And here's Chapter 5 for everyone to enjoy! Things are beginning to move now, and some things will be explained soon…Yay! Answers to questions come at the end of the chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 05:
Lessons
As the seishi discussed strategy late into the night, Elwing and Iris began to wake. The first to groan her way back to wakefulness was Elwing. As she sat up rubbing her head, everyone rushed over to her bedside.
"How do you feel, no da?" Chichiri asked her.
"Like I got in the way of a stampede of wild horses." Elwing admitted, "What happened? I seem to remember there was a ceremony to call the seishi, and all this red light, then I passed out."
"Well, we called the seishi all right, look around you, no da!"
Elwing looked around. "I see. They look very substantial for spirits!"
Nuriko laughed. "That's because we're not spirits anymore. You and your friend brought us back to life!"
"They all look just like you showed me," Elwing said to Chichiri, "except Chiriko. Why is that?" she asked.
"We came back at the ages we should have been." Chiriko explained once again. "For most of the others the change is hardly noticeable, but I went from thirteen to sixteen, so there's a more substantial change in my appearance."
"Where's Iris?" Elwing asked, suddenly aware of her friend's absence.
"You both passed out, and she hasn't woken up yet, no da." Chichiri admitted, "She's in the bed in the next room, through that door, no da."
Elwing stood up slowly, and once she was sure she wasn't going to pass out again, went into the next room where Tasuki was still sitting, watching and waiting for Iris to wake up. She seemed to simply gaze at her friend for a moment, and Chichiri was aware of her chi reaching out to touch Iris, then Elwing nodded to herself. "I can handle this," she said.
"No, I won't allow it, no da." Chichiri stood between her and the bed, "You've only just regained enough of you chi to wake up, if you give it to Iris, you'll pass out again, no da."
"But… But… " Elwing searched for some way to convince him she would be fine, "The last time, the trouble was that I had to direct the energy over a long distance. This time there won't be that problem."
"Well, that is true, no da."
She sensed him wavering. "And I promise I'll only give up a little of my own energy, I'll borrow the rest from the ambient energy in the room."
"You promise, no da?"
"I promise." Elwing assured him.
"All right then, I'll let you, no da." Chichiri moved aside to let her approach the bed.
Elwing kneeled at the bedside and drew a protective circle.
"Why does she do that?" Chiriko whispered to Chichiri.
"I have no idea, no da. It's not a habit I've ever seen before, no da." Chichiri shrugged.
Once the circle was in place, Elwing rubbed her hands briskly together, then slowly drew them apart, a glowing ball of milky, shimmering blue energy suspended between them. She divided this energy in two, then held her palms over Iris's heart and sent it into her body. Only that much though, she knew she couldn't handle any more. Then she broke the circle and stood up shakily. "That ought to help a bit," she said, "at least she should wake up soon. She didn't have as much energy as me to start off with, since she was sicker before the ceremony."
"You should sit down." Mitsukake told her, "Using energy to heal like that is exhausting. I should know."
Elwing took the healer's advice and leaned back against Iris's bed. "So, have you figured out how this happened and what we have to do with it?" she asked.
"Well, at the end of the prophesy of this country, the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, there is a line which tells of the two prophetrixes who will come to write a new prophesy. They are called Suzaku no Mi and Suzaku no Mune, the eye and the heart of Suzaku, but that's all that is known about them." Chiriko explained, "We've all but decided that you two must be them."
At this point, Iris started to wake up. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up, head in hands. "Ooooh my head hurts. Did you get the number of the firetruck that hit me?" she asked Elwing.
"Apparently you summoned more than just a firetruck this time, Imouto-chan. This time, between the two of us, we somehow brought the seishi back to life!"
Iris peeked out from between her fingers. "How in the name of all that's sacred did we manage that?" she asked.
Elwing just threw up her hands in resignation and shook her head. "Search me!"
Iris looked over at Tasuki. "If I can't be touched, how did I get here? I don't remember anything after the ceremony started."
"A palace guard carried you." Tasuki explained, "That damned touching thing turns out to only apply to seishi touch, and since I'm a seishi, I can't touch you."
Iris growled something under her breath which sounded like "Just bloody perfect!" and rolled her eyes.
