Disclaimer: Tasuki and Amiboshi aren't mine, but I wish they were. As I'm sure most of us do. Ayame, Ruri and Kohana are mine.

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Amiboshi opened his eyes slowly. His dream still vivid. He looked to his right. Ruri was awake and playing with his hair.

"Good morning."

"Morning." He smiled.

"How was your night?"

"Never better." He thought about his dream for a moment. "Ruri?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I meet your mother?"

"Huh? What for?" She sat up.

"Well…again…it's a little hard to explain…" He sat up and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Last night I had a dream…well, Tasuki and I had the same dream…the gods we used to serve came to explain some things to us…and to tell us that we could use our seishi powers one last time…"

"Use your…" She was quiet. She needed a moment to think of what Amiboshi said he could do. "And you want to help my mother?"

"Yes. I want to see you happy. I could cure your mother of whatever she has."

"But…it's the last time…do you really want to waste it on my family?"

"I'm not wasting it. I couldn't bear it if your mother died and I didn't do all I could to save her. I know I can help her." He took her hand.

"Amiboshi…I couldn't ask you to…"

"You're not asking me to. I'm telling you this is what I want to do with what little power I have."

Tears welled up in Ruri's eyes. "Amiboshi…"

"Shhh…" He embraced her. "Don't cry. Everything will be okay. I promise."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you…thank you so much…"

"I'd do anything for you." He made her look at him. "Anything." With that, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her passionately.

~*~*~*~

Kohana woke up before Ayame and Tasuki. She looked back and forth between them. For a moment, it seemed like they were a family, which was what she wanted. Kohana looked at Ayame's night table. There was a lamp, a book, a diary and a picture. She knew the picture well. Kohana was only a few days old in the picture. She was sitting in her mother's arms. Ayame was 12. She was holding onto their father's hand. It was the only picture of all 4 of them. Their mother died a few days after the picture was taken.

It was probably the last time Ayame had been truly happy until now. Until Tasuki came. She couldn't help but wonder if Ayame had been right. Maybe she did deserve the blame for their mother's death.

Ayame woke up and saw Kohana staring at the picture. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothin'." She turned away from the picture.

"Kohana…" Ayame hugged her sister. "I know that look. You're thinking about Mom and Dad again. Please stop thinking like that."

"But what if it was my fault?" She sniffled.

"It wasn't. You had nothing to do with it…" Ayame sighed. "It just happened."

Tasuki woke up when the bed shifted. He sat up. "Everything okay?"

Kohana was curled up in Ayame's lap. She looked asleep. Ayame looked up at Tasuki. "Yeah. Everything'll be fine."

Tasuki looked concerned. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Kohana gets upset when she sees this picture." She handed it to him. "I should have put it away last night."

Tasuki looked at the picture. "Your parents?"

"Uh huh." She nodded. "The only one of us all together." Ayame traced the frame of the picture.

"You miss them a lot…" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"All the time…do you miss you family?"

"No…not much to miss. I didn't get along with any of my sisters. My mother never stopped them from beating the crap outta me. She just bandaged me up once they were done. My dad was just happy to have a wife with a huge chest. He didn't care about much else."

"Sounds rough. How many sisters did you have? Two or three?"

"Five."

"Five?!"

"Five." Tasuki nodded sadly. "I was the only son."

"Oh wow. No wonder you ran away!"

"Yep. It's a miracle they didn't kill me. I think I'm only alive because I was a seishi."

"Hold Kohana, will you? I'm gonna see if Amiboshi and Ruri are up yet."

"Alright." Tasuki took Kohana from Ayame and let her sleep in his arms. He didn't understand why he took such a liking to the hyper little girl, he just did. He thought about his dream. 'Why can't they just leave her alone? Why does she have to go there? Ayame will have a heart attack when it happens and I can't even tell her ahead of time…' He sighed.

Kohana opened her eyes. "Good morning, Tas-kun!" She seemed awfully energetic for this early.

"Morning." He smiled. "I see you slept well."

"Uh huh!" She hugged Tasuki. "I think Ayame slept good too!"

"Well, that's good."

"You're gonna get married right?"

Tasuki blinked in surprise. "Maybe in a few years. You gotta stop asking that."

"You should get married." She put her hands on her hips.

"Kohana…we're not that old. We have time, okay?" He grinned and started tickling her.

She broke out into giggles. Tasuki laughed. Ayame stood in the doorway and watched. She smiled. For once, Kohana had someone else to look up to. She reentered her room and sat on the bed. "Having fun?"

Tasuki chuckled. "Yep."

