Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

Some fluff in here for all of you guys! I'm trying not to develop their relationship too fast, so bear with me. Just a note (I keep forgetting if I put this or not) - all the names are taken from the manga, not the anime! Anyways, I'm on a roll with this, especially since I just finished another story, so I have a feelng this will definitely beat 10 chapters? Would you all like that? Well, I'll shut up now...

Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.

"Who's there?" she demanded softly, jolting awake later that night. Looking around uneasily at the darkness, with Tama on her stomach and the dying fire sputtering its last, she shifted around and realized Tasuki's coat had somehow gotten on her. Feeling something in the air around, she peered around and saw Chichiri laying flat on his back nearby, completely out cold. Getting the feeling he was drained of power for some reason, she decided not to wake him and noticed Tasuki sleeping against a tree father away, half-sitting up and snoring softly.

Gathering his jacket and her cloak, Kae shoved Tama off and made her over to Tasuki's side, and lay his jacket over him lightly. When he didn't even move she sat next to him and folded her legs to her side, pulling her cloak over her shoulders and yawning, still weak from her fever.

"He's an idiot, but…he's not…a bad guy…" she murmured, resting her head in the crook of his neck and snuggling closer, trying to get warm. Within moments she had fallen back asleep, with Tama now stretched out on Chichiri's head.

Tasuki shifted uncomfortably several hours later, becoming aware of a bothersome weight on his right side. Blearily opening his eye, the first thing he noticed was that no one was on guard – the second was that Kae wasn't where she had been when he had fallen asleep. As his brain tried to figure out what was going on, something caught the corner of his eye and he twisted his head around to look down at his side, only to see Kae cuddled against him. His mind slowly put the pieces together before the bandit figured out what had happened – at least, he figured out Kae hadn't been kidnapped and was instead sleeping on him for whatever reason.

"I thought she wasn't talkin' ta me," he muttered, trying to move his right arm from where it had fallen around her shoulders and realizing it had fallen asleep. "Damn it," he grumbled, and suddenly became aware of her limp arm resting on his upper right thigh. He blushed a bright red and gingerly moved it aside, only to have her shift. "This is even worse!" he growled quietly, praying Chichiri wouldn't wake up to see Kae, who was now hugging the bandit around his torso tightly. "This is ridiculous."

"You're so cute, no da," Chichiri said in quiet amusement, and Tasuki jumped in embarrassment and surprise.

"When'd ya wake up?" he demanded, forgetting to keep his voice down. Kae only mumbled something, but remained asleep. Chichiri glanced at her curiously before grinning at his companion, as Tama yawned on top of his head.

"Just now," the monk replied with a shrug, stretching lazily. "I wonder why she moved?" he wondered, and then poked Tasuki. "Aw, how cute. She gave you back her blanket, no da," he pointed out, and Tasuki finally noticed his jacket draped over his legs.

"Oh…oh, yeah," he stammered, and then glared at Chichiri. "Get 'er off me!"

"She must be work out from using so much power last night – and from whatever happened while she was asleep," Chichiri thought, ignoring his friend. "I must have fallen asleep, no da."

"Ya think?" Tasuki growled, and then – against his better judgment – began to beg in what can only be described as whining. "Chichiri…get 'er offa me!"

"Let her sleep," Chichiri told him, not-so-secretly taking amusement from his friend's predicament. "She needs it – and stop complaining so much. It could be worse, no da."

"Yeah? How?" the bandit demanded. Chichiri gave him a blank look, and his fellow Warrior groaned. "Cut that out!" he ordered, but paused when Kae's weight suddenly shifted and her arm dug into his ribcage. "Ow…"

"Mmm…" she murmured, cracking her eyes open only to see Tasuki eyeing her in annoyance. "Huh?" she blinked, and groaned when she realized her head felt like the time she had won the drinking contest with that guy at that bar and couldn't get out of bed the entire next day. "Ow…"

"Take it easy," Chichiri cautioned, moving to her side. "You're pretty drained of power, no da."

"Aren't you too?" she asked, and he peered at her.

"How did you know I used chi?"

"I…don't know," she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I just…I woke up during the night and everyone was asleep, and I just sensed you were drained. I thought I felt something in the air, and I didn't want to be alone, so…" she trailed off, she and her unenthusiastic pillow both turning red again.

