Gen-chan and the Wolf

The white haired woman, Rei, and Rumiya, were all staring at Tasuki. The Suzaku seishi wasn’t sure he liked the looks they were giving him. Just what are these people? What are they going to do to me? He clutched his tessen so tightly the metal bit into his hands.

Of the three, Rumiya seemed to be the most harmless. That is, he didn’t look as if he wanted to kill Tasuki. (Not that he was in any shape to do that anyway.) Rei had a smug smile on his face, and Arai’s look was unreadable.

It seemed like she could read his thoughts, "How did you get here?"

Tasuki hesitated, knowing his story probably wouldn’t make any sense, like anything else here does? "I was following a little kid…"

Rei turned to Rumiya, "OK, otouto-san, what’s the big idea?"

"I didn’t do anything," Rumiya yowled in protest, "I just rescued the guy from freezing!"

"Just rescued the guy," Rei seemed disgusted, "Wasn’t that enough?" When Rumiya opened his mouth to protest, Rei glared, "I’ve heard quite enough from you, little brother. I think we can take care of this situation more easily with you out of the way." Casually he took his sword and drove it through Rumiya’s chest.

"Cheat!" Rumiya squealed angrily before falling face-first into the snow. Tasuki ran over to take a look, but it was rather obvious that the young man was dead. Tasuki was rather shocked.

"You just killed your own brother." If he’ll do that to a member of his family, I don’t think he’d hesitate to do it to me.

Rei shrugged, "I do it all the time. That way he doesn’t argue that much."

What the #^$&? Tasuki found himself baffled once again, you can’t kill someone more than once, right?

Arai glanced at down at Rumiya’s body and sighed, "It always comes to this doesn’t it?" She looked at Rei, with a displeased expression on her face, "Perhaps if the two of you could put aside this argument we would finally be able to leave here. The more you repeat the cycle, the harder it is to break."

"What in the ^&*) are you talking about?" Tasuki growled, fed up with not knowing what was going on.

They glanced at him and Arai smiled, "I don’t suppose you would know anything about this. Rumiya is rather secretive. Perhaps that’s part of the problem."

Holding his sword in front of him, Rei advanced on Tasuki, "Forget the talk, all that matters is that we get rid of this intruder. Now." He raised the sword, the backed up, stunned, as Arai calmly reached out and took the blade out of his hand. "What are you doing!?!"

"If you kill him it’ll just start the cycle again. Only this time, there will be another person trapped in it as well."

Rei growled, but did not move to take his sword back. Tasuki eyed them both suspiciously. A pained groan caused all of them to look down. Tasuki wasn’t sure where the sound had come from, then he noticed that Rumiya was moving. But…Rei killed him right?

The gray-haired man glanced down and snorted with disgust, "That’s the trouble with siblings nowadays. They never know when to just give up and die."

Rumiya twitched and slowly raised his head. Tasuki was rather unnerved by the blood still trickling slowly out of the corner of the young man’s mouth and the blank look in his eyes. Then Rumiya blinked and the vacant look was replaced by one of surprise, then confusion. He looked up and the first person he saw was Tasuki. "Genrou…" He glanced down at himself and sighed, "I’m afraid this will take quite a bit of explaining."

"You’re %^&* right it will," Tasuki shouted, more shocked than angry. Behind him, Rei and Arai glanced at each other and nodded.

Shaking his head slightly, Rumiya lowered his gaze to the ground and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were glowing with a golden light. Tasuki backed up a step as the glow spread to the rest of Rumiya’s body. Rumiya’s hands became paws, his face elongated into a muzzle, and white fur replaced skin and clothing. The white wolf looked up at Tasuki and cocked its head to the side. Now do you understand?

Tasuki wasn’t certain he fully understood, but he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. The pieces of the puzzle were finally beginning to come together. "You’re the white wolf." Why didn’t I notice that before?

I am the white wolf. The animal gazed at Tasuki. I was also the young man in the story

"But that would make you…"

200 years old? Not really. The wolf flattened his ears back. I don’t age anymore. None of us do. And neither will you if you die here.

At this, Tasuki tensed, "I don’t plan to die here!"

I know. The wolf shimmered, and changed back into Rumiya, "Your zest for life is one of the things I like about you."

