then afterwards, we’re gonna wait for the faeries! Come on-you can make time for it, can’t you?”59

“I really don’t think-“60

“You’ve gotta see them, Sabrina! It would maeke an awesome story for Journalism!”61

Crimson eyes met the bouncy black eyes of Tien. “Really-I’m sorry, but I can’t-“ and with that, Sabrina turned away, to the relief of us who were not in the faerie brigade. Reluctantly, the faerie followers went on their way, unsure of what to make of what just happened. 62

As the group left, Sabrina whispered to me nervously, "You know, the whole 'faeries' story has been getting to Tien. She's been really obsessed with getting a good story on them." 63

“?”64

“Tien’s in journalism with me,” Sabrina replied, “She’s always looking at my stuff. I think she thinks I’m good at it or something,” 65

I looked up, a little surprised "But…" I started "She hasn't gotten anything yet, right?" 66

"Not yet-" Sabrina frowned, looking out into the sea of students, “But now…I’m not quite so sure…” Those words from Sabrina-the one I looked up to and always counted on in uncertainty scared me. 67

“Nice job covering us, Sabrina,” Roxy actually complimented. I’ll say it again for the sake of my own disbelief. Roxy actually complimented someone. 68

The question now was, however, what we were to do now. Of course, we had asked this countless times already, yet we still had no full plan. And the day came closer and closer, while we still had next to nothing. 69

~70

Then came the day of the Joya-no-kane. A dull way to begin this episode of our adventures, but truly, nothing much happened within those fillign weeks. At least, nothing of terrible importance. All except that Topleaka managed to stumble upon a giant bear trap and escape with all limbs still fully connected, but that is off the main point. 71

The sky was darkening as people gathered towards the center of Mihama, bright red lanterns hanging above. Joya no kane, or the New year’s bell, though originally only done in Asakusa, was celebrated on a smaller scale in Nakajima. The great bell at Bentenyama would ring 108 times-one for ever passion of the human heart. Unfortunately, here in Mihama, we had no such glorious bell, and resorted to the small one in the old red lacquer temple on the outskirts of town, which just so happened to lay near the Lake of Shining Waters. 72

Unfortunately, we thought Topleaka’s magical cardboard standups would not be as successful as before. That si perhaps because last time we used those, they were not successful in any way at all. The thought of Patience messing with time in our favour seemed nice, but we would still have the dilemma of not being at the ringing of the bells. For Nakajima, it was expected that every person would be there. And of course, we couldn’t stay around to make an appearance, since the moon would already be out. But this is what we had decided.73

As soon as the moonlight came close to us, we rushed into the Gate of Moonlight. To pass the time before Midnight on Earth, we decided to visit our friend Manuel in her Pastry Shoppe. Opening the wooden door and hearing the tinkling of the small bell above, we were greeted with an unusual scent for Musicana. Something similar to cinnamon met our noses as we noticed the sign on Manuel’s baking table:74

Try the Churo: Earth’s Most Popular Treat!75

Remembering when we brought Manuel’s promise of “Next time you are here, you shall have to try my version of the Churo!” Breaking through our thoughts, we heard Manuel greet us. 76

“Oh! Bonjour! What brings you here today?”77

“The full moon on Earth,” Sabrina replied, “There’s a celebration that we have to avoid since its during the full moon…”78

“I see,” Manuel smiled, dropping onto the table the dough that she had been playing with. “How long does it last?”79

Roxy tossed Sabrina an annoyed look, as though it was Sabrina’s fault that there were faerie believers roaming Mihama. “Well-“ Sabrina replied nervously. “The holiday only lasts a few hours, but-there are some people trying to discover Musicana’s secrets-“80

“Oh mi!” Manuel dropped her dough roller, which dropped onto the table with a thud. “Surely its my fault, sending you all with all sorts of foreign pastries—“ She began to rant, trying to find a way to take the blame. Manuel was just like that. 81

“No-no, its not you, Manuel!” I interjected. “Its our fault-we were…careless one night!” 82

“Then,” Maneul flushed, “My apologies all the same, for you are not a careless group-“83

“Hehe,” Roxy snickered with a rolling of her eyes, “Then you obviously do not know these girls. They’re the most careless people I know…Sabrina excluded,” Sabrina smiled at the recognition of her maturity. 84

“I must again thank you for bringing me to Earth, for the Churo has been the most popular treat in my shoppe!” she said with an ounce of pride. 85

“Well then-“ Sabrina grinned, “We must try a few!” Knowing that that was what Manuel was politely begging to self for one of us to say that. 86

“Great!” Manuel pulled from her oven a tray of home-made churos. Taking I bite, I noticed it tasted absolutely nothing like a churo, but it was still rather good. Apparently, there was no such spice as cinnamon on Musicana. 87

~88

Once it was close to Midnight in Earth time (which was a good time later), we found the Eninzil, of the shining lotus that drained our powers. Of course, we didn’t think of this at first because it made us so weak afterwards. But it made sense if we made it short and sweet. We held the Eninzil and fell into our human forms. Crawling into the Gate of Moonlight, we were halfway there. 89

We were met with the eagar sounds of crowds and the first tolling of a bell. Rushing towards the crowd as far as our weak legs would take us, we found none other than Tien. 90

“So here you are after all, Sabrina san!” she smiled warmly. That was the odd thing about Tien. The Viet was a fun, kind person-the total opposite of our (more or less) enemy, Athena-it was just her suspicions about the faeries that made us have to stay from her. “Have you seen any faeries yet?”91

