Chapter 7: Of notes and wild goose chases.
Disclaimer: Tasuki. Fushigi Yuugi. Not mine. Got it?
Now, I bet y'all wondering why it's taking so darn long for Daryll to reply. You can't really blame him. It's all a case of absentmindedness in Akire's part, though there was a time difference between the two dimensions.
Okay, so Akire dropped the note carelessly through the dimension portal, without stopping to think where in Amria it might land on. As it so unfortunately happened, the other end of the portal appeared in the borders of Amria, some 20 feet in the air. In Akire's haste, she forgot to direct the portal's other end at Amria Palace, or even Daryll's room.
So, the note appeared on the other end, buffeted by strong winds, landing on top of a tree, staying there in a bird's nest for a day, until a woodcutter cut down the tree for timber. Seeing the note, he stuffed it into his pocket to carry it off back to Amria. Around this time Akire was talking to the cat, waiting for the note, though it was only a matter of hours on her end.
While in a town a few hours later, a pickpocket made off with the woodcutter's pocket money, and unwittingly grabbed the note along with the other stuff. When that happened, as fate would have it, Janes (Akire's sister), Daryll and Akire's other cousins were buying stuff for dinner. Daryll lagged behind, and in so doing bumped into the pickpocket, who was chased by the woodcutter. Daryll immediately pinned down the robber, and returned the money to the grateful woodcutter. Then, while checking to see if all his money's accounted for, he spotted the note, and gave it to Daryll.
"Janes! Oy, all of you! A note from Akire!" Of course, this caught the attention of everyone else, and so immediately flocked around Daryll to read the note. "'Dear cuz, need some help trying to find Ikegai. Reply ASAP'. You guys go on ahead, I better start on this."
So, Daryll consumed another day and a half trying to figure out how to find Ikegai's concealed quarters, as Akire and Tasuki drank like there's no tomorrow in their drinking match. He even considered coming over to help Akire personally, but he knew she wouldn't allow that, and who was he to contest his cousin? Never mind her being an empress, or the Paladin, if you're a relative, you go first.
Back to Akire
Akire, after drinking her 5th glass of water, checked to see if all's ready. She fastened a gray cloak over her clothes, and she changed her usual footgear into almost knee-high boots. She strapped a dagger and her sword to her belt, and she left a letter at her table, thanking everyone for their time, and that she went to check on something. "Hopefully I know what I'm doing," she muttered to herself, as she loosened the Velcro strap on her leather gloves. "Too bad Velcro hasn't been invented here yet."
Akire then checked for the umpteenth time if a note from Daryll has arrived yet, but since, unknown to her, he's still trying to figure it out, she sighed and shook her head. "He probably didn't get it," she muttered disappointedly.
Knowing Nuriko and the others would object to her going alone, she snuck out of her room through the window and chose a quicker path to the backwoods. "Well, if I was a bad gal hiding from the authorities, I'd choose a place like this, but Ikegai wouldn't be dumb enough to hide in a place this close to Hotohori's palace," she said, her voice drowned by the rustling leaves and eerily cold wind.
Back at Amria
Edward, Daryll's older brother and therefore another one of Akire's cousins (there are a lot more, trust me), found him sleeping on his desk, clutching the note on one hand and the other hand resting on three thick books.
Upon hearing the door open, Daryll woke up and slowly lifted his head. "Hey, bro, what's the time?" Edward laughed, and said, "Time for you to wake up! D'you have the answer?" Daryll suddenly perked up and said, "Shoot! Not yet!" In despair, he flipped through the volumes and volumes of books lying beside him, as Edward watched in amusement.
"Eh, Daryll," Edward said, "do you know what exactly are you looking for?" Daryll shook his head. Edward laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "You know, whenever Akire tries to track down a criminal, she traces-"
"What! Say that again!" Daryll said, barely containing his excitement. Puzzled, Edward said, "Uh, whenever Akire tracks down someone, she traces-"
"YES! Why didn't I think of it before? Thanks, bro!" Daryll immediately took out another piece of paper and scribbled a note on in. He then rushed outside and fetched his Mailbox, a sort of inter-dimensional postal service ("I told Akire to get one of these but no!") he made himself. Quickly dropping in the note, he wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. "Whew! That was hard!"
