~+Ying.&.Yang+~

"i slept like a rock, i think while im healing im going to try and help repair the town a bit," he said as the girl waved the dolls hand at him and he waved back

"we are going to need to get going to the next place soon though" he sand and the little girl looked up at zen in shock

"your not staying?" she questioned and he smiled "no i cant right now, alot of other people are counting on us to help and we need to learn how before we can do anything abo-"

"NO ZEN SAMA!" kimmy yelled grabbing his arm tears welling in her eyes " you cant leave! i love you!" she yelled and zen smiled taking her tiny hand and kissing it "kimmy, ill be back again someday, dont worry i wont forget you" he said and she sniffled and leaned against his arm

"Ying, Yang, we need a word with you both please." a monk said and zen smiled at kimmy as she let go and patted her on the head walking away with hiro

"ahh... i feel bad leaving her..." he said to hiro with a sigh, as soon as they turned the corner he grabbed his side with a bit of a grunt and paused walking "ahh... stupid side..." he grumbled leaning aganst the pillar for support

Hiro admired Zen's calm demeanor, no matter how odd it seemed when everything around this place seemed so bleak. He handled the girl nicely, gave her a little hope despite her tears, though he hardly knew her. Just an all aroun nice guy. Hiro nodded slightly at Zen's regret for leaving, but knew just as well as he did that they were needed elsewhere. He was about to say something till Zen stopped to grab his side.
"You're still healing. Of course it's going to hurt like hell." He stated as he walked back to him. He realized the worry that must have colored his features and quickly stiffled it with a small annoyed frown and an offer of his hand to help him stand straight again. "The doctor said you needed real rest for it to heal properly after all.."

"i did rest! a whole night of sleep counts as rest" zen said and took hiro's help with a thankful nodd of his head

"its just an annoyance itll be gone in a day or two..." he mumbled mostly just to reassure himself

"gentlemen, it seems your journy to the temples has come just in time, its a little out of the way but, we feel with zens injuries it would be a perfect venture for you two at the moment while still teaching you a lesson in your history." he said and zen frowned deeply 'ahh... i hate studies...' he mumbled under his breath

"a starlight festival is being held in one of the largest cities this side of the mountain ridge, it is a celebration of the gods! and there is even a day of tribute to you and your ancestors!" he said and zens face instantly lit up

"ah so nice! fireworks! good food! what a heavenly thoug-"

"not so fast, you will still be tested when the week is done. you will have to use the knowledge you collecte from the scrolls on your ancestors fighting styles housed there to defeat your enemy." he smiled

"ahh... but i think zen should go revisit the doctor here, looks like his bandage needs to be cleaned and changed. youll leave in two days, we have an Ox wagon heading to that city so you wont have to travel on foot this time!" he said with a smile

'ahhh what a wonderful way to travel...' he thought

"ehhh can i start calling you nurse hiro-chan~!" he said poking hiro in the cheek sticking his tongue out.

"Not if you want to heal quickly." Hiro said in a sweet voice with a hint of annoyance, though his eyes were narrowed in half humor. He was thinking about the festival and couldn't help his own excitement at the thought of it. He was just wondering if they had that time to spend at a festival...but studying was something he was good at, though he was sure these techniques were going to be hard to learn. It would give him a chance to prove himself maybe.
"And I know you want to be able to enjoy the festival and the studying." He said, knowing Zen wasn't the type to sit and practice for hours on end. But a sense that the title of nurse might just be true at the moment made him a bit awkward when he thought about the doctor.
 "I could take care of the bandages, the other monks back at my home taught me enough about healing.. And The doctor must have his hands full in town with the other wounded." He said looking to Zen. "That is if you don't mind." He added, not wanting to be responsible for hurting Zen.

"ah heal away hiro-sama" he said with a large smile "lets go up to the room though, wouldnt be proper to do it here with everyone eating and all. thank you very much sensei" he said bowing to the monk before walking ahead of hiro to their room

zen sat down on the cushion with a groan of relief "ahh... much better." he mumbled.

"you know, not to far from here is a bath house. one of the biggest in the country...maybe when we pass by we should check for... suspicious activity... one of those herbal steams sounds lovely right now." he said rubbing his side finding the pins and pulling them out so he could take the bandage off that was already stained with blood.

