Breeze steps into the control room of the airship, exhaling a sigh of relief as she smiled. “Ahh... Safe and sound,” she says peacefully, the soft hum of machinery filling the air, accompanied by the gentle sway of the ship in flight. She turns as the rest of the group filed in behind her. “Alright, so we are heading to Lotus City?”

Keiji nods in confirmation, his eyes scanning the room with a sense of focus. “That was the deal, wasn’t it?” he replies, steady and resolute in his response.

“Don’t you think we should have a talk here first?” Vicious interjects with growing irritation and resentment toward them, his attention shifting directly toward Tai who was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Tai replies carelessly.

“Tell her,” Vicious insists, taking a step forward as mean to pressure Tai into talking.

Kaori watches the exchange with curiosity, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Tell me what?” she asks, her voice soft yet also insistent.

Tai lets out another sigh, his expression unreadable as he glanced toward Vicious before turning his attention to Kaori while he pushed himself off the wall and stood straight. “You want to know that bad?” he asks with indifference.

Kaori looks back at Tai uncomfortably. “What’s going on?”

“No one’s told you why he’s so important?” Vicious asks Kaori with a deathly serious tone in his voice. “He has the ability to sense deities.”

Kaori looks at Vicious in disbelief, then turns to Tai as he spoke with a furrowed brow of concern.

“Don’t talk about it like it’s something that comes commonly to Yaban,” Tai interjects in a strangely calm tone as he walked closer to Kaori, stopping directly in front of her. “But if you’re so damn curious the first thing you should know is...” He pauses, lowering his eyes to meet Kaori’s, paying no mind to her uneasy expression as she looked up at him earnestly. “She isn’t Akiko,” he says simply. “Akiko was raised to love the world unconditionally; Kaori doesn’t know of it,” he looks into Kaori’s eyes with profound intensity, looking for something deep within them.

She looks up at Tai with wide eyes filled with silent curiosity as he stared at her. “Why is he staring at me like that?” She feels herself blushing with discomfort of the situation and looks away from him, abruptly breaking eye contact with him.

“She is a different type of deity all her own,” Tai adds quietly, slowly looking away from Kaori and at Vicious, his expression becoming aggravated as he looked at him. “Happy?” he asks sarcastically while he walked away from Kaori.

“Then she has to go to the Lunar Garden,” Vicious says suddenly with urgency in his voice. “Before anything, she needs to take care of things there.”

Breeze looks at Vicious with a stern glare in her expression, quickly interjecting with seriousness. “You know we can’t go there, why would you even suggest that?”

Shomei lets out a soft, nearly unnoticeable, sigh as she uncrossed her arms, her movements deliberate yet subtle. Her voice remains calm and composed as she spoke, carrying a sense of wisdom and understanding. “I think that no matter what our differences are now, it should be something that she needs to take care of. As a child of the heavens, she has certain responsibilities she must tend to regardless of her acceptance toward such a burden.”

Kaori’s shoulders slump slightly as she looked down. “I didn’t ask to be. Who decided it was my responsibility to do anything in the first place?” She shakes her head in frustration at her thoughts before pushing past everyone and leaving the room quickly.

Breeze watches the door as it closed behind Kaori, her expression reflecting concern and uncertainty.

“You should have told her as soon as you met,” Vicious says, his tone dripping with bitterness and resentment as he directed his words toward Tai, his eyes narrowing with accusation and hate.

Tai’s glare at Vicious intensified, his entire self, fraught with tension and unspoken words, yet refrains from speaking as Breeze made her way to the door purposefully.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Breeze announces with an upbeat sense of determination, only to look back as Shomei spoke.

“I’ll go with you,” Shomei offers with a reassuring smile and a nod.

Breeze smiles pleasantly, leading the way out with Shomei close behind.

Keiji lets out a weary sigh, his gaze wandering to stare out of the window with a sense of contemplation. “So she is,” he murmurs softly, his eyes distant with his thoughts.

