Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, they belong to Watase Yuu and several other people. This is just fanfiction. Nakago and all other unnamed characters have been given names for the duration of this story.
Notes: Alternate Universe. Contains spoilers for entire series, hints of yaoi, language, and violence. Read at your own discretion. Again, pairings are not canon.
*thoughts*
“Are you sure it was Nuriko you saw, Tasuki-kun?” Houjun asked the sad redhead leaning against the tree overlooking the commons. “I mean, you have claimed you saw him before and it turned out to be someone with dyed hair.”
Shun’u glared at the former monk. “I know what I saw, Chichiri. I’ve seen that face every night in my dreams since I was a little kid. There’s no one else it could be,” he replied. “We have to help him, ‘Chiri. Even Chiriko knows something’s wrong. He looked worse than he did at Mount Black.”
Houjun sighed and ran his hand through his light blue hair. “I just wish we could be sure. If he is with Amiboshi and the twins are with Tomo ... we may have more of a problem than just getting him to remember who he was and who we are,” he replied. He was about to say something else when Saihitei walked up to the group. He quickly told the former emperor what had happened and then looked at Shun’u. “This other man that was with them, have you ever seen him before?”
The former bandit leader shook his head and sighed. “No, but his chi felt familiar. Almost like the chi of that ridiculous wol-- Ashitare.” His amber eyes went wide as he looked at his old friends. “It had to have been him. He was scared to even look in my direction with that freak next to him.”
“But why would Ashitare be with Nuriko? They were responsible for each other’s death last time,” Saihitei replied. “Unless, someone is making them do this.”
Houjun nodded slightly and looked at the others. “Shun’u, go find Chiriko and tell him what’s going on. Saihitei, we need you to tell Taka and Miaka. Kaen and I will tell Mitsukake,” he replied. The others nodded and left to find their former friends.
Kaen looked at her husband and sighed slightly. “When do you think we should tell them?”
“Not until we know for sure. There’s no need getting them worried for no reason,” he replied, pulling her into a hug. He then smiled slightly and kissed her. “Besides, I don’t think they’re ready to be god-fathers.”
Ryuuen glanced back at his long time friend before approaching the couple in the parking lot. *Why in Kami’s name am I doing this?* He quietly walked up behind the blue-haired man and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped as the man turned to face him. “Gomen, Ri-san. I ...” He flushed and dropped his gaze to the ground. “I was wondering if you were in English this morning. I ... overslept.”
Houjun smiled and nodded at the purple haired young man. “Yes, I was. I didn’t know we had the same class,” he replied. “I’ve never seen you in there before.”
“No offense, but you never really pay attention to anyone but her,” Ryuuen replied, smiling slightly at Kaen. The young couple flushed slightly as the smaller man chuckled. “I was just wondering if you could tell me what our assignment was.”
Kaen nodded slightly and pulled out a small notebook. “Actually, we were just on our way to the library to start working on it. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like,” she replied.
“We were?” Houjun asked. When he saw the look his wife gave him, he shrugged and smiled. “Oh yeah, I remember now no da. Now would be the only time we can work on it.”
Ryuuen glanced back at the man with dark blond hair for a moment before nodding. “Sure. That would be great,” he replied. He looked back at the man again before following the young couple.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Kaen asked when she saw who the smaller man had been looking at. She laughed slightly as his face turned bright red.
“Who, Kotoku? No. He’s just an old friend of mine. I don’t ... I don’t have anyone like that anymore,” the purple haired man replied.
Houjun glanced at him for a moment. “What do you mean, anymore no da?”
Ryuuen shrugged and walked into the library. “It’s hard to explain. You’d probably think I was crazy if I told you,” he replied. He walked to the nearest table and then looked at the other two. “What about the two of you? You seem pretty much inseparable.”
Kaen smiled slightly and held up her left hand. “We’re married,” she replied. She noticed the blush on Houjun’s face and her smile grew. “But we’ve been best friends since we were children.”
