Ri Houjun Background
Chichiri was born as Ri Houjun, under the star sign “Well” in the group of stars under Suzaku, and grew up alongside his two best friends Hikou and Kouran. Nothing is really known about his childhood, but at some point he and Kouran fell in love and were engaged when he was eighteen.
Shortly after, on a very stormy day, he found Hikou kissing Kouran, after which she broke of their engagement. Believing that Hikou had betrayed him, he confronted his friend near the river with a knife, demanding that he give Kouran back. The rain caused the river to flood and Hikou fell in, but Chichiri caught his wrist to save him. A large log was swept downstream and caught him in the face, gouging out his left eye and causing him to let go. Hikou drowned, along with most of the village, and Chichiri believed that he had murdered his friend.
Seeking atonement for his sin, he became a travelling monk, providing guidance or support for anyone in need. For over three years of that period, he trained funder Taitsukun, the creator of the universe. He refused to let his scar heal, but donned a smiling mask to hide it.
He appeared to save Miaka, the Suzaku priestess, during the gathering of the Suzaku warriors, when she would’ve been killed by assassins from the rival nation, Kutou…but got bitten in the hand for his effort. He left her to be found by Tamahome by disappearing into his hat, but left the hat with Miaka as a way to reach her quickly. This turned out to be necessary the next day, as another assassin tried to kill Miaka. Chichiri saved her, but the assassin held Tamahome’s family hostage instead. When Miaka would have let herself be killed to save them, he stopped her and saved everyone himself. Then he revealed to them that he was the Suzaku warrior, Chichiri.
While discussing the fact that the Kutou empire was trying to locate the Priestess of Seiryu, Miaka snuck off. Suspecting where she was going and why, Chichiri followed her, keeping out of sight, to Kutou to keep her safe. When she got held up at the Kutou gates, Chichiri, remained hidden and used a spell to paralyze the guards so she could continue on. Unfortunately the Kutou general appeared and easily broke the spell. As Miaka was lead away, he noticed Tamahome trying to pass other guards and went to assist him…by dragging him off and telling any onlookers the man was drunk. Then he set about a way to sneak into the palace.
When Nakago, the same general who had led Miaka away, confronted Tamahome at the palace, Chichiri intervened by paralyzing him so that Tamahome could go find Miaka. But no sooner than he had, Nakago broke the spell with enough force to almost knock him for a loop and he was forced to teleport elsewhere.
He reappeared beside Tamahome outside of the Seiryu shrine in the palace, but not before Miaka had already gone in. Tamahome couldn’t pass the shrine barrier to open the doors but Chichiri was able to teleport in, just in time to catch Miaka who was being hurled into a wall by Nakago. After blasting the shrine doors open for Tamahome, who forced his way through the barrier, Chichiri attempted to hold Nakago off long enough for Tamahome and Miaka to escape through his hat before doing so himself. He transported them to Mt. Taikyoku where Miaka and Tamahome were healed.
Miaka insisted on finding out what happened to her friend, Yui, three months prior, but to keep her from returning to the enemy, Taistukun showed them all through a magic mirror. Miaka became distraught and, unable to help her, all Chichiri could do was reassure Tamahome until she was ready to return to Konan. The night they got back a messenger from Kutou appeared, saying the war would halt if they turned over Tamahome. Chichiri was able to reveal the messenger, but he escaped. Predictably, Tamahome snuck off to turn himself in.
Miaka decided to leave to find the other three warriors, but Chichiri noticed something was up with Emperor Hotohori and returned to the palace shortly after leaving, without a word to Miak or Nuriko. Hotohori wished to be present to protect Miaka in Tamahome’s place, so Chichiri disguised himself as the emperor to fill in so that he could. Nothing noteworthy happened while he substituted. By the time they got back, he was practically lolling on the throne and wasted no time in rushing out to greet his friends as soon as they arrived..
