Disclaimer: I still don't own Tasuki and FY even though I want to.
But Kei, Taki, and Lily are my characters.
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Basic story notes: "Talking." 'Thoughts.' Any speaking with a star (*) in front
of it is in English. All other speech is in Japanese. Also, none of the
seishi have died. All seven are in this story and it is after the series
ended. All the Chichiri is 23, Tasuki is about 21, Kouji is 23, and Kei
is 19. Yes I know ages are different, but it's my story.
Notes of this chapter: I'm introducing two more girls. Lily is a 21-year-old martial arts
champion. She's been a friend of Kei's since she was 13. She has waist length golden blonde hair with red highlights that she always wears it in a French braid. And her eyes are emerald green, but she always wears sunglasses. She always wears a long glove or some other type of cover for her left wrist and refuses to tell why. Taki is a 20-year-old super model who is one of Kei's best friends since childhood. She always lets her mid-back length silver hair down. She is rarely seen with it up. Her eyes are icy blue and most people think they are one of her most attractive qualities.
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Summary of last chapter: Kei is stuck in a tent with Tasuki and he's not sure what to do
with her. To the capital? Or stay with the bandits. Kei doesn't really trust him, but what else can she do?
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Ch. 2
Kei silently watched Genrou pace back and forth across the tent. She rested he chin in the palms of her hands and sighed. She wanted to go home, but of course, had no idea how to do that.
"Somethin' wrong?" Genrou stopped pacing to look at her.
Before she could answer, Kouji walked into the tent. "Hey Genrou, food's ready. You gonna bring the bitch?"
Kei glared across the tent at the blue hair bandit, but he took no notice. 'Idiot.'
Genrou looked at his friend. "She has a name," he muttered.
"Whatever. You coming?"
"Yeah, yeah. In a minute." Kouji left the tent. "Ya hungry?" Genrou looked at Kei.
"Not really. But it probably couldn't hurt." Kei stood up. "You sure I can? Those guys didn't seem to like me when I first dropped in."
"Don't worry. I'm the leader here. What ever I say is all right."
"If you say so." Kei followed Genrou outside to the circle of bandits near a bonfire. She glanced around at some of them. 'It's gonna be a long night…"
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Back in the real world:
A silver haired young woman walked up a flight of stairs and knocked on one of the doors.
"Kei! You there? Photo shoot's done. Sorry it took so long. I went to the library to get you, but the lady there said you'd already left!" She waited a few seconds. "Kei? Hello?" The woman called again with no answer. "Where is she?"
She cracked open the door and saw no one there. "This can't be good." She wandered around the room hoping to find something. Another young woman soon came to the room.
"Something wrong, Taki?" The blonde noticed how confused he friend looked.
"Yeah Lily, I have no idea where Kei is. She wasn't at the library and when I called her PHS, it said she was out of range." Taki sat at Kei desk. "This isn't like her."
"I suppose it isn't." Lily noticed the book on the desk. "What's that?"
"I'm not sure." Taki looked at the cover. "It's Chinese…"
"Can you read it?" Lily pulled another chair over to the desk and sat down next to Taki. She rested her chin on her gloved hand.
"A little. Kei's grandmother taught us a little bit of Chinese when we were growing up." Taki carefully studied the characters on the cover. "Hmmm… It's something along the lines of like four gods and the earth and sky. I can't read it exactly. I've forgotten too much."
"Well, that's start. I wonder where it came from…" Lily lifted her sunglasses off and flipped through the pages. "It looks so old."
"It probably is…" Taki glanced across the room again and noticed an old picture of Kei's grandmother, Kei, and her. It was at least 10 years old. The picture suddenly reminded Taki of something. She stood up suddenly and smiled. "It's the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho!"
Lily looked at Taki like she was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Never mind. I think I know where Kei is!" She grabbed the book and headed for the door. "Come on, we have to go."
"Whatever." 'Somebody's gone nuts.' Lily followed Taki for lack of anything better to do. "Wanna tell me where we're going?"
"Later. We have to go to Kei's grandmother's house."
