Thirty years did not change Kai much, for he still appeared to have his usual spunk, but there was one single improvement in him: His cooking. The greatest surprise was that he finally married Mao, and soon became the head of the Yakuza gang that her father headed. As Saya ate, Kaya and Dina merely stared at her in wonder of her amazing appetite. The both of them took martial arts training just to keep fit, adding Pilates, cardiovascular training and even Yoga to their daily routines, but Saya just ate, and ate, and ate. "Oba-chan, you really love to eat, don't you?" Kaya asked, only to be knocked on the head by her twin.
"Oba-chan can eat as much as she wants, Kaya" Dina said. She had longed to see Saya for a long time now, although she was familiar with everything that happened to the Red Shield, her biological mother, and Saya herself. She and Kaya were raised in such a way that they were sheltered only from hatred and malice, and she was grateful for it. Her only regret in life was that she never knew her mother… "Ne, Oba-chan, Solomon Oji-san seems to be extremely interested in you, any ideas why?"
Immediately, Saya dropped her spoon. Solomon loved her, and it could not be denied. She appreciated his feelings for her, but she had Hagi, and a mission to complete. His sweet promises to her were only dreams that she could never achieve, but now with Diva dead and gone, perhaps, she could… No, Hagi loved her; he promised that he would always be there for her… Immediately, she was torn between two men who loved her, one who has been with her ever since she began her quest, the other, defying death to be with her. "He is a dear friend" she answered, finding it miraculously easy to tell herself and others that. "Although he was Diva's Chevalier, he still helped me a lot…" She fell silent, unable to decide how she truly felt about Solomon… Hiding her inner struggle, she then asked them how they came to know Solomon, a question that Mao answered.
"The girls were doing research on Great Businessmen of the 21st Century, and decided on Solomon-san" she said, sighing, "However, when they got to the Paris headquarters, they were mugged, and they fought their way through the streets of Paris" A long explanation soon ensued, and from what Saya managed to piece together, the twins were almost run over by Solomon and caused his car to hit the person who mugged them instead. The moment he found out that their wounds, however minor, could heal within seconds, he brought them into his office and "interrogated" them. It all happened when they were in college, and ever since then, he had spoiled them with many trips around the world, with the many, many photographs to prove it.
Without knowing the meaning of delay, Kaya fetched a thick leather-bound photograph album and showed it to Saya. Indeed, they have been to many places, places that she wanted to see as well. From the Coliseum to the Petronas Twin Towers, they had been to almost every corner of the world. Come with me and travel the world, he said to her three decades ago when he had kidnapped her in New York. There were no pictures of him in the twins' photograph album, and when asked why, Dina answered that he never did once travel with them… Was he truly waiting for her?
"I would have a bone to pick with him if he dotes on them any further" Kai said. "Seriously, what person would fund all the expenses of their travels? Do you know how these two spend money?"
"Hey, we earned it" Kaya snapped back. "For your information, we, are now the analysts of Cinq Fleches responsible of tapping new resources and frontiers" Saya was immediately taken aback. They were sure different from her and Diva: She loved to run and fence, while her sister loved to sing… Kaya and Dina were indeed very special, and she wondered if anyone else saw that. But if they had traveled so extensively, would it be possible that they had met Hagi before?
Picking up the courage to ask the question, she bowed her head sadly when the twins asked who Hagi was in return. "Nobody has seen Hagi in the last thirty years, Saya" Kai said, his voice dropping as well. He had seen a salmon-pink rose on the Miyagusuku tomb, tied with a blue ribbon that had been used by Hagi to tie his hair, but how sure could he be that it was truly Hagi who put it there? He knew that Saya would be devastated, but it was impossible, if not absolutely difficult to get out of rubble that had fallen on both Hagi and Amshell, even Julia had no hope on Hagi's survival.
Saya kept her silence, but deep within her heart, she was screaming out of despair. Hagi… could not die… He had survived so many years, even life-threatening wounds in the circles of the Chevaliers… How could he perish so easily? There must be a reason to explain Hagi's fate, and she wanted to find out. But for the time being, she knew that she had to hold on to what little hope there was… She could not afford drop into despair again. She then stood up, and headed towards the door. "I wish to talk a walk… alone" she said in a subdued voice, and Kai agreed.
Once she opened the door, she saw Solomon once again, who immediately sensed her anguish. "Saya, is anything wrong?" When Saya shook her head, he knew that she was lying. "I knew from Kai-san that you loved the sea, shall we go there?" Meekly, she nodded and got into his car. It always calmed her, looking at the sea, perhaps… perhaps it could work its magic on her once again. The moment the car began to move, she felt soothed, even if it was only for a little bit. Was it the thought of going near the sea that soothed her, or was it Solomon's company?