Insert the usual disclaimer... (click) disclaimer inserted. Thank you and please keep your arms and legs inside the fanfic at all times. Enjoy your reading. </p>

"Oi!" Tasuki called out to his traveling companion. "We're almost there!"

Chichiri nodded, smiling and speechless.

"Whatsa matta?" the red haired bandid drawled, "Ya nervous?"

"Of course not, no da!" Chichiri squalled in his high-pitched voice. ::I'm only meeting my lover's family, no da,:: he added silently to himself.

The two rode on in silence, and as they reached the small town, shouts of greeting were called out to Tasuki. The red head grinned and shouted back as the monk smilled at the small children who gathered around them. When the two of them arrived at the farmhouse, everything around them was silent. Suddenly, children of all shapes and sizes emerged from the house, behind walls, and under bushes.

"Uncle! Uncle's here! Uncle!"

They tumbled and ran over each other as the bandit dismounted, then they fought over who got to drag him into the house first. More shouts were heard as the adults came, slapping Tasuki heartly on the back, scolding him or giving him huge hugs. Chichiri stood back, oblivious to the chaos that was going on. That was, until Aidou spotted him.

"Oi, Shun'u!" she smacked her brother with a log, "Why aren't ya introducing us to your friend? Don't be rude!"

"Che!" Tasuki fingered the growing lump on his head and winced, "That's Chichiri, a friend."

Chichiri grinned at all of them, "Konnichi wa no da! Atashi wa Chichiri desu, doumo hajime mashite!"

Tasuki's mother smiled, "Thank you for watching over my troublesome son, I hope he learned a thing or two from you about respecting elders."

"Aww... Maaa..." Tasuki whinned, "Not in front of the guest!"

"Did you bring him over for someone in particular?" His oldest sister patted Aidou on the shoulder. Aidou glared at her as Tasuki reddened.

"HELL NO!" the two of them shouted in unison as everyone else around them laughed.

"I don't need a man!" Aidou glared at her sisters so say anything more, glanced at Chichiri and turned bright red. She stormed into the house, muttering something about stupid family members.

"Please forgive my daughter's rudeness," Mrs. Kou went up to Chichiri and smoothed her hair self-conciously, "She's well past marrigable age and yet she refuses to settle down. I suggested to Shun'u that he bring one of his friends over and meet her."

"Ah..." Chichiri's voice faded as he turned to look at Tasuki, who seemed to be determined not to meet the blue haired monk's face. "I see, no da."

As the two settled in their room, Chichiri tore his mask off and glared at Tasuki with his one well eye.

"Was this why you wanted me to come with you to your house, no da?" he asked sharply, "So you could match me upwith your sister, no da?"

Tasuki sighed a great gust as he stared at the bedding, "Yeah... and no..."

Chichiri felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. "Was this also why you made love to me as well, no da?"

The bandit's head shot up and he turned bright red. He stammered a bit but then the monk cut in.

"WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE, NO DA! ANSWER ME, NO DA!"

"Don't yell at me!" Tasuki glared at him and then answered, "I was first bringing ya here to meet my sister... but that was because I was sure ya didn't return my feelings... I mean, ya had a fianc*e... so, I thought my sister could fill that gap ya had..."

"Why didn't you tell me that before, no da?" Chichiri asked quietly.

"...I dunno..."

The monk sighed and rubbed his forehead, "We're in some tough situation, no da."

"Hey, I've got it figured out," Tasuki leaned back casually against the wall, "My sister always managed to scare away the suitors, that's why she ain't married yet. So, if she does the same thing, which she will, you don't have to worry!"

"How can you be so sure of this, no da?"

"Because I've seen!" Tasuki snorted, "She's always done it, so it's expected."

"I see... and if she doesn't, no da?"

"You don't trust me do ya? She's hates men, she'll always be the way she is." Tasuki kissed the blue haired monk's forehead, "trust me..." he muttered gently.

That was the end of that conversation.

After the dinner dishes were washed and put away, Tasuki's older sisters began to press Chichiri for stories about his travels. The monk blushed and protested at first, but eventually, the women had their way, forcing the poor guy to begin his first tale. Tasuki snickered as he watched his lover begin an old folk tale that came from a village they had passed through. He could tell that Chichiri enjoyed this newfound attention, he seemed to be at peace as he recited to his enchanted audience.

Everyone was so entangled in his narrative, no one noticed Tasuki's sister Aidou silently study the monk. Her face was flushed and her heart pounded inside of her chest. It was strange since this had never happened to her before. Aidou felt her silent longings and loneliness being pried away from her as she fell deeper and deeper into Chichiri's spell. Now, as she watched him silently, she could see a warm blazing fire and shelter inside the coldness of winter. She had found the one that she could be happy with.

