Disclaimer: I oday otnay wnoay Ushigifay Uugiyay. **odnay**

Warnings: Lotsa bad language that goes beyond the rating. Shounen ai. Cold weather. Boats. Cider.

Notes: Thanks to everyone who’s reading and everyone who’s reviewed! ^__^ **hugs** Ne, Lanen, I know Chicago and New York are pretty different, I’ve been to both, too. ^_^ It’s just the whole Big City Thing. ^_~ Anyhoo, I hope this chapter’s okay. **shrug** Sorry if it’s boring. ^^;;; Have fun anyway!

I huddled into my coat and put my hand to my nose to warm it, frowning at the fact that the stupid thing had a propensity toward freezing. Less than thirty seconds later, I had to remove my hand because oxygen was getting scarce; and then, right back to freezing again, and the cycle was repeated.

Myojuan and Genrou, who were sitting with me in the back of the taxi, were regarding me in bland fascination.

"Everything…all right?" Myojuan inquired.

"I hate my nose," I grumbled behind my glove.

"We don’t get a lot of visitors this week, really," the cab driver was relating to Saihitei up front. He was a cheerful guy; he sounded East Indian. "Not a lot of tourists, anyway."

"We’re not exactly tourists," Saihitei explained. "We’re here visiting a friend."

The seven of us had split up into two groups, and Saihitei, Myojuan, Genrou and I were headed to Battery Park so we could ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. (We’d collectively decided that, while "Jiyuu" might just have been a hint as to where to go, it could very well have meant a more specific place, and the statue seemed as good a place as any to begin.) The other three had gone to the Hudson, the "river;" Myojuan had given Doukun his cell phone so we could call each other if anything happened. We didn’t have a game plan, really. We didn’t really know what to expect. But those were the only two clues we had.

Was it silly, to leave the rest to our seishi connection? I didn’t know what to think about that; I’d never really been all that much of a supernatural guy before. Doukun had seemed fairly confident that he’d be able to sense if Houjun were close, so I hoped he was right. It just seemed like such a gamble. Even if he had been by the river, or at the Statue of Liberty, what were the odds that we’d be there at the same time?

I felt so powerless, like I didn’t have control over my own life.

Which I probably DON’T, I reminded myself. My friends, my family, everyone I know, I know because the fates shoved us together. Human agency had little to do with it. That’s kinda scary. But it also means that…maybe…someone’s watching out for us, right? Someone’s looking at this situation with Houjun and being nice and giving us clues, with the mirror and all. Just gotta have faith, that’s all.

For a guy who had never been particularly religious, this was a weird step to take. But then, it’s hard not to have faith when you wake up to discover you can lift giant boulders with your bare hands.

When we arrived at the ferry stop and stepped out into the chill sea air, there were only about four other people in the line to visit the Statue of Liberty. I guess if the cold didn’t bother you, November was the time to visit New York. Saihitei paid the nice cab driver, and we all made our way over to the little ticket building. Apparently, the same boat that took passengers to the statue also stopped at Ellis Island; under normal circumstances, I would’ve leapt at the opportunity to explore a little family history, but as it was, I barely thought of it.

We had reached the end of the short line before I realized that one of us was missing. I looked to my right: Saihitei. I looked to my left: Myojuan. We spent the next few moments blinking around at each other before turning to see Genrou slinking in the background.

"Tasuki?" said Saihitei.

"What?" he snapped defensively.

I wrapped my trembling arms around my chest, teeth chattering. "Are you coming?"

He mirrored my position stubbornly. "Ya didn’t tell me we had to take a fuckin boat."

"What’s wrong with taking a boat?"

No reply. He just glowered.

"Ryuuen…can Tasuki, er, Genrou…can he swim?" Saihitei said lowly in my ear.

I raised my eyebrows. "Ehh?"

"He, ahh…he couldn’t, in the past," my boyfriend explained. "He didn’t enjoy water. Or boats, at that."

