Dreamer Awakened

CHAPTER THREE: Flight to Izumo

Head bent against the rain and clutching her coat together at the throat, Moe scurried through the glass sliding doors of the emergency room, her face creased with lines of worry. She paused, looking around the room which was crowded with patients waiting to be seen, trying to find someone who might be able to tell her where her daughter was.

"Why don’t you and your mother go and sit down while I go and see what I can find out," Ms. Matsudaira said, stepping out from behind Moe and pointing to several empty chairs. "I can probably find out more than the receptionist can tell us, if I go inside."

Moe nodded and headed for the straight - backed chairs while Matsu turned and went through the doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only". Having a friend in the medical field, Moe thought, definitely had its advantages.

Moe sat poised on the edge of her seat, nervously wringing her hands together, and kept watching for Matsu to return. Momiji’s grandmother put her hand on Moe’s sleeve and patte her arm.

"She’ll be fine," she murmured reassuringly, "you’ll see."

"I hope so," Moe replied in a tense voice.

A few minutes later Moe jumped to her feet as Matsu came through the doors followed by a short man wearing silver rimmed glasses and a white lab coat.

"This is doctor Tokuma," Ms. Matsudaira informed Moe, "he saw Momiji when they first brought her in."

Moe turned apprehensive eyes to little man and asked, "How is Momiji? Is she going to be all right?"

"She was in a serious accident," he replied gravely, "but we are working with her right now, Mrs. Fujimiya. She is suffering from head and chest trauma and, it appears, possibly a fractured arm and wrist. We won’t know how severe the trauma is though until we do some further tests. I am sorry, but I can’t tell you any more than that."

The doctor quietly excused himself and went back through the doors, and Moe sat down shaken, her face pale from shock. Matsu stood hovering next to her, wishing that she could do something more.

"Did I hear that doctor call you Mrs. Fujimiya?" a policeman asked curiously, and when Moe nodded he stepped closer, motioning to a man across the room dressed in an overcoat and dark pants.

The officer introduced himself and then the other gentleman as Mr. Yamato. "Mr. Yamato saw the accident happen, ma’am. He was the one who phoned it in, and I thought you might like to talk to him."

Moe thanked the officer who nodded and walked away and Mr. Yamato stepped forward. Moe politely greeted him and then asked him about the accident.

He told them what he knew about seeing the priest in the road, and then standing by the car, but left out how shocked he had been when he had seen Moe’s daughter before and then after the priest disappeared.

"You say you don’t know what happened to the priest?" Ms. Matsudaira asked, nonplussed, "and you never saw his face?"

"Yes, that’s right," Mr. Yamato confirmed nodding his head.

"Did he ever speak to you?" Moe wanted to know.

Mr. Yamato shook his head and Momiji’s grandmother mumbled cryptically, "A dream has no beginning or end and disappears at will, nor can it speak unless the mind and body is at rest."

Everyone paused, staring at her, completely baffled by her words. Suddenly seeming to realize that she was the object of everyone’s attention, she gave a dry chuckle.

"You’ll have to forgive the ramblings of an old woman," she told them, "sometimes I don’t know what I’m saying."

Moe and Ms. Matsudaira exchanged looks and Mr. Yamato cleared his throat. No one said anything for a few short seconds and then Mr. Yamato, after expressing his hope that everything would work out for Momiji, made his escape.

"I really need to call Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida," Moe said after he had gone, "to let them know what has happened. And I should probably call Kusanagi, too, although I don’t know if Momiji would like that."

"I think he needs to know," Matsu agreed and she pulled out her phone and offered it to Moe, who took it with a grateful smile.

"AAARGHH!"

Kusanagi sat up in bed, his teeth gritted in pain. He broke out in a cold sweat and beads of mositure rolled down the sides of his face and down his bare back between his shoulders.

"What the hell is going on?" he wondered in a strained voice, and then doubled over as a fresh wave of pain swept over him.

