romak1997: Thanks :D, I hope this one will be a great chapter too :) (That random cold is what you'll like most in this chap. ;D)

Mogkupo: Thanks always! well for the mean time, yeah, I still have more chapters to post :D

AsukaEnergetic1: I remember you telling me to add Alisa some chapters ago, and I kind of dodge your comment since I've known from the start that she will come out here, sooner or later :D hehe, let's have fun seeing the princess in a flu XD

DaMastah101: Haha, the ritual was really random for me, I just imagined it but what the heck, I need more scenes! XD and Yes, it's been like a running gag in the story now that nobody remembers Lili the first time they meet her XD a lot more are going to join the ride, nevertheless, I hope this chapter is as good as always :D


28) Unresolved Tensions


"Are you sure you need to go home?" Xiayou asked, standing at the boat ramp, one hand above her eyes to protect her sight from the morning sun glares. She had some sports pants on along with a sleeveless shirt. Her hair was tied-up in a bumpy ponytail and her forehead was sweating in little driblets. She had a white towel that embraced her neck from the back. The Chinese girl looked at Asuka, busy in the engine room.

Hwoarang walked by Xiayou, wearing sports wear himself. The only difference in the way they dressed was that Hwaorang wore orange tinted sunglasses while carrying a jug of water, precipitating from the cold liquid it was filled with.

"Hey, you're patients already starting a rebellion" Hwoarang stated to the busy ebony.

"What the heck are you talking about in broad morning, Hwoarang?" Asuka said while clapping dust away from her hands. She's been meaning to start the boat engines for minutes now. The storm might not have been strong enough to break down their ride but it was able to wreck some of their engines.

Hwaorang gave an annoyed look. "I'm talking about your sick girlfriend…well, literal sick…she's starting it again"

Asuka sighed as she knew what exactly the auburn head was saying. "That is one of the reasons why I really need to take her home." Asuka plunged the junks key of the boat. A loud gnashing sound comes out along with poop smokes at the front of the boat.

"I knew you couldn't do it" Hwaorang laughed at Asuka. The ebony look defeated but she felt stronger vibrations in her fingers. She bit her lips and hoped this meant some fruit out of her hard work. The engine sounds becomes more like a gasoline pumping and suddenly all engine lights open up at the control boards of the boat.

Asuka clapped her hands and exhaled a big successful yell. "See, I told you I can fix it."

"That's amazing Asuka" Xiayou ran inside the engine room as well. "Now it's really sure you get to go home with Lili."

Asuka laughs off, lingering in her fresh upgraded ego of confidence. "Thank you, Xiayou" She said while rubbing her hands on the control panels. "But –really, I wouldn't want to leave you guys here if only there was a pharmacy here. I mean, I get that Alisa's a robot-

"She's an android" Xiayou cut thoroughly on Asuka's sentence.

"Ok, android…..doesn't seem different to me. And Lars is an uncle of the devil"

"Jin"

"Yeah, him….. But they should still at least have medicine, any kind of medicine, I mean what are they? Self healing Ninja's?"

"Tsk" Hwoarang muttered. "They just can't admit that neither of them know how to buy medicine, I mean, you never see them walkin' around town, shopping for house supplies. They're food choices aren't even found in the food pyramid."

"Way to say it and it's not like I can just order flu medicine from the nearest drug store here." Asuka took out her cellphone and looked at the screen, showing it to Hwoarang and Xiayou. "Not a single signal bar"

Xiayou lightly slapped Asuka's phone from her sight. "Really, you're talking about the signal? well, what kind of person would even cross the pacific to deliver flu medicine? The boat gas and effort to get here is not even gonna be half of what you'll pay for some flu medicine."

"And even if we did pay this certain delivery a high amount of money enough for all his gas and effort, we wouldn't be able to let him inside this secret lair. I bet he'd fell unconscious or run away as soon as those big scary rocks open up like hell's gate in front of him." Jin came in the conversation, appearing behind Xiayou.

The four of them laughed together before Jin cleared his throat and looked at Asuka. "You two should go now, the storm still might comeback and if Lili's in a high fever now it's gonna be dangerous for her to travel wet."

"Yeah, I'm on my way now to fetch her. Wait for us here, I'm sure she has a couple of….reminders for everyone" Asuka waved her hands up and won to the engine room, expecting the three to stay put in that place.

