Hi guys!

The new chapter is finally up!

Sorry for the long update…

Phew! I was working really, really hard with this one.

So I hope you guys will enjoy it.

Disclaimers: I don't own Fushigi Yugi Yu Watase does. But Akina and everyone else I make up are mine!

Please review!

And here's the story!

Chapter seven: Late night visits

In Kuto's palace the general was wide-awake in his room and staring at the moon, thinking about the battle that had taken place only a few hours ago in the courtyard. And about a particular person that invaded his mind from time to time.

" Heh, she sure was cocky for such a small girl… Spiting me in the face, and biting my tongue…

It will be really interesting to see how long I can mock her before she finally breaks down…" He made an evil smirk as he pictured her, begging him to stop tormenting her.

Nakago stood by the moonlit window and turned his eyes towards the place where the Suzaku warriors had been trapped inside the scared Seiryu barrier not to long ago.

It had taken several of hours for him to make that scared barrier and those wretched warriors of Suzaku destroyed it in less than 30 minutes like it was made of thin paper.

He hit the wall in frustration and growled loudly. To anyone that could hear him thru the walls, he sounded like a very angry bull on the rampage inside the room.

" Damn it! If he had not interrupted then we would have got rid of the Suzaku no miko and a few of her warriors. And Tamahome is completely useless!

Can't kill two weak warriors on his own…much less a single girl…" He thought and hit the wall once again with much more force than the first blow.

Then suddenly a knock on the door interrupted his angry behavior and Nakago turned his attention to it.

" Who dare to interrupt me at this time of night? " He asked and did not bother to hide the venom dripping in his voice.

He had specifically ordered everyone to keep way from him and his room this night.

The door opened up and revealed nothing but darkness behind it. A chilly wind swept into the room and blew out the candles that were lightening up the room.

A very low and cold voice greeted him as the shadow slowly began to move inside the room towards the general.

" So we finally meet, general Nakago…" The voice whispered to him as the door closed behind it and the darkness was now covering the entire room. Except for the small spot in front of the window where Nakago was standing.

Nakago's eyes narrowed as he tried to locate chi from the thing that was inside the room. But he could not feel anything though the dark shadow was right in front of him. Which confused him greatly. A small laugh then reached his ears and for some reason it send chills done his entire back.

" What's the matter Nakago? Afraid of the darkness perhaps, or do you fear what lies in wait inside of it? " The voice asked and began to chuckle at the Seiryu warrior who only stared emotionless towards the darkness as he spoke.

" Who are you, and how did you get past my guards and the seals around the castle? " He asked and tried once again to feel the shadow's chi. No reply immediately reached his ears, but another small chuckle did.

" You do not need to know my name yet general… And your warriors are not sharp enough to detect my presence so I can come and go as I wish. As for the seals… I've seen better."

" What do you want? " The seishi asked and turned his head in the direction from where he believed the voice had come from. Another laugh was greeting him at his futile attempts.

" Stop that will you? You can't feel my chi unless I let you. " The voice replied coldly.

" I ask you again, what do you want? " Nakago demanded, as the darkness continued to watch him in silence. The shadow then began to speak again after a few moments of silence.

" Since you're obviously are slightly " ineffective " when it comes to defeating the Suzaku seishi's. I've come to offer some of my assistance…" Nakago growled at the remark as the shadow continued to speak.

" But of course I want something in return for it." Nakago knitted his eyebrows together and waited for the shadow to continue.

" I'll help you, by aiding your warriors to eliminate the Suzaku seven."

" What kind of help do you offer, Shadow? " Nakago asked as he let his curiosity take the upper hand of him. And the shadow replied calmly.

" When the time comes to act, I'll send you something to aid you… Do we have a deal? " The shadow asked as it reached out a dark tentacle to shake Nakago's hand.

" And what do you ask for as payment for your services, Shadow? " Nakago asked while he eyed the tentacle that was stretched out for him.

" In return, all I want is for you and everyone who serves you to keep away their hands from the small girl called Akina. That's all I want for now." The Shadow replied and reached out the arm further.

The Seiryu seishi looked at the tentacle in total disgust but took it to seal the bargain. As soon as Nakago and the shadow sealed the agreement, he quickly withdrew his hand and began to speak.

" How do I contact you when I need you then? And what do you want with that little brat? " The general asked suspiciously.