As the pain intensified, he felt his control slipping and his mitamas began to glow. He stumbled out of bed, falling to his hands and knees and felt the blades in his arms break free. He bared his teeth and fought for control against the pain but was unable to gain the upper hand and passed out.

When he came to, he was lying facedown on the floor in the dark. The pain was gone and his body was back to normal, but he felt weak like all his energy had been drained. Pushing himself up, he staggered across the room and collapsed into a chair.

What had just happened to him, he wondered, pushing back the stray lock of greenish black hair that had fallen against his forehead. He hadn’t felt like this since… he broke off his train of thought as a feeling of dread gripped him.

"Momiji," Kusanagi mumbled heavily.

He pulled himself from his chair and turned on the light as he finished his thought. He hadn’t felt like this since before the aragami had summoned Susano-oh. Kusanagi wasn’t sure what it meant, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

He pulled a well-creased slip of paper from his pocket and reached for the phone. He flipped open the paper, like he had done at least a dozen times since Midori had given it to him, and looked down at the phone number written there. But this time, instead of refolding the paper, he dialed the number and waited.

She wasn’t home. He frowned and looked at his watch. It was well after midnight. Where could she possibly be? He left her a message asking for her to call him and hung up, his dread intensifying. He crossed back over to the window and stared down into the street, rubbing the back of his hand where the mitama lay embedded deeply into his skin. He had a really bad feeling about all of this.

Not thirty minutes later the phone rang and he grabbed it before it had a chance to ring a second time.

"Momiji?"

"…No, Kusanagi," replied the voice, "It’s Moe."

"What’s happened?" Kusanagi wanted to know immediately.

"Momiji’s been in a car accident. I can’t tell you how bad it is yet, because we still don’t know.. I was hoping that you would come, Kusanagi."

Kusanagi had already crossed the room, grabbing up his shirt and long coat and shoving his feet into his shoes. "I’m on my way," he replied and hung up.

Quickly pulling the shirt over his head, he thrust his arms into his black coat and crossed to the window, sliding it open. He would travel the quickest way he knew to get there; through the air. Slipping through the window, the image of her green eyes flashed through his mind.

Momiji, he thought, I should have never let you leave Tokyo.

Momiji was suspended in darkness. She could feel the wind rushing around her, whispering into the silence that surrounded her.

"Kushinada," it seemed to call to her again and again.

It twisted around her body, lifting her hair from her shoulders, sending the long strands spiraling out behind her in long waves.

"Kushinada," the wind whispered again, another voice blending with it; the deeper resonance echoing around her, through her, commanding her to open her eyes.

Slowly Momiji opened her eyes and as she did so, she was surrounded by a halo of shimmering light that held the darkness at bay. Momiji looked around. The wind had ceased leaving nothing but the light where she stood and the silence and darkness beyond the iridescent boundary.

"Kushinada." The voice repeated, stronger this time.

As the sound of it faded away, the figure of a man appeared before her, a man dressed in priest’s robes, but this time without the eboshi. Momiji looked up into his face, feeling the same shock of recognition that she had earlier. Her eyes traveled from his dark hair and eyes to the blue mitama centered over his third eye.

"Lord Susano-oh," Momiji replied faintly, wide-eyed.

Susano-oh stared at her for a long moment and then Momiji heard him speak, though his lips did not move.

"Why have you rejected the gift that I had returned to you, Kushinada?"

"What do you mean??" Momiji responded, puzzled, and then felt soft linen brush against her arm as another figure appeared at her shoulder.

"Kusanagi," Kaede whispered to her before fading away.

"But I didn’t reject him," Momiji stammered in protest, "he rejected me!"

Susano-oh disappeared and reappeared closer to her side. "No Kushinada," came the words as his eyes stared down into hers. "Can you not see that he is troubled?" Susano-oh asked her, "Search your feelings. I know that deep in your heart you have felt it."

Momiji stared into his deep eyes feeling lost and uncertain. "But I thought…" she murmured weakly.

