Disclaimer: *hums song* Ladida…I don't own Fushigi Yuugi…lalala…


Only one thing came to my mind when I first opened my eyes: COLD. No, make that freezing. I shivered, reaching a shaking hand out for my warm blanket, only to find that I was already using it, yet the coldness still penetrated the warm cotton material.

To tell the truth, I had sort of expected the weather up the mountain to be rather extreme, but not this cold. Genbu, this was even colder than my village during the winter! Believe me, even living in a house that has holes on each of its walls is MUCH better than sleeping on a mountain where the temperature can drop under the freezing point.

"Brrrrrr," I managed to say as I tried my best to wrap the blanket as many times around me. I was definitely not going out in this type of temperature no matter what- someone would have to drag me out first! Besides, anyone who went out now had to be crazy-

It was then that Hikitsu stuck his head into the tent from outside. "Tomite, are you awake already? Come give me a hand on packing the things- the girls aren't awake yet."

I stared at him, my eyes wide as saucers while my jaw fell, hanging in the air. Gods above, how could he stand there and say that without commenting on how low the temperature was? "Er, Hikitsu? In case you haven't noticed, it's freezing cold out there?!"

He raised an eyebrow at me as he entered the tent, his arms folded. "Well, we'll have to get used to this if we're going to look for the other seishi, Tomite. Besides, this isn't so bad; the sun's just risen actually. It's only bad when it's raining- or even worse, snowing."

I shuddered at the thought of seeing the entire mountain covered with snow, and suddenly had a bizarre though if the villagers were worshipping another god where they sent innocent people to die as sacrifice up on this mountain. Besides, what did he mean by saying that 'it wasn't so bad'? Did he want me (and the others too…but I come first) to freeze into an ice cube?

He was tapping his foot impatiently on the ground now, looking at me. "Well, you should get up soon. As much as I'd like to do the packing myself, I could use another hand."

With that, he shrugged and went out, opening the flap just enough to let in a small chilly wind waft into the tent, and I shivered, feeling everywhere for my thickest jackets and scarves. Why me? Why not the girls? Why not the head-hitting onna?

-------

It took me approximately 20 minutes just to get dressed, after I found all my things and piled on layer after layer until I had the stomach of a small elephant before wobbling out. Hikitsu was busy arranging a few things and putting it into a saddle bag, so he didn't see me at first until I knelt down beside him to watch what he was doing. Then he noticed my…10 layers of clothes.

His eyes (or should that be eye?) seem to grow as wide as saucers as they swung from the many layers of clothing that I was wearing to my face, searching me for an explanation. Finally, when I didn't say anything, he cleared his throat.

"Uh…Tomite, I know it's cold, but I don't think it'll be that cold up here. You needn't wear so many clothes- it'll get warmer in the day, I'm sure," he manage to sputter out, and I felt my face turn red. "Besides, the weather here isn't that bad- maybe you should save the excess clothes for later?"

"Can I help it if I'm cold?" I complained after he forced me to take off at least 7 layers. Okay, maybe outside wasn't as cold as I thought it was, but it was better to be safe than sorry! At least I didn't become the ice cube of the year…

The tall silver haired seishi frowned slightly as he threw a gaze at the girls' tent. "I think we should be getting a move on already- the sun is getting rather high in the sky, and we don't have any daylight to spare if we just waste time. Why don't you do the honours, Tomite?" he changed the subject skillfully, giving me a side look.

I was about to reply, but just as I opened my mouth, it came to me that he had a wife (and a very pretty one too, I have to say) and was most probably trying to keep his vows. Then, sighing, I shrugged and headed towards the girls' camp, praying hard to Genbu that the both of them slept fully clothed. If not…let's just say that I was going to die from the lack of blood in my system before the day was even over.

Weirdly enough, I could feel the blood pounding in my ears as I took step after step closer to the simple dark green tent. There was no noise to be heard from inside, and I prayed silently to Genbu that the both of them were still fast asleep. I paused in front, trying to listen for any signs that any of the girls might be awake, only to hear nothing but peaceful snores (which, no doubt, had to come from Takiko's mouth).

"Takiko? Iname?" I called out hopefully, waiting for a reply from either of the, but there was none. I sweatdropped, throwing a doubtful look at Hikitsu who had now busied himself by repacking the things he had already packed. I glared at him, somehow feeling that he had done this on purpose before gulping. "Takiko, Iname, I'm coming in!"

