New chapter! Sorry this was a day late; tests have been hurtful on meh! T.T If things slow down a little in the future, sorry! XD I'm trying my best.

Chapter Forty-Two

Suzuno's party was very lucky they had set on their journey so early in the day. Though there were already many instances where certain members couldn't get along with each other, the constant pace allowed them to reach the Capital, their destination for the night, at dark. It was completely silent as they entered in, so the shouting they caused as they entered sounded rather loud and echoed down the street ways.

"You jerk," Toroki muttered as he stomped ahead of everyone else, only turning his head to glare at the man he was speaking up to. On the journey he had opted to walk more freely instead of sharing a cape with the Priestess. "One little piece of bread for Byakko! That's all I wanted!"

"And I said no!" Lanva shouted back, getting ready to pounce on the younger boy. Amefuri pulled on his clothes to hold him back, his face looking equally annoyed from how much the two argued. "How hard is that to understand? I'm the one catching bounties so we can eat. I deserve my food!"

"But wasn't it Ame's money?"

" . . ."

"That's right!" Toroki said, a sarcastic smile on his face as he stuck his tongue out towards the older of the two. "You can't find any bounties right now. Ame gets his money 'cause he sleeps with beautiful women. Maybe you should try it too? Although I bet you won't find any girl who'd even try it with you!"

"Should a . . . child say something like that?" Suzuno questioned, keeping her voice low. Subaru stood next to her, shaking her head disapprovingly. While Lanva was still fuming, Toroki was still going on, knowing he was the one to win the battle.

"Oh, but I guess you could try to get some money out of men? You think they'll like you?" He squeezed tightly at the belly of the little tiger he was holding in his arms and rubbed his cheek on the back of Aoi-Yuki's head, blushing at the softness of the fur. "What do you think, Byakko? You think he'll be able to get a couple of guys?"

"Shut up you little brat!" Lanva shouted, still struggling against Amefuri. He only stopped when Subaru stepped in front of him, her hands on her hips and her face angry. He raised an eyebrow, immediately calming down but wondering why she was there. "What?"

"He's only a child," Subaru said, tapping her fiancé's nose with her finger almost playfully. She smiled, and he had completely forgotten about Toroki as she held his hand. "Remember; we're home now!"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, looking down the patted street. Only the little lamps outside of the homes showed any signs of buildings. He suddenly pulled Subaru into a tight hug, the realization coming in. It hadn't been too long, but he was truly happy they were back. They were home.

When he let go of Subaru he turned around to see Suzuno standing between Amefuri and Tatara, since Toroki was still ahead waiting impatiently for everyone else. Lanva grinned to the Priestess, putting a thumbs up. "You know our house is a little out of the Capitals' way, only about an hour or something like that, so . . ."

"I hope you make it okay," Suzuno said, waving. She was glad that the two got along so much better than they had when she met them at first; watching them hold each other made her think of small, romantic fantasies of her own. 'Maybe with Kashou . . . Tatara . . .'

She looked down as a blush rose to her cheeks, even though it was so dark no one could possibly see it. When she looked upwards again, Subaru and Lanva were barely in view, already going towards their house. She giggled as she noticed that the young man's hand was sneaking down towards a place his future wife would slap him for. 'Hope it doesn't hurt!'

She heard another set of footsteps walking and looked up next to her, noticing that Tatara was gone. She stared ahead and caught him in view, his silver cape sparkling under the lamps' light, making him easy to spot. She started to run only a little, just enough to catch up to him. When she did reach him she grabbed the back of the cape with one of her hands, forcing him to stop. He turned only a little to see her. "Wait a second, please . . ."

"Is something wrong?" Tatara asked her in that sweet voice of his. More and more these days, just hearing it made her giddy. She tried to hide it, though sometimes it was hard since she couldn't help but smile. She was lucky that everything was so dim, but he could see her just well enough to tell she was shaking her head. The hard scales on the cape jingled at the swift movement.

"No, nothing's wrong!" She reassured, letting go of him finally. She looked down, averting her eyes as she tried to form the words. "It's just . . . that . . . When you stay the night at your house . . . can you wait there? I'll go see you there . . . in the morning . . . if . . . if it's okay . . . Is it?"

