Rain stirred slightly as bright sunlight hit her eyes. She made a
noise and tried to roll over and shield her face from it.
My arm itches...she thought, rubbing her forearm across her forehead.
She opened her eyes slightly. Wait...sunlight?
She bolted upright instantly, knocking a small sleeping cat off her chest.
The cat let out an unhappy meow, then scampered away from her.
Rain found herself in a hut that was half charred, the sunlight coming in
through a hole in the thatch roof. She was covered in a moth-eaten blanket,
laying upon a reed mat on the floor. "It wasn't a dream..." she breathed in awe.
She stood up, then stumbled, the sudden change in position causing a dizzy spell.
She put the heel of her palm to her forehead and waited for the spell to pass.
She then looked up and around her surroundings again. It was a hut that had been
in that village. It was still standing, despite all the burned places on it. Scratching
her forearm absent-mindedly, she wandered out of the hut and into the sunlight,
wincing as it first hit her eyes. There were a few people wandering about, picking
up debris and hammering new pieces of wood to cover up holes in their homes.
Several people stopped to stare at her. Rain cringed inwardly. They were looking at
her with the same expression that her classmates had been staring at her with in her
dream before.
Scratching her arm again, Rain wandered away from the hut she'd been sleeping in,
looking around for the little girl. She'd saved her, hadn't she?
The little girl squealed from behind another hut. Her heart leaping into her throat,
Rain dashed around the hut to find a man with a shocking color of red hair pinning
her to the ground.
"That...pervert!!" Rain breathed in shock. Setting her jaw and glaring, she ran the
rest of the distance between them.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she shouted, running into the man and pushing him away with all
of her strength. He barely uttered a surprised "Hey!" before tumbling down a hill, Rain
tumbling with him. After they came to a stop, Rain lifted herself up enough to see back
up the hill. The little girl stared down at them, one finger in her mouth.
"Are you all right?" Rain called back up there. The little girl blinked a few times, then
giggled and nodded.
"Big sister is funny!" she called down to them. It was Rain's turn to blink. "Big brother fall
down!" she continued, giggling harder. Rain's brow furrowed. Big brother? He wasn't hurting
her...? Rain looked down between her arms to get a glimpse of the man whom she was sprawled
over. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were shut as if he was asleep, or unconscious,
and his hair covered his face in strands. Unknowingly, Rain's breath caught in her throat. He was
actually....kind of cute...
"Would you mind getting off of me before I puke all over you?" he asked in a low voice. He
remained with his head turned, but now winced. His hands were clenching clods of earth, and
his face actually began to turn a green pallor. Her eyes widening, Rain pushed herself away
from him, as he sat up and leaned away from her, making gagging noises. Turning away and facing
the little girl who was now wandering down to them, she heard the proof of his warning. Any moment
longer and he would've puked on her.
Giggling, the little girl mock-tripped and tumbled onto Rain, hugging her tightly around her neck.
Rain smiled and patted her back. "Lai-Lin happy now that big sister is awake!" she giggled. She
pushed herself away from her tight hug to stare into Rain's eyes. "What's big sisters name?" she a
sked curiously. Rain smiled.
"I'm Rain." She said, her voice quivering with a restrained laugh. Lai-Lin was so cute, it was hard
not to smile.
"Like the water that comes from the black clouds?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. Rain nodded
and finally laughed as Lai-Lin let out an awed "Woooow!"
Hurling complete, Lai-Lin let go of Rain and ran around her to tackle the man's back with hugs.
"Eeew! Big Brother made a mess!" she proclaimed, climbing onto his back. The man glanced at her
over his shoulder, then reached behind him to pull her over onto his lap.
"Yeah, now I'll make you clean it up!" he growled playfully. Lai-Lin squealed again, and began
kicking her feet. Rain's cheeks turned pink. So he wasn't hurting her after all. She thought in
embarrassment, scratching her arm again.
After a few more minutes of wrestling the giggling little girl, Tasuki sent her on her way, and
turned to Rain, who was staring off into space, her face pink.
"What, you think I was some sort of pervert or something?" he asked her. Rain jumped and turned
towards him, her blush deepening.
"Um..ah..no. I was....I'm just a little protective of her since last night..you know?" she said nervously,
scratching her arm again. Tasuki turned his head slightly to glance at her skeptically.
