Peaceful Days

"Wake up, Ally."

It was dark, and the air was still. Allandra slept.

"Come on, get up!"

Allandra didn't answer.

"Ally!"

Allandra's bed was soft and warm, and she was comfortable. She yawned and settled down, trying to get back to sleep.

In the next instant, Allandra was awake. There was a presence above her head, a sense of danger. Throwing back the covers with one hand, she dived off the bed into a forward roll. Allandra rolled over her shoulder and hip, coming up onto one leg to rise to her feet. She moved into the ichi mongi ready stance, sideways with one hand extended and the other over her heart. Her foot came down on the floor and she was ready, standing two yards away from the bed and facing the intruder. From beginning to end the entire movement had taken less than two seconds.

Jennifer stood over Allandra's pillow, a cup of water in her hand. She was Allandra's roommate, a small, quick girl with blonde-brown hair and an expressive face. She had clearly been about to pour the water over Allandra's head. "Damn! I thought I'd get you."

Allandra came out of her stance. "Jen, what are you doing?"

"You asked me to wake you up."

"I didn't ask you to soak me, you maniac!"

"I woke you up, didn't I? And I didn't even have to get you wet to do it." Jennifer walked out into the shared room with a long-suffering expression. "I do everything that I'm asked, I'm nothing but a help to everyone around me, and I never get any thanks. But virtue is its own reward, and"

Allandra grabbed her pillow from the bed and threw it at Jennifer's retreating back. Without looking, Jennifer sidestepped and the pillow flew through the room and hit the wall. Allandra walked over to pick it up, then looked out of the window.

The first light of dawn was reaching the valley outside. The sun's rays, shining up from the east, fell through the leaves and branches of the trees to lay patches of light across the long dojos at the bottom. A few feet above one of the dojos, two boys were crossing one of the bridges that ran from one side of the valley to the other: their black gis and green belts marked them as second to fifth year students. The bridge, made of thin logs held together with rope, swayed slightly under their weight. On the far side, behind the trees, a teacher was leading a crowd of first years up one of the higher paths. Along the path were other rooms like Allandra's, dug so deeply into the valley slopes that only the door, windows, and front wall of each emerged from the earth. The colours of the valley were green and brown. It was autumn, and most of the wild flowers that lined the paths had shed their petals for the coming winter, but here and there between the trees, the willowherb still flowered, making smudges of bright pink amidst the greenery. Up in the branches were more houses: small one-room cabins built into the trees. In between and above them ran the tightropes, criss-crossing the valley to form the highest layer of all. One of the sixth-formers was walking on them. Thirty feet above the buildings, he crossed the thin rope without stopping or slowing, his shape a silhouette against the pale sky.

Allandra opened the window. The air came flooding in, cold and clear, and the sounds of the valley came with it: the creaking of the bridge ahead of her, the hurrying, soft footsteps of the first-years disappearing into the trees to her left, the calls of the birds in the trees above, and, from all around, the quiet murmur of waking voices. From further down the valley came the crack of wood against wood, as students fought with training weapons. Just a few inches away from Allandra's face, at the end of the strands of long grass that hung down over her window, drops of dew were sparkling in the morning light, each holding within it a tiny, perfect reflection of everything before her. Allandra reached out and touched one. The clear water jumped onto her finger, and through it she felt the light breeze drifting up the valley.

It was morning in Rokkaku. Hidden away in the heart of Wales, the forest valley was a secret school of ninjutsu, and Allandra's home.

Jennifer came out of the bathroom, yawning, as Allandra shut the window. "Oh, it's too early. Why couldn't they let us sleep in on our first day?"

"First you wake me up, then you complain about the time."

"What do you think our first class is?" Jennifer asked, ignoring Allandra completely. "I hope we get more gym lessons this year."

"You don't need any more gymnastics lessons," Allandra said as she went into the bathroom and closed the door. "You're the best in the class already."

"That's why it's fun!"

"For you."

"Picky, picky. Anyway, they'd better cut back on the Japanese. They went nuts with that last year. An hour a day, six days a week, and homework as well. I was seeing kanji and hiragana and katakana in my sleep. And it's pointless learning it anyway, because every single one of the Japanese guys here speaks English. If they tell us we're going to keep doing it, I think I'm going on strike. Maybe I could get some of the others to join in. Chris wouldn't, but I think he actually likes learning that stuff. But nobody else could. Why anyone would ever want to . . ."

Allandra grinned to herself as Jennifer carried on. As far as she was concerned, Japanese lessons and getting up at six in the morning were a small price to pay for having her friends around again. And despite all Jennifer's complaining, she didn't think that Jennifer missed the summer holidays that much either.

