Chapter 3: Trade Off

Maemi walked along the hallways of the palace, her schoolbag slung over her shoulder.
It was late, and Chichiri had told her to get some sleep. They were going to Taiiskun's mountain tomorrow to see if she could help them find Chiyo. Maemi sighed. She was far too worried to sleep. If anything had happened to Chiyo while she was here living it up in the palace, she'd never forgive herself. She surveyed the dark, silent hallway again, and her attention was caught by a slight glimmer of light from behind a tapestry she'd thought was purely ornamental, and a very soft sound, like a baby's laughter. Curious, she crept closer, trying her best to be silent. She could hear two voices: one a man's, and one a woman's. Maemi had a brief thought that she shouldn't be spying like this, but she was thankful for anything that got her mind off Chiyo for a moment. She slipped behind the large tapestry, careful not to disturb it, and tiptoed along a very elegant small room, more like a closet, actually. The floors were white marble with a small woven rug, and the walls were a pale blue with paintings of ladies and peacocks in lush gardens and the like. There was no furniture, and the entrance looked as if there had once been a door, but it had been removed. The soft tones of this place were a sharp contrast to the regal red and gold of the rest of the palace. The strangest part, though, was there were no lamps, yet the place was aglow with light. There were also no people. Was the palace haunted? Maemi felt her eyes grow wide, and her heart beat fast. A real live haunted palace! She wished Chiyo were here to share this discovery! There was a soft rift of laughter, and Maemi realized that the ghosts were behind another curtain; this little room was merely an entranceway.
Suddenly, a tense silence fell over the two rooms, as if the ghosts anticipated being caught. Maemi crept closer and was about to slip behind the curtain when the wall behind her slid open. Maemi heard soft steps approaching, and she spun around, ready to face her shadowy ghost/attacker.
"M… Maemi?" Hotohori asked, his brows coming together in perplexity as the light fell on him. He had his sword in hand and looked ready to strike.
"Your… Majesty?" Maemi asked, equally confused. Hotohori looked to be the exact opposite of his usual self. His hair was casually pulled back, he was in his bare feet, and he wore a simple cream robe tied with a brown belt. He quickly re-sheathed his sword and took her arm, leading her into the soft warmth and lamplight of the hidden room. "What are you doing here?" He asked, not angry or annoyed, merely curious. He hit a lever and the wall slid back into place.
"I was out wandering and I saw some light behind the tapestry. I was curious, and--"
"Horichan? What is it? Who is that?" A petite young woman asked, perched in a chair by a window which had been bricked and plastered over. A toddler, who was maybe one year old, stood unsteadily on her knees, a huge grin on his adorable face as he gripped his mother's bandaged hands. The woman was amazingly, unbelievably beautiful. Also wearing a simple robe (although hers was fuscia and embroidered with peacocks), her rounded face was delicate and her flawless skin was lightly tanned. Her long, jet-black hair hung in a braid over her shoulder that nearly touched the ground, and her large, almond-shaped, amber-colored eyes regarded Maemi half-curiously, half-suspiciously. Golden earrings hung from her ears, a string of jade beads was around her neck, and a lacy gold comb was tucked into one side of her abundant tresses.
"It's nothing to worry about, Miyoko-chan. This is Maemi, one of the girls I was telling you about. She was out exploring and stumbled in on us,"
Maemi couldn't believe what she was hearing. This couldn't be--could it?
She looked at the little boy again, and realized he did indeed look exactly like Hotohori, right down to his long eyelashes and baby nose. He let out a cheerful bubble of laughter, and Hotohori lifted him, grinning proudly.
"Y-you're...and that's..." Maemi stuttered, beginning to feel a little faint.
She'd stumbled in on Miyoko and Kaemon's secret room! She was in the very midst of The Secret Story, her all time favorite Four Gods tale!
"I know you can keep this little secret," Hotohori said, smiling and cuddling his son a little closer.
Maemi nodded "yes" rather dumbly.
"You wouldn't reveal us, would you?" Miyoko asked, looking a bit nervous for a moment.
"No, no…I'd never… do… that…" Maemi said softly, still in shock.
Miyoko chuckled and stood, and Maemi realized she was pregnant...again...
"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Hotohori said jovially, and Maemi sank numbly into a nearby chair. "I just can't believe it! First The Universe of the Four Gods, now this!" she murmured.
"Well, from what I've heard, you've had a rough day, Lady Maemi. Almost as rough as mine. Would you like some tea?" Miyoko asked; walking towards a table with a tea service set out as Hotohori sat down with Kaemon on his lap. Maemi absently nodded her assent. "Please...and can you spike it with something?"
