February 6. Fourteen and a half years old. Saishuu Riku.

‘Get this letter to Anzenkai as quick as ya can.’ The QM pulled out an envelope from her desk drawer and set it on top of a file. ‘Make sure ya give it directly to Minister Fuyu’s secretary.’

A smile tugged at my lips. Anzenkai. I'd read stories about it. History books spoke of it with wonder. It was the first city of the settlers, the only place where you could safely dock ships in the whole continent. Some had written, that if you looked hard enough, you could find the storm. The roiling clouds of lightning, the tumultuous waves and faint claps of thunder that stopped well away from the beach. Even if it weren't part of our quest, I had to at least sneak off and see it.

I narrowed my eyes at the letter. What could be so important that it had to be handed directly to the secretary of Anzenkai’s Minister? But also inconsequential enough to be handed to third grades? Perhaps it was just a faster way to deliver normal messages. Who knew how long the mail service took to sort their letters out.

Kei grabbed both the letter and the file, then strode out the room. We followed suit.

Cho grinned at me, and I smiled back. This time I was earlier than all three, but we were called into the QM's office before we had time to chat. I might have also sat hidden behind a couple of tall third grades. Cho’s hug still pained my ribs.

Somehow keeping up with Kei's pace and not bumping into anything, the little lemur girl twisted her side braid, as she stared at her notebook.

I sighed. I didn't know her name yet. She didn't look like she was going to introduce herself anytime soon, so I had to do it myself.

Before I could say a word, Cho jumped on the girl. ‘Maya, I'm waiting for the thirty hin I won yesterday!’

I winced at her bone breaking hug., as my cheeks burned. So this was how much they’d bet on me.

Based on the price of rice, one hin was equal to ten yen. Though if you used potatoes, one hin was five yen. And if you used rent, it was twenty yen. But rice conversion fit most situations.

The girl-- Maya, started and blinked at Cho. ‘Thirty hin? Oh, I almost forgot.’

She wriggled out of Cho's arms and pulled out a pouch from her backpack. Even before the three coins left her fist, she was already staring at her notepad, drawstring pouch still gripped in the same hand.

‘Uh, I think you should put your money bag back in, Maya.’ said Cho. You might drop a few coins.’

Maya threw it back in her backpack, but her amber eyes left the page for only a moment. I wondered what it was that kept her so glued.

‘Trouble with your story?’ asked Cho.

Maya sighed and flipped her notepad shut. ‘I'm almost done with the last chapter. But I don't think it's good enough.’

‘What sort of story are you writing?’ I asked, unable to keep out of the conversation any longer.

Her freckles darkened into her complexion, as she stared at me like a deer in headlights.

‘Um, it's about--’

‘Come on guys, we have a two week trip ahead of us,’ said Kei, well below us on the staircase. ‘Stop talking so much and be a bit faster.’

Maya glanced at the floor, as Cho shouted something rude at him.

Great. A two week trip with this prick.

***

Ninth of February. Fourteen and a half years old. Saishuu Riku.

Little animals and birds chattered on the trees around me. My legs were crossed on wild grass, sand sticking to my clothes. But my eyes were closed, shutting out our tents and what little sunlight got through to the undergrowth.

Before long, flashes of my home in Japan filled my vision. My fingers, yet not my fingers, grasped a glass of milk. The beverage flowed down my throat, I could taste its heat. My heart, both hearts, beat fast. Today was Thursday. Yuuhei would've read the last chapter yesterday. Just as I thought it, the sensations of my other self flickered away.

I was back in the forest again, the aftertaste of milk on my parched tongue. We'd set up camp on our way to Anzenkai. The others hadn't returned yet, having gone to collect food and water. With a sigh, I checked the time. This meditation had lasted for a fifty-two seconds, eight more than my last. If I kept practicing and timed the meditation right, I might be able to know what happened in the manga today.

Taking a few deep breaths, I ran through my mental exercises again to begin.

‘Tahro!’ .called out Kei.

I winced and stood up, my legs heavy from sitting in the same position for too long. Kei strode towards our tent, a squirrel clutched in one hand. He glared at me, as he placed the animal down.

‘I told you to watch the camp, not fall asleep,’ he snapped.

‘I was meditating. not sleeping,’ I said, removing any bite from my voice before it escaped.

Kei sighed and shook his head. ‘If you say so. Start the fire.’

By the time the dry wood got a good flame going from my lighter, the girls arrived. Maya came first with a jug of water, enough to last another day. Then Cho strolled in, a basket full of berries and wild herbs hanging from one arm. The safest people to send to collect edible plants were always the medics. They're taught the smallest differences between what's edible and what could kill you three days later.

After a short meal, I began meditating again. This time I was in science class, listening to the teacher about how lightning worked. Sometimes I stayed in the trance for more than a minute, but other times, only half that. But my average increased every few tries.

‘Tahro, want to spar?’ asked Kei

I grinned. The last time I'd sparred with anyone was in general training, and I missed the rush of adrenaline.

‘Sure,’ I replied.

He waited by the edge of our campsite, far enough from the fire and tents. Cho looked at us with a frown, while Maya scribbled in her notepad, lost to the world.

