Chapter 18 - Fate
The fish swims in muddied jade green water
Surrounded on all sides of a trawler net;
He thinks that if he wriggles, he can escape -
And fate says yes, OK: and equally, no: no way.
Marissa shivered upon waking. Her nose and left hand were both icy cold, forgotten outside the heavy blanket and exposed to the frigid morning air. She could feel a layer of chilly dew clinging to her eyelids and lips, as if a frost had settled on them overnight and hundreds of tiny needles were digging into her skin. She lifted her cold hand and blew warm air into her palm, a welcome pain flowing through it as circulation and warmth were restored to her fingers. As she cracked her eyes open a brightening blue sky was revealed overhead, the pink of dawn fading fast and a few high white clouds spreading like ripples towards the east. Wearily she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and twisted her face towards the fire pit, feeling her neck sting in protest.
One body beside the pit was curled up in a tight ball under their blanket. On the opposite side someone's bedding sat already rolled and tied with a blanket neatly folded on top. Marissa glanced back at the other figure, Tasuki's orange hair peeking over the curve of his shoulder, and felt her stomach sink. Logic told her that Chichiri was probably off fishing for their breakfast or tending to personal needs. But her heart panged at the fact that he always felt the need to rise before everyone else and spend time away from them. Part of her wanted to find him and see if their talk from last night could be continued, and another part wanted to stubbornly leave him be to his own selfish devices.
She sighed out loud and shifted under the blanket. The movement drew a startled hiss of pain from her lips at the sudden burning sensation that raced over her legs. Her inner thighs felt as if they were on fire, aching of strained muscles and raw skin. Biting her bottom lip, she made an attempt to sit upright, wincing as the contact between her pants and the raw skin of her legs. When she came to sit up on her elbows, she stared accusingly at her lap and let out a low sigh of frustration. Her lower back began to throb in time with the pulse that thrummed through her veins, as if she'd slept on hard rocks the entire night, and in a lurching wave she regretted spending so much time on horseback during their journey. She could never have predicted that her untrained muscles and flesh would react this badly. Though in hindsight she could hardly believe that she'd been so naive, especially considering the pain she had endured those few times as a child riding horseback on guided tours.
Stupid, stupid. Her inner chant did little to help her mood or condition however. Any sort of movement was quickly looking to be a painful endeavor, and she had a sinking feeling that included getting back on a horse.
Tossing a quick glance at the sleeping figure, she slipped her arms under the blanket and carefully removed her pants, trying not to hiss aloud as the coarse fabric scraped over raw flesh. Careful to keep her legs apart and the blanket over her lower body, she pulled the garment off her ankles and breathed a soft sigh of relief. Still relatively alone in their campsite (and caring less for modesty and more for comfort), she tossed back the blanket and fanned the edges of her dress over her legs. The cool air raised goose bumps on her flesh but felt sinfully good against her thighs.
"Good lord," Marissa muttered once she got a look at her skin. The inside of her thighs were splashed bright red and rubbed nearly raw in several places from the material of her pants. Small droplets of blood oozed free where the abrasions managed to break through the skin and Marissa shivered at the sight.
Legs akimbo she leaned forward and put on her sneakers, tying up the laces with quick tugs that betrayed her nervousness. Not only was the situation embarrassing, but it entailed some sort of medical treatment in an age that relied on raw plant material to get the job done. The thought was not wholly comforting. Marissa slowly got to her feet, feeling foolish with her legs bowed and dress gathered up around mid-thigh. If she was lucky Genrou would stay asleep and she'd avoid running in Chichiri coming back to the camp. With awkward, waddling steps, she crossed the campsite over to where Hou stood tied up. The horse flicked her tail lazily in greeting, brown eyes blinking sleepily with the early hour, as she watched Marissa approach her flank.
Giving the mare an affectionate pat, Marissa squatted to rummage through the leather packs that sat on the ground with the saddle that had been removed from the horse the night before. She felt her knees starting to strain after a few minutes of fruitless searching, having only come up with a roll of bandage but nothing that inspired a cure for her abraded skin. Sighing, she stood upright with a wince and leaned against the docile mare as she contemplated her options. There were many plant types that would make a decent poultice, at the very least a temporary healing balm for her skin; her only problem now was that she had to find them.
Marissa combed her fingers through the light brown mane of her companion and gave the horse a wistful smile. It didn't look like she'd be able to ride the mare anytime in the near future, and already her feet were aching at the thought of walking the next part of their journey. There really wasn't anything she could do though, just give her legs time to heal and take it easy the next time she decided to mount a horse for nearly two whole days. She gave the horse one last pat before taking the roll of bandages and moving away from the campsite, following the sound of the trickling steam.
