Hey everyone! Like I said I'd update again soon. Don't you just love summer? Anyways I hope you liked the last chapter. This one should explain most of what happened in the last. I'm not that great with writing this random stuff in the beginning so without hesitation, here is chapter 7! And if I need to remind anyone… I don't own Fushigi Yuugi!
Recap of Chapter 6:
'Miaka turned to look at what had caused the man's sudden death and found herself face to face with a HUGE, dark, outline of a man. As her eyes traveled down to his hand and caught sight of a large knife drenched in fresh blood, Miaka noticed that her eyesight was continuing fade away. She looked up once more to see the large, darkened, shadow, but before she could study his face she felt a surge of dizzy spells swarm her head and her entire world went black.
The last thing she sensed were a pair of warm, comforting, arms catching her fall.'
--Chapter 7: To Live for Someone--
"Miaka no da! Wake up!" Chichiri shook the fragile girl that had gone limp in his arms more than five minutes ago.
"Common Miaka, we've got to hurry no da!" Chichiri tried yelling louder, hoping that the noise might stir the girl into consciousness again.
-o0o-
Voices echoed loudly in her head as she maneuvered herself through a sea of darkness. 'Where the hell am I?' Miaka waved the black fog away from her eyes, hoping to finally be able to see something but she was greeted with another wave of it.
"Miaka!" the voice echoed louder this time.
Miaka recognized the high-pitched voice and frantically looked around. "Chichiri? Where are you?!"
When she went to look in the other direction a cold, wet sensation washed over her body and the black fog began to disperse. She felt water begin to fill her mouth and acted quickly on impulse; she coughed and spit it right back up.
Slowly she opened her eyes to find where the water had come from but jolted up when she realized she could see again. Looming over her was a concerned, and very wet Chichiri. She wondered how he had gotten wet all of the sudden but answered herself when she realized how she had gotten rid of the water in her mouth a few moments ago. A cherry red blush swept across her cheeks as she slowly began to sit up.
"Gomen Chichiri!" she apologized profusely. "I didn't mean to!"
"It's ok, ya know?" Chichiri waved a metal bucket of water in front of her. "I was trying to wake you. Daijoubu?"
"Hai. I think." She answered, messaging her swollen throat. Miaka recoiled, remembering everything that had just happened to her and her fellow traveler. What about the mysterious shadow-man? Had he been the one to save her? She glanced around looking for the large dark shadow she had seen moments before passing out. Her eyes found their target when they met with the large and no longer darkened figure of a man standing behind Chichiri's knelt over form.
"Who-who is that?" Miaka asked cautiously to Chichiri as she pointed to the intimidating man behind them.
"I'm just a bystander who happened to have a knife." A monotone voice replied to her question.
Miaka observed the strange man behind her as Chichiri lent her his hand, gently pulling her to one foot. Gnarly black hair covered most of his hardened face. His jawbone had a strong setting but the messy stubble hid most of it. He wore dirty, tattered rags that hung loosely on his built figure. In addition to that he wore a separate cloth as a bandana around his forehead.
"I-uh-thank you. You were the one to save me right?" Miaka asked curiously even though most of the evidence she had seen pointed right to the answer.
"If you call it that then sure. I was just trying to get rid of the commotion in my forest. You have no business here anymore; now would be a good time to leave." The tall man sent the two a warning glance, turned, and walked back into the depths of the forest. Both Miaka and Chichiri stood there, dumbfounded at the man's aloofness. Miaka watched as he began to disappear from her sight, getting smaller and smaller. Was he the one they were looking for? Could he know where Mitsukake was? If he did, then she was letting go of the only option to Genro's health.
"Matte!" she yelled after the man, hobbling as fast as she could in the direction he had disappeared. The pain in her right ankle sent her crashing towards the ground, only to find herself situated in Chihiri's arms once again.
"Arigatou, Chichiri" She sent him a grateful look and he returned it with an understanding one.