The first few minutes were exhilarating. Excitement sparked inside me as my fists flew, as I jumped around to avoid Kei's attacks. Punch. Block. Punch. Counter. My heart raced. He was fast. But I'd only practiced against little kids before. Kei let out a kick. I leapt to my right. My breathing quickened.

‘Stop jumping around so much,’ said Kei, sweat trickling down his chin.

‘Why not?’ I frowned. Not a single punch or kick had landed on me, so I didn't see why I shouldn't.

Kei sighed and lowered his arms. ‘Sometimes I forget you've never had special training. Unless you have the stamina of a beast, when you hop around like that, you lose a lot of energy. You're panting already.’

He had a point. I wiped off the sweat on my face and moved closer. We started again. Punch. Block. Kick. Counter. I swirled around to avoid his fists, resisting the urge to spring away. But one punch came at my face. I leapt out of the way.

‘I told you not to jump.’ Kei glared at me.

‘Sorry, I couldn't help it.’ I panted. It's not his problem anyway.

We started again. This time, I let his blows come, always staying within a meter of Kei. Pain shot through my body when I failed to block or dodge. But being so close made my punches surer. My knuckles grazed his jaw as he dodged. His leg sweeped at my feet. I nearly jumped away before I caught myself. His kick hit my unsteady feet and I fell.

I rolled over before my back hit the ground. The gravel scratched my elbows, as I turned. My breaths came out ragged. It had been a long time since I'd lost a fight.

Kei rolled his eyes. While his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, he didn't breath heavy or seem otherwise tired. ‘Should've known better than to spar with outsiders. Anyone without special training is useless.’

As he turned away, his words sparked red hot in my mind. How dare he? I clenched my fists. I wanted to shout at him. To shout I could fight just as well as any swordsman my age. It wasn't my fault I wasn't allowed to do special training. But I stayed on the ground, glaring at his back. Like I'd always done, I threw the embers of my anger in a bottle. A delicate, fragile bottle.

Cho came over to check on me, and seeing I had no real injuries, strode over to Kei. She whispered something harsh at him, after which he shrugged and stalked off into his tent.

As I tried to contain myself, someone plopped on the ground beside me.

‘I think he was wrong. You both fought very well.’ said Maya with a shy smile.

I looked at the ground. ‘Thanks.’

‘You know, if it were me, I'd take his advice just to beat him next time. He gives good tips, even if he's a jerk about it.’

That brought a smile to my lips. ‘I should do that.’

She shuffled around, as I turned to her. She had her notebook again, spiral bound on top with a green squiggly design on the cover. It must've held two-hundred pages, half of which were already written on and well thumbed. Though if she was nearing the end of her story, she must have many other filled notebooks.

While it was three and a half days since our trip began, I'd never gotten around to asking her about it. Most of my time was spent meditating or helping around the camp. ‘What's your story about?’

She laid down her pen and twisted around her side braid. ‘I don't know if it's very good.’

‘I don't know a story I haven't loved yet.’ I smiled at her. Well, unless you counted romances

She was silent for a moment. ‘Do you know about the graveyard of stars?’

I knitted my eyebrows. ‘No.’

‘It's a legend my Dad told me about when I was little. He said they're the graves of those who stopped the war between the elementalists and the witches. They weren't just humans though. They were the spirits of air, earth, fire and water.’

I frowned. ‘The history books never seemed to agree on what stopped the war. But none of them mentioned these… spirits.’

She shrugged. ‘It's just a legend. Well, in my story, everyone has powers like those spirits. But not just those four elements. You can control trees, or ice, or electricity. But everyone's only born with one power, and you have to train to be any good at it.’

‘I need to read this once you're done. It sounds so cool.’ I grinned at her. ‘If I can control electricity, I'd give Kei a good shock.’

We laughed and chatted for a few more minutes. The sting of Kei's words faded away. Before long, it was time to go to bed. We had an early start tomorrow.

***

My watch beeped at eleven o'clock and dragged me out of dreamland. Slivers of moonlight sneaked through slits into my tent. I rubbed my groggy eyes. Eleven at night here is eleven in the morning in Japan. I'd be on lunch break right now, and Yuuhei’d tell me how the manga went.

I settled into a familiar rhythm. Breath in, breath out. Relax. Focus on Yuuhei.

***

Ninth of February. Fourteen and a half years old. Japan.

‘Well, Ahio was rescued,’ said Yuuhei. But his dark eyes were fixed on his lunch box.

My stomach churned and my noodles didn't look as appetizing anymore. Yuuhei wasn't one to take things so seriously. ‘But?’

He fiddled with his chopsticks. After a moment of silence, he looked at me. ‘A man kidnapped Kaede.’

My heart beat against my throat and doubts I’d had for the past few days resurfaced in my mind. What if my conspiracy theories had been right? What if the Minister really did plan on tracking the man down using Kaede? I couldn't breath- my muscles were frozen. What if, because of me, the man never gets caught?

I clenched my fists and stopped my racing thoughts. All of them, in the end, were from my own imagination, my own theories. If none of them were true after all, then Kaede would've been in danger. No, what mattered now is that Kaede was safe.

Yet those theories will plague my dreams for nights to come.