• The wind blew through the streets of Barton, picking up the dead leaves that laid on the ground. Mysteriously, two figures appeared before a small hotel, their eyes seemingly glowing in the rays of moon light.
    Passersby gave them a quick, wary glace before continuing on their ways to their destinations. The two figures of Kasumi and Misaki merely ignored those who walked by them as they entered the building.
    Kasumi was the one to go up to the counter. Handing the manager money for the next two weeks, she demanded in a soothingly calm, soft voice, "We'd like a room."
    The man there, cheeks flushed, nodded quickly and hurriedly went to get her a room key as she signed for it. "H-here you go, ma'am," He said with a slight stutter, handing her what she wanted.
    "Thank you." She replied. She turned, looking at the man for only a moment more out of the corner of her eye, before walking back to Misaki. Nodding, she picked up her bag and Misaki followed her in a slight rush.
    When they were completely out of sight and ear shot, the manager almost fell over. He turned his gaze to the full moon which could be seen just outside his window before slumping slightly. "Who were those women?" He asked himself in a whisper.

    ---

    Misaki giggled as she fell onto the bed of the hotel room she and Kasumi were to share. She turned to face the second bed that was place to her right and asked her sister, who was already lying down, "What are we going to do tomorrow?"
    "For now, we'll just be going shopping for some new clothes. Ours at the moment are quite old and worn." Kasumi replied, turning away from her sister and facing the wall.
    "Hmm..." Misaki grumbled, looking down at her fighting kimono. It had many tears and seams from the many fights and plain accidents she'd gotten herself into, "I guess your right, sister." - She yawned, turning away from Kasumi as well, and slowly let her eyes close - "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning."
    "Goodnight." Kasumi replied in a tired whisper, eyes only half closed.
    The eyes clicked off and both fell into the land of dreams.

    ---

    The sun was at its highest point by the time Kasumi was able to drag Misaki out of bed. The two were, at the moment, walking down the streets of Barton toward the Barton Boutique. Hikari closed her eyes, tilting her head toward the sky, basking in the sun's warm rays.
    A slight smile graced Kasumi's lips as she watched Misaki do this out of the corner of her eye. "We're here." She said, tugging on Misaki's arm for a moment.
    "Yay!" Misaki cheered a bit, "It's been so long since I've gone shopping!"
    Kasumi chuckled, knowing how much of a shop-a-holic her sister was. She handed Misaki some money and Misaki raced in without another thought.
    "I swear, that girl..." She trailed off as she entered the building. She swiftly and soundlessly walked down the isles of clothes, looking through different variations of clothing.
    Sighing in content - seeing as she was never really one to like shopping - she had simply picked out a black ninja tunic and a pair of black leggings.
    "Excuse me," Her voice made the man at the counter nearly jump twenty feet into the air. His gray eyes met her own sharp, metallic silver ones and he fell out of his chair in surprise. Kasumi blinked. Once. Twice...
    "Are you okay?" She asked. She set the clothes she'd wanted to buy down and leaned over the counter. The man continued to stare at her in shock. He seemed to be at loss of words as she continued to watch him.
    "S-sorry, you got me by surprise," He answered with a slight stutter, picking himself up off the floor. Kasumi snorted softly. It was the middle of the day and she'd seen a few people walk out of the fairly large store. How did he get distracted when he knew that two people had entered his store only moments before?
    She rolled her eyes and handed him the small bundle of clothes as well as the money she had to pay for them. She took a moment to study him.
    He had gray eyes and somewhat long black hair. His skin had a light tan to it too. He was wearing a brown suit accompanied by brown gloves and black dress shoes. A smile threatened to light up her face - same old Ian.
    Before she knew what she was doing, the words slipped from her mouth, "What, if you don't mind me asking, got you so distracted in the first place?"
    "It was um - you wouldn't understand - but it was..." He trailed off, eyes turning to the calendar on his desk as he handed her her new clothes, "It's getting close to the five year anniversary since I lost a very close friend. She and her sister were lost in an fiery explosion a few years back - their bodies were never found."
    Kasumi's eyes softened, flashing with something he couldn't quite place, before she recomposed herself and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was such a painful memory"
    "It's okay," Ian released an almost nervous laugh, "I said their bodies weren't found, right? They could still be out there somewhere."
    Kasumi couldn't completely hold back her smile this time and a small grin made it onto her face, "Keep hoping and it might just come true." Her gentle voice came as a sudden surprise to him and his head shot up only to find that she was already making her way toward the door, clothes in hand. She was gone with the next few strides, leaving the girl she had come in with to continue shopping.

    ---

    'Was it really right to come back?' Kasumi found herself questioning as she leaned against the wall of her shared, rented room, allowing herself to slide until she was sitting on the floor, 'Was it?'