Wait a minute! No men! No contact with men! Not that I planned on THAT kind of contact in the first place… she thought as she followed Chichiri upstairs and into the room next to the one the others had entered.

It was a simple affair, with two beds and a nightstand, along with a wooden table and chairs. Nothing fancy, but it worked well enough. Chichiri deposited his bag next to one of the beds and sat down and leaning his head back against the wall wearily. Yumi silently dumped her bag at the foot of the other bed. She sat across from Chichiri and looked intently at him. He seemed much more downhearted than his usual chipper self. Even with his mask on, he looked so tired. His blue, gravity-defying Mohawk shook when the warrior moved his head to stare silently at his feet.

The silence was smothering Yumi. Being more the talkative type, she had never really liked silence. She got up and sat down beside Chichiri.

"Um, Chichiri? Are you okay?" She asked, concerned. The monk looked at her silently, and the eyebrows on his mask turned down in a thoughtful expression.

"Megumi. That's your friend's name, right?" He said. His voice was low again, and he was still forgoing his trademark "no da." Yumi smiled, trying to lighten her warrior's spirits.

"Yeah, that's right." She said, wondering why he was asking her about Megumi.

"She relies on you a lot, did you know that?" He added, staring blankly at nothing, as though he was remembering something sad.

"I suppose so. We've been best friends since we were little, and she always was shyer and less social than I was. She didn't really do anything unless someone told her it was okay. She let bullies pick on her a lot. And, well, I guess you could say that. Why?" Yumi said as she wondered what in the world Chichiri was getting at.

"You all remind me of myself sometimes… I had a friend like that once. Two of them, in fact. I was engaged to a very special girl, and she, my best friend, and myself were inseparable. You need to be careful, or something will tear you apart." Yumi's interest was piqued. She had never heard Chichiri talk about himself like this before.

"Something silly can take your friends away from you. Like me. I loved my best friends, and trusted them absolutely. Until one day, he stole her away. I was young then, and rash, not unlike Tasuki in a way, if you can imagine that… but when he took her, I… I killed my best friend… with these very hands." Chichiri shrugged ruefully. "She died as well, just afterward, in the great flood years ago. Many people died then."

Chichiri finished, his voice low and soft, almost inaudible. He held his hands before him, and they were shaking slightly from the strength of his memories. Yumi looked at Chichiri, but his expression was unreadable through the mask. What do you say to someone who just admitted something like that?

Chichiri lifted his hands to his mask and removed it. He turned his face to look straight at Yumi, and pointed to his left eye. The right one was a startling reddish-brown color, but across where his left eye once was, an ugly scar slanted to the bridge of his nose. She blinked, startled.

"I got this scar… when I killed him. I could have healed it, but that would have been an insult to him…" He said, trying to gauge her reaction. Yumi restrained herself from touching the scar. It looks… painful. I wish I could do something for him, but it's all in the past, right?

"Now I wear a mask, so I won't startle people. This way I can always smile, no matter what happens, and no one has to be bothered by my pain." Yumi finally found her voice again.

"Chichiri… that's so… I had no idea…" She stuttered. The scar didn't unnerve her, but it was the way he spoke so dejectedly that disturbed her so much. He put the mask back on his face and smiled slightly.

"About your friend… she loves you very much, and she has a lot of faith and trust in you. It's probably the only reason she stayed in Kutou, because she believed you'd never abandon her." He said, looking at Yumi.

"I know that! And I won't ever abandon her, I promised!" She said, almost violently, and she immediately lowered her tone. Chichiri threw up his hands as if in defeat.

"I know, I know. Taiitsukun told you this too, right? You have to help her. I don't trust the strongest of their warriors. I felt his strength when we were in Kutou. He's been a general in Kutou's armies for a long time, and he is very skilled in the art of war… and manipulation…" Yumi listened intently, frowning.

"He's not going to hurt Megumi right? I mean, he can't hurt his priestess, or she'll never summon Seiryu for him, right?" She said, almost begging to be reassured. Chichiri shook his head slightly.

"That is what I am afraid of. He won't consider manipulating her feelings and emotions as 'hurting her.' If you ever see her, and she isn't the same, I just want you to keep in mind that it might not be her fault. I have heard of Nakago's talents, and I've no doubt that he can twist Megumi into hating you, somehow." Yumi thought about that. Megumi was… how did you say something like that without sounding mean? Megumi's will was not the strongest. She could see that happening, thinking realistically.

"So… I understand Chichiri." She said solemnly. The monk grinned broadly and scooted her over to the other bed.

"Okay, then! Goodnight, no da!" Chichiri's voice went completely back to normal, and with that, Chichiri promptly fell asleep. Yumi arched an eyebrow. I will never understand my warriors…

Yumi rummaged through her bag.

"Typical." She said, sighing. "I forgot to bring my pajamas." She took off her shoes and crawled into the vacant bed, blowing out the candle. She closed her eyes, and soon sleep overcame her.

-------

Again, Amiboshi had been wandering since the sun had crested the horizon. Why do I have to go to Konan? He kept asking himself, but no answer ever came to him. If Nakago is sending me to look for the Seiryu warriors, shouldn't I be looking in Kutou? He trudged on, hoping that the force controlling him would allow him to go to sleep soon. After struggling against it for two days, he had finally given up, and let his body be taken wherever he was supposed to be going.