Allandra had known for a long time that Jennifer had problems with her family. Every now and again Jennifer would disappear for a weekend on unexplained 'family business', and would always come back with her spirits dampened. Jennifer never spoke about these trips, and out of respect for her roommate's privacy, Allandra didn't pry. But she couldn't help noticing that Jennifer had returned from the summer holidays a week before the Rokkaku term started, long before anyone else.

Allandra finished brushing her teeth and turned on the water. As she did heard Jennifer say a name that made her ears prick up.

" . . . so Ichiro's going to be there for the first class, right?"

"Jen . . ." Allandra said in a warning voice.

"What?" Jennifer's voice was injured innocence.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Oh, come on, Ally." Through the door, Allandra could imagine her roommate's wide-eyed pleading expression. "I haven't done anything to him all summer."

"That's because he's been on the other side of the planet. I don't think that's going to impress him much." Jennifer's last plan involving Ichiro had resulted in Ichiro falling into the lake. Allandra had got into trouble as well for that one. "What is it with you and Ichiro?"

"I don't know, he's just so much fun to annoy. And he keeps on ignoring me."

"He must be the only one who can." Allandra came out of the bathroom and went into her room to dress. "Can't you give him a break? If you played that many tricks on me, I'd probably have killed you by now."

"You couldn't kill me." Jennifer leaned into Allandra's room and fluttered her eyelashes. "I'm much too sweet."

Allandra couldn't help laughing. Even when Jennifer was being impossible, it was hard to get annoyed with her. "Go bug Christopher and let me finish."

Jennifer vanished. Allandra put the final touches to her clothes, then turned to look in the mirror.

A girl in martial arts dress looked back at her. The uniform of Rokkaku was a gi, a black coat and trousers made of thick, stiff cloth. On her feet she wore the black slipper-boots called tabi, and around her waist was a red belt, tied at the front. Allandra's hair was a bright golden-blonde, and her skin was pale. The black suit emphasised both, fading into the background and making her hands, face, and hair stand out sharply. Like her brothers, Allandra had blue tilted eyes.

Allandra adjusted her red belt a little. She was proud of that belt. It was awarded to female students of Rokkaku upon finishing their first year at the school. Mr Oakley had once told Allandra that out of every ten girls that joined Rokkaku, seven left before reaching their second year. It was Allandra's third year, now, and she was still here. With a final glance in the mirror, she walked outside.

Even though it was only six thirty, Rokkaku was wide awake. As Allandra walked along the winding path up the valley side, she passed dozens of other students going in the same direction. Some were using the path, others the bridges or ropes, and a few of the younger ones were running along the flat roofs of the dojos, jumping the gaps between each one. She overheard snatches of conversation:

". . . can't wait for the Hunt this year. I've been practising with Shahab all summer, and . . ."

". . . my patch from last year looks amazing now . . ."

". . . was fun to see the place for real after hearing about it so much. I mean, Kazuo had told me, but actually being there . . ."

". . . would be great for that part, no matter what they say . . ."

". . . with her? No way!"

Today was a Tuesday, so the run would be starting halfway up the valley. Allandra saw the crowd standing on the left slope and headed towards them. A figure at the edge turned and waved to her as she came close: her brother.

The last two years had changed Ignis. He was nearly six feet tall, now, and his voice had deepened to the pitch of the man he would become. His shoulders and arms were broader, too. Allandra had always been smaller than her brother, but nowadays, standing next to him, she felt like a midget.

It was in his face that the biggest changes could be seen, though. The anger that had always smouldered just below the surface in Ignis was gone, and his dark moods with it. Rokkaku had altered Ignis so completely that someone who had only known him from two years ago would scarcely have recognised him. Sometimes Allandra had the feeling that her brother was better suited to Rokkaku than she was.

Ignis waved to her as she came closer. "Hey, Ally."

"Ig, have you seen Shiro?"

"Sure. He's just around." The whistle blew.

The morning run was a daily routine at Rokkaku. Every day at six-thirty the students would set off, running in a wide loop around the forested hills of Rokkaku and returning to the school in time for breakfast. There was a different route for each day. Running the same course all the time would create a muddy track, damaging the plants and leaving a visible path for anyone who ventured into the forest. Rokkaku was built for secrecy.

This was Allandra's favourite time of the day. She had run the paths through the forests of Rokkaku so many times that her feet knew the way, leaving her free to enjoy the run. The leaves covering the branches over her were still green: they would not fall for another month yet. The grass that lined the slopes was soft, and muffled the footsteps of the Rokkaku students as they passed through the forest like dark flashes in the green morning. The air was clear and cold, fresh from the long night.

