Saya breathing slowed as she slept which had given Hagi the feeling that she was at peace, for the time being at the very least. He reached his left hand over and brushed her bangs to the side of her face before he gently kissed her forehead.

"I will return," he whispered.

With that, he left Saya's room and began walking down the hallway when something caught his eye. Buried beneath several photos that had been taped to the wall within the last several years, Hagi recognized the corner of one that he hadn't seen in a long time. He carefully pried it from beneath the others and cleaned the dust off of it with his bandaged hand. He recognized it as having been taken before Michelle became a chiropteran. The twins had been firing spitballs at Kai, who was holding a plate as a shield in defense. This commotion made Michelle laugh, which caused Hagi to smile at her in a moment that would forever be kept by this photo.

He carefully tucked the photo into the pocket on the inside of his coat to be beside his heart before he made his departure from Omoro, out into the night.

He could help me, but should I trust him? Michelle thought to herself as she laid in bed, gazing out at the moonlight from her window. He said everything that I had been secretly thinking ever since I woke up. Those doctors, those people, they all think I'm crazy. They don't understand what I'm going through and how could they? They aren't like me. They've never been. How could they even consider what it feels like to be a chiropteran? All they do is look on their charts, tell me I'm fine and when I argue against that they call me crazy. There is something wrong with me and I fear that the only person I could trust with this could be Nathan...

Suddenly, she felt a presence make its way toward her bedroom door. She silently jumped out of bed and made her way behind where the door would swing open.

Nathan? Could he be back?

As the door began to open, a familiar scent caused Michelle to step out from the shadows and face the man in her doorway.

"Hagi," she whispered.

Hagi met her gaze and stood for a moment several feet away before closing the space between them and wrapping his arms protectively around her shoulders. She closed her eyes and smiled as she laid her head against his chest comfortably.

"I've missed you," she admitted.

"I miss you... more than you know," he replied, holding her tighter.

When she felt a shaking deep within his chest she realized this wasn't a pleasurable visit, there was something wrong.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"I want you to be honest with me," he said, pulling away but keeping her at arms length. "I need you to tell me why you... Why did you feed from me?"

Michelle looked away furtively for a moment. "I honestly can't tell you why because I don't know myself. I haven't... felt right since I woke up. Whenever I'm around you I don't feel entirely like me, there's something else there, some other feelings... And then I end up biting you. You know me, Hagi, I'd never do something like that on my own."

"I know you wouldn't," he whispered, pulling her back to his chest and combing her hair down softly. "You did nothing wrong, I just... wanted to know how you felt about it. About us."

"Well then if I'm being honest. I want you to be honest too," Michelle replied, pulling away just long enough to lead him to sit with her on the edge of her bed. The dark canopy on either side of them. "Why didn't you stop Saya from attacking me?"

Hagi froze immediately at her question.

"Of course I knew you were holding back, Hagi, I know you better than that. You could catch a leaf falling off of a tree a mile away. There's no question that you could have stopped her before she ran into the hallway. I understand if you believe I deserved it, I just want to know why."

"No," Hagi shook his head painfully as he took her hand. "I would never let anyone hurt you, ever. I couldn't... I didn't see you. I didn't see you."

"What... do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain... I didn't see you as Michelle, I saw... someone else. It confused me and by the time I realized it was you it was too late."

"Is it the hair? I could always dye it another color, you know. I know you never liked black hair on me, even as a silly wig, but I thought maybe I could blend into society a little bit easier this way-"

"No," Hagi whispered, almost smiling, as he tucked a long strand behind her ear. Her blunt bangs cut just below her brow always had allowed him to see her eyes without having to smudge her makeup by moving them. Something he figured she had always done on purpose. "You are beautiful just the way you are. There is not a thing you could do that would deter me from being with you..."

Just as Hagi began to lean into her, she moved back and took her hand from beneath his. "Except becoming a chiropteran, right?"

Her cold words made him sit back up straight and face her seriously.

"You look at me different now, Hagi. Since the moment I became a Queen, you questioned if I was still the girl you knew. Do you remember that? It was only minutes before we nearly-"

"I remember," Hagi whispered.

"Ever since I became a chiropteran you questioned who I am, yet you've desired me more than you ever did before. Even now, you barely can recognize me as the human you knew yet you can't keep your hands off of me. Who is it that you want to be with, Hagi? Me, or Diva?"

The realization made Hagi stand to his feet and take several steps away from her.

"I despise Diva," he nearly hissed. "She ruined our lives and caused Saya anguish. She was our bitter enemy for well over a century."

"Then why do you keep projecting your image of her onto me? Do you hate me now?"

"I would never hate you," he replied with a hurt expression.

"Then why are you trying to make yourself?"