As she stepped through the trees and brush her eyes trained themselves on the ground, looking for anything familiar among the bushes and fallen branches that crowded in the space between the trunks. None of the plants were flowering with the colder season, though some still had a few tenuous buds that looked to be on their last leg of existence. One such bud, a deep purple, caught her eye and she bent over the plant to tear off one of the stems. She continued her walk while sniffing the leaves, then took an experimental bite of the bittersweet plant. Her guess at it being alfalfa had been right, and while it wasn't exactly pleasant to eat, she knew it had more nutrients packed into its green leaves than most of the foods she'd eaten so far in this world. She forced herself to chew and swallow each bite while she continued her search, getting closer to the bubbling stream that could be heard quite loudly now.
Marissa came to a break in the trees and stopped, swallowing the last pieces of alfalfa in her mouth. The dry soil slowly gave way to rocks and pebbles that sloped gently down an incline towards a sparkling steam. The clear water gurgled over a bed of smooth stones and a few large boulders that divided the fast paced current into swirling eddies towards the center. Deep, darker water carved a swift channel through the middle of the stream, where sticks and leaves were carried on their merry way down river towards a distant coastline. By the swell of the banks on either side, it appeared safe to assume that the stream spent much of its time being a small river when rain was more abundant in the area. Large trees with drooping branches created a pleasant natural border on either side of the small river, many of their limbs dotted with the remaining reds and gold of late fall while others hung stark and bare, a testament to the oncoming winter.
Not for the first time, Marissa was grateful for the rubber soled sneakers on her feet as she picked her way across the rock strewn ground. Still having neither heard nor seen any sign of her other traveling companion, she'd kept her dress hiked above her knees, the hand holding the bundle of bandages also keeping a firm hold on the ends of her dress. She felt embarrassed to admit it, but the freedom of movement it afford her was welcome after having spent weeks conforming to the clothing styles of an ancient Chinese culture. She would have been more insistent on wearing a pair of shorts had the weather not turned colder, though being covered from head to toe and not even allowed to show a speck of elbow or ankle hadn't been what she'd hoped for either. Something inside of her wanted to rebel and wear shorts and a t-shirt just to see the reaction on people's faces, while another, more cautious part, warned against drawing that kind of attention in an unfamiliar world. Just look at what had happened to Miaka from wearing a school uniform - molested by thugs at every turn, proposed to by two emperors, held at knifepoint by bandits, not to mention nearly raped twice.
Yeah, bad idea, Marissa grudgingly admitted to herself. After moving upstream for several minutes she saw the walls of the river began to incline more sharply into a natural gorge and decided to move off the rocks towards the line of trees again. Upon reaching the top of the slope, a low sitting plant with wide, flat leaves caught her eye. Squatting down with her back to the stream, the familiar scent of mint met her nose and a hopeful smile crossed her face. The leaves were much wider and of a lighter green than normal mint, but the rough edges were similar, as well as the cool scent which grew stronger when she rubbed a leaf between her fingers. She pulled free a generous handful of the hyssop with her free hand and turned to walk back downstream.
Marissa carefully picked her way among the rocks until she spotted a flat boulder near the stream's edge. She set down the roll of fabric on the stone's warm surface then hobbled over a few steps to the shallow water. Crouched at the knees she dipped both hands into the cool steam, carefully keeping the leaves between her palms as they were washed clean. When her hands began to sting from the icy current she withdrew and shook the leaves free of excess water. Still squatting next to the stream she lifted her cupped palms to her nose and inhaled deeply, the refreshing scent of mint tickling her sinuses. Its reassurance went a long way to abate her apprehension over the ease at which she'd decided this plant, hyssop, would help her ailment. The herbal knowledge she'd gained from Chichiri was immense; she could hardly believe her good fortune at learning such a necessary survival technique in a world like this. But sometimes the knowledge worried her, the way she was able to identify a plant so easily, or know its healing properties just from a taste.
The persistent pain in her legs banished the thoughts from her mind and with careful precision she began slowly crushing and ripping the leaves between her hands, tossing away the thin spine of each leaf once it was free of its fleshly counterpart. She was working on the second to last leaf when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled in sudden awareness. She slowed her methodical shredding and opened her senses, probing cautiously for any nearby auras. Rather quickly she encountered one and breathed a little sigh of relief. Somewhere behind her and a little downstream Chichiri's maroon aura pulsed like a warm beacon of light on the ethereal plane. She couldn't tell if he was moving closer or away, but she did know that if she peered too closely he would sniff out her presence like a hunting hound and come looking to see why she was poking around so noticeably.
