Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Chapter ❯ Episode Six: New Surprises ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I still don't own Konan, Suzaku and all characters and seishi pertaining to them. Kiori and Ritsuka are and shall forever be mine, and that holds for everyone in Takkan and all the other “originals” as well (you'll know `em when they appear, trust me). Obviously the story is mine as well.

Rating: PG-13, for moderate language and violence.

 

Translation Notes:

Tasukete - Help me

Ahou - A more “informal” way of saying baka (stupid)

Wari - An informal way of saying gomen (sorry); I think it kinda translates to “my bad”

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--Episode Six: New Surprises—

 

"Uh-huh, and so then what happened?" a female voice behind Keisuke asked.

The college boy yelped and whirled around, facing the speaker. "Y-Y-Yui!?”

“Ye-ye-yes, Keisuke?” she asked with a sweet smile.

He stammered incoherently, pointing back and forth between her and her blushing boyfriend. “What - what in the world - how did you - what are you—?"

Yui sighed. "Baka. That `hentai' (porno) thing didn't fool me for a second. I had the story out of Tetsuya before we were halfway to the theatre." Her boyfriend stood behind her and shrugged sheepishly. Yui snatched the book out of Keisuke's hands and studied the cover with a critical eye. "So, a sequel to The Universe of the Four Gods. Does Miaka know about this?"

Keisuke tried to wrestle it out of her grasp. "No, and I don't plan on telling her, and neither will you, understand?"

Yui pushed him away with one hand, accidentally causing him to fall off the couch. "Absolutely. But..." she frowned at the title, "how could these friends of yours get in here in the first place? All the Priestesses have been summoned, so…” she trailed off, examining the book from every angle as if it were a particularly impressive science project.

Tetsuya helped his friend back to his feet and took a seat on the couch next to Yui. "Keisuke was gonna explain that to me, too, right before you came in."

The other boy shrugged, scrambling into a chair opposite the couple. "I can't explain it exactly, but I think that since it's a different book, the seal on the Four Gods doesn't apply to it. It has nothing to do with Priestesses and summoning gods, right? So the book has a completely different purpose than its prequel."

"I guess that makes sense," Yui agreed, more to herself than anyone else.

Tetsuya sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "Well, anyway, whatever the reason, we're not getting through it any faster sitting here yakking. Go ahead and read the next chapter, Yui-chan."

The girl obliged, snapping open the book and beginning at the top of the page. “`The Lady of Takkan gazed into her shogun's tent through one of the Water Element's seeing crystals, watching as he paced back and forth restlessly...'”

---

Hataku sipped at a small glass of a sake - it was the only way he allowed himself to celebrate small victories, even while his men drunk themselves into a stupor - and muttered unhappily under his breath about his Lady's orders. Setsuka saw and heard it all, one red-nailed finger tapping out a pattern on the arm of her throne. “He's hardly worth the time and energy,” she said quietly, thinking aloud. “Nevertheless…” and here a vicious smile lit her lips, “this could become very amusing.

“Mizu-chan, you are excused. I have work for someone else, right now.”

As the young Element hurried from the chamber, Setsuka pinched at the silver gem that hung on her necklace, mentally calling to one of her seven. Tsuki appeared before his Lady moments later, dressed in simple browns and greens and carrying a bow across his back. Setsuka smiled. “I do hope I'm not interrupting anything?”

“Ani and I were hunting some game at the edge of the city,” he replied, though his face didn't show if he was happy or upset about that.

“You are truly sons of Hokkan aristocrats,” she chuckled. “Not that I blame you for enjoying a bit of sport now and again - stealth is a worthy skill for an Element.”

“Was there something you needed, my Lady?” Tsuki asked as if he hadn't heard the woman's words. “Ani will be upset if he has to walk all the way back to the palace.”

Setsuka stood, setting a slim hand on the youth's shoulder and smiling down into that impassive face. “Take me to the tent of my shogun, please. And don't worry about your dear `Ani': I promise this will not take long.”

---

Hataku shrugged off his cloak, thinking back over the near-victory he and his men could have achieved, and the reason for that victory's failure. "Damned orders... we could have scored a huge victory... instead we lost over three hundred men... it isn't much all things considered, but compared to their hundred or so... damned wall, damned orders..."

He pivoted just in time to see Setsuka and Tsuki teleport into the tent. Hataku stumbled back in surprise, but recovered from his shock with surprising speed. The shogun set his drink on a nearby table, kneeling and touching his forehead to the ground.

"How goes the war?" Setsuka asked.