"So how did I do, no da?" Chichiri quirred as he and Tasuki managed to escape to their bedchamber.

"You did alright, everyone seemed to like the story."

"Ah, well, I thought since I enjoyed the story, I thought everyone else might like it too, no da."

Tasuki nodded as a light began to sparkle in his amber eyes, a light that Chichiri knew so well and anticipated. The red head gently cupped his companion's face in his large hands and lowered his mouth over the slightly shorter one. Their tongues entangled and dance as the fire of lust began to blaze brightly again. Chichiri pulled Tasuki on top of his bedding and kissed him deeply, as his hands explored the young bandit leader's body.

Then, there was an insistant knock at the door. The two of them choose to ignore it as the person knocked again. Tasuki paid it no heed, but since Chichiri still had his hold onto his hormones, he pushed the younger one away and went over to answer the door while Tasuki pouted. Chichiri gave him a Look and opened the door, revealing a rather pretty Aidou.

She was dressed in soft blue, white and yellow robes, with a long cream-colored sash. Her long flame-colored hair, so much like her brothers, was loose and flowing around her shoulders, kept out of her face by a matching silk ribbon. Aidou's face was flushed, which made her look even prettier.

At this sight, her brother's eyes bulged and his mouth fell open. He was about to say something when his older sister gave him such a glare that he fell silent.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt whatever you two were doing," Aidou began slowly, as she turned to face the monk, "But I was wondering if you would like to take a short walk with me to look at the moon. It's very beautiful tonight."

"Ah... I would... like to, no da." Chichiri's voice faultered as he fell under the gaze of sparkling amber eyes.

He silently offered his arm to her, as she accepted, and the two of them walked slowly outside. When Tasuki managed to find his vocal chords again, the only words that managed out of his mouth was, "What the @#$ just happened?"

"This way Chichiri-san," as Aidou led him through a meadow, toward a small hill where a single pine tree stood. "You can see the moon very well from that area."

"Hai, no da!" That was the only thing he could say, while his mind wondered, ::This is the man-hating sister Tasuki-kun was complaining about, no da?::

He was running the harsh comments about the girl when suddenly, she tripped and fell with a gasp. Chichir hurried to her side and knelt down beside her, "Daijobu na no da?"

Aidou winced, "I tripped in a gopher hole and twisted my ankle." She tried to stand but a sudden pain shot from her left ankle, and instead of standing, she fell against Chichiri. The two of them stared at each other for a couple seconds, when Aidou suddenly struggled and tried to get up on her own, her face nearly as red as her hair.

"G-gomen-a-sai Chichiri-san! I didn't mean to- ACK!" She felt pain again and was about to once again fall on her butt, when Chichiri caught her and scooped her up in his arms.

"Allow me to help you, no da," he smiled at her kindly, "No need to get those pretty robes dirty, no da."

"Hai..." her voice trailed off as she gazed at him. Chichiri began walking toward the hill. "Ano... shouldn't we go back to the house?"

"Nonsense, no da! We're out here to see the full moon, aren't we, no da?" Without waiting for an answer, he headed up the hill and then gently put Aidou down at the base of the tree. He then turned and looked up at the seemingly endless deep blue sky. The sky sparkled with silver stars and a large full moon shone down onto the world.

"It's lovely, isn't it Chichiri-san?" Aidou spoke up softly.

"Hai... this is one of my main reasons for being a wanderer, no da." Chichiri answered and sat down beside her. "Inside a house, there's a roof, so you can't see a beautiful night sky like this, no da. But on the road, the sky is your roof, the grass your carpet, and a comfterble spot your bedding, no da."

"It must be wonderful, going on journeys..." she trailed off, "but isn't lonely as well?"

"It can be... whether you are by yourself, or with others, it can be lonely if you let it be, no da."

"I... don't understand," Aidou looked intently at the monk's face, as if she could find her answer there.

"I have my memories, no da." Chichiri answered simply, "By playing them over, I feel as if I still have my friends with me, no da. Therefore, I don't feel like I am alone, no da."

"I see..." she replied and smiled. "Chichiri-san..."

"Mmm?"

"If it's not such a bold request..." Aidou trailed off and then rushed in with what she wanted to say. "May I please see your face?"

Chichiri looked shock as he turned to face her. "How... how could you tell?"

She snorted, "No human has a face like that Chichiri-san." Aidou suddenly bit her lip, "I mean... well... if you don't want to show me, you don't have too...." She quickly turned to look at her shoes and reddened.

