Disclaimer: See chapters one through nine, please.
Thanks to. . .
Otaku Pitcher: I know. Yume is just under a lot of stress. I didn't think it was too rushed but I didn't want to go into much detail while Yume is moody. Because she is moody, she doesn't pay as close attention to what is going on, which is why it may have appeared rushed. Something might happen with Yume's birthday but I don't think it's what you're thinking of. Hehe. Evil Smack.
RyogazGal: Uhh. . .that's ok. I don't expect you to revolve your world around my story. I'm glad it's still one of your favorites.
Cortney: She does doesn't she? Literally in a couple of chapters. Anyway, I'm glad you like my story.
mini: No. No you cannot be my new muse! You'd be worse than Kimkim! And you got the chapters confused. It's 19 that you were thinking of, not 18. Dummy.
Author's Note: Whoa. Long period of absence of updates! Sorry. ^_^; I've had this chapter typed up for quite a long time, too. I did a lot of typing, (I have up to 23 done! Wahoo! Go me!), but I didn't feel like actually putting up. What? Can't I be lazy? Anyway, I had to rewrite most of those chapters from scratch because I didn't like the way they turned out so it's not like I wasn't working hard for you. Oh yea, those of you who I made characters for, (Otaku Pitcher, mini, Renee, and RyogazGal), you're characters should be showing up in a couple chapters, #23 actually. That's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter. It all changes very soon. ::smirks omnisciently::
'. . .' Are thoughts that occur inside of the mind of Yume.
Chapter 18: Let the Search Commence!
We were riding horseback to that Tolan place. I had to share a horse with Nuriko, (either because I was a girl and automatically couldn't ride a horse or because they didn't have enough horses for everyone, I didn't know which), although I didn't mind all that much. What I did mind, sort of, was that poor Shiriko had to run the entire time. He didn't seem to care, though. 'He always did like the snow,' I thought as I watched him frolic happily in the white powder that covered every inch of the ground. I shivered and pulled the cloak Nuriko gave me tighter around my body. It was big on me so it was more of a blanket than a cloak but it was still very warm.
I rested my head on Nuriko's back (there wasn't many other places to put it) and began to think. 'Some birthday I'm having this year. I'm stuck riding a horse to who knows where in like -4 degree weather and I think my ass is growing numb,' I complained to myself. I heard a horse pull up next to ours. I looked over and found Miaka and Tamahome watching me. "What?" I asked them in a lazy tone.
"You comfy there Yume?" Tamahome joked.
I wasn't in the mood for his joking at the moment. "No, not really. I'm cold, uncomfortable, and I think my ass is numb. Thanks for asking though," I answered with fake sincerity. I returned to my original position but looked the other way. "This is no way to spend a birthday," I mumbled under my breath. I didn't think anyone would hear me but I forgot that I was like inches away from Nuriko's ear.
"It's your birthday?" he asked loudly and in disbelief. The rest of the group turned around.
"Whose birthday?" they asked.
"I guess its Yume's," Nuriko told them. 'Damn big mouth! I hate it when everyone knows that it's my birthday.'
"Really? How come you never told us?" the group questioned.
'Oh no. No more group questions and answers.' "Because I'm not sure if it is really my birthday. It would be if every day here equaled one day back home. I've been here seven days and when I left home, my birthday was in seven days so I was guessing that today would be my birthday if I was still at home," I explained. "It's probably not really my birthday so just forget that I even mentioned it. I don't want you to make a big deal about it."
"Us? Make a big deal about a birthday?" Miaka responded in a tone of fake innocence. "We'd never do anything of the sort!"
"Good. Birthdays are stupid and pointless," I stated in an irritated voice.
The group rode off after that. 'Probably to come up with a way to make my life even more miserable,' I thought with disgust. They left me alone for the most part but every so often they glanced back at me and would giggle stupidly. The only two people not involved in this little activity was Nuriko (who was too close to me to be involved) and Tasuki who probably didn't care or was mad at me for some reason. I didn't know or care which. 'I will get my revenge.' I began to plot a perfectly unbeatable plan to counter theirs. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything so I spent the rest of the trip trying to come up with one to rival whatever scheme their twisted minds could possibly develop.
