I don't own FY

Sorry for the delay. I was on vacation last week and I meant to update yesterday, but my brain didn't want to function on as much as I wanted it to.

Thanks for reviewing:

Chichiri's Wanderer– You'll find out in this chapter what the reason was behind it. And your assumed will be answered as right or wrong by the end as well. I won't spoil anything for you.

Silver Pain – I'm not sure what it is, I just always put OVA. Lol. I'll have to look that up later. His wings were so cool, but as of right now he doesn't have them. You'll find out the reason behind his visibility in this chapter.

Crimson Firefox – Lol. Surprising people is always loads of fun. Sorry for the delay!

Pil-Z– Thank you :D When I wrote his description I wondered how many people would catch it since Hikou is a very minor character. It's cool that you're one of the people that got it.

D.D.Z.– Lol. Loads of questions. You'll get your answers in this chapter though, so you won't be left in the dark.


Chapter 14

"You can see him now?" Lily asked in confusion as she gazed at the surprised monk.

"What did you do?" for the first time the dark haired man's voice echoed in the passageway as if it belonged to a living being.

Lily turned back to him, "I don't know." Her voice shook slightly as she said this.

Hikou looked down at his bandaged wound, his hand resting on it gently. His body had been nothing but a light blue glow before, but now it held a slight bit of color to it, even his garments did. He might look like a print that is extremely washed out, but he had color none the less, something he had not had since he was laid to rest by Chichiri some time ago. It was amazing, yet, at the same time, very disturbing.

Looking up to the girl before him he noticed something that made the event even more disturbing. Lily had, ever so slightly, become paler, something that was not a good sign. "Don't touch me again," Hikou almost commanded. Now he understood how he had become visible to Lily's companions.

Her touch, even the fact that she had been able to touch him, was something magical. It was a gift, perhaps, from the gods who had summoned her. Unfortunately this ability had its side affects; it drained her life energy.

"Why ya being so rude to her?" Tasuki growled, "She did wrap your wound."

Hikou did not answer him, nor did he utter any form of a word, not even to the still shocked monk. Instead he turned and faced in the direction they had been heading before, "We should keep moving, more beasts will undoubtedly be on their way."

Lily did not let his command get to her; she kept by his side as they moved forward. "What is your name? I didn't catch it when Chichiri had said it."

"Hikou," he replied calmly.

With a nod another question arose, "Why was I the only one who could see you before?"

"It was arranged that way by the gods," he told her. "But I had not expected you to be able to touch me- or make me visible for that matter."

"I made you visible?"

Hikou nodded. "It was not the beast, which was just able to assault me, as I said before, because Fenrir gave it the ability to do so. You, obviously, wouldn't be gifted by your enemy."

"If that's true then why do you not want me to touch you?" Lily asked in confusion. "Don't you want to be completely seen again?"

Hikou sighed, "I have a feeling you would not just make me visible Lily, you'd make me alive once more."

"That's a good thing!" Lily half cried happily.

"No," he said very sternly, earning a gaze that was very taken aback.

"Hikou-" Chichiri began but was cut off by his ghostly friend.

"This has nothing to do with you Houjun. If she brings be from the realm of the dead she will most likely take my place within it. If you had not noticed the color I gained was stripped from her own flesh."

Lily gazed down at her arm questioningly, "It was?"

"You are slightly paler than before," Hikou pointed out to her.

Tasuki grabbed Lily's hand and spun her around to look at him. His eyes gazed into hers before looking at her completely. "Ya do look a tiny bit paler, but you were frightened before." He looked to the ghostly man, "Couldn't it have been caused by that?"

"No," Chichiri spoke before Hikou, who had stopped when Lily had. "Her skin would have turned back to normal by now if it had been from fright."

With a sigh Lily shrugged it off, "Let's keep going, please."

Quietly they walked on; Hikou in front, Tasuki and Lily side by side and Chichiri picking up the rear. The tunnel they were in opened up into a large chamber with a small lake off to the side, disappearing as it went under the rocky walls as followed a current.

Every now and then a slithering noise was heard above the soft patter of their feet, making Lily nervous. Absentmindedly she grabbed onto Tasuki's hand as she glanced around. A reassuring squeeze brought her attention to what her brain had done without telling her. A blush crept up onto her cheeks, but she did not pull away as she once would have.

"We are almost there," Hikou told them, breaking the silence that had befallen them.

