Aoki leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his wife's forehead. When he stood up he smiled down at her reassuringly. They said their goodbyes as he headed towards the terminal where his plane was waiting. He heard the first call for passengers and he hurried his pace until he was in line. He cast one final glance back down in the direction of where his wife was probably still standing; despite the fact he could no longer see her. He had told her that his trip to America was for business, and the lie made him feel very guilty inside. Once he was safely there and assured that the feelings that had started to stir inside of him where unfounded, he would call and explain the real reason for the sudden trip.

Aoki climbed on board and found his seat, placing his suitcase in the compartment above before settling in for the twelve hour flight. He had never been a huge fan of flying and the thought of being in the air for that long almost made his stomach turn. It wasn't his first time making the flight, in fact he had been to America several times, but this time the feeling inside of him was different. He had the fear that he may never return home to his wife again.

Reaching into his coat pocket he pulled out the small business card that had arrived in the mail the week before. It had been signed by Seishirou, which Aoki knew was impossible since that man had died over twenty years ago. This alone should have kept him away, but he couldn't ignore the writing that had been on the other side.

The end of the world is near. The dragons are gathering at the capitol of the world's power. If you wish to save your family then a reunion is in order.

The card was well worn from the amount of times Aoki had pulled it out and just stared at those words. It made his hand tremble even now at the thought that his family's life might once again be in danger.

Aoki sighed and put the card back once again. A meeting place and time had been written on the back beneath Seishirou's name. It was only a few days away. Aoki looked out the window and rested his forehead against it. He was nearly sixty years old now and was sure that he was too old to actually save the world, but he wouldn't back down if it meant protecting his family.

Needing to look at something more positive then the card, Aoki pulled out a picture of his family. His wife smiled at him from where she was seated on the couch, holding their new grandson. The rest of the family was standing behind the couch, smiling proudly at the camera that Aoki had held. The picture brought a smile to his face as he stared down at it.

The stewardess started to give the safety instructions and Aoki put the picture away. He put on his safety belt and gave the woman his full attention. He practically knew the instructions by heart, but it would have been rude to just ignore her. When she was done, Aoki looked out the window again at the moving scenery. When the plane started to take off that feeling of fear washed over him again. He reached up and touched his chest with a couple of his fingers. Beneath his white business shirt he felt the cross that he had worn ever since Karen's death. It gave him comfort whenever he needed it, knowing that she was finally at peace. When the plane evened out he dropped his hand back into his lap. He heard the people around him settling into their seats for the long flight. Some pulled out books, others put their headphones on, and even more relaxed in their seats and closed their eyes to sleep through the many hours they would be in the air. Aoki just continued to look out the window. Something inside him told him it might be the last time he ever saw the earth in this way.

--

Kira and Yuki walked hand in hand down the hallway of their high school, dodging the other students as they headed towards the exit. School had just ended for the day and they had a full evening planned for themselves. Once they were done with their homework they were going out to see a movie.

"Come on Kira!! The sooner we get our homework done, the sooner we can go to town! I wanna see the monuments all lit up against the setting sun. It's always so pretty." Yuki tugged on Kira's hand, hoping it would be enough to get him moving out of the slow and easy pace that he always took no matter where he was going.

Kira smiled at his girlfriend with a fondness in his eyes that showed there was no one else in the world he cared for as much as he did her. "You've seen them a hundred times and yet you still get excited about them."

"It's not just me! Inuki likes them too! So come on, come on!" Yuki turned around and used both hands to pull as she walked backwards down the sidewalk. She was grinning as big as she could and in Kira's eyes she looked absolutely adorable.

"Inuki just likes the fact that you take him out for walks every time you go, isn't that right Inuki?" Kira looked down at the dog that had been with them the entire time. He gave a bark of agreement and took off running down the sidewalk.

"Ack! Inuki!" Yuki let go of Kira's hand and turned around, chasing after the dog. Kira just shook his head as he continued at his normal pace. He didn't know why she chased after a dog that no one else could see except for them. When he finally caught up to them, Yuki was kneeling on the ground holding Inuki's neck tightly. "Bad dog, you could get hurt!"

Kira cleared his throat as he noticed some people giving them odd looks. "Yuki…you know that's not exactly possible." He waved at a few people he knew but they just shook their heads and continued on, muttering to themselves about 'Crazy Yuki' and how she was talking to her imaginary dog again.

"You don't know that for sure! He might get hurt if he gets hit by a car too. I just don't want to take that chance." Yuki let go of the dog and smiled at Kira, "Lets hurry now okay?"

Kira nodded and took her hand, starting to walk down the street again. He reached down and ruffled Inuki's fur a little as he passed by and the dog wagged his tail happily. Part of the reason Kira and Yuki had gotten together was because of the fact that they were the only ones who could see the spirit dog.

