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.

Musical selection: "The Demon God", Track 2 from the soundtrack to "Princess Mononoke" by Joe Hisaishi, copyright Milan Records and BMG, 1999.  The music begins at Chichiri's and Tasuki's interchange in the ShiJin - and continues through their mad dashes to safety.

Acknowledgement:   A very grateful thank-you to Kryssa for beta-reading this chapter!

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Chapter 6.     Desperate Flight

"TAKA!! TAKA!! TAAAAAA-KAAAAA!!" Miaka shrieked her grief and horror into the shattered night. He was in there! He was in that blazing inferno somewhere, and if only she could leap into the flames, she could bring him out! She struggled wildly against the hands that held her in an iron grip. Let go!! They had to release her so that she could get to him!! "Let go of meeeeee!!" she screamed, hating whoever and whatever was dragging her back. How dare they pull her back, when there wasn't any time?!! She had to get to Taka NOW!!

She made a sudden twisting spin out of the hands that confined her, but one of the hands caught her arm again, stopping her. She wrenched at the grip that held her so tightly and used the momentum of her spin to reach up and slap her captor hard across the face. "Let me goooo!! I hate you, I HATE YOU, let go of me, you BASTARD!!" She fought like a thing possessed, kicking and punching him, feeling her blows connect again and again - but still he wouldn't let GO!

"Miaka!!" Yui gasped as she ran up, her voice choked with tears. "Miaka, honey, stop!! You've got to STOP!!" She couldn't bear it - watching her friend go insane with grief, striking out viciously at Tasuki over and over again, slapping and punching him. Yet he continued to restrain her, accepting her hatred and her blows, the tears starting involuntarily from his eyes as she landed one stinging slap after another.

Suddenly Keisuke let out a shout of pain. He touched his hand to his sleeve and held his fingers to the light, the blood glistening black in the cold radiance of the streetlights. "What? What?!"

Tetsuya pulled Yui back towards the alley. "It's shrapnel - look at the bricks! Someone's shooting at us!"

Chichiri threw up his kesa, trying to shield them from the deadly whine of the silenced bullets. "Run! RUN!!"

"Nooooooooo!" shrieked Miaka. "I'm not leaving him, I'm NOT…!" Her hysterical shouts were abruptly cut off as Tasuki clamped his hand over her mouth and took off down the alleyway, dragging her kicking and struggling with him.

They ran in a blind panic, hearing the high whine of the bullets ricocheting off the walls beside them. Behind them, they could hear shouts as patrons of the various clubs came running out into the street to see the blazing conflagration of Taka's car. Far in the distance, they could hear the wail of sirens - but the police were still too far away to help. They were on their own with their would-be assassin.

Yui ran beside Tetsuya and Keisuke, Tasuki behind them, slowed by the added burden of dragging along a combative and struggling Miaka. Chichiri brought up the rear, chanting warding spells as he ran. The bullets continued to fly, telling them that the assassin was still in hot pursuit. Chichiri put on a burst of speed and caught up to Tetsuya. "Tetsuya, listen!" he panted. "We have to set up an ambush - Tasuki, you take the girls and hide while we try to draw him out. And keep Miaka quiet!!"

Tasuki nodded silently and drew Miaka and Yui behind some dumpsters. He kept one hand firmly over Miaka's mouth and used his body to pin her down, while he reached behind him for the tessen. Yui drew close to huddle in his shadow and was shocked to see tears coursing down his face - which contrasted strangely with his expression of determined calm.

The other men ran on ahead - and suddenly Yui heard Keisuke cry out. "I'm hit! I'm bleeding! I can't run anymore - keep going! Don't wait for meeee!" She bit her lip, trying to suppress her sobs of horror - how could this night have degenerated so quickly into this nightmare flight into hell? She saw Miaka continuing to struggle against Tasuki's brutally strong hold - and she reached out to her friend, trying to get her to calm down by raising a finger to her lips and pleading silently with tear-filled eyes.

Tasuki jerked his head in warning - and Yui caught her breath as she heard soft footsteps approaching their hiding place. She saw a shadow fall across the dumpsters and watched Tasuki silently point the tessen, tears still falling unheeded down his face as his eyes narrowed in concentration. The shadow began to move away - but at that moment, Miaka made a small muffled noise. The footsteps stopped, then began to approach them once again - when suddenly Keisuke's voice rang out again in a keening wail. "Somebody help!! Somebody help me, I'm bleeding to death here!! HEEEELLLLP MEEEEEEE!!"

The footsteps turned and ran towards Keisuke's voice. Yui couldn't suppress a sob of horror as she heard the bullets whine again - followed by the dull thud of a falling body. Unexpectedly Tasuki stood up, drawing them out of their hiding place. Yui cringed back, but he motioned her out into the open with another jerk of his head, still keeping eerily silent. She stepped out hesitantly - only to see Tetsuya, Chichiri, and an unharmed Keisuke standing over a dark, huddled form.

She couldn't help it - she ran up to Tetsuya and flung herself at him, also reaching out to Keisuke as she sobbed with relief. Chichiri crouched near the fallen assassin, holding his shakujou threateningly across the man's throat. Tasuki staggered towards them, still dragging the struggling Miaka.

The magician's voice was as cold as death as he addressed their incapacitated assailant. "Tell us. Tell us about the people who hired you. Talk now… or never again."

Yui shuddered at the icy threat in Chichiri's voice - and suddenly she knew that neither he nor Tasuki would suffer a moment's qualm at killing this man who had played a part in the attack on their brother seishi. They were warriors, accustomed to dealing in death - and if this man possessed even a shred of self-preservation, he would start talking immediately.

