Disclaimer: Kohana, Piaoliang Feng, Shen Yuan, Naraku, An Hua, Ayame and Ruri are my characters. I suppose that's it.
Red Wings of Fate
Chapter 9: Changing Winds
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kohana rubbed her eyes as she began to wake up. Birds chirped loudly outside her window. She sat up in bed. Her shirt was a mess, so was her hair. Looking around, it took her a moment to realize she was home. After a quick change of clothes, she went into her sister's room. Both Ayame and Tasuki were still asleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed and gently shook her sister. "Nee-chan! I'm home. Wake up!"
At first, Ayame just waved away her younger sister's hands. Kohana let out an annoyed snort and shook harder. "Quit sleeping, nee-chan!"
Ayame suddenly opened her eyes. "Kohana!" Before she could respond, Ayame sat up and hugged her sister. "Thank goodness you're home! I was so worried! Don't do that again! Do you have any idea what your little trip into that book has done to me? How did you get here? When did you get here?"
"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Kohana returned her sister's hug. "I'm really sorry!"
Kohana and Ayame squealed back and forth about missing each other, waking Tasuki up. He smiled. Kohana saw him awake. "Ni-chan!" She shifted into the middle of the bed and hugged him too.
Tasuki returned the young girl's hug. "Hey you. How ya feeling?"
"Oh wow, am I glad to be home! Not that Konan's not cool or anything, but I missed you guys!"
"Oh! I should tell Amiboshi and Ruri that you're home. They've been looking for you too!" Ayame kicked off her blankets and ran to the phone in the other room.
Kohana looked up at Tasuki. "Has she been like that the whole time I've been gone?"
"Yep." Tasuki nodded.
"How long have I been gone?"
"Almost 2 days." Tasuki embraced the young priestess.
Kohana sighed and leaned into his arms. "Then you're really not gonna like it when I say I'm going back, are you ni-chan?"
He winced. He knew it was coming, but didn't really want to admit it. "No…not in the least. Konan's dangerous."
"I'm not defenseless. And I have people to protect me." She grabbed Tasuki's sleeve. "I have to go back!"
"I was afraid you'd say that." He stood up and looked her over. "Man…you really have grown up…"
"Then you'll accept that I'm going back?"
"Grudgingly, but yes. Naraku…she's…she's like nothing I've seen before and I've seen a lot. I'd rather never see you face her again." He put his hand on her shoulder. "But this is who you were meant to be."
"What do you mean, ni-chan?"
"The gods have always known you were going to grow up and be a priestess. That's why your wish was granted 10 years ago."
"Really?" He nodded. "Wow…that's weird…well, I suppose it makes sense. That's a lot to take in…"
"I know, but…"
"Kohana! Can you help me with breakfast?" Ayame yelled from the kitchen.
"Sure!" She looked at Tasuki. "We'll talk later?"
"Yeah. Probably with Ayame, Amiboshi and Ruri too."
"Okay." Kohana nodded and ran to join her sister in the kitchen.
Ayame was mixing a pitcher of orange juice. "Kohana?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me something."
"Sure?"
"When are you headed back there?"
"Huh?" Kohana stared at her sister.
"I know you want to go back and see your friends."
"You can tell already?"
"I'm your sister. I know these things." Ayame put down the pitcher and sat at the table. "It's written all over your face. You want to go back to Hotohori."
Kohana blushed furiously. "I…I…"
"He's part of you in more ways than one. That whole world is, I know." She smiled. "Even if I told you to stay here, you'd go."
"Well yeah…I'd feel pretty bad though…"
"Then you wouldn't be able to do everything you can for them. Spend some time at home, maybe just until this afternoon, then you can go."
"Th…thank you, nee-chan." Kohana smiled. "It means a lot to me. I thought you'd freak out a lot more." She hugged her older sister.
"My freaking out got done while you were in there the first time. I think I'm done with that." Ayame chuckled and returned her sister's hug.
Kohana laughed and they got to work on breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
White sails billowed in the strong wind. Salt water blew up from the sea and across the face of a young sailor sitting at the bow of a huge boat.
Another sailor soon accompanied the seated one. "Umi, what's up? You've been sitting there all day. The other crew members are getting a little pissed off by your lack of work."
