Chapter Three

"So now we're here, are you going to explain yourself to me?"

From within the central chamber of the big Yukigase house, the stranger raised uncertain eyes to the inquisitive, demanding ones of his cross-dressing companion, taking in the determined demeanour and folded arms of the man that stood before him with an amount of trepidation. Despite his attempts to be feminine, he was too broad and physically built to carry it off with any success, and in fact, looming over his visitor from above, he was more intimidating than delicate. Silence followed his question, and the man frowned, sinking down into a chair himself.

"Kourin, it is you, isn't it?" He said hesitantly, after the silence threatened to grow oppressive. "Turning up here, out of the blue - but...it is you? I'm sure it is. I'd know that face - those cheekbones, and that exotic, sexy mole on your cheek is one of a kind. But geez, what happened to you? Your pretty hair, where's it all gone? Don't tell me you had a change of heart - that you decided you were a man, after all the trouble I went to to pretty you up as a woman fit for the Emperor's eye?"

The stranger, now labelled Kourin, continued to stare at his companion blankly, and the bulky transvestite sighed.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?" He asked wearily, and slowly, "Kourin" shook his head.

"Well, thats gratitude for you." The man's lips pursed, pressing together the thick coating of colour as he considered the situation. "Right. Fine then. My name's Tamatama. This village is called Yukigase. And two - no, it might even be three years ago now, you stayed here for a while with a relative - an uncle, by the name of Sonjun - although he left Yukigase during the war and he never did come back to it. Any of this ringing any bells, yet?"

Kourin glanced at him, then shook his head again. Tamatama's thick brows drew together thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, I was pretty sure you were dead." He said reflectively. "That was what we were told. I mean, not in so many words. Most of the people here didn't know you were you, as it were. That was our secret, more or less. But I remember...it was over the border, in Hokkan. Not so far, really, from Yukigase. That's why we knew about it. A Suzaku warrior had been struck down by a demon, that's how they told it. A demon like Yukiyasha, coming for revenge for his kind."

"Yuki...yasha?" Kourin echoed uncertainly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what that is, or what you mean, Tamatama-san. I don't remember anything - have I really been to this village before?"

Tamatama groaned with frustration, getting to his feet and padding purposefully across the room to where his visitor sat. At his approach, Kourin shrank back warily, but Tamatama did not hesitate. Instead he grabbed the newcomer's tunic firmly in his meaty hands, pulling it open to reveal the man's chest. Kourin let out a yell of protest, struggling to free himself from the other man's grip, and as he pushed against his companion, the brawny transvestite went sprawling backwards, only narrowly missing hitting the door with some force. He picked himself up slowly and ruefully, taking in the bewildered, stricken expression in his visitor's eyes as he did so.

"Yes. You are Kourin." He said frankly. "No doubt about it."

"I...I don't understand." Kourin faltered, and Tamatama waved a finger at his companion's chest.

"Look at yourself." He instructed. "Doesn't that bring back any recollections at all, when you see that burning through your skin for all to see?"

Slowly Kourin lowered his gaze, a gasp escaping his lips as he registered the blazing red mark beneath his left collarbone. He clapped a hand over it, meeting Tamatama's eyes with frightened ones of his own.

"What does it mean?" He whispered. "The willow - that's the mark of the willow! When the boy outside...when he said his name, I immediately thought of the willow. But...why? What is this? What's happening and why can't I remember anything at all?"

"I don't know the answer to the last bit." Tamatama heaved his bulk back into his seat, his expression becoming more serious as he registered his friend's distress. "Quite obviously you're not dead, because you're here, and since you can throw me across the room with a bare touch, I'd say you're the real deal. About the amnesia - my best guess is that whatever supposedly killed you in Hokkan jus' scrambled your brains about a bit, that's why you don't know who you are. But as for the severed hair..."

He pursed his lips again, tut-tutting.

"It takes a long time to grow hair that beautiful and shiny." He said regretfully. "It's a crime, to think that I look at you now and see half of Kourin's beauty stripped away from her."

"I...thought I was a...man?" Kourin said doubtfully. "Aren't I? I mean...aren't I?"

"That's something only you know the answer to, my boy." Despite himself, Tamatama's eyes danced at this seemingly absurd question. "Last time I saw you, you were calling yourself Kourin, dressing up as a lady of the Harem and you had your heart set on being all girl. Maybe things have changed - I don't know. You don't look like the same Kourin to me, that's for sure. It breaks my heart to say it, but it's true. And wearing such dowdy, unflattering clothes! Didn't you tell me your father worked in the textile business in Eiyou? He'd be tearing his hair out to see you now, robed in such cheap wares! You've let yourself go and make no mistake - whatever happened to you in Hokkan, my friend, it obviously had a big impact on your sense of style."

