YES! I can finally update! YAY YAY YAY! My account if officially unfrozen! Damn; I've pretty much gone crazy without being able to update!
Okay; here's chapter 5 and I hope you people have liked the previous chapters so far…
Reader's response:
Pil-Z: Yay! I'm glad you like it! I'm sure Shizuka will be glad too:)
Aderine no miko: Hm…that's a good idea; maybe I'll add it at the end of next chapter, k?
Mint Drop: …-.-; chocolate….mmmm…find, since everyone is so confused, I'll make a characters' info thingie at the end of this chapter or at the end of the next chapter!
InuyashaFushigiYugifan: Well, glad you liked it! And thanks for reviewing!
Taimos: Thanks; hope you keep reading!
Enjoy!
Shiriko and Kyri's house was nothing like what you'd expect a witch's house to be. Koukaku entered the door hesitantly, expecting to see chains on the walls, human-shaped boxes filled with spikes, and maybe a skeleton or two. But there was no such thing. The first room he entered reminded Koukaku very much of Ryou's house. It was a simple entry hall. No pickled frogs or rats floating around in jars. Not a single trace of poor souls struggling to be freed, not even when they moved into what appeared to serve as the kitchen.
Kyri glanced back and noticed Koukaku searching the room. She grinned, "We're witches not demons. Stop looking around like that. It's creepy. I'm scared I've left something out you shouldn't see."
"Like some poor farmer's shriveled hand?" Koukaku asked angrily.
"No…more like dirty clothes or something like that."
"Oh." Koukaku stopped to think. "Okay. What are we in here for?"
Kyri was busy poking around in all sorts of cabinets and drawers. She came out with her arms full and swiftly unburdened herself upon a stunned Koukaku. "We're getting supplies. I explained that already." She disappeared again, only to emerge seconds later with yet more stuff. Finally, after three or four more trips around the kitchen for her things, Kyri appeared to be ready to go.
Koukaku struggled under the mountain of supplies Kyri suddenly dumped into his arms. "Why do I have to carry so much?" he asked grumpily, staring at the practically non-existent pile in her arms. Kyri gave him a innocent smile, "Well, Koukaku, you insisted on coming along. Don't start complaining just because you have to do a little work. You are the man around here."
Koukaku rolled his eyes at her. It wasn't like she couldn't carry all this if she put her mind to it. He'd seen the muscles in her arms when she picked something up. She might be stronger than him.
"Now, none of that frowning! It doesn't suit you," Kyri grinned. Koukaku glared at her, and she stared back innocently. Almost against his will, a grin split his face. It was hard not to smile while having some sort of staring/glaring contest. He laughed. Especially with Kyri. She just looked so damn innocent…
He stopped laughing, however, when he heard the crash of an object. He glanced quickly at Kyri who was standing over a broken herb container. Instead of cleaning it up, she just stood there staring out the window. Koukaku peered out the window trying to find out what was so interesting that Kyri would let a pot just drop. There didn't seem to be much of interest. Then he saw a startlingly black wolf sitting beneath a tree. Not three feet away, Koukaku barely caught a glimpse of a bushy red-orange and white tail disappearing into the forest. He wondered if it was the proximity of these animals or the fact that they looked normal that had Kyri worried. Suddenly, Kyri sprung to life.
"C'mon! We have to get back!" she yelled, running off, being careful not to drop anything else. Koukaku was startled and almost let the whole load fall to the ground. With a muttered oath at Kyri, he started after her. Hopefully, this time he wouldn't get lost.
"What's the rush?" he yelled.
"They're in danger!"
"Who!" he gasped. It was hard to juggle all the things he had and keep up with her at the same time. He winced as he heard something smash against the ground somewhere behind them. Kyri never even slowed.
"Ryou, Ling, their mother, the villagers…" Kyri listed calmly.
"H-how do you know!" he frowned and tried to speed up. What kind of trouble…? "Hey, what about Shiriko? Isn't she with them?"
"'Riko can take care of herself fine. If I had to be worried, I'd be more worried about her opponent. That is, if she's decided to defend everyone. She could be gone for a walk or some such thing. That's Shiriko for you."
"Knowing Ryou, he wouldn't just stand around and let someone else help him if the village was attacked."
"Exactly," Kyri nodded and sped up yet again, "That's why we have to get back as quickly as we can!"
No more words were exchanged between the two as they raced back toward the village. Koukaku, of course, still had the pile of stuff gathered in his arms. Once Kyri stopped in front of Ryou's home, he dropped the things abruptly on the ground and quickly followed her into the house, not knowing what exactly he had gotten himself into.
