Left alone, Tsune soon thought of a movement she wanted to see in the stone. Mapo floating around her hand was easy to imagine and easy to notice.

She closed her eyes and saw it so vividly that her arm felt the wind from the flying orb. Then looked straight into the crystal, expecting to see her imagination materialized.

Five seconds of wait, ten, twenty, A shadow came over the surface and her eyes glanced to the side. It couldn't be a cloud could it? But when her attention returned, the prism was as bright as the sunlit pavement.

Dissapointed and lightly embarassed by the easy distraction, she put in extra effort. Her stare drilled into the surface, trying to force the vision into the depths. But before long, blood pulsed behind her eyes and her head throbbed. She turned away to rub her strained eyes.

After light rabbits went away and the tears dried up, her expression remained sour. For the next try, she took the monk's wave. First in imagination, then moved the arm muscles to fool her mind into believing that she made the gesture.

Then repeated both, with both palms pushed against the stubborn thing.

Releasing the breath she unconsciously held, she turned away. To the side, the robot loudly connected its fingers to make a triangle. Then turned it into a diamond shape. The symbols flowed and the distraction helped her change into analytical persona.

Sorting the causes for failure, the first was the monk's advice about Snowland. That wasn't just useless, but misleading. This piece of rock was nothing like that automated place, so she hoped for quick success for no reason. If his inventory was as good as his help, the crystal was busted.

The other was about mother. She arranged for her to fail. A dangerous training and daughter who could risk disobeying, the motive was there.

After a while, Tsune lightly shook her head. The spoken reason for training was the weakness as a pilot and Lady Red had no way to know otherwise. But she knew that a pilot would not give up on improving themselves.

The robot's movements changed again, reminding her to hurry up. If she showed no progress before training's end, Rei could object to her presence.

-

Later, she decided to cheat a little. She searched the previous world for a special state of mind, or a distinct feeling, she could replicate as a shortcut. If this world was so similar to the games, even a far out scene could prove useful.

And soon she found it. After the branching inner dialogue, the robot's transparent image was overlayed over the protagonist's spirit. Then the human figure grew to match it, the metal copying the flesh when it clenched into a fist.

That was the moment she focused on. And the stone cleared. It reflected herself, the stone floor and the sky above. It ignored her imagined movements while showing her real ones.

She pushed away the budding annoyance. Even if lackluster, a result was worth holding onto. Now it just needed to last.

-

As the monk walked over, her perception of time slowed down. The success was an educated guess at best, so she could feel every second pass by. Especially since the old man took no detours and couldn't see it until he passed the tree.

Finally he cleared the obstacle. But instead of relief, whether a compliment or even a frown, she saw raised eyebrows.

'Do my eyes deceive me? A clear crystal?'

'Did I do something wrong?'

The old man kneeled before the prism. Then their eyes met and her fear of losing the link came to pass, if too late to matter. The stone opaque surface separated them.

'I cannot say. But an empty state requires an empty mind.'

'And forgive me for the assumption, but I do not believe you have reached it.'

'I'm not even sure what that means. It refused to do anything, so I imagined-'

'Do not blame your method then, as it cannot achieve this.'

'Um, are you still looking at it?'

The awkward standoff continued for several minutes. When she broke the silence, the monk moved as if he forgot where he was. Then smiled and stood up.

'Forgive me. I was absorbed by choosing the archive I should reference. We will conitnue tomorrow, when light of sun comes.'

As she watched his back, she couldn't help but think about the plans she made before. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

-

An hour later, Tsune guided the glider far to the side as soon as she took off. It was time to make sightseeing videos for the team page. Den gave no specific order, so she went with the farthest one first.

The target was a giant pile of boulders on the left side of the mountain. As old as the city itself, it dated back to when starfort construction teams removed the uneven parts of the mountain top. But as it usually happens, people got used to seeing it and eventually gave meaning even to the simple rocks. Nowadays, it has grown to be a part of the city life.

She clicked the safety belt locks, making the metal clamps make an angry warning noise. They refused to be disabled completely, only weakening enough to turn and lean on the gondole. She instantly got a faceful of her hair, but once the last strand was sent to flutter behind, it was time to record.

The first pass focused on the foundation that has overgrown over the centuries. With plants and time fragmenting the rocks into a wall that was several human heights tall.

For the second scene, she zoomed in on the visitor groups that pointed out the figures they saw in interlocking boulders above. Essentially, it was the same as cloud gazing, with changing lighting adding fuel to the imagination.

The final pass over the top layer wasn't as lucky, as the glider ran between an air upflow and wind from the mountain. The turbulence shook the machine and chill ran through her body as her cold muscles grew weak from fear. Tsune fought back by gripping the strut so hard that her nails dug into her palm. And the pain made the blood flow quicker, restoring control enough to keep the phone steady.

"Why didn't I take a coat."

The belt clamp made a happy sound when the girl dropped back into the seat. Goose bumps covered her skin and threatened to grow into a mean shiver.

But, there was a silver lining from all of the near-fall experiences. The adrenaline fueled pulse worked to restore her warmth, slowly spreading it through her top half. Her cheeks were all burning up already.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Next was the upper city and then the temple, with Rei's training session as future loading symbol. She just hoped that the monks wouldn't object.

