Althe: I do have writer's block........It's just that your good reviews inspired me XD
Yeah. A lot of the characters are probably OOC and I've probably gotten the anime storyline all wrong, but hey. I haven't seen Fushigi Yuugi or Ayashi No Ceres for a year.
Sorry for those mistakes. Hope you don't mind so much... And please, do go on with correcting my noticeable mistakes.
Hey, I just noticed something.
It's been a year since I published this Now to end it soon! Bwahahahahaha.
:::Cross Hearts:::
13. Tasuki to the Rescue
OOOOO
-" Nakago didn't answer her. He needed answers for questions he didn't even know.
The two were silent while they waited for the servant to return with Aya.
When the servant finally reappeared once more into the room, he looked aghast, gasping for air.
"The girl doesn't seem to be in her room! The prisoner Nuriko also seems to be missing too my lady!" He added hastily, bowing down at Yui.
Nakago snorted.
Escaping without him noticing. He was rusting faster than he expected.
"Let them go," Nakago finally said. "They are of no use."
Nakago closed his eyes and continued on with his sleeping, not seeming to care with Yui staring at him with a strange look. "-
Aya shivered as a cold wind blew at her back.
The palace was like a maze. Scary enough, wherever she went, she saw no one. Not a sound drifted to her ears either.
The blood covering her hands was starting to stick and dry, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. The smell of strong iron didn't compliment her looks either.
I'm hopelessly lost! Aya thought to herself, stifling a panicky scream from spilling out of her mouth.
Aya wanted more than anything to scream and cry. She felt sick, hungry, and was stained with a dead man's blood. She also smelled like metal and was in what use to be her best clothing, now reduced to tatters.
"I want to go home," Aya moaned, wandering miserably down the never-ending corridors. "I want to eat ramen. I want to see Aki. I want to see my parents. I want to take a bath."
Complaining to herself in a deserted place didn't exactly make her feel better, but it helped Aya forget about her hunger.
Aya walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, days perhaps. What she came up with was more plain walls. For a few moments, she even worried if she was walking in circles.
The hall she was walking finally lead to a stairway leading downstairs. It had an odd feeling to it, but Aya looked more than grateful to find something other than a wall.
It could lead to hell for all she cared. It was better than peachy walls that robbed men of their minds.
The walk downstairs was merry. A faint foul scent floated around her, but she ignored it. Then, it came.
The stench hit her full blast. Aya hacked and coughed, plugging her nose in disgust.
It smells worst than Aki's used socks, Aya thought to herself, tears forming around her eyes from the odour.
Aya started fanning the area around her with her hand as she swallowed down a lump that formed in her throat.
Once Aya recovered from the smell, she looked around to find small damp rusted cells lining the walls in front of her all the way down the hall. Dim torches lit the way and as Aya looked more closely, some of the cells looked occupied. Metal hooks were placed on the wall behind her. Hand cuffs, shackles, chains, and leather whips hung from them, sending a shiver up Aya's spine.
It didn't take a genius to know where she was.
Aya could hear screaming from down the hall to her left. There was also laughter mixed in with the cries of pain and agony. After the laughter was the sharp sound of something being whipped on flesh and then the sound of a heavy object being dunked in liquid.
If Aya were any stupider, she'd walk right in there and ask the nice gentlemen for directions out of the palace.
Instead, she walked the other direction, trying her best to ignore the stares she got from miserable prisoners.
The hall led to a dead end.
Great.
Aya let out a defeated sigh. Back to never ending hallways.
She turned around and started retracing her steps when a parched voiced called out to her from the very last cell.
"What?" Aya asked, blinking in the dim light in confusion.
"The seventeenth stone leads out," the man repeated in a voice that sounded as if it hadn't been used in years.
"The seventeenth stone?" Aya said slowly, looking back at the dead end wall. "What?"
"It leads out of the castle."
"What seventeenth stone?" Aya asked, quietly, wincing at the sound of more tormented screams from behind her.
"The wall you're staring at. It leads out."
"Why are you telling me this?" Aya asked the mysterious man.
"Hurry up and go before the guards catch you."
Aya nodded dumbly even though she was sure he couldn't see her. She rushed towards the stone wall and stared at it thoughtfully.
Aya asked the man, "Do I start counting from the top?"
There was no answer.