Lily sat down in the passenger's side of the car Taki owned. "Care to tell me why?"
"Well, it's a long story… Oba-san could explain it better. You'll just have to bear with me until we get there." Taki pulled out of the driveway and sped off towards Oba-san's house.
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Kei was getting bored fast listening to all the bandits talk about their pasts. 'At least the food is somewhat good.'
One of the bandits noticed the look on Kei's face. "Hey what's the matter, woman? Bored with our company?" He and some others laughed.
"I've been more entertained watching mud dry." Kei sneered at him.
Many other bandits laughed at their friend's surprise.
"What did you say to me?" He stood up and stumbled towards her.
"You heard what I said. You're drunk not deaf. I can tell that much easily." Kei stood up to meet him.
Genrou and the other bandits were laughing so hard that many had to put their food down.
"How'd you like to try that again?" The drunken bandit made a pitiful attempt to punch her.
Kei simply stopped him with her hand. "You're too drunk to fight. You haven't even had that much. I've seen ten year olds down more than you and keep it down." She tightened her grip on his fist and flung him across the circle. "Hmmm… Guess I don't know my own strength." Kei chuckled at the bandit who was out cold.
The other bandits gasped at how strong Kei was. Kei looked at them and smirked.
"Anyone else wanna try anything?" All of them immediately went back to eating and talking. "Thought so."
Genrou arched an eyebrow as Kei sat down to his left again. "How'd you get so strong? He ain't that light."
"That's for me to know and you to wonder about." Kei smiled sweetly as she continued eating. "You got anything to drink? I'm thirsty."
"Not unless you want sake." Genrou offered her a bottle.
"Fine." Kei took the bottle and took a long drink from it. She looked at him as he looked at her questioningly. "What? So I can drink a lot. So what? Never seen a girl drink before or what?"
"Not really." Genrou had another drink. "But I don't care."
Kei sighed and focused on her food. Suddenly she heard horses coming closer to their camp. "Did you hear that?"
"What? I didn't hear anything. Are you drunk already?" Kouji asked her while laughing.
"Shut up, Kouji. There is something coming." Genrou looked up in the direction of the noise. "And they aren't being quiet about it."
They all sat in silence for a few seconds when three horses came out of the forest. Genrou thought he recognized the riders. He got up to see if he was right.
Genrou gaped in disbelief when the riders dismounted and walked to him.
"Nu…Nuriko…Ho…Hotohori-san… How? You're supposed to be dead!"
Nuriko laughed at his dumbstruck friend. "Well, you aren't gonna get rid of me that easily." Nuriko slapped Genrou on the back and he fell face first in the dirt. "Whoops. Sorry 'bout that. Forgot about that."
Genrou pushed himself back up to his feet and brushed himself off. "I'm sure you did." Genrou looked at the third guest. "Hey, Chichiri. How've ya been?"
"Not bad, no da." The ever-smiling monk greeted his friend.
"Now why aren't you two dead?" Genrou looked at Hotohori and Nuriko.
"Well, we were, but one day we sort of found ourselves alive again at the palace. We aren't exactly sure what happened. Chiriko and Mitsukake are there, too." Hotohori explained to his fellow seishi.
"What did you say to me!?!?" Kei suddenly screamed at one of the bandits, grabbed him by his collar, and flung him into a tree a few feet from the four seishi. They all whipped around and saw Kei storming towards the bandit she had just thrown into a tree. Genrou grabbed her just in time to stop her from stepping on the bandits face.
"Hey, Kei! What are you doing?" Grenrou looped his arms under hers and lifted her up.
"He started it! Let me go! I wasn't finished with him!" She started trashing around, trying to escape Genrou's grip.
"Yeah, right! You wish!" Genrou tightened his grip.
"Yeah, I do! Let me go!" Kei tried a few more times to get out of his grip then gave up. "Never mind."
The three seishi stared at Tasuki and this energetic, young woman. Kei noticed them staring at her.
"What? Don't you have something else to stare at?" Kei glared at them.
Hotohori looked at Tasuki. "Tasuki, you'd do well to keep that girl under control.
