I've got good and bad news. Bad news is. . .I went back to school about four weeks ago. T_T It's keeping me busy to say the least. The good news in. . .this is a two for one deal for chapters! That's right, not along am I done with this chapter but also the next one! I wrote out this last section and it was either going to be one looooooooooong chapter or two semi-short chapters. I don't know about any of you, but I like shorter chapters, so I split it up. Since I have them both done, I'm posting them at the same time.
I tried to stick with the basic story with the occasional Izaya twist mixed in. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi; Rin Izaya is mine though!~~~~~
Miaka was nervous. Shifting, she glanced up at the tree, then over her shoulder at her two companions. Chichiri and Tasuki were both looking around, shuffling their feet. They looked just as uneasy as she was. Where was Tamahome? It was already passed the time that they had planned on meeting. Could something have gone wrong? The Suzaku priestess thought back to the statue; the one that Nuriko had given her that had broken in half. No! No, no, no that didn't mean anything; she gave herself a shake.
" Maybe he got scared." Tasuki's voice filled the silence, his eyes half shut, somewhere between bored and irritated.
" Tamahome isn't a coward!" Miaka snapped, the red haired warrior backing up a step. Ignoring him for the moment, the girl folded her hands and shut her eyes. She imagined Tamahome coming out of the brush, the warrior looking abashed as he apologized for being late. Praying for this, the Suzaku priestess tried desperately to hold back the memories of the statue split into two equal halves until the sound of rustling leaves reached her ears.
" Tamahome?!" she spun around fast.
" OH! So close!" with a hand on her hip, the dark head of hair and gray pair of eyes that fell on her from across spear edges was not the one that Miaka had been hoping to see. " But sadly," the lightness of Izaya's tone dropped abruptly, " wrong." The hope that had built up in the Suzaku priestess' heart in the moments before had been cut down. Pit of her stomach falling out, the fear that came over her was something that the her female counterpart seemed to pick up on right away. A smirk colored the Seiryu priestess face and she cocked an eyebrow, her hip popped to the side. " For someone who contracted a deadly disease, you're looking remarkably healthy; when I heard you were coming, I thought for sure you would look at least a little tired, but apparently I expect too much of the world." sighing, Izaya shook her head. After shrugging her shoulders, she took a brief glance over at Nakago and the small collection of soldiers gathered around her. Then she refocused her attention onto Miaka.
" Rin-!"
" If any of them call me 'Rin', I give all of you my full permission to lob off their heads." the Seiryu priestess ground her teeth, fists clenched though she forced the smile to stay on her face. All three Suzaku followers flinched, glancing at one another after these words. From his place beside the Izaya, Nakago raised a brow, looking at his priestess out of the corners of his eyes. He cleared his throat lightly and she glanced up at him. They held eye contact for a few seconds before the general finally stepped forward.
" Fools, first you try to hide your presence and now you're making all this noise." he said. Jumping in front of his priestess, Tasuki raised his fan over his head.
" Watch out, Miaka! Rekka Shin'en!" when he thrust his arm toward the general, however, nothing happened. There was a moment of stillness and silence. Then Izaya snorted, one her hands pressed to her lips as she giggled.
" You must be Tasuki," the general reasoned, " your magic spells won't work here." then the blonde man started moving toward the three intruders again, holding out his hand. " So, who wants to die first?" There was the sound of a clap, and, suddenly, the Seiryu priestess grabbed at her warrior's arm.
" Neh, neh, Nakago!" she insisted and as she dragged the general back, the two Suzaku warriors and their priestess exchanged glances. " I just thought of something! We should," pausing for a second, she cleared her throat, eying the group of three in a way that a cat did a mouse caught in the corner of a room, " 'welcome' our 'uninvited guests'." Crossing his arms, the general frowned, glaring at her.
" We just finished detaining our last 'guest' this morning," he sniffed, cross," and you're already looking for a replacement?" After a second of blinking, the dark haired girl bore her teeth as she grinned.
