Loyalty and Honor 3

Author's Notes: Hey you guys/gals love me. You really, really love me. O.K. maybe you don't really love me, but I'm glad that you all love this story. I never imagined that this story would turn out this good, but atlas I'm even managing to surprise myself. So without further ado let the story begin, or in other words resume.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned at least one character from this series, but I don't. Some other fortunate sap gets those honors. Now I feel worthless. Thanks a lot for forcing me to write this dog gone disclaimer. I hope you're happy.



My intentions for this little shopping excursion with Tasuki was a ruse to get my mind off of my problems with Miaka. I thought that this little trip would clear my mind from the chaotic thoughts that were running wildly through my head. Once again I was wrong. I had been wrong about Miaka's feelings towards me. At first I thought that she was just a good friend of mine. I never would have imagined that she would ever have any romantic feelings for me at all. Yet, she kissed me proving to me that her feelings had evolved overnight somehow.

I guess you could say that I was confused about this whole situation, and the more I thought about it the more confused I became. I was sure that I didn't have any feelings for her, but for some strange reason I had been jealous of the relationship that she shared with Chichiri. I guess you could say that I was jealous, and I'm not going to sit here and lie and say that I wasn't.

Words cannot even describe just how much I wanted to wring Chichiri's neck when I saw him put his arm around Miaka's neck. Sure he was a monk, but he hasn't always been one. Before he became a suzaku warrior, he had a girlfriend that he loved dearly. However one of his best friends made a move on his girlfriend, and then Chichiri killed him. Of course there was regret later, but the deed had been done. Love overpowered his ability to use logic and reasoning, so much so that he killed a man.

Even though Chichiri was a monk, he was still a man. He could easily fall for Miaka's charms and wits, just as Tamahome and Hotohori did. One could easily fall for her, if they weren't careful.

I didn't want to fall for her. I didn't want her, but there was this primal need deep within me that told me that I did. What were these feelings? Did I even want to find out? Why was I even questioning my sexuality? I was a drag queen long before I met Miaka, and I will continue to be so long after.

What I needed to focus on was the oncoming war. No one knew when the opposing side was going to strike, and we had to be ready at all cost. It was then that I realized that I needed to get back home. There was no time to shop for little knickknacks. I needed to be home training. So I turned towards Tasuki to ask him if he was ready to go home. He had been quiet for the duration of the shopping trip that I almost forgot that he was with me.

I noticed that he was staring at me strangely, and I wondered what he was thinking. I'll admit that Tasuki being this quiet unnerved me in a way. There has never been a time when he was ever this quiet, and the fact that he was quiet let me know that he was scheming up something in his head. I wasn't about to be the pawn in his little game, and I refused to sit there and let him plan and plot out my life.

"Tasuki, if you keep staring at me like that I'm going to hit you."

"Gee, you don't have to be mean you know."

"Are you ready to go yet?"

"What! We just got here. Besides that little chickadee is checking me out."

I turned my head towards a buxom red headed young woman, and when she saw me staring at her she quickly turned away. I looked back at Tasuki, and I noticed that he was glaring at me furiously.

"Now you see why I hate shopping with you? I bet everybody here thinks that you're my girlfriend."

I almost forgot that I was dressed like a woman today. I put a few cute burettes into my newly short hair, and I looked fabulous.

"So you're telling me that you're interested in girls now?"

"Get real. Girls are nothing but trouble."

"So you're into guys?"

"No I'm not into guys!" He practically screamed in my ear.

"Animals?" I asked confusedly.

"Look that may be what you're into, but not me. I may not like girls, but they do have their uses if you know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I do, and that's what really scares me."

"The way that I look at it girls are good for one thing, and one thing only."

"I may not be a woman, but I still resent that a little comment that you've just made."

"Oh please. Are you telling me that you didn't want the same thing from Hotohori?"

"What I had with Hotohori was love, and not lust."

"Ha ha ha. Aren't we delusional, because from where I'm standing you had neither."

