Author's note: After a VERY LONG hiatus, I'm finally going to finish this off. It is done technically, but I haven't posted. :P Can I blame it on drama?

Disclaimer: The wonderful characters of Fushigi Yuugi do not rightly belong to me. I'm only borrowing them for creative purposes. Please not lawsuits. Poor as dirt. Domo.

Chapter 10

Later, after everyone calmed down, all of them sat around the table to hear what Chichiri had to say from the Empress. "She was thinking about bringing the Kounan Army, but decided against it, no da. Since the enemy will definitely know that we're on to them. Not to mention that the people of Kounan will be extremely worried. The last thing they want is another war, no da." The others nodded in agreement. "From what we heard from you, there may be a good many men but not the size where an army is needed, no da. So when your scouts find the hideout of these people, launch a surprise attack, no da."

Tasuki nodded. "Souya. It makes sense. Besides, all of us have a score to settle with those bastards."

Chichiri looked at the two bandits and Ruri. Kouji and Tasuki had anger in their eyes while Ruri looked away, fists clenched. Chichiri took off his mask. Something happened that was a very serious matter. "What happened?"

Tasuki and Kouji looked at Ruri. Ruri looked back and them and smiled. "Ii no. He has the right to know what happened." Ruri got up. "Demo…. I'm going to step out for a while. It's not really something I need to relive." With that, Ruri left the room.

Tasuki got up and turned to Kouji. "Oi. You tell Chichiri. I'm going after her." He left quickly leaving the two of them looking at the empty space that was Tasuki. If the situation weren't so serious and heavy, one of them would have made a teasing remark about Tasuki's actions. But the situation didn't call for it.

Chichiri looked at Kouji and Kouji sighed. "Well, what happened was-"

Tasuki sped through the halls, ignoring everything around him. She's still traumatized. It's still bothering her. I know it. When he couldn't find Ruri anywhere in the building, Tasuki ran outside. Just as he stepped outside, he saw her walking towards a tree. He caught up with her and turned to face her. "Oi, daijoubu?"

Ruri looked at Tasuki. "Eu, daijoubu yo."

"But you still don't wanna think about it, do ya?"

Ruri shook her head. "Although nothing happened, it's still scary. If I start thinking about it, then I start thinking about the 'what if's that could have happened. Like what if you weren't there to save me. What if I was raped? What then? What if you never came? What if?"

"Stop that bullshit right now!"

Ruri blinked. She was slightly startled at the bandit's outburst. "Gen-chan?"

Tasuki glared at Ruri. "First of all, you're not the only one with 'what if's. The moment I saw you being attacked, the same questions ran through my head. At times I couldn't help that this was my fault. Because I couldn't protect you! If I had been there for you like I should have been, this wouldn't have happened! If I hadn't been such an asshole, maybe none of this would have happened! What if I wasn't able to save you in time?" Ruri stared at Tasuki as tears filled her eyes.

"But everything's okay now! It's over with! Stop thinking about that crap! Just remember, from now on I'm here to always protect you. No matter what. Okay?"

With silent tears sliding down her face, Ruri nodded and hugged Tasuki tightly. "Ai shiteru, Tasuki."

Tasuki hugged back, tears in his eyes. "Ai shiteru, Ruri."

They held each other for several minutes before pulling away. With a soft smile Tasuki gave Ruri a soft kiss. "Ja." He took her hand and guided her back to the stronghold. "Kouji probably finished explaining things to Chichiri. We should get back."

"Okay," all Ruri said. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. She thought.

Tasuki and Ruri entered his room and Ruri's eyes met Chichiri's eyes. He got up and hugged her, Ruri hugged back. "Ruri-chan," he said quietly. "Sumanai."

"Daijoubu, Chichiri. It wasn't your fault. I'm fine now, so it's okay."

The monk gave her a kind smile.

"So now you know why we want revenge," Tasuki said as he sat down."

Chichiri nodded. "So how do you plan to execute the attack, no da?"

"The simplest way," Tasuki said slowly, "Get the men to go off in small groups and surround their hideout. By the time night rolls around, we should be in position for attack. Hopefully we can get one or two of our spies and get them to open the door from the inside. If not, no big deal, we'll attack when we find out they're in trouble. Either way works."

"Sounds like a plan, no da."

"BOSS!" The door burst open and Takeshi burst in. I'm really sorry but the scouts came back with some news!"

Everyone's eyes widened, "Bring then in!" Tasuki ordered. Takeshi nodded and gestured outside. Several men entered then room.

Tasuki looked at each of them, "Where is it?"

"It's about a half day's journey from here. The reason we didn't see it sooner was because the place was well hidden in the forest. It's really thick with trees and bushes."

"Then, we can use that to our advantage, too." Tasuki said. "Gather up the men! We need to meet now and take care of the garbage!"