"Ah hah. Rrrright." He said, pushing himself to his feet. He walked over to her and offered a hand
to help her to hers. "The name's Tasuki." He stated as she climbed to her feet. Rain smothered a smile.
"That's a funny name." She managed out. Tasuki lowered his eyes in an annoyed glare.
"S'no funnier than Rain. I mean, what kind of parents would name their kid after water?" he
retorted. It was Rain's turn to glare. This only lasted a moment and then she looked down to her feet,
still scratching her arm.
"I don't have a name." She said sullenly. Tasuki's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Huh? You just said your name was..."
"I......I chose that name.....when they found me...it was the first thing that came to mind." She
said in a quiet voice. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why she was telling
him this. She'd not known him for over three minutes, and she was already giving away one of
her most closely guarded secrets. Not even Miaka or Yui knew that much about her, and she'd
known them for two months!
As if sensing her sudden discomfort, Tasuki let out a grunt and a half grin, and turned away
from her to head back up the hill to the village.
"Yeah, well, Tasuki's not my real name either. It's Genro." He stated, half-glancing at her over
his shoulder. Rain lifted her head to stare at him in surprise. He gave her another half-grin,
then trudged up the hill. "Ya comin or not? They've got breakfast up here and I don't know a
bout you, but I'm starving."
------------------------------------
Tetsuya sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand. He'd lost his sunglasses
somewhere between the time that he disappeared into the light after Yui, and when he woke
up in the ruins that used to be the capital of Kutou. He'd been alone, so either everyone else
was in another part of the world, or he'd been the only one sucked in. He hoped to God that
it was the first.
It'd taken him a few minutes upon waking to figure out that he was indeed inside the Universe
of the Four Gods, and even longer to figure out that it was Kutou. It had been storming all night,
and he had found a place to sleep inside the rubble that used to be the palace.
"So this is the infamous book world, huh?" he mused to himself, as he pushed himself to his feet.
The sun hurt his eyes and he felt an oncoming headache, but he figured he wouldn't find his
glasses anywhere nearby. Some ragged-looking people passed him by, dirty from living in muck,
and stared at him with wide eyes. Wincing, Tetsuya glanced at them.
"What are you looking at?" he challenged. The people gasped and scurried away to their
crumbling homes. Tetsuya sighed and walked out of the palace rubble. No use in hanging
around here. There was no way he'd get any type of help from these people. Maybe if he could
find his way to Konan...then maybe he'd get some help...
----------------------------------
"Poor Tetsuya..." Hoshi said after awhile. Keisuke looked up at her as she offered him a cup of
coffee. He had been reading aloud since they both recovered from their shock, and it was
well into the night now. Thunder rumbled in the distance, almost as if the storm that had
plagued the book world had crossed over and was going to rain monsters down upon them.
"If we can find some sort of connection with him to talk to him, then we can tell him where the
others are...but right now I don't know of anything off-hand that he's got, that's also left here."
Keisuke said, taking a sip of his drink. Hoshi sat down heavily and propped her elbow on the
back of the couch, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
"What's up with that Rain girl throwing fire? Could she do that here?" she asked, staring
thoughtfully into space. Keisuke placed the coffee on the table and sighed, turning the page.
"I don't think so.." He murmured, and turned the page. "But lets find out what Tasuki's got to say
about it.....it was his attack after all."
---------------------------------
"RAINI-CHAAAN! TETSUYA!!! KEISUKE!!! HOSHIIII!!!" Miaka shouted. Her voice echoed into
the quiet of the forest, and several birds scattered from nearby trees. The trio listened intently
for an answering shout, or any type of noise that indicated life. All remained silent except for
the occasional bird chirp or rustle of leaves as a small animal ran from it's hiding place.
Yui walked several paces behind Taka and Miaka, staring at the ground. Miaka turned to her
friend and stared at her with concern. Feeling Miaka's curious eyes on her, she looked up and
attempted a smile.
"Yui...what's wrong?" Miaka asked. Yui let her fake smile drop. Apparently Miaka wasn't going to
be fooled this time. Yui let her breath out in a heavy sigh.
"I....I just didn't have the greatest of times either visit in this place, Miaka. I'm not exactly thrilled
to be back here now." She said quietly. Pity on her face, Miaka hugged her friend tightly.
