Note: Yippie and yahoo, chapter six already! I am so glad. Don't we all. Actually, I did not really thought that my last chapter, chocolate could bring such reactions from all of you. Anyway thanks to all of you. By the way, before you continue on reading, let me first um… remind my beautiful reviewers out there that the idea for the second part of this chapter was my friend's. I followed her ideas, yes, but don't worry because it's not overdone, unless someone wishes or requests me to.

Alright, chapter six, do enjoy and tell me what do you think.

Chapter Six

The countess draped a long shawl over her head as she made her way out of the mansion. The large grandfather clock in the sitting room had boomed more than ten times and she hoped that it was already twelve midnight. Long howls from hungry wolves were heard from beyond the thick gray mossy walls. The strong chilled winds that blew straight from the Madain Forest, surrounding the building sent stabs of fear into her veins. She felt the hairs at the back of her neck raising.

She took one step at a time, carefully moving without a sound to the small chapel in front of the mansion. Though only a few hundred meters away, but tonight, somehow she felt that the distance had grown longer. Far longer beyond expectancy. This is really absurd, why meet people in the middle of the night? Is it not better that we could all meet in the comfortable leaving room by the fire? She wondered. However, still, her legs did not stop but finally reached the chapel.

With her hands, she gently pushed the small door open. Silently, as she feared someone might find out that she was not at home. The wolves would get me if I make noise, she reminded herself and giggled silently at her own lame thoughts.

As soon as she entered, as if like an unheard spell, she felt no more fear, but instead, a sudden calmness rose from inside her. She walked to the center of the room and stared up. Her attentions were drawn to the large crosses, hung on every corners of the walls in the chapel. She saw these crosses once, when she had followed Hakkai to the town's cathedral. She remembered his serenity and how tranquilized he looked when he was praying, and the way his mouth moved, without a sound as he recites his prayers.

"You came…"

Yaone spun around. Candle lights around her made her feel dizzy for a while. She blinked a few times, before actually coming to realize that she had stand face to face with someone. "Truthfully, yes, I came," She answered. Yaone was stunned for a while. There was something about the girl's voice. It was rather soundless, yet wildly melodic, with a disappointment tone.

"I see."

Yaone flashed a forceful smile. "Excuse me, what is it that is so confidential, until we have to meet outside the main building?"

The girl shook her head. "Is this place not good enough? Does this place hurt you?" She said. Her voice was shaking, monotonous and unclear.

"No," Yaone said instantly. "No, that was not what I meant. It is just that…"

"I have awaken and disturb you from your beauty sleep? If so, then, I am sorry."

Yaone moved closer to her. "No, you get it all wrong. It is just that, I could not imagine how brave you are to set up a meeting outside, when, we all know that there are hundred of starving wolves are waiting outside. Plus, at this time."

"Oh… Such bravery are not from outside, but from inside, when we have desires and hopes," The girl said, unveiling her face from under the white veil. The veil was without design. The truth was, she, the girl standing in front of her, was dress in a long shapeless gown, pure white with a silk-lined cape, reminded others a lot about kind of self possessed species of witch.

Yaone almost fall in surprise at which she saw the girl she had just met the day before.

"Are you afraid of me?"

The countess shook her head.

"Then?"

"Sarah? Is that really you, or I am dreaming?" Yaone asked. "You talk…"

The girl smiled bitterly. "What you see, is what you want to see. Yes, this is the body of Sarah, but, the soul… the soul is another."

"Excuse me?"

The girl drifted closer to the countess and sat by her side on the pew. Yaone noticed how freezing cold the girl's hand was when she touched hers.

Silence.

Pain.

Suffering.

Anger.

Yaone felt all those feeling so sudden, as if the girl had projected all her thoughts and words into her. She knew she was actually filled with fear. The situation that she was in now was somewhat possessed that exquisite air of utterly rational and irrational that is a characteristic of dreams. "What do you want from me?" Yoane asked, without a doubt.

The girl turned her head to her. "…How long have you known the count?"

"Hakkai?" The countess repeated, surprised at the unexpected question. "How long have I met him?"

The girl nodded. "Tell me."

