Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh. This is purely fan-made.

Chapter 2

Finally, the girl released Murata from the embrace but still looked at him with unparalleled affection. She looked upon Murata as if she had known him her whole life, and was merely greeting him after a long time apart.

They just couldn't get over the sheer joy and love glittering in her soft smile. It was so radiant and pure that they had no doubt in the slightest that her true intentions were good. That gaze was just so honest and heartfelt that each of them just melted inside, Murata especially...

Now, more than ever, he HAD to know who this girl was. So Murata asked again, "I know you wanted to see me, but, won't you please tell us your name first?"

A twinge of pain flashed across her face and she merely motioned for his hand insistently. Confused, Murata glanced at the others before tentatively giving her his hand, which she turned palm up to face her. Then, tracing a cool finger across his sensitive palm, she began to write.

"What is she doing?" Wolfram blinked, stepping closer to get a better look.

In answer to his question, Murata read aloud, "My name is Iris," he said slowly as she continued tracing letters on his outstretched palm, "I'm so happy to have finally found you again. You have had so many faces, but I knew that inside it would still be you."

"Ok..." Gwendal began, "So her name her name is Iris but WHY is she here? And why can't she tell us that herself? Does she think that someone is watching?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Murata said calmly, "It's because she can't."

"Can't what?" they asked in unison.

Murata replied, "Iris can't talk..."

They gasped.

"How terrible!" Gunter exclaimed dramatically.

"Really? She can't?" Wolfram and Yuri both gaped.

"Oh the poor dear!" Lady Celli cried, "I didn't realize that THAT was the reason she didn't answer me. I only thought that she was shy."

"That also explains why the guards wouldn't let her pass," Conrad observed, "How could Iris explain herself when she can't speak normally?"

"Well what I want to know is what she means by 'many faces'" Gwendal stated, "Does that mean that somehow this girl can detect His Eminences original incarnation?"

Iris began to pull her hand away from his when Murata smiled gently, "I'm not quite sure what you mean yet either but I know one thing. I can tell that your intentions are honest enough. So tell us, where are you from? And what is it exactly that you want to help me with?"

Iris seemed perplexed for a moment and glanced nervously at the others. Lastly though, Conrad noticed how her gaze fell knowingly on Yuri. As if seeing beyond him into some greater truth.

Yuri's eyes told his story to someone like Iris, someone who knew how to look, and how to see beyond the self-deceit that masked the true image of the soul behind them. He was special, like her, but in his own way. She knew...that Yuri was more than he appeared on the outside.

Iris already knew from her early childhood that a person's eyes acted as portals to the soul within. To some, there was beauty and peace found in the truth hidden there. But to others, there was an underlying pain and suffering that had left deep scars in the one place that few others besides those like Iris could reach. Such as the priestesses, as one example.

Iris was confused though that she did not see that pain in him. And yet, there was a hint of uncertainty and curiosity in Yuri's eyes to know his own truth just as Murata knew his. Even if he himself did not know that he harbored such a feeling.

So, with that in mind, she wrote on Murata's palm and asked, Why does the King also have many faces? He has no hurt inside. And I sense that he has eyes that see the truth beyond sight...

Murata gasped softly, "You...can see them?"

Iris nodded.

"See what?" Yuri asked, conscious of her eyes lingering on him even as she wrote that, "Seriously, what'd she say?"

Before anyone could comment, Iris winced as if bracing for a blow and immediately withdrew her hand from Murata's and stepped back. She suddenly felt a strong sense of unease and proceeded to hide behind Murata and stare at the door. Then she began tugging on his sleeves from him to hide against the wall, her eyes wide, urgent, and fearful.

Murata was about to ask what was wrong when-

"Hey! You can't be in h-! AH!" one of the guards yelped as he was shoved aside.

Everyone then proceeded to draw their swords when a middle-aged man burst into the room, panting. Then his eyes widened as they fell upon Iris and he exclaimed angrily, "THERE you are!" he ignored the swords pointed at him and continued ranting in her direction, "What the hell has gotten into you? Don't you DARE run off like that again, you hear me?"

Iris shrank and withdrew further behind Murata. Then, with her slender back now pressed against the corner of the wall, she yelped, as if it had hurt her. This concerned him, but Murata kept his focus on the invader and shielded her from view with one of his arms.

"And who're YOU supposed to be?" Conrad asked sharply, reminding the man of the swords now directed at him from in front and behind.

The gruff-looking man puffed up his chest and bowed stiffly before replying rather rudely, "Forgive me for barging in like this Your Excellency's, but I'm her father."

Iris shook her head as if to say 'No you're not' and wrapped her arms around Murata, clinging to him for dear life. Murata could feel Iris shaking all the way down the length of her body. She was completely petrified of this man, that much was certain. So, Murata thought seriously, was he really her father?

