Chapter Ten
"I had no idea there was such a network of passages beneath the mountains."
As the group of dusty Suzaku travellers followed their enigmatic guide through the corridors and tunnels that took them deeper and deeper into the heart of an underground world, Jin glanced around him, faintly awed by the smooth carving of the rounded ceilings and the occasional glitter of something beyond stone set deep into the cold dark rock.
"You really know where we're going in all of this, Myoume?" Shishi put in. "Because these tracks all look sort of similar...and I feel like we're going in circles."
"It might seem that way, but we're not." Myoume paused, casting her a fleeting smile, although her indigo eyes were still harried and preoccupied. "This is where the mining used to be - a long time ago, when this land was rich in crystals and Sairou was a wealthy country. Of course, that made it a target, too - but since Byakko was summoned and Sairou gained peace and protection, the mountains have been exhausted of minerals and people have moved on elsewhere. There are still areas to the very north of the Kanin range where you can still mine successfully - but all of this area was vacated a long time ago. There are the odd fragments here and there...but that's all."
"They glitter sort of like stars in the night sky." Hikari murmured, gazing upwards, and as Jin followed her gaze he found that he understood what she meant. "Don't you think so?"
"It's funny you should say that." Myoume said evenly. "We're going to turn left at this next intersection, and then you'll see just how like stars the Sairou crystals can really be."
"What do you mean?" Shishi asked curiously. "Are we that close to the shrine of Kitora?"
"No...not by a long shot." Myoume shook her head. "It's difficult to keep track of time within the mountain, but I think it would be as well to stop and take a break before we tackle the most difficult part of the pathway and head towards Kitora's shrine itself."
"Do we have time to do that?" Hikari asked doubtfully, and Myoume nodded.
"Yes, I believe so." She agreed. "And it's better to take a rest in a safe place than in one which may become invaded by those you're trying to avoid."
"Kutou's people." Shishi frowned. "I guess that makes sense."
"So we'll stop, take on water and have a break." Jin reflected. "None of us slept very long last night, it's true, and walking in the desert takes it out of you. Besides, you look all in too, Myoume."
"Yes...perhaps I am tired." Myoume sighed. "Keeping track of him isn't as easy as it has been...not having the Shinzahou means I've had to work much harder than usual to find him."
"Find who?" Hikari demanded, and Myoume sent her a regretful look.
"Amefuri." She admitted, and Shishi's eyes narrowed.
"Why do you care where he is? I thought we weren't looking for him." She demanded.
"That is why I'm doing it." Myoume owned. "This path is such that, once you pass a certain point, there's little opportunity for escape. I'm not sure whether he knows the underground trackway or not...I don't think he does. But I'm keeping as close a tab as I can on his movements, just in case. He is a dangerous man - for you, certainly, an enemy. And I do not wish to lead you right into his path."
"So he's around, then?" Hikari asked softly, and Myoume nodded her head.
"I think that Kutou's men have hired him as a guide to lead them to my cave and the Shinzahou." She agreed reluctantly. "I'm not sure, but something that they said...I think it's so. Certainly he'd have no other interest in Byakko's treasure, not after so long disdaining this place and avoiding me. But he still hasn't come to face me - and I don't know what's in his mind. So if I can keep an eye on his movements, I can try to make sure we avoid him."
She sighed.
"The trouble is, I very much suspect he can use his skills to track my movements also." She admitted. "How exactly, I don't know. At present, he's not coming towards us. But neither is he moving away...so I must remain alert. And that takes energy."
"It must be pretty shit, having a fellow Seishi who's turned bad." Jin reflected. "Just imagine if Chichiri-san an' the Kashira were like that - at one another's throats an' all."
"I wouldn't like to bet who'd win that battle." Hikari said ruefully, and Shishi snorted.
"Kashira, of course." She said frankly.
"You're biased." Hikari reminded her, and Shishi shrugged.
"Realistic, too." She replied. "Chichiri doesn't believe in killing. Kashira'll do it if the need arises. That's the difference between them."
"That doesn't make Tasuki sound very nice a person." Hikari reflected, and Shishi shrugged.
"It's not meant that way." She said, unconcerned. "You know that I respect Kashira more'n anyone else. I just think it'd be that way. That's all. If Chichiri was our enemy, Kashira'd take him out. Especially to protect the mountain an' us...I'm sure of it."
"I don't know..." Hikari frowned. "You didn't see Chichiri, when Meikyo was in danger. I think, if he'd had a clear aim, he might have killed to rescue his daughter."
"Chichiri and Tasuki are the only surviving members of Suzaku's band of seven?" Myoume asked softly, and Hikari turned, shaking her head.
"No." She responded. "My father's still alive too. Tamahome. But he lives in my world - in the world my mother came from. She was Suzaku no Miko, and he stayed with her when it was all over."
"Ah, of course." Myoume agreed. "You are from the Priestess's world."
At that moment they reached their destination, and as Myoume led them inside, Jin let out an exclamation, registering the wide, open hollow that had obviously been used as some kind of hideout in the past. Smooth black stone had been carved into makeshift seats and a section of the area had been partitioned, as if to provide a sleeping area. In the centre was a small wooden structure that could have been a table, although it was old and roughly hewn. The ceiling was dotted with random specks of crystal, and as Jin ran his gaze over them, he realised that there was nothing coincidental about their positioning. Each seemed to mark out a particular design, separate from its fellows, and he turned, casting the Seishi a quizzical look. At his glance, Myoume nodded her head.
"The seven constellations of Byakko." She agreed softly. "Tatara. Karasuki. Subaru. Toroki. Tokaki. Kokie. Amefuri."
As she spoke each name, she pointed, and Hikari glanced across the cavern, a smile touching her lips.
