I do not own Blood+. This is not an official piece of fiction, I did not write these characters originally - and I get no money from this.

To those who have patiently waited, THANK YOU!

Warning: ............. no Saya.....

When Saya Sleeps

Chapter 9

Haji Finds A Place

David was throwing up behind the shed, feeling more miserable than usual. He turned as a tall shadow fell over him. It was Haji, silent, still... calm and collected as always.

So annoying...

"It's you," he mumbled, feeling uncomfortable under the long, blank stare of Haji.

The Chevalier's eyes seemed to pierce so deeply. The blonde-haired man chuckled morosely.

"It's strange... Be it in Okinawa, in Russia or on the blood-drenched ship deck or even here in the countryside, you look like you fit in so well with the surroundings. As if you collected the air around you and recreated it."

"It is my art of living," Haji deadpanned.

David closed his eyes.

"I wasn't being sarcastic. I see that words of praise have no effect on you."

Haji was unmoved.

"You are draping yourself in a veil of incompatibility, David," he stated quietly.

As if the conversation was over... or rather... he had something else to say...

"That's true," conceded David with a tired nod. "I can't fit in anywhere I go."

"I was not being sarcastic."

"I don't care."

"Have you given up the fight?" asked the celloist with the tenacity of a bulldog.

"Yeah," David held up his liquor bottle. "I traded my gun in for this."

A pause.

"You do not look as though you like it."

"Are you my shrink?" demanded David.

"No," Haji returned softly. "That is just my impression."

Damn him. Damn his impressions... Damn his small smiles...

David could only shake his head at the futility of it all. Even the Chevalier had to know the inevitability of failure - the eternal feelings of loss that eventually drowned one sensibilities. Of all people, it seemed strange and yet believable that Haji could stand there firmly and survive it all.

-

"Well, he survived Calais," Angie murmured one day to one of the tenors. "Hard to believe..."
"He's got guts inside, that kid does," grunted one of the orchestra members, turning in the bus's seats to join the conversation. "Steel wire inside. Mark my words. He'll survive the circuit in his ow quiet way."

"I wonder if he'll stay in the biz," mused the tenor, reaching around his seat to snag his pocket book of English phrases.

"Highly unlikely," Angie shook her head. "I got a feeling he isn't made for the biz."
"Well, his recruitment was far from ordinary," pointed out another singer - who had been listening avidly to the gossip across the aisle. "Like a ship in the night -"

"Like a swallow flying through a barn," said the older man who played the viola.

"That doesn't make sense...."
"No, it wouldn't to you," replied the old man. "It wouldn't to you."

-

As always, Haji succeeded in making his new life work for him. People like Kai and Riku had always pitied Haji's distance from humanity and in doing so, widened the chasm. But here, in the troupe, like the bands of Romany so long ago, identity was built easily - as flexible as sails before a mighty wind.

As changeable as masks before a play.

There was a feeling of regret - at the illusory, fragmented and impermanent life. Drink, pills, song and dance helped many forget the night awaiting outside. As it were. For in the circuit life, there is an awareness of that date - the final curtain - when the story ends and all the elements are disbanded.

Yes, Haji fitted in this life much easier than Reed Shield hoped or expected. More than likely, the atmosphere reminded him of home. Not the gypsy caravan - although there were good memories to unearth in that past as well - but rather...

Saya... with Saya, no matter where I was - I was home, Haji thought. And she is here now - in my heart...

His bandaged hand clasped his chest as he considered their many travels together. It had been like a circuit - and he and Saya had been ill-fated lovers in a tragic play.

Or not, he smiled softly, remembering his kiss on the stage. The story of our lives played out... and we will be together again.

Yes, there was a feeling of impermanence - but with Saya, endless futures seemed more than possible.

-

In London, England, the musical was received rather well. After the opening night's party, Haji slipped out early as was his wont - to take the evening air of London.

Not that London is as beautiful as the country, Haji mused. There is something foul on the air tonight...

"It's a shame about the smog," David's deep voice uttered out of the shadows. "But England is nice for holidays."

"Ahh.... David-san," replied Haji calmly.

