Horsing Around
 

Tasuki cursed and swore, and glared menacingly at the stubborn beast before him. The horse glared right back at him, planting its hooves and locking its knees in a way that fairly screamed, 'Don't even try it, bandit boy.'

Narrowing his eyes, Tasuki advanced once more, halter in hand. For each step he took forward, the horse backed up a pace, keeping the distance between them. Pawing and snorting, the animal tossed its head defiantly.

With a muffled shout, Tasuki lunged, his outstretched hands reaching for the horse's head. He felt the leather headpiece slide over the beast's ears, and cheered inwardly. This time, he had it…

The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, gasping for air, watching stars swirl before his eyes. His ribs hurt sorely where the stupid beast had kicked him soundly, sending him flying. As his vision cleared and sweet air filled his lungs again, he could only thank his lucky stars that Tamahome wasn't around to witness this fiasco.

At the side of the clearing, Chichiri stood with his own horse saddled and bridled and ready to go. "Anou, I TOLD you not to take the halter off na no da!" he exclaimed, laughter in his voice.

"I didn't take it off!" Tasuki shouted back, scrambling to his feet again. "The damn animal got it off, somehow!" The horse eyed him placidly from where it was munching grass on the other side of the clearing, whickering with almost human-sounding amusement.

Mitsukake trotted up on his own piebald gelding, Chiriko riding double before him. "If the two of you are almost ready to go?" He asked dryly.

"I'm ready na no da," Chichiri said, swinging up into his own saddle with the ease of long practice. "It's just Tasuki that we're waiting for no da."

Tasuki glared at them all. "I'm doin' my best, okay? Why don't ya HELP me with the stupid beast, instead of standing there laughin' at me?"

Chiriko giggled. "Maybe if you gave it some sugar, or an apple or something, Tasuki-san?"

"Ch'. I TRIED that already. The damn thing just doesn't like me, plain and simple." He turned to the monk. "Ne, Chichiri, can't ya cast a spell on it or somethin', make it behave?"

Chichiri blinked in surprise. "Anou… I suppose I could, no da. I don't know many spells for animals though na no da."

"Well, modify one for a human, or somethin'! A love charm or some shit like that."

"Hai, no da! Whatever you say, Tasuki-kun no da!" The monk's masked smile seemed even more mischievous than normal, and Tasuki was suddenly reminded of his fellow Seishi's propensity for playing practical jokes.

"Uh… Chichiri…" But the blue haired monk had already begun chanting a spell, his staff gripped before him with the tip aimed at the horse. Alarmed, the horse began to back away, then was seemingly held in place by an invisible force field. A red glow began to surround the animal, as Chichiri's chanting grew stronger.

"NO DA!" Chichiri finished, and waved his staff. The ever-present smile was nearly a smirk, as the horse blinked once, twice, then turned its head to look at Tasuki. Slowly, it began picking its way towards him, then halted docilely before him.

Planting his hands on his hips, Tasuki nodded slowly. "Now, that's much better. Thanks, Chichiri!"

"No problem na no da!" The monk replied.

Reaching up, Tasuki got the halter over the horse's head with no trouble at all, as it gazed at him with its big, brown eyes in an affectionate manner. With a satisfied smirk, he patted the mare on the neck. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Ya just have ta cooperate, is all."

The mare shoved her head into his chest, nuzzling. Startled, Tasuki laughed as he was forced backwards a pace. The horse followed, still shoving at him, nibbling his trench coat gently. Laughing, he patted her again, and planted his foot in the stirrup to mount.

He was knocked off balance as the horse swung around to nudge at him again. Cursing and stumbling, he found himself flat on the ground again, the horse's head shoving into his chest insistently.

"OI! Get offa me. I gotta get ON you, you stupid horse!" Roughly brushing the horse away from him, Tasuki scrambled to his feet and attempted to mount once more.

And once more, found himself on his ass on the ground, staring into the dark brown eyes of the - apparently infatuated - horse. "CH! Chichiri, what'd ya DO to it?"

