"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"For the last goddamn time, NO!"
"And if you ask again, I'll slip hemlock in your sake, so help me Suzaku!"
"Shiiiiiit, you'd think we'd be there already! I mean, we've been fuckin ridin around for days and getting ourselves lost 'cause the damn ketsus can't make up their fuckin minds and--"
"Sai-kun, do I have permission to beat his face in?"
"With my sincerest blessing."
'Pardon my intrusion, but there will be no beatings, poisonings, or other vicious threats on Shun's life.'
"Thanks, Gen-kun!"
'At least, not until I get the first bite in.'
Peals of laughter rang out over the simple countryside. Three out of four Seishi were intensely amused by the wolf's "defense,” while their bondmates mentally chortled. Even solemn Takeshi crowed with undue laughter.
"Yeah, yeah," Shun'u growled as he kept up his lope besides Saihitei's horse. "Laugh it up, you assholes! Why the fuck am I always the butt of the jokes?"
Tama mindspoke, not bothering to hide his mirth. 'It's really nothing personal, Shun'u, you just make one hell of an easy target!'
Once again, the group burst into a lively round of laughter while Shun'u promised a painful and untimely death upon those who would dare to mock him.
'And you turned your furry red ass on me,' he snapped at the wolf, who was hidden among the waist-high prairie grass growing alongside the path. 'You're lucky I ain't a vengeful man...'
'You're a good man, Shun, for taking the brunt of such humor. We need these moments of light-heartedness, and I thank you for it,' Genrou placated his Seishi's temper the usual way--through intense ego stoking.
'Yeah, I s'pose it is kinda funny...' he grudgingly admitted. 'But next time, can't we use Sai as the--'
'STOP!'
Shun'u literally halted in mid-step, almost falling over from the suddenness of the order. Saihitei and Ryuuen brought their horses up so sharply that both bucked and nearly trampled Juan, who had been walking alongside them.
What the bloody hell is going on? Shun'u thought, his mind racing between anger and agitation. The shout came not only from Genrou, but also the other three ketsus, which only served to make him more nervous. "You guys know somethin?"
'We do--'
'And you will not like what you see,' both Genrou and Tama's voices were clipped and harsh, though they gave no hint or indication as to what was wrong. The two runners emerged from the grass, then began pulling on their Seishi's robes and thoughts with great urgency. 'Follow us!'
"Wait! What's going on?" Juan demanded, his usually calm demeanor gone without a trace as he grabbed Tama's scruff. "Shun'u is right--we have been following your directions, and, though I trust the ketsu's wisdom, I do not like walking blindly into situations."
"I second that!" Ryuuen voiced, glaring at Kohana, who had suddenly become fascinated with the ground, the grass, and everything but her Seishi. "'Fess up!"
Takeshi sighed, then spoke succinctly. 'You're right. We haven't told you everything, though it isn't because we don't want to. It's because we ketsu aren't completely sure as to what is happening, and we didn't want to get too far off-course if the problem turned out to be trivial.'
Kohana picked up the mental flow of words, sounding very distraught. 'But it is very important! There are feelings of pain and humiliation coming from a nearby village, and we've just now pinpointed its location. Please, my Seishi, trust us and run blind.'
Shun'u was completely taken aback. For the ketsu to admit that they didn't know what was happening... it was more than serious--it was scarily alarming.
Oh shiiiit, this is bad... Shun'u inwardly winced, But if Genrou needs me... I ain't gonna turn away. And he said as much aloud.
"Hey Gen, I'll follow you. What'cha need me ta do?"
If it were possible, Shun'u would have seen the wolf smile with pride. As it was, an echo of three more voices followed his declaration, and both were distracted by the urgency of the situation.
"So do you want me to run or ride?" Juan asked Tama, releasing the cat from the undignified hold.
"Or do you want the horse, so I may fly with Takeshi?" Saihitei offered the big man. "It could be faster."
'I hate to be brusque, but the situation's turned critical and we need to be moving,' Takeshi pushed. 'I don't care how you do it, but follow Genrou and myself--we'll lead you there.'
Like a reflex, Shun'u immediately shifted into his wolf-shape and butted his head against Genrou's. 'Ready whenever you are.'
'Then let's fly!'
The two wolves were off without a backward glance. He heard twin eagle shrieks cut through the sky and the pounding of rhythmic hoofbeats behind him, but his whole being was focused on followed his ketsu across the open plains, cutting through fields and grassland.
'Gen-kun... what's going on?' Shun'u pressed, not bothering to hide his worry and tension and, yes, even a stirring of fear. 'Is it another demon-lady? Dammit, I hope not, 'cause I don't think I can handle another one!'
