1Chapter 5

Necessary Sacrifices

Diva was depressed. She had caught her daughters mid-escape, yes, but just the fact that they wanted so badly to leave that they would risk climbing down a rope as hazardous as the one they had used was disturbing. Even Diva wouldn't use that rope, despite her amazing healing powers (and though Sakura would never admit it, when Diva had said this to the two girls, she had silently agreed). Diva could not understand what was so wrong. She had bought the girls toys, games, expensive clothes, gourmet foods, and still they would rather go back to that sweaty old bar on a hot, crowded island. Could they really have formed that strong a bond with Kai in only 7 years?

Diva got up from the grass and walked around the perimeter of the yard. She was to upset to keep still. Out of reflex, her natural coping mechanism kicked in-singing. She had done it in the tower, and it had kept her sane then, until the day Saya nee-sama had let her out. Diva smiled through the high notes of her song. What a day that had been! She had sooooo enjoyed seeing the first Joel's face contort with fear, and she had savored every ounce of his blood. It had served him right. He could not complain about his fate, she had only gotten even. Her only regret was that she hadn't thought to lock him up in a tower, so he could see what it was like. But she was getting off track. She was trying to figure out how to get her girls to love her. It had only been 7 years! How could they love Kai so much?!? HOW?!?!

Diva hit a wrong note. She stopped cold. That had never happened to her before. Not in over 100 years. Was she really that angry? She fell back into the grass. She stared at the clouds in the sky. She remembered that day, 7 years ago, when she had thought that she was dying.

For the first time in years, Diva had been genuinely afraid. She had seen every detail so clearly, thanks to adrenaline flowing through her rapidly-crystalizing body.

And when Nathan lay her unhatched children down in front of her, she had reached out to them, using the last of her strength, she had stroked them lovingly, had tried to whisper her song to them, as she had so longed to do. But her cracking, crystal lips had not even permitted her that. And so she had just stroked them, it was all that she could do. But the worst part was when her arm had crystalized, and she could no longer stroke her children, or even feel their presence beneath her finger tips. Her arm just sat limply upon the cocoons, already cracking and falling apart before her eyes. She would have cried, but tears would not come fast enough to beat the crystallization process. Her last whisper had sat upon her tongue as Diva's world blackened, never passing through her lips.

"No...my...my babies..."

"No", Diva whispered, returning to the present. She had fallen asleep, had dreamed the entire memory. Diva stared straight up at the clouds from the grass, not really seeing them. She stayed that way for a long time, until a breeze blew a rose petal around. Diva watched it dance for a minute, until the breeze died, and the petal came down... right into Diva's hand, which was lying open on the ground. Diva stared at that rose petal for a long, long time, until she felt something wet on her face. Without reaching up to wipe it away, Diva knew what it was. A tear.

Diva was crying.

Because she knew what she needed to do.

She felt eyes on her.

Little, brown and blue eyes.

Diva stood, clasping her hand tightly around the rose petal. Without looking at her children, or wiping away her tears, she walked by them.

"It's raining. Go inside."

Kai walked through the front door, without even bothering to turn on the light. He flopped down into a chair, and sighed deeply. The Red Shield's lead had turned out to be nothing. It was just some whack-job scientist who wanted his 15 minutes. Nothing good had come of it. Kai just didn't understand how Diva could show up, take the girls, then disappear completely. Was she a magician now as well as a vampire?

Kai needed to know the girls were safe, he needed-

"You planning on turning on some lights any time soon?"

The hairs on the back of Kai's neck stood up. In one fluid motion he pulled out his gun with one hand and flipped up the light switch with the other.

And there she sat, on the couch as though she had been in this building a thousand times. "Diva", said Kai. Diva looked at him. "Do you enjoy saying my name, Kai, 'cause you sure do say it a lot." Kai was not amused. "What do you want?" Diva smiled. "What's wrong Kai? I thought that you'd be a little happier to see me." Kai was losing his patience. "I said, what do you want?" Diva laughed. "OK, OK, Kai, you win. I'll get down to business, but you really should learn some manners for when you're entertaining guests." "You're not a guest, you're a trespasser." Diva laughed so hard, she almost fell off the couch. "You're funny, Kai."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?"

Diva backed away a little, still giggling. Her smile faded quickly, though. "Well Kai, as surprising as it may seem, the girls haven't been too happy lately." "You don't say", said Kai, his finger still on the trigger of his gun. "No", Diva continued, "and I've been thinking a lot about what might make them happy. Nothing I buy makes them happy, they don't like spending time with me, and the only other thing I can think of," Diva looked intently at Kai, "is you." Kai was having trouble understanding what he was hearing. "What do you mean?" Diva sighed.

"What I mean, Kai", her eyes flashed as she looked at him, "is that I will let you see the girls."

Author's Note: Ok, a very Diva-centric chapter, but a lot of people that read this told me that my story was making them hate Diva, and we can't have that now, can we? I love Diva. No, I was actually going to do this chapter this way anyway, but those comments made me think more carefully about what Diva was saying. Anyway, sorry this chapter took so long, but the semester is ending, and so I had a lot of projects due. Hopefully my school work will tone down a little bit so I can write more. I'll try my best too write as much as possible!