Nuriko stumbled backwards, horror etched on his face. Hotohori looked shocked, and Tamahome arched an eyebrow. Hikitsu, Tomite and Masa looked somewhat confused. Makiko looked back and forth between Hotohori, Nuriko and Tamahome. Kourin hid her face in Makiko's shirt again.
"What? What's wrong, Nuriko?" Makiko demanded.
"Kourin..." Nuriko breathed, his eyes huge. "She-she even looks like her!"
"Well, yes, she should look like herself," Makiko replied dryly. "Do you know her? No, wait, that's stupid. You couldn't have known her."
"In a way, perhaps he does know her," Hotohori murmured. "Kourin is also the name of Nuriko's little sister, who died when he was ten and she was nine."
"Whoa, freaky," Makiko commented. "Nuriko, are you okay?"
"Fine, fine," Nuriko replied absently, still staring at the little girl in Makiko's arms.
Kourin twisted around, giggled and held out her arms to Nuriko. Hesitantly, he stepped forward and took Kourin from Makiko. Kourin smiled angelically and wrapped her small arms around Nuriko's neck, hugging him tightly. For a moment, Nuriko looked as if he might cry, but then he hugged the little girl back and smiled.
"What's that little globe she's holding?" Masa asked curiously. "Can she tell us?"
"It's a mirror-globe," Kourin answered shyly. "Taiitsu-kun gave it to me and told me to bring it to you."
"A mirror-globe?" Hotohori asked. "What does it do?"
"Shows you anything you want to see," Taiitsu-kun's voice came from the softly glowing globe. "Right now, it's my beautiful face."
"No comment," Makiko murmured.
"I heard that, girl! Now then, Kourin is supposed to give you this globe, so you can speak with me any time you wish. It can also show a little bit of the future, which I find quite handy." Taiitsu-kun laughed. "Then Kourin has to come back." The globe flared, then went dark.
Kourin offered the mirror-globe to Makiko, who took it and examined it with interest.
"Kourin, do you remember me?" Nuriko asked, his eyes veiled.
Kourin giggled. "'Course I do! You're the bestest brother in the whole world." Her little face suddenly went dark and she frowned. "But I gotta go back to Taiitsu-kun. She needs me."
"I need you too," Nuriko whispered.
Masa grabbed Makiko's arm and pulled her away, motioning for Tamahome, Hotohori, Hikitsu and Tomite to follow them. They did, leaving Nuriko with his little sister. The siblings talked in low voices for a few minutes, then Kourin threw her arms around Nuriko's neck again and hugged him as tightly as she could. He ruffled her hair gently, wiping his face with his other hand. Kourin began to fade slowly from sight, her arms still around Nuriko. As she vanished, a small girl's voice whispered "I'll see you again, Nuriko, I promise". Nuriko stood with his head down for a moment, then looked up and smiled at the others.
"Hey, I'm okay, honest," he called.
"That's good," Makiko called back, jogging up to him. "Hey, this thing's glowing again!"
The mirror-globe flashed white, then a blurry image appeared in the depths. Makiko squinted at it, then grinned as the image cleared and strengthened. It showed two young men, one with fiery red hair and the other with blue-black, dancing in a circle and laughing. Then the one with bright red hair pulled out an iron fan and showed it to the other, laughing and then swirling it through the air to make dazzling swaths of fire.
"That's Tasuki and Kouji," Tamahome said. "Tasuki's another seishi, and Kouji is his friend, and fellow bandit."
"Bandits?" Makiko asked.
"Long story," Hotohori sighed. "Get Tasuki to explain it to you."
"Hotohori's just embarrassed that one of the bandits hit on him," Tamahome laughed.
"You got hit on by a bandit?" Masa smirked.
"He thought I was a woman," Hotohori mumbled, his face red.
"Not that it stopped him when he found out Hotohori wasn't!" Tamahome added, grinning.
"That's what happens when you look like me," Hotohori said, shrugging philosophically.
"So where do we find Tasuki and Kouji?" Makiko asked.
"Mt. Bandit, probably," Tamahome replied.
"Is that far?" Masa asked. "I'm already sore from riding." He made a face at Makiko, who laughed.
"It's fairly far," Nuriko said, looking concerned.
"Maybe Taiitsu-kun could help," Tomite said quietly. "You could ask her."
