Part 1
Tasuki leaned on a tree in the courtyard of the imperial palace in Eiyo, capital of Konankoku. He was bored. He missed his best friend, Koji, the new leader of the Mt. Reikaku bandits. Fingering his Tessen, he sighed. He'd never admit it to any of the others, not even to Miaka, but he was a bit homesick. He'd been away from Mt. Reikaku for a long time now and he missed all the good he had as a bandit.
Tasuki turned. He'd heard a noise behind him. Shaking his head, he turned back around. It was only Mitsukake's cat, Tama-neko. Tama sat at his feet and looked up at him questioningly.
"Tasuki? Daijobu desu ka?" Miaka asked walking over to him from where she'd been sitting with Tamahome.
"Daijobu. Why?"
"Something's come up and we have to leave tomorrow. All of us. Hotohori will explain better when everyone's together in his throne room."
Tasuki nodded. "I'll be there."
Soon after Miaka had talked with Tasuki, the Suzaku shichiseishi were gathered in the throne room. A strange man dressed similarly to Hotohori stood near his throne. He looked anxious.
"Minna, this is Sairo no Heka. He has come to me asking for help. His daughter has vanished, as well as her bodyguards. They were last seen in Konankoku." Hotohori said.
"Konan is a large place to loose someone in." Tamahome said thoughtfully. "Where would we start?"
"Mt. Reikaku no da." Chichiri said, startling everyone.
"Why there?" Mitsukake asked.
Tasuki smacked his forehead. "I'm surprised I didn't think of that. A Hime is a good target for bandits. Bodyguards or no bodyguards, it's still too tempting to pass up."
"That's a logical place to start looking." Chiriko nodded.
Sairo no Heka paled. "They'd better not have hurt her. I've heard stories about them."
"Well, one of my shichiseishi is a former bandit." Miaka said, matter of factly. "Don't worry, Heka, we'll find her for you."
"Arigato, Suzaku no Miko." Sairo no Heka said, a grateful expression on his face.
"Well, let's get some sleep." Nuriko said, yawning. "We'll be in no condition to travel if we don't get some sleep."
[The next morning…]
Gradually, the peak of Mt. Reikaku came into view. Tasuki watched the peak hopefully.
"Jeez, you'd think that Tasuki was homesick or something." Tamahome commented.
Tasuki took out his Tessen and fried Tamahome to a crisp.
"Can't we all just have a nice quiet ride for once?" Hotohori asked. One of Sairo no Heka's bodyguards laughed quietly.
Just outside the gates of the bandit's home, they were stopped and dismounted. As they were asking to see their leader, Tasuki was attacked by a blue haired bandit.
"Genrou! Nice to see you again aho!"
"Koji!"
"What are you doing back?" Koji asked. He shook his head. "Never mind. Come in and tell us over dinner. Your friends are welcome as well, as well as Suzaku no Miko promises not to eat us out of house and home."
"So, Genrou. I'm assuming that this isn't a social call. Why did you come back?" Koji asked.
Hotohori cleared his throat. "Sairo no Hime has gone missing, along with her bodyguards. We were hoping that you'd know something."
"Are you implying that we have her?" Koji leaned back in his chair. "A Hime. I almost wish that I had seen her. That's too much of an opportunity to pass up on. Gomen."
The man that had previously been introduced as Sairo no Heka stood, slamming his fists on the table, looking straight at Koji. "If you've done anything to her, I swear I'll kill you with my own sword!"
"And I told you I haven't seen her!" Koji said, doing the same thing. He paused, thinking. "By the way, what does she look like?"
Before Sairo no Heka could answer, a young bandit burst into the room. "Leader, there's a wounded girl. WE found her while on patrol. She's badly hurt. The doctor's looking at her right now."
"Take us to her."
Once there, Sairo no Heka had mixed feelings of relief and disappointment. The girl on the bed was not his daughter. He knelt beside the girl. She had long, messy black hair, matted with blood, some of it possibly her own. She was covered in old and new battle scars Her eyes were pitch black. He knew her, even with her extensive injuries.
"Kitsune, what happened? Where is she?" he demanded, shaking her.
"Careful!" Mitsukake cautioned. "She's badly hurt."
"I can see that!" he snapped. "Kitsune, daijobu ka?"
"I'm fine, aho!" the girl said in a soft, yet oddly strong voice. "I just can't see properly."
"What happened out there, Kitsune?"
"Heka?" Kitsune sat up in the bed. "You should be at home in Sairo. It's dangerous here."
