Eesh. Sorry that this one took so long to get around to doing. I had to do a bit of research (trying to stay as close to the legend as possible). But let me go ahead and respond to one or two of the questions.

Who will Miaka be paired with? Good question. For the time being, it will be a Mia-Tama-Nuriko triangle. However, it will come down to just one in the end. Why doesn't Oki want to go back? That will be answered with the next chapter, where she gets to tell her story. Any Seiryuu Seishi? Probably not in the way you would want to see them, but they will be making an appearance sooner or later, I'm sure. That's all for now, and stay tuned for Oki's story next chapter.


Keisuke and Tetsuya were yelling at each other over some baseball teams and which one was the best. Yuki somehow managed to get the spot near the window and avoided the majority of the screaming and shouting. Thankfully, Miaka and Keisuke's mother had yet to return home, so had not bothered to wonder what zoo had landed in her house.

Ryu looked over at Taka, where he sat on Keisuke's bed. He himself sat in a chair at the foot of the bed. It seemed that Taka still blamed him for whatever was now happening with Miaka, for now and then Ryu would look up and discover that Taka was staring blankly at him. Ryu didn't know whether to feel ashamed for the situation he had gotten himself into or to feel anger at Taka's blatant mistrust.

Hotohori was close by and leaned close, whispering just loudly enough to be heard through the screaming of the two friends.

"So, you came here for her?" he asked.

Ryu simply nodded, glancing up at the picture of Miaka and her brother sitting on a dresser.

"I understand now why you loved her so, although I think I may know her better than you do," Ryu said softly.

There was a soft laugh from the gentle emperor and he placed a transparent hand on his friend's knee.

"It seems like it was only a short time ago when I knew you as Kourin. Ah, how people change."

"Love will do that."

Hotohori could only nod in agreement. He understood all too well how love could change the heart of a man. Over the past few years, he had come to love Houki and Boushin with all his had, although he loved Miaka still and always would cherish what she meant to him.

"Would you look at those crappy batters?" Tetsuya yelled. "How on earth could they beat my team?"

"Look, you!" Keisuke growled.

The room suddenly filled with light. . .bright white light. The light flooded the room, then split, separated. A soft gray light appeared on Yuki, the soft blue of Seiryuu landed in the lap of a surprised Tetsuya. There was no sign of Genbu no Miko, Takara, but the blood red form from Suzaku floated gently to a very surprised Ryu.

"Itai!" Miaka cried, a hand to her chest. There was a sharp burning sensation just over where her heart would be. Taking a deep breath, she found that the pain was gone as soon as she noticed it existed.

Finally opening her eyes, she looked around and found herself resting gently within the warm embrace of Ryu. She looked up at him, staring deeply into his hazel eyes and giggled softly when he began to blush.

"Nice catch," she smiled.

Ryu simply placed her on the ground where a frantic Taka ran to pick her up.

"Miaka, are you okay? You look fine."

"Yes, yes, I'm okay, Taka."

She looked around and saw that Yui was back, safely within Tetsuya's arms. Oki was clinging to Yuki, tears trickling down her cheeks. Once more, she allowed her eyes to survey the room, but could not find Takara anywhere.

"Where is Yamamoto-san?" she asked, interrupting the happy reunions.

Everyone paused for a moment, as if the silence would somehow make her appear. Yui took it upon herself to go and pick up the phone and dial the school teacher's number. Miaka knew how bad it might be for Takara if she was still stuck in this dream world that they seemed to be traveling to. When Yui was stuck, it had led to awful things. She shook her head, clearing her mind of the bad memories and focused on Yui.

"Hello?. . .Oh, ok. I'm glad you made it back safely as well. . . .What? On the back of your neck?. . .Honestly, I don't know. . . .Yes, I think we're all fine."

Just then, a blinding flash of light filled the room and everyone covered their eyes, avoiding any damage to the sensitive nerves.

"What? How on earth did I get here?"

The light finally started to fade away and, to everyone's utter amazement, Takara stood in the middle of Keisuke's room. A soft green glow appeared briefly on the left side of her stomach before it vanished completely. She looked at her hands and clothes, apparently as confused as everyone else about what had just happened. Yui stared for a moment, glancing at the phone still in her hand and placed it back on the base.

"Yamamoto-san?" Miaka asked. "What just happened?"

"I'm about as lost in all of this are you are," the woman said. "I was just talking to Yui on the phone and was wondering if you all were really as okay as you claimed to be. Then Byakko's light sucked me up and dropped me here."

"Would you say that you were wanting to see us while you were talking to Yui on the phone?" Yuki asked, his arms protective around Oki.

"Well, I guess so. I was wondering if you all had some kind of odd addition to your bodies like I do?"

"Nani?!" the three women said.

"See," Takara said, lifting up her brown tresses so that the back of her neck was in plan view of everyone in the room.

Just below her hair line was a patch of white hair. However, it was entirely too thick to be called hair. It looked more like fur. And just at the bottom of this patch of fur was a thick black stripe.

"Byakko?" Miaka asked.

She left Taka's side to walk up to Takara and gently place her hand on the back of her neck. Sure enough, it was soft and thick to the touch, much like the fur of a cat.

"Do any of you girls have something like this?" she asked, letting go of her hair.

Miaka's hand flew up to the back of her neck as well, and found nothing there. Then she thought back to when Suzaku had threatened to take over her body completely, how her back had burned, where wings were trying to push through skin that was never meant to accommodate them. Reaching behind her and sliding her hand up the back of her shirt, Miaka was not overly surprised to discover two strips of raised skin going in vertical lines down her back, covered with the softest down imaginable. One of the delicate feathers came off in her hand and she brought it up to her face and stared at it. It shimmered in the light, a golden iridescent red.

