Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Chapter ❯ Episode Seven: A New Journey ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: ItsTheDee
The Konan Warriors have finally learned the identity of their seventh member! Now all they have to do is get him back to the palace - and not get killed in the process!

"I am ready to do whatever I must to save my country," Houki said, eyes blazing in a rare moment of passion. "Even if you were to try and stop me, I am afraid it would not be of much use."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Would you have us beheaded?"

"Oh, no," Houki smiled innocently. "I should think a severe whipping would be quite enough."

Tasuki winced. "Welcome aboard, I guess."

(Will the three travelers reach their destination safely? Read on to find out!)

Anime/Manga: Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shoujo / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Comedy / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.24.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 18.2K | Visits: 282 | Status: Completed

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 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 crude humour, moderate language, and violence.
Special Feature Announcement: I introduce to you... the new Flashback Feature! (Trumpets play) Whenever you see a little row of these: -/-/- it indicates a flashback. Another row indicates the end. Simple, ne?
Translation Note:
The suffix “-tachi” - “and company” or “and the others.” (ex: Tasuki-tachi or Ritsuka-tachi, etc.)
 
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--Episode Seven: A New Journey--
 
Keisuke tried to take the book back from Yui, but she jerked it neatly from his reaching hands. The high schooler smiled at her boyfriend, holding out the book like an offering. "Tetsuya, do you want to read a chapter?"
"Sure thing," he said, accepting the offered hardcover and flashing his friend a grin.
Keisuke slumped back against his chair, scowling. "I think I liked it better when you guys were on your date."
“Aww, I'm so sorry buddy.” Tetsuya brought up his right hand and moved his index finger back and forth over his thumb. “Here, let me play a little song for you on the world's smallest violin...”
Keisuke threw a pillow straight into his smirking face.
---
Tasuki tied a small bag of supplies onto the back of his horse. “Just a couple more things and I'll be ready to head on up to Mount Reikaku,” he thought aloud, giving the animal a comforting pat on the shoulder. He turned to grab the rest of his supplies and snickered, remembering his discussion with Chichiri the other evening.
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Ritsuka and Chichiri teleported to the southern plain and found, as expected, a very unhappy Tasuki pouting amidst a sea of burnt grass.
"Hey!" Chichiri called, waving towards the bandit. "Sorry I'm late no da!"
Tasuki glared daggers at the monk. "Late? You - how c'd ya - that's th' biggest load-a bull I ever...” he spluttered, brandishing his tessen at the grinning monk. “You fergot all about me, ya liar! I been sittin' out here all evenin' starvin' myself, waiting fer you t'show up an' when ya finally do all ya say is, 'Sorry I'm late no da!'? The hell you are!"
Ritsuka hit over the head with a fist. "Do you ever shut up? You could have just come in through the gates."
"The barrier—"
"Only stops enemies no da."
Tasuki's eyes turned to dots. "Oh right. I fergot about that."
"Ahou," Ritsuka grumbled.
"You can torch me later no da,” Chichiri said before Tasuki could get started on another rant. “I've got some great news.” He grinned, anticipating his comrade's joy at his latest discovery. "Tasuki, how fast can you get to Mount Reikaku na no da?"
"Oh, I dunno, a couple days there and back if I take a horse," he estimated. "Why? Ya fin'lly figger out that th' seventh is Koji?"
"The seventh is—" the monk stopped short, realizing what his friend had said. "N-nani?"
"Yeah, Koji. C'mon, th' rhyme wasn't that hard."
"Why didn't you tell us no da?” Chichiri all but cried.
Tasuki crossed his arms over his chest. "I tried, but I kept gettin' cut off. Then with th' battle an' fightin' all those Takkan soldiers it totally slipped my mind.” He scowled, turning his nose to the air. “Not that it matters if I would-a said anythin', `cause after all, no one ever listens t'Tasuki! He's jus' th' seishi bandit who kicks some Takkan ass and cracks a few jokes, what would he know about—" Ritsuka picked up a rock and threw it at his head. He whirled on her, waving his arms and slapping his tessen against the ground. "OW! What th' hell was that for?"
She smiled impishly. "I'm not really sure, but I think you deserved it."
Chichiri frowned, glancing around the clearing. "Let's finish this argument back at the palace no da. Enemy life forces are way too close for comfort."
"Fine, fine,” Tasuki grumbled, still rubbing at his head. “But before we go, I want ya t'do somethin' fer me." He drew himself up to his full height, striking a noble pose and smirking down at his shorter seishi comrade. "Say `Gen-chan knew somethin' I didn't, 'cause he's smarter, braver, tougher, much more handsome, cleverer...'"
Chichiri sighed as Tasuki kept going, one eyebrow twitching ever so slightly.
"Shall I?" Ritsuka asked with a hopeful smile.
He shook his head. "It's my turn no da." The top of Chichiri's staff came down hard on his fellow seishi's head with a resounding whump. "Can you gloat after Koji's safely back at the palace na no da?"
Tasuki found himself rubbing at his scalp for the third time in five minutes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever y'say. Ch, some people jus' can't stand t'be outsmarted."
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The bandit secured his final pack tightly onto his horse's saddle. "Jus' about ready t'go, then." He looked to the right and left, frowning a little. "Huh, well that's real nice of `em. No one even came t'say g'bye, or—”
Taaaaaaasuki-chan!" a familiar redhead cried from behind the seishi right before she leapt onto his back. She laughed, leaning her head over his shoulder so she could look him in the eyes. "Tut, tut Tasuki-chan, sneaking off without a proper good-bye? You wouldn't really run away on me, would ya?"
