Disclaimer: If I owned Fushigi Yuugi, would I be writing fanfiction? No.
So obviously, I don't own it or anything associated with it. I do own the
random nameless drunken bandit though! No, I don't. And I don't think I
want to either. ^^;;;
Enjoy chapter 3!
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Hikari and Chichiri had been walking the entire day, almost never stopping. She felt as if she was going to die of boredom. Counting trees hadn't worked. Neither had counting sheep in her head. She had quizzed herself on all the kanji she knew twice, and she had run out of songs to sing to herself. Hikari looked ahead and saw that Chichiri was already far ahead of her. She let her legs give out and plopped onto the ground. Chichiri turned around.
"Hikari, what are you doing?" he called.
"Aaaaah, I can't walk anymore! You're like this walking robot! Why can't we stop to rest? Are we almost theeeeeeeere?" she whined. She felt like a small child in the backseat of a car. "Are we there yet? Are we? Hmm?"
Chichiri was patiently walking back towards her, with a knowing expression on his face. "We'll get there by nightfall. I want to spend the night there, it'll be better than camping out." He paused for a minute. "Well, if I'm overprotective of you it'll be better than camping out. Come on, Hikari-chan," he said, extending his hand.
Hikari shook her head. "No way. I want to rest. I'm so tired! I always fail my endurance tests in gym, I never thought I'd need it!" Chichiri sighed and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder.
"In ten minutes you're walking again."
"But. . . I. . .put me down! And stop smirking. Aah, you're meaner than you look!"
"I've had experience with complaining travelers before. Of course, he was much heavier than you were, so you're easy to deal with," Chichiri said, grinning. Hikari puffed out her cheeks, pouting.
-------------------
It was dusk, and the two were still walking. They had been silent for quite some time now, both happy to be lost in their thoughts. The sun was almost completely set when Hikari noticed that farther up the mountain they had been walking on was a large house-like thing.
"Ne, Chichiri," Hikari said. "What's that?"
"It's where Tasuki lives."
"Really? Mount Reikaku sounds familiar, but why does he live on a mountain?"
"He's a bandit," Chichiri replied, calmly knocking on the door.
"N-NANI?!?" Hikari said, her eyes widening. She had just recalled the adventures from her mother's story of Mt. Reikaku, but Hikari decided against saying anything more to Chichiri when a staggering, unshaven man opened the door. He stood for a minute surveying the guests, and then grinning.
"Yo, 'Chiri!" the man slurred. "Y'aven't been 'ere for a while! Eh, what's this? Y'brought us a present! How nice of yoooou. There'salotta guys who'll be real happy to see her." He nodded in Hikari's direction.
"No, she's not a present. Try to contain yourself in front of her, she's very young."
"Aright. I'mmonna hafta take you to see th'boss. He's too old t'move much anymore."
"No, just take us to Tasuki please."
"Nope, hafta take y'to Kouji first."
"No, it's alright if you just take us to Tasuki."
"Kouji. . ."
"Tasuki."
"Eh, can I pet the chick?"
"No," Chichiri said, still acting very patiently. He pulled on Hikari's arm, bringing her closer to him.
"Just a pat on th'head! She's so cute, she's lika lil' kitten!"
"No, we're going to see Tasuki." Hikari was now hiding behind Chichiri and clinging to him with a frightened look on her face. She would have been angry if the man wasn't scary looking and staggering towards her with his arm outstretched. Chichiri took hold of her arm again and marched briskly past the man and through the doorway.
The inside of the bandits' hideaway was noisy and messy. Hikari could barely hear herself think over all the shouting and laughing and clinking of glasses and things. The two of them walked through a large hall filled with rowdy men everywhere- on chairs, on the floor, slumped against the wall, fighting. As they passed, though, most of the men stopped to stare. Apparently it wasn't very often a man with a monk's staff and a small, cute looking girl passed through their drinking games at night. Soon enough Chichiri and Hikari had passed the hall and came across a large door. Chichiri knocked, and they heard someone wheeze on the other side.
"Hello? Yes, who is it? It's two visitors for the glorious bandit leader Kouji! Oh, really? Why yes! Who is it? Two visitors for the glorious bandit leader Kouji! Is that so? Who is it? Two visitors for the glorious."
"AH, SHUT UP ALREADY, KOUJI!" another voice yelled from inside. The door swung open violently, and Hikari jumped back. A young man leaned against the door frame, grinning. Hikari noticed that he had fangs, and was staring curiously at them when the man bent down and stuck his face in front of hers. "What're you lookin' at?" he grumbled, eyeing her. He straightened up again and went up to Chichiri, grinning once again. "OY, CHIRI! Long time no see, eh? Sorry about Kouji, he's gettin' really senile now. How old are you now, Kouji? Seventy? Eighty?"