The monk rested one hand on her shoulder, and when she turned to look at him, he carefully pulled the mast off of his face. When he turned to look at him, she stared silently. The first thing she had seen was the large scar on his face, then she noticed his beautiful red eye, and then the sharp contours of his gentle face. She slowly lifted one hand and touched his scar as Chichiri blushed.

::Here it comes, no da...:: He thought sullenly,

"Did it hurt a lot?" she asked carefully.

Chichiri stared at her, then answered slowly, "Hai."

"I'm sorry..." Aidou blushed, "It must have been awful... yet your face is so beautiful..." when she realized what she had just said, her face went redder.

The two of them sat there in a silence so overbearing, that Aidou couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. She fell down with a gasp as the pain shot from her ankle. Chichiri caught her cleanly, assisting her without a word.

"Arigato," she said blushing, "I forgot about my ankle."

"Ah," he replied and scooped her up in his arms. "Shall we go back, no da?"

"H-hai..." her heart wouldn't stop pounding as she gazed at his gentle face. "Chichiri-san... you're so different... from so many other people..."

"Hmm, well so are you and your brother, no da."

"I guess that is so... I mean, the two of us can scare people with a single glare," Aidou replied slowly. "Yet, people don't realize that we're not scary inside. That it's only a mask to cover our true emotions..." she looked away when she said this.

"Yet the people have a chance to see the true face behind the mask are quite fortunate indeed, no da." Chichiri smiled at her, and she turned to face him with a surprised look on her face. "It's a beautiful face to look at, no da." Of course he was thinking about Tasuki when he said that, especially that night by the fire, when the young bandit seemed like a child.

Aidou blushed and looked at her hands, as the Chichiri carried her all the way to the house.

"So what do you think of the new guy?" Tasuki's oldest sister asked as she sipped her tea.

"He's cute!" Mai, his second oldest proclaimed.

"You think every guy is cute!"

"But he is cute!"

"I agree!"

The sisters were having a short meeting after putting all their children to bed. Their husbands were in bed also, but the girls had decided to stay up a bit longer and have a bit of girl-talk.

"You think the monk's a good match for Aidou?"

"Totally, the two of them are exact opposites!"

"And what's that suppose to mean?"

"Well, heard of the saying opposites attract?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's true!"

"Oh, whatever!" The oldest threw a rice cake at her younger sister.

"It is! It really is!" Her sister insisted as the rice cake bounced off her forehead. "Ow! What was that for?"

The others saw the hurt look on their sibling's face that they cracked up, and didn't hear the stomps coming in their direction. When they settled down, they turned in the direction the stomps were coming from, and the hallway door swung open. There stood their blustering, blushing younger brother, the look on his face murderous and his fangs revealed.

"WHAT THE @#$ HAPPENED?" Tasuki began shouting when his oldest sister threw a rice cake at him.

"Shun'u! What do you think you're doing?" She scolded him, "You could've woken everyone up!"

Tasuki ignored her and glared at the rest of his sisters. "Which one of you," he began coldly, "gave Aidou the idea of draggin Chichiri outta our room and force him to go for a walk with her?"

There was a sudden silence, and then the room exploded with comments of:

"WHAT?"

"NO WAY!!"

"Oh wow, SHE GREW UP!"

"SHE FOUND SOMEONE!"

"What?" Their brother stared at them, "Ya mean, ya'all didn't know she went for a walk with him?"

"Of course not!" The sisters bounced around the room, extremely happy about what their sister was doing.

The door swung open and in walked Chichiri, with Aidou blushing furiously in his arms. Her siblings' mouths dropped open, and then, when they all discovered their vocal chords, they all began talking at once.

"Aidou, what happened?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Are you alright?"

"How was your date?"

"What the @#$ were you guys doing?!"

After throwing a log at her brother for cussing inside, Aidou explained about the gopher hole as Chichiri deposited her in a chair. All eyes turned to him and noticed his maskless, handsome face. Tasuki's mouth once again dropped as his sisters began to swoon.

"I hope you feel better, Aidou-san, no da." Chichiri smiled at her and gave her a little salute as he walked out the door. "Good night."

When the door clicked, Aidou's siblings turned very slowly and gave her a confused look.

"Umm... can I have some ice for my ankle?" She blushed and gave her sisters a look that said: 'don't you DARE say anything!"

Tasuki pushed himself out of his chair with violence, and before his sisters could scold him, he stormed out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into his bedroom.

His sisters didn't notice; they were too busy bugging Aidou for details of their little 'date'.

"CAN I PLEASE HAVE SOME ICE FOR MY ANKLE!" She finally screamed, "IT'S HURTING LIKE HELL HERE!"

