Chapter Three
"I'm still not happy about this."
Hikari cast Jin a doubtful look, biting her lip as her gaze flitted from his amused smile to the chestnut beast that stood patiently at the end of the leather thongs he held in his hand. "That's a horse, Jin - you know how I feel about getting onto one of those things. Isn't there another option? Can't we walk it? Or, you know, get a...whatever your equivalent is of a bus in this world?"
"A bus?" Shishi emerged from the stable at that moment, casting her friend a startled look. "What's one of those when it's at home, Hiki?"
"A form of transport that's not likely to bite you or give you fleas." Hikari sighed, casting the placid animal another hesitant look. "I really, really don't want to ride anything, you know - it's okay for you but I've never been on a horse before."
"Now's a good time to start, then." Shishi said pragmatically, offering her a playful grin. "Isn't that right, Jin? No time like the present to give it a shot, huh?"
"Shishi's right." Jin nodded, patting the neck of the horse absently as the beast whinnied, nuzzling at his waist as if hunting for some kind of treat. "Besides, this is the quietest horse on the mountain, I swear. All the kids learn to ride on her. Hell, even Shishi did, in the beginning. She won't buck or rear or bite you - she's not that kind of animal. Are you, girl?"
He cast the horse a grin, and the horse nickered in response, as if understanding the bandit's words.
"See, quite safe." Shishi leant up against the wall of the ramshackle wooden building. "Listen, Hiki...it's like this. We don't have a lot of time. We've spent the last few days hanging around here because Chichiri wanted to try and train your magic up some before we left. But we know that people from Kutou have already left to go to Sairou, right? So we're playin' catch up. Or we will be, if we ain't careful. You gotta get over this stupid sissy thing you have with horses. If we ride, we'll get through the mountains much more quickly."
"Not if I fall off and get trampled." Hikari chewed on her lip some more as she eyed the animal warily. "I can't get up there, and I'll fall right off. I don't know what I'm doing."
"Aren't there horses in your world, Hikari?" Jin looked startled, and Hikari nodded.
"Yes." She admitted. "But not many of them live in the centre of Tokyo. I'm sorry. I really...really don't think I can handle it. Even if it was shot full of ritalin, I don't think I'd stay on by myself."
"Ritalin?" Shishi's brows knitted. "Look, even if you haven't been on a horse before, we have to take some risks. Right? We have to get at least to the border by tonight. Hopefully beyond it. I've looked at Chichiri's map an' so has Jin. The mountains are kinda cold at night, an' barren, with wolves an' other wild creatures. You'll be glad of a horse, an' this Hengei town we're headin' for is goin' to be a few hours even ridin'."
Hikari shook her head slowly, and Jin pursed his lips, eying her keenly as he did so.
"We could compromise." He suggested at length, and Hikari shot him a startled look.
"Compromise?" She echoed suspiciously. "What do you mean, compromise?"
"Well, Shishi's right. We don't have time to trek through the mountains an' I don't want us to be campin' out in wild wolf country." Jin shrugged. "As she said, it ain't just wolves, neither. It ain't a safe place to be spendin' the night. So we have to go on horse-back - at least until we reach Hengei. We'll leave the creatures there an' walk it after that, if you like. But for this leg, we gotta. It's not an option...we gotta."
"So what do you suggest, then?" Hikari asked warily. "Jin..."
"You ride with me." Jin shrugged, spreading his hands. "I don't mind, an' when Shishi was small, I used to ride with her till she got her balance an' her bearings. It's not difficult an' I wouldn't let you fall off...I promise."
"Jin." Shishi raised an eyebrow, and much to Hikari's bemusement Jin shot the young lion cub a dark look, shaking his head firmly.
"Shut up, Shishi." He said frankly. "It's a solution to the problem. Well, Hikari? What about it? I've been ridin' since I was six or seven an' I ain't bad at it. You'll be safe enough, I promise."
"I..." Hikari faltered, eying the horse one last time. Then she sighed.
"There's no other way?"
"By horse is the fastest transport you'll get through the mountains, Hiki." Shishi reflected. "You want to get Byakko's Shinzahou, don't you?"
"Yes." Hikari took a deep breath, then, slowly, she nodded. "All...all right. I guess...I'll ride with you, Jin. So long as you swear not to let me go. I don't like the idea - they're so high up and unpredictable and I really don't want to be thrown off or bitten or trampled or stampeded or any of those things. But if you promise not to let that happen...I...I guess I...I'll do that."
