AN: Sorry this chapter also took a while to get out. I've been laid out by some pretty intense allergies as of late. I now understand those commercials talking about being lost in a fog… I always thought they were exaggerating. Apparently not.

Thanks to newcomer TheDarkKunoichi! Yeah, I know I probably rushed Miaka's feelings a wee bit in the beginning, I thought I'd given adequate preface in the first chapter or so… but maybe not quite enough? If I ever decide to redo parts of this that will definitely be something I try to fix. Glad you like it otherwise though!

And Stormlight! SO EXCITED to see you again! I am now reading a ton of fanfiction for a series I've never even seen. Your Biker Mice fic was that damn good. Now I'm scouring the internets for stuffs and I'm afraid to watch the show because it might not hold up to my now extremely high expectations.

You can all thank my roommate for finally pushing me to finish this chapter: Namely terrifying me by screaming "Give me the porn!" In a perfect imitation of Pinky Pie's voice.

**updated this morning because I somehow managed to gloss over an important detail and only realized it when I woke up. Hopefully not too many people were confused.

Art of Love

Chapter Six

"Really? Did you tell Miaka yet?"

While he was speaking, Tetsuya ran one hand through his hair and clutched his bulky cell phone with the other. Honestly! He and Yui had just finished obtaining the Universe of the Four Gods from the National Library and already Keisuke was asking for more! When would it stop? Not to mention Keisuke still owed him money from the Pachinko slots!

What was more, he could practically see Yui's ears perking up with interest as she listened intently to his side of the conversation. "Later," he mouthed to her, turning away as he waited for Keisuke to finish his long winded diatribe.

"Even if I can arrange something…That doesn't guarantee anything." He replied, scowling and falling silent for a moment as Keisuke responded. "Yeah. It's probably best not to get her hopes up until we know for sure. Roger that."

With that, Tetsuya hung up. His lips pursed in annoyance, he turned to find Yui standing frozen on the sidewalk with both hands clamped over her mouth.

"Yui?" Concern replaced annoyance, and he placed a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder to get her attention. "What is it? What's up?"

Fear filled blue eyes fixed on his, Yui whispered a name that filled Tetsuya's heart with cold dread.

"Nakago."

Yui sighed as Tetsuya continued to fuss over her. "Really, Tetsuya, I'm fine." The three groups had reconvened for lunch, and now they were all crowded in a corner booth—Yui sandwiched between Miaka and Tetsuya.

"So the Seiryuu Seishi have been reborn as well?" Tamahome's eyes narrowed dangerously and he wrapped an arm protectively around Miaka, mirroring the way Tetsuya had slung his arm around Yui.

With a nod, Yui said, "He didn't seem to recognize me at all." Her brows furrowed as she stared into her water. "I'm not sure if I'm glad about that or not."

"May I ask why?" Miaka said, reaching out to rest a comforting hand on Yui's.

Yui looked away, feeling uncharacteristically timid. She'd thought about this many times in the past, and had even talked about it with Tetusya a time or two, but admitting it to Miaka was somehow different. "It's just that… your Seishi obviously had, I mean have, such strong feelings for you." The former Seiryuu Priestess let her gaze wander over each of the Seishi seated at the table. "I mean look at what you're all being asked to do because of it." She allowed herself a tiny inward smirk when they all reddened considerably, before she continued. "I spent so much time believing that Nakago cared about me. I just let him do everything for me because I thought that was how he showed he cared. But in the end, all my Seishi were loyal to him. Not me." She gripped Miaka's fingers lightly, and lowered her eyes. "Much of that is my fault. I never did anything to try and gather any of my Seishi myself or earn their loyalty."

"What about Suboshi?" Miaka suggested at once. "He was extremely loyal to you."

"He was the sole exception." Yui closed her eyes in remembrance. Suboshi had truly cared about her and she hadn't even seen fit to treat him as anything more than a means to an end. She sighed, wishing that she could somehow go back in time and punch herself in the face. "Miaka, you even won Amiboshi's loyalty. In the end, the only good thing I did was to give you the power to summon Suzaku."

