Shun'u grinned to himself as Kishuku looked around. Damned idiot ain't even aware I'm here, he thought happily. Nothin like messin wit' good ole Kishuku.
After wandering the city and finding no danger, Shun'u got real bored real quick. He didn't like crowds and liked people even less, so he and Genrou decided to take a little detour. Kishuku was drooling over a small pile of okane he was being offered for "cleaning up" an alley, so the bandit just jumped on top of the nearest building and sat there watching the world go by.
At least, that's what it would have looked like to the normal person. Besides keeping an eye on Kishuku (who had just finished beating up some street punks), Shun'u was watching the rest of the crowd and scanning for new Seishi. If there was a psycho killer out there, he would hit the young and vulnerable. Genrou was nearby, a few blocks away and trailing a trio of unseasoned Seishi and their ketsu.
'Things goin okay?'
'Better than you. At least I'm not sitting on a roof watching a friend lose his mind,' Genrou replied.
'All in good fun.' And he saw Toshi sit down and observe his Seishi frantically scan the area.
He knew the leopard noticed him. Toshi was anything but stupid and Shun'u was well aware of that fact. He'd seen that kitty take down a wolf with almost no time lost, and knew that along with strength he was incredibly sharp and well aware of his surroundings. If Kishuku was half as smart as his ketsu, he would widen his thoughts the same way Shun'u did, not quite shifting but merely expanding himself to include some more hidden ketsu sensations. It was unexplainable, the way their minds could intermerge and create something so beyond a single being's perceptions. He tried to stay like that as often as possible.
But Genrou was right, that he should actually start moving around. He was a little worried for his ketsu but the wolf was so fast that it would be nearly impossible to even catch a glimpse of him. So just before Kishuku started sprinting off from fear of having lost his companion, Shun'u called down to him. "Yo! Ki-ku!"
Kishuku looked up with a surprised expression that quickly went irate. "I told you not to call me that!" He looked around, found a few footholds, and jumped up onto the roof with Toshi at his heels. "I'm not a flower."
"Heh," Shun'u sneered. "Coulda fooled me, Ki-ku."
A swing at Shun'u's head nearly knocked him off the roof, but he quickly caught himself and chased after Kishuku and Toshi on the rooftops. Threats spewed from his mouth while Kishuku raised an obscene finger as a response. 'Bastard... anythin up, Genrou?'
'They're safe at the gates of the Palace. I'll just follow our link to you three,' the wolf told him. Shun'u didn't even have to bother telling him to be careful; they knew each other too well.
Shun'u made one well-placed jump and tackled the other Warrior. "Hey, Kishuku, let's stop here," he suggested in a lively tone. "There's a bar and I'm pretty damn thirsty."
"Again?!" Kishuku asked, his voice muffled by the wood. Shun'u got off and peered over the edge of the roof.
"What? Can't help it they serve weak crappy sake at the palace," Shun'u jumped down. The duo leapt right after him and entered the nearest bar. It was dank, dirty, and all around not nice. The few men inside were either drunk or quickly on their way to being so, and only a handful of unbroken tables and chairs were scattered around the room.
Shun'u liked it. That meant they served stronger drinks.
"You really should save your money," Kishuku started as they sat at a table close to the bar.
Here we go again, Shun'u rolled his eyes. Damn, don't he ever let up?
"According to my calculations, the rate you spend okane is obviously greater than the rate you earn it. You'll run out of it within the week," he said seriously.
"Kishuku... get a fuckin life, for Suzaku's sake," Shun'u waved to the bartender. "Two please."
"I'm not thirsty."
"Who said they were for you?"
He sighed and Shun'u paid for his drinks.
"Where's Toshi?"
"Outside, waiting for Genrou. And making sure we don't freak out the normal... customers here."
"Customers, drunks, it's all the fuckin same," Shun'u downed his first cup and relaxed. "Yeah... much better!"
Kishuku merely shook his head and Shun'u drank the second cup. Kishuku was a cool guy, but he needed to get rid of that stick up his ass. Although Genrou was the same, in telling him not to drink as often, Kishuku was just irritating about the subject. He also took it as a personal insult when Shun'u didn't listen. Didn't he know that this bandit answered to no one?
