Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or Chichiri. I wish I did, though.

The snow fell steadily upon Hokkan. Under normal circumstances, this would be nothing out of the ordinary. But most of the Suzaku seishi, save the emperor and their Miko, were trapped somewhere in a cabin in the middle of the vast snowy wasteland.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Nuriko questioned.

Natually, they all turned to boy genius Chiriko. The child thought a moment. "... Well... snowstorms in Hokkan usually last anywhere from a few days to a few months, so-"

"A FEW MONTHS?!? We ain't got that kinda time!" Tasuki protested. "Ain't there any way t' get out?!?"

"I'm afraid not. That would prove suicidal," Chiriko replied, and Tasuki fell silent.

"Our best bet is to wait here and hope it dies down, no da," Chichiri inquired. "I'll go and inform His Majesty, no da." The monk left upstairs to his room.

Tamahome sat alone in a corner. Mitsukake was nowhere to be found at the moment. A humbled Nuriko drifted into the kitchen. A wave of anxiety had descended upon the seishi. The flame-headed bandit sank into a chair, his face in his hands. "Snow's no better'n water..." came from behind his hands.

Chiriko replied with, "Actually, Tasuki, snow IS water. See, the rain-"

"I didn' ask for none o' yer damn explainations! I wan' ta get outta here!"

"Then why don't you quit complaining and think? Stop wasting your time, flame-brain." Tamahome was standing behind him. "We ALL want to leave, and we don't want to hear your whining."

Tasuki muttered something about a bitter virgin in response, and ate chair before he could finish. Tamahome's face was flushed bright red, his kanji gleaming on his forehead. The bandit, bleeding and furious, rose slowly, a terrifying look in his eyes. "I ain't gonna take this crap anymore! Not from you, ghost-boy!" His fist went flying into Tamahome's stomach, and the warrior doubled over, gasping and coughing. "Maybe that'll teach ya."

Tamahome, quick as lightning, tripped the bandit leader before he could walk away. Pinning him down, he wrapped his hands around Tasuki's throat. The bandit was too well-pinned to retailiate, and his face was slowly turning purple. Chiriko, scared as he was, ran for Nuriko. The cross-dresser burst in and tore Tamahome away with relative ease. But it was keeping the two seishi from ripping the other to pieces that proved difficult. While Nuriko held Tamahome back, Mitsukake came down and struggled with Tasuki. Poor Nuriko was shocked at the two of them. "What are you doing?!?" she shrieked. "You shouldn't be fighting each other! Now cut it out or I'll knock your heads together!!!" The thrashing seishi calmed down and were released. "I'm watching you two," she warned, and left the room again.

Tasuki, now able to breathe, glared at Tamahome and showed his fangs in a snarl. "Watch yer back, Tama-boy." He walked away upstairs, leaving Tamahome to fume in his mind.

Mitsukake watched Tasuki leave, and made sure he was out of earshot, then said, "Perhaps it's best if you two stayed away from each other."

Tamahome glared. "I can see that for myself." The healer looked towards a pale Chiriko in the corner. The boy was shaking out of fear. "What's the matter with you?" Tama demanded, perhaps a bit harsher than he'd intended for the child.

"... WAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Chiriko started to cry behind his hands. "I don't like it when grown-ups fight!!!" he whimpered. His kanji was nowhere to be seen. He ran to Mitsukake in fright of Tamahome.

The healer took a look at Chiriko, then looked at Tama. "Fighting amongst ourselves will tear us apart. We're all here to protect Miaka. I think you should apologize to Tasuki before it gets worse."

Obviously, Tamahome had no intention of doing this before, but Mitsukake gave him a look, and he reluctantly went upstairs to seek out the bandit. Chichiri met him in the hall, and the usually cheery monk gave him a frown. "Tasuki told me what happened, no da. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm going to apologize, Chichiri," the warrior muttered.

The blue-haired monk smiled. "That's better, no da. Fights among us aren't good. You wouldn't like it if I tried to hurt you, would you, Tamahome? No da?"

This thought made Tamahome sweatdrop. "... No," he answered.

"Then go and apologize to Tasuki, no da. We're all a little tense because of the storm. There's no need to take it out on anybody, no da." Chichiri put a comforting hand on Tama's shoulder, then left.

Tamahome took a deep breath, then knocked on Tasuki's bedroom door. "Tasuki? You in there?" No reply. "Come on, I know you're in there. I want to apologize."

The door opened slightly, and Tasuki's head peered out from behind it. "Whaddaya want this time?"

"Don't be like that, Tasuki. I just want to say I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"Don' lie ta me! You almost KILL me, then ya wanna say yer sorry?!? D'you think I'm gonna forgive ya that easily?!? Y'already showed me ya don' give a damn about me." With that, he slammed the door shut.

"Tasuki! Don't act like that! We're supposed to work together to protect Miaka! I overreacted!" Tamahome pounded on the door.

"Whaddaya wan' me t' do?!? Open the door so y'can finish the job?!? Go away!!!" came the bandit's voice from within.

"Tasuki, please! I don't want to kill you! I never wanted to!"

This was a mistake. The door suddenly flew open, and an enraged Tasuki screamed out, "Don't tell me ya never wanted ta kill me, y' lyin' bastard!!!! I don' care if y' were drugged and can't remember it, but y' already showed me what ya think!!!"

The wall then had a nice Tamahome-shaped scorch outline in it, and the bandit leader shut himself in his room again. Nursing his burned body, Tamahome gave up and went to his own room.

Okay, so yeah, it's not that good, no da. But it'll get better, I promise! R R. please and thank you.