Author's Note: The beginning of double digit chapters!

Disclaimer: I keep forgetting to put this at the beginning of every chapter...I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh or any of it's characters. Just Renka and Ari.

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

Chapter 10

"How did you know?" Murata stood by the window seat of his suite within the Temple. "I just realized this afternoon."

"I always know when the two of you are reborn. You know as well, albeit subconsciously. It is part of the soul bond between the three of us."

The sage whirled on him. "Have you been talking to her this whole time? Is that why she's haunted by the past?"

"No." Shinou shook his head, blond hair falling around his face. "Normally, I only know when you both are reborn and when you die. It was her intense fear that opened the bond fully. Renka didn't take the vow that you did, so her memories have always been more dreams than conscious thought."

"Ari was drugged and aware of it. She was asking for help...from anyone."

Murata felt a surge of anger but forced it back down. He couldn't think; couldn't plan when clouded by emotion. With new awareness, something occurred to him.

"Why didn't you just bring her through the fountain?"

"Yuri and yourself were coming through that path at the same time. There is a small lake not far from here, just behind the Temple."

"You could have brought her through the baths." The sage offered dryly.

Shinou pouted, "I'm terribly sorry that I do not think as clearly as you do when I'm upset."

"Upset? I didn't think you knew the emotion."

The great king crossed his arms and stared into the empty fireplace.

"I felt her fear. Now that my soul is free an untainted, I fell these emotions again. They are still foreign to me and at times...overwhelming."

Murata sighed, his anger disappearing.

"What did you mean, haunted?" Shinou turned back to the teenager.

"Shibuya said that Ari was 'haunted' by the visions for her paintings until the piece was complete. Afterward, she was more than happy to sell them."

"I don't know whether to be happy that she remembers us so well, or insulted that she wanted to give those memories away."

"That's not the point!" Murata snapped at the spirit as Shinou laughed.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Yuri entered and looked between the two. He was relieved that the earlier tension had vanished.

"Giesela was able to get Ari's temperature up. They're moving her to the suite next to Ulrike's. The drug is still slowing her body functions though and Giesela would like to stay with her tonight."

"Of course she will be staying."

"I think I know what she was given. I'll go confer with Giesela." Murata walked around Yuri and left the two kings.

Shinou watched his sage leave out of the corner of his eye. He saw the remaining teen getting ready to say something and held up a hand.

"Stay out of this one, Yuri. It has nothing to do with you."

"Maybe not directly, but Ari and Murata are my friends. When Murata's losing his cool, there's something about to hit the fan." The young maoh stopped for a moment. "Daikenja was in love with Renka too, wasn't he?"

Shinou's silence spoke volumes to Yuri and he nodded. "I thought so. I may not be the most observant person in the world, but that's hard to ignore."

The double black took a breath and stared the ancient king in the eyes. "You're dead, Shinou. Perhaps it's time for you to bow out of this one."

Shinou stood in silence as the door closed behind the teenager. A hand raised to rub the skin above a heart that hadn't beat in thousands of years.

"Death does not stop one from feeling pain or the fear of being forgotten." The words were whispered to the empty room as the spirit faded.

Murata stood next to the bed as Giesela wrapped another blanket around the sleeping girl. He and Yuri had decided to remain with the healer and watch over Ari. She was going to be a handful when she woke up and didn't recognize her surroundings or any of the people.

Things had mostly been quiet since the healer had purged most of the drug from Ari's system. After Giesela had fallen asleep, the two teens had started talking. Yuri had gotten his friend to open up a little about how Renka had happened to join the fight against Soushu and become a part of the war camp family. Throughout most of the stories the sage's voice had been quiet and filled with the coldness Yuri associated with Murata hiding behind facts.

Both turned as Shinou appeared in the room.

"You two should sleep. Fortunately, I don't sleep at all."

"No rest for the wicked and all that?" Murata smiled at the glare shot his direction and the muffled laughter next to him. The great king raised an eyebrow and huffed as both teens stood and left the room.

After the door closed, Shinou approached the bed slowly. Sitting on the side opposite the healer, he laid his head next to the young woman's. Despite her physical appearance, he felt Renka beneath the surface, just as with his sage.

"Renka," he whispered before placing a light kiss on her forehead. "I just don't know what to do with him. Daikenja was always a little distant, withdrawn, if you will. He was more like a saint amused at mortal folly. However, this time is so much worse. The constant passing of years and centuries, the pain of caring for people just to be left behind, have made him cold...even to me. But I keep seeing that ice cracking around young Yuri and then tonight."

Holding out his hand, the spirit focused his power. A gold collar appeared in his hand. The beaten metal had been Renka's prized possession and she had rarely taken it off.

"Perhaps the three of us can help him." Shinou clasped the piece around her throat and locked it with his own power. Ari jumped as if shocked. When she settled, her eyes moved frantically beneath her lids.

Giesela started to wake as the bed shook.

"We'll talk more later." Shinou smiled as he faded.