To be a Seishi
Chapter four: Rokou
Rating: M (all my stories are .;;)
Summary:AU. They thought it was over, they thought they could live in peace. They were wrong. A demon is born from the innocence of a child, and in order to stop him, Chichiri has to pay a terrible price and face a fate worse than death. Life. DARK CHICHIRI
Disclaimer: see previous chapter
A/N: -frown- I seem to have lost where that other nod is. Anywhoo, Everqueen got the other one. The way Chiri played his part was nice. wOOt.
Warning: spoilers, really. If you don't know who Rokou is, he's Nuriko's elder brother. It goes Rokou, Ryuuen, and Kourin. -smile- actually, a lot of this stuff in this story can be spoilers, so here is a complete story spoiler warning.
Warning.
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"Lord Rokou! HAYAKU! We MUST get you out of here this instant!" One of the servants that ran the Chou household began trying to physically push the tall, purple haired man out the back door, all the while spouting nonsense of a man who left corpses in his wake. Pure insanity. Or so he thought.
"Ahh...Ow..Release me!" Pulling his arm away, Rokou quickly backed up, hands up in front of him."Stop. Just stop, and tell me again. What's coming this way?"
"A DEMON!" The servant cried, "A demon with glowing green eyes- please Lord, just come with me to safety!" If the look of intense horror on the other's face was not just proof enough for Rokou Chou, the screams he began to hear just moments later would do the trick. Racing to his front door he threw it wide open.
Light purple eyes widened in shock, glued to the figure that stood just up the road, standing there with such an aura about him, a tangible aura that even an untrained child could sense. Raven black hair was flying about his face, a face set with two piercing, glowing, emerald eyes that seemed to freeze anyone unlucky enough to catch their attention.
And from head to toe, he was splattered in blood.
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"Chichiri, what's happening?" Nuriko and Chiriko met him and Tasuki in front of the main gate, both dressed to fight. "People are saying there is a demon out in the city!" The cross-dresser absently played with his bracelets as he spoke.
The youngest of the seishi seemed slightly calmer, but not by much. "Yes, Chichiri-san. Is it true?"
The monk's eyes betrayed nothing. "I don't know." He murmured, his hair lying about his face. In his haste from the shrine he hadn't had time to change or even tie his hair back. He must have been one odd sight, but now was not the time to worry about looks. "Chiriko, I need you to find Mitsukake then find Tamahome and Miaka. Stay with them and get them to safety. Miaka's well-being comes first."
Chiriko nodded, already running off down the hall. As he raced around the corner he spared a glance back, "Be careful!"
The monk nodded, but his attention was focused on something else.
"Nuriko. Tasuki."
They immediately looked at him. You payed attention when Chichiri used his serious voice. Thats just how it was. "Nuriko, please go get his majesty. If worse comes to worse, its up to you two and Tamahome to protect this palace. Tasuki-"
"Im going with you." The bandit interjected. "No matter what you say."
Chichiri gave him a small smile, "Wouldn't even dream of arguing with you." He held out his hand and his staff appeared. "Well then, shall we?"
"You know it!" He flipped his tessen into his hand, "On the count of three?"
"One..." Chichiri folded his sleeves back.
"Two..." Tasuki's fingers tightened on his weapon.
"THREE!"
The gate flew open, and the two seishi burst into the city... and straight into the heart of the carnage.
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"Tamahome!" Miaka cried, turning her face away from the corpses that littered the streets. They had been out on a walk, thinking it would be good to get away from the palace. And now...Now they were in the center of a nightmare.
Blood ran like water, everything, everywhere was red. People were missing pieces of their bodies, they were hung, they were just twitching on the ground, clutching their throats as if they were choking. On what, the miko did NOT want to know.
The seishi held her in his arms, "W-What happened here?" He couldn't stop staring. These people, he knew them. They were innocents, innocent men, women, and children who hadn't done a thing to anyone in their entire lives warranting such bloodshed. But it was happening all the same. "Who would do such a thing...?"
"Look!" Miaka cried, pointing to where a bloodied figure was slowly nearing them, hands held at his sides loosely, black hair falling over his face, obscuring it from view. Unable to determine whether he was friend or foe, because he didn't look threatening-my god he was just a boy! Barely fifteen it looked like. What could he possibly do? But just the same...something felt wrong...
"REKKA SHINEN!" The fire slammed into the area between miko, seishi, and youth. "Get AWAY from them!" Tasuki snarled, standing protectively in front of Miaka. "Tama, take Miaka back to the palace. Now. Chiri and I will take care-"
He never finished his sentence because at that moment, the man's eyes snapped up to rest on them and the street exploded.