"With what's left of the night, you two should sleep, and I'll start training you to use your powers in the morning, no da." Chichiri suggested, "That should help solve that problem, no da."
They agreed, and Elwing trundled back to her own bed and sat down. "Goodnight now!" she called to the seishi as they left.
"Goodnight!" Iris echoed.
"Sleep well." was the response.
"I'll let you sleep in this time, no da." Chichiri told Elwing, "You've earned it, no da."
The grin on Elwing's face could have lit up an entire room. She mimed extreme gratitude, then waved as Tasuki, the last to leave, closed the door.
As soon as the two of them were sure the seishi were out of earshot they got out of bed for a short whispered conference of their own.
"Do you believe this? I mean, we actually brought the seishi back to life! It's too incredible!" Iris exalted.
Elwing just shook her head in amazement. "It's strange though, I keep having the sense I should know this story already. Have you been getting any kind of déja-vu?"
"Yeah, that is weird. I've also been having the sense that all these people and places are familiar somehow. Like I've maybe seen them before. The story's almost like something out of a fantasy novel or anime. Hey, if people can be brought back from the dead, anything's possible!" Iris mused, then yawned.
"We'd better get back to bed." Elwing suggested, "I know you, and you might just fall asleep on the floor, considering how little energy we have, and I know I don't have the strength to carry you back to your bed."
The next day, Elwing and Iris slept almost until noon, even Elwing was blissfully unaware as servants came to deliver breakfast. When Chichiri peeked in the door to bring them lunch, Iris was eating her breakfast and Elwing seemed to be still asleep.
"Come in, come in." Iris invited Chichiri, "She's not really asleep, I saw her roll over just a minute ago, she's just trying to go back to sleep."
"Elwing, it's lunchtime, no da." Chichiri said in a sing-song voice.
Elwing sat up slowly. "I guess maybe I ought to get up then, I am a little hungry."
"Mitsukake said you both need to eat to regain your strength, no da. Especially you, since you gave some of your energy up after you had just recovered, no da."
"Never argue with the doctor." Elwing agreed, and pulled her breakfast tray over to her.
"Once we've eaten, I assume you'll start our training?" Iris asked.
"I thought we would spend an hour on training and then I would show you around the palace, no da. With this kind of training, it's important not to spend hours at a time doing it, especially when you're still weak, no da."
The remains of breakfast and all of lunch were eaten quickly, and the furniture cleared from the middle of Elwing's room, and Chichiri indicated that both girls should sit on the floor.
"As a beginning, I know that Elwing knows chi-manipulation, but do you have any knowledge of it, no da?" Chichiri asked Iris.
"Chi-manipulation?"
"Energy spells." Elwing explained.
"Oh! Yes, of course I know energy spells."
"That should be very useful, no da. Basically, you'll just be applying the same skill to a new area. Why don't we start by examining what you do know, no da."
"Sounds reasonable." Elwing agreed.
"When you do…'Energy Spells'… how do you control your chi, no da?"
"Well, I picture the energy that surrounds me, then I visualize it flowing into my body and becoming focused between my hands." Iris explained.
"In our world the energy is invisible, only I've found here, once I've focused it, it becomes visible." Elwing interrupted.
"ANYway… as I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted, I focus it into a ball between my hands, then put it to whatever use I intended it." Iris finished.
"Alright, what I want you to do, then, is look not at the energy around you, but the latent energy inside you, no da." Chichiri instructed, "For now, I just want you to focus on locating it, and once you've done that, just observe it, no da."
Chichiri watched as both their gazes abstracted and they began the training which would allow them to control their new powers.
For the first week, they trained only in one-hour sessions, with plenty of breaks in between. During those breaks, they mostly relaxed, getting to know the seishi better and improving their riding skills. For some reason, Tasuki insisted on being their riding instructor.
A general example of a riding lesson would be the day when Iris, learning to saddle her own horse, didn't tighten the girth strap enough. She went to mount, at which she was now fairly proficient, and the saddle slipped right around. She lost her balance and fell head first into the horse. Tasuki, of course, laughed profusely at her expense, but made not a move to help her.
