DISCLAIMER: I own Coffee, Strawberry, Cheese, Macaroni, Sushi, and Blueberry. I no own FY.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Apparently the thing that got most people worried after that last chapter was not the joint summoning of Chichiri and Soi, but rather What Will Gesshin Do Now That He Has the Tessen. Can't say that I blame you ^_^ Unfortunately he doesn't really get a chance to display the pyromania here because too much other stuff is going on. ~waits for the collective groans of disappointment to die down before continuing~ However. I am working on just a little side-thing (what is it with me and side stories?) that deals with Gesshin and Tasuki and what they do after Gesshin has a very bad day at work... Let's just assume chaos explodes. No, I don't know when it'll be done, but when it is you'll see it.
And I have decided that from here on in, unless people are so hoplessly confused by something that they can't understand what's just passed in a chapter, that I'm not going to explain a lot of stuff. ^^;;;; Don't hurt me! It's just that the questions you all are asking (as much as I love them and love answering them and interacting with everyone) would mean I would have to give away future plot points to answer. Which is definitely something I don't want to do. So from now on, unless you're one of my SLPRs (and you people know who you are ^_~) or someone who begs loud and long, you probably won't get much explanation. Clarification, possibly. Explanation, I'd say not. Don't kill me please!
That being said, I'm gonna do one more round of answer-some-of-the-questions now ^_^ Just don't expect as much as usual.
As to Hoshiko and Ryobe: ~grins sheepishly~ Really, when I started writing them in this story, it was a way to work them in believably just because I wanted them in and get more practice for Market at the same time. If you look at chapter 10 you'll see that Risako's mother makes a mini-debut; when I wrote that, I had no idea that the mother would turn out to be Subaru-incarnate. Like I've said before, this story is so sporadic it isn't funny; almost nothing I've written was pre-planned. When I first came up with the idea, for example, I never meant to include any other reincarnations. Reijirou was gonna be the only one. And see what happened! But back to Hoshiko and Ryobe: you'll just have to wait and see. Their position is kinda weird.
Sano: torture is a relative word ~smiles innocently~ Just remember my oft-repeated claim that in my hands, no character is safe.
Flying Heart and Draconsis, you are wonderful, but any more information about Risako remains classified (I'm still not exactly sure and I'm not about to spill and then change my mind). We'll all just have to wait and see! Chibigreenwizardmon, I can answer your question though: her parents were no one of importance to the story. Probably your stereotypical teen romance where the girl gets pregnant but then can't take care of the kid. I've never thought about her real parents as I've got too much else to think of with this fic. ^_^ Don't hate me, they're just not important.
nhuha, do you mean the pacing or the posting rate?
Evil Hunter, that was definitely an interesting rant. ^_^ You could be a rant writer for a newspaper or something like that.
Lib-chan, you will find out! And you should know that puppy dog eyes have absolutely NO affect on me, as my best friend can attest to.
Lumi-chan, thanks for liking Risako! I can't help but like her too, and I'm glad to see people don't hold being an OC against her ^_^
Keimei, complaining's OK ^_~ I can take it. I think. And no, Hoshiko and Ryobe will not be at the Chichiri/Soi summoning. Sorry if that was confusing.
yue-vae, here's the update! But check at the bottom for some Important Information. J. Liha, you too.
Stormlight, the world shall tremble when I get around to it ^_~ That little thing's shaping up to be verrrrrrrrrrrry interesting...
CLAMPraven, you might be turning into a fangirl ~giggles~ That sounds sooooooooo weird to say, but you might be keeping better track of everything than I am! If I ever have any questions about what's gone on in this story I'll probably ask you ^_~
Natsuki-chan, like I said above, I'm still not sure. It hasn't managed to come up yet in what I've written. I guess we'll all just have to wait and find out together.
And Kryssa ^_^ With all the Squeeze-pops you've wished me, I'm gonna be buried in them! I'm gonna get this hunka junk to work again and write, I promise! And yes, we must be pyschic, because that part was one of my favorites as well ^_^
EVERYONE! Important Information at the bottom! Please read!
The door to Kadiri's apartment was painted, strictly against building codes, a bright yellow that stuck out like the sun in the pale beige of the hallway. She always had to do things differently, no matter if it got her in trouble. Reijirou grinned at the paint, then knocked sharply on her door, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet from sheer caffeine overload.
