"Gotcha!"
	Opal managed to free the nestling from its trap. Suddenly her foot slipped from the branch she was standing on, and she screamed 
as she fell.
	"No!" Amethyst quickly gathered her wits."Jetaime! Aidéz!" 
	Oh, she would die. Sweet death had come to free her. She smiled. I'm sorry, Father. I wasn't perfect....
	No sooner had Amethyst cried out did a flash of red catch Opal before she could hit the ground.
	"Amethyst! What happened?" Fau and Hokuto rushed up to them.
	Hokuto gasped."Opal!"
	Jetaime, the phoenix B'T, slowly carried the girl with her beak up to the people waiting on the verandah and nudged Opal 
into Hokuto's arms.Then she craned her head back and gave a tiny whimper
	Amethyst swayed a little and Fau helped her stand.
	"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
	Her head bowed and trembled. Suddenly she grabbed the verandah railing and yelled at Jetaime.
	"Goddammit, you stupid bird! Couldn't you see someone was in danger? Do I have to tell you everything?" 
Her voice shook with fury.
	Jetaime gave a shrill cry for a reply. Amethyst bonked it on the beak with her fist.
	"Don't give me any lame excuses! You call yourself a B'T?"
	"Now, Amethyst," Fau began. To Hokuto's surprise his wife quickly spun around and lifted him off the ground by the collar.
	"And you! Don't you train that phoenix of yours to pay more attention to what's going on around here? Aaagh! Someone could have died!" 
Her purple eyes were bright, dilated... lunatic.
	"Calm down,dear." Fau could hardly breathe."She's okay."
	"No, Jetaime is not okay!" Amethyst spat.
	"He was talking about me, fool," muttered Opal, awakening from her daze.
	Amethyst dropped Fau and ran to Opal's side."How are you, child? No broken bones or anything?"
	"Nope, I don't think so. Don't go cuckoo on your husband, Ma'm. You don't want him to lock you up in the cellar. And having a baby too!" 
Opal pointed out.
	Amethyst smiled." I'll put him in the cellar, together with Jetaime." Then she laughed as though in a drunken stupor, Opal soon 
laughing likewise.
	Hokuto and Fau exchanged confused, oh-my-we're-surrounded-by-demented-people! looks. The nestling in Opal's dress pocket squeaked.

-----
 

	Amethyst went back inside to make tea, Fau following"to make sure she doesn't break things".
	Hokuto stood by the door frame and watched her as she leaned over the balcony. The sun dipped into the hills beyond.
	( You're a perfect candidate in Miyata's view.)
	Wasn't he? Shoot, he was getting frustrated. She frustrated him.
	( I think that's what he wanted to happen in the first place.)
	"Careful you don't fall again, Opal. Your father wants you in one piece," he cautioned as she stooped over the railing.
	"Why are you so concerned? Don't tell me you fear my father's wrath or something," Opal snapped back.
	"Well... sort of. But there are other reasons."
	"Like what?"
	"My own."
	She turned around just in time for a gentle evening breeze to cool her suddenly hot cheeks. He seemed to take satisfaction in 
giving strange statements like that, knowing she'd.... No! This wasn't part of the plan.Even now he was smiling at her teasingly. 
She snorted in sudden disgust and turned away again."Personal benefit, I see."
	"Well,not exactly."
	"Maybe this is the time to warn you you'll get no favors of that kind from me."
	"Turning into an ice princess again,aren't we?" He strode to the balcony beside her."Why are you so afraid of me?"
	"I'm not."
	"I want to reach out to you but you always run away." His voice was a little hurt."I thought we were friends." Impulsively he tried 
to touch her hand, she was so ethereal in these moods. But she drew her hand away.
	"Friends don't pry." She walked to the door."My business is my own.Leave me alone, okay?"
	"I can't," he breathed. But she was no longer there to hear him.

