Wa Ga Fushigi

Chapter One: The Seperation

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: After a long time, here at last is Chapter One. Don't kill us! We've had a long year at school, and a lot of rewriting to do. Please enjoy, and here's a translator if you need it.

Aiya-- Ouch/Dang/Oof!

Nani-- what?

Wa ga doko-- where are we?

Jigoku-- Hell

(Na) no da-- expression to add emphasis, commonly used by Chichiri

Kami-- Japanese term for God

Seishi-- soldiers/warriors

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Ri Keifu and Kinpaku Ryuurei were spiraling into a vortex of bright golden light mixed with a deep contrasting blood crimson that shone brilliantly in their half-blinded eyes. They screamed for help, but at the same time knew that none could hear them…


Further and further they fell through the empty space, until they finally hit hard grassy ground with a loud THUMP. Around them was a long expanse of tall grass, with scattered trees of various types that sighed in the light winds. But with the wind came a scent of rot and death, which began to awaken the unconscious ones.


"Aiya…" Ri murmured, recovering first. "What happened?" He looked around himself slowly as he cleared his vision, brushing a lock of almost-black hair from his chocolate-brown eyes.

"Where are we… NANI!?" He was wide-eyed at the scene before him to the east… people running and screaming from a burning village some hundred meters away, the guilty torches held by tall disheveled bandits that were laughing as they pillaged the poor people…

'This is VERY bad…' he thought, then turned to see Ryuurei stirring nearby.

"Ryuurei!" he called out, loud enough only for her to hear. "Wake up!"

"Huh?" she responded almost groggily as she sat up and straightened her blue school uniform. "Ri… wa ga doko?"

"I have no idea… it looks like ancient China to me."

"NANI?" she shouted. "How is that possible? Are we dreaming? Or can we be inside that book…"

They looked at each other for a moment, then Ri proceeded to hit himself on the head. He yelped slightly, rubbing the bruise.

"No," he affirmed. "This IS real… wherever and whatever it is."

He grimly considered the situation, his gaze traveling to the nearby village. One thing was for certain… they had to get out of there, or risk becoming one of the bandits' victims. But where could they possibly go? This was unfamiliar territory to say the least, and Jigoku knows what dangers lay in store for them in any direction. But the worst situation he could think of at that point was what would happen if the bandits found them.

"Ri?" Ryuurei asked, having noticed his pensive expression. He looked up at her face, staring her right in the blue eyes.

"Ryuurei… we have to get out of here… the village… once those guys are done there they'll hunt down the survivors. I think it's best that we get out of here quickly before they find us…" She nodded, and rose to her feet. "Good idea… let's go."

"Oh, not so fast there, sweetie," said a voice, and from behind a tree. Both whirled around to face the danger, Ri moving in front of his friend protectively. Shadow seemed reluctant to release the figure as it stepped into the dappled sunlight peeking in from the tree canopies…

He had long bluish-black hair, and under the mass of flowing bangs a beige headband could be seen, and beneath that two glittering black eyes sparkled menacingly as his smirk revealed white teeth. Tall, but not extremely, he towered nonetheless over the two junior-high students and a long scar crossed his left cheek.

"What have we here?" he drawled, leer widening. "Foreigners, eh? You gotta pay the toll to pass through Mt. Leikaku. Bandit rules, and for seeing this… bit of fun we're having at the village, the toll'll triple… fair enough, eh?"

"What have they done to you to deserve that?" Ryuurei demanded from behind Ri, her delicate features reddening in silent fury. "What could those poor people have done to you?"

"Aw, nothin' big," he said with an indifferent shrug. "They didn't pay their protection fees, so we had to let them know that they forgot. Bandits' gotta live too, ya know, missy."

"Monster!" she exclaimed in horror, but before she could continue the spout of insults on the tip of her tongue Ri shushed her with a warning glance.

"Now I don't like yer attitude, missy," the bandit growled.

"Stay away from her," Ri countered in the loudest voice he could muster. Jigoku… who wouldn't be scared of a man like this bandit? Sure he talked funny and was alone, but he was experienced in dealing with people… but not in the way of diplomacy.

"'Way I see it," the bandit continued, fingering a knife at his belt, "…is that you either pay up the toll, or I make you shut up. Your choice."

"Neither!" Ri yelled defiantly, still trying to hide his friend from view. "I don't answer to dirty thieves!"