Hiro listened to Zen as he went to grab a basin and a cloth, with another wrap to treat the bandages. "Funny, but I don't know." Hiro said after he'd gotten everything, "It depends on how well you heal and if we're even allowed. After all we have to be traveling by their rules on a cart." He said as helped Zen with the bandage. He expected to see a nasty cut or something as bad as yesterday with all the blood on the gauze. Instead he found the cuts but they seemed less deep and well, healthier. He took the dirty bandage and set it off to the side before grabbing the water dipped cloth. He focused some of the heat to his hands and heated the cloth so that it was hot enough to take care of bacteria. "This is going to burn a bit." He said biting his lip before dabbing the wounds with the hot water.
"Sorry." he apologized quietly as he felt Zen flinch. He didn't like the idea o hurting someone that he wasn't fighting. Especially not Zen, though he didnt quite understand why he felt that way. It wasn like he'd known him long. Maybe it was all thing Ying and Yang stuff...

"ah, its ok" he said with a grunt sighing when hiro pulled the cloth away "aw come on they couldnt get to mad at us for taking some time to relax, hey maybe they have a 'heros' discount!" he said with a laugh

"the festival should be fun too, except for the studying part" he said with a roll of his eyes "i mean, i made it through school, but just barely.. i thought i was done with studying" he grumbled and flinched again when hiro touched his side. he instinctively grabbed onto hiro's arm and then realized his face was about 2 inches from hiro's and blinked and remembered kissing hiro's cheek he felt heat come to his own face. he stared at hiro for a long time debating what he should do in such an awkward situation. "ah....." he smiled and let out a soft chuckle "be fragile with me will ya? im like a delicate little flower" he joked with a large smile spreading across his face as he let his arm fall from hiro's arm slowly

Hiro looked into Zen's eyes when they were close and felt his throat constrict from lack of air. Zen lingered only inches away and yet Hiro felt his heart racing and that feverish feeling returning to his cheeks. Why did that kiss also come to his mind? And why did it make his face only grow hotter? He swallowed hard when he dropped his arm and quickly looked down. A smile came to his lips at Zen's joke though he still felt the awkward heat on his face. 
"Ah yeah, so fragile." He said sarcastically before tugging at the new gauze. "Well fragile flower we still need to cover it so it can heal." Easier said than done. He reached forward and placed one end of the gauze on his side. "hold that there." He said placing Zen's hand there before he had to take a breath before he reached around him, wrapping the gauze around him. The space only decreased between them, and he had to admit to himself that he noticed how warm his skin felt when his fingers would brush it. Like the fire that he accustomed to. He was shocked by his thoughts and quickly pulled away from him as soon as he had the gauze tied.
"Th-There-all done and I didn't cause anymore damage. It should be a record." He said with a slight laugh.

(^ last one belongs in the other story Xd)

zen smiled "you didnt a mighty fine job there hiro-chan!" he said pinching hiro's cheek "thank you nursey!" he said with a chuckle leaning back in the cushions and sighed looking down at his bandages running his fingers over it.

"wait-" he said and stood up in a hurry wincing a little "um... hiro... i never... i never thanked you properly," he said and walked over taking hiro's hand with a bright blush on his face bowing his head and kissing hiro's hand "thank you... for making me stronger" he said and looked up from hiro's hand with a crooked smile

Hiro had turned to leave after helping Zen, hoping that he could find solice in some fresh air to escape this new mixed feelind. Instead he was being called back. At Zen's voice he felt the slight jump of energy especially when he heard his name. He turned back to tell him it wasn't worth praise, that he hadn't done anything commendable. Instead he was left blushing brightly when Zen kissed his hand. He felt himself stiffen at the contact. Why was his heart racing and why was he so embarrassed just to hear a thank you-Why would Zen's words-his actions-why didn't they make him feel so different? he didn't understand what was going on and it bothered him terribly. He pulled his hand away from Zen to see if breaking the contact would break whatever spell had hold over him. He wasn't sure what expression he had at the moment but suddenly pulling away must have comunicated something.
He tried to play it off like he was fine, that his heart wasn't pounding and that he didn't have that awkward feeling forming in his chest. He had to be normal, this was all normal right? He was obviously just coming down with something...but why then did Zen continue to say those things and so something like that?
He gave Zen a half smile, a flighty and awkward one that wasn't his usual half annoyed and half humored look. "Ah, I couldn't have-I'm not able to do that for someone." He wasn't making much sense, but was basically trying to say that he didn't understand how he had made Zen stronger. Strength came from within not from others influence, right?
"B-But I'm glad if I helped you feel better." He said, contemplating why he felt like runing but wanted to stay right there. So much was going on in his head he could already feel the headache forming. If he didn't understand all of this soon he was worried he might do something he would regret. "Then that means you don't need my help right now right?" He said then added, looking for a way to cover up his strangeness. "I-want to get a good look at the garden here-the ones that weren't damaged I mean."