"Good idea, Tomite." Makiko smiled at him. "So, do I just look into this globe and ask for Taiitsu-kun?" She rolled the globe around in her hands.
"What do you want now?" Taiitsu-kun demanded, startling the girl into dropping the globe and having to make a mad grab for it.
"Wanna take us to Mt. Leikaku?" Makiko asked, smiling sweetly. "Masa won't be able to stand if he has to ride again."
"So make him walk," Taiitsu-kun replied, scowling.
"Great Taiitsu-kun, I'm sure you can find it in your benevolent and great heart to grant us this one small favor. Your astounding beauty makes all who glance upon your face look away for fear they will go blind," Masa said, his voice coaxing.
"That's not 'cause of her beauty," Nuriko muttered.
Masa ignored him. "Your wisdom is renowned everywhere, great Taiitsu-kun. Even in our world, there is a legend of the goddess who creates and rules her world with a kind hand, a finely honed sense of justice and an omniscient eye. Could you please find the time in your busy schedule to convey us to Mt. Leikaku?"
"He's good," Hotohori murmured.
"I know," Makiko replied proudly.
"Well..." Taiitsu-kun mused. "I suppose I could do a small favor for such a charming, handsome and truthful young man. I'll take you to Mt. Leikaku."
"Way to go, Masa!" Makiko laughed.
Suddenly, everyone was lifted into the air on a warm wind. Ashitare appeared in their midst, looking extremely disgruntled. He wiped his bloody face with one huge hand. Nuriko hurriedly backed away from him. Masa looked down at the ground, apparently undisturbed by the fact they were high in the air and gaining height. Makiko blanched and closed her eyes. At Tamahome's inquiring glance, Masa explained his sister was afraid of heights.
The warm wind carried them swiftly, and within ten minutes, a large mountain loomed. Makiko opened her eyes and stared at the mountain, absent-mindedly rubbing her forehead. The tugging was even stronger. Concentrating, she felt three separate strands, instead of the two she was expecting. Even as she wondered at that, the warm wind set them down gently in front of a large grassy field dotted with brilliant red flowers.
Ignoring Tamahome's warning to let him check the area first, she walked through the knee-length grass towards three irregular bumps. The seishi and Masa stopped at the edge of the field, something holding them back. Makiko knelt before the three humps, which revealed themselves to be moss-covered gravestones and closed her eyes. Immediately, the threads loomed, brightly colored threads of light. She grabbed hold of the thread that was mainly dark blue and tugged lightly on it.
It flashed brightly, and Makiko opened her eyes to see a tall young man with a scar across his cheek and dark blue hair staring at her quizzically. He looked around, spotted the seishi and did a double-take. He tried to step forward, but he couldn't step down onto the ground, and as Makiko watched, his outline started to blur. She grabbed for the thread again and held out her hand at the same time. He grasped her hand and seemed to step through a veil. He grinned.
"It's good to see you again, Miaka!"
Makiko tried not to scowl. "I'm not Miaka. I'm her great-great niece, and my name's Makiko."
"Oh. You sure look like her." He scratched his head. "Well, my name's Kouji."
"Pleased to meet you, Kouji. Could you go over there, please?" Makiko waved at the seishi and Masa.
"Sure," Kouji said amiably, jogging over.
Makiko looked at the gravestones again and lightly chewed on her lower lip. If that's Kouji, she mused, one of these must be Tasuki. But who's the other one? She shrugged and grabbed another thread, this one a pale blue mixed with white. The outline of a hat shimmered into the air; Makiko stared at it. She tugged on the thread again, and the hat became solid and dropped in front of her.
"What the...?" Makiko murmured, poking the hat. "A seishi that's a hat?" She was about to pick it up when it suddenly lifted into the air and two legs appeared under it. Makiko's mouth dropped open as the hat traveled upwards, revealing another blue-haired young man with a staff. He had a happy expression on his face.
"Hi, Makiko, no da! I'm Chichiri," he said, grinning.
"Chichiri?" Makiko said, searching through her pocket to find the piece of paper. "Oh, here you are! Hey, how'd you know who I was?"
"Taiitsu-kun told me. No da! You gotta bring back Tasuki now, no da." Chichiri ambled over to the other seishi, leaving Makiko staring at his back.
"Weird," Makiko muttered, then turned back to the gravestones.