'Mostly no one. I'd like to think I'm an exception,' Genrou said, getting closer to the bar.
'Eh... depends how I feel that day.'
Shun'u leaned back in his chair, taking it easy and letting the alcohol get rid of some of the more disturbing thoughts. A possible ketsu killer, the Chosen Shichiseishi... he wanted excitement, but not all at once.
And his thoughts were broken by a body falling right into their table, smashing it as he landed with a heavy 'thud'.
Shun'u, still leaning back, looked from the man to Kishuku. They looked at each other for a few seconds, back at the unconscious man, and shared the thought of 'someone's getting their ass kicked in half a second'.
"Sorry about that!" a cheerful voice called across the room. A woman with a long purple braid swinging behind her came skipping over to their table, looking somewhat abashed. "Don’t know my own strength sometimes."
"What happened?" Kishuku asked, looking something between amused and puzzled.
"Bad man go flying," she said innocently. "He tried to pick me up in a very... unusual fashion. I didn't like that idea and let my fist meet his stomach."
Shun'u commented, "Not bad. But'cha need t' work on yer aim."
"Yeah yeah, picky picky," she waved her arm dismissively. "So... hi, I'm Chou Ryuuen! Nice to meet you both and, again, I'm sorry about this mess! Men can be such scum, which I will admit despite my bias of being one."
Question marks popped up over Kishuku's head while Shun'u and his chair tipped backwards. "Yer a man?" Shun'u asked in his ever-so-tactful way as he got up.
Ryuuen looked down his shirt. "Wow, there's nothing there!" he said, feigning surprise. "I guess that means I must be male."
"I'm not checking any lower, so I'll take your word for it," Kishuku offered his hand and they shook. "I'm Sou Kishuku. Loudmouth over there is Kou Shun'u."
"Hey," Shun'u shook hands next.
"Cool," he smiled broadly. "Mind if I take a seat and share a drink?"
"We might need a table," Shun'u looked at the remains of theirs. "This one's been taken up by some asshole."
"Lemme clean this up," Ryuuen picked up both the table and man, tossed them to the side, and pulled up a new table and chair. "There! Much better!"
Shun'u grinned. He liked this guy. Had a certain... spunk, a liveliness that most of the people back at the Center lacked. And now that he knew for sure, Shun'u could tell he was a guy. His voice and face may have looked like it belonged on a young woman, but his mannerisms and stance all spoke otherwise. Dressed in a colorful tunic and pants of blue, green, and white, Ryuuen was both striking and unobtrusive, as if Shun'u's eyes kept sliding away from the other man and coming back. And there was something about his eyes...
Although Shun'u acted like an idiot more often then not, he was smart enough to read the silent energy flickering behind those amethyst eyes.
"So what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" Kishuku struck up the conversation.
"Having a little fun," Ryuuen admitted. "Most of the time, I’m stuck inside the Palace helping a friend of mine and always having behave like a gentleman. Needless to say... a nice barroom brawl felt good."
Shun'u slapped him on the back. "Ryuuen, yer my kinda guy! Shall we cause a little more fun?"
"Yeah!" he lit up. "We could--oh no, wait, that's illegal." His eyebrows furrowed, then he lit up again. "Well how abo--no, that's illegal too..." He thought a few more seconds before another idea came to him. "I know! Let's--no, that's just cruel."
His face fell as the two Seishi burst into laughter. "Shit, man, forget illegal! I like that cruel one!" Shun'u managed to say.
"You two are evil!" Kishuku said, catching a breath.
"I'll take that as a compliment!" Ryuuen proudly beamed. "So where--"
'Seishi!'
The mind-shout interrupted them with the power of an explosion. Both Shun'u and Kishuku stood up as one and ran for the door, their bodies moving on sheer instinct. Shun'u barely had time to realize that Ryuuen had followed them before checking out the scene.
Toshi and Genrou were in the middle of the road, surrounded on all sides by four tigers. Four immense, snarling, and pissed off tigers that looked ready to bite the heads off the defensive ketsu. Everyone in the near vicinity had taken to running away as fast as they could, which was smarter than they knew. This was probably going to get ugly very quickly.