Susano-oh disappeared once again, reappearing at a distance as he contined to speak to her. "Having been deprived of what he prizes most, Kusanagi now denies himself that which he desires most."

"I don’t understand…what he prizes most? - You mean, his freedom?" Momiji asked hesitantly.

"Not his freedom, Kushinada, but his humanity; stolen from him when he was but a child. His soul longs for the humanity that Orochi’s mitamas have erased."

"To be human?" Momiji said to herself, "but he is human."

"Only half human, Kushinada."

"Even if the blood that flows through his veins is different," Momiji contradicted, "he is more human than most people I have met. He has fought many battles for the sake of Japan - so that others could live. Not many men - not many humans would be wiling to givve their lives for what they believe. So if that makes him less than human, then he lost nothing when his blood stopped flowing red."

"There is much wisdom in what you say, Kushinada, so I ask you again. Why have you rejected the gift I had returned to you?"

But Momiji still didn’t understand.

"Your lives are forever intertwined, Kushinada," Susano-oh told her, "yours and Kusanagi’s. It is not by chance that he was chosen by Orochi, to protect Kaede and then you, but by my will. Your fates lie together, destined to be as one. I saw that from the moment you and he were born. He sees it as well, yet he denies his destiny because of his longing to be human - for you." Susano-oh faded and reappeared right in front of her, taking her hand. "How long will you deny your destiny, Kushinada?"

"I-I will not deny it," she stammered.

He smiled down at her and then his face turned grave once again. Letting go of her hand, he faded, appearing farther away in the surrounding darkness. "There is much I wish to tell you, Kushinada, but your time here grows short, so I cannot." As he spoke, the light around Momiji began to flicker and dim and his voice, when it came again, sounded farther away. "A new evil dwells in the darkness. It will manifest itself to you soon, Kushinada, and it will be searching for the one I will send to you." It was completely dark now and Momiji felt herself falling as Suano-oh’s final words reached her. " Bind yourself with Kusanagi. Help him to see in himself the humanity you see - not just for his sake, but for the sake of the one I send and all of Japan. He is your destiny."

Susano-oh stood in the place where Momiji had been and Kaede appeared at his side. He looked down at her and held out his hand. She placed her hand within his and leaned against him.

"My lord," she said, "are you sure that it is wise to awaken him? After all, the blood that flows within his veins is that of his father’s. Awaken him and you awaken his father as well."

Susano-oh caressed his wife’s hair and replied, "He will awaken, my love, whether I choose to awaken him myself or not. He is vulnerable to the beast, and I would have the Kushinada find him before it does."

"And his father?"

"That is inevitable as well, though it will take him longer to awaken from his slumber. We have time."

"He will try to awaken the others."

"Yes, but while I remain at rest, most cannot be called to do his bidding. "

"But, my lord -" Kaede began, troubled..

"Do not worry, my love," Susano-oh soothed, "things are not as before. It will be different this time. Perhaps not in the beginning, but I foresee him beginning a different journey. His fate is intertwined with that of your sister and her protector as well, and so we must have faith in the Kushinada and Kusanagi."

Moe was still sitting in the emergency room waiting room with her mother when Kusanagi arrived. When she saw him coming through the door, she jumped up and hurried over to him closely followed by Momiji’s grandmother.

"Kusanagi," Moe greeted him in alarm, "you’re soaked through to the skin!"

His hair and clothes were drenched and a puddle was forming around his feet where he stood. He looked cold and weary, and Moe, concerned, removed the scarf from her neck and handed it to him.

"Here," she murmured as he took it from her, "it’s not much but at least you’ll be able to dry your face."

He thanked her and then said without preamble, "I got here as fast as I could. How’s Momiji?"

"We still don’t know anything, but Ms. Matsudaira went back there a little while ago" she pointed to the swinging doors, "to see what she could find out. I am expecting her back any time now."

Kusanagi wiped the water from his eyes with Moe’s scarf and followed her over to the chairs, his feet squelching loudly as he went.

