Disclaimer: I do not own Tasuki, or any other character associated with
Fushigi Yuugi. Period.
A/N: this chapter's dedicated to my friend, Kamatari. I know she so loves shady characters, and, well, here's to her.
"That's the broken shell of a guy you said you're looking for?" Tasuki said. "I know, I know. Guess it's karma that's making his hair thinner earlier than expected," Akire replied.
Ikegai cleared his throat, smoothing back what little is left of his hair, which didn't help his appearance at all. He stepped closer to them as he drew another arrow from his quiver. Akire was about to unsheathe her sword when she remembered she left it behind in her room "Curses! Of all the luck!" she hissed.
Tasuki, meanwhile, drew out his tessen, and scoffed at her. "What the heck is your problem? The only thing he can throw at us is his arrow! What kinda chief of the guard are you? That guy plays with flames? I'll give him flames! LEKKA SHIEN!" At his command, flames shot out of the tessen towards Ikegai. Akire, not wanting to kill anybody, or turn anyone into pot-roast (though she'd probably want to lacerate Ikegai an inch from death), shrieked, "NO! NOT LIKE THAT!" as she immediately grabbed his arm and jerked it away.
To their surprise, the jets of flame went right through Ikegai, who was still smirking. "Tut, tut, tut!" he said, waving his finger left to right. He then pointed to the tree, which got burnt awhile ago, but the burn marks were gone, as if nothing had happened. "An illusion! My dear, sweet Akire, I've been doing my homework when you came looking for me! I'm more powerful than you'd expect!" the Ikegai illusion said, slowly fading away. In anger, Akire kicked and clawed at the disappearing image, though she knew very well that it isn't going to do any good. "There's no proper curse for you in Amria, you slime!" she shouted.
Suddenly, her head jerked back as Tasuki pulled at her hair. "Just what the HECK is going on here?" he demanded. She yanked away his hand and said, "Like I told you, I'm just here to catch the bad guy, what more do you have to know? And why do I have to tell YOU?"
They went back in the palace (separately, mind you), and were surprised to see that everyone's just going about their normal routine. "Why on earth are you all sitting there doing nothing?" Akire said, exasperated. Nuriko, puzzled, replied, "Doing nothing? We got bored watching you. A minute ago you were fighting, then suddenly, you just stood there staring at nothing. And speaking about fighting," here she gave Tasuki an almighty whack on the head, "when are you gonna learn to behave yourself? She's a guest for crying out loud!" "A very SHADY guest!" Tasuki added hastily. Her temper rising again, Akire kicked him on the shin and stormed back to her room. "Now look what you've done, you insensitive fool!" Nuriko exclaimed, running after her.
"He is IMPOSSIBLE!" Akire burst out, slamming the door behind her. She took out a picture of her and Janes together and sighed. "Why ever did I leave Amria for? Why didn't I just send Daryll or Earnest or one of my cousins?"
"So that's what your country's called? Kinda strange, but I guess that's what foreign countries are like," Nuriko said, opening the door. Akire closed the door for her and sighed. "No offense to you, or the others, but where in China did you get that rascal? The streets?" Nuriko laughed, and patted her on the back. "He's a mountain person, literally! Before we 'took him away', he's the leader of a group of bandits." She watched with amusement as Akire's jaw dropped upon hearing this. "I'm staying with a felon!" Akire finally said, exasperated. "How on earth can you people stand him?" Nuriko leaned back against a pillow and replied, "Well, it's only a matter of making him not stand us instead. But enough about fangboy, tell me more about this Ikegai person."
Akire drew a deep breath and said, "Well, it all started some years back. He had more hair then, and his eyes were a little less, um, dilated, but his ego! I wish I could get a needle and pop his ever-growing self-worship. Well, self-worship, till he met me. I was on patrol, and we caught him stealing a sack of apricots. He was smitten the minute he saw me, so when he finally got out of jail, he asked me out, calling me 'my dear, sweet Akire' and all other flattering words. At first I was just sorry for him, so I accepted. But I didn't like him! He was just too much to bear! So I dumped him the following day. But no! He's just not the guy to go down easily. Well, he first tried the 'right way' to win me back, making all sorts of promises and sending me all sorts of wonderful things. But I just knew, from the moment I saw him, that there's no changing a guy like that. That's when his self-esteem, and dastardly plots, met, shook hands and drove him crazy. From that time on, he did all sorts of evil deeds to 'get me back'. Well, it's either for revenge or he wants to force me back in his arms. It's really taking a toll on me and my, I mean, Her Excellency's kingdom. This is the third time I have to go looking for him."
