The sun lumbered slowly through the sky that day. As the long morning wore on into the afternoon, the great orb seemed to grow fatter, expanding into the uniform expanse of cornflower-blue around it. It seemed engorged with its own power. Like a bully, it reached out its harsh, yellow-white rays to prick at anything and everything that came under its glare. Among those whom it oppressed were the crew members of a ship called the 'Dragoness.'

Alibaba found himself having to squint often against the reflection of the sunlight on the water, and every few minutes he would reach up to wipe away the film of sweat from his forehead. Oddly enough, the terrible heat might not have been so oppressive to him if there were work to be done, some form of distraction. However, there would be little to preoccupy him or anyone else on the ship until they arrived at the next port and received a new shipment to carry-and that would not be for some time, judging by how sluggish the wind had been over the past several weeks.

Since he had left.

"Captain? Are you alright?"

Alibaba quickly stopped tore his gaze away from the sky and fixed it instead on a slightly bewildered Bhrol. Alibaba had not noticed the sailor clambering up to the crow's nest to meet him, but it now occurred to him that the man must have been standing there for quite some time.

"Ah! Sorry, Bhrol. What was it that you wanted?"

"Well, I was just told to tell you that our rations of salted meat have just about run out...sir."

Alibaba rubbed his moist temples and groaned. "Just what we need...well, as long as we've got enough bread to last us, we should still be able to make it just fine until we reach port, right?"

"Well, we'll be able to survive alright, Captain...but the crew might not be too keen on living on nothing but hard tack and-"

"We've been through worse, haven't we?" Alibaba cut in. Then, with less of an edge to his voice: "It's just for the next week or so. We'll reach Usraepi by then."

"...Yes, sir, you're right." But the sailor did not sound convinced by his own words. He retreated back down from the lookout point, leaving Alibaba alone again, with no sound except the drone of a thousand thoughts buzzing inside his head.

The captain of the 'Dragoness' sighed to himself. He shouldn't have been short just then. In the past several days, the whispers of many crew members had floated his way, commenting about how "odd" his behavior had become since the incident.

'Bet Alibaba just swallowed a bit too much seawater trying to save Hakuryuu. Should be getting over it soon.'

'If you ask me, the captain's traumatized. I mean, wouldn't you be if you saw a friend drown, we just have to hope he keeps his wits about him.'

'Look, all I'm saying is that it looks suspicious. So the captain just happened to be the first one on deck after the guy fell overboard? He didn't even have us search for a body.'

None of their theories were correct, of course. But telling them about a great, rippling, black serpent he had seen beneath the water seemed unlikely to help his case for sanity.

The waves roiled overhead. Above them, he knew, the clouds rolled along, just as gray and tumultuous as the waters of this open sea. A storm had taken hold, a big one.

But Hakuryuu had swum down far too deep to feel the raindrops that stung the surface. Nor could he now hear the thunder from beneath so many feet of water. Indeed, in spite of having supposedly free reign of this stretch of ocean, he felt only more isolated, boxed in by the walls of water, with neither sight nor sound to stimulate him. He'd never liked the open water, actually, just for this reason. Coasts acted as epicenters of life, constantly humming with activity; the open ocean was a desert made of water, a deprivation chamber of sorts.

Many times he considered taking a look above the waves, just for a moment. And each time he immediately rejected the idea, knowing that he had taken a risk already simply by showing up in this exposed spot. Should he venture to the surface, he would almost surely be spotted.

Suddenly, he felt an unnatural yet familiar current move past his body, enveloping him. It was what he had waited for. The current grew stronger until the water carried by it seemingly began to harden, as though turning to ice before his eyes. Upon closer inspection, however, it became apparent that the water was being transformed into thousands of scales-ivory in color, iridescent, hard like a talon and translucent like an insect's wing. These scales joined together until they formed a serpentine shape. Out of the water's flow had emerged the form of a beautiful white dragon, just slightly longer and larger than Hakuryuu, but, as he saw it, infinitely more impressive.

'I thought you wouldn't be coming,' he admitted after a moment.

The white creature swam closer to him. Soft, intelligent eyes shone out from a reptilian face. 'But I did, didn't I?'

Yes, she did. And, at his core, Hakuryuu had known that his sister always would. He had simply grown too accustomed to doubt.

He caught Hakuei studying him intently, and reflexively he moved his head so that she would not be able to see the black, empty socket on the left of his face. It had once held an eye as bright and as blue as hers.

She approached and nuzzled him softly. 'I'm sorry. I...I know you thought you were closer than ever this time.'

'I'm sorry, too.'

She drew back for a moment to look him directly in his remaining eye. ' You will find it one day.'

'You've been saying that for quite a long while,' he replied.

'And I'm right. Your older sister always is.' A few bubbles escaped her fanged mouth as she chuckled slightly. Then, with a renewed solemnity: 'That's not the part I'm worried about.'

He glanced up at her. That's what he always did, it seemed like, ever since he was a hatchling-he looked up at her as though her gleaming whiteness were that of the sun. 'What are you worried about, then?'

A deep exhale. Bubbles floating from her nostrils skyward. ' You're very clever, Hakuryuu. You always have been. Surely you've figured by now that Gyokuen still won't let you rest, whether you manage to find your eye or not.'

A snarl formed on his lips at the mention of the Great Dragon's name. 'Yes, I have. She's hunted me like a rabbit for this long, so why should the fun end for her now?'

'Then what do you plan on doing about it? After you've found the eye, I mean.'

He quickly turned to stare at her, momentarily forgetting to hide the sightless side of his face. 'What will I do? I'll have to fight her, of course. I'll have to stop running and finally face her.'

Hakuei shook her great head. 'You and I both know why that's not possible.'

'It is! Once I have the power in my eye returned to me, I'll be strong enough to-"

'That's not what I meant. Even if you did manage to defeat her...well, you know what would happen.'

'That's not true! It's a lie she thought up to keep any of us from resisting her, don't you understand? And as for her strength, I don't care if she's got every beast in the ocean willing to fight me. I'll find a way!'

'Hakuryuu, you can't-' But her words were eaten up by a dull rumble that sounded over head. Hakuryuu felt the resulting vibrations against his skin as they thrummed through the water. No surprise-it was often claimed that the sea itself trembled at the approach of the Great Dragon.

'She'll sense that I'm here. I can't stay.'

He had already turned to flee, but Hakuei quickly swam in front of him to block his path. Not every single piece of creation is set against you. You can't be on your own forever!'

The black dragon quickly swam around her, rapidly slashing his tail back and forth through the water in order to move forward. As he sped away, he angrily called back to her, 'And who exactly is going to join me, then? A weak, hunted dragon at half his usual power? Who will stay with me?!'

As soon as he heard his own words, the images flashed through his mind, seizing his consciousness. First a great, glowing smile. Then a dutiful captain at his helm, studying the waves. Then a hand the color of aged copper pointing up at the stars.

The golden boy.

In truth, he had suspected Alibaba of the crime right away. The pattern of his soul, as Hakuryuu saw it initially almost immediately matched that of the man who had performed the terrible theft. In fact, upon their first meeting, he had been perfectly willing to kill the captain with the sun-colored hair and sun-kissed skin. After all, the very day he lost the eye, he vowed he would end the person who had taken so much from him. But in all the time that he had been on the ship, he had been proven wrong again and again. Alibaba's soul was, in fact, different from that of the thief. It followed the same pattern, yes, but it exuded a different light. He shone in all his kindness, this boy with both the eyes and the heart of gold.

Not possible. Hakuryuu shook his head quickly. His tail sliced even more quickly through the sea. Not possible.