For me, she was the last for the Four Lords to face. Genbu requested we save his kin, and so we endeavored not against the auspices themselves, but their bestial emotions. While all three were possessed with the feeling of rage, Byakko was also wrought with loneliness and isolation, while Seiryu's character was betrayed by those in his ward; a life completely misunderstood. Suzaku-sama, however... how do you save someone from love?

Perhaps, it was the purity of our intent to liberate her from the grief that had bound the wings of her love that gave us the power to soothe her rage. Such pain, such loss, such desire, all emanated from such a beautiful and intelligent being. And yet, to mistake us for Tenzen... To mistake our intent? Maybe, for her, it was a fight against the ideal and the real?

Our fight to bring Suzaka-sama back from the suffocating grip of grief stuck with me even after Koryu's defeat. It wasn't because I empathized with her, no, it was because my talent lay in easing thick emotions like these.

For me, the battle against her grief did not end upon her defeat. For me, the battle against her grief took place 129 times. For me, it was replaying the trial over and over and over in my mind's eye in deep meditation: employing different strategies, equipping different jobs, fighting alongside completely different allies. For me, the trial to overcome was untangling the knot that sat at her core… the knot named Tenzen.

I gleaned that it was a combination of bearing witness to the loss of her dear Tenzen, and suffering the loss of a healthy outlet for her overwhelming love that began the, spiral of depression for Suzaku-sama. With every victory I pieced more and more of it together until I finally understood: it was not about replacing Tenzen and the outlet he provided, his place in her heart will always belong only to him, but to show Suzaku-sama that there are others out there worthy of her love, worthy of her blessing.

By way of extending her love, she would live on in those she touched, and they would, in turn, live on eternal in her. Those she helped while traveling with Tenzen could never be forgotten. In a way, she would grant them immortality within her… but only if she were willing to try again. This is when I knew that the trial was complete.

I would eventually seek an audience with Suzaku-sama, and in return I was the first to receive her blessing anew. She also blessed Noriko, my loving chocobo companion, with fiery red plumage and a noble barding that resembled a divine firebird. Finally, she made a request of me,
"Blaze a new path for this one too." As a newly hatched scarlet peacock took roost on my shoulder.

So, I have been. Heavy, debilitating emotions like grief and loneliness and inadequacy affect us all, so it is up to us to use our love and our strengths to ease the despair and cover the weaknesses of our allies. To be the Firebird that burns eternal the flame of hope.

Scarf of Wondrous Wit