"Eh?" the first voice called from inside the room.
"How old are ya?"
"EH?"
"HOW. OLD. ARE. YOU. KOUJI."
"I'm as young as ever!"
The man clamped his hands over his bright orange hair, which flattened for a moment and then stuck up again, and groaned. "Anyways, just come in."
A very gray-haired, wrinkled old man was sitting in a large chair at a table inside the room. When he saw the visitors come in, he grinned and straightened up. "Ah, it's you again! Genrou's monk-like friend! Eh, what's your name, what's your name.Kiri!"
Chichiri sighed softly and shifted his weight to one foot as Kouji continued. "Kiri? No, that's not it. . .let's see, Kiri? Kiri-kiri? Kiri-kabu?" Hikari snickered as the old man continued. "Hiri? Miri? Mirin? Oooh, mirin, I could go for some sake. GENROU! MORE SAKE, RIGHT? YOU'RE NOT AS DRUNK AS USUAL TONIGHT! YOU!" he pointed to the third and only other bandit in the room. "GET US SOME SAKE! I bet the lady'd like some!" Hikari was laughing harder by now, and the bandit took that as a yes, grinning and running out of the room.
"That's Chichiri, stupid," the orange-haired man said, crossing his arms. "Last time he was here was two months ago, can't expect you to remember him. Senile bastard. Which reminds me, Chichiri, why are you here? An' who's the chick?"
"Tasuki, we're here on important business. You're not drunk are you?" the man shook his head. "This is Hikari. Hikari, what's your surname?"
"Hikari Sukunami." She stood still for a moment, then took a sip from the cup in her hands, draining it. "AH! You're Tasuki? Wow, you look exactly like the description. Were you reincarnated?"
"Reincarnated as myself. Hey, yer blushin'! Oi, 'Chiri, I think she likes me, she's bright red!"
"N-no!" Hikari stuttered, dropping the cup in her hands. It clattered to the floor; luckily it wasn't glass. "I just, um, like the sake, and. . ."
Chichiri jumped and the bandit, apparently Tasuki, was grinning like a maniac. Chichiri looked worried. "Hikari-chan! You shouldn't be drinking! Especially not now, and not at a bandit hideaway! I don't think Miaka-chan would be very happy if she found out you were having sake so young."
"Oh, but mom never lets me drink, even with dinner. She never ever drinks herself, she has this big problem with it."
"She never drinks?" Tasuki suddenly had a very serious look on his face. "Yer mom, do you look like her? Cause you look exactly like Mia-"
"Argh, everyone says that to me! Yes, Miaka is my mother. Yes, I know I look like her."
"She never drank again. . . after that incident. . ." Tasuki looked distraught. "Alright, let's get down to business. This Miaka twin, what's her name?"
"Hikari."
"Hikari is the new priestess, isn't she."
Chichiri looked serious as well. "I believe she is." He sat himself down in a chair. Tasuki did the same, as well as Hikari (although with some difficulty, due to her low alcohol tolerance). "We should gather all the reborn seishi. I think I remember where two of the others are, but after that. . ." Chichiri trailed off. "If you'll come with us, we'd like to continue as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, I'll come," Tasuki said, propping his head on his hand.
"Although I was wondering, especially now that Hikari-chan is a bit drunk, would it be possible to spend the night here?"
"Of course! We'd love to have ya, you know that!"
"Without being harassed by other bandits?"
"Oh. Um. Oh! I have that secret hideout that only me an' Kouji know about. But Kouji will never remember where it is. In fact, he'll never miss us. He's won't remember that I'm gone, and he won't remember that you visited, 'Chiri. He won't remember that you exist," he said, nodding at Hikari.
"Oh, thanks," Hikari said weakly, lifting her head from where it was resting on her arms on the table. They watched her plop it back down and shut her eyes, her mouth open slightly. Her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep.
"She's asleep? It was only one drink!" Chichiri said.
"No, it was more like two or three. Ya really need to keep more of an eye on that girl," Tasuki said. "Beh, I'm here, so ya don' have to worry that much anymore. Wow! She's out like a light!" he remarked, poking the sleeping girl. Tasuki observed her for another moment and sighed, shrugging. He picked her up out of the chair and headed for the door. "Can ya catch up with me? If I run, the bandits won't see that she's here and they'll leave us alone." He looked at Hikari, slung over his shoulder, and smiled a small, one-fanged smile, then started to run. Chichiri gave him, or the space he was just standing in, a look and started to run after him. 'Since when was Tasuki this nice?'
