Otaku Side Note: Even though this story has nothing to do with my other FY fic, "Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Chapter," fans of it should get a kick out of the mention of a certain character. But I'm not tellin' who...
--Sleepless Night--
"When I'm alone,
Tomorrow feels far away.
And I must go over still into the darkness
of dawn.
If I let my emotions free,
My dreams will once again not go well."
~T.M. Revolution; "Heart of
Sword ~ Mae Yoake" (Before Dawn)~
Houjun had never been happier when Wei-sensei dismissed the class, signaling the end of the day. Though the teenager had not experienced any further attacks on his eye or mind for the rest of the afternoon, he had been troubled constantly by the incident during his history period and had been completely unable to concentrate. Houjun was certain that he had bombed the quiz in english, something he never did, and he'd be surprised if he remembered a single thing from the lecture in astrology.
To make matters worse, Kouran and Hikou stuck to him like glue; Houjun wondered if they'd ever left his side. He understood and appreciated their concern, but it was still distracting and somewhat disturbing.
And those people... Houjun couldn't stop thinking about them. Who were they? Why had they suddenly appeared in his mind? Why did they call him Chichiri, one of the Suzaku seishi? And why, above all else, did he feel like he knew them from somewhere!? He had never seen any of them, ever! But, somehow...
The young man shook his head as he grabbed his schoolbag, following Hikou and Kouran out of class. He had to stop thinking about all of that. It would keep bothering him for as long as he thought about it, and the longer he thought about it the more worried his friends would become and the more tests he would fail. Those were two things he simply refused to have happen; people who were looking to pass the kakyo didn't bomb tests. They just didn't.
Oh, well. Maybe it really was just stress. Maybe he had been working himself a little too hard. Or maybe, he thought with a small smile, he was some kind of genius and had just invented the cast for some amazing play. Wouldn't that be something: to think you're seeing things and then to turn out to be a playwriting mastermind? Houjun chuckled at the absurdity of his own ideas.
"Care to share what's so funny?" Hikou asked, interrupting his friend's troubled thoughts. "You haven't said a word since we left school. You thinking about some kind of joke or something?"
"Huh?" Houjun jerked his head up, looking in the direction of his companion and shaking his head. "No, it's nothing like that. I was just... just thinking about this morning, I guess. About what happened in history."
Kouran frowned. "About that..." she touched a concerned hand to Houjun's arm, meeting his mahogany eyes with her own brown ones. "Are you all right? You've been really distracted all day, and you've hardly spoken to either me or Hikou."
"You haven't been much better," Houjun reminded her with a flicker of his usual cheer. "I wonder if the two of you ever took your eyes off of me today?" He ran a hand through his sky blue hair, grinning at his companions. "I admit I am quite the looker, but I'm not that handsome y'know."
"Aren't you?" Kouran's lips brushed past his cheek quickly, making him blush just slightly.
Hikou folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow as he did. "Was it that obvious? I didn't think you'd noticed." He paused thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, you were so interested in your own little universe that I didn't think you noticed anything today. Ch, I must have gotten a better score on that english quiz than you did, and I sleep through that hour."
"It was really starting to worry me!" Kouran added, watching her boyfriend carefully.
Houjun chuckled. "Gomen, gomen. I was a little distracted after what happened, but that was pretty much it. And I appreciate your concern, but I'm sure it's nothing important. Maybe I'm catching a cold or something. It's almost winter, after all, and there's some minor flu bug going around, so that might be it."
"Well, maybe," Kouran's frown lessened just slightly, "but it was still pretty scary. You were unconscious for about a minute, and we were really close to having someone get my father." Kouran's dad was the best and only doctor in Kyokujitsu, and lived just a stone's throw from pretty much anywhere in the small town. "I thought you were going to leave me, for a second there."
"So did I," he said murmured quietly. Houjun looked up, flashing his female friend a reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere, Kouran. You know I'd never leave the two of you, at least not without a good fight."
"Hontou [Really]?"
Houjun slipped an arm around Kouran's waist in a comforting gesture. "That's a promise."
His words seemed to relax Kouran immensely. She leaned against him, sighing in relief. "Yokatta."
"Oi, you two mind cuttin' the sappy talk while I'm around?" Hikou asked, feigning irritation. "At least wait until you're in the privacy of your own homes."
Houjun chuckled, swinging his bag of school books over one shoulder and falling into step with his friends. They walked in silence for awhile, enjoying one another's company, until the young man finally broke the quiet. "Do the two of you want to come to my house for a while? You could tell me what happened during astrology. I, uh, wasn't paying a whole lot of attention."
In truth, Houjun just wanted one of them to walk with him the rest of the way home. He was worried about having a relapse of his earlier migraine, and what would happen to him if no one was around to get help? Of course, he'd never let them know that; it would just make Kouran and Hikou worry more.
His female friend shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. My parents are having dinner tonight with the Takamori family, so I'm looking after their daughter until they get back. They're paying me pretty well, too, so there's no way I'd back out now."
"Mae-chan? With the way she acts, I'd watch her for free."
"Oh, so would I, but a person has to make a little money here and there," Kouran remarked with a smile. "Otherwise, I'd have to beg you to buy me that jewelry I saw at Utada-san's stand the other day..."
Houjun held up his hands. "Go! Babysit! Get paid, for the love of Suzaku!" He laughed, glancing towards Hikou. "How about you? Up for a little study-session? I'll help get you caught up in the classes you missed."
The taller of the two young men shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention in class either - I rarely do, y'know - but sure, I'll come over. I'd never miss getting a delicious meal from the most beautiful woman in Kyokujitsu Village."
"That's my mother you're talking about!"
"Well, it ain't my fault that she's a fox..."
Wham! A chibi Hikou went flying across the street, courtesy of a backwards punch from an equally chibi Houjun. "How many times do I have to tell you!? Do! Not! Hit! On! My! Mom!"
"Gomen, gomen..." Hikou muttered, his face planted against a stone wall.
Kouran sweatdropped, but couldn't help but smile. "Memory attack" or not, Houjun was still the hard-working, cheerful young man she'd fallen in love with; Hikou was still the wild fast-talker who always kept Houjun from getting too serious; and she was still Kouran, the female addition who aided in their schemes but kept them from getting into too much trouble. A perfect balance; a perfect group.
She was going to make sure it stayed that way.
"Daa... I can't understand this at all."
It was later that evening, and Houjun and Hikou were splayed out across the floor of Houjun's room attempting to do their homework. Papers, books, scrolls, inks and quill pens lay across their working space in high disarray, but neither young man cared about the mess they had created. They were much too concerned with a particular question to think about anything else, including - to Hikou's relief - the incident from that morning.
"Okay... okay, we learned about this astrology stuff, like, two years ago, right?" Hikou reasoned, biting the end of his quill thoughtfully. "We should know this. This is kid stuff. Easy. A no-brainer."
"Exactly," Houjun agreed. "We're just not thinking clearly. We need to concentrate. Think back a couple of years. It's so simple. This is child's play."
There was a long, almost comically drawn-out pause, then both young men looked at each other and nodded solemnly. "We're screwed."
"Onii-chan! Hikou!" the two looked up as the door to Houjun's room opened slightly. Kyoui entered a moment later, grinning at the pair. "Okaa-san said that dinner's ready."
Hikou stood, brushing off some of the ink from his hands onto his pants. "Guess I'd better head home, then..."
"You don't have to! Okaa-san also said that if you wanna stay she doesn't mind. Since Otoo-san's away on business, there's always a little extra food to go around."
