Hanabusa regretted having not been by Yori's side when she woke and now he was extremely conflicted on what course of action he should take. First, his daughter had run off to only the gods know where, then Yori woke up from her long slumber, only to fall back into the place from which she came, and finally she was no bleeding out from her old wounds from the battle. Hanabusa constantly ran his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth. He had to make his decision and quickly. If he sought out Aria now, Yori could die while he was gone, if he stayed by her side it left Aria exposed and vulnerable.

The decision came swift and sudden. Pushing aside the servants who were hovering around the room, Hanabusa slit open his wrist and drank in as much blood as his mouth could hold. Leaning forward, he forced Yori's mouth open and proceeded to inject her with the blood. It was yet another Blood Share. It had saved her life before, why wouldn't it work this time? After successfully forcing her body to swallow the blood, Hanabusa sat back and looked at her anxiously as he wiped away any remaining bits that had not made the transfer from his lips. Now it would be a matter of waiting. Standing and loathing to leave Yori, he turned to a servant and told her to keep the wounds pressed and force the bleeding to stop at all costs. He would now go and find Aria if possible.

As he sped out of the mansion, the sunlight hit him like a brick, but he strove forward, cursing himself for being in such a rush that he had not brought anything to shield himself from the harsh rays. He very rarely was angered by Aria, but right now, she was making it very difficult for him to remain cool and calm.

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Aria rested her hand upon the heel of her palm, being jostled along in her awkward position. She had long sense gotten used to the embarrassment of being carried around like a sack of potatoes, but there was no reasoning with Vaugt in cases like this. They had finally left the grounds of the village and were nearing the Aidou estate.

"If you were my child I would have your hide tanned raw," said Vaugt earlier after catching her trying to escape, which inevitably led to the current arrangement.

"Well it's good I'm not your child because then I would never be able to sit down," Aria replied bitterly. Vaugt let out a booming laugh at her quick reply.

Sighing heavily, Aria made another plea to be put down.

"You won't try to run away… again?" he said with some skepticism. Aria hurriedly agreed and ever so gently, Vaugt lifted her from his tall shoulders and placed her on the ground. He kept his hands nearby to make sure she did not fall with the sudden change of gravity. They stared at one another for a moment, challenging and sizing each other up. Just as an experiment Aria made a quick jerky movement to the side and saw that Vaugt mirrored her actions. She then made another movement in the other direction and he followed. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Aria turned and continued the trek back to the estate, leading the way. Vaugt would not allow her out of his sight from this point on and besides, the sun was going down and everyone would be awake soon. Perhaps she could slip in without being noticed.

All hope of this happening vanished as she approached the entrance and saw her father barreling through the gates. He had spotted them immediately and rounded on Vaugt.

"How could you allow her through the gates and in the middle of the day." The big man took the onslaught in stride. "She could have been hurt or worse!" Aria tried to defend the innocent man.

"Papa, it was my fault. I was stubborn and the only thing left was for him to follow me. I'm sorry." Hanabusa's irritation fell then upon his daughter.

"And you! Do you know what trouble you have wrought?" Aria was slightly stung by her father's sharp tone. He rarely raised his voice at her. His rampage was interrupted as a servant ran from the entrance, obviously trying to ignore the bright rays of light. She was breathless.

"Sire, the wounds have stopped bleeding and have nearly healed. She is awake and calling for Miss Aria." Hanabusa's eyes rounded and then looked at his daughter. Silence enveloped the group, no one able to react first. Finally Hanabusa stirred himself into action and turned to his daughter, obviously having collected himself.

"Go to Yori now." He said softly, it was not a question or a request, but an order . Aria's eyes widened.

"She is awake?" He nodded gravely.

"She is calling for you."

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The servants were quickly dismissed as Aria entered, leaving only the freshly revived Yori, her daughter, and Lilith. When Lilith made moves to leave as well, Aria gently requested that she stay as well. Upon seeing her daughter, Yori gave an almost visible sigh of relief. Smiling, she waved a hand gracefully to the seat closest to her.

"Aria, it has been quite some time," said Yori, taking the awkward burden of speaking first. Aria lowered her head and glanced at her mother, Lilith, intermittently, but she gave no sign of her thoughts whatsoever.

"Yes, it has."

