DISCLAIMER: My current net worth is -$1.73. There's no way I own FY. Buuuuuuuuuut! I DO own an FY wallscroll now! WHOOOOOO!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: For once, I've got some serious notes dealing with the story itself instead of just my wacked-out life. For a long time I was worried that Reijie wasn't "Nuriko-y" enough, if that makes sense - that he didn't act enough like Nuriko to really be Nuriko. I am a firm believer in the idea that time/place/environment/life experiences shape you, so I expected some deviation - it just wouldn't be natural otherwise. But for a long time I thought he was acting too different, and I was worried that you guys would think so as well.
He's not as easy a person to characterize as, say, Tasuki. I'm always pretty confident when I write Gesshin - not because Tasuki's not complex and deep in his own way, but because it's easier to predict his reaction to things. He's the kinda guy that's always gonna be fine the way he is in any society - Nuriko changes a freakin' heck of a lot more, so you get all these variations on his character. I ended up deciding to not worry about how I'm doing Reijie - to paraphrase Popeye, he is who he is and that's all that he is. I also decided that he'd act more like Nuriko when he doesn't have all these other stressful things going on around him - enough strain'll crack anybody, even Hotohori.
Okay, second official note ~whips out sakabatou~ I demand that all of you, RIGHT NOW, go check out an author named Kryssa - the Best Kept Secret of the FY fanfiction world. Seriously, she is wonderful, and she doesn't get enough appreciation, readers, or anything. So people, GO READ BETWEEN SEISHI AND GODS - and don't forget to leave a review for her! ~waves sakabatou threateningly~ And Kris, I tollllllldja! ~griiiiiiiiins~ I just humiliated the seven suns outta ya, I know, but unfortunately Mouse beat me to the punch. But that doesn't mean I can't do it! You deserve it! PEOPLE GO READ HER STUFF!
All right, I think I better clear something up - NAKAGO/ADAM IS NOT ALIVE. Thank you.
Okay, review replies!
Draconsis, whee! Hope you had a good Christmas ^_^ And got any to add to that list? ~grins~ I wanna make a list and stick it on my website!
Zerianyu, don't worry, I like long! ^_^ And you get your wish, check at the bottom. Yes, I've seen Eikouden - in fact, I own two copies of it: one is the "official" English Pioneer product, the other is an import from China. The English subtitles on the Chinese one make me laaaaaaaaugh - they're SO HORRIBLE! ^_^
Sano ~laughs helplessly~ You're right, it's wouldn't be fair! But actually, I had no idea I was gonna do that until I was literally in the middle of 25 - now I've got more surprises worked out! ^_^ Stick around and see. And e-mail me and we'll debate that topic in the future...
Keimei, heyyyyyy! Glad to see ya again ^_^ The whole Risako-fainting thing is a mysteryyyyyyyyyy! And glad you liked Taka's speech - I actually tried to make Taka more Tamahome-like than he seemed in the OVA 1 & 2, because after all he's "one" or joined with Tama now, and I think that speech kinda shows it. And yep, it will be explained - right up front, with minimal delay! ^_^
Kris - feet ^___________________________^ That's all I'm gonna say.
Evil Hunter, you impress me again! Isn't being analytical fun? Yes, I am a Lit nerd, thankyouverymuch. Your theories are muuuchly appreciated - unfortunately, I can neither confirm nor deny anything! ^^;;;; Future plot point spoilers if I do. Trust me, everyone wants to know what it's about - I haven't even told Risako yet, and she's the one it concerns! So speculate away, I love hearing it! I just can't promise an answer! ^^;; And you're right about the initials thing - I realized that myself around chapter 24 ^_^ Coincidence is fun, ne?
Chibigreen, in case you didn't see it, yes he is ^_^ He's more a real ghost than anything else - a ghost that Seiryu's giving a few perks to. Detailed description below - ask if you've got any more questions ^_^
J. Liha, yes, you, hentai ~points at all the Market reviews as proof~
Quickening (~grins~), glad you're glad he's back. And of course they're being stubborn! I've realized that pretty much any character of mine is going to be at least a BIT stubborn. And answers will come, answers will come eventually! And I SWEAR I'm going to get around to reading that IY fic you've got soon - when I don't forget ^^;;;;; My mind is a sieve, it's terrible!
Flying heart, get off that damn malfunctioning school computer! ~grins~ Or at least on a non-malfunctioning one! And yes, another cliffhanger - you know me ^_~
Hotohori Fan, where was the trip to? *interest interest* Interesting? ~grins~ It's really getting twisted, if ya ask me. And as I've said before, answers below.
Skittles, it's okay, don't have a heart attack! ^_^ I had a sort of blah winter break, so I'm glad someone had a good one ^_^ And non-internet? Be still my racing, nervous heart!
Wow, that went fast this time!
"Adam…Nakago…"
The shogun/college student nodded soundlessly, the focus of his eyes direct and penetrating, yet indicating some great sadness, as wide as an ocean, that could only be seen through tiny windows. His mouth opened and began to move, forming shapes that should have been recognizable as sounds, but in fact released nothing. His words instead came as not-sounds that penetrated into the brain, agonizingly beautiful and wonderfully piercing at the same time.
