Yui and Miaka sat in the living room of the apartment that Miaka shared with her mother and brother. Both watched the sleeping seishi on the couch with worried expressions. Once they'd gotten Chris back here, he'd almost immediately passed out, and from the lump on the side of his head, Yui wasn't entirely certain if it was just exhaustion or not. On the way back, he'd told them about the others in San Diego, and that they'd be worried about him. Yui'd managed to get him to divulge the name of the hotel and the room numbers that they were staying in. Only after promising to pay for the call, and Miaka swearing her brother to secrecy about it, did she move to pick up the phone. Miaka's mother wasn't going to be happy about the phone charge, but if they told her beforehand, they wouldn't even get that far.

It had been agreed that Yui would make the call, since she sould speak and understand English much better than Miaka could. As she dialed the number, she found herself hoping that someone was there.

Cheree and Nuriko had come back to the room a while before and now sat on the girl's bed, the other seishi taking up the chairs and other bed as they talked. Sean and Tyler were uncomfortable at first, not knowing what to expect from the others. Within a few hours, however, they found themselves joking with Ren and Nuriko, and had started to relax. No one was expecting the phone to ring, and for a moment they all simply stared at it in wonder. Nuriko didn't know what it was, and was looking at it rather suspiciously, which jarred Cheree out of her reverie. She leaned over to pick it up, chuckling at what kind of 'creature' Nuriko thought the phone was.

"Hello?"

"Hello... I'm hoping I got the right room... my name is Yui Hongo, and Chris asked me to call?"

Cheree nearly fell off the bed in her rush to sit up, the other seishi looking at her curiously. "Chris! Is he alright, what happened, why didn't he come back with Sean and Tyler??" Her words came out in a rush, her hands grasping the receiver tightly.

Yui smiled, even though the other girl couldn't see it. She cast her gaze to Chris, thankful that she'd gotten the right number. "He's alright... just a little shaken up. We were attacked in the park after Tyler and Sean disappeared. He wanted to try again right away, but he could barely stand. He got hit on the head pretty hard."

Cheree didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Part of her was worried about him, but it was overshadowed by the joy that spread through her upon hearing that he was alive and well. "What happened?"

Yui told her of Suboshi and Miboshi, the attack in the park, and the conversation with Suboshi afterward. "We think that something may have happened to Amiboshi... it's the only thing that could have set him off like that."

"Understandable... I'll have Ren call his place and find out if Jason knows anything. Last I knew, Jason told Ren that Amib-... Jesse... was spending a lot of time over there." Cheree smiled then, cupping her hand over the phone and turning to the seishi who all sat on the edge of their seats. "He's alright! He's coming home soon!"

She had to plug one ear in order to hear on the phone as the six seishi nearly cheered. They'd all been worried about Chris, but some were less willing to show that concern than others. She heard Yui's voice, chuckling on the other end. "Sounds like everyone there is happy with the news. We wanted Chris to rest before he tried to go back. Once he wakes up, I'm sure he'll be anxious to go. It shouldn't be much longer, I promise. If anything happens, I'll have him call you. Right now, however, I have to get off the phone before the bill eats my allowance for the next two months."

"Right! Sorry about that... I forgot where you were."

"No problem. Tell everyone that Miaka and I said hello. Sayonara!"

Cheree hung up the phone then, and lost her breath as Nuriko squeezed her into a tight hug.

"I told you he'd be coming back!" The violet-haired seishi was grinning from ear to ear, as were all of the others in the room. Cheree just smiled, falling back on the bed as a very disturbing weight was finally lifted from her heart.

Chris sat on the couch, feeling much better after his inadvertant 'nap'. His head still throbbed, but it was nothing he couldn't deal with easily. Much as Yui had predicted, he was ready to go almost as soon as his eyes were open. However, they were not going to let him leave without eating and making sure he was recuperated enough to make the trip. They decided to avoid the park this time, instead they made their way into Miaka's room and closed the door. As the two girls watched, he laid his cloak out on the ground, much as he had done in the park. Smiling to them, he brought two fingers to his brow as he nodded to them.

"Thank you both.. for everything you've done, no da. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Miaka hugged him tightly, smiling as well. "Just get back and help the others. They're going to need you if they want to seal Seiryuu away."

