Utter Puzzlement

Luxe... Was here. And, she was real. There was no doubting it. Now, as Sadako wandered slowly back to the room she used to share with her husband, she couldn't help but let herself hope that he was here too, alive and well. But no, that would be also too much to ask for... She thought as she rounded the corner that lead to the master suite, her eyes upon her elegantly bare feet; she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going.

*Maze stood in the door frame to the room just enjoying the sight of his long lost wife. He had appeared there as if out of thin air and was as quite as a mouse. She was still like her old self. So innocent...so lovely.*

"Sado.."

She jumped, quite startled by that voice she'd thought she'd only ever hear in her memories since... That day. Her cheeks tinged a little pink, her eyes started to water a tad, but these were happy tears, ones of joy.

"M-maze?"

Suddenly breaking into a grin, she quickly went to him, embracing her husband tightly. There weren't words to describe how Sadako was feeling now; she could hardly think but for the amount of love that swelled in her chest at the sight of her beloved.

"If this is a dream, please let me keep dreaming..."

*Maze smiling embraced his wife tears flowing down his eyes. To have his wife back in his arms now was......was only something Maze could only look at threw memory. And for a moment everything disappeared..nothing else mattered in the world and the only two that were there were Sado and himself. The room began to change from underneath their feet. Petals of flowers would spiral around their ankles and would spread out the entire room. The room changing into the crimson forest in which Maze and Sado first meet. Giant tree in which Maze and Sado used to sleep towered over them casting it's shadow down on them.*

"I've missed you...so much."

Speechless as she held herself in his arms, she closed her eyes, only able to arch back, showering his with light kisses as her tears of joy trailed down her cheeks, with no sign of stopping. Finally, after her lips had touched his neck, cheeks, forehead and nose, Sadako quickly drew him into a passionate kiss, sweeping them up in that same glow that had worried him so completely way back when... But it was alright; her chakra pool was so much larger than even then. Right now, it wrapped him so completely in the feelings that Sadako was feeling, conveying feelings of adoration, joy, relief, confusion... And many, many more. However, it was a breathtaking amount of emotion, as Sadako slowly pulled away, withdrawing that hazy glow.

"As have I, Love. As have I..."

She slowly opened her eyes, her golden gaze noticing the forest, and that giant tree... Softly, she gasped, her hands clutching his shoulder's a little more tightly. She felt almost faint with relief, her heart beating a mile a minute as the glow faded, giving way to her astonishment.

"I... I remember this place."

She smiled, faintly, trembling lightly until she simply... Let go. Burying her face in Maze's shoulder, she sobbed softly, unable to keep the flood back now. It'd been so long, and she'd been torn so violently from the love of her life... So much had happened, and she now she'd had time to tell him all about it. But for now, there was something that tumbled from her lips over and again, her normally heavenly voice slightly choked with tears.

"I-I love you.

"I'm sorry...."

Well, thank goodness he was taller now; she wouldn't be able to do this had he still been as short as he had been.

*Maze could only smile as he rested his head on her's wrapping his arms around her.*

"I love you too."

*She'd had change. She wasn't as delicate as she once was and Maze would feel the struggles she must of went threw...the aura coming off her was a troubled one.*

Slowly, her sobs quieted, and she simply stood there with her husband, quietly enjoying his presence. Suddenly, she thought of her daughters, and felt pride swelling in her chest. She might not know their faces, but she knew their names, and the feel of their energies. They were so much different now, and didn't look much younger than herself, but...

"Maze, love... Was that really Mana that came after me?"

"Yes, yes it was. She's grown a lot huh?"

*Talking about the girls brought a since of warmth to Maze's heart. She's girls had grown loads since that day. That had to of been Sado's first time seeing her daughter...*

"You know they all ways ask about you."

"Yes, she has..."

She murmured in response to Maze's first question, feeling tears spring to her eyes once more. Don't cry, Sadako... You've done enough of that.

'"You know they always ask about you."'