When we finally got to Tolan, the group decided that we should pair off in search of information about the Shinzaho. Well, that was the plan originally but after Chiriko and Mitsukake left, no one knew who to team up with. Tamahome wanted to go with Miaka and Nuriko wanted to go with them. Chichiri said he wouldn't mind working with Tasuki and Tasuki felt the same. I didn't want to go with them (for somewhat obvious reasons: I hold grudges and wasn't speaking to them), but kept it to myself. I acted like it didn't matter whom I was teamed up with, even though I would have preferred to be with Nuriko. "All right then, it's settled. Miaka, you come with Nuriko and me. Yume, you go with Tasuki and Chichiri. The girls should have our protection," Tamahome declared.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I DON'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION! I've got Shiriko and I can take care of myself," I told them angrily. I did not want to be stuck with Tasuki and Chichiri and I was still mad about the whole birthday thing and my lack of ability to come up with a plan. Even though that had nothing to do with him.
Both Chichiri and Tasuki looked like they were going to respond but Nuriko did instead. "It's nothing against you, Yume. It was more for Miaka and me." I looked at him and noticed something different. 'His braid. . .it's gone. How'd that happen?' "But I'm going back to wearing guy's clothes now so they just have to worry about Miaka. We know you can take care of yourself. That's why we're leaving you with Chichiri and Tasuki. You know how unhelpful those two are."
I cracked a small grin. Sometimes, Nuriko just knows the right thing to say. "Fine. Let's just get going. Come on, Shiriko." Shiriko was panting heavily, probably from having to run the whole time before so I picked up some snow and held it in my hand for him to "drink." I looked around while I was holding the snow and dropped it. There was that mountain again, towering over everything, taunting me. Another immense feeling of foreboding took hold of me and I stood there, looking at it, feeling the fear take hold of me once more. I looked towards Nuriko. For some reason, I felt my feeling had to do with him. I walked back towards him and hugged him, although I wasn't sure why. "Bye Nuriko. Please be careful," I said.
He looked down at me curiously. "I will. Don't worry, though. I'll be fine," he replied. I heard Tasuki make a sound of disgust. The others just stared at me in disbelief.
I let go of him and walked back towards Shiriko, the bad feeling still present in my heart. "What brought that on?" Tasuki asked. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice. That would be if I didn't know better. Wait, I don't.
"Nothing. . .I. . .I just wanted to say good bye," I lied.
"We should get started then. Yume? Could you hold the flares Chiriko gave us in your bag? No one else has anywhere to put them, you know," Chichiri interrupted before Tasuki could comment on my response.
I took the flares from him and put them in an empty pocket in my bag. "Where are we going to start?" I asked. They didn't bother to answer and started walking away from the mountain. 'Now, this is going to be fun. . .' I thought grimly as I followed them with Shiriko.
After about an hour of silence, filled by walking on the snow-covered ground, my shoes were completely soaked. My feet were so numb from the cold that they hurt and I was freezing. "Can we stop somewhere and get something to eat?" I asked them.
They stopped and looked at me, almost like they forgot I was there. "I guess we could all use something to eat, you know," Chichiri replied. Tasuki grunted something that I couldn't decipher and we continued on.
(A/N: I'm going to be skipping around time wise in this chapter. Just thought I'd let you guys know.)
We went to some restaurant type place. I wasn't sure what to order so I got some things that I thought were rice cakes. Tasuki and Chichiri talked quietly to each other but basically ignored me. I couldn't take much more of this whole "silent treatment" especially because I didn't even know why I was getting it. I wasn't two after all. Yet silent treatment still managed to piss me off. 'I shouldn't really care, right? I did want to keep some distance between them and me. This is just helping me do that. But it's really getting on my nerves!' They continued their little game for another ten minutes and I couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, I'm getting really sick of this! Why are you two ignoring me?" I exclaimed, angrily. "You can't be that mad about me hugging Nuriko, can you?"
"Actually, we can and it seemed like you didn't even want to come with us in the first place so we were just acting like you weren't here," Tasuki answered as though it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe it was but it still hurt.