Miyoko and Hotohori were both laughing when a piercing scream shattered the peace of the palace. Miyoko started and dropped her teapot, which shattered into a million pieces on the hard floor. Hotohori leapt to his feet, gently pushing Kaemon into Maemi's arms, grabbing his sword and rushing off.
"What the--?" Miyoko started, then sighed, shaking her head. "Well, it's good to know some things never change around here. I always know I'm in Hotohori's palace when screams break out at odd hours of the night," she sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward and bending awkwardly to gather the shattered porcelain.
"Do you think it's serious?" Maemi asked, standing also. "Here, you take Kaemon, let me get that."
Miyoko nodded and stood, then stopped.
"How did you know--"?
"Ag! I give up!" Maemi shrieked, and grabbed her school bag. After rummaging for a few minutes, she pulled out three Fushigi Yuugi mangas and her battered copy of Secret Story. Secret Story was actually a fanfic done by some American chick ages ago, but Maemi and Chiyo had come across the web page during Computer Apps. IV and loved the story. Now they each had a printed copy in matching three-ring binders, and treated it as if it was part of Yu Watase's actual series. Maemi handed the books to Miyoko, who set Kaemon on the bed and sat down to look at them. "This is how I know so much about all you guys," she explained, lovingly smoothing a creased cover.
"Why--this is about Horichan!" Miyoko cried, leafing through a manga. She wrinkled her nose. "These drawings don't do him justice, though. And what's that little--oh, it's only Miaka. What a twit!" she said, and Maemi giggled, because she'd been thinking the same thing.
Then she opened the binder. "I can't read this, but--this is about...me?" Miyoko gasped, flipping through the pages and looking at all the pictures. "Good Gods, this is incredible! Are you a sorceress or something?" Miyoko burst into hysterical giggling before Maemi could answer. "Hey, look at Tashi! What a dork! Did you write this yourself?"
Maemi was just about to try to answer her again when Hotohori rushed back into the room, looking extremely distressed. "Miyoko! Take Kaemon and go to my chambers. Stay there until I come for you. Maemi! Come with me!" His words were so urgent that both Miyoko and Maemi leapt to their feet. Miyoko grabbed her son and rushed off as she was told. Maemi barely had time to grab her books and stuff them in her bag as Hotohori grabbed her upper arm and all but dragged her away.
"What's going on?" She demanded angrily.
"It's Tasuki. He's --"
"TASUKI!? WHAT HAPPENED TO TASUKI!?" Maemi cried, throwing the shocked emperor against a wall and putting a death grip on his throat. Hotohori couldn't really speak to well, so he pointed to an open doorway with the hand that wasn't trying to keep his air supply going. Maemi dropped him and flew into the room. Tasuki lay on the floor, pale and gasping, drenched with sweat. He had a horrible cough and was shivering.
"Don't go near him, Lady Maemi! It's the plague!" A maidservant called, cowering against a wall.
"The HELL I won't!" Maemi bellowed furiously, going to her fallen friend and cradling his head off the floor and into her lap.
"Oh, Tasuki! What's wrong?" she asked, fear gripping her heart in a way it never had before as her eyes filled with tears. She didn't have time to wonder about it now. Tasuki looked up at her with feverish eyes. And Maemi could see the fear in them. "I'm dying, you nut!" He managed to choke out before practically coughing up a lung. Maemi's blue-green eyes grew wide with fear, and then narrowed in determination.
"The hell you are!" Maemi seethed almost silently, hugging him a little closer. If Maemi could do anything, she could fix things. It had always been a talent-toaster ovens, radios, clocks, curling irons, sticky situations, her moped, Chiyo's roller blades- you name it. Maemi tried to calm herself lest hysteria get the better of her. If she could fix a curling iron, she could fix Tasuki's illness. Maemi took a few more deep breaths and fought off her tears. Then she took charge.
"You! Put him in a night robe and get him in a bed! You! Yeah, you, hiding in the corner! Boil water! You, get me wet cloths and a bowl of cold water, and you...uh, do something…um, useful!" She ordered like a drill sergeant, barking her last order at Hotohori.
Maemi found herself once more wishing that Chiyo were here. Chiyo's mom was a nurse, and she'd taught Chiyo everything she knew about medicine. And now Maemi had a new worry. She couldn't just leave Tasuki here like this, but she had to go find Chiyo! Maemi sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Now what the heck was she supposed to do?



Just as that Star`kev character had said, Chiyo could soon see the outskirts of Shou Su Lang village. She couldn't get rid of the feeling she was being followed, but every time she turned around, no one was there. Each time she shook off the feeling and continued on. There was something familiar about the name of the village, but Chiyo couldn't quite put her finger on it. She sighed and continued on her way, glancing behind her every so often, but still seeing no other signs of life. The village appeared to be abandoned.
