The room held nothing save the dust and the two silhouettes. One stood over the other, her body engulfed in flame. Her hair spilled over every surface─ so dark it appeared blue against the unnatural flames snaking around her petite frame. The unearthly visitor gazed about, sweeping the room from left to right. Finally, her eyes stopped on the cowering woman pressed to the floor. Her face stayed against the ashy remains of the others, her body as low to the ground as possible.

The princess spoke for the first time, her transformation unbearable to the handmaiden’s downcast eyes. “Anata wa, dare desu ka?” The head handmaiden sat mute at the Empress’s question. After a long moment, she quietly offered, “Dare demo nai.” The princess frowned at the conservative answer, knowing by the girl’s attire and flesh that she was someone. It was rare to wear any color, let alone such a fine fabric. She stepped forward, impatiently touching the crown of the handmaiden’s head. Images burst through as the handmaiden’s afterlife flashed before her golden, god-like gaze. She quickly sifted through snippets of the handmaiden’s memories.

The girl had been too old for Jinzō Bosatsu to help. He was a kind deity that came down from the Heavens to collect children from the Old Hag’s clutches. She was unfortunately too large to fit into Jinzō Bosatsu’s flowing robes, so he could not conceal her. Yet she was too young to cross the Sanzu River on her own. So, she like many other children, was stuck doing as they were told and stacked rocks to the sky. It was all a cruel joke, for each night demons would come knock down what they had built. The only hope was Shozuka-no-Baba’s promise that if they worked harder, they could finally build a bridge to Heaven.

King Daimono had taken such pity and liking to the girl, that he himself had rode down to the cruel Shozuka-no-Baba’s shore. Normally that was a right reserved solely for Jinzō Bosatsu, but a few exceptions had been made over the years. The old crone had stripped the young woman of her clothing and embedded the braid all the way to the bottom of her leg─ the flesh stitched every half an inch. It was obvious by the intricate design that it had taken the Hag some time to do. Upon his arrival, Daimono had bargained with the witch and offered a new lowly handmaiden. When she resisted, he offered that she could walk about his lavish gardens and fields for three days. She allowed this begrudgingly, but not before cursing the young woman to walk with her burdens outwardly shown for all to see. Shozuka-no-Baba was not a woman you wanted to bargain with. The Empress was unsure how she knew such things, but somehow she did. It was as if some part of her mind had awakened many of the memories her human self had long forgotten. In fact, she could hardly remember anything about her human life.

She shuffled through more of the girl’s memories, staring at the exceptional maiden that took special care of her father for years. She had waited on him hand-and-foot and watched over him as he looked out at the bleak fields. Her father had stared longingly many times at the Land of the Living, his face a mask of sorrow. She could feel the Head Maiden’s jealousy whenever he brought home a new flesh-covered girl. She witnessed how hard the maiden had worked on anything the king asked of her, and his kind words to someone of her lowly stature. Then finally, she saw the great care the girl had taken of the princess’s room for her arrival. Seeing enough, she barely glanced at the cowering woman, and flicked her wrist. The delicate snap echoed off the walls, followed by a thud. She leaned down and casually collected the glittering pendant from the girl─ placing it around her neck. This girl was far too weak to be of any use once they began to build their army. They needed strength and firm resolve, not some young, love-struck girl. She stared around the chamber, sighing to herself. They were going to need real warriors. These things would be no match for the Generals of Light. They weren’t even fit for the brainless Heavengaard. She hoped for her father’s sake, and all of theirs, that he had been building up his own fallen warriors.

There was a slight tremble as the back chamber door rose. Her father entered the room, and stepped into the light. “Kiwako-chan, Okaeri” his eyes danced through tears as he swept her up into his arms. She blinked, her heart warming at his touch. Her eyes flashed from the gold to a rich brown as her arms returned the hug. “Tadaima, Otō-San” she whispered.

Finally, she was home.

“I don’t think this is a good idea Scott.” Luci was sitting next to him on the aisle seat eyeing the flight attendant as she offered warm towels. Scott’s eyes popped out, “Are you serious? We’re halfway over the Pacific Ocean and you’re just now voicing this?” She ground her jaw and glanced out the window to her left. “Sorry, flying makes me nervous.” She said. His abrupt laughter filled the cabin as the people in front of him glanced back. “So you do have a weakness.” She looked like she had a bad taste in her mouth, “Listen, I’m not just talking about the flight.” His face fell as he realized she was not being her normal jovial self. “Luce, what’s going on? I don’t think I have ever seen you this intense.” She fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt, “Scott. There are a few things ─I haven’t been completely up front about.” Scott smirked, “a few things?” He sighed at her quietness and continued, “Luci, I hired you based off of your credentials and your ability to set me straight when I was wrong. The past is the past.” His voice held a sort of finality to it that brought a grin from Luci. He hated the effect she had on him lately. Damn this warmth spreading through his body. He shifted and cleared his throat, “tell me─ what is it?” Her eyes were intensely watching his lips every move. They migrated from his mouth to his gaze and locked on. Never in his life had a woman stirred him like this. Not since─ his heart ached at the thought. And that color, what exactly was that shade of blue? There should be a law against women looking this damn good. She wasn’t human, of course, but he was fairly certain she was either a shifter or part human. He started at her gentle words, “There are some things that men should never know.” He fought hard and finally tore his eyes from hers. He wanted to kiss her, right then and there.