" Come on, we can put these ones in the dungeon." she insisted. " Then you can play with them like you did with the last one. Don't even try to deny that you had fun back then either," raising her index finger, she pointed at him, narrowing her eyes, " you were down in that damn dungeon for hours that day. I was starting to wonder if I should send a search party to make sure you hadn't gotten lost on the way up." In answer, the general narrowed his eyes.
" Lady Izaya-" it was then that Miaka charged forward, tackling one of the guards who had been rolling his eyes at the time, both the Seiryu priestess and her warrior snapping back to attention.
" Chichiri, Tasuki! You have to escape!" she hollered. " Hurry!" as the soldiers attempted to restrain the Suzaku priestess, the monk grabbed his red haired companion by the shoulder, pulling him away.
"Stop!" Nakago made an attempt to go after them, but both warriors disappeared before he took more then a step forward. Blinking, the Seiryu came up beside the general. " They've found an opening in the barrier." Raising his voice he spoke to his men next. " Search the palace! And take her to the dungeon!"
Ignoring the struggling Suzaku priestess, Izaya spoke to her warrior in a low voice." They couldn't have gone far," she swept her gaze across the garden, " and there's no way they'll leave without Miaka." when he snorted, she gave a smile and giggle. " Not that you didn't already know that."
" IZAYA!" the Suzaku priestess yelled, both the dark haired girl and the blonde man turning to look at her. " Where's Tamahome?! What did you do to him?!" The Seiryu priestess let out a gasp.
" I'm insulted!" she said, theatrical, drawing her shoulders tall and placing a hand over the middle of her chest. " I'll have you know that I happen to dislike violence; no physical harm has been done to him by my hand since he arrived here in Kuto as a hostage. As far as I know he's still somewhere in the palace."
" You're lying!" Miaka insisted, even as the guards began to pull her away, out of the garden and toward the palace. " He promised to wait for me beneath this tree! Tamahome! TAMAHOME!" the cries went on from there, finally disappearing once the guards had dragged the struggling brunette far enough. Watching them take her away, Izaya leaned a shoulder against the front of the general's armor. Shaking her head, she sighed, waving after them.
" Neh, neh, Nakago, I don't know if I'll ever understand love sick people, will you?" this question was met with a long pause. When she noticed how long it was taking for his answer, the priestess took a step back and looked up into his face. The general made eye contact, expression as stern as it had been since they had first confronted the Suzaku group.
" 'By my hand'?" was what came out of his mouth next and, grinning, the girl placed both hands on her hips.
" And that's the truth." she insisted, raising an index finger and pointing it at the general. " I've never once slapped, punched or violated him in any way." Nakago cocked a brow then. Moaning, Izaya stomped her foot. " Okay, so I pointed a blade at him once or twice, but that's not the same. Blades and hands aren't the same thing and I never once sliced him up before either." Pouting, she jabbed him in the middle of his chest armor and her warrior lowered his brow. Then her facial features smoothed. " You heading back now?" He hummed glancing at her.
" And you?" he prompted and she blinked, giving a blank faced look. Then she snorted, laughing and shaking her head.
" After all that excitement? I won't be able to sit still for awhile. Think I'll stay out here," she said, jerking her head at some of the soldiers that were wandering around the hillside, " keep an eye on our boys, you know how lost they are without us. Besides, I've got pretty sharp eyes; maybe I could spot those sparrows myself." eying her carefully for a few seconds, Nakago twisted his head around.
" Dazhong." he called, the soldier closest to them blinking and jogging over to the priestess and general.
Standing tall, head high, feet together, arms tight at his side, he said. " Sir."
" Keep an eye on the priestess," the general nodded his head toward Izaya, " make sure she stays out of trouble."
" Yes, sir."
" Awe," the Seiryu priestess' voice was light, girlish almost as she bites on the edge of her index finger, " you worried about me? That's so sweet of you," her smile grew wider as she spoke the last words slowly, "Ai-ren." Both men froze. Jaw slacking, Dazhong's face turned red, but he kept his mouth shut and didn't smile. It took several seconds before the general spoke up again.
