Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hey everyone! Pinkshuchan here! Sorry it took a while to upload this chapter but I've been going through a bit of problems with the file and so I tried using a different document office. So that's why it took so long. For all you fangirls reading this story this is the moment you've been waiting for; LEMONS! It's the other reason why this story is rated M other than the gore and nudity. I have to admit this might be the most romantic chapter in the entire story. Without further adieu here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Love of a Thousand Moons

The forest close to the village was truely a magnificient sight. The green lush leaves of the trees danced as the warm calming breeze brushed against them. The birds were chirping their harmonious song as they flew in the wide open smoky grey sky. A waterfall can be heard in the distance; singing its endless melody through the air. Eiri sat alone on a strong yet short sturdy rock, lost in his deep troubling thoughts. He could not get them out of his head. They were quite stubborn to stay within and they would not stop running through the young monk's head. Shuichi was able to take on an inugami dispite all the wounds from the dog yokai's assault. No one could have the strength to do such a thing, not even Eiri himself. He looked at his shoulder. The bite wound from Taki's fangs was still there, completely wrapped in bandages and hidden under his robes. The bite had stunned his entire arm making it impossible to move it for a while. The moment he was bit and the red blood flowed down his arm he knew he couldn't continue on the battle. But Shuichi had more wounds over his entire body than his companion and was still able to succeed. How was he able to do that? Everyday Shuichi became more and more confusing and Eiri was not able to keep up. He knew he would have to question the boy and make him tell him the answer. He got up using his staff to help him balance and walked back to the village.

When he got back he looked around. The houses were completely torn while some on them were covered with soot and ash. The villagers were mourning over the death of their loved ones slaughtered back the ones they looked up to and respected. The entire air surrounding the small area was filled with gloom and hurt. Eiri continued walking through the depressing aura of the village until he reached the village leader's house. It was in more ruin than the rest of the village and a stronger depressing air surrounded it. Nevertheless he continued on forward. He walked in to see Granny calming down a young woman around the same age as Eiri with raven black hair tied up in a bun and a red and gold furisode. He had learned the young woman's name was Satsuki and she was the daughter of the village leader. Eiri felt a spring of guilt upon hearing that. If he found out the inugami's plan sooner he might've been there to save the villagers, including Satsuki's mother. But then what would've happened to Shuichi? His thoughts were interupted when he heard the creak of the sliding door that still worked and there stood Shuichi trying to keep his balance. Granny and Satsuki looked over at him in worry.

"Are you sure you should be out and about?" asked Satsuki, "You should get some more rest."

Shuichi flashed a big grin. "Don't worry," he assured them, "I'm perfectly... FINE!" He wasn't able to keep his balance. Luckily for him, Eiri managed to catch him just in time, though it was hard to catch a person with only one arm so they ended up falling down anyway.

"You idiot," Eiri snapped, "You knew you couldn't balance well so you should've just stayed in bed."

"I'm sorry Yuki," Shuichi cried, "You're not hurt are you?"

"Of course I'm fucking hurt you idiot! In case you didn't realize, I have a bit shoulder that has paralyzed my arm. And you had just landed on it."

Shuichi got off. "I'm so sorry Yuki. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just felt so lonely and I was tired of sleeping and..."

Eiri got up and covered Shuichi's mouth with the hand on his good arm. "Ok ok! I get it! Just shut up!"

Shuichi did what he was told and he and Eiri were helped up by Granny and Satsuki. They were helped to some cushions and sat down beside each other and Granny. Satsuki sat across from them. She smiled at them. "Thank you so much for protecting us from the inugami," she thanked them, "The entire village would've been wiped out if you didn't come when you did. It may take a while but this village will be as good as new when we repair it."

Shuichi lowered his head. "I'm sorry we couldn't make it here sooner," he apologized, "If we had, we may have been able to save those who died, including your mother."

"Please don't worry," Satsuki assured him, "She would just be happy that most of the village was still alive. She would've wanted that. And as the new village leader, I thank you for myself, the villagers, and my mother. As gratitude, you can stay here for as long as you'd like. It may be a good idea considering your condition."

Normally Eiri would decline staying in a village for longer than supposed to be but he did have to consider Shuichi. He could barely stand up. It may take them a while to fully recover. So it was agreed that he and Shuichi would stay for a couple more days.

As the day continued, Shuichi began to recover very quickly. A couple hours after he and Eiri talked to Satsuki, he was back on his feet and was able to run again while Eiri didn't seem to be recovering at all. His arm was still paralyzed. Another mystery about Shuichi Eiri would put on his list. Getting bored from watching the villagers repairing their village, Eiri decided to walk around. As he walked around, he noticed Granny picking some tiny plants at the entrance of the forest. He walked over to her.

"What are they supposed to be?" he asked, causing Granny to jump and turn around. She did not look too pleased.