"If only I could," he muttered. "And don't call me that! What're you doin' out here anyway?"
"Why, I came to wish my Tasuki-chan a safe trip," she explained, flashing an unusually sweet smile.
Tasuki was touched and a bit surprised. "Really?"
"Of course not," Ritsuka laughed, hopping off his back. She held out her black-and-red book bag in one hand. "I'm here to tell you that I'm coming along, too."
Tasuki stared at her for a moment. "No."
"Yes," she corrected. "Akai and I decided you needed someone to keep you in order, and since she's basically the army leader around here, that leaves me." Ritsuka grinned, smothering the seishi in a bone-crushing hug. "We're gonna have so much fun Tasuki-chan, just you and me hiking all alone up in the mountains!"
"Suzaku save me," he grumbled under his breath. "Well, since I got no choice, guess we'd better get another horse."
"Make that two, if you would," a female voice requested.
Tasuki and Ritsuka turned around, eyes traveling upwards at the newcomer. They met a woman dressed in a pair of white leggings and a loose, light blue shirt belted at the middle. A pair of serene eyes peered up at them from beneath a set of neatly combed bangs, though the rest of the woman's violet hair had been thrown over her shoulder and pleated into a long, thin braid.
Tasuki felt faint. “Aw crap, Nuriko's come back t'haunt me...”
“Not exactly, Tasuki, though I must admit that I did pick up the style from my old companion.”
He blinked and stared hard at the “ghost,” his golden eyes meeting her gentle ones. Those were most definitely not the eyes of Nuriko, but his other option was almost as unbelievable. “Ho... Houki-sama?”
The Empress smiled, clasping her hands behind her back. "Do you have room for another Konan Warrior on this journey?"
"Uh, Houki-sama, no offense or anything," Ritsuka began carefully, "but are you sure it's smart for you to leave the palace in the middle of a war?"
She blushed and glanced down at her feet, one hand toying nervously with her slim braid. "I know it seems unusual, but I fear that I really must come with you."
"Ya `must'?" Tasuki repeated.
"Mm.” She looked up again, flashing a timid smile at her fellow warriors. “You see, my scholars discovered seven scrolls, one with a message for each of us. As I told Chichiri, it seemed silly to open them when all seven were not here... however...” Houki put a hand to her cheek and blushed again, “well, no one can fault me for being curious.” Tasuki and Ritsuka sweatdropped. “My scroll read: `Even a bird in captivity must leave their cage in times of need.' I have not left the city of Konan since I first arrived, but I truly believe this must be what the scroll meant."
"Ya think yer destined t'go with us?" Tasuki asked, putting his hands behind his head. She nodded, and the bandit sighed. "It ain't gonna be an easy trip, Houki-sama. I can't promise you complete safety."
"I am ready to do whatever I must to save my country," she said, eyes blazing in a rare moment of passion. "Even if you were to try and stop me, I am afraid it would not be of much use."
Ritsuka chuckled. "Would you have us beheaded?"
"Oh, no," Houki smiled innocently. "I should think a severe whipping would be quite enough."
Tasuki winced. "Welcome aboard, I guess." He had a thought. "But Houki-sama, yer the Empress. You can't leave th' palace just like that, 'specially durin' a war."
"Oh, you needn't worry about that," she assured him. "Chichiri will be standing in for me."
The seishi nodded, then realized exactly what Houki meant by "standing in." A devilish smile crept across his face. "I'll be right back, ladies. This is somethin' I gotta see."
---
Tasuki found Chichiri - or rather, Houki - in the Empress' private chamber. The monk-turned-Empress was standing in front of a mirror, smoothing out the wrinkles in his many-layered dress.
Tasuki whistled loudly. "Nice rack!" Chichiri leapt about a foot in the air, then spotted the other seishi reflected in the mirror. He glared at the bandit, but Tasuki didn't seem to notice. “Woo, yer so hot I can barely control myself! Has anyone ever told you what lovely eyes you have?"
Chichiri turned around and crossed his arms over his newly-enlarged chest. "You're talking about the Empress no da."
Tasuki shook his head, an evil grin still pasted across his face. "Oh, no, I'm talkin' about you, you gorgeous transvestite! You could almost beat Nuriko in a cross-dressin' contest!"
The monk sweatdropped. "Technically, it isn't `cross-dressing' no da..."
"Right! It's a sex change!"
Chichiri gritted his teeth, small red sparks flying from his clenched fist. "This is about me forgetting you last night, isn't it no da?"
"You didn't really think I'd let ya off easy, did'ja?"
"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Chichiri demanded with a sigh of resignation.
"Oh, right," Tasuki snickered. "But seriously, how did Houki-sama talk you into this?"
Chichiri sweatdropped, recalling the conversation that had taken place not twenty minutes ago...
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"Onegai shimasu, Chichiri!" Houki pleaded, head tilted to the floor and hands clasped before her face. "I know I am placing a great burden upon you, but my scroll specifically mentions leaving the palace. I feel that if I do not accompany Tasuki on his mission then I shall fail in my job as a Konan Warrior."
"I understand why you want to leave, Houki-sama, but we're in the middle of a war no da," Chichiri reminded her. "And you are the Empress..."
"Yes, I know that all too well," she agreed with a sad sigh. She glanced up at him hopefully. "But, I was told that you once used your appearance-changing abilities to stand in for my late husband."