Her knees were beginning to wobble in their awkward position so she stood upright, the ends of her dress falling to brush the sides of her calves while her legs stood shoulder-length apart on the rocky ground. Casting her gaze across the river bed she found herself momentarily struck with a deep sense of tranquility. No matter how many natural streams, rivers, lakes, and valleys she looked upon, the beauty of this world seemed to enjoy striking her at unexpected moments with its pristine existence. Something deep inside her always mourned the knowledge that in the not so distance future, peaceful sights like this would be nothing but long descriptions told in stories. The knowledge of Chichiri's presence was forgotten as she stepped back towards the flat rock.
The roll of bandages sat where she'd left them, and with a slow descent she perched herself on the edge of the boulder beside them, feet flat on the ground and knees apart. Not even concerned for her own modesty at this point, she flipped up the ends of her dress with her pinkies while her palms stayed cupped around the sticky concoction of shredded hyssops leaves. She divided the paste in half, and with a resounding slap, placed both hands over the red wounds on her inner thighs.
Marissa hissed aloud as the sharp bite of the hyssop met her raw skin. "Youch," she muttered, rubbing the pulpy mixture into the rough abrasions. After a few minutes the clear sap began to harden, creating an interesting menagerie of green and red against her pale skin. She peeled her fingers free of the sticky layer and reached around for the roll of fabric when a noise startled her into dropping it to the ground.
"Mari-chan, what…" There was a crunch of gravel as the owner's feet stepped closer. "Er, what are you doing no da?"
Marissa retrieved the bundle off the ground and looked back at Chichiri over her shoulder. "Don't do that, you scared me!"
"Sorry no da," he apologized, with a half-smile, and took a few steps closer to the rock. "What are you…"
"Doing?" Marissa finished, beginning to unwrap a strip of fabric from the roll. "It's nothing, just a few cuts from horseback riding. I'll be fine once I get them wrapped up."
Chichiri stayed silent behind her as she ripped free a length of bandage with the edge of her teeth. She began wrapping her left leg, then stilled when he took a small step closer. A little wave of self-consciousness compelled her to pull down the opposite edge of her dress, hiding the pale length of unbandaged leg from view. She finished with the first leg and tied a little knot near the bottom of the wrappings, struck for a moment by the similarities between the appearance of her first injury and these minor ones.
"They're not bad, are they no da?" Chichiri asked suddenly, snapping Marissa out of her reverie.
She shook her head and tore off another length of bandage with her teeth. "Just some little scratches," she lied, turning to the side a bit as she pulled back the hem of her dress.
"Mari-chan," he said, suddenly a lot closer to her shoulder. "Those are not 'little scratches' no da."
She looked up to see her guardian standing next to her left side and looking down at her exposed thigh with a heavy expression of worry. She hadn't even heard him move that time, the sneaky monk. His apparent concern over her injury squashed her first impulse to cover herself and argue over the severity of her wounds. Instead she sighed and laid one end of the fabric against her leg. "It'll get better," she protested stubbornly.
"What is that stuff no da?" he interrupted before she'd completed her first pass with the bandage.
"Hyssop." She lifted her left hand to show the dried bits of green leaves still stuck to the skin on her palm.
Unexpectedly, Chichiri grasped her wrist and peered closer at the mess on her hand. His nose gave a visible twitch when it got within a few inches of her palm. "It smells like hakka no da."
"We call it mint," Marissa explained, her eyes glued to the fingers which had taken hold of her hand. The process of wrapping her other leg was momentarily forgotten, swept aside by the warmth that was spreading to her cheeks at their skin to skin contact. His tanned fingers gentled their hold on her wrist and moved to cup the back of her knuckles. Slowly, his other hand came forward and picked a piece of the dried hyssop off her skin, which caused Marissa's fingers to twitch convulsively at the ticklish contact.
"What did you do to it no da?" His voice came from somewhere over her head. A heavy weight settled in the pit of her stomach, and it felt as if few forces on earth could have lifted her face from the sight of her hand being cradled by Chichiri's larger and more muscular one at that moment.
She answered more softly than she'd intended to, but all the blood in her body was quickly rushing away from the places where she needed it most. "I shredded it."
His free hand returned to her palm and gently scratched away another piece of the hardened sap. "You're going to have to wash your hands no da," he teased reproachfully.
Marissa nodded mutely as she watched, transfixed, his finger tips fleck away the dried hyssop, tingles of ticklish excitement zipping through her palm and spreading quickly to the rest of her body. The hand under hers was a feather light hold that she could have pulled out of already, but it felt so much more enjoyable to let him have his way and doctor her hand with those gentle touches. The frissons of awareness on her nerve endings were increasing upon each graze of his short nails and every feather light sweep the pads of his fingers made against her skin. She felt goose bumps raise the hairs on her arm and had to fight off the impulse to do something foolish, like grab Chichiri's hand and pull him down for a kiss. One long index finger touched a particularly sensitive spot at the center of her palm and her hand clenched in surprise, causing it to slip from his hold and dispelling her brief fantasy.