-----

	
	"I scanned the tree," Fau told them as they sipped tea in the drawing room."There's no sign of a nest or birds like that anywhere."
	"So where'd it come from?"
	Opal cupped the nestling in her hands."It didn't have a home, or parents," she said softly.
	Amethyst put down her teacup."What are you going to do with it?"
	She frowned."I don't know."
	"It's hard to take care of pets when you're travelling." Hokuto eyed her pointedly.
	Opal's furious black eyes glared back at him."I wasn't going to suggest I take it aboard."
	Fau and Amethyst looked at each other worriedly. The air was so thick with tension it was difficult to breathe.
	Opal suddenly turned to the woman beside her."Would you take care of—Fuzz for me?"
	Amethyst elbowed Fau in the stomach as he began to grin."Of course. I'll take care of,er,Fuzz till you come back."
	She smiled."Thank you." Then she slipped the chirping nestling into Amethyst's hands.
	Hokuto glanced at his watch."Which reminds me. We really should be on our way."
	"You won't stay for dinner?"
	"Afraid I can't. I promised Miyata I'd bring Opal to him as fast as I can."
	She leapt up from her seat."I think I'll go say good bye to Jetaime." Then she went out into the garden.
	Fau settled back against the couch."You're at each other's necks again."
	Hokuto shook his head."I don't know. Miyata can find her another match for all I care."
	"Well, it's just too bad," Amethyst spoke up as she opened the door and all of them went out.
	"What do you mean?" Hokuto asked.
 	She only gave him a wise smile.
	Opal stepped up to them."We can leave now."
	"Fine." They turned to their hosts."Thanks for everything."
	Then they left, Opal trailing behind him.
-----


	She couldn't sleep. What did he mean, find her another match? Was he only pretending, like some sort of twisted dating 
game that her father set up? Just part of the plan.
You dare to, Father? But he had warned her a long time ago.
	"You are very special. You were meant for great things," he told her when she was young."We must make sure that nothing gets in your way."
	"By making me incapable—?" she had asked.
	"Don't bother learning how to love.It will get you nowhere." He pressed her hand."Can't you see? We have done you the favor, spared you the pain."
	"But—"
	"It is the fragility of human emotion that renders most of us uncapable of reaching lofty goals, to throw away the ultimate prize for some quirk of 
humanity. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
	She blinked away a few frustrated tears."Yes, Father."
	"Don't mind your tears, Tokiko. Even they are not real."
	And now, she cried meaninglessly till her head ached. Maybe death was her only reality, but even that evaded her. So here she was, outlined to achieve, 
and do many great things, but she was still empty.
	Opal had always been empty.
----


	Hokuto knocked on her door the next day."Opal? You awake?"
	She tucked her head under the blanket as he went into her room."Get lost,"she muttered.
	He peeled the blanket off her head."It's been twelve hours since you last ate, aren't you hungry?" He gasped at her reddened eyes."Are you sick?"
	She turned her head away."No."
	"You've been crying." he frankly stated."Oh, I'm sorry. Friends don't pry."
	"Damn right you are,"she replied in a stuffy voice, trying to make a pissed-off face but failing. My tears are never real....
	"But—" He gave an exasperated sigh."You're still angry at me, aren't you?"
	She sat up."Maybe." A hand combed through her hair."Or maybe I'm angry at myself."
	"What for?"
	"For being weak, stupid, foolish..." Opal twisted her lip in self-mockery."Eternally
cynical...." She sighed and looked out the tiny window beside her bed."Things that I shouldn't be...."
	"Nobody's perfect," Hokuto reminded her."Or so they say. But if you tried your best, that will still count in the end."
	She turned to him, silvery specks in her eyes."You think so?"
	"I know so." He touched a finger to her chin."Now let's see that smile." Opal's lips curved, and he couldn't help smiling himself.
	Suddenly Opal slid away."Wait a minute."
	"What?"
	"This isn't another one of those times, is it?"
	He raised a dark eyebrow."What times?"
	"You know," she persisted."When I smile at you, and you say 'You're pretty when you smile', and ..." Her cheeks turned rosy.
	He sat nearer to her, his eyes a mischievous green."And?"
	"You have to stop saying things you don't mean if you want us to get along." His hand shaped her cheek, making her head pound violently.
	Hokuto's face was very close to hers."Then I won't say anything."
	For a moment she stiffened, resisted. But the gentleness of the kiss had no need for any resistance or struggle whatsoever, and soon all 
her efforts melted away. The thought, that this wasn't part of the plan, that they were doomed anyway, almost ruined the moment for her but Opal 
just closed her eyes and shut out everything except the here and now.
	She had been so afraid of him, maybe even now. Hokuto had always wondered why she had built up this façade of aloofness, of indifference 
and then suffered alone, or so he felt she did. He wanted very much to help her. Miyata. That damn bastard! What had -or hadn't- he done to make 
this dark-eyed angel so sad?
	He guessed he must have brought out his anger on Opal's lips because just then she gasped and pulled away."Sorry," he chagrined.
	The soft black eyes looked at him through a veil of green hair."No, it's okay." She paused."I'm sorry for being such a brat."
	"You just worry me sometimes." On sudden impulse he tucked her head under his chin, held her close."I'm afraid for you,"he whispered 
against her hair.
	"I'm afraid for the both of us," Opal murmured quietly, so he wouldn't hear.
-----


