Welcome to Chapter 4! I hope the transition wasn't too bad. Haha~ Anyways, I wanted to make this brief. This chapter focuses more on Nozomi and Youko. I'm telling it to you straight out. Yes, it is "a bit" OOC for Youko, but you know what? I don't care... lol It was written long ago, and I am planning on changing it in the future. But, right now, I really don't care... So, if you're gunna comment on how "He would never act like that!" Again, I repeat, I don't care... I am aware of this, and yet what's more important is that you enjoy the work of writing as a whole. Understood? Good! Now, let's get on with this chapter! (It's a long one! ^^)

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, its characters, or the rights. The only things I own are a few characters, the plot line, and a few other things.

And now, on with the chapter!

-At the beach

Actually going down the path to the secret beach, Nozomi paused near the sandy bottom, looking towards the rocks to see if the man was still there. It was well into the night now, and the moonlight barely made it past the large cliff that was right behind the large rock fall. With her hands behind her back, holding the finely crafted box with even hands, she craned her neck to see if that man was still here, or if he moved on.

"You're finely dressed." A voice spoke suddenly, causing her to jump slightly.

Looking towards the rocks again, she now noticed Youko's' golden eyes upon her, seeing as how she was in the moon's light, and he was in the shadow of the cliff. She tilted her head to the side slightly, her cerulean colored eyes watching him curiously.

"I was wondering if you'd gone…"

"I'm in no shape to be traveling, as you so kindly mentioned before." He replied quietly, closing his eyes as he said it, putting audible emphasis on kindly.

"Hm…" She paused, then looked up at the moon, then down at the sand before her, currently standing on the last large cobblestone before the expanding sand.

Youko watched her closely, noticing how both of her hands were behind her back. With his eyes narrowing, he remained silent, waiting for her to do something.

"You know, the night sky is really beautiful tonight…" She sighed, a small smile on her face. Making sure that the tall basket was well hidden behind her back, not to mention balanced on her right hand. She used her left hand to carefully scratch the bridge of her nose.

"What is it you're hiding?" He asked, knowing that she was purposefully changing the topic now, in a failed attempt at a conversation.

A light blush stained her cheeks as she knew she was caught. "Uh…well…" She now had both hands behind her back once again, shifting from foot to foot nervously. She blushed a bit more and looked down to the side. "I…I brought you some food…because I thought that you might be hungry…" She managed to mumble, blushing a little more.

Giving a slight grunt, Youko stood from where he was seated and made his way over, having gotten most of his strength back, but not all of it. Walking out into the moonlight, he approached the shy princess; she was still looking down near the side. Looking up, she saw him standing in front of her, watching her closely.

"Why do you go through such lengths for me?" He asked, somewhat coldly.

She seemed kind of taken aback by that question. "Can't a person be nice to others naturally, without question?"

"Not after you slapped me earlier…" Youko replied quietly, glaring amusedly at her.

Nozomi blinked, having forgotten all about that. "Oh yeah!" She gave a slight blush of embarrassment as his eyes flashed. "Hehe…sorry… Did I hurt you?" She asked, looking up at him with large eyes.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

Blushing again, she decided to actually move on with giving him the food. Balancing it on her right hand, she brought it out from behind her back and rebalanced it in front of her, smiling at him as she held it out to him.

"I brought a lot, since I don't know what you like, and in case you were injured, I also put in some bandages, and a few drinks as well." She thought it over. "Oh! And I also placed a blanket in there. It can get cold here sometimes."

"You really did think of everything, didn't you Princess?" He asked, smirking as he crossed his arms.

His smirked broadened as he saw her blush, lowering her arms slightly as her gaze fell to the floor. "How….when did you find out…?"

"After I called you 'doxy'. No one, besides one with Royal background, and pirates, of course, know the actual meaning of the word." He gave a soft chuckle as he looked at her, his left hand gently covering the left side of his face. "I must say…I'm impressed… That had to be one of the hardest slaps I've ever received…and I've had plenty."

Blushing even more, Nozomi closed her eyes tightly and merely handed the box out to him, not wanting to continue with the conversation. Chuckling again, he took the box, holding it carefully. Weighing it in his arms, he glanced up at her.

"How is it a princess can carry something this heavy all the way down from the castle?"

Blushing still, her eyes concentrating still on one spot in the sand, she replied in a mumble, "Well…I guess I'm not as weak as I thought…maybe…"

Turning slightly, he gave her a small smirk before walking back down the beach and stopping around the middle.

"Would you care to join me?" He called back, glancing over his shoulder at her.

She looked up, surprised. "Would you let me?"