“Uh-no!” Sabrina grinned sheepishly. “Not yet!” trying to nicely escape. 92

She frowned, turngin her head to the sound of the bells. “Are there really 108 human passions?”93

“?” Sabrina turned to her at the sudden change of subject. 94

”It just seems funny.” The Viet closed her eyes. “I can only think of one-curiousity,”95

“What-do you mean?”96

“Its what fires all the others,” she replied simply as another bell tolled. “If one’s curious, it brings about any of the other passions…”97

“Like the whole faerie thing?” Sabrina threw forward. 98

“Y-yes,” Tien looked up surprised. “If I wasn’t curious about the faeries, I wouldn’t have a passion to find one,”99

“Or it could just be because your name means faerie,” Sabrina joked, making them both laugh against the tinkering of the bells. 100

~101

“There you are, Haruka chan!” I heard a voice behind me. Butterflies built up in my stomach, trying to find a way out. It was him. 102

Spinning on my heels, I faced Hanazaki Akihiro, shishkabob in hand. “I almost thought you weren’t here since you were the only person I hadn’t seen yet,”103

“Oh!” I blushed, thinking He was looking for me? He was looking for me! “I’ve just been-caught in the crowds; most from Nakajima are here tonight, ne?” Another bell tolled. 104

“I guess,” he replied, looking across the span of people. My eyes began to droop from the draining of the Eninzil. Twirling the stick of his shiskabob, he asked, “Wanna try some?”105

“IT’s fine, but thanks-“106

“Oh come on-its really good-“ he brought it to my mouth. My face turned crimson as I took a bite. Oh the taste…the glorious taste of the matsuri… “Oishii, ne?” I nodded brightly with the seventieth toll. 107

~108

After Roxy’s ears thought she could take it no longer, the one-hundereth toll struck. Topleaka however, bounced in time with each ring. Perhaps that was what was giving Roxy such a headache. Or perhaps it was the excrusiatingly loud death-rings from the tower. And maybe that touch from the Eninzil was actually setting in about now. Whatever it was, Roxy wanted nothgin more than a nice bed to keel over upon right now. 109

Tossing annoyed glances at Hikari and Topleaka, the ones dancing and jumping in beat with the bells, Roxy clenched her fists in an attempt to hold in anger. But that was not her forte. 110

“TOPLEAKA YOU SHUT IT YOU BAKA!” she burst just as the one hundred and eight toll struck. It echoed the strongest across the waters of Mihama. Everyone applauded and crowds began their slow dispursing as loud matsuri music played. The two stared at each other emptily for a few moments. 111

“Aww-its over!” Topleaka whined, dramatically hugging the awake Hikari. 112

“And we can all go home now and sleep!” Roxy grabbed the whining one’s ear and parted through the sea of crowds. Towards the edge, we all somehow were able to meet again. “Are you all still alive?” Roxy asked us. Sabrina and I dragged ourselves like zombies in hopes of not tripping over someone or something, which was a great feat in and of itself. But our long day was over, and now we could wait for the nearing sunlight to come and take us from our hidden faerie forms. 113

CHAPTER LI114

I didn’t know if I was just living in some dream alter-dimension, but it seemed like Akihiro and I were almost—friends. Perhaps I had never left faerie land, and just thought we were. Though I didn’t really know him that well, I felt like I knew everything about him. And I liked that feeling a lot.115

Of course, with growing friendships come more and more awkward situations. Now, you may be thinking, “What is she saying?! Doesn’t’ one usually become more and more comfortable around a person”, to which I would respond, “Shut up and let me tell the blasted story,” 116

Since our school practically forced each student to take most of the same classes, we all found ourselves stuck in Health Education and Essentials against our will. Whoever decided, “Let’s have girls and guys together to hear about how to make babies!” (aka the creator of Health Ed. and Essentials) is the one person I have ever wanted to shoot. 117

The first few classes weren’t terribly bad; it was basically “don’t do drugs or bad things will happen”. How that pertained to Home Ec, I did not want to know. But after the boring notes and videos, our teacher threw upon us an extensive project. 118

“Class-you will be paired up with someone NOT of your choice, and you will learn the responsibilities of being a parent,” she concluded, satisfied with herself, especially when she noticed the frantic looks from her students. 119

I began biting my fingernails. I hated group projects, especially pairs. Espeically pairs with guys. Since the project revolved around parenting, I suppose that that implied that I wpould be paired with a guy. I dreaded the moment that she would call, “Tsumizaki Haruka-“ 120

“Vesston Sabrina-you shall be paired with Kaedo Rei,” Sabrina, mostly indifferent and engrossed in her novel, shrugged while fangirls tossed her nasty stares.121

“Manson Britteni, you will be paired with Trenton Jack, Ly Tien-you shall be paired with Parker Zane,” Tien blushed slightly, keeping her eyes down on the iPod she hid on her lap. One couldn’t catch Tien dead without her iPod, after all. Zane tossed a look over to confirm that she was his partner. The teacher drolled on, listing name after name of students fated to work together. To keep suspense of course, my name was second to last. “Tsukizami Haruka-you are paired with…Hanazaki Akihiro. And that is all,” she concluded unceremoniously. 122

“So-Haruka chan-“ Akihiro grinned his signature grin. “This should be an interesting project…”123

I thought my heart couldn’t beat any faster, but somehow it found a way to speed up even more. “Y-yah,” I stuttered timidly, wondering if this project would be a dream or a nightmare. 124

