Part Thirteen: Into the realm of the bandit
A/N: I wrote the last chapter all in one sitting and am very tired! Eek! Oh well, I'll live. I hope no one takes it the wrong way about Jielain either. She is not a lesbian. She was just buying time so that Chuei could find the book. But even so, Nakago did kiss and lick Tamahome in the series, and said "It isn't nice to look into another man's heart Tamahome." Soooo. yeah. Also, please review at the end of this chapter, (nicely). I appreciate all of the reviews a lot! Thanks! ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi, as always, and if you thought I did you have many problems. Oh, I did invent the kids though.
Jielain slept through the rest of the day and all night, but when she woke up she felt refreshed and ready for anything. Lucky for her, since that was what the plan was anyway.
"Good morning Jielain." Miaka said cheerfully. Jielain nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Where is everyone?" she asked. Miaka took some flowers from the windowsill and set them in front of her, grinning.
"They are at school. And these are for you, from your friends. They were very proud of you." Jielain eyed the flowers grumpily. They were pink and smelly, with green leaves and long thick stems full of thorns. No one had ever given her flowers before. It was a new thing.
"Hmmm. When are we leaving for my world?" Miaka took her grunt for a sign of appreciation.
"I'm glad you like them, and you all are leaving this evening after supper. I was going to wake you for school, but I was afraid that you might not be very agreeable. Plus Taka said to let you sleep, and Chuei. You know, I had to nearly drag him away from you." The bandit looked up.
"Why?" she said curiously. Miaka blinked, putting one finger to her mouth.
"You know I'm not sure." She said finally. "But I think he might have a crush on you." Jielain sweat dropped.
"Oh really?" Miaka nodded vigorously.
"And I think you like him too." Jielain face faulted. Was Miaka trying to tell her something?
"Yes, I do." She said. Miaka smiled knowingly at the bandit's lack of enthusiasm.
"Do you think your father would approve?"
"Huh?"
Miaka turned to face the bandit girl. "What would your father think about Chuei?" She smiled, knowing that Jielain's answer would be some kind of retort. She was right.
"What the hell should he care who I like?" she grumbled, grabbing the vase of flowers and stomping off to her room. She set the vase on the floor, despising them for being so feminine, and yet thinking of all her friends who sent them to her. She smiled. Soon, her father could meet Chuei, and she was sure he would like the calm, sensitive boy.
That evening, the warriors gathered once again around the Suriname living room with the book on the coffee table, no one touching it. Ryuuen and Rokou were smothering Kourin with goodbye hugs, and Miaka and Taka gave Chuei and Chiharu their fair share of hugs and kisses. Chiriko and his beloved laptop, which he had decided to take with him, were scanning the auras to ensure their safety. Mako stood next to Chiharu protectively. Jielain wasn't sure what had happened between them after they brought him back, but she had a feeling they made up. Mitsukake was helping Chiriko with his laptop, and Jielain stood a ways away, watching her friends say goodbye to their loved ones. Soon she would see her loved ones again. Chichiri's smiling face, her father's grim fanged smile, Kouji's laughter.
Miaka noticed the bandit standing by herself and motioned her over. Jielain shook her head, not wanting to interrupt their family, but Miaka took her hand and dragged her over.
"Jielain, it's been a pleasure having you in our house. I want you to give this to Tasuki, and this to Chichiri, and this to Boshin, and this to Houki." She handed over a pile of letters. Then Taka dumped in a pile, then Ryuuen. Jielain smiled and put them in her bag.
"Don't worry, I'll see that they get them." Then Miaka took Jielain into a big hug.
"I'm so glad to have met you." Taka put his arms around them both.
"I am too."
"And me." Ryuuen added himself to the pile. Jielain was shocked. All of them really cared? Deep down, she knew they did. And she cared about them too. Suddenly she felt bad about leaving, and never coming back again.
"You'll be with us in our hearts." They all stepped into the circle around the book, and Jielain reached over and opened it. The others in the room bowed their heads in prayer to Suzaku, and they were all engulfed in a bright red light. Suddenly, there was a flash, and they were in another world.
"Awww Dammit!" Jielain said, pushing someone off of her. They seemed to be outside the palace, near the pond. Jielain jumped up.