"What happened last night, no da?" Chichiri asked, once she had straightened herself out and gotten her thoughts together.

"Suzaku…Suzaku talked to me," she said hesitantly, unsure whether they would believe her or not. After all, she wasn't even sure it had really happened.

"Go on," the monk nodded, seeing her pause.

"He said that Keung Xi-Wang summoned me here, but that Suzaku interfered and brought me to Konan instead," she began, all of it coming back in a rush. "He said Keung Xi-Wang is the spirit of desire that the gods locked away, and he's gaining more power. He als-" Kae stopped abruptly, leaving the two confused.

"Keung Xi-Wang must be the spirit Tai Yi-Jun told me about," Chichiri said thoughtfully after a few moments. "And that kanji on your body – it means servant."

"Suzaku said it means I'm a servant of the gods," she told them, and they could tell she was holding something back from them.

"What is it?" the young man prodded, while the bandit crossed his arms expectantly.

"Suzaku said…he said I'm destined to be a servant of the darkness," she said, her voice dropping below a whisper. "But he also said…it was possible to change that. He told me Keung Xi-Wang placed barriers around me so the gods couldn't help me, but Suzaku weakened them momentarily. He said that they'd help me – and then Keung Xi-Wang came."

"What did he say?" Chichiri asked, seeing a shudder run through her body.

"He called me his dark priestess," she told them reluctantly. "And then…then those creatures suddenly appeared and attacked me."

"What happened?"

"I…I don't know," she admitted. "They charged, and suddenly this bright light appeared and they disappeared. And then…I guess I stopped dreaming or whatever, because I don't remember anything that happened after that."

"You were running a high fever," Chichiri informed her, quickly processing the new information. "Your kanji was glowing – I believe it has the power to internally heal you. You were steadily growing worse when a bright light appeared briefly, and then you were back to normal. Perhaps that explains it all. So, Keung Xi-Wang is trying to cut off contact from the gods," he mused. "Not surprising. But I think that attacking you in your dream took a considerable amount of power, and if what Suzaku said about a barrier is true, than he must be pretty drained right now. I wouldn't worry about another attack any time soon, Kae."

"All right," she said, and jumped when Tasuki abruptly dropped his hand on her shoulder.

"Quit lookin' so depressed," he told her awkwardly, staring somewhere above her as a flush grew on his face. "We're goin' ta Ligé-San Mountain, aren't we? I thought ya wanted ta go there."

"Not if you're going to be nasty the entire way," she informed him, deliberately removing his hand from her with her fingertips.

"Whaddya mean?" he demanded, not noticing Chichiri creeping tactfully away.

"You've been making sarcastic comments ever since we left," Kae accused him, closing her eyes and turning away from the annoyed bandit. "You could at least pretend you don't hate me, instead of picking on me like you do."

"I don't hate you!" Tasuki exclaimed, and then clamped his jaw shut in embarrassment. She turned to him in surprise and peered at him suspiciously.

"Oh, you don't?"

"Women are too damn touchy," he grumbled, and Chichiri put his palm over his eyes and shook his head at his companion's idiocy. Tasuki saw a strange look pass over Kae's briefly, but then she glared at him and he promptly jumped when she punched him in the next moment.

"You're…you're an…an idiot!" she shrieked, stomping away from the grumbling bandit back toward the horses, and remained stroking the gelding's neck in stormy silence.

"Let's get going then, no da!" Chichiri said nervously, breaking the silence and helping Kae onto the mount. Tasuki jumped onto his own horse and strode ahead of them, pointedly ignoring Kae's presence, while she stared emptily to the side, a fact which didn't go unnoticed by the observant Warrior.

"There's more mist than usual – which means that we're drawing closer to the mountain region, if we're going higher up," Chichiri commented, and Kae nodded, not sensing anything odd about the mists' appearance. Tasuki hadn't spoken a word the entire time, and Chichiri was aware he was actually beginning to get creeped out by his friend's silence. "Tasuki, how long do you think until we reach your men?" he asked curiously, trying to get the bandit to talk, but he only grunted and looked away.

"Wow, this is really cold," Kae noticed, rubbing her palms up and down her arms, the cloak not doing much to keep her warm.