Either the man had fallen asleep or her didn't feel like answering.
The wall was impossible to count. It was different from its other surrounding walls. Unlike the others, most of the stones were as small as pebbles. Another jolly problem to add onto Aya's burdens was that the stones were scattered all over the place. The seventeenth stone could be anywhere.
"Lady, just press anything," a different man said gruffly.
Aya did as the man said, jabbing at the pebble like stones with her fingers. Some moved an inch, but nothing happened. At other times, the stones fell out of their place, leaving noticeable dents on the wall.
The wall was as strong as cardboard, built in the crappiest way possible.
If Aya had a sledgehammer, she could tear it town like paper.
This could go on for hours. Many hours.
Aya began pounding hard on the wall, adding some kicks every now and then. The wall shook, sending dust down on Aya's head and shoulders. She coughed loudly, covering her head with her hands for protection.
The wall suddenly caved in, sending debris everywhere. Jagged stones scrapped at Aya's delicate legs and arms.
Once the dust had cleared, Aya slowly lifted her head up to see the damage. The two cells beside the now deceased wall were covered with debris and dust. Some of the bars had bent badly, leaving a huge gap in odd places. The floor was covered in gravel, scraps of metal, wood, and rocks of every kind, covering up Aya's ankles. It looked worse than a dumpster than had exploded from dynamite.
The good thing was that beyond the wall was a tunnel leading supposedly out of the castle.
A trickle of blood fell onto Aya's hand. She realized it was her blood.
Her cheeks were badly scraped. Blood dripped down from them, making her look as if she was crying blood tears. Her hands were bruised and cut in various places, looking similar to her hands and legs. Her pants were torn to shreds, leaving her thighs to shoes bare with blood and dust. Her top was spared expect for the occasional cuts here and there.
Aya felt far too much terror to even feel the pain.
Men's boots hitting the cement floor and their strong deep voices could be heard from the other end of the hall.
It was the guards.
The two prisoners' from the damaged cells quickly squeezed out from the bent bars, laughing in delight.
"Thanks lady," a man said to her, flashing his yellow teeth in her direction.
The two took off like rats, disappearing in the tunnel's darkness.
Aya didn't move from where she stood, dazed from the whole incident.
The sharp voice from a guard snapped her back into reality.
"What the fuck happened here?!"
OOOOO
"Geez," Tasuki muttered in frustration, putting both his hands on his head as if it was about to fall off.
He looked up at the palace wall in despair. It stood higher than him by at least twenty feet. Not to mention the fact that it was made of stone.
Tasuki began walking around the palace grounds, clueless to how to get in.
How the hell did Nuriko escape?
Tasuki soon came to the entrance of the castle. The tall wooden gate stood before him, guarded with marching soldiers and lookout towers. He leaned his back to the wall and slowly brought out his fan. It was pointless to think that he could sneak into the castle quietly without having some guard recognize him.
A storage cart made it's way towards the gate, bringing in imported goods. There was a sound similar to a whistle and the gates moaned and creaked as it was heaved open from the inside.
Now's my chance.
Tasuki ran towards the opening doors, many guards noticing his presence at the process. They called out to the lookouts and in turn the doors began to close. The soldiers took out their swords, looking prepared to slice Tasuki in two.
"Not so fast!" Tasuki roared, dodging the soldiers with great ease.
Tasuki jumped towards the small opening of the entrance, but before the doors closed he turned to face the outside guards once more, screaming at the top of his lungs while swishing his fan in their direction.
"REKKA SHIEN!!!"
OOOOO
The two prisoners from before worked their way down the hall, the torches from the walls barely giving them any light to what was beyond the other side. As they kept their quick pace, their eyes began to adjust and soon a forked road materialized before them.
"Man. If I remember, the left one leads to the palace halls," one of the prisoners said, looking to the right hall with uncertainty.
"How can you be so sure of this?" the other man questioned suspiciously, squinting his eyes at his prison mate.
"I heard it from a guard once," he replied dryly.
"But what if you're wrong? You'll get me lost here!"
"Then go your own way."
With that, the man disappeared into the right hall, leaving the other prisoner scuttling after him in fright.
"Hey! Wait up!" the other man called, rushing towards the other's side.
The rest of the walk was silent, except for their footsteps echoing back at them down the hall.
