Let's go to Otsu :O erm. I mean. FY isn't mine. Yarrr. Review meeee

It was a few weeks later before they were about to board the ship to set sail for Hokkan, the country to the north. It had taken several of the palace's strongest guards to get Tasuki on the ship. For the longest time, Tasuki had just stood nervously about fifty feet away from the pier, too petrified of the vast amounts of water to do anything else but hide. Of course, Tamahome had found out about Tasuki's phobia and took great pleasure in picking up the stiff, paralyzed bandit and trying to dump him into the water. Tasuki's frightened yells and threats to Tamahome as they stood struggling by the water's edge never failed to elicit a laugh from all.
So, they set sail for the north, the journey rather boring and uneventful, aside from the occasional practical joke pulled on Tamahome by Tasuki. Nuriko couldn't tell if the two were good friends or if they just plain enjoyed pestering each other. The world would never know... Either way, it was still thoroughly amusing to watch them together in the same room. It always ended up in silly insults and a fistfight. The purple- haired seishi laughed a little as he saw them fighting. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he figured it didn't really matter. Ah. Nuriko grinned as Tamahome suddenly shouted and lifted the bandit up, dangling him over the railing, Tasuki wailing. He had never seen him act that way about anything before... it was rather amusing.
He saw Chichiri sitting on the edge, peacefully looking out over the waves. Nuriko walked up to him, the monk being the only one other than himself seemingly capable of intelligent conversation. Tasuki was usually pestering Tamahome. When he wasn't around Tamahome, he was great to be around. Chiriko had taken to walking around laughing nervously, repeatedly stating in a shaky tone that he was, in fact, Chiriko. Strange boy. Miaka, of course was never capable of any intelligent conversation. Mitsukake was just too boring to talk to. So he strolled over to Chichiri, sitting down beside him.
"Good afternoon no da," Chichiri smiled through his mask, which was always smiling, so Nuriko couldn't tell if the daa-ing monk was actually smiling or not...
"Afternoon," Nuriko smiled good-naturedly, sitting down beside Chichiri, "What are you doing?" "Just looking at the water no da."
"Ah..." the only thing about talking to Chichiri was that he usually wasn't one to initiate conversation unless there was anything in particular to be discussed. "So... I think we're having a fairly good trip, don't you?"
A nod. "I really hope we can get the Shinzaho as soon as we get there..."
A nod.
"I've heard that Hokkan is very cold this time of year..."
A nod.
"Am I bothering you? Because you're not saying anything..." Nuriko prepared to get up and leave the monk to his thinking.
"You're not no da. I was just thinking," he lifted his hand to his face to take off his smiling mask, "about which one was the imposter seishi no da," he turned to look straight at Nuriko. He looked quite accusing, his eyebrows sloped, as he looked at him through his one eye, his large scar covering almost half his face.
"What? It's not me!"
"I didn't say I thought it was no da..."
"It has to be Mitsukake! He's just so... boring!"
"I think its Chiriko no da. He's been acting really odd ever since Taiitsukun told us no da."
Nuriko nodded, not fully believing him. Mitsukake was just so... suspicious.
"Not to mention that one time when he was talking to me, he referred to his twin brother, Suboshi, no da."
"So?"
"Suboshi is the name of a constellation of Seiryuu no da."
"Oh..." Nuriko nodded slowly, "What, so you think he's a Seiryuu?"
Chichiri nodded.
"Then why hasn't he done anything bad? I mean those Seiryuu people are pretty violent from what I've heard... And Chiriko's a nice kid...And Mitsukake's always so weird..."
"You're right no da... Even if he is a Seiryuu, he seems nice enough."
"Oh well... I guess we should try to find out for sure before we get the Shinzaho. He might try to take it from us if he really isn't on our side... But don't you think we should keep an eye on Mitsukake just in case?"
Chichiri nodded once more.
Nuriko silenced himself, staring out onto the blue ocean. A wave of sadness overtook him without warning. He wondered what would become of them after they summoned Suzaku... Obviously, Miaka and Tamahome would live together and start a family, depending on the fact that Suzaku allowed her to stay in this world, which was questionable.
"Chichiri...?"
The scarred monk turned slightly towards him.
"What are you going to do after we summon Suzaku?"
"I don't know no da..." he looked back out onto the waves, his tone free and low, "I haven't really thought about it no da. I suppose I'll just continue traveling no da..."
Nuriko nodded. So Chichiri would leave after the summoning... Mitsukake would probably move to some town and resume treating patients as a doctor. Chiriko would go back to his brother. Tasuki would go back to Mount Leikaku. He furrowed his brow slightly. Where would he go? He couldn't very well stay at the palace living as a member of the harem... Something had changed. It just didn't seem right for him to live his life behind a mask of makeup, long hair, and elaborate dresses anymore. He had changed, somehow, and was just for the first time realizing that the change had taken place. It had been so gradual, yet had happened in such a short amount of time. He could feel Kourin slipping away from him.
He would not give her up. She had to live, she had to breathe, she had to feel. Nuriko felt the guilt overflow as he realized that he had not let Kourin live since he had met Miaka... He had been living only for himself, doing whatever he wanted while not even thinking about Kourin. His lip trembled.
Stupid. You're not your sister. A rush of panic hit him like a bolt of sharp lightening, reaching into every part of his body. Why had he told himself that he wasn't Kourin? Wait. Why had he told herself that she wasn't Kourin...? No. He furrowed his brow. Why had she told... No... Why had... Nuriko but his lip. Why had... Still not right. Why... His breathing became shallow as his head started to pound.
"Nuriko? Are you alright no da?"
Nuriko stared off, jerking a little as a rush of pain seared through his head. "Yeah..." he muttered, standing up and staggering below deck, his whole body shaking and quivering.
Pressing himself back against the door, he looked around fearfully and quickly, his breath fast and uneven. The trek down the stairs had exhausted him. He attempted to stop his mind from repeating, 'you're not your sister.' It said it over and over... he heard it, felt it endlessly. Pleading to his mind to stop saying it, he toppled over to his knees, then flat onto his face. His eyes clenched shut as one side of his face hit the floor.
Who? Kourin is dead.
Kourin is not dead. I'm Kourin.
No you're not.
I am.
You're Ryuuen. You're just telling yourself you're Kourin.
But... Everyone thinks I'm Kourin.
No they don't. They used to.
Was I Kourin then?
No. You were Ryuuen then.
No I wasn't. Who am I now then?
...I don't know.
So my life... no. Her life.
Your life.
What have I done? I'm not still Ryuuen. I killed him.
Yeah... but you're still him.
How can I be Ryuuen if he's dead?
Maybe you're dead.
But I'm not. Who are you then?
...I used to be Ryuuen... but I killed him... Then I was Kourin...
You were never Kourin.
I let Kourin slip away. I was selfish.
You were always selfish. Selfish and stupid. You ruined your life.
I know... I want to be Ryuuen again...
You can't. You killed him.
When I was Kourin?
That was when he died. If Ryuuen died... and I was never Kourin, then who was I all those years?
...
Well?
...
Tell me...
"Nuriko?"
Tell me!
"Nuriko?" a hand jerked his limp shoulder, "Are you ok?"
Answer me!
"Nuriko..." the hand shook harder.
"Answer me!" Nuriko shrieked rather frantically, causing Amiboshi to jump.
"Um. Nuriko-san, this is Chiriko: Sei-um.. Suzaku seishi speaking. Are you ok?" his eyes were wide with concern as he clutched his flute protectively to his chest.
Nuriko blinked for a moment, his mind racing. What just happened? When had Amiboshi come in here? "...Chiriko-"
"That's me... I'm Chiriko...heheh..." Amiboshi scooted back a little.
"Right..." Nuriko raised his eyebrows at him slightly, "Anyway, what did you want?"
"Oh! Dinner is being served, and everyone else is waiting on us," he nodded, "So come on."
"Sure... just hold on a second..." he ran over to his mirror, brushing the hair out of his face. He then flew out the door, calling over his shoulder for the younger seishi to come on.

