Again....
A story will be retold once more.
Over and over, with the same beginning each time.
But therein lies an ending with many possible outcomes.

Come and see what could have been.

Outside the Palace, Eiyou

"I need to get my hands on something I can sell." Sou searched his bag. There was nothing left in it. He had sold off what he could, or what they would take. Since hiring himself out as a body guard was all he had left, he had to try again.

"Good people of Konan, the streets are a dangerous place..." Again he began his pitch.

A pebble skipped from the road to the grass. Sou sighed as he kicked another. "Today is just bad luck. Usually there's someone to escort, or in need of a good guy to ruff up some bad ones." He sat down under a tree and plucked a sprig of grass to chew on. Or something to sell.

"...Please, I won't give over my child..." The plea reached his ears and his eyes shot open wide. A woman was standing in the ally way between the shop rows. The walls were high and narrow. Three men stood casing in an older woman. Behind her was a small child.

"Hey you" Sou shouted at the group, They turned. "Man you guys sure are ugly." Almost immediately, they came after him. One staying behind to guard the captive. A few kicks, a few punches, he took on the guys as they came while a faint red glow glinted out from behind his bangs. Not too long afterwards they were all, including the man held back to guard, lying twitching on the floor. Easy. Sou turned to the woman and child and told them they would be safe. The older woman thanked him in the best way possible, coins. Finally, someone with sense in this city. He patted the kid's hair and told him to take care of his mother. The child dug in his pockets and placed a small whistle in his rescuer's hand. He thanked the kid and waved good bye.

Sou studied the small gift he received and frowned, couldn't fetch much more than a few. Just then three large spears were thrust into his path. He Looked up to five guards blocking him in.

"Didn't think it would be so easy to find ya"

What could he have possibly done to get arrested? Bothering the guards at the palace? That's not basis for prison. Certainly it wasn't for rescuing that woman right? Remembering the incident with the foreigner earlier, he thought he may have a clue. The serious woman in red armor probably sent them after him for bothering her.

"Come with us."

"Wait, wait! What am I being taken for?" Sou asked in a slightly panicked voice. The guards just slapped on shackles over his wrists and pushed him along the road.

Two of the bandits from the alleyway walked up to the guards and threw smirks in his direction. "That's what you get for robbing my mother." One of them shouted over. The guards stopped and turned towards Sou,

"You're a thief, eh?" The guard nodded to one behind him, "So that's what this was about." He then looked over to the real bandits and thanked them. Sou stood, staring down and gritting his teeth. It would be no use arguing in this situation. The guard reached into his jacket and pulled out the small bag of coins he had just managed to earn. "Glad we caught ya when we did."

Imperial Palace, Kutou

The bars seemed to be mocking him; reminding him that no matter if he were able to open the cell doors he would always be a prisoner.

The Kutou general had rescued him as a pup and kept him in this dark cell for the last 15 years. He was by no means a small youth as he had reached his adult height at the tender age of 10 and had filled out into a muscular yet slightly dense young man.

He was large and hairy, more wolf than man and the last of his kind to boot.

The guards that fed him were terrified of him, sliding the massive trays of raw meat under the cell door and running away as if Seiryuu himself were going to strike them down. They feared him for his size and the animal way he would watch them as well as his apparent inability to speak. Little did they know that while he could not talk, he understood perfectly.

He understood when his master would come to him and send him out on a mission. His reward was always a pat to the head, a smirk and a "Good boy, Ashitare. You have done well," followed by an extra few hours away from his dreary cell in which to hunt for fresh meat.

The entire palace had taken on an expectant air as news of a strangely dressed female and two males trickled from the lips of the guards standing guard at the end of the hall.

His red eyes glowed in the darkness, his fangs almost visible in the near dark.

It was almost time for him to hunt a new prey; another girl dressed the same as the one who had come to the palace.

He could almost feel the pat on his head and hear the encouraging words falling from his master's lips...

He never failed.

Nakago woke in a foul mood, despite the girl's arrival. He had not slept well, only falling asleep a couple of hours before he had to begin the next day. The servants stayed well out of his way the entire morning. It was the misfortune of one of the soldiers to be overheard laughing about the new girl, and that maybe the Shogun could actually marry one of his own race and spare the true race his contamination. Needless to say, he was made an example of, and the Shogun's mood did not approve much. He spent the morning checking reports from the field, supply logs, and the other minute details of a Shogun's life. This did improve his mood a little.

Nakago dismissed his staff and sat brooding for a moment. This girl he was supposed to find would not be easy. He needed a special servant for this hunt.

He strode towards the dungeons, scattering soldiers, servants and random hangers on in his wake. "Ashitare! I have a mission for you." He dismissed the guards and unlocked the cell.

Ashitare's head came up as his master's voice drifted through the dungeons. Excitement coursed through him. He knew that he was to hunt today and now he was to find out who his new prey was.

The cell door opened and there stood his master; cape slightly askew, blonde hair mussed as if a hand had run through it in aggravation, and a scowl of irritation ghosting over his face.

Ashitare crouched low, keeping his hands on the floor to steady himself, and moved to kneel at his master's feet.

"Ahhgruuhhh," came his growl as joy spread through him. His master needed him! He was to hunt!

Piercing red eyes glowed with sick intent as he gave his master a slight nod and waited for his instructions.

His master needed him.....

Nakago looked down on the beast with a sneer of disgust. The thing should be thankful it was necessary to him, or it would be like the rest of its kind... That thought hit him squarely between the eyes and memories of his own situation screaming through his mind. He shook away the unwelcome thoughts and looked at Ashitare more calmly.

"You will pursue a girl named Miaka. Her clothes are foreign and she has brown hair and eyes. She might also be with a bandit. She should be fairly recognizable, even to you." He said coldly. "Bring her to me. She is your only objective; I care nothing for the others. If she means something to them, they will come to me. She is the key, and no harm is to come to her. Succeed, and you will be rewarded." He bent down to Ashitare's level. "Fail and you will suffer my wrath. This is imperative to our survival. I will suffer no failure." He hissed. "If there is any harm done to her, ANY, you will pay for it." He stood and turned away. "Now go. Bring her to me."

Ashitare locked eyes with his master and took in the foreign scent that lingered on his master's clothes, using it as a sort of lead to follow the trail left behind by his prey.

With a deep growl, he slunk passed his master to barrel down the hall and out his private exit.

The day was beginning to wane as he made his way to the borders of Kutou country before he stopped to gather a scent to lead him to his prey...

Ah... sugar and innocence tagged with cinnamon and fire. My prey shall not last the week. Master will be proud...

An animal howl echoed along the empty path leading out of Kutou country.

His prey had only days left... he mustn't keep them waiting.

Imperial Palace, Eiyou; night

Kaen had spent the rest of the afternoon hiding back in one of the palace's beautiful gardens, trying to read. Mostly, she brooded. She was still very upset that her rooms had been invaded by a male presence. When she'd finally gotten past that, her concentration was ruined by the brief conversation with the foreigners, playing back over and over in her mind.

