Chichiri couldn't believe what he had gotten
himself into. In two days he had fallen in love
with a girl who was eleven years younger than
him, became delirious from a high fever, gotten
healed in less than five minutes, and spilled his
past to a complete stranger.
But there was something about Ji-na that made
him feel comfortable. Not that he didn't feel
comfortable around the other seishi, but it was
as if he knew her from somewhere before, maybe in
a past life.
"Hey, Chichiri," Miaka said, waving a hand in
front of his face. "Snap out of it!"
"Oh, sorry no da." Ji-na giggled.
Chichiri was sitting at a table in Kouran's
house. A little girl of about six or seven was
sitting across from him.
"Why do you like big sister so much?" she asked
him.
"You've never been in love, have you?" he asked
her. She giggled.
"Of course not, silly! I'm only seven!"
"Jun-ling!" a voice from the next room called.
"What are you telling Houjun?"
"Oh...nothing..." She giggled again.
"Wow," Miaka said. "Have you ever seen someone
go in and out of a trance, then back in again
that quickly?"
"Ji-na," Chichiri said, ignoring Miaka turning
to Ji-na. "Does the name 'Jun-ling' mean
anything to you no da?"
"No," Ji-na said.
"Look," Miaka cut in. "I don't mean to be rude,
but how is this helping to stop the marriage?"
~*~
The days passed, with Ji-na, Miaka, and Chichiri
feverishly planning how to stop the marriage.
None of the ideas seemed to work.
One day, Chichiri decided to take Miaka and
Ji-na to town, his treat. He said getting out of
the palace for a little while would make Ji-na
stop feeling so stressed. She and Miaka agreed.
After walking through the market for a while,
they stopped by a fountain to rest. Chichiri
looked down into the water, his mind obviously
somewhere else. Ji-na looked over his shoulder
at their reflections in the water.
"Kouran!" Chichiri said, turning around quickly
and facing Ji-na. "Oops no da," he said,
realizing his mistake. "You know," suddenly
exclaimed, cupping her chin in his hand and
looking her face over. "You look absolutely
nothing like Hotohori no da."
"I know, everybody says that," Ji-na said.
"Yeah, but you resemble Kouran no da."
"Coincidence," Ji-na said, shrugging it off.
A young woman who was carrying a big bag sat
down at the edge of the fountain. When Chichiri
and Miaka saw her, they both choked.
"Are you alright?" the young woman asked when
she heard Chichiri and Miaka choke.
"N - Nuriko?" Miaka asked. "I thought you were
dead?"
"What are you talking about?" the young woman
asked. "My name is Houki."
"Houki," Chichiri said. "I think the emperor
should see you no da." He held out his hand to
her but she didn't accept it.
"How can I be sure that you're actually going to
take me to the emperor?" Houki's grip tightened
around her bag.
"You'll just have to trust us," Miaka piped up.
Houki looked helplessly from Miaka to Chichiri to
Ji-na.
"No time to decide no da!" Chichiri said as he
spread out his kesa on the ground. Miaka jumped
in and disappeared. Ji-na had no time to voice
her amazement because Chichiri had given her a
slight push towards his kesa and told her to jump
in.
Ji-na jumped in, and instead of hitting hard
ground as she expected, she was standing in the
throne room of the palace.
"Woah..." Ji-na said as she saw Chichiri
materialize holding both Houki and his kesa.
"That was too cool." Houki, on the other hand,
didn't think so. She was kicking and screaming,
telling Chichiri to let her go. Her bag had
fallen, it's contents spilling on the floor.
"Chichiri," Hotohori, who was sitting on his
throne said. "Who's your friend?"
But Chichiri didn't have a chance to answer
because at that moment, Tamahome and Tasuki came
running into the throne room, screaming for
Chichiri.
"Chichiri!" Tamahome screamed. "You have to set
up ghost wards for me and Tasuki! Nuriko's
spirit's been following us!"