"Well I did, but that was during a time of peace. There wasn't any need for me to do much of anything no da," he told her, backing up a little. "With the war everyone will want my opinion and advice, and I'm not really ready for that. I can barely keep track of the politics as a seishi no da."
"Oh, Akai could handle almost any problem you might have," Houki assured him. "It's highly unlikely that you would be needed for much in four days' time, especially after Takkan's recent defeat."
"Still..."
"Chichiri, you know I would not ask this of you if I did not feel you could handle it," the Empress said with a charming smile. "I completely trust your judgment, and I know that if a difficult situation were to arise you would make an excellent decision. Why, perhaps a decision even better than my own."
The monk blushed. "You really think so na no da?"
"I know so. Under normal circumstances, I would never leave the palace unattended, but I would be completely at ease knowing such a level-headed seishi was keeping things under control."
"Aw, arigatou Houki-sama. Well, I suppose I could do this if you really trust me with the job no da..."
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Chichiri rubbed the back of his head. "The Empress is quite persuasive when she needs to be no da."
"Flattery's a better weapon than magic sometimes, ain't it?"
"Hai na no da," Chichiri said with a defeated sigh.
Tasuki snickered and reached out to pat his friend's chibi head. "Poor guy. Well, hopefully Houki-sama was right an' ya won't have too many problems.” He turned towards the door, but kept his smirking face on the downtrodden monk. “Guess I'll head off t'Mount Reikaku now. But b'fore I go, c'd I ask just one more question?"
"Actually—"
The seishi ran out the door as he shouted his final remark, knowing Chichiri would get him for it later. "Where did you get yer hair done?"
---
The trio of travelers led their horses quietly out the eastern side gate. The last thing they needed was for a Konan citizen to spot them and start up a grand farewell parade, or for a stray Takkan soldier to catch sight of the warriors leaving the safety of the capital's walls.
Ritsuka kept a firm grip on her horse's bridle and glanced around, ready to bolt back through the gate at the first sign of danger. "Huh. Not a Takkan soldier in sight."
"They're prob'ly back at their camp, lickin' their wounds an' countin' their dead," Tasuki said with a small chuckle. "Chichiri an' the others shouldn't have t'worry much about them fer a while."
"Even so, I will feel much safer once we are far away from the enemy's camp," Houki whispered. "Do you suppose we could travel at a gallop?"
Tasuki nodded. "That'll be fer the best, though ya really don't have t'worry about Takkan soldiers, Houki-sama." He flashed the Empress a thumbs-up. "Red 'n' I can handle those morons, no problem."
Ritsuka scrambled onto her horse, grinning down at her companions. "The bandit's right, for once. And anyway, even if they did try to attack us, one look at his scary face would send 'em running."
Tasuki resisted the urge to flame her, but didn't mind throwing a rock at her head. As the college woman fought to stay in her saddle, he turned back to Houki. "D'you need any help mountin', or—"
The Empress grabbed at the saddle and set one foot in the stirrup, swinging herself easily onto the small mare. "I believe I can handle myself. Thank you for your concern, though."
"No... problem..." Tasuki said, blinking at her surprising display of horsemanship.
"Where did you learn how to ride?” Ritsuka asked, kicking her horse into a run and yelping as the animal nearly threw her from his back.
Houki rode up beside the struggling redhead, smiling innocently. "Well, I was not borna member of the Emperor's harem, you know."
---
The three Konan warriors were missed by Hataku's army, but not by the watchful eyes of Setsuka. "That fool Hataku,” she grumbled between her laced hands. “A small group of Konan Warriors rides within a mile of his camp, and he remains completely ignorant."
"Half his men are lying on stretchers,” Mizu reminded her. “I don't think looking out for escaping enemies is at the top of is his `to do' list.” The young Element glanced back at her mistress. "Setsuka-sama, you aren't going to... punish him for yesterday, are you?" She knew perfectly well how the Lady of Takkan punished people, and none of her methods were pleasant.
"Show me his camp, please," Setsuka ordered. Mizu's crystal fell on a group of soldiers sitting around their tents, moaning unhappily as they applied salve and bandages to arrow wounds, burns, and strange, magical cuts that pulsed an unhealthy red.
"Y'don't s'pose this arm'll have t'come off, do ya?" one young man asked his friend, staring with dread at the crimson burn.
The second shrugged. "I dunno. I heard when a demon hits ya it takes over yer soul. I'd sooner cut off my arm than get possessed."
The first man screeched and smacked at the wound - which only caused him to scream louder - but a third man sighed and handed the first a jar of ointment. "Baka. Those were seishi, not demons. Your arm'll be fine in a few weeks."
"Seishi, demons, whatever they was, Shogun-sama's crazy t'try an' take over a place with fighters like that," grumbled the second. "Didja hear th' casualties? Over a thousand, I'm told..."
Mizu's crystal veered away from the disheartening scene. “How sad...”
Setsuka's voice held no pity in it. "He and his men have learned a valuable lesson. Even so, such blatant disrespect cannot go unchecked."
"Please don't be too hard on him," Mizu said, watching the hurt soldiers sympathetically. "He only wanted to give Takkan a victory. And how could he know what sort of damage a seishi could do?"
"You are a good child, Mizu-chan, but you could not possibly understand the workings of adults.” Setsuka smiled and patted the girl's shoulder. “Why don't you go back downstairs? I may need you in a few days, but for the moment I think Tsuki's powers are the only ones I shall be using."