Vicious takes several steps toward Keiji, agitated at Keiji’s demeanor toward the situation. “You can’t ignore the facts, Keiji. She needs to go there, before Aduro tries to make another collection.”

Keiji looks over his shoulder, meeting Vicious’s gaze with a calm one of his own despite the tension between them. “I can’t make her do anything,” he states simply, accompanied by a nonchalant shrug of his broad shoulders.

“Why do you even have her on this ship then?” Vicious questions skeptically, his suspicion growing. “It’s for him, isn’t it?” He gestures pointedly toward Tai, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny.

Keiji turns to face Tai, curious as he sought clarification from him. “Is she here for you?”

“I suggested we get rid of her from the start,” his detached tone void of all emotion as he responded while rolling his eyes lightly.

Keiji offers a small smile at Tai’s response before redirecting his attention back to Vicious. “She’s here of her own will. I believe she said she didn’t want to go with you anywhere as you had attempted to lie to her before.”

“I-...” Vicious’s voice falters slightly, failing to defend himself. His eyes fall to the floor momentarily before he continued. “I want what Akiko would have wanted. What everyone wants in the end.”

Keiji’s question hangs heavy in the air, continuing to challenge Vicious’s perspective. “Did it ever cross your mind to ask Miss Kaori what she wanted?”

❀

Breeze knocks on the door to Kaori’s room gently, seeming hesitant as her and Shomei wait for Kaori’s response. “Kaori? Can we come in?” She waits in silence for a moment before nudging the door open slightly, revealing Kaori standing near the small window and gazing outside, lost in thought. “Are you alright?” she asks cautiously, her voice soothing the discomfort swallowing the room.

Kaori exhales in defeat, her expression showing resignation. “I don’t think it matters,” she murmurs distantly, her eyes meeting those of Breeze and Shomei as she turned to face them. “As long as I follow the path laid out for me just like Akiko.”

“You should know that something like this was never a part of Akiko’s plan,” Shomei interjects suddenly, reflecting solemnly on her past while she continued to speak on the origins of Akiko’s journey. “Like many gods before her, her fate was written in stone the day she had come to Noroc as a child by the scriptures at the Temple. It was said the heavens sent her here at such a young age so she would love the people of the world. And she did. She was raised in the Temple, studied all the teachings, harnessed her power as a god, and once she was of age, I was to take her to the last standing shrines as a way to help build faith for the people and help her build her faith in herself.” Shomei continues, her narrative unfurling like a tapestry of ancient lore, weaving together the threads of how Akiko’s life not only interconnected with her but Vicious as well. “When we arrived at Tinder, we had met Vicious who was, at the time, a Temple follower, and a Shrine Warrior. After a close call with one of the Loyal Four he vowed to protect her and continued on with us. Naturally during that time Vicious and Akiko had become closer, but it was unfortunately short lived as she had passed trying to fight off a being known as Aduro.”

Breeze’s attention remains fixed on Kaori with worriedly, her brow furrowed as she searched for any sort of confirmation of how Kaori was feeling while Shomei carried on.

“Akiko never chose to stay here with Yaban,” Shomei continues calmly. “She was forbidden to go near them. She had never flown atop this ship, and only on a very rare occasion did she meet Taiichiro. I truly believe that you don’t have to fear going down a spiral you aren’t in control of. You came to this place in a way where you are able to do things that you believe is right, not what the people believe is right.”

“Do you believe in doing things how Akiko did?” Kaori asks Shomei directly.

Shomei inhales quietly as she crosses her arms, gathering her thoughts at the question as it lingered in her mind for a moment. “After she had died there was a lot of time for me to hate those who made it happen, and recover, then to think rationally,” her voice lowers with the burden of loss and grief weighing down her heart. “What gives us as humans, or even Yaban the right to tell a higher power how to save the world when we were the ones who tried to kill it?”