	"You don't get along with a lot of people, do you?" he asked as he watched her eat her meal with a voracious appetite.
	"No." Then she paused."You, and Raika, and a few others, are the only exceptions."
	Hokuto sighed."It's too bad you'll be staying here for five more days. I was just getting to know you."
	"That's what you were supposed to do, right? Bring me to the research base where my father's working." Her lashes lowered as she looked away. 
As for what I was supposed to do, well....
	"I heard it's a very large one."
	"Extremely. It's about the size of the old Honshu."
	"I wonder why he just didn't give me the exact location of their compound? Wouldn't that be easier?"
	Opal put her chopsticks down."He doesn't tell even me. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't."
	"Why not?"
	She folded her arms on the table."He says their work area is so secret, even the employees don't know where they are."
-----


	"Looks like our experiment isn't going to work, doctor."

	He pounded his fist on the command console."Dammit! I know!" He stubbed out a cigarette."But we'll just have to sit back and wait. I didn't call her my daughter for nothing."



	It wasn't she who was on the table. But whose eyes were those with which she saw a dark figure emerging from the blackness? Her.... father? Miyata had a manic expression on his face, and a scalpel in his hand."Such pretty eyes you have, my dear,"he grinned.

	Blood poured over her vision.

	"Such pretty eyes...."
-----


	"Opal!"

	She opened her tear-stained eyes."Wh-what?" Then the pressure of his hands on her shoulders jolted her back to reality. Her bedroom was dark, as dark as her dream. She stared blankly at him."A dream," she murmured.

	Hokuto released her."You were screaming so loud I woke up."

	She rubbed a hand over her face."Issei, your room is just at the other end of this hallway,"she pointed out.

	He shrugged."Well, yes. Are you okay?"

	"Umm, yes. It was just a nightmare."

	"Would you like to talk about it?"

	"I—" Opal shook her head."No, I can't recall what it was,"she lied.

	"Okay." Hokuto kissed the top of her head."Go back to sleep." He was at the door way when he turned around."Sweet dreams."

	"Ditto."

	The door closed.



	Two more days. She sighed. Two more days, and she'd be gone.

	"I could visit you some times," he offered, trying to be cheerful, but she could see the tinge of regret in his eyes as they counted the days till she'd see her father again.

	She couldn't sleep. Which was logical, because she was forcing herself not to. Her dreams scared her. Would she tell him about—? Ought she? Opal punched the wall in exasperation."He must never,ever know." Or, more comfortably, when he knew, it wouldn't matter anymore.

	Suddenly she sat up. She wanted to talk to him, and cry on his shoulder, and hear him say that everything would be all right.

	"You're pathetic," she told herself even as she stood up. Maybe her father was right. Emotions cut off logical thinking and caused severe brain damage. The light switched on and she slid the door open, bumping into Hokuto.

	They stared at each other for a moment, the shock rendering them immobile. Opal spoke first."What are you doing here?"

	"I,uh, I was checking on you, to see if you were okay."

	She raised her eyebrows."Oh, were you?"

	"How about you? Where were you going in the dead of night?"

	She bit her lip."Nothing." She looked him over and whistled."Nice 'jamas." Then she burst out laughing.

	He swirled around."If you're going to insult me for wearing striped pajamas, I'm going back to my room."

	Straightening up, she became serious again."I was trying not to sleep."

	"Your dreams, huh?"

	Opal nodded, then stepped back from the doorway."Come in, anyway. We can talk until I fall asleep."

	He sat down on her bed."Are you saying that I'm a boring conversationalist?"