He decided that he would not trust this newcomer until he saw proof of loyalty to the bargain that they has just sealed.

" It's none of your business, general. And I'll return when the time is right, so farewell for now, don't forget your part of the bargain. Or there will be consequences…" With that said the shadow disappeared into a poof of smoke and left no trace of it self behind.

Maybe he would have a real chance to win this war now, with the help of this thing.

Nakago smirked and turned around to face the moon once again as his mind began to drift off into space. The smirk never left his face a single time.

" This could prove to be pretty interesting…"

Back in Konan…

Chichiri had spent the next couple of hours with the other Suzaku warriors and telling them about everything they went through in Kuto.

He told them everything from Nakago and Yui's appearance at the meeting place and until the finally got away from the Seiryu warrior's trap.

Chichiri was careful to not mention anything about Akina's traumatic experience.

" I think it's best to not tell the others about it. Akina can tell them if she want to. But it's better then that they hear it from her than from me.

So I don't upset her by saying something she doesn't want them to know." He thought and then finished his report.

" When we felt Chiriko's flute pierce through the barrier with the help of everyone's chi, we took the opportunity to escape. And now we're here no da…." He said and watched the other warrior's reactions to the report.

His fellow warriors had gasped in horror at the cruelty of Tamahome, when they were told that he was the one who broke Miaka's arm. And they could not believe that he tried to kill Tasuki, Chichiri and an innocent girl.

Hotohori looked like he was going to have a heart attack and his face expression was reflected on the others faces too when Chichiri finally seemed to be done.

The young emperor finally spoke up after a few moments when his voice seemed stable and met the well seishi's gaze.

" So there is no hope for us to get Tamahome back here? Is that what you're telling me Chichiri? " He asked as the monk frowned and nodded slightly.

Hotohori let out sigh in agony and cupped his face into his hands. He could feel that panic was trying to overwhelm his mind.

" This can't be happening! What are we going to do? We going to do, we cannot summon Suzaku without the ogre seishi and Miaka can't go home without performing the ceremony…" He sighed again and lifted up his face and met the other seishi's gaze.

" Thank you Chichiri, was that all you had to report to me? " He asked. The monk did not reply right away, but after a few moments he nodded and began to speak.

" I think… I should tell you guys about something else that happened over at Kuto…." He said and Hotohori motioned for him to continue. Chichiri swallowed a lump in his throat and spoke again.

" It's about Akina, your highness."

" Akina? What about her Chichiri? " The emperor asked slightly confused since Mitzukake already informed him about the girls wounds.

" Akina displayed some kind of power while we were fighting the enemies…" Chichiri said.

He then told them again about when Tamahome tried to strangle him. And how Akina had screamed at Tamahome to get away from him.

He had then felt strong chi surround her aura before it burst away from her body. And hit both Nakago and Tamahome with full force in their faces.

The others looked stunned; they had not felt any kind of power radiating from Akina while she was in their company. So hearing this new information about her confused them a little.

" Akina can use chi blasts? " Nuriko asked and waited for Chichiri to answer him, as did everyone else.

" No, it was not a chi blast… But maybe it was a shockwave or something, I do not know no da…." Came the answer.

Mitzukake tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

" But how come that you did not get hurt when you were standing right in front of Tamahome? Why did the blast not affect you to? " The healer asked. Chichiri could only shrug.

" I don't know Mitzukake no da, maybe it only was supposed to hurt those she was upset with… But I really don't know. Maybe we should ask Tai-Yi Jun no da…"

This lead them all back to the discussion from earlier today, about Akina maybe was a Seishi or a Miko. They debated about the subject for quite some time until Chiriko interrupted.

" You did not happen to se a mark appear anywhere on her body Chichiri? " He asked and waited for the older seishi to reply.

" No I did not Chiriko… I was a little preoccupied with Tamahome at that moment so I did never get a chance to look for a mark or anything else for that matter." Chichiri said and unconsciously touched his throat where the fresh marks of the Nunchaku were visible.

" But what are we going to do then? " Nuriko asked. No one answered and looked away in different directions.

Hotohori then cleared his throat and everyone's attention was turned back to him as he began to speak.

" I think I know a way to find out if she is either a priestess or a seishi."

" We can bring her to the Suzaku shrine. If she has a mark it should begin to glow at the presence of the beast god statue." Hotohori informed them.

Everyone seemed to approve the idea, but Chichiri felt a bit uneasy about it.