They rounded the peak of Dalarwen and came down along the north-eastern slopes of the lake. Below them the waters of Llyn Garedig glittered in the dawn. The sun was rising over the eastern hills, and its rays reflected off the lake, turning the dark water into dazzling light. At the far south of the lake, Allandra could just see the grey line of the dam. As always, Allandra felt a faint chill as she saw it. A year ago, she and her friends had fought her final battle with Vargas there, and barely escaped. The dam was a constant reminder of her father, and it seemed to cast a shadow over the natural beauty all around her. Only when they turned inland, losing sight of the lake as they began their journey back towards the valley, did Allandra's heart lighten again.

Blackbirds were singing in the trees above them as they topped the last hill and came back down into Rokkaku. Even knowing what to look for, as Allandra did, it was difficult to see the school from above. Passing down into the valley, Rokkaku appeared as if by magic, the long dojos, the rooms along the sides, and the bridges and ropes seeming to materialise up out of nowhere. Allandra scattered with the others into the dojos to do her stretching routine, then went up to breakfast.

The canteen was the biggest building in Rokkaku. It straddled the entire valley, going from one slope to the other. Plants and even some trees actually grew on top of it, using the soil that was spread in a deep layer on the canteen's slightly sloping roof. Underneath the canteen's floor was the stream. Christopher had told Allandra that under the canteen, out of sight, a series of tiny hydroelectric turbines tapped the stream's energy, to be used in the kitchens. The stream emerged at the bottom of the canteen to flow down the valley, under the dojos, and into the lake. The canteen was the only building in Rokkaku big enough to hold all the students at once, and, at mealtimes, the only place where everyone could be found together.

Noise and chatter washed over Allandra as she stepped inside. Over a hundred students were inside, their belts a mixture of white, green, red, and black. Allandra scanned them, looking.

A hand tapped her shoulder. Allandra jumped and spun around, her face lighting up. "Shiro!"

"Hey, Ally."

Shiro Yoshimatsu was a tall, slim boy with short black hair. His movements were quiet and graceful, giving a hint of the speed he was capable of. His expression was normally grave, but he was smiling as he looked at Allandra now.

Allandra jumped forward and gave Shiro a hug, then shook him back and forth, hard. "Where were you? I was looking for you all last night! I thought you weren't going to come!"

"Calm down, calm down!" But Shiro didn't seem to mind; he was laughing. "Our plane was late. Ichiro and I got here after midnight. I would have come to say hello, but I didn't want to wake you up."

"What do you mean you didn't want to wake me up?" Allandra looked at Shiro sternly. "You should have!"

Shiro grinned. "I missed you too, Ally."

Allandra suddenly realised that people all around were looking at the two of them and starting to laugh. She let go of Shiro and cleared her throat. "Well. Anyway."

Rokkaku served both Japanese and English style breakfasts. Allandra took cereal and orange juice. Shiro filled a tray with his usual breakfast - rice, miso soup, natto, and a tamagoyaki.

"Oh, come on," Allandra said as they found an empty table and sat down. "You're not still eating that stuff, are you?"

Shiro rolled his eyes as he put his tray down opposite her. "Here we go."

"I can't believe you can stomach it. Even most of the Japanese students at least go for English breakfasts once in a while. Why don't you ever try something different?"

"I've lived half my life in England and half in Japan. I've had plenty of time to try both kinds."

"You can't prefer that stuff. No-one could. Just look at it." Allandra pointed at the miso soup. "Soup's not supposed to be yellow. It'll give you jaundice or something. And what are those little white things?"

"Soybeans."

"They look like little slices of eyeball. Or maybe frogs that fell in and drowned."

"Mr Yoshimatsu has eaten white miso every morning for fifty years. He says it lowers his blood pressure."

"You don't need low blood pressure. Anyway, you eat too much of it. You'll get fat. Haven't I told you that before?"

"Two hundred and seventy-nine times, counting that one."

"What? No I haven't."

Shiro grinned. "How did you survive all summer without my meals to complain about?"

"I don't complain about your meals. Much."

Shiro dipped into his soup. Allandra paused.

"I haven't really told you that two hundred and seventy-nine times, have I?"

"Oh, no." Shiro swallowed a spoonful. "Two hundred and forty, tops."

Allandra picked a cornflake out of her bowl and threw it at Shiro. It bounced off his nose and landed in his soup bowl.

Shiro paused, holding his spoon in mid air. "There's a cornflake in my miso soup."

Allandra started laughing. "Improves the flavour," she managed to say in between giggles.

Shiro picked one of the soybeans out of his soup and dropped it in Allandra's bowl. "Hey!" Allandra demanded.

"Have an eyeball. It's fresh."

Shiro's expression set Allandra laughing again, and this time Shiro laughed too. "So what happened over the summer?" Allandra asked once she could eat again. "What was it like in Japan? How did you get on with Ichiro?"

"Everything with Ichiro was fine." Shiro cut a piece of his tamagoyaki. "I spent a lot of time with him in the dojo, and we went to Honbu together. I saw a lot of his family, too."