"You're right, for once! I didn't want to come with you guys because I knew something like this would happen!" I yelled, getting up. "The real reason I hugged Nuriko was because I had a really bad feeling that something was going to happen and I think it's going to happen to him!" I was really starting to get angry now. "And you can forget about pretending that I'm not here because I'm going to save you some trouble by not being here for real!" I left the table and stormed out of the restaurant, Shiriko right behind me. "Birthdays suck," I said, trying to hold back the tears I knew were forming in my eyes. 'I've gotten so weak since I came here. All I've done is cry. I need to regain my strength.'
I found a box outside the building and sat on it. I realized quickly that there weren't all that many places I could go. I was stuck with them, although I didn't want to admit it. Shiriko put his head on my lap and looked up at me. I pet him lightly. He was the only good thing about today. If I didn't have him, there would be nothing to stop me from going completely insane or at least running off by myself to who knows where. I heard the crunch of footsteps on the snow behind me. I turned and saw Chichiri approaching my box. "What do you want?" I asked, trying to hide any emotion other than annoyance.
"To apologize. I know you don't want to hear this from me but Tasuki was just a little jealous, that's why he said all that stuff, you know," he answered.
"It doesn't matter. I still want to leave," I said, trying to act like I was shrugging it off.
"What did you mean when you said that stuff about having a bad feeling about Nuriko?" 'Uh oh. . .how am I going to get out of this one? I open my big mouth way too much.'
"It doesn't matter, really. It was just a feeling. I doubt you even believe me. Let's just go look for the Shinzaho," I replied, getting up.
"I do believe you but if you want, I'll drop it, you know," he answered back. For some strange reason, I believed him.
"Good, now then let's go," I practically ordered. He shook his head and sighed in defeat. 'He may have liked to pursue that issue but I can't allow that to be done. It could lead him to wanting to know more about me and me telling him more than he needs to know.'
So the four of us resumed our search for the Shinzaho. It was rather pointless; I had a feeling that we weren't looking in the right spot but didn't say anything. 'Let them continue their search for their needle in the haystack. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show. Besides, if I'm right and we go up the mountain, we could be the ones who end up dead.' We didn't find out much except that a stone pillar in the middle of town may mention it. The person we were talking to couldn't remember whether or not it did. We went to an inn place when it started to get dark to see if they had any rooms. "We have one room sir. Is that going to be a problem?" the innkeeper told Chichiri with a sick grin.
'Perverts. The world is full of perverts.' Tasuki and Chichiri said it was fine but the guy turned to me. "I figured they would say it was fine but are you sure it's ok miss? I can look for another room for you."
"No, it's fine. If either one of them tries anything, my protector will make sure they won't be able to touch anything ever again," I replied firmly. Shiriko stepped in front of me and smiled, showing off his sharp white teeth. I pet his head lovingly.
"Ok then. Follow me." He led us upstairs and into a fairly decent room. "Here you go. You two gentlemen may want to give the young lady a minute to get changed." They waited outside the room while I "slipped into something a little more comfortable." Or maybe just my pajamas and sweatshirt.
I let them back in and took the "mat" closest to the door. I had my back to them as well. I felt Tasuki's presence lie down on the next mat over. Shiriko was on my other side, keeping me warm. I felt kind of safe and happy knowing the two of them were so close by. I didn't know why, but I felt safe with Tasuki. I had even managed to almost completely forget about my feeling of foreboding as I drifted off to a (hopefully) peaceful slumber. . .
Author's Note:
Smack: ::looks nervous:: I hope this chapter was good because after the next few, I have a feeling you're going to end up hating me.
Kim: Oh, poor naive, Smack. They already hate you.
Smack: ::covers ears and rocks back and forth:: No! No! It's not true! Not true I tell you! They don't hate me.
Kim: ::grins meanly:: Whatever. I'll just give them a little quote to help them understand the next chapter.
'It's like I'm not even here! What the hell is going on? Am I dead or something? Why am I here if I can't even do anything?'
Kim: I think you get the picture. I'm done now. Until the next chapter!
