"Ughhhhh," Flower groaned unceremoniously. "So much work to do. Why does Miku always give us so much work?"

Piko ignored her and kept moving ahead. They were almost out of the forest and were nearing the cruise ship Fukase and Oliver had arrived on.

By now, it had been a few days since they had arrived on the island. No doubt the ship would be in an emergency state with four passengers "missing." They were the perfect conditions for glamour casting—when people are in a disheveled state of mind, confused and fearful.

"Oi, Piko." Flower picked up a pebble and chucked it at his back.

Piko let out a reserved sigh and finally turned back to face her. "It's a privilege to be trusted by Lady Miku as much as we are, so quit complaining and have some decorum, would you?"

"Decorum? In the middle of a wild forest?" She scratched the side of her head and looked around. "Eh, I don't think it's all that necessary."

Piko went back to ignoring her as they neared the beach and the dock. Flower couldn't help but sulk, kicking up sand and shuffling her feet. She glanced at Piko again, wondering how he could stand to be so overdressed in the humid summer evening air.

"Hey, I've got a real question this time," Flower said, hoping Piko would turn back. He didn't. "How come you didn't take Kaito and Gakupo like Miku suggested?"

At that, Piko finally paused. "Why, you think I can't do it on my own?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out." Flower went around to face Piko face to face. "Did you just... make a lighthearted comment? Are you feeling okay?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it. I just didn't want to bother them, that's all. Besides, Kaito's been kinda... I dunno, different lately. He's got his own agenda nowadays." Piko averted his eyes, thinking about his senior. Out of all of the members of the organization, Miku trusted Kaito the most—even more than himself and Flower. He worked harder, faster, and most of all—he knew more. Much more.

"Either way, I can do it by myself, so don't worry about me."

"I wasn't worrying."

"Of course not."

"But I really wasn't!"

A small smile touched Piko's lips as he prepared to cast the glamour. A soft white light began to emanate from his palms and tendrils of energy crackled in the air. A crust of silvery, argent energy that only he could see settled over the cruise ship, steadily thickening as Piko poured more energy into it.

Flower frowned as she noticed Piko furrowing his brow with concentration. He was overexerting himself again. He always did this—ever the overachiever, he pushed himself to his limits when it came to his work. Maybe that would be a good thing in any other situation, but when his goal in mind was something as fickle as Miku's trust, Flower couldn't help but pity him.

"Alright, all done," Piko said at last, finally pulling back. His shell of energy lazily seeped into the ship, disappearing from view. He didn't move for a few moments.

Gingerly, Flower stepped towards him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll go in a minute. I just need to sit down—" He plopped himself on the sand, cradling his head in his hands.

Flower was dying to say something stupid like I told you so, weak little princess boy, but kept it to herself. Instead, she sat down in the sand with him so that their backs were touching. Piko startled slightly when he felt her weight against him, but didn't move.

"Man, sometimes I forget how pretty this island really is." She let out a lazy sigh and closed her eyes. "It would be nice to stay in a place like this if we didn't have to work..."

"I think the work is worth it, though." Piko murmured softly, almost silent against the ocean's waves. "It's not like the work is that extensive. We only have to deal with people once in a while. It's quiet, it's secluded, peaceful...we don't have to pay rent, either, and we're given good food. Not to mention how beautiful it is out here. If you think about it, it's almost like a dream..."

Flower felt herself relax more as Piko went on. This was probably the most words she had ever heard him say at once, ever.

"And... it's not lonely," he finished. "Everyone on this island has been here for so long, we're like family. It's really comforting, you know?"

