The mansion's lawn was quiet. Birds chirped in the trees, singing about the morning news. One or two students milled about on their morning walks. In the basketball court, the sound of a ball bouncing against concrete could be heard. The swish of a hoop, the turn of a page. A student sat in the garden, reading. As his eyes skimmed the page, a shadow passed overhead. A sudden gust of wind passed by, whipping the other pages into a flutter. Blue eyes looked up at blue sky. Not a gray cloud in sight. The day wasn't windy. Then what had...?

He turned his head.

A pink triangle wended its way across the sky over the garden. On top of the triangle, two strange blurs. The book dropped to his lap, and flopped closed.

"UFO!?"

Half a garden away, the corners of Shin's mouth tugged into a grin. "This is the garden," He spoke. "Beautiful, isn't it?" It was gorgeous. She had to know. Had to see just how gorgeous the mansion could be. All those thoughts, all those emotions. They had to be distracting, on the ground. Kealey deserved the aerial tour. Just her and her guide.

The pink triangle wheeled over the hedge maze, towards the basketball courts and the pool.

Kealey was honestly glad for her abilities as she and Shin floated across the city. He was so sure, so determined, so confident in his skill on top of the platform that it was impossible for Kealey to feel anything else. That made the ride way more fun than the first stomach fluttering moments had been immediately after take-off. Kealey’s grip had loosened, and she’d very quickly started to enjoy herself, thoroughly enjoy herself.

The city really was beautiful, huge architectural monoliths rising out of the ground and into the sky. They’d taken off from one of them and from their height, all the cars had looked like something out of an ant farm. It was like when she’d been on the top of the Empire StateBuilding! No, it was better. Central Park looked like a giant green swimming pool in the middle of the concrete desert and Kealey had to laugh a little. This had been a great idea.

Out of the city prober they flew, and Kealey found herself trying to decide if she liked the concrete jungle more, or if the more wild area struck her fancy. It was a close choice. They reached the mansion, and Kealey looked at it from above with new eyes. Shin was proud of it, and Kealey looked down with the same emotions swirling inside her. ”It really is.” she breathed. Even in the early morning the outside areas were bustling and students made their way around their school, their home. The Mansion suddenly looked very different from the snapshot Kealey had previously had in her mind. They flew past what had to be basketball courts and a sparkly blue pool that made Kealey think about her Central Park analogy earlier. She grinned, ”I had no idea it was so big.” she said,”I’ve really only been to Sam’s office.” That thought made her wince a tiny bit.

”Is my staying here going to be okay? Even if I’m not a student or….associate? Sam offered, but I don't think I'm going to take him up on it.” she said, excitement slightly dampened for a moment before she shrugged off the worries…she was flying. ”What else do I simply have to see from the air?”

>>”I had no idea it was so big.”

"Everything seems bigger, when you're on top of the world..." Shin mused dramatically. A second later, he paused, and added thoughtfully, "Except for things. Things tend to look like ants... hmm..."

That was more dramatic in his head. Oh well.

As they passed over the pool, Shin mused on what else there was to see. The basketball court is great, and the pool is there... hedge maze, seen it... don't want it get lost in it. I wonder... What would Kealey be most interested in?

Her comment pulled him back out of his head.

"It'll be fine," He replied. "You don't have to be a student or work here to stay here. I know plenty of other people who live here for free." Plus, there was the whole 'Roland' thing. "I'd feel better if you were here," He added.

"As for what else you have to see," Shin deftly responded to the subject change. The platform rose daringly towards the rooftop. "I guess from up here, Kealey. We can see it all." Shin scratched the side of his cheek innocently, locking the platform into place above the rooftop's angular planes. His focus shifted to keeping it steady. "Since we aren't moving, I think you can let go and take a look around now. But watch your step." Shin smiled. From where they were hovering, they had a full panorama view of the mansion grounds, with the sun still rising in the distance.

