Kailor: I'm back. Finally! Short story fluff! Yay!

Naruto and Nuriko: WE LIVE AGAIN!!

A scream. A crash of thunder. A growl. A flash of lightning. The clash of steel on flesh. The whip of rain.

Setsuna settled back on her heels, tensing her muscles to attack again should the demon get back up.

It didn't.

Konoka sighed in relief. Her hand sought Setsuna's in the darkness. As if summoned by her thought, the warrior's hand closed over hers.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Secchan. How are you? I heard you cry out."

"Just a scratch. You can check it in a minute. It's pitch black. We need shelter." Konoka followed her protector closely, glancing around even though it was impossible to see anything. Setsuna kept a slow pace so Konoka knew it was hard for her as well.

"I think this is a cave. It doesn't smell like anything's lived here. Hang on." Thunder rolled overhead and lightning immediately followed it. Setsuna noted the small space but she knew it would at least keep them dry. She ducked inside quickly, guiding Konoka under the overhanging rocks. Inside it was wider and the ceiling was higher so they could stand properly. Setsuna released Konoka's hand long enough to reach in her bag and pull a piece of paper out. She stuck it to the wall and murmured a few words. A soft yellow glow filled the cave.

"Wow. How'd you do that?" Konoka asked, blinking in the dim light.

"Paper spell. It lights the cave for us only so any demons outside won't see it." She stuck a few more slips of paper to the walls then threw down a sleeping bag for them to sit on. After Konoka had settled down Setsuna sat close to her for warmth. Konoka's admiring gaze caught her attention. "What?"

"You're so brave, Secchan." Her voice was soft, tender. As if she were afraid she was breaking some silence, even though the rain pounded outside like a drum and the wind screamed through the trees with a vengeance.

Truthfully, to the young warrior, if Konoka wasn't speaking it might as well have been silent. No other sound could be as beautiful as that angelic voice.

"You don't run from anything, do you?" Now Setsuna laughed.

"I wouldn't say that," she said. Konoka's eyebrows rose, her chocolate brown eyes studying her guardian.

"What do you run from?"

"A lot." Now Setsuna's voice was just as soft, just as fragile against the howling wind. "I run from my past, thoughts of my future, my desire to be normal, my thirst for fighting… There are so many things that scare the hell out of me." The warrior's eyes fixed on the sheets of rain outside. "My feelings, my heart, my ideas… It's all stuff that I don't want to face because it might not work out the way I want it to."

Konoka studied the shadowed outline of her friend's face.

"Where do you run?" She whispered.

Setsuna slowly turned her head and took in her charge's gaze, quietly watching her. She was silent so long Konoka thought she wouldn't answer. Then, her voice almost inaudible, she said, "To you."

The healer smiled, her eyes glistening. She raised one hand to Setsuna's cheek. The warrior's eyes slid closed and she turned her face into the hand, enjoying the feel of Konoka's warm skin.

"Secchan." The girl looked up. "You don't have to run, you know." She brushed Setsuna's bangs aside to look directly into her eyes. "Just turn around. I'll always be right here."

Kailor: COMPLETE.