"Fuckin shit!" Shun'u swore, then turned to Ryuuen. "Get inside!"
"You're stupid as hell if you think I'm gonna let you two take this on by yourselves!" Ryuuen retorted.
"We're not alone," Kishuku smiled, the expression conveying no humor. Shun'u mirrored the look and, as their ketsu growled and poised themselves to battle, the two went into motion and jumped into the fray.
And they began to shapeshift in midair.
Shun'u no longer thought of himself as human. His mind was completely set on the change; he refused to rely on poor human eyesight but now thought with his much more worthy sense of smell. Bones silently popped and shifted as his body went from being bipedal to using four sensitive paws for movement. Each ligament and muscle of his wiry frame became stronger, more resilient for this battle. His nerves were more alive than he could ever remember, even though it would always feel this way when he changed. The blood in his veins ran hot while his heart beat out the rhythm of a wolf's pride. A warm fur coat replaced easily punctured skin and a furry red tail gave him better balance for running and jumping. His fangs were more than just decoration now- he was well aware of how much damage the sharpened canines could inflict.
He was more than just Kou Shun'u now, but also more than just another wolf. His mind, now filled with the twin wisdom of human and animal, was now focused on one little fact--these beasts had dared to challenge his ketsu and would now pay a very high price.
The Tasuki Seishi reveled in this feeling of animalistic power, of instincts that went so far beyond human capacity it was unreal at times. Because of his amazing capabilities in this form he always enjoyed a fight. Even when it was possible he might lose or face injury, Shun'u never backed down because the potential to learn far outweighed the consequences.
He was made to be a Warrior.
A howl of fury was released from his throat as Shun'u landed lightly next to Genrou while Kishuku took his place next to Toshi at the same time. The tigers backed off for a moment, realizing that there was more to this fight than it first appeared.
'Took you long enough!' Genrou's voice, usually mild, was tinged with both hostility and fear.
'Bite me,' he responded.
'Later!' Genrou shouted, then the Seishi/ketsu pairs sprang.
Normally, Shun'u would have just stuck with his human shape to fight but this brawl was against animals. As much fun as it would be to try and use the tessen, he might end up doing more harm to innocents and buildings than the tigers. Really, the only way to really win was to play their game, to shift into ketsu-form and fight that way. Which was perfectly all right to Shun'u; sometimes wolf-form felt better than being human anyway.
Shun'u aimed for the first tiger in front of him. Although he knew he couldn't win a straight-on fight (the tiger was simply too damn massive for that), he was faster and planned to use that speed to his advantage. The tiger raised a paw with the intent to maul his opponent, but by the time the downward swipe came, Shun'u was already out of the way. Using the bar's wall as a springboard, he pushed off with all his strength and, with Suzaku guiding his way, Shun'u landed on the tiger's head.
A bite at the right side of the tiger's face was the only thing he managed to do before getting swatted off like a fly. He barely felt the light cuts on his stomach, the taste of blood in his mouth catching his notice.
Got the bastard! Shun'u's mind soared. He landed and stood up with barely a pause in between, examining the tiger. His enemy was in severe pain, half-blind and unable to do much more than whirl around in a painful frenzy. Shun'u didn't think it necessary (right now) to take the tiger down, seeing as how it couldn't even walk for lack of balance. Genrou could help him take it down later.
Shun'u's attention went immediately to his ketsu. Genrou wasn't even fighting, but dodging the tiger with enviable ease. It was irritating the tiger, unable to catch his prey, but it kept the giant feline away from people and the others. Once he was sure his Genrou was safe, he checked the other two. One leopard was fighting head to head with his foe, and seemed to be holding his own. The other was locked in a rolling struggle, the fight moving too quickly for human eyes but easy enough to track with his nose. Although the tiger was winning, Shun'u knew better than to jump in and fight--he'd either hurt Toshi or Toshi would hurt him out of an automatic response. It was better to--
'SHUN!'
And his senses warned him of the attack mere milliseconds after Genrou shouted his name. It was barely enough though, as he spun in place and bared his fangs at the oncoming attack of the tiger Genrou had been baiting. The wolf was on its heels, apparently shocked by the change of plans and trying as hard as he could to catch up and save his beloved. But Shun'u knew that there was no time, that he had to take the attack or one of the leopards would get hurt.