"No surprising you!" chuckled the blond man, his blue eyes still sharp despite his years. "Still keeping keen, I see."

"After a fashion."

"I saw the show. Joel told me you were on tour. I couldn't believe it - but I had business in England - so I took the chance to see it for myself."

"Ah... Thank you..."

"She would have been proud."

"I hope so," Haji said softly.

"I know so."

There was a moment's silence - then...

"I never would have thought -"

""That I would survive among people?"

"Well... yes... no... I don't know... It was as before...." David replied finally. "Like always."

"You have a strange sense of rightness," replied Haji.

"What?"

"Perhaps this is a matter of drink?"

"Haji..." David stopped and then grimaced. "Never mind," he chuckled dryly. "A while ago, maybe... but this time, there is no drink involved. And I still believe it..."

There was another lull in the conversation as the two men gazed over the rooftops of London from the hotel's penthouse suite's balcony.

"I never did get to say thanks about that...' David's voice cut into the silence.

Somewhere traffic roared and crowds bustled. England was still not asleep.

"For what?" asked Haji, his dark eyes sliding sideways to peer at his equally taciturn companion.

"For your therapy session - when I needed it the most. I said alot of things that day... But you were kind."

"Some of the things - I wasn't sure what you meant by it. But it is in the past -"

"I think it was meant as an underhanded compliment," David interrupted, shaking his head ruefully. "But I don't think I was making much sense up until then. Have you ever had a hangover?"

".... Hmmm...." Haji tilted his head in thought.

"Probably not. You were little older than a child when you were created - and have remained so for a long time - I think."

"I try hard every day for Saya," Haji said softly.

"I know," David replied. "I can see that to this day. Besides, even a child is wise. And even now, you have that ability."

-

David took Haji out to the stones for a weekend trip. Haji sat quietly in the front seat, cello case resting in the back on top of their small luggage. Green hills, small woods, large state mansions, cozy villages and quiet brooks passed by.

"It's stones - but more than that," the blond man explained as Haji shifted the map spread across his lap.

Every now and then, the Chevalier would look at the map with a serene expression. A distant thoughtful look - which some could read as disinterest. But David had gotten enough used to the Chevalier to spot a walk down memory lane.

"It's called the Stonehenge," David added, after a moment.

Haji did not reply. A moment of silence dragged by.

"You ever been there?" asked David.

"No. Once, nearly. But not quite."

"In passing?"

"Yes."

Even for unflappable David, who was not the most talkative man in the world (unlike Kai who always had an opinion on everything), the silence was unnerving. The conversations were even worse - tougher than pulling teeth.

"I guess the new you isn't quite the talking type."

"Give me another hundred years," was Haji's calm reply.

Ten minutes later, David realized that the Chevalier had actually cracked a joke. He tried to hold the laughter back - but ended up snorting through his nose until it burned - and his eyes teared up. Haji cocked his head and watched the man as though David were a science experiment gone wrong.

"It's okay..." David coughed out. "Never mind."

Ahh... Saya.... He's growing yet again...

-

Haji took his cello to the Stonehenge. Strapped securely to the Chevalier's back.

Not that I should be surprised, David shook his head at the sight of the pale Chevalier wandering around the open spaces.

It was a grey day - but very atmospheric to David's mind. The resulting lack of crowds was satisfying to the blond man. He was sure Haji appreciated it was as well.

When Haji found an outcropping, he opened his case and pulled out his cello. David sat beside him and listened to the rich notes rolling out like serene waves into the hills. It was beautiful. He wished Julia could be here to enjoy the moment. If he closed his eyes, the music painted in his mind an even greener picture - the green glades filled with the people he loved.

Those gone - and those who remained...

It is the same song - and yet not, David realized, remembering Joel's musings over the phone. Not that I am a music aficionado like Joel. But the man is right... You can hear a new heart in the music.

When the Red Shield warrior opened his eyes and looked at Haji, it was as if seeing magic in motion. The pragmatist in the soldier scoffed - but another, softer part of him, which had begun to blossom under Julia's loving care, understood the heart of the matter.

Haji's magic - his ability to surround himself - to fit in - was because the Chevalier's home was where his heart was.

And his heart was always holding Saya.

-

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