Disclaimer: **sigh** If FY were actually mine, Nuriko wouldn’t be reincarnated as a girl in the OVA3. **pouts and glowers**

Warnings: Clichéd chapter title, minor Tasuki language, and…oh…stuff.

Notes: I have eight pages done on my thesis!! Woohoo!! My goal for tonight was to reach page ten, but I opted for this instead. ~.~() What the heck, I still have two hours of Saturday left with which to achieve my goal. ^_^ Thanks to a buncha people: to Cereal-chan for proofing, to Ryuen-sama for being enthusiastic, to Kreyel-chan (even though she’ll never read this) for letting me stay in tonight and write (even though she thought I’d be working on aforementioned thesis…eheh), and to Meg-chan for suggesting the character list keepy-tracky thing. ^___^ Thanks for reading, you guys, and have fun! ^_^

Characters so far: (à la Shakespeare format, heehee)

He almost didn’t fit in the throne.

Well…on the figurative level, he most definitely didn’t fit in the throne. He had perhaps less right to it than Rishun; after all, conquest did tend to earn a man political prowess. But literally, as well… Shi almost had to cross his legs in order to fit between the arms of the ornate piece of furniture.

Rishun had suspected that his three-day plan might have been leaked; he had never really intended to attack when he had said he would, and shared his true intentions with no one else. The army had been trained with the true attack date in mind without even knowing it.

No one could have known that. He doubted if even Ugou knew, because any physical evidence of the plan, any instructions that might be overheard by the wrong ears, would be a risk.

And now, here he was, sitting on top of an undersized throne, listening to Daishuku discussing political matters with everyone in sight except for the sit-in emperor.

The crowd had seemed…a little less than pleased when Rishun had announced he would be leaving the palace in Shi’s hands. His Seishi name held little in the way of fond memories for those old enough to remember the war. His Seishi name, come to think of it, held little in the way of fond memories for him.

The fear would keep the subjects from fighting back. That was the flaw in his disguise: he couldn’t risk telling his allies for fear that they would accidentally leak it to Rishun or one of his toadies. But if his allies didn’t know he had changed…if they still thought he was the misguided creature he had been before…they would not dare move against him.

He almost wished they would. He wished they would do something, even if it ended in his own death. But it was a feeble wish. These people could do little without an army of their own.

No. He would do something…he had to. He’d been given this position for a reason, and it wasn’t to preserve it for the likes of Rishun. He had to act, whether it cost him his life or not.

"Daishuku-sama," he called out without thinking, surprising himself both with the actual call and with the authoritative note in his voice.

The chancellor’s conversation stopped abruptly, and he and his group turned bewildered eyes to Shi.

"Yes, Ashitare-sama?" said Daishuku in the wheedling tone that so many people disliked.

"Bring me Kutou’s religious leader," Shi continued smoothly, trying to keep his gaze straight and imperial. Of course. That’ll work. "Emperor Rishun instructed me to do so, exactly an hour after his departure."

The man looked about to protest, but then apparently reconsidered as the boy meaningfully flexed the muscles in his shoulders, a seemingly unconscious gesture that came off, nonetheless, as rather menacing.

With a hasty nod, Daishuku agreed. "At once, Ashitare-sama."

It’s better than nothing, Shi thought firmly as his rejected puppetmasters shuffled out of the throneroom. And it just might be a good idea…

~*~

"Army?!" said Tasuki, looking over his shoulder in search of campfires. "Where?? Where where where???"

Shunshuu looked as if he were trying to repress a sigh. "You…can’t see them, Tasuki-san."

"What the hell are ya talkin about, then?"

"The Army of the Emperor of Konan," Shunshuu explained. "I’m sure it could arrive quickly, if Chichiri-san used his unique method of transportation to get there."

Kouji gave a small snort. "If we could convince them to come," he said. "We’re a bunch of bandits. D’ya think Emperor Boushin would send in the entire army just because we ask him to?"

"He has to have heard something about what’s goin on in Kutou," said Tasuki. "And besides, he’s Hotohori’s kid. He’s gotta have a little common sense."

"I have a kid?" said Kentoku.

"I’m an uncle??!!" Horyuu said excitedly.

"Shut up," hissed Tasuki.

"That won’t be a problem," Shunshuu assured them. "I know Emperor Boushin. We’re actually fairly good friends. The Empress Dowager Houki-sama, wife of the late Emperor Saihitei Seishuku, took me in when my own parents died."

"I…have a wife??" exclaimed Kentoku.

Tasuki reached around and covered both Kentoku’s and Horyuu’s mouths with either hand. "Heh…just ignore them…they’re…tired."

"You know the emperor?" Chiyu said to his traveling companion. "I knew you were noble, but…"

"Ah-em," said Shunshuu. "No offense to anyone here, however, if we’re going to ask for Prince Boushin’s assistance, we should probably do so as soon as possible."

