Here We Go Again!
Chapter f.o.u.r.
4/3/03
Whoo, it's April! ten days until my birthday! Um . . . Okay, none of the characters belong to me, except Anna, and the doctor, he belongs to me too, though I don't like him much. Eh.
OH, sorry that it took me longer to update than usual. This chapter is a little longer and took me a bit more time to write. Hope it's okay!
***
The Emperor's most trusted advisor, Henikou Taui, looked up and down the hallway he stood in. No one was in sight, so he gave a cautious rap with his hand on the door in front of him, feeling slightly nervous. It wasn't so much the person who resided on the other side of the door that made his stomach tighten, it was the smell of the room. The smell, like something had died and begun to decompose, always made his stomach flop and he was careful to never eat anything before paying a visit to the good doctor.
The doctor opened his door a crack and peeked out. Spotting Taui, he sneered, but opened the door a little further, allowing the advisor's slim body to slip through the crack.
The squat doctor turned around as he closed the door, leaning his weight against it, and then locking it. The advisor stood still, allowing his beady black eyes to adjust to the dim lights in the room. Incense burned at various locations, adding to the disgusting smell of the doctor's living quarters. "What is that horrid stench?" the advisor's slick voice asked, his eyes finally focusing on the doctor and his nose wrinkling at the smell.
"It is my medicines," the doctor replied.
'Of course,' Taui thought to himself.
The doctor moved away from the door and knelt before a makeshift shrine in the corner of his room. A small stool stood for an alter and numerous dead rats lay about it, their blood splattered around the floor and wall. A medium-sized scroll, very dirty and torn in many places, lay open before the alter. Picking up one of the fresher rats, the doctor cut off its head and squeezed the blood out onto the paper. The advisor watched as the blood sank into the characters written on the scroll.
"Why do you feed it rat blood?" asked Taui, slightly repulsed at the scene before him.
"Because," said the doctor, throwing aside the dead rat body and grabbing a clean towel, "rat blood is a vile thing, just as this God I worship is a vile creature, and with enough sickening, repulsive energy, it can grow to such an evil power as to overthrow the all other gods!"
The advisor stood still, staring down at the doctor and his scroll. "I am curious, Sari," the advisor said to the doctor, "how exactly did you come across . . . that?" He pointed to the scroll and averted his eyes from the gory mess.
Doctor Sari stood and deposited the bloody towel on a pile of bloody towels at the opposite end of the room. Taui watched him, his slanted eyes squinting in the darkness.
Turning to face Taui, the doctor began, his eyes gleaming, "I was in the woods, searching for the herbs for my medicines, when I came across a cave. It smelled of rotting leaves and the air was humid, very humid. Entering the cave, I walked along the path for many minutes until I could hardly see my hand before my face, when I heard a voice. It was raspy, very dry, and it called out to me, commanded me to take it out of the cave, to feed and care for it until it was strong. It promised me great power and long life in return for my services and faithfulness."
"And you have a guarantee that the voice will follow through with its promises?" asked Taui, his voice casual, but his eyes flashing through the darkness at the doctor.
"It will be true to its word!" the doctor hissed, glaring at the advisor. "I know it will. The voice does not lie."
"And why is it I can not hear this voice?" Taui asked, his cold stare gazing directly back into the doctor's sneer.
"Because you are not a faithful follower, as I am," the doctor spat, drawing himself closer to Taui. "You only care about sharing the benefits while I do all the work."
"How dare you!" cried the advisor. If there was one thing he detested, it was being accused of laziness. "I watch the Emperor. I tell you when your eccentricities will be allowed. I helped you find a suitable priestess for this God and helped you bring her here! If it were not for me, you would be in the dungeon for throwing that girl into the prisoner chambers without permission of the Emperor! . . . and you dare accuse me of being unfaithful . . ."
There was a moment of silence between the two slimy men. Finally Taui folded his arms across his chest and spoke up, saying, "But I did not come here to argue with you. I came to discuss the matter of the priestess."
Doctor Sari looked up at the advisor and asked, "What matter? Everything is going fine."
"Everything is not fine!" the advisor stated, his impatience with the doctor showing through his usually emotional face. "Those warriors of Suzaku, the ones who've raised so much hell over her, they believe they know a way to send the girl back to her world."
