Beads of sweat dripped down Suzahara's cheeks. He hastily wiped them and stared at his opponent in the dimly lit room in the outskirts of Kai Lo.
"Not today." Suzahara said, his face screwed in concentration.
His opponent smiled. Suzahara's muscles flexed in tension.
"I GOT YOU TODAY!" Suzahara declared and raised his hand high towards the sky.
He put it on the table and looked at his opponent with fierce determination.
Nuriko looked back at him, almost bored. She took a sweeping look at the board and moved her pieces.
"I win." She said, nonchalantly.
Suzahara looked at the table, his mouth wide in surprise.
"How is this possible?" He murmured to himself. "I studied the art of Go over and over and over and over again. And yet, I must be foiled. Why must the Gods set themselves against me?"
The curtain that was acting like a door to the dilapidated room swayed.
"Zakuro!" Nuriko said rising. "We were about to come looking for you."
Zakuro looked as Suzahara hid the Go pieces.
"I bet you were." Zakuro replied sarcastically.
Zakuro and the others had been in Kai Lo for three days. The demon that was terrorizing the town had been slain by a heroic Bao Shou before they got there. This meant there was no bounty to be gained. Suzahara had spent that day moping in the corner looking at his insignificant savings.
Kai Lo had a sizeable library and Zakuro wanted to see if she could research any clues as to the messenger soul before moving on. On Nuriko's insistence, the trio were staying in an abandoned small room outside Kai Lo instead of a comfortable inn.
"Any luck?" Nuriko asked expectantly.
Suzahara mumbled his moves to himself, smacking his head once in a while.
"How much does he owe you?" Zakuro asked, settling down around the makeshift table.
"More than he can pay." Nuriko said grinning.
Zakuro sighed.
"Oi, Suzahara." Zakuro asked angrily. "Why am I the one researching when it's your quest?"
"We have been in the library for three days straight." Suzahara said, packing his Go pieces in his trusty bag. "I don't think that's the way to go about it. We went to Ju En on a whim and I say we just wander around till the messenger soul finds us."
"The God of uselessness!" Nuriko said suddenly.
Over the past couple of days, Nuriko and Zakuro had been coming up with what type of God Suzahara would be. With every attempt, Suzahara got more and more annoyed.
Zakuro massaged her neck.
"I couldn't find a thing." Zakuro said, looking at the insignificant golden chalice glittering in the candle light.
It looked like an ornate goblet more than anything.
Zakuro had suggested selling it for some money to live in an inn. But Suzahara was stark against it.
Men and their spoils. Zakuro thought.
Suzahara casually pushed the goblet into his bag when he noticed Zakuro looking at it. Zakuro frowned.
"We should move on." Nuriko suggested after a while. "There is no point hanging around here."
Suzahara looked at Zakuro, who hesitantly nodded.
"Well." Suzahara said, stretching and rising. "I guess it's up to the man to gather some dinner."
"I want soup, chow mein and sweet pudding." Zakuro said, smiling.
"And I would like duck, roast beef and wine." Nuriko said.
Suzahara frowned at them.
"I'm not a waiter." He grumbled.
"Of course not." Zakuro snapped. "A good waiter would not keep us waiting. Hurry now! I'm starving!"
Suzahara muttered darkly about free-loaders as he left the hut.
"We'll leave at dawn!" Nuriko said cheerfully.
She patted Zakuro on the back.
"Don't worry." Nuriko said. "We'll get you home safely."
Zakuro nodded. She had been away for more than a month now. Would people still be looking for her? And worse, how was she supposed to explain to her parents where she was? One thing was certain. Her mom was going to kill her!
Zakuro shuddered at the thought.
She absent-mindedly reached for her braids and got confused for a second when she couldn't find them. She then remembered that her hair only fell till her shoulders now. She had been tying her hair up, unwilling to look at the terrible hair cut she now had. Another thing to explain to her weeping Dad.