Hataku hesitated, unsure of how to answer his Lady's questions. There were certain things that could be said before Setsuka, and certain things you didn't dare say, and the shogun had always tread a thin line between the two. "Permission to speak freely, my Lady?"

"Granted."

He stood once more, choosing his words as he went. "The war goes well - or it should. We outnumber them by at least three to four, if not more. Our army is better trained. By all rights we should have scaled the walls in a single evening. However..."

"Hm?"

"However, my Lady...” he gathered his courage and continued, “Your orders forbid it. Conquest would be simple if I were allowed complete control of the battle plans. But you want to get your precious Elements into this so badly that you won't let me—"

Tsuki disappeared from Setsuka's side and reappeared directly behind the shogun, his hooked weapon pressed against Hataku's throat. He looked over the shogun's shoulder at his mistress with those cold, merciless eyes. "At your command, my Lady..."

"Leave him, Tsuki," she ordered, wondering for a moment why she didn't just kill the man and be done with it. But that was not something she would think about, not now. Setsuka actually smiled. "I apologize for Tsuki's behavior, Shogun-sama, but saying `Elements' with such scorn is a direct insult against his dear Ani. That does set him off a bit.” The boy released his hold on the shogun and flashed back to Setsuka's side. She went on as if nothing had happened. “So the battle went well? Did the seishi give you no trouble?"

He snorted. "Nothing but a few arrows. There's nothing dangerous about anyone in that city."

"The sleeping lion is also considered harmless…" Tsuki remarked quietly, a note of danger in his tone, "until it awakens, that is."

The youth's blunt insolence flared up Hataku's already sparking temper. "Tell your pet to keep his nose out of his elder's business,” he snapped before he could stop himself. The shogun flinched and watched his Lady carefully, knowing he had just crossed that razor-thin line.

But to his surprise, Setsuka laughed. "Very well then, Shogun-sama. Tomorrow do everything and anything you wish in battle. Freedom is yours."

Hataku couldn't believe his ears. "You mean that, Setsuka-sama?" she nodded. He touched his head to the floor once more, not knowing what else to do. He had never expected such an answer from his mistress; these days, he was lucky if she granted him the right to sleep without her direct orders.

"Come now, Tsuki," she said. "Back to the palace." He put a hand on her shoulder and the tent flickered out of a sight. Setsuka blinked; when she opened her eyes again they were back in her throne room.

"That was cruel of you, my Lady," Tsuki commented, taking his hand from her shoulder.

“But he said such nasty things about my dear Elements - I'd think you would be glad for my cruelty Tsuki-kun.” Setsuka smiled at the youth, but the look was anything but friendly. "Hataku must learn his lesson sooner or later. Tomorrow will be as good a day as any."

---

Chichiri and Tasuki stood on the wall the next morning, watching the advancing Takkan soldiers. The monk frowned, noticing the new way their enemy moved: they had a purpose today, and they seemed excited about it. “I don't like this no da,” he murmured, gripping his staff in one hand. “There's something about their life forces, especially their Shogun's…”

“I c'n sense it too, even without magic,” Tasuki agreed. The bandit touched the tessen at his side, fingering the metal edges thoughtfully. “If we give `em a chance, they might really put some heat on us t'day.” He paused, thinking further, then grinned. “Unless we put some heat on them, first.”

Chichiri sensed his companion's plan, and regarded it with mixed feelings. But Konan came first, he reminded himself; the safety of the city should be the first thing on his mind. And Tasuki's plan would grant that. He could deal with his own, personal issues later. “What do you have in mind no da?”

---

Kiori wandered through the palace aimlessly, trying to block out the fresh sounds of battle. "Maybe I should've gone up on the wall after all,” she remarked to a nearby tapestry. “I know Akai said I would just be in danger, but maybe I could have helped bring the injured down, or given arrows to people, or... oh, I don't know.” She pressed a hand against the mouth of the smiling man in the tapestry, almost expecting him to give some kind of answer, but of course he remained silent. “You're no help at all,” she said with a sigh, though it was hard to tell if she spoke to the wall-hanging or to herself. She moved out the door and onto the small walkway, eyes on the bright blue sky above. “There has to be something I can do...!”

The college girl turned a corner and nearly ran into two palace healers carrying a stretcher between them. "Oh, excuse m—"

"You!" one, an older man with soot-colored hair, barked at her. "What're you doing?”

“N... nothing, I jus—”

“Good. This guy's leg is in bad condition. We need to do something quick or it'll have to come off! Go to the far left storeroom and get us some extra bandages, Mitsubalm, and a bottle of alcohol. Meet us in the sickbay."

