{3}Courante.

It was three in the morning.

Saya knew not by the hands on the clock across the room, but by the sensations running through her body. It had been three when she had crawled out of her cocoon, her thin, now fragile body slamming mercilessly against the rough stone. Her body stung now, the bruises reminding her of that terrifying moment of pain and confusion. She could remember seeing her hands grip the stone, looking down to see her hip bones protruding sickeningly from her body, seeing each rib rippling under her pale skin.

She rolled onto her side and managed to sit up. For some reason, she wanted badly to go outside, to feel the spring air. She set her bare feet on the cold tile and winced. Temperatures were more extreme for her now. As she started to push herself up into a standing position, she wondered idly if she could even walk. But by the time she was standing upright, she was pleased to find that her balance was acceptable enough to walk.

Saya opened the door as silently as she could and looked into the hallway. It was empty so she slipped out of the room and closed the door softly behind her. She felt like she was sneaking, but then again, if anyone found her, they wouldn't let her go outside. They would insist she stay in and rest. But sleeping was something she found she could not grasp. No, not after ten years of it.

As she made her way quietly down the hall, her mind wandered back to Hagi. She wondered where he was. Surely he would eventually find her outside. Or maybe he was even following her now. She didn't look back to check either. Even if he was, it didn't matter. He probably wouldn't stop her.

Everything was dead silent in the building. She wondered if Kai had gone home or if anyone else was here. She thought of her little nieces, if they were here, or with Kai. Who had been looking after them since she was asleep?

She reached a set of stairs that she was sure led to the roof. And after one flight of steps, she found herself gasping for air. "This…is…ridiculous," She scolded herself.

Then, out of no were, arms slipped under her legs and caught her back. She wasn't too surprised. She had taken into consideration that Hagi might have followed so it was a shock when she looked up to see his face, half of it illuminated by the moon through the large windows in the staircase, the other half in shadow. "You could've just asked to go to the roof. I would've taken you."

"I didn't want to trouble anyone," She sighed, closing her eyes. "I wanted to do it myself."

"Don't push yourself too hard," He said quietly.

"I can't stand being so weak," She nearly whined. She thought she saw him barely smile. Within moments, it seemed, they were at the top of the stairs and through the door. The cool air came to Saya's face and she sighed. Hagi let her down gently and she slowly made her way to the edge.

When her hands touched the edge, the sounds of the Bach Cello Suite hummed through the night. As the Cello rang into the atmosphere, her eyes traveled over the city lights, gleaming gently against the dark blue sky. She closed her eyes and still saw the color - dark blue. Bach flooded her ears and all she could think was dark blue. Yes, that was the sound - dark blue. It stopped for a moment, then continued like it always did, that pause making her hold her breath, then release when the notes swirled once again like leaves falling from trees in autumn.

The wind picked up and blew through her long hair, teasing along the roots, twirling the strands. She lifted her hands and held them against the gust, feeling it pool around her fingers, as though the wind and the music were combined into a liquid that spun all around her, through her, all over. The sound became deep and low, then to ended on a beautiful, yet harsh chord.

As quickly as the experience began, it was over and she opened her eyes to see the city lights once again, a little brighter now in contrast with the dark blue that had filled her closed vision. She looked back and saw Hagi was now putting the Cello back in it's case.

"It's so beautiful now," She smiled. "You finally mastered it."

He looked up at her as he closed the clasps on the steel case. "Its time you finally taught me another song."

"I will," She promised, then looked back out at the city. It seemed dimmer now, after looking back at Hagi. And she realized this with a slight blush. Then he was beside her, leaning against the side of the roof, his elbows propped on the concrete.

"Saya," He began. "If you need my blood…"

"Hagi," She closed her eyes, wishing he hadn't said it, but knowing it was inevitable. "I don't want to do that anymore."

"Use it if you need it," He said. Her eyes opened and she looked at him, trying to make her gaze assertive.