Upon further inspection, Chiyo discovered that though not abandoned, Shou Su Lang was not the fairytale village she'd expected. In fact, the place was a dump. There were crumbing old buildings and quite a few taverns. The only women about appeared to be prostitutes, and the men didn't look all too promising, either. The only decent building in town was a large, well kept mansion-like structure surrounded by a high stone wall. Chiyo rang the bell repeatedly, but all she got in reply was a man's gruff voice telling her the mistress of the house was away. Chiyo sighed. How was she ever going to find Maemi? If only she could get to Eiyo, and to the seishi. Surely they could help…hell; Chiyo would even go to Taiiskun on her hands and knees if she had to. After fifteen carefully measured minutes of feeling sorry for herself near the front gate of the mansion, she sighed, stood, and wandered on her way. It was getting dark. Chiyo had no money, and she did not want to spend the night on the streets of this town!
"Hello child. Are you lost, pretty one?" A voice asked. Chiyo felt the tiny hairs rise on her neck as she turned slightly to face the man who now stood behind her.
"N-no, I'm not! I am ah--a messenger from the Imperial City. I've come to give an urgent message to the mistress of this house,"
"I don't believe you, girl,"
"Why ever not?" Chiyo quipped back innocently.
"Because Lady Miyoko left for the Imperial City over a week ago,"
"Well, she never arrived and I was sent here to find her," Chiyo fibbed without missing a beat.
"By her husband?"
Chiyo froze. How should she play this one? How did she know if this Miyoko woman had a husband or not? If she answered yes, and was wrong, things could get…. well, bad, to say the least. The only Miyoko Chiyo could think of was Hotohori's best friend and sort-of lover from Secret Story…even though "nothing" had happened…but this was not the time to think on that!
"No, good sir. By her brother," Chiyo announced confidently, hoping to sound official.
The man leaned heavily on his cane and gave her a long studied look.
"She has no brother,"
"Yes she does! Lady Keisha Loki does so have a brother!" Chiyo cried, taking a gamble and hoping she was dealing with the same Miyoko...how many could there be in ancient China? "Miyoko" was a Japanese name meaning "beautiful child." Were there even Japanese people in The Universe of the Four Gods? Chiyo had no idea.
"Who, then?" The man challenged.
"Lord Tadashi Suki, sir,"
The man's good eye widened and he stared at her in shock.
"T-Tadashi Suki!? You've met Tadashi Suki and lived to tell about it!?"
Well, she was obviously dealing with the right Miyoko….
Chiyo frowned in confusion. What could be so bad about Tadashi? The boy Miyoko had described may have been a tad antisocial, but jeez, losing your mother and all your friends to a big rock could do that to a person!
"He could've followed you! He could be angry and vengeful! We're all going to die!" The man cried, hobbling down the street in a blind panic. Chiyo sighed and rolled her eyes. It was now dark, and she had no place to stay. She hopped up on one of the stone lions guarding the gate, sat and crossed her ankles, and put her chin in her hand. If this really were Miyoko's house, someone inside would know when she was getting back! And when she came back, Chiyo was sure she'd help her get to the palace! Also, if she had Miyoko on her side, getting Hotohori's help would be a sure thing!
Chiyo smiled and congratulated herself. Usually Maemi was the intelligent sleuth-like one, but for once, Chiyo had used her very own brainpower to get out of her own scrape! She leapt off the lion and turned, bowing to the locked gate of the Loki residence. I'm so gonna find Maemi! She thought joyously.
"You! Cutie pie nitwit bowing to a door!" a new male voice called. Chiyo gritted her teeth as she heard laughter, catcalls and wolf-whistles loom up behind her. She sighed. What was it with this place and delinquents and strange old men!? They were everywhere! Like…like…rabbits or something!
"Um...messenger from the palace?" She ventured timidly.
"Um, slavers who don't care?" The man shot back in a mockingly girly voice.
"Damn," Chiyo cursed as she dropped her hands to her sides. Well, this was it, so much for her brilliant plan. She couldn't run because she was surrounded, and she knew better than to fight. She knew it was a lost cause, but she couldn't help but let out an angry shriek as the leader hoisted her up and slung her roughly over his shoulder.
Then about a thousand things happened at once.
First, the locked gate flew open, wood splintering everywhere as it slammed into the stone walls. Then, a blur of black and red sped past her at the same time a different blur of blue and gold dropped from above. Chiyo was dumped unceremoniously to the ground and the wind was knocked out of her. Next, the sounds of a violent fight erupted, and then finally there was a tense silence.
"Are you alright, Lady Chiyo?" Asked a voice that was neither deep nor high, but not exactly in the middle.
"S-Star`kev?" Chiyo ventured, looking up.
