hey everyone, i'm so sorry for the lack of updates, my editor apparently decided to take a mental vacation.

Chapter 25 - A Cold Heart's Wish


-Ichijo's POV-

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped. "How can you say that so calmly!? You're her brother!" I shouted at him.

He didn't look at me. "Do you think I'm okay with this either?" he asked, his voice steadily gaining volume. "Do you think I should be doing something? Well, newsflash! I can't do anything for her! I'm already dead!" he shouted, getting up from the window sill, and walking over to us. "Do you honestly think I want to see all that's left of my family like this?" His voice had lost its volume, and I saw nothing less than despair in his eyes.

"Then tell me, and I'll do it." I said, "I've saved her before, I'll do it again. "I'll do anything."

"Would you kill her?"

I was caught off-guard. "W-what?"

"Would you kill her?" he repeated.

"never."

"Then you cannot save her." He said, turning away.

"What are you talking about?!" I shouted.

"Before she can be saved, she must be 'dead.' Or her heart must stop." He said, looking back at me.

"Why?" I asked.

"So the poison will stop. The poison's only route, is her bloodstream, so if that stops.."

"..The poison will stop as well," I finished. "But what about after?"

"We can either save her, or we can put her through even more pain." He answered.

"'How do we save her?' is what I want to know." I said.

"Let her heart stop, and then you have to help me keep her here. So I can get her heart back up." Kotoru said.

I felt my own heart sink. "...isn't there anything else we can do?" I asked, looking down at the shaking girl I held in my arms.

"Anything else requires Tenma's ability, but she cannot use it right now," Kotoru said, looking down at his sister.

"How do we know she'll make it if her heart does stop?" I asked.

Kotoru sighed. "Give her some more credit, geez. She's a hell of a lot stronger than you think. And besides..."

I looked at hi questioningly.

"She knows her friends need her, and as long as that's true, she ain't nowhere near letting herself die." He said, chuckling.

But then the room was quiet, and I realized the absence of a certain noise...Tenma stopped shaking.

"Wow, took her long enough, never thought she'd stop." Kotoru said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Now what?" I asked, guilt steadily pouring through me.

"Remove the blankets and lay her down." He said.

I did as he said with minor difficulties. "She's not very stiff..."

"That's because she's not actually dead, it's called a death-state, or 'suspended animation.'" he said.

"Oh..."

"Alright, next I'm going to show you something, let me see your hands." He said extending his own.

I extended my hands, and then he took them, then I felt his weird aura surround the two of us. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"You're going to help me heal her." He said, one hand on her forehead, "I can heal the damage but not her body, that will be your job." He put one of my hands on her stomach, the other over her heart.

"But I don't know how to-"

"You don't need to, and basically, you're making her body heal itself." he cut me off.

"Now, I'm really confused..." I said quietly, not bothering to hide my confusion.

"I made a channel for energy to travel, because we had to get her energy going, but I can't heal her heart, and do that at the same time, that's why I needed your help." he said.

"What do you mean 'heal her heart?'" I asked, confused.

"I need to heal the damage done by the poison. And the heart is the main point, so if I heal that, the rest of her body, with your help, will heal automatically." Kotoru explained.

After a few moments, I heard it, her heart was faint, but still there.

"See, I told you she's stronger than you think." Kotoru said, stifling a laugh.

I smiled, relief overpowering me. "Yeah, you were right." I said, staring down at her sleeping face.

"She'll be alright now, she just needs a rest," Kotoru remove his hands, and I did the same. "And about the girl, Ookami, don't let what she said bother you. She's just not a person who let's something go easily. Just give her some time." Kotoru said, walking back over to the window.

"You're always with her, so can you tell me one thing?" I asked.

He turned around. "What is it?"

"The woman who looks like Tenma, who is she? And why did the lady in white try and seal her away? What is everyone trying to keep from Tenma?"

"That's three questions, but I only have the answer to the first, I'm afraid," Kotoru answered. "It's a curse" he started. "That night, Tenma lost more than anyone can believe. I don't know everything myself, but Tenma's never been the same, but not even she can remember everything about the attack...and from it's effect. I think that's a good thing." he finished.

"Alright, thank you," I said. 'At least I have more info than before' I thought.

-Tenma's POV (Dream)-

I looked around, I was in the forest again, but it looked different; it was winter. The forest was covered in snow, but I could hear laughter in the distance.

A little girl ran past me, she looked oddly familiar. "Mommy, onii-chan! Look what I found!"

I followed her, and I couldn't believe what I saw: my mother, father, and my older brother were there, and the little girl was running to them, something hidden in her hands.

"What is that Tenma-kun?" my mother asked, pointing to the girl's hands.

"that's...me?" i said quietly, unsure if they could hear me.

"It's a firefly mommy!" she shouted joyfully, a large smile on her face.

My mother held out a jar. "Put it in here dear."

"Chibi-hime, guess what?" My brother said, once 'I' had put the firefly in the jar.

"what?" 'I' asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"We have company, look over there," he said, pointing towards four silhouettes several yards off.

"Who are they?" 'I' asked. "I can't tell from here."

