Miryuu sat in her room, rummaging through her closet.
 She knew she hadnt thrown it away....

There. Her old high school uniform still fit her, even
 though she had been in this world for a year....

She remembered her old times in Shin Seki High school.
 She had just been a normal girl...normal
 friends...and her handsome boyfriend, Aono Tomo.

How could she have known that Tomo had created the
 world she had lived in? How could she have known of
 the darker purpose she had? She had never asked to be
 an antennae for her dead parents. She missed her old
 life more than anything. She hated being in this
 anchient China. The only thing that made it halfway
 bareable was her Tomo...

"Princess?" speak of the devil...

"Tomo." He went over and kissed her. "Its about time
 for me to leave." he said, sighing. He wasnt wearing
 his makeup. Instaed, regular travelers clothes and a
 kasa.

"Do you really have to leave me now, Tomo?"

He held her. "I have to stop the Suzaku seishi, or
 else we cant be together You know that. Being in this
 world makes you weak, Miryuu..."

Miryuu just nodded. "I know...and the sooner we
 eliminate the Suzaku Seishi and call Seiryuu the
 sooner I can go home."

Tomo nodded. "And you know the easiest way to Stop a
 girl from becomng a miko."

"Tomo, do you have to?" Miryuu sniffled. "i know you
 arent really cheating on me, but I still dont like
 it..."

"You know if there was any other way I would take 
it...but the easiest way to stop her is take her
 virginity."

"I know...I know...." She closed her eyes. (Just one
 little thing...and we can go home...and we can
 finally be together for real.)
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Harmonychan Productions presents
Ripples in the water-a Fushigi Yuugi OVA
Chapter 9-Wandering
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"H-chan no da! H-chan no DAAA!!!!"

"Shimatta!" H-chan ran through the forest, trying to
 find a place to hide. She really didnt want to look
 at Chichiri....god, what was she THINKING? He had to
 suspect something now...and all this was just going
 to make him squirm! (Why cant I ever just let things
 be?)

"H-chan no da!" The footsteps grew closer
. (Masaka...here he comes...oh yeah!) She quickly got
 out the feather of Suzaku, summoned her wings, and
 flew high into the air. She lighted on a tree branch
 and watched as Chichiri charged through thge forest.
 "Masaku no da...I can feel her energy no da! Shes
 here somewhere no da!"

H-chan watched him charge on into the forest. Part of
 her wanted to fly down, yell "Hey, Im here Chichiri-
san, hope you werent worried!" While the most logical
 thing to do, apart of her refused. (What will he
 think? He'll think Im a SLUT! No to mention...oh
 god...what if he thinks I like TASUKI! Damnit, I
 thought this stuff ended outside of high school!) She
 shook her head. No, It would probaly be better to
 play it incognito for awhile. 

But she did have to find a way to conceal her personal
 energy. Chichiri was a mage as well as a monk, and he
 would find her pretty soon if she couldnt conceal her
 chi. She took one of the largest feathers from the
 inside of her wing. It was approximately arms length,
 and it shone dully with red light. "Feather of
 Suzaku, I command you to conceal my chi!" It beagn to
 show brightly. "Thats better...unnggg..." H-chan
 began to feel dizzy. (Damn...its draining my energy!)
 "Lay off, feather of Suzaku!" she hissed. The dizzy
 sensation began to ebb. She just hoped it was enough
 to hide herself as she tucked it back into her wings.


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K-chan studied the still frozen Tasuki with mild
 amusement. He had turned first red, then white, and
 now a fascinatingly tinged blue. His eyes were wide
 open, normally smallish pupils shot to pinpoints. 

Tamahome wandered back from the forest. "Ne K-chan-"

"Shhhh!" K-chan clamped a hand over Tamahomes mouth.
 "I wanna see this!"

Finnaly a gagging noise came from the back of his
 throat. Tamahome shook K-chan off and walked over to
 Tasuki. "Tasuki? Oi, Tasuki...."

Tasuki drew in a breath. 

K-chan beagn to get nervous. "Tasuki? Genki-"

Tasuki opened his mouth, and issued a profanity of
 such magnitude it knocked K-chan flat. Birds flew 
from the trees, leaves fell, and Tamahome blushed 
almost as badly as H-chan at the "shower incident".
 