My eyes stared blankly as my teacher tossed me a ship model. “?!?!?!” I watched in disbelief. This was a parenting class, and as such I assumed that I would be handed a baby doll or something. 125

Akihiro noticed my motionless shock, so he walked over from behind and asked, “What’s wrong?” but then he noticed the ship model “A …ship model?!” his look focused in on the out of place model. 126

“WE ran out of dolls…government funding,” the teacher snickered, noticing our confused looks. Tien awkwardly held a one eyed baby doll in the corner, a twitch arising from her eye, Zale unhelpfully poking it. Britteni kept on trying to put on of the doll’s amrs back on, but it kept on falling off. Silence fell between us, until he asked, “So, what do we do with it?” 127

I looked over the list our teacher gave us over and over again. All of this-for a toy doll?” I checked the list in disbelief. It read: 128

1. Do not let it cry129

(how does a model ship cry?)130

2. Treat it as though it were real-no abuse, verbal or physical. (that includes throwing it against walls). It has feelings too!131

(how does a model ship have feelings?!?!)132

3. Be consistant and responsible-feed and change said doll as appropriate.133

I looked over to Akihiro, who was holding the ship awkwardly. Now, how the heck were we supposed to feed that thing?! I gave Akihiro a pleading look, begging him to figure out what we should do. 134

Apparently, he noticed. “…Haruka-are you feeling alright?”135

“What do we do?” I moaned softly. 136

“What do you mean?”137

“With that thing!” I pointed at the model boat in light accusation. 138

“That thing is Alfonzo. Get in the game, Haruka!” he joked. 139

“Still, what do we do? I heard they put recording boxes in these things…” I began to softly hyperventilate. 140

“…Do you think our school actually has funds to do that?”141

“….Good point,” I thought. “But still-we can’t be sure,”142

“Its just a school project,” Akihiro had always wanted to say that. 143

“Still-“ I blushed. 144

I felt his hand on my shoulder. Of course, it was mearly friendly re-assurance, but still, my heart raced and wished it was more. “Don’t worry about it!” he grinned. 145

“And may I add that this is required to pass the class?” our teacher began the next class. I felt a huge lump in my throat. “And do you realize you must pass this class to pass high school?” We all stiffened. “That’s better,” she soothed. Her large feet trailed around the classroom. “Every year, there are those lazy students who say ‘Its just a school project!’” I glanced at Akihiro who grinned sheepishly. “And every year, there are students in summer school with minimal wage jobs until they’re fourty…” she added indifferent, yet I could feel a shutter fill the room. “So please-for your sake, since I coulnd’t care less, do well on this assignment. You will be glad that you did.”146

After that class, I met up with Akihiro to ask him where the “baby” was. Without a word, he pulled the model ship out of his backpack. For a few silent moments, we just stared at it. I mean, there wasn’t much else we could do with it. That was when the sound chip in it (goodness knows where) burst out into tears. We both jumped and wondered what to do. I gently pulled it back and forth and it stopped. A sigh of relief came form both of us at the same time. We had a long road ahead of us. 147

~148

We tried to think out shifts. For a while, he would have the model ship at his house, and for a while, I would have it at mine. It seemed simple enough, until our teacher added. “Don’t have them in separate homes. It will emotionally traumatize them, and make them feel unloved,” Aelin, whose parents were divorced, felt very offended by that comment. 149

So, we awkwardly sat in Akihiro’s living room. Well, I awkwardly sat in Akihiro’s living room. Does she expect us—to sleep with this thing?!?! A blush rose up my cheeks as I tried hard to not find an innuendo in my own words, What kind of sick project is this? 150

“Well…so what do we do now?” Akihiro got to the point, looking down at the wannabee doll. 151

”We…don’t have to do anything, until it cries,” I began.152

“Then let’s go play pool,” Akihiro said, distracted, wandering over to the pool table. 153

I didn’t know such a simple game as pool could entertain us for three hours straight. Three hours. My eyes spun from the coloured spheres clanging against each other. Eventually, the “loud” noise got to the “baby”, which sporadically broke out into fits of babyhood. So, we “gave” it “apple juice”. All of this was so ridiculous, as though we were in some alternate reality. Oh, what a way to spend time with my crush! That is, until the clock struck three in the morning and we had to part our ways for a time. 154

~155

Nothing could remove the awkwardness of the following week. Akihiro and I ended up “having” to spend time together, as to not “emotionally scar” the “child”. It was ironic, really. For so long, I had dreamed of the delight to just spend time with him, and here I was, walking to classes with him and seeing him all the time. For once, Irony was not cruel to me, and Chance looking in my favour. I wondered, if perhaps it was God saying, I know your needs and wants, reminding me that He was there. That He did care. And even if my life seemed like a jumbled mess of school, friends, church, romance, faeries and music, He had a reason behind all of it. Through the tangles of confusion, God knew what was going on, and what would be. He was creating something beautiful for me, something that one day I would understand. 156

I think I smiled. 157

And somehow, for a moment, I felt I could lay aside all of those things, without a worry as to what would be made of them. I could close my eyes, not thinking about Akihiro, or my grade, or anything. In that moment, I was free. 158

It’s a shame that moments come to an end.159

~160

It was the last day before the end of the project. I was both overjoyed at the idea of no longer having to carry some model ship everywhere, yet sad, since Akihiro and I would probably go our separate ways again. I had truly enjoyed talking to him so much. Perhaps a bit of my shy stutter was gone…161

I looked at the clock in Akihiro’s living room. It was two in the morning. We both wanted nothing better than to get into our beds and collapse until school. There was just one problem…162