"Yes. It's me. You are unhurt?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," She said, slightly confused. Chiyo finally looked up and beheld an amazing sight.
Star`kev was indeed there, and suddenly Chiyo realized her "I'm being watched" sense had been right; the solemn beast-slayer had been following her. Chiyo didn't mind that at all. In fact, she was touched by this guy's obvious kindness. The thing that bugged Chiyo was Star`kev stood exactly opposite a different man. This wouldn't have been so bad, except this man had a long silver katana out, and he did not look happy. He was a little taller than Star`kev, and definitely slimmer, almost scrawny, actually. He had smooth black hair that was tied back from his rather handsome face, and sharp black eyes that never wavered from Star'kev for a moment. He wore a simple pants-and-coat outfit all in black with a red sash, and had a black scabbard on a black sash over his back. Chiyo was quick to realize that the only thing keeping this new gentleman's katana from slicing through Star`kev, was the fact that he had whipped his staff up just in the nick of time. The situation did not look good, and Chiyo knew the first to move would probably die. "Star`kev! Be careful!" Chiyo gasped. "Hey! You! Katana-man! Leave Star`kev alone!" She exclaimed angrily, trying to dust off her torn skirt as she awkwardly stood.
"What do you know about Miyoko?" The man shot back, not even straining, his eyes never leaving Star`kev for an instant; and suddenly it all made sense.
"You're Tadashi Suki!?" Chiyo gasped in reverent awe, causing the man to start slightly and look sharply at her. This gave Star`kev the opportunity he needed to push his opponent down and away. Unfortunately, Tadashi had recovered quickly from his shock and blocked, causing Star`kev to flip over his head. Chiyo could only make out vague outlines of forms in the dust cloud that followed, but when it eventually cleared, they were back in a similar position as they were before. Only this time, Tadashi had Star`kev pinned to the ground. Chiyo sighed.
"All right, now cut that out! You two have made your point! Your both big tough manly men, and I'm the weak little girl. Now be civil so we can chat? Please?" She said in a slightly disgusted tone, putting her hands on her hips. Both men stared at her in mild shock, but neither moved.
"Do I have to drag you off of him!?" She asked. Tadashi gave her a look of mild amusement and slowly stood. Then he reached down, grabbed Star`kev by the wrist, and pulled him easily up. The two men glared at each other a bit, but eventually focused their attention on the short, slightly spazzy blonde before them.
"What is it with me and the short angry girls?" Tadashi demanded, looking sky-ward before snapping back to a near attention-like pose.
"Now, what do you know about Miyoko?" She asked.
"Only that she lives here, and I needed to save my hide!" Chiyo cried defensively.
"How did you know she lives here!?"
"Some raspy old servant said she was away when I came to the door,"
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
"As far as I know, which isn't far, Miyoko is off in Eiyo having a hell of a time,"
Tadashi looked meditative for a moment, then nodded.
"Good. Okay. Now why are you looking for her?"
Chiyo sighed. "I'm getting so sick of reciting this…" she muttered.
"She's from another world and was separated from her friend whom she's very worried about. She feels that if she can get to the Emperor's palace and Priestess of Suzaku, her celestial warriors can help her find her friend," Star`kev filled in quietly.
"What he said," Chiyo finished, pointing a thumb at Star`kev appreciatively.
"And you feel Miyoko can help you do this?" Tadashi asked after an unreadable sigh. Chiyo couldn't tell if he was sad, worried, suspicious, or just missing Miyoko a lot.
"Unless I miss my mark, she has the Emperor…well, in the palm of her hand, to put it bluntly."
Tadashi kinda glared. "Well, yeah. She does. Why she'd want him in the palm of her hand, I don't know, but-"
"So do you think she'd help me?" Chiyo interrupted, not wanting to get Tadashi on a Hotohori-bashing spree.
"Probably. She's in the mood for a good adventure,"
"Adventure?" Chiyo asked, feeling alarmed. Of course, if the Secret Story was any clue, everything Miyoko did was an adventure. Chiyo sighed.
"My thoughts exactly. She's in no condition to be out raising hel-"
"Condition?" Chiyo interrupted again, raising a brow. This time Tadashi broke into a huge grin.
"Yeah, she's expecting another baby,"
"Then she's married now?"
"Unfortunately,"
Chiyo sighed. Great. All she had going for her was a silent martial artist with a staff and a temperamental warrior-god who hated each other, a pregnant princess with a toddler in tow, and her own torn-skirted self.
"So you think she'll help?"
"I don't see why not. So I guess I'll have to take you to that city,"
"It would be nice,"
"It's dark. There's no use starting tonight. You two can stay here tonight…I suppose…" Tadashi offered, glaring at Star`kev a bit.
