Dreamer Awakened

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Kaede just stared at Momiji, unsure of what to say, and averted her gaze when she realized her sister was giving her a searching look. She ended up staring out across the gently swaying field of flowers, watching the pink and purple blossoms dance in the wind and tried to arrange her face into a suitably serene expression.

"It’s beautiful here," Momiji began tentatively, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them, unsure how to begin what it was that she wanted to say.

"It isn’t real," Kaede responded flatly and then inwardly cringed at how harsh she sounded. She should apologize, she silently chided herself, but she didn’t. Instead she rose to her feet, her white robes falling gracefully around her lithe figure, and turned her back to her sister and her husband, who stood discreetly at a distance, watching the two sisters interact. "It’s nothing more than dream; a picture that I have created to fill the dark void of this place," she explained, unable to keep a thread of bitterness from creeping into her voice as she waved her hand in front of her. "If I were to let go of the image, it would disappear and become nothing; swallowed up in the blackness of endless sleep." Kaede finished speaking and took a step into the flowers, watching their movement with sad eyes, remaining silent for a long moment before quietly adding, "This is the only way that I can… hang on to the memories of the things that I used to love about Japan; the only way I can get a glimpse of the things that inspired me to want to become - the Princess Kushinada." Again silence fell heavily between them, and Kaede let her dark head droop. Her green eyes wandered over the bright blossoms swaying around the white hem of her robe, mirroring more of her melancholy than ever before as she said softly, "But just because I can see them, doesn’t make them real." And to demonstrate her point, she reached down as if to scoop up a handful of them, and her hand swept through them without disturbing them.

Momiji watched Kaede’s actions, noting the stiff set of her sister’s shoulders, and her eyes wandered to the silent figure of Susano-oh, seeking some sort of guidance from him. She had not expected to find Kaede this way, and was not sure what she should say to the despondent figure of her sister. Susano-oh returned her watchful gaze, his dark eyes steady as he gave her an enigmatic smile. And suddenly Momiji knew that he had brought her here, not just her sake, but for her sister’s sake as well.

"I’m sorry, Kaede," she blurted out, not knowing how else to start. "If I hadn’t failed you -"

Kaede turned, astonished at Momiji’s words, "What are you talking about?" she gasped, interrupting Momiji before she could finish. She moved towards Momiji and cupped her sister’s face in her hands; green searching green as she stared solemnly into the depths of Momiji’s eyes. "You haven’t failed me, Momiji," she reassured.

"But," Momiji began, her own eyes shimmering with her earnest distress as her fingers came up to curl around those of her sister’s, "I can see that you – you’re unhappy. If I hadn’t failed to protect you at the iwatto, then perhaps you could have stayed with us – with me, and – Kusanagi - and Mom and Mr. Kunikida for a while."

Momiji’s statement stopped Kaede in her tracks, an arrested expression on her face and she dropped her hands away from Momiji’s face, emotionally retreating from Momiji’s reach.

"What makes you think that I’m not happy?" she asked diffidently after a long moment. Her face assumed a blank expression as she shot a furtive glance beneath her lashes at Susano-oh, who stood vigilantly watching them, before she once again pinned her sister under her green stare and reverted the focus away from herself and back to her sister. ‘You didn’t fail me, Momiji. There was little that you could do to keep what happened from happening," she reiterated steadily, and then added in a stonier voice, "this is where my place is. I could never have stayed with you. Even if I hadn’t misjudged Tamanasu’s actions - which was my fault not yours - I would have returned here, regardless. This is where I belong. It is part of my destiny as the Princess Kushinada."

"But Kaede," Momiji argued, feeling the silent presence of Susano-oh urging her on, "why couldn’t you have stayed for a little while? You had the crystal mitama…"

"Because, I don’t belong to your world anymore!" Kaede replied her brows snapping into a line over her emerald eyes as she responded a little more sharply than she had intended. Closing her mouth with a snap, she clenched her hands into fists at her sides and strove to gain control of her more tumultuous emotions. "It is my duty to remain by Lord Susano-oh’s side," she managed in a more dignified manner, echoing what she had thought to be true until recently, "and do what I can from here, just as it is your duty to safeguard those around you."

Momiji said nothing, but she bit her lip and stared at her sister’s face and Kaede could see that she wanted to continue arguing with her over it. But Kaede was already tired of hearing it; not from Momiji, but from herself.