"It's so beautiful, like the real night sky." She murmured. "And this was created...by the original Byakko Seishi?"
"I imagine so." Myoume sighed, sinking down onto a smoothed rock and indicating for her fellows to join her. "But I don't know for sure. I know the pasts and futures of many people, but my own is something of a blank. Or at least, Toroki's. I know that she is me, and that I am her reborn. That this place was once somewhere she came, because that's how I know of it. Sometimes I see fleeting pictures, when I'm here - pictures of people of the past, and a camaraderie that's just beyond my grip. But at the end of the day, I am not the Toroki who was born to fight for Suzuno-sama. Amefuri and I were born this time around to be Guardians of the Shinzahou - the treasure blessed after Byakko had been summoned and Sairou had been saved. I know the legends that everyone else in Sairou knows, but I have no real awareness of the real Toroki at all. It frustrates me to admit it - but these are things I can't see. It's as if, when I was born into this form, the memory of her past existance had to be sealed and suppressed to allow me to be Geiyo Myoume."
"I guess that's sort of like Dad." Hikari realised. "I mean, he's not Sou Kishuku any more...I've been trying to get my head around how he could be Sou Kishuku and Sukunami Taka, and how he could have lived two completely different lives. But maybe this is how. Maybe Tamahome...Sou Kishuku...maybe that got locked up inside him so that he could be with my mother and start a new life as Sukunami Taka in my world. So that things wouldn't become confused. Only...they have been, because he does remember. And I heard him talking about it - that before I...before I wound up here, he seemed confused about certain memories and things. I thought he was lying to me, at the time, but now I think...he was remembering someone else's life inside of him. And that...that's pretty freaky. When you think about it."
"Kashira says the reason he and Chichiri don't spend time with the reborn Suzaku Seishi is because of that, too." Shishi said thoughtfully. "That though they are the reborn warriors, and they have characteristics in common, they're different, too. And to live their new lives, they have to forget their old ones. So it's sealed inside of them...so they can be the people they are now. Something like that."
"I suppose it's a divine safeguard." Myoume said ruefully. "But either way, I'd like to know more about the woman whose life I once had. Even if just to know that I'm following the right path."
She spread her hands.
"I don't even know her real name, although I know she was a woman." She added. "It's shameful, but true. When I'm here, I always feel I'm not worthy of Byakko's mark. Because I didn't do any of the great things they did to protect Sairou. And even less do I deserve to be here now I've lost their treasure to enemy hands - but even so, it's a safe place to rest. Noone but Byakko's people know of it."
"Does Amefuri?" Jin asked softly, and Myoume shook her head.
"I doubt it." She responded. "And even if he did, he would avoid it. He has nothing to do with Byakko if he can help it."
"Then it really is safe here." Shishi decided. "I suppose that's why this place existed in the first place, then. As a safe haven for Byakko's people in times of danger."
"I think so." Myoume agreed. "We'll stay here a while, and then move on when we're rested. Time doesn't really exist underground, and it will be dark no matter what time we leave, so I advise you to get some rest - sleep, if you like. We have a tough climb up to Kitora's shrine, and as yet, I don't think Kutou are even half as close as we are. If I'm right, that Amefuri is guiding them...they're still above ground, and some way from here. It will take them some time to get as close as this, because on land there is not such a direct path...even if Amefuri has an idea where he is going, I don't think his knowledge is as exact as mine. And if he is following me, my stopping here will also hinder their progress. You have time to sleep, if you want."
"They won't come underground?" Hikari asked, and Myoume shook her head.
"No, I don't think so." She responded. "Not till they have to. These passages are confusing to anyone who doesn't know them instinctively. I rely on the fleeting whispers of Toroki's past memory to guide me through them. But then, the little I know about the real Toroki was that she spent a lot of time in the mountains when the crystal mines were at their peak. Maybe her people were miners - I don't know for sure, but I know this place was a second home to her. This base may well have been her idea - most likely she spent a lot of time navigating this territory, maybe even working in the mine herself before Byakko called her. In this I have a slight advantage."
"That's how you knew where you were going." Jin realised, and Myoume smiled.
"Yes." She agreed. "Even if I can't remember her life, I have fleeting things which must have come from her somewhere along the line. Those faint connections which tell me that I truly am Toroki reborn, even if I am not the Toroki who helped to save Sairou. That's why I take it so seriously, Byakko's work. She fought hard - she dedicated her life to Byakko no Miko and the protection of the West, at all costs. Because of that, I feel I ought to do the same. That she'd want me to...if she were still alive. To accept Toroki's duty and defend Sairou, however I can."
Hikari stifled a yawn, glancing across at the segregated section of ground as she did so.
"If it's really safe, I'm going to take a nap." She murmured. "Not for long, but..."
"It's all right. You do that." Jin assured her. "Shishi, you too - you're still recovering from your concussion, whether you want to admit it or not."
"I'm fine, you moron." Shishi cuffed her friend impatiently, shaking her head, but Jin was not to be easily dissuaded.
"Who's in charge of this little jaunt?" He retorted. "Do as you're told, Shi-chan. You look tired, even if you don't feel it. And you're more important to Kashira than any treasure we find...so don't argue with me, all right?"
"There should be blankets behind the rock in the furthest corner." Myoume flexed her hand, offering a smile. "It can be cold down here, even if it's hot up on the surface. And there's an underground lake along the hallway to the left, if you want to wash off some of the dust and dirt of the desert. It is cold - but it's pure water, from the mountain sources that flow through the core of the Kanin mountains."
"If nothing else, we should fill up our gourds from there." Shishi decided. "That first...come on, Hiki. To the left, Myoume?"
