Chris stepped off the plane, clutching Cheree's hand as they made their way through the madhouse that was JFK airport. The crowds were unbelieveable, and they found themselves hard pressed to keep a grip on each other as they wound their way through the throng. As they burst out into the sunlight and got their first look around, the city seemed to tower over them, the sun barely touching the ground in places due to the obscuring shadows of buildings. A low whistle left Cheree's lips as she stared at the scene, her hand tightening around Chris's.

"Definately not San Antonio..." She smiled to him, her gaze fixing on him as she realized that he likely had never been here before.

"Y-yeah... definately not, no da." His eyes took in all around him as he swallowed hard. He'd never seen a city this size before and it was rather overwhelming to him. He vaguely heard Cheree call for a taxi and didn't put up the slightest resistance as she shoved him into the back seat. Once they were on their way, the driver called back over his shoulder to them.

"Where to?"

"Umm..." She looked to Chris then, lifting a brow. Well, they were here... now what?

"Central Park." He replied, shaking himself free of the amazement at the scenery. Now was no time to lose track of things. They could sightsee some other time... right now, they had to find Tasuki and the only thing they had to give them a hint was the place where the attack had occured. Cheree looked at him curiously and he seemed to relax a faint bit, smiling to her. "He was there... if I have all these powers you were telling me about on the plane, maybe I can pick something up, no da?"

The cabbie muttered to himself about crazy kids and started off towards Central Park. Cheree simply nodded to Chris and settled into the seat, flicking her gaze between the window and the one who sat in quiet contemplation beside her. She'd almost been tempted to ask him where he'd gotten the money for all of this... but then remembered the state of his apartment when she'd arrived there. He'd sold off nearly everything he had for this... on a mad hunch that both of them seemed to share. She could only pray that they hadn't been wrong.

They'd been wandering around Central Park for hours, keeping close to each other and a sharp eye out for anyone who might try to see just what the two' had in the way of possessions. Whether it was the fact that they were together, or the fact that Chris still had the 'Chichiri hair', people seemed to stay to themselves and leave the couple alone.

"DAAAA!" He cried out, kicking at a stone on the ground. "This is insane... this park is huge! How in Suzaku's name are we going to find the spot the attack happened?"

Cheree smirked faintly, about to make comment of his choice of deities when she caught sight of something and broke into a light laugh, one hand raising to point to their left. "My guess would be... it's the area surrounded by those 'Do Not Cross' barriers that the police use."

Chris stopped dead, looking to where she gestured, then up to the sky. "Someone up there thinks this is amusing, I'm sure." He chuckled, taking her hand and running towards the area. Once he'd made sure no one was watching, he ducked beneath the banner, stepping into the area of scorched grass and trees. "Yeah... I'd say this was it, no da." He dropped to one knee then, unsure of exactly what it was he was trying to do. He was supposedly the most sensitive of the seishi... wouldn't it make sense that he'd feel something? After nearly ten minutes of concentration, he sighed, standing once more and shaking his head. "It's no good, no da... I can't sense a damned thing."

She saw his frustration as he turned, walking towards the banner and slipping underneath it. Chewing on her lip a moment, Cheree moved to follow him. A sharp cry pierced the air and she gasped, running towards Chris as his hands moved to the sides of his head and she saw him crumble to his knees in the grass. "CHRIS!!" Skidding to her knees beside him, her arms moved around him, her eyes filled with concern as she tried to get him to look at her.

"No wonder..." He whispered harshly, his teeth gritted for a moment until he seemed to regain control. "No wonder I couldn't sense anything... he wasn't over there... he was standing *here* when he attacked." He hadn't been expecting the sudden surge of raw power he'd been hit with when he'd stepped onto the spot where Tasuki's rage had hit its boiling point. Now he understood what Cheree had been trying to tell him about Chichiri's 'other sense'. Ye gods, but that was strong! He braced one hand against her shoulder as she helped him to his feet, legs still shaking a bit. "Da... I'm fine... I will be. Just was unexpected, is all."

She nodded, but the concern was still flaring in her eyes. She wasn't letting him go just yet. Cheree watched as his gaze shifted then, looking out towards the city. "He's that way... I can feel his chi..." Without another word, they began to move off... it was getting late, and the park wouldn't be safe before long anyway. At the very worst, they'd wind up no better off than now.

Ren lay sprawled across one of the chairs in his living room, eyes slanted towards Jason, who seemed perfectly content to pace a hole in the carpeting. "Sit down... or stand still... before I hurt you." Jason turned, about to retort when he saw the almost wolfish look in his friend's eyes. Let it be... he's irritated enough as it is. Sighing, he fell into the other chair, just watching.

"So what... now you're just going to sit there and mope? Not like you to lay down before you're dead, Ren." His gaze narrowed, judging Ren's reaction as the redhead leaned his head back off the side of the chair.

"Kiss off..." Ren stopped himself before going any farthur and sat up again, looking towards Jason apologetically. "Look.. I'm sorry.. I'm just not in the best of moods right now."

"Can't imagine why." Even at times like this, sarcasm was not a lost art. "Look... you've got that symbol thing on your arm, right? You said you did research on the tessen-thing and it came up with references to the past. What else did it say? If you're this guy reincarnated, why is it all coming back NOW?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be as uptight as I am, now would I?"

*Knock* *Knock*

Both men sat bolt upright, staring at the door, then to each other. As if by some unspoken command, Ren dove off the chair, hightailing it to the bedroom and disappearing from view. Jason got to his feet and moved towards the door silently, peering out through the peekhole. He ws expecting uniforms, not the sight that greeted him. A guy, early twenties at most, with hair that he couldn't even see all of... and a girl, maybe a bit younger with short auburn hair. Both looked a bit uncomfortable, glancing down the hallway and seeming to speak to each other in quiet tones. He slipped back and down the hall, poking his head into the bedroom.

"Hey Ren... it's not the cops, but I don't know them. Some guy and a girl... the guy looks weird. Blue hair that's standing on end in the front. You got friends I don't know about?"

Ren blinked, peering out from the closet he'd hidden in. "Blue hair..." His mind worked for a moment and he got an expression of one who'd just been slapped. He moved out, down the hall and hesitantly looked through the peekhole just as the man knocked again. Ren's eyes widened and one hand fumbled for the catch on the door, letting it swing open. He stood there in stunned amazement as the two on the other side of the door looked to him.

Cheree stared at him, hardly believing what she was seeing. As if it wasn't enough that Chris was Chichiri... now she was looking at one of the other seishi and for the moment didn't know what to say. Chris took a small step forward, his lips parted as if to speak. At the last moment, he seemed to change his mind and cleared his throat, looking for the right words. Finally, he spoke, his voice shivering faintly. "Tasuki..."

That was as far as he got before seeing the red haired bandit fall to the ground. Chris blinked, glancing first to Jason, who stood with a mirror expression of shock on his face... then to Cheree who was looking to him in confusion.

"He fainted, no da?"

To Chapter 5