"Your mortal worries are of no concern to my God," answered the doctor, "for he IS a God and will not be allowing his priestess to leave so soon."
The advisor shook his head, still doubting the whole situation. "You have no assurance that she will cooperate with your plans."
"Oh, she will cooperate," said the doctor, a sinister smile spreading over his pudgy face, "or she will die."
***
Anna sat on the railing of the walkway, her thin arm wrapped around one of the wooden posts supporting the roof. A gentle breeze swept through her thick brown hair, causing her to have to reach up and re-tuck it behind her ear. She looked out at the beautiful scenery set before her: the light blue pond, which she would make sure to stay away from, the tall trees supporting their branches full of green leaves, the gently sloping hills. It definitely felt like Spring here, even though back in her world it was near the end of Summer.
'This is crazy,' Anna thought to herself. 'I'm not suppose to want to be here, yet . . . I'm enjoying it. I like this place, without the sounds of backed up traffic, without the smog-filled air. And the company is much better.' Looking across the pond, Anna could make out Chichiri, sitting with his fishing pole on a large rock jutting out over the water. He looked so peaceful there, like an animal in its natural habitat.
Anna looked down at her clothing and wished she'd had time to pack something before being whisked into this new world. Her bag, although somewhat large, didn't contain much that could be of use to her here. Her cell phone and camera had been ruined by the water, and her money was of no value. Her journal was still damp and was drying out on one of the tables in her room. She had one change of clothing with her, for in case she ever became lost in Japan, but those clothes were also still slightly damp and needed drying. Other assorted items and souvenirs from Japan lay in the bottom of the bag and Anna had decided to just leave them alone for now.
Anna leaned her head against the wooden pole and watched Chichiri fish. She supposed he spent his free time fishing for fun or something, because it wasn't like the palace was in need of food. Today at breakfast Anna had been astounded at the array of food set before her, but only ate a small amount of the fruit. Anna knew she was something like Miaka, but she for sure did not have Miaka's appetite.
Suddenly a voice called behind her, "BOO!" Anna nearly jumped off the railing and probably would have if she'd not been hanging onto the pole so tightly. Looking behind her, she glared at a smiling Tasuki, who moved to stand beside her. He set his elbows down on the railing, and clasped his hands, which hung out over the rail. Anna punched him hard in the shoulder and said, "You shouldn't scare people like that! What if I'd fallen?"
"Nah," said Tasuki, "I wouldn't have let you fall."
Anna's glare faded away from her face and she looked away, back to the pond. She watched as Chichiri took a tiny fish off his pole and threw it back out into the water.
Tasuki's eyes followed Anna's to Chichiri and then looked back up at her. Feeling the need to keep a conversation going, Tasuki straightened up and poked at her ribs, fingering the cloth wrapped around her chest and upper abdomen. Anna jumped again and looked down into Tasuki's eyes, which seemed quite interested in Anna's strange choice of clothing. His hand was warm on her cool skin and was much softer than it appeared.
"You girls are actually allowed to wear so little clothing in yer world?" Tasuki asked, his eyes glancing at Anna's bare shoulders before looking into her face.
Anna looked down at her white tank top and baggy pants. "Well," Anna said, brushing a mosquito off her shoulder nearest the pole then returning his gaze, "I usually don't wear this as a shirt, but it felt so nice outside today that I just decided to give my skin some air . . ." She smiled at him and continued, ". . . that, and the rest of my clothing is still a little damp."
Tasuki nodded and moved his hand away from Anna's side, then resumed his position leaning against the railing. Anna turned her head back in the direction of the Chichiri's pond, as she'd begun to think of it, but her eyes kept finding their way back to the man next to her. The first thing they always sought was his mane of bright, red hair. Then her eyes traveled down his face, stopping once at his beautiful eyes and again at his full mouth. Seeing Tasuki's eyes moving to meet her own, she quickly averted her gaze back to Chichiri. When she felt it was safe to look again, she returned her eyes to the smooth, tan skin of his neck, where she spotted two necklaces. Anna didn't remember the jewelry from the night before, but then realized he had not worn his large, black jacket today. She noted how his whole appearance changed without the black jacket. He looked much more friendly, not so intimidating.