"CHICHIRI!" Tasuki threw open the door. Chichiri sat up shocked, as Tasuki stomped in, his face bright red with held-in anger.

"Da? Oi, Tasuki-kun, you should be more quiet, no da! You'll wake everyone up, no da!"

"YAGAMASHI!" The angry bandit took a couple breaths to calm himself, then he gave his companion the Evil Eye. Chichiri visibly shrank away from the glare. "You... went on a date with... MY SISTER!" Tasuki worked hard to keep the pain out of his voice, but still Chichiri could hear his hurt. "How... how could you! What did you do?"

"Whoa, Tasuki-kun, calm down, no da!" The monk cut in, "I only went out to see the moon with her, we talked about certain things, she fell when she tripped in a gopher hole and I carried her back here because she couldn't walk, no da!"

The bandit listened for a little and then replied, "Honto ni?"

"Honto..." Chichiri's hand went up and gently carressed Tasuki's cheek. "The only one I love is you, Tasuki-kun, no da..."

Tasuki pulled him into a rough embrace and the two of them kissed.

The door swung open and the sudden intake of breath surprised both of them. At the doorway stood a shocked Aidou, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

"Oi! Haven't ya ever heard of knockin?" Tasuki yelled at his sister. Chichiri stared at her silently, then turned to stare at the wall.

Aidou violently threw a log at her brother, and then bolted out the door while tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"ITAI!" The log hit the mark and Tasuki recieved a nice big bruise to add to his growing collection of aches from his sisters.

Chichiri ignored the bandit's cry of pain as he glumly stared at the floor. ::Gomen ne, Aidou-san, no da....::

::Gotta get away, gotta get out of here, gotta get away, gotta get out of here-:: Aidou's mind screamed over and over as she ran out into the field. She ran smoothly, the ribbon had come loose in her hair and so it flowed freely behind her, like a bright flame-colored flag. She paid no heed to her long skirts; she managed to run a good two miles away from her house before she stepped on the hem and fell full-length to the ground. Only then did she bury her head into the cold earth, and bawled until she didn't have any tears left.

Over and over, her mind replayed the scene she had just witnessed: the young man she had fallen in love with, kissing her younger brother. Love? Had she fallen in love with a complete stranger in such a short time? Aidou sat up and hastily wiped her face with her sleeve. Her ankle throbbed, and soon she sat down in a cloud of dust, weeping tumultuously over a love she would never explore. Looking up above to the stars and the infinite heavens, Aidou became overwhelmed in self-pity. Consumed in thoughts of despair, happiness, lonliness and love all at once she hit the ground hard with her fists, sure to leave a bruise.

"Why am I like this? Am I so, so...ugly that no one will be with me? Can a person in need of love be so repulsive? I wanted to look beautiful for him- I put on my best robes. I want to-no needed to be loved by him- I behaved myself. And because I did that, I drove him into the arms of my little brother!" Aidou hit the ground even harder than before. The fact that she had driven yet another man away into a man's arms, even her little brother's, instead of into another woman's arms nauseated her. She began to play the scene of her brother and her love- no, it couldn't have been love. But then what was it? Was it lust, curiosity, or human nature? Maybe that question would never be answered, but she did know that she saw her little brother kissing the monk, and it ran through her mind repeatedly. Aidou was sure that this monk was someone different, he saw a side of her that her own mother never knew existed. Chichiri had seen Aidou's true self- a kitten in front of a bent mirror making herself appear bigger and more fierce than ever humanly possible.

"Why must the Gods play with mortal's hearts? It is a cruel game in which we pay the forfeit. Is my sanity something someone can laugh at? Is that what life is, just a big joke? And love the punch line? What happens after that? I'll tell you what; the joke disappears for a short while only to be retold to a new person. Well, I _NEVER_ wanted to be the joke, and I _NEVER_ will again. Punchlines cost too much, it hurts too much. My heart aches and was never fit into the puzzle. I am just another incompatible piece in the enigma called life, with no one whom will ever fit my unusual and repulsive shape." Aidou crawled underneath a tall pine tree and curled up into a little ball. Before she broke down completely to tears, the two gentlemen behind the bushes heard her say, "Love...something that hurts, the knife of ice that slices a person into two separate pieces. Mind, body and heart separate, and utter insanity envelopes the conscious mind...."

"You think she's taking it kind of hard?" Tasuki quietly whispered into Chichiri's ear. But all the monk did was give the bandit a hard, but loving glance, put his hand on his shoulder and nod.