"Hey, bandit's honour." Jin's eyes twinkled at this. "I promise, Hikari. Nothing'll happen to you."
Shishi snorted at this, and Jin sent her another pointed look.
"I already told you once to shut your trap." He said bluntly. "Go make yourself useful an' grab the travel bag, will you? We don't want to forget anythin', and now this is all decided, we gotta kit up an' get ready to go."
"You know, you sound like you're trying to be Kashira all of a sudden." Shishi reflected, and Jin cuffed her playfully across the top of her head.
"Stop it." He ordered. "I'm in charge on this trip. An' I ain't tryin' to sound like Kashira - but you know I'm right. The sooner we get to Sairou, the sooner we get back. Right? The sooner we get this treasure, the sooner we have a chance o' summoning Suzaku, the sooner all this is fixed. Okay? So wastin' time ain't on the agenda. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Shishi saluted sharply, offering him a cheeky smile as she darted off to do his bidding. Jin sighed, shaking his head slowly as he ran his fingers through his thick dark hair.
"Sometimes she's such a pain." He muttered.
"Have you guys had some kind of a fight or something?" Hikari asked curiously, and Jin looked startled.
"A fight? No. Why would you think that?"
"You keep telling her to shut up every ten seconds." Hikari shrugged. "And she seems to be laughing at you about something. I wondered. Did she beat you in a sword practice or something? Send you falling into a lake? You just both seem weird this morning. That's all."
"No, nothing like that." Jin looked sheepish, shaking his head. "Although you have a scary accurate impression of Shishi an' me already, you know that? No, I think it's jus' travel nerves. You know, this is a big deal for the both o' us. We're responsible for your safety - me especially. Kashira's trustin' me more than he ever has before, an' I hope I can live up to it, that's all."
"I think you can." Hikari offered him a smile. "I've seen you and Shishi practice with swords in the last few days, and I know that you're as good as people have said. Both of you. I think I'm safe with you."
"You haven't tried to wield Hotohori-sama's sword since Reizeitei-sama gave it to you yesterday." Jin observed, and Hikari shook her head.
"I'm afraid to hurt someone. Probably myself." She confessed. "It's just another thing I know nothing about."
"But the same applied to your Ma, right?" Jin reminded her. "An' didn't Chichiri-san say she'd wielded it against one o' Seiryuu's Seishi?"
"Yeah...but I'm not Mum." Hikari sighed. "She's impulsive and impetuous and she doesn't always think about things from that point of view. I mean, she dives right in, if someone is in trouble...and she wouldn't sit and doubt and worry about it like me. I'm not Suzaku no Miko, Jin. I'm just a vessel for some kind of magic that I can't even access or control most of the time. There's the difference. Mum was actually special. I'm just scared of horses, wolves and poisoned arrows. That's all."
"I don't agree, you know." Jin leant back against the wood frame of the stable, looping the horse's reins absently around the post as he gazed at her. "You've dived right in to help Chichiri-san an' Meikyo so far. I think you sound pretty much as strong as Suzaku no Miko to me. An' even if you ain't her - noone wants you to be, you know. You're Suzaku no Shinzahou an' you're goin' to help us save Kounan."
"But to do that, I guess I have to find a way to be Suzaku no Miko." Hikari admitted. "And that's hard. Mum must have been really, really resolved to do it...that's where we differ. I'm afraid of a lot of things, and it's not really me who does those things. I didn't save Chichiri or Meikyo. Suzaku did. He used me, but it was him, not me. I told you, it's like something else inside of me, telling me how to act...making it impossible not to. It's not Sukunami Hikari. Sukunami Hikari is a coward who's not much good at anything. If I didn't have Suzaku inside of me, I'd be useless to you right now, too."
"Hey, snap out of it." Jin grinned, giving her a little shake. "I don't believe that an' neither should you. We gotta have faith in this, right? When it boils down to it, Hikari, I'm jus' a bandit. Nowt special. The spawn of some whore an' God knows who. Shishi's the daughter of a Seishi, but she ain't a Seishi herself. She's a bandit too, but she ain't blessed. But the both of us, we'll do what we have to do to help find this, for Kounan's sake. Ain't you gonna hoe in an' do that too? Or are you gonna give up before we leave? Because that don't sound like the Hikari we're gettin' to know."