"Answer my question, girl. What happened out there? Where is she?"
Kitsune winced. "She?"
"My daughter." Sairo no Heka said impatiently.
"I don't know where the Hime is."
"Excuse me, onna, but could you tell us who you are?" Koji asked. "The Heka seems to be forgetting that there are those of us who don't know you."
"If it'll get me some peace, certainly." Kitsune took a deep breath. "My name is Akai Kitsune, captain of Sairo no Hime's bodyguards. She was on her way to Eiyo to visit the Konan no Heka. An army of men ambushed us. I could be wrong, but I highly suspect that they are Koutou soldiers. I fell off my horse and hit my head on a rock. When I came to, the ground was covered by blood and littered with bodies. Those of us that weren't dead must have been taken captive. They must have your daughter, Heka, because she wasn't among the dead." Kitsune shuddered then continued. "After burying the dead, my friends, I headed in a random direction, not knowing where I was, geographically. Somehow I ended up here."
Sairo no Heka collapsed to the floor sobbing. Miaka sat down on the bed beside Kitsune. "You'll be all right now." She said, smiling reassuringly. "Mitsukake can heal you with his power."
"Unless he can do something for this monster headache I have, no thanks."
"What is it with warriors and scars?" Tasuki asked.
"So that people ask stupid questions." Kitsune retorted.
Mitsukake shook his head. "I'll do my best to help the pain in your head." He put his hand on her forehead and soon Kitsune was fast asleep, the pain gone completely. Quietly, they all left the room.
Koji closed the door softly behind them. "Well, now you have the proof you need to tell you that we don't have her. We haven't seen anyone around here in a while. So, what does your daughter look like anyway?"
"She would stand at roughly Seishuku Heka's chest height. She looks a lot like an innocent child. She has blond hair and blue eyes."
"Blond?" Tasuki asked. "Like Nakago?"
Sairo no Heka nodded glumly. "Yes, like that one Seiryuu shichiseishi, my daughter has blond hair. No one knows how she got it either. It's very long, too. Last I saw, she was wearing a white robe, hooded to hide her hair color, riding a white mare, surrounded by her bodyguards." He paused, looking at the closed door. "Still, there's something not quite right with her story. Kitsune is who she says she is, but something's not right. There's something that she's not telling us."
"Maybe she has a good reason to no da." Chichiri said.
"When she feels well enough, we should get her to show us the place where they were ambushed no da. Perhaps there are clues as to your daughter's whereabouts no da." Chichiri said. "If it's all right with you, Heka, no da." He nodded.
"We can't have her around here." Koji said mater-of-factly. "She's of no use to us."
The next day, Kitsune was up before dawn, going through every sword drill she'd ever learned, wearing her plain, unadorned leather armour. After a quick bath, she joined the shichiseishi for breakfast.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, no da." Chichiri said pleasantly.
"Ohayo gozaimasu." She said, sitting between Chichiri and Tasuki. "Before we talk about anything, I want to know one thing. Who are you people? You know who I am, but I don't know you. I've never seen a more bizarre assortment of people in my life."
"Atashi wa Yuuki Miaka, Suzaku no Miko. These are the Suzaku shichiseishi." Miaka said, introducing herself.
"Suzaku no Miko? I've heard of you." Kitsune was impressed.
At Miaka's left was a man with long brown hair. She'd originally mistaken him for a woman. He was introduced as Saihitei, Konan no Heka, his seishi name being Hotohori. On the Miko's right was So Kishiku, Tamahome.
The big man, the one who'd relieved the pain in her head the night before, was Myo Juan, Mitsukake. There was a cat perched on his shoulder.
The little boy, Ou Doukun, was the incredibly intelligent shichisei Chiriko. Beside him was the other man she'd thought was a woman, Chou Ryuuen, Nuriko. Funny, she'd never seen a man that wore bracelets before.
The blue-haired monk beside her was Ri Houjun, Chichiri. There seemed to be something wrong with his face, he was always smiling. On her other side was the red haired, potty-mouthed former bandit, Kou Shun'u. Koji called him 'Genrou'.
"So, Akai-san." Hotohori said conversationally. "Would you be able to help us?"
"Depends on what you need me to do. Do keep in mind that I've been injured recently."
"Sairo no Heka has asked us to help him find his missing daughter." He explained. "We need you to guide us to the spot where you were ambushed. There might be some clues there as to what happened and where your attackers took her and the others that weren't killed."
