A/N: Hopefully this short will help revive the dead Gaiden.

This story was written by LazerWulf. Allowing for time zone differences, this story starts less than half an hour after Himura wakes up from his coma in Underworld Saga.

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Paris, France/Sagara Residence/April 25, 2001/6:27 PM

9-year old Philippe saw his father's shoulders slump as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that, Dad?" he inquired cautiously.

As Jokan Sagara turned around, Philippe could see the pain on his face. "That was the hospital in Japan," his father said.

"Did something happen to Kotori?" Kotori, his cousin, had been in a coma for nearly 2 months after she was pushed down a flight of stairs.

His father knelt down in front of him and put his hands on Philippe's shoulders. "Son, there's no easy way to say this. She's... gone."

The news shook him to his core. "Wh... what?"

"I'm sorry. The doctors say she just... flatlined. There was nothing they could do."

Philippe shook free of his father's grasp. "No! You're lying! I don't believe you!" he shouted, although his words felt hollow.

"Philippe, wait!" Jokan called out, but it was too late. Philippe was already out the door, running at full steam.

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D'Anjou Manor/6:31 PM

7-year-old Sasha D'Anjou was tired of being 'Little Miss Perfect'.

Sasha's parents owned The D'Anjou Group, a large venture capitalist firm, so one could say that they were, well, rich. Her father was Chairman and CEO, while her mother was Vice President and CFO, and though they lead busy lives, they always made time for their daughter and doted on her, even if they were a bit overprotective. This, in turn, made Sasha want to do everything she could to please her parents. She poured herself into her school work, and had excelled so much that she actually skipped two grades. When she had expressed interest in singing, her parents had paid for a private music tutor, and because she didn't want to make them feel like they were wasting their money, she strived to do well in that, too.

Her parents called her a prodigy, but to her it was just a lot of work.

And so, she tucked her hair under a large cap, threw a couple changes of clothes into a backpack, tied a bed sheet to the balcony, and escaped out of her second-story window.

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Local Park/6:47 PM

Deep in his heart, Philippe knew what his father had told him was true, even as he accused him of lying. The truth was that he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

Philippe and Kotori grew up in Japan together, and Kotori was always looking out for him. That is, until about 2 years ago when Philippe's maternal grandfather became sick and his mom convinced his dad to move back to France so they could take care of him. A year later, Kotori's father, a police officer, died, and her mother started drinking and physically abusing Kotori. Because Kotori was always getting into fights to disguise where her bruises were coming from, this continued unnoticed until about two months ago, when his aunt was finally caught and sent to prison for child abuse. Custody of Kotori was given to Philippe's father, who was her mother's older brother, and Philippe was looking forward to having Kotori around again. However, before Jokan could fly back to Japan to take custody, Kotori was pushed down a flight of stairs at her school by a bully named Hamada, and ended up in a coma.

And now she was gone.

After Philippe stopped running, he found himself in the park outside his neighborhood, a place he always went to relax, and with the torrent of emotion going on inside of him, Lord knows he needed it. So he did what he always did in these situations: he sat down next to his favorite tree, took his harmonica from his pocket, and began to play.

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Sasha hadn't really thought about where she'd go after she ran away, but somehow she ended up in a nearby park. It was a typical park, though a bit large. There was a pond near the center, a playground over to one side, and several trees and benches scattered about for shade. It was nearly evening, though the sun still had about 2 hours before it fully set, and the park was just about empty. She had never gone this far from home on her own before, and she was a little out of her element. Usually, she'd be with her bodyguard, Garman, and just follow his sense of direction, but in this unfamiliar territory, she was acutely aware of how utterly alone she was.

Just then, Sasha caught the sound of a haunting melody on the wind. Curious, she ventured towards the source of the sound, and as she drew closer, she found herself captivated by the tune. It was haunting, yet mournful and sad. She finally came to the source of the music and realized it was a young girl... no, a young boy, though a very pretty one, playing the harmonica. It was amazing. She could feel the boy's angst coming through the song, and though she had never heard the tune, she somehow knew where the song was going. Before long, she found herself vocalizing in perfect harmony to the song.

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Philippe's harmonica faltered a bit when he first heard someone singing along, but he suppressed his surprise and played on, impressed with how easily this newcomer was following along with a song he was pretty much making up on the spot. It was if the two of them shared the same musical instincts. The song went on for several minutes until he became so emotionally exhausted that he could play no more, so he just lay back on the grass and sobbed quietly to himself, as the realization that Kotori was gone hit him full force.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," he heard the girl say. He looked up, and what he saw took his breath away. The first thing he noticed was her striking blue eyes, full of kindness and compassion. She had a round, cherub-like face, with a smooth complexion, delicate lips, and a cute button nose. She was dressed simply, in jeans and a t-shirt, but her hair was tucked up underneath an oversized cap.