That rude remark was enough to make me strike him as hard as I possibly could. I looked down at him in anger, as I saw a perfectly round knot appear on the top of his head. I suddenly walked off, and I left Tasuki on the ground to recover from one of my best blows. How could he have said that? It was true that Hotohori didn't want anything to do with me, and the fact that Tasuki was rubbing it in was enough to make me cry.

So as I was standing there shedding a thousand tears for a man that I could never have, I started noticing that there were four strong looking men approaching me. No doubt they wanted to rescue the damsel in distress, and I had no problems with that. I worked the water works even more, and they came closer smelling of after-shave and cologne.

"Miss, are you all right? Was that red headed man messing with you?" He said as he pointed towards Tasuki.

All right, I'll admit it. Revenge was on my mind at that moment. This should teach Tasuki a lesson for being such a prick.

"Yes he told me that he was going to kidnap me, and that he was going to...."

I leaned towards his ear, and I whispered the rest to him. I watched as his face turned cold, and his skin turned red. Now I'll admit four guys against one wasn't a fair deal, but Tasuki had it coming to him. What made the revenge even sweeter was the fact that Tasuki wasn't even aware of my little plan. That should teach him.

I watched as the big burly men approached Tasuki, and they began to talk to him. They were probably asking him if he had been messing with me. I strained to listen to what they were saying, and I clearly heard Tasuki proclaim that I was a guy. That jerk.

Anyway that comment didn't sit too well with the four big guys, that they immediately began to pound their heavy fist into Tasuki's face. After ten minutes of all out violence, the four men made their way back towards me. I put the waterworks back on, and I waited for them to approach me once again.

"There you go Miss. You shouldn't have any more problems from that jerk. If you need me again, I work at that store right there. If there's anything at all that you need, then don't hesitate to look me up."

"I don't know what to say." I said feigning interest in the big man.

"Obviously he doesn't know the right way to treat a woman, especially one as cute as you."

Eew. He ran his finger along my jaw line. I don't know where his hands have been. Do you know what I have to go through to get great skin like this? So I grabbed his hand from my face, and I held onto it for a while.

"Well it's pretty obvious that I owe you my thanks. Let's just leave it at that."

Oh so now he wants to play that game. I watched him as he used his other hand to cup my rear end, and pull me closer to him. I tried to pull away like a normal lady would, but in actuality this guy was beginning to really tick me off. He grabbed me tighter, and then he lowered his head closer to my lips.

"The way I see it, you owe me more than you're thanks."

"My thanks should be enough!" I said through gritted teeth.

"Well it's not."

He pressed his crusty dry lips to mine, and I immediately began to get angry. The first thing that I did was bite his lips, but not hard enough to draw blood. I didn't know what that guy had. Then I immediately began to crush his fingers. I wasn't sure, but I think that I even felt a few bones break. He reached out to slap me, but I grabbed his other arm. I twisted his arm in an unnatural angle, and then I pushed him away from me.

The other three guys approached me like they were about to hurt me. Needless to say I made examples out of all four guys. They were lying on each other, and I stood above them looking down on them. They looked up at me with contempt and loathing in their eyes. So I flashed them the middle finger, and I started to talk.

"Gentlemen, the lesson for today is to never underestimate the power of a woman."

With that I walked off, and it was then that I noticed that Tasuki was watching the whole thing taking place. He still looked angry, and his clothes were wrinkled and dirty. His face was swollen, and his lips had dried up blood, but I still didn't care. Poor Tasuki would have to see Mitsukake when we get home, because he was in pretty bad shape.

"You deserved that." Tasuki said looking at me evilly.

"And you didn't?"

"Look Nuriko. I spoke without thinking, and I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"So how long?"

I turned my attention back towards Tasuki, and noticed that he was limping. I gave him a confused look, because I didn't know what he was talking about. I tried to read his face, but I still couldn't guess at the encrypted puzzle that he wanted me to solve.

"How long what?" I said as I grabbed his hand.

He gave me a funny look, and he started to protest. I quickly grabbed his waist and I threw him over my shoulder.

