Chapter VII : Enemy of thine Enemy is thy new Business partner
"Where are we going?
"You'll see, you'll see. This way !"
"Okay."
….
"Ayuru, what are you day dreaming about? Hurry."
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
"Okay now, wait here and close your eyes."
"Why?"
"You'll see! Now close your eyes."
"No."
"Ayuru !"
"Okay. But you have to back before I count till ten."
"Make that fifty."
"No. Ten."
"Okay, forty."
"Twenty and that's it. I can't remember the numbers after that anyway."
"Hahaha, really? Wait till I tell auntie Matuta about this."
"Fifteen."
"Okay, okay, I won't tell, now close your eyes."
…..
"...Eighteen...Nineteen...Twenty...Taria?...uhhhhh...thirty-three?"
"You can open your eyes now."
"What are those?"
"Flowers, silly. For you. For your birthday!"
"Umm...Flowers are for girls."
"Take them before I change my mind and give you nothing at all!"
"Ok. Thank you ."
"You don't like them at all? I spent all of last night making the bouquet."
"Oh, no,wait ! Don't run ! I love the flowers !"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Of course. They are so...umm..nice...and umm...beautiful. Mother will be happy to see them too. They are so smelly-"
"Smelly?"
"Oh no! I mean, they smell so nice."
"You like them, then?"
"Yeah ! Thanks a lot !"
"Okay."
The flashbacks had increased as had the familiarity in their surroundings as they steadily went further west. Ruthlessly, he suppressed the accompanying emotions. But with little success. He was no longer the Shogun of Kutoh, driven by the sole single-minded thought of revenge. The businessman had never learnt to control his emotions simply because there was little need for feelings in the world he lived in now. Money was everything. Period. No one had time to indulge in emotions when hypocrisy worked quite well. Ayuru reflected wryly, on the worth of that particular gift that had ten year old girl had given to her friend . If he managed to get out of the book alive this time,he would look forward to his twenty-eighth birthday this month. In the society he lived in, the men and women placed little value in sentiments. Money and status dictated the lives of his peers and he was no exception. For the last few years or so, his birthdays were just another excuse for the stuffed-shirts on the executive floor to get drunk in. The deputy chairman's birthday was a high profile event. But he was no fool. If anything, his birthday was usually the day he was hunted the most that too without prior appointments as businessman, industrialists and other investors in his contact list made sure to discuss all their tentative projects with him. It was all, strictly business...
His ramblings were interrupted rudely by a steady stream of curses that flowed on his right. It seemed the bandit was allergic to his horse. Or more appropriately,from the looks of things, the horse was allergic of its rider. It was very odd for a bandit actually. What a professional handicap.
"It's a pity you were stuck with that ! " he smirked at the general direction of Tasuki and his horse. Tasuki looked to see the blonde Shogun matching his pace with a solemn look on his face. It surprised him that Nakago of all people , would sympathize with his situation. Probably the blonde bastard did change after all.
"Thank you, Nakago," nodded Tasuki, still surprised, " That's unusually nice of you." Privately he wanted to add if the latter was suffering from sunstroke.
"I was talking to the horse."
"You utter SWINE ! Wait till I get off this useless bag of bones. I will FRY YOU ALIVE , YOU PIECE OF SHIT !" See, Tasuki thought vehemently to himself. Hell would freeze over twice before the Seiryu bastard turned nice.
The person who the comment was directed at, seemed too unflappably calm and quiet for someone who had just received a death threat. But the horse,as if on purpose, snorted in response.
"Bastard !" mumbled Tasuki, grumbling to himself. He would obviously take it all out on Chichiri later for making him come. For making HIM come as well .
"Me or the horse?" asked a curious voice.
Tired of the constant banter as well as the scorching sun, Tasuki did not bother to start up his difficult companion for another round. "You pick."
Ayuru smirked to himself. He knew it was pointless to dig up old feuds but there was something to be relished in picking on the Suzaku Shichi Seishi and their priestess. They were just too easy.
"Cut it out," came a tired voice from behind them, "We should be keeping our eyes and ears open now , instead of bickering with each other like children."
Chichiri's comment were met with twin snorts from both the offending parties, while the Suzaku no Miko, who had been silently listening to the conversation of her dysfunctional team members for quite some time now, commented loudly enough for all to hear, "You'll have better luck trying to teach Japanese irregular verbs to that horse."