"Look!" Tasuki cried, his finger pointed at
Houki. "It's Nuriko!" This resulted in Tamahome
and Tasuki screaming their lungs out, Ji-na,
Chichiri, and Miaka laughing, Hotohori trying to
suppress his laughter, and Houki just standing
there, looking like she had just walked onto the
property of a mental asylum.
When the screaming had stopped and everything
had more or less calmed down, Chichiri introduced
Houki to everybody who was in the throne room.
"Houki," Hotohori asked. "What brings you
here?"
"Well, Your Majesty," Houki said bowing low,
finally figuring out where she was. "I was at
the market, doing my shopping. Then I stopped at
a fountain to rest. I encountered your friend
here," she pointed to Chichiri. "He said that
you would like to see me. Said I looked like
somebody named Nuriko."
"He's right," Hotohori replied, studying her
face. "You look just like him."
"You are a girl, right?" Miaka asked Houki.
"Of course I am!" Houki said, a little annoyed.
Miaka checked anyway.
"I think we'll leave you two alone now no da,"
Chichiri announced as he tugged on Miaka's
jacket, indicating that she leave Houki alone.
Everyone left the throne room.
Ji-na went over to the courtyard to take a walk.
She found Chichiri fishing in the pond.
A/N: Heya! I probably screwed up Houki's
entrance, but I haven't seen that far in the
series, and this is supposed to be an AU fic.
special thanks to:
gloriaklompen! She's uploaded every chapter of
this story except chapter 4, because I did that
at school. Let's give her a big hand!
TA Maxwell! She's always given me great ideas
when I have a mean case of writer's block. (And
she's my idol ^_^)
AniFuz! I'm glad you finally reviewed it. Yes,
Tasuki IS cool, but Chichiri is SO MUCH cooler!
:-P Cya @ AC soon! (Hopefully we can find a good
date to see Spirited Away.)
Princess Death! Glad you liked this chapter!
There's a lot more to come.
himself into. In two days he had fallen in love
with a girl who was eleven years younger than
him, became delirious from a high fever, gotten
healed in less than five minutes, and spilled his
past to a complete stranger.
But there was something about Ji-na that made
him feel comfortable. Not that he didn't feel
comfortable around the other seishi, but it was
as if he knew her from somewhere before, maybe in
a past life.
"Hey, Chichiri," Miaka said, waving a hand in
front of his face. "Snap out of it!"
"Oh, sorry no da." Ji-na giggled.
Chichiri was sitting at a table in Kouran's
house. A little girl of about six or seven was
sitting across from him.
"Why do you like big sister so much?" she asked
him.
"You've never been in love, have you?" he asked
her. She giggled.
"Of course not, silly! I'm only seven!"
"Jun-ling!" a voice from the next room called.
"What are you telling Houjun?"
"Oh...nothing..." She giggled again.
"Wow," Miaka said. "Have you ever seen someone
go in and out of a trance, then back in again
that quickly?"
"Ji-na," Chichiri said, ignoring Miaka turning
to Ji-na. "Does the name 'Jun-ling' mean
anything to you no da?"
"No," Ji-na said.
"Look," Miaka cut in. "I don't mean to be rude,
but how is this helping to stop the marriage?"
~*~
The days passed, with Ji-na, Miaka, and Chichiri
feverishly planning how to stop the marriage.
None of the ideas seemed to work.
One day, Chichiri decided to take Miaka and
Ji-na to town, his treat. He said getting out of
the palace for a little while would make Ji-na
stop feeling so stressed. She and Miaka agreed.
After walking through the market for a while,
they stopped by a fountain to rest. Chichiri
looked down into the water, his mind obviously
somewhere else. Ji-na looked over his shoulder
at their reflections in the water.
