Chapter X : When Hell Freezes Over
When Miaka woke up the next day, she felt decidedly...perky.
The bed had been reasonably comfortable, albeit a bit rickety. The pillow was soft and the comforter had been warm. Cool, fresh morning breeze wafted in through the open balcony and a part of her wanted to snuggle back into the inviting bed when a decidedly snarky voice in her mind reminded her : This was not a vacation.
It took a few more seconds to remember she had a room mate.
The room mate fortunately, and surprisingly, was fast asleep. On a chair. Well two chairs actually, because he was seated on one and had his legs propped on the other. It was kind of unnerving. A little bit. Three years ago such a situation would have, justifiably, scared the living day lights out of her but there he was : the inscrutable former nemesis, fast asleep, on an old wooden chair.
Suddenly struck with a whimsical and perverse desire, she got out of bed and tiptoed towards the sleeping figure to get a closer look. His head was inclined on the back of the chair while his hands rested on his lap,joined together as if in prayer. As his chest rose and fell steadily in rhythm with his breathing, the erstwhile Seiryu warrior definitely made a striking picture. Like 'Beauty in repose' or something equally flowery along those lines, Miaka thought with wry amusement, eyes trailing over his sculpted,symmetrical countenance. He had long,thick eyelashes too, she noted, with a little hint of jealousy. Trust the heavens above to bestow gifts where they are perfectly undeserved...
"Good morning."
Miaka almost fell back in surprise and shock to see blue eyes staring at her with calm, mocking amusement. Spluttering, she managed to pull herself together in time. "Ehh..I was just checking to see if you were still sleeping and if I-I should wake you." She matched his stare with a determined one of her own, despite the fact that her face was steadily turning a solid red.
In reply, one perfectly arched eyebrow shot up in mockery as the habitual telltale smirk found its way back into the blonde man's face.
"I didn't ask," he intoned with amusement.
Miaka couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation. Seriously, the man was too damn overconfident.
Jackass.
"Anyway," she muttered, eager to change the subject, "now that you are up, shouldn't we be starting for Kutoh?"
"After you get me tea."
-"I will when hell freezes over !"
"I thought that happened yesterday, when you married me."
With that, the former general eased back into the chair and closed his eyes, while the trademark smirk remained on his features. Obviously, he was expecting to be obeyed post-haste.
What the...
Shocked and angered at the trivial dismissal, the Suzaku no Miko bristled like an angry kitten before kicking the foot of his chair.
"Get up!" she snapped at him, still in shock at his audacity, "And get your bloody tea yourself!"
"In the last few hours that we have been wed," replied her former arch enemy, in a even tone, not even bothering to open his eyes, "You have denied me both my carnal and domestic felicity. Remind me why I am married to you."
Ack. It was really a talent, she presumed, to be able to rouse such strong murderous instincts in your neighbors without even lifting a finger. 'Beauty at repose' he was definitely not. Perhaps 'Satan at leisure' was nearer the mark...
Images of a certain, irritating blonde man being struck by lightning flooded her mind as a decidedly homicidal part of her urged her to find the nearest heavy object to throw at him.
Inhaling, she took a deep calming breathe before speaking next.
"I refuse to let you irritate me this early in the morning," she said, "We are not married. You are getting your tea yourself. And I am going down to eat breakfast. Good day!"
And that was when the Suzaku no Miko, stalked out the door with all the grace of her station as her arch enemy lay eyes closed on the rickety chair.
She and her mind unanimously agreed that he could go to hell.
If there was one thing Miaka loved about the inns at inside the Shijintenchisho, it was their absolute generosity when it came to food. Verily, breakfast was a sumptuous affair and feeling a bit vindictive, Miaka had ordered the full traditional breakfast at her dear husband's expense.
The platter which arrived shortly thereafter, was enough to make her grin happily in pleasure. There was the miso soup , filled with chopped green onions and sea weed. The Tamagoyaki* looked crisp,golden and inviting, as did the freshly cut white radishes placed next to it. The broiled salmon looked heavenly pink. Even the bowl of steamed rice looked so perfect that Miaka had to hold back her tears of joy at its sight. And there were pickles too. Oh how she had missed food lately...
Her inner voice sang "Itadakimas" in gleeful and enthusiastic rapture.
