Kyosei straightened the pillows, and waited. He had asked for this, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea now. Well, when the clap came at the door, it was too late to change his mind. "Come in, hopefully Shirayuki."

"Ah, but what if I'm really Phi, playing a trick on you?"

It wasn't actually hard to figure out. While the twins looked very much alike, Shirayuki moved differently, with a bit more of her father's air of physical prowess.

"Then, I will interrogate Phi, learn what she can do, and be sorrowful that Shirayuki gave up on an opportunity. But, I do not think that has happened, has it?"

He nods at the pillow across from him. "Do you know why you were sent here today?"

"Uhm... Mom and Dad said I might have some... talent? And then I asked if they meant like Dad's eye- you know, I think Soryu inherited that, even if Phi and I didn't, and I think it's because he got the full dose of weird color in it, while Phi and I just have mild heterochromia, and sometimes little brother sees things before they happen, and... Er. Yeah. Anyway."

"Interesting. Has he shared those visions with your parents? In any case, this is not about him. This is about you. While you may not have that talent, both of your parents, and I, think you may have some other talent. We are not sure what it might be, but that is why you are here. We will try various ways to Unlock it. Now, I don't expect it to be as . . . severe as my own gift awakening, but we can start here, yes?"

"So, to start with some questions. First, do you ever feel you knew what someone would say, before they say it, or know things, without knowing how you know it? Do you have a connection to your twin that is stronger than her's to you? Do you feel a connection with any particular element? Think of each question, take your time, then answer as you wish?"

"Figuring stuff out without knowing how? No, and I definitely don't have visions like Dad or Uncle Yuzuru, or Auntie Reiko, or... uhm. Anyhow. And I think Phi and I are about even in terms of connections- she finishes my sentences about as often as I finish hers. And elements..."

She frowned.

"Kinda.... all of them and none of them? I mean, obviously, they're all important, but I also feel like none of them really sums it all up?"

"That is what several of the Isawa, those with a specific gift, say. They are referring to the Void, the element that combines and yet is not part of them. Oh, do you ever see spirits? Or maybe feel them? Perhaps there is a smell you catch, that no-one else seems to be bothered by?"

"Not... really?"

She blinked.

"I mean, not that I KNOW of anyway, and I kind of have my suspicions about Hsieh-Hsieh..."

"I think everyone that has spent time near that one has thoughts. But, it would seem not. So, you are not likely a Spirit-sensor. No more likely to enter another's spirit, either, no more than your twin. But, you may find some affinity to the Void. I can try teaching you some of the prayers I know, but at present, the easiest way I know of is painful - literally." He lifts his left arm, letting the sleeve drop away, and revealing the shiny surface of his forearm, covered in more scars than one would think possible for such a small section of the body. "There is another way - I know there is, but I have only been able to do it with the Earth, and it isn't audible, so showing it would be unlikely to teach you anything. Do you have any desire to try to learn the art of calling on the elemental spirits?"

"Well, it'd be... neat, but, ah... I'm not sure if I have the right... mindset. Dad says Uncle Jin told him it's a bit like speaking to completely incomprehensible strangers? I sometimes can't even express myself to other humans as well as I might..."

"That - might not be the difficulty you think it is. Perhaps your incomprehensible is the same as theirs. I'm not saying it is, just that the reason you have trouble with people is because you are more aligned to the elements, than to the people. I'm not saying it's so, just that its a thought."

"Another question - have you ever been badly hurt? Broken a limb, or gotten a really deep scratch?"

"Nope!"

Not for lack of trying. Shirayuki had climbed things she wasn't supposed to, jumped off of things that she shouldn't, and otherwise contrived to prematurely age her father.

But between Sora's powers of foresight and Phi having her back, she'd actually never endured a serious injury.

"Too bad. That would have given me some idea of what happened. I am not going to injure you so, it would not be right, or the same thing. But, a serious injury can spark the ability to speak to spirits, of any sort you might. Hmm. I suppose, I should ask, do you have any interest in trying to be a spirit speaker? If not, there is little point in continuing. And I don't want you to answer fast, but to take a little time to think it over. Do you want to? There are great sacrifices, and it is a long and painful path. But, there are great abilities, and often prestige associated with the path."

"I mean... if I could, it would be... something. Seriously something."

She rested her chin on her hands.

"But it would set me apart from Phi with a vengeance... since I assume she's not here because there's no hint of any such ability to her."

"That is true. But, both of your parents and I think you do have some sort of gift. So, unless you refuse to learn what you have been gifted, you will be set apart from her anyways." He looks at her with sympathy. "No matter what, unless you want to crawl into a Phi-shaped hole, you will eventually be set apart from her, as you age."

"Well, i mean, I guess there's no harm in seeing If I even can."

He smiles at her encouragingly. "Did I ever tell you why I called you and your siblings Squirtlings, when I saw you first this visit?" This may seem out of nowhere, but his style is circular, spinning around a subject, only to come back to it.

"Something to do with the puppies?"

"No. I mentioned that I had gotten to sail in a ship, off the coast, for the first time. While I was on board, we saw a fish - sort of. The sailors called it a dolphin, and it had a hole on the top of it's head. The group of them followed us, like a class following it's sensei, and they would come up and blow water out of that hole; squirting it out. Several of them were clearly juvenile, and would come up more often. So, when I saw you three in the hot springs, well, the image popped back into my head."

"Huh. I'd like to see these dolphin things someday..."