Disclaimer: Kohana, Momo, Piaoliang Feng, Shen Yuan, Naraku, An Hua, Ayame and Ruri are my characters. The personalities and looks of the new seishi are mine.
Red Wings of Fate
Chapter 18: One Side of the Island
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
-Conversations between twins-
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Tomo ran as fast as he could, though he really had no idea where he was going. Chiriko clung to him crying, partially in pain, partially in fear. He paused for a moment trying to gain some sort of bearing in the almost pitch black cave.
"Tomo, do you know where you're going?" He could feel her gripping tightly to his shirt.
"Anywhere those things aren't."
"We're really in trouble now…"
"Shhh." Tomo suddenly slid into a small hole in the wall. He shifted one stone and it provided a decent amount of cover. "We'll hide here…"
"They'll find us…"
"No. Now be quiet." He hissed and looked out the small window. He created another illusion of himself and Chiriko for the monsters to follow. Chiriko huddled up in a ball and hiccupped a few times in between her sobs. "Stop that. We'll get out of here. But if they hear you, we'll be trapped."
Chiriko did her best to control herself, but it wasn't helping. She was too scared. She shook her head and cried more. "I can't stop. I'm sorry Tomo, I'm gonna get us killed…"
Tomo sighed and backed away from the window. He huddled close to her. "Hold your breath."
"What?" She stared at him confused.
"Hold your breath." He said again. She barely got in a breath when he grabbed her chin and pressed his lips against hers. Her body went rigid and her eyes widened, but she didn't move. She saw him close his eyes and pull her closer.
The ground began to shake as a group of the strange bear creatures stampeded past their hiding place.
After the stampede passed, she looked at him with wide eyes and a flushed face. "Wh-why did you…?"
"I had to shut you up somehow. Now shhh." He muttered harshly. Chiriko nodded silently and just stared at him. As soon as he was sure the last one was gone, he moved the rock and climbed out. "Gimme your hand and stay quiet." She let him pull her out and cradle her again.
Chiriko tried to push his kiss out of her mind. 'Just trying to shut me up. Right. No big deal. I was making a lot of noise…and it's not like he cares about me. It was purely to save our butts.' She looked forward, trying not to think about him. "Hey, look! A hole!" She pointed to a faint glimmer of light above them, just big enough for a person.
"Well, hopefully it leads somewhere above ground. Can you pull yourself up if I push you most of the way?"
"Yeah…I should be able to." With his help, she managed to drag herself up and out of the hole. She laid on the ground quietly until Tomo popped up out of the hole. He rolled a large nearby rock in front of it to cover their escape.
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Never thought I'd be this happy to be outside."
"Yeah…I'll say." Chiriko managed a small smile. "Anyway, I think I can manage from here." She started to get up.
"Don't. If your ankle is broken, you'll only make it worse. You ougta know that." He snorted.
She glared at him. "I'm not a child you know." 'Not even out of there for one minute and he's the old Tomo…'
"I know. You're too heavy to be a kid." He smirked. "But you're acting like one."
"Then I'll walk!" She growled and made another attempt to get up.
"Seriously Chiriko, stop it! Don't put stress on your ankle!" He held her on the ground.
She stopped struggling and turned away from him. "Like you care."
"Just be quiet and stay here for a minute." He scowled. "I'm going to look and see if there are any close towns around."
Her glare softened a little. "Thanks Tomo…for…you know."
He smiled. "You're welcome." He walked out of view.
As soon as he was gone, she smiled. "I guess he's not so bad…sometimes anyway."
Something rattled in the bushes. Chiriko jerked around. "What was that?" She scooted away from the bush when it rattled again. "Stop it, you jackass!" She yelled, thinking it was Tomo. "You're not funny!"
Tomo made his way to the edge of the small forest they were in. At the bottom of a long but not steep hill was a small town. "Better go get Chiriko…" As he tuned around, he heard a scream. "Chiriko!" He hissed and ran back to where he left her.
He could see her being dragged up by a taller, stronger man. "Hey! Let her go!" He yelled as he came into the small clearing.
The man holding Chiriko looked at him. "You're in no position to make demands, little man."
"Huh?" Two more men grabbed him by the arms. "Hey! What the hell?!"
"You two are trespassers here. So we'll just kill you and have fun with your wife later." He laughed.
Chiriko fumed. "I am NOT his wife! Don't you dare call me that!" She hit the man as hard as she could.
"She's not my wife, but if you hurt her, I'll rip your throat out!" Chiriko saw a fire in his eyes she'd never seen before.
