An Acid Story
Chapter Eight:

Whoa Wait. Emperor?!

Someone knocked on the pictured covered door.

“Keely!” a boy with light brown eyes poked his reddish blonde head inside the empty room, “Mom said you guys are going to be leaving in about an hour!” When no one answered he opened the door all the way. “Keely? Where are you?” He hesitantly stepped inside, knowing his sister didn’t like him being in there. “Hello? Sis?”

He walked over to her bed and placed a hand on the puffy sheets. They crumpled under the weight of his hand and he snatched his appendage back like it had been burned. Something was wrong. She was supposed to be in her room. She hadn’t come out since her and mom had gotten back from shopping!

“Keely?” He called again, getting worried. He saw her computer was on. He moved the mouse around until the screen popped up. His eyes widened and he took a step back. A woman with piercing yellow eyes, like a snakes, stared back at him. She smiled and he shivered. Those yellow fangs creeped him out.

The screen pulled out to show her whole figure and his eyes moved to the large boa sitting around her shoulders. It was a black color with two yellow stripes going down its forehead and smaller stripes crossing its back like a tigers. It had bright red eyes that were directed at him. Its tongue flicked in the air.

“Welcome to my temple sssstranger,” the women said in a coo, “I wishhhh to know your name.” A smaller screen that you could type in popped up. He hesitated. This was too creepy for his liking. He turned around to dart out of the room. His eyes widened. I-I can’t move my legs!

“Now that wasssn’t nisss now wasss it?” She grinned and her eyes flashed red. The boy tried to scream but all he got out was a whimper. “You’ll be the perfect little helper now won’t you?” The snake woman flashed her fangs once again. “Now! Tell me your name!”

The young boy found his hands moving by themselves. He couldn’t control them! They reached for the keys and started to slowly type out the six letters that made up his name.

C. A. S. E. Y.

“Very good.” Her red eyes locked onto his brown ones. She smirked. “You’ll be perfect.”

Casey tried to scream as the large boa shoot out of the computer screen and wrap around him. It pulled him into the dark temple and drug him away from sight.

XXXXXX

“Wow! This place is huge!”

Keely had known the ancient Chinese had prided themselves on their architecture, but this was just amazing!

“You like what you see?” Hotohori questioned, smiling at her reaction.

She nodded her head vigorously. “I’ve never seen anything like it! There’s things here I’ve never seen let alone bought!”

The man chuckled. “Hong-Nan does import things form all over our world. You will find things from many other countries being sold here.”

“It’s not so impressive,” the bandit huffed.

“And why not?!” the redhead asked heatedly. Man was he annoying her! He should have been named Okukou!

“Mt. Reikakuzan is a lot more impressive.”

“Do you live in a palace?”

“…No.”

“Exactly.”

They bickered for a while about nothing important as they continued towards the palace. When the gates opened up and they headed inside, Keely halted Xun. Was she supposed to follow them? She caught the guard’s eye and he scowled at her. She gulped and pulled on Xun’s reigns making him back up. She looked back at the warriors. She really didn’t want to let them walk away after she had spent so long waiting them.

“What are you waiting for?” Seiryu hissed, “Hurry up and follow them!”

Without any coaxing from Keely, Xun trotted into the palace courtyard. The others were dismounting and already heading into the palace. Hotohori, Keely noticed, was not anywhere to be seen. With a sickening knot in her stomach, Keely dismounted. Her eyes darted over the grounds as she absently stroked Xun’s nose.

“What are you waiting for?” Byakko asked as he landed without a sound.

“Not sure,” she mumbled. She was feeling really uncomfortable and it showed in the sweat that was coating her hands.

“Well find out so we can follow the warriors!” Suzaku squawked and flapped his wings.

“Oy Jing Hong! You come’n?” Tasuki shouted from across the courtyard.

Keely broke into a grin. “Yeah! I’ll be right there!’ She turned to the stable boy who was waiting to take Xun away. “Make sure you give him good treatment. He’s been through a lot.” The boy nodded and took the reigns out of her hands.

“These packages are yours,” another stable hand held out the bags Keely had stuffed onto Xun’s saddle. “Shall I give them to a servant to carry them for you?”

She shook her head and snatched them out of the boy’s hand. “I’ve got it. Thanks though!”

Leaving the baffled stable hand behind, she dashed across the yard. Genbu was wrapped around her arm and Seiryu flapped out behind her, hanging onto the ends of her loose hair. Byakko was right on her heels and Suzaku flew above them until he dropped onto her shoulder to avoid hitting the low palace roof. She stopped next to Tasuki and grinned at him. He cocked a brow then shook his head.

“Yer a strange one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He grinned and walked towards the others who were waiting at the end of the hall. Keely puckered her lips in frustration then followed him.

Hotohori was standing in front of them decked out in fancy smansy clothes and a little Chinese take-out box was perched on his head. His long hair was tucked underneath it and only a few wisps of brown where hanging over his unblemished forehead. Has this guy ever head acne in his life, she asked sourly. Like most teens, she was always fighting with acne and scars’, beating them off with creams and pills. In the last year though, it had gotten immensely better so she was no longer ‘pimply face’.

She leaned over to Miaka and whispered, “What’s with the take-out box?”

“Take-out box?”

“Yeah, the thing on his head.”

“Oh! That’s his crown!”

“C-crown?” Tasuki stuttered, his eyes going wide.

“Yeah. He’s the Emperor.”

Tasuki, Chiriko, and Misukake’s eyes bulged. “YOU’RE EMPEROR?!”

Keely picked herself off the ground (having been blown there by the three men shouting) and peeled the flattened Byakko off the polished hall. She shook him a few times until he was re-inflated then rounded on them.

