Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.

Dedicated to Angelkitsune…sorry about that cliffie ;

Thanks to all my other reviewers:

Chinese Fairy- I'm glad you like it! Is this update soon enough?

sandry stardiamond- Thank you so much:blush:

Evanescence's Dark Angel- Thank you! I'm soo glad you like it!

Tankar- lol it's nice that you mentioned Gama. He doesn't get enough credit I'm really glad you're enjoying it! Thanks a lot!

Not much to say about this chapter. Again, it's not that long…it was supposed to be part of Chapter 4, but I was having problems, so I made it a separate chapter. I'm sorry if this is in any way broken up or without detail…but at least I can honestly say there's really no cliffhanger here. Enjoy it!

…………………

It took a moment for my words to completely sink in. He stared at me, his mouth hanging slightly open, his head slowly moving from side to side as if he didn't believe what he was hearing.

"I said yer free."

Without moving another muscle, I twitched the fingers of my right hand. I felt the wind pick up around him, heard the clank of a metal object as it hit the wood floor.

He clasped his hand to his right ear. The wretched chain of his slavery, the chain he had borne for all those years, was no longer there. It now lay before him, the wind having released it from his skin.

"Sir…I…"

"Jin."

"…Jin…"

He fell into silence. Blinking back fresh tears, I straightened up, shook my now damp hair out of my face, and tried my best to grin at him. "I'll be goin' ta join Gama now. Yeh shoul' thank 'im…'e saved yer life las' nigh' an' is our ticket across the border. After we ge' across, yeh can go wherever yeh please…yeh don' even have ta cross, if yeh don' wan'. Jus' thank 'im."

Before he could reply, I rose and left without looking back.

&&&&&

"I'm coming with you."

It was now mid-afternoon. I was standing in a deserted area behind the pub, trying to collect my thoughts before moving on. Gama was arranging passage across the border with his identification and some small but valuable goods I had taken from the palace. And Touya…

My eyes had been closed against the silence. But as soon as he spoke, they shot open. "Wha' did yeh say?" I exclaimed.

"I said I'm coming with you."

I shook my head. "Why in the Worlds woul' yeh choose ta do tha'…ta come with me? There's nothin' fer yeh with me…"

"There's nothing for me without you, either."

"I…"

Unable to speak, I turned away and began to leave.

Touya spun me around and pinned me against the building. "I listened to you. Now it's your turn to listen to me, and don't even think about interrupting," he hissed.

He was so serious. I could almost see the fire dancing in his cold eyes, and for once, I was afraid of him.

I nodded to show that I understood. He deserved his piece…even if I did not want to hear it.

"I never hated you," he began. "I was just…disappointed. I thought you were different from the guards, from your father. I was partially wrong. You weren't afraid to be yourself…your own flying, red-headed, accented self. You never completely disrespected me, even though you were arrogant. You trusted me, perhaps even with your life. You protected me from your father's cruelness. But you could not protect me from yourself."

He stared almost defiantly into my eyes. It was amazing how quickly his attitude toward me had changed.

"That night…in the corridor…you surprised me. I never thought you'd sink as low as to force yourself upon me. I responded the only way I knew how…by using a technique I had taught myself secretly to use. Learning the technique against the laws of your House was wrong, and for that I deserved punishment. Beyond that, I resisted you, something I never should have done-"

I couldn't take it anymore. "Yeh did i' fer yer own good! Because I tried ta do somethin' against yer will-"

"And if I had just accepted it this whole thing would have been avoided."

"Bu' i' was wrong! Yeh didn' feel the same, Touya!"

He blinked and looked away, his mouth twitching as if he was attempting to smile.

"The…the funny thing is, Jin…"

He sighed heavily. "I…I did. I loved you. And I…"

He looked straight into my eyes. "I still do," he whispered.

As if to prove his statement, he gently pressed his lips to mine.

At first my mind couldn't comprehend, but soon I felt my eyes grow as round as saucers. He loved me. He was…kissing me. Me! I was surely dreaming. This couldn't possibly be real. And if it was…well, it couldn't hurt. I hesitantly kissed him back.

He sharply pulled away, as if suddenly yanked back into reality, and tears were in his eyes. "But I can't…I can't forgive as easily as I am hurt."

He stroked my face as I realized what he was saying. "I won't leave you, Jin. But I cannot be with you. Not yet. Hopefully my heart will soon learn forgiveness."

I nodded, trying my best to hold back my tears. His own crashed to the ground, each frozen into a small icicle.

Our silence was interrupted by Gama's voice calling, "Jin! Touya! Let's go!"

The Ice Warrior smiled sadly at me. "We…should join him…your father's armies must be closing in by now."

I nodded, and without a word I began to walk away.

"Jin?"

His soft voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Even if we can't…if we're not…if…what I mean is…"

He sighed, trying to force his thoughts into order.

"Jin, I...I truly want to be your friend, if nothing else. Will you allow me that?"

He sounded like that frightened little boy I had met all those years ago…the boy whose fate had once rested in my hands.

Forcing a huge smile to present itself on my face, I turned to him. "Yeh said yeh were comin' with me, an' so yeh are. I' does yeh no good if yer travelin' companion is yer enemy, am I righ'?"

He looked as if he were afraid to either smile or frown, so an odd assortment of various expressions made their way onto his face. Finally, he settled on a look of confusion, his soft eyebrows tilted downward and his icy eyes slightly narrowed.

"Wha' I mean is…o'course I'll be yer friend, Touya. I know I tol' yeh tha' a long time ago, an' I' turns ou' I lied to yeh. Bu' this time I won' make tha' same mistake."

Though his lips did not move, his eyes smiled at me.

In return, I showed off my fangs in a grin. "Now, le's ge' goin', shall we?"

We joined our new ally, who had successfully bartered passage, and together we crossed into the lands of Mukuro.