I don't own FY.

Sorry guys, I forgot to tell you that I was going on vacation! But I'm back! Um.. You'll notice that not all my stories were updates as usual. No worries, the other stories will be updated either tomorrow or Monday at the absolute latest.

I kind of got carried away reading the newest Harry Potter book and had to get out a few ideas in the form of a story before my mind would let me concentrate on any of my other stories XP

Thanks for reviewing:

quillian91 – I'm glad your enjoying it! Can't say there's any lovey-dovey stuff in this chapter, but I hope you'll see its heading there at a faster rate than it has been.

Tsukikage – Lol. The last was full of action and you were right, this one is mellower than before, but you might find yourself laughing at the poor monk at a point. Aw, fluff. Lol. Unfortunately fluff isn't Keara's plan here. I made it as long as my mind would allow me to concentrate on it, which was long than expected, six and a quarter pages to be exact (not counting this top blog or the ending one).

Everqueen – Lol. Understandable from a certain view point. I see both ways having seen him as you probably do now, wanting him to be clobbered, and then I got to analyzing him a bit more and felt kind of sorry for him. I will admit I still think he's a bit of a jerk though XP And Thank you :D

Chichiri's Wanderer – Brief, but to the point XD Well, I couldn't have had Nakago pop out of no where (which he seems prone to do) and recapture her could I… Actually I could have XP But that'd be no fun at all. Lol

Crimson Firefox – Lol. I do feel Suboshi is a bit of a jerk, but I felt bad in the manner to which he was struck, just walking up to her not meaning to harm her and all. Oh well XD

yumichan808 - Do they… Ok she does… at least in her heart, can't say her silly minds caught on yet… then again… hmmm, you be the judge by the end of this chapter.

i-like-pudding13 - That is amusing and weird. Lol. But hey, it means we have good taste XD And thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

ChirikoFan– Thanks and will do! I don't plan to leave this story unfinished. And sorry for the delay!

YueMichiruNaragisawaMiko– Lol. I'm glad no one thought I should have left her with Nakago… that'd have been creepy O.o

D.D.Z.– Glad I'm keeping you interested in the story :D Hmmm, maybe I should do more Chichiri-to-the-rescue… Lol, just had a strange image of Chichiri in spandex XD

Chapter 15

It was several hours after the seshi's had found their mute friend that they stopped to rest. Dawn was only a few short hours away, but everyone was exhausted, especially Keara, who had collapsed to her side and fallen asleep almost instantly upon their making camp.

Chichiri smiled softly to himself and gently placed his kesa over her. She had been through much in the last day, much more than she should have ever had to go through in such a short amount of time. He had been worried for her since they had been reunited, mostly due to her distant manner. Even though she could not talk she had always been full of energy, smiling and using different methods to communicate with them, but after she was safe she kept to herself.

Perhaps it was because of her peaceful face that he felt less worried for the girl who now slept. Pieces of stray hair rested in her face and he was tempted to brush them away, but somehow resisted the urge.

He sat himself down a few feet away from her with a small sigh. As the flames swayed to and fro he found his mind beginning to slip from the physical realm.

"Chichiri," Tasuki began with a yawn, "Seems Keara has your kesa more than you do."

The monk smiled tiredly as he gazed over to the sleeping girl, "Hai."

vvvvv

When Chichiri awoke later that morning the sun was up and shining, revealing it to be around nine o'clock. With a yawn he sat up and stretched out his limbs to get the blood flowing more quickly, causing several joints to pop.

He removed the blanket around him only to stop before he let it out of his hands. He didn't remember having a blanket when he had fallen asleep. Looking to the object he noticed, with great surprise, that it was his kesa.

His gaze darted over to where Keara had been when he had placed it on her, only to find her missing. Getting quickly to his feet he tied his kesa over his shoulder as he looked about camp for any signs to where she could have vanished to.

Keara's bag, which Tasuki had been carrying, was missing as well it seemed. With a frown the monk quietly walked over to the sleeping redheaded seshi, debating whether or not to wake his friends up. Upon finding light foot prints he decided against it.

Following the tracks he found they led into an area covered with trees and shrubs. He would have completely lost the trail if it wasn't for a black shoe lying in the middle of nowhere. "This is Keara's," he murmured to himself as he picked it up.

Worry began to change to panic. Surely Keara wouldn't just leave her shoe lying around. With the object held firmly in his hand he kept moving forward, ready to fight any Seiryuu seshi that dared to once again take the girl from him… 'them,' his mind corrected after a second.

Perhaps he should have awoken his friends, if a battle was indeed what was to occur he might need help, depending on the opposing seshi. With a breath he readied himself for anything that might happen.

Anything, that is, except for what came to be in front of him as he brushed away a vine covered branch. Before him was a small lake, shining merrily in the morning sun light, cloths draped over a branch next to him and the girl he'd been looking for staring at him from within the water with a bright red face.

