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Hey everybody! Back again! Thank you SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO much for the reviews and for still reading this fic! You guys rock!! Anyways, back to the fun!

Tokaki and Hikari went running back into the main room of the house to find someone lying on the floor. Hikari had no idea who he was, but the young man was badly bruised and bloody.

"Who is it?"

"It's Tatera!"

Hikari remembered Tokaki mentioning him before as another celestial warrior. Who could have done this to him? Just then more howls erupted into the night.

"What happened in here?" Shina asked as she and the other warriors entered the room.

"Tatera's been hurt. Get him someplace safe and do what you can to heal his wounds."

"Yes Grandfather. Mitsukake, give me hand."

Together the two healers carried the unconscious warrior out of the room, his wounds bleeding onto the floor. A thick darkness seemed to creep up on the small house, snuffing out the torches outside. The gliding darkness slid into the house, rising up in a dark cloud.

"Everyone stand back," Hikari said, never taking her eyes off that ominous cloud.

"What the hell is it?"

"Ten'shoue."

"Very good of you to remember Priestess. I see you all received my little present. Your warrior friend put up quite a fight."

"How dare you," Subaru said, stepping towards him.

"I wouldn't get so close my dear."

At that moment, a pack of demon runners swarmed in front of him forming a line of defense. So they had been right from the beginning. Ten'shoue had been controlling them after all!

"What do you want?"

"Want? My dear priestess it is I who have something you want?"

"I want nothing from you!"

"Are you sure? Not even your brother?"

There was a dark glow and suddenly her little brother appeared in Ten'shoue's arms. The boy was unconscious, but otherwise looked no worse for wear.

"Sho….You bastard! Give him back!"

"I'm not one to give my prizes so freely. He was not easily won. It took much on my part to get him here. If you want the brat so badly, come and get him."

"I'm warning you Ten'shoue. Give my baby brother back to me!!" Hikari screamed.

The characters on Hikari's forehead suddenly began to flare to life in an almost blinding brilliance. Hikari felt her strength being doubled as Tasuki came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Jus' tell me what ya need Priestess."

Hikari looked into Tasuki's eyes. He stood before not as the man who loved her, but as a warrior ready to lay down his life for his priestess.

"Lend me your power."

"You have it."

Hikari focused her energy as she had done in her dream. Concentrating as hard as she could, Hikari aimed that burning bright ball of energy toward Ten'shoue, her goal clear in her mind. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she was letting him leave here with her little brother. The celestial warriors stood in awe as Hikari kept control of that energy.

"Tasuki! Now!"

"REKKA SHINEN!"

Flames came shooting out of Tasuki's tessen in a glorious burst, joining together with Hikari's energy burst, scorching Ten'shoue's darkened form. The attack was powerful enough that it broke his concentration, and sent the demon runners packing.

"Damn you Priestess! You will die for this!" he screeched, before vanishing.

Luckily he was injured enough that he could not transport both himself and Sho to wherever he was headed.

"SHO!"

Hikari raced forward and slid down onto her knees to catch her brother's sleeping form before he hit the floor. She breathed a deep sigh of relief. He was okay. There were no visible bruises that she could see, as far as she could tell, he was just asleep. The small boy stirred in her arms.

"Hikawi?"

"I'm here Sho. Big sister is here…Go back to sleep."

"Okay."

"I'll take him to Mitsukake, no da."

"Thank you Chichiri."

Hikari slowly rose to her feet, the world suddenly spinning. She had used a lot of her power to form that attack. If Tasuki hadn't helped her, she may not have been able to save Sho, and who knows what that monster would have done to him.

"This place is no longer safe. Ten'shoue knows we are here. Once Tatera has recovered we will return to Konan with you Priestess," Tokaki said.

Hikari turned to follow the way that Chichiri had gone with her little brother when her vision began to blur and waver. She stumbled against the table, leaning on it for support. Then, for no reason that she could explain, her whole world went black.

"Hikari!"

Tasuki rushed to Hikari's side and picked her up in his arms. What had just happened? Was she ill? Had their brief battle with Ten'shoue been too much for her? Maneuvering his way around the other warriors Tasuki set off to find Mitsukake and Shina. Maybe one of them could figure out what was wrong with her.

Hikari awoke to a comfortable bed with thick covers. She didn't recognize this room with its stone walls, and strange wall hangings. Strong, warm arms were wrapped around her bare stomach from behind. Bare stomach? That wasn't right. Carefully she turned to find herself looking into the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

"Morning," Tasuki said, his voice slightly gruff from sleep.

"Morning."

"I was startin' ta wonder if you were gonna get up," Tasuki said, pulling her close.

Hikari wrapped her arms around Tasuki and found nothing but flesh. It suddenly dawned on her that neither of them was wearing a shred of clothing! Hikari blushed, unable to meet Tasuki's gaze. Realizing why she was blushing, Tasuki let out a small chuckle.

"Don' tell me yer goin' all shy on me? You weren't shy last night, or the night before that, or the night before that."

"I get the point."

But Tasuki's words only made her blush harder. She couldn't quite recall what had been happening, but clothing or no, waking up in Tasuki's arms was the greatest gift she could have asked for. Cocooned in the warmth of his embrace, all Hikari could think of was lying here forever.

"What are ya thinkin' so hard about?" Tasuki asked, "Are you worried about the baby? If ya are we don' gotta go ta the palace."

Baby? She was pregnant? With Tasuki's baby? Overwhelming joy filled Hikari's heart, and tears of happiness glittered in her eyes.

"Hey, don' cry!"

"I'm okay. I'm just happy. I love you Tasuki!"

"I love you too."