"You were taking too long. At this rate we'll get home in three days."

"There's no one to blame but yourself, and you do realize that everybody's looking at us."

"Who cares?"

"I do. You're ruining my reputation."

"I'm improving your reputation. What man can say that a beautiful woman has literally carried him away from it all?"

"But you ain't no woman."

"Details. Details."

I paused for a while, and then I remembered the question that he asked me.

"How long what?" I asked.

"Huh?" Tasuki said.

I guess he forgot that he had asked me that question.

"You asked me a question just a while ago. You just said so how long?"

"Oh yeah."

"So?" I asked.

My curiosity was starting to get the best of me, and for some reason Tasuki was quiet.

"Tasuki?"

"How long have you've been in love with Miaka?"

"WHAT!"

I'll admit Tasuki surprised me with that question, so much so that I hadn't even realized that I had dropped him on the ground. It wasn't intentional, but needless to say I was very surprised. I felt bad about dropping Tasuki, but I had to find out what he meant.

"What did you just say?"

Tasuki mumbled. It was hard to understand him because he was face down on the ground. I picked him back up to his feet, and then I attempted to put him back on my shoulder when he stopped me.

"Nuh uh. I'll walk. Besides you're hazardous to my health."

"What in the world were you thinking? What would make you say that I was in love with Miaka?"

"It's pretty obvious Nuriko. First, there was that uncomfortable silence between you two. Second, You did ask me if Miaka and Chichiri were dating, and finally you were so jealous when Chichiri put his arm around Miaka."

"I was not."

"Yes you were. Nuriko I can read you like a book, and I know that you have feelings for Miaka. That would explain that nice expensive necklace that you bought for her today."

"That necklace that you're referring to happens to symbolize our friendship. I bought it to make up with her, to let her know that I wasn't mad at her."

"Baloney."

"It's just a necklace."

"Which can symbolize love."

"Or friendship."

"It's a heart necklace, and hearts symbolize love."

"Yes I love Miaka, but I'm not in love with her! Now will you just drop it already."

"Fine. Fine, but you know that you love her."

"I do not, and will you hurry up."

I was left to ponder what Tasuki had said. He was wrong about my feelings. He had got things mixed up, and that surely wasn't the first time. I wasn't the one with conflicting feelings. That was Miaka. So of course as you can tell my mind was still on Miaka, and I couldn't help but wonder if Tasuki had been right. So we went back home, and my thoughts still offered me no solace as I thought the brown haired girl yet again today.



I had been training all day with Chichiri, and for some reason I couldn't concentrate at the task at hand. Chichiri was trying to teach me a binding spell, and I couldn't get it for the life of me. The spell was one that Chichiri used on a regular basis, and he had been trying to teach it to me for the last four hours. The spell was supposed to bind a person in place until the spell caster could get to safety. However if the caster isn't careful the spell could prove to be very dangerous.

I guess there were a few key points that I missed during my training, because my mind had been elsewhere. I had been thinking about Nuriko ever since he went off shopping. I was hurt when he decided to take Tasuki instead of me. For the past year, I had been Nuriko's shopping buddy. Every time he went shopping, I was always there with him.

Now to spite me, he decided to take Tasuki instead. Words can't describe how painful that was for me. For Nuriko to blatantly disregard me, and my feelings was very hurtful to me. If I had known that one little kiss was going to ruin our friendship, I would've kissed my hand instead. It would have saved me from all this embarrassment that I was going through.

I guess my mind had been on him, when I tried to do the binding spell. When I realized that my power was spiraling out of control, I said the words that Chichiri told me to say. I looked at Chichiri guiltily, and then I noticed that his shirt was now tattered and torn. He looked at me furiously, and I couldn't do anything but apologize profusely.