The door opened a crack and a furry missile shot out, trying to make a break past him for the stairwell. However, Reijirou was anticipating it and he quickly scooped it up, sandwiching it between his shoulder and arm and ignoring its yowling protests.
~ What's… that? ~
One of Kadiri's cats. Coffee. Reijirou pushed the dark brown tail out of his face, making sure to keep a firm hold on the fuzzy bundle with his other arm, and tapped the door lightly with his foot. Fortunately no more four-legged things tried to spill out of the apartment; Coffee was the only one that ever really attempted it. The door opened the rest of the way from the inside and then a new pair of arms reached out to take the one-person cat from his hold. "Hey, Kadiri."
"Reijirou? Why're you here?" Her wine-red hair was still wet from a shower and she was dressed in very ratty clothes, her shirt full of holes large and small from various cat claws and a giant rip in the left knee of an extremely abused pair of khakis. She dumped the protesting cat inside and quickly shut the door to prevent a second escape. "This is really rare, is something wrong at the store?"
He shook his head to reassure her. "No, I'm not even working today. I just wanted to ask you to come somewhere with me."
"Where?"
"To a friend of mine's. A lot of people are going to be there, I think you'd like them. And Gesshin's going as well, he's down in the car right now."
"Chiaki's gonna kill you for hogging the car lately, ya know, " she said with a grin.
Reijirou put on his pitiful face that easily softened the hardest of hearts. "But I was injured! She's in perfect health!"
~ She certainly has gotten better with this new life. Last time I saw her alive she was trying to kill us all, ~ Nuriko commented wryly.
Give her a break, this time she's still sane. Never had Nakago to control her. Never will now... "Kadiri," he began when she didn't respond, "what else are you gonna do today, ne? Sit here and watch old American movies?"
She grinned guiltily. "Actually… yes!"
Reijirou groaned and grabbed her wrist, starting to pull her back towards the elevator. "Oh no you don't, you don't get out enough, and so you are coming with me."
"Stop it, idiot!" She dug in her heels and yanked her wrist out of his grasp, glaring at him mildly as she rubbed feeling back into the abused limb. "We're not all social butterflies like you. A few questions first."
He shrugged and leaned against the wall comfortably. "Shoot."
"One: how much older than you am I?"
"Five years at least."
"Two: outside of work, do I frequently tell you what to do?"
"Noooo."
"Three: what are you going to do if I flatly refuse?"
He grinned impishly. "Tie you, gag you, and take you anyway."
She groaned. "Ahou… Reijirou no baka…"
Any input from the peanut gallery?
~ What's the peanut gallery? ~
At the moment, you.
~ Nope, no comment. ~
Kadiri closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, hanging her head a bit. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. It sounded somewhat resigned. "I know you too well, you're not gonna give me a choice. Will you at least let me change?"
He laughed. "Where's the fun in that? Gesshin'd-" She socked him in the arm. "Ne! That hurt!"
"Good, you need a taste of your own damn medicine. Come on, you can wait inside while I get dressed." She twisted the knob to her apartment again, opening the door slowly and blocking the widening crack with her foot to prevent another dash by Coffee. She quickly peeked in to make sure no cats were waiting for a chance to get out, then swung open the door the rest of the way and entered easily, Reijirou/Nuriko following.
Kadiri's apartment was messy, but mostly that fact was due to the cramped quarters in which she lived. There was a tiny kitchenette open directly to the small main room, one bathroom, her bedroom, and a spare room she had put to work as a sort of "office" and storage for all her electronic toys that would make Miaka envious. Her money went into her music collection, stereo, computer, and closet; she didn't seem to need anything else.
Except the cats. She had no less than five at a time, again breaking building codes. The super frequently yelled at her that no more than two were permitted, but she simply said that it was her home and she could do as she pleased and went on her way. Reijirou had happened to be there once when it happened and he'd been laughing over the bewildered/angry look on his face for days.
Coffee came running up to him, yowling loudly to his face for some cat-thing, probably wanting him to open the door. Strawberry was curled up on the back of the couch, looking somewhat like a loaf of reddish bread as all her paws were tucked under her body. He couldn't see Cheese or Macaroni, but Sushi was happily crunching at some kitty kibble in a corner of the kitchenette. Blueberry was chewing on a bit of yarn in front of the small TV.