Still no reply. I swallowed and slowly pushed the flap open, only to be greeted by a sigh that I knew I would never forget for the rest of my life. Takiko was sprawled on the ground, her blanket totally kicked off while she gave a loud sigh and turned over, while Iname was in almost the same position. And to think of the fact that one of the girls (I think it was Takiko, but I was losing blood- fast) was wearing shorts made blood pump out of my nose, and I squeaked, looking around frantically for something to stop the bleeding before either of them woke up.

Looking left and right, I finally spotted a small strip of cloth on the floor near Iname's legs, and I swallowed. It was going to take me extremely good flexibility to do this, but it was a risk I had to take if I didn't want to get caught.

Stretching over Takiko's body that was the closest to me, I reached out my hand, almost grazing my fingers on the material. A little more…a little more…

The next thing was what I had been dreading the most since I had entered the tent: I lost my balance. Balancing on one foot hadn't been easy, especially when you were going to stretch, and so, I wobbled a little before falling face down and landing on…Takiko's chest area. Genbu…I was dead. Dead, dead, dead. It couldn't get any worse than this…ne?

Just to prove that this could be much worse, Genbu had to make Takiko stir. The only thing I could think when she opened her eyes and looked down at me was 'Shimata…'. I was dead.

"Ehehehe…?" I offered weakly.

There was a silence and-

"HENTAI!!"

WHACK!

-------

I think I died of a concussion after that whack that was dealt to me. Touching the sore spot gingerly, I flinched as the pain burnt through my skull, making it sting. Damn onna, it hurt!

I glared at Takiko, rubbing the gigantic bump on my head as Iname sweatdropped. Genbu, if she wasn't a girl, I'd beat her up for attempting to kill me! "You didn't have to hit so hard, you know?"

Her glare was no worse than mine as she folded her arms, wrapping her scarf around her neck. "Well, for one thing, I don't go intruding into anyone sleeping and be hentai before making up some crap about trying to wake them up!" she shot back heatedly.

"It's not a lie! For your information, I was trying to wake the both of you up because Hikitsu asked me too!" I replied, not taking my glare off her. "Besides, what are you so worked up about? It's not as if you're that endowed."

She looked more furious than horrified at my comment, and I knew that I had said something wrong. "I knew it! So you were being hentai! You admitted at last on where your eyes were!"

"So my eyes were somewhere else, but I came with a good intention!"

"Oh, so the act of being hentai is a good intention? I never knew they changed society rules around here! Since when does being hentai mean 'good' may I ask?!"

"Ano…" Iname sweatdropped as she held up a hand. "Takiko-san, I don't think Tomite-san was intending to do anything…bad when he came in. Perhaps we should believe him?"

"And why should I believe someone whose nose was bleeding like a waterfall?" Takiko demanded, her eyes flaring as she gazed sharply at Iname, making the crossdressing seishi recoil. "You didn't think I'd notice that, ne, Chamka? How do you explain that?"

"Could I help it if you only wear shorts to sleep, for Genbu's sake? Besides, with this weather up here, who in their right mind would wear shorts to sleep?!"

"Ahem." Hikitsu cleared his throat, stopping the argument at once. "I believe that we shouldn't waste time arguing- as Iname here puts it- as it'll just lengthen our journey. Could I ask for the both of you to cooperate and not fight?" he spoke, eyeing both me and Takiko.

"Well, that depends whether Chamka here wants to cooperate in the first place," Takiko huffed and I straightened up indignantly.

"Oh, so I'm to blame now, am I?" I shot back, giving her the fiercest glare that I could muster. "Why can't you just stop and think for a minute who's actually slowing us down by her inability to ride horses and also eats like a pig and dresses like a-"

"TOMITE."

Hikitsu gave me a warning look and I felt my anger ebb away slightly, shuddering slightly at the thought of my past experience when I had had my lower half frozen in ice for Genbu knows how long.

Takiko smirked, sticking out her tongue at me. "You tell him, Hikitsu! Sometimes, he just has to learn a thing or two, ne?"

The silver haired seishi's glare shifted to her, and I could feel a huge relief in me as he fixed his sharp eyes on her. "I expect some cooperation from you too, Takiko-san. Despite the fact that you are the Genbu no miko, I shall not hesitate to take any action."

Iname let out a low whistle under her breath, deciding wisely (or so I thought) not to say a word lest she should be showered with that intimidating glare from Hikitsu himself. Noticing my eyes on her, she shrugged and looked away, with a vague tint of pink on her cheeks…but that could have been my imagination.

"Let's go," Hikitsu finally spoke after a long pause and much shrinking from Takiko as he gave her the Glare. "Remember your promises, you two. You don't want to be frozen on your way up, do you?"

