Chapter Two
There was a cold northerly wind blowing across the fields and valleys surrounding Yukigase-mura that morning.
In the chill breeze, a small girl of four or five hovered around the clustered knots of trees that cloaked the mountain path from view, collecting the discarded shells of various nuts and shed bark as treasures as she sat playing in the morning light. Not far away, an older boy of maybe six or seven was watching over her, his expression sober and serious with adult responsibility as he ensured that not even a small stray puppy came too near his oblivious junior, and the sound of her laughter carried across the village as the people began to stir for a new day.
From the shadows that hid an old, derelict hut from sight, something stirred, confusion flickering in dark, clouded eyes as he surveyed his surroundings uncertainly. The cold weather pierced through his thin, flimsy clothing and he wrapped his arms around his body with a shiver, stumbling to his feet as he tried to work out where he was.
And even, for that matter, who he was.
As he tripped and faltered his way down towards the child's playground, his shadow loomed large over the barren ground and with a shriek of surprise, the small girl scattered her treasures, turning to stare at the newcomer with wide, uncertain eyes. Immediately her brother was on the alert, blocking the path between his junior and the newcomer with outspread hands that nevertheless shook a little at the thought of confronting a monster from the mountains.
After all, it was easier to kill a monster than it was to kill a legend.
At the sight of the children, the man stopped, blinking in surprise as he absorbed the scene before him. At his hesitation, the little girl ran to her brother's side, peering at the stranger uncertainly from behind the folds of his raggedy clothing, and something in the innocence of this sibling love jerked through the man's heart in a twisting, disconcerting way. For no apparent reason, he felt tears spring into his eyes and he swallowed hard, forcing them back as he felt a lump rising in his throat.
"You're not going to hurt my sister!" The boy said boldly. "Because I'm gonna protect her, and if you try...if you try..."
The man turned a bewildered gaze back to the elder sibling, and at this, the child's courage gave out, and his words petered out to silence. He did not shift his stance any, however, and for a moment the two just stared at one another, equally wary and equally confused. In the silence, the tears that had threatened began to slowly run down the man's cheeks, and he touched his skin at the foreign sensation, dashing them away as yet more fell.
Finally, the little girl seemed to summon her courage, scooping up some of the discarded shells and stepping shyly forward. Ignoring her brother's attempts to call her back, she inched towards the newcomer. Without a word, she held out her hand to him, a cluster of shells across her palm, and something in her hopeful expression brought the man to his knees. With trembling fingers he accepted this gift of innocence, taking it and glancing at it as he struggled to work out what it was about this scene that had afflicted him so greatly.
At length, the boy seemed to realise that this odd being meant them no harm, and he shuffled forward to his sister's side, slipping his hand into hers.
"Are you lost, ojisan?" He asked frankly, breaking the pensive moment with his brusque, boyish tones. "You're not from round here, are you? I don't know you, but if you came from the mountain path you must be lost. Noone comes that way now...nobody ever goes up there, not since the demon was killed."
"D...demon?" At length the man found his voice, staring at the boy with uncomprehending eyes, and at the gentle, lilting tone of his voice, the child's brows knitted together.
"Hey...you...are you a...woman?" He asked uncertainly. "Because you...you kind of sound...like a...a lady."
"I...don't know." The man seemed surprised. "I can't remember...anything. I don't know where I am, where this is, or what...what my name even is. I don't know anything at all."
"Why were you crying?" The little girl asked curiously. "Why are you sad?"
"I...don't know that, either." The man sighed, rubbing his temples as the world suddenly seemed a very full and complex place. "I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense, not even to myself."
"Miya-chan, run and get Papa, quickly." The boy seemed to make up his mind. "I'll stay here and make sure he...he doesn't do anything to hurt anyone, okay? I'll protect you and everyone, but you go get Papa and he'll know what to do. You know he will - go quickly, and find him out!"