Kouji and Tasuki shared a look, finding agreement in each other’s eyes.

"We don’t really have a choice, no da," said Chichiri.

Tasuki nodded. "Right. So Chichiri, you go with Shunshuu and…"

"Ummm…s’cuse me," said the boy who had brought them the message in the first place.

"We’re tryin ta plan stuff, here…" Tasuki shot, turning toward the voice. The child was standing slightly out in the field, motioning frantically with his hand and looking in the direction of Kutou. With a sinking feeling, the red-haired bandit approached him cautiously.

"Might have to think a bit quicker than that," the messenger gulped.

There, slowly, moving above the horizon like a mob of fireflies, were the torches of the Kutou Army.

"Shit," muttered Tasuki, scrambling back to the others. "Shit, shit, shit… They’re coming!!!!!" Racing to the fireless campsite, he leapt onto the back of the first horse he could find, taking his tessen from his back. Kouji and the others followed suit, charging out into the clearing, squinting through the darkness at the approaching forces.

"Tasuki-san??!" came Horyuu’s frightened voice.

"You stay back!" the bandit leader ordered fiercely. "You and the other kids, stay back in the forest!! I want you to find somewhere to hide, and not come out until one of us calls for you! Do you understand?!"

"But what if something happens to you?!!" wailed the purple-haired boy, sounding desperate in his anguish.

"Nothin’s gonna happen to me!!" Tasuki said firmly. "I’m a Suzaku no Shichiseishi!!! I’ve seen worse days than this. Now, get outa here!!!" Reaching out a hand, he snagged the messenger boy by the back of his tunic, lifted him off the ground, and tossed him—though gently—in the direction of the trees. "You too, Attitude Boy!"

"Okay, okayyyy!!!"

"Tasuki…" said Chichiri, suddenly popping up beside him.

"Chichiri…go find Chiriko and take him to Boushin and Houki," the bandit ordered, lowering his voice the slightest bit. "Get them to help us."

"But…you’ll need me," the monk insisted. "You can’t fight the entire Kutou army without me!"

"We’re outnumbered freakin ten to one, if not more," Tasuki clenched his jaw. "No offense, pal, but I don’t even think you’d be enough to make much of a difference. What we need is some freakin support. I’m not right about a hell of a lot of things, but you know I’m right about this."

"I’m staying until I can get a blow in, no da," Chichiri informed him cheerfully. "It can only help."

"Dammit!!!" the bandit exclaimed. "Who the hell’s in charge here??!!"

"Genrou-san, they’re here!!" Kai shouted over the mêlée. "They’re, um…really kinda close now!!!"

And he could hear them. He could hear their cries.

"Shit," he cursed again. "Chichiri, dammit, go!!! We can’t risk you gettin hurt and not bein able to go!!"

The monk’s face fell the slightest bit.

"You know I’m right!!!! Now get the hell outa here!!" Turning his horse abruptly, Tasuki left his friend staring after him, going to join Kouji at the head of his makeshift regiment. His heart pounded like a hammer in his chest as the enemy trampled closer and closer, sending tremors through the ground beneath them…

"We gonna charge the bastards, or what??!" he shouted, to drown out the nagging despair in his head.

"Thought you’d never ask!" Kouji called back.

With a final glimpse at each other, the two companions let out a roar; Tasuki raised his tessen, Kouji raised his sword, and they both spurred their mounts toward the Kutou border. Echoing their leaders, the rest of the Mt. Reikoku bandits did the same, racing off to fight the first hopeless battle of an unmatched war, defending the freedom of the Universe.

~*~

Chichiri watched them go, feeling as helpless as he had during the last war with Kutou, when he’d lost his powers and Mitsukake had…

But Tasuki was right, and he did know it. They couldn’t worry about the lives of a few men when whole kingdoms were at stake.

Rushing into the forest, he cried out for Chiriko…for Shunshuu. The boy, as luck would have it, hadn’t hidden himself yet, perhaps guessing that the trip to Konan would proceed as scheduled, and that his help would be required. Mitsukake was with him, on his face an expressionless look that was all too familiar to those who had known him before.

"Come on, no da…hurry up!" The monk lay his kesa on the mossy ground, opened the portal, and told the children what to do; unquestioning, they obeyed, and soon disappeared.

With one last look at the raging battle in the near distance, Chichiri quenched the feeling in his heart that he was abandoning his closest friends to slaughter. Squeezing his eyes shut, he, too, stepped through the magical passageway to Eiyo.

The single tear of frustration that had risen in his good eye fell, but never touched the air, as it remained trapped beneath his ancient mask.

TBC…

Notes: Questions? Comments? Plot holes? Email me! Purplemouse105@hotmail.com ! And as always, thanks for reading, everyone! ^__^