Kealey nodded to what Shin said about being on top of the world, then laughed when he kind of contradicted himself. Kealey understood what Shin meant though, ”I was thinking the same thing a while ago. How some things look so big up here, and how tiny others do. It’s magnificent… Also, have you ever noticed how Central Park looks like a giant green swimming pool in the middle of Manhattan?” she asked, as they made their way towards the large roof that covered the mansion.

Shin answered her questions without any preamble and quite succinctly. Apparently the mansion was unopposed to taking in strays. Kealey frowned at the thought a little, this was the second time that man had forced her from her home. Shin pointed out that he’d feel better if she were at the mansion, and Kealey frowned down at the ground for a few moments before she nodded. ”As long as it’s alright. I might be able to make some real progress on the suits if I’m here anyway…so I wouldn’t exactly be free loading.”

They slowed to a hover, and Kealey looked around at the top of the roof and the area that surrounded the mansion. Shin commented and Kealey laughed again, they really could see everything. Probably for miles. Shin pointed out that since they’d stopped moving she could let go and Kealey loosed her grip even more, watching her step as Shin had instructed and turning around so she could get a full view of the Mansion grounds.

The sun was still finishing its rise in the east and Kealey watched it until it made its way over the tops of the trees. She sighed, it was all so beautiful and serene. Perfect. Kealey shuffled so she was facing Shin and she smiled, ”I know I said it before…but thanks….for everything. You came back for me…and then this…just…thanks.” she trailed off a little awkwardly, ”I owe you…big time.”


That out of the way, Kealey took one last look around the outside of the building and the grounds, ”Since we’ve seen all the outside…I suppose we should check out the inside…before people start to think some strange giant bird has landed on the roof.”

"Giant swimming pool?" Shin recovered from the hapless musing accident with a slight smirk. Kealey was really enjoying the flying, wasn't she? She was kind of getting loopy. "That's awesome. I've never really flown over Central Park before, actually." She was the first person he'd taken flying outside of the mansion.

He replied to her about her worries. She didn't instantly respond. For a moment, he sensed a frown. That's right. She's probably still worried about that. That didn't change the fact he'd feel better if she was safe. He was glad her response was sunny-side up.

>>”As long as it’s alright. I might be able to make some real progress on the suits if I’m here anyway…so I wouldn’t exactly be free loading.”

"Exactly," Shin's voice whipped back to the passenger behind him. Silver lining. She was thinking about one. That was good.

The platform shifted with the subject, up towards the roof. Let's keep it that way. Shin kept up the grin, through the standing and steadying, resolve working in tandem with his concentration to keep everything in line.

For a while, they stood there, basking in the sun rise. Shin looked away from it. Head-on, the light hurt his eyes. He focused on something else: Kealey.

His eyes swung back to the scenery. Yeah. Beautiful and serene. Heh. Those were some nice trees.

A minute or two later, Kealey turned towards him. Shin looked at her. As she spoke, he bowed his head. "You don't owe me anything, Kealey." He looked up at her with a smile. He wouldn't have let her die. She didn't owe him. That wasn't chivalrous. "Maybe a sandwich, and we call it even?"

>>”Since we’ve seen all the outside…I suppose we should check out the inside…before people start to think some strange giant bird has landed on the roof.”

Shin turned back towards the building, and looked at the window behind them. "Yeah... hmm. Wonder what's through that window." His eyes locked on the open window 7 feet away. The platform drifted almost unconsciously towards it as he wondered. It stopped up next to the window. Shin paused, then looked to Kealey. "Guess we can explore?"

Kealey nodded her head as Shin thought over what she’d said about Central Park looking like a swimming pool. He spoke, pointing out that he’d never actually flown over there before, and Kealey’s eyes widened for a moment. This wasn’t something he did often? She kind of wanted to giggle at the thrill that went through her. It had all been kind of dangerous, hadn’t it? For some reason, after the events of the previous day, this danger didn’t feel wrong. It felt incredibly right.

The sunrise had been beautiful, and when Kealey thanked Shin he responded with more grace than she could have possibly hoped for. The fact that he really meant it was even better. That even after he’d put himself in danger, and everything else, he really didn’t feel like she owed him. At the suggestion of a sandwich, Kealey’s face broke into a wide grin and she nodded her head. ”I can definitely do that.” she said, already trying to work out in her head what she would make or where they would go.