'No. No, Shun, it's not a demon. At least... not the demon you're thinking of,' Genrou replied, sounding more cryptic than usual. But instead of feeling frustrated--the normal reaction when he wanted answers and wasn't getting them--Shun'u just felt a further, sinking tightness in his gut.
Though they traveled no more than a few miles, the run felt as if it took twice as long as it should have, thanks to the sudden anxiety eating at his stomach. Then, at the edge of the wilderness, where the grassland began to dwindle to farmland, Genrou stopped him.
'Look around--they're here somewhere! I can smell the fear...'
Standing there was a very small village, made of what looked to be no more than a few dozen houses. It looked completely harmless; with the afternoon gently leading into evening, the scene was actually quite homey. It almost reminded Shun’u of his old home.
However, the metallic scent of terror combined with the burning stench of rage reached his sensitive nose and painted the scene with dark overtones.
Seiryuu's shit, this place reeks to the high fuckin heavens!
He was about to make a comment to the wolf when the sound of shrieking broke the thickened silence. His canine ears caught it, and he took off running before his mind had a chance to really process what he had just heard.
Pain... I hear it... I smell it... and I'll be damned if I won't help whoever's hurt!
He followed the squawk-like cries, appearing now at intermittent lengths, speeding up until he reached the backyard of a small house. And what he saw was much worse than any demon he may have imagined.
A little girl was cowering on the ground, curled up into the fetal position and screaming her throat raw as a tall, stocky man beat her with a leather strap. Her body was a mess of dirt, welts, and bruises, and though she tried to vainly protect herself with stick-thin arms, the man would simply kick her and strike again.
For a split-second, Shun’u was shocked so far out of his mind that he could not move. He almost refused to believe what his eyes saw, but there was no denying the truth of the scene.
The man had stopped for just a minute, his chest heaving with anger and exertion. "You little bitch, what the hell is wrong with you? You did it on purpose! It’s your fault!" the man yelled as he raised the strip again. "It’s all your fault!"
Something within the wolf-Seishi snapped. In animal shape, Shun’u was in constant battle with himself, needing to keep his canine instincts under strict control. But faced with something so evil and so wrong, his primal drive came out full-force and pushed past any moral inhibitions he may have harbored.
So with a howl to chill the blood of Suzaku, Shun’u ran at the man before he had a chance to lower the strap. The man heard it, turned his head with sudden surprise, and barely had time to let out a scream before Shun’u attacked. He sprang up, grabbed the offensive arm in his mouth, and planted his paws in the center of the man’s chest. Both man and wolf went tumbling to the ground. The attacker was on his back and his arm bleeding freely into Shun’u’s eager mouth. The sound of his screams echoed like music in Shun’u’s ears, and he spat out the arm to go for the final killing bite.
You goddamn motherfuckin sonovabitch I’LL SEE YOU IN FUCKIN HELL!
'SHUN!'
He actually had his teeth on the man's neck when Genrou stopped him. Shun’u paused in mid-bite, only half-aware of the wolf that had silently come up next to them. 'Don't kill him. Don't do it.' Genrou's voice held no mercy in it. He spoke with simple directness, sounding almost casual in his request for Shun’u to stop.
The Tasuki Seishi slowly pulled back; looking down at the man's terrified expression as he babbled out human words of pleading and begging was meant to calm the wolf-born storm. Yet to no avail--it only further provoked his anger, and he took it out by snapping his bloodstained fangs in the man's face.
'Genrou, don't you fuckin tell me what to do! While someone like this shithead is around, someone who likes beating kids, then I have more than enough reason to see his goddamn blood spilt. And I want to be the one to spill it!'
But Genrou pushed on, using all the persuasiveness he possessed, his mind carefully nuzzling his Seishi’s. 'Don't sink, Shun, not to a level like that. Not while the girl is watching, you could do more harm than good. Please Shun, if not me then for the girl.'
That was the deciding factor. He was a Warrior, and his duty towards the innocent outranked the need to punish the guilty. Shun'u slunk off the man's chest, still growling loudly with his hackles standing needle-straight, but he did it. 'Genrou, you damn well better appreciate what I did.'
'I do. Thank you.'
'Goddamned ketsu...'
Slowly, Shun’u began to reign in his anger, convincing his wolf-self that judgment could be passed later. He was less than happy to have left the job undone, but the familiar sounds and scents of his Seishi friends and ketsus grounded his feelings and mind.
