I don't own Fushigi Yuugi

Hey everyone, I'm back. It's a bit over two weeks, but this chapter has gone through three or four revisions. Lol. Every time I reread it I'm changing something (which is why it wasn't up yesterday. I was working on it so late I just gave up and went to bed at 1am). Today it would have been up three or four hours ago, but I went through my last revision and added about two pages to it (and a new ending I hope all of you will love). So instead of being four pages long, this chapter is six! Yey!

Thanks to all who reviewed. I replied to those who gave me permission, so if you forgot and want me to reply to yours just let me know in your next review.

Enjoy!

Chapter 26

Black of night gave way to the colors of dawn as the sun began to rise for yet another eventful day. Even so, all was silent at the small campsite of the Suzaku seshi as they slept through the sun's usual morning display. Not even the fire gave a crackle as it lay in its hearth, embers hiding under what remained of the wood upon its breast.

A gentle breeze brushed through the trees, rustling their leaves and even sending a few cadets on their journey to the grassy ground below. Accompanying them were a few scattered acorns and pinecones that fell to the padded ground much less gracefully.

It was during this time that creatures of the night were quickly padding back to their homes for a good day's rest and the creatures of the day awoke from their nightly slumber. Humans were one of these day creatures to come about, as portrayed when Keara's foot twitched.

The young girl took in a deep breath through her nose before stretching out her legs where she lay, all the while contemplating whether she wanted to greet the day or not. In the end she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she let out a small yawn.

'Why can't mornings start later?' Keara complained to herself. Half of her wanted nothing more than to go fade back into a pleasant slumber, but the other half of her was awake and ready to continue on their trek.

With another yawn young girl pulled Chichiri's kesa off of her lap and folded it neatly. The action would not amount to much. The monk was going to unfold it when he awoke after all, but it was something simple to do and didn't require her mind to be fully alert.

Upon finishing she placed cloth down on the grass beside her, giving it a soft pat and a small smile. Her gaze was then brought slightly upward, only to lay upon the familiar figure of a certain blue haired monk a few short feet away. His hands rest softly upon his upon his stomach as it slowly rose and fell in his slumber and his bangs, which normally rose skyward, lay lax against his masked face. Over all he seemed at peace with himself, though with his mask firmly in place she could not be sure and she dare not risk awakening him by removing it simply to answer to her own curiosity.

Turning her gaze back in front of her she found herself having to stifle yet another yawn that wished to escape her. With a shake of her head she urged herself to completely wake. All the action ended up doing however was further ruffle her already tangled hair. Frowning to herself Keara attempted to run her fingers through the mess that was her hair, only to have them stopped almost as soon as they had entered.

'How rude,' she silently scolded her hair, as if it were its fault for being tangled. 'This is just punishment for not tying you back last night isn't it.' Removing her hand she decided to let it be for the moment, not wanting to deal with it just yet and crawled over to the fire.

After a moment of studying it she gently dropped a few pieces of fresh wood upon the hiding embers. Bits of ash flew into the air, but not enough to cause the teen to worry. Next she grabbed a stick and shifted the already charred wood about so the fire could reach up to the fresh wood above it.

Soon the fire was crackling merrily with life as it came out of its hiding place to eat its tasty breakfast. In exchange for its hearty meal the fire spread warmth up Keara's outstretched hands and arms.

Keara snapped her head to the side upon hearing a rustle in a bush to her left. With narrowed eyes she looked for the cause of the noise, all the while wondering if it was just another rabbit, as it had been the night before. If it was in fact a simple hare it made no move to come out nor did it stop rustling the bush in which it laid, something that made the girl more than a little curious.

'Better scare the silly critter off before Tasuki wakes up and eats it for breakfast,' she thought as she stood and strolled over to the noisemaker of a bush.

For years she had relied on both skill and instinct to do well in gymnastics and she seldom ignored the warnings they gave her. Now was no different. When the hair on the back of her neck stood on end her instincts jolted into action and she did not question the sudden urge to duck for cover.

The action inevitably saved her life.

Not a split second after she had fallen to the ground an intense heat raced above her, level to where he chest had formally been, and was quickly followed by a roar of what could only be thunder. In an instant the once slumbering Suzaku seshi were on their feet looking around for the only one they could think of who was capable to create both thunder and lightning on a clear and sunny day – Soi. She was not the only one they were looking for though - Suboshi had been traveling with the moody seshi and was bound to be around as well, the question was where.