He smirked still. "I don't see why not. You've helped me, whether I liked it or not. I can at least return the favor somehow, right?"

Nodding, she went to take a step, but stopped when she saw the sand again. Sighing, she took a decision. However, before she could put her decision into action, Youko had come over and picked her up gently in his arms. Blushing, her arms automatically wrapped around his neck for security, she stared at him in surprise. Smirking amusedly at her, he began walking over to the place where he had put the blanket he found inside on the sand, spread out.

Glancing down at the princess, still with the smirk on his face, he mused, "Princess, are you blushing?"

Naturally, this caused the already shy and embarrassed princess to blush even more, her face almost glowing bright red. Chuckling softly, Youko gently placed the completely flustered princess down onto the blanket and walked around it, then sat down himself next to her.

Sitting on her knees, her head hung with embarrassment, she sat tensely, her fists somewhat clenched. Rummaging slightly through the tall basket, Youko glanced briefly at the still princess and smirked, not able to help himself.

"You can't possibly be this shy."

This caused her to cringe slightly, having once again been read by a complete stranger. Chuckling, Youko took out a small loaf of warm bread and took a bite, tasting it first.

"You didn't poison these, I hope." He said after swallowing his mouthful of bread.

Still in her position, she shook her head. Satisfied, somewhat, he finished eating the small loaf of bread and began searching for some more to feast upon. He paused, his golden eyes landing on the princess once again. Withdrawing his hands from the tall basket, he slowly reached over and gently poked the princess in her side. She jumped, letting out a small 'yeep' of surprise.

Not able to help himself, Youko let out an amused chuckle. "I see, so you are ticklish… How amusing…"

She gave him a sad and hurt filled look, as if he wouldn't stop finding things out about her.

"That's a much better look for you, instead of you being embarrassed." He returned to his searching in the basket. "Do you have anything good in here? Besides the bread?"

Noticing that he was, surprisingly, acting more like a child in a candy store, or digging out of the candy bag, more like it, she couldn't help but smile and take the basket away from him.

"Everything our head chef cooks is good." She told him, somewhat scolding him, as a mother would their child. "Here, I'll lay them out for you…"

One by one, she withdrew the dishes that she had stuffed in there. Once all of the different plates and small baskets of bread were out, she placed the basket aside and smiled, not able to help herself.

"Go ahead, dig in."

Staring down at all of the food, he glanced up at her before grabbing another small loaf of bread and shoving it into his mouth. She laughed a little, not able to help herself once again.

"So, where'd the fearsome pirate run off to?" She taunted, smiling at him with her eyes closed.

"Hmph." He replied, giving her a brief glare before returning to the food. "I could kill you in an instant."

"Yes, but then, who would bring you food? And take care of your wounds? If you're a pirate, you won't find much sympathy here, I'm afraid."

A pause. "Point taken…" He murmured, but not loud enough for her to hear.

As Youko ate, Nozomi's gaze was focused out towards the crashing of the waves, watching them break onto the shore. Sighing, she closed her eyes and looked down, memories resurfacing without meaning to. Noticing this strange change in action and emotion, Youko watched and ate silently, or as silently as possible, currently in the process of devouring an entire fish, carefully pulling the thin bones out first, though.

Opening her eyes, Nozomi looked at him with a motherly kind of smile. "So, how do you like the food?"

Youko didn't reply, pretending not to have heard her. She tilted her head to the side, noticing something unusual for a pirate.

"You're unusually polite for a pirate…"

Youko paused, looking up at her, having finished his fish and having been reaching for another loaf of bread.

"I'm surprised you noticed."

She sighed. "I seem to be doing that a lot lately…"

Whipping his mouth with a napkin that was placed in the basket, he turned his now somewhat serious gaze on her.

"Yes, you have. I'm both surprised and impressed you actually helped me in the first place, instead of turning me in to the authorities."

She looked up at him, seeing the truth behind his eyes. "I'm a kind hearted person, who can't take life, or see blood for that matter… Not a lot of it, anyway. I help the people that I see are in trouble…" She smiled up at him. "You're included. I don't care if you've murdered others or not. I trust you…"

Youko didn't reply, nor gave any form of motion that showed that he had heard her or acknowledged what she had said.

Watching him curiously, she couldn't help but ask something that had been on her mind since he had told her that he knew she was the princess.

"If you don't mind… Do you think you could tell me who you really are?" She asked tentatively, clearly not really expecting any form of reply.

Glancing at her, Youko sighed before lying back on the blanket, placing his arms behind his head in an attempt at getting comfortable. Staring up at the starry sky, a distant look in his eyes, he murmured softly,

"I'd rather not talk about it...at least...not at this moment..."