"It's all right Yui. We'll make sure everything turns out fine here this time around!" she reassured.
Yui opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Taka's shout.
"HEY! I FOUND A ROAD!" he yelled. He'd gone on ahead of them. "AND IT RUNS NORTH AND
SOUTH!" Miaka squealed happily, and grabbed Yui's arm, dragging her towards Taka and the road
that'd lead them to a more familiar, friendlier place.
--------------------------------
"Say 'aaah' big sister!" Lai-Lin proclaimed, holding chopsticks full of rice to Rain's mouth.
Smiling, Rain shut her eyes and opened her mouth, sticking on the "aaah" to humor her. Lai-Lin
giggled and placed the rice in her mouth, then picked up another clump and repeated the procedure.
After she was done paying attention to Rain, Lai-Lin picked up her bowl of rice and moved
around the fire everyone left in town was seated around and plopped down next to Tasuki.
"Say 'aaah' big brother!" she proclaimed, repeating the same feeding action with Tasuki. His
face reddening, Tasuki kept his head down.
"I can feed myself, thanks anyway kid." He mumbled. Lai-Lin put her chopsticks down and
frowned at him.
"Big brother will get sick again if he doesn't eat!" she said in her best grown-up voice. Chichiri
chuckled from his spot next to Tasuki.
"I'll eat his bite if he won't no da." He laughed. Her face brightening again, Lai-Lin moved over
by Chichiri instead and repeated her aaah sentence.
"So where do you come from, no da?" Chichiri asked around Lai-Lin's chopsticks. Rain blinked
at him once, then suddenly became interested in her food. Tasuki watched her with a scowl.
"Someplace far away." She muttered through a mouthful of food. Chichiri tilted his head at her.
"It wouldn't happen to be called Tokyo, would it?"
Rain raised her head swiftly, shocked. "H-How did..." Tasuki had stopped eating and looked at
Chichiri with the same shocked expression.
"You wouldn't happen to know a girl named Miaka, would you?" he continued, smiling. Rain set
her rice bowl down, still staring at him in shock, and absent-mindedly scratched her arm.
"Miaka.....was in the same room with me....when the light came from the book and brought me here."
She said in a small voice. Tasuki turned his shocked stare onto her. Chichiri's smile had waned
down to a thin line.
"So she could be here." Chichiri said, his voice at a normal level instead of the high-pitched
she'd heard him talk in since they were introduced. Tasuki turned back to Chichiri, the
expression turning bewildered.
"That's impossible. We'd know if she were here. It's our job to gather around the Priestess
when she arrives, ain't it?" he challenged. Chichiri went silent.
"Big sister, how'd you get an ouch?!" Lai-Lin suddenly proclaimed, jumping up from her spot next to
Chichiri and rushing back around the fire to Rain.
"Get what ouch?" she asked, confused. Lai-Lin plopped down next to her and grabbed her arm,
planting a wet child-kiss on the place she'd been scratching.
"There! Now it will be better!" she grinned. Rain smiled weakly and looked at her arm. She let out
a loud gasp.
"W-wh-wh-what's....??!" her voice caught in her throat. She wet her thumb and rubbed at her arm.
"Its...it's not coming off!" she cried, panicked. Chichiri stood up and made his way over to her.
He squatted down and inspected her arm for a moment, then quickly raised his head to stare at
Tasuki. Rain followed his glance, her face still distorted into panic.
"What...why are you staring at me?" he challenged.
"She's got your symbol, no da." He stated. No sooner than the 'da' left Chichiri's mouth, Tasuki
was on her side, inspecting her arm. Sure enough, the character of "wings" was puffing out on
her skin in the exact same place as his. Disbelieving, Tasuki pulled up his sleeve and shoved his
arm beside hers. Since he was not in battle, the character had faded away to a pale red outline,
and lay flat in his skin, but the exactness of the two were apparent. He glared at her, then
grabbed her shirt collar. "Tasuki! Calm down no da!" Chichiri warned, grabbing Tasuki's arm
to pull him away.