Chichiri grinned down at him from atop his own mare. "Just what you asked, Tasuki-kun no da. I cast a love charm on it no da!" Laughing at his friend's renewed cursing, Chichiri nudged his mare into a trot and rode away.
 
 

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Many long, weary hours of travel later, Tasuki was still grumbling sourly at the trick his friend had played on him. Instead of refusing to go forward, stopping to nibble at every plant along the way, and shying at shadows, the damn horse now took every opportunity to stop and nuzzle his leg. Each time they stopped to rest and water the horses, Tasuki had to fight to get back on, as the horse wanted him down on the ground where it could properly show its affection. And now, as he attempted to picket the damn thing and go to his tent to rest, it continually evaded his efforts to tie it down, and kept shoving him over onto his butt.

"ARGH!" Tasuki threw up his hands in defeat. "FINE THEN!" Storming away from the picket line, he left the horse untied. Making calf-eyes at him, the animal followed him back into the camp.

"Tasuki-san, you should really hobble the horse," Chiriko said, glancing up from where he was stirring their dinner. Mitsukake was hard at work pounding in stakes for their tents, while Chichiri was still gathering wood for the fire.

"I can't get the fucking thing to leave me alone long enough!" Tasuki complained, flopping down before the small, cheerful fire. He growled and bared his fangs as the mare nudged him affectionately from behind.

Mitsukake chuckled, and came forward to wind his hand in the mare's mane. "I'll take care of her. But really, you should know better than to ask Chichiri for something like that, Tasuki."

"Me, no da? What did I do na no da?" Chichiri was trying for an innocent tone, but the barely smothered laughter in his voice gave him away. Dumping the armload of wood onto the pile by the fire, he chuckled as Mitsukake struggled to get the horse to leave Tasuki's side.

"It won't fucking leave me alone!" Tasuki complained, and winced as the horse tried to eat some of his hair. Mitsukake was finally able to tear it away from him, and led it back to the company of its herd mates to be tied up for the night.

Dinner was an odd mixture of the Seishi's normal bantering, mixed with worry over Tamahome and Miaka, and grief for Nuriko's conspicuous absence. The joking and teasing had a strained tone to it, and tears were shivering just behind the laughter for all of them. Cursing inwardly as he moved towards the stream to wash up, Tasuki reflected that none of them were going to be able to hold up indefinitely. Something had to give beneath the strain.

Splashing the cold, clear water onto his face, he gazed sadly at his image in the water. He still couldn't believe Nuriko was gone - it was like there was a gaping hole in his own soul where the other Seishi had been. How many more would they lose before the war was over?

His dark thoughts were interrupted by a cold, wet nose shoving into his back, sending him tumbling into the stream with a yell. Coughing and spluttering, he surfaced to find himself soaked to the bone, sitting in the shallow water, face to face with that damn horse again!

Swearing, he splashed his way to his feet and stumbled out of the stream. Numb from the freezing water, teeth chattering, he stomped off down the trail towards the camp, fending off the horse's attempt to slobber all over him the whole way back.

"Mitsukake! Chichiri! Somebody come get this fucking animal AWAY from me, dammit!" he called as he reached the outskirts, shivering. The other three looked up in surprise.

"Tasuki-kun no da! What happened, na no da? You're soaking wet no da!" Chichiri exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Mitsukake led the overly amorous horse away once again.

"No kidding," Tasuki replied to Chichiri, sneezing violently. "That damn horse pushed me in the stream!" Sneezing again, he huddled closer to the fire.

Chiriko regarded him with wide, unblinking eyes. "You should get out of those wet clothes, Tasuki-san!" he said. "You'll catch a bad cold like that!"

Blushing, Tasuki coughed nervously. "I ain't got nothin' to change into," he muttered miserably. "My change of clothes got the hell torn out of it, the last time that damn horse bucked me off into a thorn bush!"