Nuriko sat up again and said, "That guy's just sick. Anyway, what happened the other two times?" Akire buried her face in her hands and said, "He was just too sly. He escaped, proving twice, how slippery he is, and just as crazy." Nuriko shook her head. "But, why won't you bring more of your men? Surely your job would be much easier when you have more people helping you." Akire replied, "I already know what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve, and I'm not risking any of my subordinates till I know how to stop him for good. And anyway, this is getting personal, so he better watch his sorry behind when I find out where he's hiding himself."
Nuriko laid her hand on Akire's shoulder and said, "And you won't be alone of you need backup. We're all here for you. Well, everyone except Tasuki, but he might come round."
"HA! Him, come round? You're a riot, Nuriko. I might as well ask Ikegai for a second date!"
"Um, Akire, I don't think it's a good idea for you do say that aloud."
"What, you afraid he'll hear me?"
Nuriko pointed to the ceiling, and Akire gasped. There's Ikegai, floating just above their heads! "How the HECK did you get here, darn it!" Akire exclaimed.
"Same way as I did the last time, my dear sweet Akire."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT! I'M NOT YOUR AKIRE!"
To her surprise, Nuriko ran to the door, and ran away. "Your friend's seeing things, you know, she sees you chasing me down the hall. Isn't it delightful?" Ikegai laughed. Quickly, Akire reached under the bed and grabbed her sword. "You better be an apparition, for your sake!"
Ikegai slowly floated down, grabbed her head and kissed her. She immediately pulled away from him, wiping her mouth. "Akire, if I was an apparition, how would I enjoy that?"
"You're a real nutcase!" she exclaimed. "50 years have passed and you're still a bad kisser!" She lunged at him with her sword at lightning speed, missing him by inches. "I can improve, Akire," he said sweetly. "THAT'S-NOT- THE POINT!" she shrieked, slashing at him. Just then, Tasuki broke down the door and wielded his tessen, burning Ikegai's arm. He shrieked, and flew out a window, with Akire chasing him.
Ikegai leapt upon his horse, which he hid outside, and galloped away. Akire tried to run after him, but grew weak over running. Just then, who came running but Tasuki (altogether now: sigh! ) himself? Without warning, he carried her, and ran after Ikegai.
Akire, of course, would have a thing or two to say when that happened, but they were gaining up on Ikegai, so she just kept her words to herself. "Almost, just a little more," she mumbled. Suddenly, Ikegai looked back, and in that millisecond that their gazes met, her Paladin's sixth sense kicked in. "Oh, no," she breathed, as a vision of a wide, gaping, endless void opened up before her eyes. Quickly, she clutched the sapphire ring on her finger. Haven't told you about that, haven't I? You see, every Paladin is granted the power for almost unlimited access to (no, not the Internet) any dimension, and that power happens to be "enclosed" inside a ring "issued" to a Paladin. So this is the same power that she's calling upon now.
The ring then blazed with light, and she immediately transported herself and Tasuki back to the palace. Right before they "jumped", she saw Ikegai recite an incantation to open up a dimension gate to a void universe. "Thank heaven," she breathed. Unfortunately, Tasuki was, well, not so happy. "SO CLOSE!" he said after which he uttered a string of not so pleasant words. "He, he probably recited some spell to send us back here," Akire said to cover it up. Tasuki paused, then finally, he said, "Heh, a fine job you did back there. Could've caught him if SOMEONE started to pull her weight around here like she's supposed to, right?" Akire glared at him and said, "Damn it, let's just go back."
Meanwhile, Ikegai's nursing his burns back at his lair (location, undisclosed. Rent, unpaid |;D). "Alas, that the red-haired infidel has spoiled my plans!" He recalled how the "red-haired infidel" scorched his arm and his dignity, how Akire, through foresight, managed to save herself and her companion from the void universe gate, and how, how they exchanged furious remarks and evil glances. "This may work out to my advantage," he mumbled through a toothy grin.
