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Ainsu stopped, only long enough for Kaguyo to freeze the cuffs off his wrists.
"Cold?" he asked before striding ahead of her and into the room. "Compare me to the Muse then, I don't really give a damn anymore what you think about me." the former playwright replied as he moved to Aled's bedside and started checking the unconscious man's vitals. "Like I said before, curse me. Hate me. Do whatever you feel you need to to get over your grief. Yes, I doomed an entire planet to a thousand years of isolation." he looked up at Kaguyo, his gaze frozen and deadly. "I could have just blown the entire world up. So take your pick."
It was true.
That would've been one way to get rid of Konton... simply destroy Tarnbsei.
But Ainsu hadn't wanted to murder an entire world. Secluding them for a thousand years from outside influences seemed like a far more merciful option.
Besides, they probably never would've even realized that they were as cut off as they were. And if they did... well... civilizations thrived and died all the time in the span of a planet's life. It was about time that the clock restarted for Tarnbsei once more.
Fingers on Aled's pulse, Ainsu gauged the man's recovery speed. "Kuso... whatever the hell you found him in wasn't kind. No doubt something of Watari's..."
But instead of healing him right away, Ainsu pulled out a small device from his pocket. After typing in a few words, he waited.
A reply was eventually received.
"No one was supposed to use that." Ainsu spoke, reading the message, straight from Watari himself. "It's a perfect stasis pod, only it slows the body down to such a degree that it needs to be jump-started after removal. If Aled-sama has been in there for a thousand years... he's going to need far more than a simple shock."
Rolling his eyes, Ainsu sighed as he pocketed the small device again. "Wonderful..." he murmured before standing there for the moment and thinking through his options.
He could easily use his holy power...
But...
"Kaguyo, leave the room."
It was a simple and direct order.

Ainsu understood.
He hadn't exactly had his empathic abilities while on earth... but he understood completely what Kaguyo was going through.
The man knew her pain, he felt it keenly himself. He had his own grief, after all... Not only had he effectively shut out those whom he had worked with in the rebellion... but those whom he had lived with for countless years.
Sure, his theatre had been burnt to the ground... but his comrades had survived.
And he had sealed their fates as well.
Of course, he knew his parents now... and while he had effectively trapped one of them, more likely killed him before trapping him, he didn't truly KNOW his parents.
To Ainsu... they were strangers, met by sheer coincidence.
Kaguyo wasn't the only one who lost everything she knew.
So had Ainsu.
And, as soon as Aled was back to fighting strength... so had he.
The Ou would have his son and grandson, and sister... though the latter still couldn't care less if he had died over the thousand years.
But the truth was that everything was gone.
For all of them.
And Ainsu had already forced himself to accept that.
Of course he had grieved as well, though Kaguyo would never know it. The pain that tore through him every time Aled's name was even mentioned was striking.
But Ainsu had pushed the pain aside, had dealt with it on his own time, and had kept his calm exterior.
Not anymore.
Sure, he was calm right now... but that had more to do with anger than anything else.
If Kaguyo wanted a cold b*****d standing there... he would give her that.
Ainsu would give Kaguyo whatever the woman wanted.
Even if it drove him mad in the process.

So, when Kaguyo finally left the room, Ainsu's mask fell and he sighed, pulling long black hair back over one shoulder with his slender fingers.
"She's going to be the death of me one day, Aled-sama." the former playwright whispered.
Closing blue eyes, Ainsu simply stood at the side of the bed for a long moment.
Then the glow began...
The symbol returned to Ainsu's forehead, and the young man carefully bent over Aled's unconscious body.
At first, he really had no clue how to heal the man. He just knew he COULD.
Then... well... Ainsu figured that first things first.
So, he placed two fingers from each hand and the far corners of Aled's closed eyes. As the holy power flowed through his arms and into his fingertips, the Ou's eyes would begin to feel the burden of his unconscious sleep lifting.
Of course, there was another thing they needed more than the light haired man's sight.
And that was speech.
Hands occupied, Ainsu did the only other thing he could think of.
Delicately, the former playwright pressed his own lips to Aled's, effectively kissing the Ou and holding that kiss as his holy power peaked.
Power ebbing away... Ainsu held that kiss, making sure every ounce of power could flow into Aled's eyes and lips.
Of course, he hadn't exactly expected Kaguyo to walk in at that moment.
BUT Ainsu was a bit more concerned with what he was doing, than the reappearance of the woman...