Kohana had a big grin on her face. "Tasuki should stay over more often."

"Maybe he will." Ayame smiled. "Never know."

Tasuki smiled. "So are they up?"

"Yep. Up and kissing. I didn't disturb them though."

"Them came in on us last night."

"Tasuki…" Ayame gave him a look.

"Okay, okay." He chuckled.

"See? I picked out good ones this time!" Kohana grinned.

"You had help from a couple of gods." Ayame sighed.

"So? I knew what I was doing." She stuck out her tongue.

"That's enough outta you." Ayame smiled. "Go get changed okay?"

"Okay." She grabbed her stuffed kitten from the bed and left the room.

Ayame looked at Tasuki. "Well, welcome to mornings at the Kurogawa house."

He smiled. "I think they're fun."

"You would. Come on. Let's go find breakfast." She grabbed his hands and pulled him up.

"Okay." They walked into the kitchen.

After changing and having breakfast, Tasuki and Amiboshi left. Ruri told Amiboshi she'd call if he could see her mother later. After their car left the driveway, the girls went into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Why does Amiboshi want to meet your mother?" Ayame looked over at her.

"He uh…well…more complicated stuff…he said he and Tasuki get to use their seishi powers one more time…he wants to save my mother."

Ayame put her hand to her chest. "That's so sweet!"

"I know. I can't believe he's willing to…"

"He loves you! That's what people do when they love each other!" Kohana stood up on the couch.

"She's right." Ayame nodded.

"Hmm…well…maybe you're right." Ruri stood up. "I should go home and you know…see if I can let Amiboshi see my mother."

"Do you want me to drive you?" Ayame asked. "Otherwise you'll have to walk."

"No. I'll be fine. I'm just excited to think that my mother will be okay again."

"I hope it works."

"Course it will!" Kohana stuck in.

"I gotta go. See ya." Ruri left the house. "Now let's see here…how do I introduce Amiboshi to my mother?" She started walking home. "Well…Mom…I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Amiboshi, the life saving musician? No, that's not right…" She sighed.

She got home and opened the door. She found her dad in the kitchen balancing a checkbook.

"Hi Dad. Where's Mom?"

"In our room. She might be sleeping."

"Okay. Thanks." She kissed her father on the cheek and went upstairs. She knocked softly. "Mom?"

"Come in, honey."

Ruri opened the door and saw her mother sitting up in bed, reading. She sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Still just tired. Not much else…" She sighed. "I wish I was over this…but enough about me. How was your date?"

"It was wonderful…Amiboshi is…he's just wow…"

She smiled. "He sounds wonderful. Now be honest with me, those boys were at Ayame's house last night weren't they?"

Ruri blushed. "Wha? How'd you know?"

"I'm your mother. I can tell." She looked at her daughter. "I'd like to meet him. He's a musician right?"

"Yeah…he's so good…"

"Do you think I could meet him? I hate to meet someone when I'm like this, but goodness knows if I'll ever get better."

"Don't say that, Mom. You'll be fine. And I think he'd love to meet you. Maybe he'll play something for you too."

"I think that would be lovely."

"How about today, sometime in the afternoon?"

"Sounds fine. I'll be here all day. Your father doesn't let me do anything since I got sick."

"He's worried, Mom. So am I."

"I'll be fine, Ruri."

"I know, but until then, we have every right to worry." Ruri smiled and kissed her mother's cheek. "I'll tell Amiboshi he can come over this afternoon."

"Alright, sounds good."

"Okay." Ruri got up and went to her room. She closed the door and picked up her phone and dialed the number Amiboshi gave her. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

~Hello?~

"Tasuki? Can I talk to Amiboshi?"

~Sure. Hang on.~

She heard him yell for the younger former seishi.

~Hello?~

"Hi, Amiboshi."

~Hi. What's up?~

"Are you free this afternoon?"

~Sure. Why?~

"I asked my mom about you coming over. She said you could come any time this afternoon."

~Okay. I'll be over maybe around 2, flute in hand.~

"Sounds great." Ruri felt her eyes tear and her throat tighten.

~Ruri…you're not going to cry, are you?~

"I don't know…"

~There's nothing to cry about…~

"They're happy tears…"

~If you say so.~

"Oh Amiboshi…I don't know how to thank you."

~You don't have to. I want to do this. If I'm going to use my power one last time, I should do something worth while.~

Ruri sighed. "I'll see you later today."

~Alright. Bye.~

"Bye." Ruri hung up and sighed. She was glad the door was closed. She didn't want her father to walk in on her while she was still teary eyed. 'Finally…after months of waiting…something is finally going to help Mom…finally…' She sat at her desk and stared out her window for a moment.

