Chapter 5:
Chiaki sank to her knees with tears of hysterical laughter streaming down her cheeks as Nuriko made a comedy out of fighting the practice dummy. They had made it routine to go to the arena early, often before dawn, to talk and fight the dummy, or pretend to, as Nuriko was doing that morning. And at the moment, he was claiming the dummy was winning. It was then the dummy toppled over onto him, splintered and worn from the assault that the strong seishi dealt it. With a startled yelp, he gave the dummy what seemed to be a careful push that ended up sending it flying clear across the arena. The girl stared at it, abruptly sitting fully down, with her jaw slack. Nuriko hopped to his feet, slapping the dry dust from his clothes, and grinned when he caught her astonished expression. "I guess I'm stronger than I thought," he replied with a modest shrug, but his modesty was undermined by the impish smirk on his lips.
Glancing at him suspiciously, she decided not to say anything, tucking her legs beneath her as she watched him trot over to retrieve the dummy. He was positively the friendliest, most humorous person she had ever met even though he was a little strange on occasion. And the only one of the seishi that spent time with her. Granted, she talked occasionally with Mitsukake and had once held an intelligent conversation with Chiriko, yet she still felt uncomfortable with the rest. Only Nuriko had truly gone out of his way to make her at ease.
"Don't worry," he had told her. "They're just getting used to you, like you're getting used to us. They'll come around. It'll just take some time."
"Did Miaka have these problems with everyone?" she had asked, with bitterness thick in her tone.
"Well... no, not really. Mostly me... and Tasuki. But then, you aren't Miaka," he replied lightly.
She had looked at him with a sense of amazement. Finally, an admission that she wasn't Miaka. That she was, in fact, an entirely different person. That she was Chiaki. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, startling Nuriko at the time. For the first time since she was very young, Chiaki had made a friend.
The corner of her lips curved up slightly at the memory. He didn't know just how important he was to her.
"What's got you smiling all of a sudden Chiaki-chan?" he asked, snapping her out of her daydream as he plopped down beside her. "You're getting my clothes dirty." He pointed to the dirt smudges that covered the knees of the comfortable pants she wore.
"Well, you aren't helping your wardrobe much either," she teased in return, pointing to his own dirty, wrinkled clothing.
He shrugged helplessly, lying back on the packed floor, casually folding his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the dawning sky. "Anyway, it's nice to see a smile on that serious face of yours! I was getting worried about you. I thought for sure Mitsukake was influencing your behavior just a little too much." He cocked a grin.
She sighed, shaking her head. "You get too concerned about things, Nuri-chan."
"I'm only human" was his cheerful reply.
She pursed her lips, arching a brow thoughtfully as she considered what he had said. Was he really human? Was she really human? After all, this was a book, wasn't it? Silently, she shook her head, disagreeing with herself. 'No, it can't be the book... I wouldn't be able to exist in it, if it was... right?' That thought led to others, more disturbing ones... Things she had never thought of. She shook her head. Better not to think... Thinking was bad. Better to just forget about it and enjoy the moment.
"There you are!"
The two looked across the arena to see Chiriko scrambling towards them. "The whole palace has been turned upside down looking for you!" Though it seemed he was talking about both Chiaki and Nuriko, he had his young gaze focused on the girl. She gulped. "The emperor wants us in a meeting. Something about going after the Genbu shinzaho anyway. Come on!" He motioned for them to follow him.
"Shinzaho?" Chiaki inquired, scrambling to a stand.
"Yes. It's an item of a past priestess that will help us summon Suzaku," explained the scholarly youngster. "See, Miaka used the scroll too soon, trying to summon Suzaku when a Seiryuu seishi posed as Chiriko- as me."
She stared at him, baffled and he went on to explain in greater detail of what he spoke as they headed to the throne room. They entered the room and right away Chiriko separated from Chiaki to join the others across the room. Nervously, she reached for Nuriko's sleeve, but he gave her a reassuring glance and joined his fellow seishi. Clasping her hands before her, she watched them uncertainly. She didn't appear nervous, save for the way she bit her lip rapidly.