And it was only after two hours and three more bowls of rice, did the Suzaku no Miko realize that her companion had yet to make an appearance.
And as if on cue, a silent,tall, blonde man, with morning hair and hands tucked into his trouser pockets walked down the stairs into the big hall, instantly attracting and holding the attention of everyone present. It would seem, that even in his disheveled appearance and casual gait, the man retained the commanding presence of his former incarnation.
Who cares, the priestess thought sourly, he still has the manners of a barbarian...
"Good morning," she smiled with mock sweetness as a wide and artificial smile plastered itself on her face.
Nodding absently in her direction, the erstwhile leader of the Seiryu Shichiseishi, concentrated on the plate the inn keeper had set down for him as soon as he seated himself.
He was never a food enthusiast himself and the bland spread of boiled fish,steamed rice,soup and poached eggs in front of him did nothing to invite his appetite.
Miaka watched in muted curiosity as the blonde picked up a pair of chopsticks and began removing the layer of fermented soy beans from the steamed rice on to a different plate. Soon after, the daikon radishes and pickle followed in the same fashion. In fact, Miaka had to hide a giggle as she watched her former nemesis, pick out sea weed and pieces of tofu from his soup with a distinctly impatient look on his face.
The formidable erstwhile warrior of Seiryu,she noticed with amusement,was a picky eater.
"You surprise me," she said after some time, smiling wryly.
"How so?" he said, concentrating on the salmon.
"No, its just..," she trailed off, uncertain. She was at a loss for words herself. It was so...odd. So, unusual for him to behave...almost normal?..And it was more unsettling that she would be the one to make that particular discovery.
Blue met hazel as he slowly lifted his gaze from his plate to her face. Piercing azure eyes raked over her in a manner that simultaneously captivated her gaze and dared her to look away. The former Seiryu Shogun had a way of looking into a person, not at them. As if, he peered deep in to their conscious with his gaze and then weighed their soul.
"You are surprised that I seem human," he smirked at her, summing up her feelings accurately.
Miaka looked at the profile of the man in front of her. She had always known he was good at analyzing others. This skill had given him the upper hand countless times before when he had anticipated their every move and then manipulated the situations ruthlessly. Gi Ayuru perhaps was different than the intimidating Shogun of Kutoh in some aspects, but there were some intrinsic properties which remained, and which made him no less dangerous than his former self.
"Seem being the key word," she observed dryly.
"Touché ."
After they had settled their bills at the inn, the Suzaku no Miko and the former Seiryu Seishi walked out the back to fetch their steed. They still had the one horse and were still pressed for time ( in a manner of speaking) and were short of money and rations, so without further ado they departed on their horse together, with the former warrior in control of the reigns.
It would have been a speedy, half a day's worth of journey if not for the fact that the Suzaku no Miko kept fidgeting on her seat every two minutes, much to the chagrin of her fellow passenger ( who had the decency to keep quiet) and the horse ( who lacked the proper vocabulary to express his feelings).
It was nobody's fault really, that the Miko tried hard to keep her back ramrod straight and at a safe distance from a certain somebody's chest while she counted the seconds till they would reach Toran, the capital city. But that feat was easier said than done as the steady rocking pace of the horse made sure she was intimately acquainted with the firm contours of her fellow riders chest and abdomen within the first hour of their ride together. She hopelessly wondered if he had noticed how she had tried to spring away from him every time she fell back due to all the rocking. She had tried her best to be subtle. She also sympathized with the poor horse whose mane she held in a death grip in an effort to sit straight. She could feel his occasional breathe down her neckline and it took a stupendous amount of effort to not wriggle like an eel every time that happened. She wondered why he affected her like that. She had traveled countless times with her friends on horse back before and could never recall a time where she had been less comfortable...
Their first proper halt came almost four hours later and that too because Miaka had put her foot down with a resolve that could move Mt. Taikyoku.
Her back ached due to the rigid way she held herself throughout their trip and she felt borderline comatose. And it didn't help matters that former Seiryu warrior looked perfectly at ease and energetic ,even though he was supposed to be out-of-practice.
The scenery had changed somewhere in the last hour. The lush flora of their surroundings and the floating, vagabond clouds drifting overhead alerted them to the fact that Kutoh wasn't very far. The road they had been traveling on had tall trees and bushy thickets on either side, which was in stark comparison to the landscapes of Sairoh.