Flower couldn't help but smile, somewhat bittersweetly. "Yeah. I know."

~~~

"Make yourselves at home," Rin said, somewhat nervously, gesturing to the tea room before us. Len took that as a signal to start preparing tea and biscuits for us.

Just like how things were back in London. I couldn't help but reminisce. Our families were close, so we had seen each other often. I briefly wondered if it was the same for Fukase while he knew them back in Canada.

Within a few minutes, Len had set everything out. He poured a reddish tea for each of us—floral with notes of peach. His long time favorite.

"I imagine you've noticed that this island isn't exactly... normal," Rin started. I thought back to the strange pull I had felt when I was still on the ship, how desperately I had wanted to explore. Fukase and I nodded for her to continue.

"There's no scientific way to explain it, so let me just say it plainly. This island is magical. Everything that breathes on this island is able to survive because of a magical core this island possesses." She paused for a moment, letting it sink in. "You probably felt a strong desire when you decided to come here. That was the island's core calling you."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Fukase interjected. "How come it's just us? Shouldn't the core or whatever have called us all down here?"

"Because the core only calls things and people with similar magical properties. So that means you—both of you—are a match."

We all fell silent.

"Wait, so what you're saying is," I leaned forward over the table, "Fukase and I both coincidentally have magic? That somehow matches the island?"

"Think of it as... a chick imprinting on its mother, and when they reunite after years, they know by instinct that they're family."

I rested back against my chair again. "Okay. That's not what I was expecting to hear today, but okay." I could've sworn Fukase snorted with laughter.

"Okay, so what do we do about it?" Fukase asked. "Can we just...leave? And ignore it?" He continued hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no." Len spoke at last. "You'll be called back to the island, over and over. Before long, you won't be able to resist it. Whether you like it or not, you'll be back."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?"

"...I can't answer that."

"Says who? Who else is on this island?"

Len fell silent. Since when did the air get so tense?

"Len, who else is on this island?!" Fukase pressed.

I bit into my biscuit a little too loudly and they all turned to face me. "Um, sorry," I said sheepishly, putting the biscuit back in my tea saucer. "You guys can carry on."

Rin sighed. "To answer your question, Fukase. There's an organization here that keeps us all together and safe. They manage our magic so that the island's ecosystem stays in balance and so that we have a good relation with the island's core."

"So, do we get to meet them?"

Rin lit up at his question. "Yup! You're scheduled to meet the President later today, actually! She'll take care of you guys in no time at all."

I was still wildly confused about the situation. I had let Fukase ask most of the questions up until now, but there were a few things still gnawing at the back of my mind.

"If we really do have some kind of magic," Rin turned to me attentively, "how come we haven't noticed until now?"

"Because everyone's magic needs a catalyst in order for it to physically manifest," she replied smoothly. "The president will deal with that, too."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Rin stood up, too cheerfully, and answered it. I twisted to see who was outside, but her figure blocked my view.

"The President is ready to see you," a voice said from beyond the doorway.

Rin turned to us and smiled excitedly. "You hear that? Let's go!"

Fukase and I stood up and left the tea room, following Rin down the hall with Len close behind us. I glanced at Fukase, wondering how he was taking all this—the answer was not good. His eyes darted around anxiously, as if he was looking for an escape.

I was tempted to take his hand, to reassure him that there was nothing to be nervous about, but Len caught up to us and walked beside me before I could say a word.

We were about to turn a corner when Fukase jolted. Len turned to him, concerned and about to say something, but Fukase grabbed my arm and ran in the other direction.

"What are you doing?"

"Just run!"

I was about to ask what we were running from—or rather, what we were running towards—but then I saw it. Sunlight gleamed through the crack beneath a mini door, camouflaged into the wall so that we could barely see it. Fukase opened it and ducked through, pulling me to follow.

And so, for unknown reasons, we ran.

I struggled to keep up with him as we cracked over twigs and leaves and mud, almost tripping over tree roots multiple times, but I managed to follow his breakneck pace until the trees grew dense once more.

"Fukase, wait up!" I huffed, trying to catch my breath. "Why'd we do that? Why'd you run?"

"What, did you expect me to let some stranger mess around with us and our supposed 'magic' and just hope for the best? No way I was taking a risk like that!"

I sat down at the base of a tree and waited for my sprinting heart to slow down. "Well, what now? If we go back to the cabin, they're just gonna find us anyway. We should've just stayed."

He turned to me, suddenly annoyed. "If we do have some kind of magic as they say we do, then do you really think it's okay to let some random 'president' deal with it? We don't know how that's going to affect us."

"And if we don't?"

"What?"

"What if we don't have magic? What if it was some elaborate prank and the 'president' they told us about was going to be their mom or something? Did you even think of that?"

Fukase blinked and finally sat down beside me, lost in his own thoughts for a few moments. "It's possible," he said slowly, "but I'm glad we didn't take the risk."

We stayed silent like that for a few minutes, listening to the birds and the wind in the trees. This island would've been much more beautiful if we weren't marooned here with no escape.

Something changed in Fukase's demeanor and he stood up abruptly, beckoning for me to follow.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," he responded coldly. "Somewhere far away from here."