Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I've been killed with college work n shiznit. I probably took on a few more hours than I should have but o well... I'm so excited for the next couple chapters! Trust me, you guys will like them. Anyways don't forget to read and review! (Btw: I have an A in Japanese!!)

Recap of Chapter 7

-o0o-

As he turned his body towards the side of the bed he caught sight of something a few feet below him on the floor.

'What in tha-?' He gazed at Miaka's still form, lying peacefully on a tiny mattress. Her hair flowed gracefully in every direction. Her face was calm but weathered as if it had been through a lot in the last couple days. He was about to return to his undisturbed sleep when he spotted her heavily bruised neck. His eyes then ventured down to her heavily wrapped wrist and ankle.

'When had that happened?'

"OI!!" his scream could not only be heard by the exhausted girl below him but also by the entire building of bandits.

-o0o-

Chapter 8: Deal or No Deal?

Miaka jerked upwards, straining her painful muscles. What was going on? Was she under attack again? She looked upwards to find the source of the noise, only to come across two wide-open golden orbs glaring, horrorstruck, at her body. His fiery bangs fell in cascades around his hardened face.

"Looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake" Miaka huffed.

"What's that s'pposed ta mean?" Genro's voice was raspy from the lack of use in the past couple days.

"It means your finally awake smart ass. Now can you kindly let me get my sleep since you rudely interrupted it?" Miaka rolled on her side, turning her back to him.

"Damn, are ya sure that ya aren't tha devil's mistress or sumtin cause tha Miaka I knew wasn't such a bitch." Genro growled towards the sleep-deprived girl below him.

Miaka took in a deep breath. He did have a point; her lack of sleep made her shockingly abnormal. Giving in, she rolled back over to face him.

"Gomen, I just haven't gotten any sleep in the past three days." She couldn't believe she was actually apologizing to him.

" Wha-What happened to ya Miaka?" Genro glanced over her wounds again, trying to remember what had happened to them last.

"I was attacked by a giant bunny." Miaka smirked, flashing her wrapped wrist in front of him. "Don't you remember what happened?" Miaka tried not to look in his disconcerting eyes. Since when had he cared?

"I'm not sure…"Genro's words trailed off as he massaged his throbbing temples. It hurt enough just trying to remember how he had met the girl in front of him. They had been traveling in the woods and camping together. Why would he even camp, let alone sleep next to a girl? He then regained glimpses of the reaction she had had to his tessen; how his fire had not burned her. He could see her fuming face, rising out of a pond somewhere. The thought of his recent intrusion brought a warm blush across his cheeks. He then found Koan's face carved into every part of his brain. Lastly, he saw himself, flinging his body in front of hers, blocking what seemed to have been a deadly arrow; then all went black.

"He hurt ya, didn't he?" Genro asked, with recognition of his last thoughts. He glanced over his body, searching for the arrow wound. Slowly, he unraveled the medical wrapping around his midsection, being careful as to not disturb his deep wound.

Miaka felt a warm sensation flow over her neck and cheeks as she watched the whole ordeal in front of her. Did he not care that he was undressing himself in front of a woman? Maybe this would be calling it even, since he had already seen half of her exposed, however, she did think he was getting the upper hand of the deal.

'Should I let him find out on his own?' Miaka watched as Genro continued to look for his non-existent wound. She was surprised to find that he was in much better shape than she had given him credit for. Considering how much booze she had seen around this place Miaka expected to him to have somewhat of a beer belly. Thoroughly defined abs shouted a big 'NO' to that theory.

"What tha hell? Am I goin' insane? " Genro continuously poked his side where his arrow wound should have been.

A soft giggle brought his attention back to the girl below him. "What's yer problem huh?"

"Nothing. I guess it would be nice of me to mention that you've been healed, ne?" Miaka turned to the door where somewhere down the hall Mitsukake would hopefully be sleeping.

"Oh really? I don' know 'bout yer intelligence but I sure as hell know that there ain't no cure ta poisonous arrows." Genro shook his head swiftly, trying to reassemble all of his jumbled thoughts. What was really going on here?