The reaction to Ainsu was immediate.
Just as the holy power stopped... just as Kaguyo slammed that door... the former playwright staggered and fell backward onto the ground.
"SHIMATTA!" he shouted, holding his head.
Okay so it hurt to give away that much holy power...
But it hurt even more when Kaguyo's emotions slammed into him... hard.
Crippling was right, because Ainsu couldn't even move as he sat on the stone floor, head in his hands, just trying to stop the agony racing through his mind.
That shout, coupled with the door slamming, had alerted Hikaru quickly to a situation... and the white-haired man was in the room in a matter of moments.
"How did... you escaped!" he spoke, rather surprised by this. "Guards!"
Ainsu couldn't even verbally defend himself. He couldn't say, 'you got it all wrong' or 'just hear me out'... hell he couldn't even comprehend that someone was talking to him.
It was like his every nerve was on fire, head pounding, heart racing, vision blurred, senses dulled!
His body was going haywire!
"Ma... matte... kudasai..."
Hikaru blinked, looking to the bed and the prone figure within it. He was shocked, to say the least, that Aled had actually spoken.
If Ainsu heard the Ou, he didn't show any signs of it.
Quickly, Hikaru was helping Aled to sit up, the Tarnb-jin Ou's eyes bright and focused. Of course, the man didn't move on his own, but the fact that he could see and speak was quite the improvement.
As guards rushed into the room, Aled spoke again. "Don't... hurt him... He did this..."
Hikaru waved the guards back, "Why is he in pain?" the man asked calmly, looking from Aled to Ainsu.
A small smirk appeared on the Ou's face. "Easy. Kaguyo's pissed off."

It had taken a few hours to explain everything that had occurred to Aled. Especially since Ainsu needed to push past Kaguyo's emotional distress before being able to do so.
With a little help from Hikaru though, Ainsu was soon focused, not on the fact that his mind was going to explode.
"Do I need to tell you again that you're not to blame?"
Ainsu sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, hands folded in his lap. "No, but... I can't deny that it's nice someone doesn't think I destroyed everyone's lives..."
Laughing slightly, Aled smirked. "Kaguyo's going to hate you until she realizes that what you did, was pretty much the course I would have taken, if our roles were reversed." the Ou shrugged very slightly, his body having taken quite a while to absorb the energy which Ainsu had given him.
In fact, between Hikaru's healing techniques earlier, and Ainsu's holy power, the Tarnb-jin Ou was feeling alive at the very least.
Though, Hikaru had warned that he should take things slowly, and certainly try to stay in bed for the next few days.
"Think of it this way, Ainsu." the Ou spoke seriously. "You were an orphan to begin with, so you didn't know the pain of losing one's family. Kaguyo now does. While I'll admit they were far from close to her... she still has that burden to carry around. Of course, that... truthfully... doesn't compare to the burden you're going to carry for the rest of your life."
Ainsu winced at that, "Yeah well, I feel a bit more relieved now that you're not a vegetable. Po-ar and Kazuhiko have gone to search for Aoikage... so perhaps that will make Kazuhiko a bit happier." the former playwright smiled a tad. "I mean, his grandfather and best friend survived."
"That isn't all that survived though, is it?" Aled asked, his gaze focused on the younger man's missing arm.
Blue eyes fell to where the limb should have been. "Kazuhiko cut it off... he was pretty pissed at the time too... but," Ainsu shrugged. "I deserved his anger. I deserved Kaguyo's too. But you're right, Aled-sama... we think the Muse is still alive."
Sighing, Aled shrugged slightly again, "I wish I could tell you more, Ainsu... but I was near death and then he just vanished. Next thing I knew, I was inside that defective machine of Watari's. Which means that the Muse has had the last thousand years to run around."
"And he could be in anyone..." Ainsu replied, just as Hikaru brought in a tray of tea.
The white-haired man smiled, "I'm guessing our tea has changed since you lived here, Aled-san... but I do hope you like it." he spoke, setting the tray on the nightstand, to allow for Ainsu to pass a cup to the Ou.
"Oh and..." Hikaru turned to the doorway, motioning for someone to enter. "I caught someone trying to break into Akatsuki-dono's private study."
That someone... was Kaguyo.