Kaori frowns worriedly, feeling a profound sense of humility and acceptance at the weight of Shomei’s reflection of the past. “If everyone is fighting each other then, what does this Aduro have to do with anything?”

Shomei looks toward Breeze for an answer, hoping she would interject with the knowledge from the Yaban point of view.

Breeze looks down hesitantly as she stepped forward a little, looking down at her hands in front of her as she picked at her nails nervously, being careful to choose her words as she spoke. “It happened a really long time ago,” she begins softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she started to paint a picture of the past while continuing on. “The start of the first war over a thousand years ago. Where people started questioning the teachings of the Temples. The world was divided into three types of followers; those who were devout to the Temple, those who questioned the legitimacy of their ways, and those like us. The Yaban were called outcasts back then because no one wanted them to dirty the blood of humans for fear we were given the powers of demons. They had gone into hiding but never once denied a helping hand to followers despite what the scriptures say. While everyone started fighting over nothing the Yaban started to make secret colonies because many of our people would end up kidnapped, killed, or worked on like some type of experiment in an attempt to extract our abilities. The island that they all eventually decide to live on was called the isle of hope, but the Temple called it the wastelands, so that’s what everyone came to know it by. It was found once and destroyed in an attempt to sway the follower’s belief’s, proving to them that by killing our people meant they had their best interests at heart. Many of the people died when it happened, and it seemed like the last straw for the gods. It’s said that when the first deity had come to Noroc they lived at peace, but as time went on the Temple started to claimed rights over them while the Rebels refused them all together. From what Yaban are told, these threats are what caused our creation as an attempt to protect the gods. Now deities come to forgive us of all our sins. Some say Aduro is our true way toward repentance but...” She pauses, finding it hard to continue on with detail about Aduro’s arrival to Noroc. “Well, eventually he called upon four of the deadliest servants from hell to entice those with evil in their hearts to surrender their souls to him. When the gods first started to come in an attempt to bring him home to the heavens we soon realized he’s our retribution. Because the deities have yet to do so to this day, it must mean we have yet to learn our lesson. Most of them fell at his hands, others at their own at the sight of what we had done to our world, and some as a way to escape the Rebels. Something we all feared would have been you recently... The one before Akiko, hundreds of years ago, was the first to have been targeted by the Rebels in a long time and they nearly accomplished it, but she was said to have jumped from the cliff of the isles to protect the gifts the gods had given her. There’s not many of us left in the world, and many of our people have faltered at the will of the gods, but Keiji and I haven’t, and I’m sure Tai hasn’t either. We want to protect you Kaori.”

Kaori slowly looks downward, her mind grappling with the weight of what she had been told before looking back at the women in front of her. “What is the Lunar Garden?” she asks, turning to Shomei as she spoke.

“It’s a field of flowers where the souls of the departed await guidance. On occasion Aduro will make his way there to guide those souls to him and use them as demons and servants to his loyal followers. We want that to be avoided at all costs.”

Kaori looks at Breeze with apprehensive curiously. “And we can’t go?”

“Well ‘we’ as in Keiji, Tai, and myself...” Breeze says thoughtfully, her hesitation growing.

“Why not?” Kaori asks with confusion.

“Well... Uh... I can’t really tell you the reason just yet. I don’t have permission,” Breeze explains uneasily. “I hope you understand.”

Kaori nods slightly, her expression understanding despite her lackluster response. “I guess...” She turns to look at Shomei, her eyes hopeful. “If I go, will you let me come back here?”

“Hm?” Breeze’s eyes widen in surprise at Kaori’s request, seemingly touched.

Shomei nods once in agreement, unknowingly putting Kaori at ease with such a small action. “I wouldn’t ask anything of you that isn’t necessary, and I won’t keep you from a place your heart wants to be.”

“You really want to stay with us?” Breeze asks excitedly.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Kaori turns to Breeze, her face somewhat relaxed, despite the uncertainty she felt. “Yes. That is, if it’s okay with you?”

