Disclaimer: Hmm…Fushigi Yuugi? *checks in Copyright section* Nope, sorry, don't own it.


I had to spend a freaking three days in bed before I was allowed to even touch my bow, thanks to one certain silver haired tall seishi who had the bright idea of confining me to my room to minimize any risks of running into trouble. While he went to make inquiries in the village about the Kutou soldiers, however, I had been muttering curses in his name, wishing that he had left someone else and not Iname in charge. There was no way I could rival that overwhelming strength.

"Oh, come on, Chamka," Takiko had raised an eyebrow after I had complained to her about that. She seemed to have gotten over her previous bout of homesickness, and I was glad to hear that Iname was teaching her about her duties as miko and actually managing to get some sense into that thick skull of hers. "Hikitsu's just worried about you. He didn't want you injured again."

I gritted my teeth, folding my arms as I inhaled the most welcoming cold air near the stable. "Well, someone would have to get injured if he kept me in that confining room any longer," I spat out, offering a fresh carrot to my mare who took it quite willingly, and almost biting off my fingers in the process. "I was going to go crazy, if you get what I mean."

"Well, you aren't crazy. By the way, I heard that more of the Kutou soldiers have just moved up north from Kutou. I think they're going to launch a full attack soon, by the looks of it. How fast again can we arrive at the palace?"

This new piece of news caught me off guard, and I blinked. Well, that was something that Hikitsu never told me, even after his inquires around the village. "They ARE?! Genbu, this is going to be hard…" I was silent for a minute, contemplating our options with what she had just told me and the information that Hikitsu had been supplying me with for the past few days.

"Well?"

I looked up, busying myself with grooming my mare's mane before answering her question. "As Hikitsu told us earlier, we shouldn't take more than half a day to arrive at the capital once we pass Mount Taihun. In fact, we estimated that it should only take roughly one or two weeks for us to get through that mountain. But now that we've got to be delayed by so many battles…"

Takiko's eyes were very serious. "Are you saying that we might not be able to arrive in time to summon Genbu?"

I wasn't the type to lie, so I looked at her in the eye and nodded. "Even if we were to be able to arrive at the capital in time, I'm afraid that we might not have sufficient time to gather the rest of the seishi. Not all the seishi will pop up like us, you see. They're scattered all over the country, so we'll have to look for them. That might take months…even years."

"But by that time, it would already be too late!"

"You seem to catch on easily, head-hitting onna," I spoke, raising an eyebrow at her, unable to tolerate the tension in the air and desperately in need of some humour . "Was that clueless act that you put on supposed to fool everyone? Well, congratulations. You definitely fooled me."

She sent me a glare that was enough to kill me in one second. "Watch that mouth of yours, Chamka. There are many tools around here that I can use as equipment for hitting your head, you know," she shot back and I grinned, unruffled by her threat.

"Oh? I dare you to, head-hitting onna! Bet you can't even lift one of them!"

"Oh?" she gave me an evil grin and easily lifted a pitchfork from beside her. "Come and get it then!"

I stared at her, wondering if Iname had been giving her some lessons in strength too. That pitchfork had to at least weigh three quarters her own weight! Genbu, this miko was starting to scare me…

It was to my luck that there was a loud sigh and Hikitsu walked in, his whitish silver hair blowing to the west (or what seemed to be the west) in the cold autumn breeze. He shook his head disapprovingly at us, giving me a look equivalent of Takiko's. "Genbu, why can't the two of you ever get along? I expected you to be better, Takiko-san. I would expect such childish behaviour from Tomite, but you?"

I half glared at him as he shook his head before turning and smirking at her, narrowly dodging a pitchfork that was aimed straight for my head. "Hey, watch that! You might kill someone with that!" I glared at her. "Gods, can't you even take a joke?"

Hikitsu sighed yet again, holding up his hands. "Before the both of you engage into a full fledged battle, let me just explain a few things to you first. Apparently, the Kutou soldiers are already on the move (as you know), and it's just a matter of time before they reach the capital and seize the palace. We have to set off as soon as possible, and try to find as many seishi possible on the way to the capital. That, of course, would be a slight inconvenience as it will take some time."

I leaned on the wooden wall of the stable, raising an eyebrow at him as I voiced my thoughts. "Wouldn't that mean that we would have to reveal who we are? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you said that we were supposed to keep a low profile?"

