Author's note: The random oddity that happen in this first scene is
Mishanoke's fault, she'sthe one who wanted it in here, so there you go.
Heh, I couldn't figure out why I wasn'tgetting comments on this chapter,
and then I realized I didn't post it!
To Metajoker: Ouch! Burn on Inami! I like her now more than in the beginning, but not everyone can! How does she fit the description? I wish the Suzaku would hurry to. If only I'd get off my lasy butt and write.
To BD: I have a someone who previews all my chapters before I post them, but she never seems to help with grammar and what-not. I've asked another friend of mine, but she can't stand my story since I chose to keep the reborn warriors in their original forms instead of their new ones. (Like Gakurei, Reishun.) So I'm at a stale mate for that at the moment. ^_^;; Perhaps I will ask someone. (Maybe you? If you're up for it.)
Chapter 52 : Valley of War
"So we got the forestry part of the country?"
"I'm surprised Kutou HAS forest. It seems too... crowdy."
"Crowdy? Now that's an intelligent word."
Tasuki rolled his eyes as walked slightly ahead of Inami through the forest. The trees weren't as close together as they were on the border, but the tops of them were wide, creating leafy patterns of sunlight on the dirt ground. This was the first time Tasuki had been paired alone with Inami--it would be interesting to see where this would lead.
Tasuki had the disk. He didn't ask for it, but Chichiri gave it to him anyways. There wasn't much sign of anything yet, but they had just started an hour ago and still were in the middle of nowhere.
Inami gazed around the tops of the ridiculously tall trees. The only other sounds besides them were the birds and occasional squirrel. Once you left the main road it really did get deserted.
"You're quiet."
"Hm?" Inami asked.
"Nothin' really, it's just not like you."
"I'm thinking, that's all."
Tasuki stopped, looking around and rubbing the back of his head. "Don't they have a trail or somethin'?"
Inami looked around too. "Apparently not yet. I don't see the people of Kutou being great hikers."
"You can't even hear the rode anymore."
"We did leave it a while back."
"Yeah." Tasuki started walking again. One of the immense trees' roots raised up out of the ground a couple feet, making a small hill it the ground. As Tasuki stepped over it he lent a hand to help Inami over. Then once again, the walking continued.
"Do you really like it up there?"
Tasuki turned his head slightly for a moment. "What to you mean?"
"I mean up... Reikaku, right? Do you like it up there?"
"Yeah." Tasuki said, yawning a bit. "I've practically lived there all my life... except for outings like these, that is."
Inami smiled. "You told me you had a lot of sisters, don't you ever visit them?"
"Hell no." Tasuki answered. He coughed and corrected himself as to not make Inami upset. "Uh, no. I never got a long with them."
"You don't keep in touch?"
"Well I do, just not... personally."
Inami smiled, now walking beside him. "I will admit you never made them sound too nice."
"Don't get me started."
"I haven't talked to Katsu in a while. I should get on that."
Tasuki side glanced at the shorter person. "How old is he?"
Inami thought for a moment. "22, almost 23 I think."
Tasuki shook his head. "That makes me feel really old."
"You're worried about you age? You're only 32."
"Yeah, but if I'm a decade older than your older brother," Tasuki and Inami turned around a large cedar. "That says..." Tasuki was cut off as he felt his foot give out from under him and his leg fall. Out of instinct he grabbed the closest thing to him.... Inami.
~THUD~
Small bits of rocks and sand floated down to the ground around the two, visible by the sparse sunlight casting through the leaves.
"Ow..." Inami mumbled, putting her hands out and painfully lifting herself up. She looked down at Tasuki under her, who had taken most of the impact. "Are you okay?"
Tasuki winced. "Oh yeah..." he rubbed his forehead. "I do... stuff like this all the time..."
Inami finally noticed where she was and quickly rolled off from on top of Tasuki, sitting on the dirt ground. She shook her head, looking up.
Tasuki sat up, still rubbing his head from his fall.
"You fell into a HOLE?!"
"Huh?" Tasuki looked around. On all his sides were steep, dirt walls, the large opening to the immense pit about 25 to 30 feet up.
Inami stood up, her hands against on of the walls, looking up. "Tasuki, how do you fall into a hole this big?"
"I didn't know it was here, obviously." Tasuki answered, still sitting down. He arched his back slightly.
Inami pushed onto the wall, bits of dirt falling down under the pressure. "There's no way we'll be able to climb out... who the heck digs a giant hole in the middle of no where?" She finally backed away and helped Tasuki up. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah."
"Good. You know, if you hadn't dragged me in here with you, I could actually find a way to get us out."
"Hey, don't blame me." Tasuki finally took a gander at his surroundings. "I take it you can't just lift us out, right?"
"Sadly, no." Inami frowned. She remembered the others' words. "Don't use your powers."
Tasuki walked to one of the walls himself. "Well, the guys who dug this hole got out somehow..."
"But they probably had people who weren't in the hole, and ropes... and ladders..."
"Ok, on to plan C..."
********************************
Saori inched closer to Chichiri as another uniformed guard passed by them on the street. Her eyes only glanced before she forced them to the ground. There were so many soldiers, they were huge too... Saori looked up at the taller man with her. She did feel safe with him, and even though she was in a dangerous place right now, it felt really good to be back with the Suzaku seven. She remembered when she first came into this world, Chichiri was the one who had found her.
"Chichiri," Saori kept her voice down, "Do you think the Seiryu seven really could have come back by now?"
"I don't know, no da." Chichiri answered as they passed a mass of booths. He kept his eyes on the merchandise, trying to sense any of Suzaku's energy. "It is possible, no da. They have their ways no da."
Saori went back to looking at her feet, and she was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Mayo... why... why do you think she didn't come back with us?"