"No problem, ya know?" He picked her up, carrying her frail body in his arms. Miaka was naive to this extreme kindness. She had just met him yet he was already willingly able to protect her in any means possible. Even though she knew she shouldn't be so easily trusting, she felt completely safe in his arms, a feeling she had craved for quite some time. In addition to this, she realized she knew nothing about him; especially the odd power of his. Watching him use it always made her re-think whether she was dreaming or not.
Within a couple seconds she found herself already situated on Chaos' back once again. Chichiri climbed on behind her, taking hold of the stallion's reins. "Yah!" He let out a startling shout, causing Chaos to react just how he had expected; to start galloping after the mysterious man.
It didn't take them long to reach the end of the path which led straight to a small cottage on the edge of the forest. By the looks of it the house had not been taken care of in several years. Several shingles seemed to be missing from the already bent-in roof. The shutters to the four windows were either hanging loosely on one hinge or not there at all. Kudzu grew ominously over every single one of the walls, as if trying to swallow the tiny house.
"Chihiri, are you sure we went the right way?" Miaka asked, believing it impossible that anyone could possibly be living in the tiny shack of a house.
"I don't know. Let's go check it out, you know?" Chichiri hopped gracefully off of Chaos' large body and extended his arms out to Miaka. She grasped his shoulders as he lifted her from under her arms, resting her tenderly on the ground beside him. "You can lean on me, you know." Chichiri ducked his head, allowing her to swing her arm around his neck for support.
Miaka blushed furiously at all the attention he was giving her. Why couldn't men in her own time be as much of a gentleman as Chichiri was? "Arigatou." It was a weak reply, almost mumbled but it was still audible enough for Chichiri.
The two cautiously approached the seemingly abandoned cottage with all their senses attentive for any oncoming enemies. As they approached the door, which was slightly cracked open, Miaka noticed that it was completely pitch black in exception to a single hint of light coming from the depths of the house. Slowly Chichiri lengthened his scepter in order to creak the door open for their entrance. Miaka gulped down any sense of fear she had, trying her best to regain her composure.
When Chichiri sensed no evil aura inside he motioned to her with his hand, beckoning her to follow him. Slowly she hobbled a couple steps inside to be greeted by a thick, cool, dampness.
"I warned you the first time, get the hell out of my forest. I won't say it again." Both Miaka and Chichiri jumped at the sudden break of silence coming from the farthest corner of the house. It was the same deep voice that the large man they had met earlier had used; only this time with a darker tone that sent shivers down Miaka's spine.
Suddenly a large source of light illuminated the room, giving the three people a perfect view of what was happening. Chichiri raised the metal pole high in the air so that light reached every part of the tiny house.
Miaka finally caught sight of the man sulking in the corner, yet she had not prepared herself for what she would see next to him.
She let a small gasp when she watched the man stroke his large hand gingerly over a motionless body in the bed next to his chair. The woman lying in the bed could not have been more picturesque. She had long, honey colored hair that draped elegantly across the bed. Even with her heavily lashed eyes closed Miaka could sense their roundedness. Only one thing looked somewhat odd about the gorgeous woman lying on the bed. Her skin was porcelain white, as if she had been painted like a delicate china doll. That's when Miaka realized one important factor; the woman was not breathing.
'What in the world?' Miaka was speechless, unsure of the scene before her.
"Um, gomen, sir, but is…." Miaka began to weakly mumble out only to be cut short.
"My name is Myoujuan. Not Mitsukake. He left several months ago. Now, before I have to force you by violence, please leave." The man looked up to Miaka with cold, emotionless eyes for only a few seconds and then reverted his gaze back to the deceased woman.
"H-Hai" Miaka responded turning to leave. Chichiri stopped her short however, sensing that there was something they were missing.
"Where did he go?" Chichiri asked politely.
"He left his soul with his wife" the man replied, clenching his fists into tight balls.
Miaka suddenly became very intrigued by the strangers words. At first she wasn't sure what he meant but then she realized the hidden meaning behind his expression. Thank god for all the poem interpretation she had been doing in school lately!
