Bishounen Studios
Ancient China Part 5: Watch for Rising Angst
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"How am I supposed to make you money? I have friends you know. They might have money." Jackie stated. "Friends? Where are they?" Tamahome asked. "I was with them when you apparently saved me." Jackie explained. Tamahome raised a brow "So you're saying you didn't need me to save you?"
"I'm not being ungrateful, I'm just saying they might have the money you want." Jackie told him, wondering if the others had even realized she was missing.
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"Where's Jackie?" Nuriko asked standing up. Tasuki got up. "Lose -yer- responsibility?" Tasuki asked, also getting up. "She wasn't my responsibility." Nuriko stated. "I bet she was kidnapped." Kristi said, not getting up due to the pain in her head.
"Maybe she found Chichiri." Nuriko stated. "I dunno, but I'm sure glad that thing ran off." Tasuki stated, referring to the blackness. He picked up his tessen and put it in it's rightful place over his shoulder.
A rustling was heard not far away and Tasuki grabbed his tessen once again prepared to fight. "Who's there?" he asked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" a voice stated "I didn't think she was actu--" Tamahome's words were cut off by Tasuki's "REKKA SHINEN!"
"Ow." Tamahome stated, dropping a crispy Jackie to the forest floor. "I... hate... you... Tasuki." Jackie stated. Tasuki fell on the ground holding his stomach laughing. Nuriko tried to stiffle laughter, while Kristi decided to join Tasuki on the ground.
"That's really mean Kristi! And don't think I don't hear you Mr. Nuriko!" Jackie fussed. At this point Nuriko fell on the ground laughing as well. "It's NOT Funny!" Jackie yelled "This is what I get for allying myself with a dirty bandit. I can't stand criminals and if I could I swear I would--"
"REKKA SHINEN!" Tasuki cut Jackie off, also hitting Tamahome again. "Ow." Tamahome said again. "Did you hear that?" Nuriko asked looking up at the tree Tamahome was in. "So, you call them your -friends-?" Tamahome asked Jackie from the tree.
"Not Tasuki....." Jackie stated. "She's talking to a tree." Tasuki stated. "She calls me mental, HeeHee." Kristi giggled. "The tree is talking back." Nuriko said pointing at Tamahome. "Rekka Shinen it, Tasuki!" Kristi exclaimed clapping her hands excitedly. "Tamahome?" Tasuki asked the figure in the tree.
"Looks like him, no da." Chichiri stated walking up to them. Tasuki turned around "Chichiri!" he exclaimed. "Wait! It might not be Chichiri. That black thing looked like you before, Tasuki." Nuriko warned. "I know Chichiri!" Tasuki assured. "He knoooows his Chichiri." Kristi winked.
"Hi... Mr. Chichiri." Jackie said still lying on the ground. "Tasuki." Chichiri stated glaring "We have no time to play around, no da." "Was that a 'I'll get you later' glare or a 'I secretly love you' glare?" Kristi asked with a notepad and pencil. Everyone stared at her. "I need to know!" Kristi exclaimed. Chichiri picked Jackie up off the ground "We need to get going, no da." he stated.
"It is Chichiri." Everyone stated at once... except Chichiri of course. "Is Tamahome coming with us?" Kristi asked hopefully. Tamahome jumped from his tree." I don't even know what's going on." he stated.
A Long Story Later
"Oh." Tamahome nodded. Tasuki and Kristi were now asleep against a tree and Nuriko was reading a book while Jackie repeatedly asked what the symbols in it meant. Chichiri himself who had told the story was about to fall asleep. "Well, guess we should go on to sleep." Tamahome yawned lying on the ground, using Tasuki's legs as a pillow.
Nuriko sat his book aside and laid on the ground to sleep. Jackie remembering last time slid far far away from Nuriko and fell asleep between Chichiri and Tamahome. "Smoocheshhhh" Kristi suddenly announced in her sleep.
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Chichiri was the first to wake up. He sat meditating or something equally as mysterious. Tasuki rolled over, kicking Tamahome's head and pulling Kristi to his other side in the process.
Being kicked in the head woke Tamahome up and he proceeded to knock Tasuki awake. "HEY!" Tasuki yelled swatting out at Tamahome. "You kicked me!" Tamahome yelled. "You woke me up!" Tasuki yelled. They both stopped when they heard a sniffling underneath them. Kristi who had been knocked under many leaves and sat on by Tamahome seemed to be crying.
"You woke me up." she sniffled. "That's nothing to cry about." Tamahome stated. "And... your butt really hurts." she added. Tamahome blinked. "My butt feels fine." he stated. Tasuki pushed Tamahome off of Kristi "You're hurting her! Child abuse!" he exclaimed.
Jackie who had been woken up by the fight decided to input her two cents. "You're one to talk. Letting her drink alcohol and burning me with that stupid fan!" she yelled. Tasuki made a death dive toward Jackie but was stopped by Nuriko, Tamahome, and Chichiri. "Lemme at her!" he yelled.
Jackie meeped and clung to a tree. Kristi laughed her ass off, not literally, at the scene. "You're overreacting, no da." Chichiri said. "Calm down." Nuriko added. "Get her! Get her, and her little sister too! Oh wait, that's me." Kristi cackled like the evil witch of the west anyway.
"Stop encouraging him!" Nuriko scolded. "Help me!" Jackie exclaimed clinging to the tree tighter. "I'll kill her! I'll kill her now!" Tasuki yelled. "Or don't and say you did." Jackie pleaded, sweatdropping. "She'll kiss your shoes and say she's sorry." Kristi suggested. "I will not!" Jackie yelled. "He doesn't want your mouth on his shoes anyway!" Kristi exclaimed hitting Jackie on the forehead with a rock.