Chichiri's step slowed a bit and he looked down at Saori, a sympathetic smile on his face. "It was her decision no da. Perhaps she was confused, or she wasn't ready no da. It's not like we gave her a lot of warning no da." Chichiri put a hand on Saori's shoulder. "Have confidence in her though, no da."
Saori nodded as they continued on. After a few more minutes of walking however, Saori's eyes suddenly lit up, something finally connecting in her mind.
~"This... this is just how the first story went... This is what happened to Miaka and Yui; they were best friends, but they couldn't hold onto the link they had, even after so many years... Mayo told me the story...~
~Is it repeating itself?" ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I tell ya Mitsukake, I haven't sensed anything yet." Nuriko pointed out, hands in the pockets of his robe as he and the doctor walked down a street of Kutou.
"We've only been searching for a few hours," Mitsukake's low voice replied, "It is always possible that the others have found the shinzaho."
The two men turned a corner.
Nuriko looked up at the sky. "We still have a good handful of time left, I'd say at least four hours before we'd have to head to that shop." Nuriko noticed a soldier passing by. He leaned over to Mitsukake. "They really do have a lot of guards around here..."
Mitsukake nodded, having a look around. The street narrowed slightly as the duet passed by a small booth selling fish. Mitsukake's attention suddenly aimed to the side of the path.
Nuriko noticed and shifted to see what Mitsukake was looking at.
A small group of homeless people, two children and about three adults were huddled beside the sidewall of a building, their ragged clothes matching the color of the soil under their feet. One of the younger adults, a boy about 18 or so, was sick. His head rested weakly on the woman's leg, and coughed ever few moments; a loud, sickening cough that shook his whole body. It was obvious the boy desperately needed treatment.
Nuriko frowned at the site. Mitsukake turned and began walking towards the family, but felt his sleeve tugged back.
"Mitsukake," Nuriko spoke firmly, taking his eyes away from the group, "Mitsukake, you can't heal them."
Mitsukake gave Nuriko a look that he couldn't quite read.
Nuriko knew all Mitsukake wanted to do was help, make someone's life a little but better, and perhaps save it, but... "Mitsukake, healing them will raise your life force too high, and we can't risk it. Not just for us, but for the others too. I'm... I'm sorry...."
Mitsukake glanced back at the sick man, and slowly nodded, a look of defeat now crossing his features. Without a words he continued on, Nuriko following after.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tasuki was about five feet up before the dirt shifted, and he fell with little grace back to the ground.
Inami shook her head and sighed. The sun had shifted slightly over the trees, shining down in the center of the hole.
"I told you, that's not going to work." Inami pointed out as Tasuki attempted climbing again.
"Ya never know..." He said as he slid back down to the earth.
Inami rolled her eyes. She just watched Tasuki stupidly attempt to climb the near vertical walls of the giant pit they had been stuck in for nearly an hour, and he looked like a sea turtle trying to climb up stairs.
Tasuki fell again.
And again, up he went. Hs sleeves were fairly dirty by now. Despite being in a forest, there weren't any good-sized sticks or branches in the hole, and the two were really wasting time, time that could be used finding the next clue. So, Inami just leaned back and watched Tasuki try and fail, until she finally spotted the fan securely hilted on his back.
Tasuki was about to try climbing up again when he felt something slide between his shoulder blades, he turned and saw Inami holding his fan.
"Whadya need that for?" He asked. "I don't see how fire's gonna help, and we couldn't use it anyway..."
Inami shoved the fan at Tasuki, pointing to the opposite wall of the hole. "Do you think you could chuck this high enough to get it stuck about... four or five feet below the rim of this thing?"
Tasuki gave Inami an odd look, and then looked to the spot. "Yeah, I think I could, why?"
"We're going to try a make shift ladder. Just do it."
Tasuki walked closer to the wall, shut his fan, and threw it hard with his right arm. Surprisingly it landed straight into the dirt wall, about half of it digging into the soil, the fan itself unfurled just slightly.
"It won't be too easy to reach ya know." Tasuki pointed out.
"Hopefully this will help." Inami pushed aside a thin layer of her robe to the belt hoister underneath, taking out the golden rod. She held it away from her and allowed a nearly three foot long blade to shoot out. She handed it to Tasuki, seeing that he obviously had more arm strength. "Try to shove this thing in to about as tall as you are."
Tasuki smirked. He got it now. He pulled the sword back above his head, and with two hands managed to pierce it into the wall, some more dirt falling down as he did so. It got far enough in to leave only a few inches of blade showing.
Inami stepped to the side of it and lifted her hand to the medal, the second blade shooting out from the other side. "Think you can give me a boost?"
Tasuki walked over to her and clasped his hands tightly together, taking hold of Inami's foot and lifting her enough so she could get on top of the rod. She had to lean against the wall for balance. A few feet above her head was the fan.
"Here goes nothing... and Tasuki, be a dear and catch me if I fall...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Was it an ironic twist or did it all make sense?~ Saori's mind buzzed like mad now as she made the connections from what she remembered from the original story.
~Two priestess, Seiryu and Suzaku, are both back. Mayo plays the part of Yui, the Priestess of Seiryu. Just like before, both groups are fighting with each other to see who can summon their god first... and just like before, two shinzahos are needed. There were two feuding friends, Miaka and Yui... Are Mayo and I the replacement for that?~
Saori had to quickly step behind Chichiri to avoid being run over. The streets had crowded a lot since the afternoon hit.
