The Fragments slept for two whole days.
It was not their usual sort of nap, but a sleep so deep that no amount of calling or shaking could wake them, a stillness that made the heart uneasy.
Hand Princess Big curled into a tiny ball, five slender fingers hugging itself tightly. The eye in its palm was firmly shut, its eyelid not so much as twitching.
Hand Princess Small lay beside it, pressed softly against the ground like a dozing kitten, too lazy even to move its toes.
Hand Princess Three sprawled askew on the ground, its toes occasionally twitching faintly, as though it were still hopping around fighting over candy in its dreams.
Hand Princess Four floated in midair, but so low that it nearly touched the ground, its eye narrowed to a slit and even its light drawn in.
Hand Princess Five's large torso crouched quietly to one side, the densely packed eyes on its belly all closed, its breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.
The smaller ears, noses, and bits of toes were all huddled into a pale heap, quiet-as quiet as if they were dead.
Shuo sat among them and had not moved from the spot for two days.
He had eaten only two of the rice balls Sai had brought. The rest had long since gone cold, sitting untouched beside him, every last trace of steam gone.
"How much longer are they going to sleep?" Sai crouched beside him, looking at the motionless Fragments scattered across the ground, his brow tightly furrowed.
Shuo did not answer, his gaze resting on his own palm. The glimmer there was a little brighter than yesterday, slowly growing outward like a newly sprouted shoot.
"Where's Kaguya?" he suddenly asked.
"Over at the general store." Sai pursed his lips.