Chapter Thirteen
"We've been travelling for more than a day and we're still only this far south."
Tamatama gazed discontentedly out of the window of the inn, eying the sparsely populated streets below with a mixture of resignation and disappointment. "I'm sorry, Kourin. I thought we'd make better progress than this."
"We're doing all right." Nuriko shrugged his shoulders, settling down on the bed as he adjusted the hem of his skirt. "And I thought we had an understanding, Tamatama – I'm not Kourin any more. Remember?"
"Oh. Yes." Tamatama turned, looking sheepish as he nodded his head. "I'm sorry. Force of habit. You look at me with that face and I can only see Kourin-chan looking back at me. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks – I'm trying to remember, I promise."
"All right." Mischief sparkled in Nuriko's eyes, and he nodded his head. "It's been a long day, anyhow, so I'll let you off this time. We've come quite far, really, considering. The last time I did this trip, I had to hitch most of the way and I'm pretty sure I didn't get a chance to spend a night somewhere like this – so don't worry too much about it. Saving the world can be put on hold a while longer – a girl needs her beauty sleep."
Tamatama laughed, leaning up against the wall as he regarded his friend in some amusement.
"You really have remembered everything now, haven't you?" He reflected. Nuriko nodded.
"I think so. I mean, I don't think there are gaps in my recollections, although if there are, stands to reason I won't remember they're there." He bantered impishly. "Yes, I'm all right now. Call it what you will, but I guess seeing Kourin was what I needed to spark me back to my senses."
"You really think she was there?" Tamatama asked softly. "This is a strange area, you know. We're not ten miles from Choukou, I heard the carriage driver say so when we arrived. That's why I thought we should sleep here, and not go further. That town has a strange reputation – all wrapped up in living dead walking through the graveyards at night and other like rumours. It could just be the influence of that, you know."
"Choukou." Nuriko looked pensive. "Now that's a place I haven't been in some time."
"You've been there?"
"Yes. I didn't realise it was so close." Nuriko nodded. "One of my Seishi brethren practiced medicine in the local area – or well, no, that's not strictly true. He'd given it up when we found him. But he was trained as a doctor and his powers were healing ones. The undead in Choukou weren't a myth, Tamatama, but a demon's work…but those have been laid to rest, now. Mitsukake saved the town using his Suzaku gifts, and everything settled down to normality."
"Not according to what the people were saying as we came through to our room." Tamatama frowned.
"I didn't hear anything?" Nuriko looked surprised. Tamatama snorted.
"That's because you were being flirted with by the man behind the bar." He said derisively. "Who thought he'd ply you with alcohol and then have his way with you, no doubt."
"Men are such idiots." Nuriko said with a chuckle. "But I suppose it was distracting. Listening to local gossip would've probably been more useful – you're saying that something's happening in Choukou again?"
"I don't know about again. I don't know enough about the first time to compare." Tamatama shrugged. "But I had no desire to spend the night in a town full of walking deadies."
"Yet you'll share a room here with me? Ironic." Nuriko snorted. Tamatama frowned, shaking his head.
"We've had this conversation. You're not dead, K…Nuriko, and so long as I'm with you, you won't be. I thought you'd given up on the suicidal thoughts, anyway – if you're feeling better, there's no need to dwell on such macabre delusions. You were having bad dreams, that's all…nothing else."
Nuriko was silent for a moment, contemplating. Then he raised sober dark eyes to his friend's irritated ones.
"No…that's not true." He admitted softly. "Tamatama, I am Nuriko. Nuriko of the Suzaku Shichi Seishi. I fell in Hokkan fighting against Ashitare, clearing the way for Suzaku no Miko to reach the Genbu Shinzahou. As a spirit, I followed her, and even used my abilities to help protect her and summon Suzaku a second time. But…that I died…that's beyond question. I know that I did. You can't change it…Nuriko is dead."
"Will you stop damn well saying that?" Tamatama hit his meaty fist down on the room's single wooden table, making his companion jump almost out of his skin at the sudden noise. "It's nonsense. You're here, aren't you? Explain that, if you're dead!"
