AN: Hello all. Lana here with my muses Faia-neko, SD the Shoulder Demon, and Shadow the wolf. Hope you enjoy this chapter and please do not throw fruit at the end. -_-;

Faia: Hey everyone! Just so you know, any medical problems result of reading this chapter are not our fault.

SD: And if they are it's your own fault for ignoring our warning, suckers.

Shadow: Just get on with the chapter!!!!!

Disclaimer: Do you really have to ask? We don't own it pople! How many times do we have to tell you!? If YOU own it, fell free to e-mail me, but otherwise, you can't sue us!!!!!

*Chapter Nine*

Lana's Point of View May God Have Mercy on Us All

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay." Lana said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I can change my appearance, as well as species, talk to animals and take on their characteristics, I have the powers of Suzaku, and I am currently in the fortress of the Mt. Reikkaku sitting next to my unconscious, adoptive sister who passed out because she used too much of her chi to attack a gang of bandits." Lana was completely silent for a second, while the three men, Shadow, and Breeze, who had perched on the window sill, stared at her, before screaming, "SOMEONE WAKE ME UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE!!! I WANNA GO HOME!!!!" and beginning to cry hysterically.

"W-Whoah! No need to get all weepy on us!" Tasuki exclaimed, looking slightly panicked.

"N-No r-reason?! R-Riina's hurt, I d-don't know what's g-going on, and WHAT'S MY M-MOTHER GOING TO SAY!!!???" Lana yelled through her tears, pounding a pillow with her fists in frustration. Throughout her outburst Lana had gone back to her original form.

"Come on, kittling, your fried will wake up soon, and having the powers of Suzaku isn't so bad, right?" Kouji told her encouragingly putting a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly he found himself with an armful of crying girl.

"Don't call me kittling." she sniffed after finally calming herself down a little, and sat back down on the bed, wiping her eyes. "I don't know! W-what if Suzaku's going to want me as a sacrifice or sumthin'? I'm too young to die! I don't even have grandchildren yet!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, Chichiri desperately trying to calm her down before she started crying again.

"Lana-chan, calm down, no da." he pleaded, and breathed a sigh of relief as she took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, before nodding calmly at him in apology. "And don't worry about... your sister did you say no da?" Chichiri asked.

"A long story." Lana sighed.

Chichiri nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about Riina-chan no da. She just needs some peace and quiet with a good long sleep to recover na no da." Chichiri gave an assuring smile 'At least I hope so no da.' he added to himself.

"Now, if you don't mind, we'd like some answers. Truthful ones if ya dun mind." Tasuki told her seriously, and Lana winced, before sighing and nodding.

"I suppose it would be stupid to give you anything but, seeing as me an' Riina are in so deep now we'd need a crane to get us back out." Lana said. "But, uh, can it wait? I want Riina to be awake when we tell ya." she finished, looking at her friend with concern in her eyes.

"Fine, no da. We'll wait for Riina-chan to wake up." Chichiri assured to Lana.

"Thanks. Um, could you kinda leave me alone for a bit?" she said, looking at Riina with concern.

Kouji and Chichiri nodded, and drug a protesting Tasuki out of the room, while Shadow slipped out the window and into the forest with a farewell bark, and Breeze flew out after him after nipping Lana's finger affectionately, and telling her she had to return to her nest.

"Come on, Genrou, let's go grab some food. Fighting can really make a guy hungry." Kouji suggested as they dragged him down the hall.

Lana sighed softly as they left, and sat backwards on a chair, watching Riina.

"Come on sis, wake up. It's lonely here without ya." she whispered.

*-*-*-*-*

"You have absolutely NO courtesy WHATSOEVER Genrou." Kouji stated when they got out of hearing distance, and slammed his elbow on the top of his friend's head. *

*CAN: And this is coming from Kouji?.... ^^

"Itai! Geez, calm down Kouji! I left, didn't I?!" Tasuki complained, rubbing his head. "I didn't flame that hot headed red head or something."*

*AN: Lana: Look who's talking.

"Not without being pulled out by force, no da." Chiciri said cheerfully.

"Oh stuff it. I hope the other girl wakes up soon, I want some answers." the red-haired bandit growled.

Chichiri and Kouji both hit him, muttering about 'No manners'.

*-*-*-*-*

Back in the library Faia stared at the book and blinked.