"It was not quite a long time ago, really," She started. " I am a florist and a pharmacist, you see, and the landlord's son, Kougaiji, if you know him, had helpfully set my shop at the center of the town. My shop was situated opposite the cathedral. Everyday, at exactly six in the morning, when usually all men were still sleeping and the women went about with their daily chores, I would usually look out of the windows of my store and see a neatly dressed man walking down the street, greeting everyone politely on his way. He always and never missed buying flowers from me, especially jasmines, and want straight to the cathedral."

"Did you know, who were the flowers for?" The girl asked, rather interested.

The countess smiled. " Feeling a little suspicious, I decided to follow him. He did not care though, and politely invited me. I was shock to know that, all these while, he had been visiting the graves beyond the cathedral's gates. I asked him, to whom the grave belongs. He looked at me with a pair of darkened grieved eyes and whispered that it was his wife's. He told me that she died of a very unforgettable tragedy. I knew, from the way he sounded, he had loved his wife so dearly."

"How did you came to be with him?" She asked impatiently, sounding like a reporter.

"Hakkai was a very sad person. He needed help and someone to hold him if he falls. Did you know, he once tried to hang himself to death?"

"I know," The girl answered with a laugh. "He can be so out of hand, once in a while."

Yaone stared at the girl in surprised. "How did you know? Did he tell you?"

"Nope," She answered and looked into Yaone's dark purple eyes. "I am his wife."

Yaone fell back. "You are joking, right?"

"Joking? No dear, I am serious and very am tired."

"You? But you are just a sixteen years old girl. Surely Hakkai had not lose his mind and married a young maiden," Yaone said, still in shock.

"Hah!" The girl spat. "Did I not tell you that this body, I borrowed it. Sarah is somewhere, transparent, actually."

"Who are you…?"

"The name is Kana," She answered.

Yaone clasped her hands to her mouth. "Oh my heavens! I am so sorry if I stole Hakkai from you. So, so sorry!"

"Sorry, you shall not be," Kana smiled solemnly. "This has got nothing to do between you and him. It is between him and me."

"What has he done?"

"He? He has done so many things that are not to my liking and one of them is waking me up from my sleep. Did you know that I have not slept for the past two years? I am very tired!" Kana said in an impatient tone.

Yaone studied her closely. Sure enough, everything was the same except those pairs of brownish green eyes. They are just like Hakkai's. "I do find it hard to know that you can not sleep. Why, you only have to rest your head to the ground and instantly, you fall asleep. That is merely the easiest thing in life."

"Easy?" Kana repeated. " I can not rest in peace hearing him calling my name every now and then. It annoys me. Even if he does not call me aloud, but even through this heart, I can hear."

"Oh," Yaone muttered, giving a sympathetic look. "What can I do to help, then?"

Unfortunately, just as she was about to speak both of them heard footsteps coming from the entrance. Yaone quickly scrambled to her feet. She watched as the girl ran past her and suddenly disappeared into the thin air. "You will soon know," Was the last thing she said before completely disappearing into nothingness.

"Who are you talking to?"

The countess looked up. "Hakkai…"

"My dear, you are shivering," Hakkai said, looking at her lovingly. "It is nearly dawn. What are you doing here?"

Yaone shook her head and held the count's hand tightly. She did not want to tell the count what had happened. She could not bring herself to talk to him about the conversation. Personally, she thinks that maybe Kana should tell him herself. She should not meddle in other people's affair.

They left the chapel together. Yaone took a final glimpse at the small building before entering the main structure. Her mind was clouded with questions and doubts. What if Kana does not approve their relationship? Will she be rejected? Has she done anything wrong to displease someone?

"Yaone?"

The countess blinked.

"Dear, is anything wrong?" Hakkai asked.

Instead of answering, Yaone flashed him a fake smile and pulled him up the stairs.

Kana watched them silently from the rooftop. Her face showed no emotion, truly a feature of a dead woman. Her glare was as though she had kept a sense of disgust towards the building and its hosts. Thankful enough, she still had that little sanity left inside her. Otherwise, she could not really imagine what could she actually do to that couple. Was that the power of jealousy or merely the main reason for a ghost to strand itself from overreacting. "David, are you watching me?"

The boy moved away from the shadows.

"This would take longer than I had expected," She said, speaking with a softer tone as she held on the long cloak that the boy had rested gently on her shoulders.

