Chapter 8:

            Time seemed to stop. Chiaki slowly rose, shaking, staring at the limp, bloody form that was her friend. "No..."

            The other seishi stood around her, paralyzed, watching.

            "No..."

            Nakago's voice broke the ringing silence. "We have completed our first task."

            "No..."

            "Now we can leave."

            Chiaki whirled, seething. "You think you can just leave? Get back here, asshole! You can't get away with that! Get back here and finish this like a man!"

            "I believe we can. And we did." He glanced back at her, only slightly amused. "I look forward to confronting you again, Priestess."

            "Get back here!" she screamed, tears of fury and agony streaming down her face. "Get back here dammit!" She slipped and fell to her knees, but valiantly clawed her way through the snow.

            Mitsukake grabbed her arm. "Let them go. We have to attend to Nuriko."

            She sank fully into the snow, curled up and sobbing. "They killed him! They killed Nuriko!"

            A hand rested on her shaking back. "He'll be fine. Mitsukake is seeing to that as we speak."

            Slowly, she looked up, eyes clouded with confusion. Hotohori gestured to the man, who was kneeling next to Nuriko with his palm extended over the seishi's bloody body. A warm glow seemed to envelope his body. Hotohori gently pushed her in that direction.

            "No, I can't," she balked. "I mean, if he's... If he's..." She couldn't say it. She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to see it.

            "Shaddup an' go already!" Tasuki grabbed her arm and dragged her over to Nuriko's body.

            She closed her eyes tightly and, after a moment's pause when Tasuki had finally stopped pulling her along, she peeked out through one eye. Nuriko lay peacefully on the ground, blood free. His arms rest by his sides. Slowly, she opened the other eye. "What the... ? Where- where's the... and the..." She sank to her knees and ran her hands over his immaculate jacket, astounded. No holes, no blood- was it that clean beneath the jacket as well? She pressed her hands firmly on his chest again. No blood seeped through. How was that possible?

            "Um... eh, Chiaki-chan, what are you doing?"

            She stared at Nuriko, wide-eyed. "You're alive!" she shrieked, flinging her arms around his neck.

            He coughed and then laughed lightly, patting her head. "Uh, Chiaki-chan, I can only be squashed so much!" he gasped. "Breathe? Air?"

             Quickly, she released him. "Sorry..." She looked over him like a concerned mother over a hurt child. "You okay?"

            "I'm fine. I just feel lightheaded, that's all."

            She squinted at him. Something was different. Something...

            "Chiaki, yer starin' at 'im like Miaka does dumplin's. What'sa matter?" Tasuki asked, scratching the back of his head.

            Chiaki shook her head, rubbing the chill from her arms. "You think we can go hole up somewhere for the night? It's going to take a long time to get back to that inn..." She cast a glance over the weary seishi. "And we need to get some rest."

            "Well, I suspect that the cave is free to occupy now," Mitsukake commented, gesturing towards the cave in question.

            Chiaki looked into the dark maw uneasily. "What if... what if bears are in there or something? Those Seiryuu guys were pretty banged up before we got here."

            "Chiaki-chan, there are no bears up here," Nuriko replied, snickering.

            "Lions then! Or tigers!... Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" she murmured to herself.

            He put a hand on her forehead. "Are you sick again?"

            Glaring, she shoved his hand away and began trudging up the mountainside towards the cave. The seishi followed one by one, similar to ducklings following their mother. It was a bit of a long walk up, giving Chiaki time to daydream about home and a nice, warm fire, far away from the snow shortly, before a shout from Tasuki rudely interrupted her.

"What the f---! Nuriko!"

Chiaki glanced back to see what the commotion was about. Tasuki stalked over to Nuriko and pulled on a fistful of his hair. "Where th' f--- did it all go?!"

With almost an air of calmness, Nuriko delivered a punch that sent Tasuki soaring into the air. Ignoring this, Chiaki ran over to him. "I knew something was different!" She grabbed his arm and turned him around. "Your hair is shorter!" she gasped. "Wow..."

