Alatáriël: Hey everyone! I'm armed with a rostbeef sandwich, my geometry book, and a dictionary...

Bring on the lawyers! I can take 'em!

Kate:... Suuuuure you can, and I'm able to shoot rays of light out of my pupils.

Alatáriël: Really! That's so cool!

Kate: --;; Alatáriël, just say the disclaimers.

Alatáriël: Glances madly from left to right Never! Chiri is MIIIINE!

Chichiri: Raises an eyebrow as Alatáriël slowly pulls a cattle prod out of cyber space

Kate: Run Chiri! I'll cover you!

Chichiri runs of stage, chased my Alatáriël, whom has Kate attached to her waist

Kate: RUN CHIRI! RUN!

Chichiri: Daaaa!

Alatáriël: YOU'LL BE MINE SOON ENOUGH! JUST YOU WAIT!

Chapter 28: Departure of the Monk

Kate suddenly found her hands very interesting, where Condor was squirming around trying to get

free. "Good morning...", Kate greeted before an awkward silence. Finally Chichiri spoke up, "So, no

da, is this a friend of yours?"

Blinking, Kate looked down at Condor, the puppy she had recently saved from a wanna be fry-cook.

"Er... This is Condor, a dog I...er... acquired while heading here... Did you know people eat dogs here?",

she asked.

Chichiri rose an eyebrow. He decided right now was not the best time to tell her what Hotohori's

favorite dish to serve at the palace was, "Yes, no da... Is there something wrong with dogs, no da?"

Chichiri then noticed how she seemed to turn green at his words.

"Ah... Well, in America people don't generally eat dogs... They are more like companions... Pets...",

she said uneasily. Chichiri took note of this, "So that's why you have the dog, no da? Some one

tried to eat it?" Kate seemed to blush even harder, "Heh... yeah, sorta..."

Kate moved to sit next to Chichiri. "May I see him, no da?", Chichiri asked. Kate nodded and handed

Condor over. "I think his leg is broken, no da", Chichiri informed her, confirming her suspicions.

"I thought --", Kate was cut off as Chichiri held up his hand to signal silence and handed Condor

over to her. "Let me try something, no da"

She took the dog, and frowned at Chichiri for cutting her off, but didn't say anything as Chichiri seemed

in deep concentration. His sat indian-style, his mask formed scrunched up eyebrows, and Kate suddenly

felt like a storm was near. There seemed to be an electrical current in the air that forced the hairs on

the back of her neck to stand on end.

She immediately thought of a thunder storm and looked up in fear, they were near a river after all, but

there wasn't a grey cloud in sight. Then she saw it: a green glow coming from Chichiri's still form. Her

eyes widened, 'What is this?'

Suddenly the green aura surrounding Chichiri reached out from his out-stretched hand he had kept

up after silencing her. Kate watched in half horror and half awe as the green force wrapped around

her own arms and up to the puppy they contained.

She feared for a moment the green force might harm them, but her fears were put to rest as she felt

it creep up her arms. The power she could only describe as chi (or ki) was flowing like water, and

very strong, but seemed harmless. Kate found out she couldn't move her arms where the energy

touched, but she could wiggle her fingers.

"Uh...", Kate began, but stopped when she saw Chichiri's eyebrows twitch and his aura flared.

Suddenly Condor yelped in pain and Kate let out a shriek in alarm, and tried to pull back her arms

in surprise. "Chichiri!", she gasped and his eyes suddenly snapped open.

The aura vanished just like that. Kate yanked Condor into her arms, and stared at the little puppy in

her arms... who just decided to 'water the flowers' on her. She "ugh!"ed and dropped him without

thinking before gasping at her carelessness at dropping a poor, wounded, evil little pup on the ground...

but then she noticed he was wagging his tail and running toward the river.

"Wha?", she asked, confused. She wanted to yell at Chichiri for not warning her of his plans, but..Kate

looked up to Chichiri, but found him holding a hand over his mouth. His shoulders were shaking.

"Are you laughing at me?", Kate attempted in annoyance but couldn't hide the smile from her lips.

"Yes, no da", Chichiri choked out in a laugh.