With all the warriors found, it was planned that Chichiri and Miaka would go to Kutou to get Tamahome and the scroll needed to summon Suzaku. Tasuki bribed his way along and the three were transported to the Kutou palace gardens by Chichiri’s magic…along with Mitsukake’s cat, Tama. But Tamahome didn’t come to the meeting place, instead Nakago and a lot of soldiers arrived. Miaka bought Chichiri and Tasuki a moment to escape, though they were trapped on the grounds.
When he got the chance, he disguised himself as Nakago, tied up Tasuki and a doppelganger of himself for the effect that they were captured and out of the way, and took over Miaka’s escort when he came across her and some guards…then scared her half to death for fun. All joking stopped when they found that Miaka’s arm had been broken. Miaka said she was just clumsy and had hurt herself, but Chichiri knew she was hiding something and it worried him. But he left her with Tasuki, donned the disguise again and went to find Tamahome, trying to ignore a bad feeling. Unfortunately he ran into the real Nakago and had to flee.
When he returned to Tasuki, he found that Miaka had tied him up again and gone back to the place she was supposed to meet Tamahome. He and Tasuki got there just in time to save her from Tamahome. It became obvious that something was very wrong. Tamahome was obviously the one who broke Miaka’s arm and was looking to get rid of them all.
Chichiri tried to talk Tasuki out of fighting Tamahome, because they were all Suzaku warriors, but a fight started anyway…during which Chichiri realized that the ogre symbol that appeared on Tamahome anytime he fought wasn’t appearing. Unable to stop the fight, all he could do for the most part was keep the unconscious Miaka out ot the way of the fighting. Tasuki was badly beaten after Miaka begged him not to kill Tamahome, and told Chichiri to get Miaka away.
The barrier, which had been taken down to make the fight more interesting, was put up again before he could, so he could only hide nearby. Nakago appeared and easily took out Tasuki, but all Chichiri could do was keep Miaka hidden and as quiet as possible, while Nakago started blasting random areas to try and flush them out of hiding. He needed a way to break the barrier so they could escape. Using Tama as a medium, he contacted the other warriors to ask them to break the barrier and they succeeded, he quickly transported everyone back to the palace.
Miaka was healed, Tasuki patched up, and Chichiri left to report what happened with Tamahome. Shortly after, a distraught Miaka nearly drowned in the lake, and Tamahome appeared to kill her and Hotohori, who challenged him to a sword fight to protect Miaka while Chichiri and the others watched. Tamahome was dealt a fatal blow just as Miaka arrived to stop the fight. The love she shared with Tamahome and his weakened state allowed him to break free of the spell he was under and he was healed. Things went back to normal and the Suzaku warriors began preparations for the summoning of Suzaku. Chichiri consulted Hotohori about casting barriers for protection during the ceremony though.
Unfortunately, the boy they thought was the warrior, Chiriko, was really a Seiryu warrior, Amiboshi, sent to disrupt the ceremony. He did and nearly killed them all, but an interference of some kind saved them and Amiboshi fled. The resulting chase ended when Amiboshi fell into a swift river and was swept away.
Back in the shrine, the real Chiriko revealed himself as the one who saved them and they tried to summon Suzaku again. Taitsukun appeared instead and after berating Miaka for failing, told them how to proceed. They needed to go to Hokkan to find the Shinzaho. She also gave them gifts that enhanced their magic powers…Chichiri’s manifested as a new necklace similar to his original one.
The next day, Maika approached Chichiri to confide in him about her best friend and Tamahome, and to ask about his mask. He mostly listened, then he told her about his past and how he killed his best friend over love, and that in his experience it was likely that she would lose one or the other. Finally he told her that he was certain her friend really loved her more than either of them knew…which was why her friend had to work so hard to hate her.
Two days later, Miaka, Tamahome, and Nuriko returned from Tamahome’s home with the tragic news that Tamahome’s family had been murdered by Amiboshi’s twin brother, Suboshi. As sad as it was, the journey by ship had to begin to get to Hokkan and find the Shinzaho needed to try and summon Suzaku again before the Seiryu warriors could.
