f a i l e d s a i n t s

She sat in the corner booth of the cafe, eyes lifting once in a while to gaze at the entrance. Her coffee was down to half its original amount and when she brought it to her lips and took a sip, the liquid prompted an unconscious grimace.

/Ick,/ she thought distastefully, setting the white mug down. /It's gone cold!/

Out of old habit, she glanced around briefly before placing both hands around the mug. Pretending to study the menu with rapt interest, she unobtrusively fed the coffee some heat. At the first sight of wisps of steam, she daintily picked the mug up and took an appreciative gulp. /Much better. Now where the heck is Aoki?/

She looked up again, hoping to see the editor's bespectacled visage outside the window, but was only irked further. Her irritation flared - pardon the pun - as she glanced at the clock on the wall, making a mental note to admonish the other when he decided to arrive. She was bored out of her wits.

A giggle piqued her interest. Normally giggles didn't, except that this particular giggle sounded vaguely masculine. In her line of work, men only giggled when.....well, that was another matter. She swept the cafe with her gaze and stopped at a table where four yuppies were seated.

/Ah./

Not anything outstanding; faces easily forgettable in a crowd. Three out of the four wore glasses, and it seemed to her that they had been discussing business before she'd posed as a distraction. One of them, possibly the oldest in the group, giggled some more, nearly spilling his cup of coffee. As she watched, amused, he nudged the one sitting next to him and said, "Hey, hey, she's looking this way!"

The other three were too smitten to offer an answer to the rather obvious statement.

She leaned back slowly, feigning nonchalance. Sometimes she simply loved being beautiful. She lowered her lashes and sensually licked her red lips.

The ensuing collective gasp was one of lusty dreams. She didn't need to look to know that the yuppies were probably drooling. She surpressed a chuckle when the table suddenly erupted into a hurried discussion.

"....you're the smartass, you go and ask her!"

"I'm married!"

"So? Your wife's not around here is she?"

"I'd give anything for *her* to be my wife...."

"Not so loud! Not so loud!"

The discussion dwindled down to hushed whispers. Eventually, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the giggling yuppie was on his feet, meticulously adjusting his tie. He took a step or two forward, then hastily retreated, but his friends were urging him on and all but shoving him out of his chair, so he stood once more and cleared his throat nervously. He started towards her table.

Seiichirou came in at that exact moment, hair windblown and glasses slightly askew. He spotted her at once. Striding to her table, he unwittingly brushed past the yuppie and took a seat opposite her. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Seiichirou apologized, trying to stuff a couple of papers into his crammed briefcase.

The silence was palpable.

Karen laughed, hopelessly tickled. All four yuppies wore various degrees of disappointment on their faces. Smiling, she waved to the giggling yuppie with her perfectly manicured fingers. /Sorry boys./ She shook her head as the stumped forerunner of the group returned to his seat. /Men./

"Karen-san?" Seiichirou questioned, eyes wide. "Am I missing something here?"

She smiled at him. "Not a thing. I was just having a little fun." Then the smile vanished into an expression of mock disapproval. "But you're late! Again! For two consecutive times in a week!"

He cringed. "Maa, maa....I'm sorry, there was some trouble with the editorial committee..."

"Same excuse!"

Seiichirou brightened unexpectedly. "But I'm here now, aren't I? That's the important part, isn't it?"

She glanced meaningfully at her half-empty mug. "I suppose. But you're paying for my coffee today, as punishment."

He smiled, relieved. "Of course! Do you want anything else to go with that?"

"I want cheesecake, those droolsome fudge brownies, that slice of pie lathered with whipped cream..."

"In short, the entire cafe?" Seiichirou asked, raising an eyebrow. She clapped her hands together with a laugh. "You did say it was your treat; I thought I'd make the best of it!"

He shook his head and called the waitress over. As he named their orders, Karen looked around the cafe, noting the lunchtime crowd. A slight commotion a couple of tables away attracted her attention.

"Setsuko! Stop playing with that!"

The reprimanded child looked up at her mother, expression fearful. "I...I...just wanted to look at it..."

"Seen enough? Put it down then!" Her mother wrenched the little box away. "Don't you know this is expensive?"

The girl's eyes filled with tears as she turned away and wrung her hands together.

"And don't you start crying now," her mother warned sharply. "Why can't you just sit down and be quiet, like some other children? I wouldn't even have bothered to bring you along to my office, if your babysitter wasn't out of town."

The girl bit her lip.

<--Devil! Why didn't you just die!-->

<--Who'd cry for someone like you!-->

<--This child is a demon!-->

Karen shook herself, dispelling those memories with an effort. /The poor child...../ She quelled the sadness that threatened to crest in her heart. Quickly putting on a smile, she turned to the editor after the waitress had retreated. "How's your family doing?"

Genuine affection flooded his eyes. "Thanks for asking, they're fine. I'm thankful they're not involved in....all this...."

Neither needed a reference to what 'all this' was. Karen sat back, gazing at her clasped hands. "You really love them a lot, don't you?"

"Of course," Seiichirou answered. "I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to them."

She smiled wistfully. "They're very lucky, then."

"I suppose it comes from being a Dragon of Heaven," the editor continued. "To want to protect something dear to you. That's what I told my nephew; that to create a kekkai, one must have a strong desire to protect something."

/Is that so.../

"And I've been thinking," Seiichirou's voice dropped a notch. "The rest of the Seals, they must have a reason to fight for the greater good. I don't really know about their pasts, but surely there must be something they want to protect. If you don't mind me asking, how about you? What are you protecting?"

"The Earth."

He shook his head slightly. "Yes, yes. But that's general. What's your personal reason?"

She sighed. "I don't have any."

The editor was silent. "I'm sorry," he said finally, "it really is none of my business to ask."

Karen glanced at him for a moment. "What do you think, Aoki-san?"

Seiichirou's eyes softened. "I think I know," he said calmly.

"You're protecting innocence."

Her smile wavered, no matter how hard she strove to keep her conflicting emotions under wraps. "What makes you think that?" she asked, trying to adopt a light tone.

"I watched you, that time, when you saw that Dragon of Earth." His face was serious. "I read your expression. And it became quite clear to me that you didn't want to fight him."

Sad, haunted eyes flashed across her field of thoughts. "You're right," she admitted quietly. "When I fought him the first time, I noticed he wasn't a normal person. He looked like an adult, yes, but....his gaze...it was one of a childs'. I asked him why he destroyed the railway line, and he told me that 'Kamui' told him to. And even as he answered I could see the confusion in his eyes; not understanding either why he was carrying out such orders."

/Just as I was....not comprehending why Mama beat me.../

"I don't understand what manner of a person he was, but as long as I'm alive, I'll not let anybody harm him. I'll do whatever it takes to preserve this one soul's innocence."

Seiichirou smiled. "Do what you must, Karen-san. Just don't give up on life." He clasped her arm. "Because I will most certainly weep if you do."

A stray tear slipped from the shadow of her eye. "Thank you, Aoki-san."