It wouldn’t stop crying. The past four consecutive hours had been spent likewise, Akihiro and I twitching, waiting for it to stop. So Akihiro threw it against a wall.163

“AKIHIRO KUN!” I jumped at the smash. 164

“It’s gotta be busted…” he muttered groggily. But he was wrong, considering it was still crying. It was like some demon health class ghost haunted it.165

“Will it just stop?” I half whined, too tired to give it the energy of an authentic whine. My eyes began to close, no matter how much I tried to fight it. 166

Silently, Akihiro got up and grabbed a nearby chair. Down went the chair with a loud SMASH, making my eyes open wide once again, and to see the model ship in pieces. The voice box within began to hum, but it was better than the crying before. That must be considered child abuse. 167

“Th-thank you, Akihiro…” I smiled, still drifting in the limbo between sleep and wake. 168

“Finally…silence….” Akihiro’s head fell against the back of the couch as we both unintentionally fell asleep. It wasn’t but a moment until we were both knocked out cold, the voice box finally crackling to a stop. 169

Nothing woke us until I heard my watch alarm freak out. Thinking it was still the unholy hours of the morning, I wondered why my alarm would be going off. Wait…why would I be asleep? I moved my arm to feel another one next to it. “?” I lifted my head to find my head on Akihiro’s shoulder? I jumped, but then realized that he too was asleep. I looked over to the impaled remains of the model ship, noticing that it had finally stopped crying. I looked down to my watch to see it read…6:59! School was starting in an hour! I rushed upstairs to my backpack and sleeping bag, grabbing an outfit from my bag and racing into the bathroom to change for school. 170

~171

At around that time, Akihiro groggily woke up, wondering where the heck he was and why the heck he was there. He was also wondering why just a moment ago, he had felt Haruka’s head against his shoulder. Her hair was so soft…he mused for a moment, until he realized he had just been musing about his friend’s hair, which was just plain weird. Perhaps he just wasn’t fully awake yet. If he brushed his teeth, maybe that would wake him up. Why that was so, he wasn’t quite sure. So off he went to the bathroom. 172

It was too bad he didn’t know that Haruka was in there. So when he began to open the door, he jumped at the sound of a high pitched, unlike Haruka scream. There was a girl in his house?! Why-what-was Haruka in his house this early in the morning?173

Well, both of them were rather awake at this point. Haruka because her crush almost found her without a full shirt on, which would have been terribly awkward. Akihiro because he had just remembered that Haruka was in his house, thanks to that mindless “baby” project. Oh how he had a burning passion against model ships now. 174

~175

A few moments later, I came out, dressed but with a strong blush across my face. For the next hour, I couldn’t look Akihiro straight in the face. Well, this is most awkward I mused. 176

“Oh! The ‘baby’!” I hopped down the stairs towards the splinters of wood piled in the corner. “What’ll we do? We can’t fail this assignment…or else we fail at life…” 177

“…” Akihiro stroked his chin, down to the imaginary mustache he so desperately wished that he had. “!” and without a word, he raced up to his room, coming back with a load of duct tape. 178

I stared at him blankly, clearly unable to understand how a roll of Duct tape could save us now. “D-duct tape?” 179

“When in doubt, duct it!” Akihiro replied with a grin, cutting off piece after piece of the silver shimmering tape. After a few minutes, low and behold, in front of them stood a model ship, wrapped in duct tape like a straight jacket. 180

“…And—it works!” I said hastily, noticing that we had only a few minutes before the bus would arrive. 181

Without another word, we climbed onto the school bus, both thinking about all that had happened. Its over… I sighed to herself, in both relief and disappointment. I couldn’t help but look over to Akihiro quickly, wondering what he had thought of this past week. But I never dared to ask anything aloud. So we sat in silence. 182

~183

We walked into school, sneaky-sneaky-ninja-like, hiding the abused model ship. Slumping into our seats in “Health Ed And Essentials”, the bell rang in a failed attempt to wake us up. The teacher stood in front of the class, a single flick of her eye making every student hastily pull out their ‘babies’. 184

I was relieved to find that our mutilated ‘baby’ was not the only one so. Tien grinned as she pulled out a baby doll with an eye patch. Apparently, the patch eye was Zane’s idea, along with the skull and crossbones sharpie tattoo. 185

When the teacher walked over to Akihiro and my model ship, bathed in a glorious shimmer of duct tape, she cringed. “This…this is your child?” Well, that was a most awkwardly worded question, but we nodded in unison. “Oh, what dark days are these…what dark days…” she muttered, scribbling something on her clipboard. I gulped. Our doom was approaching faster than I could even imagine. 186

Once she was done cycling the class as a hawk, she cleared her throat to stop any weak conversations in the back. They all came to a stop in an instant. “…YOU ALL FAIL!” she belted, making us twitch in fury. I don’t want to be a hobo…I don’t want to be a hobo…I kept repeating in my mind. “You will all be sorry excuses for parents and fail at life!” she began to rant. She loved to rant. She also loved to cackle. “CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE!” Oh, but her cackling totally sucked, and made us all cringe even more, wondering what kind of horrid villainess she would make. 187

But just then, the principal came in. Oh, how happy I was to see the principal-for the first time in my life! “I’m sorry, this is just unacceptable,” he interrupted our evil excuse for a teacher’s rant. 188

“?” she lifted her head innocently. 189

“You’ve failed every student in Health Education and Essentials for the past three years straight. And you use the same rant every year,” he added, apparently also pained by the lack of evil enthusiasm in her cackle. 190

