"Not in the slightest." He mutters, crossing his arms. "I am the antithesis of happy."

"Well good, because I'm starting to feel the same way." This man has been with you through so much, maybe you should hear him out.

But I don't want to hear anything he has to say. Just get it over with, then go see Kazemasa.

"We still need to talk, it is a matter of great importance." He says.

"Yeah, well, isn't everything of great importance at this point? Just say it and be done with it."

He glares at me again. "You are misunderstanding the gravity of this situation. Yoshitsune and I had a long talk. Something the both of you said didn't sit right with us, so we did some research."

"About what, exactly?"

"The light you both saw, apparently at the same time." He slowly uncrosses his arms, his look softening. "We think something happened that we've both been waiting for centuries…well, not us specifically, our organization."

Of course, of course! Couldn't have been random, I had to have a white out that was symbolic.

I throw my hands up. "Okay, you're going to tell me whether I want to hear it or not, so on with it."

Christophe resumes looking annoyed. "I know you're antsy, but it would do you well to calm down and take it in. I know what I said before was a lot-"

"A lot? A lot?! Well if that don't take the cake! This is so unreal that not only would people hope it never happens to them, they couldn't even begin to fathom it!"

I take a deep breath. I'm okay…I'm okay.

I look at Christophe, who looks the same way he did before Kazemasa came in: full of hurt, and so down in the dumps that only a miracle could possibly make him happy again. Then it dawns on me why. He thinks you hate him. He thinks you will never forgive him. He pledged his life to your safety, and when he jeopardized all he's worked for just to give you a peace of mind, you fed him to the wolves.

My anger is melting away. Everything he does, he does for you. You knew that before, how could you get so blinded?

"I'm sorry Christophe. It's been an insane few days, and I'm still taking it all in. But, I'm going to be okay."

His eyes light up. "I knew you'd be okay. Are you still angry with me? I understand if so; I deserve whatever you throw my way."

"That's the thing, you don't. You were doing nothing but your best. I'm so grateful to you Christophe. Without you, I'd be gone by now, and I'd never of understood why or just how wonderful life can be."

I must have picked the right words, because I see the burden lift off his shoulders and he actually smiles. He approaches me slowly and hugs me. I can't help but hug him back.

"I can't tell you how much that means to me, ma bichette."

He lets go. His eyes glisten. Is he…crying?

He wipes his eyes and lets off a carefree chuckle. "Okay, well I still have to tell you what we figured out. At least, what we think we figured out."

"Okay, lay it on me. I can take it."

"I trust that you can, but it will sound bizarre. Just a heads up."

I wave it off. "More bizarre than before?"

"Possibly. You see, our sacred manifesto speaks of seven artifacts lost to mankind. People have searched for centuries, but to no avail. These artifacts are not secrets; anyone can look them up and seek them. The reason they matter to us is each one is attached to the bloodlines we protect. These artifacts rightfully belong to them, and we've searched more than all the treasure hunters combined."

Alright, so far not so bad. "One of these artifacts is connected to Joan of Arc then?'

"Yes, and thus it's connected to you. It's her sword, the one St. Catherine lead her to. Before her trial, it was to be destroyed with her other belongings so that no relics could ever be made. She's one of the few saints with no relics. However, the sword was never found, and historians thought perhaps it broke at some point, rendering it useless and casually thrown out."

He gets pensive. "We know for a fact it is intact, but as I've said, we have no idea where it is."

I nod. "I remember hearing about that sword. You know as well as I do she never killed anyone, so the sword saw no blood by her hand." I chuckle. "It was thought to have broken because it was a whooping sword, and she used it to chase prostitutes out of the army camps. Give them a good whoop on the behind straight out of there." Now I laugh. "Pious yet feisty, you have to love it."

Christophe smiles. "I often wonder if you laugh the way she did; in my mind you two are so much alike."

I laugh again. "Blasphemy!" I joke. What a statement. This is definitely going to take some getting used to.

I think about what I've just been told. "Okay, her sword is intact. How does that involve the light, or even me?"

His smile leaves and he becomes pensive again. "Our manifesto states that, one day, the head of the bloodline shall return through a descendant. When that happens, they will be able to find the artifact so that their history may be complete and stand tall."

WHAT?! "Are you talking about reincarnation?"

"Not exactly. It would be more like an event would happen, one so great that the descendant would literally be hanging on the border between the physical world and…the spirit world, if you will. They don't cross, just touch the edge with their fingertips. The bloodline head would reach out and grab their hand; a connection to transcend all logic and laws just to say 'I've got you'. In that moment, knowledge long lost is passed on. That includes the artifact, yes, but when the descendant finds it, so much more is rumored to sprout forth. Eternal questions answered, you name it." He looks me square in the eyes. "I think this moment happened for you right before the fight. I think that's why you were able to fight so well despite having no training. As for the horseback riding, apparently it just comes naturally to you."

