When You Least Expect It
*part 1
By Sakata Ri Houjun
There have been several questions about Alexander; he's a character from Ayashi no Ceres, another of Yuu Watase's series. And eventually this will become a lemon but for right now, Hikari and I are trying to put together some sort of a plot and not just a bunch of random stuff.
Also, I'm using the Chinese versions of some of the terms regarding the world of the Shi Jen Ten Chi Sho simply because it's a fantasy land of China, and that would give a common factor to create a connection between Chichiri and Mousse. These terms will be the same ones that were used in the US manga releases of Fushigi Yuugi.
R&R please!
~***~
~Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think~
~***~
Chichiri could feel a dull ache working its way through his whole body. He lay there on the hard surface he had landed on, trying to regain his lost vertigo from that strenuous trip. His eye was shut and there was so much ringing inside his head, like one of the large palace gongs being beaten by Tasuki's tessen. Gods, he just wanted to lay still and wait for the world to stop spinning.
Then he felt a foot nudging into his side, and a voice floating out from above him. "Hey. Are you okay?"
The monk blinked open his eye to focus upon a young and rather confused raven-haired man peering down at him, a large and thick pair of glasses perched upon his nose. Chichiri groaned as the room abruptly swam and he lifted one shaking hand to his head.
"Where am I, no da?"
A gravely voice wafted over from his right, "Nekohanten, in Nerima."
"You fall hard," came a third voice, female and cheery from off to his left.
He did not recognize either the location or the voices. "Am I still in Hong-Nan, no da?" Chichiri questioned as he rubbed at his temple, his brow furrowing at the dulling pain.
"Hong-Nan?" asked the male with the glasses.
"Crimson South," the gravelly voice replied, almost with reverence. "The mystical kingdom that was rumored to be nothing more than a myth."
"Aiyaa," came the bubbly female voice. "That old legend you tell me when child."
"Could this stranger be a resident from the fabled Hong-Nan?" the raspy voice questioned aloud.
Chichiri opened his eye then, feeling that he should know the faces that went with the voices. He noticed the young man again, still peering down at him through his thick glasses. Then the cerulean-haired seishi shifted his gaze to the left, only to see a striking young woman with long purple hair like his departed comrade Nuriko and large innocent eyes that sparkled like Miaka's. Finally, Chichiri turned his head over to the right, laying his eye on what could only be called Taiitsukun's sister, though older or younger he couldn't even begin to guess.
The old woman reached over with her long staff and prodded at the monk. "Do you claim to be from Hong-Nan, young man?"
Chichiri sat up, wincing slightly from the aftereffects of his wild ride, only to then nod resolutely, locking gazes with the elderly woman. "Yes. I am Chichiri and it seems apparent to me now from your conversation that I am indeed no longer in my homeland, no da."
"You are correct in that assumption, Chichiri. In fact, you are no longer even in China, but in Japan," the old woman went on to explain.
"Japan..." he mused aloud. "Miaka's world, perhaps, no da..."
The raven-haired young man tilted his head, which drew Chichiri's attention. "Miaka? You know someone in Japan?"
Chichiri nodded solemnly. "A miko, no da. And a very courageous young woman as well. She saved my world, na no da."
"Ah," the old woman interrupted. "That wouldn't happen to be the legend of the Four Gods, would it?"
Again, Chichiri nodded. "Yes, she was the Suzaku no Miko and I was one of her seishi, no da."
"I thought the name Chichiri sounded familiar." She fairly smiled at the cerulean-haired man now. "You may call me Cologne, the young woman over there is my great-grandchild, Shampoo, and that waste of space is known as Mousse."
Mousse frowned unhappily at Cologne's comment, insulted at her choice of words. Chichiri stood up very gracefully despite the unorthodox entrance he had made earlier, dusting off his clothes before proceeding to bow respectfully before them.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
Shampoo giggled, her maroon twinkling with delight at the stranger's politeness. "Aiyaa. Man from magical kingdom polite."
Mousse felt his blue eyes narrowing in jealousy. It seemed that the object of his affection would favor every strange man she came across over him. He quietly folded his arms within his silk robe, readying several weapons of his arsenal should it seem that this unusual man with his peculiar speech patterns and gravity defying powder blue bangs might become dangerous.
Chichiri sensed hostility emanating from Mousse and turned to face the young Amazon. "I mean you no harm, no da. I'm only misplaced, not dangerous, na no da."
"You also fell out of thin air," he protested, his fingers tightening on one of his throwing daggers.
