Hiyya minna-san! Arigatou for staying with me this far! huggles every one of her reviewers Cookies for all!
Disclaimer: Remember, I do not own Fushigi Yugi or any of the characters—except my OCs, so no suing! Grr!
xXxXx
"Thank you, sir." Chihiro took the caged insect-warrior from the shopkeeper after handing over the agreed amount of money. Walking away, she looked down at her fifth seishi. "Well, one down; two to go. I'm so excited Tamahome!"
"Uhm…excuse me?" The butterfly spoke up. "But it's kind of cramped in here. Maybe you could…let me out for a bit?"
Tamahome shook his head. "We can't, Nuriko. You're an insect now, remember? What if we did let you out and a bird swooped down and—"
"Not another word, Tamahome!" Chihiro ordered, the very idea causing her stomach to churn. The violet butterfly shuddered at the thought, not speaking for a time as they fought their way back through the crowd.
"Hiro-san! There you are!" Ren smiled widely, walking up to meet them the rest of the way. "I was just about to go looking for you…oh my! What a pretty butterfly!" Her sky blue eyes sparkled; she cupped her hands over Chihiro's and lifted the cage up to her eye level to get a better look at the creature. "My! It's so beautiful! Where on earth did you find it Hiro-san?"
"Oh, uh…at a stand. The salesman offered me a good price," she grinned, knowing she had haggled her way down to a reasonable price, thanks to Tamahome's help—though his constant squeaking and chattering in her ear had become very irritating.
"Oh wow! Thank you, Hiro-san!" She carefully took the cage from the other girl's hands and began walking back to her home.
"Ano…" Nuriko muttered as he was carted away by the brunette. But what surprised him even more was that his original purchaser wasn't even trying to get him back.
Chihiro nodded. "You're welco- what! Hey wait a minute Ren-san! I didn't mean…!"
She didn't seem to even hear her friend's protests. "Come on Hiro-san! The quicker we get back the sooner I can help my mother prepare some food for all of us! Hayaku!"
"B-but…" Chihiro sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I guess I should catch up- itai!" She turned her head, glaring at her monkey who had just nipped her on the ear. "What was that for!"
"For being a major baka! You just let her take Nuriko!"
"Well, I'm sorry!" she responded in a huffy voice. "But what was I going to say?" She sucked in her stomach and stood straight up, pretending to protest Nuriko's capture. "'Oh, uh, wait; you can't take him. He's one of my seishi 'cause I'm the priestess of Suzaku, you know?'" She resumed her usual stance. "No way! I'd look stupid, not to mention insane!"
"Oh gods…" Tamahome buried his face in his hand, shaking his head dejectedly. It looked as if he did it often.
xXxXx
"Hotohori? Are you in here?" The miko called, bracelet still secure as she peeked into the stable doors. She heard some rustling of straw, then the stallion's head poked its way out of the opening above the wooden door to his "chamber." Smiling, she walked in, and, after making sure she was completely alone, she took off her bracelet and returned to her original form. She walked up to the horse, running her hand along his smooth muscular neck while looking into the gentle eyes. "How have you been doing?" she asked, opening the door and entering his stall for more privacy.
"Fairly well," he replied, deciding not to comment on the smell that always lingered in places like this. "How was your excursion with Ren and her mother? Did the mirror show any clues as to where the next warrior might be?"
Chihiro smiled again. "Actually, that happened last night. We just got back from the market place, and we brought 'Nuriko' back with us…"
The stallion's face lit up. "You found the fifth one already? And Nuriko no less? You are amazing, Chihiro. You only need to find two more before we return to Mt. Taikyoku and learn Taiitsukun's further instructions."
Her heart was so light she could have sang, if she had a better voice. This was easier than she thought it would be! Now all she needed were two more warriors, and she could head back with all seven of them to Mt. Taikyoku, back to Taiitsukun and those annoyingly cute Nyan-Nyans and then she would be able to save this world! Then she and Genrou could go back home!
Chihiro jerked awake from her light daze, hearing a strange sound from outside the stall. They were not alone in the stables. She rose to her feet, looking around nervously. "Who's there?"
"…Hiro-san…"
The miko's spirit sank. 'Oh no… Did she…?' Her heart felt like it was pounding in her throat as she slipped the magical jewelry back on; each pulse was so loud she was sure the other girl would hear it. Striking up courage, she finally found her voice and stepped into view. "R-Ren-san? What are you doing here? I thought for sure that you would be in the house helping your mother-"
"Oh Hiro-san!" Before Chihiro could speak another word, the other girl had thrown herself against Chihiro's chest, crying uncontrollably. "Hiro-san… Hiro-san…my cousin…! He…!" Another sob shook her small frame, and she gulped hurriedly, fighting to speak. Sniffling, she tried to continue. "M-my cousin Shuro…the one that came to Konan with us. He…he's dying, Hiro-san! My cousin is dying!" She buried her face in Chihiro's shoulder. "I just found out in a letter from my uncle, and…and I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do…!"
