Ahhh!! Gomen gomen gomen for not updating for so long!!! Please forgive me! You know how much of a hassle school can be? -_-;; Well, thank you sooo much everybody who's stuck with me so far throughout everything! =D You don't know how much it means to me to get lots of positive reviews!! I thought I'd take a little time to name all the people who've been pushing me to write more:

Meg-chan, DJTifa, Uftaki, KawaiiLilChichiri, Xaxres, Lady Genrou, GenrousGirl85, chikki, MoonKnight Maiden, lady moonlight, Ad, B-chan, Lola, Mysia Ri, chichiriboshi, Lady Pyrrha, Xellas M, Kaji Flamer, TasukiNoBaka, Ju-chan, ferret chan, and Kye.

I owe all of you my eternal gratitude and thanks!! ^_____^

Anyway, let's get on with chapter 15!!

~SakuraBlossom

P.S. oh yeah, even though I haven't been writing it, the usual disclaimer still applies (duh! Though I wish it were true, I don't own Fushigi Yuugi)

Running Away

Chapter 15

He was running. That was all he could tell. Endlessly, running. He was in a hurry, for what reason, he didn't know. All he knew was that his feet were urging him onward, not letting him stop.

A sudden sense of fear, of pain jolted through him, and he brought his hands up to his head, a slight cry escaping his lips.

The air around him seemed to waver, and soon it changed color, forming a brilliant wave of green and blue. He looked around, his eyes searching for a way out of this prison, but he couldn't see anything except for the never-ending waves of color.

"Chichiri!" He didn't know why he yelled that name, didn't know why he suddenly thought of him.

Something's happened, something's happened! Millions of thoughts raced through his head, another jolt of pain racked through his body.

He lowered himself to his knees, feeling the ground underneath his fingers but not seeing it. He watched as the colors darkened, turning into a deep purple.

He slashed at the colors with his arms, willing them to dissapate, to let him free. They seemed to close in around him, choking him, wrapping themselves around his body.

He watched in fear as a figure seemed to form out of the colors. A man. A stranger, he didn't know him, but he was somehow oddly familiar.

The man charged at him, grabbing him by his shoulders. He struggled, trying to push the man away, but it seemed like it took all of his energy to barely turn his head.

He gasped as he felt more arms come in contact with him, more men from behind, from the sides. They were surrounding him.

"No! Let me go! I'm not gonna' go through this again!!" He screamed out, kicking the men, slashing at them.

The man in front of him stepped back, and Tasuki watched as he seemed to melt away into the swirling colors. The other men began to shrink away as well, and suddenly, the colors disappeared.

He was in a forest, he didn't know which one, only that it was dark out, night. He stood up straight, trying to get his head together and focus on his surroundings.

"Hello?" There wasn't an answer, but that didn't mean that nobody was there.

He took an awkward step forward, but then brought his foot back, unsure. He wished this would end, wished this endless torture would end.

He felt something spark in his head. It was like a firecracker had gone off, an explosion. He cried out as he felt something even worse settle in.

He felt somewhere, a ways off, someone's chi slowly fall, and then disappear completely. It was gone, wiped away. The same feeling came back to him as when Nuriko, Chiriko, Hotohori, and Mitsukake had all died. That same feeling of loneliness, as if something that was supposed to be there was gone.

"No! Chichiri, you can't!" He knew who it was, who else could it be? He ran forward, not knowing if he was even going the right way or not, only knowing that he had to do something.

All of a sudden, his surroundings disappeared, melting away into the bright swirling colors once again. He turned around, trying to get away, but already there was no sign of the forest he had just been in.

"No, Chichiri! I have to… let me back! Chichiri!!" He reached out his hand, trying to find a way back in.

"Genrou, wake up!!"

His eyes opened with a snap, light flooding into his head. He groaned, bringing his hand up to his face.

"…What…?"

"You've been dreaming, Genrou… you were… shouting or something…"

He looked up to the person that was talking to him, watching as the fuzzy outline soon became an actual person.

"Seripa?"

Seripa looked down at him, a worried look on his face. "You… you've been sleeping for two days straight now… just this morning you started… started, saying… things… I tried to get you up…"

Tasuki struggled to sit up in his bed, but was overcome by dizziness, feeling naseous. He tried to remember… tried to think what it was that he had seen…

"Chichiri! Something's… happened to him…"

Seripa looked at him, a confused look on his face. "Who's Chichiri?"

"He's…" Tasuki closed his eyes tightly, his head aching. "one of the Suzaku seven… and… a friend…" He felt tears start to come to his eyes as he said this, knowing that it was a lie.

