Disclaimer: Dammit, I do not own them! They belong to multi-millionaire rich people who're laughing their heads off because they're making a lot of money and we don't!! Got that? Good.
*thoughts*
/what had happened in the past/
(time setting)
Ayame-chan says: Ahhh!!! Gomen nasai for taking so long with this chapter! I've been busy with so much other stuff that I didn't have the time! Well...now I do have some free time. Until next week (grr...school...me no like school...). Well, this chapter introduces my favorite Suzaku seishi, Chichiri! ::grins maniacally:: And this'll be soon a full crossover...I hope, but I'm just incorporating both storylines so far. Now on with the show!!
Chapter Six ~ Chichiri to the Rescue, no da!
(to where I left off, my wonderful readers...)
" 'Touchan! 'Touchan!"
Masaki bent down to pick up the running children, hoisting two of them up on each shoulder and laughing.
" 'Touchan, okairei!" the girl on his right shoulder said who looked about only six years old and a spitting image of Aiko.
"Okairei!" her twin repeated on the left side.
"Aa, tadaima," Masaki greeted them.
Aiko stood up and walked towards the little crowd gathering, her arms folded across her chest. "Maa, you're home early, anata."
Ukiyou smiled at the two. "Masaki-san, okairei."
Masaki took his gaze off his wife for a moment to greet Ukiyou back. "Ah, U-chan, you're back early."
Ukiyou just laughed. "Maa, I'm home earlier than you were. You lost the bet."
Masaki shook his head, still holding onto the two girl twins that were on his shoulders and answered Aiko's question. "The mission was easier than I thought, so they just let me go."
"Oh? And you had to walk all the way home from Aizu?" Aiko asked sarcastically. She wiggled his nose. "Poor thing."
After that second, the twin on the right began to reach over her father's head to do the same thing to her twin on the left. "Ah! Poor thing!"
The little girl on the left laughed and repeated the same thing as they began to teeter over their father's shoulders. "Poor thing! Poor thing!"
Masaki sweatdropped. He felt like he was going to lose his grip on his daughters. "Oi..."
Aiko laughed. "Yamenasai." She turned back to the others, pointing back at her husband. "See? They love to take after me."
Masaki set the twins down and they ran off. Aiko began introductions. "Anata, these are the people that Ukiyou stayed with. Next to Shunsaku's Myojin Yahiko," Yahiko waved back politely, "the girl next to Ukiyou's Kamiya Kaoru; the rooster head there's Ukiyou's friend," Kaoru bowed politely; Sanosuke just nodded in acknowledgement, "and I'm sure you know Nuriko by now," Nuriko grinned. "I know you know this man," she concluded, saving Kenshin for last who stood up, smiling.
Masaki's mouth turned into a small 'o'. "Ooh, Kenshin, I barely even recognize you. Nice to see you again."
Kenshin laughed, "Maa, istashiburi, Masaki, de gozaru."
The children ran inside behind him as dusk began to fall. Aiko looked up at the sky. "Wow, it's already getting dark." She looked back at the others. "Feel free to stay here. We have lots of room, so don't worry about room. U-chan, will you help me with dinner? Seems like we're going to be making more than the usual."
(after dinner at the Sasaki home)
Ukiyou sat alone on the porch, staring up at the stars that flew by. Her eyes stared up sadly at them; her mind lost in thought. All those times when she was in China...they began to haunt her memories....
"U-chan?" Nuriko's voice camed out softly.
Ukiyou blinked, startled, and turned her head around. Nuriko stood at the doorway, concern in his eyes.
"Ah..nani yo, Nuriko?" she asked.
He cocked his head to one side, the braid following the path as it slipped past his shoulders. "U-chan, doushta no? Why're you sitting here by yourself?"
"A-anno...just thinking about stuff," Ukiyou bluntly replied, not thinking of what to say.
Nuriko walked forward and sat down next to her. "Thinking about what? You know, you're scaring me nowadays."
She blinked a few times in confusion. "Scaring you? Naze?"
"..Well, you didn't seem like yourself the past few days."
Ukiyou chuckled softly, as if finding the answer funny to her. She looked down at her folded hands. "Maa, I guess you could say I've changed. After all that time trying to search for the Shinzaho...I've been wondering if it was really worth becoming the Suzaku no Miko. I mean, if I didn't become the miko, a lot of lives would've been saved."
"U-chan, it's not your fault---" Nuriko began to say.
"But it is my fault!" Ukiyou replied harshly. "If it wasn't for me, then Hotohori-sama, Mitsukake, Chiriko, and Tamahome....." she trailed off, but continued on quickly. "If it wasn't for me, then they wouldn't have died! I-I don't want that to happen with the others here..."
(somewhere in the house)
Sanosuke hummed softly to himself while walking around the premises of the Sasaki household. Damn, he had to admit that the place was pretty large compared to Jou-chan's dojo. It looked small on the outside, but once you got in, it looked totally different than what it seemed to be.
*I guess that's what Riskbrokers or whatever have to do in order to keep their identities hidden...* he thought.
He reached the back area and paused, listening to the voices that were talking not far away. His eyebrow arched slightly as he tiptoed closer. *U-chan?*
(back to Ukiyou and Nuriko...)
"U-chan," Nuriko put a comforting arm around Ukiyou's shoulder, "That's not going to happen."
"Demo, they found me," Ukiyou replied, resisting the urge to cry. "And they'll probably find Yui-chan, too."
"Yeah, you're right, they found you," Nuriko admitted. "Demo, you got me and the others right? Even though Chichiri and Tasuki aren't here, that doesn't mean that they're not looking out for you. And I understand how you feel about the others' deaths. Shikashi, you know that we would protect you at all costs. Even if it means that we have to sacrafice our lives to protect you. That's what being a Suzaku seishi's all about."
