A/N: This is my favorite chapter, since I was able to finish it in a short time and it turned out very nice. I really like this chapter. Okay, I'm shutting up now..

I'm Here…

"How's Miaka doing?" Emperor Hotohori was sitting on his throne, worried sick about his beloved maiden. "Oh, if only I have been there with you at that time, I could've helped prevent this from happening. My poor Miaka, how I wish I had been more of a help to you…"

"Nobody wanted this to happen Lord Hotohori, and nobody is blaming you for it! It truly is not your fault sir," said Nuriko trying to reason out with him.

"But still, I know I could've done something to save Tamahome, and not make Miaka feel unhappy. If…if only I have gone with you, it wouldn't have ended up like this," Hotohori sighed. "I must figure out a way to make her feel better. I'm going to see her now." And he was off to Miaka's room to try and help reduce her sadness.

Miaka was lying in her bed, looking so deserted and hopeless. In her arms, were the clothes Tamahome used to wear. She clasped them tightly into her chest, and drenched them with her tears of pain and sorrow. "Tama…home…" she kept on whispering his name. And then the other Suzaku star warriors, standing right outside her door, would hear her cry out loud, "Why did you leave me Tamahome? Come back! Please, come back to me now!"

Tasuki was feeling so disturbed about how Miaka was taking the situation. "What shall we do now?" He leaned on a pillar and stared at Miaka's door, then caught a glimpse of Chichiri, Mitsukake and Chiriko. "Hey, why don't you guys think of something, eh? You're just standing there doing nothing! C'mon, say something. Your silence won't be able to help her through this you know," he scowled at them.

"Your mindless squealing won't do her any good either," Chichiri answered. "We're all trying our best to figure out a way to help her here, Tasuki. I understand that you're really worried about Miaka. We are too, and I think the best thing we can do right now is not to bother her and just hope she understands that Tamahome is gone and will never be able to come to her. Let's just wait until she recovers on her own."

A grunt was all that Tasuki gave him back.

"I believe what Chichiri says is right," said Mitsukake. "Although, I wish I could be of more help to her. If only I had the power to cure the pain inside her heart, I would gladly heal her wounds."

"Well it's too bad now is it Mitsukake? You won't be able to do that, ne?" snarled Tasuki as a reply.

"Yes, you're right, Tasuki."

Chiriko spoke next, "I also wish I could make Ms. Miaka happy. But, I don't know how. Being smart has no use now, I suppose. But I guess I'll just do what Mr. Chichiri suggested, and pray very hard that she could regain her cheerfulness."

They all paused for a while. And then after a few moments of silence, they heard footsteps coming their way. The emperor was approaching Miaka's room, followed by Nuriko. Hotohori came closer to the door and gently knocked on it. "Miaka, may I come in?"

"Leave me alone."

"But Miaka, I just want to see how you're doing."

"I said, leave me alone."

Hotohori opened the door. "Miaka, I…"

"Didn't you hear what I said? I told you to leave me alone! I don't need any of your help. Nothing can ever make me feel better until Tamahome comes back to me safe and sound," Miaka sat up and yelled at him. "Whatever you do, I'm telling you, it's sure to be useless. You're all useless! I don't need any of you, especially you Hotohori! Now, just, please, go away and leave me alone!"

"Mia—"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

He immediately went out and shut the door.

"Lord Hotohori…" Nuriko came close to him.

Hotohori leaned on Miaka's door and placed his hand on his face. "I…I couldn't…" Then he left, heartbroken and feeling utterly useless.

Just as Hotohori had completely left the place, Nuriko barged into Miaka's door, destroying it as she went inside.

"Uh-oh," Tasuki bellowed.

Chichiri tried to stop her, "Ano, Nuriko-san. I don't think you should…" but she just continued to stomp in front of Miaka's bed.

Miaka, looked at her. "What?" she snarled.