"Thank you," Chiyo answered, grabbing Star`kev's arm and following Tadashi inside before he changed his mind.
Chiyo was relieved to discover that there were several servants about. She wasn't sure she wanted to spend the night alone in a house with two violent men she barely knew. After they had eaten and Star`kev had collapsed into sleep on a bed in a guest room, Chiyo crept around the house until she found Tadashi alone in the parlor, staring into the fire.
"So we're leaving tomorrow?" She asked, knowing full well he knew she was in the room.
"Sure. Why not?" He replied slightly sarcastically.
Chiyo decided that it was going to be a challenge to get Tadashi to warm up to her.
"Do you have anything I can change into?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Me, personally?" He asked, looking a bit surprised in spite of himself.
"Yeah, Tadashi, you and all the clothing I'm sure you own,"
He stuck his tongue out at her and she stuck hers out right back at him. Then he smiled. Actually smiled, not a grin or an evil smile or anything like that. Chiyo took it as a good sign.
"Yeah, you can have some of Little Girl's clothes. I doubt she'll care or notice, she has so much. Damn royalty always-"
"That's great! Shall we?" Chiyo cut in again, skipping out of the room.
Later that night, as she lay in bed in yet another guest room, Chiyo rolled over and stared out the window(which Tadashi had pried open for her). She missed Maemi. It just wasn't the same without having her there to swap insults and jokes with. Maemi would've given Tadashi a verbal battle he'd never forget!
All in all Chiyo decided she wasn't too bad off. She instinctively knew somehow that Star`kev was a nice guy, and he'd obviously taken her under his wing. It even seemed a bit suspicious that he'd fallen asleep so fast. Tadashi was another story. Chiyo doubted he'd hurt her or anything, but it was obvious he wasn't about to trust Star`kev. She knew that Star`kev wasn't about to leave her with him, ether. So pretty much her biggest problem-next to finding Maemi, that was- was figuring out how to travel without the Klevitz bothers killing each other.
Speaking of the Klevitz brothers…
Chiyo slipped out of bed and crept to the door, peeking out. Just as she had suspected, Star`kev was camped out in front of her door, seemingly sound asleep. Chiyo laughed.
"'Night, Star`kev," she said between giggles.
"Good night, Lady Chiyo,"
Then she went to her window.
"Good Night, Tadashi," she called out.
"Sleep well," came the reply from just outside. Chiyo laughed again, and drifted off, thinking of the journey that lay ahead, and hoping Maemi was all right.


"THEY'RE IN SHOU SU LANG!" Chichiri cried, bursting in the door of the room where Maemi sat at the sleeping Tasuki's bedside. "No da," he added a little more quietly after he caught Maemi's death glare. She motioned him outside silently, then joined him, shutting the door behind her.
"Now, what did you say? Who's where?"
"Lady Chiyo, no da. She was seen in Shou Su Lang village. At the Loki residence, with two young men, no da,"
"Young men? Chiyo's with young men!?" Maemi cried. "What kind of young men? Who are they? Oh, good God! Leave it to Chiyo to get captured by not one, but two guys! This is… this is… HOTOHORI!"
She yelled, clenching her fists at her side and stomping her foot.
"She's not captured, no da," Chichiri said a bit sulkily.
"He's in council right now, Maemi. What is it?" Miyoko asked, coming around the corner with Kaemon asleep on her shoulder.
"Chichiri found Chiyo in a village called Shou Su Lang in a house with two young men and I need to know where that village is!" Maemi said in a rush, still slightly infuriated.
"Shou Su Lang? What house? Are the two young men known?" Miyoko asked, looking oddly at Chichiri.
"Only one for certain. His name is Star`kev, and he is a mage of sorts. No one knows much about him, but he shows up from time to time. The other one…well, there are rumors, no da," Chichiri said a bit uncomfortably, shifting his weight and making his monk's staff jangle.
"Rumors?" Miyoko asked with a raised eyebrow, undaunted.
"Well…Lady Miyoko, they say that he's Tadashi Suki, that famous guardian who-"
Poor Chichiri was interrupted by Maemi's angry squawk and Miyoko's laughter.
"Of course, it couldn't really be Tadashi Suki, no da," Chichiri added, rubbing Maemi's arm comfortingly.
"It very well could be!" Miyoko immediately contradicted. "And if it is, our troubles are over,"
"Why is that?" Chichiri and Maemi asked at once, Chichiri adding a "no da" at the end.
"Shou Su Lang is my village. If she is with Tashi, she's in my house. As for this Star`kev character, I have no idea what that's all about. But we can leave at once. I'll dispatch a messenger to tell Tashi to keep Lady Chiyo there,"
"But Tasuki…" Maemi started. "I-we can't just leave him here all alone!"