~ How many cats does one person need?! Even Tama-neko seemed to be too much to take care of sometimes! ~
She's got six, I wouldn't suggest asking her that question if I were you. They're her friends.
~ She needs some human friends then. ~
Remind me to hit you…
Reijirou didn't quite know what to do with himself, and Nuriko was starting to sound somewhat cynical, which seemed slightly disturbing and… wrong, somehow. He supposed everyone was entitled to cynical moods once in awhile, but it felt weird when Nuriko was the "one" in "everyone". He sat on the tattered couch and rubbed Strawberry's back while he waited for Kadiri to finish making herself presentable. The cat's eyes narrowed benevolently in adoration and she began to purr, making him grin as his hand began to vibrate.
"Ne, Reijirou, is this gonna be fancy?" Kadiri's voice echoed from her room. He could easily picture her holding up outfits to herself in front of the full-length mirror she'd put in her room and considering each one.
He groaned. Even he wasn't as bad as her. "Not in the least. Just get something socially acceptable on and let's get going!"
"That's quite funny considering it's coming from you."
"You're too high-maintenance."
"I live here and you think I'm high-maintenance?" Her voice was muffled as if she were speaking through a sweater. "You're insane."
"Look at what you wear! And how much of it you've got! It's no wonder you can't afford to live somewhere else."
"I could if I wanted." She emerged, now dressed in her "public" clothes: a thick knit baggy blue sweater, a brand-new pair of off-white clinging denim pants (with no hole in the knee), a delicate gold chain with a small pendant around her neck, one boot with a two-inch heel already on and the other in her hand. She braced herself against the wall with one hand and balanced on her booted foot as she slid her other leg into the second boot, then quickly pulled up the zipper. She was carrying her makeup case, which he rolled his eyes at. At least she hadn't insisted on staying until she could apply all that stuff. He knew more about it than most males, but he had little patience with it. How Nuriko had survived putting that stuff on every day he'd never know.
"Are you done at last?"
"Let me just give the cats some more food, then we can get out of here." She straightened up and strode into the kitchen, kneeling in front of the cabinet under the sink and pulling out a large box of kibble. "They're almost out." She gently pushed Sushi away from the bowl with her right hand and filled it to the top. The very, very overweight cat promptly resumed eating when she turned away to put the box back.
"You know, maybe the cats wouldn't be so big if you didn't feed 'em as much as you do," Reijirou remarked off-handedly.
"Ne, most of them started out as street cats, they deserve a little more to make up for it."
"Not when they weigh more than a small dog," he muttered under his breath as Kadiri stood again. He looked up and groaned. "God, I hate it when you wear heels… I have to look up to you."
She grinned and ruffled his hair, making him mutter threats in her direction as he tried to smooth it down again. "You should be used to it, you're short enough that you have to look up at most people anyway."
"Yeah, but not you!"
Risako and Kadiri had good-naturedly given Reijirou and Gesshin a hard time about being confined to the backseat, happily complaining of sexist discrimination and teasing them for a bit. But the guys were free to get them back, so it was all right. Reijirou had rolled his eyes when he saw Kadiri somehow managing to apply her makeup perfectly while bouncing through the city, but she had done it, and hadn't gotten mascara on the seat, so he said nothing. Risako and Kadiri seemed to get along well, and all of them kept their mouths shut as to the purpose behind this "impromptu gathering." The less chance she'd have to jump out of a speeding car, the better.
The street around the Seos' house was already littered with cars. Gesshin whistled as he hoisted himself over the windshield to get a better view. "How many're s'pposed t' be here?"
"There should be at least three cars, besides the Seos'." Reijirou leaned over and counted. Yep, three: if he was guessing right, they belonged to the Sukunamis, the Kajiwaras, and the Obinatas. He only hoped Miaka and Taka hadn't brought Naora, it'd be a little hard to explain everything to her…
He had to drive onto a side street to find a place to park next to a meter, and when the car was secure all four of them trooped up to the front door. Reijirou was impressed: Dr. Seo couldn't have been a doctor for long, but he was able to afford a house this early. And right in the city, as well. That said a lot for the medical profession.
Gesshin pushed the doorbell (perhaps a little too hard, a sure sign of Tasuki's enthusiasm for new contraptions), then stepped back from the entrance, crossing his arms over his chest in a sure sign of impatience, tapping his right foot rapidly. "C'mon, c'mon, get th' damn door a'ready…"
"Gesshin, you just rang the bell. Give them a chance to actually walk to the door," Kadiri replied sarcastically.