“It’s not my fault that children these days are irresponsible twits!” she replied juvenially. 191

“I suppose next you will say that its not my fault that I haven’t fired you sooner,” he said stoically, snapping his fingers as his own personal Yesman wrote a pink slip and stuck it on her forehead. The list of her faults and/or reasons for being fired went like this: 192

1. 0.01% output of passing students193

2. Discouraging Environment and Pessimistic Rants on poor students194

3. Lack of real baby dolls195

4. Failure to Cackle properly. All evil teachers, by code 417.B must be able to properly cackle. Or sing an evil villain theme song (just like those Disney movies!, the Yesman added excitedly). But you fail at both, thus failing to be a true evil teacher. 196

“AH!” she gasped in an Ambercrombie and Fitch fashion. But she was far too old and evil for that, so it came out like a gaping fish, perhaps an avenging narwhal in the middle of some desert, groping in the heat for some sort of food to poke with its unnaturally big and shiney horn. Yet failing all the same. 197

“I’m sorry but I must ask you to leave Ms.-“ The principal had forgotten his own staff’s name. You know that she must have been a very mediocre teacher if that were the case. 198

“Ms. Mitsuri!” she replied with dignity. As if she had dignity. 199

“Well Ms. Mitsuri, I must ask you to leave right now. I would like to eliminate all mediocre people like you from my school hallways,” the principal said rather bluntly. 200

“YEA!” went the overjoyed class of students. 201

“Fine!” The teacher said. “And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids!” I had no idea why she had said that, but I would suppose that it was because she herself could not think of a good dignifying dramatic thing to say, so she stole the stereotypical Scooby Doo villain phrase. 202

So in the end, no matter how impaled our ‘babies’ were, we passed. Akihiro and I got a 69%, just on the verge of passing. That seemed pretty good, considering our model ship was basically a blob of duct tape and splintered wood. 203

Akihiro was estatic. Apparently, this was a good grade for him. In his happy-happy-joy moment, he grabbed me into a hug. My eyes flew open widely, trying to stay calm. Did-Akihiro just do that? But as suddenly as it happened, it ended. Still, I couldn’t forget that hug. 204

~205

Valentine’s Day had come once again. Though this year felt different. I almost felt…as though I wanted to get a Valentine this year. I laughed to myself-“What’s brought that sudden change, Haruka?” I asked myself. 206

The problem was that I didn’t really…have an answer. I suddenly felt some sort of romantic chill run through me, one that cried, “I don’t want to be the one that’s alone!” 207

“Haruka chan!” Topleaka belted, as usual, running down the hall. I braced myself for another day of insanity, and no ordinary day of insanity…208

“Haruka chan!” she repeated. “Come see my locker! You won’t believe it!!!” I curiously followed the enthusiastic aqua haired girl, skipping to her locker. When she opened the door, thousands of valentines rushed out, flooding the ground.209

My mouth dropped open. Topleaka…getting fan boys? Woah-that was a scary thought. 210

“I guess your movie got you some fans, nice catch for a sophomore,” Britteni glared at my naïve friend. 211

“Isn’t it great?” Topleaka asked, jubilantly. “I’ve never gotten Valentines before!”212

Britteni snickered. “You’ll never catch up to me though,”213

“That’s fine!” Topleaka was so sweetly. “I don’t even need this many!” 214

I giggled. Topleaka really was a child at heart. Britteni glared. 215

“Whatever,” she muttered as she turned away, defeated.216

“Nice, blondie,” Aspen remarked as she walked by. 217

“Aspen chan! Look! I got valentines~!” Topleaka pointed to her massive pile of red and white, spilling to the floor. Aspen was even more surprised that me. 218

“Your thing with Rei…really drew in the crowds, Topleaka!” she mused more to herself than Topleaka. Topleaka smiled warmly back. 219

“So how about you guys?” Topleaka asked, innocently starting a conversation. Both of us groaned. 220

“Its not like I care, but no,” Aspen replied. I shook my head sullenly. 221

“What? Really?” Topleaka was truly amazed. “I thought for sure…” 222

“What?” I asked, Aspen raised her head, uninterested. 223

She grinned in a cat like way towards me. “I thought for sure a certain Hanazaki Akihiro would give you a valentine!” 224

I suppressed a blush. “We’re just friends.”225

She giggled. “Not from what I’ve seen!” 226

Aspen sighed. “Romanticist otaku!” she pointed an accusing finger at Topleaka.227

Topleaka pouted. “What’s that supposed to mean, Aspen chan?”228

“This is just a stupid artificial holiday,” she said gravely. “No one even means any of this—with the ‘Be Mine’. Its just a popularity contest-you saw Britteni, didn’t you?”229

Topleaka frowned. “I guess…but I think its fun!” she played with a red and white card. 230

Inwardly, I sighed. In a way, I was kind of jealous of all of Topleaka’s cards. If I could just get one—231

We all turned at the sound of Sabrina’s sigh. “What’s wrong, Sabrina chan?” I asked worried. 232

“Oh, nothing-“ she covered pretty badly. “Its just that-“ she began, but was cut off by the nearly audible smirk of Jack. Her long emerald hair swished as she turned to face him. “You?” she said with a tinge of disgust. 233

“Glad to see your feelings haven’t changed,” he gave her a lustful eye.234

She rolled her eyes, quickly stepping away from him. That’s why she jumped when he grabbed her wrist. “What do you want from me?” She spat.235