Allandra shook her head. "It's weird. Remember what it was like in the first year? He wouldn't even look at you."

Shiro chewed for a moment, thinking. "I think Ichiro changed. I saw him with his family while I was there, and I could see the difference. It's not just you and Ignis who've grown since you've come to Rokkaku."

"What was Tokyo like?"

"Different. Noisier than I remembered, and more closed-in. I wanted to run loose. I was glad to get back to Rokkaku. I'm not sure, but I think Ichiro was too."

"So what did you do in Honbu? Was Hiroshi there as well? What did you do with Ichiro's family? Are you going back there again over Christmas?"

Shiro threw up his hands, laughing. "Slow down, slow down! You're in a good mood, aren't you? I've never seen you this lively."

"I haven't been." Allandra sank down, suddenly unhappy. "It's so boring here in the summer. Nobody's around. There's nothing to do except train or go into the forest. I can't even go to the village because of Vargas. And meanwhile you and Ichiro are going overseas and getting to see Japan and I'm getting letters from you about all the fun things you're doing and I just have to sit here and" Allandra stopped abruptly.

Shiro was looking at her in concern. "I'm sorry, Ally. You said you'd like it if I wrote to you while I was away, so I"

"I know, I know!" Allandra sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you wrote, it would have been a lot worse if you didn't." Getting letters from Shiro and Jennifer and writing back had been bright spots in her summer. "It's just so lonely being here on my own. Back when it was just me and Ignis and Michael I could handle it because I'd never known anything different. But I'm used to having friends now. I miss it when you're all gone."

"You've still got Ignis."

"He's not a replacement for" Allandra checked herself, shook her head, and smiled again. "Forget it. Where's Ichiro? I want to see him too."

"Just over there." Shiro pointed over Allandra's shoulder. "And um. Ally?"

Allandra turned to look. Ichiro, a strongly built boy who always stood very straight, was making his way towards the canteen doors. His progress was slow, because other boys kept greeting him, and each time they did Ichiro would stop to exchange a few words. Ichiro was the leader of the Japanese boys in Allandra's class, and widely respected in Rokkaku. Walking beside Ichiro was his closest friend and companion, Hiroshi. And a dozen steps behind, trying to look inconspicuous, was Jennifer.

"Do you know why Jen's following him?" Shiro asked.

Allandra put her hand over her eyes. "She's planning something awful to welcome him back. I didn't think she'd do it so soon."

The bell chimed. Shiro rose to his feet. "Come on, we'd better stop her."

They hurried outside, but Jennifer was nowhere in sight. Allandra looked around. "Ally!" It was Ignis, hurrying towards them. Christopher was at his side. "Chris needs to talk to you."

"Chris, there you are!" Allandra began. "Have you"

"Have you seen Jen?" Christopher said at the same time. Slightly built, with light bronze skin, Christopher was Jennifer's best friend, a position which frequently got him into trouble. He looked worried. "I need to find her."

"Why?" Allandra asked with a sinking heart.

"You know that chemistry set Chris showed us yesterday?" Ignis said. "Well, Jennifer was asking him questions about it. We just went and checked, and Chris says some of the explosive powders are missing."

Shiro looked at Allandra with eyebrows raised. "What kind of 'something' is she planning?"

"I didn't know anything about this! I thought she was just playing tricks!"

"Can we find her?" Christopher looked around anxiously. "If we split up . . ."

Shiro shook his head. "Too late. Assembly's starting."

Most of the students were already assembled in the middle of the valley. Allandra, Shiro, Ignis, and Christopher ran down the path, arriving with the last of the stragglers. Students were lined up in a semicircle facing one side of the valley. Some were on the roofs of the dojos, others were sitting on the bridges, and a handful were in the trees above, steadying themselves with a hand on the ropes. Allandra and the two boys climbed up onto the dojo roof just as the man at the centre of the semicircle raised his hand and everyone fell silent.

Nishiyama, the Kancho or headmaster of Rokkaku, was a man of fifty or so with grey hair and a lined face. He was inconspicuous and would have faded into the background but for the attention everyone else paid him. Although he taught classes only to the higher-level students, Nishiyama was always around Rokkaku, walking quietly through the valley and observing classes. He knew all the students' names, and, according to rumour, knew just about everything else about them as well.

"Welcome to another year at Rokkaku," Nishiyama said. He never raised his voice, but it carried clearly all the same. "The sixth-formers who won the placing competition last year may pick the high houses they want over the next week. All other students will be assigned new rooms and classes. Until then, use your old rooms and timetable.

"The focus of taijutsu until the next Tai Kai will be Gyokko ryu toshijutsu. May this year be one of growth and enlightenment for all of you. Ganbatte!"

The gathering broke up. Allandra looked around and saw Jennifer standing next to her, looking around innocently. She grabbed her. "Jennifer!"