It took Chihiro a few seconds to react. First, she was relieved that she hadn't been found out, that her secret had remained hidden, but then she realized exactly what Ren was saying. Her eyes widened, and her brows wrinkled in concern for her new friend. "Your cousin's…dying?" she asked in a soft, sympathetic voice. "Oh Ren-san…" She gave the sobbing girl a hug, patting her back awkwardly, unsure of exactly what to do. What could you do in a situation like this? "I, I don't really know what to say, but… oh, I'm sorry, Ren-san. I'm just, I'm so sorry..."
Ren shook her head. "It's all right. And thank you. But Hiro-san," she pulled away a little, looking the other in the eyes, "I must go see him! I have to before it's too late, while he's still alive!" She ran a hand across her eyes, though it did little to staunch the steady flow of tears. "He... Shuro means everything to me. He's like an older brother to me!"
Chihiro nodded, her heart going out to the girl. "Then you should go as soon as you can!"
"That's the problem…" Ren hung her head, sniffing hard. "See, my parents are busy running the inn. They care about Shuro, maybe as much as I do, but they can't shut down the inn, otherwise we won't get any visitors and we'll lose money. And we don't have a lot of money as it is... well, Otou-san says we have to take care of the living first…" More tears welled up in her eyes. "And I can't go alone, they'd never let me go alone, because what if I run into more wild animals, or maybe something else on the way?" She looked up, her sky blue eyes gazing into Chihiro's in a silent plea. "But I have to go see him! I must…I have to go to him before it's too late, Hiro-san!" Ren lowered her head back to her friend's shoulder, crying even harder down her already tear-streaked face.
Chihiro felt her heart breaking. True, she had never lost a relative, and she had no idea what it was like to have one die, but seeing her friend like this...With each sob from the other it made her own eyes water. 'Poor Ren…she really does want to see her cousin, before he… maybe I ought to...'
She stopped. What was she thinking? She had a mission to fulfill - she was the Suzaku no miko! Chihiro reminded herself that she still had to find the remaining warriors, Chiriko and Mitsukake. She also remembered the Oracle's words: that the book world was quickly crumbling and she needed to gather the warriors at Mt. Taikyoku as quickly as possible. She couldn't back down from her duties; she couldn't put the whole world into danger just for one girl.
But she wasn't "just one girl;" she was Chihiro's friend. And the only friend she had. How could she let her down?
But she was the Suzaku no miko!
And yet...
She closed her eyes, bowing her head so that it nearly touched one of Ren's shuddering shoulders. "Ren-san?" she said quietly. "You really want to see him…right?" The miko received a small nod, as well as a small hiccup from her crying friend. Keeping her eyes closed, she said the words that made the other back away in surprise as soon as she heard them.
"I'll go with you."
xXxXx
"AH!" The boy shot up from the tree trunk he was currently sleeping again. The movement caused a few leaves on the branches to break off, fluttering to the ground with hardly a sound. It took a few moments for him to get control of his breathing, hand clenching and unclenching nervously over the center of his chest where he could feel his heart pounding. It felt as if he'd just run ten miles with no rest. "What the hell…?"
The boy looked down at his slender hands as if searching his palms for an answer or meaning to his odd dream. He shook his head stubbornly, shaking the images out of his mind. "It was a dream… Just a dream." He brought the same hand to his forehead, sweeping back his wild, cinnamon-colored bangs before sighing and falling back against the trunk.
"Although," he admitted with a sigh, "I could do without these nasty memories." Toroki leaned back, looking up at the starry night sky. "I guess that little nightmare was from you, huh? You just couldn't let me get away with smarting off to you back at the shrine, could you, you pansy-ass cat?" He scowled. "Not that I should be surprised: you've screwed me over from day one, tearing up my life and leaving me with nothing. Hell, you didn't even have the decency to give me a happy ending, did you? The only ones you really bothered to do anything about were Tatara, Tokaki, and Subaru. You sent Suzuno home to be miserable for the rest of her life. And you left me alone again."
He folded his hands behind his head, closing his eyes and speaking his thoughts aloud. "But then again, Tatara's dead; been that way for quite some time. I should know, seeing as how I felt it. And the old pervert and his wife aren't far from it. I've spied on them once or twice in the past few years; they don't look so good anymore, eh, Byakko ol' bastard?"
He sighed, scratching his head and frowning. "But I guess I'd be better off dead myself." He withdrew his knees to his chest, bringing his arms around his legs to hold them in place as he bowed his head and muttered softly: "It wouldn't be so lonely." His voice took on a hopeful tone, as he turned his eyes towards the shining stars above. "You'd keep me company, wouldn't you, Kara?"
xXxXx
"Are you outta yer cotton-pickin' mind!" Tasuki cried, although to any normal person it would have sounded like a very angry bark, almost a snarl. "Y'can't go! We need to find the remainin' two warriors! You'll have to go tell 'er ya can't take 'er!"