The small girl nodded her head, darting off into the streets and passageways of Yukigase and the boy was left alone with his odd companion, watching as the stranger dropped down onto a nearby rock.
For a while there was silence, then the boy spoke again.
"It's pretty stupid, you know, to forget your name." he said, with all the simplicity of a young child. "Why did you go and do that for?"
"I..."
"You don't know, do you?" The boy frowned. "You're really weird, you know. Comin' out of nowhere and crying and not even knowing who you are or if you're a man or a woman."
He eyed his companion in sudden fear, as an idea dawned on him.
"You...you're not a demon, are you?" He asked anxiously. "You haven't come...to eat us?"
"Eat you?" The man was floored for the second time. Then he shook his head, managing a feeble smile.
"I don't think so." He said ruefully. "I might not remember who I am, but I'm pretty sure I don't eat people."
"That's good, then." The boy said seriously. "Papa wouldn't like it, if I was talking to someone who ate people. It happened before, you know - a man in the village had a wife who did that kind of thing. She died, though, and everything was quiet after that. I don't really remember that, though. It happened a long time ago - I don't know what really went on, not all of it. We didn't live here then - we came here later on. Mother doesn't think it's a story we should hear till we're older, either, though I wouldn't be scared, if she did tell it to me. I'd like to know about the demon, because I have to protect Miya, and if I know what they're like, I'll be able to do that. Won't I?"
"What's your name?" The man asked softly, and the boy drew himself up to his full height.
"Ryuuen." He said importantly. "My name's Ryuuen. It means "dragon's fire", because my dad and mum, they came here from Kutou after there was a war or something. And anyway, they live here now. But I'm called it because of the dragon who protects Kutou. My Dad saw him, you know. The real Seiryuu. And Seiryuu protects Kutou, so I have to protect Miya, too. Because that's what dragons do."
"Ryuuen?" The man's face whitened as he slowly repeated the name, and the young boy stared at him, tilting his head on one side as he struggled to work out the change in his companion's demeanour.
"Yeah." He agreed. "Ryuuen. See, I know how to write it, too. Look. It's like this. My Papa taught it me, because when he worked in Kutou, he was a scribe and he did a lot of writing stuff. Of course, when the war happened, he had to leave...so he doesn't do that any more. But he still taught me how to write my name. I'll show you."
He bent, scraping the characters in the dust, and his companion's eyes narrowed as the man ran his gaze over the letters.
"Funny." He murmured. "I thought...it might have something to do with...willow trees."
"Willow?" The boy stared at the man as if he truly was mad. "But they don't even grow in Yukigase. I don't know if they grow in Kutou - I don't remember. But that wouldn't make any sense - why would it be to do with willow?"
"I...don't know." The man faltered. "I just...for a moment..."
He paused, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"I felt like it meant something." He said at length. "I guess not. I'm sorry. You're right. Your way of writing it makes...a lot more sense."
"Ryuu-kun!"
A man's voice interrupted the conversation, and both boy and stranger glanced up at the sound of it, a mixture of expressions crossing both faces. The speaker was in his thirties, and at first glance the interloper could tell he was both intelligent and gentle, although the state of his attire indicated that it had not been easy, leaving everything in the desolate lands of war torn Kutou for a new life in Kounan. As he reached them, his little girl trailing after him, he offered the stranger a warm smile, holding out a hand.
"My daughter tells me you're lost, and that you came out of the mountain." He said kindly. "You look tired and you must have come a long way. Is there anything we can do to help you? My little girl seemed to think something was wrong with you."
"He started cryin' when he saw Nii-chan and me." The girl, whose name was Miya, added in her soft, reedy tones. "Like he was real sad about something, but he didn't know what it was."
"I can't remember anything at all." The stranger admitted. "Not even...not even my name."
