Disclaimer: The only thing in this story that I own is Akina.
Note: The meeting of Tasuki and Miaka has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this story.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki lay in his bed. It had been 12 years since he had left home with Koji. He remembered the first day he arrived.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Here he is, Boss," Koji said to a huge man. He turned around and looked Tasuki up and down. "Well, he is small, but appears to be built well. He will turn into a strong warrior. Tell me your name, boy."
"Huan-lang," he said quietly.
From that day on, Tasuki was one of the gang. The Boss took Tasuki under his wing. He taught Tasuki martial arts and how to use the tessen, a club- like weapon that spouted fire when you said the right words. Little did they know, someone watched from the shadows.
Tasuki did grow to be a strong warrior. He excelled in the arts, and was a master at the tessen.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki rolled over. He loved the boss like a father. He had taken him under his wing and taught him everything he knew. But the day's events ran through his head.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Okay, now what are you going to do when your attacker comes at you like this?" the boss said, charging at Tasuki from behind and grabbed him in a bear hug. Tasuki reached up to his arm and pulled with all his might. He bent his shoulder down slightly and twisted his body. He flung the boss to the ground and looked down at him.
"How's that?" he asked, smiling.
"Very good, my boy," he answered, panting. He slowly got to his feet, still wheezing. Then he started to run towards Tasuki from the front, but stopped slowly. He bent over, coughing violently.
'Whoa, I didn't fling him too hard, did I?' Tasuki thought. He walked over to his boss.
"Boss, are you okay?' he asked worriedly. He turned his head away from Tasuki and coughed on his hand. When his hand came away, it was covered in blood.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, growing more worried each second. The boss stood up.
"Yes, Huan-lang. I am fine. It is nothing." He wiped his hand on the back of his pants. "We are done for today. You can go back to your room." He hobbled out of the room towards his own bed. Tasuki looked after him, concern showing in his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki rolled over again. 'That wasn't nothing,' he thought. 'What's wrong with him?'
~*~*~*~*~*
Over the next few days, the boss seldom came out of his room. He ate his meals alone, and didn't train Tasuki.
"Koji. What's wrong with the Boss?" he asked one day.
"There's a rumor goin' round that he's sick. He's gonna die soon and he's thinking of picking a new Boss."
That afternoon, Tasuki was called to his Boss's room.
"Tasuki, I know what people are thinking about me." Tasuki brightened up. His boss was gonna set them straight.
"They are right." Tasuki's face fell. "What?"
"I am sick. I will die soon. There is nothing you can do." He leaned back in his bed. "I need to pick a new boss. And I have made my decision." Tasuki looked down, ashamed. How could his boss just give up like that?
"You." Tasuki looked up. "What? Me?" The boss nodded. "I have trained you well. It is time to take your rightful place." He coughed.
~*~*~*~*~*
Five days later, he was dead. At the ceremony, Tasuki stepped up to his body. He took the tessen from its scabbard on the old boss's back and held it up to the other bandits, as it was tradition. Then he stepped back down.
After the ceremony, there was the traditional feast. Tasuki sat aside, not eating or talking. But others were talking.
Rui-Ni and a few of his friends were off to the side, too.
"Do we have the men assembled?" he asked, splashing wine into his mouth.
"Yes."
"So its settled. We take over. Tonight." He smiled a huge drunk smile, and staggered off to join a drinking contest.
~*~*~*~*~*
That night, the feast was just ending when Rui-Ni made his move. One of his men pretended to be missing. Tasuki sent two men out to look for him. They didn't come back. Tasuki sent more guys. But still they didn't return.
While Tasuki was distracted, Rui-Ni crept behind him and stole the tessen off of his back. Tasuki turned in time to be struck in the face by Rui-Ni. He stumbled back and stood next to Koji.
"Looks like I'M the boss, now!" he laughed. His men came out of hiding and the man who pretended to be missing walked in the door with the other men who were sent to look for him. They were all with Rui-Ni.
The few loyals who were with Tasuki gathered behind him.
"Rekka Shin'en!" Rui-Ni yelled, and Tasuki and his men dived out of the way. Rui-Ni's men followed them, and Tasuki had to fight for his life.
Tasuki and some of his men finally managed to escape to Tasuki's secret hideout.
"What are we gonna do?" Koji said, panting. "He has the tessen."
"I'm thinkin'! I'm thinkin'!" Tasuki yelled.
~*~*~*~*~*
A few minutes later, Tasuki and the men had planned an ambush. They carefully sneaked back to the bandit hall. They watched from the shadows of a clump of bushes.
The men were lazing around. Some of them were talking to two women they seemed to have captured. Rui-Ni was no where in sight.
