--Greetings. I have returned. Good news, people. My braces don't hurt, so therefore I have one less excuse to not-write for…Umm…I didn't mean that. I love writing my story. Really.
By the way, I think you guys will like this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki.
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-Chapter Four-
"Rise and shine, everyone!"
Kougaiji blinked sleep out of his eyes as he sat up, stretching. "Lirin, I told you not to wake us up so ear-" His jaw dropped as he saw the speaker.
Mizuru stood before him, hands on her hips, grinning widely. The morning sun shone on the rich, dark brown hair rippling down to her mid-back. Her visible eye sparkled, deep blue and clearer than Kougaiji had ever seen it.
He stared at her, wide-eyed and unblinking, for about five minutes. Then, still staring, he reached with one hand to pinch his opposite forearm hard between his claws, drawing blood.
Mizuru crossed her arms. "Don't worry. You're awake."
Kougaiji blinked rapidly. "I'm pretty sure that's a reason to worry."
Mizuru rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just get up, please. I'm starving."
The demon prince stared at her blankly. "Then go kill and disembowel some creature. Isn't that what you usually do?"
Mizuru looked offended. "No. I'm not a huge fan of raw meat. At least, not that raw."
"So cook something, then."
Mizuru hesitated. "Well, you see…About that. I tried, but I've never been the best cook, so…" She stepped aside, so that he could see the disaster scene behind her. Bits of some sort of…substance were everywhere, most of it burnt.
Yaone and Dokugakuji suddenly walked up. Yaone gasped at the scene.
"What in the world happened?" she cried.
"Uhh…Hahaha. Well, funny story 'bout that…" Mizuru rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously. "I was taking a walk this morning, and all of a sudden something made a loud noise behind me. I was surprised, so I spun around and prepared to defend myself…and accidentally killed a rabbit. I was going to be kinda upset, but then I realized I was hungry. So I tried to cook it…but, um, it started smelling funny and the fur started sizzling an' stuff. Then it turned black…and exploded."
They all stared at herm wide-eyed. Then Dokugaku drew his sword and pointed it at her.
"All right. Who are you, and what have you done with Mizuru?"
Mizuru blinked. "I am Mizuru." Then she frowned. "What? Just because a person can't cook, you think they're not themselves?"
Dokugaku shook his head. "Are you feeling okay? You're not acting like yourself."
Mizuru smiled. "I'm more myself than I have been in a while." She looked at Yaone. "I remembered."
The mage's eyes widened. "You…remembered?...Everything?"
Mizuru nodded. "Mmhmm. And I realized what a loser I'd been…But there's no point dwelling on the past." She over-dramatically punched her fist forward. "We must move on! To the future!"
She looked over at the group to see them staring at her again. She grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry. My eccentricity's all coming back in a rush. It's a bit difficult to contain."
Suddenly, a blur of red smashed into Mizuru.
"Ruri-chaaann! Hi, hiiiii!!"
"Hi, Lirinnnn!!" Mizuru wrapped around the girl who had glomped her and swung her in a circle.
When she put the small demon down, Lirin frowned for a moment. "You're…smiling?" She appeared to think, give up, and then beamed once more. "Yay!"
"You see?" Mizuru said dramatically, looking over at the others. "Lirin accepts me for who I am!"
Dokugaku shook his head and knelt to pick up a piece of the burnt animal. He held it away from himself, making a face.
"It's hard to accept someone who doesn't even know you're supposed to skin the rabbit before you cook it." He raised his eyebrow at her.
Mizuru looked down. "Oh…" She laughed. "Oops."
They looked blank again at the sound of her laughter. Then, Kougaiji's frozen face cracked into a grin and he started chuckling, too. Soon Yaone and Dokugaku joined in as well.
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Tai exited her room, washed and dressed. She moved down the hall, stretching. When she reached the two other doors, one across from the other, she knocked loudly. She was rewarded by a series of thumps from behind one and a tired groaning from the other.
Finally, the doors opened, revealing the four guys, all looking messy and tired.
"What's the commotion?" Gojyo said, brushing his long hair back with a hand.
"It's…" Tai checked her watch, "…8:00 in the morning."
"And…?" Sanzo growled.
Tai blinked. "It's late. We should've started moving hours ago."
"Uhh, let's think about that…" Gojyo looked at the morning sun climbing higher into the sky. "…I say…No."
Sanzo yawned grumpily. "For once, I agree with you."
Tai glared at them. "Fine, then! Waste a perfectly good day away! See if I care!" She spun on her heel and stormed down the hall, heading to the tavern on the lower floor.
The four men looked at each other in mild confusion.
Hakkai shrugged. "Perhaps we should get ready to leave. Tai-san did pay for our stay last night."
Sighing, they trudged into their rooms, not quite sure how they felt about the new addition to their group.
-End-
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--Yay! Ruri's back! Tai was kinda annoyed this chapter, but it's all good. Uhhh, I don't know what else to say…Ja ne!