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of protectiveness overcame Murata and he challenged the man with a knowing grin, "We'll be the judge of that."

"Your Eminence...?" Gunter began, "What should we do about this? If that girl really is his child then-"

"Iris told me that she came to help me," Murata explained to them all firmly before directly addressing the man before them, "So if you don't mind, I'd like to investigate her claim first; it intrigues me. And I will take responsibility for her care until this investigation is complete. If that's alright."

The man's eyes glittered greedily for a moment as he continued to glare at the frightened girl cowering behind Murata. And Iris could see the contempt growing in his glazed eyes...

THAT was why she had run away from him to begin with; he was completely broken inside. This man was no longer her father. He was nothing but a broken shell of the loving man that had once been. Doomed to see in her his loss, and lose himself despair that he could never get it back.

"Very well," he said, straightening up, "Good luck getting any sense out of her though. And besides, it'll give me a break from this insanity until I get her to the hospital where THEY can deal with her properly."

"Hospital?" Lady Celli gasped, "Whatever for?"

"She's not right in the mind," the man stated harshly, "Thinks she sees the dead walking amongst the living," he heaved a heavy drawn out sigh and ran a large hand through his hair, "More than ever before, Iris keeps bothering random people in the streets and frightening them with those thrice-damned delusions of hers about seeing into their other 'faces' as she calls them. Something having to do with previous lives or whatnot. Ever since she was a child Iris was always grabbing people and dragging them of to who knows where to try and 'undo the hurt' that's supposedly keeping them earthbound. My daughter Iris has been mute since her mother passed away giving birth to her, which is why she has never really related to other people properly anyway. But even so, it's unnatural the way she behaves. I've even caught her sometimes showing people illusions of their so-called past lives with her powers," he then proceed to leer at Iris and pointed cruelly, "I'm telling you, this child is deeply disturbed! I can't deal with it anymore!"

"How can you say that about your own daughter?" Yuri shouted angrily, "How dare you-"

"I think you should leave," Lady Celli said harshly, which was rare for her, and continued to say, "It is clear to me that she has no intention of going with you and I do not care for your tone either."

"Tch, fine," he shrugged dismissively with a feral smile growing on his face, "Either way, she'll be out of my life for good very soon. Her and her damned delusions." Then, shrugging past the two soldiers again, he left. Never having even given his name...

And never to be seen again...


How do you tell the truth when you have no way to tell it? Somehow, people always find a way to show it in the most indirect way. A tilt of the head; a quickly written note; it doesn't matter so long as the truth is whole, honest, and properly conveyed.

But then again sometimes, just seeing is believing...

After their unexpected encounter with the man claiming to be Iris's father, they brought Iris to Geisila to have her checked out due to her unnatural lightness. They also wanted to check if Iris was actually mute; or if the cause was from emotional trauma as that man claimed it to be.

Iris sat perfectly still as Geisila examined her while the others waited outside of the room. She was very obedient and followed Geisila's instructions to perfection and seemed perfectly sound in body and mind. With the exception of her lack of nutrition at the moment.

To be honest, Geisila saw no trace of a troubled youth in her at all. Iris was a very smart girl and even Geisila noticed the knowing sapience in this girls young eyes; the same sort of timeless wisdom that she often saw in His Eminence as well.

She was very attentive and watched Geisila with a growing sense of curiously as she kept trying to look into her eyes and see her 'story'. Growing both more amused and flustered as Geisila vigorously continued her examination and skillfully avoided Iris's probing gaze. If Iris could laugh, she probably would have knowing that her behavior slightly unnerved Geisila.

People always grew uncomfortable around those they felt knew too much; their secrets; their hurts; and their shortcomings. It was almost as if they could tell that Iris was trying to see inside of them, trying to understand and to be understood herself; because she had no other way besides writing it out to show others what she wanted to say to them.

But, like any form of language, whether the words were spoken or written, there was always the chance that they are lies. And the biggest lies of all, usually come from the person themselves. However, eyes could not lie as easily. Not unless the person fully believed in their own lie as the truth. Even then though, Iris could see it. Because what she could see was not the mind, but rather, the center of those thoughts. The true nature of the soul itself.

And that was the only way that Iris could really be fully understood...

"You need to eat something as well, but I healed most of the bruises I found on your back," Geisila weakly smiled up at her finally, "Now, would you mind if a checked your voice?"

Iris's eyes softened and she nodded before exposing her throat to her in a gesture of trust. Because normally, she flinched away from others touching her; for along with her sight, touch was also a part of what helped her sense the truth hidden within others.

Their deepest thoughts, their fleeting emotions, they all beckoned to her from their innermost selves. The parts of another's heart that could not lie and lay as raw and exposed to Iris as an open wound, begging for reprieve. Even if the person themselves didn't know that they were calling out in the first place...