Fortunately, before one of their famous fights could break out, Gesshin's prayers were answered and the door swung in with a creak of the hinges. A tall, VERY tall woman was standing there. She somehow managed to top even Kadiri in her boots, and was as tall as Gesshin. She had incredibly long dark blonde hair that was pulled into a simple ponytail at the nape of her neck, clear blue eyes, and a kind face. She smiled warmly at them all. "You must be the others. Come in, they're all having tea."
~ Shoka-san… Wow, Mitsukake must be happy. ~
Wouldn't you be?
"I'm Seo Setsuko," she continued, stepping back and holding the door open, giving them plenty of room as they entered and chorused a variety of "hellos". "Everyone's in the living room, I'll show you where." They kicked off their shoes quickly (Kadiri having a bit of trouble and Gesshin taking full advantage of it to laugh at her) and followed her.
A firm hand grasped Reijirou's upper arm as they walked. "Ne, Reijirou, do I know anyone else who'll be here?" Kadiri whispered to him. "Will I be the only stranger?"
He felt Nuriko grin and had to fight to keep it from appearing on his own face. "No you won't, trust me. And you probably don't, unless there's some weird coincidence of the space/time continuum or something like that and you've actually left your apartment before."
She just gave him a dirty look and punched him in the shoulder.
There were a LOT of people in the living room: Miaka, Taka, Keisuke (but no Naora, Reijirou noted with relief), Dr. Seo, Morin, Hokusai, Yui, and Tetsuya; Dr. Seo was holding a small baby with extreme caution. Hokusai and Morin still looked half-stunned. Keisuke, Taka, and Tetsuya were smirking slightly, and Miaka and Yui were giving them dirty looks. Reijirou shook his head and he heard Gesshin curse under his breath - probably a reaction from Tasuki.
"Hello everyone," Risako chirped, plunking down on the floor next to the coffee table as all the chairs were taken.
Miaka and Yui broke off glaring at their relations to study her with concern for a moment, then they both slowly grinned as they detected the changes in her from that morning. "Hi Risako," Yui replied, "feeling better?"
"Hai, much, thanks."
Neither Gesshin nor Kadiri had moved. Reijirou rolled his eyes. Chickens… "Everyone, this is Mizutani Kadiri and Ijiri Gesshin. That's Sukunami Miaka, Sukunami Taka, Yuki Keisuke…" He continued introductions until he had covered everyone in the room, pointing at the appropriate people as he stated their names and finishing with Dr. Seo. "So what's been going on?"
"Not much, just a lot of talk," Tetsuya replied casually. He was sprawled on a large couch next to his wife, looking perfectly relaxed and at ease. Reijirou noticed the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho lay between them, discreetly hidden from obvious view.
"Why don't you all sit down?" Dr. Seo suggested, freeing up one hand to wave it in the direction of the floor. "The carpet's actually very comfortable."
~ Ne, Reijirou, go somewhere private for a minute. ~
Why?
~ I want out! ~
All right, all right. "Go on you two, sit," he said, giving Gesshin a friendly push in the direction of the coffee table and earning a withering glance for his pains. "Dr. Seo, is your bathroom somewhere around here?"
The tall man nodded. "Hai, just turn around and head through the kitchen, first door on the right."
"Arigato." He took off at a slow jog down the mini-hall.
It turned out to not be necessary to go further than the kitchen; Mitsukake was in there, leaning against a counter and looking contemplative. He glanced up and nodded a greeting as Reijirou entered, remaining mostly in his brown study. Reijirou stepped out of sight of the living room and nodded back, bracing himself for the separation.
This time it wasn't excruciatingly painful, as it had been after he was wounded, nor a quick severing like the time right before they found out Adam was dead. It was getting more and more familiar; it felt kind of like Velcro in a way, kind of a painless tearing that gradually separated itself from him, a nerve here, a limb there, and fell gracefully out of him. In a few moments Nuriko stood in the middle of the floor, looking a bit dazed but none the worse for wear.
"Hm? Oh… Just how Chichiri and Soi might take it… There are so many different ways…"
"Well," Reijirou remembered to keep his voice low so at least one of the others wouldn't hear him and think he was talking to himself. "Hokusai at least already knows… We just have to tell Kadiri." He winced at the look he suddenly pictured on her face in response to the news. "That'll probably be tough."
