Keiko woke with a gasp. She couldn't breathe. Something was filling up her mouth, chocking her. She struggled weakly and began to cough.
"That's it," a voice said. "Cough. Bring it up."
Keiko turned her face into the pillow beneath her head and coughed until she thought she'd throw up. She gagged and swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She held her whole body tense, waiting to either cough again or throw up. She did neither and sagged back onto the thin futon beneath her. Gentle hands began to rub her back as she lay shaking. She turned and found a strange man kneeling at her side.
"Dare?" she whispered.
The man smiled. "My name is Liang. I'm a wandering healer."
Keiko sat up suddenly, setting the whole room spinning around her. She supported herself with one hand while the other held her head. When the world stopped she looked around.
"Chichiri–" she began.
Liang pointed to a dark corner where a figure huddled beneath a worn blanket.
"He's sleeping. He wanted to wait until you woke up, to make sure you were alright, but his body wouldn't let him. He's very weak right now."
The healer turned and picked up a cup of water and offered it to Keiko. She took it gratefully and sipped the cool liquid. Liang frowned.
"I told them not to use so much of the sleeping draft," he said. "A little will put a normal person to sleep for a few hours, but too large a dose can kill. It's lucky that I had the antidote made up before you arrived."
Keiko nodded and then gave a violent shiver. She pulled the blanket up around her shoulders.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"In the mountains a few leagues from Eiyou. There used to be a village here, but when Kutou attacked, years ago when the Suzaku no Miko was here, the village was abandoned and no one has come to reclaim it yet."
Again Keiko nodded as she looked to where Chichiri lay.
"This won't be good for his cold," she said.
"That's why I'm here," Liang said with a sigh. "I'm supposed to keep him alive while they wait for the ransom money."
Silence fell over the small room as they each retreated into their thoughts. Liang smiled and rose after a moment.
"Would you like anything to eat?"
Keiko nodded and Liang left. Keiko stood and gathered the blanket into her arms. She walked to where Chichiri lay and gently placed the blanket over him. He turned toward her and gave her a smile.
"You're awake?" a startled Keiko asked.
"Sort of," he said with a grin.
Keiko smiled back and placed her palm on his forehead, checking his temperature.
"How do you feel?"
"All things considered, I feel pretty good."
Keiko's smile faded and she pulled her hand away.
"I'm sorry," she said, not able to look at him. "They used me to get to you."
"It's not your fault," the scarred warrior said. He chuckled. "I think you surprised them by figuring out what they were up to."
"Small comfort that," she said, turning to give him a wan smile.
Chichiri's laugh turned into a racking cough that left him gasping for breath.
"Daijoubu?" Liang called from the doorway.
Chichiri nodded weakly. "Hai."
Liang walked to where they were and set down two bowls of noodles and vegetables, handing the chopsticks to Keiko.
"You two eat. I'll go get some more for me."
The healer turned and left again. Keiko helped Chichiri sit up and handed him a bowl.
"This is pretty good," Keiko said after a few bites.
Chichiri nodded as he picked at his food. Keiko put her hand on his forehead again.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
He grinned. "I haven't been very hungry lately."
Keiko gave him a dubious look and went back to her food. Chichiri placed his bowl on the floor and watched her as she ate. She glanced at him and caught him watching. He colored slightly and leaned back against the wall, closing his eye. They sat in silence as Keiko finished her meal.
"Chichiri-san?"
The warrior made a slight face at her use of the honorific. He opened his eye and gave her a small smile. Keiko blushed.
"I wasn't sure if you were awake. Are you finished with your meal?"
"Aa," he affirmed.
"I'll take your bowl outside then."
Keiko gathered the bowls and chopsticks and stood. She made her way to the door of the small room and opened it, stepping outside and quickly shutting it to keep as much cold out as she could. The sound of steel scraping against something made her look up. Gathered around the small building Keiko had walked out of was a group of about twenty men. Two of the men near her had risen and drawn their swords.
"At ease men," a large, bearded man said.
Keiko vaguely remembered him from the palace. The men with drawn swords resheathed the weapons and resumed their seats. The bearded man walked forward and stopped a few feet from Keiko.
"What can I do for you, hime-sama?" the man asked, offering a mocking bow.
Keiko felt her back stiffen and her anger rise at the man's mocking tone.
"I thought I'd return these to you," she said, holding out the bowls.
"Hime-sama returns her own bowls," one of the men called.
The men laughed and Keiko felt her face color. The bearded man turned and yanked the nearest man to his feet.
"Take the bowls and get them clean," he ordered.
The man nodded and walked to Keiko. She held the bowls out, not liking the sly look in the man's eyes. He offered a mocking bow and reached for the bowls. He grabbed her wrist instead and pulled her up against him. Keiko let out a startled cry and then rammed the heal of her foot down onto the man's foot. He let her go with a grunt and she shoved him away, throwing the bowls at him for good measure.
"Our hime-sama knows how to fight," one of the men laughed.
"She's a feisty one," another man called.
Liang appeared at Keiko's side.
"Don't you have anything better to do than terrorize captives, Cho-Yen?" the healer asked.
The bearded man gave Liang a glower, and the healer matched him gaze for gaze. Cho-Yen looked away first.
"Bah! Take her back into the shrine. She's your charge as well as the warrior."
Liang offered a slight bow and took Keiko's elbow, guiding her back to the door of the shrine. She pulled away and turned back to Cho-Yen.
"We'll need another blanket," she said. "Chichiri-san needs to keep warm, so I gave him mine."
The bandit leader grinned. "As you command, hime-sama."
Keiko turned back to Linag and saw the twinkle in his eyes. She smiled at him and stepped back into the small shrine.
