Helllllllllo! *ducks tomatoes* heh..heh..erm...I'm terribly sorry for the long delay, everyone! I've been thoroughly busy: what with school and all, and I know that it isn't much of an excuse to those of you who were waiting patiently for my update...but really, I wasn't procrastinating! I was also feverishly working on new fanfictions, and I must admit that I've been a tad bit too caught up with those to have much of a spare time for this one. But I'm continuing now, and that makes up for it, no? Heh..eh....

Replies to Reviews:

Mizu-Tenshi: I owe you an apology..I haven't been on fanfiction for MONTHS - or so it seems to me - and I haven't got the chance to read and review your stories! I promise, though, that I WILL catch up!!! Lol, and as always, thanks for your encouragement, and of course, for reading!

kai baby-girl: I'm glad that you didn't find it confusing! Thanks for reading.

Black Dranzer: Tala going crazy? Hmm....lol, I don't think he will. Well...you never know with me! Thx for the review!

lovely_angel: Oh wow! Thank you for the compliment! Hehe, I'm sure you've read better though. I'm rather unhappy with this fic, and am probably going to rewrite it. But thank you for your kind words!

Cleo: Thank you! *bows* I'm really happy to hear that you enjoy this so. And is Tala dangerous? Who knows?? *grins evilly*

Illusion11: Thx for the review!

Anonymous reviewer who never leaves a name: I really have to thank you again for continuing to read this fic! I updated now! Lol, so sorry for making you wait.

anonymous: Yup! *laughs* Kai's hot; you have to give him that!! Lol

whisper*2*imaginary: Hey you! I haven't read or reviewed your fics in a while, and I'm sorry! I haven't been on fanfiction for a long time.

Jessie: Sorry, Jess~ for taking so long, that is! I updated now....keke

I am sorry for keeping you guys waiting!! Here it is: the 11th chapter! Enjoy!!!~

Chapter 11: Letting go

What am I doing here? I should go...Tenchi swallowed softly as she stood with numb feet, unable to tear herself away. A deep pounding in her chest reasoned with her that being here was probably not good for her if she was to be caught.

But she wouldn't be, of that she was sure - all that training at the Abbey wasn't going to waste, that was certain.

Tenchi's brows furrowed with sudden exasperation: this is insane! I have to go find Tala and the rest of the guys, but instead, here I am in front of the hotel that Kai's staying in, muttering to myself! What has become of me?

But what was the use in looking? Tala's gone, a sinister echo whispered in her head -they're all gone.

A deep unsettling hollowness constricted itself at her throat, and she swallowed against the lump once more with desperation. After her brother had dashed out of the hotel suite, she had chased after him, but he was no where to be sighted. And when she had frantically tried Bryan's room in the search for help, it was empty also. So were Spencer's and Ian's.

Then on their own accord, her feet had managed to bring her here - HERE of all places, making her wonder what she really expected out of this escapade. Maybe that Kai would miraculously remember her and all the memories that he had obviously lost or forgotten? That maybe she'd finally wake up and the last 4 years were just all a long dream concocted in her head and that Kai had never really gone?

There's just so much mystery to this whole situation that she couldn't yet figure out, and the nagging feeling of her almost at the brink of an answer was pulsing.

Yet it was way beyond her reach.

She let out a frustrated sigh, "That's it! I should leave right now..."

With silent feet she turned to make her exit through the garden, when a voice stopped her in mid-step.

"Cecile?"

*Remember, breathing is important* she thought fervently, thanking the Heavens for the darkness. Her eyes swept the courtyard of the hotel to find any means of another escape, and when finding none, she answered in the most composed voice she could muster, "Good evening, Kai."

~*~

"I don't...what are you saying, Tala?"

Spencer narrowed his eyes in the dark in the hopes to see the captain's face, seeing only clouded emotions that he couldn't at all decipher, let alone understand.

"Do you think that's why we don't remember things sometimes?"

Tala turned his head sharply to the defeated whisper, a tone he recognized that wasn't so very familiarly used with the speaker. Ian continued, sadness greatly dampening his speech, "You know, like whenever this time of year came around, we would have absolutely no memory of what we did or where we were for weeks before that. We'd come home to the Abbey and Tenchi would be freaking out, wondering where we had gone."

Ian faltered when the Tala flinched, sinking into a nearby bench. "Tenchi..."

