Just There to Die
Chapter Four: Plight of Yunzie For 'neechan....
(Yes, I skipped over things again, this time I skipped over Miaka's almost rape (thrice) and running away and Tomo, such and such. Everything happened as is with + 2 people, kay? We're at the place where Miaka cooks. Keep your mind open this chapter or you're sure to have a heart attack. '*' these cute little stars mark the places where you'll have a heart attack with out an open mind. BTW, you won't know what the title is all about 'til the end.)
"Chichiri-san?" Rami asked.
"Huh?" Chichiri turned, "Rami! How are you feeling, no da? Were you saying something"
"N-never mind.... It's nothing," Rami blushed slightly and rushed away. 'Agh.... How am I going to tell him...? He'll hate me for it.... Or worse.... I guess this started when I borrowed his power....'
~¤~Flashback~¤~
"Chichiri-san! Quickly! Let me borrow your powers!" Rami cried, panicked.
"Nani?" Chichiri looked at her, asking her a silent question.
"I don't have time to explain!" She scowled and latched one arm around his neck, locking him in place. She hastily tore off his mask and planted a light kiss on his lips. She then let go and began to disappear.
~¤~End Flashback~¤~
She let out a heavy sigh, 'Then one thing added on another... I have deadly secrets... Deadly, deadly secrets... Something terrible, something wonderful....' She looked into the deep blue sky of Konan and asked the heavens, "Why me...?"
"WHY ME?!!"
"Have you touched the Hokkan Shinzaho?" A voice asked. Rami jumped.
"Gah.... Stop going that, Taiitsukun..." Rami but a hand on her chest and sighed in relief.
"Well forgive me for caring!" Taiitsukun scowled.
"What is it, Taiitsukun?" Rami asked.
"Honestly... If you had been listening.... I asked, 'Have you touched the Hokkan Shinzaho?' " Taiitsukun repeated.
"Oh, I did, why?" Rami asked.
"It was a sort of power-up. Have you noticed an increase in your power?" Taiitsukun asked.
"As a matter of fact, I have...." Rami thought back to the lake at Hokkan.
"Make sure to take the power of the Sairou Shinzaho as well," Taiitsukun nodded and disappeared.
"Now back to my problem...." Rami sighed.
"Was that Taiitsukun, no da?"
"Ch-ch-chichiri-san!" Rami jumped again, "Agh, gomen nasai..."
"What's wrong no da?" Rami stifled a heartbroken sob before latching herself onto Chichiri*1.
"Before I tell you anything, gomen nasai and please don't hate me..." Rami sobbed.
"W-what's wrong, no da?" Chichiri stammered as he tried in vain to regain his posture.
"When I got your powers back in Hokkan... I read your mind... I know everything..." Rami whispered.
"Everything? Everything what, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"Kouran, Hikou," Rami murmured. *2 Chichiri pulled himself from her grasp. She fell to her knees, sobbing. Chichiri felt very violated to say the least. Its much like how one of us would act if we found out someone had read our diaries.
"Gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai...." Rami whispered.
"It's okay, no da," Chichiri replied, "You didn't mean to, no da,"
"A-arigatou," Rami collected herself and forced herself to stand.
"Can I ask you something, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"Sure," Rami replied.
"Do you think any less of me now? Do you think I'm a horrible person?" Chichiri asked slightly timidly.
"No... Why would I? I think you're the strongest person I've ever met and I hold you in the highest of respects," (Chichiri Doll: This sounds more like TDP-sama as opposed to Rami. TDP: SHUT UP! You're not supposed to be in the fanfic! BTW, I hope this isn't OCC for Chichiri) Rami replied without hesitation.
"You're not supposed to react that way! I killed my best friend! My fiancee died because of me!" Chichiri cried.
