Disclaimer: FY and all things associated with it belong to Yu Watase, etc. etc. you know the drill ^_^ Not making money, just writing stories for fun..
Ari: I had hoped for it not to have to take this long for next chapter to go up. -_-;; But school started… college classes… and I'll be starting a job soon. *But* this story will still update. I'm not saying more slowly, or more quickly, but it will update. There are times when if I have no extra homework, I have a couple of hours to possibly work on it.. I enjoy writing it, so it's definitely not going to stop. ^_^ So it's basically the same, except that occasionally I might get really busy.. *sigh* But, that doesn't matter right now! There's a new chapter! Read, enjoy, and hopefully review if you'd like. I miss reviews. *sniffle* Where are my readers? … :P oh well. I'll still write this thing if no one reads it, but it's nice to know that people do, anyway. Um, on with the story! ^_^
Modern Miko: Chapter Six
It had been so quiet. Through the night—at least, when she had been conscious—Yume had had a lot of time to think. What else was there to do, anyway? Her wrists had been roughly lashed together, the rope slowly cutting into her skin even as she did her best not to struggle. Mostly, she lay curled up on the cold, hard dirt floor, alone with her thoughts.
The emotion she felt most was frustration. She couldn't see, couldn't move, didn't know the first thing about where she was. A building of some sort, obviously, but she couldn't tell how big. She could tell by touch that the floor was hard-packed dirt, the wall directly behind her flimsy, rough, and obviously not built to last. That didn't tell her much, and this frustrated her—but strangely, at the same time, she didn't feel all that much in danger. For being captured and carried away by a group of strange men roaming the desert, tied up, and thrown in a shack, that is. She was, admittedly, a bit frightened, but not terrified.
After hours of silent, absolute darkness, the sun began to rise and light began to weakly stream through the slats in the walls. Yume could finally see her surroundings, but there wasn't much to see. It was a small room, and besides herself, completely empty. There didn't seem to be any obvious means of escape, and nothing to provide any additional information of her location. So she decided to wait.
It wasn't long before several male voices could be heard nearby, too low to be understood. They were joined by many more as the morning went on, going about daily tasks, it seemed. A whiff of smoke, horses snorting and stamping—a camp was awakening.
The bandits…?
A shadow fell across Yume as a panel in the wall facing her slid open. The bright light entered, and so did Tamahome.
Strangely, he seemed as surprised to see her as she was him—truly the professional, though, his coolly confident smirk had returned, only a little too late for Yume to have misjudged his initial reaction.
He isn't the leader… Yume thought, and was strangely pleased with this conclusion. If he were, I doubt I would have been captured without him knowing it.
Several shadowy forms in the doorway behind Tamahome hung back and eventually faded away as she entered the shack alone. Yume, despite her raw and battered wrists' objections, wriggled her way into a sitting position, pressing her back against the wall as stiffly as possible. This seemed to further amuse Tamahome as he stepped slowly forward. Yume eyed him with distrust, until he stopped a few feet short of where she sat.
"Hmm," he said. "I find this situation very odd. Want to know why?"
She glared at him, refusing to play along in any way. He proceeded to tell her anyway, of course.
"Here you are, tied up and locked away in the dark in a camp of desert bandits…and yet, you don't use your magic to escape. Why?" He crossed his arms, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Yume stared at him for a few more moments. He truly is incredibly stupid… She took a deep breath.
"Okay, Mr. I-think-I-know-everything. You really want to know why I haven't escaped with my so-called 'magic'? Do you?"
"Well, that's what I—"
"Because I'll tell you why!" Her voice rose to a frantic pitch. "Listen very carefully. I…don't… have…any…freaking…magic! At all! Magic doesn't even exist! In fact, this whole place doesn't exi—"
Before she could finish that last bit of frustrated explanation, he had crossed those last few feet between them, cutting her off with a brief but deep kiss. When he pulled back with that confident, lop-sided smirk, she had nothing more to say.
"You're speechless, I know." He winked. "Don't get any ideas, though…it doesn't mean anything."
She gaped at him, still unable to form any coherent thought.
"I just wanted you to shut up, really. And it worked, didn't it?" With a victorious grin, he backed out of the room, the door sliding shut after him. She heard a latch click, and footsteps retreating with the crunch of dirt.
He…I… if I hadn't been tied up, I would've… She didn't even know what she would have done. Likely her reaction would have been the same, hands free or not. She wanted to say that she would've slapped him, but it hadn't even occurred to her at the moment, as sudden and completely unexpected as it had been.
The freak…
She sighed, and wondered if anyone was going to bring her any food. Anyone besides Tamahome. Then something else occurred to her—what if he was one of the nice bandits? She shook her head, forcing herself not to think such pessimistic thoughts. No thoughts at all would be nice… she needed sleep. Wait—was that the smell of…?