"At least take off your shirt," Chiriko insisted. Chichiri nodded in agreement.

Still blushing, Tasuki peeled the soaked material off of him, shrugging out of the loose shirt. It certainly wasn't the first time they'd seen him half naked, but he was still a little self-conscious about it.

As he spread the shirt out on a rock near the fire to dry, he was startled to feel soft wool settling warmly over his shoulders. Glancing up, he found himself enveloped in the deep, midnight blue of Chichiri's kesa.

"That will help you keep warm, na no da," the monk said, settling back down beside his friend.

Hugging the warm cloth closer to his frozen body, Tasuki grumbled, "Yeah, well, it's your fault I got wet anyway. Stupid horse."

Chichiri shrugged, but his smile didn't waver. "You DID ask for it, Tasuki-kun no da." He replied, then turned away to continue an earlier conversation with the healer.

Tasuki found himself studying his friend. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Chichiri without his kesa on, but previous situations had always been some type of emergency. Without the billowing cloak to conceal the lines of his body, it became obvious that Chichiri was in just as good shape as himself or Tamahome. Hard muscles were outlined beneath his tight-fitting shirt and pants as he moved, and there wasn't a spare ounce on him. Tasuki traced the line of those muscles with his eyes, his thoughts straying into the realm of late-night dreams and fantasies.

As his body responded to the direction of his thoughts, Tasuki cursed softly and tore his eyes away. He could barely remember a time when the blue-haired Seishi hadn't dominated his every lustful thought, preoccupying the bandit leader with an obsession that seemed to go soul deep. If he'd had even the slightest hint that his feelings were returned, Tasuki knew he would have been all over the monk, like Miaka to Tamahome. In some ways, he was glad Chichiri HADN'T shown any interest.

::We could all die at any moment, or any one of us could,:: Tasuki mused, the firelight reflected in his amber eyes. ::I'm already half in love with him. If I were actually WITH him, I'd never have a hope of stayin' objective. And then what would I do, if he died?::

With a sudden shake of his head to clear his thoughts, Tasuki bounced to his feet. "I'm turnin' in," he proclaimed loudly, heading for his small tent. "We still got a long way to go, to get to Sailo-koku. And if we wanna be waiting with the Byakko Shinzaho when Miaka and Tamahome show up, we can't be lazin' around like this!"

"Hai no da!" Chichiri agreed. "We should all get some sleep no da!"

Tasuki unwrapped the kesa from his torso reluctantly, shivering in the chilly night air. "Ne, Chichiri…"

Chichiri waved him off. "You keep it until your shirt is dry, no da. I can keep myself warm with a spell na no da."

Blushing slightly, Tasuki nodded and entered his tent, letting the flap close behind him. Toeing off his boots, he squirmed out of his still-wet pants and curled up in his nice, warm bedroll. Hugging the kesa to him tightly, he breathed in deeply, inhaling the musky, spicy scent of Chichiri.

"What would you do, if you knew what I thought of you, Chiri-chan?" Tasuki murmured sleepily, drifting off to sleep surrounded by Chichiri's scent.
 
 

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He was rudely awakened from a thoroughly explicit wet dream of said monk by a wet snuffling at his back and a cold nose against his skin. Nearly shrieking, he bolted upright, to find himself staring into the gleaming dark eyes of the damn horse again!

Swearing, he scrambled out the door, wrapped in nothing but the kesa, and kicked the supporting pole out from under the tent canvas. The billowing material collapsed slowly onto the horse, which shuffled about in confusion beneath it.

Scratching on Chichiri's tent wall, the bandit shifted from foot to foot impatiently, keeping a nervous eye on the horse trying to work its way from beneath the collapsed tent. "Oi, Chichiri!" he whispered harshly.

"Nani no da?" Came a sleepy voice. The tent flap cracked open to reveal Chichiri, minus his mask, dressed only in his shirt, which barely covered the necessities. A softly glowing magic ball illuminated the tent behind him. "Tasuki-kun no da? What's wrong na no da?"