"Well, I can tell you mine." The children's father said evenly. "I'm Haku Dai, and if we can do anything to help, we will. We were strangers ourselves here, you have to know that - in the war between this country and our own homeland, our entire settlement was torn apart and my family were turned on by soldiers, so we had to flee for the border. Fortunately we were able to find kind people in Kounan who'd help us despite our Kutou roots...and if we can do anything at all to repay that debt to another traveller in need, we're more than willing to do so."
"You're kind." The stranger stood up stiffly, returning the smile. "I don't have anything I can offer you, though...I don't want to be...a burden."
"Believe me, it's all right." Dai assured him warmly. "As I said, it's a matter of doing for another what the people of this village did for us when we first came here. That's all."
As they headed towards the ramshackle building that comprised the Haku home, Dai murmured something in his son's ear, sending him flying off through the village at top speed. Then he turned, offering his companion another smile.
"My son's gone to speak to the head of the village." He explained. "They're an unusual family, to be honest, but kind and generous. If you can't remember anything about yourself, you must have been in an accident or a battle somewhere - although you don't look hurt. Either way, if there's anything to be found by way of tracing your family, I'm sure that they'll be the ones to help. I know the Elder's son has friends in the capital - at least, so I've been led to believe."
"The capital?" The stranger looked blank, and Dai grinned.
"Eiyou." He responded. "Kounan's capital. It's quite a trek away from here, to be honest...I guess you didn't come from that far afield, huh?"
He cast a glance back towards the mountains.
"Actually, I wondered if you came from Hokkan way." He hazarded. "If you really did come through the mountain path. People in this village have all kinds of superstitions surrounding those peaks, though - you might not want to tell them you came via that way. Apparently there was some business with a demon a few years ago...my wife knows more of the details of it than I do, I confess."
"Your son mentioned a demon." The stranger acknowledged, shivering suddenly as if a cold chill had run all the way down his spine. "But I'm not it. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not. I don't...feel like a demon, anyway."
"The demon was killed by a warrior of Suzaku, or at least, something along those lines." Dai said with a smile. "There's no demon now. Even the place has collapsed beneath the weight of the snow - or maybe the force of the battle, I'm not sure which it was. Either way, Yukigase is safe and peaceful. People still mumble about the stories and shadows on the hills - but there haven't been any incidents since my family have lived here. It's not an easy life, so close to the border and with it being so cold most of the year, compared with the rest of Kounan. But compared to what we left behind, it was paradise."
"You seem to have suffered a lot." The stranger's eyes softened. "I appreciate you wanting to help me. It's kind of you, really, considering you don't know anything about me."
"Well, when we left Kutou, we took a long way around to get here." Dai said reflectively. "You have to understand, my younger sister was...was a chosen one. A daughter of Seiryuu, or whatever it is they call it. And when everything collapsed, people blamed the relatives of the Seiryuu Shichi Seishi for failing Kutou and for following selfish ends instead of finding peace for our country. My sister and I - we were seperated when she was twelve, and I didn't really see her again after that. But even despite that, we were hunted down and driven out of our home. Everything I'd worked for, to support my wife and my children - just gone, just like that. Even if Kaen did fail Seiryuu and Kutou, the aftermath was a bloodbath. We were lucky to escape with our lives."
He looked pensive.
"We came through that mountain path, from Hokkan." He added. "A young farmer's boy told us the way into Kounan and that we'd be safe there, now that the war was ended. So we came here, and that was that. Considering all the people who helped us to get here - why would it be strange that I'd want to help you? For all I know, you're one in the same boat as me."
"I wish I knew for sure." The stranger admitted.
"Perhaps with some rest and a warm meal, your memory will return a little." Dai suggested. "We don't have much to offer, but we'll gladly share it with you."