"I can't." Nuriko admitted. "But I know what I remember, that's all. Besides, Kourin confirmed it. When she spoke to me – she told me that I was dead. That she was waiting for me to finish Suzaku's work, and then she'd come for me."
"Right." Tamatama got to his feet, resting his hands firmly on his friend's shoulders as he looked him in the eye. "Enough of this. You don't even know if the Kourin you saw was real or another hallucination. I wanted to let you think of her as real, because it's made you act so much more like yourself. But if all it's going to achieve is make you focus on death and whatever, I'm not going to have it. You're getting morbid and it's annoying me – you should be happy you're here, not worrying about people who are already dead and gone. Please, snap out of it. Whether you're Kourin, Nuriko or Ryuuen, I don't care. But you are not dead!"
Nuriko stared at his friend in consternation, registering for the first time tears on the bulky transvestite's lashes. He bit his lip, slowly shaking his head as he reached up to loosen Tamatama's grip.
"When we meet the other Seishi, you'll know that it's that way." He said gravely. "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't realise it would upset you, me talking about it like that. The truth is, I rather got used to being dead – to being a spirit, and protecting Miaka that way. I learnt to cope with it – and the fact that death isn't always the end. I'm resigned to the idea – accepting of it, almost. I suppose I didn't stop and think about how you'd feel – because we were friends before I even became Nuriko. And so you're not used…to the sacrifices a Seishi of Suzaku has to make."
Tamatama bit his lip.
"You're serious." He said softly, and Nuriko nodded.
"Listen." He said gently, taking his friend's hand and pulling him down beside him on the bed with a hefty tug. "It's nothing to be sad about. Really, it isn't. I've told you before – Chou Ryuuen died when Kourin got knocked down. I never really had a chance to know who he was…so it's silly to be sad over the fact he's gone."
"It doesn't matter to me whether you're Ryuuen or Kourin. Or if you're Nuriko." Tamatama repeated. "You're my friend, just as sure as you were when we first met three years ago. Of course it's going to upset me – even if you don't place any value on who you are, I do. Your name isn't important. Your constellation, that's irrelevant to me. You're basically saying that, from the moment Kourin died, you were a dead man walking. That you were just living out time, waiting to die too. And I know that's a lie. Even despite everything you'd been through when we first met, you were such a strong person – so full of life and energy and everything. Even if you were living under someone else's name – don't you realise that those traits a part of you? That's who Chou Ryuuen is, you idiot. I tried to tell you that three years ago and it's just the same now. That's why it's sad for me. You're not just a weapon crafted by Suzaku to live other people's lives and dreams for them – Kourin, Byakuren or this Miko you were born to protect. You exist just as sure as I do. And even if you're all right with this whole sacrificing yourself for Kounan rigmarole, I'm not. You're a person, not just a thing. And I liked that person. She had a hell of a lot to give the world, regardless of the red mark on her chest."
Nuriko's eyes opened wide with surprise, and Tamatama nodded his head.
"I don't want to call you Nuriko." He admitted. "If Nuriko is the reason you're willing to let go of your life."
Nuriko sighed.
"No." He said pensively. "It isn't that. I mean, I am settled with it. I accept it, because there's nothing else to do. I was already meant to be reborn once, but for some reason, I haven't been – and that must be because Nuriko is still needed. There's no other reason I can think of why this could have happened. But…I never lived my life as Ryuuen. And there is no going back. The truth is, my purpose in existing was fulfilled when I fought Ashitare. It was my own fault, in the end. I valued that life maybe more cheaply than I should have…I had no other purpose in my mind than to be Miaka's protector – even if it killed me. I thought I'd let go of Kourin, when I cut my hair, but I'd really just conveyed my regrets onto Suzaku no Miko. I couldn't abandon Miaka even after I died, because I couldn't let go of the big brother complex – that I had to find a little sister I could protect. I failed with Kourin, then Byakuren, and I gave everything for Miaka. I didn't consider myself or my existence in any of this."
He frowned, looking sober as he contemplated this fact.