zen nodded his smile dropping and he leaned away from hiro "ah, sure." he said and turned walking away from hiro and down the stairs towards the water. zen stood in the water wiggling his toes in the shallow cool water. he rolled his neck and pulled the ribbon from his hair his long hair falling down his back even further. 'maybe you should cut it all off...' he thought and shook his head 'ah i could never do that' he grumbled and kicked at the water 'i wonder if hiro would like it better shorter... what do i care!?!? he sure has been acting weird lately though... i wonder if it was something i said...' he put a hand on his heart and felt it beat quickly while he took in a deep breath 'i wonder why i do the things i do' he thought and kneeled playing with the water with his fingers

Hiro let Zen leave and felt his breath catch when he was alone. He was checking to see if those feelings went away, to see if his heart pounding and red face would fade. But nothing seemed to change, he could think clearly but his face still felt just as warm. He shook his head, turning to the stairs and taking his leave from the room. He wanted to find fresh air, to find something to get his mind off of all this to let it just suddenly fade away.
But no matter how far he went back into the temple, he still couldn’t shake his frustration. Finally he came to a stop near an old partially broken bench, falling back down to it in a slump. “What is going on with me?” He huffed, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. Why was it that Zen was able to make him like this? And over what? A few words and a kiss…its not like they meant anything. It couldn’t mean anything. Them being so different…He shook his head. This wasn’t normal, not normal at all…
‘I’m acting ridiculous…Zen’s hurt and we have to focus on helping the people not my personal insanity…’ He sighed resting his head on his hand as he looked out over the damaged village and the people rebuilding. Soon they would be on the road again, leaving behind yet another part of their training, to move on to something new. But did this training leave too much open space to long for something a bit closer and more defined. Hiro wished he had all the answers to what was going on, but it just didn't seem like that would ever happen. Perhaps instead he should turn his focus to other things, like his duty to the people of this world rather than the emotions he felt towards Zen....

((I am so sorry ive been gone like all month. out internet bot got fried by some lightning storm and 3 different internet boxes later the internet works again, ive been trying to figure out facebook on my phone to send you a message but damn its confusing lol))

Zen had ended up sitting on a patio with kimmy as she played with his long hair. he was enjoying the nice clear shallow water and smiled. the progress that was already made in fixing the town was wonderful. most of the damage to the houses was fixed and in such a short time. the entire village seemed to be pitching in.

"we are going to be leaving soon kim-chan" he said and she sniffled and hugged hima round his neck

"will you come back for me someday Zen-sama?" she asked and he laughed nodding "yes, im leaving it up to you to protect the village until then! good luck kimmy" he said and kissed her forehead ruffling her hair and standing.

he walked around the temple to the road that led out of the village. he picked up a fallen branch and pulled some of the leaves off of it swinging it lightly like a sword. he looked around to make sure no one was watching him before practicing a few tecniques

he winced after turning to do an above strike. he grabbed his side but continued to swing the stick. he pulled his shirt off because he was so warm from the excersizes. he walked to a tree and punched until his knuckles bleed then started kicking even tho the bending made his side burn. he let out a growl and hit the tree so hard it cracked and splintered under his fist. he huffed and leaned his head against the tree

"i need to be stronger." he mumbled the vision of hiro in trouble flashing through his head and he hit the tree again another crack splitting the tree off in another direction.

he pulled the braids out of his hair and ran his fingers through his hair smoothing it out.

zen dropped the stick and grabbed his shirt starting to walk back to the temple. he looked around as the sun started to set and then it became dark. something didnt feel right. suddenly he was on the ground face down with something assive pushing him down into the ground. he was able to move and turned onto his back in time to see a mess of fur fangs and claws coming down at him. it was a huge beast that looked like a wolf but its bone structure alloud it to move like an awkward human. it towered over zen at 9 feet tall and grabbed him with its massive hand like paw "sh...shit" he coughed and grabbed the arm to keep himself from choking. he saw the beads that the man at the temple gave him glow slightly on his wrist and remembered what he said 'its almost like telepathy right? HIRO! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME HELP!' he yelled in his mind as he kicked trying to hit the wolf in the face but only managed to get a couple of light blows to its chest

