Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. I do not own them and do not make any profit from this fiction other than my enjoyment in spending time with them.

However, the plotline for this story, as well as all original characters, DO belong to me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

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Chapter 5.    The Breaking Storm

The atmosphere at the table was finally becoming somewhat less strained. Tasuki had casually returned the Ray-bans to Tetsuya with a fangy grin and a cheerful "Thanks, man!" that forced Tetsuya to be polite or appear like a jealous clod. Keisuke had been overjoyed to finally meet up in person with the remaining two seishi and plied them with beer, all the while chattering happily about their adventures in the ShiJin. Yui couldn't help but be pleased about rousing Tetsuya's possessive instincts at last, and she was subsequently very cheerful and outgoing. The only quiet ones were Miaka, who seemed to find her own hands fascinating, and Taka, who was caught between bristling with resentment at Tasuki - and a genuine eagerness to share his and Miaka's good news with their old friends.

Tasuki finally grew tired of the furtive glances that Taka kept sending in his direction. "All right, Tama - you still got a bug up your ass with me?! 'Cause if ya do, let's just take this outside, no tessen and no nunchucks! We'll just settle this like men, just so you can quit sittin' there like some goddamn broody hen!"

Miaka went pale at the thought of the two men brawling, but suddenly, unexpectedly, Taka grinned, cuffing Tasuki affectionately. "Nah, you asshole, I don't have a problem with you anymore. In fact, I don't have a problem with anybody anymore - Miaka and I have some great news to share with both of you!"

Chichiri leaned forward, unobtrusively blocking Tasuki and Taka from each other's line of sight. "Oh, yes?" he queried in his gentle, pleasant voice.

Taka's voice was bursting with pride. "Miaka and I just got married two weeks ago!"

Keisuke and Tetsuya raised their beers and cheered, while Chichiri made exclamations of surprise and delight. Yui looked down and noticed Tasuki's hand holding his glass in a white-knuckled grip. She looked up quickly just in time to catch his amber gaze turning away, dark with pain. "So he really does love her!" she thought in wonder. Miaka kept her own eyes downcast, her cheeks flushed, as she wondered why she couldn't bring herself to meet Tasuki's eyes.

But Tasuki recovered quickly, raising his glass in salute with the others. "About damn time!" His voice was curiously husky. "But ya didn't invite us to the wedding, Tama!"

"How was I supposed to do that? It's not like you two have been dropping in on us every few weeks!"

"Speaking of which…" Chichiri tried to bring the conversation around to their reason for crossing over.

Meanwhile, Tasuki sent a veiled glance at Miaka, now that Taka had finally stopped sending suspicious glances in his direction. The lamps were dim, but he could still make out her features - her face thinner now that she had lost the rounded cheeks of youth, her cheekbones sharper and defined, her lips appearing full and sensuous. She kept her gaze down for some reason, her long dark brown lashes veiling the emerald brilliance of her eyes, her auburn hair framing her face with rich russet waves. She had far surpassed the promise of her former cuteness, developing into a beautiful woman - a beautiful woman who would never be his. He forced back the bittersweet sorrow and addressed Miaka in an undertone. "Congratulations, Mi-chan…"

She finally raised her eyes to his. What was she afraid that she would see in his eyes? Reproach? Accusation? Betrayal? Instead, she saw only a surprisingly gentle expression in their amber depths - accompanied by a sad, crooked smile. And somehow that was worse, making her heart clench oddly and a lump rise in her throat. "Thanks, Tasuki…" she choked, all the time wondering why she felt this way. It wasn't as if they ever… Maybe it was the fact that she was finally adult enough to realize what his declaration of love had meant all those years ago - and she didn't want to cause him more pain. But surely he had gotten over her by now - didn't he say that it had been eight years in his timeline? Maybe he was even married himself! But - why did that thought send an accompanying stab of pain through her heart?! No. No, it would be wonderful if he were married - wonderful for him, and to prove that she really felt that way, she blurted out the question.

"Are you married, Tasuki?"

His eyes went wide in shock… and the table exploded in laughter. Taka was laughing so hard that he was practically crying. Even Tetsuya and Keisuke were holding their sides in hysterical glee, while Chichiri just smiled his mysterious catlike smile. But Yui caught Tasuki's one unguarded look at Miaka, his eyes seeming to say, "How could you think that?!" "Faithful, too…" mused Yui, intrigued by the subliminal messages flying back and forth between the bandit and his miko.