"Eh, that's the third time this week, isn't it? No, Kyoui-chan, I don't want to impose..."
"Hikou," Houjun's tone was friendly, but somewhat commanding. "Stay."
The older man frowned. "Well, all right... if you insist then I guess I'll have to accept, won't I?" Hikou walked past the younger girl, pretending to be annoyed. "If you're all going to be so pushy about it, I feel like I don't have much choice..."
Kyoui cocked an eyebrow, watching as he left. "Huh? Why's he...?"
Houjun chuckled, shaking his head at his companion. "Don't bother, Kyo-chan. I don't understand him either." He followed his friend down the hall to the kitchen, his younger sister close on his heels.
The young man smiled behind Hikou's back; in truth, he understood him very well. Hikou's family didn't have a lot of money for anything, including food, and it was oftentimes a lot easier for them if Hikou found somewhere else to eat besides his own house.
Of course, he didn't like admitting that, and he was too polite to ask, so it was usually Houjun's or his parents' duty to invite the young man to stay for the meal. Hikou had too much pride to act like the offer was needed, so he pretended that he was forced into staying. It was an interesting game Houjun had been playing with his friend for years, but it was a game that both sides understood so nobody was offended.
Houjun took a seat at the dinner table across from his brother and next to his best friend, smiling politely at his mother. "Kon-wa [Good evening (informal)], Okaa-san. What's on the menu today?"
"I'm sure whatever it is it'll delicious, Yukari-san!" Hikou remarked, grinning at the attractive older woman.
A very tiny anger vein popped out on Houjun's head. He forced a smile, but under the table he jabbed his friend in the leg with his chopsticks.
Yukari didn't seem to notice. "Arigatou, Hikou, but you're really too kind. Everybody knows Houjun's father is the real cook in the family. I'm just a nice stand-in for when he's away."
Ri Shinsei was, like his father and his father, a government official and the unofficial spokesman for the few villages in the area. This meant that he was gone on business trips often, sometimes for a few weeks, which left Yukari charge. Houjun greatly loved and respected his father, and it had always been an unspoken agreement in the household that he'd follow the tradition his great-something grandfather had set. Though Houjun had to admit he wasn't extremely interested in politics, he knew it would make his father happy, and he planned on following through with his plans of taking the "Hell Test," the kakyo, once he finished school.
"Speaking of Otoo-san, when's he coming back?" Kyoui asked somewhat sadly, stirring her rice around on her plate. She always hated it when her father was gone, probably more so than even Yukari did. "It's been a week, hasn't it? He said it wouldn't take long."
"You know how business at the Imperial City is, especially at this time of year," Yukari reminded her with a small, wistful smile. "Gods only know how many other officials of the Konan region are trying to get in a talk with the Emperor."
"Otoo-san's gonna talk to the Emperor!?" Mitsuru exclaimed excitedly, practically jumping up from the table. "D'you think he'll get me an autograph!? That's some pretty impressive stuff."
Yukari sweatdropped. "Eh... I'm sure Saihitei-sama's very busy, but if your father gets a chance..."
Crash!
Houjun's cup slipped out of his fingers and hit the floor, shattering into several pieces. He gripped the edge of the table tightly with one hand, grappling at his left eye with his other. The young man's face was contorted into a look of agony, and he was moaning softly, painfully, to himself.
"Onii-chan!?" Kyoui cried, voice a panicked shriek. "Onii-chan, what's wrong!?"
He barely heard her, and he certainly didn't answer her. He didn't have the energy to focus his strength on anything else but the overwhelming blast of crimson fire that raced from his nose to his left eyebrow, consuming his eye in unbearable flames. It was just like that afternoon, except multiplied by ten. And just like that afternoon, it was accompanied by those images... somehow, that was the worst part...
FLASH!
The well-dressed man across from him was speaking, acting like they were friends. "So you think the Seiryuu seishi have all been assembled?"
He was holding a piece of material in his hand; a smiling mask. "I don't have any proof, but I think it might be true, Heika [Highness]."
Houjun felt himself keeling over, falling out of his chair. Someone's strong arms caught him, held him tightly, gently lowered him to the ground. Tasuki? Koji? Mitsukake? Tamahome? Who were they? "Suzaku, Houjun..." Hikou. It was Hikou.
FLASH!
He steered his horse hard across the plains, on a beeline for where he was certain - even without his ki-sensing abilities - the Emperor was fighting. Hotohori, who had challenged that Seiryuu seishi, that seishi who was certain to defeat him...
But he was too late. Everytime. He was always too late.
"HOTOHORI-SAMA!"
"Iie..." he groaned, hardly realizing he had said the word.
A female palm touched his forehead. Maybe it was Kouran. Or Miaka. Hikaru. Shuu. The same person gripped his hand in hers, allowing him to squeeze tightly. "Houjun. Oh, Houjun." Ah. It was his mother. Of course... of course... "Mitsuru, get Doctor Suzunami. Now."
"H-hai!"
Houjun didn't think he could stay awake much longer. This was too much... all of it, it was just too much...
"Hang on. Help's on the way. Oh, Houjun, whatever happened, please, please, don't leave me."
Leave you?
No, never... He couldn't... he had promised Kouran that he wouldn't... No matter what, he had to keep that promise. He didn't want to dissapoint her. Not after he'd let down Hotohori-tachi like that.
Who were Hotohori-tachi!?
FLASH!
He looked across a cemetary at a young, grey-haired boy. He was conversing with the little girl they had discovered earlier that day.
"So, you think that guy's Hotohori reincarnated?" a rough voice asked by his side.
"I can't be sure, but it would make sense no da. Better check the-"
NO!
Houjun's mental scream snapped the vision off halfway. He writhed helplessly against the pain, held down by strong arms - Hikou's, he realized - to keep him from hurting himself. He panted heavily and tried to find some reserves of strength to fight off the waves of hot fire that assailed his eye. He couldn't pass out again. He couldn't leave them. He had promised Kouran.
The young man threw his senses outwards, focusing on his mother, his little sister, his best friend. He concentrated all his energy on them, kept himself from getting pulled back into that shadow world by gripping to what was certain, what was reality. He wasn't going to leave... he refused!
Gradually, Houjun pushed the pain across his face down to a dull throb. He relaxed, still panting from the mental exertion - he had never known you could physically wear yourself out like this! - and let himself collapse into someone's arms. He didn't have the desire to open his eyes just yet - he wanted to defeat his invisible foe entirely before he did anything else - and allowed himself to listen to the talk of the others.
"Houjun..." That was Hikou's voice; he sounded nearby, almost directly above him. "Gods, not again..."
Yukari squeezed Houjun's hand gently, but when she spoke there was a sharp edge to her voice. "What? Hikou, did you say 'again'? This happened before?"
"During history class. Houjun didn't want to worry you, so he asked me not to say anything." Hikou paused, then said optimistically. "He completely collapsed that time, though, so maybe it isn't as bad now."
Ha! Houjun thought dryly. It was a thousand times worse. At least the first time he'd allowed himself to slip into painless slumber; now he had to endure every minute of this Hell as the pain subsided little by little. But he couldn't just fall asleep. What if he didn't wake up? No, he'd just endure it until it ended; it had to end eventually, after all.
"You should have told me..." Yukari admonished half-heartedly. "Ugh, that's just like him, to sacrifice his own safety so I wouldn't be concerned. Just like his father..."
"Okaa-san?" Kyoui asked timidly. Houjun felt a hand touch his shoulder; he realized it must be his sister. "Is Houjun gonna be okay? Is he sick or something? Do you know what's wrong?"