"Chiaki," Hotohori began, catching the girl's flitting gaze, "as I'm sure Chiriko informed you, we are heading to Mt. Black to retrieve the Genbu shinzaho. I wish that you would accompany us, if merely to keep your time occupied while we wait for Taitsukun to contact us."
"But... but I'm not the priestess-"
"Are you saying you have to be a priestess to travel?" Nuriko asked with a teasing grin on his feminine face. "Is that how they do things in your world?"
"Well, no, but I thought-"
"Jus' shut your yappin' and let's go!" Tasuki replied with a groan. "I swear, she's worse than Miaka! Hell, she's even worse than you, Nuriko!"
Nuriko's response was a quiet smile and a swift, hard punch that sent Tasuki crashing into the wall. Chiriko went to help pry the bandit out of the crushed hole his body had created as the rest of the seishi headed out to the stables. Chiaki threw the fiery-haired man a sympathetic glance, even though he had been teasing her, and hurried after the others.
Upon arriving to the stables, she saw the horses tacked up and ready to go. The others, except Chiriko and Tasuki of course, were already mounted. "No, I cannot ride a-" She screeched in surprise as Nuriko galloped by and scooped her up in one fell swoop. "Nuri-chan!" she shrieked, clinging tightly to his neck as she was precariously balanced over his saddle.
He laughed, drawing his steed to a halt. "Just thought it would be easier to get you up quickly, then if we pussyfooted around it... What... you weren't scared, were you?" he teased, regarding her ashen face and wide brown eyes that darted from the ground to him and back again. "Come on, let's get you properly situated."
She made several fearful noises as Nuriko helped place her properly in front of him, and was rewarded by more laughs from Tasuki, perched on his own steed. The others chuckled in amusement as her face reddened with embarrassment. Nuriko's arms situated loosely, yet protectively, around her, taking up the reins, and then, upon Hotohori's command, the party headed out the gates towards Mt. Black.
* * *
With a grunt of discomfort of the hard ground beneath her, Chiaki rolled onto her stomach and stared at the crackling fire through the flaps of the makeshift tent she dozed in. She smiled a bit, remembering how Tasuki started it with a swat of his tessen and a shouted incantation of sorts. It had blazed to a frightening life that all but scared her to death, but now it was burning pleasantly, casting a warm orange glow over the camp. Mitsukake stood at the very edge of the dim light, keeping guard. She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, wondering. He was so quiet, but she never thought to take the time to ask him what his story was. Of course, it then occurred to her that maybe he didn't want to share it, which was expected. She wasn't much of a 'story-sharer' herself, so why should she expect him to be? Sitting up on her pallet, shivering slightly in the crisp night air, she pulled her blanket up around her shoulders, crawled out of the tent, and headed towards the healer.
He glanced at her, a bit startled by her presence. "Couldn't sleep, Chiaki?"
Shoving a hand through her tangled hair, she shook her head. "Not really." She gazed out into the darkness beyond the firelight, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Something on your mind?" he finally prodded gently.
"I don't..." She paused, chewing her lip absently. "Am I going to be stuck here forever?"
"Stuck here?" His question was only to prompt her to continue.
"Yeah... I mean..." She lifted her hands and then dropped them in frustration, unsure hot to express what she wanted to say, unsure she really wanted to talk about herself. "I...I don't ... I don't belong here, you know? Everyone- everyone knows I don't," she began slowly, shifting her uncomfortable gaze to the ground, the fire, the surrounding trees- anywhere but him. "And ... I know you all would rather have Miaka back because I hear the way you all talk so wistfully about her. I'm not deaf... And it ... it hurts." Her shoulders curled forward as she felt the pain of that rejection pierce through her. The words came quickly now, each tumbling out as if trying to beat the next in a race. "I mean, I didn't choose to come here. I just opened a book and -poof! I'm in this world. Not to mention my family- my mother... She's got to be so worried! I've been gone for over a week!" Mitsukake remained respectfully silent, observing her as she vented. "She must think I'm dead or that I ran away or someone kidnapped me..." Tears ran down her face and hastily she scrubbed them away. "And I guess I'll never see her again because I'm here, and I have to save this place, and I can't do it! I'm so damn scared." The last words were spit out as if vile, and she turned her head, shoulders shaking as she balled her fists, straining not to cry.
