The girl opened her eyes to a dark room whose end she couldn’t see. The only light source was the moon from the window on her right illuminating only herself and the cold, hard ground beneath her. The last thing she remembered was entering the city in order to escape from the two people chasing her down and there was no way to tell how long it has been since then. Swallowing, she found her throat to be dry. She was also shivering, but this wasn’t new to her. All throughout her life, she always had been shivering. It was merely the nature of her genetics.

Where am I?

The girl checked to see she still had her cyan cloak with her. Indeed, it was still wrapped around her which reassured her. But the moment after she twisted her body, she felt the sudden jolt of pain on her left side.

Right… I was hit by something…

She placed her hand on her arm and felt a cold sensation.

My Aoi still works. If I could just ice my arm back to 100%, then I could potentially escape out of here… But I don’t even know if I could stand at all.

Sighing an almost visible breath, she reclined against the wall behind her, turning her gaze towards the shimmering starry night. From her experience, a shower of rain was going to come by the quality of the breeze and the shape of the clouds. A perfect opportunity to recover.

“The lovely mademoiselle is awake.”

A voice startled her. Somewhere in the darkness, footsteps grew closer and closer until a familiar figure emerged. Her pulse quickened. Images of blue flames cropped up in her mind, consuming everything around her. Yet, the shivering grew only worse.

“It’s a good thing I decided to check up on you on a whim.” Said the figure, “How are you doing? My name is Mary, but I’m pretty sure you still remember me from that time.”

The girl winced. She recognized the person standing before her. How could she forget? The female leaning in front of her had multiple instruments carried on her back, foreign instruments she never saw before. Her attire was also foreign, wearing somewhat of a short sleeveless dress and her deep dark purple hair was tied up into twin-tails.

Mary peered closer into the girl’s eyes. Expecting an answer, she remained silent to allow the girl to speak. But she kept her mouth closed, keeping her head low.

Can I still escape this somehow? But I don’t even know where I am right now. Is there nothing I can do right now?

“Hmm. You’re the silent type I see and the silence is just going to make this uncomfortable. May I play a song to lighten the mood?” Mary said, bringing out a stringed instrument from her back. The water droplet shaped instrument swung around behind her and was tuned in a matter of seconds.

“This is my pipa. Its origins go way back in history supposedly, at least that’s what everyone said to be back home. You’ve heard me played this multiple times by now… especially in Fallway. I’m sure you remember that time in the big city. I’m sorry for what I did! I really am! So please accept this tune as an apology.”

As she played, somehow, a faint blue glow emanated from Mary’s own body. The girl felt a slight heat radiating off of her. It was just the right amount of heat that the girl’s shivering ceased so that the only thing on her mind was the music. The tune had a calming melody, even loosening up the tension in the girl’s shoulders. Being enraptured by her own performance, Mary closed her eyes and waved her body in sync with the music.

“これはいいね。。。You see, I’ve been playing music ever since I can remember. My grandmother was the one who taught me how to play all of these different instruments that originated from my region. She taught me pretty much everything that I know about the world of music. I love her dearly. But… I must also apologize as well. About that event earlier… I truly sympathize with you.”

The girl brought a hand to her cheek and felt a cold sense of moisture. Tears ran down her face and semi-congealed into ice. The combination of music along with the memory that submerged from her mind caused her heart to feel wrenched inside her.

“This tune is called ‘River Flows In You’, so allow your thoughts and feelings to flow like a river inside of you.”

The two’s blood within them couldn’t be any further from each other, yet the ability of music allowed the two to share this one experience. The accompanying sound of sudden precipitation showering the roof accentuated the tranquil atmosphere.

・・・・・

Reaching the last few notes of the melody, Mary opened her eyes again and breathed out.

“Tee-hee! Did the time pass by that quickly?” Though, she noticed something strange as her supposed breath traveled outward.

“It certainly grew chilly inside here… don’t you think?” Mary said, “It’s July, even in the nighttime, I should be fighting off mosquitoes...I… I shouldn't be able to see my own breath right now!”

Mary gazed at the lass, who hadn’t moved from her spot nor made any suspicious movements at all. She knew her Aoi was to create ice, but she didn’t see any signs of anything frozen, yet why was it so cold? That was when Mary noticed the girl was holding both of her hands behind her back.

“...What’s that behind you? Let me see.”

With no resistance, the girl obliged and scooted out of the way, revealing something cylindrical. It was a metal pipe, possibly the water system of the building they were residing in. The pipe spanned up to the ceiling, traveling over their heads. Either way, Mary realized it too late as it was apparent there was condensation that had solidified into ice crystals.

“Oh, you sly gir—”

The overhead pipe system bursted, spewing water and ice all over the unsuspecting performer, and leaving her drenched.

“AAAaaaaahh! My clothes...my hair! Are you serious?!” Mary scoured her brain for a tune, any tune, to dry herself before she can feel the dampness.

“Ca—Canon in...D—”

But the schemer had already sprung to her feet and sprinted right by the flustered instrumentalist. Into the darkness she went, and after a grueling time in there, out she came from an open doorway to the outside world.

Sozuraka…

The name popped up in her mind with only one glance of the outside. The sights were familiar to the girl as she had visited here once. Everywhere she looked, metal pipes covered the forgotten region. While the buildings aren’t considered impressive by Fallway’s standards, most of the attraction stems from their use of pipelines to transport anything and everything.

And this was where she was, surrounded in the vast net of these pipes and exposed to the ongoing rain. Her worn down boots seeped into the wet dirt beneath her. The girl trekked further, but it felt as if the ground was robbing her of energy with every step. But… even if she does escape this region, where would she go afterwards? There was no other place to call home. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to think, as she saw the reflection of blue light coming off of the pipes and heard a wind instrument being played. The girl turns around to see Mary playing one of three bamboo flutes she currently held. On her sides, were blue flames in the form of koi that illuminated the surrounding area.

“And this is my xiao, but I’m sure you are well acquainted with it by now. I’m sorry, but I really cannot allow you to go off, as an overused phrase as that may seem. People from the north are kinda hard to come by and as much as it pains me to say, you weren’t.”

Mary brought the xiao back to her lips and the koi flames burned even brighter as a low hum permeated the air.

I...is there even a point in fighting back anymore…? Is there any more reason to go on?

Freezing the pipe and sprinting out of the building had left her feeling lethargic. It took all of her effort to even stand, much less use her Aoi to defend herself against an onslaught of flames. She couldn’t even recall the last meal she ate nor the last time she drank anything, as her vision began to waver. There was no other option left. The girl accepted the fact that she had her final taste of freedom and savored the beautiful melody of Mary’s performance.