"Grrr… " Iris growled from her somewhat undignified position on the ground, "Dammit, you know perfectly well it's safe to touch me for short periods now, would one of you please give me a hand up?!"
"You can get yourself up! It's your own damn fault!" Tasuki insisted.
Elwing took one look at the murderous glint in her friend's eye and decided it was time to get out of there. "I'm going now, I guess you two can work this out." she announced, "Have fun, eh?"
Tasuki and Iris both ignored her as she mounted up and rode off to find a quieter corner of the palace grounds.
"What do you mean it's my fault?!" Iris ranted.
"You're the one who put the damn saddle on, it's not my fault if you didn't cinch the fuckin' girth strap tight enough!"
"Haven't you ever heard of chivalry?"
"No, what the Hell's 'chivalry'?"
Iris just shook her head and laughed. "Of course you don't know what chivalry is. Chivalry, my dear bandit king, is a code of behaviors which was imposed on knights in my world. One of its main points was to be respectful to women and help them in all situations."
Tasuki laughed. "What kind of dumbass idea is that?"
Iris threw up her hands in resignation. "Why do I bother even trying?"
Tasuki laughed more gently and walked over and caught her hand, pulling her to her feet.
"If you were going to do that, why didn't you warn me?" Iris complained as she fought to regain her balance.
"Hey, be happy I did anything at all. Girls are so godsdamn picky!"
"You're right, sorry." Iris conceded, "Now, can you please tell me what I did wrong? I thought for sure I'd pulled the girth strap as tight as it would go!"
Tasuki took the saddle off and handed it to her. "Why don't you saddle your horse again, and I'll watch this time and tell you what you did wrong." he suggested.
Iris once again saddled her horse, and once she had tightened the girth strap as much as she could, she turned to Tasuki. "Well, what did I do wrong?" she asked.
"Actually, you did everythin' right, as far as it went, it was this damn horse playin' tricks on you." Tasuki explained, looking under the horse, "You see," he showed her, "how the belly looks fat? Horses don't really like girth straps tight around their bellies, and who can fuckin' blame 'em, so sometimes they hold their breath while you do the strap up. What you have to do is knee them in the belly so they blow out, then tighten the girth strap at the same time." which he then proceeded to demonstrate.
Iris grinned. "Well, that makes so much more sense! I say the record is still undisputed, you are by far the best instructor I've ever had for riding."
Tasuki got a strange look on his face. "It really is impossible for you to say anything without using more than five words, isn't it?" he asked her.
Iris just glared at him and growled.
Elwing, meanwhile, was riding at a slow, ambling walk through the palace gardens, thinking. Her situation was still strange to her, and just to complicate matters, she now found herself confused about her feelings toward Chichiri. She'd had a crush on him ever since she had first seen him, but it was safe to have a crush on someone you didn't really know. Now he was here, and she was here… 'And even if it is a book, he's real enough,' she thought, 'and even sweeter and more wonderful the more I get to know him!' Elwing sighed. It was an impossible situation, of course. Knowing what she did about Chichiri's past, Elwing was unsure if he would ever want a woman in his life again, and she didn't want to say anything which might make him feel he should treat her differently. She sighed again and decided the best choice would be simply to wait and see how events might play out. Not that it would make her feel any better, but at least it wouldn't make her feel any worse.
'Why are you so sad?' a little voice asked in her head.
Elwing looked around and spotted Boushin hiding behind a bush. She smiled. 'What are you doing out here, eh? I though you had a nap at this time of day.'
'I'm not tired!' Boushin insisted, 'Can I ride with you? Please?'
Elwing smiled broadly. 'Sure you can ride with me.' She dismounted and lifted Boushin up in front of her saddle, then got back on the horse.
'You didn't tell me why you're sad.'
'I'm not sad, I'm just thinking.' Elwing insisted, 'You know, you're going to have to talk eventually. Only a very few people can talk like this.'
'How come you can?' he asked, 'Haha-ue and Chichi-ue can't.'
'I don't really know for sure.' Elwing admitted, 'I think it was because… ' She lost her concentration and the thought-speech shattered as they came out of the small manicured "forest" onto the shores of the lake and she saw Chichiri on the other bank, fishing. Nothing of this was visible in her face, but in her mental confusion, Boushin heard a faint, 'oh, I wish…'
'You are too sad!' he accused, 'You were just trying to change the subject!'