Nuriko smiled apologetically as he and Amiboshi stumbled late onto the deck. Everyone looked up at them.
"Alright! We can eat!" Tasuki cheered.
Both of them took their seats, and everyone started to eat. A few minutes passed in silence before Chichiri finally spoke up, in his usual chipper tone.
"Nuriko-kun, how come you ran off this morning when we were talking no da?"
"...Morning..." Nuriko became very confused as the fact that it was now dinner-time sunk in. What had happened to the rest of the day? Nuriko gave everyone at the table a puzzled look.
The monk nodded. "Don't you remember no da? It was just before noon no da."
Nuriko took note of the ebony sky that surrounded them. He furrowed his brow a bit. Had he really been in his room that long? Maybe he had fallen asleep or something... but... he could have sworn it was only a few minutes... "I... I got tired and decided to take a nap."
"You ran off without saying a word because you were sleepy no da?" Nuriko could tell that Chichiri knew something wasn't right. He shrugged.
"I was really tired. Really, really tired," Nuriko uneasily glanced around. "So, Tasuki-chan, has Tama-chan thrown you in yet?" he propped his chin in his hands, smiling.
"Ahh hell no! And what's with all the 'chan'-ing? Don't Tasuki-chan me!"
Nuriko laughed. "Are you just jealous because I called Tamahome 'Tama- chan'?" he loved to tease Tasuki. He was so silly and cute.
"No!" Tasuki crossed his arms, sticking his chin up in a little pout.
"Aww! Cute!"
"Dammit, bandits aren't cute!" Tamahome piped up, "But you're SO cute, Tasuki-chan!" Obviously Tamahome enjoyed the fine art of Tasuki-teasing as much as Nuriko.
"Shut up, Obake-chan!"
"Hey! YOU shut up, flame boy!"
"Hey!"
Tasuki and Tamahome jumped up at the same time, each grabbing each other's shirt collars in a would-be threatening kind of way.
"Can't an hour go by without those two trying to beat each other up?" Nuriko sighed before politely lifting a bit of meat jibblets to his mouth.
"I was raised by a cup of coffee..." Miaka uttered, an amazing feat considering that her mouth was stuffed with food.
"You two sit back down," Nuriko instructed. Both boys obeyed, casting each other dark glares as they sat down. The rest of the meal followed in uneventful conversation.

