He sat down before her in the snow. Wordlessly, he handed her a flower. It was small and flimsy and clearly scrounged from some frosted over patch of grass. Wordlessly, she accepted it.
She looked at Tasuki with tear glazed eyes, suprised when he looked back at her in the same way. For all his bluster and brazenness, she often forgot that he was just a baby. Barely seventeen and already walking around with holes in his heart, this latest one in the shape of a star.
"Where did you find this?" Met only silence. "Nuriko shouldn't have died today. I should have, and I apologise for that. I can never express how sorry I am, Tasuki."
"That makes sense, but it isn't enough" He replied. His eyes took on a new shine, something that should have worried her. Before she could react, he had her upper arms in a vice grip. He didn't even have his gloves. She went to point out the fact. He tore the silence to shreds first, yet his voice was just a violent whisper.
"You're our guide, so guide us. What do I do? Damnit, Witch..." He broke off. She thought it unwise to point out that he was hurting her. "What good was sending you with us if it changes nothing, if we can still die?"
"I don't know, Tasuki. I really don't know." She tried to move her arms, but he seemed to not realise he was holding her. "Tasuki?" she tried gently.
"Can't you over them something then?" He asked desperately. She didn't have to ask who. Suzaku, Genbu, they were all part of the same world.
"Like what..."
"Some sacrifice, Damnit, you're some kind of toy of the gods, take yourself as an offering and bring him back. Bring Nuriko back. We don't need you. We need Nuriko. Summon someone and fucking swap!"
"Fuck you Tasuki," she said, trying to stand. "Let me go." Their voices had escalated to shouts, bringing the attention of Chiriko and Chichiri.
"I'll let you go when you fix your mess!"
"I said, LET ME GO. I didn't want to be here. The only reason I'm here is because you're right, I am just a toy, and they're moving me around on this board I don't fucking want to be on."
She growled. The air around them had begun to heat, drifts falling from the branches above them. At the same time, ominous figures made of inky shadows had begun to materialize from the air. Chichiri noticed the danger first, and stepped forward. He moved to find the others, motioning for Chiriko to keep an eye on the situation.
"That's enough." Chiriko said, trying to sound commanding but his voice ringing meek. But it seemed to be too late anyway. Tasuki released Reika, pushing her back to give enough time to draw his tessen. Reika, to Chiriko's suprise, made no movement in her defense. Even the ink figures began to withdraw.
"Just like a woman" He hissed. "You won't even fight. Make me look like the evil bastard."
"So long as I'm finally dead, I don't care how it happens," Reika hissed back, "if I can't find my sister in this life, perhaps I'll find her in the next one." She closed her eyes and waited.
"ENOUGH." The command was quiet, but it rung far louder than the shouting had. Chichiri stood in front of Reika holding his staff defensively. Tasuki opened his mouth to argue. "No, Tasuki, I said that's enough." He had removed his mask.
"This is no time for us to be fighting. Nuriko would not want this, Tasuki. Go with Mitsukage." The younger man tried to argue, anger literally radiating from him. Chichiri's voice was cold, tired. "I said go." Tasuki slumped, defeated. The others took him by the arms and lead him to Miaka and Tamahome, standing by the cave's entrance and wondering at the delay.
He turned to Reika, whose eyes were still closed. Replacing his mask, he spoke to her softly.
"Forgive Tasuki."
"Already forgiven. I seem to keep missing death don't I? It's a little cruel to slight me like that." Chichiri shook his head in disgust that his absent mask couldn't hide.
"You need to wake up. This was not your fault. But, if you continue to seek death, you will keep finding it. Think about it, you know?"
He turned and left her standing in the snow, alone.