"Yes. First turning - you'll hear the rush of water as you go." Myoume agreed. "It'll refresh you - it's bitter and chilled, but stories do say it has regenerative qualities. Water is scarce in Sairou, so considered a gift from the heavens themselves...after all, rain falls from the sky, and the sky is linked to the heavens. And the mountains touch the sky, so they are the pathway between this world and that one. This is really a very holy place, you know...legend calls it the birthplace of Byakko himself, and that's how the peaks got their collective name...based on that story. It's probably why the Byakko Shichi Seishi chose to have their base here...it's certainly why Kitora's fang is sealed here, and it drew me here, too."
"How they got their collective name? Do you mean Kanin?" Hikari looked blank, and Myoume nodded.
"The name is written with the characters kan - meaning "heaven" and in - meaing "tiger". She said evenly, scribing the word in the dust as she spoke. "The character 'in' represents the stellar tiger, not the ordinary beast - because in many ways, Byakko is a stellar tiger. And the character 'kan' has a dual meaning - it can also read as 'drought'...a condition for which the lands of the West are famous. Do you read Chinese, Hikari?"
"Not very well. I mean, I'm only in middle school." Hikari admitted. "And we don't...I mean...Chinese isn't..."
She faltered, and Myoume grinned.
"It's okay." She said softly. "Many of the peasant folk hereabouts are completely illiterate anyway. You're probably better off than them...and you're a foreigner to this world."
"Sometimes I'm really aware of that fact, too." Hikari sighed, and Jin bit his lip, registering the expression in the girl's hazel eyes.
"If we had gotten Byakko's Shinzahou, maybe you could've gone home, huh?" He murmured, and Hikari started, sending him a surprised look.
"Jin?"
"I was just thinking." Jin spread his hands, trying to ignore the feelings that swirled within him. "That if we'd managed to get here first...if we manage to get the treasure from the Kutou people tomorrow...you could go home."
"I...I don't know." Hikari faltered. "I mean, I want to...I miss my family and my world a lot. But...from what Myoume said...if I went home, it wouldn't be a good thing. Would it?"
She cast Myoume a glance, and the Seishi shrugged.
"My vision isn't clear enough to really know." She admitted. "Yet. But it will be...at least I hope it will. I think you should stay here for now, Hikari - but that's just a gut instinct. It has nothing to do with Toroki's sight."
"Right now it's what I'm doing anyway." Hikari sighed. "It's all right. I'm fine. Really. Just sometimes I realise how little I know about this world."
"Well, there's time to teach you that." Shishi said firmly. "You're doing that wimpy Hiki moaning thing again. Come on, we were going to go clean up...so stop dawdling, will you?"
She paused, sending Jin a pointed look.
"You stay here." She added. "Washing is a girls only event."
"All right, I get it, I'm not a pervert." Jin held up his hands in mock surrender. "You guys go do whatever it is you have to do...I'm in no hurry to do anything but sit here for a while, to be honest. And I'm curious to know more about the people who took the Shinzahou - I ain't gonna come watch you kids strip off."
"We're not kids." Hikari protested, and Jin's expression became rueful.
"Turn of phrase." He acknowledged. "Sorry, Hikari. I didn't mean it how it sounded."
"He's hopeless." Shishi rolled her eyes. "Hiki, are you coming already? It'll be tomorrow before you know it otherwise!"
With that, the redhead forcibly pulled her friend out of the chamber, and Myoume let out a low chuckle of amusement.
"They are refreshing company for my cobwebbed brain." She murmured absently, and Jin shot her a sidelong glance.
"A little Shishi can go a long way, sometimes." He said ruefully. "But she has a good heart. Just much too much spirit for the average teenager...she'll never accept that she's only fourteen an' she's got plenty of time to throw herself into stupid situations."
"She's as young as that?" Myoume looked thoughtful. "I suppose she would be. I suppose Tasuki of Reikaku-zan can't be much older than thirty five or thirty six, even now...he was a young man of your age when he visited Sairou and collaborated with Tatara and the others."
"Yes, he was." Jin agreed. "And Shishi is his only child, so I take it pretty seriously, looking out for her. She's like my kid sister, unofficially...it's a hell of a lot of work."
"Yes...little sisters are a lot of trouble for an older brother." Myoume's eyes became sad, and Jin frowned, eying her quizzically.
"What's bothering you?" He asked. "Somethin' is, an' it's been doin' so since we met. Since before that, maybe. Somethin' to do with me? Or with Amefuri? Or both?"
"Both." Myoume agreed. "But there's not much to say on either subject."
She sighed heavily.
"Amefuri and I grew up together in the way you and Shishi have." She murmured. "He was the dearest person to me, when we were children. You have to understand that...the way he is now...it's not the way he's always been. What he's become...the evil that surrounds him...that's not the person I looked up to when I was small. I was a strange child...and I did things that unnerved others in the village. But when he was there, noone would hurt me. Because everyone knew that no matter what, he'd protect me. He always did. And then..."
She sighed, shaking her head.
"Things broken can't so easily be fixed." She said resignedly. "I shouldn't be troubling you with this...quite the opposite, I shouldn't be defending him to you at all. I should be warning you more of the dangers...you especially, of all of you."
"Me especially." Jin's eyes narrowed. "This has something to do with the way you reacted when you first saw me, doesn't it? I've been meaning to ask you about that, but I wanted to know when Shishi and Hikari weren't around to hear it. Whatever it was, it freaked you out. Now, maybe you know something deep and dark about me - you called me Rou Jintsui, and even though that's the name I was given when I was born, I haven't a clue if Rou is my real family name or not. That being so, I've never really used it. I don't know who the man was who sired me, and my mother changed her name as often as she changed her dresses, because she owed money in every town we went to."