Once again, Tasuki recovered before the other men noticed. "Nah, Mi-chan… the right girl…" he paused, pulling in the attention of the guys with his usual dramatic flair, "The right girl… ain't been fast enough ta catch me yet!" He smirked in triumph, as the guys roared with laughter once again.

Finally, the laughter died down - and Chichiri seized the chance offered by the brief lull to bring up the reason for his and Tasuki's sudden appearance. "Taka, Miaka… and everyone… I wish that Tasuki and I had come here only for a social call, but…"

Taka interrupted, his grey eyes suddenly serious. "I suspected that there was trouble in the ShiJin as soon as I saw you, Chichiri - so don't hold back. Tell us what we can do to help Konan."

Tetsuya frowned. "Is this Suzaku business? Do you want me and Yui and Keisuke to leave?"

"No." Everyone looked up startled at the dark and serious voice that had suddenly chimed in - and were shocked to see that it was Tasuki. "This isn't just trouble for Konan - and it isn't confined to only our world, either." The bandit accent was markedly absent in this grim, adult voice - and Taka suddenly became acutely aware that Tasuki was now several years older than him - several years spent living the harsh life of a warrior.

"Tasuki's right. We need all of you in on this." Chichiri's voice was equally serious but held a reassuring note. "And you and Keisuke are practically honorary seishi, Tetsuya - not to mention the principal protectors of the Seiryuu no Miko."

"Honorary seishi!" mouthed Keisuke in delight - but Tetsuya had picked up on a phrase that sent a thrill of fear down his spine. "What do you mean - protectors of the Seiryuu no Miko?! Is Yui in danger?!"

"Yes." The issue was now deadly serious, and Chichiri didn't try to soften the blow. "And Miaka and Tamahome and anyone else this enemy decides to target in its unfathomable purpose."

He went on to explain what little they knew of these strange beasts that were attacking the young celestial warriors in every country of the ShiJinTenChiSho. Tears rose in Miaka's and Yui's eyes as they heard of the ravages of Kutou - although Yui had no love for Nakago or his ambitions, she couldn't help but feel compassion for the country whose Priestess she was. Finally Chichiri told them, in a pained, halting voice, of how they had found out that the next place targeted was the adjacent world of modern Tokyo.

"Damn!" exploded Tetsuya. "Will they never leave us in peace?! Can't we be left alone to live out our lives as ordinary people?!"

"Not as long as you choose to associate with the Suzaku - or the Seiryuu - no Miko." Yui's voice was cold.

"I didn't mean it that way, Yui!" Tetsuya barked back at her. Chichiri held up a hand to cut off the impending lovers' quarrel.

"What's important now isn't why this is happening - what's important is what we need to do about it." Taka was direct and to-the-point as usual… and from habit, he met Tasuki's gaze, the two seishi connecting in that familiar bond of years past. Whenever there was trouble, Tamahome and Tasuki had always instinctively stood together - and something in Miaka thrilled to see the two men standing side-by-side and battle-ready again. "So what do you want us to do, Chichiri?"

"There is so much that we don't know - but my best guess is that the Enemy will try to cross over to this world through an already existing portal or link…"

"The Universe of the Four Gods!" gasped Keisuke.

"Yes. We must get hold of and secure that book - do you know where it is?"

"We left it in the National Library." Miaka sounded apologetic. "It went back there on its own, after that first battle with Tenkou - and it… felt right to leave it where it wanted to be."

"You did the right thing, Miaka." Chichiri smiled reassuringly at her. "After all, it's been safe for the last five years. Unfortunately, recent events now threaten that safety, and we need to lay our hands on it as soon as we can."

"Well, the Library is closed until tomorrow morning, so we can't get it tonight." Keisuke, too, had become practical and clear-headed now that the situation was unfolding before them. "But you two are welcome to crash with me, and we'll run by and pick it up as soon as the Library opens."

Tasuki and Chichiri exchanged troubled glances. They were still possessed by that nagging feeling of urgency - but things worked differently in Miaka's world than in theirs, and they hardly use their status as seishi to barge into national institutions in the middle of the night and demand the surrender of works of literature by Imperial command.

