Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yu Watase, therefore I am only borrowing it. I made up Jade Stevens, Tara Robinson, Taran the hawk, and the altered storyline.
Chapter 13: Koutu
It was late afternoon when they reached the palace. Hotohori had disappeared, but no one had noticed. Chiriko looked around, amazed. "This is the palace of Konan?" he asked. Jade nodded happily. It felt good to be home! Suddenly, a blurred figure ran up to them yelling "HI NO DA!!!" The Celeste Warrior laughed. "Chichiri-chan! How are you?" The monk grinned. "Pretty good, no da." Tasuki had jumped back. "Who the hell is that?!?" Jade smiled back at him. "This is Chichiri. 'Chiri, this is Tasuki, one of my other good friends." Mitsukake looked around. "Where's Hotohori? He disappeared." Nuriko gave him an odd look. "Haven't you figured it out yet? He is none other than-" The emporer came down the steps. "Nuriko, silence!" Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko looked at him in amazement. "Yer-yer the emporer?!?" the bandit squeaked. Hotohori nodded. "Come, we shall eat."
*************
At the dinner table, Tasuki kept glacing at Hotohori sheepishly. The emporer smiled at him. "What's wrong? I am still the man you travelled with!" The bandit mumbled something about comments and insults. Jade, who was sitting beside him, whacked him playfully. Chichiri turned to the emporer. "Your Majesty, we need to somehow get Tamahome and The Universe Of The Four Gods back from Koutu, no da. I think I have a communication spell, so maybe we can somehow talk to Tamahome and figure out a plan, no da." he said. Hotohori nodded. "Miaka can talk to him later on tonight. How's that sound?" Miaka squealed happily. "I'll be able to talk to Tamahome?!?" Chichiri nodded. The Priestess got up from the table and ran off to get ready.
*************
Tasuki, Hotohori, Jade, and Nuriko were standing up on a balcony. They watched Miaka run by below. "Hey Miaka!" Tasuki yelled down. The emporer stopped him. "No, Tasuki. She's going to be with Tamahome now, and we should leave them alone for a while." The bandit seemed confused. "Wait a second, I thought you an' Miaka were goin' together!!! What's goin' on?!?" he wailed. Suddenly he grinned. "I get it! It's a love triangle!" Nuriko socked him into the wall. "I had to do it, Your Majesty. He's an insensitive country clod." he explained to a flustered Hotohori. Jade giggled as she helped pull Tasuki out of the wall. "You should have known better, you baka! Oh well, you never have to worry about love, you hate women. Unless...you're not gay, are you?" The bandit glared at her. "No, I'm not gay!!!" he growled. Jade inwardly blew a sigh of relief. Good, he wasn't gay! She still had a chance.
*************
The next day, Chichiri explained the plan. "Jade, Miaka and I are going to Koutu with one of my transportation spells. You five need to stay on gaurd in case we need help, no da." Chiriko glanced at Miaka. "Are you sure we can't go along?" he asked. The monk shook his head. "We can only take who we absolutely need, no da." A voice came from behind them. "I'm goin'!" Jade turned to see Tasuki grinning. "Ya might need my fire, and I can' let Jade have all the fun! Besides, I wanna meet this Tamahome guy." he continued. Chichiri protested "We can't take any more!" The Celeste Warrior gave him the Sad Eyes look. "Please, 'Chiri! Let Tasuki come!" she whimpered, pouting her bottom lip. The bluehaired seishi rolled his eyes. Tasuki smiled slyly. He knew Jade would want him to come, and he knew how to get Miaka on his side, too. "Well, I had this meat bun that I was gonna share, but if ya don' want me t' come..." he sighed. Miaka roared at Chichiri "Let the poor guy come! We can make room!" The monk sighed, knowing he had lost. "All right, no da. Get onto my kasa." He laid his kasa on the floor, and drove his staff into it. Jade shoved Tasuki in first, then jumped in herself. Miaka waved happily. "Bye everybody! See you later!" She then climbed in after the other two. Taran soared in, and Chichiri jumped in, pulling his staff with him.
