Well, nothing to say about this ch. I just hope
everybody who has been reading so far enjoys it! ^_^
Ja ne!
Sakuya-sama ^_^ no Jurai
A Legend Reborn
Chapter 6
"Look! They�re here! They�re here! Tasuki! Chichiri!"
"Hey, Nyan-nyan! You�re looking pretty grown up these
days, no daa."
"Chichiri! Tasuki!" Miaka and the others come running
out to meet them, "It�s been forever you guys!"
The old friends exchange handshakes and hugs.
"Tamahome! Getting a little thin there on top?"
Tasuki jokes.
"What about you, beer belly?!"
"All right, boys, settle down!"
"It�s really great to see you all again!" Miaka says,
tears in her eyes, "Everyone�s here... Yui, Tamahome,
Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Mitsukake, Tasuki,
Chichiri.... We�re all together again..... I missed
you all so much..."
"So do you have any news on Misao and Chisa?" Yui
asks.
"Well, Chisa�s been in Konan with us, no daa...."
"So she�s safe then....? I�m so relieved.......!"
"...but... we haven�t seen Misao... we didn�t even
know she was here....."
Yui�s face becomes distraught.
"Do you think she could be in Kouto?" Miaka asks.
"Could be, no daa...."
"There�s one way to find out for sure....."
"AAAAA!!!" Tasuki and Tamahome scream.
Taiis-kun takes Tasuki�s fan and smacks them both
upside the head with it.
"How, Taiis-kun?"
"Through my mirror of course."
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about the mirror!"
"Why didn�t we use it earlier?!"
"I have my reasons......"
"Well what are we waiting for?! Let�s go already!"
***
"Good day, priestess...."
".... Good day....."
"Hello, priestess...."
"..... Hello....."
"Suzaku no miko, how are you today?"
"..... Fine, thank you....."
"Oh! Chisa-sama! Good afternoon!"
"..... Afternoon....."
"Salutations, miko....."
".....Uh, hi...."
"Priestess....."
"Miko......"
"Suzaku no miko....."
"Chisa-sama....."
"All day long! All the girls in the harem..... every
priest in the city.... the senators.... the
councilmen.... everybody!! I�m very well aware that I
have decided to take up the role of priestess of
Suzaku, but does everyone have to keep rubbing it in
my face?!" Chisa thinks. Shutting her bedroom door
behind her, she flops down on her bed. She takes hold
of her necklace and begins to play with it, running
the chain through her fingers. "Mom....." she
whispers, breaking down into tears.
***
*knock knock*
"Come...."
"Y-your highness....?"
"Shyoka..... What can I do for you?"
"It�s... it�s Chisa, sire... I�m worried about
her...."
"What is the matter....?"
"Haven�t you noticed? She�s been in her room all day,
she walks around the palace listless, she doesn�t eat
meals regularly..... Sir, she�s sick....."
"Are not your powers healing, Shyoka?"
"She�s homesick, sire.... I can�t do much to help
that..."
"...I see... It has become too much for her... She
has been gone too long from her own world... The same
thing that the first miko went through....."
"Have your men been able to locate her friend yet?"
"No.... They have searched every part of Konan....
including the surrounding villages...."
"...I think we both know the only way to help her..."
***
"Chisa..... Chisa......"
"Wha...? Mom... Dad... Misao... Uncle Tetsuya....
Uncle Keisuke..... Aunt Yui and Aunt Rei... You�re all
here! I thought I might never see you again......"
"Hello, Chisa....."
"I�m..... I�m back home.....? I�m home!...."
"No, Chisa....."
"....what....?"
"You�re not really home, Chisa...."
"You�re just dreaming....."
"No! It can�t be... I... I... no... I wanna go
home..."
Chisa awakes from her dream crying. Suddenly she
notices someone standing over her.
"Ryu-ryunosuke.....?! What are you doing in my
room?!" Chisa asks angrily, wiping her eyes with her
sleeve.
"I... umm... Well,.... everybody�s worried about
you... It�s late and you haven�t gotten out of bed all
day....," he replies.