"Iie.... Iie... That's not how I see it. You're human too. Anyone would be furious if they felt betrayed by the very ones the trust most. Look at Yui and Miaka. They were best friends too. Yui is our enemy because Nakago made her think Miaka betrayed her. It's a strong emotion that can overcome any of us. You had a fight with your friend. No big deal, I fight with my friends sometimes too, once I broke someone's arm on purpose. Hey, they were picking on Yunzie. Even then, you forgave him in the blink of an eye to save him. Even I couldn't say that much for myself. You acted like a very noble person. Better than human. This doesn't make me think less of you, rather... Now, I look up to you," Rami grinned, "Literally too,"
"......do you think the others will respond like you?" Chichiri asked at last.
"No," Rami replied flatly, "I think they'll do much better,"
"....well, it's dinnertime, no da? Miaka asked me to call you, that's why I came in the first place, no da?" Chichiri tugged on Rami's sleeve.
"H-hai," She obediently followed Chichiri much like a puppy would.
~¤~
"Wow, Sairou sure is pretty!" Yunzie skipped ahead of Yui and Nakago.
"Oniisama, oneechan? Where are we going?" Yunzie asked as she turned around.
"We're going to get the Shinzaho," Nakago stated simply.
"Oh, how are we going to do that?" Yunzie asked, smiling as she hummed something tuneless.
"Yes, Nakago, how are we going to do that?" Yui asked.
"Suboshi has informed me that Tatara of the Byakko seishi has it. He is in the Shrine of Byakko. We'll just take him and convince him to hand over the Byakko Shinzaho," Nakago shrugged it off.
"Nakago! That's kidnap!" Yui cried.
"Kidnap is bad!" Yunzie stuck out her tongue.
"But Yui-sama, there is no other way to obscure the Shinzaho," Nakago said all-too-calmly.
"....I still don't like to idea of abducting someone,"
~¤~
"Um..." Rami didn't know how to warn the other seishi of Miaka's cooking abilities without hurting her feelings. She decided to improvise, "Ahh!" She cried, clutching her mouth.
"Are you okay?" Nuriko asked.
"I 'ave a wheally bad tootache," Rami moaned, "I tink I'm going to go bwush my teet, 'kay?", "Save somting fo' me 'kay?" Rami scooted off, "Ahem, Nuriko, Hotohori, may I see you two in da hwall?" She motioned for the two to follow her.
"Yes, Rami?" Hotohori asked as they exited the room. Rami held her finger up, telling him to hold on. They then heard the faint clatter of chopsticks hitting the table.
"That," She motioned for them to peek in.
'Do people actually eat this stuff...?'
'This taste is beyond human knowledge, I should analyze this'
'I'm going to have to make a biiiig batch of stomach medicine,'
"You all look like it tastes horrible..." Miaka said in an odd tone.
"Of course it does!" Chiriko realized what he had just said, "I mean, it doesn't!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Tasuki agreed, "I think this soup is just super!"
"Thank you Tasuki, Xi Fang made the soup," Miaka said in the same tone. Tasuki froze.
"This is terrible. I can't eat this garbage," Tamahome burst out suddenly, "Even pigs get better slop than this," Miaka looked devastated.
"Tamahome! Were you born in a barn?! Even if this stuff does taste terrible, you don't-" Tasuki froze again and sweatbeaded. Miaka left the room.
"Give it to me," Tamahome sighed, "Give me all the food Miaka made," He took it all and began to eat it.
Mitsukake's eyes widened, 'No doubt about it, he's gonna die,"
"Tamahome, your face is turning blue," Tasuki pointed out.
"Shut up!" Tamahome snapped.
"Rami!" Nuriko threw his arms around the girl, "You saved my life again!"
"That was awful cold of you," Hotohori scowled.
"I would have warned the other seishi, but I thought Tasuki deserved it, Tamahome really deserved it, Mitsukake needs to know just how strong his stomach medicine needs to be, and Chiriko and Chichiri? I forgot about them..." Rami grinned sheepishly, "Let pretend we were discussing erm.... How to save Yunzie, okay?" Nuriko took the lead.
