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Fushigi Yuugi and all characters are property of Watase Yuu.
YI::SCENE I
Ma Lu
The Road
The officer Chiao Tsan, unjustly convicted of a crime, is sent to prison by order of the commanding general. During his transportation from one jail to another, one of his superiors becomes concerned for Chiao Tsan's safety. He dispatches Zan Ton Quai, a young officer, to protect him, with careful instructions to conceal his mission from Chiao Tsan and his guards.
Xia Yu
Raining
It was raining when I set out that morning, and it seemed strangely appropriate. For it to be raining, that is. Not that I was setting out in the morning, before the sun had even risen, in the cool freezing pre-dawn darkness that Kutou is so famous-or infamous-for. Not the fact that I had been informed of this latest and greatest development in the plans of the shogun of Kutou merely three days before. Not the fact that I was to accompany one of the last people on the face of the earth that I would prefer to spend any amount of time with, much less a long journey.
So it was strangely appropriate for the weather to be gray, drizzly, and downright uncomfortable.
I pulled the hood of my cloak up and stepped out into the dripping air, feeling the droplets splatter and roll down my head and back and shoulders. The horses were having a hard time, I could see. The rain-slick stone was wet and shone faintly in the gray mist that had accompanied the unpleasant drizzle into the vicinity.
The Kutou soldiers lifting my bags up onto the saddle and securing them firmly had at least remembered to wrap everything in thick cloths. It would not be good if my clothes or belongings were soaked through the first day of the journey. Especially not when the journey was as long as our fearless leader made it out to be.
Any thoughts of that fearless leader that trickled into my brain I angrily grabbed and filed back into the corner of my mind that dealt with such things. Not now. Of all times, not now to think of him.
To think of his voice in the darkness as he outlined my next mission with precise detailed explanation and facts.
To think of the touch of his hand as he told me I would be leaving in three days.
To think of the cold distance of his blue eyes as he told me who my traveling companion was to be.
To think of the warmth of his breath as he kissed me goodbye, kissing me with ordered efficiency, as if it were just another task to be carried out in the progress of the day.
I rubbed my lips hard even as I realized I was thinking the very things I had vowed not to think until the mission was over.
I wasn't doing a very good job at keeping my word, was I?
Behind me was the dark bulk of the Kutou palace, its orderly towers and curved rooftops seemingly frozen in midmotion as the rain beat down on them in slick rhythms, the buildings as a whole looking squat and misshapen rather than graceful as the designer had probably wanted them to look. The courtyard was large and vast, white stone marred by centuries of assault by the elements and footsteps of royalty and subjects alike.
Nakago once told me that death makes fools of royalty and subjects all.
I wouldn't think about that.
The two horses stamped nervously, manes and tails flicking in the wind. Briefly I wondered if maybe Nakago would change his mind, have us come out of the rain and leave later in the day, or maybe tomorrow when the weather was not as bad and the roads were not as muddy. It wasn't safe, traveling in weather like this. Bandits and other criminals I could handle. Rain I could not. My power was to make lightning and storms, not to drive them away. Ironic.
But Nakago would never do that. Not even for me.
The soldiers secured the last pack, swords clinking as they stepped away from the two steeds, rain running off their armor in silver rivulets. I motioned to the captain and he stepped towards me, bowing low.
"Soi-sama, if you are ready to depart-?"
"You have everything?"
"Yes, Soi-sama. Four bags for you, provisions, food, clothes, as you asked. Three bags for-"
I waved the rest of his sentence aside. "Fair enough. Get inside out of the rain before you become ill."
The captain bowed again and gestured to the two lower ranking foot soldiers who followed him. I watched as they made their way to shelter, strangely jealous of a common soldier. I was a Seiryuu shichi seshi, blessed by the god himself…and yet sometimes when it came to a crossroads like this I would not hesitate to step down and to be looked over.
Just for a little while.
I sighed as the soldiers disappeared around the corner. Where was he? He said he would meet me in the courtyard after he had completed his last minute "preparations," whatever those were. I didn't want to know.
Traveling with him was going to be interesting. I wondered if we could manage to ignore each other for the whole duration of the journey.
Footsteps made me turn. He was striding towards me, a small bag thrown over his shoulder, his hood pulled up and his normal bulky outfit exchanged for a more suitable riding one. I glanced surreptitiously under the hood. Of course. Painted as always.