"You should never scare someone like that!" she yelled as she smacked Eiri on the head with her cane.

"So it's alright for you to do it with me and the brat but it's not ok when I do it?"

"I'm old. I could have a heart attack and die. You have no respect for your elders," She smacked him on the head again. "To answer your question, these are herbs that will help all the injured villagers there."

"Did you use some on the brat?" He hoped that was what it is. That way he could cross 'Fast Recovery' off his list.

"No I haven't. I'm only just collecting them now."

Eiri cursed under his breath. Surely Shuichi wasn't able to have the ability to recover fast. He remembered when they were first travelling together Shuichi had lots of scars and bruises on his back that his father gave him. And then there was the three scars on his back that wouldn't disappear no matter what. How is it that he's able to heal from the inugami wounds faster than he did with the wounds his father gave him? He then heard a noise. It sounded like a scream; Shuichi's scream. And it was coming his direction. Eiri looked to see Shuichi being chased by Satsuki and a few more village girls. He began to wonder why Shuichi was running from them until he saw what Shuichi was wearing. He was wearing a long silver furisode with the collar resting below his shoulders and the slit exposing his long hairless legs. His shoulder length pink hair flowed with the breeze without anything holding it up. The pearl necklace he always wore was still dangling around his neck. He ran for his life screaming "I'M NOT A GIRL!" over and over until he past Eiri and Granny and disappeared into the darkness. Eiri ran after him, hoping the boy didn't get himself in trouble. Satsuki and her friends stopped in front of the forest and looked at Granny.

"This is what you wanted us to do?" Satsuki asked.

The old woman chuckled her eerie laugh. "Yes," she replied, "When those two come back, they will be closer than ever."

"Ma'am?" one of the girls spoke up, "Why is it so important that those two get along?"

"Let's just say their adventure will become so much easier for them if they do." Granny answered before she began to walk away with the herbs in her long bony hands. The girls followed her, leaving Eiri and Shuichi alone in the forest.

Eiri continued running until it seemed like Shuichi was no where to be found. What the hell were those girls thinking when they dressed Shuichi in women's kimonos? And why did Eiri even care? Maybe he really did fall in love with Shuichi. He continued walking through the forest, looking for his beloved companion.

At the same time, Shuichi made it to the waterfall deep within the forest. The water of the falls sparkled under the light. At the end of the falls was a midnight blue pond with light blue waterlillies floating above. Shuichi looked at the reflection of the water. The moon could be seen very clearly in the water. It was the waxing moon; the moon that came before the full moon. Then he looked at himself. Sometimes it didn't seem like he was human. However, he didn't know how. He looked and acted human. The only thing that wasn't really human was the abilities he possessed. He looked up at the moon that remained visible on the dark clouded night sky and began to speak.

"Mother," he called out, "I don't know where you are, but I need you here with me. There are so many things I don't know. Who am I? What am I? A part of me thinks I'm human but another part of me thinks I may be something else. Maybe even a yokai. Please give me a sign; something to show me the truth."

The forest was quiet except for the endless tune of the waterfall and the melody of crickets joining in. Shuichi knew of only one way he may figure it out. Something he saw his mother do when he was younger. He took off his shoes and walked to the pond, placing one foot on top of the blue water. He couldn't believe it. When he brought both feet onto the pond, he saw that he was standing on the water. He walked to the middle of the pond with the bottom bare skin of his feet touching the cool refreshing liquid. When he reached the middle, he closed his eyes and began to sing. The tune was in harmony with the voices of nature and created a song that echoed through the entire forest. Without realizing it he began to dance to the rhythm of the beautiful melody and became unaware of everything around him. He didn't even notice Eiri's presence.

Eiri believed he was lost until he heard Shuichi's beautiful and powerful voice through the trees and followed it to the waterfall. He couldn't believe his eyes. Shuichi was singing and dancing on the pond at the end of the waterfall with his eyes closed. The waterlillies began to glow blue until the light left the waterlillies and became will o' wisps. The entire pond was dancing with Shuichi as the remarkable song played. Eventually, the will o' wisps went back into the waterlillies and brought colour back to the flowers. Eiri walked forward and called out "Brat?"

Shuichi opened his eyes and looked at Eiri only to lose his balance on the water and fell. The pond was not deep but Shuichi was still soaking wet. Eiri jumped into the water and tried to swim over to Shuichi with only one arm.

"What the hell were you doing?" he asked angrily, "What were you trying to do?"

"I... I... I don't know." Shuichi responded honestly.

Eiri sighed before he helped pull Shuichi out of the water. They were both soaking wet. At least it couldn't get any worse. Unfortunately, it did. The dark clouds began to cover the entire sky and made it rain. Eiri and Shuichi ran as fast as they could to find shelter. Luckily, they found an abandoned hut and decided to stay there until the rain passed. The hut wasn't really home but it was enough. There were a few holes on the roof but it wasn't enough to get them in worse condition then they were. Eiri managed to light a fire for them while Shuichi sat there in silence. All was quiet except for the rush of the rain from outside.

