Chapter 9:

A lone figure stood on the open plain, reddish hair wavering slightly in the breeze, a long bow pulled taught and an arrow placed across it. For a few breathless seconds the figure remained perfectly still, aiming the arrow along her line of sight. Then with a quick exhalation the arrow was let go.

A loud "twang!" was heard, followed immediately after by a small yelp of pain, and then a second later by a low thud.

Marissa winced and looked to see where her arrow had landed. It had thankfully hit the target, though not exactly where she'd wanted it to go. Three white, concentric circles were drawn on a large tree trunk about 100 feet away from her, the arrow placed just outside the largest one.

She let out a loud sigh and looked down at the objects that had been causing her so much pain and frustration. Practicing with a bow and arrow was useless if her breasts kept getting in the way. Every few shots or so she'd managed not to hit the sensitive flesh, but then her aim had always been way off, sometimes not even hitting the target. She'd have to bind them somehow, save herself the pain and frustration this was causing. Archery had definitely been originally created as a male sport.

She set the bow down beside the small pile of arrows near her feet and headed for the cabin a short distance behind her. If she recalled right Chichiri had a supply of fabric strips or gauze somewhere in the house, though where exactly she wasn't sure. That'd be the best thing she could use without ripping up some of her own clothing, something she felt desperate enough to do at the moment.

Archery was one of her favorite sports, even if she had only picked up a bow maybe a dozen times in her life. But each time she'd practiced with it she'd felt an unusual bond with the weapon, almost as though it were a part of her. Every time her hands gripped the wooden bow and her fingers grasped the thin arrow she felt comfortable and at peace. The feeling was both strange and enjoyable at the same time, something she'd never experienced before in her life. So once her injury had healed she'd immediately decided what to do with the long staff Chichiri had given to her not so long ago. It had already helped her to walk again, now it would be made into something to protect herself and others with.

She opened the front door of the house, her eyes seeing nothing in the dimmer light as her pupils adjusted from the bright light outside. Slowly she made out everything in the room and stepped over the threshold, looking around for anything that might hold the supplies she was looking for. She bent over a low crate and was about to remove the lid when something else in the room caught her eye.

She hadn't noticed him before because he was sitting so quietly and motionless in the corner. Chichiri sat cross-legged beside the hearth, his hands clasped loosely in his lap and his masked face slack, holding an statement of deep thought.

Marissa felt a small pang of worry go through her. He'd been that way since she woke up this morning. How long he'd been there she wasn't sure, she'd heard no movement during the night or early morning so he must have been discreet about it. She'd gone about and made breakfast for them, trying to be as quiet as possible, and left him a small bowl of rice and soup on the table before stepping out to start practicing.

Her eyes moved to the tabletop and saw to her dismay that the food was still there, untouched and cold. She stood up and removed the wasted meal, all the while her eyes trained on the still unmoving monk. If he didn't eat he would surely lose strength and become weak, something she would never allow as long as she was there with him. Why was he doing this? And why now? In the past he'd never found the need to meditate so seriously, or neglect himself so strongly. After their trip to see Taiitsukun he'd become withdrawn, still performing his duties as an instructor to her, but taking an attitude as if that's all there was to it. When before they'd talked freely and about anything that came to mind, now their conversations were short, on topic, and that was it. He was no less responsive to her questions than he'd been before, but a distance had been put between them and Marissa was unsure how or why the gap had formed, and furthermore if there was anyway for her to breach it.

Somehow she couldn't help but feel that the blame was on her, that she had done something wrong that caused for such a separation between them. All too many times in her life she had lost a friend to one misunderstanding or another, words not spoken being the cause that eventually lead to a painful and sad separation. Her heart ached terribly to see him acting this way, and all the while she was sure the blame lay on her shoulders. What had she done, or perhaps not done? Try as hard as she might she couldn't recall anything that might lead her to some sensible conclusion. Perhaps the extended duration of her training was the cause of this. Maybe... maybe he didn't want to train her after all.

But he hadn't offered any protests when they'd gone to see Taiitsukun and the goddess had informed him that he was to continue training Marissa in preparation for the next year. In fact, he'd seemed almost as happy as she was about it, though she could have been mistaken, his facial expressions were always hard to read.

