Althe: Sorry for not updating earlier. Had no muses for fanfiction, eheh… I need some information about episodes 30-34. Can anyone help me? Need summaries on them to finish this fanfic. Many thanks : )

-Edit-

My God, you people scare me with your reviews.

I didn't update for two years and I still get reviews asking for 'more'. I had seriously lost all faith in this failed attempt of a decent story. I mean, it's typical, it's predictable, and stupid…well, maybe not all that predictable, but I'm surprised my old writing style would still appeal to some of you. It's awfully bad and screams the words 'crap' every time I muster up the courage to even look back at my work.

…I never look back at my work. I hate doing that. I only look forward in writing…anyways, I thank you for your reviews.. because of them, I'm going to finish this fanfic.

Again, many thank yous.

Warning: Bad grammatical mistakes.

:Cross Hearts:

14. Trouble in the Forest

OOOOO

-Tasuki started running, finally emerging out of the tall trees to find the palace walls once more.

He had spent two full hours walking aimlessly around to come back to where he came from.

If Tasuki wasn't so speechless from rage, he'd probably have screamed and burnt down the whole forest. –

Tamahome looked up in surprise when he saw Tasuki walking towards their camp area with bits of the forest (that he had emerged from) covering him and clinging to his tattered clothes. Tasuki did not look too happy. The deep frown on his face also justified this.

"Tasuki?" Tamahome asked in a dumbfounded manner as he got up from his crouched position.

Tasuki walked past him with a note of bitterness and sat himself down in front of the campfire, staring deep into the flames as he brushed off the dirt from his clothes grudgingly.

Miaka and Aya were occupying the campfire, having just finished cooking the stew that was boiling over the campfire flames when Tasuki had arrived.

"Tasuki!" Miaka cried as she dropped the wooden spoon in her hand and embraced him tightly.

Tasuki tried fruitlessly to push her off, but Miaka held her ground, only tightening her grip on him to the point where he thought he would suffocate.

"We were so worried about you Tasuki! Where did you go?" Miaka added, finally releasing him from her iron like grip.

"Are you okay?" Aya asked, handing him a bowl of stew.

Tasuki slowly took the bowl and nodded at her. He didn't have much of an appetite. It was surprising what one night in a thick isolated forest could do to you. Nevertheless, he spooned through the stew.

Nuriko crawled out of his tent in a lethargic fashion. He got up and stretched, yawning loudly as he strolled towards the others and gingerly sat himself next to Aya, who passed him a heaping bowl of hot stew. Nuriko took it and stirred it absentmindedly as he eyed her from the corner of his eye.

He and Aya had not spoken to each other since Tamahome had brought her back from the castle. He still had a deep guilty conscience for leaving her behind at the castle, and it burned him even more every time he looked at her. Her soft features always brought him back to the time he had sneaked into her room…

He snapped back to reality after he noticed Aya was staring at him curiously. Nuriko frowned slightly as she gave him an uncertain smile. It was times like these that he wondered why he even left her behind in the first place.

"Look…Aya," Nuriko began as she motioned for him to eat his stew with the slight nudge of her head.

"Yes?" Aya said as she dipped the ladle into the pot and poured a bowl of stew for Tamahome.

"I'm sorry," he muttered in a barely audible voice.

He looked away as Aya turned to look at him. She tilted her head slightly in confusion as she stared at him.

"Hm?"

"Ah…nothing. Forget it."

He felt his face fluster and quickly began spooning huge amounts of stew, eating noisily as a sign to end the conversation.

Aya stared at Nuriko who was giving his undivided attention to his bowl.

It was probably a dream. It was a dream.

Aya shuddered slightly. She could still feel Nuriko's warm touch around her body. The feeling of his embrace would stay burned in her heart forever. The thought of it made her feel uneasy. She barely knew the pretty boy and he was already seducing her into his very own control. Aya wanted to laugh. She never would have thought she would be attracted to someone who looked like the type to love men- and be more beautiful than she was.

Mitsukake put down his near empty bowl and looked at Tasuki with a concerned expression.

"Tasuki, do you want me to look at your wounds?" he asked the fanged boy.

Tasuki shook his head as he passed his empty bowl to Aya who in return handed it absentmindedly to Miaka.

"Nah, I'll live. These scratches are nothing."

"Stop acting so tough and have Mitsukake look at you Tasuki," Tamahome said as he ate his stew.