Before his companion could respond, there was the sound of hoofbeats, and Miya let out a yell, diving behind her father as a horse pounded avross the street towards them. The rider reined in his steed, although as the stranger raised his gaze to take in the newcomer's appearance, he realised that defining the man's gender was not a simple thing. Although well built and clearly brawny, the figure in the saddle had his hair bound up like a woman's, thick makeup coating his eyes and rouging his lips, giving him a decidedly surreal appearance. He was robed in expensive fabric gowns, which somehow the stranger knew without asking had been imported from a supplier in a bigger city, because of the quality and weave of the cloth. As he steadied his horse, this apparition made to speak to the father of the two small children, but as his gaze fell on the interloper's face, his face whitened considerably and he gripped the reins more tightly between his thick fingers as he struggled to absorb what he was seeing.
For a moment, nothing moved. Then, in a hoarse whisper, the rider murmured,
"Kourin?"
--------------------
Well, at last there was some semblance of peace and quiet.
Chichiri managed a rueful smile as he clambered upwards along the slopes of Reikaku-zan, heading towards the mountain's peak. As he walked, he hummed absently under his breath, swinging the shakujou from side to side as he relished just being outside with the elements after so long fighting battles.
"I hadn't realised how much I'd missed just existing under the sky." he reflected. "Still, though, Tasuki is right about one thing. Being separated from everyone is a strange sensation - not as easy to take as I imagined it would be. I wonder when the transition really happened - when I stopped wanting to be alone and when I started enjoying travelling with company. Still, Reikaku-zan isn't all seething with bandits...and whatever else I might be, a bandit I am definitely not."
He settled himself on a rock beside the trickling meander of a stream's source, reaching up to remove the mask from his face as he splashed the cool, refreshing liquid over his scarred skin. Though it had been some years now since the Shouryuu flood which had wiped out all of those dearest to him, the reminder of the day's events still criss-crossed cruelly across his expression, and where his left eye had once been, there now existed a sharp, jagged mark. It had become almost prophetic, in a way, he reflected pensively, touching the scar absently as he regarded himself in the rushing water.
"The left eye and the right eye are separated, just like Hikou and I were that day." He murmured aloud, startling a nearby bird who had hopped too near to him in a search for food. "The scars always remain - always. But I never realised...left on its own, the right eye grows stronger. It learns to compensate - and so have I, by becoming Chichiri and living this life. Five years ago I never would have thought that I could look at it this way - but at last, I think, I've put the flood fully behind me."
He stretched back, leaning against his hands as he gazed up towards the clear blue sky.
"I hope Mitsukake and the others have happy futures, reborn into new lives and bodies." He reflected. "And that the same is true for Hikou and Koran, now that the matters between us have been settled properly. I don't bear anyone any ill will any more, not even myself. So I hope that the same is true for them...and that Suzaku's power extends that far."
He smiled ruefully, remembering the chaos earlier that morning before he had left the bandit hideout to trek further into the wilderness at the top of Reikaku-zan. Despite their long journey and his only having returned to his perch the day before, Tasuki had been adamant about being directly involved in collecting toll that day, and he and a group of his men had been preparing themselves for the scramble down when Anzu had appeared, dressed once more in the clothing of a male bandit as she had rubbed sleep from her eyes. A dispute had ensued, during which Anzu had demanded to be able to go along on the little excursion - to gain experience of being a bandit - and Tasuki had been firmly against it. In the argument that had followed, Tasuki's usual lack of tact and delicacy had in the end decided things, and after a thoughtless, careless dismissal of Anzu's presence, he had wound up with a slapped cheek as the girl had stalked off towards the sleeping quarters in high dudgeon.
"Not everyone changes with the passage of time and experience, I suppose." He decided. "Tasuki will always be Tasuki, no matter how old he lives to be. Perhaps that's why Suzaku keeps him around - so that one day he might, finally, eventually learn a little bit of tact."
"Chichiri?"
As if she had heard his train of thought, a voice from the bushes startled him and he turned, inwardly berating himself for letting his guard down. Anzu stood not far away, still dressed in the garb of a bandit of the mountains, and her eyes were faintly red around the edges, as if she had been crying. She offered him a slight smile, however, and Chichiri returned it, beckoning for her to come sit down. Anzu hesitated, then did as she was bidden, folding the flapping fabric of the too large trousers beneath her as she sank down onto a rock with a sigh.