"This is the reason why I didn't want to teach you the magic arts. No Da! You can seriously hurt someone if you're not careful you know. This is a simple binding technique. The purpose here is to bind me in place, and not to kill me. No da. We will try it one more time. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

I put all of my concentration in my spell, and I was doing pretty good job too. I could hear Chichiri applauding my efforts by giving me praise for a job well done. I was really doing good, but then a stray image of me kissing Nuriko popped in my head, and my concentration was lost once again. I opened my eyes to see Chichiri doing all he could to protect himself. I turned my hands over in order to look at my palms, but the binding spell was still in full progress. How do I stop this thing? It was bad enough that I had nearly hurt Chichiri with my spell, but it was even worse to realize that I had use the spell on myself. I was bound in one spot, and my clothes were beginning to disintegrate just as it did with Chichiri.

Even as I tried stopping the spell, I could hear Chichiri shouting out instructions to me. He stepped in front of me, and he had to yell over the noise of the spell for me to hear him.

"You have to say "bind no more" and the spell will stop. No da!"

I said what he told me to say.

"Bind no more and the spell will stop. No da!"

The spell was still churning, and my training blouse and bra was nothing but a mere memory. Why wasn't this stupid spell stopping?"

"Bind no more. Just say bind no more!"

"Oh! Bind no more."

Suddenly the power from my hand decreased, and I was beginning to fall back. I grabbed onto the hook of Chichiri's pants, in order to steady myself upright. However, this action caused Chichiri to fall right on top of me. He landed on my breast, and as he tried to get up he realized that something was preventing him from moving. Apparently his beaded necklace became tangled into my hair somehow. Every time he tried to get up, he pulled my hair and it hurt like something fierce. I screamed every time he moved, because I for one wasn't used to someone pulling my hair.

That really did hurt.

Chichiri was just trying to get up as fast as he could, because of the predicament we were in. It was just that I wasn't about to let him continue pulling my hair. So I suggested an idea, which I thought would solve all our problems.

"Can't we just break the necklace, or use some magic or something?"

"No we can't break the necklace. It means too much to me, and it's magic that got us into this mess in the first place. No da!"

"Well you have to do something!"

"I'm trying. I'm trying!"

Chichiri pulled up again, and I screamed out in pain once again. As soon as I finished letting out a pain filled scream, the training room door was suddenly thrown opened and who should walk in. Yep. Nuriko and Tasuki. I could have died right then and there. What is he thinking? I stared at him as he looked down at me in disgust. I really could have died right then and there. Nuriko stuck his hand in his bag, and he pulled out a small box. He threw the box at me cruelly, and I felt the tears forming in my eyes.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I'll be leaving now." Nuriko said.

"Wait Nuriko! This is not what it looks like."

He laughed. He actually laughed.

"Look. What you two do on your own time is strictly between you and him. Leave me out of it."

Without another word he left, and Tasuki was just standing there ogling us.

"The least you can do is help." I shouted to Tasuki.

"Oh a threesome." Tasuki said.

"My hair is caught in his necklace, you moron!"

"That's a likely story Miaka."

"She's telling the truth. No da!" Chichiri said.

I hope that I haven't ruined Chichiri's reputation.

After a while of arguing with Tasuki, he finally freed us. I was so angry that I slapped Tasuki after I was free. Then I realized that I was practically naked, and so I covered myself the best that I could.

"Give me your shirt Tasuki."

"No way. I didn't tell you to tear off your shirt."

"That was an accident."

"That's a likely story. So Chichiri, how was she?"

"We didn't do anything you know." Chichiri said.

"Uh huh. Sure."

"Just give me the shirt!" I shouted.

He gave me a weird look, and he took off his shirt.

I quickly put the shirt on, and at that moment I didn't care that I had two men in the room eyeballing me. The only thing that was important to me was that I had to let Nuriko know the truth. So I dressed quickly dressed in front of the two men, and then I gave Tasuki a dirty look when I noticed that he was still staring at me.

"Nothing happened!" I shouted.

"I'm not concerned about that. Just make sure that you don't tear my shirt. I don't want my shirt torn to shreds, like your shirt over there."