'Riina and Lana are so screwed. I'd take this thing home and read it over a nice bowl of tuna, but a cat dragging a book bag down the street might attract unwanted attention.' she thought, her tail twitching in annoyance. Some kids ran by the couch she was hiding under, laughing loudly, and the librarian hissed at them to quiet down.

'I'm so glad I'm not human.' Faia mentally snickered. 'Well, enough gloating. Back to what's going on with my two favorite homosapiens.'*

*AN: For those who do not know, homosapien is the scientific word for human.

Faia settled herself down next to the book once again to read.

'...Tuna DOES sound good right now... Man, I'm hungry. Hope Lana gets home in time to fix me lunch...'

*-*-*-*-*

Lana groaned and popped her back. 'Damn, I've been sitting here for three hours! Chichiri had better been right about her just needing rest or I'm gonna punish him BAD.' she thought darkly.

"Might as well go grab some food too." Lana sighed, and stood up, carefully baring the door as she walked out. 'Don't want any guys accidentally walking in there while I'm gone.'

Lana walked down to the kitchens, but was encountered by three men along the way.

"Hey girlie, wanna have some fun?" one said, smirking.

"Back off. I'm not in the mood to deal with idiots." Lana growled.

"Oh, I don't think you mean that." another one chuckled, and they formed a half-circle around her and trapping her against the wall.

"You don't, huh?" Lana snarled, crouching down and getting ready to strike with her eyes flashing.

*-*-*-*-*

"Hey, did you hear that, no da?" Chichiri asked, turning his head towards the door while the two bandits were raiding the pantry.

"Hmm? Hear what?" Kouji asked, looking up with food piled high in his arms.

"It was right outside the door, no da." Chichiri stated, and Tasuki put down his food.

"Well, let's just see what it is." he said, and walked over to the door, opening it.

Just in time to witness all Hell break loose.

*-*-*-*-*

"WHAT PART OF 'NO' DON'T YOU BAKAS UNDERSTAND?!" Lana yelled, flying forward with a jump kick at one of the men.

"I'm NOT- *crash* in the mood- *bang* to DEAL with this right now!!! *smashcracksnap*" she growled out as she took them all down, and landed with a flip, panting.

"Rule number one: Never hit on a pissed off red head." Lana informed the unconscious men, with a look that could kill. "Geez, this is why I HATE most men. Idiots only want one thing from ya. Maybe I should wear a T-shirt that says, 'Back off, I have a mental disorder that causes me to lash out irrationally when ticked." she muttered, then shook her head, saying, "Nah. Some men are so stupid they'd take that as an open invitation."

"Um, Lana-chan, no da?" a voice said timidly from behind her, causing her to yelp and whirl around in shock.

"Don't DO that, Chichiri." Lana panted, clutching her chest as she tried to slow down her heart rate.

"Are you alright kittling?" Kouji asked, looking at her with a weird-expression.

"Just a little up tight. And for the last freakin' time, DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!" Lana answered. After a second of glaring at the gulping bandit, she sighed, and rubbed her face with her hands. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Could you guys check on Riina once in a while and give a holler if she wakes up?" she asked, looking at the three guys tiredly.

"You're not gonna go OUTSIDE, are ya!? It's dangerous out there!" Tasuki exclaimed.

"Gee, didn't know you cared." Lana answered with a smirk, making him blush and insist he didn't. Lana smiled amusedly to him and waved her hand "Oh fine. I'll stick around the fortress... And I'd feel more sorry for anything that tried to attack me right now, Tasuki-chan." she snorted, then turned around with her arms behind her head. "Just check on Riina once in a while, I'll be back soon." she told them, then turned down another hall.

"Daaa, that girl is a handful, no da." Chichiri groaned, trying to bring the three men back to consciousness.

"No kidding. Hey, she'd make a great bandit, huh Genrou?" Kouji said teasingly, but turned around to find his red-haired friend gone.

"What the- Where'd he go?" Kouji muttered.

*-*-*-*-*

Lana sighed and stretched her arms above her head as she stepped out into the sun. After she had popped her back and stretched a bit to relieve her tension, she looked thoughtfully up at the sky above her, and gaped in awe.

"Oh my gosh, it's so blue." Lana exclaimed softly, looking up in wonder at the beautiful blue sky. "We don't have as clear skies like that at home..."

Hey Cub! a voice in her head cheerfully called out.