"Why you little twerp! You'll pay for that! YAH!" He pulled the short blade from his belt and began to run at the two frightened teenagers. He raised a muscled arm to strike… swung…

Ri closed his eyes in horror; Ryuurei screamed. Seconds passed and suddenly a strond wind brushed against Ri's upturned face… but he felt no pain, no slash of cold metal against warm flesh. Someone cried out in pain, and as the boy opened his eyes he was greeted by a cloaked figure in front of him, holding a staff in one hand. He appeared to be chanting some sort of spell, and as Ri looked around, he saw a red aura surrounding him and Ryuurei.

"Nani?" he inquired to himself. A startled gasp came from Ryuurei. "That's him!" she exclaimed. "The one from my dream!"

He stared at her, stupefied, then turned back to their rescuer, who had just deflected a knife blow away from himself with the red staff. The bandit was obviously enraged that someone was interfering with him, and mindlessly went berserk with his weapon. Upon seeing his desperation the newcomer stopped blocking directly, jumped out of the way some distance to the left and began chanting again. Ri could see his face now, fox-like and rather comical as his eyebrows knitted in concentration while his eyes retained a happy expression. Light blue hair was shaved except for a short ponytail in the back and bangs in front that stood up on end. The hand not holding the red staff was clutching a beaded necklace with red and green ornamental beads…

'A monk,' Ri concluded, 'He's an ancient Chinese monk! And Ryuurei was right… he's the one that she had been drawing this afternoon!'

As he watched from the protection of the shield, Ri faintly saw a red glow coming from the monk's knee. Ryuurei saw it too.

"He's hurt! Oh no… WATCH OUT!"

The bandit swiped, slashed and cut as he quickly approached his target in his mad rage, black eyes wide in his madness and loss of wit. His navy hair blew wildly in the light wind as a thundercloud, framing his ruggedly handsome yet angered features.

Just before the bandit could draw more blood from the monk, the latter shouted a final incantation, sending the bandit flying off in a random direction. Just as the oppressor had been disposed of, the aura-like shield disappeared…

Ryuurei watched the mysterious monk as he valiantly fought the horrible bandit alone. She was greatly impressed by his great power that she sensed from him… hold on… sensed?

'Where did that idea come from?' she thought to herself. 'How can I sense stuff like that? This is getting a bit too weird…but that guy…I can't believe he's the one from my dreams! What does it mean?'
Her mind cleared for a moment as yelled erupted from the two fighters, then a flash of scarlet light as the blue-haired bandit went flying off, unconscious. She found herself able to move then since the protective field dissipated…

"You really shouldn't be here no da," the monk scolded as he walked over to the two frightened teens. "It's asking for unnecessary trouble to follow bandits like that… you could have been killed na no da."
He spoke in a slightly rough, alto voice with a slight undertone reminiscent of velvet, keeping a cheerful note but his seriousness at the same time could never be mistaken. Even the amusingly strange features of his face betrayed his anger and relief, one eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

"Where do you come from no da?" he continued. "Never before have I seen such strange clothes na no da."

"Same for us," Ri answered. "We don't exactly know where we are right now, let alone dress code. Who are you?"

"I am Houjun, but more commonly known as Chichiri. You say you don't know where you are no da?"

"That's right," Ryuurei responded this time. "We were in our library back home when a book fell open at our feet and sucked us in, in a glow of red light."

"So you are alone here, from another world no da?" He appeared confused and surprised, but again a paradox occurred in that he was also presuming and expectant… as if he knew exactly what was going on.
At his question the girl nodded, her blue eyes sparkling. Ri noticed and elbowed her hard in the side.

"What did you do that for?" he hissed angrily. "You can't just go telling people that we're alone here!"

"There's no need to worry no da," Chichiri raised his eyebrow again. "I'm not going to harm you. I am a harmless wanderer no da… who helps anyone in need of my services…" he trailed off, his gaze resting upon Ryuurei.

"Harmless? You are NOT harmless!" Ri accused, pointing a finger at the blue-haired monk and remaining between him and Ryuurei. "What did you call those spells you were chanting?"

"Simple protection and enemy deflection," he shrugged. "Easy to learn, and effective against stupid bandits no da."

Ri was about to say something more when Ryuurei placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he gave her a puzzled look, but then his dark eyes widened in shock as he began to glow in an eerie green light…

"Ri?!" Ryuurei gasped. "What's happening?"