((nah its cool! I get it, things happen lol. Besides I've been running around like a chicken without a head with SAT's coming up. So much to study! lol glad to see you're okay though! Had me thinking the stress was still wearing you out.))
"HIRO! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME HELP!" The call came to him, almost like a flash of lightning in the dark cloud over his mind. Hiro felt it shake him, physically drive him to quickly get to his feet. He didn't have to question who it was, he knew. He didn't have to even wonder where to go, his feet just carried him in that direction. The only thing he did have to wonder was what was putting Zen in danger. It didn't feel like he was moving fast enough around the debri from the cleanup of the village and finally the weaving road away from the place, not enough to help Zen before he got hurt. An idea hit him and he quickly focused on a bit of a flame. He could see the location in his mind, could feel that that was the area were Zen and the danger was. He held his breath and let the flame fly. For such a long range it wasn't meant for an effective attack, just something to startle whatever it was so that he could buy some time. When he finally did arrive, he saw the large wolf monster and took a step back in shock. "Zen-" He found Zen on the ground pinned under the best. He felt his temper flare at the thought of the thing hurting Zen while he was still recovering, especially just after the guy had face off against a terrifying monster in the water. He called up a strand of fire, one that wove its way in the air in a wip like stance. It lashed out against the wolf, catching in the back with what would have felt like a sharp cord with a searing burn after shock. "Jeez Zen, always got to pick fights with the biggest thing you can find?" He huffed the wip of fire then cracking down on the wrist to get the wolf to release him.

the wolf took a few steps back globs of spit dripping from its mouth as it limped back in pain taking a few steps back

"it wasnt my intention!" zen said as he got to his feet he picked up the stick and held it like a sword 'guess this will have to do..' he thought and ran foward hitting the wolf and splintering the branch right across its nose. it let out a yelp and when it saw the fire once more turned and ran back into the forrest

zen tried to catch his breath and turned to hiro

"i kno we gatta protect people from this stuff and all but, why does it seem like they are now hunting us?" he said and walked to hiro "thanks for helping me out. im pretty sure i would have been a goner" he saw the fear in hiro's eyes and smirked "cant have that especially before you get the chance to teach me to swim eh?" he said and winced leaning on hiro's shoulder "i think i might need a patch up nursey" he grumbled with a weak smile

Hiro was relieved when the dog disappeared though the fear didn't leave his eyes, despite the frown on his face. Zen had most likely pulled the healing muscle and skin in all that struggling, only making the cuts worse. Besides, the bandage looked sweaty and blood stained in places. He wanted to be able to give Zen a smile back but he couldn't make himself do it. Zen had left the temple and gotten himself into trouble while he was still in trouble, had really scared Hiro at first that something had happened to him. He couldn't quite explain it but it was as if their was a feeling to protect Zen inside him, that if something happened to him that would take him away...He didn't want to continue with that thought. It made him feel too morbid. "I'm starting to think they are looking for us. Attacking in hopes of catching us at our weakest." He touched Zen's arm so that he could help him back to the temple. 
"Of course. Can't have it getting worse." He sighed but only to hide his real relief. "You..You aren't hurt anywhere else right?" He asked a moment later,  realizing he forgot to check.

"nothing a hot cup of tea cant fix" zen said as he struggled up the stairs reassuring the monks that he was fine when they got inside he slumped back down onto the cushions and groaned

"hiro... what if im not cut out for this job? gaurdian and what not. it seems im more trouble then im worth.." he said closing his eyes and leaning his head back with a sigh

