Some time after Tasuki left, Kou had settled into an uneasy sleep. All manner of visions haunted her dreams: Alex's face as light engulfed them, Jessica's sad smile when she first welcomed Corey into her home, Tasuki sneering indignantly down at her, twin glossy pine coffins being lowered into the ground, a magnificent phoenix gazing lovingly at her… and finally, the image of a pair of eyes so blue they seemed to be crafted out of sheer ice woke her from slumber. Kou had no idea whose eyes they were, but the sight of them stuck fast in her mind even as the rest of the dream began to fade.
She sat up in her bed and looked around. Nuriko was snoring softly on the other side of the room. Moonlight spilled in through the window and made Kou wonder just what time it was. What time would it be at home? How many hours had passed, if any, since her disappearance? She knew the days went by faster in this place; would she get back home before becoming an old woman?
A sigh escaped Kou as she leaned on the windowsill, grateful for the gentle breeze whispering by, hoping it would carry her restless thoughts away with it. Mount Taikyouku couldn't be too far away. They would be there soon, and Kou was certain that she would find the answers to her questions there. That thought did little to help her spirits, though. On the contrary, it made the redhead feel antsier than before, knowing she was so close…
Hazel eyes glanced back to Nuriko's prone form; the violet-haired warrior was in a deep, sound sleep. It seemed a shame to wake him and ask for escort. Surely he wouldn't mind if Kou stepped out for a bit on her own…
With the utmost stealth, Kou slipped her legs over the ledge, holding onto the edge as she found footholds. She looked one more time at Nuriko and began to climb down. Again, Hollywood had deceived her; scaling walls was nowhere near as easy as it looked. Finally, she got low enough to simply drop the rest of the way, landing easily in the dirt. Brushing the dust she'd kicked up by her fall, Kou started down the road.
It must not have been too later, for the taverns and brothels were still well-lit and bustling with life. The streets, however, remained empty, and Kou was grateful for that small bit of solitude.
Pale light cast by lanterns illuminated the area, shadows dancing as the flames flickered. It gave the world around it an ethereal atmosphere that was… kind of nice. There were no cars honking, no cell phones ringing, no video billboards blaring, no constant electrical hum of neon and phosphorescent lights. There was something comforting about that.
The peace was shattered as a tavern door burst open, spilling light and music and laughter into the street. Kou jumped with surprise, eyes automatically drawn to the doorway where a coated figure was forcefully tossed out into the road. A large, solid man leered down at the extricated body. He appeared slightly singed, a tiny curl of smoke rising from the end of his moustache. "And stay out, ya lousy drunk!" the man snarled and slammed the door shut.
Kou took a step toward the figure on the ground, concerned, but was stopped as the person unfolded from his curled position. Without even seeing the face, that bright orange hair assured the girl that the 'lousy drunk' in question was Tasuki.
"Son of a… Shouldn't've got in the way, stupid ol'…" Tasuki mumbled as he picked himself up. He flashed a rude gesture at the door, straightened his coat, and turned to walk away only to freeze in his tracks at the sight of the girl in front of him. She did not look happy to see him.
"Uh…" Tasuki said cleverly. Without a word, Kou turned and began to walk away. "Hey, wait!" He jogged a few steps to catch up.
Kou whipped her head toward the bandit, hazel eyes narrowed at him. "I do not want to talk to you," she said, still walking briskly. Tasuki, to her annoyance, had no trouble keeping up.
"Will you just gimme a minute?"
"No, go away."
"I want to talk to you."
"That's nice. People in hell want ice water."
Kou let out a startled gasp as a hand wrapped around her arm and jerked her around. She threw out a reflexive punch which Tasuki caught, as if he'd anticipated it. The sharp insult she'd had for the warrior died on her lips as she met his eyes. The amber orbs seemed to smolder intently, gleaming in the waning light.
"I'm sorry about what I said. You didn't deserve it."
Kou was speechless. His intense expression and their uncomfortably close proximity were making her insides squirm. He'd looked at her the same way when they had first met, when he had thought she was Miaka.
That realization snapped Kou back to reality. 'We don't want you to be Miaka, but maybe you could let us remember what it was like to have her here.' Nuriko's words echoed in her mind. Tasuki wasn't apologizing to her; he was apologizing to Miaka through her.
"Sure," Kou answered, unable to keep the disappointment she felt out of her voice. "No problem." She moved to turn away, but Tasuki's hand on her arm pulled her right back facing him. "What are you-"
"What's wrong?" he cut her off, his tone demanding an answer more than asking for one. Kou met his eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze to the ground. She wished he would stop looking at her like that…
"Nothing," she lied quickly. "Let me go." She made a weak effort to pull away, but Tasuki's grip held firm.
He snorted. "Bullshit. Tell me."
"I…" Kou hesitated, starting to feel a little shaky. "I don't…"
"Tell me!"
Suddenly, Kou looked up again. Her eyes had a hard edge to them, and it reflected in the rest of her features. "You want to know! Fine! I've just been told that I might have inherited my grandfather's destiny in another world. I've almost been murdered, twice, in the last week, and to top it all off, I've been ripped away from my home, my friends, my school, my life, and what little family, however unofficial it might be, that I had left, and all I hear is how somebody else before me did it better! Is that what you wanted to hear!"