"All right you. Just who are you?! You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before, not even
similar to Miaka. What's up with you using my Rekka-Shinen and having my character, huh? Are
you some sort of copycat demon?!" he snarled into her face. Rain stared back at him angrily,
her eyes welling unexpectedly with tears. Blinking them away, she let anger replace her fright, and
pushed him away as violently as he had grabbed her.
"The hell if I know!" she shouted back into his face. With that, she stood up and walked away
from the fire, not wanting to look at the stunned faces of the villagers. She entered the hut she
had slept in and sat down on the mat. Tama-Neko, who had been napping in a spot of sunshine,
curled up next to her and began to purr. Rain sighed, her breath coming out broken, and composed
herself. Laying on her side, she curled up around the cat and shut her eyes.
"People without a name never belong anywhere..."
Covering her face with her hands, she allowed her tears to come until she could cry no more. She
was determined not to be weak this time. She'd make herself belong somewhere.
Chichiri watched Rain from outside the hut. She was petting Tama-Neko and sniffling loudly.
Shutting his eye, he turned away and bumped into Tasuki, who had placed himself behind him.
"So, what, aren't ya going to do something about her? You're the one with that kind of magic
powers here!" Tasuki growled. Chichiri slowly shook his head and glanced back at her.
"She doesn't have an evil soul, no da. In fact, I don't think she knows about this world, or who
Miaka is in this place, no da. She may have just gotten pulled in out of circumstance no da." He
said in a low voice. Tasuki let out a loud 'Tch'.
"That doesn't explain the reason why she's got my Rekka-Shinen and my character!" he exclaimed
in a rising voice. Glancing behind him again, Chichiri made sure Rain had not heard Tasuki's
raising outburst, and led them both away from the hut.
"That's why I was going to suggest leaving for Mt. Tai-Kyoku, no da. Taits-kun will be able to
explain what's happening no da." He whispered. Granted that they're still there and not gone..
he added in his mind grimly. Tasuki folded his arms on his chest and looked away with a loud
"hmmph."
"Fine. But if she starts doing any more weird powers that belong to me, I'm flaming her."
He grumbled. Chichiri lowered his eye in annoyance behind his mask, and turned away from
him. The sky was beginning to overcast again, and he hoped the storm would pass them by long
enough for them to get to Tai-Kyoku.
noise and tried to roll over and shield her face from it.
My arm itches...she thought, rubbing her forearm across her forehead.
She opened her eyes slightly. Wait...sunlight?
She bolted upright instantly, knocking a small sleeping cat off her chest.
The cat let out an unhappy meow, then scampered away from her.
Rain found herself in a hut that was half charred, the sunlight coming in
through a hole in the thatch roof. She was covered in a moth-eaten blanket,
laying upon a reed mat on the floor. "It wasn't a dream..." she breathed in awe.
She stood up, then stumbled, the sudden change in position causing a dizzy spell.
She put the heel of her palm to her forehead and waited for the spell to pass.
She then looked up and around her surroundings again. It was a hut that had been
in that village. It was still standing, despite all the burned places on it. Scratching
her forearm absent-mindedly, she wandered out of the hut and into the sunlight,
wincing as it first hit her eyes. There were a few people wandering about, picking
up debris and hammering new pieces of wood to cover up holes in their homes.
Several people stopped to stare at her. Rain cringed inwardly. They were looking at
her with the same expression that her classmates had been staring at her with in her
dream before.
Scratching her arm again, Rain wandered away from the hut she'd been sleeping in,
looking around for the little girl. She'd saved her, hadn't she?
The little girl squealed from behind another hut. Her heart leaping into her throat,
Rain dashed around the hut to find a man with a shocking color of red hair pinning
her to the ground.
"That...pervert!!" Rain breathed in shock. Setting her jaw and glaring, she ran the
rest of the distance between them.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she shouted, running into the man and pushing him away with all
of her strength. He barely uttered a surprised "Hey!" before tumbling down a hill, Rain
tumbling with him. After they came to a stop, Rain lifted herself up enough to see back
up the hill. The little girl stared down at them, one finger in her mouth.
"Are you all right?" Rain called back up there. The little girl blinked a few times, then
giggled and nodded.