"I'm really confused about who Hikari is at the moment." Hikari confessed. "But when you put it like that, I guess you're right. Sorry, Jin. I didn't mean to sound so defeatist."
She offered a faint smile.
"It must be the thought of getting on the horse." She added, and Jin laughed.
"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it, and I won't let you get hurt." He assured her. "You can trust me, I told you."
"I know. I do trust you. Both you and Shishi. It's me I'm not sure of." Hikari shrugged. "But I guess...when we were in Hokkan, I did sense where the Shinzahou was. I was drawn to it - and to Koutaku-san and his family because of it. Maybe it'll be the same in Sairou. Maybe I can be a Shinzahou detector, while you guys worry about how we're getting from A to B."
"That's more like it." Jin patted her on the shoulder, nodding his head. "Right. We're a team...that means we don't all have the same tasks. It'll be fine, you know. We'll find Toroki, sweet-talk her, and come home. Simple as that. No problem. Right?"
"Right." Hikari echoed doubtfully, then she caught his eye, and laughed. "Okay, I'll try and make that sound a little more convinced. Right. We'll do this. Fleas and horses aside...we will."
"We will." Jin echoed, and for a moment Hikari thought she could see a faint flicker of apprehension in his tones. Then it was gone, as he gathered himself, nodding his head. "Right. When Shishi gets back, we'll kit up the horses an' then we'll go. I want to get past the trickiest tracks before it gets too late in the afternoon, an' Chichiri reckons we can make it to Hengei by nightfall. I wanna prove him right."
"I wonder what Sairou is going to be like." Hikari frowned, and for a moment a shiver touched her spine as she remembered Taiitsukun's words about Amefuri.
"Are you cold?" Jin shot her a startled look, and she glanced up at him, shaking her head.
"No. I'm fine." She responded. "Just thinking. That's all."
"Well, don't spook yourself with worryin' about what's to come, okay?" Jin winked at her. "It'll be all right. Shishi an' me, we'll take care of you. I promise."
----------
"You have no idea how good it is to have my feet on dry land again."
Maichu gazed across the uneven skyline of the Sairou port with a smile of relief, folding his hands across his chest as he did so. "Aoi, I swear, if I ever have to get on a boat again it will be too soon."
"I still think you're a wimp." Aoiketsu said unsympathetically. "Most of the others got over themselves after a day or so - you shut yourself in the cabin pretty much the whole way, like some helpless baby. I never knew you were such a weakling, Maichu."
"Shut your face." Maichu glared at him. "Now you know what it's like to have you as a training partner - when you about chuck up your guts at the first sign of blood."
"The difference being?"
"Soldiers don't need to get on boats to fight their battles." Maichu said frankly. "But it's a bit of a shitty habit, if you can't fight for fear of a little gore."
"With any luck, Maichu, we won't be experiencing any gore on this trip." Hyoushin's soft, measured tones broke through the soldiers' banter and both men turned to face their commander, sheepish expressions on their faces. At their glance, Hyoushin smiled slightly, nodding his head.
"We are here to retrieve the Shinzahou belonging to Byakko." He said quietly. "And we have been charged with preserving the life of the one who guards it. This is very important...there is to be no gratuitous violence towards the people of Sairou. Your Emperor does not wish to start a war with the Western lands."
"Yes sir." Aoiketsu nodded. "We'll be careful."
"I don't like this place." At that moment, Suiko emerged from the ship that still bobbed lazily in the calm waters of the dock. "It's dry and full of dust and sand."
"Well, it is Sairou." Maichu reflected. "They're kind of famous for dust and sand, Suiko-sama."
"And I'm a water-mage." Suiko pouted, hopping neatly down onto the ground beside them as she did so, her unusual azure waves of hair flittering in the wind. "I belong in Kutou. I'm not designed to trek through nasty places like this."
"The Emperor's order is an order." Hyoushin said impassively. "Where is Miramu? We can't leave without our guide, and I'd rather keep him well in our sight."
"Your trust in me is a great comfort." Miramu's voice came from behind them and they turned, seeing the assassin standing watching them with a rueful smile on his face. "But you needn't worry. I'm right here, Hyoushin. I haven't run off into the scrubland just yet."