"Is that the only reason you came here, Momiji? To ask me to return?" Her voice rose uncontrollably, and she was unable to stop it, the center of her thoughts before her sister came, having been just that. "- There is precious little I can do from here!" she informed Momiji heatedly, "let alone if I were to return with you!" Kaede stopped and took a gulp of air, realizing that she was saying far more than she should.

Kaede was used to having responsibilities, used to being needed, having grown accustomed to the heavy mantle that she bore as the Princess Kushinada. But with the death of Hikaru, she had slowly come to realize that her role had become a limited one, for she had not been able to change the inevitable. And even within the layers of her own world, she was forced to acknowledge that fact as well, feeling herself increasingly distanced from Lord Susano-oh because of his continued trust in Murakumo, despite her voiced objections to the contrary.

There were no rituals for her to perform, no wisdom that she could impart to her husband, and she felt obsolete; useless and unnecessary, wondering why she was here, since Susano-oh no longer needed her assistance. For the first time since she had come here, she felt lost, and she had been struck by a sudden surge of homesickness. Right before Momiji had arrived, Kaede had been wishing that she could have stayed behind after the birth of Noa, wanting to feel needed in some way, like before. But she couldn’t let Momiji know that, she told herself. Her sister had enough to worry about without adding herself to the list.

"From here, I at least can keep an eye on Mu – " she blurted out, but stopped suddenly, her green eyes flying to Lord Susano-oh’s face when his voice rang her name out in warning. "Oh! I – I am sorry, My Lord," she murmured, "I should not have…"

Momiji watched in confusion as Kaede quickly dropped her head into a submissive pose, and Lord Susano-oh moved towards them, a stern expression in his eyes as he gazed at his wife. Momiji’s head swiveled back and forth between the two, until she felt an urgent tug at the back of her mind, and her vision began to blur.

A few seconds later, Susano-oh’s face swam into view as he bent over her and she heard him say as if from a distance, "You have brought to me understanding, Kushinada, and for that, I thank you. But now it’s time for you to return." And then everything went black and she felt as if she was falling, the echo of his final words swirling around her in the darkness, "Someone is calling you."

Kaede watched her sister; the only small piece of reality within her world, slowly fade from view. And she was left standing alone amidst the swaying field of flowers and bright sunshine, with Lord Susano-oh just a few feet away, his back to her, still in the same position as before when he had freed Momiji from this place of dreams. He turned to face her after a few seconds, and Kaede hurriedly looked away from him, across the endless field. Tired of maintaining the façade, she let it slip away, the flowers turning ashen and the skies going grey. She closed her eyes to it, though, before it could completely vanish back into blackness, and heard Susano-oh’s voice break through her thoughts.

"You may return, if that is what you truly desire," he murmured, "nothing is impossible. You have only but to ask it of me."

Kaede’s eyes flew open at his words. They were meant to free her, offering her exactly what she thought she had wanted, and yet her heart twisted in her chest. What was it that she wanted, if not this? And then she knew. Him. It all came down to him, her love for him and the fact that she could not serve at his side the way she felt she ought to.

"You…?" she began, her voice quavering as tears crowded her throat, " - you wish me to leave?"

"I would never wish for such a thing," he denied vehemently.

She tightly clenched her hands together in front of her and stared off into the darkness. Then she felt something soft and velvety brush against her cheek and turned her head to see the petals of a purple blossom clutched between the fingers of her husband’s hand. Her eyes dilated in surprise, becoming dark as she stared at the delicate bloom. She turned towards him and reached up, using a finger to trace the fragile petals, her eyes full of questions as they found his.

"Nothing is impossible," he murmured, his voice soft and melodic in her ears as he spoke aloud. "You have only but to ask it of me."

Kaede’s eyes grew round as he finished speaking, for the blackness began to turn to grey and then was awash with color. She was once again standing in a field, but this time, it was a field of fragrantly sweet flowers, and the blue sky above was now warmed by the sun and filled with fluffy white clouds moved by a gentle breeze. It was real. All of it, and again Kaede’s heart twisted in her chest at the depth and scope of her husband’s power. What need did he have for a glorified human as a wife? And even though she might be the Princess Kushinada, she felt unworthy to stand by his side. Her bottom lip began to tremble and she tried to turn away from him to hide her anguish. But he wouldn’t let her, his gentle fingers applying relentless pressure on her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"You cry," he said, his voice sounding distressed in the stillness as he let the purple blossom flutter to the ground. "Tell me why." And when she said nothing, a small frown knit his brow and he murmured, sounding aggrieved, "do you wish to return to your father and sister that much?"

