"I'm in this sweet madness, or this glorious sadness...that brings me to my knees. In the arms of the angel, far away from here...from this stark cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you feel. In the arms of the angel, will you find some comfort here"--Sarah McLachlan
Chapter seven
"-Kokie-?" Toroki spat out the word, along with an impressive amount of spit, as he gasped for breath. He felt...raw, like a newborn baby, and cold, though that was do to his lack of clothes. "Isn't that a Byakko seishi's name?"
"A what?" Kokie twined his fingers together and fidgeted uncomfortably, slowly but not too inconspicuously backing up, tripping over his chair and landing on his back as he did so.
"I believe it is..." Tatara nodded, and Suzuno's face lit up. She knelt down beside Kokie and hugged him tightly, and even if the magician had anticipated disappearing, he would feel guilty about doing so now.
"Four! Four Byakko no seishi, Tatara!" Suzuno's voice fluttered in a near singsong as she beamed up at him, and Tatara found himself almost taken aback by the girl...and the innocence about her. "Three more and I'll be able to help you and Ai-Leng!"
"What's going -on-?" Kokie whined, rubbing the back of his head at the point of contact with the cobblestone road. "I'm confused."
"Mmm...well...you see..." Toroki, finding the clothes folded on the table from when he had a rendezvous with his canine nature and tugging them on hastily. "You are like me, a Byakko seishi, which means you have to protect her." One handedly refastening his tunic, he pointed to Suzuno. "And they..." his finger went from Tatara to Subaru "are seishi too. All of us are headed for the Sairou palace, because someone kidnapped Tatara's little sister."
Kokie fixed his dazed expression on Toroki, golden eyes wide and unfocused. "In a nutshell?"
"In a nut shell. Come on" Toroki scrambled to his feet and offered his hand to help Kokie to his feet as well. Once he was to his feet, the magician took a moment to brush the dirt off his robe, before looking at Toroki, once again confused.
Although Kokie opened his mouth to speak, he soon shut it, and let Toroki drag him back toward the horses. There was a lot that Kokie already knew that he wasn't letting on, for consistency's sake he played the clueless happy go lucky magician, it was just how people knew him...and it wasn't like there was anything great about knowledge anyway, all it ever did was bring you bad luck.
"The celestial scrolls, which are bound to their respective seishi, only appear after the seishi's untimely death, before Byakko has been summoned. If the scroll is destroyed then the seishi's soul dies...and the priestess is relieved of her duties, as without all seven seishi the puzzle is incomplete..."
Suzuno's voice died down when she heard footsteps, and she looked up from her position underneath a tree to see Tatara smiling down at her. When she returned the smile, he settled down in a patch of grass opposite her, with his back to the gentle rolling stream that they had been following.
"I'm sorry Tatara...that I have us stop so much, I know every day we're late that your sister's in that much more danger, I just..."
"Don't apologize, Suzuno, I know this trip has to be hard on you. I don't know where you come from, but I do know...it can't be easy to be somewhere so unfamiliar. I don't want to push you farther than what you can handle, and in thirty minutes or so we wouldn't be able to ride anyway, the sun's setting." Tatara turned a bit to look behind him, at the stream "and you couldn't have picked a better place to stay, do you see that sunset? I've never seen colors so vivid..."
Suzuno felt a soft pink creep into her cheeks as she nodded slowly, her eyes straying to the horizon as well. It was striking, the way the pink and oranges of the fading light melted into the cottony bellows of clouds and the shimmering remnants of sun dissolved into the flatlands beyond, grass tinged red like it was on fire. Back in Tokyo it was too dirty to see a sunset like that, or stars...there was nothing like the faint tickle of a breeze wafting across your body as you stared up at the ebony blanket of night, pinned to the skies with stars, as fireflies danced about you to the music of the crickets and cicadas.
Finally Tatara returned his gaze to her "I know...when we gather the seven Byakko seishi that you'll have to go back, but I really feel blessed to have such a wonderful girl as my priestess. You are one in a million, Suzuno..."
He leaned forward to give her a soft kiss on the cheek before getting up and walking back toward the campsite they had set up an hour before. It was just a light peck, perhaps it meant nothing, but for a moment Suzuno could do nothing but sit there, with a crooked smile pasted to her face. It was in that instant that she realized she was falling in love, but with what? A character from a book? Tatara -was- right, when this was over she would have to go back, but when that moment came...would she really want to?
It had gotten too dark to read, and yet she was too energetic to try sleeping yet, and so she closed her book and set it aside. Her footsteps carried her along the bank of the stream, and as she let her eyes take in the beautiful scenery, her mind strayed to other thoughts. If she was granted three wishes, maybe then she could wish to stay here forever. There was so much this world had to offer that she just couldn't see back in Japan...and she hated to be selfish, perhaps maybe her mind would change, but she had grown so attached to Toroki, Subaru...Tatara, in the short time they had been together, and she knew she'd grow close to the other seishi as well, if they were as great as the ones she had already met.
Her mind had been far away for some time, there was no telling how far from the campsite she had wandered when she felt a large hand cup over her mouth and muffle her. Suzuno's instinct was to struggle, and so she did, but whoever had grabbed a hold of her obviously had no intentions of letting her go.
"Look who wandered into our territory..." she heard someone behind her snicker, and his voice was so impossibly weasely sounding.
