Maria knocked on the door to Kohran's room. There was no answer. After a minute, Maria knocked again.

"Kohran, it's me," she announced. "Can I come in?"

There was a muffled sound behind the door, but it was nothing that resembled a legible answer. Pushing aside the slight twinge of anxiety that comes when one faces the unenviable task of interrupting any of Kohran's scientific experiments, Maria cautiously opened the door and peered inside.

The room was a total mess, which really didn't make it any different from how it was before. What was new were the pieces of grey stuff hanging from the walls and the long counter made up of linked tables that bore more than the usual number of laboratory equipment. All of them were in use, and held bubbling mixtures inside them.

Kohran was hunched at a desk, itself a table she had seemingly borrowed from the briefing room. The young Chinese was so engrossed in her work that she hadn't even registered her friend's entry.

Maria quietly took it all in. She wasn't even going to ask Kohran how she'd managed to get her hands on the gas tanks that were being used to fuel the bunsen burners. Finally, she softly cleared her throat. "Kohran?"

Kohran stiffened and turned to look at her in surprise. "Aa... Maria-han! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what's happening," Maria said. "You didn't show up for breakfast and we were getting worried." She waited near the door. "Have you found anything new?"

Kohran grimaced. "Not much beyond what we already know." She ran a hand through her dishevelled hair. "I'm working on the samples I got from the cocoon and from the ground nearby..."

"And?"

"As it turns out, the cocoon is made from saliva. Quite a bit more acidic than normal saliva. Not enough to burn, though."

"I see."

"Also, it's strong and pretty rigid. Whatever it held inside had to have worked very hard to get out."

"You didn't seem to have much trouble pulling out a piece," Maria commented.

"I had good leverage, so it was easier." Kohran leaned back carefully against the desk. "You know, it just occured to me that the cocoon was about the right size to hold a man in there."

Maria raised an eyebrow, but waited for Kohran to finish. "I don't know why I didn't realise that last night when I was right in front of the thing..." The Chinese girl sighed. "Anyway, I've done whatever early tests I can on the cocoon fragments. I'm starting work on the egg, but it's still not going to be much use with the limited equipment I've got at hand."

If this is what she calls 'limited'..., Maria mused silently. When she was sure that Kohran had nothing else to add, she said, "Kohran, when I was there, I felt something... wrong about the place. Something foul." Kohran was listening quietly. "It reminded me of the feeling I get when there are demons around."

Kohran said, "I didn't feel anything. But then," she added ruefully,"I was kinda preoccupied with the cocoon." She looked at Maria for a moment. "Did the others feel it, too?"

"Just Sakura," Maria said.

"You're wondering if it may be the demons behind the making of these," Kohran said, gesturing to the various samples scattered around the room. Maria nodded. Kohran mulled silently for a bit, then spoke up, "I can't say for sure, Maria-han. There's no record of the demons actually doing anything like this before, so any of this sort of questioning is going to be purely speculatory."

"I know. I just wanted to check with you to make sure." Maria hesitated, then told Kohran to stop her work for a while. "You look like you haven't slept at all the whole night."

"I didn't."

"Then get some rest. Not necessarily in this room."

Kohran grinned. "Afraid something'll go wrong if I roll off the bed and break one of those vials, Maria-han?"

"Yes, I am," Maria admitted, returning Kohran's infectious good-humour with a small smile of her own. "Finish up what you have and rest. I'll have someone send something up for you to eat soon."

"Ah, Maria-han," Kohran quipped as she turned to leave, "sometimes, you remind me of how it was like back in China with a big sister watching over me."

It was later in the afternoon when Maria and Sakura stepped into the village clinic. Most of the village was quiet, its inhabitants either off to work, or out to resume their search for the missing girl. From the looks on several of the people's faces, though, Maria suspected that most of them had begun to give up hope of finding Tamiko unharmed.

"Good day," the tired-looking nurse greeted them.

"Ah, there you are," Dr. Yamaguchi said as they entered. "I was wondering when you'd be showing up."

"Good afternoon, doctor," Maria greeted. "How is Hiroshi feeling?"

"A little better, but he's still pretty weak." He gestured towards the young man's room. "Ootani-san and the others have already spoken to him during the morning. I've told them that no one's to disturb him for the rest of the day, but I'll make an exception in your case."

"Thank you, doctor," Sakura said, bowing.