"Keara, are you alright?" Chichiri voiced worriedly as he quickly made his way to the frightened and baffled young woman whom was slowly climbing to her feet. He had only managed to take a few short steps however before his body seized up in an electrical paralysis, causing his to cry out in pain.

"Chichiri!" Chiriko nearly shrieked.

A single look was all Keara needed to make herself move. Chichiri was crouched on the ground, his mask scrunched up on his face as he grimaced with the pain caused the electricity that bound him. Her movements proved to do little more than the monks had, as she did not get far before coming to a halt. The only difference was she was stopped by a sharp tug upon her wrist.

In a very ungraceful manner Keara fell onto her backside, cringing when she made contact. 'Ow,' she mentally groaned as she placed her free hand on her lower back. Looking down at the hand which had caused her to fall she spotted the string of Suboshi's yoyo, answering any questions that had formed in her mind.

"Oy, leave 'er alone," Tasuki yelled as he raised his fan high above his head. "Rekka sh-" the final syllable was lost as the bandit was forced to jump back to evade an incoming lightning bolt.

"I've had enough of you Suzaku brats," Soi voiced cried out from within the trees before she jumped down.

"I could be sayin' the same 'bout you good for nothing Seiryuu," Tasuki bellowed back.

Keara frowned to herself, feeling the same way as the bandit did. Scrunching up her face she tried to figure a way out of her current predicament. If she tried to get away there was no doubt the boy on the other end of the string would stop her with little effort. Only one option seemed open to her. Somehow she was going to have to deceive him in order to free herself.

'Only one thing I can do I suppose,' she thought after a moment's contemplation. Slowly so as to not grab the attention of the lightning seshi, who was currently trying to assault the bandit leader, she curled her fingers around a nice sized rock at her side.

'Of course this is going to be a lot more difficult than it should,' she mentally groaned at the fact that her good hand was the one held captive. All that was left was to hope her aim was true.

Unfortunately her captor had other ideas. Before she even had a chance to raise the rock off the ground there was a sharp tug on her captured wrist, nearly causing her to fall flat onto the ground. "That wouldn't be very wise," the Seiryuu boy spoke up as he came out of hiding. "Soi's already angry with you, I wouldn't make it worse if I were you."

Keara's eyes narrowed, 'who said I was going to throw it at her.'

"Get up," Suboshi commanded. When she refused he grabbed her free arm and harshly
pulled on her, but she still refused to do as he said. "Get up!"

"Keara!" Chiriko cried as he took notice of the enemy boy. The small boy felt as helpless as ever, he wasn't meant to fight but he wanted to help his friend.

Mitsukake placed a hand on the boys shoulder almost as if to prevent him from doing something reckless. The small pink haired boy gazed up at the healer in a pleading manner, but the look quickly vanished as the older man motioned with his head towards Suboshi. Behind the Seiryuu boy lurked a small but unrelenting predator – Tama. The cat lay close to the ground, ears flat against his head and gaze locked on the enemy child.

"For the last time get u- AH!" Suboshi cut himself off as set of sharp teeth and claws dug deep into his leg.

In the short span of time Tama had given them both Mitsukake and Chiriko raced over to aid Keara. The healer pulled a small knife he used to cooking out from its hiding place and sliced the yoyo string, allowing Chiriko to quickly fumble and remove the remaining piece still tied around her wrist.

Clasping her hand around her bruised and slightly bloody wrist Keara haste fully got to her feet. Tama had bought them as much time as he could and had darted off by that time, leaving behind a very angry Seiryuu seshi. Immediately the boy forgot about the cat and turned to glare daggers at the freed girl. He didn't even seem to notice the fact that his deadly weapon was now in two pieces, but Keara doubted it would have mattered, not with how angry he was.

Not wanting things to get any worse Keara quickly raised her hands up to chest level in a gesture to try and calm him. Neither of the two seshi with her were meant to fight and neither was she. If things continued to get too out of control there would be a huge problem on their hands.

"Suboshi!" Soi yelled, leaving an unsaid command to follow his name. Without another word the Seiryuu boy pulled on his deadly toy and threw it in Keara's direction.

