(Hey, I'm sorry for this taking a while. I almost completely chilled out during Christmas and New Year and plus I had a lot of work to do. I'm also lazy. lol Also, I would like to say that I may (or will, lol) describe or do things incorrectly in this fic as I do not have a Mt. Everest's worth of knowledge on Japanese culture, but I'll try to research if I need to. And I might also make some things up. Please forgive me if I don't tell things correctly. Also I'm changing the setting from Kyoto to Osaka. Anyways, enjoy!)

Chapter 6

And so because Kaoru was a nice person, she let Miroku stay with them for dinner, although she wasn't sure if she had made a good choice. But that feeling gradually went away as she saw that he was a polite man with manners while he ate.

"So Miroku is it? How did you know where we live?" she asked. He looked up to her and explained. "Ok, I confess to you that I followed" he said hoping to be forgiven. Now Kaoru's mood soured a little bit. "And just exactly why did you do such a thing?" she tried to ask calmly while boiling. "I don't have much to say yet" he explained. "Well then tell me what you can…" Kaoru said as she got a little more annoyed. Not wanting to be on bad terms with her as he remembered her pounding his head earlier, he gave up his will. Trying to be serious, he began. "I have reason to believe that a powerful evil spirit is in this dojo. And believe it or not, its presence is very strong…right now and nearby" he told them with eyes closed as he scanned his surroundings mentally.

Heero carefully eyed the monk who had just joined them for dinner while the others were curious of what he had to say. Was it him that's he was talking about? It could be. He hadn't told the others that he was a demon so far. Supposedly that is since he never knew that he was until recently. But if it was him Miroku was talking about, then how did he know that? Acting nonchalantly, he quietly went back to eating his meal.

After dinner, Kaoru and Megumi announced that Obon was to be celebrated very soon and suggested that they prepare for it. Relena, saw that everyone around her agreed to do so. Miroku, who was serious a short while ago appeared to forget about the subject earlier and was eager to participate. "So Relena, do you want to help out too?" Megumi asked. Since she didn't have anything to do and had some peer pressure, she agreed.

They started by making the lanterns. Kaoru got some candles and to make the candles into lanterns, and also some strings that were tied up together at the top and hung down like a falling spiral. Next, was the most interesting part. Oragami paper as the skin on the skeletal like strings. Kaoru gave everyone some circle-shaped paper and some paint and paintbrush to decorate etc., to make the skin look interesting after dinner on the table. Relena gave some thought on this. When Kaoru and Megumi mentioned Obon to her, she thought of her father, and decided to honor him for this holiday. As she held the paint brush in her hand, she tried to paint as carefully as she could a man, a woman, and a girl. But she wasn't a Renaissance artist with unparalleled talent. No where close to just good either, but she felt she was able to 'get the picture.'

"So Princess, is everything all right?" Miroku asked her standing behind leaning down and observing her artwork. Looking back at him almost startled, she replied "Yes, I'm fine thank you" she said with an agitated tone. The young monk smiled. "You don't like me very much do you?" he said not changing his position. "I ask that you please leave me alone" she said in a commanding voice. "Hey don't get so mad Princess, I'm just asking" he said stepping back. Heero who had seen what was going on from the very beginning interfered by placing his own presence.

"Please don't bother her" he said eyeing Miroku. "Well sure of course" he assented and walked away. Seeing that he was away from his Master, Heero also began to walk away back to his own seat and continue working on his own lantern. "Heero, I'd like to have a word with you" Relena said finally. Heero turned around and walked back. "Yes Master?" he asked. "I don't why you keep calling me that, but please know that I am not your Master and that you are not my property" she explained. Heero remained silent as she sat there by the table. 'Was she dismissing him from her service?' he mentally asked himself. Wouldn't it also be too early to judge him, during his brief service? "Are you dissatisfied with my service if I may ask?" he dared to even ask. At all. "Heero, I thank you for saving my life, but I don't need this servitude of yours" she began. "I can take care of myself. And no, I'm not dismissing you. I'm just saying I'm not your Master. And please, if you know what's best for you, be free. Not someone's slave."

Heero tried to pay attention to every single word she said, but he could not understand. "Please excuse me" Relena said. She got up from her seat and left with her would be lantern's skin.

Relena left to her room to think. It was during times like this that she wanted to be alone and just think. She either thought about the past, about the present, about what will happen or all three of them at once. But this time, she just chose to think about the present. Had she been too hard on Heero? She sighed. She was probably wrong to say it like that to him. After all, he did save her life. As she thought about that, she remembered her father. Heero wanting to be her slave…her father had fought to help end slavery… Too tired to think, she went to sleep to help get her mind off it.

Little did Relena know that Heero too left and went to his room as well. Once there, he sat down on the floor and meditated cross-legged and eyes closed. Though somewhat shocked about his 'dismissal', he decided to focus more on Miroku right now. If it was him he was walking about, wouldn't he have already known it was him? Or maybe he was going to be in some kind of trap later on. But thinking about him made Heero think about why he did what he did with Relena. What was it that he found so interesting about her? Getting his mind into that also made him wonder why Duo seemed a little interested in her as well. He continued to think and think about that topic distracting him from Miroku.

