Running Away

Chapter 12

The sun was beating down hard the rooves of the many buildings making up the bandit complex. It was near midday, and the heat was still rising. Bandits walked around, reaching into their pockets to pull out a cloth and then wiping their foreheads with it.

Chichiri groggily opened his eyes. He'd spent the entire night in the tree, and he now had terrible cramps throughout his body. He gave a groan as he positioned himself into a sitting position.

He looked out across the compound, squinting. The sun was too bright for his eye, and it was hard to even open it. He sighed, waiting for his vision to become accustomed to this new light.

As things began to come into focus, he resumed his search for the bandit he was looking for. He looked into the window he had been looking in last night, but both beds were now neatly made, and there was no sign of the fiery-haired bandit.

He quickly scanned the perimeter, but still seeing no sign, he climbed down from his perch atop the tree. He kneeled down amongst the bushes, and then headed off the short distance to the cafiteria.

He found a window in the side that led directly into it, and he looked inside. Anxiously, searched the entire building, but he was frustrated once more when Tasuki wasn't there either.

There was, however, a group of men eating not far from the window, and Chichiri couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"So… where'd the boss go? I saw him leaving as I was walkin' over 'ere."

One of the other bandits turned towards the one who had talked. "Like hell any of us know, we're never told these things."

"He was probably goin' to the village or somethin'… but hey, who knows? They're always wanderin' off by themselves and other shit like that."

Chichiri's ears perked up, hearing the words that were being said. Tasuki went out, to some village maybe, but alone? Who knew what kind of trouble Tasuki might get into if he was left alone like that.

"Hey guys!"

The group of men turned towards the voice at the window to see Seripa smiling back at them. "Oh! How ya' doin', Seripa?"

Chichiri leaned his arms on the windowsill, moving his head forward into the room a little bit. "I was just wonderin', did any of you see the way Ta-, I mean Genrou went? I was just talkin' with Kouji and he wanted me to go with him…"

The men kind of looked at each other, and for a second Chichiri was afraid that something was wrong.

"He went out the north gate, I think…"

"Yeah, the north gate. He must be goin' into the village or somethin'. He just left about five minutes ago, so you should easily be able to catch up."

"Whew! Thanks a lot. I was worried for a bit." Chichiri waved after the men, putting on his best smile, and then ran off in the direction of the north gate.

When he was safely back into the forest, he changed back to his "Chichiri" form. He sighed, sitting down on the ground and catching his breath.

He looked in the direction where he knew the north gate was. He knew he didn't need to actually walk out of there, too slow, so looked outwards more, away from the camp. He tried to estimate how far Tasuki would have gotten by now.

Probably not very far, the way Tasuki walks. He stops just about every 10 minutes. Chichiri smiled at the recollection, but it also saddened him. They'd been so happy then…

Chichiri shook away the memories, and then pulled off his kesa, spreading it out on the ground in front of him. Holding his hands up near his face, he uttered a small spell, and then jumped into the middle, pulling the cloth back with him.

"DAA!" he fell face forward into a small group of bushes. He groaned, slowly pulling himself to his feet.

He checked around, making sure that no one was there, and then fastened his kesa back around his shoulder. When he was satisfied that it was back on securly, he took the liberty of finding Tasuki.

He tried to think if Tasuki would be ahead of him or behind him by now… but he didn't really have a clue. It all depended on how fast Tasuki had chosen to walk.

He was about to step out onto the road when he heard footsteps from his left. Quickly, he ducked back into the bushes, making sure that he was completely hidden. He watched as the owner of the footsteps wearily stepped into view.

"Aw fuck this stupid trip. Why'd Kouji make me go?" Chichiri felt a smile come to his face as he saw Tasuki walk along the road. Trust Tasuki to walk as slow as possible.

