The Most Mysterious Of Plays
Chapter Two: Nyan-Nyans
Yui shook her head, trying to figure out what happened. She felt very dizzy, and so found it hard to sit up. She knew she was lying down, and knew she was being cushioned by something, but since she didn't think opening her eyes would do any good, she kept them closed.
Thus, she had no clue where she was.
I remember seeing Miaka. And finding myself helping her escape. Tamahome… then a spear, and a man with a weird face…
She hadn't realized she'd said that aloud until a hurt voice proclaimed, "What's with you otherworldly girls and making fun of a guy's face, no da?"
She opened her eyes, finding that the man she'd mentioned was peering at her. Immediately, she was overwhelmed with dizziness and shut them again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you."
"I got it from Miaka, too. You'd think a Priestess would be nicer!" he complained cheerfully.
Miaka! "Where is she? And Tamahome? Are they all right?" she demanded.
"They're fine. Miaka blacked out, same's you. Tamahome's being treated for his leg right now. You'll be able to see them as soon as the Nyan-Nyan can come take a look at you. Sorry about that- forgot other people aren't used to teleporting, no da!"
Teleporting. That's right, that's what happened!
"Here, I can help a bit. Just relax a bit, no da."
She felt his hand gently touch her forehead. Then, to her surprise, she felt as though he was sucking the dizziness straight from her head into his fingertips. After a moment, the sensation ended, as did most of the disorientation.
Yui opened one eye, then the other. Slowly, she sat up, finding herself lying in a giant bed. The man- Chichiri, that was it- sat on a chair next to the bed. He was smiling at her.
"Thank you," she said. "Where… am I?"
"This is the mountain of Taitsukun, no da."
"Who?"
"The one who wrote the Universe of the Four Gods. She's the one who gave four copies out, one to each of the rulers of the world, no da."
Only four countries in one world? Wow…
"At least, to the four rulers that matter to us the most, no da," Chichiri added nonchalantly. "Feeling better?"
She nodded.
"Good. How about we go see Miaka? The Nyan-Nyan ought to be there, so we can get both of you set to go in no time, na no da!"
He stood, and she cautiously followed suit, leaning against the wall when she suddenly felt like she was about to black out again. Chichiri immediately grasped her arm, steadying her until she could stand on her own again. Then he started for the door.
Yui followed, staggering slightly. "Just what is a Nyan-Nyan, anyway?" she asked curiously.
There was a pause. Then, with a smile, Chichiri responded, "Nyan-Nyan is Nyan-Nyan, no da."
Like that helps.
"Meaning…?"
"You'll find out soon enough, no da. Come on."
You expect me to follow you just because you want me to? What an ego you must have, mister… well, as soon as I find Miaka, she can explain this all to me…
The blonde girl stopped for a moment, surprised. Since when have I become dependant upon Miaka? It's been the other way around since… well… then again, she's been around here for a while. So I guess she'd know more about this Taitsukun Mountain place.
It's weird depending on her for something, though. She's always depended on me for taking notes in class, for studying, for ranting about school, for crying…
Yui smiled. Guess that's what it's like to have friends. You depend on each other, not just one on the other. Take that, Nakago.
With that, she found herself walking with her head up instead of slouching, and soon found herself striding along beside the strange man instead of behind him.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude about it," Yui said finally. "But what happened to your face, anyway? You look like you're blind or something."
"Years of using bad light for reading, no da," he said with another grin.
Okay… that didn't sound right, coming from someone from Ancient China. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" she said.
"Nope, no da! Here's Miaka's room." He opened the door.
Yui peered in to see that Miaka's room greatly resembled hers. Miaka herself sat on the bed, much like Yui had, only she was partially undressed. All about her were small, little girls who looked exactly alike.
What are they doing here? Are they servants in training to these Nyan-Nyan things? Yui wondered as she entered. Chichiri was still by the door, his head turned politely.
"We fix, we cure!" one girl chanted.
"We cure, we fix! We heal, we heal!" another cried out.
Miaka was smiling at the whole lot of them. "I'm fine, really," she was saying as they continued to gently poke and prod at her. "Knock it off, guys, that magic worked, really.."
She looked up, and her smile grew. "Yui! You're awake! You okay?"
"Yeah."
"That was insane, wasn't it?" Miaka asked.
Yui was about to reply when one of the girls took note of the new girl. "Heeey, we haven't healed you yet!" she declared, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde.
"Heeey!" the rest of the girls chorused, turning to look at her.