"It's not funny!", Kate insisted as she got up and walked to the river to wash off her hands and arms,

promising herself an extra large dinner when they got back. "I'm sorry, Kate-chan. Are you alright, no

da?", Chichiri replied, still laughing despite his effort to contain it. Kate laughed in spite of herself, "Oh,

I think I'll survive."

Conrad jumped around the river, looking extremely proud of himself. Kate snorted, "At least

someone's happy." She then smiled at Chichiri sheepishly, "Do you mind if we finish this conversation

at the Inn?... After I've had a bath?"

Chichiri nodded eagerly as he stood up, "Of course, no da. Ha ha ha. I'll get your lunch. You go

ahead, no da!" Kate rose both eyebrows at the lunch bit, but laughed when she saw him grinning evilly

at her.

"Fine! I'll do that", she said with a smug smile and jogged off, toward the Inn. 'Well, worse things have

happened' , she thought as she ran along. Sure, it wasn't half as bad as changing a little baby boy for

the first time (there seems to be some automatic response for them to water the flowers when they are

in the middle of a change), but while changing babies it was unlikely for an extremely swoon worthy

guy to be watching... They tended to shy away from that sorta thing.

As she neared the Inn she noticed Josh leaning against a nearby building eating a fruit of some kind

and talking to a young couple. As he noticed her running up he grinned at her, "How'd it go?" Kate

scratched her head, "Eh heh... I need a bath."

Josh's mind rose it's eyebrows curiously and Kate knew it. However, Kate, feeling mischievous, just

smiled. "I'll see you later. When Chichiri comes by tell him to go to the room, ok?", Kate asked. Josh

nodded and Kate headed toward the Inn.

When she was out of sight Josh turned toward the young couple he had been talking to, slightly worried.

'I wonder what happened?', he thought uneasily.

Meanwhile Kate had found the location of the built in bath house that was kept in the back of the

first floor (with the help of the innkeeper). There was only one small tub, but it was empty and free

for her to use. After grabbing her backpack, and locating a half-empty bottle of shampoo, she headed

down.

The Innkeeper promised to guard the door, making Kate feel slightly uncomfortable, but she was

desperate for a bath so she didn't complain. The bathroom was constructed of only a bath, which was

fueled by an irrigation channel from a branch of the very river she had been sitting at just half an hour

ago.

She was given hot rocks by the innkeeper from the oven to warm the water, and she couldn't help but

marvel at the ingenious of it all. When she thought of ancient cultures she rarely associated them with

hot baths, but on the other hand Miaka had bathed in a huge pool in the palace...

And yet she couldn't help but feel suddenly out of her league as she eased into the water. 'What do

I truly know about this world: a place where dogs are potential food, baths are a luxury, and I have

no way of making a living?... What good am I?', she thought as she read over the back of the shampoo

bottle to see if it was environmentally friendly.

In the end she came up with a decision. It might have been foolish, but she didn't care. She put the

bottle back. "You'll have to learn how to survive in this world by their means... No more cheating.

You wash by their rules, eat by their rules, and assimilate into their culture...", she told herself, though

she admitted to herself there was one exception to this rule.

She was well aware her 'time of the month' was on its way. She'd been getting cramps for the last

few days, and knew it was only a matter of time, and when that time came she would be damned

if she was going to change to RAGS right away, but she'd have to work at it.

Sighing to herself, and trying to ignore the stress her thoughts provided, she sunk deeper into the luke

warm water. She could hear the Inn keeper on the other side of the door, humming as he chopped

up something as he cooked. He hummed a happy tune that made Kate smile. If he could be happy

with his life here, so could she... rags or no rags.

She had Josh and Chichiri, and a purpose. That was a lot more than most people had, more than she

had ever had, and it put her mind at ease. After all, everything worth having in life required sacrifice,

nothing was free... and if this was one of those things... so be it.

Kate stayed in the water, thinking, until the water began to turn cold. Then she dried herself off and

dawned her old pants and a clean shirt. She'd have to wash her clothing soon...