"You're late," I said as he appraoched me.
He did not respond, glancing my way with some disdain, tying the bag to the saddle and vaulting onto the horse's back with the skill of a natural rider.
"Whenever you are ready, Soi."
I ground my teeth. "You were painting your face, weren't you?" He didn't respond. "Damn it, Tomo. You can't paint it while we're en route. It takes hours. Besides it's raining."
"I noticed." His dry voice gave away nothing. If he was annoyed, he hid it well.
I gave up, swinging myself onto the horse's back. "Let's go, Tomo."
I let him lead as we trotted out of the courtyard. If I had taken the lead first, he would have overtaken me in a minute anyway.
Tomo was like that.
Seiryuu help us…it was going to be a long journey.
Qi Ma
Riding Horseback
I could see the disapproval on her face when I emerged from the shelter of the palace with my face painted, my cosmetics bag over my shoulder. Not that it bothered me. If I let Soi get under my skin, I would be going crazy by now.
I was taking a chance by painting it, I knew. The pain would wash off on instant contact with water, and the rain wasn't doing much good. Still, I'd be damned if I let her see me without my face painted. It wasn't much a mark of vanity as it was of pride. I had never gone a day without painting it, and I was not about to start now.
I had been surprised when Nakago said he wanted to see me. I had been even more surprised when he told me the nature of the mission. I wasn't surprised when he said I would be accompanying Soi…after all she was the one he usually sent out for these types of things, for some reason, perhaps for the simple reason that they were lovers.
I found that ironic, that he would send out one he loved on the missions where death was most likely.
The weather was cold and I was glad I had worn a warm cloak. The horses had long slowed to a walk and I picked my way carefully between puddles of muddy water and loose rocks on the road. The capital of Kutou was asleep, still, before the sunrise. If there was to be any sunrise at all-judging from the looks of the weather, I doubted it.
I had never liked the sunrise. It was too bright, too eternally optimistic.
I preferred the flaming descent of sunset and the oncoming of the night.
Mentally, I calculated on my fingers. It would take us only a little more time to reach the walls of the city, and from then on we would have to go through the forest to reach the mountain regions. Not an ideal route, but it was the quickest way there and back.
I hoped Nakago had taken into account any dangers that would befall us on the way.
Why did you choose me, Nakago-sama?
I remember asking him that, before he dismissed me with my orders and my destination in mind. Why did he choose me? Surely not because he trusted me. I was no fool…Nakago trusted no one, the same as I trusted no one. He knew, as I knew, it was easier that way.
Why not?
Why not, indeed? It was the same answer I would have given, had I been in his place. We were more alike that both of us realized. I wonder if he knew that.
The city wall came into sight before long and we passed under the huge arch, hooves hollow and echoing on the flagstones. The gates had been beautiful once, before wind and rain and sun had worn away the sharpness and newness of its carved magnificence. The fangs of the snarling dragons were blunt now, the ornamental corners worn down.
Were we to be reduced to worn down ornaments also? Until we were too tired and marked by the elements to be any good?
My voice master had been a large man with greasy hair, who had played the role of jing also in the Opera. I remember sitting for hours in his darkened tent, straining my voice until I was hoarse, trying to imitate the high notes which he reached with such ease.
Strain it, boy, he would say. Strain it. Any product of quality must be broken and cracked, again and again, before it is rebuilt and ready to be used.
Broken and cracked…Nakago-sama would like that.
I knew Soi was looking back at the retreating walls, but I kept my head resolutely forward, not letting myself gaze once more upon the city that was disappearing into the mist like one of my many illusions. That's all it was-illusion.
Nakago always laughed at me, whenever I lapsed into one of my moods. Illusion, Tomo? he would say. If everything is an illusion, then who is the one creating the illusion? What is reality then?
I knew what his reality was. He was firmly grounded on the earth, his dreams of power and glory the same as mine, but while I knew mine for what they were, he actually believed that his would come true. I had never bothered to explain to him that illusion came in many forms, and the most painful illusion of all was the illusion of life.
Of course he would have laughed at me anyway if I told him.
Life to Nakago was simple.
I wished I could school my mind like his, bent and focused on one goal alone, driving towards it with a reckless fury, sweeping down everyone and everything in his path that dared stand in his way. I wished I could be as beautifully cruel as he and not even realize it was so. It was an art, his style of cruelty, a form of beauty, and I had always had a weakness for art and beauty.