"I never found out who Ryuuen was, and I paid for it with my life." He concluded. "If I had known – if I had had some other kind of sense of self – I might have fought harder. Held on longer. Survived the fight. But Ryuuen was already dead by then. I trampled him into the ground, if he even existed. Who knows? Maybe Kourin and I weren't so different. Maybe I was born this way – a girl at heart, if not in body. But you have to understand that it's not me being macabre or ghoulish, talking like this. Nor does it mean I've given up on life. Quite the opposite. I want to be reborn. I want to start afresh, and really learn and appreciate who I am, this time around. I was a coward in this life, always being someone else instead of facing my problems and being true to myself. So I'll never know whether Ryuuen was homosexual, or a transvestite, or any of those things for sure. But next time…next time I won't make the same mistakes. And that's why I want to do this. Not because I want to die – but because I want to live."
Tamatama was silent for a moment, digesting this.
"This will be the last time I get to see you then, won't it?" He asked quietly. "Kourin-chan."
Nuriko started, then slowly nodded his head.
"I'm afraid so." He agreed. "And I'm sorry. I really am. I've caused pain to my family, my friends – I'm sorry for those things. But I can't go back, even if I wanted to be Ryuuen again. I can only go forward. So for my sake, can you try and accept that? You've supported me so far – and it's helped me find my sense of purpose. Will you keep doing that, until we reach Eiyou?"
Tamatama nodded. He moved his heavily sleeved arm up to his face, and Nuriko was sure that he saw his friend dash away a stray tear. The Seishi grinned, pinching his companion playfully on the arm.
"Hey, but it doesn't mean it has to be a wake." He chided lightly. "I'm not gone yet. There's a little time, and I'm glad that I've had the chance to see you and speak to you again, before everything changes for good. Kourin said I had a lot of regrets, and it's true – I do. But this won't be one of them. You were a friend to me when I first went to Yukigase and you've been a friend to me this time around, too. So let's make the most of this little jaunt, okay?"
He winked.
"Then you can find Tenbun and tell him how you helped Suzaku's warriors save the world." He added. "Tell him the truth about me, if you like – although by now he's probably forgotten all about a young maiden named Kourin that he once thought he loved. But by helping me you're doing your bit for Kounan, too – think of it like that, if it helps."
"I'm not sure if it does." Tamatama owned, and Nuriko spread his hands.
"This body has enough life to pretend with, at least for the time being." He said pragmatically. "So don't look at me like that. We'll find Chichiri, find the others and save Kounan. That's what a Seishi does, and this time you'll get to see a little bit of why I value it so much – this connection I have to Suzaku and my fellow warriors. We'll worry about anything else after the fact...okay? After all, if we don't save Kounan, there'll be no life for any of us, reborn or otherwise."
"I suppose so." Tamatama nodded. He cast his friend a lingering look, and Nuriko saw the flicker of genuine regret in his dark eyes. Then he smiled, and the moment was gone.
"All right, then." He agreed. "Then sit still, and let me do something about the mess you call your hair. If this is your final fling, honey, we're going to make sure it's one to remember – no matter how many life-times you cross through!"
------------------
"Well, this place is just as creepy as I remember."
As the group of travellers gazed down onto the cloudy, murky city that was Choukou, Tasuki pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly. "I thought when Mitsukake blitzed Shouka he blitzed the spell over this town too – do you think he missed something?"
"Difficult to say, you know." Chichiri frowned, sniffing the air as he wrapped his kesa once more around his body. "But you're right – there's something funny in the atmosphere. I wonder if it's to do with our little missing Seishi problem – if I didn't know better, I'd say this was a definite negative energy hotspot."
"We have to go down there?" Anzu asked hesitantly, and Hotohori frowned, his fingers hovering over his sword hilt as he contemplated the situation.
"Chichiri, you, Tasuki and I should go, if any of us should." He said finally. "Aidou-san and Anzu would be better off not venturing in. My last experience with Choukou – if this is the same kind of miasma hanging over it – was that it was a dangerous place for anyone with or without Suzaku's powers."
"But Mitsukake is here, right?" Tasuki frowned. "Down there, in Choukou, or somewhere nearby. Just as he was before. We go in, find him, and he uses his powers to put it all right. Even if he's forgotten who he is, Chichiri, you can always cast a spell on him like you did on Hotohori-sama, right? And make him remember. So it should be okay – yes? We just need to find the guy."