Mitsukake quickly grabbed Chiriko and moved him out of the way, not wanting to risk his safety should the brunette boy have bad aim in his angered state. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, his aim had been true, leaving Keara to make a quick muscle-pulling maneuver in the form of a full split to evade being harmed. Normally such a movement wouldn't trouble, but due to the lack of stretching her muscles weren't ready for the strain she put on them.

The yoyo was not done with its course however and as it made it's way back to its owner it swung downwards, back towards Keara. Had her mind not been expecting such an action she would not have been able to shift and make a dived roll forward in time to evade being killed. As it was the deadly ball skimmed the middle of her back, cutting the material of her shirt and giving her a deep enough wound to bleed.

"Rekka shien!" Tasuki cried from somewhere behind her, unleashing a jettison of flame towards the lightning seshi, who jumped to the side in an attempt to evade it.

"Damn it," Soi cursed, clutching her slightly burned arm. The agile bandit was slowly getting the best of her. With a final curse and a thrown lightning bolt, which missed, she darted off. Even though she did not want to admit it, continuing the fight would only prove unfavorable on her behalf. She would just have to get her revenge another day.

Suboshi growled as his yoyo came back into his hands. There was no way he was going to stay and fight by himself, but at the same time he did not want to give up so easily. He knew he could get his hands on Keara if he only had a bit more time. His decision was made for him however when Tasuki turned to come after him and Chichiri came free of his electrical binding. So, without so much as a word, he ran off into the forest with no intention of coming back without Soi.

"Oy, get back here you coward!" the bandit leader yelled after him.

"Let him go Tasuki," Chichiri quietly said as he slowly picked himself up off the ground, his body trembling from the electricity that had previously encircled him. "We're bound cross paths with them again."

Knowing his friend was right the bandit leader bitterly mumbled something about the Seiryuu as he put his tessen away. His clothing was singed and some of his hair stuck out in strange places from lightning that had come to close, but otherwise he was in perfect health.

"Are you alright Chichiri?" Mitsukake watched the monk as he came to stand unsteadily on his feet. The man in question took a moment to find his balance before nodding.

Tasuki held out a hand to Keara and helped her up off the ground. "What happened to your wrist?" he asked having finally taken notice to the injury.

The girl shook her head to tell the bandit not to worry about it. The wound, while it still bleed in a steady flow, was not something to be overly concerned about, it just needed to be treated and wrapped so infection would not set in. Never the less Mitsukake wouldn't take any chances on the injury being worse than she made it seem to be and healed her of all her wounds, even her pulled muscles.

All Chichiri could do was watch from where he stood. He had been very concerned when Tasuki had brought up the matter of Keara's wrist, but when he had attempted to move he once again become unsteady and had nearly toppled over.

Keara mouthed a thank you to the healer, who nodded in return and said a soft, "you're welcome."

Her gaze then fell upon Chichiri who looked rather uneasy, even with his mask in place. With a worried look she walked towards him while making a gesture that stood for 'are you alright' – one hand flat to the sky at chest level and the other one arced from her lips (pointer finger nearest to face) to her open hand.

The monk thought a moment. He didn't want to lie to her, but at the same time he didn't want her to worry. So instead he tried to act as if everything was alright by taking a step forward. Unfortunately his legs still weren't ready to balance his full weight on only one-foot and he couldn't catch himself in time to prevent himself from falling.

His expectations of hitting the ground were faulted however when he collided with someone, who lost in turn their balance and took the impact with the ground for him. In less than a moment he knew exactly who he had fallen up – the fact the their chest wasn't flat against his was the key factor in his justification.

Placing his shaky hands on the ground Chichiri pulled himself up enough to look Keara in the face. The first thing he noticed was the sharp blush that played on her face and he didn't need to question why. Not only had he landed on top of her, he had landed in a rather undignified position – between her legs.

Tasuki burst into laughter at the sight of the two of them and nearly fell over with the force that rubbled through his chest. He was the only one in the group that knew of the newly formed relationship between the monk and gymnast, which made the situation even funnier for him and more embarrassing for them.

"Gomen no da," Chichiri murmured softly. He was more than grateful that his mask was in place, knowing that his own heavy blush would have probably caused the bandit to die from laughter.

There was one problem he had left deal with however. With his body still not functioning properly he had no idea how he was going to pull himself off of her.

OMG! Chichiri! XD

I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) I needed a bit of action, as I'm sure some of your did too, but I couldn't help but add some fluffy-ness too XD

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