Hiro felt a small bit of surprise at Zen's comment about not being cut out for the job. After all Hiro had been wondering the same the night before...and he'd decided to trust whatever Fate pointed him in the direction of, whish was quite a liberal thought for him. "Well, then I guess we're all screwed." He said with a slight smile, just kidding as the the monk walked in the room with a pot of tea and a few cups. Feeling he needed to let Zen have some rest, he took them from the monk and shooed him from the room. "I started wondering that...and you know, I realized we aren't perfect." He noticed the tea was only luke warm and let his hand heat up the pot till he felt it was hot enough. "So that means we can make mistakes, stumble a bit, and get into trouble at times." He set the cups down and poured the tea. A little bit of the hot tea splashed back and got his finger, making him wince slightly but had a humored smile that he could actually get even a minor burn. "I guess that's why there are two of us right? Ying and Yang, to help one out when the other needs it, like a balance." Hiro sat acroos from Zen on a cushion and took the tea, blowing on it to cool it before taking a sip. He liked the way it tasted, not too sweet but not too bitter.
"Well, I'm no philosipher but I think that has to be the most insiteful thing I've come up with all month. Cheers to that." He said with a laugh, trying to brighten the mood.

zen smiled and nodded holding up his glass in cheers. zen took a sip and then yawned. he ran a hand through his hair and then winced "ahhhh..." he pulled a tangled braid forward and groaned "remind me not to let kids play with my hair again.." he growled trying to untangle the mess with his hands giving up after a moment

"even with my hate for school im looking forward to the break" he said and looked at hiro 'maybe i can actually keep him safe that way.. and myself out of trouble' he sat up to reach for a comb but groaned and grabbed his side "ah... it just gunna stay tangled..."

Hiro was happy to see that he smiled, that the thought might have been taken from his mind. Zen didn't look right without a smile...Hiro was surprised by that thought and quickly dismissed it when he noticed Zen tugging at his hair. When he reached for the comb he instantly drew back in pain, making Hiro's worry only worsen. He stiffled it with a small sigh. "You're already in pain for putting too much strain on your side. The last thing you need is for you to go bald because of you leaving all the knots in it." Hiro said, rather feeling like a real nurse at the moment caring for a sick patient. He normally didn't pay this much attention and would have told the person to go and do whatever the hell they wanted but Zen was a different case, he had to admit it. He picked up the comb, raising an eyebrow slightly at him. "Do you mind?" He asked rather nonchallantly about helping him with his hair. "After all you are the patient currently." He said as half assed sarcasm.

zen blushed slightly and nodded "yeah sure. thank you" he winced a few times when he tugged through the knots but after that it was so soothing he felt like he was going to fall asleep.

"hiro, your the best friend ive ever had... if i can be so bold to say that" he said and leaned his head against hiro 'its been a long time since i felt wanted but... even through his sarcasm i feel it' he thought

"i know it might be forced but... i wanted to thank you for pretending. its nice to have a friend again" zen said and closed his eyes the soothing brushing was putting him to sleep slowly

Hiro blushed himself, stopping his brushing for a moment. 'Friend huh?' He thought for a moment, then continued. "Pretending...there you go saying strange things again." He said though gave him a half smile. He hadn't exactly ever been worried about getting close to someone, since most of his life was surrounded by lessons and solitude. Now though, he was begining to realize he liked having someone around that could actually put up with him and his attitude. He noticed Zen was drifting off and thought to himself about what tomorrow would hold. After all they were to be leaving tomorrow, off on a new adventure to a festival and more studying...

zen woke and stretched moving silently to the window so he didnt wake up hiro, he saw the cart being loaded up and smiled brightly "ahhh hiro wake up! we are leaving soon!" he said and ran shaking hiro awake before running to clean himself up some, grabbing some food and an animal bladder filled with watershoving it in his pack. he laughed jumping over the still groggy hiro "race ya to the cart!" he yelled dashing down the stairs he stepped outside and took in a deep breathe in the cool crisp air.

Hiro grumbled as he woke up, his eyesight a little fuzzy as he looked at Zen and all his excitement. He rubbed his eyes as Zen left and flopped back down attmepting to sleep again. But of course once woken up he couldn't go back to sleep and ended up sitting up. Zen lept over him and Hiro jumped slightly, gving Zen a narrow eyed look. THough he was still tired he laughed and got to his feet. "Yeah yeah," He muttered shaking his head with a smile as he walked to catch up with him. Hiro made his way down the stairs and found Zen outside, the cart already packed and ready. "Yay, no walking!" He said as he felt the nice breeze. Today was nice, or at least he hoped it would stay that way. He noticed the ox at the front of the cart and blinked. It looked so funny looking, especially with the gnarly horns and tassles on its ears. "Isn't that a funny looking bull." The ox snorted and Hiro couldn't help a laugh at the sight of its bangs flipping up at the motion. "So might as well get this show on the road I think, too much to do and see in such little time it seems."