Kou's eyes brimmed with tears that she futilely tried to blink away. Tasuki, on the other hand, looked like he'd been slapped. The domineering edge he'd had just moments ago had fallen away, leaving shame, sympathy, and guilt it its wake.
Tears defiantly fell from the girl's eyes. He had done this to her… he may not have been responsible for all that had happened to Kou, but his words were the straw that broke her back. And now, she was standing here before him, crying.
When Kou pulled away again, Tasuki didn't fight her. His arms fell weakly to his sides, and a strange, detached feeling washed over him. The redhead had turned her back to him, standing a few steps away, holding herself. Tasuki breeched one of those steps.
"Kou…?" he asked, voice uncharacteristically soft and repentant.
"Just leave me alone," Kou whispered back over her shoulder.
The flame-haired warrior winced internally at that. He wanted to grab the girl, spin her around, and… And what? Force her to feel better? It was with great reluctance that Tasuki finally took a small step back. "…All right," he murmured, taking one last look at Kou before turning to retreat back to the inn.
Alone with only the distant sounds of night life, Kou settled on the ground, curled up, and cried herself to sleep.
Ice-blue eyes watched the red-haired girl in her slumber. How easy it would be… She was all alone and completely unaware of anything happening around her. The temptation was painful to ignore, to try and sublimate.
The shadowy figure standing over the girl knelt; even in the low lighting, he could see the salty tracks of tears recently shed. No, she was not ready yet. He could only hope for such an opportunity as this in the future when she would be stable enough to include in his plans.
A hand reached out, fingers running feather-light through burgundy colored hair. Close enough to touch, and yet…
"We shall meet again," the man murmured, rising to his feet. "Until then… rest well. You'll need it." And with that, he was gone.
Tasuki awoke the next morning feeling slightly hung-over. His head was throbbing, his stomach tense, and he felt generally miserable. The worst part of it was it wasn't alcohol that was making him feel this way. He hadn't harbored this much guilt in years, not since…
Since Miaka…
But even that incident had an explanation; the bandit had been possessed, and not in control of his own mind or actions. This, though, had been one hundred percent Tasuki jack-ass charm. Maybe Kou would take his apology to heart and let the whole issue drop. Maybe.
Running a hand through his hair, Tasuki reluctantly got out of bed.
As soon as he opened his door and stepped into the hall, he was almost knocked over by a very flustered-looking Nuriko.
"Tasuki!" the violet-haired warrior exclaimed as he righted himself from their near collision. "Have you seen Kou? She wasn't in the room this morning when I got up."
Tasuki's stomach lurched. "Didn't she make it back last night?" Nuriko's expression changed instantly from harried to borderline furious. His eyes narrowed.
"Back from where?" he asked darkly.
Fuck, Tasuki swore internally. "We… uh, got into a little bit of a fight last night in town. I guess she didn't tell ya where she was goin'… But she told me to leave her alone, so…"
"Oh, Tasuki…"
"I thought she'd come straight back! I wouldn'ta left her in that ally if I thought she was gonna stay there!"
Nuriko let out an angry, frustrated growl. "Idiot! I can't believe you left her out there by herself! Especially after that attack yesterday." He grabbed Tasuki by the collar of his coat. "If anything happens to her, so help me Suzaku, I-"
"Nuriko."
Both warriors' eyes jerked their eyes toward the sound of Kou's voice. She was standing awkwardly at the end of the hallway, looking utterly weary, but unharmed. Dropping Tasuki, the violet-haired warrior rushed to the girl and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm okay," Kou murmured against his shoulder.
"Dummy," Nuriko said back. "I was worried about you." Letting the embrace linger, Nuriko finally pulled away and led the girl down the hall. "Come on, let's go let everyone know you're okay."
Tasuki opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out as Kou walked past without so much as a glance in his general direction. It would seem she was still a little upset about their tiff. And as payback, it was the silent treatment. Great. Just great.
"Damn it…" Tasuki muttered and started down the hall to the ground floor, wondering if it was too early for a bottle of sake.
The rest of the warriors were already gathered in the dining room of the inn, fussing over Kou as she tried to assure them all that she was fine and promising not to scare them all like that again. Nuriko detached himself from the group and approached the bandit. He had his lecture face on, and Tasuki had to bit his tongue not to groan at the idea of an impending speech. But Nuriko didn't say anything.
For a minute, there was only silence between the two.
"Kou will ride with me today," Nuriko finally spoke. In a few hours, we'll be at Mount Taikyouku, and this will all be over."
There was sadness in Nuriko's voice that Tasuki could not help feeling as well. The truth was he didn't want this to be over already. Of, at least, part of him didn't. Sure, outwardly he wanted to go back to the peaceful calm of life as Genrou, yet at the same time, this was what he was born for. That part of the self, of the soul, was hard to ignore.
"Yeah," Tasuki replied with a noncommittal shrug. "Sure. Let's go."