"Just don't take too long, or do anything to stress him out." Yamaguchi opened the door to the room. "Break any of those rules and you'll have me and my scalpel to deal with, not to mention my army of loyal nurses." He indicated the solitary nurse in the waiting area. She blushed at the attention.

"Understood," said Maria, amused.

Hiroshi looked up at them from his bed. There was a quizzical expression on his face; he obviously didn't remember who they were. They introduced themselves to him.

"We came to see how you were doing," Maria said, "and to ask you a few questions about your experiences in the forest yesterday."

"I've already told Ootani-san everything I know," he said.

"I know," Maria told him, "but I'd appreciate it if you could tell us, first-hand, what happened."

He shrugged and reached out for some water. "Uhm, it was about three days ago. Tamiko and I went out into the forest for a bit. We were heading for the stream; I wanted to do a little fishing," he explained. "It was all pretty quiet that day. When we were heading back for the village, something... well, something came up and grabbed me from behind."

"What?"

"I don't know. I couldn't see a thing." He gritted his teeth. "I could hear Tamiko screaming my name, but I couldn't see anything much. I don't remember what happened, but I woke up wrapped in some weird glop stuck to a tree."

"What happened then?"

"I pulled myself out of there. It took me a long while. I think it was already getting dark by the time I got out." He swallowed. "I... I tried to look for Tamiko, but I didn't really know where I was going and... well,the next thing I knew, there was this bright light and then I was here in this room."

"I see." Maria leaned back in her chair. "Tell me anything else you remember about when you were grabbed."

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Can you tell me anything about your captor? Was it a person? A wild animal?"

He thought about it for a bit, then shook his head. "I guess it felt like a person. I mean, there were hands holding on to me."

"Very strong?"

"Yes, pretty strong. I remember he lifted me off the ground." Hiroshi shuddered. "I was kicking and throwing myself around, but it didn't seem to do anything to him."

"Anything else? A voice, or a certain way he moved, maybe."

"No... nothing." He shook his head again. "Sorry."

She waited a few moments, allowing him to gulp down another glass of water. "Do you feel up to talking some more?" she asked when he was done.

"I'm all right. My throat's just a little dry," he said.

"You said you woke up inside something...," she began.

"Yeah. I told Ootani-san about it and he said that he and the others saw it too."

"Did you happen see anything else around there?"

"Like the guy who kidnapped me?" he asked and she nodded. "Nothing." His brows wrinkled in honest effort to remember. "I... I don't think I even saw a single animal there." He gave them a weak smile, saying, "I guess that was pretty lucky. I mean, I would've made an easy target for any wild animal at that time, right?"

Hiroshi's expression fell. "I hope Tamiko's all right," he murmured. He looked at the two in front of him. "You are going to help look for her, aren't you?"

They nodded. "We'll certainly do what we can," Sakura said. A look of relief flitted over his face. "Do you have any thoughts on where she might be?"

"No. Ootani-san said that he's asked some people to look for her near the place where I was taken. He also said that he and the others were looking for her near where you found me. I told them a couple of our favourite spots, too, but..."

A sudden racuous noise from outside the building interrupted him from finishing. It sounded as if everybody in the village was marching up to the clinic.

"What's going on?" Hiroshi asked.

Maria looked to Sakura. The girl nodded and stepped out of the room. She came back quickly, though, looking excited. "They've found her!" she exclaimed.

"Tamiko?" Hiroshi asked hopefully as Maria stood. Sakura nodded, smiling widely. "Is she all right?"

Ootani's voice could clearly be heard, happily gushing out praises to the people who were bringing her in. As they passed Hiroshi's room, Maria caught a glimpse of a young woman, laid out on a makeshift stretcher. She was unconscious and very pale, but she was otherwise intact.

"Tamiko!" Hiroshi was trying to get out of his bed, but Sakura quickly calmed him down.

"They need to tend to her right now, Hiroshi-san," she told him. "I'm sure they'll let you see her once they're sure she's all right."

He was momentarily rebellious, but in the end, he relented. Settling back into his bed, he sighed, keeping his eyes glued to the door.

Seeing that he was in no mood to talk anymore, Maria decided it was time for them to take their leave. "Hiroshi," she said, "you look a little tired. We'll leave you to your rest now."

He flushed. "Wait!" he said. "I... I just wanted to say thanks for helping me. If there's anything I can do... I mean, is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

Maria shook her head. "Not at the moment," she told him. "Thank you for agreeing to see us."

Ootani and a few other villagers were waiting outside. They looked up as Maria and Sakura exited Hiroshi's room. Ootani had a wide grin on his face.

