Misao felt the wood slip away under her hands. She clutched after it but it fell out of her reach. She watched as the men on the bridge fell. Her other self looked down in shock, looked up, met her eyes and plummeted out of sight.

Misao was suspended in air. She stood on nothing, held on to nothing; just floated.

'Why am I not falling?!' she wondered in a panic. 'I should be falling! Newton's law! Physics! Gravity!'

She looked up and saw the red-haired man looking at her suspiciously. He placed a hand on his head and shook it like he was trying to dispell the remains of a headache. As though that were the signal, Misao began to fall. At first there was a joyous feeling of "oh good," quickly replaced by "oh no!"

She plummeted through the air and landed in the water with a stinging splash. The air was knocked out of her lungs and Misao struggled to reach the surface. Her heavy leather shoes filled with water and she was dragged down. She opened her eyes and glanced around swiftly. Bodies, pieces of wood and stone and silt swirled around her in the water, all heading more or less down.

Misao blinked through the dirt that clogged the water and fumbled with the straps to her shoes. They finally came off and she kicked toward the blury shape of the moon above her. Her head broke the surface and gulped a breath of fresh air gratefully.

Something grabbed at her brain and throttled it. Misao cried out in surprise and worry. She thrashed around in the water, trying to see what had activated what she recognized as her ninja senses. A large spar of wood was hurtling towards her at a fierce speed and Misao had just enough time to open her eyes in shock before it hit her.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and her mouth and nose and lungs filled with water. Spots of bright color bloomed in her vision until the intensity of them blinded her and she lost conciousness.

There was a timid knock at the door of the eleventh-year classroom. Aoshi continued to write but he listened in with a tiny part of his brain from the back of the class.

"...collapsed......needs to be taken home.....grandfather out.....something to do....must come....."

"Shinomori," the teacher called from the front of the classroom. Aoshi looked up in surprise. He set his pencil down and walked to the front of the class. Around him the other students were whispering.

"Shinomori-kun, in trouble?"

"No way. He's the best student in this class!"

"Maybe somebody died?"

"I bet it was that fight in the parking lot the other night with the new boy."

Aoshi swallowed nervously but fought it down. 'I can't belive I was stupid enough to let other people hear what happened. I'm sure it is about that.'

He approached the teachers desk and said a polite and inquisitive, "Yes, sir? Is something wrong?"

The man looked up and handed him the note that the student had given him. As Aoshi took it from him the teacher began to write a note on a pad of paper, then handed it to the still waiting girl.

"Take that to the attendence office right away. If they ask why, tell them to take it up with me later." The girl nodded and hurried off. He looked at Aoshi as he read the note patiently.

'Makimachi Misao collapsed in her class a few minutes ago. She's unconscience and needs to be taken home. Her grandfather cannot be reached. She was staying with Shinomori Aoshi recently and we thought it best that he drive her home and make sure that she recieves medical attention.'

"Now then, Shinomori," the teacher said, peering at Aoshi over the tops of his glasses and steepled fingers, "you are excused for the rest of the day. That doesn't mean, though, that you can take off once Miss Makimachi is safe. Come back to school when she's taken care of, okay?"

"Yessir," Aoshi said quickly and made to dash out the door.

"Oh, and Shinomori." Aoshi stopped and looked back the teacher. "Take your bag with you. There is a quiz tomorrow."

"Yukishiro Enishi," the teacher called. Enishi looked up from his book and saw Aoshi standing at the teacher's side. Gisuke's eyebrows were drawn together in a small frown of confusion. Aoshi flicked his fingers at him, signaling that he would explain later.

Enishi slowly rose and walked to the teacher's desk. His gaze never left Aoshi's and the small glance Aoshi sent his way only made him angrier. The younger boy clentched his teeth, but held his peace.

"Yes, sensei?" The teacher looked at him and twitched her head in the direction of Aoshi and the door.

"C'mon," Aoshi said in voice completely devoid of any animosity and led the way to the door. Enishi, surprised by his advisary's calm, followed and allowed Aoshi to escort him into the hall.