" Lady Izaya, where did you learn that word?" he asked, tone stiff.
" Overheard a couple using it in the market place." she provided, beaming, positively vibrant.
" Do you realize what it means?" he went on. Grinning, the girl stepped closer to the general, putting herself chest to chest with him.
" Maaaaaaybe~" she drawled, giggling. Placing a hand on the shoulder plate of his armor, with her other hand she reached up. Flicking the general's chin with the very edge of her index finger, she added. " Or maybe you could clear things up for me sometime, neh~?" Their eyes met and for several seconds held. Then finally, the priestess stepped back. She was still smiling even as she turned. As she headed away, giggling as she went, soldier Dazhong followed after her. He looked between the general and the priestess until the former hit him with a glare. Izaya headed out through the garden, and for a few seconds, the blonde man gazed at her back. Giving himself a shake, he turned back around, making his way back to the palace.~~
The more time that went by the more that it appeared to all of the soldiers on the hillside that it was a fruitless effort searching for those two Suzaku warriors in the garden. If anything having the Seiryu priestess there with them made the men even less motivated to search then they would have been without her. After only ten or fifteen minutes of searching she had already given up. She'd walked back to the tree where they had found the Suzaku priestess and sat down, crossing her ankles and melting her framework into the folds of the tree truck. The soldiers had begun reporting to her about their lack there of signs of the Suzaku warriors and when they started to complain about their searching she whined right along with them.
" Just keep looking," she said with a sigh to two men, " waste some time; at least then no one can say we didn't try to find them." Nodding, they headed out again, Izaya waving after them. Shaking her head, she glanced over at Dazhong. " Why don't you go with them? A new pair of eyes might do some good." He blinked.
" But-"
" Don't worry," she said, waving her hand, " I'm not going to go anywhere and I won't tell Nakago that you left." jerking her head at the other soldiers, she added. " I'll ask them not to say anything to him either. Go on; if you find something then we can all head back to the palace and get some shut eye faster." The soldier hesistated. Finally, Dazhong nodded, turning and hollering at the two that had left, jogging to catch up with them.
Smiling, Izaya shook her head, leaning her head back against the trunk of the tree. Shutting her eyes, she exhaled slowly. " Neh, neh, how long are you feather heads going to keep sitting up there all quiet like that?" There was a silence that followed these words and frowning, the Seiryu priestess sat up, twisting around and glaring up into the branches of the tree. " Neh, bird brains, don't make me climb up there! Or would you rather I just call all the soldiers back and point them in the right direction?"
" No no no!" one voice came down from the tree, loud, the second speaker quickly shushing him. Smiling, Izaya leaned her back against the tree trunk, but kept her eyes focused up into the branches. From above her, a light head of hair peaked out from around one thick branch, closely followed by a bright red head. Tasuki glared, baring his teeth a light growl vibrating the girl's eardrums. His monk companion looked somewhere between uneasy and angry, though it was difficult to be sure with the smiling mask that he wore. Leisurely, the Seiryu priestess waved at them.
" Hello, hello, little sparrows." There was a pause.
" How did you know we were here?" Chichiri asked, voice low and level. She gave a laugh.
" Yeah, I wonder how I knew you were there too." was her answer, reaching back and scratching the back of her neck. " After I got down to the bottom of the hill, I couldn't help thinking 'They couldn't possibly have gotten this far away, teleportation magic or not'. So I thought I'd come back here and think it over for a little bit. There are only so many hiding places in areas like this after all. When I got close to the tree, though," she nodded her head, gazing out across the garden, " I figured it out. Priestess sense or something."
" So you knew we were here from there start?" Tasuki prompted and the girl let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head.
