Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Legend ~ Book Two: Misadventure, Mayhem & Really Hot Guys ❯ Nine: "Dude Looks Like a ... Dude?!" ( Chapter 9 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

   A sharp, stinging pain in Brady's right cheek startled her out of a deep slumber, just as a second pain bloomed in the center of her forehead. She jerked fully awake with a yelp and scrambled to her knees, ready to blast KC into next year for disturbing her beauty sleep again.

   She instead found Kimiko at the foot of her bed, a wooden rubber-band shooter in one hand and a very disapproving scowl on her face. Both of the clothespins on the shooter were empty.

   Brady blinked up at her. "You're early." Then she blinked again. "Did you just shoot me with that thing?"

   "The twins were kind enough to lend it to me." Kimiko tossed it onto the bed with a smirk. "And you're late. You should have been up and dressed by now. Also, where the hell is KC?"

   Brady glanced at the abandoned cot. She shrugged. "Probably the bathroom."

   "Uh-huh, no. Already looked. Didn't find KC. Or any of her things. But I did find this." Kimiko held out a finger from which a pink sticky note dangled.

   Brady squinted and read, "'Had to get back to Konan ASAP. I'm fine. Stick to the plan…' That bonehead!" She huffed. "I told her she was overreacting!"

   Kimiko's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

   Brady gulped. When Kimi used that tone it was best for all parties involved to listen. "She woke me up in the middle of the freakin' night babbling about some bizarre dream she had. She kept insisting that Hotohottie guy was gonna bite it if she didn't go back to warn him. I told her to go back to bed."

   "And you expected her to listen?"

   "Well … yeah!" Brady scowled. "It's freezing out there! I sure wasn't gonna go crawling through a blizzard in the middle of the night over a stupid nightmare. I didn't think she'd be nuts enough to do it, either!"

   Kimiko sighed. "Clearly, you've forgotten who we're dealing with."

   "So now what do we do?"

   "What she says. Stick to the plan. Which means get your lazy ass out of bed, get dressed and get out to the Clubhouse before anyone comes hunting for us. It's almost ten o'clock!"

   Brady pulled a face. "Can't we at least get breakfast first?"

~*~*~*~*~

   "Why does the kitchen look like a tornado blew through it?" Kimiko surveyed the mess with slight dismay. Overturned boxes of cereal littered the counter, a milk carton had been tipped on its side, contents spread over the table and onto the floor. It had apparently been there awhile; a faint odor of soured milk permeated the air, buried under the more prominent smell of burnt toast. The fridge door hung half-open. Three jars of jelly and a large tub of melting butter sat on the counter beside it. "Looks like the kids helped themselves to breakfast," she added dryly.

   "Mom's gonna shit a brick when she sees this mess," Brady grumbled. "Where's Reagan?"

   "Forget Reagan. Where are the adults?"

   "Probably still sleeping off their hangovers."

   "…You do realize your family has a problem, right?"

   Brady snorted. "Golly, it completely escaped my attention before now! Thanks ever so for stating the obvious."

   "Okay, okay! No need to get snippy." Kimiko patted her arm soothingly. "Come on, we'd at least better check and make sure your cousins are okay."

   "Should be easy enough to find them. Just follow the trail of burnt crumbs."

   They found the kids in the living room again, sprawled in front of the TV with their food, glued to the show currently airing. Reagan wasn't with them.

   "She was supposed to watch the Brat Brigade today! I'm gonna kill her!" Brady growled.

   Kimiko sighed. "Kill her later. We'd better make ourselves scarce before we get roped into babysitting, instead. I didn't sign up for that!"

   Needless to say, Kimiko wasn't a big fan of children.

   They hastily made their way back to the kitchen. Brady swiped a few packs of Pop Tarts and a box of Fruit Loops from the pantry. Kimiko helped herself to the rest of the lukewarm coffee, pouring it into a thermos.

   "You know, that's probably been sitting on the warmer since yesterday." Brady wrinkled her nose when she received a shrug in reply.

