Aya:

Wheee, chapter ten. Not my favorite ; It was hard enough to write... hard enough to post ;P Hope you all enjoy it, cause comments would be seriously appreciated.

Enjoy!

Oh, yah,

Disclaimer: They're not ours. We belong to ourselves, but not the boys. Or Miaka. Or Taka. Or anyone else. Oh wait, V's ours.

Chapter 10

One week later, they were just crossing the border. Aya had already begun to feel the chills of Hokkan a day or two prior, while the others were still unaware of it. She took it upon herself to wear a sweater even in the noon of day when it was still nice and warm out.

"Aya, you're sweating. How 'bout not overreacting?" Cat said to her as she rode up next to her friend.

"I'm not overreacting. It's gonna get colder soon anyways.. Might as well be prepared."

Six hours later, everyone ate their words as they found themselves in the middle of a blizzard. The temperature dropped drastically when they kept rising in elevation. They were crossing a chain of mountains, and the weather had taken that day to be one of the worse.

"Over here!" Taka shouted from ahead with Miaka, having found a cave for the night.

They all huddled inside, even Aya who adorned two sweaters and the blanket she had brought with her was shivering… then again, the girl will be cold no matter where she was.

Tasuki made a large fire with his tessen, and they all quietly sat around to warm up.

"Who would have known there would be a storm, no da." Chichiri tried to laugh it off, drying off his kesa and setting his staff aside.

"If we would've stopped at that last village we'd have known," Aya muttered. She glared at the cheerful monk. She discarded the blanket and one sweater, being the closest to the flames.

Cat pulled out her sac which carried some extra food. She pulled out some dried nuts and some fruit. "Here, this is all I have. I guess we'll have to wait until the storm passes to get some real food." She took a pear for herself and passed the rest around.

"I guess we could just sleep it off," Miaka yawned and leaned back into Taka who happily wrapped an arm around her. Unbeknownst to them, three pair of eyes watched them jealously.

Aya was the first to look away from the happy couple, only to catch the look quickly passing across Tasuki's face as he turned away from them. Their eyes caught for a moment, before she pulled away and stared into the fire.

Oh look, a nice warm fire! Aya was saying to herself, distracting her mind. Wonder why I still feel so bloody cold.

A blanket suddenly dropped onto her head, which made her jump. She stared at the red-haired seishi as he sat down beside her. "Ya still look cold," he said, staring into the fire. Aya stayed silent, which took plenty of effort. "Are ya alright? Ya don' look too good."

That's easy to explain, but I would rather not. "I'm fine," she muttered in reply. She tried to look anywhere else in the small cave. Cat and Chichiri were discussing medical herbs this time. Taka and Miaka were sound asleep. The fire was a bit too bright for her eyes. Traitors, all of you. She cursed a storm at the fire in her mind.

Tasuki tossed another piece of dried wood in the fire. "So, what's the first thing ya gonna do when ya get home?"

Aya glanced up at him, unable to reply at first. Is he trying to converse? That's a first… "I guess figure out if my parents have died… My mom is probably freaking out since I disappeared."

"Oh… sorry 'bout that." He said, then proceeded to rub his neck shyly. "My ma was really annoyin', suffocatin me an' all… One reason I ran away from home."

"You ran away?" Aya smiled. She'd known a bit of Tasuki's past… well, she knew everything she could have known back home. But it was different hearing it from his own mouth.

"Ya, ta become a real man ya had to get 'way from my family." Tasuki then proceeded to explain the horror of growing up in a family with so many female members attacking him.

Aya nodded off to sleep, as much as she hated to admit it, sometime while Tasuki was explaining some of the old journeys they had as Suzaku no shichiseishi. He was retelling it to her through his own eyes.

The next morning, Aya was the lucky one… she had been the first to wake up in a long time. She found herself wrapped in her blanket. The fire had died out at some point and the chilly morning breeze was entering the cave. Strange enough, she wasn't as cold as she thought she would be.

