—Of course… the tower collapsed…— Kaito’s thoughts were wrapped in a thick fog, confused and distant.

The more time passed, the more the haze cleared.

«Here again…» An image began to form before Kaito’s eyes.

A large stone gate leading to a wooden house that looked like a small monastery.

«Do I have to meet her again…?» he wondered, remembering the dream in which he had seen Reika.

Kaito walked into the garden, letting his instincts guide him. He stopped by a small pond, beside a large tree.

«The sakura blossoms were really beautiful…» he murmured, watching them fall and be carried away by a gentle breeze.

A sound made him start.

The sliding door behind him opened slowly.

«Is that you, Reika…?» When he turned, he was speechless.

«R-Rin…?» he hesitated.

A young woman stood in the doorway. She wore a snow-white kimono; short black hair framed her face, and her eyes—almost amber—caught the light. Her eyelids had a touch of light makeup, as did her lips.

«Kaito, what are you doing out here?» she asked in a soft, delicate voice.

«You’ll catch a chill. Come inside.» She turned gracefully and headed toward a small table.

«I…» Kaito tried to answer, but the sentence died in his throat.

In the blink of an eye he found himself sitting on his knees, with a steaming cup of green tea in front of him.

Rin brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip.

—Even in this, she was so gentle…— Kaito thought, watching his trembling reflection on the surface of the tea.

«You don’t like it?» she asked, tilting her head slightly.

«What?! No… it’s not that.» He stopped, unable to find the words at once.

«I know very well that you… are no longer here.» His hands clenched, as if trying to hold onto something.

«I saw Reika too… some time ago.»

«Are you here to remind me of a promise I didn’t keep?» he raised his eyes, looking at her with clouded eyes.

Rin shook her head gently. «Don’t be silly, Kaito.» A faint smile softened her face.

«I’m just worried about you. You fought until you were exhausted.» She placed her hands around the cup as if to warm them.

«What would Ren say if he saw you like this?»

Kaito was taken aback by those words. Something inside him gave way.

«Then… then I’ll take this chance to tell you.» He clenched his teeth as something began to wet the table in front of him.

«I’m sorry… I’m really sorry… That day… I left…» Sobs broke his voice.

«When I returned… you… were…»

A warm hand slowly rested on his palm, stopping him.

«Kaito... None of us hate you for leaving.»

Those words struck him like a bolt from the blue.

—She… isn’t my mother, but…—

«Rin…»

«Tell me.» She gave him another gentle smile.

«I never told you, but… even though we are not bound by blood…» she inhaled deeply, almost with effort. «I have always thought this… was what a mother’s love is.»

Rin’s apparition paused for an instant. Her hands trembled slightly.

«Thank you, Kaito…» she whispered with tears in her eyes. «Thank you for letting me be like a mother to you.»

All around them began to dissolve, like sand carried away by the wind.

«Now go…» she said as the environment lost its color. «You must get your friend Yume back. Remember?»

Kaito stood and moved toward the exit. He paused on the threshold, looking at her one last time.

«Don’t worry… I certainly won’t forget.»

Rin didn’t answer. And, for the second time, the boy crossed the monastery’s threshold.

The light grew ever brighter.

Slowly, he was returning to consciousness.

Kaito opened his eyes.

The morning light disoriented him.

He covered his face with the palm of his hand until his sight adjusted.

«Can someone tell me where the hell I am?»

He was lying on a bed; his body wrapped in bandages and dressings. With effort he lifted his upper body and leaned against the wall behind him.

«Someone must have picked me up…»

He tried to remember something, but his mind was still foggy. He slowly observed his surroundings.

He was in a small wooden house. The bed was placed against a wall; in front of it, a sofa faced a stone fireplace, above which an old television sat.

To his left, an oval table with some chairs arranged around it.

«Judging by the size, one… maybe two people live here at most.»

He turned slowly and set his feet on the floor.

He stood up, still staggering.

—I’m really in bad shape…— he observed his body more closely, reduced to a pitiful condition.

With slow steps he went toward the entrance. He gripped the knob with his hand and turned it.

«This…» his eyes widened. «This is certainly not Shinkase…»

Ahead of him stretched a sea of trees as far as the eye could see, some of them freshly cut. He took another step, stepping out onto the small porch.

«I see the special wanted man has recovered.»

A voice alerted him.

«And who are you then?!» He spun around, reaching for the sheaths of his blades.

Both were empty.

—He took my blade!—

«Don’t worry. I set your Weapon on the bedside table; you probably didn’t see it.»

The man approached.

He was an older gentleman in appearance, but his solid physique suggested he was still very strong.

He wore a thick white beard and a brown checkered bandana on his hair.

His eyes, surprisingly, were a bright yellow.

«You’re already on your feet… the beauty of being young, I guess.» The man chuckled lightly.

«You still haven’t answered me! Who are you?! Why am I here?! And where exactly are we?!» Kaito advanced a step, beginning to sense something strange coming from the old man.

«So many questions…» The elder half-closed his eyes. «And if I told you who I am, I doubt you’d take it well.»

«Try me.» Kaito’s voice was tense, ready to react.

«Ahahah… you’re really something, kid.»

With a slow motion, the man took from one hand a strange object: an axe fused with a metal glove.

He placed it on the ground with a dull thud.

—I’ve never seen a weapon like that… this means we’re not too far from Shinkase…— Kaito reflected, narrowing his eyes.

The elder breathed in deeply, then spoke with absolute calm:

«My name…» A pause. «…is Fuyumi Genzō.»