The Eighth Dragon

Prelude ~ Prologue

: Resurfacing

Warm...

Safe...

Soft...

As if cocooned within a womb of sorts...

But darkness surrounded him now...

Until he opened up his eyes. He quickly screwed them up, as he was nearly blinded by bright, sharp, white light. Slowly, his olfactory senses began to kick in - he could smell bleach and a medicinal odour. For some reason his brain seemed to be registering that he was in hospital. He could not fathom why - maybe it was the faint bleepings of machines he could hear in the background.

Also, he couldn't see out of one of his eyes, as it appeared to be covered over - was it with bandages?

Something warm and soft encapsulated his left hand. He blinked again, several times. He glanced around, trying to raise his head, to see what it was that held him.

He saw a girl... a pretty girl.

She had obviously been sitting at the side of his bed, keeping vigil at one point. But fatigue had taken its toll, and now the upper half of her torso and body lay across the bed. Her head rested on his legs, and her fragile hand gently clasped his. Though his vision was slightly blurry, he could see her eye-lids were red and puffy - had she been crying?

Involuntarily, his fingers twitched. How long had he been asleep? How long had he been here in this room?

His movements, though they were small, must have disturbed her light sleep. She stirred, her eyes fluttered, muttering softly. Then her gaze fell on him, and she froze. Slowly, she sat up properly and grasped his hand.

"A - ará má! Ka - kami-sama! Anata wa... me ga sámète irú desu, ne?" she whispered softly - he couldn't understand what she said. "Are you awake? Are you okay?"

He blinked again.

"Hello? Where... where am I? How did I get here?" he rasped - his voice was rough from disuse.

"Her eyes lit up and glittered with the beginnings of new tears. She looked over he shoulder, turning to someone behind her.

"Sora-san! It is okay! He has woken up, he is okay!" she exclaimed quietly, obviously trying to contain her excitement.

He could hear a guy's voice: "Eh? Nani?"

"Sora-san, he is awake! He has finally woken up!" she repeated, slightly exasperated.

He could make out a figure approaching. It wasn't until the figure stood beside the girl he could see that it was a dark haired young man - probably about seventeen of eighteen. Even though he was clad in hospital pyjamas, and obviously in pain due to his movements, there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and a boyish smile on his lips.

"Hello there. You had us all worried, Chibi-ryu. Are you enjoying all the attention? Or just your little lengthy nap?" the guy inquired with an impish smirk.

Something in his voice... Something in his demeanour... it made him smile. It made him feel safe, warm and happy. Like he was among friends... No, it was like he was among family.

He smiled up at them.

"Sorry if I worried you... did you miss me much then?" he joked.

The pair laughed. The both seemed to be relieved that he was awake.

"Well, if you're healthy enough to joke, then you're healthy enough to be up and out of bed. C'mon, up you get lazybones," the guy quipped.

The girl giggled, wiping away the tears that had clouded her eyes. He laughed weakly: even though he must have been sleeping for quite a while, he still felt tired.

"In all seriousness, it was really touch and go for a while back there. The doctors and surgeons, they didn't know whether you would pull through and wake up or not. You're very lucky to be here; you had us all very worried," the guy said, sobering up slightly.

"But you are awake now... I think that that means that you will make a full recovery," remarked the girl, trying to maintain a light mood.

Yet that tenuous mood was shattered, as he could hear raised voices from outside his room.

"Please! You must contain yourself..."

"CONTAIN MYSELF? Albus, the boy disappears for close to the best part of five months. I get no Owls from him, so I go nigh insane with worry. Then, I get this call from some random Japanese official, telling me to come to Osaka as soon as possible, BECAUSE MY GODSON IS IN A COMA, AND HE MAY NEVER WAKE UP! SO DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM THE HELL DOWN!" a man's voice bellowed.

"What the heck is going on out there?" the guy muttered incredulously.

The guy slowly shuffled towards the door, going to see what was happening. Then, the door burst open suddenly; he could see a dark figure that was familiar to him somehow.