Gazing back over at Genrou, I put my hands on my hips. "What the heck’s the matter? You can swim, ya big dummy! We took Kiddie Swim together at the YMCA when we were six, remember? And we’ve been in more boats than I can count!"

He tightened his mouth, half-pouting. "Jus don’t feel like fuckin gettin on a goddamn fuckin boat, ‘sall."

One of the other people in the line looked over and gave him a dirty look, looping an arm around her child’s shoulder. Seeing this, Myojuan frowned and put a finger to his lips. I began to wonder if those V-chips from South Park actually did exist, and if so, how much they cost.

"Genrou. We should have everyone there, in case one of us senses something," said Saihitei calmly. "I don’t want to take the chance that you might be the one to feel a connection, but you stay behind."

"Yeah, c’mon, Gen-chan," I added. "It’s just a memory thing. But you’re not afraid of water. You used to be on the swim team, even."

"Please," added Saihitei.

Genrou looked like he’d just eaten a plateful of lemon-flavored glass, but he shuffled over to us sullenly and sulked like a five-year-old. He was good at that.

We paid for our tickets and climbed on the ferry. Myojuan and Saihitei wanted to go look out at the water, which nicely illustrates the fact that just because people look normal and perfectly sane, it doesn’t mean they are. Gen-chan and I stayed in the little middle cabin thingie with the snack bar, preferring not to pursue the experiment in cryogenics, thankyouverymuch.

"Ya hungry?" Genrou grunted after a few seconds.

"Not really, but I could use some hot chocolate," I decided, seeing that the woman who had recently been appalled at Genrou’s language had just purchased some for her son. "Or…mmm, hot cider!" Fumbling in my coat pocket for my wallet, I counted my money to see if I had enough to make a beverage purchase.

"I got it," he said, and stood up.

Right, so…Genrou wasn’t exactly what one would call sparing with his money. He wasn’t as bad as Taka, not by half. But he didn’t have a lot, just like any college kid, and he was really careful with it. The only times he’d ever offer to pay for someone was if he was apolo…

Rolling my eyes, I followed him to the snack bar, catching his sleeve loosely. "Hey, Gen-chan, don’t worry; I have enough money. I can cover myself."

"Nah, nah, ‘sokay," he said, waving me away. "I got it."

Idiot. "Look, forget about it. You don’t have to be weirdly nice to me just because of what happened in the van."

"Dude, it’s got nothin to do with the fuckin van," he insisted stubbornly. "Can’t a guy be fuckin nice to his friends without havin a fuckin ulterior motive?!" Shaking free, he continued over to the little shop.

With a sigh, I followed, stuck out my leg, ingeniously managed to swipe it in front of him, and tripped him so that he landed with a surprised exclamation on the worn wooden floor.

"The fuck!!"

Now first in line at the snack counter, I beamed brightly at the bored-looking cashier, a middle-aged woman with a nose like a radish. "Hi! Can I have a cider, please?"

Without replying, she mixed my drink, took my money, and shelled out the change. She was of the robotic clerk variety, the kind that never talks and always has some kind of chip on his or her shoulder. Since I always made a point to be as cheerful as possible to these unfortunate, moody individuals, I bade her a merry, "Thanks! Have a nice day!" and turned to walk back to our bench.

Genrou had picked himself up, and was now scowling. "Last time I try to be a fuckin nice guy!"

"Mommy? What’s Fucken mean?" came the voice of the little boy.

I choked on my cider and covered my hand with my mouth, looking up. The kid’s poor mother was glaring at us like a demon out of hell, and I knew it would be unspeakably rude to start laughing my head off, but it was very, very difficult not to.

~*~

To make a loooooong story short, we hung out at the freaking Statue of Liberty almost all day with no hint at all as to Houjun’s whereabouts. As we’d neared the little island, I was actually stupid enough to believe that he’d be right there when we got off the boat, waiting for us.

