Lonely Angel
Disclaimer: I do not own any bit of this story, Fushigi Yugi belongs to Yuu Watase, and Harry Potter/Hogwarts belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.
Author Note: Yay! Long chapter! This is my longest chapter to date. 13 pages in word!
Nuriko's Plan
Early the next morning, they were off and ready to go. In spite of many protests from Nozomi (and a few from Tamahome and Nuriko as well), Hotohori and Nozomi were sharing a horse. She happened to be a little huffy this morning, because no one seemed to believe that she could ride. But no, she was overruled by the handsome emperor.
In the end though, she only agreed because Hotohori made her feel guilty about using up too many of the palace resources, and needing to only take what was necessary. She offered to use her wings so the poor horse wouldn't have to drag two people around all day, but that idea didn't fly either, no pun intended.
So with a little bit of grumbling to hide the fact that having Hotohori's arms wrapped around her was anything but unpleasant, she refused any help mounting the large animal, and agilely leapt up to take her place in front of Hotohori. Smiling at Nozomi's stubborn and independent attitude, Hotohori soon followed her lead, and leaned in closer to her to grab the horse's reins, not bothering to hide that he liked the feeling, though out of kindness, he did pretend not to notice the blush now staining her smooth cheeks.
Much grumbling was heard from Nuriko during all of this, he didn't like the position Nozomi was in one bit. Correction, he didn't like that Nozomi was the one in that position instead of Nuriko himself. He couldn't really blame Nozomi though – even though he secretly did – to her credit, she did try just about everything to get out of it. That did nothing to stem the flow of jealousy coursing through him. In his heart, Nuriko knew that nothing could come of his love, after all, they were both men, and Hotohori needed an heir, something Nuriko could never give him, but hope refused to die none-the-less.
The party was a quiet one for the beginning of the trip, as no one wanted to draw attention to themselves. Between having the emperor and the Suzaku no Miko in their party, they'd get mobbed if anyone found out. Once they were out of the city, it would be safe to talk freely.
Soon, little cute furry woodland creatures started to surround Nozomi. She looked like one of the princesses in Disney movies, though her companions couldn't make that comparison, of course. Sticking out her finger, a small blue jay came and perched there. The bird would whistle, and Nozomi whistled back in an endless cycle. Looking at her oddly, her companions observed the exchange.
At one point, Nozomi looked particularly interested, almost like she was having a real conversation with the bird. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Soon she was smiling, though, and the bird flew off. They were far out of the city by this point, with no one in sight.
Still with that smile on her face, Nozomi turned to her companions and asked, "Would you like to see something you've never seen before, except in pictures?" Taking their silence as a yes, Nozomi let out a very unusual bird call indeed. The sound seemed to quiver in the air, penetrating everything around them, and echoing around them long after Nozomi had gone silent. Once the echoes had died down, though, they heard an answering cry, and a beautiful red and gold bird with an abnormally long tail flew towards them from a nearby tree.
"What is that?" Nuriko asked. Nozomi was right, he had never seen anything like this bird before, but the sight was beautiful and inspiring somehow. As unusual as the sounds were, they were pleasant to listen to as well.
"That, my friends, is a phoenix." Nozomi said with joy evident in her voice. All three men were astonished, and could barely believe it. "The headmaster of my school, Professor Dumbledore, had one that stayed with him in his office named Fawkes. I always liked Fawkes, he and Dumbledore seemed to suit each other very well. They were both far smarter than anyone else around them, and three times as wise."
"You know about phoenixes?" Tamahome asked incredulously.
"Of course. They're quite fascinating, really. Their tears have healing powers, they can carry immensely heavy loads, and when it comes time for them to die; they burst into flame, and are reborn from the ashes."
"Are they common in your world?" Hotohori inquired.
"Not particularly, but they're not exactly rare either. Everyone knows about them, just not everyone has seen one." At this point the phoenix, who had been circling their horses, started singing again. Nozomi smiled again, mimicked a few of the noises, and then turned to everyone else. "I'm afraid we'll have to say goodbye here." As they all watched, the bird settled on each of their shoulders in turn, and allowed them to pet him once or twice, before he flew back out of sight.