The lines of torches soon ended and they were left in darkness. Both the men took a torch from the wall and began their walk once more, listening carefully to hear if any guards were tailing after them from behind.
The torches soon died and the two were left in darkness again.
Without a word to each other, they continued their walk in silence and darkness. A white light could be seen at the end of the hall.
As the two approached the light, they realized it came from the stonewall that was torn to pieces. The hole was big enough for them to escape with ease. The hole lead to a thick forest, perfect for an undetected escape.
Fortune was smiling upon them today.
As they bellowed with laughter, a foreign looking young man with orange hair appeared from one of the forest trees, silencing them. The young man walked towards the castle walls to their right and started cursing, putting his hands on his head in frustration.
After a few more moments, we walked to the opposite direction to were the two prisoners were, making them sigh in relief.
The two looked at each other and couldn't stop grinning. They were free.
They both ran into the forest, disappearing from everyone's sight.
OOOOO
If Aya thought Nakago was bad, the feeling in her stomach was telling her this was even worse.
The guard, who had first spoken, grabbed Aya by the collar, making her cough and kick.
"Answer me bitch! What the fuck did you do here?!" he shouted, spraying globs of spit on her delicate face.
Aya didn't answer him, too busy trying to free herself from his iron grip. The man's veins pulsed with rage, lifting his other hand warningly at her direction.
"Answer me when I ask you a fucking question you retarded shit!" With that, the man swung his hand and slapped Aya hard on the cheek, jerking her head to the other side.
Aya turned to look at the man. Her cheek was starting to swell and her throat was parched with thirst. There was no choice. If she wanted to get out of here alive, Ceres was her only answer.
"Sorry," Aya said softly, looking down and closing her eyes.
And with that, they all died.
OOOOO
Killing the guards was too easy for Tasuki. Well, not technically killing them. Maybe the right words would be live barbeque.
Maids and servants were running everywhere, anywhere away from their new comer. Pretty soon, more guards came rushing at him, armed with bows and arrows, spears, and swords.
"What on earth happened here?!" one of the men roared, staring at the burnt corpses surrounding Tasuki.
"Careful General. That man is one of the member's of the Suzaku senshi," a man next to him said, looking fiercely at Tasuki.
"We've already sent someone for Master Nakago."
"Nakago?!" Tasuki couldn't help but scream. Shit...
"Yeah, Nakago! You're gonna regret killing my guards you little bastard!" The general called, shaking his fist angrily at him.
"I don't have any time for this!" Tasuki muttered to himself, pulling out his fan once more, "especially if Nakago's coming."
Tasuki positioned himself to face the guards, raising his fan dangerously at them.
"Get out of my way!" he yelled, swishing his fan at them.
Flames broke out from his fan, reaching the soldiers close enough to heat their skins. The soldiers backed away, all but the General.
"Don't be cowards men! Stand your ground!"
The group moved up towards Tasuki, causing him to step back.
"Don't say I didn't warn you...REKKA SHIEN!!!"
The first row of soldiers was blasted away by hot flesh eating flames. This caused an uproar for the remaining soldiers. Tasuki casually walked towards the palace, blasting anyone who got in his way with his fan.
"How troublesome-...," Tasuki began to say, but stopped dead in his tracks when he caught site of Nakago in a silk robe standing in front of the palace doors. His sword was held firming in his right hand and he looked down at Tasuki with his same icy eyes.
"What do you want?" He asked tiredly, making Tasuki snort in disgust.
"Don't play dumb with me Nakago. Where's Aya?"
"Aya? What are you talking about? She should be with you by now."
Tasuki raised his eyebrow at Nakago, showing his clueless ness.
"Nuriko escaped, but left Aya behind, now where is she?!"
Nakago gave a questioning look to Tasuki before allowing his lips to curl into a sly smile.
"Ah. That would explain the murdered guards," Nakago said out loud, his smile only widening.
"What are you talking about?" Tasuki barked, with hints of irritation.
"It seems that your fair lady has killed all my prison guards while breaking my dudgeon walls."
"What?"
"What I mean to say is," Nakago explained, his smile suddenly turning into a disgusted frown, "Aya appears to have escaped without your heroism needed, fang boy. You have killed my soldiers, storage cart, and lookouts for nothing."
Tasuki stared at Nakago in surprised silence. Nakago looked right back at him. He closed his eyes in annoyance and turned around, walking away from Tasuki.