"Kouran!" Chichiri said, turning around quickly
and facing Ji-na. "Oops no da," he said,
realizing his mistake. "You know," suddenly
exclaimed, cupping her chin in his hand and
looking her face over. "You look absolutely
nothing like Hotohori no da."
"I know, everybody says that," Ji-na said.
"Yeah, but you resemble Kouran no da."
"Coincidence," Ji-na said, shrugging it off.
A young woman who was carrying a big bag sat
down at the edge of the fountain. When Chichiri
and Miaka saw her, they both choked.
"Are you alright?" the young woman asked when
she heard Chichiri and Miaka choke.
"N - Nuriko?" Miaka asked. "I thought you were
dead?"
"What are you talking about?" the young woman
asked. "My name is Houki."
"Houki," Chichiri said. "I think the emperor
should see you no da." He held out his hand to
her but she didn't accept it.
"How can I be sure that you're actually going to
take me to the emperor?" Houki's grip tightened
around her bag.
"You'll just have to trust us," Miaka piped up.
Houki looked helplessly from Miaka to Chichiri to
Ji-na.
"No time to decide no da!" Chichiri said as he
spread out his kesa on the ground. Miaka jumped
in and disappeared. Ji-na had no time to voice
her amazement because Chichiri had given her a
slight push towards his kesa and told her to jump
in.
Ji-na jumped in, and instead of hitting hard
ground as she expected, she was standing in the
throne room of the palace.
"Woah..." Ji-na said as she saw Chichiri
materialize holding both Houki and his kesa.
"That was too cool." Houki, on the other hand,
didn't think so. She was kicking and screaming,
telling Chichiri to let her go. Her bag had
fallen, it's contents spilling on the floor.
"Chichiri," Hotohori, who was sitting on his
throne said. "Who's your friend?"
But Chichiri didn't have a chance to answer
because at that moment, Tamahome and Tasuki came
running into the throne room, screaming for
Chichiri.
"Chichiri!" Tamahome screamed. "You have to set
up ghost wards for me and Tasuki! Nuriko's
spirit's been following us!"
"Look!" Tasuki cried, his finger pointed at
Houki. "It's Nuriko!" This resulted in Tamahome
and Tasuki screaming their lungs out, Ji-na,
Chichiri, and Miaka laughing, Hotohori trying to
suppress his laughter, and Houki just standing
there, looking like she had just walked onto the
property of a mental asylum.
When the screaming had stopped and everything
had more or less calmed down, Chichiri introduced
Houki to everybody who was in the throne room.
"Houki," Hotohori asked. "What brings you
here?"
"Well, Your Majesty," Houki said bowing low,
finally figuring out where she was. "I was at
the market, doing my shopping. Then I stopped at
a fountain to rest. I encountered your friend
here," she pointed to Chichiri. "He said that
you would like to see me. Said I looked like
somebody named Nuriko."
"He's right," Hotohori replied, studying her
face. "You look just like him."
"You are a girl, right?" Miaka asked Houki.
"Of course I am!" Houki said, a little annoyed.
Miaka checked anyway.
"I think we'll leave you two alone now no da,"
Chichiri announced as he tugged on Miaka's
jacket, indicating that she leave Houki alone.
Everyone left the throne room.
Ji-na went over to the courtyard to take a walk.
She found Chichiri fishing in the pond.
A/N: Heya! I probably screwed up Houki's
entrance, but I haven't seen that far in the
series, and this is supposed to be an AU fic.
special thanks to:
gloriaklompen! She's uploaded every chapter of
this story except chapter 4, because I did that
at school. Let's give her a big hand!
TA Maxwell! She's always given me great ideas
when I have a mean case of writer's block. (And
she's my idol ^_^)
AniFuz! I'm glad you finally reviewed it. Yes,
Tasuki IS cool, but Chichiri is SO MUCH cooler!
:-P Cya @ AC soon! (Hopefully we can find a good
date to see Spirited Away.)
Princess Death! Glad you liked this chapter!
There's a lot more to come.