Disclaimer: I don't own any of the places, settings, or characters of Fushigi Yugi.

Chapter 12

Broken Ties, Old Alliances

A.N. takes a deep breath I am so so so so so very very very very sorry! I can't believe how long its been since I wrote a chapter for this story. To be perfectly honest though, I started writing an original story and I got completely caught up in that one and also in my digital art and junk like that. But, reading all the reviews you wrote, inspired me to come back and start writing once more in this story. Again, terribly sorry for the huge, long delay. Also, I'm glad I was able to convert several of you over to Miaka/Chichiri pairings. You gotta admit, they look really cute together.

Looks over to where the two are cuddling and sighs

Although...I wish they'd give it a break every now and then. I don't know how many more 'muffin's and 'honey bunny's I can take. Anywho, yes! Tasuki won, but marginally.

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It was the fangs that did it. Ahem, on to typing the chapter.

Miaka: Oh Muffin, you got hurt in the last chapter! I hope that evil lady doesn't hurt my darling again.

Lena: Looks calm on the outside, but secretly she's screaming on the inside

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The tiger nosed his way into Miaka's tent, carrying a canteen in with him. The girl sat where she had for the last two days, beside Chichiri gripping one of his hands. The monk was awake, talking to the priestess in soft tones. They had wrapped his chest tightly, finding not one, but two ribs broken. He still sported a massive bruise along one side of his jaw, a mixture in color of blues, purples, and black. On the other side of the camp, Tamahome had been attended to by Tasuki, his wrist reset and splinted. Afterwards, the fire seishi had only gone into the tent Tamahome was being kept in to change the bandages and bring him something to eat and drink. It was obvious to anyone that the Oni seishi was not in anyone's good graces at the moment.

"I thought you might be thirsty. I can bring you something to eat as well if you like." The tiger rumbled, placing the canteen down next to Miaka and taking a seat on the other side of the monk. The cat had grown partial to the monk in the short time he had come to know these mortals.

The monk grunted as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, against Miaka's demands that he remain still. "Thank you, Tsuzaru. But I have been bed-ridden long enough, noda. I think its time I got up and helped out a bit."

"Chiri, its fine! You rest and I'll go help out around the camp." Miaka lightly pushed the monk back down with a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back with lunch soon."

She slipped out of the tent, stretching once outside. Some of her muscles gave a protest at having been forced into one position too long. She spotted Tasuki, sitting next to the fire and walked up beind him, placing her hands over his eyes. "Guess who!"

A crooked grin formed on the Wing seishi's face, fangs poking out. "Hmmm, would it be an 'ungry miko who's belly is rumblin'?"

She stuck her tongue out at him as she moved around to sit beside him, leaning forward to look in the pot that was suspended over the fire. A thick, rich stew bubbled within, the scent making her mouth water. "Wow, Tasuki! I didn't know you could cook something like this!"

He bopped her on the head with his knuckles playfully. "I'm a bandit, course I kin cook. How else would I survive?"

"I dunno. I kinda thought Kouji was the cook of you two." She dug out two of the bowls, a confused look coming to her as she noticed she was one short. "Tasuki, what happened to my other bowl, do you know?"

"Don't know, Mi-chan." He glanced to the side where a pile of melted plastic lay half-buried. Apparently the things didn't stand up well to heat.

She shrugged, and ladled some of the stuff into one of her remaining bowls. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to take this to Chiri."

"How's he doin'?"

She paused. "He's doing good." Looking back at him, the bandit could see her smile. "Although its getting harder and harder to keep him in bed."

The bandit snickered. "I'm sure you know of a few ways to keep him there."

"Mou, Tasuki!"

He laughed to himself as she disappeared once again into the tent, stretching out and lacing his fingers behind his head. The sounds of the woods surrounded the camp, broken only be whispered murmurings coming from the tent to his right, and the occassional groan of pain from the one on his left. He cast a quick, disdainful look to that one, disgusted at how his brother had acted, making Miaka sound like a thing, not a person. And respect he had held for the man was all but gone, lost in the wave of revulsion and anger the bandit felt whenever he looked at the other. The fact that they had been through so much and that they needed him was the only reason why Tasuki could even bear to assist Tamahome now. That, and Tsuzaru's promise to keep Miaka safe from him for the rest of the journey.

Looks like th' cat has a use afterall. He leaned back, staring up at the sky, contemplating. Who would be the next one found? Hotohori? Nuriko? He smirked at the thought of meeting up with Nuriko once more. Of all his dead brothers, the bandit had missed him the most. It had never been the same without the purple-haired cross-dresser. I hope Nuriko is next. He thought to himself, sending up a silent pray to a god that could no longer hear it.