His words were quiet but held strength, “I knew a long time ago that you aren’t human. You warned me of that─ remember?” She was quiet for a while before answering, “If we make it through this trip─ I’ll tell you everything.” Her voice remained grave as she added, “I promise.” He blinked a few times turning toward the front seat. What could she possibly be hiding? He knew about her past, hell he had found her shortly after his business in Texas started booming. Kotone and Luci had spent many nights together, they were very close. Even then Scott could see that Luci watched over Celeste like a second mother. They would play normally most of the time, but then he started over-hearing Luci talk with Celeste about ‘how to make them go away’.

He had known that Dr. Heisman would never be enough to keep Celeste in check. Scott had assumed that Luci was some sort of guardian to keep Celeste stable until she fully matured. His mind was racing. Was he wrong? He watched her troubled expression as she closed her eyes, her breath growing heavy. They still were another six hours out before landing. He sighed and closed his eyes. Whatever it was, he was determined to take it in stride. Luci was one hell of a─ well, whatever she was─ and he wasn’t going to let her go.

* * *

They landed in Narita right on schedule. Bless the captain, he must have been with the winds today. Scott stood and stretched glancing back at Luci. She seemed content as ever, her face relaxed from the extended rest. The other passengers filed past them in the aisle. The plane was emptying quickly. He reached down and gently caressed her face. “Hey Luce, we’re here.” Muttering something, she rolled over on her side and pulled the blanket closer. He didn’t want to wake her, but he knew the flight attendants would be by at any moment to get them off the plane. He tried one more time, shaking her shoulder. He started as she shot up, and grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip. Her eyes flashed from lavender to blue, until eventually recognition washed over them. She immediately dropped his arm, “Oh shit, Scott, I’m sorry. I’m not used to men touching me.” He was red-faced, but managed to chuckle. “No, no, my fault. I shouldn’t touch a lady in her sleep.” Then he caught what she just said. “What do you mean, you ‘aren’t used to men touching you’?” Ignoring him, Luci grabbed his wrist and examined his arm. “Damn it.” Scott glanced down at her expletive, “What?” he sucked in a breath as he looked down at the angry purple bruise that covered his entire arm. “Holy hell woman, that’s some grip you got there.” The odd part was, he couldn’t feel it─ there wasn’t even an ache. He didn’t care, he was more interested in what she just said. “Luci─ are you a─” “Don’t,” she snapped. “Just don’t. Let’s get this over with.” She reached up into the cabin and grabbed out their bags. His eyes bulged as he continued to stare at her. “Holy shit you are.” Luci was already halfway down the aisle. “We don’t have time for this, let’s get a move on.” He returned the polite flight attendants ‘thank you’ and kept in stride with Luci as they crossed into the airport’s building. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, she was incredibly beautiful, witty, charming─ “You aren’t a man, are you?” it just burst out. He couldn’t help it, nothing was adding up. She shot a look at him that could melt steel beams, and then kept walking. “What, a man can’t wonder?” She rolled her eyes as she walked up to customs and promptly got in line.

She was extremely rigid─ her movements slow and jerky. He glanced up to the long line and prayed everyone had their paperwork in order. Last time it took over an hour to get through. Come to think of it, Luci had always booked his flights to Japan but never stayed long or didn’t come. He snuck a peek at her, watching as she pulled at a strand of hair. As amusing as it was to see her this frazzled, it became increasingly worrisome. Did she know the goddess? Maybe that’s why she was behaving this way. She had mentioned it was a bad idea. He needed to know. “What did you mean earlier, when you said you didn’t think it was a good idea?” Luci bit down on her lower lip. She hesitated, and then spun around to fill out the forms for the checkpoint line. Annoyed, he leaned down and hissed, “Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?” She thrust the paper into his chest and stepped back in line. “Yes,” she hissed. The line moved and they both stepped forward. “Well?” She waved her hand like she were swatting at flies. “Just, wait okay? We’re almost through the line.” He crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels. Rubbing on his face, he focused on breathing in and out. Why did no one ever clue him in until it was the last damn minute and everything was going to hell? His mind went to Daniel and he chuckled. So this is how he felt, karma really is a bitch. Yeah, well at least you have your reasons. He watched her cross, and then un-cross her arms thoughtfully. Maybe Luci did too.

* * *