"This whole town has the feel of death about it." Aidou said absently, and Tasuki shot her a confused look.
"What would you know about it?"
"It doesn't take the power of Suzaku to know when something's badly wrong." Aidou's response was crushing, as she sent him a dark look. "You only have to look at the place. The streets are empty. Noone's around. It's cloaked in strange mist even though the day's perfectly sunny. I'm just using my eyes, Shun'u. If you ask me, this town's been abandoned."
"No, it's not abandoned." Chichiri shook his head. "There are people here – I can sense their energy, down below. But you're not wrong, Aidou-san. There is that kind of a nuance here."
He shivered involuntarily, shaking his head.
"I can't pretend I like it." He said at length. "But we have to find Mitsukake. I have a bad feeling…we need to find him, as soon as we can."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tasuki grabbed the monk by the arm. "Let's go down there already."
Chichiri frowned, casting Anzu and then Aidou a glance.
"Hotohori-sama may be right…it might not be wise for us all to go." He said slowly.
"Well, so we leave the girls here, then?"
"I don't think we should split up." Aidou shook her head. "The town might have funny mist around it, but anyone could be lurking in the bushes waiting to rob us or worse. If you're going down there, Anzu and I are coming with you."
Chichiri sent her an uneasy look, but he nodded his head.
"All right." He agreed reticently. "I don't want to argue in this atmosphere, you know? If that's how it is, then we'll all go together."
For a while they walked in silence, as the outermost flank of Choukou's small, northern city walls drew nearer and nearer. As they reached the entrance of the town, however, Chichiri let out an exclamation, holding out his hands to pull both Tasuki and Hotohori back.
"No further." He said urgently, bringing his fingers up in front of his face as he cast a barrier around them. "It's worse here – the feeling…I don't think we should go any further. Not while it feels like this."
"But what about Mitsukake?" Tasuki looked bewildered. "Is he here?"
"Yes, I think so. It's muzzy, but I think it's him."
"So why are we staying outside like a bunch of cowards?" Tasuki demanded. "Chichiri, we came here to get Mitsukake, didn't we? So why aren't we going to get him?"
"I don't think entering the town is a good idea." Chichiri said carefully. "I've cast a barrier around us, and I think it will hold. But there's something very dark and evil lurking around this town. Something we should beware of. It's not just an unstable atmosphere causing the haze over this place – although I can imagine it's helped to feed it. We shouldn't go into Choukou. We'll have to find another way to bring Mitsukake out here."
"How, exactly?" Tasuki frowned. "Chichiri, you're not making any sense!"
Hotohori gazed out towards the town, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Maybe if I went and found Mitsukake?" He hazarded. "I am surely less prone to harm than you are, at least while I am in this form."
"We don't know that." Chichiri shook his head. "You've already been a victim of negative energy, Heika. You're not fully yourself, yet…I don't think it's a risk we can take. If you were to lose yourself again…"
He trailed off, and a shadow flickered in Hotohori's eyes.
"Point taken." He said softly. "I do not wish to become destructive to more innocent people…I have already done enough."
"So we're just going to sit here?" Tasuki raised an eyebrow. "On the off-chance that Mitsukake might come out, we're going to sit here and what, set up camp? Besiege the city? Huddle under your barrier for the next few days? I didn't think we had that kind of time…the way you were talkin' before, it sounded like this was somethin' we ought to be solving now."
"It is." Chichiri acknowledged. "But don't you feel it? It's all over this place – thick with darkness and sadness and negativity. It's not a safe place for anyone to linger…which may well be why the people of Choukou have taken to hiding in their homes. They're not willing to risk it either – if they're even able to escape it at all."
"Do you think this is connected to Mitsukake?" Hotohori asked softly. Chichiri shrugged.
"Maybe." He agreed. "But the atmosphere is too thick and cloying for me to get a clear fix on his movements. I'm pretty sure he's here – in or around Choukou. But that's as good as I can get."