The men nodded and left to tell the others. All four of them got up and Chichiri put his mask back on.

Tasuki turned to Ruri, "Stay here. You don't need to go to the meeting."

Ruri silently nodded and watched as the three of them left. She sighed, Might as well go outside. There won't be anything to do or anyone to talk to since they'll all be at the meeting. She stepped outside and looked up at the sunset sky. "There's not doubt that Tasuki, Kouji and Takeshi are going." She said aloud. "There's no stopping thing so I'm just going to smile and cheer them on. I swear they're making me get gray hairs."

She looked down and gave a small laugh, "Damn, I don't' want to think about that right now." She looked up at the purple sky, watching the first star shine.

"So that's the plan," Tasuki concluded. "We leave at dawn to the enemy's place and slowly surround the area. Take your time. We have 'til nightfall." He pointed to two men in the front. "You two will try to infiltrate their hideout and open the doors. You have half and hour." The two nodded. "The rest of you wait for my signal. Okay guys, let's get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Ha!" Everyone yelled.

As the men were leaving to prepare for the next day and head to bed, Tasuki stopped Chichiri. "Oi, can ya stay here and look after Ruri?"

Chichiri looked at him, "Are you sure you'll be okay, no da?"

Tasuki nodded. "Aa. We'll be fine. I just want her to be safe."

The seishi nodded. "I'll look after Ruri-chan, no da." Chichiri gave a wide grin, "It's great to see that you finally know you love her, no da."

"Oi! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Before the flame-haired bandit could do anything, Chichiri went SD and made a trail of dust.

"Nande mo nai, no da!" Chichiri said as he ran.

Tasuki shook his head and went to his room. He expected her to be there waiting for him; however, she was no where to be seen. "She must be outside," he muttered to himself. When he did go outside, he saw her sitting on the grass and looking up at the sky. He quietly went up to her and looked down.

Ruri blinked. "Gah!" She turned to him, "Your meeting's over?"

Tasuki nodded and sat next to her. "It's all set. We leave tomorrow morning."

There was silence for several seconds. Ruri sighed, "I'm not going to get all mushy and hysterical. And I'm not going to make a scene and ask you to stay. I know you won't." She smiled and looked over at Tasuki. "It's not your style. Besides, I know you'll win."

Tasuki chuckled and started stroking Ruri's hair. "That's my onna. I knew you had more sense than the typical woman."

Ruri giggled and leaned against her love, "I'll take that as a compliment." The two looked up at the glittering night sky and several minutes went by with the two enjoying each other's company.

Suddenly, Ruri reached up and kissed Tasuki on the cheek. "You'll still make me worry," she whispered in his ear.

Tasuki grabbed Ruri and gave her a crushing hug. "When you worry," he whispered back in her ear. "I know you love me."

Ruri blinked, "Ha-hai."

He got up and pulled her up with him. "Now, let's go to bed." Ruri smiled and nodded.

The next morning, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Tasuki awoke from his internal clock and heard the others getting up. He quietly got ready and looked down at his sleeping love. He didn't want her to see him off because he was afraid he might change his mind. He didn't want to see worry flood her beautiful eyes. Might. He was still going. He was going to get his revenge for the incident and the one behind it all was going to burn. He bent down and kissed her forehead. With a small sigh, Ruri snuggled into the covers while Tasuki quietly shut the door.

Later, Ruri awoke and found that Tasuki was gone. She remembered something like a kiss on her forehead, but it was all fuzzy. She sighed and brushed her strands of hair out of her face. She clenched her covers, 'He's okay. He's a Suzaku Seishi. They'll be fine… But none of this would have happened if I didn't get attacked.' Suddenly she blinked and slapped herself. "Get a grip, Ruri," she muttered to herself. "If Gen-chan heard me say that, he would have chewed my ear off for being stupid." A knock came at the door. "Hai," she called out.

"Ohayou, Ruri-chan!" Chichiri said, carrying a tray.

"Ohayou, Chichiri." She answered.

"Are you ready for some breakfast, no da?"

Ruri shrugged, "I'm not that hungry."

A worried look crossed Chichiri's face. "Da. Ruri-chan, I know you're worried but you really should eat something, no da. Even a bite, no da."

Ruri sighed and pulled on her robe. "Hai, hai."

Chichiri set the tray down on the table as Ruri sat down. Picking up some rice, she started to thing how Tasuki and the rest were doing. Right now they were probably walking along quietly trying not to raise the enemies' suspicions. When the battle comes, she had a feeling that it was going to be quick. No one can defeat the Reikaku bandits so easily. They survived the war against the Seiryuu army, they can take on anyone. There was a 'clink' and Ruri looked down blinking. Her bowl was empty and her chopsticks hit the bottom of it.

