Once upon a time, Hakkai looked up from a book and asked Gojyo, "Do you know what a tragedy is?"

Gojyo pulled the cigarette from his lips and tipped the ash into a tray. "Yeah, the bar not getting its shipment of beer on time."

"Honestly, Gojyo."

"A tragedy's a sad story." Gojyo gave Hakkai a sidelong glance in the ensuing silence. "Right?"

"Not quite."

"What do you mean, 'not quite'? What the hell's a tragedy then?"

Hakkai smiled. "A tragedy is a story of great hope, actually."

Gojyo stared a moment. "Okay, teach. You've lost me."

"To have a tragedy, there must first be a disruption of natural order. A plague in the city of Thebes, perhaps, or the murder of a king in Denmark are famous examples from the classics. Something has poisoned the land and broken the tie between king and God. Then, there is the tragic hero. He must correct this imbalance in his world and bring about a restoration of natural order. Sometimes this is achieved by solving a riddle, coming to know one's true self, or through some form of bloodshed. It is not uncommon that the hero is destroyed in this quest."

"How the hell is that hopeful?" Gojyo asked quietly, feeling like Hakkai's words had placed some spell on him.

"It is hopeful for those left behind," Hakkai replied with a gentle smile. "Order is restored in hopes that life may go on."

Three years later, Gojyo sat against the ruined remains of a castle and held a very youkai Hakkai in his arms. Gyumaoh had been destroyed. Shangri-la was saved.

Hakkai labored for breath, his bloody chest heaving with each pitiful gasp. Gojyo watched on helplessly. The wounds the man called Gonou had sustained paled in comparison to what this broken body bore. Gojyo offered a trembling hand to Hakkai. Against his palm, three limiters sparkled silver in the uncaring sun, but Hakkai shook his head and smiled with bloodstained lips. What needed to be said between them, they said with their eyes.

Gojyo let them fall to the ground.

Gojyo stroked Hakkai's bloodstained hair back from his face and cradled him against his chest even as the ragged breaths began to slow until they ceased to come at all. He didn't cry or scream. He let his gaze rest on Hakkai's face until he stopped seeing.

An ember glowed softly from deep within Gojyo's memory, and he was pretty damn certain that this was a tragedy.