Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, and if I did I would be making money
off this. Ect. Yeah.
"Reveal yourself," Chichiri shook his staff at the bushes, and the rings chimed as they shook. "Now!" He took a step forward, and Tasuki dismounted beside him.
"I don't know who you are, but come outta there now" Tasuki reached behind his back and pulled out a long metallic fan.
"What is happening back there," A man stepped out of the carriage, he was dressed in long white and red robes and had long hair, and he was the emperor Kira had attacked before.
"We mean to travel in peace," While Kira stared Chichiri down; Yuki spoke up through the bush. "Do not hinder us." Yuki hoped this would stay their weapons.
"Why do I get the feeling that isn't going to work." Kira whispered to Yuki while her eyes remained locked on Chichiri.
"We mean you no harm, step forward," Hotohori stepped in front of Tasuki and smiled at the bushes. Kira's eyes shot to him, and she prepared to yell something. Chichiri took this chance to strike at them.
"Haa!" Chichiri leapt into the bushes, and was about to land almost directly on top of Kira. Kira's eyes darted back, and in one fluid motion she drew her sword and slashed up at Chichiri. He landed on Kyuu, and knocked her back onto the ground with his staff.
"Kira!" Yuki yelled as her eyes shot to her friend, she completely forgot about Kurare and their disguises for the brief moment. Chichiri was about to jump off of the horse to attack again, however Kyuu was not happy with the assailant of his rider, and threw Chichiri off, and into a tree.
"Let's go!" Kira flipped herself up off the ground, and mounted Kyuu in a hurry. She quickly stowed her Samshir and they both rode out into the main road. After nearly trampling Hotohori and Tasuki, they sped off down the path as fast as their beasts would run.
"Eeeeeh." Chichiri groaned as he stood up holding his aching head.
"Chichiri, are you alright?" Hotohori looked over to his friend with an expression of mild worry. Chichiri removed his hand from his face to lift his staff up off the ground, but as he bent there was a cracking sound. The Samshir had cut his mask straight down the middle; it spilt in two and the fox like mask fluttered to the ground.
"That man cut through your mask." Tasuki stood staring down at the split magical mask that lay on the ground at Chichiri's feet. Chichiri narrowed his eyes and picked up both his staff and mask.
"That 'man' was the assassin that struck at Hotohori-sama nearly a year ago at the festival of stars," Chichiri said as he tried to set his mask together again. "Perhaps he is looking for another chance at Hotohori- sama's life.or maybe even the Emperor of Byakko Territory."
"I could not allow that to happen." Hotohori paused to think about the diplomatic repercussions of the death of Byakko Territory's Emperor. He finally nodded to himself and looked up to state his plan.
"Chichiri, track down the assassin, and find out what you can about him. Tasuki, you shall accompany me to the Emperor's palace. We should make haste, with such dangerous people abound." Hotohori waited for Chichiri and Tasuki to nod in agreement before he retired back into the carriage to continue travel to the Palace Of The White Tiger, where the Emperor of Byakko territory resided.
The sun grew golden and round as it rose from the edges of dawn into the blue sky over China. Kira and Yuki had slowed their pace after they assumed they had reached a safe distance from the carriage and riders.
"You think we lost them?" Yuki turned in her saddle to check the road behind them.
"I'm more worried that we lost our thief." Kira grumbled as she checked the road and sighed. "It looks like we'll just have to travel along the road until we can find his tracks."
"Alright, I suppose," Yuki looked up at the blue sky and back down at the long road ahead.
The two continued for some time down the road, completely unaware of the monk tracking them from rather far behind. They pressed on, and the sun hit high noon as they passed a row of fields. The road turned slightly, and started upward onto a hill. At the top of the hill the fields of grain ended abruptly, and were replaced by a long strip of trees and a small orchard. Kira and Yuki rode down along the road, through the shade of the trees and past the orchard until they reached the outskirts of a small town.
"BrimHottle?" Yuki looked perplexed as she stared at a sign that was strung above the road between two trees.
"What?" Kira pulled on Kyuu's reigns a tad and they both stopped to look at the sign.