Chichiri chuckled as Ruri sweatdropped and picked up the tray. "I'll leave you to get ready, no da." He said as he left.

It was a beautiful day and the birds were chirping merrily. Several clouds scattered the blue sky and the wind gently blew across and through the forest. The little animals were scurrying about looking for their next meal. Then, suddenly they all perked their ears. There was a possible threat walking through their territory. To be on the safe side, they all scurried to safety as the rustling of bushes and grass got louder.

The Reikaku bandits were making their way slowly to the enemy's hideout. Tasuki kept thinking about Ruri while walking and was wondering what she was doing at the moment.

Kouji slowly slinked up to the leader and smirked. "Whatcha thinkin' about Genrou?"

"Uresai. I'm not thinking about anything." Tasuki retorted.

Kouji tried to hold in his laughter and failed. "Please Genrou. The fact that you're thinking about Ruri-chan is obvious. I know you're not thinking that hard about the battle ahead. And besides…"

Tasuki sighed, "Yeah, yeah, Chichir's with her."

Ruri was walking around the grounds aimlessly. Since most of the men were gone, there really wasn't anything for her to do. She already hung with the few that remained, but there was only so much one can do without being drunk and that's what the others wanted to do. Gamble and drink. That was not Ruri's cup of tea so she decided to be outside. She had her hair down and the wind was blowing it gently away from her face. It was too much of a beautiful day for a battle to take place. Ruri sighed as she rounded a corner and saw Chichiri sitting on a rock, fishing. She walked over and sat next to him.

"How are the fish biting today?" She asked the blue haired monk.

"Pretty slow, no da."

"Oh" Ruri looked down at the water. "Ne, Chichiri?"

The smiling monk looked at Ruri, "Hai?"

"Just in case I forget to tell you later… arigato. Honto ni… arigato." She looked down.

Chichiri put down his fishing pole and turned to her. He patted her head and smiled. Ruri looked up at him and blinked. "My pleasure, no da." The Seishi looked up. "It's fun being with you, no da. You're always smiling and one feels like they can talk to you, no da."

Ruri gave a sly look, "Like Miaka?"

Chichiri thought a moment and nodded. Ruri blinked, she didn't expect him to take the question seriously. "Demo, you two are different. Although you two smile through everything, there was a naivety around Miaka-chan. You couldn't expect her to understand everything that you were talking about. As much as I loved her, she didn't have much common sense, no da."

"That's an understatement," she said with rolling eyes. "Demo, I feel if I smile through the hard times, then people won't see how weak I am. It also encourages the others to pull through."

"You're not weak, Ruri-chan. You're very strong. Admitting your weaknesses is something someone strong enough can do." Chichiri spied a smooth, flat stone and picked it up. "Just between you and me, Ruri-chan, you're the best thing that happened to Tasuki-kun, no da. He needed someone like you, no da." He skipped the rock in the river.

Ruri glanced at Chichiri. "What do you mean? Didn't he have you, Kouji and the others?"

Chichiri nodded. "Hai, but we couldn't give him what he needed, no da. I know he was punishing himself with 'what if's. Although we understood what he was going through, for some reason, we weren't getting through to him. I think him helping you go through your hardship helps him realize once it happens, there's nothing that can be except to go on. The way one handles what is given to them shows their character."

"You're so wise, Chichiri. Wisdom does come with age." Ruri said in awe. Chichiri gave her a look and she giggled. "What about you? You had to go through a lot of hardships, too."

"I learned from what happened to my best friend and fiancée. I blamed myself because of what happened before the flood and I wasn't there to save them." Ruri nodded. "Demo, when I faced him again, all the misunderstanding melted away. We were young and rash but we still loved each other." He looked at Ruri, "I myself for blamed everything that happened. But I didn't cause the flood. And if it wasn't for the log I would have been able to save him. You can't prevent those kinds of things."

Ruri sighed, "I was thinking the exact same thing."

Chichiri nodded. "That's why I think since he helped you, he was able to help himself."

Ruri silently gave Chichiri a hug. Chichiri looked down in surprise. "Anyone who has you for a friend is blessed," she whispered.

Chichiri hugged back, "Arigato." A few seconds later, Chichiri felt Ruri shaking and looked down at her. "Daijoubu na no ka?"

"Hai," Ruri said and shook her head.

"Are you crying, no da?"

"Iie." She shook her head again. "I'm laughing."

"Naze?"

She pulled away and looked at him. "I remembered how my sister used to say your name."

Chichiri cocked his head to one side, "What did she used to call me?"

With one last giggle, Ruri breathed in, "ChiriChiri."

Chichiri sweatdropped and went SD, "Chiri… Chiri?" Ruri laughed even more at the monk's reaction.