Darius tread the corridor silently, kicking up dust with every step he took. Shattered stone and glass crunched underfoot from time to time, but the main irritation - he noted while hacking another cough - was the sand floating in the air. Sand stirred up by that weird battle.

There was still no word on what had attacked the city... or what had caused those attackers to vanish. Only rumors of a demon gear that had appeared, causing the massive hole in the sky to form...

Darius stopped, glancing over at the next door. Elly's room.

Something else he still didn't quite understand. Elly...... Who was she? Her face gave him such a strange feeling, and her voice was so...... familiar in a way he couldn't describe, even to himself. It was like listening to an angel in a dream......

Darius gently pushed the door open, glancing about inside. If she was sleeping, he didn't want to disturb her...

Elly straightened from the wardrobe drawers, glancing back over her shoulder in surprise. Her hair was hanging loose instead of tied back in her normal half-ponytail, and it shimmered like gold in the sunlight flooding in through the door. But...... Darius spun around, and felt a flush rising into his face.

"I'm... well... er..." he stammered, trying desperately to think of something to say. Darius also had his eyes clenched shut, trying VERY hard not to think about what he had just seen...

"Darius? What are you doing here?" Elly asked quietly from across the room.

"Well... uh... Have you seen Aishou, Elly? I've been looking for her, and she's... er.... vanished..." Darius finally managed to finish.

He heard Elly laugh softly. "Could you...... close the door?" She cleared her throat. "Just...... don't turn around until I tell you, please......."

"Uh...... sure......." He backed into her room slowly, face still flaming, and quickly pushed the door shut. "I-I'm sorry........" He trailed off, not daring to even open his eyes.

Elly laughed, a wonderful sound that sent a shiver up Darius's spine. "It's alright... just PLEASE remember to knock next time, alright?"

"Yes... I will... really..." Darius managed to stammer out, trailing off as he ran into one of the walls of the room. He stopped, and turned back towards the door... hopefully with his back towards her.

She laughed again, and something rustled. More clothes, he hoped? "I...... I'm not sure where Aishou is. I saw her, last night, but......" Her voice sounded closer. "You can open your eyes now, silly."

Darius sighed in relief, and opened his eyes. And saw Elly about two inches away from his face.

With a rather undignified shout, Darius windmilled his arms as he tried to regain his balance, falling backwards onto the bed with a crash. Elly giggled, and extended a hand to the fallen martial artist.

Darius closed his eyes again, this time in mortification. But he chuckled, imagining what he must have looked like to her. 'Silly' was right on the mark. "This just isn't my day, you know that?"

He opened his eyes and took her hand. She smiled. "Maybe it'll motivate you to remember how to knock."

"If this dosen't, nothing will." Darius replied, grasping her hand and getting to his feet. "Sorry for bothering you... I'm just kinda concerned about Aishou..."

"Are you Darius?" Elly asked quietly, a trace of sadness in her voice. "Why did you stop here then? You know that she dosen't..."

For a moment both of them simply stood there, hands clasped, staring at each other. Suddenly, Darius let go of her hand and turned away.

"Of course I am......" he stared at the window, and the bright embroidery scattered across the curtains. She seemed to like embroidery a lot...... "I...... just figured you would know. You seem to pay attention to everyone."

Darius sighed, and rested his hand on the curtain. "I'm sorry... I just don't know what's been happening over the last few weeks. First Lahan, then this tournament... its all moving so quickly. I feel like a slave to events that I can hardly control..."

"It's okay, Darius." He felt her fingertips brush his arm, resting on his shoulder. The light touch was electrifying. "I understand. More than you know." She giggled then - more like a sad laugh. "There are just some things we can't deal with all at once......"

She removed her hand, and he turned partly, to look at her. "I have something to give you......" she said suddenly, turning her back and walking back to her wardrobe.

Darius nodded, walking over beside her. Why did he feel at such.. peace around her? What was this feeling?

"Last night......" Elly reached into a small wooden box, pulling out what looked like a necklace. "She came to see me last night, and she asked me to give this to you. I don't know what it is......" She shrugged. "I didn't want to look at it."

He held his hand out hesitantly, and she placed it on his palm, fingers brushing his hand again.

"This is..." Darius said quietly, glancing down at the locket. "Her..."

"She gave it to me last night... and said that she was leaving." Elly said quietly, not having moved her hand. Darius flipped the locket open, staring at the contents.

"Elly..." he finally said. "I realized I never asked you who you were, or where you came from... we just 'met' that day in the practice area... and I feel like I've always known you."

Her eyes shadowed. "It's..... a very strange feeling, isn't it? I don't know why......" She let her gaze fall from his, and stared at the floor.

"Who are you?" he asked, feeling that nagging sense of familiarity creep up on him again. Why did she look like that? So...... sad?