His hand was near another knife in his belt. "Who are you? You better not lie."
"Let her go first."
The boss nodded to one of the men holding Chiriko. He put a knife up against Tomo's throat. "I said, you're in no position for demands, boy."
Chiriko let out a whimper. Tomo smiled. "It's okay. Everything will be fine." She gave him a confused stare. She had no idea what he was doing but she had to trust he knew what he was doing.
"What makes you think everything is fine? You're about to die."
Tomo smirked. "Seiryuu wouldn't be happy if you killed me."
Their captors exchanged glances. "What 're you talkin' 'bout?" The man with the knife asked.
Tomo pulled his right arm free of their hold and managed to pull up the right side of his shirt. The bight blue Ti symbol flashed brightly. The men all fell back stunned when they realized who Tomo was. "Yeah, that's right. Back off." He walked over to Chiriko. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She smiled. "You scared the crap out of me you moron." She lightly hit him.
"It worked, didn't it?" He grinned and rubbed his neck. He then looked at the hunters. "As for you three…"
"We're sorry, Lord Tomo. We didn't know it was you. And we don't know who the woman is so…"
Chiriko was about to tell them who she was when Tomo held up his hand for her to be quiet. She was about to object when she realized it was best for him to deal with the people since he had a lot of authority. "Who she is is of no concern to you. All you need to know is that she's important to my current mission and to me. Her ankle is broken from a fall we had in an underground cave. Do you have a doctor around?"
They stared at each other again. "Underground cave?…The bug-bears?…But how?…" The leader looked at him. "Sir…you were in the bug-bear cave and got out alive with a wounded girl?"
Chiriko and Tomo stared at each other. "Yeah. We fell in and managed to climb out. But she needs a doctor, now." Tomo picked Chiriko up again. She made no argument.
"We have a doctor in the village. Sir, we can take her there for you."
"No that's okay. I'll carry her. You tried to kill her." Tomo protectively hugged Chiriko closer. He leaned his head close to her ear. "Let's do our best to hide who you really are, okay?" She nodded.
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"Has anyone seen Chiriko or Tomo?" Miboshi looked around. "I thought they would have caught up by now…"
"Do you think they're in trouble?" Amiboshi looked around, realizing he hadn't heard them yelling in some time.
"Tomo probably said something stupid to her after she fell." Ashitare rolled his eyes. "He's one of the most tactless people around."
"So where do you think they went?" Piao asked.
"Can you find them Chichiri?" Nuriko looked at the oldest seishi.
"I can try to find Chiriko. I'm not familiar enough with Tomo to search for him. Give me a minute." Everyone stopped. Chichiri closed her eyes, trying to sense the other seishi. After a dead silence Chichiri opened her eyes and sighed. "About the best I can get is that they…well, Chiriko at least, are north of us. Chiriko's too angry or to panicked, I can't tell, for me to pinpoint her exactly. But she isn't too far, I don't think."
"Should we go after them then? Maybe they found something important." Miboshi shrugged.
"Might as well. We've got to search villages anyway to see if anyone has information about that chant you were talking about." Chichiri looked to the north. "Maybe they stumbled onto something."
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Chiriko spent the walk to town in deep thought. 'What is with him today? He yells at me, saves my life in a cave, yells at me again then tells a bunch of hunters that 'I'm important to his current mission and to him.' And now he's all about protecting me here. I mean, what is that? Does he care or not?' She paid no attention to where she was until she felt Tomo put her on a bed.
"So what's the trouble with you wife here, my Lord?" An old man came into the room a few moments later. "Pregnant?"
Tomo groaned. "She's not my wife. She's a…a friend…and her ankle might be broken. Can you help her?"
"Well o' course. I can." He smiled. "If you'd just be so kind, Miss, as to take off your shoe and put you foot up."
Chiriko carefully pulled off her right shoe and sock. She gasped in horror when she saw her symbol glowing on her foot. Tomo bit his lip so hard he cut himself. The doctor backed away. "You…you're a Suza--"
Tomo grabbed the doctor as he was about to go for the door. "Wait. Please listen. There's a very good reason why she's here."
The doctor looked at Chiriko, who was trying to hide her foot with a blanket. "This should be interesting."
Tomo took a deep breath. "Yes, she is a Suzaku seishi. Her name is Chiriko. The reason I'm with her is because we're allied with them against a very large common enemy."