"We should be there soon, I think, no da," the monk told her sympathetically, feeling chilly himself. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and drew the reins tightly, stopping the horses in their tracks.

"Whatsa matter?" Tasuki demanded before he could stop himself, looking around nervously as well.

"Kobolds," Chichiri said shortly, dismounting and keeping his back to Kae. "It seems there's a lot of them, no da."

"Crap," the bandit complained, drawing his harisen. "I wanted ta get there as soon as possible – these bastards ain't getting in my way! Rekka Shin'en!" A rush of flame shot towards the figures in the trees around them, but a barrier seemed to have been erected to dissipate their abilities. "Not again!" Tasuki groaned, remembering when Nakago had done the same thing.

"Get down!" Chichiri yelled, and his mask fell off as he fell on top of Kae, knocking them both onto the ground as a kobold shot above them, snarling. "Are you okay?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"Y-yeah…Chichiri, you're bleeding!" she realized in dismay, seeing the scratches on his back.

"It's nothing," he said, giving her a nervous smile at the same time.

"This ain't the time fer chit-chat!" Tasuki yelled, using his harisen to guard against the attacks. "How many of these things are there?"

"Hand the medium to us, and we might let you live," one of the kobolds rasped as Chichiri and Kae got to their feet, and Chichiri put a hand out in front of Kae protectively.

"No!"

"Then we will kill you," it informed them, and the monsters rushed the trio. Chichiri used his powers to erect a barrier, but the spells of the monsters were strengthened by the spirit and they managed to break through it within moments. To everyone's shock, however, the kobolds became trapped in the mist itself merely feet from the Warriors, and Chichiri whirled around to see Kae's eyes closed and her kanji glowing through her clothes.

"Don't do it! You're too weak!" he shouted, shaking her to try to snap her out of it. It was useless, and Tasuki flinched as the mist tightened around the creatures before slicing them into countless pieces of meat. Wiping blood off his face, Chichiri released Kae and looked down at her, noticing she was free from blood or any injury.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Tasuki demanded, moving closer. Without warning her kanji suddenly stopped glowing and she returned to reality, stumbling and grinning weakly at Chichiri when the monk caught her to keep her from falling.

"You're lucky you're not dead, no da," he informed her solemnly, and she nodded as she braced herself on his shoulder to stand upright.

"I know – I didn't do it on purpose, sort of," she apologized. "It just happened before I knew what was going."

"Well, we should get movin' before the bastards come back," Tasuki interrupted, mounting his horse impatiently. Chichiri nodded in agreement and sat Kae in front of him securely as they began to canter forward through the forest.

"Still cold?" the monk asked a few minutes later, as she lay heavily against his chest, her eyelids drooping and her hands rubbing her arms again.

"A little," she admitted wearily, after yawning. "I'm just tired now…" Chichiri nodded and fell silent, and they continued a few moments longer when something suddenly dropped onto Kae's head, surprising both her and the monk.

Tasuki moved his horse farther away in embarrassment, not looking as Kae adjusted his jacket over her wordlessly and pressed closer to the monk for warmth, quickly falling asleep peacefully.

"You shouldn't act like that, Tasuki," Chichiri told him quietly once he was sure she was asleep.

"Like what?" he asked roughly, and his companion noticed the bandit's red cheeks in amusement.

"Be nice to her and then be nasty," he said calmly. "She has to trust us, and we need to learn to get along with her if we're going to stop Keung Xi-Wang from destroying Konan and the other countries."

"I know."

"She reminds me a little of Miaka," Chichiri continued thoughtfully, catching Tasuki's attention since he still didn't have his mask back on.

"Yeah? How?"

"Her aura…but this burden might be too much for her to handle alone," the monk told him. "That's why we should try to be friends, just like with Miaka. It's our duty to Suzaku."

"There's Ligé-San Mountain there," Chichiri pointed out that morning, as the mist began to dissipate underneath the warm gaze of the rising sun.

"Wow – it's huge," Kae managed, staring in awe at the looming mountain before them. "It's pretty, too," she added, and Tasuki grunted in indignation.

"Who're ya calling pretty?" he asked. "It's a bandit lair, for Suzaku's sake! It ain't pretty! Somethin' like Daichi-San is 'pretty'!"