It seemed they had been nearby for quite some time. Ryuuen gently rocked the girl in his arms and smoothed her hair to soothe her. Juan was kneeling in front of her, speaking soft words of reassurance as he treated her injuries. Tama had crawled into the girl's lap and nuzzled her chin with his head, helping to bring her hysteric cries down to a soft hiccup, and Kohana paced behind the group, protecting them along with making sure she wouldn't further startle the child with her size. Saihitei was nowhere in sight, but Takeshi was perched on the top of the thatched roof and looking down with predatory eyes at the dishonorable figure of a man who would whip his child.
Forget it, bird, Shun'u thought savagely. This one's mine.
He cautiously padded over to the group, making sure to stand behind Ryuuen and out of the girl’s eyesight. If she saw what he did, it was possible she’d only get worse seeing him now. Still, he hovered nearby, watching as she began to relax in Ryuuen’s gentle arms and under Juan’s healing hands.
But once he realized that his life was in no immediate danger, the man stood up and stalked over to Ryuuen. "Hey! Get the fuck away from my daughter!" he shouted, his bravado returning far too fast for his own good.
He made it no more than ten feet from his starting place when Genrou stood between him and the Seishi. ‘I wouldn’t take another step closer if I were you,’ the wolf growled deep in his chest, slowly revealing sharp fangs to the world as his yoku symbol pulsed a threatening red.
Seeing his ketsu standing in front of the abuser, Shun’u was immediately at Genrou’s side and looked equally as menacing as his ketsu. You mess with my Genrou or this girl, and no one here will hold me back from tearing your still-beating heart from your chest.
But they weren’t the only one to jump to this girl’s defense. Kohana raised herself to her full six feet of height, spreading her forepaws as if encompassing the group before her in a shielding embrace. Takeshi screeched a warning from his perch on the house, making it perfectly clear that he could swoop down and tear his talons through flesh without any time lost.
The man was effectively trapped.
"Seishi!" he hissed, backing up a few steps and still cradling his arm to his chest.
"Don't come any closer!" Ryuuen spoke coldly, protecting the child with his body. "How dare you hit your own child, your flesh and blood! What kind of man are you?"
"How dare you tell me what to do with my kid!" he shouted back. "When is it your business to tell a father how to raise his kid?"
"It is the business of a whole village, of a whole land when a child is being abused," Juan's voice resonated deep against everyone's chest. Although he looked tired after the healing act, it did not stop him from sounding as ominous as thunder. "But since the people here do not want to step in, then we will."
"I'm not doing anything any other parent wouldn't do! How dare you treat me like the problem, when it's her fault!"
What the?!... what kind of shit has he been smoking? Shun'u growled in disbelief.
"Every parent wants their kid to be a Seishi. My wife was a Seishi and died when she had that," he pointed accusingly at the child, who huddled deeper into Ryuuen's chest when she saw her father’s motion. "We've been stuck here and we didn't get any okane from the Emperor for her death. So I've been raising her, hoping she'll be a Seishi and get us outta this dung heap. And just a few days ago, she had her first cycle, but she never got called. So I sent her into the woods, just in case, but she came back with nothing but a few bruises. Nothing--not even a rat for a ketsu. But... you know what makes it worse?"
His eyes went wild as he kept ranting, and Shun'u could smell the disgust radiating off the man in such strong waves he nearly gagged. "The little bitch is deaf--she can't even hear me yell! She’s not even whole; she’s not a real child that’s worth my time! She's just a worthless little shit I've wasted ten goddamn years on!"
A moment of stunned silence as human and ketsu alike took in the sickening words. Then a voice so full of quiet fury that it no longer sounded human came from the house.
"You monster."
Standing at the threshold was Saihitei, his sei blazing with the fire-blood of Suzaku. Like the catalyst in an explosion, seven more symbols shone out with their own hot hatred against this man. Shun'u quickly shifted back into his normal form, wanting to see this man from his human eyes and to take him down with his human hands.
Meanwhile, the Emperor of Konan advanced on the offender, almost exploding with his barely controlled rage. "In all our years... never have we heard of such a perversion," Saihitei spat, as if the words themselves were tainted by the presence of the man. "To force a child to bond, to send them into the outdoors without any sort of protection or guard... And to add the fact that this girl is impaired and deserves your extra care--you are not fit to be called a man, much less her father!" And Saihitei punctuated the words by pulling his sword from his scabbard in one move and holding it steel-straight against the man's sweat-streaked throat.
"You see this gift we have as an excuse to forward yourself in the world, not as the responsibility and blessing it is! Such selfishness, such barbarity--we would strike you down where you stand!" His voice rose in noble wrath and he swung the sword for a clean beheading.