"But I don't want any protection from you guys," Ukiyou replied. "Tamahome promised that he would never leave and protect me forever, demo...." Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to fight them back. "Demo..."
"Tamahome did what he did because he loved you that much," Nuriko explained. "And what's in the past is what's in the past. You have to move on." And then he let out a small laugh. "Ha, Tama-chan wouldn't like seeing you like this. He knows that you're strong, ne?"
Ukiyou smiled softly. "Hai..."
"And you got a job to do, ne? The Seiryuu seishi are partnering up with that guy who wants revenge from Kenshin, so you gotta do whatever it takes to prevent them from getting what they want," Nuriko pointed out.
Ukiyou couldn't help but giggle. His words reminded of her of someone she knew very well. "You starting to sound like Sanosuke, Nuriko."
"Well, speaking about Sanosuke, you two seem rather cloooosssssseeeee, U-chan," Nuriko drawled the last line, a teasing glint in his eye.
Ukiyou waved her arms frantically. "No, no, no! It's not what you think! Sano and I are just friends!"
(to the eavesdropping Sanosuke...)
All the muscles in his body stiffened. *So, I'm just a friend?* Sanosuke thought to himself. He clenched his fists tightly. *Then what the hell were all those times in the Sekihoutai were? Nothing?*
He shook his head. *No, she's right. U-chan's right. We're only just close friends.*
Are you sure about that? The inner voice in his mind asked him.
*Shutup! Who the hell asked you for an opinion anyway?*
The sounds of an explosion echoed closeby, catching Sanosuke's attention. "The hell is that?"
(to the oh...indoors)
Aiko stared out the window with her husband. "So they followed them after all."
Masaki turned around to his eldest son. "Shunsaku, I'm counting on you to take your brother and sisters and get out of here."
Shunsaku behind the doorway and nodded. "Hai."
They followed their son and exited the room while Kenshin and the others who were sleeping ran out.
"Nani yo, de gozaru?" Kenshin asked.
"It seems that the Seiryuu seishi followed you guys along with some of Enishi's comrades," Aiko answered.
Kenshin's eyes widened. Kaoru gripped onto Kenshin tightly.
"So what should we do?" she asked.
"Get out of here as fast you can. Shunsaku's gathering the children, so follow him if you don't want to join the fight," Masaki answered. *This is going to be a long night...*
(the explosion site which is right by where Nuriko and Ukiyou were at)
Nuriko covered Ukiyou from the debris of the explosion and numerous amounts of rocks and dirt scraped his skin. After a few moments, they opened their eyes and faced a blue chi in front of them not far away.
"They're here," Ukiyou said, her eyes filled with determination and grief.
The symbol of "kokoro" on Nakago's forehead faded away as he stared coldly back at her. The Kenshingumi and gang, with the exception of Shunsaku and Yahiko, piled out. Sanosuke ran out from the corner.
"Oi, U-chan, what the hell was that??" he stopped in midstep and stared at the huge hole that was made in the wall.
Nakago smiled arrogantly along with the man beside him. Kenshin recognized the man, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Enishi..."
Enishi chuckled quietly to himself and stared back at Kenshin through his sunglasses. "Well, were you trying to escape from me, Battousai? It didn't work." He gestured towards Nakago. "See, my friend here is also looking for the girl who is protecting you."
"You won't win," Ukiyou's voice replied coldly. "Even if you gather the strongest fighters of the world, you'll never win."
"Hmph, we'll see about that Suzaku no Miko," Nakago replied. "You're rather shorthanded, are you not?"
A large shadow appeared above the group, covering the moon with its figure and began to fall down to the ground.
"DAAA!!!" a voice shouted from the figure.
They stared up in confusion as the figure split into two and landed separately on the ground. One looked like a monk, with light blue hair and smiling. He was the one who shouted from above and landed on the ground with ease.
Ukiyou blinked a few times. "Chichiri?"
The other figure didn't land as gracefully and landed on his ass with a thud. He had flaming red hair and amber eyes, and was apparently cursing to himself and to the other man at the same time.
"Dammit, Chichiri! Next time why don't you tell me BEFOREHAND when we're going to $*(#@' land!" he shouted.
It was Nuriko's turn to blink in confusion. "Tasuki?"
"Maa, Tasuki-kun, you gotta be aware of these surprises, no da," Chichiri answered Tasuki's question.
Enishi turned his head to Nakago. "And just who're they?"
Nakago answered calmly, "Oh, they're the remaining warriors of Suzaku. Don't worry, they're not that much of a threat."
"Oro?" Kenshin said, pointing at the two newcomers. The others sweatdropped.
"Just what the hell are you two doing here?" Nuriko asked.
"The hell are you asking me for?" Tasuki answered back. "Ask the freakin' monk here!"
"I thought there was something odd going around here, no da!" Chichiri answered. "I felt the Seiryuu seishi's ki here, no da, so I transported me and Tasuki here to help out, no da!"
"Well...I guess we have more people now than before..." Ukiyou slowly said.
Enishi jerked his head to the soldiers behind him. "Attack."
MUSE NOTES:
( Chichiri )
[ Tasuki ]
/ Taka-neko \
(Da! Kinda strange, no da? This is supposed to be a crossover, no da! Ayame-chan's kinda tired, so we had to finish this for her, no da!)
[The hell do you mean that she's tired? She practically killed me this morning over breakfast!]
/Mreow\
[Taka, quit taking his side! Why don't you take my side for once?]
/Mreow, meow, meow.\
(See, no da? Even Taka-neko agrees that you are too brash, no da!)
Hey, you guys quit arguing! My oniichan wants to me to get off the computer!
*The muses nod in agreement*
Good, now, I hope you liked this chapter! Kinda strange, but I'll make it up in the next one!