© February 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. Shocker, isn't it? Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~TWELVE~*~

"Iri-sama."

Irishiko kept looking straight ahead and didn't turn when Ero called her name.

"Iri-sama," he repeated, this time in a more urgent tone. He touched her arm to catch her attention.

"What is it, Ero?" she said with a sigh, glancing at him to see what he wanted though she knew what he was going to say.

"Don't you think it was a bit unfair what you did to Van?" he asked her.

Irishiko ripped her gaze from Ero's gray eyes and let a guilty look cross her features.

"What was I supposed to do Ero?" she asked in a low voice as she pulled out one of the vials of lamp  oil they had brought with them and carefully spread its contents on some hay that was in the loft where they were crouched.

"I wasn't about to let him come with us. You know that I hate dirty fights, but he was being so stubborn he left me no choice," she told Ero. "If something were to happen to him we'd all be left in a very ugly spot. I wasn't about to take on that kind of responsibility just because he felt like being the hero."

Ero sighed, knowing she was right but feeling sorry for Van. He understood that Van was just trying to do what he thought he needed to do to protect his family. After all, that was what all of this came down to in the end and if Ero was in Van's place he would have done the same. But Irishiko did have a point.

"He's going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes up. Not to mention be seriously pissed off," Ero commented.

Irishiko merely grunted in response and emptied the last of the bottle in her hand. She untied the fuse line hanging at her belt, cut off a fairly large piece and tied it to an oil drenched bundle of straw which she replaced within the pile.

"Done?" Ero asked.

"Let's go," Irishiko motioned, drawing her sword and making her way to a ladder and began a careful decent from the loft of the old stable, Ero following.

Halfway down the ladder, Irishiko stopped to look around the empty horse stalls wondering at the complete darkness around them. She finished her decent and frowned. She didn't like the looks of this at all. If this was indeed where Lancen was being kept, there was an incredible lack of security around the place and the whole building seemed as if it was abandoned. She had the ugly feeling like they were either wasting their time or they were walking into a trap.

"Iri-sama!" Ero called to her from a few stalls away.

Irishiko rushed over to him, ready for anything. She rounded the corner to stand next to Ero and let her eyes fall upon the figure before them.

There, gagged and bound was poor Lancen, clothes grimy and face dirty but otherwise he seemed all right. Ero quickly moved to untie him and helped him remove the gag.

"It's a trap!" the old man cried as soon as the gag was removed from his mouth.

Just then torch light flooded the area, and about a dozen men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the group, trapping them within this tiny stall.

But Irishiko and Ero were ready. They swiftly attacked, moving agilely through the group of men, kncking some down and taking couple of blows. They hadn't even really started fighting yet when a sharp whistle caught their attention.

"Put down your weapons!" the deep voice cried to them. When they made no inclination to follow his command, he stepped through some men until he came face to face with Irishiko and Ero, holding Lancen with a dagger at his throat.

"You wouldn't want to have your trip be a waste, now would you?" the tall man sneered.

"Jordanii," Irishiko snarled as the light reflected off the man's face.

"Irishiko Ronin," the man responded with an equal amount of contempt. "It's so nice for you to come see me again."

Irishiko took a step towards him, ready to strike, but he pressed the dagger closer to Lancen's jugular.

"None of that," Jordanii ordered. "Drop it."

Irishiko growled in frustration, but did as she was told.

"You too," Jordanii told Ero, which the latter also reluctantly complied.

"Kick them away," Jordanii prompted.

Irishiko and Ero kicked their weapons off to the side, earning a snicker from the men of the CeJalii.

Jordanii pushed the old man towards Irishiko and she caught Lancen before he fell forward into the floor.

"It's such a pity that the reason of your visit would not have been for more personal reasons," Jordanii proceeded, "I honestly hoped that you would come to see things my way."

"I don't like to be around garbage," Irishiko spat at him.

The tall man sneered at her comment. "That's funny. Because we picked up some garbage just outside that belongs to you."

Just then two heavy set men walked in and roughly threw two figures at Irishiko's feet.

Pye and Ivan roughly stood up, each livid with anger. They were outside for backup just in case something happened. Apparently they had also been caught by surprise.

"Injuries?" Irishiko quickly asked them.

"Pride," Pye responded while Ivan simply glared.

"Weapons?"

"Gone."

Irishiko nodded and looked to Jordanii once again.

"How did you know we'd be coming?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

Jordanii snorted at her question. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I almost thought you weren't coming. I knew that you had special interest in this man. I just had to know how much interest."

Jordanii circled around them. "is he your father or something? Why is he so important to you?"

"You just can't possibly conceive that one person can care for another without ulterior motives can you?" Irishiko questioned.

Jordanii stared straight at her for a moment before cracking a smile. "It really doesn't matter. The point was to get you here. And here you are."

"If it's me you want, let them go," Irishiko told him.

