Tita looked up from the invitation she had just finished composing as 
the harsh whump of helicopter blades grew louder in the lightening 
pre-dawn sky. She folded the piece of stationary into thirds and slid it 
into the envelope as the chopper landed on the side lawn right outside 
her window. She made a sour face as she licked the gummed edge of the 
flap and watched Catherine and her entourage hurry toward it. Yes, much 
to-do was going to be going on today! She shook her head sadly as 
Catherine paused to give Elenora and Jasmine a hug and kiss before she 
boarded. She addressed the envelope while Elenora and Jasmine waved as 
the helicopter climbed back into the air then the pair turned and headed 
back for the massive old rambling building.

	Catherine had asked her to come to the emergency council the Elders of 
the Order had called for after all that fuss with the Dragon Kings 
yesterday morning. She had declined pleading old age and exhaustion and 
alternate plans. All this excitement was just too hard on an old lady 
who was laden with the burden of foreknowledge. Catherine was all too 
pleased with her plan of going into retreat for a few weeks at the 
family's Summer Cottage and her desire to take Elenora and Jasmine with 
her.  She laughed softly as she pushed her chair back from her elegant 
little desk and took the envelope and the page of explicit directions 
downstairs. Very soon all of her niece's carefully laid schemes 
concerning her daughters was going to come to naught. Tita was a piece 
on the chess board she hadn't counted on. And a piece being moved by 
higher powers than Catherine could ever guess.

	She stopped by the kitchen to pick up the basket full of sandwiches and 
goodies she had ordered last night and poured herself a cup of coffee 
out of the big thermos she was sending with it, slipped her instructions 
and the letter into the side of the basket then went out into the new 
morning. She leaned against the balustrade and sipped as she waited. She 
glanced at her watch as the full sized luxury van came up the driveway 
and pulled around the circle to stop by the stairs. Right on time. She 
decided she liked the new logo for the Genii Transportation Service that 
was painted on the dark blue door as she set her cup on the wide stone 
top and took the basket and thermos as she went to meet the driver.

	"Ms. Saint-Germain?" The dark haired young man asked as he stepped 
down.

	Tita nodded. "You speak Japanese?" She had requested a driver fluent in 
that language.

	"Yes M'am!"

	"Fluently? Your passengers won't have much English."

	"Yes M'am! It won't be a problem." The young man assured her.

	"All right. I want you to follow these instructions exactly." She 
handed him the piece of paper.

	The young man read over the neat cursive and his expression filled with 
disbelief.

	"You're kidding, right?"

	Tita grinned back. "No. I want you to do exactly what it says. Do you 
have a problem with that?"

	The driver shook his head quickly. "No, M'am. I'll do it."

	"Good. Here." She handed him the envelope, waited until he had put it 
on his seat then gave him the basket and the thermos. She followed him 
around to the doubled side doors and offered some added incentive as he 
put them in. "There will be a hundred dollar tip waiting for you if you 
make it to the drop off site by five o'clock."

	"Yes M'am!" He grinned back. "I'll get them there. Promise!"

	"Well, off with you then." She shoo-ed at him with her hands.

	She stood on the bottom step and saw the van off. She nodded, pleased 
as she collected her cup on her way back into the house, dropped it off 
in the kitchen then went to collect her great-nieces. They needed to get 
on the road if she was going to get everything ready in time.


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


	Hakkei watched his brothers and their ladies with a fond smile as he 
leaned against the tree. Rankei and Jen-lei were not having much luck 
getting their kite in the air and Kikei and Eyanna were gloating loudly 
over that fact as their own soared high. Shukukei was out on the lake in 
the small dragon bowed boat with Kimiko, courting. He could faintly hear 
her rich laugh. Those two would be a good match. As was Rankei and 
Jen-lei.

