Chapter Thirteen…

It was agonizing. And he didn't mean the burn on his back. What hurt was watching the girl that he loved obliquely confess her affections for another man, especially since she had no idea that the man wanted nothing more than to rip her heart out in the end – literally. Kairi had known somewhere along the beginning that the navy haired musician was, in reality, the devil that would take back his heart from the dancer; which was why he wanted to help her. He knew that Amu was a cheerful girl but any simpleton could figure out that she did not want her life to end – she was always so hopeful and pure. To want to snatch that away, it was criminal.

'Doesn't that make me worse, not being able to do anything about it?' His thoughts were on the tip of his tongue and Kairi wanted to call the devil out. Tell Amu the truth about what exactly she was blindly trusting; the monster she loved. The paradoxes of the situation were a bitter reality and proved that life was such a merciless game, with fate controlling them around on strings like lifeless puppets. Oh, the death-defying irony.

The boy with glasses resented that devil more than anyone or anything in this world. 'Ikuto' she had called him. Just by her tone of voice, a person could tell that she loved him more than a plain brotherly figure and he seemed more than just a "friend". A bond between 'flower' and 'stem' was believable, however "friendship" was out of question. The truth, once more, churned the pits of his stomach to know that he had no chance with her.

But that was the least of anyone's worries – what was the most unbelievable he would never have thought that the demon was also capable of returning those feelings. It was just simply impossible! Kairi felt that he was just protecting Amu for the end when he could devour her, but he saw the raw emotion in what was supposed to be cold and unsympathetic eyes. There was no prospect for either of them – they both would lose in the end.

'He's going to break her heart and take away her life.' He felt taken aback by how close they were; it stung to see them touch each other so intimately. So casually. 'He's a devil. She's a human girl.' It wasn't fair. Kairi could feel his antagonism escalate and his conscious roared for him to expose the devil. Yukari and Yuu noticed the change of colour in the young lad's face; when his eyes flashed with hurt and vengeance, the two of them put a hand on his shoulders and slowly he simmered down. They could see he was extremely hurt.

'We can't meddle in their affairs,' Yukari told herself. The messy haired man beside her noticed her stiff jaw and could see that her feelings had softened; he knew that internally she hoped the best for the dancer girl and the devil because that was he felt as well. Now it was just up to Kairi to sort his feelings out.

"Kairi," the young trainee pharmacist looked up from glasses to see the beautiful pinkette smiling at him. "Thank you, for helping me." Even with her shabby attire and scarred skin, Amu was radiant in his eyes. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you."

Kairi blushed deeply, his face feeling uncomfortably hot and nodded rigidly before stammering back the thanks and took the apology. He saw his older sister's lips turn up in a poorly concealed smirk and all around him there were little coughs and murmurs about him having a "kid crush" – oh, he was in for a lot of teasing soon.

Ikuto also felt uncomfortable with how things were. It was apparent that all of these people were aware of his true form and he wasn't sure what he would do if any of them revealed his identity to Amu. Not to mention, he certainly didn't like the way the kid acted around Amu and his possessive streak made him stand as close to her as possible – making sure no one was able to make any mistake over his claim.

"A-And thank you all as well." She said meekly, looking at all of the faces in front of her bashfully. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened, I never meant for you all to get involved like this." Amu bowed her head in apology and saw that Ikuto was merely standing beside her silently. She elbowed him in the gut and motioned for him to do the same.

He muttered a hesitant 'thanks' and didn't bother himself to say any form of apology – they were the ones at fault for kidnapping Amu in the first place – but only did so because he knew the sunny eyed girl with him would become temperamental and peevish if he didn't.

"Erm, you too." Yukari murmured clumsily, fidgeting with her glasses as she looked at the travelling duo awkwardly. Amu looked at the ginger haired woman with confusion, making her sigh as she realized she would actually have to say it out loud. She snarled at Yuu briefly for looking so infuriatingly smug. "Sorry for, um, that from before and thanks, I guess. For, well… just thanks."

"Don't worry, Miss Himamori." Amu sighed when the overly-cheerful yet clumsy Yuu got her name wrong again, she didn't feel like correcting him again. "She's trying her best-ugh!" Yukari jabbed him gruffly on his back. She definitely wasn't very used to the circumstance of expressing any gratitude to any "merchandise", let alone "ex-merchandise".