Shaking himself from his dazed state he cried, "Gomen nasai!" and turned around. He thanked Suzaku that his mask was on as he felt the heat rise right up to his face. Without another word he retreated back to camp after dropping her shoe next to its sister.

The walk back to camp seemed much shorter than before, mostly due to him taking larger strides in his attempt to leave behind his embarrassment. He felt deeply foolish for not thinking that she had gone off to do personal things, especially since his kesa had ended up over him and not crumpled on the ground as it would have had she been kidnapped again.

The camp was livelier than when he had left it now that his companions were awake. Mitsukake was brewing some tea, Chiriko was looking over a map and Tasuki was off somewhere probably answering a call of nature.

Quietly the monk sat down Indian style and set about cleaning his staff, his mind far from concentrating on the simple task. Mitsukake noted this easily, "Is something the matter Chichiri?" Nothing was said in response, but the monk's message was conveyed through a shake of his head.

"I thought it was Keara's job ta give body signals," Tasuki joked as he came into the area, hands in his pockets.

"Where did Keara disappear to?" Chiriko asked as he looked up from the map.

There was silence, but to Chichiri's relief it did not last long for the one asked about to that moment to walk into view. Her bag lay over one shoulder and her opposite hand was running through her wet hair to remove stray tangles.

"We were just askin' where ya went Keara," Tasuki said with a grin as he sat down on the ground.

Keara smiled softly at him before sitting herself down in the same spot she had slept at without looking at Chichiri. A faint reddish ting played on her cheeks as she continued to pull her fingers through her shoulder length hair in an almost nervous manner.

"Chichiri, why don't you go down to the lake and catch some fish," Mitsukake said, breaking the silence that had once again befallen them.

"Hai," the monk replied quietly as he quickly stood and walked away.

Chiriko rolled up the map and put it away. "We're off course, but we'll be able to get back on it if we travel about four hours due east."

"We're that off course eh?" Tasuki asked in surprise. At the boys nod he shrugged, "Was well worth it."

Keara blushed slightly harder as she brought her hands down to rest in her lap. She had thought her rescue had been a nuisance upon hearing how off course they had gotten because of it, but now she thought differently.

"Keara," Mitsukake began, "Would you mind taking this down to Chichiri?" He held out a cup of steaming tea. The mute teen looked at him nervously at first but quickly nodded and took the cup from him. "Would you like some yourself?" he then asked.

With the shake of her head she made her answer known before repositioning her bag on her shoulder and walking off in the direction she had come from not long ago. The scent of the tea was unmistakably Jasmine, something she only knew because a fellow gymnast she was friends with was a big tea drinker, something she was not.

Her mind once again found itself asking if people were looking for her back home. With a sigh she pushed them away knowing it was worthless to think about matters over which she had no control, or no way of ever finding out.

She brushed aside the vine covered branch and looked about for the monk, finding him several yards to her right with a fishing pole in his hands. Where he had gotten it from she could only guess, but she figured it had something to do with his seshi abilities.

Chichiri caught notice of her before she did him. He remained silent until she was only a few feet away, "Ohayou no da."

Only a soft smile reveled that she had heard him. Taking in a deep breath she sat down next to the seshi before holding out the tea cup in her hand.

"Arigato no da," Chichiri smiled as he took the cup with one hand, being mindful of the fishing pole in his other.

Silence fell upon the two of them, making both uneasy. Chichiri sipped on his tea for a moment before placing it on the ground and looking back to the lake. Keara was once again running her fingers through her loose hair, her gaze lost in the shallows of the water.

"Keara," Chichiri said softly without looking at her, "Sorry for before."

The mute teen stopped playing with her hair, resting her hands in her lap. She knew Chichiri had not meant to see her bathing, only came to look for her, as she had gathered based his hasty retreat and on Chiriko's question, but that did not help cure her embarrassment.

Chichiri sighed softly and looked to her. "Keara I –" he stopped as he felt a finger under his chin.

Keara quickly took away her hand and placed it over her own face only to bring it away, fingers closer together, a second later. Confused the monk asked, "What?" This made the girl frown and spell something out with her hands before she smacked her forehead and shook her head, felling stupid for once again forgetting that he could not understand sign language.

Without warning she reached up and gave a gentle squeeze to his cheeks, purposely pulling the mask millimeters from its original position before taking her hand away. Understanding crossed the monks face and he took his mask off with one hand as he continued to face her. "My mask," he handed it to her, "Is that what you said through your hands?"

Keara nodded her head. She pointed to the mask then proceeded to spell it out with a calm face. The monk attempted to mimic, but needed correction on the letter 'k.' He smiled at her, "You'll have to teach me this language of yours," he looked at his hand, "It's interesting."

Shrugging the teen looked down at the mask in her hands. This startled the monk slightly; he had expected her attention to be drawn to his scar, not his mask when it was removed. She soon looked up to him however and spelt out another word before running her index finger over her left eye.

"Scar?" Chichiri asked. He knew all to well what the motion was, but he was curious if what she had spelled was the same thing. Her nod answered his question and he turned his gaze back to the lake. "It's a constant reminder of my past."

