So… where did we leave off last time? Oh, yeah, Hiraru just got into a big argument, and ran off with Sano in tow. Where ever could she be planning to go?

Guess you'll just have to read and find out.

Oh, and Thank you, S () and Ms. Krys. You two are the reason I am posting. I frequently forget to post the next chapter, but getting reviews reminds me, so hear you go, just for you two.

Finally Hiraru slowed Katsu having him walking quickly downward. It was twenty minutes after the mad run that she finally pulled Katsu to a stop. "We're here," She said softly.

Sano scooted back and slid off Katsu's butt. Hiraru climbed of next, and started pulling Katsu's gear off. They were in a small valley that had a tall waterfall. It was surprising. The water itself made at least a five foot wide curtain, falling from nearly thirty feet up. It pooled into a large pond that had no river running from it. The rock face that bordered the waterfall was broken into semi-cliffs that supported small trees and wide bushes that looked like they were falling off. The forest around it had grown tall and wild shielding the amazing waterfall from the rest of the world. The grass and foliage went nearly to the edge of the lake. Hiraru had finished unsaddling Katsu by the time Sano had finished looking around and she'd hidden the tack under a bush.

Sano watched as she walked right to the edge of the pond. Her shoulders stiff in anger, and her hands balled into fists at her side. After a minute of staring at the pond breathing heavily she let out a scream. Katsu and Sano both jumped in surprise. The birds that had before been sitting in the trees took flight Hiraru took another deep breath and screamed again, bending over until she was literally doubled over. Sano edged over to her, "Haru…" He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly.

She spun and punched at him. Sano leapt back, "What the hell?" He yelled at her, "What did I do?"

Hiraru didn't answer, he could see how her mind was clouded with anger. She attacked at him, but her heavy ceremonial clothes kept getting in the way. After a while Sano stopped dodging her half-blind attacks and just blocked them, using a technique he'd seen her using. He saw her starting to tire and let one punch fly through his defenses. He turned letting her hit him dead on in the face.

The second her fist came in complete contact with his cheek she stopped. Her eyes had grown wide and she was watching him like he was some sort of monster. Slowly she removed her hand, and watched as she brought it down and stared at it. Disbelieve was visible on her face; Disbelieve and fear.

"I…" Hiraru said not looking back at him, "I thought… You could have blocked it… you should have… I couldn't have hit you, not even on my best day…" Finally she looked up at him, terrified that she'd hurt him, "Why didn't you block that one?"

Sano reached up and whipped the side of his face with his sleeve, "You needed to hit me. If you didn't hit someone you would have kept going until you couldn't move."

Hiraru blinked at him, her eyes wide, "I don't…"

"You're angry," He said walking away from her and going to the pool. He squatted down and took a gulp of water then spat it out, rinsing what little blood she had caused out. He'd bit his lip when she'd hit him, it wasn't her fault. He stayed there, watching the blood thin then disappear, "I've never seen you that angry. You always bottled your emotions, like no one should ever see them. Your family really brings out your emotions."

Hiraru walked over next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees, "They always bring out the worst in everyone. It wasn't like this, when Grandma was here. Sure there was fighting, but not like this. Tatsou and Shiro argued, but they always made up, and the next day Shiro was pulling Tatsou out of some mess he'd made. It did get a little worse when mom died, but after Grandma died… everything went wrong…"

Sano turned watching her, she seemed so different than she had before. Her eyes and face were sad, but not weepy sad, angry sad.

"Shiro started obsessing about this vision Grandma had before we were even born," She shook her head, "And Tatsou, he kept talking about how being the Hiraru had killed Mom and Grandma. I tried to keep the peace, be that pillar Mom and Grandma had been but they wouldn't listen. No matter what I did, they just didn't listen."

She buried her face in the knees of her pants, "Finally I just couldn't take it. Tatsou said that if we stayed here, Shiro would be the death of us all. He begged me to come with him, but I couldn't forget. I couldn't forget my promise; the promise I made to Mom, and then Grandma." She turned her face and looked at him, "For the first time in my life, I lied. I told him to go ahead of me, I'd follow, when he got us someplace to live, and I told him I'd bring Sozo with me." She smiled but it wasn't happy, "So he left. I… I stayed, and Shiro said if Tatsou ever came back he'd kill him. I never told them I'd promised Tatsou I'd go after him. I think after four years though he probably figured it out."

She stood, looking out over the pool, "He sent presents to all of us, except Shiro. He'd send letters, weekly. The monks hid them from Shiro for me. Whenever he could, he'd go through the village, sometimes he'd even come up to the temple. Taki told me he'd always ask if Taki would go get me… He always just wanted to know if I was doing alright. When I left, I left a way for Taki to send Tatsou's letters to me, a messenger. Actually it was a messenger who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew where I was."

Sano stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "So is that why you were angry? Because of Shiro and Tatsou? Because they were fighting?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm so used to that. I can't stand it, but that's not what I'm upset."

"Then why are you upset?"

She looked from the pool to the bushes, then after a minute she started pulling at her sash.

Sano felt himself blush as she stepped out of her hakama pants and started pulling off her kimono, "Haru what the hell are you doing!" He turned away, "I know you're a girl, you don't need to prove it!"

Hiraru laughed at him, "I'm taking off my clothes to go swimming. Don't worry, I have a wrap and a skirt on underneath."

After a second he turned to look. Sure enough Hiraru stood in all her glory, white bandages covering her breasts down to the bottom of her rip cage, a knee length skirt, split on either side covered her hips from just under her belly button down. He found himself blushing again, she had perfect skin; unmarred, slightly tanned but not overly so, and at the same time, not pale white. She had long legs, Sano had always noticed that, but he hadn't taken in how beautifully they connected to her hips. She had stomach muscles visible with her standing there straight. And her strong shoulders looked perfect, thrown back and revealing her perfectly sized breasts.

She looked at him and laughed again at his gapping mouth and bright red face, "Come on." She smirked at him, "The water is always perfect." Carefully, her feet now missing the Tabi, she walked into the water. When it got to her mid-thigh she turned back to him and grinned evilly. She looked even more beautiful than before, the skirt now floating around her in the water. She was a water spirit, bathed in the sun and standing in the nearly still water. "Come on," She backed up a little further, "It's too hot to sit next to the water and not climb in."

Sano watched as she pushed off into the water, giving him a great view of her stomach and chest. Sano quickly stood and pulled off his own hakama, he'd worn his white pants underneath, so he wasn't in his loin cloth as he wadded out into the water. Hiraru had been right. It wasn't too cold, nor was it too hot. The term perfect slipped into his head, of course Hiraru had laid the ground work for it.

Where on earth could I be going with this… Mmmm…. I wonder? Review if you want to fine out.