Running Away

Chapter 8

Taikisei walked down the hallway that led to Chichiri's room. The morning sun shone brightly in through the windows, lighting up the corriders. His stocking feet barely made any sound at all as he stepped on the rough wood.

He knocked on Chichiri's door. "Chichiri…? Are you awake?"

There wasn't an answer, so Taikisei expected that the monk was still asleep. He quietly opened the door, slipping into the darkened room. He didn't shut the door all the way behind him, leaving it open a crack.

His eyes fell immediately on the bed, and he was very surprised to see it empty. "Chichiri?" He quickly walked to the bed, staring down at the perfectly smoothed covers.

He stood there, just staring at it, wondering where the other could be. He was about to go downstairs and ask if any of the other residents had seen him, when his eyes caught a small piece of paper on the drawer next to the wall.

He shuffled over to it, taking the slip of paper in his hands. Through the darkness he could barely make out the words written on it.

"I'm going back to him."

* * * *

Chichiri peeked out from behind the leaves of the tree that he sat in, lifting his kasa up so he could see better. Below him he watched as men bustled about, going into buildings, talking to one another.

He looked over to the tall wall that protected the bandit strong-hold as well as the guards that watched over it. He'd have to be careful now that he was inside: one wrong move and he could be caught.

He didn't want Tasuki to see him, he couldn't let Tasuki see him. Everything would be ruined if that happened… he couldn't bear it. Couldn't see that look in Tasuki's eyes again.

He looked back down to the ground, wondering exactly it was where Tasuki stayed. There were so many buildings… they all looked the same.

"Eh, Kouji. I see ya've been takin' care of things real well while I been away."

"I knew you'd want me to."

Chichiri couldn't mistake Tasuki's voice. He looked towards it, catching a glance at his fiery hair.

"T…Tasuki…" his voice was barely above a whisper, saying the name of the man he wanted to be with the most.

He watched as Tasuki stood there next to Kouji, looking out at the buildings and the people going by. Whenever one of the bandits walked by, they always stopped and said a hearty "welcome back, boss".

Chichiri longed to go down there, to be next to Tasuki, tell him how he really felt and that everything would be alright. That… that he didn't have to be afraid anymore…

Chichiri wished that there was a way that he could get closer, but there weren't any hiding spots down there on the ground. Everything was so open… he guessed that the bandits liked it that way.

"So… why'd you finally decide to come back, Gen-chan?" Kouji turned around, looking at his companion.

Tasuki stopped still, thinking about what Kouji had just asked him. No… he couldn't tell him… he just couldn't…

"I thought you were travelin' around with that… what's his name? Wasn't it Chichiri?"

Tasuki sucked in his breath at being reminded of the monk. Chichiri… I'm so sorry…He wondered what Chichiri was doing right now, how he was dealing with everything.

Kouji looked worridly down at Tasuki. "Gen-chan…? You okay?"

Tasuki looked up hurridly, waving his hands in front of him. "No, no. I'm fine!! I was just… thinkin' is all…"

Kouji shrugged. "Well, doesn't really matter to me why ya' came back, just matters that ya' did, right?" He patted Tasuki on the back very hard, almost knocking the breath out of him.

"Ooph! Koujiiii, ya' tryin' ta' kill me here on my first day back?" Tasuki tried giving his friend a hard look, but found he couldn't and just burst out laughing.

Chichiri watched all this quietly from the tree. Tasuki… is this it? Is everything just going to be the same for you? It struck him hard, watching Tasuki like this. He wished… he wished…

Tasuki was getting up, starting to walk away.

"Da!" Chichiri said a bit too loud as he caught sight of the bandit as he left. He quickly covered his mouth, freezing. He looking around, making sure that nobody had heard him.

He sighed in relief and then quickly shimmied down the tree, being extra quiet. When his feet touched the ground, he headed off through the bushes, following the same direction that Tasuki had took.

He barely made a sound as he slid through the brush. He made sure that he could always see out into the bandit compound, looking hard that glint of red that would tell him he'd found Tasuki.

He finally saw it not too far ahead of him. He watched as Kouji and Tasuki entered one of the buildings. He was a bit frustrated that he couldn't follow them in…

Wait a minute! What am I talking about?

Chichiri looked around and saw a bandit walking the same way that Kouji and Tasuki had been. He looked younger than some of the other bandits, more Tasuki and Kouji's own age.

The bandit had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a dark green short-sleeved tunic that was covered half-way by a brown cloth that draped down over his right shoulder, connecting to his shorts that were the same color. He wore a large pair of boots, almost too big for his feet. He carried a short sword with him that hung from his belt at his waist.

Perfect! Chichiri edged forward out of the brush just enough so that he could fully see the bandit. He brought his hands together up near his face, concentrating on the young bandit.

Seripa was walking along, minding his own business. He was glad now that the boss was back, not that he didn't like Kouji. It was just… everything felt normal again, like it should be.

Besides, Genrou always let him come on the raids with them, insisting that he needed experience. He loved going on the raids. He felt like he was actually doing something besides sitting around in his bunk twiddling his thumbs. He hated it when the other bandits treated him like a little kid.

Suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes beside him. He turned around, pulling the sword out from his belt.

"W… who's there?" He winced as his voice let out a slight warble. He couldn't let the enemy know that he was scared.

A figure walked out from the bushes. "W… what the hell!?!"

It was… him!! It was exactly like him in every way, from the hair down to the boots that were slightly too big for him.

"Who are you?" he said, trying to make sense of this new predicament.

The other person didn't say anything, but jumped out, gripping Seripa from behind his back. He tried lashing out at the person, but his arms were held tightly.

He felt himself being dragged far behind into the brush. He tried to escape, tried wiggling out of this person's grasp, but to no avail.

The likeness of him pushed him up against one of the trees that lined their stronghold and produced a long rope from behind him. Quickly, he tied him up, making sure it was tight enough that he wouldn't be able to escape. He then pulled out a white cloth, tying it around his mouth so that all he could produce were muffles.

Chichiri, now acting as Seripa, walked calmly out of the bushes. Whew… that wasn't too hard. Now… which building did Tasuki go in?

He quickly recognized the building and began walking towards it. He was nervous at first, sure that somebody would be able to tell that he wasn't quite Seripa, but then he got used to it.

When he reached the building, he pushed his hand on the door, watching as it opened up into the darker room. His feet made soft clicks on the wooden floor as he walked down the hall, peering into each room.

It seemed to be a cafiteria of sorts, all the rooms were connected. There were a lot of people bustling about, so he figured it must be meal time.

Try to act casual. You're supposed to be here, no da. You're that bandit now. Even with his reassurances, he felt very small and out of place in the room full of bandits.

He saw a long line up near the back of the room, and decided that it must be where the food was. He suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and that wasn't much even. His stomach gave a growl.

He wandered up to what looked like the end of the line and situated himself. He folded his hands behind his back, trying to act like he did this everyday.

His eyes opened wide when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. A rough voice came from behind him, menacing. "Hey punk, whatcha' think you're doin'?"