"Well then, I guess it's safe to assume my intelligence is higher than yours since I found a man who could cure you." Miaka smirked to herself, smug that she had won an argument for once.

Genro growled at the girls dirty tactics. True to her word he was healed, but how was it possible that anyone could heal a highly poisonous wound? He remembered a rumor Koji had once told him about a miracle proficient doctor but the fact that it came out of Koji's mouth was enough to believe its falsity.

"Who healed me?" he finally asked, dying to figure out his unsolved mystery.

Miaka's face lit up at the mention of this so-called doctor. "Mitsukake, no da!"

"No da? What kind of a phrase is that?" Genro wrinkled his nose in disapproval.

Miaka stifled a giggle to herself. Chichiri must have really rubbed off on her. The sudden thought of the blue-haired monk brought about a nervous twisting feeling in her stomach. She could only hope that he and Chaos were safe on their way back to the bandit hideout. "Oh! A guy named Chichiri who saved my life had a habit of saying that. He was the one who lead me towards Mitsukake too."

"Saved yer life? How? By bringing ya more food?" Genro raised the tip of his nose to the imitation of a pig. In no more than a few split seconds he found a pillow mashed up against his face.

"Insufferable jerk…" Miaka mumbled to herself as she turned her back towards him.

"I could kick ya outta here ya know. Who said I was gonna grant tha favor of hospitality huh?" Genro handed her back the pillow she had plastered onto his face.

"Well, I think your present action just answered that for you." Miaka smirked, waving the pillow he had just given back to her in front of his face.

"Aw, damnit. Fine. Back on topic. What happened to ya?" Genro leaned forward, pointing towards her ankle, her wrist, and then stopping at her neck. His fingertips were within touching distance and when he realized this Genro pulled his hand back.

Miaka paused, watching his hand, shocked that he would come that close. So close to the point that she could feel his body heat radiating from his fingertips. "I, I was attacked by assassins." She murmured, staring down at the floor. It was a fact that she hated to admit mainly because it showed how weak and vulnerable she was on her own. Her whole life she had been independent, yet as soon as she came here Miaka found that she was going to need a little more than her good-nature and intellect.

"Assassins?!" Genro sputtered out, his eyes widening. "No offense but yer no threat ta anyone…Besides, what happened ta Koan?"

Genro's eyes narrowed as he quietly thought to himself. Of course she was a threat but he wasn't about to tell her that, not yet anyways. Had rumor gotten out? He had told no one about the strange visitor, or who he assumed she was.

"I, um, kinda used your fan on him and his friends." Miaka stared sheepishly at the ground. "I think I took out the entire forest in that area too…" she mumbled in a hushed voice.

Immediately, Genro's face darkened in shades of red. "A WOMAN. touched. MY. Tessen?!"

Miaka looked up at him, hoping that her glare could incinerate him into ashes. "Let me get this straight. I get attacked by assassins TWICE, travel to a distant city to find a doctor that was just a RUMOR, almost get my head chopped off persuading him to come here, and your worried that I touched your god damn FAN??"

Genro went speechless, his eyes not blinking. Her anger was almost tangible through the air. He could even see the hairs on her arms stand up.

'Great, now a woman's gonna make me feel guilty…I didn't realize she went through all that shit….'

"Miaka, I-I..God damnit. I shouldn't of said that. It's jus' my ol' instincts gettin ta me. I'm not used ta havin' a woman save my ass. Thas all. Thanks fer everything, I mean it."

"Yeah, whatever. If you so badly didn't want me touching your precious fan why did you even bother saving me?" Miaka asked, her hazel-green eyes turning a grayish color. Her lips formed a defined pout, her brows furrowed in confusion.

'This woman is gonna be tha death of me I swear' Genro's eyes lowered to his lap, just then realizing that his hands were trembling with fistfuls of blankets in between his fingers.

"I-I Just couldn't see ya getting' hurt from a feud that didn' have anything ta do with ya. I just did it, didn't really think twice." He grumbled in embarrassment.

"Hm. Your actions seem to be a lot more selfless than your words… or your rude outbursts that is." Miaka shrugged it off. His sacrificing his life was enough proof showing that he cared.