Finally, she realized what was bothering her. Her foreigner, Keisuke, had mentioned his sister. His sister was missing. Perhaps she'd been spirited away to this land by the same mysterious force that had dumped Keisuke practically into her lap. That was what bothered her.

She couldn't believe that she'd been so selfish, so caught up in her own petty annoyances that she hadn't understood the fact that there was a lost woman in need of rescuing. Kaen shook her head and put down her book.

Well, she decided, if the girl were in the city, it was probably too late to go searching for her now. The Emperor, if he had a human bone in his body, would have sent people out to look for her. And while they couldn't possibly be as competent as an Amazon warrior, there were a lot more of them then there were of her.

Outside of the city, though, that was a different matter. Kaen decided that she would go look outside, herself. She knew there was a shrine to her Goddess in the mountains not too far off; she could head there and pray to the goddess for the protection of the girl, and maybe a hint at how to find her. And it would give her a chance to take a proper cleansing bath in a holy spring, to boot.

It was a good plan. Kaen put her book away and headed for the palace kitchens again. She'd need some food to take with her. And she'd need to borrow a horse. It was too late to go out today, but she could go out tomorrow. The servants in the kitchens were as agreeable as usual, but the horse turned out to be the trickier prospect. The man at the stables didn't want to just give her one. She'd probably need to get Houjun to talk him into it. Houjun would see the wisdom in her plan. He was quite possibly the only reasonable male on the palace grounds.

Feeling thoroughly disgruntled, Kaen headed back to her room. She realized her possible mistake as she was opening the door, but thankfully, it was empty. She wrinkled her nose. The room stunk. And her bed was rumpled. Feeling mildly ill, she tossed the bedclothes out and asked a passing servant for new ones. Then she lit some incense and got down to the serious business of cleansing the male stink out of the little place she currently called home.

It took hours before she was happy. She missed dinner, so she asked another servant to bring her something light, and some tea. A different servant brought the meal to her. Kaen ate and then drank the tea afterwards, trying to concentrate on her book once more. The tea was sweeter than she remembered, but it was fairly nice.

After re-reading the same couple of lines over and over and the words making no sense, she gave up. She was so tired, and she was feeling a little ill. Kaen marked her page carefully and went to bed, dragging her feet the whole way.

She did not sleep easy.

The angry man with his foul smelling breath.

Kaen moaned softly in her sleep, trying to curl into a ball.

Overhead, the stars were blotted out by black clouds.

Cursing her name, calling her a whore.

The air grew heavy and pensive, the wind picking up.

The man's hot, sticky hands, tearing at her clothes.

Blue lightning crackled through the clouds, not touching the ground yet. A growl of thunder followed, rattling the tea cup and pot still sitting on the table in Kaen's room.

Those hands...

Kaen struggled to break free of the nightmare, before the worst happened, and before the fallen angel showed up in her dream as well. She struggled wildly against some unknown pressure, her head aching and dizzy.

But the hands didn't go away. She couldn't break free, feeling so sick and weak.

"No..." Kaen managed to open her eyes. The room swirled with vertigo. Something was terribly wrong; she'd never dreamt like this, even on her worst days.

And then, in her swimming field of vision, she saw a face. A man, though she could make out nothing more with her blurry eyes. She felt a hand, worming its way between her legs. She opened her mouth to scream, and the man smiled at her, smug and sure.

The scream that followed was one of pure rage.

Lightning licked down from the clouds to strike at the roof of the palace. Kaen's room exploded in a snarl of blue light.

***

The night had been reassuring. Emperor Saihitei had given his guarantee that they would find Miaka and Yui, and everyone had been very helpful in giving them useful tips about the town. Dinner had been a strange affair. Dining with an Emperor intent on asking about his little sister, a boy who stared at them without speaking, the cheerful monk, and a concubine who still seemed embarrassed to be in their presence.

He'd gone to sleep still worried, but considerably less on edge.

Then came the crash of a neighbor's roof caving in.

Keisuke sat bolt upright in his bed. His heart was threatening to leak out of his ears. Eyes wide and frantic, he shot a look to Tetsuya, threw off the covers and jetted out the doorway, still in his red silk pajamas.

Tetsuya couldn't sleep. Dinner had been a rather civil affair, though he hadn't quite been able to get into it very much--the entire thing had been a blur to him, more or less, as he wracked his brain over the strange day. The irony wasn't lost on him--Tetsuya might appear cool and collected on the outside, yet Keisuke seemed to be coping to the day's events better than he was. In fact, Keisuke was sacked out back in the guest quarters right now. How in the world the guy could sleep when they were in the middle of Oz with no map home, Tetsuya had no idea. It was a trait that had alternately exasperated and amused him over the course of their friendship.

Then again, he couldn't completely blame the jitters or stress for his current insomnia. If his internal clock was correct, it was just past dinnertime back in Japan. The night was still young, relatively speaking, in Tokyo. Of all the things that Tetsuya had expected to assail him and keep him awake, jet lag, so to speak, had not been at the top of the list. The gods truly had a sense of irony.

That was why he was sitting in the reading room in the middle of the night, trying to puzzle out the historical texts through candlelight. There was a guard posted outside the door, and Tetsuya hadn't missed the curious yet wary look the man had given him when he'd asked in. He couldn't blame the man--who in their right mind would ask access to the public archives in the middle of the night?

Tetsuya leaned back in his chair and tiredly rubbed his eyes. His shades were dangling over the edge of the table, having been long abandoned as being impractical for reading in this atrocious light. He hadn't learned anything very important, just official historical documentation about the rise of the nation and its development. Nothing on the Priestess of the Phoenix, unfortunately.

He grimaced, massaging a crick in his neck, and was reaching for a new scroll when an explosion thundered through the palace, loud enough to rattle the lamps and send his shades clattering to the floor. Tetsuya bolted from his chair as shouts of alarm sounded outside the door. What in the world was going on? He snatched up his shades, jammed them back on his face, and made for the exit.

It wasn't much better outside. Guards and servants were frantically scurrying to and fro, exchanging hasty and inconclusive inquiries. Tetsuya grabbed one of them. "What's going on?"

The servant shook his head, shrugged out of his grip, and continued racing down the corridor. Tetsuya looked around. He could either stay here, or he could try to return to the guest quarters he was sharing with Keisuke. Or, he mused as he spied the majority of guards streaming in one particular direction, he could go see what that giant boom had been about. Knowing Keisuke, the guy would probably go see what was going on too; Tetsuya might be able to run into his friend at the site of the incident.

For Keisuke, it was almost like his body was reacting on its own, or like he was still stuck in a dream. Once outside, he ran down the corridor, searching for the source of the problem. It didn't take him long to spot it... 'it' being a massive smoking hole where a guest room, just like the one he and Tetsuya were in, used to be.

And lying just outside the doorway...

