Chiri's Note: Cahpter 3 up!! Okay, this voice has been bugging me for wekks, so I'll do it.

I don't own anyone, except for Kouran, unfortunately.. Kouran: what do you mean by that?!?! *grinz* *runs after blue-haired monk* ja ne!

****************************Chapter 3**********************

"Off to Mt. Sayonara tomorrow, then" Nuriko replied, "another adventure! Man, I haven't had one for so long!" He grinned, putting an arm around each of his seishi friends, that he spent his life with. As Chichiri went to his room to have some rest, Yume and Kouran continued practicing. Then, accidentally, Kouran sent a water ball at Tasuki, as she was trying make "something" shoot out of them, and succeeded.

Tasuki shot 5 feet into the air and landed on his head, as he met the hard, grassy surface. Everyone immediately cracked up. Tasuki stood up, rubbing his head where a bump was starting to form. "What was that for?!" he yelled to the laughing girl. "Sorry!" Kouran replied, holding her sides, "it was an accident!!"

After half an hour, Nuriko finally made Tasuki calm down. They also discovered, as Kouran practiced with her powers a little more that Kouran could control water, and other magic spells using chi. The found out that Yume could control fire and thunder, including being able to control anything or person. They found proof of that when Yume controlled Tasuki, making him sing a few songs, and making him do the "Chicken Dance."

That day, the girls were very pleased with themselves, and went to bed as happy as Konan on a bright, sunny day. One by one, the seishi also went to bed, happy, and ready for their adventure.

The next morning was fast. They took two horses, Kouran sitting with Chichiri, while Yume was stuck with Tasuki. Nuriko just floated above their heads, scaring everyone they passed. On the way there, the girls told jokes, acted out people from their world, and told the seishi what their world was like.

"Remember?" Nuriko asked his friends, "We went there with Miaka, and that was where she summoned Suzaku." The seishi smiled at the memory. The girls listened, quietly, as the seishi explained about "The Universe of The Four Gods" and its legend. At sundown, they reached an inn close to the mountain to rest. They rented two rooms. Kouran with Yume, Chichiri with Nuriko, and Tasuki. Poor guy.

As Kouran lied in bed, she turned around and faced the ceiling. She shivered as the cool breeze lazily swept past her face, making her hair sway on her pillow. She listened to the quiet but peaceful silence, until, sleep finally overcame her.

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The next morning, the group left their horses at the inn and started up. The walk was silent, since none could think of anything to say. Each were lost in their own world. Until, Yume finally asked the one question that hung on everyone's minds. "What do you think Taiitsukun meant when she said "it will appear when you find out about the truth about life?" Yume suddenly asks.

"I don't know, but hopefully, we'll find the answer up there" Kouran replied sadly, looking up to the tall, dark mountain. "All we can do is hope now" Nuriko added. The rest of the day was also boring, except for when Nuriko crept up behind Tasuki and whispered into his ear "Boo!" That just set him off running up the mountain screaming "Ghost!" everyone cracked up as Tasuki ran back down screaming that it was too lonely up there and that it was too dark.

Kouran then grinned. She told him in a low voice "Watch out, Tasuki. One of those steps might lead you into a pond!" She and Yume burst into a fit of giggles.

Tasuki gave them his glare before asking "How'd you know I was afraid of water?" Yume grinned and replied " 'Cause when we were outside, you stayed as far as you could from the pond." Tasuki mumbled something about "hating girls" before being simply quiet the rest of the way.

By noon, everyone was getting tired. Their feet were aching with pain. "Are we almost there?" Yume asked, in a tired, grumpy voice. "Almost, no da" Chichiri replied, sweatdrops running down his face. Then an idea popped in Kouran's head. She grinned. She held her hands close to each other, shaping a ball, and thought of pushing her chi into that spot, filling it up with water. It didn't work. She tried again, this time thinking of the wetness and coldness of water. She opened her eyes, and saw floating between her hands.. A water ball! 'Yes!! I finally did it!' She then looked for a victim and spotted Chichiri. She grinned, again. She aimed, and threw, hoping that it would hit.

A loud "Daa!!" and Kouran knew she had hit her target. She grinned. She spotted a wet blue-haired monk, looking around for the suspect, looking pissed off. Everyone burst out laughing at the soaked monk. Five minutes later, everyone was holding onto their sides from laughing too much. "Tasuki, na no da?" Chichiri said, as his friend looked up at him innocently. " Did you do this, no da?" the now dry monk asked.

"Nope, he didn't, I did!" Kouran said laughing again. "I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist, besides, you were hot, weren't you?" Kouran replied innocently. Chichiri just gave her a look, before chuckling. After throwing a water ball at each of her friends, they continued on toward the top. At sundown, they finally reached the top. What they saw surprised the brave seishi and girls. At the top, they saw a big mansion or palace, old from desertion. The plants that were once growing were dead. The fog seemed to cover everything, now. The group entered slowly. Chichiri in the lead, followed by Kouran, and Yume clinging onto her. At the end was Tasuki, shivering, not from the cold, but from the scariness coming from the mansion.

They slowly entered the building. "I don't sense anything here, no da" Chichiri whispered to the others. As they left the first room and entered the old hallway, their footsteps echoed on the wood floor. They passed locked rooms, ripped walls, sometimes skeletons, and bones. Once in a while, they might pass a hole or clave in the wall. As they came closer, the halls became darker, and the world seemed so far away. Soon, they were walking in the darkness, only walking in a straight line, afraid that they might run into something ugly.

After about half an hour, Chichiri finally hit something hard. Since everyone else didn't know, they accidentally kept walking, causing them to run into him. "Daaa" was heard from under the dog pile. "Sorry, 'Chiri!" Tasuki told his friend, grinning, ear to ear.

"Good thing I'm a ghost" Nuriko chirped. Yume and Kouran gave Nuriko a glare, but kept silent.

"Well, lets go, we haven't come across anything yet, so maybe the demon is dead.." Yume said happily.

Everyone was silent as Chichiri slowly pushed opened the rusty, old, wooden doors. A cloud of dust arose as the doors creaked open. Inside, there was broken furniture, a few more bones here and there, but worst of all, it held a rotten, dry scent. As the group entered, their footsteps echoed on the walls and arose up more hundred year old dust.

Enjoy??? Please review, even flame if ya want, cause at least I know you read this! ^^ *echo*.... I really need to do something about that..-_-;; ja ne!