" Wasn't that what I just said?" she sniffed, placing a hand on her forehead and rubbing her temples. " Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder if any of you Suzaku people have a brain in between those pairs of ears. I know there are some dumb people in the world, but seriously, they couldn't have all congregated in the same country. So much idiocy in one place and the empire would've burned down by now."
" Hey-!"
" Tasuki!" the monk cut him off in a hiss, placing a finger to his lip and shushing his companion a second time. Clamping his hand over his mouth, the red head attempted to talk through his hand. Every word was incoherent. When he saw Izaya roll her eyes and shake her head again the volume of the sounds coming out of his mouth rose, but he never removed his hand from his lips. Not paying him any mind, the light haired man frowned slightly as he looked down at the Seiryu priestess.
" If you knew we were here all along," Chichiri said, " why haven't you told the soldiers?"
" Ah! There's the smart member of the group!" she insisted, chipper. " There might be hope for your flock yet; thank goodness-" hearing the Suzaku warrior clear his throat, she raised her eyes again. His expression had sunken despite his mask and with a sigh, Izaya held up both hands. " Alright, alright, I'll be serious. I was just playing around a little." shifting, she drew her legs closer to her body. Setting her elbows against her knees, she leaned forward. Gazing at the garden from the hilltop tree, she could see the grassy plains intermingled with apple trees and vibrant flowers. The wind blew against her back, pulling her hair forward and sending a shiver rippling up her spine. A little smile raised her lips.
Turning her head to the side, she rested her cheek against her forearm. " Neh, neh- Chichiri, right?" there was a pause, one where the Seiryu priestess swore she could feel the displeasure that the monk felt for her. It was like blankets had engulfed her and someone was trying to suffocate her with them. Glancing up, she didn't go on until after the monk had nodded his head once. " Neh, neh, Chichiri? Have you ever thought that maybe the Seiryu Seishi and the Suzaku Seishi both want the same thing?"
" What?!" Tasuki was the one to give an answer, finally removing his hand from his mouth. " No way! That's impossible!" His palm smacked back against his lips. Scowling, the girl glared at him.
" I wasn't asking you." she sniffed.
" You can't say that the Seiryu and Suzaku Seishi are looking for the same thing!" the red head wouldn't be silenced so easily it seemed. " You're the ones trying to start a war with us, aren't you?! How can you think that we want to do something like that, huh?!" opening her mouth to retort, she stopped abruptly. There were a few seconds in which she froze there. Clicking her mouth shut, she looked up regarding the hot headed Suzaku warrior carefully. Then she rested her cheek against her forearm again, silent for a moment. Humming, she tilted her head one way and then to the opposite.
" I suppose we are trying to start a war, aren't we?" she murmured, eyes on the garden, not seeing Tasuki's jaw drop open. He turned to Chichiri.
" Is this girl for real?" he asked the monk, getting the answer in a form of a laugh from the priestess.
" That's ironic, since I think the same thing about you people sometimes." she told them. The red haired warrior growled, getting to his feet. Stomping his foot on the branch, he moved to speak but was interrupted before he got the chance. " But that doesn't have anything to do with my question and neither does the war. Those are boring; not something I want to talk about." waving her hand, she glanced up at the two again.
Not paying any mind to Tasuki or his blank faced confusion, the Seiryu priestess' attention focused in on the monk. Though she couldn't see his eyes through the mask, Izaya had the feeling that he was holding her gaze and it was this that drew the smile across her face. " Well, what do you think?" she insisted, earnest this time. " There are two paths; is there a chance that they meet at the same place in the end?" Then she watched as Chichiri's features stiffened.
" I don't know what you're talking about, no da." the blue haired man insisted, but the priestess threw her head back and laughed.