Of course, how she was caught... happened about half an hour earlier...

While Ainsu and Aled were talking, Hikaru had been on his way to the Emperor's chambers, just as a precaution.
Akatsuki had a habit of simply popping up unaccounted for... and if the Emperor WAS in the palace, it would certainly set the young man's heart at ease.
However... he hadn't found Akatsuki... but someone else.
Someone persistently pressing buttons...
Of course, Hikaru was completely silent, a skill that came in handy quite often, as he walked forward to stand behind Kaguyo.
"I do hope you're not trying to break into the vaults, Kaguyo-san." Hikaru spoke, one hand, palm toward the woman, placed between himself and Kaguyo.
Unseen... there was a small barrier.
If Kaguyo attacked physically, it would probably shock the s**t out of whatever limb slammed into the barrier. If she attacked any other way, be it weapon or other, then it should easily deflect it away.
Hikaru's other hand raised, and with a few mumbled words, three black rings appeared from above the young woman's head, to slip down and tighten around her.
It would effectively pin her wrists to her hips, her arms to her torso, and her shoulders to her chest.
After all, he didn't want to have to carry the woman.

"Kaguyo?"
Hikaru nodded once the woman had, grudgingly, entered the room. "She was trespassing somewhere that I had told her was off limits. I was hoping..." Hikaru waved his hand at the woman, the black rings disappearing in a puff of smoke. "You two could convince her to stay out of Akatsuki-dono's private chambers."
The stern tone in Hikaru's voice told Ainsu... that this was actually a very serious offense.
It told Aled though... that Hikaru wasn't above showing his own strength if need be.
Especially to have caught the illusive Kaguyo...
Sighing, Ainsu stood up and bowed to Hikaru. "Forgive her transgression. She's only worried and wants to learn the answers to her questions as soon as possible. If we could but meet with the Emperor I'm sure she..."
"He is still missing." Hikaru stated bluntly, the subject obviously a bit of a sore spot with him. "Scounts have returned from the angel's resting place... and neither the Emperor, nor the angel, are present in the shrine any longer."
'That explains the upped security... and Hikaru's sudden caution toward us... We show up, the Emperor goes missing...' Ainsu sighed inwardly. 'Why do I get the feeling this has to do with Po-ar and Kazuhiko?'
"Kaguyo... these people were nice enough to not treat us with hostility."
Aled's voice broke Ainsu out of his own thoughts. After all, hearing the Ou actually speaking again, was still a relief to the former playwright.
"Certainly you can wait just a little while for your questions... after all, I have many of my own that will go unanswered until the Emperor returns." Aled finished, reaching out one arm toward the woman.
With Ainsu no longer sitting on the edge of the bed, that meant that if Kaguyo so wished it... she could take the dark-haired man's place.
But it almost meant something more... something that the Tarnb-jin Ou understood better than Ainsu did, it seemed.
It meant that he wasn't going to abandon her. It meant that she was welcome by his side. It meant... that she was so very important to him.
Ainsu was a love that he HAD had... and in his current sane state of mind, didn't really want to have again. No fault to Ainsu... but them together in any relationship would only dredge up painful memories for the playwright.
And... maybe... for Aled as well.
But Kaguyo...
She was another story altogether. Aled had many good times and many bad times with the woman.
And he hadn't forgotten her loyalty when he was the new bearer of the Muse.
Nor had he forgotten her love.
However, to the Tarnb-jin Ou... it was a love that, in his heart, in the deepest depths of his heart... he wished she would show to Ainsu.
After all, Aled had fallen so deeply for Shiyori... so deep and so fast, that the mental images of her death at Konton's claws was still etched freshly in his consciousness.
To be rid of that demon... finally...
Aled had Ainsu to thank for that. He had Ainsu to thank for subsequently, though not on purpose, freeing Aled of the Muse as well. He also had Ainsu to thank for no longer bearing the burden of ruling an entire planet...
He wanted Ainsu to be happy and, Aled knew, Kaguyo could truly be happy with the former playwright.
But first... he had to get it out of her head... that Ainsu was her new mortal enemy.
And to do that... would be to show Kaguyo that Aled wasn't interested in Ainsu sensually.
At least, not anymore.