Keeping her head bowed she cleared her throat softly and rubbed the palm of her left hand on the fabric of her dress. "I will, once I'm done."
Still blushing and feeling even more self-conscious, Marissa quickly completed the bindings. She wasn't quite able to stop feeling of resentment that welled up while she disparaged over the ugly paleness of her legs and the cracked skin on the back of her hands. She'd never gotten the chance to get a summer tan and looked like an albino under all the clothing she was forced to wear. Her nails were breaking as fast as she could grow them and her shins were covered with nick marks from learning to shave with a blade half as big as her hand. A hot bath would be the least she could ask for to wash away the grime and sweat from traveling, not to mention her hair had to look atrocious from sleeping with it in a bun.
Her fingers secured a knot near the edge of the bandages then moved to pull the hem of her dress over her knees. She felt a little better seeing the white limbs disappear again. Straightening her back, her hands moved to uncoil her oily hair and resecure the bun she'd twisted it into the day before. While doing this, her eyes stole upwards to Chichiri only once, and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that his gaze was politely averted downstream.
With her hair fixed as best she could by touch alone, Marissa stood up. "I'm done."
She took several bowlegged steps to the edge of the stream and crouched down to wash her hands in the chilly water. I think I'd sell my soul to Tenkou for a bar of soap at this point, she thought wryly as she used her uneven nails to scrape away the remaining bits of sap and leaves.
Upon rising she was startled to feel a steady hand take hold of the back of her elbow. Looking up, Chichiri's smiling masked face gazed back with a quirky lifted eyebrow. "You look like you could use a little help getting back to camp no da," he explained.
Marissa meekly smiled her thanks and let herself be led away. Despite her awkward, waddling steps, Chichiri kept a sympathetic pace at her side that seemed to be in no rush to return to the campsite. They made their way off the stream bed and back through the line of trees, the cooler temperature of the forest falling upon the pair. The calming quiet of rustling leaves and twittering birds helped to lift the prior tension from Marissa's shoulders, enough that she rather quickly found herself fighting off the urge to lean into Chichiri's side. It was deceptively easy to forget the troubles of the world and pretend that they were just a man and a woman walking through a grove of trees arm in arm. Whether the walk was romantic or not, it seemed safe to assume that they both valued the other's company and companionship. So was it so wrong for her to hope, just the tiniest little bit, that something deeper could develop between them? Each day she was finding it harder to help loving him, despite all of Chichiri's insecurities and personal demons. He was dark and light parts mixed together quite confusingly at times, but overall he was a good man with a soft smile that melted her heart each time she saw it.
It pained her to think of how the reclusive monk might look through everyone else's eyes - a man closed up tighter than a clam and almost hell-bent on destroying himself through guilt and misguided repentance. Had any of the seishi experienced the same frustration of trying to knock through Chichiri's stoic barriers? How many people besides Tasuki would have been willing to have this introverted man be a close friend? Could she have even survived this long around him without the prior knowledge of his future? Their friendship had suffered enough as it was just from the tight shell he kept around himself, regardless of the fact that she knew things about him even he himself wasn't aware of yet. Could she really do it? Keep on standing by, hiding her feelings, just for the chance to see if he'd accept her love after being forgiven by Hikou? Surely that burden being lifted would be enough to encourage him to live, to stop leading a half-life of duty and servitude, but would Chichiri be ready to love? Would he want to love? Would he want to love her?
Marissa inhaled deeply at the startling thought and found her feet stumbling underneath her, catching on a fallen log over their path. The firm hand under her elbow moved to grip her upper arm and she was pulled in a steadying move closer to Chichiri's side, their hips bumping briefly.
The near contact sent a thrum of butterflies into her lower belly and tinted her cheeks pink. "Sorry, clumsy feet," she apologized quietly, attempting to dispel her embarrassment, which earned her a low chuckle from the seishi.
"It's okay to need help every once in awhile no da."
Marissa couldn't help but smile at those simple words. "I think you would have been a knight in shining armor in another life."
"Why would the night be wearing armor no da?"
She grinned and picked up the edge of her dress to step around another fallen tree. "Not the night, a knight, it's a warrior like a seishi who goes around rescuing pretty girls from dragons and high towers."
"But I am a seishi no da," he replied, a teasing lit to his high voice.
Marissa laughed and gave in to the impulse to bump her shoulder against his. However she wasn't expecting the fingers behind her arm to suddenly wiggle playfully, and quite ticklishly. With a shriek she yanked her arm free and moved to the side just in time to avoid her arm being retaken by his seeking hand.
"No tickling!" she protested, and for good measure crossed her arms and tucked her hands under her armpits.