"How did you know what he was saying?" Nuriko couldn't hold back the question any longer. He'd been wondering that ever since the first bird came along. And of course the other little critters now getting under the horse's feet needed some explaining too.
"One of the benefits of being part mermaid is you can speak with animals. Including the normal ones you see all the time, but also magical animals like thestrals, unicorns, and kneazles." They all looked at her like she was insane.
"Like what?" Tamahome finally asked incredulously.
Nozomi tried to explain a little better. "Thestrals are rather like horses with wings, only their heads are shaped differently and their skin is like a lizard's. Fascinating creatures, though, you can't see them unless you've seen someone die. Because of that, they've been categorized as bad omens, even though they're really quite peaceful creatures. They could care less about humans, to tell the truth.
"Unicorns are a type of horse, though with a horn in their forehead, which has strong magical properties. So does the tail hair, incidentally.
"And kneazles are a little like cats, and can be interbred with cats, but they are remarkably intelligent. There are some wizards and witches that can turn into animals, but kneazles can tell when an animal is really a human in disguise. That's only the beginning; I can't remember their other powers at the moment, though."
"Tell us more about your world." This came from Hotohori, and Nozomi could feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke, causing a warm and fuzzy feeling to spread throughout her whole body. Desperately trying to concentrate on the conversation, instead of the fine specimen of a man behind her, she switched gears.
"Which part? The magical bit or the non-magical bit?"
"Which one is more interesting?"
"Point taken, magical bit it is." She said with a smile in her voice. "Well, I grew up in the non-magical world, so I didn't know about any of this until I turned 11. I knew I was different, obviously, no one else turned into a fish when wet, or had retractable wings. There were other indicators that I was different, however.
"One time, when I was first beginning my Jujitsu classes, one of my classmates came at me with one of the wooden practice swords, frightened out of my wits, I closed my eyes to await impact, but it never came. When I looked again, his sword had disappeared." Laughing a little at the memory, Nozomi continued.
"Everyone was so confused, but eventually, since there seemed to be no explanation for it at all, the subject was dropped. When I was 11, I got a letter, delivered by an owl, of course, that I had been accepted into a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was in that school for the next seven years of my life, learning all about magic and how to use it.
"As I explained at dinner, even in the wizarding world, I had to keep quiet about my heritage because of the law against non-humans learning magic. Fortunately for me, the headmaster of the school, Albus Dumbledore, thought that law was completely pointless, so he kept my secret, and taught me anyway. I was also given extra lessons in his office to learn how to control my unique powers."
"What, you have powers the other students didn't have?" This interruption came from Tamahome.
"Yes." To demonstrate, Nozomi held out a hand, and a fire burst from her palm. Resting slightly above the skin, it burned as merrily as if she had a small pile of wood in her hand.
"There's one, and thanks to Dumbledore, I can control it completely. It used to only come when I was especially angry, and I couldn't control what it did, or when it appeared. There were a couple of close calls with a particular gentleman. I learned very quickly to just run away when I felt my anger rise to dangerous levels. Then of course, I can talk to animals, and my singing voice has some magical properties. I'm not sure how to describe it. My mother's voice could be used to purify someone or something, but mine's just kind of…soothing."
Wistfully, Hotohori remembered the events of the previous night, reflecting on how true that statement really was. "What powers did your father give you?"
"The only one I've found is the wings. Draconians are nearly extinct. In fact, I've only heard of two others, and like me, they're only half breeds. If they're still alive, they would be my cousins. But I have no idea where they are, or what their names are. In any case, I am the only one Dumbledore had ever met, if it wasn't for my existence, they would only be a vague legend. We searched all seven years for more information on that side of my family, but nothing turned up."
"Tell us more." Nuriko urged.
So Nozomi rambled on about talking pictures, Quidditch, her classes, amusing anecdotes about Hagrid and his monster fixation, hippogriffs, and much more. The three others listened silently, trying to imagine a world like the one she described. She told them all about Peeves, the vanishing closet, and since they seemed interested, more about Fawkes.