"What?"

"Don't give me that! What have you been doing?"

"Jen!" Christopher pushed forward. "What did you do with my components."

"Aw, c'mon, Chris. I only borrowed them."

"What are you planning to do?" Allandra asked. "Blow up the classroom?"

"No, no! Just a melon."

"A melon?"

"I put a few of Christopher's thingies inside a melon, and taped it under Ichiro's desk while Nishiyama was speaking."

"What?"

"Really?" Ignis looked interested. "How far would it splatter?"

Allandra glared at him. "Shut up, Ig!"

"Oh, calm down already." Jennifer waved her hands. "I didn't light the fuse. I won't set it off until he's out of his seat."

Allandra let out a breath. "Good, and you're not going to. We're going to leave it there until we can take it away."

"Oh, come on," Ignis protested. "It'd be funny."

"Funny? You're not the one who's going to get blamed for it!"

"Are you crazy?" Christopher said. "You don't know anything about explosives. You're lucky you didn't blow yourself up. What did you take, anyway?"

"Just that purple stuff you showed me. You said if you ground it with sugar it would go bang, so I got some from the canteen. Then I mixed it all together, wrapped it up in a paper tube, and stuck it in the middle of the melon."

"The purple crystals? You mean the potassium permanganate?" Christopher let out a breath. "Okay, we're safe. That and sugar shouldn't do much."

"Oh, and some of the silver dust."

Christopher had turned away: now he stiffened. "What silver dust?"

"The silver dusty stuff. I think you told me the name . . ."

Allandra and Ignis had been arguing. Now they both stopped and looked at Christopher. He was staring at Jennifer with wide eyes.

"Uh," Allandra asked, looking from Christopher to Shiro. "What's going on?"

"Jennifer," Christopher said. "Please don't tell me you put powdered aluminium in there, too."

"Aluminium!" Jennifer snapped her fingers. "That's what it was called. Didn't you say that it would make it burn faster?"

"Burn faster?" Christopher's voice rose to a squeak. "It turns it into a bomb!"

"But you said you'd never tried it."

"That's because I didn't want to commit suicide, you maniac! Adding aluminium dust makes the explosive horribly unstable and much more powerful. Plus it's reactive to water. If it gets wet, it'll go off!"

"Oh." Jennifer paused. "Oops."

The five of them suddenly fell silent, turning to look at the door to the classroom.

"You know," Ignis said after a pause, "maybe we shouldn't go in for lessons today."

"Then they'll blame it on all of us." Allandra glared at Jennifer. "Jennifer, I'm going to kill you for this."

"Hey, I didn't know!" Jennifer protested. "Anyway, you can take it out again."

Shiro stared at her. "We can take it out again?"

"Come on, everyone else has gone in." Christopher started hurrying towards the classroom. "Maybe we can get to it without anybody seeing."

The classroom, like the others, was cut into the valley side. The shortage of space meant that the desks were small and close together. Most of the rest of the class were already seated. Mr Oakley looked up as they came in. "Hello, Allandra. Shiro, it's good to see you again. Take your old seats for now."

"Um, Mr Oakley," Allandra began, "there's something"

"In a minute, Allandra. Sit down, everyone."

Allandra sneaked a glance to the right corner as she sat in her old place next to Jennifer. Ichiro and Hiroshi were in their usual seats. They'd probably arrived in the classroom before everyone else.

"Very well done on reaching your third year at Rokkaku." Mr Oakley gave the class a beaming smile. With the glasses perched on his nose and his white hair, he looked like he belonged in a university rather than a martial arts school. Allandra had grown very fond of Mr Oakley, and she had seen a lot of him over the summer. "And congratulations again on passing last summer's exam. I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday."

Another student asked Mr Oakley something that Allandra didn't hear. She was trying to lean into a position to see under Ichiro's desk.

"Yes, of course, I really should tell you about that," Mr Oakley continued. "The third year at Rokkaku is one of Allandra, is there something wrong with your neck?"

Allandra sat upright again with a jerk. "Oh, no, thanks. I'm fine."

"Good, good. As I was saying, your third year at Rokkaku will be a noticeably broader one than your last two. In the first two years you have been mostly concentrating on basic skills taijutsu, shinobi, climbing, and balance, along with your academic curriculum. You will continue with all of these, but in the course of this year you will start on the broader skills of Rokkaku. Next year you'll have to begin your GCSEs, so we take the advantage of this free year to . . . Christopher, what are you doing?"

Christopher had been trying to inch his desk sideways towards where Ichiro and Hiroshi were sitting. "Ah." He stopped. "Um, I couldn't see you properly, sir."