"No!" She exclaimed, "I do not belong there!" She wrenched away from him and took a few halting steps forwards, numbly noticing that the wildflowers rasped against her robes as she brushed past them. "But I do not belong here either!" she concluded miserably in a softer way.

"I see you have forgotten what you vowed you would not," he chided softly against her ear as he stepped closer to her, refusing to let her retreat.

"Forgotten?" she mumbled, her fingers intertwined in front of her as she twisted them together fretfully, the persuasive beauty of his voice beckoning to her even as she tried to steel herself against its power.

Susano-oh put his hands on her shoulders, and leaned closer to her, his breath brushing against the curve of her neck as he whispered into her ear, " You told me that your place was here with me." His fingers tightened on her shoulders. "And yet I feel you drifting farther and farther away. Why, Kaede?"

"Because I do not understand you!" she replied tightly, "I do not understand why… you put your faith in Murakumo! And because I cannot understand your will, I have become useless to you. What meaning is there in my existence here if I can only sit and helplessly watch as the future is shaped? I can offer you nothing of value, do nothing but voice my fears that serve to oppose the resolution of your will. I know they are not worthy of merit and should be brushed aside, and yet, they are all I have to contribute – a poor offering far beneath your contempt! So what does that leave me? What do I have left to give you?" she railed "- I thought it was the Princess Kushinada’s role to stand by you, to become one with your will, and yet I have failed at that!"

She felt his fingers slide through her hair as he stepped around in front of her, drawing her face closer to his. Before she could protest he pressed his lips against hers in a possessive kiss and Kaede felt a sense of urgency in his embrace as he held her tightly against him, his mouth sliding over hers again and again until, when she could no longer breathe, he set her free.

"You are so young, Kaede," he told her in his exquisitely melodic voice, his eyes full of tenderness as he brushed his fingers against her face, "and yet I have waited many lifetimes for you." Kaede didn’t know what to say, and so she just stared up at him, watching as shadows of the past replayed themselves in his eyes. "In the age of Legend, the first Kushinada became my wife. She was young, too. Like you. But it wasn’t long before she became disconsolate, being separated from the rest of her family. She begged for me to let her return, and so I sent her home, where she eventually met and married a human. And thus, began the long line of your descendants."

Kaede took a deep breath, a bewildered expression on her face. "I do not understand – " she began and he silenced her with yet another kiss, this one soft and lingering; not as deep as the first, but just as possessive in its own way.

"I do not remember her name, Kaede," he whispered into her ear after his lips left hers, his arms wrapping around her as he pressed his face against the curve of her neck. "- Or the color of her eyes, or the sound of her voice. Perhaps that is wrong, but as time passed, I found that I did not care that I couldn’t remember. That she was a passing memory with a lasting legacy was what was important to me. – And then you were born. How fortunate for me that you also happened to be among the Kushinada."

"But, I thought…" she began tremulously and in a muffled way, her faced pressed snuggly against Susano-oh’s chest.

"That you were the reincarnation of the first Kushinada?" he asked, amusement lacing the music of his words. "No, Kaede. You are much stronger than she was. – You eclipse her, casting the pale shadow of her memory into further darkness as you have brought light to my world." The continued sound of his voice, and the feel of his arms around her began to heal the rift that she had allowed to grow between them, and she felt some of the tightness around her heart lessen. She clutched at him, her fingers twisting the fabric of his robes so tightly that she thought she might rip them. "Do you think I would demand that you sacrifice your mind and your heart? To become a puppet to do my bidding, with no thoughts and feelings of your own? Why should I wish for such a thing when all I want is to shape this world for you?" So saying he released her to reach down and pick a handful of flowers offering the pink and purple blossoms to her, his eyes steadily offering her something else. "I will love you for always, my sweet Kaede. Please tell me what it is you desire that will keep you by my side, and keep you from drifting away from me, for I cannot bear to lose you."

Kaede blinked her eyes, unable to see him properly through the blur of her tears. "I – I," she stammered through trembling lips, "I only wish to be your Princess Kushinada, that’s all."

"You will always be the world’s Princess Kushinada. But to me, you are more than that. You are my Kaede," he endeared to her softly, moving towards her and placing the blossoms in her hands, his fingers folding around hers at the same time. Kaede stared blindly at their combined hands and said nothing for a moment.

