"Why do we have to go back already! we still had five more hours we could have used up!"

Complaining loudly, Niko turned towards the group slowly walking behind her.

"Niko..We've been in there since morning, and now the sun is setting, and how come you're still so energetic, even though all of us haven't slept since yesterday!?"

A loud groan emanated from Gary, his knees buckling with prolonged fatigue.

"Whaaaat, you're tired already, youre such an amateur Gary, but since you look so pathetic, i'l teach you my amazing trick that lets you stay awake for however long you want, even making you feel better the more tired you would otherwise get!"

"There's an amazing trick like that!?"

He gasped dramatically

"With something like that... i would be able to get so much work done..."

He thoughtfully scratched his unshaven chin, focusing back on Niko, his eyes glowing with the fires of an eager businessman.

"Tell me the trick, Niko!"

"Okaay, the trick is....Food!"

"...Food?"

"Yes, food, you see, whenever you eat food, your brain releases alot of dopamine, and as you might already know, dopamine makes you happy, and energetic!"

"So i should just be a glutton...?"

"No no, but kind of ,well, you see, if you keep eating the same food over and over again, the brain will release less dopamine, since our bodies have evolved in a way that makes us crave different foods, thus our release of hormones like dopamine will decrease in order to encourage us to eat different foods."

She took a deep break before continuing.

"Which means that you would have to eat alot of different foods in order to keep up your dopamine levels, which is very hard and annoying. luckily, there are certain types of food that contain special carbohydrates that the brain never seems to tire of, and keeps releasing dopamine at max levels everytime you eat it, these carbohydrates are called Monosacharides, and they are the secret to staying awake and energetic!"

Finishing her short lecture at an incredible speed, she quickly nodded several times, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Uh..that was a great explanation and all, but what you are basically saying is...that i should eat alot of foods with...sugar...?"

Gary looked questioningly at Niko, who was facing away from him, busy fumbling with something that sounded like a wrapper.

"Niko..?"

He walked over to Niko, glancing at her hands.

Not taking any notice of Gary, Niko was too preoccupied with unwrapping a chocolate bar, that seemed to have tricky packaging.

"Stupid...wrapper...get...off..already!"

She attacked the troublesome wrapper with several well placed bites, that seemed to do nothing but mush the desired object inside of it.

"Niko, that's enough for you, young lady!"

A feminine hand snatched the chocolate bar out of Nikos mouth, which she was attempting to bite through.

"Hey, give it back, you Thief!"

Niko turned around , Ironic anger aimed at whoever had the audacity to steal her chocolate.

"No more sugar for you!"

Niko was met with a light Karate chop to the head, which immediately blew the anger out of her eyes.

"B-but, i need it!"

"No, Alissa also had a problem with sugar, and i know how she can get, so no more for you, young lady, and that's final!"

Hannah declared with authority, placing the slightly sticky bar of chocolate into her pocket.

"Guuuuuuuuuh, i neeeeeed it, pleeeaaaaase!"

Niko begged, tugging at Hannahs dress like a needy child.

"Niko..."

Gary looked at Niko with slight pity at the state she was currently in.

"It's always hard to let go, but you have to...for the people around you!"

He looked up at the sky, dramatically clenching his fist infront of himself, the painful memories of how he had to quit smoking flashing quickly before his eyes.

Niko was completely oblivious to Garys dramatic flashback and continued to beg, which earned her a flick to the forehead from Hannah.

Eventually, Niko gave up, and they continued walking back to the house. Niko still full of energy, whilst The small group consisting of Gary, Hannah, Zatoichi and Shoki, slowly trotted along behind her. Everyone except for Shoki slightly slumped over with heavy bags under their eyes.

"I not get how you not tired, especially when u not healed yet..."

Zatoichi whispered to Shoki, low enough so that no one, even him, could hear what he was saying. He knew however, that Shoki would be able to hear him, he sensed that the boy had superb observation skills.

"...It is not about not being tired, i just simply do not pay attention to it..."

Shoki kept walking, leaving behind him a concerned Zatoichi.

"Hey guys, we can take a rest here for a few minutes if you're so tired!"

Niko waved over at them enthusiastically from a bench near a childrens playground.

"Huh, you can be thoughtful sometimes, Niko"

Gary groaned appreciatively, slumping down onto the bench, Zatoichi and Hannah sitting down next to him, whilst Shoki unsurprisingly chosing to keep standing up on the side.