"He went without me, in the end." She said frankly, and there was no need for her to explain who 'he' was. Chichiri nodded.
"You shouldn't take it to heart." He advised with a casual shrug. "Tasuki doesn't understand things that are right in front of him. He probably didn't mean to upset you. He just...he has a big mouth, you know? And he uses it a lot more than he uses any part of his brain."
"I know." Anzu drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly as she considered her companion's words. "And I didn't come into the mountains for everyone to feel sorry for me. I came here because I felt I had to. Just he's been really cold to me, since he got back yesterday. And I know I don't have any right to expect him to be any different - even if we were friends two years ago. But it annoys me more than it should. I thought maybe he'd grown up - but I suppose...not."
Chichiri's good eye flickered with thoughtfulness, and he shook his head.
"I think he has." He said slowly and carefully. "But not in all ways."
He spread his hands.
"Are you going to stay in the mountains then, Anzu?" He asked lightly. "If Tasuki is so much of a bother for you?"
"Where else do I have to go?" Anzu shrugged helplessly. "When Karin died, this was the only place I knew of to come. But we're friends too, aren't we, Chichiri? And you came here as well, so it isn't just me, is it? You don't want to be on your own either - that's why you came to Reikaku-zan. Just like me."
Chichiri's expression broke into a broad smile and he shook his head.
"I came to Reikaku-zan because I felt like it." He said evenly. "I'm not afraid of my own company. Sometimes I prefer it, in fact. But with all of our comrades gone now - either to Miaka's world, or to new lives - I think it's down to Tasuki and I to keep in contact, at the very least. I won't stay here - I'm not a bandit, and I don't want to be one. But it's a little soon to be parted completely. Suzaku has been a big part of both our lives for more than two years now. Breaking that seems strange. That's all."
"Well, he probably doesn't mind it that you're here." Anzu said bitterly. "Since you're a man, and all."
Chichiri's expression softened, and he nodded.
"True." He acknowledged.
"You know the Priestess of Suzaku well, don't you, Chichiri?" Anzu shot him a questioning glance, taking him somewhat off guard with the searching look in her eyes. He nodded his head again.
"Yes, of course." He agreed. "What about it? Miaka's gone back to her world for good now."
Anzu glanced at her fingers, a red flush creeping up her cheeks and for a moment there was silence. Then, at length, she raised her gaze once more to the monk's.
"I think I'm jealous of her." She admitted. "Even though I thought I wasn't. Genrou says he hates women, but I think he's a liar. He doesn't hate them at all. He's just scared of them. That's all. But...but I got the feeling..."
She sighed heavily.
"I eavesdropped on a conversation he and Kouji-aniki were having." She admitted. "And I think...did Genrou...and the Priestess...were they...lovers?"
Chichiri's eyebrows shot up at this, and he shook his head emphatically.
"Not in this lifetime or the next, I imagine." He said firmly. "What gave you a crazy idea like that? Miaka and Tamahome went through hell and high water to be able to keep their love together - certainly Miaka loved all of us, but she only kept that particular kind of feeling for Tamahome and noone else."
He tilted his head, eying her carefully.
"Just like you feel it for Tasuki." He added softly. "But there's no reason to be jealous of Miaka."
"Maybe not." Anzu's blush deepened. "But even if what you say is true, it sounded like...Genrou...loved her. And...I suppose I don't know...what to do about that, if it's true. Even if this Miaka Miko is gone...I don't know how to compete with the Priestess of Suzaku. And he's so damn stupid. He doesn't get it...he doesn't get it at all."
Chichiri smiled.