"I am so glad to see that you have grown into such a fine young woman." The complimented blushed slightly and bobbed her head in acknowledgement. Sighing, Yori looked at Lilith and saw some of the anxiety that was arising in her. Part of the reason she had requested her to stay was because she wanted to show Aria's surrogate mother that there was no threat.

"I hear that you will be having your coming of age celebration soon. I'm sorry that you have felt so unhappy about all of it." Aria's eyes shot up to connect with the woman sitting on the bed. She had heard her after all! The blush deepened. Why was she so disconcerted around Yori now that she was awake?

"I wanted to give you encouragement. I will support you as much as I can, despite my current weaknesses. I will work hard to make you and the Aidou family proud." With that Yori in turn bowed as low as her injuries allowed and it left Aria and Lilith stunned. For years everyone had talked about and treated Yori as an important guest, it was not expected that she would revert to her place as a family employee. Lilith was to speak but was immediately interrupted.

"Lady Aidou, please instruct me in what you wish for me to do. I have much experience with preparing such large events. Perhaps Lord Aidou would allow me to aid him?" Lilith's jaw worked for a moment.

"Y… yes, I will speak with him directly." Anxious to leave the situation, she abandoned Aria and Yori to speak alone, under the guise of needing to speak to Lord Aidou urgently about the matter.

Finally alone, Yori took in the young woman's complexion and was pleased to see that she had her father's eyes, but Yori's hair, her father's nose, but her mouth. It was a perfect compilation of the two coming together and it warmed her. She felt regret for not watching the little girl grow up into the woman who sat before her and she reflexively brushed her fingers against the wound, freshly bandaged and healing nicely. Deep down, she felt as though it would be only a matter of time before the wounds would reappear and bleed out and she could not be constantly revived by Hanabusa's blood, it would be too much!

"Ms. Yori…"

"Please, call me Yori. You make me sound so old." Aria smirked inwardly, recalling her father's request not to be referred to as Lord Aidou.

"Yori… I was hoping you could answer some questions for me." Yori immediately looked slightly guarded as she waited in apprehension.

"I have so many that I don't even know where to start…"

"You are very impatient." The observation forced Aria to look at Yori aghast. The other smiled gently, not intending it to be an insult. "You get that from your father. In times like these, you only must wait a little longer before the answers will come to you." It took a few moments for the words to sink in.

"My coming of age celebration…" Yori nodded, seeing the girl was quick on the uptake.

"If you can only wait until then, everything will be revealed."

"Will it be bad?" Yori shrugged nonchalantly.

"There is no good or bad, only what we take in through our own perception and then how we view it in relation to those we care about."

"You speak in riddles."

"I'm sorry, it is an old habit of mine." Aria looked at the woman through new eyes. All of her life she had seen her as a motherly figure and then one of a completely inanimate being, but this woman was different. She saw her now as one adult might view another and she found Yori to be intriguing. Perhaps she could learn from this woman.

A knock resounded throughout the room and Hanabusa stepped in. Hoping that he had not completely interrupted any discussion, but he simply could not wait any longer. Even if it meant kicking his daughter out, he wished to spend time now with the Yori who would respond to his pleas. Taking this as a cue, his daughter rose and did not have to be asked to leave, instead she stated that she would be on her way and would be by later to visit. Yori smiled lovingly as the girl left before turning her gaze upon Hanabusa.

He stood nervously off from the bed, not sure how to approach her. Should he lecture her for her carelessness and all the years of grief she had caused? Should he whisper words of love into her ear? Should he throw her down and make rabid love to her? Or all of the above? Yori reached out a hand, beckoning him closer.

"I'm not going to break," she laughed. Hanabusa glowered at her.

"Your track record says differently." She still called to him and slowly he settled himself on the edge of the bed, still a little far off. Afraid if he breathed on her the wrong way, she would once again fall into her deep slumber or worse. The touch of her warm hand on his made him jump.

"Hanabusa… kiss me." He sat stunned and finally he moved in obligingly. It felt so good, the first taste of her in years and never had it been this incredible. His hands reached up to thread into her hair, holding her gently. His heart felt it was near breaking. After pulling back only a little he finally allowed himself the feeling of relief to wash over him. His eyes slid shut as he began whispering her name over and over again, resting his forehead on her shoulder, hiding the tears in his eyes in her neck. Her arms reached up and embraced him, pulling him closer.

"I'm here now Hanabusa. It's all right."

"Don't leave me again. Please, don't ever leave me again." Yori held him tighter, not answering.