Disclaimer: FY? Me own it? Never in a million years.
It was nightfall when we finally arrived at a quaint little town, much to Takiko's relief, of course. She had dashed off with such astounding speed when we had gotten the rooms that she even rivaled my own and Hikitsu's, which was well…scary. Iname, too, had been left at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the cloud of dust that used to be the Genbu no miko a few minutes ago.
"Did something happen to her?" Hikitsu questioned me as he heard a door slam somewhere on the third floor, where our rooms were supposed to be. "Tomite, you should know something, don't you? Why is Takiko-san in such a hurry?"
"Call of nature, I guess," I shrugged, sweatdropping as I saw Takiko's small bundle of clothes lying beside my things. "Do I really have to take her things up? Isn't it bad enough that I have to carry my own?"
Hikitsu raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "Well, Iname-san has her own things to take care of, and since you have the least things to carry, you could at least try to help by bringing the clothes up for Takiko-san even if she has…a call of nature as you said. Besides, you have the best sense of direction among the three of us; you should be able to lead the way, ne, Tomite?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "Genbu, how do I always get sucked into doing these kind of things? Fine, I'll bring her things up on one condition- that I'm not going to touch anything of hers of unpack for her or anything of that sort. Anyone suggest that and they're going to die from a hideous arrow wound."
"No one's asking you to do that," Iname pointed out with a shrug. "All Hikitsu-san asked you to do was to take Takiko-san's things upstairs. Of course, I could do it for you if you like…"
"Well, you're very welcome…not to," I sweatdropped at the sight of Hikitsu's looming glare. "I…think I should be able to handle a little excess luggage by my own. Nothing much- I'm an otoko too, ne?"
I laughed nervously, relaxing slightly when Hikitsu took his glare off me. "Very well, then," Hikitsu spoke, brushing some dust off his sleeve. "I take it I'll see you after you've completed your errands, Tomite. Iname-san, please inform Takiko-san to go down for dinner when she feels she's…healthy enough to join us."
I muttered a fluent curse under my breath as I picked up the head-hitting miko's bags that had been conveniently put near my feet. Why did I always have to be the victim?
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Takiko only came down halfway through dinner, drawing a few weird looks from the three of us due to her pale face. She seemed to be wobbling slightly as she sat down, but smilingly told us that she was fine and that she just had a minor cold. Takiko smile? There was definitely something wrong with her.
"Ne, head-hitting miko, are you all right?" I tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible, averting my eyes to avoid any inquisitive looks from both Hikitsu and Iname. "For one thing, you smiled at everyone- a thing you don't do that often."
She smiled again, and I knew that there was something definitely wrong. "Don't worry, Chamka. As I said, I'm okay; I've just caught a minor cold due to the weather up in the mountains. Nothing much."
Nothing much, my foot. No one caught minor colds up in the mountains of Hokkan; it was either you were healthy or close to death with pneumonia, and at that moment she seemed to resemble more of the latter, judging my how deathly pale her face was. "Don't lie, baka onna. It's obvious by your face that you're hiding something. Are you sick?"
"I already said-"
Snorting, I eyed her doubtfully, taking in the fact that she hadn't even touched the food that we had ordered for her. "That's enough from you, baka head-hitting miko. You're going to see a doctor whether you like it or not- we can't afford you falling sick and dying when we're just a day's journey away from the capital."
"That's my point exactly. I can always get some treatment at the capital and-"
"Takiko-san, I'd have to agree with Tomite on this," Hikitsu spoke up, setting down his chopsticks on the table silently as he nodded at me. "If you're sick, it may be fatal, especially if it's been caused by the mountain climate. The best resort is for you to let a doctor attend to you immediately. I'm sure there has to be one around here."
"But-"
My impatience was already bubbling over the limit as I stood up, wrapping a hand around her wrist and dragged her off, avoiding any eye contact with anyone in the room while Takiko squealed in surprise and tried to shake herself off. "Chamka! What are you doing?!"
"Taking you to the doctor before your baka disease spreads to the rest of us," I replied, shivering slightly as we came out to the open, cold air touching our skins. "I don't want to get sick like you- I've never been as sick as that and never want to be. Now, are you going to walk or do you want me to carry you?"
"NANI?!"
"I take it that you want to walk," I spoke decisively, letting go of her wrist as I sighed. "Sometimes, you shouldn't overwork yourself, damn head-hitting onna. Too much stress isn't good for you- some people have died from worrying too much. Besides, if you die, who'll summon Genbu?"