The sun hanging low in the sky painted the world a brilliant orange. Kou was certain that there would never be a sunrise like this anywhere in her world. She committed every detail she could to memory; after all, she would never see such a sunrise again. Nor would she see skies so blue, vegetation so green, or any of the Suzaku shichiseishi…
It was strange: even though they had just met, Kou grew up with them, knowing their names and stories. Leaving now felt like saying goodbye to lifelong friends. But she had friends that she really had known her entire life waiting for her. She couldn't wait to see Alex again, or to give Jessica a hug, or talk to aunt Yui on the phone. No, after this experience, she would visit Yui in person. This was the sort of thing to regale face-to-face, if only to see the old priestess's astonishment first-hand.
So steeped in her own thoughts was Kou that she barely noticed her horse slowing down until they'd nearly stopped. Hazel eyes glanced back at Nuriko inquisitively. "Are we there?"
"Almost," Nuriko answered, reining the horse to a stand-still. "Chiriko requested a pit stop."
Dismounting nearby, Chiriko looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name, and blushed slightly as he hurried out of sight.
"However, now would be an opportune time for all of us to stretch out legs," Hotohori seemed to say to everyone, but Kou knew he was trying to accommodate her. Regardless, the six remaining warriors dropped from their steeds to walk the kinks out of their thighs and knees. The red-haired girl lingered by the tree-line away from the others. It wasn't as if she didn't want to spend more time with them before she left, quite the opposite. But how much more awkward would it make things? No, it seemed best to Kou if she had a quiet departure, free of any bells and whistles that might shake things up more than they already were.
Whether it was everyone's natural intuition or Chichiri's keen sense of other's moods and the ability to convince people to do as he says, no one approached Kou until it was time to leave, although Tasuki did steal a few unreadable glances her way.
Nuriko mounted his steed, cantered over to Kou, and pulled her effortlessly into the saddle. As they trotted after the other's Nuriko's silence spoke volumes.
"What is going on?" Kou asked after a few minutes when she couldn't take it anymore.
"Tasuki told me all about your fight yesterday."
Kou snorted. "Figures he would."
"Hey, I'll be the first to admit that men gossip just as much as women do," Nuriko said with a grin. "We don't make as big a spectacle out of it, though."
"What can I say? It's a talent."
Nuriko chuckled and shook his head. "He really does seem sorry for what he said. Tasuki is not the most eloquent or tactful person in the world, but he means well."
"He's a jerk," Kou countered. "He's inconsiderate, rude, hot-headed, bad tempered, and totally ignorant about the potential consequences of his words or actions."
"True, but you'll never find a more loyal or trustworthy friend. When Tasuki decides to stick by somebody, neither heaven not hell can stop him."
Kou found herself effectively silenced by those words. In all the stories her grandmother had told her, Tasuki had remained just as steadfast as the other warriors, if not more so. He had nearly died for Miaka on more than one occasion, and Kou was ready to write him off for some stupid argument? What gave her that kind of right? Suddenly, Kou felt horribly ashamed of getting so upset. It wasn't too late to fix things; she would set the record straight with him before she went home.
"Look!" Chiriko's excited voice cut through Kou's inner musings. She glanced up, and the sight before her made her gasp. An enormous summit had become visible through the mists a little ways ahead. Wisps of fog drifted lazily about, along with the strangest, largest bubbles Kou had ever seen. She could hear waterfalls that she was certain would be made of pure silver. And high up on a flat of the peak was a pagoda temple, just barely visible from her vantage point. The entire scene looked like an epic painting. It was hard for the redhead to believe it was all really there.
"Is that…?" Kou asked incompletely as awe blanketed her vocabulary.
"Mount Taikyouku," Nuriko finished with a grin. "I'm glad you can see it."
Kou was about to answer with an intelligent 'huh?' before she remembered the fail-safe mechanism on this place; only those with good in their hearts could ever see the mountain in it's true form, while those who were evil would see only wind-blown rocks. "Me, too," she responded a little absently. "It's amazing."
"You get used to it, na no da," Chichiri said with a fond humor as he trotted beside the two. "Taiitsukun is no doubt expecting us no da."
After a few moments, Kou surfaced from her fascination enough to think. "Say, Chichiri?" The monk quirked an eyebrow. "Is Taiitsukun really as bad as I've heard? I mean…" Kou pointed at her own face, not wanting to have to voice the rest of her embarrassing question. The magician grinned broadly.
"You can judge that for yourself."
With that said, Chichiri picked up speed, Nuriko and the others following suit. As they approached the base of the mountain, Kou could see a squat silhouette floating a few feet above the ground. Drawing closer still, the features took color and shape on the form. Gray hair was pulled back in an elaborate style, and a long ribbon defied gravity, wrapped around the figure that was facing away from them. The troupe stopped a few feet away from the person Kou was sure must be Taiistukun.
"When I felt the reappearance of Tamahome, I had to see it for myself," Taiitsukun spoke. Her voice sounded old and wise, if not a little worn by the centuries. The ancient entity at last turned around. "Welcome home."
tbc…
Author's Note: Sorry, sorry! I know I said this chapter would be up really soon, and I planned to have it up immediately following chapter 6 since I already had it written, but I simply haven't had the time to type it all up. I hope it was worth the wait.