"But why the sudden thoughtfulness, Niko?"

Not recieving a response, Gary looked around him, discovering that Niko had run off somewhere.

"Where the hell did Niko run off to now, i hope it's not another expensive restaurant that i will have to pay for..."

He mentally prepared himself with a small sigh.

"...Niko is nearby, just over there.."

Shoki pointed over at the small childrens playground, Niko standing in the middle of it, making her slightly difficult to see due to the slides and swings blocking most of their vision.

"What is she doing...?"

Gary squinted as he attempted to see what Niko was fumbling with.

"Another candy bar?!"

Hannah stood up, alert and ready to enter her lecturing mode.

"...No, it seems she is attempting to use one of the playgrounds toys...."

Shoki calmly observed, his gaze not having left Niko.

"Niko, what are you doing over there!"

Gary shouted, not bothering to stand up from the bench, resolving to simply turn to the side so he could see around some of the obstacles.

Niko stiffened upon hearing the shout, turning back to look towards the group, a slight embarassed blush covering her face.

She was half straddling a puppy shaped riding toy, that was stood upon a large spring, which would cause it to move when ridden. It was a ride that most young children enjoyed, and was not designed to be ridden by anyone over the age of five, which caused Niko difficulties when attempting to mount it.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/zcRDrG3.jpg[/img]           

"I'm just going to pretend i didn't see that, keep doing whatever it is you were doing!"

He shouted at Niko again, in a slightly tired tone, Not wanting to make an issue out of it so he wouldn't have to get up form his comfortable seating.

"W-what, i didn't want to particularly r-ride it, i was just curious if i could, and i thought it was a bit c-cute, so don't you dare make fun of meeeee!!"

She shouted at him with a stiff and awkward smile, still straddling the toy puppy, both her hands resting atop its colourful plastic head.

"Hey..don't you think Niko has been acting kind of...odd, recently?"

Gary looked over at Hannah and Shoki who were on his side.

"...I've never been a good judge of people, so don't ask me..."

Shoki shrugged.

"I have not known girl for long, so i not notice anything"

Likewise, Zatoichi shrugged.

"Hmm... well it's true that She has been acting slightly weird recently...i guess?"

A slightly thoughtful voice came from the young woman sitting next to Gary.

"Oh, so you noticed it too!?"

He beamed, glad to have found someone who agreed with him.

"Tell me what it is you've noticed!"

"Well...it's not really something weird...but Niko has been acting kind of similiar to...Alissa.."

Hannah glanced worriedly at Niko, slight longing flickering across her face.

"Similiar to...what do you mean by that!?"

"Like earlier, when Niko became obsessed with candy, Alissa used to have a problem where once she would start eating sweets, it would become very hard to stop her"

"And remember how once it was Nikos turn to sing at the kareoke place, she chose that really strange kids song?"

"Oh yes, i remember that, it was the opening theme song to 'love love princess', the main characters designs were a bit shallow, but the art was very pretty and-"

He soon trailed after noticing the strange looks he was recieving from everyone, even Shoki was glancing at him from the side.

"Ah, i mean, i have heard of it before...ahaha.."

Garys eyes were glued to the ground, his awkward laugh slowly becoming more and more quiet as it eventually died off.

"....Right, well anyway, i remember that song was from an kids show that Alissa used to watch when she was younger, and Niko seemed to know all of the lyrics perfectly.."

Her face filled with worry, her gaze flickering from Gary to Shoki, seeking their advice.

"Yeah, and Niko really doesn't like any Japanese shows, i'm pretty sure of that, and she also called me father at one point, but didn't seem to remember anything about it when i asked her.."

"She called you father...You do kind of remind me of my father, he used to wear sloppy suits and had a similiar build to you, does this mean, my Alissa coming back!?"

"I..really don't know, i don't really know anything about this kind of stuff, my speciality lies in law"

The lawyer shook his head and uselessly held his hands infront of him.

"...If that is the case, then we best find a way to stop her from coming back..."

A quiet voice blew across the cold breeze, causing everyone to look at the source of those cold words.

"What do you mean stop her from coming back!?"

Hannah stood up and stood infront of Shoki, her eyes filled with a strange seriousness that was unusual for her.

"...If this Alissa starts to come back, then we should make sure she doesn't succeed...is what i said..."

He calmly repeated himself, his eyes never leaving Niko, who was messing around in the distance.

"What i'm asking, is why we should even attempt that!?"

She said impatiently, straining herself in order to keep her voice down.