She frowned. Even though she knew that it wouldn't bother Hagi in the least - it would actually be nearly blissful to him - she didn't want to. She felt like she was stealing when she took his blood. Sometimes she couldn't accept the fact that Hagi belonged solely to her, even though the idea made her stomach flutter slightly. No, she wouldn't think that unless she told Hagi that she was solely his. And she didn't plan on saying that. Though she meant it and it's how she felt, she couldn't get over that obstacle of embarrassment in her own words. She could already feel the blush coming.

"Do you want me to?" She asked, even though it was a stupid question, she knew he would answer it despite himself and what he wanted.

"I want you to heal," He replied, his eyes piercing into hers. "I would never ask for it out of my own want."

"I know that, Hagi," Saya smiled slightly, laying her hand over his. "Let's go back in."

For the next few days, Saya was told to keep inside. For some reason, Julia found out about her early morning trip to the roof, and scolded her about health and rehabilitating, though there seemed to be other reasons behind the lecture.

And just when Saya was getting so curious about where everyone was, on the verge of asking Hagi if he knew anything, Kai came to visit. Hagi left the room, allowing them privacy and the moment the door closed, she started the interrogation.

"Where is everyone?" She demanded.

Kai looked rather shocked at the blunt statement and took a moment to regain somewhat of a composure. "Julia doesn't want me telling you."

"That's not fair, Kai," She frowned. "They are my friends too."

He sighed. "Are you sure you're ready to hear about this?"

"Will I ever be ready?" She felt almost nervous to hear this now.

"I guess not," He shook his head. "Who do you want to hear about first?"

"David-san, I suppose."

Kai cringed. "You're not going to like this."

"Just tell me," Saya almost snapped. She was sick of the evasiveness.

"He's dead, Saya," Kai closed his eyes. "And what's worse, because of the grief, Julia had a miscarriage."

She couldn't stifle the gasp that slipped from her lips. She covered her mouth with her hand, horrified at what she thought would've been the start of a happy family, being ruined so suddenly. "How?"

"Cancer," Kai sighed. "He'd had it for a while, but it struck so suddenly, by the time they found out, it was too late. He died a month after you fell asleep."

"Did he know when I was still awake?"

"Yes."

She cringed. And they had kept that from her? Perhaps they figured it would be better if she fell asleep thinking everyone would be waiting for her. She didn't know if she appreciated that, or was angry about it. But she had a feeling that wasn't the only loss. "And Lewis?"

"He's in America with Joel," Kai replied. "They're doing some type of research over there."

"Lulu?"

"The Thorn couldn't be held off," He said darkly.

Saya nearly moaned at this. She covered her face with her hands, seeing Lulu's smiling face behind her closed eyes, hearing her cheery, child's voice in her ears.

"Mao's in college and so is Kaori," Kai supplied, maybe trying to cheer her up.

And this did make her feel a little better. The thought of her best friend in college was almost entertaining. She wished she could visit her, but how could she explain ten years and still looking sixteen? Surely she could come up with some reasonable excuse, but Kaori had seemed to become ridiculously perceptive since the last time they had been together. Her friend would probably see right through the pretense.

Then something obvious and worrying hit her.

"The twins?" She said suddenly.

Kai's face went a little pale, his eyes a little wider. Panic flooded through Saya, her heart pounding through her chest.

"What?" She demanded. "Tell me."

Kai swallowed audibly. "They disappeared a few months ago."

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" She repeated.

"The past ten years they have been normal, happy, healthy girls," He explained. "They showed no signs of Diva's behavior. They acted like normal humans."

"But?"

"But," He continued. "then one day, they started acting strange. They would barely talk to anyone, they would go out at night, then come back looking exhausted." He stopped for a moment, then started again. "Finally, one day, they didn't return. And on the news, there was a report of two people murdered, the blood drained from their bodies.

"We haven't see nor heard from them since," He finished.

"They are no longer in Okinawa?" She asked breathlessly.

"If they were, I'd imagine we'd know," Kai said darkly. "If they killed before they left, then wouldn't they kill again if they were still here?" He shook his head. "There are murders like that all over the world, not all authentic, some obviously posed to look like a chiropteran did it. There's no telling where they are now."

