Disclaimer: You all know the drill.

Authors note: just a warning, this is basically chapter two again, only seen through the eyes of Rui, instead of Ari. It kinda tells you what's going on inside this guy's head during the whole situation. And believe me, it's pretty important stuff, creates a little bit of…what do they call it? Dramatic irony, I believe. Well sorry about not picking up from the cliffhanger in chapter two, but this is almost as good! Enjoy!

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Ch 3

Rui's Perspective:

                So. They caught a woman; something to make their insignificant lives somewhat meaningful. The poor thing.

 I watched as they toyed with her, tossed her from bandit to bandit hoping to scare her into meekness. They weren't getting very far. She was not one to tremble at the sight of a knife. In fact she seemed angry, very angry.

They got bored with her relatively fast. And we needed to keep moving. The ransacked village we left behind was no threat; that is until the men-folk return to find the bones of their families surrounded by the ashes of their homes and come in search of vengeance.

The whole situation made me sick.

So. They threw the woman—not much more than a girl really—at me. I was to play the nursemaid, or the jail keeper. Either way, I was stuck with another burden.

"Here Rui, you take the wench."

I hate them so much I don't even answer, just stare at the girl who is on the ground. She's dressed in men's clothing, but that's all I notice in the shadows of the forest. Her hands are bound in front of her and she's scowling like a dirty look alone could save her. The others laugh.

I pick her up by her shoulders and set her on her feet. She flinches away from me as if I had a plague.  I can't really blame her, even when she hisses, "Don't touch me!" I let her go and back away. She's much more scared than she's letting on. I could feel it in her shoulders. Yes. She is very scared.

"Fine. But I suggest you walk, otherwise you'll end up hogtied across the back of one of those horses. Believe me I've seen them do it before. Not a pleasant experience, you can be sure."

 I shouldn't have spoken to her. It's best not to think of her as a human. She'll fulfill her purpose and then they'll throw her away. It's no good to become attached to tomorrow's trash.

"How would you know what it's like to be kidnapped?"

I didn't like the way that conversation was headed so I didn't answer. I shouldn't have said anything to her. She'll be gone in a day or two. Best to not think of her as human.

But she looked …so… utterly lost. I couldn't leave her to face this completely alone.

 So I asked her how she ended up in the middle of the forest…and all alone at that. Most villages don't let their woman outside the main gates. Maybe she was a runaway. That would explain the disguise. 

I watched her as we walked through the forest shadows, a little apart from the rest of the bandits. Her strangely short hair gleamed golden in the sunlight. Her eyes were also a light color, blue or gray. I couldn't really tell. Her long legs easily kept up with the pace of the bandit leader.

Her clothing, or what was left of it, was alien to me, made of materials I had never seen before. She wore pants made of a light, tightly woven material and her shirt was a dark green that contrasted with her hair.

 She never really answered my question and instead asked another of her own.

"W-what's going to happen to me?"

I remembered again not to get attached to this temporary amusement of theirs and walked away.

"You don't wanna know."     

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                The forest was dark hours before sunset, but we didn't stop until twilight. I lost track of the girl while we unburdened the horses. She wouldn't get far with her hands tied. And besides, I didn't think she had a clue where she was headed. Just away, I guessed. Sounded hauntingly familiar.

                I made a small, smokeless fire in the center of the clearing. I wasn't lucky enough to make the food though. No. I'd be lucky if they let me eat the table scraps. I pulled out the corked pitchers of alcohol, ready to haul them over to the fireside. I paused…

                …And walked around to the other side of the horse, so the others couldn't see that I added a little potency to the flasks.

                There. I had done what I could. For the girl and myself. Only luck could help us now.

                At the thought of the strange captive, my eyes swept about the clearing, looking for her. She had found her way over to a corner of the clearing, away from the bandits. She leaned her back against the trunk of a tree, clearly exhausted. Her feet had ended up tied as well. The bandits did not want this one to get away; that was for damn sure.

                I set up the leader's tent. It was pointlessly large. It's not like anyone other than him slept in there…except when they caught a girl…like tonight.

I shook my head. There was nothing more I could do. I needed to stop thinking about her predicament and start worrying about my own.

The bandits had broken into the flasks of alcohol with real gusto. Good for them. The drunker they were, the easier it was for me to get away. I looked back at the girl. She was glaring daggers at the group. I laughed mentally and stood up. In her corner of the clearing it was certainly quieter, but also colder so far from the fire. I sat down next to her before she realized she wasn't alone, obviously lost in her thoughts. I couldn't blame her. I wouldn't mind being able to lose myself in my thoughts once in a while. But a distracted mind is a dead one.