After a lot of deliberation on what more he could say, Kairi finally decided to ask, "W-Where will you be going next?"

The question made Amu stop to ponder for a while but was unable to come up with any answer. "I… I'm not really sure, we don't really think ahead about that sort of thing." She thought as she looked at Ikuto, of course, he decided to stay silent. She shook her head at his antics before turning to the group watching her intently with a brilliant, dreamy smile. "Wherever the wind takes us I guess."

…::::x-X-x::::…

"Hold still, will you, Kairi?" His sisterly figure growled at him. It was hard not to move – of course he was quite used to bearing with pain and getting up even when he was hurting. On the other hand, the burns he had received earlier were like nothing comparable to the nicks and bumps he had gotten while growing up.

From there on, everything relapsed to a cosy silence – with the exception of the squabbling going on just paces away from them. The rowdy bunches of men were deciding on who would do the cleaning about the caverns and who would go with Yukari to the next town's port to do some business. Yuu was not helping in the least as he wavered from side to side, playfully shouting arguments with one side to the next – a stupid thing to do when everyone was aware that he was already busy handling something two towns over and wouldn't have joined either of the groups for real labour anyway.

Of course, Yukari was thankful that he helped keep the attention off of her while she spoke privately to her brother; nevertheless, she knew that they would kindly not barrage into the conversation and had enough sense to know that it was personal for the young lad.

Yukari sympathized with her young man in front of her – she couldn't imagine how hard it was for him to have to watch as he just stepped down and let a devil lead away the girl he had come to like. He was unable to do nothing but watch from the side with guarded eyes, not at all trusting the creature. Then again, it was especially hard for her too; after she had ordered her goons to thrash him earlier and even toyed around with the two.

Kairi had always been successful at achieving what he wanted, whenever he put his mind to it. He was used to being a winner and conquering whatever challenge he faced – that was how a lowly child like him had even gotten to the enviable point of becoming a trainee pharmacist. Or becoming the toughest in the group, only second to his older sister. They were all great accomplishments. Yet, as they all watched as the two left hand in hand and Kairi had never felt like he had lost so heavily. He remembered his last words to the duo before they had left…

"Will we ever see each other again... Amu?" He had noticed how taken aback her expression was; after all, it wasn't long until the end for her. Even when she answered with a smiling "Maybe", the young boy could feel the hesitation of not knowing what the future held in store for herself.

"You have to take care of her." He didn't know what had possessed him to actually address the devil, and so brusquely at that. Obviously, it was while Amu was distracted by the others and did not take heed of their exchange. "She deserves to be happy and live. Only a monster would take such things away from an innocent life."

But what baffled him the most was the response he got from the monster – expecting either disregard or possibly even a punch from Ikuto for being so bold: "I know. I'm a terrible beast." Kairi had not anticipated the vulnerability Ikuto had shown in that instant, unsympathetic cobalt eyes displaying a mixture of pain, remorse and self-loathing. It left the human boy at a loss for words and a sense of disgust at himself for feeling even a moment's worth of pity for a devil. It wasn't Ikuto who was dying; it wasn't him suffering; it wasn't him who was losing everything he desired; Amu was the one who was in the most pain… right?

'No, she isn't.' It was a war between himself and his own conscious.

"AARGH!" He shouted out loud, ruffling his hair around wildly, seeming very out of breath after the spell of frustration he had vented. In his distraction, he only then noticed that the entire camp had gone quiet because of him; meeting his eyes with frozen stares. Yukari seemed to look at him dubiously, her eyes looking at her brother with open thoughts about whether she should have him checked out by a good doctor – possibly even an herbal-psychologist or, if they wanted to save a bit more money, a gypsy. "Erm… That was just- I didn't mean to do that." Kairi gave a cough as he cautiously sat back down in front of Yukari, who still held the dripping herbs in her hand with guarded eyes. "Pardon my lack of control over my actions." He bowed his head even though she sat behind him.

"And here I thought you were the only one who wasn't a weakling in our group of pathetic little boys. Did it hurt that much?" Yukari asked wryly, smirking as she continued to apply the mash of therapeutic herbs. She ruffled his hair when he didn't answer and sat silently, fidgeting with his glasses discomfited by his outburst.

"Of course not," he mumbled uneasily. The silent atmosphere settled down and the sounds of the men goofing off in the distance could be heard again.