Shiriko quickly found her way to the back door of the house. She opened it and indeed, there was Ling. The smaller girl was obviously frightened — and who wouldn't be with snarling dogs surrounding them? But despite this, her face was determined, and she glared boldly at the dogs. Ryou's mother Mei was also there. She was still obviously weak from her fainting spell the previous night. However, though the fear showed in her face, she let no tears fall, like the brave woman her children thought her to be.
Shiriko counted the number of dogs circling the two frightened women. Ten. Well, this wouldn't be too bad. The dogs growled and snapped at them, causing them to shriek and leap back, only to be forced to dodge yet another dog behind them. It was then that Shiriko noticed the man directing the dogs. He had a whip which he snapped about with gusto. His face was twisted into a maniacal grin, and he laughed in a way that made the young witch shiver every time one of the women screamed. Shiriko glanced around once more and guessed that Rong, the eldest brother had tried to defend his family for he was lying face down on the ground, unconscious with a nasty looking bruise forming on the side of his face and another on the back of his neck.
"Hey, you!" she called, calling attention to herself. The man turned around, "What's this? Another victim to torture?"
"Hey, who says you'll get me to stay still long enough to torture me?" Shiriko smirked, putting on a grin to match his maniacal one.
"Hm…let's see if you can back up those remarks," the man cackled. "But you'll have to be careful now, won't you…after all, one order from me and my dogs will rip them to bits…piece by piece…"
"Hn…bastard," Shiriko shook her head still smirking. She turned to look at the two women and flashed them a reassuring look, telling them not to worry.
"And I think I'll tell them to attack…now!" the man — taking advantage of Shiriko's momentary inattention — cracked his whip and the dogs, as one, rushed at the two women. Ling opened her mouth to let out a scream, but no sound came out. A set of jaws sank into her arm. Ling's face screwed up in pain. Unable to move, there was nothing she could do accept stand there and take it. This didn't stop the tears from streaming down her face as she watched the large and ferocious animal gnaw on her arm.
Shiriko let out a slight growl. Without warning and with immense speed, she pried the beast's jaws open and flung him away from the frantic girl. She flinched and let out a hiss as the same dog returned to bite down on her hand. For a moment, Shiriko only stared in amazement as blood seeped out from between the growling animal's jaws. The moment didn't last long. Shiriko glared furiously at the dog, "That fucking hurt, you stupid mutt!" she exclaimed, giving the canine a great kick. The dog howled in protest as it was sent flying into a tree, and then — as if fearing the raven-haired girl's wrath — it stayed down, hoping to avoid any more injuries.
The man stared at her in surprise. A startled yip behind him drew his attention away from this blasted girl. Glancing around, he saw that the wolf that wretched girl had brought with her was giving the rest of his dogs a sound beating. Ten of these dogs could not even manage to hurt a stupid girl and a wolf. It seems more drastic training would be needed for next time to ensure a higher level of — brutality.
"Now, let's see…your dogs are basically gone…you can't defend yourself…" Shiriko spoke, her voice at a dangerously low and threatening level, "And one of your fucking dogs bit a hole into my hand. In my hand! How should you be punished?" she mused.
The man glared at her, "Who said that I couldn't defend myself?"
"And exactly how do you propose to defend yourself against me?" Shiriko asked quietly with a malicious little grin.
The man brandished his whip and smirked. Then he cracked it at Shiriko, hoping to catch her unawares. He'd show this little upstart brat! However, he was shocked – and horrified – when Shiriko merely held out her arm. The whip wound itself around her forearm before slapping lightly against her hand. It hadn't even scratched her. "Sorry. That won't work," she gave a great pull, causing the whip to go flying out of his hand. Greatly off balance, the man soon found himself face down in the dirt.
With his nose buried in the ground, the man grumbled to himself, "Stupid bitch." With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet. As he stood, his hand whipped behind his back to draw a knife from his other sleeve. He had only barely started to charge when something abruptly halted him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." This new voice was female — and cold as ice. An arm was extended in front of him, and he could feel the cold edge of a blade as it rested lightly against his throat, "Or you might just find yourself with a new hole for breathing out of, you bastard." Gulping, the man dropped his arms to his side.
"Drop the knife."
He did so and was forced back onto the ground by a tremendous shove. As he lay face first — again — on the ground, a foot dug into his back, "Now…if you think I'm going to let you off that easily, you're very wrong…" this new female stated serenely.
Shiriko strolled over, "When'd you get here, Kyri?"
"Just in time, it seems," Kyri grinned, "Now, Shiriko, how should we punish him?"
"Oh…I'll take care of it" Shiriko flashed her friend a grin, her eyes twinkling mischievously. With one swift hit to his head, she knocked her foe unconscious.