Chris blinked, looking to her as he moved her to arm's length. "Seal him away? Is that what we have to do, no da?"

Miaka nodded faintly. "Think of it... if one of the Seiryuu has Amiboshi, the only way he'll get out of it is if their powers are sealed as they were in the past. That, and it may just be that the reason both Suzaku and Seiryuu's seishi have awakened at the same time both in the past and now, is to keep Seiryuu in line, so to speak."

He couldn't argue with that, really. Genbu had been summoned to defend against the Koutou empire in the past... and when it seemed that the antagonistic country would at last have its god summoned, Suzaku had intervened. "All right. I'll make sure to tell Cheree when I get back, no da." He moved to Yui then, hugging her as well. "Thank you... for being there when none of us could understand a word anyone was saying. She grinned, pushing him towards the cloak then.

"Long goodbyes were never my favourite thing. Now get going... the sooner you all get this done with, the sooner we can start keeping in touch, ne?" She smiled to him, grabbing Miaka and pulling her back when the girl would have tried to keep her former seishi with them a little longer. "Ja ne!"

Chris waved to them both then closed his eyes, preparing for the spell to be cast. At first, it was only a thought... then he felt the energy spread to each part of his being, and being woven into the fabric as if it were a part of it. The seishi symbol on his knee flared brightly the moment before he stepped onto the fabric, slipping from view. The cloak seemed to fold into the floor itself, disappearing soon after its owner.

Yui held Miaka close, both of them holding back the tears. "Don't worry, Miaka. They promised they'd keep in touch." The other girl simply nodded... but neither of them could bring themselves to leave for quite some time.

"Cheree! Where do you want these?" Nuriko called from the other room, both arms full of clothes that had just recently been folded. He maneuvered with his feet, not really able to see where he was going at the moment. He heard Cheree yell something back, but couldn't quite make it out. Moving towards the adjoining room, he was stopped cold by a brilliant flash of light and the sudden weight that landed on him.

Mark, Cheree and Ren were sitting on the balcony, Corey and Tama-Neko were just inside the door playing a game of keep-away with a bag of beef jerky. All of them were on their feet in an instant as they heard Nuriko scream and a loud thud come from Cheree's room. As they burst into the door, they saw a heap of clothes with Nuriko in the midst of them... and a rather bewildered Chris. Cheree nearly shrieked, flying towards him and tackling him to the ground while the other seishi watched in amusement. "Thanks a lot, Chris..." Nuriko chided playfully. "As if I didn't have enough work to do around here."

Chris didn't notice... all he could do was wrap his arms around Cheree tightly, holding her close to him as his head rested against her shoulder. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, his voice muffled as his lips pressed against her shirt. "I couldn't risk taking you... if I failed, you would have been killed." At that, he felt her pull away, holding his shoulders as her arms straightened.

"And do you think I'd *enjoy* being left here if you DID fail!? We didn't know if you'd made it or not, and wouldn't have unless you just didn't come back!" She didn't notice the other seishi quietly slipping from the room. Ren was about to comment when he found himself being forceably dragged away by Nuriko, the door closing behind them.

Chris was sweating, having expected the tongue-lashing he was about to receive. "But I..."

"But *nothing*! If you ever disappear on me like that again, I swear I'll hunt you down, and don't think I won't." She reached out, giving him a light swat upside the head for making her worry like that. She saw him wince however, the soft hiss that left his lips making her wonder when he'd gotten so sensitive to a play tap like that. Her hand moved back to the spot she'd hit and her eyes widened as her fingers brushed across the lump left by Suboshi. "Oh god, Chris, I didn't realize you were hurt!" She nearly burst into tears then, her rant over for the time being. She was about to make him come closer so that she could check it, when he pulled her into a fierce hug, his strained voice making the tears well up in her eyes.

"I never... meant to leave you. But I'd rather die than be the cause of hurting you."

She shushed him, running her fingers through his hair. "I know... I don't know why you would, but I realize it. Just please... promise me you'll at least tell me next time?"

He nodded faintly, not letting go... Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that, but eventually the silence was broken by a soft knock from the room next door and Mark's face peering in. "Cheree... Chris... Pardon my intrusion, but I thought you'd like to know. Nicholas is back, and he has the other shinzaho."

To Chapter 19