And that was the final push her tears needed, and suddenly the waterworks returned. Really, she didn't mean to, and she was probably ruining her hubby's shirt... Ah, well. After a few minutes, she finally was calm enough to speak...

"I-I've been gone so long... Too long..."

"But your back now."

*Maze took his wife in his arms once more hugging her gentle but close. Maze couldn't even imagine how Sado must be feeling but he was going to be there for her..no matter what.*

"Thank goodness... Thank goodness for that..."

Slowly, she pulled away from him only enough to look up at Maze with a small smile.

"But, love, there's something I've missed more than even my own daughters..."

Her smile widening, it reached even her eyes, lighting every elegant feature of her visage.

"You."

She leaned in slowly, kissing him softly, sweetly, once more.

"I promise," she whispered against his lips, "to never let anything like that happen again... Maze, my husband, the love of my life... Please forgive me for being so careless, for departing so quickly... And please forgive me for what happened in my absence, when I was..."

She paused, not really knowing how to explain it. Falling silent, she knew that he'd have quite a few questions, but... Sadako simply wanted to spend this time with her husband, to almost make up for lost moments. Taking his hand as she pulled away, she led him into their room, where she used her elements wind and fire to first push two splendid armchairs close to the fire and eachother, and also to set the hearth aflame, respectively of course.

"I'm sure you have questions..."

She whispered, settling into one chair and staring into the flames. This was going to be a tough one...

"Just one really comes to mind."

.-Maze stood his hand in his pockets. His head lowered and his body faced the fire. The light radiated off his face giving it a type of glow. -.

"What happened to you? When you came back your were a wreck....What happened?"

"I got into a serious fight with a man named Elijah Hart... He wanted to kill Reia and... Well, someone who was exactly like you, and I thought to be you... But had been transfigured to be female in some weird twist."

Knowing she'd have a lot of explaining to do, she quickly launched into a further in-depth explanation. Nervously, her fingers played with the fabric of the dress upon her lap, her cheeks a delicate shade of pink.

"It sounds crazy, but after I died there was this void... I saw no afterlife for myself; there was only darkness. But then I was spat out in this dimension called Escellsia. It's so much different... I met Elijah there, and he seemed like a gentleman; he showed me around the guild and helped me work out getting myself and Reia quarters within it. He also took me on a picnic on the guild's roof. Overall, a very nice man... And I felt myself getting attached to him."

She bit her lip for a moment, embarrassed. A sweeping curtain of blue hair swung down to conceal her japanese features, her golden gaze locked upon her fingers and their nervous habit.

"Over a period of a little more than a year, I accepted the invitation to move in with him... But then I discovered the Distorted Reality (A replica of our Reality, minus the people...), and broke it off when he wasn't feeling up to life at the Twilight Castle. When I was discovering this Reality, I also found... An alternate you, I suppose."

Gently, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered... She wasn't sure what was real right now, and what wasn't. Had she simply imagined all this? Was any of this real? Maybe she had just passed out when Elijah had hit her with that odd lightning, and her mind was in a state of shock...

"But when I brought you out into the Distorted Reality, you were stuck in a girl's body... And I was really uncomfortable with that. I... I'm just not attracted to women, as you should know."

She smiled for a moment, but couldn't hold the expression to her lips for long.

"So I went back to Elijah... But he didn't like how you had been with me, and how Reia much Reia disliked him. She actually warned me away from him quite a few times. I should've listened."

Finally, her golden eyes met his, silent tears flowing freely.

"He wanted to kill you both, Maze... I couldn't let that happen. I... I fought back. I had him; he was almost drained of chakra from my shadows... But then he used some sort of lightning I'd never encountered. I couldn't... I couldn't cope..."

Trembling, she hugged her middle, her eyes now set upon the fire before she closed them, remembering that feeling. It certainly wasn't pleasant... Her voice was but a whisper when she spoke next, afraid of what Maze might think of her now, what he might say... She was terrified that he would be pushed away by the truth...