Miaka slowly took a small limping step towards the stranger sitting beside the bed. It all made sense now as she watched him graze his palm against the lifeless woman's cheek and stare at her with a painful amount of angst.
"And what of his powers?" Miaka asked boldly as she watched Myoujuan's reactions vigilantly.
Myoujuan sent her an insufferable glare and his fists began to dangerously shake. "They died when he could not cure the one he loved."
Miaka took a deep breath knowing full well that Chichiri would most likely scold her at what she was about to do, but for some reason it just seemed right. Slowly she limped up towards the bed, still leaving some space between her and Myoujuan. She observed the beautiful woman who lay before her. Immediately Miaka felt the atmosphere change to one of the utmost peace.
"Your wife; she looks very peaceful…What if it wasn't your fault?" Miaka purposely avoided his glare, unsure of how he would take her bold words.
Unexpectedly she heard the crash of a large wooden object; maybe a chair? Immediately following she felt a large muscled arm grab her from behind and press a cold slick metal against her throat. Miaka realized it to be none other than a knife when she felt the sharp edge press perilously across the soft skin of her neck, threatening to cut it open.
"Miaka!" Chichiri ran towards her, his scepter ready at hand. He was cut short however when Myoujuan took a step back protectively. "Make one move and she dies, monk."
Chichiri's thoughts raced as he thought of a spell to temporarily freeze the large man's body.
"You don't know what it's like to live for only one person and watch them live miserably and yet you can't do anything for them. Even so I couldn't cure her." Myoujuan growled in Miaka's ear, annunciating each and every syllable.
Miaka suddenly heard Chichiri's quiet mumbling of a spell. Wasn't there another way?
"Chichiri, stop." Miaka then directed her voice to Myoujuan. "I do. My father left my mother and I when I was very young, taking all of our money with him. My mother had to quickly find a job in order to support what little we had. Many nights we went without food. Everyday, I watched her walk miserably into the house, physically and emotionally fatigued. I told myself that I would be the best at everything and then maybe she wouldn't be so miserable. But even after being the top student in school she didn't change. Even now I see her and it seems that slowly she is losing her life. I would much rather watch my mother die peacefully than live lifelessly and miserably." Miaka choked on the tears that had sprung in her eyes several sentences ago.
Chichiri watched in astonishment as Myoujuan's knife hand began to tremble. His face was no longer one of rage, yet it was one of shock and realization.
"I could have stopped it, I could have saved the one person I lived for." He mumbled more softly this time.
"Everyone has their time set for them. As for the rest of us we have to keep fighting for others. Other people that need us or people that we care about. I have finally found someone who needs my help; actually mainly yours. If I can't bring you back to him I will have lost the fight for his life." Miaka took a deep breath, putting her revealing words behind her. "Please help me, and live for someone again. I know you're a caring person, otherwise you would have killed me several minutes ago; Mitsukake"
Miaka felt the arm and knife gripping at her throat begin to tremble and loosen. The clanking of the knife hitting the floor echoed throughout the tiny house. A long silence filled the cottage. Mitsukake wordlessly looked back at his wife softly taking her hand in his. "For you." he whispered to her.
He turned back to Miaka, his eyes glazed over with a thin layer of water. "I'll help you"
Immediately, the atmosphere of the room changed from one of grief to one of hope and excitement. Without even thinking, Miaka lunged herself at Mitsukake's large form, embracing as much of his body as she could. "Arigatou! Arigatou!"
"I don't mean to break the moment but if your friend is as hurt as you say he is Miaka, we need to hurry back, you know?" Chichiri now stood in front of the two, no longer in a tensed position as he had been only minutes ago.
"He's not my fr-…agh forget it lets just go." Miaka began to painfully hobble towards the door of the house.
"It looks like I've got more than one person to heal." Mitsukake observed as he watched the girl attempt to get to the door.
"Matte!" Chichiri yelled after her. "I only knocked those assassins unconscious earlier which means they'll be waiting for us on the way back. Go through here; it'll take you right to him." Chichiri waved his pointed farmers hat at her.
