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Part 7: Revelations
Tasuki had made up his mind, he was leaving. He made sure he had everything before heading for the door. He froze when he saw a figure standing in the doorway. He pulled out his tessen and waited.
"Konnichiwa!" The person in the doorway approached quickly and gave Tasuki a friendly hug.
"What the %^&*?" Tasuki was baffled. It certainly wasn't Rumiya, and it wasn't anyone else he knew. So who was it?
He blinked in confusion as the person pulled away and he got his first good look. It appeared to be a child around the age of ten or so. The child met his gaze with a friendly little smile.
"I'm not as young as I look," the child said, "and you do know me." He paused, "Well, I know you, anyway." He shrugged dismissively, "But that doesn't matter now."
"Who the ^&(* are you?" Tasuki demanded.
The kid grinned, "It doesn't matter who I am, but what I know may be of interest to you."
"Huh?"
"Well, it's really not much. But I might as well tell you. At least then I'll have something fairly entertaining to do. Being dead is no picnic. That's what my mom always said. I agree with her." The kid mused, "I wonder what she's doing now?"
Tasuki was totally lost, what in the ^(&% is he talking about? Does this have something to do with the anything else on this %*&)ing mountain? Nothing makes sense.
"C'mon!" Tasuki snapped back to attention and realized the kid was pulling on his sleeve. "Hurry up," the kid insisted, "I haven't got all night!"
The Suzaku seishi balked, "Where?"
"Well, you do want to leave don't you?"
This sounded promising, "%(&* yeah!" He turned to the kid, "You know the way?"
"Sure. I'll even lead you down myself." The kid looked at Tasuki mischievously. "But first," he said, "you have to catch me!" The kid dashed out the door and into the snow.
Although he was taken aback for a moment, Tasuki raced after the kid, determined to find out how he could get off the mountain.
In the cabin, Arai raised her huge white head to gaze in puzzlement at the retreating figures. With a huge sigh, she lumbered to her feet and set off after them.
Tasuki was having a hard time keeping up with the kid, the snow was really impeding him He had to make his way through drifts that were almost thigh deep. How come this ^*&(ing snow isn't slowing the kid down? Tasuki wondered.
Despite this, Tasuki managed to keep an eye on the child's retreating form. And whenever it seemed that Tasuki was getting too far behind the kid backtracked a bit and waited.
After traveling like this for who knows how long, Tasuki reached an area where the snow was not quite as deep. He glanced around and realized he was in the mouth of a cave. The kid was standing a few feet away peering into the depths of the cave. Taking the opportunity, Tasuki grabbed the kid by the back of his heavy robe.
"Gotcha!" Tasuki was about to demand to be lead off of the mountain, but he heard voices coming from deep within the cave. "What the ^%$*?" He released the kid, "Stay here!" Then he walked deeper into the cave.
As soon as the Suzaku seishi was out of sight, the kid turned to leave the cave, only to run into Arai. Both of them stared at each other for a moment, then Arai stepped aside so the kid could leave. The child did not hesitate for a moment, but disappeared into the snow.
The further Tasuki went into the cave, the clearer the voices became. Finally he could understand what they were saying. Around the same time, he came to an area where the cave opened up into a huge cavern.
"And just what do you think I can do?" A voice demanded.
Tasuki couldn't place that voice, but he knew exactly who the second voice belonged to. Rumiya!
"Why do I even bother," Rumiya grumbled.
Approaching cautiously, Tasuki finally got a glimpse of the speakers. He recognized Rumiya, but the other person was unknown to him. It was a man with dark gray hair and darker gray eyes.
"I have no idea," the gray haired man said to Rumiya, "Personally I'd like to know that myself. I'm getting rather sick of listening to you complain."
"Well, I'm sure you don't have anything better to do," Rumiya muttered. "And thank you very much for all your helpful advice," he added sarcastically.
"Fine," the gray haired man snorted, "have it your way. The way I see it you have three options. The first one is to let him go."
Tasuki's eyes widened, they're talking about me!
"The second option is to let me kill him." Tasuki snarled at that, and apparently Rumiya wasn't too thrilled by the idea either because the gray haired man quickly added, "Or you could kill him yourself. It shouldn't matter either way."
"Hmmph!"
"Your last option would be to get him to kill you. I'm fairly certain that would work, too."
Rumiya seemed to consider it for a moment. "If you're wrong…"
"You would be dead." The gray haired man shrugged, "It wouldn't matter anyway."