"But I—"

"I don't have time to argue, girl, just do it!" he shouted, already heading down the promenade.

"Uh, okay," Kiori stuttered, still in something of a daze.

She made her way to the storage rooms without much trouble, and found the bandages and the alcohol easily. "Ooookay, Mitsubalm... now what the heck is that?” Her eyes scanned the shelves covered in foreign creams, gels and liquids, trying to decipher the complex kanji scrawled across them. “This is hopeless, I don't even know what `Mitsubalm' looks like,” she grumbled. “And it seems that doctors everywhere have terrible handwriting...”

”Third shelf up, yellow jar,” a deep, soothing voice seemed to whisper in her ear.

Kiori whirled around, but saw no one. Wide-eyed, she blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Uh, all right," she said to the invisible voice. She grabbed the bottle, made a failed attempt to read the scribbled name, then prayed she hadn't gone insane and ran off to the sickbay.

The college girl found the two doctors and the unlucky, injured man in the stifling room, along with countless other soldiers. Kiori made her way towards the far end of the room, fighting back a wave of nausea when the smells of blood and sickness assailed her. She did her best not to look at the scenes of violence on all sides, but she couldn't stop the hushed voices of two medics from seeping into her head.

"They really stepped up their attack today," she heard one say.

"Mm," the other agreed. "If it wasn't for Chichiri-sama's barrier, they'd be in the city by now, I bet."

"Tough business. Wonder how much longer we can hold out?"

Kiori bit her lip and handed the supplies to the doctor. "Domo," he muttered. The man looked towards the fresh batch of incoming patients and sighed. The college woman took a timid step back and turned to go, but the doctor barked out: "Oi! You busy?"

"Me?” Kiori blinked, then realized that of course he was talking to her. "Um, no, oji-san (sir).”

"Here," he shoved the items back into her surprised arms. "Clean that leg wound, bandage it up, and give the guy something to drink. Then move on to somebody else.” Kiori just stared at the man. He met her surprised eyes with an irritated glare. “Well c'mon girl, you said you weren't doing anything! I've got a lot of other things to do and I need all the help I can get. It's not that hard." He pushed past her and disappeared into the crowd of healers and patients.

Kiori looked down at the supplies in her arms, completely at a loss. “But I don't...” The man at her feet uttered a low moan, his face pale and drawn from the pain. She looked down at him and tightened her jaw. “It's not that hard, huh? Guess I'll have to find out.”

She knelt beside the injured soldier and rolled his pant leg up to his knee, trying not to wince at the nasty arrow wound. The college girl bit back her nausea, remembering that she was supposed to be helping this man, and set to work. She did the best she could, dabbing at the wound with both Mitsubalm and alcohol before wrapping the long, silky bandages tightly around the injury. She couldn't help but sweatdrop as she tied it into a bow; it wasn't the most dignified dressing, but it would have to do for now.

The man managed a tiny chuckle. "Heh, that's a cute way to do it. Arigatou, ojou-san (miss)."

She smiled back. "Yorokonde (My pleasure), oji-san!"

'Well, it's a battle of its own, I suppose,' Kiori thought to herself as she moved on to another patient. 'Maybe Chichiri was right. Maybe I will be of some use after all.'

---

Chichiri stood, watching as the battle raged on the southern side of the capital. He touched two fingers to the symbol on his knee; it shone a bright red, and he felt his fellow seishi's ki brushing at the edge of his mind. 'You ready to go, Tasuki?'

Tasuki, on the northern side, grasped at his own glowing symbol. Chichiri could almost feel him smiling; the monk wished he could feel the same excitement. 'I was born ready, pal. You remember what t'do?'

`Take the south side and work my way east no da,' Chichiri answered with a tiny sigh.

`An' I'll take th' north side an' do th' same' Tasuki agreed. `We'll meet in th' fields on th' eastern side-a th' palace, then you c'n teleport us back inside.' The bandit paused for a moment, then chuckled and added: `An' don't panic if I don't show up right away - there're a lotta Takkan soldiers t'fry.'

---

Twenty Takkan soldiers on the outskirts of the northern wall laughed and joked with each other, highly enjoying the battle and the confusion of the beleaguered Konan soldiers. They had discovered the vicious beauty of fire-slingers - oil-dampened rags tied onto swing-able rope, then dipped in fire - and were swinging them over the wall with deadly accuracy.

"Like shootin' fish in a barrel, eh boys?" one cackled.

"What good's a wall when you got no city on the inside?" another laughed.

Another glowing torch soared over the wall and out of sight. Even from this distance the sounds of civilian screams reached their ears. The men passed a jug of sake between them, sharing another round of laughter.