-------

Yumi opened her eyes and saw bright sunlight streaming in through the partially shaded window. She sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed. She heard a noise, and saw that Chichiri was already awake. He was watching her silently, his mask firmly in place, along with a friendly smile. Yumi remembered the conversation from last night, but didn't say anything about it.

"Did you sleep well, no da?" Chichiri asked. Yumi nodded when he added, "I hope so, because you sleep forever, no da!" Yumi couldn't help but laugh. Chichiri was back to normal.

"Yeah, all my friends make fun of me for it. I'm a champion sleeper! Anytime, anywhere!" Chichiri shook his head, laughing slightly. He started to open the door, but Yumi told him to wait. Hurriedly, she grabbed up her bag and put her shoes back on after stripping her filthy jeans off and donning a light, cotton skirt, a little rumpled from being packed in her bag.

"Wait a moment, we'll get breakfast at the same time, okay?" Chichiri nodded and sat down again. Yumi quickly tried to smooth her skirt and straighten her hair, vaguely wishing there was a mirror in the room. But mirrors are very expensive in the ancient times, aren't they? She gave up and looked over at Chichiri, who was already standing up. Feeling ungroomed, Yumi followed her celestial warrior down the stairs and into the common room. Yumi looked around, but it appeared that her other warriors had not woken up yet. Chichiri chose a table, and they sat down. Yumi was just placing her order for breakfast, when she heard something crash upstairs, followed closely by a yell that Yumi recognized as Hotohori's voice. She looked down at the table, hoping they didn't break anything too expensive.

"Chichiri," She began once the waitress moved away to get her food. "Why did you trust those three together? I'll be happy if they all come down alive. I'm kinda worried about Hotohori. With Nuriko and Tasuki in the same room with him, he might not be okay…"

"It's not that I trust them together, no da, I just don't trust them with you, no da." Chichiri said in a small, but chipper voice. Yumi nodded slightly. She was trying to think of something to say to that when Hotohori stumbled down the stairs, almost falling flat on his face when he tripped over his own feet in his haste. He recovered himself quickly and practically scampered over to their table, pulling up a chair and plopping down in it.

Yumi stared. The usually gorgeous emperor was looking disheveled, and he had dark circles under his golden eyes. He glanced around as if he were being followed, then sighed happily, reaching weakly for the menu.

"Um… Highness?" Chichiri began, when suddenly Nuriko popped up behind Hotohori, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and squealing. Yumi's eyes widened when she saw the other patrons staring in utter morbid fascination. Well… at least they don't know Nuriko is a man… Yumi thought gratefully.

Hotohori, on the meanwhile, did not think Nuriko was a woman. He shouted, caught off guard, and stood up abruptly, trying to shake the gay man off him. Chichiri looked confused.

"Can you two take that outside, no da? You're disturbing everyone…" Hotohori was shooting looks of 'save me' to Yumi, but she didn't see anything she could do, so she laughed. Nuriko smiled and nodded enthusiastically, dragging the emperor out the front door. Hotohori's hands scrambled for purchase on the wood floor, but Nuriko's strength prevailed, and he was left to his fate… whatever that was.

Within seconds, the patrons returned to their meals. It was a good thing they bounced. It was also a good thing that they didn't know Hotohori was the emperor. Another good thing was that they didn't know Nuriko was a man.

Just when the room was returning to a semblance of order, Tasuki made his dramatic entrance. Well, maybe dramatic isn't the word… Yumi thought as she heard the bandit's loud obscenities echoing down the stairs. When he came into view, Yumi saw him hopping on one foot, trying to get one of his boots on. Thankfully the only people who stared at this disturbance were the waitresses and herself. Chichiri was busy sipping his herbal tea.

Tasuki growled as he took his seat, the very one that Hotohori had recently vacated. He reached for the menu gruffly, already in a foul mood it seemed.

"Tasuki? Was all of the swearing really necessary, no da?" Chichiri commented, taking another sip of his drink. How he did that with his mask on was beyond anyone. The other warrior grimaced.

"I just remembered tha' I let pretty-boy run off without a good mornin' insult." He offered for an excuse, and Yumi had to stifle a snicker. Why couldn't those two get along?

"Uh, Tasuki? Then what was all that crashing before?" Yumi asked, her stomach growling. She hoped her food would get here soon. Tasuki looked over at her and grinned cheekily, exposing his fangs.

"Heh heh, that was pretty-boy. He woke up and got a big surprise!" Tasuki said, laughing heartily, though Yumi missed the point.

"What was the surprise?" She tried again, drumming her fingers on the edge of the wooden table.

"Ah, well our room only had two beds, so we made Nuriko sleep on tha' floor. Apparently the gay guy did'n wanna sleep on the floor, so he crawled in bed with Hotohori. Pretty-boy did'n like that very much, and he broke a vase when he shot outta bed." Tasuki summarized, looking quite pleased with himself. Chichiri looked up from his drink.

"I don't suppose you suggested that to Nuriko, did you, no da?" Tasuki grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm not admitten to anythin'." He said. Yumi sighed. Well, it was a good joke… she thought. But still, if these two kept at it, it was going to be a long day…