David sat down beside the girl, now a total foreigner to his knowledge. "There are some things in life that is not worth disturbed. This is one of it…"

"I know. However, this particular… problem, needs to be handled by me and with your help, we will settle this together," The girl said instantly.

"He loves you."

Silence.

"He still does and because of this, his friends will suffer?"

Silence.

"Is there no other way?"

"I guess not, for as long as he still loves me, I shall never rest in peace and so never shall he ever find another substitute to replace me. Unfortunately, I too, have my limits. When my sanity breaks, so shall he and his comrades suffer."

Lirin's horse reared as the minions turned their attack against him. The death of one of theirs had roused the enemy to even greater violence.

"Hiryu, distract them!" Cried Kougaiji.

The dragon growled and with a powerful force, flew up into the dark gray sky and streaked across the forest. With a shout of rage, the remaining creatures pursued it.

The sorcerer seized Islimach's bridle and, while the young lord clung to the horse's mane, raced towards who knows where. Lirin sat behind Sanzo and held him tight, for fear he might fall. They ran blindly, stumbling through brambles and harsh nets of dead vines. Dawn had almost come, but the morning breeze was cold and biting. As if it was not bad enough, it started down pouring.

Finally, the forest opened a little and they found themselves in a protected hollow in the glades.

From the back of Islimach, Sanzo motioned them to stop. "Put me down," He murmured. "Leave me. I will only slow you down. I sense that they have found out your trick…"

Lirin shook her head disagreeably.

"Go down that path and do not turn into anyway, and you will get out of here…"

"Hiryu had succeeded in attracting them," Kougaiji answered quickly. "We will be fine." Carefully, they lifted Sanzo from his steed and carried him to a small shelter. While Lirin searched around for some herbs, Kougaiji made a sort of comfortable resting-place and rested Sanzo's head on it. Dark red liquid pooled around them as Kougaiji tore the man's clothes apart. The wound was deep and if it was not for his thick outfit, the long dagger might penetrate through his heart, which would mean…

Sanzo raised himself.

Though smiling, Kougaiji knew that he was hiding the most tormenting pain that any normal being could stand. "Please, do not move, or you will rip apart this wound," He pleaded, as he tried to reduce the blood lost by pressing his hand firmly on the blonde's chest.

"Pain…" Sanzo murmured.

Kougaiji turned and stared at him.

The young lord smiled bitterly, trying to ignore the crucial moment. "This is how pain feels like."

"Do stop talking…"

He laughed, licking his lips. "So this is also how blood taste like. You know," He frowned and continued, "The last time my father and I went hunting, we were sort of ambushed by a pack of wolves. Devil knows what in the hell were the creatures doing there. They ran after us, and we fought hard. My father… All I could do was stare. I watched him being torn apart. I missed him dearly, my father."

He paused.

"Maybe I would be joining him sooner…"

"No!" Kougaiji cried, cradling him tightly in his arms. "I have lost my mother because of me, lost my father because of me, lost my brothers and clans because of me! I do not want to lose a friend because of me!"

Silence.

"You have saved my life…" He whispered shakily. "You… will not lost your own life for me…"

"Kou…" Sanzo shook his head and rested it on the redhead's chest. His head felt dizzy. He knew that he would be unconscious, sooner or later. Would that be bad? He raised his head a little and stared at the wet sky. This rain will wash me away, he thought. What would happen to them if they all wait here? Will all of them be rip apart like his father?

As bad as he wanted them to leave, the thought of staying in the jungle alone, only waiting for 'them' to come and feast on him, scared him. Somehow, he felt rather comfortable in the boy's arms. Was this what he wanted and had wished for all these years without knowing? The thought of having someone to care for him? Or maybe, someone did care but he was busy attending his own luxurious business.

Kougaiji, aware of the situation began to panic. He realized that the young lord's pulse had weakened and his heartbeat was slowing down. The colors had begun draining from his face to deathly pale. "Stay with me, please, stay with me…damn it!" The redhead shrieked.

They, both of them, had been fighting ever since they had known each other. They fought over everything. They fought over food, candies, pies and even the single tiniest useless thing. Usually, either their parents or friends would come up and break the fight. To hell with toleration. Everything must have a fight as an ending if it involved them. They hate each other's guts. Both of them even swore that one day, they would kill each other.

