Rei Rin was baking bread when she heard the knock on her door. She looked at the timer and decided the oven would be okay on its own for a little while, wiped her hands on her apron, and spoke up to her mystery guests, "Coming!"

　　Her apartment was small and old, but it had its own bathroom and kitchen. The living room during the day became their shared bedroom at night, just by pulling out the rolled out futon and moving away the dinner table. The tatami mats were wonderfully soft on their own, so they didn't need any other furniture cluttering up their space. They didn't own a television, mainly because neither Rei nor Onyx enjoyed watching it, but they did have a computer with high speed internet in the corner to keep in touch with the world . Rei was determined to keep her expenses to a minimum without hurting her quality of life. It was a knife-edge of guilt either way. She knew that Kotone wouldn't want Rei to be suffering from privation just to pay off her infinite debt, but she also didn't want to be wasting any money on fripperies as though she didn't owe Kotone and Masanori any gratitude at all. Every day she had to balance the competing issues in her mind and every day she tried to come to the best compromise she could. Rei knew she would never be able to pay off her debt, 100 trillion won was larger than the GDP of some nations. But what else could she do? She really did owe those two for making them follow her selfish whim. She could at least pay back as much as she could, out of the paycheck they themselves paid her every year, by abstaining from any extraneous expenses and 'rebating' whatever she had left over at the end of each year.

　　Onyx wasn't due back from his job until late in the evening. Rei wasn't confident she would do well in the workplace, so she had asked Onyx if it was okay for her to be a homemaker. Onyx didn't care in the least, since she was actually earning one hundred million yen a year working for Angle Corporation, but he said he'd be too idle staying home with her every day and decided to take up a career. Rei had learned for the first time what a vast gulf there was between humans and wyrds once Onyx had the human body to move about in society. He had applied for every college course that could be passed via testing and then passed them all in a matter of days. The same college Rei had been grinding away at all hours of the day, Onyx breezed through and graduated from in two weeks. He then applied for law school, skipped all the schooling and took the bar exam, passed that, and was a lawyer within the month. Next he had opened up his own firm and offered discount prices to get clients, and won every case he had taken so far by settling out of court.

　　It was ridiculously cheap. Wyrds were enormous beings that had accumulated knowledge over centuries of eternal life. Each of their brains was like the database of Wikipedia, or a log of all files on the internet ever posted, or something even vaster. The thimbleful of knowledge it took to make it in the human economy was a joke to them, not even worth mentioning. Onyx was quick to explain this didn't make them any smarter or wiser, that humans had their own ways of arriving at good conclusions. It was just that any job that required massive memorization of facts was in their bailiwick. It had been an evolutionary necessity the longer their lifespan grew and the more memories they had accumulated to develop larger, more accurate, and faster memory banks than anything humans could attempt. Cyan was using the same trick to become a lawyer too, and both were ace attorneys because they both had every obscure precedent ever made at any time in Japanese court history at their fingertips.

　　Maybe in a few decades humans could invent computers smart enough to replicate what the wyrds were doing, and Rei could take a little satisfaction in throwing him out of his job. But as things stood, 'Onyx Rin,' erstwhile dark wyrd who had tried to annihilate mankind, was one of the highest paid, respected professionals in Inazumu. There was even talk of having him run for mayor. Rei took the vast majority of his paycheck and plowed it back into her debt to Masanori too. After all, Onyx had benefited at least as much as she had by becoming a real boy. I hope. Rei blushed and quickly chased thoughts of the night away.

　　Rei opened the door and a bright glow of happiness suffused her. The most wonderful person in the whole wide world was standing outside.

　　"Shiori!" Rei squealed.

　　"Hi Rei!" Shiori grinned contentedly, proud of her reception. "Oooh, it smells good in here."

　　"I was preparing dinner for when Onyx gets home. Would you like to join us?" Rei asked, grabbing Shiori's hands and tugging her into her apartment's cool air conditioned interior.