Chichiri returned her wounded look with a smile that seemed to be fighting to stay small and unrevealing. In an unexpected gesture he bowed at the waist and held his hands out placatingly. "No more tickling, I promise no da."
Not entirely convinced, Marissa lifted her chin with a toss of her hair and turned about to continue back to camp, both hands still firmly planted under her arms. Chichiri joined her on her right side once more and laid a light hand between her shoulder blades, the feather touch lifting the hairs on the back of her neck. It was both the threat of another tickling and the simple contact of his hand on her sensitized body.
Unaware of even doing it, her forward steps took her closer to his side, and the hand on her shoulder slowly fell towards her lower back, a light but reassuring contact. That much closer, she could detect that Chichiri smelled of pine trees, dirt, sweat, and horse, which was probably no different than the way she smelled to him. But underneath all that was another scent, something musky and masculine that she was able to recognize as his somewhere deep in her bones. The closest thing she could attribute to it was that of freshly fallen rain, the way the wind smelled before even the first drop tumbled from the sky, something new, mysterious, and pure.
I could drown in this smell, she thought headily, and a bit sadly.
They were nearing the campsite now, the smoke from their cooking fire hanging more strongly on the air each step they took closer. But before they could see it through the trees the hand on Marissa's back moved to her elbow and pulled her to a gentle stop.
Marissa turned to look up at the masked seishi, her heart doing a somersault at his sudden serious expression. "What is it?"
"I want to ask you something before we go back no da."
She took a small step backwards out of the personal space they had created over the last few minutes and waited silently for him to continue.
"You said last night that you knew about my past no da. I don't need to know how you knew, but I was hoping you could tell me... how much you know. It would… I would be very grateful no da."
The butterflies that had been floating through her stomach seconds before abruptly turned into a hard rock of dread. She withdrew her arm out of his gentle hold. "I won't tell Tasuki anything, if that's what you mean," she said quickly.
His masked face took on a pinched, anguished expression. "It's not that no da. I need to know how much you know. This means a lot to me, Mari-chan."
Understanding clicked in Marissa's head. He was very worried, afraid for how much she might know about his past. If she was aware that he had come close to murdering his best friend. For the first time in their friendship, she realized that she would have to outright lie to the man she loved, and the thought nearly broke her heart in two.
"Well..." She swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly collected her thoughts. "You grew up with two best friends since you were very young. When you were older, you became engaged to the girl. I think her name was Korin, or Koran. When your other friend found out you were engaged you guys had an argument, I guess there was a misunderstanding. But a terrible flood came through your village before you could be married to her, and you ended up being the only survivor. You've been blaming yourself ever since for the deaths of your best friends and family."
Chichiri watched her silently for a moment, and then nodded. "Is that all?"
"Was there more?" she asked, feigning curiosity. God, I feel sick doing this.
"Some," he answered slowly, and looked for a moment as though he wanted to say more. Instead, he stepped aside and held out his hand to take her arm again. "Nothing that's important no da," he finished with a waver that belied his cheerful tone.
Marissa allowed herself to be guided back to the campsite and tried her best not to hang her head in shame over the lie she'd just told. Emerging through the trees she was greeted by the sight of Tasuki standing beside the campfire, his bedroll under one arm and her discarded pair of pants in his other hand.
"Hey those are mine!" Marissa exclaimed, leaving Chichiri's side to step gingerly towards the other seishi.
"I wasn't doin nothing! They were jus' layin there on yer empty bed. An' where've ya two been anyway?"
Marissa snatched the gray pants from Tasuki's fingers. "None of your business, and don't touch my stuff you weirdo."
Tasuki side stepped her halfhearted swipe at his arm and skipped over to where Chichiri was skewering several freshly gutted fish. "What's gotten inta ne-chan, Chiri?" he asked in annoyance.
"I have no idea no da," Chichiri replied automatically, a faraway look of befuddlement on his masked face.
The orange-haired seishi snorted and turned to look at Marissa, who was having difficulty with putting her pants back on over her bowed legs. "Were ya runnin 'round naked out there?" Tasuki asked incredulously.
"I was not!" she retorted immediately.
"But why ya walkin all funny?"
Marissa rolled her eyes. "Because my legs hurt, why else?"
"But -" Tasuki paused and glanced down at Chichiri, who appeared to be holding back a smile as he poked the cooking fire under their breakfast. "Ohhh I see. Good job Chiri!" he exclaimed, giving the blue-haired monk a resounding slap on the back of his shoulder.
Chichiri caught himself before falling face first into the flames. "What are you talking about no da?"
"I always knew ya hadit in ya." Tasuki leered suggestively and gave Chichiri another nudge with the corner of his elbow.