"Hey," Tasuki turned, offended that his own priestess had turned against him due to the blonde bastard, "Are you comparing me to a horse?"
Miaka, being the loyal friend was about to appease the flame haired bandit when the Seiryu warrior beat her to it, " Of course, she is not ! That horse has pedigree."
"WHAT did you SAY ?" bellowed the Suzaku warrior, bringing out his fan,ready to fry his less than pleasant traveling companion to cinders.
He had nearly let loose the powers of the Tessen on the infuriating Seiryu warrior, if not for the timely intervention by the blue haired monk.
"BREAK TIME!"
And they needed a break too. Trudging on for hours under the scorching heat of the sun, had not only made the travelers unnecessarily cranky, but the horses needed rest as well.
They made camp in a decent looking clearing in the forest. They were going past the western borders of Kutoh and not a single man or bird had been in sight for miles.
"Here?" inquired Ayuru, of the monk. He could think of twenty other places off the top of his head where they could have set up camp. "We should go on for some more. Sairoh is very near and it will be prudent to stop after we have reached the capital city."
Chichiri looked around to find the tall man,staring at him with an all-too casual bland look on his face. But despite the Seiryu Seishi's apparent indifference, a trained eye could still gather a lot from his stiff posture and the slight vein that was throbbing on his temple. Something had irked the Duke of disdain at last. And Chichiri knew exactly what it was.
"Well,we are all very tired and the horses need rest too,you know," replied the monk blithely, apparently unaware of the latter's inner turmoils, " What if we don't make it to Sairoh in time? It will be very hard to look for a decent place to camp in the dark."
"I see," came the morose reply.
The amateur camp fire that had been built in the center of the clearing was the handiwork of the Priestess of Suzaku and her trusted seishi, the flame bandit. Now there was a lot to be said about her out door skills, but after the truly baleful glare the priestess had directed at him, he chose, for once, to keep his opinion to himself. It amused him though, that she had known as soon as she glanced at him that he was dying to say something nasty. That, the priestess had picked up on his moods was irritating, and he knew he was going to get back at her later for that. But , for the moment, he settled for laying down beside the fire on the forest floor , one hand acting as a pillow while the other thrown carelessly over his face, shielding his eyes. It was a childish thing to do. Closing his eyes was not going to keep away the memories that were seared permanently to his mind.
A beautiful, tall, woman, with braided hair down to her waist was making flower crowns for a little girl...
Nearby, was a boy, hardly any older than the girl, looking disgruntled. He had been given the undesirable task of gathering the flowers.
They looked so similar, all three of them, with their identical blonde hair and blue eyes, they could have almost been family...almost...
"Here you go, here's one for you too."
"Mother. I am not a girl !"
"Ayuru, you are a beautiful boy. You almost look like a girl.."
"No I don't. I hate it when you say I look like a girl."
Unfortunately for him, the boy looked too much like his mother for anyone to actually take his side on the matter...
"I am BORED!"
The Suzaku no Miko looked up from her position by the fire to find Tasuki looking thoroughly bored. The man had a knack for description. Chichiri had his back to a conveniently placed boulder, and was dozing off every now and then. The erstwhile Seiryu Seishi was stretched out on the ground, asleep to the rest of the world, looking far too casual for her peace of mind. But the hapless equestrian, it seemed, was wide awake. Miaka, secretly, voiced her own agreement in the matter. She wasn't that tired either. In fact, having spent the last half hour by the fire, with her head comfortably placed in the crook of her hunched up knees, she had , in her opinion, rested enough to carry on further.
"Want to go for a walk?"
"No,I'm too tired for that," grumbled Tasuki, "Oi Chichiri! Wake up !"
Tasuki prodded the blue haired monk with his feet, as the latter woke up with a start.
"Grow up, you know !"
"Well, I'm bored."
"Want to play cards?" asked Chichiri, giving up.
"Okay !"
"Great ! Wake up Nakago, so we can all play together,"said Chichiri, settling back against the boulder, "Wake me up again after you've woken him."
It took Tasuki a few good seconds to realize he had been played.
"HEY!"
