Chapter 21: Heritage
With an unearthly screech, she flew out of the opening at the end of the tunnel shaft at high speed and landed on the ground in an undignified heap a few metres away. Almost immediately, Nakago slid down the tunnel after her. By twisting his body, he avoided crashing into her and somehow at the same time managed to land miraculously on his feet.
Miaka groaned. She had collected numerous bruises during her trip down the tunnel, as she had literally bounced from one wall to another. Every part of her was sore, no thanks to a certain blonde-haired man who had first kicked her then SHOVED her! Slowly, she climbed to her feet as every muscle protested vehemently. Fortunately, she had not broken anything.
Noticing that Nakago looked none the worse for wear after their ordeal, she could feel her anger boiling over, like a pressure-cooker set to explode. How did the insufferable jerk always manage to come out of these things unscathed?
"DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT?? I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!" she snarled at him, launching herself at his throat.
He calmly side-stepped her rapidly oncoming figure, catching her by the back of her uniform as she hurtled past him; literally plucking her out of the air in mid-flight. Without any apparent effort, he lifted her up until her face was level with his…which resulted in her dangling close to two metres off the ground.
Amused silver-blue eyes stared into her enraged hazel ones. "You, dear Miko, hardly need my assistance when it comes to getting yourself killed," he blithely pointed out with a smirk designed specifically to grate on her nerves. "Besides, can you think of any other way we could have gotten down that tunnel?"
"YOU DIDN"T HAVE TO KICK ME!!" she yelled indignantly, her fingers twitching as she pantomimed strangling the life out of him. "AND LET GO OF ME!!"
"If you insist," he said nonchalantly, complying with her wishes and abruptly releasing his hold on her. She dropped like a stone, sprawling ungracefully on the floor for the second time in just as many minutes.
Miaka moaned in pain and defeat, wondering once again, what unforgivable sin she had inadvertently committed to warrant getting stuck with Nakago, of all people. She slowly thumped her head against the ground in frustration.
It was kind of relaxing, in a way…
Flicking his long blonde hair back, he swept a coolly assessing glance over the girl at his feet before turning his back on her and examining their surroundings. They were in yet another cave, but this one was perfectly round, and had only one tunnel leading away from it. The orb which had been guiding them hovered next to it, casting its reassuring light into the darkness.
They had no choice except to go forward. Miaka hurriedly scrambled after Nakago, who had not stopped to wait for her. Tenkou's minions would come pouring down the tunnel soon, and she didn't particularly feel like being the one to greet them on their arrival.
The orb led them through another series of twisting and turning tunnels and Miaka was becoming so sick of being in the confines of such small spaces that she was starting to wish that she would never have to see another cave or tunnel ever again.
Abruptly, they emerged on top of a rock outcropping. Below them, a chasm yawned out into infinity. Idly, Nakago picked up a loose rock and tossed it over the edge of the precipice. The rock bounced on the steep walls of the chasm. They listened to the sound it made until it gradually faded away into silence without any indication that the rock had hit the bottom.
Miaka gulped nervously. The only thing connecting this side to the rocky platform on the other side was a rickety rope bridge. She could see that some of the wooden boards were missing, having either rotted away or fallen off.
"You're not scared, Suzaku no Miko, are you?" the blonde shogun taunted, having read her thoughts. They didn't have much time before the assassins caught up with them, and Nakago wanted to be on the other side of the chasm when they turned up. If making the Suzaku no Miko angry would get her moving, then he was more than willing to insult her to do it.
It worked.
She shot him a glare which could have frozen carbon dioxide and tilted her chin up haughtily, "Of course not!" she bit out and marched up to the bridge. Gripping the ropes tightly, she stepped onto the wooden planks. The bridge swayed alarmingly in response and her stomach gave a sickening lurch. She could feel Nakago's eyes on her, but her pride kept her going. She would be damned if she ever gave him any additional reason to look down on her! The boards creaked loudly, but held her weight.
She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to look down. Before she knew it, she was almost on the other side. Taking one last huge step, she found herself back on solid ground. Miaka panted with grateful relief, her palms wet and clammy with nerve sweat.