She was in the middle of telling them what the sorting hat told her that first day at school when she paused.
"What is it?" Hotohori asked, frowning slightly and reining in his horse. He didn't like the way she suddenly tensed.
Nozomi was staring at a small cluster of trees off to their right, not seemingly aware that she had been asked a question. Finally becoming aware of the three intense gazes directed her way, she made a visible effort to collect herself.
"Sorry. I thought I heard…nothing. It's nothing, never mind." She gave a completely unconvincing smile and continued with her story. But her thoughts were far away from the sorting hat she was telling them about. 'I thought I heard a small pop, like when someone apparates. But there are no witches here, are there? Should I ask some of the animals? No, I don't want to seem paranoid. It was probably just a branch cracking or something. It's fine.'
Kutou, 5 Seconds Later
The blonde man standing in the corner of the fine room exuded an unmistakable sense of power and authority. His gaze was chilling in the extreme, and didn't change at all when a hooded figure appeared before him from thin air. "Well?" he demanded of the newcomer.
"It's true, General. They have found Suzaku no Miko. But there's more, sir."
The general listened without changing expression to the man's astonishing news. When he finished, all he said was, "Excellent. We'll test her to see how strong her powers are. Continue watching her, and keep me informed."
Once again, the hooded figure disappeared with a small 'pop'.
Back to Konan
All during the trip there had been an undercurrent of tension, as Hotohori was highly attentive to Nozomi, and Nuriko wasn't happy about it. As much as he had come to respect Nozomi, he still didn't like the fact that Hotohori so obviously preferred her.
Trying to parade his 'feminine' charms in front of the young emperor had not worked in the slightest; he paid no attention to anyone but Nozomi. The only plan Nuriko could work out other than that was to draw Nozomi's attention away from Hotohori. As the only other male in their party, Tamahome seemed the likeliest candidate. Unfortunately Tamahome's vocabulary did not include the word 'romantic', and was as clueless as only a straight man can be. He needed a lesson from the master. And who better to teach him than a gay guy parading as a girl? Nuriko to the rescue! First, they needed to connect on something they had in common.
The most obvious thing, which wasn't romantic at all, but it would have to do, was martial arts. The cross-dresser had seen Nozomi up at all hours of the day and night, practicing once her leg was better. So when they stopped for the horses to rest, and Nozomi excused herself to practice in a secluded section of trees, though no one but Nuriko knew what she was doing, the scheming violet haired warrior waited a few moments, and gave Tamahome a bogus message to pass on to Nozomi.
"Why do I have to give the message to her? Wouldn't Hotohori be a better person for it?" The young man complained.
"His Highness is tending to the horses right now, and I'm preparing some food for us, you need to go tell Nozomi that we'll be ready to eat soon!"
"Don't you think that after three days of traveling, she knows the drill just as well as the rest of us?"
Nuriko visibly sighed in frustration. He was just too stubborn for his own good. It seemed like she would just have to resort to good old physical force. "Just go tell her! If you don't, I might have to give you a 'friendly' push in the right direction!"
Looking alarmed at the mere thought, Tamahome hurriedly agreed. Once again, Nuriko had talked him into doing something he didn't want to. Really, she could be insufferable sometimes. Oh well, at least giving the message to Nozomi would keep him away from her fiery temper.
That was one thing he liked about Nozomi, she never seemed to be in a bad mood. Pensive sometimes, yes, sometimes quiet and reserved, but those days were getting fewer and fewer. But never once had he seen her angry, or yell at someone. She was a very restful person to be around.
As he cleared the trees surrounding her, he was surprised to see she was making very odd movements indeed. It almost looked like the warm-ups he did every day, but it was different. There were no punches thrown, no kicks, just twists and turns that never seemed to end. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she hadn't noticed him.
He watched her for a few moments, trying to find a good time to interrupt. He knew from experience that if you interrupted someone during their workout, you were likely to find yourself being attacked. He had some really bad memories from when he'd made that mistake with his master.