There was a silence, but as he closed the gap between the two she nearly lost her breath when she felt his soft lips kiss her forehead lightly. They were dry, but they sent a tingling feeling through her spine and to her whole body. She froze.

When she caught her breathing again she slowly glanced up at him, and thankfully for her Tatara was still there with his smile. She opened her mouth to speak, then she shut it, realizing she had nothing to say. What could she say to that? Suzuno thought back to her very first kiss, which was stolen by Amefuri to heal her from poison. She suddenly found it strange how she had words for that, but nothing for something that was smaller.

But at the same time, it wasn't smaller . . . Because it was Tatara, it was so much more.

"You can come in the morning," he told her, standing up straight. His voice was even more flattering to her than ever before, and for a moment she almost wanted him to leave for a second just to give her time to calm down. But only for a second. "I'll wait for you."

Now she found her voice. She smiled shyly, feeling beads of sweat on her face and being thankful they weren't there just a moment ago. She raised a hand, waving the fingers a little bit. "Yeah . . . Bye . . ."

She almost hated the words she chose for some reason. 'Bye? I couldn't have said thank you or anything nicer?'

Even Tatara waved a little, mimicking her little pattern, then he turned around and walked away. She watched him, her face still tainted with pink, until he was so completely out of sight that even the silver cape was no longer visible.

Suzuno was only stirred out of her trance when she felt a tug at her school uniform skirt, which turned out to be Toroki looked up at her with a curious expression. She looked to the other side of her and realized Amefuri was next to her too, only his face didn't seem nearly as sweet. It looked almost . . . 'Angry?'

"Is he your boyfriend?" Toroki asked, making Suzuno's heart jump again. He, however, didn't seem to catch anything odd of the sort. Then again, as sweet as he looked, he was the same child who seemed like he could easily talk about sex as well as Amefuri could. "He looks like it. Both of you are quieter than everyone else."

"Well . . ." she started, not sure how to explain. 'Truthfully, I'm not sure how a relationship even starts . . . I guess in Tokyo if Tatara kissed me like that, even if it was just on the head, people would think I'm his girlfriend. That's actually really nice, but here . . . Amefuri kissed me and he and I are only friends.'

"Well, Ame is sorta quiet too," Toroki continued, not waiting for her to answer. He put a finger to his lips, looking up at the clear, dark sky. There were no clouds, so among that black were millions of shining stars floating above them. "But he's not shy-quiet. You're not shy-quiet either though, Suzuno. Just sorta." He giggled. "Tatara's not shy-quiet either . . . I don't know! All three of you are nice together."

'All three?' Suzuno thought. She wondered what Toroki meant by that as he smiled. But what she paid even more attention to, since he seemed like he was going in circles with what he was saying was the fact that he didn't see her as shy. Everyone else she met had; it was the first time anyone commented otherwise. Maybe it was because she was older than him? Or had she really changed that much? Is she did, it would without a doubt be thanks to her friends . . .

She turned as she heard Amefuri chuckle boyishly at Toroki's little comment. Toroki described them all the same way, but she guessed it was because he had barely known them a day. She already knew the drastic changes between them. "So Toroki, if that's what you think of us three, what do you think of Subaru and Lanva?"

"Hmmm . . ." Toroki thought some more, walking ahead. He didn't really know where he was going, but Suzuno and Amefuri began to move as well, the older two slightly inclining towards Amefuri's home. "Subaru and Suzuno are the same too; they remind me of my mom . . . And Lanva is just a dork."

Even Suzuno couldn't help but laugh at that one; no modest giggles could ever come out of something so brutally honest. As the older two laughed, Toroki looked around curiously, first as if in wonder and then a second later in worry. He jumped in front of the two of them, almost looking like he was ready to cry again.

"You guys!" he started, his voice wavering as his eyes became unrealistically deep and baby blue. "Have you seen Byakko? He's not heeeeeeere . . ."

"Byakko?" they both said, but Suzuno was the first to understand. "You mean Aoi-Yuki?"

He made no comment about the different names, but continued, his hands on the outside of his cape nervously fiddling with the scales, almost as if he were picking them off. He looked behind him again in the direction they were walking, sniffling as if he had already been crying. "He isn't here . . . I want Byakko . . ."