Chichiri was the first to get up behind the opaque bushes. He made sure to make some noise, rustle a bush or two, step on twigs and even hum 'I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener'. Tasuki, baffled by his lover's actions, followed silently.

Upon hearing the strange song, Aidou looked up to see the strange monk, followed by her brother.

"What do you want?" she choked out. Hidden in love by resentment, her words made Chichiri's song stop. He knelt down by her side, placing his hand on her shoulder. The woman looked up towards the man who touched her so tenderly. There is something different about him in this light thought Aidou. His mask isn't showing a smile or a cheerful look. It's one of sincerity, sterness and love all at once. She looked into the monk's face, showing him her dirtied and battered self. Mascara ran down her beautifully powdered cheeks; her red lipstick was uneven, half on her mouth, half on her sleeve. ::Crying it seems, brings out Aidou's hidden beauty,:: thought Chichiri.

"I wanted to let you know that I do care for you, no da. But I am terribly sorry for all you saw, and I too know how you feel, no da." he stared into her eyes hoping to help her see it. But before she had a chance to give Chichiri a piece of her mind, Tasuki stepped forward out of the silence and pushed the monk aside.

"Listen, Sis, I have something to tell ya', and I'm not gonna let you interupt me or nothing, so jes' be quiet for a minute." Aidou, shocked at her brother's forwardness, sat there beneath the pine tree teary eyed and dumbfounded. "Good. Now I'm sorry that you found out 'bout me and Chichiri like that. It's gotta be hard for ya', we all saw how Chichiri affected the way ya' acted, even if he's only been here for a short while. But what I'm gon-"

"Do you?" shouted Aidou as she stood up, demanding attention with her commanding presence. "Do you?!?!?!" she shouted again. "Have you ever had anyone you love taken away from you? To know that you will NEVER be able to hold them in your arms, to hear the say they love you and NO ONE else! Have you? Tell me!!" she screamed at her young brother.

"I do."

Aidou's vehement glance turned soft when she looked at Chichiri. "Really?" she said, yearning for his story to be about her, even though she knew it wasn't so.

"My fiancée said she couldn't marry me, no da. She said she was no longer a virgin and was not fit to be my wife, and it turned out that my best friend was the one that had betrayed my trust and her innocence. After that I betrayed both of them," Chichiri's voice was soft as he removed his mask, "I was left with this, while they both died. I betrayed them and lost the only woman I ever loved, no da."

Aidou's tears returned to her eyes as she listened to Chichiri tell his sad tale. She had no idea that something so terrible could ever happen to someone so good and pure of heart. Then she saw the tears that came to Chichiri's single eye.

"I'm so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought it up. Can you ever forgive me Chichiri-san?" Aidou moved on her knees, getting dirt all over her robes, but hugging the monk was all worth it.

"Hai, no da. I can." Chichiri whiped the tears away from his eyes. "Aidou-sama, when I lost my fianc*e and my best friend that day, I thought my world was gone forever. I thought that she would be the only one I would ever care for in that way, no da. But then I met your brother, and all of that changed." He reached for Tasuki's hand and brought him closer, "Things are still changing, no da."

"Sis," Tasuki said, "You know we never meant for you to find out this way. Chichiri and I care for you too much to wish such ill luck upon you." Aidou began to cry. No matter how many times her little brother cussed at her, she knew that he never meant do anything this harsh. "Ya' know, you and Chichiri do have a lot in common. But I can add some more. You both love- you both love me, you both care for eachother, you love the outdoors, you both have y love, and no matter how bad things may bet, you both will love again." His sister looked at him with her fiery eyes watering down, she could not believe that her little brother, Kou Shun'u, was giving her a lesson in life.

"I'd like to be left alone now, if you both don't mind."

"We'll be home, don't stay out to late, no da. It isn't safe for a beauty like you, no da." Chichiri smiled at her, hoping that she would. After all what would her sisters would do to him if anything bad happened to her, he didn't want to think about.

The two seishi walked home at their leisure looking at the beautiful scenery. Tonight's battle wasn't hard physically, but mentally they were all worn out. Perhaps it was best for them that way.

"Chichiri, did you mean what you said, about how things are still changing?" asked the bandit trying to hide his anxiety.

"Hai, I did Shun'u. And did you mean what you said, about loving me, no da?" his lover returned the question, trying to hide his anxiety too.

"Yup. But if you tell anybody I said it, you're a dead monk!" The twolaughed and walked back home hand in hand.

After Chichiri and Tasuki left, Aidou slowly, and painfully, made her way to an open area to look at the full moon entangled in the mass of stars. She walked a bit afterwards thinking about what her brother had told her: And no matter how bad things may get, you both will love again.

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