"No," we mumbled simultaneously, not looking at him.

As I mounted my horse, though, I overheard Iname speaking to Hikitsu regarding his strictness earlier.

"Oh, that?" he smiled rather warmly. "I have two sons back in my village, so I know how to handle this. Those two argue like kids- I just wonder when they'll actually grow up."

So he knew how to handle things like this. Talk about a father figure, I snorted as I hoisted myself up and watching once again, as Takiko made a truly comical scene by falling off her horse at least a dozen times before an alarmed Iname came to help her.

-------

The journey up made me slightly dizzy, judging by how many spiraling loops we had to go round, each time requiring precise balance from our horses, or we'd plummet to our death. This time, the atmosphere was lighter, with snatches of conversation between the group. Takiko and I were of course, trying our best not to argue, but it seemed so hard when even the mere sight of each other's face could set us off like cats and dogs.

"Ne," I complained finally, rubbing my nose as I sniffed, trying to clear it. "How long more before we arrive at the top? We seem o be taking an awfully long time just to ascend- I know it usually takes longer, but this is ridiculous."

Hikitsu slowed his snowy white stallion to a halt as he checked the map that he had been given in the village. "Well, according to what it says here, we shouldn't take very long before arriving. I'd give it…another half a day, judging my the weather conditions around here."

Weather conditions indeed. As we went up higher, the climate got crazier and crazier, I tell you. The temperature seemed to drop to a new all time low, and all four of us had to finally make use of the extra clothes that had been bought from the village earlier for this purpose. Still, that didn't seem to be enough, and I sneezed, drawing looks of concern from Iname.

"Ano…Hikitsu-san?" she spoke up, her voice now losing its manly tone, I noticed. "Perhaps we should rest for a while; I don't think Tomite-san is taking this weather very well. Besides, the horses need a rest and Takiko-san…"

I threw her a look, and noticed that she looked rather pale in comparison to her normal rosy cheeks. I guessed the cold finally caught up with her, judging by how deathly pale she was and raised an eyebrow at Hikitsu. "Well, Hikitsu, she's got a point. We could continue later- the sun still seems to be high in the sky, but it's better if we settle down to lunch first. Even our head-hitting miko here is weak from the cold or from hunger, ne?"

"Urusai, Chamka," she spoke, her voice almost inaudible now against the rising wind that was blowing towards her. "I don't need your comments…"

"Takiko-san?" Iname's voice was worried. "Are you okay?"

"Just a feeling a little numb from the cold. Nothing much to worry about."

Hikitsu sighed. "Let's see if we can find a clearing around here. We should stop for lunch, I guess, and perhaps get an adequate fire to warm us. Takiko-san, why don't you take a blanket and wrap it around yourself or do something like that?" he suggested, making his stallion trot, and I followed him, hearing the soft clip-clop of the hooves as we rounded a corner and got the wind at full blast.

"Is this the Devil's Wind that you were trying to tell me about?" I yelled over the roars of the hurricane-like wind. Hikitsu had mentioned to me something about a fierce wind which was impossible to pass through (well, that was what the villagers said), and could generate much damage if left alone.

"I'm not surprised if it is!" Hikitsu yelled back, holding a hand on top of his eyes to try shield them from the fierce gale while his long silver hair was blown to the back. "This won't be easy to pass through, but once we get through this, the rest of the journey should be smooth!"

Smooth, my foot. Looking at the wind that was most probably blowing at us at a million miles per hour, I cast an impassive glance at the girls, and noticed that the two of them were having great difficulty just walking in the direction of the windstorm. Then again, even I could barely move a step in this wind, and my mare neighed whiningly in response.

We pushed further into the wind, each step that our horses took making the gale worse, until all we could do was try not to fall off and hang on tight. Genbu, this wasn't working…

"There must be some way to get through this!" I yelled exasperatedly, my patience finally snapping as I shielded my eyes from the dust that was being blown towards us. "Can't any of our seishi powers help us out in this?"

A light bulb seemed to have lit up in Iname's head as she transferred her horse's reins to her right hand and looked at her left palm very doubtfully. Then, shrugging, she held her palm out, concentrating hard as she closed her eyes.

I wasn't sure what happened next, but I heard a loud whoosh beside me, and suddenly felt the wind subsiding slightly. I could still feel the gale, but its subdued force was now several levels lower than what it had been before, much to everyone's relief. Iname's eyes were still closed as she spoke, her voice impatient.

"Go! I can only hold the wind off the cliff for some time. My powers aren't enough- hurry!"