"What enemy could be so dangerous that would make Lady Nakago stoop to join forces with them? In all my years I've never heard something so…"
"Naraku." Chiriko interrupted. The old man looked at her and paled. "Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you've heard of her."
"Is she telling the truth, my lord?" The doctor looked at Tomo.
Tomo nodded. "Naraku has both our priestesses. We're here looking for a way to free them. If we don't work together…well…that's the end now isn't it?" He looked at Chiriko. "So are you gonna help her now or what?"
"Yes sir…of course. I had no idea the situation was so bad." He sat back down and got to work setting Chiriko's ankle. A little while, the doctor had Chiriko's ankle fixed into a splint and they told him the story of the cave. "Try to keep off it but if you absolutely have to walk, use crutches." He motioned for Tomo to grab a pair resting on the wall.
"So what do you charge, doc?" Tomo reached for his belt pouch.
"No, no. I couldn't take money from two seishi at a time like this. Just go save the world or what not." He smiled. "It's getting late. You two should go get some rest. You've had quite a day."
"Thank you sir." Tomo helped Chiriko to her feet and they left the doctor's house.
"Well that was nice of him. Even after he backed away from me like I had a plague…"
"Can you blame him? These people don't know what's going on."
"I know. But it's still really hard for me to be here. Do you know how hard it is for me to be quiet about who I am?"
"I can imagine." Tomo smirked.
"You jerk!" She whacked him in the back of the leg with one of the crutches.
"Ow! Hey! You want me to go down too now?" He limped for another couple of steps then got back on his feet.
"It would make me feel better." She muttered. "It's very embarrassing to be carried around by you everywhere. Thank goodness that doctor had crutches."
They went into the small inn. A girl around Chiriko's age was at the reception. "A room for you and your lady, Lord Tomo?"
Chiriko wanted to scream at the girl but once again, Tomo stopped her. "Yes. You wouldn't happen to have a room with two beds, would you? We're currently having a fight…" He said through his teeth and glared at the fuming Chiriko.
"I'm sorry sir. All the rooms with two beds are filled. We do have a room with a very large bed in it. You could sleep on opposite sides. It's down at the end of the hall."
"That'll be fine." Tomo hurried Chiriko down the hall to the open room.
As soon as Tomo closed the door, Chiriko turned on him. "What the hell do you think you're doing telling that girl we're married?!"
"Look, no matter what I say, this whole town already thinks were married. And even if I convince them we aren't they'll probably think we're sleeping together anyway since we're alone and together!"
"Oh fantastic! I get to pretend to be your wife or your whore! How will I ever choose?"
"I am trying to protect you! You think you could get a whole big group of them to stop and listen to you if you told them who you are? Do you?" His gray eyes flashed angrily. "Well?"
Chiriko desperately wanted to say something, but she knew she couldn't. He was right. He was the reason she was safe. Without him, she probably would have been dead by now. She sighed. "Okay…okay…you're right…you are the only reason I'm safe here. I'm sorry…darling…" She said the last word with a smirk.
Tomo nearly burst out laughing. "Oh jeez…even if we are faking marriage don't call me that. I'll never keep a straight face."
Chiriko smiled. "So anyway…the bed…" She looked over at the bed. "It is big enough for two…"
"I can sleep on the floor."
"The floor? Are you sure?"
"I've slept on worse. And I move in my sleep a lot. I might hit your leg."
"If you're totally sure…"
"Yeah." He grabbed a few sheets and a pillow off the bed and tossed them on the floor. "I'm gonna go look for some food. You want anything?"
"No…I'm fine. Thanks."
"Okay. Be right back."
Tomo returned in a few minutes after finding some fruit in the kitchen. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that the blankets he tossed off the bed had been made into a comfortable little makeshift bed on the floor. He looked over at Chiriko, who was already asleep. "Thanks Chiriko." He smiled and climbed into the makeshift bed.
Sometime during the night, there was a thunderstorm. Chiriko was curled up in bed, trying to block out the thunder. Just when she was almost asleep, the brightest flash of lighting and loudest crash of thunder went off. She screamed and pulled the covers over her head. Tomo sat bolt up right on the floor.
"Chiriko?!" He saw a shaking lump on the bed. "Chiriko? Are you okay?" He reached over and poked the blankets. She scooted away. "Chiriko?"
She poked her head out. "Did I wake you up? Sorry…didn't mean to…"
"Are…are you afraid of the storm?" A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"No. What makes you think that?" She squealed at another thunder crash. "Okay…maybe that…"
"How long have you been up?"
"Long enough."
"Why are you scared?"
