Chapter 4

Skeletons in the closet…their last promise

Saya stared out the window of her old bedroom as she stared at two birds feeding their young. The only thing that irked her was the quietness of her room. She wanted so badly to have someone there with her but she could not really decide on whom she wanted there. She did not want to be forced her emotions out so she thought she could wait a little while before she said anything to anyone if she decided to tell anybody. She sighed as she sat up from her bed and walked to her closet. She laid her head on the closet door hesitating to open it up as if something was hiding on the other side.

"Saya, we didn't throw out any of your clothes if that's what you think," Saya turned around to find Kai's wife standing right there in the doorway. She had her hands folded across her chest as she leaned against the doorway.

"No, it's not that! I was just…"

"Thinking about a boy I take it, right?" She smiled at her. Saya just watched her closely as Annalisa closed the door behind her as she walked into the small room.

"Saya, hun, can I be honest with you?"

Saya gulped involuntarily and Annalisa's smile grew a bit wider. "You see Saya; I just wanted to tell you something. It's something that I have been holding in for over 2 decades."

Saya looked a bit confused. What could a woman that she had known for less than 48 hours have to tell her after so many years. "Yeah, what is it?" she asked sounding very curious.

"Well, I really don't know how else to say this but just to say that I was jealous of you. Well, actually I still am pretty damn jealous."

Saya looked down at the ground feeling a bit embarrassed, as she tried to think of why someone as beautiful as Annalisa would be jealous of someone as her. She did not think she was the beautiful gorgeous type. She felt too bloodstained to be able to define herself as something as elegant as the next girl.

"You're gorgeous Saya. You have such natural beauty and it makes me mad. While you were asleep, Kai would speak of you as if you were some goddess. When he first told me about you, I thought he was just making you up, but the more he told me, the more I begged him to let me see you. He warned me that if he showed me you, I had to read Joel's diary. If I wasn't so in love with that boy I would've never wasted time on some old diary, but the things in it only made me want to see you more." Annalisa looked out the window as one of the birds flew away.

"You read Joel's diary? What'd you think?" Saya asked as she remembered her own reaction when the diary was read to her to help her regain her memories.

"I was scared. No, not scared, frightened to death. There you were sleeping inside that cocoon; I thought that you were some mind of freak, so I ran away."

Saya looked sharply up at Annalisa who had turned to her with a small smile on her face, "but you came back anyways," Saya whispered to herself but Annalisa heard anyways.

"Yep, I did runaway, but not somewhere far. I ran to somewhere where they never thought I would have gone especially since it was the reason I ran in the first place. I ran away to see you up close and personal. You looked so peaceful sleeping but the look on your face was so sad… that's when I met him."

"You met who?" Saya asked feeling her own heart accelerating. Was it the same person that she was thinking of? No, it was not possible. He was dead, she saw him die herself so. It did not matter if she had to rose and the ribbon. For her it just was not enough. She needed to see him for herself.

"I met the boy you were just thinking about. He was quite handsome but very quiet. We chatted for a little while and…"

Annalisa smile grew wider and her eyes stared at the wall, "…you know what Saya? That young man is more in love with you more than he even knows." Annalisa sharply turned and headed to the door ignoring Saya's questions and pleas. She opened the door to quickly step into the hallway and made her way to her room. Though she did not turn back to Saya, she still heard her say, "That's why he never stopped waiting." Saya thought about going after her to interrogate her. She did have an advantage to making her tell her what she wanted but she had to sort out her thoughts before she said anything at all. The last thing she wanted to do was send everyone into a frenzy over her. There was enough suffering over her in the past and she did not want any more even in the slightest bit now. Frustrated, she slammed the door but smiled a bit when she heard Kai scream "what the hell?"

She walked back over to her bed and threw herself across it allowing her mind to wonder off.

"If she met Hagi then that means that he's still alive somewhere, I know it!" the same thought was repeating itself repeatedly in her mind. "But if he is alive somewhere...why hasn't he come for me?" Saya threw herself up from the bed onto the floor"Why hasn't he found me yet!" she screamed as she pulled the cover off the bed.

"Calm down love, the covers didn't do anything to you," she heard someone whispered behind her.

Where was her sword when she needed it? Then she thought, it was in the closet where Kai said he placed it. There was Angel sitting on the other side of her bed with her hands folded neatly across her lap.

Saya rose her feet with great haste, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Saya demanded to know.

"Come on Saya, is that anyway to talk to your little chevalier's babysitter? Hmph, maybe I will not return him then. That's okay with me." Angel let out a devious giggle that send goosebumps down Saya's back.

"Where's Hagi! How do you know who I am?"

"Umm…which one do you want me to answer first?