"So that's settled!" Keisuke declared in satisfaction, taking the older seishi's silence as acquiescence. "Since we can't do anything tonight - let's get some more beer! Come on, Tetsuya!"

Tasuki shrugged and suddenly got up from the table, his movements so quick that he almost seemed to have flashed from his seat to Taka's side in the blink of an eye. "Let's go, Tama - I owe you a drink ta celebrate your good news!"

Tetsuya sent an uncertain glance at Chichiri's elegant figure seated at the table with the two ladies - but decided that since the magician didn't seem to be making any overt moves on Yui, it was all right to leave him alone with them. And wasn't he supposed to be a monk, anyway?!

Chichiri smiled as Tetsuya turned away, reading the young man's thoughts perfectly. Well, it appeared that they had done all they could do for tonight - so he might as well possess himself with patience. At that moment, both his arms were seized, and he looked up startled into the smiling features of the two half-Asian girls who had been dancing with him previously. "Time for another dance!" crowed one. "Yep, sweetness - let's go cut a rug!" chimed in the other one. Chichiri sent an appealing glance towards Yui and Miaka, but they just laughed, allowing him to be hijacked out to the dance floor.

"Do you think that we should rescue him?" Miaka asked, soft-hearted as always.

"No," Yui's glance took in Chichiri as he moved gracefully between the two girls. "It doesn't seem that he's suffering that much. In fact, I'd say he's having such a good time that he's in danger of violating his monastic vows!"

"Well, remember, Yui, he's a monk of Suzaku, not Buddha, so it's hard to tell what exactly those vows encompass."

"Obviously they allow for the wearing of Italian designer suits. So much for the vow of poverty! Where do you suppose he got the Armani, anyway? Not to mention the Gucci shoes on both of them!"

"My suspicion is that it's a Suzaku knock-off." Miaka was beginning to enjoy herself at last. "Just like Tasuki's Cavalli shirt and leather pants."

"So you noticed those, did you?"

"I noticed that you noticed those yourself, Yui! I even noticed that you tried to feel out the quality of the leather without using your hands!"

"Whoo!" Yui was thoroughly enjoying Miaka's pointed barbs. "Tell you what, let's take this bitch-fight into the ladies' room, so that we won't be interrupted! I'm having too much fun tonight!"

"You've got a deal!" Miaka was grinning widely. "Nothing like a good gossip about one's seishi. We could have had such a good time together in the ShiJin if only we were on speaking terms during that time!"

"Yes, but my seishi were nowhere near as hot as yours! Unfair, I call it!"

"Oh, I don't know. I thought that Ashitare had… possibilities…"

"That's it!" shrieked Yui, chasing Miaka towards the restrooms in mock anger. The two girls giggled wildly, not realizing that their giddiness after the earlier grim news was a typical reaction of soldiers who found themselves in the trenches once again.

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A few minutes later, Tasuki was seated back at the table with the guys, tapping his foot nervously against his chair. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. "Hey, Tama - where're the latrines in this place? Out which doorway?"

Taka was absorbed in a discussion with the other two about the best way to get into the rare books section of the library, so he looked up briefly, sparing Tasuki very little of his attention. "Not outside - inside, Tasuki! Over there, where those girls are headed…"

Tasuki stared surprised at the small hallway that two young women disappeared into. "Both guys and girls?!"

"Mm-hm." Taka was still paying no attention, so Tasuki got up and followed the path of the girls.

He stopped to watch them push through a swinging door - then shrugged. "Strange world…" he thought, and walked boldly into the ladies' room. He took in the stalls lining one wall. "Oh! That's why it's okay for both guys and girls ta use the same place - they got privacy in those little rooms!"

There was a moment of stunned silence from the females clustered around the mirror and the sinks - and Tasuki took advantage of the lull to flash his most winning smile. "Hey, can any of you charmin' ladies tell me how to undo these weird fasteners on these trousers?"

The room exploded in pandemonium, some girls shrieking in outrage while others rushed at Tasuki to help him out in any way he wanted. He found himself buffeted back and forth, half the girls trying to shove him out of the room while the other half snatched at his shirt and belts, trying to drag him back in. He didn't know where to put his hands for fear of accidentally striking one of the women. "Fuck!" he screamed in frustration, which many of the females took as an invitation. Finally, salvation appeared in the form of a familiar russet head and blond head, and they seized his arms, escorting him firmly to the door and knocking away any interfering female hands. "Back off, ladies - he's ours!" shouted Yui. "American grad student - he just got lost!"

