He looks down from the cliff at the village they were supposed to raid, and sees a goddess. Her ice blue hair is blowing gently around her, the sun catching the strands and illuminating them with a goldish-silver color, her crystalline eyes sparkling.... with happiness, joy, laughter.... and yet sadness. He stares at her, wondering what had caused him to look, forgetting all he knew.
"Oi! Kouji!" Tasuki calls, impatiently.
He looks up, irritated from being snapped into reality, "What d'ya want?"
"Are ya comin'?"
"'Course..." he turns and looks down at the village one more time, then turns and walks down to where Tasuki was waiting impatiently. They walk down to where the rest of the bandits where waiting, then assembling, and they ambush the village. After seeing that everything was running smoothly, Tasuki and Kouji walk out of the attack and back to the palace.
A messenger breaks into the leader's rooms, face pale. "R...Rishun..."
"Whadda bout Rishun?"
"He's...attacking the village! Killing... blood spill... We told him to stop... he killed them all!" the messenger collapsed, breathing heavily from a deep wound in his chest, the front of his ragged, torn shirt stained a deep red, and then gasping for air, managed to add, "Help... save them.... from...Rish--".
Tasuki leap from the table, knocking it down, and sent the carcass away to the cemetery and ran out to the village, with Kouji at his heels.
"Holy shit..." Tasuki muttered as he surveyed the damage of the village.
Where there were once houses, there lay smoldering ashes, dead bodies right and left.
Kouji surveyed the damage in silence, then pushed Tasuki to a side, "Search for anyone living." and searched in the other direction, carefully stepping around the ashes and bodies.
Tasuki looked at Kouji's retreating back.
"What the fuck? The way things are now there AREN'T gonna be anybody livin..." he muttered, and then started in the direction Kouji had pushed him to.
Kouji stopped. He thought he had heard someone crying.... sobbing...
Silence.
He hears it again.... someone crying. He wildly searches in the direction it came from, then suddenly stops. Her.... the girl from before. She lay on the ground, a deep wound in her shoulder that twisted down her arm to her forearm, her clothing torn, drenched in blood. He looked at her uncertainly, not sure of what to do.
"A...ano, onna.... are you ok?"
She doesn't answer, doesn't move, and doesn't respond.
Oh great... she's dead....
He walks forward and picks her up, slinging her over his shoulder, and walks back to where Tasuki stood, and then walks slowly back to the palace. He walks inside, ignoring the other bandit's comments, and goes inside the leader's rooms, setting her down on the bed, then turns and leaves the already darkening room, feeling strangely empty.
(A/N: I hate disclaimers. Hate the, hate them, hate them!! ::sighs:: ok… I don't own Tasuki, or Kouji... I don't own Rishun, OR Fushigi Yuugi for any of that matter. But I DO however, own this fic and Izumi or the goddess.)