So he did.
400 pounds of pure tiger landed right on top of him, the claws digging into his shoulders (or where his shoulders would be if he were human). He let out a roar of pain as he took his hind legs and pushed the tiger off, using momentum to his advantage. Genrou's flying tackle didn't hurt either as the animal soaring went over Shun'u's head. But at the last instant he grabbed the exposed throat and tore with all his strength.
Die, you fucker! Shun'u screamed, pain and anger giving him power.
It took only a minute for the beast to die and by then the four had regrouped. Shun'u had a hard time walking, the tears in his chest limiting all movement, so he was forced by the others to lie down to keep the blood flow and further damage to a minimum. Both Kishuku and Toshi had wounds all over their bodies, ranging from light to seriously deep, but they didn't look quite as bad as Shun'u did. Genrou was probably the best out of the group, merely panting from exertion.
'You all right?' Toshi asked in place of Kishuku, seeing as how the Seishi could no longer communicate to each other.
'I'll survive,' Shun'u growled. 'Takes more than that t' kill me!' Inwardly, he was swearing up a red storm, every breath and movement pulling on the unhappy muscles. '
Let's just make sure we don't have to find out much more,' Genrou sent to the trio.
The remaining three tigers circled the Seishi/ketsu pairs. Overall, the situation didn't look good.
'Genrou, run to the Palace and get some backup!' Shun'u thought immediately. 'You're faster than us, you can make it.'
Something like a mental smile passed across the wolf's features. 'We have it already. Just keep the tiger's attentions on us.'
That wasn't hard. The smell of blood was strong enough to drown under and, having tasted a little of it already, they weren't about to let this prey get away. The tiger missing half his face was shaking with impatience, ready to attack Shun'u at the blink of an eye.
In a moment of weakness and cloud of pain, Shun'u thought, Shit! We're gonna die, and get eaten by a buncha damn tigers, and WHAT THE HELL?
A sound, like a scream from an animal too angry to hold its energy in, came from behind him. He turned his head and saw, with extreme surprise, two panda bear claws swooping down on one of the healthier tigers, picking it up with unbelievable ease, and snapping the neck with nothing more than a twist of the wrist.
Shun'u's immediate reaction was, Goddamn holy wow that was fuckin awesome!
A second panda had taken its paw, fisted it, and pretty much punched one tiger into the other. Had Shun'u been feeling a little better, he would have cheered aloud. At the moment, he contented himself with weakly barking his support for the pandas.
Mirth rolled off the ketsus like a strong wind. 'Just waiting for the right moment,' Toshi said, taking his cue and jumping into the fray with Kishuku at his side. Genrou refused to leave his Seishi and, in his own way, Shun'u thanked the wolf with a gruff 'fuckin ketsu worrywart...'. In a matter of minutes, the leopards and pandas had taken down the last two tigers. They cleared the area by tossing the bodies into the alley. The Seishi could come back and retrieve the carrion later if necessary, but none of them were particularly worried about that right now.
'Good fight!' Toshi's mindvoice was filled with feral pleasure. Both he and Kishuku let out a matching snarl to the sky and the wolves joined their howls to create a choir of victory.
As soon as he was absolutely sure the danger had passed, Shun'u let out a breath of relief and slumped back into his original form. This change wasn't quite as remarkable as the shift to wolf, but it was nevertheless something to experience. His whole body basically expanded until all the bones, nerves, and muscles were in the right place. Fur turned to a light covering of hair, his tail pulled into his tailbone, and his senses reverted back to normal. However, due to claw lacerations in his pectoral muscles, Shun'u didn't enjoy the change as much as he usually did. He kind of just lay on the ground, wishing desperately for a glass or twelve of sake.
'I'm going to Center, to get some help for us,' Genrou told his Seishi. 'I leave you in capable hands.'
'See ya there, hopefully in one piece.' Shun'u wasn't pleased with the idea of Genrou leaving him, but understood. There was protection here.
"I told you I wasn't gonna let you take them on by yourselves," Ryuuen's petulant voice came from above. Shun'u tilted his head up and saw the shorter man standing there with his arms crossed, looking irate. A panda bear sat behind him, talking to Toshi as Kishuku changed back.