Genro let out a big sigh, air he hadn't noticed that he was holding in. Her last comment would have to do. He didn't feel like going into any deeper details. "So, uh, what exactly happened after I passed out n' all?"

Miaka found his change of subject humorous but relieving at the same time. She could feel her eyelids dangerously drooping over her bloodshot eyes. He, however, did deserve to know the story.

"Well, first…." As Miaka began her lengthy list of details, she realized how foreign the story already sounded. Had all of that really happened to her? Every day she became less doubtful on how real this entire adventure was until she took a moment to look back at the whole story.

"…And then finally I persuaded him to come heal you so we came here through Chichiri's hat. And then he healed you." Miaka counted off the events on her fingers, sounding proud of herself.

"Yer jokin'…." Genro raised an eyebrow towards the girl. "First of all, how did this Chichiri beat an assassin? I'm not sure I wanna know why this Mitsukake guy has his dead wife in his house. And, um, ya came through a hat? Miaka are ya on sumthin?"

Miaka snorted at his reply. She should have figured as much. Even the abnormalities she went through on her rescue mission were too incredulous for a man who used a fan that shot out fire.

"Nope. See Chichiri's this monk who has supernatural powers; kind of like you. His hat is a teleporting device of some sort. Mitsukake was mourning his wife's death, that's why she was still in the house. He healed you because he too has some kind of special power, to heal that is." Miaka pointed to Genro's upper half to where his wound should have been.

"Oh, yea" Miaka added. "Chichiri should hopefully be back tomorrow with Chaos." Thinking of the stallion brought a smile to her face. She hadn't realized how attached to him she had gotten.

"Ya know what, this is too much fer my head. I'll believe ya for now but we need sleep fer tomorrow. We got a long journey a head'a us." Genro rested his head back onto his own pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"What?" Miaka asked incredulously. "Where are we going now?"

"Well, since ya didn't find yer way home I figured ya could travel with me fer now. 'N I got some errands ta run. Government business." He swallowed roughly, hoping that her sharp senses wouldn't detect what he had planned ahead for her.

"I see…" her voice trailed off. Genro expected her to question his reasons but she must have been dead tired because she had already rolled back into her original sleeping position.

It was then that he realized how tired he himself was. Even though he was healed it didn't mean he was wide awake. His body was physically exhausted from the past couple days. When he closed his eyes however, all he could see were images of Miaka, unguarded against those assassins. Genro tried to imagine what her journey had been like, the struggles she had gone through in order to save his life. They were even now, he supposed; both had saved each other's lives. But for some reason, imagining her pain felt worse than what he had gotten.

He took one more glance at Miaka, more specifically her bruised and battered body. Would she be able to make the journey he had in store for them? Maybe if they waited another day….It wasn't as if he had a specific appointment with the malicious tax collector anyways. He just hoped that Miaka would be able to see through the deceit he was about to put her through.

-o0o-

Warm buttery rays of sun caressed Miaka's face as she began to stir from her deep sleep. Every part of her body seemed to be dead bolted to the mattress she was sleeping on. It didn't help either that her head felt as if it weighed over a hundred pounds. Immediately she felt the intensity of the sunlight that seeped through her eyelids. There was no way it could be this bright in the morning. How long had she slept?

Carefully she opened her eyes, shielding them with her wrapped hand as she pushed herself up with the good one. She tried to remember the events of last night, her pounding head resisting against its use. Slowly, Miaka recalled how Genro had been healed, and how she had been able to persuade Mitsukake to do so. She then recollected her explanation to Genro right before she had fallen asleep. Didn't he mention that they would have to set out soon on another journey?

Miaka turned her eyes to Genro's bed, only to find vacant sheets in place of where his body should have been. At least he had been kind enough to allow her to continue sleeping peacefully.

Before she had a chance to register anything else in her mind, Miaka got a whiff of the sweet aroma of honey and freshly baked bread. The thought of any food caused her mouth to water more than it should have. Her stomach replied with a rather loud complaint, angry with her for not feeding it sooner.