There was a chorus of disappointed grumbles from many of the women, but they backed off as ordered. As soon as he saw his way clear, Tasuki shot out of the door and leaned against the corridor wall, panting. His belts were twisted and his shirt was hanging half-out of his trousers. "And they fuckin' ask me why I hate women!" he groused, thoroughly pissed off. Yui kept control. "Miaka - go back to the table and get Taka to take Tasuki to the men's room!" Miaka, blushing, did as ordered.

Taka appeared shortly afterwards to take custody of Tasuki, grumbling as they headed towards the men's room. "How the hell did you end up in the ladies' room, you asshole?!"

Tasuki was infuriated. "That's where you told me to go, ya fuckin' idiot! 'Follow the girls, Tasuki! Yeah, both guys and girls over there!' I shoulda known that you were settin' me up!"

"I didn't mean to set you up, Tasuki." Taka looked away guiltily, realizing how his careless words were misinterpreted. "I guess that I just forgot that you're not familiar with this world."

"I'll tell ya somethin' else I'm not familiar with!" Tasuki began to tug at the fly of his trousers as they entered the men's room. "How the fuck do ya take a piss when your goddamn pants are sealed closed with this fuckin' metal seam?!"

"No, don't try to pull it apart, Tasuki - oh, shit!! Now you've done it! You've pulled the track apart above and below the zipper!"

"What does that mean?!"

"It means that you can't unfasten your pants, you asshole!"

"Oh, gods, Tama, I really gotta go! What the fuck am I gonna do?!"

"Just try to push them down."

"Can't - the fuckin' things are too tight!"

"Well, what the hell were you thinking when you chose them in the first place?!"

"I didn't choose 'em - Chichiri dressed me!"

Silence.

"Okay, that's waaaaaay more than I wanted to know about the relationship between you and Chichiri…"

"Shut up, you fuckin' asshole! You know goddamn well that I was talkin' 'bout one of his spells!"

"Oh. I just thought that it must get pretty lonely out there, wandering around, just the two of you…"

"Are ya gonna help me, or are ya just gonna stand there pissin' me off?!!"

"In a minute, you're not going to need my help to get pissed off!"

"This is just one great big joke to ya, ain't it ?! While I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna dooooooooo!!"

Taka finally yielded to his brother seishi's desperate wail. "All right, I'll try to work on the zipper - but come here into the stall. I don't want anybody walking in on us like this!"

Tasuki followed him obediently into one of the "little rooms."


"Hey, what's that round thing with the water?"

"Never mind - just stand still!"

At that moment, a small weasel-like young man wearing an ID tag that was inscribed "Assistant Manager" walked into the men's room. Turning to one of the urinals, he suddenly became aware that he wasn't alone in the place. There was someone - no, two someones!! - in one of the stalls. He pushed his lank, greasy hair out of his eyes so that he could see more clearly - yes, there was one pair of ordinary brogues facing a pair of fancy Gucci boots.

"Ya don't hafta be so goddam rude! I just never saw one of those before!"

"Well, I don't have time to explain it to you now! Just shut up and hold still while I try to work on this … ouch!"

"What?!"

"You moved! And I pinched my finger! Now either you want me to do this or you don't - make up your mind, Tasuki!"

"C'mon, Tama, ya know that I'm dyin' here! Don't make me beg!"

"Fine! Then do what I tell you! There isn't much room in here, so back up against the door. And STAY STILL! You've already made a goddamn mess of things!"

"Look, I'm doin' the best that I can! But ya know fuckin' well that I've never done this before…"

The assistant manager stood transfixed in place, the urinal forgotten. This was shocking! This was scandalous! He really should stop listening, and get some help to put a stop to this, but…

The sound of panting. "Grrrrrrrr, damnit! I thought I almost got it that time!"

An accompanying groan. "Why'd you stop, Tama?!"

"Sweat got in my eyes…"

The groan became more frenzied. "Tama, ya gotta hurry!! I can't wait much longer! Here, maybe I can help ya…"

The sound of a slap. "Keep your hands out of the way! You're only going to fuck things up worse!"