The answer was simple. She was in the proximity of Tasuki. Actually, she had pretty much fallen asleep on him last night. Once again her hair was caught, but this time it was under his torso. Since both of them moved around so much in the middle of the night, it seems that they got themselves into a strange position. She was curled up, fetal-style, with her head resting on his arm. Her hair was caught somewhere under his back, and his legs were trapping her from stretching out completely.

Cat was the next one to awaken. She noticed the clearer day and was about to go out to do some personal business when… "Aya, what'd you get yourself into?" She said as softly as possible when she found her friend trying to pull her hair out from under the bandit.

Aya placed a finger to her mouth, glaring at Cat. "I don' want to wake him," she pretty much mouthed.

The other girl nodded, but was unable to stop the giggle that escaped her.

"Oh, shut up," Aya hissed. "I wasn't the only one getting warmed up last night," she said, in reference to the rather comfortable position she had seen Cat and Chichiri in. They both fell asleep beside each other, against the wall, and shared a blanket. It wasn't as intimate as what she was currently caught in, but enough to make her friend blush.

The others began to stir awake, as well as Tasuki. Fortunately, Aya removed her hair when the bandit shifted. She quickly backed up a bit when he tossed himself closer to her. She would hate to wake him up in a bad temper…

Cat giggled as she headed out of the cave. "I'll be right back… Don't you do anything, Aya."

"What'd that mean?" The girl muttered. She turned around to start packing up some stuff when she found Taka and Miaka staring at her. They were awake. And both of them had a strange look to their eyes…. "What?" She said, trying to sound completely oblivious to everything.

"Nothing," Miaka had a wide grin to her face. Aya did not like that look. "So exactly how long have you been here before we came in?"

The question was innocent enough, but Aya suddenly felt like she was being put to a test. "Um… a month and a half?"

"Good morning, no da," Chichiri said when he realized others were awake beside him. He looked a bit embarrassed as he stood up, stretching.

Saved by Chiri. Thank you! Aya smiled up at him. "'Morning."

"Sleep well, no da?"

There was a muffled giggle from Miaka when Taka bat her lightly on the head. Aya turned red.

At that moment, Tasuki took the opportunity to flop onto his back and yawn widely. "Ya all had to wake up this early?" He grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When he looked around, everyone was glancing his way… everyone except for Aya. She was trying to busy herself with folding the blanket. "Did I miss somethin'?"

"Oh, not much," Miaka replied cheerfully. She joined the others in putting together a few things. Taka helped her.

Cat returned to the cave and found everyone bustling to leave. With everything packed up, they began to make their way again.

With the skies clear, and the day a little warmed up, and snow on the ground, everyone was in brighter spirits.

Cat and Aya were having the time of their life. They forced everyone to have to lead their mounts as their played in the snow. It was their first time seeing it, after all.

"We have to save time and hurry to the capital, no da," Chichiri finally called to them.

Aya had just tossed a snowball towards Miaka, who was joining in the fun. The priestess ducked out of the way, then turned to look at Chichiri. "Aw, but we were having fun!"

The three reluctantly obeyed and mounted their horses once again. By early afternoon, everyone was once again moving at a slower pace.

Up front, Tasuki's horse was the first to get startled. It reared up and tossed his rider into the snow, then proceeded to run off.

"Tasuki!" Miaka cried. She leapt off the mount she shared with Taka, then ran up to the bruised bandit.

"Miaka, watch out!" Taka cried. His horse was startled next, but so was everyone's. A large tentacle whipped out from the woods, a scythe at the end, aimed directly at the miko. With lightening speed to save his beloved, Taka jumped from the frightened mare and rescued Miaka. Cat was already making her way, afraid that she would have to put her powers to use early into the fight.

Aya crouched into the snow, ready to take on whatever came from the woods. What surprised her first was the size of the thing's bulk. It looked slow, with a large gaping mouth filled with large teeth in a rather round obtuse body. However, the amount of tentacles it had was enough to put its round body aside. It moved on six normal legs, scurrying at a slower pace than the hydra before. The tentacles whipped around, summing up a total of twelve limbs when they were able to count it.

It let out a gurgling sound, sending two scythe-equipped "arms" to where Tasuki fell.