Instead of going to look he plopped himself down on the ground, his hands rubbing away at his eyes as he started an almost childish whine. He wasn't too loud, but at least that wasn't all like it were an act, he really had started to cry, meaning he truly was upset. Suzuno panicked, not knowing what to do. 'I had no idea he had such a strong bond for animals . . .'

Before Suzuno could say another word on the subject Toroki's whining ceased as Amefuri kneeled down to pick him up, settling the younger boy to sit on the back of his neck, his legs resting over the older boys' shoulders. The younger warrior had his hands close to his face like he was going to wipe his tears away, but instead he was blinking down curiously at the friendly, calm face that looked back up at him.

"Don't worry," Amefuri said, giving a momentary look to Suzuno as he started walking. She followed next to him. "Aoi-Yuki couldn't have gone far . . . besides, he wouldn't leave you alone, right?"

Toroki seemed very surprised by how calmly he reacted to him crying, as if he wasn't used to this sort of attention from anyone. Then he grinned widely, hugging Amefuri like it was a giant teddy bear, snuggling his cheek on the back of the other man's head. "Yup! We can find him!"

More than anything as they approached the house she remembered from her first visit, she was surprised with Amefuri. He, after all, had grown up with only his mother. He was an only child, and more than that, an only child who was a prostitute as early as eleven, selling his body for money. But, here he was, being almost like a grown adult, a parent, to a little boy in need. She definitely liked this side of him; then again, he really was a good person no matter how one looked at it.

Suzuno opened the door to his house for him, letting the other two walk in first before closing the door. Even Amefuri had to stop for a moment when taking a whiff of the heavy aroma that still lingered. The Priestess had completely forgotten about what a powerful punch all of the perfumes made, but she wondered how when she smelled something so strong it made her dizzy.

"I really must have been gone for a while," Amefuri muttered, settling Toroki down on his own two feet. The child went instead to sit down on the table in front of him, the part Suzuno remembered as the little kitchen. "It even made me feel a little tipsy."

Toroki puffed out his cheeks, frowning as he pinched his nose with his tiny fingers. In a funny voice, he said, "This place stinks! What is this?"

Amefuri ruffled the little boys' hair. "This is my house. My mother likes perfumes and she has a bit of a drinking habit so . . . she's sort of made the whole house a little scented."

"Scented? Is that ever the understatement of the century! This place reeks with some sort of crap. My nose is sensitive; it's making me gag."

Suzuno had no time to comment on Toroki's rather rude words; she jumped with an electrical shock running through her body as she heard something in the house crash onto the ground. The sound of flickering broken shards bounced off the walls, and Suzuno jerked her head around to see what had made such a noise. It only took her a moment that there was no evidence of such a sound in the room.

Amefuri was not so fooled, however. He waved it off to the other two, letting both Toroki and Suzuno relax. He smiled reassuringly, further calming them. "It's alright, don't worry about it."

"Do you need any help?" Suzuno asked; even though he said there wasn't a problem, it sounded like a problem in her opinion. He just shook his head and walked into the hallway towards the two back rooms, leaving her and Toroki in the kitchen alone. She glanced at the younger child, and almost wanted to giggle at his embellished expression. "You look like you need a little help yourself."

"Yeah!" he replied, emphasizing strongly as he wiped tears in his eyes. "This place is like onions; it's making me cry and everything!"

"It doesn't bother me so much now," she said curiously, wondering why it was affecting him so much. 'Could it be because he's a child?'

"It's just that along with talking to animals, I get their same instincts. Good hearing, good nose, good senses . . . Stuff like that."

'Oh.'

Toroki stood up and walked over to Suzuno, burying his face in her skirt, surprising her a bit. He held onto flaps tightly with both of his small hands. At first she thought he was just trying to cover up the smell, which she didn't blame him; she couldn't smell it so well anymore, but when she walked in it was horrible. And he had to deal with twice, maybe three times the power.

"Suzuno . . ." he said, his voice a little muffled. He sounded a little serious, even scared, which was much different than what she had already grown accustomed to. She could feel his body tremble. "I hate it. I hate being a Warrior of Byakko . . . I hate being away from home, but I hate being there. I hate everything. All of it."