"Y'might be a little hard-bodied, but wench, yer hot!" (sound familiar? lol!) one of the men was saying to a tall, well-built woman. Tasuki took the chance. He motioned to his men and they quietly sneaked to the window. On the count of three, they jumped through the window and quickly captured the men. The ladies took action, but not like Tasuki expected.
"Your Majesty!" one of them shouted as she threw a sword to the other. She caught it and quickly pulled her hair back. Or was it a he?
"When 'dju get t'be MEN?" the captured men yelled. "Ew! And to think I was in love!" Tasuki looked at the women. The one with a sword pointed it at Tasuki's face. "Where is Miaka?" she said. But the voice was low, like a man's. The other woman looked exactly like a woman, except he was wearing man's clothes.
"You're both men?' Tasuki asked with disbelief. They nodded. "Wow," Tasuki said, scratching the back of his head.
"Now where is Miaka?" the one with the sword asked again. Tasuki shrugged.
"I d'know. We just got here." He turned to one of the captured men. "Where is Rui-Ni?" The man quickly pointed toward the hallway. Tasuki left his men with the captured men tied to a pillar, and he, Koji, and two men went down the hallway. Tasuki heard sounds coming from the old boss's room. He nodded to Koji. He tried the door, but it was locked.
"Step back," the second man said. Tasuki stepped back as the man stepped forward. He raised his hand high, and then back. It shot forward as quick as a flash, and there was a loud BANG! When the dust cleared, the door was in pieces on the floor. The man smiled and held his head high, very much like a woman. The first man stepped inside and then Tasuki followed. Rui- Ni was sitting, staring at them. A girl who was sitting to his right rushed forward and hid behind the man with the sword.
Tasuki and Koji ran forward and attacked Rui-Ni before he could reach for the tessen. They easily knocked him down, but had a hard time wrestling the tessen from him. Rui-Ni had grabbed the tessen and was trying to use it, but Tasuki was holding it to his face, so if Rui-Ni set it on, he would burn himself. Finally, Koji knocked Rui-Ni out and Tasuki took the tessen from him.
He and Koji stood and turned towards the men. They just stood there, but the first one quickly spoke.
"Thank you very much. We are in your debt. I am Hotohori. Who are you?" he asked, bowing.
"Koji," said Koji, also bowing. But Tasuki didn't move. He just stared at Hotohori.
"Huan-lang," Koji hissed at him. He nudged him, but still Tasuki didn't move. He was staring at the girl behind Hotohori. Finally he whispered, "Akina?" so softly that no one heard him.
The girl behind Hotohori stepped out. "Hi! I'm Miaka!" she said cheerfully. Tasuki blinked. Miaka noticed him staring at her and blushed.
"Do you speak?" she asked. Tasuki blinked again. "What did you say your name was?" he finally gasped. She looked confused.
"Miaka," she repeated. "Are you sure?" She thought for a minute.
"I'm pretty sure. That's what my mom calls me, anyway." She smiled at Tasuki. He just stood there, frozen. Miaka's smiled slowly faded. Then she noticed his arm. His sleeve was rolled up.
"Oh!" she cried and rushed up to him. She grabbed his arm. It held a symbol. "It's Tasuki!" she said, looking at him. Tasuki caught his breath. The way she said his name. He would let no one call him Tasuki. But from her it sounded like........like the girl he knew long ago. Tasuki continued to look at her, analyzing her through her eyes. She held a mischievous, but innocent look, full of happiness and curiosity. She looked exactly like Akina, but her eyes were missing something. Tasuki gazed at her with disappointment. It wasn't her. She wasn't the girl that haunted his dreams.
He quickly gathered himself together. Then he realized what the girl had said. He looked in wonder at his arm.
"You're Tasuki!" Miaka cried again. "You're the next Suzaku constellation!" Koji looked in shock at Tasuki, but he met the same look. "You never told me you were a warrior of Suzaku!" Koji said.
"I-I didn't know. I've never seen that before!" Tasuki said in amazement. "The symbol shows up when you recognize your power," Hotohori said. He stepped forward. "Will you join us, Tasuki? We need to summon Suzaku." Tasuki looked dumbly at Koji.
"I can't," he said finally. "I'm the new boss. I gotta look after the guys." "PLEASE?" Miaka cried. Tasuki looked painfully at her. He shook his head.
"I'll look after the guys, Huan-lang. You go," Koji said. Tasuki looked at his best friend. Koji nodded and smiled. Finally, Tasuki nodded. He gave his best friend one last hug and left.
"Hey, what about the tessen?" Koji called after him. "I thought the boss gets the tessen!" Tasuki looked back and smirked.
"Yeah right. See ya." With that, he left.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: I hoped you liked it. But I am very ashamed at you people, reading and not reviewing! How dare you! I would like to thank the two people who had enough decency to read AND review: ManyManlyYams and Rhapsody. Thank you so much!
