X. Baby Steps.

...Getting over hurt takes a long time. It's ridiculous to believe that you can get over it just by deciding to. Sometimes you slip.

Yui, Suboshi, and Ansu couldn't quite hear Tessou's part of the conversation, but from what Amiboshi was saying, the discussion wasn't going too well. He had changed to a defensive stance, and the circle around him had tightened. However, the only thing they could do was trust Amiboshi.

Trust.

That was something she hadn't done before. Or rather, she had placed her trust in the wrong person instead of listening to what her heart told her. Yui stole a glance at Suboshi, who was watching his brother fiercely. Suboshi and Amiboshi were her seishi. Could she trust them as much as Miaka had trusted the Suzaku seishi?

Even if she didn't think she could, she would keep telling herself yes. She would not fail them until she had actually failed them.

"Watch the Lady Yui, Suboshi," Ansu said. "I'm goin' to scout around the area."

"Don't call me Lady," Yui said.

"No one else around to notice," was Ansu's cheerful response before he disappeared into the foliage.

Suboshi caught her eyeroll and grinned.

"Don't you get started," she muttered under her breath.

He chuckled and focused his attention back on his brother, giving Yui a chance to simply study him and remember that right now, he was still alive.

It was such a nice feeling.

She had to focus on the now and ignore what had happened in the past. She knew what could happen, could prevent it.

There would be no third chance.

"What are you doing here?"

The two of them jumped guiltily and turned in unison to see a furious Touka glaring at them with her hands to her hips.

"Ah... Touka..." Yui smiled weakily. "Nice of you to join us."

"Not you again," Suboshi muttered under his breath.

Touka looked at Yui for a long moment, then finally settled on Suboshi. Yui followed Touka's gaze in time to stop Suboshi from tackling Touka to the ground. He hit her instead, and they rolled until they hit a tree, where they broke apart.

Ow. Ow. Ow. It took Yui a moment to reorient herself. She climbed painfully to her knees and brushed the leaves off.

"Yui! I'm so sorry!" Suboshi cried. He started to rush over, but Yui stopped him.

"What are you-" she sputtered.

"She was going to reveal our location!" Suboshi shot back.

The two of them glared at each other.

"No need for my dear sister to do that when the two of you did such a good job yourself," they heard a voice behind them.

Suboshi and Yui slowly turned their heads around.

It was the same young man Amiboshi had been talking to. Up close, he was even more intimidating. His long black hair was tied back with a ribbon. He had metal shoulder plates and a chest guard, with a black cloak reaching down to his knees. His hand rested calmly on a sheathed dagger.

"It's rude to stare," he commented.

"Tessou," Suboshi whispered.

Amiboshi burst into the scene and froze when he saw the two of them.

Immediately after, a good ten or so boys followed after him. All had their swords and spears and when they saw Touka sprawled on the ground, they pointed their weapons at Yui and Suboshi. Yui and Suboshi shared a nervous glance and put their hands up.

"I see you've found your brother," Tessou said casually to Amiboshi.

Amiboshi said nothing.

"Great family reunion," Tessou continued. He looked Suboshi over and smirked. "I thought there was something strange going on. So this is the real Shunkaku."

The fury in Suboshi's eyes was his only reply.

"Aaah, aah," Tessou said with a tsk. He flipped his dagger out and put it to Amiboshi's throat before Suboshi could grab his ryuuseisui. "Don't even think about it."

At a nod, three of the boys stepped forward. Two of them seized his arms and the third patted Suboshi down until he pulled out Suboshi's ryuuseisui.

"Not so hot now, huh?" Yui heard the boy sneer as he waved it in front of Suboshi. She felt Suboshi flinch, but he held his temper for his brother's sake. Then they moved on to her. One boy yanked her bundle off her back and tried to unknot it, but the knot was too tight. With a harumph, he squished it around. Satisfied that he didn't feel any weapons, he motioned for the others to begin. They didn't grab her arms, but two of the boys stood to the side in case she tried to resist.

Her shoulders first.

"She's just another dirty whore."

Squeezing.

Their hands, their dirty, dirty hands.

Patting down her arms.

"Miaka! Help me!"

"Arms out."

"We can have our way with her. No one's going to care."

She couldn't move.

"Miaka! Why aren't you answering me?!"

"I said 'arms out'!"

When Yui still didn't move, the boy shoved her arms away from her body and the other two boys grabbed hold of them. The first boy began to pat down her sides.

"Miaka!"