"But my lord -" she gulped, a single tear sliding free and splashing against his hand as she attempted one last effort to make him understand that she had failed in her duties as his wife.

"Do you love me, Kaede?" he asked her.

"Yes," she answered without hesitating, her heart clearly reflected in her eyes as they finally rose back to his face.

"Even when you cannot understand why I have placed my trust in the Prince of Aragami?" he further challenged.

"Yes," came her answer almost before he finished speaking.

"There is nothing greater that the Princess Kushinada can do for her lord than to offer him this. There is nothing more that I would ask of Kaede than her love, for that is what makes this unending sleep bearable for me." His hands finally left hers to rest feather light against her cheeks and he entreated once again, "Please, Kaede, tell me how to keep you by my side."

Finally she gave him a smile. "When you speak to me, I find that I cannot stray too far," she teased breathlessly, "for your voice is so beautiful and I would miss it if I were to leave."

"Then, for you," he told her, his lips curling into a smile as he spoke, "my voice shall speak my thoughts, if it is siren’s song that calls you to me. But not now," he teased in return, his smile taking on a slightly seductive twist. He trailed his fingers away from her face, down her shoulders and around her back, letting them slide downwards until they were resting against her hips. Then he pulled her up against him and leaned forward, his eyes sliding to her sweet smile. "Right now I find that I prefer to use my lips for something that requires your participation as well."

Kaede wrapped her arms around Susano-oh’s waist, angling her face upwards to meet his, the last remnants of her sadness fading in her husband’s warm embrace.

Momiji thought she heard Kusanagi’s voice through the darkness surrounding her. It sounded so far away at first, but it was getting louder with each passing moment, as was an uncomfortable sensation that she couldn’t place at first. But as Kusanagi’s voice grew louder and more insistent, Momiji began to realize what it was she felt. She was being shaken; rather viciously too, her stiff body protesting vehemently through sharp jabs of pain each time she was snapped first forward then backwards.

She opened her eyes, his name passing her lips in the form of a croak, but he didn’t seem to have heard her, for the shaking continued and she was forced to squawk loudly, "Stop! Stop! Before you shake my eyeballs out!"

The jarring ceased then, Kusanagi’s hands releasing her, and Momiji let out a relieved sigh, closing her eyes on the wave of dizziness that assailed her at the abrupt cessation of motion. She felt herself suddenly veer backwards and heard Kusanagi swear loudly as he watched her slow tumble towards the water.

"Dammit, Momiji!" he hissed at her, his fists catching her by the front of her robes and hauling her back to a standing position before pulling her cold body up against his and wrapping his arms securely around her. "Are you all right?" he asked her after a moment, his anger mingling with his concern as he felt her nod into his chest. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, and remarked accusingly before she could reply, "I thought I told you to wait for me at home."

Momiji gently pushed away from him, and peered up at his stern expression through the dimness of the iwatto, the light from before, gone. "I know," she replied, a note of apology in her voice. "And I would have waited," she told him haltingly, having difficulty concentrating. She put her hand to her forehead as she fought to pull her jumbled thoughts together. "But Ryoko called this morning about Kaede and the murders in Tokyo and telling Mom - and I couldn’t tell her no, you see?" she babbled incoherently while Kusanagi just looked at her, helplessly lost.

He stared at her, his mouth slightly agape, and then demanded, "What!? What the hell does that have to do with why you’re standing here, half dressed staring off into space – " he broke off as she dropped her hand away from her face, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at her.

Momiji watched him study her, giving him a questioning look as he put his finger out and trailed it across her forehead. Then he pulled back and brought his hand up in front of his face, transferring his gaze to it, and his eyes narrowed even further.

"You’re bleeding," he muttered, and grabbed her hand, looking at the slashes across her fingers and the long one across her palm. Then he bent down and scooped up a handful of water and poured it over her hand, gently washing the blood away. "What the heck have you been doing!?"

Kusanagi watched Momiji pull her hand away from him and turn it over to look at it as if she was seeing it for the first time. "It was the Ceremonial Blade of Sacrifice," she muttered absently, her other hand going to her waist before she muttered, "… Susano-oh took it." And then she glanced at Kusanagi, who was still staring at her as if she’d lost her mind, "I came here to talk to Kaede," she told him, and watched as understanding flashed across his face, his anger rapidly dwindling away.

"Did you find her?" he quietly asked, and then after she slowly nodded, "and did she tell you what you needed to know - that there was nothing you could have done?" And again she slowly nodded, but instead of looking relieved, her expression became troubled, her green eyes glinting solemnly up at him.