Like right now. Sitting there, impassive and completely oblivious to the outside world, while she stood by, feeling worry claw at her heart like nothing she'd ever felt before. Chichiri no baka! she felt herself yelling on the inside, her eyes squinting slightly with anger and frustration. She knelt down before him, intently studying the man that had yet to acknowledge her presence there. She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out with a light, tentative touch towards his mind, gently probing and searching to make a connection with the consciousness that was tucked away, quietly musing and meditating somewhere within. Unexpectedly though she felt her gentle probe pushed softly yet sternly to the side, away and out of his mind. She opened her eyes to watch his head lift slightly, the masked face now staring straight at her.

"G... gomen," she apologized softly, feeling her confidence waver beneath the expressionless stare that looked back at her. She blinked and her eyes darted up to the table, reminding herself of why she'd sought to talk to him. "You... didn't eat your breakfast. I was wor-"

"Heki," came the abrupt reply, his voice strangely low for being the one behind the mask.

It was like she had just been punched in the stomach, a blow to both her heart and mind as she heard his distant and uncaring reply. Her breath seemed to catch painfully in her throat, all thoughts swept from her mind except for his cold voice, which continued to echo loudly through it. She blinked a few times, her vision coming back into focus, and saw the emotionless face of her friend once more.

"I see," she replied flatly, hiding her hurt feelings beneath a mask of composure. She pushed away and rose to her feet, then made to walk away before she stopped, recalling why she'd come inside in the first place. She turned back to the quiet monk, whose face was still pointed in her direction. "Do we have any long strips of fabric?" she asked noncommittally, her eyes everywhere but on him.

He gave a brief nod. "In the smallest crate." And that was it.

Marissa pushed down the other emotions that threatened to boil over as she approached the pile of wooden crates arranged against the far wall of the structure. She bent down and began searching through the stack for the one he had indicated. She paused for a moment though as she was setting one aside, her eyes glancing over by their own will to stare upon the man who had suddenly grown so cold towards her. She wrenched her eyes away, feeling them start to smart slightly with moisture. Getting upset would get her nowhere right now.

Finally she unearthed the smallest crate, pulling it out of the dark recess at the far back of the pile. She picked it up and set it on the table, still mindful not to make too much noise while around him. Afterall, she didn't need him getting any madder at her then he already was. She removed the lid and was met with a neat arrangement of medicines, dried herbs, small white packages, and long rolls of bandages. Pulling out a large roll of fabric she felt its weight appreciatively in her hand. It looked like it would be enough. After replacing the lid quietly she picked up the roll and headed for the bedroom, wanting the feeling of privacy despite the fact that Chichiri would probably be oblivious to everything around him right now.

She shut the door behind herself and latched it securely on the inside. Dropping the roll of white fabric on the bed she proceeded to strip herself of the heavy blue dress she was wearing. It was actually more like an overcoat with its weight and insulating characteristics, but was conveniently fashioned into a knee-length dress, allowing her to put leggings on beneath it whenever she desired. The long sleeves and high neck made it perfect for wearing in colder weather, not to mention that it was a lovely shade of royal blue, one of her favorite colors. This outfit had been the counterpart to her other purchase at the dress shop she and Chichiri had stopped at last time they were in town. He had suggested that she get something in preparation for the colder weather, and boy was he right.

Thoughts of their trip to town brought back memories of the one they'd taken more recently together, just yesterday to be exact. With a completed bow and no arrows to use Chichiri had suggested they take a quick trip to town to pick up her needed supplies. She'd agreed enthusiastically, wanting to start practicing with her new weapon as soon as possible. The trip to town was quick and uneventful, though silent was probably the better way to describe it now. At the time she hadn't really noticed, being so happy about why they were making the trip was enough to keep her occupied the whole way. They'd gone to see the local blacksmith, who had a complete set of quivers ready to sell to the Suzaku seishi for an excellent discount. Even so Marissa had been unwilling to let Chichiri spend the money on her, opting instead to only buy her half of the set. But he'd refused as usual, saying that a full set was always going to be better than a partial one (to which the blacksmith also heartily agreed). Then he'd said something that surprised her. How about she learn how to make her own arrows for the future? The idea of creating her own weapons was both exciting and scary, so with her heart fluttering nervously she agreed to be taught (for a small fee of course). The kind blacksmith had patiently sat with them for an hour and a half while Chichiri translated Marissa's questions and the smith's instructions between the two of them. Marissa had been so grateful to Chichiri at the time, without him there to help she wouldn't know now how to straighten a shaft of wood, test it for strength and durability, and attach arrowheads or feathers to it. After the end of the lesson and Marissa successfully creating her first arrow from supplies given to her by the smith they both departed the town, but not before Chichiri granted a blessing at the blacksmith's request upon him and his family, being the least he could do to repay the man's kindness to his student. On the way back Marissa proudly carried her newly strung bow and case of arrows, her mouth and thoughts both flowing a mile a minute in her exuberance. Now that she thought about the return trip it had been strangely quiet on the side of her sensei as well. She'd gone on talking on so much no wonder she hadn't noticed.

