Toba Matsuri had known about her cousins' special powers as far back as she could remember. All four boys possessed enhanced strength and speed, the legacy of their family line. Though her mother and their father were siblings, however, she had never displayed any supernatural abilities to match theirs.

It hadn't mattered before. They accepted her completely in all things, even when she proved a weakness exploited by the dragon brothers' enemies. She was family, their own blood, and they defended her with their lives.

It wasn't as though they had an unbalanced relationship, it was simply that her contributions were of the more mundane variety. She would cook for them, tidy their house, and raise their spirits when events turned against them. Sometimes it seemed she was the best link to their humanity.

Yet, in their moment of greatest need, it had not proven to be enough. She could only watch, helpless, while her four brave cousins battled an ancient enemy...and began to lose. She knew it would take someone more than human to save them. She would have given anything, done anything, to protect them as they had constantly protected her.

It happened in an instant. Her tear, shed in desperation for their sake, became a golden bird that flew to the dragons' assistance, dispelling the darkness surrounding them with rays of piercing light.

It had saved their lives.

It had changed hers.

More fragments of their history fell into place. She was not the reincarnation of a dragon monarch in the Go clan, as they were, but of the wife of the king of the Heavenly Sphere. Even she had no idea what the extent of her power might be. And her dreams...

She knew that her cousins dreamed of their past lives, flashes from a time three thousand years before, which came with greater regularity now that they had all Awakened to their dragon forms. The youngest, in particular, was very attuned to his legendary ancestor.

She listened to them describe the dreams, fascinated by the brief glimpses of Tenkai politics. Amaru enjoyed the times of brotherly solidarity. Owaru, the second youngest, regaled them with a tale of vivid battle. Tsuzuku claimed not to remember many dreams, but the look in his eyes spoke of experiences he would rather not share. Hajime, the eldest, told of struggles fought with words rather than weapons.

Now she shared their visions of Tenkai. However, her past self had been far more sheltered than theirs. Rather than intrigue or war, she pursued more traditionally feminine duties. She had little contact with the dragon kings, save through her servants--at least, as far as she could determine; the picture was far from complete. Nor did she spend much time with her husband, for he was busy ruling a vast domain with antagonistic clans.

Yet always, always, she was surrounded by wings.

She sighed, blinking her eyes open to stare at the ceiling of her small bedroom. She wanted to learn more about her powers, so she could aid her cousins, but she had been unable to touch even the portion she had already shown. If it weren't for the dreams, she might even believe the manifestation of the golden spirit bird had been an illusion born of wishful thinking.

Unable to return to sleep with such concerns filling her mind, she eased herself out of bed, pulled on a robe, and felt her way in darkness to the kitchen. Once there, where she wouldn't disturb the boys, she snapped on the light and set about making herself a cup of hot chocolate.

"May I join you?"

The quiet voice behind her should have been startling, yet somehow she found she had been unconsciously expecting it. She glanced over her shoulder with a welcoming smile at her eldest cousin, who stood in the doorway, awaiting her permission. Still in his blue pajamas, his hair slightly rumpled, it was a relaxed and endearing image he revealed only on very rare occasions.

"Of course," she agreed readily, automatically adding more milk to the pan.

She could hear him settling into one of the chairs at the table as she stirred the chocolate. She knew she hadn't made any noise that would have awakened him, so either he hadn't yet fallen asleep despite the late hour, or something else had drawn him from his slumber. Since it was generally Tsuzuku who stayed up late reading in bed, not his brother, she suspected the latter.

Taking two mugs from the cupboard, she poured out the warm drink and went to sit next to him. He accepted his share gratefully and sipped it with a slow, thoughtful deliberation.

After several moments of quiet companionship, she set her cup down and rested her chin on her hand, gazing curiously at him. "I know why I'm here, shamelessly indulging in chocolate in the middle of the night..." She winked playfully, a reminder of the family joke that she was fighting a heroic campaign against the forces of junk food that plagued the boys. "But what brings you into my lair of guilty pleasure? Couldn't sleep?"

For some reason, her words brought a light flush to his cheeks. He shook his head and smiled. "Quite the opposite. I was a bit *too* involved in my dreams. The impressions became so real, I awoke from the exertion."

Dreams again. She doodled randomly on the table with a finger. That's what it came down to, as long as they were all haunted by shadows from their past. At least her cousins' visions usually revealed helpful information, even if only in bits and pieces. Hers were serene, colorful--and ultimately useless. "I wish I could join you in yours," she told him, unburdening herself of her frustration. "Mine only confuse me."

His eyes widened in surprise. He probably hadn't realized the extent of her difficulty; she had done her best to be patient, in the hope that it would only be a matter of time, and so she hadn't complained. Yet it did her no good to hide her anxiety. The five of them were a team, and if she was having a crisis of identity, it affected them all.

He coughed discreetly into his hand. If anything, the red in his cheeks had darkened. "Would you care to talk about it?" he asked politely, ignoring his evident embarrassment at being caught off guard.

She explained briefly about her problem--knowing that she had powers, but being unable to trigger or control them consciously. She didn't entirely know who she was anymore, nor where she fit into the dragons' struggle. He listened attentively to every word. When she finished, she paused to drain the last of her chocolate. "I don't mean to dump this on your shoulders," she concluded, "but you do make the decisions as head of the household, so you deserve to know."

His expression grew serious while he considered. "My brothers and I Awakened to our full dragon abilities because our lives were placed in mortal danger. We each underwent the agony of death before..." He hesitated, and she remembered his description of the torture he had endured from his enemies. He had admitted the details reluctantly, doing so only for the reason that his brothers might one day need every scrap of knowledge in their battles.

She covered his hand with her own, offering any support she could give.

"I'm sorry, Matsuri-chan," he continued. "I would not wish that upon you, not even if I could be certain it would release the goddess within you and bring us a complete victory. It isn't worth the price of your pain."

She squeezed gently. "I understand." She wasn't exactly eager to face such an ordeal herself. "But there must be another way, somehow." Her cousins' transformations had been premature, like children thrown into deep water and forced to swim instantly or drown. Perhaps a more gradual method of instruction existed, or a place with shallow water for practice.

"If there is a way," he promised, "we'll find it for you. Until then..." He stood and carried the empty mugs to the sink. When he spoke again, his tone was light, but he kept his back turned so she couldn't see his expression. "Don't let it disturb your sleep. You're already a queen to us."

That brought a smile to her lips. "I know." She never for a moment doubted their absolute devotion. She hopped up from her chair. "Here, let the queen take care of cleaning up," she insisted, stepping toward him.

Wings. Blinding wings of purest white.

Her head spun and her knees gave way. She reached for her cousin, certain she was about to fall. Despite his enhanced reflexes, however, he had barely begun stretching his hand out to meet hers when she felt herself yanked beyond his range. Gravity reversed itself, pulling her inexorably upward, her fingertips brushing his before losing contact altogether.

"Matsuri-chan!" he shouted after her as she was dragged away in a column of unearthly light, passing through the ceiling like so much smoke.

Too surprised and disoriented at first to register fear, she closed her eyes against his desperation. It would do her no good to panic. She had been involved in strange, dangerous situations before, and her cousins had always guaranteed her safety. Whatever this new threat, they would counter it.

"I'll see you soon, Hajime."