----
Sasami woke with a throbbing headache and was surprised to discover that she 
was in alien surroundings. She sat up to get a better look around and 
instantly regretted. She fell back on the sheets with a groan. -I think...- 
she 
told herself,-that this is what Ayeka and Ryoko call a hangover. I definitely 
don't want to go through this again- Gentle hands eased her back on the bed 
and placed a damp cloth on her head.

"Shh.. little one, rest is what you need." 

"Who are you?"

"My name is Miz Mistal, we'll answer all your questions later. Now sleep." 
Sasami started to reply but she was so tired. Sleep rose up and swallowed her 
again, she heard a little more as she dozed off.

"How is Makoto?" a man's voice.

"He's okay, but the council wants to see him right now."

"Why?"

"Masamichi, he fired the Eye of God by himself. Needless...." Then sleep 
claimed her and nothing more was heard.
---

Afura ran interference for her companion as they entered the gate to the 
palace. -It wouldn't do for the wrong person to recognize her before I can 
get her in front of the council.- Kaizen's legacy was a shadow that dwelled 
close to the surface of all that was Roshtaria.  

It had taken her the best part of two days to get back from the shrine at 
Mount Muldoon. Her companion had almost totally withdrawn into herself after 
her brother's death. 

Ayeka's mental state made Afura reluctant to fly back, it wasn't too far a 
jump to see her pulling free and dropping from the sky like a rock. Not 
something she wanted to happen to one of the Lost. Not to mention the 
problems that she had  been having herself. The last few days had been a 
constant battle for control.

-I won't fail her again.- Afura vowed, -hopefully I can get her in a secluded 
part of the palace till I have a chance to talk with Rune and the others. 
Before someone sees the War Marks.- She had given a hooded cloak to Ayeka so 
as to hide her face. -If the wrong people saw them, or the Master Key.- It 
had been 15 centuries since Kaizen's insane act had stolen the bloom of an 
entire generation, but he was still cursed by many. Afura, as a priestess, 
knew the truth of Kaizen, but... The council would have to be informed 
immediately.

She looked at Ayeka and couldn't help but see the pain, despair and loss in 
those eyes. -Ancestors, I am only a mere priestess pledged to protect the 
secrets of the past, and a poor excuse for a healer of souls,- she prayed 
-but grant me the wisdom to keep this Lost Child whole.-

----
The loud shouts and angry voices echoed through the hall as he was escorted 
to the council chambers by two blank faced guardsmen, they had delivered the 
'request' to attend the council's meeting. Both stood aside and held a door 
open for him when they finally reached the doorway. The doors quietly shut 
behind him.

The shouting stopped almost instantly. He took his appointed seat in the 
smothering silence the filled the room. He looked up only once, to meet the 
eyes of Rune Venus, only to turn his gaze back down to the floor at the pain 
and hurt 
in her stoic gaze. 

"Why?" Rune asked quietly. Makoto ran his hand through his hair, trying to 
rub the pain and weariness away.

"I was searching for an object, the Master Key. It was an artifact from the 
Age of Marvels....." One of the lords cut him off abruptly.

"You risked the welfare of all El-Hazard on a whim? What if you had brought 
another monster like Jinnai or even another Phantom Tribe!!"

"Varic, that is enough." Rune's look of disapproval stopped the lord dead in 
his tracks, his next comment stilled before it began. Makoto resumed his 
survey of the floor, unwilling to meet anyone's gaze as he continued.

"Since the end of the war, I have been researching the Eye of God. Trying to 
understand the way it bridges between worlds. Most of you think it is to find 
a way home for myself and the others. It isn't just for that." A murmur of 
voices started to ripple through the council chamber. "I am trying to rescue 
the woman that I love, who was lost saving El-Hazard, Ifurita." The council 
gasped in shock.

"I thought that was a rumor!!!"

"That demon!"

"How!?"

".... deserved..."

".. rot in the darkness."