With a slight pang in her heart Marissa realized that indeed Chichiri's behavior had been the same all day yesterday as it was today, but she'd been to preoccupied to notice. Was that the reason he was acting this way now? Because she hadn't paid attention to whatever was bothering him before? The thought caused Marissa to mentally laugh nervously. Chichiri, acting like a little boy and sulking in the corner? Not likely. Something else was bothering him, something that had happened two days ago to be precise. But try as she might no explanation or idea came to her. She felt herself becoming frustrated. It was like the guy suddenly went and got PMS or something, shifting attitudes so quickly. Maybe it had to do with being a monk, periods of penance and silence... somehow Marissa couldn't imagine that being the explanation either. She'd studied the principles of Buddhism in school, not to mention countless hours of Fushigi Yuugi featuring scenes of her bishie monk, and never once had she seen him act this way. Except...

Marissa gulped nervously, feeling the temperature in the room drop against her exposed skin. During the OAVs he'd become that way for a short period of time, when his past had been exposed to his friends and he'd been too ashamed to talk or face them. Oh Kami-sama what did she say...? Marissa dropped heavily to sit on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed over her nakedness to cover her chilling body. Two days... two days ago, had anything happened? Had anything slipped? No, nothing had, she was sure of that. There was that one time in the morning when she'd caught herself before revealing too much about the story of the four gods in her world, but that was trivial. How many other times had she almost slipped and gotten a curious look from Chichiri? Heh, lots, she thought glumly. Shit, whatever it was she did she really wished she could take it back now.

The quickly cooling air in the room raised the flesh on Marissa's exposed skin, running goosebumps up and down her arms and causing her to shiver slightly. She rubbed the cooling skin on her upper arms with her hands, drawing heat from the friction it created. Reluctantly she pulled away after a minute, knowing that the quicker she finished the sooner she'd be back in her warm clothes. She stood up, wearing only a long pair of dust colored pants and sneakers, having traded her pair of shorts for something more comfortable during the chilling weather, her upper torso now completely bare. She'd realized shortly after she arrived there that wearing a bra was more an inconvenience than helpful and soon abandoned the article of clothing, not really minding since most of the tops she wore were baggy and non revealing. She'd always been a bit modest about her body, finding it neither impressive nor worth spending the time to dawdle over, despite the words of encouragement from her friends that seemed to agree she had assets worth showing off. Marissa blushed slightly at the memory and grabbed the roll off the bed, quickly finding the end of the strip and placing it just below her breasts, then wrapped it a few times around her torso to keep the end in place.

With each pass of the slowly shrinking roll of fabric Marissa's thoughts wandered back to the man she'd tried to remove from her mind for so long. It'd been over a month now, a month away from her family, a month away from her friends, a month from home... a month away from good music! Marissa smiled ruefully at the thought. When was the last time she'd heard some good alternative? Oh boy, some loud Korn, Orgy, Papa Roach, or Limp Bizkit sounded real good right now. What better way to release her anger than listening to some angry lyrics? God what I wouldn't give to go back and get some... the nostalgic look disappeared from her face in the next moment though. Even if she did get back (however unlikely it was) and brought some of her cds here how would she listen to them? Batteries had finite lives and electricity was a far thing of the future. Marissa sighed, then giggled quietly when she realized how ridiculous a turn her thoughts had taken. Still... modern conveniences spoiled everyone, including her, and now for some reason she'd started to miss them. Why? Maybe because her permanence here had been confirmed and the person that had taken her mind off missing home up till now was a stupid, unresponsive mannequin in the corner.

