If you recognize it, I don't own it.
12. Trust In Me
They stared at each other. Tasuki was sitting next to the bed, keeping his eyes on the couple and when the girl's eyes started to slowly close, he let out a breath he hadn't noticed he had been holding. When it was evident that the girl was truly asleep, Chichiri turned to look at his friend.
"Remember, don't let me fall asleep."
"Yeah yeah." The bandit smirked.
"Here goes nothing." And with that he closed his eyes and concentrated to the task at hand. Tasuki curiously leaned forward, but was sent stumbling back when a pink light exploded from her chest covering the room in soft glow.
---
Chichiri stood there.
But where was there?
It was a pink-ish maze of ever changing sceneries. He was inside her dreams.
---
He turned as the scenery changed rapidly, as did the time from day to night. It started to rain hard. He was soaked in seconds. A strange, loud noise made him turn just in time to see some sort of metallic monster was coming right at him. With years of practiced agility he dodged the monster, but got a glimpse of a smiling young girl inside it. The thing had see through parts, just like windows. He stared in awe as the monster started to slide from side to side. Just before it hit the tree and vanished to the forest, he realized there was something wrong with the thing.
Chichiri took one tentative step closer as the road remained silent. And then he heard it.
"Help.. Me..." Someone cried. "P-Please!" He stared eyes wide the young girl now covered in blood as she crawled towards the place where the monster had vanished. "Mom." She choked stopping for a while. "D-Dad!"
He ran to her side and kneeled down. He got a hold of her shoulders, making her stop. She struggled for a while before sagging down into a crying bundle of wet clothes and blood covered skin. He hugged her, trying to calm her down.
"No!" She gasped for air. "Mom.. Dad... J-Justin..."
"Shhh... It's ok." She turned to look at him and he nearly dropped her back to the ground. Blue eyes. Her eyes. "Sen?" He had found her.
Just then, the dream changed.
---
Chichiri found himself staring at himself. A mirror? He reached out for the image, and truly it was a reflection. His fingers glided on the smooth surface of the mirror and then went right through it. He yelped and pulled his hand back. With his hand he also pulled back a young boy, about the age of ten. The boy smiled at the stunned monk, his red hair was sticking up in all directions, and little fangs were grazing his lips.
"T-Tasuki?"
The boy shook his head. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
"No." Chichiri realized it. The boy was obviously Sen's brother. "You're Justin aren't you?"
The boy nodded once and stood up. He held out a hand for the monk, who hesitated for a second before taking it. They walked through the mirror and then the dream changed again.
---
This time he recognized the place instantly. He was back at Mt. Reikaku.
With curiosity he walked around the courtyard until he came to the main gate of the fortress. The gate was open so he walked in, praying he would find her fast. It seemed someone was listening since he could hear laughter coming his way, fast. Before he could look for the source of the noise, the girl stumbled at him, making them both fall down to the ground.
"Chichiri!" She looked surprised, and somehow pleased. And just as he was starting to sit up she dipped her head down and kissed him.
And then the dream changed.
---
He sat up. His hand flew to his lips. One magenta eye stared at the changing scenery without seeing a thing.
"She... Kissed me." A smile was tugging his lips. She had tasted sweet, like she had just eaten peaches or apricots.
The scenery stopped at what seemed like a cave. The black rock under his fingers felt somehow wrong though. It was slimy and when he looked at his hand he saw that it was covered in blood. Chichiri slowly stood up, wondering what was coming up next. Sen's dreamworld was proving to be a quite chaotic place.
"You are not supposed to be here." Said a deep voice. And then the dream changed again.
He found himself staring at the mirror again.
"Lot of good that did…" He mumbled. A hand came from the mirror and winked for him to follow.
---
Tasuki stared with awe as the cuts on her nose closed up.
"That's one cool power ya got there oneesan." He whispered. Then he settled back to his chair and yawned. It was nearly morning.
---
Chichiri emerged into a hall full of pictures. Pencil and crayon drawings, watercolour paintings, sketches, the works. Every inch of the walls were occupied by some sort of picture. He looked closer at one of the pictures and found himself staring at himself, again.
"What the..?" He ripped the drawing down from the wall and stared at it. It was definitely him, standing on a riverbank alone. He dropped the drawing and went for another; it was him again, this time he was meditating at the palace. Next one was him talking with someone. The next one, and the next one, and the next one. All about him.
"Are these memories?." He whispered. "Of me?" He grabbed another drawing and blushed deep red. "That's definitely not a memory…" He folded the drawing and let it drop. He reached out for another. And again stared it with wide eyes. "Nope, definitely not a memory.. This doesn't make any sense..."
He turned to look down the hall, the pictures went on and on. For a second he actually thought of going through them, but then realized that he was invading a very personal place. Not to mention it would be really stupid to delay his search for the girl.
He turned and walked away.
---
The dream changed again when he got to the end of the hall. He turned to look back, but there was only darkness, and stars. It was the night sky. He looked down and found himself standing near the palace fountains.
"I Remember this." He smiled to the memory. "This is where I tried to teach her how to meditate."
Slender hands circled his waist from behind. He jumped to the touch and turned to see the girl stand there looking up at him with a lopsided smile. Her hair was down, and she was wearing her pajama top. She seemed to glow.
"You came." Sen whispered.
"I promised you, didn't I?" He answered.