Tasuki let go of Kei and she walked over to a nearby tree and leaned on it. "Please, I don't have any control over her. She's got too much energy. She got more energy that Miaka did." Tasuki sighed and glanced over at her. He didn't realize how energetic she was.
Nuriko laughed at him. "Did you finally give in to a woman, Tasuki?"
He glared at Nuriko. "No, I didn't. She just sorta showed up. The only reason I'm bein' nice to her is 'cause she's from Miaka's world." The four seishi stared at Kei. She stared back. Not saying anything, just staring.
"She's a bit odd, no da."
"I know. I'm not sure what to do with her. I was thinking about taking her to the capital, but I'm not sure."
Kei watched the four seishi. They weren't watching her anymore. 'They're probably talking about me…Ahhhh…What do I care? People always talk about me behind my back… Should I even stay here? I really don't wanna bother anyone by being a nuisance. But then again, I don't know anything about this world. I guess I should just stay.' Kei sat down in her spot by the tree. She rested her head in her hands. Somehow, though she'd never been here, something about this world seemed familiar. Her mind wandered back to her childhood, living with her grandmother, listening to stories about a world she thought wasn't real. 'No way those stories Grandma told me were real. There is no magical land ruled by beast gods…they were just bedtime stories…Grandma always had a big imagination and it was all fake, right?' Kei looked up into the trees. 'No way this can be that kingdom she told stories about. What was it…Ko…Konan, I think…is it possible?' Kei's train of thought broke when she noticed the seishi walking towards her.
Tasuki was the first to reach her. Kei stood up again. "Kei, get up. You're going to the capital."
Kei looked a little surprised. "What? Don't tell me all you people just decided what to do with me without asking me." She crossed her arms over her chest and moved back a few steps.
"Look, don't argue with us. It's better for you if you leave with them. You'll be safer there." Tasuki reached for her arm again. She bent out of his reach.
"What makes you think a bunch of guys can decide what to do with me?"
Kei and Tasuki began arguing over what was best. They were arguing quite loud, too. Kei was very stubborn and didn't want to leave.
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Back in the real world
"The seishi and the young woman argued fiercely over what would be done with her. Neither one would back down…" An old woman looked up from the book and at the two girls that had brought it to her. "Well, Taki, you were right. Kei is in the book. There is no doubt about it."
"So, the stories about your adventures in Konan weren't just bedtime stories for Kei and me?" Taki looked at Kei's grandmother.
"Hardly. Every bit was true. And I think Kei is just figuring that out now."
"Ummm…excuse me. I still don't know what's going on." Lily was sitting on the floor against a wall. She hadn't paid much attention to the conversation.
"Oops. Forgot about that. Sorry." Taki scratched her head. "Well, to make a really long story short, when Kei and I were kids we were told bedtime stories about Oba-san's adventures in a strange place called Konan. Neither of us thought that the place really existed, but this book proved otherwise."
"So, how do we get her out? That's my concern. Telling stories won't help Kei, will it?" Lily stood up and looked at the book again.
"No, it won't, will it?" Oba-san thought a bit. "Well, I guess I'll send you two to go and get her out. Kei needs to learn to use her magic before she can do anything there. Follow me." Oba-san got up and walked down the hall with the book to a door that she opened. Inside, Lily and Taki stood amazed at what they found. It was a very large shrine to Suzaku; the god Oba-san had been the miko of in the past. Taki found it totally amazing. Lily, however, was a bit more skeptical.
"So, bedtime stories are real. How does going into some shrine help us get Kei back? I'm not seeing the connection." Lily looked at one of the statues of Suzaku.
"Well, you two can't go there defenseless. So, come here."
Lily and Taki went the Oba-san who handed them each a pendant. Taki's was a brilliant blue and Lily's the same only green.
"Now, these pendants hold quite a bit of power. Lily, Taki, along with your martial arts, you will each have magical powers. You will both be able to create shields and various projectiles. They are very powerful so be careful. Also, when you get to Konan, you will have swords and be very skilled swordswomen. That should be enough to keep you safe."