Anna reached down and gingerly fingered the jewelry, turning the gems back and forth in her fingers, letting them catch the sunlight and watching them glow. Tasuki's eyes moved to watch her, as Anna released the pole and leaned down next to his head to examine the necklaces better. One string of beads had more red colors in it; the other had more blue colors. Anna continued to admire them and a small smile spread across her pale face. "They're very nice," Anna said, looking up into Tasuki's eyes, then returning them to his jewelry when she found he was staring at her.
Tasuki observed Anna as she studied his beads. He could feel his face turning slightly pink at her being so close to him. He wanted to move away, or to tell her to get the hell out of his damn face, like he did to any girl who came that close to him. That would be normal thing for him to do, right? Because he hated girls . . . right?
But then Tasuki did something that greatly surprised himself. He slowly leaned closer to Anna, smelling the perfumed fragrance of her room and the fruit she'd eaten for breakfast. His gaze moved from her smiling face to her delicate fingers, which gently rubbed the smooth gems he wore around his neck. He could feel the heat from her hand spreading over his skin. His eyes drifted slightly upward and he spotted Anna's tank top, struggling to restrain her breasts against the pull of gravity. Tasuki quickly turned his eyes away as his blush roared to life, and he feared that if Anna touched his red cheeks, the heat radiating from his face might burn her hand.
Suddenly she noticed how close she was to his face and could feel her own beginning to warm from her embarrassment. Anna wondered why he hadn't pushed her away, like most guys did when she came to close. She looked up into his amber colored eyes, only to find him staring straight back into her own. Time seemed to stop between the two people. Anna could feel Tasuki moving slightly closer, but she sat frozen, afraid and excited all at the same time.
Chichiri looked up from his fishing pole and stared across the pond, his eyes searching for where Anna had been sitting. Finding her, he nearly dropped his pole in surprise. Even though the distance between them was great, Chichiri could tell by the man's fiery red hair that it was Tasuki leaning into Anna's face. His cheeks grew warm under his mask and Chichiri's eyes swept the area, making sure no one else was around before raising his hand to his face and making a strange hand motion. Calling up his magic, Chichiri threw it at a tree near Anna and Tasuki. A flock of birds, disturbed by the shaking tree flew off the branches, crying their loud calls.
Anna could nearly feel Tasuki's lips upon hers, he was so close . . . she' never had a guy so close to her before, so close that she could smell his sent of earth and rain and . . . Fire? Suddenly a loud cry startled Anna and she dropped the beads from her hand and pushed herself away from Tasuki, watching a flock of birds fly out of one of the nearby trees.
Tasuki ducked as a bird flew over his head, then watched it race out to meet it's flock in the sky. Slowly the birds descended back into their tree. Tasuki quickly straightened up and asked, "What the hell was wrong with them?" Anna shook her head.
Tasuki turned to look at Anna, his blush returning, and cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm going to see what Nuriko is up to," he said.
Anna nodded, not daring to look up at him, and said, "Maybe we can have another talk sometime."
Anna said nothing more as he walked off down the walkway. Lifting her gaze from her shoes, Anna looked out across the pond and spotted Chichiri watching her. Anna sighed, wondering if her blush was so bright that Chichiri could see it.
***
Chichiri sat in a chair in his room, thinking. He took off his mask and stared at its smiling face before tossing it onto his bed. Sighing he lay back against the chair, brushing a hand through his crazy blue bangs. Ever since he'd sent the flock of birds on Anna and Tasuki, he'd felt a pang of guilt in his chest and had avoided the two for the rest of the day. However during his avoiding, he noticed that Anna and Tasuki had been making sure to keep a good distance between each other as well.
'I know Tasuki likes her, no da,' Chichiri thought, 'even if he himself doesn't know it. I should just be a good friend and not interfere with them anymore. But . . .'
'But what?' Chichiri continued. 'But you don't think they'll work out? But you don't know if Anna shares Tasuki's feelings? But you wished you were the one in Tasuki's position this morning?'
Chichiri sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. 'This is pointless,' he thought. 'It would not matter how she felt towards me because I am a monk and I am not allowed such relationships . . . there . . . I have my reason to leave them be.'