**************
"Nice job, Chichiri! That was fast! But next time, pick a better landing spot!!!" Jade muttered as she shoved Miaka off of her. Taran, the only one not tangled up, was up on a higher branch, squalking happily. The Celeste Warrior glared up at the hawk. "Yeah, just laugh it up!" Miaka accidentally shoved Jade and Tasuki off of the branch, sending them to the ground below. Mumbling curses, the bandit watched as Chichiri and the Priestess floated down safely. The monk turned to Miaka. "Where did Tamahome ask us to meet him, Miaka?" The girl smiled "He said something about a big tree with flowers around it." Jade glanced at Taran. "He could go find it! How about it, Taran?" she asked. The hawk nodded and launched himself into the air. Jade ran after him silently, followed by the others.
**************
They arrived at the tree and slumped down. Tasuki looked up at the sky. "When was he supposed t' meet us?" he asked. "When the moon is at it's fullest..." Miaka replied dreamily. Jade snorted. Miaka was too romantic! Yawning, the Celeste Warrior leaned up against the tree. Chichiri meditated silently, and Tasuki took Jade's lead and dozed. Miaka glanced up at the sky. Frowning, she wondered what was keeping Tamahome. They heard some bushes rattle behind them, and Jade smiled. "Late, as usual." Miaka's eyes shone as she called "Tamahome?" Suddenly, she gasped. Jade whirled around to see Yui and Tara with a blond man and about fifty soldiers. Chichiri narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blond man. "Nakago." he muttered. Meanwhile, Jade stared at Tara. "Tara! I can't believe it!" She ran forward to hug her best friend. Tara turned away. "You have no right to touch me." the dark haired girl said, her tone cold and harsh. Jade drew back, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. Tara glared at her. "You never came! Miaka looking for Yui, but you didn't even show up! I couldn't wait to see you again, but then I realized that you thought you were too good for me!" Jade started silently crying. "I don't think that..." she whispered, but Tara wouldn't listen. "I don't need your excuses! You think you're all cool, getting everything you've ever wanted. You have seven cute guys as friends! You swore that we would find boyfriends together! I guess that's over! I bet they're all fawning over you!" Jade flushed with anger. "That's not true! They all like Miaka! Not one of them likes me! They just want to be friends, they never liked me! What about you, huh?!?" she yelled, tears pouring down her face. Tasuki could see how upset she was, and he felt his heart break. If she only knew how much he loved her! Tara turned up her nose. "Take them away." she ordered. The soldiers grabbed Miaka, and they were about to capture Jade when Tasuki pulled her close and Chichiri transported the three of them out of the fray.
*************
They landed in a nearby tree, Jade still crying softly. Tasuki hugged her close. "Jade, it's okay. Cry as much as ya need to." he whispered. Jade took the incentive and buried her face in his chest. "Why is she so mad? I got seperated from Miaka, I couldn't help it!" she wailed. He pulled her closer. "Is that when I found you?" he asked. She nodded slightly. "Do ya really think that no one likes ya?" he inquired softly. The girl looked up at him. "I don't know what I think anymore. It's just so hard sometimes..." With that, she put her head on his chest. This was probably her only chance to be so close to him, so she decided to take advantage of it. Chichiri interrupted. "Come on, no da! We have to find Miaka! I have a plan, no da..."