"Stop it, no da." Chichiri said. "You're acting like a four year old." Nuriko stated. "And being an idiot." Tamahome added. "I'll show you a child!" Tasuki exclaimed reaching for his tessen.. which wasn't there. "YOU TOOK MY TESSEN!" Tasuki accused Chichiri, Nuriko, and Tamahome. "You dropped it" Tamahome said pointing at the ground. Tasuki looked at his feet and saw his tessen. "Someone put it there!" Tasuki snapped.
"Come on, Tasuki, enough." Nuriko said. Tasuki frowned and picked up his tessen, "Just wait!" Tasuki growled at Jackie. "Drats!" Kristi snapped her fingers realizing Tasuki wasn't going to kill today. Tasuki sat down next to the tree that him and Kristi tended to sit by a lot, even though they moved somewhere else every day.
"I really hate you." Jackie told Tasuki, unclinging from the tree. Tasuki just snarled at her, causing her to instead cling to the closest object.... which just happened to be Nakago. "AHHHHH!" she screamed detaching herself and promptly latched onto Tamahome. Everyone was silent after that, just staring at Nakago until... "Want some tea?" Kristi asked holding a cup of steaming tea up.
"Tamahome." Nakago stated. "Nakago." Tamahome stated. "Not exactly." Nakago stated transforming into the being of black smoke, eliciting a collective gasp from the group. "Okay what the Hell is this thing an' why da we have ta fight it?" Tasuki asked, taking cover behind a tree as the rest of his companions took cover elsewhere.
"And why do I always end up with YOU!" Jackie fussed noting she was behind the same tree as Tasuki. "You'd rather be with him?" Tasuki asked pointing at the dark cloud. "No..." Jackie replied ducking behind Tasuki.
Chichiri after being bugged by Kristi about taking her to Tasuki decided he was better off facing the mist. He walked out of his hiding place. "What is your business with us, no da?" he asked menacingly... that is a menacingly as something can be when it ends in "no da."
The black cloud molded into a familiar shape... Miaka. "I'm just looking for Tamahome." she stated. Tamahome ran out from where he was crouched. "Miaka!" he yelled. "Tamahome, that is not Miaka." Chichiri stated. "So you'd rather an enemy with an enemy's face." Miaka said, speaking with Nakago's voice. Her shape changed to form that of him. "Is this better?" he asked.
"Show us your real face!" Tamahome ordered. "Very well." Nakago stated. Nakago shifted back into the mist which slowly filtered into the form of a boy looking to be about 16 or 17 years old. His ears were pointed and drawn slightly downward at the end and his eyes were underlined with emerald green to match their foresty depths. Other than several pieces of emerald shining from various places he wore simple clothes, though his trench coat seemed almost transparent. Long silver blonde locks flowed down his back and down to the scythe-like blades hung at each side of his waist.
"Happy now?" the boy asked, his voice sounding like an echo of windchimes ."Why are you looking for me?" Tamahome asked. "Those reasons will be revealed all in good time. However, I did not come to fight this time." the boy stated. "Then what did you come for?" Nuriko asked stepping out of hiding to face the being. Tasuki also stepped out.
"To answer that question I must give the problem, but not the cause or solution. My dilemma is this, I need Tamahome to go to a certain place, at a certain time, of his own free will." he explained "However..." "However this, however that. Stop with the howevers!" Tamahome commanded.
"However," the boy stated in a sour tone, defiantly not the chiming voice heard a few moments ago, Now it had become somewhat like a loud clap of thunder that shook the ground "I cannot tell you where, when, or why at the current time." "That doesn't explain why you're here, no da." Chichiri stated. "No it really doesn't." the boy stated, back to the light musical voice "But I will reveal that my appearance here has something to do with the two girls hiding back there."
Jackie winced. How did he know they were back there? "Why don't you two come out and speak." the boy chimed. Kristi walked out and waved happily. Jackie pressed herself against the tree as if by doing so she would melt into it. "Seems like Jackie doesn't want to play." the boy stated and he suddenly disappeared.
He reappeared hovering inches away from Jackie's face causing her to scream. The other seishi ran over to see the boy smirking at Jackie who looked about ready to pass out. "Anyway, what exactly I am here for today is to claim something I need." he stated, turning back to face the stunned seishi and Kristi who was... less than impressed?
"Somethin' ya need?" Tasuki asked, confused. "I will see you soon Tamahome, another necessity of mine will be claimed with in a four days." the boy explained, ignoring Tasuki. "That is when you Tamahome, will be told where to be." "And why should I do anything for you?" Tamahome asked. "For Miaka." the boy said before disappearing.
Jackie suddenly burst into tears and started shaking, oddly enough it was Tasuki that wrapped her in his arms and patted her hair assuring her that everything was alright... and that that guy was a fruitcake. "Oh almost forgot." a voice echoed around them, seeming to bounce from tree to tree "I needed something of yours." Jackie disappeared leaving Tasuki hugging... nothing. "GAY VOICE!" Kristi yelled "With all your howevers and proper english!"
To Be Continued
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Authors note: That just got alot more serious... really fast. That's what I get for listening to Theatre of Tragedy while writing. I wasn't going to put an Original villain character in this fic but my plot bunnies called for one... and I just made him up off the top of my head. I've been jumping between fandoms lately so he's kinda a mix between Sesshoumaru, Legolas, and... the celtic guardian.
Anyway this is really a trial chapter, if you don't like where this is going tell me so I can scrap it. If you guys like this, in the next chapter I'm planning to explain a little more about our mystery villain which includes why he needs Tamahome, why he took Jackie, what he is, and hey I don't think a name would be to impossible to conjure up.
Also my (Krazy Edward) thanks go out to the reviewers, my lovely co-author has already made her love for all of you known. Oh btw, your fic made me cry too Docky ;_;