The sailor known as Umi looked at the other. "The winds are changing. Have been for a while. We're in for a rough ride if we stay out here. I suggest we head for the mainland and find out what's been going on lately. Been a while since we had contact with the land-dwellers anyway."
"Are you sure?"
"Have I ever been not sure?" Umi stared at the black haired sailor.
"No. That's true." He started walking towards the mast.
"Ryuuji?" Umi stood up.
"Yeah?"
"It's Captain Umi. Don't forget it."
"I doubt I'll ever really get used to it…Captain." Ryuuji lowered his gold eyes and left his captain at the bow of the boat and went to give the orders to the rowers.
Umi looked up at the sky. The setting sun cast a warm crimson glow on everything. "Red sun at night, sailor's delight. So Suzaku, whatcha got for us?" A quick chuckle and Umi went to join the crewmembers and explain in more detail the sudden change in plans.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Suboshi stared at Momo's door, hand raised, ready to knock. Yet he couldn't. 'She's gonna kill me…she's gonna kill me on the spot! She hasn't even spoken to me in a week. I can't ever make up for what I did…' He almost walked away when a message from his brother appeared on the back of his hand. Don't chicken out. 'Thanks for the support, Aniki…' Suboshi took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Suboshi slowly opened the door and came in. "Oh, it's you…you knocked this time."
He winced. "Momo…I really want to apologize for that. It was a complete accident!"
"What were you doing coming into my room anyway?"
"I wanted to know if you wanted to sneak into town with me. I know palace life bores you…"
"Well…at least you had good intentions." She wouldn't face him.
"And…well…I'd understand if you told me to leave you alone, but please understand that it was an accident…"
No response came from her. Suboshi lowered his head and turned around. "Well…if that's how it is then…" Suddenly he heard a dull thud. When he turned around, he saw Momo lying on the floor, motionless, barely breathing, eyes wide with fear. "Momo!" He ran to her side and pulled her upper body into his lap. "Momo! Speak to me! Yell at me! Throw something at me! Blink! Anything!" But Momo was dead to the world. Suboshi yelled and shook her, but couldn't get a response from her. "Seiryuu help me, what's wrong with her?" In his panicked state, he didn't even notice a tear run down his cheek or the faint black glow of the dream catcher on Momo's wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hello?" Momo looked around a dark room. "Anyone here? Where is here?" She began to walk forward. A sudden force prevented her from going anywhere else. "Huh?" She changed direction, but was immediately stopped by another invisible wall. When she check the other sides, the same. She was boxed into an area of about 9 square feet.
She began to feel sick. "Hello!?!? Someone, please help me!!!" She pounded on her invisible barriers. "Please! Let me out!" She hated small spaces. Ever since she was a child, she couldn't stand small, enclosed spaces.
She heard a female voice laughing. "I just love toying with prey."
"Who's there?!?!?" Her voice quickened in her panic. "Let me out or you'll be sorry!!!" Somewhere, in the unpanicked portion of her mind, the voice was familiar.
Suddenly, the floor dropped from beneath her and she began falling. Fear, panic, anger, sadness, confusion…all emotions mixed into her scream.
When she landed, she found herself unhurt and somewhere near a lake on a bright day. "Great…now where am I?" She tried to sound angry instead of scared.
"Could you be any more worthless?" A spiteful voice grabbed her attention. She turned and saw someone that looked and sounded like Kohana, only her eyes were red. "Is it any wonder I never wanted to be friends with you?" She laughed.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"I'm Kohana, idiot. Who do I look like?" She rolled her eyes. "No wonder Suboshi hates you."
"Wha?"
Suboshi suddenly walked up next to Kohana. "I hate you Momo. You're such a bitch. I do one little thing wrong and you can't even find it in your heart to forgive me. Oh wait, you don't have a heart, do you?" He asked with a sneer.
"Why…why are you acting like this?"
"Who's acting? As soon as we get rid of you, I can be the new, appropriate priestess of Seiryuu. Then Suboshi and I can have some fun together." Kohana wrapped her arms around Suboshi's neck.
"S…stop it! What's going on?! You two don't even know each other!" Momo started to cry and fell to her knees.
"How naïve." Suboshi muttered and gave Momo a swift kick in the ribs.
