A/N: Here is the re-write to Miko of the Four Gods. There are apparent changes, and I hoped that this would be better than the original. We'll see now, won't we?

Disclaimer: I do not own.

PART ONE
Chapter One—At Its Beginning

I, Taiitsukun, knew that the Universe was kept at balance by the four gods and the four skies. I foresaw that imminent threats could upset this balance, and so each god had been summoned to stop such threats. In spite of this, the most powerful threat remained, and there was just one last hope left…

Such begins the story of the Miko of the Four Gods.

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Oshiyoki Kyoko felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder and responded with a groan. She heard her alarm clock go off, and a click that made it stop. It was her last day of school, and there was no way she was in a hurry. Yawning, she hugged a pillow to her chest, but a strong hand snatched the pillow away and smacked her until goose feathers puffed out.

"Grandma," Kyoko whined into her pillow, "I don't wanna get up. It's too early…" Her words drawled with the usual morning laziness, but tender, frail fingers brushed the brown tendrils off of her face.

"Kazuo's already downstairs eating breakfast. We've been up for half an hour now. Get up or you'll be late…again." Grandmother Hikari yanked the blankets off her youngest granddaughter and hauled the girl out of bed. For an elderly woman, she was still pretty strong.

Kyoko whined again but hurried into the shower after hearing Kazuo's name. It was a once in a while thing that he would come to her house, so they could walk to school together. Hikari consented that Kyoko could date and have him as a boyfriend and no one else. He was always there to protect her, and Kyoko could live her life without the strains of her parents and older sister.

She jumped down the stairs and hurriedly ate her food. For one so small, she could eat Hell if she tried…

With eyes bulging and mouth full of food, she managed to utter something close to a Good Morning to Kazuo and Hikari.

The two stared at the girl in amazement and shock of seeing her swallow a whale…

Meet the Miko of the Four Gods.

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"You're never like the other girls."

"You always say that, you know that, right?"

"No, I didn't. Did you know you're not like—?"

"Kazuo."

"Kyoko."

She rolled her eyes and tried her best to suppress the smile creeping up her face. Kazuo was her best friend and boyfriend, the one you could count on at any time.

He was pretty much her only friend…

Not that she was incapable; it was more like all the girls in her class were out to spite her because she was Kazuo's girl. She shrugged the thought aside, knowing that the only people in the world who cared for her only mattered.

A strange wind blew her brown hair out of her face while she shielded her eyes from the breeze. Kazuo's black hair brushed back, and Kyoko could've sworn she saw something at the nape of his neck.

The winds receded, and she looked around in wonder. Kazuo just gave her a smirk as he stood with his briefcase slung at his back. "Do you need me to hold your hand?" he teased.

"You wish," Kyoko said, stepping forward, but she fell flat on her face.

Kazuo laughed and offered to help her up, but she glared at him. He stopped laughing as she slowly got up. By the next second, Kyoko chased Kazuo around Tokyo to school.

At the school gate, he stopped her with a kiss and let her through.

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"Who else would fulfill the duty as Miko?" asked Suzaku. The red phoenix looked from god to god and folded his hands sagely. He had voted Kyoko the Miko of the Four Gods, knowing no one else would do it better. She resembled the four Mikos before her—good-hearted and fierce. Honestly, she mostly resembled his Miko.

Seiryu shook his head and closed his eyes. For sure, he didn't trust Kyoko with such a duty. The Seiryu no Miko died after summoning the blue dragon. Luckily she was resurrected by the help of the Suzaku priestess, but who would resurrect Kyoko? "No, I choose the other girl."

"Genbu," Byakko asked indifferently, "what do you think?" He stepped forward, every silver paw stepping upon a cloud. He tensed, but ignored it.

The green turtle god stood back and looked beyond. "Be it as it may. Kyoko has been chosen to be the Miko of the Four Gods. Let us agree on at least one thing—in spite of some disagreement, each of us is allowed to choose our Seishi. I think"—here he looked to Suzaku and Byakko—"it is best that the Seishi do not start another epic romance." Genbu faded and went back into his domain.

