With Ayanami finishing her food first whilst Yumi, Yoko and Aoto were still eating lunch, she decided to go outside trying to find Xiaodan.
Taking the elevator down to the ground floor behind the headquarters, Ayanami found herself in the building's courtyard. A relatively spacious open area filled with varying ponds and greenery. Standing under the courtyards hangar on an elevated wooden floor so as to not get sunburnt, she glanced around moving only her eyes.
There she saw him, back turned mindlessly staring into the sky, cigarette in hand mindlessly watching each one of his puffs float away helplessly. His white collared shirt wasn't ironed at all, instead it just laid loose on his broad back, akin to skin waiting to peel off a dead corpse.
Walking up besides Amou, they both stared into the clear blue sky in brief stillness.
"Okay, you ready for this? I'm gonna beat your ass today!"
"Hah! Try your hardest!"
Interrupting the awkward tension was a door on their left side sliding open with a pair of young teenagers walking onto the court. Wearing the same uniform, they had different weapons made of wood in hand. One had a long polearm while the other held two pistols.
"Phew.." Unbeknownst to the young pair preparing their spar, Xiadan and Ayanami turned their gaze on to the court.
"Your daughter. Will she be alright in a few years time? It's only expected to get worse after all." His monotone voice rang true. Noticing his depressed voice, Ayanami tried to cheer him up.
"It'll be alright, when she eventually passes the test of compatibility and opens her first mana valve, we're planning on moving to A.Terra's capital to further her education. Plus, a similar pattern was recognised 50 years ago. So we can't be completely sure if it's just a false pretext." As Ayanami and Xaiodan exchanged their first sentences, the young pair finally began their first round.
By folding his threaded entropic energy and passing it down towards his heels, the pixie cut red haired spear-wielder moved first exploding out of the sand ground. Moving one turn later, his long haired maroon blue friend created separation by taking several steps back firing off 20 hydro infused pellet rounds in quick succession.
Overwhelmed by his relentless firepower, the spearwielder yielded soon after.
Witnessing their entire round, Ayanami clapped subtly in enjoyment. In complete contrast, Xiaodan scoffed, forming a mouth full of saliva before spitting it on the squeaky clean wooden floor.
"Those two will probably make great athletes competing against each other and maybe even Stabilizers later..! What was that sport called again.. Magi?" Ayanami asked lighthearted.
Unimpressed, Xiaodan's lid was fully unsealed.
"Pathetic. Magi athletes.. Activating your precious singularity for the sake of competing in a sport against each other and not combating distortions. They don't understand the true weight of their mana valves.." Clenching his teeth and left fist in pure anger, his already red veined eyes turned even darker.
Unable to formulate words, Ayanami just averted her gaze uncomfortably.
"..What every Stabilizer feels during their first sortie. The pure terror, dread, horror and visceral feeling overcoming, taking over your consciousness witnessing a distortion in its entirety.." Unable to bear his words any longer, Ayanami looked back towards him. His face was sad, his eyes appearing to cry in desperation. Unable to bring himself to real tears, Xiadan's expression turned tired once more, his moment of vulnerability sealed.
"..." In awe at his seemingly bipolar bursts, Ayanami just sighed and gritted her teeth. She felt bad, really bad. What happened years ago completely robbed a part of what made his soul. His only daughter and sacred treasure.
"Rubycon huh.. I've heard it's impenetrable and a safe haven." Xiaodan uttered solemnly, returning to their previous conversation.
"What do you mean? You worked there idiot."Ayanami patted him on the back a few rough times.
"..Hah! I see that your memory remains unchanging." Finishing his last puff, he threw down the cigarette gently and put it out with his old shoe before heading inside again.
Before heading in, Xiaodan briefly stopped, and simply just said
"Cherish your daughter Ayanami-san. Because you can never be certain on how long they're going to hang around.. I know that emotion better than anyone." Hearing his last words, she stood still in place for a moment, frozen lost in thought.
Memories of a distant past returned. It was her older brother who lived in Europe, specifically Sweden with his stunning wife. In spite of losing touch with her brother over the years.. A letter from him arrived by their door one autumn day.
It was a simple family picture of him, his wife and their cute newborn. The baby had snow white hair and a pair of beautiful emerald eyes.
Her brother's new married last name?
Draken.
"Brother.. What were your last thoughts before you lost your own battle? Tying that knot around you sealing every possible future with your family." Shortly thereafter she followed behind.
