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Part 5: The Way Things Are
Tasuki was sitting next to the fire, being bored out of his mind. The snow still hadn’t stopped, and Rumiya was still gone. Probably froze into an ice cube out there. This meant there was nothing to do, and no one to talk to. Except the bear. I’m not that desperate yet...
It was almost as if Arai could read his thoughts. She raised her enormous white head and gave him a scornful gaze, as if to say, "Are you implying that I am not good company?" Tasuki raised his eyebrows at the look on the bear’s face. I’m losing it. Bears can’t talk.
Arai growled softly and got to her feet. She lumbered over to Tasuki, who backed up nervously, "Nice bear! You don’t need to come any closer...really!" The bear sniffed the bandit, then opened her huge mouth and chomped down on the edge of Tasuki’s shirt. "#$%&!!!" Tasuki snarled, alarmed. Arai started to walk off, dragging Tasuki along behind her.
"Rumiya! Get your &$$ in here before your bear eats me!!!" When Rumiya didn’t come in, Tasuki grabbed his shirt and tried to pull it out of Arai’s mouth. This led to a tug-of-war between the bear and the bandit. The bear triumphed easily and decided to use Tasuki as a pillow. "$%?!" Tasuki hissed, not quite brave (or stupid) enough to risk the animal’s wrath by hitting it with his fan.
The bear started to snore and Tasuki couldn’t cover his ears because his arms were pinned. He groaned, "Where is that %^*)in’ Rumiya, anyway?" Rumiya entered the room as soon as Tasuki uttered these words. It was almost like saying his name had summoned him. He took one look at the scene in the cabin and smiled good-humoredly.
"It’s nice to see you’re getting along so well." Was he laughing? Tasuki snarled silently and glared up at the young man. He felt a sudden urge for a bonfire. Unfortunately he couldn’t move.
"Help me up $*? it!!" Rumiya grinned and snapped his fingers. The bear responded instantly, getting to her feet and ambling off to lie down by the fire. Tasuki stood up and brushed himself off. Then he checked his tessen. It seemed undamaged.
Rumiya came up next to him, "It’s a good thing that Arai likes you, but next time you shouldn’t play so rough. Sometimes she forgets her own strength." He glanced at the iron fan curiously, "What exactly is that for, Genrou?"
Tasuki was wary, he didn’t quite trust Rumiya, and still didn’t want to give his identity as a Suzaku Seishi away. "I use it as a weapon."
"It probably makes a very good club. It looks heavy enough."
Tasuki nodded, even though he rarely used his tessen that way, it was safer for Rumiya to think that than to know it could be used to throw fire. He decided to change the subject before Rumiya asked any more questions, "So, where’d you go?"
Giving him a cautious look, Rumiya actually replied to the question, "I was out reading the omens."
"What?"
"I was looking at the stars, and other things that help me foretell the future." He obviously didn’t expect Tasuki to believe him.
Foretell the future? It seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to Tasuki, but he didn’t want to say that to Rumiya’s face. Instead he asked, "What did they foretell?"
Rumiya looked troubled, "They foretell danger, but do not say what it will be." He glanced at the door, "Up here danger could be a lot of things: animals, weather, people...and some other things." He didn’t elaborate.
Other things? Like what? Monsters? Undead zombies? Demons? The Suzaku seishi had encountered all these things and more in their quest to summon Suzaku. Surely there couldn’t be anything worse around here...or could there? Better not to speculate.
Tasuki was so caught up in his dark thoughts that he didn’t notice when Arai got to her feet, fur standing on end, and started growling. Rumiya glanced toward the door, then went to the pile of furs in the corner and dug around until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a dagger and tucked it into his belt. Then he headed for the door, with Arai close behind.
It took the bandit a moment to realize what was going on. When he realized what was going on he pulled out his fan. If there was danger, they would need all the help they could get. Rumiya pulled the door open and headed out into the snow.
Once they were outside, Tasuki gazed around warily. He couldn’t see anything. Then he heard a noise to his left somewhere, and turned to face it. "%^(#!" He muttered softly, "I still can’t see anything!"
Rumiya gripped the dagger in one hand, "It’s poachers! They’re here to hunt rare animals!" He gave Tasuki a sideways glance, "White bears are rare. Their furs fetch a lot of money in the city. They also use claws, teeth and bones in quack remedies." He rested one hand on Arai’s head and whispered something into her furry ear. The large animal turned around and walked off, in a matter of seconds she was gone.
Still gripping his tessen tightly, Tasuki waited for some signal from Rumiya. He glanced at the young man.