" And if she is neither a seishi or miko. What will happen to her then no da?" He asked as his thoughts wandered to the sleeping girl.

" We'll see what to do with her later then…" Chichiri did not like the tune of Hotohori's voice.

If Hotohori would drive away Akina, or decided to kill her what would he do?

Chichiri did not get much time to think about it since Hotohori then rose from his throne and motioned for everyone else to rise up.

" Don't worry about it Chichiri, I'm sure everything will work out just fine… Well everyone, I'm going to turn in now so we'll bring her to the shrine tomorrow." He said and walked away from all of them towards his private chambers.

Chichiri watched as everyone followed Hotohori's example but he himself stayed put for a while.

" What am I supposed to do? I have sworn to protect Miaka since it is my duty as a Suzaku seishi. And I've also vowed to protect Akina…" Chichiri felt that he was standing between two sides. Between his miko and friends, and a girl that he only had known in a day and a half.

" Oh Suzaku, this is a fine mess I've gotten myself into…." He thought as he also started to head back to his room. He would have to meditate on this and decide what he should do.

Inside another room in the palace…

Tasuki was lying in his room and was extremely grumpy; Mitzukake had healed Miaka and Akina first but had told him that he could not heal Tasuki until the next morning.

" WHY THE HELL COULDN'T HE HAVE HEALED ME FIRST? " He yelled in frustration.

" And Kouji, couldn't he have kept me company? " He wondered. The blue-haired bandit had walked off saying he was tired and was going to hit the sack.

He also told Tasuki to get some sleep and not try to get up until next morning.

" Damn it! If Mitzukake had not tied me up like this I could have walked into the kitchen and take a bottle of sake to keep me company until next morning…"

Tasuki was staring into the ceiling and suddenly his mind was brought back to the battle with Tamahome.

" If I ever get my hands on that bastard again. I swear I'll kill him! Hurting our miko is an unforgivable act! " He growled and thought about when Chichiri managed to get Tamahome away from him.

Tasuki had been completely helpless in Tamahome's grasp and nearly died of suffocation. But thanks to Chichiri he had been saved and was still breathing air.

" He's a great friend… Always there when you need him the most." Tasuki thought and then reached up his hand to his head. He poked at the bandaged and hissed loudly when the wound started to ache a little. He added some pressure above his wound to ease the pain he felt.

" Ouch… damn it. Can't it be morning soon so I can get up? " He asked out loud and tried to sit up by using his elbows.

" Can't you sleep Tasuki? " A soft voice asked him.

Tasuki jumped two feet up in the air. He immediately turned his attention to the door and his guest.

He eyes widened as he saw his miko standing in front of the door watching him with an amused smile on her lips.

" Miaka! What are you thinking; you should be in your bed and rest! Mitzukake will not be happy if he finds out that you did not stay in your bed." The bandit scolded while Miaka approached him.

She pulled out a chair that stood in a corner and sat down beside him while gazing at his wounds.

Feelings of guilt started to bubble inside of her as she saw all the bandaged he had wrapped around his head and body.

Tasuki noticed this and waved at her telling her that he was just fine.

" I'm fine Miaka so don't worry about me! It will take more than someone as Tamahome to bring me down! " He stated and ruffled her hair with his good hand.

" I'm sorry Tasuki… If I had been so stupid to run off on my own to find Tamahome, you would not lay here wounded because of me." She said and felt her eyes sting with tears. Tasuki frowned; he could not stand when girls were crying so he tried to cheer her up.

" Hey Miaka… Please don't cry." He said as he reached out his right hand and cupped her cheek, while he let his thumb wipe away a lone tear from her face.

" It wasn't your fault Miaka so don't blame yourself for it. You did not know that Tamahome would try to kill all of us." His reply made Miaka only cry more and Tasuki's frown grew bigger.

" Way to go Tasuki! All you did was upsetting her more than she already was!" He mentally growled at himself. Miaka reached up her own hands to Tasuki's and just held it as she continued to cry.

She sniffed and then caresses his hand so gently that he almost wanted to purr like Tama when he was being petted. She sniffed one more time before trying to speak.

" I-it's m-my fault… Everyone gets hurt because of me. Chichiri, Akina and you, umph!" Was all she got to say before she was pulled down onto Tasuki's chest. Miaka felt that she was blushing furiously. He began to softly hush her and cradled her up closer against his chest.

