Tension of the Past
Part 10
*~*~*~*

I lost the bet... how could I have done such a thing? Was I too distracted? Too worried? I don't know what went wrong... I'm going to be so humiliated.

*~*~*~*

"N-no more... please... I don't think I can eat anything after that."

"Ah, come on. Just one more bite."

"I... I really don't think..."

"Just one more, and that's it, I promise. I made all of this just for you... you don't want to hurt my feelings, do you?"

"If it would get me out of this..."

"Tsk, tsk, Taiki. Where are your manners? Open wide!"

"Woman, I said no!"

"EXCUSE me?"

"I mean... BEAUTIFUL woman... I said no thank you!"

"...That's what I thought. Now open up."

"..."

"I can't believe Rei-san left before it got to this point."

"Watching Aunt Makoto hand feed him must have really disgusted her."

"Actually... she was blushing when she left."

"Jealousy, you think?"

"Bulls eye. I don't know... there is something really romantic about feeding somebody with your hands though."

"R-really?"

"Oh yeah... remember that, Ichigo-kun, when you find the right girl."

"T-thank you, Hotaru-san. I-I will."

"Good, Taiki-kun?"

"Surprisingly... it tastes different than the others... much more rich in flavor... the texture is incredibly subtle. And the after taste... It's... it's..."

"Orgasmic?"

"Aunt Makoto!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"Um... do you think it would be possible to uncuff me? No? I thought as much. But actually, I was going to say superior than anything I had ever tasted before."

"You sure know how to reach a lady's heart."

"Hmph. Well..."

"Are you blushing?"

"Certainly not!"

"I think you are! What do you think, kids?"

"I'd say he is."

"I agree with Ichigo-kun."

"It's only the heat!"

"Nah, it was a blush."

"Quiet, boy!"

"What's with all this modesty all of a sudden, Taiki? You certainly weren't exactly... tactful in your advances in the Garden."

"Yes... well, remind me never to drink that brand of sake again."

"You shouldn't have been drinking it in the first place."

"Forgive me."

"Forgiven."

"Thank you. Now, what was in the pastry you gave me?"

"Can't tell you. It's a secret... d-don't give me that face... please... oh fine! Damn!"

"Can you here what she's whispering?"

"No... but Taiki's turning blue..."

"Uh-oh..."

"HE'S GONNA BLOW!"

*~*~*~*

A horrendous scream echoed through the halls from the kitchen, curdling the blood of all who heard.

"Wow," said Makoto, rubbing her ears once the ringing stopped. "Now I know you have NO sense of humor."

"THAT WAS BEYOND INHUMANE!" screamed the Taiki clone.

"Lighten up will ya? It was a joke!"

"Must have been an incredibly bad one," muttered Hotaru.

"Really, it was only sugar, pasted rice, and a little food coloring." Makoto held out another pastry.

"Get away from me, hag! Back off!"

"WHAT did you call me?"

"HAG! OLD WOMAN! ANCIENT FEMALE! AWAY!"

"So NOW you show your true colors. All right, it's back to the cage with you, my boy."

"What? Never!"

"Hey! You're mine for life, remember? Now up."

"I don't remember making any agreement such as that!"

"I have witnesses."

Ichigo and Hotaru both nodded.

"I don't believe it!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Makoto, Taiki01, Ichigo, and Hotaru all turned to look at the princess of Mercury and the original Taiki as they stood at the doorway.

"G-gomen nasai, Ami-san," stuttered Hotaru.

"Is everything alright?" asked Taiki.

The Taiki clone couldn't take his eyes off of his original. Locking eyes, they carefully watched each other, the free man and the captive, each wondering what was going through the other's minds.

"Everything's fine," said the clone, disbelieving that he was actually speaking to this man. The original Taiki nodded.

"What happened?" asked Ami.

"Well... um..."

Makoto and the Taiki clone stared at each other, words passing between them soundlessly, both reaching the same agreement.

Taiki blushed and coughed, clearing his throat. "We um... saw a rat..."

"A rat..." repeated Ami, raising an eyebrow.

"A really ugly rat," added Makoto.

"Had lots of pustules," continued Taiki01. "Extremely disgusting."

"In fact... THERE IT IS!!!"

Makoto, flailing her arms, stared at Ichigo and Hotaru, and after a few seconds of blinking, they jumped onto the counters, and let out all they could.