   They gathered their goodies and started for the back door, only to nearly run straight into Nicholai as he came in from the other side. They all jumped away from each other, equally startled to find someone in the way, although Nicolai regained his composure first and leveled them with a cool, searching gaze. "In a bit of a hurry?"

   "Big study session. Gotta get started," Brady mumbled as she edged around his large body.

   He stood aside to let them through, before idly observing, "You appear to be missing a friend."

   "She's already in the Clubhouse. Don't disturb us," Brady snapped. Nicolai quirked a brow and smirked as he raised his hands in a mock-show of surrender. Brady grabbed Kimiko by the coat lapel and nearly dragged her down the icy steps. "Man, what a creeper," she muttered as they trudged through the snow.

   Kimiko pursed her lips and glanced over her shoulder. "Why does it feel like he knows something we don't?"

   "That's just his usual holier-than-thou expression. You get used to it."

   Kimiko hummed, unconvinced. She seemed distracted, studying the ground ahead of them. After awhile, she paused and pointed. "There are two trails here," she said. "You can see they kind of overlap, but two people came out here recently."

   Brady slid her a glance. "And that's important because…?"

   "Well, we can safely assume that one of them belongs to KC."

   "Yeah, and?"

   "Who does the other one belong to?"

   Brady cocked her head, looking at the trails in the snow with renewed interest. "Huh. Good question. Ya think Nick was out here snooping around? He might've seen KC, I dunno, zap off or whatever."

   "Mmmm… Maybe." Kimiko didn't seem too certain about that. "Come on, let's get to the building before we freeze. You guys did put a kerosene heater or something out there, right?"

   "Um…"

   "Brady!"

~*~*~*~*~

   "You know, the joke wasn't that funny. You can stop laughing any day now."

   Nuriko quieted his chuckles and put on his most serious expression, glanced back over his shoulder to face a sulking KC … and promptly burst into hysterical guffaws all over again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't help it!" he gasped through his laughter when she growled. "It's just … that face!"

   "It wasn't funny. You scared the crap outta me," she complained.

   "You only say that because you didn't see your expression." Nuriko did his best to imitate it, before collapsing into yet another bout of laughter, pounding his fist against the nearest wall hard enough to crack it.

   KC's expression darkened further as she stalked up to him and promptly dropped her bag on his head.

   Normally, that would've had him roaring bloody murder at her, but now it didn't even phase him.

   "Nurikoooo! Come oooooonnn!" she whined, stamping her foot. "I don't have time to waste standing around watching you make an ass out of yourself! I'm going to the palace with or without you!" And she turned around to do exactly that, only to be brought up short by her Seishi's tight grip on her coat.

   "Okay, okay. I'm done," he promised, even as a few stray snickers escaped. "Look, I'm sorry about the kidnapping joke, but I wasn't kidding when I said I'm not taking you to the palace. We're leaving the city."

   "But why?" KC unsuccessfully attempted to free her coat. "I gotta get to the palace, I have to warn Hotohori!"

   "About what?" Nuriko asked curiously as he straightened and picked up the bags again.

   "Uh … I had a dream," KC hedged. "I think it was a premonition or something. Hotohori's life might be in danger. I gotta let him know!"

   "His Majesty's life is always in danger. He's the emperor. It kind of comes with the territory," Nuriko pointed out dryly.

   "Yeah, but—"

   "Look, I'm not saying your dream isn't important, but right now we have more serious matters." He blew out a long breath. "I told you that your return was bad timing because we happen to be hosting an official delegation from Kutou. They're holed up in the palace, which means His Majesty doesn't want you anywhere near it right now."

   "Kutou?" KC actually felt the blood drain from her head. "Wh-what do they want?"

   He shrugged. "One can only assume … you." When she blanched further and almost fell backward, he placed a steadying hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "More precisely, they're looking to find out whether the rumors of your existence are true. Under the guise of negotiating peace treaties, of course, which we all know is load of horse shit. They're really good at disguising the fact, but His Majesty and I suspect that at least one member of the delegation is a Seishi."