The little cough that emanated from the monk, in response,sounded surprisingly like a snort. He was looking forward to a nice, long and uninterrupted nap for the rest of the night.
Miaka chortled at the predicament Tasuki was in. "My offer is still open." She grinned at the bandit. She desperately wanted to stretch her legs and she was pretty sure Tasuki wasn't foolhardy enough to try and wake a sleeping dragon, least of all this one.
But it took one fanged grin from Tasuki for his priestess to realize, they were, unfortunately, kindred spirits and stupidity ran amok in their close knit family.
"Oi, blondie, wake up !"
No response.
"You! Strawhead, wake up !"
Miaka wanted to say something right about here to save her friend from a possible sticky end, but his next words had her in splits as well.
"Idiot ! Jackass ! Dirtbag !...wake up ! Bitch !"
"What do you know, this is pretty satisfying !" guffawed the bandit, eying the sleeping man on the floor.
"Miaka," he grinned at his priestess, "Watch this !"
In his hand, Tasuki held a little pebble. It was pretty self explanatory what he was about to do next.
She wanted to stop him, but she also wanted somebody...anybody, to give the blonde some pay back for how he had woken her up in the morning. Karma, after all, was very good at accounting.
After taking careful aim, Tasuki threw the pebble right at the blonde's face as Miaka watched on , torn between horror and fascination.
A hand shot up and caught the little airborne stone in the nick of time and set it flying back to its source. Tasuki let out a shrill expletive as the pebble hit him squarely on the head. Damn the jerk!
"Do you really want me to kill you that badly?"
But this time, the blue haired monk, sitting next to Tasuki, beat the Seiryu warrior to it, as Chichiri's heavy staff landed thickly on Tasuki's head and a string of howls and expletives followed.
"What did you do that for?" whined Tasuki, rubbing his head.
"You were asking for it, you know" replied the monk wearily, "Well now that every one's all wide awake thanks to the idiot sitting on my right, let's play cards."
Ayuru exhaled in response as Tasuki finally settled down.
"I want to take a walk," pitched in Miaka, hopefully.
"No," came the succinct answer from the apostle of apathy himself, "It's dangerous and I am too disinterested to save your skin at the moment." Miaka glared at the blonde shogun, although the glare lost half its usefulness as his back was turned. The former shogun, still stretched out on the ground, was turned to his side towards Chichiri and Tasuki with his head resting on one hand. He was watching the monk deal out the cards.
"Well, then teach me how to play," said the priestess crossly, she was not going to let the three men just sideline her at whim.
Ayuru took a moment's pause before replying. "Don't wander too far out of sight and shout if you need help."
Jackass.
Grumbling at a certain someone's unfeeling behavior, Miaka took off from the camp, going in the first direction that came to her mind. The place had a serene beauty to it and the ride coming here had been very pleasant as Miaka and Chichiri had both ooh'd and aah'd at the surroundings while the other two had bickered on. They were somewhere in between the borders of Sairoh and Kutoh but the beautiful and unoccupied mountainous stretch of land, rife with greenery and much to Miaka's delight, waterfalls and mountain streams, held traits of neither country. It was a place of its own. The roads that meandered between the mossy mountains had been smooth and had it not been for the fact that they were actually stuck in a life-threatning situation, Miaka would have insisted on stopping at every little waterfall that had cropped up on their way.
Her thoughts turned to her team members. She was glad Chichiri was with them. He was the only thin string of reason that was holding on her dysfunctional crew together. She loved Tasuki and couldn't blame him for hating the blonde but she knew she would have to have a talk with him sooner or later to zip it. As for the blonde, well, screw him. They hadn't been on talking terms since this morning when he had unceremoniously dragged her out of bed and of course,instead of him apologizing, he had given her the cold shoulder throughout the day.
It was all. Distinctly. His fault.
Seriously, whose fault was it, if that bastard was an insomniac? If he was capable of staying up into the wee hours of the night and then waking up again at the crack of dawn. It was inhuman. Well, here's something that speaks for itself, her mental voice commented snidely.
Apparently Chichiri had no qualms in starting early either and had come into her room to wake her up. In her sleep induced drowsiness, Miaka had been content to bargain with Chichiri for more minutes and they had gone back and forth over that for quite some time. And then Hitler turned up, completely dressed. With one strong swipe he had divested Miaka of the bed sheet and the pillows, effectively jolting her out of her dreams.