"Shadow!" she cheered when the black wolf ran up to her and wagged his tail in greeting while she patted his head.

Not that I care or anything, but are you feeling better? Shadow asked, trying to sound unconcerned.

Lana smiled and hugged the embarrassed animal around the neck, stating, "I still feel like crap, but I haven't killed anyone yet."

Want to go on a hunt? It usually makes wolves feel better. Shadow suggested helpfully.

"I dunno, I told Tasuki I'd stay around the fortress." Lana replied, biting a nail.

Is that man your mate? Shadow asked, cocking his head to one side.

Lana flushed, and cried, "Tasuki is NOT my 'mate'!"

Then why would he have any power over your actions? Shadow reasoned, raising a paw to accent his point.

"Well, he DOESN'T have any control over me, but still, I told him I'd stay around here..." Lana said meekly, nibbling on her thumbnail again.

Cub, you have at least felt a little of the wolf spirit inside you, don't you want to explore it? he tempted her.

"I dunno... yeah, I do, but..."

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki had decided to follow Lana as she left them and exited the fortress.

'Just to make sure she doesn't get into trouble.' he said mentally.

"Shadow!" he heard her suddenly cry, and the wolf who had been with her earlier came up to her. Tasuki rolled his eyes.

'Looks like I didn't need to worry, that thing'll kill anyone who gets too close to her.' he thought. 'Not that I WAS worried or anything.' he quickly amended.

"I still feel like crap, but I haven't killed anyone yet." Lana suddenly said, and Tasuki jumped. He relaxed when he remembered Lana's little 'talent'. She was talking with the animal or whatever.

Only hearing one side of the conversation was really frustrating, though.

"I dunno, I told Tasuki I'd stay around the fortress." she said, and Tasuki straightened up. Damn straight she had told him! If she was even THINKING about going into the mountain forest-

"Tasuki is NOT my 'mate'!" she suddenly exclaimed, sounding embarrassed, and Tasuki nearly fell over and gaped at her.

'Wh- WHAT did she just say!?' his mind screamed, and he felt his face warming up in an unmistakable blush.

"Well, he DOESN'T have any control over me, but still, I told him I'd stay around here..." he heard her say next, and on instinct he growled softly.

'Oh no you don't, woman. You're in MY fortress, you obey MY rules.' he thought, glaring at her and the wolf, though mostly the wolf, who was obviously trying to talk her into something.

*-*-*-*-*

You need to learn to control your powers. This may help. Shadow told her sternly, and Lana sigh, hanging her head.

"Alright Shadow, you win. Besides, maybe it'll be fun." Lana agreed with a small grin. "But we HAVE to be back soon." she pleaded.

Of course. Now let's hunt! Shadow yipped in her mind, leading her towards her forest at a run.

"I'm right behind you!" Lana grinned, and dashed after him. She was just barely keeping up with him, with all the turns he was taking.

"Hey! Slow down!" she called out in annoyance.

You've got to work off some excess energy, Cub! Shadow chided, making Lana growl and run faster.

"I'll show YOU excess energy!"

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki swore softly and ran out after them. He tried to follow them, but lost sight of the two of them after a while. He sighed, and decided to resort to tracking techniques. It took him a while, but he eventually heard Lana shouts and Shadows barks not to far away.

'Woman, when I find you I'm gonna haul you back to the fortress and tie you to a pillar.' Tasuki swore mentally, and dashed in the direction of the noises.

"Hah hah! Shadow, I love you! I haven't had this much fun since I got here!" Lana laughed, dashing after the deer she and Shadow were chasing. "Aha! Gotcha!" Lana exclaimed, and tackled the deer to the ground. Shadow barked excitedly and jumped around the two of them as the deer kicked and bucked at Lana, trying to get her off of it.

"Give it up! You'll never get me away!" Lana joked, flipping the deer onto the ground and sitting on its back. After a second the deer stopped struggling and Lana got up, laughing.

"Not bad, Jen! You nearly lost us over the river!" Lana congratulated the animal, rubbing it between the ears after it got up. "Next time don't go through the bushes though, you left a clear trail. See you later!" she said, and waved as the deer walked back into the dense trees. "Well? What now?" Lana asked, looking down at Shadow.

"NOW, you come back with ME." Tasuki growled, stepping out and glaring at her.