She yelped and fell to the ground. It hurt this time. "Please stop being like this…"
"They're just being the way they should be." A hand appeared on Kohana's right shoulder and another on Suboshi's left. A face emerged from the shadows, Naraku. "Weak little girl…kill her."
Momo's face twisted in shock and fear. How could the same kind girl from the market be attacking her like this? She got up and started to back away. "Get away from me!"
Suboshi began to approach her. A sword made of black metal materialized in his hand.
Kohana laughed maliciously. "I've been waiting for this for a long time now!"
Suboshi swung the sword in a vicious arc, slicing into Momo's stomach. She cried in pain. It stung. It burned. It hurt in every way imaginable. She stared at the blood on her fingers. 'Is this it? Is this real?' She asked herself.
"Of course it's real. Prepare to meet your doom, girl." Naraku laughed.
Momo closed her eyes and waited her Suboshi's next and final blow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kohana nearly cried when she heard Ayame read about the mind games Naraku was playing with her. "Dammit! And I can't even help her! Why's Naraku going after her? Momo hasn't done anything!"
"Naraku doesn't need a reason. She just attacks." Amiboshi frowned. "Momo's…vulnerable right now…she doesn't understand the Universe of the Four Gods. Nor does she understand own her feelings. It makes her an easy target."
Kohana made a fist. "And Naraku wonders why people hate her…she…I wish there was something I could do…"
Ruri gave Kohana's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "She'll figure out that it's not real." 'I hope.'
Kohana's head jerked up. She suddenly thought of something and ran from the room for a second.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Suboshi stared at Momo. "Come on you…please just do something…you're really scaring me…"
He touched her cheek. Her skin was so cold. He picked her up and put her back on the bed. Something above him caught his attention. He looked up at the dream catcher on the wall. The strings glowed with a strong, eerie black light. "What the?"
Suboshi frowned and went to grab it. When his hand came closer, a cold flame snapped out at his hand. He cringed and looked down at Momo. "Gotta get rid of that thing, you know?" He wrapped his arms around her. "What can I do to make you wake up?"
He ran his fingers through her hair and leaned in closer to her. Suboshi shivered slightly when he felt how cold her lips felt against his.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Momo continued to wait for the blade, but she never felt it. She looked up and saw Suboshi…times two.
The red-eyed Suboshi growled as the normal Suboshi held the black sword away from Momo.
"Suboshi…and…Suboshi?" She groaned in confusion.
"Don't tell me someone wants to save you…" Kohana sneered.
"More than one!" Suddenly, the red-eyed Kohana fell over. The blue-eyed Kohana stood over her doppelganger, baseball bat in hand. It faded away in a cloud of black smoke. "Come on Momo." She smiled and offered her hand to Momo.
"How…how did you get here?" She took Kohana's hand.
"Amazing what a pen can do to a book." Kohana supported Momo.
Suboshi wrestled the sword away from his clone and stabbed it. It let out a howl and dissipated into smoke like the other. The sword dissolved into dust. He looked at Kohana. "Who are you?"
"She's a…friend…" Momo gave a weak smile.
Naraku screamed. "Forget about me?!"
"You're pretty forgettable." Kohana frowned. "You're not gonna win Naraku, whatever your plan is."
"Naraku?" Suboshi and Momo were both confused.
"To make a long story short, the vengeful spirit of a long dead magician."
"So, you've found my story. Then you know you can't get rid of me." She shrugged. "Well, I've had my fun for now. You can have your peace." She extended her arms and disappeared.
"No!" Suboshi ran at the spot where Naraku was. "Come out and fight!"
"Suboshi…" Momo staggered over to her seishi.
"Hey! What are you doing? You're hurt!" He caught her as she almost fell.
"I'm sorry!" She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch about one little accident." She cried.
He embraced her. "It doesn't matter. Right now, we've gotta find a way outta here."
"Just wake up. This is Momo's dream." Kohana walked up to them.
"How do you know?" Momo stared at her.
"Because technically, I'm in our world right now reading the book. I'm here cause I kinda added to the book…" She grinned. "Want me to get anything from home for you that I can give to you when I come back here?"
"N…no…thanks for the offer though…" As Kohana began to leave, Momo remembered something. "Kohana!"
"Yeah?"