"A sweet farewell will be more anticipated" Xiayou giggled in a rush to still let Asuka hear it and giggle back at her.

Upstairs, alone inside a humongous empty room with nothing but a small bed, a wooden side table and one cabinet. Lili was working hard to get her clothes set. Three knocks came from the door; Lili struggled to close her dress at the back. The door knocks came again, now accompanied by a voice.

"I told you to wait for me right?" Asuka scolded the blonde lightly from outside the room.

"Asuka, I'm just sick, not disabled. I can put clothes on my own" It was a good thing Lili said this as she opened the door, showing Asuka how true it is that she can fit on her clothes without any help from anyone. Lili showed off her neatly fitted dress on her tall, slim body. "See?" She said with a vain smile before her zipper zips down from the back, causing her to hold on to the neckline of her dress before it all falls off of her.

Asuka shaked her head "Yeah, I can perfectly see….that I was right" Asuka circled her fingers in the air, telling Lili to turn around inside the room. The ebony locks the door behind her. She takes the dress zipper, small and white, dropped to the waist part of Lili. She raises it up in one go and buttons the dress at the top, securing it completely. Her last touches are fixing the collars of the dress and combing the blonde's hair with her fingers.

"I know you just don't want to look spoiled for the others, that's why I decided to take care of you back home. At least there, you can be as spoiled as you want." Asuka was talking while simultaneously combing and kissing Lili's hair from her back.

"Spoiled? No thanks, the last time I was like that, you called me an idiot" Lili turned back to face Asuka.

"Oh well, if you don't want to be spoiled, then at least I'll have you for myself back home. You, me, and a flu." Asuka offered her hand to Lili.

"A bad timing flu-hachoo" Lili covered her mouth with a handkerchief on her hand.
"We better not hold hands; I need them to cover my mouth"

Asuka gave Lili a "really?" expression but still did what the blonde requested. They instead walk next to each other, but Asuka could see how dizzy Lili looked while she walked so she had one of her hand at the girls back, there to catch her whenever she seemed to lose balance.

Lars and Alisa were standing with the other Alliance at the boat dock. Only the three Alliance was having some little talks, Lars and Alisa stayed quiet at the farthest of their left. When the two noticed Asuka and Lili coming up the boat they immediately came closer and greeted them.

"I hope you get back to Tokyo finely" Lars said. He moved aside to let Alisa hand the two of them some kind of remote machine.

"It will help regulate your boat's engine; it doesn't look like it'll reach Tokyo without shutting down." Alisa took the remote and plunged its wire at an open port in the control panel. It lights up and creates graph images, changing heights and color.

"Ohhh" The other three Alliance awe like children.

"Just push this red button at the middle and you're boat will have no problem at all" Alisa pointed at the big red button.

"A red button?" Everyone reacts nervously.

"Alisa, why'd you have to make it a red button? Couldn't it have been green? Blue? Yellow?" Xiayou asked the android, trying to sound as nice as she can.

"Why, is there something wrong with red buttons?" Alisa pointed out.

"Nobody trusts the red buttons." Hwoarang said.

Lili shaked her head. "Guys, come on, it's ok. Thank you for your concern Alisa" Lili smiled at the android who smiled back at her.

"Your welcome, I hope you do your best at the ride"

The others were already looking scared while they are helplessly pushed out of the boat by Alisa. Asuka was scared herself, she was starting the engine the manual way but Lili stopped her.

"Asuka, she said to push the red button." Asuka looked worried at Lili.

"Are we really going to trust that?" The others outside was hand signaling Asuka not to, but Lili pushed on the red button while her attention was being taken by the others.

"Lili why'd you push it? Are you out of your mind?" Asuka tries to plug out the remote from the boat, but she can already feel the boat engines starting.

The boat rumbles a big amount of smoke from its back. Asuka's worry reached its maximum. "Oh, no" She said while running to the wall with Lili, they sit down at the suspended chairs and buckles their seat belts on. Xiayou, Jin, Hwoarang and Lars knew exactly by now what the remote really was for.

The boat explodes off the Pacific Ocean, in a mighty nitro pack that can't be far from what Alisa uses in her jetpacks.

"Well, there they go, not even saying bye to us" Xiayou pointed her hand to the horizon.

