Hi all! ^_^ Well, this is ch. 10. I'm probably going
to try and go a bit slower w/putting this out b/c I'm
only working on ch. 13 right now and I don't wanna
feel like I have a deadline or anything. I'll get it
out as fast as possible, but a little slower than
usual. ^_^
Anyway, enjoy ch. 10! Ja ne!
Sakuya-sama ^_^ no Jurai
A Legend Reborn
Chapter 10
"I don�t think I�ve ever seen someone sleep while
riding a horse like that....," Yui says.
"Tasuki�s not much of a morning person, no daa."
"Do you think we should wake him up?"
"Not unless your clothes are fire resistant, no daa."
Yui looks back at the snoring Tasuki. She heaves a
sigh and rolls her eyes.
Yui along with her escorts Chichiri and Tasuki have
been traveling several days on their way to Kouto and
have now entered the final stretch of their journey.
There�s a sudden thud as Tasuki slips from the saddle
and lands on the ground.
"REKKA SHINEN!!" he cries in a grouchy, half-asleep
rage, torching a nearby tree.
"See what I mean, no daa?" Chichiri says, "That tree
might have been you, no daa."
"Good morning, Tasuki," Yui says.
"Shhh... Not so loud....! I�ve got a tremendous head
ache...," Tasuki winces rubbing his head.
"More like a tremendous hangover, no daa."
"Damn it, Chichiri! Shut the hell up!!" he grabs
Chichiri by the collar.
"I�m sorry, no daa!"
"It�s no wonder with as much as you drank last night,"
she says, "You should be thanking Chichiri! He�s the
one who paid your bar tab back at the inn!!"
"I couldn�t help drinking as much as I did!" Tasuki
says climbing back up on his horse.
"What do you mean, no daa?"
"You saw how all those servant girls were hanging all
over me!" he says, "�Please let me serve you,
Tasuki-sama! Tasuki-sama, you are so strong and
handsome! Drink some more, Tasuki-sama!� I couldn�t
refuse them.....!"
"...what exactly was in all that beer you drank, no
daa....?"
"You know, Tasuki, there�s a word for people like you
where I come from," Yui says, "...alcoholic..."
"Oh, yeah? Well there�s a word for women like you
where I come from....."
"Look, no daa...," Chichiri interrupts.
They have come to a cliff. Below them lies Kutou, the
empire of the east under the serpent god, Seiryuu.
Everyone suddenly becomes calm and serious.
"There it is, no daa...."
They all take a moment and silently survey the
landscape from above.
"Yui..."
She turns to Chichiri.
"....are you ready for this, no daa?"
"I guess I�m as ready as I�ll ever be...," she sighs.
"It�s funny....,"she thinks, "from up here, it almost
looks pretty..."
***
"I�m starving... I wish that I had brought more food
with me, but I took as little as I could so Shyoka and
the others would have something to eat," Chisa thinks,
her stomach growling as she continues her solo journey
to Kouto. "I imagine they�ve sent someone after me....
Ryunosuke....," she heaves a sigh. "I know he must be
following me.... That�s why I have to cover as much
ground as I can as fast as I can... I�ve known him for
such a short time, but I already feel like I know him
like the back of my hand.... I wonder if this is how
things were with mom and dad.....
"Listen to me... I sound like a shojo manga all of a
sudden! A bad one at that.... Speaking of manga, I
really wish I had brought some with me....," Chisa
shakes her head furiously.
"No! I can�t keep getting side-tracked! I�ve gotta be
more focused here... This is no time to be daydreaming
and fantasizing... Kouto... That�s the only thing that
should be on my mind... my goal... Saving Misao and
going home..." Her stomach growls again. "I really
wish there was a fast food restaurant or something
around here somewhere, but those won�t be invented for
several thousand more years... OH! I can�t wait that
long to eat!"
"Traveling alone through this forest is not a very
good idea...."
Chisa�s train of thought is derailed. She turns to
find the owner of the voice. She sees a man sitting on
an old tree stump. He looks gruff and unshaven man in
his twenties. A bandanna is tied onto his forehead
holding his dark hair back from his face to clearly
show his hazel eyes. He has a bow on one shoulder and
a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.
"E-excuse me?" she says nervously.
"There are all kinds of wild animals and shady
creatures around here," he says. Something seems to
catch his attention suddenly. He reaches behind him
for an arrow. Taking his bow, he aims it. "Could you
move to the left, please?"