	"Eh...." Opal just shrugged.

	"So what do you want to talk about?"

	Green bangs floated over her eyes."My father works on automatons,"she began quietly.

	Hokuto gasped.

	"What?"

	He shook his head."Nothing."

	"He says someday robots will carry the workload of the world for us. Then I asked him
'What about the people who want work? What will happen to them?' He didn't say anything."

	"It's true," he conceded."Machines are more efficient at most jobs."

	"But not all."

	"Yes."

	The strictness of her black eyes softened as she looked skyward."I'm glad we will always need people."

	"What's going to happen to you... after you meet your father?"

	"Oh, I don't know. Work for him, I suppose. That's what I went to school for." She smiled bitterly for a moment before she looked at him."What about you?"

	His expression became thoughtful."Go on with my work, I guess." He looked at her as she yawned and flopped onto her bed."Oh,no, I'm boring you already," he chuckled,bending over to kiss the tip of her nose."You should sleep now."

	Her eyes shone with silvery flecks as she looked up at the face above hers."Okay," she replied softly.

	He kissed her again."Do you want me to go?"

	She gave a short laugh."Actually, no." She put a fingertip on his lower lip."Don't leave," she whispered.

	His green eyes gazed at her through half-closed lids."Then I'll stay."


	It was...beautiful. She smiled at the vague description. But maybe beautiful didn't even come close to what she had felt.And at last her dreams were peaceful. Even now as she lay beside him, Opal could vividly recall how she had enjoyed running her hands through his soft locks of hair as he kissed her. His gaze never broke away from hers as they moved together, slowly, carefully.

	"I love you," he'd said to her afterwards.

	(How can you make something that exists in abstract?)

	(There are some things that cannot be seen, or touched;immaterial. These are what man calls abstract.)

	(You mean love is just a dream, an illusion?)

	(Oh,no. With you it's very real.)

	She sat up and looked at the sleeping figure beside her and gave a short, cynical laugh."My darling fool, it was never real. The world has so many lies." The words twisted her painfully inside."Including me."

	She dressed in silence and left the room. There was still time to access Max's files. Surely he would let her. They understood each other.
-----

	
	He opened his eyes."Opal?" Somehow he felt a tinge of loss as he realized she wasn't there."Get used to it," he muttered to himself."She's not going to stay here forever!"

	But how could he, after last night?

	Hokuto went back to his room to get fresh clothes. Then he went to look for Opal.

Opal - the stone of omen.

	"Is that a warning?" he demanded, looking skyward.

	She just confused him. At first she'd been so aloof, so indifferent. But there were moments when she'd be so light-mooded, so.... happy. Maybe she was more than he could handle.

	That girl needs a doctor!, a voice inside him screamed.

	"I am a doctor," he retorted.

	Oh. Okay. Then the voice vanished.

	He prowled about the corridors, looking for her. Then his breathing froze as he heard noises from the hall leading into the lab. Then he shook his head even as he stepped through the dim-lit walls."No way. What would she be doing there?"

	The door slid open, and Opal was there. Standing before a monitor.

	"Opal?" Hokuto choked."What's the meaning of this?"

	She startled and turned to face him."You don't understand." A gun was pointed at him."This is something I was to do."

	He stepped back abruptly at the sight of the weapon."What? Break into my files?"

	"Yes, dammit! Now don't try to stop me -DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
Her dark pupils were dilated as he tried to move forward."I'll kill you, I swear."

	"Fine." He looked up."Max, Code 213. Intruder on board."

	There was no response.

	Opal cackled."Don't bother. I disabled all the on-board alarms. I'm very good, you know."

	He walked calmly forward."Don't you think I deserve an - explanation?" At the last word he twisted her arm behind her back and the gun dropped to the ground.

	"Let me go, you baka!" she spat, struggling.

	He felt weakened by shock for a moment, at her, but he kept an iron grip. He opened a panel in the wall and took out a vial and pressed it to her spine."Sleep now, little one." 	Opal winced in pain, then her body turned limp. Carefully Hokuto laid her on the floor. He stared disbelievingly into the bright monitor and suddenly tears filled his eyes.

	"Why, Miyata? WHY?"
-----


	He'd been sixteen when he joined the group of scientists working on cybernetics research for the Machine Empire. Most of them were aloof, or even cold, towards the young man in a white lab coat.