The sign was a long slightly curved piece of a lightly colored wood. It had been painted over with a dark green color quite some time ago, or so it looked from the amount of peeled paint, but the letters on the sign appeared to have been repainted. Red letters with black outlines written in a curvy style spelled out the word 'BrimHottle' on the center of the sign.
"I thought you said this book was in Chinese when you found it." Yuki turned and blinked at Kira who was still staring at the sign.
"It was." Kira sighed and turned to Yuki. "Well at least we can pronounce the name of this town." Kira and Yuki giggled together knowing that both of them and Jaki had failed the Chinese language class when they took it.
They rode a short while past a few houses, a few meadows, and finally they came to the actual village of BrimHottle. The village was not of a particularly large size but it was charming nonetheless. The roads went from a dirt path to a more formal road paved with white stones; the buildings were plain but matched the scenery beautifully.
"Its like an oasis." Kira looked around as they passed into the city, and Yuki nodded in agreement.
As the two rode along, they were unaware of the thief who had just become aware of them. The thief was a thin man dressed in rather tattered clothing that had an enormous amount of pockets sewn into it. He had been sitting on the roof of a house when Kira and Yuki had come riding up, however, once he recognized them he leapt up and scurried off the roof and into the town.
He hurried through the quaint streets, shoved past people in the markets, and finally reached his destination. The building he entered was a painted a light tan color, and was built on the sheer cliff face that surrounded the town and kept the weather cooler in the valley.
"Where should we start looking?" Yuki asked as they rode slowly down the street. She looked up and around at all of the buildings before turning to Kira for a final answer.
".Perhaps a bar?" Kira answered without turning to face Yuki. Kira looked at the cliffs around the valley, they were nearly identical to the one that came down into the bamboo forest. 'Of course, that's why the weather is so nice here.' Kira thought and set her attention back on the task at hand.
"Alright, but I think we should stop by a hotel or something and get changed.were getting odd looks." Yuki trailed off and looked at some of the people on the street who had begun to whisper and point at the two.
"Agreed." Kira turned to see more people gathering behind them.
The two quickly found a rather quaint little inn. It was white on all sides with a dark green roof, and a matching door. Though it looked nowhere near Chinese in origin, they simply disregarded it and went in.
The inn was rather busy inside; the desk where one would check in was right next to the stairs that led up to the rooms. The desk, it seemed, was also part of the bar that extended into the room adjacent to the entryway. The next room was filled with shouting, signing, and laughing making it rather hard to hear the small bell placed over the front door.
"Ahem." Kira cleared her throat, and stared at the Innkeeper who was running back and forth at the bar serving drinks. A few minutes passed and it didn't seem that the Innkeeper had even noticed them at all. Kira tried hitting the bell that was on the desk, but it was to no avail.
"Oh for the love of Mike!" Yuki threw her arms up, and gave up on waiting. She picked up the bell and threw it at the Innkeeper. It rang rather loudly when it hit him in the back, and he quickly turned and noticed the two.
"My name's Mr. Hican Can I help you?" The Innkeeper picked up the bell and set it back down in its rightful place.
"We need a room," Kira stared at him, and motioned towards the stairs.
"Alright then, just sign your names in this book here, and I'll get the key for you," The Innkeeper flipped open a large, leather bound, registration book and handed Kira a quill with a bottle of ink. He then shuffled off to a room connected to the area behind the bar.
"." Kira stared at the book for a moment, and Yuki looked over her shoulder.
"Why aren't you singing in?" Yuki stared at her, and pushed her shoulder lightly.
"I can't decide," A wide grin spread across Kira's face, although it was hard to tell with the cloth mask she wore. "Should I sign in as 'Kira Bidasse' or 'Kurare the Desert Wind'?" She snickered and quickly wrote out 'Kira Bidasse' in cursive on an open line of the registration book. She set down the quill, and by the time she was done the Innkeeper returned with a brass key that had a room number burned into the metal.
"Kira Bidasse, aye?" The Innkeeper flipped the book around as he read her name, and then eyed the two suspiciously. "Strange, we don't get many fellas named 'Kira' in these parts." He shrugged and handed the key to Yuki and went back to work.