The atmosphere, in keeping with the surroundings, had also been steadily turning humid. So, when Miaka did spot the small stream gurgling pleasantly behind some rock formations, by the side of the road, she whooped with relief and glared, scowled and threatened her impassive companion till he was forced to relent.
As her tall, bemused fellow traveler, tethered their horse to the nearest tree, Miaka took a look around. She had always harbored a secret liking for small ponds and streams and such, even though her swimming talents were mediocre at best. Somewhere in the future, when she and Taka would finally start living in their marital home, she would keep a small decorative Koi pond in the backyard. The thought made her so enthusiastic, she had often randomly looked up online catalogs to satiate her whims. Of course, no one knew of these little whimsical dreams. They were too whimsical and personal to be shared. For now, Taka only had a vague idea about their two hypothetical kids and the dog. Very vague, of course. A little boy, a little girl, a golden retriever and a koi pond. And possibly a small decorative bridge over the pond. All in a traditional Japanese home in Kyoto. Tokyo was nice, but there was no way she was going to continue living in another apartment in some building where none of the neighbors knew each other. She had lived like that all her life and detested it. There was something to be said when your house didn't have a front gate and a little vegetable patch.
"How long do you plan to stand there and smile out into the horizon like an idiot?"
Drat. Suddenly , unbidden images of a tall, stoic, blonde man in a stuffy, formal suit entered her picturesque old-world traditional home, effectively yanking her out of her day dream. Grimacing at the prospect of how out-of-place he would look there, Miaka turned her attention balefully on her nemesis.
"I was waiting for you to finish tethering the horse and leave," she snapped at him, "I am not taking my clothes off and getting into the water till you go."
Tying the last knot around the old tree's voluminous girth, Ayuru turned around to look at the petite brunette fuming in front of him. Obviously, the girl had been daydreaming about something and did not take kindly to being interrupted. But unfortunately for her, he had no intentions of being tactful and letting her waste their time as she pleased. Something was probably having a pleasant time and attending classes in the university while he himself was left to deal with the petulant miko.
"Half an hour," he said pointedly, before leaving.
While the Suzaku no Miko had been taking her bath, Ayuru had taken it upon himself to find a different spot and take a light nap. Sleeping at odd hours of the day was not new to him as his insomnia made sure that he had a very erratic sleeping pattern. And the last few days of miko-sitting had barely given him enough hours of sleep to function properly.
Stretching out on the grasses, the former general had barely managed to close his eyelids for ten minutes when something at the back of his mind, told him that they were not alone.
Sitting up straight and scanning the nearby area mentally, searching for possible threats, he was very surprised and almost disappointed to realize, that the chi his heightened tracking abilities had been picking up on, belonged to an ordinary human. And said person had stood fixed in the same place for the past few minutes. Possibly a random passer-by.
Dismissing the thought, he had almost gone to sleep. But when the apparently inconsequential chi signature stayed still in its place for another five minutes, curiosity had bid a firm goodbye to any vestiges of sleep. Getting up, Ayuru went to check on their horse when the he spotted a boy, hardly older than the Suzaku no Miko, standing beside the horse and staring towards the stream with a very comical expression on his face. Within seconds the open question about the stagnant chi-signature explained itself, much to the amusement of the former Seiryu general, while the oblivious boy continued to stare mesmerized at the lake. An empty pitcher hung limply from his arm.
Following the newcomer's gaze, Ayuru looked towards the stream just in time, to see a head full of russet-hair attached to glistening,bare shoulders come up to the surface for a second before dipping back in.
Smirking with dry humor, he returned his attention back to the boy.
"Not disturbing a devoted man at his prayers, am I?"
The reaction was instantaneous as the boy jerked violently and turned towards him, surprised, taken aback and thoroughly embarrassed.
"I-I...that is to say- I am here to refill my water." choked out the boy, holding up his pitcher , by way of proof.
"I see," deadpanned Ayuru, "Are you done?"
"Yes- I mean , no. No. I just didn't want to disturb the..-err- ojou-san-"
"So you decided to watch her take a bath instead," supplied the former warrior smoothly, with a perfectly straight face.
"No." The boy squeaked out, mortified, "I was just-taken by surprise , that's all."