"SAVE ME!" cried Ichigo in a falsetto, and Hotaru burst into a hysterical fit, crying about a rat being possessed by the devil. Taiki started babbling on about a child-hood fear of rodents, and Makoto stopped screaming, breathed in deeply, making use of those powerful lungs, and screamed again, shaking the windows.

When it was all over, they looked back at the couple. Taiki started clapping, and Ami could only blink.

The four performers hung their heads, and went back to their original places, the Taiki clone having a bit of trouble without being able to use his hands, but did a very lovely job of crashing to the floor. After some cursing from the clone and giggling from the girls, everything was back to normal.

"So... um... yeah," said Ichigo. "It must have gotten away. Stupid rat."

"Well, then," said the original Taiki, and waved it off. "I'm sure it'll show up later."

"What smells so good?" asked Ami, changing the cornered subject.

"Preparations for the celebration!" said Makoto happily. "I was giving Taiki... um..." she pointed in the clone's direction, flushing slightly as Taiki01 lowered his gaze to staring at the counter. "I was giving him some tastes of the appetizers when we saw... the... rat. But it's coming well! All of the chefs are on a break right now... everything's just simmering. We're doing the cold stuff now. Tomorrow, though. Now that's the killer. Thank God I won't be in the kitchen for once."

"Can I see what it is?" asked Ami.

"Sure, why not? But nobody can tell Serenity or Endymion. Or Kakyuu-sama and Seiya for that matter, got it? It's a surprise."

"Hai!" they all said, and moved to the stove.

Taiki01's heart clenched, his throat closed. His muscles itched and his hands screamed to be released from their manacles. The bird needed to be freed! His clipped wings beat frantically, and desperately cried to be of use. His mind saw nothing but the sky and felt nothing but the wind and fresh air.

"Where are you going?!" screamed Makoto, and grabbed him by the collar as the clone made a mad dash to the door, pulling him back to her at a strange angle and...

*~*~*~*

A horrendous scream echoed through the halls from the kitchen, curdling the blood of all who heard.

"Taiki!" Makoto cried, pushing the clone away from the firing hot burner. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't actually mean-Oh my God!"

She un-cuffed his hands as quickly as she could, where instantly the clone hunched over, clasping his scalded hand, and sobbed in pain as the skin started to bubble.

"Get him to the medical room now!" shouted Ami, and both she and Makoto ran him out of the kitchen, the original Taiki opening the door way as wide as he could, and the rest ran after the wounded captive.

"What happened?!" cried Rei as they flew past her, and the thought I'm always the last to find out!! flashed through her mind as she raced after them.

*~*~*~*

Leaning against Seiya, Minako made her way down to the medical room, trying to ignore the feeling of Yaten's tears drying on her neck, or feeling the strong body next to her, supporting her.

"You're putting too much weight on your leg," said Seiya. "It's okay, I'm strong enough to carry you, if you want."

"N-no!" she cried. "I can walk on my own... really."

But she crumpled when she pressed her twisted leg into the floor.

"Minako no baka," Seiya murmured affectionately as she gathered the woman and carried her the rest of the way. "You always try to do everything yourself."

"So do you," Minako answered through clenched teeth, and finally, the hurt dissipated. Minako giggled lowly after a small while. "You know, I had imagined you carrying me like this on more than one occasion a while back."

"Really, now," Seiya said, slightly distracted, her thoughts traveling to Kakyuu.

"Yeah... I hadn't quite expected... those, though."

"Huh? Oh... yeah." Seiya blushed, and Minako leaned her head in the crook of Seiya's neck, her own neck hurting from trying to keep the woman's chest from brushing against her. Ah, what the hell. They made nice pillows anyway.

"So what were the occasions?" Seiya asked, now in the moment.

"Hmm? Oh well, our wedding day... at the beach... you know, the usual situations a love sick girl thinks about."

Seiya chuckled. "Are you sure it was me?"

"You can't quite imagine Taiki or Yaten doing it, could you?"

"You'd actually be surprised. But I do see your point. You've never been carried like this before? Down from the alter?"

"Well, I might have been," Minako whispered quietly. "There was a time, very long ago... but that's done with now. There was never a chance really for anything to start..."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Minako-san."

"Me too..."

They reached the door to the medical room, and Seiya stopped.