The small man nodded slightly and sat down across from them. “I thought so. You two are almost as bad as Jason and Eeyan. When they’re not fighting, that is,” he replied. He leaned his chin against the heel of his hand, causing his fingers to brush the edge of his black eye. Hissing in pain, he jumped slightly and dropped his hands to his lap.
“What happened?” Kaen asked, moving to stand beside him. “Who did that to you?”
“No one. We just moved into an old house that’s being remodeled. I didn’t know they were painting my room yesterday and I walked into the scaffolding,” the small man lied.
“On a Sunday? How did you ever convince them to do that?” Houjun asked.
“They work for Yen-- they work for my family. And Sunday is just another day to them. They’re almost always at the house doing something,” Ryuuen replied.
“How big is your family ... gomen, I don’t remember your name.”
Houjun glanced at his wife and smiled slightly. “I guess I’m not the only one who doesn’t pay attention in English no da.”
The purple haired man smiled sadly and glanced at the table. “My name is Rene, but most people call me Ryuuen, so I guess you can call me that,” he replied. He glanced from Kaen to her husband. “We had better get started on that assignment. I have to be home soon.”
“Mr. Kou, it’s very rare for you to be in here early, let alone, after your class. What can I do for you?” Doukun asked. He watched as the melancholy teenager slumped beside his desk and stared out at the classroom.
“I think you know, Chiriko,” Shun’u replied. “He’s Nuriko isn’t he? You can feel it too.”
Doukun nodded slightly and glanced at his watch. He hastily wrote something on a piece of paper and walked to the door. A few moments later, he walked back to his desk and nodded again. “Yes, he is. I realized it the first day he walked in here. Just like I knew you were Tasuki. You’re upset about his black eye, aren’t you?”
Shun’u nodded and turned to face the teacher. “I know it seems foolish, but I was kind of hoping that when we found him, there wouldn’t be any problems.”
“You mean, you hoped that he would remember you and remember how close the two of you were, right?” At the surprised look from the younger man, Doukun smiled slightly. “It didn’t take a genius to see how you looked at him, Tasuki. Nor how he looked at you. The only one that didn’t know something was going on was Hotohori.”
“And he still doesn’t know,” Shun’u replied, standing up. “But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that we find Nuriko and get him away from the person that did that to him.”
“Slow down, Tasuki. How do we know it’s not what his friend said? How do we know he didn’t walk into something.”
Shun’u glared at the older man. “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t have been so concerned when he was late,” he replied. “And you know Nuriko. Any man that could pretend to be a woman for over a year without anyone suspecting, is far too graceful to walk into anything.”
Doukun sighed and looked at the redhead. “I agree, but how do you suggest we go about finding out if he is Nuriko? It’s not like he would tell us, especially if he’s scared.”
The redhead sighed and shook his head. “The only thing I can think of, get him away from the goon squad.”
“So, you’re pretty sure it’s him?”
“Yeah, there’s no mistaking those eyes,” Saihitei replied. He looked across the table at the young woman that was once his wife. “Houki, do you think I’m crazy? I mean falling for a man I haven’t seen in ... I don’t even know how long it’s been.”
The tall woman nodded slightly and smiled. “I don’t think you’re crazy, I know you are. But as for this, I think you’re following your heart, finally,” she replied. She took a sip of the coffee in front of her and watched him intently for several moments. “When do you plan on telling the others? Or do you plan on waiting until you’re sure it’s him?”
Saihitei shook his head and smiled at her. “I don’t plan on telling them. What would they say? That I’m crazier than Houjun? Soi wasn’t so bad, but ... he tried to kill Miaka,” he replied.
“But he didn’t. He may have been an evil sadistic person, but that had more to do with the way he was raised than who he was,” Houki replied. She motioned for the waiter and ordered another round of coffee before continuing. “You did get a chance to know him after you died, didn’t you? We were all together before Taitsukun used his magic to send us here.”
“Yeah, I know. And we were friends when I lived in LA, but he’s changed so much. He’s become more like the old Nuriko,” the former emperor replied. “But then again, Chuin was always a little strange.”
Houki smiled at the man who in another life, another world, had been her husband. “True, but what do you expect from an illusionist? I think you should tell them. They will find out eventually, don’t you think it’s better that it come from you?”