"Yes, it's me," he said slowly, in that mind-to-mind "voice" which "sounded" like a recording of two extremely similar voices - Adam's and Nakago's - layered over each other, Adam's on top, and placed on reverb. "I can't be with you all now… I'm sorry. I was stupid, didn't watch out… and I paid the price."
"No, it wasn't your fault, you didn't know what was coming!"
"Yes. I did." He disregarded the startled gasp the response received and continued on, speeding up a bit as if he had to get the entire story out at once. "When I first saw Reijirou in class, something came to me. Even now I can't describe it accurately, although I now understand the full situation. At the time it was only a sudden realization that we shared the same fate, him and I, that the same thing would happen to us. A momentary epiphany that I quickly disregarded because of its complete illogic." The flowing ghost lowered his eyes, as if he couldn't stand to face any being at that point. "Maybe if I had learned to trust some of my more improbable instincts it would not have happened. Perhaps he would have been the one to die, instead…"
"He… He couldn't have died, Nuriko was with him, Nuriko sav-"
"I couldn't stay away from him," Adam interrupted. "When I died, I deliberately chose to remain on Earth so I could save him, and by extension every one of them that I had hurt so badly in the past… Nakago's penitence. I had to pay it myself. Seiryu was kind enough to allow Nakago to bond with me, even in the afterlife… We held Ashitare back that night."
"You WHAT?!"
The "voice" took a deliberate shift away from Adam's tones, approaching the much more authoritative tones of the Kutou Shogun, the body's form seeming to hold in the armor and cape just a tad longer than the red tee-shirt, which had until then been its primary garb. "In the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, I was uncontested as the most powerful man in the world. Perhaps the most powerful who had ever lived. No one and nothing could contest my power alone, and if Seiryu had not been sealed away by Suzaku no Miko in that last fight, I would no doubt control this world as well even now. Ashitare was only a speck in my sight, a good tool for some things but nothing beyond that, especially after we no longer seemed to need all of the Seiryu Shichiseishi alive to call our god. However, the afterlife combined with this world has cut my powers to a bare minimalist fraction of what they once were, and Ashitare has by some means even I cannot devise increased his power as well as become exponentially smarter.
"I was there that night that Reijirou was attacked. I could not prevent it, much as I wished to," he murmured, hanging his head again. It was bizarre to see the Shogun so… remorseful. "I was far too weak on my own. With his prey right in front of him, Ashitare was a wolf; nothing could distract him from his kill. I finally managed to send Nuriko a subconscious thought as to how he could stop the attack, and the Suzaku seishi followed it. Nuriko combined with Reijirou and they managed to fight the wolf off and escape, running for the hospital. What they did not realize was that Ashitare was only unconscious for a few seconds, enough for them to turn the corner out of sight, but not far away enough to hide from his sense of smell. He would have followed and undoubtedly caught the pair before help could arrive if I had not confused his senses into following a trail that lead in the entirely wrong direction, with a strong dose of subliminal ki to prevent him from making his way to the area of the hospital."
"Why… Why did you do all this?" It was completely incomprehensible; Nakago cared for no one.
The Shogun sighed deeply, the windows to sadness opening slightly more as he once again raised his head. "I have been in a living hell before. I can assure you that the spiritual hell is much, much worse. I was tortured by having to know exactly how each of my victims felt every time I did anything to them, and the feelings were magnified a thousand fold and repeated until the end of time. I have no desire to let anyone suffer again as I and as everyone I knew once did. It perhaps may not sound truthful, but it's nothing less." Nakago once again shrunk back as Adam reclaimed dominance, the red of his shirt standing out all the more sharply after the blue armor, which almost blended into the surroundings. "You've got almost all of them, and everyone is on their guard. It won't be as easy for him to attack any one of you now, but he's persistent enough to try another way at you. Watch carefully. I stay with him now, watching him and doing what I can to confuse his thoughts and memories, but I get precious little accomplished." Completely unexpectedly, he grinned - a weird expression even on Adam's face, as none of them had ever seen him smile. "Being dead is such a pain in the ass.
"Listen," he said quickly when no response came to that rather startling statement. "I don't have much time. I'll stay with Ashitare and do what I can, but you have to warn everyone to not drop their guards. The only way for this to end is for Ashitare to die, and he won't die easily. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise… what?"
Grimly, he shook his head. "You don't want to know." Suddenly his head jerked upwards, the blue sun lights seemed to coalesce about his body, giving him more than the traditional ethereal glow. He watched the… sky… for a long moment, before slowly looking down again. "I have to go. He's moving, I have to follow." The colors of his clothes, his hair, his unimaginably sad eyes seemed to flow like a river out of every section of his body, all heading down his torso and out into the blue through his feet, joining the patterned waves around him.
Just before he disappeared, he heard one last question. "What do you want me to do?!"