"Didn't yer mothers ever tell ya not t'play with fire?" a nearby voice asked. The soldiers looked around, but couldn't seem to find the owner of the voice. "No? Good, 'cause neither did mine."

A tall figure with flame-red hair seemed to materialize out of the surrounding trees. The men all backed away, caught completely off-guard. "What...?" one managed to stutter, holding out his sword between two trembling hands.

"But, if yer gonna play with fire," a pair of golden eyes flashed dangerously, coupled by an equally wild smirk, "you oughta do it right."

"R... right?" one shocked soldier asked.

He nodded, flashing a pair of fangs. "Like this," the man pulled a fan out of his back sling. The tessen's crystal edges shone in the sunlight as the stranger swept it across his body, shouting out two seemingly meaningless words. "REKKA SHIN'EN!"

---

Atop the northern wall, Akai and Ritsuka saw the blast of flame from Tasuki's tessen. They whooped appreciatively, firing down with renewed strength. The other Konan soldiers followed suit; the sight of the seishi's devastating power was enough to send even the most exhausted of warriors back into battle with wild energy.

---

A group of warriors near the southern wall had decided to take some time off from battle. As they munched on make-shift pot stickers, they laughed and jeered at Konan's efforts.

"What're y'all, pansies 'r somethin'? Can't y'fight one decent battle!?"

"Oi, didja see, Naro just took out some little boy!"

"Ha, so desperate they got kids fightin' for 'em! Idiots!"

A quiet, calm tenor interrupted their fun. "If there's one thing I really can't stand, it's bullies no da."

The soldiers turned to see a man sitting on a nearby tree stump. The stranger was dressed, to all appearances, like a monk, complete with staff, kesa, and a wide straw hat that covered the top part of his face.

"Who the hell're you!?" the leader demanded.

"That isn't important no da." His mouth straightened into a grim line. “You have one chance to retreat back to your camp. If not…” he put two fingers to his lips in a silent threat.

Several of the soldiers cackled at the action, misunderstanding the stranger's words.

“Or what? You gonna pray at me, little monk?” one asked with a sneer, sauntering over to the newcomer and tossing a knife between his hands. “Now answer my pal's question: who th' hell are ya?”

Their only answer was an exasperated sigh. The stranger began to chant under his breath in a tongue that none of the men knew. At the same time, a red glow surrounded his thin form, and suddenly he didn't seem so harmless after all.

The soldiers took several steps back, unsure of this new threat. Before they could decide whether to run or fight, the monk tipped his kasa up, revealing one dangerous, mahogany eye and a long, jagged scar. They chose to run. But of course, by then, it was already too late.

"Kaa juu," he turned his fingers sideways, "mon ya."

---

The "kid" that the one called Naro had supposedly taken out was still up on the south wall when he saw the ki blast create a blazing streak across the Takkan forces. The boy held up an arm and shouted happily, forgetting the pain lancing through his abdomen side. "It's Chichiri-sama! It must be! No one else can do that!"

"Aoi-kun, c'mon, we need to get you cleaned up right away," a fellow soldier said, tugging at his arm.

The warrior pulled away, yanking the arrow out of his side, snapping it in half and throwing it back down at the soldiers. "Take that, Takkan scum!” He glanced over at his companion, flashing a grin that didn't quite mask his pain. “Don't worry about me, Hideki-san! I'm staying till the battle's over! This is a show I wouldn't dare miss!"

---

Konan soldiers weren't the only ones watching the display. Setsuka sat in her chamber, viewing the battle through Mizu's seeing-crystal. Tsuki and Taiyou stood behind her, studying the destruction with their sharp golden eyes. Mizu's sight went back and forth between the two seishi, watching as they wreaked havoc among the confused and terrified Takkan soldiers.

"Powerful," Setsuka murmured. "Very powerful."

Taiyou snorted. "Taking out some frightened soldiers is no great task, my Lady. Soldiers can't fight off magical attacks like some people." He watched the monk's ki blasts for a moment, then pointed towards the crystal and smirked. “Look, that one's attacks aren't even fatal - he hasn't killed a man yet.”

“Maybe he isn't trying to,” Mizu remarked quietly.

The others ignored her small voice. Setsuka nodded, a small fire building in her cold silver eyes. "Does that mean you can handle them?"

"Of course, my Lady! They're tough, but my brother and I can handle them as if they were mere children!" Taiyou assured her.

Tsuki frowned. "Be careful with that confidence, Taiyou. You should never underestimate warriors who have survived so much."