With an angry rip Marissa tore the strip of fabric from the roll, having completed binding her breasts while she'd been thinking, and tucked the loose end into the flat strips layered across her chest. Well, it seems to have definitely helped, Marissa mused as she glanced down at her significantly flattened chest. She bent down to pick up her discarded garment and slipped it over her head, noting with satisfaction that the change was hardly noticeable with her clothing back on. She gave her hair a pat to return all stray strands to their place, then picked up the small roll and headed out of the room, careful to make as little noise as possible. With practiced stealth after raiding so many cookie jars and the like over the years she returned the roll to the box and placed it back in the corner, glancing once towards to the meditating monk. Her brow furrowed itself in worry for a brief moment as she watched his prone figure, unmoving and silent in the darkness.

Darkness? Marissa glanced around and noticed with unease that the house was indeed quite dark. Every window was closed and the fire from that morning had long since burned down to hot, glowing red coals. She rose from her crouched position and walked over to the hearth, noting with dismay how cold the house really was. Before she'd been warm from practicing in the sun and hadn't noticed how much the house had cooled down during the day without a fire inside to keep it warm.

Being as quiet as possible Marissa set two logs in the fireplace, stirring the coals to life and making sure that the sparks caught hold of their new source of fuel. He may refuse to eat but there was no way she'd let him freeze to death. What the hell was he trying to pull? Sitting on a cold floor in a cold room without having eaten all day and leaving her standing by to get more pissed and worried about him! With gritted teeth Marissa willed her emotions to calm themselves. He may shut her out and ignore her, but there was no way she'd let him shirk off life's necessities if she had anything to say about it.

With a last, satisfied glance at the fire she turned and crept towards the door, noticing at the last minute the small cat that sat quietly on a box near it. She made a silent beckoning motion and crouched down to the floor, to which Tama-neko complied and bounded up atop her shoulder, seeming to be as grateful to get out of the house as she was. They both exited the house and walked outside, basking in the warmth of the winter sun. The air was cool with a bit of a bite to it, but in the sunlight and beneath heavy clothing all that could easily be forgotten.

Marissa walked back over to where she'd left her pile of archery equipment, checked with a quick glance to make sure it was all there, then walked over to the large tree trunk where five arrows stood out straight from the target she'd drawn there. With a tug and a few grunts Marissa managed to remove the arrows from the tree bark, then looked down at the arrows in her hands, examining the tips for any sign of breakage or loosening like she had been instructed to do. Satisfied that none of them would break on her any time soon she turned to walk back and start practicing again, when she stopped.

Five arrows? Marissa looked down again and counted. Great. If memory served her right she'd actually fired off seven in the direction of the tree. It seemed that two of them had decided to be adventurous and land somewhere else. She added the arrows in her hands to lay with the rest of the pile, then picked Tama-neko off her shoulder and set him next to her stash.

"Guard these," she commanded him with a smile and a wink, then with an affectionate scratch to his head she headed for the woods behind her shooting target.

Once the forest began the ground cover changed to a soft, mulchy and leaf covered floor, which felt comfortable and cool beneath Marissa's feet. But with the denser vegetation underfoot her arrows would be more difficult to find. With any luck she could hope that they'll be sticking straight up out of the ground and easy to see, as opposed to lying on or beneath the undergrowth where she could easily mistake it for another piece of dead wood, or even worse, that it managed to fly farther back into the forest and was now stuck in the trunk of another tree. Take it slowly and carefully, slowly and care-

CRACK!

Marissa winced and shut her eyes as she felt the long twig break beneath her foot. Please oh please oh please don't be...

"Shit," she muttered darkly as her eyes landed on the two halves of her arrow lying on the ground. She bent down to pick them up, noting with a little relief that the feathers and arrowtip were still intact, only the shaft had broken. Before moving again she scanned the area around herself, careful not to step forward and land on another one of her precious arrows. Seeing nothing in the area she stepped forward gingerly, her eyes darting from the ground to the surrounding trees for the last arrow. With each step farther into the wood Marissa felt her hope slipping little by little. She'd already broken one and with her luck she'd find the last one high up in a tree somewhere. She let out a quiet sigh and plodded on.