"Wake up."
Gotta warn them gotta tell them gotta warn them gotta tell them…
Risako's eyes snapped open.
I WAS ABOUT TO TRUST NAKAGO!
Something just wasn't right with that picture…
Reijirou spent five seconds standing in the hall after he left Risako's room, not sure why he was doing it but just knowing that his feet didn't want to move him in the direction of the general gathering, where there seemed to be a lot of commotion. He briefly wondered if they needed him to hold Taka or maybe Soi back from attacking Tomo, but then let the idea go (Nuriko and Tasuki and Hotohori and Chichiri and Mitsukake were there, after all) and turned into the doorway that was almost right across the hall from Risako's, closing the door behind him.
He was nearly sorry he had. It was obviously Ryobe and Hoshiko's room, with the walls painted a cool blue, photographs everywhere, a well-worn spread on the bed, and random pieces of clothing scattered in places. He had mortified himself with this family enough lately without going through the parents' personal things, however unintentionally, and turned to leave.
However, before he could get out the door, something caught his eye, and he slowly sat on the bed, picking it up. It was a framed picture of the Daishi family, taken on an outing to the park when Risako was incredibly small, possibly smaller than Naora. Hoshiko and Ryobe were obviously only in their early thirties, and it was a candid shot: Hoshiko was kneeling at the top of one of the jungle gym apparatus that had a slide attached to it, and Risako was sitting at the top of the slide, gripping the sides with her tiny fingers, her mother's hands on her back, ready to push her down. Ryobe stood at the bottom, arms extended, ready to catch the small girl. Risako was obviously a bit frightened, but her tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth determinedly, and she was about ready to push off, her parents' smiles encouraging her. It was the same determined look he'd seen on her face several times in the past weeks, except in a younger version on a head with pigtails.
He groaned and flopped back on the bed, lying across it sideways and rubbing his face with his hands. He'd said earlier that he felt sorted out, that everything was fine, that he knew what it was about, but nooooooooooo. True, at that time, he had felt better, but it definitely hadn't lasted. He wasn't sure whether it was his confused little mind making even more trouble for him or a shock effect of Risako going under again or what. He just knew that somehow he felt even more turmoil. At least he didn't feel like lashing out at someone now, but he still wouldn't want to talk about it with anyone. He didn't even think he could last two seconds in polite company without shaking to pieces from jitters caused by whatever was the matter with him.
He decided to stay right where he was until everything was better - or as long as they let him.
Which, knowing them, wouldn't be very long.
Tasuki had Chiriko in an enthusiastic hug, of all things, shouting happily about how it was so great to see him again and many other things, all with appropriate exclamations, of course. Daisuke, meanwhile, was staring at his mini-clone, as if even after seeing a summoning (his own, at that!) he couldn't quite believe it was real and happening to him. He had an analytical mind, less so than Chiriko's own, but more so than Suezo's, and it was driving him crazy. This type of thing went against all the known laws of the universe and everything he'd ever read, except science fiction books! And the "fiction" was a pretty key part of the phrase, wasn't it? Fiction, meaning laws of time and physics were regularly broken and the reader had to have a willing suspension of disbelief. Well, screw it, his disbelief was planted firmly on the ground and wasn't getting suspended anywhere if he had a say in it. This was all way too improbable for him to make any sense of - except it had happened, hadn't it?
"Are you all right?" a familiar voice asked from above his shoulder. Daisuke immediately turned to find Tetsuya-san standing behind him, apparently watching the reunion instead of him, but with those ever-present sunglasses you never knew. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"According to you all, I have, haven't I?" Daisuke shot back with a twist to his voice that made Tetsuya frown a bit. "This is all so… so…"
"Improbable? Illogical? Unbelievable? Implausible? Inconceivable? Staggering? Dubious? Strange? Just plain wrong?" Another voice over his other shoulder sent him spinning again, to find the tall doctor - what was his name, Sao or something? - next to Tetsuya-san, giving him a look that said all too well that he knew exactly how Daisuke was feeling at that moment. "You're absolutely right. It's all those things and much more. But, being the sane medical professional I am, I can tell you that it's completely true." The tall doctor looked down from his muuuuuch greater height, and to Daisuke's complete surprise, he was suppressing a smile. "Just be glad they didn't have to convince you the way they did me - though I doubt Nuriko would mind performing again."
"Um… Excuse me, I don't think I heard you right. 'Performing again'? What did he do to you?" Daisuke asked, casting a nervous look at the chipper-looking purple haired seishi.
"Oh, nothing much. Nearly put me through the ceiling in the hospital, but that was all." This time the doctor was definitely grinning.
Tetsuya-san shook his head in a hopeless manner. "I may be obsessed with that book, but that's one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not a seishi - I don't nearly get killed to get me to believe something."
His protégé, however, wasn't looking at him. Rather, he hadn't turned from Murai, making Tetsuya's hidden eyebrow raise a bit. "You…" Daisuke began, sounding a bit awed. "You seem so familiar."