"Which is why you're doing it."
"Nani?!"
"She knows you the best, and apparently she trusts you. That makes for a strong argument that she'll take it more seriously coming from you." Mitsukake regarded him with a level expression.
Reijirou groaned. Nuriko hurriedly spoke to assuage any flows of bitterness that may have been about to show up. "Has Chichiri seen anyone yet?"
Mitsukake nodded. "Hai… He and his wife both saw me when they came in; we thought it would be best if they were forced to confront it…" He winced a bit. "But I think it made things worse."
"Worse? How worse?"
"You've seen them, haven't you?"
Both boys nodded.
"They've been like that for two hours."
"Oh lord…" Reijirou groaned. "This is going to be hard."
"Reijirou, are you out of your fucking MIND?!"
"NO I'm fucking not and keep your voice down!"
"You're insane! You've gotta be insane!"
"Kadiri-san, he's not." Yui broke in, sighing. "Somehow I knew this would happen… Soi overreacted a lot too."
"I AM NOT THIS SOI PERSON!"
"Yeah ya fuckin' are, now jus' SHUT UP and LISTEN TO THEM!" Gesshin grabbed one of Kadiri's arms to keep her from bolting and Reijirou dove for the other. "Listen," Gesshin growled, "if they had t' do this t' me then ye're not fuckin' gettin' out of it. It's th' truth, all of it."
It was plain Kadiri really did think they were out of their minds. She looked scared and disbelieving and panicky all at once. Reijirou was reminded strongly of when they'd broken it to Gesshin.
"Look," came a new voice: Setsuko's. "All this screaming isn't helping. Gesshin-kun, calm down. Kadiri-san, please try and believe it." Setsuko assumed the role of alpha female easily, handing her small son to her husband and crossing the room to kneel in front of Kadiri. "I know this is hard," she spoke softly, comfortingly. "It was hard for me too. For everyone. It all seems so impossible, doesn't it?" Kadiri slowly nodded in response to the question. "No one here really believed it… some of them still don't." She cast a glance at Morin and Hokusai. "But if we can prove it… will you believe us?"
Reijirou was very impressed with Setsuko. No wonder she took it so calmly; she was made of rock. Compared to her at that moment, Kadiri looked like a scared little girl. He saw Dr. Seo - Murai, he corrected himself; the doctor had insisted he drop the formalities - smiling proudly at his wife. "How…" Even Kadiri's voice was small. "How will you prove it?"
Setsuko looked pointedly at Gesshin and he nodded, letting go of Kadiri's arm and leaving only Reijirou supporting her. He quickly reached under his shirt and pulled out the tessen, carrier and all. He slid the diamond fan out and it flared, almost as if it were seeking breathing room. Gesshin's eyes were vacant and turned inward as if he were spaced out, a recognizable sign of internal conversation.
"All right, hold on." Gesshin closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the tessen, bracing himself in his kneeling position. The tessen began to glow with a dull red light, a muted form of the light of Suzaku. Then ghostly body parts started appearing out of random places: extra hair from his neck, another hand from his elbow. It was extremely bizarre, and Reijirou had to wonder if that was how it looked when he and Nuriko separated. But at the same time it was somehow strangely graceful. Tasuki's right hand seemed to float out of Gesshin's and take the tessen with it easily, the diamond passing through flesh and bone smoothly and not leaving a mark. However, all the gracefulness was instantly destroyed when Tasuki flopped ignominiously to the beige carpet.
Nuriko cackled. "Bit too hard for you, Tasuki-chan?"
Strong as he was, Reijirou couldn't keep a hold of Kadiri at the sight of the two seishi. She squeaked and scrambled back into the wall.
"Holy… You mean this is real?! Not mirrors, or holograms, or… or… or something else?!" Across the room Hokusai had moved at last. He'd jumped to his feet and was looking rapidly back and forth between the two ghosts, who both stared straight back at him. "You mean… it's all true? All of it?"
Miaka stood. "Yes, it's real. And we need your help." She approached him quietly as she spoke, as if he was an animal she was trying not to scare. "You've heard it all… we need your help to stop him."
"Stop who? What's going on? Is everyone here in on this scam?"