The heat from the boys' hands seeped through her clothes, and she gasped. Involuntarily she took a step back and would have stumbled if the boys' grips hadn't tightened.

"Leave him alone," Amiboshi said through gritted teeth.

"Oh?" Tessou asked. "Why do you care about him more than yourself?"

"Leave him alone!" Suboshi yelled.

They were with her. She wasn't alone. Suboshi was next to her. She could feel him. The cold knot in her chest loosened just a smidgin.

The hands left her waist and arms, and she was able to breathe again. Her head stopped spinning, and she was able to see again. Suboshi was flattened on the ground a few feet from her. A small trickle of blood dripped from Amiboshi's neck, and two of the boys were struggling to restrain him. She recognized that look in his eyes. It was the same one she had seen right before he had attacked the thugs. She wanted to tell him to stop, that she was okay, but no words came out.

She could only plead at him.

Tessou glanced over at Touka. She hesitated, then nodded. The boy backed off just enough to flank her, and another boy joined, but they didn't touch Yui again. Two other boys quickly bound Suboshi and Amiboshi and then the three of them were pushed into the camp together.

Without the trees obscuring their view, Yui could finally see just how bare and desolate the campground was. She forced herself to pay attention. More boys came out of the tents as they were paraded in. None of them could be older than eighteen. All of them had the black bandana around their foreheads. Some of them wore what looked like mismatched pieces of the Kutou military uniform. There were a few threadbare tents set up, and a campfire in the middle, but even she could see that the deer turning on the spit was not enough to feed all the boys.

It was a sharp reminder that these boys were not the same as the thugs who had attacked her.

She forced herself to take a deep breath.

This.

This was why she had returned to Kutou.

It wasn't just Amiboshi and Suboshi who had to learn to trust again.

No matter what dark memories she had of the place, she still had the opportunity to change all of that.

Nothing that had happened to her back then had happened.

Yet.

A/N: Please don't kill me. I ended the chapter here because if I didn't, it'd end up being way too long. There was a lot I wanted to put in this chapter, but I ended up saving it for the next chapter because for me, this realization that Yui had seemed too important to make it just part of a chapter. I wanted it to be the whole focus, and realizing that was really what finally helped me finish this chapter. Next one will move things along much faster.

I realized I have missing word syndrome. I went back and checked for any missing words, but apparently, I'm still missing a few, so if you spot any and are able to tell me, I'd really appreciate it.

Also, I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind reviews. I apologize for the delay in updating. I'm hoping to make them more regular again. I really want to thank AGrandMalfunction for helping me get back into the story. I also miss discussing fanfiction with harunekonya. I miss you so much!

Also! One more thing! Hi! Have two omakes this time! Next chapter I'll have a few more, since I ended up not going as far as I was planning to.

Fushigi Akugi: Seiryuu Saikaiden - In Which We Learn a New Use for the Ryuuseisui.

I've spent long enough away from this story that at first, I thought Suboshi's weapon was called a ryuuseigun. For those of you familiar with Nico Nico Douga... Yep. You can guess where this omake is going. If you don't know it, please do look it up and go to about 3:10. Credits to the original composer, Shimo, and Tarou for the original song.

x x x x

Yui stared at Suboshi. "What... are you doing."

"I'm playing the Ryuuseigun."

"...With your ryuuseisui. How. What. I. What."

Suboshi ignored her and plucked at the lone string he had strung up between two trees like a broken ukulele.

"Dan-jo-dan-dan-jo-dan-jo (fuu fuu)
Dan-jo-dan-dan-jo-dan-jo (fuu fuu)
Dan-jo-dan-dan-jo-jo-dan-jo-dan-jo
Jo-dan-jo-dan-jo-dan-dan-jo."

He sang. Mournfully. And tonelessly.

Yui shook her head. This twin had obviously been left to his own devices for far too long.

Fushigi Akugi: In Which We Learn That When There's a Need, There's a Super Saiyan

I will repeat. Please do not take anything written in the omake section seriously. Also, I had to actually research how a Super Saiyan works since I didn't remember. I'm still not sure if I completely understood it? Sorry, Dragon Ball Z fans.

x x x x

No.

No.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A burst of yellow light exploded from Yui. The power electrified her hair, and with two angry swipes, she broke free of the boys. She continued to scream towards the sky, her aura fluctuating in and out.

When the energy was expended, she opened her eyes and heaved a breath.

A ring. Of perfectly placed red where boys had once stood.

"Seiryuu," she cursed.

"No," the dragon god rumbled flatly. "Work with what you've got."

"But-"

"Good luck."