Nozomi looked at him curiously, wondering why he suddenly looked so sad, but decided not to question it further. She gave a single nod, and turned to look up at the sky as well, her eyes reflecting the magnificence of the heavens.

"No matter where in the world you go...or how bad the situations get...the only thing that never really changes is the sky...and all of the stars..." Youko said quietly, though louder than his last statement.

Nozomi glanced at him, wondering how it was on the outside world, away from her protection, where her life would be in constant danger. She couldn't help but wonder, and she ended up staring off into space, yet physically looking straight at Youko. Sensing her eyes on him, Youko turned slightly to find her staring blankly at him. There was something in her eyes that gave him the thought that she was just thinking, not really trying to stare at him. Looking back up at the sky, he said something to somewhat break the ice, something he rarely did.

"Princess, you surprise me."

Starting slightly, blinking a few times of having been off in la-la land when he spoke, scaring her, she gave him a questioning look.

"You're not talking as much as I expected you to. Even if you are the princess, I'd expected you to bombard me with questions..."

Shaking her head, Nozomi replied, "No, I wouldn't do that."

He glanced at her, somewhat amused. "Are you telling me that you have no questions?"

Blushing slightly, she tilted her head towards the ground as she looked up at him bashfully. "No, I do have questions...but I'm waiting for the right time to ask them... It's common courtesy, right?"

He gave a soft snort, turning back to the heavens. "If only other women had as much common sense as you, Nozomi."

She stared at him, surprised. Sensing her staring at him once again, Youko turned slightly to look at her, wondering what had happened this time. He noticed that she was blushing slightly, and that she looked definitely surprised.

"What?"

"You...you said my name..." She broke out into a broad smile and hugged him suddenly, not caring if he was a pirate or not. She lay across him, in her attempt to hug him, surprising Youko greatly. Taken so much by surprise, he could only blink in both shock and confusion as she still held on, hugging him tightly.

"No one's ever really said my name before..." She whispered, trying not to cry. "No one... Not without the 'princess' in front..." Her voice cracked slightly, so she fell silent. In an even quieter voice, she murmured, "Thank you..."

Already understanding what had happened, Youko's cold eyes had softened, and merely watched her. Giving a soft and inaudible sigh, he slowly, as if hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her. Mid-way through the process of hugging her, he stopped, not able to bring himself to do it. It was a battle for him. A battle of pride over what to do for comforting the one person that was helping him. Instead, he moved his hands and gently placed them on her hips, motioning that he wished for her to get off.

"You're…" He managed out, trying to sound in more pain that he was in. The pressure of her body against his was causing his chest to tighten somewhat painfully, apparently not having yet recovered completely from the hassle of how he got there in the first place.

Gasping in both embarrassment and surprise, she quickly got off of him, blushing madly.

"Oh! I'm SO sorry! I wasn't even thinking! Ohh…" She babbled, still blushing. Leaning over him, she looked into his eyes, worriedly looking over him, although her face was stained pink. "Are you…okay…?"

Staring back up at her, Youko couldn't think of anything to say. His mind, surprisingly, had gone completely blank. Once again, the inner struggle began. Should he actually laugh about it, or should he act cool, as an attempt to conserve his pride? Seeing how there was no one to prove himself to, except for the princess herself, he decided that just once wouldn't hurt.

Blinking slowly, still staring up into the worried and blushing face of the princess, he soon began chuckling, then it soon turned into laughing. Surprised, Nozomi leaned back so he could sit up. Still laughing, he attempted to sit up, but ended up falling back down, laughing openly. Wondering why he was laughing, Nozomi could only help him sit up as he continued laughing, not able to contain himself. Looking at her, a smile on his lips, he said softly, yet sweetly,

"I thank you for your help, Rose. I'm glad you're here to take care of me."

Blinking, Nozomi's face burned a bright red, taking in what he had just said. Covering her face with her hands, attempting to hide her glowing face, she made a few embarrassed mumbling noises. Laughing lightly once again, Youko sat cross-legged and gently placed his hands on her wrists, moving them slowly aside.

"Why hide your embarrassment? We're friends now, aren't we?"

She stared at him, somewhat intimidated by this suddenly happy pirate man before her. And yet, she knew he wouldn't hurt her on purpose. He was just being so gentle, not manipulative at all. Blushing even more due to how close they currently were, she re-hid her face, not wanting him to notice, though it was kind of hard not to.

"C'mon now, let me see your face…" He cooed, trying to move her wrists again, still gently though.

"Uh-uh…" Came her muffled reply, shaking her head slightly.

"Please?"