"Preposterous," Seiryu scoffed. The chosen Miko of the Four Gods could not even compete with his original Miko…

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"No one can compete with her," everyone said in the halls. Even those who hated Kyoko knew that she was the valedictorian of their school. It was hard to admit that, but everyone knew.

With a brighter smile, Kyoko rushed to the library to return her last books and leave the school behind…like she did with everything else. She left her parents and elder sister behind because she had to. They didn't want her anyways.

She was always ready to move forward—high school was just sometime away.

"Hello?" Stepping into the quiet library, Kyoko found the librarian out on a five-minute break. It shouldn't be long before she got back.

"I told you she'd be in here, Itachi," said a boy.

The second boy slipped behind her and shut the door. In a moment, she realized she was trapped. A girl like her was to never be alone. That was another reason why Kazuo would always be with her.

"No need to be scared," said the second boy with a sly grin.

"Leave me alone please," she responded.

"Ashimi wants to see you…for parting words…" said the first boy. He advanced forward as she backed away eventually hitting the wall. He stopped with his face inches away from hers as his hand casually leaned over Kyoko's head.

"I don't want to talk to him," said Kyoko, looking him in the eye. She gulped as the boy's smile widened far too sweetly for good intention.

"You don't have, too," quipped the second boy.

"You're right," Kyoko countered. She dropped down and kicked the first boy high between the legs, and she shifted her weight push him off his feet. All she had to do was run from the second boy… Unfortunately for her, she was a terrible runner.

Nonetheless, she ran into the restricted room of the library for sanctuary. Kyoko closed the door and locked it before Itachi could get in. She would stay there all afternoon if she had to. Then she realized that Kazuo was waiting for her. She rotated about on the ground to face the wall. Hitting the wall repeatedly gave her hiding place away…

"Kyoko," said Itachi. "I know you're in there."

"Don't be so sure about that," said another voice.

She didn't know who it was, and she couldn't recognize the voice. Her ear pressed against the door as she listened in.

"Daichi, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Kazuo has been lookin' around for Kyoko. What the hell are you doing here? Last I checked you couldn't spell 'library'." In the next second, Daichi punched the boy for a knock out. Itachi hit the wooden door hard enough for vibration, causing a book to fall to the ground.

It was a dilapidated book open to a blank page. She picked up the book and disappeared within a flash of light…

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"NO! I COULDN'T HAVE DIED!"

"Someone, silence her. Elsewise, I will for good."

"Genbu, explain the situation to her."

"I PROMISE I WON'T TRY TO READ A BLANK BOOK!"

"She's a little delusional from the shock."

"I WASN'T READY TO DIE!"

"Kyoko," Genbu addressed the ranting teenage girl. The turtle god was very calm and composed in spite of her behavior. Though he seemed a bit cold, he was actually welcoming toward the girl…unlike Seiryu who was still sore from accepting her as the Miko of the Four Gods. Suzaku and Byakko were a little worried that the girl was a little out of her mind for the moment.

Now she just stood there blankly with wide eyes of a hungry child. It was, Genbu had to admit, kind of humorous.

He fought the urge to laugh.

"Do you know who we are?" he asked the girl.

"Yes."

"Do you know our names?"

"Yes, Genbu, Suzaku, Seiryu, and Byakko of the four skies," she responded plainly.

"Oshiyoki Kyoko, we have chosen you to be the Miko of the Four Gods," Byakko said. The tiger god examined the way she looked comparing her to his first priestess, Suzuno… He couldn't find a resemblance, but they were alike in some way. Then again, it was thought that was on everyone's mind. "Before you, there were—"

"—four priestesses who summoned the four of you," interjected Kyoko. As she answered the questions, she looked more mature than a minute ago. "My grandmother told me stories. There would be a priestess for each nation to summon the god and grant three wishes." Innocence gleamed in the girl's eyes, but her face held a serious expression about them. She understood completely much to the surprise of the four gods.