Yui wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she heard a chuckle from the doorway as she was rather forcefully taken to a nearby chair and the girls began to look over her, gently poking and prodding her as they had with Miaka. "What the-"
"It's okay, Yui. They're the Nyan-Nyan. Their specialty is healing!" Miaka said.
"They're the healers?!" Yui asked, twitching as they poked her again. "What are they looking for, anyway…"
"Actually, I think they like to just poke you to see if you twitch," Miaka told her seriously. Then she giggled. "What do you think, Chichiri?"
"I think that even if that's not the case then they like to do it, no da!" Chichiri replied.
"Chichiri's being mean!" one of the girls pouted.
Another clambered up into a surprised Yui's lap and looked up at her with big eyes. "Tell Chichiri he's being mean," she told the young woman.
"Uh…?" Yui blinked.
"Chichiri's being mean! Chichiri's being mean!" the others chanted, even as one of them cast a healing spell on the blonde.
"Oi, I am not, no da!" Chichiri called. "Don't make me come in there, no da!"
Miaka laughed again. "It's okay, Chichiri. We're both dressed."
The blue-haired monk, chibified, peeked into the room. "So I see, no da. Good. Taitsukun wants us all to meet in Tamahome's room."
"How come?"
"She wants us to plan on what to do next, now that we've saved your friend, no da."
Planning? I thought we were going- oh, right. Miaka said something about needing that Universe of the Four Gods thing to help her figure out stuff about her other Warriors.
"How many Seishi have you guys found?" Yui asked.
"We've got four," Miaka said. "Tamahome's one. Then there's Nuriko, Hotohori, and of course, Chichiri!"
"No da!" Chichiri gave the two of them a peace sign.
"She's fixed! She's healed! She's-" one of the Nyan-Nyans grabbed Yui's hand and turned it to look at her wrist. "She's hurt!"
"She's hurt! She's hurt!" the Nyan-Nyans began to wail, all at once.
Yui's face colored as she tried to pull back. But when she managed to free her hand, another of the Nyan-Nyan grabbed it and turned the scar into the light again. "It's nothing, really," she said desperately.
The Nyan-Nyan in her lap looked like she was on the verge of tears. Quietly, she whimpered, "Hurts. Hurts so much and Nyan-Nyan can't reach it. Nyan-Nyan can't heal."
The others whimpered in agreement.
Oh my god… they know, they know…
Yui shot Miaka a panicked look. Her friend sat on the bed, in the middle of tying her hair back, looking confused about what was so horrible about a small scar.
I can't let her know. If anyone else knew, I would… I would…
Yui yanked away, standing up. The Nyan-Nyan in her lap shrieked in surprise and tumbled on top of one of her sisters. "I'm fine, okay?" Yui snapped. "Leave it alone!"
The room became silent.
Feeling as though her face was never going to cool, Yui stormed out from underneath the pile of Nyan-Nyan, through the door, and down the hallway.
"What was that?" she heard Miaka ask worriedly.
I can't tell her. They don't have to know. It's not important… I…
"I'm sorry about the Nyan-Nyan, no da."
Yui jumped and whirled around to see that Chichiri was approaching, regarding her seriously. "Tell them to back off," she said. "I don't need them sticking their noses-"
"I know. I told them off," he said quietly. "They just get upset if there's something they can't cure."
"Can't… cure?"
He nodded. Then he smiled. "But you obviously don't want to talk about it, so let's just head over to Taitsukun, no da! I'm sure she's getting impatient by now! Gee, we're in for it for real now! I hope she just takes it out again on the Nyan-Nyan!" At her surprised expression, he frowned. "Jeez, I'm just joking, no da. I wouldn't do that to the Nyan-Nyan…"
Yui blinked, then shook her head. "No, no, it's not-"
Miaka peered around the corner. "Yui, you okay?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes. The scar's just tender, that's all. They really surprised me," Yui lied quickly.
"I guess," Miaka said uncertainly. "They definitely surprised me the first time I came here."
"You've come here before?"
"Daaaaa, can we talk as we walk? Taitsukun's getting really impatient, no da!" Chichiri complained.
"All right, all right! You're so pushy!" Miaka chided him.
"Am not, but I can be, no da!" He stepped behind her and pushed her lightly in the back.
"Hey!"
"Save that for the horses, no da. Let's get moving!"
As Yui walked and Miaka was pushed, the two girls sweat-dropped. "That's gotta be the worst pun I ever heard," Yui muttered, despite her smile.
"Oi, I could do a lot worse, no da!"
Miaka rolled her eyes.
End Chapter 2.