Okay, enough about them, let's go to Akire's room, where Tasuki was oh so puzzled as to why he can't hear any insults from the other room. "Hey, hot- blooded, feeling empress-of-the-world! Nuriko and Miaka are looking for ya!" Silence. Not even the sound of a blade being stabbed through the door, or a broken vase can be heard, no matter how much the fang-boy strained his ears to listen. This is getting weird.
He pushed open the door, again wondering why she hasn't even tried to block him. Stepping inside, he's greeted by an empty room, with everything folded up or put neatly in their respective places. "Huh, packed up and went away early, the wimp," he murmured, and finding strangely that he missed the endless arguments.
Looking around he spotted a neatly written letter lying on a table. "Probably a love-note for Hotohori," he snickered, as he read: To everyone, thanks for letting me stay here. It's really nice, this place, though I think you should build stronger doors. Nuriko, your friendship is invaluable, thanks. Oh, and PLEASE tell that mountain person to behave. But still, it was fun while it lasted. You must be wondering where I went. Tasuki probably thinks I packed up and left early like some wimp. I'm only doing what I really set out to do. All I can say is, I'll try and make sure that Ikegai won't ever bother all of you again. Yours sincerely, Akire."
He crumpled up the letter saying, "Why, that double-crosser! She went after Ikegai without me!" He looked at the window ledge and saw a boot-print on it. "Two can play at that!" He was about to jump out of the window, when a blue flash startled him, and a partly smoking piece of paper suddenly appeared on the table. He grabbed it, and read, "For Akire's eyes only. What the heck? Stupid, confidential paper!" he yelled, as he jumped out of the window with the paper in his fist.
Akire is on the verge of throwing another tantrum, as she sat frustrated under a tree. "I don't know what to DO!" she cried. "I can roam this wilderness for ages without finding Ikegai! Spending a day with the redhead seems like a walk in the park next to this!"
She wrapped up her cloak tighter to force out the cold, as she listened for signs of trouble. After awhile, she decided to doze off, seeing as the coast is clear, when she heard very faint footfalls, coming from nearby. Drawing her sword, she quietly circled the perimeter, taking care not to let whatever it was know where she is. She strained her ears and sure enough, the footfalls are getting closer. Not moving, she waited for the time to strike. She can see his shadow now. She saw the shadow raise its hand. Her hand twitched uneasily as she prepared to hack this guy to pieces. Three...two...one.
Disclaimer: Tasuki. Fushigi Yuugi. Not mine. Got it?
Now, I bet y'all wondering why it's taking so darn long for Daryll to reply. You can't really blame him. It's all a case of absentmindedness in Akire's part, though there was a time difference between the two dimensions.
Okay, so Akire dropped the note carelessly through the dimension portal, without stopping to think where in Amria it might land on. As it so unfortunately happened, the other end of the portal appeared in the borders of Amria, some 20 feet in the air. In Akire's haste, she forgot to direct the portal's other end at Amria Palace, or even Daryll's room.
So, the note appeared on the other end, buffeted by strong winds, landing on top of a tree, staying there in a bird's nest for a day, until a woodcutter cut down the tree for timber. Seeing the note, he stuffed it into his pocket to carry it off back to Amria. Around this time Akire was talking to the cat, waiting for the note, though it was only a matter of hours on her end.
While in a town a few hours later, a pickpocket made off with the woodcutter's pocket money, and unwittingly grabbed the note along with the other stuff. When that happened, as fate would have it, Janes (Akire's sister), Daryll and Akire's other cousins were buying stuff for dinner. Daryll lagged behind, and in so doing bumped into the pickpocket, who was chased by the woodcutter. Daryll immediately pinned down the robber, and returned the money to the grateful woodcutter. Then, while checking to see if all his money's accounted for, he spotted the note, and gave it to Daryll.
"Janes! Oy, all of you! A note from Akire!" Of course, this caught the attention of everyone else, and so immediately flocked around Daryll to read the note. "'Dear cuz, need some help trying to find Ikegai. Reply ASAP'. You guys go on ahead, I better start on this."
So, Daryll consumed another day and a half trying to figure out how to find Ikegai's concealed quarters, as Akire and Tasuki drank like there's no tomorrow in their drinking match. He even considered coming over to help Akire personally, but he knew she wouldn't allow that, and who was he to contest his cousin? Never mind her being an empress, or the Paladin, if you're a relative, you go first.