Now anyone else in her position would have been pleased to be woken up by a gorgeous , impeccably dressed man in the morning but whose fault was it that said gorgeous hunk had the tongue of a viper and the manners of a barbarian? Gone was the man who had smiled and relaxed with her on the verandah the previous night. The Grim Reaper who had towered over her bed this morning had all the gentleness of a cactus. He didn't even bat an eyelid at her state of dress, or well, lack thereof. But screw that, she had slept in her comfy T-shirt and in her opinion had been decently covered with the bed sheet. It wasn't her fault if other people just rudely walked in and divested her off her modesty without any preamble or apology. Miaka suspected that the Shogun had finally resurfaced in the psyche of the businessman as the familiar bland expression was firmly in place, complete with the mocking eyebrow. After rudely hustling her out of bed, he had dispatched curt orders at Chichiri to "wake up the other sleeping moron" and at herself to " get ready within fifteen minutes or be left behind."
By roughly 5 am, their party of four was already out of the city borders.
Her thoughts came to a pause as Miaka found herself standing in front of a magnificent lake...
The water gently rippling under the moon light, was a clear blue. It was a quiet night and the surface of the lake shone in ethereal beauty. It was indeed, very beautiful. She stood admiring at its shore for a while when something glittering in the middle of the lake caught her eye. The waters were so clear and transparent, she could hardly not notice the little shell...
The wind changed direction and the trees began to rustle softly. The hakamas she had borrowed from the palace in order to blend in more with the surroundings posed quite a problem though. So, she took them off...
Either way, the chances of one of the men dropping their card game to come look for her were very slim and she figured retrieving the shell, which seemed to be, thankfully, on the shallower side, would be a matter of minutes.
The water was cool. A slight shiver ran through her body as her feet touched the soft sandy bed of the lake. Goosebumps erupted on her skin as she took another step, the coldness of the water getting to her..
The smooth outer surface of the shell glittered like a jewel in the moon light.
"Greetings, Suzaku no Miko."
The next few seconds passed by too quickly as suddenly out of nowhere, a blinding flash of white light erupted from the entire pool. Miaka lost her footing and fell forward, splashing herself thoroughly...
"You cheated!"
"No, I did not. Stop blaming other people for your incompetence."
"Chichiri !He cheated!"
"Can you prove it?"
"But I need to go to sleep."
Chichiri sighed in exhaustion.
Since gambling with money was not an option, they had chosen, or to be fair, Tasuki had eagerly suggested that whoever lost would keep watch for the group for an entire night.
The Seiryu general had won two hands in a row while Tasuki himself had ended up with the unluckiest hands he had had in his twenty years of existence. He couldn't decide what had been stupider, letting the blonde man deal the second hand or believing he could outsmart the impassive Seiryu seishi at poker.
As it were, the poor flame bandit had ended up losing sleeping rights for the next two nights as Chichiri had thanked Suzaku openly that he wasn't the scapegoat and Nakago had stood up to go looking for "the rest of your incompetent team."
She was drowning in blue waters and it was not entirely unpleasant. She mused on the man she had seen a brief glimpse of before the waters had engulfed her vision. He was dressed in finery and his hair was combed back as a small head piece decorated his fore head. Steely cold eyes had mocked her cruelly as they watched her drown.
Her hands and feet had long since stopped responding to her wild and urgent pleas. She wondered if anyone knew. She wondered if the time of her death had approached at last. An ignominious death for someone who had been too famous in life. Ironic. Her thoughts drifted to Keisuke and she wondered how it was that she could still breathe. Her brother had always said she had been hopeless at swimming.
"Oh, you're not dying yet," chuckled a faceless voice in her ear, "Of course, you will if you don't co-operate."
Her eyelids felt too heavy and it took a lot of effort on her part to keep them open. She couldn't speak of course. It was as though someone had pressed the shut down button on her body and it was really shutting down on its own. Her senses gave in one by one.
What do you want, she thought, frantically in her mind, who are you?
Her right ear suddenly turned hot as though someone had been blowing hot air over it.
"I want your new friend, priestess," the voice continued smoothly.