            He reached back and grabbed for the braid that wasn't there. "My hair!" he shrilled girlishly. "What did that wolfman do to my hair?! When I find him, I'm going to..."

            "You look fine Nuri-chan," she assured him, pulling his hands away from his hair and straightening the violet locks a bit. "In fact, I'd say you looked much nicer with short hair."

            "Ya mean more like a man," Tasuki muttered, returning to them. The comment earned him another punch from Nuriko.

            Chiaki rolled her eyes a bit as Nuriko went on to moan about his hair. Moments later, she resumed the lead of the group and they continued up the mountainside. When they reached the cave entrance, she stopped. Grabbing Tamahome's arm, she said, "Okay, you go first."

            "Me? Why me?!"

            "Because... if you don't die, we'll know it's safe."

            Tamahome glared at her. "Oh, like that's reassuring."

            She rolled her eyes. "Be a man and get in there." She gave him a push that sent him stumbling into the darkness. Folding her arms, she tapped her foot and waited for him to send word that all was safe and well.

            "You know, that wasn't very nice of you to do," Nuriko commented with a sincere nod.

            She glanced back at him and saw the impish gleam in his eyes and shook her head. She always knew men were weird. She had come to learn that cross-dressing men were weirder. "It was perfectly nice. He'll feel like... more like a man, after his bravery," she replied with an absent shrug. After that, she glanced at her wrist- only to find she didn't have a watch on- and then she glanced towards the men behind her. "Don't you think it's taking him a long time?" She swallowed hard and looked back at the cave. "You don't think... he...?"

            Hotohori shook his head. "Nonsense."

"But how do you know?"

"We'll go in and find out together," was his reply.

"What?!"

Hotohori approached the cave maw and cast a glance back at the rest of them. "Come along." And then he disappeared inside.

            "Isn't his majesty so brave?" Nuriko gushed.

            With a sigh, Chiaki muttered, "Oh shut up." Hiking up the loose, snow-soaked pants she wore, she trudged into the darkness after Hotohori. The darkness of the cave was thick, almost tangible. Chiaki shivered.

            "Damn, it's dark in here..." Tasuki muttered. A moment later, a flash of light lit up the cave.

            Looking back, Chiaki hissed, "Don't set this place on fire!" but he hadn't even removed his tessen. In fact, he didn't even respond to her, like he normally would. He was busy staring, slack-jawed, at a point past her head. Turning, she barely managed to suppress a shriek, seeing two glowing, very annoyed ghostly men standing before their group.

            "Who are you?" the spirit with an eye patch demanded.

            "When will you outsiders learn? Trespassing is forbidden to the likes of you!" announced the other, a younger, darker being. "We protect this shinzaho for a worthy miko, and for her only!" Drawing a bow and what appeared to be an arrow of ice, he aimed it directly at Chiaki's throat. "Be gone, or we will dispose of you like we did those seishi of Seiryuu."

            "Watch where you point that thing!" Chiaki yelped, staring at it in aghast.

            "Pardon me... do you mean to say that you are still in possession of the Genbu shinzaho?" Hotohori inquired, stepping up.

            The two spirits stared hard at the emperor.

            "Will you knock it off about the shinzaho! This guy's about to shoot me!"

            With a wave of his hand, Hotohori shushed the girl, and looked at the two men before them. "Then you are the guardians of the shinzaho, I presume?" Without waiting for them to respond, he said, "We are the warriors of Suzaku." He gestured to Chiaki. "And she..." Then he stopped, and looked at her.

            Swallowing hard, Chiaki said nervously, "I'm Suzaku no miko..." The words suddenly seemed foreign to her. 'These guys won't buy that pathetic lie...' She winced inwardly, disliking the fact that she was in a way obligated to make that claim.

