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DISCLAIMER: Fushigi Yuugi and it's characters weren't created by yours truly...
		Standard disclaimers apply!
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::...:: Denotes thought

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			All the Things You Hold So Dear
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.6.





"Kouji!!"

"Tasuki!!"

The two locked arms and began dancing around in circles. 

"It's been such a long time!"

"I know!"

They separated, smiling brightly at one another. 

Kouji was the first to speak. "So you came to join the party?"

Tasuki blushed "Not exactly. I just wanted to take some stuff up to my room. Is
there anything to eat?"

Kouji grabbed his friends arm. "Is there? You haven't been away that long! Come this 
way!"

The two made their way through the sea of drunken men. As they walked, Tasuki couldn't 
help but notice the small crowd that had formed to the left of them. "What's going on there?"

"Where?" Kouji followed his eyes, grinning upon realizing what the other boy had meant.
"Nothing unusual. Eiken's drunk as piss so he's stripping."

Tasuki sweatdropped. "What an ass." 

Kouji nodded. "You can say that again! I can't stand looking at him."

He arched an orange eyebrow. "Why? Is he naked?"

Kouji shivered at the thought. "No!" He sighed before continuing. "Wasn't he the reason why 
we had to run those errands for Nakago? Che, You've got too big a heart Tasuki! If I were 
the leader his ass would be grass!"

The older boy shook his head. "A bandit is a bandit... No matter how fuckin' stupid he is."

Kouji turned the corridor. "Stupid ain't the word. You've got to be brain-dead if you try 
to rob a shogun like Nakago?"

Tasuki sighed. "At least its over." ::Is it?:: He frowned. "Nakago'd better stay away from 
our mountain now."

**********

Nuriko tiptoed to the kitchen. ::Everyone must be sleeping.:: But no matter how optimistic
her thoughts, her body just wouldn't cooperate in making them reality. ::This is so 
dangerous!:: If the loud swishing of her clothes failed to disturb everyone, she was sure 
that the deafening beat of her heart would wake the entire dojo. Holding her breath, she snuck 
past Soi's room, the ringing increasing in her ears as the floorboards creaked underneath 
her weight. At this rate she would be beaten and Hotohori would be left to starve. 
::Hotohori.:: Her heartbeat softened as she remembered how weak he had been. ::I must get 
him some food.:: 

*********

Tasuki entered his room, juggling bowls, multiple utensils, and bottle of sake in his 
arms. Kouji followed with a tray of food, stopping at the closed doors.

The dark-haired bandit cleared his throat as Tasuki slid the wood apart. "Hello, Open up!  
Who is it? It's me! Me who?"

Tasuki had left his friend at the door, accustomed to his ritual of inviting himself in. That
didn't disturb him at all -- what had bothered him was the fact that just as he opened the door
and Kouji began speaking, he had seen Miaka scamper off behind his curtains.

"It's Kouji coming to bring food with Tasuki! Will ya let me in? Yes, come in! Arigatou!" 
After his soliloquy, the dark-haired bandit entered, failing to see Miaka, and what she had
done. 

Tasuki furrowed his eyebrows. "What is that moron doing?"

Kouji rested his load by Tasuki's bed. "What moron?"

"Miaka."

Kouji smiled devilishly. "Miaka? You have a female friend here?" 

Tasuki nodded. "Yeah, but she's hiding..."

Kouji tapped him on the shoulder. "So that's why you can't join us!" He whistled
before heading to the door. "I guess i'll just leave you two alone then."

The flame-haired youth stretched out his free hand. "No wait! You don't have to leave!
Kouji!"
 
The boy spoke as he closed the wood behind him. "I wouldn't want to interrupt anything."

Tasuki blushed. "Oi! It's not what you think! Kouji!" He was answered by a door slam and
the subsequent sound of silence. ::What a jerk:: he thought before turning to where Miaka
had hidden. "And you! Get from behind those curtains!"