Ryou gritted his teeth and gave a growl as he defended himself against the intruder's attacks.
"Give up yet, kid?"
"Don't call me a kid!"
"But you are one. You can't even manage to defend yourself or your family without a woman helping you," the man taunted, "When I was your age, I, Liu could actually fend for myself"
"Shut up, you old bastard!" Ryou roared as he pushed against the man, causing him to stumble back a few steps.
Liu glared and as he lunged at Ryou, the teenager took a risky move and jumped high in the air, stomping Liu in the face. Somehow, this seemed familiar…
He jumped and nailed the monster right in the face. Feeling a sense of victory, his senses were overcome by that feeling for a fleeting second. That second was all it took for the monster to recover from the blow. Without even hesitating — as if he enjoyed killing — the monster— his enemy — thrust his inhuman claws up and he felt a terrible and agonizing pain in his chest.
There was a sickening sound as the monster threw him to the ground and the claws withdrew. He lay there on the ground for an instant. Wincing, he struggled to his feet. He had to kill him; if he didn't, this monster would kill his priestess. As a Suzaku seishi, he'd sworn that he wouldn't let that happen. No matter what, his priestess would be safe…even if it meant his life…
With that memory, the rest of his memories also returned. He remembered the palace in Konan and the Emperor. He remembered it all. With the knowledge of who he was — or at least half of who he was — Ryou found new strength. He took a defensive stance and glared at Liu, daring him to attack.
"Oh, so now you decide to fight back," Liu commented.
"Shut your mouth and just fight you asshole."
Liu charged at him, sure that 'the kid' wouldn't be able to block his attack. But he never even got close. Before he could react, Ryou slammed his fist into the charging man's gut, using his momentum to put more force behind it. For the instant that Liu stood gaping and gasping above him, Ryou could feel the red rune on his chest glowing, the warm ki flowing through him. Nuriko had awoken.
Liu flew back and smashed into the opposite wall with a groan. He slid to the floor and was motionless. Ryou never even looked. From the moment his fist had connected with Liu, he'd known the outcome. He walked away, certain that the man wasn't getting up again.
"Good job, Ryou" Koukaku said from his corner.
Ryou jumped then glared, "When did you get here?"
"About fifteen or twenty minutes ago, but that voice in my head started talking to me again. I was so caught up in it that I forgot you were in trouble," Koukaku admitted sheepishly.
"Gee, thanks; nice to know a voice in your head is more important than your best friend," Ryou muttered sarcastically.
"Hey, you did fine all by yourself! You didn't even need me," Koukaku gave him one of his infamous innocent grins and Ryou sighed. "C'mon," he finally muttered, shaking his head at Koukaku's behavior, "Let's see how Shiriko did."
"I'm sure she's fine; after all, Kyri went to help her."
Walking around back, they saw the bodies of several dogs littering the backyard. Kyri was busy binding Ling's hand where that dog had bitten her. Shiriko — with a similar bandage on her hand that pointed to Kyri's work — was, if possible, even busier. Mei was hysterical, and Shiriko was trying to calm her down enough to check her for injuries as well. Not far from where the girls were working, a wolf and a fox were lying peacefully on the grass. The wolf panted happily. It was obvious to the boys that he felt a certain sense of pride from winning the battle so overwhelmingly. Beside him, the fox merely looked…sly. If Koukaku didn't know better, he would have sworn that the little red beast was — snickering…
"Okay! I've got the plan all worked out," Shiriko was telling Kyri.
"What plan!" Both boys burst out, suspiciously.
"You'll see," the girl grinned evilly, and both decided it was safest not to ask.
"Are you alright, Mother?" Ryou asked Mei, kneeling next to her. "You aren't hurt, are you?"
"No…Ling got bitten though…" Mei said. "But these girls were wonderful. The black-haired one fought off the dogs, and the silver-haired one defeated the man when he tried to pull a knife."
Ryou raised an eyebrow, "That explains the dogs and the guy lying unconscious over there."
"Let's go in," Ling suggested with a shaky smile. "I think we all need to rest a bit."
Nodding, the four teens agreed. When they got inside, Ling helped Mei to her room and settled into a dreamless sleep soon after. Ryou dragged Rong inside by his feet. True, he could lift his brother up, but he felt like being mean. After all, how many times had Rong tortured him in an all too similar way? More than he could count, he decided with a wicked grin.
Downstairs, the three guests were discussing what happened.
"I heard a voice in my head again…" Koukaku said.
"What did it say?" Kyri asked slyly.