"I don't think I'll ever understand it." Yuki sighed, and marched up the stairs behind them in search of their room. "How any one could possibly think YOU are a man is beyond me."
"Good acting," Kira snickered, and nudged Yuki with her elbow.
The two disappeared up stairs with the bag that Jaki had given them and searched for their room. They walked down a long row and theirs was the room second to the last on the right side. Yuki put the key in the door that had its matching number and turned it. She had to nearly ram the door with her shoulder to open it but they finally entered the room.
The room had a fireplace, a large bed, and a table near the window overlooking the street; it was otherwise unfurnished and rather plain. Kira dropped the bag by the beside, and sighed. Yuki drew open the shutters that covered the window and took a deep breathe.
"Where should we start looking?" Yuki turned to Kira, and cracked her knuckles.
"Personally, I could use some dinner." Kira snickered, and her stomach rumbled in agreement. Yuki was about to protest and insist they found the thief, but her stomach growled and cut her off. The two laughed and walked downstairs to see if the bar served any kind of food.
"I'm telling you! This sword is worth at LEAST two hundred!"
"I'll give you seventy-five and that's my final offer!"
Kira and Yuki stopped half way down the last set of stairs as they heard a familiar voice coming from the common room. There was a loud bag as a man hit his fists on the table.
"One fifty!"
"One hundred!"
Kira and Yuki walked out into the common room and both their mouths fell agape. The thief that had taken Yuki's katana and Kira's chocker was arguing with a man over the value of both. The two girls sent each other a look, and stepped into the common room.
Author's Notes: Yeah still no Tatara or Kagasuki.but they will return! To the few of you that may actually be reading this, Thank you for REVIEWING *cough cough*. And a warm Thank You goes out to the people who gave Chi- chan a few Band-aids for the tinny cut along his nose, and the people of BrimHottle: The Happiest Plot-Hole Town Ever.
Read and Review.Come on.You know you wanna. All your friends are doing it. *Mytsie tries the patented 'Peer-Pressure' method of getting reviews*
"Reveal yourself," Chichiri shook his staff at the bushes, and the rings chimed as they shook. "Now!" He took a step forward, and Tasuki dismounted beside him.
"I don't know who you are, but come outta there now" Tasuki reached behind his back and pulled out a long metallic fan.
"What is happening back there," A man stepped out of the carriage, he was dressed in long white and red robes and had long hair, and he was the emperor Kira had attacked before.
"We mean to travel in peace," While Kira stared Chichiri down; Yuki spoke up through the bush. "Do not hinder us." Yuki hoped this would stay their weapons.
"Why do I get the feeling that isn't going to work." Kira whispered to Yuki while her eyes remained locked on Chichiri.
"We mean you no harm, step forward," Hotohori stepped in front of Tasuki and smiled at the bushes. Kira's eyes shot to him, and she prepared to yell something. Chichiri took this chance to strike at them.
"Haa!" Chichiri leapt into the bushes, and was about to land almost directly on top of Kira. Kira's eyes darted back, and in one fluid motion she drew her sword and slashed up at Chichiri. He landed on Kyuu, and knocked her back onto the ground with his staff.
"Kira!" Yuki yelled as her eyes shot to her friend, she completely forgot about Kurare and their disguises for the brief moment. Chichiri was about to jump off of the horse to attack again, however Kyuu was not happy with the assailant of his rider, and threw Chichiri off, and into a tree.
"Let's go!" Kira flipped herself up off the ground, and mounted Kyuu in a hurry. She quickly stowed her Samshir and they both rode out into the main road. After nearly trampling Hotohori and Tasuki, they sped off down the path as fast as their beasts would run.
"Eeeeeh." Chichiri groaned as he stood up holding his aching head.
"Chichiri, are you alright?" Hotohori looked over to his friend with an expression of mild worry. Chichiri removed his hand from his face to lift his staff up off the ground, but as he bent there was a cracking sound. The Samshir had cut his mask straight down the middle; it spilt in two and the fox like mask fluttered to the ground.