"No way am I doing that!" Chihiro protested, bracelet absent from her wrist now that she was in the company of her four animal confidants in the stables. Nuriko was still up in Ren's room. "I promised my friend that I would go with her to see her cousin, who happens to be dying! How can I just walk up to her and tell her I changed my mind!"
"But you shouldn't have agreed to go in the first place. The more time you waste, the harder it will be for us to stop this world from crumbling. Who knows how drastically things will be effected if you delay your mission, even for a moment!" Tamahome added, agreeing with the dog.
"But-"
"I understand that you wish to help your friend, and to ease her pain as she goes through this difficult time in her life," Hotohori said, picking his words with extreme care. "However Chihiro, she sees you as a man. How do you think Ren will react to 'a young man' escorting her a few miles to the next village? It will only draw her closer to you, and then if she were to accidentally become aware of your secret…"
"I know, okay!" Chihiro snapped, tired of her companions' rational voices. She didn't want to hear rational explanations, because she wasn't thinking with her head, this time. "I've thought that! I've thought of all of that!" She looked at them pleadingly, her green eyes filled with a hundred emotions. "But you guys, I have to do this. Ren's the only friend I've had in a long, long time. I can't abandon her when she needs my help." The miko looked down at the ground, hands folded. "I don't really know what she's going through. I hope I never do. But Ren's cousin, Shuro, he's going to die. To die!" Her fists tightened at her sides, and she closed her eyes tightly. "I can't let her suffer alone! I just can't..." she looked back up, smiling weakly at her four seishi comrades. "I just want to be a shoulder for her to lean on, you know? I want to be able to do that, at least."
Chichiri, stepping over to his priestess' side and putting a paw comfortingly on her leg. "It's all right, Chihiro-chan. I think I understand no da." His eyes closed all the way in a small cat-smile. "I would probably do the same, if I were in your situation."
Chihiro blinked, almost as surprised by the cat's words as she was by the tears in the corners of her eyes. After a moment, she returned the smile, patting the small animal lightly on the head. "Thank you, Chichiri."
Tasuki sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine, whatever. I guess we have t'go now, huh? Just great…"
The former monk tilted his head to the side, flashing Tasuki a mischievous feline grin. "But Tasuki, while Chihiro and Tamahome were gone, you kept complaining about how there was nothing to do, and how you just couldn't wait to get out of here no da."
All he received in answer was a snort as the dog turned and stalked back to the main house.
xXxXx
The phoenix-god smiled, speaking with much relief in his voice. "Yes, good. That is exactly where I want you to go, Chihiro."
A silky chuckle came from another corner of the room. "Little brother, you speak to the looking glass as if you expect it to answer you back. I must admit, watching you use the mirror is rather amusing." The owner of the voice stood, his white robes flowing behind him as he moved to stand by the younger god's side, peering into the surface as well. Smiling at the young miko and her seishi, Byakko turned his golden eyes back to Suzaku. "You know, the most difficult to control on this journey will be your 'wing' seishi, Tasuki. I would say that it is excellent luck that they have already discovered Chichiri," he paused, a tiny grin on his attractive face. "Although, he hasn't his staff with him, this time…"
Suzaku couldn't stop the snicker that escaped his lips. "Very true, my brother. I must do something about that. But for now, let us focus on more important matters, shall we?"
Byakko nodded, but his face showed that he couldn't remember what those "important matters" were, exactly. "Brother, forgive me for asking, but would you mind…?"
Suzaku thought nothing of it; Byakko was always too busy scheming his own plots to remember anything of great importance. "First, I must guide my miko until she discovers the two remaining warriors, Chiriko and Mitsukake. Second, I shall be certain that they are found as quickly as possible, so that I may also arrange some time alone for Chihiro and Tasuki…"
The tiger-god shook his head sadly, though he couldn't a tiny grin from flickering across his face. "Suzaku, my dear brother, must you always find a way to fit love into the scenario? I should think that the task of saving this world would be quite enough to worry about."
"Certainly not," the phoenix-god said with a bit of pride in his voice. "I am the god of love, after all."
xXxXx
The door slowly slid open to reveal a dimly lit room covered in evening shadows. The room's shades were drawn, as if its inhabitant disliked the sun, and what bit of light there was came from a small flickering candle on a corner table. Ren quietly stepped in, peering deeper into the darkness as if out of habit. Chihiro followed her gaze to the back of the room, finding herself looking at the outline of a young man propped up on a small bed. He seemed to be asleep, but when the light from the hall fell across his face his pale eyelids lifted, revealing deep brown eyes. He turned his head a little, and despite his obvious sickness he managed a gentle smile at the sight of the girl in the doorway. "Ren..."