"Wha...?"
"It would really be in your best interest to move."
Cautiously, she scoots out of the way.
"Thank you." With that, the arrow flies from his
hand, striking something in a bush.
A man appears from the bush. He screams as he
clutches his chest where the arrow penetrated and
topples over.
"See what I mean...?" he says, "You really should
have a chaperon or something."
Chisa makes no reply, staring apprehensively at the
mysterious archer.
"Don�t worry. I�m not gonna shoot you," he assures
her. "My, my, my.... Where are my manners?! I have yet
to introduce myself," he stands and bows. "My name is
Shinta." Taking her hand, he gently kisses it.
"....P-pleased to meet you.....," Chisa stammers in
bewilderment.
"You are the Suzaku no miko,... are you not?"
"Well, yes, actually...," she blinks, "but how did
you..."
"Sorry to run off like this, but I really must be
going," the man says, "It was a pleasure to finally
meet you. Take care of yourself. We shall meet again."
With that, he vanishes into the trees.
"That was weird...," Chisa thinks, "Shoot! I should
have asked him if he had any food on him..... ah,
well..."
She pushes her way through a clump of shrubs and
overgrown tress to a clearing.
Her eyes become as big as saucers down below her she
can see a magnificent city shrouded in mist.
"....Kutou....," she thinks. Her face turns from
amazement to determination. "I�m coming.... Misao...."
***
"Shinta, huh?" Keisuke says, his beer fizzing as he
pops the top.
"That�s what it says....," Rei says.
"Keep an eye out for that name."
"Think he could be the seventh?"
"Could be," Tetsuya says catching the beer that
Keisuke tosses to him, "but one thing I�ve learned
about this book is to never make assumptions... It�ll
hurt you in the end."
"What about this second creator...," Keisuke says,
"Have any thoughts on her?"
"There�s got to be some connection to her and
Taiis-kun...," Tetsuya says, "the problem is figuring
out what..." "Was there anything about her in the
first story?"
"Not that I can remember...."
"There�s gotta be something we�re forgetting,"
Keisuke says, "Some little detail... something...! A
piece to the puzzle that makes everything fit
together... I don�t get it.... what are we missing
here....?"
"Maybe these research books you�re using are too
old."
"What do you mean, Rei?"
"Well, you used them for the first time around," she
says, "That was over a decade ago.... This is a new
story... You got those books for the first story,
right? I mean, this legend is still quite old, but
it�s a bit further in the future than the first
one.... Maybe the problem is you�re still trying to
research the past.... you�re researching the wrong
story...."
"You know something..... I think you�re right...."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Tetsuya asks.
"Well they did rebuild that library after the fire,"
Rei says, "We should probably start there."
"Sounds good to me," Keisuke says, "Let�s go. I�ll
drive."
***
"Well, I went ahead paid for another night just in
case."
"Are you sure you would not rather that I pay, Keiko?
I am the emperor after all...."
"Don�t worry about it, Boushin. I want to do it!"
"But can you really afford it?"
"Sure I can! My family�s not too bad off, ya know,"
Keiko replies, "I think they�re serving lunch now. I�m
going to go eat. Do you want to come with me?"
"I think I shall," he says.
Boushin looks over at Shyoka. Her face is downcast as
she sits staring blankly out the window of the room.
She strokes Mii-chan as he sleeps in her lap.
"Shyoka...," he says, "Shyoka would you like to join
us....?"
"Hmmmmm.... wha...?" Shyoka says waking from her
daydream, "I�m sorry, Boushin... My mind was somewhere
else... What was that you were saying?"
"Do you want to come eat lunch with us?" Keiko asks.
"Umm... Not now, thank you.... I�m not really very
hungry...," she says.
"... Keiko... would you please go ahead of me? I do
not think I will be eating just now..." Boushin says
thoughtfully.
"...I understand...," she says with a nod, "I�ll be
sure and save you something."
Keiko quietly closes the door behind as she leaves
the room.
"Please don�t stay on account of me...," Shyoka says,
"I�m really fine... I�m just a little tired is
all...."
"You are worried about Chisa and Ryunosuke... are you
not...?" he sits down next to her. He reaches his hand
over and begins to pet Mii-chan, "I can see it clearly
on your face...."