My mother sighed, "still no luck, huh?" she asked, patting 'me' on the head.

"Good evening, Yoruko, Meiru, Tenma, Kotoru," came a calm voice.

"Good evening, Haruka-kun" my mother replied, smiling.

"Haruka-sama, Juuri-sama! Konban wa!" I shouted, waving my arms widely.

"Hey, don't we get a hello?"

"Nope," I said, crossing my arms. "Kuma-kun get's no hello."

"That's not fair!" the young boy said, pouting.

"Do I get a hello?"

"Hai! Konban wa, Kana-kun!" I said happily.

"Ne, ne, Kuma-kun, what's wrong?" I asked, "Why so blue?"

He looked up at me, but then looked back down. "Nothing's wrong..." he said quietly.

The others gave Ichijo questioning looks.

I grabbed his hands, and pulled him towards the others. "Come on! Don't let that big meanie get you upset! Be happy!" I stopped a few feet from the others. "A frown doesn't suit you." I finished, sitting down on a rock, overlooking a small lake.

"How'd you know what was bothering me?" Ichijo asked, sitting next to me.

"Because the same thing bothers you every time." I said, looking down at the frozen lake.

"Tenma, don't lean over so far, you'll fall in." Juuri-sama said, standing up.

"Juuri, she'll be fine. She won't fall." Haruka-sama said, laughter evident in his tone.

Ichijo leaned over the edge as well, but the thin ledge couldn't hold his weight, and it collapsed underneath us, both of us falling through the ice, and into the freezing water.

"Momma, help!"

-Kaname's POV-

I heard Tenma shout, and then a splash. Looking over, I saw the ledge broken, neither of them to be seen.

Kotoru noticed too. "Where's Tenma?" he asked.

Meiru-sama got up, and ran to the lake, only to be pulled back by Yoruko-sama. "Tenma-kun!"

"I'll get them." father said, going over to the side of the rock, and jumping into the freezing lake.

'I'm so cold...what happened? I can't breathe...' I opened my eyes, but saw nothing but dark water, but then I felt someone's hand in mine, and I looked over to see Ichijo, trying to swim up, his other hand tugging on mine.

I opened my mouth to speak, but only air bubbles came out, water instead filling my lungs. He was trying desperately to get us up, but I pulled my hand from his, and pushed him forward with my feet.

'Tenma!!' he screamed in his head, his hands trying desperately to grab mine.

But I kept my hands from his reach, and waved, mouthing the words "bye bye." Darkness taking over me, I'd gone too long without a breath. My body was waterlogged, and I couldn't move even my fingertips.

The last thing I saw, before I fell into unconsciousness, was Haruka-sama, with Ichijo on his back, his arms coiled around me, pulling me to him, and taking me from the freezing waters...

-Kotoru's POV- (Wow, that's a first.)

Haruka-sama still hadn't come up, and needless to say, we were all worried.

But then, there he was, soaked to the bone, carrying a shivering set of children: Ichijo on his back and Tenma buried in his arms.

Ichijo let go, and dropped down, immediately going and grabbing Tenma's jacket, along with his own.

But I was worried about something else at the moment. Tenma wasn't breathing.

My father noticed as well, and knelt down next to her, running his finger along her sides, and then along her throat, until, finally, the water came out. He combed his hand through her hair, muttering several words I couldn't understand.

Soon, a sharp cough sounded throughout the forest. 'Thank God.'

Tenma's eyes opened slightly. "...Where...am I?" she said quietly, her voice choked and strained.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful," Ichijo said quietly to her, his head low.

She giggled. "Silly, it wasn't your fault, and besides, everybody's fine!" she ended happily, but her smile was forced.

My eyes widened, there was a large gash along the right side of her head, it was bleeding badly.

"Tenma, don't move." Haruka-sama said quickly, pinching his hand over the mark.

"why? what's wrong?!" she said, panic laced her voice.

-Tenma's POV-

He remained silent, and then I felt it. this horrible pain. But at that moment, I saw a falling star, thought before I could make a wish...

"tenma! Wake up! Tenma!"

-Dream ends-

-Still Tenma's POV-

I shot up, cold sweat covering me, my body wracked with shivers.

"Thank God! Are you alright?" I heard a worried voice ask.

"Ichijo...?" I said quietly, my senses still foggy. Cold sweat falling down my face like tears.

"I'm here, don't worry." he said, his hand on my shoulder. He was sitting right next to me. "Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah...just a dream...hey, do you remember that old lake?"

"The one we fell in? Yep." he said, smiling at the memory.

I looked out the window, and saw a shooting star.

"Make a wish," Ichijo said, pointing to the star.

'I wish...'

wow, it's the end of the chapter, and i have to say, this is the longest chapter i have written for the story (i think)

once again, i'm sorry for the lack of updates. and be sure, my editor paid for the wait. -evil smile-

reviews appreciated! and loved! yayz!! (sorry, i'm just happy i got the chapter.)

and just to let you know, i have to wait on these chapters just as much as you...i have a horrible memory...i'm sorry. it's sad, isn't it? for the author to have to wait for their story because they have no idea what they wrote? -sweatdrop-