Hajime let out a mental sigh of relief as he soothed the annoyed 
grumble of his dragon, put himself between it and the other presence 
that had slipped in and damped out most of the pain. It wasn't Doc, this 
presence was very young and female. He would have been happy even if it 
had been Doc. The absence of the pain made the task of keeping his heart 
and lungs going so much easier. Soon he could stop even working on that 
and just rest. He found himself able to wonder who these people where 
and how they knew how to help him as he heard soft encouraging voices. 
He felt the pull on his skin as they taped him back together, felt 
gentle hands straighten limbs and set bones, hold them in place so they 
would knit faster. He should open his eyes and look at his benefactors 
so he would know who to thank later, but he was to tired to do even that 
simple task. They were all here, all safe. Matsuri had whispered that in 
his ear. Now he could rest.

	Something was wrong. He could hear Amaru and Owaru's subdued voices but 
couldn't make out their words. No, it wasn't them. What had pulled him 
out of sleep? He frowned, forced his eyes open enough to focus on the 
light blue curved and carpeted ceiling. Airplane. Had to be. Who was 
crying? He turned his head on the pillow. Matsuri was sitting on the 
floor next the narrow berth, head buried in crossed arms that rested on 
her knees. Why was Matsuri crying? He tried to ask but nothing came out. 
He swallowed, tried again.

	"Matsuri-chan?" He winced at the scratchy whisper that was supposed to 
be a firm question. He needed something to drink, desperately.

	Matsuri looked up, startled, quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, 
Hajime-kun. I didn't mean to wake you." The smile she attempted was 
small and forced.

	"Why are you crying?" He saw her swallow hard, distress in her face as 
she glanced across the plane. He followed her look, saw Tsuzuku lying in 
a curl with his back towards them. What was wrong?

	"Matsuri-chan?" She drug her eyes back to him, her lower lip quivering 
as she tried to suppress her tears.

	"Oh, Hajime!" She choked out as she moved up onto her knees so she 
could lay her head on his chest. *Gods! What is going on?* He managed to 
get his arm to obey him, Gods he was sore, put his hand tentatively 
against her back as she moved with silent sobs against him.

	"Matsuri-chan, what is wrong?" He sharpened his senses, trying to feel 
any danger with them on the plane. Had they been captured again?

	She turned her face towards him. The sorrow there scraped at his soul. 
She blinked and sniffled, trying to get her tears under control. 
"Jasmine is dead." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

	Jasmine? It took him a second, then he understood. He looked back to 
his brother. *Oh, Tsuzuku...* "Does he know?" He pitched that for her 
hearing alone.

	She nodded yes.

	He simply shut his eyes, for a moment unwilling to deal with anything. 
He thought about going back into that quiet, restful place that beckoned 
with Matsuri resting against his chest. That would be nice, but...he 
sighed opened his eyes again.

	"Matsuri-chan, are we safe?" He needed to know that.

	She nodded again. "This plane was waiting for us as soon as we touched 
down. Jasmine's people said not to worry, they were taking us home."

	"Do you trust them, Matsuri?"

	"Yes." There was no doubt in her voice at all. That was good enough. 
Though he wanted to get the whole story of her and Owaru's adventure as 
soon as possible.

	He gave her a little hug. "Matsuri-chan, would you mind getting me 
something to drink?"

	She seemed reluctant to give up her position, but after a second nodded 
and straightened. He started to struggle to sit up, mentally cussing his 
unresponsive muscles. Hunger started to gnaw at him. He'd need to eat 
soon, but first he needed to find out about Tsuzuku.

	"Thank-you, Matsuri-chan." He smiled after she had helped pull him up, 
gave her hand a squeeze as she pushed him forwards a little to put the 
pillow behind his back for support. He held it for a moment longer than 
necessary as a jumble of emotions went through him. Thoughts and hopes 
that he had thought he had long since put behind him. He knew what 
brought it on. Tsuzuku's loss made him keenly aware of how much he 
needed Matsuri. What was he going to do when she found a husband? *What 
are you doing?* He growled at himself as she colored slightly. He 
released that dainty hand quickly. *She is not for me. Remember that!* 
He wondered at the perplexed expression on her face. It changed into a 
slight smile as his stomach growled loudly.

	"I'll get you something to eat while I'm at it." Then she was up and 
through the curtained partition.