"Why are you planning to attack Kutou?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not attacking anyone? Why would I? You know I'm not that violent."
"Never mind…dumb question…" She shook her head. "See ya later."
"Later!" Kohana smiled and ran off into the darkness, disappearing as mysteriously as she came.
"Was that the priestess of Suzaku?"
"Yeah…Kohana…" She nodded.
"Come on. Let's get back to the palace." He wrapped his arm around her waist.
She nodded and pressed her body into his. She closed her eyes and felt their bodies pulled out of the darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kohana smiled as she finished off her new section of the book. "There. Now everything's right."
'I wonder if that was a good idea.' Tasuki thought to himself.
Ayame noticed the look on his face. She ignored it and looked at Kohana. "So, wanna get ready to go?" She nodded and went to her room. Ayame watched her gather a few things together. "It's funny…"
"What is?" Kohana stopped with her roller blades in her hands.
"You…you remind me of Mom. She probably would have already been back in there…"
"R…really?"
"Really." Ayame smiled. "They'd be proud of you."
"I wish I could have known them…"
"So do I." Ayame handed Kohana a sweatshirt. "But for now, kick some demon butt."
"Thanks, nee-chan."
After a few last preparations, Kohana said her goodbyes to Ayame, Ruri, Tasuki, Amiboshi, the twins and her nephew. She picked up the book. "Well, be back when I can." A red light engulfed her and she was gone.
Tasuki missed her as soon as she was gone. 'Suzaku, keep her safe…'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Suboshi felt Momo's lips warming against his. He pulled away a little and looked at her eyes.
She blinked a few times. "Suboshi…"
"Momo…"
"Thanks for coming for me…"
"Anything to protect you…" He murmured before gently kissing her again.
She curled up in his arms. "Again…I'm so sorry for treating you so badly…"
"I should have knocked…"
She buried her face in his shoulder. "It was an accident…"
He gently touched her stomach. He felt no blood. "You're okay…"
"I don't think it was real…she was…playing with my head…"
Suboshi studied her face. "Promise you won't scare me like that again?"
"Okay…" Momo curled up in his arms. "I promise." Suboshi's embrace was surprisingly comforting. She almost wished she didn't have to leave, but other things had to be done. "Suboshi?"
"Yeah?"
"We have to get rid of that dream catcher."
"Yeah…it was glowing black before…"
"Was it? I never should have taken it."
"You didn't know…"
She pulled it off the wall. "How should we get rid of it?"
"We can burn it in the fire in the temple of Seiryuu."
"Sounds good." They left the room and headed to the shrine.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"UF!!!" Kohana landed with a thud. "Ow…" She was on her back, staring up at the open morning sky. 'Okay…where am I now? Hmmm…' She looked around. 'Okay…I'm somewhere just outside the city…'
She picked herself up. "Well, guess I better head to the palace." She could see the outline of some of the taller areas of the palace.
She pulled the hood on her sweatshirt up and went into town. She went around unnoticed. People were too busy with their own lives to notice anyone else. Kohana saw the main steps and happily began to run up. A sword blade flashed in front of her when she reached the top.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
She jerked her head up. "Hey! It's just me!"
"Oops! Sorry Kohana!" Shen smiled sheepishly. "Didn't notice it was you."
"Just doing your job." She smiled and hugged him. "How's Piao? Heck, how's everyone? How long have I been gone?"
"About a week maybe? Give or take a few days I think. We were all wondering when you were coming back."
"Well, here I am. Feeling better and ready to do…whatever it is priestesses do."
"Should I go tell Hotohori?"
"Nah. I'll find him myself. Where is he?" She put down her bag and pulled out her roller blades.
"He's…probably in his room…what are those?" He watched as she started to put them on.
"Roller blades." She answered promptly as she snapped the last clasp shut and stood up. "See ya later." And with a quick push, she was gliding down the hall.
"Gotta wonder sometimes…" Shen murmured to himself.
"Bout what?" Piaoliang came out of a room with an armful of dirty sheets.
"Kohana's back."
"She is?" Piao perked up.
"Yeah. She's going to look for Hotohori."
"Of course that's her first stop." She smiled and tossed the sheets back into the room.
"Should we follow?"