            The two guardians stared at her and then the others momentarily before silently conversing amongst themselves. Chiaki watched them, shifting her weight nervously. 'At least that one put the bow and freaky arrows down......... They don't believe me... Hell, I wouldn't believe me... Are they going to attack us like they did those Seiryuu jerks? Granted, they deserved it all, but that's beside the-' Her train of thought was interrupted when the eye-patch spirit turned towards them.

            "We'll give you the shinzaho-"

            Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the air seemed to calm some. 'Hey, they believed me! Maybe they're dumber than I thought,' Chiaki thought, somewhat surprised.

            "-if she can pass our test."

            "Test? What sort of test?"

            "What kinda shit is this!"

            "She's not taking any test!"

            "If she doesn't take the test, you don't get the shinzaho and we will kill you!" the pale-haired spirit snapped.

            "Oh yeah, like we killed those others?!" the dark-haired retorted.

            They exchanged glares before looking at Chiaki and the seishi again.

            "What kind of test do I have to take?" Chiaki asked slowly, watching the two spirits. 'I really wish I was back home.'

            "Stand there," the dark-haired spirit commanded, pointing to a spot to her left. She moved. "You seven, stand back. Hesitantly, they stepped back. He turned to her. "You, remove your clothing."

            "What?!" She gaped at him.

            "I forbid such-"

            "What the f---!"

            "You can't make her-"

            "Silence!" both spirits yelled.

            And there was silence.

            Again, the dark-haired spirit turned to her. "Now, remove your clothing please."

            Nuriko stepped forward, and voiced his protests loudly. He turned to her. "You don't have to do it, Chiaki-chan. We'd understand if you-"

            "Shut up and get back to your place or I'll kill you now!" Nuriko had only the chance to dance back a step or two before a huge ice sheet knifed into the ground from the cave ceiling, trapping the seishi on once side, and Chiaki on the other.

            She swallowed hard and looked at the two spirits. "The two of you are... evil or something! That could have killed him!"

             "You do not even know the meaning of evil, girl." The silver-haired spirit said 'girl' with such contempt that Chiaki would have slapped him... had she been certain her strike would land its place and that icy spear wouldn't land a place in her throat. "Now, if you will please..." He gestured to her. "It is part of the test."

            Chiaki looked down and drew in a shaking breath. This was the only way, she supposed. Reaching for the belt of her jacket with trembling fingers, she glanced at the seishi, who watched her, immobile. She glanced at the spirits, who in turn, regarded her grimly. 'They're going to realize it... I'm not the Priestess of Suzaku. They're going to realize it and then kill everyone; Hotohori-sama, Mitsukake, Chiriko, Nuri-chan...' She closed her eyes tightly for a moment as her fingers worked the knot. 'And it will be all my fault!' It fell slack in her hands. Dropping the robe to the ground, she shuddered in the cold. Icy goosebumps raced up her skin like a wet slap. 'I don't think I can do this...' She dropped the damp slacks she wore, standing in her undergarments, and hugged her arms to her chest, blushing scarlet. "Can I... Can I keep my shoes on?" she asked through chattering teeth.

            The two spirits exchanged a series of glances before looking at her and nodding. Raising his hand, the dark-haired spirit unleashed a cold blast of wind that froze her exposed skin and she heard the crackling of ice, noticing what seemed to be too late, as ice crystals gathered around her feet, solidified, and slowly made their way up and around her body.

            'I'm going to die!' she thought as the ice crept up and over her face.

* * * * * * * * * *

Well, look here! I'm saying something! Not often I do that... ^_^ But I'd like to thank Kaze-sama (most of you may know her has Kaze-chan!) for helping me write this chapter! And putting up with my "Write this for me please!"s! And I want to thank all of you reviewers! Especially Otaku Pitcher who has reviewed almost, if not every chapter! *stares in shock* Thank you! *happy dance* Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.... it took long enough for me to get it out, eh?  Hopefully Chapter 9 will come out quicker!

Chiaki: Don't get your hopes up

*bashes Chiaki and hides the unconscious body from Nuriko* Ja ne!