"It's a pity you lost that damn cat of his, between leaving Taikyoku-zan and getting to our mountain." Tasuki reflected. "We could've sent it in instead, and let it sniff him out."
"Cat?" Aidou blinked, and Chichiri frowned.
"Tama." He agreed. "But it's as Tasuki said. He disappeared somewhere between us leaving Taikyoku-zan and our return to Reikaku-zan. I don't know where he went or what happened to him – but I suppose I assumed he'd gone to find the reborn Mitsukake. However, since Mitsukake hasn't been reborn, I guess I really have no idea where he went."
"Speak of the devil!" Tasuki let out an exclamation, grabbing Chichiri's sleeve and waving an excited hand in the direction of the Choukou city entrance. A lone figure had emerged from the darkened streets, and as he stepped into the brighter daylight of the surrounding landscape, Hotohori gasped.
"Mitsukake!" He breathed. "Do you think he sensed us coming, then? Was he drawn here by our presence after all?"
"Must've been." Tasuki grinned. "All right, that solves us a problem. Yo, Mitsukake – we've been looking for you!"
The tall, broad figure did not react, as if completely unaware of Tasuki's call, and the bandit frowned, folding his arms across his chest.
"Hey, you great big oaf, pay attention, will you?" He exclaimed. "Are you blind or something? We're talking to you!"
"Tasuki, wait." Chichiri held out a hand, but Tasuki was not listening, and he sauntered forwards, stepping outside of Chichiri's barrier before the monk could stop him.
"Tasuki, get back here!" Chichiri yelled, but Tasuki took no notice, loping across the uneven stony ground like a hunting wolf as he closed in on his prey.
"Snap out of it, will ya?" He demanded, marching up to the silent figure and grabbing him firmly by the arm, giving him a shake. "We've come looking for you…it's Tasuki and Chichiri and Hotohori-sama – your Seishi buddies! We need your help, so quit wasting your time around here, okay? For a start, my Pa's bust his leg, and then we have to put the sky back together…or somethin'."
The figure halted, staring at Tasuki blankly as if trying to work out what was going on. Tasuki groaned.
"Yeesh, are you even listening to me?" He snapped. "You're a doctor, and someone needs your help – dammit, that's all that's usually needed to get you to pay attention. Stop spacin' out on me, and get a grip, will you? We don't have time to waste."
"Tasuki, get away from him! Get back!" Chichiri's frantic voice pierced the air at this, a note of urgency in it, and Tasuki turned to cast his friend a bewildered look.
"You said we came for Mitsukake – Chichiri, I ain't leavin' him in a place like this. Not considerin' the state of this dump." He said categorically. "We need him, an' besides, being so near the place his girlfriend copped it's bound to be screwin' with his brain. He's one of us so he's comin' with us – besides, what are you so manic about? This is Mitsukake, right?"
"He is but he isn't. He isn't himself!" Chichiri bit his lip, a troubled look on his face. "Tasuki, I mean it – get back here! Let me handle Mitsukake – it isn't safe!"
At the sound of Chichiri's desperate shout, Mitsukake seemed to flinch slightly, as if he had heard the monk's words from deep within his strange, stupor-like state. He glanced at Tasuki, a strange, unreadable expression in his eyes, and then turned, moving back towards the city he had just left behind. Tasuki, paying no attention to Chichiri's urgent calls, let out a sigh of frustration, reaching out a brawny fist to haul his friend back.
"Look, I'm talking to you." He said firmly. "Didn't you hear a word of what I said, you dumb ape? Some friend you are, if you don't even remember your ol' buddy Tasuki when he's standing right in front of you. This is stupid, and we both know it. We're Seishi and that ain't changed, even if you are feelin' messed up inside. Jus' come with me already, okay? We'll help you figure it out – and we need your help."
A flicker of fear touched Mitsukake's glazed expression for a moment, and he took a faltering step back, eying Tasuki as if he were some kind of demon. As Tasuki made to physically drag him back towards Chichiri's barrier, he flung out his left hand as if to protect himself from harm. As his palm made contact with his companion's torso, there was a flare of red light and Tasuki went flying backwards, hitting the ground with a resounding thud.
