The doctor watched in awe as he finally shut down Aozora's suspended animation chamber. Watching her sleep naturally was one of his greatest thrills for today. Soon, very soon, he would be letting her step out for the very first time. He beamed with joy. He walked up to the chamber window and took a glance at the sleeping beauty that lay within. "Soon my dear…very soon. You will share your gifts with this world."

 His mind slowly began to drift into times that could only match the happiness that he had only known...he had once known true happiness during his numbered days upon the space colony ARK working right alongside his mentor Prof. Gerald. For him, it was quite the achievement; prior to this, none of his family members had sufficient paying jobs, so they were forced to scrounge and beg because of the lack of a formal education. Prof. Gerald, who had been giving a speech in the part of the city where Yatusmito's family resided, was very impressed by the boy's ingenuity and took him in as his ward, promising the boy's family a proper education and decent work in return for their well-being. Working alongside a hero was probably one of his greatest dreams…except maybe for the love of a certain young girl…

He saw his younger self upon the colony, having free time from his studies and assistant duties. Walking down one of the main corridors of the ARK, reading George Orwell's 1984. The war before had scared most sensible people out of their wits. But the story itself proved to be entertaining to him. So entertaining that he became absorbed in it, which rewarded him with quite a few scoldings from Dr. Gerald for not focusing on his work. Not to mention…Oomph!!!

He was knocked over by someone that he hadn't seen coming. "WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHAT YOU..", he started to say enraged. He stopped upon taking notice of his tackler. He used his left hand to mark his place in the book while lending the other over to help up Maria, who had only been playing an innocent game of Tag with her playmate.

"I'm sorry Yoshimo, I should have paid more attention to where I was going." She said politely. He shook his head. "No", he said softly. "It's my fault. I get so involved in books that I sometimes forget where I am. I should have been watching my way."

He remembered her reaching down to hand him back the dried plant leaf he used as a makeshift bookmark. He smiled as he placed a hand upon her shoulder, and thought that he might just give her a hug when someone poked him from behind.

He turned around to find the figure of a black hedgehog standing before him. A very pissed black hedgehog. "Maria!", it said impatiently. "We're still playing tag, right?" He glanced back at the girl, who had a smile on her face again. "I'm sorry, I just got a little bit side tracked when I bumped into him." She jumped over to tag him on the shoulder. "You're it again!" she yelled while dashing back down the corridor in the same direction from which she came. "No fair!!" the hedgehog yelled as it ran in the opposite direction.

He snapped back into his current reality. "You remind me so much of her it sends a chill down my spine", he whispered to the slumbering figure. His mind again wandered back into his past sub consciousness, this time to the ARK lockdown. He could once again see his youthful form as he witnessed it panic after thoughtlessly running into a dead end. Once again feeling the fear rush through every vein in his body…the look of terror upon his face as if he were a wounded animal about to be put out of its misery. Fear was furiously building up inside him when he heard a loud shot come from the other side of the corridor, shortly accompanied by a short cry of pain.  He listened further as a familiar voice yelled, "Maria!" frantically. Her name echoed within the depths of his very soul as he rushed over as carefully as he could towards the voice. He watched on as G.U.N. soldiers who wanted to take him out delayed him.

With each fist that he connected or kick that he delivered, it felt like an eternity…the voice had stopped shouting ages ago. He fought harder. Hard enough to break free and reach his destination with enough time to get in and save the both of them. But time had already run out for one of them. He looked on in dismay as Maria lay still on the floor. He watched himself take steps over towards her, before finally kneeling down at her side.

From the location of the two shots that she has sustained, it didn't look like she'd last any longer. So he decided to comfort her during the last moments of life. He scooped her up ever so gently into his arms, brushing aside the golden strands of hair that had been misplaced. He held onto one of her hands, noticing that it was still warm, knowing full well that it wouldn't be as warm in a short while. He felt pressure back on his hand. She had managed to get a grip on his hand…. she was still alive…somewhat. She gasped for air, but kept her eyes closed. The pressure was increasing; she was struggling just to hang on. "Give them…a chance…to be…happy,…" she uttered. She released her grip on my hand.

Oh the pain! The pain I felt once she let go of my hand! Of all the people who didn't deserve such a horrendous demise, she was one of them! She had fought all her life just to survive, and for what? To be blown away by a bunch of power hungry monsters who don't understand progress?  All she could do was give love, hope. To her, it didn't matter that she was sick or might not get well. All that mattered to her was to see the people she cared about happy. And I was one of them…

The doctor broke down in tears after reminiscing about that painful moment in his life. As he wipes them away, he glances over at the sleeping entity. "I pray that you bring the joy and hope that she once wanted for the world."