How I wished that I had a frying pan with me, so I could knock it over his head. However the next thing I did was something unbecoming of a priestess, but I did it anyway. I flipped him the bird. Yeah I was aware that he didn't know what that meant, and he even asked me what exactly did it stand for. So I told him, and as I hurried out of the room I could see both Chichiri's and Tasuki's jaws drop to the floor. That should teach him.

In a matter of minutes I found my self at Nuriko's door. My heart was beating so fast, that I thought that I was going to have a heart attack right then and there. So I raised my hand to the door and I knocked on it lightly. After waiting awhile, Nuriko finally snatched the door opened with such ferocity that he even had me frightened.

"What do you want?" He yelled.

"To talk to you."

"What for?"

"Nuriko, nothing happened."

"It didn't sound like nothing happened."

"It didn't. My hair was caught in his necklace."

"That would explain why you didn't have on a shirt."

"Look I screwed up my spell, and I ended up destroying our clothes."

Suddenly my attention was directed down the hall, and I could clearly make out Tasuki hiding around the corner spying on me.

"Tasuki, will you stop spying on me!" I screamed.

"I don't care about you. I'm just keeping an eye out on my shirt. I don't want your spell to destroy it!"

I became so angry that I could scream, but I didn't dare. Soon I pushed my way into Nuriko's room, and I closed the door behind me. Nuriko glared at me, but I didn't care. He was going to listen to me, and if it took all night then so be it. I was here to talk, and he was going to believe me.

"Nuriko, why are you acting like this?"

"It's not everyday you see one of your best friends making out with a monk."

"It wasn't like that, and you know it!"

Nuriko walked over to his bed and he sat down. I was wondering what he was thinking about.



How dare she barge in my room like she owns the place? I know what I saw, and it wasn't any magic training. She must really think I'm dumb. She's just mad that I caught her red handed in the act. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't care. It's not like she's my girlfriend. I guess it wouldn't be so bad, if she weren't making out with a monk though. I kind of figured that she was seeing Chichiri, but I never thought for once that she fool around with him.

Why should I care? I didn't care when she was with Tamahome. So why should I care now? Why was I becoming angry? Suddenly the reason why I was angry hit me like a ton of heavy bricks. I was angry because she had kissed me. I didn't kiss her. She kissed me first. So why would she kiss me, when she was all-gaga over Chichiri? Only whores did things like that, but Miaka wasn't like that. Was she? She did the unthinkable with Chichiri, and she kissed me. Was that the reason why Hotohori was always so infatuated with her? Had she been seeing both Hotohori and Tamahome at the same time? Nah. I doubt it. If that were true then Hotohori wouldn't have always been so sad. Still she must have led him on, just like she was trying to do with me. Vixen.

"Nuriko are you even listening to me?"

"Yes Miaka. I've heard you loud and clear. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident. Look you can do whatever you want to do. I'm not your mother. You don't have to appease me. If you want to whore around be my guest."

"What did you just say?"

Damn. Why did I say that? The look of betrayal and pain was obvious on her face, and it hurt me to realize that I was the one to cause her that pain.

"Miaka, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Is that what you think of me?"

"No. I didn't mean it like that."

"If you didn't mean it, then why did you say it?"

"I was angry, and I lashed out at you."

"Have you always thought of me like that?"

"Miaka."

"Answer me! Have you always thought of me like that?"

"No."

"So why now? I mean I guess I should listen to a man that likes to dress up in women clothes, and tell me how to live my life."

She was really starting to tick me off. How dare she come into my room, and call me nasty nicknames. Maybe I was right about her all along. Miaka wasn't the same girl that I used to know. Somewhere between Hotohori's passing, and Tamahome's leaving she changed. From the looks of it, it wasn't for the better.

"I may pretend to be a lady, but at least I know how to act like one. For the record, if the shoe fits wear it."

"It's so nice to see your true colors Nuriko. All this time I thought that you were my friend, but I guess I was wrong. It's clear that you think very little of me, and so I won't waste any more of your precious time. Besides I have some whoring around to do."