"How would you know, I mean, he's not here, is he?" Seripa tilted his head to the side.

"I don't know…. I just felt it… in my dream… he…" Tasuki turned over, leaning his head into his pillow.

"You're in terrible condition, you know?" Seripa walked over, gently resting the palm of his hand on Tasuki's forehead. "You're burnin' up."

Tasuki shivered slightly, as if a sudden chill had gone through the room. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep in the heat.

"You've got a terrible fever… no wonder you were asleep so long." Seripa got up off the bed and walked over to the table, where a bunch of blankets had been sitting all neatly folded. He picked up one of the blankets and then thrust it out, unfolding it. He gently draped it over Tasuki, trying to make sure that he stayed warm.

Tasuki sat up adruptly. "I've… gotta' find Chichiri."

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't even get out of bed!" Seripa walked over to him.

"You don't understand. Something's happened, I can feel it… I…" He whipped back the covers and got up on his feet, feeling another wave of nausea rack through him. He staggered, but slowly started to walk towards the door.

Seripa rushed forward, pushing him back towards the bed. "Get back in bed! You can't go out like this! You'll only get worse!"

Tasuki pushed past the younger boy, staggering towards the door. "If I don't go… something… he'll be… I can't, I have to go… have to find him…"

Seripa followed Tasuki out the door, trying to pull him back into the room, but Tasuki just kept going, determined not to give up. He couldn't. He could still feel that dull emptiness from his dream, could feel that sudden disappearance of his chi.

"Genrou, listen to me! You can't do this!!" Seripa rushed up from behind him, trying to get in his way.

"I can… do this… I have to…" Tasuki felt the dull ache in his head worsen, and his stomach felt like it was doing flip-flops.

He stopped, bringing his hands to his stomach. "I… have to… save… him…" His knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground, his breathing heavy.

"Genrou!!" Seripa rushed forward, kneeling in front of him. He again put his hand to his forehead, but quickly jerked it back when he felt how hot it was. "I've gotta' get somebody!"

He quickly got up, then ran off to the mess hall to see if Kouji was there.

* * * *

Kouji paced restlessly back and forth, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Every once in a while he would look back to the bed where Tasuki lay helplessly.

He walked up to the bed, leaning over it. He brought his hand up and gently pushed back the hair that had fallen in Tasuki's eyes. He still couldn't believe how beautiful he was.

He sighed, though, knowing that Tasuki didn't love him, would never love him… if only. He wished there was some way he could change it, could make him forget about that other guy… what was his name? Chichiri?

No… he shouldn't think like that. Then Tasuki wouldn't be happy, and his happiness meant more to Kouji than anything.

It had been three days now since Seripa had come rushing in, telling them Tasuki was lying, collapsed, on the ground. Three days now that Tasuki had lied there, tossing and turning, trapped in the hellish nightmare of the fever.

He clenched his fist, hating himself because he couldn't do anything about it. Couldn't stop this thing from hurting Tasuki, from hurting the one he loved.

He jumped up when he heard a moan coming from the bed. He rushed over, leaning over the other man.

"Genrou? Are you… are you awake?"

He watched as Tasuki's eyes fluttered open, as Tasuki turned his head to look at him.

"…Kouji?"

He nodded his head, smiling. "Yeah, it's me. Man, Genrou, you're sick as hell."

Tasuki smiled, looking up into Kouji's face. "I don't… feel so good…" He brought his hand up to his face, yawning into it.

Kouji's eyes suddenly turned downcast, remembering what had happened only a few days ago. He had to apologize, now, before they went any further. He had to tell Tasuki that everything was still okay… that nothing was different between them. He didn't know what he'd do if Tasuki started avoiding him or something.

"Genrou… I've got… something to apologize for…"

Tasuki just kind of looked at Kouji, still not completely awake. He yawned again, stretching his arms above his head. "What is it… Kouji?"

"It's about… that night, you know. I… don't know what I was doin'… really, I mean it. I was probably just drunk or something…" He closed his eyes as he said this. "Are you… can we… still be friends?"

Tasuki looked confusingly at Kouji, not quite sure what he was talking about. "What do you mean, Kouji? I don't… know what you're talking about…"

Kouji jerked his head up, looking into Tasuki's eyes. "You know, that night, it was a few nights ago… I ki-…" he didn't want to say it, didn't want to if he didn't have to.

Tasuki just gave him the same confused look. He scratched his head. "… I don't remember anything like that…"

Kouji moved closer to Tasuki, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Where you said… you said about that Chichiri guy… you said that you… and him…"

Now Tasuki was even more confused. He shook his head in frustration, and then looked back up at Kouji. "Who's Chichiri?"