*sigh* again no reviews. Oh well I still intend to finish this fic, it just makes me sad when no one will tell me what they think.

Anyways, here you go:

This is the place? Gen thought, It's huge! How in the hell are we supposed to find Yoshimori in that!

They stood atop a sand dune in the middle of the scorching desert. Thanks to all the traps and attacks, they had taken nearly an extra week to even see the castle. Yet they were still a several hour ride away. Though Gen could probably cover that distance in an hour in his Ayakashi form.

"Don't you even think about leaving us behind Gen!" Atora stated, smacking Gen on the head for good measure.

"Hey! I didn't say anything!" he yelled as he rubbed at the sore spot on his head.

"I could tell you were thinking it. Don't bother leaving us behind. Not yet at least, you hear me Gen?" Atora crossed her arms and stared Gen down.

"Alright." Gen muttered, head down. Without another word Atora, Masamori, Gen and Shigemori mounted their rides and began the trek towards the castle gates.

As they moved on, Gen realized they didn't have any set plan for once they actually got to and into the castle.

"Hey, Boss!" He yelled to Masamori, "what's the plan once we get there?"

Masamori thought for a bit, "Well, we'll break our way into the castle first. We might as well attack the front gate since he probably expects us to come in from the back or sides and has probably beefed up security in those areas. And once we get into the castle we'll split up to find Yoshimori. Hopefully there will be zero to none on people around due to it still being light out. But we won't have much time' once we get there we'll only have maybe an hour or so before they come out at us full force. But after we get into the castle we'll just have to play it by ear."

Shigemori, Atora, and Gen nodded in agreement and they once again fell silent as the horses took them closer to the castle stronghold.

Eki grumbled as he wandered down the hallways, desperately trying not to kill anyone. Yoshimori had all but ruined his plans mere moments ago, but more than that, he's all but destroyed Eki's heart.

They sat at a table eating dinner. Eki finished first and sat awaiting Yoshimori to finish as well. When he was done Eki stood and handed Yoshimori a small box.

"What's this?" Yoshimori asked

"Well you know how much I care about you right Yoshimori?" at his nod Eki continued, "Well inside that box is a wrist band. Sort of like a promise ring but not nearly as sappy or girly. I like you allot Yoshimori. More than just sexually and WAY more than as a friend. I love you Yoshimori, and I hope that someday you can love me too, and I'm hoping that you'd be willing to wear that wrist band. That band represents how much I truly love you and that I promise to love you always."

Eki growled, then sighed sadly. After that speech of his Yoshimori had stared at the box, for what seemed like forever, before standing and walking to his room. The logical side of Eki's brain said that Yoshimori probably went to his room to think before giving his answer, but the other side of his brain, the one he doesn't use that much, said that Yoshimori's actions might as well have been an outright no.

Eki sighed again, he'll just give Yoshimori some space for a few hours, then go ask him what his answer is in words.

Yoshimori stared at the ceiling in his room as he lay upon the carpetted floor. Eki's confession wasn't that surprising, he'd guessed that was why he was so kind to him and basically gave Yoshimori anything he wanted, but did he love Eki back? Oh he knows Eki said that the band was his promise to Yoshimori, but Yoshimori also knew that by wearing it, it meant that he had some sort of feelings for Eki as well. He knew that he did indeed have feelings for Eki, but he didn't want to take that wristband until he's positive that he's falling in love with Eki.

I'll think about it for an hour or two and then go find Eki to give him a proper answer.

Eki stood outside Yoshimori's door, the box tucked away in his pocket. As he raised his fist to knock, the door swung open and he nearly knocked Yoshimori on the head. They stood staring at each other before Yoshimori spoke.

"Look, I'm sorry if my actions make you think I'd said no. The truth is I just needed time to think." he started, "I'm honestly not sure of what I feel for you. I know that I like you, allot, but I don't know if I love you. I don't know if I will love you, but I do know that the possibility is there. I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

Eki cut Yoshimori off, lightly grasping his chin, tilting his head up and gently pressing their lips together. The kiss took both their breaths away. No one had ever kissed Eki this way, and only Gen had been able to make Yoshimori, this weak kneed. As they parted they simply stared into each others eyes, before crashing their lips together in a needy passion filled embrace.

A loud BANG erupted throughout the castle. The two tore apart from each other to look around in confusion. On the outside, Yoshimori and Eki both looked simply confused and curious as to what's going on, the inside however was completely different. Yoshimori was still reeling from that kiss, only Gen had ever made him feel that way, however there was still something about Gen kisses, that Eki's kisses lack, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Eki was throwing a massive temper tantrum on the inside. If he wasn't hiding his emotions he would be jumping up and down screaming about how unfair it was when he was "THIS CLOSE" to being able to take Yoshimori and establish the last bond. His inner rage was tempered however, knowing that all he had to do was get rid of the distraction and get back to business.

"My Lord! Someones attacking the front gates!" a random guard yelled as he ran by on his way to reinforce the guards already there. They were all specially picked guards, Eki realized, they were the ones whom he'd given the gene he got from Yoshimori's blood, in hopes that it would create an immunity to the sun for his servants. Eki realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to test how well and how long the gene works. He knew it would work it was a matter of whether it worked well or wore off after a time.

Eki looked to Yoshimori, "Stay in your room."

"No way! I want to help defend the castle!" Yoshimori argued

"No! You are going to stay here!" Eki's tone left no room for argument.

He lightly placed the box in Yoshimori's hands and into his room. Eki closed the door and ran in the direction of the gates. He was also pretty sure he knew who was knocking at the door. Who knew Gen would give Eki the perfect opportunity to test one of his experiments, despite ruining the romantic moment between Yoshimori and himself.

Ok that's it for now. The stories quickly coming to a close, I might also go back through the story a fix it up and such, but needless to say.

R&R