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Hikari opened her eyes and found that she was sleeping on a futon on the floor, some distance away from one or two other futons. There was a candle near the others, and she heard low rumblings that were mumbles coming from them. She quietly sat up and winced, ignoring her newly acquired headache.
"You're being unusually nice, no da," a whispering Chichiri remarked.
"Not really," a gruff voice replied. Hikari remembered about Tasuki. "She looks exactly like Miaka, but acts just like Tama is all. It's like a very small, vulnerable Tama has showed up. A chibi obake-chan!" he said with a laugh. "We were close, me an' him, and I still owe him for some things, from what the old memories tell me. I might as well look out for his kid, right?" There was a pause, then Tasuki continued. "She really is like a mix of the two, and then some, isn't she. Hey, what does she do when she sees money?"
"I'm not sure, she hasn't really seen any yet," Chichiri said.
"Oi," Tasuki said a little louder. "I know you're awake, chibi." Hikari puffed her cheeks out at being called a chibi, then widened her eyes and threw the covers over her head.
"I'm asleep! Or, I was, until you woke me up!" She heard someone rustle around and then a clinking sound as something was chucked towards her. Hikari peeked her head out from under the blanket and saw something round and shiny glinting in the candlelight. It flashed gold, and she recognized it as some form of a coin. Before she could stop herself, she squealed and stuck her arm out, grabbing the coin, and then hid under the blanket again. She heard both men burst out laughing very loudly and she felt her cheeks flame. She lifted the covers to give them a look with one eye, then drifted off into sleep again to the continual snickers of the two men.
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Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter. Most of it was me making weird jokes about drunk bandits, Hikari, and a very old and senile Kouji, but I'm still proud of it anyways. Ah, to explain the thing with Kouji's name game thing. Hikari was snickering because in Japanese, "Kiri" means fog, or sometimes means a hole-punch. "Kiri-kabu" means a tree stumb. Mirin is a sweet wine used for cooking, and of course wine reminded Kouji of sake, which is why he started yelling about sake. I think chapter four will come sooner than later, like this chapter, but I probably just jinxed it. *sigh* If you like this story so far, please PLEASE leave a review! I feel like nobody's reading this! Then again, most likely it's true that nobody's reading this. Look for some major loving for a neglected seishi in the next chapter!
Enjoy chapter 3!
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Hikari and Chichiri had been walking the entire day, almost never stopping. She felt as if she was going to die of boredom. Counting trees hadn't worked. Neither had counting sheep in her head. She had quizzed herself on all the kanji she knew twice, and she had run out of songs to sing to herself. Hikari looked ahead and saw that Chichiri was already far ahead of her. She let her legs give out and plopped onto the ground. Chichiri turned around.
"Hikari, what are you doing?" he called.
"Aaaaah, I can't walk anymore! You're like this walking robot! Why can't we stop to rest? Are we almost theeeeeeeere?" she whined. She felt like a small child in the backseat of a car. "Are we there yet? Are we? Hmm?"
Chichiri was patiently walking back towards her, with a knowing expression on his face. "We'll get there by nightfall. I want to spend the night there, it'll be better than camping out." He paused for a minute. "Well, if I'm overprotective of you it'll be better than camping out. Come on, Hikari-chan," he said, extending his hand.
Hikari shook her head. "No way. I want to rest. I'm so tired! I always fail my endurance tests in gym, I never thought I'd need it!" Chichiri sighed and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder.
"In ten minutes you're walking again."
"But. . . I. . .put me down! And stop smirking. Aah, you're meaner than you look!"
"I've had experience with complaining travelers before. Of course, he was much heavier than you were, so you're easy to deal with," Chichiri said, grinning. Hikari puffed out her cheeks, pouting.
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It was dusk, and the two were still walking. They had been silent for quite some time now, both happy to be lost in their thoughts. The sun was almost completely set when Hikari noticed that farther up the mountain they had been walking on was a large house-like thing.
"Ne, Chichiri," Hikari said. "What's that?"
"It's where Tasuki lives."
"Really? Mount Reikaku sounds familiar, but why does he live on a mountain?"
"He's a bandit," Chichiri replied, calmly knocking on the door.
"N-NANI?!?" Hikari said, her eyes widening. She had just recalled the adventures from her mother's story of Mt. Reikaku, but Hikari decided against saying anything more to Chichiri when a staggering, unshaven man opened the door. He stood for a minute surveying the guests, and then grinning.