*-*-*-*-*

"Eep!" Lana gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth as Tasuki came out. 'Oh crud, he's gonna fry me alive! Barbeque! Flambé! Crap! Even sushi! I'll be charcoal!' she thought, gulping.

* CAN: *laughs* Pick your sauces people!... X)

Not while I'm alive, Cub. Shadow chuckled in her mind.

"You can hear my thoughts?!" Lana exclaimed, whirling around to look at Shadow with wide eyes.

Only if they're very clear and extremely loud. Shadow informed her, sitting on his haunches and panting.

"Hey woman, didn't you hear me? Come on, we're going back." Tasuki growled, stepping forward.

Ask him if he'd like to hunt. Shadow suddenly suggested.

"What!?" Lana asked, feeling like her neck was going to get stiff from looking back and forth between the two.

He looks like he could use some stress relief. Shadow said simply, giving a shrug of his shoulders.

"Er, okay. Hey, Tasuki? You wouldn't want to, uh, have some fun would ya?" Lana said to Tasuki, twiddling her thumbs and looking at him nervously.

"What d'ya mean 'fun'?" Tasuki asked suspiciously.

"Well, if you wanted to, you could hunt like me an' Shadow were doing..." Lana said, sighing and running a hand through her hair. Suddenly she looked at him and smirked. "I don't know if you could keep up though, you're senses are only on the human level, you may not be able to track as well as us." she said, studying her nails.

"What!? You're a woman, I'm a bandit, remember? This is practically what I do for a living. Little girls shouldn't be allowed in the woods." Tasuki snorted.

"Little girls?" Lana hissed, eyes flashing. "You just crossed the line, you chauvinistic jerk. I bet you I could out-hunt you any day of the week! I'm not like those girls who stay home and cook all day! If you think just because I'm a female that I'm inferior you're an idiot!"

"Give me a break. You'd run back crying after the first five minutes without a hairbrush!" Tasuki taunted.

"Well then, prove you're better." Lana suggested, crossing her arms.

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki and Lana argued for a while before Shadow stepped in.

Cub! If he's so convinced he's better, why not just hunt EACHOTHER? That way you can see who is the best at hunting and tracking. he snapped, growing tired of all the bickering. Honestly, what's wrong with your race? Do the men and women ALWAYS fight for dominance?

"Yes we do, and that's not such a bad idea." Lana responded, tapping her chin.

"What?" Tasuki asked, looking between the two.

"Shadow says we should just have a little contest to see who's better. We hunt each other, see? So whoever finds the other person the fastest is the better hunter. Now, if you find me-" she started to explain, but Tasuki interrupted.

"IF I find you? Please. There isn't a creature alive who I can't track. I think YOUR the one who's gonna have the problems." he snorted.

"Oh stuff it already. ANYWAY, as I was saying, I think we should put a little bet on this." Lana said with her eyes glittering.

"Gamble? What are the stakes?" Tasuki asked, a crooked grin forming on his face.

"Hmmm, if I find you fastest, you have to give me you tessen." Lana announced with a smirk.

"WHAT!? ARE YOU CRAZY?" Tasuki roared.

"Not confident enough in your skills?" Lana asked sweetly, with large, innocent eyes.

"Feh. Fine. WHEN I find you the fastest, you have to be my servant for as long as I see fit." Tasuki said, smirking at the look of rage that crossed Lana's face.

"Your SLAVE!? Get a life!!!" she yelled, clenching her teeth.

"Not confident enough in your skills?" he mimicked, crossing his arms with a large smirk.

Lana growled with narrowed eyes, then smirked and held out her hand. "Deal. And you're going to regret ever saying women were inferior, Tasuki-chan."

Gods help us all. Shadow groaned mentally.

*-*-*-*-*

Lana smirked as she dashed through the woods, and sniffed the air one more time to make sure she hadn't lost Tasuki's scent.

'This is TOO easy.' she thought, and listened, grinning as she heard a bush rustling to her left.

"GOTCHA!!!" she yelled, diving in the shrub.

Can I help you? a sarcastic voice asked, and Lana blanched.

"What the-" she said, and looked down at the creature in her arms in shock. Lana felt her blood boil as a red fox with Tasuki's shirt tied around its middle stared up at her.

"Why that- that-!" Lana growled, gritting her teeth, and putting the fox down on the ground. "Sorry about that. Ohh, I'm going to get him for this. Let me get that off of you." she said, undoing the belts that held the shirt to its back.