"That man cut through your mask." Tasuki stood staring down at the split magical mask that lay on the ground at Chichiri's feet. Chichiri narrowed his eyes and picked up both his staff and mask.
"That 'man' was the assassin that struck at Hotohori-sama nearly a year ago at the festival of stars," Chichiri said as he tried to set his mask together again. "Perhaps he is looking for another chance at Hotohori- sama's life.or maybe even the Emperor of Byakko Territory."
"I could not allow that to happen." Hotohori paused to think about the diplomatic repercussions of the death of Byakko Territory's Emperor. He finally nodded to himself and looked up to state his plan.
"Chichiri, track down the assassin, and find out what you can about him. Tasuki, you shall accompany me to the Emperor's palace. We should make haste, with such dangerous people abound." Hotohori waited for Chichiri and Tasuki to nod in agreement before he retired back into the carriage to continue travel to the Palace Of The White Tiger, where the Emperor of Byakko territory resided.
The sun grew golden and round as it rose from the edges of dawn into the blue sky over China. Kira and Yuki had slowed their pace after they assumed they had reached a safe distance from the carriage and riders.
"You think we lost them?" Yuki turned in her saddle to check the road behind them.
"I'm more worried that we lost our thief." Kira grumbled as she checked the road and sighed. "It looks like we'll just have to travel along the road until we can find his tracks."
"Alright, I suppose," Yuki looked up at the blue sky and back down at the long road ahead.
The two continued for some time down the road, completely unaware of the monk tracking them from rather far behind. They pressed on, and the sun hit high noon as they passed a row of fields. The road turned slightly, and started upward onto a hill. At the top of the hill the fields of grain ended abruptly, and were replaced by a long strip of trees and a small orchard. Kira and Yuki rode down along the road, through the shade of the trees and past the orchard until they reached the outskirts of a small town.
"BrimHottle?" Yuki looked perplexed as she stared at a sign that was strung above the road between two trees.
"What?" Kira pulled on Kyuu's reigns a tad and they both stopped to look at the sign.
The sign was a long slightly curved piece of a lightly colored wood. It had been painted over with a dark green color quite some time ago, or so it looked from the amount of peeled paint, but the letters on the sign appeared to have been repainted. Red letters with black outlines written in a curvy style spelled out the word 'BrimHottle' on the center of the sign.
"I thought you said this book was in Chinese when you found it." Yuki turned and blinked at Kira who was still staring at the sign.
"It was." Kira sighed and turned to Yuki. "Well at least we can pronounce the name of this town." Kira and Yuki giggled together knowing that both of them and Jaki had failed the Chinese language class when they took it.
They rode a short while past a few houses, a few meadows, and finally they came to the actual village of BrimHottle. The village was not of a particularly large size but it was charming nonetheless. The roads went from a dirt path to a more formal road paved with white stones; the buildings were plain but matched the scenery beautifully.
"Its like an oasis." Kira looked around as they passed into the city, and Yuki nodded in agreement.
As the two rode along, they were unaware of the thief who had just become aware of them. The thief was a thin man dressed in rather tattered clothing that had an enormous amount of pockets sewn into it. He had been sitting on the roof of a house when Kira and Yuki had come riding up, however, once he recognized them he leapt up and scurried off the roof and into the town.
He hurried through the quaint streets, shoved past people in the markets, and finally reached his destination. The building he entered was a painted a light tan color, and was built on the sheer cliff face that surrounded the town and kept the weather cooler in the valley.
"Where should we start looking?" Yuki asked as they rode slowly down the street. She looked up and around at all of the buildings before turning to Kira for a final answer.
".Perhaps a bar?" Kira answered without turning to face Yuki. Kira looked at the cliffs around the valley, they were nearly identical to the one that came down into the bamboo forest. 'Of course, that's why the weather is so nice here.' Kira thought and set her attention back on the task at hand.
"Alright, but I think we should stop by a hotel or something and get changed.were getting odd looks." Yuki trailed off and looked at some of the people on the street who had begun to whisper and point at the two.
"Agreed." Kira turned to see more people gathering behind them.
