Homura had been looking at the flowers that had been scattered in wide fields outside the Palace of Heaven for many hours, and was once again absorbed into the memories of the past, when his beloved, Rinrei, was torn apart from him, cast down into the world of the mortals.
"You seem to be a lonely bastard," a woman's voice interrupted his thoughts as he sensed a tall woman with golden hair and sapphire eyes appearing beside him. With a snap of her fingers, a table was set, with wine, tea, and a deck of cards. "Come, Toushin Homura Taishi, let's play. It will take your mind off things."
The latest in the line of Toushin looked at Ryurei in shock. Never has anyone treated him so casually, without scorn, ever, much less the Dragon-Princess of the Western Oceans. "Ryurei-hime, are you sure?" he asked, still undecided on taking up her offer. It was a mere card game, but he knew that the elite of the Gods were not to be underestimated. Ryurei might only have been the Flower-Goddess, but she was still a Dragon, and Dragons were revered, even if she and her brother were the last of their race.
Ryurei looked at him and chuckled. "We are two people whose beloved are taken away from us in the cruelest manner," she told him, looking at his mismatched eyes, one blue, and the other, gold. "I think that we should help each other lick our own wounds… Those shackles are ones that you put on willingly, and although they impede your movement, you are still free to choose as you wish."
"Very well," he said, and walked to one of the chairs. "What will we be playing?"
Shuffling the cards, she smiled and said, "Poker." It was not a request, nor was it an order. Homura looked into the inviting gaze of sapphire that she held for him, and knew for an instant that this would not be the only game that they would play.
500 years later, they were still playing poker with one another, but the subjects of their conversation had changed vastly. "Ryurei, do you know that the Seitin Taisei is nearing the end of his imprisonment?" he asked her as he put in more chips into the pot.
"Yes, indeed. Goku would be very happy to taste the free air once again," she replied, raising the stakes as well. For five hundred years, they had played with one another, and for five hundred years, nothing had really changed. Ryurei was still living under the perpetual shadow of the military, while he was still the despised heretic, with the post as the Toushin Taishi. There were several times when she would descend to the mortal world, but she could never bring herself to even visit the child on Gogyou Moutain…
Homura eyed the slight change of expression in her sapphire eyes, as though the memories of the "rebellion" her brother's subordinates had caused with Son Goku and Konzen Douji had caused her much pain. So, the rumors were true that she was involved with Tenpou Gensui. "And if we gather the Seiten-Kyou and the Maten-Kyou, we can create a new World."
A new World, bound by nothing, and everything… It was a grand scheme indeed. "I will have no part of it," Ryurei said, waiting for Homura's next move. "The Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon cannot be used for reasons such as this, or the balance of all nature will be destroyed…" She could feel it within her, trees were dying all over Togenkyo, and the land itself was changing… Something was happening right under their noses, and the same resonating feeling of darkness was gnawing at her heart.
"But there is a chance that you might see him again," Homura told her, prodding further. If the rumors were true, then he might be able to stoke her hatred for what Heaven has done. Tenpou Gensui, Kenren Taisho and Konzen Douji had died defending Heaven from Li Touten, it had been a widely-known fact after that fiasco.
"While I do not believe in leaving all to Fate, Homura, I believe in keeping what peace as much as we can," Ryurei replied with a bittersweet smile. Her sapphire eyes looked at him through the dark red hues of her wine, and she took a sip. "You would cause much chaos in your actions, and I will have no part of it."
Homura's lips tightened into a fine line, and nodded. After knowing her for so long, he both admired her spirit and her resolution. "If that is your choice, I wish you all the best," he said, pouring all his chips into the pot.
Ryurei stood up and gave him a hug. "You are a great friend, Homura," she told him, and opened his cards. He went all in, and there was no point in continuing. "But sometimes, you must know that even three Kings in the same hand, can be defeated by only two sixes." She smiled, and stood away from Homura, while conjuring a flower into his hand. It was blood red, in the shape of the flowers that Rinrei used to love. "May this remind you of the poker nights that we had, and if you see all four of them, please, give them hell for me."
"Your wish is my command," Homura replied with a slight bow. It was the last time that she ever saw the Toushin Taishi, and three years later, she personally saw him fighting Sanzo, Hakkai, Goku and Gojyo in Kanzeon Bosatsu's lotus pond. He had honored his promise, and soon, her time to join them would come.