	"Sixteen? Is he really a doctor?" they asked. But soon enough he gained their confidence and respect. Issei Hokuto had especially liked gruff but friendly Ryoto Miyata. Together they planned experiments on android production.

	"The problem with conventional androids is that only their framework is first created before adding the body casts." Miyata pointed to the large screen in front of the research team."Only after that is the program input into their systems, causing potentials for error or infiltration. Also, the space capacity of the system is often very limited, with inadequate artificial intelligence input. You couldn't play a game of chess with it. So this places our android under suspicion, and we don't want that."

	"So what are you proposing?" one of the panel asked.

	Hokuto turned the slides."The program should be pre-built, like the body's framework. This gives us more space to add more... human functions. The end result is a more efficient machine with higher AI basically undetectable in human surroundings and is more ideal for our stealth purposes."

	The panel began to murmur approvingly among themselves.

	"There is one setback however," Miyata added quietly.

	Hokuto looked at him confusingly."What do you mean?"

	Miyata avoided his gaze."Just thought about it a few days ago, my dear boy." Calmly addressing the panel, he said,"The traditional body casts won't work on the new framework. It would be extremely costly for us to recreate them." He paused.

	"So what will you do?"

	Miyata's lip set in a grim line."The most efficient....would be....to use human grafts."

	The statement created an uproar in the hall.

	"What're we gonna do, kill people for their skins?"

	"This is an outrage!"

	"I'm hungry! Where's our lunch?"

	The head of the panel pounded on the table."Gentlemen, please! Let's be decent." He stood up to address the two men standing in front."I'm very sorry, but as you can see, the board does not approve this idea."

	Miyata's gaze darkened."I can see that." He stormed out of the room.

	Hokuto followed him into the lockers. Miyata was hurriedly packing all the contents of his locker into a large bag. He grabbed the older man's arm."Miyata! You're taking this too hard!"

	"You're taking it too lightly!" Miyata growled back."Just like those fools!"

	"We can work on it! There's got to be another way!"

	"No." He shook his head."I stayed up all night looking for some other way, but—" He threw his hands up in the air."Nothing." He closed the bag."It's all just as well. They've been waiting forever to throw me out of here."

	"You don't know what you're saying!"

	"YOU don't know what you're saying," snapped Miyata."You haven't been holed up here for as long as I have, giving your whole self, presenting your best ideas, only to have them stepped on and thrown back at you!" He grabbed Hokuto by the shoulders."Don't you see, Issei? It's all just a goddamn bureaucracy! They never meant for it to be otherwise."

	"This isn't about bureaucracy, Ryoto! It's about placing real live tissues on robots! HUMAN tissue. And given the wars in the North, we don't have too many volunteers, do we?"

	"I'll make a way." Miyata hefted the bag off the floor."But I have to get out of here first."
-----


	Her eyes snapped open. She was-alive? The light stung her eyes. He lay huddled in a corner of the room. Her lips were dry."Issei?"

	"Those files, they were for him, weren't they?" he asked, without looking at her.

	Opal realized that she was tied to a chair."Yes." She managed a bitter smile."Since you already know what the deal is, why don't you kill me?" She felt tears sting her eyes."I'd like that very much."

	"I....can't." Hokuto turned to her, but his head was bowed, his face shaded."I love you too much."

	"Surely you know who I am-WHAT I am. Another robot."

	"Yes. I understand that now."

	"Don't you feel a bit foolish in saying you love me?"

	"Someone always has to play the fool."

	Opal snorted."Well, I admit I wasn't prepared for that tranquilizer bit. I must remind Father to update me on that." Suddenly a crack of pain hit the side of her face.

	"Why did you have to do this to me? To yourself?" he shouted at her, his face twisted with inner pain.

	She tasted blood."I am only my father's creation. Therefore I do what he says."

	"You are NOT just a robot, dammit!" To her surprise a tear fell from his eye."What we had-doesn't that even matter to you?"

	Opal began to sniffle."No...no! This is the way things are. I cannot walk along the same path as yours. Perfection is my goal."

	"Your father's goal."

	She nodded."The same."

	"His goal is pointless- a lie!" He couldn't help breaking down on her lap."The lies....you can stop them!"