Nuriko removed her bracelets and carefully placed them in a silken pouch. Zakuro had watched Nuriko perform this ritual every night. The bracelets were either in Nuriko's hand or in a pouch around her hips. These bracelets were obviously important to her. Nuriko noticed Zakuro looking at them.
"Pretty, aren't they?" Nuriko said, stroking the fabric.
"Very." Zakuro said honestly.
Nuriko took one of them out and gave it to Zakuro. Zakuro admired the intricate gold work on the pearl white bracelet. She gently stroked the green jade.
"They were my mother's." Nuriko said, looking at the twin. "You know, growing up I didn't have many friends. My father always wanted a son who could inherit the school. My mother couldn't have any more children after me and my father did love her dearly to marry another for a son. So, he taught me all he knew."
Nuriko delicately turned the bracelet in her hand.
"I remember the best part about growing up was when mother dressed me for dinner." Nuriko recounted, a small smile on her face. "I would wear pretty dresses and twirl for her. Her laugh was the best. She was a tiny woman. Very frail. Having me nearly killed her. But she desperately wanted a child. I can say that with complete confidence because she doted on me. I knew that she wanted me to be happy and would have even left my father, if she thought that I wasn't."
Nuriko's expression wasn't of sadness. But Zakuro could feel a knot in her stomach.
"And I was happy." Nuriko continued. "Even without friends, even when people mocked me, I was happy. Because I love my parents and want them to be proud of me. That's all I ever wanted. But then..."
Zakuro reached out and clasped Nuriko's hand.
"She passed away when I was eight." Nuriko said, her expression calm. "Even after all this time, it sometimes gets me. The sadness. I remember one of the last things she ever told me. She told me never to grow bitter. She told me that no matter how cruel the world got, I shouldn't ignore the hand of kindness reaching out to me. You are a lot like her. Tiny and reckless. Taking on things that are bigger than you."
Zakuro frowned as Nuriko giggled.
"But I'm really glad you came from a different world." Nuriko said, smiling. "It seems like you were brought here just to pull me out of loneliness. I want you to have one of these."
Zakuro shook her head.
"This looks really expensive!" Zakuro said, hastily. "And I trip a lot."
Nuriko put it on Zakuro's hand.
"Please." Nuriko insisted.
But Zakuro pushed it back to her.
"When you become a general and I go back to my world." Zakuro said, smiling. "Until then, you hold onto mine. And I will hold onto you."
Zakuro could feel something pulling on her heart. When all of this was over, she was really going to miss Nuriko and Suzahara.
"I bring food!" Suzahara announced as he entered the room.
"Chow-mein!" Zakuro said, gleefully.
"I don't smell duck." Nuriko observed.
Suzahara opened the measly meal of gruel and water.
"Three more of these and we're flat broke." Suzahara said, smiling.
Zakuro, Nuriko and Suzahara looked at each other for a moment.
"Itadakimasu!" They all said together and dug in.
-X-X-
The next morning the three walked through the busy market place in Kai Lo. They planned to find an odd day job to be able to survive the week. But Zakuro had been doing some quick math in her head.
"What's got you down?" Suzahara asked, patting Zakuro's head.
Zakuro frowned. She really didn't want to accuse Suzahara in front of Nuriko. But Nuriko was their friend now. And she had as much right to know.
"I landed the kill shot on the demon dog." Zakuro started. "And yet somehow, only you get the reward? That hardly seems fair! You couldn't have spent all the reward from Ju En..."
"I didn't get a reward in Ju En." Suzahara interrupted, looking offended.
"Father had set a reward of 5000 gold coins." Nuriko said, taking Zakuro's side.
Zakuro really didn't want this. It seemed like Suzahara was being cornered.
"I didn't get the reward." Suzahara repeated, his tone signalling the end of the conversation.
"Did my old man fleece you out of the reward?" Nuriko said, growling. "That old fart! I don't believe this! You deserved the reward!"
Suzahara looked away.
"Let's drop it." Zakuro said, hastily. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Let's get back to Ju En." Nuriko said, her fists shaking. "I will beat the reward out of him."
