A/N: And so we reach the resolution of ch4's cliffhanger ending. Hopefully it came out properly and isn't *too* bad. Anyways, Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine but Hana and this story are. Bit of angst and lots of emotion but other than that safe, here we go minna….

Houjun swung his arm back, gripping the thin pencil tightly in his trembling hand. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and sent the well-sharpened writing instrument rushing towards his wrist.

Five minutes earlier, Hana was just coming out of the nurse's station. She didn't know why, but a feeling of foreboding was descending over her as she drew closer and closer to Houjun's room. The young nurse quickened her pace as the feeling grew stronger and more urgent with every step she took until she was running flat out to get to Houjun in time to prevent whatever catastrophe was about to take place. She reached the door of the young man's room and flung it open just as she caught sight of Houjun plunging his arm forwards, a pencil clutched in his hand and aimed at his right wrist.

Letting loose a cry of mingled surprise and horror, the young woman made a dive for Houjun. Her hand connected with his just as the point of the pencil reached his skin, and the tool went flying out of Houjun's hand, the desperate youth being too shocked at Hana's sudden arrival to hold onto the instrument. Ashen faced and breathing hard with a strange mix of terror and relief, the nurse took hold of Houjun's hands and looked him squarely in the face, her green eyes boring into his deep mahogany orbs.

"Don't you ever do that again!" she cried, her voice wavering as she fought to repress tears. "Not ever, you hear me!? What if I hadn't gotten here in time? What then? You'd be…Oh god! You'd be… You almost…but why? You seemed okay when I left you, you almost laughed! Why this?! Oh god, I almost lost you!" The tight hold she had on her emotions shattered like glass beneath the crushing realization of what had nearly happened and Hana flung her arms around the young man, putting one hand behind his head and the other around his waist, cradling him in her arms like a mother might hold a child and sobbing softly. "I almost lost you!" she whispered, "I almost lost my sweet boy…" Hana's voice began to rise as terror gripped her once more. "Don't you ever, ever do that again!" she repeated, tears streaking down her face and falling onto Houjun's shaking hands. "Nothing is so bad that you have to take your own life. Nothing!" She pulled away from Houjun and looked up into his stunned face. Immediately the panic in her eyes softened to gentle sympathy at the look on his face.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman added in a gentler tone, "Whatever it is we can fix it, okay? We will always be able to fix it."

The young nurse was using every ounce of self-restraint she possessed to keep her voice from rising again as soft tears coursed down her cheeks. "I swear to you, I will do anything and everything to make sure you get through this. You need to know that whatever happens, I'm here for you. I'll protect you. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. Nobody will hurt you so long as I'm here, alright? Because no matter what I'm going to be there by your side, trying to help you make the pain go away. Do you believe me?"

Houjun nodded weakly, his vision blurring as yet more tears gathered in his eyes at the sight of Hana's pale face. The young man saw how worried she must be, could tell by the way the nurse's eyes shone with concern as she gazed into his mahogany orbs that she had been absolutely terrified of losing him. He could feel how much cared for him from the way her hands shook as she held him, and as he watched the tears silently sliding down her delicate face he felt his knees go weak.

She really did care…. She had run into the room and saved him because she truly did want to help him. She hadn't been lying; she really would do anything to keep him from getting hurt. He meant so much to this one person that she was nearly trembling with grief because the thought of losing him almost broke her heart…

Houjun sank to his knees, slowly slipping out of Hana's arms and crumpling to the ground, his face buried in his hands, shoulders shaking with remorse as he collapsed into helpless sobs. The nurse knelt before him, gently lifting the young man's hands away from his face.

"It's going to be okay…" she said quietly, her voice kind and reassuring despite the fact that her tears turning from tiny rivulets of salty water to a river of sadness and compassion for the anguish she knew Houjun was going through. "We'll work it out, you'll see."

Houjun shook his head miserably and pulled his hands from Hana's gentle grip. He reached out a hand to touch Hana's tear-stained cheek and, keeping one hand on her cheek, he cupped her other cheek in his right hand. Carefully, he brushed the jewel-like droplets from beneath her eye with his thumb then bowed his head as sadness overtook him once more. He dropped his hands, clasping them in front of his chest and sobbed harder than ever.

Hana sighed heavily as she watched Houjun fall apart before her very eyes. Not knowing what was causing him so much pain, she was powerless to stop his tears and she felt an indescribable weight drop onto her shoulders as the feeling became more intense with every tear she saw fall from Houjun's eyes.

"Come here, sweetheart," she whispered, voice thick with emotion. Pulling the crying young man to her, she put her arms around him and held him close. "It's okay baby…shh…you're okay, I've got you…"

Houjun wrapped his own arms around the nurse, took a fistful of her shirtsleeve in each hand, and dug his nails into the soft material. Tiny beads of water slid rapidly down his face to soak into Hana's blouse as the young man felt his heart contract with guilt. He'd made her cry! How could he make her cry!?  Why did she care so much? What had he ever done in his miserable, murdering life to deserve her?  Houjun tightened his grip on Hana's sleeves and pulled her small form close as intense emotions coursed through him and made him cling tighter and tighter to the one person he had left in the world.

For a long time the two stayed that, one gently cradling a broken spirit, soothingly stroking feather-soft chestnut locks beneath her fingers and the other sobbing desolately against the soft white material of a hospital uniform, clinging to his last hope for dear life.  

Finally, Hana broke the silence that had descended over the small room. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, "I'm sorry I can't stop the tears, sorry that I don't understand why you're crying, sorry that I left you alone…I'm just…sorry." The nurse pulled Houjun even closer as she felt his arms tighten around her. "I'm sorry I can't take away the pain…I-"

But her words were cut off as Houjun grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away. The young man was careful not to hurt her, but Hana still flinched at the suddenness of his actions. He looked into her eyes, more tears starting to gather in his mahogany orbs as he thought he felt the only one who cared for him slipping away. 'No!' he wanted to shout 'No, don't give up! I might be hopeless and pathetic, but if you were the one to reach out to me, then I might just take your hand!' But he couldn't. As much as the young man had come to trust the nurse, he still couldn't bring himself to speak. He put a hand to Hana's cheek and slowly brushed her skin with the tip of his fingers, pulling his hand back to place it over his heart in a tight fist.

Hana's green eyes softened as she saw the fear growing in Houjun's gentle brown eyes. She shook her head and gave Houjun a sad, reassuring smile. "I didn't mean it like that sweetheart. I'm not giving up," she told him gently, taking his left cheek in the palm of her hand. "Maybe other people think that giving up on you is what would be best, but I don't. I know you can beat those demons inside of you, you might need a little help sometimes, but you'll beat them. And I really do believe that." she added as she caught sight of the skeptic look Houjun was giving her. The nurse's green eyes sparkled with the tiniest hint of a smile as she brushed a few tears off her cheeks. "Besides, I saw you smile once and I intend to see you do it again."

Houjun bit his lower lip and stared at Hana in stunned disbelief. His shoulders shook as he repressed a whimper and he brought his hand up to cover Hana's on his cheek. He closed his eyes and let the warmth of finally feeling he was loved flow through him.

A/N: And there you have it, the ending to my evil, evil cliffhanger! Sorry I took so long to write it but college is a total b*t*h. Blame my French teacher, not me…anyways yeah.

Musical selection: Setsunakutemo…Zutto (karaoke version) Tasuki's theme from oav2 eps4 (I think, or else it's 3 meh, one o' the two)

It's late so gotta fly but ch6 coming sooner than this one

~Tenshi Kitsune~