"Big sister is funny!" she called down to them. It was Rain's turn to blink. "Big brother fall
down!" she continued, giggling harder. Rain's brow furrowed. Big brother? He wasn't hurting
her...? Rain looked down between her arms to get a glimpse of the man whom she was sprawled
over. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were shut as if he was asleep, or unconscious,
and his hair covered his face in strands. Unknowingly, Rain's breath caught in her throat. He was
actually....kind of cute...
"Would you mind getting off of me before I puke all over you?" he asked in a low voice. He
remained with his head turned, but now winced. His hands were clenching clods of earth, and
his face actually began to turn a green pallor. Her eyes widening, Rain pushed herself away
from him, as he sat up and leaned away from her, making gagging noises. Turning away and facing
the little girl who was now wandering down to them, she heard the proof of his warning. Any moment
longer and he would've puked on her.
Giggling, the little girl mock-tripped and tumbled onto Rain, hugging her tightly around her neck.
Rain smiled and patted her back. "Lai-Lin happy now that big sister is awake!" she giggled. She
pushed herself away from her tight hug to stare into Rain's eyes. "What's big sisters name?" she a
sked curiously. Rain smiled.
"I'm Rain." She said, her voice quivering with a restrained laugh. Lai-Lin was so cute, it was hard
not to smile.
"Like the water that comes from the black clouds?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. Rain nodded
and finally laughed as Lai-Lin let out an awed "Woooow!"
Hurling complete, Lai-Lin let go of Rain and ran around her to tackle the man's back with hugs.
"Eeew! Big Brother made a mess!" she proclaimed, climbing onto his back. The man glanced at her
over his shoulder, then reached behind him to pull her over onto his lap.
"Yeah, now I'll make you clean it up!" he growled playfully. Lai-Lin squealed again, and began
kicking her feet. Rain's cheeks turned pink. So he wasn't hurting her after all. She thought in
embarrassment, scratching her arm again.
After a few more minutes of wrestling the giggling little girl, Tasuki sent her on her way, and
turned to Rain, who was staring off into space, her face pink.
"What, you think I was some sort of pervert or something?" he asked her. Rain jumped and turned
towards him, her blush deepening.
"Um..ah..no. I was....I'm just a little protective of her since last night..you know?" she said nervously,
scratching her arm again. Tasuki turned his head slightly to glance at her skeptically.
"Ah hah. Rrrright." He said, pushing himself to his feet. He walked over to her and offered a hand
to help her to hers. "The name's Tasuki." He stated as she climbed to her feet. Rain smothered a smile.
"That's a funny name." She managed out. Tasuki lowered his eyes in an annoyed glare.
"S'no funnier than Rain. I mean, what kind of parents would name their kid after water?" he
retorted. It was Rain's turn to glare. This only lasted a moment and then she looked down to her feet,
still scratching her arm.
"I don't have a name." She said sullenly. Tasuki's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Huh? You just said your name was..."
"I......I chose that name.....when they found me...it was the first thing that came to mind." She
said in a quiet voice. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why she was telling
him this. She'd not known him for over three minutes, and she was already giving away one of
her most closely guarded secrets. Not even Miaka or Yui knew that much about her, and she'd
known them for two months!
As if sensing her sudden discomfort, Tasuki let out a grunt and a half grin, and turned away
from her to head back up the hill to the village.
"Yeah, well, Tasuki's not my real name either. It's Genro." He stated, half-glancing at her over
his shoulder. Rain lifted her head to stare at him in surprise. He gave her another half-grin,
then trudged up the hill. "Ya comin or not? They've got breakfast up here and I don't know a
bout you, but I'm starving."
------------------------------------
Tetsuya sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand. He'd lost his sunglasses
somewhere between the time that he disappeared into the light after Yui, and when he woke
up in the ruins that used to be the capital of Kutou. He'd been alone, so either everyone else
was in another part of the world, or he'd been the only one sucked in. He hoped to God that
it was the first.
It'd taken him a few minutes upon waking to figure out that he was indeed inside the Universe
of the Four Gods, and even longer to figure out that it was Kutou. It had been storming all night,
and he had found a place to sleep inside the rubble that used to be the palace.
"So this is the infamous book world, huh?" he mused to himself, as he pushed himself to his feet.
The sun hurt his eyes and he felt an oncoming headache, but he figured he wouldn't find his
glasses anywhere nearby. Some ragged-looking people passed him by, dirty from living in muck,
and stared at him with wide eyes. Wincing, Tetsuya glanced at them.