"And I think you know what happened from there."

.- As Sado told her story he had trouble keeping his emotions back clenching his fist as a type of cope. He was anger.....anger that someone would dare to try to hurt Sado...anger that he couldn't of stepped in....anger that she had loved another. -.

"I see...well.."

.- Maze couldn't bare any anger toward Sado thou...how could he? He had been threw as much as she had while she had been gone. Maze was just as guilty as she was....Hakku.. Maze had grown to love her..but with Sado back.. -.

"So a alternate me...is a GIRL? Haha now that is a funny one."

.- Maze tried to hide his true feelings behind his humor.but would it be...any good?.-.

That faint smile appeared once more, but she could tell from his clenched fists that he wasn't taking this well. Trembling yet more, she slowly stood, then knelt before her husband, taking his hand in hers, kissing the top of it softly.

"Forgive me, Maze... I didn't know that I'd ever be allowed back here..."

Her golden eyes softened as she looked up to him, practically begging his forgiveness. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he remained upset with her...

"It's I who should be asking for forgiveness."

.- Maze took his hand from Sado's and turned from her unable to look at her right now in his shame. -.

"I too moved on in a since. I fell in love with another."

Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and she pulled back a bit. She wasn't sure what to think, now. If he was in love, she couldn't tear him away from that.

Barely keeping the tears from her eyes, she whispered,

"I-I'm happy for you..."

.-Maze spun around, turning toward his wife. tears falling from his eyes. -.

"You were gone...you left and without you...I felt incomplete...I wasn't whole. But when I was around her..Hakku I felt whole again. Like that part of me had been restored."

.- Maze knelled down to his wife. grasping her hands in his. -.

"You left a wound that I couldn't heal alone...but now that your back...I...I"

.-Threw his sobs Maze couldn't even finish his sentence. The clash of emotion that was going on was hard and it wasn't easy to deal with. -.

Seeing him break down in tears, she was barely able to keep her own back.

"I-I won't ask you to choose... I've been gone too long. I-It's okay..."

Her voice was choked with unshed tears as she attempted to pull her hands away again. She didn't really want to come between him and his newfound love... She'd been afraid of this; knew it would happen....

"I.....it's just...The love I have for you is our own nothing can ever take that away."

.- Maze placed his hand on the her cheek. Gently brush back her hair as he stared into her golden eyes. -.

"B..but the feels I have for Hakku...are there own too..I...I just don't know."

Slowly, she closed her eyes. She whispered that it was alright as her tears slowly slipped from her control, spilling onto her cheeks. Really, it wasn't alright... Her heart was breaking right then and there. She couldn't rob Maze and Hakku of what could be a very bright and happy future. She seemed to be nothing but trouble; her influence was far too often a negative on the lives of those around her. It just... Wasn't right.

She'd been through so much, maybe loosing her husband again would be just another hardship. Now, she didn't have Reia to help her through this, though.

A soft sob left her, and inadvertently, her lips left slip her thoughts.

"I-I can't live without you, Maze... Please, I... I don't want to ruin your relationship with Hakku... I'm supposed to be... d-dead...."

"Sado......there is no life for me without you."

.-Maze's eyes started to tear again. What he said was true.....with out Sado....he was a worthless man...nothing more...He loved her so much. He leaned in to her and kissed her with all of the passion a husband could give a wife. The tears from them both started to float around them the light from the fire shining off of the water droplets adding a sparkle to the room.-.

Sadako, her eyes still closed, was so utterly surprised as he uttered those words, and kissed her that she couldn't respond for a moment... But slowly, ever so slowly, she relaxed. D-did he really mean it? He was.. Choosing her once more? Sadako couldn't believe it... But at the same time, her heart soared at the joy of it.

Barely a moment had passed before she was kissing him back, her passion matching his own...

Haha, you guys thought you were going to see some action between these two, didn't you? No. I'm going to be mean and fade out this scene. Love ya, Ves~