Who? She scanned her mind quickly because the question puzzled her. Two seconds later a picture drifted in her mind. It was a tall man with blonde hair sitting casually on a balcony railing with a cigarette held lazily between his fingers. The Tokyo skyline glittered beautifully in the background….
Oh..
She didn't answer for a moment as the faceless voice continued.
"You do realize, he will betray you the first opportunity he gets," the voice said. She imagined the steely eyes narrowing in cruel mirth. "Isn't it better that you got to him first before he finishes the rest of everything you care for?"
He has changed, thought Miaka, more to herself and for her own benefit than for anything else.
"Perhaps," acknowledged the voice smoothly, "but dear Priestess, has he changed enough to pass up a chance for getting revenge on the person responsible for wrecking all his plans and killing him? It was a stroke of luck, that you my dear, had ruined everything he had worked his entire life for. Do you think he has forgotten? Are you sure? It's not easy, you know, to forget a blow to your chest…or for that matter a sword through your lover's heart…. And my dear, the Seiryu Seishi Nakago I know, lived for revenge…."
Doubt clawed at her heart like a rabid wolf. She had asked those very questions to herself countless times….
Encouraged by her silence, the voice taunted her further, "I would get rid of him as soon as I could, if I were you."
Her mind voiced out the one thought that seemed most practical. I can't kill him, none of us can kill him. He has his powers in this world. We would all die.
"Well good fortune comes and goes, don't you think?" the voice purred softly, "and I can take his powers back in a moment, you only just need to give the word…."
His powers weren't given by Seiryu? Her panicked mind went on overdrive.
"Of course not," said the voice smoothly, "they were given by me, Tenkou, his patron deity. You are deceiving yourself if you think Nakago has ever served that worthless dragon."
Patron God? Why would you help me then? Her lungs had finally started to burn as the lack of oxygen affected her.
"Dear girl, whatever gave you that misconception," chuckled the voice mirthfully, as the sound drew a shiver from her spine, "I am not helping you. But as my own devotee has strayed from his path, apparently, it amuses me to teach him a lesson. That you will benefit from it, is just a pleasant by-product."
Her lungs were burning in earnest now as she tried fruitlessly to get her limbs to function. She did not want to give in to this demon but at the same time, she could not close her eyes to the potential death threat that was Nakago. She hadn't gotten over their last encounter, the deaths of her friends and the horrible, gut wrenching feeling of loss that had accompanied.
"Say it," the voice whispered silkily.
Deciding it was more important to get out alive than worry about matters of conscience, the Suzaku no miko let out the one word that she knew was going to be her downfall sooner or later.
Okay.
"In return," the voice told her pleasantly, "I will take, but a drop of your blood. Enjoy your victory, Suzaku no Miko."
He found her soon enough. He had suspected that the lake would hold her interest. But the sight he found her in was disturbing to say the least. The Suzaku no Miko, lay on the shore, wet as a fish and coughing as though her life depended on it as her bare legs glistened invitingly in the moonlight . The wet kimono that covered the top half of her body, clung to her torso like a second skin, detailing every curve in her petite frame.
For a moment, he didn't know whether to be aroused or concerned.
Quickening his pace, he came upon the thoroughly drenched miko breathing heavily on the shore.
"What," he inquired his voice casually neutral, "were you doing?"
The Suzaku no miko jumped violently, his voice had startled her. Raising her head to look at the man towering over her with the habitual bland look on his face, she weakly lifted her right hand, by way of an answer. Clutched therein, was a shell.
His eyes softened at the sight of the small shell resting on her palm but Miaka was too busy getting her lungs to function properly to notice. If she did, she would have perhaps noted the fleeting look of recognition that had come and gone from her enemy's beautiful face.
"You went to get that ?" he asked, his voice still carefully neutral.
She nodded her head weakly, being for the moment, too out of breath to speak.
"And of course, deep sea diving was the only available option."
She lifted her head again to glare at the inquisitive man, irritation filled in her eyes. He had expected that. But what he had not expected was the presence of guilt written plainly on her whole face that she had been unable to hide. It had caught his attention but he kept the information filed in his brain for later analysis, concentrating instead on lighter matters which he assumed would allay her current tacit and sour disposition.
Getting down on his feet , he settled on the sand beside her.