"Who are you? Where the hell is Hagi?" Saya yelled furiously. Angel stood up when she saw Saya's eyes begin to glow red,"um yeah that still doesn't answer my question." Saya was indeed furious, but she knew she could not do much without the blood of awakening so she began to carefully calculate her steps.

"Aww look I've pissed off the queen. Now now Saya don't do anything too rash after all I brought you a little present." Angel flipped her hair over her shoulder as she glided toward Saya's closet. "Tacky little room but hey it's not your fault," she said to herself. Saya backed up against the wall as Angel walked past her. "Gosh Saya, I can't believe you didn't notice this earlier." Angel flung the doors open to reveal Hagi on the ground with his limbs still banded together by their titanium cuffs.

"HAGI!" Saya screamed as she nearly flew across the room to hug her long missed chevalier

"No need to thank me but…" angel jumped across to the bed,"when I kill you Saya, I want you to be strong and fight me with full force or else it would not be fair at all. I will be back by the next full moon for it will be the last full moon your pretty eyes will ever see again. Kiss the twins for me will ya, later!" Angel threw herself toward the window only to crash right through it landing gracefully on the ground below and disappearing into a blue blur. Kai busted through the door when his eyes automatically zoomed to the pieces of glass and wood on the bedroom floor, "what the hell-"his head turned toward the embracing couple. "Hagi? Oh my god! Miyuki! Mayumi!" he shouted into the hallway while he tried to decide if he should go the bleeding man on the ground or get the help himself. "Yeah Dad?" the twins called back in unison from downstairs. "Call Julia! Tell her…"

"Tell her what?" Miyuki asked aloud.
"Tell her…tell her," he now spoke in a low casual voice," tell her Hagi is back."

Night had fallen over the city and the Omoro was closed early. Julia gave Hagi an emergency blood transfusion while David helped Kai board up the big hole in the wall with some wood. No one even 

dared to speak to Saya while she cried in the bathroom. Annalisa was downstairs trying to find some extra sheets for Hagi seeing how their house was definitely filled with too many people but it felt nice to know that the family would keep growing. This was the perfect thing that they needed now. Kai was worried that Saya would sink into a deep depression with the lost of her last chevalier but now he was here lying in Saya's bed listening to her sob in the bathroom next door. The twins were in sitting in the corner staring at the highly spoken-of chevalier they have always heard of. From time to time you could hear them giggle and point at Hagi.

David stood up from the spot he was sitting to stretch," alright Kai, I think we're done here for tonight. There's not really much that we can do now."

"Yeah, you're right. I take it that we're going to have to finish some other time. "

David nodded," yeah, especially since we are going to have to get glass and stuff. " the two men continued talking about wood supplies until Julia kicked them out when she saw Saya standing in the doorway.

"Saya, are you going to be alright?" Julia asked when she finished throwing the men out of the room and was now heading toward the twins. The twins managed to escape before Julia even got close to them. Saya didn't answer. She just stood there braiding her hair into one large braid. Once she finished she walked over to Hagi who was staring at the ceiling. "I'll leave you two alone then," Julia said quietly as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

"I'll always love you," Saya said in a close whisper.

Hagi turned his head toward Saya, but still didn't say a word. He raised his chiropteran hand to brush away the loose strand of hair, but Saya caught his hand and just held it there. Slowly she rubbed her cheek against his hand trying to hold back tears. Her eyes closed creating a dam that would prevent the tears from flooding, but her eyes shot back open when Hagi spoke.
"Saya…you must drink," he said in his deep masculine voice. Saya simply nodded as she placed his hand across his chest to lean over him. She pulled back his white collared shirt to reveal his neck. At first she hesitated seeing how weak his condition was so far, but he still encouraged her. Saya parted her lips ever so slightly as they touched the warmth of his neck. Hagi encouraged her more when he used his free hand to lightly touch her back, knowing that she was still his queen and he her chevalier so there were boundaries that weren't supposed to be crossed. A small moan escaped his lips when Saya dug her tiny fangs into his neck deep enough to cause a small flow of blood. She could feel her body react to the familiar blood, welcoming it more and more every time she swallowed the crimson liquid. Then she stopped sucking, only licking to two puncture wounds until they stopped bleeding. She stood up straight, savoring the metallic taste in her mouth. Hagi pulled his hand away to help him support himself up. When he looked at Saya, her eyes were closed but tears were streaming down them. He stood up from the bed to comfort her. At first, he thought that he had crossed that line again when she didn't return the embrace but that's when she spoke again.

"Hagi?" she whispered.

"Yes saya?"

She raised her head but with her eyes still closed. He wiped away the tear that was dangling from her eyelash.

"promise me something," she said a bit louder.

"What would that be?" he asked fearing that she would ask him to kill her. Saya dug her face into his chest as she finally returned the tight embrace.

"promise me that you'll never leave me," she said into his chest.

"If that is what you wish."