"Of course!" She smiled and they began walking in the direction Kohana went.
"Hotohori? I'm back! You around?" She shouted as she sped around the halls. "Hotohori?!"
She looked in every open door she could. "Hotohori?"
Her calls finally reached Hotohori. "Kohana?" A door opened and he stepped out into the hall. Unfortunately, he stepped out right in front of Kohana.
She yelped and tried to stop. But it was too short a distance to stop and she crashed right into him. They both fell to the ground. Kohana blushed. She couldn't believe she was lying on top of him. "Whoops…ummm…told you I'd be back?" She giggled.
He chuckled and brushed the hair away from her face. "Been waiting for you."
"Well, here I am."
Hotohori ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her face closer to his. They almost kissed when someone clapping interrupted them. Kohana's head jerked up. Piaoliang and Shen were standing nearby watching them. Piaoliang was applauding. Kohana blushed.
"Hi Piao!"
"Havin' fun?"
A little girl's laughter suddenly rose up. "Kohana nee-chan!" An Hua came running down the hall. She very unceremoniously jumped on top of Kohana. "Are we playing a game?"
"Sure An." Kohana giggled.
"An Hua! What are you doing?" Nuriko ran up to them.
"Playing!" She giggled.
"What an interesting game." Chichiri was coming down the hall with Tamahome. "I missed this one when I was a kid." She chuckled.
Tamahome said nothing.
"It's a every fun game. Dog pile on the emperor." Kohana grinned.
An Hua giggled. Hotohori did his best to look somewhat dignified, even with the 16-year-old and 10-year-old on top of him. Nuriko picked up his little sister and helped Kohana up. An Hua sat on her brother's shoulders.
"So, now that I'm back, what is it exactly that I'm supposed to do? I'm supposed to find seishi or something right?"
"We can get into that later." Hotohori answered as he smoothed out the wrinkles in his robes. "You just got back. We don't have to get back to work right away."
"Okay. Gotta catch up on palace gossip anyway." Kohana grabbed Piaoliang's hand and dragged her down the hall. Poor Piao had a bit of a tough time keeping up with her, but Kohana slowed down after a bit and made it easier for her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Momo sat among some flowers in the palace gardens with a scroll containing ancient legends of this world. She scanned the characters looking for any mention of a spirit named Naraku. There had to be some way to defeat her, right? Or at least a clue about something. Though she had some difficulty reading ancient Chinese, she could stumble though it.
A sudden rustle in the leaves caught her attention. She looked around. Nothing. She scanned a few more lines.
Another noise.
This time she stood up. "Nakago? Soi? You out here?" Another snap. Closer this time. "Amiboshi? Suboshi? Are you trying to freak me out?" 'Why do I keep getting attacked?' The snap was louder and again, closer.
"Who's there? This isn't any way to treat the priestess of Seiryuu!" She spoke nervously.
Her questions were answered suddenly. When it came, she almost wished it hadn't. She found herself staring at the biggest, strongest, blackest wolf she'd ever seen.
Gleaming white fangs peeked out from underneath its lips. They were the only color except for its blue eyes against the glossy black fur coat. The wolf began to approach her, eyeing her carefully.
"Nice doggy…good doggy…don't eat me…" She backed up a little. "Please?"
The wolf continued on towards her. Desperately trying to remember some sort of safety tip, she crouched into a little ball and covered her head with her hands. At least if the wolf attacked, it would bite her arms, not her head. She closed her eyes hoping for the best.
The wolf soon stood right in front of her. After contemplating her for a moment, the wolf put its nose against her forearm and pushed her backwards. Not prepared for that, Momo lost her balance and tumbled backwards, right into a pond. Landing with a splash and a few curses she glared at the wolf. "What the hell is the matter with you?!?!" She angrily slapped the water, splashing the wolf, not caring now if it attacked her. It made no move from the shore though.
In fact, it had a rather mischievous look in its eyes. To Momo, it looked like it was…laughing? "Hey you! Are you laughing at me?" She stood up in the water. "I already had a bath today you know!"
The wolf sat down on its hind legs. To her amazement, it started to change. Within a minute, a black haired young man with clear blue eyes was sitting cross-legged on the shore, chuckling at her. He couldn't have been much older than her, definitely not as old as Nakago or Soi. "Priestess huh? Well, Seiryuu is the god of water. It suits you, Lady Priestess." He leaned back in the grass and let out a louder laugh. Pearly white fangs shone brightly in the sun.