In sudden understanding, Chichiri's face turned bright pink. "Iiya no da! That is not what happened no da."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Marissa stepped towards the fire pit, cinching the strings on her pants into a tight knot, while she looked between the two men in confusion.
"It's nothing no -"
Tasuki suddenly moved to stand between them and gave Marissa the same leering look he'd given to Chichiri. "Dun worry ne-chan, bout time someone bedded that ole' geezer. He's bein way too crabby lately."
Marissa's mouth flopped open in surprise before her cheeks flushed a bright pink to match that of Chichiri's. "What! I didn't - we did not do that!"
"It ain't a problem!" Tasuki pressed on, turning to the side to lay a hand over each of their shoulders. "Ya dimwits finally gotit together n realized what I been sayin all 'long, I mean ya'd hafta be stupid not ta see how much ya two wanna jump on -"
In rising horror and embarrassment Marissa dealt a hard kick to Tasuki's shin and watched in satisfaction as he howled and hopped across the dirt away from her raised foot.
"Oh boy no da," Chichiri's meek voice floated up from somewhere around her knees.
Still blushing fiercely, Marissa couldn't think of a better way to sum up how embarrassing that had been. Back straight, she turned away from the cursing bandit and went to pack up her bedroll.
= = = = = = =
Marissa stared at the hand being held out to her at eye level and fought back the urge to snap at it with her teeth. "This is really unnecessary you guys..."
"Oh jus' shut up an get on," Tasuki cut in impatiently from behind her.
She swiveled around and glared at the conspiring grin that was plastered across Tasuki's face. Her teeth were starting to make a horrible grinding sound while she spoke. "I can walk just fine."
"Ya been draggin yer feet for th' last hour baka," he retorted easily.
"I don't see why that means-"
Her protests were cut off mid-sentence by Chichiri's gentle voice. "Mari-chan, we can't keep up a good pace with you walking. I'm sorry, but you have to ride with one of us no da."
Marissa faced her mentor and pouted dramatically. "Just let me try to ride Hou sidesaddle again, please?"
"Sure! I wanna watch ya fall flat on yer ass ag'in." Tasuki laughed mockingly and was oblivious to the spiteful stare Marissa flashed his way for the jab.
She had been so sure that she could manage to walk the next portion of their trip without much trouble. The insides of her legs were still smarting from being on a horse for nearly two days straight, but the hyssop had taken away most of the sting and they seemed to be on the mend. It was her feet and untrained legs she hadn't counted on letting her down. Her feet had started to burn within the first half-hour after they'd set out, and in less than an hour her calves were aching and dragging her steps farther and farther back. When Chichiri and Tasuki had finally noticed her slack she had been almost a hundred feet behind them and using Hou's bridle to carry herself along.
Her next solution had been to ride sidesaddle, but it quickly became apparent that Chinese saddles were not like Western ones, and without a horn to put one leg over she nearly fell flat on her back after the first attempt. Both tries after that proved just as unsuccessful, for even when she managed to sit still on the saddle the movement of Hou walking always managed to unseat her after a few steps. That had led to Tasuki's rather insinuating suggestion that she needed to join one of them on their mounts and continue the journey there. Of course, immediately after suggesting it, the orange-haired seishi had adamantly refused to allow her to ride with him.
Which left Chichiri, and the hand he was offering to help her into his... lap.
Marissa scuffed her sneaker against the dirt road and let out a low grumble that sounded close to a hex against Tasuki and any of his future offspring. She raised her eyes and gave Chichiri one last pleading look, which only earned her a stern head shake and his hand dipping lower to be accepted. Sighing in defeat, she dropped her hand into Chichiri's grip and allowed herself to be pulled up.
You just have to look at this objectively, Mari, she commanded herself as Chichiri scooted back on the saddle to give her room to sit. It's just a horse, and a ride that won't last any longer than a few hours. So what if you're in his lap, you won't be touching or even talking for that matter. Just watch the road and pretend you can't feel every little bump and bit of muscle pressed against your side.
When she was finally settled, Marissa was dismayed to feel Chichiri scoot closer, his legs coming to press snugly against her lower back and right thigh. She stiffened as his arms came around her to pick up the reins he'd left sitting against the stallion's neck, and when he returned his hands to their normal position his right one stopped only inches away from sitting in her own lap, directly in front of her stomach.
"Tasuki-kun, tie a leader to Hou and let her walk behind you no da."
The puff of air from his words landed directly on Marissa's right ear and caused her to squirm involuntarily, the ticklish air lifting the hairs on the back of her neck and cheek. Observing her movement, Chichiri chuckled softly and leaned forward, his next words spoken almost directly into her ear. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall off no da."
Before she could answer or move away, Chichiri kicked his horse into moving and she found her right shoulder pushed back against his chest. Breathe Mari, breathe, she reminded herself. Lifting her head she concentrated on looking ahead of them down the road. Scenery is nice, scenery is boring, scenery is a good distraction.