"And you've more than redeemed yourself since then, Yui! You're my best friend and no one holds anything against you! Right guys?" Miaka asked, turning a meaningful gaze on her Seishi who immediately nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, everyone. That means a lot." Yui allowed herself a wry smile, speculating, "and maybe it's a good thing they don't remember me. None of my Seishi led easy, happy lives, perhaps they'll have a chance at normalcy in their new ones."

Keisuke nodded, but his eyes were shifting nervously around their surroundings. "Still. I don't like that those guys are walking around Tokyo the same as us. What if they regain their memories? Anything could happen."

There was a general murmur of agreement and Tetsuya's grip on Yui's shoulder tightened.

"Agreed!" Tamahome exclaimed. "No one goes anywhere alone, then. Safety in numbers. Especially Yui and Miaka!"

Hearing this, Yui felt a flash of indignation at being treated like a child; one quick glance at Miaka revealed the Priestess of Suzaku was just as unhappy with the sudden turn of events as she. Yui opened her mouth, resolved to issue a protest, only to have the Tetsuya's cell phone ringtone cut her off.

Hurriedly answering the summons, Tetsuya listened to the muffled chattering on the other end as the rest of the table's occupants continued their conversation in stilted but polite tones. After a moment, Tetsuya's smile grew wide. "Really? Thanks man!" He clicked the phone off, shoving the gigantic monster into his jacket pocket.

"Miaka, we've found Hotohori."

Miaka's heart gave several sharp thumps at Tetsuya's announcement, accompanied by a familiar hot rush of desire that reminded her of her earlier dream. She pushed the feelings away in favor of frantically firing questions at Tetsuya. "What? Where? When? How?" And, why hadn't he said anything earlier?

"We wanted to be absolutely sure before we told you." Tetsuya explained. His expression was apologetic as he continued, removing a slightly crumpled and folded up piece of paper from his pocket and sliding it across the table to her. "He's a singer. Goes by the name of Andy Wong.

"So you didn't actually see him?" Miaka's shoulders sagged as she unfolded the paper curiously.

Keisuke snorted, casting an amused glance at Tasuki and Chichiri. "Not exactly."

Her two surviving Seishi looked oddly... pained as she attempted to smooth the wrinkles from what turned out to be a flier as it lay face down on the table. Frowning, she flipped it over only to have her heart stutter to a halt.

The image of her second Seishi stared up at her seductively, familiar locks of chestnut brown hair falling about his perfect face as those astonishing golden eyes peered into her soul from the slightly abused piece of paper. Miaka felt her mouth suddenly go suspicious dry, finding herself unable to tear her gaze away as she let out a trembling, "Wow."

"Wow is right!" Cried Nuriko, leaning in for a better look. "Looking good, Your Higness!"

Chichiri and Tasuki shared an amused glance as Miaka tried to stifle a giggle. Apparently death and rebirth had no effect on Nuriko's attraction to the former Emperor.

Keisuke laughed at his little sisters reaction. "Now imagine that picture on the jumbo-tron," he said with glee. "It pretty much stopped traffic for a couple of blocks."

Miaka and Nuriko laughed. That sounded like Hotohori alright. He didn't even have to be there in person. Just an over-sized advertisement was enough to send Tokyo's female population into a catatonic state. How had she missed that?!

"That's not all!" Tasuki added, running fingers through his fiery hair in a gesture that implied he was still a little shaken up, even if his wide grin was nothing but amused. "It's one of those moving pictures! And His Highness is-is...!"

"Dancing." Finished Keisuke with a grin.

Miaka felt her eyes bug out as she imagined exactly what that might look like. No wonder he'd been stopping traffic.

Tamahome frowned, eyebrows knitting together as he stared intently at the flier."So how are we supposed to get anywhere close to him if he's this famous?"