Myoume sighed, shaking her head.
"I know you are Rou Jintsui." She murmured, running her finger across the dusty ground as she scribed the three characters that made up the bandit's name. "When Hikari and Shishi referred to you as 'Jin', I saw quite another character, and it threw me off my game a little. I don't understand quite why...but you are Rou Jintsui. No matter what character your name is written with...you are him."
"I am." Jin frowned, confused. "And I don't know how you can see kanji when you meet someone - that's sort of strange."
"My whole world is a strange place, Jin." Myoume pointed out, and Jin laughed ruefully.
"I suppose it is." He acknowledged. "All right. And I can explain why it was confused for you - I mean, if you picked up some kind of vibe about it, when Hikari and Shishi were talking. Truth is, my name is Rou Jintsui. That's the way it's written, just like you've written it there. But on the mountain, I'm generally just Jin. And because I'm quick on my feet, people assumed that that was how I got my name...like Kashira is 'Genrou' - the Phantom Wolf of Reikaku-zan. And Shishi is the lion...because, well, you've met her. You don't need me to explain."
He grinned.
"Kashira's woman, Anzu-sama, told me that my name means "benevolent opportunity." He continued. "But that's really not very relevant to who I am, unless you count the fact I was lucky enough to fall into Reikaku-zan's hands at a young age. Most people don't think of that, when they speak to me. They think of me just as 'Jin'. And on the odd occasions my name gets written down, it's written with the character for 'swift', instead."
He brushed it in the dust, then shrugged.
"Characters don't mean much to me." He added. "I read and write only because Anzu-sama more or less adopted me as her son and Kashira too...Anzu-sama taught Shishi her letters, and Chichiri-san helped. And then they taught me. For a lot of the bandits on the mountain, it's easier for them to remember just the one character that means something connected with the kind of bandit I am - as opposed to three which really don't. That's why."
"I see." Myoume bit her lip. "I understand. After all, I've lived a long time under the characters for Toroki, but my real name kanji means "Bright Eyes.""
"So now you know that, what is it that disturbs you about me so much?" Jin asked. "If it's something to do with my heritage..."
"No...it's not." Myoume shook her head. "Although I could probably discover the identity of your father by delving into your infant memories, it sounds to me like you already have a fine father figure in your Phantom Wolf, and you don't need information that will probably be of no benefit whatsoever."
"I agree." Jin grinned. "I've never cared to know who he was. So if it's not that...what was it?"
Myoume glanced at her hands, and for a moment she did not speak, just toying with the edge of her black glove as if she was struggling to find the right words to say what she wanted to say.
"Myoume?"
"It's hard." At length the Seishi glanced up, and from the melancholy in her seiran eyes Jin realised that whatever it was, it was something serious. "I...I've seen a lot of things in my life, Jin. Many, many visions. Many pictures that have yet to play out, and little by little it's like putting together a puzzle. I slot the pictures into place and make a full image...bit by bit I'm getting a view of everything in its rightful place."
She bit her lip.
"I have never yet managed to prevent a vision." She added. "Normally I don't try to - because letting them come means seeing others more clearly. But this one...I dearly want to prevent it. I just...I don't know...if I can. Or if telling you...will even matter."
"Telling me what?" Jin demanded sharply, and Myoume frowned.
"You have feelings for Hikari, don't you?" She asked softly, and Jin started.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" He demanded, and Myoume spread her hands.
"Quite probably, everything." She admitted. "I am right, then? You do."
"Yes, dammit, although they're none of your business." Jin snapped. "What do you mean, quite probably everything? What have you seen...what are you talking about? Stop with the riddles already - just tell me straight. I'm a bandit...I can handle it. Hikari's going back to her world, right? I know that...tell me something I haven't accounted for."
Myoume's brows knitted together, and in that instant, her seiran eyes seemed to become opaque as she gazed at him.
"In the shrine of Kitora, when the moon rises over the Kanin mountains, you will encounter the Celestial Warrior known as Amefuri." She said softly, speaking almost as if in a trance, and despite himself, Jin was unnerved by how detached his companion sounded. "He will threaten the one you care about - the one on whom all the hopes of this world rest. In order to preserve her life, you will sacrifice your own. You will not see the morning sun rise over Sairou."
Jin's heart stilled in his chest at this, and he stared at her, horror glittering in his dark eyes as he grabbed her by the wrists, giving her a little shake.
"Dammit, what are you talking about?" He exclaimed. "Are you friggin' serious? Snap out of it, Myoume, and talk to me! Tell me what the hell all of that really means!"
"What I said." Myoume sighed, closing her eyes as she returned to herself. "If you are in the shrine of the fang when the moon rises over Sairou, you will die. That's why we've stopped here, because I want to prevent you from being there...and it's why I'm so diligently tracking Amefuri's progress, too. But I don't know if I can stop this from happening. I can't keep track of time down here, with no view of the sky. I can only guess. And the truth is, I don't know anything, yet. And...most of all, I don't know Amefuri's mind. All I know is...that if you are in the shrine when the moon climbs in the sky, you will not see the sun rise again. You will exchange your life to preserve Hikari's. That is why I told you to do exactly as I say, and asked you to give me your word that you would. If I can prevent it, I...I dearly want to do so."
She swallowed hard, opening her eyes, and Jin was aware of tears in their depths.
"You, Hikari and Shishi have a bond that I envy." She murmured. "A bond of friendship - of team spirit that I have never known. I...I want to be able to protect that, if I can. You've been kind to me - warm, like we've become friends even in a short time of knowing one another. I don't want...this to happen."
"I see." Jin gathered his wits. "But if I stay here...if I'm not in the shrine at all...what then? What happens to Hikari, if I'm not there?"