"Then put me in a cart and $%^&* take me with you!" Came a weak, pained voice through the door.
"You heard the man. Let's go," Miyoko said, turning swiftly and heading for what Maemi guessed to be Hotohori's council room.
"Oh, Gods, this is not good. Not good at all! He shouldn't be traveling! Can't we just have Tadashi bring Chiyo here? This is not good…"



"How do women function in this stuff!?" Chiyo demanded for about the eighth time, stumbling down the road in her new apparel. Tadashi and Star`kev merely smiled, and then, each noticing that the other was also smiling, glared at each other and turned their heads the other way.
Chiyo sighed. They had only been on the road for three days. Once they passed a very official looking imperial messenger, but he was rude and Tadashi attempted to kill him, and that was it.
"Can we stop soon?" She asked for the fifth time.
"Not yet," Tadashi said calmly, eyes ahead steady. He was pretty handsome in a strange, dangerous way. And charming, too; but mostly when he was trying not to be. Chiyo decided she could have a crush on him if he wasn't so damn irritating. And way too old for her.
Star'kev wasn't crush material, either. Oh, sure, he was cute in a very mysterious, somber warrior sort of way, but he was so... well, quiet. Chiyo sighed. Just once in her life, she'd love to be in the company of a completely and totally crush-material guy... who was her age and datable, too! But just now she had to find Maemi. Guys could wait forever as far as she was concerned about that. Gods, she hoped that Memi was safe! Maybe she was back at the palace. Maybe she was with Tasuki! Chiyo smiled a bit as she remembered the way he looked at her best friend. And Maemi had always favored Tasuki... maybe a good match was in order! She smiled again. Maemi deserved a guy in her life. There were so many other strange things the girl had to deal with! she deserved at least that much!
It was starting to get dark, but Chiyo hadn't noticed because she was now so absorbed in thinking of Maemi and Tasuki... mostly of Maemi, though. The lengthening shadows reminded her that her friend could still be out there somewhere, lost, alone, and at the mercy of an unknown and unfriendly world...
"Lady Chiyo, we're stopping," Star'kev said almost inaudibly.
Chiyo glanced up and realized the sky was dark. Then she looked around at the grassy fields on either side of the street.
"Stopping where?" She questioned, confused. There wasn't a tree in sight, let alone an inn!
And at that exact moment, yet another thousand things all happened at once.
First, Tadashi gave a loud cry of warning. Next, he slid to the ground clinging to his side and breathing very heavily. Star`kev jumped to action at the first sound of Tadashi's voice, but the attackers were anticipating that and slammed him over the head with what looked an awful lot like a 2x4, and down he went.
Chiyo stood in the center of the road with her two unconcious escorts lying on either side of her.
She froze, eyes wide as half a dozen large shapes loomed out of the twilight shadows. Then she shrieked as one of the shapes made a fast move and struck her to the ground, where she landed on her face, hard.
"Leave her alone!" A very strong, very masculine, very sexy voice said sternly from somehwere in the back. Chiyo tried to focus, but she was too dizzy and loosing conciousness fast. "Never strike a woman," the sexy voice finished a little more gently and she was gathered into strong arms. Then she fainted.

It was daylight when Maemi awoke. She'd been having troubling dreams all night, and most of them included Chiyo and Tasuki, who was lost in a troubled sleep in the back of the cart under a silken tent. His fever wasn't worsening, but it wasn't lifting, either. Tasuki went on in sickness and Maemi's anxiety grew with each passing hour on the road with no sight of the right town. Once they had passed a large group of what looked like suspiciously like bandits, but after some friendly chat, they continued on their seperate ways.
Miyoko was calm and confident, riding ahead on her little brown mare. Miaka, Chichiri and Nuriko walked on serenely, also, but Maemi sat vigilant by Tasuki's side, bathing his face with cool clothes and making him take sips of tea. What more could she do? She sent up another silent plea to the Gods to spare Tasuki and help her find Chiyo. Chiyo was her only hope right now!
Maemi dipped her head down into her arms, closed her eyes, and fought off tears for the hundredth time since they'd left Hotohori's palace.


"Lady, wake up, now. Open your eyes!" Whispered a very sexy, very gentle voice that was very near to her ear. Chiyo opened her eyes and blinked. She was in a tent, a rough one, with holes in it through which she could see the sky. Her head hurt horribly, and the left side of her face felt swollen and painful. She moaned softly, and then realized she was in someone's arms.
"Star`kev?" She murmured doubtfully, unsure of whether or not she was really awake. "Tadashi!? She murmured even more doubtfully.
"No, Lady. Hush. You took a bad fall. Let me tend to this wound,"
"Fall--" She said softly, then remembered everything. She tried to sit up sharply, but the arms held her back.
