Anamaria and Ignatius, although they were obviously quite intrigued by Kiisan's presence, choose not to overly pester him with questions. (Or rather, Anamaria forbade Ignatius from bothering Kiisan) It was cold and damp from the slowly thawing snow and Kiisan felt terrible.

"His heart is in a lot of pain," the blond man noted.

"I know, Ignatius, but I think it is not our place," Anamaria responded softly.

Kiisan sneezed loudly and the travelers stifled laughter, "So, where are you headed?"

The young woman looked at him intently with large eyes wide, "Where are you headed, Father?"

"Please, call me Kiisan. I'm going to the state of Naco."

"Actually, we're headed s-" Ignatius began.

"-That's the way we're going as well," Anamaria shouted with a sly smile, "Please allow us to accompany you."

Kiisan shivered and gave a shrug, "If you really want to."

Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni

"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"

Chapter 46- Movements Without Haste

"Carlos, don't you recognize me, Carlos?" laughed the thin man with dancing brown eyes as he slid down the hillside into the rebels' path. The small priest stopped and stared oat the black-clad man before him.

"S-sowari? Are you a...ninja?"

"Carlos! You do remember me!" He leapt towards his old friend and squeezed him tightly, "I knew Carlos when I was little," he stated plainly to the other rebels, who merely looked on in a mixture of amusement and confusion, "We used to play together."

"It's been a long time, Sowari," Carlos replied with a smile.

Sowari let go of Carlos and fidgeted with the leafy bamboo branch tucked through his sash, becoming shy and averting his eyes. Carlos simply looked at Sowari, taking the whole scene in.

"I hate to interrupt this reunion, but, Sir Sowari, if you are a ninja, it makes me curious...who is employing you?" Mio approached the young man somewhat hesitantly.

"Employer? Lady Sanada Morin, you know her, don't you?" asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yes, I know her quite well. She's certainly an interesting addition to the rebel forcewhat does she have you out her for?"

"I am bringing a message, straight from the Omasas Plains to you. Kiisan's not here? I guess I'm to inform you: Lady Sanada and her troops have fought the Imperials back into the Toran Lake region. The exact message was: "Hear you now, Father Kiisan- your own Sanada Morin in now queen of Omasas! A letter for you had arrived with the seal of the Chief Priest: unread, certainly, for when you return. The bringers: Ocha and Jirobane themselves! Rest assured. Good winds, Father. Take care." And I see that the phrasing does not surprise you. Is that fine?" Sowari babbled off casually.

"It is...just fine, I guess," Mio shrugged, "Do you want a reply...or...will you be staying with us?"

"Well..." he said, appearing to be smiling through the mask that covered the lower part of his face, "I was not ordered to return...and since my Carlos is here, I will stay!"

After this Sowari and Carlos looked at each other intently, until Han Li broke the silence, "Let's not waste the rest of our day here! We're not doing this halfway! We're going north, and we're going to find Kiisan on the way and that is final!"

*********

Had Sita Katyana and Tej K'aan heard that Sanada had referred to herself as the "queen of Omasas" neither would've been surprised. Once the strike against the Imperial troops, completed to a great extent by Yuber was taken care of, she had set up camp on the edge of the plains. All suggestions had to be directed to Sanada and only the most minor of commands were to be issued without her approval. Sitting in her tent, the strategist fiddled with the letter that had arrived for Kiisan. Although she chose not to express the feeling outwardly, Sanada had been quite surprised by Ocha and Jirobane's arrival. The pale-haired mage had explained that she had been practicing teleporting at the citadel for some time and when the letter had been delivered it appeared to be an opportunity to see if in this time period she was able to completely recover her teleporting skills. That effort had turned out well.

Sanada held the envelope up to the light so she could see the folded piece of paper inside. If she had not been so impatient with waiting she would not have cared so much about the subject of the letter, but as the situation stood...

The seal of Chief Priest Hirano was an intricate golden circle, twisted around and through itself many times. "More circles..." she mused quietly, placing the letter atop a stack of maps and notes.

**********

Falina looked at her hands with a slight feeling of wonder. For a moment she thought her hands were transparent and she could see through them to the floor below. She tilted the wreath of flowers on her head and sighed, "This things bothers me."

Sasshalai's eyes widened, sending a chilling warning through her. "Big Sister Falina, don't take them off."

Although the boy's expression seemed to say all, Falina pressed him further, "Why not, Sassha?"

"Because you won't be okay without them. ...The Circle is not closed. ...Not without all hundred and eight anyway," he explained, knowing that his words didn't seem very clear.

She shifted her position awkwardly to look at the chestnut-haired boy straight on, "Then I'm still in trouble?"

"Yeah, that's true..." he mumbled, looking past her out of the window. To the dark-haired girl Sasshalai seemed to be growing distant, as if his spirit had left his body behind. He seemed somewhat transparent as well.

"Sassha, does that mean that something...happened to you too?"

He did not respond. The colors of his eyes seemed different. She wondered if the right one had always been blue and the left one hazel or if they could have changed.

"Ah! Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologized, shaking himself like a wet dog, "I lost myself for a moment there. I was searching for Big Brother. What did you ask about me?"

It was hard to ask the question again, but Falina decided that this would probably be the best opportunity she would ever get. "Do you wear those dandelions because something happened to you?"

"Umm..." he started feebly, "That's right. ...It was a long time ago. Someone who wanted to take over my father's place as leader...hurt me...I forgave him personally not long ago. My father has not forgiven him."

"I see..." she nodded.

"Big Sister Falina, I have to go. The Beast Rune is an urgent matter, and so I must send word so that it can be dealt with accordingly."

She fixed her garland of flowers, this time much more cautiously and waved him away, "Go ahead, Sassha. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

He regained his usual demeanor with a quick smile and hurried out of the room.