"Yo, 'Chiri!" the man slurred. "Y'aven't been 'ere for a while! Eh, what's this? Y'brought us a present! How nice of yoooou. There'salotta guys who'll be real happy to see her." He nodded in Hikari's direction.
"No, she's not a present. Try to contain yourself in front of her, she's very young."
"Aright. I'mmonna hafta take you to see th'boss. He's too old t'move much anymore."
"No, just take us to Tasuki please."
"Nope, hafta take y'to Kouji first."
"No, it's alright if you just take us to Tasuki."
"Kouji. . ."
"Tasuki."
"Eh, can I pet the chick?"
"No," Chichiri said, still acting very patiently. He pulled on Hikari's arm, bringing her closer to him.
"Just a pat on th'head! She's so cute, she's lika lil' kitten!"
"No, we're going to see Tasuki." Hikari was now hiding behind Chichiri and clinging to him with a frightened look on her face. She would have been angry if the man wasn't scary looking and staggering towards her with his arm outstretched. Chichiri took hold of her arm again and marched briskly past the man and through the doorway.
The inside of the bandits' hideaway was noisy and messy. Hikari could barely hear herself think over all the shouting and laughing and clinking of glasses and things. The two of them walked through a large hall filled with rowdy men everywhere- on chairs, on the floor, slumped against the wall, fighting. As they passed, though, most of the men stopped to stare. Apparently it wasn't very often a man with a monk's staff and a small, cute looking girl passed through their drinking games at night. Soon enough Chichiri and Hikari had passed the hall and came across a large door. Chichiri knocked, and they heard someone wheeze on the other side.
"Hello? Yes, who is it? It's two visitors for the glorious bandit leader Kouji! Oh, really? Why yes! Who is it? Two visitors for the glorious bandit leader Kouji! Is that so? Who is it? Two visitors for the glorious."
"AH, SHUT UP ALREADY, KOUJI!" another voice yelled from inside. The door swung open violently, and Hikari jumped back. A young man leaned against the door frame, grinning. Hikari noticed that he had fangs, and was staring curiously at them when the man bent down and stuck his face in front of hers. "What're you lookin' at?" he grumbled, eyeing her. He straightened up again and went up to Chichiri, grinning once again. "OY, CHIRI! Long time no see, eh? Sorry about Kouji, he's gettin' really senile now. How old are you now, Kouji? Seventy? Eighty?"
"Eh?" the first voice called from inside the room.
"How old are ya?"
"EH?"
"HOW. OLD. ARE. YOU. KOUJI."
"I'm as young as ever!"
The man clamped his hands over his bright orange hair, which flattened for a moment and then stuck up again, and groaned. "Anyways, just come in."
A very gray-haired, wrinkled old man was sitting in a large chair at a table inside the room. When he saw the visitors come in, he grinned and straightened up. "Ah, it's you again! Genrou's monk-like friend! Eh, what's your name, what's your name.Kiri!"
Chichiri sighed softly and shifted his weight to one foot as Kouji continued. "Kiri? No, that's not it. . .let's see, Kiri? Kiri-kiri? Kiri-kabu?" Hikari snickered as the old man continued. "Hiri? Miri? Mirin? Oooh, mirin, I could go for some sake. GENROU! MORE SAKE, RIGHT? YOU'RE NOT AS DRUNK AS USUAL TONIGHT! YOU!" he pointed to the third and only other bandit in the room. "GET US SOME SAKE! I bet the lady'd like some!" Hikari was laughing harder by now, and the bandit took that as a yes, grinning and running out of the room.
"That's Chichiri, stupid," the orange-haired man said, crossing his arms. "Last time he was here was two months ago, can't expect you to remember him. Senile bastard. Which reminds me, Chichiri, why are you here? An' who's the chick?"
"Tasuki, we're here on important business. You're not drunk are you?" the man shook his head. "This is Hikari. Hikari, what's your surname?"
"Hikari Sukunami." She stood still for a moment, then took a sip from the cup in her hands, draining it. "AH! You're Tasuki? Wow, you look exactly like the description. Were you reincarnated?"
"Reincarnated as myself. Hey, yer blushin'! Oi, 'Chiri, I think she likes me, she's bright red!"
"N-no!" Hikari stuttered, dropping the cup in her hands. It clattered to the floor; luckily it wasn't glass. "I just, um, like the sake, and. . ."
Chichiri jumped and the bandit, apparently Tasuki, was grinning like a maniac. Chichiri looked worried. "Hikari-chan! You shouldn't be drinking! Especially not now, and not at a bandit hideaway! I don't think Miaka-chan would be very happy if she found out you were having sake so young."