Now fully dressed, she left the bathroom, was given a cup of tea, and was sent to her room. She

knocked before entering and was greeted by a "Come in, no da!" She opened the door and saw

Chichiri straighten up, and look at her intently. "Sorry I took so long", she apologized as she sat her

backpack down on her bed and sat her cup on the table. "It's alright, no da... We should get doing

tomorrow morning to meet up with the others, no da. It would be good for all of us to be clean and

refreshed for the journey across the desert."

Kate saw an opening for a much needed subject and took it, "Yes, and I think it would be best if we

... settled things before we meet up with Miaka and the others." Chichiri nodded, making eye contact.

Both of them were nervous as to what the other was thinking, but there was a determined air also.

Kate walked over to where Chichiri was sitting and knelt down, so she was on her knees. She felt her

heart pound as she took both his hands in hers, fighting to keep eye contact. "I want to apologize for

my...advances last night. I didn't know what I was doing, and I'm sorry if I offended you in anyway.

That was not my intention", Kate began politely.

Chichiri felt his heart sink at her words, "What do you mean?" Kate in took a breath, and closed her

eyes in embarrassment, "I know I tried to... make you kiss me last night." Chichiri was confused, "Kate

chan... I was the one to kiss you." Kate looked up at him, confused, "But I--." Chichiri interrupted her,

"No, Kate-chan. We got into an argument after I returned late. I-I lost control over my emotions and

kissed you, knowing you were drunk. I'm the one who needs to apologize."

Kate frowned, "Chichiri, I know what I said... and I meant it... I really do love you. I want us to...

further our relationship... So, what do you think? Are we... together?"

Chichiri stared into Kate's eyes as she looked back at him. His heart gave an almost painful yank

when she said that word: love. Was he ready? Was she? Her eyes held so much emotion, fear, hope,

and nervousness. It took him a moment to reply, but he eventually did. "Kate-chan, I... I'm sorry I

didn't say this before, but you were drunk... I want us to be together too, and I want to be able to

make this work between us, no da..."

Kate's eyes lightened up at his words and she smiled. It was a slightly nervous smile, but a happy one

none the less. She quickly rose up and kissed him lightly on the lips, and hugged him. She was so

overcome with emotion all she could say was "I'm so happy" as he pulled her closer. As he held her

he thought back to his past, 'Hikou, Kouran, I promise... I'll make this work.'

He tightened his grip on her and smiled slightly. He wasn't sure if he deserved to love someone

again, but he was sure he was ready to try. Both of them had their doubts, that was for certain,

but right now was neither the place nor time to think of such things. After all, they could both die at

any time. This was a time to live in the moment, and cherish every second they could together.

Kate pulled back and smiled at him. He grinned and pulled her into him, stealing another kiss. They

didn't notice when the door cracked open slowly to make a human-sized entrance. Josh grinned

slightly with Condor at his feet, whom let out a high-pitched bark, scaring the couple.

"Should I come back later?", Josh asked with amusement. Kate slowly untangled herself from Chichiri,

and got up, soon followed by Chichiri, whom hugged her from behind and smiled at Josh. "That's ok,

no da. You can stay and watch if you wish", Chichiri joked, causing Kate to turn a tomato red, having

not expected CHICHIRI to say that.

"Hey, I thought monks weren't allowed to have girlfriends", Josh teased. Chichiri rose an eyebrow, "

We can have female friends, but I don't see what this has to do with Kate-chan now... We are

courting now, no da."

Kate's smiled twitched. She'd have to ask Josh later what courting was. "Is that so?", Josh asked with

an amused smile. "It seems so", Kate answered hesitantly. What the hell was courting! Was it like

dating?... Or maybe engagement! Oh my god! Engaged at sixteen! What would mother say!

Kate's mind was in overdrive, but she still smiled. She loved Chichiri, and he loved her. That was all

that mattered to her right now, even if she was nervous, that was life. You live to be happy, and that's

all that matters... but she really didn't want to be engaged just yet... Love or not, she was just sixteen.

Happiness... She thought of Chiriko and her smile widened. She'd save him, and everyone else she

could. "How about we all go for a walk? It's very nice out", Josh suggested. "Sure", Kate agreed as

Chichiri nodded, "That sounds like a good idea, no da."