Mitsukake regarded her sympathetically and put an arm around her, drawing her into a tight hug. It must have broken the last of her resolve, because she finally burst into tears, clinging to his shirt. Gently he patted her head, much like a father would do. "Yes, we do miss Miaka. We've all lost people that were significant in our lives, and her disappearance is cause of great concern. She was very important to us, in various ways. We all wonder if she is all right, where she is, if she'll come back... But it doesn't mean we resent you any. We don't, at all. Yes, I realize most of us have been a bit standoffish, but we're just as lost and confused as you are. We were given a priestess, she was taken back, and another girl of completely different nature appears. You are so very much unlike Miaka, and even the Priestess of Seiryuu, that it throws us. But we really enjoy having you around."
She looked up and saw that he was honest, and she gave him a grateful half-smile. With that said, her tears subsided, and conversation became lighter, pleasantly filling for the both of them, until Chiaki finally dozed off once more.
* * *
"Rise and shine, Chiaki-chan!" Nuriko sang cheerfully, as he thoroughly enjoyed harassing her in the wee hours of the morning, flinging open the tent flaps and allowing the cold air and bright sunshine pierce the girl's sleep.
She moaned, pulling her blanket over her head. "Go away, Nuriko."
"What, no Nuri-chan?" Immediately, that rose concern in him, and he promptly sat down in front of her. He pulled the blanket from off her face, intending to poke fun at the girl until she rose and hit him, but she only squirmed in discomfort and buried a flushed face beneath her arm. Cocking his head to one side, he pulled her arm away and placed the back of his hand across her forehead. "Hey, you're burning up. Are you sick?"
"It's just a cold. I'll be fine, Nuriko..." She peered at him through a slit of one bleary eye, and managed to force a smile.
"A what?"
Absently, she flitted a hand in his direction. "I don't feel that great... But I'll be fine. Like I said before, you worry too much, Nuri- chan."
"Well with you for a possible priestess, who wouldn't be?" he teased good-naturedly, ruffling her messy hair.
She narrowed her eyes with a 'humph', before pulling her blanket back over her head.
"Mitsukake!" he yelled.
Chiaki's hand shot out from beneath her blanket and smacked him across the head before he could react. "If you're going to yell, don't do it in here! I have a headache as it is!"
With a sheepish grin, Nuriko apologized and then scrambled out of the tent in search of the healer. He found the man deep in conversation with the young emperor, and after a moment of silently fawning over his beloved emperor, he crouched next to them and without waiting for a convenient time to interrupt their talk, he announced Chiaki's condition to the both of them. "Sorry for interrupting, Hotohori-sama," he giggled afterwards.
"It's quite all right," he replied, oblivious to Nuriko's attempted flirtations. "Now you were saying... Chiaki is ill?"
Mitsukake frowned, studying the violet-haired seishi. "Does it seem very serious, Nuriko?"
He shrugged. "She says she'll be fine, but her face is warm, so I don't know. I'm not the doctor, you know!" He grinned.
"Mitsukake... check on her. We must get to Mt. Black as soon as possible and we can't afford any major setbacks," Hotohori ordered, rising to his feet.
He nodded, stood, and headed towards the girl's tent. Nuriko occupied himself with staring girlishly at the emperor as he paced back and forth. Just moments later, Mitsukake returned. His face was that of utter disbelief. Pausing mid-stride, he glanced back at the tent, and then to his palm, as if in shock. Tamahome, who was leaving his own tent, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, collided with the healer.
"Mitsukake, what the hell are you doing just standing in the way?!" he yelled grumpily.
Nuriko broke his awestruck gaze to determine what Tamahome was yelling about. He caught sight of Mitsukake's face, and cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "What's wrong?"
"I... I... My... I can't use my powers to heal Chiaki..." he murmured, still utterly baffled.
Hotohori stopped pacing, alarmed. "What do you mean?"
He held up his palm, and to everyone's amazement and horror... it was blank.