~There's a war... there was a war at least, but there really is no sign that its over. There was a war in the first story, and it killed two of Suzaku's warriors. And Houki! I remember, Houki was pregnant with Boushin, and now... and now she's pregnant again! After 16 years she's pregnant again...~
Saori made yet a few more connections. ~Mayo told me all about how it all started... at first Miaka and Tamahome didn't get along very well, and I believe they even got into a few fights, but after that they fell in love. Isn't that... isn't that the exact way it happened with Inami and Tasuki? They used to really hate each other... And Amiboshi died in the first story, well, they thought he did, and Suboshi took his revenge on Tamahome's family, right? Suboshi, we thought Suboshi had died, but he really didn't... and they told me Amiboshi came after them...~
Saori's concentration was broken when Chichiri suddenly stopped her. They were pressed up between two booths, large crowds of people passing by either way. Chichiri was looking through them.
"What is it Chichiri?" Saori whispered.
Chichiri didn't answer for a minute. "These soldiers... they're in regiments no da..."
Saori tried to see best she could, and it was true there were a lot of soldier, but no more than before.
"Regiments?" Saori asked.
Again Chichiri hesitated, but this time he looked away from the crowd. "Kutou... Kutou is planning on attacking again, very soon too no da."
At those words Saori froze. She remembered the first battles they had had. She had been so worried about everyone...
"It was a bad time to come here, no da." Chichiri commented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't think I've ever quite been out on the streets like this before... not in Kutou..." Miaka said, holding onto Tamahome's arm with both of hers.
Tamahome scanned around them for the thousandth time. "I still don't sense anything remotely like what we're looking for."
"It could be that our shinzaho is not in the South of Kutou, Tamahome." Chiriko suggested.
Miaka sighed a bit, shaking her feet in her step. She had been walking for quite a while now. "Chiriko, when do we head back?"
"Not yet." Chiriko answered. "We may have to stay out later than expected, it's too dangerous to stay here over night, and we need to find the shinzaho in our approximate time slot."
Tamahome pulled Miaka closer to him as two conversing soldiers passed by. "They sure are war dedicated...."
"The architecture here is fascinating..."
Miaka and Tamahome both turned around and gave quizzical looks to Chiriko.
Chiriko pulled his eyes away from a near by bridge and looked at the two before him, giving a slightly embarrassed smile. "I know I'm a bit off subject, but the geometry Kutou has applied in its structures seems more advanced than most of what I usually..."
Tamahome moaned a bit and continued walking, dragging Miaka with him. Miaka did laugh a bit as Chiriko attempted to explain his reasoning. In her mind, she knew that thinking about something besides their extensive mission was a relief... and Chiriko found something good in this eastern country.
************************************
"Yes, send this to Hokkan immediately, I want no delays." The man in imperial robes handed the thick letter branded with Suzaku to the magistrate, who nodded quickly and scurried out of the hallway. The man of royalty continued down the hallway, now to start more matters of business. The hallway he was taking lead down the interior guest rooms, a short cut to his next destination. However, he couldn't help but stop before a particular door, which by chance was partially open.
He pushed the door open more, taking a glance into the larger room. A perfectly laid bed sat on the far wall, and the curtains had been left open over the large window, which lead out to a rounded balcony. Everything seemed in order... except for two items on a chair by a dresser: a small blue tube of lipstick and a red beaded necklace.
The door was open, so Boushin imagined that a maid had come in. His eyes saddened as he looked around the room again. It had been so long since he had seen the girl, though his feelings towards her had not changed over the time. Boushin placed his hand on the doorknob and shut it gently. "I shall pray for your return, Saori Kawai." He whispered, pulling his hand... and his thoughts away from the door.
************************************
"Mitsukake?"
The tall man had stopped in his stride and was watching a distant guard walking with suspicion.
"Uh, earth to Mitsukake, why'd you stop?" Nuriko waved his hands in front of Mitsukake's face.
Mitsukake turned to him and subtly pointed. "Over there, that soldier, do you sense an aura about him?"
Nuriko blinked and looked passed Mitsukake at the two men passing by, two soldier talking. Suddenly, as if it flashed before his eyes, the strong sense of Suzaku flooded into his mind.
"Yeah... Mitsukake, I do." He answered in a whisper.
"Nuriko, it could be the shinzaho." Mitsukake said briefly, trying to keep an eye on the man in particular, ignoring the squirming of Tama under his robes. "We should..."
"All ready ahead of ya." Nuriko said. "Come on."
The two quickly walked through the streets, swerving around various carts and people, trying to keep their eyes on the two soldiers. As soon as they were out of sight of most of the booths, they took off at a sprint, winding around a side passage. When they stopped they could see the duo coming towards them, still oblivious to their presence.
Both Mitsukake and Nuriko concentrated hard. It was the man on the right that had the aura. He and his companion walked fairly slow, both using their long spears as walking staffs.
"It's his helmet." Mitsukake finally whispered.
Nuriko looked at the copper helmet on the soldier's head, the tassels on top of a bright, red color. "I think you're right."
"How do we get it?"
"I have an idea. Mitsukake, go long."
"Nuriko, what are you talking about?"
"I'll show ya."
"So I'm joining the Artenas rankings next month, I'll be stationed further north." A soldier with dark, black hair smirked.
"Perhaps you'll be able to add some Hokkan blood to your name then, once we commence the strike." The other soldier replied.
They both laughed lightly, but it was a hoarse, cold laugh. They continued on with little words, passing by a few peasants with disgust.
~*FWOOM!*~
A small rock came flying towards the soldier at right, making a light whistle as it whizzed through the air. The soldier turned just in time to see it. It barely missed his head and landed with a harsh impact with his helmet, so hard that the helmet toppled off and rolled with force down the dirt packed street and under the footwork of a few civilians.
"What the hell?!" The soldier rubbed his head in pain from the shock the helmet had made. He turned to a mass of people in the direction the stone came. "WHO THREW THAT!?"