Murai cast a quick look at Tetsuya, not exactly sure what to do in this situation. It hadn't quite happened this way at any other summonings, but Daisuke seemed to be having a harder time accepting it than anyone before him. Tetsuya shrugged a little, clearly not sure what to do either, and the doctor decided that blunt would probably be his best option - after all, Tasuki couldn't keep Chiriko distracted forever and those two needed to talk. Soon. "When we lived in the other world, we… spent a lot of time with each other. You seemed-" he made sure to stress that word, the memories Mitsukake had given him had proved completely the other way "-like a small boy that needed our protection, and I couldn't help watching out for you. It was proved completely opposite, of course… You were braver than any of us."
Daisuke could only remain staring at him, the disbelief gone from his expression and a tremulous sort of hope on his face. "I don't have a father…" he murmured, as though he wasn't even aware he was saying it. If he was, he certainly would have wondered exactly what the hell had prompted him to tell that rather private and painful fact to a complete freakin' stranger. But either his disbelief was finally getting suspended, or Murai - with Mitsukake's help - was finally getting through to him.
A pair of golden eyes watched the trio from across the room. Chomei had come up, been introduced to everyone, and nearly thought himself to be insane. He thought he recognized Taka from seeing him around the university, but why would a professor be at this party Risako's parents seemed to be giving? Suezo was a bit more logical to explain, as once again he'd seen the long-haired boy around the building, but he didn't seem the type that Risako would hang out with, and again what was he doing at her parents' party? And even more baffling, what were two fourteen-year-olds doing there? The only people old enough to be their parents were Risako's parents. It was possible they could have been some other relation to someone in the room, but they looked nothing like anyone else. No one else seemed that odd or out of place to him, though - except for Gesshin, who he'd explained away with the guess that he was Reijirou's friend. But he couldn't get rid of the feeling that all these people were watching him very closely, whether he knew them or not. And they'd been remarkably tight-lipped; the only conversation he'd heard was stuff more boring than his Thursday management class. And none of it was directed his way. It was… odd, to say the extreme least.
Then had come those two from the bookstore - another round of introductions for the shorter, younger one, who had seemed to be thrust into much the same position he had been. Chomei and Daisuke had felt a brief bond of togetherness as their eyes connected through the crowd, confusion evident in both slightly wide pairs… But for some reason the two "unknowns" weren't allowed to band together, being kept apart by just about everyone for some reason neither one of them could figure out. There seemed to be some sort of mild confusion for quite a few minutes, which Chomei gathered was from Reijirou and Risako's prolonged absence (but hadn't they gone to the store?). And then…
It was… It was just… It was impossible. That was all there was to it. He was having some sort of dream. That would explain why the number of people in the room almost doubled all of a sudden. He'd just sat calmly in his chair, waiting for the strange dream to run itself down so he could wake up while Daisuke tried to run from everyone and was stopped by a rather tall ghost-looking thing with flaming red hair - who looked incredibly like Gesshin, as a matter of fact.
And then… Chiriko's summoning… He had to admit that it all felt much too real for it to be a dream or a hoax. A wisp of that smoke stuff had floated over to him and landed on his hand - and gave him such a shock that he had severe trouble stuffing his hand in his mouth, both to make it feel better and to stop his yelp of pain. Dreams wouldn't hurt like that. They always stopped right before you got to the pain part. So this couldn't be a dream…
But did he want it to be real? This Tomo person… He didn't sound too nice. And while he could look at Soi and Suboshi and wonder how they'd ever been violent antagonists who killed the other people standing in front of him, he couldn't be anywhere near sure that the same thing would happen with Tomo. Tomo, this guy who was supposedly him, and vice versa. To tell the truth, he sounded… kind of like a freak. The make up Yui-san described, the clothing Soi said he wore - and he'd noticed that finding nice things to say about him seemed to be incredibly hard for all associated with Seiryu present, which could mean one of two things. He could either have been very reserved and closed, not allowing anyone to get near him… or he could have been as evil as everyone was saying this Ashitare guy was. All in all not the best set of possibilities - a misanthrope or a freaky evil dude. And he didn't really want to find out which was the right answer. Chomei glanced around, making sure that everyone was occupied with something or other, and quietly slipped out of the main room and down the hall to the rest of the apartment.
He'd been in the Daishi apartment before, several times actually. After all, Risako was a long-standing good friend of his and her parents didn't have any problems with him either. When they went somewhere together, they normally met at her place first. So he knew precisely where he was going when he set his hand on the metal handle of the door across from Risako's and turned it, hoping for a minute alone to sort this barrage of information out.
