A/N: Well it's chapter seven and I'll do my best to make it good. An especially BIG thank you to all my reviewers/readers. You make me wanna write more and it's good to know that I'm at least a decent writer (as that's what I wanna be when I'm outta school). So yeah, Domo arigato gozaimasu na no da! And that damn disclaimer I've gotta put up to avoid lawsuits: Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Watase Yuu and all the corporations that use her stuff…blah blah blah and Kyari's mine so y'can't steal her unless you ask first. To ch 7….

As the monk held the sobbing peacekeeper in his arms he felt another wave of guilt wash over him. All he'd wanted to do was help but instead he'd hurt her. The young man tightened his hold on Kyari and whispered " I'm sorry." for about the millionth time.

Finally the girl found her voice and she managed to choke out "It's alright, it's not your fault… you couldn't have known I'd react this way."

She pulled back a little so she could see his face properly and a hand fluttered to her mouth as she stifled a gasp. She was staring at the most beautiful face she'd seen in a long time. The soft and gentle features creased in concern, right eye filled with remorse and guilt, the left sealed shut forever by a horrible scar that ran from the bridge of his nose to just a few inches below where his silvery blue hair started.

Chichiri shifted his gaze to the grass and reached for his mask. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that…" he mumbled a bit self-consciously.

Kyari stayed the monk's hand and shook her head. "Please don't." she whispered half in awe, half in curiosity "I-I…I mean…y-your…you too…wow!" she finished finally, her eyes shining with wonder and a look of childlike incredulity on her face.

Chichiri gave her a puzzled look. "N-Nani?" he stammered.

Dashing away the few remaining tears, she gave Chichiri a sympathetic smile. "I thought I was the only one with that kind of past…I mean not to be rude or even suggest that you have the same past as me but… I never, ever, found anyone anywhere who could even start to understand how much this" she gently brought her hand up to trace the thin line of her scar "hurts or how every time you see your own face it sparks this indescribable wave of regret." she put her head to one side and gave Chichiri a calculating look. "But somehow, I figure maybe you have it worse than I do." the girl added thoughtfully. "So I'm not gonna complain." 

Chichiri looked back at Kyari and couldn't help giving the peacekeeper a small half-smile. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, Suzaku No Peacekeeper?" he asked lightly, giving the girl a look filled with laughter and gentle accusation.

Kyari blushed and gave the monk a guilty look "I guess there is." she said timidly, her eyes dancing with mischief.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.

"This has gotta be the best day of my life!" Kyari giggled " I love it! First I get saved by possibly the sweetest man on the face of the earth; when I feel three feet tall, two people I just met stick up for me and actually give me a chance to prove myself before judging me and now I'm actually laughing!". She smiled from ear to ear and sighed happily, looking up into Chichiri's smiling face.

The magician shook his head at her, cheeks a little red and wondered how Kyari managed to go from mild panic attack to nearly crying with laughter in less than twenty minutes. The monk was getting a good look at the peacekeeper for the first time and he realized how pretty her eyes were when they sparkled, how open and honest her face was, how the afternoon sun caught the red and gold streaks in her hair and made them dance and shimmer… but most of all he saw how happy she was. He smiled at the girl and sighed happily, feeling pretty good himself.

"D'you know what sucks, 'Chiri?" Kyari asked suddenly.

He tilted his head to one side "No, what sucks, no da?"

The peacekeeper made a face. "The fact that we hafta leave soon to finish packing and stuff."

"We don't have to leave right now, no da." Chichiri said giving Kyari a playful grin.

"And I thought you were a monk." Kyari laughed. She put her head on Chichiri's shoulder and closed her eyes for a minute, just letting the joy of the moment flow through her. The other put his arm around her shoulders and smiled, happy to have some time to just sit back and relax for a change instead of having to make sure everything was going alright.

After only a short while Kyari sat up again and reached for her backpack. "We should get back." she said simply "The others are gonna wonder what the hell's taking us so long."

Chichiri nodded and pulled his kasa out from behind him. He tossed it up into the air and the hat fell down over the pair transporting them back to the palace.

"I'll see you later 'Chiri." Kyari called as she headed off towards her room.

"Hai. Later, na no da." The monk called back, going towards the Emperor's study.

Kyari pushed open the door to her room and tossed her bag onto her bed. " Lessee what I've got in here.." she mumbled as she undid the zipper "Clothes…candy…library books …more candy…gloves… batteries…flashlight…c'mon you're here somewhere!" she rifled through her bag a little more and finally dug out a string of beads and an old picture. She tucked the picture into her breast pocket and pulled the beads around her neck. "There. Now even if I lose the bag again I won't lose you." she said softly. Pulling the zipper closed again, she shoved her bag under a chair and headed back out to find Miaka.

********* well there it is guys chapter 7. Maybe not the best but, I tried. So yes, tell me what you think and here's a glossary of the Japanese words I used.

Hai- yes or right (if you're doing roll call it also means 'present')

Nani?- what? Or huh?

 And that's it for now. Ja ne! ~Tenshi Kitsune~**************************