"Good question." Tetsuya acknowledged, leaning back in his seat confidently. "He's giving a concert later this week. And I just managed to score us a couple of tickets!"

"Only two?" Despite being grateful for Tetsuya's help, Miaka couldn't keep her disappointment from showing on her face. How was she supposed to catch Hotohori's attention if there was only one Seishi with her? They, and their chi, would simply be lost in the crowd of thousands.

"Sorry, but that's all I could manage."

"Don't be sorry!" Miaka immediately scolded herself for seeming ungrateful. "You did what you could and I'm so thankful for that." She lowered her gaze. "I'm... just worried that two of us won't be strong enough to get his attention."

"There's got to be a way." Keisuke stroked his chin in thought. "Any ideas, Chichiri?"

Nodding at Keisuke, Chichiri said, "We'll want to raise your energy before you go, no da. Once you're there you can concentrate on drawing His Highness to you." He offered Miaka a smile when she looked up at him, which she shyly returned. "It'll be difficult because there will be so many people, but you can do it! Especially if one of us is there to help you. The rest of us will concentrate from the apartment."

"Right." Miaka's voice was filled with determination.

"Miaka is going," Nuriko announced blithely. "That's a no brainer." His gaze flicked back and forth across the table. "Who gets the second ticket?"

"Me! " Tasuki blurted. "I'm goin'!"

Silence followed his declaration, as the belligerent look on the redhead's face dared anyone to argue.

Finally, a frowning Tamahome spoke. "I believe I should be the one to go!"

"Too fucking bad, I called it first." Tasuki folded his arms across his chest. He tipped his head, meeting Tamahome's gaze boldly. "Besides, wasn't Hotohori your greatest rival for Miaka's heart? How do we know you won't sabotage our chances?"

Miaka felt her heart skip a beat and she gazed at Keisuke with trepidation. Would he catch on to the true meaning behind Tasuki's words? But to her relief, her brother wasn't showing any awareness of the situation other than resignation to just another argument between his sister's two most testosterone driven Seishi.

"What the hell are you saying?" Tamahome sputtered, looking around for someone to back him up. "That's ridiculous!"

"Well, you have been acting pretty jealous lately, Tama-kins." Nuriko said quietly, looking up from his folded hands."It's a valid question."

The look he was giving Tamahome was oddly pointed, Miaka observed, but she couldn't discern the significance behind it.

"Summoning Suzaku takes precedent over any misgivings Hotohori and I may have had in the past!" Tamahome declared, as everyone else looked at him with skepticism. "I'm serious!"

Chichiri spoke up. "We'd like to believe you Tamahome, but this window of opportunity to get close to His Majesty is so small that even the barest hint of jealousy could distort the call. I'm sorry, but we just can't risk it."

Miaka fully expected Tamahome to continue to argue. Instead, her first Seishi took a deep breath, sighed, and then capitulated with a terse, "Fine!" He leaned back in his chair, his sulky gaze fixed somewhere off to the side. "I understand."

It was bewildering that Tamahome would give up so easily. Miaka noted that he shared a quick glance with Nuriko that had her wondering just what might have transpired between the two.

After lunch, the three groups separated once again to cover more ground. Unfortunately, the rest of the day was quite uneventful- at least as far as finding any new Seishi went. But Miaka had regained her positive outlook, as Tamahome and Nuriko had finally managed to return to a semblance of normal behavior. Tamahome no longer looked at his fellow Seishi with perpetual suspicion, and he found that he was much happier for it.

Currently, Miaka was tucked under his arm and snuggling into his side to ward off the slight chill that was beginning to permeate the air. Tamahome smiled at the sight of her happy countenance, and allowed himself a contented sigh.

Nuriko was right, of course. Miaka had always loved him, and she always would. Even if her feelings for the others evolved into something stronger, he had no need to worry about his place in her heart. He'd have to remember to thank his brother Seishi for verbally knocking some sense into him.