Alright, this is beyond bizarre. "Let me get this straight. You think I was on the brink of death somehow, but before I got pulled back into life, Joan of Arc held my hand? Thus transferring knowledge and skills into me?"

Christophe nods. "That's the legend, and if it's true, then you can find the sword."

I don't know where this sword is, how could I? "Christophe, that can't be true. Even if it were possible, why now? I can't be the only descendant to ever of hung in the balance?" God, I must have been literally scared to death before lounging at them!

"I think it is true, and so does Yoshitsune. It would appear Kazemasa got touched as well, and at the same time you did no less. That's the oddest thing about it."

"THAT'S the oddest thing about this?!"

"Well, yes. Everything else was expected to happen someday, so we were prepared for it. But for it to happen to two people at the exact same time in the exact same place? I ask you, what are the odds?"

A bajillion to one. "You really believe this? You accept it on blind faith?"

He frowns. "It's been believed for centuries, and yes, I do believe it. I never needed proof, but you gave it to me anyway. So did Kazemasa. You two just couldn't have done the things you did otherwise."

Kazemasa? "What did Kazemasa do?"

Christophe blinks, a bit surprised. "He should be dead. How he was alive when we got to him is beyond me. He lost too much blood, and he should have had a collapsed lung as well. That man has defied the laws of medical science and physiology. You can't think something like that can just happen."

Dead? I don't even want to think about it…

"Okay Christophe, I know you're not lying to me, I just obviously need time to think about this. However, let's say for one second that I believe all of this completely. Let's say that I think it makes perfect sense. What's next?"

Christophe looks like I just told him I want to shave my head. "What do you mean, what's next? We'll go on a quest for the sword of course."

I laugh, hard. "A quest? Oh, so now this is The DaVinci Code meets The Hobbit? This is a hoot."

Christophe rolls his eyes. "I'm the one fortunate enough to have this great honor bestowed upon him and you make jokes. It's not that I don't understand, but you could be a little more courteous. You're joking on centuries of tradition, hard work and hope. Never mind that I've dedicated my whole life to it."

I blush. He's right. "Yes, of course, I'm sorry. Just give me some time, okay?"

Christophe smiles and nods. "You got it."

"Thank you. Well, now that that's over, can I go see Kazemasa?"

He cringes, and the anger that had been flowing through him earlier seems to have returned.

"It's not over, we have something else to discuss."

I'm surprised by this sudden change of emotion, but then I realize Christophe has been nothing but mean towards Kazemasa this whole time. Yoshitsune has been nothing but kind to me, why isn't Christophe showing Kazemasa the same courtesy? He even saw Kazemasa grow up the way he saw me grow up. I need to know what's going on.

"Christophe, why do you hate Kazemasa?"

He raises an eyebrow. "I don't, what makes you say that?"

I put my hands on my hips. "You're joking, right? Never mind what happened right before this talk, you've been mean and rude to him this whole time. At first I chalked it up to bantering for the show, but I know that's not true. So what gives?"

He sighs. "He's one of the seven. I respect him for that reason, and up until he met you I cherished him the way we all cherish those whom the organization swore to protect. But he's done something to make all of our lives considerably more difficult, and it'll have to be dealt with."

I can't believe my ears. This must be what he and Yoshitsune were not seeing eye to eye on.

"What? What did he do?"

Christophe deflates before my eyes. He puts his hands in his pockets and stares at the ground. "You know."

I do? "Christophe, I do not. He didn't tell me. But this can't be true, he wouldn't do anything bad to us!"

He gazes up at me. "Certainly not to you."

"Stop this! What are you getting at?" Now I'm just getting annoyed.

"Okay, clearly you're going to make me say it. I was hoping I wouldn't have to because it's uncomfortable, but I should be used to life not being fair by now."

This sounds serious. "Christophe, if I knew what you were talking about, I wouldn't ask. I swear I have no idea what he did."

"Ma bichette, if you really don't know, then maybe you do need to start spending time paying attention to detail like he suggested." He looks back at the ground. "He fell in love with you. Maybe it wasn't obvious at first because he was clearly trying to deny it and keep you at arm's length, but it's obvious now."

WHAT?! God, who else can see it? I must be so dense! All this time spent wondering when it was apparently obvious?

"Wait, why is this a setback?" I wonder out loud.