The other boy just laughed. Mizu sighed at his ignorance. She didn't bother telling the brothers that Chichiri was hardly using any energy, and Tasuki wasn't trying that hard, either. All told, they were barely using half of their total strength. 'Oh, well,' she thought, unable to stifle that tiny feeling of happiness in her chest. 'They'll find out beforelong, I bet.'

---

Hataku rarely laughed outright, especially during a battle, but he did allow a small smile to flicker across his features. So what if the attempt to scale the wall had been foiled by some magical barrier? Konan's soldiers were tiring fast and dropping like flies. They'd be ready to give up by nightfall, if they weren't all too tired, wounded or dead to surrender. He could taste victory. He opened his mouth to shout orders to some nearby captains, telling them to put more power behind their attacks, but the sight of two men on horseback stopped him. One rode from the north, and the other from the south, but they both looked terrified.

"Shogun-sama! Shogun-sama!" they cried, drawing their animals up a hairs-breadth from his stallion. "We're being attacked from the outside!"

"Outside?" Hataku frowned, his mind racing. "By whom?" Both opened their mouths to speak at once. "One at a time!" He pointed to the north rider. "Explain."

"We're being attacked, Shogun-sama," he repeated anxiously, "by a man throwing fire like it was alive!"

“Just one man?" Hataku snorted. "Kill him and stop complaining."

"We can't," the soldier went on. "He's too fast. Here and gone. The men think he's a phantom. We can't do anything."

"Idiots," Hataku growled. "They've been having too much sake. What about you?" He jerked his head at the southern rider. "More fire-throwing ghosts?"

"Worse!" he cried. "A monk, a sorcerer, a demon—"

"All three or one in the same?"

"Nobody sticks around to find out, Shogun-sama! He utters curses that create blasts the color of blood, and before we can attack he disappears!"

"Nothing can just disa—" Hataku stopped mid-sentence. The image of Setsuka and Tsuki flickering in and out of his tent flashed through his mind. The shogun paled, understanding for the first time exactly what he was up against. “Seishi," he whispered.

"What should we do, Shogun-sama?" both cried.

"Retreat!" he ordered. "Immediately, before the entire army is wiped out!” Hataku swung up onto his horse, gritting his teeth in anger. “Damn that woman! She set me up for this one! Damn her and her Elements!"

---

Akai and Ritsuka cheered, watching as the fire blasts from the north drew further east, and the Takkan soldiers began to retreat. The two girls tossed their bows to the ground and threw their arms around one another, jumping up and down happily.

"Haha! Good ol' Tasuki-chan!" Ritsuka laughed. "I bet Chichiri's wreakin' havoc on the other side, too!"

"I knew the seishi were unbeatable!" Akai agreed. She pulled apart from her newest comrade, tugging at her sleeve and pointing towards the inner city. "How about we go get some lunch and wait for the heroes to show up?"

"Sounds like the best idea I heard all day."

The two walked down the steep stairs, through the streets of the city, and back into the palace. They were still laughing and joking about the undignified retreat of the Takkan soldiers when they turned a sharp corner and nearly ran into a soldier with a wounded boy slung across his shoulder.

“Sorry, I...” Akai trailed off, taking a closer look at the injured youth. Blood poured unchecked from the young soldier's side, and his blue bangs hung wetly across a face drenched in sweat, a face that she knew surprisingly well, and... Her hands flew to her mouth. “Aoi! What the - what happened? Are you all right?”

The boy managed a pained smile. "Just don't know when to quit, I guess."

"He got shot, pulled out the arrow and just kept fightin'," the man who was helping him explained. "I tried to get the little idiot to come down, but he's too stubborn for his own—"

Ritsuka interrupted. "You gonna stand there and scold him or get him to the doctors? C'mon, Akai, grab him from the other side and let's move this poor kid!"

The redhead ran alongside the trio, calling encouragement to Aoi to stay awake and keep moving. They reached the sickbay before long, meeting up with a fellow Konan warrior.

Kiori trotted over to the four. "Akai, Rits—" she stopped at the sight of Aoi. After a long morning of aiding the injured, Kiori had become well acquainted with Konan's somewhat archaic doctoring methods. She took over the situation with practiced ease, frowning at the jagged wound in the young man's side. "Get him down, over here on this pallet. Hey, you, yeah, soldier-san, bring me some bandages and alcohol. Hurry!”

The brunette woman hustled her newest patient over to a nearby mat, setting him down as gently as she could. She took a closer look at the injury, shaking her head as she did. This one was beyond her knowledge. She whistled for the soot-haired doctor to come over, hoping that he could do something for the boy.

"He's gonna be okay, isn't he?" Akai asked, her face tight with worry.