"I don't kno--" Suddenly the boy vanished into thin air, a loud whistle and spray of green and gold shimmer signaling his departure.

"RI!" the girl shouted, reaching after her friend. "RI! He's… he's gone…" she turned away from the monk, her face in her hands as she tried to sort things out.

"Just great…" she mumbled. "First a red phoenix brings us here, then we get attacked by bloodthirsty murderers… saved from the exact person I saw in my dreams… then Ri disappears to Jigoku-knows-where and leaving me stranded here… alone… jeez, fate can be so cruel."

"I understand," Chichiri said quietly, surprising the young girl as she whirled around. The friendly monk gave her a smile, stood up, and held out his hand. Slowly, she took it, using it to lift herself from the ground.

"I can help you," he continued, "Get home. But… if I am right no da, then it might take a long time to do that…"

"Right about what?" Ryuurei demanded. "Why would it take a long time? I have to get back! I have to find Ri…"

"Your friend is no longer in this world na no da."

"This… world?" she stammered. "Like… another dimension? A different time and space-continuum than my own?"

"That would sum it up perfectly no da."

Ryuurei groaned loudly. "Wonderful… just wonderful… I'm stuck here."

"Aw, don't worry no da," Chichiri soothed. "It'll be okay. I'll stick with you until we get you home… all right?" She nodded, drawing a small smile from him. "All right then no da… but I never did get your name na no da!"

"I-I'm… I'm Ryuurei. Kinpaku Ryuurei."

A girl from a distant world… named Kinpaku Ryuurei. Elegant leaves of gold, Chichiri pondered the name translated to be. It was suitable, he supposed, for she held an air of grace and maturity about her uncommon for one so very young.

"Well, Ryuurei," he said brightly. "Let's set off?"

"Um…" she thought for a few moments, seemingly still a bit hesitant to trust him. "I guess so. Lead the way…"

