The next morning, Houjun was still fast asleep, not having once moved from where he lay. I hated to wake him, watching him sleeping so peacefully, happy for once. I don't think I'd ever seen him smile. I mean, really smile, with all his heart and meaning. But he was now. That was why I didn't want to wake him. When he whispered the name of his late girlfriend and clutched the blanket closer to him, I wanted to let him stay even more. However, I knew he would kill he if I let him sleep through a single class. Dream or not, happy or not, I had to undergo the task of waking him. Remembering the last time, I was able to duck the flying hand.
"Koutoku?" his one eye opened drowsily. I smiled.
"Morning, sunshine!" I greeted as cheerfully as I could without being annoyingly so. "You've got class in an hour."
He groaned, pushing himself up off our uncomfortable floor.
"Thanks no da…coffee?"
"Already on. Genrou had to leave early."
"I better make a new pot then no da…with the way he makes coffee."
"Good idea." Genrou certainly was no expert at brewing a pot of heaven's liquid. I can now say, at least, I know someone who can burn cereal and ruin instant coffee. As Houjun began the new pot of coffee, I went into my room to get dressed. His voice echoed in to me.
"Hey…Koutoku no da?"
"Yeah?"
There was a silent pause. I guess he was taking a sip of his coffee.
"Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Haven't scientist proved it's impossible?"
Another pause.
"There are holes no da."
"What brings this up?" My voice muffled as I pulled on my shirt.
The following pause was the longest one yet.
"I don't know no da. You know what, let's just forget this conversation ever happened. You're probably right no da." His bedroom door closing told me he was getting ready for class.
~~~~~
Winter came a went, with break included. Genrou and I had spent it pelting each other with snowballs. Houjun had become withdrawn, spending most of his time at his computer desk or the kitchen table, silently brooding with a cup of coffee in his hands. Genrou and I were worried, but he insisted he was alright. Just "had a lot of thinking to do."
Classes started up at the beginning of January, and Genrou and I were assigned a class for World Religions, a requirement to graduate. Genrou automatically recognized Taka, the guy from the bar back near the beginning of the year, and plopped his seat next to him. I cautiously sat on Genrou's other side, waving sheepishly. I doubted Taka would remember me, seeing he had been much too drunk that day. However, he returned the wave all the same.
"Take a seat everyone!" the teacher waltzed in. Everyone was in a seat already. A sweatdrop built on my head as she took her place behind her desk. "Welcome to your World Religions class. I am aware the majority of you do not want to be here."
Boy she had that right.
"However, since you are and you are required to be here and pass, I will try to keep this as interesting for you as possible. To begin, we will be discussing Ancient Chinese mythology."
Whoo-dee-freakin-do. Genrou was drooling on his desk less than a minute later, and I was trying my hardest not to fall asleep. However, both of us were roused by one point of our teacher's words…
"-Suzaku, god of love, and Seiryuu, god of war. These are the four gods of heaven and earth written in the text known as the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, a book generously donated to our school by Sukunami Miaka and Taka."
Genrou and I both glanced over at the man sitting besides us. He flashed a peace sign. Genrou glared.
"Each of the four gods was an animal worshipped by the people under their governing lands. Genbu was the turtle god of the north, Suzaku the phoenix god of the South, Seiryuu the dragon god of the east, and Byakko the tiger god of the west. The gods had their constellations over each domain, and with them were seven other constellations, 32 in all. According to the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, when the country was in danger, a woman would be chosen to be a priestess to gather seven people who bore the symbols chosen by the gods on their bodies. Each person had a supernatural attribute granted by the god in order to protect their priestess. Once all seven were gathered, the god could be summoned, and the priestess would be granted the power to save that country, were it her choice. Once there was safety, the woman was sacrificed to the god. There are other texts describing the legends of the gods, but the stories within the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho tell much more than this. In fact, they are the stories of the priestesses and their journeys. The tale of the priestesses of Suzaku and Seiryuu are certainly the most interesting, an intertwining story of love, deception, victory, and defeat."
I couldn't draw myself away from the teacher's words as she spoke, describing the fourteen battling warriors of the gods. When she spoke of Tasuki, Genrou perked to attention. The two sounded remarkably alike. And Chichiri sounded like he could possibly have been Houjun's twin. Just before it was time for class to end, the professor froze my blood.