"Why would I be mad?" Aled asked with one raised eyebrow.
Carefully, very gently, he put his hand on Kaguyo's knee after she had finally sat down.
"I'm fine, Kaguyo-chan. Just tired and sore, but fine... thanks to Ainsu and Hikaru-san." his gaze focused on the two men for a moment.
It seemed to the Ou that Hikaru wasn't all that angry anymore. But he was cautious, and not leaving the room any time soon it seemed.
As for Ainsu... the young man seemed relieved that Kaguyo hadn't backhanded him for, dare he... sitting on the side of the bed...
"I'll be alright in a few days time." Aled replied with a slight smile. "Don't worry. YOU, Kaguyo-chan, need to be worrying about calming down. This place is too pretty to turn into an ice palace... and to be honest... that capsule of Watari's was very very cold. So warmth..." the Ou winked. "And you being by my side, are both things that will speed my recovery greatly, I think."
In other words, Kaguyo was warm when calm and collected... and having her held next to him didn't sound like such a bad idea.
"I know you were worried... but what's done if done, Kaguyo-chan. What was done... it got rid of that b*****d demon Konton. It saved lives, even though, to us, it may not have seemed like it."

At that last remark, Aled leveled Kaguyo with a rather confused expression. "We're hardly stuck here, Kaguyo." the Ou replied. "No doubt you BOTH brought ships to this world... we can go where we please."
In truth, there wasn't anything left for Aled on Tarnbsei. Of course, the same was easily said for Ainsu and Kaguyo both.
Their world had changed.
A lot.
Or so, for the moment, it seemed.
Aled would decide how much it had changed, once he was back to his old self again.
"If I may speak with you, Hikaru-san?" Ainsu spoke up, motioning that he wished to talk to the other man outside.
In fact, he was going to suggest that he make a trip to the shrine himself... just to be perfectly sure that there was no trace of Po-ar or Kazuhiko... not to mention Aoikage and the Emperor.
Thus, the two men headed outside, as did the guards who were assigned to watch the room.
Both from attack within and without... and just in case the occupants needed anything.
Aled sighed slightly, "We will have to discuss it eventually, Kaguyo... but for now, let us try and not focus on things beyond our control. Tell me... why were you trying to sneak into the Emperor's study?"

As Kaguyo spoke, it was becoming clearer and clearer to the Tarnb-jin Ou that the woman was having some serious issues.
Ones that a psych evaluation probably wouldn't even solve.
Untrusting... claustrophobic... heightened sensitivity... and a fight or flight need within the woman were just a few of the problems which appeared immediately to the man.
But... Aled had known Kaguyo for a very long time. Almost as long as Ainsu had known her.
Thus, Aled knew that if Kaguyo had been left alone, she probably would have gone AWOL in a day at most.
Ainsu had been protecting her. Smothering her yes... but protecting her all the same.
Aled would've done the same.
"While I understand your curiosity, Kaguyo... there's nothing wrong with the planet. Well, it looks different obviously but... I highly doubt the soil is going to swallow you whole. The planet holds no ill will against us because we've somehow managed to exist outside of our select time. If it did hold grudges over such things... it would have swallowed up Konton ages ago."
For a few moments, Aled simply let silence stretch between them, at least until he figured out how to properly address the next topic.
"Your skittishness, Kaguyo... I can understand it in part. You're worried about the MUSE and his whereabouts, aren't you?"
Of course he and Ainsu had discussed this. Aled knew the Muse had left him long ago. But where he had ended up...
"You can't go around distrusting the world, Kaguyo. You've pushed Ainsu away, and I pray you'll not do the same to me for fear of the Muse. If Aoikage is alive... he is no doubt the best candidate to still hold the Muse within him. If he isn't, then we'll begin our search. But angering the local ruling class by trying to steal information... it will only hurt our cause. They may not even believe that a being like the Muse exists." his blue gaze softened slightly. "And how can they even begin to believe our story... if they can not trust us?"