Several minutes later the other arrow had yet to be found. Marissa paused for a moment, setting her hands on her hips. There was no way she could have shot it so far into the woods. Her foot tapped itself impatiently as she scanned the surrounding trees and ground, annoyance replacing the worry she'd felt before. With one last look Marissa threw her hands up in a gesture of defeat and turned to head back the way she came. After a few steps she stopped though, noticing something that she'd failed to see before. There, almost perpendicular to her line of sight, was her arrow about four feet off the ground sticking out from a tree. She smiled as she felt her built up tension release. There the whole time, she thought as she walked towards it. She carefully removed the head from the bark, only to find that it fell away easily, having been barely lodged in the trunk due to the lack of force it'd had when it hit the tree from being shot so far away.

Marissa walked back in the direction she had coming, heading for the lighter area of the forest where the sun managed to reach through the trees overhead, signaling where the woods eventually ended. She pushed through the last line of trees to see Tama-neko a short distance away, and doing his job it seemed. He was batting his small white paws defensively at a pair of black shoes that stood close to her pile of arrows.

Marissa's eyes traveled up to see that the shoes belonged to Chichiri, who's head was turning slowly right and left as though searching for something, or someone. She walked out past her makeshift target and silently approached the monk and cat.

Chichiri's head turned then and saw her and in a moment he was jogging across the open plain towards her. He stopped in front of her, blocking her path and ceasing her walking. "Where were you?" he asked sternly.

Marissa stared back up at him tiredly. She held up her two arrows for him to see, one in each hand. "I went to get these," she replied.

"In the woods?"

Marissa sighed. "Yes, in the woods, is there something wrong with that?" she asked as she moved to step around him, wanting nothing more to get back to her training and for him to leave her alone. She was abruptly stopped though when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"I don't want you going into the forest by yourself," Chichiri commanded, his grip on her wrist tightening to emphasize his seriousness.

Marissa turned her head back to look at him, her expression showing surprise. Huh? The disbelief faded quickly to be replaced by fury. He's lecturing me about going into the woods? Telling me... when he wouldn't even listen to me! He's been neglecting himself for days now and he's telling ME what not to do!?

Marissa's face must have betrayed her anger for Chichiri's masked look suddenly changed to that of surprise. She tried to pull her wrist out of his grip, but when it didn't come the first time she began to tug a little harder. Her eyes locked with. "Hanase." The single word was low and cutting under her breath. It seemed to do the trick, for he released her the next moment, his face once more expressionless, the same old smile and look of composure plastered across it.

She turned and walked away from him, heading for her supply of weapons. Tama-neko mewed in greeting and Marissa forced a smile for him. Damn she was pissed now. She picked up her bow and placed an arrow across it, hoping to vent her anger the next best way to loud music she knew how - physical activity.

But h eyes opened wide when she saw that Chichiri still stood where she had left him, his head facing her, but his expression as blank as an empty sheet of paper. Coincidentally he stood slightly to the side of her line of sight, the center of the target just over his right shoulder. Marissa raised the bow and sighted across it, instigating the silent threat to fire it while he was still standing there. She waited for him to move, feeling the taught bow begin to shake slightly beneath her fingers. But he didn't. His face just stared back at her, betraying nothing, the exact same look he had given her when she'd expressed her concern over him in the house. Marissa felt herself starting to shake with anger. What the hell was he pulling!? God help me I'm going to fire this arrow, she thought angrily. Move it dammit! she yelled inwardly, but still he remained motionless, as though he was mocking her, challenging her to pull through on her threat.

Marissa's eyes narrowed and abruptly her shaking stopped as a flood of ki filled her fingertips. Eyes centered on the target her breathing stopped, her body standing perfectly motionless. With the ease of a natural born archer she released the arrow.

A stream of red followed behind the arrow as it sped away from her, her built up ki having latched onto it just before she fired. It flew past Chichiri at an amazing speed and slammed into the tree, bits of wood and dust scattering from the impact. Marissa lowered her bow, eyes locked on the target, her heart racing both with surprise over what she had just done and from the fact that she'd just performed something completely new and amazing. The dust cleared after a second and Marissa grinned.

The arrow was buried halfway into the tree, a small impact crater having been created by the tip of the arrow. But most importantly, it was planted in the exact center of the target.

~*~*~*~

Check out the rest of my writings and updates for this story at http://home.pacbell.net/gahran :)