Ah! Yes! I'm finally back! I DO apologize for taking so long. I know ya'll must hate me…T-T…but hopefully this chapter will cheer you up. It's not much really. But I really love the Byakko and Genbu seishi, so I tend to have more fun with them! (bows) I once again apologize for taking so long…(glares at homework)…I'll try to get the next one up fast. And guess what? I ONLY HAVE 25 MORE DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL! (bursts into insane and slightly scary laughter) Ahem! Now…on the R&R's…
Mint:Girl you are so crazy…yes…i really wasn't happy with the way that emotion thing turned out either XP…so let me try to explain it better…Aya basically puts up this big front. She's very ditzy and bitchy most of the time…but that's not how she's actually feeling. It's like a mask that she keeps on to confuse people and keep herself hidden. There. Is that better? Yes…when I thought of Kokie I thought of a truly Asian looking person. And he's really shy and quiet. Even more so than Tatara. XD He's so CUTE!
Silver:Meh…Fight scenes are one thing that I hate trying to write about. Why, you ask? Because they're meant to be SEEN not READ! I can see it so perfectly in my head and when I try to write it down…T-T…it goes down hill from there. But thank you. I shall use you to preen my ego. And of course they're all tall! They're seishi! That makes them all special. Like all the seishi are "blessed" by their gods….(giggle)…take that how you will…Yeah…Tatara won…I knew that Aya sucked at card games…And Subaru probably wouldn't be very good either. And Tokaki…would want the others to lose just so he could see them take their clothes off….(runs away from pitchforks) TRAITOR!
LT:Hey! Thanks so much! It's okay if you review them together! (shrugs) Like I care…As long as you read them and enjoy em I'm happy!
ET:O.O No! It's okay! Don't worry about it…really…no need to do that…And Miboshi! Really! I always thought of Miboshi as…quietly evil or something. Kokie's just…quiet. And shy. T-T But…whatever you think…lol
Shondrial:Yes! I am crazy! What else did you expect! Besides…what fun would it be if I were normal…o.O? Yes! We shall work on fight scenes TOGETHER! And I've posted now…where's your story! (glares)
Aya's eyes were the size of small saucers. "You…you got big!"
Subaru laughed. "That's right! We've never properly explained our powers to you, have we, Aya?"
Aya — eyes still wide — shook her head, "No! I know about Tokaki's teleporting thingy and that's it!"
"Well!" Subaru spread her hands in front of her with a flourish. "My seishi power is the ability to control the time of a person's body."
"And that would mean…?"
"I can age anyone I choose. Or I can keep them from ageing like I did with Tatara. I let him keep his young body so that he could properly guard the Shinzaho until Miaka and the Suzaku Seven came to claim it."
Tatara nodded. "Yes...my power is the ability to control plants."
Aya gazed at them all suspiciously. Then, suddenly, she shrugged. "Cool. Works for me. And explain your powers," Aya turned to Kokie. "You claim to be a seishi."
Kokie nodded. "I have the ability to control shadows, Lady Priestess."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Aya threw up her hands. "What did you just say!"
Kokie looked confused, "I said I have the ability to —"
"No!" Aya shook her head. "What did you just call me!"
"I —" Kokie's smooth olive face twisted in confusion.
Tatara quickly moved over to whisper in his ear, "This priestess is a little different than the last. Please don't call her anything but Aya. For your sake and ours."
Kokie's face cleared and resumed his normal serene expression. "I see. Well, then…Aya. I apologize."
Aya shrugged. "Meh…It's okay." She glared at Tatara, "But I was looking forward to breaking you in…"
Kokie allowed a small smile to show, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about, Aya?"
"How in the world did we get all the way across the room so fast? I don't even remember moving…"
"I am a manipulator of shadows. I merely called for the shadows to gather underneath us and at a chosen spot across the room. Then…well, the nearest explanation would be that I created a sort of path between the two so that we could travel between."
"Uh…huh…" Aya couldn't help but look skeptical. "Whatever you want to call it, that was cool! We could do so much stuff with that kinda of power…" Her eyes glazed over, and her seishi realized that whatever she was thinking of would not be in the best interests of finding the Byakko Seven.
"Perhaps it would now be time to go to bed?" Tatara suggested diplomatically.
"What…? We can't rob even one bank before bedtime?" Aya teased.
"What's a bank?" Tokaki asked, puzzled.
"It's a place where everyone stores all their money."
Tokaki turned to Subaru, "I like Aya's plan. She is our priestess."
Subaru glared at him and then at Aya. "You two are hopeless. Get up to the rooms before I have to slap you, Tokaki!"
"Since Kokie needs a room now, too, I also volunteer to sleep with the girls," Tokaki raised his hand like a schoolchild. In the time it took for Kokie to smile, Tokaki sported twin handprints on each side of his face.
"Come along, Subaru," Aya sniffed. "I think it's about time we left."
Subaru linked arms with Aya, and together they stalked up the stairs. "I think you're right, Aya."
As the girls disappeared into a bedroom to the right of the staircase, Tokaki sighed. "Nothing has changed, I suppose. Only this time, the priestess is going to slap me, too. It's not fair I tell you! He raised a hand towards the upper bedrooms. "Why can't this priestess be meek and submissive like the last one!"
"I'm not sure that would matter in the least, my old friend," Tatara chuckled.
"Shall we retire, then?" Kokie motioned towards the steps. He started up, followed by Tatara.