Suzaku explained, "Your mission however is most important than the Mikos before you. You will summon each god from the most recently summoned to the first summoned…like going back." The resemblance was clear to him, but he kept such thoughts to himself. Seiryu was already displeased with the ideas. "The four nations are in danger, and you must unite them."

Kyoko nodded and remained still. At that very moment, she realized this was all real. She almost choked and tried to gulp the info down.

"Do you accept?" Seiryu said, ignoring her shivering.

She looked at him with her brown eyes and nodded solemnly.

"By the way," Seiryu said royally, "should you fall for one of the Seishi chosen exclusively to protect you that would upset the balance between the nations, yes? It wouldn't help looking like you'd favor one nation over the other, now would it?" The blue dragon advanced forward only a foot away from her small body. A foot away from a god was too close as it was. "These Seishi who protect you will not be needed in the summoning in the past. They are still ambassadors for their nations and for their god."

She nodded and they sent her out of the Celestial Void to the nation of…

Now that she thought about it, they were kind of vague as to what she was supposed to do.

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"How old are you again? This is your second time living, but this is my—"

"Shut up, Nuriko."

"Tasuki, let's play the patience game. I'll be the wife, and you'll be the husband, who doesn't understand—"

"—how you can be so Goddamn annoying," the redhead finished.

Atop the courtyard wall sat an androgynous man of eighteen years looking down at his fiery friend carrying wooden pole across his shoulder blades, a cement block hanging on each side of the pole. The androgynous one was purple haired and held a mischievous smile upon his face as though he was shirking his duties to watch his redheaded friend build up some strength. The short-tempered redhead remained silent unless he was asked a question until finally he snapped.

"—and all this time you were just conditioning! Here I thought—"

"NURIKO, GET OUT!" screamed Tasuki, hurling the cement blocks at his friend. The patience, if there was any to begin with, quickly died out. In blind fury, Tasuki jumped to the tree branches and was ready to pounce on Nuriko after he had dodged the blocks.

Too quick was Nuriko, who nimbly jumped off the other side of the wall and into the bustling streets in Konan.

Nuriko left without the satisfaction of having the last word. He really wondered about his woman-hating friend. The poor boy probably had probably never heard of the word "date" in his entire life. To Tasuki, the word could've meant Death At The Exit. That was how Nuriko decided to find Tasuki's match.

He left word with one of the palace guards to tell Toshiro that he would be in the marketplace for social needs…

It was time for lunch anyways, and every woman would be in the marketplace to find food, provisions, etc. The sun was shining and the marketplace was filled with the sounds of laughter and shouts. It was a perfect place to find the perfect girl.

Of course, the marketplace was crowded, too. It was so crowded that everyone was sometimes at shoulder to shoulder. One would have to be careful not to get pick-pocketed…

He bumped shoulders with nice girls, each passive and very obedient—not the perfect match for Tasuki. Tasuki didn't need someone as loud mouthed as he was. The world could hardly handle one.

Nuriko continued looking around until someone touched a sensitive area. That decided he had to get out of the crowd. He dodged more crowds and eventually stopped at the stage set up for the mid-day entertainment.

"Nuriko," addressed a voice behind him, "have you been here this whole time?"

"Your majesty, what a surprise," Nuriko said in a daze. It was startling to see Toshiro out when he knew nothing of it. Emperor Toshiro, the clear descendent of Hotohori, would probably ask what he was doing there… "Social needs" was quite a vague explanation. "I thought you were only out on a different day."

"I'm following my schedule," Toshiro said. He looked almost exactly like Hotohori, Nuriko concluded. "Aren't you?"

Nuriko had no reply. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm in the middle of a beauty pageant because my advisory couldn't find a potential queen, so I decided to become the judge here."

"I thought you would marry one of the other rulers."