"Well," he replied, choosing his words carefully as he raised an eyebrow at me. I think he didn't expect me to even think of such a thing. "True. Still, the safety of Hokkan comes first, and we'll have to run a few risks if we want this to be over quickly."

"I see," I folded my arms, letting his words sink in. "So it'll be safe for us to reveal who we really are without you killing us?"

He glared at me before nodding. His eyes grew serious, however, as Iname walked out from the fields to join us, her eyes wide as she looked from Hikitsu to Takiko. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, clad in her dirt-smeared otoko clothes as she pushed a few loose strands of hair below her straw hat. "'jiisan said you wanted to talk to me. Is anything the matter? Why are all of you looking so serious?"

"Iname, we might have to leave tomorrow," I filled her in, nodding at Hikitsu. "We should already make a move on- news have come that the Kutou soldiers have already began to move up north. If they seize the capital, that's the end of Hokkan."

She nodded. "Wakata. I'll start packing tonight."

-------

The atmosphere was very tense the next morning when we set out to try to conquer Mount Taihun again. Everyone seemed so solemn that for once, everyone lost in their own thoughts. It was so silent until even I thought that everyone were reincarnations of Hikitsu who were born to worry their head off. It was so glum- even Takiko didn't make any smart comments for once. In fact, the silence was not only deafening, but also somehow…frightening.

"Ne," I finally spoke up, unable to withstand the lack of speech any longer. "You guys are acting like the end of the world is coming! Lighten up, people, we still have time. Don't worry; we'll get there in time."

I grinned, hoping to inspire some people into better moods, but was simply slapped in the face by another stony silence. Folding my arms while I held on wisely to the reins, I frowned. This wasn't like the first time we set out- it seemed as if we were escorting a coffin to a funeral of some sort. Genbu…

It was then that I spotted a pool of water not far ahead of us, and an idea came to my mind. It would be risky, but I knew that if I succeeded, I could probably lift their moods. Giving my mare a little dig with my feet, I forced her to go faster than her usual trot, stopping short just before the water and letting myself fly into the water, praying that this 'joke' would work.

At once, there were the sounds of galloping hoofs and shouts as the other three came galloping down with their horses with worried expressions on their faces. I sat up, wishing for a second that I hadn't done that, before changing my mind. I couldn't be indecisive!

"Tomite, are you all right?"

"Chamka, what were you thinking?!"

"Tomite-san, are you okay?"

All three voices came at once and I sweatdropped, wondering just how in Genbu's name did they expect me answer all three questions at once. "Well…ah…of course I'm okay. I did that on purpose, by the way."

Hikitsu glared at me. "Do you have nothing else on your mind except to fool around, Tomite? We don't have much time to get to the capital!"

"And you guys have to learn to get a life! Can't you tell a joke from something serious when you see one?" I shot back, standing up and shaking myself dry from the wet clothes I was in. "Do you guys notice that we haven't even been speaking to each other since we set off? Gods above, is it just me, or have your lips been sealed shut?!"

"Now isn't the time to be talking about these kind if things, Tomite!" Hikitsu's voice went louder as he got more impatient, but I stood on my ground. "The more time that we waste, the more time the Kutou army will gain to invade the capital, don't you see?"

This time, I lost my patience and my mind, if I were to sit it from how Takiko sees things. Striding over to Hikitsu's horse, I grabbed him by the shirt and forcefully pulled him down, almost causing his shirt to rip. Glaring at him, I pulled him closer.

"Listen, Mister We-are-worrying-because-we-don't-have-enough-time, worrying won't help any. Anxiety will just slow you down, as far as I know, and the more we do this, the more stressed up we'll get. Honestly, don't any of you think?"

He roughly shook himself out of my grip, giving the glare equivalent of Genbu's, even with that eye patch of his as he drew himself to full height and spoke coldly. "Perhaps you've failed to notice, Tomite, that if we were to keep up your optimism, we'll eventually lose out? Such things cannot be applied to this kind of situation! Sometimes, I wonder if you can really stop and think logically!"

"Oh? Then can you tell me what good will come out of worrying like hell?"

"Tomite, I'm warning you not to utter another word if you value your life," he threatened, and I reached for my bow, lest this should turn into a full fledged fight. "I will not listen to this nonsense!"