Nakago was halfway across the bridge when Tenkou's men appeared. Their shouts echoed off the rock walls as they all rushed to the bridge. Eyes narrowed into slits, he considered the half rotted wooden planks ahead of him and came to a quick decision. He knew what he was about to do was extremely reckless (the level of foolhardiness and stupidity being worthy of a Suzaku seishi), and there was no guarantee that the wood would even hold his weight…but it really couldn't be helped.
He ran.
The bridge swung violently, the ropes groaning in protest as extra stress was placed on them. A few more feet…the plank under his foot broke away, spiralling down into the abyss.
A split-second was all he needed, and he took a running leap towards the rock platform. Not a moment too soon either, as the rest of the wood gave way. He made it to safety with mere centimetres to spare, his boots skidding on the sandy ground. The Suzaku no Miko was staring at him with her mouth open, her eyes as big as saucers. Looking infinitely more calm than he felt, he ignored her, turning his attention back to the assassins.
They were advancing slowly but steadily, wisely putting their weight on the ropes instead of on the wooden boards. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to help them, one way or the other.
Nakago drew his sword, an evil smirk spreading across his face.
With one swift movement, he sliced through the connecting ropes, watching in satisfaction as the bridge seemed to hang suspended in mid-air for an instant before swinging back to crash into the opposite wall of the ravine, sending the purple-clad men on it plummeting down into the inky darkness.
They continued on their way, and Miaka was somewhat more at ease since they did not have to worry about Tenkou's assassins anymore. However, she was still uncomfortable with the way Nakago had disposed of them, reminding her of his true nature. Despite everything that had occurred and his promise to protect her, he was still a cold-blooded warrior…one who killed easily without remorse.
Then it happened.
They hit a dead end. The tunnel just ended in a solid wall of rock.
"Noooooo…this CAN'T be!" Miaka pounded her fists against it and kicked at the wall, but to no avail. The glowing orb floated in front of them, providing no answers. "No," she whispered. They had come this far, only to be met with a dead end. She could not believe it…would not allow herself to believe that the orb Nuriko had given her had misled them.
Nakago was silent. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. He stepped nearer to the rock, inspecting it closely. By the dim light from the floating crystal sphere, he discovered that what he had first thought to be an ordinary wall of rock actually had designs carved into the stone.
Cautiously, he ran his fingertips over the intricately carved bas-reliefs, tracing out motifs as distinctly Hin as his blonde hair and blue eyes. There was a feeling he could not quite place, something…
Without warning, the stone under his hand began to glow, as each and every design slowly become outlined with light. The Suzaku no Miko took a step back in alarm, but he remained where he was, still touching the wall. The stone felt warm under his fingers, and somehow, oddly comforting.
"What the—" Miaka managed to utter in surprise, as the wall silently slid aside, revealing a lighted cavern beyond.
The walls were painted with murals so realistic that they seemed to glow with a life of their own in the subdued light. Scenes of people with golden hair, fair skin and blue eyes, immortalised for all time by skilled artisans on the stone walls…
In the centre stood a pedestal. On top of it, sparkling in the light, lay the object they had come so far to find.
Miaka was overcome with wonder. The paintings on the walls, the elegant splendour of the cavern…it took her breath away. Looking at the people depicted in the murals, she found that she had been right…the Hin had really been a beautiful race of people.
She crossed the floor, making her way to the amulet.
However, before she could touch it, a familiar mocking voice rang out.
"Very well done, if I should say so myself."
A man calmly stepped out of a shadowed corner, a perfect smirk on his handsome face. The dim light reflected off his golden blonde hair and ice blue eyes.
Notes:
1) AAAaaarggggh! Sorry if this chapter sounded like a bad rip-off of Indiana Jones, The Mummy, or Tomb Raider...especially that bridge scene. Oldest cliche in the book. My muse just took a hike on me. : :mutters a few unprintable words: : Next chapter will be better, I promise! So stay tuned...As always, reviews are welcome! They might just entice my muse to come back!
2) Okay, so that was a rather shameless attempt to encourage reviews...
3) Ah yes...as the famous saying goes: The shit is about to hit the fan.