" That's a lie," she stated, flatly, " of all the Suzaku people that I've come into contact with, you're probably the only one that this metaphor isn't wasted on. Come on, I'm just asking your opinion on the idea. No right or wrong answers when you're asking for opinions. I promise I won't call the guards no matter what you say," holding up her index finger, she added, " though if you're stupid enough to come down from the tree I'm going to make sure every soldier in the entire palace can hear me screaming, you got me?" turning her head slightly, she glared at Tasuki, who looked about half way ready to leap down to the ground. He'd been lucky enough to catch himself, the monk grabbing onto his shirt to keep the red haired boy from falling out of the branches. There was a few seconds of pause, one where Chichiri and the Seiryu priestess simply gazed at one another.
" No," the light haired man finally spoke up, Tasuki blinking at him in the same way that Izaya did, " our goals can't be the same. I don't see how any path leading to war could end at what our goal as the Suzaku Seishi is, no da." After a second, the dark haired girl hummed, nodding her head two times. Brows furrowed, she frowned, placing a hand on her chin. " I don't know how you could ever think such a thing." Glancing up, she aimed a half smile at him.
" I've been told that I have a wild imagination." was her answer to her, falling inside of herself again, her frown returning. After some time passed, she shook her head slowly. " No; there's no other way for us. . ." mumbling to herself, the two Suzaku warriors exchanged glances. Looking up at Chichiri again, the Seiryu priestess said. " It's nice to have an intelligent conversation with someone besides Nakago for once. It's only been a few moments long but I already feel like it's double on the intelligence scale compared to the talks that I had with Tama-chan." Jerking her head toward Tasuki,
she added. " Quadruple in his case."
" What?!"
" You've been talking to Tamahome?" as they both asked her these questions, Izaya was scowling at herself, tapping the palm of her hand against her lips.
" Oh, son of a bitch," she said, " what a time for you to betray me, mouth! Always talk too much at the wrong fucking moments." her head shook and just as te monk was about to say something else the sound of a scream interrupted him. Frowning, the priestess girl arched her neck, gazing in the direction she thought the shout had come from. It was more then a few seconds later that Dazhong and another soldier came running over to the tree.
" Did you hear that scream, Lady Izaya?!" Dazhong insisted as the two came to a stop in front of her.
" Yeah," she told him, using the tree trunk to pull herself up onto her feet, dusting off her butt and thighs as she did so, " any idea what it was?" Both men shook their heads.
" We're going to go check it out." the other soldier informed her and the priestess nodded, placing a hand on her hip.
" Suppose I'll have to come along too." she said, running a hand through the short stocks of her hair. " The general is looking for you as well." the un-named soldier told her and the dark haired girl's head dropped.
" Of course he is," she grumbled, more to herself then to the two standing in front of her, " why wouldn't he need to see me now? Men!" Shrugging her shoulders she shook her head, finally raising her head. " Alright, lead the way." She let the soldiers get a head start. Twisting around, she waved at the tree, smiling brightly. " Goodbye, little sparrows! We'll meet again soon, I'm sure!" Then she jogged to catch up with the two men. They both looked at her, Dazhong glancing over his shoulder at the tree.
" Who were you talking to?" he inquired and the priestess giggled.
" Sparrows." she answered. " They were nested up in the tree." frowning, he tilted his head.
" There aren't supposed to be any nests in the gardens." he commented and the girl shrugged her shoulders.
" Well there is one." she stated the second man rolling his eyes.
" The garden staff is slacking again. Lazy fuckers." he stated and Izaya let her head fall back, laughing like crazy. Both men exchanged glances, baffled as to what could have possibly brought it on.~~~~~
Small confession time: Chichiri is actually my favorite character in Fushigi Yuugi. Don't ask me why.( I have a thing for the quiet, nice types *cough cough*) Ahem, anyways, the next chapter is going up soon so please continue reading! And review! I like a good review! Even if you just want to let me know that you're out there and reading, I would appreciate a word or two. ^^
Chinese lesson for the chapter: Airen, literally translated means "love person". If I'm remembering my Chinese culture correctly, they don't actually have a word for "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" over there and airen is the term that they use to refer to their significant other. In Izaya's case it would mean that she was calling Nakago "lover" which is why both Nakago and Dazhong had such a strong reaction to it.