"...If Alissa comes back, there is a chance that Niko might be pushed out...the only reason for me assisting Niko as her partner, is due to her skills at retrieving things, and her mass of useful contacts..."

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He glanced over at Gary when he mentioned 'contacts' before quickly moving his gaze back towards Niko.

"...By assisting Niko, i will be able to reach my own goal, without Niko, i would lose momentum, which would make reaching my goals much more....difficult..."

His voice trailed off, seemingly tired of explaining something that should be so obvious, his face never changing from that blank bored expression he always wore.

"You mean that i should jsut give up on my sister, just because you want to reach your stupid goal, something tha selfish, how can you even say something like that!"

She sounded terrible, her eyes filling with tears, her voice desperate and filled with grief.

"Do you even understand, how painful it is to watch someone you love, just slowly wither away infront you, while you can do nothing but stand there, would someone like you even begin to understand how that feels. If you even partially understood, then you wouldn't be saying such terrible selfish things!"

Shoki moved his gaze away from Niko, looking deep into Hannahs tearful angry eyes, small droplets of water making their way down her smooth face. Her lips quivering slightly in the cold, her long eyelashes becoming slightly coated in water, giving them an almost glowing nature.

He looked deep at that face that no man could ever say no to, speaking in a low gentle tone.

"...I have experienced that similiar pain, more than you can ever imagine...."

Hannahs face lit up slightly through the tears, at the fact that someone who understood her pain stood infront of her.

"....And i still don't give a shit about you."

His experssion changed only for a single moment, before he quickly controlled himself, sinking back into that melancholious expression he normally wore.

But that one moment was more than enough for Hannah to see his true expression, the true feelings that he felt at this moment, directed at none other than her.

What she saw was a face filled with deep Disgust, the kind of Disgust one would feel when looking at a particularly disgusting insect.

With eyes so cold they momentarily stopped her heart.

She sank to her knees, her heavy breathing audible enough to be called coughing.

"Ane-san, You okay!?"

Zatoichi was instantly at her side, helping her up, with a confused expression on his face.

Gary likewise stood up, confused at her sudden collapse, as their angle made it so none other than Hannah could see Shokis face.

"Shoki, what happened, why did she suddenly collapse!?"

Gary asked with a frantic expression, taking out his phone, ready to call for an ambulance.

"...Who knows..."

Shoki walked past the still kneeling woman, slowly making his way towards the carefree Niko.

"...Niko, we should probably go now, it seems Hannah is feeling unwell..."

"Oh, she's probably tired from singing that much, well let's go back and get some....hwah...sleep.."

Yawning lightly, Niko followed Shoki, completely unaware of what had just transpired only a few meters away from her.

--

"Fwaaah..."

Niko stretched herself like a cat ontop of hers and Hannahs bed with a large yawn.

"Hmm..where's Hannah gone again..?"

Muttering to herself, she entered the living room, still in her pajamas.

"Ah Niko, come sit next to me!"

Hannah patted the seat next to her on the sofa.

"Morning Hannah, Morning Shoki.."

She lazily added as she sat down next to Hannah, nodding at her and at an odd corner in the room, which made Hannah jump as she realised that Shoki was standing there, closely observing them.

"Ah...didn't see you there..Shoki.."

He recieved a stiff smile from Hannah, which he didn't bother acknowledging.

"Good news, everyone!"

Gary stormed into the room, breaking the awkward silence that Niko seemed unaware of.

"Oooh something good?"

"Yes, the text that you acquired, i found out what language it's written in, it's a form of latin often used by merchants, so it's fairly obscure, but should still be readable to anyone who knows a fair bit of latin, i had to send some images to that dear brother of mine, as he was quite interested in old philosofical documents"

"That's great, let's go find someone who knows latin!"

"...No need, we have someone who can speak latin right here...i'm sure she was simply too modest to admit it, though..."

Shokis eyes fixed themselves onto Hannah, who stiffened up slightly, looking up at him with a slightly sour expression.

"Yes..i did mention that i studied Latin back in college.."

She admited through her teeth.

"...Then do translate...if you please.."

He gestured towards the Text that Gary held in his hand.

"Of course, of course, just one second, i need to get my reading glasses"

She walked towards the kitchen, walking by Shoki in process.

"...Yes, we need to make sure you don't mistranslate anything..."

He looked into her eyes as she walked by, causing her to halt slightly, before shaking her head and continuing.