…
With the meeting wrapping up, everyone was worn from the constant brainstorming. Not seeming to reach any definitive solution on what should be done, they all instead decided it was best to hold off for the time being and forward the information to the Cornerstones.
"Thanks for today everyone. I hope we can have ramen one day like old times."
"Likewise Ayanami-san." The first to leave was Xiaodan, followed closely by Aoto soon after.
"Y-y-yeah! Same here as well!" In the end, the only ones left were Aynami, Yumi and Yoko. Leaning against the wall, she took one glance at the pretty pair. It didn't take much for her warm orange eyes to recognize the family's current state.
"Oh by the way, would you guys like to stay at my place today? Both of you look pretty worn out."
"I am okay with that proposition!" Swiftly raising her hand and interjecting, Yumi's voice seemed to be quite enthusiastic even though her body language told otherwise.
"It seems you two have grown quite close. I'm happy! Looks like we have no choice today haha. Thanks a lot Yoko." Smiling, Ayanmi seemed somewhat relieved that they didn't have to take the bullet train back home immediately, but instead could rest until morning.
Leaving the headquarters together, they all made their way to the train station. Riding the local Metro line before switching to a bus and finally walking up a hill the commute would take well over 1 hour. During the commute, they briefly took a short break stopping by a station.
"Me and Aya-san are going inside the convenience store quickly, would you be willing to wait outside for a moment Yuki-chan?"
"Yawnn.. Okay.." With the long commute to Yoko's home, Yumi's eyes were growing ever heavier by the second.
"We'll be right back! It'll only be a sec!" Nodding in approval, Yumi appeared similar to a sleepy cat.
"We'll be back soon, be careful dear." Heading inside the store, their chatter could be heard momentarily before the automatic sliding door closed.
"Yawn…" I am really tired at the moment. I want to sleep. But I still had a ton of fun today. I even met Yoko-san! She was really cool and nice.
Just then, a low and monotone voice echoed through her head.
"A red string is like destiny, a so-called fate~?" An unfamiliar voice.
"Hm..? Where is that sound originating from?" Curious as to what the voice could be, she tried following the voice. Walking 50 metres around the right corner of the street, the voice eventually got louder until all that was in front of her was an ominous staircase leading down to a door with blinds in front covering it.
"Oh? Whooo might you be, miss?" Behind her, a foreign accent resonated. She sounded Italian.
"Eh!" Startled by the sudden appearance of a mysterious looking woman, Yumi jumped in complete surprise.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you fine?" Leaning over, Yumi was able to get a proper look of the woman. Her dress was white with riveted patterns following her waist all the way up to her arms. Despite her blue, green and red dress, you were able to see her pale skin through the small hex-shaped holes. Furthermore, her blonde hair was long and sleek, although you couldn't recognize her due to a veil she wore covering the face.
Lastly, in spite of her hair colour being vibrant, she had pitch black coloured streaks running along parts of her hair.
"Was she posing as someone who inhibits a cosmo nebulae?" Yumi thought to herself, still tired but slightly more jolted.
"I am fine.."
"Could it be..? Are you perhaps here to get your fortune read miss?" Confused by the information, Yumi still didn't know why the voice was so loud to the point it became almost nauseating.
"I would not necessarily say so.. I just so happened to hear a faint voice originating from this direction, and I got curious."
"Aaah, that sound resonator device? It's used to try and attract potential customers. It works by resonating within your mana circuitry . If you have higher reserves of energy, the easier it'll be to hear." Taking a look at Yumi, she seemed rather shocked to find that Yumi didn't inhibit any Mana Valve, nor was her singularity activated allowing her so..
Although her natural reserves felt abnormally high, especially considering how young she appeared.
"Right, it also works for those who don't have an unlocked valve, as long as your affinity is high enough. It shouldn't be a problem.." She whispered to herself.
"I see then.. Well, I will be on my way now. Goodbye." Getting the answer to her question, Yumi tried to head back from the direction she originated from. Although there was a slight problem.
"Wait.. What way did I come from again?" Unsure of what direction she originally took,Yukihime stood still in silence whilst trying to figure out a solution. It didn't help that her mind was scattered.
"Yes, my phone!" Pulling a phone out of her pocket, she hastily entered an app displaying the surrounding area. After searching for a few seconds, she surprisingly found no results..