"Ooh, he's a mean one," thought the assistant manager.

A sudden growl, intensifying by the second. "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr… almost… al-most… GOT IT!!"

A simultaneous shriek, skittering up to the highest registers attainable by the human male. "You did that on PURPOSE!!"

 

A gout of flame suddenly burst from the top of the stall. The assistant manager shrieked and bolted out of the men's room. The club patrons, including Miaka and Yui, looked up as he ran past in a panic. Yui sent a keen gaze towards the restroom area, where she could see a cloud of smoke billowing out from the men's room, accompanied by a barrage of curses. She sighed.

"Tetsuya, Keisuke… you'd better go in there and break it up between those two."

Keisuke hesitated. "But… but…"

"Remember, Keisuke - you're an honorary seishi now, right?"

"But where's Chichiri?"

"Still dancing, so you're all we've got - get over there NOW!"

The two men squared their shoulders and marched bravely towards the horror that awaited them in the men's room. Yui looked over to Miaka, whose green eyes were wide with dismay. "I take back what I said about things being unfair, Miaka. My seishi may not have been as hot as yours - but they were a hell of a lot less trouble!"

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Keisuke slowly and nervously pushed open the door to the men's room… it seemed quiet enough in there, only the soft susurration of running water greeting his ears. Tetsuya grew tired of Keisuke's hesitation and pushed past him abruptly to see… Tasuki, smiling pleasantly at them as he washed his hands. He looked a little singed around the edges but appeared to be in a fairly good mood as he struggled with the towel dispenser. Taka, however, equally singed-looking, was sitting on the floor with one knee drawn up, scowling fiercely.

"Ummmm… what's up, guys? We were, ummm, getting a little worried when you took so long…"

Taka was still in a major sulk, so Tasuki answered for both of them. "Yeah, we had a little trouble with a, whaddaya call it again, Tama?"

"Zipper." Taka's voice was low and sullen.

"Yeah, that's it. And then… well, there was an accident with the tessen…"

"Accident!" snarled Taka.

"Well, ya didn't hear me say the spell, didja? Sometimes it just goes off like that, 'specially if I get hurt. And I got just as singed as you did!"

Taka finally pushed to his feet, striding angrily over to Tasuki. "Maybe you're used to getting your eyebrows crisped, but I'm not! And that's the last time I try to help you out with anything ever again!"

Surprisingly, Tasuki didn't respond with his usual combativeness. "Hey, man, thanks one hell of a lot for bailin' me out there - you really saved my life! I owe ya one, ya know!"

Taka just stood and stared - then threw his hands up in the air. "Gah! You always have to get the last word in, don't you?!"

Keisuke and Tetsuya stared at Taka's childish display of temper, but Tasuki just smiled indulgently. "Don't mind him - ya know that he flies off the handle pretty quick, but he don't mean nothin' by it. Hey, let's get outta here, guys!"

"Errr, wait, Tasuki." Keisuke pointed. "You left your fly unzipped…"

Suddenly the good-natured grin left Tasuki's face, and he scowled. "Nah, I ain't fuckin' around with that goddamn thing again! First it wouldn't open, then it nearly castrated me! I ain't playin' that shit no more!"

Tetsuya strove for the voice of reason. "But you can't go out in public like that, Tasuki - people will stare. It's not decent…"

"I'll tell ya what's not decent - a fuckin' metal torture device installed on guy's pants, that's what's not decent! I already donated enough flesh to that thing's goddamn metal teeth!"

Keisuke looked helplessly over at Taka, but his brother-in-law just made an abrupt gesture indicating that he was finished with the situation. Tetsuya also shrugged in resignation. Keisuke made one last attempt.

"Tasuki, you've got to understand…"

"Hmph!"

Keisuke sent one more appealing glance at the other two men but received no response. "All right, then… since Taka and Tetsuya don't seem to care, Tasuki, I'll just walk back to the table with you with your trousers hanging open, okay? When we rejoin Yui and Miaka, I'm sure that they'll be interested to hear of your misadventures with the zipper…"

"Now wait one damn minute here!" Taka finally woke to the implications of that action.

Tetsuya also got back in the argument. "Look, Tasuki, you can't do that!"

