YORI

'Don't cry,' Yori thought, her hands clutching tightly against the skirts of her dress, black as night, black as the hole in her heart.

Yet, the casket had been opened for the funeral, and she could see his face, as beautiful in death as it had been in life, and all she wanted to do was cry. Every smile, every laugh, every trace of those blue eyes…was gone. Never again would she curl up against the warmth of his back at night, never again would she hear the sound of his laugh… Never, ever again…

'Don't despair,' she tried again, but the grief was excruciating and she had not been able to breathe for one single day since his death. The memories had been like a fever running high, haunting her dreams and her very soul.

The eternal summer blue of those eyes had sucked the marrow from her bones and withered her like a winter's rose, leaving her body nothing more than a cruel husk. Hadn't they promised each other forever in their wedding vows? That false promise continued to hammer at her heart with agonizing sharpness. The petals of their love were falling around her heavily, like the end of spring. Even now, if she but closed her eyes, she could still see the future they'd promised each other, even as those petals descended to the ground and blew away in a chilling wind.

One night she'd seen him in a dream, standing in the doorway, waiting for her. She'd taken off running to reach him, but when she reached out to embrace him, the door closed, and he disappeared. …Would she see him again one day, on the other side of that door?

'Now is not the time for these thoughts,' she schooled herself as the funeral bell sounded, and the members of the assembly rose. She would have to speak now. She could not afford to lose her composure.

Yet…carved into his casket were the words: Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. All she could think about was the door in her dreams, and how, although lying before her were the traces of his existence, his spirit was somewhere far, far away… Somewhere she could not reach…

The council member presiding over the funeral directed her to approach, and mechanically, distantly, she felt her legs bring her closer to Hanabusa's still form. She did not want to remember him this way. Did not want to remember his skin as pale as snow and his form so devoid of all the things she'd come to know and love… She wondered vaguely if his mother and sisters would feel the same, after receiving his body and conducting their own funeral. His body would be laid to rest in the mountains, alongside his father and sister…far from her… Body and soul, he would always be distant from her, now…

The memories were coming back once more like bile, but she could not let them. Would not do it. She couldn't look back again at all she had lost, not now. Not here, in front of dozens of courtesans.

Her voice was ragged and bare as she cleared her throat and forced herself to speak. "I really did want to walk side by side with you forever… You will always be my favorite memory. And although you only have been a short while in my life, I have treasured every moment. You are the one that will continue to leave me sleepless at night or with an inequitable smile. Goodbye, Hanabusa… I will always love you…"

There was a dangerous moment in which she felt every piece of herself waver. She wanted to collapse in front of the casket and sob, or perhaps scream. Instead, she slowly returned to her place in the assembly. One day she promised herself that she would allow herself to be less than strong. But not today. It could not be today. Not here, in front of every noble man, woman, and child currently present in Ashgate. For now, she must let these feelings disappear somewhere in the mist of unshed tears, just beyond the shutters of her eyes.

Zero was the next to speak. "The real impact of a life depends on will. The determination to keep on going, no matter the cost… Hanabusa gave up his life to protect us and bring peace to the Nine Kingdoms. His determination, his will, and the sacrifice he made show the caliber of man that he was… Hanabusa, you will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace, my friend."

Akatsuki Kain was next, followed by Ruka Souen and a great many others, but Yori drowned out their words. All she could focus was on the simple pull of air through her lungs, in and out. If she centered on that, she did not feel as if she would shatter so immediately. She reminded herself that when Yuki at last spoke, the torture would nearly be at an end. Her words would signify the end of this portion of the funeral service.

The Wakaba noble wasn't sure how much time had passed, but suddenly she felt the weight of a hand clapping her shoulder, and looked up in surprise to see Yagari's single eye looking down on her, transmitting sympathy. "We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, but battle on. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it," he said gruffly, clapping her shoulder once more before moving away.

This time it was Yuki who approached, wrapping her arms around her friend and leaning her head briefly against the archer's shoulder as she whispered, "Yori…it's okay if all you did today was breathe."