Note: The meeting of Tasuki and Miaka has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this story.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki lay in his bed. It had been 12 years since he had left home with Koji. He remembered the first day he arrived.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Here he is, Boss," Koji said to a huge man. He turned around and looked Tasuki up and down. "Well, he is small, but appears to be built well. He will turn into a strong warrior. Tell me your name, boy."
"Huan-lang," he said quietly.
From that day on, Tasuki was one of the gang. The Boss took Tasuki under his wing. He taught Tasuki martial arts and how to use the tessen, a club- like weapon that spouted fire when you said the right words. Little did they know, someone watched from the shadows.
Tasuki did grow to be a strong warrior. He excelled in the arts, and was a master at the tessen.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki rolled over. He loved the boss like a father. He had taken him under his wing and taught him everything he knew. But the day's events ran through his head.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Okay, now what are you going to do when your attacker comes at you like this?" the boss said, charging at Tasuki from behind and grabbed him in a bear hug. Tasuki reached up to his arm and pulled with all his might. He bent his shoulder down slightly and twisted his body. He flung the boss to the ground and looked down at him.
"How's that?" he asked, smiling.
"Very good, my boy," he answered, panting. He slowly got to his feet, still wheezing. Then he started to run towards Tasuki from the front, but stopped slowly. He bent over, coughing violently.
'Whoa, I didn't fling him too hard, did I?' Tasuki thought. He walked over to his boss.
"Boss, are you okay?' he asked worriedly. He turned his head away from Tasuki and coughed on his hand. When his hand came away, it was covered in blood.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, growing more worried each second. The boss stood up.
"Yes, Huan-lang. I am fine. It is nothing." He wiped his hand on the back of his pants. "We are done for today. You can go back to your room." He hobbled out of the room towards his own bed. Tasuki looked after him, concern showing in his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*
Tasuki rolled over again. 'That wasn't nothing,' he thought. 'What's wrong with him?'
~*~*~*~*~*
Over the next few days, the boss seldom came out of his room. He ate his meals alone, and didn't train Tasuki.
"Koji. What's wrong with the Boss?" he asked one day.
"There's a rumor goin' round that he's sick. He's gonna die soon and he's thinking of picking a new Boss."
That afternoon, Tasuki was called to his Boss's room.
"Tasuki, I know what people are thinking about me." Tasuki brightened up. His boss was gonna set them straight.
"They are right." Tasuki's face fell. "What?"
"I am sick. I will die soon. There is nothing you can do." He leaned back in his bed. "I need to pick a new boss. And I have made my decision." Tasuki looked down, ashamed. How could his boss just give up like that?
"You." Tasuki looked up. "What? Me?" The boss nodded. "I have trained you well. It is time to take your rightful place." He coughed.
~*~*~*~*~*
Five days later, he was dead. At the ceremony, Tasuki stepped up to his body. He took the tessen from its scabbard on the old boss's back and held it up to the other bandits, as it was tradition. Then he stepped back down.
After the ceremony, there was the traditional feast. Tasuki sat aside, not eating or talking. But others were talking.
Rui-Ni and a few of his friends were off to the side, too.
"Do we have the men assembled?" he asked, splashing wine into his mouth.
"Yes."
"So its settled. We take over. Tonight." He smiled a huge drunk smile, and staggered off to join a drinking contest.
~*~*~*~*~*
That night, the feast was just ending when Rui-Ni made his move. One of his men pretended to be missing. Tasuki sent two men out to look for him. They didn't come back. Tasuki sent more guys. But still they didn't return.
While Tasuki was distracted, Rui-Ni crept behind him and stole the tessen off of his back. Tasuki turned in time to be struck in the face by Rui-Ni. He stumbled back and stood next to Koji.
"Looks like I'M the boss, now!" he laughed. His men came out of hiding and the man who pretended to be missing walked in the door with the other men who were sent to look for him. They were all with Rui-Ni.
The few loyals who were with Tasuki gathered behind him.
"Rekka Shin'en!" Rui-Ni yelled, and Tasuki and his men dived out of the way. Rui-Ni's men followed them, and Tasuki had to fight for his life.
Tasuki and some of his men finally managed to escape to Tasuki's secret hideout.
"What are we gonna do?" Koji said, panting. "He has the tessen."
"I'm thinkin'! I'm thinkin'!" Tasuki yelled.
~*~*~*~*~*
A few minutes later, Tasuki and the men had planned an ambush. They carefully sneaked back to the bandit hall. They watched from the shadows of a clump of bushes.
The men were lazing around. Some of them were talking to two women they seemed to have captured. Rui-Ni was no where in sight.