"Oh, so you're here!" he exclaimed. "One of our search parties found Tamiko-chan. She's fine!"

"Where did they find her?" Maria asked.

"They said she was wandering in a daze near the stream. They put up a stretcher and got her back here as fast as they could."

Maria nodded. "What did Dr. Yamaguchi say?"

He shrugged. "Didn't say much. Just took her straight into the room and shooed everyone out. He says she's in no shape to have visitors." He looked at the other people in the room. "I'm sure that he'll let her family see her in a little while. At least now everyone can stop worrying."

"I'm glad it turned out all right, Ootani-san," Sakura said.

The foreman seemed to do a double take. "You're going now?" he asked. At Maria's affirmative answer, he bowed to them. "We thank you for all your help, Tachibana-san. If there's anything we can do for you and your friends, please, just ask away."

"Don't mention it," Maria said, trying not to feel too embarrassed. "If you don't mind, we'll be by to visit both Hiroshi and Tamiko tomorrow."

"You're most welcome to come by anytime, Tachibana-san," he called out as they left the clinic.

They drove back to the training facilities. They had borrowed the groundskeeper's small truck for the trip to the village that day, since the bus was too big for just two people.

They were both quiet for the most part, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. Maria threw a glance at Sakura, noting that the swordswoman's expression was wistful.

"Everything's turned out well, hasn't it?" Sakura asked suddenly. "I'm happy for both of them." She sighed.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "You've been keeping to yourself a lot lately," she said. "Is anything the matter?"

"I'm fine, Maria-san."

"You miss the Captain, don't you?"

Sakura flushed bright red. "Well... yes. A little. But I know everyone else misses him around, too." She quickly changed the subject. "What about you, Maria-san?"

"Hmm?"

"You look like you're not quite happy about what's happened," Sakura remarked.

The Russian woman was quiet for a moment. "You're right," she finally said. "I'm not."

Sakura was surprised. "Why? I mean, Hiroshi and Tamiko are both okay."

"I'm glad they're both all right, but that's not what's got me worrying." She took a deep breath. "The cocoon, the egg, the kidnapper, that weird feeling we got when we found that spot where Hiroshi had been... Nothing's really been resolved."

Sakura stared at her. After a while, she said, "I was beginning to think that I'd imagined that terrible feeling last night. The others didn't seem to be affected by it, so..."

"It wasn't your imagination, Sakura. I felt it, too."

Sakura chuckled. "I'm glad. It sounds crazy, but I'm glad. At least I wasn't the only one to feel it."

"Don't ever doubt yourself in this sort of situation, Sakura," Maria said. "In anything. No matter how small or insignificant you may think it is, you know you can come to talk to me about it."

Sakura seemed to look far away. "It seems like you're always having to tell me not to doubt myself, Maria-san," she said softly. "It's hard."

"I know it is," Maria told her. "But believe in what you're doing, Sakura, and go with it to the best of your ability." She paused, then said, "Have faith in your friends, as well. Nobody will ever turn you away if you need them."

Sakura said nothing, but inexplicably, Maria knew that she'd managed to find the right words to say. The blonde let out a quiet sigh, surprised to find herself so tense. That, she reflected, was a lot harder than I thought it'd be. Still, she couldn't deny that it was worth the effort.

Evening was coming without fanfare. The countryside resounded with a peaceful air. It was just the sort of time to entice everyone to relax, but no matter how hard Maria tried, she couldn't put aside her own nagging uneasiness.

As if the others had sensed her mood, they took care not to aggravate the situation much. There was none of the usual chaos that seemed to accompany the Hanagumi wherever they went. For the momentary quiet, at least, Maria was grateful.

She went to see Kohran as soon as she had returned from the village only to find the inventor fast asleep in her room. Since she had specifically ordered Kohran to rest, she didn't wake her up and instead decided to try again later.

Now, as she stood once more in Kohran's room, she was aware of a pall of white smoke that lingered near the floor. It was so thick she could barely make out her own feet.

"Kohran?" she asked the scientist who was busy at her desk. "What's this?"

"What, the smoke? Don't worry about it, Maria-han. Just a slight accident with one of my potions."

"Shouldn't you be clearing it out from your room?" Maria couldn't help asking.

Kohran shrugged. "It won't hurt anyone." She turned. "So, how did your meeting go today?"

"It went fine. Hiroshi was talkative about what he could remember." She looked around and spotted a relatively empty and safe spot on Kohran's bunk where she could sit. "Nothing concrete about his captor, but he did confirm that he was held in that cocoon we found."

