Chichiri Potter

and the

Sorcerer's Staff

Ch.8 By Cui

Taiitsu-kun's area of the room had nothing special; a small area of shiny pink marble draped in some small areas with prayer beads of every color. It actually looked more like a playroom than something that suited the ruler of the world, but it soon became clear why. All across her area of room were scattered toys, dolls, balls, and every other toy, and playing with them were…the nyan-nyans.

"Ooh, ooh, lookie lookie, Miaka's returned!"

"Miaka! And Chichiri and Tasuki too!"

"LET'S HUG 'EM!"

"Oh no you don't!" Taiitsu-kun just managed to capture her hyper nyan-nyans by magically wrapping the scattered prayer beads around them like ropes, just as they were mere inches from the seishi. The nyan-nyans were shaking furiously, trying to wriggle free of the binds. But Taiitsu-kun just pulled them back and sat them down still not releasing them. Then when they had calmed, somewhat down she looked back towards the seishi.

"Hm. I bet you kids are wondering why you're here." She crossed her wrinkly arms into her long sleeves.

The three nodded.

"Good, good, life's no fun without a little curiosity." She waved a finger in the air as if she were a grandmother giving good advice.

"But…it can be dangerous as well." At this she looked over at each of the gods who, in turn, hung their heads as if in shame. "Now I know Tamahome put in a huge effort and made it seem very important that you remember your past, but-stay still will you!" the nyan-nyans began wriggling again, "but, we," she gestured toward the gods and herself, "we would have preferred it, if you children hadn't remembered anything at all."

"NO, TAIITSU-KUN! That's not true! We wanted them to remember, its just…tell them why Taiitsu-kun!" Suzaku was on the edge of his throne yelling angrily at Taiitsu-kun, and pointing at his seishi.

Miaka gasped loudly, and Tasuki gave an obvious 'yelp'. Their god, Suzaku, had spoken out against Taiitsu-kun! And to top it off, this was the first they ever saw him at a lost for words. He acted very differently in front of Taiitsu-kun than he ever did in front of them…until now.

"Tell them Taiitsu-kun-sama!"

Taiitsu-kun gave a heavy sigh before finally speaking in an old, but smooth, quiet tone.

"It's Yami-sama."

"WHAT?" the three seishi yelled together.

"It's Yami-sama, you baka seishi! The Dark Lord; Voldemort!" she began waving her heavily draped arms, making them look like colorful wings, but trying to make a point.

"Voldemort? The hell are you talkin' 'bout, baba?" Tasuki began scratching his head with his fan, bewildered. He looked over to Chichiri who seemed to be deep in thought. "Oi, Chiri-chan, you know 'bout this guy?"

"I think I've heard of him somewhere, no da." He looked towards Taiitsu-kun, " Didn't he have something to do with Tenko, no da? One of his followers or something, na no da?"

"Not exactly," a cold and icy voice said from Taiitsu-kun's right before she could answer.

The seishi looked towards the icy throne of Seiryu who had just spoken. He tossed back his white-blonde hair and spoke again in the same icy tone that sent shivers up all their spines.

"No, Tenko was his follower. Not the other way around. So, I hope you've figured this out by now, but Yami-sama is much worse than Tenko…much worse. Not to mention his other followers." Seiryu's lips twisted into an odd smile that showed his long canines, they were a little longer that Tasuki's, actually, but there was no mirth in that smile. The seishi found they preferred his scowl.

"Don't trust him!" Suzaku yelled at his seishi, "He was once a follower of Yami-sama himself before Taiitsu-kun redeemed him!"

""Your one to talk, Suzaku! High treason in all the heavens was committed by you letting your miko and one of your warriors be together!"(Miaka winced)

"They were in love! I did my job as the GOD OF LOVE! I still don't know why Taiitsu-kun lets you stay here with the rest of us, Seiryu; you served the worst evil in all the worlds! What I did, I did for good!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH BOTH OF YOU!" Taiitsu-kun's angry crackly voice broke through, and silenced the argument. Suzaku and Seiryu slumped back in their seats mumbling angrily.

"So," Miaka began cautiously, twiddling her wand with her fingers, "What does Yami-sama have to do with us?"

"Well," Taiitsu-kun began eyeing the two gods to make sure they didn't start bickering again, they didn't, "Yami-sama has great dark powers, and one of them is mind reading…"

"Mind reading, no da?" Chichiri asked, astonished

"What, what? So what if he can read minds Chiri?" Tasuki kept pestering, he didn't understand what the big deal was, but instead of giving him an answer Chichiri decided to question Taiitsu-kun first.

"Is that why our dreams are a problem? Is that why you really didn't want us to remember?"

"Yes."

Tasuki and Miaka weren't the only ones to notice the absence of the 'no da's'. Even Suzaku was on the edge of his seat again. Seiryu was still slumped back, but was eyeing Chichiri menacingly.

"What the hell's the freakin' problem, dammit!" Tasuki yelled in frustration, waving his fan threateningly.

"Don't you get it Tasuki? If he can read minds, and our minds are wide open for all our memories to come in, he can see our thoughts, all our memories! He'll know all about our past and our present, he'll know all about the gods, he'll know our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses, Tasuki, he'll know everything there is to know about us, and the others!"

W-whaddya mean? He's not even here! How can he invade our minds like that if he's not even here?" Tasuki sounded very hopeful.

"As soon as he knows that there are fresh seishi souls to feast on he'll be here." Taiitsu-kun's crackly, old voice spoke sorrowfully. "His dark magic is not limited to just reading minds…no, he can also make you see things."

"Make us see things?" Tasuki repeated nervously.

"Yes, horrible things. After invading the private confines of your mind he'll know your worst fears and what can really make you suffer, and he'll use that to his advantage. He even has ways of getting you to kill yourself, just by messing with that head of yours."

Chichiri and Tasuki were both at a lost for words, but that same icy voice broke them from their horrified trance.

"It seems like we won't have to wait very long for Yami-sama's uninvited arrival." Chichiri and Tasuki glared at Seiryu's twisted smiling face, but soon noticed that his eyes weren't on them, but looking cold and hard at Miaka.

They both turned their heads, fearful of what they might see as they looked towards Miaka. It was just as they feared, maybe even worse, as a dark and raspy voice erupted from deep in her throat and out of her lips.

"I have returned…and this," she clutched the neck of her shirt, " Miaka Granger, is mine." The raspy, deep voice of Yami-sama laughed horribly before releasing Miaka. Her eyes were dark and distant, and underneath them her skin became a horrible blue as if she hadn't slept in days, making bags right beneath her eyes. Her skin was also becoming very pale; she looked sick. Her body moved oddly as if she were a puppet on strings that needed to be tighter, and her head hung low and frightening when she wasn't speaking for him. She began to gag and spit blood while smiling horribly and whispering, "…she's mine, I have her, the miko of Suzaku is mine, you've failed, I only need the other seven, and Suzaku shall be powerless, she's mine…"

"NO, MIAKA!" Chichiri and Tasuki yelled together. Tears began to spill from Miaka's distant eyes. She was in pain, and for a moment, a split second, the raspy voice broke and Miaka's came through in barely a whisper…

"…help me, please…" before Yami-sama took control again.