"Mm-mn…"

He faked a heavy sigh. "Then I guess I won't tell you who I really am….or how I got here…"

Nozomi peeked through her fingers, seeing him looking away from her and up at the sky, looking somewhat disappointed.

"W-will you really?" She asked slowly, causing him to look back at her.

Glancing at her, his golden eyes glowing slightly in the dark evening, he gave a small smile.

"Not who I am, but I will tell you how I got here."

Slowly, she lowered her hands, still feeling bashful. Nodding his approval, as if proud of her for overcoming her own shyness, however temporarily, he attempted to lie back down, only to grunt in pain.

Growing worried, Nozomi helped him sit up again, watching how he clutched his chest as another wave of pain hit him.

"You're still not completely well… I don't think you'll be able to lie down completely for a while…" She said softly, not liking how he was silently overcoming his own pain. "Maybe…you should lean against something?"

Opening his eyes, he glanced at her, thinking that suggestion over. Feeling another wave of pain, he clutched at his chest again, trying to figure out where the pain was coming from. Panting slightly, feeling his gathered energy seeping away, he decided upon what course of action to take.

Once the pain had gone enough, he said in a slightly pained voice, "Could…could I…lie on your lap?" He asked, glancing at her somewhat hopefully.

Blushing noticeably, not to mention brightly, Nozomi's face went completely blank as she stared at him, taken by surprise.

"My…lap?"

"Yes…" Another wave of pain, but he fought through it, and forced himself to continue. "I…can not sleep lying down, and definitely not when I'm sitting upright..." Another wave of pain. "So…could I?"

Worried for his safety, and definitely not used to these situations, Nozomi fought against her own inner turmoil. She wasn't used to these types of situations. Her shyness was getting the better of her, as it was in most situations. She hated being so shy, she truly did, but she didn't know any other way to be. She had attempted to be as her friend Leiko, but she felt so bad about even thinking about doing it, she ditched the entire idea before she even tried. And yet, her kind hearted self was practically screaming at her not to miss out on this opportunity to both help the poor suffering man and gain his trust at the same time. Deciding that she wouldn't miss this chance, she firmly decided on her next course of action, though the mere thought of it caused her to blush greatly.

Gently placing her hands on his shoulder, she carefully and slowly turned him so that his back was facing her, then slowly leaned him back, his head resting against her chest.

Still blushing immensely, she managed to force herself to ask, "A-are you….feeling….better….?"

After a few moments' pause, Youko opened his eyes and looked up at her, surprised she had even done such a thing. He gave a small nod, not wanting to talk for fear the pain may return.

She nodded, a somewhat determined look on her face, though it was obviously putting more strain on her than she thought it would.

"Good…. Tell me if you start to hurt anywhere again….okay? I'll do my best to help you."

Youko, being highly perverted, immediately thought of something she could 'help' him with. Inwardly shaking his head, again fighting with himself, he fought with his body to not do anything involuntary. Instead, he concentrated on the feeling of warmth and her soft hands holding him up, so that he wouldn't roll over. He snuggled further in slightly, hearing her heartbeat. It was rather soothing, even if it was beating rapidly due to her current situation. He soon found himself drifting off into a peaceful sleep, one that he hadn't had in years.

Noticing that his breathing had become softer and less pain-filled, Nozomi's body grew less tense, holding onto him more tightly. She suddenly grew worried. She was currently sitting on her knees, and she would need to stretch her legs soon. Trying not to move him much, she attempted to move them, only to fall backwards somewhat, still holding onto him. Youko still had a peaceful look on his face, which gave her peace of mind. Ignoring the fact that she was wearing nice clothing, she leaned back on the sand, holding him close to her. Smiling softly, she soon fell asleep, her head resting gently on the blanket that was there.

-And that is the end of Chapter 4. I hope this can last you until some time next week when I have the time again to upload another chapter. I'm going to try to post at least one chapter per week. At least until you're all caught up with what I'm currently working on... This is about half of page 18 out of, currently, 66. So, we have quite a bit to go. (And this is only chapter 4. ^^;; ) I hope you guys continue to read my fanfiction, and I look forward to reading your reviews!

After thought: I just noticed that this chapter is over 4k. o-o Holy crap! This may be the longest chapter of the whole thing! But, then again, it's way too early to tell if it is the longest chapter of the ENTIRE story since it hasn't been finished yet. Haha~ I wanted to take the time to once again thank you all for your time in reading this, and the past chapters, and your reviews are really appreciated. (Yes, I'm aware that I'm repeating myself...) I love reading the reviews. ^^ It lets me know you're actually interested in what I write. I take pride in my work, you know? Thank you for your time!

Much love!
Nozomi Kajuji