"Hey, ya think that I'm some kinda idiot?! I ain't gonna leave my trousers open - I'll hold 'em closed."

"Oh, yeah, that will look really good, Tasuki - until you forget and pick up a drink or something." Keisuke was beginning to enjoy himself, happily twisting the knife into his two best friends.

"Look, Tasuki," Tetsuya tried his reasonable voice again. "We wear zippers every day and manage not to hurt ourselves. All we have to do is teach you, and then you won't have to be afraid of it. Come on - Taka tells us that you're a pretty smart guy, so you should get the hang of this in no time."

"You said that about me, Tama?"

Taka struggled to suppress a stinging denial - and won. "Yeah - sure I did, Tasuki."

"Well, all right then…" Tasuki still sounded doubtful.

Keisuke started out the lesson, breaking down the steps as if he were teaching computer programming. "The first thing you have to do, Tasuki, is protect the goods. You pull your shirt over the stuff and tuck it back."

Tetsuya joined in with the same troubleshooting attitude. "The next step is to place your hand protectively in that area and just start to pull the zipper up - not far, because it won't close over your hand - just until you get past the... danger point."

Tasuki tried these actions, then looked over at Taka uncertainly.

"Oh, all right!" Taka unzipped and demonstrated for his wary friend. "See? Nothing to it."

"Here, watch!" Keisuke and Tetsuya were getting enthusiastic, demonstrating with their own zippers. "Up - down! Up - down!"

Just at that critical moment, the assistant manager burst back into the men's room, four burly bouncers in tow. He shrieked at the sight of the four men facing in a circle with their hands in their pants. "My God, it's an orgy!!"

 

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Yui sighed, picking her way carefully down the rain-slicked steps of the club. Her high heels slipped slightly, but a strong hand caught her elbow. "Thanks, Chichiri."

"No problem, no da."

Miaka smiled briefly at the familiar "no da" before reverting to her worried expression. "I hope that they didn't get hurt!"

"Don't worry, Miaka, no da. Tamahome and Tasuki have faced much worse than this before."

Yui cut in. "And after all, Tetsuya and Keisuke are honorary seishi now, aren't they?!" Her words were dripping with sarcasm.

Chichiri shook his head, his one eye gleaming with mischief. "One needs to have the constitution of a seishi to keep company with Tasuki! If you think that this situation is bad, you haven't heard the stories I could tell!"

"What stories, Chichiri?!" Miaka's voice was high and cheerful, as once again the magician was able to raise her spirits.

"No, you would have to get me very drunk to reveal some of the situations he ended up embroiling us in. I will only say that I hope never again to share sleeping quarters with a blind and paranoid swordsman, a one-legged harlot of extremely advanced years, and a confused and very angry bull!"

That was too much for the girls, who collapsed into giggles. They held onto one another as they picked their way around the debris at the entrance to the alley behind the club.

Meanwhile, deep at the other end of the alleyway, four men were recovering after being forcibly ejected from the back door of the club.

"And the horse you rode in on!" Tasuki flung at the slamming door.

Keisuke huddled in a disconsolate heap on the ground. "I can't believe it! We just got tossed out of one of the classiest clubs in the city for performing deviant acts in the men's room! I'll never be able to hold my head up in public agaaaaaaaain!"

Tetsuya pushed to his feet, angrily brushing debris off his jeans. "Worse than that, one of the bouncers was our friend with the PC-controlled home. If this gets around to our other clients…!"

"Oh, gods!" Keisuke was wailing. "We're ruined!!"

"Hey, don't get so upset, Keisuke." Tasuki was blithely cheerful. "If ya think that asshole's gonna give ya any grief, I'll just have a little talk with him, just me and the tessen…"

"No!!!" shrieked both young computer specialists.

Taka sat on the ground with his knees drawn up, hiding his face in his folded arms as he uttered strangled sounds. Tasuki walked over and gave his brother seishi a comforting pat. "Hey, Tama, this ain't so bad. I get tossed outta better places than this all th' time! At least they ain't throwin' chamber pots after us!"