He lifts his head slowly and takes his hands out of his pockets. "Because you're in love with him too."

I can feel my cheeks burning. It's one thing to know it yourself, but when someone lays it out like that…

"Christophe…"

He holds up a hand to stop me. "It's been hard to watch. I knew the day would come, but that doesn't mean I was ready for it."

The words feel like they should have come out lovingly, like something a father would say, but they don't. "Christophe, I don't understand." I really don't.

He looks at me, sorrow pouring off him. "He's not the only one to fall in love with you."

My breath catches in my throat. That's why he's been so different these past few days. I've wanted to hear those words from him for years; that despite everything, he would love me the way I love him. I can feel sadness wash over me the way it must have for him. Oh, my love was misdirected. My love for Christophe is real, but not in the way I thought. He's so dear to me, and I'm going to hurt him like I did early.

"Christophe…"

This time, he shakes his head. "It's not right for me to feel this way, you know? Breaks the rules of the Guardians. So I did what we all learn to do; I hid it, so deep until it felt like it was no longer there. It came back out full force when I saw the way you looked at Kazemasa. How you sparkled!" A small smile gently lights up his face. "You look so good in love, ma bichette."

I blush again. "Christophe, I hope you know I love you too; if I could make my heart feel differently…"

He raises his hand to stop me again. "I know, you don't have to continue. I think now that I've said the words out loud, I can finally get over it." He rubs the back of his head. "It's just as well, had you said otherwise things still couldn't change. I'm a Guardian before I am anything else." His smile disappears, and he looks distraught. "I just wish you'd fallen in love with a stranger."

What? Just when it feels like closure is near, he says this? "What else is going on?"

"Yoshitsune and I didn't just talk about the artifacts; we talked about you two as well. You've basically already heard this, but we had no idea what to do when we realized the full extent of your feelings for each other. None of the bloodlines have met before, but even if they had, love wasn't a path we considered would get crossed. We were completely unprepared and at a loss."

Poor Christophe, I've worked him overtime. "But you said this whole episode was planned and you two acted like it was chance. If that's true, then being the planners that you are I imagine you would have wondered how Kazemasa and I would get along."

Christophe shakes his head. "I didn't know Kazemasa was coming. Yoshitsune later said he didn't see the harm, and at first, neither did I. Yoshitsune really got a kick out of watching you two. I thought we were headed for trouble the minute he saved you from those lights, but like Yoshitsune said earlier, he thought it would be good for Kazemasa. He thought maybe a beautiful friendship would develop. Obviously, he was wrong."

Harm? "What harm? You're acting like our meeting is a bad thing."

"Meeting no, but falling in love is a different story."

"Why?"

Christophe comes up to me and takes my hand. "This is going to be hard, but that's just the name of our game." He still looks distraught, and it seems to be mounting. "You can't see him ever again."

"WHAT?!" No! "How can you say that? That's cruel!"

He nods. "Maybe, but necessary. The whole point of this was to keep you safe, but whenever word gets out about the sword fight, and someday it will…" He narrows his eyes. "You'll be in great danger. Not just you, but Kazemasa as well. He had been safe, but they'll figure out what you mean to each other, and they'll use it against you. We can't allow that. You must protect yourself only, and same for him."

"You know I can take care of myself, I proved it!"

"Yes, but you've also proved you'll risk your life for Kazemasa. That can't happen. It is in the best interest of all involved, including those you have never met, if you two never see each other again."

"Christophe, no…"

"You have no choice. Yoshitsune is having this same talk with Kazemasa. If it could be any other way, we'd opt for that, but too much is at stake. I'm sorry. We often have to do things we do not want to, but it's in the name of something bigger."

Though I understand what he means, I cannot accept it. The embers of resentment from earlier surge forth into an inferno. I yank my hand away and run. This is not happening.

I bust through the door. I don't look where I'm going, and I have no idea where I'm going. Run, run, as fast as you can. Find Kazemasa.

This unknown lair holds many dark, long hallways. One of them will get me to Kazemasa.

In my haste, I don't realize I run right by someone. This someone grabs me from behind, and holds me tight. I scream, and struggle to get away. Yet, the more I struggle, the tighter the arms around me become, and I find myself relaxing slowly. The person says nothing, though it's clear it's a guy and he's just waiting for me to stop.

"No…" I mutter, feeling tears slip down my face. This can't be happening! Kazemasa!

But that's the thing about darkness; when you're surrounded by it, anything can happen.

I feel myself going limp. My fight is gone; it's all I've been doing and my body won't let me anyone. My face is flooding silently.