"If you say so," she shrugged carelessly, apparently still ignoring the bandit. Chichiri knew better, however, when he saw her smirk when Tasuki stammered angrily and began to argue violently with her about 'his' mountain being called 'pretty'.

"Those two…I wonder what Knei-Gong will have to say about it?" Chichiri wondered suddenly, knowing Tasuki was looking forward to being back among his friends and fellow bandits – and the sake.

As they drew closer the foothills of the mountain, Kae suddenly shivered involuntarily and Chichiri glanced down at her.

"Daa?"

"I got this weird feeling all of a sudden…" she tried to explain, and he nodded understandingly.

"We must have passed into the wards around Ligé-San Mountain," he told them, sighing in relief. "We'll be relatively safe here for a while."

"Relatively?" Tasuki repeated suspiciously, and Chichiri turned to grin at his fellow Warrior, who had retrieved his jacket only moments before.

"Well, compared to how defenseless we were before…"

"You don't have a clue, do you," Tasuki stated, and Chichiri shrugged calmly.

"Tai Yi-Jun thought it'd be a good idea as well," he informed them, and drew the reins in as several men suddenly stepped into their path, led by a taller one who peered at them for a moment before grinning widely.

"Huan-Lang! It's been years!"

"Knei-Gong! I haven't been gone that long!" Tasuki replied, as the two began their usual 'greeting dance'.

"What the hell is that?" Kae asked, stupefied by the scene before them, as Chichiri laughed and casually removed his mask.

"It's a thing they do, I think, no da," he explained, and she shook her head in amazement.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he was ga–" Kae was interrupted when a bandit suddenly swung her down from the horse and from Chichiri's grasp, grinning good-naturedly at her.

"So, yer the one who caused Huan-Lang so much trouble?" he asked, as another peered over his shoulder curiously.

"Uh…" Kae hesitated nervously, and jumped when a third slapped her soundly on the shoulder with a roar of laughter.

"Good fer you!" he announced, and the first slung his arm around her shoulders casually.

"What's yer name again?" he asked.

"Kae," she said, beginning to feel comfortable with the men already and knowing they must be all right, since Chichiri was now playing with Tama, as the cat sat on his head and stuck his tail down Chichiri's shirt.

"Well, pleasure ta meet ya. Damn, Huan-Lang's got all the luck, getting the pretty chicks," the second shook his head in despair, and Kae began to laugh at their expressions, ignoring their insinuations. Meanwhile, Knei-Gong and Tasuki had stopped their…dancing…and returned to being comparatively normal, and Knei-Gong noted with interest Tasuki's look when he saw his men hanging around Kae like they were. Kae, concentrating on trying to understand the bandits' talk, squeaked in surprise when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her to his chest possessively and resting his arm across her collar bone. Chichiri looked up in surprise, and couldn't refrain from grinning at her expression when she realized it was Tasuki.

"He-hey, boss!" the first man greeted him, as they waited to see what 'boss' was going to do. Tasuki merely gave them a stern look and continued to hold Kae as he grinned cheerfully at them.

"Yo! Been a while – ya better have all behaved for Knei-Gong while I was gone," he said warningly, his wide grin undermining his attempt at being stern with his men. Knei-Gong knuckled him from behind, and Tasuki winced before kicking his friend off, still managing to keep a firm grip on a now-squirming Kae.

"We should get going the main building, shouldn't we?" Chichiri finally pointed, and the entire group of bandits simultaneously 'Ohh-ed' before turning around and racing down the path eagerly, leaving Chichiri with both horses and Kae, whom he had pulled from Tasuki's grasp at least.

"Gee, thanks," she muttered, as he heaved her up in front of him and tied the reins of Tasuki's mount to his own reins. "Are they for real?" she asked curiously, as the two began to catch up with the bandits.

"Daa."

"Oh god," she groaned, hiding her face in her hands, but a giggle escaped her lips, causing Chichiri to burst out laughing.

I couldn't resist...I can imagine Tasuki getting all possessive, can't you? And Knei-Gong's back! I love that guy...And no, Chichiri is not going to have romantic feelings for Kae, and vice-versa. I like to think that he considers her like a good friend, or a younger sister, or something of the sort. But no romance - this is purely Tasuki/OC! Please review!