After clearing her mind, she put on a CD of classical music and started writing in her diary.

~*~*~*~

Ayame folded the last of the laundry and decided to put it away later. The house was pretty quiet. Kohana was probably looking for a snack in the kitchen. Last night still kind of seemed like a dream.

She walked into Kohana's room and picked up the Universe of the Four Gods. 'How could…oh…why bother asking? It just is the way it is. There are things you can't prove. You have to believe to see. That's all there is to it. Why should I argue anyway? I'm happy, Ruri's happy, Kohana's happier than ever…which I didn't think was possible…'

She put the book down and went into her room. She picked up the picture of her family. 'Mom, Dad…you'd like him right? I think you'd like him. He's really sweet. He cares about Kohana a lot. I know he'll be there for us. And…well…I'm hopelessly in love with him. But I suppose you already knew that.' She wiped away a tear that threatened to fall and put the picture down again.

She headed into the living room. Kohana was watching TV.

"Hi, ne-chan!"

"Hi. What cha watchin'?" Ayame sat with her sister.

She wrinkled her nose. "Nothin' good." She looked up at Ayame. "Ne-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"What's it like to fall in love?"

"Why?"

"Well, I wanna know. How do you know when you've…you know…found him?"

"I think you just know."

"Did you know when you met Tasuki?"

"Well…if you want an example…it wasn't the first time I met him that I knew. That day in the park, sure I thought he was cute, but I've thought a lot of guys were cute. It was when I talked to him in the restaurant that I knew. The way he looked at me. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to walk."

"He made you feel all gushy?"

"Yes. He made me…gushy." Ayame smiled. "You can't think right. You can't speak. It's just this overwhelming feeling of 'He's the one'.

"Do you think I'll find someone who makes me gushy?"

"I'm sure you will." Ayame hugged her little sister. "And when you find him, you'll know it."

~*~*~*~

Ruri waited and watched impatiently from her window for Amiboshi's car. It was 5 passed 2. She tried to keep calm. He did say around 2 after all. That gave him at least another 25 minutes in her book.

"Ruri, are you alright?" Her father knocked at her door softly. "You've been staring out the window for half an hour now."

"I know. I'm waiting for Amiboshi."

"Everything'll be fine. You shouldn't worry."

"I know I shouldn't, but I do. I worry about everything."

"Try to ease up. We don't need anyone else to get sick here."

"Sure, Daddy." She glanced back to window. She saw Amiboshi's car. "Oh! Gotta go!" She sprinted past her dad and reached the front door in the blink of an eye. All her father could do was blink in surprise.

She jumped down the last five stairs and ran to the front door. She opened it as Amiboshi came up the steps.

"How'd you get to the door so fast?"

"I was in the living room?"

"I saw you in your bedroom window."

"Uh…" She blushed.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I know you're anxious."

"You have no idea…" She took his hand and led him upstairs. "You're really sure you want to do this for me?"

"Yes. Stop asking. I'm sure."

She opened her mother's door. "Mom? Amiboshi's here."

"I thought that was why you ran down the hall like that. Come in."

Amiboshi saw Ruri's mother lying in bed. She looked a lot like Ruri. Her facial features matched Ruri's and so did her deep brown hair. Her eyes were a nice hazel instead of blue. Her skin was very pale though. She looked tired.

"Mom, this is Amiboshi. Amiboshi, my mother."

"Hi." Amiboshi smiled.

"So you're the boy Ruri raves about. Nice to meet you."

Ruri's eyes widened and she blushed. "Mother!"

Amiboshi just smiled.

"So Amiboshi, how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you feeling today?"

"Oh, I'm sure Ruri's told you. I'm just tired. That's about it. Her father won't let me do anything." She rolled her eyes.

"He worries. You should be happy your family cares so much." Amiboshi sat on a chair.

"You're right."

Ruri sat on her mother's bed. "Wanna hear him play?"

"I'd love to. You talk about his music almost as much as him."

"Mom! Stop it!" Ruri's face darkened a few shades.

Amiboshi felt his own face flush. He was surprised Ruri talked about him so much. He pulled his flute case out from his coat pocket. He slid out the wooden flute.

"That's a beautiful instrument Amiboshi. Where did you get it?"

"Umm…my father gave it to me before he died."

"I'm sorry Amiboshi. Are both your parents gone?"

"Yeah. When I was younger."

"Well, you're always welcome to come here if you feel like it."

"Eh…thank you." Amiboshi nodded. He raised his flute to his lips.