"Yuki?" Shuichi tried to get Eiri's attention, "Are you angry with me?"

"Well, you've been nothing but trouble since you started coming with me." Eiri sighed.

"Is it my fault some of the villagers were killed by the inugami?"

"Don't flatter yourself! The inugami were the one's responcible for their death."

"But if I wasn't taken by the inugami, you wouldn't had to come rescue me and be able to protect the villagers."

Eiri looked up at him. "Why are you saying all of this now?" he questioned.

Shuichi looked away. "I just feel like you might've been better off without me. It's my fault that everyone got hurt. Besides," He stood up; tears forming in his eyes. "I don't even think I belong with you or anyone else. You all are the same no matter how you look at it. But not me. I'm stronger than any human, I'm faster than any human, and at certain times my body manages to help itself except for the the three scars on my back. I think maybe it would be best if I leave." Shuichi was about to leave the hut until Eiri grabbed his arm.

"Now wait just one moment!" he snapped, "I've been trying to get you to leave my sight ever since you first began begging me and just when I start opening myself to you that's when you decide to leave me alone? Are you trying to annoy me here?"

Shuichi faced him with a waterfall of tears falling down his cheeks. "But you got hurt because of me. You always seem to get hurt because of me. I don't want that. No one would want to see the one they love more than anything, even more than a thousand moons, get hurt," At that moment, Shuichi realized what he had just said and covered his mouth. "I... I mean... You see... You've been so kind to me throughout this entire journey... Well except for the times when you act like a complete bastard but... Well... I think you're a really nice friend for always sticking by me and always being there even with your pissy attitude and..."

"For once would you just shut up?" The words were harsh but the tone didn't correspond. It sounded a little... gentle. Maybe even caring. Shuichi looked up into Eiri's eyes. They weren't angry at all. Instead they showed compassion. He could feel the monk's hand carress his cheek and wipe away his tears with his thumb. They stared into each other's eyes, speaking not with sound but with gaze. They subconsciously leaned in closer and closer towards each other, closing the distance between them. And then, a wonderful thing happened to them.

They kissed.

The kiss was neither lustful nor rough. It was a kiss that shared so much emotion between the two. Joy, relief, but most of all, love. Shuichi's hands roamed up Eiri's chest and locked together around his neck. Eiri brought his arm around Shuichi's waist and held him close to him. They fell onto the ground and held each other closer. Eventually, they broke the kiss due to loss of breath. They just lied there, staring into each other's eyes and carressed each other. Shuichi's gaze then moved to the rain.

"You know Yuki?" Shuichi got conversation started again, "It was raining like this when you and I first started journeying together remember? Although back then I was pretending to be my sister and you were taking me to the oni."

"Yeah I remember," said Eiri "You dumped cold rain water on me and made me freeze. But you made up for it for giving me that massage."

Shuichi smiled. "Would you like another one?"

"As long as you don't touch my bad shoulder. If I feel one bit of pain there you're gonna get it."

Shuichi rolled his eyes as he got Eiri to take off his robes and lie on his stomach. Eiri closed his eyes and relaxed as Shuichi's fingers brushed against his skin pale while skin. A memory began to come back to him.

"Now that I think about it," he spoke up, "It was actually raining like this the night I met the kitsune. Although it did begin to clear up after a while."

"You really miss him don't you?" asked Shuichi.

"More than you know. He would always put a smile on my face. Since the night of his death, I've never been able to smile. But why the hell am I talking like this? It's stupid."

"No it's not," Shuichi leaned over behind him, "He was your best friend. It's only natural you'd feel this way for him."

Eiri turned and looked up at Shuichi. "Did you have a friend you loved a lot that died?"

"Not really, but my mother's disappearance affected me a lot. To tell you the truth, I never even had any friends. I had my sister but my father made sure I'd barely get to talk to her anymore. I've always been alone. Now that I think about it, it may be because I may not be human."

"Are either of your parents yokai or anything?"

"I don't think so."

"Well then you're human. Besides, I'm not sure if you could be a yokai. You're not really the brightest star in the sky and you're too dependant."

"Well of course I'm not the... HEY! You big meanie!"

Eiri chuckled as he brought his hand up to stroke Shuichi's hair. The pink locks felt like pure silk against his fingers. "You take things too seriously."

"Did you mean them?"

"Of course I did."

"Then how can I not take them seriously you big jerk?"

"I mean that you overreact to everything and make it seem like it's such a big deal."

Shuichi pouted. "I really don't understand you."

