Disclaimer: No, I not in any way own Fushigi Yuugi or any of its characters however my OCs do belong to me. Now stop bothering me and read!
4. She'll be coming 'round the mountain
Yukari and Tasuki both turned towards the door where they had heard the loud string of swearing come from while Niurou just let out a sigh and rubbed his temple. Here they are trying their best to decide the next course of action and this had to come. Before either Tasuki or Yukari could comprehend what was going on, an unknown force charged straight into Tasuki, sending the poor man into a wall.
"ALRIGHT! WHERE'S THIS GREAT GENROU-SAMA WHO HAD DECIDED TO GRACE OUR PLACE WITH HIS GODDAMN PRESENCE!" Yukari could only stood there and starred at the new comer.
The intruder looked about fourteen to fifteen years old, wearing a pair of baggy pants held up by a loose belt and an oversized tunic that slipped off the left shoulder. The only thing that gave away the fact that she was a girl was the long silver hair that she tied into a high ponytail. That hair, which is so well kept of that it reflects light, obviously belonged to a female but other than that every other aspect resembles a male and you can't really tell her figure due to all those baggy clothes.
Niurou sighed again as he rose from his seat, "Mala-chan, a lady shouldn't use such language."
"I told you times and before, oni-chan. I am not and will not be a lady!" The girl retorted.
'Oni-chan? They are siblings? I wouldn't have guessed so if not for their eyes.' Yukari thought as she continued to stare at the odd pair. Indeed both of them have the same brilliant blue eyes that had nothing to hide.
All this while, Hayashi was lying quietly on the bench and observing the scene through a lazy eye. The puppy decided to make its presence known, after a nice stretch Hayashi jumped off the bench and bounded merrily towards the new wall decoration known as Tasuki. Everyone in the room watched as the dog stopped right under Tasuki and lifted one of its hind legs.
"No. Hayashi. That. Is. Not. The. Toilet." The said puppy gave a sharp yelp when it saw the dark look on Yukari's face and immediately put down its hind leg. If there was one thing his master despise the most; it was cleaning up after him, the last time she had to do that the house was nearly destroyed in the girl's anger.
After Hayashi had scrambled away from that spot, Yukari proceeded to peel Tasuki off the wall but before she could even reach him, the mechanic felt a strong gust of wind blew pass her, the next time she knew, Tasuki was already bellowing at Mala.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" This provoked a death glare from the bandit girl, which soon led to an all out glaring contest between the two of them.
"Cut it out!" Yukari shouted in order to get their attention however she instantly became the target of two intensified death glares.
"Come on lets start with the introduction, shall we?" Niurou put a hand on his sister's shoulder.
"Guys, this is my sweet and wonderful sister, Mala Laimian. Mala, I want you to meet this pretty and modest goddess, Yukari…" Before the bandit leader could finish his sentence, the girl had already disappeared from her brother's side. Niurou looked behind him to find a group of people hunching together and discussing something, the eye catching silver hair also showed that Mala was among one of them.
Tasuki and Yukari both leaned forward so as to hear what the commotion is about, even Hayashi seemed interested, "So how long do you think this one's gonna last?"
"I would say two weeks."
"Nah, that's too long. One week."
"How 'bout four days." A vein popped up on Niurou's temple when his sister made that statement.
"HEY! HEY! HEY!" Finally he couldn't take it anymore and broke up the group by giving them each a bump on the head with the hilt of his sword. The three (Yukari, Tasuki and Hayashi) could only sweatdrop at the painful if not comical scene.
"Can't you guys have a little faith in your leader, I tell you this time I will win her heart over!" Niurou yelled at the group of bandits, although Tasuki still had a clueless expression on his face, Yukari had a distinct feeling they were talking about her.
"Ha! That's what you said the last time as well but you still got rejected in three days."
After Mala had finished her words, her brother had already created another bump on her head, "This time's gonna be different!"
'I'm sorry Niurou-san, but I already have a… ' Niurou's loud clearing of his throat brought Yukari out of her thoughts.
"As I was saying, this is Yukari, " the said girl nodded "and this is Genrou, otherwise known as Tasuki." There was a moment of silence while Niurou observed his sister's reaction to his words.
"NO WAY IN HELL! Ni-chan you had always told me that Genrou-sama was a wise and intelligent leader. This guy doesn't even fit the description!" Mala shouted, all the while pointing at the pissed off seishi.
"WHAT WAS THAT? YOU BRAT!" Before long Tasuki had Mala in a headlock, and with his strength swung her around by the neck. Yukari and Niurou could only sweatdrop at the antics of their friends.
Niurou poked at his food absentmindedly, "so you're from another world…"
"Feh! Like I would believe." The female bandit looked away from the table.
"Well no one's asking you to, brat!"
"Then what makes you so sure she's not lying." Mala retorted and glared at the former leader.
"For one thing, I've been through it once before. Besides just look at her clothes, where in this world can you find them?" Tasuki smirked and said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"WHY YOU ID…"
"Will you two quit it!" Yukari stood up and bang her hands on the wooden table, which efficiently got everybody's attention.
"Look, it's late now. Why don't we all go to rest now, after all we still have to set off for this Mt. Taikyoku place you guys were talking about in the morning." With this, the young mechanic left. The three watched her walked out of the room with Hayashi at her heel.
A while later, a head sheepishly poked in, "Erm, can I have a place to stay for the night?"