"Gladly no da!"

~~~~~
The walk through the forests was long and winding, and without a path to Ryuurei seemed impossible to reach a destination. But then, this was a time when there were no locating computers and few roads, so people had to rely on landmarks and memory to get from point A to point B. Chichiri was silent for the majority of the time, so therefore the quiet girl easily followed suit. With sadness, she thought of Chichiri's words about how it would take a long while to get her home, and how Ri was now so far away from her.

"Ri…" she murmured. "I hope you're safe at home… I hope I can join you soon."

Chichiri, on the other hand, was thinking about what he had overheard Ryuurei mumbling back at the clearing.

"Red light… phoenix… sucked into a book…" He didn't understand the part about the book, aside from the fact that it must have been an inter-world portal… a door so to speak that allows one to travel from one world to another. The red light and the bird that she had described intrigued him even more, reminding him of a legend that it was his duty to follow.

'Is it she?' he thought to himself as he quickly glanced over his shoulders at her. 'Can this girl really and truly be the one of legend? The one predicted to arrive here from another world and my soul was destined to forever protect?'

He looked down at his knee, where the glow from before had not faded. He paused, considering it, but his sudden stop caused Ryuurei to bump into him, and she fell to the ground in surprise.

"Let me know next time," she grumbled, before taking note of what her companion was paying attention to.

"Oh my Kami!" she exclaimed. "You're still bleeding! I forgot! Does it hurt?"

"Don't worry no da," Chichiri laughed. "It's no wound of any sort…" he reached down to rip a bit of the cloth over the knee away, revealing a glowing red mark which became brighter as the teenager peered at it. She recognized it as the Chinese symbol for 'well'; twin pairs of parallel lines intersecting one another much like a tic-tac-toe game board.

"What is it?" she questioned, curiosity getting the better of her.

"It's a celestial symbol."

Her gaze moved to meet his own, her puzzlement apparent. The monk sighed. "Chichiri is my name as a destined warrior… one who has been given powers to protect a girl who will come to this world from another and become the priestess of my guardian god."

"Whoa… wait a minute… another world? Priestess of a guardian god? What the heck?"

"According to legend, the girl from another world will have to find her seven Celestial Seishi, or warriors, in order to summon the Phoenix God Suzaku and have her greatest wishes granted and protect the Southern Kingdom."

'Phoenix God Suzaku… that sounds just like the bird that I saw before coming here! It makes a bit of sense… but why me? Unless… oh no…'

"Are you trying to say that I am this 'Priestess of Suzaku', Chichiri?" she said aloud, disbelieving. He pondered a moment, considering.

"It sure seems that way no da," he replied cautiously. "The more I think about it, Ryuurei, the more it seems true. You came here from a faraway place, you claim to have seen the beast form of Suzaku, your presence summoned me when you were in danger… and my symbol still glows… My symbol only is to appear when I protect the priestess, as legend has it."

"O boy…" she mumbled. "I don't believe this… wake up Ryuurei… this is another of your crazy dreams… just another dream like before…"

"I assure you this is no dream na no da. The only advice I can give is to find out the truth-- if you really are the Suzaku no Miko or not."

"And how, may I ask, in this world or mine do I do that??" she exclaimed in utter exasperation, tears now threatening to fall. They burned in her eyes like acid, and it pained her even worse to hold them back. "I'm just a kid! A kid all alone in a strange ancient Chinese storybook---"

"Stop." His word was harsh, his voice cold. Ryuurei tried not to look at him, but to her he seemed a paradox in itself… his chilly attitude that he was displaying was an oxymoron to the ever-happy face… was that truly his face?

"There's no point in beating yourself up over this! You have to go on, forward in the path until you reach the end. That is the only way to get through life… you can't just stand at a crossroads until some sign presents itself. You make your own signs; you pick the direction that your heart leads you to." Riddles. That was the last thing that she needed right now… but even so, she knew that he was right. She had to move on, but which was the way to go? She had no way of telling… no way to know which path was the one to take.

"I don't know where to go," she said at last, wiping her eyes and still refusing to meet his gaze. Chichiri considered her solemnly, unsure of how to comfort her. She seemed incredibly strong but at the same time so fragile. How could both describe a person…? And yet the answer was within her.

"The only way I see to go," the blue-haired monk responded, not as harshly, "…is to find the celestial warriors. But, perhaps first we should go and visit Taiitskun. She will know more about this than me, as well as if you really are the Priestess."

"She is one of the guardians of this world, the controller of Yang. It was she who gave each of the emperors of the four kingdoms a copy of the sacred text, the Shi Jin Ten Shi Sho."

"The… Shi Jin Ten Shi Sho?" Ryuurei's face had gone greatly pale. "Is that what you said?"

"Hai. Daijobu?"

Abruptly the girl plopped to the ground, hands on her head in disbelief. "No way… no way… no way… this can't be happening! That's the EXACT BOOK I was sucked into to get here…"

"Are you sure?" Chichiri exclaimed, just as astonished. "Then you ARE the Priestess!"

"No way!" she repeated again, shaking her head. "I don't want to be a priestess!"

"It's the only way to get home," the monk said quietly. "Come on, I'll take you to Taiitskun… she can make a lot more sense of this than I can na no da."

As he turned to start on again he held out his hand to help Ryuurei up. She was about to take it when a light rustle of leaves came from close by. Chichiri froze in his tracks, his seishi symbol glowing brilliantly again, which meant one thing… the Priestess was in danger.

"Thought you could get away, smart guy?" a familiar voice called from the shadows of the trees. "That was some cute magic trick you pulled on me… but it's not gonna help you now, nope."

"You again," the blue-haired monk growled loudly. "What do you want now?"

"Well," Ryuurei could almost feel the bandit's sneer… "For one, revenge on you, and secondly the girl. Our boss might have an interest in her."

"You will leave the girl out of this, you coward. I know you didn't follow me alone… and if it's a fight you want, you'll get it, but Ryuurei is NOT a part of this, understand?"

"No guarantees, monk," the dark haired bandit replied as he at last stepped from the brush. Behind him were five other thieves, all with knives at the ready and their eyes red with the thirst for blood. The girl shivered at the sight of them, her skin crawling in terror.

"Can we get him now, Kouji?" one of them asked the midnight-haired leader. "I wanna teach him a lesson!"

"No, me! I wanna shot at the fox-face!"

Amidst their quarrels, Chichiri took a step back towards Ryuurei.

"Listen," he commanded. "I want you to stay close to me… I can't let anything happen to you."

"But…" she stammered.

"No buts," he interrupted, voice once again serious. "You are my priestess and it is my sworn duty to guard you with my life. Don't worry about me… I can handle these dimwits easily." He grinned at her reassuringly… then the battle began.

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Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed! Please read and review! More shall be posted shortly.

~Sierra Omega and Kryllion_dono~