Chapter Forty-Seven

Suzuno looked over to Higashi, her body still lying against the wall. She was nervous of seeing the results, but she wanted right now to see if she was okay. But as she tried to stand her body fell right back down; a searing pain came right through her and she winced. 'I really can't move!'

"Suzuno!" Toroki called, squeezing her hand worriedly. He didn't seem to care about the fact that the cut was still bleeding quite profusely and her blood was dripping slowly down his wrist. Unable to speak, Suzuno pointed over to Higashi. As he turned his head to follow, he immediately understood.

Toroki put Aoi-Yuki down and let go of Suzuno's hand to turn and to go and hurry over towards Higashi, slightly turning over her body so he could see her face. He examined her lightly as he tried his best to lay her head comfortably on his lap. Her face seemed just fine, only as if she was sleeping, but the arm Reikoku had grabbed was showing off a dark purple. He only touched the wound lightly, and drew back at the feel of warm, puffy skin.

Still, he was relieved to feel her light breathing. Toroki was sure that was what Suzuno was most worried about, of all things. He turned to her, smiling sweetly. "Don't worry! I think she'll be okay, really . . ."

At this, Suzuno was more comforted than anything. After all, though they hadn't known each other for long, it was Amefuri's own mother. She sighed, lying back against the leg of the table and closing her eyes. She tried her best to even her breathing, but every time she took in a breath a sharp pain would rage across her chest. Even when trying to be slow, it only worsened. She was starting to get a headache because of it.

Toroki spoke as he stood, laying Higashi's head lightly back on the floor. He turned up to the cabinet, standing on his tippy toes to reach for the top cabinet. Inside of it was medicine. "But I'm really surprised. I'm so happy everything went well, but . . . I've never seen Reikoku get seriously hit before by anyone other than Uncle Shuri and Amai. Ever."

'Really?' Suzuno thought, surprised. She hadn't expected something like that. Of course, she knew Reikoku was an excellent fighter, but . . . to have never been hit before? What's more, she was the first! Her, a girl who had never even picked up a sword before then had beaten a soldier.

"He was one of the best in the military," Toroki continued, knowing that she could not speak. He finally pulled down a bottle, opened the top of the jar and sniffed it, then scoffed and put it back. "The only two people he couldn't beat were Uncle Shuri and Amai. And I guess you, now."

'There's that name again,' Suzuno thought, trying to wrack her brain. Somehow, she just wasn't willing to think right now; it was pounding, blocking any sense of real thought other than comprehension.

"I know you know Uncle Shuri from me, but Amai is the Prince of Kutou- I've mentioned him a couple times before," Toroki said, as if reading her mind. He pulled down another jar and sniffed it, then he put it down next to the bowl of stew and reached up again for bandages. When he had both in his hand he trotted over to Suzuno again. She opened her eyes to see him while he talked.

"Amai and Reikoku have been best friends for as long as I can remember . . . that's why it's a scary thought when I think of how they might end up really fighting each other. Killing each other . . ." Toroki picked up the bottle and uncapped it, trying his best to lightly pour just enough onto her hand wounds but failing miserably. More than enough had fallen, and her wound began throbbing terribly.

He apologized quickly as he took his own shirt to try and wipe the medicine and the blood off, and by the time he could actually see the thin cut on her skin his shirt was completely soaked. Before anymore blood could slip out he hastily wrapped the bandages around both of her hands, then he stood up to get a cloth from the cabinet as well.

"Sometimes . . ." he paused, a solemn expression on his face, "I wonder if Reikoku was ever truly friends with any of us. Amai is the heir of Kutou, the thing he wants more than anything in the world . . . was it all a lie? All those years?"

This time he was trying even harder to be delicate, now moving towards her neck. That area was bleeding even heavier than her hands. Suzuno cringed at the pain, but she knew he was trying his best to make this as painless as possible. If anything, she didn't want to talk about it.

Concentrating hard he dabbed the medicine on the edge of the cloth and tapped against the whole cut. The wound fizzed and bubbles with white foam formed, but Toroki smiled; even if the sting it caused added to the pain she had, it was for sure taking effect. He wrapped the bandages again even more delicately this time, then he stood up to go find a blanket for her.

As Toroki walked back to the bedroom he and Suzuno stayed the night in, his heart was suddenly sinking. He was very worried about Suzuno, more than anything. Of all the people in the world, she had certainly proved that he could count on her. But talking about the past was weighing heavily on his mind.

