Disclaimer: I wish I owned these characters, but I only own a few for the moment so don't sue me!! I'm poor so ya wouldn't be getting much anyways!! As of now I only have $ .76 Feel free to donate!!

anyways!! on w/ the story!! got yelled at last time for talking too much... which I'm doing again!!

Chapter 1

We were on our way to Mt. Rekakku. It had been a while since I'd been there. I currently was wondering how Kouji was doing in my rightful place.

And whether she had come back. If she had, I would get an earful when I got there. Sure, her voice could be beautiful, but that just meant that her vocals were strong, which did not help my predicament. I wondered if she still went out on raids with the guys. Or whether the hideout was clean thanks to her as it always had been when I was there. And most of all, I wondered if she would still like me despite me being away so long.

I sighed. Nuriko looked up from where he sat.

"Tasuki? Why so downhearted?" said Nuriko. He was eating an apple. I smiled. Despite the many changes that had happened, he always seemed to stay on top of things. Always had a smile hidden for some awful day when we were all feeling downcast. I envied him.

"I'm fine." I looked up and tried to smile. I could tell he could see right through my facade of happiness, though he said nothing. How could I be fine when I could have my heart stamped upon again? Though I would remain quiet about it, I could not help worrying that this would not work out.

But what was I thinking? My duties as a seishi came first, not my baka emotions!! Why was my heart all weird over a normal girl? This wasn't like me. I'd never worried so much over anything, and the things I did worry about were far more serious. I sighed once again, and tried to get rid of my cloud of melancholy over my head.

My main concern should have been will she join us if she's the right person, but I could not think of that at the moment. My emotions had taken over.

That's why I hate love and that kind of emotion. It always seems to get the best of me. Yeah, sure, some people would recommend it for a rainy day or any day for that matter, but I knew that love really had a mind of its own and with love comes the unspeakable pain of loss and heartbreak.

I had the sudden urge to just tell them all my problem. The seishi could be trusted even if I didn't believe it a worthy cause. After all, the other seishi had problems and they did not act this way. I decided that it would be a waste of breath, my dumb emotions weren't all that important.

* * *

We were finally nearing Mt. Rekakku. We could get there within the hour if we galloped, but I was not quite ready to deal with reality yet. For the last hour, Miaka slept next to Tamahome, Nuriko talked/flirted with the Emperor (sometimes I wondered if Hotohori was really aware of these things) , and Mits, his name is 2 long... sry! Chichiri, and Chiriko sat lost in thought.

They all looked the same as the last time we were together with the exception of Chiriko, who had grown somewhat taller. Maybe 4 or 5 inches. I pondered this along with the other thoughts hidden in the back of my mind.

Tamahome rode over to me looking concerned. I have misspelled looking about 6 times!! ARGH!

"What's wrong." He and I shared a special friendship where instead of actually looking I did it again!! like we were friends, we traded insults back and forth. So this concerned tone coming from him worried me.

"Nothing, really," I tried to portray in an offhand sort of voice. And then my emotions got the better of me. "It's just, I'm worried." I told him my story, about Kinaki, my broken heart, my concern of whether she would be mad, and if she was even going to be there.

He smiled at me. "You fell in love? I never would have guessed." Why, then, was his smile saying otherwise?

"Tamahome," I questioned. "You won't tell the others will you?"

"Course not! I won't unless I absolutely need to!!"

At the sound of his yelling, Miaka awoke.

"What's for breakfast?" she said eagerly.

"Tamahome!! You woke her up, you baka!!!!!"

"Oh..." Miaka said groggily. "We're almost there!!"

I smiled at her. It would be okay for now.