Suppressing a shudder at the thought, he realized that there wasn't going to be a good time to interrupt her, her movements were seamless, she moved from one exercise to the next without any pause at all. Readying himself mentally for the upcoming attack, Tamahome came and put his hand on her shoulder to attract her attention. At least, that was his intention. Much like she had done with the slave traders that day, she flipped him so he landed flat on his back before he'd even laid a hand on her. It took a moment for her to wake from her trance, but when she did, it was obvious how sorry she was.
"Oh my gosh Tamahome, I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?"
Wincing slightly as he got up, Tamahome played tough. "Naw, you couldn't hurt me that easily, I am a Suzaku warrior, after all. I was expecting a lot worse. Last time I did that to my master, he nearly ripped my head off."
While he talked, Nozomi had bent down to check for herself that he was alright. When she was sure he had no broken bones, she looked him in the eye. "I'm still sorry. When I'm practicing, I can tell when people are there, but somehow I don't take time to consider who they are. Are you sure you're okay? No broken bones, but I didn't give you any bruises, did I?"
Smiling a little, he assured her that he was made of tougher stuff than she gave him credit for. "What kind of martial art is that, anyway? I've only seen you do defense."
Giving him a smile that still held sadness within it, she helped him up before she responded. "There are only a few offensive moves in Aikido, which is what I was practicing. The theory behind it is that you don't need to hurt someone in order to prevent them from hurting you. It's actually a very powerful method of defense if you do it correctly. You use your opponent's own momentum against them. It's specifically designed for people like me, not very strong, a lot smaller than most everyone else, and with no desire to hurt anyone."
"Even when you're faced with slave traders who want to sell your body?" he asked, looking confused.
"Even when I'm faced with scum like that. I don't know why they became slave traders. Maybe they had no choice, or at least felt like they had no choice. I don't like what they do, and I'm not going to let them do it to me, but I don't want to hurt them either. Well, not permanently anyway. I can count on one hand how many times I've struck a person."
"How many times is that?" This time he was curious. He'd need more hands than he could count to represent how many asses he'd kicked.
"Three. Two of those times have been in this world."
"Once when you knocked the assassin unconscious, and what was the other time?"
Giving him a would-be innocent smile, Nozomi pretended she hadn't heard the question. "How long have you studied martial arts?"
Tamahome knew perfectly well what she was doing, and she darn well wasn't going to get away with it. "Come on, when was the other time?"
Giving him an I-think-you're-being-impertinent look, she answered haughtily, "I might make you number four if you don't stop asking me that question."
At the look on her face as she said that, Tamahome burst out laughing. Putting her hands on her hips in mock sternness, Nozomi scolded him. "Hey! Why does everyone always laugh when I say that?"
In between uncontrollable fits of laughter, Tamahome tried to explain. "Well…you don't look…very threatening. You look about…ten!" To Tamahome's confusion (hidden quite well by his laughter, which was still going strong), Nozomi smiled in satisfaction.
"Good, being underestimated by the enemy gives me the advantage!" With that, she put the still laughing warrior into a headlock, and started messing up his hair while laughing maniacally.
"Hey! Stop that! It's your turn now!" Expertly, Tamahome reversed their positions, and began tickling her without mercy, delighted beyond measure when he found that Nozomi was the most ticklish person he had ever met. The slightest touch of his fingers had her laughing so hard she couldn't breathe within seconds.
It was in this charming position that Nuriko found them. Secretly rejoicing, for phase one of his plan had worked better than he could have hoped, he decided it was time he put an end to it, judging by the way Nozomi's face was turning purple from lack of oxygen.
"Now, now Tamahome, when I sent you with that message for Nozomi, I thought I could trust you not to make a move on her!" he said with a wicked smile spread wide across his beautiful face. Tamahome jumped far away from Nozomi in embarrassment, giving the poor girl precious time to breathe.
"I didn't do anything! We were practicing…uh…martial arts! That's it! We were sparring!"