A/N: this chapter's dedicated to my friend, Kamatari. I know she so loves shady characters, and, well, here's to her.
"That's the broken shell of a guy you said you're looking for?" Tasuki said. "I know, I know. Guess it's karma that's making his hair thinner earlier than expected," Akire replied.
Ikegai cleared his throat, smoothing back what little is left of his hair, which didn't help his appearance at all. He stepped closer to them as he drew another arrow from his quiver. Akire was about to unsheathe her sword when she remembered she left it behind in her room "Curses! Of all the luck!" she hissed.
Tasuki, meanwhile, drew out his tessen, and scoffed at her. "What the heck is your problem? The only thing he can throw at us is his arrow! What kinda chief of the guard are you? That guy plays with flames? I'll give him flames! LEKKA SHIEN!" At his command, flames shot out of the tessen towards Ikegai. Akire, not wanting to kill anybody, or turn anyone into pot-roast (though she'd probably want to lacerate Ikegai an inch from death), shrieked, "NO! NOT LIKE THAT!" as she immediately grabbed his arm and jerked it away.
To their surprise, the jets of flame went right through Ikegai, who was still smirking. "Tut, tut, tut!" he said, waving his finger left to right. He then pointed to the tree, which got burnt awhile ago, but the burn marks were gone, as if nothing had happened. "An illusion! My dear, sweet Akire, I've been doing my homework when you came looking for me! I'm more powerful than you'd expect!" the Ikegai illusion said, slowly fading away. In anger, Akire kicked and clawed at the disappearing image, though she knew very well that it isn't going to do any good. "There's no proper curse for you in Amria, you slime!" she shouted.
Suddenly, her head jerked back as Tasuki pulled at her hair. "Just what the HECK is going on here?" he demanded. She yanked away his hand and said, "Like I told you, I'm just here to catch the bad guy, what more do you have to know? And why do I have to tell YOU?"
They went back in the palace (separately, mind you), and were surprised to see that everyone's just going about their normal routine. "Why on earth are you all sitting there doing nothing?" Akire said, exasperated. Nuriko, puzzled, replied, "Doing nothing? We got bored watching you. A minute ago you were fighting, then suddenly, you just stood there staring at nothing. And speaking about fighting," here she gave Tasuki an almighty whack on the head, "when are you gonna learn to behave yourself? She's a guest for crying out loud!" "A very SHADY guest!" Tasuki added hastily. Her temper rising again, Akire kicked him on the shin and stormed back to her room. "Now look what you've done, you insensitive fool!" Nuriko exclaimed, running after her.
"He is IMPOSSIBLE!" Akire burst out, slamming the door behind her. She took out a picture of her and Janes together and sighed. "Why ever did I leave Amria for? Why didn't I just send Daryll or Earnest or one of my cousins?"
"So that's what your country's called? Kinda strange, but I guess that's what foreign countries are like," Nuriko said, opening the door. Akire closed the door for her and sighed. "No offense to you, or the others, but where in China did you get that rascal? The streets?" Nuriko laughed, and patted her on the back. "He's a mountain person, literally! Before we 'took him away', he's the leader of a group of bandits." She watched with amusement as Akire's jaw dropped upon hearing this. "I'm staying with a felon!" Akire finally said, exasperated. "How on earth can you people stand him?" Nuriko leaned back against a pillow and replied, "Well, it's only a matter of making him not stand us instead. But enough about fangboy, tell me more about this Ikegai person."
Akire drew a deep breath and said, "Well, it all started some years back. He had more hair then, and his eyes were a little less, um, dilated, but his ego! I wish I could get a needle and pop his ever-growing self-worship. Well, self-worship, till he met me. I was on patrol, and we caught him stealing a sack of apricots. He was smitten the minute he saw me, so when he finally got out of jail, he asked me out, calling me 'my dear, sweet Akire' and all other flattering words. At first I was just sorry for him, so I accepted. But I didn't like him! He was just too much to bear! So I dumped him the following day. But no! He's just not the guy to go down easily. Well, he first tried the 'right way' to win me back, making all sorts of promises and sending me all sorts of wonderful things. But I just knew, from the moment I saw him, that there's no changing a guy like that. That's when his self-esteem, and dastardly plots, met, shook hands and drove him crazy. From that time on, he did all sorts of evil deeds to 'get me back'. Well, it's either for revenge or he wants to force me back in his arms. It's really taking a toll on me and my, I mean, Her Excellency's kingdom. This is the third time I have to go looking for him."