"But that's Tasuki." He said evenly. "I have no idea whether or not he fell in love with Suzaku no Miko, Anzu. Only he knows that. But all of us Seishi have a strong, unrelenting connection to our Priestess. Whether it's Suzaku's power of love or something more human, I don't suppose any of us can tell you. But Miaka's bond with us enabled warriors to return even from the dead to defend her. She wasn't like any other person I've ever met, in many, many respects. Are you sure you're not just confusing Seishi loyalty with something else?"
"I don't even know, but you saying that makes me feel it's twice as difficult to compete with her." Anzu sighed, resting her chin in her hands. "I guess I thought I understood Genrou - that I knew him, at least, and the way he was. That yes, he can be tactless and stupid, and all of those things. But that he's also brave and impulsive and loyal and...a lot of good things, too. What I wasn't prepared for was a Genrou who doesn't know his own feelings about another woman. That's all. He and Kouji - they discussed it, I heard them. And he said it himself...he didn't know."
Chichiri was silent for a moment, and all that could be heard was the call of a mountain bird as it wheeled and danced overhead. Then, at length, he turned his scarred face to hers.
"If you really love someone, you don't give up on them." He said softly. "That's what having this scar has taught me most of all. If you have faith in someone, you keep that faith - no matter what. Otherwise, how can you say what you feel is important, if you don't believe in it wholeheartedly? Tasuki's feelings are Tasuki's feelings. Yours are yours. Define those, before you try and impress them on someone else."
Anzu's eyes opened wide with surprise and comprehension, and then she smiled slightly, nodding her head.
"I suppose you're right." She agreed. "You know, you and Tasuki do make an odd pair, Chichiri. You're so smart and he's such a moron. How did you ever manage to work together?"
Chichiri chuckled.
"I'm rather fond of that moron, you know?" He said matter-of-factly, reaching to scoop up his discarded mask. "Besides, we balance one another out. I have a bad habit of focusing too much on implications - Tasuki just dives right in, and it helps make light of a situation that may otherwise be difficult to face. I can't really explain it - but even a moron has strengths too."
"I guess I know that." Anzu flushed once more. "I...didn't really realise until I saw him yesterday how strong my feelings for him have gotten, that's all. It took even me by surprise, although I always said I'd come back, when I felt I was stronger. Travelling here from Sairou on my own - it wasn't easy. But I suppose I always believed that at the end of it, I had somewhere to go. And I know he won't throw me out of the mountain if there's nowhere else for me to go. But he doesn't really want me here, and I hate that it's come to that kind of a situation. That's why I'm jealous of Miaka-sama, really. Because he didn't mind spending time alongside her, fighting to save Kounan. But he seems to want to avoid me, or even ignore the fact I'm here. But I...I'll think about what you said. About having faith in my own feelings. And I'll go from there."
Chichiri's eye twinkled at this, and he nodded, carefully returning his kitsune mask to his face as he did so.
"You know, Miaka and I have had similar conversations in the past, about things like this." He reflected absently. "Perhaps you aren't so different, after all."
"Oh, come on." Anzu snorted. "What does a circus acrobat have in common with a Priestess? I know you're trying to make me feel better, Chichiri, but that's just ridiculous."
Chichiri opened his mouth to respond, then frowned, gazing up at the sky as a sudden sensation raced through his senses. He drew his brows together, struggling to make sense of what he had felt, and he scrambled to his feet, focusing his attention and his energy on relocating the signal. It was to no avail, however, and he sighed, shaking his head in frustration.
"Chichiri?" Anzu's voice brought him back to the present and he glanced down at her, taking in her confused expression. "Is something wrong? Did I say something to offend you?"
"No. No, nothing you said at all, don't worry." Chichiri hastened to reassure her. "I just thought I sensed something on the wind, that's all. Something familiar...but it's gone now, and I can't find it again."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe it was imagination." He added cautiously. "My senses have been less primed since we got to the mountain, that's for sure. I was so caught up in my own thoughts earlier that I didn't even feel you coming until you were practically on top of me, and that hasn't happened for a long while. But this was...different. Like I was meant to feel it...even if just for a brief moment."
