Forever In Our Hearts

Chapter Two: Warm Embrace

You know what pisses me off? When I go to upload, or just log in in gerenal and I get this great little message that says "All servers are busy, SCREW YOU, KITTY!" That's what. I've been trying to post this damned fic for DAYS! DAYS DAMN IT! Sorry, but I'm really pissed cos' I had to type this Chapter all over again, and then the server issues ... An did all went downhill from there ...

Kitty: (Continues to throw her bitch fit)

Umm ... Anyway ... I changed my name. Did anyone notice? I had two reasons; One: Screw the whole wishful thinking, nothing's going to happen. As I said (in Pale Reminiscent before I took that part out) he's just too damned awesome for me. And yeah, all I can do is sit here and think about how great it would be if shit actually did happen. I've been doing that a lot lately, and you know, I came to the bitter realization that nothing is going to happen, so I smiled for a minute and thought. "Fuck it. I'm done." And reason number two: ... We won't talk about that. Let's just leave it at people are going to start reading my random ficcies ... people that I gave up on, if you know what I mean.

... I'm going to go off and cry in a small dark room now ... Don't forget to review.

--

We all stood outside in the middle of our camp where we all met up. I glanced over at Ryoichi, who was talking to our lead Crusader.

"Chihiro." He called me, motioning for me to come over to him.

"Yes?" I said, bowing my head slightly.

"Ryo wants to take you to Morroc to level, do you accept?" He asked.

"Yes sir." He said to him.

"Okay then." He said.

"Umm ... " I said shyly. "But what about my Acolytes?"

"It's fine." He told me. "I'll get Hatori to watch them today. We need you to make Priestess."

"Okay." I nodded.

"All right then." He said, then looked over at Ryoichi. "Don't bring her back until she gets to level forty."

"Okay." The silver haired guy responded.

We left the camp and began to walk to Morroc, with Angel following behind us.

"Umm ... Can I ride Angel?" I asked Ryoichi.

He smiled. "Sure."

We stopped for a moment and Ryoichi grasped my hand and helped me onto the Peco. He gazed down at him as he held my hand. I was already on the Peco, and he hadn't let go of me yet.

"Oh." I gasped and pulled my hand away, realizing that it was me that was holding onto him. "Sorry."

"There you go again." He reminded me.

"Sorry."

The Knight smiled and laughed. "What are we going to do with you, Chi?"

Chi.

A number of people called me that, but for some reason, when Ryoichi called me that, I was happy, happy that he noticed that it was my nickname.

We made our way to Morroc and went to the desert to fight the hodes. Ryoichi attacked a few of them, letting me hit them as the attempted to kill him. He killed a few too, just enough to get him to level forty.

Eventually, I was at level forty and we ventured back to Payon.

I hopped off of Angel before we made it to the camp, and then that's when I saw it.

"Oh my god!" I gasped and ran toward the camp.

The cabins were in flames, as was the Treatment Center, where wounded Knights, Swordsmen, and Crusaders went to seek treatment from the Priestesses.

"Chi!" Kitsami yelled.

"Where's Hitomi and Ayumi!?" I screamed

"Stuck in the Treatment Center." Purite said to me.

I gazed at the Treatment Center, then turned to run.

"Chihiro!" Ryoichi grasped my arm, preventing me from bolting off to help my Acolytes.

"Ryo! They're stuck in the Treatment Center!" I screamed, with tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I know." He said gently. "I'll go help them. You stay here, okay?"

"But Ryo."

"Chi, I don't want you getting yourself hurt. Just stay here." He looked at me, concerned. "Please."

I nodded.

"Hold Angel, okay?" He told me. "She'll try to follow me."

I nodded.

"Chi, they'll be fine." Purite comforted me.

I sat down, and Angel followed my example.

"We got most of your clothes and all of your headgear." Kisa told me, pointing to a pile of beige messenger bags. "See? And our things too."

"Hitomi and Ayumi's too?" I asked.

"Uh huh." Kisa offered a smile.

"Oh god." I gasped as Cloud walked up, carrying Ayumi.

"She's okay." He told me, sitting her down, resting the unconscious girl's head in Kitsami's lap. "She just inhaled too much smoke."

"What about Hit?" I asked.

His blue eyes lowered to the ground. "I don't know."

"You know!" I clung to Cloud's left leg, looking up at him painfully, crying again. "You know don't you! Please, tell me!"

He sighed and looked down at me. "We can't find her. Ryo and Serge are looking everywhere, but they can't find her."

I let go of him and stared at the grass.

"I'm sorry." He said, walking back to the Treatment Center

"It's okay." Kitsami told me.

"I feel so bad." I told her. "I shouldn't have left you guys alone, Kit."

She shook her head. "No. It's okay."

"What level did you get to?" Purite asked, changing the subject.

"Forty." I told her.

Then Serge walked up.

"Umm ... " Kisa said. "Problem. Our cabin was one of the ones that were caught on fire. Where are we supposed to sleep?"