The door slid open again to reveal a young man she judged to be around her age, carrying a tray that gave off very promising smells. He instantly looked both bewildered and horrified, his blue-green eyes wide.
"He didn't say anything about it being a girl!" the youth said under his breath with a tone of genuine surprise. Yume frowned; this group of bandits seemed to be very uninformed of the goings-on at their camp. Still not taking his eyes off her as if reminding himself that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, he set the tray before her. It contained some kind of stew, a bit of dark bread, and a steaming bowl Yume assumed was a drink. He waited expectantly.
Yume blinked, and then nodded pointedly towards her bound hands. He blushed with the realization, but quickly recovered as he scrambled to untie the ropes. Yume attempted to smile to ease the tension—not to mention she was relieved that he didn't expect her to eat without using her hands.
As the ropes loosened and slipped from her wrists, he looked up at her with an embarrassed laugh.
"Uh, sorry about that." He grinned sheepishly, nodding to her once. His light-blond hair fell over his eyes, and he brushed it away with one hand. "I'm Tasuki."
"Yume." She rubbed at her wrists, trying to get the circulation back in them.
"Someone is going to hear about this, that's for sure," Tasuki said after a moment, eyes flashing with determination. "I'm not the leader, but I won't let this kind of thing go on…"
Yume, who had turned her attention to the food, looked up at him with surprise. Is he really a bandit? She lifted the drink bowl to her lips as he continued.
"We don't have many women around here, but they should know they don't deserve to be treated like criminals. It's barbaric!" He glared past the closed door, towards the now noisy camp. Yume watched him, slightly amused by his reaction.
"You don't feel strongly about this, do you?" she teased, picking up a piece of bread—it was hard, as she expected. She gnawed at a corner but quickly gave up, setting it down.
"Well, I haven't been a bandit all my life, like some of them out there have. Sometimes, though, I expect more from them than maybe I should." He shook his head, and didn't say anything for a while. Yume sat there, not sure what to say but wondering what his story was. Just as the silence was starting to be awkward, he rose from his crouching position and turned back towards her with a smile.
"Well, finish your food. We have some business to attend to."
*******
Tasuki led her quickly through the camp, pulling her behind him by the arm, though he was careful not to irritate the part that had been rubbed raw by the bindings. Yume didn't see much as her eyes adjusted to the light; just blurs of men talking and laughing by the cookfires, more blurs tending to the horses, and several tents in all directions from where she could hear many more voices. Tasuki didn't give her time to dwell on any one object, so she stumbled along after him, frantically trying to keep up with his pace but often only barely catching herself before she tripped over her own feet and collided with his back.
Barely, that is, until they actually stopped.
"Oof," they both said.
"Guess I should have warned you," said Tasuki. "We're here."
Here was a tent at least twice as large as any of the others Yume saw in the camp. A red banner hung motionlessly at the entrance, depicting a silver hawk swooping down on unseen prey. Beneath this were characters that said 'Ruzoku's Desert Hunters'. As soon as she had worked this out, Tasuki was pulling back the flap and ushering her inside.
"Don't say a word, unless you're asked to. And don't look Ruzoku in the eye," he whispered to her urgently. She nodded. He placed a hand on her shoulder. It will be okay, he seemed to be saying. He followed her inside, once again taking her by the arm. She now walked beside him, however, rather than trailing after him.
There were several other men in the tent, Tamahome among them, all arrange around an intimidating man who stood a bit apart from them. Some of them were speaking in low tones to him, but he only nodded occasionally, fingering his braided beard. He was dressed in clothing far finer than most of them, who wore single colored tunics and pants—not new, but not ragged, either. Ruzoku wore a robe in the colors of the banner, a white shirt that seemed to be silk, and black boots and pants. The thieving business had been good to him.
Ruzoku barely took notice when Tasuki marched up to him with Yume. Surprisingly, neither did Tamahome. They both stood there, listening to the complaints of one of the other bandits, but not saying a word. Finally, Ruzoku whispered something to a man standing beside him, who nodded and proceeded to escort the loudly protesting bandit out of the tent.
Tasuki took the opportunity to clear his throat.
"Ruzoku. Sir," he said. Ruzoku turned towards them, and Yume quickly ducked her head.
"Why was this young woman bound like a prisoner in the shack on the edge of camp?" Tasuki had his fists clenched, but was obviously trying to keep his anger under control.
"She is a prisoner," Ruzoku simply said, shrugging his broad shoulders.
"On what grounds? Sir." Ruzoku raised an eyebrow at this belated addition.
"She was trespassing on Hunter land."
Tasuki frowned. "But, she couldn't have known—" He abruptly stopped, glancing over at Tamahome. If he saw the look, he didn't acknowledge it.
"I still don't approve of her treatment," Tasuki said quietly.
"I do not seek your approval, young one." Ruzoku smirked. Tasuki began to see he was in a losing battle. He clenched his teeth.
"Can she at least have freedom of movement? If the door is locked, you know there is no way for her to escape!"