"Can you help us?" Miaka asked, leaning forward on the table.
Kitsune sat back in her chair, thinking. "Suzaku no Miko and Suzaku shichiseishi. I will help you find on one condition: that I am allowed to come with you on your search after I take you to the place where it happened. I have my own reasons why I need to go, all very personal."
Miaka nodded. "That's fine. We leave after breakfast."
Soon afterwards, they were on their way, Kitsune leading. Sairo no Heka had left, on his way to Eiyo at Hotohori's invitation, awaiting news of his daughter. Kitsune was silent, not having said anything since breakfast.
Miaka rode up beside her. "Sa, Akai-san. Tell us a bit about yourself."
Kitsune turned her head to look at Miaka, a puzzled look on her face. She shook her head and faced forward. "Doshite?"
"Well, we don't know anything about you, other than what was said last night."
"I don't know anything about you either, other than what was said at breakfast, and I would prefer to keep it that way. All I want is to get my friends back."
"Hidoi no onna." Tasuki muttered from his horse.
"Problem, aho?" Kitsune asked coldly. Tasuki shut up instantly.
"At least could you tell us what Sairo no Hime was doing here, no da?" Chichiri asked.
Kitsune considered this question. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." She said calmly, fingering the hilt of her sword.
"You're kidding, right?" Nuriko asked.
"Does this sound like the voice of a woman that would lie to you?"
"So, where were you ambushed, Kitsune-san?" Hotohori asked, changing the subject.
"A few miles down the road from here. You'll see it when we get there."
"You have a real attitude problem." Tasuki grumbled.
Kitsune stopped her horse and turned to look at him. "It's not my attitude that's the problem." She said. There was a thick, sickeningly sweet tone to her voice.
"Then what is?"
"You're butt ugly face. Why?" She batted her eyelashes, her tone as before.
All the seishi laughed except Tasuki, who muttered something under his breath about hating women.
"That was a good one no da." Chichiri said with a larger smile.
"Now that was funny!" Tamahome smirked.
"Enough all ready!" Tasuki yelled, causing them to laugh harder.
"Look!" Nuriko called out in shock, pointing off to the side of the road. On the side of the road lay the body of a Kutou soldier, a bloody dagger lodged in his throat.
Tasuki leaned on a tree in the courtyard of the imperial palace in Eiyo, capital of Konankoku. He was bored. He missed his best friend, Koji, the new leader of the Mt. Reikaku bandits. Fingering his Tessen, he sighed. He'd never admit it to any of the others, not even to Miaka, but he was a bit homesick. He'd been away from Mt. Reikaku for a long time now and he missed all the good he had as a bandit.
Tasuki turned. He'd heard a noise behind him. Shaking his head, he turned back around. It was only Mitsukake's cat, Tama-neko. Tama sat at his feet and looked up at him questioningly.
"Tasuki? Daijobu desu ka?" Miaka asked walking over to him from where she'd been sitting with Tamahome.
"Daijobu. Why?"
"Something's come up and we have to leave tomorrow. All of us. Hotohori will explain better when everyone's together in his throne room."
Tasuki nodded. "I'll be there."
Soon after Miaka had talked with Tasuki, the Suzaku shichiseishi were gathered in the throne room. A strange man dressed similarly to Hotohori stood near his throne. He looked anxious.
"Minna, this is Sairo no Heka. He has come to me asking for help. His daughter has vanished, as well as her bodyguards. They were last seen in Konankoku." Hotohori said.
"Konan is a large place to loose someone in." Tamahome said thoughtfully. "Where would we start?"
"Mt. Reikaku no da." Chichiri said, startling everyone.
"Why there?" Mitsukake asked.
Tasuki smacked his forehead. "I'm surprised I didn't think of that. A Hime is a good target for bandits. Bodyguards or no bodyguards, it's still too tempting to pass up."
"That's a logical place to start looking." Chiriko nodded.
Sairo no Heka paled. "They'd better not have hurt her. I've heard stories about them."
"Well, one of my shichiseishi is a former bandit." Miaka said, matter of factly. "Don't worry, Heka, we'll find her for you."
"Arigato, Suzaku no Miko." Sairo no Heka said, a grateful expression on his face.
"Well, let's get some sleep." Nuriko said, yawning. "We'll be in no condition to travel if we don't get some sleep."
[The next morning…]
Gradually, the peak of Mt. Reikaku came into view. Tasuki watched the peak hopefully.