A while later they were all sitting in the livingroom, except for Shoki, who opted for standing as usual.

All closely observing Hannah, as she read the last bit of line on the text.

"Phew...that was quite a read, haven't had to read like that since preparing for exams way back when"

She stretched herself, letting the text slide onto the table from her legs.

"How old are you exactly..?"

Niko asked, curious over how long back 'way back when' meant.

"Niko! It's rude to ask a lady her age, you should learn that as a young lady yourself"

"I'm not a woman, never was, never will be, so what did it say in the text?"

Niko pouted and tried tried to change the subject from the irritating s ubject of her being female.

"Hm, a bunch of written down debates centering around theories of life"

"Like reviving...!?"

"No...just things like how one should live their life, and about human mortality, and how tragic it all is, and so on, and so on, it was almost more of a poem than anything else, the most useful thing i found, was about how your blood would turn into gold if you lived your life correctly...which is not that useful i figure?"

"No...damnit, i thought we really had it this time, are you sure you didn't miss anything?"

Niko looked disoppointed, her eyes still filled with a glimmer of hope.

"...Yes...are you sure you didn't accidently...miss something..."

Shoki leaned in close in order to look at text laying on the table, whilst in reality glancing over at Hannahs face.

"Of course, i read through all the chapters in this book, i haven't missed anything!"

She looked slightly offended, and looked at him as if to say, 'I wouldn't do something so lowly'.

"I mean the only thing i haven't read are the authors afterwords, which i can just quickly glance through"

She quickly picked up the book and skimmed through the small paragraph at the last page.

"Huh...it says that the author found and transcribed these texts from stone inscribings when he was traveling through Thinis...where he apparently met a lunatic claiming to be able to reanimate the dead, among other supposedly heretical things..."

She slowly closed the book.

"Hm...that's strange, if i remember correctly, Thinis is a supposedly lost ancient city, in Egypt..."

"Thinis..? let's see here, Thinis..lost egyptian city..one of the largest civilisations...city of the dead?"

Gary quickly typed away at his laptop as he read out his findings.

"Well, too bad, since it's a lost ancient city, it seems we will have to give up on this and start over somewhere else!"

Hannah smiled brightly and put the book down onto the table.

"...Not yet...read through it again...this time read everything outloud..so everyone gets a chance to find any clues..."

Shoki put his hand underneath the book, stopping Hannah from placing it on the table.

"Fine.."

She sighed and began the slow process of live translating the entire book.

A few hours later, she breathed out and relaxed her muscles, finally done with the tedious task of translating an entire book.

Gary was quickly finishing off typing in the last sentence she said, now having the fully translated copy of the text on his computer.

"See, i told you, nothing there except strange poems and phylosofical discussions"

"Wait, let me see!"

Niko ran over to where Gary was sitting and snatched the laptop away from him.

Scrolling up on the small laptop, she finally seemed to find what she was looking at.

"Here it reads 'How magnificent the red sands glowed as we spoke of our lives to the people of the city'"

"So what?"

"So, sand isn't usually red, which means it was most likely crushed up rocks that had been dug up to be used for buildings, so it's somewhere with good mountains to dig from"

"That doesn't exactly decrease the area that much..."

Gary sighed, but Niko continued once again.

"Maybe not, but look here"

She scrolled up some more, finding another paragraph that contained another hint.

"Here it reads, 'The journey across the white desert was long and tedious, but it was all worth it in the end in order to acquire true enlightenement from experts of the way of life'"

"Aren't deserts usualy yellow though..?"

"Exactly, Gary, look for anything connected to a white desert in egypt, it could be a dried up sea so they meant salt, or maybe it was some kind of rock formation, so marble or chalk"

"Ah, you were right, a white desert, a desert dominated by large formations of chalk, it's called the Farafra"

"Great, now look for any nearby mountains, and that should be our destination"

"Nearby mountains...yes, crystal mountain, apparently it's a true desert, but there's a small secluded village where nomads usually stop by for rest, they have no real name, so they call it the crystal village"

"Then that is where we should head off next, first crystal village, next, the city of the dead!"

Niko declared, Causing Hannah to sigh in obvious displeasure, whilst Shoki nodded in a pleased fashion.

"I hope there will be alot of ancient tombs to rob...and i also want to ride the camels, and maybe touch a real mummy!"

She jumped on her seat with childish excitement.

"Uh...i really hate warm places..."

Gary complained, but quietly went online to order some plane tickets.