"It was payment for letting Zakuro and me stay at the school." Suzahara said, still avoiding eye contact. "It was doctor's fee."
Nuriko became quiet. Zakuro was starting to feel guilty.
"Suzahara, I..." Zakuro started.
Suzahara sighed and raised his hand to silence her. He then looked at her and grinned.
"Don't you worry!" Suzahara said, gallantly. "I will take care of you."
He expected Zakuro to blush. But Zakuro's attention was elsewhere.
A little further from them, Zakuro watched a boy with blue braided hair walk inconspicuously through the crowd. His golden eyes shone in the sunlight. Skinny and tall, he stood out from the crowd. He observed everybody in the crowd. But nobody in the crowd seemed to be looking at him.
Zakuro averted her gaze, thinking it was rude to stare.
But she noticed the boy yawn as he swiped a bag of gold from a shopper near him.
Zakuro frowned. She wanted to call him out. But he looked tired. Zakuro was torn thinking if this was the story of a poor boy being forced to steal because his family was dying of starvation. If she had some money with her, she would have given him a long lecture and some money to start afresh. But they were close to starvation themselves.
She couldn't bring herself to call him out...
Until...
The boy reached around Nuriko's hips and took the bag containing Zakuro's twin of the bracelets.
"OI!" Zakuro shouted. "What the hell are you doing?"
Suzahara and Nuriko looked at each other confused, looking right through the blue haired boy standing between them.
The boy blinked. He then winked at Zakuro and ran away.
"HEY!" Zakuro shouted and gave chase. "GIVE THAT BACK!"
Nuriko and Suzahara ran after her.
"Don't you think we've moved past the stage of running after you?" Suzahara called out.
"This is getting old, Zakuro!" Nuriko complained. "Stop running!"
"He has the bracelet!" Zakuro called out, keeping an eye on the blue haired head bobbing up and down in the crowd.
Nuriko looked at her hip and screamed.
"Don't lose sight of the thief!" Nuriko said as she ran faster.
Nuriko and Suzahara followed Zakuro out of the market place towards the ageing forests. The dying trees no longer provided shelter on sunny days. Zakuro didn't relent in pursuit and kept the boy in her sight. She knew how important that bracelet was to Nuriko. She couldn't let that boy get away with it.
The three of them arrived outside an old house. The wood looked smoked but the roof was intact. It was strange that the house was still standing. The boy went inside the house. Zakuro slowed down panting. Her friends caught up soon after.
"There." Zakuro pointed, holding her knees and gasping for air.
Though it didn't seem like they had run very far, Zakuro was never known for her stamina. Nuriko continued but Suzahara stopped her.
"There could be a gang." Suzahara said, the wheels in his head turning.
Suzahara circled the perimeter.
"There is no other way out." He summarized. "You two, stay here. I will go in and scope out the place."
Nuriko nodded and positioned herself in front of Zakuro. Suzahara unsheathed his sword. He reached out to open the door. But the door flew out towards him, flattening him to the ground. All around them, the trees started swaying.
"SUZAHARA!" Zakuro shouted.
Zakuro and Nuriko could hear whispers in the trees.
"Get out!" Zakuro heard whispers behind her.
She turned around to nobody.
"You're not welcome here!" Nuriko heard the wind carry a warning.
The blue haired boy emerged from the house and started tap dancing on the door atop Suzahara.
"Stop that!" Zakuro shouted.
Suzahara scooted from under the door towards the girls.
"Ghosts." He murmured.
"May my mother's bracelet bring you peace." Nuriko offered a prayer.
Suzahara and Nuriko politely started leaving.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" Zakuro chided and marched towards the grinning blue haired boy.
The grin on his face faded as he watched Zakuro approach him. When she was at arm length from him, the grin was replaced by a frown. She proceeded to catch the boy's collar, her face screwed up in anger.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull here." Zakuro warned. "But you better give that bracelet back. It's important to my friend."