"Jeez, you'd think that Tasuki was homesick or something." Tamahome commented.
Tasuki took out his Tessen and fried Tamahome to a crisp.
"Can't we all just have a nice quiet ride for once?" Hotohori asked. One of Sairo no Heka's bodyguards laughed quietly.
Just outside the gates of the bandit's home, they were stopped and dismounted. As they were asking to see their leader, Tasuki was attacked by a blue haired bandit.
"Genrou! Nice to see you again aho!"
"Koji!"
"What are you doing back?" Koji asked. He shook his head. "Never mind. Come in and tell us over dinner. Your friends are welcome as well, as well as Suzaku no Miko promises not to eat us out of house and home."
"So, Genrou. I'm assuming that this isn't a social call. Why did you come back?" Koji asked.
Hotohori cleared his throat. "Sairo no Hime has gone missing, along with her bodyguards. We were hoping that you'd know something."
"Are you implying that we have her?" Koji leaned back in his chair. "A Hime. I almost wish that I had seen her. That's too much of an opportunity to pass up on. Gomen."
The man that had previously been introduced as Sairo no Heka stood, slamming his fists on the table, looking straight at Koji. "If you've done anything to her, I swear I'll kill you with my own sword!"
"And I told you I haven't seen her!" Koji said, doing the same thing. He paused, thinking. "By the way, what does she look like?"
Before Sairo no Heka could answer, a young bandit burst into the room. "Leader, there's a wounded girl. WE found her while on patrol. She's badly hurt. The doctor's looking at her right now."
"Take us to her."
Once there, Sairo no Heka had mixed feelings of relief and disappointment. The girl on the bed was not his daughter. He knelt beside the girl. She had long, messy black hair, matted with blood, some of it possibly her own. She was covered in old and new battle scars Her eyes were pitch black. He knew her, even with her extensive injuries.
"Kitsune, what happened? Where is she?" he demanded, shaking her.
"Careful!" Mitsukake cautioned. "She's badly hurt."
"I can see that!" he snapped. "Kitsune, daijobu ka?"
"I'm fine, aho!" the girl said in a soft, yet oddly strong voice. "I just can't see properly."
"What happened out there, Kitsune?"
"Heka?" Kitsune sat up in the bed. "You should be at home in Sairo. It's dangerous here."
"Answer my question, girl. What happened out there? Where is she?"
Kitsune winced. "She?"
"My daughter." Sairo no Heka said impatiently.
"I don't know where the Hime is."
"Excuse me, onna, but could you tell us who you are?" Koji asked. "The Heka seems to be forgetting that there are those of us who don't know you."
"If it'll get me some peace, certainly." Kitsune took a deep breath. "My name is Akai Kitsune, captain of Sairo no Hime's bodyguards. She was on her way to Eiyo to visit the Konan no Heka. An army of men ambushed us. I could be wrong, but I highly suspect that they are Koutou soldiers. I fell off my horse and hit my head on a rock. When I came to, the ground was covered by blood and littered with bodies. Those of us that weren't dead must have been taken captive. They must have your daughter, Heka, because she wasn't among the dead." Kitsune shuddered then continued. "After burying the dead, my friends, I headed in a random direction, not knowing where I was, geographically. Somehow I ended up here."
Sairo no Heka collapsed to the floor sobbing. Miaka sat down on the bed beside Kitsune. "You'll be all right now." She said, smiling reassuringly. "Mitsukake can heal you with his power."
"Unless he can do something for this monster headache I have, no thanks."
"What is it with warriors and scars?" Tasuki asked.
"So that people ask stupid questions." Kitsune retorted.
Mitsukake shook his head. "I'll do my best to help the pain in your head." He put his hand on her forehead and soon Kitsune was fast asleep, the pain gone completely. Quietly, they all left the room.
Koji closed the door softly behind them. "Well, now you have the proof you need to tell you that we don't have her. We haven't seen anyone around here in a while. So, what does your daughter look like anyway?"
"She would stand at roughly Seishuku Heka's chest height. She looks a lot like an innocent child. She has blond hair and blue eyes."
"Blond?" Tasuki asked. "Like Nakago?"
Sairo no Heka nodded glumly. "Yes, like that one Seiryuu shichiseishi, my daughter has blond hair. No one knows how she got it either. It's very long, too. Last I saw, she was wearing a white robe, hooded to hide her hair color, riding a white mare, surrounded by her bodyguards." He paused, looking at the closed door. "Still, there's something not quite right with her story. Kitsune is who she says she is, but something's not right. There's something that she's not telling us."