Suzuno didn't know what to say to him to make him feel better; she didn't expect him to speak in such a way at all. He seemed so determined to come home, yet he's telling her he hates it there? And in the outside world too? 'Where does someone like that go . . .?'

He didn't stop. "Reikoku . . . At home he was always so nice, and him and Amai and me used to always talk. They didn't treat me like everyone else did, like some doll. They treated me like I was a person. Then when he took me away from home . . . I was scared. He did all of these things to me. He didn't care if I cried or screamed or begged or anything . . . and no one was there to help me . . ." Toroki looked up, his serious eyes meeting her frightened ones. "No one at all."

She kept silent, afraid to speak. She was surprised when his expression turned into that of a smile, and he hugged her tightly like a son hugging his mother. "But in the forest that day . . . you came. You saved me from him!"

'That time,' Suzuno thought, recalling the very moment she had met Toroki. She remembered his tear-stricken face, his legs and arms marked with bruises and cuts. She realized, or they had assumed he was abused, but hearing it from him directly . . . 'Reikoku . . .'

And then to hear a thank you from him? What did she do? Was Reikoku there, somewhere nearby? She just wandered in, hearing him by coincidence. Right? Here he was, thanking her for something she had no intention of really doing. 'Is it right for me to accept this?'

"Toroki . . ." Suzuno placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him away and kneeling down so they were face to face. She kept her face straight, though she wanted to cry from his story; never had she met anyone who had been through so much. "I promise I'll protect you; we'll stop Reikoku no matter what."

The young boys' eyes lit up, and an instant smile rose to his face as he tightly wrapped his arms around her neck, making the Priestess stagger a bit with her balance. He buried his face in her shoulder, his voice muffled. He seemed overjoyed. "Suzuno! Thank you so much! Thank you . . ."

X x x x x

So, even though Toroki can be a real brat at times, I hope all suspicions of him are gone. He really does have a lot on his shoulders, and some seriously painful memories that play a huge role in this part of the 'saga'. :D How many sagas have we really completed? Two or Three? Dunno! They're awful long though, aren't they? I wonder if anyone else considers them sagas other than me. XD

Oh, and I forgot to mention this before! About the four girls from the last chapter, Kumoi's little minions- don't worry so much about them. :D They play a small role in the real world, so they're not exactly super-duper-important characters. Lol!

Queen of the Paperclips- Yes, I'm gonna try my best not to quit this story! I may have moments where it's gonna be tough, but there's so much already that I just couldn't stop. Yes!

Suzuno Oosugi- Yes! Toroki is Rua. :D I hope you like his name; I actually came up with that before deciding he would be an actually Warrior, so it sticks with me a lot. Oh, for sure he wont attack Suzuno; this chapters shows that he actually trusts Suzuno very much, because she rescued him from 'Reikoku'. :D Go Suzuno!

silver soulless- Wow, thanks a lot! I do try my best with characters, although oddly enough for this story I have trouble with them. XD Esepcially Amefuri. Lol! But still, I'm happy you like this a lot!

LiL-pUnK-pNaY27- Hmmm . . . this chapter! Well, sort of. XD Tatara's kissed her on the forehead, but I guess it's not an official kiss. Truth be told, that wont come for quite a while! XD

RabidMantisGirl- Yeay for York Peppermint Patties! –Loves- They're so good. XD Takao (Daddy! XD), Takiko and Suzuno all have a strong connection that highly influences both Takao and Suzuno in the present, though it's gonna take a while for it to really be known. Sooorry! But I will get to it someday. Promise! XD

Kaeru Soyokaze- lol, yes:D Rua is Toroki's real name, like how Ame has Echi, Subaru has Doulin and Tatara has Kashou. I hope you remember the word from before . . . it's part of the connection to a bunch of things:D Like said before though, the girls don't play a huge role and wont come up to often, but they're there because Takao can't be all by himself. XD lol!

POLL! XD

Do you believe any past characters revealed are Warriors of Byakko?

1. Yes! Absolutely!

2. Nope, they're all there just to trick us!

3.Ummm . . . maybe? I dunno.

XD Just 'cause I thought it would be fun. lol!