The recognition of his impending death flashed through the assassin's dark eyes. He was a short, nondescript man - the type that passed unnoticed through the streets every day, making him the ideal person to commit crimes of shocking violence, then fade into the background for a clean escape. But even as his mouth opened, helpless panic appeared in his eyes. A thick black mist began pouring out of his mouth, making him gag and struggle for breath. Suddenly, strange jointed appendages began thrusting out of his mouth like the shiny, slimy legs of some obscene arachnid. The man began howling a weird, yodeling scream. Yui screamed in response, Tetsuya pulling her away, Keisuke leaping back in horror as well. Tasuki just backed away carefully, still silently restraining Miaka, while Chichiri leapt to his feet. By now, the jointed spikes were thrusting through the man's eyes, wrenching a gargling scream from his obstructed mouth. Chanting something in a strange guttural tongue, Chichiri lifted the shakujou - then plunged the tip through the assassin's throat. The man twitched twice, then lay still.

The warrior-monk stood over him for one quiet moment - then lifted one hand parallel to his face in an attitude of prayer. His voice was low. "May your soul…" he paused for a moment. "May your immortal soul - and those of your accomplices - burn in hell for all eternity!"

Yui gasped at the vicious hatred embodied in Chichiri's curse. Tasuki, his eyes still tearing weirdly yet narrowed in hatred like Chichiri's, kept his odd silence but still managed to project the same aura of cold rage. Yui couldn't believe it - where was the gentle monk that Miaka had told her about? The kindly father figure, the trusted confidant? With a sickening drop in her stomach, Yui faced the truth that she had pushed out of her mind during their panicked flight. Taka -Tamahome- was dead, and his brother seishi had no mercy for his killers, even beyond death.

Chichiri suddenly turned and faced Tetsuya and Keisuke, his attitude snapping into business-like calm from his previous fury. "Obviously the Enemy has recruited human accomplices in this world - and also provided the means to prevent these traitors from revealing their plans. We're fighting blind, and the only thing we have to go on is our instinct - and my instincts tell me that we have to secure the Universe of the Four Gods before any more of these creatures cross over into this world!"

Keisuke suddenly spoke up, his voice choked with grief. "We'll do it, Chichiri - Tetsuya and I will get the book, we promise! But in the meantime -please- take Miaka and Yui back with you into the ShiJinTenChiSho. You and Taiitsukun can protect them better than we can - and I couldn't stand it if anything happened to my little sister! So, please…"

Miaka made muffled sounds behind Tasuki's hand and clawed at his arm to try to get away. But it was Yui's voice that rang out in vehement protest. "No!! No, I'm not going! You don't understand, Keisuke - we have to get the book back under control if we're to close off the portal! And the book doesn't recognize you or Tetsuya as anyone important. But I'm the Priestess of Seiryuu, and the book has obeyed me before - so I need to be the one to retrieve it!"

Chichiri stared at her for a moment. "She's right," he finally admitted. "But you don't need two priestesses for that task, so we'll take Miaka back with us and hide her in the Refuge."

Miaka made a high-pitched moan of protest and tried to kick Tasuki once again. He twisted out of her reach, still holding her - but Chichiri finally noticed his tear-streaked face and strange silence. "Tasuki… I'm sorry that we don't have time to grieve, but…"

"It's not that, 'Chiri." Tasuki's words were choked out between clenched teeth. "It's just that Miaka's got her teeth in my hand - and… and… it's been like this since we first started running!"

Chichiri started forward in horror. "Let her go!"

Tasuki released her, then doubled over in pain, the blood flowing from the jagged tear in his hand. Miaka began screaming immediately. "TAKA!! We've got to go back for TAKA!! I'm not LEAVING HIIIIIIIMMMM!!"

Yui ran forward, horrified at Miaka's raging grief. With Tasuki's blood running down her chin and her eyes wild, Miaka looked like a demon possessed - and Yui caught her in her arms as she turned to run back towards the street. "Miaka, it's me, Yui! Stop this, please - Taka wouldn't want you to act like this, please listen!!"

"Noooooooo!" shrieked Miaka. "Stop talking about him as if he's dead!! He's not dead!! HE'S NOT DEAD!!" Caught up in her madness, she struck out, slapping Yui hard across the face.

Yui cried out in pain, and Chichiri started forward, grabbing Miaka's shoulders and shaking her hard. "Listen to me, Priestess of Suzaku! Get control of yourself! How dare you dishonor Tamahome by attacking his brother seishi - and your own best friend?!"

Miaka's eyes finally focused on his face. She turned her head to see Tasuki still bent over in pain, as Keisuke tried to bind his dripping hand with a strip of material he had torn from his own shirt… then turned yet again to see Yui holding her reddened cheek with one hand as tears trickled from her eyes. Miaka's face crumpled in grief and shame - and her knees gave out, making her sag in Chichiri's grip as she shook with ragged, heart-rending sobs. "Nooooooooooo. Noooooooooooo. Oh, please, noooooooooooo."

Yui ran up and took Miaka from Chichiri, the two girls sinking to their knees on the cold, wet pavement. Yui stroked Miaka's hair, trying to get her to calm. "Shhhhhhh, honey, shhhhhhh, baby… try not to cry. It's going to be all right…" she choked on her own sobs.

Miaka raised her eyes to Yui's, the tears shining brightly before spilling over. "No, it's not. It's not going to be all right. It's never going to be all right, ever again - because he's dead. I know it - I saw it with my own eyes. He's gone, isn't he?"

Yui sobbed, unable to speak - but answered with a short nod. At that, Miaka began keening in a lost, desolate wail. Yui joined her, crying uncontrollably as she clung tightly to her devastated friend. Tetsuya held Keisuke as the two men wept unashamedly for their lost friend. Only Chichiri remained dry-eyed, his one eye shining with a cold, bitter light. He turned to Tasuki, still kneeling a short way off, cradling his wounded hand as sparkling drops fell to the pavement beneath him… and Chichiri knew that this time, they were not tears of pain. "For each tear…" he whispered to the hidden Enemy, his voice soft with vengeance. "For every fallen tear, I will extract a price in blood… a thousandfold price, I promise you!" He walked over and crouched beside Tasuki, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Tasuki…" he murmured.