The third thread, a bright fiery red, loomed in her mind, glowing fiercely. Makiko barely touched it before there was a burst of flame and a redheaded young man appeared, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He had a tessen in one hand, and he swung it again, bringing another swath of flame. He looked down at Makiko and his face lit up.
"Miaka!" he exclaimed. "You're back!"
Makiko glared at him, her head aching. "My name is Makiko," she said carefully. "Not Miaka. You must be Tasuki."
"You're not Miaka?" He looked disappointed.
"I just said I wasn't," Makiko growled. Her legs had fallen asleep. "Can you help me up?"
"Not another female to deal with," Tasuki muttered, ignoring her. "Girls. They can't do anything." He walked off.
Makiko watched him go in disbelief, then muttered a curse and slowly got to her feet. Her legs tingled, and she had to lean against a gravestone to catch her balance. She walked unsteadily back towards the seishi, watching unbelievingly as Tasuki met up with Kouji and they started to dance in a circle. Masa came forward.
"Hey, Maki-chan, you okay?" he asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine. Although I would like to show a certain seishi exactly what a girl can do." She directed a glare at Tasuki's back.
"There's gotta be one conceited one," Masa said philosophically. "In every bunch."
"I won't ask what you are with your friends," Makiko teased.
"And I won't tell you what you are with anyone," Masa retorted, winking.
"So you're all seishi?" Makiko asked. "There's an awful lot of you, and according to this paper, there's more."
"I'm not a seishi," Kouji said worriedly. "I'm just a bandit."
"You're not a seishi?" Makiko asked, surprised. "But the tugging... This is all too weird."
"Can't expect a girl to understand," Tasuki muttered, walking past.
"See the moron walk," Makiko muttered. "See the moron fall." She stuck out her foot and tripped the redhead, who fell on his face. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry! Being just a girl, I didn't notice I'd put my foot in your way!" There was a burst of laughter from the other seishi. Tasuki's face was red as he got up. Makiko smiled at him sweetly and walked over to chat with Hotohori, Nuriko and Chichiri.
"We should camp here, no da," Chichiri was saying, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark, no da."
"You have your mask back on," Nuriko murmured.
"I know, no da! I gotta take it off." Chichiri reached up and pulled off the mask covering his face. Hotohori, Nuriko, and Makiko stared, albeit for different reasons. Makiko stared because she'd never seen anyone wear a mask like that before.
"Chichiri," Nuriko breathed. "Your scar! It's gone!"
"What? What's wrong, Nuriko?" Makiko demanded.
"Kourin..." Nuriko breathed, his eyes huge. "She-she even looks like her!"
"Well, yes, she should look like herself," Makiko replied dryly. "Do you know her? No, wait, that's stupid. You couldn't have known her."
"In a way, perhaps he does know her," Hotohori murmured. "Kourin is also the name of Nuriko's little sister, who died when he was ten and she was nine."
"Whoa, freaky," Makiko commented. "Nuriko, are you okay?"
"Fine, fine," Nuriko replied absently, still staring at the little girl in Makiko's arms.
Kourin twisted around, giggled and held out her arms to Nuriko. Hesitantly, he stepped forward and took Kourin from Makiko. Kourin smiled angelically and wrapped her small arms around Nuriko's neck, hugging him tightly. For a moment, Nuriko looked as if he might cry, but then he hugged the little girl back and smiled.
"What's that little globe she's holding?" Masa asked curiously. "Can she tell us?"
"It's a mirror-globe," Kourin answered shyly. "Taiitsu-kun gave it to me and told me to bring it to you."
"A mirror-globe?" Hotohori asked. "What does it do?"
"Shows you anything you want to see," Taiitsu-kun's voice came from the softly glowing globe. "Right now, it's my beautiful face."
"No comment," Makiko murmured.
"I heard that, girl! Now then, Kourin is supposed to give you this globe, so you can speak with me any time you wish. It can also show a little bit of the future, which I find quite handy." Taiitsu-kun laughed. "Then Kourin has to come back." The globe flared, then went dark.
Kourin offered the mirror-globe to Makiko, who took it and examined it with interest.
"Kourin, do you remember me?" Nuriko asked, his eyes veiled.
Kourin giggled. "'Course I do! You're the bestest brother in the whole world." Her little face suddenly went dark and she frowned. "But I gotta go back to Taiitsu-kun. She needs me."
"I need you too," Nuriko whispered.