"Hai, my Lady." Mizu stood, stretching a bit, and began to leave.
"Oh, Mizu-chan?" the girl stopped, tilting her head back to look back at her mistress. "Which of our young fighters is most eager to taste a bit of battle?"
The Element answered without hesitation. "Kaze, my Lady."
"Hm. I should have guessed."
The girl waited, but Setsuka said no more. Mizu shrugged and trotted through the hallway and down the stairs, on a beeline for Tsuchi's room.
Setsuka's hand strayed to Kaze's white gem, but she changed her mind at the last moment. "There's no reason to get him excited just yet." Her fingers danced across the necklace to the glinting silver one; she set her index finger against it and threw her voice into her Element's mind. "Tsuki, you are needed once more."
---
Hataku was once again pacing his tent as he listened to the head doctor count out the long list of casualties. "The fifth division has 100 dead, 300 badly wounded, 450 minor injuries," the short healer drawled from his seat in the corner of the tent. "The sixth division has no one dead, oddly enough, 523 badly wounded, and an additional 313 with minor injuries. The seventh..."
Hataku took a swig of sake. "Yes?"
The tiny doctor shrunk back on his stool. "Well, ah, those who escaped from the 'sorceror' ran into the 'phantom' on their way back to camp." He gulped. "Not a single man escaped without an injury, if they escaped at all, Shogun-sama."
The general slammed the half-full bottle of sake onto a nearby table, whirling on the man. "An entire regiment, taken out of action all for her Lady's sick enjoyment! How many fatalities, all told?"
The doctor quailed, but answered the question. "Almost a thousand, my Lord, not counting those we sent home with disabilities."
"Kuso!" Hataku glanced about angrily, looking for something to kick, when Setsuka and Tsuki appeared at the tent's entrance.
"You really ought to watch your language, my dear shogun, especially in front of the young ones like Tsuki." Setsuka flashed her most malicious smile. "How did you fare in your battle yesterday?"
"I believe you know exactly how I fared, my Lady," Hataku said through gritted teeth. He remembered to bow before his mistress, but made a point to only bow from the waist - a deliberate sign of disrespect. "A thousand of my men are dead, and more than that will never fight again."
She clucked her tongue sadly, but the light in her eyes couldn't have been more triumphant. "How terrible. Now how in the world did that happen?"
"Those... those..." Hataku almost choked on the word, "Seishi! I was not told of the full extent of their powers!"
"I don't believe I issue orders for no reason," Setsuka remarked calmly, studying her nails. "Perhaps from now on you will not be so quick to doubt my words?"
"Doubt! I knew nothing of their—" Hataku suddenly seemed to realize what he was saying and who he was speaking with, and his jaw snapped shut with an effort. His eyes burned into hers, but he kept his words respectful and his tone calm. "Your orders have always been followed, and it will continue to be that way, Setsuka-sama."
"Then perhaps you'll leave the real battle to the ones who have the strength to handle it?" Tsuki asked, voice never once rising or falling.
Hataku's glance darted towards the boy at Setsuka's side, then back to his leader. "With all due respect, I am still somewhat skeptical about sending children into battle," he replied carefully.
"And with good reason, I am sure." Setsuka's silver eyes flashed. "Yet you were also skeptical of my earlier decisions, correct?"
The shogun bowed his head and said no more. Setsuka curled her fingers around the man's chin, lifting it slowly until their eyes met once more. "Now now, Hataku, you've always been a loyal and successful shogun. I will not be too harsh on you for your first true mistake. Still…" and here her mouth curved back into a bloodthirsty smile, "you are growing much too confident. You seem to think that you are at the same rank as my Elements... and, sometimes, as myself. I cannot accept that."
Hataku's heart stuck to his throat. "Wakatta (Understood), my Lady."
"I'm afraid I'll have to take you back to the palace for a short time. Your men will be all right for a few hours, I assume?"
The general tried to keep the tremor - of both anger and fear - out of his voice. "Hai, my Lady."
"Excellent. Let's go, Tsuki."
The Element stepped between Lady and shogun, clasping a hand to each of their shoulders. His eyes trailed over to Hataku, and the shogun could have sworn that he saw a tiny, pitying smile on the boy's lips right before they disappeared from the tent, leaving the small doctor alone and trembling in his corner.
---
Tasuki, Ritsuka and Houki had been riding hard for a good portion of the day. Now, as the sun began to sink, they came to a place where a small trail branched off from the beaten path. The seishi hopped down from his horse and moved up the trail a ways, smiling to himself. "Yep, this is th' place where we get off th' main road and head up t'Mount Reikaku." Tasuki jerked his head up at the mountain peeking above the treetops. "Actually, we made decent time. It's less'n a day's ride from here, now."
“I can feel that `decent time' rubbing my legs raw,” Ritsuka groaned. She practically fell off her animal and slid to the hard-packed earth. “I hate horses!” she cried, trying to smooth down her wind-blown locks. She watched somewhat enviously as Houki slid off her own horse with every strand of violet hair miraculously in place. “If this world likes sorcery so much, then where the hell are the flying carpets or the magical dragon friends...?”
“I'm kinda relieved,” Tasuki admitted. “I finally found somethin' ya suck at. Maybe ya aren't a demon after all.”
“Don't get too used to it Tasuki-chan! I might not know how to ride a horse but that's the only thing I don't know how to do!” she snapped back. “Anyway, it isn't my fault I lived in Tokyo all my life.”