" I told you it wasn't your fault, so don't say it was. No I'm serious Miaka so don't question me about that okay? " He said when she tried to talk back.

" Don't spill anymore tears for that idiot, Miaka, he does not deserve it." He said while petting her hair. The miko shuddered and snuggled her face into Tasuki's chest as she tried to stop crying.

Both of them were lying like that for some time, until Miaka finally stopped crying. Instead of being sad she was now feeling rather warm and sleepy.

" He feels so warm… oh my god am I blushing? It seems it's good to cry your eyes out sometime, but I hope I did not offend Tasuki by laying on him like this…" She thought as her eyes was getting too heavy to keep open.

" Thank you Tasuki…, you're so kind to me…" she mumbled against his chest and slowly drifted off to sleep. Tasuki heard that her breathing had slowed down and he gently shook her a little.

" Miaka? …….Heh, she fell asleep from all the crying…" He smiled warmly at his miko and grabbed the blanket that was lying beneath his feet.

He pulled it up and covered both of them with it. And sneaked his arm around her waist to keep her close to his body.

" Good night Miaka…" he said and placed a small kiss on her forehead before he closed his eyes while his head rested on hers.

And soon both of them drifted of to sleep, unknown of the presence of someone that had been watching the whole scene from the beginning to the end. A small warm smile played on the young mans lips. But also emotions of defeat played in his heart.

" Take good care of her Tasuki… She's going to need you now. " Hotohori carefully closed the door and walked away. This time he really was going to his chambers.

Inside Akina's room…

While Akina was sleeping, blissfully unaware of the heated discussion about her, but Kouji had been keeping an eye over her the entire time. He had heard from Mitzukake about her horrible twisted ankle and bruises so he went to check up on her.

But when he almost had reached her room he bumped into Chichiri on the way. He told Kouji that he had just come from Akina's room and that she was now sleeping. Kouji thanked him and said that he would watch over her until she woke up.

Kouji felt very attached to the girl every since the first time he met her and he felt that it was his responsibility to watch over her and comfort her if she needed it.

" Nakago will pay dearly for hurting her like that! " He growled, as he thought of the enemy general and brushed away a few bangs that kept falling down into Akina's face all the time.

Akina mumbled in her sleep and grasped her hand tight around the pillow.

" Heh, I feel like some kind of big brother here… Watching over his sick little sister who's having a nasty cold or something." Kouji thought and smiled as he saw that Akina began to stir in her sleep.

" You're awake now? " He asked the sleepy girl tried to focus her eyes on him. She sat up and yawned loudly.

" Kouji… what are you doing in here? It's in the middle of the night! " She said as she looked outside thru the window.

Kouji only smiled and ruffled her hair in an affectionate way and chuckled slightly at her.

" I've been watching over you while you were sleeping. I wanted to make sure that I was here when you would wake up if you needed someone to talk to…" He replied. Akina gave him a bright smile and shook her head.

" Don't worry about it Kouji, I'm fine now, see? " She said and pulled away the blanket a little so he could see her ankle. There was no sign any bruises or anything else left on it. Kouji was amazed at the healer's magnificent healing powers.

" Wow, Mitzukake sure did a good job! His power certainly comes in handy! " Kouji said while he carefully poked at her ankle. Akina only giggled and then covered her feet with the blanket again.

" You're sure that it is nothing else that you want to tell me Akina? " Kouji asked as he studied her face expression. The bright smile remained on her lips as she once again shook her head.

" No Kouji, but I will talk to you if there is anything. I promise."

Satisfied he smiled and ruffled her hair some more. Akina growled playfully and launched a punch on his shoulder.

" Ya know, it feels like I'm playing with a younger sister… And i do certainly think of you in that way." Akina immediately stopped punching him and gave him a confused look.

" You think of me as a little sister? " She asked and watched the smiling bandit leader. He nodded and then caressed her cheek. Akina blushed and looked down for a moment on the blanket, before she turned up her gaze towards Kouji as he began to speak again.

"So what do you say? Mind if I call you sis? " He asked and frowned as he saw her teary eyes.

" What is she crying for? Did I upset her?" Kouji wondered as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

He was about to apologize when she threw herself around his neck. Kouji yelped in surprise and almost fell off the chair in the process.

She nodded against his neck and then gazed up into his face with such happy expression that it made Kouji feel quite happy too on the inside.

