Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story except for the plot, and even that's a bit sketchy, because some of it's been done before. ^__^
Warnings: Language (thanks a bundle, Tasuki-chan. --;;), shounen ai, stupid jokes, lalala.
Notes: Hi! Well…turns out I have more work to do this semester than last semester, so I'm sorry I haven't been updating more. Sowwyyyyyy. ~.~() Anyhoo……I must dedicate this chapter to Schwencky (yeah, you KNOW who you are :P), just because she read the rest of the silly story and she's cool, and Tasuki lives in her dorm room. ^___^ And what's so funny about baby farmers??? ^_~
ANOTHER STORY
Chapter 19:
…Anyway...
I sat on the Crappy Couch with my knees drawn up to my chest, chin resting on said knees, shoulders slumped. Doukun was across from me in the armchair with a thoughtful frown on his face; Taka stood at his side, arms folded firmly across his chest as if he didn't know what else to do with them. Myojuan on my right side, Saihitei on my left, with his arm around me, pulling me to lean slightly into him. I would have felt bad that he was paying me such attention at such a time, if I didn't think it was as much for his own benefit as for mine. As long as he had me to comfort, to take care of, he wouldn't give in to his own worries. The thought that this might be psychologically taxing seemed slightly pale in the face of our need to approach this newfound crisis calmly and logically.
However, this didn't seem to have occurred to Genrou, who was pacing furiously back and forth behind the couch.
I wish he'd stop it.
"Tasuki," snapped Taka, "stop it. You're not helping anything by acting like that."
"Yeah, well, you fuckin deal with it your way, I'll deal with it mine," Gen-chan shot back. "Fuck! I can't see how you guys can just fuckin sit there at a time like this!!"
"We are trying to figure out what the hell to do!!" Taka shouted. "We're not gonna get anywhere by following your example!!!"
"What the fuck are you…"
"That's ENOUGH!!!!" roared Myojuan, rising from the couch and clenching his fists.
I let out a gasp that was really no more than a sharp intake of breath, startled by his sudden anger. I'd never heard Myojuan shout before, and it was like hearing Harpo Marx singing a song by Linkin Park. Luckily, Taka and Gen-chan were just as surprised, and stopped their pointless argument in mid-curse.
"We can't let frustration keep us from working together on this," Myojuan said, his voice quieter, but still firm and authoritarian. "We have to keep our heads."
Silent agreement from the rest of us.
"Now," said Myojuan, "Taka. Would you please go over everything one more time?"
Taka took a deep breath. "Miaka hasn't heard from Houjun in three days. She thought it was weird, since they usually hang out a lot, or at least talk online. So she went over to the graduate dorms to see him, and his roommate said he hadn't been there for a while. She was going to call today anyway, she said, but she got an email from him that said something like, 'I'm sorry my mask didn't die when I did; I'm going back to the river.'"
"Fuckin nuts." Genrou shook his head, but he looked concerned.
It's my fault. It's my fault.
"And we've already concluded that, given the content of the message, he's remembered who he was," Myojuan nodded. "Without prompting from any of us."
"That must have been a shock," said Doukun quietly.
I was absolutely miserable. And then, Empathic Saihitei squeezed me gently and whispered, "I think it's all right for you to tell them now."
"I should have made him talk to us," I whispered, touching my forehead to my knees and gripping my legs more tightly. "I should have made him…"
"…Ryuu-chan?" said Myojuan, gingerly resuming his seat beside me. "You…know something, don't you?"
Stop being a dork. You're not helping with your pathetic drama any more than Gen-chan and Taka were.
Slowly, I raised my head, moving my arms from around my knees to hug myself around the chest.
Deep breath.
"Houjun's…remembered since he was little, just like Taka and Saihitei," I began in a small voice. And I explained the Tale of Houjun for the second time that day. "I'm so sorry, I should've told you guys, and you would've known what to do…I didn't know he'd go off like that. I told him to email me; why didn't he? Why'd he have to let it get all out of control?" Rambling, rambling, and again…NOT HELPING. "I said we were there for him, I said we would help him! Why didn't he listen to me? Didn't he trust me?" My voice had risen considerably in volume, surprising me, displaying my own anger, which I hadn't really been aware of. Shocked by my own words and tone, I cut myself off, snapping my trembling jaw closed.