"Hi, Houjun!" we’d say. "What’s up? Are you psycho anymore?"

"No, but thanks for asking," he’d reply. "Sorry about putting you guys through hell, and all."

"Not a problem!" we’d say, and we’d all walk off together arm and arm and go out for pie, or something.

But he wasn’t there.

Well, I told myself, maybe he’s on the other side of the island! Or maybe he’s in the statue itself!

But he wasn’t there, either. And by the time we’d walked around the island five times and gone up the statue twice, my entire upper half had become an elaborate, multicolored ice sculpture.

"Mitsukake," I heard Saihitei say to Myojuan during one of our "tours." "We can’t stay out here much longer; Ryuuen’s going to get sick…we’re all going to get sick."

Nice save, Sai, my sarcastic side applauded. But I couldn’t help smiling broadly at his concern. I think the guy loved me more than my own parents did.

"We don’t have to meet the others for another hour," Myojuan said. "But you’re right; we aren’t doing any good here. Let’s go back to shore and wait for them."

We all kept to the center this time, and I counted myself lucky that I had a nice, warm boyfriend to cuddle up to in a desperate attempt to get warm again.

~*~

We were supposed to meet Miaka, Taka, and Doukun at a little coffeehouse-type place nearer the center of Manhattan, because there weren’t a lot of restaurants in the area we were in. Once there, we ordered lunch—I had chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl, yumm—and waited around for about forty-five minutes before they showed up.

"It…is…insanely cold," was the first thing Doukun when they arrived.

"Heeehhhh…" agreed Miaka and Taka, teeth chattering like those little windup teeth toys.

"Any luck?" Saihitei asked hopefully.

All three of them shook their heads as they pulled up extra chairs to our table. "Not a thing," Doukun sighed. "Not a twinge. Nothing."

"Join the fuckin club," said Genrou.

Myojuan folded his hands in front of him. "Have you checked the mirror recently?"

"Yeah, Sai, have ya?" my red-haired friend said nonchalantly. I could’ve killed him, especially considering the recent discussion Saihitei and I had had about looks not being important, and the recent conclusion I’d reached concerning his insecurity over the subject. Shooting an anxious glance over at Saihitei, I saw that he either hadn’t heard Genrou—which I doubted—or had chosen to ignore him, like everyone else was apparently doing.

Miaka fished the little red mirror out of her bag, opening it for all to see. "It keeps on switching between ‘Jiyuu’ and ‘Kawa.’ Doukun says that means ‘River.’"

Doukun nodded. "So we’re no closer than we were at the beginning. We still have the same intimations, and we still don’t know if ‘Jiyuu’ is a broad clue or a specific one."

"What if we put up fuckin signs around the whole place?" Genrou suggested sarcastically. "Like they do for lost fuckin dogs. ‘Have ya fuckin seen me? 24-year-old monk, blue hair, brown eyes, weird fuckin bangs; answers to the name of ‘Crack Whore.’"

"Watch it; you might corrupt more innocent children," I warned him, scanning the place for more people with demonic gazes.

"Do you think we should go to the police?" Taka asked seriously. "It’s been more than twenty-four hours…"

"In all honesty, I truly believe we will solve this by ourselves," Doukun stated. "Besides, I think the NYPD might possibly have more pressing matters to attend to. And we know he’s not dead, or we would have felt it."

I remembered what Saihitei had said the previous night, and seized onto the information for comfort.

"I think we should switch positions," Myojuan said quietly.

We all looked at him, and Miaka shrugged and got out of her chair. "I don’t get how this will help, but if you say so, I guess…" The rest of us groaned or rolled our eyes (or both, as my case would have it).

"Sit down, you little idiot," Taka said with a small laugh, pulling on her arm.

"What I meant was, the four of us who visited the statue should go down to the river," he clarified. "And you three should try the statue. If there’s a possibility that only one of us might be able to sense something, then we ought to try everyone at each place."

