Paris 1994

It may be damaged, but you are still a part of this family.

Hagi stood at the highest level of the Eiffel Tower and remembered when he first met Marva and Jeff. Today they would be burying Jeff. Hagi let a tear fall from his eye. It landed on the bandaged chiropteran hand. The horrible part of immortality- the curse of immortality is watching all those around you die- knowing that you will never see them or speak with them again. He would have to face the deaths of everyone he cherished.

"I think I understand why you try not to attach yourself to anyone, Saya," he spoke the thought in his mind knowing she would hear it as she slumbered. "You will never have to face the time when you lose them."

"But you will never lose me," he thought. "I will always watch over you as you sleep. I will always be there when you wake up."

Hagi looked at the dreary autumn sky and felt the first drops of rain land on his face. He sighed as the sky burst forth in a cold, dreary downpour. His hair and jacket were quickly soaked through. The drops fell against his face and dripped down from his earlobes and chin, disguising the tears that fell. Life was indeed cruel.

He came in soaking wet and removed his coat, taking it to the laundry room as he pulled a towel from the guest bath and dried his hair and face then removed the wet shirt and dried his chest and back. He pulled one of his dry shirts from the bar above the drier where he had hung it last night after ironing it while he tossed his jacket and wet shirt in the electric dryer. He listened to the hum as it dried his coat and soothed his troubled mind in its monotonous droning. The crisp white shirt was warm against his cold skin as he buttoned the shirt and then the cuffs.

"Hagi," a sorrow laden voice came from behind him. He turned to see Marva holding a tissue to her face. "How can a face life without him?"

He turned to the grieving widow, his friend. "Marva," he said as he embraced her, allowing her to sob into his chest. She then let out a scream of anger, pain, and loss. Hagi held her as they dropped to their knees. His emotions were completely overloaded from all that was happening as well as all that had happened before. Marva was sobbing as he found that tears were streaming down his face. He held her close and buried his face in her shoulder. They clung to each other as they grieved- one for her loving husband, the other for a close friend.

Hagi felt so guilty for showing such emotion, especially because it was in front of Marva, a woman he had come to respect. He pulled away, "I am sorry, Marva. I should not have lost control of my emotions. It…"

"Oh, Hagi," she laughed slightly though the tears, "what on earth do you have to be sorry for?" She saw how he looked away from her, but could clearly see the shame in his eyes. "You really think you're supposed to control your emotions all the time, don't you? Hagi, you are only human."

Hagi had to stifle a laugh, but she saw the smile.

"Ah ha!" She laughed, "You do have emotions!" She placed a hand on his knee. "It's okay to miss him. It's okay to cry, laugh, scream, jump for joy, howl in anger, do whatever you feel- we aren't going to judge you."

He allowed a tear to leave the corner of his eye. "He was always trying to give me the best advice he could. He was like the father I never had."

Marva placed a hand on the back of Hagi's head and brought his forehead to hers. "And you are like a son to me, even though I know you are at least as old as me. He thought of you that way, too, Hagi."

Hagi broke down and leaned into her embrace. This reminded him of the time at the Zoo when Saya first showed him compassion. She was so different then. She was so happy and compassionate. Hagi sobbed his heart out over the father he lost and also for the sweet, loving girl he once knew. He had never had time to grieve the loss of the carefree life they had at the Zoo and when he did, he would push it to the back of his mind. He had to fight now and there was no time for regrets for the immortal man that held everything inside. But now, the stoic man was clinging to the friend that was willing to give him what he never dared to dream of- a family.

That evening, Marva was resting in her room and Claudia was playing with a friend in her room. Hagi stepped into the backyard. The sky had cleared and he looked into a full yellow harvest moon. He felt drained from all the emotion of the day. As he sat on Claudia's swing he pondered the idea of going to visit Saya. "Saya," he said out loud. "I will come tomorrow to play for you." He placed his head against the chain that held up the swing and closed his eyes. It was the first time in a very long time that he wished for sleep.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. His vision clouded in a red haze as he heard a familiar sound- the sound was a warning. "Something is coming." He was too weak to chase a chiropteran now, especially one that had been well fed like the one he knew was nearby. He had to rest and wait until morning, he disappeared in a blue streak, leaving the swing moving back and forth eerily in the breezeless night.

The next morning, Claudia and her friend were playing in the back yard. Hagi was finishing the dishes as Marva watched the news. A home a few miles away had been broken into last night. The family was slaughtered. Hagi looked out the window- this was no robbery. He suddenly felt the warning again. It was much closer this time. Drying his hands, he hurried to his cello case and went into the backyard leaving Marva behind as she began a question he didn't stick around to hear.

"What's the matter, Hagi," Claudia asked as she watched Hagi climb onto the roof with his cello on his back.