"Lastly, there were two chosen warriors of Seiryuu, twins, who couldn't have been more alike yet more different. Amiboshi and Suboshi were dedicated brothers who could speak to each other when they were separated by writing on their arms. The markings one brother left would appear on the arm of the other. However, Suboshi suffered a serious blow when, while ruining the summoning of the god Suzaku by portraying Chiriko, Amiboshi-"
At that moment, the teacher looked at her watch, then back at us.
"Would you look at that, you all should have been dismissed five minutes ago! We'll continue next week."
Genrou and I forgot everything the next morning.
~~~~~
The following week, we entered the classroom to spy an unfamiliar man speaking with our professor. A table in front of her desk was littered with unfamiliar items. I took my seat next to Genrou as the professor turned to us.
"Today, we have a guest from a museum in China. He has kindly brought artifacts from the shrines of the four gods, all of which crumbled to dust twenty years ago."
I missed his name. My eyes were focused on the items. On the table were some amazing things, like monk-like prayerbeads, a Buddhist staff, a metal fan, two balls on the end of a rope, and a well preserved flute.
"These items," the speaker began, waving at the prayerbeads, staff, a mask, a patterned cloak, and a fisherman's hat frayed with time, "were said to belong to the Suzaku mage, Chichiri. He was the last living warrior of the gods, and had habits few could explain, such as wearing the mask seen here." Next he motioned to the balls on the rope. "These were property to the Seiryuu warrior, Suboshi. He was noted as a temperamental and revenge-driven young man, especially after the murder of his twin brother, Amiboshi. He used this weapon to murder the family of Suzaku warrior Tamahome, beginning the feud that would last until the very end of the tale."
Next, the speaker lifted the glistening metal fan from the table. Genrou's face went pale as he gazed at the item, and his hands gripped the edge of his desk. Taka and I looked at him awkwardly.
"This," the speaker proudly announced, "was the weapon of the Suzaku warrior, Tasuki. A magical phrase was used to ignite the fan in flames, and it defeated hundreds of enemies in it's usage, including a legion of undead warriors. However, this is just part of the story as recorded in scrolls found in the shrine. None can be proven. Tasuki was said to be-"
The speaker paused. Genrou was on his feet and looking down at his desk, hiding his eyes. He was shaking terribly.
"Mister Kou?" the professor questioned.
"I…I have to go!" Genrou spat out, grabbing his bag and running from the room. I stood, intending to follow, but the teacher's look told me to remain in my seat. Reluctantly I obeyed. The speaker blinked, staring after him, then moved on. He lifted the flute from the table. An explosion of coldness shot through my veins as he begin to speak of Amiboshi, the kind-hearted, traitorous twin. He spoke of ruining the summoning of the god Suzaku and nearly killed the other warriors of Suzaku by channeling his life-force through that very flute. With each word, my dreams flashed in front of my eyes. It hurt…my head was pounding…I had to get out of the room of my head was going to burst.
"Bu Koutoku?" my teacher was now standing as my hands shot up to my head.
"Stop it…stop it!!" I shouted. I ran out of the room, leaving my bag behind. I couldn't think. My feet were leading my randomly as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Something was wrong with me. I needed to find someone…Genrou, Houjun…anyone.
"Koutoku?"
"Koutoku!"
There they were, outside a classroom, Houjun and Genrou both. I stood there for a moment, looking at them, pale and trembling.
"What's happening?" I whispered. Houjun looked pitifully at me before approaching and putting a hand on my shoulder. Like a child, I latched onto him, unable to help myself. I needed to be held by someone, and he was there. "What's happening to me, Houjun?" Hot tears began to stain my face as I sobbed into Houjun's shirt. There was a silent pause as Genrou neared us and rested his hand on my head. Finally, after another moment of silence, Houjun spoke.
"I think it's time we talked."
Genrou was trembling as badly as I was; I could tell from his hand. I myself still refused to let go of my big brother figure. I was beginning to understand what Shunkaku felt when I had to leave him in the parking lot. It seemed like only moments later Houjun was helping me to sit down on the couch, holding onto me gently.
"What the fuckin hell?" Genrou croaked, falling down into the chair next to us as I looked up finally.
"Teleportation," Houjun whispered. "One of the abilities of Suzaku seishi Chichiri."
~~~~~~~~~
Well hey, I'd be freaked out too if that happened to me ^^; And if any of you got the impression of Chichiri by Amiboshi by this part, MIND OUT OF GUTTER! It's called comforting, and can be done by anyone, not just two people who love each other. So there =P Now review please ^^ I hope this is a different enough approach to a common idea.