Makoto pushed down the pain that threatened to consume him in the face of all 
the hatred that was being directed at his lost love. -They will never 
understand.-

"ENOUGH!!", Rune shouted. "There will be silence in this chamber, and order 
as well, or I will dissolve this session right now!" The entire chamber 
instantly went quiet as Rune looked back to Makoto, and he knew instantly 
that at least one other in the chamber understood his shared pain with 
Ifurita. "Makoto, could you please continue?" It was comforting to see the 
understanding and empathy in her eyes.

"The Great Key, I found a reference to it and it's creator, Kaizen the Maker, 
in a very old section of the palace archives. It was designed to channel and 
control energies on an incredible scale; it was used to calibrate the Eye 
before it was first fired. I knew that there would be a connection between 
the two that I could use to bring it across time and space from wherever 
Kaizen's curse threw it. I didn't expect the Eye to surge like it did though, 
that was most likely a result of Gallus' sabotage. I was knocked out by the 
backlash when the eye fired. The girl, Sasami, was brought over by the blast 
also."

A variety of curses and oaths were whispered at the name Kaizen.

"From where and as there anyone else?" The council member, Varic, repeated 
again.

"I ... I don't know." Makoto answered, still looking at his feet. A hand 
touched his shoulder gently. He looked up a Rune, who smiled gently at him. 
The room degenerated into a flurry of conversations.

"He can use the Eye. I think that it could solve a lot of problems."

"The Bugrom aren't going to stay at the dimished levels, you know that they 
breed faster than a Kev'n-Kel..."

".. raiding activities are already picking up along the river of God again.."

"... our forces are still too green and untrained to face the hordes that 
will be massing..."

"Your highness, we must find out if there are others. Surely someone can make 
this boy tell us more of what he did. How many were brought across this 
time." Rune turned to Varic, her face darkening at the nobleman's 
presumption.  He was playing one of his power games once more.  A brief surge 
of anger flowed through her.  Their was times and place for politics not in a 
crisis like this.

"I can answer that question," came a voice from the door. Makoto turned and 
was surprised to Afura Mann standing at the entranceway with a cloaked 
figure, the two guards standing guard on her guest. "My lords, I know for a 
fact that there were only five people brought across from Earth." -How did 
she know that- He started to ask, when Afura nodded to her companion, who 
pulled her cloak back to reveal a face painted in a tiger striped-like 
pattern. The council, almost to a man, paled at the sight of her. Varic 
scowled and spat. "Your Majesty, and Lords of the Council, I would like to 
introduce you to Lady Ayeka, princess of the Royal house of Jurai and 
descendent of Kaizen the Maker. One of the Lost."

-You could know them all over with a feather.- Makoto thought as he watched 
Rune stand and greet their visitor. She spoke quietly to the girl, and then 
to the surprise of all hugged her. He looked over to the person sitting 
beside him, 
Alliele. She was crying and it looked to be tears of joy.

"Alliele, why are you crying? Who are the Lost?" She looked at him, surprised 
by his question for a second. 

"Oh, I forgot, you're not from El Hazard. This girl, she's from a group of 
people that were lost caught in the blast when the Eye of God was fired in 
the Great War. To see someone directly descended from the Lost after all 
these centuries is a miracle." Makoto looked around the council chamber as 
Rune led Ayeka away.

"Then why are you, Rune and the priestesses the only ones that look happy to 
see her."

"I'm.. I'm not sure." Alliele said with a confused look on her face.

----

----

Rune hugged the girl, and smiled at her. She could tell that Ayeka was tired 
and more than a little heartbroken.

"Welcome, Ayeka, we're your family. Kaizen was a member of the royal family. 
I need to know something, are there any others in your group who are 
descendents of Kaizen?"

"Just Sasami, myself .. and Tenchi. Why?" Rune sighed and gestured for a 
guard. She turned quickly back to Ayeka.

"This boy, Tenchi, have you told anyone what he looks like?"

"Just Afura Mann." Rune turned back to the guard.

"Find Afura Mann and get the description of the boy and make sure that he is 
brought to the palace immediately." She looked back to Ayeka and smiled to 
put her at ease, "I think that there is someone that will want to see you."