The blue haired boy looked at her confused.
"I thought you were only a psychic." The boy mumbled. "How're you able to touch me?"
He pushed her hand away.
"Insolent mortal!" The blue haired boy said angrily.
All around them the forest calmed down.
"Insolent mortal?" Zakuro repeated, her temper flaring. "That's fresh, coming from a thief like you."
Zakuro unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the boy, hoping to scare him.
"Give me the bracelet and we leave." Zakuro said in a threatening voice.
"We shouldn't be messing with ghosts!" Suzahara called out worried, keeping a good distance between the two. "Come back!"
Nuriko was right next to him.
From the trees, a little girl came running towards the blue haired boy. She was as tall as Zakuro's knees. But she stood between Zakuro and the boy, tears streaming down her face.
"Leave Onii-san alone!" She cried, water pouring from her eyes and nose.
All around them, dozens of children emerged from the forest. None of them seemed older than eight. They surrounded the blue haired boy, protecting him from Zakuro.
Zakuro blinked in confusion. But the blue haired boy was unfazed.
"You reek of humans." The boy murmured. "Yet you can touch me. How can that be? Explain yourself!"
Zakuro could feel the force behind his words. They weren't just simple words. They were an order. An order that couldn't be refused.
"I don't know." Zakuro answered.
The blue-haired boy frowned.
"Kids." He said, marking the air. "Go inside!"
The kids nodded.
"Wait!" Zakuro shouted. "The house is falling apart."
"Feng Tu Huo Shui." The blue haired boy murmured, making characters in air. "Bend to my command."
A gentle breeze blew as Zakuro looked at the blue-haired boy.
"Are you done?" Zakuro asked, impetuously.
"Damn!" The boy said, shaking his fingers. "I'm out of chi."
"Sure." Zakuro said nodding.
She then walked around the boy to the children.
"Oi!" Zakuro called out. "Suzahara, Nuriko. Can you see these kids? If that guy is a ghost, then these kids have been spirited away. We've to get them back home."
Zakuro heard the blue haired sigh.
"I'm not a ghost." The blue haired boy muttered angrily. "Don't lump me with something of human origin."
"Whatever." Zakuro said, getting down to her knees to the girl who protected the boy earlier.
"Hey, sweetheart." Zakuro started.
The girl looked at Zakuro, looking like she was about to cry again.
"My name is Zakuro." Zakuro said, kindly. "This is Suzahara and Nuriko. What's your name?"
The girl didn't respond. Zakuro quickly counted the 22 children who were there. The kids were thin and it looked like they hadn't had a bath in ages. Zakuro felt bad for the children.
"Do you know where your parents are?" Nuriko asked, getting to her knees as well. "You don't have to be worried about the mean ghost. I will protect you."
The girl looked at Nuriko horrified and began wailing. All the other kids started crying too.
"Look at what you did." The blue haired boy grumbled. "Shut up, you little shits!"
"You need to shut your crap hole!" The little kid cried back.
"How can you be so fucking rude?" Another joined in. "She was god-damned worried!"
"We should have just let the weirdly dressed one kill the fuck out of him!" Another added.
Zakuro hit the limit of her patience. She knocked all the three kids and glared at the blue haired boy.
"HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING THEM HOW TO SWEAR?" She shouted, unsheathing her sword.
The blue-haired boy grinned.
"Kids learn fast." He said, mock-shrugging.
"I've never used that combination of swears before!" Suzahara said, as he spoke to one of the kids.
"STOP ENCOURAGING THEM!" Zakuro shouted.
The little girl who protected the blue-haired boy earlier finally smiled. Zakuro frowned at the lot.
"We need to get them to their parents." Zakuro muttered to herself.
"They have none." The blue haired boy said, swiping the air. "Damn! Still out!"
"Then we need to get them to an orphanage." Zakuro said, immediately.
Nuriko and Suzahara looked at the ground.
"The demons killed so many people, the orphanages are overflowing." Suzahara said, his voice glum.