The next two hours did manage to pass uneventfully. Marissa eventually managed to trick herself into ignoring the warm, masculine body behind her, and Chichiri thankfully refrained from making any more comments into her neck. The few times she'd glanced over at Tasuki had gotten her a leering grin that explained without any words why he'd refused to let her ride with him. The insufferable bastard, trying to play matchmaker, he's been having way too much time on his hands...
A thought suddenly occurred to her that wanted to be voiced out loud. "Hey, I was wondering..."
Tasuki snorted from across the road. "Took ya long enuff to ask somethin, ne-chan."
Marissa poked her tongue out at the seishi before she could quell the childish impulse. "It's not that I'm hoping this will happen or anything, but why haven't we seen any monsters on the road? Or bandits? Or evil guys trying to take over the world? I thought you two drew trouble to yourselves like giant magnets."
"Mag-nets no da?" Chichiri asked in confusion from somewhere behind her head.
Marissa twisted a bit in her seat to look at Chichiri and switched to English. "Sorry. Its two objects that have a strong attractive force between each other, even over great distances."
"Sugoi no da. What are they made out of no da?"
"Well if we had some iron -" she began, beginning to warm to the subject.
"Oi!" Tasuki interrupted loudly. "Do I get ta answer th' fuckin question or what?"
Chichiri and Marissa turned their heads to blink at Tasuki. "Sorry, yes, please do," Marissa answered quickly, smothering a grin.
Tasuki puffed out his chest with self importance. "Figures ya been listenin' ta too many wives tales, ne-chan. Bandits dun do raids unless a village ain't payin their dues. Monsters ain't like ants poppin up e'erywhere. Ya gotta have sum evil guy prolly creatin an' controlin the buggers. An' since th' war ended, ain't been much shit goin on that normal people can't take care o'themselves. Dun think they'd be wantin ta cause more problems, do ya?"
Marissa felt a blush creeping across her cheeks as the idiocy of her question occurred to her. Well I feel stupid. Though truthfully it wasn't entirely her fault for thinking dramatic events like that was common in the world. It was becoming apparent that Watase had only bothered to show the excitement and the evil-doings, never the normal day-to-day things that had gone on around the seishi. "Ok you're right," she admitted. "It was a silly question."
Despite Tasuki's reassurances however, it seemed irony was never far away to prove everyone horribly wrong. Not an hour later as they were cresting the top of a low hill, a dark cloud of dust appeared on the horizon. Marissa, who had been taking the easy canter to watch the trees and distract herself from thoughts of Chichiri's well-toned chest, didn't become aware of the approaching cloud until Tasuki pulled up alongside their mount.
"Well?" the bandit prompted darkly, his amber gaze level with Chichiri.
"About twenty, maybe twenty-five no da," Chichiri informed him, the cheerful expression on his mask gone and replaced by a look of worried concentration. "Their auras are scattered, but they seem happy, thrilled even. They're also armed no da."
"Merchants?" Tasuki offered hopefully while at the same time loosening the holster on his back.
Chichiri shook his head gravely. "I don't think so no da."
By now Marissa was watching the exchange with intense curiosity and took the break in the conversation to butt in. "Twenty what?"
"Of yer bandits," Tasuki replied with a wink and a grin.
Marissa's stomach took an unexpected downfall and landed somewhere around her ankles as Tasuki's words hit home. Were all of her stupid fears about bandits and monsters actually going to come true? Heart beating fast she sat up straight and noticed with dismay that they were still moving at the same pace they'd been before the group was spotted. "Why aren't we stopping?" she demanded, glancing down the road at the dust that was now only, at most, two leagues away. Brown specs were starting to come through the cloud and the sounds of clomping hooves were growing louder like a distant thunder.
"Aw come on, ne-chan," Tasuki wheedled, tugging the tessen out of its holster on his back and resting it across his knees. "Ya dun wanna have alittle fun?"
"Not really," she squeaked. With wide eyes she looked up pleadingly at Chichiri. "Can we turn around, or hide? I don't want something to happen. Please?"
Though he didn't look down at her, she could see the expressions of worry and anxiety crossing his mask clearly. "Marissa's right no da. We're not going to face them with just the three of us. Come on no da." With a hard tug on his reins Chichiri halted his horse and turned it completely around. Giving the stallion a hard kick to his flank, the horse took off at a fast gallop back the way they'd come. Tasuki's muttered cursing about cowards and pansy women reached their ears before he too redirected his horse to follow close on their heels.