"Shhhhhhh, sh sh shh," Saihitei soothed, rubbing my arm. "Chichiri's decision was his own to make. And you weren't wrong in keeping his secret."
"He shouldn't have put you in that position," added Myojuan firmly.
I suppose. I nodded briefly, not meeting either of their eyes, and rested my ear on Saihitei's shoulder. He kissed the top of my head gently.
"What the fuck is up with the fuckin note?" Gen-chan demanded. "What the hell's all this about a mask and a fuckin river? He's off his rocker!"
"We have to find him," said Taka firmly.
"No shit."
"I already told Miaka I was driving to Indiana to help," Taka continued. "Anyone who wants to come along is more than welcome. Personally, I think all of us should go. But I won't tell you guys what to do."
Myojuan nodded. "We all should go."
"But…how long will it take?" said Doukun hesitantly.
"What the fuck does it matter?! Fuckin Psychopathic Houjun is out there wandering around by the fuckin river like some sorta monkish Anne Heche!"
Doukun looked about as miserable as I felt. "I want to come," he was quick to affirm. "I want to assist in any way possible. But next week is Thanksgiving Break. I was going to go home tomorrow evening; my parents will be aghast if I don't come."
Out of all of us, Doukun's parents were the most over-protective. Mine came in a close second, and I immediately began to share his worries about parental support of our Indiana Expedition.
It's Thanksgiving. They'll never forgive me if I'm not there.
But how many Thanksgivings have I had with them? And how much more important is this??? About a hundred times more important than eating enough sweet potatoes to feed a small army. And I'm an adult now. Yes. I'm an adult.
And even if they're angry…I can't go home now. Not with what happened. I owe it to Houjun; no matter what Saihitei says, no matter how much of a secret it was, I should've thought it through more. I can't help but feel it's kinda my fault, even if it's not true.
"Wait," said Doukun suddenly, a pensive smile creeping across his face. "Wait…I know…"
~*~
"You're doing what?" came my mother's distressed voice over the phone. "But Ryuuen, honey, it's Thanksgiving!!!"
"I know, Mom," I said, trying my best to sound noble and self-sacrificing. "But do you realize how many homeless people will have a terribly saaaad Thanksgiving if no one volunteered to set up a dinner for them?"
"I don't see why you can't at least come home for a few days," she went on. "We could have Thanksgiving early!"
Awww. "I'm sorry, Mom…but we have to get so much together…"
"Yes, yes, I suppose I understand," she sighed. "But you could have given me at least a little bit of notice. Telling me this three days before you're supposed to come home isn't very considerate of you."
"I'm sorry, Mom," I said again. "I'm really sorry…it was just a last-minute thing, and they really need help."
"Where are you staying for the whole week?"
"In a hotel," I lied. Well, it probably wasn't that much of a lie, since we had to stay somewhere, and Miaka wasn't about to have all six of us crash in her dorm.
"Who's paying for this hotel? You don't have enough money to…"
"This guy named Saihitei's paying," I said, saying the first thing that popped into my mind. Well, again…he probably will pay, at that.
"Do I know this Saihitei?"
"No, Mom." My mother felt it was her personal duty to know absolutely everything about absolutely every person who so much as said hi to me in the hall. "He's a nice guy. Taka and Miaka have known him for a long time."
"Who else is going, again?"
Mother, Mother, Mother…always with the million and one questions. "Me and Taka and Genrou and Saihitei, and two guys you don't know named Myojuan and Doukun. And Miaka."
"Who's driving?"
I closed my eyes. Patience. Patience is a virtue. "I don't know, Mom."
"Well, be sure to drive with someone you know."
"I know all of them, Mom, and I've driven with all of them before. Lots of times."
"Are you all going in one car? Because I want you to be sure there are enough seat belts, at least make sure you get one…"
"Right. So everybody in the car can die, and that's fine, as long as I get to wear a seat belt?" I teased her.
"Right." She was joking, too. At least…I thought she was.
I giggled. "Moooommmm…I'll be fine. I promise. And…it'll be a good experience."
She sighed. "I know, I know, sweetie. I'm proud of you for being so sacrificing. We'll just miss you, that's all. And you know how your father and I are going to see Kourin for Christmas." My sister was taking a semester abroad in Austria, which gave my parents an excuse to travel to Europe for the first time. They had been reluctant at first, since we couldn't afford airfare for me and Rokou, too, but Rokou and I had virtually forced them to go.