A few of the people looked at him oddly.
"I asked you people a question!!" However, in the absence of both soldiers' attention, they didn't see the copper helmet disappear down the street.
Nuriko smiled from atop a hard roof of a booth. The second rock he was holding he let slide from his hand, and he leapt off the back of the booth so the sellers inside wouldn't see him. He ran back behind a solitary wall and around into another street, diving between people before catching his eye on a tall man nestled between shops, holding a helmet in his hands. He made his way through the crowds and stood in front of him.
"Nice work, Mitsukake, if I do say so myself."
As if responding as the doctor's reply, the helmet flashed a color of red, dimming down back to its brass color. Nuriko frowned slightly at the sight of the dent in the side of the armor, he imagined it was his stone that did that.
With out any more searching needed, the two changed their direction and headed back west, trying to stay hidden from any guards or soldiers who would question the reason they had a Kutou helmet in their midst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was beginning to set, though most of its brilliant form was still above the very distant mountains. The air had only cooled down lightly, but it seemed as if the townspeople were beginning to settle up their business.
"Sir."
The armed, tall man turned from his quiet conversation with another guard. He eyed the man addressing him. "Yes, what is it?"
The soldier extended his arm and held out a small, folded note. "It's a message from the general, sir."
The second man took it and opened it. "Is this all?"
"Yes sir."
The soldier turned his back and skimmed his eyes over the message on the piece of paper. After reviewing it, he crumpled the paper up and threw it at his feet.
"Men!" He called, getting the small troops attention. "We have a message to be spread over Kutou, from our general!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ya ever have that feeling like you're running towards something and you're not gettin' any closer?"
"I take it you're referring to right now."
"Well, we've been walking for a rather long time, and we're not getting anywhere."
Inami sighed in agreement. "Well, I wouldn't think the shinzaho would be planted out in the middle of a sparse forest..."
After succeeding in overcoming their earlier mishap, Tasuki and Inami walked almost helplessly through the never-ending trees before them. Luckily, they hadn't come upon any more holes.
Tasuki looked up at the sun in the distance. "Akue, we should start heading back real soon here."
Inami looked at Tasuki then back at the sun as well. "Well I'm not too disappointed, I'd imagine the others had better luck finding the shinzaho than we did."
The two turned their direction, but instead of going the way they came they headed more northwest, towards the general location Chichiri had preset.
Tasuki had a thin stick in his hand, which he subconsciously spun around with his fingers and they walked. Inami glanced at him. The sun was at his side, and the light it cast upon his hair made it almost look like fire.
Suddenly, Tasuki's hand shout out in front of Inami, stopping her.
"Tasuki?"
"Sh..." Tasuki said quietly, listening. Inami listened too.
Footsteps. They were distant, but they were heading toward their general location.
"Who would be out here?" Inami asked quietly.
"No one... that's the thing." Tasuki answered. The steps were coming closer, and it was obvious that there was more than one person. Tasuki's eyes shot around. He grabbed Inami's wrist and yanked her back, darting for two adjacent trees behind them. He stepped behind them, his back pressed against the trunk of one of them, Inami in front of him. He slowly pulled her down low, squatting closer to the ground. There was a very thin gap between the two trees, where Tasuki could see out.
They were there for about a minute before voices came, three male voices. It was another minute before the owners of the voices came into view, and Tasuki didn't like what he saw.
Kutou guards.
It didn't seem like they were just out strolling, but looking for something.
Tasuki pulled Inami closer to him, making sure she was completely concealed by the large trunk of the cedar.
"I don't see why we gotta be out here."
"You heard the captain's message. Stop complaining, y'old gut."
"Doin' this 'ill make us on night shiftin' t'night."
"Heck, there's good in this. If we find what we're lookin' for, we'll have a bit of a party."
"Yeah."
The three laughed.
"What I wouldn't d'for a honey ham, tell ya."
*"Hm!"*
The guards stopped, looking around.
"Hey mate, did'ya hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Yeah, I think I heard it too."
"Dun see anything."
"Heard what?!"
Back behind the two trees, Tasuki's hand was clasped firmly over Inami's mouth, Inami's hand over his. He held her close, trying to keep her calmed. On the tree in front of them a large, black spider slowly crawled up the bark.
"Well, I dun see nothin', and now I dun hear nuthin, maybe Bukon was just making his own body noises."
"I could've been, I suppose."
"I dun know... it didn't sound like no body noise."
"Maybe a rat than?" One of the soldiers laughed, continuing in his step.
"Eh." Another soldier responded, following after the first. The last soldier scanned the surroundings once more, before catching up with his companions.
Tasuki and Inami stayed put, Tasuki watching and listening to the soldiers, Inami's eyes focused on the arachnid less than a foot in front of her. Finally, after a few minutes, Tasuki released her, and Inami quickly scrambled away from their hiding place, gasping for air.
Tasuki stood up, glancing down at the dark spider, which was harmlessly sitting upon the tree. He sighed, and kicked it with his boot, sending it flying off somewhere on the ground.
Tasuki could have said something about Inami almost getting them caught, but decided against it. After Inami seemed to get over her "close encounter," she spoke up, still silent.
"What were Kutou soldier doing all the way out here?"
Tasuki looked back in the direction the soldiers left. "They shouldn't be, that's the thing..." He turned back to Inami. "It's like... they know we're here. They were looking for something, especially being so far from any stations."
Inami looked at him, obviously taking in his suspicions. "Do you think they know?"
Tasuki walked up to her, almost as if motioning it was safe to keep going. "I think someone does... we need to keep an eye out, and we need to hurry back."
Inami nodded, following after the bandit.