"Nuriko, the other rulers are males."

"Right…" Nuriko said.

"I'll see you at dinner."

Nuriko offered a last smile and jumped to the other end of the marketplace, shoving past people. He knocked down a few people with his incredible strength, a few he knocked out, too.

Until finally, he sensed someone. He swerved around, eyeing each person in the crowd. He couldn't tell who was giving off such a distinct chi. Nuriko turned around again and knocked over a girl, who was a few inches shorter than he.

"Sorry," Nuriko said, lending his hand.

"I'm clumsy when I'm hungry," answered Kyoko, rubbing her grumbling tummy. Nuriko helped her off the ground, thinking:

'She's perfect.'

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"And this…" Nuriko motioned to the courtyard, "this is the courtyard!" He pushed Kyoko outside looking for Tasuki.

Darn redhead had to leave his training.

Nuriko looked about, but Tasuki was nowhere to be found. The courtyard was empty except for the two gardeners tending to the grounds. Kyoko, the girl from the marketplace looked around.

He had to admit she looked a lot like Miaka, but she did look like she was from here…dressed in the common clothes and everything. Kyoko couldn't possibly be from another world.

"Wait right here," Nuriko said charmingly. He tapped his index finger to her forehead, and he sprinted down the hall to find Tasuki.

Kyoko watched Nuriko go and found herself alone. Her story had started to unravel in…weird ways. From the school library to a place of heaven and here she was in a palace that would take her to the emperor of Konan. So she ended up being here for an ulterior motive.

She would have to explain that to Nuriko when he got back.

Kyoko wandered down the halls forgetting her hunger and strode to wherever the corridors led her. She fumbled with the hem of her dress…something the gods gave her before landing in Konan. Almost tripping, she went down some steps to main hall.

Maybe this was all just a dream…

"You lost?" said a voice.

The voice was rough, indifferent to her and carried through the whole hall. It was Tasuki's voice.

Startled, Kyoko turned around fast enough that her bangs got into her eyes. She pushed the strands of hair away and found Tasuki looking at her. A blush came to her cheeks, but she mustered enough courage to say, "No, I'm not lost. I was…um…looking for the emperor."

She peered at him—a distinct man only a few years older than her. His flashing hair was hard to miss as were his dangerous eyes. The tan of his skin showed that he would be outside a lot, and she wondered what he did with all that heavy clothing. She could tell he wasn't that social with the expression he held on his face.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," she said, looking away.

Nuriko popped into the hall and hollered from the entrance doors, "Hey you two! Nice to know both of you have met!"

"Annoying cross-dresser," muttered Tasuki. He crossed his arms as Nuriko hurried to him and the short girl next to him. He left the courtyard for a reason…

Kyoko looked at Nuriko and said politely, "I'm sorry… I didn't catch your name…"

"I'm Nuriko!" he chirped. Giving another charming smile, it was easy to see that he liked the situation and didn't notice Tasuki's annoyance. "But that's not important right now, my dear." Nuriko, gripping and bruising Tasuki's arm, said, "Kyoko, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Tasuki. He's handsome, isn't he?" He pushed Tasuki forward.

'I never planned to meet someone like this.'

Taken back, Kyoko looked the fearsome warrior in the eye. He pouted with his arms still crossed, condemning the situation as it was. She tore his eyes away from him and said to Nuriko blankly, "I have a boyfriend. His name is Kazuo. Um…I was hoping I could see the emperor? It's…really important. Er…it was nice meeting you, Tasuki…and…um…yeah."

Nuriko gave a laugh, smiling, and said, "Oh that's wonderful! You must join us for dinner with the emperor!" Here his eyes suddenly widened when he fully understood what she had said. "You have a what?"

He pulled Tasuki to the side and ranted with the occasional punch in the arm. His whispers were loud enough to bounce off the walls but not understood. 'Dammit, Tasuki, why the hell did God give you good looks? How could he have been blown off?' Nuriko punched Tasuki one last time, knocking the redhead down with a timber.