“STOP SCREAMING YOU IDOT’S!” All the warriors, including the newly announced Emperor, stared at her. Oops, I forgot I’m supposed to be from this age. Meaning I was supposed to freak out as well. Crap! She grinned sheepishly and gave a small bow, uttering her apologies. Hotohori smiled and waved it off.

“You guys are all back! And with the other warriors no da!”

A startled yell escaped Keely as she jumped away from the chibi Hotohori that popped out of nowhere. She slammed into the wall, eyes as big as saucers. To her right, the bandit repeated same reaction except he smashed into a table and the vase that had been on the table toppled over and cracked on his head.

Miaka squealed and dove at twin Hotohori. She hugged him then launched into a summary of their trip. Keely caught a few words like ‘ants’ ‘seventh warrior’ and ‘plague’ but that was about it.

“I’m glad you are alright! I was starting to worry no da!” he said with a grin.

“Who’s that,” Keely hissed at the stunned bird that was pined between her shoulder and the wall.

“Not…sure,” he wheezed, struggling to free himself from the wall, “But he’s either…Tamahome or…Chichiri.”

Byakko gave a startled “Nerow!” when the guy transformed into a blue Mohawk haired dude with a POP. He bowed to Hotohori and greeted Nuriko who gave the same lighthearted greeting.

“And these are the other warriors?” Mohawk dude he asked turning to the extremely startled people that were staring at him.

“Only three of them are,” the real Emperor said with a small smiled. “Mitsukake, Chiriko, Tasuki, Jing Hong, this is Chichiri.”

He bowed to each in turn. When he looked at Keely his eyes lingered on her eyes and hair. He bowed again and gave her a small, knowing smile.

What’s that about?

“The cooks have prepared a fest in honor of your return,” Chichiri announced with a grin.

“FOOD!” Miaka took of down the hall towards the dinning room. With a little laugh the others followed. Keely pulled herself off the ground and waited for Suzaku regain his footing on her shoulder before setting off after them.

Keely ignored the snooty advisors who sniffed when she walked by with the four animals trailing along. Without asking if she could bring them into the dinning hall she walked in and plopped into a vacant seat. Tasuki sat next to her, it being the only open seat, and fidgeted, glancing at this new Hotohori with some concern in his eyes.

Probably due to all the insulting things he said to the guy, Keely snickered.

“Oy! Gimme something to eat!” Suzaku snapped, pecking at the hand that held a piece of meat. His demands where echoed by the three others who were crowed around her. She chuckled and held out a small stringy piece of meat to Suzaku. It was gone in about two seconds. She took a few more pieces off her plate and held them out for the other three to grab. Seiryu snatched a nice sized chunk and scrambled back onto a squishy spot in the cushion while Genbu swallowed his piece whole while still wrapped around Keely’s arm. Byakko held a big chunk in between his paws and slowly shredded it apart, chewing before tearing off another bit.

“T-this is absurd!” Everyone turned to a red-faced advisor who was glaring at Keely. “You disgrace the Emperor with the presence of such filthy animals!”

Keely raised a brow, continuing to munch on the chewy potato thing she was eating. Byakko glanced at the human with distaste before continuing to munch on the chunk of meat. Seiryu ignored him altogether and Genbu plucked another piece of meat from Keely’s dish, ignoring the advisor. Suzaku made a noise that reminded Keely of an indigent huff before he gobbled down another chunk of brown flesh.

Hotohori glanced at Keely and the animals. “And why would there presence disgrace us?”

The advisor bowed low to the ground, so low in fact that his forehead bumped the floor. “Please forgive me, your majesty (“Suck up,” Genbu hissed) but such animals in your presence, while dining no less, is an insult! This wench is—” He was cut off by an angry screech from Suzaku. The hawk flew into the air and dove at the old man, who barely jumped out of the way in time. Byakko was also attacking the man using his sharp claws he swiped at the man’s legs, hissing loudly.

“No one calls Keely a whore!” Suzaku screeched as he dove again. Byakko’s battle cry was similar though it contained profanities that shouldn’t be written.

“Crazy beasts!” the man shouted as he dashed out of the hall, trying to protect himself from Suzaku’s airborne attacks. Keely stared in aw as the hawk and cat chased the old bag out of the hall. Finding her voice she called them back to the dinning hall. Byakko came trotting back with a piece of cloth in his mouth and Suzaku flew lazily above him. They both looked quite pleased with themselves.

Miaka and the warriors where so shocked they didn’t say anything as the animals took their previous places around the female. Seiryu gave his brothers a smirk and Genbu grinned at them. Keely shook her head and picked up another potato thing and started to gnaw on it.

“Did you train them to do that?” Tasuki asked, eyeing the albino cat that had returned to shredding some meat.

“No,” Keely replied around the potato, “But I ain’t gonna punish them for it. In truth I was about to chuck something at him. Probably would’ve been a knife.”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Hotohori started chuckling. He gave Keely a smile before taking a sip of his wine.

Keely grinned at him before feeding the Gods a potato peel.

“The guy deserved it,” Suzaku grumbled before biting into the peel and chewing. He tried to pull another strip off the potato, bringing his head up, attempting to rip the two apart. His eye landed on Chichiri who was glancing at Keely every so often. The hawk frowned. What was that guy up to?

Chichiri glanced at Suzaku and he frowned. After a few seconds, the frown was replaced by that same creepy smile and the man went back to eating.

Something’s up with that guy, Suzaku thought as he finally ripped the potato apart, I’ll have to watch him as well. He glanced at Chiriko. This is becoming complicated…

This is the revised verson of chapter Eight. I just tuched it up. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THIS PITIFUL CHAPTER! I know nothing excitng happens and that it's very pointless but hey, that's what a filler is right? Completly pointless and nothing important. Hehe. JA NE!

TCT ;3