"Harry! Are you okay? Are you alright?" the figure called.

The guy blocked this man's path.

"Hey buddy, now just simmer down. This is a hospi-"

The guy never finished his words. He heard a thud. Indistinctly, he could make out that this man had grabbed the guy by the collar and pushed him up against the wall opposite the door.

"DON'T YOU 'BUDDY' ME! HOW THE HELL DID MY GODSON END UP IN A COMA!?" the man thundered. "IF THIS WAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU, THEN THERE''L BE HELL TO PAY!"

Wait a minute - he knew that voice. When he had heard it before, it had been a source of comfort, and of strength. This man, he could not be...

"Si- Sirius? Is that you?"

The man froze; turning around, and dropping the guy, the man dashed over to his side and grasped his other hand tightly.

"Are you alright? What happened to you? Did somebody do this to you? Who could... who could be this sadistic... to do this to a kid? Was it You-Know-Who?" the man said, his voice husky.

He sounded so scared and worried.

"Hey... he recognises you. He only just woke up a couple of minutes ago, but he already named someone. I thought he would be disorientated over ages, well, that was what the doctors said, but... He must really care for you," the girl whispered.

The man, Sirius, looked up at her, like he'd only just noticed that she was sitting there. He could make out that Sirius' face had softened slightly. Sirius was biting lip, and kept glancing between him and the girl.

"Can you tell me... how did it happen? Did you see who did this to him?"

"N-no... wait..." he interrupted.

Both the girl and Sirius turned to him, patiently.

"Yes?"

"You... your name... is Yuzu... You're Yuzuriha, aren't you?"

Her face... her lips quivered... her eyes began to glitter with tears, yet again...

"YOU STUPID IDIOT! YOU HAD ME SO WORRIED! HOW COULD YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT? I REALLY THOUGHT THAT KUSANAGI HAD FINISHED YOU OFF FOR GOOD!" she wailed.

"I... I'm sorry... but I have to know now... what happened to the others? You and Sora I can see... But what happened to Aoki and Karen? To Arashi? To Kamui? Are they alright?" he asked.

There was pain in her eyes.

"Physically... Karen, Arashi and Kamui are fine, but... But Aoki... Oh Harry, he's been in a coma, like you. His wife and daughter are sitting with him now. The doctors have been even more pessimistic about him. Nataku really grilled him... And Kamui... He hasn't spoken a word since the Promised Day. He's in shock," Yuzuriha explained.

"We save the kid's sorry ass, and the psycho on the run, grabs me by the throat in gratitude," Sorata snarled under his breath as he got to his feet.

The three of them turned to stare at him. It looked like maybe Sirius was about give Sorata a few choice words, but someone burst into the room. It was an official from the Diet. He looked at the scene, rather confused.

"Uh... I apologise if I am interrupted anything... But Hinoto Hime has requested your presences at a meeting in Kyoto. You're to be taken to the Ichiriki in Gion, Tominaga-cho..." the official said slowly.

"But the boy's only just woken up... You surely can't mean him as well?" Sirius demanded coldly.

"I mean absolutely ALL of the Dragons that can be moved. Aoki Seichiro, we understand: he is still in a state of torpor. But the boy can, and will be moved. Hime-sama has called this meeting: she claims that it is of paramount importance to the boy, so his presence is essential. It's is simple as that," the official replied simply. "You, Mr Black, must come with us now. Aurors from the British Ministry are already tracing you to Japan. Seeing as Tokyo is down, there are only so many other places you can be. Iku yo!"

Sirius stepped away from the bed reluctantly: "Don't worry Harry, I'll see you in Kyoto."

Yuzuriha tried to stand, but she seemed to have some trouble. Sirius skirted round the bed, to help her up. Harry hadn't noticed the crutches that leant against the wall behind her.

As everyone began to trek off, Harry himself lay back and began to wonder how this had all happened. How it started.

Why had he been called up to join the Dragons of the Heavens?

Why had he accepted?

His mind wandered back, back to the very beginning of it all...