The three girls were sitting in their room at night and were discussing matters, all of their eyes swollen with tears as they had lost their dearest ally and friend.

"It was a beastly man... I've never seen anything like him before. He was even more powerful than Marvin Wagner ever was," Riza retold them of their adventures on the reconnaissance. "He is the Golden Venus Celestial Lord - the Taurus sign. He turned out to be a Dog spirit, and the Tamer Class, Beast Rank just like Shiba, but he was far more experienced, and... he had a pet right beside him, so the fusion was more powerful than Shiba's remaining powers Bruno had granted him before his death..." tears fell from her eyes as she recalled the gruesome event, "Shiba took that guy, Akuma, head-on, but couldn't withstand the Blast of Golden Venus..."

"That... That's terrible!" tears gathered in Tamie's eyes, "I can't believe he's truly gone! And we have another Celestial Lord as an enemy?! But we've got no Celestial Lords on our side now, and no Bearers either. What shall we do?"

"Um, but didn't you say Byakuya is the Sun Celestial Lord?"

"Ah, yes, Byakuya... he might be of help".

"Actually, you've got two powerful Byakuyas on your side".

They all started and looked aside, spotting Tamie's muse Byakuya Ikemoto, in his long purple lower hair-tail, black kimono, white scarf, and those enchanting icy blue eyes...

"Byakuya?!" Tamie widened eyes in a stupor, "But how? I thought Kokujin had come to life!"

She could clearly remember she had revived Kokujin as the more powerful one of her muse's faces. How come Byakuya had returned from the scroll now and not Kokujin?

"Kokujin? Byakuya? I believe it's all the same thing," the Blade Warrior shot her a serious gaze, "What that Goatee Bill told you back then about two-faced muses, Goddess - that the more powerful one would emerge - is false. Both shall emerge because both are in fact one - I am your muse, and I am one and only, but with different faces. It does not change the main core of mine though, so which face I take, depends on my wish".

"Oh, I understand... But as Byakuya, you surely are more tactful".

At such a half-joke of hers, Byakuya laughed.

"We've got no time to be joking around..."

The girls and the muse surprisedly looked at Tiger. She was staring at the floor with her eyes reddened with tears.

"Shiba died, from the hands of that order... because of that woman. We have no reason to laugh now..." she stood up and walked out of the room silently.

"Huh? But Tiger! Come back, we_" Riza wanted to resonate, however, the door got slammed behind Tiger as she walked out, leaving even her pets behind. "What's with her? She's even gloomier than she can usually be..."

"I guess she still needs to cope with the fact that we're fighting against Kassandra Braun..." Tamie sadly cast her eyes down. "She might also still remember Kokuyo-sama's words from before, so..."

"Ugh, that guy's just unbearable!" Riza clenched her fists with disgust.

Tiger was sitting on the balcony, looking at the rainy night, and was sobbing:

To think that... the path I chose would lead back to her...

"You'll catch a cold if you stay here outside". 

Her eyes flashed as she looked up to meet Kokuyo Matsumoto's gaze.

"You don't understand a damn of how I feel! Leave me alone!"

Kokuyo watched her for a while, as she was sobbing alone, and then, uttered in a somewhat sad tone:

"Kokuyo Matsumoto... or rather, von Drachen..."

Tiger widened her teary eyes and looked up at him:

"What are you babbling about?"

"I understand how you feel. I am Byakuya's little brother, Kokuyo von Drachen. But when our uncle, Hiruko Matsumoto, demanded that a son of my mother should be given to him, because his own wife could not bear a son, my parents got rid of me..."

"Huh?" Tiger gasped - so this feeling was familiar to him?!

"My parents never wished me around..." Kokuyo chuckled, "My father wanted a Dragon spirit son of the Fire sign, and he already had one – Byakuya, so an Earth sign Snake spirit wasn't really needed to him... Thus, I was the one to be sent away. Shortly afterwards, my new 'mother' who was actually my aunt, gave birth to a son, my cousin – Sasori. But my uncle wanted to preserve me so he gave me the leadership of the Order, and named Sasori my younger brother. However, my aunt despised me for that, and so did Sasori. My aunt never cared about me. She thought of me as a nuisance. When I had decided to go back to my family though, as at least they were my blood ties, I got the information that von Drachen Clan was wiped out, and only my elder brother Byakuya and my two cousins of the main branch – Erik and Jan – remained, and that they all were taken to the Crimson Flame Order... So I had no choice but to cope with the situation and remain in Kenshin. I envy you, Tiger - at least, you had a choice to run away from home and join an amazing order where you gained a new family. I've never had such a choice..."