"Do... do you know what happened?" she asked hesitantly.

"I think I got it," answered Minako. "I won't tell anybody though, okay?"

"Thank you," Seiya said, extremely relieved.

"Y-you do love your queen, don't you?" asked Minako.

"Yes... very much."

"Don't lose that, Seiya. Don't let that be destroyed."

Seiya swerved her body, bending down so she could reach the knob. It unlatched, but didn't quite open all the way, and with a small kick, the door swung open revealing a room packed with people.

"Taiki, I'm telling you, you have to let go of the pain. That's the only way this will work"

"This is incredible, this technology..."

"Yeah. It's pretty convenient. We found a way to use the crystal's thought form resonance to increase the speed in healing physically. The liquid is actually from the melted crystal streams that have been forming in the forests near by."

There was a small cough, and all heads turned to stare at Minako in Seiya's arms, except for a whimpering Taiki clone in the middle, his scorched hand in a deep clear cylindrical bowl of boiling liquid that seemed to change in color slightly with each roll. His eyes saw nothing but white flashes.

"What happened?" asked Minako.

"His hand got burned," said Makoto. "What happened to you?"

"Slipped... twisted my ankle."

Ami immediately got another large cylinder out, attached it to a small tube by a chair next to the Taiki clone, and Minako carefully moved down into the chair, slipping out of the alien's arms.

"Can I see your ankle?"

"Yeah." Minako lifted up her long skirts to her knee, and Ami delicately lifted the ankle, watching carefully as Minako bit her lip to ignore the pain.

"This isn't bad," said Ami, and turned on a switch by the tube, watching as the strange liquid came out, and regulated the temperature. "You're lucky. You've done this before, so you'll be out of here quickly."

Minako sighted in relief and looked at Seiya. "Thank you so much for all your help. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

She shook her head and said, "I don't know where I would go."

"I can show you around," said Hotaru. "You haven't seen the training hall, have you?"

Seiya brightened up. "No, I haven't."

"Great, I'll take you around!"

"I'll go too," said Ichigo, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from leaving with Seiya and his object of affection. Turning, he looked to see the original Taiki.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you," his low voice said.

Swallowing, Ichigo shrugged, and father and son left.

"Come, on Taiki. You have to let go... yeah, it hurts, I know it does," soothed Makoto. "And I'm really sorry I did this to you, but just acknowledge the pain, and tell your hand to start healing."

Taiki only groaned. Minako though, closed her eyes, and wincing slightly as she placed her slender leg into the water, and began to speak to her ankle.

The first few times she had done it, she never quite healed exactly because of her embarrassment of the situation. Talking to a wound. Hah. What a stupid thing to do. But over time, she had learned it actually did work, and deep gashes could heal in hours.

She felt the tender muscles slowly shift to the places they had earlier felt comfortable in, felt the bruises slowly heal, the discoloring of her skin begin to return to the natural pale color.

A realization came to her, and her thoughts drifted to the Taiki clone beside her. He could never heal quickly, because he was too caught up in the pain... was this how she was with her life? Yes. Yes it was. And just knowing that made it a little easier to look back on what had been... not much, but a tiny bit.

Finally, she opened her eyes, looked at Rei and grinned happily.

"What are you so cheerful about?" asked Rei, surprised

"I don't know," said Minako, and stood up, testing her ankle, and satisfied at her healing job. "How long has it been?"

"About fifteen minutes," said Ami. Minako felt even better. Looking at the Taiki clone made her heart sink though, and she stared at his hand... no longer black, more of a deep purple now, but that was all she could see with the rolling water clouding his form.

"Let's train," said Minako. "We've been slacking off way too much!"

"What are you talking about?" said Makoto.

"Just because we have Divine Protection doesn't mean we can't keep in shape," answered Minako. "I don't know... I just have this urge to kick somebody's butt."

"Uh-oh, a power-surge coming on?"

"As leader of the protectors of the queen, I order you to fight me!"

"I'm staying here with Taiki," said Makoto, but Ami looked at her and shook her head.

"I need to talk with him," she murmured. "Go on, I know you've been wanting to use the training hall lately."

Makoto reluctantly agreed, and walked away with Rei and Minako.

"Well, just be prepared to get completely humiliated by my awesome power!"

"Are you serious? You can't beat me!"

"We'll see about that! I could beat both of you single handedly."