Thank you. Some guy with red hair just tied it on me then disappeared. I'm Kit. the fox told her, holding out his paw when he introduced himself.

"Lana, nice to meet you. Can you tell me which way he went? It's REALLY important that I find him." she replied, straightening up and folding the shirt after she briefly grasped his paw.

I think he said something about a river if that helps you any. Kit told her, scratching his ear before running off.

"Wonderful. And exactly WHERE is the river!?" Lana muttered, wishing Shadow were with her. Tasuki had argued that taking Shadow with her would be 'cheating', so the wolf was ordered to wait for a signal from Lana to leave the clearing they left him in. She would give the signal only if she a) gave up b) found Tasuki or c) was in danger.

"*Grrr* Back to square one." Lana sighed, and dashed off again, looking for clues to Tasuki's whereabouts.

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki chuckled as Lana ran under the tree he was hiding in, chasing the fox he had tied his shirt to.

'I wish I could see the look on her face when she finds out.' he thought, grinning madly. Then he silently jumped down out of the tree and ran in the opposite direction Lana had headed off in.

'She's such a novice. She'll never find me. *Hmmm* What could I make her do when she losses?' Tasuki mused, wading through a creek, and ducking under to lose his scent before jumping to the other side. Suddenly his face flushed, and he smacked himself in the head, thinking, 'Damn! I've been hanging around Kouji too much. The hentai's rubbing off on me.' He shook his head to clear it a bit, then continued on his way. '*Hmm*, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the animals. *Nah*, scratch that last one, she'd enjoy it too much. Having her little animal pals spy for us? Yeah, sounds good. How long should it be for?'

Tasuki was so lost in his thoughts he nearly didn't hear the quiet footsteps until it was too late. He jumped up and hauled himself up onto a tree branch just in time as someone stepped out of a cluster of trees on his left.

*-*-*-*-*

"That's funny, I could have sworn I heard something." Lana murmured, looking around but not seeing anything. She shrugged her shoulders and shifted the bundle in her arms as she took another look around.

"Geez, I'm getting tired of carrying this. I should have left it on Kit, but then it might have messed me up even more." Lana grumbled, glaring down at Tasuki's discarded shirt in her arms. Lana perked up as an idea came to her, and wanted to hit herself for not thinking of it sooner. "How dumb am I?" she sighed, rolling her eyes as she slipped the shirt on over her shoulders and buckled the belts around her waist. Lana chuckled as she looked down at herself.

"A little big, but other than that not a bad fit. If Riina would see me now she'd be laughing her arse off. Talk about your ultimate cosplay." Lana laughed, and then shook herself. "Okay, enough of that. Back to work." she scolded herself, and sniffed the air. "Dang. Now I can't smell anything BUT him. Shoot, shouldn't have put this on." she growled, running a hand through her hair. Suddenly she grimaced. "Since WHEN do I talk to myself?! Gah, I'm losing it!" she exclaimed, then walked off in another direction, not knowing exactly what she was looking for, but looking for it anyway.

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki rolled his eyes as she went on her marry way. 'Maybe I should make it for the rest of her life. 'Kittling' is insane, she could be a danger to others and herself if left on her own.' he thought, jumping nimbly down from the tree and again going in the opposite direction Lana had gone in. A breeze came by and he shivered slightly. 'Geez, maybe I should just let her find me. I want my shirt back, it's getting colder.' he complained to himself, looking up at the sun which was getting considerably lower.

'We need to get back before the sun goes down. It'll be too hard to find our way back at night if we're in the middle of the Suzaku's forsaken forest.' he noted, then blinked. 'Since WHEN do I think of girls in terms of OUR and WE? Gah, I think I'M the one who's losing it.' He walked for a while more, than smirked.

'My shirt DID look good on her though...'

*-*-*-*-*

Lana was about ready to throw in the towel. She had been looking for ten more minutes, and her feet were beginning to get tired.

"Okay, I surrender. I'm too exhausted to walk anymore." Lana panted, putting her hands on her knees for a second and resting. Suddenly she felt something drop onto her back from a tree, and gave herself a little shake to move it off. Instead of dropping onto the ground, she felt eight tiny legs begin walking themselves up her back. She was paralyzed in terror for a second, before whirling around, grabbing the thing and throwing whatever it was off of her back. She was hyperventilating as she looked with wide, terrified eyes at the ground, and saw a large tarantula starting to make it's way back towards her. She could almost still feel it on her skin. Before she knew what she was doing she had given off a horror filled scream, and spun around, running blindly in the other direction from the arachnid. She chanced a look over her shoulder and saw it jump on her leg when she slowed for a second. She screamed again, kicking her leg out in a fashion that would have made Jackie Chan look like a wimp, and ran as fast as adrenaline would allow in any direction that wasn't in sight of a spider.