Tasuki lifted his face. "Chichiri… Tama's ki. Mount Taikyoku?" His voice held desperate hope.

Chichiri shook his head very slowly. "No. I can't find it anywhere. It's gone." His answer was very soft, keeping this devastating news from Miaka.

"Oh, gods! Like all the rest then?!"

Chichiri nodded, holding a finger to his lips and nodding in Miaka's direction.

"But how did that fucker fit in Tama's carriage? He had to have seen it when he first opened the door!"

"I think that it is able to cross dimensions, Tasuki - the way we did when we crossed over. The difference is that we crossed over with our entire bodies at once, whereas that creature seemed to have the ability to extrude only certain parts of its being. How this ties into its access to the portal - I'll have to find out."

Tasuki glanced over at the shattered girls - and his gaze grew cold and flat. "They'll pay," he whispered, his thoughts paralleling Chichiri's. "For what they've done to Tama… and Miaka… I'll see that they pay!!"

"Yes… we'll both see to it, Tasuki. But first we have to get Miaka to safety." Chichiri rose and walked over to Tetsuya and Keisuke, raising one hand and muttering under his breath as he approached them. They calmed under his soothing spell, suddenly able to push their grief to one side.

"Keisuke, you're right. It's time that we took Miaka away from here. Every moment that we delay in either of our missions may end up costing us dearly. There is one thing I would like you to do, however - just hide out and wait until I can get Taiitsukun to send over another couple of seishi to help you, perhaps Urumiya and Hatsui…"

"No!" Tetsuya's voice was resentful. "We don't need to be babysat by seishi! Keisuke and I can look after Yui ourselves!"

Keisuke appeared stunned by his best friend's outburst. "Errr, Tetsuya, I don't think…"

"Look, asshole, in case you didn't notice, this ain't no dance floor pissin' contest!" Tasuki cut right to the heart of the matter as usual. "Stakes are way higher than fussin' over whose cock is harder! If you give two shits about your Priestess of Seiryuu, you'll take whatever help you're offered, whether it's from warriors from another world, or from some snot-nosed kid on th' street! 'Cause in the end, the winners are the ones who're left alive to tell the tale!" He stopped abruptly, his expression filling with bitterness as he suddenly remembered the one who was no longer there.

Tetsuya flushed with embarrassment and resentment, both at the crudity of Tasuki's remarks - and at their ultimate insight. Keisuke stepped in before things could escalate between the two angry and bereaved men. "Look, it's stupid for us to argue. We all have jobs to do, so let's just get to it, right?" He turned to Chichiri. "Chichiri, all help would be deeply appreciated - but until then, Tetsuya and I will do the best we can. Fair enough?"

Chichiri nodded, and Keisuke then turned to his most difficult task. He crouched down and began to pull the weeping Miaka from Yui's embrace. "Imouto-chan… it's time for you to go." His voice was suffused with tenderness and grief.

"Noooooooo!" Miaka clung to Yui. Yui wept harder but pushed Miaka back, taking out her handkerchief and gently cleaning the blood from Miaka's face. "He's right, Miaka - you have to leave now."

But Miaka wasn't listening to reason, and she clung to Yui all the harder. Keisuke gripped Miaka's shoulders and forcibly removed her from Yui's arms. "Miaka, please… Imouto-chan, please do this for me." He was weeping openly now. "I just lost a brother tonight - I can't bear to lose you, too! So please, go with the people who can protect you for me…"

Chichiri came up and placed his arm firmly around the distraught girl. Tasuki joined them and tried to take Miaka's hand - but she caught sight of his crudely bandaged hand and turned from him in shame. She buried her face in Chichiri's shoulder as he swirled his kesa around the three of them.

Yui wept, "I love you, Miaka!" just as they faded mystically from view. Her knees grew momentarily weak, but she found herself supported by two strong arms. She gave a watery and grateful smile to both Tetsuya and Keisuke and tried to assume a brave and cheerful tone. "Well, my warriors - onto our new mission!" They turned and began heading back down the alleyway.

Suddenly Yui stiffened. All the hairs on the back of her neck were prickling. "Hide!" she whispered frantically. Keisuke and Tetsuya drew her behind the same dumpsters that she had hidden behind just minutes ago. All three held their breath as a huge crooked shadow passed near their hiding place, stalking along on jointed legs while hissing out fetid breath. It paused for a moment - then continued on to the dead body of the assassin. It paused again, making sniffing noises as it investigated the body. Suddenly, they heard a terrible tearing and crunching sound. Yui turned greenish as they were forced to listen to the creature devouring the body of its accomplice.

"Destroying the evidence?" Keisuke whispered very softly.

Tetsuya was as pale as Yui. "I take back what I said earlier about seishi help," he muttered under his breath. The three drew closer together behind the dumpsters… waiting, praying… and holding one another.

 
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The Suzaku team landed near the base of a desolate, unnamed mountain in Hokkan, the same location that they had chosen for their crossover into Tokyo. Night had fallen, moonless and cold, the wind keening forlornly to itself as it chased around the large scattered boulders, remnants of avalanches from winters past. Chichiri pulled Miaka into the shelter of a huge boulder that towered above them. She gave only a brief look around before collapsing into a miserable huddle on the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees and sobbing inconsolably. Tasuki shifted his weight from foot-to-foot, his expression at once tormented and lost as he stood helpless, unable to think of any way to offer comfort.

"Tasuki - get the horses." Chichiri knew that the best thing he could do for his brother seishi was to keep him busy. "Just to be cautious, we're going to have to take a roundabout route back to the Refuge, so we may as well get started now."

Tasuki walked around to the other side of the boulder, looking out toward the distant forest. He gave a series of whistles of varying length and pitch. Within a minute, he heard the answering whinnies from the shelter of the trees. His seishi sight enabled him to pick up the black outline of Makaze galloping towards them across the dry grassy plain, followed closely by the smaller, brighter form of Hikari. Makaze ran straight at Tasuki, pulling up just short of mowing down his master, his hot breath puffing and steaming in the chill air.