Kira thought back seven years to the time he had found Yuki crying in the corner of the playground. She had hidden herself behind a tree and had her face buried in Inuki's back fur. He had been little more then a puppy at that time and she held him in her arms.

"What's wrong?" Kira had asked innocently as he kneeled down by the eight year old girl. They were in different classes and so Kira had never met her before.

Yuki had sniffled and looked up at him, "No one but me can see Inuki so they all call me a liar."

"Inuki? Is that his name? He's cute." Kira had reached out and scratched the top of the puppy's head with a smile.

Yuki blinked several times and her jaw dropped. "You can see him?"

Kira raised an eyebrow and nodded, "of course."

This had brought a huge smile to Yuki's face and since then they had been the best of friends. For the last three years they had been dating and they couldn't even imagine themselves being with anyone else. As far as Kira was concerned, Yuki was the only one he wanted and no one else even came close to comparing to her. He merely ignored the remarks of 'Crazy Yuki' and the things other people said. He had even broken off friendships because of what they would say about her. He didn't really understand why he was the only other person that could see the dog. He knew there were others in school that had powers as well, but he figured it was just another reason why him and Yuki were made for each other.

Kira snapped out of his daydream as they reached Yuki's house. She let go of his hand and bounced up the stairs in order to unlock the door. When she reached it she stopped and pulled two small cards off of the door. "Kira…"

The tone of her voice made Kira's heart leap to his throat and he took the stairs two at a time until he was at her side. He reached out to her and realized that her entire body was trembling and her eyes were as wide as they could go. "What's wrong Yuki?" Kira looked down at the cards in her hands. On one card was his name and on the other were the words:

How did you die?

And then a phone number was printed below it. Kira's heart was beating rapidly as he reached out and took the car with his name on it. He flipped it over and read what was printed on it. The same four words appeared as well as the phone number. Suddenly he was hit with a magical force that froze his feet to the ground. Images flashed through his head like a movie playing in fast forward. He saw Yuki as well as many others and then he saw an older man that deep down he knew was himself. All of the images slowed until it became just a view of himself and Yuki in a car, driving down the interstate. He watched what happened next with horror as the crash replayed itself before his eyes. It felt so real that he almost tasted the blood in his mouth and felt the impact of the other car.

Suddenly the images ended and he was able to move again. He turned his head slowly to look at Yuki, who had tears streaming down her face.

Kira reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She had stopped trembling but she looked like she was in shock. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Slowly she turned her head to face him. "We died…" Her voice cracked and she looked like she was ready to lose control at any moment.

"We are alive. I'm right here next to you. Everything will be okay." Kira put both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, looking into her eyes to try and get her to understand him.

Yuki shook her head slowly, "We died…Kusanagi…we died."

--

Kaili gripped the sink of the airplane bathroom tightly. She stared down at the drain trying to catch her breath. Flying had never been her favorite way to travel but when her dreams kept being plagued by strange images it made it ten times worth. She lifted one hand to her brow and wiped the sweat from it. She had been having these dreams ever since the card had arrived in her mailbox. She held it up now, staring at the words written on the back of it:

Call when you remember how you died.

Kaili closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying desperately to slow her heartbeat to a normal pace. For weeks her dreams had been filled with faces she didn't know and events that she knows she had never experienced, but each one had felt so familiar and so real that it was hard to just shrug them off as normal dreams. She looked up into the mirror and at her pale face. She had to calm herself before she went back out to Kin. Someone banged on the door and told her to hurry.

Slipping the card back in her purse she started to fix her hair a little. The dream that had sent her straight to the bathroom might have been just the one the card had asked about. She was in a battle and she felt like she had to win no matter what, but also knew that winning meant sacrificing herself to protect someone important. She felt her body start to tremble again as the scene replayed in her head. What she hated most about the dream was the fact that she hadn't been able to see the face of her enemy. She was blindly fighting with everything she had and then just as her life was ended she saw him.

"Kaili love? Are you okay?" Kin's voice came to her from the other side of the door.

She gasped and stood up straight, taking one last look in the mirror before opening the door and smiling weakly at him. "I'll be fine. Perhaps we should have taken the train?"

Kin looked at her sympathetically and pulled her into his arms, "I'm sorry we had to fly. But it won't be much longer now."

They made their way back to their seats and Kin helped her sit down. She whispered her thanks and then looked out the window at the clouds below. She wondered just how much of that dream had actually happened. Kaili knew about past lives and reincarnation. When you lived in San Francisco there were Fortune tellers on every street corner. She had never experienced anything like these dreams before though. She turned her head to glance at Kin. He was trying to flag down the stewardess for a drink. Kaili watched him sadly, wondering if the dreams were a sign of things to come. She feared that they would once again be enemies, fighting each other in order to survive or let a loved one survive in their place.

--