"We made it!" The others stood up slowly, observing the new world. "Dad! Boshin! Chichiri!" Jielain yelled. Suddenly a figure emerged from a doorway.
"It's the celestial warriors! Notify the emperor at once!" There was a rush of people, before finally, a young man appeared.
"Boshy!" Jielain yelled, clapping the young man on the back. He smiled grimly.
"Hello Jielain, I see you're back." He was dressed in his emperor clothes, with the little hat. Jielain thought that the hat made him look like his father. He bowed to the dumbfounded warriors.
"I welcome you all to my country. I am the emperor Boshin, also Hotohori of the Suzaku seven." Jielain shrugged him off.
"Where's Chichiri and my dad?" she demanded. Boshin sighed. "Patience." Then Chichiri appeared, and Jielain nearly knocked the emperor down.
"Chichiri!" Jielain yelled, hugging the monk. He grinned over her shoulder.
"Jielain, it's been so long ya know." He said. She pulled away.
"What do ya mean, I was only gone a few days." Chichiri shook his head.
"It's been almost a year ya know. Who are your friends?" she blanked.
"A year?!" Jielain panicked. "Where's my dad." She demanded. Chichiri sighed. "We'll talk about that later." She was filled with a fear beyond anything she had known. "Chichiri, is he okay?" he didn't answer, and she felt like that little girl that wanted to sit in his lap and cry. But she wasn't, and didn't. Instead, she took a deep, steadying breath and held in her emotions and introduced the celestial warriors. "Chichiri, Boshin, these are the other six warriors of Suzaku." They all bowed to the monk and the emperor, but Jielain was already on a roll.
"This is Chiharu, daughter of the former priestess of Suzaku and of the former warrior Tamahome. She has the mark of Tamahome on her forehead." Chiharu smiled her sweetest.
"This is her twin brother Chuei, with the mark of Chichiri on his forehead." Chichiri noted the blush appear in her face when she introduced him and smiled knowingly.
"This is the warrior Nuriko, younger sister to the reincarnated Ryuuen Nuriko."
"This is the warrior Mitsukake, a bad ass doctor with a motorcycle, he's the reincarnation of Mitsukake himself.
"This is the reincarnation of Chiriko, called.err.Chiriko. He's really smart." "And this.hey what the hell are you doing here?" Jielain turned to see that Mako was standing there behind Chiharu. He shrugged.
"I don't know, but that light sucked me in." Jielain ignored that and continued introducing.
"Well, he's the reincarnation of the Seriyuu warrior Amiboshi." Boshin and Chichiri looked uncomfortable, but Jielain assured them it was okay.
"The Seriyuu warriors weren't able to bring back his memories, even when exposed to the reincarnated Suboshi and the former priestess of Seriyuu." Chiharu nodded, clutching Mako's arm.
"I think it's best he came anyway, so that if his memories do return we can protect him from any sneaky Seriyuu spies."
Jielain was solemn. "Boshin, what of the ceremony, since we're all here, can we get to it tonight before anything else might jeopardize our chances of success?"
Boshin shook his head and began leading them to a safer place to converse. Even within the palace walls it was not safe. They gathered in the counseling chamber, a big room used mostly for discussing the future of the country with his old advisors. Now however, no one sat at the long wooden table. Boshin placed guards outside the door and motioned for everyone to sit down.
"My fellow warriors, I am glad to meet all of you, but this is a time in which our country needs us. My fiancé has been kidnapped and will be forced to assume the role of the sacrifice in the ceremony to honor Seriyuu. It is required to sacrifice an enemy maiden to the beast god with all of the warriors present. We must get her back, and also capture one of their people for our ceremony. It is a race. If Seriyuu is honored before Suzaku, it is prophesized that harsh times shall befall all our people."
Jielain gasped. "Your fiancé!?" Boshin nodded.
"Hinako and I are engaged to marry." He glared at her. "We were going to be married last month but Hinako wanted you to be a brides maid." Jielain grinned at her old grudging friend.
"I doubt she is still a 'maiden' then" she said, watching as the emperor's face turned very red, but he didn't deny it.
"It doesn't matter if the sacrifice is a virgin or not because Suzaku will not couple with her ya know. It only matters that she is an enemy, preferably a member of the celestial warriors ya know." Chichiri added this not only to quiet bandit girl, but also to inform the others. Chiriko, ever a thinker, spoke up.