"Looks like someone could use some food, no da!"

Miaka's head turned automatically to the door of the room. There stood the person she had been worrying about for the past 12 hours. "Chichiri!" She could almost feel her smile reaching the lobes of her ears.

Miaka managed to somehow bring herself to her feet swiftly and limp right into his arms. "You weren't hurt, right?" She pulled herself out of the tight embrace inspecting his body for wounds.

"Nope! They didn't even bother to attack, ya know?" Chichiri returned the smile. He then caught a glimpse of her own wounds, his eyes lighting up.

"It looks like we're going to have to call Mitsukake up here a second time. Now that he's had lunch I'm sure he won't mind, ya know?"

"I slept THAT late??" Miaka shook her head violently, trying to make herself more alert.

"You needed it, ya know? I'll go get Mitsukake; stay here." Chichiri turned back down the hallway and descended the stairs.

Miaka limped back towards her tiny mattress, sitting on its edge. It was impossible to think that the wounds that caused her so much pain now would be completely healed in only a minute's time.

A wave of nostalgia rolled over her, as she remembered the times her mother had healed her as a kid, scolding her lack of grace. Miaka's mind suddenly bolted awake and immediately began counting her fingers. How long had she been here?

"Counting the minutes until you get to eat again, Miaka?" A large figure walked into the silent room.

"Hey! Since when did you know about my food fetish?" Fumed, Miaka grit her teeth but couldn't help but loosen her jaw once she saw the innocuous look on Mitsukake's face.

"A certain bandit filled me in a bit, after he thanked me more than 50 times of course" He sent a smile her way, his eyes catching the sun's rays.

Miaka noticed a certain dissimilarity in Mitsukake's expression than when she had first moment. He almost looked as if he were in peace.

"I was trying to count the days to when I was supposed to see my mom again…" If her calculations had been right, her mother would return home in two days. Would Miaka find a way home by then?

"Is she nearby?" Mitsukake asked as he bent down next to her.

"Iie. Very far, I think." Miaka bit her lip as she held out her wrist for Mitsukake's miracle touch.

"You think?" Mitsukake gingerly took her hand and held the other above it, pausing before he healed her. Suddenly, he was intrigued.

'Great move Yuuki. Now you've got to explain your retarded sounding story to a guy who keeps a dead wife in his house… This is going to go well.'

"Technically, I'm lost right now…Genro was taking me along with him on his journey to help me find my way back." Miaka felt relief shiver down her spine. That was smooth, and all of it had been true.

"I see…well would you mind if I accompanied you until you found your way home?" Mitsukake looked up into her eyes.

Why was it that everyone she had met suddenly wanted to 'accompany' her? Not that it was a bad thing, but she had never had people flock to her before in such a manner. Miaka had to admit, having Mitsukake along would make her feel much safer, now that a doctor was on their side.

"Not at all! Chichiri's already joined our group as well!" Miaka sent him a reassuring smile.

Mitsukake returned her smile with a small one of his. He then turned back to his job at hand, concentrating on her wrist, using it as a gateway to the rest of her wounds.

Miaka watched once again as a strange glow poured out from his palm and slowly coated her body. Within moments a warm melting sensation flowed throughout her veins relaxing every single one of her muscles. It was even better than the hot tub her recent father had once owned.

"All done" Mitsukake announced, immediately standing up. "Now how about some breakfast?"

Miaka gratefully took his large hand as she almost dragged him out the door in her rush.

o0o

"MM! Thif isss fo goob!" Miaka exclaimed as she nearly inhaled another homemade biscuit smothered in fresh honey. It felt odd being able to use her hand again but now that it was no longer an inconvenience, she ignored the fact.

Genro, who was sitting across from her in the bandit dining hall could only gape in astonishment at the girl's profound hunger. How was she not 300 pounds? "It looks like I'll hafta pack twice tha amount of food for our next journey." A smirk crossed his face.

"Why?" Miaka asked between biscuits.

"Have ya not noticed yer own eatin' habits? Or shall I document how ya just ate a world record amount of biscuits?" He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to retort. Watching her face turn red from anger was pure entertainment.