Tasuki, known for his speed, finally recovered and ran out of the way moments before he was impaled.

"Everyone get back, no da!" Chichiri cried. He focused his ki, and launched his attack right when the others regrouped behind the monk. It sliced off two of the tentacles.

The creature let out a scream that shook the trees surrounding them.

"Rekka Shinen!" Tasuki shouted, running off to the side and sending a pillar of flame towards the target.

The creature opened its mouth and spat out some sort of glob, which was caught by the flames. It used the distraction to relocate. Its legs powered it up, and it charged at Tasuki.

Aya did not wait a moment longer. She changed into her other form, and allowed instinct to lead her. She dodged one tentacle, then swiftly leapt atop it and ran up to the creature's body. With an angry cry, she raked her claws across one of its grotesque yellow eyes. It howled and tossed her off, but Aya gracefully landed on her feet not far from Tasuki. The round beast was howling, half blinded and disoriented. It shot out its remaining limbs in all directions.

Although there was enough room between all of them, as they watched it flail and tried to find an opening, it was still not safe. With its scythes, it cut down some of the surrounding trees, one which was nearby to the miko and her guardian. By chance, Cat was nearby and she ran up to them, creating a shield and pushing the tree out of harm's way.

Tasuki relaxed once he saw that danger passed. He was about to use his flame again, raising it above his head when a thick tentacle rushed up at him. It struck him directly, sending him flying off painfully into the distance.

Horrified, Aya tried to run after him, but was blocked by a barrage of attacks from all four arms.

With their priestess being protected by Cat, Chichiri and Taka took the opportunity to attack the main body. Taka powered up and kicked the large beast, which caused it to lose balance. Chichiri then sent out two ki blasts, hoping to rip it apart.

The creature shifted quickly, facing the attack head on and it caught the blast in its mouth

"Tasuki, you alright?" Aya called out, hoping to get him to answer her, she began to run up to him. Let Chichiri and Taka deal with the demon.

At the moment, what they thought was a victory, proved wrong. It had spat out the ki, aimed to kill the two seishi. The two dodged, and found that the ki-incased globs melted everything where they once stood. Before they could attack, the demon once again threw out more of its thick wads of acid. Chichiri's barrier blocked them, then retaliated with his own attacks, ripping off three more of its limbs.

"Taka, try to remove its legs! Once it can't move, from the back is the only way to kill it, no da!"

Right when they joined together for an attack, the demon proved to have one more ability. It pulled in its remaining legs, and used the sloping hill to roll its body down towards the two unknowing victims.

Aya was reaching the bandit, who appeared to have either sprained or broken a leg, when she found a tentacle in front of her. She turned around, staring at the creature that had quickly come up to them. It's pincer-legs once again stabbed at the ground, and the remaining arms swept up the Seiryuu girl.

It let out a piercing scream, dragging Aya towards its mouth.

Tasuki forgot about his leg, determined to kill the creature. "Rekka shinen!" He shouted as loud as he could. This time, the fire caught the creature's back.

Aya dropped to the ground painfully, but the snow helped soften her fall. She picked herself up, ready to charge and destroy it when the sight caught her dead in her tracks.

The demon's shrill cry as it burned was bad enough, but instead it also began to thrash about wildly as it was being engulfed in the holy flames. Tasuki held his ground, trying to remain upright. Just as its dying cries issued, a worse sound rose in pitch.

"Tasuki! Get away from there!" Chichiri's call came too late.

The ice cracked under his feet, and Tasuki suddenly realized he was standing on a solidified lake. Before he could run to safety, he lost the ground beneath him and fell under the ice.

There was a second of stunned silence, then came Aya's loud shriek. "TASUKI!" Without another thought, she ran to the lake, ready to throw herself in to save him. Strong arms caught her, and she fought against it. "Let me go! Please!" She screamed, using her strength against Taka's.

Cat and Miaka ran up, having been further away from the fight. They saw Aya struggling against Taka, and knew something had gone wrong.