Tasuki whirled on Kadiri, his tessen pointing straight at her, a very ticked off expression on his face. "Look, I don' like ya, so ya can jus' shut up or I'll-"
"YOU shut up Tasuki!" Nuriko popped up next to the bandit, picked him up by his jacket collar in one swift motion, and threw him across the room. Over everyone's heads. He crashed behind the couch Morin was sitting on; it had only been a gentle toss to get the point across.
Murai broke the surprised silence after a moment. "Thank you for not throwing him into the wall."
"It was the least I could do," Nuriko replied with a grin.
One of the bandit's arms appeared over the couch. He slung the other over and pulled himself up with a very audible groan. Nuriko glared at him again. "You stay over there and explain it to Chichiri if you can't be civil. Yui, can you help me over here?"
Yui grinned. "Of course." She quickly came over to Kadiri and Nuriko, the former of which was still staring at the latter. Risako joined them. Tasuki grumbled a bit more and climbed over the couch to help Miaka and Gesshin in attempting to clarify things with Hokusai, Morin listening on. Taka, Tetsuya, and Keisuke had opened the translation and were pointing at something, debating intensely between themselves. Murai and Setsuko were talking quietly as Setsuko rocked the baby, who was falling easily asleep. Reijirou didn't really have anything to do, so he stood, stretching to loosen up, and just watched everyone. Kadiri and Hokusai both looked to be settling down after a few minutes, which could only be good.
He felt a presence next to him and looked up. Mitsukake was standing there, watching the room as he was, a bland expression on his face. Reijirou grinned. He knew better: under there, the healer was probably laughing at it all. "Did I miss the fun?" His deep voice seemed stoic, but Reijirou could detect a hint of amusement in the tones.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say you did."
"All right, who's first?" Risako asked cheerfully.
Kadiri and Hokusai looked at each other, then back at Risako. "Does it matter?" Hokusai asked.
Risako shrugged. "I don't think so."
They had both agreed to try the summoning, and to withhold judgement on the sanity of the others until they saw whether they succeeded or failed. With the introduction of Ashitare and his campaign against the Suzaku and Seiryu seishi into the conversation, it suddenly hadn't been a game to them any more. Reijirou's scars had proved that this could, indeed, be very, very deadly to one caught unprepared. And Adam's death was hanging over everyone's heads, a silent warning that the sooner they were finished, the better. But still, neither were willing to be the first. They looked back at each other as if daring the other one to go first and prove them wrong.
Keisuke groaned. "They won't decide at this rate, just flip a coin or something. Anyone have any loose change?"
"Yeah, here." Taka dug in his pocket and pulled out a 100-yen piece. He flicked it at his brother in law, who caught it and slapped it down on the back of his hand without looking at it. "All right you two… Kadiri, pick, heads or tails."
"Uh…" She glanced at Hokusai again, then looked nervously back at Keisuke. "…H-heads."
Keisuke lifted his hand. Tails.
Kadiri swore long and violently, making Tasuki blink at her in surprise, then grin in approval. "Tha's more like it…"
Yui silenced him with a sharp glare, then picked up the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho and walked over to Kadiri. "Relax," she told the younger woman with a smile. "Sit down." She steered her to a chair and gently pushed down on her shoulders until she sat. "It'll be all right. Trust me." Kadiri nodded slightly, keeping silently focused on Yui. "Now…" Yui placed the book in Kadiri's hands and positioned them the same way Miaka had done with Reijirou, Murai, and Gesshin, explaining to her the need to concentrate on Soi and only Soi while they were attempting this, how she couldn't move much or drop the book.
Mitsukake silently stood ready in case the same thing happened to Yui that had happened to Miaka when she called Nuriko.
Yui stood firmly in front of Kadiri, eyes closed and hands in the miko position, murmuring barely loudly enough to be heard. All eyes in the room were watching them anxiously, Morin and Hokusai easily the most worried. Tetsuya also looked concerned; the others were only wary.
The smoke plume began to grow from the book, making the Obinatas gasp and the rest sit up a little straighter. It was starting…
The smoke grew taller and wider, sweeping out from the book and making Kadiri squeak again, but she was too stunned to let go of the book. Yui's voice slowly gained volume but was still too soft for words to be distinguished. The dark shape began to form in the cloud. It was working…
"…from the book, please come out to us!"