"Where did you come from?" Aoiketsu demanded. "You weren't with us a minute ago!"
"On the contrary, Aoiketsu, I have been here all the time." Miramu shook his head, tut-tutting. "Your observation skills are poor for a man who professes to be a soldier. And I had heard you were better than that - you surprise me."
"If you had been here, I would have seen you." Aoiketsu shook his head, and Miramu chuckled.
"I heard you and your friend here discussing the joys of seasickness and battle." He said lightly. "Hyoushin, perhaps it would be a good idea to teach your men a better awareness of potential enemies? You never know when they might face an ambush - and I am supposed to put my faith in these people for my protection as we move through Sairou?"
"Is he coming with us, Hyoushin?" Before Aoiketsu could respond, Suiko cast Hyoushin a quizzical look, looping her arms around the Meihi's shoulders as she spoke. "I don't like him. He's creepy and he belongs to this horrible, dusty land. I don't like him at all."
"This mission is not about liking." A flicker of irritation flared in Hyoushin's amethyst eyes and he grasped the mage loosely around the wrist, disentangling himself from her casual embrace. "And you are here as we all are to complete Kintsusei-sama's mission. Or have you forgotten that you swore fealty to him when he and Kikei rose you from the flame, Suiko? Remember who possesses Seiryuu's Shinzahou."
"You're so mean." Suiko sighed, shaking her head as she shot him a reproachful look. "Cold, just like the North."
"What is this place anyway, Commander?" Aoiketsu gazed across at the narrow network of streets and alleys that he could see leading into the busy, bustling trader's dock. "A merchant port? Something like that?"
"Yes." Hyoushin confirmed. "A place called Kaidou, I believe...Sairou's principle trading port."
"You have done your research." Miramu's eyes glittered with amusement and he nodded. "Yes. This is Kaidou. And since your Emperor had the foresight to conceal this ship of yours as a merchant trading ship, noone will be at all surprised. This town is always full of strangers - foreigners - and they don't bother to check identification or papers on any of the import gates. Sairou is, after all, under Byakko's protection."
He snorted derisively.
"Such a premise makes men foolish and careless." He added. "But it suits our purpose. Noone will question our movements."
He cast Suiko a sidelong glance.
"Although that one should maybe cover her face." He added. "Because even you look more like a normal human being than she does, Hyoushin. Even in this land of peace - it may be hard to explain why you have a witch in accompaniment."
"I am not a witch, I'm a mage, you rude man!" Suiko reacted to this, anger flickering in her strange sapphire eyes as she twitched her fingers together. "And I'll show you exactly what you're messing with, if you continue to be mean to me!"
"Suiko." Hyoushin held up his hands, shaking his head. "Repulsive as the man may be, we will not fight with Miramu on this trip. He has been charged as we have, with obtaining Byakko's treasure. And unfortunately we need his help."
Miramu chuckled.
"I'm sorry, Lady of the East." He said mockingly, bowing his head towards her. "We'll have to save our confrontation for another day. I don't think even the people of Kaidou would overlook a sudden and random flood of their town, now do you?"
Suiko's eyes glittered for a moment, then she tossed her head, turning and flouncing back towards Hyoushin.
"He's so mean to me." She protested. "Why did we have to bring him along?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to send Miramu a poisonous glare.
"He's Byakko's refuse. That's all." She said darkly. "Even the Tiger of the West doesn't want him - we don't need a rogue like him."
At her words, Aoiketsu registered a faint glimmer of something strange in the assassin's gaze, and he frowned, his brows knitting thoughtfully as he tried to work out what in the mage's petulant outburst had caused Miramu to react.
"Does he care more about this land than we think?" He wondered. "Is he a spy? Is he someone we can trust? He's such a strange man...he makes me uneasy."
"Are we going straight ahead, Hyoushin-sama, or are we stopping for food first?" Maichu asked hopefully. "I've barely eaten anything for the past week and I'm starving."
"We have time to take a short break." Hyoushin sent Suiko a wary glance, then nodded his head. "We will have some time trekking through desert land once we pass through Kaidou, and we should replenish our supplies and lay our plans. According to the map, it may be a further day's ride to the next town - and we do not want to be caught without water or food on such a journey."
"So. We're going to Eiroku, are we?" Miramu's lips twitched into an amused smile. "That will be interesting."