"She's a witch. She'll just use her magic."
It was the first thing Tamahome had said since they had entered the tent. He still wouldn't look at her.
Tasuki whirled on him, letting go of Yume's arm. Something unspoken passed between the two, and Tamahome reluctantly nodded.
"Ruzoku, with your permission I humbly request that I speak with Tamahome for a moment," said Tasuki. Ruzoku subtly inclined his head, and the two retreated to an empty corner of the tent. It was then that Yume truly saw Tamahome.
In absence of his discarded strip of leather, he had a red cloth tied across his forehead and underneath his hair. Most surprising, though, was his clothing. He wore a black tunic with red detail, carefully folded and not nearly as worn as the clothing he had been wearing when they had met. His black pants and boots weren't quite as fine as Ruzoku's, and he wore no silk, but he was obviously of some importance.
Yume shifted uncomfortably, keeping her eyes on the two and away from Ruzoku.
"A witch, eh?" he was muttering. "What shall we do with you?" Yume shuddered, and hoped they would come back soon. A few more minutes passed in silence, before Tasuki and Tamahome returned to her side. Tamahome's expression was very different, not so neutral but more resigned. She wondered what Tasuki had said.
Ruzoku waited and fingered his beard, eyes flicking from one man to another. Tamahome finally spoke, his expression changed once more. Yume didn't like it.
"I'll take care of her," he said to Ruzoku with a confident smile. The bandit leader raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
"Then she will be your responsibility." Ruzoku let the words sit there for a while, seemingly sealing her fate. Yume looked at Tasuki questioningly, but he just met her eye calmly.
"She will stay in the shack one more night," Ruzoku continued. "Then she will be released to you." Tasuki seemed to stiffen at this unexpected addition of terms, but he quickly relaxed.
"I am satisfied with that," he finally said.
What?!
With that, they seemed to be dismissed, so Tasuki once again took Yume by the arm and led her from Ruzoku's tent. Tamahome stayed behind.
They passed through the camp only a little more slowly than they had on the way to confront the leader. Many of the men seemed to have already left camp on various tasks; several of the horses were missing. Only a few bandits bothered to look up and casually greet Tasuki as he went by.
Tasuki seemed to apologize to her with his eyes as they arrived back at the run-down shack. He had done his best, Yume knew, although she was still quite puzzled by the events at Ruzoku's tent. What kind of deal had he made? Was she making a mistake, putting her trust in a bandit, nice as he seemed?
She sat back down on the dirt floor, hugging her knees.
"Are you afraid?" Tasuki suddenly said, crouching beside her. She just looked at him.
"Maybe," she mumbled. "Why shouldn't I be? You just handed me over to Tamahome, of all people. I don't trust him…"
Tasuki frowned. "He's just trying to help, you know. You should be grateful."
"How? Why?"
Tasuki scooted closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "He's protecting you."
If Yume hadn't been so confused, she would have laughed.
"I still don't understand. Why can't you protect me, then?"
He paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out the best way to explain. "Well, I don't have the authorization or rank to do that… and… besides…" He flushed, looking away.
"Besides… I'm not considered old enough by the other bandits… for it to be considered… normal… for me to have a girl with me, at all times…" He blushed harder.
Yume blanched. "You mean… they'll think…" He nodded.
"But—!"
"Listen to me, Yume. Do you want to not be touched, or not? You can trust Tamahome completely, I swear it. I've known him for many years. You will not come to harm." He met her eyes now, earnestly.
She nodded, still in shock. What other choice did she have? He had a point. But, Tamahome?
"You look tired. I'll be right back." Tasuki left the shack and returned after a moment with a blanket, scratchy but more comfortable than the hard, dirt ground.
Yume didn't argue. She felt as if she could sleep for days. Covering a yawn, she thanked Tasuki and settled against the wall.
"Remember, I promise you'll be safe," Tasuki said with a smile. "Sleep well, Yume. May Suzaku be with you."
Yume smiled back weakly, even though she didn't really understand that last bit. Even with all the thoughts spinning around her mind, it was not long before she fell into a deep sleep.
*******
Ari: Yeah, that was an unusually long chapter, I know. ^_^;; Hope no one minded, but I was on a roll when I was writing it. *laughs* I was thinking about putting a 'Curious Playing Around' in this chapter, but it mostly consisted of Tasuki 'randomly' disappearing and ending up in Byakko land.. ^_~ But Yume'd kill me. *sweatdrop* Heheheh… We both really like this version of Tasuki. Mine! Mine I say! Err.. *coughs* I'm interested what anyone reading this thinks about the Modern Miko Tasuki. ^_^ Better? Worse? Just.. different? The original Tasuki just has no equal… but we're rather attached to this one, too. Okay, that's all for this chapter of MM! Be sure to leave any comments, questions, etc. in the reviews, or e-mail me, I don't mind! :P Yeah..