"And the surprise had you rooted to the spot for a good fifteen minutes." The tall man, raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, who was at least a head shorter than him.
The boy turned six different shades of red within milliseconds.
"You," frowned Ayuru, failing to keep the disbelief out of his voice when he noticed the sword hanging at the boy's side, "belong to the Kutoh army?" The insignia on the sheath was all too recognizable for the former Shogun.
"Yes," the boy said petulantly and with a little more spirit, as if he himself just remembered that he was an honored soldier and not just some random teenager anybody could trifle with.
"I am a commissioned officer," he said, with pride.
"Oh," drawled the much older man with wry amusement. "And what other qualities do you have, besides being a very efficient Peeping-Tom?"
"I was not peeping," moaned the commissioned officer miserably, " I was traveling by here on my cart when I just realized that my water was gone."
"You have a cart?" inquired the former Shogun, his face the very picture of polite interest.
When Miaka returned from her bath, she had fully expected to run into the blonde Shogun as soon as she stepped out of the water. So, imagine her surprise when he was nowhere to be found. In fact, a tiny part of her was almost disappointed that he had such little interest in her..
Putting on her clothes, she had gone looking for him, and their horse, when a cart pulled up at the side of the road caught her attention.
Standing beside the cart, leaning against it, was a brown-haired boy her own age, who inexplicably went red in the face as soon as their eyes met.
Going over to him , she greeted the boy a little awkwardly.
"Have you seen a tall, blonde, intimidating looking guy anywhere around here?" she asked of him, hoping the latter would have some clues about the whereabouts of her sociopath partner. "He, kind of looks... unfriendly," she supplied, by way of additional information.
The boy almost snorted at her description before gesturing towards the veiled compartment of the cart wearily, "Yeah, he's inside, sleeping."
"What?"
And indeed,as Miaka went over to the back and lifted the dark green tent like material that hung over the cart, she found what she was looking for. One tall, blonde intimidating sociopath lounging comfortably at the back. He even smirked when she found him.
"Meet Shinji," her sociopath said , dryly, " He has kindly offered to drive us to the capital, since he is going there himself."
Perplexed, Miaka looked around at Shinji, who looked far too unnerved for someone who had kindly offered them his services.
"So you're returning home after serving at the borders for three years?" The miko asked of their tour guide, once they had started, "You must be very excited to see your family."
"Yes," nodded the young soldier enthusiastically,slowly regaining some of his lost composure, "I am going to be promoted into a commissioned officer now, so I will stay in the capital and spend more time with them."
"That sounds wonderful," the petite brunette beside him hummed in agreement.
"It is," asserted her companion, happily, " I had always dreamt of being in the national army. I had no idea I would rise up to the level of a commissioned officer this soon. Perhaps, you never know, I might even reach the level of a Shogun before my hair turns gray." He finished with an awkward,wistful laugh.
Miaka chanced a glance at the one other person who she knew had definitely reached to the rank of Shogun before his hair had turned gray. The former Shogun of Kutoh had taken full advantage of the relatively empty cart and was currently stretched out on it, using one of the bigger knapsacks as a pillow. His left hand cushioned his head while the right hand was placed over his eyes. She had no way of knowing if the man was really asleep.
Lounging inside the cart, the erstwhile Seiryu seishi was only too happy to let the other two engage in small talk. He noted with wry amusement that while the Suzaku no miko was overtly guarded around himself and analyzed everything he said or did under a magnifying glass, she had no problems instantly befriending any Tom,Dick and Harry without thinking twice about their credentials.
Ayuru couldn't decide if that was an insult to his personality or her intelligence.
He recalled the easy way she had bonded with Amiboshi when the latter was masquerading as Chiriko. He was no stranger to her boundless capacity of forgiving others and looking for the best in virtually everyone, with of course the noted exception of himself. Nakago of the past would have and did scoff at such a happy-go-lucky attitude but after two lifetime's worth of experience, Ayuru had long since come to respect the value of earnestness and simple good will, even though he had chosen not to inculcate either feature in his personal or professional life. And what surprised him into begrudgingly respecting the miko was the simple fact, that she herself was totally unaware of the effect she had on other people. Or if she was aware, she was definitely very humble about it.
"Ne..Shinji-kun," chirped the priestess, "How is it like? To be in the army?"
Here was a splendid opportunity she was very keen on exploiting.