Then, as he caught himself staring, he realized that he had just been crying and scrambled around to the other side of the tree from her, hiding in embarrassment.

"Wait, don't go!" the girl's voice rang out.

"I'm sorry... I'm such a mess right now..." he managed to say.

"It's alright. Honestly, I feel a bit like crying, myself, right now. The emotion you put into that song, it was so... overwhelming."

Philippe propped his back against the tree and brought his knees to his chest. "Yeah, well, I guess I've got a lot to be emotional about..."

"Did you lose someone?"

Philippe was caught off guard with the abruptness of the question. "Wh-what? How did you...?"

"Your song... it wasn't just sad, it was... mournful."

Philippe didn't know how to respond to that, but before the awkward silence became unbearable, the girl spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No... it's okay." Philippe replied. He didn't want to say it aloud, as if not admitting it would make it less real, but there was something about this girl... "I just found out that my cousin died."

"Oh! I'm so sorry," the girl replied, raising her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Were you close?"

Philippe nodded. "We hadn't seen each other in 2 years, but we were finally going to be reunited. But now..." Once again, he couldn't hold back his tears.

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Sasha didn't know what to do with the crying boy, so she hugged him. It seemed to calm him down, and pretty soon he was telling her all about his cousin Kotori and her untimely death.

"I'm sorry for dumping all this on you," the boy said, after he was done with his story. "I don't even know your name."

"It's okay. I'm Sasha."

"I'm Philippe. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for listening to me."

"It was the least I could do after hearing that beautiful song you were playing. I've never heard anything like it before."

"It was just something I made up. Honestly, I'm impressed that you were able to follow it."

"It's strange, though. Even though you were improvising, it was like I could tell where the song would go."

"That was amazing! You've got a real talent, you know?"

Sasha felt her face flush at the compliment. Before she could reply, though, she heard a voice interrupt them.

"Look, Bruno, Sissy-boy's got himself a girlfriend!"

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Philippe stiffened at the familiar voice. He turned to see Anton and Bruno, two of his classmates, coming towards them. Anton was tall and lanky, Bruno was short and stocky, and both of them lived for making Philippe's life a living hell.

"Leave me alone, Anton," Philippe said. "I'm not in the mood today."

"Oh, you're not in the mood, are you?" Anton sneered. "Then what are you in the mood for?"

"Serenading your girlfriend, I'll bet," Bruno jeered, snatching Philippe's harmonica out of his hand.

"Hey!" Philippe cried. "Give that back, Bruno!"

"What are you gonna do? Cry about it?"

"Leave him alone!" Sasha shouted, then lept at Bruno's arm to try to pry away the harmonica. However, Bruno was just too strong, and he sent her sprawling to the ground with a backhanded blow to her cheek that knocked her hat off her head.

As he watched Sasha's long, white - not grey, or silver, or even platinum blonde - but pure white hair cascade down her back as she fell to the ground, something in Philippe's mind snapped.

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Sasha's cheek stung, but not as much as her pride. She'd never been in a physical altercation before; Garman had always been there to escort her out of harms way. But to think that she'd be this useless in a fight, not being able to help her new friend who…

…Who seemed to have Bruno's arm twisted up behind his back. "Drop it," Philippe said, with a coldness uncharacteristic of the boy she had just gotten to know. Bruno's hand opened and the harmonica fell to the ground. Philippe gave a shove, and the larger boy, off balance from trying to keep his arm from being dislocated, stumbled forward. "Now apologize to her!"

"You're gonna pay for that, you twerp!" Instead of apologizing to Sasha, Bruno charged at Philippe, who turned around quickly and swung his elbow into Bruno's gut. He must have hit Bruno's solar plexus, because the large boy fell to the ground, gasping for air.

At this point, Anton, the taller boy, seemed to want in on the action. "So the little man wants to fight, does he?"

"Bring it," was Philippe's only reply.

Anton threw the first punch, catching Philippe across the eye. Philippe staggered back, then retaliated with a quick jab into Anton's nose, causing blood to start dripping from his nostril. Anton struck back with a blow to Philippe's jaw, splitting the younger boy's lip, but Philippe swung around and caught Anton with a blow to the side of his head, dazing the taller boy. The two boys traded shots, each giving the other as good as he got, and all Sasha could do was watch, transfixed by the brutality.

Movement off to the side caught her attention. Bruno had apparently recovered his breath, and was sneaking up behind Philippe, ostensibly to hold him down for Anton. "Philippe, watch out!" she yelled, but just then, a large shadow in a dark suit stepped in front of him, pulling the two fighters apart. A shadow that she recognized. "Garman!"

