Finally his jaw unhinged as he spoke, "Minako, I presume?"

Mina nodded and looked around his office hesitantly.

Zyne gestured at the empty chair in front of his left arm, "Come in. Sit down. Make yourselves comfortable."

The young blonde took the left chair and Rei took the right quickly. Mina's eyes fell to the floor; suddenly she was feeling more uncomfortable than anything. Rei glanced to her, a bit surprised that Mina hadn't said anything at all.

She spoke up instead, "Thank you for seeing us, Sir."

Zyne thought for a moment. If they were both going to be this quiet then it might turn out to be a pretty easy job. On the other hand, if Mina never spoke then Zyne would never make the effort to befriend her and receive his extra pay. Now, that he couldn't do without.

"My name is Zyne Donovan. I will be your instructor. My job is to do nothing except train you two to be combat specialists. Unless otherwise specified you two are to follow my orders. And unless otherwise stated by me, you two will continue with each day as you did today and yesterday and so on. Any questions?" asked Zyne.

Rei raised her hand before speaking, "What is the purpose of the Mecian Apparition facility?"

Zyne racked his brain for this. Rei certainly was the intellectual one of the two. He racked his brain some more and then responded, "This specific facility was created to serve as a learning environment for the less fortunate like yourselves. Anything else?"

Rei shook her head, "No, Sir."

Zyne stood up and shook each female's hand, "Then I dismiss you both. I'm sure you have some sort of studies to accomplish."

As the two girls started to leave and head for their separate quarters, Zyne saw the meeting as a little too short. He pursued quickly after Rei, surprised that she and Mina were so different.

"Miss Kasumi!" he called.

She stopped and looked at him, "Yes, Sir?"

Zyne caught up to her side and they began to walk together, "I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"About Mina?" asked Rei as she glanced at him.

Zyne nodded slowly, "Mina, I take it?"

Rei smiled and gave a nod, "She prefers to be called Mina."

"Why was she so quiet? Is she always that quiet?" asked Zyne.

Rei shook her head, unsure of how she was to explain Mina's crush to him. She really didn't want to, but she never was really good at lying, "Well, Mina's mind is on other things. She'll talk more once she's in a relaxed state."

"What can you tell me about Mina?" Zyne queried the dark-haired female.

"Nothing. I know next to nothing about her. If you want the answers to those type of questions then you'll have to ask her yourself," said Rei.

Zyne considered her response and instantly he agreed, "Well, where is her dorm located?"

"It's in the E block. She's in dorm number two of that section. She won't be there, though, I don't think. She goes to the library an awful lot to study. Good luck finding her," said Rei.

Zyne gave her his thanks. His opinion on Rei had sort of changed, but he still couldn't shake off the idea that he was stuck babysitting for two girls. As he headed through the outdoor corridor in the direction of the library, he looked out toward the horizon. From where he was standing, the sun appeared as though the sea was swallowing it. He turned his gaze and from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the blonde hair. He jumped over the railing of the corridor and very quietly started walking to the rocky shore. He stopped diagonal of Mina and watched the breeze blow her caftan and hair with ease. The caftan seemed to be made of silk and its colour was of a tusk from an elephant or a mammoth. Zyne glanced to her feet. She wasn't even wearing any type of foot protection.

"Good evening, Miss Minako," he said as he dared to take a few steps closer to her.

She turned her head to face him as that flush returned to her cheeks, "Evening, Instructor."

"Is it all right if I join you? You seem to have good taste in inspirational places," Zyne commented.

"What do you want to do?" asked Mina softly.

That was unexpected for Zyne to hear. He was expecting a yes or no. Obviously, Mina was more interested in what he thought than what her own opinions were. He sat down on a rock to the left of her. When she spoke, he found her voice to be so soft, that it was soothing. And for that moment, Zyne wanted to hear that voice again.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

Mina looked back out to the ocean and nodded, "Always. Time is like the ocean's tide. It comes to the shore and then is pulled back only to be replaced by others for all eternity."

Zyne didn't know what to think. There was some sort of philosophical analogy, but he wasn't able to understand it.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" he asked.

"...No..." Mina hesitated before answering.

That was what he wanted to hear, "Where did you come from, Mina?"

"Maybe near. Maybe far. I don't really know. Why do you ask?" Mina turned back to him.

Zyne thought he saw the slight twinge of a smile, but there was nothing more, "I was just curious. When I received your profile there was so little said. Something like that tends to bring up a lot of questions."

"I wouldn't know," said Mina firmly.

"You don't remember anything?" Zyne pressed on.

Mina's head tilted forward as she closed her eyes, "...I only remember a couple of things."

Even if she didn't say what was on her mind, Zyne could feel the pain that coursed within her. He knew he had stepped somewhere dangerous, but he wasn't about to get out yet. He scooted from his rock over to hers and sat beside her.

"I will never repeat a word you speak to me. I promise on my honour," said Zyne.

Mina placed her hands upon her lap and opened her eyes. They brimmed with tears as she glanced to where the sun was still sinking into the horizon. The urge was so strong. Zyne wanted to comfort her. He knew he wanted to, but he couldn't understand why. She was like a little girl who had injured herself. He wanted to hold her.

In spite of what her eyes said, Mina's voice was calm and level without a waver, "I... I was in a scientific laboratory. There was a young man who rescued me. He brought me here and... and... I don't remember anything else."

It all seemed way too coincidental. It was almost the same story as his. There was absolutely no way! He wasn't going to jump to conclusions yet. Not until he had some more information.

He saw Mina's eyebrows narrow in a concerned manner, "What is it?"

She glanced at the rapid movement of the water, "There's something out there."

"Just the ocean, Mina," he started.

The upcoming tide washed over the two as agiant serpent creature loomed above them. Mina took a couple steps back and brought her left hand to the side of her caftan, but Zyne placed an arm around her protectively.

"How the hell did you do that?" he asked.

There was no time to wait for an answer, "Get back inside, Mina."

She shook her head, "Zyne, I'm not a little girl anymore. You might be an instructor, but there are things you still need to learn."

She withdrew a shimmering blade of spectral material and took a fighting stance as Zyne stared at her blankly for a moment. How was it that she was so mysterious? What else did she conceal from the world?