At first nothing noteworthy happened, aside from Miaka apparently acting a little weirder than normal, but then Chichiri picked up an evil life force approaching their. Shortly after, a fierce lightning storm attacked and followed the ship. Miaka, Tamahome and Nuriko were washed away, and though it was exceedingly difficult to sense them in the storm, Chichiri finally managed. They were attacked by Soi, the Seiryu warrior who controls lightning. Miaka was able to save everyone by using the holy sword the Hotohori gave her, and a shortcut was opened.
The Suzaku group ended up staying in a small settlement for the night, where they heard some conflicting stories about the Shinzaho. They then moved on to Touran, the large city where they were most likely to find out where to find the treasure. Chichiri took Chiriko with him to scout information, but didn’t find anything. The next day, he and Chiriko sensed that something was very wrong with one of the warriors and followed it up a mountain, where they found Nuriko had died fighting a member of the Seiryu warriors…but had succeeded in killing him and opened the way to the Shinzaho shrine.
The shrine was protected by the spirits to two Genbu warriors who guarded the treasure and none of the Suzaku could take them on. Thanks to Miaka, they were able to get the Shinzaho, but it was stolen by the warrior Nuriko had killed…now an ordinary wolf. Miaka went after it and they lost track of her too. Not long after Taitsukun appeared to Tamahome with a message from Miaka to go on ahead, and a promise to deliver her to them in a little while. Tamahome eventually sent them on ahead, but they fell into an illusionary city. Even though it occurred to Chichiri that something was wrong, he couldn’t see through the illusion and they spent a few days stranded in the desert unaware and unprotected.
Eventually they were freed and caught up with Miaka and Tamahome, making theirway into Sairou. They attempted to get the Shinzaho from that region, but not only lost it, but Chiriko had to forfeit his life when his body was possessed by Miboshi of the Seiryu warriors. They were unable to stop the summoning of Seiiryu and Suzaku was sealed away, along with most of their powers. Chichiri was able to return them to Konan, where everyone prepared to defend the kingdom against the Kutou army.
During the first battle, Miaka and Tamahome disappeared along with Yui, and Mitsukake was badly injured. Chichiri was unable to stop him from treating people, or from giving up the last of his life energy to save as many of the sick or wounded, or dead, as he could. Several of the soldiers that were resurrected started to fight again and Chichiri was enraged and sent them all away, not wanting to see them waste the gift that his friend had given his life to give them.
Shortly after that, Hotohori was killed in a battle against Nakago, only moments before the Kutou army withdrew from Konan…leaving Chichir and Tasuki as the only surviving Suzaku warriors in Konan. While mourning the emperor, they were contacted by Miaka’s brother because she was in trouble in her world. Using her backpack that had been left behind as a medium, they crossed into her world to stop Nakago.
Miaka gained the power to summon Suzaku, returning the powers that the warriors lost. The spirits of their fallen friends came to help and by combining all their energies, Nakago was defeated by Tamahome. After bidding goodbye to Miaka, he returned to Konan with all of his friends and resumed his life as a monk.
Eventually, Tamahome, who had managed to get to Miaka’s world, was sensed in their world again. In seeking him out, Chichiri and Tasuki along with Miaka and the spirits of their friends ended up helping seal away a demon who wanted to rule the world. This time, Tamahome had to give up his memories to be reborn into Miaka’s world. They were sealed in several stones, one for each warrior. Chichiri and Tasuki stayed together for the most part over the next two years.