To his surprise, Rumiya didn’t seem at all worried now that he knew what he was dealing with. "So they like to hunt, eh? They’re fools if they think they can get away with it. Let’s see how they like to be hunted." He turned to Tasuki, "Genrou, stay here and wait for them. I’ll get behind them and drive them toward you." He eyed the metal fan, then glanced at Tasuki’s red hair. "They’ll be able to spot you for sure...your hair really sticks out in this snow." He reached into the pocket of his shirt and pulled out a white hood. "Put this on."
Without waiting to hear what Tasuki had to say he dashed off. Tasuki groaned at the thought of having to put the hood on, but concluded that it would give him the element of surprise. Since he didn’t want to give away his tessen’s flame-throwing capabilities, he decided to go along with the idea.
Tasuki crouched in the snow and waited. For a while nothing happened. Then someone rushed toward him so fast he didn’t have time to get out of the way. The would-be poacher was running scared, he was so frightened he didn’t even notice when Tasuki got up. The Suzaku seishi was able to club the poacher into unconsciousness easily.
He then looked up to see what had happened to the other poacher. He didn’t see anything at first, but then Rumiya approached. His face was impassive, but his eyes were fierce. He had blood splattered on his white vest, and on his face and hands as well. He gave Tasuki a look, as if daring him to comment, but the Suzaku seishi decided he really didn’t want to know what had happened. Rumiya walked over and looked down at the unconscious poacher.
"What should we do with him?" Tasuki asked cautiously, "We can’t just leave him here."
"You’re right," Rumiya said, reaching for his dagger.
"%&*$!!" Tasuki swore, reaching out to grab Rumiya’s wrist, "You can’t just kill him!"
"Why not?" Rumiya glanced at Tasuki curiously, "His life was forfeit as soon as he entered my territory. No one comes here without my knowledge, no one leaves here without my approval." Tasuki felt uncertainty coming over him, what’s he saying? Does he mean I’m not gonna be able to leave? No one can keep Gen-chan where he doesn’t want to be! Just let him try!
Rumiya seemed amused for a second, watching Tasuki’s reaction, "You can go back to the cabin now, if you’d rather not stay and watch." Tasuki was about to protest again, but thought better of it. I didn’t know Rumiya was so bloodthirsty.
"I’m not cruel, or vicious," Rumiya said, not bothering to turn and look at Tasuki, "It’s just common sense. If he escapes, then someday he’ll be back. Perhaps he’ll want to hunt bears again. Maybe he’ll just come back to avenge his friends. If he does come back, and he brings more people, that will endanger my existence here. I do what has to be done."
Rumiya’s argument made good sense, but the thought of killing the man in cold blood made Tasuki’s stomach turn. He decided arguing with Rumiya was senseless, and he’d had enough violence. He elected to go back to the cabin.
* * * * * *
When Rumiya came back to the cabin he didn’t say anything about the poachers. Tasuki didn’t say anything either, he didn’t feel much like having a conversation with Rumiya. The next couple of hours they simply pretended the other person didn’t exist.
Finally, however, the strain became too much. Tasuki found himself, quite unwillingly, asking, "What did you do to the bodies?"
The white-haired man glanced at him curiously, "I got rid of them, where no one will find them." He hesitated for a moment, "Genrou..." When Tasuki looked in his direction, he continued. "Don’t waste your pity on them," Rumiya said, "They aren’t worth wallowing in guilt over. Believe me, they would’ve done the same thing to you, or to me, and not hesitated in the least. I know... they tried."
When Tasuki still didn’t say anything Rumiya sighed, "You know something, you’re different from anyone else I’ve ever seen up here. I’m not really sure what to make of it sometimes. Up here, life is harsh and death is always just on the horizen. When you spend too much time here, you lose your perspective. Death is just death, nothing more. But you, you’re not like that. It’s puzzling to me. I think that’s why I saved your life."
He got up and headed for the door. Once there, he stopped and turned to give Tasuki a puzzled look, "I’ve never rescued a human being before. Why you? Can you give me the answer to that question Genrou?" Rumiya didn’t wait to hear Tasuki’s reply, he opened the cabin door and walked out into the snow.
Something different about me? What could that be, that I am a Suzaku seishi? Tasuki didn’t understand it either, and sat staring into the fire for a while. Finally, he let exhaustion overtake him, and curled up in a pile of furs.
Gomen Nasai! I didn't mean to take so long getting it up! Please don't hurt me...I just
want feedback!
~_~