Everyone knows that both of them equaled to catastrophe.

Lirin watched her brother and the young lord from behind a tree. How time flies, she thought. Hours ago, both of them had wanted to kill each other so badly and the next, they are clinging onto each other. She threw her head back and laughed silently. Men, they are so hard to understand. Her intention to deliver the herbs reduced to none. She wanted to give them some time, alone. Though she wanted to leave them alone, still, she continued to watch their backs.

"It is so cold… out here, and dark…"

The marquis quickly took off his cloak and covered the young lord. "Stop talking or I will ignore you."

Lirin slapped her forehead. Brother, you should not be so harsh! She screamed silently.

"Ignore me? I was waiting for that moment."

The girl banged her head on the tree bark again and again. Great, now you? What are you both doing? Starting a war again?

"What is going on?"

Lirin gasped and pushed the boy that came out of nowhere behind her. "Goku!" She whispered angrily. "What are you doing here? I thought you had already reached the mansion…"

"We tried to," Goku cut. "But we have lost our way…"

"Again," Gojyo answered from behind. His arms were bruised from the entire sharp thorns and brambles that they had passed through. "We could not move anymore. Our horses are exhausted. It seemed that as if we had turned around the same place for the past hours and came back to where we had started."

Lirin gave them a pitiful look. "Poor thing," She murmured, wiping their faces with her clean bandages.

"What are they doing?" Goku asked from underneath the bandages. The two men were too suspicious to be ignored by an eighteen years old boy like him.

"Do not tell me," Gojyo interrupted. "Are they both having some kind of relationship?"

Lirin's eyes twitched hearing those words. "Do you know that we are eavesdropping? You do not have to say it aloud."

Gojyo gasped and cupped his mouth. He needed to get away. Away from them all. He quickly pulled his pouch and scrambled to his feet. "Excuse me, but I have to find us… a way out of here…"

"No, wait!" Lirin demanded. "You can not leave us here. We need you. Sanzo is hurt badly. We need someone to watch out for us."

"Yeah, right," He smirked. "Watch them as they have their time of their life!"

"Shhh!"

"How dare you 'shhh' me!"

"Please stop!" The girl begged. "You do not understand. Try to reconsider your action," She pleaded.

"Yes, do try to reconsider yourself."

"Elena?" Gojyo said, surprised at the sudden visit of the girl. "When did you arrive?"

The heavily covered in black girl smiled.

"You are not answering me," Gojyo said. "When did you arrive? Who is with you? Did you not know that this forest is dangerous? Are you not aware of the danger we are all in?"

"Oh, do not worry, mister," She answered with a childish voice. "There is no one to worry about except me and my brother."

Except her and her brother? Where is her brother? What does she mean by that? Lirin studied her.

Goku realized that the forest seemed to be a little quiet again, even though the rain had stopped. There was not even a single sound of birds chirping. The sky was still dark and without the sunlight, the forest looked so mysteriously inhabitant. Apparently, a sudden move from among the bushes woke the boy up from his observation.

"And since we would not let you go for some time, maybe I could help heal your brother, a little before we dual," Elena continued, fiddling with her hair as she talked.

"What do you mean by not letting us go? You have no right to keep us here," Gojyo spat rudely.

"Oh yes, we can and we will, even if it mean fighting you to death," Said another black figure, appearing from behind the girl.

Goku gasped. "Lirin, look, it is the black knight that attacked us."

"Hah, you think that you could stop us? Who do you think you are?" Gojyo shouted angrily, losing his patience. He pulled his scythe and began thrusting it wildly towards both of them. "Say your prayers!"

The boy laughed and jumped aside with an amazing speed, totally avoiding every attack. "No, I should say good luck to you, for you really do not know who are you dealing with."

"Really? We will see about that!" The duke said, as he plunged his blade into the boy's slim body.

The boy moved back with a smile.

With an utter horror, Gojyo watched as the boy pulled the blade slowly from his chest. There was a hole where the wound was supposed to be but there was not even a single drip of blood that came out from his body. He watched as the wound closed up without a delay.

"Nice hit, but next time, try my head," The boy said, throwing back the weapon to the duke.

End of chapter…