Miaka and Tamahome’s reincarnation, Taka, appeared in their world again. This started a race to get back all of the memory stones before the unsealed demon got them. If that happened and the demon got strong enough, not only would the world be in more danger than it was, Taka would fade away. Tasuki and Chichiri had theirs, but the rest had to be searched for. Hotohori and Nuriko’s were found with family, but then Chichiri had a strange feeling. Following that, Tasuki nearly caused Miaka emotional distress by almost raping her and nearly killing Taka because his love for her and resentment to Tamahome making her cry so much were manipulated. The entire situation was resolved, but resulted in Tasuki trying to kill himself to prevent himself from betraying his friends.
Immediately after, Chichiri had to face his past as Hikou, resurrected as a demon with control over water, sought revenge against him for his murder. He was the one who had bewitched Tasuki, and he kidnapped Miaka and escaped. Chichiri was against facing him at first, unable to kill his friend again. Reassurance from Mitsukake, along with support and understanding from his friends made him realize that he had to do this. Tasuki, looking to redeem himself even though no one blamed him, and Taka opted to go too.
In order to let his friends bypass Hikou’s water barrier, he was willing to lose his life along with his friend…believing that the two of them and Kouran would then be together in heaven. This didn’t happen, but his kindness reached Hikou as he was dying again and he told Chichiri the full story of what happened. Not wanting to let Hikou be alone when he died, Chichiri didn’t let go of his hand until Hikou had turned to water. This allowed him to finally feel like he had atoned for his perceived sin.
They failed to gather the last memory jewels, and they were used, along with the others, to make a fake Tamahome that fooled Taka into leaving…despite Chichiri and the others trying to stop him, because they still believed in him. Miaka returned to Taka, and Tamahome was revealed to be someone else using Tamahome’s memories. The remaining warriors prepared to face Tenkou the demon and the false Tamahome, but got their to find Taka distraught and Miaka dead.
Tenkou crossed into Miaka’s world, but Taka was able to reclaim his memories. Chichiri and the other pursued the demon and Taka and Miaka gave up their physical forms to summon the beast gods to seal Tenkou away.
Afterwards, Miaka and Taka were granted the choice of where they would live. Chichiri and the others else agreed that the pair should return home instead of staying with them. It can be assumed that Chichiri continued his studies under Taitsukun after this, because by the third OVA he's mastered more magic, including use of lightning.
Shortly after, on a very stormy day, he found Hikou kissing Kouran, after which she broke of their engagement. Believing that Hikou had betrayed him, he confronted his friend near the river with a knife, demanding that he give Kouran back. The rain caused the river to flood and Hikou fell in, but Chichiri caught his wrist to save him. A large log was swept downstream and caught him in the face, gouging out his left eye and causing him to let go. Hikou drowned, along with most of the village, and Chichiri believed that he had murdered his friend.
Seeking atonement for his sin, he became a travelling monk, providing guidance or support for anyone in need. For over three years of that period, he trained funder Taitsukun, the creator of the universe. He refused to let his scar heal, but donned a smiling mask to hide it.
He appeared to save Miaka, the Suzaku priestess, during the gathering of the Suzaku warriors, when she would’ve been killed by assassins from the rival nation, Kutou…but got bitten in the hand for his effort. He left her to be found by Tamahome by disappearing into his hat, but left the hat with Miaka as a way to reach her quickly. This turned out to be necessary the next day, as another assassin tried to kill Miaka. Chichiri saved her, but the assassin held Tamahome’s family hostage instead. When Miaka would have let herself be killed to save them, he stopped her and saved everyone himself. Then he revealed to them that he was the Suzaku warrior, Chichiri.
While discussing the fact that the Kutou empire was trying to locate the Priestess of Seiryu, Miaka snuck off. Suspecting where she was going and why, Chichiri followed her, keeping out of sight, to Kutou to keep her safe. When she got held up at the Kutou gates, Chichiri, remained hidden and used a spell to paralyze the guards so she could continue on. Unfortunately the Kutou general appeared and easily broke the spell. As Miaka was lead away, he noticed Tamahome trying to pass other guards and went to assist him…by dragging him off and telling any onlookers the man was drunk. Then he set about a way to sneak into the palace.