The platform starting moving again and Kealey grabbed a hold of Shin. At this point, she didn’t really think she was in danger of falling, but it was better to be safe than sorry…especially when you were standing on a construct made from someone else’s mind high above the ground. Besides, he hadn’t seemed to mind before, now probably wouldn’t be any different.

Shin agreed that it was time to go inside and found…a window? Kealey peered at it as they approached, then looked at Shin in mild surprise when he suggested that they explore. Through the window the blond looked again, curious herself as to what could be inside an open window this high in the mansion. She peered a moment longer, unable to see much besides what appeared to be a normal attic. She nodded her head.

”Let’s do it!” she said, continuing in the spirit of adventure she'd felt earlier and stepping through the frame and into the unknown room.

Shin followed, up off the shard platform and through the window. The pink triangles vanished as his feet touched down on dusty wooden floorboards. Shin put a fist to his mouth and coughed.

"Dusty," He stated. It looked like some of the things in the things in the attic hadn't been messed with in a long time.

The attic's contents were fairly normal, to the untrained eye. There were boxes, as you'd find in any average attic, the stray teddy bear, here or there, some missing button eyes, some leaking fluff-fluid lifeblood. In the corner, a pair of skis stood defiantly, poles leaning against the back of a mirror next to them. To their right, a strange shape loomed. Shin quirked an eyebrow, stepping towards it.

"That's weird..." He trailed. Curiosity mingled with apprehension as he grabbed hold of the cardboard cutout. He turned it towards Kealey. A giant robot stared her in the face. "Wonder who'd leave something like this sitting around up here..." Shin trailed. He turned the red-eyed robot so he could look it in the eye, then set it back against the wall.

It really was an attic, Kealey mused as she walked further into the room. There was dust everywhere, and as the blond moved further, she noticed more and more. The sound of Shin’s cough made Kealey turn back towards the window and she batted at a dust mote as it floated on its merry way through the rays of sunlight that followed Shin through the window.

He moved further inside, looking at things as he went, and Kealey followed his eyes, Shin’s curiosity mingling with her own until she almost had to know what was in some of those boxes. There were loose items sitting out, too, and as she saw first one teddy bear, then another, Kealey realized that all of these were someone’s things. But whose? Kealey pushed open a flap on one of the cardboard boxes and found a small collection of comic books, a baseball glove, and an alarm clock.

Shin moved past her and Kealey turned to follow him to a looming shadow in the far corner of the little attic they’d found. He turned the looming artifact to reveal a robot and Kealey reached out a hand, using a finger to swipe away some of the dust that had gathered on the robot’s “intimidating” face as Shin voiced a question.

”It is strange, isn’t it? I don’t know what would drive someone to leave all of their things behind like this. Do people usually live at the mansion long enough that they need somewhere to store their old belongings and toys?”

"I don't know..." Shin replied slowly. He really didn't. He hadn't been working at the mansion long enough to find out about any of that. Sure, he'd seen students come and go. He'd never witnessed runaways. He was sure there had to be some in the mansion's history, though. "Maybe they're just someone's toy collection. Hidden treasure trove?" He shrugged. He honestly didn't believe his own suggestion. It was better than the alternative.

"I guess we might as well leave it alone, though." Shin scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. He'd thought it would be more interesting, but this was just somber. Shin walked past the cardboard stacks, back to the window they'd come in through. He focused for a few moments, summoning up triangle after triangle. They danced into place, forming the platform again. This time, he made it blue. Shin climbed up out the window, onto the flying tortilla. He turned, and offered her his hand again. "Let's go down to the main entrance, and have a look around."

Once everyone was situated and had a good grip, the platform rose, and drifted down to the front door of the mansion. It touched down on grass, and vanished under their feet.

"Ground floor," Shin swept his hand towards the front doors. "Entrance, main offices. Classrooms of peril."