Knowing smile firmly in place, Nuriko gave him a penetrating glance, "Sparring…right. I suppose that's why the poor girl can't even stand up for coughing right now." And sure enough, Nozomi was on all fours, coughing up a storm, it seemed her lungs had forgotten how to deal with oxygen now that she had plenty of it. It was getting better with every cough though, and soon she was able to stand up. Nuriko couldn't believe what a perfect picture she made, with her hair completely tangled, and small twigs and leaves stuck in it, a slight blush covering her cheeks.
"Thank you, Nuriko. It's nice to be able to breathe. And to be fair to Tamahome, I started our little fight. It's been a while since I've had a real person to practice with. Though it seems Tamahome decided to invent a few rules of his own." She added with a reproving glare in Tamahome's direction. As Nozomi began to straighten out her hair, Nuriko decided it was time to tell them what she'd sent Tamahome in here to tell Nozomi.
"Anyway, the food is ready, so come on out when you've, ah, tidied yourself up a bit." Smiling at how Nozomi switched her accusing glare from Tamahome to him, Nuriko practically pranced out of the clearing. Yes, his plan had already shown the most promising signs. This was a very good beginning. Unconsciously, a new spring had entered his step.
That spring died out, however, when Hotohori continued his attentions to Nozomi during their meal, and she responded in a perfectly friendly manner that in spite of all his efforts, Nuriko couldn't find anything reasonable to criticize. Looking over at Tamahome, hoping to see jealousy there, he inwardly swore when Tamahome was too busy with his food to notice or care about anything else. 'This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.'
"So just out of curiosity, what is the next clue?" Nozomi was heard to ask Hotohori.
"Two characters, speed, and mountain. Mt. Reikaku is up ahead, so I thought we'd check there."
"Do people live on the mountain?"
"Not many," Tamahome joined in, "since the Mt. Reikaku bandits moved in."
"So in other words, our next warrior is probably one of the bandits?"
"Only if the clue refers to this mountain, which it may not." Hotohori pointed out. No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the mirror in Nozomi's pocket started glowing over by the horses, where she had left her cloak.
"Excuse me, but I have to take this call." She said with a wink. Grabbing the mirror, Nozomi peered in to see the face of Tong Shen-tian.
"Miko-sama, we need to talk to His Majesty!" he said with urgency in his voice.
"What's wrong?" She tried to sound as patient as she could. He'd contacted them at least once a day, claiming he needed to talk to Hotohori; so far she'd refused to let him, answering his questions herself. The poor man went on about some disagreement between the advisors about what Hotohori would have wanted to do about the coverings for the new formal dining table. Holding on to her patience with great difficulty, Nozomi asked what colors were being considered. As soon as red and gold were mentioned, Nozomi told him to go with those. It was Konan's official color combination after all.
"What did he want this time?" Hotohori asked with curiosity. He had to admit that it was very nice to have Nozomi take over his responsibilities for a while. This was the record amount of time that he'd avoided his advisors. And she handled them so well. He could tell she lost her patience with them rather quickly, but she hid it like an expert. He couldn't help thinking what an excellent Empress she would make.
Laughing a little, Nozomi informed them of the 'emergency'. "How do you deal with them day after day? What's your secret? Because I confess, they're trying my patience like no one else ever has."
"You get used to it." He assured her.
"You know, that's just really unfair. They expect you to be thinking for everyone in that palace, so they don't have to. That is far too much responsibility to put on one person. It makes me want to slap some sense into them. How can they depend on one person so completely that they can't decide what color tablecloth to get for the dining room? And for that matter, is it really so urgent that they can't wait until you get back?"
"Well, when I get an Empress, I will have someone to share the responsibility with." Nozomi quickly looked down at what was left of her food, because she didn't like what his intense stare was doing to her innards.
From the way he was looking at her, it was completely obvious he wanted her to know that he had her in mind for that position. And it was clear that Nuriko interpreted it that way as well, from the way he jumped up and rather vigorously claimed to be the perfect 'woman' for the job.