"I don't really understand, but so long as it's nothing bad." Anzu frowned. "Genrou and the others aren't in trouble, are they?"
"No. It wasn't that." Chichiri shook his head. "But I do need to go back to the mountain base and speak to him, when he returns from collecting toll. Will you walk back with me, Anzu? I imagine one of you owes the other an apology, anyway."
"I think I'll stay here a while longer." Anzu shook her head. "Let myself - and him - cool off. He wants space from me, anyway. That's more or less what he said - that if I really wanted to help him lead his bandits I should get out of his face. I will come back down, don't worry - I think I just need to ponder over what you said to me a little. That's all."
"All right then. I suppose that's sensible." Chichiri smiled. "In which case, I'll take the quicker route. See you later, Anzu. Try not to take things too much to heart, all right?"
With that he scooped up the kasa hat that had dangled carelessly on the lower branch of a tree, offering her a playful grin before disappearing into it's darkness. As he re-emerged further down the mountain, he registered the sound of voices and an amused look touched his features as he saw Tasuki and his companions heading back towards the main base. They were carrying something, and Chichiri knew that their usual morning antics had been a success.
"Yo, Chichiri!" At the sight of him, Tasuki raised a hand. "You should've come down the mountain with us this morning! I swear, you'd never have seen a more ugly merchant passin' through these hills. So much damn treasure stacked in his pockets he made Eiken look like a water nymph! He had the nerve to insult us and the mountain, too - I left him thinkin' a little about that."
"I suppose the people in the villages below will do well, then, from this." Chichiri told him lightly, and Tasuki nodded his head.
"It was good to be a bandit again." He agreed merrily. "I told you. You should come next time."
"I don't think that I'm cut out to be a bandit." Chichiri laughed. "But no, actually, Tasuki, I'm glad you're back here. Your timing is, for once, perfect, you know?"
"My timing?" As Tasuki gestured to his comrades to convey the treasure inside, he cast his friend a confused look. "What do you mean? Timing for what?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, as he glanced around himself warily.
"This ain't to do with Anzu, is it?" He asked softly. Chichiri grinned, shaking his head.
"No. Anzu's taking a walk further up the slope. It isn't about her." He assured his companion and the redhead sighed, relief clear on his face.
"That's something." He murmured. "All right then, what? Something happen while I was away?"
"No...not really." Chichiri shook his head.
"Then what?" Tasuki was confused. "You're not making a lot of sense, you know that? Even for you."
Chichiri looked rueful.
"It might be nothing important." He said slowly. "But...for a moment...I thought I felt Nuriko's chi. That's all."
"Nuriko?" Tasuki, who had been all prepared to go back towards the main hideout himself paused, eying the monk in surprise. "But..."
"That's what I thought." Chichiri agreed. "It's strange, don't you think? It was so strong, just for a moment. And then...gone. Like it was never there at all."
"Well, I suppose it's not that weird." Tasuki frowned. "I mean, they're all gonna be reborn, right? So I guess it's natural for you to feel their chi, now that they're startin' over and all of that. Didn't Taiitsukun say something about their spirits being the same even if their bodies ain't? That would explain it, right?"
"You didn't sense anything at all?"
"No, but then why would I?" Tasuki shrugged. "You're the one with the radar set on overdrive. Not me."
"I know." Chichiri frowned. "But it was so vivid. Like he was right there in front of me. And then...nothing."
"Well, I don't know anything about life forces and stuff like that. But I do know Nuriko is dead, so if it's not because he's been reborn, your senses must need re-tuning, or something." Tasuki said bluntly. "You don't always make the right call, you know - and sometimes your landings and hunches are way off base. Perhaps it's just that."
"Your faith in me is overwhelming, you know." Chichiri said dryly. Tasuki snorted.
