**Children are so innocent......**

A group of boys was marching along the street, shouldering sticks like rifles and pretending the cheers of the crowd were their victory celebration. Two girls were waving white scraps of cloth at them, hopping alongside their 'heroes'.

**I can't even remember my childhood. I can't remember anything......**

No, that wasn't true. She could remember her mother...... her voice singing lullubyes in the dark. She could remember...... **No...... who is that?** A...... someone she used to play with, who had hair just like her own. A girl? No...... was it...... a brother, like Kyoko's?

A lone tear slid down Elanore's cheek, and the edges of the window turned blurry again. **I can't remember.** Another fat tear marked her face, trailing trough the sheen of blood. **Why can't I remember that?** She could remember what she had done last night...... the attack.

That Etone...... the one with the golden eyes. He had tried to kill Kyoko, then her. But...... he would never try to kill anyone ever again. The Watch was searching the building now, looking for the man's murderer.

**I...... killed him.**

Why did that thought seem so disturbingly familiar? Why didn't it spark anything but a dull ache in her heart? That man's life should have been important to her, no matter what he had tried to do. But all she could think about was the void inside of her, that had always been a part of her, as long as she could remember.

More tears, making pale trails through the dry blood caking her face, turning it into a gruesome mask. Not her blood...... It was all over Kyoko's room -- the poor girl would have to share Elanore's bed, until they could clean it up.

But Elanore was still sitting there beside the broken window, waiting for the Watch to come accuse her of the crime. She hadn't moved since her awakening, or even spoken, though her friend had tried her best to comfort her. But...... would they believe her when she said she only fought in defense? Not many people were capable of putting on the performance she had last night, she knew.

"Elly......?" Kyoko knelt down beside her, holding forth a damp white cloth. She only sighed, and with a shrug her friend began to scrub the blood off of Elanore's face. "You can't just stay here. Aren't you hungry, at least? Thirsty?"

"No......" It was the first word she had spoken since waking up. Just that little bit was draining. The effects of her Ether displays were definitely catching up with her.

"They're not going to blame you, Elly! Five other people in the building have reported his presence in their apartments this past week -- he's just another scumbag burgalar!" She turned Elanore's face away from the window and began scrubbing her other cheek. "You don't have anything to worry about. They'll probably give you a medal."

Elanore let her lips twitch up in a smile, although she didn't believe it. Where on earth had she found such a supportive friend? She could not say for sure, but she doubted such a person had supported her before...... before whatever it was she could not remember. It was a *feeling* she had...... But Kyoko was enough to fill that black hole within her heart, for a little while.

"My mother always called me 'Elly'......" she whispered. "I miss her."

Her friend paused. "...... Why don't you visit her then?" she asked after a moment.

"Visit......? I don't think I can......" Something...... something she wasn't supposed to tell. But what wasn't she supposed to tell? "I can't...... remember."

Kyoko sighed and gave her face a final swipe with the cloth before dropping it on the floor. Then she reached out and gave Elanore a tight hug. "I'm sorry about this. Maybe if I could --"

Someone knocked hard at the door, cutting her off in midsentence. She sighed and stood up. "Stay here. I'll bring them in here and explain everything. Maybe they'll think that blood on your clothes is your own."

Elanore nodded and turned her face back to the window. The children had gone, but the lively buzz from the streets below lulled her into a daydream......

"A pleasure to see you, as always, Miss Liuna."

Her head snapped around, and her gaze fixed on a short, thin man in a plain grey suit. He removed his hat and sketched a shallow bow, jet hair falling over his eyes for a moment.

"I am here to administer your treatment." He regarded her a moment, then spoke again. "Don't worry about the Watch. Everything has been taken care of - the man's murderer has been captured and detained."

Her eyebrows contracted, and she started to shake her head. "But --" He placed his hat on a hook and placed his briefcase on Kyoko's small table. "How do you know that?"

"They carried him out a few minutes ago," the man said matter-of-factly. He opened the case and began fiddling with the equipment inside.

**I never can remember his name...** Elanore wasn't sure she believed the man, but what could she do? He had no reason to lie - that she knew of. "I was the one who......" He turned to look at her, with a syringe in his right hand. She trailed off, trying not to look at it. She *hated* these visits. Every week......

"Don't worry about it, Miss Liuna. As I said, everything has been accounted for." He knelt beside her and gestured. She held her arm out and averted her eyes.

"How, though? Are they sure the man they caught was the one?"

"Resonably sure. They found a knife and three ether stones in his home -- all recently used." He jabbed the needle into her wrist and she bit back a shout, flinching violently. "I'm surprised you did not investigate it yourself -- you were never the type to stand by and wait for things to happen...... or so I understand."

"What do you mean......?"

"I don't have much time to spend here, Miss Liuna, or I would tell you more of what I know. I only knwo what I've observed, and the skill you used to eject that Etone was no random burst of energy. Suffice it to say you often spent large amounts of your time practicing such things."

He drew the needle out of her flesh and wiped it on a small cloth. She snatched her wrist back and massaged the puncture wound, wiping away a little droplet of blood. "It doesn't ring a bell."

"No?" He spared her an amused glance before rising and turning back to the briefcase. "Don't you recall anything of what you did last night?"

She started to shake her head, but stopped short.

**...... Elanore leapt into the air and spun full circle again, feeling the force of the chilling feeling gather in her fist. The man stumbled to his feet again, with another knife in his hand. He made ready to throw it, grabbing Kyoko and shoving her aside.

"Elanore!" Kyoko cried out, hardly audible. She ignored the plea, completing her spin and throwing the ice at her opponent......**

That...... feeling...... she had experienced......

"Yes, I see you do." he snapped the case shut and retrieved his hat. "'Zenmaru', I believe that skill is called. Impossible to use for any but the most advanced of warriors in your homeland. Perhaps you should consider entering the tournament here. It might help you get in touch with your memories."

**Zenmaru......** It did sound rather familiar...... "My homeland...... What is my homeland? Of all the stories you've told me, you never mentioned that."

His eyes became shadowed, and he cleared his throat. "That one is for another time, Miss Liuna. For now......" he sketched another elegant bow, and backed out of the room. "...... I must be on my way."

And with that he was gone.

Kyoko took his place in the doorway. "He creeps me out, Elly."

She shrugged, still massaging her wrist. "He tells the turth...... I can feel it, when I hear him tell me things about myself."

"Still...... how does he know? Where does he come from? Don't you ever wonder? How did he know what you did last night?"

Elanore froze. **Yes, how did he know that?** She had never even wondered. Ever. SHe had just accepted...... everything. But she *knew* he had told the truth! Maybe he lived somewhere nearby. "Well, we won't know until next week."

"Yeah......" Kyoko shrugged sourly. "So are you going to follow his suggestion?"

Suggestion? **The tournament......** "Yes," she said suddenly, pushing herself off of the floor. "It'll be fun, if nothing else."

Her friend's dour look turned into an amused grin. "My friend, the Champ."

Elly punched her arm playfully and squeezed past her into the hall. "You never know. I could just be the next martial arts master!"

Kyoko snorted. "Yeah, if you ever figure out *how*."

"Hey --!" She grinned and hurried into her room, rummaging on her bed for a clean jumpsuit.

She had a tournament to enter.