Kourin was silent for a moment, absorbing all of this.

"There was...a mountain." He said haltingly. "And...that's all. I don't know anything else. Nothing. Just...whatever has happened since I woke up here and spoke to Haku-san's children."

"Dai is a good man." Tamatama reflected. "Too kind for his own good, perhaps, but the sort of person Yukigase needed, after the wreckage the demon left behind her. But you probably don't remember that at all either, do you?"

He winked.

"You were the Suzaku warrior who got rid of Yukiyasha once and for all." He said softly. "That's what that thing on your chest means, Kourin. It's one of Suzaku's signs. Nuriko. That's who you really are. Nuriko of the Suzaku Shichi Seishi. One of the southern stars of Kounan."

"Suzaku Shichi..." Nuriko paused, his eyes widening slightly as he digested this information. Tamatama watched him like a hawk, as if expecting to see his friend suddenly put all the pieces together, but instead the man sighed, sinking back into his chair.

"I don't really understand." He admitted. "For a moment, I felt...something. Like a part of me was connected...somewhere. But to tell you the truth, I feel like I'm in limbo. Like I'm not really here...and I don't know where I should be."

"You obviously got a good whack to the head at some point, I'd wager." Tamatama said decidedly. "Still, you're here, and for now, that'll do. You'll stay with us, of course? Dai's family are kind, like I said, but they probably can't take another mouth to feed. And you and I, I consider us friends. Even if you can't remember our prior acquaintance."

"I don't remember." Nuriko acknowledged. "But...but if you don't mind, I think I'd like to do that. You seem to be a kind person, too. And...obviously there are a lot of things I need to know about myself, if I'm going to make sense of all or any of this. Right now it sounds like you know me pretty well, and that I trusted you, in the past. So if you can help me...I'd like that."

"Yes." Tamatama agreed slowly. "And there are a lot of things. Starting with your name, and working up."

"You said my name was Nuriko. Because of this thing, here, on my chest." Nuriko's fingers went to his breast again, now covered loosely once more by the fabric of his tunic, and Tamatama nodded.

"Yes, that's true." He agreed. "And when you were here, visiting, you always called yourself Kourin. Chou Kourin - that was the name you used."

"But Kourin is...a girl's name?"

"It is. And it depends on whether or not you are a girl, still, Kourin. Or whether being Nuriko means you're not true to that path any more." Tamatama said gravely. Nuriko's eyes became clouded, and he sighed.

"I don't know." He admitted. "Part of me thinks...yes. Part of me...no. I don't get it, but I don't know for sure the answer to that question. I...maybe...I think I...I'm like you, aren't I? I like to...wear girl's clothes, even though I'm not...not really a girl?"

"Yes." Tamatama grinned. "See, you are beginning to remember! And in which case, Kourin rolls more easily off the tongue when I'm looking at your pretty face, even if you haven't got all that silky hair to play with any more. You still are more girl than boy, I think - at least, I'd wager a good part of my life on it, even if you are wearing that Godawful piece of rag."

"So then, my name is Kourin. Right?"

"Actually, your name is Ryuuen." Tamatama admitted, and Nuriko started, staring up at him in disbelief.

"Like..?"

"Like Dai's son. Yes." Tamatama nodded. "Because of the willow. That's what you told me, last time we met. That your parents named you Ryuuen, because of the red willow on your chest."

"The willow." Nuriko's fingers tightened around the fabric of his tunic, and he sighed. "I see. Now it makes sense. But when I saw the boy - him and his sister - it was like someone had stabbed me deep inside, Like something terrible was trying to get out of me - I can't even begin to explain what that means."

"Ryuuen and Miya are close kids. They play together a lot, and that's probably why." Tamatama said wisely. "Ryuuen is always protecting Miya, that's the truth of it. And you told me - before you came here - that you'd once had a sister you'd protected, too. Maybe even though you've lost your memories, you could still feel her inside of you. That's where you told me she was, anyway. She was Kourin. That's why you chose that name to live under."

"Kourin." Nuriko murmured the name again. Slowly he nodded.

"Perhaps." He agreed wearily. "It's all too muddling - too much to take in."