The longer they stayed in the attic, the more somber Shin’s mood got, so the more somber Kealey's mood got. Some of these things looked important, like the teddy bears. Kealey had a flashback of a doll she’d had as a child. That and a particular pink blanket had been her almost constant companions for years. These were peoples’ things. Kealey’s had gone with the house and everything else after the bombing at the church, but why had people left these behind?

Shin provided an alternate explanation to the depressing places Kealey’s mind was going and she nodded her head, calling up a slight smile in response. ”It would be a good place for that. I wouldn’t have imagined spaces like this existing up here.” Kealey picked up one of the teddy bears, turning it over in her hands and watching as dust took flight around its fuzzy brown head. A few moments later, Shin pointed out that they should probably leave the things alone and Kealey agreed, ”Probably,” she said setting the stuffed toy down and making her way over to watch what Shin was doing with his shards.

This time, the platform was blue, and Kelaey took Shin’s hand when he offered it, climbing out the window and onto the platform. The trip down to the lawn was smooth, and almost as soon as they came even with the first floor of windows, Kealey started picking up emotions. She sighed slightly, dropping her head and closing her eyes. T he last few hours had been so nice, now began the constant battle for stability. It was early still, though, and a clam aura of sleepiness outshone everything else. At least she’d be able to ease into the hectic climate.

The platform touched down on the grass and disappeared, and Kealey reached up, pulling the elastic bracelet from her hair so it fell forward and at least partially covered the bruise on the right side of her face.

Shin put on his tour guide hat, and Kealey shot him a quick smile as she nodded her head, ”Entrance, main offices, classrooms.” she ticked off mentally, determined to commit as much of this to memory as possible.”Let the official tour begin.”

>>”It would be a good place for that. I wouldn’t have imagined spaces like this existing up here.”

Shin nodded. He wouldn’t have, either, but he supposed they had to put all this stuff somewhere. He moved out the window, and said his part. There were far better things to show Kealey today. He boarded the platform, and brought them to the ground-level.

And so, the tour began.

“This is the main hall,” Shin stated, as they entered through the front of the school. He gestured to the carpeted area, the chandelier, the staircases. Next, he showed her the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, and the infirmary. “Doc Prof works here,” He noted. They popped back out, and to Shin’s office. Kealey had already seen Sam’s office. Shin’s office wasn’t too far from the ice man’s realm.

Shin looked around the office. It was still neat. Shin put a hand to his forehead melodramatically. “Since Aurum cleaned it, it’s been harder finding my stuff.” He shook his head, inwardly amused. Shin sat down in his desk for a second, and called up the room information on his computer. A short while later, he had Kealey set up with a room and key. Shin left the office to stew for a bit in its own mess and dust.

“I think you’ve seen most of the interesting things downstairs. Next stop, the library.” They moved down a hall, to the first floor entrance. Shin gestured to the massive collection of reading material, one minute later. “The library. I think I could get lost in here for days. Whenever I give tours, I always find myself inexplicably drawn to these hallowed halls. I guess it must speak volumes about my personality, eh?” He looked back to Kealey. The library was quiet. Not many students were around, so early in the morning. Shin grinned. “Well, volumes, it’s got.”

Over the next short time, Kealey did a lot of smiling and nodding. While the halls of the school weren’t crowded, they weren’t completely deserted either. Adjusting took a little time, and it took a little concentration, as did committing all the places on the tour to memory. Living room, check. Kitchen, check. Diningroom, check. Infirmary, check. All good places to know. They went to Shin’s office next, and Kealey committed that place to memory too. There were precious few people she knew here, and knowing where they might be would help considerably of the next few days.

Shin pointed out that Aurum had cleaned his office and Kealey looked around it, unable to stop a small giggle from escaping her, ”I don’t know why I’m always shocked when I find things out about him…like the fact that he’s apparently a neat freak.”

A few minutes later, Shin had given Kealey a room and they continued on their tour of the mansion. Shin announced that they’d seen all the excitement to be seen on the main floor and pointed out that they needed to see the library. Kealey’s face lit up, library?