"G-g-geeze, Tasuki..." K-chan,still tembling slightly,
 picked herself up.

"What the @%$*! What the hell was the oinu
 thinking?!?!?! I never promised anything like that @*%
$!" Tasukis barrage of profanitys, undaunted by K-
chans pleas, went on for well over 15 minutes. Finnaly
 he lapsed into scilence. 

K-chan gently pried Tmamhomes hands off of her ears 
and put a hand on Tasukis shoulder. "Honesty...you did
 say youd do it."

"When the @#*! did I say that?"

Tamahome glared at Tasuki. "Watch it, fang boy. Theres
 a lady present."

"I dont see one."

"You...." Tamahomes ogre character began to glow
 bright red. Tasuki sweatdropped. "Tamahome, why is
 your forehead glowing like that?"

K-chan held out her hands. "Uresi! Tasuki, remember
 last night?"

"Not much of it."

"Well...think back. We were all sitting around the
 campfire...Tama and I were sharing some sake (a
 mistake which I will never make again),you had
 polished off two bottles...Chichiri was taking care
 of  H-chan...I brought up how they should get
 together...."

K-chan watched Tasukis face as it began to change:
 first confusion, then apprehension, and finnaly
 horror. "I was drunk!"

"Thats an understatment. You were PICKLED." K-chan
 smirked. "But you did agree to my deal..."

"But...I HATE WOMEN! I ABHOR THEM! UGGHHHH!" Tasuki
 picked up the teakettle and poured it over himself. 

"You cant hate them that much, or you wouldnt have
 agreed to this." Tamahome shrugged. "If you really
 hate H-chan as much as you say you do, why did you
 buy her sake? Knowing you, you would have kept it for
 yourself. Not to mention, you havent told Chichiri
 how she feels. She probaly would go hide in that
 forest for the next 10 years and never speak to you
 again and you know it. So why dont you?"

K-chan looked up at Tamahome in suprise. "Dear?"

"Yes?"

"I belive thats the most youve spoken in in this fic
 for about 3 days..."

"Whats a fic?"

"I...dont...know...." K-chan shook her head in
 confusion. An eerie scilence fell over the group.

Tasuki finnaly burst into abrasive laughter, if
 nothing else a welcome distraction. "BWAAAHHAAAAA!!!
 You people are morons! Im gonna go find H-chan so we
 can get the hell out of here."

He charged into the forest. K-chan watched him,
 giggling. "He is so weird..."

"Yup...hey, wheres Chiriko?"

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H-chan flew over the forest, just generally wasting
 time. Strands of her hair fell in her face, and she
 wrinkled her nose. (Ugh. I could REALLY use a
 shower.) She saw a river below her. "Hey....quick 
fix. Kamikaze!" She pointed straight down.
 "BANZAIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!"

She flew straight into the water.
 "Wah...cold....cold..." She thrashed around, then
 found that the feathers of Suzaku were slowly heating
 the water around her. She sighed and relaxed, steam 
floating above the water. "This is nice...."

"Enjoying your soak, H-chan-san?"

"Bwah!" H-chan, startled, got a fair amount of water
 up her nose.  After a breif spell of hacking and
 flailing, she looked over to see Chiriko floating on
 a log beside her. "Chiriko! Howd you-"

"Find you?" Chiriko smiled, looking almost unbearably
 cute. "Well, it was natural to assume youd go into
 the forest,and sicne you would probaly want to
 bathe....I just followed the path to where me and
 Chichiri were fishing." Chiriko took a bar of soap
 out of his sleeve. "I thought you could use this."

"Youre too cool, Chiriko!" H-chan began to lather her
 hair. 

"H-chan-san?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about Chichiri?"

"eh!"The soap squirted out of H-chans hands into the
 water. "Shimmata!" H-chan dove for it and brought it
 back up, sputtering. 

"Well, that pretty much answers my question."

"Why, Chiriko? Dont tell me that you-"

Chiriko wrinkled his nose. "Im just a kid. A 12 year
 old boy. How could I possibly be in love with anyone,
 much less gay?"