"Why you…" She grabbed a fistful of mud and plants and flung it at the man. "Who do you think you are?!?!"
"Not gonna ask me what I am?" He asked, interested she wasn't more interested in his transformation. He gingerly wiped the dark mud off his face.
"I don't care." She growled as she stormed out of the water. "You could be Seiryuu himself, I'll still kick you sorry ass for that!!! You scare the crap outta me for no reason, push me into a pond and then laugh at me?! Now I'm pissed!" She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to his feet.
"Can't hurt me too much Lady Priestess. Otherwise you'll be minus one seishi." He chuckled and stood up. "It's going to be very amusing being here."
Momo's jaw dropped. "You…you're a seishi? One of mine?"
He bowed. "Ashitare. Some soldiers were sent to find me a while ago."
Momo's blood boiled. "So you greet me by pushing me into the pond?!" She flung him into the pond. "Seiryuu, god of the water. It suits you, Shichiseishi Ashitare." She said smugly.
Ashitare chuckled again as he got out of the water, completely soaked. "Now I know I'm gonna like it here." He transformed himself back into a wolf and shook off the water.
"Fine…might as well introduce you to the others…"
"Umm…Lady Momo? Are you…alright?" A rather confused male had entered the pond. "Why are you…did you go for a swim?" He held in a chuckle.
"Ha, ha, Soi." Momo sighed. "New seishi decided to amuse himself but scaring me then knocking me into the water." She glared at the wolf.
"New seishi? Where?"
"Here." She pointed to the wolf. "He's Ashitare. He can turn into a human and back again."
"Does he sit and shake paws with people or should I wait?"
Momo giggled. Ashitare looked rather indignant. She pat his head. "Now I know I'm gonna like you being here." Ashitare whined, letting her know she won. "Well, should we tell Nakago about the new addition? I'm getting some fresh clothes first."
Soi and Ashitare nodded and followed her back to the palace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kohana looked over Hotohori's shoulder as he pulled out the scroll that told of how to find the remaining seishi. She didn't understand any of it, but figured Hotohori or someone else would read it for her. "So this tells us where the seishi are?"
"Roughly."
"So we go out and find them?"
"We could, or we could send soldiers to places to find them."
"I don't wanna send soldiers! I wanna see the rest of the country."
"It could be dangerous."
"So? I could use some adventure. Maybe we can find out some stuff about Naraku too."
"I suppose."
"It's not like I have anything to worry about as long as you're with me." She smiled gently.
"You know exactly how to get your way don't you?" He chuckled.
"Always have." She sat with him on the bed.
"Well, we'll start making preparations to leave then. The sooner the other 3 are found, the better."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Momo growled at the scroll she was looking at. The only word she could make out about Naraku was 'power'. 'Damn you for being so un-understandable!' She desperately wished for a Chinese to Japanese dictionary.
Nakago happened to be walking by the palace archives door. 'That'll work.' "Nakago!" She ran after the general with the scroll.
"Yes, my Lady?"
"What's this say?" She handed over the scroll.
Nakago looked it over. "'Legends speak of the vengeful spirit's power contained in the crystal pendant that hangs from her neck.' May I ask why you are looking at ancient legends?" Nakago raised one eyebrow as she handed back the scroll.
"Ummm…curiosity?" She offered and took back the scroll. "Thanks." She quickly went back into the archives and shut the door.
Nakago was a little surprised by her actions. Soi happened to be walking down the hall. "Soi?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"Have you noticed Lady Momo acting…oddly?"
"Personally I don't know what normal is for her, but she does seem a little, different today…" Soi produced a scroll from his belt. "I found this in the gardens after Ashitare came."
Nakago skimmed it. It was a scroll completely dedicated to Naraku. "What do you make of it?"
"I don't know. It's odd…"
"Yes…well, thank you for the information."
"To serve you, my Lady." He began to bow.
"Save it Soi." She snapped at him. "I'm not one of those prissy court women. Don't treat me as such." She frowned.
"Of course." Soi's amber eyes reflected the dim lights of the hall.