"I think that we should send a minimal of warriors on this mission, preferably ones who are experienced in battle." He looked pointedly at Jielain, who nodded.
"Good thinking Chiriko. I volunteer myself."
"And I." Chuei said.
"I also wish to be a part of this mission, even if my experience is limited." Kourin said, in her soft voice. Chichiri smiled at her likeness to Ryuuen Nuriko, but was relieved that she wasn't exactly the same. He wasn't sure he could live through another super strong cross dresser. Kourin was thinner and prettier, obviously feminine, but hiding an inner strength. The old monk smiled approvingly when he saw the bracelets around her wrists. Miaka must have returned them to their proper owner.
"Kourin-" Chiriko began, and then stopped. "I will be the last member then. Any objections?" No one said anything, but all were wondering why Chiriko looked red.
"You're a big boy now Chiriko ya know." Chichiri said at last, breaking the tension. "When I last saw you, Tasuki had to carry you piggy back." Chiriko scratched his head, laughing.
"He did, didn't he." He met the monk's gaze knowingly, longing to spill his troubles and catch up with his old friend, but instead he just nodded. Mitsukake caught their gazes also, silently agreeing to meet and talk with them later.
"All right, you are dismissed. You shall leave tomorrow morning, first thing. Servants will show you to your rooms." Boshin stood, watching his warriors leave. Jielain gave him a firm handshake on her way out.
"I missed you." She whispered as she passed. He smiled weakly.
"Things were not the same without you, bandit girl." She knew that that was all she would get out him as far as their friendship was concerned, and left for her old room.
Chichiri met her in there later, mask gone from his face. Jielain sat on her old bed, looking at the pictures that were her father's no more. She scooted over for the monk to sit beside her. "How did he die?" she asked, surprisingly calm. Chichiri took her hand.
"It was the alcohol. After you left he wouldn't stop drinking. You were the last piece of his heart. Without you, it was only a matter of time." Jielain would have laughed at his lack of 'ya know', but her face, for some reason, was as still as stone.
"I shouldn't have gone then." She said, taking the tessen into her hands. She had already memorized the feel of it, and liked the familiarity. The monk shook his head.
"You did what was right. He would have rather you go anyway." There was a silence as Jielain fought her inner struggle over her tears.
"I should have taken better care of him." She said, giving in to her emotions. She leaned her head on Chichiri and let him wrap the kesa over her shoulders like he had when she was young, hugging her close.
"Tasuki talked about you until the moment he died." Jielain sniffled.
"What did he say?" she asked. The monk tightened his grip on her hand.
"He said that he loved you, and he wanted you to become bandit leader after him. He said that if anything in the world harmed you he'd. well there was a lot of swearing there, then he gave me this for you." He handed the girl a letter, written in her father's scribbly handwriting. Jielain knew that it was an effort for him to write anything, and wasn't surprised that it was short.
Dear daughter,
I know that I don't have much longer now, so I'm writing to you so you know how I feel. Well, I want you to be the leader cause that's what you were raised for and I don't think the guys would respect anybody else. I hope that you can be happy without your dumb ass father, and I wish I could have given you better. And also, if you see Taka again, tell him why I named you what I did. I love you more than anything in the world, and you'll always be my little chickie. Bear the name Tasuki with pride.
Love,
Shun'u Genrou Tasuki Kou
Jielain didn't hold back her tears. Now she was motherless and fatherless, facing the dangers of the world with only a few friends innocent of war and fighting. Chichiri held her tight, and she pretended that she really was a little girl again. You'll always be my little chickie. Jielain cried until she was breathless with sobs. When she was done, Chichiri gave her a handkerchief, and used another one to wipe off his shirt and kesa, wet with her tears.
"You don't have to go on the mission tomorrow ya know." He said. Jielain shook her head. "Yes, I do. I'm Tasuki's daughter. I want him to be proud of me. He would do the same in my place." Chichiri knew she meant what she said.
"Do you want to talk to Chuei or Boshin ya know?" Jielain nodded.
"In a minute. Can you get me some sake? I have a headache from crying." Chichiri smiled, knowing that she would be all right.