They walked into the library and Kealey’s eyes widened. It was hard to impress the blond after a couple years of working in what was probably one of the more impressive libraries in the world, but for a private residence. This library was impressive.

”Saints in Heaven above Shin….I had no idea the library here was so impressive...and you know how I feel about books too.” she breathed, glad that the place was practically empty. This was something she wanted to enjoy. She turned back and grinned at her tour guide.

”I can see why you end the tours with this. Everything else must pale in comparison.”

The Full Circle didn't normally deliver, but this wasn't a normal delivery. The teachers of the Mansion had ordered some new books for the library and they'd just come in with last night's shipment. Ghost was glad to have the Mansion use her store as their main supplier for textbooks, but it was the books that the teachers lovingly hand picked for their students that brought Maya the greatest joy in delivering.

In the time that Maya had been at the Mansion there had never been an official librarian. With all the volunteer hours of the teachers and students, though the place ran relatively smoothly. Detention was good for something.

For now, Maya hummed away on the second floor with her delivery box. She'd already printed out the stack cards and placed them in the computer system. Now she was using the upper floor desk to glue in the front card pocket, stamp the books as Mansion property and tape their placement labels... After the books were shelved, Maya would have to stop in to say hello to her dad before heading back to the store.

Unless, of course, a friendly distraction walked in through the door. It sounded like... Shin. Shin and a girl. Maya's humming slowed. The books weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "It that Shin I hear?" She would have shouted it, but it was a library. There were levels of acceptable loudness in such places. Instead the words slithered past Kealey and Shin on a tickling breeze.

Maya scooted back her chair, careful not to knock one of the many bulletin boards off the wall, and made her way to the bannister so that she could wave to the two on the first floor.

Yep. Blonde hair, familiar face, but definitely not Kasumi.

>>”I don’t know why I’m always shocked when I find things out about him…like the fact that he’s apparently a neat freak.”

"Next, we'll be finding out he worships Browniethulu. It would explain the Godlike baking..." Shin held his chin thoughtfully, then went on with his life.

~*~

Shin grinned at Kealey's response. She liked it. She honest-to-invoking-saints-alive liked it. Shin nodded knowingly. "I know."

>>”I can see why you end the tours with this. Everything else must pale in comparison.”

"Yeah. Like a man's face when he sees a--"

>>"It that Shin I hear?"

"... Ghost." He paused, and looked around. Where had the voice come from...? Hmm. Shin scratched the back of his head. "It's a wonder this place manages to operate without an official head librarian, too." He finished. An eyebrow arched. "Now, where exactly was that Ghost I just heard...?" She wasn't in the stacks around them, was she?

Kealey was pleased, Shin was pleased, and that meant that Kealey was doubly pleased. It wasn’t an over-top-jump-up-and-down-while-whooping type of pleased, it was the knowing satisfaction that something was good and right in the world and that you were looking at it. She smiled more, it really was the only thing to do.

The books were everywhere, and it looked like they had a nice organizational system in place. Kealey was admiring the sectioning of the stacks when a disembodied voice floated through the air, inquiring as to whether or not it had heard a Shin. There was something familiar about it that tickled the back of Kealey’s mind, but it wasn’t enough to bear further thought.

Kealey turned, curiosity painting her features as she tried to figure out where the sound had come from. She knew she was in a school full of mutants with strange and incredible abilities, but that didn’t mean she knew what they all were. Shin didn’t seem concerned, and Kealey laughed at the ironically accurate statement he’d made.

He made another statement, and Kealey’s eyes widened, the voice forgotten for a moment in her surprise, ”A library this size, and in this kind of working order with no Librarian? It boggles the mind! How do you ever manage? I‘m shocked it‘s not falling down around your ears. A library this lovely deserves proper care, Shin.”

Something about the end of what he’d said, caught Kealey’s attention and her still-wide-eyes searched around the shelves for the owner. She’d thought it was another mutant in the library, but after what Shin said…”Is this place really haunted? Does the ghost take care of the books?”