**************
Jade wriggled against the ropes angrily. How did she let Chichiri talk her into this? She could barely breathe with the bonds cutting into her chest and the stupid piece of cloth over her mouth. A voice yelled into her brain //Stupid 'Chiri! This is th' dumbest thing he ever thought of!// Jade looked at Tasuki, surprised. //How did you just talk to me?// she asked with her mind. //You can do it too?!? This is too weird...// She nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Nakago walked around the corner dragging Miaka. "You will die quickly, as will your friends." He pointed to Jade and Tasuki, who were tied to a pillar. Miaka started to hypervenilate. "Pl-pl-please don't kill me!" she whimpered. Jade's melodious laughter floated into the bandit's head. He also chuckled at Miaka's denseness. Nakago grinned. "Okay." The priestess stared at him, astonished. Nakago then transformed into Chichiri. The bonds that surrounded Jade broke, and she instantly tore off the gag. Fuming, she glared at her monk friend. "Took you long enough! Hey Miaka, what's wrong with your arm?" she asked, staring at the bleeding arm. Miaka gave a false smile. "Oh, I just tripped! Don't worry about me!" Jade snorted. Tasuki touched it gently, and Miaka cried out in pain. Pulling out some bandages, the bandit quickly bandaged her arm. Chichiri turned back into Nakago and walked off. Miaka pointed behind them. "LOOK!!! Nakago's giving a strip tease for the troops!" Jade whirled around, as did Tasuki. In the blink of an eye, Miaka had tied them to the pole. She ran off in the direction of the garden.
***************
Chichiri came running back in chibi form. "Come on, no da! They found out about my discuise!" Jade closed her eyes and said "Shiruu...JIRAN!!!" The bonds flew from her, and she grabbed Tasuki's arm. "She went back to that tree, I know it!" she cried as they ran as fast as they could to the garden.
***************
They ran in just in time to see Miaka and Tamahome break apart from a hug. Jade gasped as the seishi pulled out a set of nunchucks and whirled them above his head. Tasuki used his seishi speed to grab Miaka out of the way just in time. Tamahome frowned. "Hmph. Missed." Jade felt a horrible anger surge through her. Drawing her sword, she yelled "Hey Tamahome! I see you like hitting girls that won't hit back. How about fighting one that will?" The dark haired seishi grinned evilly. "So, Jade...It comes to this. Prepare to die!" He lunged forward, nunchucks whirling.
I know what everyone's thinking. I did replace Tasuki's battle because I think Jade should be fighting instead, being the Celeste Warrior and all. Be back soon with Chapter 14!
Chapter 13: Koutu
It was late afternoon when they reached the palace. Hotohori had disappeared, but no one had noticed. Chiriko looked around, amazed. "This is the palace of Konan?" he asked. Jade nodded happily. It felt good to be home! Suddenly, a blurred figure ran up to them yelling "HI NO DA!!!" The Celeste Warrior laughed. "Chichiri-chan! How are you?" The monk grinned. "Pretty good, no da." Tasuki had jumped back. "Who the hell is that?!?" Jade smiled back at him. "This is Chichiri. 'Chiri, this is Tasuki, one of my other good friends." Mitsukake looked around. "Where's Hotohori? He disappeared." Nuriko gave him an odd look. "Haven't you figured it out yet? He is none other than-" The emporer came down the steps. "Nuriko, silence!" Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko looked at him in amazement. "Yer-yer the emporer?!?" the bandit squeaked. Hotohori nodded. "Come, we shall eat."
*************
At the dinner table, Tasuki kept glacing at Hotohori sheepishly. The emporer smiled at him. "What's wrong? I am still the man you travelled with!" The bandit mumbled something about comments and insults. Jade, who was sitting beside him, whacked him playfully. Chichiri turned to the emporer. "Your Majesty, we need to somehow get Tamahome and The Universe Of The Four Gods back from Koutu, no da. I think I have a communication spell, so maybe we can somehow talk to Tamahome and figure out a plan, no da." he said. Hotohori nodded. "Miaka can talk to him later on tonight. How's that sound?" Miaka squealed happily. "I'll be able to talk to Tamahome?!?" Chichiri nodded. The Priestess got up from the table and ran off to get ready.