As they walked onto a less crowded street Josh decided to talk about their future plans, "So, when

should we get going? Aren't we supposed to save China or something?" Kate rolled her eyes, "This

isn't China, but, yes... We need to meet up with Miaka, Tamahome, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko.

They shouldn't be too far away, actually."

"In your books, where should we meet them, no da?", Chichiri asked as he fell into step beside Kate.

"I know it's near a cliff with a statue of a Buddha... Hey is Buddhism even in the Universe of the Four

Gods?... Never mind, anyhow, it's visible from Sairo", she answered. "Sairo is near here... It shouldn't

take more that six hours to get there, no da", Chichiri stated.

"Sairo is the Western Kingdom, isn't it?", Kate asked Chichiri. "Yes, no da. That's where we should

find the next treasure... I just hope we get there in time, no da", Chichiri said. "Don't worry, I'm sure

we'll do just fine", Kate reassured him. Josh frowned, "So, we're treasure hunting?"

"Kind of... You know Suzaku?", Kate asked. Josh nodded, "The huge chicken-man." Kate grinned,"

Yes, him. Our goal is to summon him to his Priestess, Miaka, and save Konan from Kuto, but in order

to do that we need the shinzaho."

Josh sighed, "And I suppose we're in the middle of this?" Kate grinned, "Oh that's not half of it, but...

Basically you and I are just sidekicks... if not groupies."

"Groupies", Josh spat out the word in disgust. "You're more than 'groupies', no da", Chichiri disagreed

sternly. Kate smiled and took his hand in her own, "I know." "We're your sex slaves", Josh said in

absolute monotone. Kate kicked at him, "Pervert!... If anyone is a sex slave it's you. I'm more like

a fortune teller, prophet, type person... except not... I guess I'm more like one of those cheesy

machines you see in run-down joke shops that have a weird old dude in them that claim to know

your future for fifty cents...", Kate babbled.

Josh rolled his eyes when Condor, whom he was walking, gave a sudden jerk due to a smell he wanted

to investigate. "So, Chichiri", Kate began, "What do you plan to do after all this is over?"

Chichiri put a finger to his chin in mock thought, " I hadn't thought of it much, to see you the truth.

Maybe find a nice little house somewhere near a fish filled river, no da!" Kate laughed, "I should have

guessed... Do you think we could travel some? I'd really like to see more of this place."

Chichiri smiled and squeezed her hand, "We could do that, no da. Just you, me, Josh, Condor, and

maybe Tasuki? I think he'd like to come along, no da." Kate snorted, "As if, Tasuki hates girls, remember?

Why would he want to travel with us?"

"Tasuki isn't THAT bad, no da", Chichiri disagreed. "Well, I want to ask Chiriko is he wants to come

along!", Kate said smugly. "What about Mitsukake?", Chichiri asked. "Him too! The more the

merrier!", Kate said excitedly.

"Or it could just be the two of us, you know", Chichiri began a little shy. Kate snorted, "What fun

would THAT be?" Chichiri's jaw dropped before he suddenly went Chibi, "But Kate-chan!"

Kate laughed as Chibi Chichiri latched onto her neck and began flailing about, catching Josh's

attention.

"What are you two doing back there?", he asked, stressing the word doing. "Nothing", Kate replied,

with an (attempted) angelic expression. Josh "whatevered" and turned his attention back to Condor.

They all walked around in partial silence for a while, Chichiri pouting (still chibi) and being held in

Kate's arms as she purposely kept her eyes anywhere but on him as she grinned foolishly.

Chichiri took in his surroundings, sulking at being turned down so easily, as he swung his feet back

and forth absentmindedly. 'I think it would be a good idea for us to go traveling together, no da. After

all, when will we have time to court if we can't be alone, na no da!', he thought, slightly frustrated.

Then an idea struck him. Kate wasn't from this world. What were the chances she didn't know about

the customs of this world? What were the customs of her world?... He'd have to ask Josh later. Until

then, he decided to be patient, but still sulk lightly.