"Wanna bet?"

"N-no! Please! Too many bets today!"

*~*~*~*

Once Ami made sure she was alone with the Taiki clone, she locked the door, and moved silently to his side.

"Taiki..."

The clone groaned, and Ami placed a hand to his cheek. Finally, the dazed man looked up, squinting his eyes, and tried to say, "What do you want?" but it was slurred too much to be comprehensible. Ami got the idea, though.

"I... I just wanted to tell you that... that I'm sorry... for what I did to you... I mean... making you, really. I know you must hate me for everything. The way I treated you like an experiment..."

Taiki rolled his eyes backward, and Ami couldn't tell whether he did it in pain or as an insult. She drove the panic down, and continued. "You didn't deserve to be locked up. We didn't know how to deal with you. You had so many emotions and not enough time to learn how to use them in a way that would be healthy. I... shouldn't have imprisoned. I should have taught you what you needed to know... I thought you would be like the Taiki I had known before... but I realize you are a completely different person... you're not evil... you're just angry and confused. And we didn't listen to that."

"Eh..."

"So... I'm going to release you."

"Huh?" His eyes sharpened now, and Ami smiled, touching Taiki's free hand. The clone was too stunned to move away.

"You're free. I hope though, that you'll decide to stay in the palace for a while to learn everything you'll need to know to live in the outside world."

"I..." he blinked rapidly, trying to think if it was the truth or if she was playing a cruel joke. "Are... are you serious?"

"Yes, of course," she said frowning slightly. "I wouldn't lie about something like this."

"I... I'm free...?"

"Yes... Taiki..." She flushed slightly. "We won't object if you change your name. I've talked it over with Serenity and Endymion last night, and they agreed if you kept in line, there was no need to keep you locked up."

The lock on his heart exploded, the soul flying out in all directions. Gone was the sense of constriction! Of hopelessness! He was free! What light! What vision!

He took his hand out of the cylinder and stared in wonderment at it being completely healed. He turned his gaze to the smiling woman. His creator, his mother... a woman he had never understood before, had never tried to understand. He still didn't, only understood, that in some unfortunate act of insanity, he was alive.

"Thank you," he said. "But, I think I can manage. As strange as it might seem, I think I know how to handle my emotions when I want to."

"So you're leaving already?"

"I think that would be the best thing to do. For me, but also for you and your man... and Ichigo." Ami nodded in understanding. "You know... I really can't be angry at you for making me... you did give me life. And I can't resent him either... if it wasn't for him..."

"Taiki..."

"That's not my name," he said quietly and happily. "Call me... Taka..." Hawk.

He laughed merrily, and opened the door, only to have three women crash into him, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"Sorry!" cried Rei. "Minako left her bag!"

"The door was locked!" said Minako. "We were only there for three minutes!"

Taka couldn't hear anything as he stared into the eyes of Makoto, lying directly on top of him.

"Well, Taka," she said, slightly shocked. "Congrats on being released."

"Thank you."

She smirked slightly and rolled off of him, dusting herself off.

"You still owe me a date, though."

*~*~*~*

"So..."

"So..."

They sat on the bench in the crystal gardens, father and son together at last, and Taiki had nothing to say. Well, he did, but had no idea how to say it. Ichigo had toyed with the idea of looking into the heart of this strange man, to have some knowledge at what he was longing to say... and yet he didn't. It was like that with Hotaru, he was too afraid of what was there... of rejection. But it was also a violation to their personal space. No person with Ichigo's power should ever pry open a heart unless it is given to him, and he usually lived by that honor.

"You probably know I'm your real father," said Taiki more for himself than to his son.

"I figured as much," said Ichigo quietly.

There was another long silence, and finally Ichigo looked up.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course."

"Did... did you know Mom was going to have me when you left?"

Taiki sighed, and stared at the ground. "Do you want the truth?"

"Yes!" he cried.

"She never told me..." An exhale of relief and pain reached Taiki's ears. "... But I knew."

They looked at each other and Taiki repeated: "I knew..."

"Then why? Why didn't you stay?!"

"My queen needed me, I needed to rebuild our planet, to begin again."

"You could have begun again here!" But Taiki shook his head.