"OI!" Yukari yelled this time, making Kairi lurch in surprise. "What the hell do you think you all are doing, eh? I thought I already told all of you what to do while I'm over here? I don't recall telling you to leisurely goofing around! Why the hell are you still staring at my face, huh? Something funny?" She bellowed to the now scurrying men, running about to get to their posts. Kairi snorted when three of them ended up colliding in a clash of heads before tumbling down into a stony area, only to get up howling in pain and hopping off in a roar of swearing. "When I let you all eat lizards and cactus water, we'll see what the jokes about!"

Yuu watched as the hilarity ensued, laughing as he tried to support himself by a boulder, guffawing hysterically to the point where he could no longer hold himself up and began to roll around on the ground dramatically.

"What the hell do you think you're laughing at Yuu? Get up off the ground, no one's washing your clothes here except for you! I ain't your servant!" The ginger-haired woman snapped. "And watch your mouth, you lousy idiots! Don't make me get over there and whip you all back into shape because that'll be the least of what you'll have to worry about! You better have at least half of your work done when I get there!"

"Yes, sir!" Yuu saluted exaggeratedly, smiling widely. But his chuckles turned into nervous laughter when Yukari snarled at him. "I mean, ma'am! Miss? Mistress? Hmm… that sounds nice."

"YUU!" Her entire face flushed a deep crimson that rivalled her hair colour; seeing her look so livid yet at the same time flustered, it had to be the first time in anyone's life. Even Kairi blushed at the words, breaking into a fit of coughs – he would rather eat sand slugs for an entire day then be stuck in the middle of the duo's flirting!

"I was just kidding and I'm going! I'm going!" He chuckled before heading off with a wave.

Kairi didn't say anything as he heard dark mutters coming from behind him and Yukari settled down again. It was after a long silence that Yukari whispered to him, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze. "I'm proud of you, you know, for everything you did today. It was difficult for you but even so, well done little brother."

No more words needed to be exchanged for him to know what she meant. He didn't bother commenting or rather he didn't have the voice to speak in the softest of tones. It had been hard on him but Kairi had clenched his teeth and moved on. He was and always had been a fighter, that she was positive of but today's events had only strengthened that aspect about him. He was going to go far in life and one day, hopefully soon, he would find the person that would truly see that and more in him. She was sure of it.

…::::x-X-x::::…

'Tonight, I'll still pray to the flowers, the sun, the moon and to the heavens above. I'll continue to travel and I'll never give up hope, so that tender heat from the flames of life that resides within my chest won't disappear.' It had been a long time since the sun had set and the moon was above their heads, a beautiful crescent shape in the desert sky that twinkled with stars looking like crystal droplets.

"We'll stay here for the night," He looked at her directly into her eyes and Amu nodded slowly, putting her things down on the forest floor. "It's best if we build a fire and just rest here until dawn comes around."

She knew that Ikuto was aware she wanted to at least make it across to another village but he wanted her to rest, even though she already told him she was fine. Naturally, he wasn't going to comply to her wishes tonight and was going to have her rest no matter what the reasons; the stiffness of his jaws and how firm his voice had been was all she needed to know but from his eyes, she could see how worried he was. Protective as always.

They set up camp, having gotten back their possessions and some travel items from the thugs they had met up with earlier – something that surprised her as found the dancer in their better books. Amu laid out two blankets onto grassy, woodland patch and added a few more on top to cushion them. Ikuto had already collected numerous branches from nearby and piled them up before the two set up a nice roaring fire with a match from Amu's travel bundle. She put the lit-out match back into its package, saving it for later use.

She put her hands in front of the heat, making sure not to get too close so the flames did not lick her bare skin. It was big enough to last them through the entire night in the chill of the desert, so not having too many blankets wouldn't be a problem. Slowly she felt the warmth spread to her toes and she gave a content sigh. Ikuto continued to quietly prod at the sticks into the flames, having a pile of them near the heat so it would be easy to add them in as the others burned.

Amu looked at the jewel ring on her finger and gave it a gentle stroke, watching as Yoru appeared with a little bit of smoke and a loud "Poof!" Eyes wide with surprise, she watched his furry blue face, lit up by the red-orange flames, look around while his pupils quickly adjusted to the dark around them. He purred, mewled and stretched before floating over to his master and let himself fall onto her soft lap before purring into her stomach.

