"You left your jacket at my house." Yuuhime said through the phone to Xuan.

"Yeah, it's fine though," He responded, "just...bring it to me when you can."

"Of course." She smiled a little.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Good." she replied. Good enough for ice cream. She nervously twirled her hair. All last night, she was too feverish to sleep, so in her boredom, she came up with a plan to sorta, kinda ask Xuan out. It was more like a hang-out than anything, but she decided that if she was ever going to take a step closer to being more than friends with him, she'd better start making moves.

"Um, I was wondering," She asked, "if you would like to try out this new ice cream place I found in Bremis?"

"Oh, sure. I'll try to find a time in my schedule."

She really hoped Yamato wouldn't figure out what she was doing. If he did, he'd make Xuan miss more work. Besides, he already jumped to thinking she and Xuan were going to get married any day, despite them not even going on an official date yet. She just wished Yamato would be less nosy in her love life.

"Great!" She chirped, "Get me a time when you can, please."

"Of course." He replied. "I've gotta go now, hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, bye." He hung up and she sighed happily. She sat on a chair in Norah's house, and Li Guang and Norah smiled at her with the goofiness teenage girls would have.

"What?" Yuuhime huffed.

"You need a new outfit!" Li Guang announced.

"I know a place nearby that had cheap but cute dresses." Norah suggested.

"Let's start there then!" Li Guang sprung up. Yuuhime giggled softly as she was dragged out by her two friends.

***

"...this is too fancy." Yuuhime said as she stared at the fifth dress Li Guang had tried to give her.

"She's right," Norah said, "It's just an ice cream date."

"Well, then maybe we should find a different shop," Li Guang huffed, "If all the dresses here are so fancy, according to you."

"I've gotten so many of my clothes here, though..." Norah said, "In fact, I got this shirt and skirt I'm wearing here."

Yuuhime sighed and went to go look on her own, when a particular mannequin caught her eye. It had a plain white shirt with sleeves that went to the elbows, and a light pink skirt that went just below the knees. She quickly found both parts of the outfit and went to try it on.

Staring at herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushed. Was that really her? She looked so different, no red or black...

"Norah, Li Guang, I found my outfit!" She said as she burst out of the changing room.

"Oh my gosh, look at you!" Li Guang gasped, "You're so pretty!!"

Norah smiled at them both. Yuuhime's cheeks flushed more, feeling more like herself than she ever did.

"You could also get some jewelry," Norah suggested, "I think it would complete your look wonderfully."

Yuuhime nodded, quickly changing back into her normal clothes and then spotting some jewelry near the back. The three girls went to it, sifting through the unorganized rows.

"Do you wear earring? Cuz these would look really cute." Li Guang held up a pair of pink earrings, but Yuuhime shook her head.

"I never got my ears pierced."

"Ah, I see. Let's keep looking then!"

"What about this?" Norah held a pearl necklace to Yuuhime's chest.

"It blends in too much." Yuuhime noted.

"I agree." Li Guang said.

Yuuhime sighed, slowly scanning the rows of necklaces before spotting something beautiful.

It was a necklace with flowers on it, pink roses and light orange lilies. She pulled it off its hook and put it on, looking in a small mirror on the wall.

"I think I found the perfect one." She said. Her friends looked at the necklace and smiled.

"It suits you perfectly!" Li Guang exclaimed.

"It really makes your eyes stand out." Norah smiled.

Yuuhime's cheeks were hot with happiness. She stared at the necklace. It was old, the metal and crystals warn, but she couldn't help but love it.

"Let's go pay now." She said, making sure everything had a price tag, then going to the cash register and placing everything on it.

"Did you find everything ok?" The worker asked as she scanning the items.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Ah, you're getting this necklace?" The worker held up and necklace to the light.

"Yes? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Oh, no," She placed it in a bag, "there's just a little story that goes with it."

"Oh? Could you please tell me?"

"I could, but the woman across the street in the bakery can tell it better than me." The worker handed Yuuhime her outfit and credit card.

"Thank you." She said, then turned to her friends, "Let's go to the bakery."

"It's a new bakery," Norah said as they walked out, "It popped up only a month ago."

"Are the treats any good?" Li Guang asked, practically drooling at the thought of sweet treats.

"I've only had their cupcakes, and they were pretty good."

They walked in and were greeted by a young man.

"Hello! How can I help you?" He asked.

"We would like three cupcakes," Norah said.

"And, Uhm..." Yuuhime leaned in, "The lady in the clothing store across the street said this necklace had a story, and we wanted to hear it?"