---
"Nanami?" Nanami started at the voice, and for a second she couldn't remember 
where she was. She had felt what seemed to be another of her 'attacks' coming 
on. -Oh, yeah the royal quarters- Fujisawa-sensei had threatened to tear the 
door down if she didn't come out. Miz wanted someone to watch after the girl 
while the others attended the council meeting with Makoto. -Their worried 
that Makoto might have brought another monster across like Katsuhiko, or...
"Nanami? Are you alright?" A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her 
daydreaming. She looked at the young girl beside her.

"What is it, Sasami?"

"Why are you so sad?", the younger girl asked with an innocent look that tore 
at Nanami's heart. She started to reply, but stopped as Rune walked in with 
another girl closer to her own age. Sasami lit up at the sight of her. 
"Ayeka!" The 
other girl rushed to the bed and wrapped her arms around the little girl.

Nanami slipped out the door as the two sisters were reunited and vanished 
into the shadows of the hallway. No one noticed her disappearance in the room.

---
Ryoko dropped straight down the cliff face, gliding silently to her target. 
The sentry spotted her only seconds before she struck. The explosion of her 
blast made any alert that it might have given moot.

-Ryoko! Stop this before it gets out of hand!- Yosho's voice rang through her 
mind.

"Shut up old man!" She screamed as she summoned her sword and lashed out at a 
massive creature that emerged from the hole. It went down under her attack 
and didn't rise. Her blood sang with glee as she moved in to enter the 
complex, 
the promise of destruction to come set her heart racing.

-I can't let you continue this destruction!- She laughed before replying.

"What are you going to do? You're just a figment of my imagination!" She 
moved forward into the shadows that she knew concealed the enemy. She felt 
the power within her rise and shift unbidden as Yosho replied.

-This!- came Yosho's reply as she vanished away from the carnage that she had 
made.

---
Sasami hugged her sister as Ayeka wept. She knew part of it was the same 
relief and joy to be together again, but another part of her knew there was 
more to it than that. She pushed out of the hug and looked at her sister's 
face, still 
covered in her War Mask. And knew without a single word from her sister. 
Yosho, son of Funaho and the crown prince of the planet Jurai, was dead. 

"Yosho?", she asked Ayeka with tears in her eyes now. Ayeka merely nodded and 
Sasami held her as she wept again. No one else truly knew how much Ayeka had 
felt for their half brother. She patted her sister's shoulder and whispered 
as her sobs shook her body. "I know.. ", she said as she looked to Rune. The 
older woman retreated out the door, this was clearly a private moment that 
she wouldn't want to intrude upon. -Oh, Yosho, my brother; why did you have 
to 
leave us now?- she asked his departed spirit.

----
"Who is this woman? Why is she single-handedly tearing apart my plans for the 
new campaign to conquer El Hazard?" Katsuhiko Jinnai looked to his Bugrom 
followers and listened to their mumbled replies. The yellow eyed demoness had 
been tearing through his forces for days now. He drew in a breath to continue 
his rant but was interrupted as one of the smaller Bugrom, one not much 
bigger than a hummingbird flew up and whispered something in his ear.

"What?" He screamed in surprise and listened as his scout repeated his 
report. -So, there is another way to fire the Eye of God.- "Return to your 
post and bring me news of when and where this ... Master Key is located." 
-Soon, Makoto, I 
will finally be able to tear away all the impediments that you have thrown 
up. Nothing will stand in the way of my destiny.- Jinnai raised a hand in the 
air, "I won't be denied this time, Mizuhara!"

----


Nahto looked at his spy, leaning forward in the seat. For the first time in 
months, something had come up that could be of use. Hope, long thought dead 
with his master, now flared again. With it came purpose and the drive that 
had so long been denied him.

"Tell me again what your sources have told you." And the spymaster obediently 
retold the information that his spies had passed on to him.  Nahto waved him 
away as he finished, and the phantom spy withdrew obediently.

"How could such a thing be?" Nahto asked as he sat back on his throne. This 
was totally unexpected, "I thought that only two princesses of royal blood 
could fire the eye?"