The closed door should have been a sign - after all, he'd never yet see Hoshiko or Ryobe shut it entirely - but Chomei was shocked to discover someone else in there. Reijirou was sprawled sideways over the bed on his back, his head falling over to the left, eyes closed, mouth slightly open. His legs below the knees flopped over the edge of the bed and hung there, his arms were askew on either side of his body, and one hand was clutching a familiar picture of the Daishi family that he didn't bother to glance too closely at. Chomei could only stand in the middle of the floor and stare. Reijirou looked so… so… innocent and trusting when he was asleep, more fragile than he would have thought, almost like a little kid. There was just something about this boy that grabbed him and wouldn't let him go, some reason why Reijirou's avoidance hurt him more than he'd been hurt by anyone before. If this seishi business was the truth, that feeling of camaraderie might be a possible reason - but somehow, Chomei didn't think that was why. It was something about Reijirou himself - he didn't even get that feeling from Nuriko. So… he had to give him up.
It wouldn't do either of them any favors for Chomei to keep chasing him, and would only cause pain, suffering, and the destruction of a possible friendship before it really had the chance to get going. At that point, Chomei needed friends more than romance, what with fighting his father and all, and here was a person he just didn't want to lose. So it was for the best. He'd let Risako have him without a fight, and offer his hand again, in friendship this time, and hope Reijirou accepted him.
But even with all the logical thinking, he couldn't just accept defeat that easily. He sat extremely carefully on the corner of the bed to avoid alerting Reijirou to his presence, and just stared down at the younger man. Some of his friends might have called Reijirou too girly-looking, but to Chomei, he wasn't feminine at all. Yes, he was beautiful, but it was the type of beauty that didn't need a gender, much more universal than "pretty" or "handsome." Chomei allowed himself a few moments to stare, fixing that face in his mind, as one hand absently and very lightly stroked Reijirou's shaggy hair. Then, completely on impulse, he bent down and gave him a light kiss.
He didn't know what made him do that, but it was enough. "Thank you," he whispered so softly it was barely a breath of sound. He carefully rose and, with one last glance back at the sleeping boy, he exited the room.
Once outside, Chomei had to take a deep breath, hold it, then let it out in a deep sigh to try to feel normal again. He was prepping himself to head back to the chaotic main room when he thought he detected a noise under the buzz of commotion - a shuddering heave for breath. And it sounded like it was coming from Risako's room, which was right in front of him. He was comfortable enough with this family to have no worries about what he did in their home, so he simply pushed the door open a few inches and poked his head in. "Risako? Are you in here?" After all, thinking logically, if Reijirou was back then so was Risako.
"Y… Yes," came her voice, more than slightly abnormal. Chomei frowned; she sounded like she'd run a marathon and then been frightened out of her wits. "You can come in if you want…"
"Are you all right?" he asked as he stepped through the door. Risako was seated sideways on her bed, leaning against the wall, bits of hair falling over her face (which looked slightly pale), and breathing a bit harder than usual. "You don't look good."
She made a face as he approached the bed and sat down next to her, leaning against the wall himself. "Is it that apparent?"
"Definitely."
"Thanks for the honesty," she said somewhat ironically. "It's nothing, I just had- one weird dream."
"Feel like talking about it?" he queried, tilting his head slightly to look at her.
She replied with a quick shake of her head. "Not yet. But what are you doing back here? Shouldn't you be getting acquainted with Tomo?"
Chomei winced slightly; he should've known she'd ask. "Well, they haven't gotten around to me yet… But I came back here to tell you something. And ask something, also," he remembered to add. Risako just gave him an inquisitive look, wordlessly urging him to go on. His mouth tightened a little at the corner as he thought of "what could have been" if he took another path, but he knew he was doing the right thing. "I'm giving Reijirou up."
Needless to say, that took her aback. She'd clearly seen the look of pain and longing in Chomei's eyes when she and Reijirou had run into him in the parking lot, and he was a friend. She didn't like her friends feeling that way. In many other cases, she'd be helping Chomei try and get the guy - especially since he seemed to be more serious about this one than any she'd seen before. But for some reason she was helping Reijirou keep away from him, and hurting her friend indirectly in the process… Was it because she was spending more time with him than Chomei at this point? "You're giving him up? Why? Normally you're so determined."
"But I don't want to chase him away. I just…" He sighed, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. "It's really hard to explain. I don't know if I can do it outside my head. I guess… I just wanna keep him around in any way possible, and that can't happen if he's scared of me - which, judging by his reaction last night, he is."
"Oh. So you figured it out?"
"Your little ruse? Yeah. It wasn't that hard - once I sat down and thought it over for a long time. And that kind of brings me to my question…" Chomei turned to look at her, completely serious. "Why don't you take him?"
"ME?!" Risako squawked, bolting upright and staring at him as if he were completely insane. "ME?!"
"Why not you? Look, it's obvious that you care about him-"
"WHAT?! Last night was just to get you off his back!"
"It's obvious, all right? Just take it from me." Chomei gave her sort of a half-grin. "After all, when it comes to things like this, I think like a girl, remember? Believe me, it's obvious. Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to do such a convincing job at the party."
"But I don't care about him, not like that-"
"Didn't enjoy kissing him? Didn't enjoy feeling those soft, warm lips against your own, that adorably messy hair caressing your skin-"
"HENTAI!" CRASH. "Howdidyouknowallthat?!"