When Nakago, the same general who had led Miaka away, confronted Tamahome at the palace, Chichiri intervened by paralyzing him so that Tamahome could go find Miaka. But no sooner than he had, Nakago broke the spell with enough force to almost knock him for a loop and he was forced to teleport elsewhere.
He reappeared beside Tamahome outside of the Seiryu shrine in the palace, but not before Miaka had already gone in. Tamahome couldn’t pass the shrine barrier to open the doors but Chichiri was able to teleport in, just in time to catch Miaka who was being hurled into a wall by Nakago. After blasting the shrine doors open for Tamahome, who forced his way through the barrier, Chichiri attempted to hold Nakago off long enough for Tamahome and Miaka to escape through his hat before doing so himself. He transported them to Mt. Taikyoku where Miaka and Tamahome were healed.
Miaka insisted on finding out what happened to her friend, Yui, three months prior, but to keep her from returning to the enemy, Taistukun showed them all through a magic mirror. Miaka became distraught and, unable to help her, all Chichiri could do was reassure Tamahome until she was ready to return to Konan. The night they got back a messenger from Kutou appeared, saying the war would halt if they turned over Tamahome. Chichiri was able to reveal the messenger, but he escaped. Predictably, Tamahome snuck off to turn himself in.
Miaka decided to leave to find the other three warriors, but Chichiri noticed something was up with Emperor Hotohori and returned to the palace shortly after leaving, without a word to Miak or Nuriko. Hotohori wished to be present to protect Miaka in Tamahome’s place, so Chichiri disguised himself as the emperor to fill in so that he could. Nothing noteworthy happened while he substituted. By the time they got back, he was practically lolling on the throne and wasted no time in rushing out to greet his friends as soon as they arrived..
With all the warriors found, it was planned that Chichiri and Miaka would go to Kutou to get Tamahome and the scroll needed to summon Suzaku. Tasuki bribed his way along and the three were transported to the Kutou palace gardens by Chichiri’s magic…along with Mitsukake’s cat, Tama. But Tamahome didn’t come to the meeting place, instead Nakago and a lot of soldiers arrived. Miaka bought Chichiri and Tasuki a moment to escape, though they were trapped on the grounds.
When he got the chance, he disguised himself as Nakago, tied up Tasuki and a doppelganger of himself for the effect that they were captured and out of the way, and took over Miaka’s escort when he came across her and some guards…then scared her half to death for fun. All joking stopped when they found that Miaka’s arm had been broken. Miaka said she was just clumsy and had hurt herself, but Chichiri knew she was hiding something and it worried him. But he left her with Tasuki, donned the disguise again and went to find Tamahome, trying to ignore a bad feeling. Unfortunately he ran into the real Nakago and had to flee.
When he returned to Tasuki, he found that Miaka had tied him up again and gone back to the place she was supposed to meet Tamahome. He and Tasuki got there just in time to save her from Tamahome. It became obvious that something was very wrong. Tamahome was obviously the one who broke Miaka’s arm and was looking to get rid of them all.
Chichiri tried to talk Tasuki out of fighting Tamahome, because they were all Suzaku warriors, but a fight started anyway…during which Chichiri realized that the ogre symbol that appeared on Tamahome anytime he fought wasn’t appearing. Unable to stop the fight, all he could do for the most part was keep the unconscious Miaka out ot the way of the fighting. Tasuki was badly beaten after Miaka begged him not to kill Tamahome, and told Chichiri to get Miaka away.
The barrier, which had been taken down to make the fight more interesting, was put up again before he could, so he could only hide nearby. Nakago appeared and easily took out Tasuki, but all Chichiri could do was keep Miaka hidden and as quiet as possible, while Nakago started blasting random areas to try and flush them out of hiding. He needed a way to break the barrier so they could escape. Using Tama as a medium, he contacted the other warriors to ask them to break the barrier and they succeeded, he quickly transported everyone back to the palace.