　　"No, not today." Shiori said. Isao walked quietly in behind her. "I came to see you." Shiori explained.

　　"Well, here I am." Rei grinned. She flourished her apron and then twirled in a circle, showing off her very normal black t-shirt over her very normal black jeans. A black headband kept her long black hair behind her ears and rolling down her back.

　　"Well, it's like this." Shiori fidgeted, wondering where to start.

　　"Oh, I'm sorry. Shiori, Isao, would you like some tea?" Rei asked.

　　"Yes please." Isao answered politely, glad to have something to do while they talked.

　　"It'll be just a minute." Rei promised, then rushed back into the kitchen to start heating some water.

　　"Rei, will you move back in with me?" Shiori suddenly asked from the living room.

　　Rei's heart leaped out of her chest. Her eyes started burning with the wish to cry, but she beat that impulse down ferociously. "What's this, Shiori?" Rei asked carefully, not ready to turn around yet, fumbling for her tea kettle. "I'm a married woman now, I'm sure Mother and Daddy wouldn't appreciate the. . .well. . . the noise. And there isn't a spare room either." Rei blushed at the idea of sharing a room with Shiori again.

　　"I'm marrying Isao." Shiori said from the living room.

　　"I know that, you called me the day he proposed, remember?" Rei grinned, remembering how happy and excited and bewildered her twin sister had been.

　　"Well, it helps explain the next part, see." Shiori excused herself. "Once we're married, we'll have to have a place of our own. So you see, we'd be moving out either way."

　　"Of course." Rei understood, but still didn't see how these issues connected. Having set her water to boil, she went to the fridge and picked out a few fresh cucumbers to chop up and serve as appetizers.

　　"So your objection last time no longer stands." Shiori said carefully.

　　"Last time?" Rei asked curiously, then her mind started racing backwards until she seized upon it. "Oh no! You never gave that up?" Rei accused Shiori.

　　"I'm bad at giving up." Shiori admitted cheerfully.

　　"Does Kotone know you're moving in with her?" Rei asked chidingly.

　　"Not yet. I'm going to see her next, once you've agreed to come with us." Shiori said, and suddenly Rei understood the entire devilish plot.

　　"Now look here," Rei spun around, still holding her sharp, juice stained knife in front of her, and pointed it at Shiori's innocent smile. "You know how beholden I am to the Miyamotos. I owe them one hundred trillion won, Shiori. Even if I didn't, I'd owe Kotone so much for being my friend. My entire life is possible because of her and Masanori."

　　"And me." Shiori pouted.

　　"And you." Rei melted. "You know I won't forget that, Shiori. Never."

　　"So let's move back in together!" Shiori pounced eagerly.

　　"Wait! Let me finish!" Rei stopped her sister. "How would it make Kotone feel if I appeared on her doorstep and said, "All of your previous charity wasn't enough. Now you have to share your house with me too. Oh, and I'm going to have tons of kids so I hope you don't mind them running around and breaking everything while I'm here." She'll think I'm the least grateful girl in the universe. Because she's kind, she'll agree. I know she would. But in her heart, she'll wonder why I'm such a viper to never think of her needs even once. I don't want that!" Rei exclaimed.

　　"It's not like that at all, Rei. Kotone's house is HUGEEEEEE." Shiori widened her arms as she extended her word. "She'd never even notice you were there, you wouldn't be imposing at all."

　　"It's not the degree of imposition, it's the principle." Rei corrected Shiori, turning off the heat to her kettle and pouring the hot water into three cups. "I can't ask for anything more from her after all she's done."

　　"Just to get this straight," Isao interjected, surprising both girls. "If it weren't an imposition on Kotone or Masanori, you'd have no further objections?"