**** Please don't flame me.^^
A/N: I wrote the last chapter all in one sitting and am very tired! Eek! Oh well, I'll live. I hope no one takes it the wrong way about Jielain either. She is not a lesbian. She was just buying time so that Chuei could find the book. But even so, Nakago did kiss and lick Tamahome in the series, and said "It isn't nice to look into another man's heart Tamahome." Soooo. yeah. Also, please review at the end of this chapter, (nicely). I appreciate all of the reviews a lot! Thanks! ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi, as always, and if you thought I did you have many problems. Oh, I did invent the kids though.
Jielain slept through the rest of the day and all night, but when she woke up she felt refreshed and ready for anything. Lucky for her, since that was what the plan was anyway.
"Good morning Jielain." Miaka said cheerfully. Jielain nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Where is everyone?" she asked. Miaka took some flowers from the windowsill and set them in front of her, grinning.
"They are at school. And these are for you, from your friends. They were very proud of you." Jielain eyed the flowers grumpily. They were pink and smelly, with green leaves and long thick stems full of thorns. No one had ever given her flowers before. It was a new thing.
"Hmmm. When are we leaving for my world?" Miaka took her grunt for a sign of appreciation.
"I'm glad you like them, and you all are leaving this evening after supper. I was going to wake you for school, but I was afraid that you might not be very agreeable. Plus Taka said to let you sleep, and Chuei. You know, I had to nearly drag him away from you." The bandit looked up.
"Why?" she said curiously. Miaka blinked, putting one finger to her mouth.
"You know I'm not sure." She said finally. "But I think he might have a crush on you." Jielain sweat dropped.
"Oh really?" Miaka nodded vigorously.
"And I think you like him too." Jielain face faulted. Was Miaka trying to tell her something?
"Yes, I do." She said. Miaka smiled knowingly at the bandit's lack of enthusiasm.
"Do you think your father would approve?"
"Huh?"
Miaka turned to face the bandit girl. "What would your father think about Chuei?" She smiled, knowing that Jielain's answer would be some kind of retort. She was right.
"What the hell should he care who I like?" she grumbled, grabbing the vase of flowers and stomping off to her room. She set the vase on the floor, despising them for being so feminine, and yet thinking of all her friends who sent them to her. She smiled. Soon, her father could meet Chuei, and she was sure he would like the calm, sensitive boy.
That evening, the warriors gathered once again around the Suriname living room with the book on the coffee table, no one touching it. Ryuuen and Rokou were smothering Kourin with goodbye hugs, and Miaka and Taka gave Chuei and Chiharu their fair share of hugs and kisses. Chiriko and his beloved laptop, which he had decided to take with him, were scanning the auras to ensure their safety. Mako stood next to Chiharu protectively. Jielain wasn't sure what had happened between them after they brought him back, but she had a feeling they made up. Mitsukake was helping Chiriko with his laptop, and Jielain stood a ways away, watching her friends say goodbye to their loved ones. Soon she would see her loved ones again. Chichiri's smiling face, her father's grim fanged smile, Kouji's laughter.
Miaka noticed the bandit standing by herself and motioned her over. Jielain shook her head, not wanting to interrupt their family, but Miaka took her hand and dragged her over.
"Jielain, it's been a pleasure having you in our house. I want you to give this to Tasuki, and this to Chichiri, and this to Boshin, and this to Houki." She handed over a pile of letters. Then Taka dumped in a pile, then Ryuuen. Jielain smiled and put them in her bag.
"Don't worry, I'll see that they get them." Then Miaka took Jielain into a big hug.
"I'm so glad to have met you." Taka put his arms around them both.
"I am too."
"And me." Ryuuen added himself to the pile. Jielain was shocked. All of them really cared? Deep down, she knew they did. And she cared about them too. Suddenly she felt bad about leaving, and never coming back again.
"You'll be with us in our hearts." They all stepped into the circle around the book, and Jielain reached over and opened it. The others in the room bowed their heads in prayer to Suzaku, and they were all engulfed in a bright red light. Suddenly, there was a flash, and they were in another world.
"Awww Dammit!" Jielain said, pushing someone off of her. They seemed to be outside the palace, near the pond. Jielain jumped up.