Saihitei remained silent for several moments. He was about to speak when he noticed someone walk into the coffee shop. “I think you’re right. And it looks like now is as good a time as any,” he replied. He motioned the older man in the doorway over to their table and stood. “Sukunami-san, I’m glad you could make it. I’m sure you remember Houki.”
Taka smiled at the purple haired woman. “For a moment I thought you were Nuriko,” he replied. He sat across from the former emperor and sighed slightly. “Miaka is busy helping Yui with something. What is this about, Hotohori?”
“Nuriko,” Houki replied. “And a few other old friends.”
Seeing Taka’s look of confusion, Saihitei smiled slightly. “Shun’u thinks he has found Nuriko,” he replied. “And I have found ... Tomo.”
“Tomo?! That little weasel?”
“Tamahome! You know nothing of him! Sure, he used to be cruel, but things change.”
“Guys, calm down. People are staring at you.”
The two men looked around the small coffee shop at the group of people that were staring at them and blushed. Taka sighed slightly and looked at his old friend. “Are you sure he’s changed? Can we trust him?”
Saihitei shrugged. “I don’t know. Chuin was my friend before I moved here, but I haven’t seen him in years,” he replied.
“Chuin? That’s the name of a girl in your and Kouji’s theatre class isn’t it?”
The former emperor nodded and pulled a picture from his bag. It was of him, Kouji, Chuin and several other people standing on stage, running lines. “That’s her, er him,” he replied, pointing to the gray haired youth in the blue dress.
Taka looked at the picture closely before handing it to the former empress. “What is it with you and cross-dressers? I mean, first Nuriko, now this girl, er guy.”
“Nuriko and I were just friends. After the incident at Mount Reikaku, he was more interested in Tasuki, anyway.”
Houki looked at him in shock. “You knew?”
“I was Emperor, not blind. I could see how they kept staring at each other all the time. Once they got back from Hokkan, I was going to talk to Nuriko about it, but ... he never made it back.”
The other two occupants of the table nodded solemnly and were quiet for several minutes. The waiter brought fresh coffee for everyone twice before any of them spoke again. “So,” Taka began. “You said Shun’u found Nuriko. Are we sure it’s him?”
“Not completely,” Saihitei replied. “But that’s what the others are trying to find out right now.”
Kotoku watched Ryuuen walk to the library with the young couple before walking back to the center courtyard. He sat on one of the many benches and looked at the green haired woman beside him. “Ok, he’s gone. Now what?”
Eeyan sighed slightly. “We’re supposed to take care of the redhead now. But I have another idea,” she replied. “Yenting is insane. We have to get away from him before his insanity wears off on the others. Especially Jason and Chuin.”
“It might be too late for that,” Kotoku replied as his arm started tingling. He glanced at it for a moment before pulling out his cell phone and calling his younger brother. “What’s going on Shunkaku?”
Shunkaku glanced back at the ice covered door before lowering his voice and speaking into the phone. “Tomo’s back and Nakago freaked out and attacked Jason,” he replied. “Something’s not right. Do you think it could be Sa--”
Eeyan looked at the distraught boy for a moment before she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. “Suboshi ... we have to get back to the house now!”
Kaen was nearly asleep as she sat listening to Houjun and Ryuuen talking, when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Her eyes went wide as she nearly fell out of her chair, gasping for air. The two men were at her side in an instant, Houjun holding onto her closely. “Kaen, what’s wrong? What happened?”
The brunette shook her head as she tried to concentrate. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong with ... one of the other seishi,” she replied.
Ryuuen looked at her curiously as Kotoku and Eeyan came running into the library. “We have to go now!” Eeyan replied. She looked at the young couple beside the young man and quickly realized who they were. “Suboshi’s in trouble.”
Houjun nodded slightly and helped Kaen to her feet. He quickly grabbed their things as the violet haired man stood there looking at them in shock. “Nuriko, come on, we have to help them.” Without waiting to see how his friend reacted, Houjun took his wife by the arm and left the library.