　　Rei Rin carefully stirred in her tea leaves to the hot water and watched the clear liquid become a pleasing aromatic brown, thinking it over. "I don't want to impose on Shiori either. It's selfish of me to think my sister would want to live with me forever. You two have your own life, your own plans, now. In the end a sister's just a sister. That's nothing compared to a husband and children. I can't monopolize Shiori anymore. You probably came over here because you were worried, right? But I'll show you both that I can manage on my own. I've promised myself that I can be happy without imposing on anyone else again. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

　　"Then it's simple." Isao said as Rei delivered the tea cups and orange slices on a series of saucers all stacked on top of a serving tray. "Shiori never once said she wanted to check up on you, or was worried about you, on the way here. She said she missed you and wanted you back. I don't think that was a lie just to be nice. That's your sister's true feelings, Rei."

　　Isao took a sip of tea and then restarted. "As for Masanori, you saved his life alongside the rest of us when he was kidnapped. All the money he's made since then is something you made possible. We couldn't have done it without you, Rei."

　　"That's different." Rei complained. "We're all comrades when it comes to saving the world. I don't get any special privileges for that, I fight because I love all of you, not to receive free housing."

　　Isao shook his head ruefully. "Fine, forget that part then, or the part where you saved everyone in the fight with Slime King, or the part where you saved the entire universe of the wyrd's by allowing us to communicate with the government above. I have a new question for you, then. Do you think the threat to us has passed?" Isao asked.

　　"Well. . ." Rei looked away, troubled. "It was six years between the first and second attack. So we can hope. . ."

　　"The dark wyrds aren't going to let us populate the multiverse without a fight. They must be angry as a beehive right now. And every single iota of their hatred will be directed at one single person, Rei." Isao said.

　　"Don't you think they'll give up?" Rei asked hopefully. "Look, if they scry upwards, they can even see that their whole world has been saved. That magic is properly flowing in again, and all this fighting was pointless."

　　"Did Onyx tell you they would give up?" Isao asked, taken aback.

　　"No. . .but Onyx has a pessimistic streak. . ." Rei muttered.

　　"Onyx would know better than either of us whether the dark wyrds would give up. He was a dark wyrd too, right?" Isao bore down.

　　Rei sipped her tea and kept her eyes downcast.

　　"They're going to try to kill Masanori. Today, or tomorrow, or in a month. But they're coming, Rei." Isao promised. "It's what I'd do if I were them. And Kotone is eight months pregnant."

　　"I know." Rei whispered.

　　"You're the strongest warrior we have." Isao stated this as just another indisputable fact.

　　"I know." Rei bit her lower lip.

　　"Come live with us." Isao enjoined. "Protect the people you love. You can't do it from here, Rei. One hundred trillion won, do you think the Miyamotos care about something like that? What they care about is their unborn child. If you were there to save their baby daughter, do you think they're going to be griping at night about what a burden you are? Do you think they're that petty? You know they're too nice to say it out loud, but do you think they would even complain in their innermost hearts, a single instant, if you were there every night watching over them?"

　　"You're right." Rei sighed. She looked up at Shiori, her heart wavering with the most secret, greatest hope in her life. "Is it okay for me to be spoiled again?"

　　"Little sisters should just be quiet and do as they're told." Shiori smiled back at Rei encouragingly. "Let's start packing!"

* * *

　　It was nearly six o'clock when Saki appeared at Capri's place. She felt bad for inviting a new friend before she'd even invited her older friend to her birthday party, but Capri didn't come to school so it couldn't be helped. At least she had come all this way to invite her in person instead of calling over the phone. That was acting like a true friend, wasn't it?

　　Saki and Capri had met around a month ago. When Saki had gotten home from school, a strange girl was sitting on their front porch, her skirt tucked neatly under legs she was kicking up and down, bouncing her heels against the concrete step below her. She had been staring intently at a pinecone and tearing off scales studiously one after the other.

　　"Hello," Saki had said politely, not knowing what to make of this girl. She had to be a foreigner, because she had bright blue eyes, but her face looked like any other Japanese girl's, and her hair was still a silky black. A half Asian? But half Asians would have inherited the dominant brown eyes, not recessive blues. Was she just wearing decorative contacts?

　　"Are you lost?" Saki asked, wondering if the girl even understood Japanese.