	He sighed as he watched her go, resigned once again to that part of his 
fate, then turned his attention to his brother. He wished he could go 
over to him, but that was beyond his strength at the moment. He wasn't 
asleep. Hajime could tell from the tension in the muscles of his back 
that the light blanket didn't cover. He also saw the top of the wide 
bandage that covered his side.

	"Tsuzuku-kun?" He asked gently. His brother didn't answer.

	"Are you all right?" He tried again even though the answer was obvious. 
But he need to get him talking.

	"No. Just leave me alone, Hajime." His voice was calm yet Hajime heard 
the despair and fury under them. He wished Tsuzuku would turn so he 
could see his face.

	"I understand. When you are ready to talk about it, I will be ready to 
listen." What else could he say? At least Tsuzuku hadn't shut him out. 
He watched his brothers shoulders tighten even more.

	"I..." He heard the catch in Tsuzuku's voice as his brother faltered, 
felt his own chest tighten in sympathy.

	"Thank-you for understanding, Elder Brother."

	"Rest, Tsuzuku-kun." Tsuzuku nodded against the pillow.

	He kept his eyes on his brother as he relaxed into the pillow behind 
his back, thought about that wound on Tsuzuku's side. Tsuzuku had 
Changed. So far, when they Changed back all physical damage to their 
human bodies was gone. So why did Tsuzuku have this wound? The only 
thing he came up with was a bit disturbing. Wounds that their Dragons 
took were reflected in their human shapes. Yet so far the only thing 
that they had run across that could hurt their dragon shapes where other 
dragons. His train of thought was interrupted by Matsuri coming back 
through the curtains with a tray piled high with food. Amaru was behind 
her and Owaru followed with a second tray. Amaru slid past Matsuri, 
making her struggle with the balance of her tray for a second, checked 
himself at the last minute and gave his oldest brother a careful yet 
exuberant hug. Owaru wore a huge relieved grin as he brought his tray 
over. Matsuri took hers to Tsuzuku.

	"Tsuzuku-kun. You need to eat." She addressed his back in her best 
'no-nonsense' voice. The three behind her quieted, waited for his 
response, which was nothing.

	"I know you aren't asleep. The flight attendants went to a lot of 
trouble to fix this for you and it will be rude if you don't even eat a 
little of it." He still didn't respond. She took a deep breath and 
played her trump card.

	"Elenora asked me to take care of you for Jasmine-chan. Jasmine told me 
it takes a lot of fuel to do dragon work. You certainly have done a lot 
of that lately and I'm positive they didn't feed you well. She would 
want you to take care of yourself, Tsuzuku-kun. She would want you to be 
strong and not turn your back on your family. Believe me." She saw him 
tense at her words but still nothing. She turned away sadly, wondered 
what it was going to take to reach him. "Eat." She commanded Hajime who 
had been watching and not doing what she had just been fussing at 
Tsuzuku for.

	At least he didn't need to be told twice. She started for the flat 
padded bench that ran the length of the back of the compartment to put 
the tray down, Owaru and Amaru starting a soft happy chatter when 
Tsuzuku's voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

	"Matsuri-chan." She turned. Tsuzuku was sitting up, one hand pressed 
against his side, his gaze on the floor. "You're right. I do need to 
eat."

	Owaru and Amaru's conversation paused for just a beat as they looked at 
their brother, then resumed, knowing that he still needed time. She 
smiled in relief, took the tray back and helped get it settled on his 
lap. He still wouldn't meet her eyes though. She settled beside him as 
he started to pick at the food, offering silent comfort.

	Hajime glanced up, pleased to see that Tsuzuku had stopped picking and 
had started eating. His brother actually smiled as the "What I didn't 
get to see in my one day in America" complaint game that was flying fast 
and furious between Owaru and Matsuri got sillier and sillier. He caught 
Matsuri's eye and smiled. She nodded back. They were O.K. They would 
survive.

**********************************************************

	Elenora still couldn't believe it. When Catherine had called her away 
from her vigil at Jasmine's side and into the hallway she knew something 
was seriously wrong. Her foster mother was slapping a file against her 
thigh gently with one hand. Elenora could see 'Ryudo, Tsuzuku' printed 
along the side. Dead. Tsuzuku was dead. Jasmine was going to freak when 
she woke up. Poor Matsuri. She looked down at her watch. They should 
just about be home by now. She squeezed her sisters limp hand and 
sighed, that little bit of air fluttering the ends of the scarf that was 
tied in a big bow around the end of her sisters braid. Jasmine squeezed 
back, wrinkled her nose, brought up her free hand to rub it. Elenora hit 
the pager to summon Catherine.


