Running Away
Chapter 11
"Itai!!' Chichiri winced, letting out a bit of a cry as his hand came in contact with the wound in his shoulder. It was still bleeding a bit, and the cloth of his left sleeve was drenched in blood.
He sat back a ways in the forest surrounding the bandit compound, well out of sight and hearing of anyone who might be looking for him.
He sighed, looking around. He remembered the scene back in the bunkhouse. It had definitely not gone the way he would have liked it to.
Damn, if only he'd have been a bit smarter. He should have known the someone would find the real Seripa. It was too easy, all too easy. He cursed himself again, thinking of how stupid he had been.
But then again, it had felt so wonderful to feel Tasuki hold him that way. Sure, he was being Seripa at the time, and sure, Tasuki was trying to protect him from what he thought was an out-of-his-mind Kouji…
Still… he wished that he could feel it again. Feel those strong arms around him, holding him. He wished he could feel that in a bit of a different circumstance, a different setting. Wished that he could look up into Tasuki's eyes without going all red and start stuttering, to be able to say what he really wanted to say.
He turned back to the task at hand, his arm. It had hurt like hell, he admitted it, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from being close to Tasuki. He'd be an idiot to let that stop him now, when he had gotten so close.
Maybe… sometime… if he got some time when Tasuki was all alone, he could come out, could talk things out with him. But no, the security would probably be even tighter now after getting caught by Seripa and the others.
After hearing Tasuki last night, seeing him crying like that, Chichiri had begun to wonder if perhaps getting back together would be better for both of them, even if it was only as friends. Right now, Chichiri didn't care about anything other than being with the other seishi again.
Chichiri gently tore off a section of his other sleeve, fingering the soft fabric in his hands. He wished…. He wished…. He wished that he could go back to that day, the day Tasuki had run away. Perhaps if he had gone after him, stopped him, maybe things would have turned out differently.
But no, he had to sit there like the dumb idiot he was and let the one he loved slip through his fingertips. Tears began to spring to his eyes as he remembered the expression on Tasuki's face, the tears that had fallen freely from his eyes…
Chichiri shook away the memory, wiping the newly formed tears from his eye. He took the piece of fabric that he had torn off and gently began to wrap it around the wound in his shoulder. He winced as small jolts of pain ran up through his arm.
When the make-shift bandage was completed, he tried stretching out his arm. He moved it around a bit, feeling the dull ache in his arm stretch out and across his shoulder as well. It wouldn't take too long for the blood to soak through the primative bandage, but at least it would provide him with a little something.
He looked up into the sky, at the tiny pinpricks of light that were stars appearing as the sun slowly set. Pretty soon, it would be dark, and Chichiri didn't really want to spend the night out in the forest alone. He decided to go back to the compound, though he'd have to be careful.
He picked up his staff using his good arm, and began the walk that would lead him back to civilization. He began to see lights coming through the trees, and was glad, because the sky was getting ever darker.
He quickly climbed up one of the trees, being extra lenient on his left arm, and then positioned himself in a position where he could see the bandit compound as a whole. He looked around, covering every last corner.
If there was one good thing that had come out of his experience as Seripa, it was the fact that he now knew where Tasuki slept, so he wouldn't have to go on wild hunt, peeking in people's windows.
He quickly located the building that he knew by heart now, the cafiteria. His eye wandered a little to the left until it hit the small building right next to the cafiteria: Tasuki's bedroom. Well, it wasn't entirely Tasuki's bedroom. Kouji shared it with him.
He smiled to himself, and then hopped out of the tree, landing deftly on his feet. He knelft down, being careful to stay out of sight. The darkness of the night would aid him now, but he didn't want to get caught again. He didn't want to face Tasuki until he knew that he was ready, and when he was sure they had some time completely alone.
He quickly half-crawled through the bushes until his head popped out of one right next to his destination. He looked around, making sure that there wasn't anyone there.
While he was looking, he noticed a very conveniently-placed tree. It just happened to be positioned very close to a window in Tasuki's bedroom, but it was still far enough away that a person looking out wouldn't be able to see him unless they looked really hard.
He walked the couple of paces to the tree and then slowly climbed up, thankful for the branches that were layed out close together near the bottom. He climbed until he was just about even with the window he had seen earlier, and then sat back, trying to get comfortable.
Because it was night, and because there was a bright light coming from the window, he could see in as if it were daylight, which was another advantage to it being night, by the way.
Chichiri peered into the window, seeing if anyone was there yet. Unfortunately, it was still relatively early, and the room was empty. He sighed, leaning his back against the trunk of the tree.
While he was waiting, he reinforced the bandage he had made with another piece of fabric. He figured that he needed to because blood from the cloth was starting to get onto the branch, and that can never be a good sign.
He winced, but was able to keep quiet. One time during the process he had heard a rustling from not too far away, and for a second he had feared he had been caught, but it turned out to just be a bird, looking for things to build her nest out of.