Kiori opened her mouth to assure the girl of Aoi's safety, but the doctor spoke before she had a chance. "The wound isn't fatal, but he's lost so much blood... his strength has been completely drained." He looked up, offering the trio of young ladies an apologetic shrug. “I can patch up the wound, but there isn't much else I can do for him. If he doesn't have the stamina to push through, he won't survive the night.”

Ritsuka swore under her breath. Akai rubbed a hand across her eyes. Kiori's mind raced. 'His strength... his ki...' she tightened her jaw.`It just might work.'

She jumped into action. "Aoi, listen to me! I need you to open your mind, to trust me! Can you do that?"

He blinked through a growing haze. He smiled through his pain, but the brunette woman didn't like the filmy look in his eyes. "Sure, I trust you Kiori-san."

"Good." She snatched up his limp hand and laced her fingers through his.

"What're you gonna do?" Akai asked, a flicker of hope in her tear-filled gaze.

"I'm gonna... well, I'm going to try to transfer some of my life force into him," Kiori explained hurriedly.

Ritsuka blinked. "You mean, like what you and Chichiri did the other night?” her friend nodded; Ritsuka frowned. “Is that, you know... safe?"

Kiori had no idea. But she'd ever let the others know something like that. She flashed a victory sign and forced a smile. They were counting on her, and she couldn't possibly let them down now. She had to do something right in this war! She could question her actions later, after she helped Aoi. "Of course it's safe! It's just like a blood transfusion... I think."

The brunette took a breath, closed her eyes, and did the only thing she could think of - she bundled up her life force and shoved it into Aoi. Something sharp and hot flew from her chest, down her arm and out of her hand. Her skin burned against this violation, against this rough transferal of energy from one life to another. Her entire body lit up with pain.

Aoi's back arched and he screamed.

“Stop it, Kiori-san!” Akai shouted, tugging hard at the young woman's sleeve.

'I don't know how!' she wanted to cry, but could only manage a weak whimper. The energy flowing out of her and into the boy was fierce, raw, and completely unstoppable. She slumped against Ritsuka, her fingers still tangled in Aoi's hand, and felt herself fading into darkness. `Oh no, I've messed it all up! Chichiri, tasukete...'

---

Chichiri watched the western soldiers escape, deciding to let them vanish into the undergrowth. It didn't seem right to chase down and punish such cowards, even if they were the enemy. He had not approved of this plan to begin with, had not wanted to take the lives of any of these men, but Konan had been struggling, and failing; if not for he and Tasuki's aid, the city might have…

Well, that wasn't important, he reminded himself. As it was, Konan had been saved, the Takkan soldiers had been beaten back, and to the best of his knowledge he had not personally ended a single life. True, there were a good many Takkan soldiers who would go home on stretchers before the night was out, and twice as many as that would be nursing injuries for many weeks to come, but they still lived. That was what mattered. In truth, he hated killing just as much as the college woman. Through all his seishi travels - through all his life - he had only ever murdered one man. The monk's tiny smile fell at the thought. Once, and never again, he reminded himself firmly.

“Kiori would've approved no d—”

Almost as if in answer to her name, the young woman's voice rang out through the monk's mind. 'Chichiri, tasukete!'

His head jerked up. Chichiri paused, concentrating on her distant life force, then frowned with worry. He could feel her ki draining fast - something was horribly wrong. He tossed his hat into the air and vanished.

---

Kiori thought she heard someone calling her name. No, two people: a male and a female. Voices that she knew very well. For a brief, wonderful moment she dared to believe her parents were shouting for her, telling her that dinner was ready or that they were leaving for work, but as they grew clearer and louder she realized that the tones belonged to two much newer companions.

"Kiori, Kiori!"

"Kiori, please, say something no da!"

The college woman's eyes fluttered open slowly and took even longer to focus. At last she managed to make out the three hazy figures - a redhead, a violet-eyed girl, and a blue-haired, maskless man. "Oh, what an odd dream..."

"AHOU!" Ritsuka shouted, her strong tone trembling visibly. "How could you do something so STUPID!? I thought you'd been... you said it was safe! Ahou!"

Kiori pushed herself into a sitting position, blinking over and over. She wondered why she felt so burned out, as if she'd just run a marathon across Tokyo. "What's wrong?" she murmured, wincing at the redhead's loud and seemingly unnecessary outburst.

"Don't you even remember, you idiot!? How you tried to save Aoi by... AHOU!" Ritsuka nearly hit her friend, but pulled back just in time.

