~ Chapter 4 ~
Phantom Wolf
A few minutes later, and after a bit of wrestling with the doorknob, I opened the door to show Sakura, as it was what she said I had to do in order to pass judgment. Sakura looked me over and turned a curious shade of pink.
I was wearing a black t-shirt with red lining on the collar, ends of the sleeves, and the bottom lining of the shirt, a long-sleeved sky blue shirt underneath the short-sleeved one, which both were not too tight, and not too baggy blue jeans that fit much like my regular pants that I wore all the time. I still wore my Tai Chi shoes that I usually wear with the rest of my monk outfit, and I had put my kesa over and around my shoulders and connected it with the loop in the middle, then fastened it with the waist belt. I also had my kasa tied around my neck. It actually felt very comfortable, yet strange in a way.
"Very suitable! I love it!" She practically glomped me, adjusting my kesa. "…But, we need to put away your kesa, Chiri … how 'bout inside your kasa?"
"No problem no da!" I unhooked my kesa from the loop and took off the waistbelt, afterwards putting both into my kasa. I chuckled merrily. "Sure comes in handy na no da." Sakura nodded and motioned towards my Tai Chi shoes.
"We just need you to get some new shoes – prolly sneakers – and maybe an accessory or two …" Her face slowly brought a growing, mischievous, anticipating grin, and her eyes just about turned completely into two different stars as they twinkled with anxiousness.
Sakura suddenly whirled me around and shoved me back into the dressing room and hastily told me to change back into my other clothes, and then shut the door behind me. I stared back at the door for an extra second, and changed back. I then folded the clothes to the way they were, adjusted my kesa, and turned the doorknob.
"Ack!" Sakura whooped in surprise.
"No daa!"
Wrong move.
Turned out Sakura was leaning against the door, and I had opened it way too fast, and without warning. Everything happened way too fast for me to counteract with a spell! When I opened the door Sakura out-and-out toppled over with much fidgeting around, just about crushing my rib bones as her full weight came crashing down at full force. Fortunately, Sakura did not scream or shout out very loudly, and I tried not to complain, and we didn't attract any attention at all. The dressing room was completely empty, as everyone had just left and The Gap wasn't as crowded as it was. Boy, was I thankful.
I had fallen flat on my back, and my mask had fallen off and was almost tangled in the pile of clothes. I sighed exasperatedly and blew a strand of hair from my bangs out of my eye, and tried to sit up. Sakura was sprawled out over my stomach on her back, but her head and neck area dangled way off myself and to the right, near the wall.
"No da …" I poked her gently on the shoulder as best I could to attempt to wake her. "Sakura-chan, wake up no da. Sakura … Sakura no da!" I stopped poking and moved her slowly off me so I could take a look at what happened to her.
"Oh, my no da …" Sakura had a good-sized bruise on her forehead, and she was unconscious. I didn't think it would have been that dangerous. Apparently she hit her head on the wall as she fell, and the room I changed in was quite small and compact. I didn't know what else to do except teleport out of there.
"I guess I can leave some of her money here to pay for these clothes no da," I reached into her jeans pocket carefully and got out a "$20" and left it on the seat. I took the clothes and put them in my kasa, strapped it back around my neck, and laid out my kesa in preparation of teleportation. I then took out my staff and laid it down on top of the kesa, and then made my way over to Sakura. Seeing her injury I wondered how I would heal her with, well, actually nothing.
"What I would do for Mitsukake to show up right now no da," I sighed, picked Sakura up, and sat down in the center of my kesa. In order to hold my staff, I needed a hand to actually grasp it. So I propped Sakura up with one arm on my lap and chunked my staff next to where I sat.
"Oh, Suzaku-sama, help me no da … onegai, onegai no da …" With that final plea for help I disappeared, making sure I had a tight hold on Sakura, to her room once more.
It had been at least two hours since the incident in the dressing room, and I remained where I was: kneeling at the foot of Sakura's bed, where she lay; her head bandaged somewhat with whatever I could find, watching her every move and listening for any other sounds. With Sakura not conscious I was feeling quite insecure of being on my own in this new world, even if Sakura's parents and sibling weren't home for the rest of the day.
This injury may not have been the fatalist of them all, but it worried me. I may have not brought it to the best of attention, but I sensed something quite familiar, yet distant, when she was falling and when she was unconscious. I felt some kind of magical force there. When she was falling it was strong, but out of control. Berserk, actually. And when she was unconscious, the force was weak. I'm expecting to believe it was her life force, but what I felt was something stronger.
I have never felt something this powerful, ever since I started training with Taiisukun to be a mage, a monk rather. I decided to ask some questions when she woke, whenever that would be. I doubted it would be any time soon.
I wished so badly that the others were here, the rest of the Suzaku Seishi, even if they were all spirits except for Tasuki. My head snapped up immediately.
"Tasuki no da? I forgot about him, he's still alive no da! Maybe I can contact him, na no da …" I sat Indian-style and brought my index and middle fingers up to my face to focus in on a spell. I chanted his name once, loud and clear.
"Tasuki no da."
Suzaku-sama, I need a friend. Now, more than ever.
~~ Meanwhile, back at Mt. Reikaku
"Tasuki no da …"
Tasuki, a red haired, firey tempered and foul-mouthed leader of the Mt. Reikaku bandits, jumped in surprise. It was the middle of the night, and he had been having strange dreams, which explained his continuous tossing and turning. Tasuki frowned. He could have sworn he heard a 'no da' at the end of his name. But it couldn't be him.
"Chiri?" Tasuki asked, looking around the dark room. Tasuki buried his face in his pillow in aggravation.
"Dammit, why would he show up at a time like this?" He closed his eyes and began to drift back to sleep when …
"TASUKI NO DA!!"
Tasuki literally jumped five feet into the air. His name was called a second time, only it was shouted. He knew it was Chichiri. It was that high-pitched voice ending with the 'no da,' who else did he know who was like that?
"Where the hell are ya, Chiri?!" Tasuki shouted right back into the air, rotating around. Chichiri's voice came again.
"Tasuki I'm in another world no da!! Go to the edge of the lake with the big rock as soon as you can --- I need to bring you here where I am no da!"
Tasuki nodded and put on his infamous black and blue trademark outfit and sheath for his almighty tessen, his valuable solid-diamond fan in which spewed fire with an incantation. He scribbled a short note and left it on his bed, and stepped out into the moonlight. With incredible speed as one of his special abilities, he darted across the mountain and around hazardous rocks with great agility, eventually reaching his destination.
Tasuki, formerly known as Genrou, which translated is Phantom Wolf, stepped onto the rock at the edge of the river. He looked straight up at the moon, squinted, and gave his best devilish fanged grin he could. He definitely earned the title of "Phantom Wolf."
As Tasuki blinked against the light of the moon, he vanished from the spot.