"If she doesn't wake within the next five years, it's likely she will never wake again. Even if Saya remains alive, after sleeping for so much longer than her body is used to, her heart may lose its ability to function normally."

That was what the next generation of Red Shield scientists said after fifty years of Saya's long sleep. Already it had spanned for nearly twice as long as expected since she had killed Diva. The twins, Natsuko and Fuyuko, were fully grown, and Kai's hair was already going gray. Lulu still hadn't aged a day. All of them had gotten much closer to Haji over the years, and they were about as happy as they could be waiting for Saya to wake up, even though it was taking so much longer than usual.

Twenty years passed, and she still hadn't woken. They couldn't figure out why her sleep was lasting so long, but from the little information Red Shield was able to gather, they had become completely certain she would sleep forever.

The twins took it the easiest; they had never met their Aunt Saya, so even though it saddened them greatly to know they would never get to meet her, they weren't as distraught as the others. Lulu mourned longer than they did; for her, this meant the loss of a true friend, and one of the only friends she had left since her time with the rest of the Schiff.

Haji's grief was too great to describe. Everyone had noticed the toll that each year of Saya's sleep had taken on him from the beginning, but they were starting to think he had gone completely insane. Since the forty year mark he had refused to leave her side for anything.

After fifty years he stopped talking, save for one-word answers to questions, and after they said Saya might never wake up, he stopped even that. He only grew worse with each passing day. Five years passed, and he might as well have been a ghost. The twins and Lulu tried to reassure him, hoping for any response at all, any sign that he could even hear them, but to no avail. It wasn't until Red Sheild was positive Saya's sleep would last forever that he stopped eating.

"Haji, please," Natsuko pleaded, "You have to eat something. Anything. It doesn't have to be a lot, but something, please!"

"Wouldn't you at least play us a song on the cello? You haven't played in so long," Fuyuko pitched in, then added quickly, "I bet Saya would like it too. Even though she's asleep. They say people who are sleeping, or in a coma, can still hear- like they absorb it somehow. I bet Saya misses hearing that song."

She sounds triumphant, as if she's finally won, but Haji still won't respond. It's like he didn't even hear her. But then, it's always like that with him nowadays. All he ever does is sit just inside the entrance of the grave where Saya sleeps, staring with dull, empty eyes in Saya's direction.

"Saya wouldn't want this for you," Lulu adds forlornly. She's tried that argument before- it means more coming from her than from either of the twins, because they had never met Saya. Kai came to visit the grave with them every now and then, but by now he was in his late 90s, and his visits had become less and less frequent.

"Look," Natsuko knelt beside Haji, reaching her hand rather nervously toward his, "Your hands are shaking." She laid his fingers over his so lightly they might have been snowflakes, then pulled away quickly, sighing. Nothing any of them said or did ever won a response from him.

Fuyuko grabbed one of her blue-eyed twin's hands and one of Lulu's, and dragged them a few meters backwards, away from Haji. She knew he wouldn't listen even if they screamed right into his ear, and that if he wanted to listen he would still hear them quite easily; but she still tried her best to act normally around him, so she addressed her companions in a whisper, as if he might overhear them otherwise.

"We have to do something. Mourning is fine, and being miserable is fine, and even refusing to speak or play or move is fine, but if he keeps starving himself like this Haji will die. I think…" She took a long breath, then rephrased, "I know that that's what he wants, but we can't allow it."

"So you think we should force him to eat?" Lulu whispered in reply, contemplating. Not that she hadn't considered it before- she just hadn't really dwelled on it. In reality, she realized, it was probably just because she hadn't wanted to admit to herself that her friend was that bad off.

"We have to," Fuyuko continued urgently, "It's the only-"

"No." Natsuko interrupted, her voice dark and solemn, but firm, "We can't."

"You want us to just let him die?" Fuyuko was genuinely surprised at her twin's objection.

"There's nothing we can do," She insisted, "He wouldn't eat, even if we tried to force it. And… I'm not sure we have a right to, anyway. Think about it; for his whole life, the only thing he ever cared about was Aunt Saya. He exists only for her. She had other things to live for- a purpose of her own, and later even a family- but his only reason for anything was her, and her happiness. If Aunt Saya is going to sleep forever… I think… He wants to sleep with her. And if that's really how he feels…" She faltered for a moment, "We can't stop him. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't. He just won't let anything keep him from her."

"But a lot has changed for him," Lulu reentered the debate with her own insistence, "Even if Saya is asleep, he has us, his friends. He can make something of his life. We just have to make him see that there's hope, and-"

Their conversation was stopped short by a single word- one voice, raspy, weak, and small, that they wouldn't have heard at all if they weren't so desperate for it.

"S-Saya…" For the first time in decades, Haji had finally spoken. All three girls whirled around and stared, wide-eyed, at the spectacle they were all certain they would never see. Saya's cocoon was broken open, the Queen herself crawling slowly- following primitive instinct alone- towards her Chevalier.

The girls had been too absorbed in their argument to hear Saya's scratching as she broke out of her old Chiropteran bed. Now, impossibly, she was very much awake, though she still had one task to accomplish before she could fully recover.

"Wait, don't-" Natsuko yelled aloud, but too late; her aunt had already sunk her teeth into Haji's neck, and she fed eagerly, drawing out what little blood he had left. In a matter of seconds, her eyes faded from brilliant scarlet to soft brown, and she pulled away from him.

"Saya…" he whispered one last time, so softly that it was barely audible even to Chiropteran ears. Just as recognition began to flood Saya's eyes, he closed his, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him.

"…Haji?" She called his name gently, her voice wavering slightly, but he didn't respond.

Author's Note: Greetings, dear readers! Warning: this is going to be a very angsty fic, and in all the stories I've ever written or even dreamt up there has never been a happy ending. If there's ever going to be one that breaks the rule, however, it's probably going to be this. So stick around, and… Who knows where this will end up? Please feel free to criticize, compliment, rant, or even eat internet pastries in a review! And I am a busy writer, so just to be safe- if you are in any way interested in the story and I haven't updated in three days or longer, please leave me a note. If I know people want a new chapter, I'll get one out quickly, regardless of how busy I am. Lastly, no matter what kind of day you're having… Smile for me? Fairfarren all!