Breeze hurries over, her face lighting up with a bright smile as she envelops Kaori in a warm hug. “Of course it is! Keiji will be more than happy to hear that,” she exclaims with genuine delight.

Kaori returns the smile, returning Breeze’s embrace. “If I’m a goddess, I want to do things a different way. Is that alright?”

Breeze moves away and holds Kaori by the shoulders, her supportive expression clearly displayed across her face. “Absolutely, and we’ll be right here with you the entire time.”

“I’ll go to the garden then,” Kaori says to Shomei with an agreeable nod.

“Thank you,” Shomei says in soft relief, lowering her head in respect and gratitude.

Breeze giggles lightly, unable to hide her excitement. “Let’s tell Keiji the great news!” She takes Kaori’s hand in hers and hurries out of the room and down the halls eagerly, Shomei not too far behind, her demeanor visibly calmer as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Breeze reaches the entrance to the control room and slams open the door hard. “Keiji great news we-” she stops looking angry as she saw Tai holding his sword out at Vicious’s throat noticing his forehead was bleeding and his face holding a dangerous glare at Vicious. “What is going on here?” She asks in a scolding tone.

Keiji steps forward, his hand gently resting on Tai’s sword, lowering it down with ease just before Tai put it away. “A healthy debate among gentlemen I assure you,” he says with a smile while walking forward a bit. “Isn’t that right?”

“Right,” Vicious replies curtly.

Tai moves his gaze away from Vicious and looks directly at Breeze. “What is it you want this time?” He asks aggressively, his rudeness no different than usual.

Breeze’s lips form a slight pout of dissatisfaction before speaking. “First off; you’re still rude,” she scolds, continuing on to carry that tone. “You should know better by now, and second...” She moves behind Kaori, nudging her forward into the midst of everyone with eager anticipation. “Tell them,” she encourages gently.

“Uh-... O- Okay...” she gathers her composure, meeting Keiji’s eyes with feigned confidence. “I would like to go to the Lunar Garden,” she announces simply, with determination hidden underneath.

“Would you?” Keiji asks softly, his expression kind.

Kaori nods once with a sense of firmness in her choice. “Yes, and if you would allow it, I would like to return to your ship,” she adds with a slight furrow of her brow, hoping Keiji would agree.

Keiji raises a hand, signaling Tai to maintain his silence, seemingly knowing Tai wanted to interject from behind him without having to look. “Just wait,” he says quietly, prompting Tai to cross his arms and turn away bitterly. “What has made you change your mind?” Keiji asks Kaori, seeming to already know the answer.

“If there are things that I have to do then I will do it my way, and I would like for people I trust to be with me. I refuse to be the same as anyone before me... I want to do what I feel is right.” Kaori says hesitantly as her eyes drifted downward at her hands nervously, the little confidence she started speaking with fading.

Breeze claps her hands a little looking excited while Vicious stepped forward, his intention about to protest before he was stopped by a deathly glare from Shomei.

“Don’t,” Shomei commands, causing Vicious to fall silent.

“Well, shall we have a vote?” suggests Keiji, looking at Breeze and Tai with a cunning smile. “Only crew members that is. All in favor of Miss Kaori staying on board?”

Breeze raises her hand eagerly, barely able to contain her excitement until Tai slapped down her hand hard, taking her by surprise. “Hey!!” she protests childishly.

Tai turns his attention toward Keiji, after reprimanding Breeze, noticing that Keiji’s hand had only risen to the level of his face. “You play too much,” he says bitterly.

Keiji chuckles softly in amusement. “I’m sure some good will come of it,” he reassures, lowering his hand lightly.

Tai shakes his head slightly, his frustration with not only the situation but with them, evident. “Get those thoughts out of your head,” he warns dangerously.

Breeze grins happily, undeterred by Tai’s irritated behavior. “Right! Okay so the closest we can let you guys go is the Valley. Is that alright with you?” She asks curiously as she glanced at Shomei.