He stared out the window at the stars in the dark sky, but suddenly sat up straight, listening. All around him he could hear pops of electricity as the pressure built up in the room. He stood as a loud, raspy voice called, "Chichiri! I must speak with you, immediately!" The pressure fell back into its normal settings, causing his ears to pop and the electric cracks died down. Chichiri sighed, walking to his closet and pulling out his kasa. 'I hate it when she does that,' Chichiri mused, placing the hat on his head. 'Everything in my room is going to have static-cling now.'
Chichiri let the hat fall over his head and shoulders and continue on down to his feet, transporting him to Taiitsukun's mountain.
* Sorry, I don't know what Taiitsukun's home/mountain is called, so if someone could tell me that would be really helpful *
Within seconds, Chichiri landed with a thud on a pearly colored marble floor. He lay there, dazed, for a moment or two.
"I'm glad you could get here so quickly," Taiitsukun's voice called. Chichiri jumped to his feet and stood before his creator and teacher. Taiitsukun floated in front of him, her baggy skin and gray hair looking just the same as it had the last time he'd seen her.
"Good evening," Chichiri chimed. His eye quickly swept over the room and he breathed a small sigh of relief when he found that none of the Nayn- Nayns were present.
Taiitsukun grumbled and floated closer to her student. "I'll get straight to the point, Chichiri. I need you to bring that girl here immideatly. She must leave this world as soon as possible, or she will be responsible for its destruction."
Chichiri's brown eye was open wide in surprise. "Taiitsukun, I . . . I don't understand . . ." How could that be possible? Anna was not evil, this he was sure of.
"There are those whom wish to use her against herself and against this whole world," Taiitsukun continued. "She has been summoned here to act as the priestess of a most evil and ancient God, Chiciou. Do you know that name?"
Chichiri tried to think back to his earliest lessons with Taiitsukun, lessons about the old and present-day gods. "The name does sound familiar, but I thought he was imprisoned in a scroll and buried deep beneath the earth?"
"It appears you paid more attention to your studies than I thought you did," Taiitsukun said. "Yes, he was locked away, but that was thousands of years ago and the earth changes with time," Taiitsukun replied, becoming bored with her present position and floating to Chichiri's right. "His scroll has recently been discovered, and it is unfortunate for us that the discoverer was a man with great magical power, not unlike yourself. He has both a mean and the motive to use the God to his benefit. However Chiciou's original priestess died many, many years ago."
Here Taiitsukun paused, knowing Chichiri would be able to fill in the rest. Chichiri stared at the Creator and said quietly, "So Anna was brought into our world to be used as his priestess." Chichiri sighed and said, "Well, it would make sense I suppose, seeing as how she is related to a priestess herself and had a number of the same traits as Miaka."
He paused to think a moment, watching as Taiitsukun floated to his left, before saying, "But calling someone from Miaka's world into our own would take more power than any one mortal could possess."
"There is obviously more than one follower of Chiciou," Taiitsukun concurred. "In fact, I believe a number of them reside within the Konan (is this correct?) Palace walls." Chichiri stared at Taiitsukun as she continued, "There is an aura of evil surrounding the palace, as a number of Chiciou's most loyal followers are members of Hotohori's staff and court." A mental picture of the palace doctor appeared in Chichiri's mind, labeling him as dangerous.
Chichiri nodded and picked up his hat, saying, "Alright, I'll bring Anna to you right now." He began to place his hat on his head when Taiitsukun called out to him.
"No, you may not use your kasa or kesa to bring your new friend here, for where as you are warrior of one of the four official gods in our land, she is neither warrior or priestess of any of them, therefore, you can not simply transport her here as you do for yourself."
Chichiri shook his head. He knew better than to argue with the Creator, but said, more to himself than to her, "This trip will not be made easy for us."
"I have faith in your ability to protect her," Taiitsukun said. "Now leave. The sooner you get back, the sooner you can leave again." Chichiri nodded and pulled his hat over his head.
He landed in his closet, banging against the door and crashing to the floor when it swung open. Rubbing his head, Chichiri muttered, "I need to work on my landings, no da."
***
Hmmm, interesting, yes? Or no? well, I won't know unless you guys review!!!