-

"I'll have to ask to how land on the ground."

Drenched from head to toe by the river water, the girl brushed the wet locks out of her face. The shallow noon water was warm even against her hot skin. But the river breeze made quick work of that comfort and she returned the excited wave from the familiar car on the shore.

-

The next morning, Tsune sat against Rei. The yesterday's cold still lingered and the cool air felt almost cold. But she could hardly ignore his early call, given how intensely he eagerly he asked.

To be fair, watching his reflection was almost worth the occasional chill. It changed expressions, repeated the mech hand training, then stood up to walk like a caged lion. The last attempt even replaced the reflected world with inside of a waterfall.

'The mind link works. Did he trick me? Or was it your parent?'

'The monk was asked by mother to train me and I think my mother wouldn't...'

'He would. He learned this recently. I'd have noticed.'

'But why, just to stop you from teaching? Is it even possible to teach me while stopping you?'

The reflection's fist hit it's palm and the crystal grew opaque .

'If I thought less of him, we would've combed your call log for leading questions.'

As the silence settled in, Tsune mentally shook her head in surprize. She planned to observe the temple, exchanging the role of messenger for her stay here. But the monk immediately exploited her training, to achieve his own goals.

Soon, she broke the silence.

'Look, I didn't ask to be paired up, I've had enough of that from my teammate. But your teacher wouldn't set this up as a dead end, because my mother wouldn't want that.'

'He left a hint?'

'If he wanted to hide it better, he thought about my phone, so he might've told it to you instead.'

'I'll solve it then. Before idleness wastes the day. Show me the clear crystal.'

Tsune nodded and summoned the yesterday's succescul image. Just to have the stone ignore it. The boy noticed her confused blink and narrowed his eyes.

"How are you already suspicious?"

She retraced her steps yesterday, with herself in character's shoes to reinforce immersion. When the imaginary mech clenched its fist, the prism turned transparent. And Rei leaned forward, forgetting about his appearance as he appraised the result.

'It really is true?'

'Why are both of you surprised? Your teacher said I couldn't have reached an empty mind. Then he cut me off and left to study.'

'To put it simply, a mind has stray thoughts. To pilot cleanly, you supress them. Then will the actions through the link. Like moving your arm, without thinking about muscles.'

Rei reached forward. HIs palm rested against the stone, showing to Tsune without any distortions.

'Not unless you mastered mental discipline. Or meddled with either the crystal or yourself. You can't make it inert.'

'So, since I couldn't meddle with it.

"and my parents told me I wasn't changed..."

'I'll replace it right now. If it's true, my training will resume. Or he'll hear no end to this.'

-

Later, Tsune looked at the pavement, studying the minor leaves of grass that made it through the cracks. The new crystal clearly showed Rei through its from, so she would rather not looked at Rei. It was a small miracle that the connection survived the change in expressions for as long as it did. As even listening to his breathing break into parts, made her fever actively worse.

Honestly, leaving before she made another blunder wasn't a bad idea. She could still talk to the monk and Rei would be annoying to deal with, but he wouldn't turn personal. But, she had to make at least one more attempt.

'I'm sure that this not because of me. it just worked that way after that useless advice about Snowland.'

'About what?'

'It's like a winter park inside of a building. But the snow gathers itself into shapes that fit your subconscious.'

As she said the last sentence, several events clicked together into a chain. It must've reflected in her expression as Rei asked nothing and his presence withered into the background. The key was the Christmas tree in the middle of the frozen forest. It dressed itself with items from her past, but stumbled on memories nobody in this world could have.

But how could she approach it in a way that won't make Rei unbearable.

'I think I understand. But he said that he heard it from his students.'

'I'm his only student. For as long as I remember.'

'And your parents?'

'On Tek Terra since I was a child. Say it already.'

'I'll need to talk to mother about it. But first, I need to lie down.'

Tsune stood up and left to the guest houses. Surprisingly, the boy didn't try to stop her. Maybe he decided not to force the answer, or maybe he saw her unsteady walk.

-

Several door knocks woke her up. The sun was already up and bright enough to show an adult silhouette through the thin door. He held something in his hands.

'I'm up.'

'I have come with hot food and medicine. It is from your region, so there are no local additions.'

The monk kneeled to put the tray on the ground and continued.

'I have also come to ask forgiveneness for my student. He chased practice and that turned him blind to your health.'

'It is because I never told him. But I wanted to ask, was your first advice about a Snowland tree with presents on it?'

The girl involuntarily matched his tone for the answer.

'Ah, so you have learned about it. Yes, your mother have instructed me.'

'Will Rei help? Because I doubt we can work together well.'

'I believed that it would be beneficial to the boy. I humbly ask you for help.'

Tsune brushed her nose and her finger grew wet. Using the fever to buy time was fine, but it was high time to get serious. Or she'll spend weeks bedridden and separated from the team.

She slid away the door and took the tray.

'I want to cover my weakness as a pilot, so I'll do my best. Please tell it to Rei.'