   KC frowned, confused. "A Suzaku Seishi?"

   "Nope. Seiryuu."

   "But… Wait, why would a Seiryuu Seishi come here?"

   He shrugged again. "Just because they haven't found their Priestess yet doesn't mean the Seishi don't exist. They're powerful warriors and the Kutou emperor tends to keep his warriors close."

   KC slumped. "That makes sense, I guess…"

   "Anyway, they've been here about two weeks and every subtle 'get lost' hint is being ignored. His Majesty's hands are tied. He can't just kick them out; it would definitely be taken as an insult. We were hoping they'd give up and leave on their own when you failed to make an appearance."

   KC winced. "Guess I sorta blew that," she muttered. "At least now I know why Suzaku dropped me in the middle of the city instead of the palace."

   Nuriko snorted. "Not that it did any good. His Majesty and I felt you arrive. You lit up our senses like a firework and if one of our guests really is a Seishi, there's a good chance they picked up on it, too."

   KC shuddered. "So, this mean I'm on the lam now or something?"

   He looked at her blankly. "It means you're coming with me and we're leaving the city."

   "But…" KC chewed her lip. "I can't just leave. I have to talk to Hotohori! If I've really been gone three months he must think I abandoned him."

   Nuriko raised an eyebrow. "'Him'?" he repeated slyly.

   She blushed. "W-well, him and Konan. And you. And Tamahome," she amended hastily.

   He hummed, a smirk playing about his lips. "Well, as I said, going to the palace now is grounds for imminent disaster. If they didn't know you were here before, they definitely will now. And if ever they had an opportunity to try and kill you…" He let the sentence trail off with a knowing nod, satisfied to see her blanch. "It's just too dangerous right now. The unrest between Konan and Kutou is growing and if they know for certain you've returned, that might be enough to spark a war. Until the rest of our Seishi are gathered, we can't risk that happening or Konan will be wiped out."

   "Is Kutou really that strong?" KC whispered, huddling into her coat.

   "Strong and power-hungry."

   "Then why haven't they attacked Konan already?"

   "There was never a rush, I suppose. But if the emperor believes we've gained the ability to summon Suzaku and permanently bind Kutou's power, he'll not risk letting his last chance to conquer us slip away. He'll raize Konan to the ground searching for you."

   KC shivered and kicked at a stray rock. "I'm starting to regret coming back," she grumbled. "I was just supposed to finish this whole summoning thing and go home. I didn't think I'd get caught in the middle of a damned war."

   "You haven't yet. And as long as we get out of here it won't come to that. But we really need to go now." Nuriko paused to give her a critical once-over. "Although, couldn't you have worn something a little less … eye-catching? We're trying to aim for sneaky, here."

   KC huffed. "Oh, sorry for not dressing for the occasion. Tell me, what does one wear when one's running for their life around here?"

   Nuriko rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Take off the outer garment. You can wear my cloak. It should be long enough to cover … whatever it is you're wearing."

   "Pajamas. I'll have you know it was the middle of the friggin' night when I came back here," she huffed as she complied, shoving her coat into the duffle. When she looked up again, Nuriko had removed his cloak and was holding it out to her.

   Her jaw dropped in shock. "Y-you're a guy!" she yelped.

   He blinked. "Very astute of you." His droll expression didn't change as he shook the cloak impatiently at her. "Put it on."

   She ignored him, too busy gawping at the sight of the plain tan pants he wore under a long, belted tunic of black silk, trimmed in red and gold. Similar to Tamahome's usual outfits, although of much finer quality. And most shocking of all…

   "What happened to your hair?" she gasped, noticing for the first time that the luxurious purple mane was gone, cut to the nape of his neck, the shorn ends curling softly over his collar.

