Chapter Three
Jade pasted a bright smile on her face and looked at Yui cheerfully----it had paid off to be in all of those plays at her high school. "Hello, Yui. It's nice to meet you."
Yui smiled brightly back and placed a tray of food on the bed next to Jade. "And it's nice to meet you, too, Jade. It's been so long since I last talked with someone who knows about the things in our world. But, before we talk, why don't you eat? Your trip here must have been exhausting."
Eyeing Yui thoughtfully, Jade reached forward and brought a small cup of tea to her lips. Teenager she may be, but the newly arrived girl was not stupid. The Priestess had probably drugged her tea; and if she hadn't, then Nakago probably had. She knew his type. Her father had been somewhat similar. Giving this thought consideration, the red-head realized that being here in this book, The Universe of the Four Gods, wasn't so bad after all. Before she had fallen through, she would have done anything to get away from her father and her drunk mother.
Jade pretended to take a deep sip from the cup. As she did so, she sniffed the tea; it smelled differently. The Mage had been right--someone had drugged her food.
Allowing the cup to slip from her fingers, Jade fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. Soon, she allowed her breath to even, as if she was sleeping.
"She's asleep, Nakago," Yui said softly. Jade sensed someone standing over her, it was probably Yui. "Are you sure that this is necessary for your plan? I don't feel right about doing this...."
"Giving the drug to the Mage is vital to our plan, Lady Yui. You know, as well as I, that she would probably refuse to help either us or the Suzaku warriors if we asked her. You should know that more than anyone else. After all, you are from her world, are you not?"
Pretending to sleep, Jade snorted to herself. There's no way in hell that I'd help you, you blonde scumbag, but now I'd probably help the Suzaku warriors! she thought to Nakago, imagining making him bald strand by blonde strand.
The two talked for several more minutes, Yui fretting over her deception, then they finally left, closing the door firmly behind them. Once she was sure that they were gone for good, Jade opened her gray eyes and scowled.
"How do I always seem to get myself into these situations?" she muttered to herself, sitting up and crawling over the bed. Her scowl turned even darker when she noticed the clothes she was wearing. Someone had taken away her pants and shirt--her favorite pair of Dickies and her black top--and replaced them with a kimono-type dress. A dress that she could hardly walk in, let alone escape in.
Using magic was out of the question. If that bright light HAD been from her....which was unlikely....then she had no idea how to tap into her power and use her magic to escape. It was probably a fluke, anyways.
Jade wandered around the room for several more minutes, looking for several other escape routes. She stopped when she came to a window. It was high, near the ceiling, but if she moved around some furniture, she would be able to reach it. But the only problem was....her clothing. There was no way she would be able to fit through that window in the many layers she was wearing.
Growling in frustration, she continued her search--this time for acceptable clothes. After tearing apart her room's drawers, Jade found a purple tunic, with a matching pair of pants. Jade shrugged and stripped, then quickly donned her new clothes. Pants were pants; and besides, she had no business being picky.
That done, Jade shoved a chair over to the window and climbed out. Once she was out, the tall red-head made a break for the woods, never looking back. If she had looked back, she would have noticed that a tall man with long black hair watched her run.
"Hmmm...." Tomo murmured to himself. "It seems as if Nakago-sama was not counting on this. I wonder how his plan will progress from here....." He faded into the night, chuckling to himself.
* * *
"Someone has to go and find this girl!" Hotohori exclaimed. "Imagine what havoc she will wreak. If she joins the Seiryu Seven, we are all doomed. Not just us, but all of the world."
Chichiri smiled slightly. "I will go, no da. It may be interesting to meet yet another magic-user." And so, he disappeared, leaving only his hat behind.
* * *
Jade ran through the forest, her feet pounding against the ground. Sharp rocks cut into the soft skin of her feet, but she ignored the pain and continued running, trying to get as far away from Nakago, Yui, and the others as she possibly could. Her breath came in short pants and she gasped for breath. But she would not rest, not until she thought she was far enough away from the Seiryu Warriors.....
That all ended when she ran head first into Chichiri.
"Omph!" Jade exclaimed as she was knocked to the ground. The wind was knocked out of her and all she could do for several moments was just breath deeply, trying to get her breath back. When she finally recovered, Jade looked up at scowled at her 'obstacle.'
"Are you alright?" Chichiri asked in concern. "I didn't know that you would be running right there when I appeared, no da. You aren't hurt, are you?"
Jade shook her head and managed to stand up, taking Chichiri's hand. "No, I'm fine. I just got the wind knocked out of me, is all. How did you get here?"
Chichiri tilted his head and looked at her curiously. "I already told you, no da."
Jade blinked, then mentally reviewed their conversation of the last few moments. "You appeared here? You mean, you teleported here?"
"Something like that, no da," Chichiri said. "What were you doing, running around like that? Were you running away?"
"Something like that, no da," Jade replied, grinning as she teased the masked Suzaku Warrior. Chichiri looked startled--he didn't think that this girl would have a sense of humor, least of all when she was running away from Nakago, a very dangerous thing to do, indeed. "Anyway, do you think that you can do that teleporting thing again? We have to go right now. He's coming," the red-head continued, looking behind her worriedly.
Though Jade thought that she had no magical abilities, she could sense Nakago moving closer. She couldn't explain how she knew--she just did. And she sensed that he was angry. At her (most definitely) and at himself, for allowing her to trick him as she had.
Chichiri shook his head. "I can't. Using my powers would attract Nakago and we can't have that, no da. But I do know where we can hide until he leaves this area. Once he does that, then I can teleport us back to the others, no da."
Jade sighed, then grabbed Chichiri's hand. "Fine, it doesn't matter. Just as long as we go right this minute. He's almost here!"
Now Chichiri could sense the powerful Seiryu Warrior. What puzzled him was the fact that Jade had sensed Nakago before he had, and Chichiri had more magical experience than the newcomer. But he could think about that little puzzle later on, when they weren't in danger. He tugged Jade's hand and started running for a cave he had visited before.
The two arrived at the cave just in time, for Nakago was close. Too close for Jade's comfort. Chichiri led her deeper into the cave, so far that all she could see was the complete blackness of the absence of light. The air around her grew colder and she shivered. Jade hadn't been thinking about practicality when she found the pants and tunic. Escaping had consumed her thoughts until she could think of nothing else.
"We're here," Chichiri said softly. Suddenly, a flame sprung up and light flooded the cavern. The fire danced in the air and flew off of Chichiri's finger, floating around the cave and splitting off into smaller flames. Soon, the whole entire cavern was lit by a warm light.
Jade sat on the ground. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She was cold, but wouldn't admit it to anyone, least of all herself. She didn't have to depend on anyone for anything. Okay....maybe this was one of the rare instances she needed help, but she wasn't actually going to admit that.
The teenage girl raised her head off of her knees and stared at the Celestial Warrior thoughtfully. Then, before she could think of what she was saying, she blurted out, "Why do you wear a magic mask?"
Jade blinked. Where had that come from? she asked herself. But Chichiri's response surprised her even further. He was shocked.
"How did you know?"
