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Chapter 3

Keara awoke to voices speaking in Japanese near her. "You think this is right?"

"Taiitsukun said it was no da."

"The point?" the voice from before asked. "She's just a kid."

Had she been able to speak Keara would have yelled at whoever it was for calling her a kid. So many people thought she was around fourteen because she had reached maturity late due to her training in gymnastics. She decided making them think she was asleep was perhaps the best idea however, since she didn't even know where she was or if these people meant her harm for that matter.

"We already have to worry about Miaka, now this girl is only going to add to the problems!"

"Hush Tasuki. You'll wake her no da."

"Ah," Tasuki grumbled, "I don't care anymore Chichiri. That place she was in was too weird for me."

Chichiri laughed, "I would have loved to go no da."

"Next time you can."

"I had to get you there and back no da," Chichiri pointed out, "I can't possible do it to myself no da."

'No da?' Keara thought to herself, 'Why does he keep saying that?' Keara knew Japanese fluently, for understanding and writing it anyway, she did not know the sign language part however.

"That's tough for you now isn't it," Tasuki said.

Chichiri made a pouting noise, "You don't have to be so mean about it no da."

Keara couldn't take it anymore; she was very curious as to who her captors were. She opened her eyes and sat up.

"Ah you're awake no da," Chichiri said. "I'm Chichiri and this is Tasuki," he motioned to the redhead next to him.

Keara looked back and forth between them in confusion. They seemed too nice to be people that would kidnap someone. Perhaps they were just doing this Taiitsukun person's dirty work.

Chichiri, seeing the confusion and slight bit of fright in her eyes said, "You're in Konan and we're not going to hurt you no da."

"What's your name kid?" Tasuki asked.

Keara gave him a look that told him that she did not like being called a kid. She doubted that the two before her knew sign language and doubted even more that they would know the English version if they did in fact understand sign language. However she figured that if she did the hand movements that they would figure out that she was mute.

At the movement of her hands instead of her mouth Tasuki became confused, "What's with the hand motions!"

Chichiri put his head to the side in curiosity, "Can't you speak?" Keara shook her head. "Well that's something Taiitsukun didn't mention no da."

"Figures," Tasuki said, "We have to get a mute!"

Chichiri gave Tasuki a disapproving look, "Just because she can't speak doesn't mean anything no da."

Keara frowned at the two of them before touching her hand to her shoulder and realizing her bag wasn't on her. Chichiri noticed this and grabbed it off the table behind him, "Looking for this?"

With a nod Keara took the bag from the monk. Tasuki sighed, "How old is she anyway?"

"Why are you asking me?" Chichiri asked, "She's right there no da."

"Ya but I can't understand her!" Tasuki said.

"You think I can no da?"

Keara shook her head before taking out a sketchbooks and pencil and. She wrote out the word 'eighteen' in Japanese before holding it out for him to see.

Tasuki looked at the paper before getting wide eyed, "You're eighteen! No way!"

Keara nodded and wrote 'yes way' on the paper before showing him again.

Chichiri laughed, "See Tasuki. She's older than Miaka no da."

"I guess so," Tasuki mumbled. "Buy why'd Taiitsukun want us to get a girl who can't even speak?"

"I don't know," Chichiri said, "She just said she's supposed to help Miaka."

"How?"

"I don't know no da!" Chichiri said slightly louder than before in an attempt to get that point across as he waved his arms about childishly.

Keara gave a silent laugh at the monk's antics before she closed her bag and put it on her back, sketchbook with the pencil in it still in her hands. She wondered if Sara was freaking out over her absence.

At that moment a man with short spiky black hair and blue-gray eyes walked in. He wore yellow and purple material around his forehead, a white shirt coved mostly by a yellow long sleeve jacket like shirt with blue and red trimming, a green sash around his waist, blue pants that ended a bit past his knees, skin tight gray-green material went from his pants ends to his ankles and blue slipper like shoes.

"Hey Mitsukake," Tasuki greeted.

Mitsukake gave a curt nod as he walked up to Keara, who backed up to the wall. "Don't be frightened young one," he told her, "I just want to make sure you're fever's gone."

'Fever?' Keara questioned in her mind. She had been perfectly fine before she had somehow ended up in this weird place where everyone spoke Japanese.

"She's my age Mitsukake," Tasuki said, "She's not as young as she looks." His tone of voice revealed that he did not quite believe the words coming from his own mouth.

Mitsukake merely gave a small chuckle as he touched Keara's forehead, which she made a face at, "As I thought. It's gone." He pulled away from her and looked to the two behind him, "Seems you've frightened her with pulling her here."

"I guess so no da," Chichiri said softly, "Hadn't meant to do that."

"Well you did," Tasuki said as he crossed his arms.

Chichiri gave him a confused look, "You're the one that went and got her."

"Ya but it was your plan," Tasuki said in defense.

"Actually Taiitsukun is the one that gave the idea no da," Chichiri pointed out.

"Well you put it in action!" Tasuki yelled at him.

Chichiri turned chibi and ran under the table, "Tasuki's scary no da!"

"Get out of your super deformed mode Chichiri!" Tasuki yelled at him, "That'll scare her even more."

"You should look behind you no da," Chichiri said as he wrapped his small arms around the leg of the table.

Tasuki did as told and found Keara's shoulders shaking with soundless laughter. He walked up to her and pointed his finger at her face, which was a few inches away, "Why's that so funny?"

Keara stopped laughing and look at his finger before trying to bite it. Tasuki recoiled and fell on the floor in surprise, "What the hell was that about!"