Smack: ::muttering:: I so need a new muse.
Thanks to. . .
Otaku Pitcher: I know. Yume is just under a lot of stress. I didn't think it was too rushed but I didn't want to go into much detail while Yume is moody. Because she is moody, she doesn't pay as close attention to what is going on, which is why it may have appeared rushed. Something might happen with Yume's birthday but I don't think it's what you're thinking of. Hehe. Evil Smack.
RyogazGal: Uhh. . .that's ok. I don't expect you to revolve your world around my story. I'm glad it's still one of your favorites.
Cortney: She does doesn't she? Literally in a couple of chapters. Anyway, I'm glad you like my story.
mini: No. No you cannot be my new muse! You'd be worse than Kimkim! And you got the chapters confused. It's 19 that you were thinking of, not 18. Dummy.
Author's Note: Whoa. Long period of absence of updates! Sorry. ^_^; I've had this chapter typed up for quite a long time, too. I did a lot of typing, (I have up to 23 done! Wahoo! Go me!), but I didn't feel like actually putting up. What? Can't I be lazy? Anyway, I had to rewrite most of those chapters from scratch because I didn't like the way they turned out so it's not like I wasn't working hard for you. Oh yea, those of you who I made characters for, (Otaku Pitcher, mini, Renee, and RyogazGal), you're characters should be showing up in a couple chapters, #23 actually. That's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter. It all changes very soon. ::smirks omnisciently::
'. . .' Are thoughts that occur inside of the mind of Yume.
Chapter 18: Let the Search Commence!
We were riding horseback to that Tolan place. I had to share a horse with Nuriko, (either because I was a girl and automatically couldn't ride a horse or because they didn't have enough horses for everyone, I didn't know which), although I didn't mind all that much. What I did mind, sort of, was that poor Shiriko had to run the entire time. He didn't seem to care, though. 'He always did like the snow,' I thought as I watched him frolic happily in the white powder that covered every inch of the ground. I shivered and pulled the cloak Nuriko gave me tighter around my body. It was big on me so it was more of a blanket than a cloak but it was still very warm.
I rested my head on Nuriko's back (there wasn't many other places to put it) and began to think. 'Some birthday I'm having this year. I'm stuck riding a horse to who knows where in like -4 degree weather and I think my ass is growing numb,' I complained to myself. I heard a horse pull up next to ours. I looked over and found Miaka and Tamahome watching me. "What?" I asked them in a lazy tone.
"You comfy there Yume?" Tamahome joked.
I wasn't in the mood for his joking at the moment. "No, not really. I'm cold, uncomfortable, and I think my ass is numb. Thanks for asking though," I answered with fake sincerity. I returned to my original position but looked the other way. "This is no way to spend a birthday," I mumbled under my breath. I didn't think anyone would hear me but I forgot that I was like inches away from Nuriko's ear.
"It's your birthday?" he asked loudly and in disbelief. The rest of the group turned around.
"Whose birthday?" they asked.
"I guess its Yume's," Nuriko told them. 'Damn big mouth! I hate it when everyone knows that it's my birthday.'
"Really? How come you never told us?" the group questioned.
'Oh no. No more group questions and answers.' "Because I'm not sure if it is really my birthday. It would be if every day here equaled one day back home. I've been here seven days and when I left home, my birthday was in seven days so I was guessing that today would be my birthday if I was still at home," I explained. "It's probably not really my birthday so just forget that I even mentioned it. I don't want you to make a big deal about it."
"Us? Make a big deal about a birthday?" Miaka responded in a tone of fake innocence. "We'd never do anything of the sort!"
"Good. Birthdays are stupid and pointless," I stated in an irritated voice.
The group rode off after that. 'Probably to come up with a way to make my life even more miserable,' I thought with disgust. They left me alone for the most part but every so often they glanced back at me and would giggle stupidly. The only two people not involved in this little activity was Nuriko (who was too close to me to be involved) and Tasuki who probably didn't care or was mad at me for some reason. I didn't know or care which. 'I will get my revenge.' I began to plot a perfectly unbeatable plan to counter theirs. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything so I spent the rest of the trip trying to come up with one to rival whatever scheme their twisted minds could possibly develop.