The monk sighed and then approached the raven-haired individual, his hands held up to placate Mousse's growing ire. "Please calm down, no da."
Chichiri invading his space like that, even as passive as he seemed, suddenly threw Mousse over the edge and without warning he pulled out the throwing knife, his hand a blur. However, the seishi seemed to be expecting such a reaction and sidestepped the dangerous object, plucking the knife from the air as he did so before facing Mousse again and lifting his fingers to his beads.
Before Mousse could even compose himself to attack again, he found himself frozen in place, as though his whole body had turned to stone. His dark eyes glared angrily at Chichiri as he struggled with all his strength against the monk's spell.
Chichiri's perpetual smile seemed sadder as he looked closely at the Amazon's weapon. "That could've killed me, no da. Didn't you believe me when I said I didn't mean you any harm, no da?"
"Never mind him," Cologne interjected, placing a withered hand upon the seishi's shoulder. "That boy is impulsive to a fault and relentless even when faced with the truth. Pay him no heed."
Shampoo only added insult to injury by suddenly appearing on Chichiri's other side, armed with a bucket of cold water. "Stupid duck-boy no learn," she exclaimed before dousing him.
Mousse extricated himself from the tangle of fabric and weaponry that was such an annoyance whenever he transformed, ruffling his fathers as he continued to glare comtemptously at the unwelcomed stranger. However, even as he ignored the usual annoyed frowns from his fellow Amazons, he noticed only a soft look coming from Chichiri. That only seemed to make Mousse even angrier; he didn't need some stranger's pity.
Shampoo sniffed in dismissal as she spun and tugged on the blue-haired man's arm. "Come, tell about journey. Very strange tale, Shampoo bet."
"Indeed," Cologne added, also turning away from the enraged Mousse. "I'd love to hear if the legends are accurate regarding your homeland, plus I would love to learn more about your gifts as well."
Chichiri let himself be led from the room, his gaze straying back at the small white duck being left behind. "What about him, no da?"
Cologne dismissed his question with a wave of her gnarled hand. "Oh, he'll be fine. Some one needs to clean up the mess anyways."
~***~
Life is unfair, thought Alex as he gazed at his reflection in the glass of the helicopter's cockpit. His amethyst eyes focused not on the scenery passing swiftly below him as the pilot flew further and further away from Tokyo, but on himself.
He should have reported that 'glitch' to Kagami, then perhaps this whole affair could have been avoided. He should have realized that the Mikage mogul would have had his hand in every readout that come up through his program. He was a genius, for Shiori's sake, he should have foreseen this whole scenario long before it happened.
But no, he didn't. And now he was paying dearly for it.
God, it wasn't fair.
He could still replay that fated conversation with his boss. Kagami's dark eyes were filled with so much disappointment and condemnation. Alex knew that look all too well; it was the same on that he wore whenever he was caught playing video games instead of doing his job. And that was pretty often.
But still, what in the world made this situation any different than the others? Okay, so maybe he should have reported the 'glitch', as insignificant as it seemed, and perhaps he shouldn't have been playing a second round of his game instead of ignoring Kagami's summons. Hell, it wasn't as if he was in danger of getting fired.
There was actually a greater chance of Kagami having him killed off first, but even then he was too valuable a commodity to the project.
But still, sending him of fieldwork? And without a lick of anime to occupy his time either? This went above and beyond cruel punishment. It was plain torture. And it was too unfair.
Alex shifted his gaze from his reflection in the glass to the printed address he clutched in his hand. The exact pinpointed area where the brief disturbance occurred. He had to investigate it first hand and make his report within twenty-four hours.
God, this was tedious. It was also below him. He was a graduate of MIT, an educated and revered young man. He was spicing genes back in the States before he could vote, designing fully operational bipedal automatons before he was legal to drink. Now he was lowering himself to nothing more than a common non-descript black suit type.
Well, maybe not quite a black suit, he smiled as he looked down at his red shirt and lace-up boots. Not very easy to blend in with this type of attire but, hey, he had to be him.
The pilot started his descent upon the outskirts of the prefecture he was to invade, jarring Alex with its touchdown. The unknown pilot reached over and unlatched the blonde's exit, practically pushing him out the hatchway. Alex barely had time to remove his headgear and nab is overnight bag that Kagami had Gladys personally prepare for him.
"See ya in a couple of days," the pilot laughed sarcastically before shutting the door on Alex and taking off, the dirt kicking up to momentarily blind the scientist.
"This is wholly unfair, deshi," Alex complained to no one in particular as he cleared the dust from his lungs.