"Very nice and peaceful actually," her partner laughed, loosening the reigns on the horses a bit, "We had a recent change in regime and tension between the four kingdoms has simmered down a lot lately. Kutoh used to be a nation of constant wars, you know. Thank Seiryu that was changed. I have never been to war myself, I think all that strife ended the same time I first joined."
"Lucky me," he added as an after thought.
"When you first joined three years ago?" the priestess asked innocently.
"Yes," replied Shinji, " The last Shogun died and all the warfare and political strife died with him."
This time the priestess didn't even dare look back to see if their companion in the cart was paying attention.
"The people were happy to see him go?" she asked softly, peering at the passing scenery.
"Well," her companion inclined his head reflectively, "That's a complex question actually. A lot of the noble families really worshiped him ,you know, because every campaign he took part in, was instantly guaranteed success. And he took part in a great many. But a few other noble houses were never pleased with him, because you know, wars always meant a hike in taxes. Of course, after he single-handedly wiped out the last royal family-"
"He WHAT?" spluttered the priestess, completely taken aback.
Surprised by her reaction, her companion gave her a bemused look.
"Oh you don't know?" he asked of her, " After the great battle with Konan, the Shogun attacked the royal palace itself and killed the Emperor, while his men were ordered to murder every member of the royal family. It was a very gory affair."
"But what for?" asked Miaka still in a daze. Who had she been walking around with for the past few days?
Sure she knew he had been ruthless and too ambitious, but this was beyond acceptable, even for someone like him...
"I don't know,I had never even met the guy," shrugged her informant casually, "Heard he was a strict taskmaster though. And a perfectionist to boot. Didn't talk much but people in his immediate regiment had to always count their breathes in front of him. Poor bastards."
Miaka silently pondered the information in her mind. She had met the Emperor of Kutoh on one occasion, during the time when she had gone to Kutoh to bring Yui back. He was a detestable and slimy personality. His death brought her no grief. But she couldn't help but feel unsettled that the entire royal family had been killed along with the Emperor. Why would anyone sacrifice so many innocent casualties for the sake of power?
"But that's what you get when you let foreigners run the nation," her companion spoke, his voice replete with ill-concealed distaste.
"What?" blinked Miaka confusedly, having dazed out a few moments ago.
"The former Shogun, you know," carried on Shinji, "He was a foreigner. That's what you get when you hire foreigners. Anyone would be a fool to expect patriotism from them. And that guy was a Hin, no less."
That word again.
Miaka looked up at the brown eyes of the young man before her. "What does that mean?" she asked.
"Oh you don't know," her companion nodded sagely, " This happened much before we were born. But the Hins were a nasty lot. The previous Emperor had to purge out their entire race. Too bad they let him live though,because he was one of the venerated Seiryu no seishi and all that. Now that you think about it, they would have been better off killing him at the same time too, with the rest of his family. Would have saved every one else a lot of time,money and blood twenty years later."
The soldier laughed alone at his own joke.
"I think we have discussed enough wars for the day, don't you?" the priestess smiled politely at her companion, trying her best to not let the distress in her voice show.
"Tired of your history lesson already, Ojou-san?" a cool voice asked from the back of the cart.
The former Seiryu warrior had been awake after all. The thought made her feel worse. Unable to reply, she concentrated on the horses' hooves.
"Oh you're awake Gi-san," commented the young soldier,his gayness slipping down a notch, "Miaka-chan and I were discussing politics, warfare and the like."
"I heard." came the succinct reply.
"But like I said before," continued Shinji blithely,oblivious to the tension , " our new Emperor is a complete pacifist and the new Shogun echoes His Highness' ideals. Hopefully the next decade or two will be totally war free."
Ayuru smiled dryly at the other man's naivete.
"I don't think Shinji, that you answered all of Ojou-san's questions to her satisfaction," commented the blonde man, in a deceptively light tone, "Ask her if she has any other queries and we can discuss those as well."
The Ojou-san in question, unfortunately, had to keep herself from covering her face in embarrassment and distress. She had let her curiosity run amok and now she couldn't bear to face the man reclining inside the cart. To top it off, he was emitting a very icy and hostile aura. It made her shiver involuntarily. She didn't even need to turn around to know that her usually taciturn companion was wearing an acutely antagonistic expression. She could almost feel his silvery-blue eyes, flashing with pride and fury, boring holes at the back of her skull.