"Oh, but mom never lets me drink, even with dinner. She never ever drinks herself, she has this big problem with it."
"She never drinks?" Tasuki suddenly had a very serious look on his face. "Yer mom, do you look like her? Cause you look exactly like Mia-"
"Argh, everyone says that to me! Yes, Miaka is my mother. Yes, I know I look like her."
"She never drank again. . . after that incident. . ." Tasuki looked distraught. "Alright, let's get down to business. This Miaka twin, what's her name?"
"Hikari."
"Hikari is the new priestess, isn't she."
Chichiri looked serious as well. "I believe she is." He sat himself down in a chair. Tasuki did the same, as well as Hikari (although with some difficulty, due to her low alcohol tolerance). "We should gather all the reborn seishi. I think I remember where two of the others are, but after that. . ." Chichiri trailed off. "If you'll come with us, we'd like to continue as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, I'll come," Tasuki said, propping his head on his hand.
"Although I was wondering, especially now that Hikari-chan is a bit drunk, would it be possible to spend the night here?"
"Of course! We'd love to have ya, you know that!"
"Without being harassed by other bandits?"
"Oh. Um. Oh! I have that secret hideout that only me an' Kouji know about. But Kouji will never remember where it is. In fact, he'll never miss us. He's won't remember that I'm gone, and he won't remember that you visited, 'Chiri. He won't remember that you exist," he said, nodding at Hikari.
"Oh, thanks," Hikari said weakly, lifting her head from where it was resting on her arms on the table. They watched her plop it back down and shut her eyes, her mouth open slightly. Her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep.
"She's asleep? It was only one drink!" Chichiri said.
"No, it was more like two or three. Ya really need to keep more of an eye on that girl," Tasuki said. "Beh, I'm here, so ya don' have to worry that much anymore. Wow! She's out like a light!" he remarked, poking the sleeping girl. Tasuki observed her for another moment and sighed, shrugging. He picked her up out of the chair and headed for the door. "Can ya catch up with me? If I run, the bandits won't see that she's here and they'll leave us alone." He looked at Hikari, slung over his shoulder, and smiled a small, one-fanged smile, then started to run. Chichiri gave him, or the space he was just standing in, a look and started to run after him. 'Since when was Tasuki this nice?'
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Hikari opened her eyes and found that she was sleeping on a futon on the floor, some distance away from one or two other futons. There was a candle near the others, and she heard low rumblings that were mumbles coming from them. She quietly sat up and winced, ignoring her newly acquired headache.
"You're being unusually nice, no da," a whispering Chichiri remarked.
"Not really," a gruff voice replied. Hikari remembered about Tasuki. "She looks exactly like Miaka, but acts just like Tama is all. It's like a very small, vulnerable Tama has showed up. A chibi obake-chan!" he said with a laugh. "We were close, me an' him, and I still owe him for some things, from what the old memories tell me. I might as well look out for his kid, right?" There was a pause, then Tasuki continued. "She really is like a mix of the two, and then some, isn't she. Hey, what does she do when she sees money?"
"I'm not sure, she hasn't really seen any yet," Chichiri said.
"Oi," Tasuki said a little louder. "I know you're awake, chibi." Hikari puffed her cheeks out at being called a chibi, then widened her eyes and threw the covers over her head.
"I'm asleep! Or, I was, until you woke me up!" She heard someone rustle around and then a clinking sound as something was chucked towards her. Hikari peeked her head out from under the blanket and saw something round and shiny glinting in the candlelight. It flashed gold, and she recognized it as some form of a coin. Before she could stop herself, she squealed and stuck her arm out, grabbing the coin, and then hid under the blanket again. She heard both men burst out laughing very loudly and she felt her cheeks flame. She lifted the covers to give them a look with one eye, then drifted off into sleep again to the continual snickers of the two men.
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Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter. Most of it was me making weird jokes about drunk bandits, Hikari, and a very old and senile Kouji, but I'm still proud of it anyways. Ah, to explain the thing with Kouji's name game thing. Hikari was snickering because in Japanese, "Kiri" means fog, or sometimes means a hole-punch. "Kiri-kabu" means a tree stumb. Mirin is a sweet wine used for cooking, and of course wine reminded Kouji of sake, which is why he started yelling about sake. I think chapter four will come sooner than later, like this chapter, but I probably just jinxed it. *sigh* If you like this story so far, please PLEASE leave a review! I feel like nobody's reading this! Then again, most likely it's true that nobody's reading this. Look for some major loving for a neglected seishi in the next chapter!