Instead of retorting however, Miaka grabbed her last biscuit with honey and smashed it in the middle of his face. "Arrogant jerk!!"

"It's rude to make fun of a woman's eating habits Genro no da!" Chichiri wove his finger pointedly.

Mitsukake chuckled at the incident, taking in humor he had not seen in a while.

"Aww shit. Now I gotta wash up again before we leave" Genro huffed as he stood up from his seat.

Miaka's fowl mood immediately changed to one of curiosity. "I thought we wouldn't leave for a couple of days?"

'Man she doesn't miss a heartbeat!' "Since yer healed n' all I figured we could head out early. Wouldn' want ta keep tha government waitin'." Genro's face immediately regained a serious composure. What had he been thinking last night? Why should he care if Miaka needed the rest? With that, Genro headed back to his washroom.

o0o

"Chaos!" Miaka squealed as she caught sight of her new close traveling companion.

The well-rested horse nodded in reply, snorting in agreement with her enthusiasm. A saddle was already adorned upon the horse's back and a traveling sack was tied to the side. Without thinking, Miaka instantly mounted the stallion and found a comfortable spot on the saddle.

"Hey! Off my horse! Git' yer own!" Genro marched up behind her, ready to yank her off himself.

"No way! Besides, Chaos favors me more than you! Or…" a devilish grin adorned Miaka's face. "…we could always SHARE."

"HELL NO." Genro replied.

Before Genro had any chance to yank Miaka off Koji rode up abruptly, with a large group of bandits following him on their own horses.

"Genro, everyone's ready ta go. We emptied tha barn in tha process, so were not leavin' tha others a horse supply but I think they'll live a day er two." Koji gave his horse's reins a yank in the direction of the mountains to the south.

According to Miaka's math, they really would have to share Chaos. Not only did she feel sorry for herself but also she felt horribly for the bickering Chaos was going to have to go through. Unless, that is, if Genro could keep his boorish mouth closed.

"Aw, damnit. Ya better not get fresh wit me!" Genro grumpily took his spot behind Miaka, taking the reins in the process.

The closeness of his body brought a warmth to her cheeks unexpectedly. 'Ugh, just embarrassment.'

Shouldn't she be used to this by now? She had already spent three days traveling like this before, so shouldn't it be routine? Miaka shook her thoughts; she must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

It seemed to be hours before any sign of civilization came to sight. For once, Miaka and Genro had kept their fighting to a minimum, but that was always ready to change. Koji, Mitsukake, and Chichiri trailed behind the two, all of whom had remained silent in exception to Koji. For once, Miaka and Genro had agreed on something when they both screamed in unison: "SHUT UP!!" to Koji as he was singing his fifth round of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

"We're almost there!" Koji announced behind the two.

Miaka's head popped up in excitement; anything would be better than sitting on this horse for much longer.

Genro pointed towards the horizon of the hills they were crossing over at the moment. "That right there, is Konan."

"So what is it that we're doing here?" Miaka asked, hoping to get more information than just 'government business.'

"Government business. Are ya deaf?" He replied, spacing himself away so he could keep to his own thoughts.

"Ergh! I meant what KIND of business?" Miaka gritted her teeth, ready for a fight.

"Bargaining" Genro replied, hoping it would shut up the whiz kid sitting in front of him. Looking at it from a vague point of view, what he had said was the truth. His tactics worked, leaving Miaka silent.

Genro could only hope for a quick and speedy transaction. He knew that Miaka was going to hate him for what he was about to do. Somewhere inside he wished she knew the whole story, but such details would be better left out. Genro knew he shouldn't expect her to want to be his friend after this but every time he thought about it an unsettling feeling would rise in his gut.

In addition to his rambling thoughts on Miaka's soon to be vengeful hate, Genro had to seek a different approach to his plan. Two of the new travelers made it difficult to complete this successfully.

o0o

"Kirei desu!!" Miaka scanned the land in the valley ahead of them. Picture books in her school's library had not done ancient China any justice. Red-roofed huts and buildings dotted the city like flecks of snow. Beyond each corner of the land was a gorgeous scenery. To the left was a mountain range with beautiful snow-caps and to the right was a vast blue ocean. Beyond all the tiny houses and huts was a large imperial looking palace.