He sighed and turned to his brother, "Rei, I don’t think there’s any reason Genrou’s presence here should be a problem."

"What!?!" Rei snarled angrily.

"I’m not staying here!" Tasuki protested.

Arai walked over to Rumiya and put one hand on his shoulder, "You can’t make someone do something against their will." She glanced at Tasuki, "Maybe it’s time you explained everything."

Rumiya sighed, "That’s the one thing I didn’t want to do." He looked at Tasuki, "I suppose you could say it all started with a dream…"

* * *

The pale-haired boy stared out into the darkness beyond his family’s tiny house. He stood in the doorway barefoot and dressed in his nightclothes. Gazing around at the cloudy night sky he realized he couldn’t see any stars and he shivered slightly.

"What are you doing out here so late?" The boy jumped and whirled around quickly. His older brother grinned lopsidedly and came out to stand beside the boy, "You should be in bed, you know."

"I know." The boy sighed, "But I can’t sleep."

"Dreaming again?"

"Hai." The boy turned to his brother, "What should I do, Rei? I just can’t go back to sleep!"

Rei smiled, "Are you afraid, otouto-san?"

The boy didn’t have to reply, the answer was just too obvious.

Pushing a strand of his dark gray hair out of his eyes, Rei put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, "They’re just dreams, Rumiya. They can’t hurt you."

The fear in Rumiya’s gold eyes caused Rei to sigh and give his brother a hug, "Come back inside otouto-san, there’s nothing to worry about." When the younger boy didn’t move he said, "How about this, you can come sleep with me, and I’ll keep watch for you."

Rumiya’s eyes were full of gratitude, "You really mean that?"

"Hai. I’m your big brother aren’t I?" Rei stuck out his chest a bit, "Watch out bad dreams, Rei’s on guard now!" Rumiya laughed at his older brother’s antics. Rei giggled a bit too and gently herded his otouto-san inside, "C’mon, you need to get some sleep. I’m sure it’ll be a nice day tomorrow."

The younger boy hesitated and looked up at Rei with serious gold eyes. "No. It’ll snow tomorrow."

Rei blinked, "What? Why do you say that? How do you know?"

Rumiya shrugged, "I don’t know how, but I just know it will snow tomorrow. I can sense it." He turned to his brother, "Can’t you sense it, Rei?"

"No." Rei looked at his brother, bewilderment in his gray eyes. Rumiya shrugged again and curled up under the blankets. He was asleep shortly afterward.

His older brother couldn’t sleep, and was awake when the first snowflakes fell outside their house.

"Well, I’ll be…" Rei glanced at his brother’s sleeping form in amazement.

* * *

"Ohayo, Rei!" Rumiya called out cheerfully as his brother entered the room. He hadn’t even looked up.

"I wish you wouldn’t do that, Rumiya." Rei grumbled, "It’s disturbing."

Rumiya glanced up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Do what?" He asked innocently.

"You know what I mean," Rei snapped, "I hate it when you know exactly who it is without even looking." He crossed his arms, "I don’t know how you do it, but it really annoys me." When Rumiya merely smiled at his complaints, Rei yowled, "I’ll never get a girlfriend if you keep scaring ‘em all off!"

Both of them turned as light laughter emanated from the other room. "Konnichiwa, brothers!" Arai sauntered into the room, still laughing, "Fighting again?"

Rei snorted and walked out of the room.

"Nah, Rei was just blaming me because his girlfriend left him." Rumiya grinned.

Arai shook her head, "What am I going to do with you two?" She glared at him, but her serious expression soon gave way to laughter. "Rumiya, what did you do to Rei’s friend?"

"Nothing!"

Arai shook her head and smiled, "I don’t know how you do all those things, but as far as Rei’s concerned, I think you should quit baiting him. I don’t think he likes it much."

"It’s all in fun!" Rumiya protested, "It’s not gonna hurt him to lighten up a little."

His sister sighed and shook her head. "Maybe so," she murmured, "but I don’t think showing off is such a good idea. Rei is quite prone to jealousy."

* * *

Arai pulled her fur cloak tighter, "I hope Rumiya will be OK. I don’t remember the weather ever being this bad before."

Rei shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe he froze into an icicle."