"Asshole! Show-off!" Tasuki thumped the stallion's sides affectionately. Makaze bobbed and dipped his head proudly, as if he were receiving fulsome praise. Tasuki felt along his sides and adjusted the saddle girth. "Looks like 'Kaze's lost a little weight, 'Chiri - we must have been gone a few days…"

"I was hoping that we wouldn't have been gone so long - things may have changed greatly at the Refuge during our absence. I need to get a message to Taiitsukun right away and ask her to send Hatsui and Urumiya to Miaka's world to help the others…" His voice cut off abruptly.

Tasuki chimed in absently, checking the contents of the saddlebags. "Well, at least it ain't snowin' for once. 'Bout damn time it started actin' like spring in this godforsaken country - no wonder that Genbu's such a freaky god. Or…" His own voice trailed off as he noticed Chichiri standing rapt and attentive, staring up into the northwest quadrant of the sky. "'Chiri?"

Suddenly the magician darted forward, seizing Hikari's reins. "Get the horses behind the boulder! Now, NOW!!"

Tasuki leapt to follow Chichiri's command, pulling Makaze around the sheltering rock to stand above the still huddled form of Miaka. "Somethin's comin', right?"

Chichiri's reply was grim. "Many somethings, Tasuki!"

"How many?"

"Maybe thirty… maybe more."

Tasuki cursed fluently. "Goddamn fuckin'…!"

"Shield your ki, Tasuki - our only choice is to hide. There's too many of them!" Suddenly Chichiri let out a blistering curse, making Tasuki raise his eyebrows. "I've forgotten Miaka! Her distress is sending up the equivalent of signal flares!" He crouched beside the distraught girl. "Miaka, listen - you must control yourself. You must try to shield your ki!"

But Miaka was beyond any reasoning, her searing grief driving her nearly to the edge of madness. She flinched away from Chichiri, covering her head with her arms and crying even harder. Chichiri grimaced as he recalled her hysteria at Nuriko's death - how could he expect her to be in control when she saw Tamahome killed before her very eyes? "Damn it!" There was only one thing he could do - but there wasn't enough time to do it properly! He would just have to do the best he could and hope that the crude spell would work.

He turned Miaka's face upward, restraining her struggles with a firm grip on her chin - he hated having to be so brutal, but all of their lives were at stake! - then placed his left hand over Miaka's brow, extending his forefinger above her eyebrow and his thumb at her cheekbone. He muttered a complicated rhythm of soft sibilant words, hissing the last few chants of the spell rapidly. Miaka suddenly calmed, her emerald eyes growing wide and blank. Chichiri breathed a brief prayer of thanks to all the gods as her violent aura died down to a level easily shielded by him or Tasuki.

He stood up to gaze once more into the night sky, narrowing his eyes to discern a dark triangle against the blackness of the sky - and cursed again. "It's too late - they've turned and are heading straight for us!" Tasuki stood silent and attentive, his stance indicating battle-readiness. Each warrior instinctively knew that now was the time for decisions that would either give them the chance to survive or condemn them to death.

Chichiri weighed their options, calculations flashing through his mind faster than the speed of light - then set their course. "Tasuki - they seem to want a war - so I'm going to give it to them! I intend to find out everything I can about this Enemy and their ultimate goal. To do that, I must find my way to their base of operations - and these ungodly creatures are going to take me there, whether they know it or not!"

Tasuki squared his shoulders. "Fine, 'Chiri, I'm ready to fight. Win or lose, I'm taking them down!"

"No! Not you, Tasuki - you're going to take Miaka to the Refuge. I'll set up a diversion, and you two will escape…"

"NO! Fuck that, 'Chiri, I'm not runnin' out on you!! All three of us will just have to take our chances together - I'll protect Miaka while we're…"

"No, Tasuki, you're not listening! Miaka's only hope is for you to get her away while I draw off this attack!"

Tasuki's voice began to rise in near-hysteria. "You're the one who's not listening!! I'm not losin' you, 'Chiri - I'm not leavin' you to fight alone out…" His words were cut off when Chichiri turned and slapped him across the face. Tasuki's eyes went wide in shock - it was the first time that Chichiri had ever struck him.

"LISTEN TO ME, SUZAKU NO TASUKI!" Chichiri's voice was an enraged roar. "WHAT IS YOUR REASON FOR LIVING?! WHAT IS THE SOLE PURPOSE OF YOUR EXISTENCE?!"

Tasuki held his cheek. "To protect the Priestess of Suzaku," he whispered.

"Then fulfill your purpose!! My fate is my concern, not yours!" Once again, Chichiri flinched inwardly at his forced brutality - but yet again, he had no choice. He knew the desperate panic and pain that drove Tasuki to cling to his last remaining companion from their brotherhood of years past… and he felt the same pain deep in his own heart. But they both had a higher purpose to fulfill and no time to argue about the consequences.

Their time left together was now measured in seconds - too little time to say all that could be said from the heart. In fact, he had barely enough time to impart vital information to Tasuki. "Tasuki…" he gripped his brother seishi's hand, hoping that the gesture of comfort would be apology enough for his earlier brutality, "you need to know what I've done to shield Miaka. I've cast a spell - a temporary spell - that has caused her to forget Tamahome. She has no memory of him at all."

Tasuki went pale but remained silent, understanding the need to obtain all necessary information before they were forced to part.

"You MUST NOT force her back to those memories all at once, Tasuki - the trauma may well destroy her emotional stability, if not her sanity. If the spell has worked correctly, she will regain her memories little by little. You may answer any questions she has, but only those questions. Try not to give her any more information than what she needs to deal with on a daily basis. Do you understand?!"

"Yes."