"Yes, yes. Well, now you can." Mr Oakley carried on. "The weapons training you started last year will be continuing, of course. You'll be working mostly on the bo for the first term. Tanto work should start some time in the spring. Gardening and carpentry will also be in the spring or a little earlier, and by the summer term you'll be joining the maintenance cycle, although you'll be under supervision to begin with. There are also going to be some new lessons starting this autumn. First is drama. It's traditional for the third years of Rokkaku to perform a major production in their summer term, and yours is going to be Shakespeare's As You Like It. We should get around to casting by the spring term, so you'll all have had plenty of time to try out all the parts.

"Now, some important news. You are all going to be transferred to different schools for the second half of this autumn term."

Allandra suddenly stopped trying to slide her chair to the right and paid attention. "What? Other schools?"

"You mean other ninjutsu schools?" Christopher asked. The class were looking at each other, puzzled.

"No, normal secondary comprehensive schools. There will be three groups, each going to a different school, with six or seven students in each. And, to prepare for this, you're going to be having language lessons for the next seven weeks. English for the Japanese students, and Japanese for everyone else."

A chorus of protest broke out. "If we're going to an English school, why do we have to learn more Japanese?" one boy called out.

"You'll find out." Mr Oakley smiled amiably. "Now, here are your timetables. Take one and pass the rest on."

"This isn't working," Jennifer whispered.

"I know!" Allandra whispered back. "We'll have to go for it. Ig, distract him."

Ignis stared at her. "Me? How?"

"I don't know, think of something!"

"Uh Mr Oakley!" Ignis called out. He got up and hurried to the teacher's side. "I don't understand this part."

Mr Oakley looked down in puzzlement. "Ignis, that's swimming lessons. You've been having them every week for two years."

"Yes, but, they, um, look different . . . in the third year . . . somehow . . ." Ignis edged around behind Mr Oakley, making the teacher blink in puzzlement and turn away from Allandra to face him.

Allandra picked up one of her pens and threw it into the corner of the room. "Oops!" she announced, and dived after it before Ichiro or Hiroshi could pick it up for her. Ichiro had just started to turn when Allandra slid in next to him. "Don't worry, I'll get it" she began as she bent down, then stopped. There was nothing under Ichiro's desk.

"Looking for something?" Ichiro asked.

"Um, no, I" Allandra looked up and stopped. Ichiro looked calm too calm.

"Where is it?" Allandra whispered.

Ichiro didn't answer, but his eyes shifted to a point over Allandra's shoulder. Allandra turned to see that he was looking at Jennifer, still sitting at her desk. Allandra's eyes went wide. "Jen!" she hissed.

Jennifer leaned forward. "What?" she whispered, bumping her desk as she moved.

BANG!

There was a white flash. Allandra had one fleeting image of Jennifer's desk rising vertically into the air like a rocket, then she was knocked flat by a hail of fragments.

Allandra lay on her back, blinking at the ceiling, as pieces fell all around her. She picked one up and peered closely at it. It was a tiny fragment of melon rind. Spitting out bits that had gotten into her mouth, Allandra sat up. The classroom was a scene of chaos. The walls were covered with pieces of melon, and the floor was a shambles of overturned desks and chairs. Melon juice dripped everywhere. Allandra's ears were still ringing from the explosion, and as her hearing returned she became aware of the sound of everyone talking at once.

Then she saw Jennifer. Somehow, she was still sitting in her chair, but the explosion seemed to have blown her clean across the room. Jennifer was completely covered in melon pieces. She looked shellshocked. Allandra couldn't blame her.

Ichiro lowered his exercise book. He had whipped it up to shield himself, but had still been spattered. He looked down at her with an odd expression. "Allandra, is your roommate trying to kill me?"

Allandra sighed. "Worse. She's trying to get your attention."

Jennifer seemed to have recovered. Shakily, she got to her feet, and started towards the door.

"JENNIFER!" Mr Oakley roared. Everyone jumped. Mr Oakley was dripping with melon, and looked like thunder. "You hideous little hobgoblin. Get into my study NOW!"

Jennifer hung her head and left, Mr Oakley following. Allandra pulled herself to her feet, trying to brush the melon from her face. "How on earth did you change the desks that fast?" she asked Ichiro in amazement. "I thought you were at the assembly."

There was a very faint smile on Ichiro's face. "Oh, I wanted to make sure her term started with a bang."

Allandra looked at him in astonishment. "You just made a joke."

Ichiro looked back at her with eyebrows raised.

"Oh, Allandra?" Allandra jumped and turned to see Mr Oakley looking at her from the doorway. "You and Ignis are going to go and clean yourselves up. Then I think we need to have a little talk. Don't you think?"

"Yes, sir." Allandra muttered. As she started walking towards Mr Oakley, she could see that both Ichiro and Shiro were grinning.

"I told you so."

"Shut up."

"I told you so."

"Shut up, Chris."

"I told you so."