“It should be fine. The walk there shouldn’t be long,” Shomei replies with a subtle nod, calm and composed as she did so.

Kaori gradually tunes out the conversation around her, her attention drawn to Tai as he exited the room. “He really must hate Vicious. I wonder what happened between them.” She takes a step back as the others continued their discussion, slowly slipping out of the control room after Tai.

“Great right Kaori?” Breeze looks behind her, expecting to see Kaori, finding the space she was standing at empty. “Huh?”

“Seems someone else has caught her attention for the time being,” Keiji says thoughtfully, observing the situation. “We can inform her of the details later on.”

“Right,” Breeze replies with a little nod of acknowledgement. “I’ll set route to the outskirts of the garden,” she adds, turning her attention back to the controls.

❀

Kaori ascends the steps to the deck, her eyes scanning her surroundings until they fell upon Tai who was staring up at the sky with a furrowed brow. “He would be here.”

He looks over his shoulder as he heard her footsteps, then turns back to look at the sky, his eyes level with the horizon rather than looking up.

She walks up to his side and looks in the same direction, her hair flowing gently behind her. “Should I say something? It’s so quiet.”

“Seems like you’ve made up your mind,” Tai says quietly, his voice barely breaking the silence between them as he continued to stare out at the horizon.

“I have,” she replies, not taking her eyes off of the sky, disregarding Tai’s contempt toward her. “So. Um... Your real name is something different isn’t it?” She asks after a while. “When we were at that island I heard it for the first time. Shomei and Vicious call you that as well,” she looks at him curiously as she noticed his eyes wander downward. “Why did you change it?”

“Those who know a different side of me call me Taiichiro,” he responds with a guarded tone.

“I see. I like what you go by now anyway,” Kaori says, injecting a touch of light heartedness into her voice as she turned to look at him.

“Yeah?” he asks looking unimpressed.

“It suits you,” she says thoughtfully, a hint of a smile on her face. “At least... That’s what I believe.”

He raises his gaze lightly his eyes reflecting that his attention didn’t seem as distant anymore.

She shakes her head lightly. “I wanted to ask you about what you said earlier. Could you tell the entire time that I’m like Akiko?”

“You’re not like her,” he says quickly as if correcting her. “The only thing you have in common is where you came from.” He turns and looks at Kaori directly. “And I did know from the moment you looked at me.”

“How... How is that possible exactly?” she asks looking back at him curiously.

“It’s in your eyes.”

“What is?”

He stares at her eyes directly, seemingly taken by the golden ring on the outer brown color of her eyes that glowed faintly. “It’s the mark of purity.”

“He has a habit of making me feel uneasy.” She stares back up at him, unable to look away no matter how uncomfortable she felt. “Is it something only you can do?” she asks quietly in an attempt to hide how anxious she felt.

He nods slightly. “Yes.”

She looks away after a while and takes a deep breath silently, regaining her composure. “I see.” She closes her eyes tightly for a while, trying her best to understand everything. “Calm down Kaori. You’re safe here.” She frowns a bit before looking down at her hands, which were nervously interlocked by her fingers. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said and... I would like to ask a favor from you.”

“What’s that?”

❀

“So, we should arrive by tomorrow. After we get to the Lunar Garden we’ll send notice to the Emperor about Kaori’s arrival there,” Breeze says lightly while looking at the holographic map in front of her. Her fingers dance over the controls, adjusting the projected route.

Shomei nods in agreement, her expression calm and determined. “We’ll have her do what is needed and return quickly,” she adds with a steady and definite voice.

“As she requested to stay with us, I want to ask you to protect her in every way you can while under your care,” Keiji says seriously, his gaze shifting from Breeze to Shomei, emphasizing the importance of their responsibility.

“What is your plan with her exactly?” Vicious asks suddenly, his tone sharp and probing. “I want to know in all honesty if you intend to have her help him,” he adds, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as he directed his question toward Keiji.

