by samuraiheart
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Part One: A Little More
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Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and are
the property of their respective owners.
Warning: This story contains shounen-ai, which means
there will be a relationship between two men (Tasuki and Chichiri) that goes
beyond friendship.
This fic is happily spoiler free and very sappy. It
doesn’t fit into the continuity of the series at all so don’t even try. I have
no idea where Tamahome and Miaka are, but the other six seishi are staying at
the palace during this little break.
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Tasuki sat quietly beneath a tree in the palace gardens. He gazed up at the clear blue sky and shook his head. He was bored. There was nothing to do here at the palace and whenever he was bored his thoughts always tended to wander back to the same subject – a certain blue-haired monk who had always been able to capture his attention. Tasuki sighed and leaned his head back against the strong tree trunk behind him. He had no idea when this had all started. When had his feelings for Chichiri gone beyond friendship? What was he going to do about it? He clasped his hands together in his lap and let out a deep breath blowing his bangs away from his face. This was getting to be ridiculous. He really should just get it over with. What’s the worst that could happen?
"He could hate me for the rest of his life." Tasuki muttered dejectedly as his shoulders slumped slightly and he looked down at his lap.
"What are you mumbling about now?" Nuriko asked as he stood in front of the bandit with his hands on his hips. His long violet hair hung in a long braid down his back and he wore a white blossom behind his right ear. It really was amazing how feminine he looked sometime.
"Ummm… nothing." Tasuki answered weakly and frowned at the man standing before him. He was up to something and he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it. Nuriko rocked slightly on his heels and a wide grin spread across his face as his eyes darted from where Tasuki sat to some place off in the distance.
"What are ya so happy about, Nuriko?" Tasuki asked as he stood up and stretched his arms above his head. He raised one thin eyebrow in curiosity and glanced in the direction Nuriko was watching.
Nuriko leaned closer to the bandit and cupped his hand close to his mouth as if he was about to reveal some precious secret. He ran his tongue over his lips briefly and his eyes sparkled with mischief. Tasuki wasn’t sure if he should be scared or excited about whatever he was about to hear, but he shrugged and leaned in closer. Anything was better than pining after Chichiri all day like some hopeless schoolgirl.
"Have you ever wondered what Chichiri looks like without his mask on?" Nuriko whispered breathlessly. His voice ended in a slight squeak as he tugged on Tasuki’s arm and gestured towards a path leading away from the palace.
"What do ya mean?" Tasuki asked defensively. Why would he be interested in Chichiri? Did Nuriko know something? He thought he had done a pretty good job of hiding his little obsession. Besides, he’d already scene the monk without his mask on many times usually as a result of some careful planning and a good hiding place. But Nuriko didn’t know about those times of course.
"He’s down by the lake and if we’re careful we might be able to spy on him for a little while. He’s got to take it off sometime!" Nuriko stepped back impatiently and pulled on Tasuki’s arm again.
"Alright. Alright. I’ll go with ya." Tasuki finally agreed and followed Nuriko carefully as they walked briskly along the path to the lake. When they were almost there, Nuriko gestured towards some bushes and jumped towards them pulling Tasuki with him. Tasuki was about to protest at the sudden detour, but Nuriko clamped his hand over Tasuki’s half opened mouth and pointed towards the water. Tasuki’s eyes widened at the sight before him as they both settled into more or less comfortable positions careful concealed by the green leaves of the thick bushes surrounding the area. There before them, just about ten feet away at the edge of the lake stood Chichiri.
The blue-haired seishi carefully took off his kesa and set aside his shakujou leaning it up against a nearby tree. He ran his delicate fingers through his bangs once and then carefully peeled away the magical mask that normally covered his face. He took a deep breath of the fresh outdoor air and opened his eye slowly to look at his surroundings. After a few moments, he bent down and leaned in closer to the lake. He gazed at his reflection in the water before him and quickly disturbed the image by dipping both hands into the cool liquid. He cupped them slightly and closed his eye as he threw the water up at his face and let the cool liquid drench his skin and bangs. He threw his head back as clear droplets of water slid down his cheeks and trickled down the line of his jaw caressing his face as they fell. His blue bangs were darkened slightly and pressed against his forehead in disorderly gatherings. The monk brushed away a strand that had dipped in front of his vision and began to remove his shoes. Tasuki’s breath caught in his throat at the prospect of what the monk would remove next. He clenched his fists as Chichiri reached up to unfasten the first of several buttons that held his white shirt closed.
Tasuki’s revelry quickly came to an end when Nuriko tugged at his sleeve and insisted that they had seen enough.
"Come on, Tasuki. We saw what we needed."
"Yeah." Tasuki said breathlessly and took one last peek through the bushes before he was dragged away by the other seishi. In that last moment, he caught a glimpse of Chichiri’s deliciously smooth shoulder and strong chest, but not nearly enough to make it worthwhile.