"I don't know, Kyoui-chan," she said quietly, and somewhat impatiently. "We'll just have to wait for Mitsuru to get back with Doctor Suzunami..."
"Suzunami-san won't be home," Hikou remarked, his voice almost panicky. "I just remembered, Kouran said he was going out to dinner tonight."
"Well, he always leaves someone at the house. I'm sure his assistant will come instead." Vaguely, Houjun heard the sound of feet slapping across the ground outside of his home. His mother must have heard it as well because she turned to Kyoui and said, "That must be Mitsuru and Shindou-san now. Get the door, please."
Reluctantly, the young girl stomped off towards the entrance. Yukari turned back to her son, giving his hand another small, comforting squeeze. "Daijoubu, Houjun. Shindou-san's right here, he's going to take care of you. You'll be all right."
Inwardly, Houjun wondered how a doctor could ever take care of headache-inducing visions. Outwardly, he nodded and squeezed her hand back to show he understood. Though the ache had almost disappeared, he still didn't want to risk doing anything except focus on keeping the pain away.
The smooth voice of Shindou Eiri, Doctor Suzunami's assistant, reached Houjun's ears. He was a young man, probably just a year or so older than Houjun, and because of his connections with Kouran they knew each other well. "Okay, where is he? Mitsuru-kun said Houjun-kun was hurt..." Though Houjun couldn't see it, he figured Eiri must have spotted him on the floor. There was a patter of feet, then someone else was kneeling by his side. "Oi, Houjun-kun. If you can hear me, just give some kind of sign, okay?"
The young man opened his eyes, grinning at the doctor-in-training. "I can hear you, and you just spit on my face."
Eiri blinked in surprise, then chuckled. "If he's well enough to make jokes I'd say he ought to be all right." He turned toward Yukari. "So, what exactly happened? Mitsuru-kun wasn't too clear on that."
"Houjun had a serious headache," Hikou answered quickly, still holding tightly to his friend, almost as if he were afraid of losing him. "It happened earlier today, too, except that time he passed out."
"Oh? Well, maybe he's got a touch of that flu... it is late autumn, after all, and those sort of things are bound to pop up once in a while..." Eiri put a hand lightly to Houjun's head, frowning thoughtfully. "Hm... you do seem a little bit warm; nothing to get worried over, but still... maybe you should let him stay home tomorrow, just in case."
Kyoui, who had always been taught that you should never interrupt adults when they were talking, forgot her manners and butted in. "Do think that's all it is? Onii-chan was in a lot of pain; you should've seen it."
"Don't interrupt your elders, hun," Yukari said distractedly. She looked at Houjun, then up at Eiri. "It certainly seemed like a lot more than a flu, Shindou-san... you don't think it could be anything else?"
"Well, if you want me to, I can do a routine check-up, just to make sure everything else is okay..."
"Please, do."
Houjun sat quietly and somewhat impatiently, wondering if anyone would get the bright idea to ask him what was wrong. He closed his eyes in exhaustion while Eiri checked his pulse and heartbeat, then gathered his waning strength and opened them again while the man poked around to check his other vitals and senses.
Eiri leaned back on his heels after a few minutes, turnings towards Yukari and shrugging. "His left eye is a little unfocused, and I think he has a low fever, but other than that everything's completely normal. I don't know what to tell you, Ri-san, other than let him rest for a day and see what happens."
"Hai, Shindou-san," Yukari frowned, shooting a worried glance at her son. "Dakedo [But still]..."
"Listen, Ri-san, you really have nothing to worry about. If it's just a headache-"
"-A migraine," Mitsuru corrected.
"-a migraine, then - I don't think there's any reason for you to get upset."
"But that wasn't all," Houjun's voice was quiet, weak from the effort he'd put on himself earlier, and the doctor had to strain to hear it. He turned towards the younger man, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Eiri-san, what if a headache is accompanied by..." he hesitated. He shouldn't finish his sentence. He should just leave it alone, forget it ever happened, not worry his mother any further. 'Just drop it,' a part of him insisted.
But he had to know. He had to know if something was happening to him, if this was something strange or if it had happened before, to others... and not just to people who were losing their minds. Otherwise he'd never be able to relax. His selfish side won out. "What if the headaches are accompanied by visions?"
Eiri blinked. Everyone did. The room was suffocatingly quiet for a long moment, and Houjun was certain that he'd just been signed down as "mentally insecure" by everyone in the room. Shindou Eiri finally broke the silence, coughing to clear his throat. "Visions, you say? What of? Childhood memories, things that might be in dreams? It's not common, but with headaches it's entirely possible..."
Houjun shook his head. "Not memories. They aren't like dreams, either: they're way too clear to be dreams." He frowned, sitting up despite his mother and Hikou's protests. "It's more like... I don't know. It's a little bit like I'm someone else. Like I'm just watching it all through somebody else's eyes. The people in them... I feel like I should know them, but I know I've never seen them before..."
Yukari touched a hand to her son's shoulder lightly. "Houjun, maybe you should go get some rest. It's been a long day, and I'm sure with everything that happened you're a little disoriented..."
Houjun shook his head, brushing off his mother's arm and never letting his eyes leave Eiri's. "No, Okaa-san. I'm thinking straight. At least, I hope I am. That's why I want to know what this is." His mahogany orbs pleaded with the doctor-in-training. "I'm not... losing it, am I?"
Eiri fidgeted with his bag of supplies; he had obviously never caught himself in this kind of situation. "Well, there's plenty of medical reasons - stress, the fever, the migraine - and then if you want to get into it, there are spiritual reasons too. If you want some other answer look towards wandering ghosts, someone from the past... I don't know, there're all sorts of those stories, aren't there?"
"It can't be that," Houjun said quietly. He looked down, curling his hand into a frustrated fist. "The people in them, they always refer to me as Chichiri..."
"One of the shichi seishi," Mitsuru whispered quietly from the doorway.
The older Ri boy nodded. "Suzaku hasn't been summoned yet. These can't be someone else's memories, because they haven't even happened."
"Listen, Houjun, a lot of dreams can seem real, especially when you're in as much pain as you were," Yukari reasoned gently with her son. "Perhaps it just seemed like you weren't dreaming..."
"Okaa-san, I wasn't dreaming!" Houjun practically shouted. "I could hear you, Hikou, Kyo-chan, all of you perfectly! I was still here in body, and mostly in mind. But those scenes... those images..."
Eiri's loud laugh broke through the young man's words. All eyes turned to the doctor, who seemed to find something incredibly amusing. Houjun opened his mouth to vent his anger on Suzunami's assistant, but the older man waved a hand to silence him. Wiping tears from his eyes, Eiri shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself. "Goodness, no wonder I'm still an assistant. I should have figured this out from the very beginning. Ah, if Suzunami-san were here he'd boot me across the room."
"And if you don't tell us something soon, I'm going to boot you across the room," Hikou growled impatiently, one firm hand still placed on Houjun's arm. "What the hell is wrong with him?"
"Gomen, gomen." Eiri cleared his throat, then turned to address Yukari. "Ri-san, Houjun-kun plans on taking the kakyo after the spring exams, ne?" A nod. "Of course. And mid-term exams are coming up, right?" A nod. "If he isn't sick, than he's probably just overworked. It happens to a lot of kids - happened to me, come to think of it. You get yourself all tied in a knot because of schoolwork and future careers and girlfriends that sometimes your mind just can't handle all of it. So, you get headaches - ah, migraines, whatever - and you have some strange dreams."
"It wasn't a-!"