"Genrou!" Anzu darted forwards, but Chichiri grabbed her by the arm, fixing her with a severe look.
"Stay where you are!" He snapped, his tones uncharacteristically harried and anxious.
"What the hell was that for?" Tasuki picked himself up, dusting his body down as he glared at the broad physician indignantly. "I don't wanna start blazin' my friends, but seriously, if you're gonna be a jerk about it…"
Mitsukake let out a murmur, his expression one of sudden alarm, and Tasuki frowned, as he caught the faint sound of his friend's fiancee's name.
"Shouka?" He repeated. "Shit, that again? She's dead, goddammit – will you let it go already?"
Mitsukake gazed down at his hand, genuine fear in his eyes as he clapped his right palm over his left. He cast Tasuki a troubled glance, and for an instant, Tasuki saw his friend's true self mirrored in the man's glassy eyes. Then he turned on his heel, fleeing into the city, and Tasuki swore softly under his breath.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" He demanded. "I was sure that he'd recognise me."
"Tasuki, get back here. Get back here right now!" Chichiri's voice made him turn, and as he did so, the monk's form hazed into view beside him, grabbing him firmly around the arms and dragging him away from the city gates. "We're going back. We're going back and we're getting out of this place. I can't keep holding the barrier indefinitely."
"You said that we should be able to find them and reach them, right? Like you did Hotohori?" Tasuki demanded, as the monk strengthened his spell, drawing them all away from the cursed town and re-materialising them on the banks of a fast-flowing river, some miles from Choukou's dull, misty atmosphere. "So what was that about? And now we're running away? Chichiri!"
"We're not running away. We're making a tactical withdrawal to work out plan B." Chichiri dropped down onto the grass with a sigh, rubbing his temples as he did so. "Tasuki, I told you not to break out of my barrier…We don't know what the situation is regarding Mitsukake at the moment, but it was a reckless thing to do."
"Why?" Tasuki protested. "Is it such a bad thing, not wanting to leave the guy there? He was freaking out big time anyway – maybe you didn't hear him, but I did – he was muttering to himself about Shouka. Stayin' in that place is just going to make him a worse basket-case than he already is – it's hurtin' him, dammit. What kind of friends are we to take off and jus' leave him there like that!"
"We didn't have a choice." Chichiri said wearily. "I told you something was wrong in that town. You should listen to me. We will go back – at least, I think we'll have to. But for now we need to regroup."
"Genrou, are you all right?" Anzu asked hesitantly, and Tasuki glanced at her, nodding his head.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, confused.
"He pushed you back…that red light…you fell." Anzu frowned. "I was just…you're not hurt?"
"Takes more than a little shove to hurt me, even coming from a hulk like Mitsukake." Tasuki sent her a wolfish smile. "Stop looking so pathetic, Anzu. I'm fine. I just fell, that's all."
Chichiri cast his friend a thoughtful, troubled look, but he made no remark. Instead he glanced up at the sky.
"I need to try and think of a way to break through to him. The way I did with Hotohori-sama." He said softly. "That atmosphere clogs my magic and makes any kind of spell difficult to weave – that's why we had to leave so abruptly. You might not have been affected, Tasuki-kun – but I think that ambience would have hurt Anzu and Aidou, if we'd remained there too much longer. They don't have Suzaku's power to cling to like we do – it was better to be safe than sorry."
"But we're still no further ahead, and now we know Mitsukake's in trouble but we're doing nothing about it." Tasuki hauled himself to his feet. "That ain't right, however you look at it. We should'a at least brought him with us."
"Perhaps." Chichiri pursed his lips. "I don't know. Right now, Tasuki, I really don't know."
"Where are we now, anyway?" Aidou glanced around her, spreading out her skirts on the ground as she made herself comfortable. "All this transferring and magic and everything – I don't even know which part of Kounan we're in now. Or if we're even in Kounan at all."
"We are." Chichiri confirmed. "We're about six miles south of Choukou – not too far from my old village. I thought it best to aim for safe territory – somewhere I knew well."
He stood, gesturing to the trees behind them.