Nuriko sat up again and said, "That guy's just sick. Anyway, what happened the other two times?" Akire buried her face in her hands and said, "He was just too sly. He escaped, proving twice, how slippery he is, and just as crazy." Nuriko shook her head. "But, why won't you bring more of your men? Surely your job would be much easier when you have more people helping you." Akire replied, "I already know what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve, and I'm not risking any of my subordinates till I know how to stop him for good. And anyway, this is getting personal, so he better watch his sorry behind when I find out where he's hiding himself."
Nuriko laid her hand on Akire's shoulder and said, "And you won't be alone of you need backup. We're all here for you. Well, everyone except Tasuki, but he might come round."
"HA! Him, come round? You're a riot, Nuriko. I might as well ask Ikegai for a second date!"
"Um, Akire, I don't think it's a good idea for you do say that aloud."
"What, you afraid he'll hear me?"
Nuriko pointed to the ceiling, and Akire gasped. There's Ikegai, floating just above their heads! "How the HECK did you get here, darn it!" Akire exclaimed.
"Same way as I did the last time, my dear sweet Akire."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT! I'M NOT YOUR AKIRE!"
To her surprise, Nuriko ran to the door, and ran away. "Your friend's seeing things, you know, she sees you chasing me down the hall. Isn't it delightful?" Ikegai laughed. Quickly, Akire reached under the bed and grabbed her sword. "You better be an apparition, for your sake!"
Ikegai slowly floated down, grabbed her head and kissed her. She immediately pulled away from him, wiping her mouth. "Akire, if I was an apparition, how would I enjoy that?"
"You're a real nutcase!" she exclaimed. "50 years have passed and you're still a bad kisser!" She lunged at him with her sword at lightning speed, missing him by inches. "I can improve, Akire," he said sweetly. "THAT'S-NOT- THE POINT!" she shrieked, slashing at him. Just then, Tasuki broke down the door and wielded his tessen, burning Ikegai's arm. He shrieked, and flew out a window, with Akire chasing him.
Ikegai leapt upon his horse, which he hid outside, and galloped away. Akire tried to run after him, but grew weak over running. Just then, who came running but Tasuki (altogether now: sigh! ) himself? Without warning, he carried her, and ran after Ikegai.
Akire, of course, would have a thing or two to say when that happened, but they were gaining up on Ikegai, so she just kept her words to herself. "Almost, just a little more," she mumbled. Suddenly, Ikegai looked back, and in that millisecond that their gazes met, her Paladin's sixth sense kicked in. "Oh, no," she breathed, as a vision of a wide, gaping, endless void opened up before her eyes. Quickly, she clutched the sapphire ring on her finger. Haven't told you about that, haven't I? You see, every Paladin is granted the power for almost unlimited access to (no, not the Internet) any dimension, and that power happens to be "enclosed" inside a ring "issued" to a Paladin. So this is the same power that she's calling upon now.
The ring then blazed with light, and she immediately transported herself and Tasuki back to the palace. Right before they "jumped", she saw Ikegai recite an incantation to open up a dimension gate to a void universe. "Thank heaven," she breathed. Unfortunately, Tasuki was, well, not so happy. "SO CLOSE!" he said after which he uttered a string of not so pleasant words. "He, he probably recited some spell to send us back here," Akire said to cover it up. Tasuki paused, then finally, he said, "Heh, a fine job you did back there. Could've caught him if SOMEONE started to pull her weight around here like she's supposed to, right?" Akire glared at him and said, "Damn it, let's just go back."
Meanwhile, Ikegai's nursing his burns back at his lair (location, undisclosed. Rent, unpaid |;D). "Alas, that the red-haired infidel has spoiled my plans!" He recalled how the "red-haired infidel" scorched his arm and his dignity, how Akire, through foresight, managed to save herself and her companion from the void universe gate, and how, how they exchanged furious remarks and evil glances. "This may work out to my advantage," he mumbled through a toothy grin.