"I really could ask you the same question... after all, I understand the Lord Commander coming to my aid, being one of his soldiers... but you?" Elly shook her head. "I didn't understand. If it had been Aishou who was in the most danger, I think..."

For a moment they just stood there, staring out the window at the city of Beldavik.

Darius gave a short chuckle. "Seems we're doing a lot more thinking than talking... and I always got hungry when I did that. Care to join me for lunch?" he asked with a slight smile on his face.

She smiled, though that tinge of sorrow was still in her eyes. "Why not? I'd love to." She turned away from the window, still clasping his hand. "It's really rather boring in here anyway. I don't think I can stand one more hour cooped up in here."

"Are you sure you should be walking around?" Darius asked, a touch of concern in his voice. "I mean, are you..."

"Yes, I'm FINE." was the quick, and rather exasperated reply. "And didn't YOU just ask ME out for lunch?"

Darius gave an embarrased chuckle, and raised her hand up with his. He kissed the back of it before letting go, her fingers sliding between his.

She sighed, another short laugh escaping her lips. "You really are exasperating, you know that? You're worse than Kyoko."

"Oh really?" Darius asked, his blue eyes twinkling. "Now where would you like to eat? I just realized that I don't even know what you LIKE to eat..."

Elly regarded him with an unreadable look, just for a moment. Then she threw her arms around his neck, nearly squeezing the air out of him with her hug. "Anywhere, as long as it's better than what they've been giving me from the sick bay." She paused. "Thank you so much, Darius. I never got the chance to tell you that."

Darius gave her a long look. "Thank... you, I guess. I just... the last time I tried to save someone..."

She tilted her head, eyes shining brightly again. "Are you in the habit of saving damsels in distress, Darius?"

The complete lack of emotion on his face told her that it was the wrong thing to say. Darius shook his head, and started out the door. With a casual motion, he clasped her hand and lead her into the hallway.

"I found this excellent place down by the central square... I think you'll love it..." Darius said, trying to keep his voice level. For just a moment, it had come back... the panorama of what had been left of Lahan...

"I...... I'm sorry." She pulled back, stopping before she had passed the threshold. "I didn't mean....." Elly shook her head, hand shaking a little in his. "Maybe I should stay here...... after all. I......"

She blinked, the shine in her eyes shimering like......

Elly didn't have a chance to finish. Darius swept her up, crushing her to his chest. "No... don't... Its not your fault... nothing do do with you..." she heard him whisper into her hair. "Sorry.. didn't mean..."

Darius took a moment to recover his composure, and smiled a little. "I didn't mean to upset you... its a demon I have to deal with. I just... the last time, when Bob and I met Aishou... and that man, and that gear..."

"But I brought it up......" Her voice wavered, and he felt something wet strike his skin. Tears. "I didn't mean to bring that back...... it's obviously very painful......"

"I told you... it dosen't have anything to do with you... its just... Aishou said some things that..." Darius shook his head, pushing Elly out to arms length. His eyes softened as he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, its alright... don't cry."

With one hand, he reached over and brushed the tears from her face. "I just can't stand... seeing you... cry."

She stared at him, wide sapphire eyes still glistening with tears. Just when he thought he would never be able to look away, she let her head drop, bangs hiding her eyes. "I'm sorry....." She made a sound, something he thought was supposed to be a laugh. "I'm so weak sometimes......" She was still shaking.

"I think you could have fooled me..." Darius said quietly.

Just as he was about to say more, a familiar voice echoed down the corridor.

"HE~Y DAR~IUS! EL~LY!" Kyoko shouted from the end of the hall.

Elly's head snapped up in surprise, and then she grinned through her tears. "It looks like we'll be sharing our table with another person. Unless she gets ideas......"

Darius smiled, listening as Kyoko approached the room. "And why would she get those types of ideas, eh?" he asked quietly. He leaned over, and gently kissed her forehead. "I hope Kyoko dosen't eat as much as Bob does though..."

Elly flushed, color rising in her cheeks. "No...... that would be me." She reached up and rubbed her eyes, brushing the remaining tears away. He couldn't even tell she had been crying - or perhaps it was just those eyes......

"There you two are!" Kyoko said, skidding to a stop in front of the door. "Darius... I though you were getting Elly so we could get to that place you were talking about..."

"Well, I was..." Darius said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "But you know Elly... has to take her time, make sure her hair is taken care of..."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Her hair. Of course." Her eyes flickered between them, settling on Elly's loose hair and her rather odd mixture of clothing. "You walked in on her, didn't you, wonder boy?"

Elly giggled, tugging at her sun-dress nervously. "You have such a twisted mind, Kyoko. Don't give him ideas!"

"Of course! I would never willingly do such a thing." Darius replied, walking out the door. "Now if you two want to hurry up, we should be able to get there before the lunch rush..."

Elly hurried to his side, and he clasped her hand again. Kyoko snorted and fell into step beside Elly, muttering under her breath.

"Looks like he's already got a few ideas......"