"We made it!" The others stood up slowly, observing the new world. "Dad! Boshin! Chichiri!" Jielain yelled. Suddenly a figure emerged from a doorway.
"It's the celestial warriors! Notify the emperor at once!" There was a rush of people, before finally, a young man appeared.
"Boshy!" Jielain yelled, clapping the young man on the back. He smiled grimly.
"Hello Jielain, I see you're back." He was dressed in his emperor clothes, with the little hat. Jielain thought that the hat made him look like his father. He bowed to the dumbfounded warriors.
"I welcome you all to my country. I am the emperor Boshin, also Hotohori of the Suzaku seven." Jielain shrugged him off.
"Where's Chichiri and my dad?" she demanded. Boshin sighed. "Patience." Then Chichiri appeared, and Jielain nearly knocked the emperor down.
"Chichiri!" Jielain yelled, hugging the monk. He grinned over her shoulder.
"Jielain, it's been so long ya know." He said. She pulled away.
"What do ya mean, I was only gone a few days." Chichiri shook his head.
"It's been almost a year ya know. Who are your friends?" she blanked.
"A year?!" Jielain panicked. "Where's my dad." She demanded. Chichiri sighed. "We'll talk about that later." She was filled with a fear beyond anything she had known. "Chichiri, is he okay?" he didn't answer, and she felt like that little girl that wanted to sit in his lap and cry. But she wasn't, and didn't. Instead, she took a deep, steadying breath and held in her emotions and introduced the celestial warriors. "Chichiri, Boshin, these are the other six warriors of Suzaku." They all bowed to the monk and the emperor, but Jielain was already on a roll.
"This is Chiharu, daughter of the former priestess of Suzaku and of the former warrior Tamahome. She has the mark of Tamahome on her forehead." Chiharu smiled her sweetest.
"This is her twin brother Chuei, with the mark of Chichiri on his forehead." Chichiri noted the blush appear in her face when she introduced him and smiled knowingly.
"This is the warrior Nuriko, younger sister to the reincarnated Ryuuen Nuriko."
"This is the warrior Mitsukake, a bad ass doctor with a motorcycle, he's the reincarnation of Mitsukake himself.
"This is the reincarnation of Chiriko, called.err.Chiriko. He's really smart." "And this.hey what the hell are you doing here?" Jielain turned to see that Mako was standing there behind Chiharu. He shrugged.
"I don't know, but that light sucked me in." Jielain ignored that and continued introducing.
"Well, he's the reincarnation of the Seriyuu warrior Amiboshi." Boshin and Chichiri looked uncomfortable, but Jielain assured them it was okay.
"The Seriyuu warriors weren't able to bring back his memories, even when exposed to the reincarnated Suboshi and the former priestess of Seriyuu." Chiharu nodded, clutching Mako's arm.
"I think it's best he came anyway, so that if his memories do return we can protect him from any sneaky Seriyuu spies."
Jielain was solemn. "Boshin, what of the ceremony, since we're all here, can we get to it tonight before anything else might jeopardize our chances of success?"
Boshin shook his head and began leading them to a safer place to converse. Even within the palace walls it was not safe. They gathered in the counseling chamber, a big room used mostly for discussing the future of the country with his old advisors. Now however, no one sat at the long wooden table. Boshin placed guards outside the door and motioned for everyone to sit down.
"My fellow warriors, I am glad to meet all of you, but this is a time in which our country needs us. My fiancé has been kidnapped and will be forced to assume the role of the sacrifice in the ceremony to honor Seriyuu. It is required to sacrifice an enemy maiden to the beast god with all of the warriors present. We must get her back, and also capture one of their people for our ceremony. It is a race. If Seriyuu is honored before Suzaku, it is prophesized that harsh times shall befall all our people."
Jielain gasped. "Your fiancé!?" Boshin nodded.
"Hinako and I are engaged to marry." He glared at her. "We were going to be married last month but Hinako wanted you to be a brides maid." Jielain grinned at her old grudging friend.
"I doubt she is still a 'maiden' then" she said, watching as the emperor's face turned very red, but he didn't deny it.
"It doesn't matter if the sacrifice is a virgin or not because Suzaku will not couple with her ya know. It only matters that she is an enemy, preferably a member of the celestial warriors ya know." Chichiri added this not only to quiet bandit girl, but also to inform the others. Chiriko, ever a thinker, spoke up.
