Chapter XI. Affirmation.
...If I needed any more convincing, I would never be able to progress. I needed to be able to have faith. And above all, have trust in my friends.

"Get in."

The three of them were unceremoniously shoved into a dark tent. The only light they had filtered through the cracks and through the opening at the top. The boys who filed in after them proceeded to secure them to a thick pole in the middle of the room. Their upper arms were tied to the pole, and they were forced to sit. Loose ropes bound their feet, so that they were still able to move their legs if they wanted to, but not beyond the length of rope that was allotted to them. After checking that the knots were secure, they left, but not before giving Suboshi a good kick. He grunted, but said nothing in retaliation.

"What did you…" Yui started to ask, but thought better of it after considering Suboshi's rash temper sometimes. She wriggled in her bonds to see if she could get herself loose.

Nope.

But at least the ropes weren't too tight.

And… there were worse people to be tied to. The twins' presence comforted her. It reminded her that she wasn't alone. She didn't have to suffer by herself.

She had friends this time.

Yui sighed aloud. Well. The Basara boys were probably just holding the three of them here while they furiously argued over what to do with them. They didn't seem like the type of people to just execute prisoners, but she couldn't be sure. Passionate about their cause, but killing innocents? That she wasn't so sure of. She didn't like the fact that they still had her bundle, too. If they found her clothes, they might jump to one particular conclusion that she wanted to tell them on her terms, not theirs.

"I'm sorry," Amiboshi suddenly said.

"Not your fault," Yui said. She sideeyed at Suboshi, who harumphed and looked away from them. Amiboshi joined her. Suboshi ignored them and persisted in his careful study of the tent flaps. When they continued to stare at him, he rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Yeah, it was mine," Suboshi admitted. "I shouldn't have jumped Touka like that, but-" he grumbled something under his breath, which sounded suspiciously like, "How'd that crazy girl know I wasn't Aniki anyway."

Yui couldn't help but laugh. "You did say, 'Not you again.' That probably tipped her off."

"Oh."

Yui grinned. "It's okay. What's done is done. We'll figure something out."

"You have a lot of faith in people," Amiboshi said. "How..?"

She wriggled around enough so that she could turn her arms enough to take a hold of each of their hands and squeezed. Suboshi flinched, but he relaxed when she loosened her grip. Yui expected them both to pull away after that, but they didn't. Instead, Amiboshi and Suboshi reached around the pole and held hands so that all three of them were joined, and not just physically, but mentally. She leaned her head back against the pole. For the first time she could remember, she was deepening the connection she had forged with her seishi. Already they were beginning to trust her words and decisions, even though she had a hard time believing in herself.

The point of friendship was to learn together though.

She would remember this time.

How long they stayed like this she did not know, only that none of them wanted to break the circle. Yui felt a sense of inner calmness. Was this how Miaka felt about her seishi? They had been utterly devoted to her, even after death. She was not sure if she could build up as strong bonds with the Seiryuu seishi, but at least she had to try.

And not simply for the sake of being a strong Priestess.

It was so comfortable sitting there with the twins, just feeling them next to her, that she almost forgot that she was a prisoner. Yui had almost fallen asleep when she heard a soft humming coming from her right side. It gradually increased in volume as the humming turned into words.

"In a lull in the battle, a quiet town falls into a brief slumber."

It was a peaceful tune, reminiscent of the song he had played for her their first night. His voice was soothing and she felt herself growing warm inside.

"Underneath the distant stars, I entrust a prayer to send a melody to your dreaming self."

Amiboshi paused and smiled at her when he saw her looking. "A song to give us strength," he said.

"Aniki's songs are the best," Suboshi said. "I missed hearing them."

"Please continue," Yui said.

"Come over here, I'll hold your sadness, I'll embrace even your tears…"

Memories of Tetsuya holding her tight as she cried at night flooded her. For the first time since she had come into the book world, she missed him.

"Until you can forget all of your pain. "

But even if she went back, how could they return to the way things had once been? There was no guarantee that he would be there to catch her again. How much would it hurt to be introduced to him for the first time and have him not… recognize her?

"If strength is living in conflict, then I don't care if they call me weak."

She took a deep breath and allowed the words to wash over her. It didn't matter. Now wasn't the time to worry about her relationship with Tetsuya. She had to keep Kutou at the forefront of her mind at all times. True strength lay not in starting fights but in ending fights. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

"Why do people-"

There was the sound of a scuffle, then a thump. A curse, then the flap to their tent opened. Amiboshi and Suboshi's grips on her hands tightened and the twins leaned forward, their bodies tense.

A figure burst into the tent, waving his dagger. "Ansu!" the three of them cried.