" Of course you can call me sis! I would be really happy if you did! Oh thank you Kouji, you have no idea how much this mean to me…" She said and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. A faint blush showed up on Kouji's face.

" Aww, he is blushing! How cute! " Akina said while she patted him on the head and laughed. Kouji then rose up and told Akina to get some rest before he walked to the door.

" It's a new day tomorrow so we can talk some more then, okay? " He said and Akina agreed with him.

He stopped in front of it and glanced back to her and said.

" Good night sis! Sleep tight! "

" Good night big brother! " Kouji flashed her a bright smile and then he closed the door and walked off.

But Akina had no intention to go to sleep again yet. She quickly jumped out from her bed and peeked outside. Kouji had just disappeared around the corner and no one else was in sight, so she quickly slipped outside the door and closed it.

" One more visit to the garden before I go to sleep! " She thought and smiled as she walked off.

Akina reached the garden after what seemed forever and walked down to the pond to sit down by the tree trunk.

" What a beautiful night… No cold wind is blowing and the moon reflects like a diamond on the pond's water. This truly is a great place! " She thought and sighed happily and leaned back against the tree trunk and relaxed all her muscles.

" It was really sweet of Kouji to offer to be my big brother. He is such a nice guy." She smiled and gazed over the pond. Her mind then drifted off as she stared out into space.

" I wonder what the others are doing… Probably sleeping by now. And maybe Chichiri is asleep to by now…" Akina felt her mind slowly drift off into the darkness as sleep claimed her.

Palace hallway…

" Daa? Where is she? " Chichiri had stopped by Akina's room to check up on her before he would go to his room and meditate, but found no sight of the girl inside her bedroom. Maybe someone from Kuto had come back for her while he was with Hotohori and the others.

These thought worried him so he immediately began to scan the palace for her life force. He relaxed as he felt her chi in the garden.

" Why is she there at this time of hour no da? She should be staying in bed and rest her ankle! " He thought as he wandered off to find the young girl. He reached the garden about fifteen minutes later and immediately spotted Akina. He was about to call out to her when he suddenly noticed how beautiful she looked.

She was sitting under the Sakura tree where they both had talked with each other for a while before they went to Kuto. Her long white hair was shining like silver as the moon's ray's caressed it.

She was only wearing her yellow nightgown and had no shoes on her feet. Worried that she might get a cold he walked over to her and shook her shoulders slightly,

" Akina! Time to wake up no da! " Akina opened her eyes and glanced at Chichiri as he was kneeling right in front of her with a small smile on his mask.

" Chichiri? What are you doing out here? " She asked

" I should be asking the same thing no da! Mitzukake told you to get some rest no da." He scolded her. She only smiled in response.

" I could not stay in there when it was so beautiful outside! " She said and waved her hand in a gesturing manner at the pond and the sky. And Chichiri had to agree with her, it certainly was a beautiful night.

" But the moon's got competition with Akina's beauty… DAA? Where did that come from? Every time I am around her strange thoughts creep into my mind…"He rose up to his feet and put his hands around her waist to help her up. Akina blushed as his hands embraced her and pulled her up to her feet.

" Thanks Chichiri!" She said and smiled brightly at him as the moonlight landed across her face. Chichiri mentally gasped, the moon seemed to light up her eyes. Those big light blue eyes glanced in a strong and bright color and they reflected light like two bright stars.

Akina blushed even more when he just stared at her like that and not saying anything.

" Umm, Chichiri? Weren't we going back inside? " She asked and the monk snapped out from his trance state.

" Huh? Oh sorry no da. Of course we are come on! " He replied as he took of his Kesa and put it around her shoulders. And if it was possible, Akina was redder than a tomato now.

" It's so you won't get cold no da." He said as she looked up at him. Akina smiled and reached up her face and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

" You're so sweet…" She whispered against his ear and then pulled back as they both began to walk away. And if Akina could have seen thru his mask, she would have seen the two pink patches on the monk's cheeks.

" You're welcome no da." He replied as they reached the bridge over the pond.

And as both of them disappeared out of sight a shadow rose up from the roof and jumped down from it and disappeared.

" Sleep tight Akina and Chichiri… For tomorrow I'll be back. Count on that! "

Hi again!

So what did you guys think?

Was it good?

Which scene did you guys like the most?

I'll keep typing on chapter eight now so until next time see ya guys!

I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Don't forget to review!

Love ya all!