Chiaki sank to her knees with tears of hysterical laughter streaming down her cheeks as Nuriko made a comedy out of fighting the practice dummy. They had made it routine to go to the arena early, often before dawn, to talk and fight the dummy, or pretend to, as Nuriko was doing that morning. And at the moment, he was claiming the dummy was winning. It was then the dummy toppled over onto him, splintered and worn from the assault that the strong seishi dealt it. With a startled yelp, he gave the dummy what seemed to be a careful push that ended up sending it flying clear across the arena. The girl stared at it, abruptly sitting fully down, with her jaw slack. Nuriko hopped to his feet, slapping the dry dust from his clothes, and grinned when he caught her astonished expression. "I guess I'm stronger than I thought," he replied with a modest shrug, but his modesty was undermined by the impish smirk on his lips.
Glancing at him suspiciously, she decided not to say anything, tucking her legs beneath her as she watched him trot over to retrieve the dummy. He was positively the friendliest, most humorous person she had ever met even though he was a little strange on occasion. And the only one of the seishi that spent time with her. Granted, she talked occasionally with Mitsukake and had once held an intelligent conversation with Chiriko, yet she still felt uncomfortable with the rest. Only Nuriko had truly gone out of his way to make her at ease.
"Don't worry," he had told her. "They're just getting used to you, like you're getting used to us. They'll come around. It'll just take some time."
"Did Miaka have these problems with everyone?" she had asked, with bitterness thick in her tone.
"Well... no, not really. Mostly me... and Tasuki. But then, you aren't Miaka," he replied lightly.
She had looked at him with a sense of amazement. Finally, an admission that she wasn't Miaka. That she was, in fact, an entirely different person. That she was Chiaki. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, startling Nuriko at the time. For the first time since she was very young, Chiaki had made a friend.
The corner of her lips curved up slightly at the memory. He didn't know just how important he was to her.
"What's got you smiling all of a sudden Chiaki-chan?" he asked, snapping her out of her daydream as he plopped down beside her. "You're getting my clothes dirty." He pointed to the dirt smudges that covered the knees of the comfortable pants she wore.
"Well, you aren't helping your wardrobe much either," she teased in return, pointing to his own dirty, wrinkled clothing.
He shrugged helplessly, lying back on the packed floor, casually folding his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the dawning sky. "Anyway, it's nice to see a smile on that serious face of yours! I was getting worried about you. I thought for sure Mitsukake was influencing your behavior just a little too much." He cocked a grin.
She sighed, shaking her head. "You get too concerned about things, Nuri-chan."
"I'm only human" was his cheerful reply.
She pursed her lips, arching a brow thoughtfully as she considered what he had said. Was he really human? Was she really human? After all, this was a book, wasn't it? Silently, she shook her head, disagreeing with herself. 'No, it can't be the book... I wouldn't be able to exist in it, if it was... right?' That thought led to others, more disturbing ones... Things she had never thought of. She shook her head. Better not to think... Thinking was bad. Better to just forget about it and enjoy the moment.
"There you are!"
The two looked across the arena to see Chiriko scrambling towards them. "The whole palace has been turned upside down looking for you!" Though it seemed he was talking about both Chiaki and Nuriko, he had his young gaze focused on the girl. She gulped. "The emperor wants us in a meeting. Something about going after the Genbu shinzaho anyway. Come on!" He motioned for them to follow him.
"Shinzaho?" Chiaki inquired, scrambling to a stand.
"Yes. It's an item of a past priestess that will help us summon Suzaku," explained the scholarly youngster. "See, Miaka used the scroll too soon, trying to summon Suzaku when a Seiryuu seishi posed as Chiriko- as me."
She stared at him, baffled and he went on to explain in greater detail of what he spoke as they headed to the throne room. They entered the room and right away Chiriko separated from Chiaki to join the others across the room. Nervously, she reached for Nuriko's sleeve, but he gave her a reassuring glance and joined his fellow seishi. Clasping her hands before her, she watched them uncertainly. She didn't appear nervous, save for the way she bit her lip rapidly.