"Go through where?" Miaka looked to see where he had pointed with his hat. How could any one escape route take them straight to Genro?
"My hat, no da!" Chichiri held it in front of her so she could see its bottomless depths.
"You're out of your mind. A fan that shoots out fire is one thing. But now a hat that transports? Besides, what am I going to do with Chaos?" Miaka, irritated, motioned to the direction in which they had tied the stallion up.
"I'll meet you there in a couple of hours with him. Trust me on this, no da! You and Mitsukake go through here. I can take care of the assassins." Chichiri walked closer to Miaka holding his large hat in front of her body.
"Chichiri…" Miaka bit her lip in frustration. If Chichiri was wounded on the way back she would never forgive herself. He did seem to have quite the advantage over everyone else though. How would he know where to find her?
"Go to Mount Reikaku and look for the bandit hideout." She flashed Chichiri a smile.
Without giving her a chance to revoke the idea, Mitsukake carefully picked her up in his arms and dove into the pitch-black depths of the hat.
-o0o-
"AHHH!" Miaka screamed as they slowly descended, her eyes squeezed shut.
"Miaka, I think we're here." Mitsukake nudged her, willing her to open her eyes.
As soon as she opened her eyes she was met with two unhappy emerald ones.
"Where tha hell did ya come from?! And who tha fuck is this?" Kouji roared.
Mitsukake gently placed Miaka back on the ground in order for her to talk to the ill-tempered man. "Kouji, this is Mitsukake."
"Wha-how did you, but, aw damnit screw tha questions. Please, just heal tha damn man. He's startin ta scare me." Kouji lifted his hand toward the motionless man in the bed across the room.
Miaka gasped at the sight. Sweat poured down Genro's ashen face. His lips were left half open as if he could not keep them shut on his own. The evidence of his breathing was much more subtle than it had been when she had left. Unnoticed to her, her feet had already found themselves at the side of Genro's bed, Mitsukake hot on her heels.
He quietly observed the deathly ill man lying before him. "Poison." He murmured. "He's barely even got a pulse." Mitsukake held two fingers against Genro's throat.
"Can you help him?" Miaka grit her teeth, ready for an unfortunate blow. That devastating blow however, never came.
"Hai, I can." Mitsukake replied as he knelt down and began to hold out his left hand.
Miaka watched as his hand began to glow a warm red light. A Chinese symbol flashed on his left palm, glowing an intense crimson color. The light began to leave his hand and engulf Genro's body. The air around the four became still as Mitsukake extended his healing powers towards the fire-headed bandit. Within a few seconds the light began to fade and Mitsukake dropped his arm, exhausted.
Miaka took in a sharp breath. 'That power looked like Chichiri's…'
"I can only heal once a day so I wont be able to fix your wrist or ankle until tomorrow" Mitsukake turned to Miaka, hoping she could sleep through the pain later that night.
"I'm fine, don't worry. Is he ok?" Miaka motioned back towards the man who had taken an arrow for her.
"He should wake soon" Mitsukake stood up and began walking towards the door of the room.
"Matte!" Miaka called after him. "Where will you go now?"
"Wherever you go. For now you are someone I can live for. I'm just going to go find some medical wrap for you." Mitsukake sent her a weak smile, which Miaka immediately returned.
"I never thought I'd be sayin' this but, thank you." Kouji turned to Miaka, relieved that his friend was no longer playing with the edge of death.
"Mitsukake's the one you should thank!" Miaka answered pointedly.
"Oh, don' worry. I will. Tha guy's already my hero" Kouji then walked towards the door but stopped just outside its frame.
"HEY! Can I get a spare mattress over here? We got a extra guest here tonight! Pronto!" Kouji cupped his hands around his mouth, only making his loud voice louder.
"For Mitsukake?" Miaka asked curiously.
"Are ya kiddin me? That guy's gonna get his own room! Your stayin' in here 'cause it's tha only room that tha others can't come near! If I gave ya your own room you'd have more than enough unwanted visitors for tha night. Unless ya prefer that?" Kouji raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
"Hentai!! Ugh, is there another place I can't be harmed that isn't in the same room as HIM?" Miaka peeved, pointed to the unconscious Genro.