"Well, I hope Nakago hasn't won her over yet," He said in a loud voice.
"I hope so too, if that happened, we wouldn't have a chance in hell to get her back," Rami replied. Her face fell and she fought back tears, 'Cool it, Rami... We're just acting to stay outta trouble....'
"Rami? Are you alright?" Hotohori asked as they entered the dining room.
"I'm fine...." She shook her head, "Where did Miaka go?"
~¤~
"Tatara-san? Are you okay?" Yunzie asked as she squatted down next to him, "I'm sorry I tricked you. Demo, if i hadn't Oniisama would have punished me,"
"That man is your brother?" Tatara asked.
"Not really, but My O- But Rami betrayed me so I can't forgive her," Yunzie helped Tatara sip some water.
"Your name is Yunzie?" Tatara asked, Yunzie nodded, "Do you even know what 'betrayed' means, child?"
"Not really, but Yui-sama said thats what Rami did and she said that I mustn't forgive her," Yunzie replied.
"Well, what did Rami do to you?" Tatara asked.
"She didn't come and save me when Suboshi and Oniisama were hurting me," Rami pulled back the sleeve of her school uniform revealing scars from Suboshi's Ryuuseisui.
"Well, what if your sister couldn't come help you? What if she had been in danger or something?" Tatara asked.
"I never thought of that...." Yunzie frowned thoughtfully, "You're very nice, Tatara-san. I wish I could let you go, but there are two problems. The first is that I don't wanna get punished again. The second is the fact that I'm too short to reach your chains," Yunzie gave Tatara one of her innocent smiles. Tatara chuckled.
~¤~
"What's wrong?" Nuriko asked Tokaki.
"Tatara's missing!" Subaru cried as they rushed out of the shrine.
"I bet the Seiryuu is here," Tamahome shook his head, "Well? What now? Miaka and Rami aren't here,"
"I can feel a lot of Seiryuu chi coming from that way, no da," Chichiri pointed to another building not too far from the tower.
"Let's go!" Tokaki rushed off, followed by the rest of the seishi.
~¤~
"Thanks for coming with me, Rami," Miaka whispered.
"Yeah, well, I teleported to you as soon as I felt you get worried," Rami smiled.
"Well, that was because I saw Nakago," Miaka shuddered. Rami turned a corner and realized Miaka wasn't following her anymore. Rami peaked around the corner, she saw that Nakago had caught Miaka. Rami shook her head. 'I can't believe she got caught already! I'll have to keep close tabs on her now,'
"Well, she has come all this way.... Why not take her to her long lost best friend?" Nakago's cold voice suggested.
~¤~
"Miaka!" Yunzie snarled. She got up away from Tatara and glared at the Suzaku no Miko, "You were mean to my 'neechan! Oneechan said that you betrayed her,"
'Is she talking about Rami...?'
"She is talking about the Seiryuu no Miko in case you were wondering," Tatara offered.
"Miaka!" Rami teleported into the room, "Gah..." She fell to her knees, "Teleporting takes a lot outta you... How could you have been as careless as to getting caught by- Yunzie!" Rami rushed over to Yunzie.
"Hello Rami," Yunzie snorted. Tatara sent a glare her way. Yunzie mumbled an apology, "I mean Oneesan,"
"Yunzie!" Rami rushed over to her sister and bent down. She threw her arms around Yunzie as tight as she could, "Yunzie, I was so worried about you.... Never do that again!"
"It's not like I had a choice," Yunzie replied.
"Yunzie, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here! It's just, I could never seem to catch you! Nakago was always one step ahead of us the whole way," Rami wept on her little sister's shoulder, "Gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai..."
"Why didn't you come....? Why didn't you save me....?" Yunzie asked in her lost little-girl's voice.
"Save you...? From what?" Rami let go of her sister.
"They hurt me, 'neesan," Yunzie looked away.