"We gotta go!" Ansu urged. "They musta heard that!" The beggar ran to where they were bound and quickly sliced through the ropes binding them around the pole with the dagger. Amiboshi helped first Yui, then his brother, push the ropes over their heads. Then Ansu cut through the bonds on their feet. He gathered the ropes with a quick, "We might need 'em later," then he lifted the flap of the tent and motioned for the three of them to follow him. "Let's go!"

"No," Yui said.

Ansu gaped at her. "Ya crazy?!" He reached back for her and pulled on her arm. "C'mon!"

She resisted his pull and caught Amiboshi's and Suboshi's eyes, and they nodded.

"The Priestess is correct," Amiboshi said. "We can't just leave." He glanced at Suboshi for support, and his twin nodded.

"They're right," Suboshi said. "Basara wants to save Kutou." He pointed to Yui. "We've got the solution to Kutou's problem right here with us!"

Yui wasn't quite sure she agreed with his assessment, but she said nothing since they were both supporting her.

Ansu said a few choice words, but he didn't argue again. "Fine. What's da plan then?" he asked.

"We have to stop Basara and avoid more pointless deaths. Their plan is to attack the palace and kill the Shogun of the Kutou army," Amiboshi said. "Just what Suboshi told me."

Wait. Their plan was what? When had the twins talked about this? Basara couldn't-

"I tried to convince them to let me summon Seiryuu instead so we could have a peaceful resolution, but we were interrupted before I could finish," Amiboshi continued.

The Shogun of the Kutou army was Nakago. Was Tessou insane? There was no way they could take down Nakago. He would slaughter them.

"We need to talk to Tessou," Yui said firmly. She grabbed a hold of each of the twins and dragged them out of the tent. No way was she letting him do something as stupid as taking on Nakago. She didn't care if she had to reveal who she was, she could not let them sacrifice their lives so needlessly.

Ansu muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "Stupid, stubborn younguns, just gonna get caught again," then scampered after the three of them.

They were soon marching through the campsite. It looked a little past midday, and most of the boys were lying around lazily. All around them, the boys of Basara stared at the quartet as the would-be-prisoners walked brazenly past them. They were so shocked that only a few of them thought of jumping to their feet and rushing after them.

Soon, they had a small parade trailing after them.

Yui came to a stop before what looked like a war meeting. Tessou was squatting in front of a dirt map of what looked like the capital city. He had a long stick in his hand and was using it to point from place to place. Next to him was a dark-skinned boy with his hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"We can attack from-" Tessou said, then stopped when he realized who stood in front of him. He raised an eyebrow and slowly rose to his feet.

Yui stood face-to-face with the leader of Basara. "You will not do something as foolhardy as attacking the palace," she said. "I am the Priestess of Seiryuu, and I will save Kutou."

Tessou stared at her for a long minute, then smirked. "Prove it," he said.

A/N: It. It moved! The plot! Still going at snail's pace, but the next chapter will move things along a lot faster. Maybe at the speed of an ant now instead of a snail? harunekonya is so correct in that assessment of the plot. But I'm trying! I'm so proud of myself that I actually made things happen in the next chapter. Thanks to TheGrandMalfunction and Ludigle for helping me look over this chapter. For those of you who didn't catch it, the song that Amiboshi sings is actually... Nocturne! Amiboshi's image song! Lyrics are translated by Takayama Miyuki with a bit of adjustment based on my own interpretation.

Thank you for all of your kind reviews! They are great to read! I'm so happy you guys are enjoying the story! :D I'm as excited as you guys to see how the story will unfold, so thank you all for your support!

Also, so sad. I uploaded the chapter a few days ago, but I didn't actually save the omake (chromebook reloaded the page), so.. xD I had to rewrite it. I can't remember exactly how I did it now though. Oh well. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Fushigi Akugi: Seiryuu Saikaiden - In Which We Learn the Dangers of Wearing Stolen Clothing

"Prove it," Tessou said with a smirk. Then he noticed what Yui was wearing. He looked her up and down then gaped at Yui suspiciously. "Are those... what I think those are?"

Yui reddened and gulped. "No."

He leaned closer. "Are you sure, because-"

"No!" Yui squeaked.

The twins charged into the scene, ready to defend their helpless Priestess! "Get away from her!" Amiboshi and Suboshi shouted.

A flute song and the whirling of the ryuuseisui later, Amiboshi and Suboshi stared at the mess they had created.

Suboshi gulped. "Aniki, we probably should have aimed better when we tried to protect Yui," he said.

Amiboshi just sighed. I pointlessly alienated my little brother for three years... I'm sorry.