Chapter 23

"Are you a ghost?" He murmured in his sleep. Kotetsu had given him a little time to himself to rest before his next lessons began, and he decided to spend it taking a nap by the little calming stream in the meadow, near the compound.

Her giggle tinkled like beautiful tiny silver bells. "No, silly Corn. Why would I be a ghost?" She smiled softly and sat next to him.

He didn't answer, not wanting the break the illusion. He rolled to his side and took a lock of her long, white hair between his fingers. "Why is your hair white now?" He asked, enjoying the feel of the silken strands on his fingertips.

She was silent for a long moment. "It just happened…" She answered quietly, then sighed out. "It was that way when they took off my blindfold from the lab." She finally told him, staring up at the clouds as they passed.

He'd long suspected that this was the same Kyoko, the one he'd thought he'd watched perish as the building crumbled before his eyes. "The lab…" Then… this must be a dream. He thought sadly.

She nodded. "Reino and Kanae saved me and the others from there. There were others that were saved that day too, but I can't give out the details." She told him, leaning back on her elbows. She glanced over at him. "You're special like me, did they take you from the lab raids too?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head. "I…" He wasn't sure he should tell his origins. What would she think if she knew he was responsible for her initial capture and all of the things that she'd suffered those long months? "My circumstances are a little different than yours. I'm not as special as you are." There was a little guilt and shame in his tone.

She frowned a little at his declaration. "That's not true." She pouted. "Even if you were human first, that doesn't mean you aren't special. You're special because, you are you. Even if you weren't like me, you would still be special… At least you would be to me." She finished quietly with a blush.

He smiled softly. "Thank you, Kyoko-chan."

"I think it's time for you to wake up…" She told him as she stood.

"…Wake up." A familiar voice called to him.

"Sensei?" He answered, groggily pulling away from the heavenly dream he'd just experienced.

Kotetsu's sat next to him, near the bank of the small creek. "You were talking in your sleep." He commented, staring out at the landscape. "Where did you go?" Hoping that the boy hadn't started astral projecting quite yet. He knew for a fact that Kuon wasn't ready for something like that. He hadn't taught him how to leave and return yet. Something like that without instruction could prove to be very hazardous if one didn't know how to return to their body.

Kuon shook his head. "I stayed here, just as you instructed." He told him truthfully as they both stood.

Kotetsu nodded. "Then… Who were you talking to?" He asked out of curiosity.

Kuon grimaced a little. He believed he had a nasty habit of conversing with the dead or imaginary people.

Kotetsu raised a brow, but Kuon didn't notice. He was too busy trying to decipher the meaning of such dreams.

Kuon sighed a little. "It was the girl I told you about. The one I think may still be alive."

Kotetsu nodded. "I suppose if she's visiting you, that's a pretty good indication that she's not dead. Does she know it's you? You do look quite different from your appearance when you came to me for training." He commented, noting the blond hair and green eyes, not to mention the fact he was still struggling with hiding his feathered black wings, and don't even mention the control over his demons. Kuon still had one or two of the four hundred that would act up. It only took one to go out of control around humans to cause trouble for him.

Kuon shook his head in answer.

"That's something you may want to clear up as soon as possible, regardless of whether you believe it's only a dream or not. It's best to get something like that out of the way early so you two can work things out. You or she may need each other at some point and it would be a shame if you were enemies out of a misunderstanding." Kotetsu advised and scolded.

"It was hardly a misunderstanding, Sensei. I literally gave her to them. Something like that can't be misunderstood." He groused. It was a respectful grouse, but a grousing nonetheless.

"I do have to say I'm impressed Akazukin-chan." He gave a little proud smirk. Maybe if he could travel back about 14,000 years this feeling would be considered a paternal pride. "However, you should be more careful to where you travel to. I don't want you getting trapped there." He lectured lightly.

"Sorry, Reino. I didn't really think of something like that. So… You're definitely saying that it wasn't a dream and he's real?" There was a hint of hope in her voice. She had come to like Corn over the visits between them these past few months.

Reino nodded. "Very real." He paused in thought, wondering if she actually knew his true identity. "Are you aware of his identity?" He asked.

She frowned a little, and nodded. "I think he might be Lt. Tsuruga; although, I'm not completely sure. He looks a lot like him and sounds like him." She told him, tucking her legs beneath her to get more comfortable on the small sofa. She sighed. "Ahh… Who am I kidding?" She grimaced. "It's him, I just don't know why he would lie to me."

Reino chuckled then sipped his herbal tea. "Perhaps he feels guilty for everything that happened due to his actions." Reino suggested. Of course he already knew, Kotetsu had been keeping him briefed on the many situations in Japan and Kuon was one of them. He'd already been exposed to her blood and it had taken full effect on him as it would have if he had been crowned her king. Reino still didn't understand why his own had awakened, there had never been two that were affected at the same time in the past. Perhaps it had something to do with her absolutely pure lineage. She was the same as the very first Celestials. She'd literally only been born that last December. He wondered if her blood was so potent that it would essentially change anyone, creating her own tribe of them. He made a mental note to speak to Dr. Asami later on the subject. He wasn't sure if it would be a bad or good thing for an individual to be exposed on accident.

She glanced at him with furrowed brow. "Why would he feel guilty? He didn't know they would do those things to me. He was only doing as he was ordered." Honestly, her reasons for initially disliking him were not what he assumed they would be and those reasons were gradually dissipating because of 'Corn'.

Reino sighed. She was still so naive and childlike. He shook his head. "Kyoko, some people can feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. He may not have done those things personally, but he feels that his actions were directly responsible for your situation." He explained to her as she needed, as if she were a small child.

"Oh…" She looked over at him again. "But if he hadn't, I really don't think I would be here like I am now." She pointed out.

He chuckled. "So, does that mean that you forgive Mr. Fuwa also?"

"Ugh…" She grimaced. "I suppose so…even if he is a dirtbag playboy."

It would seem that 'dirtbag playboy' is cleaning up his act, from what Erika has told me. He nodded in approval. It only takes one very hard lesson to teach someone about the world and the way things are. Some get it, some don't. Fortunately for Sho, he was learning his lesson well.