Whoo, it's April! ten days until my birthday! Um . . . Okay, none of the characters belong to me, except Anna, and the doctor, he belongs to me too, though I don't like him much. Eh.
OH, sorry that it took me longer to update than usual. This chapter is a little longer and took me a bit more time to write. Hope it's okay!
***
The Emperor's most trusted advisor, Henikou Taui, looked up and down the hallway he stood in. No one was in sight, so he gave a cautious rap with his hand on the door in front of him, feeling slightly nervous. It wasn't so much the person who resided on the other side of the door that made his stomach tighten, it was the smell of the room. The smell, like something had died and begun to decompose, always made his stomach flop and he was careful to never eat anything before paying a visit to the good doctor.
The doctor opened his door a crack and peeked out. Spotting Taui, he sneered, but opened the door a little further, allowing the advisor's slim body to slip through the crack.
The squat doctor turned around as he closed the door, leaning his weight against it, and then locking it. The advisor stood still, allowing his beady black eyes to adjust to the dim lights in the room. Incense burned at various locations, adding to the disgusting smell of the doctor's living quarters. "What is that horrid stench?" the advisor's slick voice asked, his eyes finally focusing on the doctor and his nose wrinkling at the smell.
"It is my medicines," the doctor replied.
'Of course,' Taui thought to himself.
The doctor moved away from the door and knelt before a makeshift shrine in the corner of his room. A small stool stood for an alter and numerous dead rats lay about it, their blood splattered around the floor and wall. A medium-sized scroll, very dirty and torn in many places, lay open before the alter. Picking up one of the fresher rats, the doctor cut off its head and squeezed the blood out onto the paper. The advisor watched as the blood sank into the characters written on the scroll.
"Why do you feed it rat blood?" asked Taui, slightly repulsed at the scene before him.
"Because," said the doctor, throwing aside the dead rat body and grabbing a clean towel, "rat blood is a vile thing, just as this God I worship is a vile creature, and with enough sickening, repulsive energy, it can grow to such an evil power as to overthrow the all other gods!"
The advisor stood still, staring down at the doctor and his scroll. "I am curious, Sari," the advisor said to the doctor, "how exactly did you come across . . . that?" He pointed to the scroll and averted his eyes from the gory mess.
Doctor Sari stood and deposited the bloody towel on a pile of bloody towels at the opposite end of the room. Taui watched him, his slanted eyes squinting in the darkness.
Turning to face Taui, the doctor began, his eyes gleaming, "I was in the woods, searching for the herbs for my medicines, when I came across a cave. It smelled of rotting leaves and the air was humid, very humid. Entering the cave, I walked along the path for many minutes until I could hardly see my hand before my face, when I heard a voice. It was raspy, very dry, and it called out to me, commanded me to take it out of the cave, to feed and care for it until it was strong. It promised me great power and long life in return for my services and faithfulness."
"And you have a guarantee that the voice will follow through with its promises?" asked Taui, his voice casual, but his eyes flashing through the darkness at the doctor.
"It will be true to its word!" the doctor hissed, glaring at the advisor. "I know it will. The voice does not lie."
"And why is it I can not hear this voice?" Taui asked, his cold stare gazing directly back into the doctor's sneer.
"Because you are not a faithful follower, as I am," the doctor spat, drawing himself closer to Taui. "You only care about sharing the benefits while I do all the work."
"How dare you!" cried the advisor. If there was one thing he detested, it was being accused of laziness. "I watch the Emperor. I tell you when your eccentricities will be allowed. I helped you find a suitable priestess for this God and helped you bring her here! If it were not for me, you would be in the dungeon for throwing that girl into the prisoner chambers without permission of the Emperor! . . . and you dare accuse me of being unfaithful . . ."
There was a moment of silence between the two slimy men. Finally Taui folded his arms across his chest and spoke up, saying, "But I did not come here to argue with you. I came to discuss the matter of the priestess."
Doctor Sari looked up at the advisor and asked, "What matter? Everything is going fine."
"Everything is not fine!" the advisor stated, his impatience with the doctor showing through his usually emotional face. "Those warriors of Suzaku, the ones who've raised so much hell over her, they believe they know a way to send the girl back to her world."