"I'm fine!" he snapped.

Tamahome gave Tasuki a weird look before narrowing his eyes in irritation. He took a spoonful of beef and chewed it thoroughly before answering to Tasuki's remark.

"Geez, have it your way. I was just trying to be nice you know."

"Well, I don't need your kindness," he muttered, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Tamahome sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. The guy was truly hopeless when he was in a bad mood.

"What should we do now?" Hotohori wondered out loud, looking up at the blazing sun with squinted eyes. He shielded his eyes with his hand as he continued to look up at the blue sky.

His party had just finished breakfast and were now lounging around the burned out campfire, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the next plan to commence.

Chiriko looked up from the map he was carefully examining.

"We should head back to the palace and re-supply our stocks. These past few days have really diminished our money and food."

"No kidding," Tasuki muttered as he lay down in a rather comfortable position.

"Good plan. I guess we can plan out everything there once we get back."

"How long will it take to get back to the palace?" Tamahome asked.

"About two days if we start now," Chichiri replied, shading his face from the sun as he looked out to the parched road.

"Great, then we should start packing," Tasuki said, getting up and heading towards the tents.

Aya blinked in complete confusion. Did Chiriko just say palace? Hadn't she already been in one already? Were they going back to the same one- why the hell were they going to a palace to restock? Why not a market? Endless amounts of questions spun in her mind, but she kept quiet, not wanting to but in when she was probably the cause of their lowered rations.

Nuriko looked around dully, obviously still drowsy as he stifled a yawn while saying, "I guess we should start packing then."

The rest nodded and the five other senshi got up and began packing, leaving Nuriko, Aya, and Miaka around the campfire.

Nuriko rubbed his eyes again, and yawned, resting his head gently on Aya's shoulder. Aya looked at Nuriko in surprise, barely able to speak as he closed his eyes, looking as if he was about to fall asleep.

"Did you sleep well last night Nuriko? You look terrible," Miaka noted.

Nuriko managed to mumble, "I'm fine" before letting out another yawn.

Miaka shook her head.

"Maybe you should get more sleep before we head off."

Nuriko said nothing, only nodding slightly as a faint smile escaped his lips.

Aya couldn't help but examine his elegant features. He had such beautiful eyes. Even closed Aya could feel a burn of envy as she stared at them longingly. She felt an urge to hug him, but held it back, noticing Miaka watching her thoughtfully.

"Since it looks like Nuriko doesn't want to move, I'll leave him with you," she said as she stood up from her place. She brushed the dirt off her skirt as she continued, "Anyways, I need to go help the others pack up."

Aya nodded as she watched Miaka head off towards where the others were. They had already brought down the tents and were rolling up the blankets. Tasuki had finished putting away the first tent before Miaka had walked over to speak with him.

Aya turned her gaze back to Nuriko, nearly screaming in surprise when she found him staring up at her. Nuriko placed the tips of his fingers gently to her lips to stifle any sound from her. After it looked as if she had calmed down, Nuriko positioned himself so that he was slightly facing her. Aya gave him a bewildered look.

"Aren't you suppose to be tired?" She asked suspiciously, looking away from him so he couldn't see her flustered face.

"I'm okay now. All I needed was a quick nap."

Aya said nothing more, keeping her distance from him and avoiding any eye contact. The more she saw him, the more she knew yesterday was no dream. And the emotions were definitely real as well.

"What's wrong?"

Aya looked up at Nuriko. His expression was filled with concern as he peered deeply at her.

"You seem a bit flustered."

Aya quickly looked away again, turning her body slightly to distance herself even more from Nuriko.

"I'm…I'm fine," she finally said, feeling his gaze still on her.

Aya sat there for a while before getting up, still keeping her back turned to him.

"I'm…going for a walk now. See you," she said quickly before trotting down the dry dirt road towards a path into the forest.

She didn't stop until she was safe behind a tree, finally mustering the courage to turn and look back at the camp site, which was nearly concealed by the trees that lay in front of her.

Nuriko was still sitting beside the now diminished camp firing, staring in her direction. Aya quickly hid herself once more, unsure whether she had been seen or not.

After a moment of thought, Aya shook her head, trotting even further down the forest path.

----

Nuriko watched as Aya disappeared behind the surrounding trees.