"It's not the same. Yes, I could have stayed. Yes, I probably should have asked her. Your mother could never lie. But I needed to be with my own planet, to be around those who knew me truly. I needed to be with my people again. Even if I lived here for a thousand years, I would be a stranger. Just as your mother would be on my planet. I'm not trying to sound so cold, it's just the truth... saying nothing about your birth made it possible for me to leave. Ami understood that."

"I don't believe you!" he cried. "She talked so much of you! How you were this great guy who always cared and understood everything!"

"I can't understand everything! It's impossible! But you have to try to realize, I'm here now!"

"How do I know you're not going to leave again?"

"You don't," said Taiki, and stood up, putting a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I don't know what the future brings... but you have to understand, I love your mother will all my soul. You are my son, and I will always take care of you."

Ichigo closed his eyes.

"I can't say I won't be angry if you leave," said Ichigo. "But I can't say I will be either."

"Nothing ever goes the way you plan," agreed Taiki, and lowered himself, hugging his child. "I barely know you, but I want to catch up on lost time... I want to be a good father figure to you."

"Figure?" asked Ichigo, and stared as Taiki's face slid into incredibly feminine features, a raw beauty, purple eyes full of silent power, and a quiet gaze. Ichigo stepped back, slightly. "T-that's right... you're a woman..."

"Complicated, isn't it?" said Taiki, her voice heightening slightly in pitch, but still with a soft rumble.

Ichigo managed a nod. "A-are you going to stay that way?"

"What's wrong with it?" Taiki looked down, brushing dirt off her suit. "Is it too strange to have a woman as your father?"

"Not too strange," said Ichigo. "I mean, Haruka's always seemed like an uncle to me... does Mom know?"

Taiki nodded. Ichigo shrugged, and laughed nervously.

"Everything's so weird... but I guess I'll have to get used to it."

"I have a feeling that tonight everything will fit into place," answered his mother... or father.

"I hope so," grumbled Ichigo.

"What about Hotaru?" asked Taiki as they walked down the path, back into the palace. "Did you ask her to go to the ball with you yet?"

"No..." he said quietly. "The other Taiki botched it."

"Aah," she said.

"You don't feel weird, knowing Mom made a clone of you?"

"I understand why," Taiki answered. "I think, though, it's a question for him, not me. There will be more time to reflect on that... right now I just want to talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yes. How do you feel being the only other man in the palace besides Endymion?"

"There's Artemis, too," reminded Ichigo. "But it's not so bad. Aunt Rei keeps on staring at me, though. That's kind of unnerving, but other than that, it's okay. Girls at school keep on talking about how sensitive I am."

"Why the scowl? Girls love that."

"And that's why they feel they can tell all their hearts secrets?"

"I think that's a very good thing to do, to listen to them," she answered. "Very noble. Wait a few years, you'll be a heart throb."

"I've been waiting 900 years to be a babe magnet."

Taiki smiled, and stared as the boy's features changed ever so slightly.

"Just wait," she whispered. "It might not be as long as you think..."

*~*~*~*

"Shh... Kakyuu... it's all right now... I'm here..."

The queen, still a princess in her guardians' eyes, sobbed against Yaten's shoulder as they sat on the bed, a bed both she and Seiya shared, had kissed in... had caressed in...

Yaten swallowed in pain, but held her princess, stroking her long red hair, whispering in her ear, embracing her gently, until finally the tears dissipated. For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence, as Yaten held her, thinking about what might have been... what could be...

"Where... where is she now?" whispered the queen. "What is she feeling?"

"Forget about her, Kakyuu-hime. Please. Just forget about her..."

"Please, Yaten... tell me."

"I... I... " Those pleading eyes tore through her heart, and reluctantly Yaten opened her emotional gate, felt through the palace, searching for that familiar aura, and finally found it, co-mingling with another. Minako.

She had left Minako alone. But it didn't matter. Not when her princess needed her. Nothing mattered except Kakyuu. Nothing... and yet...

Yaten swallowed and started to speak when someone knocked on the door. Kakyuu's head shot up at the tentative sound, and a soft voice made its way to their ears.

"Hello? Kakyuu-sama? Yaten-san?"

Kakyuu nodded and then rushed behind the dressing screen, hidden from sight, and Yaten walked over to the door, opening it, revealing Michiru in the hallway. Behind her was Haruka, staring into the room, face void of emotion, and yet her mind was fixed in worry.

"If it is at all possible, Haruka would like to speak with your queen."

