As I danced with Mikhail, still worrying about his declaration that he'd even give up music if that was what it took to win my heart, my reverie was suddenly interrupted when a voice behind me said, "May I cut in?" I jumped slightly, startled, and turned to see Kana standing there, scowling at Mikhail.

Mikhail glared back, saying, "No, you may not. I'm sorry, but the lady is with me. Find another partner." Then he turned his back to him and pulled me around and away from him, as Kana stared at him, furious.

He grabbed Mikhail by the shoulder and spun him around, growling, "I think you and I need to have a talk. Now. Outside."

Mikhail gave him a long look, anger darkening his ice blue eyes to steel. He nodded curtly, turned and kissed my hand, saying, "Please wait here, Alice. I'll be back in a moment," and strode out the door, Kana close behind him.

I was dumbstruck for a minute, then looking around in a panic, I spotted Reina's uncle, Mako, deep in conversation with Ina. I ran up to them, crying, "Mako! Please! Kana and Mikhail just went outside—they're furious with each other, and I'm afraid they're going to fight!" Mako and Ina turned startled faces to me, then looked at each other. "Please, Mako! I don't want either of them to get hurt! What if Mikhail injures his hand—it might affect his ability to play!"

I was in tears by this time, and frustrated by his slow response, I grabbed his arm and started to tug and pull on him, trying to get him to follow me out the door. He laid a hand on my arm, saying, "Take it easy, missy. So, you think they're planning to fight? Well, it's what men do sometimes. And sometimes a man has to take a stand to protect what's important to him. So let them be. It might not be as bad as you fear. And besides, I've seen how young Mikhail moves—like a wild cat, he is. I wouldn't be surprised if behind that pretty face of his, he has a surprise or two."

I looked at him in shock, barely comprehending that he was refusing to try to stop them. Then with a sob, I turned and raced out the door, determined to do what I could. "Damn their pride," I thought to myself. "I couldn't bear it if either of them was hurt, especially over something so stupid!"

I burst out into the frosty night air, and looking frantically around, I heard voices coming from somewhere north of the town hall. I ran up the road, following the sound of voices—or what I could hear of them over the pounding of my heart. I found them facing off just outside of the town gates. Kana was shouting something about Mikhail not owning me, while Mikhail just stood calmly and let Kana rant.

Just as I reached the gates, Kana hauled off and punched Mikhail right in the face... except that when his fist arrived, Mikhail was no longer there. With a gasp of surprise, I watched as Mikhail easily slid under Kana's blow, slipped to one side, and so swiftly I could barely see him, he grabbed Kana's arm, twisted it back, and flipped him over and flat onto his face. He stepped back, still wordless, not noticing me standing at the gates as I stared at them in fascinated shock.

After a moment, Kana struggled up, groaning and gasping for air. He knelt there, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked from his body. Then he stood, even angrier than before, and charged at Mikhail, apparently intending to tackle him to the ground. Again, Mikhail eluded him, this time crouching low and sweeping his leg under Kana, knocking his legs out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground on his side. Kana bellowed as he landed, his arm twisting strangely underneath him. I darted over to him, screaming at them to stop it. Mikhail stepped back in surprise at my sudden appearance; Kana lay on the ground, grimacing and swearing profusely, oblivious to my presence at first.

I helped him to sit up, and when I saw his arm hanging at an unnatural angle, I knew he'd broken it, possibly really badly. "But," I thought, tears springing to my eyes, "it could have been so much worse." I turned to Mikhail, saying, "Quick, get Dr. Ayame!" Mikhail nodded and ran back towards the hall to find the doctor. Meanwhile, I held Kana in my arms, trying to keep him still for fear he'd cause more damage by moving. "Oh, Kana," I said in exasperation mingled with relief. "What am I going to do with you?"

Dazed from shock and pain, Kana peered up at me, trying to focus on my face. "Yeah," he gasped, "guess I can be a real idiot sometimes. Not cool, huh?" Then he blacked out, slumping over against my lap.

It felt like an eternity before Mikhail returned with the doctor, both at a run, but I'm sure it was really only a very few minutes. Hiro came racing up a moment later, clutching Dr. Ayame's black bag. Mako followed more slowly—which was fortunate, because he was the only one big and strong enough to lift Kana. He carried him to the clinic and gently laid him on a bed, then the doctor moved in to examine him, with help from Hiro. Kana was out so deeply that he didn't wake at all—that is, until Dr. Ayame set his arm and he awoke with a heart-wrenching roar of agony.

I blanched and turned away, feeling intensely nauseated. I hadn't been prepared for the sudden sickening snap of shattered bone being forced back into place. The floor grew unsteady beneath my feet, and I saw little black spots dancing before my eyes. Dr. Ayame somehow sensed my affliction and shouted, "Mikhail! Get Alice out of here, quickly, before she drops!" With that, Mikhail grabbed me and started to pull me away, but it was too late—the room whirled madly and everything faded to black.

I woke up feeling dazed and disoriented, and found myself in Mikhail's arms as he gently carried me across the road to the bench under the cherry tree outside Nori's garden. He sat on the bench, holding me on his lap with his arms around me to keep me warm. After a moment of confusion, I suddenly recalled the events leading up to my passing out. With a little shriek, I began to rail wildly against him for fighting Kana and breaking his arm, for risking being injured himself, and for scaring me so badly, pummeling his chest with my small fists for emphasis as I ranted and raved. Then I dissolved into tears as the adrenaline wore off, leaving me shaking and exhausted as I wept. Mikhail sat silently, allowing me to vent my overwrought nerves on him. He just gently pulled me closer to him, holding me tightly and tenderly stroking my hair, letting me cry—great, gasping, hysterical sobs—until finally I grew calmer.

