Well, here's chapter seventeen. Since none of the reviews last chapter mentioned me being tied to a stake, I think I did pretty good. Anyway, this would've been up sooner, but I kind of slept late. Again. Gosh, I feel like the only thing I ever do is sleep... It drives me crazy. But I'll stop ranting and get to the replies now.

pepperdadog: I know - I've been waiting to do this for a while. ;) Yeah - hang in there, Shu! :( Yes, that's also why he's been getting the bad headaches and nausea. And, of course, why his emotions have been going a little crazy. Oh... I didn't even think about that. No wonder he's feeling bad!

WindGoddess Rune: Um... I don't know if it was something with the site, but whatever you said about Shu looked like this: "* *". Well, as long as it's nothing bad, I don't care. Yeah, they were. Oh, she definitely would. Still, I'd thought that Marumaro would've at least taken a chance when he met her. It's one of those things in the series that I've wondered about endlessly. ;) Neat - I'm going to try and get it, too. Really? Yay! :D

ultimashadow: Probably. ;) Sorry. Stinks doesn't it? She exaggerates and gets everyone's hopes up... But what can you do? Thanks. :) Yeah - it took me a few tries with that line before I could get it to be funny enough. Glad I brought some cheer to your day. :)

WindGoddess Rune: Oh, really? Thanks for letting me know; that actually helps me out a lot with Blue Dragon Beyond. No, I didn't - I haven't watched those episodes yet. Ah, well... I don't really know. *scratches head* I just kind of liked her since I saw her, but I couldn't really figure out why. The split personality is kind of interesting, I guess; I've always wondered how she got like that. Of course, I've already worked out a possible that it happened, which will hopefully be uploaded once I get a few other stories out of the way... And I like that version of her. The way she usually is... not as much. Like I said in an earlier reply, I forgot to include Noi as a Superior Life Form, and I like him way more than Hildegard. :)

WindGoddess Rune: Wow, you're kidding! Where'd you find that out? I rested, but too long in my opinion. Ack.

SoujaGirl (Lazy): I know. He should be okay... I think. *looks around worriedly* Um... What does CW4M mean?

Prince of Tennis' Shaman: I know, isn't she great? :D I had to mess with that line a bit before I got it just the way I wanted it, so I'm glad you like it. Yeah - since I think that Bouquet lost her family at some point (like her dream alludes to), it seems like her and Jiro connect very well. It's a shame they don't get along better in most of the episodes. :( I suppose that since Jiro is usually fighting with Shu, Bouquet automatically dislikes him because of that. And because he wanted her thrown off the ship in Episode 9 of Season 1. I know. *sigh* Such a hasty child... I hope you like this chapter. :) Thanks, I'm taking it to heart.

Okay, there are the replies. Ooh, boy, we're getting pretty close to Valentine's Day here. I'll have to see if I make it. As soon as I'm done with this chapter, I'll probably start working on the next. So, after the disclaimer, we'll get to the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Dragon. Everything would probably be weird if I did...

Shu was running so hard his feet were hurting, and the pain in his head seemed to make everything hurt worse. Especially his heart.

Why? Why would she do this? Why had she even said that Shu was her fiancé in the first place, if she hadn't wanted to be with him anyway? It just didn't make sense... It didn't make sense at all.

And all of that time... Practically killing himself to get a dumb necklace... What a waste of time. She'd probably throw it out anyway.

It might have just been the cold or the wind, but his eyes were starting to sting. His vision was getting blurry, too.

"This is all my fault..." Bouquet let the clump fall back on the bed with the rest.

"Hang on," Jiro strode towards the door to the rest of the inn room. "I'll be back in a second."

Bouquet didn't really know why he'd left all of a sudden, but didn't really wait long to find out. He was back shortly, and looking more than a little disgusted at that.

"What is it, Jiro?"

"I'm not sure how long exactly, but he's been doing this almost since we got here. I found a cup hidden in the cabinet, and while the medicine we were getting was still liquid... Well, I won't gross you out, but you get the picture."

"But... How could he have done that? There were at least several minutes between when he took the medicine and went to the bathroom."

"I don't know, but he's got a heck of a lot of room in the back of his throat to be able to hold it that long."

Bouquet stood quickly. "I'm going to find him."

"I don't know if that's-"

"You're not going to change my mind," she shook her head. "This is my fault, and I'm going to fix it."

"You'd better hurry," Jiro looked towards the window. "The sun's setting, and it gets really cold at night. We don't have a lot of time."

"No, of course not!" Kluke closed her eyes, blushing crimson.

"Relax. I was just asking," Helen lifted the pot and started pouring the chocolate into the mold. "Still, that's pretty good news. You think that you two will be an item?"

"I guess..."

She finished pouring. "That's all there is to making it. You think you got it?"

Kluke nodded, smiling. "Yeah."

Helen sighed. "It's going to be so boring around here when you leave."

"Well, I'm not going to go right away just because I know how to make it." Kluke kicked the floor awkwardly.

She titled her head. "I thought the only reason you came was because you wanted to learn how."

"Yes, but..."

"You've more or less learned now. There's no reason for you to stay here anymore."

"Well, I'm probably going to be here for a few more days anyway. I like it here, so I might as well keep working until I resume my adventure. Besides..." Kluke adverted her eyes. "If I hadn't been working here, I don't think Jiro and I would've gotten into a relationship. Whatever it is we have now, I mean. So, I kind of owe it to you." she glanced back, gauging Helen's reaction.

Her boss threw her head back and laughed. Once it reduced to chuckles, she ruffled Kluke's hair. "That's my girl."

"It's already night, maro... Why are we still training, maro?" Marumaro managed to pant out.

"We'll go back in a little while," Zola held her sword at arms length, seeming to examine it for something. "Come on - you're not giving up, are you?"

" 'Course not, maro!" he got into a fighting stance.

Saber Tiger looked down at him helplessly. "Shouldn't you be in bed, Marumaro?"

"Let's go, maro! Saber Tiger!" he pointed forward.

The Shadow sighed, covering his face with his hand. "How do I end up in these situations?..."

Bouquet didn't know where to begin looking for Shu. It didn't help that night had fallen - it was pitch black out.

So, she fell back on the next best thing: "Shu, where are you?!!"

Her only reply was a slight echo of her voice. Most of the villagers had already gone inside their homes, so it gave her a horrible sense of loneliness.

The guilt she had was horrible; if something happened to him, she knew she'd never forgive herself.

She decided she might as well try a direction. It would be bad if she chose the wrong one, but she could end up wasting just as much time trying to figure out which way to go. She chose left.

Shu sniffed, wanting to kick himself for crying. He supposed he could blame the SCI, but it wasn't stopping him from feeling like a baby. He'd been doing good with the crying thing, too; until now, he hadn't cried since Homeron's death, and that had been a good while ago.

Is everything supposed to be spinning like this? Was the dizzy thought that floated around in his mind. He felt like his head was stuffed with cotton...

"Shu!" he turned when he heard the voice. It was Bouquet; her face looked like it was warring between worry and relief.

He tried to say something, maybe her name, but the dizziness overtook him as he fell towards the ground, Bouquet screaming his name.

Okay... Chapter 17 done! This chapter probably should've been in chapter sixteen, but what the heck? These two chapters seemed to end well where I did end them, so I won't worry about it. Next chapter... Well, you'll have to see. ;) Review if you can. I understand if you can't. I'm going to try and start working on the next chapter as soon as this is uploaded, so you should see it soon. See you then! :)