	Jasmine focused on the sweet metallic taste that clung to the back of 
her throat. It was a left over from one of the major pain-killers. Yeck. 
She needed a drink. What had happened? She had gotten into another fight 
with Tammi. She frowned, trying to bring that into focus. Elenora! She 
made her eyes open, her heart pounding in her chest. "Elenora?!"

	"I'm right here, Sis. It's O.K." Elenora soothed back.

	She blinked, her eyes dry and scratchy and messing with her vision. But 
Elenora was right next to her holding her hand.

	"Catherine's coming. You're O.K."

	*I am?* She thought about that. No, she wasn't. She was one big 
throbbing ache. Then her memory fought it's way out of the drug haze.

	"Where's Tsuzuku and Matsuri? Is everybody O.K.?"

	Elenora suddenly wouldn't meet her eyes, looked uncomfortable, wiggled 
in her chair. She fought to keep her focus and not let her thoughts 
wander away. Something really bad had happened. "Is Matsuri O.K.?"

	"Yes. She's fine." Elenora looked up and smiled reassuringly.

	Jasmine could almost read her sisters thoughts in her eyes. *Please, 
don't ask.* they seemed to plead. Tsuzuku. Something had happened to her 
dragon.

	"Is Tsuzuku O.K.?"

	Elenora looked down again. "Is he hurt, Elenora? Tell me! Please..."

	Elenora swallowed hard, still wouldn't meet her eyes and remained 
silent. Then she knew. But she wanted to hear it from Elenora's lips.

	"Elenora, what happened to Tsuzuku." She steeled herself.

	"Don't ask me right now, Jasmine." Elenora whispered.

	"Tell me."

	Elenora looked into her sister's golden eyes at that command. She knew 
already. She just needed to hear it said out loud, need to hear the 
reality of it.

	"He died. In transit to the plane." Her sister crunched her eyes shut 
tight as if that gesture could block out that knowledge. "I'm so sorry, 
Jasmine." She worried at her lower lip as Jasmine seemed to go very 
still. It was a stupid and inane thing to say, but she couldn't think of 
anything else. Nothing could say how she felt. Jasmine moved suddenly, 
curled up into a ball and began to cry. Great heart wrenching sobs. *Oh 
crap!* She didn't know what to do! She had only a vague memory of seeing 
Jasmine cry once, at their parents funeral. She climbed up on the bed 
and pulled her sisters head into her lap and cried with her.

	Catherine slid to a stop in the doorway to Jasmine's room, the sounds 
of her daughters grief hitting her like a physical blow. She gasped and 
turned so she could lean against the wall beside the door frame, out of 
sight. She was trembling. She closed her eyes, concentrated on getting 
her body under control as she yelled up the hall for a doctor. *Oh, 
Jasmine. I'm so sorry! But it is for the best. For all of us.* She was 
calm and in control of all facets of herself when she hurried into the 
room. She went and sat on the other side of Jasmine and rubbed her back 
as the sobs racked her, made soothing sounds.

	"Elenora, please stop. You're upsetting your sister more." Elenora 
gulped and looked at her, nodded and tried. "It's O.K. Jasmine, it's 
O.K."

	The doctor was at their side. She stood and hovered as he put a tranq 
filled patch against her neck and fussed over her for a few minutes as 
he waited for it to take effect. Finally she relaxed, the sobs fading 
into gasping shudders.

	"She'll be all right." The Doctor nodded then stepped out of the way.

	Catherine returned to her spot, resumed the hypnotic caress against her 
daughters back and began to hum the lullaby that she had taught her so 
long ago.

**********************************************************

	Hajime leaned against the door frame of the dining room and studied his 
second brother. He had gotten Matsuri and Owaru's story last night after 
the van had dropped them off at the house. He and Tsuzuku had slept 
through the remainder of that long flight home but he had been able to 
walk off the plane with just a little help from Matsuri. This morning he 
had nothing but rapidly fading bruises though he was still sore. 
Thankfully Tsuzuku had healed at dragon speed also. The wound to his 
side was gone but he had a wicked bruise and tender ribs.