When the group decided to turn in the sun was setting and the air had grown colder. Kate had

volunteered to get dinner, leaving Josh and Chichiri all by themselves...

"Ah... Josh-kun? May I ask you something?", Chichiri asked hesitantly. "Huh?", Josh replied. "I was

wondering if you could help me with something, no da?", Chichiri began. Josh rose an eyebrow,

"Shoot." Chichiri was confused momentarily by being told to 'shoot', but overcame it quickly as Josh

nodded, meaning he could continue.

"... I was wondering if you could inform me more about your world... mostly about relationships, you

know like parents, friends,... lovers, and how they interact, no da. Customs and what-not, no da",

Chichiri said. He wasn't sure why he didn't just come out and say it, after all he didn't have much time

till Kate got back with dinner...

Josh grinned mischievously, eyes sparkling, at this. "I see, well, do you want to know anything... specific?",

he asked, trying to play dumb. "Yes. Could you tell me the customs of courting and marriage, no da?",

Chichiri asked.

Josh rose an eyebrow, "First of all it's not called courting, it's dating... Now, as for DATING. It's not

all that complicated... Basically when two people meet, decide they like each other, and want to see

if they could possibly be more than friends, they date. Basically it's to see if love is possible, sex, and

/or maybe marriage." Here he paused.

Chichiri was redder than a tomato, and was a few shades too red to be considered ripe, " I knew

that, no da! What I meant was what's expected of someone in each stage..." Josh shrugged, "It varies."

"How so, no da?", the monk asked. "Every person is a little different when it comes to these things...

If you're asking about Kate, well... She's never really dated much. I guess you could blame her 'rents

for that. Her mother and step-dad always had this competition going on that sometimes turned violent

around Kate, it was kind of messed up, ya know?... They never hit each other or anything, but a lot of

stuff was said and eventually Kate was dragged into the middle", he revealed.

"So, she grew up around this? How did it affect her, no da?", Chichiri asked. "Well, some of her parents

anger at each other was taken out on her. She was blamed for their divorce in the end, and Kate once

hinted at getting hit after a misinformed argument between her and her family when she and her mom

visited her step-dad... Soon after that is when I began to notice her change. She was angry at the

world, began to hate everything... even me. Her mom put her in counseling."

"Eventually she got better on her own, and kept mostly to herself. She got really into anime, and made

it her life. When I heard she had gone missing I came right over. Her mom was crying, and kept going

on and on how she had runaway or killed herself... I suspected the former. She'd often talked about

running away to her Aunt, but we never heard anything, anyway... I've never seen her quite so open

with people as she is with you. I wonder if you two will be able to make it work?"

Chichiri was about to ask what he meant, but just then Kate entered the room, carrying a tray and

balancing some cups on her fingertips. "Help?", she suggested as she wobbled slighting through the room

and up to the small table between her and Josh's beds. Josh grabbed the cups while Chichiri decided

to take the tray from her. "Sorry, Kate-chan. I hadn't realized you were going to bring back so much.

I would have helped you, no da", Chichiri apologized as he sat the tray down.

Kate smiled, "It's alright. I hope I brought back some stuff you all like... I really couldn't tell what any

thing was." Chichiri looked over the food, and noted nothing there was uncommon. Mentally he was

beginning to wonder just how different their worlds were, and felt a slight pain in his chest when he

thought of how they might not be able to overcome these differences.

He covered these insecurities with a simple, "This all looks very good, Kate-chan!" Josh followed up

with a, "God, what I wouldn't give for a hamburger and some fries." As they ate some talking took

place. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?", asked Kate as she chewed on some kind of weird

noodle. "We should leave before the sun rises so we can get a head-start on the sun. I think you

mentioned a statue, no da?", Chichiri questioned.

"Yeah, it's a Buddha. That's where we should find Tomo, but I'm not so sure anymore... I think we

should just look for the others and see what happens... Here, one second", Kate said and crawled

over the side of the bed she was sitting on to her backpack after giving her bowl to Josh, who was

just picking at his food.