"Chiaki," Hotohori began, catching the girl's flitting gaze, "as I'm sure Chiriko informed you, we are heading to Mt. Black to retrieve the Genbu shinzaho. I wish that you would accompany us, if merely to keep your time occupied while we wait for Taitsukun to contact us."
"But... but I'm not the priestess-"
"Are you saying you have to be a priestess to travel?" Nuriko asked with a teasing grin on his feminine face. "Is that how they do things in your world?"
"Well, no, but I thought-"
"Jus' shut your yappin' and let's go!" Tasuki replied with a groan. "I swear, she's worse than Miaka! Hell, she's even worse than you, Nuriko!"
Nuriko's response was a quiet smile and a swift, hard punch that sent Tasuki crashing into the wall. Chiriko went to help pry the bandit out of the crushed hole his body had created as the rest of the seishi headed out to the stables. Chiaki threw the fiery-haired man a sympathetic glance, even though he had been teasing her, and hurried after the others.
Upon arriving to the stables, she saw the horses tacked up and ready to go. The others, except Chiriko and Tasuki of course, were already mounted. "No, I cannot ride a-" She screeched in surprise as Nuriko galloped by and scooped her up in one fell swoop. "Nuri-chan!" she shrieked, clinging tightly to his neck as she was precariously balanced over his saddle.
He laughed, drawing his steed to a halt. "Just thought it would be easier to get you up quickly, then if we pussyfooted around it... What... you weren't scared, were you?" he teased, regarding her ashen face and wide brown eyes that darted from the ground to him and back again. "Come on, let's get you properly situated."
She made several fearful noises as Nuriko helped place her properly in front of him, and was rewarded by more laughs from Tasuki, perched on his own steed. The others chuckled in amusement as her face reddened with embarrassment. Nuriko's arms situated loosely, yet protectively, around her, taking up the reins, and then, upon Hotohori's command, the party headed out the gates towards Mt. Black.
* * *
With a grunt of discomfort of the hard ground beneath her, Chiaki rolled onto her stomach and stared at the crackling fire through the flaps of the makeshift tent she dozed in. She smiled a bit, remembering how Tasuki started it with a swat of his tessen and a shouted incantation of sorts. It had blazed to a frightening life that all but scared her to death, but now it was burning pleasantly, casting a warm orange glow over the camp. Mitsukake stood at the very edge of the dim light, keeping guard. She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, wondering. He was so quiet, but she never thought to take the time to ask him what his story was. Of course, it then occurred to her that maybe he didn't want to share it, which was expected. She wasn't much of a 'story-sharer' herself, so why should she expect him to be? Sitting up on her pallet, shivering slightly in the crisp night air, she pulled her blanket up around her shoulders, crawled out of the tent, and headed towards the healer.
He glanced at her, a bit startled by her presence. "Couldn't sleep, Chiaki?"
Shoving a hand through her tangled hair, she shook her head. "Not really." She gazed out into the darkness beyond the firelight, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Something on your mind?" he finally prodded gently.
"I don't..." She paused, chewing her lip absently. "Am I going to be stuck here forever?"
"Stuck here?" His question was only to prompt her to continue.
"Yeah... I mean..." She lifted her hands and then dropped them in frustration, unsure hot to express what she wanted to say, unsure she really wanted to talk about herself. "I...I don't ... I don't belong here, you know? Everyone- everyone knows I don't," she began slowly, shifting her uncomfortable gaze to the ground, the fire, the surrounding trees- anywhere but him. "And ... I know you all would rather have Miaka back because I hear the way you all talk so wistfully about her. I'm not deaf... And it ... it hurts." Her shoulders curled forward as she felt the pain of that rejection pierce through her. The words came quickly now, each tumbling out as if trying to beat the next in a race. "I mean, I didn't choose to come here. I just opened a book and -poof! I'm in this world. Not to mention my family- my mother... She's got to be so worried! I've been gone for over a week!" Mitsukake remained respectfully silent, observing her as she vented. "She must think I'm dead or that I ran away or someone kidnapped me..." Tears ran down her face and hastily she scrubbed them away. "And I guess I'll never see her again because I'm here, and I have to save this place, and I can't do it! I'm so damn scared." The last words were spit out as if vile, and she turned her head, shoulders shaking as she balled her fists, straining not to cry.
