Chapter 4: A Smiling Face
Miaka frantically rushed into the errie darkness in search of her son but there was no trace of him. She panicked, without him she'd never understand how to get home or wether she was imagineing all this or it was to happen in the future.
"Cho-Ryu, if you can hear me please say something!" she hollered.
For a brief moment she heard nothing but then for an instant she heard a childish laughter.
"Cho-Ryu, is that you? Come here right now or...your grounded?!"
Another giggle follwed. "What are you laughing at? Whatever it is this isn't funny!"
"Mom I'm by the forest lake. See if you can find me...you have to take a look at this."
"O..kay..." she said unsure of what was going on, "just keep laughing and I'll find you."
She traced the sounds her little boy brought to a small lake sitting in the center of the forest. There were srubs of various flowers surrounding the outside and lilies siting on the surface of the water. She had never imagined anything being so beautiful before. Then she saw Cho-Ryu by the edge of the lake with some unknown being.
"Cho-Ryu I'm here! Who is that next to you?" she demanded to know.
"Calm down, mom. Don't you remember who he is?"
She shook her head. "I don't even know how or why I'm here, how can you expect me to remember anyone?"
Then the figure arose from aside a boulder and turned to face Miaka.
"I'm surprised Miaka," said the figure, "I know it's been a while no da, but I could never forget your face.
"Wait, that voice...is it...Chichiri?!" she answered.
"Mask and all no da. You look in fine spirits."
"I can't belive it's really you! So you've been staying here all this time?"
"That's right. Sometime after you summoned Suzaku no da, I had dicided to live a more peaceful life amongst the woods. Everyone else has chosen different paths...of course..Nuriko..."
Miaka put one hand over his shoulder. "I know. We all miss him (or her)."
Chichiri sighed. "But anyway, it's always gets sort of lonely around here so I try to amuse others with my mask. This boy seemed to enjoy it a lot no da."
He put on another amusing gesture and faced Cho-Ryu. The boy couldn't help but laugh.
"I have reason to believe this boy is your son, no da, am I right?" he asked.
"Yes. But we have a bit of a problem Chichiri. I don't know but I think I'm living in some kind of wiered dream or something. I don't know how I got here or why and I was hoping my son could take me home, though he doesn't remember how to get there. Can you possibly take us there?"
"Oh, boy...uh...that's a big no can do Miaka. You see when me and the other Suzaku warriors went separate ways we sort of lost touch with each other no da, so I really don'y know were he is either."
Miaka broke down and cried. "Oh great! First I get transported to some freakish paradise and now I'm like some blonde bab in the woods with a son who has amnesia and a guy who makes silly faces. This day CAN'T get any worse!"
"Um, actually it can..." replied Chichiri nervously, "see it's almost a quarter to midnight and it's the annual wolf feeding hour..."
"Wolf f-feeding hour?!" suddered Cho-Ryu, "Mom can we go now?"
"If we could we would have been gone hours ago! Now buck it up and let's think of a way to get out of this mess."
A light bulb sprung up in Chichiri's head (though it may seem kind of obvius that he should have done this in the first place).
"I know! I can tellaport us out of the woods!" he exclaimed.
Miaka punched him square in the head and a big pink knot bulged from his skull.
"You doodlebrain! We've been sitting here for well over the time limit and you just now thinking of that!"
"I was just...you know...surprised that you-"
"CAN WE PLEASE GET A MOVE ON! I don't wat to be eaten at the age of six!"
Thundrous growls were spread though the out skirts of the woods follwed by ravenous howls of hunger and rage. The hour had begun.
"Alright, no da, climb on my back and grab on tight!"
They both hopped on Chichiri's bakside and the masked fool poofed off while the hungry wolves sniffed and pondered hungrily at the lake's odors.
Chichiri had taken Miaka and Cho-Ryu safely out of the woods and to that moment Miaka felt her answers nearing completion. She turned to meet Chichiri.
"That was even more frightening than when you transformed into Nakago. But I'm glad you wre able to save us."
The masked warrior bowed his head respectively. "May your journey be free of worries and troubles miss Priestess of Suzaku... yours as well Cho- Ryu."
As he turned to enter the woods again Miaka asked, "Wait! Areyou going to be alright in there?"
"Don't worry no da, I got it covered." He then transformed into a wolf of the same vicious breed and sort as the others and trotted off into the forest.
"He's strange, huh mom?" stated Cho-Ryu.
"Yes, but that's what makes him a Suzaku warrior."
There's a sample of what you might see in the following chapters of this story. A confrontation of each of the Suzaku warriors and possibly even Seriyu ones! I know there should have been more action but just keep your eyes open for the next chapters.