"They'll come back as soon as Lili's better; I mean did you even see how far her fever has reached her normal thinking process? She didn't have an inch of doubt about the red button, and Lili is a doubt freak." Hwoarang told out loud.

"Yes, that's why for now, I'll only lecture the three of you about the missions, you'll start them once they come back." Lars joined the conversation. He looked at his nephew who was not showing any reaction on his face.

"I trust that we are actually working together now." The blonde uncle says without particular elaboration before walking out on the three.

"So, Alisa, you and me are the only girls left now….want to hang out?" Xiayou clung herself to the left arm of the android.

"What are we going to do?"

"Oh, you know, take baths together, paint our nails, talk about girl stuff….just trust me, it'll be like our past hang outs" Xiayou dragged Alisa to the other side of the boat dock.

Jin and Hwoarang were left to look at each other. "Want to practice some moves?" Hwoarang offered the black head.

"Yeah, I haven't done that since you guys kidnapped me" Jin was about to go at the same direction Xiayou and Alisa went to but Hwoarang whistled at him. "Hey, you don't get to practice on the ocean that often, I say we do a water fight" Hwoarang raises his eyebrow at Jin, clearly challenging the guy.

Jin gave a smug grin before going back to the end of the dock. He takes off his jacket, polo and shoes. "It is a nice day to swim" He said before jumping to the ocean.

Hwoarang jump to the ocean after taking off his shirt. He rose up the water after doing some diving for a few seconds. "So, are we going to fight or not?"

Jin didn't seem to hear the guy; instead he went closer to the dock and looked on at the building. The walls were made of aquamarine colored glasses, making Xiayou and Alisa visible while they talked at a living area.

"Let's ask them to swim with us" Jin told Hwoarang.

Hwoarang chuckled. "You just want to see Xiayou in a swim suit."

"I doubt it that she even brought a swim suit with her."

"Aha, so you really are thinking about it" Hwoarang teased him before putting few of his fingers on his mouth, then blowing a loud whistle, audible even inside the building. Xiayou and Alisa look out and realize that the two guys were dipping in the ocean.

Hwoarang signals them to join, and by the look of Xiayou's excitement, the answer would only mean a yes.

15 minutes later at Tokyo, Japan. Exactly, 9:45 am

Asuka and Lili's boat nitro was calculated magnificently to run out at the exact distance from Lars hideout to the public docking shore of Tokyo. They left the boat at the boat parking, hoping to ride on it when they come back within the next days.

Asuka guided Lili to the taxi bay. Lili understood how Asuka would need the taxi to stop over at a drug store, but she was baffled as to why the girl also had to stop over a post office.

"Who did you send a letter to?" Lili asked Asuka as soon as she came back inside the taxi.

"To my dad, he's wanted to hear from me." Lili nods her head, and doesn't question Asuka any further.

Finally back at the dojo, or what they fondly call home now.

Asuka helped Lili up the third floor and set the blonde's bed before helping her change into pajama's and lie comfortably at bed. Lili was left inside the bedroom while Asuka took care of cooking some food for them. When the ebony did return upstairs, she brought a big tray full of food. She cooked the traditional hot porridge for Lili, while she prepared herself some vegetables fried in Worcestershire sauce.

Asuka was already biting on her food; she was watching Lili, just looking at the porridge serve in front of her on a bed table. Asuka smiled and continued to chew on her food. When she had enough of internal laughing she wiped her mouth and took the porridge out of Lili's sight. The blonde head shifted her face to Asuka. "Ah…I was just waiting for it to get cold…it's hard to eat hot food…"

"I told you right? You're allowed to be spoiled today, so say AH" Asuka pointed a spoonful of porridge and lifted it in front of Lili. Her other hand was under the spoon, careful not to spill anything on Lili's comforters.

Lili still looked hesitant, but Asuka's hand wasn't moving unless she takes the serving, and she still does, after a few seconds. Asuka giggled at her stubbornness, and all Lili could is to giggle along, while, of course, slightly punching Asuka to shut her up.

They continued that until Lili finished the whole porridge bowl and Asuka gave her meds for the flu. When Asuka came back up the bedroom from washing the dishes downstairs, she saw Lili, trying to get some sleep now.

The ebony took the mono block chair adjacent to Lili and sat in front of the sick girl. Lili felt the girl's presence and opened her eyes to look at Asuka.