“What I always wanted, of course,” he hissed. 236

Her eyes shone in fury. “You think-that’ll work? Honestly? What kind of fool do you take me for?”237

“I lost him—238

I never thought…239

I could feel so alone…”240

He wrapped her in his arms, and with the best guise of sincerity, he whispered in her ear, “I won’t leave you,” The worst part was that she had believed every word. 241

“Since when did I call you a fool?” his steps drew closer…242

“Since you first tried to pull me in!” Sabrina tossed a killing glare, shaking off his grip from her wrist.243

She sniffled for a moment. “Y-you mean that, Jack? E-even if—“ 244

He held a gentle finger to her lips, drawing his face closer to hers. “Of course…” and he pressed his lips against hers to bring about the moment. His kiss—so sweet, so tempting---how could she resist?245

“Sabrina?” I asked, watching her fly down the hall, not having heard a word of what was said between her and Jack. 246

That rose he gave her that first year they met-she had dried it, and pressed it in a book. But the brown petals began to peel off, crispening over the months. Some things could never be mended. 247

~248

After Sabrina’s untimely exit, I wanted to hunt down my emerald-crowned friend and help her. But Aspen quickly stopped me. “Let her take care of it herself. I don’t think she wants anyone to talk to her now-“ Not sure at all of how Aspen could know this, I reluctantly nodded, relying on her wisdom of age. 249

“Come on!” I felt Topleaka’s arm link with mine. “We must go find other Valentine’s Victims!” 250

Which is how we ran into a disgruntled Miranda. The gothic girl wore her signature black trenchcoat, bedizened with various chains, holding in her black-nailed fingers a black rose. I looked up at her curiously. “What’s that for?”251

“Happy Loser’s Day!” Aelin greeted us, handing us both a black rose. 252

“L-looser’s Day?” I asked, intreauged. 253

“Valentine’s Day is for the weak at heart-the preps. The ones who need earthly affections.” Miranda said with a high held chin. “But we have no need for such things. We have our own power,” 254

I watched with naïve eyes. “Our own—p-power?” 255

Miranda sighed, cradling her blonde-steele locks in her pale white fingers. “Love is only pain,” 256

Aelin jumped in agreement. “Pain!” 257

Miranda gave a disinterested glare. “…Aelin, dear, try to be a bit gothic. I know you aren’t exactly-gifted in such ways, but please try. You seem to have a habit of ruining moments.”258

“Oh.” Aelin instantly stopped. “Sorry.” 259

Miranda gave a nod of approval and walked away, a trail of shadows following her path. Not sure how to respond, I just stood there, and stared at a cinder block until a bell rang. The bells were so loud…260

~261

My mindless thoughts were interrupted by a soft giggle of Topleaka’s. Unsure of what there was to giggle about, I gave her a questioning eyebrow look until I felt a poke in the back of the shoulder. I jumped with a jolt. “EEP!” 262

“Oh-gomen, Haruka chan!” Akihiro grinned. 263

The usual flush came. “A-Akihiro kun!” I hoped-I wondered…264

I felt a small box get shoved into my hands. In disbelief, my fingers subliminally traced over it. “Wha-“ 265

“Well-I was told you liked dark chocolate coconut-“ 266

My eyes glinted with gluttony as I saw the label with luscious illustrations of coconuts. “Coconuts!!” I softly squealed. 267

“And well-I don’t-and it was there-so I thought you would enjoy it-“ he said plainly, yet with that signature Akihiro smile. 268

Topleaka pouted angrily, and in a harsh whisper that I was totally magically oblivious to, she said, “You weren’t supposed to say that, baka!” 269

“Th-thank you!” I grinned, ripping the shrink wrap off of the red box. “I am in your debt!” 270

“Most people are,” he smiled as he walked into his next class. I stood there in awe and pure ecstasy, clutching the box of chocolates. 271

“See-what did I tell you~!” Topleaka grinned, ignoring the whole redistribution of valentine’s day candy remark. Men-they just always found a way to ruin a perfectly romantic moment without realizing it. She sighed. The life of being the school’s cupid was very demanding.272

I beamed, plopping a dark chocolate drop into my mouth. “I like Valentine’s Day!” I concluded, hearing the late bell ring in my ear. 273

CHAPTER LII274

“It’s ironic,” the Queen smirked, “That the faeries have dwelt around us, their names so…vulnerable, and yet we never obtained them,”275

“Of course, there’s Sabrina…” one of the knights interrupted, an accomplished smirk over his face. 276

“And what about you two?” the Queen turned to the blond and umber haired ones. “What have you two discovered?”277

“Of course, we’ve been more…subtle in our observations,” The blond glared at the smirking knight, whose expression instantly fell. “They seem overwhelmed by their abilities and duties to notice us,”278

“Good,” The Queen laughed darkly, “The perfect position to strike,”279

“Its curious though, finding information about them is not a trivial task,” the umber haired interjected, crossing his arms, “The one named Topleaka’s often spoken of—“280

“And occasionally, Roxetta,” the blond interjected.281

“But otherwise, they are not particularly noticed on Earth.”282

Queen Arelyan mused on that for a moment, then asked, “Then—what is the fourth one’s name?” 283

“Her name is Haruka,”284

~285

Crickets chirped outside my window. Yep-it was still night. 286

I couldn’t sleep-I couldn’t even think about sleeping. Something made me restless. There was a song, playing in my head. Over and over again. 287