She started when she saw my shadow, created by the glow of the fire. She squirmed away as I sat down on the packed earth.

"What? Come to have your way with me before the others remember I exist?"

I laughed at the ridiculousness of the fear-induced statement. She obviously didn't understand my position with this bunch. So I decided to play along.

"You sure know how to sweet talk a guy." I kept my eyes pointed in the direction of the firelight, hopefully sending her a message that I wasn't interested in that kind of entertainment. I could feel her eyes on me, but I refused to meet her gaze. So much for thinking of her as just a toy for the thugs. She was very real.

"Well excuse me for not being in the mood." Her retort was delayed and halfhearted. Her eyes continued to watch me. I gave her time, and a sudden thought hit me.

"I'll tell you what I am in the mood for…" Ahh, now she was scared again. She was as skittish as a rabbit, so I softened my voice. "…A story." I finished. She stared at me, completely lost.

"Excuse me?"

I turned away from the hypnotizing dance of the firelight and looked at her. "Yours. Why were you in the forest all alone? Why is your hair cut short and you're dressed like a man, when you are so obviously not? What is your story?"

I watched her gray eyes as she started to understand what I was asking for. Her expression soon changed from one of confusion to one of doubt.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I grinned at that, proudly showing off my rather sharp canines, and said, "Try me."

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So she told me her story. And what a story it was. I had a hunch from the beginning, I guess. But I wasn't certain. The clothing was a clue of course…but the give-away was the attitude. Konan hasn't seen such a mind-set in a woman since…

In other words, I wasn't all that surprised when she told me that she came from another world. The part about the book caught me off guard, though it had been mentioned in the stories. And I have heard all the stories. Many times over.
                She even spent the time searching for the tear in her shirt she'd gotten from the book when she had entered this world. She didn't need to show me proof though. I believed her. It was impossible not to. She clearly didn't belong here. Yes. I had quite a mess on my hands. I had found the potential Suzaku no miko, yet I couldn't do anything about it. Not yet, at least. I'd have to be careful if I wanted to stay out of the whole mess. Very careful.

She finished her tale and looked down at her bound feet. So I said what came first to mind. "That would explain the strange clothing."

"You believe me?" She stared at me in complete disbelief.

So that was when I told her the myth-that-wasn't-a-myth. The whole story of the young woman of legend. I had listened to my mother tell it over and over, never tiring of the tale. It was her favorite, and for a very good reason. And so, of course, I had it committed to memory. It was one of the only things I had to remember my mother by. She loved that story as much as she loved my father…if not more so. Perhaps she loved my father because of the legend. That made more sense than I cared to admit, so I ended that train of thought. And cut the story a little short.

"What—" she started before the shadow hand pulled her into the firelight. I had been lost in my memories and had not even seen the bandit leader lurking in the shadows. I watched him drag her into his tent. I watched…I had done what I could…now it was all up to Suzaku, and maybe a little bit of luck. If we survived this night I'd personally bring her to the emperor. However; despite all I promised, the guilt sat heavily on my conscience as I watched the night descend.

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Author's Note:  Well? How was that? I know that it wasn't very nice about the whole cliffhanger thing, but an author-ess has gotta do what she's gotta do. And I had to create some kind of a reader-character connection with Rui. Can anyone guess what's up with him? Very angsty past let me tell you, next chapter, I promise!

And now for some thank you's! I promised that I'd thank people for reviewing, so here it is!

Thank you Syane! For being my first reviewer, I'm glad you like Ari. I always thought the Suzaku no Miko should be someone very passionate, and that counts for a short temper as well. More on that later. Ari is a very emotional girl, that's just who she is, you know? About Rui having a touch of Tasuki in him…oh just you wait, just you wait! Bwahahaha!

Thank you Pseudomask! Thanks for the complement! I'm glad someone likes the way I write. Stupid English teachers don't seem all that impressed for some odd reason…go figure. Again, Ari is a very emotional girl, that's why I had her react the way she did at the beginning of the second chapter. She'll get better though. Hopefully, no more being so…girly. OK, I take that back. She is whoever she'll turn out to be. As for Rui…geez, this guy's got some serious emotional baggage, as you'll soon see. Poor guy…

Also thanks for reviewing my other fic. I'm glad you found it funny.

And to TA Maxwell, who didn't actually review this fic, but my other one and I thought I'd mention you here too! Thank you very much!

I seriously am sooooo happy when I get reviews. When the first one got through…I have never seen myself so happy-peppy! Thank you all again!

The scary thing is that I only have two reviews for this fic, but I'm still on cloud nine!

Next chapter on it's way soon!