Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Scars ❯ Finding Houjun ( Chapter 6 )

Poor Houjun, he has really bad luck with unsavory characters, doesn't he?

------Scars-------

-Genrou-

I paced the room as I waited for Kouji and Hikou to arrive. I tried not to think of all the horrible things that could have happened to Houjun.

I jumped as a light rap sounded at the door.

"Knock, knock!"

"Who's th--" I yanked open the door.

"Hey!" Kouji yelped, indignant at being startled out of his routine.

"Finish yer greetin' in th' car." I snapped. "We ain't got time ta stand around."

By the look on his face, I could see that Hikou agreed with me. Kouji looked startled. I swept past them and practically ran to the elevator. Hikou followed me, dragging Kouji.

"Didn' ya explain th' situation ta him?" I asked Hikou, jerking a thumb at Kouji. The aforesaid midnight-haired man was currently leaning against the elevator wall, grumbling to himself.

Hikou shook his head, about to answer, but Kouji spoke first.

"Naw, he just dragged me outta the house, sayin' somethin' about not havin' time ta explain."

Hikou looked a little sheepish. "Well, I wanted to get him here as quickly as possible..."

I sighed in annoyance. "Ok, then, Kouji, I'm sorry fer bein' snappish earlier. Ya didn' know what was goin' on."

At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Hikou pulled Kouji out of the elevator.

"Oi, Hikou!" I called. "Not our floor yet!"

"Oh. Right." He dragged Kouji back into the elevator, apologizing to the confused woman who was trying to board.

After a few seconds, Kouji took Hikou's hand, which was still clenched in his jacket, and swung Hikou's arm around his shoulder.

"That's better," he grinned. Hikou smiled back at him.

The woman on the other side of the elevator gave them an odd look as the elevator doors opened again, this time on the ground floor.

"So, are ya gonna tell me what's goin' on, 'r what?" Kouji asked as we ran for the car.

"Houjun went out walking three hours ago and he isn't back yet." Hikou opened the driver's door.

"What?!" Kouji settled in beside him.

"Yep," I said, climbing into the back seat.

"Now, I'd be worried anyway, but it's starting to get dark. I'm entering a panic right now," Hikou stated, with such a completely straight face that I had to laugh.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," he said, annoyed.

"No, it's jus' th' way ya said it..." I snickered. "But we gotta hurry! Why ain't ya started th' car yet?!"

As he pulled out of the driveway, I asked, "Hey, Hikou? D'you know where Houjun usually walks?"

"I've never gone walking with him," Hikou answered. "But he does often talk about going to the park."

"Good. Now we know where not ta look."

"Huh?" Kouji looked confused. "But..."

"Think about it," I said. "If he usually goes ta th' park, wouldn't he be able ta find his way home from there?"

"Well, yeah, unless he got attacked, 'r somethin'..."

I flinched. I didn't want to think about that, but... "If he got attacked in th' park, somebody woulda found him. They'd've brought him home, 'r called an ambulance, 'r somethin'. An' Houjun had his driver's license with him, so they'da known where he lived, right?"

And I just don't feel like he's in the park, I added silently.

"A'right, we'll look somewhere else, okay, Hikou?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Hikou agreed.

And we did. For an hour. He wasn't anywhere that we'd looked.

I think we should split up--" Hikou broke off as Kouji protested, "No, listen, we should split up. We'll cover more ground that way. We'll meet back by the park in an hour." He paused. "And if we haven't found him by then..." His voice trailed away.

"Then he's prob'ly at home, wonderin' where everybody is." Kouji finished firmly.

I nodded. "Okay. By th' park in an hour."

I turned and strode away purposefully.

I was pretty familiar with the streets, having lived on them for years. And though I hated to admit it, I knew better than most how thieves thought. If Houjun had been mugged, it wouldn't have been anywhere around here. I stared up and down the road, lit brightly by the cheerful glow of the city lights. Too bright for anyone to try anything.

Making my decision, I turned and headed down the street towards an area I knew to have several dark alleys.

-Kouji-

"Knock, knock.

"Who's there?

"It's Kouji, wonderin' if any a' you guys've seen a weird-lookin' man with brown hair today."

"That depends. Is he cute?"

"He ain't yer type, Eiken. Besides that, we think he's straight. Besides that, if he ain't straight, I think ya'd hafta get past Genrou before ya laid a finger on him."

"Damn."

"So, anybody seen 'im?"

There was a jumbled chorus of "no"s.

It was going to be a long night.

--Hikou--

I understood Genrou's reasoning behind not wanting to look in the park. Still, we hadn't had any luck so far. What did I have to lose by checking?

I scoured the park. I looked around every bush, behind every fallen log, at the foot of every hill.