Allandra, Ignis, Christopher, and Jennifer were standing outside Mr Oakley's study. Unlike everyone else, Jennifer hadn't been allowed to go home to change, and the melon juice had dried on her to make a sticky coating. Pieces of melon were tangled in her hair, and Christopher was standing behind her, picking them out one by one.

"Will you stop saying that?" Jennifer answered, then winced. "Ow. Be careful."

"You deserve it," Christopher answered, but slowed down anyway. "And no, I'm not going to stop saying it. I know you. You aren't going to learn anything from this. Two weeks from now, you're going to try to get me to do something else just as bad. And I'll say 'What about last time?', and you'll say, 'Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud, it'll work fine'. And I'll say"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I think the real reason you never stop me is so that you can be proved right afterwards." Suddenly, Jennifer grinned. "Anyway, it was worth it. Did you see the expression on Mr Oakley's face?"

Allandra couldn't help laughing. There was something invincible about Jennifer. But then a voice sounded from behind the door, "Allandra, Ignis, come in."

Allandra coughed and tried to look serious. She and her brother opened the door.

Mr Oakley's study was cramped and covered with books and papers. In the two years Allandra had been in Rokkaku, the stacks of paper had multiplied and moved, but she'd never seen the room tidy. Mr Oakley sat behind his desk, looking stern.

"I have classes to teach," he stated, "so I don't have time to play Sherlock Holmes. Tell me exactly what happened. And before you think to spin me a story, keep in mind that I can get it just as easily from someone else."

Allandra and Ignis looked at each other, and reluctantly told him what had happened, leaving out their own parts in the incident.

"I see," Mr Oakley said when they had finished. "Do you know that making or setting a home-made explosive is so dangerous that professional demolitionists refuse to do it? They won't even go near one unless lives are at risk. Jennifer's lucky she didn't lose a few fingers. And the three of you should have stopped her. This was dangerous and irresponsible."

"We did try," Allandra put in.

"Rubbish. You made a half-hearted attempt to stop her after she'd already set it up. If you'd been serious about it you would have followed her and prevented her from placing the bomb in the first place. And once you knew the bomb was placed, you should have told me about it instead of trying to sneak it out. I want you two and Christopher to go and clean up that classroom. I'll check it at noon and it had better be spotless, or you'll be staying until the evening. After that, I want you to catch up on all the morning's lessons that you missed. And starting tomorrow, you're on kitchen chores for a week."

"But we didn't do anything!" Ignis protested.

"Yes you did. You let Jennifer break the rules and did nothing about it. And one more thing no more chemistry sets. Christopher's has already been confiscated, and none of the rest of you will try to replace it if you know what's good for you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Allandra and Ignis chorused, downhearted.

"Now, while the two of you are here, we have something else to discuss." Mr Oakley became less stern, but more serious. "As I told you earlier, the rest of the class will be transferred to another school for the second half of this term. I do not think the two of you should go."

Allandra stopped. "What? Why?"

"Because Vargas is after you." The words sent a chill into Allandra's heart, but Mr Oakley carried on. "We know that he has been searching for you since you came to Rokkaku, and there is no reason to believe he's given up now. The three schools that we've picked for this year are all in London, which is far too close to him for comfort."

"Why is everyone going to these schools anyway?" Ignis asked.

"The short answer is experience. You aren't going to do very well in life if the only environment you know is Rokkaku. Ze'ev will explain it to you more fully later. In any case, the two of you have been to English schools before. You wouldn't be seeing anything new."

Allandra looked at Ignis with mixed feelings. She was scared of her father, and the thought of being caught by him again made her shiver. But it had been more than a year now since she had set foot outside the tiny area around Rokkaku. In the short time since Mr Oakley had announced the trip, Allandra had already warmed to it. The idea of seeing the outside world again was wonderful.

Worse, everyone else in the third year would be going. That meant that Shiro and the others would be away for the half-term, then away again for the Christmas holidays. She and Ignis would be left alone for nearly three months. It would be the summer holidays again, but worse.

Lost in thought, Allandra was startled when Mr Oakley spoke again. "That's all. Send in Christopher and Jennifer as you leave. Oh, and one more thing. I think a letter arrived for Jennifer by outside post. Please pick it up for her."

"Can't she do it herself?" Allandra asked.

Mr Oakley's eyes narrowed. "She is going to be otherwise occupied."

Allandra and Ignis hurried out. Christopher looked nervous as he walked in past them, but Jennifer gave Allandra a grin and a thumbs-up as she passed. Allandra rolled her eyes. No matter how bad a chewing-out Mr Oakley gave Jennifer, she knew it wouldn't make any difference.

"But how does he know?" Ignis asked.

Allandra shrugged. "I'm not sure."