Both girls put the pendants on. Taki looked at Oba-san. "What do we do when we've found her? We have to have bring her back don't we?"
"Yes. Now once you find her, take her to Tai Itsukun, the creator of the world. She will be able to help you." Oba-san opened the book to the first page and set it on a table. "Now, start reading. You'll be taken into the book."
Taki and Lily stepped up. Taki started reading. Before she got past a few words, he book began to glow and they were sucked in screaming.
Oba-san sighed and looked at the book. She then closed her eyes. "Suzaku, please, protect them. Bring my granddaughter back alive. Such is the request of one of your most powerful mikos."
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In the forest of Konan
It had been more than half an hour since Kei and Tasuki had started arguing. More than once, Nuriko had offered to knock her out, but Hotohori told him not to.
"Don't you ever run out of comebacks?" Tasuki was getting tired of arguing.
"No, and if you had just asked me about my so called fate, we wouldn't be in this now would we?" Kei had a small smirk on her face as she spoke.
Tasuki sighed again. "No, I guess not. But, come on. You know it isn't safe out here in the forest for a young woman. Just go with them."
"Actually, I don't know. I'm from another world, remember?" Kei tilted her head to look at the sky. "Now, I don't know a whole lot about…" Suddenly Kei lost her train of thought while looking at the sky.
Tasuki noticed. "What are you
looking at?"
"The sky, idiot. What color is
it supposed to be?"
"What kind of dumb ass question is that? Blue with an occasional white cloud, duh. Are you stupid?" Tasuki wondered if she was trying to change the subject.
"Then why is it turning really red?" Kei didn't take her eyes off the sky and the smirk disappeared from her face.
"What the hell are you talking about? It isn't red."
"Well, now it is…" Kei grabbed Tasuki's head and shoved it up. "Look."
She was right. The sky had turned almost blood red. "Holy shit. That can't be good."
Suddenly two streaks of light sped across the sky. One golden and the other sliver. Then as soon as the sky went red, it was back to blue. Tasuki and Kei looked at each other.
"That was different." Kei murmured.
"Yeah. I'll say." Tasuki turned back to his friends and motioned for them to come over.
"What were you two staring at?" Nuriko looked at them both.
"The sky. It was blood red. Then two flashes of light shot across the sky and it cleared again." Tasuki stuck his hands in coat pockets.
"The sky, red? That isn't possible, Tasuki." Hotohori stared at the bandit.
"Well, now it is. It just was." Kei looked at the emperor. "Wait, who's Tasuki?" Kei realized she didn't know who was who in the little group.
"You didn't tell her, no da?" Chichiri spoke for the first time in a while.
"Ahhhh, no. I didn't think I'd have to." Tasuki rubbed his head.
"Tell me what?" Kei looked a bit worried. "What are you hiding?"
"It's nothing big, really, it's just that, Genrou, the name I gave you, is just my nickname. My seishi name is Tasuki and that's the name the others call me."
'Sweet mother god! Seishi? That proves it for me. I am in Konan and Oba-san's stories weren't just stories. She really was a miko when she was a teenager. Scary.' "I see. How long did you plan to let me think you were just some bandit?"
"Would it have made any difference if I had told my real name?" Tasuki was annoyed.
"Well, we aren't gonna be able to find out, now are we? Maybe I wouldn't have argued so much if I had known you were a seishi." Kei turned her back to them.
"How do you know about seishi if you're from another world?" Nuriko stepped forward.
"I know more than you think, gay boy. And I don't feel like sharing what I know." The seishi took a few steps back. None of them had been ready for that one.
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In another part of Konan
Lily and Taki stood in another forest. Both had swords like they were told they would.
"So, what do we do now?" Taki looked at her partner.
"Look for Kei, what else?" Lily was dead set on finding Kei and finding her unharmed. Taki shrugged and followed Lily out of the clearing they were in.
TBC
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Okay. There's chapter 2. What did ya think? Feed back please! I'd like to know what people think of my work. The next chapter will come when ever. I don't know.
No previews this time. Too lazy.
Silver Hawk