"Your mortal worries are of no concern to my God," answered the doctor, "for he IS a God and will not be allowing his priestess to leave so soon."
The advisor shook his head, still doubting the whole situation. "You have no assurance that she will cooperate with your plans."
"Oh, she will cooperate," said the doctor, a sinister smile spreading over his pudgy face, "or she will die."
***
Anna sat on the railing of the walkway, her thin arm wrapped around one of the wooden posts supporting the roof. A gentle breeze swept through her thick brown hair, causing her to have to reach up and re-tuck it behind her ear. She looked out at the beautiful scenery set before her: the light blue pond, which she would make sure to stay away from, the tall trees supporting their branches full of green leaves, the gently sloping hills. It definitely felt like Spring here, even though back in her world it was near the end of Summer.
'This is crazy,' Anna thought to herself. 'I'm not suppose to want to be here, yet . . . I'm enjoying it. I like this place, without the sounds of backed up traffic, without the smog-filled air. And the company is much better.' Looking across the pond, Anna could make out Chichiri, sitting with his fishing pole on a large rock jutting out over the water. He looked so peaceful there, like an animal in its natural habitat.
Anna looked down at her clothing and wished she'd had time to pack something before being whisked into this new world. Her bag, although somewhat large, didn't contain much that could be of use to her here. Her cell phone and camera had been ruined by the water, and her money was of no value. Her journal was still damp and was drying out on one of the tables in her room. She had one change of clothing with her, for in case she ever became lost in Japan, but those clothes were also still slightly damp and needed drying. Other assorted items and souvenirs from Japan lay in the bottom of the bag and Anna had decided to just leave them alone for now.
Anna leaned her head against the wooden pole and watched Chichiri fish. She supposed he spent his free time fishing for fun or something, because it wasn't like the palace was in need of food. Today at breakfast Anna had been astounded at the array of food set before her, but only ate a small amount of the fruit. Anna knew she was something like Miaka, but she for sure did not have Miaka's appetite.
Suddenly a voice called behind her, "BOO!" Anna nearly jumped off the railing and probably would have if she'd not been hanging onto the pole so tightly. Looking behind her, she glared at a smiling Tasuki, who moved to stand beside her. He set his elbows down on the railing, and clasped his hands, which hung out over the rail. Anna punched him hard in the shoulder and said, "You shouldn't scare people like that! What if I'd fallen?"
"Nah," said Tasuki, "I wouldn't have let you fall."
Anna's glare faded away from her face and she looked away, back to the pond. She watched as Chichiri took a tiny fish off his pole and threw it back out into the water.
Tasuki's eyes followed Anna's to Chichiri and then looked back up at her. Feeling the need to keep a conversation going, Tasuki straightened up and poked at her ribs, fingering the cloth wrapped around her chest and upper abdomen. Anna jumped again and looked down into Tasuki's eyes, which seemed quite interested in Anna's strange choice of clothing. His hand was warm on her cool skin and was much softer than it appeared.
"You girls are actually allowed to wear so little clothing in yer world?" Tasuki asked, his eyes glancing at Anna's bare shoulders before looking into her face.
Anna looked down at her white tank top and baggy pants. "Well," Anna said, brushing a mosquito off her shoulder nearest the pole then returning his gaze, "I usually don't wear this as a shirt, but it felt so nice outside today that I just decided to give my skin some air . . ." She smiled at him and continued, ". . . that, and the rest of my clothing is still a little damp."
Tasuki nodded and moved his hand away from Anna's side, then resumed his position leaning against the railing. Anna turned her head back in the direction of the Chichiri's pond, as she'd begun to think of it, but her eyes kept finding their way back to the man next to her. The first thing they always sought was his mane of bright, red hair. Then her eyes traveled down his face, stopping once at his beautiful eyes and again at his full mouth. Seeing Tasuki's eyes moving to meet her own, she quickly averted her gaze back to Chichiri. When she felt it was safe to look again, she returned her eyes to the smooth, tan skin of his neck, where she spotted two necklaces. Anna didn't remember the jewelry from the night before, but then realized he had not worn his large, black jacket today. She noted how his whole appearance changed without the black jacket. He looked much more friendly, not so intimidating.
