Chase frowned. "I don't really see the danger in climbing a tree," he replied. "It's, like, a rite of passage or something, I guess. Sure, there's a chance you'll fall, but then again, doesn't everything in life have something like that? Doesn't mean you can't try to climb a little higher." To prove his point, he reached up and grabbed a branch above his head, a little thicker than the one he was standing on. He grunted as he swung his legs, pulling himself up on the higher branch. Once he was sitting on the sturdy bark, he grinned down at Kazu triumphantly. "Your turn."

Kazu shook her head and sighed. "I'll never understand that man....." "But you're right!" "Everyone should always keep trying and do their best!" Kazu grabbed onto a branch and yanked herself up. She continued climbing until she was almost where chase was. Kazu looked down and smiled when she saw how high up she was. But then her eyes widened and pictures of the past flashed before her eyes. A look of terror and fear crossed her face. She clutched harder onto the branch, her eyes didn't leave the ground. Her breathing became heavier, and except or the wind, everything seemed silent.

Chase could see Kazumi's facial expression change from determined to terrified as she wavered. It only took a second for her resolve to disappear, and she clung to the branch. Knowing that she could drop, Chase yelled, "Hold on!" and started climbing down. He nearly lost his own balance on a thin branch, but held on tight and slunk down the trunk of the tall tree until he reached Kazumi. He grabbed her hand and said, "Don't let go."

Kazu still had that paralyzed expression, she didn't seem to notice Chase at all. Slowly, she lost her grip and her eyes began to close, until the only thing that was holding her up was Chase. Kazumi's face was a bit flustered and Her skin a bit pale.

Chase grunted as he grabbed onto her with both hands. He braced himself against the tree and tried to lift her back up, but...did she pass out? He wasn't sure. He shouldn't have pushed her into climbing higher; she wasn't ready for it. He gritted his teeth and finally managed to get her back up. "Kazumi!" he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Snap out of it!"

Kazu's eyes slowly opened. "nnn" she groaned. "My head hurts." When she realized where she was, she sat up. "OMIGOODNESS I AM SO SORRY! I TOTALLY SPACED OUT I WASN'T ANY TROUBLE WAS I? OH WHAT AM I SAYING OF COURSE I WAS I APOLOGIZE SINCERELY FOR THAT! OMIGOODNESS!" Kazu stopped and placed her hand on her head. "Ya...i probably should have stayed in bed today..." she said staring at the ground. "Sorry for worrying you..."

Chase chuckled. "Can you get down by yourself, or you need some help?" he asked, hopping down to the forest floor. He waited for her, tilting his head up at the trees. "Then we'll get you home. You don't look so good," he commented. She looked rather sick, actually.

"Actually, i have a fever...." Kazu said climbing down from the tree carefully. "But it's nothing new to me, i'm kind of prone to getting sick." Kazu said smiling sheepishly. "But I have to work, so i normally just take some medicine and move on." "Today it seemed worse though....it could be because of that." "Ya, that's probably it, so as long as i don't think of that again. i should be fine!" "Ah! I'm sorry for the trouble again!" Kazu said formally bowing. "I mean, there's no way you could've known, right!" 'yes yes, completely my fault!' Kazu closed her eyes and smiled.

Chase frowned, helping her down the last few feet from the tree. When she was on the ground, he pressed his hand up against her forehead and whistled lowly. "Wow, you weren't kidding. You're burning up." He pulled his hand away and cocked his head. "Why did you come out here if you were sick? You should've stayed in bed." He sighed and, motioning for her to walk ahead of him, said, "Well, let's get you home."

Kazu nodded and followed Chase. "Actually, i came out here because i wanted to see chase!" "i remembered this morning while feeding the animals.' "But when i got here, i was so distracted by nature's beauty, i got totally distracted!"

Chase laughed sheepishly. "Honestly, I totally forgot about our little rendezvous," he confessed, embarrassed. "I just had a feeling that I should come out here today." Punching her very, very lightly on the shoulder, he joked, "Guess it's a good thing for you that I tend to follow my gut instinct, huh?"

"Yes!" kazu laughed back. "I had lost of fun today!" "ah! and about what happend back there......you don't need to worry, i just got a really bad headache!" "I'll be ok! I promise!" Kazu put an arm on her muscle. "no fever can keep me down!" Of course, it was a lie. But if he knew, he'd only pity me, like they all did. I don't need...to burden him.