But I'm back and that's all that matters. I'm going to do my best to get this story done this summer (in terms of me writing it so I have it done for posting, I don't know when the final chapter will be up). I have this entire week off from work, so I'll have time to get a bunch of chapters done between all my stories (I hope, I also have to work of scholarship essays XP).
Anyway, thank you for all who reviewed. Yes I'm aware that I can reply to your reviews via email, but I don't want to spam anyone's box, so please let me know if you're OK with me sending a reply.
Oh and please feel free to e-mail me if I don't update in two weeks. Chances are I either forgot (though this isn't likely, I'm rather aware of my stories) or need to get my lazy butt down in my chair and start typing and/or proof reading. Besides, people saying "hello, Earth to Erailea UPDATE YOUR FIC ALREADY" might just help XD
Chapter 25
Miaka blushed wildly as her stomach gave a very loud elephant like rumble. Mentally she scorned herself for always being hungry, but she really couldn't help the fact that she hadn't eaten since their late lunch four hours ago. She was starved!
The young man next to her merely chuckled softly. He knew full well what the noise meant. "We'll stop soon and have supper Miaka," he told her.
It was getting rather late. Already the sun was nearly gone from the sky. The lingering effects of the sunset were no less brilliant however and the light helped guide them as they continued on. Despite the view Tamahome could not help but allow his mind to wonder to his friends. They had been separated for some time now and it had been equally as long since they had seen any of the Seiryuu seshi, which meant only one thing – they were too occupied with those now behind him.
"I wonder how the others are doing," Miaka voice, as if she had read her love's mind.
Tamahome no more knew how to answer this than he knew how to cure her insatiable appetite, so he did the only thing he could - he made something up. "I'm sure they're fine." At least this is what he hoped. If Nakago was chasing his fellow seshi, as he suspected he was, there were bound to be more than a few problems back there.
His main concern however was Miaka. As a Suzaku seshi he was bound to her, he had to protect her at all costs, any of the others would agree with him. Beyond this fate of being a seshi though he cared for his miko like he had cared for no other, he truly loved her and would have done anything for her even if he no longer had his god given abilities.
vvvvv
It was as if the blazing sun had finally broken through to the frozen tundra's for the first time in countless eons. The vast fields of ice shattered and melted, bringing the crisp droplets of water down upon the awaiting soil and the life living underneath awaiting it's chance to sprout and grow.
This icy tundra had been Chichiri's only line of defense since the incident those years ago. In it he had buried his pains and emotions to the best of his ability, only to hide those still lurking about behind his mask. But since the arrival of a certain young woman this icy landscape had begun thawing and had now been completely set free of its entrapment.
However he only knew this in the back of this mind, for the rest of it was reeling far too fast to make any comprehensible thought pattern. All he knew at the moment were the soft pair of lips pressed affectionately against his own slightly chapped ones. And it was all he cared to know.
His arms tightened around the young woman in his arms, drawing her closer. He didn't want to let go. Ever. But ones body does not always comply with ones desire and the lack of air was a much more pressing matter than that that of upholding a kiss. Hesitantly he pulled away, half of him afraid that this was all just a crazy dream, but this chilling thought was quickly melted away when he felt Keara's gentle head come to rest under his chin. A faint smile graced his lips as he opened his eye.
By now the sun had fallen below the horizon, leaving the forest as dark as ever. The crickets chirped merrily about them and firefly's danced about in the air like the little fairies found in a children's tale. Overall the effect was quite peaceful despite it's first glace.
Sighing in content Chichiri shifted so his cheek came to rest upon the girl's head and he swayed back and forth gently on his feet. Everything seemed perfect, too much so in fact. There was something that wasn't quite right, but what it was evaded him for several moments as he continued to sway with Keara.
"The others," he mumbled after a while. He had completely forgotten about them for some reason. "We have to get back to camp," he softly said as he righted his head, "they must be wondering where we are."
Keara silently sighed and gave him a gentle pat on his back. What it was supposed to mean was lost to the monk – it could be her saying she agreed, didn't really want to let go (just as he felt), or reminding him of the fact that she couldn't go anywhere while he held her. In the end however, the meaning didn't really matter.
Just as he pulled back from her he noted that Keara tilted her head to the side and her brows came together in a questioning manner. Before he even had the chance to ask a pair of strong hands crashed down on his shoulders, nearly causing his knee's to buckle under the unexpected force.
"Chichiri ya sly devil," the unmistakable voice of the bandit leader cried much louder than necessary into his ears.
"Tasuki!" the helpless monk cried in surprise, having nearly fallen to the ground.
The bandit laughed as he removed his hands, "so this is what'cha two are doin' out here while I'm hunting."
A now blushing Chichiri smiled nervously as he turned to confront his friend. He had completely forgotten his comrade had been hunting for their supper. What an embarrassing mistake!
"Can't leave you two alone for long can I," Tasuki teased, enjoying the sight of their embarrassment, though he would have enjoyed it even more if he could have see the crisp red tinges on both their cheeks.
Keara brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, purposefully sliding her child fingers over her hot cheeks. She felt almost like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but instead of being scolded for her actions she was being teased.
"You guys are out here having fun…" the rest of the bandit's teasing was lost to Keara as a soft rustling from a bush behind her caught her attention. Turning towards the noise curiously she peered through the darkness and scarcely saw the bush whose leaves and limbs were scratching against one another.
"Somethin' wrong Keara?" Tasuki asked, having seen the girl change her attention from his antics to something else.
The young woman merely pointed at the subject of her interest. Not a moment later she heard Tasuki take out his tessen and felt a gentle hand loop around her arm and pull her backwards. Whatever was in the bush none of them knew, but they had had far too many encounters with the Seiryuu seshi take any chances.
Chichiri carefully pulled Keara behind him and removed his staff from a void he had summoned in his kesa. At the same time the bandit began taking cautious steps towards the bush. The last thing any of them wanted was to be zapped by Soi or lanced with Suboshi's deadly yoyo, so caution was of the utmost importance.
"Stay behind me," the monk whispered to Keara. He would be damned if he let anyone hurt her, especially now that his emotions had been sorted out.
Tasuki was only a few paces from the bush by this point, his tessen clasped in an iron grip. He was ready for anything. He would gladly take on any of the Seiryuu, he was itching to burn them to a crisp anyway.
Just as he stepped in front of the bush the rustling stopped. Suspiciously the bandit put his free hand out and was about to pull some of the limbs to the side when something rushed out at him. Instinctively he jumped back and raised his tessen, expecting to come face to face with an opposing seshi.
And it turned out that the culprit in the bush was none other than… a long eared, fuzzy tailed, brown spotted creature.
"Rabbit!" the bandit yelled and lunged after the would-be meal, but it hopped away as fast as its large feet could take it before it could be captured. Unfortunately for the creature the hungry bandit leader wasn't about to let a good meal get away and had to hope it could out wit the wily man.
Chichiri sighed in relief. At least it hadn't been a Seiryuu, but silently he knew they had gotten lucky. Soi was far to enraged with Keara by now to just let her, or any of them, off with any ease.
As he turned towards Keara he removed a spare mask from inside his shirt and placed it onto his face. "Let's get back to the camp no da. Tasuki can take care of it from here na no da."
'Sounds good to me,' Keara thought as she nodded, silently chuckling at his reverting back to the childish 'no da.' Things would be different from now on, this much she knew, but at least it would be different in a good sort of way.
With fingers intertwined and a soft smile shared between them they made their way back to the campsite.
And that's all folks. For now anyway. I'll do my absolute best get another update here in two weeks.
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