Her voice was quiet; Nuriko could tell she was upset. "You're lying," he said, "You do care, because you're in love with me. You told me yourself."
She turned to face him. "And you told me that you're gay, so none of this really matters, does it?" Nuriko could see the pain in Nikki's eyes.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," she continued, "I have something to discuss with...somebody," She stepped towards the door as quickly as possible, but not before Nuriko caught her by the arm, nearly pulling her off her feet.
"You're not going until you tell me the truth." he said.
"Fine, Mr. Smartie..." Nikki looked down at what Nuriko was wearing, "...Dress! Tell me what it is you want to hear."
"That you're jealous,"
"What?" Nikki exclaimed, yanking her arm out of Nuriko's grasp, "Why on earth would I have any reason to be jealous? It's not like we're together or anything," It killed Nikki to have to talk this way, especially to Nuriko, but she would never let her weakness show.
"Still," Nuriko said softly, "I know how it feels to watch someone you love fall in love with someone else,"
Nikki stepped back in horror. "You...and Miaka...?"
"No!" Nuriko cried, "Me and Hotohori-sama! Look," he said, calming down, "I'm trying to say I know how you feel,"
Nikki shook her head sadly. "No-one knows how I feel," she said.
Nuriko placed his hands on Nikki's shoulders and pulled her to his chest, resting his head on top of hers. "Then tell me how you feel," he said.
Nikki closed her eyes and buried her face in Nuriko's chest, simply enjoying the fact that he was so close. Throughout her life, Nikki had worked so hard to hide her emotions, that she now fought to find some way of expressing them.
"I don't know anymore," she said weakly, "I just feel...you."

Nuriko pulled his head back to look at Nikki's face.
"God," she said, "That sounds so stupid!"
"Not really," Nuriko said, smiling.
Embarrassed, Nikki looked down at the floor. "Look, let's not, and I'll just go,"
Nuriko placed two fingers under her chin, and raised her face to his. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers.
It felt as though an electric shock ran through her body. Nikki felt her knees buckle, so she grabbed Nuriko's shoulders for support. He placed his hands on her waist to steady her, all the while deepening the kiss.
Nikki felt as if the palace and everything in it had faded away, and all that was left was her and Nuriko. `Please,' she prayed, `Let this last for just a little longer,'
Slowly, Nuriko pulled away. Nikki's head was spinning, and she fought to keep her composure.
"So," she said after a moment, "I guess this means you're over that whole gay thing,"
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Nuriko responded, "But you're the first girl I've ever felt something for,"
Nikki smiled. "I can live with that," she said.
Later that night, the seishi gathered to see Miaka and Chichiri off. Tasuki decided at the last minute that he would go too, so everyone else wished them luck. The seishi watched as the three of them magically disappeared into Chichiri's cape.
Nikki stared at the empty spot where her friends had stood only moments before. "Be careful," she whispered.
Nikki felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Nuriko beside her.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Nikki shook her head. "Something's not right," she answered, "I don't know what, but something's just not right."

Hours passed, with no sign of Miaka's return. Nuriko grew anxious. "Something's wrong, they're late!" he said.
"Calm down," Nikki cautioned him, glancing at Hotohori, "He's upset enough already."
Chiriko took out his flute and began playing a soothing melody. Nuriko turned on him. "How can you be playing that thing at a time like this?" he screamed.
"I'm trying to comfort the Emperor," the boy retorted. The two then launched into a heated argument over who should comfort Hotohori.
Mitsukake turned to Hotohori and said, "Emperor, it seems you're quite popular with the guys," Hotohori buried his face in his hands.
Nikki waited a moment before moving in to break up the argument between Nuriko and Chiriko. Nuriko had grabbed the flute and was holding it up out of the smaller boy's reach. "Alright, break it up," she said, "Nuriko, give me the flute." Nuriko reluctantly did as he was told. "Here," Nikki said, giving the flute back to Chiriko, "I think it would be best if you didn't play it for a while," The boy agreed, and quickly left the room, followed by Mitsukake.
Nikki sighed and leaned against the wall. All of a sudden, she felt as if someone had kicked her in the stomach, hard. She doubled over in pain. Hotohori and Nuriko were immediately at her side.
"What's wrong?" Hotohori asked, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine!" Nikki said sarcastically. As quickly as it had come, the pain disappeared.
Nikki fell to her knees at the realization of what had just happened. "Tasuki," she said, her voice trembling, "It was Tasuki! He's in pain. I...I felt his pain,"
Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stood and pulled Nuriko aside. "I was right," she said quietly, "There is something definitely wrong. Tasuki's hurt, but I don't know about Chichiri or Miaka. Don't say a word to Hotohori. Got that?" Nuriko nodded.