“Hm, turns out ya also suck at bein' humble,” the bandit remarked, pulling a scroll out of nowhere and scribbling across the parchment. “Guess I c'n add that t'the list of `Things Red Can't Do'...”
Ritsuka glared daggers at the seishi, but was too exhausted to do anything else. “Can we please stop here for the night? My backside is killing me."
"Here?” Tasuki frowned. “Well, with th' time we're makin', I figured we c'd go a little farther..."
"Oh, Tasuki, I believe Ritsuka has an excellent idea," Houki cut in. "The poor animals are out of breath from the hard run, and I would like a bit of rest myself, if that would be all right."
The bandit's frown switched almost seamlessly into a beaming smile. "Great idea, Houki-sama. I'm tired of riding too, now that I think about it.”
"Do you suck up to every Empress, or just the pretty ones?" Ritsuka grumbled.
"What was that, Red?"
Ritsuka never got a chance to answer, which may have been for the best. At that moment a group of about fifteen men burst out of the nearby trees, advancing on the travelers. They were dressed in a motley collection of rugged scarves, jackets and loose-fitting shirts, complemented by simple black traveling pants. Most kept their hair cropped short at their necks, but the leader sported a boyish ponytail that contrasted horribly with the stubble poking out from his chin. Swords and daggers lay in their hands, the weatherworn blades glinting in the evening light. Ritsuka rose from the ground and Tasuki readied his tessen, gritting his teeth angrily. "Watch out, Houki-sama, Red. It looks like we've run inta some bandit scum."
"Uh, Tasuki-chan, I hate to ruin the moment, but... aren't you a bandit, too?" Ritsuka pointed out.
"Not those kinds of bandits!" he snapped over his shoulder. "Reikaku bandits are honorable, not like these sons-a-bitches!"
The ponytail-wearing leader scowled. "Listen up kid, yer talkin' t'the famous bandits of Mount Kaou! If I was you I'd show some respect, or ya might not escape here with yer life."
Tasuki's hand slid towards his sword hilt. "I shoulda known you were from that cesspool! What th' hell d'you want?"
Ritsuka noted that the man didn't seem as upset about his home being called a “cesspool,” but that may have been because he didn't seem to know what the word “cesspool” meant. "Yer travelin' on Mount Kaou territory, pal. It costs a small fee t'get through. Usually we charge, oh...” he scratched at his stubble for a moment, then looked back across the clearing and flashed a malicious grin, “How about everythin' ya got?"
The seishi bandit seethed with rage. "You lyin' bastards! This is Reikaku territory! It's bad enough that ya have t'terrorize people in yer own territory, but now yer sneakin' onta another gang's land!"
The ragged leader sighed. "I dunno how ya know all about us, but I don't got time t'argue with some brat who don't know what he's talkin' about. So you gonna pay up like nice travelers, `r am I gonna have t'tickle yer cash outta ya?"
"Like hell! You want my money, then come and take it!" Tasuki crouched into a fighting stance, muttering hurried orders to his companions. "Red, get yer sword ready. Houki, stay back an' keep th' horses from boltin'. This could get ugly."
Ritsuka whipped out her weapon. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the group of highly unattractive bandits, and she couldn't stop a tiny smirk from crossing her features. "Tasuki-chan, it already has."
The seishi and the college woman rushed the men, their voices raised in two challenging battle cries. The Kaou bandits shouted back and leapt towards their foes, certain of a fast victory. Tasuki's sword slashed one man straight through the middle before he had a chance to raise his blade and smacked another across the scalp with his crystallized tessen. Both men fell with muted cries, and the battle began.
While Tasuki danced his way through the gang, Ritsuka went straight for the stubble-faced leader. She snapped out with her sword at his midriff; the man's own curved blade dove forward to block the downwards strike. Their blades locked for a brief moment, and as both struggled to break the hold their eyes met across the steel.
"Heh. Yer not bad...” the leader said with a smirk. He twisted his wrist to the left, using his superior strength to loosen his sword and knock the young woman off-balance. “Not bad fer a girl, anyway.”
Ritsuka took three shaky steps back but didn't lose her footing. She whirled on the man, sword at her ear and fire in her eyes. "For a girl, huh?" She charged and he countered, but the big man was hard-pressed to keep up with the redhead's swift slashing attack. “I'm bloody good for anyone, ahou!”
She backed the leader up to a nearby tree and their blades locked once more. Ritsuka chanced a glance to her left to check on the rest of the battle, and had a hard time stifling her laughter. Most of Mount Kaou's other fourteen men were either sprawled on the ground clutching bleeding wounds or had vanished into the woods altogether. Tasuki was surrounded by the five remaining men, who kept trying to stab at him all at once, but the seishi bandit seemed to lash out in all directions with both sword and tessen, forcing the men back every time they tried their frightened attack. She thought she could hear him laughing over their startled cries, but it was hard to tell if the laughter was coming from Tasuki or the Kaou leader...
“What? You think getting your ass handed to you is funny?” She glared at the man pinned in front of her. “You should be more worried about surviving, band—”
And that was when Ritsuka felt the strong arm grab her across the chest and the cold steel slide against her throat. "Drop yer weapon!" someone snarled into her ear.
Ritsuka dropped her weapon. She readied her leg to stamp down on the man's foot, but the blade only pressed harder at her neck. The redhead gulped and hurriedly set her foot back on the ground. "Hey, take it easy,” she whispered around the blade. “After all, I'm just a helpless little girl, right?”