Tasuki didn't say anything. He was just too grateful he didn't have to face Nakago in a battle. He wasn't prepared and most of all, he knew he'd get his ass kicked.
He looked around at the remaining soldiers, then started walking back to the charred gates. Tasuki slowly walked back to where he was, only now noticing the huge hole in the castle walls.
Was Aya near by?
Tasuki ran down the slope towards the forest and started running.
OOOOO
When Aya came to, she realized she was in the arms of someone.
She jumped in shock, causing the person to fall to the ground.
"Ah! You're awake!" Tamahome said cheerfully, helping Aya up from the ground.
"Ta-Tamahome?" Aya sputtered, blinking in disbelief.
"Hey," Tamahome whispered, ruffling her hair with his hand.
"How did I...? When did you...?" Aya was at a loss of words, trying her best to take in everything around her.
Tall thick tress and thorn bushes surrounded her. She could not see any buildings in any direction. How far had Tamahome carried her?
Tamahome chuckled at Aya's confused look.
"I found you on the forest floor, a little way away from the palace grounds. You were unconscious and I had a feeling from the looks of you that the guards were after you. I was heading back to the others before you woke up...which reminds me. What happened to Tasuki? Did you get separated from him?"
"Tasuki...?" Aya blinked. "Who's he?"
"Hm? Remember that fanged idiot with orange hair? You mean you didn't see him?! Then where is that idiot?"
"I remember him...but I didn't see him."
"Ah, man," Tamahome muttered, running his hand through his thick hair in frustration. "That idiot..."
"Is something the matter?" Aya asked in concern, looking at Tamahome's troubled face.
"What? Oh, it's nothing. First, let's just get back to the others...Can you walk?"
Aya nodded awkwardly. Her legs felt stiff, but she could manage. Tamahome gave her a reassuring smile before holding onto her hand tightly. Aya felt her cheeks burn.
"So we don't get lost..." he said softly, leading the way around the branches and vines.
Aya nodded again, not too sure what to do.
The walk was unusually comfortable and silent. The birds chirped joyfully as they brushed past them.
"Um...Ta...mahome...Is Nuriko with the others?" She asked shyly, looking down at her feet as if she was talking to them.
"Hm? Yeah. Why?"
"Oh...nothing...I was just wondering..."
The two fell silent again, Tamahome concentrating on the way back to the other senshi and Aya keeping busy looking at her feet.
Was it all a dream? Did she dream of Nuriko on her bed...? Yes. It had to be...but it would have been nice if it were Tamahome instead of a gay looking boy like him.
Low branches scraped at her open leg wounds, causing Aya to bite down on her lip. She could taste the all too familiar salty iron in her mouth. Aya stopped biting her lip and winced at the sting she felt from her newest addition of cuts.
Tamahome looked back at Aya and stared at her bare legs.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah...I'm fine."
"Are you sure? It looks as if you bled a lot. Jeez, what happened back there? Were you attacked?" Tamahome asked curiously, taking note of her blood stained hands and clothes.
"Oh, these...? They're not my blood."
"Not your...? Then were you near a fight?"
"Ah...no. This man, a soldier, attacked me..."
"And someone saved you," Tamahome finished for her, turning his head back to the path ahead.
"No-...I ran away," Aya quickly said. It would be hard trying to explain Ceres to Tamahome.
"I see," Tamahome muttered in a doubtful voice, shifting his eyes back at Aya's injuries.
The conversation died down once again, and they were silent for the rest of the trip.
OOOOO
Tasuki passed tree after tree after tree, obviously lost after he realized he kept passing the same boulder over and over again.
He was going to die the worst death. He could just imagine the gossip going around person from person.
"Fanged idiot dies after walking in circles for thirty days"
After another hour of walking in the same direction, Tasuki took a new path, taking up another hour. Finally, he saw light up ahead.
He felt like dancing with joy, leaping with happiness. He was finally out of the miserable forest and back with the others.
Tasuki started running, finally emerging out of the tall trees to find the palace walls once more.
He had spent two full hours walking aimlessly around to come back to where he came from.
If Tasuki wasn't so speechless from rage, he'd probably have screamed and burnt down the whole forest.
OOOOO
Althe: Ain't it a great chapter? Well, almost done with this fic..happy y'all?
RR!
Ja ne!