In one of the few speeches Kunimitsu’s father made that Kunimitsu’s grandfather
approved of, the man declared, "Everything is about connections – who
you know, you notices you, and especially who you can rely on." His
grandfather had declared the rest of the speech to be garbage, but that was
hardly unexpected.

Tezuka had been eight at the time, and had therefore not felt that going
to his mother to ask about what types of people he should know was inappropriate.

Tezuka Ayana gave her son a particularly bright smile and queried, "Why
ask me rather than your father or grandfather?"

Kunimitsu looked at his mother gravely and replied, "I’ll meet all their
associates because I’m the only son. You have other friends." He stood
and waited politely as Ayana nodded consideringly.

"Go and get your coat on," Ayana said decisively. "You can
come with me on my errands and meet my friends, and some family." She
shooed Kunimitsu off to get his coat.

Five hours later, Kunimitsu decided that his mother knew some very strange
people. Especially the loud drunken lady who lived in the disappearing house.
Though he had to admit that the toymaker with the tiny dolls was interesting,
if insane, and the archeology professor seemed to be a man that even his
grandfather would consider upstanding. He wasn’t sure why they had visited
a willow tree. His questions were mostly answered when they arrived at an
apartment, where his mother knocked on the door.

"This is my younger cousin’s home," she explained. "He just
got back from China, so I wanted to give him a few hours to move in before
saying hello." She smiled brightly as the door opened a crack, and didn’t
flinch when the person on the other side reacted to her presence with what
could not be called a screech only for politeness’s sake.

"Xiao Lang," Ayana said brightly, "It’s wonderful to see you.
I’m your cousin, Tezuka Ayana, remember?"

Kunimitsu noted that the boy didn’t seem to be past his teens, certainly,
and that the words seemed to calm him down. "You look like my oldest
sister," he managed, taking in a deep breath. "…Uh, so why are
you over here?"

Ayana gestured to Kunimitsu. "I wanted my son to be able to see like
most of the family does. He has enough latent power for it, and he really
needs to be on his guard for that sort of thing, especially now, doesn’t
he?"

Xiao Lang eyed Kunimitsu. "Is he…?"

"He belongs to his father’s family," Ayana reassured him. "Don’t
worry about interference from me – I think you and that girl are adorable."
She smiled brightly as this caused Xiao Lang to blush and sputter. "Can
you help me?" she asked finally.

"…bring him in," the boy sighed. "I’ll see what I can do."

Afterwards, Kunimitsu found that he did understand why they went to see the
willow tree. He noticed many other things as well, and his mother explained,
as they walked, that what Kunimitsu saw had been there already, but most
people just didn’t notice it. Most of her friends were people who could and
did see those things, she went on.

Kunimitsu nodded, turning to catch a glimpse of a boy a year or two older
than himself, who was running after a girl who had to be his sister. "That
boy has wings," he commented.

"Probably an angel," Ayana said. "There have been a lot of
them around, recently. No one knows why."

"An angel," Kunimitsu murmured. "I’ll remember."