Nuriko was strolling alongside them, hands jammed in his pockets. Tamahome could see the slight quirk at the corners of his mouth as he pretended not to watch Miaka, and held back a chuckle. He supposed if he had to share Miaka with anyone, he was glad Nuriko was one of them. They'd grown close after traveling together for so many months, and Nuriko had even given him some pretty good advice when he could have just let Tamahome flounder about on his own. Even now, earlier today, Nuriko hadn't taken what could have been a major opportunity to undermine Tamahome's relationship with Miaka. Instead he'd tried to help strengthen it, and Tamahome would be forever grateful for that.

Now that they'd reached the apartment building, Miaka reluctantly detached herself to enter the security code for access. Once inside, Tamahome could sense traces of the life forces of his fellow Seishi somewhere above- inside Miaka's apartment already, no doubt.

He wondered if any of the others had had any luck or not, immediately pushing away the thought that he hoped they hadn't. That kind of thinking would only get him into trouble, dammit! But he couldn't be the only one having them, could he?

He glanced at Nuriko as they entered the elevator. Nuriko had practically written the book on jealousy when it came to Hotohori, so how could he be so calm about the concept of sharing Miaka? Unless maybe the former cross-dresser was just better at hiding it? After all, he'd dressed as a girl for eight years without getting caught. Obviously the man knew how to keep a secret!

"We're home!" Miaka called, flinging open the unlocked door to her apartment.

"What took you so long?" Yui teased, smoothing out the makeshift map created from torn out pages of the phonebook.

Miaka stuck out her tongue and playfully blew a raspberry at her friend. "Maybe we're just doing a more thorough job than the rest of you!"

"Ladies, ladies!" Tetsuya raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Let's not be rude!" He grinned, showing that he knew they were only playing, and then asked in a more serious tone, "So. Did we find anything?"

"Zip." Nuriko sighed, seating himself on the couch and leaning back into the soft cushions.

"Ziltch." Tamahome followed his brother Seishi's example and sat, leaving enough room for Miaka to sit between them if she so chose.

"Nada." Miaka finished, and eased herself into the space left between her two Seishi.

Tamahome made to put his arm around her, but stopped when he realized she'd leaned back and was resting her head on Nuriko's shoulder. There was that immediate flare of jealousy again, but he viciously tamped down on it, clearing his throat and diverting his attention to the map spread out on the coffee table. From here, he could see someone had highlighted the closest areas to the apartment on the map and scribbled several notes in nearly illegible handwriting in the corners. Yui was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her blue eyes boring holes into the map and coffee table. "Any ideas on where we might find the next Seishi?" He asked.

Startled, Yui looked up. "Not yet. Even though we've searched these quadrants today it's not as though we can just scratch them off a list or something. What if the next Seishi shows up tomorrow? Or the day after that? Or what if they walk into an area just as we leave it?"

"We'll figure something out, Yui. We always do." Keisuke soothed, a steady hand resting on her shoulder—a hand which he quickly removed after a pointed look from Tetsuya.

"We'll have to have Miaka send out another call, na no da."

Tamahome looked up to see both Chichiri and Tasuki emerge from the spare bedroom, both clothed in their normal Konan attire. He remembered how modern clothes had seemed so restrictive to him when he'd initially followed Miaka to Tokyo, and couldn't blame his fellow Seishi for wanting to wear something a little more familiar and comfortable now that they were home for the night. "Again?"

"Of course, no da." Chichiri gestured towards the map, indicating the highlighted area. "Based on Miaka's chi, if the Seishi are anywhere in this area they should be able to feel the call, but," he held up a finger, "that energy signature will fade over time, na no da. Usually within a day. Therefore Miaka will have to make a daily effort to renew the signal so that there's a better chance of one of them responding to it, no da."

"Isn't that gonna get kind of tiring for Miaka?" Keisuke asked, brotherly concern written across his face.