"Fuck off," Shun'u muttered. "Didn't know ya were a Seishi…"
Ryuuen's expression softened, smiling as he bent down to check Shun'u's wounds and remove the overcoat and multiple belts. "You didn't ask." A glare of mild anger was shot his way and Ryuuen continued. "I'm a Nuriko Warrior, special talent in strength. I thought you guys would have noticed by my not-so-subtle playing in the bar." He folded up the coat and placed it under Shun'u's head and shoulders.
"Key word--bar! Drunk! Ain't paying attention to shit," Shun'u told him, grimacing from pain as Ryuuen gently probed the area of damage and peeled away the bloody shirt. "Ah, shit!"
"Sorry. And sorry it took us so long to jump in, but you guys were doing fine on your own," he explained. "We were scouting around the block, checking to see if there were any other problems and clearing the people away."
"So th' bear's with you?"
"Nah, just picked her up off the streets. You know how stray pandas are such a problem around here."
"Yer fuckin funny."
Ryuuen grinned. "I think so too. Her name's Kohana and you can thank her later, because she's the reason we came out here." Both heard a grunt and saw Kishuku finish his shift and come over to them. He was limping and his left leg was bleeding badly.
"Ya look good, Ki-ku."
"Don't make me kill you," the Tamahome Seishi said between gritted teeth, using Ryuuen's offered hand to sit/collapse on the ground.
"Anyway," Ryuuen said, catching their attention. "I was kind of lying before. While the barroom incident was a fun diversion, we were actually traveling through the city to the Palace/Center. Kohana caught whiff of something... unpleasant and I stopped inside to let her roam around. From there, well you know the rest of the story."
"Fuckin great story," Shun'u swore, then continued the curse as he felt dust scrape against his raw skin. "Okay, ya know what, I'm ready t' go now!"
Ryuuen raised a delicate eyebrow. "You're an idiot if you think you're gonna make the walk," he said patiently as he ripped Shun'u's shirt up for bandaging. "Besides, Genrou went to get some help so we'll just wait here."
"You're the fuckin idiot if you think I wanna just lie here," Shun'u retorted, hating the feeling of being so weak that he could only lie on the ground like a useless lump. "Besides, we gotta get off th' road." He gritted his teeth in an attempt to keep from shouting or biting Ryuuen.
"No we don't," he replied matter-of-factly, taking the strips and dressing Shun'u's left shoulder, the worse of the two injuries. "No one's going to want to come near us." Shun'u looked at him with a question on his lips when he saw a huge shadow fall over his face and not move away. He barely noticed the compress Ryuuen put on his right side, a sudden sense of worry coming to him.
'Anyone wanna try moving a panda?' a proud and glittery mindvoice popped into his head. The Tasuki Seishi turned his head and saw that Kohana was lying down with her body curled in such a way as to provide support for Kishuku and protection for himself. 'Just relax Shun'u-san. I'll keep you guys safe.'
'Uh... thanks...' he told her, not quite sure how to react. But he heard footsteps coming to them and saw, with a chuckle, a seedy man decide against coming up next to the injured duo. Shun'u assumed that Kohana's growl and paw swipe did something to help encourage that action. Guess this works out OK, he sighed.
Kishuku hissed in pain and Shun'u looked to see Ryuuen tightly wrapping the other's leg with his sash. Toshi had limped three-legged next to Kohana and was currently added to her list of "those who must be protected".
"You a Priest and a Warrior?" Kishuku asked, his fingers digging into the ground to avoid doing something extremely bad for both his and Ryuuen's health.
"Just a Warrior that happens to know a bit of the medical arts," came the answer. "Who knows when something totally unexpected could happen and there's not a doctor in sight? I'd be better than nothing."
"Dunno about that," Shun'u muttered, and was rewarded with face-full of dirt.
Kishuku smiled as Ryuuen and Shun'u exchanged threats, their banter distracting from the pain. "You two sound like a bad comedy routine," he commented. Both made the same face, with insulted tongues sticking out at him. "So tell me doctor, will I live?"
"Oh, you want to live? Well that changes everything!"
"It would be nice!"
