=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Mixed Greetings Christina Ortega Part 4 (FY/YYH/FoR) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Chichiri was used to waking up alone. It was what came with years of living as a wandering monk, and so when the seishi opened his eyes only to find arms wrapped tightly and protectively around him not to mention feeling the breath of his teammate and friend...quite possibly his best friend considering that Hikou was waiting to be reincarnated...against his neck, he was quite surprised to say the least. Chichiri shivered with surprise and nervousness, not quite sure what to do, before finally slipping from underneath Tasuki’s grasp and standing, stretching his limbs and opening the door to the temple. He allowed himself a faint smile. It had stopped snowing, and the morning sun was shining brightly onto the layer of snow lining the ground without imperfections. Hearing a ruffling of his kesa behind him, Chichiri didn’t bother turning around as he muttered, “Ohaiyo, Tasuki-kun no da.” His only response was an annoyed grunt. “Sleep well na no da?” “I would have preferred sleeping on a bed instead of on the fucking ground,” Tasuki growled as he stood, Chichiri’s kesa draped over his shoulders, and he yawned, ignoring Chichiri’s amused chuckle. “It’s going to feel good to get to the palace and bask in the good life for a couple of days.” The bandit watched Chichiri nod before letting his mind wander. He should have left Leikaku and came for a visit earlier. It struck him at that moment just how much he had missed Konan and everyone who dwelled in the palace...even Hotohori’s rock-headed brat. “Chichiri?” “Nani no da?” Tasuki wrapped the kesa tighter around himself as a draft came in from the open door. “After this big ceremony and all that other ritual shit, are you going to stay in Konan or go off wandering and doing your, um...” Searching for the right word, the seishi finally finished his question, “...monk stuff?” Chichiri couldn’t help but smirk. After Miaka and Tamahome had gone to Miaka’s world after Nakago’s death, Tasuki had opted to stay with him, following him to towns and other places around Konan where they would meditate, help those who had been harmed after the large war between Konan and Kutou, and do other deeds. In the two years after Tamahome had been reincarnated in Miaka’s world as Sukunami Taka, Tasuki had often caught up to him while he was on journeys and had gone along with him, complaining about how the activities at Leikaku hadn’t interested him. Now, after everything that they had been through, he was still the same. Monk stuff...he found the phrase to be rather cute. “I suppose that if Houki and the Minister of the Right wish for me to stay then I will, but after awhile I’ll continue on no da.” He paused for a minute before quietly adding, “I’m used to traveling from place to place na no da, and could never settle down...at least not for a while no da.” There was another pause as Tasuki swallowed this information. “And you?” Tasuki thought about this, absently running a hand through his flame orange hair which was still cold from his traveling endeavor. “I might...I dunno, stay in Konan.” At Chichiri’s surprised glance, the seishi sighed as he searched for words to describe what he had been planning as he had journeyed from Leikaku to Konan during the last two days. “Being a bandit isn’t for me, Chichiri. I’ve tried...over the last year I’ve tried my damnedest to be a bandit, but I can’t. It’s Miaka...all of you...shit, you’ve have made me some kind of stuck up brat who doesn’t like hurting people unless they deserve it anymore! “I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be good for, to be honest. Besides being a bandit and one of the Suzaku shichiseishi I’m not really worth much, but I’m sure I could do something...maybe join the guard and shit like that...” He trailed off, letting himself become immersed in his thoughts as he ignored the evil part of his mind telling him how stupid and unneeded he was...how Chichiri and all the other seishi probably felt the same way... Before the monk could say anything, Tasuki questioned him again. “Ne, Chichiri?” The seishi remained silence, allowing the former bandit a chance to speak. “I’ve been kinda, well...shit, this is going to sound corny...missing...Tama and Miaka. When we first traveled to Miaka’s world her brother called us. The second time, we just kinda appeared, probably because of Taitsukun. Do you, by any chance, know how I could...go there...maybe...just for a little bit? It doesn’t have to be for long. Maybe just a day or two to think about old times, or just to--” “If I knew how to get there, Tasuki-kun, then we would have traveled there already,” Chichiri told him silently, his face lowered. Tasuki nodded reluctantly, having expected this answer. Forcing himself to raise his eyes, the monk gazed at his fellow seishi and friend, noting the quiet sadness on Tasuki’s face. It was a loneliness that he knew only too well. At one time he had had a perfect life; his beautiful fiancee and wonderful best friend had meant everything to him, and then it had all come crashing down...his family along with his wife-to-be had died in a flood...Chichiri had been so insane with anger that he had killed Hikou, his best friend. It had been almost the same with Suzaku’s shichiseishi. At one time, they had all been like family despite their obvious differences. Who would have ever suspected that a man obsessed with money, the emperor of Konan, a monk, a cross-dresser, a