Mitsukake regarded her sympathetically and put an arm around her, drawing her into a tight hug. It must have broken the last of her resolve, because she finally burst into tears, clinging to his shirt. Gently he patted her head, much like a father would do. "Yes, we do miss Miaka. We've all lost people that were significant in our lives, and her disappearance is cause of great concern. She was very important to us, in various ways. We all wonder if she is all right, where she is, if she'll come back... But it doesn't mean we resent you any. We don't, at all. Yes, I realize most of us have been a bit standoffish, but we're just as lost and confused as you are. We were given a priestess, she was taken back, and another girl of completely different nature appears. You are so very much unlike Miaka, and even the Priestess of Seiryuu, that it throws us. But we really enjoy having you around."
She looked up and saw that he was honest, and she gave him a grateful half-smile. With that said, her tears subsided, and conversation became lighter, pleasantly filling for the both of them, until Chiaki finally dozed off once more.
* * *
"Rise and shine, Chiaki-chan!" Nuriko sang cheerfully, as he thoroughly enjoyed harassing her in the wee hours of the morning, flinging open the tent flaps and allowing the cold air and bright sunshine pierce the girl's sleep.
She moaned, pulling her blanket over her head. "Go away, Nuriko."
"What, no Nuri-chan?" Immediately, that rose concern in him, and he promptly sat down in front of her. He pulled the blanket from off her face, intending to poke fun at the girl until she rose and hit him, but she only squirmed in discomfort and buried a flushed face beneath her arm. Cocking his head to one side, he pulled her arm away and placed the back of his hand across her forehead. "Hey, you're burning up. Are you sick?"
"It's just a cold. I'll be fine, Nuriko..." She peered at him through a slit of one bleary eye, and managed to force a smile.
"A what?"
Absently, she flitted a hand in his direction. "I don't feel that great... But I'll be fine. Like I said before, you worry too much, Nuri- chan."
"Well with you for a possible priestess, who wouldn't be?" he teased good-naturedly, ruffling her messy hair.
She narrowed her eyes with a 'humph', before pulling her blanket back over her head.
"Mitsukake!" he yelled.
Chiaki's hand shot out from beneath her blanket and smacked him across the head before he could react. "If you're going to yell, don't do it in here! I have a headache as it is!"
With a sheepish grin, Nuriko apologized and then scrambled out of the tent in search of the healer. He found the man deep in conversation with the young emperor, and after a moment of silently fawning over his beloved emperor, he crouched next to them and without waiting for a convenient time to interrupt their talk, he announced Chiaki's condition to the both of them. "Sorry for interrupting, Hotohori-sama," he giggled afterwards.
"It's quite all right," he replied, oblivious to Nuriko's attempted flirtations. "Now you were saying... Chiaki is ill?"
Mitsukake frowned, studying the violet-haired seishi. "Does it seem very serious, Nuriko?"
He shrugged. "She says she'll be fine, but her face is warm, so I don't know. I'm not the doctor, you know!" He grinned.
"Mitsukake... check on her. We must get to Mt. Black as soon as possible and we can't afford any major setbacks," Hotohori ordered, rising to his feet.
He nodded, stood, and headed towards the girl's tent. Nuriko occupied himself with staring girlishly at the emperor as he paced back and forth. Just moments later, Mitsukake returned. His face was that of utter disbelief. Pausing mid-stride, he glanced back at the tent, and then to his palm, as if in shock. Tamahome, who was leaving his own tent, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, collided with the healer.
"Mitsukake, what the hell are you doing just standing in the way?!" he yelled grumpily.
Nuriko broke his awestruck gaze to determine what Tamahome was yelling about. He caught sight of Mitsukake's face, and cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "What's wrong?"
"I... I... My... I can't use my powers to heal Chiaki..." he murmured, still utterly baffled.
Hotohori stopped pacing, alarmed. "What do you mean?"
He held up his palm, and to everyone's amazement and horror... it was blank.