Masa grabbed Makiko's arm and pulled her away, motioning for Tamahome, Hotohori, Hikitsu and Tomite to follow them. They did, leaving Nuriko with his little sister. The siblings talked in low voices for a few minutes, then Kourin threw her arms around Nuriko's neck again and hugged him as tightly as she could. He ruffled her hair gently, wiping his face with his other hand. Kourin began to fade slowly from sight, her arms still around Nuriko. As she vanished, a small girl's voice whispered "I'll see you again, Nuriko, I promise". Nuriko stood with his head down for a moment, then looked up and smiled at the others.
"Hey, I'm okay, honest," he called.
"That's good," Makiko called back, jogging up to him. "Hey, this thing's glowing again!"
The mirror-globe flashed white, then a blurry image appeared in the depths. Makiko squinted at it, then grinned as the image cleared and strengthened. It showed two young men, one with fiery red hair and the other with blue-black, dancing in a circle and laughing. Then the one with bright red hair pulled out an iron fan and showed it to the other, laughing and then swirling it through the air to make dazzling swaths of fire.
"That's Tasuki and Kouji," Tamahome said. "Tasuki's another seishi, and Kouji is his friend, and fellow bandit."
"Bandits?" Makiko asked.
"Long story," Hotohori sighed. "Get Tasuki to explain it to you."
"Hotohori's just embarrassed that one of the bandits hit on him," Tamahome laughed.
"You got hit on by a bandit?" Masa smirked.
"He thought I was a woman," Hotohori mumbled, his face red.
"Not that it stopped him when he found out Hotohori wasn't!" Tamahome added, grinning.
"That's what happens when you look like me," Hotohori said, shrugging philosophically.
"So where do we find Tasuki and Kouji?" Makiko asked.
"Mt. Bandit, probably," Tamahome replied.
"Is that far?" Masa asked. "I'm already sore from riding." He made a face at Makiko, who laughed.
"It's fairly far," Nuriko said, looking concerned.
"Maybe Taiitsu-kun could help," Tomite said quietly. "You could ask her."
"Good idea, Tomite." Makiko smiled at him. "So, do I just look into this globe and ask for Taiitsu-kun?" She rolled the globe around in her hands.
"What do you want now?" Taiitsu-kun demanded, startling the girl into dropping the globe and having to make a mad grab for it.
"Wanna take us to Mt. Leikaku?" Makiko asked, smiling sweetly. "Masa won't be able to stand if he has to ride again."
"So make him walk," Taiitsu-kun replied, scowling.
"Great Taiitsu-kun, I'm sure you can find it in your benevolent and great heart to grant us this one small favor. Your astounding beauty makes all who glance upon your face look away for fear they will go blind," Masa said, his voice coaxing.
"That's not 'cause of her beauty," Nuriko muttered.
Masa ignored him. "Your wisdom is renowned everywhere, great Taiitsu-kun. Even in our world, there is a legend of the goddess who creates and rules her world with a kind hand, a finely honed sense of justice and an omniscient eye. Could you please find the time in your busy schedule to convey us to Mt. Leikaku?"
"He's good," Hotohori murmured.
"I know," Makiko replied proudly.
"Well..." Taiitsu-kun mused. "I suppose I could do a small favor for such a charming, handsome and truthful young man. I'll take you to Mt. Leikaku."
"Way to go, Masa!" Makiko laughed.
Suddenly, everyone was lifted into the air on a warm wind. Ashitare appeared in their midst, looking extremely disgruntled. He wiped his bloody face with one huge hand. Nuriko hurriedly backed away from him. Masa looked down at the ground, apparently undisturbed by the fact they were high in the air and gaining height. Makiko blanched and closed her eyes. At Tamahome's inquiring glance, Masa explained his sister was afraid of heights.
The warm wind carried them swiftly, and within ten minutes, a large mountain loomed. Makiko opened her eyes and stared at the mountain, absent-mindedly rubbing her forehead. The tugging was even stronger. Concentrating, she felt three separate strands, instead of the two she was expecting. Even as she wondered at that, the warm wind set them down gently in front of a large grassy field dotted with brilliant red flowers.
Ignoring Tamahome's warning to let him check the area first, she walked through the knee-length grass towards three irregular bumps. The seishi and Masa stopped at the edge of the field, something holding them back. Makiko knelt before the three humps, which revealed themselves to be moss-covered gravestones and closed her eyes. Immediately, the threads loomed, brightly colored threads of light. She grabbed hold of the thread that was mainly dark blue and tugged lightly on it.