It was about ten minutes later when he heard the faint sound of footsteps heading in his general direction. He lifted his feet up to make sure that they weren't visible, and then became as quiet as he absolutely could.
He watched through the darkness as Tasuki and Kouji slowly walked towards the room. His face lit up, seeing the bandit's face.
They were talking, but Chichiri wasn't close enough to hear what about. All he could do was watch as the pair walked up to the door, and then walked in. He anxiously turned his eye towards the window, knowing that any minute now he would be able to see them in it.
He watched as Tasuki entered the room, reaching his hands up in the air for a quick stretch. He couldn't help but notice the depressed look on the bandit's face, but he figured he was just tired or something.
Kouji soon followed Tasuki into the room, and the two of them sat down on their beds. They were talking. Well, Chichiri at least thought they were talking. Frustratingly, he couldn't hear a thing that was being said. It was like watching one of those old movies that didn't have any sound.
They talked for around five minutes, give or take a few, and then Tasuki stood up, walking over to the other side of the room. He slid off his jacket and set it on one of the chairs. He sat down, then, and quickly unlaced his boots, setting them next to the chair.
He groggily stood back up as Kouji came over, doing the same. Tasuki walked back over to his bed, sitting back down. He brought his knees up to his chin, wrapping his arms around them. He buried his face down into the fabric of his pants.
Chichiri watched as Kouji came over to him, gently resting his hand on Tasuki's shoulder. He watched as Kouji mouthed out some words, watched as Tasuki looked up at him.
Kouji held out his hand, as if gesturing towards his bed. Chichiri leaned forward, wishing that he could hear what they were saying. Tasuki slowly shook his head, shaking his hand as if refusing something.
"DAAA!!!" Chichiri cried out as he fell from the tree. In trying to hear them, he had accidently leaned a little bit too far forward, teetering off balance. He felt another sharp pain in his arm as he felt the ground rise up to meet him.
He gave a small groan, getting up to his knees. He wasn't sure if the two bandits had heard him. If they hadn't heard the big rustle in the bushes then they had surely heard his loud scream. He prayed to Suzaku that if they had heard it, they would just consider it as nothing.
He watched the light from the window intently, but thankfully, no one was looking out it, and no one was coming from the door either. He sighed, and then sheepishly looked up at the tree he had fallen from.
He rose to his feet, determined to watch Tasuki until it wasn't possible anymore. He walked back over to the tree and climbed back up, looking over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure that nobody was watching him.
When he had once again regained his earlier position, his gaze went directly to the window. Both bandits were looking at the window as well, and for a second he feared that they had seen him.
Luckily, they must only have heard him, for they stayed where they were, neither of them rushing for the door. Chichiri watched as Tasuki turned his head towards Kouji, mouthing something.
Kouji just shrugged, then walked over to his bed, pulling the covers back. Tasuki turned around to his bed as well and slid down beneath the covers. He head sunk down deeply in the pillow he was lying on.
He raised his hand, gesturing that Kouji should turn out the lights, and then pulled the covers up to his chin, turning over on his side. Kouji reached over, taking the damper and resting it up over the candle.
Chichiri sat staring at the pitch dark room. He couldn't see anything in it, and now the light that had guided him safely and silently through the trees and bushes was gone. He sighed in frustration.
All of a sudden, a thought struck his head. If both of them were asleep, then couldn't he get a little closer? Maybe he could just go up to the window…
He slid down the tree before he had even made up his mind and began the short trek to building that he had been looking into only minutes before. He look up to the window as he stood below it.
It was only about a head or two higher than he was, and this was made better by the fact that there was a large railing traveling around the perimter of the house that he could stand on.
He swifly climbed up on the railing, percariously balancing himself on the top. He took the frame of the window in his hands to help balance him more.
When he was sure that he wouldn't fall, he looked into the room. It was still just as dark, but now that his eye had grown more accustomed to the light, he could see a lot more.
He looked over to Tasuki's bed. He could make out the bandit's red hair through the darkness, could see the lump in the covers that was his body. He felt a small lump appear in his throat as he looked at the man. His needs to be close to Tasuki seemed only to increase whenever he saw him.
"Chi…Chichiri…"
Chichiri looked up, startled. The voice had come from Tasuki… but… Tasuki was still in the same position he had always been in. Was he dreaming?
"Chichiri… stay with me… please… I'm sorry, so… sorry…"
Chichiri's heart constricted, hearing these words coming from the other man. He felt tears start to form in his eye. He longed to reach out, to touch, to comfort him, but he daren't with Kouji in the room. Who knew what he might think?
"I… I love you…Chichiri…"
Chichiri stared into the darkened room, staring at the lump in the bed. "I love you too… Tasuki…" his voice was the softest whisper. He could barely even hear himself. And I'll never leave you.