"Wait, what.. Is the store not available?" Looking at her phone intensely, exiting and reopening the app, looking away and back, it didn't appear to change results. In the end, Yukihime rotated her head watching the mysterious woman looking back in eager anticipation.
"I'll just call my mom instead." Just then, as she was about to press the screen to call mother, her phone froze before flickering black a few times. Seeming to have run out of battery. Unaware of why her phone died so suddenly, Yukihime quickly realised the reason why the phone died was due to the countless amount of high definition photos she had taken throughout her tenure in Tokyo.
Now locking eyes several times in quick succession at the woman on the street, an unwanted conclusion was reached.
"I suppose I have no choice now.." Embarrassingly putting away her phone, she waltzed up to the woman somewhat uncomfortably. After all, her mom always told her to be careful around strangers. Especially those who posed as Entropys.
"Ehhh.. ermm.. Would you by any chance know of a local store in this area going by the name of E-ano?"
"Hmm.." Looking around for a brief moment, it was followed by a smug smile which appeared to convey the answer alongside ulterior motives.
"I think I might just do. Would you like me to show you the way?" Nodding her head profusely, Yumi was anxious about the possibilities of getting lost in the heart of Japan and never finding mom and Yoko again. After all, she had read horror stories from one of the past books.
"Alright, I'll show you the way, miss!" Her earlier mysterious nature seemed to have changed into enthusiasm now.
"Really!?" Although Yumi couldn't put it into words, her opinion on the strange woman was seemingly changing to one of warmth instead of uncertainty.
"Yes, on one condition.." And then it didn't.
"Have your fortune read by me!" Holding her hands together reminiscent of an excited child, it seemed like the strange woman really was eager for a customer similar to Yumi, or any customer for that matter of fact.
…
"F-fine!" Pouting her cheeks, Yukihime felt disappointed that she'd have to go the extra mile in order to meet her guardians again, despite already being extremely tired in the evening.
"Follow me, miss." To Yukihimes's surprise, the woman's earlier outgoing personality had now seemed to change into a much more serious one. Feeling the slight unease of her shift in demeanour, she decided to follow behind her cautiously.
Lifting the curtain and walking through the door together, the place looked rundown. The walls were unpainted, with barely any decor except a shoe rack and chair for customers to await their turn. Furthermore, the woman had somehow managed to fit a small tent inside for what seemed to be the location of where your fortune would be read.
Taking turns taking off their shoes, the mysterious woman first entered her tent.
"..." With a suspicious face, Yukihime didn't have much of a choice but to follow behind. Using her hand to draw the bind aside, she slowly followed suit. What transpired would be a sight befitting of the seer.
"W-what..?"
In the instant she entered the tent, nothing seemed real. Everything above looked to have morphed into a clear blue sky. Underneath her it appeared as if she was standing on crystal clear water whose clouds rested alongside the sound of unrelenting free flowing water. Standing in complete awe for a moment, it didn't take long to realise the implications of such a situation.
"I need to get out! The exit!?" Swiftly turning around, the exit seemingly disappeared completely. Instead, across her starboard stood a round table made of glass alongside two seats made of equal material, and on the seat furthest away from her, sat the strange woman with her chin resting on both hands.
"Take a seat, Shinano Yukihime." With the veil now pulled up above her face, the mysterious woman's crimson red eyes were now visible.
"Wa-whe-where am I..?" Her voice was trembling, eyes on the verge of tearing up.
"Do not be dread, dear guest. This place is harmless." Smiling whilst waving her to come over, the woman wasn't afraid at all, or rather. Was she the master of this space?
Her hands were shaking, but nonetheless she had no choice but to walk over. Gently sitting down, her eyes were too afraid to meet hers.
"What is my fate?" Yukihime subtly asked. Her every letter was shivering.
"Hm, let's see here.." Spreading her right arm wide, a red knot appeared from below and slowly wrapped around the pair. Looking around, it reminded Yumi of a shimenawa knot found on shrines.
"All roads lead to one collective destiny. Your fate will eventually lead you to A. Terra."
"The Pan-Pacific? You mean A. Terra, and its capital? Am I going to become a Stabiliser in the future?" Without noticing, her fear had waned and instead curiosity had befallen.
"That I don't know of." Her mellowed eyebrows and expression implied the truth.
"W-who are you?" At last, Yukihime's eyes met her briefly.
"I am but a mere fortune teller with vision, nothing more." As Yukihime wanted to ask more questions, a loud noise could be heard towards the distant horizon. The voice was accompanied by the sky splitting and floor underneath breaking. Feeling the intense surge of energy, everything began shaking and distorting.
