Returning the Lost Boys

Part Six

All six landed safely under a tree at the base of Mount Reikaku. Megyn looked around. There was someone missing, but who was it? Then she heard some curses above her. There was Genrou hanging from a branch high in the tree. The ropes they had tied him up with were the only things keeping him from falling. Megyn snickered when she realized that he was literally "out on a limb."

"Genrou?" Jamie asked. "What the hell are you doing up there? You're slowing me down." Another stream of curses escaped the young bandit's lips.

"You tell 'em, kid!" cheered the other, now conscious, bandits.

Genrou glared at them. "Shut up, fat face. I dun wanna hear ya anymore."

"Hey! Leave us alone," the fat bandit said. "We jus' woke up. 'Least you've been up."

"Yeah," the greasy, skinny one piped in. "M' back 'urts and I've been in the same 'sition fer a long time."

Jamie rolled her eyes. "That's what you get for trying to rob us, you filthy bastards."

"Such strong words fer such a li'l lady," commented the fat one.

Jamie turned away in disgust. "Oh, shut up. We're going to return you back to where you came from. By the way, don't call me 'li'l lady.' It makes me sound like I'm a prostitute in an old western."

"Can I get down first?" Genrou asked, rather impatiently.

"Hold up," Megyn said. She was already on the branch from which Genrou was hanging. The branch was not big enough to hold them both, so she lied down to spread her weight. She pulled the dagger from its sheath at her waist and began slicing through the ropes. "I trust that you won't try to escape once you get down."

"The old man trusts me? When did this happen?" he mocked.

"Look. If you don't want us to beat you up again, I suggest you don't. Although, I wouldn't exactly mind so much." She had nearly finished cutting the ropes.

"The only reason you beat me," Genrou began, "is because that Chichiri guy helped you. You never would have lasted without his help, old man."

Megyn, now infuriated, sliced through the last of the ropes, causing Genrou to plummet to the earth. A loud "thump" was heard when he hit the ground.

"What the hell was that for, stupid?" he asked, standing up. Apparently, he wasn't as injured as she had hoped. "You could've warned me or somethin'."

She stood on the branch and looked down at the bandit. "Warned you? Why would I have warned you?" she asked. "You started it anyway." A loud crack was heard, followed closely by a scream.

It was so surreal. Megyn heard the crack and turned to see the branch dislocate itself from the rest of the tree. She felt herself fall and screamed. Her heart was beating rapidly—falling was one of her greatest fears. Suddenly, the world went black.

Chichiri turned his head at the sound of Megyn's scream. He looked up at the tree and saw her falling. "MEGYN!" His heart began to beat faster as he rushed under her, pushing Genrou out of the way and readying himself to catch the falling girl.

Things after that seemed to be in slow motion. Megyn landed in Chichiri's arms. Tamahome and Jamie rushed over as he laid her on the ground. Her eyes were opened, but she was still in shock. Jamie repeated Megyn's name over and over. Tamahome held Megyn's hand and was speechless. Chichiri stroked her hair. Genrou sat stunned where he had landed.

"Hey, Megyn!" Jamie said. "If you get up, I'll give you a Tootsie Roll. So, how about it? I know you want a Tootsie Roll. You love them so much." Jamie's face was wet with tears.

"Come on, little sis," Tamahome coaxed, using the nickname that had developed between him and the girls. "You want that roll thing."

"Tootsie Roll," Jamie corrected.

"I'll hold you to that deal, James," Megyn said, sitting up.

Jamie glomped onto Megyn. "You're okay," she cried. "Don't worry me like that ever again. Understand?"

"I'm about as easy to kill as a cockroach, Jamie," Megyn said. "You of all people should know what a klutz I am."

"Silly girl," Tamahome said with a squeeze her hand.

Chichiri looked into her eyes. "I'm so glad you're well, no da." Then, he hugged her and whispered so only she could hear, "I love you."

Megyn's eyes grew wide with surprise and almost fear. She feared for his feelings and Jamie's. It was so obvious to her that Jamie had a crush on Chichiri. She also suspected that, with a little more time together, he would fall for Jamie.

She pushed Chichiri away and masked her face with happiness. "Well, I've wasted too much of our time, so let's push on." She pushed herself off the ground and stood. Taking one step forward, she fell in a crumpled heap.

Tamahome, who was the closest to her, helped her to a sitting position. Genrou, who was finally mobile again, began to examine her right leg.

"Hey! Wait a minute. Genrou, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Megyn protested.

"It's my fault you fell in the firs' place," he explained. "I owe it to ya."

"Do you even know what you're doing?" she asked nervously.

"It's fine, but you should probably stay off it the rest of the day," he said seriously.

"I'll carry her up, no da," Chichiri volunteered.

"Don't worry," Tamahome said, sensing the awkwardness Megyn had towards Chichiri. "I've got her." Tamahome kneeled and indicated that she should climb onto his back. Once she was secure, he turned to Chichiri and said, "You'd better go grab the trash." He pointed to the two bandits. "Hey, Genrou! Since you're untied and all, lead us to the bandit den."

Surprisingly, without an argument, Genrou began walking up the mountain. Megyn and Tamahome followed him with Jamie and Chichiri carrying the "trash" between them bringing up the rear.

"What did he say to you?" Tamahome asked, seriously. His voice was quiet so none of the others would hear.

Megyn replied, in an equally quiet voice, "He thinks he's in love with me." Tamahome looked at her, shocked. "I know he's not, though. He is only infatuated with me."

"Why?"

"It's because I saw him without his mask and told him I thought he was handsome, which he is. I also know things about him that not many others do. I can't understand how that can lead to infatuation."

"I'll take care of him for you. I'll get those thoughts out of his head."