“I believe he gave that up” Keiji replies simply, unaffected by Vicious’s intense glare.

“How can you be sure of that? Most of his life was him chasing after forgiveness, you can’t expect me to believe after all that time he just gave up,” Vicious stares at Keiji hard as he spoke, his attention swiftly moving to Breeze as her voice interjected.

“Well after Akiko died you weren’t there were you?” She asks sarcastically, her tone laced with bitter frustration. “You don’t know.”

“I know that he should never be trusted,” Vicious says, crossing his arms defiantly, his distrust reflected in his stance.

“Look, just because he isn’t someone you believe in doesn’t mean he isn’t a good person,” Breeze replies defensively, her tone firm as she spoke on behalf of Tai.

“I can never trust someone who helped start this,” he says seriously, his voice taking on a stricter tone as he maintained his stance.

“Enough, Vicious,” Shomei interjects softly, commanding Vicious’s attention before Keiji spoke soon after, just as patient as ever.

“What’s in his past is something we never ask of. We know as much as everyone else does of what he has done, but what you all fail to see is how he is now. Remember, we don’t hate you for what you have done,” Keiji looks toward Breeze and offers a peaceful smile, seeking to diffuse the escalating tension that hung heavy around them all. “About that route,” he continues, smoothly transitioning the conversation to a more practical matter.

❀

Tai stands behind Kaori, still atop the ship, his presence a silent reassurance as he held back her hair in one hand and a dagger in the other. “Are you sure?” he asks skeptically, questioning Kaori’s resolve.

She closes her eyes as she lifted her head at a level angle, her face a portrait of uncertainty masked by her determination. “I’m sure,” she inhales deeply, strengthening herself for what was to come.

With a steady hand, Tai moves the dagger, its sharp edge poised just above the strands of Kaori’s hair. He adjusts the grip on his dagger in hesitation, pausing just before decisively cutting her hair in one swift, clean motion he cuts through her hair, severing completely just above her shoulders.

She releases a soft exhale, feeling the weight of her once long hair leave her, and turns to face Tai who still held onto the severed strands.

He watches her with a stoic expression, his gaze fixed on her, watching her symbolic transformation into her own person. He looks down at his hand in silence, a hard to read expression on his face just before letting go and allowing the remaining hair to drift away into the breeze. He watches it flow by and vanish into the air without a word as if acknowledging the solemn significance of the moment. He turns his attention back to Kaori, taking in her new appearance where her once ankle length hair was now a much more manageable length where it grazed over her shoulders and neck.

“How does it look?” she asks with apprehension, awaiting Tai’s opinion with a nervous air about her.

“It’s fine,” he replies with little to no enthusiasm, shifting his gaze to avoid eye contact with her.

She smiles in response despite his indifference, a sense of relief washing over her. She approaches him suddenly and locks her arms around his waist in a grateful and heartfelt embrace.

He winces slightly at the unexpected gesture, his discomfort reflecting pain, yet offers no protest to her actions until she had pulled away from him.

“Sorry. I just...” her voice trails off briefly as she collected her thoughts, her smile remaining as their eyes met. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me,” she continues with sincere gratitude and warmth.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbles lightly, his attention already drifting back to the vast expanse of the sky before them while he put away the dagger to his side holster. “Keiji wants to talk to you. You better go back.”

Kaori’s brows furrow slightly at his empty response, a flicker of disappointment crossing her features. “You’re not coming?”

He shakes his head in silence, slipping his hands into his pockets, his response creating a clear emotional distance between them despite the moment they shared.

She nods to herself and steps back, accepting the wall his actions drew between them. “Right then,” she murmurs, her eyes lingering on Tai for a fleeting moment before turning away, leaving him alone atop the ship. She heads back inside, walking the familiar halls until she reached the door of the control room, taking a deep breath as she pushed open the door and stepped inside, drawing the attention of everyone present. “Um. Hi,” she greets timidly.