"Kaen-san!" he cried, as he dropped to his knees next to her.

He reached down to feel for a pulse and waved his hand in front of her mouth for signs of breathing.

"Kaen-san," he called more gently, as he lifted her partially up off the floor.

Cradling her head against his shoulder, he peered into the charred mess of rocks and wood. It looked like a fire, or an explosion. His eyes fell upon the figure in the bed...

He winced, jerked his head away, and instinctively held Kaen closer.

"Hurry, get a doctor, get Houjun-san!" Keisuke yelled to a frightened servant nearby, but he servant seemed much too paralyzed to move.

"Please, somebody!"

She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. Her vision danced with block afterimages, her ears rang. She knew that she'd been thrown backwards, that she'd hit the ground, but not much more. At the moment, all the really cared about was the fact that she wasn't being touched any more.

For a few brief moments after the explosion, sheer relief allowed her to waver in and out of consciousness.

There was a dim babble of words. Someone grabbed her. She dragged her eyes open, but her vision was too blurry. She felt sick, and dizzy, and completely disoriented. Her skin felt too small for her body, too hot, and she realized that on some bizarre level, she actually kind of liked being touched right now...

That snapped her into something resembling consciousness. She still couldn't understand what was going on, or really see, but she could tell that whoever was holding her, they were male. That was more than enough for her.

She tried her best to shout out her anger again, but nothing seemed to come out of her mouth. She struggled weakly to free herself, but her hands didn't have the necessary strength to do more than scratch feebly at the person holding her. She turned her head to the side, encountering flesh that wasn't hers. Good enough. She bit down until blood began to fill her mouth.

Bastards, all of them.

Lightning licked across the sky, striking a nearby tree and setting its top ablaze.

"AHHHHHHH!" Keisuke screamed, as teeth sunk into the thin layer of skin on his chest.

He followed suit and bit down hard. With gritted teeth and shaking hands, he opened his eyes to see Kaen was trying to take a chunk out of him.

And was that blood? Ahhhhh, man! Okay, breathe, breathe.

"K-Kaen-san! It's me, Keisuke!"

He didn't make an effort to pry her jaws from his flesh, nor did he motion to drop her. He also paid little attention to the now flaming tree in the now visible courtyard.

He swallowed and controlled his tone of voice.

"It's okay. Everything's okay," he said as soothingly as he could, tears threatening to leak from his eyes as the bitter pain clouded his mind, "I'm trying to help you."

If anything, Kaen was being held more tightly. Panic began to war with her rage. She squirmed, bit down harder, and then ripped off a small chunk of flesh off of whoever she was biting. A nearby flash of lightning blinded her again, filling her ears with the roar of thunder. Maybe it was the taste of blood or the energy of fear, but it at least helped her find her voice again.

What came out wasn't an angry shout; it was unsteady and edged with hysteria. But at least this time the words could be made out. "Let me go, you bastard! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

Well. This was different; Tetsuya had to give the situation that. He threaded his way through the gathering crowd and got to Keisuke's side. Tetsuya could sense more than see the approach of guards not far behind him.

Options. Tetsuya could try to pry the woman off Keisuke, but he didn't want whatever had happened here to repeat itself, and he had a suspicion that this woman knew how to harbor a grudge if he ever tried to use force on her. Plus, he didn't want Keisuke turning on him either. So that was out.

Plan B, then.

"Keisuke!" he said, his voice knifing through the babble. He only hoped that Keisuke had enough presence of mind to notice him. "Put her down."

Tetsuya's voice cut through his brain. Yeah, he should probably---

"GAAAAH!" Keisuke screamed, as she bit even harder.

Tears flowing freely down his face, he at least had the presence of mind to gently place her on the floor, rather than flinging her like she was a venomous snake.

"Ahhh, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts," was his mantra, as he pressed his hands down on his bare, bleeding skin.

Luckily, she hadn't actually ripped any skin off of him, but she'd managed to tear a hole in his pajama top. He sucked in shallow breaths.

"I... I think that doctor thing, would be an even better idea now," he told Tetsuya.

There was a blast of warm air. He turned, and the raging fire reflected in his eyes. The blaze leapt wildly onto the rooftops. Soon, it would become an uncontrollable inferno. Everyone needed to evacuate. They all needed to get out.

He looked down at the angry woman beside him.

That'd mean transporting her too.

Guards rushed onto the scene, and without asking any questions, they motioned to grab the two foreigners.

Keisuke looked up at a burly, bearded man in armor, who had grabbed him by the elbow.

"What are you doing?! We all need to get out of here before everything burns dow--owwwww!" Keisuke cried as his hand was yanked away from its place on his chest.

Tetsuya's first reaction was concern. Given how Keisuke was behaving and the sight of blood trickling between his fingers from his wound, it was only natural. His second reaction was one of anger, directed towards the woman (Kaen, was it?). His third, oddly enough, was one of resignation--albeit good-natured resignation--at the realization that it seemed that he'd just been thrust into the position of caretaker once again.

Before he could do anything, however, a bolt of lightning crashed down nearby, so close that he felt all the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms stand on end. A giant clap of thunder rolled in almost immediately, and he winced at the blast of noise. Before he could reorient himself, someone roughly grabbed him by his collar and yanked him backwards. He flailed, nearly went down, and barely regained his balance. His indignant squawk or struggles were useless as he was man-handled out the room, and he glimpsed Keisuke being hauled out as well.

"Hey, what in the wor...erk!" Someone barreled into him, sending him crashing against the near wall. Tetsuya found his footing, pushed his shades back into place, and turned. Servants were hastily rushing in to battle the flames with pails of water. It was probably a vain effort. He shook his head clear and forced himself to reconsider his priorities.

Keisuke. Where in all the chaos was Keisuke?

***

Something startled Kourin awake, jarring her from her rather vivid dreams of days long past...

"Kourin-chan?" She groaned as she tossed herself to the left, crashing onto the stone floor below. Wincing, she wrinkled her nose as the stench of something burning - and her ears picked up the sounds of chaos.

"Great, just peachy." Eyes fluttering open, Kourin looked around as the other concubines were dashing around in mindless panic, gathering their various odds an' ends as several screamed, whilst others dashed outside, sobbing.

"The Palace is burning!! Suzaku has abandoned us!!" Wept one girl near to Kourin. "We're all dooooomed!"

"Yeah, Suzaku abandoned us, all right..." Kourin folded her arms as she casually changed into proper attire, pulling her long purple hair up. Frowning as the tension was rising, Kourin grimaced as she saw her 'mark' faintly shining, pulling a shawl over it. "Come on," She snapped at the sobbing girl. "We gotta get out of here. You can sob later!"

She grabbed the girl by the hand as several of the guardsmen entered the chambers and made her way past the doors to the huge courtyard beyond. Once there, she practically dragged the girl with her towards the palace entrance, where it looked like everyone else was converging. She caught a glimpse of one of the foreign men trying to fight against the surge of servants and other various people of importance. Guards struggled to make order.