"No," she said quickly. "I think I should handle it. Plus, haven't you noticed? Jamie has a huge crush on him."

"Why do you protect me, Chichiri?" Jamie asked.

Chichiri looked over at her. He smiled. "Why?" He paused. "I guess it's because you're the priestess and I was born to protect you, no da. It's my duty."

"That's all?" she prompted.

"I guess I want to also, no da."

He wants to! Jamie thought, excitedly. It's not just because he has to. He wants to! She could have died then just knowing that. She stopped herself. There's Megyn to think about. He really likes her. He's never taken off his mask in front of me. The only reason I know he has a mask is because I watched him and Megyn train.

"Is something wrong, no da?" Chichiri asked.

Jamie looked at him and blushed, realizing a myriad of emotions must have crossed her face. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking." She looked at the rising sun. The girl had never seen a sunrise as beautiful as this before. The sky was filled in an explosion of reds, oranges, pinks, and purples. She had seen few sunrises in her life and stared in awe at this one.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, no da?"

She nodded. "Very. I hardly ever pay attention to the sunrises at home; I'm too busy. I'm not usually awake this early either." She yawned as if to punctuate the statement.

"You should rest. We don't want you to be ill, no da."

"This is it," Genrou proudly announced several minutes later.

The group stood at the entrance to the bandit den. It wasn't as impressive as Jamie had expected it to be. All the fat bandit had been doing was talking about how wonderful it was and how the boss was going to get them for beating up the proud members of the Mount Reikaku bandits with the greasy one agreeing with his every word.

For Megyn, who hadn't been listening to the bandits' conversation, it was more impressive than she had imagined. The image of a bandit den to her was a cave hidden deep in the mountain.

Both girls were wrong. They stood before a small group of buildings similar to those at the palace, but with none of the majesty. All in all, the buildings were quite simple, but well built enough to hold a gang of bandits.

"I'll take you to the boss," Genrou offered. He walked through a set of doors. The rest of the group followed suit.

"Hey! Genrou's back with some captives!" came a slightly slurred yell from one room. Genrou glared at the bandit, but said nothing.

Several catcalls and unconscious bandits later (Tamahome was doing most of the beating—even with Megyn on his back), the group arrived in front of two doors.

"This is where the boss is," Genrou explained.

"He's gonna make ya pay!" said the fat bandit.

"That's right!" the greasy one agreed.

"Oh, shut up!" Jamie said.

The young bandit rolled his eyes and pushed open the two heavy doors to reveal a lavish room. Well, lavish in comparison to the rest of the bandit den. The details were difficult to see as only lanterns lighted the room. However, a man sat on a large pillow on the floor. He had long light brown hair tied back into a low ponytail with a long clump of bangs pushed to the right side of his face and he wore what looked like armor. He motioned them in.

The group walked in with Genrou in the lead. Tamahome set Megyn on the floor, but wrapped his arm around her waist to support her.

"Genrou, what is it?" the man asked.

Genrou sighed and began, "We were caught. We failed."

"Failed?" The man looked confused. "Failed what?"

Genrou looked surprised. "The job ya sent us to do."

The man narrowed his eyes. "I haven't given any of you three a job."

A shocked Genrou turned to the other two bandits. "You." He pointed at the fat one. "You jerks set me up." He turned back to the boss. "They told me you had a job fer the three of us. We were supposed to raid their camp."

"They tricked you?" the boss asked. "Genrou, I had such high expectations for you." He shook his head. "So, they captured you and brought you back here." He paused and turned his attention to the Priestess' group. "I am Hakurou, the leader of the Mount Reikaku bandits. I am so sorry about what these three did. Please forgive them."

"Don't worry," Jamie said. "They didn't cause too much damage. I'm Jamie, this is Chichiri, Tamahome, and my best friend, Megyn." She pointed to each friend in turn. "We are in search of Suzaku's seishi. I am the Priestess of Suzaku."

"Well, Miko-sama," Hakurou began, seriously. "Have no fear. These three shall be punished heavily for their misdeeds." Genrou's face showed surprise and disappointment in himself.

Megyn felt badly that Genrou would be punished for being stupid. "Please, Hakurou. Don't punish Genrou." He looked at her in surprise. "He helped me when I injured my leg. Well, he was the reason I injured my leg in the first place," she added as an afterthought. "But, he really shouldn't be punished for being stupid." She was surprised that Genrou didn't even flinch when she called him 'stupid.'

"I thought you hated him," Jamie said, confused. Hakurou raised an eyebrow.

"I don't hate him," Megyn corrected. "I just have a low tolerance for him. You know, I do have a moral code."

"I see," Hakurou said slowly. "Well, I suppose I can let Genrou go." Genrou looked relieved. "However, Eiken and Sugi, you were the head of this plot. You must be punished." He signaled another bandit. "Take them away. You have my permission to do what you will with them." With that, the two bandits were led away. "Well, you must be exhausted. Genrou, would you please take them to the spare rooms?" It was more a command, than a request.

Genrou turned towards the doors and Jamie and Chichiri followed him. Tamahome picked up Megyn once again and followed them out. He led them through corridor after corridor until they reached the end of a hallway.

"This is your room," Genrou told Chichiri and Tamahome. He pointed to one door. "And this is yours," he told Megyn and Jamie. He pointed to the door across the hall from the guys' room. "If ya need anythin', the boss would be glad ta help." With that, Genrou turned back down the hallway.

"Hey! Genrou!" called a blue-haired man when Genrou opened the door to his room. The blue-haired man rushed to greet him, but Genrou held up a hand.

"I'm definitely not in the mood, Kouji."

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, buddy?"

"I hate women!" Genrou muttered.