The three of us seemed to grasp her command fast enough as we pushed our horses to quicken their paces to a fast trot but not a gallop, lest we should suddenly round a corner and fall off the other side. Just as everyone including Iname was around the corner, there was another loud whoosh, and the gale arrived back at the exact spot where we had just been standing, blocking our view of the other side. This time, its intensity was so much that it easily broke off a huge chunk of the mountain wall which was blown to the bottom of the mountain where it shattered with a loud crash.

There was silence in the group as we stared, wide mouthed at Iname. How did she do that?

"That could have been us," Takiko whispered, looking down over the side of the footpath which was now covered with undergrowth and grass, then transferring her bewildered gaze to the crossdressing seishi. "Iname-chan, how did you do that?"

The yellow eyed seishi's shoulders seemed to sag as she looked up, giving Takiko a slight smile before straightening up, looking clearly out of energy. "Well, my seishi power is controlling the wind, so I thought that if I focused enough, I might just be able to use it to battle that."

I exchanged looks with Hikitsu, exchanging what seemed to be a telepathic message between us on what had actually happened. She had the power to battle that fierce gale, which even made the both of us look like little ducklings in the pond. Genbu…if she was one of the Kutou soldiers, we'd be dead by now.

"Well," I finally spoke up, breaking out of my astonishment. "I thought we were stopping for food. Maybe we should find somewhere else more protected, though- I don't fancy eating near a hurricane or such that has the potential of blowing me to the foot of this mountain."

Hikitsu frowned, one hand combing through his long hair, a sign that I learned showed that he was deep in thought. "Well, I don't like that very much myself, but I'm afraid the further up we go, the harder it is for us to find firewood. It'll be fatal if we don't get somewhere to warm ourselves, but I don't think going back through that wind is a wise thing to do…"

"Couldn't we just -ACHOO!- burn some leaves or grass or something like that?" Takiko suggested, rubbing her very red nose after her sneeze. I couldn't blame her- it was so cold that someone could die up here. Genbu, why did you have to govern over such a freaking cold land?

"Look around you, head hitting miko," I spoke dryly. "I see weeds, but I can't say that we'll be able to get dry ones. Judging by our surroundings, I'd say that we're in a place where rain is quite frequent. Even if we get anything dry-"

I just had to say it. I just had to say it. There was suddenly a loud clap of thunder overhead, and a flash of lightning before the first few gigantic droplets of rain descended upon us. Mentally, I cursed Genbu, forcing my exhausted mare to go faster. Of all the freaking things…!


Author's notes:

Ah…RAIN. Good in hot places, not good in cold places. I live in a hot country (go on, track me down ^_^), so I like rain. Can you blame me? I think I need inspiration… *goes to read Kaze-chan's story yet again*

*kills chapter* I don't like this chapter- it seems to drag things even longer and longer. Okay, maybe the first half was fun- I know you people were just dying for another scene like that, ne?? ^^The second half was well, boring, or should I put in a more specific way: BORING! Aggh…writer's block strikes yet again…

*grabs head* Someone recommend a good FY story that I could get some ideas from! No, I won't be doing any plagiarism (shame on you! Do you really think I'd do a thing like that?), but frankly, I need something to get my creative juices flowing once again. Life is so boring now that it has left me void of ideas…

Tomite: You can say that again! Do you know how many times you've used the words 'lest'? I'm not actually a person who uses 'old' words, if you get what I mean!

*whacks him* Whatever. And that isn't counted as I whacked him, not Takiko. Notice that that sentence's grammar (Tomite's, I mean) is off. See? I told you so! Fine, enough of the depression due to the writer's block… *sighs*

Chapter 14 out. Woo. Juufan is severely deprived of entertainment. And so… *goes running after everyone with a pair of blood-covered meat cleavers* Run, you worthless

Tomite, what are you DOING?! Don't insult the reviewers! *looks shocked* Shoo! Go do something constructive like build up your vocabulary or something like that. I need to look for more words to use for you. Ah...anyway… ^_^;;

Can't say that I've anything much to say at the moment except for the fact that I'm VERY bored, and having my computer privileges taken away from me is interesting. Exams are bad. .

Please review, no da!! Maybe if I see more than the normal 4 reviews (not that I'm complaining), I could get some inspiration! And if that doesn't help me, I don't know what will… *sighs*

Flying Heart...you're the only one who reviewed me this time round. *sighs* Am I becomind that unpopular? Oh well, congratulations, though!! You go, girl!!

Okay then, until next time, ja ne~!