"Are you sure you're alright?" Oren asks me.

"Sadly, no. But I'll manage."

I knew this would happen, but Oren is like one of my precious students. I cannot allow for anyone else to get hurt.

Given the dangerous circumstances, I asked the children to stay with their parents for the next couple of days. School will be officially cancelled for a while. A pity, I know, as education is important, but safety first. I will have to be patient and hope things sort themselves out.

I looked down at today's newspaper. Sure enough, the riot from a couple hours ago made the front page. I'm surprised at how quickly newspapers can change their headlines when money is at stake. Lost the Battle, but will They win the War? Fitting.

Oren digs into his cloak's pocket and pulls out the gun he used before.

"Here," he calmly says to me.

"Why?"

"You would make better use of it than me."

(Perhaps, he's isn't like them at all.)

"I cannot take it," I say.

"Perhaps, but I don't want it, either."

I continue to stare at the gun across the restaurant table. I don't know what's more surprising, the fact that you can bring a gun into a cafe in New Vegas or the fact that someone who was just attacked is willingly giving up his only form of defense.

After the children were brought home, Oren and I chose to go to a cafe to talk about a few things. This small establishment, "Pachinko Times," is small but has good food and some cheaper forms of gambling for those who wish to try their luck. Mostly slot machines, though, and run-down ones at that. Must have been excavated from First Age sites. Though the gambling costs money, the food is free in order to feed the poor people of New Vegas during set hours of the day. It's one of the few places some of the kinder rich people chose to fund as a charitable foundation. It's also a good form of employment, considering that the government is paying for these places.

"So, you're a wind tone, yes?" Oren asks.

"Indeed I am."

"To my knowledge, you're the first I've met."

I look down at my arm again. Moving it still really hurts.

"You okay there, amigo?"

"Si. Don't worry, I can take care of myself. I'm actually much older than you think."

"Oh? May I ask by how old?"

"I don't know your age, but I'm 37!"

"WWHHHAATTTT!?!?!?"

I'll admit, that reaction is common. A 37 year old who looks 18.

"You really haven't been around many wind tones. As you know, rhime can affect one's physical and mental characteristics. If you go off of stereotypes, of course. The upside to wind rhime is that we age slowly. Time literally passes us by on the wind, if you will."

"Ah," Oren says, calming down. "Thank you for saving me, but don't hurt yourself too much for my sake. You have responsibilities for more children than just me."

"Please, as a teacher, I cannot allow any one of my students to be injured on my watch. I may have a duty to not pick favorites, but I cannot stand idly by, either. You're actually the same in a few ways."

"I suppose. I may not have as many people to protect anymore, but I would do anything for my sister."

"Nice to know you have family, at least. I've been orphaned since childhood. Guess that's why I think of my students as family."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I look down at my arm again.

"I'm curious. If you wish to protect your sister, how would you do it?"

"I have a special fighting style, which I call the 'Yubi' style. It mostly specializes in kicks and swordsmanship, but I don't have a sword on me."

"No rhime attacks?"

"Honestly, if I could, I would."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid I cannot use rhime."

"That's hard to believe. Toddlers can use rhime, so I don't see how you can't."

"Ouch."

"What's your tone type?"

"Wish I knew."

(That's...odd.)

"That reminds me. You mentioned a ninth rhime tone. Could you tell me more about them? Maybe that might be mine."

I remain silent for a little bit.

"I pray that you are not one of them."

"Hm?"

"The ninth rhime tone, like all other rhime tones, have stereotypes of their own. This last one is for arguably the most cruel and arrogant race. One that justifies any and all actions against those different from them with the excuse of 'divine right'. You don't strike me as one of their kind. And even if you were, your speed and strength, even without that 'soul conversion' of yours, don't match the characteristics of this tone type."

"Oh. I see."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, what's your plan?"

."..I haven't told her yet, but my goal is to save enough money to get my sister out of this dump before I do anything else. After that, I have two quests. The first is a quest for revenge in the name of those who died in Terraz. The second is to learn more about myself."

"Vengeance doesn't suit you. But why the path of self-enlightenment?"

"Before my father died, he asked me to be there for my sister till the end of our days. However, after everything that has occurred, I am concerned about what will happen to her if she stays with me. I know I am not what people frame me to be, but who am I really? What if I'm somebody with a dark past that will only lead to her getting mixed up in unwanted complications? What if the real me is not someone she could care for? I want to stay with her, but when I finally ask her to stay with me, I want her to know that it's the real me that is speaking to her."

"You sound close, but is going your separate ways after such a traumatic event like the one in Terraz really a good idea?"

"I don't want her to get involved in anything that traumatic again. That's my reason. You yourself just went through a similar ordeal today as well."