"You can have dreams when you're half-awake, you know," Eiri interrupted with a wave of his hand. "My advice: take it easy. Cut back on all the stuff you do, and just try to enjoy life a little. Pretty soon you're going to be out of school forever, so just lay back and have fun with it while it lasts."
"You really think that's it?" Kyoui asked anxiously, hopping back and forth.
Eiri chuckled. "Either that, or your brother's a bonified seer and we should ship him to the palace so he can help predict the Priestess' arrival."
Yukari snorted; she was an extremely practical woman, and theories like that weren't even worth laughing at as far as she was concerned. "Thank you for your time, Shindou-san. I apologize for dragging you out here so late, but I'm sure you understand the importance. How much do we owe you for your troubles?"
The young doctor grinned hungrily. "Drop off a jugful of that imported Hokkan sake you folks get and we'll call it even. My cabinet's been dry for weeks, and I'd take that over money any time."
Houjun's mother laughed. "I think we can manage that. Arigatou, Shindou-san."
"Doo itashimashite. I'll show myself out..."
"Mm! Sayonara, then. Tell Yumi and Yasunori I said 'hello.'"
"I'll do that. Jaa ne, Ri-san."
As the young doctor exited, Hikou stood as well, gently releasing his hold on his friend. Houjun rubbed at his arm; sometime during the conversation, his friend had gripped him hard enough to raise a lump. "I'd better head home too, Ri-san. Thanks for the meal."
"Oh, Hikou, wait just a minute," Yukari called, stopping the young man before he reached the door. He turned around, smiling slightly in her direction. "Ano... I'm not completely sure how to ask this, but... would you mind staying here for the night? I'm worried about Houjun, what with this sickness - or whatever it is - and with Shinsei away... well, if it happens again I'd feel much more comfortable if there were a man in the house to keep Houjun from injuring himself."
"Well, if you and Houjun don't mind, then I guess I could... I'll have to run home and tell Nee-san..."
"Certainly. And thank you for your help. He could have really hurt himself if you weren't here..."
From where he was sitting, the oldest Ri child sighed miserably. This was exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen. Now his mother was afraid for him, Hikou was acting like his bodyguard - protecting him from himself, no less! - and his siblings probably thought he was either crazy or deathly sick.
And yet, somehow, that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the fact that he didn't know what to think of it, either. He couldn't explain anything that was happening to him: the sudden headaches, the flashes of a memory he didn't possess, the people who, as soon as they spoke he felt like he'd known them for years, yet whose names he couldn't place. He was attempting to read a book just by looking at the pictures, and try as he might he couldn't get the whole story.
At this point, though, he didn't want to know the whole story. He just wanted it to stop, before half the village found out that he was seeing places and people that didn't exist. Before he started believing his worst fears. Before something really serious happened to him.
'Suzaku,' he thought desperately, putting his tired head in his hands. 'I don't know what the hell is happening to me, but please, please, just make it stop. Just let them all leave me alone. Please.'
Tasuki couldn't sleep again. He had only had a few hours of sleep that day and knew he should have been tired, but instead found himself staring drearily up at the ceiling of his room into the late hours of the night. It must have been about midnight, he decided, judging by the shadows the moon cast through the blinds of his single window.
The bandit closed his amber eyes, deciding that this time he was definitely going to fall asleep. He needed to rest. What if the gang needed him tomorrow, and he was too burned-out to do anything? The thought of losing any of the members was one he couldn't stand. Reikaku meant everything to Tasuki, was everything to Tasuki; especially now that all the seishi were reincarnated, with lives of their own and erased memories, and Chichiri was...
No. Stop. Don't think about that. Don't think about Chichiri. That was the worst possible way to get to sleep. That was the very reason he was still awake. Because he couldn't stop thinking about the monk. Couldn't stop thinking about what would happen to him if Chichiri died, if his last link to the seishi and one of his few close companions were to leave him... were to die alone, with Tasuki unable to do anything about it.
Again.
No. That wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to let it happen. Chichiri had always been there for him, always been there to save his ass during their seishi travels. Before and after that, it had been Koji who had kept him alive. If he lost Chichiri, all he'd have left was Koji, and what if his bandit friend wasn't there all the time...?
The bandit clenched a fist against the bed, gritting his teeth unhappily. What the hell was he thinking? He was worrying about himself, about his own survival, when Chichiri was the one whose life was in danger! What the hell was wrong with him? How could he think like that? This was for Chichiri, for Chichiri's safety and possibly for his life. Nothing else mattered right now. The monk was his main concern.
But was he...?
Stop. Don't think about it. He had promised himself he would help save Chichiri. His reasons for making that promise didn't matter. Just as long as he followed through. Just as long as he succeeded. And he would. Somehow, he would. He had to. Otherwise...
Stop thinking. About weaknesses, about the past. Just stop. None of it mattered. Leave it alone. Keep it buried. It was easier that way.
Keep going. Move ahead. Live.
Tasuki sighed, opening his eyes again and listening to the steady sound of his monk companion breathing quietly. Hikaru had said that talking to Chichiri might help, that it might bring him back to reality quicker. Well, it was worth a try, anyway. At least it was better than sitting here worrying. Tasuki was a better doer than a thinker, anyway.
"Oi, Chichiri..." he said quietly, almost as if he expected the monk to answer back. "You prob'ly can't hear me, but Hikaru said that talkin' to ya might speed up this whole thing. I got nothin' better t'do, so I guess I may's well give it a shot."
There was a long pause, then Tasuki went on. "Ch, what th' hell am I s'posed t'say, na? Hikaru wasn't specific on that. I guess it don't matter what I talk about, 'cause it ain't like yer gonna hear any of this anyway. Ya know what really pisses me off? Th' way that, even though I'm startin' t'understand this Holy Oath mess, there still ain't a damned thing I c'n do about it. I'm jus' glad Hikaru's here, otherwise there wouldn't be any way t'help ya. Bandits ain't exactly healers, y'know.
"At th' same time, I can't decide if those Asatenshi sisters' comin' here is a good thing'r not. Hikaru's been helpin' you out an' all, an' Koji sure seems t'like her, so I don't have a whole lot against her. She ain't too bad... well, fer a girl. Yeah, yeah, I know, I told Miaka I wouldn't say I hate girls anymore. That don't mean I can't say they annoy me, na? Heheh..."
The bandit frowned thoughtfully. "An' then there's that Gaki, Shuu. I dunno what t'think-a that one. Koji never says much about her, but I get th' feelin' he's talked t'her a little and she scared him, or at least bothered him about somethin'. Koji ain't th' kinda guy t'get shaken up by little things, either... ah, well, if it's important I guess he'll tell me eventually. She hasn't done anythin' worthwhile since she got here, 'cept make you dinner t'night, an' all she ever does t'me 'n' the other bandits is make sarcastic remarks an' call me stupid. Huh, I know I ain't a genius, but I ain't an idiot, either!
"Th' thing is... I can't decide if I trust her or not. I thought I didn't, at first, but now I ain't so sure. I can't figure her out at all. I mean, you know me, I can't figure many people out, but this is worse'n usual. Sometimes she acts like she's tryin' t'help us an' it jus' turns out wrong, an' other times she acts like we c'd all get murdered in our sleep an' she wouldn't care at all."
Tasuki sighed. "I guess I prob'ly don't trust her. I don't trust a lotta people. Sad, ain't it? You, Koji, a few of th' other Reikaku members, maybe Hikaru... that's about it. Hell, I don't even trust myself, not after that night when I..."