Marissa was getting jarred heavily from the fast pace and was immensely grateful when Chichiri's left arm circled her waist to keep her held firm against his chest. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, like how far were they going to run, and when would they get there, and if there was possibly another road they could take. They hadn't passed any other villages or towns since leaving camp that morning, which meant the closest town was all the way back in Lian. There was always the fork in the road leading to where Shoryuu had once been, but she had no idea if that led to anything closer.
Turning her head to look back over Chichiri's shoulder, Marissa let out a loud gasp at the sight of the cloud of horses now much closer then it had been a few minutes earlier. Her riding partner must have heard her cry out, for he too twisted around in his saddle and stiffened noticeably at the sight closing in behind them on the road.
"Tasuki, we've been spotted no da!" he called out to the other seishi.
"Yosha!" With typical foolhardy bravery, Tasuki pulled his horse to an abrupt stop and swerved around, now facing the oncoming mass of dust and hooves.
Marissa was startled to hear a low growl of frustration come from her companion, before they too came to a dead stop on the road that left her cheek pressed tightly against his prayer beads. Turning their mount around, Chichiri galloped back to Tasuki's side while cursing softly under his breath.
"This is no time to be stupid no da!" he exclaimed when they reached the fire seishi, who looked positively gleeful at the challenge of facing off against unfavorable odds.
Marissa began to tremble in fear as the herd suddenly bore down upon them, a wall of dark faces, winded horses, and metal weapons and armor flashing in the sunlight. A loud battle cry rose up out of the sound of pounding hooves and clanging tack, but whether the sound came from the riders or Tasuki she couldn't tell.
A familiar roar of words pierced through the din and flames spewed forth like a living wall to envelop the front line of riders. There were screams, startled whinnies, and the smell of charred flesh and burning leather. Through the smoke she saw a horse and rider go down, both aflame. But behind them came more riders and the smell of dirt, sweat, and smoke became almost unbearable.
Behind her and near her right ear she could barely hear Chichiri chanting, mumbled words that raised the hairs on her skin as her senses recognized the growing power being collected by the shichiseishi. Abruptly a sea of horses were crashed around them, each one holding a rider that swung and shouted and made a grab for her arms and legs. She almost slipped off once between the crushing press of bodies, but the strong grip around her waist by Chichiri's hand kept her rooted to the saddle. She looked over the dark faces frantically and saw Tasuki swinging wildly into the crowd, when suddenly he fell and disappeared, his outraged voice swearing over the mob.
Marissa cried out in alarm as the seishi slipped from view. A heavy force suddenly knocked into her from behind, and the arm around her slackened as Chichiri slumped limply against her side. She twisted in her seat and attempted to put out her arms to catch his descent, but before she even got a handful of his shirt several rough hands grabbed her body and hauled her completely off the back of their horse. She screamed quite loudly then and kicked wildly, feeling at least two pairs of hands pin her arms and keep a firm hold around her upper body.
With tearful eyes she looked back and watched Chichiri's body slump over the neck of his horse, then continue to fall until it disappeared over the side of his mount. She couldn't see where he'd landed in all the dust and horses, but a collective shout of glee rose up from her captors when it appeared the seishi wasn't getting back up.
Despite her intense kicking, her hands were roughly bound behind her back and a gag was slipped over her mouth to silence her screams. She was pushed down over the neck of another horse, her stomach pressing painfully against the saddle and someone's armored legs. Lifting her head defiantly she looked across the throng of riders and saw a familiar streak of orange hair pass on another horse, similarly slumped over his captor's saddle, but unmoving. With a panicked sort of detachment, she watched several men round up their three horses and tie them to the back of their mounts.
With the successful capture of their party the armed riders subdued their frenzied movements and appeared to be maneuvering into an organized formation. The dust was also beginning to clear by a swift, cool wind that swept through the area for several long seconds, swirling the scent of sweat, dirt, and horses even more strongly around the group. The smell threatened to make Marissa sick, but she tried her hardest to stay as still as possible beyond the bouncing of the horse beneath her. She had given up squirming after feeling a heavy, sharp object press against her lower back in warning when she'd tried to worm her way off the saddle the first time.
They cantered a long distance past trees and landmarks she recalled seeing before, and then took a road she didn't recognize and began moving towards the northeast. For the duration of their trip she focused on scanning the congregation of horses intently, Tasuki's unconscious form remaining just out of her peripheral vision towards the back of the group. She tried her best to remain calm, to stay detached, and found herself feeling lucky that her captor's hands seemed to stay to himself over the duration of their journey. It wasn't until much later, when the bandits finally stopped to set up camp in the setting light of the sun, that she discovered to her dismay Chichiri hadn't been taken captive along with her and Tasuki. Unable to stop the sobs around her dirty gag, she let herself cry.
A/N: It's amazing how fast I can write while being threatened with my head getting put on a pike. Chapter 4's revisions are going to be posted before I work on chapter 19. Sorry :)