Keara wasn't exactly sure what he meant through that. Having the scar could mean countless things such as a battle, an accident when working, someone attempting to murder him and so many more possibilities. Whatever the reason one thing was for sure, it had affected him greatly.

"When I was around your age I lost the two most important people in my life," Chichiri said softly. "One of their deaths was completely my fault."

Keara's face fell. She knew how it felt to lose people you care greatly about, she had, after all, lost her boy friend and best friend within a two month time span. With a sigh of sadness she placed the mask on the ground next to her, resting her bag next to it a moment later.

"Kouran was my fiancé, she drowned in the flood that wiped out my entire village," his voice was soft, but could not conceal his pain.

A gentle hand fell upon his shoulder and gave a firm squeeze before returning to its gentle touch. Chichiri looked over to find Keara was the cause, not that he had expected anything different, a look on her face that told him he needn't speak of the matter anymore if he did not wish to.

With a faint smile Chichiri placed a hand over hers, "It's alright. If I could tell Miaka I can tell you." He sighed and removed his hand so Keara could lay her own back in her lap. "Hikou was my best friend," he said after a moment, "I fought him after I saw him kissing Kouran." He closed his eyes, "I paid no heed to the flooding around us, all I wanted was revenge. I wanted to get Kouran back."

His voice gave way that he was struggling to hold back a wave of emotion, something that triggered the idea that he had not gone into so much detail with Miaka within Keara as she listened with a heavy heart.

"The flood caused the land to become unstable and Hikou fell into the raging river," his hands tightened around the fishing rod, his knuckles beginning to turn white from the pressure. "I had grabbed his hand," he seemed to be having a mental battle with himself, "But I let go and he drowned."

'Let go?' her mind questioned. She looked down at her mending finger. 'That day on the boat, he had tried to save me from falling into the violent ocean, but I fell when his hand loosened from him slipping on deck.' She looked at him sadly, 'It was a normal reaction given the predicament, I wonder if that's what happened with Hikou.'

She watched him as he slowly released his firm grip on the fishing rod, pain flickering behind his reddish-brown eye. Unsure of what she should do she reached over to her bag and pulled out her sketch book and a pen. Opening to a fresh page she wrote out, after several moments of thought, 'How exactly did you receive your scar?'

Chichiri read over the question when the book was handed to him. With a sigh he handed it back to her, "It was when I was trying to help Hikou," he paused briefly as he looked into the depths of the water. "Large pieces of debris were rush down the river, one of which collide with my face, giving me this scar and causing me to- " he closed his eye, "let go," this came out softly.

Keara sighed softly. She knew how he felt, blaming himself for the death of someone who had once held a large place in his heart. The situation, however, was much like her own when it came to the loss of Jason in the single fact that in the end there had been nothing they could have truly done. Unfortunately that reasoning never did help with eradicating the pain that the heart holds onto.

She turned her gaze to the mask that lay beside her and Taiitsukun's words suddenly popped into her mind. 'Despite everything you've been through you put on a 'mask' of glee so as not to worry others… This is much like another member of the Suzaku seven, though he is more literal to this.'

'So Chichiri is the one she meant,' Keara though as she picked up the mask. Placing it on her knee she wrote out a message and ripped the page out of the book before putting it in her bag. Quietly she folded up the paper in her hand and gave it to Chichiri along with his mask.

With a faint smile to him she stood, placing her bag over her shoulder. After she gave him a gentle squeeze on his shoulder she turned and departed back to camp.

Chichiri was confused and taken aback by this. He had not expected her reaction to his recollection to be as it turned out to be, but then again, he admitted, he didn't really know what he had expected.

Placing the mask beside him he looked at the folded piece of paper now in his hand. He hesitated a moment before firmly placing the fishing pole in the ground on his other side and opened the paper to its proper length.

The first message she had used to speak to him lay near the top, but he paid it no heed; the message she had left him was in the middle. He looked up from the paper when he was finished reading it and closed his eye for a very brief moment before he jumped to his feet and ran after Keara, who had just left the lakes presences. The note was left to fall, coming to rest beside his mask.

There are times when out hearts feel weary,

When we want nothing more than to run and hide.

There are times when our souls becomes all teary,

Yet we strive on so as not to be lost in it relentless tides.

The pains of the past tear at our minds,

As if to try and torment us like a never ending nightmare.

It attempts to keep up from striving with its tight mental binds,

And it could rightfully succeed if it weren't for friends who care.

Events do seem to be blamed within our very hearts,

Even if, truth be told, there was nothing that could have been done.

The feeling left within its wake does rightfully smart,

But if we chose too we can move on and truly be graced by the light of the sun.

Aww, she wrote a poem! It rhymes following the path of ABAB CDCD EFEF. This basically means that in each paragraph every other sentence rhymes (the last words anyways).

So, what did Keara mean by the poem (which took me forever to write in this particular rhyme scheme)?

Please review!

Thanks!