	He had refused to do to his brothers what his father had done to him. 
He had suggested a number of eligible ladies and let them court and 
choose the ones they wanted. In fact, Jen-lei was a rare gem. He had 
been truly pleased with Rankei's choice even though she came with her 
little sister as concubine. Not that Rankei would ever consummate that 
arrangement. And the bond that was forming between his littlest brother 
and Eyanna was not unwelcome.

	This picnic had been her idea. A spontaneous and welcome diversion from 
the preparations for war and a chance for him to enjoy their company 
without the constant silent rebuke of his wife. Shanti, thankfully, was 
off visiting her mother. The soft voice that accompanied the rustle of 
fabric startled him.

	"Have I missed lunch?"

	He turned slowly and just stared at the lady he loved. "What are you 
doing here, Yokani?"

	"And good afternoon to you also, Blue Dragon King of the East." Yokani 
smiled back.

	Hakkei felt himself blush and he bowed in apology. "It is always a 
pleasure to see you, Lady Yokani."

	She laughed sweetly and stepped up to stand beside him. "Such 
formalities between us are silly, don't you think Hakkei?" She whispered 
in a soft aside as she watched the Dragon Kings play.

	"But necessary, Yokani. What are you doing here?"

	"Jen-lei invited me to visit her today. Didn't she tell you?" Yokani 
waved as Jen-lei caught sight of her.

	"No. She didn't." *A rare gem indeed.* He thought as she gave a small 
bow in their direction and then turned back to her husband and their 
kite.

	"Come and walk with me. Your brothers are well occupied and no one will 
miss us for a while."

	He debated as she turned and started for the grove of silver colored 
trees that stood close to the still waters of the lake. They shouldn't 
though this might be the last time he got a chance to be with her. The 
outcome of the coming conflict with the Gyushu far from clear. There was 
a high probability that he would not survive it.

	"Hakkei? Are you not going to keep me company?" She looked back over 
her shoulder and pleaded with her eyes. She knew this fact also. As 
always when dealing with Yokani, his heart won out over his head. He 
hurried to join her and walked at the proper distance beside her and 
made silly and mundane chatter until they entered the shelter of the 
trees. Only then did he take her hand in his as they hurried for one of 
the secret spots of their rendezvous.

	She pulled him to a stop just inside the glittering cave and pressed 
herself against him. He dropped his head and kissed the graceful length 
of her neck as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

	"You will not die. I forbid it!"

	He had a moment of disorientation as he opened his eyes on the backlit 
canopy of leaves over his head. For a moment Hakkei's memories warred 
with his own then he was once again Hajime Ryudo. Two things happened 
simultaneously. He realized that Matsuri was cuddled up against him 
under the blanket, her head nestled into the hollow of his shoulder and 
he realized the effect that dream/memory had had on his body. He sat up 
quickly, embarrassed and confused, relieved to find he was clothed.

	Matsuri pushed herself up with a sleepy "Hajime-kun? Are you O.K.?"

	He couldn't figure out what to answer as he pressed the heels of his 
hands against his eyes. No. He wasn't O.K. Gods! Was this to be his 
penance for his past life's love of her when she belonged to the 
Heavenly Emperor? And Shanti. Hakkei's memory of her face belonged to 
another he had known. He winced physically and mentally against that. 
Yet he had detected nothing from her, no hint of the special scent that 
Grandfather had assured him would be there. Was the fact that Lady  L 
wore the face of Hakkei's wife nothing more than a coincidence? He hoped 
so with all his heart. He had ignored her as she had spun out the sad 
tale of her life and knew she had fallen as he rose to deal with the 
laser satellite. He could have saved her at the cost of the Dynasty. The 
Dynasty had won out easily. And until now he had not regretted that 
choice.

	"Hajime?" She asked again, now awake and concerned.

	Her light touch on his arm made his whole body tense. He needed her to 
go away for just a few minutes until he got himself back together.

	"I'm O.K. Matsuri. I just need a few minutes by myself to wake up, 
that's all."

	She withdrew her hand quickly at the hard, tense undertone she heard in 
his voice and bit her lip. Something was bothering him a lot but she 
wouldn't push.

