Chapter 4: Troubles


Chichiri:

I closed my eye as I waited for the impact.

......

I opened my eye. My body was still intact, no blood, no injuries. What was going on? I looked at Hikari. She seemed relieved. What... How... Did Hikari do something to the ball of ki? I looked behind me. Chiriko's music was getting softer and the portal was closing fast. What should I do? If I ran to fetch Hikari, the portal would close. If I went into the portal, Hikari will be trapped in the arms of Nakago. Besides, I don't think Hikari could last much longer with all those injures.

'Thud!!!'

An invisible force pushed me down hard. "Itaiii!!!" I rubbed my butt. Nakago seemed to have lost interest in me and now, his target was Hikari, who was sprawled on the ground. The invisible force pushed me behind even harder, not caring if I was on my butt or getting scratches from trying to resist it. What the... Before I knew it, I had already entered the portal.


Tasuki:

"Itaiiii!!!!!! Not so hard, you ass!!!!!" I cried out in pain as Mitsukake bandaged my broken arm. Mitsukake looked at me hard.

"I'm trying to help. It'll hurt even more if you keep on fidgeting. I'll appreciate it if you don't call me names. I don't use vulgarities mind you," Mitsukake reached out for the ointment on the table.

"Ya, ya, whatever.." I muttered, rolling my eyes. "ITAIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!"

After Mitsukake finished bandaging me, I hobbled over to Chichiri's room on crutches. "Hey, man, you okay?" I asked as I flopped down beside him on his bed. Chichiri seemed to be very far away ever since he was forced to came back. He said that Hikari had used her mind power to push him into the portal and closed it up. He wanted to open another portal to go back to Kutou but Nuriko and Chiriko had stopped him. "Hey, Chichiri, I WAS TALKING TO YOU!!!! MOSHI MOSHI? ANYONE HOME?" I screamed into his ear. Chichiri didn't respond.

"Huh? Oh, it's you Tasuki. What is it?" Chichiri asked as he looked at me with his good eye.

"Chichiri, baka, I had been calling you for the past minute. And, what happened to your 'no da'?" I asked.

"What no da? Oh you mean my na no da..." Chichiri sighed.

"Chichiri, I swear, ever since you took that mask off, you're even weirder. Here," I hobbled over to his cupboard and pulled out his mask. I clumsily tried to plastered it on his face.

He slapped my hand away and grabbed back the mask. He looked at me, obviously irritated and angry. "Listen, Tasuki. Stop fooling around. She's in the clutches of an enemy!!! She risked her life to save ours!!! And, she... Was the one who helped me to realise that I needn't hide anymore.."

"Meaning?"

Silence.

"Listen Chichiri, I know how worried you are. I'm worried too. But worrying doesn't help anyone. Right now, in our state, all we can do is to pray for her safety and perhaps plan for another attempt," I tried to assure him.


Chichiri:

"Listen Chichiri, I know how worried you are. I'm worried too. But worrying doesn't help anyone. Right now, in our state, all we can do is to pray for her safety and perhaps plan for another attempt," Tasuki said, as he tried to assure me.

He got up and left. Just as he turned the doorknobs, he stopped and turned around.

"Nani?" I asked, hoping that he would say nothing and just leave. I just needed to be alone for a while.

"Maybe it's me, maybe Nuriko's girlishness has rubbed off me but, if I hadn't known you better, I'll say that you're in love". With that he walked out, closing the doors gently behind him.

Me? In love? Again? That guy has a screw loose. Then again...

Maybe.

I.

Am.

In.

Love.


Tasuki:

I bit his lower lip. 'Now where did that advice came from? I definitely don't sound like myself today....' I snorted. 'Must be the medicine....' I thought silently. I hobbled to my room. Along the way, I wondered, if Chichiri was like me... Having a crush on that girl...

I wondered what my chances with her were?

Meanwhile, back in the Kutou palace, Hikari was having troubles of her own.


Hikari:

I turned around a corner. I leaned against the wall, panting heavily. It's no use running away from the bastard. Besides, I was losing even more blood and energy unnecessarily. Chikuso! My vision was getting worst. My eyes stung, trying to hold back my tears. This entire place was sealed. I was lucky enough to summon the portal. I wouldn't be as lucky as that again. Well, at least they're all safe. I could hear the heavy footsteps of the blond shogun's boots approaching. 'RUN!!!' My mind screamed.

Too late.

He grabbed my wrist. His grip was like vice. "You're mine now. There's no use running".

"Let go of me!!!" I tugged hard. It was no use. With that, I blackened out.

I woke up in the arms of the shogun. He was carrying me somewhere. I closed my eyes again.

"Itaiii..." I groaned softly. My entire body was aching. My vision was blurry. I rubbed my eyes. Everything seems to be spinning. When my vision adjusted, I realised that I was in someone's room, on the bed...

Naked.

Well, not really since my undergarments were still on me and the newly wrapped bandages. Gods, what happened? Don't tell me.... I shuddered at the thought of it.

I looked around for my clothes. I saw my blood stained clothes on a chair. I struggled to get out of bed and grabbed my clothes. Great. Now my clothes were ruined. Grumbling, I put them on. Well, this is better than nothing. Time to get the hell out of this place. I crept towards the door. Even before I had a chance to reach the door, it swung opened. I found myself staring at a man dressed in blue armour. It was the shogun who tried blasting away everyone.