"They-" Rami's eyes widened, she pulled up the sleeves of her uniform, "This...?" Rami showed her streak-like scars.
"How did you get them, 'neesan? Suboshi used his Ryuuseisui on me," Yunzie showed Rami her scars. They were identical to Rami's except on Rami's arms, the newer scars were shallower than Yunzie's.
"I don't know... Let me test something out." Rami took a knife out of her pocket and cut a deep wound on the back of her hand. A small line of red appeared on Yunzie's hand. Yunzie's eyes watered.
"Owie! Rami! It hurts!" Yunzie brought the wound to her mouth.
"Thank goodness," Rami sighed, "Well, here's my theory. When we had a strong sister bond, in this world... Whatever I felt, you could feel it too, but as our bond weakened, so did out link. You forgave me enough to call me 'neesan so some of our bond was restored." Rami smiled. Yunzie smiled back.
"Oneesan, Miaka, this is Tatara-san. He is very nice," Miaka's eyes widened. Rami voiced her thoughts for her.
"Tatara of the Byakko seishi? The one who holds the Shinzaho?" Rami asked.
"Yes, I am. Are you the Suzaku no Miko?" Tatara asked.
"No, I'm the Guardian of Suzaku. She's the Miko," Rami pointed at Miaka.
"Miaka?" A clear voice called from the doorway. Yunzie walked over the figure and dropped to one knee.
"Welcome, Yui-sama. The Suzaku no Miko is here. Erm..." Yunzie thought hard for a minute, "I... Am here to.... Protect you incase the Miko tries to harm you," Yunzie grinned, "Yay! I remembered all of what Nakago-sama taught me! Are ya proud of me, 'neechan?"
'N-neechan...? Nakago-s-sama...? Then..... I've lost Yunzie...?'
"Nakago taught you to speak like that?" sigh "I'll have to talk to him about that... Well, Miaka? Didn't you want to talk to me? Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"
"I don't think she can...." Rami replied, "She may have lost her voice or something,"
"Wow, what a let-down, and just when I changed my mind and decided to talk to her today," Yui sighed.
'Yui-chan! Yui-chan! I have to make her understand! I just have to!' Miaka ran over and latched herself around Yui's neck.
"M-miaka...! I can't breathe!" Yui complained. Miaka released her friend with a sheepish grin.
"It's okay, Miaka. We have been friends since kindergarten," Miaka's eye sparkled.
"Oneechan? Didn't you say you would never forgive Miaka?" Yunzie asked. Yui sent her a cold glare. Realization sparked in Yunzie's eyes as she suddenly fell silent.
"Well, you said you would never forgive Rami, so we're even!" Yui lied, she smiled and winked at Yunzie who returned the smile.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do until just now," Yui said as she released Tatara from his chains. Tatara rubbed his sore wrists, coughing weakly. Yunzie rushed over to Tatara.
"Tatara-san! Are you okie?" She asked, brushing hair out of his eyes.
"I'm fine," He replied weakly.
"Let's get going,"
~¤~
Tatara didn't look too well. His steps were small and he stumbled half of the time.
"Tatara-san!" Yunzie cried, worried.
"Here, do you need to rest?" Yui let Tatara rest against a wall, "You know what? I think you should let Miaka have the Shinzaho right now," Miaka quickly checked to see if Yui had a fever.
"Do you think I should let you have the Shinzaho?" Tatara asked Miaka, looking doubtful. Miaka nodded with a small, cat-like 'mew'. Tatara, though reluctantly, reached up and pulled out a small, white seed from his hair. (I think it was his ear, but I put hair because it makes me think of Kurama, if you don't know who Kurama is, don't ask.) Everyone else looked confused. Tatara focused his chi on the seed and it sprouted. It grew rapidly and soon formed a bud. The bud burst into full bloom revealing a hand-mirror of some sort. Rami took it from Tatara.