~
Author's note: When Tasuki fell into the whole and stated "Yeah. I do this stuff all the time" I was debating on whether or not to put "Yeah. the ground broke my fall." So you're input on which is better would be helpful!
To Metajoker: Ouch! Burn on Inami! I like her now more than in the beginning, but not everyone can! How does she fit the description? I wish the Suzaku would hurry to. If only I'd get off my lasy butt and write.
To BD: I have a someone who previews all my chapters before I post them, but she never seems to help with grammar and what-not. I've asked another friend of mine, but she can't stand my story since I chose to keep the reborn warriors in their original forms instead of their new ones. (Like Gakurei, Reishun.) So I'm at a stale mate for that at the moment. ^_^;; Perhaps I will ask someone. (Maybe you? If you're up for it.)
Chapter 52 : Valley of War
"So we got the forestry part of the country?"
"I'm surprised Kutou HAS forest. It seems too... crowdy."
"Crowdy? Now that's an intelligent word."
Tasuki rolled his eyes as walked slightly ahead of Inami through the forest. The trees weren't as close together as they were on the border, but the tops of them were wide, creating leafy patterns of sunlight on the dirt ground. This was the first time Tasuki had been paired alone with Inami--it would be interesting to see where this would lead.
Tasuki had the disk. He didn't ask for it, but Chichiri gave it to him anyways. There wasn't much sign of anything yet, but they had just started an hour ago and still were in the middle of nowhere.
Inami gazed around the tops of the ridiculously tall trees. The only other sounds besides them were the birds and occasional squirrel. Once you left the main road it really did get deserted.
"You're quiet."
"Hm?" Inami asked.
"Nothin' really, it's just not like you."
"I'm thinking, that's all."
Tasuki stopped, looking around and rubbing the back of his head. "Don't they have a trail or somethin'?"
Inami looked around too. "Apparently not yet. I don't see the people of Kutou being great hikers."
"You can't even hear the rode anymore."
"We did leave it a while back."
"Yeah." Tasuki started walking again. One of the immense trees' roots raised up out of the ground a couple feet, making a small hill it the ground. As Tasuki stepped over it he lent a hand to help Inami over. Then once again, the walking continued.
"Do you really like it up there?"
Tasuki turned his head slightly for a moment. "What to you mean?"
"I mean up... Reikaku, right? Do you like it up there?"
"Yeah." Tasuki said, yawning a bit. "I've practically lived there all my life... except for outings like these, that is."
Inami smiled. "You told me you had a lot of sisters, don't you ever visit them?"
"Hell no." Tasuki answered. He coughed and corrected himself as to not make Inami upset. "Uh, no. I never got a long with them."
"You don't keep in touch?"
"Well I do, just not... personally."
Inami smiled, now walking beside him. "I will admit you never made them sound too nice."
"Don't get me started."
"I haven't talked to Katsu in a while. I should get on that."
Tasuki side glanced at the shorter person. "How old is he?"
Inami thought for a moment. "22, almost 23 I think."
Tasuki shook his head. "That makes me feel really old."
"You're worried about you age? You're only 32."
"Yeah, but if I'm a decade older than your older brother," Tasuki and Inami turned around a large cedar. "That says..." Tasuki was cut off as he felt his foot give out from under him and his leg fall. Out of instinct he grabbed the closest thing to him.... Inami.
~THUD~
Small bits of rocks and sand floated down to the ground around the two, visible by the sparse sunlight casting through the leaves.
"Ow..." Inami mumbled, putting her hands out and painfully lifting herself up. She looked down at Tasuki under her, who had taken most of the impact. "Are you okay?"
Tasuki winced. "Oh yeah..." he rubbed his forehead. "I do... stuff like this all the time..."
Inami finally noticed where she was and quickly rolled off from on top of Tasuki, sitting on the dirt ground. She shook her head, looking up.
Tasuki sat up, still rubbing his head from his fall.
"You fell into a HOLE?!"
"Huh?" Tasuki looked around. On all his sides were steep, dirt walls, the large opening to the immense pit about 25 to 30 feet up.
Inami stood up, her hands against on of the walls, looking up. "Tasuki, how do you fall into a hole this big?"
"I didn't know it was here, obviously." Tasuki answered, still sitting down. He arched his back slightly.
Inami pushed onto the wall, bits of dirt falling down under the pressure. "There's no way we'll be able to climb out... who the heck digs a giant hole in the middle of no where?" She finally backed away and helped Tasuki up. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah."
"Good. You know, if you hadn't dragged me in here with you, I could actually find a way to get us out."
"Hey, don't blame me." Tasuki finally took a gander at his surroundings. "I take it you can't just lift us out, right?"
"Sadly, no." Inami frowned. She remembered the others' words. "Don't use your powers."
Tasuki walked to one of the walls himself. "Well, the guys who dug this hole got out somehow..."
"But they probably had people who weren't in the hole, and ropes... and ladders..."
"Ok, on to plan C..."
********************************
Saori inched closer to Chichiri as another uniformed guard passed by them on the street. Her eyes only glanced before she forced them to the ground. There were so many soldiers, they were huge too... Saori looked up at the taller man with her. She did feel safe with him, and even though she was in a dangerous place right now, it felt really good to be back with the Suzaku seven. She remembered when she first came into this world, Chichiri was the one who had found her.
"Chichiri," Saori kept her voice down, "Do you think the Seiryu seven really could have come back by now?"
"I don't know, no da." Chichiri answered as they passed a mass of booths. He kept his eyes on the merchandise, trying to sense any of Suzaku's energy. "It is possible, no da. They have their ways no da."
Saori went back to looking at her feet, and she was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Mayo... why... why do you think she didn't come back with us?"