	He lowered his hands as she walked away. Tsuzuku passed her with a 
chipper, "Good morning, Matsuri-chan." as he headed for him with two tin 
cups.

	Her "Good morning, Tsuzuku-kun!" was just as bright. He found himself 
relieved. His tone had been much harsher than he had meant. He was 
afraid his brusque manner might have made her angry.

	He studied the small campsite, willing his attention to other more 
important things as he took the offered cup from his brother. Owaru and 
Amaru were sitting near the small fire talking with Shinkai, Detective 
Nijikawa and the Lieutenant.

	"A word of caution, Elder Brother. The Lieutenant made it to JSDF 
standards." Tsuzuku warned with a slight smile as he settled crossed 
legged next to him.

	Hajime grimaced as the strong coffee hit his taste buds. "What's with 
the fatigues?"

	"I was on an Air Force Base when I realized we might need a change of 
clothes. It was the best they could do on short notice."

	Hajime raised his eyebrows. He hadn't had time to find out how his 
brothers had managed to join him.

	"I'm afraid I've gotten us into even more trouble." Tsuzuku studied the 
surface of his coffee.

	He steeled himself. "What happened Tsuzuku?"

	"Well, after you went with Lady L, Shinkai-san and the others found us. 
We needed a hole to hide in for a while and Detective Nijikawa suggested 
the air raid shelters in the subways. It was a good suggestion. But the 
Police found us anyway. We ended up in the tunnel that lead to the Prime 
Minister's mansion and, well, ended up taking him and the Secretary of 
Defence hostage."

	Hajime choked on a swallow of the terrible coffee. Tsuzuku kept his 
gaze down and calmly took a sip of his own as he waited for his brother 
to stop coughing.

	"You took the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defense hostage?"

	"It gets worse." Tsuzuku closed his eyes and sighed. "We saw you change 
but we were trapped in the mansion and then you were gone. I wasn't sure 
what to do. Then Amaru had one of his spells and we could see you 
through him."

	Hajime nodded. He remembered that faint brush of his brothers minds.

	"You told us to follow you. I demanded a plane and safe conduct out of 
Japan. We got the plane and the safe conduct for a while. The plane was 
damaged in a rescue attempt and we had to change to save everyone."

	Hajime sighed. If they weren't on the top ten of every law enforcement 
agency in the world he'd be surprised.

	"I'm sorry, Elder Brother." Tsuzuku's voice was full of apology and 
self recrimination.

	"It's all right, Tsuzuku-kun." He squeezed Tsuzuku's hunched shoulder 
gently and gave him an encouraging smile as his brother looked up. "You 
did what you had to do. No one was hurt and that's all that matters."

	"Thank-you, Elder Brother." He saw relief in Tsuzuku's eyes. "Now, what 
happened to make you change?"

	Hajime rubbed at the phantom pain behind his left eye as that memory 
reasserted itself. "Lady L let Tsukuba play with me for a while. He 
finally figured it out and Lady L got her dragon."

	Tsuzuku swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you, Hajime."

	"Me too, brother. Me too." He had tried so hard to hold onto his shape. 
It wasn't the Time and Amaru had warned that something terrible would 
happen if he changed before then. He wondered what chain of events his 
premature change had spawned. He glanced over at his brother, frowned as 
he realized the impact of his words. He was definitely having a bad 
morning. "Tsuzuku, it's O.K. It wasn't your fault. But it has happened 
and now we have to deal with it."

	"Hai, Elder Brother." Tsuzuku answered in a subdued voice. "So, what do 
we do now?"

	"Survive. Do you remember the pact between the Heavenly Emperor and the 
Gyushu Clan?"

	Tsuzuku nodded. "If we won, they would be banished to the West. So, we 
are basically behind enemy lines."

	"Hajime, Tsuzuku-kun! Come eat!" Matsuri called from the fire.