"I’m worried about her, Kusanagi," she murmured, biting her lip, "she was so…. sad, and I felt – like she was drifting and lost. I wanted to help her, but…" she stopped, recalling Susano-oh’s last words to her and she perceived that he too was aware that Kaede had been drifting.

"You shouldn’t be worrying about Kaede, Momiji," he told her softly, again reaching down into the water and then grasping her chin and angling her face up so he could brush away the smear of blood her hand had left on her forehead with his wet fingertips. "I think that Susano-oh can take of her without any help from us." As he worked his eyes drifted over her expression and he could see that she wanted to believe him, and he allowed himself a small smile as he finally let go of her chin, satisfied now that the blood was gone. "And besides, just as you insightfully pointed out to me last night, he is a god –" He pretended not to notice the flood of color that stained Momiji’s cheeks at the mention of the previous night, barely pausing before adding, "so I doubt that he will allow Kaede to be unhappy for too long."

"I suppose you’re right," Momiji replied in a subdued way after a moment of consideration. "I know that he cares deeply for her, and that she feels the same way –" she stopped what she was saying as if she just realized he was standing in the pool next to her, her eyes trailing downwards to see the long tails of his coat billowing out in the water and the faded color of his jeans darkened by the water saturating them. With a look of dismay, she exclaimed, "Kusanagi! Your coat!" and then wordlessly pointing, " – and your jeans! You’re soaking wet!"

Kusanagi snorted at her belated observances and crossed his arms in front of him. "No wetter than you, Princess," he retorted wryly.

"But, you shouldn’t have come into the water like that," she protested, still staring at the sodden tails of his coat.

"Did you expect me to remove my pants??" and at her embarrassed look added, "I didn’t think so. Besides, you gave me little choice," he informed her in a seething way, "since you weren’t coming out. And at least I remembered to take my shoes off before coming in to get you." As he finished speaking, he leaned forward, scooping her up despite her protests that she could walk, and waded through the water, back towards the ledge of the pool. "Now," he grunted as he deposited her on dry ground and climbed up after her, "suppose you tell me just exactly why you didn’t wait for me, and what happened to your hand."

"Well," Momiji bit her lip and looked from him to the black water of the pool, wondering if he would believe her, especially since she found it difficult to believe herself. After a deep breath she launched into her tale, beginning with Ryoko’s phone call and ending with her encounter with Kaede. Through it all, he just stood there listening intently, his face showing none of the alarm he felt when she talked about what had happened with the Ceremonial Blade of Sacrifice.

"Where is the Blade now?" he wanted to know when she finished.

"Lord Susano-oh must have kept it," she mused, "because I don’t have it anymore. I wonder if Grandma knew what it was capable of."

"I doubt it," Kusanagi replied speculatively, stepping over to the ledge where the solar mirror sat, turning and pulling himself up into a sitting position next to the neat pile of her clothes and sliding his shoes back on. "If Susano-oh wasn’t aware of its true potential power, then surely your grandmother couldn’t have known. - I’m not saying that she didn’t know that it held a special power," he amended as an afterthought, knowing that the little woman always seemed to know something about everything, "but I doubt she would have given it to you if she had known what would’ve happen when you dropped it into the pool."

Momiji nodded in agreement, silently mulling it over in her head as Kusanagi reached over, finally finished with his shoes, and picked up her clothes, holding them out to her. Momiji took them from him and stood there holding them, looking at him expectantly.

He quirked a brow at her and asked, "Aren’t you going to get dressed?"

"Aren’t you going to wait outside?" came her flippant response.

"No," was his dry reply.

"Why not?" she demanded, her brows snapping together over eyes that still managed to sparkle despite the lack of sunlight.

"After what’s happened here, you can still ask me that, Momiji?" He raised disbelieving eyebrows at her and she made a frustrated noise. "Why are you getting so upset?" he couldn’t resist adding, "It’s not like I haven’t already seen your b –"

"Mamoru Kusanagi!" Momiji screeched, her face filling with hectic color, mortified beyond words that he would bring that up.

"Er, all right, all right," he said, trying to hide his amusement at her overabundant modesty. He lazily motioned to the mirror then and said in an offhand manner, "If it makes you feel better, why don’t you douse the light and then get dressed."

Momiji’s eyes slid from him to the mirror, a petulant frown marring her expression.

"It’s all you’re gonna get Princess," he told her, unrelenting, "Because I’m not leaving this cave without you."