I watched her as she turned to walk out of the door. I forgot how much of a prick I could be sometimes. That didn't go down the way that I thought it would go. Suddenly my bedroom door was opened, and it was Miaka again. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't make myself do it. I wanted her to hurt, just the same as I. She had her eyes pointed towards the floor, and I waited to hear what she had to say.

"Since I'm not the lady that you thought I was, I think it's only fair that I give you this back."

She threw me back the necklace that I had bought for her.

"It means nothing to me now, and so I thought that I would just give it back." She said quietly.

Then she left again. I was left alone with my thoughts, and the necklace that she gave back to me. For the life of me, I kept thinking that I had just made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, and it literally broke my heart.



I walked down the hall with tears in my eyes. So is that how he really thinks of me? A whore? Had I ever slept with Tamahome? No. Hotohori? No. The last I checked I was still a virgin. Yet he viewed me as that? Cretin.

Still I hold on to my word. If he thinks so little of me, then I don't want to have anything to do with him. As I was walking to my room, I could see Tasuki hiding in a nearby corner spying on me. I turned a furious glance in his direction, and I stopped walking.

"What!"

"Um. I was just wondering when could I have my shirt back?"

"Go to hell Tasuki."

With that I walked away. However in the process of going to my room, I decided to go take a swim instead. I had a lot of things on my mind that I wanted to wash away, and swimming was the only thing that I could think of. I decided to go skinny-dipping. After all that's what women like me do right?

So when I reached the front door, I surprised to see that we had a visitor. Only this person wasn't one of our regular visitors, and the fact that he was right outside my front door had me a bit unnerved. So I took my battle stance, and I prepared to fight.

"That's new. When did you learn to fight Miaka, or is that just a ruse to scare me away?"

"Nakago. What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's like this. Tamahome took something of mine, and now I'm about to take something of his."

"I was never his to begin with." I stated plainly.

I didn't even let him finish. I started throwing punches and kicks left and right. I was even surprised to see that he had to concentrate on his own attacks. So my training must really be successful. I was so glad at that moment, but my triumph would be short lived. For in the moment of my glory I never noticed him pulling out a bottle of red spray. The only thing that I was aware of was the fact that he sprayed the chemicals into my eyes.

"Sleep tonight, for tomorrow you will be mine." He said coldly.

I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, and I tried to call out to the Sazuki warriors. When my voice didn't respond, I called out to the first person that I could think of in my head.



"NURIKO!"

I was just sitting there when I heard it. Miaka's in danger! I don't know how I got up so fast, but in a matter of minutes I was standing at the front door. I made it just in time to see that Nakago had Miaka slung over his shoulder, and with a quick wave of his hand he disappeared. I didn't know what to do, and so I screamed out her name as if she could hear me. Now she was gone, and it was my entire fault. Maybe if I had talked to her calmly, then she would still be there. I had just lost the one person that I really cared about twice in one day.

This thought weighed heavily on my heart, and I fell to the ground and began crying. Soon the other warriors were behind me. I guess they finally realized that Miaka was in danger. They tried to get me to tell them what had happened, but my cries wouldn't allow me to at that moment. When my tears subsided, I told them all about what I had seen.

I told them that I was going to find Miaka, and then I instructed everyone else to stay put. For all I know this could be an easy way to bring about a war, and I wasn't about to be deceived that easily. No the others could stay here, and protect our home. I on the other hand was going to find Nakago, and whenever I did I swore that I was going to kill him.



Wowie. That was a long one. Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know something. Review and let me know if you like where this little story is heading.

Next Chapter: A little torture is in store for Miaka, and things goes from bad to worse when Yui finds out that Nakago has Miaka. Will Tamahome find out about their little prisoner? Also Nuriko closes in on Nakago's whereabouts, but he is wounded in battle and left for dead. Will he recover in time to save Miaka from Nakago evil plans? Also Nuriko gets a little spiritual guidance from a fallen hero that he once knew. Join us in the next chapter of Loyalty and Honor.