"I think that we should send a minimal of warriors on this mission, preferably ones who are experienced in battle." He looked pointedly at Jielain, who nodded.
"Good thinking Chiriko. I volunteer myself."
"And I." Chuei said.
"I also wish to be a part of this mission, even if my experience is limited." Kourin said, in her soft voice. Chichiri smiled at her likeness to Ryuuen Nuriko, but was relieved that she wasn't exactly the same. He wasn't sure he could live through another super strong cross dresser. Kourin was thinner and prettier, obviously feminine, but hiding an inner strength. The old monk smiled approvingly when he saw the bracelets around her wrists. Miaka must have returned them to their proper owner.
"Kourin-" Chiriko began, and then stopped. "I will be the last member then. Any objections?" No one said anything, but all were wondering why Chiriko looked red.
"You're a big boy now Chiriko ya know." Chichiri said at last, breaking the tension. "When I last saw you, Tasuki had to carry you piggy back." Chiriko scratched his head, laughing.
"He did, didn't he." He met the monk's gaze knowingly, longing to spill his troubles and catch up with his old friend, but instead he just nodded. Mitsukake caught their gazes also, silently agreeing to meet and talk with them later.
"All right, you are dismissed. You shall leave tomorrow morning, first thing. Servants will show you to your rooms." Boshin stood, watching his warriors leave. Jielain gave him a firm handshake on her way out.
"I missed you." She whispered as she passed. He smiled weakly.
"Things were not the same without you, bandit girl." She knew that that was all she would get out him as far as their friendship was concerned, and left for her old room.
Chichiri met her in there later, mask gone from his face. Jielain sat on her old bed, looking at the pictures that were her father's no more. She scooted over for the monk to sit beside her. "How did he die?" she asked, surprisingly calm. Chichiri took her hand.
"It was the alcohol. After you left he wouldn't stop drinking. You were the last piece of his heart. Without you, it was only a matter of time." Jielain would have laughed at his lack of 'ya know', but her face, for some reason, was as still as stone.
"I shouldn't have gone then." She said, taking the tessen into her hands. She had already memorized the feel of it, and liked the familiarity. The monk shook his head.
"You did what was right. He would have rather you go anyway." There was a silence as Jielain fought her inner struggle over her tears.
"I should have taken better care of him." She said, giving in to her emotions. She leaned her head on Chichiri and let him wrap the kesa over her shoulders like he had when she was young, hugging her close.
"Tasuki talked about you until the moment he died." Jielain sniffled.
"What did he say?" she asked. The monk tightened his grip on her hand.
"He said that he loved you, and he wanted you to become bandit leader after him. He said that if anything in the world harmed you he'd. well there was a lot of swearing there, then he gave me this for you." He handed the girl a letter, written in her father's scribbly handwriting. Jielain knew that it was an effort for him to write anything, and wasn't surprised that it was short.
Dear daughter,
I know that I don't have much longer now, so I'm writing to you so you know how I feel. Well, I want you to be the leader cause that's what you were raised for and I don't think the guys would respect anybody else. I hope that you can be happy without your dumb ass father, and I wish I could have given you better. And also, if you see Taka again, tell him why I named you what I did. I love you more than anything in the world, and you'll always be my little chickie. Bear the name Tasuki with pride.
Love,
Shun'u Genrou Tasuki Kou
Jielain didn't hold back her tears. Now she was motherless and fatherless, facing the dangers of the world with only a few friends innocent of war and fighting. Chichiri held her tight, and she pretended that she really was a little girl again. You'll always be my little chickie. Jielain cried until she was breathless with sobs. When she was done, Chichiri gave her a handkerchief, and used another one to wipe off his shirt and kesa, wet with her tears.
"You don't have to go on the mission tomorrow ya know." He said. Jielain shook her head. "Yes, I do. I'm Tasuki's daughter. I want him to be proud of me. He would do the same in my place." Chichiri knew she meant what she said.
"Do you want to talk to Chuei or Boshin ya know?" Jielain nodded.
"In a minute. Can you get me some sake? I have a headache from crying." Chichiri smiled, knowing that she would be all right.
**** Please don't flame me.^^