"Asuka, get some rest too."

Asuka nodded her head. "I will, right here."

Lili shaked her heavy, hot head at the soft white pillows, making shuffling sounds on her hair and the cotton covers of the cushion. "No, rest at your bed, I can just shout to you if I need something."

"No, I'll stay here with you, I wouldn't want you to get tired because of shouting"

Lili giggles. "Asuka, nobody gets tired because of shouting"

"The sick are always tired" Asuka counter argues to her. Lili looked a bit surprised, and she just let go of her argument, admitting defeat and giggling again.

"Well, what do you know, the only times I win an argument over my smart girlfriend is when she's sick" Asuka adds on.

Lili laughs. "The mind is also tired when you're sick"

"Yeah, but I'd rather lose every other argument then to have you sick, now rest"

"Yes, Nurse Asuka" Lili teases a last time before she closes her eyes. Asuka stares at her for awhile before settling in the chair and starting to fall asleep as well. It was only three ticks of the clock when Asuka felt a warm hand tap her in the lap. She opened her eyes and saw Lili reaching out her hand to her.

"What is it?" Asuka asks in a sleepy sounding tone.

"Can we hold hands, please?" The blonde asks so genuinely that Asuka couldn't stop the end of her smiles to reach her ears. She pulls her chair to the head side of the bed and pushes it to stick at the bed. "Of course, you can even rest your head on my lap" She offered, while helping Lili to find a comfortable position between the part of her body in bed and the other on Asuka's.

Asuka still had to stay quiet to let Lili quickly fall asleep, and as the blonde deeply fell in slumber above her lap, Asuka started to feel sleepy herself.

She feels warm, very warm. Her fever makes her whole body burn like a stove.I'm amazed that she's not reeling in to the heaviness of her body or the sure dizziness she feels. She's not even complaining about the food, so she must be unable to taste anything.I love the way she's become so caring now, trying to be well and strong for us around her, and she tries her best not to annoy me anymore, nonetheless, I may as well admit it that I find it hard to get annoyed of her. She's like a child right now, asking for me to baby her, but I do wish she can act like this more often.I wish I'll be the only person she'd act like this with.

Asuka set an alarm on her cellphone and reached for her headsets at the nearest table to her. Lili mildly waked up and sees her putting on the headsets. "What's that for?" she manages to ask in shrink eyes.

"I set an alarm for the time of your medicine, so I can wake up in time for it." Asuka explained it quite briefly. She caressed Lili's hair, helping the blonde to fall asleep again.

"I see…." Lili yawns after. "Thank you for doing that…." She continues to talk while slowly drifting back to sleep. "I really love you…."

Asuka smiled warmly and reaches to kiss Lili in the cheek, she hears the girl call her name in a small volume. "Yeah, I love you too, Lili" She says before resting her head above Lili's shoulders and letting herself catch some sleep too.

*~*~*~* Back to the Lar's Hideout *~*~*~*

"Whoa! The ocean's cold!" Xiayou shouted as her whole body submerged to the waters. Jin and Hwoarang looked at the girl, enjoying herself with splashing Alisa with water.

"Uh, Xiao, are you sure Alisa can get wet?" Jin asked the girl, trying to hold her in the shoulder but Xiayou swam away before he could reach her.

"Don't worry Jin, Alisa's not your usual kind of robot, she's waterproof"

"And drown proof" The pink haired added, opening her one hand and spewing a large gush of water on Xiayou. The Chinese had barely cleared her face of water when she climb back to the shore and chased the android, running around in very short tight shorts and bra, colored all in yellow.

Jin shaked his head and drowned back to the ocean. Hwoarang watched him and exhaled in dismay. "How pathetic" He said before leaving the black head alone in the ocean.

*~*~*~* Back at Tokyo *~*~*~*

By the sunken sun hour, Asuka was coming to with the help of an irritating bell ringing on her ears. She slowly raises her self from resting above Lili. Her hands scratches on her eyes while she yawns with all she got. She looked at her patient, still asleep on her lap and holding tightly on her right hand. Asuka carefully removes Lili from her, she needs to get down and get the girl's food for her evening medicine.