"I wonder where His Majesty is..." Kourin murmured as she gently let go of the girl, looking around at the scene. The Palace had to be a done for, unless something was able to quell the raging inferno.

***

Houjun sprinted down the hallway toward Kaen's room following the screams and the fear and the rage that emanated from there. He had been deep in meditation when the first hint of something wrong struck him. It had been a tickle at the back of his mind and he had put it down to someone nearby having a particularly bad nightmare.

That was his first mistake. The second was freezing for a long moment when the explosion ripped through the night. The pain and hate that preceded it had cut so deeply into his trance that it almost felt as though it were his own. It had locked him in place for a moment, trapped in a nightmare.

As soon as he had pulled free he began to run. The terrible storm outside revived his own bad memories but he pushed them to the side.

Kaen-san....what happened?

As he came nearer he realized that others were running with him carrying buckets of water. Kaen's room was spouting flames. Houjun looked around quickly, trying to see if she had made it out safely. He spotted one of the strangers amidst the others who were trying to quell the fire but there was no sign of the proud warrior woman.

He glanced up at the sky briefly and decided to make the most of the storm. Closing his eyes, he reached up and fingered the bead that hung around his neck. The words that he whispered were soft syllables that were whipped away by the winds. After he was done he waited a second more before he felt the moisture in the air. It would rain soon if this were a normal storm.

Something tells me that this may not be the case, no da.

He looked around once more, searching for the familiar form of the Amazon. When she did not appear he took his mask off, dipped it into a bucket of water as a servant carried it past and replaced the damp item quickly.

Then he ran into the room, hoping only to find Kaen and get her to safety before the rest of the room came down on them. "Kaen-san!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the thunder. "Can you hear me, no da?"

***

The confusing roar of voices and thunder slowly resolved themselves into something a little more coherent. She felt much calmer, now that no one was touching her. But her skin ached and felt far too hot. It was just far, far too hot outside.

Kaen gathered herself and slowly sat up, keeping herself upright by propping her arms against the ground. Far too hot. If it would just rain, cool, soothing rain, the situation would begin to feel so much better.

As if in answer to her thoughts, the sky opened up and cool rain began to fall. Lightning still prowled through the clouds, but for the moment, it seemed content to stay there. Kaen turned her face up toward the rain, her mouth open, and drank it in. She felt so much better already. As the rain soaked her down, she thought she might even eventually feel clean.

With the feverish heat within no longer distracting her, the commotion around finally caught her attention. Men yelling. People seemed to be in pain. What on earth had happened, anyway? Then she picked out one voice, nearby, from the confusing mess. The foreigner that she'd given to Houjun. He sounded quite upset.

Wait a minute. She'd said that she would protect him. So, if harm was coming to him, she'd best do something about it.

Kaen dragged herself to her feet, reeling dizzily. The rain plastered her hair across her face, weighing down her already much abused night clothes. She caught sight of the strange hair of the foreigner. Someone was threatening him. It didn't really register in her mind who that might be - she was still far too dizzy. She shouted, "You! Unhand him!" at the foreigner's attacker.

Kaen was... She was standing up for him. Keisuke blinked. That almost made up for her biting him. The wound on his chest cried out in protest. Yeah, almost indeed.

The guards didn't look like they were going to back down, however. Despite her threats, she was still 'just' a half-dressed, almost drunken-looking woman. Oh, if they tried to fight her, there'd be an entire universe of pain awaiting them.

Just as the smoke was smarting enough to make his eyes water, the phoenix god must've descended, as the Emperor returned and had them freed. Houjun beckoned them down the hallway. But Keisuke wasn't about to leave until he was sure everyone else was safe too.

"Tetsuya?" he called, knowing he'd heard his buddy's voice before.

Waving smoke away from his face, he coughed into his sleeve and winced.

Aw man, I'm just glad she didn't get my nipple.

It was hard making out anything specific amidst the chaos, but Tetsuya persevered. No way was he going to abandon his best friend in this mess. Unfortunately, he couldn't do much from where he was wedged against the corridor wall just outside the room--if he took as much as one step from his current position, the stream of bodies scurrying to and fro would probably sweep him along in a random direction.

"Keisuke!" he yelled. Had that been Keisuke shouting his name? "Keisuke, I'm outside! Get yourself outta there right now!"

For a moment he considered diving into the room and looking for his friend, then decided against it. Between the smoke and the rising temperatures, it would be foolhardy. Tetsuya would give Keisuke a couple of moments to respond. If there was none, or if Keisuke decided to remain inside for whatever reason, then Tetsuya would charge in.

***

Saihitei was just settling in for a good night's rest when a rumbling sound echoed through the halls. "Are we being attacked?" He leapt out of bed and grabbed his sword. The hallway was full of people, looking worried, confused, and completely terrified.

"I will find out the cause of this noise. Everyone! Go back to your rooms, please. Guards, please ensure everyone in the halls have been escorted back." He took off towards the sound. Smoke and flame were coming out of Kaen's room. "You there!" he shouted to some of the guards, "I want you to take as many men as you can find and start bringing water to douse the flame!"

The guards took off in a hurry. They would be returning as quickly as they could, but would it be fast enough? There was yelling from the room. Saihitei ran forward and discovered a very out-of-it Kaen, the foreigners, and Houjun.

"This is no time to argue, get out of this area now! I won't have you dying of smoke inhalation. You there, let go of the foreign boys and get more water!" It was time to act the role of a leader, and he seemed to be succeeding. Pushing people back, the guards were coming with the water. They seemed to have found men in the palace willing to help. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Houjun! Grab her and get her out of the way!"

Houjun turned his head sharply at Saihitei's shout, nodded, and then continued his fight through the flames to where Kaen stood over Keisuke and the guard. The rain continued to fall, slowly helping the people put out the flames but in the middle of the room the fire still blazed high and wild.

He called out again, the smoke making his voice more ragged than normal, "Kaen-san! Keisuke-san!" He reached them finally just in time to see Kaen shouting at the guard. He grabbed at the guard's sleeve and caught his attention. "The Emperor needs all of you trying to put this out, no da," he yelled to be heard. "I'll get them out, no da."

The guard looked back at the rather imposing woman then back at Houjun's ash-covered mask before coughing and nodding his assent. As the guard ran off Houjun turned quickly back to the unlikely pair. "Hurry! The rest of this room could come down any minute on all of us, no da." He pointed the way he had come. "We can make it out through there, no da."

***

The loud sound was muffled behind the thick walls of the prison. Even so, it was enough to jolt Sou from his thin sleep on the stone floor. Groggily his mind tried to work out whether the noise had come from his dream or the waking world as two guards ran past his cell. He watched them fly by and blinked a few times to make sure he was awake. When his body caught up to his thoughts, he jumped up to the prison bars and strained to see down the hallway.

