Ameka glanced up at her friend, Hikari, who she had come to the library with. "Hikari-chan, I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, keeping her voice low to keep the librarian from sending the two dirty looks. "I have to check on something for Oyaji." Hikari nodded, silent as was usual for her these days. Hikari had hardly said a word since her parents had died in a tragic car crash several months earlier. Ameka was the only friend who had remained by her side; they had been close enough that Ameka's parents had even agreed that Hikari could come to live with them until she finished school. Because of this, the two had grown even closer, now more like sisters than friends. Today, however, they had hardly said a word to each other. Rather, Hikari had hardly said a word to Ameka, Ameka had said plenty, which was normal for her. Today was Hikari's mother's birthday, and she had celebrated it this year by coming to the library to search for a book her mother had once written. She seemed to have lost her own copy, and now she wanted to read it again, to honor her mother, Miaka. Ameka, meanwhile, was also looking for a book, this one for her father, who had suggested she read it. Ameka's mother, Yui, had nearly forbidden her to, which made her want to read it all the more. "Forbidden fruit are always the sweetest," she said to herself as she looked through the library catalog. She had a Chinese version of the book, which would have been called "Yon Jin Ten Chi Sho", The Universe of the Four Gods in Japanese. However, while she could read the title, the whole text was too complicated for her to get through on her own, which was why she needed a full Japanese translation. Humming as she pulled the card from the filing cabinet, Ameka scanned the description and other information about the book the card had to offer. Translated by Okuda Einosuke, original author unknown. This looked like it. Ameka nodded, checked the location of the book, and started off towards where the card said it would be. The Important Documents Reference room…she'd never been there. Taking one last glance back at Hikari, Ameka decided that her friend should know where she was going. "Hikari-chan," she said, picking up her backpack that lay on the table, full of all the things she would need when she went to spend the night at her friend Midori's that evening. Hikari looked up. "Go ahead," she said quietly. "I don't need help." Ameka squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be in the Important Documents Reference room if you need me, Hikari-chan." Hikari nodded, and went back to her notes. Ameka started off, still feeling slightly bad that her friend was so detached. To some extent, she knew that it was reasonable for Hikari to still be grieving over the loss of both of her parents, but another part of her said that it was ridiculous, and she should be enjoying what time she had left in the world. Sighing slightly, Ameka reflected on how this had all happened as she went to the location of the book. Hongo Yui and Yuuki Miaka, Ameka and Hikari's mothers, had been best friends long before their daughters had even been a thought. They both married within a year of each other, Miaka to her true love, Sou Tamahome, Yui to her long-time crush, the best friend of Miaka's older brother, Kajiwara Tetsuya. The marriages had both been happy, and both women were overjoyed to find that they were pregnant around the same time. Ameka was the older, by two months, and more flamboyant than the girl she was raised next door to, Hikari. The two girls had ended up following in their mothers' footsteps, becoming schoolmates and best friends. On Hikari's fifteenth birthday, she had walked with Ameka to a restaurant near their homes, where they were holding her birthday party. They waited two hours with their friends and Ameka's parents for Miaka and Tamahome to arrive, but they never did. The party ended when a police officer came in their stead, pronouncing to their only child that they had died in a car wreck several miles away, on their way to bring Hikari her cake on time. She had broken down right there, and was sent home with Ameka and her parents, who took care of her for the next few weeks until she was ready to return to school. Yui and Tetsuya managed to get custody of her, making it legal that she was allowed to stay with them. Ameka was by her side every moment. If Hikari stayed home to cry, Ameka stayed home to read to her, to cook for her, to do everything possible to help her feel better. If Hikari went to school, Ameka joined her and helped her with any work she had missed. If Hikari went to visit her parents' graves in the middle of the night, Ameka followed along with their jackets and a thermos of hot chocolate. They became more than sisters, even, and now, Hikari had begun to block everything out, only allowing Ameka in. Looking back on the tragedy, Ameka would have turned around and gone back to her friend, had she not had the sudden feeling that the book she was looking for could help them both. She scanned the shelves, spotted the book, and removed it. Opening it to examine the first page, she felt a sudden pull as she read. A red light came out of the bind of the novel, and she was falling, gripping her backpack. There was a dull thud, an impact, and then everything went black.