"Yep." The hot breath of the man who had grabbed her brushed across her ear, and when she got a whiff of his breath...she almost puked right there. "Pretty little thing though...c'mon, let's get her back before her parents or whoever show up."
Chapter seven
"-Kokie-?" Toroki spat out the word, along with an impressive amount of spit, as he gasped for breath. He felt...raw, like a newborn baby, and cold, though that was do to his lack of clothes. "Isn't that a Byakko seishi's name?"
"A what?" Kokie twined his fingers together and fidgeted uncomfortably, slowly but not too inconspicuously backing up, tripping over his chair and landing on his back as he did so.
"I believe it is..." Tatara nodded, and Suzuno's face lit up. She knelt down beside Kokie and hugged him tightly, and even if the magician had anticipated disappearing, he would feel guilty about doing so now.
"Four! Four Byakko no seishi, Tatara!" Suzuno's voice fluttered in a near singsong as she beamed up at him, and Tatara found himself almost taken aback by the girl...and the innocence about her. "Three more and I'll be able to help you and Ai-Leng!"
"What's going -on-?" Kokie whined, rubbing the back of his head at the point of contact with the cobblestone road. "I'm confused."
"Mmm...well...you see..." Toroki, finding the clothes folded on the table from when he had a rendezvous with his canine nature and tugging them on hastily. "You are like me, a Byakko seishi, which means you have to protect her." One handedly refastening his tunic, he pointed to Suzuno. "And they..." his finger went from Tatara to Subaru "are seishi too. All of us are headed for the Sairou palace, because someone kidnapped Tatara's little sister."
Kokie fixed his dazed expression on Toroki, golden eyes wide and unfocused. "In a nutshell?"
"In a nut shell. Come on" Toroki scrambled to his feet and offered his hand to help Kokie to his feet as well. Once he was to his feet, the magician took a moment to brush the dirt off his robe, before looking at Toroki, once again confused.
Although Kokie opened his mouth to speak, he soon shut it, and let Toroki drag him back toward the horses. There was a lot that Kokie already knew that he wasn't letting on, for consistency's sake he played the clueless happy go lucky magician, it was just how people knew him...and it wasn't like there was anything great about knowledge anyway, all it ever did was bring you bad luck.
"The celestial scrolls, which are bound to their respective seishi, only appear after the seishi's untimely death, before Byakko has been summoned. If the scroll is destroyed then the seishi's soul dies...and the priestess is relieved of her duties, as without all seven seishi the puzzle is incomplete..."
Suzuno's voice died down when she heard footsteps, and she looked up from her position underneath a tree to see Tatara smiling down at her. When she returned the smile, he settled down in a patch of grass opposite her, with his back to the gentle rolling stream that they had been following.
"I'm sorry Tatara...that I have us stop so much, I know every day we're late that your sister's in that much more danger, I just..."
"Don't apologize, Suzuno, I know this trip has to be hard on you. I don't know where you come from, but I do know...it can't be easy to be somewhere so unfamiliar. I don't want to push you farther than what you can handle, and in thirty minutes or so we wouldn't be able to ride anyway, the sun's setting." Tatara turned a bit to look behind him, at the stream "and you couldn't have picked a better place to stay, do you see that sunset? I've never seen colors so vivid..."
Suzuno felt a soft pink creep into her cheeks as she nodded slowly, her eyes straying to the horizon as well. It was striking, the way the pink and oranges of the fading light melted into the cottony bellows of clouds and the shimmering remnants of sun dissolved into the flatlands beyond, grass tinged red like it was on fire. Back in Tokyo it was too dirty to see a sunset like that, or stars...there was nothing like the faint tickle of a breeze wafting across your body as you stared up at the ebony blanket of night, pinned to the skies with stars, as fireflies danced about you to the music of the crickets and cicadas.
Finally Tatara returned his gaze to her "I know...when we gather the seven Byakko seishi that you'll have to go back, but I really feel blessed to have such a wonderful girl as my priestess. You are one in a million, Suzuno..."
He leaned forward to give her a soft kiss on the cheek before getting up and walking back toward the campsite they had set up an hour before. It was just a light peck, perhaps it meant nothing, but for a moment Suzuno could do nothing but sit there, with a crooked smile pasted to her face. It was in that instant that she realized she was falling in love, but with what? A character from a book? Tatara -was- right, when this was over she would have to go back, but when that moment came...would she really want to?
It had gotten too dark to read, and yet she was too energetic to try sleeping yet, and so she closed her book and set it aside. Her footsteps carried her along the bank of the stream, and as she let her eyes take in the beautiful scenery, her mind strayed to other thoughts. If she was granted three wishes, maybe then she could wish to stay here forever. There was so much this world had to offer that she just couldn't see back in Japan...and she hated to be selfish, perhaps maybe her mind would change, but she had grown so attached to Toroki, Subaru...Tatara, in the short time they had been together, and she knew she'd grow close to the other seishi as well, if they were as great as the ones she had already met.
Her mind had been far away for some time, there was no telling how far from the campsite she had wandered when she felt a large hand cup over her mouth and muffle her. Suzuno's instinct was to struggle, and so she did, but whoever had grabbed a hold of her obviously had no intentions of letting her go.
"Look who wandered into our territory..." she heard someone behind her snicker, and his voice was so impossibly weasely sounding.
"Yep." The hot breath of the man who had grabbed her brushed across her ear, and when she got a whiff of his breath...she almost puked right there. "Pretty little thing though...c'mon, let's get her back before her parents or whoever show up."