Cloth rustling drew his attention, and he glanced to the side. Tasuki barely stopped the snarl that wanted to so desperately appear on his lips as Tamahome limped his way out. No, he had to look at things from both view points and remain neutral. Aw, hell wit that! He's a fuckin' bastard! But, Tamahome was also his brother in a sense, just one who had made a fatal error. "Mornin', sleepin' beauty."

Tamahome looked up, scanning Tasuki's face. He saw the anger there and winced, knowing he deserved. But the other was attempting to be civil, something he had at one point thought impossible for the volatile bandit. He held his wrist close to him, trying to avoid any and all jostling possible. "Morning, Tasuki." He looked over at the tent that Miaka, and Chichiri he assumed, slept in, hearing voices.

"Ready ter start travellin' agin?"

Eyes widened slightly. "Already? What about...the monk?"

Tasuki yawned, flashing his fangs. "He's th' one that demanded we move on. Tsuzaru is gonna carry 'im. At least, tha's what the koneko said."

"I heard that!" Tsuzaru bellowed from where he was emerging from the tent, carrying two bedrolls by their straps. "Do I need to give you another lesson in humiliation, whelp?" The bedding was dropped onto the firey warrior, making him growl and mutter under his breath. "Make yourself useful and help us pack. Tamahome, I hope you don't mind us using your horse to carry some stuff."

Tamahome gasped, forgetting about the equine he had ridden here on. He had left it tied to a tree when the forest became to dense to ride through. "Damn! I forgot all about it!"

"Don't worry, I have been watching over the steed. He is quite fine and in good shape." The cat yawned, turning to go retrieve more things out of the three tents. "Tasuki, take down these things, would you. I, most unfortunately, can not manage it. What with my lacking of hands and all."

Miaka stepped out then, helping Chichiri slightly as any movement caused a lance of pain to shoot across his chest. "Are you sure you're alright to travel? We can wait a few more days."

The monk shook his head, determination shining in his eye. "Iie. We must find the others as quickly as possible, noda. Besides," He said with a broad grin, moving to fix his paper mask over his face, "We may find Mitsukake next, noda!"

Tsuzaru strode over to the two, crouching down in front of them. "Tasuki and Tamahome are waiting for us back on the road. Tamahome sends his apologies, saying he's too ashamed to tell you them face-to-face." The cat rolled his eyes, showing his disbelief. "Hop on, I can carry you both easily."

Miaka helped her love on first, then hesitated. Although the cat was large, as tall as a horse and even a little longer then one, she didn't want to cause him any discomfort. "Are you sure, Tsuzaru?" She waited until the cat nodded before climbing onto his back, in front of Chichiri.

She gave the monk a questioning look when he had motioned her to sit in front of him, rather then behind. "I don't think its a good time for you to be hanging onto me if we need to run, noda." He explained, then gave her a mischevious look she could sense, even through the paper. "Besides, I like holding you."

A hot blush followed, turning Miaka's cheeks a brilliant red. She didn't answer, instead facing forward, but she did lean slightly back against him, ever mindful of the breaks in his ribs. With a fluid motion, Tsuzaru rose to his feet and trotted off into the woods. He was careful to keep his gait smooth and steady, jostling his riders as little as possible. They broke from the forest a dozen feet or so in front of the two men waiting for them, standing beside the laden packhorse.

Tasuki gave them a sour look, huffing. "Now he tells us he kin carry more 'an one. Always makin' me walk." Securely holding onto the horse's lead rein, the bandit walked over to the trio, Tamahome trailing behind.

Tsuzaru glared over at the bandit. "I carry whom I want when I want, not to the orders of some over-bearing and arrogant bandit whelp."

A growl whispered from the bandit's lips and he fixed the tiger with an angry look. "I tol' ya before, don' call me a whelp! Don' think I won' flame yer kitty ass, jus' cuz yer carryin' them two."

Miaka turned in her seat, hands clasped and eyes wide and watery. Her lower lip stuck out just a bit and she held the most heart-breaking expression as she stared at her most volatile warrior. "Tasuki...you'd hurt me? Why? Why do you want to hurt me?"

His jaw dropped and he started apologizing, attempting to reassure the miko that he had no intentions of hurting her, only the tiger. She let him keep up his babbling stream of apologies for almost half an hour before her mask of deep anguish finally cracked, allowing her to spill out all the laughter she had been containing. The bandit had achieved the most stunned and confused look in history, until it finally dawned upon him what had happened. Twenty minutes later.

"...Not funny Miaka!"

Chichiri laughed softly, wincing in pain from it. "Well, he certiantly is catching on faster at least."

Miaka grinned, looking back at him. "Hai." She paused as she felt a curious warmth against her thigh.

Glancing down, the miko saw a brilliant red light issuing from her pocket. Wriggling around until she could fit her hand in to grasp the source, and earning an intrigued look from Tsuzaru, the woman pulled out the red gem Taiits-kun had given her. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes filling with tears at the sight of the symbol on display.

