A/N: well here it is chapter 11! It won't be as dramatic as last chapter but I warn in advance of some fluffiness. Yes in any case I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Kyari. To the chapter…

Kyari felt herself falling away from Chichiri and she stretched out her hand, reaching for the safety she felt when the monk was near. Try as she might she couldn't reach and she kept falling into the darkness that was pulling her down.

"No! Not like last time! No!" she cried, her voice sounding strangely far away. She struggled and stretched her arm as far as it would go, straining every joint and muscle in her arm and hand. "Chichiri!" she cried desperately "Chichiri!"

Suddenly she felt her hand brush against another's. She pushed her arm further, ignoring the screaming protests of her body and finally caught hold of the hand. The peacekeeper kept a tight hold on the hand as it pulled her out of the dark void that was trying to pull her under. The girl broke free of it and found that the hand belonged to Chichiri. He had saved her. Pulling her close, he held her and let her cry on his shoulder as she sobbed with relief and happiness at finally being freed from her internal prison. She buried her face in the monk's kesa and let him console her.

Then the world started to shimmer and fade and Kyari felt herself waking up and going back to reality. She was in a bed and she was holding onto someone's hand. She tried to open her eyes but the faint light filtering in through the window above her bed hurt her eyes and made her head pound more fiercely. She whimpered and shook her head to fight the dull throbbing in her skull, forcing her eyes to open. The first thing the girl saw was her hand resting in the palm of Chichiri's and the monk's soft features drawn in concern. He wasn't wearing his mask and his eye still held a glimmer of a tear.

Soft teal eyes looked up into an anxious amber one and Kyari smiled a little.

"Are you okay?" asked the magician.

"I did it…" Kyari whispered. "I beat it for real this time…"

"W-what? What did you beat?" the monk asked, voice a strange mix of relief and worry.

"The darkness." Kyari told him, trying to push herself into a sitting position with one hand. Chichiri gripped her arm and helped her up. "It's gone now."

"What? What darkness? I don't understand." the seishi said in confusion.

"Remember when I told you something stronger than me took me over when I…I…" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Chichiri squeezed her hand reassuringly and nodded understandingly. "Go on."

"Well I beat it once and for all. It's gone forever." she said in a tired voice. " Or I should say we beat it. Without you I never could've done it."

"Me? What did I do?" Chichiri asked incredulously.

"You came back. You cared enough to come back even after I tried to push you away from me…you came back and then I was strong enough to beat the darkness." the girl explained. "See I've had it in me for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was old enough to see the world wasn't safe, that Mom would never care about me, that Dad wouldn't stop hurting me just 'cause I said stop…All that sadness and fear and resentment turned into darkness and it pulled me under for a long time… One day I got tired of being bitter so I tried to push it under. It worked for awhile but then…then…" she paused for a second to swipe away the tear that had found it's way down her cheek  "It hid inside me for a long time after that. Then I fell into the book and suddenly there were people who cared about me, even if I'd just met them. I felt the emptiness inside get smaller and almost disappear but I was still too small to push it away. Then you came along. You were so nice to me, you really cared about me…and then after everything you did for me I went and tried to push you away. But you came back for me." her face brightened a little and she went on "You came back and you let me tell you my story without making me feel like I was being judged. You listened to me and when I saw that tear in your eye…I felt so bad 'cause I made you cry and I realized that that was the first time I'd ever cared for anyone since that day when I was very young. Then I could beat it…" her voice was soft now, soft but strong. "Now it's gone and all I know is you did it and I can never repay you for that."

Chichiri looked at her, eyes shining with relief because she was alright, happiness because he helped her beat her past demons and love because she was who she was. Love? he thought But I haven't loved anyone like this…not since Kouran. His eye flashed momentarily with the pain of his own past resurfacing, but he pushed the pain away. That was then, this is now he reminded himself I will never forget that day, but I don't think Kouran- or Hikou for that matter- would want me to stop living because of what happened. As bad as that was, and as much as it hurts, I have to move on. He smiled at the peacekeeper and pulled her into a hug.

Kyari gasped in surprise, but then let herself relax as she felt his love flow through her body. She finally let go of his hand to wrap her arms around the magician. She buried her face in the space between his shoulder and his neck, hugging him tight. Tears in her eyes once again, the girl breathed in the monk's scent. He smelled like outside and peppermint and what could only be described as magic all at once, his soft silvery-blue hair felt like satin against her fingers and his presence made her forget about the world around her.

I never want to let go she thought as she cuddled closer to his warm body.

Chichiri held the girl as if she was made of glass and would break if he squeezed too hard and gently inhaled her scent. It was as if she felt his love inside of her and he pulled her closer trying to give her more of that love she so needed. "I'm here for you." he said simply, voice hushed "Forever. So don't give up no matter what happens and never forget that there will always be someone who loves you, alright?"

Kyari nodded and the pair stayed like that for a few minutes before Kyari pulled away for a second. "I'm sorry." she whispered, staring down at the quilt on the bed "I'm sorry I yelled at you like I did and I'm sorry I made you cry…"

"It's alright." the monk told her, taking her hands in his and looking her in the eyes "I know you didn't mean it."

She gave him a tiny smile and her eyes danced again with their usual light. The girl stared into his eyes and he stared back into hers. As she gazed into that amber orb, the peacekeeper saw the scar over his left eye again and she reached out to gently brush his cheek, right below the scar. "How'd that happen?" she wondered out loud. She blushed as she realized she'd spoken her thoughts. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say that out loud…"

"No, don't be sorry. It's alright." the young man reassured her. He sighed and then went on "It was about six years ago… I was eighteen and I was in love with a young woman named Kouran. We were engaged and I was supposed to marry her but then the day before the wedding I saw her kissing my best friend. She was so ashamed that she canceled the wedding." his hands tightened around Kyari's and the girl saw the pain and regret in the other's eye "I completely lost it. I threw a punch at my best friend and before I knew it we were in a heated brawl and heading towards the riverbank. My friend fell in. That might not have been too bad if it hadn't been the rainy season…the waters were swollen and rough as rapids…my friend couldn't swim. When I saw him go under I knew I had made the worst mistake of my entire life, I reached out my hand when he resurface and tried to pull him back up but a log came hurtling down the river and hit me in the eye. I was blinded by pain so I let go of my friend…he died." Chichiri's voice had dropped to barely more than a whisper and his grip on Kyari was almost painful as he finished his story "Ever since, I've had this scar and because it will never be fully healed it serves as a reminder to me of what the repercussions of senseless violence can be."

Kyari looked into that amber eye and saw that underneath the pain and regret was shame. Shame that had been there for six years and probably always would be there. "It's alright." She told him "You didn't mean to. It was an accident. You're not a bad person, and now that you know what can happen when things get out of hand, you'll never let anything like that ever happen again."

"But I killed my best friend…" he whispered.

"So did I, but we both know that you can't change the past, no matter what you do." she said soothingly, pulling the monk into a hug and rubbing his back reassuringly. "All you can do is make the future better."

He nodded and hugged her to him. "Even though it's painful…"  he murmured.

She nodded and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I want you to promise that you won't give up either, okay?" the girl said seriously, looking into his eye once more.

" If you don't give up, neither will I. I promise."

************ Well there's chapter eleven. Excessive fluff but I did warn you so no whining 'kay? Just kidding whine if you want to just don't be too hard on me, it's my first fluff scene. ^-^ anyways hope you liked it and see you all next chapter.

                                    Later,

                          ~Tenshi Kitsune~        ************************