"Shuro-chan." The brunette was at his side in a second. She knelt beside him, reaching for his pale hand and blinking in surprise at the chillness of the fingers. His hands had never been so cold before...
Her cousin seemed oblivious to her thoughts. He turned his gaze once more to the doorway, looking curiously at the figure who fidgeted under his stare and flashed a small, polite smile.
"K-konban wa. I'm Hiroshi, but call me Hiro if you like. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you, Shuro-san." Chihiro executed a small bow.
He nodded and rested his head back on the pillow, briefly closing his eyes. "And you, Hiro-kun. Nice to meet you too." Shuro gave the "young man" in the doorway a sharp look, studying "him" a moment before turning his attention back to his cousin.
Chihiro caught the hidden message. "Ren-san, I'll be downstairs or outside if you need me, all right?" Her friend faintly nodded, but the miko didn't think she had even heard the words. Sliding the door shut, Chihiro padded back down the corridor, hoping to round up her seishi for a talk somewhere secretive.
That left the two alone. Ren tightened her hands around her cousin's, now desperately trying to warm him up. "Shuro-chan, you have to take better care of yourself! You were probably out in bad weather and caught a cold, didn't you?" He kept his head back on the pillow, not responding even though she knew he was awake. Being ignored only made her want answers more, and she lightly tugged on his arm to get his attention. "Do you know what you have? What did the doctors say?"
He opened his eyes, the deep brown irises flooded with both worry and pain, with fear and weariness. But there was also a hint of acceptance in the orbs, and that was what terrified Ren the most. After a long moment he heaved a tired sigh and answered her question, though his voice was barely above a whisper. "Ren, they... I mean, the doctors, they said…they said that there was nothing they could do for me." He turned away again; he didn't want to have to see the pain and denial that was spreading across his cousin's young face. "They said I probably wouldn't live very long, maybe a week, a few weeks if I'm lucky. But that was about seven days ago, I think."
He finally summoned the courage to look back at her, and despite the tears that lingered in the corners of her eyes; he managed to smile, just slightly. "I held on so I could see you. I don't know what I can do, exactly, but Ren-chan, I want to promise you that I'm not going down without a fight. If there's even one shot that I can overcome this, then I'm going to try my hardest. Especially now that you're here with me, helping me along the way."
Ren gave up on holding back her tears as she grabbed him in a fierce embrace, holding him as if she could give him strength with her touch alone. He stiffened at first, worried that she might contract his illness, but soon found his arms wrapping around his younger cousin, and for a few moments more they held each other in silence, no sound audible except their breathing, one heavy with tears, and the other becoming weaker and weaker by the hour.
xXxXx
Later that evening, Chihiro came back from the place she and her seishi had chosen as meeting grounds. She cautiously peeked into the room to see how Ren and her cousin were doing, not wanting to disturb the pair. As it turned out, she realized with a small, sad smile, was that she didn't have anything to worry about. They were both asleep; Ren curled up on the floor next to Shuro's bed. But what made Chihiro smile was their hands that remained locked together even in slumber, both trying to draw on a different sort of strength from the other as they fought their losing battle against an unbeatable foe.
Spotting an extra blanket at the foot of Shuro's futon, Chihiro crept over and removed it, unfolding it and placing it over Ren. She started to leave the room but stopped at the last moment, one hand resting against the doorway. She looked back over her shoulder at the sleeping pair, her heart reaching out to the girl she'd become so attached to in such a short time. "Ren-san, you're wonderful person; but more than that, you're my friend. Just by being that, you've done more than anyone back in my world has ever done." She smiled, closing her eyes and nodding decisively. "Don't worry. I swear I'll find Mitsukake before it's too late. That's a promise... from a friend."
xXxXx
Translation Notes:
1) Ano-"uh/um"
2) Hayaku-"hurry up"
3) baka-"idiot/stupid"
4) Konban wa-"good evening"
A/N: And that's chapter 11 minna! How did ya like it? Send all the reviews ya want!
Tasuki: Or all the flames ya want!
'Aya-san: smiles but hits him A special thanks to both my betas who've helped me thus far! Arigatou gozaimusu! huggles them both
Tasuki: Ow! rubs sore spot on his head
Tamahome: At least we found Nuriko before we went off track!
Nuriko: Glad to be found, Tama-chan. But you could have done something to keep me from turning into a gift for that girl…
Chihiro: Oh, I feel so bad for Ren! Her cousin's life is slowly deteriorating and there's nothing we can do about it until we find Mitsukake. But who knows when he'll turn up?
'Aya-san: glares daggers at curtain, just daring other characters to step outAll sweatdrop
Chiri: See you all in chapter 12 no da!