The end of the chamber was revealed to have four different passages. "Which way?" Tasuki asked as he stoked the back of Lily's hand with his thumb.

Hikou pointed to the one farthest to the left wordlessly, altering his steps so he traveled in its direction. This tunnel proved to be more of a challenge to walk upon than the last as it was extremely uneven.

"What will we find at the end of this tunnel Hikou?" Chichiri asked.

"Another chamber, only this one will be where Lily must depart from our company."

"What do ya mean by that?" Tasuki asked a little angrily.

"Lily must free the gods on her own," Hikou replied. "We cannot travel with her for that reason. She will have a guide once she leaves us, but she will serve as nothing more than a guide."

Chichiri absorbed these words. "Hikou, is this other person-" he hesitated, "Kouran?"

There was a moment's silence, "Yes."

"Who's Kouran?" Lily asked, looking back to Chichiri and nearly tripping because of it.

The monk held back a laugh as Lily stumbled and regained her balance, wisely turning her gaze back in front of her. "She was my fiancée."

"Oh," was all Lily dared utter.

At that moment they entered another chamber bathed in a soft bluish-green light. In seconds the source of the light was found; a crystal like ball sat upon a pedestal, its top was curved like a bowl to keep the ball safely within it.

Hikou came to a stop and turned to face the ones following him. "Lily must go on from here." At her confused glance he gestured to the ball emitting the light, "Merely touch it and you will enter the realm in which Fenrir lurks."

"I- I don't think I can do this," Lily said fearfully. Since she had arrived she had been around Tasuki, with Chichiri joining soon after. She did not like the idea of having to go off on her own now, especially when the worst was yet to come.

Tasuki wrapped her in a hug, "You can too Lily."

"Now that I'm here- I'm frightened more than ever," she murmured into his shirt as she hugged him back.

"And if you weren't I'd be worried for ya," Tasuki said with a faint smile. Hesitantly he pulled her to arms length, "Be brave. Ya got Kouji's sword, and ya also have my…" he flushed crimson, "My- erm- my-" he stopped his stuttering when Lily kissed him on his cheek with her soft lips.

If it were possible the bandit leader blushed even darker than before. "Lily I- I-"

"It's alright Genrou," she smiled, "I think I- understand." She blushed and paused for a brief moment before saying the last word.

A gentle hand atop of her head made her turn and find Chichiri, who was smiling at her. "We all believe you can do it Lily, now all you have to do is believe in yourself."

"I'll do my best," Lily said softly, not sure how much her best implied.

Angry noises brought everyone attention to yet another problem. "The beasts have found our trail," Hikou half growled. "Get going Lily, we'll hold off this end so you'll be able to return safely."

Lily nodded, "Right." She gave Chichiri and Tasuki a hug, holding a little longer to the bandit leader than she did the monk. Next she moved to Hikou and smiled, "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," he responded, "Just don't to–" before he could finish the word he found her arms wrapped around his waist. Color quickly began to fill into him and she quickly became paler and paler. "Let go!" He struggled to remove her, but she wouldn't budge for a few moments, a point when she voluntarily pulled herself away.

"Lily," Tasuki said in worry. She looked extremely pale, but her spirits seemed as sharp as ever.

"I'm alright," she said with a smile, "A bit lightheaded is all." That was a lie, all she could see were stars for several moments and she had a painful headache.

"What did you do that for!" Hikou cried, "You need your strength to fight Fenrir!"

Lily looked to him, "You're alive again and I'm not dead," she said.

This was noted quickly by everyone else, but Hikou quickly dismissed it, "That's not the point."

"Course it is," Lily said softly. "The living fight better than the dead- well, ghosts anyway." She smiled, "Maybe in this state Fenrir won't go so hard and I'll be able to find a weakness." The idea of fighting the beast was still not keen in her mind, but she decided she had to sound as brave as she could so her friends wouldn't worry.

The angry noises they had heard before came again and this time they sounded much closer.

"Get going Lily," Chichiri said softly.

Lily nodded and ran to the ball. "Come back alive," Tasuki said just as her hand touched the light emitting ball, disappearing seconds later.

'Come back to me,' Tasuki thought as he took out his tessen, ready to do battle with whatever Fenrir would throw at them.


Aww. A wee bit of Tasuki and Lily going on :D But now they're separated :( Dang it.

Will Tasuki, Chichiri and Hikou survive the battle which they must endure? Will Lily succeed in her mission?

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