Nozomi couldn't help but smile at that, you had to admire Nuriko's persistence, even if Hotohori acted completely oblivious to her efforts. However, admiration aside, Nuriko's words had created a blanket of tension that seemed to be smothering the group slowly but steadily. A change of subject seemed to be in order.
"Okay…stupid question; what exactly do the bandits do?"
Tamahome looked at her like she was crazy. He really did that quite insufferably often. "What, you don't have bandits in your world?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Nozomi said, "Well, we have gangs, and I'm assuming they're similar, but each gang is different. I won't go into detail though, some of the things they do are really disgusting."
So the three took turns explaining what bandits did to people who crossed their path, and all in all, Nozomi thought they were very similar to gangs, only not nearly so violent. Just perverted, and goodness knows she'd dealt with a few perverts in her life.
"Nozomi, you don't look scared, do we need to tell you more about what the bandits do to people?" Nuriko wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was worried about how calmly Nozomi was taking this. It's not every woman who can listen to stories about how they treat females who cross their path and not get nervous.
"No, Nuriko. To be honest, I was expecting a lot worse. And besides, I have the three of you with me, and none of you are pushovers. I think we'll be fine."
Admiring her courage, for Hotohori chose to think that Nozomi was putting on a brave face for all of them; he announced the plan of stopping at the restaurant at the base of the mountain the next day, as rumors credited it with being a sort of clubhouse for the bandits. All of them agreed to it, and headed off again. It was only mid-day, and if they were to reach the restaurant at a reasonable hour tomorrow, they couldn't waste any time.
On their way to the restaurant, Nozomi and Tamahome had an unfortunate encounter while bathing. This meeting was conveniently arranged by Nuriko, of course, in phase two of his official plan to keep Nozomi away from Hotohori.
Nozomi had come to the conclusion that she stunk far too badly to expect her companions to put up with her stench any longer, and went to wash the dirt and grime off in a pond she found not too far from their campsite for the night.
Knowing as he did that Nozomi would stay underwater for great lengths of time, mermaid as she was, Nuriko decided to 'convince' Tamahome to bathe in the very same pond Nozomi currently inhabited. At first, he was hesitant, because he knew that Nozomi was bathing out there somewhere, and didn't want to chance running into an irate, less than properly clothed priestess, but Nuriko reassured him by peeking at the lake, and stating quite truthfully that Nozomi was no where in sight.
Grateful for the chance to wash the dirt and grime off himself, Tamahome quickly stepped in after Nuriko left. Imagine the surprise of both parties, however, when Nozomi surfaced, wearing nothing but her tail and a white bra. Needless to say, this over soaked garment did little to conceal anything. Both screamed simultaneously, and Nozomi dove down as far as she could into the depths of the lake.
The sounds of screaming roused Hotohori from his thoughts of Nozomi to yet more thoughts of Nozomi, though not nearly as peaceful and pleasant ones. Without thinking of anything but fear for her safety, he rushed to the place where he knew Nozomi to be washing up, followed by a silently cursing Nuriko, as he had not thought of this part of his scheme.
Hotohori's thoughts turned slightly more optimistic when he saw Tamahome, devoid of any proper clothing, standing in the middle of the lake with a shell-shocked expression. At least now he knew what had frightened the poor priestess, though he was finding it hard to forgive Tamahome for trying to join her while she was bathing.
"Tamahome, how could you interrupt Nozomi's privacy? How could you compromise her integrity and honor like that?"
Still shocked out of his mind, Tamahome seemed at a loss for words. "But I didn't-"
"I don't want to hear any excuses, Nuriko and I will leave, and I want you to get out immediately. We'll be looking for you at camp." Pivoting gracefully on his heal, he walked out with his best possible regal air, Nuriko giving Tamahome a fake sympathetic look before following suit. To do Nuriko credit, he did try to explain to Hotohori that it wasn't Tamahome's fault; that she had personally checked to see if she could see Nozomi, but he wouldn't hear it, he was too upset.
When Tamahome came back, fully clothed, though extremely wet, Hotohori couldn't even trust himself to look at his fellow warrior. They had to wait a full half hour in tense silence before Nozomi herself came into view, her legs restored, and her face still quite red from embarrassment.