Nakago looked Soi over for a moment. "Thank Seiryuu you're not like them…"
"Like who?" He gave her a funny look.
"Every imbecile in this rotten palace." She headed down the hallway in the opposite direction of the one Soi had been going in before she stopped him.
Soi wasn't quite sure what Nakago meant by her words, but was happy she thought something of him. He had to admit he had been attracted to the powerful woman since he came to the palace. Perhaps even before then, when he heard people talk about her in the inns he'd roamed among. He'd always hoped for a chance to meet her. She was everything people claimed her to be: beautiful, powerful, brilliant, cunning, the driving force of Kutou. Many people would like to see her on the throne. Though not their worst emperor, the current emperor of Kutou did leave much to be desired. He was kind, yet had no control of his country.
Soi smiled to himself. Though not a typical compliment, he knew Nakago's words were meant to be taken to heart.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Come on ni-chan!! I wanna come too!" An Hua jumped up and down, angry with her brother.
"An, you can't. It's way too dangerous!" Nuriko knelt down to his sister's height. "I don't want you getting hurt."
"PLEASE?!?!?" She got teary eyed. "I don't want you to go away again! I got real lonely!"
Kohana watched Nuriko fight a losing battle with his sister. They planned on leaving for the country in the morning, but An Hua wasn't to keen on the idea. Hime sat at Kohana's feet, watching the seishi and his little sister.
"I wanna see the rest o' Konan! Please?!?!?" She sniffled.
"But what happens if something bad happens?"
"You can protect me. You're the strongest guy ever!"
"So what's the score?" Chichiri stood next to Kohana.
"An Hua: 10, at least. Nuriko: a big fat nothing." She smiled.
"Figures. Guy's helpless when it comes to dealing with little girls."
"What guy knows how to deal with us?"
"True." Chichiri smiled. "Nuriko, can I speak to you for a moment?" She beckoned to him with her finger.
"What?" He came over.
Kohana went to keep An Hua company. "You wanna go with us huh?"
"Yeah! But ni-chan's being mean!"
"He's just worried. It's what big brothers do."
"Does your big brother?"
"Yeah. In his own way. So does my sister."
"So you think I shouldn't come with?"
"I didn't say that. I want you to come with, but Nuriko's in charge, you know?"
"Yeah." She shifted from foot to foot.
Chichiri quickly finished off her deal with Nuriko. Nuriko came back over. "An?"
"Yeah?" She ran over to him.
"You can come with on one condition."
"What? I'll do what you want! I just wanna come!"
"You can, but if things get bad, you have to go with Chichiri. She'll take you someplace safe."
"Okay!" An Hua did a little dance. "I get to come!"
Kohana giggled. "Well, that made her day." Hime's tail flicked back and forth.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The company rode for two weeks before arriving at their destination. It was a small port town on the ocean. Rumor had it that pirates sometimes docked there.
They rented a couple of rooms at the inn and went to eat. The dinning area was filled with rowdy men and tough bar maids that kept them in line. Despite how mean they looked, most of them were pretty nice. An Hua made friends with a lot of them, almost giving Nuriko a heart attack when she kept disappearing. The ones one should stay away from were sitting in corners.
An Hua took a particular interest in one person sitting at the bar, all alone, sipping a drink.
She walked over and hopped up onto the counter. "Hi! I'm An Hua!" She greeted cheerfully. Hime rubbed her head against the man's leg.
"Hi. Umi."
"Are you here alone?"
"Are you?"
"I asked first." She stuck out her tongue.
The man chuckled. "No, I'm not here alone." He pulled a scarf up over his face, letting only his blue eyes show. "Are you?"
"Nah, I'm with my brother and a bunch of friends."
"Why aren't you with them?"
"I've been making a lot of friends today." She smiled proudly.
"Careful who you make friends with. Some of these guys are dangerous."
"Are you?"
He chuckled again. "Dunno. Maybe a little."
"Don't look dangerous."
"Looks can be deceiving." He shrugged. An Hua studied him for a moment. "What"
"Nothin'. You just seem…different." She remarked quietly. A sudden crash caught their attention. The man turned around. One of the drunker men in the area was hassling a barmaid. She had thrown her tray for food at him and started beating on him.