"I see. But youre not just a kid, Chiriko..." H-chan
 shook her head. "People called me that all the time
 back in my world. It drove me crazy. Its like saying
 if youre young, you cant do anything."

Chiriko nodded. "Youre smarter that I though, H-chan-
san."

H-chan glared at him. "And whats that supposed to
 mean?"

Chiriko laughed. "Nothing. Ive never even talked to
 you for more than 5 minutes anyway..."

"Good point, Chiriko. Now if youre so smart, tell me
 this...." H-chan raised her eyebrows. "Does Tasuki
 hate me or not."

"Oh, he thinks your cool. Definetly."

"THEN WHAT THE HELL IS HIS PROBLEM?!?!"

Chiriko sighed. "Thats just the way he is. When he was
 little, he was a very...akward youth. His mother
 died, his father ran, he had to take care of his
 little sister on a mountain of bandits. People picked
 on him constantly. They stole his food and money,
 because he couldnt fight back...he was too small."

"Oh, how sad....poor Tasuki!"

Chiriko smiled. "He took me under his wing when I met him. He saw I was just like him. Of course, he still made fun of me constantly. But he also defended me from all the bandits who tried to beat me up and stuff."

"How did he get them to stop picking on him?"

Chiriko swept his hand across the water. "Lekka-SHIEN!
 He was a favorite of the leader. when Hakuroen died,
 he got the tessen and leadership of the mountain,.
 Koujis probaly doin it now..."

"Ah." H-chan stared up at the sky. "So If he picks on
 me, it means he sees himself in me..."

"Not himself, his sister.Its because of the fangs."

"Oh." H-chan stared off across the water in scilence.
 then she looked over at Chiriko. "Ne, Chiriko? Why do
 you ask...about Chichiri I mean?"

Chiriko shrugged. "No reason...but H-chan...how come
 you arent trying to get home?" 

"Nani?"

"Well, normaly any girl in your position would be
 searching for a way to return, at least get her stuff
 back...but you arent even looking."

"Umm...Its a nice day, isnt it, Chiriko-san?" H-chan
 smiled, a wry little fake grin. "Never had sunshine
 like this back home..."

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Chichiri stalked through the forest, using his staff
 to swipe branches away.He was, he knew,
 uncharacteristically angry. Why had she just run off
 like that? And why had she kissed him, anyway?

He thought about it. H-chan didnt seem the type to
 come on to guys. On the contrary, she seemed shy,
 especially around people of the opposite sex. And,
 judging from Tasuki's expression, he wasnt expecting
 it anymore than Chichiri was. 

Well, that left two possibilities. Either H-chan was
 being paid....or she was trying to....well...ano...

"She is so confusing no da!" Chichiri sat down in the
 middle of the forest, poking the ground angrily with
 his staff. "Why do I have to deal with the hormones
 of an adolecent girl nan no da?"

He though back to the morning. She had just been
 curled up beside him. Why had she woken up? And why,
 when she saw him crying, had she tried to hold him?

Would he have had done the same thing? 

He shook his head. Like it or not, he had become
 pretty attached to H-chan. She had tried her best
 during this journey to help him, even buying him a
 new kasa after inadvertently frying the old one. She
 had been nothing but kind to him, but today after she
 had kissed Tasuki....she just ran away...

Just like Kouran...

Chichiri held his chest in pain. Oh god...she was like
 Kouran. Her kindness, her wanting to help...her
 compassion torwards him were all constant reminders
 of a pain he wanted to forget was there. But H-chan
 wanted nothing more than for him to be happy.
  Chichiri held his face in his hands. "Oh gods, why
 cant I just forget? Why does everything remind me...."

He lifted his head, mask still in his hands.

'someday, Chichiri...'

Tears began to flow.

'Someday you wont need that mask anymore.'
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Unbeknownst to Chichiri, Tasuki was stalking through
 the forest in an almost opposite direction. He had to
 find that oinu! Why he had to find the oinu, he didnt
 know. But in the dimly lit corriors of Tasukis brain,
 a directive ahd been ordered, and far be it for him
 to disobey.

"Gyyyyaaaahhhh! OINU! WHERE THE HELL ARE-ow!" He
 yelled as something flew down and hit him on the
 head. He picked it up from the floor. A girls shoe?