"Not so, Shadow of Gallus." Nahto jumped at the voice to one side of him.

"Who is it?" A knife appeared in his hand as he conjured a light to fill the 
darkened room. A woman, tall and pale with dark hair, stood nearby. Nahto 
stepped back and forced himself to relax. She would never notice his attack, 
it would be like attacking a mountain with a spoon. Or so the legends said. 
"Harbinger, what do you want?"

"Why little shadow, are you afraid that I have come to usurp your hold on the 
phantom tribe?" She said with a little smile. Nahto forced himself to remain 
calm.

"No, you could have done that when you aided Gallus in his uprising. What do 
you know of these latest events?" He asked as he returned to the throne and 
took a seat.

"The boy, Makoto, fired the Eye in an attempt to recover a lost artifact from 
the Age of Glory. The Master Key." Harbinger stepped back into the shadows, 
fading away as she spoke, " I think that you will find that it has an 
interesting history little shadow, maybe you should look into it."

Nahto looked out onto the floor of the darkened throne room, his visitor gone 
in her usual mysterious manner. He wasn't concerned with her appearance or 
disappearance, but a vision of what would come soon.

The Eye glowing darkly in the sky above, lashing out death and destruction at 
his command.. it was a very satisfying.
----

Afura Mann shot up in the bed, a scream rushing out of her. She lay in the 
bed gasping for air as the nightmare vanished back into the night. All around 
her the rooms contents dropped to the floor, no longer held aloft by her 
powers. The windows were open to the night air now, the glass in them blown 
out by the winds that had come with her screams. She huddled miserably on the 
empty mattress, her sheets having been blown all around the room.

-Just a dream! It's just a dream! get a hold of yourself Afura!- She looked 
around the room taking in the devastation left from her nightmare inspired 
blasts. _That was without my amplifier rig,... if I had- Her thoughts were 
cut off by the realization that she was not alone in the room. She looked up 
at the visitor.

"So, have you come to gloat?" She asked, surprising herself at the amount of 
bitterness in her voice.

Sheyla sat down on the mattress and looked at her. Concern showed in her eyes 
as she handed Afura a cover. Afura took it and gratefully wrapped it around 
herself.

"You've never lost it like this before Afura. I came down here to tear into 
you over this," She waved the note that she had left at the shrine, "and I 
find you with less control than a base novice. What is going on?"

"I... I've lost my Focus," Sheyla looked at her in shock and Afura pushed on 
with her explanation. "Doubts best me at every turn. Everywhere I look and 
see things that should be within my power, things that I should be able to do 
as a 
priestess. I just can't seem able to do what is needed of me anymore." Sheyla 
looked at her in shock, it was long seconds before she had recovered enough 
to reply.

"Focus? What are you talking about Afura? You've always had that extra edge, 
the drive that Miz lacks. And you sure as hell have more willpower and 
control than I do. You don't let things distract you from your duties.

Afura sighed and rose off the bed, draping the cover over her shoulders as 
she stood up. Sheyla tried to ignore the wind that was whispering through the 
room, but it was hard when she knew that the wrong word or situation could 
literally 
tear apart the room.

"That's just it, isn't it? All I have is my duty. Miz has Fujisawa and you 
flit from one thing to another, except when you are chasing Makoto."

"Aw, come off of it. Look, love isn't all that is cracked up to be. Look at 
the fool that I have made of myself." She smiled wryly, but Afura could see 
the pain that lurked underneath the brittle surface.

"It's not that, .. I liked being a priestess even during all the grooming and 
training. The idea of being a keeper of ancient lore was appealing to me, and 
then there was the challenge of pushing myself to the limits. Honing the 
razor-sharp edge of my powers to the utmost. All that drove me was the need.. 
the drive to improve. Now I see this road, no forks or turns, just leading 
forward with no end to it. I'm not happy or sad or anything anymore. Just 
this constant cycle of moving day to day trying to keep that edge, even with 
that I have my doubts. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a priestess anymore."