"That's not a problem," Nuriko piped up, patting Miaka's knee with one hand. "Chichiri is teaching us how to replenish her chi with our own. Just like we did before we sent her home that one time."

"Doesn't that decrease your own energy?" Yui asked, recalling the incident as clearly as though it'd been yesterday.

"Only for a little while, no da. Especially if each of us gives her a little, the effects aren't so drastic."

"And this time I'm not injured," Miaka added sagely.

Keisuke nodded. "It sounds like something that you five need to do on your own, without distractions." He glanced at the clock and sighed. "And it's getting late."

After looking to see for themselves, Yui and Tetsuya grudgingly agreed it was time to go. "We wouldn't want to distract you guys from reaching your goal. Right, Miaka?" Yui tossed the other girl a wink and a wicked grin at Tamahome, who couldn't keep himself from blushing at the insinuation.

"Whatever you say, Yui!" Miaka managed to keep a straight face as she ushered the three to the door. "You guys be safe! We'll see you later!"

Nuriko watched in amusement as Miaka practically shoved Tetsuya, Keisuke, and Yui out of the apartment. Although the Priestess managed to keep her emotions from showing on her face, her voice was higher than normal and her body language was totally off. Miaka was a spaz, but she wasn't that bad. How her brother didn't know something was going on was completely beyond him. If Kourin had ever acted like that, Nuriko was positive his older brother senses would be screaming at him.

Then again, maybe the fact that he'd even noticed any of that was because after eight years of cross-dressing, he was more attuned to her femininity than any of the others. Miaka's lovable oaf of a brother didn't seem to know anything about women, and he still seemed to hold all of Miaka's seishi in extremely high esteem, which meant that he didn't see any reason at all not to leave his sister in the care of four virile young men.

The purple haired Seishi sighed inwardly. Blind trust seemed to run rampant in the Yuuki family; it was exactly the same reason Miaka had gone out in the dark to search for a nonexistent earring.

The sound of Chichiri clearing his throat snapped Nuriko out of his thoughts just as Miaka returned to her spot between him and Tamahome.

"Now that all of us are alone for the first time…" Chichiri paused, glancing around the room to make sure he had everyones rapt attention before continuing with a seriousness that belied the magically smilling mask he wore, "...perhaps we should discuss the details of this new ceremony."

A cat-like expression settled on Nuriko's fine features; he knew the Monk had taken a vow of chastity during his training with Taiitsukun. "Yes, Chichiri, tell us. Just how does it work?" He asked, in tones close to a purr.

Caught off guard, Chichiri faltered momentarily. "Ehhh…." Embarassment colored the Monk's tone as he shot Nuriko an unsmiling look.

Trying not to giggle, Miaka elbowed Nuriko and attempted to rephrase the question for Chichiri, "I think he means, does the scroll say anything specific?"

Visibly relieved at the less suggestive turn of phrase, Chichiri quickly regained his compsure. "What do you mean by specific, Priestess?"

"Well… Er… Yui..." Now Miaka was the one stumbling over her words and shifting uncomfortably.

Nuriko smirked, having an idea where this was going. He'd been wondering about it himself. Miaka, it seemed, couldn't seem to find the courage to spit it out, and when Nuriko was just about to take pity on her and ask the question himself, the words spilled from his Priestess's lips in such a rush that Chichiri was forced to ask her to repeat herself.

Cheeks flaming scarlet, Miaka took a breath and forced out the question again, this time so everyone could hear. "Yui made a good point and asked if we'd be doing this one at a time or… all together."

Silence.

Nuriko surveyed the room as discretely as possible, anxious to see his fellow Seishi's reactions. He certainly didn't mind the idea of multiples. He might even have had a couple of three-way fantasies starring Miaka, himself, and a certain Emperor. Especially after having caught sight of the several movie billboard that played snippets of Andy Wong's previous performances. Honestly, he was surprised there hadn't been more traffic accidents. Thoughts of what kind of lover each of his comrades might be had even crossed his curious mind.