Nothing but empty corridors lit in torches stood outside the bars. There were shouts and stamping over head and another loud clap of what sounded like thunder. Then the smell floated in. A faint wood smell that slowly began to thicken in the hallway. Wood and… smoke, but it was too hot to be lighting a fire. His half sleeping mind finally snapped to the conclusion seconds latter.

Panic pushed through his veins when Sou realized he was trapped in a burning building and the guards had all run out.

"HEEY! HEEEEEEY! Get me out of here!"

His calls echoed off the walls as the smell thickened further. He stepped back from the bars looked desperately around the cell for something to break out with. Thoughts of Yuiren lying weak from hunger on the floor flooded his head. If he died here his family would be left to starve, his father too sick to leave his bed would never get medicine, his brothers and sisters left to fend for themselves. A faint jingle and heavy footsteps broke his building fear and he once again focused on the corridor. He snapped out an arm and caught the passing guard. The guard let out a brief scream and turned panicked towards Sou.

"Is the palace burning?" A silly question given the evidence, but no harm in making sure.

"...L...Lighting struck, Suzaku has been... A...angered."

"Let me out of here, I'll die if you keep me behind bars."

To Sou's surprise the guard shook his head.

"Are you MAD? The Palace is burning! I'm only here under false charges of pick pocketing. That isn't a crime punishable by death!"

The shivering guard again only shook his head and tried to yank free. Sou clicked his tongue in annoyance and reached for the man's keys. Once he had a firm grasp on the ring, he let him go. Finding the right key, he freed himself and ran out of the room.

***

The guard wasn't bothering her foreigner any more. That was good. Prompted by the sound of Houjun's voice, Kaen moved further from the burning room and tree. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around herself, stumbling as she walked if drunk, and shivering as the rain soaked through her thin night clothes. As if she didn't already have enough problems, her stomach was beginning to assert that it was very unhappy as well.

Confused by the numbers of people and the babble of voices, she headed slowly toward the garden, and hopefully a pool where she could... she just felt too dirty. She didn't want to think about it at all. She flinched and stumbled away from anyone attempting to touch her, concentrating on trying to get away from the mess and chaos.

That was it. His cue. Tetsuya's voice told him to get the hell out and that's exactly what he was going to do. Unable to see Houjun, and praying for his safe escape, Keisuke followed Kaen outside to the garden. He still hadn't spotted Tetsuya, so he decided that he'd look for him a fair distance from the quietly smoldering palace.

The open air helped clear some of the smoke, and wiping at his soot-covered eyes, Keisuke scanned the area for his friend.

Crowds milled around helplessly, their faces lit by the flames. The falling rain and the efforts of the soldiers were slowly combating the blaze, but it still crackled merrily away. The tree that had been struck asunder and the scorched grass beneath it were steaming.

Though he didn't see Tetsuya, he did notice Kaen, reeling and kneeling beside a pool of water. Without regard for his safety, he approached, but kept a fair distance from her in order not to startle her.

"Kaen-san, are you all right?" he asked.

He kept a lookout for Tetsuya and Houjun, praying that everyone had made it out alive. If Tetsuya didn't surface soon, Keisuke would have to go searching for him, but for now, he could check on his self-proclaimed protectress and look for his bud from here.

***

The scent of smoke was thick. After coughing out the soot he had collected in the short time inside, Sou drew in a long breath of the fresher air. Sou peeked out from behind a statue to survey the site.

There were a good number of servants and courtesans running around in panic, but the majority of the people had cleared out of the danger zone or were helping with the all-too-slow bucket brigade. He spotted the woman he had encountered before, even in all this confusion she was hard to miss. Standing behind her was the charge she had threatened to kill him to protect. Sou was glad they all seemed distracted by something; he didn't want to have another encounter with her.

Other than the two he recognized, from what he could see, things looked chaotically under control with no one paying attention to a recently emancipated prisoner. Taking this as divine intervention, he turned toward the palace gates and hoped he could make a clean get away.

***

As the Emperor ordered people about, he saw Kaen free herself of the smoke. A twinkle on her thigh distracted him for but a moment. This was not going well.

"That's it! I need everyone who is not Palace staff in the courtyard!" He began ushering the others outside. He grabbed the Monk by the arm and whispered "Watch her... watch her carefully."

He directed guards, telling them where to throw the water. The fire would be out soon enough, but how would he explain this? A candle perhaps... yes. A servant knocked over a candle and has been punished appropriately. No blame should be placed on Kaen or himself in that situation.

"Everyone, get outside! The flames will be out soon but try not to breathe in the smoke!"

Tetsuya hesitated for a long moment outside the room, torn between heading inside and going outside, when the decision was taken out of his hands as a servant stumbled into him, forcing him into the press of bodies flowing outdoors, and he was carried out into the courtyard. For a long moment, all he was concerned with was keeping his footing and preventing himself from being trampled. When he finally righted himself and tried to regain his bearings, he found himself standing in the courtyard, an island of calm amidst a sea of chaos and disjointed conversations.

He took a deep breath to center himself, and then looked around. He wasn't sure how he was going to find Keisuke in all this confusion, so he kept his eyes peeled for any familiar face: the Emperor, that monk who'd fished Tetsuya out of the water...anyone.

In spite of the rain still pelting down, Kaen reached down into the pool and did her best to splash herself with the water, murmuring prayers. Her aim was rather off, but some of the water got on her - not that it made much of a difference.

Someone was talking to her.

She slowly turned to look at the foreigner, squinting against the rain and dizziness. "I... I don't feel well," she said.

Her stomach had enough at that point. All illusion of preserving her dignity gone, she lurched to the side and threw up on one of the bushes.

Keisuke watched as Kaen attempted to splash water on herself, barely touching her skin, but giving the grass a good drink. He winced as she vomited into the bushes. What had happened to her? This woman did not resemble the fierce warrior who rescued him from a public stoning.

Kneeling beside her, he cupped his hands and dipped them into the water. Once it seemed as though she had cleared herself out, he cautiously offered her a drink.

"Here, this'll at least wash your mouth out, then we'll see about getting you out of here and to some real help, okay?" he said gently.

Kaen shuddered, fighting off another bout of nausea. Her mouth tasted foul, and she was so very thirsty. Carefully, she leaned in, grabbing the foreigner's wrists to steady herself and drank. Water had never tasted so good before.

The little bit of water was enough to stave off the thirst for now. It allowed Kaen to notice the fact that she was, indeed, touching the foreigner. Part of her rebelled in disgust, that she was touching a man. But that strange, feverish feeling that was making her vision waver and her stomach rebel forced her to realize that actually, it felt rather nice.

And it demanded more.

It was too confusing. There had to be some kind of curse on her, some sickness.

Kaen's fingers quivered, tightening on Keisuke's arms. Slowly, she moved her hands higher, her eyes wide open and staring. Her breath came fast, like she'd been running. "Please... help me..." She tugged Keisuke toward her.