"Because whenever there's a storm, I remember the time my parents left me alone in a storm and I got really freaked out…"
"You're not alone now." Tomo got off the floor and went to the window. "It's not really that bad with someone around is it?"
"I…I guess not…" She sat up and stared at him. "Tomo?"
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering…umm…"
"Yeah?" He looked over at her.
"Nothing. Never mind…" She blushed a little. "I guess it really isn't that bad."
They stared at each other in silence for a time. "You should get some sleep." He walked back to the bed and pulled the covers over her. As he let go her hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve. "What?"
"Stay?"
"What?"
"Will you stay? The storm still freaks me out and I feel bad about you sleeping on the floor."
"I told you it's no problem." He tried to shrug her off.
"Please?" During the next lightning strike, he saw the pleading look on her face.
"Okay, okay…I'll stay." He slipped into bed next to her.
As lay in bed, listening to the rain, she felt Tomo's breath on the back of her neck. She turned over and watched him sleeping peacefully next to her. 'He's pretty cute when he's asleep…NO! I can't think that! He's a Seiryuu seishi and I'm a Suzaku seishi…' When the thunder crashed again, she scooted closer to him, hoping he was completely asleep so he wouldn't notice. Tomo shifted a little and draped his arm over Chiriko. She blushed even though his arm was on top of the covers. 'I could have sworn he didn't care at all…'
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Amiboshi sat by a window, playing his flute in the small inn of a nearby village. They were happy to find a village before the storm broke the previous night.
Ashitare stuck his head in Amiboshi's room. "Hey flute boy, we're pretty sure we've found 'em. Get yer crap together and let's go."
Amiboshi hit a sour note when Ashitare called him flute boy. "Would it kill you to wait until I was done?"
"Would it kill you to wait until everyone is up to start playing? You're music really sucks when you have to wake up to it in wolf form." He rubbed his ear. "And watch those bad notes. My ears are sensitive." His head disappeared from view.
Amiboshi had to swallow the urge to play badly just to make Ashitare mad. He put away his flute and picked up his pack. The others were waiting outside.
"So where are we going now?"
"A fishing village a small ways from here. If we hurry we can make it there in a few hours." Chichiri hauled her bag over her shoulder and lead the way.
They got to the village in the early afternoon. Miboshi smiled when she saw the small village. "I know this place…"
"You do?" Nuriko asked.
"Barely…but yes…my grandparents used to live here. I think I've only been here a couple of times, but it is familiar." She looked around at some of the buildings. "If they are here, they're probably in the inn." Miboshi headed towards the small inn.
The same girl that Tomo and Chiriko met was at the desk again. "Hello can I help you?"
"My name is Miboshi. I was wondering if there was a man named Tomo here."
"Miboshi? Um, yes. Tomo and his wife are down at the end of the hall. If I may ask, why are the Seiryuu seishi here? This is just a small island…"
Miboshi almost choked on the words 'his wife.' Then she thought to herself that Tomo and Chiriko were probably just pretending. 'I hope anyway…' "We're looking for the village where an evil spirit came from…she stole the soul of our priestess as well as the priestess of Suzaku.
The girl stared wide-eyed at Miboshi. "R…really?"
Miboshi nodded. "I'll just be getting Tomo then…" She walked down the hall to the room the girl pointed to. She knocked. "Tomo? Are you up?" There was no answer so she knocked again. "Tomo?"
"What? Not there?" Nuriko was the first of the rest of the group to join Miboshi.
"I don't know…they aren't answering…" She knocked again. "I hope they aren't gone already."
"Let me try." Miboshi was about to object to him knocking, knowing he'd probably knock the door but it was too late. One hit and the door came right off the hinges and fell over.
"Did you have to do that?" She looked up at him.
"Ummm…oops?" He grinned. "Forgot again."
Tomo and Chiriko woke up when the door hit the floor. "What the hell?!" Tomo stared wide-eyed at the door.
"Miboshi! Nuriko!" Chiriko blushed when she saw the two seishi standing in the doorway, looking at her and Tomo in bed together. "Nothing happened!"
"Good morning to you too." Miboshi laughed.
"And here we thought you two might be in trouble." Nuriko laughed.
"Shut up Nuriko!"
"Oh jeez…" Tomo growled and got out of bed. "Wanna fix the door now that you've woken up half the village?"
"Sounds like someone didn't sleep much." Miboshi giggled.
"It's not like that!" Chiriko sqeaked.