"Awake, I see? Perhaps you would like to tell me where you're going?" He smirked.

"Oh, and what if I don't?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. You dare to disobey me, Nakago? A powerful seishi as well as a shogun?" He raised his voice.

I smiled. No point in telling my enemy my real feelings. It's best to put a mask on if you're in a battle. That way, you'll be unpredictable. "I don't give a damn to who you are."

Nakago took a step forward. I gulped. I look at him, hoping for any sign of weakness, distraction... Demo... This guy, just like me put on a mask, I couldn't predict his next move.

"Oh, trying to be sarcastic eh? Well, smiling won't get you anywhere, lady. You might as well start off by introducing yourself. If you would like to know, I have already sealed the entire palace. Don't worry, I strengthen my seals as to not let you pull a stunt like that again," He smirked again, this time, it was more like he was amused than anything else.

"Why am I so important to you? Here, I'll make a deal with you. You let me go and I'll forget that this entire incident ever happened". The man didn't respond.

Silence wrapped around us like a heavy wet blanket. I didn't like it one bit.

"You'll make such a bad businesswoman. Perhaps if I showed you something, you might want to change your mind". He turned around and walked away. What could I do? Like a puppy trailing its owner, I followed him. What does he have? What is he up to? All my questions were left unanswered.


Narrator :

Meanwhile, back in Konan...

Miaka burst into a rack of sobs.

"Miaka, what's the matter?" Hotohori reached out and wiped away the miko's tears with his hand. Everyone was in the meeting room especially meant for the seishis. They decided to plan another attempt to get both Tamahome and Hikari back.

Looking at Hotohori with her eyes brimming with tears, Miaka blurted out, "When we left, I brought the scroll with me!!! Watashi wa... Watashi wa... Now I can't find it at all!!! I placed it in my pocket.. It must have dropped when we were escaping!!!!"

Everyone stared at their crying miko in horror. The scroll, in the enemy's hands? Everyone, even Mitsukake could only think of one word.

"Shit".


Hikari:

I stared at the big blue metal doors in front of me. "Why did you lead me here? Isn't this the Seiryuu shrine?"

"Fast thinking," Nakago pushed open the doors. I gasped at what I saw. Beside the magnificent statue of Seiryuu, a hairy man was chained to the wall by a metal chain wrapped around his neck. "Don't be surprised. That's just Ashitare. A fellow seishi who 'volunteered' to guard this place," Nakago explained.

I could only think of one word to describe Nakago.

Monster.

The hairy man snarled and growled as Nakago approached it. Nakago sent a powerful kick to his face, resulting in a nose bleed. That monster!!!

"Urusai!!! Stop being so fussy!!! It's good enough that you have a roof over your head," Nakago smiled evilly. Damn it!!! Being a Suzaku oracle, I could not enter any other shrines except for Suzaku. I could only watch hopelessly. I swear that I'll make that asshole pay!

Nakago opened a secret compartment at the base of Seiryuu's statue. He took out a red scroll. Wait! Isn't the Seiryuu scroll suppose to be blue? Only Suzaku's scroll could be red!!! What's going on?

"This," Nakago opened the scroll, "Is the Suzaku's scroll".

NANI?!

I watched in horror as Nakago tore it up and threw the pieces of paper to Ashitare. Ashitare, thinking that it was food, greedily licked and swallowed it up.

Atashi wa...

Atashi wa...

I just turned around and ran.

I found myself running back to the room. I was so pathetic. All I could do was to run away.

Run. Nothing else. I wasn't brave enough to face my fears. I ran away from my past. I run away from everything. Everything that I didn't like, afraid of. I just ran away. What kind of an oracle am I?

Running...

That's right, run away from my duties. Run away from my real feelings. Run away from everything. Pathetic. Stupid. Coward. Loser. Loser. LOSER. I can't take this anymore!!! I buried my face into the pillow. I didn't even notice the approaching figure entering the room.


Author's note: Standard disclaimers apply to this chapter.

Anyway, thanks for supporting you all!!! Okay, some of you may be confused about Hikari's behaviour as well as character. She may put a smile on her face but that doesn't means that she's happy. True, she may have saved Tasuki and everyone else from Nakago but she's actually a coward in real life. She tries to hide her real self away from everyone. Explanations for her actions and behaviour will be in the later chapters. I don't which myself, it depends on the flow of the story. Oh yes, I know I said Tasuki sort of liked her in the first chapter when she first appeared but now, even Chichiri has some mixed feelings for her. Oh dear. Is a love triangle forming? Who is that mysterious figure? Will Hikari face the truth? Will I, the crazy author add someone else to fall in love with Hikari as well? BWA HA HA!!!! So much possibilities yet, readers, suffer the agony of waiting for my next chapter!!!!

P.S. Updating might be problem since exams are this week. Heck, my maths test is tomorrow!!! What in the name of fuck am I doing staring at the computer screen?! I should be studying!!! And yes, I got FULL marks for my Geography as well as History!!! Hurray to me!!! Wish me luck and RnR!!!

Please e-mail me if you have a suggestion for the story. Do not be afraid to give me your e-mail add if you wish to know my latest update. I thirteen, I don't know how to hack a com let alone make an account for any websites besides this!!!!

List of Japanese words :

Moshi moshi – Hello

Watashi wa – I (General use)