"One more thing - we are obviously being tracked. Take a roundabout route to the Refuge, heading northwest until you are certain that you're not leading the Enemy to Crystal Mountain. Beware of letting people know who you are - you know that the Enemy has accomplices among humans in both worlds. I will try to meet up with you at the Refuge or even sooner, but do not wait for me."

"What about you? What if things start going wrong…?"

"If all else fails, and I can't get back to you again - keep running and keep hiding, Tasuki. Keep her safe…"

"Until when?"

"Until the end of your days, if need be."

Tasuki nodded. He suddenly reached out and drew the older man into an embrace. "Suzaku keep you in his care, Chichiri - Suzaku bless…" he stopped, choking up.

"And you, my brother. But now - it's time."

They drew apart. Tasuki took Miaka from where she had been sitting staring blankly at the two men, and tossed her up onto Makaze's back behind the saddle. She squeaked in alarm as she began slipping off the other side, so Tasuki reached up a hand to steady her before jumping into the saddle in front of her. "Here, Mi-chan - we're gonna have a rough ride, so you'd better hang on tight to my belt. And try ta keep quiet, okay?" She swallowed nervously and nodded.

Chichiri swung up into Hikari's saddle, preparing himself by focusing his ki with a muttered mantra. He readied multiple spells, placing them in the forefront of his mind. He then turned back to face Tasuki, all business once again. "When I send you the signal, take off and try to get under cover of the woods as fast as you can. I'll destroy as many as I can, but I have to leave at least one alive to lead me back to where it came from - so be very careful!" He smiled at Miaka. "Hold on tight, Miaka - and Suzaku's blessings be on you both!" Miaka just stared back at Chichiri, wide-eyed and silent.

They began to make out the high keening cries of the obscene creatures drifting out of the midnight sky. Even without that auditory warning, they would have known of the presence of the beasts by the insidious scratching at their minds, like vermin scratching at walls. Chichiri exchanged one last nod with Tasuki - then, with a muted "Hyah!," spurred Hikari out into the open, riding eastward into plain view of the monstrosities that swarmed above.
 

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Tasuki kept a firm grip on Makaze's reins. He could feel the stallion tense beneath him, his haunch muscles bunched as he fretted at the bit, straining to follow Hikari in their usual pattern. "No, 'Kaze - whoa there now. We're not goin' that way this time - c'mon, buddy, settle down!" Makaze tossed his head in frustration but obeyed, his master empathizing with him for once, fretting at the restraints that Chichiri had placed on him.

The magician galloped quietly away from them, shielding his ki and riding in a zig-zag pattern in an attempt to mask his point of origin. Chichiri looked up at the jagged triangle growing rapidly larger in the northwest sky. Yes, it was definitely them, a whole ungodly flock of them! He prayed to Suzaku for strength, trying not to think about how it usually took the combined strength of two seishi to kill a single beast. Now was the time, before he was forced to draw their notice, to send out his distress messages to Taiitsukun. He muttered a brief spell while holding his ki shield firm, imparting a mental message of Tamahome's death and their forced flight with Miaka to several origami birds that he drew out of his breast pocket. He finished by begging assistance for Yui and her protectors - then tossed the paper birds into the air, consigning each to one of two separate locations. They snapped open in the gusting wind, forming into tiny peregrine falcons that scattered and swirled on the chill currents of air.

Suddenly a black shadow took shape directly overhead. Chichiri looked up to see thin membranous wings blotting out the starlight.

He jerked hard on Hikari's reins, making her squeal as she veered sharply to one side. Where in the seven hells had that outrider beast come from?! He was going to have a devil of a time defending himself if they were crossing dimensions as they attacked! But the foul creature unexpectedly ignored him, turning instead to attack... the message falcons.

Chichiri cursed fluently as falcon after falcon fell beneath the jagged claws of the beast, falling to the ground as shredded balls of paper. How could this thing understand the significance of the little mystical birds? There was no doubt that it was controlled by a higher intelligence!

He scanned the skies once again, noting that the beasts were flying in formation with a precision that was... unnatural. No echelon of geese nor school of fish ever moved with such perfectly symmetrical intervals between each member - no, this was something that spoke of mathematics, not nature. He suddenly noticed a shifting of the precise pattern and realized that they were beginning a meticulous scouting of the area below. It was time, then.

He intoned his next spell, conjuring up an image of a black horse with two riders racing beside him. It wasn't his best illusion, the horse and riders lacking all facial features, but hopefully it would suffice in the darkness. He needed to conserve his strength for the more powerful spells he would be casting shortly. He looked over his shoulder to see the vanguard of demon creatures approaching the huge boulder that concealed Tasuki and Miaka. "HIKARIIII!" he shouted, his mount knowing through experience that he was not calling to her. A fountain of light shot up from his upraised hand, sending flares of ki blasting into the air. The beasts squealed in excitement at the powerful life force dancing temptingly before them. They veered off as a unit, wings beating heavily as they focused their pursuit on the tiny fleeing figures below.

Hikari pounded across the rocky ground, her nostrils flaring as she nearly flew over the challenging landscape. She did not have the length of leg of her companion, but what she lacked in size, she made up for in speed and intelligence. Instinct told her when to dodge and veer to escape the slashing claws of her airborne adversaries, and her longtime familiarity with her master's strange powers resulted in her giving her phantom companions only a passing glance. The horse beside her may have looked somewhat like Makaze, but it lacked his familiar scent.

Chichiri sent ki blast after ki blast rocketing into the night sky like shimmering fireworks, all the while carefully aiming each flare towards his ultimate goal. Their only chance lay in him destroying as many of the creatures as possible, and he knew with grim certainty that there was only one way he could do that. He sent a brief prayer to Suzaku to assist him as he drew on powers from dark and hidden dimensions - dimensions that he knew his patron god reviled. "There is no other way!" he pleaded silently with his god - then plunged ahead.

He chanted strange and forbidden prayers in an ominous, guttural tongue, spinning a web of dark mists in a rapidly rising mystical wind. He kept diverting the creatures' attention with the sparkling ki flares, all the while drawing them deeper into the developing shadow cyclone. Suddenly his vision began to darken at the edges, and he knew that he had very little time. "Almost..." he sent a message back to his brother seishi.