"Marienne".

"Huh?"

"My true name is Marienne," Tiger frowned and looked away. "I named myself 'Tiger' after running from the home. I didn't like the fact that I had an Ox spirit, because everyone bullied me and called me a 'cow'..."

"We're a lot alike, then," Kokuyo chuckled and took a seat beside her. "I was called a 'useless reptile'... But you see - I understood that Snake spirits are quite strong if fused with the Earth element, which was my case. Ox spirit is the same, and you are a Virgo Ox, thus a very strong Green Ox of Nature".

"It doesn't change the fact that I'm a 'cow'..." Tiger crossed arms, still upset and tearful.

"Cows are maternal creatures, so caring and so nurturing... Kenshin lacks cows, and so we have no milk, no dairy products, nothing... We are on a strict fish diet, and, to be honest, I do miss the dairy products of Rosenweld very often. Don't take being an Ox spirit as an insult. You are a motherly woman, the daughter of nature... The whole nature including your pets and the plants are under your command and your protection. I'd be willing to be such a powerful Zodiac Master".

Tiger smiled:

"I guess we indeed are similar, huh? We both had a bitter past, and we didn't experience the love of a parent..."

"Well, depends on how you look at it. One shouldn't look in the past but only move forward. That is how the world runs. We Blade Warriors have only one rule which is the basis of all our Code, and it is called 'Kokoro'".

"Kokoro?"

"Kokoro means 'Heart' in Japanese, our language. So the rule explains that a sword in one's hand can be used as a link to one's heart – you hurt only if you are hurt yourself and want others to share your pain, and you protect if you have strong bonds with others you want to maintain...

"But those who use swords to hurt do not realise one thing – that if you have strong bonds with people, you can already share not only your joy but your pain too... and the linked hearts will feel it the same way. So there is no need to hurt people just to let your pain ease because if you hurt others, your pain still won't ease, and you will just become a monster hurting others and feeling bitterness within".

"But what if someone doesn't have those bonds? Like, you and I don't have bonds with parents, and it hurts... and we feel alone..." tears fell off Tiger's cheeks again as she pressed hands to her heart. Kokuyo smiled faintly and replied:

"The rule of Kokoro explains that too:

"There can be different types of bonds in life, with different people. But, no bond is less important than the other, and no matter you may not have a certain kind of bond other people have, you can have other types of bonds those people cannot have, and there's more to it – when you don't have a certain type of needful bond, the other bonds you have formed with different people, all of them double (it is like, when one is born blind, their other four senses are doubled). So, I know it is hard, but you must not grieve over what you do not have. Instead, try to embrace what you already have. Do not feel alone or lost. What you are lacking, is added to other types of relationships, and of course, it may not feel the same way as it would if you had a certain bond, but it is not gone, it is still there, only, in another form. Preserve your bonds and fight to protect them – that is the path of a Blade Warrior... that is Kokoro".

Tiger felt a strong bump to her chest. She widened eyes and looked up at Kokuyo, who had bumped his warm fist softly at her heart, and grinned as if sending her all his compassion and as if linking his heart with her own... She could now clearly feel the warmth gathering in her heart - the warmth that he sent!

"Kokoro..." she gazed into the young man's blazing dark purple eyes full of passion and wisdom, "So, I already have a family?"

"You do, Marienne. Every order is a family. Since you joined the Rose Cruce and bonded with people there, you became a part of them. Now, they are your family, and their hearts are linked with yours. It shall never change. Even if people you've bonded with leave this world, their bonds and energy shall remain, to guide you forward, forever..."

"Kokoro... I like that word".

Kokuyo smiled:

"I am sorry, Marienne, for before".

"Thank you, Kokuyo, for this time".

So they sat, next to each other, and contemplated the sparkling moon and the tiny stars in the dark sky...