Saihitei nodded. "That’s a good idea."

"Does that mean we all have to go out in the cold again?" I sighed. And Saihitei actually looked apologetic, throwing me a golden-eyed, rueful expression that plainly expressed that he would spare me the weather if he could.

"I don’t mind," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed at my complaint. After all, there were important things at stake, here. "We all have to go; he’s right. I’m…" I cut myself off, finishing with a simple smile. I had been going to say I was sorry, but I had the feeling that both Saihitei and now Genrou would probably not appreciate hearing it from me again.

"All right. Give us a little time to get some food and thaw, and we’ll go back out," said Taka.

And that’s what we did.

Genrou, Myojuan, Saihitei and I spent the next few hours wandering around the riverbank like relatively well-dressed homeless urchins. I say relatively because Genrou probably does his laundry about as often as most homeless urchins, and my own clothing was not exactly The Gap. With his big trench coat and his hands in his pockets, Saihitei looked like a Mafia guy or something, waiting for a body to be delivered or a drug deal to be made or what have you.

I felt like a complete idiot. If we got picked up by the police for loitering, it was gonna be one hell of a job trying to explain ourselves.

Policeman: So, can you explain yourselves?

Me: Umm, well…we are in search of a friend of ours from a past life who disappeared suddenly and left "The River" as his only clue. A magic mirror told us that he had come to New York City, so we’ve spent the past few hours trying to hone into the special spiritual connection we have with him, but so far, we’ve had no luck.

Policeman: Can I quote you on that in the criminal trial?…

"Ryuuen, come on. It’s time to go now," said Saihitei suddenly, awakening me from my insipid daydream.

"What? What time is it?" I shivered.

"Five. It’s going to get dark soon, though, and it’ll be even colder; we’re heading back." He held out his arm. As I started walking toward him and the others, he joined me, setting the arm around my shoulders. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I’m just cold," I said, leaning into him.

Cold.

A shard of ice pierced through my chest, and my breath caught in my throat; I stumbled over my own feet. Saihitei’s arm tightened around my shoulders, and he moved his other hand around to my chest to stop me from falling.

"Careful."

I laughed despite the weirdness. "Sorry! Whew; long day, huh?"

"Horrendous," he agreed, and we hurried over to the cab the others had flagged down, looking forward to the warmth of the Gershwin Hotel.

AHAHAHAH!!! Had ya goin, did I? ^_~ Okay, maybe I didn’t. Heehee. I had to do that, though, because I am a spazz. Sorry. ^^;;;;;;; What I meant to type is…

TBC…

^_~

Notes: It’s all winding down now! ^^;;; Sorry this chapter was kinda boring, and nothing much happened. --;; But the next one will be better, as far as Stuff Happening is concerned. Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you liked it, even though the chapter’s…bleeeeccchhhhh.

Oh, and practically none of this was beta-read. --;; Sorry if it’s bad. I’ll fix it tomorrow. ^_~

ANOTHER STORY AKUGI!!!!!

Ryuuen: **narrating** Genrou wasn’t exactly what one would call sparing with his money. He wasn’t as bad as Taka, not by half. But he didn’t have a lot, just like any college kid, and he was really careful with it. The only times he’d ever offer to pay for someone was if he was apolo…

Kokkei: APOLO OHNO???????

Ryuuen: … --;;

Tomo: **ice skates across the room** Look, look!! I can be just like him, Kei-chan!!….**runs into a wall** Ah…Ouchies…

~~~~~~~~

ANOTHER STORY AKUGI!!! TAKE TWO!!

Ryuuen: **still narrating** With his big trench coat and his hands in his pockets, Saihitei looked like a Mafia guy or something, waiting for a body to be delivered or a drug deal to be made or what have you.

Saihitei: And may your first child…be a masculine child.

Ryuuen: Hello?…We’re anime characters.

Saihitei: Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes.

^^;;;;; Anyhooooooooo…