	"No. I'm sorry." But she knew neither of them believed the words anymore.


	She stood on the cement."Why are you doing this?"

	He smiled sadly."Because I love you."

	Opal laughed and shook her head."You don't know what love means."

	"A pity. But I don't suppose you do either." Hokuto shrugged."Aw, what the heck. Let's quit fighting."

	She felt forgiveness in his warm embrace, and peace. She looked up at him."Thank you."

	"Sssh." He kissed her eyelids."Don't cry anymore. Smile for me."

	As the door shut between them, Opal smiled as her eyes moistened."Love is best not known sometimes," she whispered as the guards escorted her into the building.


	"You let her go just like that?" Max asked.

	He touched the glass. The reasearch building was gradually getting smaller and smaller."Just like that," he repeated.

	"I don't get you humans."

	"You machines aren't any easier to understand," Hokuto replied.

	Why? He was sorry for her, a little bit.
 
	Someone had to play the fool sometimes. But all the time? Maybe he should've thrown out all those files a long time ago.

	A few hours later he heard on the radio that there had been an explosion at the Legion Cybernetics Lab.



	The door shut with a heavy click."Welcome home, my daughter. Did you do as I told you?"

	Opal nodded."Yes, Father." She linked her data bank to one of the computers.

	Miyata scanned the text that ran across the screen."Well done. You have made all of us proud." The other men in lab coats nodded and smiled. Then slowly they surrounded Opal.

	"What's the meaning of this?"

	He smiled."Issei-kun's research is very impressive. With this data, we can build androids many, many times better than you, my dearest daughter. So you see, we have no more use for you, and you must be eliminated."

	"You bastard!" she spat.

	He laughed."What a sharp vocabulary you have. Hell, it doesn't matter to me." The men pressed closer in a circle around her."Wouldn't it be so sweet to die by your own hands?"

	They heard a beep and whir as she flicked out a strange metal object from her pocket.She didn't spend all her years tinkering with machines for nothing."Wouldn't it be just."

	The explosion knocked her head loose from her body. She smiled as she smelt their burning flesh."I've always wanted to do this." Tears misted her vision."I just wish that...."

	(You don't know what love means.)

	Far away, a star burned with a thousand lights.






	He touched the photograph, slightly singed at the corners. He could still remember that day when the police spoke to him.

	"We found this in one of the fireproof vaults in the room. Her identity is confirmed as Akiko Jien, Miyata's dead wife."
	He studied the face intensely."Tokiko had her mother's eyes."
	The officer nodded grimly."Literally, yes. Autopsy's DNA reports show that the, er, android's eyes were originally Akiko's. Who would've thought...."

	Hokuto sat in front of the short white pillar that was her tombstone. He'd demanded that she be given one."Android, that's what he called you."
 He touched the carved characters."Tokiko...Opal. Once, you had a name." 
	The long-feathered bird in a steel cage beside him fidgeted. Amethyst had given Fuzz to him on the day of the burial.
	That was a year ago. Meanwhile Fuzz had grown to big for his cage.
	He stood up and stuffed the photo in his pocket."Well, I guess I'll go now." He lifted the heavy cage."Say goodbye, Fuzz." 
The bird chirped obediently. With a last sigh of regret he opened the tiny steel door. 
Fuzz didn't give a second thought to leaping outside and flying to a nearby tree.
	The sky was so blue, so clear, he wanted to cry. But instead he just shook his head and walked into the morning breeze.





 	The little boy squealed with delight as he held the struggling bird in his hands.

	"Don't hurt it!" a voice behind him pleaded.

	He spun around to face the little girl with large grave eyes."I wasn't going to. What are you doing here anyway?"
	"Oh, just wandering around. We live near this graveyard." She held out her hand."I'm Tokiko."
	Unsure of what to do, he held out his feathered captive with both hand."Issei."
	They both burst out laughing. Tokiko smiled."What a relief. I'm not the only one given a funny name."
	"Opal! Come away!" a woman's voice called.

	"Yes, Mama!" She started to leave, but looked over her shoulder."You'll be here again, won't you, Issei?"

	He nodded."Sure thing."

	Then she was gone.

	"Opal," he mused as though conversing with the bird in his hands."Just like her eyes."

	The bird only chirped in reply.