Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Never have, never will. Tasuki's assailant, on the other hand, is all mine.
Author's Notes: This chapter contains a little blood, a little gore, and a little angst. Heh, a mix of many worlds. It gets a little sentimental at the end, but that's cause I wasn't feeling as emotionally constipated as usual when I wrote it. Keep the reviews coming, everyone! They really brighten my day and make me want to continue. Flames, however, will be used to burn my Zoology lab book, notebook, and text book.
Thinking in * *
Chapter 2: Cursed
Chichiri wandered by one of the many ponds on the palace grounds. Something about Tasuki's story had made him feel uneasy.
*Why is Tasuki the only one who hears howling at night? I haven't heard anything and the others never said a word about nighttime howling. I've got a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should ask Tasuki some more questions. This howling might have something to do with the evil presence I've been sensing.*
His mind made up, Chichiri began to make his way back to where he had last seen Tasuki. As he neared the area, a cold chill crept up the monk's spine. Something very evil was on the palace grounds and very close. That meant it might have found…
"Tasuki!" Chichiri cried out in fear.
"CHICHIRI!" Tasuki's voice echoed across the palace.
Chichiri, gripped with fear over what may be happening to his friend, sprinted toward his fellow seishi's voice at full speed. His stomach lurched in disgust and a wave of nausea hit the monk the moment he saw Tasuki.
The red headed seishi was lying on the ground in a pool of crimson blood, undoubtedly his own. A canine-like beast was leaning over Tasuki with its fangs clamped tightly over the bandit's shoulder, just shy of his throat. From the pained look on Tasuki's face, Chichiri could tell that his young friend was still conscious and feeling every agonizing moment of the assault.
Shoving aside the sickening feeling in his stomach, Chichiri concentrated on focusing his ki. With a grunt of anger, he released a ball of energy that slammed into the face of Tasuki's assailant. The creature howled in pain as it dashed away, leaping over the palace wall in a single bound.
As soon as the creature disappeared into the night, Chichiri raced to the side of his injured friend. "Tasuki! Tasuki please say something no da!"
"Chichiri," Tasuki croaked as blood from his injured shoulder flowed freely to the ground. "Chichiri, please…please help me…"
With those words, Tasuki lost consciousness.
Chichiri choked back a sob as he gingerly lifted the bandit up, not caring about the flowing blood that stained his own clothes. As quickly as he possibly could, Chichiri carried his injured friend toward the palace where the rest of the Suzaku seishi and their Miko stood with bewildered looks on their faces.
"Chichiri, what has happened here?" Hotohori asked. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the night, the emperor of Konan looked just as flawless as he did during the day.
The monk ignored the emperor's question for the moment as he carried the injured Tasuki over to the silent healer, Mitsukake.
"Please, Mitsukake," he pleaded softly. "Can you heal him?"
The healer nodded and took Tasuki from Chichiri's arms before heading to the young bandit's chambers. Once they were gone, Chichiri fell to his knees. He was completely drained emotionally and physically, and completely forgot that the remaining seishi were staring at him, completely clueless.
Hotohori could see through the monk's mask that Chichiri was too distraught to answer any questions for now. He gestured for Nuriko. "Nuriko, please help Chichiri get back to his chambers. After what has happened, we could all use some rest."
Nuriko nodded and helped Chichiri to his feet. The monk staggered a bit before blindly following the effeminate seishi back to his room. Nuriko could tell that Chichiri was thinking about Tasuki.
"Don't worry, Chichiri," He smiled. "Mitsukake will heal Tasuki up and he'll be his old charming self again in the morning. You know that."
"That's not what I'm worried about no da," Chichiri muttered. "I know that Tasuki's physical wounds will be healed. I just hope that the creature that bit him was not what I think it was."
"Huh?" Nuriko stared blankly as the monk entered his chambers and shut the door behind him.
* * *
Sleep was elusive to Chichiri that night. Visions of that red eyed monster relentlessly flashed before his mind's eye. The thought of what it had done to Tasuki never failed to send a shiver up the monk's spine.
*Please Suzaku* He prayed. *Please do not doom one of your warriors to live with such a fate.*
Seeing as how he wasn't going to get any sleep that night, Chichiri rolled out of bed. Donning his mask and kesa, he wandered silently through the halls of the imperial palace without any destination in mind. For several minutes, he roamed the palace in a daze until he came to a halt in front of an ornate door.
"Tasuki's chambers," he murmured softly to himself.
He was about to knock when the door opened and Mitsukake stepped out. Upon seeing Chichiri's distraught face, the sort-spoken healer gave him a reassuring smile.
"I've healed his wounds. He should be all right now." His smile fell. "Although, there is something strange about his injuries."
"Strange no da?"
Mitsukake looked over his shoulder at the sleeping bandit on the bed. "There was one wound on his shoulder that my powers could not heal. It looks like some kind of bite mark, though I have never seen one like this before. What do you think Chichiri?"
Any hopes of Tasuki being all right in Chichiri's mind were shattered at that moment.
"Hai," Chichiri muttered. "He has the curse no da."
"Curse? What curse?"
Chichiri sighed and removed his mask, his eye never once leaving Tasuki. "The beast that attacked Tasuki was a cursed animal of some sort. By biting Tasuki, the animal spread its curse into Tasuki's body. I recall Taiitsukun telling me about these incidents, but I can not remember all of the details at this moment. I'll have to contact her in the morning."
Mitsukake said nothing; only nodded and left Chichiri alone in the room with the sleeping Tasuki. The monk silently grimaced when he saw the viscous scar on the younger seishi's shoulder.
"Forgive me, Tasuki. This is my fault. I should have realized what I was sensing when you told me about the wolf howling that only you could hear. I swear to you that I will find some way to lift this curse, my friend. No matter what."