Smack! Nuriko had slapped her, so hard, that she fell back down on her bed, and her face swollen red. "How dare you shout at Lord Hotohori like that?! How could you have just embarrassed and disrespected him like that? You have some nerve even daring to do that!"

"Oh yeah," Tasuki growled. "Hey, Chichiri, guess Nuriko wasn't here when we had that lecture, ne?"

"It's not funny Tasuki-san," Chiriko replied.

"Chiriko's right. This is bad. It's not a very good idea to do that," Chichiri approved. "This won't help Miaka at all."

"Tell that to Nuriko," grunted Tasuki.

"Well, it was his fault! He should have just left me alone," inside the room, answered Miaka, her hand placed on her red cheek. (She was facing away from Nuriko.)

"Do you even have any idea how worried he was about you? He was practically more troubled than any of us. Lord Hotohori loves you so much, that's why he came here to help you. But, you…Miaka, you've never even let him try! And you dare say those things to him. Miaka, just because Tamahome's gone, doesn't mean you're completely alone in this world. Look around you; there are so many people who care for you. Gosh, Miaka, you're so lucky. You still have so many friends. We're all here for you, Miaka…We'll always be. And I'm sure Tamahome is too, and I believe that he isn't happy seeing you like this either. So, please, cheer up okay?" Nuriko smiled at her.

"Un, arigato…" And, finally, Miaka smiled back. "…minna."

 *

"Yui-sama…" Suboshi whispered as he looked across the hallway and saw Yui heading towards her room, facedown and crying. She had tried, once again, to kill herself, suffering the grief of losing a loved one. It would've been beautifully executed, too, if Suboshi had only minded his own business and not stopped her from piercing a dagger through her heavy heart, and releasing all the pain lodged up inside it. And yet again, this annoying little brat followed her, and the trail of teardrops on the ground, with the meal he was supposed to bring her (He persuaded the servant to let him do it.), but just as he was standing right in front of her bedroom door, she slammed it on his face—"Ouch!" With this, he accidentally lost his grasp of the food tray and it fell to the ground, the plates and glass broken, and the silverware making a huge racket outside Yui's door.

"Aw, shoot! How clumsy of me."

'Clumsy? You mean stupid. You should've just let the maid do that thing. You're no good at it,' he thought to himself as he picked up the broken pieces of the plates he fooled off with. He looked up to the door, which was shut close. 'Oh good going! Now you've just missed a chance to talk to her just because you refused to look where you're going. Next time, keep your eyes on the girl, not the ground!'  He looked back to the ground where the teardrops were slowly disappearing, then back to her door.

Then Yui suddenly opened the door, looking down and smiling—no, practically laughing at him. "What the heck are you doing down there?"

"Um, well…"

"Come in."

Suboshi picked up the last piece of glass on the floor and followed her inside.

"You should've just let one of the servants bring that here," she said to him.

He forced a laugh, feeling awkward, and placed the tray on the table. 'Told you so.'

She sat on her bed, then, invited him to sit with her.

"Yui-sama…ano, ore wa…" he started after being seated comfortably. ('Well, that's what I want her to think. I'm really not comfortable right here, you know.')

He was going to say something again (well, trying), but Yui stopped him when she reached out for her pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief, which she used to wipe off blood from his nose. ('Oh man, how embarrassing!')

"You should be more careful next time," she advised. "Don't go bumping into things again."

"Yui-sama was the one who slammed the door on my face."

"Is that so?" she giggled.

Suboshi started again, "I just came to, um, see how you're doing. I was just wondering…if you were feeling alright?"

"I feel fine. Why do you ask anyway? I'm not sick."

"I know. What I mean is…well, about…"

"Oh, that."

There was a sudden change in the atmosphere, and Yui's smiling face turned into a frown.

"Lady Yui…I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

She shook her head. "Ii yo. I'm alright…" she smiled again, but then started to cry.

'I give you an A+! You're really an expert in upsetting people, especially Yui-sama!'

'Oh, shut up!'  