　　"No, I'm not lost." The girl looked up from her important work, her blue eyes sizing up Saki instantly. Saki felt like she was an incredibly small, unimportant person when she looked into those eyes. It made her uncomfortable. "Aunt Kotone gave me this address to stay at today, but no one was here."

　　"Kotone Miyamoto?" Saki guessed.

　　"Mmhmm. She had work today." The strange girl explained, lowering her eyes back to her pinecone.

　　"There must have been some sort of mishap, but I can let you inside." Saki offered, flourishing her house key.

　　"That's okay. I like it out here." The girl had responded disinterestedly.

　　Saki didn't know what to do. She stood still holding her school bag wishing one of her older sisters would arrive. It was a nice summer day, with a cool breeze and a fresh smell of flowers in the air. It's just that Saki never noticed things like this. Whenever she got home, she would lay down on the couch and watch TV until dinner. She'd never stayed outside for any length of time more than necessary. What was there to do outside?

　　"Hey, do you want to play?" The girl suddenly suggested, looking up again.

　　"Umm, what game?" Saki asked.

　　"Red Light Green Light." The girl suggested.

　　"There's only two of us. It wouldn't work." Saki explained.

　　"Oh. Too bad." The girl lost interest and went back to her pinecone.

　　Saki nodded to herself, coming to a decision, then went searching for another pinecone. Once she'd found a suitably spiky one, she carried it to the porch and set down her bag. She tucked her skirt under her legs and sat down beside the blue-eyed vagrant.

　　"I just have to take off all the scales, right?" Saki asked hopefully.

　　"Mmhmm. Doesn't it feel good when it tingles? Bodies are so wonderful." The girl smiled brightly down at her hands.

　　"They aren't that great. They hurt all the time, and they get tired. I'd rather just be a soul, floating around, watching whatever I wanted." Saki replied absently, starting to take off her pinecone's scales.

　　"It's no fun at all." The girl replied as though she'd already tried that. "You feel left out, like the world doesn't need you. Plus, even pain feels a little pleasant. And the food. It's so much tastier."

　　"What is that?" Saki asked, laughing. "Was Kotone serving nothing but gruel until recently?"

　　"Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that." The girl covered her mouth, blushing. "Forget I said that, okay?" The girl turned on her with a serious look and grabbed Saki's hand between the two of hers.

　　"Already forgotten," Saki said breathlessly.

　　The girl smiled in relief, shrinking back down to normal size. "My name's Capri, what's yours?"

　　"Saki." Saki replied, unintentionally only giving her first name because Capri had only given hers.

　　"Do you want to be friends?" Capri asked, studiously looking down at her pinecone and not at the girl beside her.

　　"I. . . okay." Saki gave in, looking down at her pinecone with a disconcerted blush. She didn't even know who, or what, this girl was. But she didn't seem like a bad person.

　　"Saki!" Aiko shouted, appearing breathless at the front gate. Her face was red from running and she was leaning over on her knees. "Did anything weird happen? Did that girl tell you anything?"

　　Saki thought back for a moment, staring at her sister in surprise, but remembered her promise. "No, sister. Nothing happened."

　　"Are you sure? You weren't surrounded by light or anything?" Aiko asked again, walking up to Saki and petting her limbs as though searching for a mark.

　　"That tickles." Saki giggled, trying to pull away.

　　"Thank God." Aiko breathed. "Don't scare me like that!"

　　"What did I do?" Saki asked petulantly.

　　"Nothing. Forget what I just said." Aiko said, still breathing hard from her run.

　　Saki sure had to forget a lot today.

　　"Capri, I'm sorry I'm late. I completely forgot I was supposed to come home early today. Can you forgive me?" Aiko sat on her heels so she could stare Capri in the face instead of looming above her, apparently not in the least surprised at the girl's blue eyes.

　　"It's okay Aiko. Saki kept me company." Capri threw her pinecone into the yard and started brushing her hands off on her skirt.