"It said… 'Aniki…when you start to remember, you may regret some things and blame yourself, but don't do that. You won't help anyone by doing that'. "
"That's Suboshi talking, of course," Kyri said. "After all, they were twins, and Suboshi and Amiboshi cared about each other more than anything else in the world."
Koukaku smiled wearily, "I think I'll go to bed now." He staggered off, yawning. When they heard him travel up the stairs, the girls exchanged similar mischievous looks, "Payback time…" they whispered at the same time.
The next morning, Ryou woke up and yawned. When Koukaku had come into the boys' room last night, they had discussed a few things. And today was the day. However, when he went downstairs, he noticed that there was a crowd around the fields. He yawned one more time as he went to see what it was. It took a while to force himself through the crowd of people; but as soon as he made it through, his jaw dropped. He quickly looked around for the culprits. As if he didn't already know who they were!
The men from yesterday were hung by their collars on a pike stuck in the ground. The anatomically incorrect positions made the boys wince in unexpected sympathy. The villagers crowded around were giggling, chuckling, and just plain laughing out loud because of the…alterations…someone had made upon the two unfortunate prisoners. From head to toe, Liu was a bright pink and the other man was blue.
Beside them was a sign,
"Sticks and stones may break our bones,
But words will never hurt us.
For their crimes they both must pay,
Throw rotten food and make them curse."
Ryou's mouth hung open and gaped. Koukaku snickered from beside him, "Looks like the girls were very busy last night."
"No shit…" Ryou said. As if one cue, the two violators appeared, snickering.
"How'd you like it?" Shiriko asked with a grin.
"Was this really necessary?" Ryou sighed.
"Yep; his stupid dog bit a hole in my hand" Shiriko said as if it explained everything. Ryou rolled his eyes. He wouldn't even try to understand either of them, because he knew that no matter how long he tried, he never would.
A small child ran up carrying a wooden tub, "I've got some rotten food!" she yelled. The villagers made a beeline for the food and start throwing it at the two. Rumor of what the two had done was already circling the village. And it would have surprised them to know, but Ryou and his family were pretty popular in the village's eyes.
"What'd you do to their faces by the way?" Koukaku asked.
"Just a simple spell; it'll wear off in about four days," Shiriko smiled proudly. "That was my idea. To humiliate them, of course."
"And who took care of staking them out?" Ryou asked almost hesitantly.
"That was me." Kyri wore a purely ferocious gin on her face. "And we both made up the poem."
"Um…that's nice…" Koukaku smiled nervously. Such imaginations…
"We have something to talk to you about" Ryou said suddenly, remembering what the two boys had discussed last night. Kyri and Shiriko nodded, ready to listen.
'This is probably by far the hardest thing I've ever done…' Ryou thought miserably. But he had to do it. And for support, the other three were with him too. He walked to up to his mother's room and knocked.
"Come in" Ling called. She was giving her mother some herbs.
"Mother…" Ryou said, clenching his fists, "I have to talk to you…"
Mei raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead."
"I'm going to be leaving…it's too dangerous for me to stay here; people are after me – you saw what happened when I just tried live life normally – you, Ling and Rong got hurt. I know you'll try to stop me but it's for the best!" Ryou rushed through his prepared speech and waited tensely for the onslaught of protests from his mother.
They never came. "I know, my son. These young ladies obviously agree, or they wouldn't have come to support you. And since they know more about it than me…" Mei shook her head silently.
Ling was outraged, "How can you do this? How can you just announce you're leaving us!"
"I'm…it's safer for you…" Ryou said.
"Do you really believe that? Do you really think you're that special that everyone who tries to attack us is after you, Ryou? Do you really think you're that privileged that you can just leave like you're not breaking our family apart even more and hope to come back when it's 'safer'?"
"I'm sorry," his head hung. "I just thought this would be for the best."
"And why are these so called enemies only appearing now!" Ling continued angrily. "Why is it that they pick now to start attacking you!"
"I'm afraid that's our fault!" Kyri chimed in. "When we made the boys aware of their other halves, their life force changed. It's this that alerted all of your enemies as to where they could find you."
Ling glared at first Kyri, then Ryou. She looked about ready to explode, but instead she spun around and stomped from the room.
"Don't worry about her," Rong advised from his spot against the wall, "She just doesn't like change." He walked over to Ryou, "You go on, little brother, and come back to us safely, alright?"
Mei nodded. She turned to the three guests, "Please…make sure he stays alive"
They nodded and left the room for Ryou to have some time alone with his family – probably the last he would have for a long time.
Okay, since everyone keeps saying they're confused, I'll start making the character profile thingies and have them up in the next chapter, is that alright with everyone?