"Owwwwwwwwwww…" Chomei groaned from the floor. He carefully raised an arm to rub his head, checking it for lumps. "Well… your father's training hasn't gone to waste, I see."
"Just answer my question!!!"
Fortunately for Chomei, a sleep-tousled head with bleary eyes poked itself in the room, trying to focus on the blurry figures. "Whaz goin'n?" Reijirou mumbled. As his eyes focused a bit more, he could see Chomei on his back on the floor, arms held up in a defensive position, and Risako actually standing on the bed, towering six feet over him, a look of complete almighty wrath on her face and what looked like a volume of the encyclopedia held in her hands over her head, ready to smash it down on Chomei's head. Okay, THIS is weird… "Um, Ris'ko, 're ya gonna kill'm?" His voice was taking a bit longer to work than his eyes, but he was pretty sure he got his meaning across.
"I just might…" she said through extremely clenched teeth.
"You know, I think-they-might-be-ready-for-me-now," Chomei babbled in a rush, then quickly twisted to his feet and dashed out the door, ignoring Reijirou completely in his attempt to get away from Homicidal Risako.
"Ah… O…kay." Reijirou, not surprisingly, was completely baffled. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," Risako replied, dropping the heavy book (which turned out to be something from her Art class) back next to her bed and climbing down, taking a deep breath to calm down and stop herself from strangling Chomei in the next five minutes. Either he had a really good imagination or he'd- GAH! "Just something he said."
Reijirou got the definite impression that he didn't want to know anything more. "Well, if they're going to call Tomo-" he was interrupted by a yawn. "Sorry. I better get out there in case they need to hold someone back."
"All right, I'll go with you. Wait, come here, you look a mess." Risako grabbed his arm and pulled him into her room, then began smoothing down his messier-than-normal hair in a very mother-like way. Or at least, that's what he thought. Risako couldn't help think about Chomei's words and concentrate on the feel of Reijirou's bits of hair running under her fingers, but she made herself steadfastly refuse to show it as long as she was looking at him. Even if Chomei was right - and she wasn't admitting he was - she couldn't give it away this early in the game. Still, his hair is so great, thick and unruly and STOP THIS RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY!
"Risako? What is it?" asked the calm one of the pair.
Risako bit her tongue to stop her from saying anything or making stupid faces. "Nothing," she lied through her teeth. "C'mon, let's go."
In some ways, it was like any other summoning.
In others it was a disaster.
Daisuke had finally calmed down sufficiently to talk to speak semi-sanely with Chiriko, listening and nodding gravely at all the right places, understanding most of what he took in - and hoping to whatever god there was that the rest of it would become clear once he read the Shi Jin. Hey, if he was suddenly seeing Murai as some sort of long-lost father figure, and Gesshin, as weird as it sounded because he was actually older than the fire-headed working teen, as a strange older brother - well, why not believe the mini-him? Chiriko was, undoubtedly, the most logical person he'd ever met, and definitely the most mature thirteen-year-old. A bit too serious perhaps, but Daisuke knew well that he could have that fault, too, at times - maybe he'd gotten more from this tiny scholar than he'd originally been told. But behind those wide green eyes, he thought he saw a spark of laughter, fun, and mischief - a normal thirteen-year-old boy inside just waiting to be let out at the proper time.
"All right everyone, let's get going!" Daisuke turned to once again look at the assembly as Morin's voice rang over people's heads. She was standing pretty close to the hallway, so she was in a perfect position to collar Chomei (literally) when he sped down from Risako's room like the hounds of hell were at his feet. Chiriko shook his head as Chomei's feet shot forward from under him, head being jerked back by the hand on his collar. Needless to say, he couldn't keep his balance and fell flat on his back, dazedly wondering if everyone here wanted to kill him.
"Eh-heh… oops," Morin grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Chomei-kun." She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, then passed him off to Yui, who grabbed his shoulder to stop him falling over. His eyes were still a bit unfocused as she led him to the chair that had been set in the middle of the room and lightly pushed him into it - once he was seated, he seemed to get control of all his systems again. He wordlessly held out his arms for the book, face turning grave and serious.
Daisuke could see something else as well. Chomei was definitely experiencing apprehension and fear. It was apparent in the way his eyes widened a tiny bit, how his arms grew stiff as Yui slid the book into them, the slight pallor that had come to his features. Next to him, Chiriko had grown suspiciously silent, and when Daisuke looked down to ask what was the matter, words fell short of his mouth. Chiriko was wearing the exact same look, except without the tinge of resigned patience that topped off Chomei's pile of emotions. A quick glance around showed Miaka, Yui, Nuriko, Soi, Amiboshi, Suboshi, and even to some extent Mitsukake sporting the same expressions, while Tasuki was putting forth quite a valiant effort to control his anger, his fingers flexing convulsively on the handle of the tessen. Taka and Chichiri's faces were impassive masks, but he could tell that both of them were also doing some serious anger management at the moment. Hotohori seemed to be the only ghost without an easily determined reaction - hardly surprising, given how he'd been trained to appear neutral under stress for eighteen years. Every "modern" person in the room was watching Yui anxiously as she stepped back from Chomei, giving the directions that most gathered there knew by heart - think about the seishi, don't lose focus, etcetera etcetera. Chomei nodded all the way through, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath as Yui began to chant.