'Come now, little one, time for your nap.' Elwing chided gently and rode around the lake.
Boushin pouted. 'You're still doing it
"Da!" Chichiri exclaimed when he noticed them, "I see you've found our fugitive from naptime, no da."
"I was just on my way to return him, actually."
"See you in a couple of hours for your next lesson then, no da."
"Seeya" Elwing waved.
'How come Chich'ri-ojichan makes you sad?' Boushin asked, 'He always makes me happy, even if he can't really hear me. I like him lots.'
'So do I, sweetie, so do I.' Elwing answered, and that was all she would say on that subject.
Over the next week, Elwing and Iris's training sessions increased in intensity and duration, and by the end of the week, Chichiri announced that they had their powers under control.
Iris grinned. "Hey, cool! Now we're certified… What would you say we're certified to do?" she asked Elwing.
Elwing giggled. "I don't know, what would you say, Chichiri?"
Chichiri got a quizzical expression on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about, no da. You two are weird, na no da."
"Thanks!" they said in unison, inclining their heads in an identical movement.
Chichiri just shook his head. "Definitely weird, no da. Just as a test, though, I want you both to meditate, and this time Iris, you must use your power, and Elwing, I want you to use your power to see the meaning behind her prophesy, no da."
Both girls complied and Chichiri watched them as they slipped into a trance. This was the part of each day's lesson he'd liked the best. As she tranced, Elwing's face relaxed and seemed almost to change as much as his did when he took off his mask. Somehow, even in the relaxed state of meditation, she managed to look sad, yet resigned, and Chichiri wondered what could have led such a kind young woman to be resigned to sadness. He found Elwing fascinating somehow, but he didn't entirely understand his reaction to her. For so long he had lived separated from others by a barrier of his own devising that it was difficult for him to believe that he could care for anyone anymore beyond friendship. As he watched unguarded expressions flicker across Elwing's face he felt, for the first time in almost nine years, a strange, long-repressed urge to take this girl in his arms and perhaps stroke one finger down her jawline, and it confused him. It seemed almost a betrayal of the feelings he had held so long within his heart for his dear, lost Kouran. Those feelings which had been twisted by his best friend Hikou's betrayal into biter anger, but had mellowed to sadness and regret over the years. Chichiri shook his head and averted his gaze as Elwing woke out of the trance. He couldn't allow himself to fall in love, especially not with Elwing. She would probably have to leave, the same way all the Miko had, and that kind of separation would be far too painful for both of them, so why create more pain?
"Alright, first Iris must tell me her prophesy, then Elwing, you tell me what you saw of it, no da." Chichiri said, getting his thoughts back on track.
Once Chichiri had confirmed that they had been successful in their attempts, he left their rooms, promising to break the good news to the other seishi at dinner. "See you then, no da!" he called back to them, and they both waved.
Once he had left, they closed the door, making sure no one else was around, then settled onto the cushions on the floor for a conference.
"So, what do you think will happen now?" Iris asked.
"I don't know." Elwing admitted, "I don't think anyone really does. Probably we'll have to go consult with Taiitsukun to find out what to do next, like Chichiri and I did before."
"Well, whatever happens this is still the coolest thing that's ever happened to me! I mean, we're speaking prophecy for a country of a world inside a book, how unbelievably cool is that?!"
"I'd think you'd believe it by now. After all, we've been here two weeks now." Elwing sighed, "The thing I'm beginning to wonder is whether this really is some anime somewhere." She massaged her temples and sighed again, "And where the heck this headache came from."
"PMS? You've sure been grouchy lately." Iris suggested.
Elwing glared at her. "No, I highly doubt it. What do you mean I've been grouchy? I don't think I've been grouchy!"
"You've been avoiding other people like the plague."
"I have not! I just haven't felt especially social the last few days. Besides, I've been dealing with some stuff I wanted to work out on my own."
"Like what to do about the whole Chichiri situation?" Iris asked sympathetically and Elwing looked at her, startled, "Oh, don't look so surprised. It's just, I've seen how you've been looking at him, and I think it might be a bit difficult is all."