Shit. What was he doing? He wanted to stay away from this kind of talk. Forget about the past. Forget about weaknesses. Just forget it.
"This is stupid," the bandit grumbled, rolling over so his back was facing the unconscious monk. "Here I am, about t'spill my guts to a friggin' vegetable. I bet yer real happy in yer little closed universe, too. Prob'ly don't give a rat's ass that I'm out here, actually worried about ya..."
Tasuki closed his golden eyes once again. He wanted to get into a fight; he thought that it would make him feel better. But of course, all he got in response to his accusations was the steady, in-and-out breathing of the comatose monk. Somehow, that made him feel almost guilty.
"Oi, 'Chiri," he murmured, smiling a little. "D'ya remember that one time, when we were travelin' through Sairou, an' Miaka tried t'cook that meal fer us...?"
Houjun, with his best friend lying on the floor next to his bed, had no trouble falling asleep that evening. The young man was so drained, emotionally and physically, from the events that had occured that day that even the thought of those strange visions couldn't keep him from slumber. And, the way he figured, while he was sleeping he couldn't be attacked by those memories that didn't belong to him.
He figured wrong.
The teenager's troubles weren't in falling asleep, but they began shortly after he had drifted off. His sleep was dreamless for a while - or, at least, he didn't remember anything from it when he woke up - but after an hour or so, things started turning for the worst.
"Oi, Chichiri..." someone said quietly.
Houjun knew he should not have known that voice, but for some reason the name "Tasuki" flashed through his head. He tried to picture that person, tried to find some face he might know that would match the name he had drawn from nowhere. He could find nothing.
"You prob'ly can't hear me..."
But he could. Perfectly. Clearly. Better than he could hear his own thoughts, envision his own voice or memories. Someone. A voice with no mouth, a name with no face, calling to him out of the darkness. Houjun wanted to find them, wanted to discover who it was, why they knew him, why they sounded unhappy and alone. He didn't know where to begin looking, though, and could only listen helplessly, hoping for some kind of clue that would help him figure this all out.
"...But Hikaru said that talkin' to ya might speed up this whole thing. I got nothin' better t'do, so I guess I may's well give it a shot."
Hikaru.
Scene change. He was in a room that looked vaguely familiar, sitting on a bed next to a woman he felt that he had known at some time or another. He could sense her smile, could see the raven-blue hair that framed her face. Houjun peered through the murk of his dreams to try to get a good look at her, but her face was indistinguishable.
"I have decided," the woman - instinctively, he knew to call her "Asatenshi" - said. "That I'm going to figure it out."
"Figure out what na no da?" he asked automatically, almost as if he didn't have any control over his own voice.
"How to erase it," she explained. "I'm going to learn how to erase all that pain, and help you be completely, one-hundred percent happy again! Because, someday... I'd like to see you really smile, if only once." The young woman leaned down next to her friend, winking and flashing a victory sign. "That, Chichiri, is a promise from Asatenshi Hikaru, and I never break my promises."
That voice that he knew but didn't know at all penetrated his thoughts again, talking quietly; but now "Tasuki's" voice seemed farther away, almost like background music, as the dreams continued. "...I'm jus' glad Hikaru's here, otherwise there wouldn't be any way t'help ya. Bandits ain't exactly healers, y'know."
Healer.
Scene change. He was sitting at a table with another man; a table that was much too large for two people. He looked down at his hands, at the cup of tea that sat in them, and at the tear stains that dotted his sleeves. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. He had been crying all day; he would not cry at the table, not in front of his friend. "Hotohori-sama's in a meeting, na no da?"
"Mm," the man - the voice was a younger version of the one who had called to him - said. He glanced down at his meal, which he hadn't touched, and let out an unhappy sigh. "Seems kinda lonely, jus' th' two of us out here... maybe I oughta have invited Koji-tachi t'eat with us..."
The two of us. With Hotohori, that made three, and if you could count Tamahome - wherever he was - it added up to four Celestial warriors.
A day ago, the number had been five.
The redhead, whose face Houjun still could not place, cleared his throat and attempted to make conversation. "Eto... th' battle's kinda stopped fer a while, so I don't gotta do nothin'... d'ya think we oughta, I dunno, visit their graves... 'r somethin'...?"
Their graves. Nuriko's, even though his body was on Mount Koku; Chiriko's, which would forever be the resting place of the young Suzaku seishi as well as a vicious Seiryuu seishi; and Mitsukake, who had been alive just twenty-four hours ago.
Mitsukake!
They had been alike, in so many ways. Everything they loved had been taken from them; their families, their friends, their loved ones... And they both blamed themselves for it, for being unable to help the women they cared so much about, for being helpless to stop the unthinkable from happening. Their pain, their resolve, their dedication to the only thing they had left... All the same, sharing their losses and wisdom silently with each other, and taking strength from it.
Mitsukake had blamed himself for Nuriko-tachi's deaths. He was the healer. He should have been able to do something. Chichiri had told him it wasn't his fault, that it had just happened. But he hadn't listened; or, maybe he had listened, and it just hadn't mattered anymore. Mitsukake had blamed himself for his own pain, which had caused him even more pain, which, ultimately, had led to his final decision.
Chichiri had made such a decision before - and failed, in the end - but in that case the two of them were completely different. While he had selfishly chosen to try and end his own life in order to stop his sorrow, Mitsukake had given his life away, given it away to save others!
Houjun felt his hands grip his cup tightly, saw the tears spill from behind his masked eyes, heard the sobs break helplessly from his throat.
It wasn't fair! he wanted to scream. If Suzaku had chosen to claim another of his warrior's lives, then why couldn't it have been him!? Mitsukake didn't deserve it; he was too good of a person for that! He had dedicated his life to helping others, while all Chichiri had done was destroy life after life! Why Mitsukake!? Why was Mitsukake taken!?
Why couldn't it have been him!?
Tasuki's hesitant hand touched his shoulder. Houjun could sense that the other man was feeling extremely uncomfortable, but equally sad, and didn't know quite what to do. "Oi, Chichiri..."
Houjun was crying, though he didn't know why. It wasn't as if he had ever seen these people before; it wasn't like he had personally known them. None of this should matter, none of them shoulder matter.
So why, he wondered, did the name "Mitsukake" and the scene that had just flashed before his eyes bring such a painful ache to his heart?
The one who he now knew as Tasuki was still talking, had been talking, but only now did he hear his voice clearly once again. "I guess I prob'ly don't trust her. I don't trust a lotta people. Sad, ain't it? You, Koji, th' other Reikaku members, maybe Hikaru... that's about it. Hell, I don't even trust myself, not after that night when I..."
Night.
Scene change. He was standing at the mouth of a cave. It was raining. Lightning speckled the overcast sky as thunder rolled ominously through the landscape. This place was new to him. This place was familiar to him. Inside, death awaited him.
There were two people with him, a redhead and a teal-haired man. One gripped a crystal fan; the other was weaponless, but clenched his fists like he knew how to use them. He barely paid attention to them. His main focus was on the barrier of solid water that stood before him.
Houjun, a helpless puppet in this mysterious play, watched one hand tighten around a staff while the other came up to his mouth. He listened as he chanted a spell that he did not understand, gritted his teeth as he sent his life force pounding at the barrier.
The wall of water shattered. The three of them were inside.
Houjun's eyes - no, not eyes, eye - darted around the cave, searching out the familiar life force of a Priestess and the equally familiar life force of an old friend. His hair hung wetly over his working eye, and it took him a while to make out the forms of the two people in the cave.