At that, Taka finally lost it, grabbing onto Tasuki and roaring with laughter. He pounded hysterically on his brother seishi's back, gasping for air. "You. Are. Such. A. Complete. Asshole!! I gotta tell you, Tasuki - my life is never HALF as interesting when you're not around! Only you can get me into these situations... only you!!" He howled until the tears ran down his face. Even Keisuke and Tetsuya were forced to smile at Taka's explosion of uncontrolled mirth.

Tasuki grinned uncertainly for a moment, then hugged Taka just as hard. "I missed ya, too, Tama… I missed ya a lot!"

"Ah, I see that you boys are still having fun." Yui's tone was coolly acerbic. She tossed jackets to both Tetsuya and Keisuke, who caught them gratefully. "I have to say, this is one of the more unique endings to a night out dancing that I've ever experienced."

"See, that's your problem, Yui." Taka had his arm looped affectionately around Tasuki's neck. "You don't hang out with this guy near enough. If you did, you'd find that being threatened and thrown out of places is just part of a standard night out." Tasuki growled in mock anger and jabbed Taka in the ribs.

"So I've heard," Yui replied dryly, glancing at Chichiri.

Miaka giggled happily to see Taka and Tasuki on good terms at last. Tasuki's face lit up at the sound of her familiar bubbling laugh. "Hey, Mi-chan, that's the first time I've heard you laugh all night!"

Taka jabbed him back. "She likes to watch her husband being publicly humiliated. It appeals to her sense of fun!"

"Taka!" Miaka tried to sound reproachful as she handed Taka his own jacket.

"Well, if that's what makes her happy, then we aim ta please. Want me ta pants him for ya, Mi-chan?"

"All right, let's just go home." Keisuke sounded weary for once. "Tasuki , why don't you and Chichiri ride with me, Tetsuya and Yui,? It'll be a little tight, but since you're staying with me tonight…"

"No, Tasuki and Chichiri are riding with me and Miaka." Taka was firm. "I want to catch up with them a while - we'll just meet at your place, okay, Keisuke? Anyway, I'm sticking Tasuki by the window, then driving really fast!! I want to scare the shit out of him!"

"Fuck you, Tama!"

The party proceeded back up the alley. They reached the street just as the rain began to fall harder.

"Shit!" Taka pulled them under the awning of an adjacent club. "Tell you what - you guys stay here with the girls, and Tetsuya and I will bring the cars around." He waved cheerily at Miaka as he and Tetsuya ran off in the sudden downpour.

Within a minute, Tetsuya pulled up in his sports car and waved at Yui and Keisuke to get in. Taka's car came around the corner - but suddenly stopped while it was still half a block away.

Miaka peered though the intermittent drizzle. "What's Taka doing? Does he want us to walk all the way over there?" Suddenly a feeling of inexplicable dread filled her heart, and she pushed away from the shelter of the awning. She began walking towards Taka's car… and then found herself breaking into a run.

Her progress was abruptly halted when a hand grabbed her arm, It was Tasuki, catching up to her easily with his seishi speed. "What're ya doin,' Mi-chan? He told us to wait…"

"Something's wrong!" she panted, struggling to pull free of him. "Something's…!"

"She's right!" Chichiri was suddenly right there with them. In the blink of an eye, both he and Tasuki were back in their usual clothes. Chichiri gripped his shakujou as he strode towards the car. "Keep her here, Tasuki! I'll go over and see…"

"No! I'm going too!" Miaka was beginning to shout and struggle in Tasuki's grasp. Tetsuya, Yui and Keisuke started getting out of their own car.

Tasuki turned and pushed Miaka towards them. "Watch her!" he ordered and took off after Chichiri.

They ran towards the car, finally getting close enough to see Taka sitting behind the wheel, just staring out into space as if mesmerized. "Tama!" yelled Tasuki. "Wake up, man! Hey…" All of a sudden, he screamed in horror as a huge, triangular head loomed up behind Taka, its needlelike teeth dripping with venomous slime. "TAKAAAAAAAA! GET OUTTA THERE!!!"

Chichiri began chanting rapidly, raising his hand as he ran towards the car. He saw swirling tendrils of darkness rising up around Tamahome, enveloping him in inky blackness. Suddenly, the crimson light of Suzaku blazed forth from the ogre symbol on Tamahome's forehead - shining out into the darkness for the last time.

"TAKAAAAAAAAAA!" Tasuki recognized Miaka's high-pitched scream as she shot past him. He leaped forward and caught her, dragging her back.