Bryan, who had not spoken a word since their captain had informed them about his recent discoveries, clasped his hand gently on the red head's shoulder. "Do you think Tenchi's right, guys? I mean it was 3 years ago...and besides the fact that we have no recollection about what we did or where we were sometimes, we haven't been showing any signs that we were affected by their experiment on us."

The air was silent and tense around the four friends, and all of them fearful for their sake and Tenchi's. Tala broke it, later, with a whisper, "I will not risk her life for anything. I won't do it." He sighed, tossing his head back to stare at the sky. "I need to call her and tell her that we'll be alright. We should stay away from her though, because we don't really know what we're capable of. I know I might sound a bit too wary, but are you willing to risk the potential threat of hurting her unconsciously? She's our only family left you know..what with Kai and Kesumi gone."

The 3 turned briskly away, and Spencer spoke rancorously, "Kai's a traitor. He left us. And Kesumi followed him. Hiwataris aren't to be trusted."

"Don't say that!" Tala hissed, turning his fierce gaze on the other boy. Spencer almost winced: not because of the red head's glare, but because he had said such a thing about their best friend. How could he have said that about Kai?

"Look, Spencer, I'm sorry - "

"No, Tala. I shouldn't have said that..it just...I.."

"They fed us anger and hate, remember?" Bryan cut in softly, "That's why we're always like this."

Ian raised his eyebrows in question, "Always like what?"

"Always so withdrawn and cold. But..Tala..what do they mean that you're programmed?"

Tala sighed, "I don't know Bry, I just don't know."

~*~

"What are you doing here?"

Tenchi almost bit her tongue with irritation, cursing herself for lingering. "I...I wanted to see if you were okay."

Kai walked toward her, using the glow of garden lamps to help him find his way. She was in a tank top and jeans, and to that his eyebrows rose, feeling a flash of concern: the evening had been cold. He shook his head briefly, "And you were hoping to see if I was okay by standing outside..?"

He thought that her cheeks tinged with pink, but he could not be sure: damned the dark! "I didn't..know your suite number." Stop stuttering! Tenchi mentally slapped herself for being so ineloquent.

His expression was unreadable, and she realized with distress that she was trapped. With careful and deliberately slow steps, he circled around her; it seemed as if he was inspecting her.

He stopped just behind her, and she refused firmly at the urge to turn around to look at him. "Is that so?" Her heart quickened, feeling the trickle of his breath on her ear.

I *can't* like him all over again. I *will NOT* fall for him twice.

Swiftly she moved away, and swiftly he gained ground. "You're not really Cecile, are you?"

Her eyes snapped toward his, and when their eyes met, she was herself no longer. All her years of training swirled down the drain, all of her cold defenses melted and as much as she grasped them, they were not at all tangible to her fingers.

Maybe..I never stopped falling...

"What..do you mean?"

For a moment she thought his eyes had grown distant, and that he had almost lost all sense of that fact that she was in front of him in the first place. As much as her mind urged her to move, her feet were very much in tact to the ground.

"Who are you, really? Tell me."

Her senses roared to life as he came close, only mere inches away from her face. She held down a gasp as she tried desperately to evade his stare. "I'm.."

Tell him.

Yes...he was eventually going to find out anyways...it's inevitable.

But then.....what if he wasn't meant to come back to her and Tala? She winced inwardly; the thought cut into her like a piece of broken glass, and the wound it left was agonizing.

She forced herself to think on, despite the pain and the light headed feeling of him being so near her..If Kai wasn't meant to find her again, then maybe it was all for the best to let him continue with his new life. He found Kesumi now, and had wonderful friends. He was famous, wasn't he? He was rich; he had everything going for him.

Maybe..it was all for the best for his sake. For him.

What about you? What about Tala? What about Andrew? She closed her eyes against her own conscience.

Smiling with sad determination, Tenchi straightened and stared at him with a gentle look of her own. And unconsciously her fingers reached forward to trace his face; with a touch that was merely a wisp of wind. His slate coloured bangs that reached over his face were rustling like curtains caught in a breeze, and his deep mahogany eyes bore deep into her very soul. The roundness of his face had chiseled off, and he looked like a child no longer..he was so..perfect.

"I...have to let you go." She said, more to the wind and herself than anyone else. With that, she turned on her heel, leaving Kai to watch her disappearing figure against the fringed blackness of the night sky.

~*~

*Laughs manically* Finally! It's over~ *dances* Okay so this chapter wasn't as good as I'd want it to be, but hopefully it's not as bad as I thought it was when I proof read it. I'm not really sure when the next chapter will be up, but soon, (maybe) I should think.