'You shut up! So that you won't be saying stupid things anymore.'

'Ch.' He looked back at Yui and tried to comfort her.

"Oh, don't worry about me. It's all right. I'm okay," Yui exclaimed. "I just…I just can't stop crying…that's all."

"Yui-sama…I'm really sorry." 'Damn it! I'm so stupid' 'You are so right.'

"I just don't know what to do," Yui cut in before he could build up what he wanted to say. "What am I supposed to do now?" Tears continued to burst out of her eyes.

"Yui-sama…"

"Tell me!" she dashed straight to him and started crying in his arms. "Please tell me what to do…I can't take this anymore. I just can't stand being alone like this. I need him…I need Nakago back! Suboshi, please tell me…how can I bring him back?"

'Oh great! Now she wants Nakago. Things are really going good for you there aren't they Suboshi? Well, what are you going to do now? Come on, say something!' Gulp. "I, um…" 'What? Don't tell me you have nothing to say. You really are useless!'… 'Hey, I'm not useless, okay!'… 'Oh yeah? Prove it.'

"Why won't you say anything? Does that mean you can't help me either?" Yui cut in again before he could even think of what to say. "Well?"

"I…I don't know…I'm sorry." 'Now what the hell was that?! "Sorry?" Man, you're hopeless!'

"You don't know? How could you not know?"

"Sorry."

She pushed him away. "Sorry? Would 'Mr. Sorry' be able to help me bring Nakago back? I don't think so!" she looked away from him. "I was wrong to have expected something from you. I should've known… You really are useless!"

'Ha-ha! See, I was right.'

She turned her back at him. "I hate you."

'Ha! Now she hates you. Ain't that marvelous?'… 'Oh, shut up'… 'I was only being sarcastic. Lighten up!'…'Hell, how could I lighten up at a time like this eh? Stupid.'

"Yui-sama," he stood up, in front of her, and started again. "I'm really, really, REALLY sorry. We all know General Nakago's gone. I'm sorry. I just don't know how we can bring him back. And I don't think anybody does either. It's just not—"

"Will you just shut up already? I don't need you anymore, okay. You're useless. You've always been. That's why I really hate you. If you hadn't stopped me then, I would've had my revenge on Miaka," she said as she turned to face him. "I hate you."

He wasn't looking at her. 'Hey, just get out of there already. You won't be able to do anything anymore. Just get out of there. You know that's what she wants you to do' He took precisely five steps away from her, and then stopped… 'No way' … 'What?! Are you crazy? Can't you see? She hates you. She doesn't want to see you, or to talk to you, or even hear your voice. Don't you understand what that means?'

"Well, aren't you supposed to go now?" Yui said to him.

'Hear that? I told you already. Now, come on, let's go!' He was trying to force himself out the door, but his feet wouldn't move a bit. 'Oh man, come on. What are you waiting for?' … 'Oh no. Oh no. No way! Don't do it kid! Please, please, don't do it. You'll kill yourself if you do that. Heck, don't even try!'  He then found himself approaching Yui…closer…closer. 'Oh man. Stop right there. I said, STOP!'

And so, he did. 'Wow, I can control my self! Wait a sec. What the—! Uh-oh.'

Instead of finding himself marching out the door, Suboshi was standing right in front of Yui again, and was just staring at her.

"Didn't I just tell you to leave?" just as Yui said this, she found Suboshi pulling her up from her bed, his lips pressed tightly on hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Don't you understand Lady Yui, I love you. You don't need anybody else, even Nakago, as long as I'm here with you. There's absolutely no use in looking for any other way to be happy. I'm right here. I'll make you the happiest person you could ever be. I won't ever make you cry, because I really hate it when you do. Suboshi will never make you sad, I promise—"

"Shut up! Just stop it okay. I hate this world. Ever since I came here, nothing good has ever happened to me. Nothing can ever make me happy as long as I'm in this place," she yelled at the boy, pushing him away, still crying. "And as long as I haven't had my revenge on Miaka, I won't be able to leave. So it's your fault! I was already going to get my revenge on her, but you…you had to stop me! I shouldn't have let you do that. It's all your dumb fault!"