"You’ll be lucky if you don’t get sick," Moei told him with a warning look.

"Nah," Kusanagi replied, "I’ve never been sick. I don’t think I can get sick."

"That’s silly," Moe said in the repressive tone of a mother, "of course you can get sick. You’ve just been fortunate, that’s all. Did you bring any clothes with you?"

When Kusanagi shook his head, Moe gave him a considering look, "I have some of my husband’s old things. They would be a little tight, but I think you could squeeze into them."

"Don’t worry about it," Kusanagi said brushing away her offer, "I’ll be fine."

Looking surprised, Moe asked, "Aren’t you planning to stay Kusanagi?"

An arrested look crossed his face. "Stay? - I guess so," he replied slowly, ssuddenly realizing that he had already made that decision while on the way to Izumo. He was just forced to acknowledge it to himself when Moe asked him about it.

"Then you should have brought some things with you," she replied, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"Well, I was more concerned with just getting here in a hurry… I guess I’ll have to go back for my things and find a new place here once I find out how she is."

As he spoke the sliding doors opened and Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida hastened through them, closely followed by Kome and Yaegashi. Mr. Kunikida’s face darkened when he saw Kusanagi and he began lashing out at him before he had even reached him.

"Kusanagi!! Damn you!! This would never have happened if you were doing what you’re supposed to be doing!!" He barked.

Kusanagi slowly rose to his feet, meeting Mr. Kunikida’s hard gaze unwaveringly.

"Daitestu -" Ryoko tried to intervene, but Kusanagi stopped her with a look.

"No," Kusanagi said stiffly, turning away,"he’s right. I should have been there protecting her."

"Stop it! Both of you!" Moe cried, and both men turned to look at her, "do you think Momiji would want you to be acting this way? This is nobody’s fault! It was her decision to come back to Izumo. Please! Neither of you are making this situation any better with your behavior."

You’re right, Moe," Mr. Kunikida agreed gruffly, and then to Kusanagi, "I apologize, Kusanagi. I should have never said that."

Kusanagi just kept his back to him, shrugging his shoulders indifferently. But he turned quickly when he heard Ms. Matsudaira speak. She had returned without anyone realizing it, and there was a preoccupied look on her face.

"Mrs. Fujimiya, first I want to tell you that I think Momiji is going to be fine," Moe’s slight frame sagged with relief, "but, she’s not out of the woods yet, and there are some things you need to know - things that are…hard to explain."

"What kind of things," Kusanagi wanted to know stepping forward.

"Well, for one Momiji has lost a lot of blood from what we assume were internal injuries," Ms. Matsudaira replied, "but the thing of it is, they can’t seem to locate the source of the bleeding."

"What!?" Kome demanded, alarmed, "does that mean they can’t stop the bleeding?"

"No," Matsu elaborated, "what I mean is that Momiji has lost a great deal of blood within the last six hours - all of her counts are down; her platelets, her hemoglobin, her white count - everything is off. But she isn’t bleeding internally now. In fact, the CAT scan of her internal organs is normal."

"That’s is odd," Yaegashi commented, pushing up his glasses with his forefinger.

"It is, but that’s not the end of it," Ms. Matsudaira added, pulling out some x-rays from the manila envelope she had been holding in her hand. "Momiji has fractured her right arm and wrist and cracked three of her ribs."

She held the x-rays up for them to see, but no one really knew what they were looking at, so they all just kept looking at her. Seeing that she was the only one interested in the films, Matsu slid them back in the envelope and continued with her explanation.

"The breaks are fairly normal in and of themselves. What’s not normal about them is that they are almost completely healed.’ At her words, Kusanagi’s brow furrowed in thought and he absently rubbed the back of his hands, feeling the raised smoothness of the blue seeds.

" We would have assumed that she suffered from a concussion as well," Matsu continued, " given the contusions to her face and forehead, but that x-ray was completely normal, too."

"So what does this mean?" Mr, Kunikida wanted to know.