"Ah, I see," He said, "the cupcakes will be $16.58, and I'll be back with the 'storyteller.'"

They payed, sat down while they waited for this "storyteller" and wondered what the story of the necklace could be.

Soon enough, a tall and older woman swooped through a door and gracefully bowed and sat by the three girls.

"Hello, my dear friends!" She announced, "My name is Asura, and you want a story?"

"Yes," Yuuhime said as she showed Asura the necklace. Asura's eyes glowed upon seeing the necklace.

"Ah, I see..." Asura lightly examined the necklace, "Oh, such a beautiful thing, but it has such a dark past."

The three young ladies looked intrigued, so Asura continued.

"A long time ago, long before the Miracles happened upon our planet, there were two lovers, Wilhelm and Irene. They were the loveliest couple the world had ever seen, happy, beautiful, but most importantly, they were kind. All the people in their small village loved them. All of them, except one man. Maximilian was his name, and how he was jealous of the two lovers. So jealous, his jealousy created a small crow. This crow grew, and grew, until one day, it was as big as a house cat.

"Meanwhile, Wilhelm and Irene's love grew each and every day. Their happiness, their kindness, it knew no end. It grew so big, that a pink rose and orange lily sprouted out of the ground by their favorite bench. The towns people loved the flowers so much, a black smith and jeweler created a necklace—the necklace you hold now. Whenever Irene was joyful, it glowed orange, and when she felt sad, it glowed blue, and so on.

"On the other hand, the towns people hated Maximilian's crow. Whenever Maximilian left his house, the horrid crow would follow him, croaking and grunting a sad song. The towns people hated the crow so much, that a hunter shot the crow when Maximilian wasn't looking. When the jealous Maximilian found out, he became furious, not only because the hunter could have killed him, the hunter also failed to kill the crow; the wound that had once pierced the large crow's heart was now gone like it never happened.

"Now, what you must understand that Maximilian wasn't just a jealous man. He was also a powerful man, who had friends beyond the small village he lived in. I tell you this because his crow grew as big as a stalk of corn, and so did the two flowers that Wilhelm and Irene's love created. Maximilian called upon his friends, for his jealously grew for the two lovers and their flowers that the townspeople loved so.

"When his friends arrived, they went straight to Wilhelm and Irene's house. They knocked down the door, and attacked the lovers. Wilhelm died protecting Irene, his last words being a simple, 'I love you.'

"Maximilian and his friends were chased out of town, but it didn't undo the fact that Irene's precious Wilhelm died. As did his beautiful lily, wilting down to the ground as the rose still stood. Irene refused to leave her home, only leaving for the funeral of Wilhelm. The towns people begged Irene to leave her home, but she refused. Through this all, her rose stool still above the dead lily.

"One day, in a fit of rage, Irene ran out of her house and crushed the rose. When she raised her foot, the rose rose with her, but now it was dark red like blood. It grew to the size of her house within an instant, and ate poor Irene. The townsfolk never knew what happened to the giant rose, for when they saw that she had been eaten, the rose vanished, only leaving the necklace, glowing red for as long as the towns people could remember."

The girls were quiet when Asura finished.

"That'll be $20!"

"Eh?!"

"Hah, I'm just kidding. I love to tell stories, so you just made my day!"

The three girls giggled nervously as Asura swung up and waved dramatically before leaving back through the door she came in.

"Uhm, well," Li Guang looked at her friends, "Maybe we could go look around longer?"

"That sounds lovely," Norah said, "Whenever you're ready."

"I am!" Li Guang announced.

"Me too." Yuuhime said quietly.

They got up and waved to the young man before leaving. Smiling, Li Guang took off before the other two could react, calling to them to hurry up.

***

Yuuhime stared at the necklace. The story Asura told...it stuck to her, even if it was just a folktale.

She sighed as she placed her new outfit into a drawer in Norah's house, as Yamato wouldn't like if she came back with her light outfit.

"Be careful with the necklace." Yuuhime told Norah as she placed the necklace carefully into the drawer.

"I will, don't worry." Norah said, "In fact, I won't even touch that drawer until you wanna wear it."

She nodded and smiled. She checked the time and went to the door, "I need to get going, thanks for inviting me over today."

"Of course!" Norah said, "I loved hanging out with you today. I hope we can get to know each other better, too."

Yuuhime nodded before leaving the house.

As she walked along the streets Bremis, her mind kept wandering the the story. Was Wilhelm's grave still around? What happened to Maximilian? Why did the necklace glow? So many thoughts, that she didn't even once think that maybe the necklace had started to glow again, glowing a dim purple in Norah's drawer.