There was no sign of him anywhere.

The night passed on.

--Houjun--

* I was walking down a dusty road, with Genrou lagging behind me. I was wearing clothes that I'd never seen in my life, except in the dreams I'd had before about that monk: A white, cottony tunic, green pants, and a woolly blue cape with swirling designs on it. I was carrying a staff, of all things.And yet, somehow, these clothes fit me better than anything else I'd ever worn.

Genrou, too, was wearing something odd. A long, black coat, trimmed in turquoise, with tall boots to match. On an ornate strap across his chest, there hung a metal fan. He was dressed exactly like the bandit that sometimes showed up in those dreams. I didn't have time to puzzle this out, because Genrou called,

"Oi, Chichiri, I'm tiiiired..."

"It isn't far to the next town, Tasuki, no da." My voice seemed higher than normal. And why had I called Genrou "Tasuki"?

"I ain't gonna walk any further." To emphasize his point, he plunked himself down on the road behind me. "Why don't ya just use yer hat an' teleport us there?"

"Because the point of being a wandering monk is to wander, no da. The journey is just as important as the destination." I walked over and sat down beside him. "But we can take a break, if you're that tired, no da."

He sighed. "A' right." He let his head fall down to rest on my shoulder. For some reason, that didn't surprise me.

" 'Chiri?" he looked at me.

"Hmm?"

"I love ya."

"I love you, too, Tas."

And then he kissed me.

It didn't surprise me a bit.

-Genrou-

I had checked several alleys, and none of them had revealed my friend.

Stepping into the second-to-last one I knew of in that area, I felt an odd tingle at the back of my neck.

My toe struck something, which skidded a few feet away at the contact. Leaning down, I saw that it was a knife. I picked it up.

There was something very familiar about the handle.

On closer inspection I saw that it was my knife. I'd lost it years ago. I had always wondered what had happened to it.

But there was something on the blade...

Blood.

Blue hair, people crowding around, running, running away.

Flinging the knife out of my sight.

I shook myself.

What was that?

-Kouji-

Time was nearly up, so I headed back to the park. Hikou was already there.

"Where's Genrou?" I asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't shown up yet."

The minutes ticked by, and the air was thick with a worried silence.

"Maybe he's found Houjun?" I suggested.

Hikou nodded hopefully.

More time passed.

"That's it, I'm gonna look fer him," I said.

At that moment a figure appeared on the sidewalk.

-Genrou-

Stepping further into the alley, I could see something in the shadows at the end. My heart leapt.

"Houjun?" I called.

No answer.

I approached what I could now tell was a body.

Brown hair. Pale skin, covered with cuts and bruises. One eye closed, the other...

The other sealed shut by a long, thick scar, obviously old.

A sickening jerk as the knife pulled free, running from the memory, running.

Nauseous and sick, can't accept it...

So that's why he wears his bangs over one eye..."Houjun?" I knelt beside him. "Oh, gods, no..."

Pulling his head onto my lap, I quickly found a pulse. It was weak, but it was steady and it was there.

"Thank you, Suzaku," I breathed, then paused. Suzaku? I had no idea why I had pulled out the name of an ancient god...

Glancing at my watch, I saw I also had no time to wonder. Kouji and Hikou expected me in three minutes.

"Gen...rou...?"

"Houjun!" I looked down at him. "C'mon, Hikou an' Kouji an' me were lookin' fer ya, an' now I'm s'posed ta meet 'em at th' park."

Houjun blinked at me.

"Just come on," I sighed, helping him to his feet...

Only to have him collapse back to a sitting position with a cry of pain.

"Are ya all right?"

"I don't think I can stand," He said, slightly breathless. "I think my legs are broken."

Judging by the angles that they were bent at, I thought he was right.

"Okay." I bent down and scooped him up. He wasn't very heavy. "I'll just have t' carry ya."

Houjun looked surprised. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you,"

"I'm fine," I assured him. "We gotta get you there, an' I don' mind carryin' ya.

That was true. I didn't mind at all.

-----------To be continued.

Reprise of the "Tas" and "Chiri". Did you like it? I'm sorry if Genrou and Hikou seemed a little too sharp with Kouji at the beginning. Worry will do odd things to a person.

About the dream Houjun had: He's dreamed about Tasuki and Chichiri before, but he's always been watching both of them, he's never been Chichiri in a dream before, and he didn't hear the names "Tasuki" and "Chichiri" in any of his other dreams. Also, Tasuki and Chichiri have never acted like a couple in his other dreams. I hope that clears up your questions about it.

Also, this is the first time Genrou has seen Houjun's scar. Houjun is very good at keeping it hidden.

~Ambika