"Star`kev! Tadashi! Where are they! Are they alright?"she cried in a panic, disoriented and confused.
"Your compainions are fine, don't worry. They have a few bumps and bruises, nothing more."
Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief, and then began to look around at her new surroundings through one painfully swollen eye and one normal one. She missed Maemi. "Who are you?" Chiyo questioned accusingly, turning to glare at her captor. Then she froze stiff, eyes as wide as possible given her current circumstances. The guy gazed serenely back at her, then stood, leaving her on the small make-shift bed where she sat gazing up at him in reverent awe.
He was a very tall young man, with blue-black hair to below his elbows and the darkest blue eyes she'd ever seen. They had a seductive tilt to them very much like Tasuki's, but the man was different. Far more serious than her pyromanic aquaintance. He was paler than one would expect a bandit to be, and better dressed, too, in a robe of deep blue silk, black pants and black shoes that laced over snowy-white socks. He wore a black leather glove over one hand, a blue beaded headband around his forehead, and multiple beaded necklaces... and a gold ring in his right eyebrow. Most striking, though, was the faint scar that traced his left cheekbone as if carefully and purposely cut to do so.
"Are you all right, Lady?"
"Chiyo... my name is Chiyo. Chiyo Mary Matsuko." She breathed with her heart racing madly. Kidnapped by a hot guy! Chiyo frowned suddenly. Her adventure was beginning to come out more and more like Yui's story. She only hoped Maemi wasn't in the same sort of situation. She had to get to Eiyo!
"I'm Makoto Askaji," the guy said. "My father is the leader of those theives who attacked you."
Chiyo frowned. "But we have nothing worth stealing!"
"So they discovered. Your dark-haired friend nearly killed the man who tried to take his katana."
Chiyo grinned suddenly, despite herself. At least Tadashi was alright for sure.
"We are sorry for this inconveinence. If there is anything we can do--"
"Wait," Chiyo said, holding up a hand for patience. Then she lifted two fingers to gently touch her swollen eye, felt the serge of what felt like electricity, and healed her face. Makoto's eyes grew wide with wonder, but he said nothing.
"My friends and I need to get to Eiyo, right away. My friend Maemi Haung, she's lost somewhere, and I need to speak to the Emperor so that I can find her. It's very important! Do you have a fast way to get there?"
"The Emperor?" Makoto repeated with a slight frown in his eyes. "We just passed a group of travelers bearing the Emperor's name. Perhaps they could help you better than a wild band of theiving criminals,"
Chiyo was about to question his description of his own gang when something in her brain clicked.
"Travelers? Where were they going? What did they look like?"
"Yes, travelers. They were going to Shou Su Lang, and they were led by a very small, pregnant woman on a horse,"
Chiyo's eyes about bulged out of her head and she lept to her feet in excitement.
"Was the woman amazingly beautiful with unnaturally long, black hair?"
"Why, yes. Yes she was."
"THAT WAS MIYOKO!" Chiyo shrieked, startling poor Makoto so badly he leapt backwards, lost his balance, and fell flat on his bum. a shocked look on his face. He did not appear to be accuctomed to surprise.
"What did the others look like?" She demanded excitedly.
"A Rather womanly man, a short girl with buns on her head and strange clothes, a man with blue hair and a cat face who was always saying "no da," and another man in a cart with a different girl in strange clothes."
"Different? Was she blond, like me, and wearing a grey skirt? Was the man a redhead?"
"Yes and yes,"
"WAAAAHHHHHOOOO!" Chiyo cried, leaping high into the air. Then she threw her arms around Makoto's neck and kissed him soundly before racing out of the tent.
"TADASHI! STAR`KEV! I FOUND HER! I FOUND HER! SHE'S OKAY!" She cried, further frightening both the rest of the gang and her compainions witless. Chiyo was too happy to worry about her conduct at the moment. Right now, she had to catch up with Maemi!


Makoto glanced at the two men beside him. He didn't trust them any more than they trusted him. He held the reins of the horse that Lady Chiyo rode, a constant grin lighting up her foriegn features in a way that he found very attractive. And now she was singing a song about buttercups and saying that Maemi, her friend, always sang that one. He thought her light, childish voice was rather pretty. In fact, he'd been thinking an awful lot about the odd young woman ever since she'd kissed him. He felt the color creep into his cheeks just thinking about it. Tadashi, her dark-haired guardian, caught the flush and shot him a glare of hatred, which Makoto took without flinching. The light-haired one, Star`kev, was friendly to him, but wary. In fact, the only person who seemed to not be suspecting of him was Chiyo, who wrapped her tust around him like a thick cloak and confused him with words of infinite kindness. No one treated him like that. Not even the members of his father's gang, the only family he knew, who feared him and regaurded him with awe. Makoto had never had any close friends, and he found his attraction to the cheerful, erratic girl somewhat alien. He wasn't sure what to think or say, so he settled for nothing at all. Wasn't that what his father had always told him, after all? Emotion was for the weak.