"So Mala-chan, please take care of the stronghold while I'm gone ne?" Niurou said as he held his sister's shoulder.
"Mou! Why can't I come?" Mala whined as a last effort to persuade her brother into changing his mind.
"I told you before, it's too dangerous. And besides who can I trust other then my own sister to take care of the guys." Niurou said in a firm voice that allowed for no argument.
Yukari was busy fastening her strap that held her skateboard and a T-shirt. She had decided to zip up her overall till just below the collarbone. 'This is the third day I'm here and I still refuse to believe that all of this is real.' Yukari thought as she absently mounted her horse with some difficulties and motioned for Hayashi to come up.
The girl was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she failed to realize that a certain redhead is starring at her, 'Miaka and the Seiryuu no miko came to this world 150 years ago, they were the last of the four priestesses to appear, if that's so then what is Yukari doing here?' Tasuki questioned himself about the purpose of Yukari being here but soon snapped out of it as the group began to set off.
Mala Lamian looked at the departing figure of her elder brother, unknowingly she felt a twist in her stomach.
"This is not like the last time I'm going to see oni-chan. Right?" The silver hair bandit said to herself and wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall.
"She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes, she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes…"
"Would you shut up! It's annoying and besides you sound terribly out of tune." Tasuki growled as he turned around at snapped at the girl.
"I'm bored! I was just trying to provide some entertainment, sorry if I was off tune." Yukari huffed and stomped ahead.
Tasuki rolled his eyes at the girl's childish behavior. Unknowingly, he bumped into Niurou who was supposed to leading the group.
"Hey! What the…" The seishi's sentence was cut off when Niurou clamped a hand over his mouth and pointed ahead with the other hand.
Tasuki looked up and saw Yukari running frantically towards them with Hayashi in her arms, following closly behind her was a huge creature, which looked like a cross between a frog and a tarantula. It had eight wet and slimy legs, eyes that can't seem to blink and a body that is hairy but had a glossy shine to it.
Soon enough, the two bandits found themselves backing away and getting into their battle stances. "What the hell is that thing!" Yukari shouted as she too took a defensive stance with Hayashi beside her baring his fangs at the hideous looking monster.
"Do I look like I know!" Tasuki snapped as he instinctually moved in front of Yukari in order to shield her from the danger.
"Well whatever it is, it doesn't seem like it's going to allow you guys any time to chit chat!" Niurou jumped beside them in an attempt to dodged one of the legs of the monster. Before he even had time to finish his sentence, the group had to scatter due to another limp that came crashing down on the spot that they were standing on. The guys managed to escape unharmed but Yukari landed on an uneven ground and twisted her right ankle.
Niurou tried running towards the girl but a slimy leg sends him flying in the opposite direction.
"Damnit! REKKAN SHIEN!" Tasuki shouted the incantation that had been forgotten for a hundred and fifty years. As he watched the creature engulf in flames, Tasuki felt a surge of energy rushed through his body filling him with the familiar feeling of victory. For a moment, the seishi forgot about his companions and stood there; basking in the glory of victory and feeling the adrenaline that was pumping through his blood once more.
All of a sudden, a charred limp knocked Tasuki out of his thoughts and into a tree. Yukari watched as the two bandits soon got back on their feet and continued to fight the creature only to be sent flying in various directions. She tried to stand up but the moment her injured right leg touches the ground, it felt as is she had just been stabbed.
'Damn, why am I so useless? I refuse to just sit here and play the Damsel-in-Distress, I'm going to help no matter what!' With this new resolution in mind, Yukari stood up slowly, at the same time unsheathing the dagger that she had found in her pouch yesterday.
Loud barking from Hayashi caught Niurou's attention "Yukari! What are y…" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the girl's eyes. If his memory did not fail him, Yukari's eyes were silver but now even from this far he could see that they are of a bright crimson red. He watched as Yukari held the dagger at eye level and with a flick of her wrist, the dagger disappeared from sight.
The next thing he knew, Niurou had a loud and horrendous cry coming from the monster. Just then, he saw a glimmer of silver on top of the creature's head. As it came closer, he could make out the shape of a dagger that was being embedded into a red spot on the creature's head.
'So that's where she was aiming, but the creature was unaffected by Genrou-sama's and mine attacks, it cried out in pain when Yukari struck that spot. Which means…' The green hair bandit's face lit up when realization dawned upon him. "Genrou-sama, aim for the red spot on its head! I'll cover you!"
Tasuki paused for a moment in his attack and looked at Niurou who was already charging towards the monster with both of his hands on the hilt of his sheathed sword (a/n: kenshee style). Without a second thought, Tasuki leaped above the monster landing on top of its massive head.
The seishi struck his tessan into the red spot and shouted the incantation, which immediately turned the creature into a huge fireball inside out. After a long groan, all that was left of the monster was a heap of ashes. And lying beside it was Yukari's dagger.
"Man, what on earth was that?" Yukari sighed as she plodded on the ground after returning the dagger to its original position on her pouch and nursed her swollen ankle. Niurou stared at the young mechanic, her eyes had reassumed their original colors but he was sure they were crimson red a minute ago.
"So this is the girl that the four gods had chosen." An old voice said.
"And I should say it's not bad a choice." Came a reply.
Yay! I finally finished this chapter! Argh, I can't write fighting scenes and you'd realize I did not talk about Niurou's skills. Well all will be revealed in the next chapter. Review!
Next chapter: This is my past