"Kakyuu?"
"I...I don't think I can..."

"She's not available right now," answered Yaten. "Maybe sometime later..."

Michiru nodded, and moved out of the way so Yaten could shut the door, but before the latch had clicked shut, a hand stopped it from completely closing. Yaten opened it wide again and looked at Haruka as the tall woman tried to control her emotions.

"Yaten," she pleaded lowly. "I have to speak with her... it's about Seiya."

"Don't ever say that name in front of me again," Yaten hissed, and began to shut the door, but Haruka kept it open. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I... I..." Haruka turned back to Michiru, who only stood there giving her no reassurance, and the blonde woman sighed heavily. "Damnit... I know those things I said to you before, outside... weren't exactly the best things to say..." Yaten snorted, and Haruka scowled. "Look, I'm trying to apologize, alright? It's something I do rarely."

Yaten waved it off, and Haruka's hand clutched into a fist.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I've been keeping this hate for all of you inside me since Ami's kid was born. I thought my judgment of you had been so false, that I had trusted you at such a crucial time... and thought all of you had been betraying us behind our backs. I made a mistake, keeping this contempt for you for so long... not giving you a chance at all... and I... made a mistake... goading her into saying those things..."

She looked into the room then, and said louder, "Your Majesty, if you'll listen to me... I don't even know if what Seiya said was true... I really don't. This is my fault. I take all the blame. But, please, no matter what happens... keep this alliance with us. Lives depend on this joining... I... I really am so sorry..."

She looked to Yaten, nodded and walked away, joining her partner down the hall. The silver haired alien watched them for a moment before closing the door quietly, and turned to face her queen who had stepped out from the screen.

"She knew I was thinking of breaking the alliance..."

"I understand why you would... but it's not like you to destroy a diplomatic situation out of personal matters." Kakyuu nodded in agreement. "So... what are you going to do?"

"I have no choice," she said. "Really, if I wanted to, I still couldn't break it. It's too soon."

Yaten sighed, and only later would she realize it was in relief.

"Does... does she still love her?"

There was a small silence and Yaten turned slightly away. "Queen... honestly I don't know. I feel love from her, but love is always the same I've come to learn. The essence of it is always... love. I can't differentiate. I've tried so hard in another situation... so many times... but I've never been able to find out, which love was which."

"Yaten..." The silent sweep of clothing reached Yaten's ears, and startled, she felt soft, warm lips press against her cheek, and arms wrap around her shoulders. "Is he a part of Kinmoku?"

"Partly..." she breathed. "Actually... she is..."

"Anybody would be insane not to fall in love with you," the queen replied.

"She's already in love with another," said Yaten, and looked deeply into Kakyuu's eyes, brushing the queen's cheek with her fingertips. Kakyuu's eyes widened. "I won't destroy that."

"And you haven't given up?"

"I gave up long ago," she whispered. "But I will never stop loving her."

"Shame on you." And the queen backed away. "To waste your love on something lost."

"It's not my choice!"

"It is your choice, Yaten. It is."

Yaten looked away from the queen. "If I stop loving her, I'll never be able to love again."

"You're wrong..." Kakyuu said. "You're too caught up in the pain."

"It feels better than nothing. If I lost this... if I lose it all..."

"It's time to move on, Yaten," her queen answered. "You have to let go. If the bridge has collapsed to get to the other side... you'll never reach your destination without finding another one."

"And if I don't want to cross the bridge?"

"Then what is the point in living?" Kakyuu crossed to the balcony glass doors, and looked through, into the garden. "I tore you away from the princess of Venus, didn't I?" Yaten shook her head. "She seems very kind."

"One of the kindest people I know." Said Yaten. "She sacrificed her life for me."

"She's also sad," the queen said more to herself.

"Minako's been mourning all her life."

"For who?"

"Herself. She feels she'll never find love."

"Hm." Kakyuu looked at Yaten and gave a wry smile. "Interesting."

"Please don't think like that," Yaten said, wincing.

"You seemed comfortable in her arms," teased the queen.

"I didn't feel that way."

"You've never closed yourself from me," Kakyuu said, remembering the intense grief that had swept through her. It gave her some consolation that Seiya might not have meant what she said... but it still hurt so much... "You must have been terrified. I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain."

"Don't be." Yaten smiled sadly at her. "It was my choice."