Back to Akire
Akire, after drinking her 5th glass of water, checked to see if all's ready. She fastened a gray cloak over her clothes, and she changed her usual footgear into almost knee-high boots. She strapped a dagger and her sword to her belt, and she left a letter at her table, thanking everyone for their time, and that she went to check on something. "Hopefully I know what I'm doing," she muttered to herself, as she loosened the Velcro strap on her leather gloves. "Too bad Velcro hasn't been invented here yet."
Akire then checked for the umpteenth time if a note from Daryll has arrived yet, but since, unknown to her, he's still trying to figure it out, she sighed and shook her head. "He probably didn't get it," she muttered disappointedly.
Knowing Nuriko and the others would object to her going alone, she snuck out of her room through the window and chose a quicker path to the backwoods. "Well, if I was a bad gal hiding from the authorities, I'd choose a place like this, but Ikegai wouldn't be dumb enough to hide in a place this close to Hotohori's palace," she said, her voice drowned by the rustling leaves and eerily cold wind.
Back at Amria
Edward, Daryll's older brother and therefore another one of Akire's cousins (there are a lot more, trust me), found him sleeping on his desk, clutching the note on one hand and the other hand resting on three thick books.
Upon hearing the door open, Daryll woke up and slowly lifted his head. "Hey, bro, what's the time?" Edward laughed, and said, "Time for you to wake up! D'you have the answer?" Daryll suddenly perked up and said, "Shoot! Not yet!" In despair, he flipped through the volumes and volumes of books lying beside him, as Edward watched in amusement.
"Eh, Daryll," Edward said, "do you know what exactly are you looking for?" Daryll shook his head. Edward laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "You know, whenever Akire tries to track down a criminal, she traces-"
"What! Say that again!" Daryll said, barely containing his excitement. Puzzled, Edward said, "Uh, whenever Akire tracks down someone, she traces-"
"YES! Why didn't I think of it before? Thanks, bro!" Daryll immediately took out another piece of paper and scribbled a note on in. He then rushed outside and fetched his Mailbox, a sort of inter-dimensional postal service ("I told Akire to get one of these but no!") he made himself. Quickly dropping in the note, he wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. "Whew! That was hard!"
Okay, enough about them, let's go to Akire's room, where Tasuki was oh so puzzled as to why he can't hear any insults from the other room. "Hey, hot- blooded, feeling empress-of-the-world! Nuriko and Miaka are looking for ya!" Silence. Not even the sound of a blade being stabbed through the door, or a broken vase can be heard, no matter how much the fang-boy strained his ears to listen. This is getting weird.
He pushed open the door, again wondering why she hasn't even tried to block him. Stepping inside, he's greeted by an empty room, with everything folded up or put neatly in their respective places. "Huh, packed up and went away early, the wimp," he murmured, and finding strangely that he missed the endless arguments.
Looking around he spotted a neatly written letter lying on a table. "Probably a love-note for Hotohori," he snickered, as he read: To everyone, thanks for letting me stay here. It's really nice, this place, though I think you should build stronger doors. Nuriko, your friendship is invaluable, thanks. Oh, and PLEASE tell that mountain person to behave. But still, it was fun while it lasted. You must be wondering where I went. Tasuki probably thinks I packed up and left early like some wimp. I'm only doing what I really set out to do. All I can say is, I'll try and make sure that Ikegai won't ever bother all of you again. Yours sincerely, Akire."
He crumpled up the letter saying, "Why, that double-crosser! She went after Ikegai without me!" He looked at the window ledge and saw a boot-print on it. "Two can play at that!" He was about to jump out of the window, when a blue flash startled him, and a partly smoking piece of paper suddenly appeared on the table. He grabbed it, and read, "For Akire's eyes only. What the heck? Stupid, confidential paper!" he yelled, as he jumped out of the window with the paper in his fist.
Akire is on the verge of throwing another tantrum, as she sat frustrated under a tree. "I don't know what to DO!" she cried. "I can roam this wilderness for ages without finding Ikegai! Spending a day with the redhead seems like a walk in the park next to this!"
She wrapped up her cloak tighter to force out the cold, as she listened for signs of trouble. After awhile, she decided to doze off, seeing as the coast is clear, when she heard very faint footfalls, coming from nearby. Drawing her sword, she quietly circled the perimeter, taking care not to let whatever it was know where she is. She strained her ears and sure enough, the footfalls are getting closer. Not moving, she waited for the time to strike. She can see his shadow now. She saw the shadow raise its hand. Her hand twitched uneasily as she prepared to hack this guy to pieces. Three...two...one.