Tasuki sighed and snuggled into the warmth surrounding her, resisting the tug of consciousness. She'd been having the most WONDFERUL dream, where Chichiri had told her that he loved her…

Strong arms tightened around her, and the chest beneath her cheek rumbled as a sleepy protest was voiced. Tasuki's eyes flew open, and she stared in shock at the body she was curled tightly against.

"Chichiri!" She raised her head to see the monk's good eye slit open sleepily.

"Hai, no da?"

"You're really real! It really happened!" She buried her face in his neck and tightened her hold on him.

"Hai. It really did, no da." Chichiri rubbed her back soothingly, rocking her gently. "Ai shiteru, Tasuki. In whatever form you may be in."

"Oh, Chichiri…" Tasuki was disgusted to find herself crying again. Then again, these tears were tears of joy, and so she supposed she could allow herself the weakness just this once. "Chiri, I love you to! I can't believe this really happened!"

For long, endless moments, they basked in each other's presence, enjoying the shared warmth and comfort of their embrace. Tasuki reflected that if she were to die at that moment, she would die infinitely happy.

"We should get up, no da," Chichiri finally said, breaking the spell.

"Why?" Tasuki protested, resisting Chichiri's attempts to draw her upright. "It's still early!"

Chichiri smiled down at her petulant pout. "Because, no da. Now that I'm not spending all my energy thinking of ways to avoid you, I think I may have figured out a partial solution to your problem."

Tasuki sat bolt upright, eyes wide. "Hontou? WHAT?"

Chichiri wrapped her in a tight embrace. "It won't be easy for you - but we need help. This city is too large, and things are too well hidden, for us to search it alone. We need lots of people, who aren't afraid of sticking their nose into trouble. In other words, we need the rest of the Leikaku bandits."

Tasuki blinked, and frowned slowly. "Do - do we hafta? I'd rather go back AFTER I get my own body back…"

Chichiri nodded his understanding. "I know, Tasuki - but it's our best chance to find her. And the more people we have, the better chance that we'll distract her enough for Taiitsu-kun to interrupt whatever it is she's doing - which will break the spell on you."

"Aa." Tasuki buried her face in her lover's neck once more. "I see. Yer right, of course. I'm bein' silly."

"No, you're not," Chichiri contradicted her softly. "You're uncertain, and rightly so. But I don't think your men will react badly, once they've gotten over the initial shock." He smiled slightly. "They ought to be used to you getting yourself into strange predicaments. You did it all the time, when you were with me."

"Oi!" Tasuki punched him lightly, laughing. "I'm not THAT bad."

"Oh, yes, you are, no da!" Chichiri punched her in return. "I can't count the number of times I had to pull you out of trouble. This just makes one more on the list."

"So?" Tasuki gave him a wicked grin. "I'll just hafta find ways ta pay ya back… I'm sure I'll think of somethin'…" Her hand trailed down beneath the blanket at Chichiri's waist, and suddenly, getting out of bed didn't seem all that urgent after all…
 
 

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Several hours later, they'd bathed, dressed and eaten lunch. There was a subtle aura of happiness about them both as they went about their morning routines. Tiny touches and brief kisses were exchanged, and they could hardly take their eyes off one another. Finally, as they headed out down the road to the bandit's hideout, Tasuki laughed to find she had subconsciously wrapped her fingers through Chichiri's.

"We're as bad as Miaka and Tamahome!" She exclaimed, and Chichiri's eyes widened.

"Oh, no! I will NOT start repeating your name over and over in an inane tone of voice, no da!" They both laughed. Though they had both loved Miaka, in their individual ways, neither was blind to her flaws.

They passed what Tasuki knew was the first sentry post without incident. A quiet whistle, easily mistaken for a birdcall, alerted Tasuki to the fact that they'd been spotted by the guard. Someone would meet them on the trail farther on, and most likely would warn them to turn back, since they certainly didn't look worth the effort of robbing.

To Tasuki's surprise, they were met much sooner than he'd expected, by a bandit who skidded to a halt before them, out of breath from running.

"Chichiri-san!" The boy exclaimed. "Kouji sent me to ask you to come as quickly as you can! We have an emergency!"

Tasuki and Chichiri exchanged a brief look, and then Chichiri shrugged out of his kesa. "Step on no da," he gestured, and as both Tasuki and the runner boy moved to stand on the cloak, he began to chant. The kesa sank into a bright white light, taking the three travelers with it.

In moments, they stood before the main headquarters, Chichiri having picked the image of their destination from Tasuki's mind. A very worried looking Kouji paced back and forth before the entrance.

"Chichiri!" The blue-haired bandit clasped the monk's arm in greeting, his gaze briefly flickering over Tasuki before dismissing her as unimportant. "Am I glad to see you!"