"That fucking horse is trying to rape me, I swear to Suzaku! Quick, lemme in before it sees where I'm going!" He shoved past the protesting monk.

"OI! Tasuki-kun no da! You can't just…" Chichiri was blushing hotly, his good eye wide with embarrassment.

Tasuki flopped down onto the disheveled blankets. "YOU'RE the one that cast the damn spell, so deal with it! I'm sleepin' in here until the damn thing goes away!" Even as he spoke, he heard the horse finally kick free of the confining material, and start snuffling about in search of him. Hastily, he lowered his voice so it wouldn't hear him. "PLEASE, Chichiri!"

Chichiri blinked at him. "Anou… I didn't think it would go THIS far, no da," he muttered, slowly crossing the tent to sit by Tasuki. He, too, could hear the determined efforts of the horse to find the object of its affections. "I'll take the spell off in the morning, na no da, but I need light to see by to do it." He sighed. "So, I guess you can stay here for now, na no da. There's plenty of blankets no da."

"Thanks, buddy!" Tasuki grinned at him, and promptly burrowed down into the blankets. "Ch. We may be out of the worst part of Hokkan-koku, but it's still fuckin' COLD here."

"Hai, no da!" Chichiri agreed, also sliding beneath the blankets, and pillowing his head on his arms. "Oyasumi na no da, Tasuki-kun!"

"Oyasumi, Chichiri." If Tasuki thought the monk's scent had been pervasive before, now it flooded him, making him VERY aware of the half-naked body just inches from his own beneath the blankets. "Sweet dreams."
 
 

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For the second time that night, he was awakened by something breathing down his back. He tensed up, ready to yell and bat the damn horse away from him, but froze as he registered the lean, wiry arms wrapped around his torso.

Behind him, Chichiri shifted, murmuring, and tightened his hold on the bandit. His warm breath gusted along Tasuki's spine again, sending shivers up and down his taut body. Eyes wide, hardly daring to breath for fear of waking the other man, he lay quietly and reveled in the sensations.

Chichiri shifted again, nuzzling his neck, and Tasuki unsuccessfully tried to bite back a moan. His every nerve was on fire with the closeness of the man he'd dreamed about for so long, and each touch felt like waves of lava pouring over his body. Chichiri was pressed up against his back from shoulder to knee, and he could feel the monk's burning erection against the soft curve of his ass.

Trembling from the effort of not moving, Tasuki moaned again. The sound prompted Chichiri to nuzzle deeper into the curve of his neck, murmuring words the bandit had to strain to make out.

"Tasuki… ai shiteru…"

Choking, Tasuki wriggled around in Chichiri's grasp until he was facing the monk. Taking his chin in his hands, he shook the other man slightly. "Chichiri. Chichiri, wake up!"

"Mmmm?" Sleepily, Chichiri slitted open his good eye. "Tasuki, nan da… AAAAH!!!" Eye flying open, he attempted to scramble backwards, out of Tasuki's grip. "G-gomen! Honto ni gomen nasai!" He looked like he was about to start crying, his face full of terror.

Tasuki grabbed his arm and hung on. "Wait - wait a second, Chichiri! Calm down, dammit!" He shook the monk slightly. "Will ya just calm down and TALK ta me?"

"A-about what?" The other man's 'no da's were conspicuously absent from his speech, and his body was trembling beneath Tasuki's grip.

"About what just happened, baka." Chichiri blushed hotly and refused to meet Tasuki's eyes.

"Gomen," he muttered miserably. "I never meant for you to find out…"

"Find WHAT out?" There was a burning ember of hope deep in Tasuki's heart, but he couldn't let himself believe until he'd heard the words from Chichiri's own mouth.

"Find out that…" Chichiri took a deep breath, and raised his face to Tasuki's, his expression frightened but determined. "I never meant for you to find out that I'm in love with you." Tasuki caught his breath and found he was unable to answer around the knot in his throat. His eyes teared up and a heavy weight in his heart was suddenly lifted, as he realized his feelings for the monk were being returned.