	Hajime stood and offered his hand to his brother. Tsuzuku took it and 
let Hajime pull him up. Hajime held his brothers eyes as well as his 
wrist before he released him. "We survive, Tsuzuku. We may have to stop 
pulling our punches. And we need to find a way to get to the Village of 
the Dragon Springs. It's vital we find out what happened between the 
Dragon Kings and the Gyushu Clan."

	Tsuzuku nodded his understanding with a small frown. Hajime let him go 
and put on a smile as he tossed most of the coffee out of the cup as he 
strode for his brothers and his friends.


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

	Andrew looked down at the tripometer and checked it against the mileage 
on his instruction sheet. This was crazy! He had been told when Genii 
Transportation accepted him for this part-time summer job that he might 
be called on at strange hours and sent to unusual places. Especially 
since he had a special language skill. So far, it had just been ferrying 
Japanese business men to and fro. He pulled the van off the road. Man, 
this was the middle of nowhere! He checked the instructions one more 
time.

	'Honk the horn until you get a response.'

	He shrugged. O.K.

	He started to put some varying rhythm to it as the minutes ticked by. 
This was beyond crazy! Honk until you get a response. He should have 
asked for clarification on that one. Well, he'd give it five more 
minutes then he was out of here.

	His door was yanked open and a hand hauled him out by the collar. He 
swallowed hard and tried to smile into the stern face that glared back 
at him. *Oh, shit! And he was in military fatigues too!*

	"Good morning. Are you Ryudo Hajime?" He choked out in as friendly 
voice as he could manage.

	The man narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

	"Nagiwa Andrew. I'm a driver for Genii Transportation." Two more men 
came into sight from behind the van.

	"Who sent you?"

	"Ms. Saint-Germain. I've got the instructions and a letter for Ryudo 
Hajime. Man, don't hurt me!" He was starting to get scared.

	The younger one in fatigues got into the drivers seat and slid back 
out, his instruction sheet and the letter in hand.

	The man who held him glanced sideways at the one checking over his 
instructions.

	"Interesting. Whoever it is knew exactly where we were. The 
instructions are very specific."

	The pressure let up on his collar as the man pushed him forcefully up 
against the side of the van. "Stay there. Don't move."

	"Whatever you say, Sir!"

	Hajime took the offered sheet from Tsuzuku and read over it carefully. 
It made him very uneasy. Who was this woman and how did she know exactly 
where they were? The drop off was an address in Katsuchan, Vermont. He 
took the letter and opened it. Tsuzuku read it over his shoulder.

	'Hajime Ryudo.
		 For the sake of my great nice Jasmine Tananka, I offer you, your 
brothers and your companions sanctuary and whatever humble assistance I 
can offer. It would be an honor to have the new born Dragon Kings grace 
my house.

				Your servant,
					 Tita Saint-Germain'

	Jasmine's people offering help once more. Just who were they?

	"Tsuzuku?" He asked at his brothers sharp intake of breath.

	"Will you accept, Elder Brother?" His answer was calm and contained.

	Hajime folded the letter and put it back in its envelope to give him a 
few seconds to think. It could be an elaborate trap but it just didn't 
feel like one. And he wanted to meet these people. "I don't think have 
much choice. We will at least go and meet this lady." He nodded at 
Mizuchi who let out a piercing whistle, summoning the others out of 
hiding.

	"Nagiwa Andrew, I apologize." Hajime made a little bow.

	"Does that mean I can move now?" Andrew asked cautiously.

	"Yes." The man's smile was reassuring. "Please take us to Katsuchan, 
Vermont."

	"Yes, Sir!" He slid back into the drivers seat as the rest of the party 
piled into the van. The man he figured to be Hajime Ryudo took the seat 
next to him. He turned and took in the crowd.

	"Everybody that can, seat belts please. It's the law. The basket is for 
you. And there is some coffee in the big thermos."

	There were several pleased comments as they explored the basket as he 
turned the van and started back down the single lane road.