"And that's why you told that girl you were married?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I told you that was a bad idea!" Chiriko whacked his arm. "It was all his idea!"
"Why am I getting blamed for all this?!"
"Never mind all that. Unless you two have found out anything about Naraku, we've wasted enough time here. Hurry up and get dressed." Nuriko picked up the door and set it back up.
"Well…I can't exactly hurry anywhere." Chiriko climbed out of bed and hopped over to show off her bandaged ankle. "I broke it in a fall after I fell down the hill."
"That was a while ago." Nuriko remarked. "How'd you get around?" Chiriko blushed deeply and mumbled something. "What was that?"
"I carried her around!" Tomo blurted out. Then he clamped his hand over his mouth and blushed. "Oops…" Chiriko turned even redder.
Miboshi started laughing. "I'm sure that was quite a sight. Now come on. We need to find Amiboshi and Chichiri. You should go see Mitsukake if you can."
"Okay, okay. Lemme go get dressed." Chiriko grabbed the crutches by the bed and hobbled into the small washroom with her clothes.
"If you need some help, I'm sure Tomo'd be willing." Nuriko laughed.
Tomo scowled and stomped out of the room with his clothes.
"Nuriko, you're horrible." Miboshi shook her head and smiled. "We'll be waiting outside." She called to Chiriko and dragged Nuriko back outside with her.
"Are they in there?" Ashitare asked when they appeared.
"Yeah. We caught them sleeping together." Nuriko smirked.
Chichiri raised an eyebrow. "They were what?!"
Miboshi whacked Nuriko in the arm. "They were sleeping in the same bed. Not the same thing." She crossed her arms. "Quit being perverted Nuriko."
"I was not being perverted. Chichiri was. She twisted my words."
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An Hua walked along the deck with Hime weaving around her feet. "Hime, do you think Ni-chan will come back soon? It's so boring without them here."
Hime looked up at her and meowed.
"I knew you were gonna do that." She picked up Hime and started walking back to the priestesses' room. "Come on. Let's see how Kohana and Momo-ne-chan are." An opened the door and went inside.
The two girls looked at though they were in a deep sleep. "What do you think they're thinkin' 'bout?" An sat next to Kohana not noticing a gray mist swirling around her feet.
"They're probably wondering when they'll be free." An unknown female voice answered her.
An looked up and almost screamed. A woman, probably no older than Tasuki, with long black hair and green eyes looked sadly at the priestesses. "Wh-who are you?!"
"I'm not an enemy An. Don't be afraid." The woman held out her hand.
An took a deep breath but didn't move. "I didn't ask who you weren't. I asked who you are." She stepped in between the woman and the priestesses.
"I'm Naraku's sister." She answered calmly.
An stared at her for a long time. "You do look a lot like Piao-ne-chan…what are you doing here?"
"You looked like you needed some company."
"Why aren't you helping Ni-chan and the others beat her?"
"I'm not strong enough for that…I've been dead for a long time and a cat for the past 10 years. I wish I could help fight my sister, but I'm afraid she could beat me very easily now."
"A cat? Hime?" She looked around the room and saw that Kohana's cat was gone.
She nodded. "Hime is the name Kohana gave me years ago. Just as well. I don't remember my name anymore."
"Where's that guy? The one you were supposed to marry but didn't cause of your sister?"
"I don't know where he is. I don't know if I'll ever get to see him again…maybe after Naraku is gone we can have some peace…"
"Have you been looking for her all these years?"
"Not looking so much as waiting. I knew she'd come back someday. Naraku won't stop trying to destroy the world until she either does it or someone actually destroys her. My fiancé and I didn't have the power. But now, with so many people around and two gods behind them, I believe this is Naraku's last stand."
"An, who are you talking to in here?" Suddenly the door opened and Ryuuchi looked in. "I heard voices."
An looked over to where the human Hime had been. The cat was once again sitting on the floor, licking her paw. "Just the cat." She smiled.
He smiled a little. He felt bad, thinking she was all alone on the ship. "Come on An. Lunch is ready."
"Kay." An scooped up Hime and left the room with Ryuuchi.
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Well…that chapter was like completely Chiriko and Tomo wasn't it? Didn't really mean for it to go that way. Well, the next chapter will focus on the other group. Promise.
And one of these days I should be getting a new story picture from Aiko. Wink wink Nudge nudge So check my bio page every couple of days. Once I get it, it'll be added to the list there. I'm not gonna put art work lists in chapters anymore, there will just be a permanent list on my bio.
Shadow Hawk