Breeze springs up from her seat at the control panel, her face lighting up with delight. “Look at you!” she exclaims with enjoyment, breaking the silence that captivated the room. “Did you just do that yourself?”

Kaori shakes her head slightly. “No, I had some help,” she admits nervously, her fingers brushing against the end of her hair in an anxious manner.

“Well, he did a great job. You look so cute!” Breeze replies happily, her eyes sparkling with genuine admiration, knowing full well Kaori was referring to Tai.

A small, grateful smile plays on Kaori’s lips at Breeze’s compliment, her gaze turning to Keiji as he spoke.

“Very becoming of you,” Keiji adds kindly, his eyes warm with approval. “I called you here to let you know that by tomorrow you will be leaving the ship with Vicious and Shomei and to the Lunar Garden to perform the ceremony.”

“Ceremony? What ceremony?” Asks Kaori in a curious tone.

“If you would like I could show you,” offers Shomei reassuringly. “It’s not complicated at all I assure you.”

“Yes please,” Kaori replies with a nod, eager to get started.

Breeze heads toward the door lightly as she spoke. “We have a cargo place that’s pretty empty now with plenty of space. I’ll show you guys down to it,” she says brightly.

“I’ll go too,” declares Vicious, trailing after the group out of the control room, leaving only Keiji behind, with Tai walking in soon after.

“Still going to Lunar Garden?” says Tai carelessly while he entered the room.

“Upset?” responds Keiji knowingly, his gaze meeting Tai’s with a sense of understanding.

“I didn’t say that,” Tai retorts with irritability.

“You don’t have to.”

“You don’t know anything,” Tai grumbles under his breath, frustrated with Keiji’s consistent peaceful nature while glaring at him.

Keiji stifles a laugh to himself, turning to the window. “She looks nice don’t you think?” Paying no mind as Tai walked to the control panel quietly. “Any particular reason she decided to ask you for such a favor?”

“Said she didn’t want him to see her as Akiko while they were together,” Tai says absentmindedly, his attention fixed on the control panel.

“A good reason,” he turns to Tai, his kind features softened by a hint of concern in his eyes. “She may see something there that you don’t want her to.”

Tai’s brow furrows slightly, considering Keiji’s words. “It’s not like I was intentionally keeping it a secret from her. There’s no reason for me to.”

“You aren’t concerned she’ll leave us because of it?”

“It’ll be what she wants. Besides, I’m sure half a day with Vicious and he’ll empty everything on her.”

“He is still a bit angry. You proved him wrong about her already, and it probably hurt him just as much to hear that she wants to return here. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and make you hurt as well.”

“There’s not really much else he can do to hurt me,” he says with a dismissive shrug.

“There’s something I’m curious about,” Keiji says, intentionally shifting the subject. “Why did you jump off the ship after her?”

“Following orders,” Tai responds curtly.

“Were you?”

“You always say I don’t do enough as it is,” he retorts sharply.

He chuckles at Tai’s blunt response. “After visiting the Emperor, I was going to suggest that we seek the Guardian Souls.”

“Were you?” He asks with little interest.

“Hopefully you are aware of their locations.”

He turns and looks at Keiji blankly as he crossed his arms, leaning against the control panel as he did so. “Wasn’t it supposed to be passed down as legend?”

“Well, you know how much I enjoy a treasure hunt,” Keiji says with a cunning smile.

“What do you intend to do with them if you find them?”

His eyes lower ever so slightly in thought. “Something the Temple hasn’t done since they were lost. It may be the key to finally defeating Aduro.”

“It didn’t work then so why would it work now.”

“Well, unless she falls victim to the mistakes of the past, there shouldn’t be a problem don’t you think?” He nods to himself, looking as if many possibilities were going through his mind all at once. “I believe this may work. Especially considering that many of those before her didn’t use them either. This could be the only opportunity we have left.”

“Whatever you say...” Tai sighs lightly as if giving up continuing the conversation.