"Go inside, Claudia, Nadine," he commanded. "Tell your mother to stay inside until I return." He opened the secret compartment in the cello case where his daggers waited. His eyes rested on Saya's sword. He knew the sword would be useless without Saya's blood, but maybe it was still sharp enough to slice the creature's head off. The sky had darkened, again as Hagi awaited the thing that was about to threaten his family.

Once they were inside, Hagi's stern gaze moved to the sky above him. The huge grey form glided down on wings that stretched as wide as the house. Hagi leapt into the air, landing a bone crushing kick to the thing's belly as a he thrust four daggers along the chiropteran's shoulder and chest. The creature landed on the roof with a thud and growled as the tough skin regenerated.

"Mommy," Claudia cried as she and Nadine came inside, "Hagi told us to stay inside until he comes back. Why does he look so scary now?"

"I don't know, Baby Doll," she kissed her forehead as they heard a thump on the roof. "Go to your room and close the window and curtains. It will be okay, I think it's just a storm coming."

"Why does he need to be on the roof if a storm's coming- he's never had to before?" Claudia insisted.

Marva looked worried as she heard more movements across the roof. She commanded, "Just do as I say. Hagi knows what he's doing." She wondered, At least I hope he does.

Claudia and Nadine ran off to the bedroom as Mava grabbed a butcher knife and quietly slipped out the door. The scene on the roof was surreal.

Marva saw this grey, massive, winged creature descending onto her roof. Her immediate thought was a silent prayer for Hagi and then for her daughter and Nadine, and herself. She saw a flash she thought was lightening, at first, until Hagi landed on one knee on the other side of the roof. The creature had two daggers embedded in its eyes, roaring pain. The creature charged at Hagi who gracefully did a back flip over it, removing the daggers as he did so. When he landed, the creature charged in the wrong direction since it couldn't see for the moment. It fell off the roof at Marva's feet. Hagi then descended on the creature, his back to Marva, with a huge sword and swiped it across the neck. It took all his force to slice through the neck bones, but once the blade severed the bones, it easily made its way through, completely removing the head. Blood sprayed all over the back yard and the front of Hagi. He stood over the headless thing still gripping the sword. The front of him was soaked in blood from the chest down and a there was a deep gash in his shoulder. She watched breathlessly, dropping the butcher knife with a clang, as the deep gash began to close before her very eyes. "I told you to stay inside," he coolly told Marva over his shoulder.

She barely recognized the blood soaked man that stood in front of her. The horror that filled her eyes reminded him of Saya's reaction to his first transformation. He turned away, knowing that he had revealed too much and was no longer welcome here. He was mentally kicking himself for ever letting himself get involved in a close friendship with a human. He sighed as he disappeared, It is why I remain alone and will continue to remain alone for all time.

The police came to investigate, but Hagi had disappeared along with the daggers and the cello case. There were police everywhere- looking through everything. They were collecting evidence. A blond haired man wearing a white suit came to Marva who was cuddling the two terrified girls. Thankfully, Nadine's mother had just arrived. She nodded to Marva as she left with the Claudia and Nadine. "I'll call you in the morning," she Marva called after her. She waved back.

"Hello, Mrs. Trudeaux, I am Mr. Goldsmith," she shook his hand. "We wanted to know what happened here earlier."

Marva was still not sure what she had seen. The man that she had come to know over the past decade seemed to be even more of an enigma that she previously thought. But he was still family to her and she was concerned for Hagi's safety so she felt it best not to mention him. "I noticed it was getting dark outside, so I called for the girls to come inside before it started to rain. I heard a noise on the roof, so I went out to investigate."

Mr. Goldsmith nodded, "Forgive my interruption, but did I just hear an American accent?"

"Yes, I am from the southern United States. I married my husband and moved here," she informed the strikingly handsome green-eyed man.

"Ahh," he affirmed, "please continue."

"When I went outside, I saw a man battling this huge monster. I was so shocked that I ran back inside and bolted the door- that's when I called the police."

"Mrs. Trudeaux, do you know the man who was battling this monster?"

She looked him directly in the eye, "No, Mr. Goldsmith, I do not."

The questions continued on as the crew finished their investigation and decided that the widow and her daughter had been through enough trauma and did not know anything of the chiropteran or the "man" that killed it.

The blond haired man ducked himself into the waiting car and settled into the back seat next to a dark haired imposing looking man whose face was cast in shadows.

"What has happened to the test subject?" the dark man asked.

"The test subject broke out last night and managed to cause a great deal of trouble for us," he informed. "Fortunately, the police were very cooperative in covering up the incident."

He sighed before he continued, "But we do have a problem. It seems that someone has killed the test subject."