"Where'd Yumi go?" Was it her mom? Or Yoko that just spoke?
"Maybe she's just around the corner of this stall? Is there usually this many people at this festival?" Their voices sounded familiar, yet she didn't remember such conversation ever taking place.
"Dude, check this out! Bullseye! OH YEAH!" On the opposite end of her ears, two unknown voices could be heard. The sounds implied that they were playing some kind of prized shooting game.
"Pfft, damn. I can't believe that you seriously hit that, haha! Way to go XXXXX." As the voices continued echoing, everything began distorting rapidly.
"Looks like our time is up. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.. My first customer.." Her body began breaking apart into tiny particles consisting of energy, it started from her head and eventually reached down to her feet, until she became nothing more but a voice.
"And remember, fate remains unchanged throughout the past, present and future. Someday everyone will meet their predetermined conclusion." As she fully disappeared, everything broke apart in one swift motion, and the young girl now began falling.
She fell, and continued for a long time. It felt like an endless freefall. At first everything around her was blue, then it turned white. Was she falling through the sky? The clouds soon turned into a heavy sensation of pressure and the inability to move. In the end, everything turned pitch dark. Feeling completely drained and devoid of life, she closed her teary eyes and prayed.
"Mom.. Mom.."
"..."
"Yumi dear, is everything okay? You look paler than usual." Familiar voices.
"Yuki-chan, did anything happen!? Did a weirdo scare you? If so, tell me and I'll knock them senseless!"
She opened her eyes, standing outside of the Eaon supermarket. Ahead of her stood two familiar faces. One she has known ever since birth, and the other, an awesome woman beaming with confidence.
"I'm so happy..! So listen, I saw.. Something.. Odd.. She had black lines.." Feeling her eyelids giving out and balance swaying, her vision slowly blurred until she fell down in front of them exhausted. Catching Yumi with their arms together, they stood wondering what just had happened.
…
"She must be very tired to sleep so soundly on your back, Ayanami-san." Giggling to herself, they eventually found themselves ascending a hill towards Yoko's home.
"Hey, I'm the one that's tired here." Carrying Yumi on her back whilst walking uphill, it was quite taxing on her body.
"Ah come on! You have to train your muscles more! You used to be way more fit back in the day, you know!" Raising her tone without noticing, a certain someone started to grunt slightly.
"Shh! That was back when I was a guardian in our prefecture." She rolled her eyes.
"Psst, hey.. By the way, how long are you going to be staying in Tokyo?" Appearing to be whispering to each other now, they didn't want to wake up the sleeping princess.
"We'll be back at Hamamatsu by tomorrow evening."
"Oh I see, then our daughters will probably have time to meet each other!" Yoko clapped her hands together softly.
Ayanami sighed in a worry. "I hope they get along."
"Oh don't worry, they will. I mean if we can, so can they!" Getting closer, Yoko started to play with Ayanami.
"Hey! Stop hitting me with your elbow!" As they continued to ascend, they kept bickering about every possible detail from the past, present and future.
Eventually they reached the top of the hill. In front of the pair, a big traditional house was laid. Encompassing the house was a wall made of plaster and in the centre, a garden. The centre had small ponds with koi fish swimming around.
"Wow, impressive house Yoko-san." Ayanami gave a thumbs up to Yoko. Although her action may have been positive, her face almost deemed to mock Yoko.
"Are you mocking me..? It took a few years to build." Walking through the entrance, the surrounding lights around the buildings started to glow. To Ayanami's surprise, the ponds started to glow faintly in response.
"Oh? Why are the ponds glowing?"
"Ah, that? Our ponds actually have concentrated energy residing within. Do you feel your reserves recovering? Whenever someone possessing any amounts of energy reserves walks through. The naturally occurring energy will rise and be absorbed by us."
"It's a beautiful phenomenon, it's almost as if they're all watching us." Skipping her feet whilst dancing beautifully around the ponds, the particles slowly continued rising from the water. In addition, the particles weren't all the same. Some were bigger, whilst others were smaller. Some were red, while others were blue, orange, white and much much more.
When she finished, the energy that had arisen during her dance had been fully absorbed. Although it would seem neither Yoko or Ayanami had absorbed any but instead a peculiar child whose silvery hair was now glowing in the full moon.
"But it seems like your daughter was the one who absorbed most of it today hehe."