"Alright, take a deep breath," Geisila instructed. Iris did so, and hardly a sound was heard, not even the faintest whisper of breath passing through her lungs.

Afterword's, Geisila raised her hand to hover over Iris's throat and began to use magic to inspect her further. But, she couldn't find anything that would prevent Iris from speaking; at least not in a physical sense.

Therefore, when Geisila finished, she said, "There, all done. Please wait here a moment while I inform His Eminence."

Iris blinked slowly as if to say 'yes' and then absentmindedly began to drink in the details of the room she was in. However, right before Geisila could actually leave, Iris snatched her hand meaningfully and pulled her back to write a quick message on her hand.

"'Thank you...'" Geisila read aloud. Then, smiling kindly, she replied, "Oh you're welcome. And I'll be back soon so sit tight until then ok?"

Geisila then left Iris alone in the room to report to Murata and the others; all of whom appeared eager to hear her diagnostic. Still uncertain of what to make of the powers that Iris possessed and her uncanny ability to gaze into another's very core, their hearts, and their innermost souls. And she had a theory that somehow, Iris's own soul was a conduit to the pain of others, even the pain of the dead; which only unnerved Geisila more...


"So she really is mute," Conrad said simply after Geisila finished explaining what she found, "I can't imagine that being easy on any parent but still, I agree with mother and His Highness, that man was completely out of line back there. It's most likely that those wounds on her back were inflicted by him personally."

"Perhaps it was that which made her seek out His Eminence, maybe she was just looking for an excuse to escape him," Gunter added.

Yuri glanced at Murata who seemed awfully distracted and asked, "Hey, are you ok Murata? You're spacing out on us."

"Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry..." Murata replied absently, and continued to stare off into space, "I was just thinking about what that man told us. It confirms what I sensed when Iris touched me-" he closed his eyes and smiled, "-she really knows..."

"Knows what?" Wolfram asked curiously.

"That girl has a very unique gift," Murata explained, "It's such a shame that it has caused her so much pain. And then for her own father to abuse her like that, just because she couldn't find the person he wanted."

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked.

"You see, after hearing his side of the story after what Iris wrote on my hand I realized his true intentions," Murata replied, "Up until now he was using her to find his wife. But when she couldn't find her spirit, it drove her father mad. HE'S the one who's disturbed, not Iris. In fact, he's probably long gone by now-"

"Should I send someone after him?" Gwendal asked.

"No," Murata shook his head, "It won't do any good even if you DID find him. That man has no intention of taking Iris back and I think she already knows that. She's very in tune with the true nature of others. In fact, she noticed right away that Shibuya is also like me," then he paused for dramatic effect before he smirked and said, "Iris could see the shadow of Julia Von Wincott within him, just like she could sense the other incarnations of myself as well. Really, it's remarkable..."

"Whoa, back up!" Yuri gasped, "She saw Miss Julia?"

"Yes," Murata replied, "And she also said something about you 'having no hurt' and having 'eyes that see the truth beyond sight;' referring to your ability to see past illusions made by Esoteric skills. Iris could sense all that just from looking at you."

"Incredible!" Gunter exclaimed, "What a truly amazing gift."

"Even so..." Gwendal interjected, "...how exactly is she planning on helping His Eminence? As far as we're concerned, he has vindicated his final ties from over the last four-thousand years as the Great Wiseman. So is it another incarnation that Iris is seeking to aid? Or better yet, how does she know about him at all? From what I can tell, this girl has been seeking His Eminence for many years; but why though?"

Conrad crossed his arms, "Gwendal has a point Your Eminence," he looked at Murata meaningfully, "What are we going to do with her now? If her father really has skipped town, then she's-"

Yuri suddenly realized what he was implying exclaimed, "Wait a minute, you mean he abandoned his own-!" but he stopped himself and stared at the floor.

"That poor girl," Gunter shook his head, already certain that he had.

"Well, even if he hasn't abandoned her, I'd rather not return Iris to that man," Conrad said harshly, "A sweet girl like her with such a special gift should be raised where she can be nurtured and cared for properly."

"I agree," Gwendal nodded, "Besides that, her gift is extremely valuable. Iris is like a living lie detector and if she is really able to see into another person's soul and find their deepest secrets, then this girl could be dangerous if taken into the wrong hands."

They all turned to Murata to hear his thoughts and were surprised when he said, "Well I already promised to take responsibility for Iris so that's what I'll do. I have to see this through now and besides..."

"Besides...?" Wolfram blinked.

Murata smiled brightly and said, "...I want to know what compelled Iris to find me now. Who knows, I might have even known HER in a past life. But in any event, I already said that I would investigate her powers. As well as her reasons for seeking me out in the first place. No matter where that road might lead, I think that just maybe our meeting is where I'll find the conclusion to my existence as the Great Wiseman; a time when I can finally just be me, Ken Murata."