   "Oh. That." A flash of irritation crossed Nuriko's face as he self-consciously fingered the short locks. "Unfortunately, it wasn't by my choice. Tamahome and I were sparring one day and he got in a lucky hit. My poor hair suffered the brunt of the blow." His smile turned slightly evil. "Don't worry. I had my revenge."

   KC winced. "Please tell me you didn't kill him," she whimpered, already imagining her dreams of getting home again fluttering away…

   He snorted. "As tempting as that idea is, Tama is alive and well. Ironically, not long after our match he decided it would be an excellent time to visit home." That evil smile was starting to give her the willies. "He's been in his village for the past month, looking after his family. We are going to go and fetch him. He left before the delegation arrived so I need to update him on what's happening. And he'll be very glad to see you. Really, he's been practically forlorn since you left."

   When KC still made no move to take the cloak, Nuriko stepped forward with another roll of his eyes and fastened it around her shoulders, then propelled her down the alley until she got the hint and started walking on her own.

   "So, um, how come you started dressing like a boy?" KC asked, just to break the silence. "I mean, don't get me wrong, boy is a really good look on you—" She completely missed the surprise that flickered momentarily across Nuriko's face. "—but I'm surprised to see you like that, I guess. I thought you liked being a girl."

   "I do like being a girl," he sniffed. "But from a practical standpoint, floor-length robes and elaborate hairstyles aren't exactly sensible attire on a battlefield. And since I'm outed and no longer in the harem, there's really no point in keeping up the charade, is there? Besides, it's like you said." He offered his most charming grin. "'Boy' looks very good on me."

   KC tried hard not to blush at that smile, which transformed his entire face and made her realize belatedly just how handsome he really was. "Hotohori wears it better," she mumbled, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. She half-expected Nuriko to get huffy at her, but he just laughed and kept walking, which was even more disconcerting. What had happened to the pissy viper she'd left only three days … er … months ago?

   Maybe he really had been replaced by a Pod Person…

   They navigated through several more back streets before coming upon a certain building on the fringe edges of town that had definitely seen better days. When they stepped inside the dank, musty room, KC realized it was an abandoned stable. Well, mostly abandoned. A large brown horse donned in gleaming tack of the royal palace stood in one of the stalls, munching contentedly on moldy-looking hay.

   Nuriko immediately set about lashing KC's packs to the back of the saddle, which already held two of his own. "Okay, hop on," he said as he tightened the last knot and nodded at KC.

   She graced him with a blank stare. "Uh, I don't think so."

   He frowned. "Now isn't the time to be obstinate. Get on," he commanded.

   "I can't ride a horse, remember?"

   "Yes, which is why you're riding with me," he pointed out with utmost patience.

   "Uh, yeah, no. That's not gonna work for me."

   His frown deepened. "Why not? You rode with His Majesty without any problems!"

   "That's different," she sniffed, crossing her arms.

   "How is it different?"

   "Because I can trust him not to shove me off the damned horse if I annoy him!" she snapped, glowering.

   Nuriko blinked. Then he snickered. "Oh. Well, that's an easy fix. Just don't do or say anything to annoy me and you should be just fine!"

   "…You are totally not encouraging my confidence in you."

   He laughed again. "Fine. If it makes you feel better, you can just walk instead. It's an easy enough journey, just stay on the main road. You'll pass a few villages along the way but the one you want is Hakukou, in the province of Kusou-ken. I'm sure you'll get there just fine if you ask for directions. And I'll see you in three days."

   KC's face fell. "Three days?"

   "And two nights." Nuriko's grin was feral. "Assuming, of course, you survive camping in the forest with all the wild animals skulking around. And the bandits. Not to mention the stray Kutou assassin who might—"

   "Okay!" KC tossed her hands up in surrender. "Fine! You win! I'll ride the stupid horse!"

   Nuriko grinned broadly and patted her cheerfully on the shoulder. "I knew you'd see it my way. Well, daylight's wasting so let's get a move on. We've got a long ride ahead."