'If only I wasn't such a brat!' Toroki thought angrily as he opened the door to Amefuri's room, 'Then none of this would have happened. I could still be at home, and everything would be okay. But at the same time, I guess I would have never met Suzuno if this hadn't happened . . .'

Even through everything he had been through up till now, meeting Suzuno seemed to outweigh them all. A small blush rose to his cheeks when he thought of it, then he giggled childishly. He picked up the blanket on the bed and covered his face with it until they were he felt his face was pale again, then he hurried back out. 'If anything, I'll become as strong as Uncle Shuri now . . . to protect her.'

x

Suzuno wasn't sure what it was, but something about her was starting to numb; it was different than the feeling she had gotten while fighting Reikoku. That was a strong, powerful spirit, who saw pain as nothing but a trouble in her way. Right now she was feeling weak, dizzy. Out of nowhere she started to adjust to the pain, give into it. Smoky, black clouds and tiny ringed circles were forming right behind her eyes, an illusion for the frail.

She closed her eyes to make them go away and then tried to open them again to look around for Toroki, but as she did a wave of hurt hit her. But there was something else, too. She had to hold on and get better fast. 'I promised Tatara I'd go to him . . . this morning . . .'

Before she could even recover her body slumped to the floor, and she was out.

x

"Suzuno!" Toroki shouted as he threw the blanket on the floor to pick her up as best as he could. Unlike Higashi's condition, which seemed as if she were sleeping, Suzuno looked like she was in a great deal of pain. Her eyes seemed to be shut tight and pressured, and her skin was beginning to drip with a cold sweat. Toroki felt her forehead and panicked; she was burning up.

He turned to grab the blanket and did his best to wrap it around her, making sure the part her head was lying on was the fluffiest part. As he paced back and forth his mind was beginning to waver, and he was only slightly comforted by seeing Aoi-Yuki's large blue eyes. He leaned over to scratch behind the tiger's ear a little, then he went to the door.

"Byakko, please look after Suzuno and the lady," he commanded, an almost desperate expression on his face. "I gotta go look for Subaru. She's the only person I know that can help her. That thing she used on me at the palace . . . I know it'll help!"

Aoi-Yuki stared, then he turned around to look at Suzuno. He lightly nuzzled at her cheek, then he glanced back at Toroki to see if he had his approval. The young warrior smiled, muttered a thank you, and quickly hurried out.

Last night the Capital was a wonderland of peace, lacking in busy crowds and setting off a cool, calming air. He was comfortable with that. But today, with the beating sun and the mountain of people storming and shouting, pushing through an obvious marketplace he felt pressured. One thing he had never been used to was lots of people in one place.

'It's okay,' he thought, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. He was determined. 'I just gotta get used to this . . . Suzuno is nice! There's gotta be other nice people too . . .'

But as he was ready to search, something in his mind clicked and he opened his eyes again, sniffing in the air just a little bit. His thoughts began to cloud, and his mind wandered off completely. Almost right away he scowled and covered his nose, smelling something not exactly bad, but unfamiliar. In his mind he could imagine a metallic substance, something liquid and warm, yet cold as ice at the same time. It was intriguing, and he continued to follow it, ignoring the others around him. 'What is that scent . . .?'

Despite having to push through people rather forcibly, some who were so rude they downright refused to move in case they were losing a deal at the market place, Toroki found himself walking a little bit on the outskirts of the Capital, trailing to a less populated area. The giant homes of mud weren't as tall and as surrounded by stands. In relief he sighed heavily. 'I can finally breathe! People in this place need to take a bath . . .'

But even through all that the metallic scent seemed to waver lead him straight to where he was. He looked around curiously, finding nothing out of the ordinary that would have such a unique effect on him until he spotted some crates at the very corner of one of the homes. As Toroki neared them, he grinned widely and opened the top.

"Wow," Toroki said, astounded. Inside was a melting, silver substance that already looked like it was hardening. He leaned in and sniffed just a tiny bit, the same scent sending such a rush through his mind he had to hold on to the edges of the box to hold himself up. But that wasn't what amazed him at first. Sticking out from underneath the glittering gray was, for sure, a gold Ryo.

Without even thinking of whom it might belong to he took it out and examined it. A small clank could be heard as soon as he had done it and he pushed the silver away, a shiver running through him as he touched it. Even if they were a little stained from the silver, he knew; there wasn't just one gold Ryo here. There was enough for a king!