She was silent, an I almost thought that she had fainted right there and then. "Baka," she whispered finally, and I blinked. That definitely hadn't been the answer that I had been waiting for- something along the lines of 'hentai' and 'perverted' was more of what I was expecting. "Baka…baka no Chamka…"
I was even more confused now, not to mention both astonished and worried too. Was she beginning to babble incoherently like that old man that died from pneumonia in my village three months ago? "Um…excuse me?"
"Baka!" she screamed at me, and my eyes widened. Okay, now I really WAS confused. What did she mean by calling me stupid all of a sudden? As far as I knew, all my actions had nothing stupid nor perverted in them, so why was she standing there and screaming 'baka' at the top of her voice?
"…Takiko, are you okay?"
"You…you act just as if you're my brother…always acting fierce but actually…" she whispered, looking down, and it hit me instantly. She was having one of those bouts of homesickness again. Genbu, why do I always have to handle her when she was in this type of a condition? "You never care about anyone; you just pretend to, but aniki…he always…he…"
"…Takiko?"
At that moment, she looked up and collapsed.
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"You were supposed to take care of her!" Hikitsu bellowed in my ear after I had ran approximately from one end of the village to the other to tell him about Takiko's condition after sending her to the doctor. "What were you doing, Tomite?"
"I was trying to figure out why she was acting so weirdly!" I shot back defensively, glaring daggers at him with my hand on my hips. "She was babbling something about her brother, so I got a little curious and stopped for a while. Don't tell me you're going to begrudge me of a little curiosity?"
His eyes were cold as he drew up straight and folded his arms. "Curiosity kills the cat, Tomite, and in this case, Takiko-san was almost the cat. Thank Genbu that she's got a good immunisation system- a little longer and she could have died! Couldn't your small talk have waited, Tomite?"
"Well, it wasn't my fault that she suddenly stopped and called me 'baka', was it?"
"What?" Hikitsu looked as confused as Iname, and I waved my hands. They didn't need to know about that issue, and I don't think our baka miko was in the mood to discuss at this very moment anyway.
"Nothing that'll interest you, as far as I know. All I can say is that she was acting funny, so I stopped and wanted to see if she was getting worse. Don't tell me that was wrong too?" I shot at him, feeling as ticked off as he did. It wasn't my fault that that had happened to Takiko, but did he have to blame me for everything?
He shook his head in frustration, extending one hand out as a sign of a truce. "Let's stop the finger-pointing now," he sighed, inhaling deeply. "It's not going to help either of us if we're going to argue the entire night away. How is Takiko-san, as you say?"
"Kiyome-san says that she just has a touch of pneumonia, but she'll have to remain in the village for a few days for some rest. Apparently, her body's too weak to take any more punishment from the riding that we've been doing," I replied, pulling a chair from under the table to sit. "This'll extend our journey a little longer, unless you'd rather go when she's sick."
Eyeing him carefully, I could practically see wrinkles popping up on the bridge of his nose and his forehead as he rubbed his temples. "We were this close to the capital, and this has to happen. Genbu, and the Kutou army might arrive to conquer us any day. This isn't good…"
"Hikitsu-san, we can't do anything if Takiko-san is in this condition," Iname finally spoke up from her seat, her voice quiet and reflecting. "If you'd allow me, I can always ride to the capital to inform them of Takiko-san's condition, but…"
"They won't believe us," I finished her sentence stonily. "Lately, especially with the rumours of the Kutou army approaching the capital, many people have been trying to impersonate the miko and her seishi for the sake of getting protection and money from the emperor. Don't take the people from the palace as stupid idiots; they're not, trust me. They'll probably just kick us out, thinking that we're some bounty hunters of some sort."
"Tomite's right," the silver haired seishi spoke slowly, dragging a finger across the slightly oily surface of the table. "The guards won't simply let us through without proof that we have the miko with us. Some people have even gone as far as being able to duplicate our symbols, but they won't believe us until we have proof."
"We do have proof!" Iname argued, her yellow eyes flashing angrily. "We have our powers, don't we? Isn't that sufficient proof that we are indeed seishi and not some lowly imposter who only thinks about themselves?"
"People…can learn black magic," I rolled my eyes, stating the obvious. "Still, I guess we'll have to wait for the head-hitting miko to get better- it's much better if we go in a group. We don't want to get ambushed half way, do we?"
She sighed in defeat, looking slightly deflated. "Well… that's true, I guess. Hikitsu-san, who'll look after Takiko-san tonight?"