The leader stepped away from the tree and followed Ritsuka's captor towards the battle field. The redhead managed to catch Houki's frightened gaze out of the corner of her eye; she mouthed the word “run” to the older woman, but she couldn't tell if Houki understood her message because the man with the knife angled himself so his back was to the Empress. The leader slammed his sword point first into the ground, cupped his hands together, and shouted above the din: "Hold it! Nobody move! Hey, you, fang-boy! Try something and yer friend gets her throat slit!"
Tasuki chanced a glance over his shoulder and froze. "Red!"
"Move a muscle an' she dies!" the leader warned.
A thousand different emotions flashed in the seishi's golden eyes, though Ritsuka was only able to read a few and understand half as many. Anger; a quick, shifting debate as he weighed his options; desperation; nostalgia, perhaps; fear - it was the fear that shocked the redhead the most - and then, quite suddenly, his gaze died in defeat. The bandit swore under his breath as both sword and tessen clattered to the ground at his feet.
"You idiot!" Ritsuka screamed, fighting with the bandit's tight hold on her chest. "If you just give up now then they'll kill all of us, or maybe worse! I'm not—” The knife stabbed ever-so-slightly into her throat. A thin trickle of blood began to trail down the young woman's neck; she growled low in her throat and glared across the clearing at her comrade, but didn't dare say any more.
Tasuki met her stare for stare. "We lose no one," he said, murmuring the promise he had made to Chichiri only a few days before. The bandit held up his hands and faced the group's leader. "Okay, ya got me. Jus' let her go, okay?"
Ritsuka's captor sneered at the seishi. "Ha! Like we're that stu—"
A soft thump interrupted his sentence. The man let out a tiny sigh, like an engine giving off steam, then the grip on Ritsuka's waist slackened and the knife at her throat clattered to the ground. The enemy bandit relaxed against the redhead; she snarled and started to shove him away, then realized that the man was out like a light. Ritsuka's eyes widened. “Eh?” She glanced over her shoulder slowly, and her already wide eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Hou... Hou...”
The Empress shook out her fist and smiled across the clearing at the bandit seishi, who stared back at the two young women. "I do apologize, Tasuki. I know you told me to stay back, but I am afraid that this sort of behavior...” Houki's violet gaze flashed dangerously across the remaining bandits, “is absolutely unacceptable."
Ritsuka clapped a hand to her bleeding throat and slid to the ground, gasping in air and desperately trying to quell the shaking in her arms. For all her tough talk, she couldn't remember having ever been that frightened. Houki glanced down at the redhead, her eyes softening a bit. "Are you all right, Ritsuka?" She managed a dazed nod. "Yokatta (Thank goodness)." Houki turned back to the bandits and crouched into a fighting stance. "Now, as for you..."
The five bandits standing around Tasuki yelped, threw down their weapons, and dashed off into the forest, leaving their leader completely alone. The stubble-faced man looked around the clearing for a few moments, as if unsure of what had just happened, before turning his gaze back to the violet-haired woman. Houki dug her feet into the ground and sprang forward; the terrified man grappled for a moment with his sword, but promptly gave up and turned tail like his companions. Houki took two steps, crouched to her knees, and stuck out her left foot, neatly tripping the bandit leader and sending him face-first into the dirt.
Silence filled the clearing.
Tasuki's mouth hung open for nearly a minute as he babbled like a five-year old. "You... you... how'd ya... Houki-sama..."
"Where the heck did an Empress learn that?" Ritsuka cried, translating Tasuki's tongue-tied attempt.
Houki blushed and flashed an embarrassed smile. "Oh, please don't mistake this situation for true talent! If those men had decided to take me on we would have been in a great deal of trouble. I was banking on their cowardice, that's all it was, I assure you.”
“Well, okay, but...” Tasuki pointed to the Kaou leader at Houki's feet, then to the unconscious bandit near Ritsuka. “Ya can't tell me that that was jus' luck, Majesty!”
“Oh, that?” Houki hid a smile behind her wide blue sleeve. “Once again, it is nothing so impressive. Every member of the Emperor's Most Noble Harem is taught all the skills they might need in order to become a proper Empress, should the time ever arrive. These skills include reading, etiquette, grammar, and of course," the man she'd tripped attempted to stand, only to have his head stomped right back into the ground, "self-defense."
"A leader who can't be underestimated..." Ritsuka quoted.
"No shit," Tasuki muttered.
Houki dusted off her outfit; somehow she looked just as fresh and beautiful as ever. "I should think that is plenty of excitement for one day. Shall we set camp?"
---
Later that evening, after a somewhat crispy dinner - courtesy of Tasuki's "Rekka Shin'en" enthusiasm - Tasuki and Ritsuka lay on their pallets and watched a few clouds dart across the stars. Houki was already asleep, breathing quietly nearby.
Tasuki let out a contented yawn. "Ah, what a nice night."
“What's so good about it?” Ritsuka grumbled from her makeshift bed. She rolled over so her back was to the seishi, her athletic frame practically oozing frustration.
Tasuki sighed - she'd been acting like this since their battle. “Would ya stop poutin' already an' just enjoy th' view? I ain't sorry that I did what I did.”
“And I already told you that it isn't about that!” the redhead snapped back. “It's not like I'm gonna cry if your own stupidity gets you killed, so stop thinking so highly of yourself.”
“Then what th' hell's the problem, huh Red?” Ritsuka greeted him with silence. The bandit sat up and glared at her back. “If yer gonna act like this fer th' rest-a th' trip, then I'm sendin' ya home, ya got that? I officially outrank you, ya know.”