When we finally got to Tolan, the group decided that we should pair off in search of information about the Shinzaho. Well, that was the plan originally but after Chiriko and Mitsukake left, no one knew who to team up with. Tamahome wanted to go with Miaka and Nuriko wanted to go with them. Chichiri said he wouldn't mind working with Tasuki and Tasuki felt the same. I didn't want to go with them (for somewhat obvious reasons: I hold grudges and wasn't speaking to them), but kept it to myself. I acted like it didn't matter whom I was teamed up with, even though I would have preferred to be with Nuriko. "All right then, it's settled. Miaka, you come with Nuriko and me. Yume, you go with Tasuki and Chichiri. The girls should have our protection," Tamahome declared.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I DON'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION! I've got Shiriko and I can take care of myself," I told them angrily. I did not want to be stuck with Tasuki and Chichiri and I was still mad about the whole birthday thing and my lack of ability to come up with a plan. Even though that had nothing to do with him.
Both Chichiri and Tasuki looked like they were going to respond but Nuriko did instead. "It's nothing against you, Yume. It was more for Miaka and me." I looked at him and noticed something different. 'His braid. . .it's gone. How'd that happen?' "But I'm going back to wearing guy's clothes now so they just have to worry about Miaka. We know you can take care of yourself. That's why we're leaving you with Chichiri and Tasuki. You know how unhelpful those two are."
I cracked a small grin. Sometimes, Nuriko just knows the right thing to say. "Fine. Let's just get going. Come on, Shiriko." Shiriko was panting heavily, probably from having to run the whole time before so I picked up some snow and held it in my hand for him to "drink." I looked around while I was holding the snow and dropped it. There was that mountain again, towering over everything, taunting me. Another immense feeling of foreboding took hold of me and I stood there, looking at it, feeling the fear take hold of me once more. I looked towards Nuriko. For some reason, I felt my feeling had to do with him. I walked back towards him and hugged him, although I wasn't sure why. "Bye Nuriko. Please be careful," I said.
He looked down at me curiously. "I will. Don't worry, though. I'll be fine," he replied. I heard Tasuki make a sound of disgust. The others just stared at me in disbelief.
I let go of him and walked back towards Shiriko, the bad feeling still present in my heart. "What brought that on?" Tasuki asked. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice. That would be if I didn't know better. Wait, I don't.
"Nothing. . .I. . .I just wanted to say good bye," I lied.
"We should get started then. Yume? Could you hold the flares Chiriko gave us in your bag? No one else has anywhere to put them, you know," Chichiri interrupted before Tasuki could comment on my response.
I took the flares from him and put them in an empty pocket in my bag. "Where are we going to start?" I asked. They didn't bother to answer and started walking away from the mountain. 'Now, this is going to be fun. . .' I thought grimly as I followed them with Shiriko.
After about an hour of silence, filled by walking on the snow-covered ground, my shoes were completely soaked. My feet were so numb from the cold that they hurt and I was freezing. "Can we stop somewhere and get something to eat?" I asked them.
They stopped and looked at me, almost like they forgot I was there. "I guess we could all use something to eat, you know," Chichiri replied. Tasuki grunted something that I couldn't decipher and we continued on.
(A/N: I'm going to be skipping around time wise in this chapter. Just thought I'd let you guys know.)
We went to some restaurant type place. I wasn't sure what to order so I got some things that I thought were rice cakes. Tasuki and Chichiri talked quietly to each other but basically ignored me. I couldn't take much more of this whole "silent treatment" especially because I didn't even know why I was getting it. I wasn't two after all. Yet silent treatment still managed to piss me off. 'I shouldn't really care, right? I did want to keep some distance between them and me. This is just helping me do that. But it's really getting on my nerves!' They continued their little game for another ten minutes and I couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, I'm getting really sick of this! Why are you two ignoring me?" I exclaimed, angrily. "You can't be that mad about me hugging Nuriko, can you?"
"Actually, we can and it seemed like you didn't even want to come with us in the first place so we were just acting like you weren't here," Tasuki answered as though it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe it was but it still hurt.