"Do you know what that shell is for?" he asked, looking into her decipherable-as-a-newspaper face.
"It's just a nice looking shell, that's all," she replied noncommittally, having just obtained her voice back.
Without replying, he gently took the object from her hand. Prying it open, he returned it back to her, waiting for her reaction.
Inside were two identical blue pearls, glittering beautifully in the night.
Her eyes widened with wonder as she marveled at the gorgeous objects. She looked at him , waiting for an explanation.
"You had earrings made out of these pearls," her voice was filled with awe, "Did you get them out of here as well?"
She was quick.
"I was given those pearls from somebody else," he shrugged, "but they came from this lake too."
"Oh wow," she said thoughtfully, "Does that mean anyone can come here and get pearls from the lake? That's nice."
He raised his eyebrows at her comment. "Why? What do you think this is? A thrift store?"
Ignoring the jibe, Miaka asked further, "Then?"
He was surprised she didn't jump at the chance to retort back. Perhaps the tumble in the lake had subdued her spirits.
"I don't remember the story," he lied blatantly as pictures of a tall dark haired, armored man and a beautiful woman with braided blonde hair invaded his head.
He was not surprised when the Suzaku no Miko bought his little lie and sank back to her deep thoughts. He had just won two hands at poker. He was on a roll.
"Say," the girl next to him spoke presently, "if you were given a choice..." Her eyes had a faraway look as she gazed somewhere beyond the lake, "And you could have everything you ever wanted ,and all you had to do, was kill….me…." It sounded strange to her own ears that she was calmly discussing her possible demise with her arch enemy. "What would you do?"
He raised his eyebrows at her question but smirked in response, "I would kill you without hesitating. Were my past actions not convincing enough for you?"
He got up and offered his hand to her. He knew where the discussion was going and he was in no mood to entertain her at the moment.
She tentatively reached for his hand as her eyes searched his face frantically. "Will you please be serious for once?" her eyes were beginning to tear up. Obviously, something was distressing the poor girl too much.
But the instant she touched his hand, he knew exactly what was wrong.
The Miko's chi had altered. Very subtly. Very, very subtly. Her body still emanated the signature red chi of the phoenix God, there was no mistaking the foreign element that hid in the glow of red like a dormant seed. Cleverly hidden, but still unmistakable. It wasn't something he recognized , but given the circumstances and the location, he was pretty certain what had transpired and how it had effected the priestess.
He stole a casual glance at the lake. When he had first laid eyes on her, a wet heap on the the shore, concern for her had made him forget his customary habit of giving any place a preliminary surveillance. But now, the traces of power that were slowly evaporating from the lake were also noticeable. The culprit, it seemed, had wanted him to know.
He looked back to her face. Realization dawned on him as she grasped his hand for support and lifted herself up.
"So?" the Suzaku no Miko tapped her foot impatiently, avoiding his eyes.
He smiled dryly.
"What is the point of asking me questions you already have decided answers for?"
He looked at her distressed face. Innocence was written all over it.
So was betrayal.
He turned his eyes back on the lake.
"What's that supposed to mean?" her voice was uncertain.
"You tell me," he smirked at her, "Anything happened that I should know about?"
The priestess looked up at him, her eyes conveying emotions her mouth wasn't going to.
Looking down at her feet she shrugged.
He smiled thinly at the shivering,wet girl in front of him.
"I'll return to the camp." She still wasn't looking at him.
"As you wish," he stepped aside, letting her go.
Lowering her eyes and clutching at her kimono, she made her way to the pair of Hakamas she had discarded long ago.
"I am waiting to hear the splendid reason you took your pants off for."
"So they wouldn't get wet."
He noticed her shoulders drooping a bit.
"How did that work out for you?"
The Suzaku no Miko picked up her clothes and left without comments and he returned his attention back to the lake. He did not need to look at her face to notice the tears that had slipped past her weak defenses.
The girl just wasn't cut out for the role she had signed herself up for. Without thinking. As usual.
He waited till she was out of earshot before venturing back to the shore. The presence that had seemed like dissipating when the miko had been around was beginning to return in full force. Or perhaps it had never gone.
He did not go too near the water. Tenkou's new found penchant for drowning people was not something he appreciated being subjected to.