"It means that the biggest battle that Momiji is fighting right now is the loss of blood. She was given a transfusion earlier, and she is stable, but she has yet to recover consciousness, and when she does she is going to feel very weak for a while."

"But she will fully recover, right?" Kome asked.

Matsu nodded and added, "They’ll probably even let her go home in a couple of days time. But she is most likely going to need some help for a few days. She still does have the fractures and the cracked ribs, and again, because of the loss of blood, she will not feel up to much for a week or two. By that time, though, she should be, pretty much back to normal. She’ll even be able to remove her cast, by then."

"Maybe we should bring some things to stay with Momiji," Kunikida said to Ryoko, his eyes bulging in shock when Moe overruled him in favor of Kusanagi.

"You are more than welcome to stay with me," Moe told him firmly but not unkindly, "but Kusanagi will be staying with Momiji. We discussed it earler."

"Moe, I don’t thinks that’s such a good idea," Kunikida began, a heavy frown on his face, but his words were completely blotted out by Kusanagi’s reaction.

Kusanagi’s body stiffened and his head whipped around at her words, "What!? I never said -" he began, his voice rising in panic.

"Yes, you did," Moe contradicted, "earlier when I asked you if you were staying, you said yes."

Kusanagi did some serious verbal backpedaling, trying to extricate himself from a situation he sure as hell didn’t want to be in. "Well, yes, technically I said that, but - no, what I really meant was -"

"Excuse us, won’t you?" Moe asked politely

Everyone was staring curiously from Moe to Kusanagi, too stunned by Moe’s remark to object when Moe pulled a more than reluctant Kusanagi away from the rest of the group to speak to him privately.
"Kusanagi," Moe began, stepping around in front of him and looking up at him earnestly, reminding Kusanagi strongly of Momiji, when she did so. "I need you to stay with Momiji. Although I’m very glad that my daughter is doing so well, I am very disturbed by what has happened. It’s not just her injuries that are strange, either, Kusanagi," and she told him about the priest disappearing from the scene of the accident. She could see he was beginning to waver so she pressed on, adding, "I would feel much safer knowing that you are with her. What if meeting that priest wasn’t just a coincidence? What if there was a purpose to all of this? It’s just all too strange to disregard," she ended perspicaciously.

"You’re right," he agreed in resignation, thinking back on what happened to him earlier in his apartment when his mitamas went out of control. It was all too strange to ignore.

Moe smiled at him relief. "Then, it’s settled?"

Kusanagi nodded his head reluctantly, "But just until she is better. Then I’ll have to find a place of my own here. I don’t think it’s such a good idea for me to stay with her longer than that."

"Yes, of course," Moe agreed, not really concerned now that she knew her daughter was safe.

She trusted Kusanagi to take care of Momiji and knew that no matter what direction things took, he would protect her daughter with his life.

Moe turned back and rejoined the small group, who stood, silent and uncomfortable, waiting for the decision to be made regarding who would be staying with Momiji.

Kunikida scowled even harder when Moe told them that Kusanagi would, indeed be staying with Momiji. "You lay one finger on her, and so help me god, Kusanagi, mitamas or no mitamas, I’ll break both of your arms," he muttered softly so that only Kusanagi heard him

"Relax," Kusanagi said with an indifference he was far from feeling, "Nothing’s going to happen."

Kunikida just gave him a sour look. Kusanagi couldn’t much blame him. If Kunikida really knew how he felt, he’d probably shoot Kusanagi. Maybe he should tell Kunikida how he felt and let Kunikida put him out of his misery, Kusanagi thought derisively. Making it through the next two weeks was going to be hard. It was probably the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. Being around her constantly with nowhere to run would drive him mad.

Hell, I’ll probably feel like shooting myself in two weeks if Kunikida doesn’t beat me to it, he thought bitterly. But, he really had no choice. He had to do it. She was his. To protect, at least. He was just going to have to find a nd find a way to become stronger so that he could uphold his obligation not to touch her, that was all.