With one last sigh and a glance towards the girls' bedroom, Tokaki followed along behind them. But before they walked into their own bedroom to the left of the stairs, he couldn't help but add, "I know one thing. I'm not sleeping on the floor."
Aya sat up in bed, stretching her arms with a groan. She glanced at Subaru sleeping peacefully beside her. With a glance out the window, she realized that it was still quite early. I might as well get up. It's not like I'm going to go to sleep again. With that thought to spur her, Aya quietly extricated herself from the bed, careful not to awaken the sleeping Subaru.
There. Maybe now I can enjoy a few minutes alone. Aya crept to the window and gazed out for several minutes. Even now, only a few hours past dawn, people were beginning to come out of their houses and go about their daily business. That makes sense, I suppose, Aya mused. This is a desert town. They probably want to get everything done before the heat of the day.
This turned her thoughts to the people of this country. People I'm supposed to be protecting. Somehow I'm supposed to not only save them from their troubles, but discover what the troubles are in the first place! She scowled. That's asking a little much, I would think!
She watched as a mother led her small child by the hand across the street that was quickly filling up with people. The mother had a slight frown on her face, obviously worried about all the different things she had to do that day. But the child laughed at a dog begging for scraps. It was obvious that he didn't yet realize all the work his mother had to go through to care for him. I suppose that's what I'm here for, Aya realized with a flash of insight. I'm supposed to mother these poor people from things they really can't understand or do anything about if they could understand. So…That's it.
"What are you staring at so intently?" a voice behind her caused Aya to jump.
"Oh! Subaru…it's you," Aya returned her gaze to the people outside. "I'm not thinking about anything in particular. Just watching. Her gaze returned to the mother and child. The mother kept the little boy close to her side as she went about her daily chores.
Subaru gazed at Aya for a time before shrugging slightly to herself. If she wanted to tell her, eventually, she would. Until that time, Subaru intended to keep close watch on Aya at all times. "Are you ready to go then?"
Aya started again and turned swiftly around to face Subaru. "Yeah! Where are we headed next?"
"Well…" Subaru hesitated. "It would probably be better if we consulted with everyone before we make any decisions."
"I'm here, ladies!" Tokaki's voice startled both of them just as the door slammed open. "Are you having a good morning so far?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye upon seeing them up by the window.
"Tokaki, you beast!" Subaru advanced upon her husband. "What if we'd been asleep? Or undressed?"
Tokaki's face fell. "Yeah…I was kinda hoping…But I didn't know you'd both be up so damn early."
Aya glared. "Please, don't mess with me in the morning. I'm not a morning person."
Tokaki remembered the feel of her palm on his cheek. And that was just when she slapped him…"Yeah!" he smiled rakishly at her. "Gotcha!"
Aya heaved an irritated sigh and started for the door. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? I miss my Midol already…"
Subaru and Tokaki trailed in her formidable wake. "What's Midol?" Tokaki whispered to Subaru.
Subaru shrugged, "Probably a weapon of some sort."
"Ah…" Tokaki nodded knowingly. "No doubt."
Aya headed down the steps trying to remember that these were her seishi. Not just anyone that she could kill. Sighing, she tried to keep her temper in check. She hadn't lied to Tokaki. She really did get easily irritated in the morning. Nights were more her thing.
"Aya," Tatara and Kokie both nodded solemnly. "I trust you had a restful sleep?" Tatara's eyes held the hint of a smile as he saw her pained expression.
"No…yes…I don't know," she confessed, shrugging. "I'm not used to sleeping with someone, and it kinda bothered me. But my rest was good enough. Where are we headed to next?"
Subaru suddenly appeared at her shoulder, making Aya wonder — blushing at the thought — if Subaru had heard her complaints. "Perhaps we should just head to the next large city?" she asked. "The concentration of people makes it likely that at least one of the seishi will be there."
Tokaki nodded. "Yeah. It should be lots of fun! We can show Aya around the country, so to speak."
Aya felt the beginnings of grin, "Itching to paint the town red, Tokaki?"
"No," he shook his head, confused. "I'd rather just party."
This time it was Aya who shook her head, "Sorry. I forgot. You guys don't know all the cute little sayings we have, do you?"
Kokie looked gravely upon her, "I have a feeling that 'painting the town' is not something we should allow Tokaki to do."
Aya burst out laughing, surprising them all. "Ha! That would be an understatement, my friend!" she chortled gleefully.
"Can we get started?" Tatara chided gently. "We're getting no where fast."
Aya slowly calmed herself with visible effort, "Yes, yes. Let's get going. Should we buy some supplies first?"
Tatara looked thoughtful, "Perhaps a few. We'll likely run across some nomadic trading clans, but we can't take any chances. There's always the possibility that we won't."
"We should also take weapons," Kokie advised. "There have been rumors of bandits in the area. The thought of going anywhere without weapons disturbs me."
Tokaki snorted, "This coming from a guy who was only ten years old yesterday." He snickered.
"Eleven, actually," Kokie corrected with his serene smile. "I was a bit small for my age."
"I vote we get weapons!" Aya broke in, raising her hand high in the air. Her eyes shone with a mischievous light.
"I
vote we don't give them to her!" Tokaki also raised his hand.
"Oof!" he grunted as Aya slapped him on his stomach.
"No
comments from the peanut section," she growled.
"I changed my mind," he wheezed, "She gets a weapon."
Subaru giggled, "Then it's settled! We'll all get some weapons and head off for the City of Gold!"
4