One was a young woman, trapped in a force field of some kind. She was looking at him with fear in her eyes, terror for he and his friends' safety.
The other was a man, a man who was different but still so very much the same. There were black things arching from his back - wings? - and he was dressed in a curiously garrish outfit. Still, he looked so familiar...
The man grinned. Chichiri readied himself for the battle that was certain to come, the battle he did not want to fight and yet had to, in order to save the life of one friend and the soul of another. "So, you've finally come. Houjun."
That voice. That smile. That face. Everything.
Houjun screamed helplessly, driven over the border by fear, realization and shock. "HIKOU!"
"No! Oh, gods, no! Don't make me fight him, don't make me kill him! Please, please...!"
Hikou heard his friend's calls almost immediately. He jumped up, glancing over at his sleeping friend. "Eh? Houjun?"
The young man, forehead dotted with sweat and eyes rimmed with tears, moaned in his sleep, hands gripping against imaginary enemies. "Gods, no... no... Hikou, please, no...!"
His friend's eyes widened in surprise; could he be dreaming about that? Hikou gripped Houjun's shoulders in his hands, shaking his friend gently. "Houjun, wake up, you're having a dream."
Houjun's body flared with red power; the sudden shock burned Hikou's hands, forcing him to pull away for a moment. The younger man was biting his lip now, so hard that it bled. After a moment, he sat up with a start, fingers grappled helplessly at the air as he shouted his terror- and pain-filled call once more. "Hikou!"
Hikou gripped his friend's flailing hand, ignoring the fire that raced from the faintly glowing younger man and into his own fingertips. "Houjun, it's okay, everything's okay. I'm right here."
The teenager's body seemed to go slack at his friend's touch. A few seconds later, he opened his mahogany orbs halfway. Still half asleep, he looked straight into Hikou's worried face. "Hikou...?"
He smiled weakly. "The one and only."
Houjun's eyes opened all the way, then widened in surprise and relief. "Oh, gods..." This was all just too much. He collapsed helplessly into his best friend's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Hikou, you're not dead, you're not my enemy... oh, Suzaku, Hikou... I dreamt... I dreamt..." he broke down again, gripping the older man's shirt tightly in his hands. "Before it was just those strangers... it was never like this... but now, now..."
Hikou didn't need to ask what Houjun was talking about. He knew all too well, better than even his memory-wiped friend did. He let his younger, smaller companion cry, wishing that his words and contact alone could stop Houjun's pain. She had warned them about this, and she had said the first day would be the worst, but he had never thought, not in his wildest dreams, that it would get this violent this fast. "It's okay, Houjun. Whatever happened, whatever you saw... it's okay. It wasn't real."
"Not yet, anyway," he said quietly. "Hikou... Hikou, I saw... I don't know. But it was me. It was definitely me. And you. You were... I don't know, but we were fighting. We were enemies, Hikou! And some part of me..." Houjun paused for a moment, fighting back his helpless sobs. "Some part of me remembered it. It hadn't happened, it will never happen, but... but somehow, it felt familiar! Like I had been there before..."
"I'm so sorry, Houjun," Hikou said quietly, for more reasons that his friend could know.
"What's happening to me?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper; it was the only way he could keep himself from breaking down again. "Am I losing it? Is that it? Am I going crazy, Hikou?"
"Iie," he assured him. "You're not going crazy. People who lose their minds don't know it happens. Maybe it isn't medical, but there are other answers, too. My grandmother used to talk about wandering spirits inhabiting the bodies of people and showing their memories. Maybe some poor soul's just trying to get his story out, just trying to be heard. I don't know. Something."
Houjun didn't believe it, not after the things he'd seen, but he didn't want to admit that to his friend. "Maybe you're right," he remarked, pulling his emotions under control. "Whatever's happening, it'll stop. It'll get better. It has to."
"No kidding," Hikou murmured with a humourless chuckle. "It can't get much worse, anyway."
"Did I wake anybody else?"
"Surprisingly, no. At least, I don't think so."
"That's one good thing, I guess. Don't tell Okaa-san-tachi about this. They'd just get worried, and that's the last thing I want." Houjun pulled away from his friend's chest, leaning his head against Hikou's shoulder and smiling a little. "Sorry for getting your shirt all soggy..."
The other man chuckled. "Hey, no problem. You did the same thing for me, when we were kids."
Houjun sighed. "Hikou... you really think I'm going to be okay? You don't think that this is... I don't know, something I should be worried about?"
"Well, gods, Houjun, you're suffering splitting headaches, visions, hearing voices and having nightmares. Hell yes you should be worried." Hikou chuckled. "But don't think you're going crazy. You're not the 'going crazy' type. It doesn't run in your family - unlike mine, thanks to Great-Aunt Michiko. There's tons of other reasons for this, and trust me, that's the last one on the list."
"Arigatou, Hikou," his friend said quietly. Houjun pulled away, leaning back in his bed while Hikou sat on the edge. The two were silent for a moment, until the blue-haired teenager finally spoke. "Oi, Hikou?"
"Hai?"
"Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"
"What? About the nightmare?"
"No. About me crying into your shirt like that."
The older man chuckled. "Afraid Kouran might get jealous?"
That wasn't his reason, of course, but Houjun thought it would be better to lie and lighten the mood a little. "Yes. At this point, you've gotten more action with me than she has."
Hikou laughed. "Go to bed, little guy." The young man patted his friend with his left hand, wincing as he did. "Ite!" He pulled his palm away, glancing at the welts that laced across his skin and trying not to grimace. "Ch, that red light musta done this…" he grumbled out loud.
"Nani? Doshita no?"
Hikou glanced up, waving his uninjured hand at his friend. "Ah, nandemo nai [it's nothing]! I just… I tried to cook the other day and wound up burning my hand. That's what I get for messing with the stove I never used before. Don't worry about it, I'll be okay." Houjun grabbed his friend's hand before he could pull away, tracing the red marks with one finger. "Oi, Houjun-!"
"You didn't have these earlier today. I would have noticed something this bad." He looked up, mahogany eyes wide with surprise. "Did I do this?"
"No!" Hikou jerked his hand away, holding it gingerly in his other palm. He frowned; he couldn't lie to his companion forever. "Not on purpose, anyway." He could sense the question on Houjun's lips, and answered before it was asked. "It was while you were having that nightmare. I tried to wake you up, and you sorta flared with this red light…" he chuckled, putting his uninjured hand on his friend's head. "That ghost you got messing with your mind is a real bastard, isn't he?"
Houjun looked down. "I hurt you…" His fingers tightened around his bedsheets, gripping them in frustration and confusion. "What if that dream really is coming true…?"
"You didn't hurt me, Houjun. It's not like you knew you were doing it. Anyway, it's my own fault for messing with things I don't understand, so don't worry about it. Go to sleep. You've gotta be tired from today. Hell, I'm beat, and I didn't even go through it."
Houjun didn't have a chance to say anything else. Hikou rolled off the bed and down to the floor, throwing the blanket over his head and indicating that the conversation was over. The young man took a deep breath, laying back down in his own bed and looking up at the familiar ceiling.
The one called Tasuki had said he didn't trust himself. Houjun closed his eyes, frowning and sighing. Well, whoever he was, that was one thing they had in common. Houjun had made his family worry, made his girlfriend fear for him, and hurt Hikou. He had envisioned two comrades he didn't know dying, and in his dreams had killed a skewed version of his best friend.
After a day like this, Houjun wondered if he could ever trust himself again.