Shyoka�s face falls. "They should be here by now...,"
she sighs, "I wish I had some sort of clue that they
were all right... I can�t help but to worry... It�s
this instinct inside of me... This motherly instinct
that just wants to protect everybody... Sometimes I
really hate it... I�m sure they�re both fine.... I
know that I really shouldn�t be worried about them....
but I am....."
"Do not be so upset by it..... It shows that you
care...," he says, "It shows that you have a kind
heart... to worry for your friends in such a way....
But, please do set your mind on ease... I hate to see
you so distraught... You have such a pretty smile...."
Shyoka can feel the temperature in her face rise a
few degrees.
"It would really mean a lot to me if you would join
me in the dining hall....," he says standing.
She looks up at him. He smiles warmly at her.
"Okay," she smiles, "I�m sure Mii-chan must be hungry
by now anyway..." The cat yawns widely, stretches, and
leaps to Shyoka�s shoulder.
"We cannot have that! I imagine a hungry cat is not a
good traveling companion," Boushin jokes.
Shyoka giggles.
"... meow...," Mii-chan cocks his head to the side
confused.
Shyoka�s mind now at ease, she follows Boushin out
the door to the dining hall for lunch.
***
"Treating, treating.... Heal, heal...."
"I think she�s waking up...."
".... treating, treating...."
"Her eyes are opening."
".... heal, heal....."
"Yui.... Yui!"
".... treating, treating...."
"All right! Enough with the chanting, Nyan-nyan!...
Yui, can you hear me?"
Yui�s eyes open, faces slowly come into focus,
"Where... where am I?"
"You have returned to Taiis-kun�s retreat...,"
Hotohori says.
"Wha...?" she says, "How did I get here... The last
thing I remember... Kutou... a... a voice..." She
strains to sit up, wincing in pain.
"Please take it easy, Miss Yui...," Nyan-nyan says
gently pushing Yui back down, "Your wounds haven�t
fully healed yet."
"How�s she doing?"
"Tamahome...?" Yui says seeing him at the doorway.
Bandages cover his left eye and part of his face, his
arm is in a sling.
"Yui... You�re awake...."
"What happened to you? What are you doing here? I
thought you and Miaka were on your way to Konan...."
"We were..... We got as far as the city gates.....
Everything�s sorta black after that... Next thing I
know, I wake up here in bandages....."
"What about Miaka?"
Tamahome�s face falls, his good eye turns to the
floor, "...she�s still unconscious... Mitsukake is
looking at her..."
"Chichiri.... Tasuki....," Yui gasps suddenly.
"They are fine, Yui...."
"Taiis-kun...," Tamahome turns to see the creator
behind him again.
"... however, they are not here...."
"Taiis-kun, what�s happening? I don�t understand...,"
Yui says, "How did we get back here?"
"... Later I will have you come to my chambers and I
will fully treat your wounds," Taiis-kun says after a
pause, "As for now... you need to get some rest... We
shall discuss everything in time..."
"But Taiis-kun..."
"I said later, Yui...," she says sternly. She turns
to leave, "Come, Nyan-nyan....."
"...Yes, ma�am...," she obediently floats out of the
room after Taiis-kun.
"...That�s how she answers any question about what�s
happening...," Chiriko says as soon as Taiis-kun has
left.
"It makes me uneasy.... She�s hiding something....,"
Nuriko says.
"She has yet to give any of us so much as a clue to
solving this mystery.....," Hotohori says.
"Why is Taiis-kun so secretive?" Tamahome says.
"I don�t know, Tamahome... but if we want our
daughters back, we�re going to have to figure this one
out for ourselves," Yui says, "It will be
difficult,... but I don�t think that we can depend on
Taiis-kun�s help anymore..."
***
"Priestess....!!"
"What is the meaning of this?! Barging into my
chambers without even knocking!"
"Our deepest apologies, priestess, but we have news of
the utmost importance."
"We have captured a Konan spy."
"A spy?"
"Yes, miko."
"We believe her to even possibly be the Suzaku no
miko!"
"The Suzaku no miko....? How... how can you tell?"
"She had Suzaku�s copy of the legendary scroll with
her."
"Where is she now?"
"We threw her in prison, m�lady."
"What do you wish us to do with her?"
"...Bring her to me..."
"But priestess...."
"Are you sure that is wise, mistress? She may make an
attack on your life!"
"I said bring her to me...."
"As you wish, priestess....."
"I would like to meet the enemy at least once before
their destruction....."
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