It only takes her a couple of minutes to reheat the porridge and go back up. Her sleeping patient was still breathing calmly in her dreams, and it made Asuka feel bad to wake her up, but she needed to. Little by little she calls Lili's name, closer to the girl's ear. She also taps Lili in the back, and she can feel the girl was still heating up.

Lili mumbles for many times before her blue eyes opens up and stares in blurry images at Asuka.

"Asuka" The ebony smiles at her.

"Hey, I'm sorry I woke you up, but you have to take your medicine now"

Lili smiled weakly. "It's no big deal, I should be sorry for giving you so much trouble." Asuka helped the blonde stand to a sitting position in the bed. She then sat in front of Lili, carrying the bowl of porridge and spoon.

Asuka leaned her head on Lili, she rested her forehead above the sick girl's and she can feel heat travelling on her temples. "I told you it's fine right? I got you"

Lili smiled as she nodded at Asuka. "Let's get our stomachs full then"

"Well, not too much, I'm not used to eating as soon as I wake up."

"Don't worry; this is just a small amount to keep your body ready for the medicine."

Asuka gave Lili the first spoon and they spent the entire half hour just jesting one another for this is the last bite and this is really the last bite. Lili dranked her meds and tried to stand up.

"Where are you going?" Asuka asked her, stopping herself from brignging the plates downstairs.

"I need to pee" Lili admitted with a blush on her face. Asuka double thought of helping the girl, but Lili already gave her the expression that she can do it on her own. The night eventually comes on, and it seems like the medicine are working now. Asuka stared at the digital thermometer that read 38°C, which counts for a close to average temperature for humans.

Asuka sighed in relief. "Thank God, at least I know you're healing"

Lili manages to give out a real laugh now. "With a nurse as strict like you, I actually made a bet with the others that we'd be back by the second day, and it looks like I'll win."

Asuka nods her head, but she seems hesitant to agree with the girl. Lili doesn't notice her expression, and continues to believe that Asuka is with her. By afternoon the next day, Lili's fever was really getting better; she doesn't feel dizzy anymore, although she does tell Asuka that her body is still heavy as a rock. By 4 pm, Lili was starting to sweat now, and it was a good sign that her fever is already going out of her body.

"You know what would make your body feel less heavy?" Asuka riddled to the sick girl who was wiping her face sweat with some tissues.

"More medicine?" Lili tried to guess.

"A bed bath" Asuka said so casually that Lili agreed almost instantaneously before realizing what it meant. As soon as she did realize it, she took all her comforters and buried herself in them.

"No way Asuka, that's the last thing I'd want you to do"

"Why not? I have practically nothing more to see…."

Lili was talking from below the thick white comforters. "It'd be humiliating….the last thing I want is for my girlfriend to give me a bath"

"It's a bed bath Lili, it's different. I'll just bring some towels and lukewarm water with a bit of soap, and wipe you with it….imagine me just putting on some sun screen for you."
Lili could hear Asuka shuffling out of the room, she tried to upsurge out of her comforters but she's buried herself so deep that by the time she got out of the sheets, Asuka was already filling water to a shallow basin.

Lili trembles back to her covers as she heard Asuka come back to her bedroom, but it was no use to hide since Asuka is fairly stronger than her, and she has all it needs to pull the comforters away from Lili.

The blonde head curled herself to the end of the wall and stuck there. "Come on Asuka, I was just joking, I've never felt lighter in my whole life"

"I lied about it making you feel lighter, Lili, but you haven't taken a bath in three days. Now, you don't smell bad or anything, but I know you're very meticulous about personal hygiene and since you can't take a full bath yet, I'm here and ready to offer you a warm bed bath."

"Don't say it like its some kind of service….." Lili looked at Asuka, hoping the girl would eventually get tired of forcing her, but the ebony didn't give a smidgen of a sign that she's going to let this go. Lili's eyebrows crumpled, she's incapable to go against Asuka, since she admits it herself that she really wants to wash, and this is her only way for now.

"Just the upper body" Lili gave her condition, "and don't stare at me"

Asuka turned her head left to right, "The first one I can do…" She took one hand to Lili's face and gently brushed her hair to the back. "I'm not so sure about the second."

"You're making me double think"

"No, it'll be fine" Asuka started to pull the long sleeve pajama that Lili's been wearing since yesterday. The blonde tried to fight with her but too soon enough; Lili had to take it off herself.