"That was the plan." Hyoushin glanced at him. "Why? Is there some reason we should not take that route? You did indicate that we needed to head into the desert proper - am I mistaken?"
"No. Eiroku is the best place to travel to." Miramu shook his head. "It's right on our path. It's just a place that holds certain memories for me, that's all. I haven't been there for some time - it will be nice to see it again."
Hyoushin's eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to work out the meaning in the assassin's words, but at length he shrugged, spreading his hands.
"Then we will find somewhere to stay in Kaidou, and we will gather resources." He said softly. "Does everyone understand? We are to attract as little unwanted attention as possible. Do not give yourselves away as members of Kutou's military guard...we do not wish anyone to think we're here on an errand of aggression."
"Are we keeping our swords, sir?" Aoiketsu asked, and Hyoushin nodded.
"It would be foolish to be in a strange land without them." He confirmed. "But act with caution and discretion."
He turned, glancing at Miramu.
"You know this town, Miramu?"
"Yes, somewhat." Miramu nodded. "I spent a few days here once, before I travelled to Kutou."
"Then you must have some idea of somewhere we can stay in safety?"
"If that's what you want." Miramu agreed. "I won't pretend it wouldn't be nice to rest for a while in familiar ground."
"Then we will divide." Hyoushin decided. "Kayu, I want you and Aoiketsu to accompany Miramu and find accomodation. Kayu will report when such suitable accomodation has been found. Maichu, you and the rest of the men will accompany myself to secure resources and arrange for the hiring of horses to ride out into the desert lands first thing in the morning. Is this understood?"
"Yes sir." Maichu saluted, nodding his head.
"Aoiketsu?" Hyoushin pressed, and Aoiketsu sent the assassin a doubtful glance, but nodded, echoing his friend's salute.
"Yes, sir." He agreed. "We'll do that."
"What about me, Hyoushin?" Suiko asked softly, sending him a reproachful glance. "Are you going to abandon a pretty young woman here all by herself?"
"You said you didn't wish to be among the dust and desert, didn't you?" Hyoushin eyed her impassively. "So stay with the boat. Play with the sea until we return."
"Stop being so mean to me." Suiko glared at him. "I'm Seiryuu's mage, not just someone you can push around, you know! I follow the orders of Lord Kintsusei, not..."
"My word is the word of the Emperor. I am his voice on this trip and the orders I give are the orders given to me." Hyoushin cut across her quietly. "If you are truly here to help us, Suiko, you will do as you're bidden."
"That told her." Maichu muttered, and Aoiketsu smiled slightly, a rueful look touching his seiran eyes as he nodded his head.
Suiko's eyes widened at Hyoushin's tone, and for a moment, it almost looked like she might lose her temper and fling the waves that lapped against the pier up over the side of the walkway. Then she seemed to relax, spreading her hands as she tilted her head on one side, letting out a peal of ethereal laughter.
"You are as cold as ice, man of the North." She murmured. "Dead to everything, even Seiryuu's mage. But I still like you. You who are the voice of the Emperor in all things...yes, I like you. And if you are the Emperor's voice, I will do as you command me."
Before anyone could react, she had darted across the dock, flinging her arms around the unsuspecting Meihi and taking him completely off guard as she eyed him coquettishly.
"Ice and water are not so different, Hyoushin-sama." She whispered. "And I can manipulate all water. Do you truly think I can't manipulate you, too?"
"Let go of me." Hyoushin gathered his wits, pushing her back as the soldiers looked on, wide-eyed. "If you intend on following my commands, then do as you're told and stay here. We don't need a water witch to complete this part of our mission. And you are conspicuous, as Miramu rightly says. You will be safer here at the dock with the ship. Protect it. Do not let anyone not of this party board it. That is your task. Will you accept it?"
"Since it's you that's asking." Suiko said playfully, saluting him flippantly as she nodded her head. "Hyoushin-sama."
Hyoushin sighed, and Aoiketsu could see a mixture of wariness and annoyance in his amethyst eyes. Then, in an instant, it was gone, and he was once more the composed, regimented Commander.
"Then we will reassemble back here when the sun is highest in the sky." He said softly. "Once we have accomodation, we will plot our route across the Western lands to the Shinzahou, so do not waste time with unecessary endeavours. We are none of us here for our own pleasure, after all. This is for Kutou's benefit - keep that in mind and I will see you back here as soon as possible!"