As he probably knew.
Behind me, Soi stirred on her horse. "I hope you have an inkling of an idea of where we're going, Tomo. It's too wet to get lost." When I didn't responed, she spurred the horse to my side, peering under my hood. "Tomo, are you listening to me?"
I smirked, though she couldn't see me. "Trust me, woman."
"That'll be the day," she shot back. I didn't answer. Why should I?
I answered when I wanted to, listened when I wanted to. I could always break the illusion.
I was, after all, the master of illusion.
Wang Bei
Towards the North
I clamped my mouth shut, though his insulting tone was just inviting an argument. He was doing it on purpose, I knew, trying to break me before we had even started our journey. Infuriating.
I could never understand Tomo. He was always so quiet, so seemingly aloof. I already knew he was sardonic and caustic. It was interesting to watch him and Nakago interact, how their conversations were like a dance, a lesson in acrobatics or perhaps a fencing match with words.
I wondered if either of them realized how alike they were.
Nakago would probably deny it in his cold voice, and Tomo would cackle. He always cackled. I always wondered if it was an involuntary reaction, if he realized he was doing it, or if he just did it to get on my nerves. Because that was what he was always doing-getting on my nerves. I never could see how Nakago could stand having him around, much less giving him important things to do. Then again, the important things got him out of the palace and away from my sight, so it was maybe better that way.
Trust Nakago to think of the good solutions to problems other people were having.
Nakago…
I wouldn't think about him.
I glued my eyes firmly to the road in front of me. It had turned into dirt now, a wide dirt highway quickly oozing its way towards becoming sticky mud. The horses were well-shod, yet if one lost a shoe to the mud there was nowhere we could have them reshod until we reached one of the larger cities beyond the forest we were about to enter.
Ahead of me, Tomo sat tall and unmoving on his horse, covered by his long thick cloak like an ebony statue. I wondered if he had his headdress on under the thick material. Probably. Knowing Tomo, he would be too vain to leave that behind. Just as he was too vain to leave the makeup off when we were in a hurry to leave.
He was all illusion, Tomo, all vapor and mist and no substance. For all his rants about illusion and the world coming to an end, he was no better than the people he complained so bitterly about. Basically, he was no better than I was.
I allowed a small smile at that. I could never see how he got his superiority complex in the first place. Wearing caked on makeup, horrid costumes, and flaring headpieces never made anyone superior to anyone else.
According to Nakago, it would take five days to travel through the forest, providing we stayed to the worn north road made by merchants and other travelers. The forest was not dangerous but it was large and dark, and he had warned us to stay together, no matter what arguments we might have. After the forest were several villages before we reached the mountains, where our true objective lay.
It made me wonder what would pull us apart more quickly: the forest or the arguments.
He should have known better than to have us go both together. No, that wasn't true. I knew why he wanted us to go together-two of the most powerful seishi would get the job done more quickly and quietly than a seishi and a handful of soldiers, or a whole group of seishi. He knew very well how I disliked Tomo, yet Nakago was a soldier, and he would never allow personal feelings to get in the way of efficiency.
I didn't know if I should love him or hate him for that now.
The silence was starting to weigh on my shoulders. I wasn't used to long periods of silence. Before…before he found me, there was the forced laughter, the loud rough voices of too drunken men and the screams and moans through the thin walls. After that there had always been sound, servants chattering, the twins chasing each other through the halls of the palace, birds and insects and various other background noises that reminded me I wasn't alone.
But now with the rain puddling down and the splash and squish of horse hooves, I felt very much alone. The silent figure in front of me wasn't helping.
"Tomo?"
Silence. I sighed. I might as well not even try.
"Yes?"
I blinked. He had answered me. I searched my brain for what I was going to say, not even sure if I had anything specific in mind.
"Nothing."
He cackled softly. "Nothing to say?"
"I was just-" Why was I even telling him this? "It was too quiet, that's all."
"I see."
We lapsed back into stiff silence, the wind picking up a bit and swirling bits of soaked grass and clumps of mud into the air. Five days through the forest, three to the mountains. And then it would be over, hopefully.
Hopefully being the keyword.
I hoped Nakago remembered to pray to Seiryuu for us. We would need it.
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