K'nnich minna!! Time for the meaning less writing at the beginning!!

Crowd: yay... we think

ooh goodie!!! k!! this one's gonna be good I think!!

Crowd: yay, we think.

Disclaimer: It belongs to Watase you... 'cept for my two loverly chars!! u can use them but email me first!!

Chapter 7

"Wouldst thou like me to retrieve her soul for thee?"

I looked at her, confused. "Do what? I don't understand."

She sighed. "Bring her back to life? Wouldst thou like that?"

My mind raced. The words kept repeating in my head. 'Bring her back to life?' But... how? It's impossible, but I wish it could happen. There's no way. "Yes, if you can," I uttered in a voice no louder than a whisper.

She grinned. "I am a Necromancer, (a person who can transcend into Death and enslave the Dead or bring them back if they haven't died of old age) and I can do this if that is what thy wishes."

"Okay, then let's go, if that's alright."

She nodded, smiling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As I walked into our campsite with her, I got practically assaulted by Nuriko...

"Tasuki! You're back. Are you ok now? We... well we chose to wait for you to bury her... is that ok? Wait a second, who's she?"

With Miaka right behind him bombarding me with questions.

"Tasuki? Are you ok? You sure about that? Are you hungry? Oh, and who's she?"

"I am a necromancer, and priestess of Death himself. I have come to revive one whom is needed in your expedition. Thou art the priestess of Suzaku and seishi of Suzaku Nuriko, would I be correct?" They nodded.

Then Nuriko understood. "A Necromancer? To revive Kinaki?

"Yes. And one of the one's thou searches for." She turned to Miaka. "Priestess, is it thy will that the princess shall be revived?"

"Um... can you talk normally? I don't understand."

She sighed and made a face. "Do you want me to revive her, Miaka?" she asked, lapsing into a more relaxed tone than her normal, mystical-sounding choice of words.

"Thanks, that's better." Miaka looked at me. "I can tell that Tama's and my way home depend on the princess and I also know that Tasuki wants me to, so yes, I choose to have you revive her. Is that okay?" She smiled.

"Yes. I will do as thou commands."

I let out a deep sigh. It seemed I had been holding my breath for an answer I had already known.

"Wilt thou let me see the body?" the dark priestess inquired. "There, I will need some sort of a distraction to prevent the princess from slipping from us. Something to hold her attention for a moment or two, and I will need thy healer to heal her immediately." She brushed a stray hair from her face discreetly. "And she will want to sleep. Do not let her, for her slumber will lead her back to Death."

Her voice rose from its mystic softness to an intensity to match her stress. "How wilt we distract her?" she cried out in exasperation.

Nuriko snickered gaily. "Well," he started, "that's never been a problem for Tasuki."

I colored visibly and looked down. "Well, I guess I could."

"Do," she commanded, smiling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We all gathered around Kinaki's body. I choked back a sob. She looked so serene in Death. Death's Priestess looked at me and sunk into unconsciousness. Chichiri upheld her body so she could retrieve Kinaki.

Then, her lips did not move, but the dark woman spoke to me inside my mind. Make haste and lay upon the one you love the distraction we had figured out. I could almost feel her smirk.

I lowered my lips to Aki-chan's pale, cold, dead ones. Then life came bursting through her in a lively warmth. I pulled my arms about her as the priestess told Mitsukake to heal her. He lifted his hand and out it in front of her wound and healed it. Her eyes drowsily opened.

She blushed crimson and pulled away from me. "Genrou," she chided gesturing to the people around us.

The Necromancer looked paler than usual right out of Death. "Make haste and bring some heated water and blankets. Bring as much food as you can carry, too." She got up. "I'll be right back, I must seal the opening in death."

She walked off and Kinaki nuzzled more deeply into my arms. I kissed the top of her hair. She sighed, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh Genrou. It was awful. So... so dark s-s-so lonely. All alone. I never want to die."

I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumb. "It'll be okay. Don't die on me again, okay? I don't think I could bear it."

She laughed and took my hand in her own, holding it to her face and smiling a little. Her stomach grumbled. "Oh, I guess that it takes more energy than I thought. Can someone pass me a piece of something?"

Nuriko laughed and passed her some leftovers. (yummy...lol) "Is it that lonely in death? I heard you say something about that."

She shuddered. "It's worse. There are so many there, and there's no hope for anything. And the people won't speak to you. It's like they don't even see you." She shivered. "And It's so cold, always cold and the Demons try to scare you and They're monstrous. I wasn't there long but it seemed like an eternity."

"That sound appalling," Hotohori said, shocked.

"It is," the Priestess said, returning.

"Excuse me no da, (guess who this is...) but do you have a name we can call you, Priestess?"

She looked over, her face emotionless. "I have not a name for you to call me, but if you must use one you may use Makkuro. It is the name I had long ago." Her voice was solemn and quiet.

Makkuro, Priestess of Death, and soul purpose to the dead, I thought. Must be a lonely job.

Makkuro, as she had us call her, pulled a blanket around her and sighed heavily. She looked at Kinaki. "You should rest, sister princess, for the journey ahead is hard for you."

Kinaki nodded, and pulled me along with her, leaving the others smirking. She looked up at me when we were a little ways away, and asked, "Why is Makkuro so lonely and solemn? I know she is the Priestess of Death, but it seems she has lost many to her employer, whadda you think?"

"That's probably it." I sighed. She can revive so many, so if she has lost people, why doesn't she bring them back? I shook my head, confused.

She giggled making the forest ring with rich laughter. Getting up on her tiptoes so she could reach me, she gave me a lingering kiss, and dashed away, as if to start a sort of game of tag.

I chased her around the forest, and caught her up in my arms, finally. She narrowed her eyes. "You weren't supposed to catch me for awhile!" she said, laughing. I joined her laughter and kissed her playfully.

"We should head back," I looked at Kinaki. "But, do we want to?" She smiled. "Well," she replied, pausing, "we probably should, I am a little tired." She grinned impishly, and I flushed. Laughing, I carried her back.

Ok!! How's this doing? You *knew* I couldn't kill her permanently!!! hehe... I'm not so ruthless as to take Tasuki's loverly person away from him!! hehe.... And how about Makkuro? Minna, do you like her.... (ack its so hard to try to talk in the thee's and thou's!!) ok!! Replies are, as always, great! So please reply!! (snif I always reply to your stories!! i always reply!!! c'mon!! i need this!!!) Thankies!! *wavers at you*

JA!!!

~*Megami-sama and Tasuki-sama*~