(This cannot be! I don't believe it! Those were lies! All lies!)

I've been searching the streets for that asshole. That evil bastard! To say such things with my beloved brother's figure!

Funka! Funka!

(Where is he!?)

Funka! Funka!

Sadly, it would seem...that I lost him.

(DAMN!!) I think, kicking a nearby dumpster a few meters into the air.

(Lies! All lies!!)

..bbbbbbooooooooooooommmmmmmmm....

In the distance, I hear the sound of thunder. This is bad. If it begins to rain, I'll lose that man's scent! I must find him! I must!

I transform into a shikoku dog and continue to sniff around. How long I continue to do this, I do not know. All I know is that somebody with my brother's body is fast. Really fast.

Sssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..........

Little by little, it starts raining. But I won't give up!

Or, at least, that's what I want to say.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..........

The rain picks up. I quickly look around for shelter, but everything around here is too run-down to be of much...

Hm?

I look up and see somebody holding an umbrella over me.

It's Crystal.

"Hey, little doggie..." she says in her usual tired tone with another popsicle in her mouth.

I look back to her and begin to tear up. In a few seconds, I turn back into my usual form. I didn't realize that I forgot I was still wearing my work attire. Why is that important?

Animal tone clothing is made with a special silk from animal-rhime-enhanced silkworms. The silks make clothes that can change shape and even merge with our bodies when we change form. So...

I didn't realize that I was naked in my human form. I forgot that I left my uniform behind a few blocks down when I transformed.

All I could do...all I could think about...was crying. I didn't think twice at how my sudden transformation would surprise Crystal. I didn't care that I was beginning to get drenched by the rain, as I was no longer under Crystal's umbrella. All I could do was cry. Cry and think.

"It's not true..." I say to myself. "It's not true..."

Crystal holds her umbrella over me again and gives me her rain jacket.

"Here," she calmly says.

I look up to her, take her things, then quickly put on the jacket.

We go into an abandoned building where nobody can see us. In an instant, Crystal's ice creates a ceiling for wherever holes were, allowing for us to stay dry. She may be involved in my brother's current events, but I can't help but tell her my troubles. Surprisingly, she listens to me without showing signs of fatigue, like she did with Oren. She is really listening to me. She...sympathizes with me.

"I do not see how Oren would think such things." I say after finishing my tale.

Crystal looks down, and begins to think.

"Why would he even think such a thing?"

"You would know him better than I do, but my guess is that he feels like he's trying to be there for you like your father was. Or...at least be there for you in many ways."

"Many ways?"

"You lost so much, and Oren knows he cannot fill the void of those other people that have died. But he's trying to be there for you. As a brother, a friend, and even a father perhaps."

"Why would he try to be something he isn't?"

"I don't know. Guilt? Or maybe he feels as though he needs to protect you more than necessary."

"I don't know why he would."

"I wouldn't know, either, but can you think of anything?"

"No, I..."

I stop for a moment. And I realize...maybe I'm not as reliable as I should be.

I want to be there for him too, but he still feels guilty about what happened. It's as if my words don't fully reach him. And looking back, I always got myself into lots of trouble. Picking fights. My clumsiness. He was always there for me. I cannot do anything. Nothing but actions involving brute strength. All I have done is cause him trouble. Even in the battle against Hunter, he put my life over his own. I'm not...there for him.

Am I?

There once was a boy with samurai blood

Who finally took up his blade.

(Hm?)

But instead of killing people or hunting beasts

He cut logs for houses to be made.

I look and see Crystal reading off of a piece of paper.

He mastered his craft for a decade

With happiness and nothing more.

Until his country's cries resounded

And he was sent to war.

Amidst the blood and carnage

To ease his troubled soul,

Instead of people, he continued to cut trees

For fires to help his army as a whole.

By the order of his lord in but one night,

A fort must be built to succeed.

Using the skills he only knew, he guided the men

And they finished with unmatched speed.

With the battle at the fort won,

Victory was close at hand.

Now, at the final battle,

The man was on the front lines for his land.

Despite having samurai blood,

And a great sword that was held with pride,

He did not know how to cut down foes

And, on the battlefield, he died.

Like a sword, we can do many things

But, like the wielders, we can't do it all.

So, instead of everything, just do what you can

And wait for your beckoning call.

She looks up at me.

"It's still a work in progress," Crystal says, weakly smiling, "but it's something. Still trying to get the First Age American rhyme schemes to work. Maybe I should've attempted a haiku instead."

"What was that?"

"I write poetry on the side whenever possible."

I hold out my hand, and Crystal tosses me the paper.

"Not everyone can be good at everything. And this leads to two types of people. The first are those who recklessly try to do everything and fail to realize their own talents. The others are those who accept their flaws and attempt to improve on what they are really good at. I won't say that attempting to counter one's flaws is a bad thing, but rather than try to be something you're not, try to do what you know you can do. You have more potential than you realize, and I'm sure your brother sees that, as well. You just need to focus on what you can do rather than attempt to take on everything by yourself. Let your friends help you in places that you cannot succeed by yourself."

"Perhaps your brother would give you the exact same advice," Crystal says.

I look down at Crystal's paper with beautiful First Age Russian handwriting.

"I don't consider myself wise," Crystal begins to say, "nor will I try to fake it, either. It's just some friendly advice. Girl to girl talk."

I continue to look at the paper, then bring it close to my heart.

Focus on what I can do. Believe in myself.

I must believe. I believe things will get better. I believe that man's words are false. I believe I can help Oren without him thinking such things.

"Crystal, thank you."

She smiles, then tosses me her umbrella. She creates a thin layer of ice over her head to act as a makeshift umbrella, then walks again.

Perhaps, I should head back to and...

(I LEFT THE STOVE ON!!!)