"Well, let's get you some food and find you a place to sleep." Tamatama suggested. "Father is more than willing for you to stay, being that we're friends, and all that. And you can remain here as long as you need, you know. No time limit on your recovery. I know I'll bring your true, cheeky self out of you given a little effort and concentration, so don't you worry about a thing. Everything will be fine."

"Fine, huh?" Nuriko murmured, and even as he spoke the words, he was sure he felt a dark hand clench around his heart for the briefest of moments, catching his breath and making him swallow hard.

"Kourin? Are you all right?" Tamatama looked concerned at his friend's sudden pallor and Nuriko gathered himself, nodding.

"I think so." He admitted. "Just for a moment I felt...not here. That's all. Like I was plunged into something else."

"You really are messed up." Tamatama tut-tutted. "Still, I'm sure some Tama TLC will put you to rights. Come with me, my friend. Let's see if we can't at least do something about your outfit!"

------------------

"So, where exactly are we heading for this time, then?"

As Tasuki and Chichiri reached the foot of the mountain path, Tasuki cast his companion a quizzical glance. "I thought we were gonna go hat-hopping across the country to wherever it was you felt Nuriko's chi - isn't that what we're doing? Why are we walking, dammit - don't tell me you broke that thing!"

"No, it's fine. I just..am not sure where Nuriko is." Chichiri owned, frowning as he reached up to remove his mask, rubbing his brow pensively. "I've been concentrating for a while now, and I was sure I'd pick it up again. But no matter how hard I try, it doesn't seem to be anywhere. I've reached out as far as I can across Kounan...but it's like he's vanished. I don't like how it feels...but I can't get a fix on where he is."

"So, basically, we might as well give up now?" Tasuki put his hands on his hips, eying the monk in exasperation. "Great."

"Hey, you were the one who chose to come, you know." Chichiri was unmoved. "Space from Anzu, wasn't it? Something like that?"

He grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess even wolves go into hiding when there's a woman on the loose." He added ruefully, and despite himself, Tasuki flushed with indignation.

"Shut your face already, will you?" He demanded. "Anzu might have invited herself up the mountain, but I wish you and Kouji'd both stop with the innuendo. I don't care what she does or where she goes, all right? Sure, we were friends, but she overstepped the bounds of that when she decided to set up home on Reikaku-zan and stalk me around my own territory! All she's done so far is remind me that she's a girl, and she just makes me think of my family down there, in the village."

He jerked his foot in the direction of a small settlement, nestled beyond the trees. "Which is not something I need on a daily basis. Why do you think I came to Reikaku-zan in the first place?"

"Then it doesn't matter, does it, if we take a wander away from the peak?" Chichiri asked lightly, and Tasuki frowned.

"Guess not." He admitted. "All right. But if you can't find him, what are we meant to do? Can't you remember anything about it, when you felt his life force? Anything about the direction or anything else?"

"It was...strange, you know?" Chichiri frowned, rubbing his temples. "Doing this is starting to give me a headache, too. I'm stretching this as far as I can reach, but it's no good. For that instant, he was right here with me. Like he was where you're standing now. And then? Gone."

"Maybe he's hauntin' you, Chichiri." Tasuki laughed, raising his hands as he pulled a grotesque face in his friend's direction. "One last fling before he gets his new body. What do you think?"

"I think you oughta be careful your face doesn't stay like that." Chichiri shrugged his shoulders. He frowned, taking his kasa and glancing at it pensively. Then he nodded, making up his mind.

"I think the best idea would be to go to Taikyoku-zan, and ask Taiitsukun." He reflected. "Since Miaka went back, I've felt like there's no reason to go back there, not really, so I haven't tried to reach out my magic in that direction. But if this involves a Seishi, it might be that they can help. With that mirror of hers, maybe Taiitsukun knows where Nuriko is. That'd save us some time searching, and we might even discover why it was I felt his chi so strongly."

"So we are going into the hat, after all?" Tasuki asked. Chichiri nodded.

"Sure, if you want to come with me." He agreed, twirling it pensively between his fingers. "It seems like the simplest course of action to take."

"You promise me you're not going to drop me into a stream or land us up a tree or something by mistake, if I get into that thing?" Tasuki took a step closer, then hesitated, eying it warily. "I'm a mountain bandit, not a bird or a fish...and I know you and your landings."

"For a mountain Kashira, Tasuki, you can sure be a baby sometimes." Chichiri said crushingly. "Stay here, if you like. I can always go alone, you know?"

"Hey, I'm not a coward!" Tasuki reacted to this indignantly, appearing ever more the wolf as anger sparked in his bronze eyes. "I said I was coming, didn't I? So why are we wasting time - let's go already!"

