Traitor

Part Eight

Jamie gasped as the feathers punctured her stomach. Her eyes widened in shock. She wasn't sure what was happening.

She heard a malicious cackle and searched for the source, a tall man wearing a strange long, red jacket. His hair was pulled tightly into a high ponytail. One strand of hair separated on either side of his head by a blue and a gold bead. Atop his head sat a golden crown-like headdress.

Jamie could only gasp and stare at her attacker. It was funny, though. It didn't hurt. Not even a little bit. She slumped forward, landing on the bed.

The man cackled. He retracted the black feathers from her stomach. "Should I take her or leave her?" he wondered aloud. "What would Nakago-sama prefer?" He paced the room. "I should probably take her. Then he could dispose of her as he wanted."

After regaining his Chichiri form, he scooped Jamie into his arms and threw her over his shoulder. "Where is that stupid boy?" he muttered.

Chichiri strolled up the pathway to the bandit den after being unable to find the three horses. Hotohori would not be too happy about that.

Megyn hadn't acted too happy when he told her about his feelings either. She hadn't even said a single word about it. What did she think? Was he too forward? Maybe he should have waited a little longer. It was a little awkward; she was the priestess's best friend after all. What would Jamie think of all this? She would be happy for Megyn, wouldn't she?

"I have to confront Megyn about this, no da," he decided.

A boy with dark sandy hair crouched on the roof. His eyes washed over the land, hunting for anything that could possibly hurt the mission. He spotted a trio running to the building he sat on. Trying not to draw attention to himself, he slipped discretely through the open window below him.

He looked around for a moment before whispering, "Tomo?"

"Wait for me!" Megyn cried. Her already swollen ankle was near to abandoning her completely.

Tamahome sprinted to her and threw her over his shoulder. "You're so stupid. I told you to let me and Genrou take care of it."

"But Jamie's my best friend… If she's in trouble, I don't want to let her down." She humphed. "Watch me be the one to save everyone's ass."

Chichiri walked through the corridors of the bandit den, making his way to Megyn's room. On the way, he noticed Chichiri carrying Jamie. He did a double take, and then noticed Seiryuu ki.

Chichiri shot a mild ki blast at Chichiri-Imposter, making sure he didn't hit Jamie. An angry Chichiri-Imposter turned.

"Jamie!" Real-Chichiri said; she didn't respond. "Jamie!" he said louder. He noticed the blood on Jamie's clothing, and demanded, "What did you do to her!"

"Hurry!" Genrou called from the gates.

How did he get there so fast? Megyn thought.

Tamahome ran as fast as he could still carrying Megyn. "Lose some weight!" She hit him. "Just kidding, sis…"

The trio hurried through the vast passages. That is, until they came upon an unusual sight: two Chichiris and a bleeding Jamie slung over the shoulder of one. They stopped, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Umm… Which one's which?" Genrou pondered.

"The one nearest us," Megyn said. "The other one's a Seiryuu."

The Chichiri farthest from the trio cackled and morphed into a tall man with long dark hair wearing some sort of bizarre costume. "I will not deny it," he cackled. "I am Seiryuu Seishi Tomo, and this," he motioned to a sandy-haired boy who appeared suddenly next to him, "is Seiryuu Seishi Suboshi, my escort."

"You wish," Suboshi said.

"You know I only like men, not children," Tomo added with a hand on his hip, turning to Suboshi. "And, even if you were a man, I wouldn't sleep with you, you aren't my type." He flipped a stray bit of hair over his shoulder.

"What are you doing with Jamie?" Tamahome managed to spurt out in his confusion.

"Taking her with us," Suboshi said. He turned to Tomo. "Right?"

"Yes, you stupid boy," Tomo said.

"Why take her?" Megyn asked, after being set on the ground by Tamahome. "Can't you see she's close to death anyway? There's no point in bringing a dead girl to you emperor. I'm from the other world, too. Take me. I want to be the Priestess of Seiryuu."

All conscious stared dumbly at her. No one could believe what she had said, most of all Chichiri; he just wouldn't believe it.

"You have to be joking, right?" he asked, forcing a laugh. "You are Jamie's best friend, no da. You can't do this to her."

"I am completely serious, Chichiri," she said evenly, staring at him coldly. "Let's go, Tomo and Suboshi." She stepped away from her old friends and to her new allies. "And, please," she wrinkled her nose, "leave the girl. I don't want to go to Kutou with a dead brat."

Obeying her orders, Tomo dropped Jamie to the ground. "Goodbye, Suzaku Seishi. I hope our paths never cross because then, I won't let you survive." She let Tomo and Suboshi lead her to the nearest exit.