She wasn't thinking of anything but getting away as she came across a cliff. For one wild moment she was going to jump off, her panic filled mind only registering the fact that the THING wouldn't be able to follow her if she flung herself into empty air. But just as she made her jump she felt a pair of arms catch her around the waist, and someone yelling something, but she couldn't think. Her thoughts were centered completely on the fact that she was trying to run from something and SOMETHING wasn't letting her get away to safety, so she fought with all her strength to free herself, screaming as she did.

*-*-*-*-*

Tasuki whirled around as he heard Lana's terrified scream, and dashed off in the direction of the sound.

"Dammit, what's she done NOW?!" he yelled, and ran faster as he heard her scream again, this one louder and more terrified. Suddenly he rounded a corner, and nearly fell as Lana ran right past him, not even acknowledging his presence. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, and ran after her, now starting to get very worried. He had seen an almost tangible terror on her face before she flew by him.

(AN: Yeah, I know it's a big fuss over just a spider, but hell. That's how I'D react, and she's MY character. Besides, everyone's afraid of SOMETHING, right? Oh yeah, Tasuki may be a little OOC.)

He nearly felt his heart stop when he came out of the trees and saw Lana jumping off a cliff, but he managed to catch her just in time.

"Lana! Snap out of it! What the Hell happened?!" he yelled, but Lana was screaming, and fighting him with all she had. She even managed to give him a good solid punch in the chest that knocked the wind out of him for a second. "Ugh, okay, Lana I'm sorry about this, but it has to be done." he warned her, then slapped her hard across the face, leaving a red mark. She blinked a few times blurrily, then looked up at him.

"Tasuki?" she asked, panting and looking confused.

(AN: WARNING!!! MAJOR FLUFF AHEAD!!! ANYONE WITH A WEAK STOMACH SHOULD NOT READ BECAUSE IT IS INCREDIBLY SAPPY!!!!!!)

"Yeah, it's me. What happened?" he asked gently, still gripping her firmly around the waist with one arm in case she went nuts again.

"What are you-" she started to ask, still looking disoriented, then gasped and shivered violently, burying her face in his chest, before muttering, "I don't wanna talk about it. You'll think it's dumb."

"Come on, whatever it was it obviously scared the crud outta ya." he said, giving her a comforting hug.

"I'm fine now, let's just drop it." she said refusing to look up at him, then cursed quietly and shivered again. "Everyone's got at least one stupid thing they're afraid of, and I just had an encounter with mine, okay?" she explained, trying to leave as many details out as possible.

"What was it?" Tasuki asked, rubbing her back as she trembled and muttered something he couldn't quit hear. "Come again?"

"Promise not to laugh?" Lana demanded, looking up at him finally, looking tired after coming down off of her adrenaline high. Tasuki nodded and she sighed, and buried her face in his chest again as she said, "It was a spider. If you laugh I'll find some way to con you into striptease cross-dressing and sell tickets to all your men for the show."

Tasuki blinked a few times, then said slowly, "A....spider....?" he couldn't help it, he shook with suppressed laughter and snorted.

"It's not funny!" Lana said vehemently, pulling herself away from him and glaring at his face with angry eyes.

"Come on, 'Kittling', you're what, thirty times bigger than it? You looked like Hell was right on your heels!" Tasuki told her, trying to hide a grin. "Women, always over-reacting." he sighed, rolling his eyes.

Lana growled, and pulled his shirt off, throwing it at him and saying, "Here. You 'lost' this, you jerk." Lana glared at him again, before turning around and walking away.

"Hey! Where ya goin'?" Tasuki called, quickly putting his shirt on and following her at a safe distance.

"I don't know. Just leave me alone. It may seem funny to you, but it's serious to ME." Lana growled, walking a little faster.