Tasuki frowned at Nuriko’s back as they marched back to the palace. He was rambling on about something, but Tasuki wasn’t really listening. Instead, the bandit was happily going over the images in his head and marveling at just how sexy a person could be without even knowing it. His thoughts were interrupted once again as they arrived back at the palace garden and Nuriko turned towards him with an angry look on his face.
"Have you been listening to a word I’ve said!?" Nuriko asked heatedly as he plopped down on a nearby bench and gestured for Tasuki to sit beside him. Tasuki nodded and took a seat. He searched his memory for some idea of what to say, but he came up with nothing.
"So, what do you think?" Nuriko asked determinedly.
Tasuki stared at him for a moment and shook his head. "About what?"
"About Chichiri, of course!"
"Oh. He’s gorgeous." Tasuki answered breathlessly. Then his eyes widened at what he had just said and a soft blush spread across his cheeks. "Imean… I…"
Nuriko was more than a little amused by the situation and he patted Tasuki on the back and tried to suppress a grin. He failed miserably and began to laugh at his friend.
Tasuki frowned and turned away. "I didn’t mean it like that." Tasuki insisted sullenly, but he knew there was nothing he could do now. His secret was out. He just hoped Nuriko would have the decency to keep it to himself.
"What’s so funny, Nuriko?" Mitsukake asked as he walked towards the two other seishi.
Nuriko brought a hand in front of his face and tried to stop laughing. He finally got it out between giggles. "Tasuki has a crush on Chichiri!"
Mitsukake raised his eyebrows in curiosity and looked over at the fiery-haired seishi in amusement. That was probably the last thing he had expected to hear, but somehow it didn’t seem impossible. He crossed his arms in front of him and tilted his head slightly as if appraising the situation.
"I’m not gay like you, Nuriko." Tasuki said brusquely as he glared at his violet-haired companion.
Nuriko’s eyes lit up dangerously and he patted Tasuki on the back a little more roughly this time. "So you like women, then?"
"No! I hate women!" Tasuki replied forcefully and jerked forward as Nuriko hit him on the back of the head.
"And you like men?" Mitsukake prompted evenly.
"Yeah. No! I mean…" Tasuki sighed and buried his face in his hands. "I don’t know." He admitted weakly.
"It’s okay, you’re young." Nuriko answered light heartedly and his eyes danced over the bandit mischievously. This was certainly a new development.
"What about Chichiri?" Mitsukake asked.
Tasuki looked over at the other seishi warily and then shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Oh well, yeah. I guess I kinda like him." His voice came in a soft whisper that both men had to lean forward to hear, but the sentiment was clear.
"Well, here comes the blue-haired seishi now!" Nuriko announced excitedly and brought one carefully shaded eyelid down to wink at Tasuki.
Tasuki tried to sit perfectly still as Chichiri walked toward the little group. He felt his cheeks burning brightly and hoped they weren’t as hot as they felt.
Mitsukake and Nuriko glanced at each other nervously when Chichiri walked over to stand beside them.
"Hello, everyone, no da! Why did it get so quiet all of the sudden, na no da?" Chichiri asked hesitantly. His smiling masked stared back at them with exaggerated happiness.
"Ummm…. We were just…" Nuriko hurriedly searched for some sort of explanation, but only ended up stumbling over his words and making things worse.
"Nothing in particular." Mitsukake finished matter of factly, but his eyes still held a hint of amusement and Chichiri was sure that he had missed something very exciting if it had made the quiet healer laugh.
Tasuki was trying very hard not to look at the monk and he sat rigidly with his hands clasped tightly in front of him. His cheeks were several shades pinker than usual and Chichiri bit his lip at the sight.
"That’s okay, no da. You’re kind of cute when you’re blushing, Tasuki-chan, no da." Chichiri said offhandedly as he walked away back towards his room. He regretted the words almost immediately and was very glad that the mask hid his own cheeks because he was sure they were an unnatural shade of red at the moment. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t mean it in that way, but only managed to become more flustered when the word "beautiful" popped into his head instead.
After Chichiri was well out of sight, Nuriko, Mitsukake and Tasuki relaxed visibly. Tasuki slumped down in his seat and covered his face with his hands as Mitsukake chuckled at the absurdity of the situation and Nuriko babbled about what Chichiri had said.
"He said you were cute!" Nuriko insisted and tried to hold back giggles again.
Tasuki just shook his head and marveled at his own bad luck. How could he have let this happen? How had his secret become such a source of amusement in only a few short minutes? And now even Chichiri would know something was going on!
Nuriko stood to go and shook his head at Tasuki one more time. "You really should tell him. You never know. Maybe he feels the same way."
Tasuki rolled his eyes and bent his head. "Never." He answered firmly and followed slowly behind the other two seishi on the way to dinner. He tried to convince himself that this would all pass soon. Eventually they would have to forget about it, wouldn’t they?
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continued in the next part