Infuriated, Genrou ran after them. He grabbed Megyn's shoulder and spun her around. "What the Hell do you think yer doin'! Jamie's yer friend! And what about Tamahome and Chichiri?" he screamed at her. She stared calmly at him, eyes pleading for him to understand, but Genrou was in too much of a rage.

Tomo noticed his newfound priestess was being harassed, and let one of his long, black feathers fly into Genrou's shoulder. "Let her go."

"Thank you, Tomo," Megyn said. "I don't like being touched by dirty things." She turned away from Genrou, and walked towards the horse Suboshi offered her. She saddled hesitantly and let Suboshi behind her. Tomo and Suboshi and Megyn galloped away towards the safety in Kutou.

"TRAITOR!" she heard Genrou yell at her.

Megyn cringed slightly. She hadn't wanted to make enemies out of her friends, but it was the only way to save Jamie. Oh, the irony of it all.

She chuckled lightly.

"What is it, Miko-sama?" Suboshi asked from behind her.

"Call me Megyn, please. I was just thinking about how stupid those Suzaku seishi are. I had to tell them that I was meant to be the Priestess of Seiryuu." She chuckled again for good measure.

"I agree completely…Megyn."

Genrou fell to one knee using one hand for balance; the other gripped his wound. "TRAITOR!" he screamed as the Seiryuus rode off.

Tamahome ran out. "The bastards took her." He looked after them. "How could she do this?" His hands became fists as he turned to the nearest column and punched it. The force splintered it. Tamahome looked at his bloodied knuckles. "Better get inside," Tamahome said offhandedly. "Don't want that to get infected." He referred, of course, to the lovely wound on Genrou's shoulder.

Genrou nodded and walked slowly to the door. "Better get inside. Don't want that gettin' infected."

Tamahome smiled a bit and followed him inside.

Chichiri blinked several times. He couldn't believe what had just come to pass. How? Why? He blinked several more times.

Why did it have to happen again? He never imagined Megyn betraying him. It isn't possible. It can't be.

He fingered his scar briefly. Why?

Hakurou shook his head. How could my sentries have let them in?

He had convinced the concerned seishi to let him have his doctor bandage Jamie personally, since he believed it was his fault the Seiryuu had got in. He had just finished. The bleeding was slowed, but the bandit doctor admitted to fearing the worst for the young priestess.

There was only one way, wasn't there? They would have to go to see that healer. It was said that he could heal everything but death, so they would have to go quickly.

Maybe, I… he thought then shook his head. Jamie was priority over himself.

Back at the palace, Chiriko had finally begun to gain a little respect from the counselors by having them quiz him. Not once were they able to stump the young boy. Sufficiently exhausted, the counselors left Chiriko to himself.

As soon as they left, he brought his left foot up to rest on his right knee. His brows furrowed as he massaged the glowing symbol on the top of his left foot.

"What could this mean?" he muttered.

Hotohori swerved through the trees at a menacing speed. He had to save Jamie. If he didn't, what would he do? Jamie is supposed to be the one he loves, the one he is supposed to protect with his life. What if she died? What if he wasn't there? What if he could do nothing?

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on getting to Mount Reikaku. Jamie would live. He knew that she would.

In a not so distant village, a young woman with flowing blonde hair thrashed in her bed. An old man pressed a cool, damp cloth onto her forehead and preyed the doctor would return soon.

The young woman screamed for her lover.

A blond man stood at the window, contemplating life. Well, not life, really. More the ceasing of someone's life. It didn't matter either way.

His blue eyes settled on a bench in the garden where a woman sat. She had long burgundy hair that was twisted into a circle above her head. She had a figure women wanted and men wanted to touch. Most men would kill, literally, to sleep with this woman.

But not our blond-haired, blue-eyed gentleman. Oh, no. This woman was his. She wanted him, and him alone. She had lusted after him for years, and when he finally allowed her to sleep with him, he found he got a great deal more out of it than he thought. No, not pleasure, but power. The power he gained from this woman was incredible. Her knowledge coupled with her deep feelings for him produced astronomical power.

That's what he needed, too. Power. His plan wouldn't succeed if he hadn't enough of her driving power.

Jamie blinked to life. She saw a blurry Hakurou and Tamahome leaning over her.

"What's up?" she managed.

"We're going to take you to a doctor," said Tamahome-blur.

"We are waiting for Genrou to come back with the horses," said Hakurou-blur. "He should be here any second now."

"Where's Megyn?" she asked.

Hakurou-blur and Tamahome-blur looked at each other. "It would be better if you got some rest," Hakurou-blur replied, cautiously, as if examining each word.

"We'll take care of everything," Tamahome-blur said quietly.