"Then you admit that no good comes out of worrying," I replied heatedly, feeling something in me wind round and round, getting ready to snap soon. "By the way, keep your warnings to yourself. I know how to protect myself, if you haven't noticed already."

Hikitsu was already muttering something under his breath when I fitted an arrow into my bow, getting ready to aim. Just as he let his ice snakes aim for me and when I let my bow fly, two transparent barriers appeared around the both of us, making us stop for a second and blink simultaneously.

Iname stepped up, watching as the ice snakes and arrow hit harmlessly on the barrier before giving the both of us a very angry look. "Well, I can only say one thing: I don't care if worrying gets us anywhere, but I can definitely say that this argument is wasting us enough time! Can't you guys act like your age?"

That was Iname talking in that furious, raging tone. Iname, the most patient seishi in our group, scolding us for acting like a bunch of kids. It took a while for the reality to sink in as we exchanged looks, the barrier still between us.

"Fine then," I huffed, fastening my bow behind me as I heaved myself up onto the saddle of my mare. "If this is the way it should be, fine. I surrender. Go on, convict me of trying to get some sense into those heads of yours."

Takiko shook her head, looking at me with a slight disapproving look on her face. "Chamka…"

I held up my hand, stopping her in mid sentence. "Fine, I'll follow you guys and make this worrisome group into a foursome. Excuse me while I worry," I spoke sarcastically, making up my mind to find my way home as soon as possible.

Folding my arms, I didn't even meet any of their gazes focused at me, refusing to look them in the eye. If they wanted it this way, so be it!

-------

The silence remained till nightfall, where I found myself accompanying Takiko to set up the camp and not to collect firewood; Iname went with Hikitsu instead. The both of us (me and Takiko) didn't exchange a word as we set up the two camps, until we went to unpack the food from the bags.

"Ne, Chamka."

I looked up pointedly at her from the salted vegetables that I was unpacking, giving her an impatient look. "What do you want now?"

"Why don't you apologize to Hikitsu? After all, the things that you said to him were rather hurtful- it's obvious that he would have argued with you by the way you spoke. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same."

I paused for a second before pulling savagely at a small paper packet of dried fish, venting my anger on the small helpless object. It was as if it had the other seishi's face imprinted on it, making it vulnerable to any attack from angry hands.

"Oh, so you're being sympathetic to him," I spat out sourly. "So he deserves sympathy and I don't? Great." I snorted. "Of course, he's the more perfect, well behaved seishi. Everyone will follow what he does and says. If he tells you guys to jump off a cliff, I'm sure you would do that, ne?"

Takiko looked hurt by that remark. "I didn't mean it that way," she protested, extracting a few bits of food from the packets that she had taken out. "It's just that I thought the things that you said to him were rather…unkind (I never knew she was the type to mince words). As much as I agree with you-"

"Aha!" I pointed out. "Even you agree that worrying doesn't get us anywhere, ne?"

She glared at me. "I haven't finished. As much as I agree with you, you should also have taken into consideration the fact that he was worrying for a good cause. He wasn't just anxious about something random; he was just wondering how we could arrive at the capital before the Kutou army attacked. If you can't understand that, Chamka, I seriously think you're in need of some medical treatment."

"Still-" I began to protest, only to be cut off by her.

She paused, looked at me pointedly in the eye and spoke decisively, pronouncing each word slowly as if I was deaf. "Well, I can only say one thing, Chamka. No one is ever the same- it's not unusual to find that Hikitsu doesn't agree with you. The both of you have different opinions. Whether you accept his opinion or not is, of course, up to you."

"Hmmph." I turned away, not speaking anymore to her, but the wheels in my head were turning. She did have a point- my accusations earlier did sound rather hurtful, come to think of it. It wasn't Hikitsu's fault that he was so worked up over this whole thing; in fact, all of us were equally as stressed up, even me.

Still, that didn't give him the ability to order you around! The small voice from the back of my head made its comeback and I snorted, pushing it to the side. HE was the one who wanted to pick a fight with you, ne? Shouldn't he be the one to blame?

"If only it were that simple," I mumbled under my breath as I snapped close the saddle bag that now smelled something like salt .

-------

With the both of us being of well…the different gender, Hikitsu and I had to share the same tent. There was no talking that night, and for some reason, I found it impossibly hard to sleep. Tossing and turning didn't help either- it just made me more restless than ever.