Chichiri, however, mistook Tasuki's silence for rejection. His face crumpled, and a single tear made its way down his cheek. "I figured that's what you'd say," he muttered, lowering his head again. His voice was rough with suppressed tears and muffled longing.

"Chichiri…" Tasuki's own voice was husky, with months of built-up lust in his tone. "Chichiri… wo ai ni."

Chichiri's head shot up so fast he nearly smacked himself on Tasuki's chin, but whatever he was about to say was stifled by Tasuki's lips, hot on his own. The kiss was long and deep and passionate, and utterly beyond anything either of them had experienced before. By the time they surfaced for much needed air, their bodies were wrapped around one another; heated skin pressed to heated skin, the contact making them both moan and squirm.

"Chichiri…" Tasuki gasped, his breath coming in little pants. "Chichiri, gods, I've wanted you for so damn long…"

"Me, too," Chichiri replied softly, his lips trailing along Tasuki's jaw and eliciting little gasps of stifled pleasure. But his dark eye was haunted when he lifted it to meet Tasuki's gaze. "Tasuki… I… my past is…"

"In the past," Tasuki interrupted before he could even get started. Chichiri blinked at him, startled. "Do ya think there's even one of us that doesn't know yer carryin' around some 'dark secret', hiding behind that mask and yer silly speech an' stuff?" Tasuki continued, tracing his new lover's cheek with a gentle thumb.

"Tasuki, I…" Chichiri gasped as Tasuki brushed the line of his scar, flinching away from the touch slightly. Tasuki held his face steady with his other hand and brushed the hard ridge of flesh once more.

"Chichiri, I don't CARE how you got this. It's the person that you are now, right now, at this very moment, that I love. If you can forgive me all the stupid shit I did as a kid in the bandits, well, then I can forgive you whatever it is you did to get this."

"Oh, Tasuki!" Chichiri buried his head in the curve of the younger man's neck, shoulders shaking, and for a moment, Tasuki thought he was going to start sobbing. Then he gasped as the monk bit lightly at his neck, soothing the tiny sting with his tongue, then kissing his way back up to Tasuki's mouth.

"I don't really know what I'm doing," Chichiri admitted, blushing, but his face was determined. "But I do know what I want - you. Any way you'll have me."

Tasuki gave him a lecherous grin. "Oh, I'll have you all right. Just remember - you asked for it!" Shifting his weight, he dumped Chichiri off of him back onto the blankets. Before the other man could protest the loss of closeness, Tasuki had covered his body with his own, hot skin meeting and their erections sliding together, sending a jolt of pleasure through them that made them both gasp.

Rocking his hips slightly, Tasuki was pleased to hear Chichiri moan, and to feel him thrust up against the pressure. Leaning in to whisper in the monk's ear, he continued to move his hips in a tiny, circular grinding motion, driving them both mad with desire.

"Mitsukake and Chiriko are in for a surprise," he murmured, laughter dancing in his amber eyes.

"Huh?" Chichiri replied intelligently, his face clouded with a haze of pleasure. Instinctively, he wrapped his legs around Tasuki's waist, bringing their groins into closer contact. Both men moaned at the sensation, and Tasuki's mock-thrusts became a little more urgent.

Tasuki blushed profusely. "Well, I dunno about you, but I ain't never been the quiet type," he chuckled, and glanced at the thin walls of the tent significantly.

"Ohhhhh…" Chichiri's good eye widened as he realized what the bandit meant. He blushed even redder, easily matching Tasuki's fiery hair. Stopping Tasuki's movements with a hand on his shoulder, he narrowed his eye in concentration and began to chant.

Knowing better than to interrupt the monk in the middle of a spell, Tasuki forced himself to hold still, trembling with the immense effort of not thrusting against the warmth pressed against his erection. With a final whispered word, the monk waved, and a warm red glow surrounded the two men.