"You're the one that's hard to understand," said Eiri, "I don't get how someone like you could exist. You always have such a positive attitude even after your mother's disappearance and you never leave me alone. But strangely, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Eiri pulled Shuichi closer to him and kissed him. Shuichi opened his mouth to give Eiri access in his mouth. Their tongues began dancing inside their mouths. Eiri pulled away from the kiss and began kissing Shuichi's shoulder. His lips travelled down Shuichi's body until he felt the furisode. He moved his hand to the obi and loosened it so the boy's chest was exposed. Eiri moved his lips to Shuichi's left nipple and began to suck on it, causing Shuichi to moan. While playing with Shuichi's chest, Eiri moved his hand under the furisode and began rubbing Shuichi's groin. He smirked.

"You don't have any underwear under there." he spoke.

"Well," Shuichi breathed in between his moans, "Satsuki and her friends... they didn't think... ahh! They didn't think a fundoshi under... under... mmmm! Under the furisode would be such a... ahh! Good idea."

"So they saw you naked? You like making trouble do you? And I always have to clean up your messes."

"I'm... I'm sorry! Ahhh! I'll try not to... do it again! I promise!"

"I hope you don't," said Eiri as he glided his hands over the exposed member, "Because then I'd have to abandon you somewhere. But then that would be a shame."

Shuichi wrapped his arms around Eiri and held onto him gently. "Please don't leave me somewhere. I'll die if I leave your side."

Eiri made Shuichi look at him. "I won't leave you. I'm not going to abandon you somewhere. Not when I've gotten so used to your company."

Shuichi smiled and gently pushed Eiri down so he lied down. He then moved down the monk's body until he reached the fundoshi and slowly took it off; exposing Eiri's groin. Shuichi began licking the vein before putting the whole thing in his mouth. Eiri brought his hand to Shuichi hair and held on tightly.

"Turn around," he moaned, "Turn so you're on top of me."

Shuichi complied and turned around so his butt was facing Eiri. Eiri moved the furisode from his view and began licking the hole. Shuichi moaned but then continued giving Eiri head. However the feeling was just so good that Shuichi came onto Eiri's stomach. Eiri stopped what he was doing and looked at his cum filled stomach.

"I think everyone is right in thinking you're a woman." Eiri smirked.

Shuichi glared at him. "Why the fuck would you say that?" he snapped before Eiri managed to knock him on his back with the monk on top.

"Well you don't have any manly features and you can't hold on to your pleasure."

"And how would you know that? You've never had sex with a woman had you?"

"No, but I've heard descriptions of it. And judging by the descirptions, you perfectly fit the description of a woman."

"I'm not a woman. This is my first time doing this and I don't know how to react to it."

"Well then, learn to react to this." And without warning, Eiri's dick went inside Shuichi. Shuichi screamed of pain and pleasure as the monk's cock dug deeper and deeper inside of him. When Eiri was deep enough, he stopped and watched until Shuichi was ok. Then he moved back and forth against Shuichi. In and out. In and out. Shuichi couldn't stop himself from cumming. Who knows how many times he came before Eiri. Eventually Eiri came himself and the two began to rest.

When they woke up, it was already morning. The sun shined brightly through the holes on the roof. The sound of nature waking up filled their ears. Eiri and Shuichi just laid there for a while, gazing into each other's eyes, but then Eiri got up.

"The village may be wondering where they are," Eiri explained, "Personally I don't want to explain why we're both practically naked and lying so close to each other in this hut if they come so let's get ready to go."

Shuichi groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Of course. Now hurry up Shuichi or else I'm leaving you here." Eiri looked over to see Shuichi staring at him like he saw something he didn't believe. It was really annoying him. "What?"

"You just called me Shuichi." Shuichi replied.

"Yeah so?"

"That's the first time you've ever called me by my name."

"What, am I not supposed to call you by your name?"

Shuichi couldn't believe it. "When all those you said you began to open up to me, did you really mean that you were falling in love with me?"

"No." But the truth was he was falling in love with Shuichi. He just didn't want to look soft in front of the boy. Otherwise he wouldn't let it go.

"I can't believe it!" Shuichi screamed with joy, "All this time I was worried that I would be left alone if you found out my love for you, but it turns out you were in love with me too the entire time. I'm so happy!"

"I never said that!" Eiri yelled.

"But it's true. What would you call what we did last night?"

"I would call it a test. I wanted to see if you were really like a woman or not. You just proved my suspictions."

"Uh huh! Sure you were! I know you're really in love with me."

The rest of the way back to the village, Shuichi sing songed "Yuki loves me! Yuki loves me!" over and over again. Did Eiri make a big mistake?

Pinkshuchan: (blows nose with Kleenex) Sorry, this chapter was just so happy. I couldn't help myself. I wonder what would be happening to them now that they find themselves in love with each other. Read and Review!