Anna reached down and gingerly fingered the jewelry, turning the gems back and forth in her fingers, letting them catch the sunlight and watching them glow. Tasuki's eyes moved to watch her, as Anna released the pole and leaned down next to his head to examine the necklaces better. One string of beads had more red colors in it; the other had more blue colors. Anna continued to admire them and a small smile spread across her pale face. "They're very nice," Anna said, looking up into Tasuki's eyes, then returning them to his jewelry when she found he was staring at her.
Tasuki observed Anna as she studied his beads. He could feel his face turning slightly pink at her being so close to him. He wanted to move away, or to tell her to get the hell out of his damn face, like he did to any girl who came that close to him. That would be normal thing for him to do, right? Because he hated girls . . . right?
But then Tasuki did something that greatly surprised himself. He slowly leaned closer to Anna, smelling the perfumed fragrance of her room and the fruit she'd eaten for breakfast. His gaze moved from her smiling face to her delicate fingers, which gently rubbed the smooth gems he wore around his neck. He could feel the heat from her hand spreading over his skin. His eyes drifted slightly upward and he spotted Anna's tank top, struggling to restrain her breasts against the pull of gravity. Tasuki quickly turned his eyes away as his blush roared to life, and he feared that if Anna touched his red cheeks, the heat radiating from his face might burn her hand.
Suddenly she noticed how close she was to his face and could feel her own beginning to warm from her embarrassment. Anna wondered why he hadn't pushed her away, like most guys did when she came to close. She looked up into his amber colored eyes, only to find him staring straight back into her own. Time seemed to stop between the two people. Anna could feel Tasuki moving slightly closer, but she sat frozen, afraid and excited all at the same time.
Chichiri looked up from his fishing pole and stared across the pond, his eyes searching for where Anna had been sitting. Finding her, he nearly dropped his pole in surprise. Even though the distance between them was great, Chichiri could tell by the man's fiery red hair that it was Tasuki leaning into Anna's face. His cheeks grew warm under his mask and Chichiri's eyes swept the area, making sure no one else was around before raising his hand to his face and making a strange hand motion. Calling up his magic, Chichiri threw it at a tree near Anna and Tasuki. A flock of birds, disturbed by the shaking tree flew off the branches, crying their loud calls.
Anna could nearly feel Tasuki's lips upon hers, he was so close . . . she' never had a guy so close to her before, so close that she could smell his sent of earth and rain and . . . Fire? Suddenly a loud cry startled Anna and she dropped the beads from her hand and pushed herself away from Tasuki, watching a flock of birds fly out of one of the nearby trees.
Tasuki ducked as a bird flew over his head, then watched it race out to meet it's flock in the sky. Slowly the birds descended back into their tree. Tasuki quickly straightened up and asked, "What the hell was wrong with them?" Anna shook her head.
Tasuki turned to look at Anna, his blush returning, and cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm going to see what Nuriko is up to," he said.
Anna nodded, not daring to look up at him, and said, "Maybe we can have another talk sometime."
Anna said nothing more as he walked off down the walkway. Lifting her gaze from her shoes, Anna looked out across the pond and spotted Chichiri watching her. Anna sighed, wondering if her blush was so bright that Chichiri could see it.
***
Chichiri sat in a chair in his room, thinking. He took off his mask and stared at its smiling face before tossing it onto his bed. Sighing he lay back against the chair, brushing a hand through his crazy blue bangs. Ever since he'd sent the flock of birds on Anna and Tasuki, he'd felt a pang of guilt in his chest and had avoided the two for the rest of the day. However during his avoiding, he noticed that Anna and Tasuki had been making sure to keep a good distance between each other as well.
'I know Tasuki likes her, no da,' Chichiri thought, 'even if he himself doesn't know it. I should just be a good friend and not interfere with them anymore. But . . .'
'But what?' Chichiri continued. 'But you don't think they'll work out? But you don't know if Anna shares Tasuki's feelings? But you wished you were the one in Tasuki's position this morning?'
Chichiri sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. 'This is pointless,' he thought. 'It would not matter how she felt towards me because I am a monk and I am not allowed such relationships . . . there . . . I have my reason to leave them be.'