"I understand your reasoning, but separating family still doesn't sound appealing. I guess I just don't know how your sister thinks. What is she like?"

"She may not be able to handle very complicated situations well, but she follows her heart and is one of the most honest women you will ever meet. Though her personality can cause some complications if you get on her bad side, she's actually very kind and always brightens your day otherwise. Even with her own personal flaws, if I could spend the rest of my life romantically with someone, I would want it to be with someone like her."

"Do...do you really mean that, Oren?" I hear a girl say.

I don't need to see Oren's face to tell how surprised he is. He slowly turns his head in the direction of the voice. At the end of the table is what I assume to be an animal tone in her waitress outfit. The instant they make eye contact, their faces get flushed with embarrassment.

"GACK!!!" Oren cries out sheepishly.

"Um...hey...sis."

(Sis? Didn't expect this.)

"Ho...how much...did you hear?" Oren stutters.

"T...the last part..." she responds.

(Well, this is awkward.)

"A-anyway," the girl begins to say, "My name is Sueka Tsurai, and I'll be serving you today. Can I start you two off with something to drink?"

"I will have C.C. Lemon, please," I say.

"Um... t...tea, please," Oren mumbles.

"Coming right up!" Sueka says energetically.

"Wonderful girl," I remark to Oren as she turns to leave.

I look back at Oren and see him still eyeing Sueka. That must have been embarrassing.

"Sorry that I got you into that," I say.

"It's my fault for not knowing she worked here."

BASHIN!

The sound of a few plates breaking is heard inside the kitchen.

"Some things never change," Oren chuckles.

"Nice to hear that," I say, tapping him on the shoulder above his broken arm.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! You okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You really should get that arm checked."

"Wish I could, but it would cost me an arm and a leg."

The two of us snicker.

"Oh, and you might want to brace yourself," Oren says to me.

I look to see Sueka coming our way.

"Okay, here's your...AH!!!"

And...she trips again.

I catch my drink before it spills. Oren, on the other hand, gets out of his seat, catches his drink in his good hand, sets it down, and then catches Sueka. Guess this is a common occurrence. Applause is heard throughout the cafe.

"Nice catch," I say.

"Well, that's what family is for!"

!!!!

(Those words!)

I have a sudden flashback of a woman whom I've desired to forget long ago. A woman who would smile at me the same way and say the exact same words.

The woman...who broke my heart and betrayed my trust.

"Hisashi-sama, you okay?" Oren asks me.

"Are you ready to order?" Sueka asks.

"Sure," I reply. "I'll have a pork-cutlet and... Are you two okay?"

"Meat..." the two weakly say in unison.

"Okay, just a salad."

"I'll have that too." Oren says.

"Coming right up!"

"Are YOU okay, Oren?"

"Sorry about that. Just not used to meat."

"Vegan?"

"Yes. And as for why, picture this. Your sister is an animal tone. Her subtone allows her to become livestock. Livestock is meat. Ergo, eating meat is like eating my sister! Not to mention dairy products make me have some...unnecessary visions."

"Should have guessed."

The rest of the meal was as you would expect. I must say though, it's nice to know Oren and Sueka better. They definitely are a breath of fresh air in this polluted city.

And yet the fact they are refugees from Terraz cannot be ignored either. And I know what it feels like to lose your home and those close to you. Such painful memories. Still, when I look at the two, it brings back more pleasant memories that seemed to be overshadowed by the painful ones. To have friends. To fall in love. To share memories with all those precious to you...!

That reminds me!

"Oren. Sueka."

"Hm?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you see yourselves in the future?"

"Didn't expect this," Oren says, "But I've given you my answer before. If I was to add anything, I'd like to have friends by my side wherever I go, at least."

I look over to Sueka. She continues to look back at Oren and blush.

I look around and see a claw machine for crystals of different shapes. Before finishing my meal, I go over and play it. Since I've played these a million times in the past, it's not too hard.

BATA.

With one try, I win a small star-shaped crystal.

"You guys reminded me a bit of a promise I once made to a friend in the past. Although we would have to go our separate ways, we promised that we would one day meet again. To symbolize our separation and reunion, we divided a crystal in half and promised to recombine it when we reunited."

The two siblings look at one another and smile.

"Care to do the honors, Hisashi?" Oren asks me. That's the first time he hasn't used "sama" when addressing me.

I smile. Using my wind rhime, I quickly cut the crystal into three pieces. I then poke a hole at one of the tips of each third for us to insert strings into later and make these into pendant-like keychains. May they symbolize friendship and a future reunion!

I pray that we will meet again after we part ways. I pray that they will be happy.

And I pray that Oren doesn't end up like the person I remember.