Smiling softly, Keisuke allowed Kaen to drink her fill from his hands. Good, that'd keep her from becoming dehydrated at the very least. She sat still for a moment, and he was about to reach out a hand to steady her, when he felt her fingers wrap around his arms instead.

A wave of heat washed over his face. Her fingers were so soft... why had he expected them to be much rougher? Oh, that's right, 'cause she'd mainly used them to rough him up until now. He opened his mouth with nothing in mind to say, but it was all lost in her pleading. He let her pull him closer and use him as a support.

"Okay. It'll be okay," he said to both her and himself, "Let's get you to Houjun-san."

Allowing her to lean all of her weight on him, he rose with her to stand.

Luckily, it didn't take long to spot the monk's cornflower blue waterfall spray of bangs, and he walked her slowly towards him, careful to keep her from stumbling. He glanced back at the palace, where, with the help of the rain, the fire was finally coming under control. Though Houjun seemed fairly busy with that pressing problem, Keisuke stood before him, holding the sinking girl up.

"Houjun-san, Kaen-san isn't feeling well, is there anything we can do?"

Being that close to someone else made it very difficult to think. Kaen sagged against him, just the feeling of a body next to hers staving off the worst of the sickness for now, at least. She worked her fingers into his shirt to hold on, then beneath the rain-soaked fabric. That seemed like a better idea. Her body still shook, but it didn't seem so bad now.

It took her a few seconds to really see the monk as they approached him, but then just the sight of him shocked her into coherence. What was she doing? She was leaning against the foreign boy like... like... she didn't want to finish that thought. She quickly pulled her hands away and hugged her arms around herself, shivering again. Nausea surged through her, and her head pounded. She was tempted for a moment to shove the foreigner away, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stand on her own. The thought filled her with shame.

It had to be a curse. If anyone could help her, then, the monk could.

"Houjun," she said, her voice thick. "There's something wrong with me. Something very wrong..." A few hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

The rain intensified.

The rain was doing the best it could to soak the rest of the wood. Even if it wouldn't stop the fire now at least it would prevent it from spreading.

It took some doing, but Tetsuya finally managed to locate Keisuke. Apparently his friend was somehow entangled with someone else at the moment. He blew out a relieved breath and began making his way over to them. They were headed away from him, but their pace was rather slow, and he was able to catch up just as they reached their apparent destination: the monk who'd fished him out of the lake earlier this afternoon.

"Hey," he said as he drew near, nodding a greeting to the monk before looking at Keisuke. "Is everyone..." He caught a glimpse of the woman's expression and quickly amended his original question. "...in one piece?"

Because it was rather obvious just by looking at the woman that everything was, in fact, NOT all right.

Houjun hurried toward the pair and nodded a greeting as Tetsuya joined them. "Arigato, Yuuki-san, for bringing her, no da." After a quick glance at Kaen Houjun dropped his shakajou and reached out to help the shaken woman. "Kaen-san, you need to sit down, no da." He reached up and removed his mask, hoping that with it gone she might heed his advice. He considered the two foreigners only for a moment before deciding that Kaen's state of mind had to come first. He would answer questions about his face later, should they have any. Blinking his eye against the rain he reached out his other hand toward her.

This is all connected to her somehow. I need to find out why, no da. First though, I need her to sit so I can help calm her...

Kaen was reaching out to take Houjun's hand when another wave of sickness hit her. She dropped abruptly to her knees, clutching her arms against her stomach as she fought the urge to vomit again. The feverish feeling intensified, and she began to shiver violently.

For a moment, she could only shake her head, unable to speak at all.

"I feel very sick," she finally managed. "Very sick."

Keisuke couldn't keep himself from staring at Houjun. Who knew that underneath that eternal smile there lived a permanent scar. He snapped back to 'reality' when Kaen collapsed. He stood behind her, watching her tremble in the rain. He wished he still had his jacket to offer her, or anything at all he could do. He felt compelled to sit beside her, to hold her and offer her whatever warmth he could, but this would more likely put him in the way than help.

Instead, he stood quietly in his soaking wet red pajamas, and turned a concerned look to Tetsuya.

A mask. The monk had been wearing a mask all along. Who'd have thought? Tetsuya couldn't blame him, though he wondered if the mask was purely for aesthetic reasons. The man was a monk, after all, and monks weren't supposed to care much about the material world and what others thought of them.

Tetsuya mentally shrugged. It was neither the time nor place to ask about the mask, and besides, it really wasn't that important of a matter right now. On top of that, it would be just downright rude. Instead, Tetsuya watched, silent but concerned, as the monk tended to the woman.

"What happened?" he asked Keisuke off the other's look.

Keisuke shook his head at Tetsuya.

Truth was, he had no idea what was wrong with Kaen. What had happened in her room, moments before the explosion occurred? Was she poisoned? Did she catch a disease? Or was she just so stressed she'd made herself sick?

Raindrops ran down his frown. He turned his eyes to Houjun expectantly.

Houjun looked up at Keisuke and Tetsuya and gave a small smile. They had kept their reactions to his face rather calm. He appreciated that and wondered if where they came from people with such scars might be more common place. If so, he hoped it was for different reasons than his.

"Yuuki-san, when this is over would you mind telling me everything that you saw, no da? You too, Kawajiri-san." He then turned back to Kaen and knelt next to her on the wet ground.

"Kaen-san," he said quietly. "I'm going to need you to take my hands, no da." He stretched them out, palms up toward her. "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help you, no da."

Kaen nodded. As many people as she'd come in contact with this evening, unwillingly or no, Houjun was probably the least offensive of the bunch. And she was just desperate for the sickness and feverish feeling to go away. She would have done almost anything. It took her two tries to reach even close to his hands. She couldn't seem to focus very well. She fought to concentrate and touched his hands on the third try.

Houjun gently held her hands and watched her for a brief moment to make sure she would remain steady before closing his eye. He blocked out the shouts that still echoed through the air, the rain that still fell steadily, the sounds of the two men marking nervous movements nearby. All of these he put aside and instead concentrated on the woman in front of him.

Using her hands as a connection he felt his into the tangle of emotions that surrounded her inner self. Carefully he moved though them, tasting the fear, pain, confusion, anger and others that swirled around him but no matter how gently he tried to reach through to her the emotions pushed him back. Then he felt a connection nearby. She was indeed linked to this storm. Unconsciously she was influencing it somehow. She doesn't know, he thought then moved that thought to the side as well. Later he would talk with her about that.

I have to calm her first, no da. Otherwise she'll never let me in to help with what is truly upsetting her.

Using every soothing technique he knew he began to try, calling to her through the thickness of the emotions. He needed her help to bring her back out.

Kaen-san...can you hear me?

Kaen's eyes narrowed. "Of course I can," she mumbled. "I'm not deaf." She closed her eyes against another wave of dizziness.

Houjun, you have to help me. This must be some kind of curse!