"All right, fine," she huffed sourly and stalked over to the mirror, turning it with a jerk and immediately plunging them into darkened silence.

Momiji put her clothes back on the ledge next to Kusanagi so she could unknot the belt to her robes, and as she did so, her hand brushed up against the warmth of his knee. He didn’t say anything as she quickly pulled away, disconcerted, and began pulling at the knot. After a few moments of protracted silence, she heard the sound of low, soft laughter.

"Are you having difficulties, Momiji?" he asked quizzically, the darkness doing nothing to hide the amusement in his voice.

"No!" she muttered resentfully, her eyes shooting daggers at the spot where his voice came from, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

She went back to work on the knot after his murmured, "Just checking." And then after a few more moments of unproductive struggle, he once again broke the silence by saying, " - Because it seems to me that you’re having trouble," his tone no less amused this time than the last.

"And why would you think that?" she tossed back, jerking hard at the knot, staring down into the darkness where she knew it would be and silently willing it to give up its unholy clench.

"Well, because I don’t hear anything remotely like the sound of rustled clothing – only your heavy breathing from the effort you seem to be putting into removing them."

Momiji’s head whipped up at that, and her fingers quit tugging. "I am NOT breathing heavily!" she was stung into retorting and then growled when he chuckled. "The knot is stuck, you fathead!"

"Well then, why don’t you let me help you," he murmured, the sound of laughter mingling with his amusement. "Otherwise we might be here all day."

Then she felt something cold and wet bump into her hip, and she let out a squeak, frightened until she realized it was his leg. He had brought it up and hooked it around her, using it to propel her in his direction. She shuffled her feet, moving awkwardly in the darkness as he applied pressure against her, and then felt his hands grab her by the arms when she came within reaching distance. He pulled her closer, his inner thighs resting on either side of her body, lightly brushing against her hips, and she felt his fingers loosen their hold on her arms; but he didn’t let go. Instead, he let them drift inwards to rest against her ribcage and then downwards, following the curve or her body until he came to her belt where he stopped.

Momiji knew that he had only touched her to find the belt because he couldn’t see it. But that didn’t stop her from losing her breath all the same. And if he were to accuse her of breathing heavily at that particular moment, she knew he would be right. She tried to hold it to keep the rapid flutter of it from breaking the stillness around them while he worked at the knot, and at the same time did her level best to ignore the feel of his legs touching her. Amazingly enough, she succeeded; but only because she suddenly realized she could feel the warmth of his breath falling across her cheek.

Momiji was then assailed by the sudden urge to lean forward, just a little, knowing that if she did, her lips would most likely brush against his. Such thoughts set her on fire, and she closed her eyes as the heat began to burn in the pit of her stomach and spread slowly outwards. At that point, she gave up trying to regulate her breathing, knowing that she would pass out from lack of oxygen if she held it any longer.

"There," Kusanagi said abruptly and the cord around her waist hung loose.

The dangerous urges began to fade as he leaned back and she was no longer able to feel his breath again her cheek. She drew in a shaky breath and slowly let it out trying to regain her composure and then stiffened as Kusanagi’s right leg pressed hard against her, and she wondered if he was trying to drive her insane.

"Here," he said, and Momiji felt her shirt and bra shoved into her stomach as the pressure of his thigh against her eased up again.

She automatically reached up to take them from him. "Thanks," she mumbled and then, with nowhere to put them while she removed her robe, she handed them right back to him, saying, "can hold these for a second?"

"Er… I guess," he replied and then swiftly changed the course of the conversation, wanting to talk to her about Midori. "Momiji, I need…to…." he stopped abruptly and Momiji wondered why as she pulled opened the front of her robe and slid it off her shoulders before neatly folding it up.

"You need to… what?" she prompted as she put a tentative hand out in front of her until she felt it brush against the soft cotton of his black t-shirt. Then she transferred her robes to that hand and pushed them up against him. He in turn, took them from her and stuck her shirt and her bra into her questing hand. "You need to what?" she prompted again as she slid her arms into her bra and then reached around to fasten it.

"To-o-o," he drawled, his sudden loss for words baffling her. Mentally shrugging her shoulders she pulled her shirt on and reached for the first button, freezing in place as he apparently found what it was he wanted to say after clearing his throat several times, "to talk - I need to talk to you."

Momiji’s heart quit beating inside of her chest and her mouth went dry, her mind immediately flying to earlier this morning when he had said those exact same words in regards to what had happened between them the night before.