Garman was about 6'5", broad in the shoulders, with thick muscles visible even through his well-tailored suit. He was bald with dark skin, and a steely gaze you could feel, even behind his ever-present sunglasses. He turned that gaze towards the three boys and uttered a single word: "Leave."

Anton and Bruno needed no further invitation, and the two bullies were tripping over themselves trying to get as far away as possible. Philippe, on the other hand, just collapsed. "Philippe!" Sasha cried out as she rushed to the young boy's side. He was out cold, but still breathing.

"Young Lady," Garman spoke, "it's time to go home."

"What about him? We can't just leave him!"

"We don't even know who he is. Besides, you saw how he fought. He's dangerous."

"He was protecting me!"

"I know. I've been following you since you snuck out of the manor."

Sasha gulped. "You have?"

"And you wouldn't have needed protecting if you hadn't run away. Now what on earth possessed you to do that?"

"I…" Something in the grass beside her caught her eye, and she grasped at it. "Look! He's got his phone number written on his harmonica. We can take him back to the manor and call his parents."

A single eyebrow rose above the rim of the bodyguard's glasses.

"Please, Garman?"

"Alright," the large man sighed. He picked up Philippe in a fireman's carry and brought him to the car.

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D'Anjou Manor/7:18 PM

Philippe awoke in an unfamiliar room, with an angel watching over him. Wait, no… with Sasha watching over him. "Hey, you're awake…" she said.

"Where am I?"

"You're at my place. After Garman stopped you from fighting those two boys, you passed out."

"Stopped me from WHAT?! Ow..." Philippe's sudden outburst caused him to wince. His cheek was throbbing, his lips were swollen, and his knuckles hurt. "When did I…?"

"You don't remember?"

"The last thing I remember was you getting hit by Bruno, and… are you okay?"

Sasha smiled a sweet little smile. "I'm fine. Garman already checked it out."

"Who's Garman? You said he stopped the fight earlier…"

"Garman is…" Sasha blushed. "Well, he's… my bodyguard."

Philippe's eyes widened. "You have a bodyguard?" he said, incredulously.

"Yeah… I never introduced myself fully. I'm Sasha D'Anjou. My parents run The D'Anjou Group."

"D'Anjou… That's the company MY parents work for!"

"I know. We found that out when we called them here. They're in the other room right now with my parents. Come on, they'll want to know you're awake."

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As Sasha and Philippe made their way downstairs, they overheard their parents talking about the situation.

"We received a phone call from Anton's father," Jokan Sagara said, anger creeping into his voice. "It seems that Philippe actually broke Anton's nose, so he's suing us for medical expenses."

"I WHAT?!" Philippe exclaimed, causing the four adults to notice the presence of the two children.

Phillippe's parents, Jokan and Santine Sagara, were happy to see their son. Jokan was a blue-haired Japanese man and a lawyer for the D'Anjou Group. Santine was a beautiful French woman with dirty blonde hair. She, too, works in the same department as her husband.

"Oh, Philippe!" Santine rushed over to her son and embraced him tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I... I don't remember anything that happened…"

Jokan placed a reassuring hand on Philippe's shoulder. "It's okay. Garman told us what happened. With his statement, there shouldn't be anything to worry about from Anton's father."

"But what about Anton, himself? Or Bruno? How am I supposed to go back to school and face them?" Philippe wondered.

Jokan and Santine shared a worried look.

"We can pull you out of school if you really want," Jokan said, "but this late in the school year, we're going to have a hard time finding some place that will accept your transfer."

"Oh, Papa, can't you do anything to help?" Sasha asked. "Please?"

Cedric D'Anjou, a dark-haired, well groomed business man, stroked his beard and thought for a bit. "Well, I am on the board of trustees for St. Joan's Academy, the school Sasha goes to. I could make a few phone calls, and Philippe could start as soon as next Monday."

"St. Joan's?" Santine was shocked. "But isn't the tuition there awfully expensive? I'm not sure we could afford it."

"Nonsense!" Alexandra D'Anjou replied. Alexandra was a beautiful blonde-haired woman, and also the CFO of the D'Anjou Group. "Since the two of you both work for our company, I'm sure we could arrange a scholarship."

Jokan and his wife shared a grateful look. "Thank you. This means a lot to us. We have to leave for Japan tomorrow to make arrangements for my niece's funeral, but I'll try to get you everything you need to arrange the transfer."

"Yes, we heard about Philippe's cousin from Sasha," Cedric said. "Don't worry about it, we have people who can take care of everything, including your little legal matter."

"Actually, dear," Alexandra interrupted, "since Jokan and Santine work in our legal department, they probably ARE the people we would have deal with that."

"Oh…" was all a red-faced Cedric could say. The four adults shared a laugh, and with that, it was time for the Sagaras to leave.