Tasuki stood bolt upright in the saddle, then turned to Miaka shivering behind him. "It's almost time, Mi-chan - listen! Hold tight to my belts and remember to lean whichever way I lean! If you fall off, we're both dead, 'cause I ain't leavin' you behind! So understand this, Miaka - you gotta hang on for both our sakes!" She flinched at his vehemence but nodded in meek acquiescence, her eyes wide and confused. Makaze shuddered in anticipation, reading the sudden tension in his master's body.

At that moment, Chichiri threw all of his power into his most deadly spell. "Shi NE!!!" he howled, screaming his hatred and loathing of these creatures, blasting all of his grief and anguish over Tamahome's murder into the darkest unknown reaches of his spiritual powers. The dark dimensions fed eagerly on his pain and bitterness, sucking eagerly at his soul - then returned the darkness to him in the form of a roaring black cyclone, spinning with evil winds that cut into living flesh like a million tiny razors. The nightmare beasts realized the trap too late. They tried to veer off but were sucked into the mystical black vortex of distilled despair, spinning helplessly in its savage embrace and screaming in agony as they were cut to pieces. Only a fortunate few at the very rear of the flock pulled back at the last possible moment, realizing the trap in time to escape its deadly clutches.

The dark magician felt himself falling, his soul straining and splintering beneath the evil pull of the forces he employed, all his spell-induced illusions dissolving with the last of his strength. He sent his last conscious thought to the man he loved like a brother - "NOW!!"

Tasuki gripped Miaka's hands tighter onto his belt, then spurred Makaze forward into the exposed open plain that lay between them and the cover of the forest to the north. The great stallion thundered across the field, the dried grass helping them by muffling his powerful hoofbeats. Tasuki bent over his neck, trying to hold Miaka to him as she bounced and slipped back and forth on the horse's powerful haunches. Dammit, didn't she remember how to sit a horse?! Tasuki considered reining in Makaze until he could stabilize Miaka's seat - but then heard a sound that sent all the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

It was a chilling screech of triumph, above them and growing louder and more piercing by the millisecond. Dammit, he could practically feel the rank carrion breath of the attacking beast! Tasuki desperately looked ahead to the rapidly approaching tree cover and knew that they were in a race for their lives. He released Miaka's hands and pulled out the tessen in one swift movement, when he suddenly spied a lone outlying tree just ahead of the forest. "MAKAZE, HO!" he roared, pulling the lead rein hard to the left.

The giant stallion pivoted and whipped around the young tree, his master leaning hard to the inside. For once, Miaka did as she should and leaned in at the same angle, her arms wrapped tightly around Tasuki's waist. They felt the blast of air from the creature's wings, heard the snapping of its jaws as they closed on the empty space where they had been only a millisecond before.

They were now behind the beast, and Tasuki took full advantage of their position. "RLEKKA SHIN'ENNNN!!" The holy fire blasted the creature with full force, igniting it into a shrieking, spinning, plunging meteor. They thundered past the burning wreckage of its body, Tasuki's seishi senses telling him that they weren't finished yet.

He was right. The branches snapped under the assault of at least two more of the nightmare beasts as they plunged downward through the canopy, heedless of pain or injury. Makaze slalomed wildly between the trees, his clever maneuvering keeping them clear of the attacking teeth and claws, but also preventing Tasuki from getting a clear shot with the tessen. It didn't matter - Miaka was slipping so badly that it took all of Tasuki's concentration just to keep her on the horse. He swore under his breath and sent a silent prayer to Suzaku. Maybe it was their patron god or maybe it was Makaze's skill, but they gradually pulled away from their attackers, losing them in the heavy canopy of the dense forest.

Tasuki pulled Makaze in to a walk, letting the stallion catch his wind in great heaving breaths. He stealthily sent out his own shielded ki in a limited reconnaissance - yes, the creatures were still out there, and it was only a matter of time before they discovered their quarry. The only thing he could do was to turn the attack on them. However, to accomplish that, he had to work without his greatest liability - Miaka.

He reined in Makaze to a stop and slid out of the saddle, catching Miaka as she practically fell off Makaze's back. Tasuki looked around and pulled Miaka into the shelter of some low, dense shrubs. "Listen, Mi-chan - there's somethin' I gotta do. And I can't take ya with me 'cause you're bouncin' around on Makaze's back like a sack of turnips - and the moves I'm about ta pull make what we've done so far look like a leisurely stroll 'round the Imperial palace! So I'm askin' ya to stay here, hidden nice and quiet till I come back for ya, 'kay?"

Miaka turned wide, frightened eyes to him. "You're leaving me here?" she squeaked. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "With... with those monsters still out there?!"

"Ah, Mi-chan, don't cry. Ya know that it kills me when ya do that. I'm comin' back, I promise you - right after I get rid of those fuckers. So just sit tight in the meantime and shield your ki, and I'll be back before you even..."

"Shield my ki?"

"Oh... yeah... umm, think small thoughts, Miaka - like you're a little rabbit or somethin.' Just count leaves and think quiet, hidden things - that'll keep ya safe till I get back."

Tasuki turned and remounted Makaze, turning his back firmly on Miaka's lost and helpless gaze. By the Gods, he was going to wipe out those fuckin' bastards for every tear they made her cry! And nothing was going to stop him from coming back to her as he promised, not all the demons in all the seven hells!!

Tasuki trotted quietly through the woods, looking for a familiar landscape feature from his and Chichiri's previous journey to their crossover location. There it was - a slight rise in the midst of a natural clearing. A perfect trap - now all he needed was the bait. He dismounted and searched quickly through Makaze's saddlebags, pulling out two cylinders and a small stack of papers, along with a charcoal stick. Thank Chichiri for getting him more of those things! He firmly turned his mind from the curious blankness in his being where Chichiri's ki usually registered — there was no time to think about that now. Now was the time for retribution!