"Uh, Chinese please?" Genro grumbled behind her.

Miaka blushed, forgetting once again that her companions were not Japanese. "It means 'It's Beautiful'." She answered in her flawless Chinese tongue.

"Ha! If only ya knew what goes on inside these borders! Besides, ya ain't seen tha area around Reikaku enough."

"What's wrong with this city?" Miaka questioned him. By the looks of it, the city was very well off compared to the other ones she had traveled through.

"Lets just say ya got some corrupt people in Konan. Emperor's only a year older than me." Genro shook his head at the severe thought.

Miaka would have choked had she been eating. "You mean he's only 18 and he's the emperor?!"

"Ya can do math? Wow, I'm shocked. I just thought ya were good at makin' a dis! I'm touched ya remembered my age" Genro smirked at his pun. Making fun of her seemed to release a bit of the tension he felt at the moment.

"Making fun of a woman never makes your dick any bigger, Genro." Miaka gleamed at herself. Sure, that had been vulgar, but he deserved it. She had learned that one from her mother years ago.

"Odango atama, shall I kick you off MY horse? Whoever said we could talk about my… well, ya know….that way?"

"You did, when your mouth spoke for IT." Had Genro's voice not been so loud, Miaka could've sworn she heard Chaos snort below them.

"Well Miaka, I think ya should be glad ta know yer probably tha only woman thas out dissed Genro here!" Koji announced as he rode up beside them.

"Aw, Shut up Koji. Haven't ya opened yer mouth enough t'day?" Genro's teeth grit, realizing that he was on his own on this one. He didn't even feel like arguing at this point, not at a time like this anyways.

"Whateva.." Genro loosened the reins a bit and gave chaos a little kick, hoping to get everything over with.

o0o

When they arrived downtown it was hard to keep Miaka on the horse. Everything seemed to catch her attention, including the objects that WEREN'T food. The minutes went by and Miaka realized where they were headed. She soon found the palace looming over them.

" 'Ey Chichiri!" Genro called behind him.

"Hai?" Chichiri rode up beside them, holding his reins in one hand and his scepter in another.

"I forgot ta let tha inn know how many rooms we'd be needin'. Ya think you 'n Mitsukake could make tha reservations while I meet with a friend o' mine?" Genro held his composure to the best he could. Lying had always come natural to him, but whenever he was around Miaka and her friends he could barely choke out the words.

Had the monk's face not been so stiff, Genro could have sworn that worry was written all over it. Could the monk see through his words?

Genro then realized he had been over apprehensive when Chichiri replied with: "No problem, no da!"

"Can I go with them?" Miaka turned back to him.

Genro's brain rushed for another lie. Why did this girl have to be so god damn attached to Chichiri and Mitsukake anyways?

"Well, I thought ya might wanna meet one 'o my friends" Genro sent her a fangy grin.

"No offense Genro, but I'm not one for politics and government issues…." Miaka bit her lip, politics plain-out bored her. She had always been more of a math/science wiz anyways.

"Would you change your mind if I said that we would be going THERE" Genro nodded his head to the imperial looking palace ahead of them.

"HUH?! Genro, how in god's name do you have connections to the emperor??" Miaka, wide-eyed, asked.

"I never said we were gonna go see tha emperor ya know" Genro bit his lip, why'd this girl have to be so sharp?

"Then WHO are we going to go see?" Miaka was already getting ready to hop on Chichiri's horse.

"It's a surprise! Common' I might get ya a tour of the palace too" Genro's eyes fell to the ground. This was unbearable. No; it was nearly impossible. Lying to Miaka felt AWEFUL.

"Fine. When did you become so anxious to surprise me anyways?" Miaka crossed her arms. Something was up and she didn't like the feeling.

"Oh stop bein' a pain 'n tha ass. Ya should appreciate things every once 'n a while ya know?" With that Genro gave the 'signal' to Koji and gave Chaos a nudge in the sides.