Daisuke didn't have to be there anymore. His part, and the other Suzakus' parts, was over, and they were all free to return home and pursue their normal lives - if you could call having a ghost at your shoulder "normal". However, they stayed, mostly out of a sense of morbid curiosity as to how all these seishis' reactions would influence the summoning and its results. Daisuke, however, was struck by a different reason to stay - to support Chomei, who appeared more isolated sitting in the crowd of people than Daisuke had felt when everyone was giving him a wide berth. After all, the college student hadn't asked for this any more than he had. He glanced down at Chiriko, gauging if it was all right for him to do this, then quietly began making his way through the throng, trying to get closer to the chair. He was small, but he was better than nothing.
He didn't quite make it, though. Before Daisuke could politely nudge his way past everyone without disturbing them or breaking anyone's concentration, the book was smoking, the dark shape was growing, Yui's voice was reaching a crescendo, and then, finally, the smoke exploded away from a decidedly odd figure. He had plenty of time to focus on it since everyone was holding their breath as the smoke rolled in on itself and disappeared, waiting for this one's first action much more tensely than any before. The first thing that struck the eyes was the vivid orange-red color of his… robes, or whatever they were; he'd naively assumed that their world wouldn't have such startling clothes colors for commoners, since those dyes were incredibly expensive. Then he remembered that Tomo had been a performer, and that cleared up that mystery. But still, the color was rich, as were the yellow and black accents. The long hair, crown, and trailing streamers of feathers all came in one fell swoop, making his eyes widen in astonishment as to how out there this person really was. His hair had to be as long as Kadiri's, and the feathers were just as long and even rose a bit in the air from the crown before they fell down his back! But what ultimately fixed his attention was Tomo's face. It was just as Yui and Kadiri had said - white make up was layered so thickly over his skin that had Tomo had any color in his cheeks it still would have been hidden. His eyes - slightly narrower and more cunning than Chomei's, he noticed - along with his nose and chin had been traced and accented by indigo and black, with a huge gold-rimmed red spot in the middle of his forehead.
No doubt about it, this guy was weird-looking.
No one spoke as the surprisingly plain black boots settled to the floor and Tomo opened his eyes, glancing at the assembly before him. He assessed them all coolly, through impersonal eyes, his gaze leaving no one in the strange throng untouched. The feeling in the air wasn't tense; it was apprehensive. All the seishi and the mikos were staring at him like he was a ticking time bomb that might not have been defused. Needless to say, that attitude was not conducive to a friendly atmosphere.
And I bet it'll be even worse when we find that Mi-whatever guy, Daisuke thought ironically, and not without a trace of justifiable anger. Or maybe not. I know everyone has redeeming qualities, but did either of them show any in their interactions with the others? I guess only Soi knows… And man, she looks pissed.
Yup, the other longhaired Seiryu seishi did indeed look more than mildly ticked off, but she was holding back from exploding - barely. Her fists were clenched by her sides, bent in towards her body and shaking slightly from her effort to restrain herself. It seemed that she could not let go of her rivalry with the other seishi, even with Nakago dead. In fact, it might even have strengthened because of that - both of them would need someone to take out their frustrations on.
Tomo, however, paid absolutely no attention to her. Instead, when his eyes stopped roving, they landed squarely on Chomei, giving the modern, very different him a direct, unreadable look. Chomei felt himself growing uncomfortable under that stare, as if Tomo's eyes could see straight through his skin and to the very core of his sole - and fell visibly limp when Tomo lowered his head and proceeded - all visible jaws dropped as far as they could go - to take off his crown and feathers. The long ponytail slid slowly through the crown, the slipping of the hairs on metal very evident in the dead silence, and when he was through he placed the crown on the floor as his ponytail flopped forward over his shoulder. He then raised one hand, head still tilted down, to his face, touching it delicately… And raised his head to Chomei, and his eyes were now readable. They were… dim, shadowed, with a mist of emotion. It almost seemed like… remorse.
Chomei's eyes widened in surprise at the complete opposite of what he'd expected, but before he could mention it or Tomo could say a word on his own an animal-like yell of rage rent the silence, issuing from a body lit with startling red light emanating from its forehead. Everyone spun to watch in that direction, even Tomo, most stepping back and unconsciously opening a path between the men. Taka stood at the end, eyes ablaze and fists held up to deliver a fatal first punch. Daisuke didn't even have time to process the information - itmakessensetamahomestheonethatsufferedthemostfromhimnearlybeingkillednearlylosingmiaka - his brain was belatedly sending him before Taka - no, Tamahome - rushed down the aisle that had opened with far too much speed to literally kill Tomo.