"No questions," she mumbled sheepishly, steadfastly refusing to look at the person lounging inside the cart.
"But wouldn't you like to know why the general killed his own patron?" the former Seiryu seishi asked in a silky voice laced with humor.
"Not really," she muttered again, as her voice lowered itself to a bare minimum.
"But I explained that one right," interrupted Shinji excitedly, obviously liking the discussion, " The former general was a member of the hated Hin race. They were a despicable lot. And untrustworthy too."
"Yes," concurred the erstwhile member of the said race smoothly, in an icy voice, " And perhaps the constant vilifying of his race may also have had a negative influence. Not to mention he probably did harbor a slight grudge against his employer for killing off all the members of his tribe including his own family. Things like that work against the whole loyalty campaign. Although money does get you reasonably far."
Miaka winced at the controlled fury behind the sentences. As it is, the somewhat civil relationship that she had had with the enigmatic former general,for the past few days, was frail and unstable to say the least. But in reality, they just weren't progressing at all. And half of it, was her own fault. She just couldn't bring herself to have faith in the man, even though he had shown no inclination thus far, that he had a plan for world conquest cooking at the back of his mind, this time around. Of course, it didn't help matters that he turned reticent or else difficult ( or sometimes both) at the best of times. Frighteningly, there were also times when she almost enjoyed being with him. Almost.
"You could put it that way," laughed Shinji bringing Miaka back to the present, "But the man was definitely good at what he did. Did you know he was the youngest person ever to rise to the rank of Shogun?"
His response garnered a snort of derision from the former Seiryu seishi who chose to not comment further.
"But they say he only got that far so quickly because the Emperor favored him." Obviously, Shinji had not exhausted the topic yet. The boy just didn't know when to shut up.
"That's lucky for him," Miaka replied with feigned disinterest.
"In a manner of speaking," replied Shinji, "Word has it the Emperor took his share of favors from the general."
"What kind of favors?" Miaka asked absently.
But apparently that was the wrong thing to ask as the soldier laughed lightly in awkward embarrassment and deigned to elaborate further while the temperature of the whole cart conspicuously dropped by a few degrees.
"What kind of favors?" she asked again,perplexed.
"The kind that's none of your business, Ojou-san," snapped the general turned businessman from behind her, voice taut with enough subdued hostility to set a forest on fire, "How far are we from the capital, Shinji?"
"Eh – Another, say fifty miles?"
"Are you going to be providing a running commentary on the former Shogun all the way?"
"N-no , no, of course not."
The travelers lapsed again into silence. After a while, Shinji began humming a soft tune and for some reason it irritated Miaka greatly. She had uncovered a great deal and it made her feel very edgy. She hadn't been deceived in the least bit when Nakago had discoursed calmly with the newly commissioned officer of Kutoh. There would be the devil to pay sooner or later.
Wrapped in her own gloomy thoughts, Miaka was taken by surprise when the cart stopped suddenly.
"What is it Shinji-kun?" She asked of their driver who was looking at a stationary group of men standing on the road, blocking the path.
"It's nothing, Miaka-chan," he smiled reassuringly at the petite brunette, " Probably a group of travelers who are lost. Don't worry, let me go and see if they need help."
Miaka had her own hunch about this particular band of travelers but Shinji brushed her off confidently as he got down from his seat to go take a look. After all, no one would dare cause trouble for a commissioned officer of Kutoh.
A soft snort reached her ears. It came from the back of the cart, originating from the man who had been reclining casually.
"We're going to be robbed,aren't we?" she asked him mournfully.
"Yes."
And sure enough, as Miaka watched, the group of men listened very intently to what Shinji had to say, before erupting in peals of raucous laughter. And if that wasn't meaningful enough, all of Miaka's doubts were confirmed when at least six burly men drew out their swords and leveled them collectively at Shinji's neck.
"Get out of the cart with your valuables!" The tallest of the group, invariably the leader, yelled at her direction.
Flinching slightly in fear, she looked helplessly at her sleeping partner. "Do something," she hissed.
But instead of getting up and probably saving the day as Miaka hoped, the tall irksome man merely looked at her and shrugged. "I can't do anything," he said, "Your friend took the only available sword."