Jordanii seemed to consider it. He placed his hands behind his back. "Alright, I will. I'll let them go, if you and your first companion here stay. I promise, no strings attached. I'll even have my men here stand witnesses that no harm will come to them and that they are free. The one condition is that you have to give yourself to me."

All eyes of those of the Akan went wide. Pye, Ivan and Lancen were in shock, and Ero looked about ready to murder the man. Irishiko was enraged. How dare the bastard even consider such an agreement? But, she realized heavily, at the moment she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to get Lancen back to Fanelia. She would just have to figure a way to get out of it on her own.

She stepped forward to Jordanii and lowered her head, letting him snake an arm around her and press her close.

"Good girl," he whispered sinsterly.

"Not until they're safe," Irishiko spat through clenched teeth.

Jordanii looked to his men, signaling them to stay put and Irishiko turned to Ivan and Pye nodding for them to go. They knew what to do if this ever happened and she had complete faith that they would do everything in their power to finish this mission. At first they began to protest, but a look from their leader brought their silence, and they reluctantly moved out, taking a shaking Lancen with them.

There was quiet in the stable as the men of the CeJalii surrounded the remaining intruders.

"All of you leave now," Jordanii ordered. "You'll be rewarded for your efforts today."

Wordlessly the men disappeared as quickly as they had appeared leaving the three of them alone.

"Well, well, I never thought I would see this day," Jordanii's haughty voice rang out. He pressed her closer to him, keeping the point of his dagger at her neck, and ran her rough cheek along hers, taking in her scent. "All those years ago, when you were here being that Asturian Fassa's mistress, you refused me. But I told you that I would someday have you."

Irishiko could do nothing but glare.

Ero, on the other hand was positively livid. His hands curling into tight fists, murder written across his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his crossbow, and like lighting made a dive for it, ready to strike the man to end it all right then.

But Jordanii caught sight of his move and spun Irishiko around, placing her body between him and Ero.

"I hesitate to kill her if you move again," he hissed, the cold metal of his dagger pressing into the skin of her neck. "I want you to get rid of your weapon right now."

Ero's anger was growing with each passing second, but he knew what Jordanii was capable of. With a heavy heart, he did as he was told.

The other man smiled a toothy grin. "If I didn't know any better I would think you had feelings for this woman," he said, "Not only is she your leader, but is she your lover as well?"

He leaned down to kiss her jawline. "That will make this more fun, don't you think?"

"Let him go, Jordanii," Irishiko kept her voice emotionless. "He has nothing to do with this."

Jordanii let out a loud laugh. "On the contrary, my dear, you should know he has everything to do with this."

He paused and looked to Ero's alarmed face. His eyebrows furrowed and he turned Irishiko to face him, searching her confused eyes.

"Or is it possible that you don't know?" he said in a mystified tone. His eyes lit up when he found that she had no idea what he meant. He laughed out loud again, wondering at his luck.

"You mean to tell me, Shinero, that your lover does not know who you really are?" Jordanii addressed Ero once again.

Irishiko's mind had been working on a plan when the name 'Shinero' broke into her thoughts. She'd heard that name before, long ago…

"And don't tell me you didn't remember?" Jordanii asked her.

"Remember what?" she asked, glancing over to see Ero turning pale, but saying nothing.

"My half brother, of course."

Irishiko's eyes flew to meet Ero's. That's where she'd heard that name before! But it couldn't be…could it?

Ero lowered his gray eyes to the floor, not being able to meet her gaze any longer.

Now she remembered. That red hair…how could she forget that day? The day Jordanii had first cornered her inside Juni's tavern.

~*flashback*~

He had kissed her, let his hands wander over her while she tired to fight back, scared at the time, finding that no one was coming to her defense even though Jordanii's buddies were standing not far away snickering.

"Quit it Jordanii!" a young voice called out. A flash of red hair and she felt the repulsive man being pulled off her. She looked with surprise to her rescuer, a scrawny boy, no older than fourteen, glaring directly at the twenty three year old Jordanii.

"You shouldn't be in other people's business, Shinero," an annoyed Jordanii spat at the shorter boy.

But the redhead was not moved. "Leave her alone. She's done nothing to you."

Jordanii ignored the boy and turned back to Irishiko and licking his lips. "Time for dome fun."

But this time she was ready for him. As soon as he moved close enough she brought her knee up and hit him hard between the legs, causing him to double over.

He cursed loudly and shouted threats to her as she hurried out of the place, rushing back to Dryden. She had been scared, but that boy, Shinero, had showed her courage. He had stood up for her, even though he had the disadvantage to the older, bigger and stronger Jordanii.

After that day, she wanted to be able to give others that kind of courage.

~*end flashback*~

Irishiko had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had not noticed that Jordanii had already gone to work. She found herself on the ground, with the vile man over her, still holding a knife to her throat.