Just after dinner, Nuriko was walking around the deck of the boat when he noticed Tasuki standing by himself. Although he was a good ten yards away from the railing, he was holding tightly onto a post for security. Nuriko sighed slightly, smiling. At least he had worked up the courage to stand out on the deck at all. The purple-haired seishi walked up to him silently.
"How come you're not off somewhere fighting with Tamahome?"
Tasuki jumped slightly as Nuriko's soft voice came from behind him. He turned quickly, arm still latched around the post. "Tamahome? Oh, he went to talk to Miaka," he shuddered, "Don't wanna be there for that one."
Nuriko laughed a little, "Well I'm glad you've made such good friends with him..."
"Friends?! The guy is always either trying to throw me in or beat me up!"
"But you enjoy his company... otherwise you wouldn't provoke him so much, would you?"
"What? No! He's the one provoking me!"
"Just keep telling yourself that, Tasuki."
"It's true!"
Nuriko sighed a little, "You're always with him... I've hardly gotten a chance to spend any time with you since we set out..."
"That's because he's always hunting me down!" he noticed the pouty expression on Nuriko's face, "It's not because I don't want to be with you! Hell, Nuriko... don't think I'm paying him more attention than I am you!"
"Well you are, aren't you?"
"HE HUNTS ME DOWN!!" he threw his hands up in the air.
Stepping to the side a little, Nuriko laughed again, "Come on, Tasuki- chan," he gestured to the stairs that led below deck, "You'll be safer from Tamahome down here."
"Alright... But only if you stop with the damned 'Tasuki-chan'-ing!"
"Alright, Tasuki-chan," Nuriko grinned and vanished down the stairs.
"Damn it!" he pouted for a moment before running after Nuriko.

-A Seiryuu interlude- (just so people won't say 'what about them?')

Nakago shut his eyes, blinking the sun out of them as he sat on a blanket near the lake. It was such a beautiful day. He vaguely wondered when Amiboshi would put his brilliant plan into action, but his thoughts were cut off as Soi came outside, kneeling down and handing Nakago one of the two lemonades she held.
"Ooh that cloud looks like a bunny, Nakago-sama!" she squealed as she lay down on her back.
"Yes," he replied in his ultra-macho deep voice. "Yes it does."

------------- well that was fun :D