Chichiri shouted in desperation. "Get back! GET BACK!!" With a roar like that of a ravenous beast, the car exploded, blasting a fireball in all directions. Chichiri threw his kesa up to stop the flames - but the fireball was too big, skirting around him to blaze straight towards Tasuki and Miaka.

"RLEKKA Shin'ENNNN!" Tasuki spun the tessen, creating a wall of flame that fought back the flares of the explosion. Chichiri picked himself off the ground and joined Tasuki and Miaka behind the tessen firewall. Finally the flares died back, the fire settling down into muted crackling as it licked at the blackened skeleton of the incinerated car.

There was a period of silence broken only by the gasping pants of the horrified witnesses… and then the screaming began.

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Author's Notes: (4-18-03) ….. (deep breath)

Well. Here we go, everybody. The roller coaster has just made its first stomach-churning drop - and this is only the beginning. More violence and horror to come, I'm afraid… and nothing and no one is safe on this nightmare ride. In spite of the "Casting Stones" giddiness of most of this chapter, "Hidden Paths" has now shown its true character - and you can see that it is very much the dark child of "White Stones in the Moonlight." And if you think you've seen trauma now - just wait until Chapter 6.

Hard to get back into cheerful mode after such a searing scene - but I have to try. First of all, I MUST acknowledge the date - it is April 18, which is the birthday of… my beloved Tasuki! So I had to celebrate by posting today, in spite of work and family commitments (had to color 20 Easter eggs! With Mom and Dad and other family members!) But I couldn't forget my special guy - so here's to you, Gen-chan - Happy Birthday!

Tasuki: Gee, thanks, Roku - nice ta know that you decided to commemorate my birthday first by havin' me roughed up in a ladies' room, then inflictin' a zipper accident on me, and finally turnin' one of my best friends into charcoal briquets!

Roku: Ahhh, don't mention it, sweetness. You know who loves you!

Tasuki: If that's love, I hope I never get ya mad at me!

Onward and outward - thanks to all of you who reviewed Chapter 4. Ah, Kris, it's uncanny how you track with me - yes, I was channeling EXACTLY that scene from Star Wars when I wrote the "entrance into the club" scenario. Sometimes Chichiri just oozes "Obiwan Kenobi-ness," doesn't he? Thank you to all the rest of you who also enjoyed the bishies' flashy fashions - yes, Shadow Priestess, it would be great to see some fanart of this chapter! And J. Liha - oh, dear, here I go corrupting today's youth again. Behave, Roku!

Now for some "obscure Roku references" - first, you may have noticed that Tasuki gets tagged as "an American" twice in these past 2 chapters - once by Tamahome and once by Yui. This is my little in-joke on the fact that Tasuki is a stock anime character known as "the American." The American is always loud and obnoxious, slightly dim and has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He has a certain brash charm and a strong sense of honor, but most of the time, he never gets the girl. A few other "Americans" you may be familiar with are Sagara Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin, Kyou from "Fruits Basket" (or as one reviewer called him - Tasuk's love-child - an orange-haired, combative, be-fanged and hot -tempered teen - thanks to Mouse-chan for introducing me to this series!), "Joey" from Yu-Gi-Oh… and many more, including Inuyasha, one of my favorites.

The second reference is from Chapter 4, when Tasuki protests to Miaka "Hey, I'm your opponent - I mean dance partner!" This line - I'm your opponent - is continually used in Japanese anime in any battle scene. Inuyasha uses it a lot, especially when he's fighting more than one person, but even Tasuki has used it in the famous "Kodoku battle" scene. After Nakago knocks down Tasuki with his ki blast, he starts hunting down Miaka and Chichiri - only to have Tasuki weakly rebuke him, claiming "I'm the one who's fighting you!" Yes, obscure, but I'm funny that way - I like obscure references, right, Uozumi? ^ ~

Okay, I've chattered on long enough. Next week, I must depart for a conference in Massachusetts - but up until then, I will be working on my fanfics. The question is… which one? Do you want me to take you into the dark and wildly exciting Chapter 6 of Hidden Paths - or would you prefer I get back to Casting Stones - or even Bridge? Let me know, minna! Until I post again…

Ja ne!

Roku-chan