"What?" she all but shrieked at him, panic rising steadily in her voice at his apparent apathy at the whole situation, "What do we do now?"
"Grab you valuables and get out of the cart," he deadpanned, getting off the vehicle himself and stretching his arms.
As the pair got out of the cart, a second bandit advanced towards them.
"Come!" he barked, "The boss is waiting."
Miaka sneaked a glance at the tall profile of the man walking beside her, apparently very much at ease. What was he planning to do?
"Gomen nasai, Miaka-chan, Gi-san." mumbled Shinji, eyes downcast as they all assembled in front of the leader of the bandits.
"I thought you were a decorated soldier of the Imperial army," said the blonde man calmly, raising a mocking eyebrow at the much shorter man.
"Well," the boy said unhappily, "There's too many of them,I am sorry I jeopardized both of your lives as well as mine."
"Now is not the time to be bullying others, Baka," hissed Miaka at the taller man, "Do something."
"Like what?" asked the erstwhile Seiryu warrior. Miaka felt certain he was being willfully unhelpful just to spite her.
"Well, use your powers," she muttered sheepishly.
"And risk killing them all?" The Suzaku no miko felt her temper rise uncontrollably as the towering man before her feigned a look of utter surprise and shock at the prospect of killing off the bandits.
Jackass.
Not wanting to let him push her buttons so easily, she ground out, "Well, if you have a better plan that saves everybody, by all means, go ahead."
He smirked.
Their brief interlude was interrupted however, by the leader of the bandits who steadily grew impatient and bad tempered at being ignored.
"Hey you two !" he growled, " Enough chit chat! Now give us your valuables and you may go. Defy me and you will all die here."
To her utter surprise and dismay, the proud and arrogant Shogun, who hardly ever considered anyone his equal, flicked a casual glance at the men before sinking to a meek bow in front of the leader, "Please let us go," he said in a deceptively polite tone , "We are simple travelers. We don't have anything that might be of importance to you."
Belatedly Miaka realized, the only people Nakago had ever bowed to was the late Emperor and Yui, both of whom he had eventually deceived.
"Keh!" spat the leader, "In that case we will just kill you for wasting our time."
The leader signaled as two men with swords drawn advanced on the captives. Beside her, Miaka felt Shinji tremble unsteadily as his own sword hung limply on his belt.
Both bandits swung their swords simultaneously. Miaka watched mesmerized as the stoic, tall blonde next to her moved with the speed of lightning and placed himself in front of both herself and Shinji.
Grabbing the first attacker by his wrist, the erstwhile Shogun swung the poor man's arm in the opposite direction and within milliseconds landed a killer blow on the bandit's shoulder joint, wrenching a horrified and anguished howl from the victim.
The former Seiryu seishi didn't even give his attackers the time to register his movements as he held the first bandit by the now broken arm and aimed a smooth,sure kick at the second bandit , possibly breaking the man's jaw.
The Seiryu general's actions sent a flurry of anger within the bandits as two more advanced on them menacingly.
But the man, still without a weapon, simply ducked and with one leg stretched, sent a rotating kick which made both the advancing men lose control and fall to the ground, clutching their heads in pain.
Casually plucking up a sword, from one of the fallen men, the blonde man, calmly stepped aside from the bodies on whimpering on the ground and leveled the sword straight between the eyes of the bandit chief. With a mirthless cruel smile that made a lot of people in the crowd tremble with fear, he drawled in an icy tone, "Anyone else?"
"How DARE you!," the chief yelled, incensed.
Drawing out his own sword, the tall, dark skinned man gave his opponent a hateful look full of vengeful promise as he signaled his own men to stand back, which they obeyed instantly.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Shinji grabbed hold of Miaka's sleeves and dragged her further out from between the circle of angry men that had gathered to watch Nakago fight with the bandit chief.
"I am a former mercenary," smirked the confident leader, "Let's see how long you last in a real fight, Gaijin."
In response, he got a slow predatory smile as with one swift, lightning-fast thrust, Nakago sent the man's sword flying onto the ground before bringing his sword back on the leader's neck.
Gasping, the bandit took two shaky steps back as his men froze in confusion.
"Will you please let us go now?" Nakago drawled calmly, gazing at the men with cold malice.
Few of the men who had remained standing hastily got on their horse as the others , including the chief cleared their way.