***

Ou felt exhausted. The children in the palace had been running about, scared because of the noise, smoke, and fire, and after listening to it for a while, Ou started to order them and get them in an orderly fashion. Perhaps mostly to quiet them down and get them moving in the right direction, but he was the son of provincial officials, and he had seen this done many times before. Right now, he was keeping an eye on the children while the nobles, courtesans, and other staff found and retrieved them. When they were all finished, he would have to try again to impress on His Majesty the importance of the prophecy.

Now that the raging fire was under control, Saihitei ran through the palace, looking for the foreigners, the Amazon, and the Monk. He could hear the whispers, suggesting this was a punishment for the appearance of the strange people.

It was a sign, forecasting the appearance of the Miko, and some people were beginning to wonder if she might not be a bad omen. While trying to catch a glimpse of his beautiful face, certain it would be smeared with soot and ash, the Emperor bumped into the boy who had just arrived.

Ou had finally managed to put the last of the babes back in their mothers' arms when he turned around and found himself face-to-navel with the Emperor.

"Your Majesty!" Ou dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming!"

"My apologies little one. It seems everything is under control now. I know you had intended to talk to me further. Perhaps I can find the time to do so with you now? The guards have things under control."

"O-o-o-of course, your Majesty." Ou was still very frightened that he was face-to-face with the Emperor. "It's about t-the prophecy. The astronomical tower in our prefect noticed an odd conjunction of planets a few weeks ago. We've been tracking it, and just recently, the planets came into alignment in a pattern that is recorded only twice in history. Both times, a girl descended from the heavens and saved the kingdom by summoning the god of the country. B-b-but the prophecy states that the kingdom must be on the edge of ruin for the priestess to appear. If that's true, say the masters, then we should be getting ready for war with Qu-Dong." In pronouncing the name of the country, Ou unmistakably identified the region of the country he came from. "I... I just don't want it to be true, your Majesty. But then came the foreigners, and the storm, and the Amazon, and..." Ou's visibly checked himself to prevent a long, panicked rambling, and realized that he hadn't let the Emperor get a word in at all. He pressed his forehead to the ground and apologized profusely for being so rude.

Biting his lip, Saihitei was hearing what he both feared and longed for. The priestess had come but was missing and the country was on the verge of ruin... What could be done? He took the boy by the hand, gently, and helped him to his feet.

"First, there is no need for you to bow in my presence. I shall prepare Us for war with Qu-Dong. We need to actually find the Priestess before any action is taken. You have been a great help to me, Ou. You've done well. Now is the time for the Seishi to appear and protect this girl from a distant land... If only we knew where to look. I must send Houjun with the foreign boys. They will be able to confirm if the girl is the missing sister, even if she's in common clothing."

He looked about in the smoke trying to find them. "I... don't suppose you saw which direction they went?"

Ou had noticed when Houjun had sprinted off in a direction somewhere. There was no way of telling if he was still along that line, but it was better than nothing. He pointed and began to walk in the direction that he had seen Houjun go.

"Forgive my boldness, your Majesty... but how will we find them? The constellation marks could be anywhere, on anyone, and they supposedly only come out when the priestess needs to be protected. And, if they're ill omens, wouldn't the Seishi try to hide those marks for fear of drawing suspicion?"

"Everything in time, little one. First, we need the Priestess. The Seishi will naturally follow. There will be an energy around her... an aura that the Seishi can't resist."

Saihitei's eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find the blue haired monk, but he wasn't having any luck. He needed to make sure the visitors were all okay. As he weaved and bobbed through the people, he decided he should learn more about this child-visitor. He could one day become an imperial scholar!

"You're very smart, Ou. You must be very brave also, to be sent on this mission to the palace. Why were you chosen?"

Ou blushed. "I don't know. It just felt like I had to go and tell you as soon as we knew what it was. Not many people approved, but since I was eager, they let me go. I think they expected me to get killed here, or something. Not to mention that the imperial exams are coming up soon, and so I'm going to have to study even harder when I get back..."

Ou spotted a flash of blue hair in the crowd. "This way, your Majesty."

***

Looking back quickly to make sure there were no guards attempting to restrain him, Sou caught a glimpse of the oddest thing he'd seen all day. The crazy Amazon woman was soaked and clinging to the one she had been trying to protect. If a tiger would have jumped from the bushes at that moment, he didn't think he would have been more shocked.

"Whatever." He tried to whisper to himself and turn, but there was something lingering in his mind about the strangers that so suddenly came into his life today. Sou stayed and watched as the odd-looking couple stood shakily and made their way over towards a strange looking blue-haired person holding a staff. His eyes narrowed as he tried to read lips and he realized he had chanced a bit more time than he could rationally explain.

His family needed him. If they caught him here it would be jail time again for a crime he didn't commit. Feeling an uncomfortable guilt, Sou turned toward the gates again and walked away.

***

Kourin was doing a good job of dodging the crowds that had formed to watch as the fires licked the rooftops of the inner buildings. She was looking for help - a doctor, or anyone else useful, for that matter. One of the girls within the palace concubine's quarters was injured as a result of the panic in the palace, and no one could tend to her. She'd sprained an ankle and it would mean death for any man, besides a doctor, to look on the bare leg of a woman belonging to the Emperor.

"I'll go find help!" She had snapped after the other girls had bickered and bitched about what to do. "The fires should be put out any moment and her ankle can wait. But I'll go out and look for a healer who can provide her some relief for the pain."

She had headed for a hidden exit that she'd used to explore Eiyou at her leisure, but stopped short when she heard a commotion in an alleyway it connected to. Slowing down and picking up her skirt a little to avoid dirtying it, she inched closer to get a peek.

"You owe me money, Myō Ju-an." A smaller man gestured violently at a rather tall, muscular guy, who was leaning against a couple of boxes. "You know what the price is when you lose a bet and can't pay." The smaller man gestured the sign of slitting his throat, snickering as a knife was unsheathed. "You may be a doctor, but you won't be able to save yourself after I get through with you."

"Crap!" Cursed Kourin, frowning. "If that guy's a doctor, he'll be able to help that foolish girl."

"Hey, I c'n pay. Jus' not righ' now." The doctor stumbled against the boxes, knocking them over with a loud crash. If it weren't for the fire, a crowd would likely have gathered to see the inevitable fight.

Great. I find a doctor and he's nothing but a drunk. Kourin chewed her thumbnail, trying to figure out what she should do. Letting a drunk into the palace was a bad idea. Worse still was letting a concubine remain injured when there was someone who might be able to help. She snuck out the passage to the alley and came out behind the group of four men advancing upon the one they'd called Ju-an.

"Excuse me…"

The men turned to look at her. "Back off, sweetheart. This ain't your quarrel."

The doctor was half passed out on the boxes. Pathetic. But she needed his help.

"Actually, the doctor is late for an appointment. He is required at the palace immediately. If you don't let him come with me, I'm afraid the Emperor will not be pleased. He will be paid for his work and can then pay you."