"Wow, this is beautiful," She fingered the delicate design carved on the backside.
"It was Suzano's, she had it with her during the summoning of Byakko," Tatara replied. Rami's eyes suddenly went blank. Her grip on the Shinzaho loosened and she dropped it. Tatara quickly snatched it before it hit the ground. Miaka walked over to Rami, she timidly put her hand on Rami's shoulder. As soon as her hand rested on Rami's shoulder, her eyes went blank too. Rami began to speak in a low, monotone.
"Yui-chan, I'm so happy you forgave me. Nakago is a lying bastard. He is, was only using you. Please, Yui-chan. Come back with me. We can both go to Jonan together. Oh Yui-chan, I-" Miaka's eyes suddenly focused again. Rami moaned softly as her eyes closed and she collapsed.
"Oh, gosh! Here," Yui helped Miaka pull Rami's limp form against the wall. Tatara allowed her to lean on him, seeing she was not conscious to sit up. Her breaths were shallow and very weak, "What happened to her?" Miaka shrugged.
"Will she be alright?" Yunzie asked.
"Here, I'll go get her some water, alright?" Yui got up, "Yunzie, watch over them,"
"Hai, oneechan!" Yunzie smiled again as Yui rushed off to fetch water.
~¤~
Yui soon returned with a bowl of water. She tripped and spilled water all over Miaka.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miaka!" He handed Miaka a napkin, "Here, dry yourself off. I'll hold that for you," Yui took the Shinzaho from Miaka who was busy drying herself.
"Yui-sama, don't you think all of us will catch attention if we're crowding the hall?" Yunzie asked. She silently apologized to her sister for what they were about to do.
"Ah, of course, Yunzie? Help Tatara up. I'll carry Rami." Yunzie nodded and helped Tatara to his feet. The five made their way down the hall slowly.
"Here you go, Tatara-san," Yunzie led him into a small storage room.
"You'll be safe here. I'll be right back, alright?" It wasn't until they closed the door behind Miaka did they realize something was wrong. Miaka ran to the door and began pounding. It was then Rami began to stir.
"What happened?" Rami asked as she picked herself up.
"Are you all right?" Tatara asked.
"I'm fine, actually, I've never felt better!" Rami replied.
"Gomen nasai," Yunzie sighed, "I tricked you again, Tatara-san,"
"You knew about this?" Tatara asked.
"Yes... Nakago-sama had told Oneechan that we could get the Shinzaho real easy if we just tricked Miaka-san," Yunzie hung her head in shame.
"Let's get outta here first, and I'll punish you later. Come'on," Rami smirked smugly. Yunzie looked up, eyes wide, knowing she had been forgiven so easily.
"Gomen nasai, Oneechan! Y-you forgave me real quick and I was mad at you so long.... 'Neechan!" Tears flowed out of Yunzie's eyes as she ran to her sister, her eyes were half-closed. She gave Rami a big hug as she sobbed with joy and relief.
"I'll get us out of here. As weak as I have become, I can still do that much," Tatara began to reach for a seed when Rami stopped him.
"Save your strength, let me," Rami rushed at the door and kicked it. Nothing happened for a moment, then two long cracks appeared, one on each door. Smaller cracks branched out until both doors crumbled. Tatara, Miaka, and Yunzie stared at her with their jaws hanging open, "Well? Let's go! Time is wasting!"
"Rami...? How did you do that?" Miaka asked.
"I kicked it dead center, where Chiriko said doors were weakest. I guess his brain is useful!" Rami grinned.
"You all stay here, I will retrieve the Shinzaho," Tatara ran off with these words. Miaka, Yunzie, and Rami glanced at each other an nodded. Rami let Yunzie climb on her back before they sprinted down that hall after Tatara. Halfway there they ran into Tamahome and Tasuki.
~¤~
"Hi, I'm Yunzie, Rami's little sister. I don't know if I'm still the Guardian of Seiryuu though," Yunzie smiled timidly at Chiriko. Chiriko nodded.