He pulled down on Makaze's bridle so that he could murmur a few simple words into the stallion's ear. Makaze bobbed his head as if he understood, then faded deeper into the woods, leaving his master alone. Tasuki scribbled a few phrases onto some of the papers using the charcoal crayon, then unwound long lengths of string from the mysterious cylinders. He squinted out at the exposed hill in the clearing, muttering under his breath as he made rapid calculations — then trimmed a short length of string from each, leaving the longer length of fuse still trailing from each cylinder.

Everything was just about ready. He breathed a brief prayer for success, then chanted "Rlekka shin'en" in an undertone. The tessen glowed with a small flame, which he touched to both fuses. "Now!" he thought, secreting each cylinder in his belt. He began to run towards the clearing, brandishing the scribbled papers between two fingers and chanting one final spell. "All right, fuckers — time to burn!"

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High above the forest canopy, the two remaining creatures glided in a calculated search pattern, seeking out the distinctive energy signatures of their remaining targets. Data from the previous attacks which had destroyed their nestmates flowed through their neuronal pathways, altering behavior to adapt to current conditions. They changed their vocalization impulses from fear-inducing shrieks to stealthy silence and added extra velocity to their planned dives, acknowledging the unexpected speed and cunning of their adversaries.

Suddenly, their keen telescopic sight registered a brief flare of temperature-induced photons. They altered their course toward that heat source, which originated from a densely covered area just adjacent to an open area in the cluster of native flora. At that moment, the figure of the large quadripedal transport animal burst out into the open area, an indistinct shape huddled on its back. The two creatures banked sharply and plummeted towards their target in a silent, controlled dive. Nevertheless, the enhanced extrasensory apparatus of their target must have detected them, for bright bursts of flames shot up in their direction, accompanied by the loud vocalizations from the bipedal rider. The pursuers' kaleidoscopic eyes irised closed, momentarily blinding them while adjusting to the new intense light levels — causing them to miss another dark shape that darted swiftly up to the hill, then retreated, moving almost too fast to be seen. The superior visual adaptability of the creatures' eyes manifested quickly, and they were once more in a controlled dive at the target as it raced towards the small rise in the open area.

The first creature made minor aerodynamic adjustments that enhanced its speed, enabling it to reach the target first. Just as it stretched out its neck to breathe the black mists over the targets, an enormous blast of heat and sound rent the atmosphere, followed almost immediately by yet another violent explosion, incinerating the creature. Its metallic screams were joined by the screams of the horse and rider, as all three were swallowed by the flames. The second creature was just near enough that the bomb blasts sent it spinning crazily out of its flight pattern, entangling it in the limbs of a nearby tree. But it soon recovered, severing the constricting flora with its razor-sharp teeth. It rose up heavily, significantly damaged in both its organic and engineered components but still enacting its surveillance-and-capture program. Its visual centers irised open and closed several times as it flew above the wreckage of its colleague. The target and its transport animal must have been completely consumed in the explosions, for there was little trace of any carbon-based elements except for some small ashes that originated from processed wood pulp. The beast circled the area again and again, broadening its search parameters to include light-reflecting pigment as well as movement. After the fourth pass, it registered absence of any qualifying input, so it turned to make its way back to its base to impart all recent data.

As the creature turned away after its last scanning pass over the explosion site, a dark figure stirred softly against a nearby tree. It was black from head-to-toe, except for a brief gleam of golden eyes that reflected the faint starlight. It closed its eyes to conceal the telltale gleam and rested still and quiet long after the creature had departed.

The creature lost some altitude as it proceeded on its way. Damage to its flight mechanisms and neuronal pathways was extensive, thus accounting for its failure to register a small silvery-blue winged life form that flew up to join it. The silver-blue avian, resembling a rare creature called a phoenix, caught onto the area slightly above where the diaphanous wings of the beast joined its body. The phoenix nestled there, apparently exhausted by its efforts, for it gripped the leathery flesh of the damaged creature between its tiny claws, tucked its head beneath its wing and appeared to fall asleep, carried along with the beast to its final destination.

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Miaka shivered in her tight huddle under the sheltering shrubs, clasping her knees and trying to think "small thoughts" as he had instructed her. Her teeth began to chatter with cold and fear, so she diverted her thoughts to count the rhythm of the soft clicking of her teeth against each other. It was no use. Her thoughts kept returning to that explosion - how long ago had that been? She was losing all sense of time, but she knew that it had been at least fifteen minutes ago. If he survived that, shouldn't he have returned by now, as he had promised? What if he had died in that fiery blast? For some reason, that thought made her heart clench. She would be alone then - alone and lost without her one protector. Slow tears began leaking from her eyes.

Suddenly, a dark form rose up before her, tall, slim and black from head to toe. Strangely glowing eyes were the only features she could make out - and she shrieked in fear, terrified that the demons had found her at last. The figure darted at her and muffled her screams with a strong leathery grip.

"Shhhh, hush, Miaka, it's only me! Don't scream - we hafta keep quiet for awhile, until I'm certain that they're gone! We can't let 'em know that we're still alive!"

Miaka's eyes were wide with terror - it sounded like him, but why did he look like this? Could he have been a demon in disguise all along? A muffled sob of fear escaped her.

Comprehension dawned in the amber eyes that reflected the faint starlight, and he reached up to the darkness at his face, unhooking a face veil and pulling off the attached black headscarf. Although it was still very dark, the dim starlight allowed her to make out light-colored hair tied in a long ponytail. Gleaming white teeth appeared as he grinned apologetically at her, removing his gauntlets. "Sorry 'bout that, Mi-chan. I didn't mean ta scare ya — I just forgot that you never saw me in my bandit gear before. Ya know, in my line of work, sometimes it don't pay to be easily picked out of a crowd at a hundred paces. So if for any reason I don't wanna be recognized, I wear this headscarf and veil - but I forgot that you wouldn't recognize me, either!"