"Will you trust me to protect Hikari?" Myoume asked quietly. "My power is stronger than you've seen...and I've not had a chance to use it yet, but if I have to, I will do so to defend her. I believe she is the one person who can protect this world, and I'll fight to protect her, no matter what the cost to myself. I believe Byakko won't kill me until I've served his purpose, so I'm not afraid. If I can keep all of you away from the inner sanctum of Kitora's shrine, I will...but in the event that I can't, Jin, you at least must not be there. If it wasn't that I feared you being attacked by Kutou's people if I left you to yourselves, I would be making this journey alone. Do you understand? You must not face Amefuri before the statue of the Tiger. If you do...not even Byakko himself can protect you."
Jin frowned, his emotions swirling within him as he digested her words.
"I gave Kashira my word to protect Hikari and Shishi with everything I had." He said softly. Myoume nodded.
"I know." She agreed. "And I know you mean that, when you say it. But I'm serious, Jin. This isn't a joke. I'm deadly serious. I've known for several years that a young man by the name of Rou Jintsui will face Amefuri in the shrine of Kitora...that blood will be spilt and his life will be lost. I never before thought it mattered, but now I know that it does. Even if it means I take longer to understand the other things in my mind, if I can save your life...I want to do so. So I've told you what I've seen...please, Jin, use this information wisely."
Jin sighed.
"If I can do as you say, I will." He said heavily. "I...to be honest with you, I...don't know if I'm really ready to die just yet. It might sound cowardly, but...it's how I feel."
"It's not cowardly. It's normal human spirit." Myoume assured him. "Noone seeks death, except those in the deepest distress."
"Right." Jin agreed. "But...Hikari's life...in all of this, she's more important to this world than I am. So I...I'll do as you say, Myoume. If I can. So long as I can stay away, I will. I won't pretend you've not scared me with this. And I ain't keen to go anywhere near the shrine of Kitora now you've told me that. But I gave my word to Kashira an' Reizeitei-sama both about Hikari an' Shishi. So...I won't break that. I won't let harm come to them."
He sighed.
"No matter what."
"You can trust me to protect them, if they need it." Myoume assured him. "My psychic powers are somewhat unpleasant, for me and for the enemy. But if I must use them, I will. You have my word."
"Then I suppose I'll have to do that." Jin offered her a faint smile, though inside his heart skipped a beat as he registered the solemnity in her dark blue eyes. "And let you take care of Amefuri."
--
"So, this is the area in which Kitora's fang is most likely buried?"
Hyoushin stood in the entrance to the underground passageway, frowning as he turned to glance at his Western guide for confirmation. It was later that day and, after a long trek through the dusty, unforgiving terrain, they had finally paused at a cracked cavern opening between the flanking slopes of one of the tallest mountains in the Kanin range.
"You are sure of that, Miramu? That this is the right area?"
"As sure as I can be, based on the little I know." Miramu said frankly. "These mountains are associated with Byakko a lot in stupid children's fairy stories that we all have to sit through as little kids. And this is the oldest and most remote area of the mountain range. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Toroki has come this way. Call it a gut instinct, if you like...but I have a feeling this is where we should be."
"How would you know where Toroki is? It's not like we've seen her." Kayu frowned, and Miramu shrugged.
"I'm an assassin. When it comes to tracking prey, I have ways and means you wouldn't understand." He said evenly. "The important thing is that this is where we should begin. But there are multiple possible avenues - it's a spider's web, beneath the surface. This mountain is known as the Spider's Peak, after all."
"Kumo-zan." Aoiketsu murmured. "I thought that was because it was so high...that it was called that because it looks like there are clouds brushing the peak."
He cast Maichu a grin.
"I guess this is your home territory, then, isn't it?" He reflected. "Spider's Peak. Maybe it's a good omen."
"Shut up." Maichu grimaced at him good-naturedly. "Just because you say my name means 'dancing spider' doesn't mean it actually does, you know."
"I think it's fitting." Kayu reflected. "You are like a spider, Maichu, when it comes to getting out of tight situations."
"I think that there are other subjects of conversation more relevant to the current situation than that one." Hyoushin said lightly, neatly preventing Maichu's retort. "And we should be deciding on the best mode of attack. I think, if there are many possible passageways, the best thing will be to separate into smaller parties...all of you know well how to mark a trail to find your way back should you reach a dead end. We will separate, therefore...and meet back here before the sun sets over the Spider's Peak."
"If we're underground, how will we know whether the sun is setting or not?" Maichu wondered, and Hyoushin arched an eyebrow.
"I would have thought all the training you've undergone over the years should answer that question." He said evenly.
"We're really going in there, sir?" Ouno asked apprehensively, and Hyoushin nodded.
"In pairs seems to be the best idea." He agreed pragmatically. "Ouno, you and Kayu will take one path. Bouri and Jakou, you will take another. Aoiketsu and Maichu, you will take the third. As for the remainder..."
"You and your pretty ghost girl can have some time to yourselves." Miramu interrupted, folding his arms across his chest. "If you're going to make me go in there, it's on the understanding that I work alone. Otherwise I won't enter the caves at all."
"Alone?" Hyoushin's eyes narrowed. "And you think I have trust enough in you to find that a good idea?"
"I don't care." Miramu said evenly. "It's the only way it's going to happen, short of slitting my throat and carrying my corpse into the mountain."
Hyoushin sighed, but he saw the steely resolution in the other man's gaze and he nodded, realising that he had hit a brick wall.
"Very well." He murmured. "But you are still acting for the Emperor of Kutou and if you wish him to pay you in full for your work, you will see it through to the end."