Tasuki wasn't the only bandit who was unable to sleep. Koji lay awake in bed that night, trying very, very hard not to think about the evening's events and just focus on going to sleep. Of course, the longer he tried not to think about it, the more his mind wandered back to Hikaru's - unintended, surely - cold shoulder towards him and her warmth towards Tasuki.
"Jaa ne, Mitsuragi-san. Jaa ne... Tasuki."
She had called him "Tasuki." By his first name. With no suffix. Not one. Tasuki had probably had to ask her once. But he'd been trying to get her to call him "Koji" since she'd arrived, over a week ago, and all he'd ever gotten was a half-hearted smile and a quick "Arigatou, Mitsuragi-san." Mitsuragi-san? He hadn't been called that by anyone since... ever!
The Reikaku co-leader sighed, looking up at his darkened ceiling. 'I should stop thinking about this,' he thought to himself, rolling over onto his stomach and attempting to get comfortable. 'Whatever happened was obviously nothin'. Genrou didn't say a word about it once she left, an' he didn't even look like he was thinkin' about her. Nope, that woman is most definitely not on Genrou's list of interests. Still...'
Why was he even thinking about Tasuki? It wasn't his bandit friend that had him lying awake at night; it was Hikaru, and everything about Hikaru that had made him fall so hopelessly in love with her. It was about his attempts at getting close to her - at least establishing a friendship - and about her friendly politeness but obvious disinterest. Maybe if she stopped drooling over Tasuki for two seconds she might notice that there was actually something worth liking in him!
"What's so great about Genrou, anyway...?" he grumbled aloud to himself.
Koji shook his head, flipping over to lay on his side. He had just done it again! Thinking about Tasuki, worrying about Tasuki, when his closest friend wasn't even the problem! "Genrou the woman-hater" was the last person in the stronghold that Koji should be lying awake over, the last person on the planet that he should be worrying about. He showed no interest in Hikaru, and if he did Koji was certain that he would tell his best friend. And if that happened, well, Koji thought that he could be the bigger man, step down, and allow the two to live happily ever after.
So why...?
"Screw it," the co-leader grumbled to himself, sitting up and stepping onto the chilly wooden floor. He wasn't getting anywhere, just lying around in his bed and stewing over his own building emotions.
Emotions of what...?
He needed to think. He needed to get out of the stronghold, and into some fresh air. Middle of winter or not, it was never unbearably cold in Konan, so taking a walk would do him much more good than harm. Maybe a midnight stroll around the mountain was just what he needed to settle himself down and figure out an answer to what was really bothering him - Hikaru's coldness - instead of thinking about things that didn't matter - Tasuki's involvement.
But didn't it matter...?
The bandit stepped quietly over Genji, careful not to wake the young member, slipping into a pair of slippers rather than his usual boots. He pulled his coat on over his shirt and pants, then belted it to keep the long jacket in place. As an afterthought, Koji shoved one of his daggers into the leather strap around his waist and tucked a couple of throwing knives in as well. He rarely left his room without some kind of weapon - when you lived in a gang, you had to always be ready for a fight - and tonight was no exception.
Though, who would be crazy enough to be out in this weather, it was anyone's guess.
Koji slid the door of his room open quietly, then closed it with just as much caution and padded down the main Reikaku hallway. Keeping a hand against the wall to steer himself in the near pitch-black darkness, Koji navigated his way into the living quarters, then finally to the kitchen and out the back door.
The bandit, one hand on his dagger, strolled quietly across the moonlit grounds of Reikaku's "backyard." Though he appeared relaxed on the outside, inwardly he was tensed and ready, just in case an enemy or a wild animal happened to try an attack. Koji realized with a chuckle that he'd been living much too long with bandits; even on a nice night like this, he couldn't completely let his guard down. "Somethin' about that is jus' sad..."
"No kidding. If I were an enemy your ass'd be pretty dead right now."
Koji jumped, whirling around with one hand poised on his dagger. His hazel eyes shot across the dim shadows of the nearby trees, searching for the speaker. "Who's there? C'mon, show yerself."
"Ch. You still half-asleep or something? I'm right here."
An emerald light sparked in the woods; a moment later, the younger of the two Asatenshi sisters stepped out of the foliage. The green glow seemed to emanate from her hand; Koji couldn't find any other source of power, anyway. The bandit relaxed visibly, letting his hand drop from his belt. "Oh, Shuu-san, it's only you. Fer a second I thought it mighta been one-a them Akutsuki bastards."
"Only me, eh? Don't I feel loved," Koji could never tell if she was being sincere or joking when she said things like that. Luckily, she didn't give him a chance to respond. "What are you doing out here?"
The bandit co-leader shrugged, leaning against a tree and watching as Shuu did the same to a nearby oak. "Couldn't sleep. I figgered I'd try t'get in a little walk, maybe sort some things out. How 'bout you?"
Asatenshi avoided his question. "Sort things out? Like what?"
"Jus' things, that's all..." Koji replied somewhat defensively, not sure if he should be offended by her blunt question or not. "You never answered my question. How come you ain't sleepin'?"
"That's my business, not yours."
"I told you why I was out here."
"That was your choice, not mine."
"This is a pretty shitty way t'start a conversation, y'know."
"You're the one who started it, not me."
Koji rubbed the back of his head, chuckling a little at the younger sister's evasion of his questions. "Guess I can't argue with that kinda logic."
He frowned, rubbing his arm awkwardly. The Reikaku co-leader's thoughts turned back to the picture Shuu had drawn, the one of the tortured angel. He still had it in his room - he hid it in his clothing chest so no one else would find it - and had been thinking about giving it back to her, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. Not to mention he was a little afraid of the unpredictable Asatenshi, and never knew how to approach her. Ever since that day after she'd arrived, when she'd nearly spilled her guts to him, she'd been completely unreachable.
Well, there was no time like the present to attempt to touch the untouchable sister. "So, Shuu-san..."
"You're in love with her, aren't you?" she said suddenly, harshly.
Koji jumped at the question, blinking in surprise. "Eh?"
"My sister. You're in love with Hikaru. I'm right, aren't I?"
The Reikaku co-leader's surprise quickly turned to defensive embarassment. Had it been that obvious? And even if it had, she didn't have to bring it up! "Maybe I am. So?"
"Give it up," Shuu remarked, sliding down the bark of the tree she'd been leaning against until she was sitting at its base. "I told you to stay away from us. And, anyway, she isn't your type."
"I think I c'n decide who my type is," the bandit said irritably. What right did Shuu have to tell him who he could and couldn't have feelings for? Hell, he wasn't even sure he could consciously choose that!
Shuu kept her icy green glare away from Koji, eyes on the surrounding foliage. Her voice was completely flat, almost as if this conversation meant nothing to her. "Stubborn. You aren't her type, then."
Koji was trying very hard not to get sharp with the Asatenshi woman - harsh or not, he knew better than most that there was a lot of pain harbored in her heart that he didn't want to add to - but was finding it to be increasingly difficult. "Oh? And what is Hikaru's type, eh Shuu-san?"
"Leaders," she answered shortly. "I don't know if she does it on purpose, but she's always gone nuts over the head of the company, the government official, the captain of the ship. Something about the position appeals to her, I guess. Maybe the command. Who knows?"
The bandit frowned. "Then what makes ya say I ain't her type, na? I'm a leader too y'know."
"Ahou's the leader," Shuu's words were blunt and emotionless, but for some reason Koji felt like she'd just hit him in the stomach. "You're the sidekick."
Koji's fists unintentionally bunched up at his sides. "So, yer tellin' me that if I was th' leader-a Mount Reikaku, then Hikaru woulda fallen fer me an' never given Genrou a second glance?"