The dark man shifted in his seat. His voice was deep and sounded angry as he spoke one word, "Saya."

"I thought so, at first," he continued, "but the blood wasn't crystallized- the head was cut off in one clean swipe."

"A chevalier?" the man asked, but did not seemed surprised.

"Saya's chevalier," he corrected.

The dark man looked out the window as a deluge began. "Have them go and clean up the mess." The dark man gripped the jeweled end of his cane. "Hagi," he growled.

It had been 6 months since Hagi left Paris, but he felt compelled to return. His heart ached at the thought of how he had left things with Marva and Claudia, but it had to be done. He couldn't pretend to be human anymore, but a part of him really wished that he could. He hated to admit it, but maybe he really was indeed lonely.

He stood in his favorite thinking spot at the highest level of the Eiffel Tower. The warm summer breeze brushed his face and moved the loose strands of hair from his jaw line. He had spent most of his time in Okinawa, hiding in the shadows. It would be nearly 10 years before Saya wake up. He knew she would need his blood to truly wake up, but the Red Shield was close, as always. He'd have to be very cautious.

"Hagi," a familiar voice called. He turned to see Marva's sparkling hazel eyes questioning him.

He didn't know what to say. How could he apologize for the pain he caused her- the danger he put her and Claudia in? What could he say to her now?

She tearfully embraced him. "Where have you been?"

"Marva, I cannot put you or Claudia in danger," he said as he looked her in the eyes. He was indeed surprised- the woman still accepted him. How could she after what she had seen? "Please, I am grateful for your hospitality and your acceptance, but…"

"Hagi, please," she interrupted as she looked him in the eyes, "I do want answers, but I want you to understand that I meant what I said. Nothing will change the fact that you are a part of my family- nothing."

He was overwhelmed. What could he say to that? Never before was he accepted so readily or at all!

She peered into his eyes as she spoke adamently, "I'm not going to let them get you, Hagi. I don't know who they are or what they want, but I know you are my son. I won't let them have you!"

She motioned for him to sit on the nearby bench. He put his cello case next to the bench and sat down. She placed her left foot back and sat down bringing her right leg over her left bringing her to sitting in what she called "sitting indian style." He always liked how comfortable she seemed to look when she did this. "Before I can do that, I need to know the truth- the whole truth."

He sighed. "Marva, you won't call me your son once you hear the truth." He folded his human hand over his bandaged hand in his lap, reluctant to let the truth out. He refused to look at her for fear that he would see rejection in her eyes.

She turned his face to look into his sad, lonely blue eyes. "Why don't you let me decide what I will call you. I don't know what you are, but I know who you are."

Hagi forced a smile which quickly disappeared as he began to speak. "The creature you saw on your roof six months ago is no different from me. It is called a chiropteran- I am a chiropteran…"

They sat for nearly two hours as he relayed the sad lonely story that was his life. He told her of Saya and the love that could never be. He told her of Diva and her unrelenting desire to turn everyone into chiropterans. He told her of the Zoo, Russia, Korea, and Vietnam. He finished by removing the bandage from his right hand to reveal what would strike terror into most people. "In Vietnam, Saya was given an injection of my blood to wake her from her hibernation early. She was out of control, killing everything in her path. She did not know me and I became one of the victims of her rampage as well. This claw is the result of my cowardice. I stayed behind feeling sorry for myself and then ran away into the forest. The Red Shield has her now and I will have to find a way to get past them to get to her."

"It is what I am. I fight my own kind because Saya wishes to destroy all chiropterans," He finished.

"All chiropterans?" she asked, "Including herself?"

Hagi looked down fighting the tears. He nodded.

"And what about you? What will happen to you?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

He just looked at her with his sorrow filled eyes.

She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, "No. You can't, Hagi."

"I cannot exist without her."

"How many times did Jeff and I tell you? How many times have we sat with you and tried to get you to see reason?" she pleaded. "TELL HER! She can't ask you to do this if she knows your feelings for her."

"My whole reason for existence is to serve Saya. Anything she wishes- I MUST fulfill. It is in my blood and I cannot disobey." He spoke to his folded hands. He couldn't look at Marva now. He couldn't see the pain in her eyes.

"You tell Saya as soon as she awakens from her 30 year sleep. You tell her everything!" she commanded.

"I cannot," he argued. "She loses her memory in her sleep and slowly regains it as she fully awakens."

She sighed as she placed her hands over her face and groaned. She took a minute to collect her thoughts before she let her hands fall into her lap again. "How long before Saya wakes up?" she asked.

"10 years."

She nodded. Her eyes were staring off into the scenery. He knew she was planning something. She finally spoke, "Hagi, there are people looking for you here. I think they want to hurt you."