Obviously bracing herself, Nozomi looked directly in Tamahome's eyes. "We need to talk. Now."
Miserably, Tamahome followed, for he thought that Nozomi would jump to conclusions like Hotohori obviously had. To his relief though, she listened to his story with only one sign of embarrassment, and held every appearance of believing and accepting his version.
Only slightly less red, they headed back to camp, where their first silent and highly uncomfortable night passed. Each had their own reasons for not speaking, Nuriko was trying to decide if phase two of the plan went well or not, Hotohori was still so angry at Tamahome he didn't trust himself to speak, even to Nozomi, Tamahome was cringing under the full weight of what he felt was everyone's disapproval, and Nozomi couldn't get the best of her embarrassment. Fortunately, a good night's rest improved much of their good humor.
As they walked into the restaurant, Nozomi suspected that the rumors were very true indeed. It looked like your typical seedy establishment. Everything seemed to be made of the same type of wood, and there were no decorations on the walls. And there was an unbelievable accumulation of dust over everything.
Peering over her shoulder, Nozomi made sure no one was watching, because she refused to let any friend of hers sit on that dirty of a table and chairs. Discreetly, she pulled out her wand just a bit, and performed a lovely little spell, leaving their table and chairs absolutely spotless.
As they sat down, she remarked that they seemed to be a little out of place. And indeed they were, most of the men in the room were now drooling over them more than they were drooling over their food. The waiter who came by, however, was impeccably polite, especially after he saw the bag of gold with which they would be paying. Unnoticed by anyone, except Nuriko, the other men doubled their drooling, and added scheming looks.
"Um…guys, I think they might try to do something to us, I don't like the looks they're giving us."
Acting supremely unconcerned, Nozomi replied, "Oh probably, but isn't that why we're here?"
"No! We're here to find the fourth warrior!" Nuriko hissed in an angry whisper.
"Well, to do that, don't we need to talk to the bandits? Which means getting to their headquarters?"
"That doesn't mean we have to let them capture us!"
"Why not? It's the fastest way to get there. I could fly up and spot it from the air, but it would still take days to get there on foot, in which time they would probably capture us anyway. And I can't fly all three of you up there, if I could, I would, believe me."
Nuriko tried to protest, but then he thought about what Nozomi was saying. In a sick kind of way, it did make sense. No matter how they got there, they would probably be tied up, so they might as well get there faster.
"I suppose you're right, but I wish there was a way for us to have a better advantage."
"Advantage?" Nozomi asked disbelievingly, but laughing slightly, "We have three warriors of Suzaku, and a freak of nature with magical powers, what more of an advantage do you want?"
Before any of them could scold Nozomi for this description of herself, her chair was tipped over by one of the men who had snuck up behind them unnoticed. Yet another one was standing above her, wielding a weapon looking lethally sharp.
"Give me all your money!" He shouted as the weapon came cascading down towards Nozomi's skull. She was already on it, however, which he found out when her foot collided with his wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon where Nozomi had rested only moments before. Using the momentum from her kick, she rolled into a standing position, and her three bodyguards soon had the man and his friend restrained against the wall.
Looking the man straight in the eye, all Nozomi said was, "How 'bout not?" Nuriko oh so kindly knocked both men unconscious, and as one they stepped out of the restaurant. Or at least they tried to. They found their way blocked by every other single occupant of the room. Looking at her companions and shrugging, Nozomi asked them, "Do you mind stepping aside? We didn't order any food, so we don't need to pay."
The biggest and burliest man in the whole group stepped forward, and replied in a gravelly voice, "Yeah, but you need to pay for beating up our buddy here. You're coming with us."
"You must be the Mt. Reikaku bandits, then." It was more of a statement than a question, but Nozomi just wanted to be sure.
"Yeah, that's right, so do as we say, and maybe we won't hurt you." So the four let the men tie them up, and expected to be led out of the small building, but instead they were all hit over the head, knocking them unconscious.