"If they hold the same fate as my sister and I, it won't take much to find them," Saya whispered. She was shocked and also feeling guilty. If only she had just destroyed them when she had the chance. But the memory of those two, still wrapped in their cocoons, smiling faces and precious laughter…no, she couldn't have been able to kill them. Or even let Hagi kill them.

There was an unsure, dark silence in the room. Kai looked almost nervous and focused solely on the toe of his right shoe. Saya knew what they were both thinking - would they become the next Saya and Diva? Or would they both be like Diva? Such daunting questions were making her heart rate skyrocket and her vision waver.

Maybe she swayed a bit, or looked sick. Whatever it was, something she did made Kai touch her shoulder and stare at her with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," She tried to smile. "I was just lost in thought." Before Kai could ask what, she prompted a more casual question. "What have you been doing the past ten years?"

He smiled back. "I've mostly been trying to juggle working at Omoru's and night school at the university. I just couldn't let go of Omoru's, but I don't want to be some loser without any further education."

Saya couldn't help but laugh at the way he said it; like he thought he was already a loser and was desperately trying to change that fact. And the small talk continued. But to Saya, it was better than their previous conversation. She liked hearing about Kai's new life and his new relationship with Mao. It was something to distract her from more depressing thoughts.

When Kai finally left, she fell back onto the bed, nearly exhausted from the conversation. For some reason, talking to Kai was a highly taxing affair; with all the cut corners and cover-ups, double meanings and careful surveillance of words and reactions, no wonder she felt exhausted.

Eventually, Hagi came back in, an odd look on his face. And she didn't even ask him what was wrong. She didn't think she wanted to know. She knew enough as it was. Her eyelids threatened to fall on their own accord so she took the opportunity to leave the conscious world for a while and avoid anymore painful or tragic news.

It had been a few weeks now. Slowly but surely, Saya's strength and weight was returning to normal. She was still easily fatigued, but she was now going up to the roof every night, despite Julia's orders to stay indoors at night. Though Saya continuously bugged the doctor about the true reason behind the directive, no information was shared, leaving Saya too curious and too unsatisfied.

So in a way, going to the roof was a punishment to Julia for the withholding of information. Saya still hadn't even mentioned that she knew about Julia's loss, but she was sure the woman knew that she was aware of it. She apparently didn't have a child, otherwise she would tell Saya all about him or her. So she supposed it was a silent agreement that they would just not bring it up.

And thinking about punishing Julia for anything sounded cruel and coldhearted when she remembered what the poor, now, widow, had gone through. So she settled with the other facts, her other reason for going to the roof at night - to be alone with Hagi.

Sure, he barely left her side when she was resting in bed, walking down the halls, rebuilding her muscles. But at those times, anyone could walk in and interrupt whatever they were discussing. Though anything they discussed when people were around wasn't very interesting, it was nerve-racking for Saya. For some reason, she felt like the feelings she had for him and the feelings he had for her would seem wrong to other people and that they needed to hide it from public eyes.

Whether Hagi thought this too or he was just doing what Saya wished, it remained that things would be much more intimate on the roof, in the middle of the night when half the city was sleeping with it's lights glowing in the distance. And she now insisted on going up the stairs without assistance. She was now only twenty pounds underweight, but her muscles were still depleted slightly. She kept having to take breaks between flights, cursing her weak body and it's inability to facilitate her wants efficiently.

It was when they were both sitting together on the roof, their backs against the edge, did Hagi ask, "You still need to teach me a new song."

Saya couldn't help but smile. "Do you think I'll still remember how to play, though?"

"You will," He replied softly.

She nodded and stood, sitting instead on the ledge, while Hagi took the nearly red-colored Cello out of it's case. He tightened and rosined the bow for her, then handed her the instrument and bow. "More Bach?"

"Whatever you want to teach me next," He said.

And so she thought back to all the songs she remembered from the days when she still lived at the Zoo and the first Joel had taught her so many Cello Suites, she knew them all by heart and hummed them unconsciously.