Chichiri's step slowed a bit and he looked down at Saori, a sympathetic smile on his face. "It was her decision no da. Perhaps she was confused, or she wasn't ready no da. It's not like we gave her a lot of warning no da." Chichiri put a hand on Saori's shoulder. "Have confidence in her though, no da."
Saori nodded as they continued on. After a few more minutes of walking however, Saori's eyes suddenly lit up, something finally connecting in her mind.
~"This... this is just how the first story went... This is what happened to Miaka and Yui; they were best friends, but they couldn't hold onto the link they had, even after so many years... Mayo told me the story...~
~Is it repeating itself?" ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I tell ya Mitsukake, I haven't sensed anything yet." Nuriko pointed out, hands in the pockets of his robe as he and the doctor walked down a street of Kutou.
"We've only been searching for a few hours," Mitsukake's low voice replied, "It is always possible that the others have found the shinzaho."
The two men turned a corner.
Nuriko looked up at the sky. "We still have a good handful of time left, I'd say at least four hours before we'd have to head to that shop." Nuriko noticed a soldier passing by. He leaned over to Mitsukake. "They really do have a lot of guards around here..."
Mitsukake nodded, having a look around. The street narrowed slightly as the duet passed by a small booth selling fish. Mitsukake's attention suddenly aimed to the side of the path.
Nuriko noticed and shifted to see what Mitsukake was looking at.
A small group of homeless people, two children and about three adults were huddled beside the sidewall of a building, their ragged clothes matching the color of the soil under their feet. One of the younger adults, a boy about 18 or so, was sick. His head rested weakly on the woman's leg, and coughed ever few moments; a loud, sickening cough that shook his whole body. It was obvious the boy desperately needed treatment.
Nuriko frowned at the site. Mitsukake turned and began walking towards the family, but felt his sleeve tugged back.
"Mitsukake," Nuriko spoke firmly, taking his eyes away from the group, "Mitsukake, you can't heal them."
Mitsukake gave Nuriko a look that he couldn't quite read.
Nuriko knew all Mitsukake wanted to do was help, make someone's life a little but better, and perhaps save it, but... "Mitsukake, healing them will raise your life force too high, and we can't risk it. Not just for us, but for the others too. I'm... I'm sorry...."
Mitsukake glanced back at the sick man, and slowly nodded, a look of defeat now crossing his features. Without a words he continued on, Nuriko following after.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tasuki was about five feet up before the dirt shifted, and he fell with little grace back to the ground.
Inami shook her head and sighed. The sun had shifted slightly over the trees, shining down in the center of the hole.
"I told you, that's not going to work." Inami pointed out as Tasuki attempted climbing again.
"Ya never know..." He said as he slid back down to the earth.
Inami rolled her eyes. She just watched Tasuki stupidly attempt to climb the near vertical walls of the giant pit they had been stuck in for nearly an hour, and he looked like a sea turtle trying to climb up stairs.
Tasuki fell again.
And again, up he went. Hs sleeves were fairly dirty by now. Despite being in a forest, there weren't any good-sized sticks or branches in the hole, and the two were really wasting time, time that could be used finding the next clue. So, Inami just leaned back and watched Tasuki try and fail, until she finally spotted the fan securely hilted on his back.
Tasuki was about to try climbing up again when he felt something slide between his shoulder blades, he turned and saw Inami holding his fan.
"Whadya need that for?" He asked. "I don't see how fire's gonna help, and we couldn't use it anyway..."
Inami shoved the fan at Tasuki, pointing to the opposite wall of the hole. "Do you think you could chuck this high enough to get it stuck about... four or five feet below the rim of this thing?"
Tasuki gave Inami an odd look, and then looked to the spot. "Yeah, I think I could, why?"
"We're going to try a make shift ladder. Just do it."
Tasuki walked closer to the wall, shut his fan, and threw it hard with his right arm. Surprisingly it landed straight into the dirt wall, about half of it digging into the soil, the fan itself unfurled just slightly.
"It won't be too easy to reach ya know." Tasuki pointed out.
"Hopefully this will help." Inami pushed aside a thin layer of her robe to the belt hoister underneath, taking out the golden rod. She held it away from her and allowed a nearly three foot long blade to shoot out. She handed it to Tasuki, seeing that he obviously had more arm strength. "Try to shove this thing in to about as tall as you are."
Tasuki smirked. He got it now. He pulled the sword back above his head, and with two hands managed to pierce it into the wall, some more dirt falling down as he did so. It got far enough in to leave only a few inches of blade showing.
Inami stepped to the side of it and lifted her hand to the medal, the second blade shooting out from the other side. "Think you can give me a boost?"
Tasuki walked over to her and clasped his hands tightly together, taking hold of Inami's foot and lifting her enough so she could get on top of the rod. She had to lean against the wall for balance. A few feet above her head was the fan.
"Here goes nothing... and Tasuki, be a dear and catch me if I fall...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Was it an ironic twist or did it all make sense?~ Saori's mind buzzed like mad now as she made the connections from what she remembered from the original story.
~Two priestess, Seiryu and Suzaku, are both back. Mayo plays the part of Yui, the Priestess of Seiryu. Just like before, both groups are fighting with each other to see who can summon their god first... and just like before, two shinzahos are needed. There were two feuding friends, Miaka and Yui... Are Mayo and I the replacement for that?~
Saori had to quickly step behind Chichiri to avoid being run over. The streets had crowded a lot since the afternoon hit.
