If you recognize it, I don't own it.

7. Healing powers

"You'll what?" He smirked, looking at her short figure. "Scream?"

"Nope. Do this." Sen smiled sweetly and grabbed her fan.

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She had few bruises and blood was running from her ripped lip to her jaw and down her neck, but the guards looked more beaten.

It didn't take them long to realize the girl they were fighting knew what she was doing. The guards of the imperial palace would have been impressed had they not been beaten so totally by this girl. Sen moved like the wind, the adrenalin rush was giving her almost godlike speed.

"G'night." Sen nearly grinned as she felt the edge of her fan sink to the soft flesh under the guards chin. She turned to look at the other two, laying on the ground. "Had enough?"

"Wait a minute.. Wasn't there four of you?" She turned around, seeing a stone passage to her right. "Come out come out where ever you are...?" She would have smiled, but she knew better, for every time she moved her mouth more blood poured from her ripped lip.

She sneaked trough the archway, just in time to see a beautiful young woman rising from her spot on a stone bench. A man was sitting next to the bench. He looked straigh at her with one maroon colored eye, looking scared. Funny, she thought, do I look that bad...?

Just then a small voice made her turn just in time to get a very close, slow motion view look of a wooden club. Oops, was her last thought before it connected with her head.

She fell without a sound.

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He was frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, to the spot where he sat when she looked straight at him. His first thought was to get his mask, second was to hide, the third never came up since she fell to her knees and the dropped down to ground with a soft thud as the last one of the gate guards hit her to the back of her head with his club.

"Sen!" He yelled and was up in a flash, running to get to her side.

Houki looked at the normally so serene monk with open curiosity as she gracefully made her way to the fallen body. When she reached the couple the monk had turned the beaten looking girl around and was reading a letter she had obviously been carrying. The guard was backing away. Houki heard the monk yell for him to get the palace doctors.

"Is she..?" Houki let the question linger.

"She's alive, no da." he answered. Houki could hear the relief in his voice, it made her smile inwardly.

"This is for you." He gave her the letter and started to lift the limp body from the ground when he heard the empress gasp.

"Oh my, it seems the bandit lord is in deed in trouble if he ends his older sister to safety."

"His what?"

"Older sister, it says right here 'Please Empress, take care of oneesan for me.' I didn't know he had relatives living with him." Houki answered. She looked up to see the monk had managed to lift the girl up to a sitting position.

"He doesn't." He answered.

"So it's a honorific then?"

"I guess, no da."

"Intriguing."

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Sen was in a soft colored place. She felt like she was floating around, but soon her feet met something soft and she sat down. Looking around, she found herself sitting in what seemed like.. Well, like a very big pink bog. Sen quircked an eyebrow.

"Ummm.. Hello?"

Silence.

"Anyone?"

Silence again, but this time it was louder.

Suddenly flames egnited just below her. Sen yelped as she pulled her feet closer to her body.

"Stop it!" She yelled to the nothingness. The flames grew taller. And then she saw the bird inside the flames. "Hey! Hey stop it! There's a live bird in there!" She yelled, unconciously reaching out for the animal. The bird screeched and the flames departed before the girl managed to burn her hands.

"What the..?" Sens stared eyes wide as the flames became the birds tail as it soared through the nothingness. "You were making them all along? Wait! Where are you going?" She yelled after the bird.

"Wait! Don't leave me!"

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"..on't leave me...Ugh..." Pain. Much pain.

"Sen?" Asked a very familiar voice. Sen turned her head just an inch. Bad move, she thought as the pain flared up in the back of her head. She didn't even try to open her eyes.

"Owww..." She answered, hearing a soft sigh in return.

"Don't move your head, no da."

"Where...?" She asked in small voice. It felt like she had a angry wasps inside her skull.

"At the palace infirmary."

"Am I..?" She risked all and opened her eyes slightly. The wasps seemed to go away.

Her eyes wandered around the room, finally stopping at the monk, who was sitting cross-legged next to her futon. Her gaze lingered just a second too long on his face. And altough the image was a bit hazy she could see how tired he looked. Just how long have I been out cold, she wondered, and has he sat beside me the whole time?

"The doctor said you should be fine, with in a day or two since your abilities.." He started, but was cut out by the girl.

"My what?" Sen tried to quirk her eyebrow, but this made the room spin so she quickly gave up.

"Healing abilities, no da."

"Oh yeah, those.." She reached out her hand to touch her face. It didn't seem to be swollen or anything. By experience, she knew it took a while for the swelling to go away, even with healing abilities. "How long have..?

"Two days."

"Will you let me finish one sentence..." She murmured, mostly to herself.

"Sorry, no da." He blushed slightly.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes, no da."

"Have you slept?"

"I...No."

Sen sighed as she closed her eyes. She was quiet for a minute before she moved a bit, making room on the futon. She patted the empty spot with her hand.

"What are you...?" He asked, dumbfound.

"Sleep. You look like shit."

"I can't sleep with you."

"Why not?"

"I'm a monk!"

"I know. Vow of celibasy and stuff. Atleast I know I'm safe with you." Sen smiled as she turned her back to the monk. She pulled the cover over her shoulder and tried not to yawn. "I trust you, Houjun."

He stared at the back of her head, now covered in bandages, with a very shocked expression on his face. Had she..? Did she..? When did..? What the..?

It took him few minutes to deside what to do, but in the end the futon started to look very welcoming. Finally, after he was sure she was sleeping, he slipped of his shoes and carefully made more room for him on the futon. With in a second he was asleep.

Sen smiled in her sleep. The healing had already begun.

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TBC

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AN: So cute, ne? Ahhh, I'm so used on writing violence I seem to have brough it to this story as well. Sowwy.

And yes, you really can use fan as a weapon. It's called Tessenjitsu or Art of the Iron Fan. There are many cool japanese legends on this subjects. Try googling it or something : )