"See how damp it is? You've been sweating all over it since morning. It's really the best decision to give you bed bath" Asuka threw the pajama to her back, Lili could only close her eyes when Asuka told her to turn around. The blonde head waited for the warm water to drip down her back but all she felt was perfectly concentrated temperature in the wet towel that Asuka was applying on her skin.

"Wow, how'd you make it like that?" She couldn't help but ask in curiosity.

"I put more hot water, less soap and a bit of alcohol, it helped control the warmness, which must feel great, doesn't it?"

"I can't argue with that" Lili closed her eyes now to feel the full relaxation of Asuka's strokes on her back.

"Lil'…." Lili's eyes opened up with a shiver through her spine. Asuka stopped moving her hands on her back. "You need to take off your bra."

Lili bit her lips, "Must you really do that?"

"I'm not gonna be able to thoroughly clean you if you still have your bra on." Asuka was slightly pulling the clasp of Lili's black pair of bras. The blonde head didn't say anything anymore; she let Asuka take it off for her. The tomato rings forming on both their faces were heavily visible, and quietly through the night, their heartbeats drummed a little faster than usual.

Asukas was now wiping the front part of Lili, careful not to actually stare at her for the whole time, because, that would make a different other scene from their purpose of just doing a bed bath. When Asuka was done with most of Lili's chest, she handed the girl a towel to cover herself.

"Here" Asuka circled the towel on Lili's back, and she realized at this time that Lili was outrageously shy. She was blushing red and pink, her nose was beginning to get runny again, and her eyes were squinted and watery, she looked like a kid who was about to cry.

The ebony paused and dawdled this moment.

She's blushing so much, it's unimaginable unless I saw her in front of me like this…..she's adorable…all googly eyes and looking away from me…well, it's just right to do that, Lili, because you really make me lose control right now

Asuka pushed her weight off to Lili, embracing her down the bed.

"Asuka" The blonde muttered in a nervous voice.

"I'm sorry Lili, I can't help it anymore" Asuka warned her before taking Lili's head, ready to pull her to a kiss but Lili is able to intercept Asuka by raising her arms up and pushing Asuka gently away from her.

"NO, I don't want you to catch my flu"

"Lili, you're on your way to becoming better, I won't get your flu" Asuka started to stroll back to Lili but the blonde head pushed her again.

"Asuka, you crazyhead! Flu's become more contagious when it's getting better."

"Then let me have them, I'd be happy as long it's from you"

The two of them stay quiet.

"….baka" Lili pointed her eyes at Asuka. "I won't be happy if you get sick because of me…. I'm already a problem by making you take care of me."

Asuka nodded her head this time; she'd finally got herself under control.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I lost myself there..."

Lili looked at Asuka, smiling "As soon as I'm better, I promise...we can do it" And so the night goes on where romantic tensions need another day before it can be released.

*~*~*~* Back to the Lar's Hideout *~*~*~*

However, the other half of the alliance, across an ocean away, is also experiencing some major tensions.

Jin had been alone in the ocean for a long time before he realized it himself. He climbed back up to the deck and walked around the area, trying to find out where the others were.

He kept walking through the building and taking sights at the rooms, but none of the three who was with him a while ago, was anywhere to be found. Jin walked back to the dock, where he's decided to get into fresh clothes and go talk to Lars.

He takes his stuff and goes to the other front door from the side of the building. He opens the door, and there he finds Xiayou. The Chinese was scanning her hands on the wall; her eyes were blindfolded by a handkerchief.

"Xiao" Jin calls the girl. The Chinese obviously didn't recognize his voice, but she was able to feel where he was. Xiayou reached for him, her hands just reaching his neck.

"Uhhh...Hwoarang? is this you?"

Unbeknownst to Xiayou, she was just inches away to kissing the boy of her dreams, but Jin isn't unaware of it, he had full control now, just one lean, and it'll be sealed.

Jin closed his eyes and moved slightly closer to Xiayou, a little leaner and he's there, but a hand stops his mouth from reaching the girls. Hwoarang appears beside Jin, and whispers at him from the back

"You can't do that Jin, not unless you're sure"

Jin's eyes turn to an evil glare, he tries to get a sight out of the intruder from his peripheral view, and when he did get to see Hwoarang, he just handed him a grin, and then he proceeded to do what he intended.