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"Lord Rokou, WHAT are you DOING!"
"What does it look like?" He began to quickly braid his long hair, letting it fall down his back a la Ryuuen style, before quickly tying a sash around his waist. Slipping his feet into boots, he rummaged around in a drawer until he found what he was looking for.
"I would like to say getting ready to leave, but i know thats not it." The servant muttered, hopping from one foot to the other as he tried to not run as fast as he could to hide. He wanted to, but his lord was more important.
"On the contrary, I am leaving." He finally pulled out a long, wrapped object. Lying it on the table he carefully pulled the material away to reveal a scabbard encrusted in jewels. A sword, once held long ago by his forefather and passed down to the eldest son of each generation. It hadn't seen battle since that time. He gently lifted it out of the bed of cloth, just gazing at it in silence for a second before switching hands, his right on the hilt. In one smooth, practiced motion he drew the sword, blade arching and glittering in the sun as he slung it around his side before letting it slide back into its holder smoothly.
"My lord, you cant! This is insanity- You cannot be thinking to actually appose him!"
Rokou tied the sheath to his sash before moving toward the door, "Who ever said I thought about it?" He muttered before sprinting out into the street, leaving his servant staring at him in shock and horror. There was only one person who would be able to make him listen to reason now...Ryuuen.
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Miaka pried her eyes open, wondering why she didn't feel like she had been incinerated. "CHICHIRI!" She screamed, staring at the monk's back as he held the barrier around them, uncaring of the blood that was beginning to run down his right leg and pool at his feet. The boy stood barely fifteen feet in front of them, his glowing eyes fixed upon Chichiri.
"Why cant I kill you?" He hissed, "Why are you able to resist my eyes?"
Chichiri didn't answer him, instead he spoke quietly to the red-headed man who stood next to him."Tasuki, take Miaka and Tamahome and get to the palace."
"But Chichiri-"
"DO IT NOW KOU SHUN'U! FOR THE SAKE OF THIS KINGDOM, DO IT!" His one chocolate eye was wild and narrowed, rage brimming on the edges. And fear...It was the fear that gave Tasuki the strength to force Miaka and Tamahome the entire way. He held onto Tamahome's wrist even as he dashed off with his priestess in his arms.
And just to make sure he wouldnt do something stupid, like going back to help, Tasuki bit his lip and kept his eyes focused solely on the palace gates.
Chichiri...
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"What do you mean you don't know where Miaka is!" Hotohori nearly screeched, his sword already in his hand. He had been striding down the hall as fast as he could, but at this recent development he had froze and turned to look at Nuriko with barely contained horror. "You are a suzaku shichiseishi, are you not! It is your duty to protect her, how could you have failed me in this!" He was nearly yelling, eyes burning. "You are a failure as a seishi!"
"I am sorry, my lord!" The purple haired seishi cried, wringing his hands, "Chichiri told me to get you and keep you safe- Chiriko was supposed to find them!" His brow was furrowed and he lowered his eyes. "Please forgive me, heika."
As soon as his words had left his mouth the emperor knew he had gone to far, and as the other's eyes fell to the floor, he felt like he had slammed into a wall of spikes. How...heartless...was he...? "N-Nuriko...I..."
"Come on, heika, we must find Miaka at once." Even the other's voice was strange, strained. "As you just reminded me, my duty is to my miko. Let us hurry."
"Nuriko-"
"Don't you wish to save Miaka, heika?" The cross-dresser murmured as he swept past him, "She could be in trouble."
Hotohori blinked after him with wide eyes before he sighed deeply and followed. Yes, they had to find Miaka, but after that...They needed to talk.
They had just almost made it to the front gates when they burst in and a stumbling servant ran in, falling to his knees in the dirt. "Lord Ryuuen!" He cried, catching sight of Nuriko and Hotohori. Although, in his haste he didn't even notice the emperor. Such things were punishable by death, that among them, but at the time, he let it go. He might have not even known, his thoughts were filled with self-loathing.
"Samar!" Nuriko, startled, rushed forward, falling to his knees in front of the other. "Samar- what's wrong? What happened!"
"Lord R-Rokou!" He managed to gasp, his chest heaving. He had run all the way, it would seem. "He...He went after...the...d-demon...!"
Never in Nuriko's life had he felt so horrified, except for the time when he had stood there on the road and watched the carriage run over Kourin.
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So good. -sigh- anywhoo, leave me a message in a review! Thanx!