Now? He wanted to talk to her now? she panicked.

"Do you think that now is really a good time?" she hedged, desperate to delay him for just a while longer. Her fingers were suddenly shaking so hard that she had difficulty sliding the next few buttons into place, so she stopped. "I mean, I – that is, we – really need to go and pick up Noa, and I, I… you, you… and besides I didn’t really mean - "

Kusanagi listened to her nervous chatter for several seconds and then rolled his eyes. "It’s about Midori, Momiji," he managed to insert over the mumbled excuses she was making so that she finally stopped and drew in a long breath.

"Midori?" She stared into the darkness, feeling relieved and puzzled at the same time.

"I saw her today," he informed her quietly.

"You did?" she gasped, "where? Where was she?"

"She was Ise," he further imparted, adding, "but I imagine that by now she’s back in Tokyo."

"What were you doing in Ise?" Momiji wanted to know. Her mind flitted in a hundred different directions and before he could even respond to her first question, she rapidly added, "How did you find her? And why hasn’t she told anyone where she is?"

"Midori found me. I didn’t find her. Why she didn’t tell anyone where she was; well your guess is as good as mine - As for why I was in Ise," he continued reluctantly, "I – was looking for something – someone."

"Who?" Momiji continued to inquire intently.

It was Kusanagi’s first inclination not to tell her yet, since he couldn’t be sure. But he decided, after a moment’s hesitation, that it would be best if she knew. Especially since he wanted her to try and find out what it was Midori was hiding.

"I was looking for Orochi – or Murakumo – I can’t really be certain which," he began slowly, "but I am fairly certain that I sensed one or the other last night. "

There was a long moment of silence while Momiji absorbed the information. "What do you suppose that means?" Momiji asked him worriedly.

"I’m not sure what you’re asking," he replied cautiously.

"Well," Momiji ruminated, while her fingers absently twisted one of the remaining buttons that she had yet to push into place. "You don’t suppose that Noa’s birth reacted as a catalyst - the same as when Kaede and I were born do you? To reawaken the Aragami?"

Kusanagi grimaced through the darkness as she managed to hit upon the one possibility that he had been unable to completely banish from his mind, try as he might.

"No," he responded flatly anyway, trying to convince her as well as himself that this couldn’t happen. "When you and Kaede were born, the Aragami were awakened because the strength of the flow in the Kushinada bloodline had been weakened. Noa isn’t a Kushinada so how could his birth reawaken the entire species."

"I suppose you’re right," Momiji conceded, continuing to yank and twist the button even more as she stared sightlessly into the darkness in front of her, "But still –"

"M-m-momiji," Kusanagi began reluctantly, and then ended up by trailing off with, "you’re going to…"

"Hmm?" she asked, her fingers pausing as she waited for Kusanagi to finish what he was saying.

She heard him grunt and then he muttered, "Never mind. What were you going to say?"

Trying to recall what she had been thinking, she started in with the button again as her thoughts raced ahead of her and she finally gave voice to her speculations. "If Noa is impervious to the power of the Kushinada, like you, then don’t you think it might be possible for some of that power to carry over to the rest of the Aragam – oh!" Momiji exclaimed, and jerked in surprise when the button shot off her shirt and headed for the floor. She flung her hand out in reflex trying to catch it, knowing that it was a wasted effort since there was no way that she could catch something that she couldn’t see. A split second later there was a thin, scrabbling sound as the button hit the rock floor and spun like a coin.

Kusanagi gave a martyred sigh. "Could you please just finish dressing before you manage to yank the rest of the buttons off as well, Momiji? And then we’ll finish this conversation."

"How…? How did you know that I lost a button?" Momiji asked in an odd sort of voice.

"Huh?" came the sound of Kusanagi’s startled voice, "well, I… heard it hit the floor."

"But how did you know it was my button?" Momiji wanted to know, wondering if his cat-like eyes could see her through the darkness.

There was a long pause and then he answered matter of factly, "What else could it be, Princess?" Momiji let it drop for the moment as he again prodded her, "If you’ll hurry up, we can turn the mirror and look for your, er, button, while we finish talking."

Momiji quickly finished with her shirt and tucked it into her pants, lamenting the fact that the button she lost had been right in the middle, so that she now had a nice gaping hole level with her navel. She patted her stomach, trying to flatten it down, but it didn’t help. She could still feel the cool air of the iwatto brush against her skin.