It flashed brightly, and Makiko opened her eyes to see a tall young man with a scar across his cheek and dark blue hair staring at her quizzically. He looked around, spotted the seishi and did a double-take. He tried to step forward, but he couldn't step down onto the ground, and as Makiko watched, his outline started to blur. She grabbed for the thread again and held out her hand at the same time. He grasped her hand and seemed to step through a veil. He grinned.
"It's good to see you again, Miaka!"
Makiko tried not to scowl. "I'm not Miaka. I'm her great-great niece, and my name's Makiko."
"Oh. You sure look like her." He scratched his head. "Well, my name's Kouji."
"Pleased to meet you, Kouji. Could you go over there, please?" Makiko waved at the seishi and Masa.
"Sure," Kouji said amiably, jogging over.
Makiko looked at the gravestones again and lightly chewed on her lower lip. If that's Kouji, she mused, one of these must be Tasuki. But who's the other one? She shrugged and grabbed another thread, this one a pale blue mixed with white. The outline of a hat shimmered into the air; Makiko stared at it. She tugged on the thread again, and the hat became solid and dropped in front of her.
"What the...?" Makiko murmured, poking the hat. "A seishi that's a hat?" She was about to pick it up when it suddenly lifted into the air and two legs appeared under it. Makiko's mouth dropped open as the hat traveled upwards, revealing another blue-haired young man with a staff. He had a happy expression on his face.
"Hi, Makiko, no da! I'm Chichiri," he said, grinning.
"Chichiri?" Makiko said, searching through her pocket to find the piece of paper. "Oh, here you are! Hey, how'd you know who I was?"
"Taiitsu-kun told me. No da! You gotta bring back Tasuki now, no da." Chichiri ambled over to the other seishi, leaving Makiko staring at his back.
"Weird," Makiko muttered, then turned back to the gravestones.
The third thread, a bright fiery red, loomed in her mind, glowing fiercely. Makiko barely touched it before there was a burst of flame and a redheaded young man appeared, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He had a tessen in one hand, and he swung it again, bringing another swath of flame. He looked down at Makiko and his face lit up.
"Miaka!" he exclaimed. "You're back!"
Makiko glared at him, her head aching. "My name is Makiko," she said carefully. "Not Miaka. You must be Tasuki."
"You're not Miaka?" He looked disappointed.
"I just said I wasn't," Makiko growled. Her legs had fallen asleep. "Can you help me up?"
"Not another female to deal with," Tasuki muttered, ignoring her. "Girls. They can't do anything." He walked off.
Makiko watched him go in disbelief, then muttered a curse and slowly got to her feet. Her legs tingled, and she had to lean against a gravestone to catch her balance. She walked unsteadily back towards the seishi, watching unbelievingly as Tasuki met up with Kouji and they started to dance in a circle. Masa came forward.
"Hey, Maki-chan, you okay?" he asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine. Although I would like to show a certain seishi exactly what a girl can do." She directed a glare at Tasuki's back.
"There's gotta be one conceited one," Masa said philosophically. "In every bunch."
"I won't ask what you are with your friends," Makiko teased.
"And I won't tell you what you are with anyone," Masa retorted, winking.
"So you're all seishi?" Makiko asked. "There's an awful lot of you, and according to this paper, there's more."
"I'm not a seishi," Kouji said worriedly. "I'm just a bandit."
"You're not a seishi?" Makiko asked, surprised. "But the tugging... This is all too weird."
"Can't expect a girl to understand," Tasuki muttered, walking past.
"See the moron walk," Makiko muttered. "See the moron fall." She stuck out her foot and tripped the redhead, who fell on his face. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry! Being just a girl, I didn't notice I'd put my foot in your way!" There was a burst of laughter from the other seishi. Tasuki's face was red as he got up. Makiko smiled at him sweetly and walked over to chat with Hotohori, Nuriko and Chichiri.
"We should camp here, no da," Chichiri was saying, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark, no da."
"You have your mask back on," Nuriko murmured.
"I know, no da! I gotta take it off." Chichiri reached up and pulled off the mask covering his face. Hotohori, Nuriko, and Makiko stared, albeit for different reasons. Makiko stared because she'd never seen anyone wear a mask like that before.
"Chichiri," Nuriko breathed. "Your scar! It's gone!"