He looked up to see a cackling H-chan. "Ne Tasuki,
 lookin for me?"

He glared up at her. "You stupid oinu!" He picked up
 the shoe and stuck it down his shirt. "Come get it!"

"No way! Ec-chi!"

Tasuki rolled his eyes. "Im not the 'ec-chi' here,
 miko. Youre the one who just kissed a nearly perfect
 stranger."

"You got 20 ryou for it."

"And what did you get out of the deal?" Tasuki raised
 his eyebrows. "Besides getting to kiss a super
 bishonen like me, of course."

H-chan blushed. "I have my reasons."

"Are you that desperate to get Chichiri's attentions?"
 tasuki rolled his eyes. "You have to let things take
 their natural course, miko. Just because you fall for
 a guy dosent mean he falls for you 2 days later."

"I know..." H-chan sighed. "Anyway, how come youre out
 here lookin for me?"

Tasuki shrugged. "Got bored."

"Uh-HUH. Admit it, Tasuki, you dont hate me."

Tasuki laughed probaly the most abrasive laugh of the
 day. "Bwaaaaahaaahaaaa! Did I ever say I hated you?
 Just because youre half boy half dog dosent mean I
 hate you, oinu-ow! Quit that!"

"No!" H-chan began to pelt Tasuki with acorns. "For
 such an insult, you deserve no better than death!"

"Lekka-SHIEN!" Tasuki fried the acorns (And very
 nearly the acorn thrower) with one swipe. What he did
 not count on, however, was H-chan flying around the
 side and swiping the tessen with one quick move.

Tasuki watched her, screaming. "OINU! GIVE THAT BACK!"

H-chan stuck out her tounge. "No WAY, fang-boy. Not
 till you apologize!"

"NEVER!"

"Well, then." She raised the fan. "Lekka-"

"NOOOO!!!"

"SHIEEEENNN!" Flames shot from the fan, burning the
 tree top. Flaming acorns fell to the ground like
 meteorites. "Coooollll."

Tasuki looked astonished. "H-chan...you moron! Stop
 lighting things on fire, you %*$@ing pyro!"

"Bwaahaaa! This is great! This is-"

"H-CHAN NO DA!"

H-chan dropped the Tessen. It landed at Chichiris 
feet. Ashamed, she flutterd down in front of him.
 "Chichiri-san..."

He glared down at her, fury pouring out of his face.
"H-chan, what is WRONG with you no da? That could
 easliy as anything alert the Seiryuu seishi to our
 presence. We could all be killed!"

"A-ano..."

"Dont do that no da!" Chichiri slammed his staff onto
 the ground. (I have to control my temper no da...)

"Chichiri...Im sorry...."

"How will sorry help us If they find us no da?"
 Chichiri sighed. "You have to learn to be more
 resopnsible, suzaku no miko...or there will be
 victims!"

She turned red, biting her lip. (I must have really
 made him angry...) "im sorry, Chichiri! I didnt mean
 it!"

"Its alright no da." He looked away. "im going to go 
pack no da. We have to be ready to leave for Konan.
 Its 15 miles, so wed better get going."

H-chan smiled. "Well, I guess we'll be sharing a horse
 again."

Chichri just walked away. 

Tasuki stared at H-chan for a minute. "H--chan...whys
 he so mad at you?"

"I dont know...I need to be by myself for awhile." She
 wiped a tear from her face. "You should go help
 Chichiri pack." She walked into the forest.
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H-chan sat under the tree, letting her tears fall
 down. "What did I do? I didnt mean it...I really
 didnt...."

"Im sure you didnt."

"Huh?" She looked up. There was a shonen man with long
 black hair and golden eyes. He smiled warmly at her.
 "People can be so misunderstanding, konnajo..."

H-chan nodded. he flipped his wrist, and a clam shell
 appeared. He opened it before her, and a sparkling
 rose bloomed out of the bottom. She gasped. "How 
beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you...what, did a boyfriend make
 you cry?"

H-chan smirked. "I wish...whats your name, sir? Im H-
chan."

He laughed, a silent, dry chuckle. "My friends call me
 Tomo."

END CHAPTER 9!