"This used to be farmland, but after the Shouryuu flooded this land, it was abandoned as too high risk." He added. "This isn't the season for heavy rain, though, and the farm buildings are still here, even if they are a little bit derelict these days. They should be enough for us to use, if nothing else – while I try and work out what exactly we can do about Mitsukake."
"So this is the Shouryuu river?" Tasuki glanced at the flowing water, then back up at the monk. "The same river that your…?"
"Yes, Tasuki. The same one." Chichiri cut across him, his tones making it clear that he did not want to discuss the matter any further. "But like I said, even as fast as it's moving now, it won't flood today. It takes exceptional weather and a reverse tide to cause havoc and mayhem on the surrounding area…we're quite safe being here."
"And in a river like this there's bound to be fish." Aidou said matter-of-factly. "Where is this farm exactly, Chichiri-san? If it's really nearby, I'm sure Anzu and I can probably prepare something by way of lunch, and it will be nice to have a roof over our heads, even if it is in the form of an abandoned property."
"It's literally just beyond that line of trees. No more than two hundred yards, but it's hidden by the boughs." Chichiri said with a smile. "And that would be nice, if you girls don't mind."
"At least it's something productive to do." Aidou nodded, casting Anzu a meaningful glance. "Well? Are you coming, then? Or are you going to sit here and stare at Shun'u like you expect him to grow another leg or something?"
Anzu started out of her daze, reddening as she scrambled to her feet.
"I'll come." She said, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I was…miles away."
"I suppose this means you'll want me to hoick more creatures out of the water?" Chichiri asked, and Aidou eyed him for a moment, then shook her head.
"I'll manage myself." She said evenly. "You're not very good at killing fish, Chichiri-san. And besides, you said you wanted to focus on helping your friend. No, leave the food to us…it's probably a quicker option all round, if we want to eat at all."
With that she took Anzu by the arm, leading her off into the trees, and Tasuki smirked.
"You see, she's not all sweetness and light." He said frankly.
"Well, at least she's confident in what she can do." Chichiri shrugged. "She's probably right, too. I have no desire to kill any fish right at the moment – I'm too preoccupied with that town and Mitsukake's expression when he looked at you that last time. If she and Anzu can take care of our stomachs, I can put my mind to other things."
"It's times like this that we miss Nuriko." Hotohori reflected. "He was quite good at cooking, if I remember right."
"Nuriko." Chichiri's brow creased, and Tasuki shot him a sidelong glance.
"Something we should know about?" He asked. Chichiri hesitated, then shook his head.
"No." He admitted. "But then, right now, I can't feel Mitsukake, either. Even knowing exactly where he is, I can't pick him up. I guess my senses need a rest – for a second I did think Nuriko's chi brushed against my thoughts, but now it's gone again."
"Typical Nuriko. Always causin' twice as much trouble." Tasuki flopped back on the grass. "But you think you can cast somethin' over Mitsukake and get him to wake up?"
"Choukou's atmosphere saps my strength. If he were away from there, maybe – but whilst he's there, I don't know if I can reach him." Chichiri admitted. "I can guard against it all – the negativity and whatever else. But it takes more of my power to do it, so I have less for other things."
"And that's why we withdrew." Hotohori mused. "Tasuki, I'm relieved you weren't hurt. If poor Mitsukake is in anything like the kind of distress I was…it was fortunate indeed."
At this, Chichiri's gaze flitted back in Tasuki's direction, and his lips thinned for a moment, as if trying to work something out. Tasuki frowned, cocking his head on one side as he stared at his friend.
"What?" He demanded. "Why are you lookin' at me like that?"
"No reason." Chichiri shook his head. "Really. If you're all right, then it's fine. Like Hotohori-sama said – if you're not hurt, then it's a relief."
"I'm fine." Tasuki assured him. "A little flick from Mitsukake isn't going to hurt me, come on. From Nuriko, maybe, but I've survived my fair share of those in my time. Mitsukake wouldn't hurt a fly – he ran away from me, rather than try and fight me. You really do worry too much, sometimes – quit gawking at me like that and focus on a way to help him, instead. After all, right now we're still down to three Shichi Seishi…and you said yourself, we don't have time to lose!"