"Well ... " Serge smiled. "You cabin was the only Acolyte cabin that was caught on fire. And they're making everyone who doesn't have a cabin anymore sleep on the floor of the dining quarters, but since it was all guys except for you guys, we were going to ask if you wanted to bum in our cabin, instead of sleeping in a room with thirty or so guys that you don't really know. And we also don't want our Acolytes sleeping on the floor."

"So wait ..." I asked. " What about you guys?"

"We're sleeping on the floor." He told us. "You guys can have the beds."

"Oh." I said. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yep. Take the beds."

"But I feel bad."

"Don't." He told me. "Want me to take you to our cabin now?"

"Sure."

We gathered all of our things, and Serge took us to the cabin that he shared with the other Knights.

"I have to go back and help." He said, putting Ayumi down on the bottom bunk of one of the bunk beds. "We'll be back eventually. You guys just make yourselves at home."

"Okay." We smiled.

"So. We just take their beds?" Kisa asked.

"I guess so." I said to her. "If you guys give me your uniforms now, I'll wash them for you, so that the guy's uniforms don't fade on them."

"Okay." Kit said. "I wanted to take a shower anyway."

"Me too." Kisa and Purite responded.

"Yeah." I smiled. "Kit can go first."

Kit grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom, moments later, the shower came on.

"So what's this with you and Ryoichi?" Purite smiled mischievously

"What do you mean me and Ryo?" I asked.

Kisa and Purite looked at me and smiled.

" ... ichi." I said, finishing Ryo's name. Acolytes and Priestesses were not allowed to call any Knight, Crusader, or Swordsmen by any sort of nickname. And then it hit me: When did I start calling him Ryo?

Purite yawned. "I'm sleepy and I don't know why."

"I dunno." Kisa said.

"Me either." I told her.

"Chi." I heard the bathroom door open a bit. "Umm ... Do we have to wear what we level in, since we're technically in public and our uniforms are being washed?"

"No." I told her. "Don't worry about it. Just wear what you'd normally sleep in."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Uh huh." I told her. "It's fine."

"Okay."

Eventually, we were all finished showering and sat around in what we normally slept in. Purite and Kisa in shorts and a T-shirt, Kitsami in gym pants and a t-shirt, and me in blue pajama pants with penguins on them and a white strapped tank top.

"They should be back soon." I told the girls as I got up and put our uniforms in the dryer.

Purite climbed onto the bed above Ayumi, I sat on the bottom bed of a different set of bunkbeds.

"Can you leave a bottom bunk for Hit?" I asked Kisa and Kitsami.

"Sure." Kit said climbing onto the bed above mine.

"Okay." Kisa said, getting onto the top bed of the third set of bunkbeds.

"Hi." Hotohori walked in, followed by the rest of the Knights.

And then Ryo walked in carrying the brown haired Hitomi.

"Is she okay?" I gasped.

"She's badly burned." Ryo told us, laying her down on the bottom of one of the bunkbeds. "But she should be okay."

Then Serge walked in, his legs and arms badly burned.

"Serge!" I gasped.

"I'm fine." He said.

I shook my head and stood up. "You need to sleep in a bed tonight."

"No." He told me. "You deserve a bed."

"Lay down." Ryo told him.

"Please?" I asked him.

He sighed and got into the bed. "Fine."

"Here." Ryo smiled, handing me a mass of blankets.

Everyone that had to sleep on the floor began to set sleeping bags and blankets out on the floor.

Ryo stood up. "Give me you uniforms so they can get washed."

"I can do it." I told the silver haired Crusader.

"No, Chi." He told me.

"But. I can."

"No."

"Please?"

"No." Cloud threw a pillow at me.

I smiled. "You guys are so mean."

The Knights went into the bathroom one by one to change out of their uniforms, emerging in various sleeping attire, sleeping attire that normal people like to call shorts.

"You know." Hotohori smiled. "We don't usually sleep in shorts."

"But, our innocent little Acos don't need to see that." Cloud smiled.

I blushed. "Sorry."

"We aren't trying to make the poor things go blind." Ryo walked in, shirtless, in black bondage pants.

(A/N: I love bondage pants. They're so sexy)

"God Ryo!" Hotohori said. "It isn't like we sleep nude!"

"You guys are killing my Acolytes." I smiled.

"Sorry." Hotohori said.

Ryo turned out the light and walked over to the pile of blankets beside me and laid down.

It was cold on the floor. I shivered. Then someone touched my shoulder.

"You okay?" He whispered, nearly inaudibly

I nodded, shivering again.

"I don't believe you." He whispered and pulled me towards him. He put the right half of his blankets over me, and held me close to him, running his hand up and down my left arm until I drifted off to sleep next to him.

--

I'm okay now.

You know, I sort of remember what the original copy of this chapter was about, and I put all of the important events in, and added some things (like the ending scene). I was going to leave it at Ryo turning off the light, but I thought the Chihiro being cold idea was a bit more ... Hmm, what's the word ... Cute? And I wanted it to make people go "Awwwwww!" (But it most likely didn't, but I can dream, right). But yeah, that's Chapter Two. I'd really like to know how you guys are liking the fic, so please review.

-Forgotten Kitty-

"Ich liebe ... damn, I forgot the rest!"