Ruri laid back on the bed as Amiboshi began playing. She felt a tingle in the air, presumably Amiboshi using his power. She watched her mother close her eyes and enjoy the music. Color began to return to her mother's face.

Ruri's father walked by the room and just had to stop to listen. He leaned on the doorway, watched and listened.

The piece Amiboshi played was long and uplifting. After he finished he felt a little lightheaded. 'Well…been a while since I've done that…'

Ruri's mother clapped. "That was wonderful, Amiboshi!" She stretched a little.

Ruri smiled. "Mom, you look great!"

"I feel wonderful." She kicked back the blankets and got out of bed.

Ruri's father tried to stop her. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"Nonsense!" She pushed her husband's hands away. "I feel better now than I ever have before. Even before I got sick. I think I'll take a walk."

"Not until you get checked out by the doctor. People don't get better that fast."

"Maybe whatever Mom had just finally passed." Ruri shrugged, trying to hide the fact that she knew what was going on.

"I'd feel better if you went to your doctor."

"Fine, you worry wart. We'll go. Let me change." She turned to Amiboshi. "I hate to run out on you two, but somebody here doesn't think I'm okay."

"It's alright." Amiboshi smiled. "We should know if you're okay."

"Ruri, do you want to come?" Her father looked at her.

"No. I think Mom's fine. Just bring home the good news, kay?" She hugged her parents.

"Alright. Amiboshi, you're welcome to keep Ruri company, just nothing too serious. Understand?"

"Of course, sir." Amiboshi nodded.

Ruri and Amiboshi went into her room after her parents left. She nearly knocked him over when she flung herself at him, almost in tears. "Thank you Amiboshi. Thank you so much!"

"Hey…it's okay…" He said gently and embraced her. "I told you I'd do this for you."

"I know…I just…this is what we've been waiting for. Mom's better. I know my parents will never understand how exactly, but it doesn't matter. I know. And I don't think I can thank you enough for this. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to her."

"No one's ever ready to say goodbye." He kissed her forehead before sighing.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel a little lightheaded. It's been a while since I've done that."

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Could I have some ice water?"

"Sure. Be right back." She left the room.

Amiboshi looked around her room. Her bed sheets were blue with gold stars and moons. She had a blue lamp on her desk next to a silvery blue diary. A blue pen lay forgotten on the edge of the table. A lot of pictures sat in blue frames. Her walls were white, but the curtains around her window were blue. He did notice she wore a lot of blue clothes.

She came back with a large glass of ice water. "Here."

"Thanks." He smiled at her. "I like your room. Very blue. Very calming."

"It's my favorite color."

"I guessed. It's funny. Blue is Seiryuu's color." He drank some more.

"Maybe it's a sign." She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Maybe. I'm guessing Ayame's favorite color is red."

"Yep. She's as red as I am blue. Why?"

"Red is Suzaku's color. It wouldn't surprise me if it did mean something."

"Well, signs are all well and good, but we don't need them anymore." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"True." He smiled and put the mostly empty glass down. His arm slipped around her waist. His lips brushed against hers. "Your parents would probably kill me for this."

"They won't be back for a long time. Trips to the doctor always take forever. We have some time."

He deepened his kiss. His lips were cool and soothing from the ice water. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you Ruri."

"I love you to Ami-kun." He smiled and nuzzled her neck.

The ice in the forgotten glass had long since melted and been discarded of before Ruri's parents came home to find her and Amiboshi washing dishes in the kitchen.

As Amiboshi and Ruri thought, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with Mrs. Sakamoto. She was perfectly healthy. And since whatever she had was gone, they also couldn't figure out what it had been or what had made it go away. They never thought to think of Amiboshi's music and the effect it had on her. The doctors let it go as a nasty bug but said to hurry back if any relapse occurred.

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Okay, I should clear up the pizza thing. When Amiboshi said he'd never had pizza before, what I meant was that he never had it from the place that Ruri was ordering from. Sorry 'bout that!

Also, I'm not completely sure of what I'm gonna do with Tasuki's seishi power. I mean, the tessen could cause like major property damage, so I was thinking about using his speed rather than his ability to fry things to a crisp. It just seems more practical somehow. I have my ideas, but if someone would like to suggest something for him to do, that's fine too. I'll consider everything thrown my way.

And it looks like you guys would like to see a sequel, so I will. There aren't too many chapters left in this so I already started working on it. I'm not giving details like title or what god Kohana will be miko of until this story is completed. Once you see the title, it will be obvious what god she'll serve, so that's why I'm not letting the title out yet.

That's all for now everyone!

~*~Shadow Hawk~*~