"I got him!" Chichiri said suddenly, drawing their attention. They were stunned to hear the ground crack, ice shattering and then Tasuki's form hovering over to the snow where they were. "Hurry up! We have to get to some shelter and get him warm!"

Aya's face paled when she saw Tasuki sputtering. He was alive, but the color in his face was draining fast, his purple lips already chattering uncontrollably. She was let down by Taka, but refused to run up to him, too stunned.

"I-I saw a cave just up the hill," Cat told Chichiri, who picked up the bandit.

Without another word, the group hurried up and found said cave. It was larger than the one they had previously inhabited, and was set in the wooded area where the demon came from. If it had used the place for its home, it wouldn't have been a surprise.

"Girls, go find some dry firewood if you can, we need to make a fire. Taka, find something to start it with. We have to get him out of his clothes and warm as fast as possible." Chichiri's stern voice brought everyone hustling.

Cat and Miaka set off on their search. Taka began to rummage through his pack to get something. Aya stood there, trying to let the situation sink in, then grabbed her own bag.

"Here," she said. She took out one of her textbooks.

"Isn't that important?" Taka asked. Aya replied by ripping out a few pages and began to set up a fireplace. Taka then proceeded to get a fire started.

Cat and Miaka returned a moment after, when Tasuki was out of his clothes and wrapped in several layers of blankets and clothing. He was lying as close as possible to the fire, his clothes were hung nearby to dry off.

"I'll get some soup ready," Cat mumbled, trying to make herself useful. She took out a sac of food, which had a variety of things to make a good broth.

It was only two minutes, but everyone had busied themselves with doing something. Suddenly, Aya stood up. She made her way towards Chichiri.

Without a word, she began to strip.

"D-daa?" Chichiri, being nearest, turned around, completely startled.

"Aya! What do you think you're doing?" Cat and Miaka cried simultaneously. Their friend had gone mad. "Taka, stop looking!" That came from Miaka as she pushed her boyfriend away from the scene.

Tasuki was trying to stay awake, and at least the sudden outburst helped. He was shivering uncontrollably, and Chichiri moments ago was getting him to talk through his chattering mouth. He couldn't hear the outburst too well, but he figured it out soon enough. Aya pulled aside the blankets, clad only in her underwear, and proceeded to lie down next to the frozen bandit.

"W-w-wat d'ya th-thin ya d-doin?" He tried to speak, teeth chattering and staring at the small girl as she pressed up against him.

"The only thing I can think of doing," she mumbled from his side. "Body warmth."

Everyone else in the room turned bright red, but seeing as how everything had been going beforehand, they figured they'd might as well leave the two alone. Chichiri, seeing that his job was taken, coughed and began to go off to help Cat with the soup.

"Y-ya kiddin!" But Tasuki was having trouble breathing, and he was too cold and tired to speak. Instead, he changed to a more physical form of getting rid of the girl and tried to move his limbs to push her away. It was more difficult than he imagined.

Aya wrapped her arms around the man, even if they did not reach all the way, and she used what energy remained to fight him. "I don't care if you hate me forever after this… I don't care what you think of me." She sniffed, trying to keep tears at bay. "You just have to live." She whispered, burying her head in his chest, trying to keep her hold on him. He had finally quit his struggles and began listening to her. "I don't care, because if you live, I'm happy. I love you too much to lose you to the fucking cold."

The silence in the room told her that she said that aloud… Aya gasped from her spot, suddenly coming to her senses. But she didn't remove herself from the bandit. That would be even more embarrassing. Instead, she kept silent, hoping that her voice was too soft to be heard.

The occupants heard it alright. They spoke in hushed tones, something about 'saw that one coming' and 'finally', but otherwise tried to keep their discussions on something else. They did give the other two their own personal space.

Tasuki remained silent, which made Aya feel even worse. She hoped that he would not see her crying like she was, and tried to keep her sobs as silent as possible. What she had not noticed was that his breathing had calmed to something closer to normal.

Although it had not been too long, Tasuki had been trying to struggle from her grasp enough to exhaust the girl. He realized that her arms weakened their grip, and that her soft sniffs stopped. Having worn herself out, Aya fell into a deep sleep.