　　"Hey, don't do that. You'll make a stain." Aiko lectured, getting out her handkerchief and rubbing the girl's dirty fingers.

　　"Welcome home, Aiko." Saki pouted, feeling completely upstaged by this newcomer her sister was fawning over.

　　"Oh, sorry, Saki. I'm home. I'll open the door for you." Aiko offered.

　　"That's okay, I have a key." Saki sulked. "I'm going to watch TV."

　　"Saki." The strange girl said urgently, stopping her in mid-motion. Saki turned around to look at the girl who was wearing a nervous expression.

　　"Can I come over and play tomorrow?" Capri asked.

　　"Of course." Saki said, a strange happiness she'd never felt before making her smile.

　　Now she was visiting Capri, and now she was asking her to come over. Capri had never ceased being mysterious, but that was okay. Saki could forgive her first friend for being anything.

　　When she rang the doorbell, however, she wasn't greeted by the usual barking dog. She wasn't even greeted by Mr. Miyamoto. Instead, a swarm of strangers opened the door for her, with a "Who is it?"

　　"Umm. Is Capri here?" Saki asked nervously. She thought a couple of them might be Chiharu's friends. She had seen them coming over from time to time. But that boy was totally new, and he had a dangerous aura too.

　　"Saki, is that you?" A girl with shoulder length hair knelt down to talk to her eye to eye. "It's me, Shiori. You've grown so much!"

　　"Hello." Saki said, wishing she hadn't rung the door. "I remember you."

　　"Look, Isao. It's Chiharu's little sister. Isn't she beautiful? I want one. Let's take her home!" Shiori grabbed Saki up into a hug and rubbed her cheek against Saki's.

　　"Aaagh, Sakiiii." Capri saw her friend getting tossed back and forth with her arms pinned to her side helplessly. She ran in and started pulling on her arm from the other side. Saki was getting dizzy.

　　"Shiori, Capri, honestly!" Kotone snapped, her fists on her hips, finally arriving at the door. "Can't you tell you're being a bother?"

　　"Shiori started it." Capri whined.

　　"It was just a hug." Shiori whined.

　　"It was a kidnapping! And as for you, Capri, if Shiori 'starts' abusing your friend does that mean you should join in?" Kotone arched an eyebrow, which made Capri wilt.

　　"What is it, Saki? Don't mind everyone. We're just a little excited because it's a house-warming party." Kotone explained kindly.

　　"I. . .my birthday is this Friday. I hoped Capri could come to an amusement park with my family." Saki quickly blurted out.

　　"Oooh, a roller coaster!" Capri clapped excitedly, looking up at Kotone.

　　"Not going to happen! You're far too young to ride one of those." Kotone waved her finger.

　　Capri sighed. "Yes, Aunt Kotone." She gave an apologetic look to Saki who was still outside the door.

　　"But I'm sure Masanori wouldn't mind taking you on the teacups and the Ferris wheel." Kotone broke into a beautiful, mischievous twinkling smile, and Capri's face transformed from dejection into ecstasy.

　　"An amusement park?" Shiori asked Saki. "Is Chiharu coming?"

　　"Yes. Chiharu and Aiko are taking me." Saki explained.

　　"Then can I come too? I want to ride the Ferris wheel with Isao." Shiori explained dreamily.

　　"I'm sure Chiharu would be glad to see you again." Saki reassured her senior. Why did Chiharu make such strange friends? Eri was so much better.

　　"When is it?" Shiori asked.

　　"This Friday after school. We're all meeting up at 4 pm." Saki answered.

　　"I'm coming too." Rei spoke up from behind the crowd. Saki dimly remembered her as one of Chiharu's friends too, but a much quieter and more sensible one. "I want to ride the Ferris wheel with Onyx too." She explained quickly.

　　"I'm sure Chiharu would be overjoyed. . ." Saki graciously invited this new couple. How many people were coming to her birthday party? This was rapidly transforming into a once-in-a-lifetime event.