~There's a war... there was a war at least, but there really is no sign that its over. There was a war in the first story, and it killed two of Suzaku's warriors. And Houki! I remember, Houki was pregnant with Boushin, and now... and now she's pregnant again! After 16 years she's pregnant again...~
Saori made yet a few more connections. ~Mayo told me all about how it all started... at first Miaka and Tamahome didn't get along very well, and I believe they even got into a few fights, but after that they fell in love. Isn't that... isn't that the exact way it happened with Inami and Tasuki? They used to really hate each other... And Amiboshi died in the first story, well, they thought he did, and Suboshi took his revenge on Tamahome's family, right? Suboshi, we thought Suboshi had died, but he really didn't... and they told me Amiboshi came after them...~
Saori's concentration was broken when Chichiri suddenly stopped her. They were pressed up between two booths, large crowds of people passing by either way. Chichiri was looking through them.
"What is it Chichiri?" Saori whispered.
Chichiri didn't answer for a minute. "These soldiers... they're in regiments no da..."
Saori tried to see best she could, and it was true there were a lot of soldier, but no more than before.
"Regiments?" Saori asked.
Again Chichiri hesitated, but this time he looked away from the crowd. "Kutou... Kutou is planning on attacking again, very soon too no da."
At those words Saori froze. She remembered the first battles they had had. She had been so worried about everyone...
"It was a bad time to come here, no da." Chichiri commented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't think I've ever quite been out on the streets like this before... not in Kutou..." Miaka said, holding onto Tamahome's arm with both of hers.
Tamahome scanned around them for the thousandth time. "I still don't sense anything remotely like what we're looking for."
"It could be that our shinzaho is not in the South of Kutou, Tamahome." Chiriko suggested.
Miaka sighed a bit, shaking her feet in her step. She had been walking for quite a while now. "Chiriko, when do we head back?"
"Not yet." Chiriko answered. "We may have to stay out later than expected, it's too dangerous to stay here over night, and we need to find the shinzaho in our approximate time slot."
Tamahome pulled Miaka closer to him as two conversing soldiers passed by. "They sure are war dedicated...."
"The architecture here is fascinating..."
Miaka and Tamahome both turned around and gave quizzical looks to Chiriko.
Chiriko pulled his eyes away from a near by bridge and looked at the two before him, giving a slightly embarrassed smile. "I know I'm a bit off subject, but the geometry Kutou has applied in its structures seems more advanced than most of what I usually..."
Tamahome moaned a bit and continued walking, dragging Miaka with him. Miaka did laugh a bit as Chiriko attempted to explain his reasoning. In her mind, she knew that thinking about something besides their extensive mission was a relief... and Chiriko found something good in this eastern country.
************************************
"Yes, send this to Hokkan immediately, I want no delays." The man in imperial robes handed the thick letter branded with Suzaku to the magistrate, who nodded quickly and scurried out of the hallway. The man of royalty continued down the hallway, now to start more matters of business. The hallway he was taking lead down the interior guest rooms, a short cut to his next destination. However, he couldn't help but stop before a particular door, which by chance was partially open.
He pushed the door open more, taking a glance into the larger room. A perfectly laid bed sat on the far wall, and the curtains had been left open over the large window, which lead out to a rounded balcony. Everything seemed in order... except for two items on a chair by a dresser: a small blue tube of lipstick and a red beaded necklace.
The door was open, so Boushin imagined that a maid had come in. His eyes saddened as he looked around the room again. It had been so long since he had seen the girl, though his feelings towards her had not changed over the time. Boushin placed his hand on the doorknob and shut it gently. "I shall pray for your return, Saori Kawai." He whispered, pulling his hand... and his thoughts away from the door.
************************************
"Mitsukake?"
The tall man had stopped in his stride and was watching a distant guard walking with suspicion.
"Uh, earth to Mitsukake, why'd you stop?" Nuriko waved his hands in front of Mitsukake's face.
Mitsukake turned to him and subtly pointed. "Over there, that soldier, do you sense an aura about him?"
Nuriko blinked and looked passed Mitsukake at the two men passing by, two soldier talking. Suddenly, as if it flashed before his eyes, the strong sense of Suzaku flooded into his mind.
"Yeah... Mitsukake, I do." He answered in a whisper.
"Nuriko, it could be the shinzaho." Mitsukake said briefly, trying to keep an eye on the man in particular, ignoring the squirming of Tama under his robes. "We should..."
"All ready ahead of ya." Nuriko said. "Come on."
The two quickly walked through the streets, swerving around various carts and people, trying to keep their eyes on the two soldiers. As soon as they were out of sight of most of the booths, they took off at a sprint, winding around a side passage. When they stopped they could see the duo coming towards them, still oblivious to their presence.
Both Mitsukake and Nuriko concentrated hard. It was the man on the right that had the aura. He and his companion walked fairly slow, both using their long spears as walking staffs.
"It's his helmet." Mitsukake finally whispered.
Nuriko looked at the copper helmet on the soldier's head, the tassels on top of a bright, red color. "I think you're right."
"How do we get it?"
"I have an idea. Mitsukake, go long."
"Nuriko, what are you talking about?"
"I'll show ya."
"So I'm joining the Artenas rankings next month, I'll be stationed further north." A soldier with dark, black hair smirked.
"Perhaps you'll be able to add some Hokkan blood to your name then, once we commence the strike." The other soldier replied.
They both laughed lightly, but it was a hoarse, cold laugh. They continued on with little words, passing by a few peasants with disgust.
~*FWOOM!*~
A small rock came flying towards the soldier at right, making a light whistle as it whizzed through the air. The soldier turned just in time to see it. It barely missed his head and landed with a harsh impact with his helmet, so hard that the helmet toppled off and rolled with force down the dirt packed street and under the footwork of a few civilians.
"What the hell?!" The soldier rubbed his head in pain from the shock the helmet had made. He turned to a mass of people in the direction the stone came. "WHO THREW THAT!?"
A few of the people looked at him oddly.
"I asked you people a question!!" However, in the absence of both soldiers' attention, they didn't see the copper helmet disappear down the street.