Whirling about, Arai shouted, "Quit it! Just stop it! Your little brother may be freezing to death somewhere and you’re making jokes!?!"

The gray-haired young man averted his gaze. When Arai finally stopped ranting and fell into an exhausted sleep, Rei stood up. He walked to the door and peered outside.

"You’d better be all right, you little idiot."

* * *

When the door swung open both Rei and Arai looked up. A dark figure stood framed in the doorway for a moment, then took a wobbly step forward. Rei rushed forward to catch his otouto-san before he collapsed, while Arai rushed into the other room to get their parents.

Rumiya gave Rei a wobbly smile that seemed to make him even more upset. "What did you think you were doing scaring us like that?" Rei demanded. When his brother lowered his eyes and sighed, he added, "I was worried about you…that is…" Rei paused, flustered, "*we* were worried about you."

Then Arai returned with their parents and they raised a big fuss over their lost child. In the meantime, Rei left the room.

* * *

"Is it true you saw Genbu?" An excited voice squealed in Rumiya’s ear. He turned and was surprised to see one of Rei’s female friends standing behind him.

He backed away, trying not to appear rude, but wanting to avoid talking to anyone. Unfortunately it didn’t get the message across, because a minute later even more people were gathered nearby. They were just full of questions they wanted to ask him.

Truth be told, Rumiya was rather sick of the whole situation. He longed for the good old days, before his ‘encounter’ in the mountains. He was tired of the crowds and questions. And it was having an effect on his family too. Especially Rei. Rumiya was getting the feeling that something was seriously wrong with his brother.

Managing to slip away from the crowd somehow, he went searching for his brother. He found Rei leaning against the side of the house. Rei glanced at his otouto-san with a neutral expression on his face. "What’s the matter brother?" He asked bitingly, "Don’t you like being popular?" Rumiya could hear anger in his older brother’s voice, and he wasn’t sure what to say.

Rei glanced at his brother for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the south, "I’ll be going soon."

Rumiya snapped his head up, "Where?!?"

"I’ll probably go south, there’s not many other ways to go from here. I’m sure I’ll be more successful seeking my fortune somewhere else."

His otouto-san couldn’t think of anything to say about that.

* * *

"You want me to lead your troops?" There was a definite hint of nervousness in Rumiya’s voice.

"Of course." The man glanced at Rumiya, "You have a duty to your country and your Miko; you can’t refuse. Besides, you’re protected by the god. What are you worried about?"

Rumiya sighed, "Nothing…"

* * *

Looking around at the bloody, churned up ground Rumiya felt a tinge of horror in the back of his mind. He didn’t show it, though. He’d learned to mask his emotions during these past few days. It wouldn’t be good to show the enemy, or his troops, that he was really scared out of his mind.

The battle died down for a bit, and Rumiya took the opportunity to catch his breath and check his troops. Most of them were in pretty good shape, but a few had been seriously wounded or killed by the enemy. Rumiya averted his gaze, not wanting to look at the bodies that littered the battlefield. He’d never killed a human before, and he didn’t like it, even if they were his enemies.

He didn’t have time to brood about the matter, though. His second in command rushed to him and gestured wildly, "There’s a new wave of soldiers coming this way!"

Rumiya straightened up, feeling weariness seeping through his bones. He checked to make sure he still had his sword, and walked forward. His troops followed him, not bothering to ask questions. They were exhausted, too. And they, like Rumiya, knew that the enemy was fresh and uninjured. They didn’t stand a chance, but it wouldn’t keep them from trying.

As soon as he saw the enemy troops approaching, Rumiya raised his sword. "For Genbu no Miko!" He shouted. He intended it to be a rousing battle cry, but instead it sounded mournful, almost despairing.

They rushed forward to meet the enemy head-on. Rumiya took out the first enemy he came to with one blow, and hit another in the head with the flat of his blade. He was fighting desperately, knowing just how close he was to home, and determined to protect his family at any cost. But the enemy kept coming in seemingly infinite numbers, and Rumiya knew his strength couldn’t last forever.

It was easier to fight in a sort of mindless haze, not aware of what was going on around him. But when he heard a voice he snapped back to awareness of himself.

"So this is the brave leader of the troops!"