Miaka watched as her friends and the rest of the bandits headed off in the opposite direction while at the same time she quickly approached the palace. Why did she suddenly loose that sense of 'protection' that she usually had around Genro?

o0o

"Here we are!" Genro announced as he hopped down off of Chaos. He then lent his hand to Miaka who was attempting a dismount as well. Miaka immediately frowned. This was NOT Genro.

"Ok, who are you, and what have you done to Genro?" she asked as she accepted his help.

"Aw shuddup. I'm jus' makin up fer the stuff I said to ya las' night." Genro grimaced, that was probably the last lie he could give her.

Miaka glared at him for a few moments, taking in his words carefully. He DID have a point.

"Whatever" she replied. With that she followed him towards the doors of the building ahead of them. Come to think of it, weren't they supposed to be going into the imperial palace anyways? The building they were walking towards was only a side sanction of it. While it looked imperial as well, it could not be compared to the awe-like feeling when she looked up at the looming doors of the palace's main entrance.

"Aren't we gonna go to the palace?" Miaka asked as she followed Genro towards two large red doors.

"After I talk ta someone in here. It'll take a second; don' worry." Genro nodded towards the doors, which were adorned with two imperial guards on either side.

"Halt! What business do you have with the baron?" One guard announced, as they crossed their spears in front of the doors.

Miaka gulped. These guards were even scarier than the ones in the movies at home!

"Jus' tell Baron Li that it's Genro." The bandit leader puffed up his chest as he crossed his arms, already impatient.

The two guards looked at each other and then opened the doors. One of them disappeared behind them as the other continued to stand guard.

Miaka could feel the guard's stare as they waited patiently for the other guard to receive permission on their entrance. The silence was so awkward that she swore she could feel it crawling on her skin.

What was only a minute or two felt like an eternity, and finally the guard returned.

"The baron will see you now."

"Much obliged." Genro nodded his head towards the guard and lead Miaka into the building.

The main room was decorated with lavish furnishings such as marble statues and gold-rimmed paintings. A plush red carpet rested beneath their feet and lead to a large ivory oak desk. Here, a middle-aged man sat, hunched over a stack of parchment. Had Miaka not known she was not home she would've sworn they were at a museum that featured some of the finest and the most expensive artifacts from all over the world.

Genro cleared his throat, which brought attention from both the baron and Miaka. Slowly Miaka and Genro made it within a couple of yards to where the baron was sitting. The gray haired man looked up.

"Ahhh, Genro! It's nice to see you again my friend." Miaka caught the sarcasm in the baron's voice. Was it because he knew that Genro was a bandit leader? Or were there other veiled enigmas that she had yet to discover on her own?

"And you tha same Baron Li," Genro replied with a curt nod.

The baron stood up slowly and walked around his desk. A silk robe with golden trimmings adorned his body.

'Where on earth does he get his money?' Miaka wondered as she scrutinized the weasel-like baron. When she saw his smirk, she could not help but get a feeling of revulsion. She could only hope that Genro's business with him was brief.

"I received your letter but I doubt there is any possible bargain you could make me for THAT amount of money. And who is this?" the baron twirled his goatee around his fingers as he eyed Genro's companion up and down.

Miaka quickly turned her head towards Genro. This was about money? She should have known. 'WHAT a PIG!'

Genro frowned when he felt Miaka's incinerating stare. This was just the beginning too. He flicked his head to the side so his hair could cover his own horrified face.

'Gomen Miaka. I'll understand if you never forgive me….'

Miaka had had enough. She could care less what was going on; she was leaving, NOW. Just as she turned on her heals however, Genro grabbed her roughly at the arm.

Shock waves rushed down her spine as she glared at him, more confused than ever. Terror seized over her body as her heart began to beat rapidly. "Genro, what the…?"

Before Miaka could finish her question, Genro interrupted her, with the LAST thing she would've expected.

"This girl is tha answer ta our bargain. Give me tha money, and I will give ya tha Suzaku no Miko."

Konnichiwa mina! Gomen for this chapter being so late. My midterms are finally over so I've had time to complete this. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! I'd love to hear what you think!