"I have never done anything else." Miramu assured him, bowing mockingly towards him. "You can have faith in that."
"Which leaves me with you, Hyoushin-sama." Suiko let out a delighted squeal, reaching out to grab Hyoushin's hand, and the Meihi pulled away, sending her a faintly irritated look.
"You can stop that now." He said evenly. "Or I will send you alone, too."
"Mean Hyoushin." Suiko pouted, folding her arms across her chest, and Hyoushin nodded.
"That's right." He agreed impassively. "And now it's settled, let's go. Remember, mark your way. And reconvene before sunset."
As the group of travellers fanned out into the network of tunnels, Hyoushin paused, his gaze following Miramu until the assassin was no longer visible. He frowned.
"That man is beyond my comprehension." He murmured, and Suiko snorted.
"He's a dusty, dirty westerner who likes blood." She said frankly. "You shouldn't spend so much time worrying about him, Hyoushin. I'm far more powerful than he is...if you want me to kill him, I will."
"I do not wish to spill any blood on our travels if it can be at all avoided." Hyoushin said pragmatically. "Irritating as Miramu is, I won't stoop to his level. But the sooner we acquire the relic of Byakko, the better. We can return East, then...and try to discover a way to raise Kitora's spirit."
"He will have a way." Suiko said disparagingly, and Hyoushin's brows knitted together.
"By 'he', you mean Miramu." He murmured, and Suiko nodded.
"Yes, so forget about him." She said bluntly, slipping her arm into his as they made their way along the narrow corridor, the Meihi marking their progress as they went.
"Will you not hang onto me like that, please?"
"I'm not hurting you." Suiko pouted. "Why don't you like me to touch you? Or don't you like women at all, Mean Hyoushin? Is that why you don't want me to touch you like this?"
"I have no interest in anything but the duty before me at present." Hyoushin said evenly. "And you should be the same. You are not a woman, Suiko, however much you may like to think you are. You are an assumed form from a splinter of ancient magic. That being so, would you please stop trying to play the damsel in distress? It is most trying, and not a true reflection of your abilities. As you said, you are more powerful than we are...it would be far more useful if you could put that power to our cause a lot more readily."
"You really are cold, hard, mean Hyoushin." Suiko sighed. "Mage or not, I still have feelings, you know. Since I've assumed human form, I've taken other things along with it. And you could be nice to me. Then I might want to be more helpful."
"I would be nicer to you if you stopped clinging to me." Hyoushin responded impassively. "I do not like it, Suiko. Release me."
Suiko frowned, but she obediently did as she was bidden.
"All right." She muttered. "But you really are horrible to me. You're nicer to that assassin, even though you say you hate him."
"Believe me, I would not have him within ten feet of me if his being here did not suit the Emperor's purpose." Hyoushin said pragmatically. "But there it is. I have my orders. And so do you."
"Hyoushin, did that boy truly open the seal on my shrine?" Suiko asked quizzically.
"Boy?"
"Kaiga Aoiketsu. Is he truly the one who retrieved the holy scale?"
"Yes." Hyoushin nodded. "Why? This troubles you?"
"No..." Suiko's brows knitted together. "But I want to know...he has Seiryuu's blood rushing through him. Is he...a Chosen one? He does not seem like one of Seiryuu's people, and yet...there is something about him..."
"He is not a Celestial Warrior." Hyoushin said frankly. "He is too old to be one reborn, and too young to be one in original form. Besides, Seiryuu's people are dead."
"No they're not." Suiko shook her head, and Hyoushin stared at her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Not all of Seiryuu's people are dead." Suiko folded her arms, a flicker of satisfaction in her blue eyes at having some knowledge the composed Meihi did not know. "And now you want to know who and how, and what I mean, don't you? Well, you should have listened to Suiko more clearly before, shouldn't you? When she was in the flame. I couldn't see as clearly then as I do now, it's true. But Seiryuu trusted his treasure to two Seiryuu Seishi - both before and beyond the grave. You knew that, didn't you?"
"Yes." Hyoushin frowned. "And that means...one of Seiryuu's original seven warriors still lives?"
"He does." Suiko nodded her head triumphantly. "Your Emperor doesn't know it, your pompous priest nor your dirty assassin. But I will tell you about it, Hyoushin. Because I like you. The one who wears the mark of Amiboshi lives in a village in the West of Hokkan. So now you know, don't you?"
"This became futile information, once the Shinzahou was retrieved." Hyoushin murmured. "But if Suzaku's men knew this...they went there before us...they were aware of Amiboshi's existance?"
"I suppose so. I don't care for men of the south." Suiko shrugged emphatically. "Or what they do."
"You're somewhat singleminded sometimes." Hyoushin reflected. Suiko nodded her head.
"Yes." She agreed, as if she was proud of this fact. "I am Seiryuu-sama's servant, and that is all. I have no time for those who serve the Tiger or the Phoenix. I only care about the Dragon. But you can't lecture me, Hyoushin. You don't care about any of the Gods at all. You only care to fulfill Kintsusei-sama's wishes...don't you?"
"As you say." Hyoushin agreed. "Which is why we're here. If we are able to locate the Shrine, Suiko, do you think your magic will be able to break through the seal?"
"It's not Byakko's magic." Suiko shook her head. "It's not the right key for the lock."
"Then we will indeed need to find Toroki, if she has come this way." Hyoushin's eyes narrowed. "I do not know how to do that, or to force her compliance without causing her severe harm. Miramu's cooperation relies on us sparing that girl's life - whatever his reasoning is, killing her is not an option. But..."
He paused, as the mage stopped dead, her eyes widening with surprise.
"Suzaku!" She breathed, and Hyoushin sent her a startled look.
"Suzaku?" He murmured. "What do you mean?"
