A/N: well it's another chapter and for once I haven't got anything to say. Well, nothing but I don't own Fushigi Yuugi and Rosie's mine. To the chapter then…

Tasuki waited impatiently by the door of his room, squinting into the darkness every few minutes looking for any sign of Chichiri and Rosie. Finally after ten long minutes he caught sight of a familiar silhouette coming down the hallway.

" 'Chiri?" the bandit called tentatively.

Chichiri nodded as he stepped out of the shadows and came up to Tasuki. "Yup, it's me no da, and I have Rosie with me too."

"Is she okay? Why isn't she moving? What happened? Why'd ya take so long to get here?" the bandit asked all in a rush.

"Shh, na no da. Don't be so loud." Chichiri said softly. "Rosie's asleep, that's what took me so long. I didn't want to wake her, no da."

"Well, I guess that's a good reason. So where'd ya find her anyways?" Tasuki asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"She was with Chiriko. He must have been reading to her, because I found them asleep with a scroll between them, no da." the mage told the other.

Tasuki nodded. "So now what do we do with her?"

"We put her to bed, no da." Chichiri told him.

"Really now?" Tasuki said sarcastically "I thought we were just gonna let her sleep in your arms all night. I meant, where do we put her."

Chichiri laughed. "Oh. Well, if you want I can give her my bed, no da. It's the full moon tonight and I have to perform some rituals. By the time I get to bed I won't care where I'm sleeping, no da."

"Are you sure 'bout that?" Tasuki asked, frowning a little.

"Positive, no da." Chichiri told him.

"What if she wakes up?"  the bandit asked, his brows knitting in concern. "What if she gets scared?"

"I'll take care of her, no da." Chichiri reassured his younger brother.

"But-but what if she-" Tasuki started.

"Don't worry, no da. She'll be fine. Trust me, no da" Chichiri repeated.

"I do…I mean, I know y'wouldn't let anything happen to her it's just…well," the bandit lowered his eyes. "She's already been hurt twice already an' I couldn't forgive myself if something else happened to her, y'know?"

Chichiri nodded. "I understand, no da. If it'll make you feel better, why don't you take Rosie, no da?"

"You sure 'bout this?" the flame haired young man asked.

Chichiri nodded again. "Sure I'm sure, no da."

Tasuki shot the monk a fanged grin. "Thanks for bein' so cool about this." he said taking Rosie gently out of Chichiri's arms and holding her protectively against his chest.

"No problem, no da. It's no big deal."  Chichiri said with a smile.

"Yeah…well, if you were any of the others I might never hear th' end of this." Tasuki told the other, his cheeks slightly pink. "I mean, seein' as I'm always goin' around sayin' I hate girls…well, y'know." He broke off with a small shrug.

"Don't worry, no da. Your secret's safe with me, na no da." Chichiri assured the bandit. "I have to go start my ceremony now, but if you need anything just call, no da."

Tasuki nodded. "See ya later then."  He turned to leave but Chichiri stopped him.

"Sorry, but I need my kesa back, no da." he said with an apologetic smile. "I lent it to Rosie before, but I need it tonight, no da"

Tasuki nodded and gently tugged the cloak out of Rosie's tiny fists and handed it to Chichiri. "Oyasumi, onii chan." he said softly "Don't fall in th' pond on your way to bed now."

The warrior-mage laughed. "I won't, no da. See you in the morning." With that the monk headed towards the shrine of Suzaku and Tasuki went into his room.

The bandit lay Rosie don on his bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

She really isn't so bad… he thought as he got out an extra blanket and spread it out on the floor I could almost get used to takin' care of her…

He lay awake for a while longer, but his eyes started to close and soon sleep claimed him.

Three hours later, Tasuki's eyes opened and he stared up into the darkness for a minute before he realized that he was really awake and that soft sobbing noises were coming from somewhere above his head.

S'weird… he thought still half asleep Who th' hell'd be cryin' in my room at this hour?

Then he remembered who. "Kid?" he called softly "That you?"

He heard a small gasp and the sobs grew fainter. Sitting up and squinting into the darkness he tried again. "Rosie? You okay?"

The sheets rustled as the angel moved farther away from Tasuki and she whispered a tiny "Yes."

"You sound like you're cryin'." the bandit said gently "What's wrong?"

"M'-m'scared…an' I want my bunny…an' it's too dark in here…" came the muffled reply. "An' now I'm in big trouble too…"

"Why would ya be in trouble?" Tasuki asked in confusion "It's okay t'be scared. Little kids always get scared."

" I'm not s'p-osed t'be scared." the angel protested. " I'm a big girl n-now…I'm not allowed t'be scared n-no more."

Tasuki frowned in the darkness and went to sit on the edge of the angel's bed. "That's not true," he said firmly "Everyone's allowed t'get scared once in awhile, even big guys like me."

"B-but you're a grown-up!" sobbed Rosie "Grown-ups never get scared!"

"Oh yes we do." Tasuki replied "I was scared when you fell outta that tree before, an' when I hit ya with that apple this mornin'…even really brave people like Chiri' get scared sometimes. We all do."

"Yeah, but you're not s'posed t'let it show…then they hit 'cha." Rosie said quietly, moving a little farther away from Tasuki.

"Well, no one's gonna hit you around here." Tasuki assured her "Around here, you can be scared or sad or hurt or happy whenever you wanna be. There's no rules about what you hafta feel."

"Really?" the angel asked softly "Do you mean it?"

"'Course I do. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." the bandit said, voice soft and reassuring.

"Good. 'Cause I was scared you were gonna hit me." the girl confided, crawling into Tasuki's arms and laying her head down on the young man's chest.

"Never." Tasuki whispered.

Rosie smiled up at him and the pair lapsed into silence for awhile, enjoying the sudden peace that had fallen over them.

"Know what Gen-chan?" Rosie asked sleepily.

"What?" Tasuki answered in a low whisper.

"I like it here. I like it lots…but of everything around here I like you best of all…" the angel said, her voice faint and on the very edge of sleep.

Tasuki smiled and kissed the girl on the top of her head, gently shifting her so that she was cradled in his arms.

The child's eyes started to slip shut and Tasuki felt her small form getting heavier and heavier in his arms. He went to put her back on the bed, but she whimpered and grabbed hold of his tunic. "Please stay…m'scared all alone up here…"

"Alright." Tasuki whispered, pulling a pillow behind his head and leaning back against the wall for support.

Once he was sure Rosie was deeply asleep, the bandit shut his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that the wall was really uncomfortable and that his legs and right arm were going numb from having Rosie's weight pressing down on them for the past hour.

A/N: well there it ends because I have an English essay I should be doing but won't until tomorrow. No foreign languages in this chappy so I'll sign off.

Later!

 ~Tenshi K. ~