“As our noble shogun, right Tasuki-chan?”
The bandit sweatdropped. “Well, that ain't exactly th' title I had in mind...” he blinked, then reached out and popped her over the head. “And don't call me that!”
To Tasuki's extreme surprise, Ritsuka started laughing. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the bandit, fluttering her eyelashes teasingly. “But what's wrong with calling you Tasuki-chan, Tasuki-chan? After all, weren't you prepared to put your life on the line to save little ol' me from those big bad bandits, Tasuki-chan?”
Ritsuka was hoping to get at least a blush out of him, but the seishi just shrugged and looked away. “Of course I'd do that fer ya. Yer a royal pain in th' ass, but we're still in this t'gether, y'know? So, I'm gonna look out fer ya, same as I'd do fer any of th' other Warriors.”
“Well for your information, you don't need to look out for me!” Now that her opportunity to tease the bandit had been foiled, Ritsuka's sour mood returned in full force. “I don't need anyone to look out for me, not you or Houki-sama or anyone, you got that Tasuki-chan? I could've taken that jerk down if you'd just given me a little time, instead of immediately trying to play the hero!” She gave a huff of annoyance, folding her arms over her chest and looking away. “Here's a little newsflash: you aren't some heroic knight on a white horse, and I'm no damsel in distress. You got that, or do I need to pound it into your head with my sword again?”
The bandit's eyes widened. “So that's what this is about...?”
“You're also not the shiniest apple in barrel, while we're on the subject of you and your delusions,” Ritsuka concluded with a backwards smirk.
If Tasuki had been thinking of cheering her up, the idea vanished at her words. “You ain't really one t'talk, seein' as how you couldn't even sense that guy `till he was at yer throat!”
“Your little dance around those other bandits was distracting me!” she explained with an airy wave of her hand. “Huh, I think you were trying to show off... either that or you just aren't talented enough to take out a little group of thieves like that...”
“Fourteen is not a `little group of thieves,' an' I'd-a gotten `em faster if I'd been able to use my tessen, but with you an' Houki-sama an' the horses so close by—”
“Oh, so it's my fault you're incompetent?”
“Is it my fault yer inattentive?”
Ritsuka opened her mouth to argue, then suddenly seemed to think better of it and sat back on her heels. She turned her head up towards the stars, her red braid swinging out lazily behind her. “Houki-sama really saved our butts today, didn't she?”
“Yeah, she really did.”
“Does that make us bad fighters?”
“Nah. Jus' stupid ones.”
The redhead managed a tiny chuckle. “Well, then I guess I can live with that.” Tasuki opened his mouth to ask her what she meant by that, but the young woman flopped back on her pallet and cut him off, saying, “Hm. I guess it is a pretty nice night, huh? So is this how you and Chichiri live all the time?"
Tasuki decided to let it go, for now. "Sometimes we get a free stay in an Inn, but most-a th' time yeah, it's jus' like this."
"It must be a nice life," she remarked with a happy little sigh, closing her eyes halfway. "Y'know, the stars here look a little like the ones at home. What's that cluster over there called? The reddish ones."
"Tasuki," the seishi said with a chuckle.
Ritsuka's eyes opened again in surprise. "Hontou ni (Really)?"
"Hai. All the seishi are named after constellations... or maybe the constellations were named after us." Tasuki shrugged, not in the mood to ponder this out, and pointed upwards. "The small group in th' east is Tamahome. And that one there is Nuriko. And the dark gold ones are Chiriko."
"How cool," Ritsuka remarked, "to have your own constellation. So, what's that bright one over there called...?"
---
Atop Konan's northeastern wall, Kiori sat gazing up at the same bright constellations that Tasuki was currently naming for Ritsuka. She smiled a little, stifling a yawn with one hand and a stretching her other arm high into the air. “After all the fighting these past couple days, I'd almost forgotten how beautiful Konan could be. If only we'd been sent her during peacetime...” she sighed and set her chin in her hands, closing her eyes and frowning up at the stars. “But then again, I guess we wouldn't have been summoned if there wasn't any danger.” She opened her eyes again and found two upturned eyes smiling into hers. "Eep!" Kiori squealed, and nearly fell off the back rampart before she realized the owner of the grinning slits.
"How's it going na no da?"
Tama popped up on Chichiri's shoulder. "Nya!"
Kiori set a hand to her heart and stared at the monk, panting hard. Chichiri smile turned into a tiny, worried frown. “Is everything all right no da?”
“No, it's fine,” she assured him after a moment, scrambling back to the safety of the parapet and taking a seat beside the chibi form. “I just... I didn't expect to see you out and about this evening, since you're still posing as the Empress.”
"Akai told everyone that `her Majesty' was very tired, and if they needed anything they could talk to her or `Chichiri' no da," the monk explained. He stretched his arms up as high as they could go, mimicking the college woman's earlier actions. "Daaa,” he sighed happily, “it sure is great to get some fresh air after being cooped up in the palace all day no da."
"I bet," Kiori agreed. She stroked Tama absent-mindedly, her eyes on the faraway haze of campfires that marked the Takkan camp. "Do you think they'll attack before Ritsuka-tachi get back?"
"I don't want to jinx us, but I doubt it no da," he assured her, then, before she even had time to breathe a sigh of relief, he added, "If anything, that Setsuka woman will send an Element out here."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" she demanded, burying her face in her hands and squeaking out a little moan of dread. “The army is bad enough...”