"What are you looking at?" he challenged. The people gasped and scurried away to their
crumbling homes. Tetsuya sighed and walked out of the palace rubble. No use in hanging
around here. There was no way he'd get any type of help from these people. Maybe if he could
find his way to Konan...then maybe he'd get some help...
----------------------------------
"Poor Tetsuya..." Hoshi said after awhile. Keisuke looked up at her as she offered him a cup of
coffee. He had been reading aloud since they both recovered from their shock, and it was
well into the night now. Thunder rumbled in the distance, almost as if the storm that had
plagued the book world had crossed over and was going to rain monsters down upon them.
"If we can find some sort of connection with him to talk to him, then we can tell him where the
others are...but right now I don't know of anything off-hand that he's got, that's also left here."
Keisuke said, taking a sip of his drink. Hoshi sat down heavily and propped her elbow on the
back of the couch, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
"What's up with that Rain girl throwing fire? Could she do that here?" she asked, staring
thoughtfully into space. Keisuke placed the coffee on the table and sighed, turning the page.
"I don't think so.." He murmured, and turned the page. "But lets find out what Tasuki's got to say
about it.....it was his attack after all."
---------------------------------
"RAINI-CHAAAN! TETSUYA!!! KEISUKE!!! HOSHIIII!!!" Miaka shouted. Her voice echoed into
the quiet of the forest, and several birds scattered from nearby trees. The trio listened intently
for an answering shout, or any type of noise that indicated life. All remained silent except for
the occasional bird chirp or rustle of leaves as a small animal ran from it's hiding place.
Yui walked several paces behind Taka and Miaka, staring at the ground. Miaka turned to her
friend and stared at her with concern. Feeling Miaka's curious eyes on her, she looked up and
attempted a smile.
"Yui...what's wrong?" Miaka asked. Yui let her fake smile drop. Apparently Miaka wasn't going to
be fooled this time. Yui let her breath out in a heavy sigh.
"I....I just didn't have the greatest of times either visit in this place, Miaka. I'm not exactly thrilled
to be back here now." She said quietly. Pity on her face, Miaka hugged her friend tightly.
"It's all right Yui. We'll make sure everything turns out fine here this time around!" she reassured.
Yui opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Taka's shout.
"HEY! I FOUND A ROAD!" he yelled. He'd gone on ahead of them. "AND IT RUNS NORTH AND
SOUTH!" Miaka squealed happily, and grabbed Yui's arm, dragging her towards Taka and the road
that'd lead them to a more familiar, friendlier place.
--------------------------------
"Say 'aaah' big sister!" Lai-Lin proclaimed, holding chopsticks full of rice to Rain's mouth.
Smiling, Rain shut her eyes and opened her mouth, sticking on the "aaah" to humor her. Lai-Lin
giggled and placed the rice in her mouth, then picked up another clump and repeated the procedure.
After she was done paying attention to Rain, Lai-Lin picked up her bowl of rice and moved
around the fire everyone left in town was seated around and plopped down next to Tasuki.
"Say 'aaah' big brother!" she proclaimed, repeating the same feeding action with Tasuki. His
face reddening, Tasuki kept his head down.
"I can feed myself, thanks anyway kid." He mumbled. Lai-Lin put her chopsticks down and
frowned at him.
"Big brother will get sick again if he doesn't eat!" she said in her best grown-up voice. Chichiri
chuckled from his spot next to Tasuki.
"I'll eat his bite if he won't no da." He laughed. Her face brightening again, Lai-Lin moved over
by Chichiri instead and repeated her aaah sentence.
"So where do you come from, no da?" Chichiri asked around Lai-Lin's chopsticks. Rain blinked
at him once, then suddenly became interested in her food. Tasuki watched her with a scowl.
"Someplace far away." She muttered through a mouthful of food. Chichiri tilted his head at her.
"It wouldn't happen to be called Tokyo, would it?"
Rain raised her head swiftly, shocked. "H-How did..." Tasuki had stopped eating and looked at
Chichiri with the same shocked expression.
"You wouldn't happen to know a girl named Miaka, would you?" he continued, smiling. Rain set
her rice bowl down, still staring at him in shock, and absent-mindedly scratched her arm.