bandit, a healer with a dark past much like Chichiri’s own, and a thirteen year old scholar could ever get along, but they had, and it had been wonderful. Then, the fateful day had come in Hokkan when Nuriko had died...his death wouldn’t be the last. Slowly, they all fell...Chiriko, Mitsukake, Hotohori...and then Tamahome had gone to Miaka’s world leaving Tasuki and Chichiri alone. Sure, once in a while they would get to see the spirits of their friends and reminisce about the good old days, and both Tamahome and Miaka had returned to their world on numerous occasions, but the absence of this family structure did make the two remaining seishi feel very secluded...very alone... “I’m sorry to change the topic so abruptly, but there’s something I’d like to ask of you...something I’ve wanted to ask you to do for a long time because I’m too afraid to do it on my own.” “Nanda?” Tasuki looked up, noticing that the monk had dropped his speech pattern. Whenever he left off the ‘no da’ things were serious. Chichiri turned around to face him, closing the door so that they could have a moment of privacy. Reaching a hand up, he removed the smiling mask that had been on his face ever since Tasuki had first arrived at the temple the day before, revealing the scar that had permanently shut his right eye. Chichiri held the mask out to his fellow seishi, a pleading shine in his right eye. “I want you to burn my mask.” The monk had been afraid that Tasuki would go off the deep end with this; his eyes would bug out and he would ask a million questions about why he would want him to do a thing like that. In all honesty, the impulse had struck Chichiri just a mere few hours before Tasuki had reached the temple. He didn’t need the mask...didn’t want it. Hiding behind the mask was like hiding from the world. Miaka had once told him that she wished to have a mask like his because she could put it on and smile all the time. It was a cowardly thing to do. That’s what Chichiri felt like. A coward for being afraid to face life for so many years. It was time to accept what he had done to Hikou and live with it...not exactly forget about the incident, but grow from the pain his fatal mistake had caused. Tasuki stared at Chichiri through narrowed golden eyes, and the monk found himself unable to read the former bandit’s expression. Finally, Tasuki nodded and walked over to where his tessen was lying on the floor, picking up the metal fan and moving towards Chichiri who was holding his mask out. Taking it from him, the seishi glanced into the monk’s eyes as if he could see through him. “No regrets?” “No,” Chichiri replied, knowing that it was true. It was time to move on. Tasuki nodded and threw the mask up. Chichiri watched as it seemed to freeze in midair before floating slowly towards the ground. Tasuki raised his tessen and pointed it at the mask before whispering, “Lekka Shien.” A small line of flames came from the iron fan and gripped the mask, seeming to dance on the smooth surface for a few seconds before devouring it whole. Chichiri closed his eyes as he felt the ash from the mask that had meant so much to him in the past hit his face. The monk played with his blue bangs momentarily before a smile lit up his depressed face. “We should get to the palace quickly, Tasuki-kun no da! As it is, Hotohori and Houki are going to be upset with us for not going there yesterday night no da.” “Hotohori’s going to be there?” Tasuki questioned. Even though Hotohori was dead, that didn’t mean that his spirit was restricted from going anywhere until he was able to be reincarnated. “Hai na no da!” Chichiri answered cheerfully as he began straightening his clothes. “Hotohori has been visiting Houki a lot these days! Since this is going to be a large reunion festival, he wanted to join us no da!” As Tasuki made no movement except to nod at this, Chichiri motioned towards the kesa which was still wrapped around his body. “What are you waiting for no da? Hurry up and get dressed so we can get going na no da!” Tasuki shifted uncomfortably before pointing at his clothes whichh were in a pile on the floor, all of which were still soaking wet. He pouted, the idea of wet, sticky, cold clothes making him shudder with disgust. “Chichiri...” The monk facefaulted, a sweatdrop rolling down his brow. Annoyed, he folded his arms over his chest. “Mattaku!...Do you have any ryu on you?” Tasuki grinned a large, fanged grin and gave him a thumbs up. Chichiri groaned. “I’ll buy you something to wear and bring it back to you...but you owe me anyway no da! You’re hopeless na no da!” His fellow seishi’s grin grew even wider. *** “But Kaasan--” Minamino Shiori shook her head, refusing to give in to her son’s pleads. “Shuuichi, your face is flushed and you have a fever. There’s no way that you’re going to school today. I’ll call the school from my cell phone at let them know that you’ll be absent today because I’m late for work as it is.” Seeing Shuuichi’s downcast expression, his mother smiled. “You’re such a good student. Surely one day of staying home won’t hurt. Now, go back to your room and get some rest. Be sure to call me if you need anything.” Kissing her son’s warm forehead softly, Shiori gave him one last warm glance as she opened the door leading out of the house. “Feel better, Shuuichi-kun.” “Arigatou, Kaasan.” Watching as Shiori left the house, Kurama waited until he heard her car pull out of the driveway before jogging back up the stairs and into his room where he found Hiei sitting on his bed with an expectant look on his face. “She bought it,” the