Miaka frantically rushed into the errie darkness in search of her son but there was no trace of him. She panicked, without him she'd never understand how to get home or wether she was imagineing all this or it was to happen in the future.
"Cho-Ryu, if you can hear me please say something!" she hollered.
For a brief moment she heard nothing but then for an instant she heard a childish laughter.
"Cho-Ryu, is that you? Come here right now or...your grounded?!"
Another giggle follwed. "What are you laughing at? Whatever it is this isn't funny!"
"Mom I'm by the forest lake. See if you can find me...you have to take a look at this."
"O..kay..." she said unsure of what was going on, "just keep laughing and I'll find you."
She traced the sounds her little boy brought to a small lake sitting in the center of the forest. There were srubs of various flowers surrounding the outside and lilies siting on the surface of the water. She had never imagined anything being so beautiful before. Then she saw Cho-Ryu by the edge of the lake with some unknown being.
"Cho-Ryu I'm here! Who is that next to you?" she demanded to know.
"Calm down, mom. Don't you remember who he is?"
She shook her head. "I don't even know how or why I'm here, how can you expect me to remember anyone?"
Then the figure arose from aside a boulder and turned to face Miaka.
"I'm surprised Miaka," said the figure, "I know it's been a while no da, but I could never forget your face.
"Wait, that voice...is it...Chichiri?!" she answered.
"Mask and all no da. You look in fine spirits."
"I can't belive it's really you! So you've been staying here all this time?"
"That's right. Sometime after you summoned Suzaku no da, I had dicided to live a more peaceful life amongst the woods. Everyone else has chosen different paths...of course..Nuriko..."
Miaka put one hand over his shoulder. "I know. We all miss him (or her)."
Chichiri sighed. "But anyway, it's always gets sort of lonely around here so I try to amuse others with my mask. This boy seemed to enjoy it a lot no da."
He put on another amusing gesture and faced Cho-Ryu. The boy couldn't help but laugh.
"I have reason to believe this boy is your son, no da, am I right?" he asked.
"Yes. But we have a bit of a problem Chichiri. I don't know but I think I'm living in some kind of wiered dream or something. I don't know how I got here or why and I was hoping my son could take me home, though he doesn't remember how to get there. Can you possibly take us there?"
"Oh, boy...uh...that's a big no can do Miaka. You see when me and the other Suzaku warriors went separate ways we sort of lost touch with each other no da, so I really don'y know were he is either."
Miaka broke down and cried. "Oh great! First I get transported to some freakish paradise and now I'm like some blonde bab in the woods with a son who has amnesia and a guy who makes silly faces. This day CAN'T get any worse!"
"Um, actually it can..." replied Chichiri nervously, "see it's almost a quarter to midnight and it's the annual wolf feeding hour..."
"Wolf f-feeding hour?!" suddered Cho-Ryu, "Mom can we go now?"
"If we could we would have been gone hours ago! Now buck it up and let's think of a way to get out of this mess."
A light bulb sprung up in Chichiri's head (though it may seem kind of obvius that he should have done this in the first place).
"I know! I can tellaport us out of the woods!" he exclaimed.
Miaka punched him square in the head and a big pink knot bulged from his skull.
"You doodlebrain! We've been sitting here for well over the time limit and you just now thinking of that!"
"I was just...you know...surprised that you-"
"CAN WE PLEASE GET A MOVE ON! I don't wat to be eaten at the age of six!"
Thundrous growls were spread though the out skirts of the woods follwed by ravenous howls of hunger and rage. The hour had begun.
"Alright, no da, climb on my back and grab on tight!"
They both hopped on Chichiri's bakside and the masked fool poofed off while the hungry wolves sniffed and pondered hungrily at the lake's odors.
Chichiri had taken Miaka and Cho-Ryu safely out of the woods and to that moment Miaka felt her answers nearing completion. She turned to meet Chichiri.
"That was even more frightening than when you transformed into Nakago. But I'm glad you wre able to save us."
The masked warrior bowed his head respectively. "May your journey be free of worries and troubles miss Priestess of Suzaku... yours as well Cho- Ryu."
As he turned to enter the woods again Miaka asked, "Wait! Areyou going to be alright in there?"
"Don't worry no da, I got it covered." He then transformed into a wolf of the same vicious breed and sort as the others and trotted off into the forest.
"He's strange, huh mom?" stated Cho-Ryu.
"Yes, but that's what makes him a Suzaku warrior."
There's a sample of what you might see in the following chapters of this story. A confrontation of each of the Suzaku warriors and possibly even Seriyu ones! I know there should have been more action but just keep your eyes open for the next chapters.