"Have a seat please."

I was guided into a small room by one of the "officers." He sat at a table covered in paper, his arm warmly outstretched over them directing me where to sit. I followed his command, straitening the wrinkles of my robes as I did.

"Please don't be afraid to tell me everything that's happened to you, we're here to help." He arranged some of the papers on the table and picked one up.

"I see that you're a monk." He said referring to my clothing. His eyebrows furrowed a bit as he looked at a paper that seemed to be a map.

"We don't have any report of a missing monk. How did you and your friends get here?" I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat clutching my knees. How much should I tell this man? I decided just to tell the truth.

"we came through a well." The man looked at me, still holding the paper. He didn't question my answer.

"Could you show me where this well was?" He held out the paper to me. His finger landing on a line that I couldn't quite decipher.

"This is where you and your friends were found. Was it near there?"

"Yes, it was just down that hill." I nodded. He took back the paper, noticing that I didn't understand how to read it.

"What about your parents? I have here that you refused to give out a phone number and parent's names." My heart began to race faster. What in the world was a "phone number?" Were all the people in this world assigned a number? do they have that instead of names? Do they have numbers and names? If I had become emperor, I would have had a head count but I wouldn't have expected them to know their number. It might be easier to keep track of my subjects though. I thought of my brother. He had been such a fantastic emperor. Much more fit for the throne than I had ever been.

My brother... I'd never see him again... Never play my flute for him and talk to him about the capital and it's people. He and Lord Tomomasa would never tease me again. All my friends at the monastery... The reality of the situation had finally hit. It's as if all these people had died. My brother... My body began to shake. The officer noticed my distress. I quickly lowered my head as I felt tears fall down my cheek.

"I... I left them." I stuttered. "I left them all... and I'll never see them again."

By the time he let me leave the room, my brain was so full of questions It hurt. I was so tired and confused. Every one in this world seemed to be running as fast as they could in every direction. How could I keep up with such a world? I noticed Akane leaving one of the rooms as well. I was about to approach her when I heard a door open and saw an officer leading a man and woman into the building. The moment the woman saw Akane she began to cry and ran to her. By then I had figured that the two of them had to be Akane's parents. Her mother embraced her roughly, whaling and shaking as she clung to her daughter.

"You're alive. Thank goodness, you're alive." Her father had joined the hug too but softer, holding both his wife and daughter. His glasses obscuring more gentle, quieter tears.

"Where have you been? What happened to you." Akane's mother looked so much like her. Small face, peach hair. Of course she was much older and had different features but you could tell that it was her mother. She let go of and placed her hands on Akane's face, one hand coarsely running through her hair and returning to the other cheek.

"You aren't hurt are you? Who did this to you?" She continued to cry, coughing a bit as she did. By now Akane had begun to cry too.

"I'll tell you guys everything." She said smiling a bit through her tears. "I don't know how much You'll believe though."

As I watched the reunion, my thoughts returned to those I had left behind. I was seeing the result of someone being missed and he pain that it caused them first hand. If I ever had a chance to return, would I receive such a welcome full of tears and embraces from those who missed me? I was so tired and overcome with emotion and regret, I could no longer stand. I backed into the wall and let gravity lead my body to the floor. I pulled my knees to my face and crossed my arms over them. What had I done? I left behind so many people. I didn't even say goodbye or explain that I was going to be alright. In a way my situation was now like Akane's had been when she entered my world. Confused, lost and unsure of everything. The officer that had asked me so many horrible questions came out of the room and saw me on the floor.

"I know you're tired." He said lowering himself to my level. "But we can't get you home until you tell us where you live and who your parents are. We don't have anywhere for you to stay till we get that information. Akane had taken notice of the conversation and ran to us cheerfully.

"You can stay with us Eisen!" She said leaning over playfully, her hands grasping her knees. The officer stood up and turned to her parents.

"I guess we could have your parents foster him for a bit until we find out more about his story." He rubbed his chin in question. "It's up to them though. I for one think it would be good for him to stay with someone he knows for now." Her parents still trying to recoup from the reunion looked at each other. Her mother shrugged.

"I guess a few days couldn't hurt." I could see where Akane's free spirit came from. Her mother must have been as much trouble as her daughter. Her father on the other hand wrinkled his brow at the idea. He looked at me, telling me with just a look that he didn't trust me in his house with his young daughter. I nodded in agreement, too tired to care about the appropriateness of the situation.

"Alright..." He sighed. Akane cheered, grabbed my hands and pulled me from the ground. She gazed into my eyes, clasping my hands in hers.

"Thank you... Priestess." I looked to the ground, avoiding her large emerald eyes.

"I'm not the Priestess of the Dragon God anymore Eisen." She said still holding my hands. "I'm just plain old Akane now."