"Why is this happening?" she asked, feeling her heart starting to race. If Suzaku Seikun needed her help, then why was he trying to devour her.

"Look," Yui said softly.

Her sleeve was rolled up and just around her elbow was a collection of sea blue scales. Her fingers trembled as they touched them, then relaxed slightly. Miaka went over and put a hand on Yui's shoulder.

"We need to figure out what's happening. Maybe if we try to get in touch with the god's again, like in that first dream. . ."

"No!"

The scream silenced the room and everyone looked over at Oki. The woman had her hands on her stomach, as if she was suffering from cramps.

"Minase-san, daijoubu?" Miaka asked, walking towards her.

"No, don't you come any closer!"

Miaka halted in her footsteps, a hand stretched out to the woman. Oki lifted up her shirt for a moment, and Miaka could see the leathery pattern of a turtle there. The black haired woman looked up at Yuki.

"We're leaving. Now!"

Yuki said nothing, but gathered his jacket and followed Oki as she walked up to face Miaka.

"How dare you drag me into this mess with those idiotic flyers of yours. I am getting as far away from you and this mess as I can and if you dare to come after me I will make sure that you regret it."

Oki lifted a hand and slapped Miaka across the face. Or tried to. A faint red energy surrounded Miaka and Oki found herself thrown back into Yuki's arms and both fell on the ground together.

"Don't you dare blame any of this one me!" Miaka told her. "If you think I asked for this, you are sorely mistaken. You should know that you cannot run away from this. Yui and I understand that and we're trying to solve the problem. Walk out of here if you want, but this is your story as much as it is ours."

A final wave of energy issued from Miaka and covered the room. With that wave came a soft light and Miaka looked for the source of it. Her eyes followed it and found that the light was issuing from her knee.

"Chichiri?" Taka said softly, remembering the first time he had seen the mark of the Suzaku Seishi on the monk.

Miaka touched her glowing knee and found that it was warm. She looked over at Yuki and Oki who were quickly getting back on their feet. Oki took one long look at Miaka and left the room. The slamming of the door was particularly loud and the air of the room was noticeably lighter. Hotohori knelt down by Miaka's side and looked at her leg.

"How on earth did you attain Chichiri's powers?" he asked.

He lifted up a hand to rest on her knee and found that it went straight through her. Miaka shivered at the odd sensation and wondered why he could no longer touch her.

"Something really weird is happening," Yui said.

"That's stating the obvious," Tetsuya laughed.

"Seems like it's time to go and do some more research," Taka sighed.

"And I will go and see what I can find out from Chichiri. If you have his powers, I'm sure this affects him in one way or another.


"What's wrong, sensei?" Kazuo asked.

The pupil knelt near his teacher and immediately felt what was out of place. Chichiri grimaced. It had been all too long since he felt so weak, and he did not like the feeling one bit. Not one bit at all.

It had been a month since Taitsu-kun had become silent. She didn't speak or move, she simply sat there. He and the students drew comfort from her presence, refusing to think about what her silence might mean. Instead, they reproduced a similar mirror to the one that Taitsu-kun used and took turns monitoring it, looking out for any changes.

"Sensei, you may want to come and look at this."

The young man that was on watch at the moment came to get their attention. Chichiri got up, using his staff as support until he regained his balance. Kazuo walked along, a few steps behind him.

Chichiri looked into the mirror and immediately saw what was wrong.

"Focus in on Suzaku's quadrant," he told the mirror.

Only the seven constellations of Suzaku appeared within the mirror now, his being the first one to appear if one was going clockwise around the celestial circle. Yet, the stars that made up his star pattern flickered. Once. . .twice. . .then a wave of pure blackness passed over them and they were no more. Chichiri's legs gave out under him as the last of his Seishi strength left him. This feeling was very different from when Suzaku had been sealed. The very stars that gave him strength no longer held their place in the sky.

"Show me all the quadrants."

The mirror backed up until all twenty-eight celestial constellations were visible. His sign was gone, the first of Suzaku's signs, as was the first sign of Byakko. However, the first constellation of Genbu, which belonged to Hikitsu, shined all the more, as if fighting off the darkness which 

came and went, threatening to take it. So did the first sign pattern of Seiryuu. Both of these signs were immune to the darkness that claimed his strength.

"Chichiri," he heard from behind him.

The monk looked over his shoulder and found that Hotohori was there with him again. The emperor wore a look of pure concern on his face as he approached his friend.

"Are you okay?"

"For now, Hotohori-sama," Chichiri replied. "I'm afraid that things are growing darker. Take a look at the mirror."

"In a moment. I must tell you of what is happening to Miaka and the others. Miaka used your powers in her world. Can you still use them?"

"No, I cannot. They have been taken from me. Look at the stars."

Hotohori, with some guidance, saw what was going on with the star patterns that made up the powers of the Seishi. His eyes went to the first constellation of Byakko and saw that it had belonged to Tokaki, then the pattern vanished completely from sight. If his memory was as sharp as he knew it was, Tokaki was one of the Seishi that aided Miaka in trying to obtain Byakko's Shinzaho. Perhaps Tokaki's powers were what allowed Takara to teleport the way she had. He walked closer to the mirror and glanced at the star pattern for Hikitsu.

"Hikitsu chose to be reborn into the other world as well," Hotohori explained, placing a finger on the pattern. "He and Genbu no Miko are alive in Miaka's world. That would explain why his pattern simply shines all the more. He is there to protect his Miko in her world."

"But what would that say about Seiryuu's first constellation?"

Both of them looked at it, then back at each other. The star pattern was that of Suboshi.