The small, noisy man sniffed. "He's had many chances to pay us back after jobs he claimed to have. Instead, he drank the money away."

Kourin looked at the doctor for reassurance that the man was lying, but Ju-an merely shrugged his agreement.

"Can't win 'em all."

Oh for Suzaku's sake…

"This is a legitimate job. You can see the palace on fire. Surely you wouldn't prevent me from…"

"From what? Helping a drunken waste of a human being get away without paying his debts? How do I know you aren't in league with him?" The men began to advance on Kourin now. "You go get us the money he'll be paid and we'll let you take him."

With their attention turned away from him, Ju-an reached down and grabbed the empty sake bottle lying beside his foot. Moving faster than a drunk should, he grabbed the man who'd been threatening him before and smashed him over the head. The body crumpled in his grasp and he let it fall to the ground.

It had seemed like a good idea, but now the other three didn't seem so happy.

Kourin gasped. Now they were going to think she was an accomplice for sure!

"HEY YOU!" The whistle of an Imperial Guard's alarm brought her back to her senses.

Turning away from the approaching guards, Kourin did what anyone in a mad panic would do....

"Run for it Ju-an!" She yelled, grabbing the taller man by the arm and dragging him away into the night.

Suzaku-sama, if we make it out of this one, I'll personally give you my thanks one day.

"Okay, now where in the hell is y'all takin' me?" Ju-an panted. He glanced behind him at the guards and bookies running after them.

If I wasn't so drunk I'd really be worried about what's goin' on.

Kourin was furious, but getting away was more important right now. She dragged Ju-an through the many Hutongs, desperate to get away from the trouble without being recognized as one of the Emperor's concubines. If that little secret were known, she'd have to leave the palace at once!

They had reached the stables at the entrance to town before she finally stopped running. Kourin breathed a sigh of relief when she realized they hadn't been followed for some time and dropped Ju-an on the ground. She turned to look at the tall man who lay in a heap on the ground, unmoving. "A useless doctor after all that trouble."

Dusting her own dress off, she sighed, shaking her head. "At least the guards gave up. It's not everyday you see a woman dragging a man around, is it? My name is Kourin." Bowing slightly, she grinned. "You must be Ju-an, right? That other man looked like he was gonna kill you. Are you in debt or something? I've never known that a doctor to be short on cash."

Ju-an shook out his head, trying his best to sober up and answer the nice lady's questions. "I'm not really short on money, I just have a little trouble paying my tab and my gambling debts in the same night." He pulled out a small flask of sake and chugged some back. He paused, realizing how rude he was being.

"Care for a swig?" He gesturing the bottle towards the girl. He was only fairly drunk and wholeheartedly intended to get even drunker before the night was through.

"Damn." Kourin cursed softly, biting her tongue. "With a second rate doctor like this I won't be able to help Rika after all," she muttered to herself.

"I can't get back in the secret way, and if I head back to the palace through the front door, we'd surely get caught by the guards and my reputation would be ruined! His Highness will never marry me at this rate!" Grabbing her head in frustration, she winced.

Breathing a heavy sigh, Kourin snatched the flask away and tucked it into her dress. The alcohol was the problem in the first place and she wasn't going to let this man destroy himself. But why did she care about a complete stranger so much? This weird day just kept getting weirder.

A sharp pain shot through her chest, sensing danger. She looked around quickly, trying to gauge where the danger was coming from. No sign of the guards and the men hassling Ju-an weren't around. What was it then? The pain was… red, as if that made any sense. She looked into the distance and her eyes focused in on the mountain.

Mount Reikaku… Why do I feel like that's where I need to be? If this is fate, I refuse!

She turned her back on the horizon, but the pull was still there. Urging her to 'do the right thing' and give in. Kourin finally threw up her hands in frustration. Heading towards a mountain that was famous for bandits might not seem like the smartest idea, but she wasn't really that worried. She was Nuriko under the dress and fancy hair combs; strength was her gift and no matter how many bandits came at them, they couldn't be a match for her strength.

"I can't explain it, but I have to go to Mount Reikaku. Did you want to join me or shall I leave you here?"

Ju-an's thoughts were fuzzy and he drifted in and out of understanding what this woman was talking about. He was too weak to fight back when she took his alcohol away and something deep down told him she wasn't the sort that would give in to threats of violence.

"All right lets do that. I ain't got nowheres to be," he slurred. "How we gonna get there?"

"I have an idea." Grinning, she grabbed Ju-an by the ear, pulling him to over to the edge of the building before he could protest. Staring at the stable yard in the pale light of several torches that had not been extinguished by the raging storm from earlier, she could make out only a single horse. "Let's run in there, take the horse, and make for the East?"

Before Ju-an could protest, Kourin in her rain soaked dress picked up her skirt and made for the horse, scaling the fence somewhat haphazardly, but with grace nonetheless.

Ju-an took off after her in hot pursuit. Despite his stumbling and zigzagging, he soon caught up. He was surprisingly agile for being drunk.

He helped Kourin up onto the horse, then jumped up behind her and held on as she took the reigns. Two sharp kicks from her heels and the horse let out a whinny before breaking into a run. She aimed the horse for the side of the fence that blocked them from the gate to Eiyou.

They both held on tight as the horse sprinted towards the fence, making it over in a single, glorious leap.

Ju-an smirked, slowly coming out of his drunken haze. The woman was a spitfire, to be sure. She might even be able to get them out of here and keep him on the straight and narrow. It still pulled at his drunken mind that she was a complete stranger.

"Who are you? Why didja help me?"

"Me? I'm Kourin. I don't know why but I had the feeling I needed to help you." The sun was starting to appear over the mountain line in the distance before them.

Closer to Kutou was not where she wanted to be when all these strange events had been happening. She knew she was Nuriko, a Suzaku Seishi, and that's why she had her super-human strength. If a girl had appeared then surely the legend was coming true and the enemy country would not be happy to find a Suzaku Seishi anywhere near their borders.

"So what's out East that's so great?"

She glanced back at the doctor over her shoulder. "A girl, possibly."

Ju-an broke out into a heavy laugh. "I thought you belonged to the Emperor? Don't tell me you're really…"

"Really?"

"One of those women who likes women."

She laughed and shook her head. "No, completely the opposite."

Feeling Ju-an shift slightly in the saddle, she smiled. "You're gonna have a headache by the time we even hit the forested areas. Try to take a nap... if you can..."

"I never get hangovers, and have you ever slept on a horse? If you have then you'll know it ain't easy."

An hour passed before Kourin decided to break the uncomfortable silence by chattering away, explaining her status in the palace, the foreign guys who had appeared from another world and how they were looking a girl. She also explained that she was supposed to go with these men to start a search in the city - and how a fire struck the palace before she'd met him.

Ju-an listened to her patiently, wishing for another drink. He wouldn't be much good to the Suzaku no Miko if she showed up now. Not in his current state.