Miaka was healed, Tasuki patched up, and Chichiri left to report what happened with Tamahome. Shortly after, a distraught Miaka nearly drowned in the lake, and Tamahome appeared to kill her and Hotohori, who challenged him to a sword fight to protect Miaka while Chichiri and the others watched. Tamahome was dealt a fatal blow just as Miaka arrived to stop the fight. The love she shared with Tamahome and his weakened state allowed him to break free of the spell he was under and he was healed. Things went back to normal and the Suzaku warriors began preparations for the summoning of Suzaku. Chichiri consulted Hotohori about casting barriers for protection during the ceremony though.
Unfortunately, the boy they thought was the warrior, Chiriko, was really a Seiryu warrior, Amiboshi, sent to disrupt the ceremony. He did and nearly killed them all, but an interference of some kind saved them and Amiboshi fled. The resulting chase ended when Amiboshi fell into a swift river and was swept away.
Back in the shrine, the real Chiriko revealed himself as the one who saved them and they tried to summon Suzaku again. Taitsukun appeared instead and after berating Miaka for failing, told them how to proceed. They needed to go to Hokkan to find the Shinzaho. She also gave them gifts that enhanced their magic powers…Chichiri’s manifested as a new necklace similar to his original one.
The next day, Maika approached Chichiri to confide in him about her best friend and Tamahome, and to ask about his mask. He mostly listened, then he told her about his past and how he killed his best friend over love, and that in his experience it was likely that she would lose one or the other. Finally he told her that he was certain her friend really loved her more than either of them knew…which was why her friend had to work so hard to hate her.
Two days later, Miaka, Tamahome, and Nuriko returned from Tamahome’s home with the tragic news that Tamahome’s family had been murdered by Amiboshi’s twin brother, Suboshi. As sad as it was, the journey by ship had to begin to get to Hokkan and find the Shinzaho needed to try and summon Suzaku again before the Seiryu warriors could.
At first nothing noteworthy happened, aside from Miaka apparently acting a little weirder than normal, but then Chichiri picked up an evil life force approaching their. Shortly after, a fierce lightning storm attacked and followed the ship. Miaka, Tamahome and Nuriko were washed away, and though it was exceedingly difficult to sense them in the storm, Chichiri finally managed. They were attacked by Soi, the Seiryu warrior who controls lightning. Miaka was able to save everyone by using the holy sword the Hotohori gave her, and a shortcut was opened.
The Suzaku group ended up staying in a small settlement for the night, where they heard some conflicting stories about the Shinzaho. They then moved on to Touran, the large city where they were most likely to find out where to find the treasure. Chichiri took Chiriko with him to scout information, but didn’t find anything. The next day, he and Chiriko sensed that something was very wrong with one of the warriors and followed it up a mountain, where they found Nuriko had died fighting a member of the Seiryu warriors…but had succeeded in killing him and opened the way to the Shinzaho shrine.
The shrine was protected by the spirits to two Genbu warriors who guarded the treasure and none of the Suzaku could take them on. Thanks to Miaka, they were able to get the Shinzaho, but it was stolen by the warrior Nuriko had killed…now an ordinary wolf. Miaka went after it and they lost track of her too. Not long after Taitsukun appeared to Tamahome with a message from Miaka to go on ahead, and a promise to deliver her to them in a little while. Tamahome eventually sent them on ahead, but they fell into an illusionary city. Even though it occurred to Chichiri that something was wrong, he couldn’t see through the illusion and they spent a few days stranded in the desert unaware and unprotected.
Eventually they were freed and caught up with Miaka and Tamahome, making theirway into Sairou. They attempted to get the Shinzaho from that region, but not only lost it, but Chiriko had to forfeit his life when his body was possessed by Miboshi of the Seiryu warriors. They were unable to stop the summoning of Seiiryu and Suzaku was sealed away, along with most of their powers. Chichiri was able to return them to Konan, where everyone prepared to defend the kingdom against the Kutou army.
