CHAPTER I "Goodbyes"

"It's time. You need to find him, and I don't have much time left..."

Sunlight poured through the window in the tiny hospital room. The young woman shivered. Although the sun was warm, the stark, white walls made everything seem so cold and sterile. How could her mother, a being of happiness and joy, survive in a place that seemed so hostile to living things?

"Mom, rest. You shouldn't get so worked up..." She patted her mother's hand and looked down at the traveling sack that her mother insisted she should bring with her on her journey. Her mother was so frail, wasting away from an illness the doctors could not diagnose, much less cure. She supposed there wasn't a cure for a broken heart anyway, even in this modern age. How could she leave her now? All of this was her fault, her father, her brother, now this. She blamed herself...for everything.

"Seiki."

She looked up meeting piercing green eyes, the colour of leaves, identical to her own. Her mother smiled at her and reached out to stroke her pale hair lovingly.

"You look nothing like your father..." she whispered, "Yet, you have his temperament and his love for life. You even have a part of me that I can see. I am glad to have a daughter like you." Her father had vibrant red hair, while her brother's and her own were pale as light. They both knew that their unusual colouring came from their father's eccentric mother. She would have preferred her own mother's sandy blonde hair any day of the week.

Her mother tugged off the heavy gold ring she had worn since the funeral and held it out to her. She flinched.

"Take it. It's my last wish. It was your father's and I think he meant for you to have it."

She shook her head.

"I insist." Her mother's tone was exasperated, impatient with her daughter's stubbornness.

"It has been so from teacher to student for generations. Your father was a fool not to tell you the truth until it was too late. He was trying to protect you, our only daughter. It only served to hurt you more that it would have if you knew.

"He never wanted you as a student, you know. He thought you'd get hurt. It disturbed him to see you take to the art so well. Take it. You must..."

"I don't deserve it!" She almost shouted out the words that burned in her throat. She flicked a nervous glance over her shoulder to make sure the cranky nurse that showed her in earlier didn't come rushing to see what the noise was about. Her mother reached out and grabbed her hand, placing the ring and closing her fingers around it.

The ring burned with heat, making her gasp. Her mother held her hand firmly, grim determination tightening her features.

"You do deserve it, Seiki. You must believe in yourself. Where you're going you cannot carry your doubt within you without consequence. You know that and you know what you must do."

Light rose up from beneath her, surrounding and blinding her. She felt her mother's hand tightened for a minute and heard her call out her father's name.

"Seijuro! Help me!"

Then her mother let go. She felt herself being tugged upwards, and thought to herself, "This makes no sense...I'm indoors so where would I go?" She look down and saw her mothers face stained with tears. There was a bitter taste in her mouth and she knew that she would never see her mother again.

"Goodbye, Seiki."

And then there was darkness.

The light was gone, along with her daughter and her hopes. She fell back against the pillows exhausted. The Prophecy had begun and her part had been played out.

She was tired, so tired. She slowly closed her eyes and felt her body relax. It was dark in her mind, and peaceful. She felt her spirit drift free. Opening her eyes she found herself hovering over the shell that was once her body. She studied it, regret foremost in her thoughts. There were so many things that were left undone and so much left unsaid.

Drifting back, she became aware of a light behind her. She was filled with a sense of happiness and peace. She turned and a silhouette appeared in the middle of the light. The silhouette became darker, closing in until a tall, red-haired man stood in front of her. His arms reached out for her, a gentle smile upon his lips.

"Seijuro," she whispered, " You came back for me?...I'm so glad."

Then Hitomi smiled.