"What's wrong, no da?" Chichiri asked, his voice serious despite his 'no da's.

"Genrou is missing!" Kouji burst out. Tasuki relaxed slightly - he'd been afraid there was a REAL problem that had cropped up in his absence.

Chichiri apparently had thought the same. "Oh, is that all na no da?" he breathed a sigh of relief.

Kouji misinterpreted their reactions. "No, you don't understand. He's GONE, no warning, no note, no nothing! Nobody's seen him for over a month! Sure, he likes to wander off on his own sometimes, but he ALWAYS tells me he's going first!"

"Maa, maa, Kouji-kun, daijoubu!" Chichiri soothed him. "Tasuki's not missing, no da."

"Then, you know where he is?"

Tasuki grimaced and spoke for the first time. "Yeah. Right in front of you."

Kouji turned to face her. "Excuse me? Who are you, anyway?

Tasuki sighed and glanced away, unable to meet her best friend's gaze. "Yarou. Who the hell do you think I am?"

Kouji blinked in surprised, unused to being treated that way by a woman. "Oi! Who the fuck do ya think yer talkin' to? Chichiri, no offense, but who is this broad, and why'd ya bring her here?"

Tasuki glared at her best friend, who glared back. Chichiri sighed. This was not going as well as he'd hoped. "Kouji-kun… anou…" He searched for a way to break the news gently.

Tasuki had other ideas. She shoved past the imposing bandit and stomped towards the main building, muttering under her breath. "I really don't feel like dealin' with this right now. I wanna change into my own damn clothes, and sleep in my own damn bed! Chichiri, lemme know when ya've got this sorted out, okay?"

"Hai no da!" Chichiri answered, suppressing a grin at the dumbfounded look on Kouji's face.

"OI! Ya can't just march in here like ya own the place, onna!" Kouji stormed after Tasuki's retreating back, grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around to face him.

That was a mistake. Tasuki winced backwards, eyes wide with terror, as she cowered before her suddenly violent friend. "Kou… Kouji…" she stammered, hands clenched in the material of Kouji's shirtsleeve.

Chichiri thought he should probably jump in. "Oi! Kouji! Yamete!"

Kouji had already released her, though, recognizing the signs of a badly abused woman. He backed off to a safe distance, and spat to one side. "Che. Didn't mean ta scare ya like that. I ain't gonna hurt ya, yer a friend of Chichiri's. Genrou would flame my ass. But ya can't just walk in ta a strange place like that."

Tasuki had recovered from her fright, but her eyes were full of sorrow. "It's not a strange place, Kouji. And yer right, I would flame yer ass. If I still could." Bitterness crept into her voice. "They took my tessen right off, after I flamed a dozen or so of 'em to death."

Kouji blinked, and stared. Suddenly the appearance and mannerisms of Chichiri's guest appeared to register in his brain. His jaw nearly hit the ground as he stammered in shock. "G-g-genrou? Masaka! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?"

Tasuki glared at the ground, raking a hand through her hair and wincing as her fingers caught in the many tangles. "I pissed off some bitch of a sorceress, and she turned me into a fucking woman."

Kouji was still shaking his head. "No way. No fucking way! I don't believe it!"

Tasuki shifted uncomfortably. "Well, how the fuck am I supposed to prove it to ya? I lost my tessen…" A familiar mischievous glint entered her eyes. "I suppose I could tell everyone the story of you and Michiko at the river, back in my first year here…"

Kouji's eyes, impossibly, widened further. "I-iie!" He clapped a hasty hand over Tasuki's mouth, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. "How did you know that?"

Tasuki sighed, and gently tugged Kouji's hand away. "Will ya believe this?" Shoving up her own sleeve, she concentrated briefly.

Outlined in glowing red, the Suzaku Shichiseishi symbol was clearly evident. The chi flowing from it was impossible to mistake or counterfeit. Kouji swallowed hard. "Well… fuck. Genrou…" Abruptly, he wrapped the tiny woman in a hard embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Dammit, Gen-chan, why the fuck didn't you come back here? I've been worried SICK about ya!"

A gentle look crossed her face, and Chichiri reflected that wearing the body of a woman was already beginning to change Tasuki. He would never have let such a feeling show before.

"I would have if I coulda, Kou-chan. Ya know that." She pulled away from the tight embrace, her face shining with hope and determination. "But I'm back now, and yer all gonna help me GET the bitch that did this ta me, right?"

Kouji beamed and thumped her on the back. "You betcha, aniki! We're all behind ya!"

Chichiri smiled… it had gone better than he'd hoped. Now, all they had to do was find the sorceress, and break the spell to return Tasuki to normal.
 
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