"Perhaps you should keep your fingers away from her face no da," Chichiri said before he came out from under the table and jumped on the bed, still in 'super deformed' mode. "What's your name?"

Keara blinked at him. They had brought her here and did not even know her name, now that was strange. She wrote 'Keara' in the book and the way to pronounce it since it wasn't an Asian name.

After one mistake Chichiri pronounced it correctly, "Keara! That's a name I've never heard before," the last part was more to himself than anyone else.

"Chichiri!" A female voice came before the bearer was seen.

Chichiri turned back to his normal form as the girl came running into the room, "What's wrong Miaka no da?"

Miaka is a fifteen year old girl with red-brown hair tied up into two buns on either side of her head and brown eyes. She wore her brown Japanese school uniform and black shoes. "Have you seen Tamahome?"

The blue haired monk shook his head. Mitsukake was the one to answer her question, "Last I saw him he was with the emperor."

"Thank you!" she cried as she ran down the hall towards the main chamber.

Keara raised a brow. The girl wore cloths that she was used to seeing, unlike everyone else that around her. 'Perhaps they kidnapped her like they did me,' she thought to herself.

Chichiri looked back to Keara to see her look down sadly. "What's wrong Keara?"

Keara looked up and raised her hands up with weary smile to signify that it was nothing. Chichiri did not buy this however, but decided to let it slid as he figured that she was confused as to why she was here.

"Taiitsukun said she'd be back to explain everything to you no da," he told her with a smile. "I have to admit it confused even me," he looked as if he was thinking about something.

"What!" Tasuki cried, "It confused you! When do you get confused!"

"I'm only human no da," Chichiri said in defense.

Keara sighed and leaned against the wall as she began to draw something in her sketchbook. Mitsukake had left the room just before Chichiri had spoken of Taiitsukun and now he and Tasuki we arguing back and forth on his intelligence.

After a few moments they noticed she wasn't paying attention and were curious as to what she was doing. Chichiri looked over the top of the book to see a drawing upside-down.

Keara turned the book so that he could see it properly. Chichiri laughed and pointed to himself, "It's me no da!"

Indeed the picture was of him in his chibi form when he had been clinging to the table's leg not too long ago.

"So you draw huh," Tasuki said with a smirk, "It's not too bad."

"I think it great na no da," Chichiri said with glee.

At that moment Taiitsukun appeared in the room, "I see you've done what was needed Chichiri, as to be expected."

"Taiitsukun no da," Chichiri said as he got up.

Keara looked at the floating old lady with curiosity, but not fright like most who meet her for the first time do. 'So she's the one that ordered me here,' she thought to herself.

"Indeed I did," Taiitsukun said.

Keara looked at her in surprise, 'She can read my thoughts!'

Taiitsukun smiled, "Yours alone, yes. This was done since you cannot voice your concerns or opinions."

Chichiri and Tasuki looked back and forth between Keara and Taiitsukun. "I think we're missing something," Tasuki said in bewilderment. Chichiri nodded, but said nothing.

"Chichiri, Tasuki," Taiitsukun said.

"Hai?" The two questioned.

"Leave us," she told them. The two did not ask questions as it was very clear that they would not be able to sway her into letting them stay.

When they were gone and away from the door Taiitsukun turned all attention back on the mute teen before her. "You are probably wondering why you are here, am I correct?"

Keara nodded and put her sketchbook to the side before looking back to her, 'I have to be home for the guys, so can I please go?' she thought.

Taiitsukun shook her head, "Unfortunately I cannot do that."

Keara was shock by this, 'Why? I was brought here by you, or whoever it was. Why can't I be sent back the same way?'

"Because you are here for a reason," Taiitsukun said, "And we cannot send you back until your purpose is completed."

'What?' Keara thought in confusion.

"Suzaku granted Chichiri the power to bring you here and will not grant him the power to send you back until your task is complete," she further explained.

'Suzaku?' Keara questioned before she thought a moment, 'You mean one of the ancient Chinese gods?'

"I don't know about ancient, but he is the god of this region," Taiitsukun said. "He wants you here to help his miko and seishi's."

'Help his priestess and followers?'

"Good you understand that much," Taiitsukun said.

'Not really,' Keara thought as her shoulders sagged down is confusion and slight depression.

"Trouble is brewing quickly and you are needed to act as a buffer, so to speak," Taiitsukun said. Keara made a face at this, causing Taiitsukun to chuckle, "By that I mean that you are to help with whatever problems occur and lighten what pain you can."

"You yourself have seen and been through many troubling things," Taiitsukun continued, "We need more than one person in the group with that kind of knowledge and experience, as well as a person with your attitude."

'Attitude?'

Taiitsukun nodded, "Despite everything you've been through you put on a 'mask' of glee so as not to worry others. This attitude might very well save a great amount of people." She smiled, "This is much like another member of the Suzaku seven, though he is more literal to this."

'More literal? Who and what are you talking about?' Keara thought

Taiitsukun smiled, "That is for you to figure out. But you should know that once Miaka, Suzaku's miko, has summoned him forth you will be able to return to your world."

'My world!'

"Hai. This world is very different from the one you came from, but they are strangely linked," Taiitsukun told her. "I must be off now, the best of luck to you."

'Wait! What I supposed to do!' Keara screamed in her mind.

"Follow Miaka," Taiitsukun said as she disappeared into thin air.

'Follow Miaka…?' Keara was left to herself to think over what she had been told. 'One who wears a mask? Perhaps it is someone I have not yet met…'

As to be expected Mitsukake and Chichiri are calm, but Tasuki freaks. Lol. So how is Keara supposed to help the gang?

Find out as the story progresses.

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