If only that were true… "If I look back…I am lost…" Yori murmured, hands shaking against the folds of her dress. The darkness of Hanabusa's death seemed as though it might swallow her whole.

"His last remaining worries were undoubtedly about you," another voice said, and Yori looked up to see the two mages. It was Rima who had spoken. "He likely felt you would be fine with so many people protecting you. He was able to pass on with peace of mind...I'm sure of it."

"Besides, things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect," Senri added, and Yori's hand pressed against her stomach in response to his words.

Yes…the child inside of her was the only thing that kept her from plunging headlong into the abyss… Yet, even that small fragment of Hanabusa was not the same, was not Hanabusa himself. To think that she would never again see him… Would never again hold him… Yori swallowed the hot lump in her throat and struggled against the increasing pressure of her sorrow.

" I'm sure he would be relieved to know you're saf–" Yuki began.

Abruptly, the doors at the end of the hall banged open, and the entire assembly turned their heads. Scattered gasps and whispers marked the intrusion, along with the clack of heels as the figure in the doorway confidently strode into the room.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow archly as she swept in, all flowing blond hair and black lace. Takuma trailed behind her, his expression guarded.

"Sara Shirabuki…the Lady Spider…you dare to interrupt this funeral?" Yagari demanded. His eyebrows slammed downward brutally, stark black, angry lines that reflected a black storm in the blue-gray tundra of his eyes.

"Indeed. I thought to show my loyalty to the new rulers of the Nine Kingdoms…" She gave a slight curtsey to Yuki and Zero. "In gratitude, you will name me Lady Shirabuki of the Ochre Hills…"

"You presume much!" Yagari snorted. "Why should they do such a preposterous thing?"

"Your father is the lord of your kingdom…" Yuki wavered in confusion.

Sara laughed, and the sound raised goosebumps on Yori's arm. "He's dead."

Zero took a step forward, fingers tight around the hilt of his enchanted sword. "How will you prove your loyalty? We've had enough bloodshed…"

"How, indeed?" A smirk.

Sara stepped forward, and the assembly drew back in her wake. As she passed, Yori could smell the sickly sweet scent of her perfume. Without explanation, the Shirabuki noble moved to stand in front of the coffin and removed a black velvet pouch from her bodice.

"What is the meaning of this?" Akatsuki demanded, hand also on his blade.

The room was visibly tense. Yori stole a glance at Takuma, but from his expression, she gathered he was as lost as she was.

Sara ignored the Kain noble, who had stepped forward menacingly, and reached into the pouch to scatter fine dust over the coffin and Hanabusa. Her words were almost song-like as she chanted, "One life given, another returned. One sent beyond the grave, another sent back from its borders. This payment is given freely, a fair trade."

As these last words were spoken, the Shirabuki noble bit her finger and allowed a single drop of blood to join the dust now coating Hanabusa's body.

"That's…blood magic…" Senri murmured.

"But not like yours…" Rima observed from beside him.

"No… This is…"

For a moment, the crowd waited with bated breath for something to happen, but nothing did. Everything was as it had been before: still.

Sara scowled.

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Get out, leave us to mourn," Yori pleaded.

Every second, every moment faced with that beloved, cold face burned into her chest until her heart gushed through her veins in an ooze of congealed red wax. She longed for this ceremony to end, yet feared it at the same time, because, once it was finished…she could never gaze upon him again. Hanabusa would be miles and miles away, six feet under the dirt, his body destined for the worms…

"Tch. How disappointing…" Sara hissed, and the clack of her heels punctuated her departure from the hall.

The doors closed, and a moment of silence reigned. The council member leading the ceremony cleared his throat, about to begin again, when suddenly a strange gasp sounded, like someone coming up for air after swimming too deep for too long.

Abruptly, the body in the casket shot up, clutching at its heaving chest as it desperately gasped for air. Displaced dust whirled through the dim lighting and icy blue eyes shot open, wide and shaking.

Between the onslaught of gasps and shrieks from the assembly, Yori stepped forward uncertainly, heart pounding a stilted beat, the name hovering tremulously on her lips. "H-Hanabusa?"

AN: Is he alive, or..? All will be revealed soon.