"Not that." He said frankly. "But you know, couldn't you have just imagined it?"
"No. It was too strong." Chichiri shook his head. "It was Nuriko and it was almost like...a live signal. It wasn't his spirit, but then...no, I think it was alive. At least..it's hard to be sure."
"There you go, then. He's been reborn. Case closed." Tasuki grinned. "Any other problems I can help you with while I'm on a roll?"
"Tasuki." Chichiri sighed. "Look, even if they are being reborn, it wasn't that kind of a feeling. To be reborn, Nuriko and the rest are letting go of their identities in this life. They're changing and starting over. But this wasn't that kind of fresh, new signal. In fact, it felt the opposite."
"Old and stinky?" Tasuki looked nonplussed, and despite himself, Chichiri laughed.
"I should know better than to try and have a sensible conversation with you about anything." He said resignedly. "But either way, I know what I felt. I'm thinking I should try and check it out - if I can work out where the signal came from."
"I see." Tasuki's face became uncharacteristically serious. "So what you're actually saying is that you're gonna take off into the wilderness again. Right?"
"Yes, pretty much." Chichiri admitted. "At least, I want to get to the bottom of this. There was something...odd about what I felt. I just want to put my mind at rest."
"And you ain't sensed any of the others around? Just Nuriko?"
"Just Nuriko. At least so far." Chichiri confirmed. "But even so, I want to check it out."
Tasuki was silent for a moment, glancing at the ground. Then he raised his bronzish eyes, a question in their wolfish depths.
"Do you think he's in some kind of trouble?" He asked quietly. Chichiri started, then shrugged.
"I don't know till I go see." he admitted. "It was so strong a feeling, but then it went away again immediately and it's going to be hard enough putting a lock on where it came from, anyway. But...there was something strange about it. That's all I know."
Tasuki frowned.
"Nuriko's a Shichi Seishi. Like you an' me." He said slowly. "So if he's in trouble, we oughta check it out."
"We?" Chichiri looked startled. Tasuki grinned, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, it would give me some space from Anzu, and you know, I guess it's the right thing to do, in the circumstances." He said ruefully. "It's not like we'll be away from the mountain long, right? Not with your powers and everything. We'll go, find him, check it out and make sure all's okay, then we'll come back. Probably be done by nightfall. Right?"
"I suppose we might be." Chichiri agreed slowly. Then he nodded. "All right, then. We'll both go - but hadn't you better explain to Kouji where you're taking off to all of a sudden?"
"Sure. And we should eat, before we leave. I'm starving." Tasuki agreed. "Then we can set out and see what we can find. For a dead dude, Nuriko sure does cause us all some trouble."
"Yes." Chichiri said thoughtfully, his mind returning to the sudden, vivid impulse he had had up on the mountain. "I wonder if that's what he is, after all."
"Huh?" Tasuki looked blank.
"A dead person." Chichiri said vaguely.
"Chichiri, you're being weird again."
"Forget it." Chichiri shook his head. "As you say, we'll eat and then we'll go find out. After all, with Miaka back in her world, it surely can't be anything too major this time, you know?"
Random notes...
The farmer's boy in Hokkan was who you probably think it was….;) I wanted to write him in – I had a whole scene with him, actually – but at the moment it hasn't worked out for the story. So he got a brief moment of lip service instead here! (And if you don't know who I mean I'm not gonna tell ya!)
No idea why the heck this is a relation of Soi's, by the way. I wasn't going to even refer to her in this story at all. But by coincidence Furuete Kudasai came up on my playlist as I was writing this, so she kind of got dragged into the thing. Haku Kaen is her real name, of course. Random...blah...;)
Oh yeah, the Ryuuen thing. I love Japanese! Nuriko's Ryuuen characters mean "graceful willow", and my little brat's mean "dragon fire". Same name, different kanji. I'm such a geek. Sigh
Wow, I'm hyper and babblesome tonight. Not a good sign...