"Are you finished yet," Kusanagi asked her impatiently.

His voice jarred her into motion. "Yes," she mumbled, turning to walk over to the ledge and reached for the mirror.

"You know, Princess," she heard him remark in a sly voice as she adjusted the lens for maximum affect, "I must say, I’m surprised that there were no cute and fuzzy animals on your… bra, since you seem to favor them on your other, er undergarments."

Momiji whipped around and stared at him, her eyes rounded in dismayed surprise. Her hands flew up to her chest in belated reaction as the suspicion that he could see without the aid of light bore fruit. "I thought you said you couldn’t see in the dark," she accused, pointing to the mirror.

Kusanagi’s teeth flashed brightly as he gave her a devilish smile. "No," he corrected her dryly, "what I said was, if it made you feel better, you could turn the mirror. I never said that I couldn’t see in the dark."

Momiji balled her hands into fists and stalked stiffly over to him, glaring at him. He just laughed at her and pushed off of the ledge, landing on his feet, his eyes glued to the sparkle in her eyes. He probably shouldn’t have said anything, but he couldn’t pass the up the chance to tease her just a little bit.

"Relax, Princess, I didn’t see anything" he lied, thinking it was best to try and soothe her if he wanted to try and get back to their serious conversation of earlier.

"Then how did you know?" she demanded furiously.

"Easy," he grinned, pointing to the ledge next to the mirror, "I saw it sitting over there, on top of your shirt earlier."

Momiji’s face momentarily froze and then assumed a sheepish expression. "Oh."

Kusanagi chucked softly before he turned and bent down, and Momiji watched him pick up her lost button without even having to search for it. He handed it to her and she took it from him, her gaze flitting suspiciously from it to his face. He just gave her an innocent look and she looked away, tucking the button into her pocket.

"Back to what I was saying earlier, Momiji, about Midori," he began seriously, and again her eyes settled on his face, but this time, she gave him her undivided attention. "I was at the iwatto in Ise when she found me. She said she had come back there to look for her things, but she was acting very strangely."

"How?"

"I think she lied to me about what she saw the day she was attacked," he conceded.

"But why would she lie to you?" Momiji asked, perplexed as to why he would think such a thing.

Kusanagi sighed and stared over her head, remembering the look of panic on Midori’s face. "She wasn’t acting like herself," he explained, "she was – nervous, and tried to avoid talking about what happened to her. She seemed eager to get away from me too, until I mentioned Noa. She seemed to have already known about him." Momiji’s mouth fell open at this piece of information. "That’s why I need you to try and talk to her. Get her to tell you what happened to her at the iwatto that day. She wouldn’t tell me, but you’re her best friend. So she might tell you. It’s important, Momiji. I can’t help feeling that there is some tie to the presence that I felt and what happened to her. "

Kusanagi looked at her expectantly and Momiji responded appropriately by saying, "I’ll do my best to find out for you, Kusanagi. I’ll call her after we pick up Noa, which we’re already late for," she noted as she looked at her watch. "I also need to stop at a department store and pick up some… things," she mumbled as an afterthought, remembering that she needed some underwear, since all of hers had mysteriously vanished.

She gave Kusanagi a speculative look, once again wondering if he could have anything to do with their disappearance, but she brushed the thought aside as he told her, "I’m ready, if you are."

Momiji nodded, grabbing her coat, and Kusanagi helped her into it. Then she turned the solar mirror, and the iwatto was once again thrown into darkness. She turned and looked up, the only light now coming from the rectangular entrance at the top of the stairs. She had just taken a step forwards when she felt Kusanagi’s fingers on her arm pull her to a stop. She found herself swung around and then propelled forward as he grabbed the lapels to her coat, dragging her towards him.

Before she knew what was happening, he had crushed her body against his and molded his lips to hers in a searing kiss. Momiji eagerly opened her mouth under the insistent pressure of his and succumbed to the liquid heat that flared out of control as the velvety tip of his tongue slid against hers, tasting her, teasing her. She wrapped her arms around him in a desperate attempt to get even closer to him, wanting it to go on forever. But all too soon, he was pulling away from her, holding her within the loose circle of his arms.

Both of them were breathing heavily, and they stood there for a moment, neither willing to break the silence.

The Kusanagi leaned forward, his lips grazing her forehead and whispered in a husky voice, "The next time I ask you to wait for me, Momiji, please do it – there was something very important I needed to talk to you about, and now I’ll have to wait much longer than I care to…"