Gazing into the fiery depths of Tasuki's eyes, Hikari leaned in and kissed him. Tasuki returned her kiss with a deep passion, rolling her beneath him. Hikari let out a squeal of delight that was purely girly, and smiled at the man above her. She loved him so much! Tasuki's lips returned to hers, giving her deep, soul searing kisses. He trailed kissed along her neck, just as he had done that night on the ship so long ago. Tasuki's hands slid beneath the covers, caressing Hikari's body, drawing sighs of pleasure from her.

Suddenly there was a heavy knock on the door, followed by voices. Voices? That couldn't be right? What was going on? She could hear bits and pieces of conversations, worried voices. Nuriko. Chichiri. What were they doing here? Hikari looked up at Tasuki to find her sight beginning to waver, and slowly disappear.

"Tasuki? What's happening? TASUKI!!" Hikari screamed as everything faded to black.

Hikari bolted upright in bed, her heart hammering in her chest. The light in the room was dim from a small candle nearby.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Tasuki!"

Hikari threw her arms around the flame haired bandit, unable to keep the relief out of her voice. Tasuki returned the embrace, and dearly did not want to let go.

"That must've been some dream you were havin'. Course, if ya ever screamed my name I figured we'd be doin' somethin' other than sleep," Tasuki said with a wink.

Hikari blushed a deep crimson, and couldn't keep from shivering as she recalled the sweet kisses and caresses Tasuki had given her in her dream.

"I don' suppose yer gonna tell me what you were dreamin' about are ya?"

"You really want to know?"

"Well, with the way you were screamin' my name like that, yeah."
Hikari was starting to think she would have a permanent blush on her face. She told Tasuki everything about her dream, from waking up in his arms, to the baby, to the two of them nearly making love before she woke up. She did everything she could to avoid looking in his eyes. Especially when she mentioned the part about being pregnant in her dream.

"You…you would really want to?" Tasuki asked, awe filling his voice.

"Want to what?"

"Have a baby with me?"

Hikari blushed harder than she had before. That was answer enough for Tasuki. With a whoop of joy, he swept her up in his arms and held her tightly.

"I promise, as soon as all of this is over, we're gonna make good on that dream of yours. I'll make ya the happiest person alive, I swear."

"Tasuki…"

The two lovebirds stayed like that for the longest time, neither one of them wanting to let go. For Hikari it was a moment of confirming how deeply Tasuki loved her. And for Tasuki it was one of the most important moments in the bandits' life. He had never loved anyone as he loved her, and no one had ever loved him the same way. He would do anything to protect this love, and to keep his promise to Hikari. He would do everything he could to make her the happiest woman alive.

"How long have I been out?" Hikari asked when they finally pulled apart.

"Not long. Mitsukake thinks the battle with Ten'shoue wore ya out. As soon as you and Tatera are both ready, we're headin' back to Konan. We need ta hurry an' get back so we can summon the gods."

"What about Sho? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, I checked on 'im a few minutes ago. The rug rat's fine. He sure is a spittin' image of yer dad."

"Yeah…he is. I just wish he could have known him. Dad died before Sho was born. He never even got to meet him."

Hikari and Tasuki talked long into the night while the others prepared for their journey home. But once again, sleep eluded her. Creeping out of bed, Hikari returned to the balcony from the night before only to find that Tokaki had had the same idea.

"Back again Priestess?"

"I could say the same to you."

"Good point."

"Tokaki…you said you knew my father….how did you know him?"

"He never told you?"

"He told me about this place when I was little, but back then I just thought it was all a pretty fairy tale. Guess I was wrong…"

Tokaki smiled sadly.

"In my old life I did quite a bit of traveling. While traveling through Konan on one of my trips, I met your father. He was just a scrap of a thing, always getting picked on for that character on his head. Which I see you seem to have inherited. I decided to stay in Konan for awhile, and I took Tamahome as my student, trained him to fight, and defend himself. Taught him what it meant to be a warrior."

"Guess that's where Dad learned all those nifty techniques he taught me."

"He taught you to fight?"

"Yeah. When I was really little I used to go with him to all his martial arts classes. I loved watching him fight. He was my hero. When I got a little older, he started teaching me how to fight. He said I never knew when it might come in handy. Looks like he was right."

"Let's see how well your father trained you," Tokaki said.

"What?"

"Come on Priestess, show me what you've learned. And don't hold back just because I'm an old man! I'm tougher than I look."

Hikari took her stance just as Tamahome had taught her so many years ago. There wasn't even a name for this style where she came from, but it was still her favorite.

"Now, come at me!"

Hikari swept in low, trying to knock Tokaki's feet out from under him, but he'd seen it coming.

"Come on girl, I taught your father that trick! Try again.!"

Back and forth it went, each one trying to bring the other down. Hikari was so concentrated in her fighting that she didn't even realize that Tokaki was teaching her at the same time. This was his prized pupil's daughter. He would pass onto her what Tamahome hadn't been able to. He would give her the advanced techniques that might one day save her life. Finally, after hours of sparring, Tokaki gave her a lecture on the different pressure points in the body. It was something he hadn't gotten a chance to teach Tamahome, but he would pass it on to Hikari, not because she was Tamahome and Miaka's daughter, but because she was a priestess with strength beyond anything he had ever seen. She had proven earlier that she would be doing whatever it took to protect the ones she loved, just like her mother. But there was something different about her. Something he could not place his finger on, but it did not matter. As a warrior he would do anything to keep her safe.

When they were finally done, they were both wired with a new sense of energy. All of the sparring had brought with it a rush of energy. By the time everyone was up and ready to go, Hikari was more than ready to begin the trek back to Konan.

"Excuse me Priestess, but I do not believe we have been introduced."

Dum dum dum….ha hahahaha! So what did you think? Please review!! There's more to come including a really big twist!! The villain isn't who you think!!