He stared out the window at the stars in the dark sky, but suddenly sat up straight, listening. All around him he could hear pops of electricity as the pressure built up in the room. He stood as a loud, raspy voice called, "Chichiri! I must speak with you, immediately!" The pressure fell back into its normal settings, causing his ears to pop and the electric cracks died down. Chichiri sighed, walking to his closet and pulling out his kasa. 'I hate it when she does that,' Chichiri mused, placing the hat on his head. 'Everything in my room is going to have static-cling now.'
Chichiri let the hat fall over his head and shoulders and continue on down to his feet, transporting him to Taiitsukun's mountain.
* Sorry, I don't know what Taiitsukun's home/mountain is called, so if someone could tell me that would be really helpful *
Within seconds, Chichiri landed with a thud on a pearly colored marble floor. He lay there, dazed, for a moment or two.
"I'm glad you could get here so quickly," Taiitsukun's voice called. Chichiri jumped to his feet and stood before his creator and teacher. Taiitsukun floated in front of him, her baggy skin and gray hair looking just the same as it had the last time he'd seen her.
"Good evening," Chichiri chimed. His eye quickly swept over the room and he breathed a small sigh of relief when he found that none of the Nayn- Nayns were present.
Taiitsukun grumbled and floated closer to her student. "I'll get straight to the point, Chichiri. I need you to bring that girl here immideatly. She must leave this world as soon as possible, or she will be responsible for its destruction."
Chichiri's brown eye was open wide in surprise. "Taiitsukun, I . . . I don't understand . . ." How could that be possible? Anna was not evil, this he was sure of.
"There are those whom wish to use her against herself and against this whole world," Taiitsukun continued. "She has been summoned here to act as the priestess of a most evil and ancient God, Chiciou. Do you know that name?"
Chichiri tried to think back to his earliest lessons with Taiitsukun, lessons about the old and present-day gods. "The name does sound familiar, but I thought he was imprisoned in a scroll and buried deep beneath the earth?"
"It appears you paid more attention to your studies than I thought you did," Taiitsukun said. "Yes, he was locked away, but that was thousands of years ago and the earth changes with time," Taiitsukun replied, becoming bored with her present position and floating to Chichiri's right. "His scroll has recently been discovered, and it is unfortunate for us that the discoverer was a man with great magical power, not unlike yourself. He has both a mean and the motive to use the God to his benefit. However Chiciou's original priestess died many, many years ago."
Here Taiitsukun paused, knowing Chichiri would be able to fill in the rest. Chichiri stared at the Creator and said quietly, "So Anna was brought into our world to be used as his priestess." Chichiri sighed and said, "Well, it would make sense I suppose, seeing as how she is related to a priestess herself and had a number of the same traits as Miaka."
He paused to think a moment, watching as Taiitsukun floated to his left, before saying, "But calling someone from Miaka's world into our own would take more power than any one mortal could possess."
"There is obviously more than one follower of Chiciou," Taiitsukun concurred. "In fact, I believe a number of them reside within the Konan (is this correct?) Palace walls." Chichiri stared at Taiitsukun as she continued, "There is an aura of evil surrounding the palace, as a number of Chiciou's most loyal followers are members of Hotohori's staff and court." A mental picture of the palace doctor appeared in Chichiri's mind, labeling him as dangerous.
Chichiri nodded and picked up his hat, saying, "Alright, I'll bring Anna to you right now." He began to place his hat on his head when Taiitsukun called out to him.
"No, you may not use your kasa or kesa to bring your new friend here, for where as you are warrior of one of the four official gods in our land, she is neither warrior or priestess of any of them, therefore, you can not simply transport her here as you do for yourself."
Chichiri shook his head. He knew better than to argue with the Creator, but said, more to himself than to her, "This trip will not be made easy for us."
"I have faith in your ability to protect her," Taiitsukun said. "Now leave. The sooner you get back, the sooner you can leave again." Chichiri nodded and pulled his hat over his head.
He landed in his closet, banging against the door and crashing to the floor when it swung open. Rubbing his head, Chichiri muttered, "I need to work on my landings, no da."
***
Hmmm, interesting, yes? Or no? well, I won't know unless you guys review!!!