Tasuki had blanched, looking as though he'd swallowed a bug—no surprise there. The bandit had always made it clear that while he wasn't overly fond of women, he was completely one hundred percent straight. And though he'd taken Miaka and Nuriko's teasing well the other night, he'd also made it clear he wasn't the type to share when it came to that sort of thing.

Tamahome, in stark contrast to Tasuki, had gone quite red and suddenly seemed extremely interested in the floor. Nuriko tried not to laugh, remembering all the things he'd done to Tamahome while the other Seishi had thought he was a woman. Though Nuriko had never done anything like that to Tamahome, he'd certainly had quite a lot of fun teasing the man. Tamahome was, like Tasuki, definitely straight, and extremely unlikely to share. However, now Nuriko had a whole lot of ammo to tease his fellow Seishi with. He cackled inwardly-the thought nearly gave him goosebumps.

Chichiri, as always, was hard to read. The mask he wore concealed emotions with its banal expression, and so Nuriko had learned to rely heavily on body language with the Monk. While he appeared surprised at Miaka's question, and had gone completely silent just like everyone else, he hadn't even tensed up at the implications of Miaka's question. Though Nuriko did notice Chichiri's ears had turned a brilliant shade of red as he pulled out the scroll and read carefully.

After a moment, Chichiri's brows knit together as he summarized, "The ceremony is designed to take place over seven nights. Each night one warrior is to give their life force to the Priestess using Bou Chu Jutsu. Once the Priestess has coupled with all seven warriors she is to throw the universe of the four gods into the fire and call Suzaku."

Seven Seishi, Seven Nights, Nuriko thought. There was a trashy romance novel in there somewhere- if only he was a better writer! He did so love his romance novel collection, and he'd buy the shit out of a novel like that. Much better than that crappy 50 Shades or whatever it was called...

Chichiri was talking again, and Nuriko mentally slapped himself, determined to pay closer attention to the proceedings.

"Before that time comes, we've got to make absolutely sure we've got the basics down. If the flow of chi is disrupted, or one of you gets carried away the consequences could be disastrous."

Nuriko didn't miss the meaningful glance the monk spared for Tasuki, and his eyes widened. All right, just what had the Bandit done to warrant that look? Something must have happened this morning after Miaka sent out the call...

"Nuriko, let's start with you."

Surprised, Nuriko stumbled over his words, "Erm. Why don't you just demonstrate for us, Chichiri? You are the spiritual expert after all."

"Because someone has to be able to monitor what's going on during the exchange just in case things get out of control. None of you are ready for that, na no da."

"Oh. Okay. Got it." Sucking in a breath, Nuriko stood, grasped Miaka's hand and pulled her to her feet after him with far more confidence than he felt. Why had Chichiri picked him? Was he even ready for something like this? The only times he'd really focused his chi in the past had been when they'd needed brute strength or a huge outpouring of chi—did he have enough control to make sure he didn't accidently hurt Miaka?

"Good. Now have a seat right there."

They obeyed Chichiri's command, sitting cross-legged across from each other on the floor with hands on knees, so close that their knees touched and their fingers brushed against each other. Chichiri adjusted their posture gently, directing them both to relax and empty their minds and focus their chi.

Nuriko found that bringing his chi to bear was a simple task, as was focusing it into his hands. However, willing it into Miaka was another thing all together. The power roared to life within him, making his entire body tingle with the need to unleash the pent up energy.

"Go as slowly as you can, Nuriko. The more control you have over the flow of energy, the better."

Nuriko's eye twitched. "Easy for you to say. Didn't you take a vow of chastity or something?" He asked flippantly.

Chichiri's aura flared briefly with annoyance and Nuriko flinched at the clang of his Shakajou against the carpet, the rings jangling angrily as the Monk growled, "Focus!"

Perhaps he shouldn't antagonize the monk. Not when said monk seemed likely to thwap him upside the head with his staff.