“Daijoubu no da,” Chichiri said, clapping a friendly hand on Kiori's shoulder. “The odds of Setsuka realizing we're three warriors short is pretty unlikely, and even if she knew that I don't think she'd risk a big battle so soon, and even if she does that I'm sure that Akai-chan and I can take care of an Element without too many problems no da.”
Kiori raised her face timidly from her palms and met the monk's smiling gaze. He spoke with such confidence and looked at her so cheerfully that it was almost impossible for her to doubt his words. “You're probably right,” she agreed, setting her hands in her lap. “Sorry I'm...”
“So worried about Akai and me? That's all right no da. It's nice to have someone to worry about me no da.”
She blushed. “Well, I was going to apologize for being such a coward, but I think I like your way better.” Kiori looked up at the constellations again, trying to hide her embarrassment and turn the conversation away from such cryptic thoughts. But looking at the faraway stars made her think of her best friend, sleeping out there in the lands of Konan, which made her frown softly and wonder aloud: "Do you think Ritsuka and Tasuki are watching the stars right now, too?"
"Maybe so," Chichiri said. “You miss them already, don't you?”
She nodded. “Ritsuka was the first friend I made in Tokyo - the only friend, really. I guess I'm a little worried. I mean, Konan is a peaceful nation, but that doesn't mean its people are all saints...”
“I'm sure Tasuki will take care of her no da,” the monk promised. Kiori nodded again, but couldn't quite wipe the worried frown from her lips. Chichiri decided to try and take her mind off of their friends. "Did you know each of the constellations in the sky above Konan is named after one of the shichi seishi no da?"
"Oh? Really?" Kiori asked, leaning back to get a better view.
He nodded and pointed out each in turn. "Hotohori, Mitsukake, and Tasuki. And the one next to his is mine, Chichiri no da." He paused thoughtfully. "It's unusually bright tonight no da."
"Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily, but it might be an omen of some kind no da."
Kiori grinned. "Well, I'm sure it's a good one, whatever it is!"
---
Mizu and Tsuchi had also ventured outside on that clear night, taking quiet seats on one of the palace's many balconies so they could get a good look at the stars. Mizu stared up at the southern constellations for a moment - Takkan was an independent nation, but it still sat in Konan's hemisphere - and frowned. "Chichiri's awfully bright this evening. That's a sign of danger."
"You seem to watch that constellation a lot, Mizu-chan," Tsuchi remarked. "That's one of those seishi in Konan, isn't it?"
"Sou da."
"You lived in Konan before Setsuka-sama found you, right?” Mizu nodded, though her eyes never once wavered from those twinkling stars. “So did you know that guy or something?"
"Chichiri?" the water Element paused, then sighed and shook her head. "No, I've never known Chichiri."
Tsuchi's thoughtful gaze trailed from the sky and down to his friend, studying her carefully. Mizu was so different from everyone else in the palace. Kind, caring, cheerful, yet her eyes always seemed a bit troubled and sad. And she was more mysterious than even Taiyou and Tsuki; now that he thought about it, Tsuchi didn't think he knew anything about Mizu, not really. He wished he could understand her better, but that wasn't his choice to make. Maybe, someday, she'd trust him with all those secrets in her sad golden eyes...
Mizu felt the boy watching her and turned, smiling her friendliest. "You thinking about anything special?"
"Oh! N-no, nothing," he replied with the slightest bit of a blush. The young Element looked down at the wooden balcony beneath his slippered feet, then cautiously back towards the girl at his side. "Mizu-chan, when do you think this war will be over?"
Her smiling face dropped once again into its usual frown, and both green and blue crystals buzzed beside her - a sure sign of her discontent. "I don't know. I suppose it depends on how Setsuka-sama and the seishi choose to act."
"Are we... d'you think we'll win?"
Mizu looked away and heaved a tired sigh. "I don't know. Maybe."
"You don't sound too happy about that," Tsuchi remarked. He tried to peer into her young face, but the girl kept her features turned away. "You do want us to win, don't you?"
Mizu's thoughts trailed over her allies: over Setsuka's eyes, which were so kind to her yet so vicious to her enemies; over Taiyou's arrogant smirk, the one he wore when he talked about “bringing back a seishi's head for his Lady”; over Tsuki's cold features, so absolutely void of life; over Kaze's quick tongue and even quicker temper, and the way he watched her with constant suspicion; over Sora's disconnected disposition, as if she were so terrified of showing any real emotion; and finally over Tsuchi's smile, so sweet but so full of uncertainty and fear... Lastly, she thought of Houjun.
Mizu smiled falsely at her friend. "Of course I want us to win, Tsuchi-kun!"
---
“...`The three young women in three very different locations sat with their male companions, watching the brightly shining stars and dreaming about what tomorrow might bring.'” Tetsuya flipped the page, grinning wolfishly at Keisuke as he handed the book right back to Yui. "End Chapter Seven."
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Ye Olde Free-Chat: August 11, 2005; 8:30PM
Ni-hao, minna-san!
I posted this one pretty quickly, didn't I? Actually, I decided to enter a MediaMiner contest, and the unfinished fiction needs to be at least 10,000 words. Not a problem... if you were reading this on my other accounts. But, since I've fallen behind on MediaMiner, I figured I'd play a quick catch-up game so that the judges can read what I've really written thus far. So that means quicker updates for all you readers! Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time, so I've got to cut this short, but I'll see you in the next chapter - which I'll probably have posted sometime next week. Huzzah `n' such!
Your Authoress - Dee ^_~