Smiling softly, Chichiri leaned up and kissed his lover. "They won't hear anything now," he said, then shifted nervously at the sudden fire in Tasuki's eyes.

"Good," the bandit said, leaning down to nip at his throat. "Then they won't hear when you scream my name, ne?"

"T-Tasuki…ohhhhh…" Whatever Chichiri had been about to say was lost to a drawn out sound of pleasure as Tasuki's nimble fingers found his nipples. The bandit teased the sensitive skin into hard little nubs with expert caresses, then lowered his head to taste them with his tongue. Chichiri arched into the touch, then gasped when Tasuki bit down with his fangs; hard enough to leave a mark, but not hard enough to draw blood.

"Tasuki… Tasuki… that feels… ohhhh…" Chichiri was incoherent, his hands roaming over his lover's back, encouraging him, pleading with him, begging him to continue.

Tasuki was more than happy to oblige, his hands tracing the curves and hard planes of Chichiri's body, his hips grinding into his lovers. "Chichiri… Suzaku, how I want you!" He moaned, giving a particularly hard thrust.

Chichiri cried out in response. "Please… Tasuki, take me, please! I want you too!"

Tasuki paused, shivering, searching his lover's eyes to be certain. "Koi, are you sure? I'm guessin' this is prolly yer first time - once ya've given that away, ya can't ever get it back."

"I love you, Tasuki," was Chichiri's only reply. Tasuki shuddered at the solid conviction burning in that warm chocolate gaze. Shifting, he positioned himself at his lover's entrance.

"Brace yerself," he warned, then thrust slowly forward. To his surprise, he met very little resistance, sliding home with a swiftness that made him gasp, as the tightness of his lover's passage surrounded him with its warm heat. "What the…"

Chichiri blushed again. "It was… part of the spell, no da," he admitted shyly. "We didn't have anything, so…"

Tasuki laughed and kissed him silent, enjoying the feel of his koi's lips against his own. "Trust you to think of everything, koibito."

Chichiri gasped and shivered. "Mmm… say that again, onegai?"

Tasuki grinned, knowing what he wanted. "What - koibito? I'll call ya that, and anything else ya want." Leaning in for emphasis, he spaced his words out slowly and clearly, so there could be no possible misunderstanding. "I. Love. You. With all my heart and soul. I feel like I was made to be with you - to be IN you." He rocked his hips again, and they both gasped as he was driven even deeper inside.

"Tasuki - don't stop!" Chichiri moaned, tightening his hold.

"Never - I'll never stop," Tasuki replied, and began a driving rhythm that had them both shuddering and crying out. Their sweat-slick bodies slid together, Tasuki's warm heat filling Chichiri, driving deeper and deeper and faster and faster until Chichiri screamed out his lover's name, filled with a warm, pulsing heat that was Tasuki's essence. The stars exploded around them as they came together, their bodies merging and their souls becoming one.

By the time they drifted back to earth, Tasuki had softened and slipped out of his lover's body. Chichiri was a little disappointed to lose that wonderful, filling feeling, but was content to snuggle deep into his koi's warm embrace.

Tasuki hugged him back, rolling over so they were on their sides facing one another, and sleepily reached down to pull the discarded blankets over them both. "Ai shiteru, Chiri-chan," he murmured as they began to drift off to sleep.

Just as Tasuki was thinking that it was a perfect ending to a long, trying day, he felt something large and wet snuffling against his back. Bolting upright, Chichiri still clasped in his arms, his wild gaze met that of his mare's. The animal snorted, turning a jealous glare on the naked monk.

"CHICHIRI! THAT FUCKING HORSE IS BACK!" Tasuki nearly screamed. Chichiri turned chibi, the now-three-foot monk giving the horse a frightened look as the animal began to chase him around the small tent.

"DAAAA!" The monk exclaimed, hanging from the ceiling post in an attempt to avoid being bitten. "Remind me never to play a practical joke on you again, Tasuki-kun no da!!!!"
 
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