"Look, first of all, I never ever tried to stop you at that time. I was just worrying about you. You were the one who made the decision not to finish her off. And even if I had tried to stop you then, it would've been for a very good cause. Who knows what might've happened…especially to you."

"Maybe I should've just died! If I was only going to be miserable, I wish I could've just died! But you still wouldn't let me! That's why I hate you so much. I really hate you! You should have just let me die… I should have just died."

"You know what?" Suboshi scowled at her. "Maybe you should've just died! Maybe it would've been better if I never interfered with you at all. It might've been better if I just let you die!" He paused. "But I couldn't let that happen. I just couldn't stand seeing you suffer like that, but I would hate it even more if you were killed. It would be very hard for me if you weren't here. I've already lost my brother…I don't want to lose you, too." He slowly started to walk away; then stopped, "Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to say that. I just…" Then he continued to walk.

'Stupid! What did you that for? That was a really bad move man. You feel like killing yourself now?' …'Yeah. I guess I let myself react too much. Shit! That always happens. I guess I'm just too immature'… 'You sure are. Well, we're almost out. Just try to forget about this when you take the first step to the outside world, okay?'… 'I don't think I can'… 'Well, that's just what you get for letting yourself go out of control.'

"Suboshi, wait!" Before he could take the last step from the room, Yui had stopped him, and as he turned to face her, she leapt to him and he received the kiss, which probably meant, "Thank you…for being here for me."

'Of course, I can be wrong.'

Suboshi didn't know at first how he should react to this, but eventually, he kissed her back. Then, they suddenly found themselves kissing each other in a passionate situation. Yui started moving backwards, and, reaching her bed, they both slowly fell down on it. The maiden wrapped her arms around her star warrior, and he continued to kiss her with much affection. His lips went on in that state for some time. He felt the softness and warmth of her lips, tasted their sweetness, and found their meaning of acceptance and love. He slowly moved down to her neck. It was smooth and the scent was soothing, like a flower that had just blossomed after the cold winter storm. His mouth lavished onto her skin, releasing the knot from her school uniform ribbon, and plucking off a button from her shirt. His fingers ran across the side of her thigh and his hand made its way through the girl's skirt. He had strolled along her hip and waist as he loosened a stitching, so now the skirt had been partly separated from the rest of the uniform. He continued going upwards, and finally settled below her breast.

Surprisingly, he did all this very gently. Yui never felt him display a single sign of harshness or aggressiveness. He remained as innocent and kind as a child should be, without being the naughty little boy he is. He was more like an angel rather than an angle this time. Yui felt his breath warm her body, melting the cold ice that covered up and dominated her heart. No one has ever made her feel this way before. And she thought of him as just a stupid little boy. But Suboshi was no little boy. Well, at least not anymore. For now he knows how to treat a woman, just as a real man would.

Suboshi laid his head on Yui's chest, and allowed himself to rest on her. He was like a baby this way; and Yui was his mother, singing him a soft lullaby. Her hand lay on top of his head, holding it there. She ran her fingers softly on his head, brushing through his hair gently. She heard him let out a small high-pitched sound, which sounded like a little child sobbing. He struggled a little, burying his face, roughly in between her breasts. "Yui…sama…" he cried, as her other hand gently massaged the nape of his neck, hushing him to sleep. At this, Yui found out that he isn't a man just yet. He's just Suboshi; Suboshi, who just took her without asking; making her fall into the darkness of nowhere, and then suddenly blinding her with the fiery light lying deep inside of him. The soul of this boy has entered her heart. It had released all the sorrow trapped inside of her, and filled it with his gentle laughter.

… 

Hope you didn't get confused with Suboshi fighting with Suboshi. He's got two POVs, so his mind's kinda struggling in there. Once again, please review!