Sheyla was shocked by the revaluation that her friend was revealing. This was 
going far beyond the funk that she had expected, deeper than she could have 
imagined.

"Bullshit, we're heroes. The order hasn't had this many eager recruits in 
centuries. All of them trying to see if they have the gift like us." Afura 
turned her back and eased the cover down to her waist, leaving her front and 
back bare. The wind picked up just enough to make Sheyla nervous, she tried 
to break the mood with a little humor. "You haven't been hanging around with 
Alliele again have.." Then she saw it and the rest of her sentence died on 
her lips.

The interlacing web of scar tissue across her back, vivid red strips across 
the bare white skin. Marks that would last a lifetime, reminding Afura of her 
loss. Afura held up an arm, it was covered in a similar web of scars.

"Ifurita..." Afura nodded, " I never knew that it was that bad...."

"I was the indomitable one, remember? The one that couldn't be stopped in all 
our trials. Ifurita beat all of us, but she didn't finish me cleanly. She 
toyed with me. And I couldn't do a thing to stop her." Afura closed her eyes, 
and Sheyla could hear the howl of the growing wind outside, "I failed to stop 
her, and I failed to save Ayeka's kinsman....."

"So what are you going to do about it Afura?" Sheyla snapped at her in anger, 
"Give up, let your powers rot in some seaport or a freak show?" Afura slid 
the cover back on and turned to face Sheyla.

"I am going on retreat. Into the Mountains of God and there I will seek the 
Cave of Demons. I am going to regain my Focus, or make sure that I don't 
become a threat."

Sheyla looked at her friend in shock, surprised at the turn of events.

----
"She What!," Miz screamed upon hearing Sheyla's news. Mr. Fujisawa stuck his 
head up from the couch where he had been reclining, recovering from his 
meeting with Miz's family. Sheyla locked eyes with her senior priestess and 
repeated her announcement.

"She is going on Retreat, and is taking a quest to regain her Focus." Miz 
paled and sat down, suddenly weak in the knees.

"She's going to get herself killed," Miz moaned. Fujisawa sat down beside his 
bethrowed and looked at Sheyla.

"What do you mean, what is a Retreat?" Sheyla waved him into silent as she 
sat down.

"A retreat is a time for reflection and self discipline. The priestess' 
powers require great amounts of willpower to control. Without that control, 
our emotional states can trigger massive amounts of damage. These," she 
tapped the 
crystal rig wore most of the time, "amplify our powers but a priestess 
without Focus can achieve levels of power that can't be matched by an 
amplifier. Afura is the most skilled of the three of us in her powers, she 
made the study of them 
a focus in her life. Without a doubt she is the most powerful of the three of 
us. She couldn't stay in the city any longer without her Focus. If something 
had set her off, she could have easily have destroyed the palace or even the 
city." 
Fujisawa paled at the level of destruction that was being casually described.

"My goodness, that is terrible. Is there anyway for her to recover this 
Focus?"

"Yes there is," Sheyla replied, " She must face the fears and inner demons 
that destroyed her Focus."

"That means..." Fujisawa's question was cut off by his fiancee's reply.

"She will have to face Ifurita again, without any of us to help her." Miz, 
Fujisawa realized, had already given up on her friend.
-----
Ayeka wandered the massive floor of the hall, flitting from one group to 
another, never really paying attention to what is going on. She used to love 
the massive ceremonies and galas back on Juria, but now it seemed all a great 
waste of time and energy. She was alone, Rune had some situation to take care 
of and it would be several days yet before Sasami was strong enough to be 
allowed out of bed.

She grabbed a glass off of a passing platter, and sipped it as she walked 
around the room. She had been drinking steadily all night and as a result was 
fairly numb. 

It helped to make the alien surroundings seem more familiar. She kept seeing 
something familiar from Juria, only to find that the meaning or appearance of 
something she had known twisted out of context.

She turned to move closer to the open doorways, hoping to get some air to 
clear her head. -Before I let the wine go to my head- She told herself, 
though she really wanted to be alone. In avoiding one group of courtiers that 
she stepped into another one. She turned to apologize, even as the courtier 
did the same.