A few seconds later she crawled back with her copy of Volume 10: Enemy. "Here, Nakago's army

attacks this village trying to find Miaka, but... since Miaka isn't here they might leave this place alone,

or at least they should have attacked by now", she skipped ahead in the book to where Tomo

(supposedly) impales Tamahome with his feathers. She flipped back and forth, trying to find some

find of hint to where Tomo might be.

"It says here uhh... Amiboshi says to Miaka 'Tamahome's in trouble. He's very close by'... Soi shows

up... erm... Ok. Tamahome fights on a cliff, falls off, is found by his old teacher, Miaka is put into

an illusion, Amiboshi breaks his fingers... The end. Darn it!", she grumbled and crawled back to her

bag to get number eleven.

"Ok!", Kate cheered. She grabbed a sweet pasty before looking threw the book's contents. "Tomo

gets... uh... yeah... heh heh", she grinned as she came upon the Amiboshi and Suboshi scene. Josh

coughed, trying to get her attention. "Oh! Right, hey! It's Chichiri!", she exclaimed happily and passed

the book to the monk to show him. Chichiri sat down his bowl and accepted the book.

"That's me, no da?... I look odd... What's with my face, no da?", he asked. "You were dying in the

desert", she said and took the book back. She read some before saying, "It looks like we have to

kill Tomo before the others can be let out of the spell..."

Josh tensed up, "You want us to kill somebody?" Kate refused to make eye contact, "It's them or us.

I want it to be us." An awkward silence hung in the air until Kate forced herself to look up. Josh was

staring at his hands quietly. Chichiri was looking in her direction, but his expression was lost to Kate

due to his mask.

When he spoke, he spoke loud and clearly, "My first duty is to protect Miaka, and I'll do what ever

I have to in order to protect her. There's no need for you two to get involved, no da." Kate grinded

her teeth together. She hated the thought of killing another human, and Chichiri was really strong.

However, she wasn't sure she wanted him out there alone against Tomo.

"Is there anything I could do...?", Kate asked. "No!", Chichiri answered with surprising force, but then

softened slightly, "Just try to stay out of the way, no da." Kate frowned. What was this? All she wanted

was to insure his safety...

It was Josh that voiced his thoughts next, "I'm not killing anyone." Kate fixed a glare at him, "Glad to

know you got my back, buddy." Josh took offence, met her glare head-on, "We're not talking about

video games here, Kate! These are really people who's blood will be on our hands!"

"It's either that or someone on our side: our friends who will suffer!", Kate shouted. "Well, let someone

else save lives! I don't want to!", Josh yelled. "Some one has to be a hero! There are children dying

out there. It's not about what you want! This world needs help!"

"That's the problem here! This world doesn't exist, Kate! It's a book, and I'm sure we are of no

significance in it's pages. I'm not giving my life for some pieces of paper.", Josh pointed out. Kate's

face, red with anger, now twisted into something ugly before smoothing out as if Josh had just bit

his own tongue off, "Then there shouldn't be any reason why you should feel guilty about killing paper

men, and if this world doesn't exist then you can't die."

"I'm not fighting, damn it!", Josh yelled. Chichiri stood up abruptly, "Stop it! I've heard enough... whether

this world is real or not it's my home. I've been with it's people my whole life, and I'm going to defend

it against Nakago and his men. I'll not hear another word of this fighting business. I'm doing this alone.

I'll see you both soon. Stay here", he instructed.

Then he took his hat from his cape and paused. Walking over to Kate, who was protesting in a series

of "No! This isn't fair... Will you just listen!"s. "Please", he said as he placed a hand up to the side of

her face. She flinched away, glaring. "Don't be angry. Think about why I'm doing this, Kate-chan, no da."

With that he gave her a swift kiss and was gone. The last Kate saw of him was his feet disappearing into

his hat.

Alatáriël: Sorry I'm behind, everyone. I just got a job, and final exams are coming up... I'll try to up-date

from now on as often as I can, but I might be slow. Since I've been so slow I'm not going to write

the reviews today.

Kate: But she did love them very much!

Chichiri: They inspire her to write, no da!

Alatáriël: So please don't be shy!

Kate: SO REVIEW!

Chichiri: Or else I'll disappear into the hat for good, no da!