Somehow, Nuriko managed to get Chiriko's flute back. Unfortunately, he didn't have the boy's talent for music, and the melody came out sounding more like fingernails on a chalkboard. Nuriko screamed in frustration.
Chiriko and Mitsukake burst into the room. "What's the matter?" Chiriko asked, "It sounded like someone was choking the gay boy to death!"
"Well forgive me for being gay!" Nuriko shot back. "Technically he's not gay," Nikki said, "He's a bisexual cross-dresser, and there's nothing wrong with that." Everyone turned to look at her questioningly.
"Um, nothing. Oh, look, Mitsukake, your cat's floating!" she exclaimed. As she stated, Tama-neko was floating just above their heads.
"That's new to me," Mitsukake said.
Chichiri's voice seemed to come from the cat, and instructed Chiriko to use his flute to break the barrier that was holding him, Miaka and Tasuki in Kutou. Chichiri told the other seishi to put their chi into Chiriko's flute.
As he played, Nikki closed her eyes and concentrated on the music. `If I have any chi, please let it help!' she thought.
Soon, Miaka, Chichiri and Tasuki appeared. As Nikki had suspected, Tasuki was badly injured. She rushed to his side and took his hand into hers.
"Tasuki, are you alright?" she asked, obviously concerned. She gently brushed his hair back from his face. It was matted with blood.
"I'm fine. Now stop fussing over me," He swatted her hand away, then swore in pain from the movement.
"Mitsukake!" Nikki called. She then stepped aside to give the doctor room to work.
She glanced up to see Nuriko glaring at Tasuki. `So, I'm not the only one who's jealous,' she thought.
Miaka told Hotohori how Tamahome had tried to kill them all. Nikki couldn't believe that a Suzaku seishi would turn on his own men. Especially if he was supposed to be in love with Miaka.

After Miaka and Tasuki were settled in their rooms, the other seishi and Nikki knelt before Hotohori. Mitsukake explained that Tamahome was being controlled by drugs. Nakago had somehow brainwashed him into attacking the Suzaku seishi.
"Even I have no power against those drugs." he said sadly. He went to heal Miaka, whose arm was broken.
Nikki told Nuriko she was going for a walk around the palace to clear her head, but really she went to check on Tasuki.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting beside Tasuki on the bed.
"Didn't I tell ya to leave me alone?" he asked, "That's why I hate women. They're always fussing over you!"
Nikki gently brushed some of the dried blood off his face. "Well," Nikki suggested, "If you hate women that much, why don't you go talk to Nuriko?"
Tasuki glared at her while she doubled over in fits of laughter. Luckily, Mitsukake soon came in, so Tasuki was spared from more teasing.
Nikki stepped into the hallway just as Hotohori, Chichiri and Nuriko passed by on their way to see Miaka. Nuriko eyed Nikki suspiciously.
`Busted,' she thought.
Chiriko was sitting beside Miaka's bed playing his flute when the others entered. He quickly surrendered his position to Hotohori, who asked Miaka how she was feeling. She responded cheerily, saying how Mitsukake had fully healed her arm.
"That's not what I meant," Hotohori said, implying how she felt about leaving Tamahome.
"I'm fine!" Miaka insisted.
"You don't have to lie for our sake," Nuriko said. Miaka couldn't handle the emotional strain anymore. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled at the seishi, "I want to be alone!"
Hotohori left, hurt that he couldn't ease Miaka's pain. The others followed except for Nikki.
"Speaking from personal experience," she said quietly, "It's not always good to be alone. Just remember, we're all here for you, if you need anything," Nikki knew that her words wouldn't change Miaka's feelings right away, but she had to try.