"Fine." Chichiri grinned, tossing his hat in the air as he brought his fingers together, focusing his energy on Taikyoku-zan.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a blazing red light flared out of the hat, the force and suddenness of its flare knocking both men violently backwards. Tasuki stumbled, tripping over his own feet as he almost toppled off the rocky path completely, and Chichiri, who had gathered his wits a little more quickly, brought his hands together as he closed his eyes, muttering an incantation. There was another explosion of reddish light, then the hat fell like a rock to the ground, landing heavily against a boulder. Chichiri raised his finger to his cheek, feeling the cool wetness of fresh blood and he grimaced, wiping it away as he got to his feet.

"Tasuki?" He called. "Are you all right?"

"What the hell did you do?!" His friend emerged from the dent in the earth into which he had fallen, his clothes and hair thick with dust and leaf litter, and despite the situation, Chichiri found it difficult not to smile. "Chichiri, what the hell was that meant to be?!"

"Honestly, I don't know." The monk replied, retrieving his hat as he ran his fingers carefully over it, looking for any sign of damage. "But what it felt like...was that something was blocking our way."

"You think so, huh?" Tasuki retorted. "Then tell me this. Why did you end up more or less on your feet, while I wound up in a ditch, huh?"

"You need quicker reactions." Chichiri said calmly. "That's all. You're not hurt, are you?"

"No." Tasuki shook his head, running his fingers through his wild mane of hair as he rid it of stray leaves and twigs. "But that's not the point."

He frowned, eying his friend more carefully.

"You are, though. Now I look at you...your face is bleeding."

"I had to throw up a barrier of my own to counteract whatever it was that came out of the hat. It took me a little by surprise, that's all." Chichiri shrugged. "Just a scratch, nothing else - a stray stone that hit me before I had time to react."

He grinned.

"My face has enough scars on it already. Noone will notice if I get another one." He added evenly.

"But what the hell was that thing?" Tasuki gazed at the scorch mark in the ground, biting his lip as he moved towards it, kicking it hesitantly with his foot. "I mean, look at that. Are you saying that, if you hadn't made a barrier, we'd have been frittered worse than if I hit us with the tessen full blast? Is that what you're hinting at?"

"Maybe." Chichiri pursed his lips. "But it didn't happen, so it's not worth dwelling on it. More important is why it happened and why we couldn't get to Taikyoku-zan. Contrary to your belief in my transport skills, that's one place I never have any problem travelling. I spent three years there, training, remember? It's like home from home for me. But the door was firmly locked this time."

"Seishi keep out." Tasuki murmured, bending to rub the black ash between his fingers. "That's some security system. Do you think it's because Miaka's gone home? Can we not go there any more, because we're not Suzaku's warriors now or something?"

Chichiri came to stand beside him, spreading his hands out over the warm ground as he did so.

"We're still Suzaku's Seishi, Tasuki." He said quietly. "If we weren't..."

He paused, then reached out his left hand to grab his friend's right wrist, pushing back the sleeve of the bandit's heavy jacket. The character for 'wings' glittered brightly in the sunshine, and Tasuki frowned, understanding the implication in his friend's words.

"If we weren't, that'd have gone." He reflected. "But it ain't gone. So we're still Seishi. And yet we can't get to that stupid sand witch's mound of earth when we need her advice. More, she tried to fritter us? What's that about? Give me your hat, Chichiri, and focus on the place again. I'll send her some fire of my own to tell her what I think of her barricade!"

"Don't be stupid." Chichiri admonished. "We were lucky that time, you know? It could have hurt us. I'm not going to try it again - it's enough of a miracle my kasa wasn't charred to cinders, as well as either of us!"

"So what, then? What do we do now?" Tasuki demanded. "How are we meant to find Nuriko - if it was even Nuriko - and what's going on on that stupid mountain?"

Chichiri was silent for a moment, biting his lip.

"I can't find Taiitsukun's chi, either." He admitted. "I haven't tried, since she sent us back to Kounan...but now I am, and it's just not there. Nyan Nyan's either. Something's happened on Taikyoku-zan, that's beyond doubt...I don't like how this looks or how it feels, Tasuki. It's...sort of creepy, you know?"

"Yeah...I guess it is." Tasuki looked uncharacteristically sombre. "Do you think the old bag bought it, then?"

"Taiitsukun is the Emperor of the Heavens, Tasuki. I'm not sure that she can die quite so easily as that." Chichiri shook his head.