The brunette nodded. "Oh, that." She came fully awake with a start. "That! Oh, no…"

"Yeah, that!" Ritsuka agreed with a sarcastic snort. "And you nearly... AHOU! If it wasn't for Chichiri breaking your hold on that kid..." she jumped up and stomped angrily through the room - which, Kiori now realized, belonged to the two college women - unable to sit still when she was this worried... or this relieved.

"I thought it wouldn't be too hard," Kiori justified, waving a hand at Chichiri. "When he did it—"

The monk broke into the girls' conversation, fighting to keep the tremor out of his voice. "I know what I'm doing, I've been doing it for years no da! You see it performed once and two days later you run off and try the same trick?"

Kiori recoiled, still scrambling for a foothold in the argument. "I thought I could control it. I didn't think—"

"Exactly! You were in such a rush to be 'useful' that you almost..." Chichiri gripped her shoulders and she met his true gaze for the first time. The sight of the monk's single mahogany eye momentarily silenced Kiori; there was something indescribably intriguing in that intense, serious, somehow sorrowful stare. He continued, either not noticing her bewildered look or too angry to care. "Professional healers can barely control things like that no da. You could have killed Aoi and yourself by pulling that stunt!"

"I - I didn't—" Kiori stopped short, gasping quietly as Chichiri grabbed her in a tight hug.

"I had a friend... no, he was more like a brother," the monk whispered. "He gave up his life to save people... the way you almost did. I couldn't stop him, and… and I nearly couldn't stop you. You scared the hell out of me, Kiori."

The young woman sat in silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say. The gesture of affection had surprised her, but the trembling tone of such deep fear - real fear - in the monk's normally calm and rational tone had shocked her speechless. No one had sounded that concerned for her in ages. After a long moment she sighed, closing her eyes and relaxing in his hold. "I'm so sorry, Chichiri... everyone," she said. "I was acting like an idiot, messing with things like that. I won't do it again, I promise. I'm just... I'm sorry."

"Damn straight you won't!" Ritsuka cried. "Ahou! Ugh!"

A servant appeared at the room's door. "Chichiri-sama, Ritsuka-sama, Akai-sama, you're wanted by her Majesty."

Kiori had to admit that she was a little sad when Chichiri broke free of his hold, turning to go with a slight jingle of his staff. The monk pulled his mask back on, another action that caused the college girl distress, though she wasn't sure why. "Right away, no da." He turned to leave with the others, but stopped to glance back at Kiori. She noticed a tiny blush seeping through his smiling mask - the sudden embrace had caught him by surprise too, it seemed. "Stay here and rest na no da. I'll fill you in on the details of the meeting later."

She smiled and saluted weakly. "Hai!"

Chichiri and Ritsuka left, but Akai lagged behind a bit. The warrior girl looked down at her feet and toyed with her hands. "Ano… Kiori-san, I just wanted you to know that… well… even if what you did was a little brash, Aoi… Aoi lived, thanks to you." She looked up, grinning awkwardly. "And because of that, he...” she shook her head, “no, I'm eternally grateful."

"Yorokonde (It was my pleasure), Akai.” The college woman smiled weakly. “I'm just glad I managed to do something right today."

The palace champion flashed a victory sign. "You're the coolest, Kiori-san."

---

Ritsuka skipped through the Konan Palace, slightly bored after a small meeting and a large dinner. "I wonder where Tasuki-chan is. I haven't seen him in a while..." as she walked past Chichiri's room, she noticed the light shining from his open window. The redhead paused at the door for a moment, then shrugged. "Oh well! One seishi's as good as another, I s'pose."

The college girl threw open the door, grinning as she found herself facing the monk's back. Chichiri was bent over something on his small writing desk; Ritsuka couldn't tell exactly what that “something” was, but decided that he could take a break from it long enough to entertain her for a few minutes.

"Ha-o Chichiri-chan!" she cried, catching him completely off-guard. The monk turned chibi, fell out of his chair with a surprised “DA!” and nearly choked on his dinner in the process. Ritsuka giggled, nodding towards a small bowl of noodles on the nightstand. "Oh, you ordered in, huh? I wondered why I didn't see you at dinner."

Chichiri snatched up the scroll he'd knocked off when the redhead burst in, coughing in an attempt to clear the inhaled noodles from his lungs. "I needed some peace for a change no da."

"Makes sense," Ritsuka agreed. She sat down on the edge of his desk. "Oh, I meant to tell you: great job today. You guys were roasting Takkan like it was going out of style."

The monk frowned, hardly in the mood for compliments about the battle. There was no glory in chasing away a gaggle of frightened soldiers. "How's Kiori?" he asked, swiftly changing the subject.