Sasha gave Philippe a hug. "This isn't goodbye," she said. "We're going to be seeing a lot more of each other now that we're going to the same school."

"Alright," Philippe replied. "Then I guess it's 'See you later!'"

"See you later," Sasha smiled.

After the Sagaras had gone, Cedric and Alexandra turned toward their daughter.

"Young lady, you have some explaining to do," Cedric announced sternly. "Where did you think you were going to go?"

"I… I don't know," Sasha admitted. "I just had to get out of the house."

Alexandra took on a more motherly tone. "Darling, what ever possessed you to run away in the first place?"

"It's just, anything I ever expressed interest in, you got me the best private tutors for: my schoolwork, painting, dancing, singing…" Sasha began to break down crying from the emotional turmoil she had been feeling. "And I saw how proud the two of you are of me, and I didn't want to disappoint you, but it was all just too much. The pressure of trying to be the perfect daughter, I couldn't take it anymore. I don't really have any friends at school because I'm so busy I never have time to hang out with them. I don't even have any time for myself!"

"Oh, darling…" Sasha's mother said as she embraced her daughter tightly. "Hush, now. We're sorry if we made you feel that way. Yes, we are proud of you, but we'd be proud of you no matter what. Right, dear?"

"Er… yes. Of course," Cedric stammered, taken aback by the sudden shift in the tone of the conversation. "We only wanted the best for you, but I guess we got so caught up we forgot to ask what you wanted."

"I don't want to be a prodigy," Sasha replied. "I just want to be normal."

Cedric chuckled. "Oh, is that all? Well, then, I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll cancel all of your tutors. I'll still expect you to do well in school, to keep up with the rest of your class, but if you do that, I don't see why you couldn't have time to make some friends. Especially since you and that Philippe boy seemed to hit it off so well."

"Actually, can we keep the singing lessons? I still kind of enjoy those. I mean, I can be good at just one thing and still be normal, right?"

Alexandra laughed and hugged Sasha even tighter. "Of course you can, darling!"

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St. Joan's Academy/April 30, 2001/8:15 AM

Philippe, dressed in his new school uniform, stood at the front of a classroom as a teacher introduced him.

"Class, this is Philippe Sagara. Due to various circumstances, he's joining our class. Say hello, Philippe."

"H-Hello…" Philippe said, timidly.

"Alright, now take your seat. I believe there's an open one in the back, next to Sasha."

"Huh?" Philippe turned to see a familiar face. Sasha D'Anjou, smiling brightly, beckoned him to the empty desk next to her. "What are you doing here?" He whispered as he took his seat. "I thought you were way younger than me!"

"I've actually skipped a few years," Sasha proudly replied. "When Papa found out that we'd be in the same grade, he pulled a few strings to put you in my class."

"Really? You're that smart?"

"Uh-huh! I've got the highest grades in the class, too! All the other kids want me to help them with their homework."

"Wow, that's amazing! I hope you'll help me if I need it…"

"No problem, but I don't think you'll need any help with our next class," Sasha smiled cryptically.

"Why? What is it?"

Before she could answer, the teacher called the class to attention. "Alright class, first up we have Music. Philippe, since you're new, do you have any preference in instruments?"

"Actually…" Philippe pulled out his harmonica, which elicited some laughter from the other kids. He gripped it nervously, but gained confidence when he saw Sasha smile knowingly and give him a slight nod of encouragement.

Then, Philippe immediately started playing Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, transitioning to Mozart's Sonata in C before finishing with Rossini's William Tell Overture.

The entire class was stunned when Philippe finished his demonstration. Sasha was the first one to start clapping, but soon everyone was giving him a round of applause.

Yeah, Philippe thought to himself. I think I'm going to like it here.

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LazerWulf's Notes: I want to thank Belletiger, since Philippe and Sasha are her characters, for letting me tell the story of their first meeting. I also want to thank Kanius for his infinite patience, since this story has actually been in the works for years now, going through several periods where I just haven't been able to work on it (to be honest, most of the time, it was because I had completely forgotten about it.) Also, when crunch time came, he wrote the first drafts of the last two sections to help me get over my writer's block, so I want to thank him for that, as well. Sasha and Garman will reappear in Valkyrie Advent. While Philippe will eventually move back to Japan with his family, Sasha continues with her passion for singing, and eventually becomes the prima donna of a touring opera company. Since she's still underage, Garman travels with her as her legal guardian. And that's all I'm gonna say about that. P.S. If you want to know what Philippe's harmonica medley at the end sounds like, do a YouTube search for "Buddy Greene at Carnegie Hall". The songs Philippe uses are the same ones Buddy uses in that video, and I imagine him to be that good.