Maemi sighed. Bleak. All was bleak. Tasuki was now on a steady down fall, and Shou Su Lang was more than a day away. Maemi felt numb inside. She couldn't believe it. She was going to loose him! She'd never thought about how much he'd meant to her until now. Even with only the few short days they'd spent together,
Maemi could not imagine life without him. How would she go on? And what about Miaka and the other Seishi? This was not in the story! It couldn't end like this! Maemi felt her panic rising as she put a fresh, cool cloth over his forehead. His skin was ghostly white and his lips had a bluish tinge to them. His eyelids fluttered a little and he moaned softly, but he did not wake up. How much longer did he have? Probably not long.
"My poor fangboy..." she murmured, eyes filling with tears.
"Maemi," he whispered almost inaudibly. His deep brown eyes opened and drifted to her, but she had the feeling he wasn't really seeing her.
"Tasuki! Oh, Gods, don't die, Tasuki!" She cried, grabbing his hand and pressing it to her cheek.
"Tasuki, please! I... I l--"
At just that moment, a terrible noise was heard outside the tent. Maemi flushed scarlet for a moment shocked at what she'd just been about to blab, but recovered quickly. She had to see what was going on. She went to the curtains on the cart and parted them ever-so-slightly. The troupe of bandits was back, and Miaka was jumping about excitedly.
"Maemi-chan! Maemi-chan, MAEMI-CHAN!" A familiar voice called. Maemi gasped. "CHIYO-CHAN!" she cried.
The next thing she knew, she was on the road and she and Chiyo were hugging each other, squealing like babies and dancing around in a little circle. "I was so worried about you!" Chiyo cried. When Maemi looked up and saw the tears in her friend's eyes, her strength evaporated, and within minutes she was sobbing and choking out the whole horrible situation on the sympathetic Chiyo's shoulder.
"I don't know what I can do, but I can try," she vowed seriously, and Maemi was reassured. Chiyo didn't often get that stubborn set to her jaw, but when she did, look out! He bidding would be done come hell or high water!
And then Chiyo dissapeared into the tent in the cart, leaving Maemi to wait anxiously by the door.
It seemed like an eternity, but really, it was only a few hours before Chiyo stuck her head back out. Maemi gasped in horror. Her friend was pale and seemed to have lost a good amount of wieght, and there were dark circles below her eyes. She smiled shakily and climbed unsteadily out of the cart, and walked on trembling legs to Maemi, with Tasuki behind her.
"Tasuki!" Maemi squealed, forgetting all etiquette and leaping into the man's arms.
"Aw, jeez, nutty girl," he said, but between hugging her back and the emotion choked in his voice, the desired effect of the words were lost. Maemi felt his forehead, and was relieved to find it cool. His eyes were clear, and the smile on his face told her that he was indeed completely well again!
"Chiyo, you're amazing! You're a Saint! A miracle worker! You are the coolset person alive!" Maemi cried, and while those few expressions may have sounded superficial to some, the bond shared between the two girls conveyed the true feeling behind the words. Chiyo looked exhausted, but grinned none the less.
"He's all better, Maemi. The fever's gone,"
"I know! And I'm so relieved, but- Chiyo! What about you? You don't look so good,"
Maemi's elation shifted back into anxiety in a flash.
"I'm just tried, I guess," Chiyo said with a brave smile. "I think I must've used up all my energy healing Fang Boy. I just... need... to ..rest..." she murmured before her eyes rolled back and she sank slowly to the ground. Maemi shrieked, and the sound drew everyone's attention. Star`kev and Tadashi, whom she had just met, raced to Chiyo, but one of the bandits got there first, a totally hot guy named Makoto that Chiyo seemed super friendly with.
He gathered her into his arms before anyone else could touch her, worry clearly etched on his face.
He lifted a hand to her cheek, and then looked up at Maemi with terror in his eyes.
"She has a fever!" He said softly. Maemi let out a cry of anguish as she realized what happened. Chiyo had taken the fever from Tasuki's body and housed it in her own! Tasuki held her close and she buried her face in his shoulder. Even stronger than the fear that had gripped her earlier was this. If she lost Chiyo... she should've never asked her to help! But then Tasuki would've died... and she couldn't lose him, either!
"Is there no end to the drama in this Gods forsaken universe!" She shieked, pushing away from Tasuki and hugging the unconcious Chiyo.
"I HATE THIS DAMN PLACE!"