"It rides with me."

- Michael Payton, Viper

Two distinguished guests had arrived at Mount Taikyoku. Taiitsukun waved her veiled arm, motioning her small servants down from the shrine's rows of burning incense and toward the visitors. Giggling Nyan-Nyans hovered in circles around Uruki—the Crown Prince of the Hokkan Empire, and Yumiko Kata—the newly appointed Priestess of Genbu.

Uruki was an elegant man of gorgeous beauty. His slender body, dressed in Hokkan's best royal finery. His face, groomed to perfection by soft court ladies' hands. His flowing bronze hair was tied down his back in a braid. He carried himself like the kind of man who would rather write a sonnet than fight on the battlefield, but a quiet and wisely restrained determination burned in the back of his eyes. A single look into his eyes was enough to capture any woman's heart.

Yumiko was a like goddess incarnate. The craftsmanship of her long, flowing turtle green Priestess gown was rivaled only by the soft vibrancy of her serpent hazel eyes. Her silk black hair was braided up in a pair of traditional loops above her ears, with two loose strands hanging down the front of her shoulders. She was a delicate and quaint natural beauty who looked like she belonged in this world as much as her own. Peace and prosperity twinkled in her eyes, the kind that could end wars and soothe any man's soul.

The two stood so close together that her head was almost resting against his shoulder.

"Welcome, Priestess of Genbu," Taiitsukun said from her meditation seat. She spoke with a warm voice that had been waiting countless ages to say the words. "You must be so confused why you're here."

Yumiko nodded nervously.

"I just want to know what I need to do," she said like a tiny green nightingale afraid she would never be let out of her cage.

"There's no reason to be afraid, Priestess. Your arrival here is a blessing," the sage said. "You can't imagine how important you'll become to this world. The Priestess of Genbu is a position of highest honor to everyone in the Hokkan kingdom. And look at you! You've already found one of your Celestial Guardians! You're well on your way to fulfilling your duty and having your three wishes granted. The power of Genbu can only be tamed by a gentle virgin from the outside world."

"I'm pregnant," Yumiko whispered shyly.

The Nyan-Nyans squeaked like surprised mice. Taiitsukun shrank back in her seat in panic.

"You're wha...? There… there must have been some mistake!" she stammered, holding her draping sleeve to her mouth. "Genbu would never bring a young mother here!"

"It's Uruki's baby," Yumiko added. Her eyes meekly peered away.

Taiitsukun shuddered in even more alarm.

"But you're… he's… the two of you are…" she struggled to keep her composure.

"I love him." Yumiko's lips lifted into a tiny smile. Taiitsukun grunted out of the corner of her mouth.

"You've only known each other for a month."

"But it already feels like a lifetime," Yumiko said with innocent affection. "I was so scared when I was first brought here. I didn't know anyone. I didn't know where I should go. I thought I'd never see my family and my friends again. I felt like this whole world was against me. But I met Uruki at the palace, and he was so kind. He assigned some of his own guards to me to keep me safe until I could figure out how to get back home. Me, just some strange girl wandering around the streets babbling about an alternate dimension. He was there to keep me company whenever I felt lonely, even though he had so many more important things to worry about. I felt so much safer when I was around him. He felt the same way about me. And then we… became closer. I offered to become his concubine so I could always be with him. Everyone in Hokkan loved the idea."

Yumiko blushed.

Half of the Nyan-Nyans stuck out their tongues and made "Eww" faces. The other half cheerfully twirled in circles clapping their hands like tiny cymbals and chanting "Miko's gonna be a mommy!"

"This… this is an outrage!" Taiitsukun reviled in horror. "Women from the parallel world can't have children with men in this world! The child violates the nature of the universe itself simply by existing!"

The sage barked toward her miniature celestial handmaids.

"Nyan-Nyans, get the fresh linens! Take her to the bedchamber and make sure she's comfortable!"

Her eyes switched toward Yumiko again. She softened her voice and spoke out of pity.

"Don't worry, Priestess. We'll have that abomination out of you in no time."

Yumiko placed one hand over the robes covering her waist. She flailed her other hand through the air, swatting away the Nyan-Nyans as if they were floating green-haired mosquitos. They scattered after a few warning swings.

"It's not that simple," Yumiko said hesitantly to Taiitsukun. "This is Uruki's firstborn successor. If you do anything to hurt the baby, by law it's…"

"…the same as trying to assassinate the Crown Prince himself," Uruki growled as he pulled Yumiko protectively into his arms.

Taiitsukun blinked with widened eyes. She was speechless.

"The two of you…" she muttered toward Uruki.

"You're really…" she muttered toward Yumiko.

"Bah, mortals and their senseless romance," she shook her head in defeat. "Genbu be damned. I knew he should have gone after the one with the ribbon."

Her voice turned into a bitter grumble.

"I'll tell you one thing, girl. Your purity might be tarnished, but your libido deserves an honor of its own."

"We didn't know the rules," Yumiko sadly apologized. "But it will be okay. The next girl who gets pulled into the book can become the Priestess. I don't care if she gets my three wishes. I'll always miss my world, but my only wish is to be with Uruki for as long as he needs me."

The Priestess and her guardian gazed toward each other with tender eyes. Taiitsukun lowered her head and sighed.

"You're not seeing the whole picture, Priestess. There isn't going to be a next girl thanks to your little moonlight rituals," she said. "The Priestess of Genbu is meant to serve as the bridge between our two worlds and set the cycle into motion. Byakko, Seiryuu, Suzaku. They're all powerless until they get their turn, and each god can only bring one Priestess into this universe. None of the other Priestesses can be called upon until Genbu is summoned first, and now he'll never be summoned. If you can't complete your duty, no one else will."

"Then… maybe this is for the better?" Yumiko pondered with uncertainty. "Even if I'm never able to go home, me being trapped here might save other girls from facing even more grief."

"You have no idea." Taiitsukun rolled her eyes.

Author's note: Well. That escalated quickly.