"I get the feeling Genrou wouldn't much appreciate either of your methods of getting him to stay."
You're %^*& right I wouldn't appreciate it! Tasuki thought from the shadows.
"Why do you care anyway," the gray haired man said, his voice cold.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you sound jealous, Rei." Rumiya said curiously.
"JEALOUS!!" The gray haired man, Rei, seemed infuriated by the idea. He took a couple of deep breaths before saying anything else. "What would give you that idea?" He asked, finally.
Rumiya shrugged, "You act like it all the time. Is it really an insult to you if I have friends, or are you just upset by the whole situation?" He paced slightly, getting nearer to the hidden Suzaku seishi with each step.
"Of course the situation upsets me," Rei growled, "if you think I like the idea of spending who knows how long in this lousy cave, you're wrong." He glared at Rumiya balefully, "At least you have some freedom of movement."
"We're back to that again," Rumiya groaned, "I don't know why you're mad at me. It's all your fault, anyway."
Tasuki made a face. Obviously this was an old argument. He didn't really want to sit around listening to them bicker. He needed to get back to Miaka and the others. Besides, he was getting really cold.
The sound of a sword being drawn made him snap back to attention. Rei had drawn a sword and was holding it menacingly. Rumiya backed up a step, frowning. Tasuki bared his fangs, he couldn't afford to just stand by and watch. If Rumiya was killed, he would never be able to get off this mountain, but he didn't want to interfere yet. That might make the situation even worse.
"It's just like you to solve all your problems with your sword, Rei!" Rumiya growled. "Maybe if you'd been smart and thought about what you were doing we wouldn't be here now!"
"SHUT UP!" Rei leapt forward, his sword a blur. Rumiya jumped back and nearly avoided the blow. Instead of slashing him open it merely left a long thin gash across his ribs and ruined his white vest.
Behind the rocks, Tasuki got to his feet. He held his tessen tightly in his hand, and prepared to leap into the fray.
In the meantime, Rumiya had drawn his dagger and counterattacked. His attack was even less successful, only grazing the other man's cheek. Both combatants backed up a moment to catch their breaths and plan their next moves. Rei wiped his face with the back of one hand. "You've always gotten all the good things," he complained bitterly, "Everyone always favored you."
He lunged, and Tasuki was surprised at how fast he could move. Rumiya was fast too, though. He wasn't fazed and used his dagger to slash his opponent's arm. The snow around them was crimson. By the time the latest exchange of blows had stopped both men were bleeding from many deep wounds. Tasuki finally decided he had been sitting around waiting long enough.
He moved out from behind the boulder, clutching his tessen tightly. He dashed forward and prepared to use the metal fan as a club.
Both of them heard him coming and turned, almost simultaneously. Rumiya's eyes widened, "Genrou? What are you doing here?" Tasuki ignored the question and brought the tessen around. His blow never hit, though. Rei grabbed his wrist and flipped him over. Tasuki was so shocked by this move he almost dropped the tessen.
He found himself flat on his back, trying to catch his breath. Rei smirked, "So this is Genrou. I've been wondering if I would meet you. I've heard so much about you from my dear otouto-san."
What the $%??!
The Suzaku seishi was now thoroughly confused. Even worse, Rei seemed to be about ready to kill him. Unable to use his tessen, Tasuki could only watch as the long blade slashed down. He closed his eyes, anticipating pain.
He didn't feel any pain, though. Just wet warmth as blood splattered across his face. He opened his eyes, puzzled. Rumiya was standing over him, clutching his belly. Tasuki could tell that the young man had been injured badly.
"Enough, Rei. If you want to fight, fight me. No one else should be involved in this dispute."
"I'll gladly kill you first." Rei smirked, raising the blade again.
STOP
"Huh?" Tasuki turned as a commanding voice rang out.
Both of the fighters turned also. Perched on a rock and dressed in long flowing robes was a white-haired young woman with eyes that were a surprising shade of green.
Rumiya smiled faintly, "Arai…"
Rei lowered his sword for a moment. "Sister." He said levelly, "What are you doing here?"
Stop your fighting brothers. The woman --Arai-commanded sternly. There are bigger problems here than your petty bickering. She turned to Tasuki.
You have seen what you should not have, she said.
Tasuki frowned, is she really talking? Her lips aren't moving. Then her words sank in, this is great. All of them were staring at him.
What should we do with you now?
To be continued...