	They owed so much to Jasmine and her Organization. It frustrated him 
that they didn't know who their mysterious benefactors were. Jasmine had 
never said who she and her sister worked for, only that it was an 
organization that studied the paranormal. Well, he would find out. He 
had set Amaru and Owaru net surfing to see if they couldn't ferret out 
something with that very expensive top of the line computer sitting in 
the kitchen. They needed to return it to whoever it belonged to. They 
needed to offer their condolences on Jasmine's death. He needed to say 
thank you.

	The fading late afternoon sun made his brother glow. He was leaning 
against the side of the window frame, his forehead resting on his 
supporting arm. Hajime pushed off the door frame and went to him, turned 
and sat on the sill. He didn't say anything, just offered his presence. 
The sounds of the summer came through the window as he sat, watched the 
patterns of the shadow leaves on the wall as he waited for an 
acknowledgment or a dismissal.

	"Why does this bother me so much, Hajime-kun? I didn't even know her!" 
Tsuzuku finally asked quietly.

	Hajime thought about that for a moment before he answered. "I don't 
know, Tsuzuku-kun. Perhaps it is because the promise of love, of a 
normal life as a normal man is suddenly gone." He knew that was a large 
part of it.

	Tsuzuku didn't look at him, continued to gaze out the window. 
"Perhaps."

	"What happened when you went missing, Tsuzuku-kun?" He looked up at his 
sun lit brothers profile.

	His brother stiffened, his face going hard with fury as the relaxed 
hand by his head clenched. "I don't want to talk about it, Hajime."

	Hajime was shocked. Tsuzuku never got this angry. He felt a flicker of 
alarm at the pure hatred that seethed under those words. He watched 
Tsuzuku force himself to relax. That seldom seen expression smoothed out 
and left a resigned sadness in its place.

	"Please, Eldest Brother, just let it rest."

	"O.K." *For the moment.* He heard a squabble start in the hall and 
sighed. This was the third one today. Tsuzuku cocked his head, 
listening. A faint smile touched his lips.

	"They've been cooped up too long, Eldest Brother."

	"Hai. But what to do with them?" He pushed off the sill, headed for the 
bickering. He was surprised but pleased that Tsuzuku joined him. They 
looked at each other as the argument stopped in mid word and sped up.

	"What?" Matsuri stood just inside the front door and looked at her 
staring cousins. Tsuzuku made an appreciative noise as Hajime just 
stared.

	Amaru jumped up and grabbed the CD box out of Owaru's hand as he 
blinked and grinned at her.

	"You look really nice, Matsuri-chan!" Amaru said with a smile.

	"You think so?" Matsuri turned all shy, hid everything but her eyes 
with her fan even as she struck a pose to show off her beautiful kimono.

	"What's the occasion?" Owaru finally found his voice.

	"The Precincts Summer Festival, of course! We're going, right?" She 
sashayed up to Hajime and Tsuzuku, wiggled between them and linked her 
arms into each of theirs and looked up imploringly at Hajime.

	"Please, Hajime-kun? Can we?" Amaru was all but jumping up and down 
with enthusiasm.

	"It would be nice to get out, Hajime-kun." Tsuzuku added.

	Hajime sighed and shrugged. He was outvoted and it was unfair to keep 
them cooped up in the house until he figured a place to hide them. And 
their latest encounter with the Four Sisters had proved that the house 
wasn't a safe haven anyway. "O.K."

	Amaru and Owaru were out the door in a flash, Tsuzuku hurrying to 
follow and keep them in sight.

	"It was a good idea, Matsuri-chan." He smiled down at her as he locked 
the door.

	"Of course! Now, shall we? Before Amaru and Owaru get into some 
mischief?" She put her hand on his elbow and smiled back up as she 
hurried him along.

**********************************************************

To be continued...

O.K. This is the end of Interlude. The story will be continued (if there 
is interest in seeing it) in the next part. The problem is that I can't 
go any farther until I see the last tape and it won't be out until the 
first week of August. So until then. ^_^

Please send any comments, thoughts, suggestions, whatevers for this part 
or any that have come before to me at

trichm@iu.net

or send them to the list. Just as long as you send 'em. ^_^

Shannon
(dragoncritter@overyonder.com)