*************
Tasuki, Hotohori, Jade, and Nuriko were standing up on a balcony. They watched Miaka run by below. "Hey Miaka!" Tasuki yelled down. The emporer stopped him. "No, Tasuki. She's going to be with Tamahome now, and we should leave them alone for a while." The bandit seemed confused. "Wait a second, I thought you an' Miaka were goin' together!!! What's goin' on?!?" he wailed. Suddenly he grinned. "I get it! It's a love triangle!" Nuriko socked him into the wall. "I had to do it, Your Majesty. He's an insensitive country clod." he explained to a flustered Hotohori. Jade giggled as she helped pull Tasuki out of the wall. "You should have known better, you baka! Oh well, you never have to worry about love, you hate women. Unless...you're not gay, are you?" The bandit glared at her. "No, I'm not gay!!!" he growled. Jade inwardly blew a sigh of relief. Good, he wasn't gay! She still had a chance.
*************
The next day, Chichiri explained the plan. "Jade, Miaka and I are going to Koutu with one of my transportation spells. You five need to stay on gaurd in case we need help, no da." Chiriko glanced at Miaka. "Are you sure we can't go along?" he asked. The monk shook his head. "We can only take who we absolutely need, no da." A voice came from behind them. "I'm goin'!" Jade turned to see Tasuki grinning. "Ya might need my fire, and I can' let Jade have all the fun! Besides, I wanna meet this Tamahome guy." he continued. Chichiri protested "We can't take any more!" The Celeste Warrior gave him the Sad Eyes look. "Please, 'Chiri! Let Tasuki come!" she whimpered, pouting her bottom lip. The bluehaired seishi rolled his eyes. Tasuki smiled slyly. He knew Jade would want him to come, and he knew how to get Miaka on his side, too. "Well, I had this meat bun that I was gonna share, but if ya don' want me t' come..." he sighed. Miaka roared at Chichiri "Let the poor guy come! We can make room!" The monk sighed, knowing he had lost. "All right, no da. Get onto my kasa." He laid his kasa on the floor, and drove his staff into it. Jade shoved Tasuki in first, then jumped in herself. Miaka waved happily. "Bye everybody! See you later!" She then climbed in after the other two. Taran soared in, and Chichiri jumped in, pulling his staff with him.
**************
"Nice job, Chichiri! That was fast! But next time, pick a better landing spot!!!" Jade muttered as she shoved Miaka off of her. Taran, the only one not tangled up, was up on a higher branch, squalking happily. The Celeste Warrior glared up at the hawk. "Yeah, just laugh it up!" Miaka accidentally shoved Jade and Tasuki off of the branch, sending them to the ground below. Mumbling curses, the bandit watched as Chichiri and the Priestess floated down safely. The monk turned to Miaka. "Where did Tamahome ask us to meet him, Miaka?" The girl smiled "He said something about a big tree with flowers around it." Jade glanced at Taran. "He could go find it! How about it, Taran?" she asked. The hawk nodded and launched himself into the air. Jade ran after him silently, followed by the others.
**************
They arrived at the tree and slumped down. Tasuki looked up at the sky. "When was he supposed t' meet us?" he asked. "When the moon is at it's fullest..." Miaka replied dreamily. Jade snorted. Miaka was too romantic! Yawning, the Celeste Warrior leaned up against the tree. Chichiri meditated silently, and Tasuki took Jade's lead and dozed. Miaka glanced up at the sky. Frowning, she wondered what was keeping Tamahome. They heard some bushes rattle behind them, and Jade smiled. "Late, as usual." Miaka's eyes shone as she called "Tamahome?" Suddenly, she gasped. Jade whirled around to see Yui and Tara with a blond man and about fifty soldiers. Chichiri narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blond man. "Nakago." he muttered. Meanwhile, Jade stared at Tara. "Tara! I can't believe it!" She ran forward to hug her best friend. Tara turned away. "You have no right to touch me." the dark haired girl said, her tone cold and harsh. Jade drew back, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. Tara glared at her. "You never came! Miaka looking for Yui, but you didn't even show up! I couldn't wait to see you again, but then I realized that you thought you were too good for me!" Jade started silently crying. "I don't think that..." she whispered, but Tara wouldn't listen. "I don't need your excuses! You think you're all cool, getting everything you've ever wanted. You have seven cute guys as friends! You swore that we would find boyfriends together! I guess that's over! I bet they're all fawning over you!" Jade flushed with anger. "That's not true! They all like Miaka! Not one of them likes me! They just want to be friends, they never liked me! What about you, huh?!?" she yelled, tears pouring down her face. Tasuki could see how upset she was, and he felt his heart break. If she only knew how much he loved her! Tara turned up her nose. "Take them away." she ordered. The soldiers grabbed Miaka, and they were about to capture Jade when Tasuki pulled her close and Chichiri transported the three of them out of the fray.