"Nope! Ya slept near him before anyways, what's tha difference?" Kouji smirked, knowing his question would only boil her blood more.
Miaka scowled, her eyes sending daggers towards Kouji. She felt her patience growing thin, but her energy to stay awake even thinner. It was then that she realized she hadn't slept more than three hours in the past two days. Sleep seemed more enticing than an argument with a bandit that was twice her size.
As soon as she completed that thought, a very bulky bandit entered the room carrying a mattress, blankets, and a pillow. A sense of relief flooded Miaka as she watched the bed come her way.
"Jus' put it there" Kouji pointed to a large space directly next to Genro's own bed. Once the bed was set up, Kouji and the other bandit left. "Sleep well ya two!" Kouji called after him.
Miaka would have normally fumed at his words but instead of worrying herself with the trouble, collapsed onto the surprisingly soft mattress. Just as she was about to put herself under the blankets a knock sounded at the door.
"Miaka?" Mitsukake walked in with an armful of medical supplies he had received from the local doctor.
"Mitsukake! You really don't have to, I'll be fine." Miaka tried to wave him off.
"It will help you sleep better" Mitsukake replied as he knelt in front of her, gently grabbing her twisted ankle.
Pain once again shot up her leg but she forced the feeling to the back of her head. "Did you really mean what you said earlier?" she asked.
"You're the first person who has given me even the smallest measure of hope, and for that I am grateful." Mitsukake slowly began to wrap her ankle, pressing a small amount of herbs into the bandage. Once done with her ankle he then tended to her throbbing wrist, giving it the same treatment.
"Tomorrow you won't need these." he stated matter-of-factly, standing up.
"Arigatou" A felling of warmth passed through Miaka.
When Mitsukake left the room he closed the door, leaving it completely dark in exception to a few glimmers of the moon shining through the window. Miaka sighed as she knelt once more next to Genro's bed.
His face was now clear of sweat and his skin had returned to its normal bronze color. Mitsukake's power had definitely done its job. Just as she was about to turn back to her own mattress, a large, warm, hand weakly grabbed hers.
Miaka gasped looking back to the now conscious Genro. Two golden eyes peaked out of narrow slits as he glanced weakly at her. "Odango atama?" he mumbled feebly out of his mouth. His eyes closed once again and he released her hand, falling back to sleep.
"Insufferable jerk. Honestly, odango atama?" Miaka fumed to herself as she turned back to her mattress and covered herself in warm blankets. She continued to mumble curses at him for a few seconds until her voice faded away and her body succumbed to sleep.
-o0o-
Genro slowly began to stir from his sleep, rubbing his face with calloused hands. His body felt very light and airy as he positioned himself on his side.
'It's too early ta be awake.' he thought subconsciously, noticing that it was still dark outside.
As he turned his body towards the side of the bed he caught sight of something a few feet below him on the floor.
'What in tha-?' He gazed at Miaka's still form, lying peacefully on a tiny mattress. Her hair flowed gracefully in every direction. Her face was calm but weathered as if it had been through a lot in the last couple days. He was about to return to his undisturbed sleep when he spotted her heavily bruised neck. His eyes then ventured down to her heavily wrapped wrist and ankle.
'When had that happened?'
"OI!!" his scream could not only be heard by the exhausted girl below him but also by the entire building of bandits.
-o0o-
For those of you who may not know some of the Japanese words I used in this chapter here is a glossary:
Hai: yes
Daijoubu?: Are you ok?
Gomen: Sorry
Matte: Wait
Arigatou: Thank you
Hentai: Pervert
Odango atama: Dumpling head
Hey everyone! (cracks knuckles). This would be the longest chapter I've typed so far. I hope you liked this one! I'm super excited for the next two chapters cause of what's going to happen (possibly one of my favorite parts). REVIEWS PLEASE!!