He patted the head of the toothless boy grinning at him.
"Why can you touch me?" The blue-haired boy demanded, changing the topic.
Zakuro ignored him.
"When was the last time you kids ate?" Zakuro asked.
"They live off the forest." The blue haired boy answered. "Are you a magician?"
Zakuro rolled her eyes.
"If they live off the forest, why are you stealing money?" Zakuro asked.
"Onii-san can only touch shiny things." A little girl answered. "He brings us lots and lots of shiny things to play with!"
Zakuro frowned at the blue-haired boy.
"I can't touch anything but metal." The blue-haired boy muttered darkly.
For a moment, Zakuro could see a dark aura rising from him. She stepped back, scared.
The boy emptied his pockets and a small fortune fell out. Suzahara yelped and went towards the treasure.
"Thank you, God of Money!" He prayed.
"Take this and leave us." The boy said, looking at Suzahara with disgust.
The boy looked normal again. Nuriko picked up her bracelet.
"They don't let us buy the food." One of the kids said.
The kid next to him elbowed his ribs.
"Oni-san wants them gone." He said in hushed tones.
Zakuro sighed.
"Suzahara." Zakuro said, her tone bossy. "Go into town and buy lots of food. Nuriko, help me bathe these kids. We can clean the house a little too."
Suzahara frowned at Zakuro.
"We can't just leave them here!" Nuriko said, looking at Suzahara.
The blue haired boy looked glumly at the ground.
"Just go." Zakuro insisted, pushing him away.
"Is there a river or something nearby?" Nuriko asked the kids.
The girl from before nodded.
Zakuro and Nuriko herded the kids to the river and started bathing them. The kids splashed in the water as Zakuro handled the boys and Nuriko handled the girls scrubbing the dirt from them. The blue haired boy sat on a stone of the makeshift partition separating the boys and the girls, bored.
"Are you part demon?" The boy asked Zakuro.
"No." Zakuro answered. "I'm not sure why I can see or touch you."
"It's really weird when you talk to yourself, Zakuro!" Nuriko called out.
"You're the only one here who can't see him, Nuriko." Zakuro said, sighing. "But yeah, it's really weird seeing things that you guys can't. Makes me wonder if people have better eye-sight from where I come."
"Where do you come from?" The boy asked.
The boy was a treasure trove of questions. No wonder the kids like him.
Zakuro looked at the light coming in from the leafless trees.
"Tokyo." Zakuro said. "Japan. You wouldn't have heard of it..."
"Because it's not of this world." The boy completed her sentence.
His form flickered for a moment, alternating with a dark shadow with blood dripping down its lips. Zakuro fell to her back.
The boy looked at her confused. He swiped his hand in the air. He sighed at the lack of response.
"That red-haired guy." The boy asked. "He is a God candidate, isn't he?"
Zakuro didn't want to answer the question. She was starting to doubt the guy. She simply shrugged in response.
"But you chose him?" The boy added, looking upwards. "Very funny, you guys." He called out to the sky.
Zakuro could tell that the boy was unstable.
"What's your name?" She asked in a low voice.
"Chichiri." The boy replied, almost absentmindedly. "How did you get here?"
It seemed like they were playing a very long game.
AN:
Translations- Feng To Huo Shui- Wind Earth Fire Water (Basically Feng Shui means Wind Water! I did not know that!)
-X-X-
Jurezz- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like this chapter as well.
-X-X-
I'm not sure of it's loud enough, but the bracelets that I'm trying to describe are the ones Taiitsukun gives Nuriko in the FY series. I'm such a weirdo for actually spelling it out. But I couldn't really clearly describe the bracelet. I'm really pushing myself hard to write this. It's already chapter 10 and I still just introduced Chichiri! Man, it's going to be a long way to the ending. But some parts are so clear in my head, that I started writing down interim chapters. Bad idea because if the get all the good stuff out, I wouldn't be too motivated in posting. Hopefully that doesn't happen!
As always, keep reading!