The two quickly found a rather quaint little inn. It was white on all sides with a dark green roof, and a matching door. Though it looked nowhere near Chinese in origin, they simply disregarded it and went in.
The inn was rather busy inside; the desk where one would check in was right next to the stairs that led up to the rooms. The desk, it seemed, was also part of the bar that extended into the room adjacent to the entryway. The next room was filled with shouting, signing, and laughing making it rather hard to hear the small bell placed over the front door.
"Ahem." Kira cleared her throat, and stared at the Innkeeper who was running back and forth at the bar serving drinks. A few minutes passed and it didn't seem that the Innkeeper had even noticed them at all. Kira tried hitting the bell that was on the desk, but it was to no avail.
"Oh for the love of Mike!" Yuki threw her arms up, and gave up on waiting. She picked up the bell and threw it at the Innkeeper. It rang rather loudly when it hit him in the back, and he quickly turned and noticed the two.
"My name's Mr. Hican Can I help you?" The Innkeeper picked up the bell and set it back down in its rightful place.
"We need a room," Kira stared at him, and motioned towards the stairs.
"Alright then, just sign your names in this book here, and I'll get the key for you," The Innkeeper flipped open a large, leather bound, registration book and handed Kira a quill with a bottle of ink. He then shuffled off to a room connected to the area behind the bar.
"." Kira stared at the book for a moment, and Yuki looked over her shoulder.
"Why aren't you singing in?" Yuki stared at her, and pushed her shoulder lightly.
"I can't decide," A wide grin spread across Kira's face, although it was hard to tell with the cloth mask she wore. "Should I sign in as 'Kira Bidasse' or 'Kurare the Desert Wind'?" She snickered and quickly wrote out 'Kira Bidasse' in cursive on an open line of the registration book. She set down the quill, and by the time she was done the Innkeeper returned with a brass key that had a room number burned into the metal.
"Kira Bidasse, aye?" The Innkeeper flipped the book around as he read her name, and then eyed the two suspiciously. "Strange, we don't get many fellas named 'Kira' in these parts." He shrugged and handed the key to Yuki and went back to work.
"I don't think I'll ever understand it." Yuki sighed, and marched up the stairs behind them in search of their room. "How any one could possibly think YOU are a man is beyond me."
"Good acting," Kira snickered, and nudged Yuki with her elbow.
The two disappeared up stairs with the bag that Jaki had given them and searched for their room. They walked down a long row and theirs was the room second to the last on the right side. Yuki put the key in the door that had its matching number and turned it. She had to nearly ram the door with her shoulder to open it but they finally entered the room.
The room had a fireplace, a large bed, and a table near the window overlooking the street; it was otherwise unfurnished and rather plain. Kira dropped the bag by the beside, and sighed. Yuki drew open the shutters that covered the window and took a deep breathe.
"Where should we start looking?" Yuki turned to Kira, and cracked her knuckles.
"Personally, I could use some dinner." Kira snickered, and her stomach rumbled in agreement. Yuki was about to protest and insist they found the thief, but her stomach growled and cut her off. The two laughed and walked downstairs to see if the bar served any kind of food.
"I'm telling you! This sword is worth at LEAST two hundred!"
"I'll give you seventy-five and that's my final offer!"
Kira and Yuki stopped half way down the last set of stairs as they heard a familiar voice coming from the common room. There was a loud bag as a man hit his fists on the table.
"One fifty!"
"One hundred!"
Kira and Yuki walked out into the common room and both their mouths fell agape. The thief that had taken Yuki's katana and Kira's chocker was arguing with a man over the value of both. The two girls sent each other a look, and stepped into the common room.
Author's Notes: Yeah still no Tatara or Kagasuki.but they will return! To the few of you that may actually be reading this, Thank you for REVIEWING *cough cough*. And a warm Thank You goes out to the people who gave Chi- chan a few Band-aids for the tinny cut along his nose, and the people of BrimHottle: The Happiest Plot-Hole Town Ever.
Read and Review.Come on.You know you wanna. All your friends are doing it. *Mytsie tries the patented 'Peer-Pressure' method of getting reviews*