"Alice," he murmured softly. "I'm sorry that you saw that. And I'm sorry for upsetting and frightening you. You might not understand this, but it had to be done. Kana was itching for a fight. He's a gentle man by nature—you have to be, to be as good with animals as he is. But even he has his limits, and when he is pushed beyond them... well, he's the type that there's no stopping him once he's made up his mind. And he's a man of action, not of words. I wasn't afraid for myself. I'd studied martial arts some years ago, and I knew from experience that I would be fine. I didn't intend to injure Kana—that was an accident, plain and simple, I swear. My plan was just to wear him out, and then talk—really talk, I mean, not using that as a euphemism for fighting. I didn't expect you to follow, and I certainly didn't expect Kana to get hurt like that. I'm sorry, Alice, so very, very sorry for causing you so much distress. But at least there won't be a sequel, you'll see. Kana will have gotten the need for physical confrontation out of his system, and, well, I'm not a fighter by nature, only by need."

He tucked my head under his chin, wrapping his arms around me again as I shivered, both from the reaction setting in and from the cold night air. "You're freezing out here," he said after a moment. "Let's head back to the hall, if you think you can walk now?" I hesitated a minute, then nodded. I wasn't sure I felt like facing the villagers—I didn't know what they might think of me, being the cause of a fight between the two most popular men in the village, especially when it resulted in such a bad injury for one of them. But at the very least, I had to get my handbag and shawl, so... better get it over with. Or so I told myself, although my apprehension increased as we climbed the steps to the town hall.

I ducked into the cloakroom first, to repair the damages to my appearance. My hair had started to slip from the comb and was falling in long tendrils all around my face, which was flushed and tear-stained. My dress was damp and dirty where I'd knelt on the frosty grass holding Kana, and the slender heels of my shoes were wrecked beyond salvation. I groaned at my appearance, then mentally chided myself for being so selfish and vain as I dug my little hairbrush out of my handbag and brushed the tangles from my hair, letting it tumble down over my shoulders instead of pinning it back up. I cleaned up my dress and shoes as best I could, and splashed my red eyes with cold water. I repaired my makeup, and decided I'd done as much as I could with my appearance.

When I emerged, Mikhail was standing there, waiting for me. "Why didn't you warn me I was such a dreadful sight?" I asked him, slightly reproachfully.

He smiled as he pulled me to him and kissed me, then murmured to me, "Because you were and are and always will be beautiful in my eyes, Alice."

He pulled me towards the hall, but I resisted, feeling a sense of panic. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I... I'm not sure I feel up to facing everyone. I feel so guilty—about your fight, and about Kana's injury, I mean. What will everyone say?"

He looked at me with amusement, saying, "Do you really care what others think?"

"Well... n-no, but at the same time, kind of yes, too," I stammered. "I mean, I don't care what others think when I'm doing what I know is right or when I'm just being myself. But at the same time... I have to live with these people, you know? And it could get very uncomfortable if everyone blamed me for your fight and hated me for it. It's a small town, after all."

"No one is going to hate you," Mikhail assured me, putting his arm around my shoulders. "Watch and see. I predict that a few will be shocked, all will be concerned about Kana's injury, many will blame him for our fight though a few will blame me, everyone will be sympathetic towards you, and every single person in town will adore having an exciting end to the year and something to talk about for days, if not weeks." I giggled at his comical prediction, feeling a little better, and we went in.

Everyone there knew that something had happened. That was obvious, from my frantic appeals for help to Mako, not to mention from the way Mikhail had burst into the room, calling for Dr. Ayame. A large group gathered around us, and I began to tremble again as I felt swept away by the flood of questions that crashed over me.

Mikhail, sensitive to my rising panic, held up a hand, saying, "Wait just a minute, everyone. Alice needs a little air. Let me get you to a seat," he said to me as he led me to a nearby chair. He left me there, and returned a moment later with a glass of wine. "Drink this," he insisted, handing the glass to me. "It'll fortify you a little." I sipped it, avoiding the curious eyes of the crowd that had followed us.

"Better?" Mikhail asked after a moment. I nodded, then he turned to the others, keeping a gentle hand on my shoulder. "All right, then. Allow me to fill you all in on what happened." And with that, he launched into a detailed description of the night's events, starting with our dance. He was very fair in his presentation, not attempting to elude blame or to engage sympathy on his behalf, nor to present Kana in an unfavorable light. When he was done, the crowd dispersed, settling into small groups talking excitedly amongst themselves. Mikhail sat in the chair next to me and put his arm around my shoulders for comfort and support. Nori came up to me, concerned and sympathetic, followed by Yun and Ina.

Over the next half hour or so, every villager stopped to chat and commiserate, maybe ask a question or two. But it seemed to go pretty much as Mikhail had predicted, and my relief was nearly tangible. Soon afterwards it was time for the countdown to midnight, and as Mikhail pulled me to my feet to join in the countdown, I felt fresh pangs of guilt that Kana, Dr. Ayame, and Hiro were missing out.

As soon as the countdown was completed, everyone shouted "Happy New Year!" in unison, our voices reverberating through the hall. Mikhail caught me up in his arms and kissed me, an ardent kiss full of fire and passion, then he released me, murmuring softly into my ear, "I hope this year will be a very happy year, Alice, for both of us."