He looked on, almost bored, as the lake began to radiate a soft white light. The brightness grew within seconds till it was blinding.
Exhaling in impatience, Ayuru looked sideways to regain focus before looking back at the lake and at the tall eerie looking man with long silvery hair, hovering over the surface looking like a divine apparition.
"She betrayed you," the apparition said, without preamble.
"You tricked her," he replied calmly. The incessant cat and mouse game was beginning to annoy him.
"No," Tenkou smiled at his former servant, "I simply suggested that she arm herself, in case, you know, something happened."
"Against me."
"Of course," the evil smile widened as calculating eyes narrowed in mirth, "How would the 'something' happen otherwise? Your past record goes against you."
"You do realize, even with her powers she doesn't stand a chance."
"Yes, but see, the nice thing is, your power comes and goes at will," the beast God informed agreeably, " My will, to be more specific."
Ayuru narrowed his eyes at his former patron . That explains a lot, actually.
"My death benefits you….how?"
The deity took a step on the water surface. And then another.
He walked till he had reached the shore and stood facing his unwilling devotee.
"It doesn't," came the answer, "I will actually mourn your demise, which is why, I will offer you your life one more time." The mocking,patient smile from before had been replaced by a harsh sneer. "Don't disappoint me."
"How kind of you," replied Ayuru amicably, "And what exactly would you have me do?"
"Nothing much for now," the deity said, looking at him speculatively, "But I will need her assistance very soon, and then, you, will ensure her cooperation and guarantee that she does not summon Suzaku in the meantime."
"And if I don't?"
Tenkou paused for a bit, searching the impassive face of his former servant. Of course he was never going to completely follow orders. He never did.
" I would like to see you convince that little fool to trust you," He scoffed, " She knows you are not her well wisher and nothing you do will convince her pretty little head otherwise. Tell me, would you like to forfeit your life a second time to pay for your sins?"
"So now," continued the evil deity, malice rolling from his aura in waves, "You can either come under my protection or the pair of you can kill each other off. And heaven forbid, should you lose your power while the miko retains hers…."
The sentence was left hanging between them as the deity slowly vanished into thin air, his smile cruel and mocking to the very end.
Making a swift decision, Ayuru cast a parting glance towards the lake before heading back to the camp. He disliked dying and he was most certainly not going to make a habit out of it.
It was all, strictly business.
MEOW !
Hello xD I am kind of excited that the story is finally going somewhere…very….slowly xD
What do you think? This is really my first venture into writing mystery or actually, anything else that's not a school paper. So if you see things that you like or don't like or even feel bleh about, let me know.
Thank you so much for the reviews Jacky,Honey, Elena-Unduli and Dessert Renaissance
Jacky : Here's the update, hope you like :)
Honey : Hi xD I am fine thanks =D Hope you're good too. I am glad you like my way of writing. Hahaha and don't thank me for reading your reviews lol, I love them xDD So, thank you.
Elena-Unduli : Hello there xD I am really glad to see at least one person appreciates all that talk. It's fun to write but I guess too much of it ruins the pace of a story. I don't know lol xD But I'm really glad you appreciate it.
As for my portrayal of Nakago, I realize I am walking over egg shells at the moment. This Nakago is kind of like the anime one but at the same time, different, or so I like to think. So there are chances that I might get carried away in all the romance and come up with an extremely out-of-character Nakago. Let me know when that happens :P
Desert Renaissance : Hahaha xD He's just too sexy for words. I love him tooh *-*
Couple of things :
~ I have been giving out extremely crappy chapter titles which sounded very funny then, but not so much now =\ I guess that's the effect of writing a semi-serious chapter for once. Well I think it was pretty serious, towards the end….do you? ._. I'll change the titles as soon as I get more suitable ideas.
~Another thing about 'my' version of Nakago, I noticed ( in case you're interested) : the Shogun suppressed his emotions while the businessman hasn't had a chance to exercise them in his new world. How sad.
Note to self : Must not turn cool villain into sappy dork by end of story.
~ Some of the dialogs in the flashback scenes are directly lifted from Seiran Den ( The novel on you know who xD) The scenes however are entirely made up. For the most part xD
._.
-empty brain-
Okay then ! See you till the next chapter Don't forget to leave reviews =D
No seriously xD Please XDD
