"I wonder what's taking them so long," Azuki asked Renko. The two girls were in the workroom, Azuki working her big mechanical loom and Renko, tongue between her teeth, attempting to perfectly copy a character on a piece of practice paper.

"I don't know. Sensei can call on me any time. I'm happy to bring them home. It's good practice for me, if nothing else."

Shota zoomed in on wings, changing on the fly to appear as a boy almost without pause. He was proud of his ...