"I thought you were dead. I thought you weren't coming back!" Her voice was hoarse with tears.

"C'mon, don't cry, Mi-chan - I'm not that easy ta kill! I always come back - you know that I always come back!"

"No, I don't know that! How am I supposed to know that you always come back - when I don't even know who you are!!"


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 Glossary of Japanese Terms:


Imouto-chan - Little Sister

Hikari! - Light!

Shi ne! - Die!

Rlekka Shin'en! - Divine Explosive Fire of the Gods!

Author's Notes: (4-24-03) Hmmm. So the plot twists and turns once again. Keep your harnesses fastened, minna.

First of all, I would like to thank all of you reviewers for your enthusiastic comments and encouragement on the past two chapters - See what you've done? You've inspired me to work on Chapter 6 instead of packing my bags for my business trip. End result - Roku posts a new chapter of Hidden Paths at 3 AM on the morning she must catch a flight out to the East Coast - and FAILS to finish packing her bags - and so must start now! Gyaaahhhh, I'm a crazy person! An extremely sleep-deprived crazy person!!

Well, I've gotten even with you. As you can tell, my aim was to write an extremely exciting, action-packed chapter, but the lateness of the hour has erased all my self-judgmental capabilities, so I don't know whether I've succeeded or failed. You see, this whole chapter plays exactly like a movie in my head (especially with the extremely evocative musical selection!), so what I've done is take dictation from that movie. The problem is that to be that visually descriptive, I have to get very wordy… (Aikido-chan: Edit!! Edit, I beg you!!)… and I don't know if I succeeded in drawing you into the movie - or ended up boring you to tears.

So, since I will be doing my usual "hunting for online access" while I'm forced away from my beloved family, I'm going to break with my own principles and ask for input from you to make my eternal search for Internet access worth my while. First of all, I really need the constructive criticism on this chapter - secondly, like every other author, I get a thrill from hearing from my readers. Oh, and speaking of my readers, I would like to welcome my newest and shyest reviewer to the lists. Hey, my Tasuki and I got the biggest kick out of reading your review! Two hours, huh? Congratulate your husband from us! Yeah, that's about how long it took me and my guy to research EACH WS love scene.

Kryssa: (hits Roku with a rolled-up newspapaer) TMI!! TMI!! Cut it out, wench!!

Oh, all right. Back to a previous topic, i.e. me getting even with you for "making" me write. You may have noticed the extremely science-fictiony Section 4 of this chapter. Read it carefully, my friends. If you do, you will be rewarded with knowing what Tasuki did to ambush the creatures (hint: reference his first appearance in the anime series) and what became of Chichiri. All the info is there - but I make you work for it, especially by taking you into the weird POV of the "nightmare beast."

Now onto my fun references - well, some are not so fun. Let's go in order.

First of all, Chichiri's merciless and vengeful character in Section One - may seem OOC to many of you but is consistent with my White Stones Chichiri - he is very much the Chichiri of the oni destruction scene, and of course, the eventual Chichiri of "Bridge Over the Abyss." (teaser for Bridge fans!) You see, I just don't see Chichiri as this peaceful, Zen sorta guy. I see him as passionate and powerful, always struggling to keep his emotions under firm control. But he has a breaking point, and it is always the same thing - harm coming to one of his beloved "Suzaku brothers." If you accepted his violent vengeance against the oni for the physical abuse of Tasuki - how much more vengeful do you think he would be for the murder of Tamahome?

Onward to a more "cheerful" reference - do any of you remember the "volleyball scene" from WS, where Tamahome mocks Tasuki for "being stupid enough to ride his horse 'round and 'round a tree"? Now you know why Tasuki ever practiced that particular move as a Mt. Reikaku bandit - it is extraordinarily useful in escaping and "getting the jump on" a pursuer. Think barrel-racing by cutting ponies in rodeos. Makaze's and Tasuki's skill saved all their lives in that one critical moment. You might think that it's weird that I had this scene in mind when I wrote that chapter of WS nearly a year ago - but remember, I conceived of THIS story's main plotline before I was inspired to write WS. Those who know me well know how it tickles me to tie plot points together across fics and anime episodes and other obscure references.

Last reference, I promise - Chichiri's severe reminder to Tasuki in Section 3 of the "reason for his existence" - refers to the last episode of Fushigi Yuugi. After Nakago threatens Tasuki and Chichiri with death if they continue to stand between him and his attempts to murder Miaka, Chichiri informs him "The sole reason for our existence is to protect the Priestess of Suzaku!" (paraphrased)

Okay, enough chatter! Time for me to get packing and get on my way! Have a great week!

Ja ne!

Roku-chan

Author's Notes:   (updated edit 5-1-03)   Okay, thanks to the very kind and astute input I have received from you all, I have reworked Chapter 6 to be less confusing in the Tasuki vs. the Black Beasts ambush... well, at least I hope it's less confusing! So, with Kryssa's very valuable help, I have reworked sections 3 and 4 to avoid the jarring sudden switch in POV - hope it clears things up! So, thank you again, Kris, for making this chapter a little more understandable!

Also, I wanted to set the musical selection in its proper place - yes, you got it right, Akia Starfrost, it does start with Chichiri's argument with Tasuki, continuing to his diversionary dash away from Tasuki and Miaka. The wild arpeggio "swirls" represent Chichiri casting spell after spell into the sky, the final climactic arpeggio representing the cyclone devouring the creatures. Then the subsequent pounding half-note, quarter note beats represent Tasuki and Miaka's desperate dash across the open field with the black beasts bearing down on them. Whoo!! Be still, my heart! The "quiet" part is Tasuki dismounting with Miaka and telling her to shield her ki, then picking up again with the pulsing half-notes as he prepares his ambush.

Oh, by the way... I'm baaaaaaacck!! Safe from conference and full of lobster! (among other things  ^ ~)