"Maybe she has a good reason to no da." Chichiri said.
"When she feels well enough, we should get her to show us the place where they were ambushed no da. Perhaps there are clues as to your daughter's whereabouts no da." Chichiri said. "If it's all right with you, Heka, no da." He nodded.
"We can't have her around here." Koji said mater-of-factly. "She's of no use to us."
The next day, Kitsune was up before dawn, going through every sword drill she'd ever learned, wearing her plain, unadorned leather armour. After a quick bath, she joined the shichiseishi for breakfast.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, no da." Chichiri said pleasantly.
"Ohayo gozaimasu." She said, sitting between Chichiri and Tasuki. "Before we talk about anything, I want to know one thing. Who are you people? You know who I am, but I don't know you. I've never seen a more bizarre assortment of people in my life."
"Atashi wa Yuuki Miaka, Suzaku no Miko. These are the Suzaku shichiseishi." Miaka said, introducing herself.
"Suzaku no Miko? I've heard of you." Kitsune was impressed.
At Miaka's left was a man with long brown hair. She'd originally mistaken him for a woman. He was introduced as Saihitei, Konan no Heka, his seishi name being Hotohori. On the Miko's right was So Kishiku, Tamahome.
The big man, the one who'd relieved the pain in her head the night before, was Myo Juan, Mitsukake. There was a cat perched on his shoulder.
The little boy, Ou Doukun, was the incredibly intelligent shichisei Chiriko. Beside him was the other man she'd thought was a woman, Chou Ryuuen, Nuriko. Funny, she'd never seen a man that wore bracelets before.
The blue-haired monk beside her was Ri Houjun, Chichiri. There seemed to be something wrong with his face, he was always smiling. On her other side was the red haired, potty-mouthed former bandit, Kou Shun'u. Koji called him 'Genrou'.
"So, Akai-san." Hotohori said conversationally. "Would you be able to help us?"
"Depends on what you need me to do. Do keep in mind that I've been injured recently."
"Sairo no Heka has asked us to help him find his missing daughter." He explained. "We need you to guide us to the spot where you were ambushed. There might be some clues there as to what happened and where your attackers took her and the others that weren't killed."
"Can you help us?" Miaka asked, leaning forward on the table.
Kitsune sat back in her chair, thinking. "Suzaku no Miko and Suzaku shichiseishi. I will help you find on one condition: that I am allowed to come with you on your search after I take you to the place where it happened. I have my own reasons why I need to go, all very personal."
Miaka nodded. "That's fine. We leave after breakfast."
Soon afterwards, they were on their way, Kitsune leading. Sairo no Heka had left, on his way to Eiyo at Hotohori's invitation, awaiting news of his daughter. Kitsune was silent, not having said anything since breakfast.
Miaka rode up beside her. "Sa, Akai-san. Tell us a bit about yourself."
Kitsune turned her head to look at Miaka, a puzzled look on her face. She shook her head and faced forward. "Doshite?"
"Well, we don't know anything about you, other than what was said last night."
"I don't know anything about you either, other than what was said at breakfast, and I would prefer to keep it that way. All I want is to get my friends back."
"Hidoi no onna." Tasuki muttered from his horse.
"Problem, aho?" Kitsune asked coldly. Tasuki shut up instantly.
"At least could you tell us what Sairo no Hime was doing here, no da?" Chichiri asked.
Kitsune considered this question. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." She said calmly, fingering the hilt of her sword.
"You're kidding, right?" Nuriko asked.
"Does this sound like the voice of a woman that would lie to you?"
"So, where were you ambushed, Kitsune-san?" Hotohori asked, changing the subject.
"A few miles down the road from here. You'll see it when we get there."
"You have a real attitude problem." Tasuki grumbled.
Kitsune stopped her horse and turned to look at him. "It's not my attitude that's the problem." She said. There was a thick, sickeningly sweet tone to her voice.
"Then what is?"
"You're butt ugly face. Why?" She batted her eyelashes, her tone as before.
All the seishi laughed except Tasuki, who muttered something under his breath about hating women.
"That was a good one no da." Chichiri said with a larger smile.
"Now that was funny!" Tamahome smirked.
"Enough all ready!" Tasuki yelled, causing them to laugh harder.
"Look!" Nuriko called out in shock, pointing off to the side of the road. On the side of the road lay the body of a Kutou soldier, a bloody dagger lodged in his throat.