"Milady, I am so sorry, I wasn't looking..." then there was only silence as 
Ayeka looked at the courtier, who looked only a little more drunk than 
herself. He glared at her, and she could feel the hatred that seethed 
underneath his quiet demeanor. "Oh, it is you, Lady Ayeka." The title was one 
that she was used to, Tenchi and his father used it, but this time it was 
meant as an insult. Ayeka murmured a hurried apology and turned to leave, not 
wishing to have a 
confrontation, but the nobleman wouldn't have any of it.

"Hold on, I've something for you," he spun her around and threw his glass in 
her face, Ayeka fell back a step stunned at his actions. The rage on his face 
grew darker and for a moment, she thought that he was going to strike her. 
That was 
when she acted, more on instinct than thought.

One moment she was in the ornate gown that Rune had given her, there was a 
flash of light and then she was garbed in the battle garb she had arrived in. 
The nobleman's slap stopped short of her face and she stuck a palm outwards. 
There 
was a small flash of light and then the man was gone. Blasted far across the 
room and into a table laden with food.

Ayeka looked at her hand as if it was an alien thing and then at the stunned 
crowds in the hall with her. Then she fled the room at a full run.

----
Rune rushed down the hall at nearly a run, but not quite. Her companion kept 
pace with her as he explained the situation, and she got the feeling that it 
was going to only get worse. Lond's story did get worse as he finished up and 
she stopped just short of the doorway.

"He did what!" She knew that Varic was a little impulsive and reckless when 
drunk, but to do something of this level was hard to believe.

"After he threw the glass of wine in her face, it looked like he had intended 
to strike her. She ... changed, into the outfit and War Marks that she had 
wore into the council meeting, and then struck Varic."

"And how is Lord Varic?" Rune asked coolly, Lond's didn't give good odds on 
Varic's welcome at court anytime soon.

"He is angry, but otherwise unharmed. Princess, you do realize that Varic is 
one of your sister's favorites and holds much influence."

"I'm aware of that, Londs." She stepped into the room and took in the 
confusion and devastation that was left in the wake of the incident. She 
scanned the room quietly, her eyes running from one group to another, but she 
didn't find the 
person she was looking for. She turned to Londs. "Where is Lady Ayeka?"

"I don't know, Princess, she ran off after the incident and I have several 
others out looking for her." Rune turned and headed out of the room, she 
still had much to do.

"Londs, make sure that the men that find her understand that I will be very 
upset if there are any other more of these incidents."

"Yes, Princess."
----

She finally stopped running, unsure of where in the palace she was. All she 
had known was that she wanted away from the hatred that she had seen. She 
looked down at the sword in her hand. -It's all I have left of you, Yosho. It 
and Tenchi- She sat down and looked around her, she was in some sort of 
garden. -
How could they hate me so much for something that happened so long ago. 
Kaizen paid for his sins, why blame us?-

Her gaze came to rest on one particular flower in the bed beside her. -A 
Royal Teardrop- she picked one and looked at it, trapped in the recollection 
of a time long ago on Jurai. The last time she had truly been at peace.

[flashback]
Ayeka looked up. Yosho was calling her. She gathered up the wreath she had 
been making and ran to him. 

"For you, Yosho." She said as she placed wreath on his head.

"Ayeka, why are you out here?"

"Because you went out, leaving me behind." Yosho laughed gently as he scooped 
her up. Ayeka looked at him with a smile, blushing.

"One day, I will be a bride, won't I Yosho?"

"When you grow up."

"It is the color of your eyes." Ayeka said as she slid the flower into the 
wreath. Yosho set her down and pulled it out to look at it.

"A royal teardrop", somehow it disturbed him.

"What's wrong?", Ayeka was confused by her brothers reaction. He looked in 
her eyes, suddenly sad and aged beyond his years.