"I know. But I can't get out of this now." I really would miss seeing my mom and siblings, but it couldn't be avoided. Houjun was more important.
We talked a little more about Rokou and Kourin and what they were up to, blah blah blah and et cetera. I promised to call her once every few nights when I was gone. And then…she brought up the one thing I didn't want to talk about at all.
"Your father sends his love."
Okay, okay, okay….BIG stereotypical thing, yes yes yes, yes yes. Conservative dad, not-so-conservative son, especially where certain…ahem…areas were concerned.
"Sure," I said, suddenly feeling tired. "Thanks." I knew he loved me. I knew he did. I loved him, too. But he was just…aaahhhhh, so frustrating!!! He was not, by any means, a bigoted man. But he had certain ideas about how the world should work, and one of these ideas was that people in a same-sex relationship shouldn't be allowed to get married. Now, forgive me if I rant for a while, but the man openly admitted that the vast majority of the gay people he knew were some of the nicest people in the world! So whyyyyyyy shouldn't they be allowed to be happyyyyyy???? For crying out loud.
Who knows if his opinions would change if he knew of his own son's newfound relationship. But I didn't wanna take the chance. Let's just say that his position already kinda hurt my feelings.
Everyone else knew. Well, in my immediate family, at least. Mom had been a hippie in the 70s, with the whole "Free Love, Woohoo!!" mantra tucked under her belt, so it didn't come as a big blow to her, hehehe. But, well, anyway, enough of that. I didn't have time to think about it.
"Tell him I love him, too," I said into the receiver. "And say hi to the others when you talk to them!"
We said good-bye, and I hung up the phone and went into the den. Taka immediately grinned and went to call his own folks. Everyone else looked pensive and serious, trying to figure out where Houjun could have run off to, and why. Well, maybe why wasn't such a big question, since the guy certainly wasn't in his right mind. But whatever. Returning to the urgent question at hand certainly made me lose the train of thought my stupid mind had recently boarded concerning my dad.
"The river," said Saihitei. "That's where Chichiri got his scar, struggling with Hikou…"
"He has a scar?" Doukun said.
Myojuan nodded, frowning. "Yes. Yes, I…I remember that."
Well, you can have a cookie now. I giggled despite myself, earning puzzled glances from my friends.
"Ahhh……..sorry," I said, smile fading immediately, and sat down next to Saihitei again. Even when you don't want to lighten the mood, your subconscious just goes ahead and does it for you. Sheesh.
"Goin to the fuckin river," Gen-chan grumbled. "That's fantastic. Just fuckin super. Only about twelve billion fuckin rivers in the country."
"We'll have to wait until we get to Indiana to try to fully ponder exactly where he is," Doukun said. "What's important now is that we all get to Miaka right away. We should all go fetch our valises."
"That's Doukun for 'suitcases,'" I translated.
"Ah," said Saihitei. "Forgive me. It seems I've forgotten to bring along my Doukun-to-English Dictionary."
Doukun shook his head. "I don't understand. How can you people so easily interpret exactly what Genrou is saying, with his remarkable usage of slang, curses, and colloquialism, and not understand me when I mention a simple foreign word?"
"I understood!" I raised my hand and waved it around.
"Good for you; I'm very proud of you." He nodded in my direction. "The rest of you, however…"
"Ah, shut the fuck up," said Gen-chan.
"While I hate to interrupt," said Saihitei, "and while it might be better to wait until all of us are present to discuss this…does anyone have a van? It would be much easier, I think, if we all traveled in the same vehicle…"
"We could rent a bus!" I exclaimed.
"No fuckin way!!!!" Genrou exploded. "This ain't gonna be no fuckin 'Priscilla, Queen of the Fuckin Desert'! Not if I have anythin to say about it!!"
"Oh, can it," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Other people besides drag queens do rent buses, you know."
"Myojuan has a van," Doukun piped up.
We all looked up at Myojuan.
"You do?" I asked, surprised. "Since when?"
"It's Shouka's brother's," he confessed with a nod. "It's kind of a…a swap. He's taking his girlfriend home for Thanksgiving, and he was embarrassed about having a van, so he traded it for my car for the week."