He was still mulling over the situation when he was distracted from his thoughts by a mumbled remark from Ryoko to Mr. Kunikiida.

"You don’t think this has anything to do with what we saw in Hokkaido, do you? Maybe we should tell them about it," Ryoko was saying too low for anyone to hear, or so she thought. But Kusanagi heard and he turned his head sharply, waiting to hear Kunikida’s reply.

"We can’t. It’s classified right now, dammit," he ran a hand over his tired face and added, "besides, Kome has seen the other victims. None of the others had a mark quite like that, so it may just be an aberration."

Kusanagi tensed up and butted into their conversation, ignoring their dismayed look at discovering they had been overheard, "Just what the hell are you talking about?" he wanted to know, "what’s going on in Hokkaido. What kind of mark are you talking about?"

Kome, who had been standing next to Yaegashi, detached herself from his side and approached Kusanagi. "You want to lower your voice, Plant Boy!?" she shot him a quelling look and then glanced around to make sure that no one else had heard him. "It’s classified and it’s not anything that we can talk about right now. So just back off."

Both the Defense Force and the TAC? It must be something big, Kusanagi thought, knowing that Kome was no longer working for the TAC but for the Defense Force.

"Look," he shot back in a hard voice, "I could care less about your stupid case. All I care about is protecting Momiji!"

"Well you sure have a funny way of showing it, you jerk!" Kome growled indignantly, her blue eyes shooting sparks as she closed the gap between then, "I can’t believe you can actually stand there with that arrogant look on your face when you went and left Momiji all alone for three months for god knows what stupid reason! You weren’t too interested in protecting her then, were you?"

Kusanagi’s face darkened with fury, but he remained silent as Kome turned a cold shoulder to him. "You broke her heart when you left, you know," her voice was low but it throbbed with intensity, "She’s special to a lot of people, me included, so you’d better not hurt her again or you’ll be breathing out your ass!" She threatened without looking at him and then walked away.

Kunikida remained silent for a moment and then said in a more conciliatory way. "Look, Kusanagi, all we’re talking about are random animal attacks that the local officials in Hokkaido are unable to classify. I’m not at liberty to go into any of the details that make this such an unusual case, but I can tell you that if I had any real evidence that I thought might connect Momiji with the attacks, you would be the first to know."

Kunikida didn’t say anything more, and Kusanagi turned away in disgust, dissatisfied with what little he had been told. Warning bells were going off in his head. He didn’t like it. Strange attacks,, his mitamas activating on their own, Momiji’s car accident and injuries, and the disappearing priest. Could they all be related? Was Momiji in danger again? Suddenly he had an overwhelming desire to see Momiji to make certain for himself that she was all right.

Kusanagi walked over to Ms. Matsudaira and waited for her to finish speaking with Momiji’s mother and grandmother

"When can we see Momiji," he asked Ms. Matsudaira when there was a pause in their conversation.

"Well, they’ll be moving her to a room soon, but visiting hours are over, so they’ll probably only let Mrs.Fujimiya and Momiji’s grandmother in to see her. The rest of us will have to wait until tomorrow." Matsu replied.

That wasn’t good enough. He needed to see Momiji now. Tonight. But instead of voicing his thoughts aloud, he nodded his head and remained silent.

In conjunction with what Matsudaira had said, a nurse arrived a few minutes later and told Moe that she could take her to Momiji’s room.

"We’ll wait here for you," Kunikida told Moe, "and follow you home once you’ve seen her."

"Yoshiki and I are gonna go and find a hotel," Kome spoke up.

"You’re more than welcome to stay at my house, with Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida, my mother and myself," Moe offered.

"Thanks, but it sounds like you’re going to be awfully crowded," Kome replied, "we’ll be fine on our own. We can meet you guys here at the hospital in the morning."

Moe nodded and then turned to Kusanagi who stood, arms folded, leaning against the wall, listening to everyone make their plans.