"For abandoning your family you will watch this," Jordanii told Ero, as he removed Irishiko's cloak and began to work on her shirt.

"Oh, by the way," he leaned down to whisper to Irishiko, "I like the mask. It makes all of this a lot more kinky."

Suddenly, Irishiko grabbed his collar and pulled him so close to her, their faces were nearly touching.

"I learn from past experiences," she said in a deadly tone, "It seems you don't."

With that she swiftly brought her knee up to hit him hard once again between the legs, making the cry out.

There was a cry from Ero and then the sound of a sword handle making contact with a skull and Jordanii slumped entirely over Irishiko, unconscious.

"I know for a fact that he'll be out for a good couple of hours," a male voice said.

"Van!" Ero said, a mixture of relief and incredulity in his voice.

Irishiko pushed the unconscious man off her and quickly scrambled to her feet, closing her shirt, and swooping for her cloak, readjusting it over her shoulders, keeping her face hidden.

Van tossed Ero his crossbow, and moved to give Irishiko her sword.

"You can thank me later," he said, "And I'll be willing to overlook the little incident from earlier."

Irishiko kept her back to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"Saving your life apparently," Van responded, getting the impression that she wasn't as glad to see him as Ero was. "I ran into Ivan and he told me where you were and what was happening."

"I had the situation under control," Irishiko responded.

"It sure as hell didn't look that way," Van shot back at her, starting to get upset. Just what was her problem? "What would you have done had I not come?"

In a second, Van found himself staring straight into her angry eyes, the dagger she had hidden in her boot now at his throat. "As you can see I do things my own way," she said in an enraged voice. "I told you before, you weren't supposed to be here because you're a goddamn liability!"

She swiped her sword from Van's grasp unsheathing it and holding up at arms length to his chest.

"Get him out of here," she told Ero, "I don't want to see him again until we're out at sea."

"Don't speak that way about me!" Van began, but Ero grabbed him arm.

"We don't have time right now," he told the king. "The ship will leave soon."

He began dragging Van out of the stables, and though the latter resisted at first, both of them disappeared into the dark night towards the docks.

As soon as they were gone, Irishiko went to work quickly. She ran up to the loft to grab the last vial of oil they had left and spread it over the stalls on the ground floor. Then carefully removing a bunch of explosives from inside her cloak, she placed them in the last stall of the stable. Distributing the remainders of the fuse line she had brought, she made her way outside and took out some matches.

Her eyes then fell on the unconscious form of Jordanii sprawled out of the floor. Inwardly groaning but knowing she was not a cold blooded murderer, she managed to half drag him out of the stable.

She ran back inside and lit all the fuse lines, as well as throwing a match on a pile of hay.

By the time she made it outside, the place was already ablaze,  calling the attention of those near the docks.

Irishiko broke into a run towards the docks, making sure to remain unseen by those who were running to stop the fire. She ducked behind a building to catch her breath, and looked back in the direction which she had come. Just then a loud explosion shook the area as the fire reached the explosives she had set.

Irishiko smiled as the large fireball in the dark sky caught the attention of startled people that rushed towards the scene. Their distraction had worked and so she was sure that none of the CeJalii could find out that she was gone. Calmly, she readjusted her hood and strolled towards the vessel that would take her back to Asturia.

~*~

The captain of the vessel was waiting for her as soon as she got on the ship, letting her know that they were about to set sail.

She nodded, and slowly made her way below decks.

"Iri-sama," Ero stopped her just as she reached the second deck.

"Yes, Ero?" she responded.

"I--," he swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I—"

"Stop, Ero," she interrupted. "I don't want to know. Your past is in the past and there's nothing that can be done about it, so I honestly don't want to hear about it."

Her gaze became gentle, "You're here now, and you are one of my dearest friends. You're my family and I trust you with my life. There's nothing else that I need to know."

Ero felt the knot in his stomach loosen, her words dissolving his fear of her negative reaction to his past. What she said was true, and he had left all that behind him, just as he was sure that she had left something terrible in her own past. The present and  the future were all that mattered now, and he was going to make the most he could out of it.

Irishiko smiled lightly at him, giving his arm a comforting squeeze before walking past him to go to the third deck.

She wanted to be alone, suddenly feeling invaded with exhaustion and also being filled various unidentifiable emotions that shook her, as if she was just now reacting to everything that had happened.

Tears filled her eyes as she made her way below, a strain in her heart.

She had trained herself to remain emotionless, but she was only human, after all.

~*TBC*~

Baracuda here. *whew* another chapter done…..i'm tired……..but I'm going to keep writing!!! I hope you will keep reading! I'll update ASAP.

Yonde kudasai! ::bows at 45 degree angle::

Tootles.

--Youjibaracuda

"Don't be so hard on him. He's had a rough day."

---The Princess Bride