Ritsuka returned the frown. "Not one for small talk, eh?" She yawned. "Kiori's fine, kinda upset with herself, but fine. I'm doing great, too, thanks for asking..."

"Was there something you needed no da?"

Ritsuka whacked him over the head. "Geez, what side of the bed did you wake up on? I thought you were supposed to be the mellow one," she curled her eyes up into a Chichiri-smile, "no da?"

"Gomen, Ritsuka," he said with a sigh. "Today brought back some painful memories I was trying to forget no da. I guess I'm still a little bothered by that."

"Oh I see," she grumbled. "Well I'm just trying to cheer you up you know, it's no reason to bite my head off."

She watched his eyes... eye... 'Masks confuse me,' skim over the scroll. 'What's behind that smile?' she wondered silently, cupping her chin in her hands and peering into his smiling face.`I hate not being able to figure people out. Not like Tasuki-chan, that guy couldn't hide an emotion if his life depended on it. But Chichiri's good... major league good...'

Chichiri glanced over, sweatdropping. "Eh, it's really unnerving when your eyes stare a hole right through me no da."

"Ah, wari!" Ritsuka paused. "Whatcha workin' on? That rhyme still?" He nodded. "Howzit go again?"

"'For the seventh, from an old life comes a Chief, a solitary flame shall find thisthief,'" Chichiri sighed again. "I should know this, I know I should, but for some reason I can't seem to concentrate today no da."

"Hm..." Ritsuka tugged on her long red braid. "Well, back in high school, my teacher told me if I didn't understand something that I should put it in my own words. Who does a `solitary flame' - I bet that's Tasuki-chan - know from the past who's a leader?"

"Tasuki, from the past..." Chichiri sat up straight. "That's it! How could I have missed it no da?"

"Don't know. Missed what?"

"Ritsuka, you're a genius no da!"

"I know. Why?"

"Wait'll I tell Tasuki! He'll be thrilled no da!"

"I bet he will. About what?"

"Of course! It's Koji na no da!"

"Of course!" Chichiri was out the door and off to Tasuki's room in an instant. Ritsuka sweatdropped. "Who's Koji?"

The monk flung open the door to the other seishi's quarters, smiling his widest. "Tasuki, how fast can you get to Mount Rei—" He froze. The other seishi wasn't in his room, and Chichiri knew why.

Ritsuka entered to find a chibi, small-eyed Chichiri standing in front of a blue background. "Hey, where is that bandit anyway?"

"...Oops..."

---

Out on the southern plains of Konan, crickets chirped, the moon shone, and a very unhappy seishi sat waiting for a friend. "I get th' feelin' I've been fergotten."

Tasuki jumped up, lashing out with his tessen and flaming the grass at his feet. "CHICHIRI! IF YOU EVER GET OUT HERE YER ASS IS TOAST!"

---

"'...The monk turned towards the redheaded girl, hastily inquiring if she wanted togo on a seishi-fetching errand.'" Yui chuckled. "End Chapter Six."

---

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Ye Olde Free Chat: March 18, 2006; 2:34 PM

Ni-hao, minna-san!

Sorry for the slowness of the update! The chapters are all ready to go, I swear they are... I just keep forgetting to post on MediaMiner. (sweatdrop) Well, sorry, but I've been working solely with ff.net for so long that I don't think about the Miner very much. Heh, I'd probably forget to update on fanfiction too, but the reviewers keep reminding me. So, if you want quicker updates, nag me, folks! It's the only way to kick-start my forgetful brain sometimes. And I suspect you'll want the next chapter in a hurry, since Koji's gonna show up soon! (does a little dance)

While I've got you here, I'd also like to take a tiny moment to discuss Ritsuka's speech patterns. As you might've noticed from the Translation Notes at the top, Ritsuka uses “informal” terms like “wari” (instead of “gomen”) and “ahou” (instead of “baka”). The redhead does this on purpose to generate a “tough girl” front (almost to the point of overdoing it, in fact). This would be a lot more noticeable if this were in Japanese (she'd refer to herself by “ore” instead of “watashi,” for instance), but I've done my best to portray her tomboy aura in our own language... with a little help from a few Japanese words, of course.

Oh, and in case you were wondering...

(Pulls out dictionary) Mitsubalm: n. named after the famous seishi healer, it is one of the many great miracle medicines he bestowed upon the land of Konan. It is said to lessen the risk of infection, reduce pain considerably and help heal wounds faster. Nine out of ten Konan doctors prefer Mitsubalm over other leading brands! (grins)

`Till next time, O Readers!

Your Authoress - Dee