He frowned, crossing his arms and blowing out a sigh of frustration. He honestly didn't know what to think of the girl. She was beautiful- even more than him. He had never seen a blond hair, blue-eyed beauty before. Even with the good looks, he also saw the childish and helpless side of her. It was very contradicting to her physical features and the aura she produced around her. At times, he would see a goddess standing before him…and at other…

He honestly didn't know what to think of her.

Nuriko closed his eyes, bending down and covering his eyes with his hands. He was starting to get a major migraine.

He could hear the others working at a distance, finishing the last of the packing and preparing the horses for the long journey. They clearly had not noticed Aya's disappearance or his lack of participation in the clean up yet.

Kourin…

Nuriko opened his eyes and looked up, a bit stunned at the thought.

He hadn't thought of Kourin for the longest time. She had turned into a deep scar long ago; healed, but still remaining. His eyes trailed back to the forest. Every time he saw her…

"I miss you Kourin," he whispered softly, shaking his head in a hopeless manner before getting up and tracing Aya's steps into the forest.

Despite the awkward emotions he was feeling, he still had a duty to look after Aya. He shook his head again, this time out of anger. He had forgotten to mention the wild beasts that lurked in the forest she had gone to.

-----

Aya looked around helplessly.

The more she walked, the more confusing her surroundings became. The trail had thinned tremendously since she had taken it. It was now only the width of her foot, barely visible to the eye.

She stopped walking and stood there at a complete loss of what to do next. She had no means of getting herself out. In truth, Aya was completely house tamed. She had never even breathed the outdoors until a few days ago.

She could hear the cries of the crows and the singing of the birds around her. It was faint, but still there. She spun around slowly, looking in every direction for a way out, but turned out with nothing. The truth couldn't escape her. She was seriously lost.

She took a new direction, only noticing she had gone off the fading trail after a few more minutes of wondering. This new ordeal made her want to scream more than anything else.

"I want Aki," she groaned, sinking to the floor and hugging her knees tightly.

The image of Aki, standing in front of her with a pained expression on his face from her lack of direction, was imprinted in her mind. This of course did nothing to help her situation, but she felt comforted by it, sinking deeper into her daydreams.

:Aya:

Her daydreaming stopped as she looked up at found a black figure slowly approaching her.

Aya felt her body freeze, paralyzed with fear from the unknown. The birds had stopped their singing and the whole forest seemed to had fallen dead silent except for the approaching footsteps of the dark creature.

She felt a tug from her inside and her mind started to fade. She let the feeling take over, knowing fully well that if she didn't let Ceres handle the situation, she'd die right then and there.

:Let me handle this. I'll get out of here safely:

Those were the last words she heard before she blanked out completely.

-----

"Aya!" Nuriko called out as he went down the path that he noticed was disappearing the further he went. "Aya!"

The girl was starting to irritate him. She always had the habit of getting herself lost and then mixing up with the wrong bunch.

"Aya!"

There was no reply to each of his calls, making him more anxious and irritated. The group would start a search party if they didn't return soon- and that was more than unnecessary.

He stopped, realizing the trail had ended there. There was nothing but a stretch of forest all around him.

Where the hell is she?

Nuriko heard a cry from his right. He spun around quickly towards the sound of the cry. It wasn't a cry of a girl-no. It was a cry of an animal.

Without another thought, Nuriko sprinted towards the direction of the noise, flinging back stray branches and leaves. Stumbling and tripping over roots, he kept going, halting when he saw a strange purple glow in front of him.

Nuriko paused, unsure of himself. He didn't sense a bad aura emitting from the light…but still…it was definitely an unusual feeling.

After a few moments, the purple glow died, bringing the forest back to it's original colour.

Taking this as a cue, he quickly rushed where the light source had come from only to have to stop once more. Nuriko stared, dumbstruck and barely breathing. There, in front of him, was a girl, her back facing him. At first, he thought it was Aya, but it was impossible. Her hair was purple and she gave off a totally different vibe.

Nuriko could barely swallow down the big lump forming in his throat.

That woman before him was his sister.

----

Althe: Okay! Chapter thirteen (after a year of procrastination) is finally finished! Woohoo!

Heh heh, I've noticed this is the fic where you see the big change in my writing style. Neat eh? I change it, oh…every year I guess. Not bad, not bad. Gets better every time…

Well, I hope I won't get lazy and finish this fanfic.

I guess there're only two more chapters to go! Until next time!

RR!