After having lying restlessly for about an hour, I got up and went out, hoping that some fresh night mountain air would do me good. The sky was so clear that night- you could practically see all the constellations in the sky, all seven of them. Let's see, there was Uruki and Iname and Hiki-

"Can't sleep, Tomite?"

I blinked, distracted from my counting as Hikitsu took a seat beside me, his silver hair looking rather untidy and his eye patch off. He turned to look at me, and nodded, giving me a slight smile before looking at the sky. "Funny how fate can get in the way of living, ne?"

I cast a surprised look at him. What did he mean by that? "I don't understand."

"It's the human nature to not accept things that are presented to his face when he or she doesn't want to hear about it," he continued, not listening to my reply. "They usually get a little carried away- until they can get to the extent of hurting others, if you understand what I mean."

"So…"

He smiled, turning to look at me, and for once, I got a full view of him without his eye patch- and the eye shut close forever with a symbol engraved over it. "Perhaps I was a little too anxious today. I apologize for my actions earlier."

How was he able to do that when he was looking straight at my face was something I never discovered. His apology had taken me by surprise; I hadn't known that even he had been kept awake by the same problem.

"It's okay…" I spoke slowly, not lifting my eyes from the floor. "I was wrong too, in a way. Instead of just shooting my mouth off, I should have grasped the situation better- the words I said were cruel. Gomen nasai."

He clapped me on the back. "Apology accepted. By the way, Tomite, you have to work on your tact and patience."

"As if you have got any," I shot back, this time playfully.

He grinned. "I have enough. Don't worry, we'll train you up on that, ne?"

We laughed, and for the first time that night after we went back to the tent, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.


Author's Notes:

Hikitsu and Tomite ARGUE! *looks horrified* Well, at least no one got hurt, anyway, thanks to Iname. To tell the truth, this was another surprising chapter; I think I've got one of those 'Arguing never gets you anywhere' things in me turned on. *searches for the on/off switch*

As you guessed, Iname went to advise Hikitsu while Takiko did the same to Tomite. Yes, stubborn, mule-headed Tomite wouldn't listen, but as you know, he has a heart and an intuition. Surely he couldn't be angry with Hikitsu was so long, ne? ^_^

I'm afraid this chapter is rather long in terms of sentences- they seem to be spanning longer and longer as the minutes pass. Eep. . Not good. This is definitely not a good sign- I might bore you readers (and reviewers, I hope ^_~) to death! Hmm…

Not much of a chapter for this one; mostly discussing about the plans that have been laid. Oh, and by the way, the pitchfork throwing isn't counted as whacking, as it doesn't hit Tomite. Of course, that was a rather interesting scene, ne? ^^

Tomite: Sadistic author. -_-

Whatever. *looks at chapters* Sugoi…I've got 13 chapters up now (not including prologue, of course)! Two more chapters and I reach 15…must have some type of celebration. *goes to make self congratulatory banner* Hehehe ^_^;; By the way, notice that this is chapter 13. Eep. No wonder this chapter's so screwed up; an unlucky number. .

Just asking, but I'm curious to know now if anyone likes the Tomite/Iname pairing. Not that I'm going to use it, but if enough people like it, I just might write a fic about that. Tell me in your reviews! Of course, that might take a long time to churn out; I still have Hikitsu's side story to churn out. . Have to stay focused, you see, so if I ever get around to seeing those reviews, I'll try to type it as a sub project, okay??

Takiko: You mean you aren't enjoying yourself? Why do you consider it as a project, like at school?

I would like it if I wasn't inflicted with writer's block. *sweatdrop* That's the only drawback to writing fanfics, I guess; you just have to accept those temporary blackouts of creativity in your brain. *sighs*

Oh, and don't forget to continue reviewing! Remember, I watch my reviews, so I know who reviews and who doesn't (is that truly possible??)! I also know who are my usual reviewers! ^_~

And who is the first reviewer this time round?? Why, it's....*drumroll* Flying Heart! You're the best, girl!! Oh, and nuri-chan, thanks for the many, many reviews! Don't worry about missing those chapters- there'll be more to come! As for Nyan-nyan neko...what do you mean by 'it's rather weird'? ^^

Okay then, until next time, ja ne~!