When Relena awoke, it was nearly midnight. The thought of Heero came back quickly to her. She decided that she would talk to him and apologize for her behavior earlier to get that feeling of regret away. It was now dark outside and the crescent moon emitted its normal pristine white, easily revealing all the grayish spots on it and the numerous stars up above in the firmament like twinkling eyes. It was clear night sky. She walked over to Heero's assigned room which was only a short hallway away inside the residence. She knocked.

"Heero? Are you awake? I'd like to talk with you for a moment" Relena said while knocking. She didn't have to wait long and Heero opened the door as soon as he could. Judging by how short the wait was, Relena believed that Heero wasn't asleep. "May I come in?" she asked. Without answering her, Heero opened the door more so that she could enter.

Once she was inside, Heero closed the door. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked nonchalantly. "Heero, I'm sorry about my behavior earlier. I just wanted to tell you that. I suppose I should explain myself" Relena said withput wasting time. Before Heero was going to open his mouth to say something, Relena already started talking. "Heero, in my country there was a civil war in which many people died. One of the reasons why the war was fought was because there were others who wished to keep slavery. But that was only one of the reasons however." She looked up from the floor and into his face. "My father fought in it. He felt that slavery was wrong and wanted to put an end to it. The war ended eventually, but my father…he never made it out alive like so many other men" she said ending her explanation. "And I also agree that slavery is wrong too. And because he died, I learned how important life is, so that's why I don't want you to kill anyone" she said also. Her listener just simply nodded. Relena went over and sat on the floor.

"Can you say something about yourself Heero?" Relena asked. "Does that mean you're accepting me as your samurai?" he asked thinking it was an order. "No, no," she answered having to smile and laugh a little bit. This was the first time Heero had seen her like this. "you don't have to answer Heero if you don't want to. I'm only asking as a friend." A friend huh? With that said, Relena sat with her legs standing in front of her body and her arms wrapped around them. "I don't know where to start" he finally said. "Ok, can you say something about your parents or family or friends?" she asked. Something about that question made him surprised. But why? "No, I can't. But I can say something about myself," he began. "I was a ronin before I found you, meaning that I was unemployed. Other than that there's nothing else. But it's not important" Heero said. Relena considered his response. Maybe she was rushing him. Maybe after they get to know each other a little better, she would pursue the topic again. "I'll be going now. See you in the morning" she said as she got up and left. "Good night" Heero said to her before she left.

That next morning, Kaoru woke up from her bed excited. Today was the big day. She rushed over to everyone's rooms and woke them up and made them come to the kitchen announcing "Hey everyone! Obon is today!" "Alright, alright, we get the picture" Sano said as he yawned. "So guys, what do you suggest we do today?" Megumi asked her party. "Well tonight we will hang our lanterns and tomorrow night we'll sail our lanterns in the Sea of Japan by Osaka Bay" Kenshin explained. "So why would we sail it?" Relena asked him. "Well the Sea of Japan is in the Pacific Ocean. These lanterns attract the spirits where they'll be at peace. Quite understandable isn't it?" he said further. "Yes, I suppose you're right" Relena said. "Hey, I there's going to be a festival at town today. We should all go there!" Yahiko suggested. "Hey, that's a great idea. I think you're right" said Megumi agreeing with him. "So Miroku, will you be joining us?" she asked him out of compassion. "No thank you. I have services to perform services at the temple. Please make come by later today if you would like to. Goodbye for now" the young monk said walking out the door. "Hey so c'mon, let's go everyone" Kaoru said walking to the front door as though she were leading her troops into battle.

Everyone started the walk to downtown Osaka. Before they left, they got some lanterns and covered them with the skins they were making last night then tied it to some string and hung over the bottom part of the roof, just hanging in front of the door way. When they returned in the evening, they would light it.

"Hey Kenshin, when and where will this dance take place?" Duo asked Kenshin covertly as they walked. "Well I think they're going to have it at downtown Osaka tonight. It's at the temple. I think it'll be a good idea to go see it before we leave for home" he answered him. "Good" Duo grinned to himself.

The downtown district of Osaka was bustling. Many excited people were walking all over making the streets crowded. There were food stands, clothe stands, and agoras everywhere, creating a thriving economy as a result.

They decided to rest for a while at a water fountain with a serpent dragon spiting out water as though it were fire. It was surrounded by several bushes and flowers in the middle of cemented floor. And that itself was surrounded by three ten story pagodas from behind, one blue, red, and green. "Alright, maybe we should split up so that we could look around" Megumi suggested. "But how will we find each other if we're separated all over the city? I don't want to go looking for anyone" said Sano. "Nah, don't worry. We'll all meet here this afternoon at say three-thirty" Kaoru said. "Ok agreed" Sano said.

(Ok, thats it for now. If you haven't sent a review yet, please feel welcome to.Wait until you see who goes out with who in the next chaper! See you there!)