half-youko told him with a smile as he waited for his temperature to return to normal from the additional heat he had received from the fire demon. Hiei smirked. “You don’t have to go to school now anyway, so last night doesn’t matter.” He watched through amused crimson eyes as Kurama began going through his closet and finally pulled out a green button-up shirt with black pants. Removing the hanger from the shirt, Kurama threw it at Hiei who blocked with a casual wave of the hand. “If anything happens to me on this mission, I’m going to blame you. Had I gotten a good night’s sleep I’d be able to concentrate with more efficiency.” “If anything happens to you on this mission, it will be because you let your guard down, Baka Kitsune,” Hiei retorted coolly, ducking as another hanger came close to his head. Kurama grinned at the youkai, his green eyes sparkling playfully. “Oh, really? Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Hiei watched as Kurama stripped off his pajama top, slipped the green shirt on and, without buttoning it, he took off his pajama pants revealing white boxers. “Here...hold this for me, will you?” Looking up, Hiei blinked with surprise as both halves of the pajama set landed on top of his head. “Now look who’s careless,” Kurama said with a smirk as he zipped up his pants and began buttoning his shirt. He held in a bout of laughter. The sight of the fire demon buried under a pile of white and red polka-dotted fabric was almost too much to bear. “Hopefully you have better battle maneuvers up your sleeve than throwing sleepwear at the enemy,” Hiei muttered, resisting the urge to smile as he pushed the pajamas away from him. “Botan said this was a pretty major crisis,” Kurama mumbled, his tone becoming suddenly serious as he grabbed a brush and began pulling it through his long and smooth red hair. “I can’t sense anything from here, but that doesn’t mean whoever we’re looking for hasn’t hidden their youki. For some reason, though, I have a really cold feeling in my chest telling me that this isn’t going to be an easy battle to win.” He pushed his hair over his shoulder before walking over to the window and looking out of it, his gaze falling on nothing in particular. “We have to be on the alert for anything. It’s strange.” Kurama chuckled to himself. “I’m actually nervous about this, and I’m usually never apprehensive about any of the youkai we’re going to face.” Feeling a tug on the bottom of his shirt, Kurama looked down at Hiei who had moved from the bed and was demanding the chance to speak. Hiei’s crimson eyes, which, for once, were surprisingly comforting, looked up at the half-youko, and he sighed softly. “If we’re going to meet Botan, Urameshi, and the big oaf in time then we should leave.” “Ah.” Kurama nodded in agreement, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he realized all that he had said. “Gomen, I--” “Kurama.” The half-youko blinked and looked down at Hiei questioningly who shrugged before turning and beginning to walk towards the door that would lead out into the hallway. “The opponent may be strong, but we always prevail in the end, and we will this time, too.” With that, he left the room and walked down the stairs, for once using the conventional route to exit Kurama’s home. Kurama took in the youkai’s words and a small smile appeared on his face before he ran out of his room and went to catch up with the little fire demon. *** The smell of sweat mixed with blood and urine filled her nostrils, sickening her to the point of nausea. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and she tried to look about, but there were only a few dimly lit candles in this dungeon of chaos, and it was difficult to see those that were in the large room due to the fact that they were hidden by the shadows. Tied to a board that had been propped up against the wall, Misora felt the ropes that bound her arms digging into her wrists and ankles, and she smartly didn’t pull on them. The last time she had, she had cut herself. All Misora knew for certain at the moment was that her pain was great, and that these men, though their shadows and voices did not seem human, only wanted to torture her, not kill her. “What a beautiful girl she is.” “Ningen females are so delicious. I wish that we could eat her.” “This one is to be bait. Her loved ones will come for her, and when they do we will kill them and take their youki and weapons.” The voices were blurs in Misora’s head, but she made out that they were going to kill her loved ones. That caused tears to begin flowing from her eyes. “No...” She whispered, her voice strained from the hours of screaming as the demons had begun their assault the day prior. One of the demons turned to her, his golden eyes bright with maniacal glee. “Did you hear that!?” “She’s tryin’ ta give us an order!” Another said, the three horns on his head just visible in the dim light. “I guess she needs some discipline.” Misora heard a crack of something in front of her before feeling a stinging pain hit her bare stomach as the whip of the creature hit her. Not having the ability to scream, she whimpered softly. The whip hit her unclothed chest next, blood coming from just underneath her tender breasts. With horror, Misora realized that these creatures had completely stripped her before the whip cracked against her skull. The flesh on her temple split, and as she began to black out she called mentally to her father and to Saicho before letting herself escape the pain and give in to unconsciousness. =-=-=-=-=-=-= Owari More to come! =-=-=-=-=-=-=