The noiseless explosion came and went, taking the smoke with it. A new ghost-shape was revealed, dressed partially in ancient Chinese armor and partially in sand-colored clothes one wouldn't expect a girl to wear, with boots that came up to her knees and braces on her forearms. Her wine-colored hair, the same color as Kadiri's but about three feet longer, was tied in a loop on one side of her head with a long tail hanging down to her knees. She floated slowly to the ground in the noiseless room, touching the floor gracefully and opening her eyes.
Kadiri was openly staring in amazement. The two of them, like Reijirou and Nuriko, Murai and Mitsukake, and Gesshin and Tasuki could almost be twins. There were slight differences here and there, but they were the same height, about the same weight, with nearly the same face. Kadiri's eyes, however, were a startlingly brilliant blue, while Soi's were bluish-gray. But they could have been twins. They inspected each other closely, Soi looking for answers in her counterpart's form and Kadiri still in shock.
A soft growling broke through the silence, and everyone turned just in time to see Tasuki fly in Soi's direction, tessen drawn ominously. Apparently he hadn't been able to control his animosity… "YA FUCKIN' DEVIL!"
Soi just watched him come, raising an arm to point at him.
"Uh-oh… NO! SOI! DON'T!" Yui screamed.
WHUMP.
Tasuki was now squashed on the floor with one very large healer on him. The redhead began muttering into the carpet, and Mitsukake calmly punched him in the head with a force that would leave an ordinary man seeing stars. Soi blinked in surprise and slowly lowered her arm. "Is that good enough?" Mitsukake asked, standing up and brushing his hands off. "Sorry for taking your job, Nuriko."
"Eh, it's okay." The small seishi walked over and picked Tasuki up, instantly putting him in a headlock. "Look baka, we need to work together. So no attacking her, she's on our side."
Soi blinked again. "Your side? Yui-sama, are they in this too?" Reijirou, even though he was expecting it, was mildly creeped out: their voices were the same as well.
Yui nodded, watching her seishi carefully. She had never been as close to her bunch as Miaka had, but she had some fellow feeling with Soi… Both of them women, obviously, both betrayed by Nakago… now was what would determine the pattern of future meetings with her seishi, whom she hadn't known that well.
Apparently, Soi seemed to know this as well. Leaving Kadiri in her chair, she walked over and stood before her miko, eyes cast down to the floor. "Yui-sama… I'm… I'm sorry."
Yui sighed with relief. "It's all right… it's not your fault at all."
"Some of it is, and I'm sorry for it. After death, I had a few… lessons," she remarked ironically. "I think all of us did… Except Ashitare. I don't think he went to the same place, since he died an animal…"
Yui smiled. "You've changed, you know."
Amazingly, Soi smiled back - just a bit, but it was there. "So have you."
"While I hate interrupting this touching reunion…" Nuriko drawled, breaking the serious atmosphere. Heads turned in his direction and many people began to smother laughter; he was sitting on Tasuki, who was bound head to foot and soundly gagged. And struggling with all his might, but apparently Nuriko's strength was in effect even when he was sitting; the bandit wasn't getting anywhere. "We do have another to do."
"Hai. Kadiri, can I have the book?" Miaka approached Kadiri with her hands outstretched. Kadiri placed the book in them, and Miaka pushed Kadiri's mouth shut with a grin. Kadiri hesitantly smiled back, then stood cautiously and walked over to talk to Yui and Soi. "Now, Hokusai, you saw what happened. We need to do the-"
"Yui-sama!"
Kadiri and Soi quickly caught Yui as she started to fall, her eyes closing and the rest of her body going limp. It seemed Miaka wasn't the only one who the initial summoning proved too much for.
"Am I the only one getting a sense of déjà vu?" Nuriko inquired.
"No, but not many of us were there, remember," Reijirou answered.
"True."
Mitsukake sighed, but he quickly revived Yui and gave no other option but she sit on the couch and rest; she wasn't as weak as Miaka had been, but she was still unstable. Yui reluctantly and with only a token protest agreed as her husband added his voice to the order. Miaka waited long enough to make sure her best friend was fine, then began running through the list of instructions with Hokusai, guiding him into a chair and arranging the book in his arms.
With so many Suzaku seishi and seishi-incarnates present, there was very little risk to her health and the summoning seemed to go faster than ever. In no time the plume had grown, the final line had been shouted, and the familiar blue bangs were seen sticking up into the sky. The familiar kesa, kasa, even the shakuju were all there. The rings on the shakuju clinked together softly as the monk drifted to the floor, landing with almost cat-like agility.