"Some Emperor." Tasuki snorted. "How do you explain the light in the hat, then? Was that Suzaku? It was red light, right?"

"It was." Chichiri admitted. "But it didn't...feel like Suzaku. It was more like...blood. Like...something was bleeding. Somewhere."

"Maybe it's not a good idea for you to spend so long climbin' mountains. You're starting to sound delusional and creepy yourself." Tasuki objected. "What do you mean, bleeding? That wasn't blood, it was light. Damn hot light, but light. Fire, maybe. But it wasn't blood."

"I know. Maybe I meant it metaphorically." Chichiri frowned. "But for an instant it seemed like the world was bleeding. That somehow, whatever I tapped into..."

He faltered, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"I'm sorry. I'm making no sense." He said, and there was frustration in his tones. "I wish I was."

"Well, so we can't get to Taikyoku-zan. Does that mean that something is going on, or can we just quietly ignore it and walk away?" Tasuki asked softly, and Chichiri realised that his friend's fingers had closed around the cold metal of the tessen, as if ready to repel a second attack. He opened his mouth to answer, then faltered, his eyes widening as a suffocating sensation washed over his entire body. He stumbled, and Tasuki let out an exclamation, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him roughly back to his feet.

"Are you okay?" The bandit's tones were laced with genuine concern, and Chichiri gathered his wits, nodding his head.

"Yes. I'm all right." He agreed. "It just took me off guard. That's all. Such a potent feeling...it hit a little too hard."

"What kind of feeling?"

"Nuriko." Chichiri's brows drew together. "And now I'm sure of it. Sure that something...something's terribly wrong with all of this. Taikyoku-zan, Taiitsukun, and Nuriko's chi. All of it - is connected. And I think...I think we have to do something about it, Tasuki. If we can even work out what that something is. Because for a moment there I had the sensation that this was the beginning of the end of everything - unless we can find a way to stall it."

"End of everything?" Tasuki stared. "Of Suzaku's Shichi Seishi? Of Kounan? Of what?"

"Of everything in this world." Chichiri said grimly. "Beginning with the rebirth of our friends, and spreading down to everything we see before us right now. I can't pitch Nuriko's location, but I did feel deep-rooted fear and anguish, when I picked up on his life signs. Something went wrong - and I'm afraid...we need to find him. I know he's up north - towards the border with Hokkan. That's all I know. But I think we should go there. As soon as we possibly can."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tasuki tapped the hat with the handle end of the tessen, raising an eyebrow. "Let's go."

"The hat and I, we're spent for the day." Chichiri admitted. "I used a lot of my strength warding off that light, Tasuki, and the kasa's suffered worse than I have. Right now I can't connect a spell to it, it just won't respond."

"Gr..e...e...at." Tasuki groaned. "Then what? We're walking all the way to Hokkan?"

"Not all the way to Hokkan." Chichiri shook his head. "But we should head to that city not far from here - what's it called again, Souun? And see if we can hire horses. By nightfall, my power might have restored itself and we can move more quickly. But I think we shouldn't hang around here and wait, whatever happens. We need to find Nuriko and put things to rights - before he crosses the line Hikou did and turns into some kind of tormented demon soul!"

-----

Once they were gone, a shaken figure emerged from her hiding place in the bushes, from where she had seen and heard everything that had passed between the two Seishi. She hesitated, brushing down her own clothing to rid it of the traces of the thick bushes amongst which she had concealed herself. Biting her lip, she moved across to the scorched patch of grass, bending to touch it with shaking fingers.

"Is this the work of a demon?" She whispered. "I heard Chichiri say it - something about a demon, and about needing to leave right away. Genrou - you're just here and you're off again - disappearing into the dust and I might not see you again. If this is truly that dangerous...what if you don't come back to Reikaku-zan this time? What if...?"

She frowned, then clenched her fists, making up her mind.

"I'm a bandit now, and I'm loyal to the Kashira, no matter what." She said resolutely. "And I'll keep my promise to Reirei, too. Genrou and Chichiri are the only Suzaku warriors left, now, and they may need help. I'll show Genrou that I'm more than just another girl washed up on the mountainside! I'll go with them to Souun - and somehow, I'll find a way to help them!"

Characters from the "Gaiden" novels...
Tamatama: A somewhat brawny transvestite (transsexual?) in Yukigase who befriended "Kourin" when she stayed in Yukigase and taught him tricks of the trade to conceal his true gender from prying eyes. (Yukiyasha Den)