I don't own FY

OMG, sorry for the late update. Even though it is in the 3 weeks I usually promise I had meant to type this chapter up and post it last week. Unfortunately though my college was evacuated due to hurricane Wilma (don't worry, it turns out my area got little to nothing from it because it turned a lot and hit southern Florida) and the weekend I meant to use to write it was spent elsewhere. Sorry again!

Thanks for reviewing :

Akari kitsune– Nope. Remember Mitsukake took it off when he went to heal him. Lol. When you're in a panic you tend to over look things you wouldn't normally. Lol. It's alright.

Where I Walk Alone – Lol. Thanks and wait no longer :)

ChirikoFan– Lol. I am the queen of cliffies… sort of. Lol. We shall now see.

Crimson Firefox – Well that's cool to hear :D Thanks :)

Everqueen– Ya, she got annoying for the longest time, then I just felt bad for her by the end. Glad you liked that :)

Dimonah Tralon– I'm glad so many people liked that part :) I had hoped that really fit his character. Lol.

KamiKaze no Kage– yey, I'm not going to be threatened any more :D I'm sorry about that. I really meant to update last week. But of course, the main character always has to be in trouble XD

evilnaraku – I will, I promise :)

bant – Thank you and sorry for the delay once again.

Tsukikage – Hmm, was he? Lol. We'll see the deal with the events in the clearing soon enough :)

Alatril Carnesr– Sorry for the delay. I hope you like this chapter :)

YueMichiruNaragisawaMiko– Lol. Our favorite monk has more to him than it appears, I had to show that somehow :D

Gammergirl– Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it :) Thanks again. With Chichiri romance needs to go a bit slow.

Chichiri's Wanderer– Lol XD That'll be revealed in due time. It's no good to reveal something too early into the game.

Ayshia – Thank you :) Sorry for the delay, but it was beyond my power, most unfortunately.

Chichirifan – Thank you :) Meep cowers Lol. Hmm, what will he do? We shall see. Lol.

Ayriel– Thank you. I'm glad you like it eats cookie happily Yey :)

Lady of the Cats- pouts I guess there's no cookie for me since I'm updating later than intended.

BlAcKeSt StAr CaTcHeR– Lol. It's alright. I hope you'll be able to read all that's here soon. And thank you :)

Chapter 19

Morning came more quickly than anyone would have wanted, especially for Keara who wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall back asleep. Her mind was exhausted, but for what reasons she was not entirely sure.

"Good morning Keara," Chiriko smiled happily as he saw her sit up and yawn.

Mitsukake came to kneel before her, "How are you feeling?"

Keara shrugged and yawned again, being sure to cover her mouth as she did so. The healer gave her a smile and patted her on the shoulder, "If you need anything just let us know."

She nodded and paid half attention when he got up and left. Rubbing her eyes in an attempt to rid herself of her sleepiness she wondered what had drained her so. She had been tired when she had awakened in the middle of the night, but her worry for Chichiri had kept her from realizing how exhausted she truly was.

Thinking of the monk she turned her gaze to where he lay next to her. He seemed to sleep as easily as when she had first awakened, which hopefully meant he would not be as exhausted as her when he awakened.

Tasuki walked into the area and slumped down on the ground with four hares in his arms. Mitsukake sat down next to him to help skin the dead animals and prepare them for cooking.

Yawning once more Keara wondered what she should do. She could just sit there and be her tired self, but she felt she should help out somehow. Then again she did not want to leave Chichiri's side until he awakened.

"Keara," Chiriko called from not far away, "Can I ask you something?"

Looking over to the boy she nodded. When she made to get up he shook his head, "You can stay there. No need to use any unneeded energy." He took in a breath and seemed to contemplate how to ask what he wanted. "Well, all of us were wondering what happened back in the clearing – with Nakago and Suboshi I mean."

The bandit leader and the healer looked up from their work to gaze at her questioningly. They had desired to know the answer since the event had occurred the day before and now hoped they would get just that.

Confused Keara gave them all a strange look. Tasuki frowned, "We came inta the clearin' and the Seiryuu were on the ground unconscious."

"You were the only one standing," Mitsukake added. "And you were unharmed."

'Unharmed? And the Seiryuu were beaten? How?' Her mind was confused. She couldn't recall any of that. In fact all she could remember was praying for Suzaku's help before everything went black. She had assumed she had been kidnapped again when she woke up in the middle of the night, but had been overly pleased to find out she was as safe as can be.

"Don't you remember anything?" Chiriko asked.

Keara nodded. She remembered something's, but they apparently weren't anything they wanted to know. Taking a in a deep breath she found her bag and took her sketchbook out. She might as well tell them what she did know and let them try to piece together what she didn't.

'This'll be bothering me for some time to come,' she thought as she wrote out what was needed. She wished she could remember what had happened, especially since she had been told she was unharmed and standing when they found her, which meant Nakago had been stopped from doing anything her or Chichiri. That knowledge left a question in her mind, how and why had her mind gone blank after praying to Suzaku?

Ripping the paper out of the book she handed it to Chiriko, who had gotten up and come over to her when she had started writing. The boy read over the words and frowned before bring it over to his two other friends, who also frowned after reading it.

"This is strange," Mitsukake commented.

"I wonder if it means Suzaku intervened, using Keara as a medium," Chiriko thought aloud. "But it's still strange because she isn't the Suzaku no miko."

Keara frowned. 'A medium?'

A movement next to her broke her train of thought. Looking over she realized that Chichiri was rubbing his eyes. Smiling to herself she waited until he opened his good eye to wave at him.

It took a moment for the monk to focus in on her but when he did he smiled. Sitting up he inspected himself for injuries, only to find none. "Thanks Mitsukake."

Looking over to him the healer nodded wordlessly before going back to preparing the hares for cooking. His mind was kept on the note Keara had written, but no matter how much he thought there seemed to be no logical answer for what had occurred.

"Looks like we made it out alright," Chichiri smiled.

Keara nodded happily and latched her arms around him neck to give him a tight hug. The sudden movement had shocked the monk, but he was quick to recover and chuckled as he returned the embrace.

Patting her on the back Chichiri pulled away. He sighed heavily and closed his eye, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from the Seiryuu like I promised." He was sure that beyond her kind exterior was an angry woman.

A soft pat on the top of his head brought him out of this saddened state. Opening his eye he found Keara smiling softly at him, not even a trace of distrust upon her features. 'Like you said, we made it out alright,' she mouthed slowly to ensure he understood every word.

Chichiri smiled in return, glad that she was not aggravated with him. "Next time I'll do better, I swear."

Holding up one finger she received a questioning look from the man before her. 'If you promise not to get yourself killed or badly injured,' she mouthed with a smile.

"Deal," Chichiri said as he put out his hand to complete it.

Keara placed her hand in his and they shook on the agreement now in place. She made to pull her hand away, but found it still locked in Chichiri's. Before she could raise a brow she saw him lift her hand to his lips. A warm and soft sensation greeted it and the feeling quickly spread throughout her entire body. Her cheeks became warm, making her more than aware that she was blushing madly.

Finally letting go of her hand Chichiri smiled softly at her, a faint red tinge playing on his own cheeks. "Payback for last night," he told her softly.

If it were possible Keara blushed even harder.

Awwww! Lol. That was cute. We know Soi wants payback too, what'll she do?

Please review!

Thanks!

Happy Halloween