Nuriko shut up and returned his attention to Miaka.

Peering through thick lashes, he could see Miaka surrounded by her very own halo of holy fire as she concentrated. Her aura shimmered faintly about her pale skin and, Nuriko discovered, was pleasantly warm. Lightly brushing her aura with his, he could sense her strength, far greater than that of a normal person and belying her tiny physical frame.

Shyly, she touched him back, sending electric tingles straight up his spine, and his eyes flew open in surprise. Miaka hadn't so much as batted an eyelash. Had he really reacted that strongly just to her aura? Good grief, this was going to get embarrassing, wasn't it?

Well, here goes nothing, he said to himself, and reached out to grasp Miaka's hands gently in his, marveling at how small and delicate she seemed compared to him as their auras merged. Nuriko gasped at the sensations roused by the contact. and it took far more will power than he was willing to admit to keep from allowing his energy to flood into her. The pathway was open and everything in him screamed for him to give her everything, right here, right now. He was hers, after all, and that was the way things were supposed to be.

No. It's too soon. We're supposed to be doing this slowly. It's not time yet.

Across from him, he could hear Miaka inhale sharply as the first bout of new energy began to flow into her. Her own aura responded to the influx of power by pulsating warmly and causing Nuriko's body to tighten in response. Gritting his teeth, he once again held back the massive wave of energy that threatened to overwhelm his control. He knew their bond as Priestess and Seishi was strong, but that hadn't prepared him for the sudden urgency he felt to wrap himself around Miaka, body and soul.

Touching her this way, it seemed as though a part of him was coming home. His seishi energy wanted nothing more than to fill Miaka up and leave him completely spent, in more ways than one. And so, when the time arrived, he found he was more than glad when Chichiri told them to stop. If the exchange had gone on any longer, he was all too aware he would have done something he'd have regretted.

Opening his eyes, Nuriko saw Miaka watching him intently, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright from the surge of energy. He let out a breath, and managed to stand without drawing attention to what was turning out to be one of the most impressive hard-ons he'd ever had. And he'd barely done more than hold Miaka's hand! What in the world was going to happen when it came time to seal the deal?

Now it was Tamahome's turn, and Nuriko made himself comfortable on the couch—covertly snatching a pillow and placing it in his lap as he watched Tamahome assume the same cross-legged position across from Miaka. The two shifted bashfully as Chichiri walked them through the same process as he'd done with Miaka and Nuriko, and Nuriko couldn't help but watch them longingly. Something about their awkwardness with each other struck him as special; it was so clear that they wanted each other and were worried about pleasing each other.

Miaka was never nervous in that way around him.

Sure, she was comfortable enough with him on 'girl terms'… she always had been. Even after everyone had found out he was really a man, he'd been the one that would be assigned to guard Miaka while she bathed or sleep nearest to her or even share a room or bed because he was 'safe.' None of them had seen him as a man and therefore no one was nervous about what he might do, especially Miaka herself. There'd always been a huge differences between how he and Miaka interacted and how Miaka and Tamahome or Miaka and Tasuki or even Miaka and Chichiri interacted.

The realization troubled him. Would she be able to accept him as a man when it came time for them to perform their part in the ceremony? Would he be able to please her? What if he got too excited and accidentally hurt her? Unlike the others he had to worry about both his physical strength and spiritual strength. Maybe the ceremony won't be as fun as he'd originally thought.

And what would happen afterwards? Would they all go back to life as usual and pretend nothing had ever happened? As confident as he was in Miaka and Tamahome's continued relationship, and in the fact that Miaka would always love him, Nuriko, as a friend, he wasn't at all sure if that would be enough for him after all was said and done.

Before his death, he'd only just begun to realize the depths of his feelings for his Priestess and now…he loved her even more. So much that he'd let her go if that was what she wanted.

He could only hope that she wouldn't want him to.

To Be Continued…

Thanks again to all of you lovelies for being so patient! Please review!