"Y'might be a little hard-bodied, but wench, yer hot!" (sound familiar? lol!) one of the men was saying to a tall, well-built woman. Tasuki took the chance. He motioned to his men and they quietly sneaked to the window. On the count of three, they jumped through the window and quickly captured the men. The ladies took action, but not like Tasuki expected.
"Your Majesty!" one of them shouted as she threw a sword to the other. She caught it and quickly pulled her hair back. Or was it a he?
"When 'dju get t'be MEN?" the captured men yelled. "Ew! And to think I was in love!" Tasuki looked at the women. The one with a sword pointed it at Tasuki's face. "Where is Miaka?" she said. But the voice was low, like a man's. The other woman looked exactly like a woman, except he was wearing man's clothes.
"You're both men?' Tasuki asked with disbelief. They nodded. "Wow," Tasuki said, scratching the back of his head.
"Now where is Miaka?" the one with the sword asked again. Tasuki shrugged.
"I d'know. We just got here." He turned to one of the captured men. "Where is Rui-Ni?" The man quickly pointed toward the hallway. Tasuki left his men with the captured men tied to a pillar, and he, Koji, and two men went down the hallway. Tasuki heard sounds coming from the old boss's room. He nodded to Koji. He tried the door, but it was locked.
"Step back," the second man said. Tasuki stepped back as the man stepped forward. He raised his hand high, and then back. It shot forward as quick as a flash, and there was a loud BANG! When the dust cleared, the door was in pieces on the floor. The man smiled and held his head high, very much like a woman. The first man stepped inside and then Tasuki followed. Rui- Ni was sitting, staring at them. A girl who was sitting to his right rushed forward and hid behind the man with the sword.
Tasuki and Koji ran forward and attacked Rui-Ni before he could reach for the tessen. They easily knocked him down, but had a hard time wrestling the tessen from him. Rui-Ni had grabbed the tessen and was trying to use it, but Tasuki was holding it to his face, so if Rui-Ni set it on, he would burn himself. Finally, Koji knocked Rui-Ni out and Tasuki took the tessen from him.
He and Koji stood and turned towards the men. They just stood there, but the first one quickly spoke.
"Thank you very much. We are in your debt. I am Hotohori. Who are you?" he asked, bowing.
"Koji," said Koji, also bowing. But Tasuki didn't move. He just stared at Hotohori.
"Huan-lang," Koji hissed at him. He nudged him, but still Tasuki didn't move. He was staring at the girl behind Hotohori. Finally he whispered, "Akina?" so softly that no one heard him.
The girl behind Hotohori stepped out. "Hi! I'm Miaka!" she said cheerfully. Tasuki blinked. Miaka noticed him staring at her and blushed.
"Do you speak?" she asked. Tasuki blinked again. "What did you say your name was?" he finally gasped. She looked confused.
"Miaka," she repeated. "Are you sure?" She thought for a minute.
"I'm pretty sure. That's what my mom calls me, anyway." She smiled at Tasuki. He just stood there, frozen. Miaka's smiled slowly faded. Then she noticed his arm. His sleeve was rolled up.
"Oh!" she cried and rushed up to him. She grabbed his arm. It held a symbol. "It's Tasuki!" she said, looking at him. Tasuki caught his breath. The way she said his name. He would let no one call him Tasuki. But from her it sounded like........like the girl he knew long ago. Tasuki continued to look at her, analyzing her through her eyes. She held a mischievous, but innocent look, full of happiness and curiosity. She looked exactly like Akina, but her eyes were missing something. Tasuki gazed at her with disappointment. It wasn't her. She wasn't the girl that haunted his dreams.
He quickly gathered himself together. Then he realized what the girl had said. He looked in wonder at his arm.
"You're Tasuki!" Miaka cried again. "You're the next Suzaku constellation!" Koji looked in shock at Tasuki, but he met the same look. "You never told me you were a warrior of Suzaku!" Koji said.
"I-I didn't know. I've never seen that before!" Tasuki said in amazement. "The symbol shows up when you recognize your power," Hotohori said. He stepped forward. "Will you join us, Tasuki? We need to summon Suzaku." Tasuki looked dumbly at Koji.
"I can't," he said finally. "I'm the new boss. I gotta look after the guys." "PLEASE?" Miaka cried. Tasuki looked painfully at her. He shook his head.
"I'll look after the guys, Huan-lang. You go," Koji said. Tasuki looked at his best friend. Koji nodded and smiled. Finally, Tasuki nodded. He gave his best friend one last hug and left.
"Hey, what about the tessen?" Koji called after him. "I thought the boss gets the tessen!" Tasuki looked back and smirked.
"Yeah right. See ya." With that, he left.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: I hoped you liked it. But I am very ashamed at you people, reading and not reviewing! How dare you! I would like to thank the two people who had enough decency to read AND review: ManyManlyYams and Rhapsody. Thank you so much!