"....I just don�t feel like it....."
"You can�t just lock yourself up in here... It�s
almost time for dinner... Why don�t you get dressed
and come with me...?"
No response.
"We�ll go out to the country......."
Chisa slowly turns her head around.
"We both should get out of the palace for a while....
I think the fresh air would do you some good...,"
Ryunosuke says, "Come on..... What do you say......?"
Chisa looks into Ryunosuke�s eyes, "....They�re so
blue... How can I say �no� to eyes like that....?" she
thinks. "....All right....."
"Great... I�ll meet you outside in a few minutes...."
***
Shyoka walks quietly down the hall to Chisa�s room.
She makes a fist to knock on the door when Chisa comes
bursting from the room, throwing the door wide open.
"Oh! Sorry, Shyoka! Did I hit you?"
"No, I�m fine, but...."
"Good.... I�ll see you later!"
"Wait, Chisa...... Where are you going?!"
"Ryunosuke and I are going out.... We�ll be back in a
little while....."
"But Chisa....!"
Chisa runs to the front of the palace where Ryunosuke
sits on a horse waiting. Shyoka chases after her.
"Bye, Shyoka!"
"Chisa!!"
Shyoka watches as the palace gates close behind them
and Chisa and Ryunosuke disappear.
"That girl.....," she sighs.
***
"Well, this is it....," Ryunosuke says stopping the
horse underneath a tree on a hill side.
"Wow..... The view from up here is great....."
He dismounts and then helps Chisa down off the horse.
"I come up here every once in a while.... It�s been a
while, though since the last time I was here....
Sometimes I just come up here to sit and think...."
Ryunosuke turns around to see that Chisa is already
seated beneath the tree and stuffing her face,
"Hmmmmm? Were you saying something....? I�m sorry....
I just realized how starving I am......"
"Uhhh.... It wasn�t important anyway....."
Ryunosuke sits down next to Chisa, leaning back
against the tree.
"The air is so clean here.... it�s a lot different
from where I�m from..... There are so many tall
buildings and bright lights that you can�t see the
stars at night... It�s noisy and crowded, but here....
it�s so peaceful... the land is so beautiful.... Of
course I like my home, but... I think this place is
starting to grow on me, too....."
"I�ve always wanted to travel, to explore, but I never
have gotten around to actually doing it.....," he
says, "I never have been able to leave my village..."
"I love to travel... My dad takes a lot of business
trips and sometimes he�ll take my mom and I along...
One year we went to America and another to France and
then there was the one time he let me miss a whole
week of school on a trip just him and I to
Hawaii...... My mom called in for me everyday saying I
was sick, but nobody really believed it when I came
back to school with a tan....," Chisa smiles, "I
really miss my family....."
"So do I...," Ryunosuke says, "Mine all died when I
was little....."
"Oh, my.... I�m so sorry....."
"Don�t be.... It was a long time ago...," he says,
"For a long time I wished I had gone with them, but
not anymore... Especially since I met you......"
Chisa turns her head quickly toward Ryunosuke, her
face red, caught off guard by the comment. Her mind
races.
"Do you mind if I.....?"
"Is he asking what I think he�s asking?!" she thinks.
"...okay......"
"Thanks," Ryunosuke grabs the food.
"....Oh.... he just wanted the food..... Why do I feel
somewhat disappointed......?" Chisa thinks.
She tries her best to shake the thoughts from her
mind, "The sunset�s beautiful......"
"It�ll be dark soon.... We had better head back....."
Ryunosuke stands and offers his hand out to help Chisa
up. She accepts it and begins to pull herself up, but
in a clumsy move manages to accidentally pull
Ryunosuke down on top of her.
The tension between them thick like a fog, Chisa
stares into his eyes, her heart beating faster,
scared, a little excited, unsure what will happen
next.
"....meow...."
Mii-chan suddenly appears between them, walking on
Chisa�s stomach. He begins to purr and lick Chisa�s
nose.