Umi, disgusted with the man, crossed the room in what seemed like a few steps. An Hua went back to join her brother and the others.
"What did I tell you about getting drunk you moron?" Umi grabbed the drunken man by the collar.
"Huh?" He was just too drunk.
"Leave the bar maids alone!" He yelled and pushed the man back into a chair.
The man tipped out of his chair and onto the floor. "Sure boss…" He muttered, very slurred.
Umi looked at some of the others in the bar. "I'm going to my room. If I get even one complaint about how you all acted, you've all got double clean up duty. Am I clear?" His hard eyes seemed to be accented by the fact that they were the only part of his face that was visible.
"Yeah, boss…" The men nodded. Most were content to obey, but a few other grumbled about being ordered around.
Umi left the room.
"Wow…what a crowd…I can't believe there's a seishi around here." Piaoliang huddled close to Shen.
"I'll say. That one guy seems pretty decent though." Kohana watched him leave.
"Umi's really the greatest." A maid came around to take some dishes from their table.
"Umi?" Hotohori asked.
"You people never heard of Umi? You from inland?"
"Is that a problem?" Nuriko was the next to speak up.
"Nah. Just odd. What are a bunch of inlanders doing here? Can't imagine what you'd want out here."
"We're looking for someone." Tamahome answered. "So who is Umi?"
She sighed happily. "He's the captain of the Blue Phoenix. And what a guy he is…"
"Isn't that a pirate ship?" Chichiri asked, being the most well traveled of the group.
"Yep, finest ship ever built. Umi's the best thing that ever happened to that ship. He's made it successful and respectable."
"How can a pirate be respectable?" Shen asked, curious.
"Umi's nice. Leave him alone." An Hua pouted.
"How would you know?" Nuriko looked at his sister suspiciously.
"I was talkin' to him."
Nuriko sighed. "You can't stay in one place, can you?"
"Nope!" She giggled happily.
"Suzaku help me." Nuriko rolled his eyes.
The bar maid smiled and left the table.
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms. It was late, but Kohana and Piao insisted on taking a bath before going to bed.
After cleaning up, they headed to their room. Unfortunately, there were some people who would rather they didn't make it there. Kohana only vaguely comprehended the arm gripping her waist as she fell unconscious with a cloth over her mouth. Piaoliang suffered the same fate.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chichiri tapped her foot on the floor. Something wasn't right. She hadn't heard any noise coming from Piao and Kohana's room. They couldn't have possibly gone to sleep already. She got up from her chair and went to the other room. She opened the door.
"Kohana?" The room was dark. "Piaoliang?" She lit a lamp on the table. It was completely empty. She bit her lip and went to the Hotohori and Shen's room. Nuriko, Tamahome and An Hua were sitting there too. "Have you guys seen Piao and Kohana?"
"Not since dinner. Why?" Hotohori stood up.
"I don't know where they are. Their room is empty." She looked worried.
"What?" Shen got up.
"I went to check on them and they were gone."
"Could they have gone out?" Tamahome offered. Everyone knew they had a tendency to explore.
"But not without telling someone, right?" Nuriko murmured.
They all went to the room. It was indeed completely empty except for Hime sleeping near the window. Nuriko decided it would be better for An Hua to leave and Chichiri took her to Tai Itsukun's palace and stayed there with her. They began to look around the room.
"You're not going to find your friends like that." The 4 men turned towards the door. Umi stood in the doorway.
"You…what do you know?" Hotohori growled.
"Your friends are probably on the Blue Phoenix. Seems like some of the crew members liked 'em."
"Aren't you the captain?"
"More like was. Even if the people in town like me, the crew is…well, less fond of me."
"What for?"
"They have their reasons…" Umi adjusted the scarf across his face.
"Can you help us find them?" Tamahome asked.
"Are you willing to trust a pirate like me?"
"Do we have a choice?" Shen growled.
"Good answer. Come on." He beckoned for them to follow. They headed for the port where the Blue Phoenix was still docked. "You all are going to have to listen to me or else your friends will end up in more trouble. Here's how this is gonna work…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Another long chapter…there's just no place to break these things. Oh well, no one's complaining.
What do you guys think of the Seiryuu seishi? No one's really commented on them. Are they okay? Do they need changes? Anything at all?
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~