"You seek treasures, Hyoushin-sama?" Suiko turned to him, her eyes glittering excitedly. "Something here is giving off the same heretic aura as that mirror you took from the girl in the cave yesterday. Something near here. Suzaku's taint..."
She faltered, and Hyoushin's eyes widened as he registered the implications of what she was saying.
"You're saying...Suzaku's Shinzahou...is here?" He murmured. "In Sairou? That of all places, Suzaku hid it here?"
"I don't pretend to know how that bird thinks." Suiko said disdainfully. "But I can smell the magic of Suzaku somewhere in these caves."
"Nearby?"
"Yes. Very nearby." Suiko hesitated, then she grimaced, rolling her eyes. "And that girl is here too. The one who had the mirror."
"Toroki." Hyoushin's brows twitched together, then, "Very well. We seek her, Suiko. If we discover Suzaku's treasure, we will take it. But our priority here is Toroki and the fang of Byakko. Which direction are we heading?"
"This way." Suiko indicated. "Follow me...it's not far along this corridor."
"I suppose your powers of detection are more defined underground, away from the hot sun." Hyoushin observed, and Suiko snorted, shaking her head.
"I sense the vibrations in the water of this place." She said frankly. "That's all. The water flows and brushes things, and then it tells me its story. It's touched the hand of Toroki and the magic of Suzaku in this cave. I don't know what that means. But I know it's true."
"Water does not usually speak, Suiko."
"Not to you, maybe." Suiko retorted. "I'm a little different in that respect. And besides, I'm being helpful, aren't I? I'm being nice? So you can be nice to me, too."
"All right. I suppose you are being helpful." Hyoushin sighed. "Lead the way."
"No further, Hyoushin of Kutou."
Before they could get much further along the passage, however, a familiar figure confronted them in the opening of the chamber ahead, an angry look in her seiran eyes as she cast him a cold, unwelcoming look.
"This is not a place for people such as you to trespass." She murmured. "This is sacred land - you have no business being here."
"This is quite another attitude from the last time we met, Toroki." Hyoushin gathered his wits, eying her thoughtfully. "The last time we spoke, you did not see much point in properly trying to fight Kutou's will. Are you foolish enough to try to this time? You know what we seek...will you give us the mirror, but deny us Byakko's fang?"
"You should be happy with what you've got." Myoume said softly. "Kitora's shrine is sealed to all but those chosen by Byakko. And I will not help you to open it."
"I don't wish to harm you." Hyoushin said quietly, and Myoume snorted.
"You need my blood to release the seal, so that's a lie to begin with." She said flatly. "I see many things, Hyoushin of Kutou. And I remember every face of every person I ever meet. The last time we encountered one another, your witch friend here called on the water in the mountain caves to disable me. But I didn't fight you, then. This time...I may. If you don't leave here."
"What are you protecting?" Hyoushin murmured. "Did you give me Byakko's Shinzahou in order to prevent me from finding out that Suzaku's magic also has some basis in Sairou?"
"Suzaku?" Myoume stared at him for a moment, and Suiko pulled a graphic face in the Seishi's direction.
"I can smell it." She said disdainfully. "Dirty bird magic and dirty tiger magic. In this horrible dusty place."
"Myoume, what's going on?" A voice behind the Seishi caught Hyoushin's attention at that moment, and the Meihi was aware of a young girl of about fourteen or fifteen, who suddenly stopped as she saw the strangers before her. Behind her came two others, both armed with swords and, from their attire, they were clearly aligned with some kind of bandit group. Hyoushin's eyes narrowed as he realised what this meant.
"Suzaku's people." He murmured. "You ally yourselves with bandits from Reikaku-zan, Toroki? Villains from the Southern lands...is Sairou then taking a political stance in matters it has no involvement in?"
"A political stance?" Myoume shook her head. "No. This is not about politics. It's a spiritual stance, if anything else. I'm not working for Kounan, nor am I helping Kutou. I want to protect this world - to protect Sairou. You have dark alliances, Hyoushin of Kutou. And whilst you keep them, I won't even speak to you of compromise or help. He is here - I can feel his life force running through the passages, although he seeks to conceal himself from me."
Hyoushin frowned, confused.
"I don't understand." He admitted. "But I do have Imperial orders to be here. Whether you find my presence distasteful or not is irrelevant. I must act according to the Lord Kintsusei's wishes. And he wishes to possess the Shinzahou and the fang of Kitora. You must know where the shrine is hidden...it would be easier for you and for Sairou to let us take what we came for and then leave. We wish to cause as little trouble as possible, but Kutou is in dire need of these things."
"Dire need." One of the bandits snorted. "You mean that your King is a greedy son of a bitch who wants to take control of everything he can reach? Kutou's full of disease and civil war, everyone knows that...you can't walk down the street without the risk of a neighbour stabbing you in the back. Why would anyone trust your people? After what your Shougun Nakago did to Kounan in the last war - why would anyone want to help Kutou at all?"
"Shut up, Shishi." The other bandit said quietly. "This is Myoume's business. Not ours."
"It is." Myoume agreed. "Jin, take Hikari and Shishi and take them above ground. It grows later - the moon has not risen yet, and if this place is no longer a safe haven for you, I won't have you below ground any longer. Take them both and wait for me...go back the way we first came and take the second left and third right. It will lead you to a sheltered place where you will be safe. I will take care of everything here."
"But..." The girl called Hikari protested. "We can't just leave you on your own!"
"I've been on my own a long time." Myoume said softly. "Please, Hikari. Go with Jin. Go together. I'll join you soon, I promise...just go."