"You did." She agreed while she snuggled into the crook of his neck, and pressed her hips to him. He was more than a little surprised, but didn't push her away. "I thought you wouldn't come after what I did in the gardens."
"What?" Chichiri quirked an eyebrow at this.
"When I ran away." She nearly purred. It was coming painfully obvious to him that she was wearing only her pajama top. "I thought you would be mad at me."
"Why would I be..?" The question ended in to a startled gasp as she trailed butterfly kisses along his collarbone. "..Mad...?" Her mouth rested for a while over the pulse at the side of his neck before it moved back up. Her hands seemed to everywhere. The pictures in the hall had started to make a hell of a lot more sense now.
It's a dream, his mind whispered, her dream, she doesn't know you're real.
"No..." With a groan he pushed her away.
"No?" She looked surprised, and then hurt. And then as he had guessed, she ran.
The dream changed.
---
Justin walked in front of him in the pink maze. The boy was quiet; he never said one word as the walked.
"I need to find her." Chichiri said when they stopped. "I can't help her unless I find her."
The boy stopped. He looked back at the monk and sighed. Then he tapped his nose and vanished.
"Huh?" Chichiri stared at the place where the boy had stood. The ground beneath him grumbled. "Uh oh.."
---
And he was back at the cave again, but this time he was guided by an invisible hand inside the cave. No one spoke to him. All was quiet. Blood trickled down the rock, forming pools here and there. Chichiri was soon covered up in the sticky liquid. I look like a butcher in a very bad day, he smirked.
The invisible hand vanished, leaving him alone in to the cave. He shrugged his shoulders and went on until he came across two pathways. He choose the left first, but soon found himself back to the spot. So he choose the right next, but again was sent back to the same place. He growled in frustration and was just about to walk back when he heard the smallest cry.
"Sen!" He yelled. "Where are you?"
It felt like hundreds of eyes had turned to look at him. Oops, he thought, right before the floor vanished under him. This can't be good, he thought and then plummeted face first into a pool of blood.
Then there was just darkness.
---
Sen saw him drop from the ceiling of the cave. Her eyes went wide from fear as she made her way to the spot were he had submerged. The blood was down to her waist and it made moving around nearly impossible. The two demon kings stood from their spot. Miru looked at the scene with open curiosity, but her brother Renhou didn't seem all that surprised.
"Chichiri!" Sen screamed. "Where are you! Chichiri?" She dived under the sticky liquid, but found nothing. Her fingers grazed the sharp stones, but she never noticed that. After a few dives she finally managed to get a hold of his shirt. She was exhausted, but managed to pull him up. Tears started to fall down her cheeks, making stripes as they washed the blood away.
"No no no..." She wailed. "Why him? Not him!" She screamed at the man now standing in front of her. "Anyone but him! You bastard!"
---
Soft snores echoed in the bedroom. Tasuki was leaning back on his chair, sleeping.
Next to the bed, the monk had also fallen asleep.
The pink glow was starting to die away.
---
Sen growled. She stood up from the rock and faced the purple haired man, placing herself between the demons and the monk. She didn't have anything against the two and they knew it, but still she took the defensive post Koji had taught her.
"Why do you still wish to fight? He pushed you away in the gardens, you saw it yourself." The man smiled coldly.
"That wasn't me, that was my dream-image. I know how this works now." Sen's voice was trembling with hate. "If you hurt him, I swear, I'll make you pray for death Renhou."
"Oh so vulgar." The man rolled his eyes. "I'll just send him back to his own nightmares."
"His nightmares?" Her eyes went wide. "You wouldn't...?"
"Oh yes, I would." The demon smiled.
"No!" She yelled, turning to see the monk vanish. She took few steps back to where he had been. "Chichiri wake up! It's just a dream!" She screamed after him.
"He can't hear you." Miru smiled.
"No!" She yelled, and then she ran.
---
Sen cried the tears of frustration. She had been trying to get out from the blood covered maze for what seemed like hours. She was so tired, so ready to give up, so ready to just curl up and die. She could hear the laughter of the demon kings as they walked behind her. For some reason they didn't attack her, but they mocked her and it was even worse.
"Do you think he loves you? He loves his dead fiancée..." Miru said in sing song voice.
"He pushed you away in the gardens, you saw it yourself..." Renhou whispered.
"He's a murderer.. You're better of without him.." Miru sighed theatrically. It went on and on. Even when Sen tried to shield her ears the softly spoken words somehow managed to get inside her head.
"Stop it." Sen whispered to the thin air.
More laughter.
"I said stop it goddammit!" The walls of the cave grumbled. The demon kings hesitated and it didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Her spirit flared up. Pink light emitted from her chest. "Leave me the fuck ALONE!" She screamed with all her might. The flower kanji on her chest seemed to explode, lighting the dark space in bright pink.
The darkness faded. The walls of the cave grumbled and fell. Sen found herself standing in pink mist.
"Holy shit..." She exhaled. "Holy shit... I did it!"
Behind her, a red bird was flying away.
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TBC
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AN: Haa Haa! You actually thought I was going to write dirty dreams? Aww, this is a pg-13 fic. ..For now. Although I am temped on writing just how dirty Sen's mind can be. Maybe I'll do an extra side story later…
About the dreamworld, remember Twin Peaks? I'm sane. No logs. Enough said.
And yes yes, her little brother looked like Gen-chan. Is that a surprise? It's the same bloodline and all.
Next chapter: '13. Behind the Mask' coming in Jan 2006!