"Stop! Guys, stop walking!"

The two men stopped immiedately, looking over their shoulders at the priestess. "Wha' is it, Mi'chan?"

"Nuriko. Nuriko is really close by!" Tears traced shining paths down her face, and she looked around quickly. No Nuriko magically appeared, but the symbol still glowed, almost seeming to glow brighter and brighter with every sentence.

Tsuzaru cleared his throat, moving towards the sheltering woods on each side of the path. "There is some one coming towards us. I suggest we get out of sight and begin our search for this...Nuriko? Our search once they have passed us by."

With a murmured agreement, they all slipped off the pass, lying low in the shadows while they watched the road. Miaka slid off the tiger, crouching down a little further back from everyone else and waited with them. The back of Miaka's neck tingled and she shifted, brushing a hand behind her. A trio of men wandered by, leisurely taking their time. All of them carried a sword on their side. Something brushed against Miaka's neck, and again she batted the annoying plant away. A round of raucous laughter floated to them, the men laughing as one of them finished a joke. For the third time, something brushed against the back of Miaka's neck, and with an aggravated sigh, she turned to tear the damned plant up.

A thick, purple braid smacked her in the face. Spluttering, she shoved the thing away and stared into wide, amused violet eyes. "Hey there, Miaka!"

Blink.

Blink.

"NURIKO!"

The purple-haired man found himself on his back, staring up at the sky as the miko flung herself at him, hugging tightly. The others had turned at her outburst, staring in shock at the tangled limbs as Nuriko attempted to sit up and hug Miaka back at the same time. "Miaka...need...air..."

The two finally sorted themselves out, standing up and brushing the dirt and grass from their clothes. The priestess looked her warrior over, more then a little shocked at how much he had changed. Though he still had a braid, it was much shorter now, barely past his shoulders. The former-crossdresser now stood in a man's pants and tunic, black with red stitching. He had forsaken all make-up, not even wearing any lipstick. Not too mention the shirt emphasized his build now. And damn, if he wasn't toned.

"Well, how's this for a nice hello? I mean, I expected as much from the thief here, but I thought better of you Chiri-kun and Tama-baby." Nuriko laughed, eyes travelling around the group. He stopped, going rigidly still as he caught sight of the tiger, calmly padding forward to rub against Miaka's hip.

And in the next moment, two strong arms had wrapped around the petite man, Tasuki unabashedly hugging him. To say simply, everyone was taken by surprise. Awkwardly, Nuriko hugged him back, not used to the bandit being like this. "Baka okama! I missed ya so damn much!"

The two parted, only for Tamahome to grab the seishi in a hug as well. "Welcome back, Nuriko."

"Good to be back, Tama-kins."

The abnormally strong man whacked the blue-haired fighter on the back, sending him face-first into the dirt. He then looked to Chichiri, offering the monk a smile before spotting the bruise that still lined his jaw. "Chiri-kins, what happened to you?"

A glance passed around between monk, miko, bandit, and tiger. "Its a long story, noda. You've missed out on quite a bit afterall, noda! Its good to have you back though. We'll fill you in as we walk. Well, Tasuki can do that, noda! As happy as we are that you are returned to us, Nuriko, I must unfortunately remind everyone we need to reach Honan quickly. If we move fast, we can reach the city by nightfall. And hopefully, his Highness will be there. We can not, most unfortunately, waste time in greeting you properly."

"Hotohori?"

Nuriko's eyes went wide with hope. "Do you think he'll like my new look! I mean, I know its not girly or pretty or anything special, but I thought it was time I stopped hiding behind my sister's image and all." With a grunt, he pulled Tamahome up and over his shoulder. "What are you all waiting for? Let's get to Honan!"

"I like him." Tsuzaru rumbled to Miaka with a smile, allowing her to climb back up.

"So do I, Tsu. So do I."

A.N: HA-HA! I live once more! Sorry I've been gone so long. But I'm mainly to be found on devart now. Its where I'm posting my original story Shadows of Darkness at. If you're interested in reading it, my name on deviantart is sheriv. Oh what the hell, just go to:

sheriv.devianart. com

Remove the space though. Anywho, I know it was a short chapter, but I wanted to update fast for all of you who demanded I should. The next chapter will be longer. May take me a bit to get it done though, I'm working on all my other stories as well, and writing up a new fanfic. I'm addicted to like, writing an impossible amount of stories all at one time. But yesh, showing my streak of odd pairings, my newest fic is gonna be a soujirou/misao one from Rurouni Kenshin. Those two always struck me as being perfect for one another. Anywho, hopefully you're all still reading this and will comment to me on it and I'll see you all around. Ciao! hugs to everyone

P.S. Let's hope I stay this time. XD

And that I keep up my streak of odd pairings.