"TAKA!" Something slammed into the floor at speeds comparable to Taka's not three feet from Tomo, flattening the man in an instant and stopping the homicide in progress (that wouldn't have worked anyway, seeing as how Tomo was not really alive to begin with). After a second in which everyone held their breaths, Reijirou pushed himself up with his arms, his breathing a little belabored but otherwise not bad. "Damnit you dumb imbecile… You can't do that," he muttered, pushing himself off his teacher to kneel next to him on the floor. Risako and Miaka tentatively approached the duo from either side, Miaka pressing a hand to her husband's forehead and glancing at Reijirou a bit worriedly. He just shook his head. "He'll be fine. We just used a little more force than we meant to."
We? Chomei thought a bit dazedly. Who's we? Then he noticed that Reijirou was moving just slightly differently, his voice sounding just the slightest touch lighter than it normally did - and when he caught a glimpse of the younger boy's eyes, he saw that the brown had started to overwhelm the natural green of the hazel color they usually were. He thought he understood; someone had mentioned the seishi being able to enter your body and bestow their powers on you, and he suspected he was seeing some of the side effects. Although how he could tell the slight differences were there was not something he wished to dwell on right at this particular moment.
Tomo looked for a long moment at Taka, whose eyes were fluttering open at last, then up again, his eyes immediately coming to rest on Soi. And regardless of what she saw there, her fist clenched tighter. "Soi," he began, inclining his head to her.
"Tomo," she replied through clenched teeth.
His gaze remained on her for another few seconds, almost seeming hurt, before traveling to Amiboshi and greeting him in a similar fashion, but the young seishi seemed to shrink back as he returned the greeting. His brother was less overtly hostile than Soi, but he was still wary and replied with caution.
Among his contemporaries, there was not one openly friendly face in the room, most of them showing a mix of apprehension and anger or worry. Even among the modern people there was no warm smile, but mostly wary looks of "what's going to happen next." He could see Tasuki's lip curled up in a snarl, leaving one fang exposed, Chiriko's small form trying to duck behind his modern (significantly taller) counterpart, the glint in Reijirou's eyes that boded very ill for him. Even Yui, his own miko, was hesitant to approach him and had only started doing so.
It was very clear what their view of him was, and after his "lessons" in the afterlife, the ones that had drug Soi and Suboshi and Nakago through their wringers already, he couldn't really say he blamed them. True, he'd had a really shitty beginning in life, but he finally understood that you couldn't just funnel the repressed anger into the quickest release, striking back at people in the way you yourself were struck at. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to believe that he could have come out of the same ordeals the other Seiryu had faced - and the rest looked to trust the other Seiryu - changed. He looked down again, trying to once again see the makeup he desperately wanted to remove, and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he said - and vanished.
AUTHOR'S NOTES II: Well, at least one person asked for it, so I'm giving you two, since it might help you understand these guys better. Profiles, but brief profiles.
Reijirou, as well as his two siblings (older sister Chiaki, younger brother Hajime), was born on the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido. His father worked in advertising and was transfered to Tokyo when Reijirou was ten, and the entire family went. He did most of the usual things in school (some sports, hanging out with friends, keeping up with his grades pretty decently), but always seemed a bit different than the other guys - almost more understanding of the "fairer sex." He had/has several friends of both sexes, all of whom feel comfortable talking to him about just about anything, and as a result he's become somewhat of the local expert in knowing what the opposite sex is feeling and being able to explain it to whoever's asking. Perversely, he's stayed well away from the romance game and gossip. Yes, he's been on dates, but never really serious ones - and usually only at others' prodding. He's definitely strong, but definitely doesn't look it as he's more small-boned than anything. He hates being mistaken for a girl (because when he is, guys usually try and hit on him in the most pathetically perverted way possible) but unfortunately it happens more than he'd like. College freshmen with no definite major or plans for the future, at the moment at least, with a biiiiiit of a temper.
Kadiri is a minor self-success story. She was born to a deadbeat mother who basically didn't take care of her at all, never worked, and could barely take care of herself. She never knew her father, and decided at a young age that she didn't want to know him, and it's never bothered her since - that she shows, anyway. Fortunately when she was around four or five her mother's unmarried sister petitioned for custody of her niece and was granted it. She didn't make much money, but she was a much better caretaker than her deadbeat sister and Kadiri could have more of a normal life with her. She went to school and to college, working her way through to pay the bills so as not to place the strain on her aunt, and became a manager at the store Reijirou works at. She is a very outgoing, confident person - once you get to know her. Her early life prevents her from opening up to people immediately and being the type of person she calls a "social butterfly" - always going out, tons of friends, knows everybody and is known by everybody. She likes spending time alone, but is also somewhat lonely. She has very few illusions about romance and has never really indulged in one - until now, because her expectations were too high (she's giving Keisuke a try now, and so far it seems to be going all right). She has tact, but it's always a guessing game as to when and if she'll choose to use it. She has plans to buy out the music store when she gets enough money. She also has a strange fascination with American films from pre-1970.
If you guys wanna know about any character, just ask! ^_^ I'll do my best to explain.
Now - GO READ KRYSSA'S STUFF! NOW!