"I'm rich!" Toroki grinned, throwing the coin he had in his hand back into the crate and covering it all back up. He looked around, rather conspicuously though he was trying not to, and absent-mindedly sat on top of the box as if to guard it. A million thoughts and ideas ran through his head and he played with his fingers, counting them off. "I mean, Uncle Shuri is rich, but I was never allowed outside and he always gave his money to the military . . . but with this, I'll be able to buy whatever I want-"

Toroki stopped his thoughts abruptly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge. He couldn't tell from which direction by scent –The metallic smell wafted through his nose still- but there was someone there. For a moment he readied himself to stand and casually walk away, a plan formulating in his mind to take the riches later. But, as he stood, other ideas came through.

'Come to think of it,' he thought, looking up to the sky. 'Wasn't I doing something else before this . . .?'

A lazy feeling was slowly creeping over him, allowing his small shoulders to slump and letting his guard fall. Who cared if there was someone else there, anyway? And why would he bother to look for someone? He tried to remember for a brief second, but almost instantly he thought of it as too much of an effort. Trying to remember what he was doing five minutes ago seemed like too much of an effort.

Toroki yawned, looking over to a shady form that started to walk towards him before rubbing his eyes. He couldn't really see the person's face, but at the moment he didn't care. He shut his eyes completely, letting his body fall into the person's arms before drifting off. The person, a man, grinned with a wide, devilish smile as he put a tighter grip on the limp boy. "Caught."

Another figure was watching from a distance.

x

"Look at those cowards," Lanva said, grinning triumphantly. He, Subaru, and Amefuri were still walking among the long, sandy path to the Capital, lucky that the sun wasn't boiling down so harshly as usual. He looked over to the thinning patch of trees near them, spotting the shells of weary Colossal Scorpions. They seemed to be watching the small party but they had yet to move in on them. "They must remember you, Amefuri."

"They had better," Amefuri replied, his voice sounding as if he were rather proud of himself. After all, he had a right to be. "After what they did to us and Suzuno, they should be sorry. But then again, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have ever met her."

Amefuri didn't say anything in details about the meeting, but a memory of it whizzed by in his mind. He remembered Suzuno hiding at the top of one of the tress, a Colossal Scorpion digging at the bark with its front legs to try and bring her down. He had quickly done away with it by melting the shell with his acid, then she had come down. It was then that he . . .

'I . . . I kissed her then,' Amefuri thought, and without realizing it his heart began to beat faster. A tinge of pink traced his cheeks, but the tan of his skin had hidden it so well the others didn't notice. He didn't really understand it himself, but for some reason he almost felt embarrassed too ask about the feeling. When had just a kiss made him feel like this?

Lanva's voice brought him out of it, and while he was annoyed, he was partly grateful. "Yeah, you're pretty lucky. You have those Celestial powers of yours, but if you didn't . . . man, that would suck!" He paused, frowned, then shook his head. "Well . . . I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I could've taken care of them."

"Yeah right."

"Hey!"

Their joking had continued much more after that until the three reached the Capital together. Truthfully, Amefuri found a strange comfort in being home, and a fresh wave of peace ran through him. No matter how many times people put him down, he didn't care; this was home, and it always would be. As they entered they let themselves fall underneath the shadows of the cloths hanging from building to building and they began to head for Amefuri's home.

"Geez," Lanva muttered, linking his fingers behind his head and looking around, a little bewildered. "With last night being so peaceful I almost forgot how busy this place can be."

"Same here," Subaru agreed, keeping as close to her fiancée as possible. Lanva chuckled and pulled her into a surprise hug, cuddling her like a doll and making her giggle. "Oh! Stop it, Lanva . . ."

Amefuri only glanced at the both of them, put for the most part tried to ignore it. He had hugged a girl before, it was no big deal. Right? He'd done more than that! 'Why is all of this bothering me so much today?'

"Hey . . . isn't that Jin-Shun over there?"

Amefuri turned as he heard Lanva and the three stopped in the middle of the busy market street. As soon as he began searching, a huge, big-boned figure that stood out among the rest came into view and he frowned deeply, displeased. No doubt it was him; no one else could be that gigantic in the Capital and get away with it.

And not only that; Jin-Shun seemed to be heading right towards the three, stopping before them only to catch a breath as if he were in a rush. Amefuri smirked, any strange feelings about Subaru and Lanva's intimacy gone.