It wasn’t just some radio song; it was a foreign melody-a Musicanian melody. It buzzed in the back of my ear-from somewhere nearby, though I couldn’t tell where. It seemed to grow louder, and my heart beat faster. Where was it coming from?288

Could it be that “inner voice”?289

Since I couldn’t sleep, I slipped on some shoes, still in my pajamas, and walked outside. The cold bit my shoulder, but I was too sleep deprived to care. 290

The tune got louder. It was coming from down the street, to the sad excuse for a park. Ignoring the ominous chill that hit me, I followed the enchanting tune. It was dark, menacing, and everything within me wanted to resist it. But it drew me in; I had to know just what-291

I froze out of fear. The lake…was glowing. A pale green light came from the park’s lake, glistening in the starlight. My wings slowly folded out as the moonlight hit me, but it didn’t matter anymore. This thing wasn’t from earth. 292

I could see a head arise from its waters. Hair like seaweed draped down a silvered skin back. It was a woman-slightly older than myself. She seemed almost human for a moment, but her ears spun out like small fins-like an Atlantean. Her fingers were slightly webbed, as were her feet. Her eyes pierced the shadows where I hid, and I saw her come closer. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Her eyes could find me; I could tell in the way they glinted in rage. It was the one I had expected to encounter, but not now of all times: the Queen of Atlantis.293

“So-none other than the Princess of the Kingdom of Eden…” she muttered, her voice deformed, gargled as though the water had stolen her tone. 294

My eyes, adjusting to the darkness, were able to make out her basic facial marks. That smile…that curse’d smile…it was Britteni Manson!295

“B..Britteni?” I asked, my voice trembling unintentionally. “You’re-“296

“It took you long enough, faerie. I discovered you that very first night-the one that rose suspision all over Mihama. Pathetic! Us of Musicana are supposed to hide our identities, not fly around the inferiors! And to think that Atlantis is supposed to be beneath ‘The Mighty Kingdom of Eden’!” she let out a laugh, so deformed by darkness. 297

“So-You are-“298

“The Mistress of Atlantis-yes,” she seemed bored with my sudden realization. 299

“What are you doing here?” I asked, anger seeping into my voice.300

“Ours is a dying race-the people of Atlantis. We need to restore our power on Earth-our true home! We will not allow ourselves to be tamed by you of…Eden.” She cringed at the word. A rain drop fell on my head.301

“So-why do you use high schoolers?” I asked. 302

“Because!” Britteni’s jaw tightened, apparently trying to resist killing me on the spot. “It is the most influential time in a person’s life…The choices one makes…can send one towards the road to Heaven or to Hell…” her ice cold finger trickled down my face. “If I can manipulate people now, when they are most vulnerable, I can discover from them the way to bring Atlantis back to earth,” she snickered. 303

“But-“ I replied, confused. “The humans know nothing of Musicana-how could they help?” Another rain drop hit my head. 304

She smirked. “You’re an even bigger fool than I thought…the humans may not think that they know anything about Musicana, but remember: the two were once one planet. Oh the things that humans will reveal-if you just know what to ask them…” her eyes targeted me. 305

Silence fell for a moment, as courage grew within me. The rain began to hit harder. “So-why is it that you’re telling me this?” 306

Her eyes flashed for a moment. “Because…I plan on killing you, right now Princess.” I felt something hit me in the stomach. “I was planning on making you die within, breaking your heart, but you have become more troublesome than I would have ever guessed…”A chill of ice began to spread in my body. The pouring rain didn’t help. But I got up, my wings glowing ice blue. I muttered some words of elvish, and my fingertips began to glow a pale green. I used every ounce of strength from within me, focusing all my energy on the tree. 307

“MOKU!” I shouted, and the tree followed my command, slamming into the ground. Britteni barely dodged it. 308

She raised her arms up, and all the puddles of rain across the dark pavement began to quiver. Her guttural voice rang out some foreign words, as all of the water from the park lightly hovered in the air. She shouted something, and before I could think, I felt the pressure of all the water swarm my body…309

Wishing desperately that Roxy was here, I tried to open my eyes. Pulling against the overwhelming currents, I tried to jump up and fly. My wings were burdened with the water, but I was able to get up into the skies. From there, I was freed.310

Her last blow, combined with my exhaustion, knocked my body down onto the rain stricken pavement. I could feel the blow against my neck. Blood began to run down my hair, fusing with the raindrops. I could hear her laugh again, but then my eyes closed and I was unconscious. 311

~312

Warmth…my thoughts smiled. I could feel fresh silk against my body, surrounded by soft feathery cushions, and assuring sunlight hit my face. I could feel energy slowly rise within me. My arms gently reached out, and I felt an arm. Unknowingly, my arms wrapped around the other, too tired to process that it meant someone was…313

My eyes flashed open to see someone next to me. I was awake now! My heart raced. “Who—“ I flushed bright crimson. Laying on top of the sheets was none other than Akihiro Hanazaki. What was he doing here-next to me of all people!314

I remembered that my arms were locked around his, and noticed his eyes open, staring into mine first. I blushed bright red, trying to unlace my arms. 315

He sat up quickly, a bit groggy apparently, and wondering what the heck he was doing here. 316

“Gomen, Haruka-chan-“ he said quickly. I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I have no idea-“317

My eyes slowly lifted to his face. It was a bit red from this…awkward situation, to say the least. 318

“I…” I stuttered. “I remember being in the rain…right down the street from home…”319

Akihiro’s eyes grew wide. “That’s right-I found you on the ground, and picked you up, walking towards your home when-“ he blushed. 320