"This flower shouldn't be used for a happy occasion."
[end flashback]

-He knew,- Ayeka realized as she snapped back to the present,-even then he 
knew that he wouldn't be allowed to marry me. That the clans wouldn't allow a 
half-breed to take the throne.- Someday, you will understand he had told her 
after 
Kagato's attack, when she realized that he was Tenchi's grandfather. She 
though back to his dying words and the happy expression on his face. -I will 
take you home brother- she swore grimly, -that much I can do.-
  
Then she heard a noise to her left, and quickly retreated into the shadows, 
she wasn't ready to face anyone yet. A lone figure sat down on nearby bench 
and looked up at the Eye of God above. She made out the figure as a cloud 
moved 
away from the huge artificial moon.

-Makoto- She moved closer to see what he was doing. She hadn't had a chance 
to meet the young man that was responsible for her coming to El Hazard. He 
seemed so sad and tired for someone so young, like the weight of the world 
was on his shoulders.

"Makoto, Makoto.", she was startled by the sudden voice near the boy. 
Unbelievably, it was a cat that spoke to him. Makoto looked down at the cat 
and picked it up.

"Hello Ura," he said as he stroked the cat's belly. It purred loudly and make 
it clear that more of the same was expected. It looked up at him, and she 
could see that it had a very expressive face.

"Makoto miss 'furita?", it asked with a sad voice. Ayeka suddenly understood 
why there was so much weight on the young man's shoulders. -She must be some 
kind of woman for him to risk so much to get her back.-

"Yeah, Ura, I do. I... I miss her a lot." The pain was so clear in his voice, 
Ayeka knew the level of despair behind that. She had felt the same way 
before, when she had gone looking for Yosho. Before she had found Tenchi. "I 
did 
something bad, Ura, and got someone killed in the process. Will I be able to 
look her in the eye when I find her, knowing that I killed someone to get her 
back?"

Ayeka found herself walking forward and before she knew it she was beside 
him. Makoto looked up in surprise, and moved quickly to set aside the cat and 
stand. 

"Lady Ayeka, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you where there." Ayeka waved the 
rest of his explanation away and sat beside him.

"Makoto, tell me about Ifurita."

Makoto met the princess' eyes and saw her pain and loss. All of it due to 
him. Suddenly the pain and guilt were too much, and all the months of pain 
and doubt overwhelmed him. He collapsed into a sobbing heap. 

"I'm so sorry, so sorry..." he wept as he curled into a fetal position on the 
ground. All that he had left was the pain and loss, and all the he did 
brought more..

Ayeka knelt beside him and pulled the weeping boy into her lap. All she could 
do was hold him and help him through his pain by being there.

Finally Makoto cried himself out. He looked up at the tearful face of Ayeka, 
and reached up to wipe away the tear on her face. As he reached up his hand 
brushed up against her headband.

"I'm sorry...." Contact was all that was needed, his power did the rest. 

Ayeka and Makoto were frozen in place for long seconds as memories were 
exchanged between the two.

For Ayeka, she got to see the last few minutes that Makoto and Ifurita shared 
together. She shared his sorrow and despair like it was her own. She 
understood exactly what they shared, something that Makoto never tried to 
explain. It 
was beyond simple words. It was too painful to think that the woman you love 
might die after centuries of waiting.

Makoto saw the battle between the Bugrom and the Jurian nobles. He felt 
Ayeka's bloodlust in the battle and Yosho's death. He understood what exactly 
she had lost. He knew that she never had the chance to say goodbye or fully 
resolve 
the feelings that she had for her half brother.

Then, as quickly as it had started, the bond was gone and they were on the 
ground looking at each other. Makoto sat back and looked at Ayeka in shock.

"How?"

"Your power," she tapped the headband, "it reacted with this and allowed us 
to share one another's memories for a time."

"Oh," it was a little much for Makoto, the emotional rollercoaster of the 
last few days. Ayeka stood and held out her hand, knowing instinctively what 
they both needed. Ayeka smiled as she pulled him into the waiting gala.

"I think that we have both brooded far too long. What is needed now is 
something more  cheerful."  Makoto forced a smile to his face.

----