When she had taught Hagi to play the Bach Cello Suite 5, Prélude, she had picked it because it was the beginning; it almost symbolized their beginning, in a way. And because it sounded sad and happy at the same time. It had moments it sounded of mysterious, dark, near tragedy, then moments of bright, beautiful, near glee. It was haunting in its own way. And it had reminded her of him. And now she didn't know which one to pick.

So she just started to play. She didn't play the Prélude, but the next one, Allemande. It was dramatic and majestic in it's own sense, but not interesting enough. She went on to then Courante, Sarabande, and Gavotte. However, before she could even play the next one, she realized that it would be the one she would teach him.

Gigue.

It was a little faster and a little more challenging what with it's increase in chords and its high and lower reaching notes. It was much like the Prélude, but a little more powerful and modest. It made a larger statement than the soft, almost crying Prélude.

She had taught him the beginning; why not the end?

It was the last movement of the 5 Cello Suite.

So she lifted the bow once more, feeling her soft fingers press into the strings as though she were just feeling them for the first time. When she played Allemande, she hadn't even noticed how she just simply played, but now she was almost over thinking it. Before she could play, she had to banish all thoughts from her mind, so she looked at Hagi.

"This is the one I want you to learn," She told him, feeling her lips curve into a smile.

She let the bow hover just over the strings, positioning her fingers on the fingerboard, readying herself for the leaps she would have to make. A deep breath, and then the sounds were flying out. She played it at the perfect tempo; fast enough to make Hagi's eyes widen slightly and watch her hands even more carefully, but slow enough to sound expressive and emotional.

And she let the notes ring into the night, wanting every single one to sound perfect. Even when her soft fingertips started to burn from the pressure and when her hand ached from holding down the strings, she forced herself onward. Her right hand started to hurt too, from holding the bow. Another stab of pain would flash through her hand and wrist when she'd flutter her hand for more vibrato, or when a combination of notes would require quick movements from the bottom of the fingerboard, to the top.

Despite all the aches and pains, somehow, her emotions prevailed and every note and chord sounded like something out of her dreams. Something a professional Cellist would spill out, instead of just Saya.

She could tell that Hagi was impressed. And it's not like he had heard her really play much before. The only other time he would have heard her, was back when they lived at the Zoo and she had her lessons. But that was also when he had chores to do. He had only heard her play the Prélude.

She finished the piece and handed the instrument to Hagi. He took it and stared at her. "Why do you wish to teach me that one?"

"Because it's the end of the 5 Cello Suite," She replied. "You already know the beginning."

"What about in between?" He asked.

She hesitated. Surely anyone else would've figured he meant the other Suites, but the question meant so much more to her. She knew what he meant immediately. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt her breath catch. "So you don't like Gigue?"

"What's your favorite?" His eyes were studying hers carefully.

"Courante," She replied a little breathlessly.

"Then teach me that one," He said gently, touching her cheek briefly, then handing the instrument back to her.

Their eyes met for a long moment, their faces illuminated by the city behind them. Her heart was already speeding up. It almost looked like he was slowly moving closer to her, but her eyes snapped down to the Cello and broke contact with him. "Okay."

She lifted the bow, but her hand started to shake too much. She tried to steady it, but pain was shooting through her wrist, making it impossible to settle. The bow slipped from her fingers suddenly and the pain spread so quickly up her arm, she let out a short, abrupt cry. Hagi must have caught the bow and taken the Cello from her because there was suddenly nothing in her hands.

"I'm s-sorry," Saya apologized. "I'm just not used to playing anymore."

"Another time," Was all Hagi said. Then he pulled her to him. It was such a rapid movement, she hadn't realized what happened when her eyes were suddenly eclipsed with darkness and the scent of Hagi filled her senses. She was shocked at first, but after a moment she settled against him, huddling closer.

It was this kind of proximity that made her heart beat louder, her face warmer, her worries seem dimmer compared to the glare of such intimate contact. And eventually, it was forced to end. As they went down the stairs at a slow, even pace, Saya refused to let go of Hagi's hand.