The tender look returns to Sashi-san's features. Her smile grows almost excruciatingly vulnerable. "We met in Seattle, Okido-san and I. It was the year that the Native American Nations opened their lands to metas. There had been no riots for some time. The terror that was to come was many years away. It seemed, to some of us, that the world was finally becoming accustomed to the Awakening. We were hearing much in those days of Okido-san and his New Way. I remember so clearly his words, how we must move with the tide of the Sixth World, or be swallowed by hatred. We who believed in the Land of Promise, who sought to create it, were very impressed with the man. When he traveled to Seattle, it was in the spring. I was sent to meet him, to determine if his words could be believed, if he was prepared to back his ideals. I had only the Promise to offer, future consideration, yet Okido-san not only met me but talked with me through the night. There was a chemistry between us. We both felt it. We had so much in common, beginning with the most basic ideals. We soon fell in love. Later that year, I discovered that love had borne fruit. There could be no doubt as to the father, as I have never been with any man but one." Machiko struggles to maintain a settled spirit, but this is very difficult. She feels as though she is listening to a fantasy that goes beyond impossible. "Excuse me if I seem rude," she says, "but you clearly have me confused with someone else. Of course, I accept what you say concerning your relations with Honjowara -sama . I feel greatly privileged to be entrusted with such intimate information. But there is no question about my lineage. I have seen the records. My biological parents were both elves and they were killed in a terrorist bombing."