"Difficult. Yeah, you could say that. I've fallen in love with him, the more fool me. I should know better. I always seem to fall for the unreachable ones." Elwing admitted shamefacedly and started massaging the back of her neck in an effort to reduce her escalating headache.
"Are you and Tasuki getting along any better?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.
Iris rolled her eyes. "Tasuki is absolutely insufferable. Cute, though!" she said with an angelic smile, then her face fell and she sighed, "And a rather impossible situation for me too. He's made it pretty clear that the most I can ever hope for from him is friendship."
"Did he actually say that?" Elwing asked, surprised.
"No, of course not. It's not like I'd actually bring that up. It's just that he certainly doesn't seem to look at me as anything other than an annoyance. He's being friendly enough, though, so I know at least that much is possible."
Elwing patted Iris on the head. "Everything will work out, you'll see." She assured her friend.
Nuriko, walking toward the dining hall, noticed Tamahome sitting very quietly in his room, seemingly lost in thought. Nuriko snuck into the room and flicked the back of Tamahome's head, catapulting him onto the floor. "Ne, Tama-chan, what'cha thinking about?"
"Nuriko, why can't you realize you're stronger than other people? And stop calling me Tama-chan!"
"Are you okay with all this? I mean, I know you must miss Miaka, we all do, are you okay with having to be away from her?" Nuriko asked kindly.
"Yeah, I'm okay with it. Somehow I feel I am with her, even though she's not here." he smiled, "Sometimes I can almost hear her voice. Hey, if Tatara did this, so can I."
Nuriko patted him LIGHTLY on the shoulder. "Whatever you say, Tamahome, whatever you say." he headed for the door, "See you at dinner."
"Yeah, right, dinner." Tamahome nodded.
As Nuriko walked down the hall, he heard an odd gurgling sound... one which had become familiar to all the residents of the royal palace over the last two weeks. He laughed and walked over to Chiriko's door.
"Chiriko, stop studying and come eat dinner!" he called and entered the room.
"But the second exam is coming up soon, and I don't know how may chances I'll get to really study." Chiriko complained.
"If you want to make it through that exam, you have to build up reserves, you know that! Eat well now, and rest well before the exam starts. Even if seishi do have a higher level of endurance, you can't go nine days on little or no reserves! We just got you back, and we plan on keeping you around!" Nuriko insisted, "Now are you coming to dinner willingly, or will I have to carry you?"
Chiriko laughed in defeat. "All right, all right, I'm coming. My stomach sees the wisdom in your words." he conceded.
" 'The conversation at dinner was full of congratulations for the girls from the other world. It was decided that a trip to the one who governs the world, Taiitsukun, was in order.' " Pithya read, "You know, the style is a little stilted, but this is pretty good reading." she admitted.
Catherine just nodded, then asked, "How are Elwing and Iris?"
"They seem okay, although for some reason it's started mentioning Elwing getting headaches. A little lovelorn too, I think."
"Lovelorn? Well, that certainly seems to fit the pattern of the show. Catherine commented (she had just finished watching episode four). "Elwing's pattern too. If she would just come out and say something, that darned 'Chichiri' guy might admit to his own feelings, but NO! She has to be all careful and concerned about hurting his feelings."
"How can you hurt someone's feelings by telling them you have a thing for them?" Catherine asked, confused.
"Search me! I only know what I read, and they haven't explained that part, just that it has something to do with his past."
"Who is Chichiri anyway? He hasn't been introduced yet."
"She pointed him out to me in the opening sequence once." Pithya hit the pause button as Chichiri came on screen, "He's that one." She pointed.
Catherine just shook her head. "I don't know what she sees in him!"
"Herself, apparently."
Answers to Questions:
Otaku Pitcher: Chapter 12 does exist, it just needs some refining, as does chapter 13, I'm hoping to catch up to at least chapter 18 and stay ahead of myself by having a slow updating schedule, then I don't feel too crazily under pressure to produce which, paradoxically, tends to give me writer's block. #_#
Iris: I assume you're referring to Ch. 10? Note the rating and the mention of it being for future chapters? That would be why ^_~
And now! Next chapter, romance and fainting and fun stuff! My favourite chapter!! ^_~ Look for it next week!