It was ten o'clock. Allandra had never realised just how thoroughly one melon could soak a room, nor how much work it could take to un-soak. Wiping down the walls and ceiling was bad enough, but cleaning and drying the pages of the books caught in the melon blast was taking even longer. Ignis had been spreading out a handful of books to dry, but was now staring down at them thoughtfully.

Allandra and Ignis had reached Rokkaku during an attempted escape from Vargas. Michael had been recaptured, but Allandra and Ignis had been swept away in the ice-cold waters of the Tawi, the river that ran from the bottom of the Llyn Garedig dam. Someone they had no idea who had rescued them and carried them to Rokkaku, leaving them for the school patrols to find. Only a brief letter had been left with the two of them, giving no information except for their names. As a result, Allandra and Ignis had come to Rokkaku without anyone at the school knowing the dark secret of their father.

Or at least, that was what they had thought until a year ago. Only then, after the chase and the battle at the dam, had Mr Oakley casually revealed that he had known about Vargas all along. Back then, Allandra's main reaction had been relief that they weren't going to be expelled. But it didn't answer the question of how he had found out.

"Someone must have told him." Ignis frowned in thought. "What if the same person who pulled us out of the river did it?"

"But how would he know about Rokkaku?"

"Maybe he was from Rokkaku."

Allandra shook her head. "But then how would he know about us?" She'd puzzled over this several times, but always came up against the same stumbling block. "I can think of lots of people from London who knew about us back in London. And I know lots of people at Rokkaku who know about Rokkaku. But they're all different people."

Christopher had been listening silently to the two of them while he wiped melon sugar off the windows, but now he spoke. "What if there's someone who's both?"

"What do you mean?" Allandra asked.

"What if there's someone who was from Rokkaku, but also knew you when you were with Vargas in London? You're right, it doesn't make any sense if the two of you are the first ones with a connection to both places. So maybe you're not the first. Maybe someone else came before you."

Allandra shook her head. "No, it couldn't be. Come on, Chris, you've seen Pete and Tav. Those were the kind of men Vargas hung around with back in London. How could anyone like that have anything to do with a place like this?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't know. But someone brought you here, and it was someone who knew about you and knew about Rokkaku as well. Maybe there's someone you've forgotten about."

"I don't know." Allandra thought back over the people she had met in her old life in London. Mostly, there had been the men of Vargas' organisation hard-bitten streetrats with cold eyes, changing constantly as new ones replaced those who ran afoul of the police or her father. Then there had been a constant stream of private tutors. Vargas paid them well, but there was something about Allandra's father that seemed to cast a chill into the heart of anyone who met him. The tutors arrived on the first day brisk and confident, but with each successive visit Allandra, Michael, and Ignis had seen them grow more and more uneasy. Most had lasted less than a week.

Their brief stays in schools had never been long enough for them to make friends, and the cleaners and tradesmen who visited the house had all left quickly. Allandra shook her head again. "No. I can't think of anyone."

But even as she said it she wondered if it was true. The one time that Allandra had met her rescuer, something had stirred in her memory. It was nagging at her now. She had a feeling that she'd heard that voice before . . . but where?

By the time the classroom was clean, morning lessons were over. Allandra, Ignis, and Christopher ran up to the canteen and met Shiro for lunch. At the last minute Allandra remembered the letter and stopped by the stores to pick it up. Jennifer wasn't back in their rooms, so Allandra left the letter on Jennifer's pillow and hurried to afternoon classes.

The afternoon's classes were taijutsu, gymnastics, and stealth. Allandra avoided meeting Ichiro's eyes while she trained: she still felt slightly guilty. When the four o'clock bell chimed, she met Ignis on the way out of the dojo.

"Can you get Shiro to catch us up on the morning's work?"

Ignis nodded. "He's going to. Us and Chris are meeting up in our room." Ignis grinned. "Oh, and I saw Jennifer just a minute ago. I think Mr Oakley had her working on all day learning safety rules for using chemicals. She was going back to your room."

Allandra laughed. "Okay, I'll bring her up as well."

Ignis turned off the path up to the room he shared with Shiro. Allandra opened the door to her own room, and stopped dead.

Jennifer was lying on her bed, crying her eyes out. Allandra rushed to her side. "Jen! What's wrong?"

Jennifer only shook her head. Allandra knelt by the bed and held her friend's shoulders, stunned. Jennifer had always seemed indestructible. She couldn't imagine what it could take to throw her into this broken-hearted weeping.

"What happened?" Allandra asked. "Did the teachers?"

"No." Jennifer lifted her tear-stained face. Allandra caught a glimpse of her hand: crumpled in it was the letter she had seen before. "Ally, I I can't stay in Rokkaku."

Jennifer dropped her head again and went back to crying. Allandra stroked her back, making soothing noises, feeling a chill.

Benedict Jacka

1. Peaceful Days