"I'm Chiriko of the Suzaku shichi seishi, but you can call me Doukun," Chiriko bowed slightly to Yunzie.
"How old are you, D-doukun?" Yunzie asked.
"Me? I'm thirteen, what about you?" Chiriko asked.
"I'm eight, my birthday was yesterday, but I don't think anyone has noticed," Yunzie glanced at Chiriko from an odd angle, "Wow, you look really young for thirteen!"
"I know," Chiriko laughed with Yunzie. They glanced over at the adults. They were busy. Miaka and Tamahome were kissing as Tasuki flipped.
"Doukun?" Yunzie asked.
"Yes?" Chiriko looked back at her and was surprised to find that she looked on the verge of tears.
"Have you ever felt... Useless?" Yunzie asked.
"Well...." Chiriko sighed, "All the time. I never do anything to help... I feel as if I am just a burden at times,"
"Same here, though I feel more like I haven't got a clue on what goes on. Like, I was so easily fooled by Nakago... I...." Yunzie's bottom lip quivered as she broke down into sobs. Yunzie threw her arms around the boy she had met no more than ten minutes ago. Chiriko looked stunned for a moment before wrapping his arms around Yunzie and patting her back soothingly. They didn't seem to notice the deathglare that Rami was giving Chiriko.
~¤~
"Yunzie, what are you doing?" Yui asked as they caught up with Tatara and she.
"I don't wanna be the Guardian of Seiryuu anymore! 'Neechan still loves me! She always did! Yui, Miaka's still your friend, isn't she? Ne? Isn't she?!" Yunzie looked at Yui with her hurt eyes, "Nakago's been tricking both of us! H-" Yunzie cut off as Nakago entered the room.
"Yunzie, Yui-sama, let's go," He said in his usual cold voice.
"Iie! Iie! I don't wanna help you anymore!" Yunzie shook her head. Chiriko stood protectively before Yunzie.
"You won't take her, Nakago!" Chiriko's voice was dripping with fury.
"You're not worth my time," Nakago turned. A sliver of silver (No pun intended) flew past Chiriko. Chiriko cried out in pain and fell to his knees. A tiny dart had skimmed his right arm.
"Doukun! Are you okay?" Yunzie asked.
"D-daijoubu," Chiriko nodded.
"Tatara!" Tokaki cried. Yunzie and Chiriko's attention focused on Tatara again.
"Tatara!" Subaru echoed.
"Tatara-san!" Yunzie ran to his side, "Tatara-san..." Something sparked in the back of Yunzie's mind. She head snapped over to the form of Miboshi. Miboshi lifted his head and smirked, glaring at Chiriko.
"IIE!!!!" Yunzie cried as she ran back to Chiriko. Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions.
"Iie! Miboshi! Take me instead! Onegai, take me!" Yunzie stepped in Miboshi's path. She cried out as Miboshi entered and took over her.
"Yunzie?" Rami asked.
"I am Miboshi of the Seiryuu shichi seishi. What a traitorous child. No matter, I claim with body as my own,"
Ack, this was long. Nine pages. Longest chapter I've ever written. Yes, I am pairing up Chiriko with Yunzie. I know, there is a huge age gap. Chiriko just is never in and love stories. If you don't like this pairing, you'll love me later. If you like this pairing... I better get to building a bomb shelter right now. Remember the heart attack parts? I just had to get that out. I hope you didn't think Rami was in love with Chichiri. ^-^ I know this took a long time to get out, but I was on vacation in Cedar Point. Let me tell you, the Millenium Force... Whoa. Yeah. The Raptor.... *shudders* The Magnum? (sp?) Ouch. The Mantis? See birds. The Power Tower? Don't look down. The Mean Streak? ROCKIN! The Gemini is AWSOME! The Blue Streak isn't as good as the Mean streak. I'm shuting up now. ~TDP