The voice was familiar, disturbingly so. Rumiya didn’t want to look up, fearing that his eyes would confirm what his ears (and talent) knew already. "Rei…"

There was a snort, then someone was laughing uproariously, "I see you haven’t forgotten how to do that. I’m sure I’ve told you how much I hate it when you do that." The voice and words were familiar indeed, Rumiya knew his guess had been correct. He glanced up, meeting his brother’s gaze.

"Why are you here, Rei?" Rumiya knew his voice was unsteady, "Why are you fighting for the enemy?"

"I left, seeking my fortune. I found it too. Kutou’s offer was too much to pass up."

One of the troops behind Rumiya had heard the conversation. He also recognized Rei.

"Traitor!"

The soldier charged, but Rei knocked him aside, "This doesn’t concern you!" He turned his attention back to Rumiya, "Your troops are sure to lose this battle. Why not give up now? I’m sure Kutou would be thrilled to have you and your men."

"Never!" Rumiya hissed angrily, "I’d never betray my country!"

Rei smiled, as if he’d known Rumiya would say that, "Then why don’t we settle it now. A one on one match to decide this battle. You against me."

Rumiya looked at his weary, injured troops and knew he had no choice, "OK."

* * *

It was only when the soldiers cleared the area and stood in clusters on the sidelines, that Rumiya realized just how close to home he really was. He could see his house from where he was standing, and he hoped fervently that his family was all right. As if on cue, a figure emerged from the house and looked in their direction.

"Arai…" Rumiya was even more upset now. He didn’t want to fight his brother. Even more than that, he didn’t want his family to have to watch such a fight. Rei noticed Arai too, and he also looked a bit uneasy.

Unease didn’t stop Rei from launching the first attack, though. He leapt forward, his blade flashing, and his brother staggered backward, clutching his injured shoulder. Rumiya parried the next blow, but could not avoid a strike that knocked his sword out of his hand.

The sword flew through the air and landed point-down in the snow at Arai’s feet. Both combatants looked up as she pulled the blade out of the ground. There was a definite rebuke in her eyes. Neither of her brothers could meet her gaze.

Rei, however, was bold enough to speak up, "Give him back his blade, sister." When she didn’t move he added, "We have to finish this fight!"

For a moment it seemed that Arai wouldn’t listen to him, but she moved forward a step and held the sword out to Rumiya. He looked up as she gave him his blade, and he thought he saw pity in her eyes.

Then she backed up, looking at her brothers with an unreadable expression on her face. Without a word, she turned and walked away, back to the house. Obviously she didn’t want to stay and find out what would happen.

Staring after her, Rumiya thought mournfully, I don’t want to know what’s going to happen either. Caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn’t notice when Rei swung his sword around. He barely managed to avoid being skewered. Rei’s next blow struck, though, and Rumiya was afraid to look down. He didn’t want to know how badly he was hurt.

Rumiya took a step, and fell to his knees as pain lanced through him. He floundered in the snow. Rei’s shadow fell over him and he knew it was over.

Raising his blade for the killing blow, Rei murmured softly, "Gomen nasai, Otouto-san, but if it’s a choice between you and me…I’d rather I’m the one who lives." He brought the blade down.

At the same moment Rumiya raised his blade, trying desperately to defend himself. He felt the blade hit something and suddenly there was a warm liquid running down his hand. There was a pained groan, and the blade was jerked out of his hands. Rumiya didn’t need to look, he knew already what had happened. It was his gift, his curse.

"You win, brother…" The words came out haltingly, as Rei coughed and gasped for air. Rumiya looked up, finally, and met his brother’s gray eyes. Rei gave his otouto-san a small smile before collapsing in the snow and lying in an unmoving heap.

Rumiya could hear his troops cheering, but it seemed like they were far away. The wound he’d taken was serious, and now he was in danger of bleeding to death. The strange thing was, he didn’t really mind anymore. He’d done his duty to his country, his duty to Genbu no Miko, and he wasn’t sure it was worth the price anymore.

The cheering stopped abruptly as Rumiya sank to the ground and closed his eyes. I think it’s time to rest now… he thought letting his cheek rest in the snow, surely it’s all over now.

The battlefield was quiet, subdued, as the people on both sides gathered up their dead.