"That's stupid," I said. "If she cares so much about what kinda car he drives, he doesn't need her! I mean, who cares about a car???"
Gen-chan chuckled. "Easy for you to say, when yer boyfriend has a fuckin Acura."
"That's not my fault!" I exclaimed, slightly offended. "I didn't know!! It just came with the package! I fell in love with him before that; I still loved him when he was drunk and passed out on top of me, so you think I'd care what kind of car he had??? I'd still be his boyfriend even if he drove a…a pickup truck!! A rusty one!! With holes in the side!"
He roared with laughter, and spoofed in a squeaky voice: " 'Well, gee, Farmer Sai, y'think we oughta leave the cattle outside t'night? Looks like there might be a STOOOOORM a-comin!' 'Aww, don' worry, little lady,'" he continued, considerably deeper. " 'Jest hop inta th' kitchen thar an' fix me sum grits!!' " He collapsed against the wall, cracking up. No one joined him.
"…Anyway," said Myojuan calmly, "there's room for seven in the van. And we could probably fit more than that. So I can drive."
"Great," I said, standing slowly and hmph-ing at Gen-chan. "Well…I'll go pack, then, okay? Are we leaving tonight? I bet we could make it to Perry before midnight."
Myojuan nodded. "I think the sooner we leave, the better. Everyone?"
Doukun and Saihitei both nodded, getting up, as well. Gen-chan was too wrapped up in his stupid joke to vote.
Just as we were heading to the door, Taka returned from the kitchen, looking confused. The three of us stopped short, held fast by his expression.
"Tamahome?" said Saihitei carefully.
"Um." He raised his hand to show us something he was holding. It was a small, red mirror.
"What's that?" Doukun inquired, echoing my own thoughts. But Saihitei didn't seem to need the question answered. Grabbing Taka's hand, he stared at the thing in amazement, eyes wide.
"It's…"
Taka nodded. "Somehow, yes."
I tugged at Saihitei's arm. "What is it?"
"Look," he said, tipping it so that I could see the glass. So I looked. And I saw…
"Chinese writing?" I looked up into his eyes, lost.
He met my gaze, and nodded.
"Well…what's it say?"
Saihitei turned back to the symbol. "Jiyuu," he said. "Freedom."
"Freedom," Taka agreed. "Or…liberty."
TBC…
Notes: GEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Where could Chichiri have gone????????? --;;
ANOTHER STORY AKUGI!!!!
Taka: …She got an email from him that said something like, 'I'm sorry my mask didn't die when I did; I'm going back to the river.'
***FADE TO HOUJUN'S POV***
Houjun: **dragging raft down to the river** C'mon, Jim!! They're after us! We ain't got a minute to lose!!
Jim: But I ain't got all the provisions aboard yet!
Houjun: Forget that! Just shove off and I'll lay in with that pole, Jim!!!!
Jim: Ya sure look taller today, Huck.
Houjun: Yeah. This is how tall I am when I'm being serious.
Jim: And ya stopped sayin 'No Da' all the time, too.
Houjun: Look, wouldja shaddap???!! I'm trying to get you to freedom, for crying out loud!!!
Jim: How'd you get your hair to stick up like that??
Houjun: …..--;;
Elijah Wood: **swimming out to the raft** HEYYY!!!! You're stealing my part!!!
Jim: ????????
Houjun: Ah, get lost, Frodo! You haven't had this part since you were twelve!
Elijah Wood: But…
Hotohori: ELIJAH!!!! I'LL SAVE YOU!!!!! **jumps into the water**
Elijah Wood: **starts sinking**
Hotohori: EEEEEELLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIJJJJJJJJJJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Nuriko, Tasuki, et al, watching from shore: --;; )
Hotohori: **starts glowing and walking over the water carrying Elijah Wood, Jesus-style, à la Episode Where He Saved Miaka**
Nuriko: **tosses Elijah away** Hotohori-sama!!! Daijobu ka????!!!
Hotohori: I've saved Frodo!!!
Elijah Wood: GET OFF THE ROAD!!!!!
^_~
(PS: yeahhhh….this akugi makes more sense if you've seen the Elijah Wood version of Huck Finn. ^___^ Ja, everybody!)