Shun'u made a rather tasteless comment, this time causing Kishuku to try and smother his roommate. Ryuuen pulled Kishuku off by the sash and finished tending the somewhat peeved Seishi before moving onto a gasping Shun'u. "You're going to kill each other one day," he said.
"With any luck," Shun'u grumbled. Had he not been in so much pain, he would have been enjoying himself and the company. As it was... the red haze wasn't leaving his senses but since he wasn't doing anything to irritate the gashes it didn't feel too much worse. Thank Suzaku for Seishi resiliency and quick healing.
"How the heck did you two end up being friends?" Ryuuen asked, kneeling between the two. "I mean, I can sense this relationship has something to be desired."
Shun'u laughed as hard as he could without killing himself, leaving Kishuku to answer. "We're roommates. Just luck, I guess, that brought us here."
"Where do you guys live?"
"12-South. You?"
"No kidding! I'm only a few corridors away, at 5-North."
"Great!" Shun'u declared. "Whenever we wanna do somethin cruel or 'llegal, we'll visit'cha!"
"It's a date," Ryuuen winked as he picked up a belt with a long attachment. "Hey Shun'u, what's this? Looks like a weird metal somethingorother..."
"It's a tessen," Shun'u interrupted, a painful look on his face caused Ryuuen's verbal maiming. "A metal fan."
"What's it do?" Kishuku jumped in, looking far too curious for his own good.
"When I say a special chant, it spits fire and burns everythin I want ta ash," Shun'u spoke carefully, each breath further damaging his chest. "It's lotsa fun! People go up in flames real quick!" He noticed with a certain amount of smugness that Kishuku was edging away from them.
'Not to interrupt this insightful conversation, but we've got company coming,' Toshi told them, sounding incredibly relieved. 'Genrou's bringing a few friends.'
Ryuuen jumped to his feet, making Shun'u slightly jealous that he was lacking in that ability right now. Dammit... I hate cats...
"Where are they?" the violet-haired Seishi asked, looking around. Then a smile spread over his face as he saw something in the air. "Ah! Here we go!"
Shun'u, never one to miss a moment of action, made himself sit up as slowly as possible to check everything out. Glancing to the air, he saw two pairs of birds flying at high speed to them and, on the ground, were two bulls, a group of smaller animals, and one bounding red wolf guiding their way.
'Genrou!'
'Lay down, Shun, or you'll hurt yourself even more.'
'Fuckin fine way t' greet me!'
The response Shun'u got to that was Genrou bounding right in front of him and licking his face with puppy-like affection.
"Aw, fuck!" Shun'u moaned, trying vainly to push his ketsu away with useless arms. "Gen, get off me!"
"What happened? Are you OK?" a slew of voices pounded at his attention and Shun'u managed to pull his head away from the devoted wolf to see Donai-san, Lau-san, two people he didn't recognize, and Doukun talking frantically to Ryuuen.
Doukun?! "Doukun! Hey kid, what'cha doin here? Go back!" Shun'u tried to yell at the younger boy but was distracted when one of the strangers came up to him and began studying his injuries. "Who th' fuck are you and what th' fuck are you doin ta me?!"
If the newcomer was bothered by such language, he didn't show it. "I'm a doctor and I'm going to take care you to the medical wing," he said briskly. "So if you don't mind bracing yourself, this is going to be a bit of a jump."
Shun'u barely had time to blink before he found himself lying on a comfortable bed. "What th' fuck?!" he shouted, disorientated and feeling slightly nauseous. Genrou was nowhere in sight and the doctor was calling out orders to awaiting attendants. Oye, I fuckin hate days like this!
'Relax, Seishi, they're gonna take good care of you,' Genrou tried to calm him, and Shun'u knew that the wolf was outside and out of the way.
One woman came up to him and began stripping his shirt and bandages off his sensitive chest, causing another stream of swear words to pour from his mouth. "Chu-san, do I have permission to put him out of his misery?" she asked across Shun'u's chest to the first doctor.
"Outta my misery?!" he screamed indignantly, trying to sit up. "Lady I dunno what th' fuck you're thinkin, but I ain't-"
And the last thing he remembered was her finger brushing his forehead and a feeling of extreme quiet coming over him.