"Nuriko, whom have you invited to dinner?"

"YOUR MAJESTY!"

"A girl named Kyoko," Tasuki said, getting off the cracked floor.

"Hi." Kyoko looked at Emperor Toshiro and bowed reverently. Her stomach grumbled again, and the next thing on her mind was dinner.

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'I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to be doing…' thought Kyoko after dinner. Nuriko was staring at her, so certain that Kyoko was the right one for Tasuki, who still held a scowl on his face. Kyoko could admit he was cute and all, but what was his problem? As for Toshiro, he watched her with wise eyes and made polite conversation with her during dinner.

Now just seemed like… an awkward moment.

"Satisfied?"

She nodded to Toshiro. Maybe it was a regular custom to eat eleven plates…

"You aren't from here, correct?"

"I'm not… I'm not from anywhere around here."

Tasuki's eyes flickered to Kyoko in interest. "Are you a Miko?"

Kyoko nodded, and all three men's eyebrows rose to their hairlines. They eyed her suspiciously. Each of them looked to one another, and they silently agreed that she was a Miko.

"She does look like her," Nuriko said beaming.

"I don't see any resemblance."

"Are you the Miko of the Four Gods?" Toshiro asked Kyoko.

"Yes."

Toshiro requested that they go to the Suzaku's chamber right then. As Kyoko followed him with Nuriko and Tasuki, Toshiro explained everything—from Suzaku no Miko's story, to Hotohori's story (his ancestor's), and to what he knew about the Miko of the Four Gods. In the past century, there was talk of unearthly creatures scouring through the nations. At times, it wasn't safe for the rulers who had been heavily protected. There would never be any other Miko of one god to save all the others—so started the talk of the Miko of the Four Gods.

The emperor opened the door to the chamber. Inside was the statue of the phoenix in red stones.

"You, Kyoko, are the Miko of the Four Gods, and so one of the two friends I have here is supposed to protect you." Toshiro motioned to Nuriko, who bowed to the statue and then to Kyoko, and Tasuki running his fingers through his hair. The obvious choice should've been Nuriko, but Nuriko was already assigned the task of being Toshiro's bodyguard and advisor. He had done this sort of job in a previous life, so… "Tasuki will be the assigned Suzaku Seishi."

"PERFECT!"

"WHAT?"

"…"

He dismissed everyone else's reactions and kept his voice smooth as he laid down the logic. "Tasuki has nothing else better to do. Why else would he be dropped damned from heaven?" His chuckle echoed through the room, the only chuckle in the room. Hotohori would've been a little lighter about such things. That was the only difference between him and his ancestor. "Nuriko has been my advisor all of this time. Tasuki has been cooped up in the palace."

Now that Toshiro mentioned it…she was supposed to have a Seishi.

Still, having Tasuki as the Suzaku Seishi…she stared at him, and he stared back. With a jolt he turned away with a blush rising to his cheeks.

"Fine…it's better than listening to Nuriko all day."

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She always wanted adventure, and here she was in a room three times her bedroom cozy and comfy. Not exactly what she pictured for the first night of it all, but it was better than her expectations. Kyoko shook her hair to her shoulders, and she looked at her reflection.

'So I'm the Miko of the Four Gods.'

For some reason, she felt like she was at home in the Universe of the Four Gods in spite of not knowing if time passed in her world or whether Kazuo and Grandmother Hikari were so worried. Things would be different here, and maybe…just maybe the people who were willing to protect her would see the real her. Or maybe they already did. Men here actually respected her. Besides Kazuo, there was no one else in her world that really cared about who she was.

The Miko of the Four Gods was already asleep before she notice the beautiful red light she emitted…and the two Suzaku Seishi watching her from the outside grounds below.

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A/N: REWRITTEN! For yours and my enjoyment :) Thanks for reading!

Have a comment? Feel free to say it!

--Dragontune172