"What's wrong?" he mocked, referring to Jin-Shun being so out of breath. "You couldn't have run like that for just for us. Are you really getting that lazy? Fat man?"

"Stop that," Jin-Shun replied seriously, trying his best to stand up straight so he wouldn't look so weak in front of his rival. Even then, he was still having quite uneven breaths. His face was serious. "Echi, we really have a serious problem."

The young warrior was curious. "A problem?"

"It's Chu Chin. He's here."

X x x x x

Sooo sorry for update-lacking. T.T Between my new job (And I'm going to work two soon!), plus baby-sitting my cousin and getting ready for school next month I've been rather busy. Plus, I have a really bad writers/art block! I've been some nonsense to try and get me out of it (Okay, so not nonsense! XD It's Kingdom Hearts story about Sora going to an all boy's school where it seems like all the guys like him and stuff . . . cause! XD), so I'm doing okay. Just bear with me if things in my writing seem weird!

Aaaah . . . Ame-chan is getting so flustered. XD And who is Chu Chin? Fwa! You'll figure out in the nect chapter. –Hugs- Thank you all for your patience!

You know what? Sometime I'd like to get a personal website for this story. Like a fancy place where I can put up all the chapters, artwork, fanart, stories, and everything else! If you're not sure what I mean, I'd like to do somethng like how Ruaki-sama did one for her Kingdom Hearts story, Synonymy (syn. ). It's amazing! Even if I don't knew the first thing about making such beautiful layouts like that . . . XD

Suzuno Oosugi- Oh, thanks so much:D I wanted Suzuno's change to be gradual, and along with that it seems I wanted everything to be gradual. XD But finally, the romance is starting to move somewhere! Or at least, love is blossoming. Plus, for all those wanting romance there's at least been Lanva x Subaru moments everywhere . . . And I'm happy Toroki didn't seem like a damsel in distress to you either; for some reason, he still looks that way to me!

The Emerald Princess- Hee, thanks! I can understand where people would get annoyed with Toroki . . . sometimes he acts his age but most of the time he acts like a child in their terrible twos. XD But, he definitely acknowledges it and with Suzuno to guide him he's surely to get better. :D Oh, and as for Reikoku, he's not the only main villain! In fact, Reikoku has quite a team of dastardly desperados on his side. I can't wait to introduce them all- By the way, please keep note of Chu Chin as the story progresses too!

Kaeru Soyokaze- Yeah! Yeay for ass-kicking! XD –Also waves pompoms- I'm so proud of her. XD She's know strong enough to fight completely sexay sword-fighting bad guys who kidnap little boys (Ack, 'Little Boys' . . . Michael Jackson!). XD Hopefully I'll be able to make her readily strong like this in the future. I hope!

Queen of the Paperclips- Yeah:D I'm glad I finally have a reason to stabalize Suzuno and Toroki's relationship- it's going exactly where I wanted it to go, which is making me happy! I wanted a sort of 'Mother who takes care of her child' when Suzuno looks at Toroki, but Toroki to Suzuno . . . that might be a little different.

sesshomaruobsessed- Ooooh, I'm so honored:D To spend so much time reading my story and giving me such wonderful compliments. Yeay! Hee, everyone's so curious as to when I'll reveal Lanva as Tokaki. XD I have the situation completely filled in my head, but it definitely won't come for a while! I also do plan to introduce Subaru and Lanva's immediate family someday . . . after all, they're the reason the two are together now! They're important.

Ame-chan's father . . . hmmm . . . well, I know who it is (It could be a character previously mentioned, or not!), but I'm still working out the details as to when it's going to be revealed. It could be revealed ten chapters from now, or at a much later point. :D I hope I'm able to do this well!

RabidMantisGirl- Thanks! I'm using your fanart of Reikoku as his basic lineart now, if I ever get to drawing these guys out. XD Oooh, it'd be so much fun to do! If I do, I'm so posting it on DA. :D Yeay for great villains! Reikoku is supposed to be portrayed as a gentleman with extreme confidence and a guy who rarely loses his cool. I hope it's been done well. XD Oh, and line of 4's? I'm gonna have to check that out . . . I have no idea!

Bec- Ack! XD Sorry! I haven't updated in forever for many reasons, which were stated above. But don't think I quit:D I'm never quitting!

Anyway! FAQ! XD Only I don't have any questions. So, ask away:D