She giggled while he said in a muffled voice, "You left me in there for so long, master. I missed you and at least you're okay now." Amu smiled and scratched the little kitten behind the ears, ignoring Ikuto while he looked at the little creature with narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help you." He mewled guiltily, ears flattening on his head in shame.

Amu held Yoru in her arms and gave him a comforting hug, "You did wonderfully, Yoru. I was so happy when you helped me back there, so thank you." He purred happily and rubbed his face into her neck, tickling her, before she slowly hummed him to sleep in her arms. Hearing him snore and mumble about sardines in his sleep made her giggle softly, while she laid him down beside her. "He's so cute."

Ikuto snorted. "Yeah, about as cute as a cactus is," he muttered blandly, tending the fire with a large branch. Amu gave him a seething look and then lay down as well, moving the thin blanket over herself. Ikuto then moved down beside her; perched on his elbow, he looked down peevishly at the genie between them.

"He helped us, you know. You should have thanked him," she whispered. The young dancer reached out and stroked Ikuto's faintly warm cheek, her own cheeks also softly flushed by the heat of the fire. Stillness fell on them for a minute as the words sunk in, but Ikuto was never one to keep completely quiet – at least around Amu.

"Pathetic is an understatement if I have to describe him," He grunted curtly yet Amu had heard the subtle distinction in his voice. He had toned down his cruel resistance and she even noticed how he had just ever so slightly pulled the blankets up on Yoru as Ikuto pretended to "shift" up into a more comfortable stance. He gave a quiet 'tsk' and averted his gaze from the tender smile on the face of the girl in front of him.

'He's so adorable when he's embarrassed.' She continued to gently caress his face, gazing at his face. He looked so ethereal as his features were illuminated by both the flickering flames and the glow of the moon. The darkness played with her eyes and it felt like she saw two sides of him in that instance; half of his face open to the unadulterated light coming from the fire. However, the mysterious luminescence of the moon, on the other half, played his features in enticingly haphazard ways; his dark eyes looking dangerous but at the same time beckoning for her to come closer. 'No, that's ridiculous. I'm so worn-out I'm imagining things.'

She snapped out of her daze when she felt Ikuto's hand on her face, his warmed up fingers softly running down the contours of her face, leaving a tingling in their presence. "I-I was so scared I had lost you," Amu stuttered hesitantly. Her voice was so quiet; the sound could just barely be picked up from the crackle of the flames. They were as close as they could possibly be without completely flattening the life out of Yoru – who still lay snoozing peacefully by his master's stomach, blissfully unaware.

Ikuto's jaw was set tightly, his face looking bleak but he craned his neck to give Amu one final kiss on head, running his fingers through her soft, rosy hair. He had almost lost her. "Good night," he murmured while he watched her eyes flutter, a sleepy smile on her face while she whispered back the same.

"You should get some rest, too." She yawned, clutching his hand. Ikuto kissed the palm delicately and let the small fingers find home in his hands for the night.

"Yeah."

Before closing her eyes, Amu looked up for a few seconds, eyes searching for the pale light of the moon. It didn't take long against the black velvet sky and she quickly finished her nightly request to the heavens. 'So, that I can be with Ikuto and stay with him because I need him – from now and forever on. So please, grant my prayers. As selfish and shameless as I am, please let me be with him.' And she let her eyes succumb to her drowsiness but the ghost of a smile remained on her lips.

She could have sworn she heard it, a breezy whisper that seemed to carry with the wind: "I love you."

'Please let me live. For him.'

...::::x-X-x::::...

A/N: Be nice to me guys, be nice. I know! I'm alive! (Yes, so I edited the author's note after reading some of the reviews ^^;). First of all, I'd just like to say thank you so much - this is to ALL those who have read, reviewed and supported me for this story. Writing TDF gives me an amazing feeling knowing that you all are cheering me on! Thank you so much! I'm sorry if I don't always answer to your reviews but you can't imagine how I loud I squeal! (Seriously. I squeal.)

Secondly: My goodness you all are amazing! I'm so glad you don't all want to burn me at a stake! Thank you! Just as a note, the next chapter will be a little side story about one of the characters just to lighten things up a bit ;) But the next official-official chapter... I am not sure at the moment -.-" BUT NOT TO WORRY! I am working on it! :D