"Aww, come on Lana. I was just kidding." he complained, catching up to her and grabbing her shoulder, turning her around so they had to look each other in the face. He jumped as he saw her tear-streaked face and grimaced as she tried in vain to wipe them away. "Geez, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Just drop it. It scared me, okay? Considering all the other crud that's happened I'm pretty proud of myself for not trying to jump off a cliff sooner." Lana stated, refusing to look at him as she wiped more tears away.

"It's alright, I'm sorry I made fun of you. But please don't jump again anytime soon, Riina would kill me if she woke up and found out that I had let you take a walk off a mountain." Tasuki chided with a half-smile, turning her face towards him and wiping the tears off her face.

Lana looked at him for a second, then sighed and said, "You better promise me you won't tell anyone, bandit boy." Tasuki grinned at this unspoken forgiveness, and said, "Alright. We'll trade secrets, okay? I'm afraid of water."

Lana looked at him and blinked, saying, "Huh?"

"I'm afraid of water. I can't swim." Tasuki told her, blushing a little in embarrassment."Hey! I was born 'n raised on the mountains!" he snapped defensingly, when he noticed Lana's look.

Lana gave him a smile, and hugged him tightly, saying softly, "Thanks Tasuki-chan."

Tasuki chuckled, relieved that she hadn't laughed at him, and hugged her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head as she snuggled closer to him.

"Hey! Who won the bet? You found me, but only because I had to save your hide!" Tasuki suddenly exclaimed, and Lana laughed.

"Let's just declare it a tie, okay? I'm too tired to hunt anymore." She answered with a grin.

Tasuki looked up, and smiled, nudging Lana and pointing to the sunset with one arm around her waist.

"Look, nature's trying to cheer you up." he stated, grinning as Lana's face lit up at the colors in the sky.

"It's beautiful!" she gasped in delight, smiling happily.

"Yeah, beautiful." Tasuki murmured, watching as the scenery was reflected in Lana's glittering eyes, and her hair shined in the dimming light. Lana looked over at him, still smiling, and blinked when she realized how close their faces were. They both looked into the other's eyes, and unconsciously began to move closer to each other, their eyes drifting shut.

Suddenly a twig snapped and both of them jumped away from each other flushing.

Sorry if I was interrupting anything. Uh, Cub, are you SURE he's not your mate? Shadow said, coming up to them and looking at Lana with a mixture of sheepishness and suspicion.

"Shadow!" Lana exclaimed, blushing to the roots of her hair as the wolf barked in laughter, and ran back towards the fortress with both humans chasing after him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hey ya all! And the fic is back in business! ^~ As you saw from the author note from the beginning, the whole chapter is Lana's handwriting! ^^ So make her feel all fluffy with lots of review! *grin* ^^ And speaking of which, lets hit to the review rantings, shall we? ^~ *gives Chichiri or Tasuki plushie for all who review*

Neko-ane – Hi ya sweetie! Nice to see you again! ^^ I'm glad that you liked of the chapter. ^^ I hope that you liked of this too. *heh* And that "immortals" really seems interesting. Perhaps I SHOULD check out if it has been translated and if there would be any in the library…..

Chiharu-Chan – Hey ya! *giggles* Yeah! I updated again!! *woot* I think too that Tasuki is darn hot as a guy, but don't you think it's a funny mental image? Lana and Tasuki staring each others, Lana being the perfect female duplicate of Tasuki? ^~

Songwind – Cheers! ^^ I actually understand what you're meaning… Too bad that you can't get just the GOOD things… You'll get it all, good and bad sides wrapped up in one neat package. -_-; *turns chibi with a huge sweat drop and waves chibi hands frantically* They will, they will!! Soon! I promise! As promised in this chapter, as soon as Riina wakes up…. *grins* But don't you think that shape sifter out of control is funny? ;p…
Riina: Lana?... Are you listening at all what I say?
Lana: *huh*?! Wha? sure!
Riina: *makes a face* You were daydreaming of Tasuki again.
Lana: *grimaces* Is it that obvious?...
Riina: Lessee… I'm suddenly talking with a redhead bandit who has little hearts flying around his head… Noooo, not at all! How come?!
Lana: Crap. -_-

paws-bells - *glomps* Hi!! ^^ *purrs* thank you for all those lovely reviews! ^__^ It really made my day! And you know what, you're already second, who's mentioning Tamora Pierce. I really gotta check out that book soon and start stalking Lana if she has been reading that book lately… ^~ *sighs* And all why's and where the girls come will be explained in a couple of chapters. -_-;