Tasuki was having a very hard time keeping his pace up, as he was so tired he could have just gone to sleep on the road. He had kept waking up last night… the same reoccuring dream…

He shook that thought out of his mind, trying to concentrate on the matter at hand. He was supposed to head into the village to get something… what was it? Kouji had written it down on a piece of paper for him before he'd left, which was a good thing because Tasuki would have forgotten it by now.

He sighed, deciding to wait until he actually made it there before checking to see what it was again. He didn't know why Kouji had sent him out of everybody else to go, but he figured he did kind of need some time to himself now…

Chichiri was debating whether to come out of the bushes. Now was the perfect time. They were both alone, they had a lot of time to talk… they could get this whole thing straightened out… somehow…

He moved aside the leaves of the bush he was hiding in, and was just about to step out onto the road, when all of a sudden, Tasuki stopped. Chichiri looked up at him, wondering what had caused the bandit to be so surprised.

There was a group of men standing up a ways on the path. They were just kind of… standing there, as if they were waiting for something. They looked like the kind of group that had "don't mess with us" written all over them. Definitely not the kind of group you wanted to run into while you were alone.

Chichiri shrunk back into the bushes and began to crawl forward on his stomach. If Tasuki was just smart enough, then he would walk through the forest, avoiding the group and going around. If he was smart enough…

Chichiri winced, hearing Tasuki's voice talking to the group. What was he saying? Chichiri got up on his knees looking through the bushes. He had gone a little farther than he had thought he would, but at least he was within hearing distance.

He watched as the members of the group, some of them sitting, kneeling, standing, stood up and began to walk towards Tasuki.

"What the hell are you doin'?" Tasuki was starting to get scared now. Maybe he should have just avoided this altogether. "If you're thinkin' of robbin' me, I'm sorry. I ain't got nothin' on me. Check for yourself!" He pulled the insides of his pockets out just to prove his point. "So ya' see… ya' see…"

The group stared menacingly at him, their eyes boring into his.

"Hehe… looks like we got lucky this time, boss."

"Yeah, I'm really gonna' enjoy this one."

The group was starting to form a circle around Tasuki as they moved in closer. Tasuki reached back, taking his tessen in his hand. If he had to fight, then he'd fight.

"I'm warning you… get away from me!"

One of the men charged towards him, and Tasuki lifted his tessen up, aiming it at the man. "Rekka shinen!" A burst of flames sprung out from it, engulfing the man.

Though this attack definitely drew off that one man, the rest seemed unfazed, and they all began to charge at Tasuki. He turned around, trying to fend them off, but there was too many of them.

He felt a kick come into his stomach and he wrapped his hands around his waist, dropping his tessen.

The men came in, grabbing his arms and legs and pushing him down onto the ground. He struggled to get up, struggled against their heavy grasps, but they held him tightly, his back against the ground.

Chichiri watched all of this in horror, almost stuck to the spot. They were… they were going to rape him! He tried to move… tried to stop them… but could he? Could he go up against all those men? Tasuki had tried, but they had been too much. What if… what if… His mind was a whirlwind of questions, of pleas, of doubts. He had to stop them, had to save Tasuki.

The men were moving faster now that they had their prey on the ground. The ones that held his arms began pulling up his shirt, pushing back his jacket. They dove forward, taking the skin of his chest in their mouths, letting their tongues travel across his skin.

"Chichiri!!! CHICHIRI!!!" Tasuki screamed out, tears choking him. He cried out, feeling them touch him, kiss him, felt their hands all over him. There was nothing he could do… he couldn't stop them.

He opened his mouth to scream again but it was covered the mouth of another man, hard, pushing his head back into the gravel. He twisted his head, trying to get away, but the man only kissed harder, pushing his tongue into Tasuki's mouth.

Chichiri couldn't stop himself now, not now. He was too mad, too enraged. He charged up to the middle of the road, weilding his staff. "Leave him alone!!"

The men looked up at the sound of this new voice. If at first they look startled, they were definitely happy now. This new young man was standing there in front of them, and they were sure they could handle him, as small as he looked.