"Hmm."

"They found the girl while we were talking to Hiroshi. She hadn't been anywhere near the place where Hiroshi was, but she looked just as bad as he did when they brought her in."

"Did you get to speak to her?"

Maria shook her head. "She wasn't in any shape to talk. I'm going back to see them tomorrow, though."

Kohran stretched, popping a couple of joints. "So we're not really that far off from where we started from, are we?"

"No and frankly, I don't like it."

"Neither do I, Maria-han." She thought about it for a bit. "I think I'd like to go back to see the cocoon again."

Maria leaned forward. "Got an idea?"

"Uhm, not really," Kohran replied. "I just want to make sure that I didn't leave out anything."

Maria nodded and looked out the window. The sun was starting to fall. They wouldn't have much time to look around. "How soon can you go?" she asked.

"Heh, I'm game for anything right now," Kohran stated, jumping to her feet. She staggered and groaned. "Been sitting down too long," she muttered in response to Maria's puzzled look. "I think I'm getting too old for this," she joked.

She waited expectantly for a response, but when Maria's stoic expression showed no sign of changing, Kohran gave a weak chuckle. "Er, right," she said. "Um, let's go."

"So... what're we doin' back here?" Kanna asked as they moved.

Iris huffed. "Weren't you listening?" she snapped. "We have to check out that cocoon thing again."

"Fine and good, but what are you doing here, then?" Kanna retorted. "You weren't here the first time. Besides, isn't it a little late for you to be out and about?"

There was the obligatory 'don't treat me like a little girl' response, to which Kanna grinned goodnaturedly, but then Iris calmed down and said, "I wanted to see it for myself. Everyone was talking about it this morning."

They stopped walking, having arrived at the site. Kohran and Maria immediately neared the cocoon and egg, carefully sweeping their gazes around. Both Iris and Kanna waited a short distance away, watching the odd sack.

After a while, Kanna said in a low voice, "Well, you're seeing it. What do you think?"

Iris shivered. "It feels bad." Her hands wrapped around herself, as if searching for a teddy bear to squeeze.

Maria threw her a glance but said nothing.

Kanna was confused. She looked down at Iris. "'Bad'?"

"Iris," Kohran said, "can you tell us what you mean by that?"

Iris remained sombre. In her bearing, there was none of the enthusiasm or curiousity she displayed just minutes earlier. She seemed to be struggling to find the words to reply. "It's like... like something that shouldn't be here," she said helplessly. "It's wrong."

Kanna scratched her head and noted Maria's almost casual attitude. "Hey, you look like you know something about this," she said.

Maria nodded, still examining the cocoon. "Sakura and I had the exact same feeling last night."

"I don't feel anything," Kanna stated.

"Neither do I," Kohran added. "Sumire-han didn't mention anything, either."

"So what the heck does this mean?"

"For the moment, it means just what it means," Maria replied, "that there's something wrong about the whole thing. We don't know enough to say for sure. But we do have a few ideas about what it may be."

Kanna made a face. "Why do I feel like I'd rather come face-to-face with that giant butterfly than with whatever it is you think may have caused this?"

"Giant butterfly?" Iris asked.

"Never mind," Kanna said. "Just a wild comment, Iris." She watched the other two. "So what're you guys lookin' for?"

"We're not sure about that, either," Kohran said, chuckling. "So we're just looking to make sure that we didn't leave everything out."

Kanna made a frustrated sound. "Isn't there anything that we're sure about?" she demanded, coming up to them.

Kohran thought about it. "I sure am hungry," she replied. Seeing Kanna's look, she said, "Well, you did ask."

"Fine," Kanna said. "Be that way." She stalked off to take a closer look at the egg. Iris stayed where she was, keeping a wary eye on the area.

"The cocoon's a little smaller than last night," Kohran commented. "Looks like it dissolves pretty quickly in this weather." She looked at the egg. It was broken in several places, but not due to degradation.

"There's footprints around the whole place," Kanna told them.

"Looks like the villagers have been here recently," Kohran said. "I guess they wanted souvenirs or something."

Maria sighed. "We can't help that now," she said.

Time passed and their efforts went unrewarded. Finally, Maria had to admit that this was a waste of time. "Kohran, do you need any more samples?"

Kohran held up a bag. "Got 'em, Maria-han." She grinned.

"All right. Come on, Iris. Let's go."

Starting point | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3