*************
They landed in a nearby tree, Jade still crying softly. Tasuki hugged her close. "Jade, it's okay. Cry as much as ya need to." he whispered. Jade took the incentive and buried her face in his chest. "Why is she so mad? I got seperated from Miaka, I couldn't help it!" she wailed. He pulled her closer. "Is that when I found you?" he asked. She nodded slightly. "Do ya really think that no one likes ya?" he inquired softly. The girl looked up at him. "I don't know what I think anymore. It's just so hard sometimes..." With that, she put her head on his chest. This was probably her only chance to be so close to him, so she decided to take advantage of it. Chichiri interrupted. "Come on, no da! We have to find Miaka! I have a plan, no da..."
**************
Jade wriggled against the ropes angrily. How did she let Chichiri talk her into this? She could barely breathe with the bonds cutting into her chest and the stupid piece of cloth over her mouth. A voice yelled into her brain //Stupid 'Chiri! This is th' dumbest thing he ever thought of!// Jade looked at Tasuki, surprised. //How did you just talk to me?// she asked with her mind. //You can do it too?!? This is too weird...// She nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Nakago walked around the corner dragging Miaka. "You will die quickly, as will your friends." He pointed to Jade and Tasuki, who were tied to a pillar. Miaka started to hypervenilate. "Pl-pl-please don't kill me!" she whimpered. Jade's melodious laughter floated into the bandit's head. He also chuckled at Miaka's denseness. Nakago grinned. "Okay." The priestess stared at him, astonished. Nakago then transformed into Chichiri. The bonds that surrounded Jade broke, and she instantly tore off the gag. Fuming, she glared at her monk friend. "Took you long enough! Hey Miaka, what's wrong with your arm?" she asked, staring at the bleeding arm. Miaka gave a false smile. "Oh, I just tripped! Don't worry about me!" Jade snorted. Tasuki touched it gently, and Miaka cried out in pain. Pulling out some bandages, the bandit quickly bandaged her arm. Chichiri turned back into Nakago and walked off. Miaka pointed behind them. "LOOK!!! Nakago's giving a strip tease for the troops!" Jade whirled around, as did Tasuki. In the blink of an eye, Miaka had tied them to the pole. She ran off in the direction of the garden.
***************
Chichiri came running back in chibi form. "Come on, no da! They found out about my discuise!" Jade closed her eyes and said "Shiruu...JIRAN!!!" The bonds flew from her, and she grabbed Tasuki's arm. "She went back to that tree, I know it!" she cried as they ran as fast as they could to the garden.
***************
They ran in just in time to see Miaka and Tamahome break apart from a hug. Jade gasped as the seishi pulled out a set of nunchucks and whirled them above his head. Tasuki used his seishi speed to grab Miaka out of the way just in time. Tamahome frowned. "Hmph. Missed." Jade felt a horrible anger surge through her. Drawing her sword, she yelled "Hey Tamahome! I see you like hitting girls that won't hit back. How about fighting one that will?" The dark haired seishi grinned evilly. "So, Jade...It comes to this. Prepare to die!" He lunged forward, nunchucks whirling.
I know what everyone's thinking. I did replace Tasuki's battle because I think Jade should be fighting instead, being the Celeste Warrior and all. Be back soon with Chapter 14!