"Who knows?" Asatenshi replied, successfully dodging the bandit co-leader's question. "Maybe Nee-san's feelings for Ahou are genuine, and she's not just blinded by the title 'Leader.' But she definitely would've given you more than a couple distracted, 'Arigatou, Mitsuragi-san's, I can guarantee that." Shuu paused thoughtfully, then let out a bark of laughter. "I don't know why the hell Ahou is the leader, though. He is truly Ahou, and so weak, too."
The bandit leader whirled on Shuu, immediately coming to his friend's defense. "Oi, don't say that kinda stuff about Genrou! Maybe he ain't the sharpest sword on th' mountain, but he's definitely th' best fighter an' one-a th' bravest people I know!"
Asatenshi shrugged, closing her eyes against the moonlight. "Whatever you say."
Koji leaned back against the tall sycamore, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning unhappily. It was unfair and rude of Shuu to say that kind of thing about anybody, no matter the person...
Hikaru only liked leaders...
But for her to so blatantly trash Tasuki like that, when she barely even knew him! That was just unacceptable! Maybe he wasn't perfect, and maybe he wasn't exactly a genius, but the bandit seishi was still Koji's closest friend and a damn good person! Shuu had no right!...
He was just the sidekick...
...And then to say he didn't have a chance with the other Asatenshi sister! Hah! Like she knew exactly how her sister's mind worked! It was a personality that won out when love was involved, and if Hikaru was just given a chance to see what kind of a person he was...
But if he was the leader...
Koji shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? Why had that thought snuck into his head? Hakurou had chosen Tasuki as the leader, the tessen had chosen Tasuki as the leader, hell, even he had chosen Tasuki as the leader. Koji had always been happy with his position, always been content to help out his best friend and guide from the shadows. One woman wasn't going to change something like that.
And yet...
The bandit jerked his head up as he heard the sound of a bow twanging softly. Koji's movements had been too slow; already an arrow was flying on a direct path for his head. There was no way he'd have time to react...
A blazing green wall materialized in front of the Reikaku co-leader, turning the arrow to splinters. Koji glanced over just in time to see Shuu dash to his side, emerald magic still crackling in her palm. She whirled, putting her back against his and shooting glances around the clearing. "Akutsuki," she hissed.
"Two of 'em," the bandit finished.
Asatenshi closed her eyes, clearing her mind and searching for the presence of the enemy archers. Koji's own hazel orbs scanned his side of the clearing, frantically darting among the foliage in search of some telltale sign of movement.
Shuu found the life force at the same time Koji detected a rustle in the bushes.
"There!"
"Gotcha!"
Emerald power shot from the woman's palm; a throwing knife whizzed out of the bandit's hand. There were two startled, gurgling screams, and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. Then silence.
"That's all of 'em," Shuu and Koji said simultaneously. The two blinked, then pulled away and looked at each other. The Reikaku co-leader chuckled slightly; even Asatenshi managed the hint of a grin.
"You're a decent fighter," she allowed.
"You ain't too bad yerself, Shuu-san."
The young woman took a breath, letting her green power sink back into her skin. "Those Akutsuki members obviously mean business. This must have been an assassination plan; if we hadn't been out here, they would've snuck in easily. Should we tell Ahou about this?"
"In th' mornin'. I don't wanna make him lose any more sleep'n he already has," Koji explained, relaxing now that the danger was past. "If there were any others, they're long gone. They won't be back, not t'night at least. I'll talk t'Genrou about gettin' th' boys t'take night watches."
"Fair enough," Shuu brushed a strand of raven-blue hair out of her eyes, turning towards the stronghold.
Koji stopped her, a quiet question on his lips. "Oi, Shuu-san... that green wall, that barrier thing... it was yers, wasn't it?" A small nod. The bandit blinked his hazel eyes in surprise. "You saved my life."
She didn't bother turning around as she shrugged. "Yeah, well, don't think you owe me anything."
Asatenshi once more took a couple of steps towards the main building, and once again Koji's confused voice stopped her. "Shuu-san... you saved my life."
"And?"
"I... I guess I don't understand. You always act like you hate everyone in the stronghold, even your sister. So... why would you do something like that?"
"Does it surprise you that someone would be willing to help you?" Koji jerked back at that statement, not completely sure how to answer that. Shuu glanced over her shoulder at him, and spoke before he had a chance to reply. Her green eyes met his sharply across the clearing, but for some reason the bandit thought they didn't look as fierce and protective tonight. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I like you or anything. There's just no reason for you to die yet."
"Eh? Shuu-san, matte-"
With a swish of her hair, the Asatenshi woman turned her face away from him once more. "Don't forget your throwing knife. And remember what I said. Stay away from Hikaru. Stay away from both of us. You'll just get hurt if you don't."
Before Koji could say another word, Shuu waved a hand and was gone, leaving behind nothing more than a thin dust of emerald magic. The bandit co-leader scowled, stomping unhappily back to the stronghold and wondering what the hell was wrong with that woman. How was it that she could do something wonderful one minute, and then say something so unfeeling the next? He would never understand her, or her sister...
Her sister. Hikaru. And here he was, back to where he had begun, with no solution to the problems of his mind and no answers to the demands of his heart.
Except one. There was one answer, one answer that was so ridiculous, so desperate and harsh and unbelievable, that Koji brushed it aside with hardly a second thought.
And yet, he couldn't stop it from flitting through his mind, couldn't stop it from lodging itself into the far recesses of his brain to taunt and tempt him. Though he didn't know it at the time, that one, passing idea would cause he and his best friend unimaginable misery in the future; a future that was hazy for both and doomed for one.
If he was the leader...
*****
Hao, minna-san!
A day late on the verse update, my apologies. School and work caught up with me, not that that's any excuse but it's the best I can do for now. I'll try to make the chapter notes brief: I have a few important things I want to cover but I want to make it through them quickly (no one really wants to hear me yammer on, I'm sure).
Dialogue Credit ('Cause I prefer not to get sued!)
-Hikou's line of, "You're not the 'going crazy' type" is from a one-act play called, "Louder, I Can't Hear You!" We performed it at my school last year and the line stuck with me.
-Tasuki's mantra: "Keep going. Move ahead. Live" is not exactly like anything, but the general outline was "borrowed" from "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant," by Stephen R. Donaldson. Not the same, but similar.
Random Chapter Comments I'm probably going to get some remarks on the Ancient China school system, and I'm going to be unable to answer them because I had no time nor idea as to where to find the information on ancient chinese learning facilities. So, I did what I could. Gomen nasai to the history buffs out there, and if you have any suggestions for how I should change this, please let me know!
Oh, yes, and the "kakyo," is the government test that Chiriko said he was taking in episode... ah, something. The one where Amiboshi "died." Yeah. Sounds pretty tough, huh? Oh, and for those of you who have watched "Gravitation:"
yes, I named the assistant doctor "Shindou Eiri" on purpose. Heh, I couldn't resist...
And yes, I know, I promised myself that I'd try to make my chapters shorter in this fanfic, and here I come with a monster of a verse! This is probably the longest verse in the Movement, though - after this they taper down to about ten pages per chapter. Bah, I'm rambling.
Question of the Week: How is it that animé characters can cry so gracefully? Don't their eyes ever get red and puffy?
Verse Preview A Koji-centric verse is on its way, which of course makes this author very happy. And things get better for Houjun, for a while... though, by the end of the next chapter, they're only certain to get worse...
Run For Your Lives! It's the:
Dee ~_^