“What?” I asked tentatively. 321

“I remember the street almost…disappeared…and we were in this room. I had no idea where-or what-but I laid you over there, and I waited here, just to make sure-you’d be-ok-I guess I…fell asleep,” he smiled. 322

“Gomen, Akihiro kun!” I said, red with sincerely sad eyes. “I didn’t mean to cause you trouble-“323

“It’s no problem, really,” he reassured me. I looked to his eyes, and they really meant it. 324

I smiled to myself. Before I knew what I was doing, my arms flung around his neck. “You’re a great friend, Akihiro kun!” 325

He seemed surprised by this, almost falling off the bed. But I felt his arm go around my waist, making me want to faint. 326

“Anytime…” he smiled. 327

I heard a thud, as a door flew against an opposing wall. 328

“The princess is up!” I could hear Patience’s kawaii voice echo the elven chamber. …Patience?! Oh snap…329

I spun around to see the little panda creature frozen in his steps, looking at Akihiro with huge eyes. 330

“Pp-P-Princess-“ he pointed a crimson paw at my friend. “You aren’t having an affair-“331

It was the epitome of awkwardness! Akihiro and I, both so caught off guard with that remark, both nearly fell backwards at the same time. “Nani?!” we both muttered, staring at the red creature. 332

“No, you fool!” I shook my head furiously at Patience, the one straw to always break my back. Akihiro, who surely never saw me get visibly angry over anything, jumped back in surprise. 333

Patience seemed somewhat relieved. “Good! I knew you were a good princess, Vitäl-“334

I jumped on him, covering his mouth. Akihiro was still disturbed by the fluffball’s former comment. But Patience obviously didn’t realize that Akihiro didn’t belong in this world, and that he wasn’t of Musicanean blood-and that if he heard my faerie name, there were those bad consequences that the prince had mentioned earlier…335

Patience broke my struggle. “What’s the problem, princess? And who is he? Why are you here again, Princess? Aren’t you supposed to be on Earth-“ I strangled him in a very Roxy-ish fashion. 336

Akihiro broke from his trance, and began. “Haruka-chan-what the heck is that thing, and why does it keep on calling you princess?” 337

“Ano—he’s my pet,” I improvised, hoping to silence the Musicanian creature. 338

“Princess Vitälea! I know as well as you that I am most certainly NOT your pet!” My jaw dropped, and Akihiro looked very confused. 339

“Patience!” I dropped all forms of niceness, “Can you not see that he’s from Earth?!”340

Well, it was a bit late for that, but now that Patience had totally ruined everything, it didn’t matter if I sounded like an idiot, or if Akihiro was thinking ‘Where else would I be from…’ –nothing mattered! I was about to pull my hair out and scream. A failure! How stupid! I go running around at night, chasing the Queen of Atlantis as a faerie-what did I expect?341

Ignoring my self-inflictions, tears and mutterings, Patience turned to Akihiro. “Why are you here in Musicana?”342

“…Where?” Akihiro asked as he blinked. 343

“The world connected by music!” Patience spread his fuzzy paws out. He loved describing his home planet to the ignorant. “If you know Princess Vitälea-“344

“And why do you keep calling Haruka chan Vitälea?”345

Patience blinked. He had always been taught to refer to the Eden Royalty by their elven names. “Well-why do you keep calling her Haruka chan? Is that her Earth name?”346

Silence fell as Akihiro searched his brain for anything remotely sane about any of this. “Well…” he began calmly. “Does this imply that we’re not on Earth?”347

Patience nodded brightly. “I’m surprised you’ve survived this long! Most humans die when they face the dramatic changes of our world!”348

Akihiro felt the muscles in his arms. They ached a bit. “Well…I can’t say that I feel great..”349

Patience beamed. “Perhaps you too are not human!” My eyes grew wide. Akihiro…not being human either? That would be too weird-too wonderful-350

Akihiro blinked. “What-“351

“You see, when a human touches a faerie when she is in faerie form (as I would guess Princess Vitälea was at the time you met her), the person who touched her, along with her herself are sent to Musicana! That’s why we warned her to not let anyone see her in faerie form. When a human is suddenly sent to Musicana, they die from the impact. But-you survived, so you must not be human!”352

Akihiro was trying to take this in as I listened. “What are you?” he asked Patience again.353

“I am Patience-wielder of Time!” he replied proudly, pointing a furry paw into his chest. 354

I smiled weakly. “I guess we’ve got to tell Latin Man…” I turned to Patience, who nodded brightly. I still couldn’t believe that Akihiro was here, yet nothinig had…blown up or anything. I sighed in relief. I felt freed-freed from my secret identity. It made me guilty, not telling Akihiro who I really was. But now he knew-now, everything would be ok, or so I hoped. 355

We walked down the main hall, Akihiro’s dark brown eyes taking everything in. 356

“This is like…some sort of deranged dream…” Akihiro muttered to himself. I smiled shyly, thinking to myself that it was all that and more.357

“I’m sorry-I wasn’t allowed to tell you-“ I began, shrugging, “I don’t even know how I would have told you even if I was allowed!”358

Akihiro nodded, understanding. Inner me sighed. Was he as understanding as he seemed? “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do though,” he muttered, smiling slightly, yet completely serious.359

“Un,” I nodded, looking ahead to the light-spilling windows. In the distance, I could see the shadows of the legendary Kirin and Dragon. How was I supposed to explain that? Thinking back to Eron, I laughed, recalling his usual response, “As we explain all things: Through the power of Music and God,”360