"I will," I spoke even without thinking, then bringing my hands to my mouth. What had I just said? Why was I volunteering to take care of a sick head-hitting onna? Was I out of my mind? "Uh…I meant-"
"Very well, then, it's settled," the tall seishi nodded at me, and I sweatdropped. Not me! "Tomite, since you're the only one who knows where the doctor is, you can ride across the village to look after Takiko-san. I think it's better if you used my horse though- yours looks a little exhausted. Perhaps you should let it rest for tonight. Come, Iname-san, I think it's best if we turn in. Good night, Tomite."
"Demo…matte!" I could only call after them as they disappeared to the staircase. "Teme…why is it always ME?!"
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Let me tell you something: sleeping on a chair because you have to take care of someone is definitely not fun. The only good thing is that it's warm in the house; apparently, Takiko had to be kept warm to make sure her temperature went down. Some tough miko we had.
But you're glad about that, aren't you?
Oh, great. Just when it wasn't needed, that little irritating voice had made yet another appearance in my head, this time much more annoying than usual. "Shut up," I muttered, averting my eyes to watch the crackling flames in the fireplace. "I don't need any of your stupid opinions. Go away."
Oh, so you don't? Then tell me, Tan Chamka, how do you feel about Takiko?
"You say another word and I'm permanently dislodging my head from my body," I growled under my breath almost threateningly. "I don't need any comments now- I just want to go to sleep."
"Chamka, why are you talking to yourself?"
I blinked, hearing the soft, weak tone of Takiko's voice and spun to face the bed. She lay there, blinking almost drowsily as she took in her surroundings. "Where are we? Aren't we supposed to be staying at the inn? Why have we moved, Chamka? Where's Hikitsu and Iname?"
"Whoa, slow down," I held out two hands, sighing. "Not so fast; one at a time. First of all, why are you trying to sit up? If anything happens to you, Hikitsu will have my head and I won't have any skull," I huffed, folding my arms and flushing for some reason that was beyond my knowledge. "Lie down if you want me to answer all your questions. I don't need any more stress as it is."
Surprisingly, she was obedient for once as she settled down once more on the pillows. "Well?"
"Let's see, you went rambling something about how much of a baka I was compared to your brother, then you started screaming 'baka' in public for no apparent reason," I ticked off my fingers, listing everything. "Suddenly, you collapsed, leaving me with no inkling of what happened to you and I had to ride halfway across the village to send you here and ride back just to inform Hikitsu and Iname about your condition. Happy?"
Apparently, she wasn't, for she was staring at me with somewhat widened eyes. "I spoke to you about aniki…?"
Nodding, I clasped my hands behind my head, wincing slightly at the stiff back that I had gotten from sitting up for too long. "Something of that sort. You had an aniki? You never told me about him- all I heard from you was always about your father."
"…I never thought I would talk about him again," she spoke, her hands clenching the blankets that she was wrapped in. "Aniki died in a car accident together with kaasan; he protected me and kaasan protected otousan. It happened so fast…yet ten years have passed already."
"What's a 'car'?"
"Well…it's sort of hard to explain," she tried to draw out the rough image of this 'car' the she was talking about. "It has two seats in the front- one where the driver can sit and another passenger. Aniki and I usually sit at the back, while otousan always drives."
This 'car' thing had already began to sound like something out of this world. "Is it drawn by horses, like a cart?"
"…No," she sweatdropped, scratching her head as she tried to find words to define this weird means of transportation. "It has an engine; we don't use anymore horses. Those who use them are usually from the countryside, not from the town like my family."
I must have looked really comical, for she suddenly began to laugh, her eyes crinkling up just like the time she had insulted me before we met Hikitsu. "What's so funny?"
"Chamka, you're hopeless," she giggled, making a face at me. "I wish I had a camera so I could capture that look on your face."
I was not going to go into another discussion on the weird objects that she had in her world. Transportation that needed no horses- was she mad? The only way anyone could get around anywhere was either my walking or by horses. Why would anyone ride on something that could move by itself? I'm sure that camera thing that she was laughing about also had some weird uses- I didn't want to find out.
There was a soft knock on the door and Kiyome-san looked in, her brown eyes smiling when she saw Takiko laughing. "It seems as if you're feeling better already, Takiko-san. I'm afraid you'll have to tone down a little, though, for you shouldn't overexert yourself. I'll be bringing you some medicine in a few minutes- don't let her do anything taxing, Chamka-san."
As the door closed behind her, I was knocked to the floor by a pillow that hit me squarely on the back of my head. "Ow! What was that for?!"
Takiko folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at me. "You can't escape these eagle eyes of mine, Chamka- you were staring at her. Baka hentai!"