"Mii-chan...! H-h-how did you get here....?" The
moment gone, Ryunosuke and Chisa separate. Chisa sits
up and pets Mii-chan, scratching his back as he swipes
his tail under her chin, "He must have followed us
here.... or maybe he stowed away in the saddle
bag...." "Oh, Mii-chan...," Chisa thinks, sighing to
herself.
"....Like I said..... we better get going....."
"Oh..... right...."
Chisa and Ryunosuke climb back on the horse and they
head back to the city, the sun setting as they journey
back.
"He�s not saying anything.....," Chisa thinks,
stroking the cat nestled in her lap, "That look he
gave me... when he was helping me up onto the horse...
was it... disappointment.....? No.... Couldn�t
be......"
A fog begins to set in and the scenery begins to
change.
"None of this looks familiar...," Chisa thinks,
looking about her nervously, "I have a bad feeling
about this....."
"Ryunosuke, are you sure this is the right way?"
"....Yeah.... It�s the same way we came...."
Chisa looks down at the cat, his fur bristling, he
hisses and leaps down off the horse.
"Mii-chan....? Where are you going.....?"
Suddenly, a large hand reaches out from the darkness,
grabbing Chisa�s mouth, yanking her off the horse.
"Chisa!" Ryunosuke pulls the horse to a halt.
"Hey, buddy, You don�t mind if we borrow your
girlfriend here for a while, do ya?"
"Leave her alone!" Ryunosuke snaps suddenly, leaping
from the saddle.
"I wouldn�t do that if I were you, kid," the man pulls
out a knife, placing it right at Chisa�s throat.
Chisa stares at the blade, her eyes full of fear. She
turns her eyes to Ryunosuke, "....his forehead...."
"Let her go.....," Ryunosuke demands.
"A prize like this? You�ve gotta be kidding. I�m not
giving up this cutie without a fight!"
"I�m warning you! If you hurt even a hair on her head,
I�ll make you regret it....."
Chisa watches as the symbol begins to shine brighter.
"Whoah! You think you�re tough?!" the man laughs,
"Boys, teach this punk a lesson."
>From the shadows several other unclean, scarred,
mean-looking bandits appear.
One of the bandits ventures out to be the first
attacker, the others following his lead. His forehead
now glowing a crimson read, Ryunosuke goes into full
battle mode, the attackers falling backward as soon as
they approach.
"This is it... I�ve got to take this chance....,"
Chisa thinks. Chisa clamps her jaws down on the hand
of the kidnapper. He yelps in pain, promptly releasing
his grasp on Chisa�s mouth. In one swift movement, she
takes the man by the arm, flipping him over and
slamming him onto the ground, knocking him unconscious
on contact.
"Thanks for the martial arts lessons, dad!" she says
to herself.
"Ryunosuke....!" she gasps. She watches as he
continues in the fight. Suddenly, he finds himself
being smashed into a tree, the sound of bones breaking
clearly audible. Ryunosuke collapses.
"No!!!!!" Chisa screams.
Ryunosuke slowly pushes himself up only to be kicked
in the stomach and fall again.
The men taunt him, telling him to give up, but he
rises once again and continues to fight.
Tears of anger fill her eyes, blurring her vision.
Chisa begins throwing punches and kicks left and right
to help Ryunosuke, but somehow she and Ryunosuke are
cornered again.
Trembling, her entire body begins to glow bright red,
forming a shield for her and Ryunosuke. The remaining
attackers vanish.
As the dust settles, the light disappears along with
the strange fog. All that is left is Chisa and
Ryunosuke.
Bruised and physically drained, Chisa uses the last
ounces of her strength to help Ryunosuke back to his
feet.
"....Ryunosuke....!"
"....Did.... did they hurt you....?"
"Don�t worry about me! You�re bleeding!!"
"...I don�t care... I just wanted to make sure you
were okay....."
"...Ryunosuke.... I�ll get you to Shyoka. Just hold on
till then, Ryunosuke....."
".... As if this couldn�t get worse.....," Chisa
thinks feeling a down pour of rain from the heavens.
The horse long gone, Chisa and Ryunosuke stagger
together back to the palace.
***
"So you have survived test number one.... Suzaku no
miko....."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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