"You're right, for once! I didn't want to come with you guys because I knew something like this would happen!" I yelled, getting up. "The real reason I hugged Nuriko was because I had a really bad feeling that something was going to happen and I think it's going to happen to him!" I was really starting to get angry now. "And you can forget about pretending that I'm not here because I'm going to save you some trouble by not being here for real!" I left the table and stormed out of the restaurant, Shiriko right behind me. "Birthdays suck," I said, trying to hold back the tears I knew were forming in my eyes. 'I've gotten so weak since I came here. All I've done is cry. I need to regain my strength.'
I found a box outside the building and sat on it. I realized quickly that there weren't all that many places I could go. I was stuck with them, although I didn't want to admit it. Shiriko put his head on my lap and looked up at me. I pet him lightly. He was the only good thing about today. If I didn't have him, there would be nothing to stop me from going completely insane or at least running off by myself to who knows where. I heard the crunch of footsteps on the snow behind me. I turned and saw Chichiri approaching my box. "What do you want?" I asked, trying to hide any emotion other than annoyance.
"To apologize. I know you don't want to hear this from me but Tasuki was just a little jealous, that's why he said all that stuff, you know," he answered.
"It doesn't matter. I still want to leave," I said, trying to act like I was shrugging it off.
"What did you mean when you said that stuff about having a bad feeling about Nuriko?" 'Uh oh. . .how am I going to get out of this one? I open my big mouth way too much.'
"It doesn't matter, really. It was just a feeling. I doubt you even believe me. Let's just go look for the Shinzaho," I replied, getting up.
"I do believe you but if you want, I'll drop it, you know," he answered back. For some strange reason, I believed him.
"Good, now then let's go," I practically ordered. He shook his head and sighed in defeat. 'He may have liked to pursue that issue but I can't allow that to be done. It could lead him to wanting to know more about me and me telling him more than he needs to know.'
So the four of us resumed our search for the Shinzaho. It was rather pointless; I had a feeling that we weren't looking in the right spot but didn't say anything. 'Let them continue their search for their needle in the haystack. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show. Besides, if I'm right and we go up the mountain, we could be the ones who end up dead.' We didn't find out much except that a stone pillar in the middle of town may mention it. The person we were talking to couldn't remember whether or not it did. We went to an inn place when it started to get dark to see if they had any rooms. "We have one room sir. Is that going to be a problem?" the innkeeper told Chichiri with a sick grin.
'Perverts. The world is full of perverts.' Tasuki and Chichiri said it was fine but the guy turned to me. "I figured they would say it was fine but are you sure it's ok miss? I can look for another room for you."
"No, it's fine. If either one of them tries anything, my protector will make sure they won't be able to touch anything ever again," I replied firmly. Shiriko stepped in front of me and smiled, showing off his sharp white teeth. I pet his head lovingly.
"Ok then. Follow me." He led us upstairs and into a fairly decent room. "Here you go. You two gentlemen may want to give the young lady a minute to get changed." They waited outside the room while I "slipped into something a little more comfortable." Or maybe just my pajamas and sweatshirt.
I let them back in and took the "mat" closest to the door. I had my back to them as well. I felt Tasuki's presence lie down on the next mat over. Shiriko was on my other side, keeping me warm. I felt kind of safe and happy knowing the two of them were so close by. I didn't know why, but I felt safe with Tasuki. I had even managed to almost completely forget about my feeling of foreboding as I drifted off to a (hopefully) peaceful slumber. . .
Author's Note:
Smack: ::looks nervous:: I hope this chapter was good because after the next few, I have a feeling you're going to end up hating me.
Kim: Oh, poor naive, Smack. They already hate you.
Smack: ::covers ears and rocks back and forth:: No! No! It's not true! Not true I tell you! They don't hate me.
Kim: ::grins meanly:: Whatever. I'll just give them a little quote to help them understand the next chapter.
'It's like I'm not even here! What the hell is going on? Am I dead or something? Why am I here if I can't even do anything?'
Kim: I think you get the picture. I'm done now. Until the next chapter!
Smack: ::muttering:: I so need a new muse.