"Y-you can go your way," the chief said, trying hard to retain the last of his hysteria-infected dignity.
"Arigatoh."
"SUGOIII !" exclaimed Shinji excitedly, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
After the bandits had voluntarily ( in a manner of speaking) released them, they had returned to the cart and it was Shinji who broke the silence by squealing in excitement at having witnessed the older man in action.
"If you come with me, you know," he said , "You could even join the army. You would progress quickly with your skills."
Now it was the miko's turn to look the other way and snort delicately.
Ignoring both of them, the former Seiryu seishi frowned as he stared outside. They were approaching familiar grounds and his temper was steadily turning sour. Letting the bandits walk away scot-free was not something he was particularly inclined to do. Had he been by himself on this godforsaken trip, the whole horde of bandits would have been turned to ashes before even saying hello. Not for the first time, during their journey, he found himself irreconcilably irritated by the Miko and her constant and persistent disdain of him and the ways he employed. Then there was also a third voice in his head, asking snidely as to why he cared for what the teenaged priestess thought.
"How far are we?"
"Another twenty miles."
The conversation during the remainder of the journey was made with no contributions from Ayuru as the younger duo continued their useless small talk till he could tolerate neither party. Lounging inside the simple cart, the soon-to-be managing director of the Suzuki group of companies wondered witheringly what he had done to offend the Gods, this time around to have been consigned to this current debacle. He remembered how a few days ago, Emiko had offered to replace him with a different candidate to represent their company at the university. If he had only listened....
Raising himself in a sitting position, the former general glanced out of the cart to see the hostile walls of the Kutoh borders looming overhead. Very soon, they would be encountering the same problem, the Suzaku no miko had faced, on her very first trip to Kutoh. Passports.
A/N :
Yet another filler chapter from yours truly =)
Thank you Dessert Renaissance, Jacky, Nakago (lol) , Honey,Leo, Glady,Loy,Kaytee,Bobby,Law, Momuji and Yuuki
- Tamagoyaki means is white radish. I have never had a Japanese breakfast and I just googled it. Let me know if the information is flawed.
- There were ALOT of reviews for the last chapter which made me ecstatic. But I sincerely hope that was not just one or two persons posting under different usernames. If that is the case, thanks guys but its misleading for both you and me. Reviews make me very happy and encouraged to write but still,I can only write when I know what to write down and that takes time. In the meanwhile, one review per person is more than sufficient to keep me happy. And for my part, I will do my best to not keep you guys waiting long.
Questions :
How many chapters will this story have?
I...have no clue xDDDD
Will there be any sequel for this story?
Yeah :D Definitely one...or probably two if I can motivate myself xD
Does Nakago love Emiko at the moment?
Nah.
Does Nakago have a soft spot for Miaka at the moment?
Not have to remember we have 52 episodes' worth of animosity to overcome first.
Does Nakago find Miaka attractive as a woman?
Well, physically, yes, why not. Not like he has any better options at the moment. But is that enough for him to start a meaningful relationship? Nope. But there are/ will be times when he looks past her juvenile exterior to find a much more intriguing person ( or atleast that's what I am trying to write)
Will Emiko get jealous of Miaka?
No XD Not likely. But she has a more semi-prominent role in the sequel(s).
When will they kiss? ( no body asked this explicitly, but might as well xD)
I dont know xDDD But I guess it's going to have to be spontaneous...and that's going to take a lot of work xDDD
I can't wait until Miaka's temptation to tap that starts.
This is an interesting approach. But I kind of thought she's much too earnest and idealistic to consciously act on any temptation of the sort. But let's see what happens after they go through a death-defying situation or two xDD And if that doesn't work either, I'll just randomly make it rain and ruin their clothes and then drop a hut in the middle of the forest with only one blanket in it xDDDD
How long does Nakago know Emiko and please write a love scene between the two.
They are co-workers so I would say they have known each other for quite some time now.
As for the love scene , well I will do everything that maintains relevance to the plot while staying within the stated ratings.
Will Miru try to seduce Nakago?
No, she rather wants to kill him, atm.
Advanced Happy Birthday to Bobby, I am very flattered by how enthusiastic you are about this fanfic. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations :P
Finally,hope every body likes this chapter as well, please let me know what you liked,didn't like and what could have been improved. I love reading your comments. =D