"Genbu, doesn't being sick make you any weaker?" I groaned, grimacing as I picked up the pillow on the floor and smoothed it. "Sick people are supposed to lie in beds and be pampered like babies, as far as I know. Can't you just act like one just for now and stop throwing things at me?"
"I'm sick, not paralyzed," she argued, holding up yet another pillow as a threat and I surrendered, holding out two hands. "Of all the doctors you had to go look for, did you really have to look for a female one for yourself to ogle? Sometimes I really wonder about what your true intentions are, Chamka…"
"Well, excuse me for going to look for the only doctor that was open after dinner," I snapped back, glaring at her and forgetting all at once not to make Takiko angry. "I could've had an early dinner and gone straight to bed if it weren't for you. And for your information, miko-sama, has it ever entered your head that it would be better to get a female doctor for yourself than a male one? Have you ever heard of harassment?"
"That's not the point! You were staring at her!"
I folded my arms, snorting. "Does that mean anything? I'll stare at any girl…except you maybe. Are you sure you're an onna in the first place?" I raised an eyebrow, only to get hit in the head by yet another pillow that came flying in my direction. "Ow! Stop it, already, will you?"
"Say another word and I'll suffocate you with pillows," she threatened, raising yet ANOTHER pillow from the bed. Gods, just how many pillows did Kiyome-san provide this head-hitting miko with for the night? I definitely had to talk to her about reducing the number of pillows to avoid myself from being suffocated in the future.
Suddenly, her face went pale and she dropped the pillow that she was holding, falling back on the bed. "Itai…my head hurts. Damn baka Chamka…you only know how to hurt people…"
With that, she suddenly grew quiet and I blinked, alarm bells going off in my head all at once. Peering anxiously over the side of the bed lest she should suddenly aim a fluffy pillow at my face, I sweatdropped, seeing her breathing normally and of course, well asleep on the bed. How could one fall asleep when having a pillow fight was beyond me, though.
"Oh dear…she's asleep already?"
I turned to see Kiyome-san standing in the doorway, holding a bowl of hot, steaming (and I'm sure nasty tasting too) medicine that she had brewed for Takiko. "I guess it's for the best- she needs to sleep her fever off, but she'll be weak for a while. I'll put the medicine here, Chamka-san; could you give it to her when she wakes up?"
"I guess so," I shrugged, watching as Takiko snored softly on the bed, not paying any attention at all to her surroundings. If only I had the courage to say…that I hadn't been looking at Kiyome, I had been worrying whether Takiko herself could last the journey to search for the rest of the Genbu seishi that was spread all over this country of Hokkan. I didn't want her to die.
Author's notes:
Wahahahahaha! *grins evilly* The evil gods of um…evilness (!) have struck again, and I am now making Tomite going through some real fun turbulence!
Tomite: How can turbulence be fun? *spot Juufan's EVIL look on face* Um…forget I asked. I don't want to know, do I?
Oh, poor Tomite, you beloved Takiko's sick (Tomite: She is not my beloved! Shut up!) and you're so worried! Isn't that sweet?? Awwwwww!!
Tomite: I'm ignoring you. Not only are you insane, you're demented to add to it. I am…no! Wait! You can't do this! Ahhh!!
*throws him into pit of sick Takikos that he has to care for* Have fun, Chamka no baka hentai! *grins* Well, yes, I am slightly hyper for no apparent reason (I haven't eaten any sugar, so there!), so you people will have to tolerate my madness (Hikitsu: *appears* Insanity *disappears*), yes, my insanity…WHAT?! Where did he appear from? *sweatdrops* Anyway…
Yes, soon Takiko's life story will be revealed and I will tell more about her mother and brother…but not so much as this story has to center around the Tomite/Takiko pairing…or something of that sort. Still, I knew, I might have to shorten the journey (believe it or not, going to the capital itself requires 19 chapters…maybe twenty. Kaze-chan only needed…two chapters. Aahh!) a little, but it might not be as fun. I do not have the ability to write short chapters. :p
Just like any other author, I have to ask you people to review! Kang Xiu, I love you for your reviews (you make my day, girl!)! Oh, and for those people who read but don't review: please review! I really need to know how to improve this story, and if I don't get any feedback from you people…well, it's not good, is it?
Oh, and Kang Xiu, I made a little something for you. When I see you online (soon, I hope), I'll give it to you. So keep your eyes out for me on AIM, okay??? Besides, you're reviewer number 1!!!!! ^_^Okay then, until next time, ja ne~!