Tears were starting to run down Chichiri's face as he yelled at the men. He watched as some of them slowly began to stand up, smiles playing across their faces.

"You bastards!!" Chichiri held his staff high up in the air, his other hand in front of his face, and sent a large burst of energy at the men.

They cried out, feeling the energy push against them, knocking them back into the gravel. They shakily stood back up, brushing the dirt off of their clothes. Angrier now, the men charged at Chichiri.

Chichiri held out both his hands in front of him, holding the staff in them. He uttered out a longer chant, and watched as a larger burst of energy screamed out at the men.

They were tossed aside like bowling pins falling down in a lane, landing hard on the ground. One of the men stood up, wiping a small trickle of blood away from his mouth.

"Come on guys, this ain't worth it!" The other men stood up, some slower than others, but everyone just wanting to get away. Chichiri watched as they ran, none of them looking back in fear that this new man would blast them again.

When they were all gone, Chichiri rushed forward to where Tasuki layed on the ground. He kneeled down, gently touching Tasuki's arm.

Feeling this touch, this gentle loving touch, Tasuki sat up and buried himself into Chichiri's shirt, tears falling freely from his eyes. "Chichiri… Chichiri…"

Chichiri wrapped his arms warmly around Tasuki, holding him tightly against himself. He leaned his head down, his cheek resting on Tasuki's head. "It's alright now, everything's going to be fine… you're alright now…"

Tasuki clung tightly to Chichiri's shirt, not letting go. Tears were beginning to soak the shirt, and his nose running wasn't helping anything either, but none of that mattered anymore.

Chichiri wasn't sure how long they sat there, but soon he heard Tasuki's cries fade out, and his breathing turned slow and deep. The softest of smiles appeared on his face, and he gently ran his hand through Tasuki's hair. He'd cried himself to sleep.

Chichiri brought his hands under Tasuki's body so that he was carrying the younger man, and then slowly stood up, not wanting to disturb him. Tasuki was still clutching Chichiri's shirt in his hands, his face barely visible in the folds of it.

Chichiri walked over and kneeled down, reaching one hand out to quickly pick up the dropped tessen, and then straightened back up. He let out a small chant, and soon, the only thing there was an empty road.

* * * *

He teleported into Tasuki's bedroom, his feet slowly coming to a halt as he landed on the floor. He looked around, glad that no one else was in there at the time.

He walked over to Tasuki's bed, and then layed the younger man down on it. He reached up and pulled the covers down, bringing them under Tasuki's body, and then softly laying them over him.

He stood back up, looking down at Tasuki as he slept. He looked so peaceful now, so beautiful…

He reached down with is hand, slowly tracing the side of Tasuki's face with his fingers, feeling his soft skin beneath his touch. He gently pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear.

He leaned down, moving his head in closer to the other's. Taking Tasuki's head softly in his hands, he bent forward, gently letting his lips touch his. They were barely touching, just a soft kiss, but it felt so wonderful.

Chichiri straightened back up a bit, looking into Tasuki's face. "Chi…Chichiri…" Tasuki moved his hand forward as if trying to pull the monk back down, but then settled back into the soft covers.

"Wo ai ni… watashi no tenshi…" He reached forward, letting his hand gently fall on Tasuki's. He felt his soft skin beneath his fingers, felt the warmth in his body that he wished he could keep forever…

Chichiri jerked up as the door to the bedroom slammed open. His eyes darted to the person that walked in.

Kouji was in a hurry, he rushed into his bedroom, preparing to get what he needed and then leave. He opened the door and quickly walked in, but then stopped at the sight that he saw.

"Seripa… what are you doin' in my room?"

Chichiri gestured down towards Tasuki, lying in the bed. "I found him outside on the doorstep and took him in. I… I don't know what's wrong."

Kouji's eyes flew over to Tasuki, and then he ran forward, kneeling down beside his bed. He took Tasuki's hand in his, looking into his face.

Chichiri just stepped back into the corner, watching with a sad look on his face.