Miaka remained frozen as Tasuki's voice called out to her. It was the same, yet it sounded
differently now that she knew what he wanted. ::That other voice.:: She closed her eyes as
she remembered the scar-faced man that had plagued her dreams the night before. He had
treated her like a 'thing', and Tasuki had to be no different.
 
"Miaka!" Tasuki waited a few seconds before shouting again. "MIAKA!" When he received
no response or movement from the girl, he trudged over to her hiding place, practically
ripping down the curtains in frustration. "It's too late at night for games!" When
he finally saw the fright in the girl's face his tone softened. "Just come and get something 
to eat."

::Eat?!?!:: Miaka peered cautiously around the bandit, pleased to find a tray of food 
spread out behind him. She knew that she couldn't resist under normal circumstances and
since she hadn't eaten in almost 2 days, refusing would be both foolish and futile. 

She followed Tasuki to the dinner setup and he immediately began scooping 
out miso soup and the most delicious-looking rice and fish she had ever laid eyes upon.

The boy sweatdropped as he handed her a piping hot bowl. "You... you're starting to drool you 
know?"

She accepted the food offering, hand trembling slightly from the fear of what would happen
when their meal was done. :: And I thought he was a nice guy...::

A happy fang peered from his lips as he reached for the sake. "Do you drink?" Upon hearing 
no answer, he shrugged before bringing the whole bottle and its alcoholic content to his 
chapped lips. 

*********

His eyes opened slowly, the blue of the night kissing against the similarly blue contractile 
disks of each iris. He grinned to himself before turning to lie on his back. Intuition was a 
wondrous thing and whether it came from his being born a scorpio or his having interactions 
with all kinds of people, Nakago had developed awesome powers of perception. That ability, 
coupled with his equally precise reasoning, made him perfect for lack of a better word.  He 
sighed. Intuition was a wondrous thing indeed, manifesting itself in hunches,  sudden 
thoughts and even dreams. ::Dreams.:: He had just woken from a dream. It wasn't really a 
dream but because his eyes were closed he termed it as such. Through the random images and 
memories that had flashed themselves across his mind, he realized that Miaka would return.
He glanced over at the spot that she'd writhed in only a few nights before. He followed the 
rise and fall of the cloth, blinking intermittently with each movement of his eyes. He could 
almost see her form on the curves of the empty silk. Could almost hear her gasping for air 
and trying pitifully to moan his name. ::She'll be back.:: It was then that he'd gotten the
feeling that he should go visit the dungeon.

*********

His face reddened as the sake slid down his throat. The euphoric feel of the 
liquid simultaneously burning and warming his insides, making him feel calm and at ease. He 
didn't even notice that Miaka had downed all of her food until he rested the jug down.
"What?!?! You're done?" His eyes goggled at the spotless condition of her plates and bowls.
He studied the remaining portion of food, deciding that he would split the rest with her (even 
though he hadn't eaten yet) if she was still hungry. "Do you want more?"

Her expression brightened slightly, anxiety still predominant in her features. She didn't  
have the strength to speak so she nodded, trying not to make contact with his hand as she 
relayed her bowl to him.

As he re-scooped the rice, he couldn't help but frown. "You really need to loosen up a bit."
His eyes never left the steam created by the food's heat. "I know we don't really know 
each other, but you seem like a different person." He pursed his lips, remembering the 
bright-eyed youth that he'd seen laughing with Nuriko. ::What could've changed her?:: He shook 
the thoughts out of his head before sliding the meal to her. "I hope you're not scared of 
me?" He caught the flinch that she'd made, causing him to lose his breath for a second. 
"Don't worry." He said darkly, eyes lowering with hurt. "I won't bite."

*********

Nakago's boots glided across the stone floors, stopping at the cell that was mysteriously
open. ::What do we have here?:: His long fingers encircled the leather whip that rested
longingly against his palms. It seemed that he would have more fun than he had bargained 
for. The soft voices of Nuriko and Hotohori tickled his eardrum as he made his way through
the long, cold bars. ::Much more fun.::




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				To Be Continued
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NOTES:

1. Really rough draft... any suggestions?