There was a moment of uncertainty then, as Hyoushin watched, the older bandit grabbed both the girls by the arms, pulling them firmly back into the chamber beyond. As they disappeared, Myoume stepped forwards, slipping her glove from her hand as the character glittered forbiddingly against her skin.
"Turn back, Hyoushin of Kutou." She whispered. "This is not a place for you. This chamber has been blessed by Byakko and the safe retreat of his Seishi for a century or more. I won't have it tainted by the presence of thieves."
"You truly are a different person today." Hyoushin murmured. "What has effected this transformation? Is it because I now have possession of your treasure?"
He patted the bag at his waist, and Toroki's eyes narrowed.
"I knew you had brought it here." She murmured. "But I'm more concerned by the pact you've made with my older brother to bring you here."
"Your...brother." Hyoushin spoke the words slowly, understanding in an instant who she meant, and why Miramu had been so emphatic about avoiding contact with the Byakko Seishi. A faint smile touched his lips.
"Well, well. Geiyo Miramu is your brother? This is an interesting and unexpected turn of events."
"Yes, he is." Myoume agreed softly. "He's the reason you came to my cave. The reason you're here now. He's been following me, just as I've been following him. It's a game of cat and mouse. Yet you seek me out...why would you do that? Why would you need Toroki, Hyoushin of Kutou?"
She frowned, and Hyoushin saw a glitter of frustration in her indigo eyes.
"Why is it that you and I are fated to keep crossing paths?" She whispered. "I don't understand it - I just know that we are."
"Hyoushin is mine, not yours, you nasty tiger-worshipper." Suiko said darkly, but Hyoushin ignored her, folding his arms across his chest.
"You're the prophet. You can surely answer your own questions." He said evenly. "Though you cannot be ignorant of why I need your help...your blood to open the seal, as you've already said. You are the one with the key...and I must unlock the door."
"You already have the key." Myoume said coldly. "If you're too much of a fool to know it, then that's your problem. I won't release the seal on Kitora's cave except to take the treasure to a safer place than here."
She brushed her fingers together, closing her eyes as she ran the blazing white mark against her own skin. As she did so, a flare of whiteish magic shimmered up around her fingers, and as she thrust her hand forwards, Hyoushin found himself knocked back off his feet by a wave of disorientating psychic energy. As his thoughts swirled, he struggled to get his bearings, even as he heard Suiko call his name.
"I can hurt you worse than that, if you come any closer to me." The Seishi flexed her fingers. "Drawing on my own energy has limits. Drawing on yours gives me no such boundaries. The next time, Hyoushin, I will take your thoughts and your memories and I will drown you in them until you no longer know who you are or where you're going. Do you understand, now, what Toroki is? She is not someone you can mess with lightly."
Hyoushin struggled to re-assemble his thoughts, staring at her as he remembered fleetingly Miramu's words about Toroki's power.
"Like brother, like sister." He murmured, and Myoume's eyes narrowed. She shook her head.
"I pray not." She murmured. "My brother would kill you now. I will let you live. But trespass further into Byakko's territory, and you will regret it. You bear the slave's tattoo on your cheek, Hyoushin - I'm sure that if I was to brush my finger against your skin, I'd find plenty of ammunition to knock you out of your senses for a week. Don't take the threat idly...just because I'm a woman doesn't make me weak. Just because I let you take the Shinzahou, it does not mean I am colluding with Kutou or that I support your actions. And if I have my way, you will not get to the shrine of Kitora first."
With that she was gone, disappearing into the chamber as Hyoushin struggled to his feet, pushing away the hand Suiko offered him in assistance.
"I'm all right." He managed, half-wondering if he truly was, for for the briefest of instants his mind had been flooded with fragments of thousands of thoughts and memories, none of which had made any sense. He shook his head as if to clear it, rubbing his temples. "What witchcraft was that? Was it what Miramu said - that she truly can bring people to madness with such a power?"
His eyes narrowed.
"And if so, why did she let us take the Shinzahou so readily?" He murmured. "If she is such a strong adversary, why did she put up no fight at all?"
"Are you all right?" Suiko flitted around him anxiously, and Hyoushin nodded.
"I'm fine." He agreed. "You were unaffected by her magic?"
"She didn't aim at me, but I doubt something as nasty and kittenish as that girl would have had any effect on me." Suiko shrugged. "It's dirty magic. That's all."
"It's certainly not the most pleasant thing to have thrown at you." Hyoushin frowned. "And I do not wish to experience it again."
"Suzaku's taint has gone, Hyoushin." Suiko said softly. "Those children took it away with them. Do you want me to go after them? There was something about the one called Hikari that interested me - shall I hunt them for you, and bring them back with me? Would it make you happy, if I did that?"
"No..." Hyoushin frowned, then he shook his head. "We can ill afford war with Kounan at present, Suiko...we do not have the strength to defend against them at this time. And if they do indeed have a connection to Suzaku...well, it will have to wait until we're able to go into Kounan, I think. But that you sensed it...that's good to know. I certainly won't forget about it...it will stand further investigation, so do not forget their names."
"I won't." Suiko promised.
"More immediately, we've discovered something about our assassin that he's kept a secret." Hyoushin added. "Something that might be useful at some future point. Toroki is his sister."
"So what do we do now?" Suiko demanded. "Are we running away? Giving up?"
"No. We continue our search." Hyoushin hesitated, then he brushed his finger against the cloth bag that hung at his waist.
"She said we already had the key to the shrine, without her help." He murmured. "The only thing I can think of that she means is the Shinzahou, although I don't understand her logic in giving it to me if that's the case. Still, it is Byakko's. So it's worth a try. We keep searching for Kitora's shrine...after all, the Emperor is relying on us to retrieve these things on his behalf. Byakko Seishi or not, I will not let him down."