During the first battle, Miaka and Tamahome disappeared along with Yui, and Mitsukake was badly injured. Chichiri was unable to stop him from treating people, or from giving up the last of his life energy to save as many of the sick or wounded, or dead, as he could. Several of the soldiers that were resurrected started to fight again and Chichiri was enraged and sent them all away, not wanting to see them waste the gift that his friend had given his life to give them.
Shortly after that, Hotohori was killed in a battle against Nakago, only moments before the Kutou army withdrew from Konan…leaving Chichir and Tasuki as the only surviving Suzaku warriors in Konan. While mourning the emperor, they were contacted by Miaka’s brother because she was in trouble in her world. Using her backpack that had been left behind as a medium, they crossed into her world to stop Nakago.
Miaka gained the power to summon Suzaku, returning the powers that the warriors lost. The spirits of their fallen friends came to help and by combining all their energies, Nakago was defeated by Tamahome. After bidding goodbye to Miaka, he returned to Konan with all of his friends and resumed his life as a monk.
Eventually, Tamahome, who had managed to get to Miaka’s world, was sensed in their world again. In seeking him out, Chichiri and Tasuki along with Miaka and the spirits of their friends ended up helping seal away a demon who wanted to rule the world. This time, Tamahome had to give up his memories to be reborn into Miaka’s world. They were sealed in several stones, one for each warrior. Chichiri and Tasuki stayed together for the most part over the next two years.
Miaka and Tamahome’s reincarnation, Taka, appeared in their world again. This started a race to get back all of the memory stones before the unsealed demon got them. If that happened and the demon got strong enough, not only would the world be in more danger than it was, Taka would fade away. Tasuki and Chichiri had theirs, but the rest had to be searched for. Hotohori and Nuriko’s were found with family, but then Chichiri had a strange feeling. Following that, Tasuki nearly caused Miaka emotional distress by almost raping her and nearly killing Taka because his love for her and resentment to Tamahome making her cry so much were manipulated. The entire situation was resolved, but resulted in Tasuki trying to kill himself to prevent himself from betraying his friends.
Immediately after, Chichiri had to face his past as Hikou, resurrected as a demon with control over water, sought revenge against him for his murder. He was the one who had bewitched Tasuki, and he kidnapped Miaka and escaped. Chichiri was against facing him at first, unable to kill his friend again. Reassurance from Mitsukake, along with support and understanding from his friends made him realize that he had to do this. Tasuki, looking to redeem himself even though no one blamed him, and Taka opted to go too.
In order to let his friends bypass Hikou’s water barrier, he was willing to lose his life along with his friend…believing that the two of them and Kouran would then be together in heaven. This didn’t happen, but his kindness reached Hikou as he was dying again and he told Chichiri the full story of what happened. Not wanting to let Hikou be alone when he died, Chichiri didn’t let go of his hand until Hikou had turned to water. This allowed him to finally feel like he had atoned for his perceived sin.
They failed to gather the last memory jewels, and they were used, along with the others, to make a fake Tamahome that fooled Taka into leaving…despite Chichiri and the others trying to stop him, because they still believed in him. Miaka returned to Taka, and Tamahome was revealed to be someone else using Tamahome’s memories. The remaining warriors prepared to face Tenkou the demon and the false Tamahome, but got their to find Taka distraught and Miaka dead.
Tenkou crossed into Miaka’s world, but Taka was able to reclaim his memories. Chichiri and the other pursued the demon and Taka and Miaka gave up their physical forms to summon the beast gods to seal Tenkou away.
Afterwards, Miaka and Taka were granted the choice of where they would live. Chichiri and the others else agreed that the pair should return home instead of staying with them. It can be assumed that Chichiri continued his studies under Taitsukun after this, because by the third OVA he's mastered more magic, including use of lightning.