Not long after, he was forced to drink some hot tea and broth by Cat. They both tried not to disturbed Aya, allowing her to remain where she was.

Tasuki expected the girl to give him one of her pep talks, try to help him understand the situation, but instead she kneeled silently and waited for him to finish his meal, helping him every so often.

"Aren't ya gonna say sometin" The bandit asked weakly as he fought the sleep from his eyes and watched the dark skinned girl.

Cat brought her gaze up to his; she had been looking at Aya sleeping peacefully next to her Gen chan.

"This is something you need to figure out on your own, Tasuki kun... You already know the answer, I'm sure of that, but you have to decide what you want to do with it now that you know..." She then gave him a small 'you can do it!' smile and left the Seishi to recover after healing his wounded leg.

When the next day dawned, Aya once again was the first to awaken. She drifted just at the edge, trying to recall what occurred the day before.

Hypothermia. Her mind told her… Oh, yah, I'm an idiot. Her eyes once again stung, not wishing to face the day after what she said the night before. She was sure that everyone must have heard it. It was one of those things that she did without thinking it through… I'm sure everyone does it.

When she finally realized that she wouldn't be facing the blissful darkness anymore, she allowed herself to fully awaken… and find out that she was where she had placed herself.

She was surprised to find that Tasuki was still beside her, and he was not tossed about in his usual manner. Instead, she felt his chin just above her head, and she was still safely tucked away against him, although he had somehow ended up wrapping his arms around her as well. Although she felt comfortable beyond worlds, Aya slowly tried to extract herself from his embrace.

It was all too strange for her to wind up in that position, even if she was the one that initiated it. Embarrassed, she slipped out and gathered the clothes she removed the night before. She hoped that no one else would wake up for awhile, and seeing that it was just dawn that would be more than likely. She snuck to the back of the cave with a blanket, found a spot on the floor, and proceeded to stare a whole in the rock wall.

Cat awoke right after her friend. She had been restless the entire night. Aya's revelation had not only been heard by Tasuki but also by everyone else. She knew things would be even more uncomfortable between the girl and the group than before. And she also knew that Tasuki would most likely stay away from Aya for a while.

But Cat also knew that this wouldn't last... the way that Tasuki looked at Aya and the way he reacted to her had changed these past few weeks. He was falling for her whether he liked it or not.

Cat walked over to where her friend was with a soft smile, bringing over some hot tea. She sat down in front of the girl and offered the drink to her.

They stayed in quiet companionship for a half hour, Aya nursing her drink and Cat resting her head on her knees which she had tucked close to her body. She sat thinking of Chichiri and wondered when he'd notice her love for him.

She closed her eyes and started to fall into a light sleep when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of the others stirring to consciousness. The first to awaken was Chichiri of course. This time around she had separated herself from the monk and slept near Taka and Miaka. As annoying as it was to stay there, what with all their fawning over one another, she felt it was the wisest move she had made in a while.

She was afraid that after Aya's revelation, the monk would be more aware of her actions, and once he did find out what she felt...

It'll all be over...

Aya had finally finished her drink and set out in a hurry, wanting to leave the cave before everyone was fully awake. She had all her things together and loaded up her mare.

After checking on Tasuki, Cat came out after her and made her way to her own horse. She was up in the saddle before anyone, taking this chance to trot a bit before they set off, practicing what she had learned from her horseback riding lessons.

Aya glared at her friend as she watched Cat happily posting, she so hated the English style of riding. But her attention was soon brought back to the present when she noticed that the others were emerging from the cave. She quickly jumped up into her saddle and set off for a bit, coming closer to Cat who had now ceased her posting.

"You know... you did something really brave back there." Cat stated as she finally halted her horse.

Aya blinked back at her friend with a blank face. What in the world was she talking about?

"I mean... you knew that once you said those things, there was no taking them back and that you might get hurt. But you still did it." Her friend's soft smile seemed a bit sad to Aya. "I wish I could be that strong..." Cat ended her statement softly as the others came up to where they were, everyone ready to continue their journey.

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