"Miaka.....was in the same room with me....when the light came from the book and brought me here."
She said in a small voice. Tasuki turned his shocked stare onto her. Chichiri's smile had waned
down to a thin line.
"So she could be here." Chichiri said, his voice at a normal level instead of the high-pitched
she'd heard him talk in since they were introduced. Tasuki turned back to Chichiri, the
expression turning bewildered.
"That's impossible. We'd know if she were here. It's our job to gather around the Priestess
when she arrives, ain't it?" he challenged. Chichiri went silent.
"Big sister, how'd you get an ouch?!" Lai-Lin suddenly proclaimed, jumping up from her spot next to
Chichiri and rushing back around the fire to Rain.
"Get what ouch?" she asked, confused. Lai-Lin plopped down next to her and grabbed her arm,
planting a wet child-kiss on the place she'd been scratching.
"There! Now it will be better!" she grinned. Rain smiled weakly and looked at her arm. She let out
a loud gasp.
"W-wh-wh-what's....??!" her voice caught in her throat. She wet her thumb and rubbed at her arm.
"Its...it's not coming off!" she cried, panicked. Chichiri stood up and made his way over to her.
He squatted down and inspected her arm for a moment, then quickly raised his head to stare at
Tasuki. Rain followed his glance, her face still distorted into panic.
"What...why are you staring at me?" he challenged.
"She's got your symbol, no da." He stated. No sooner than the 'da' left Chichiri's mouth, Tasuki
was on her side, inspecting her arm. Sure enough, the character of "wings" was puffing out on
her skin in the exact same place as his. Disbelieving, Tasuki pulled up his sleeve and shoved his
arm beside hers. Since he was not in battle, the character had faded away to a pale red outline,
and lay flat in his skin, but the exactness of the two were apparent. He glared at her, then
grabbed her shirt collar. "Tasuki! Calm down no da!" Chichiri warned, grabbing Tasuki's arm
to pull him away.
"All right you. Just who are you?! You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before, not even
similar to Miaka. What's up with you using my Rekka-Shinen and having my character, huh? Are
you some sort of copycat demon?!" he snarled into her face. Rain stared back at him angrily,
her eyes welling unexpectedly with tears. Blinking them away, she let anger replace her fright, and
pushed him away as violently as he had grabbed her.
"The hell if I know!" she shouted back into his face. With that, she stood up and walked away
from the fire, not wanting to look at the stunned faces of the villagers. She entered the hut she
had slept in and sat down on the mat. Tama-Neko, who had been napping in a spot of sunshine,
curled up next to her and began to purr. Rain sighed, her breath coming out broken, and composed
herself. Laying on her side, she curled up around the cat and shut her eyes.
"People without a name never belong anywhere..."
Covering her face with her hands, she allowed her tears to come until she could cry no more. She
was determined not to be weak this time. She'd make herself belong somewhere.
Chichiri watched Rain from outside the hut. She was petting Tama-Neko and sniffling loudly.
Shutting his eye, he turned away and bumped into Tasuki, who had placed himself behind him.
"So, what, aren't ya going to do something about her? You're the one with that kind of magic
powers here!" Tasuki growled. Chichiri slowly shook his head and glanced back at her.
"She doesn't have an evil soul, no da. In fact, I don't think she knows about this world, or who
Miaka is in this place, no da. She may have just gotten pulled in out of circumstance no da." He
said in a low voice. Tasuki let out a loud 'Tch'.
"That doesn't explain the reason why she's got my Rekka-Shinen and my character!" he exclaimed
in a rising voice. Glancing behind him again, Chichiri made sure Rain had not heard Tasuki's
raising outburst, and led them both away from the hut.
"That's why I was going to suggest leaving for Mt. Tai-Kyoku, no da. Taits-kun will be able to
explain what's happening no da." He whispered. Granted that they're still there and not gone..
he added in his mind grimly. Tasuki folded his arms on his chest and looked away with a loud
"hmmph."
"Fine. But if she starts doing any more weird powers that belong to me, I'm flaming her."
He grumbled. Chichiri lowered his eye in annoyance behind his mask, and turned away from
him. The sky was beginning to overcast again, and he hoped the storm would pass them by long
enough for them to get to Tai-Kyoku.