He opened his eyes to see, not shock, but a look of pure bliss on Hokusai's face. "M-My god… It's real! How cool!" Hokusai's voice was quiet, but diffused with what could only be described as overwhelming joy.
"Nani no da?"
"E… Everything! How awesome!"
"He's a fiction writer, he thrives on this stuff," Miaka stage-whispered to the rest of the assembly.
Chichiri was there, fully and completely. His fox-like mask even hid his face, turning his eyes into slits and his mouth into a line. Part of his hair stuck straight up in the air, while the rest was cut short around most of the rest of his head, only a tail left at the nape of his neck. His baggy white shirt and brown pants looked exactly like the ones in Miaka's photo. He reached up and removed the mask from his face, revealing the scar that claimed half his sight.
There was more of a difference between Chichiri and Hokusai than anyone else, but it was plain to see that if slight "alterations" were made to one of them, they'd look more alike than any previous pair. Their hair was the same light blue, they had the same height and build, their eyes (or eye, in Chichiri's case) were the same warm brown. It was more than a bit surreal.
Suddenly Chichiri grinned. "You know, this could be fun no da."
"Oh yes," Hokusai agreed eagerly.
"Chiri!" Miaka threw herself at the monk, unable to hold back any longer, and hugged him fiercely. Chichiri turned around and hugged her back, dropping his staff on the floor with a clatter of metal. More enthusiastic reunions with Nuriko, Taka, and Mitsukake followed, even though Nuriko refused to stand up or untie Tasuki, something Chichiri found very amusing.
"So…" Tetsuya began when things had calmed down a little. "Who wants to explain everything to these two?"
A silence fell over the room as everyone looked back and forth from person to person, trying to decide who would have the momentous task of trying to explain what all had happened in a half-sane way.
Nuriko yawned very obviously, stretching luxuriously and not bothering to get off Tasuki, folding his hands casually behind his head. "Not me, thanks, my work here is done."
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The I.I. is that my muse seems to have deserted me on my on-going stories (Market and this one). I haven't been able to write anything for them in awhile, and now (especially on Market) I'm running out of pre-written chapters. So, since I don't want to force myself to write and end up producing bad material, I'm slowing down the posting pace to once a week regardless of which story I'm updating. Which means that posts for the stories will now come in two-week intervals, not one-week. Sorry, sorry, don't go after my head! But I flatly refuse to post bad things. I'll post any other sporadic stories (like "Characters," my newest one) as they come up, and you might wanna expect that with Market chapters soon. Being in school again is also cutting into my writing time, so I really am predicting that I'll run out of pre-written chapters on Market before I can get the rest of the story written. Sorry everyone, it's just the way things worked out.
Ara-chan: *appears out of nowhere to grab Kaze-chan and hold a water pistol to her head* All right! No one move!
Kaze-chan: What the HELL are you doing?!
Ara-chan: I'm taking him! No one can argue 'cause I'm holding the author hostage! *evil laugh*
Kaze-chan: Not only do most of these people not know who you are, they do not know what you're talking about. I, however, happen to know that you are short, not strong enough to hold me back, and very ticklish.
Ara-chan: But I'm taking him! And you can't stop me!
Kaze-chan: Watch me. ~to very befuddled readers~ Ara-chan's a friend of mine and has proclaimed herself not only the guardian and urge-to-write this story, but also the Official Glomper of Reijirou. Why I ever agreed to it I'll never know...
Ara-chan: Because at the moment I was holding Subaru and Tokaki hostage.
Kaze-chan: Yeah, but they could've easily gotten out of it.
Ara-chan: No they couldn't!
Kaze-chan: Yes they could!
Ara-chan: Nuh-uh!
Kaze-chan: Yuh-huh!
Ara-chan: Nuh-uh!
Kaze-chan: Yuh-huh!
Ara-chan: Nuh-uh!
Kaze-chan: Yuh-huh!
Risako: You gonna split them up Reijie-chan?
Reijirou: -.-;;;; Don't call me that! And I don't wanna die, Ara-chan is scary! Anyone wanna replace her? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase?
Ara-chan: *drops the water pistol and sprints over to GLOMP Reijirou in a Perma-Glomp*
Reijirou: O.O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Someone help me PLEASE!
