Author Fangirling: Yay for minor characters who I can't even remember the names of (if they had any)! I know they came off as a sweet, loving couple, and I'm sure they were, but really- if that woman was willing to force Miaka to throw away her life and stay, don't you think she'd have the same disregard for other people's lives?
Chiriko and I- we decided to go by our celestial names until we thought of new identities- trudged through the desert. Ever since we left the beach where we woke up, all we saw was sand. You can't drink it, you can't bathe in it, and I sure didn't want to eat it.
Neither of us were in very good condition. Being swept around in the ocean for hours gave us both fevers, and the salt water was making our skin burn in the early morning sun. I was dreading noontime. My throat was parched, but Chiriko was obviously more dehydrated than I was as he collapsed.
"Here, I'll carry you," I slid his small frame over my shoulders, even though carrying someone was the last thing I wanted to do.
"At this rate we won't have to worry about faking our deaths," he mumbled. I hated to admit that he was right, so instead I was optimistic.
"I'm sure we'll find a village around here somewhere," I faked a smile with my cracked lips. "Or maybe even a cactus! Then we could eat it, too!"
"We can't eat a village?" asked Chiriko with a disappointed tone.
"What? Of course not."
"Oh. I bet it would taste good."
He had definitely lost it. If we were going to survive, it was up to me to figure out how. That's how it was when Suboshi and I were children, too. He was too shaken up over Mother's death to think rationally for a while.
The more I think about it, though, the more I was convinced that his rational mind never really returned. He was convinced that the only thing left for us in life was to fight. He's probably reacting even worse to my "death". I wouldn't put it past him to want to avenge me by killing the Suzaku warriors. It hurt to picture him harming my new friends. It hurt even worse when I thought of them fighting back. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave.
But I can't do anything about that now. Chiriko and I are going to lead new lives, away from all this war business. How short these lives might be, though, was anyone's guess at the time.
My feet sank in the sand as I struggled to climb up a slope. "Geez, can this be any harder to sift through?" I wondered aloud, and finally reached it's peak. The other side was much steeper and longer.
I used the vantage point to look around for anything other than sand. Sand was so depressing at the moment, because sooner or later we'd be turning into sand ourselves. Maybe I was standing on what was left of some unfortunate traveler's bones.
The glare from the sun and my exhaustion made it difficult to see clearly, but I spotted a village. No, I thought, it had to be a mirage. I used my free hand to rub my eyes, but only succeeded in rubbing sand into them. I yelped in pain and my reflex was to drop Chiriko and rub them with the other hand (which also would have only made it worse), but doing so made him side down my legs and tangle me up, making us both tilt forward. Due to the steepness of the hill, our momentum grew quickly, and we tumbled.
At the bottom, Chiriko must have gotten his second wind, because he sprang up to hold his head. "Ow," he moaned.
I, on the other hand, was too dizzy to get back up, and my eyes stung so much I couldn't make sense of anything around me. I thought the voices I heard were only my imagination.
"Dear! Dear, look! It's Kaika!"
"Remarkable! He looks just like him! The poor boy. Quick, let's help him."
'Help' sounded wonderful, even if it was an illusion, and I let my tired mind drift away at the sound of it.
000000
For some reason Amiboshi and I had tumbled down a mound of sand, and the force was enough to shock my character into reappearing. I felt awful, but had enough strength to standup and look around. Immediately, I noticed the village- there were vegetables in the gardens, people at every corner, and water in every bucket. "A sight for sore eyes" was an understatement.
"Amiboshi, look! We're saved!" I turned to my other side, where I saw an older couple carrying his limp body. They were smiling and handling him with great care, so I assumed they were our rescuers and followed them. I was a surprised when they shut the door behind them and I had to slip inside. Being out of the sun was an immense relief.
"Quick, fetch some water," the woman said as her husband (I assumed) laid my traveling companion out in a bed. I reacted as though she was talking to me, and grabbed the first basin of water I could find and put it down beside her. Without thanking me, she dipped a cloth into the water and then dabbed the sand out of Amiboshi's sleeping eyes, then wiped his face with a contented smile. "Our prayers have been answered. It's as if he's come back to us."
"Now, Dear, when he wakes up, he won't know who we are. Don't get too excited yet."
I wasn't sure what they were talking about, and I wasn't very concerned. I was starring at the basin of water, which still rippled from where she had dipped the cloth in it, and was infatuated. Never had water looked so magnificent. Instinctively, I lifted it to my mouth and began drinking it. I must had forgotten what water tasted like by that point.
"These clothes don't look like clothes someone would wear in Sairou," the husband observed. Ah, so we're in Sairou, I thought as I contently gulped the water.
"They're too tattered now, anyway. Go get him a new outfit."
"Where are they?"
"Still in his closet, of course," the wife retorted. "Where else would they be?"
"So you still didn't want to put his things away." I wondered who they were talking about, still drinking.
"And for good reason," she fondly looked at Amiboshi. "He looks so parched. Quickly, more water, more--"
They both turned their attention to me as I finished off the last drop and gasped for air. "Thank you very much."
"What are you doing here?!" the husband raised his voice and pointed a finger at me. "This is our home!"
"What?" my eyes widened at their shocked expressions.
"Moreover, what are you doing drinking my dishwater?" the wife folded her arms aggressively. "Don't you have any idea what was in that?"
"Go home and drink from your own dishwater," the husband snatched the basin out of my hands and left to get fresh drinking water for Amiboshi. "Kids these days…"
"Dishwater?" I repeated, feeling the blood rush from my face in disgust. "Home? I don't…"
"Go home, you little ragamuffin! We're very busy here!"
I wasn't thrilled with the treatment and stood my ground. "I'm not going anywhere without my friend over there."
I could tell the woman was fond of Amiboshi for some reason or another, and I was hoping she would start crying and offer to take of me as long as I wouldn't take him away. Instead, her faced turned red and she rolled up her sleeve. "So you're here to take him away again, are you?"
Before I could faint at the threat of being beaten to death by a homemaker, Amiboshi stirred. "Don't hurt him!"
"Kaika!" she spun around on her heels and knelt at his bedside. Hearing his voice, the man also flew back into the room with a cup of cold water. "Take a drink, you must feel awful, Kaika! What a fever!"
"….Kaika?" he grew an utterly confused face. "I must have a really high fever."