Nuriko smiled from atop a hard roof of a booth. The second rock he was holding he let slide from his hand, and he leapt off the back of the booth so the sellers inside wouldn't see him. He ran back behind a solitary wall and around into another street, diving between people before catching his eye on a tall man nestled between shops, holding a helmet in his hands. He made his way through the crowds and stood in front of him.
"Nice work, Mitsukake, if I do say so myself."
As if responding as the doctor's reply, the helmet flashed a color of red, dimming down back to its brass color. Nuriko frowned slightly at the sight of the dent in the side of the armor, he imagined it was his stone that did that.
With out any more searching needed, the two changed their direction and headed back west, trying to stay hidden from any guards or soldiers who would question the reason they had a Kutou helmet in their midst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was beginning to set, though most of its brilliant form was still above the very distant mountains. The air had only cooled down lightly, but it seemed as if the townspeople were beginning to settle up their business.
"Sir."
The armed, tall man turned from his quiet conversation with another guard. He eyed the man addressing him. "Yes, what is it?"
The soldier extended his arm and held out a small, folded note. "It's a message from the general, sir."
The second man took it and opened it. "Is this all?"
"Yes sir."
The soldier turned his back and skimmed his eyes over the message on the piece of paper. After reviewing it, he crumpled the paper up and threw it at his feet.
"Men!" He called, getting the small troops attention. "We have a message to be spread over Kutou, from our general!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ya ever have that feeling like you're running towards something and you're not gettin' any closer?"
"I take it you're referring to right now."
"Well, we've been walking for a rather long time, and we're not getting anywhere."
Inami sighed in agreement. "Well, I wouldn't think the shinzaho would be planted out in the middle of a sparse forest..."
After succeeding in overcoming their earlier mishap, Tasuki and Inami walked almost helplessly through the never-ending trees before them. Luckily, they hadn't come upon any more holes.
Tasuki looked up at the sun in the distance. "Akue, we should start heading back real soon here."
Inami looked at Tasuki then back at the sun as well. "Well I'm not too disappointed, I'd imagine the others had better luck finding the shinzaho than we did."
The two turned their direction, but instead of going the way they came they headed more northwest, towards the general location Chichiri had preset.
Tasuki had a thin stick in his hand, which he subconsciously spun around with his fingers and they walked. Inami glanced at him. The sun was at his side, and the light it cast upon his hair made it almost look like fire.
Suddenly, Tasuki's hand shout out in front of Inami, stopping her.
"Tasuki?"
"Sh..." Tasuki said quietly, listening. Inami listened too.
Footsteps. They were distant, but they were heading toward their general location.
"Who would be out here?" Inami asked quietly.
"No one... that's the thing." Tasuki answered. The steps were coming closer, and it was obvious that there was more than one person. Tasuki's eyes shot around. He grabbed Inami's wrist and yanked her back, darting for two adjacent trees behind them. He stepped behind them, his back pressed against the trunk of one of them, Inami in front of him. He slowly pulled her down low, squatting closer to the ground. There was a very thin gap between the two trees, where Tasuki could see out.
They were there for about a minute before voices came, three male voices. It was another minute before the owners of the voices came into view, and Tasuki didn't like what he saw.
Kutou guards.
It didn't seem like they were just out strolling, but looking for something.
Tasuki pulled Inami closer to him, making sure she was completely concealed by the large trunk of the cedar.
"I don't see why we gotta be out here."
"You heard the captain's message. Stop complaining, y'old gut."
"Doin' this 'ill make us on night shiftin' t'night."
"Heck, there's good in this. If we find what we're lookin' for, we'll have a bit of a party."
"Yeah."
The three laughed.
"What I wouldn't d'for a honey ham, tell ya."
*"Hm!"*
The guards stopped, looking around.
"Hey mate, did'ya hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Yeah, I think I heard it too."
"Dun see anything."
"Heard what?!"
Back behind the two trees, Tasuki's hand was clasped firmly over Inami's mouth, Inami's hand over his. He held her close, trying to keep her calmed. On the tree in front of them a large, black spider slowly crawled up the bark.
"Well, I dun see nothin', and now I dun hear nuthin, maybe Bukon was just making his own body noises."
"I could've been, I suppose."
"I dun know... it didn't sound like no body noise."
"Maybe a rat than?" One of the soldiers laughed, continuing in his step.
"Eh." Another soldier responded, following after the first. The last soldier scanned the surroundings once more, before catching up with his companions.
Tasuki and Inami stayed put, Tasuki watching and listening to the soldiers, Inami's eyes focused on the arachnid less than a foot in front of her. Finally, after a few minutes, Tasuki released her, and Inami quickly scrambled away from their hiding place, gasping for air.
Tasuki stood up, glancing down at the dark spider, which was harmlessly sitting upon the tree. He sighed, and kicked it with his boot, sending it flying off somewhere on the ground.
Tasuki could have said something about Inami almost getting them caught, but decided against it. After Inami seemed to get over her "close encounter," she spoke up, still silent.
"What were Kutou soldier doing all the way out here?"
Tasuki looked back in the direction the soldiers left. "They shouldn't be, that's the thing..." He turned back to Inami. "It's like... they know we're here. They were looking for something, especially being so far from any stations."
Inami looked at him, obviously taking in his suspicions. "Do you think they know?"
Tasuki walked up to her, almost as if motioning it was safe to keep going. "I think someone does... we need to keep an eye out, and we need to hurry back."
Inami nodded, following after the bandit.
~
Author's note: When Tasuki fell into the whole and stated "Yeah. I do this stuff all the time" I was debating on whether or not to put "Yeah. the ground broke my fall." So you're input on which is better would be helpful!