"What about you, Kusanagi? Are you coming back to my house, or do you want to stay at Momiji’s?"

"I’ll stay here tonight, thanks," he replied, not wanting to leave Momiji alone if he could help it.

"Well if you’re sure," Moe said uncertainly and when Kusanagi nodded she allowed the nurse to guide her and Momiji’s grandmother to Momiji’s room.

Kusanagi gave them a few minutes head start and then pushed away from the wall.

"Where are you going?" Kunikida wanted to know, looking up at him from his chair

"Nowhere," Kusanagi replied with a challenging look.

Kunikida probably knew where he was going, but Kusanagi didn’t think he would bother to stop him. He was right. Kunikida just nodded and looked away, so, with long strides, Kusanagi made his way down the hall, keeping the nurse and Momiji’s mother and grandmother within his line of sight.

Once he knew the room, he turned around and made his way back outside into the night. Low clouds hung in the sky, completely blotting out the moonlight which suited him just fine. It would be harder for anyone to spot him that way. The wind was blowing hard, whipping his black coat around his legs, but at least the rain had stopped. Kusanagi bowed his head to the wind and walked along the pavement, looking up every now and then at the glowing windows of the hospital. When he thought he had gone to the right spot, he stopped and glanced around to make sure that he was alone.

With the blink of an eye, he was gone, moving so fast that it almost appeared as if he had vanished. Like a giant spider, he crouched on the side of the building, the light from the window to his right throwing him in silhouette. Thankfully the curtains to the room weren’t drawn so he was able to stretch forward and peek inside.

Kusanagi smiled triumphantly when he saw Moe’s back. She was standing in front of the window alongside Momiji’s grandmother, blocking his view of the bed, but now that he had the right room, he leaned back, content to wait until she was gone. After a quarter of an hour had passed, he peeked in again and saw them heading towards the door. Moe turned back when she reached it to look one last time at Momiji, so he ducked his head quickly so as not to be seen. He waited just a few more minutes to be safe and then slid the window silently open.

As Kusanagi approached Momij’s bed, everything else in the room faded away. His chest tightened with fear as he gazed down at her. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought she was dead. Her arms were stretched out beside her body, on top of the coverlet, her right arm in a cast that extended from just below the elbow all the way to her fingertips. He briefly touched her hand and it was like ice. His eyes traveled to her face in concern. It was devoid of all color save the livid bruise that ran the length of one of her cheekbones, and a crimson gash above her eyebrow. Her hair stood out brightly against the whiteness of her skin. A mass of tangles, it spread across the pillow, and fell against her forehead in disarray.

She looked so small and lost lying there, he thought and he kneeled beside her bed. With gentle fingers he reached out and smoothed the soft tangles away from her forehead, his own head dropping to the bed beside her body.

"Oh, god, Momiji," he muttered through gritted teeth, "this is all my fault. I’m so sorry."

He closed his eyes, and then opened them again as he felt the light touch of her fingers against his where he had left them on the pillow beside her cheek. His head shot up and he looked at her face. Her eyes were open, but only just, and a sweet smile curved her lips.

"Kusanagi," she murmured, "you came."

Kusanagi started to remove his hand from her grasp and stand up, but stopped when he saw the smile flicker and die.

"You’re not leaving now, are you?" Momiji asked weakly, her brow furrowed and her eyes closing. It was too much of an effort to keep them open.

"No, I’m not leaving," Kusanagi assured her and felt her fingers tighten on his briefly before she let him go. He leaned forward to catch her next words, her voice so soft that he was having a hard time hearing her.

"Good. He told me…. danger" she mumbled, and then mumbled something else he couldn’t understand, ending with the words, "my destiny," before she slipped back into sleep.

Kusanagi remained for a few more minutes, his slitted eyes staring down at her, and then hearing the nurse outside her door, turned and went back out the window, mulling over the words that Momiji had muttered: He told me… danger……my destiny. What did that mean, he wondered to himself. And who had Momiji been talking to?