Author Notes: This is a work of fiction, written by Appaku and Alicia (alithealigator). Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase.


As much as his instinct told him to stay with his priestess, Mitsukake fled, first following the river, and then looking down to the cat running along side him. He meowed loudly. "You're not a dog, but can you smell Tasuki anyway? The red-headed one?" the doctor asked him in human language, not expecting any response. Tamaneko meowed again, then darted away from the river. Though skeptical, Mitsukake saw no harm in following. He didn't know where he was going anyway.

Though this wasn't a time to being playing games, he reminded himself.


Tamahome had not needed to drag Tasuki anywhere, as he was stepping fine on his own, so he was alerted when he felt him get heavier. The warrior mad no audible complaint, but his jaw did drop a bit as another onset of pain stormed his body. The coppery smell got stronger, and Tamahome looked to him quickly. From his mid-torso, blood was pouring out profusely. "Shoot," Tamahome said under his breath and stopped to let Tasuki down so he could better see the wound. "Why is this happening?" he repeated as he fumbled to take off his coat and press it against Tasuki's chest.

"Not so hard!" Tasuki whispered harshly.

"I have to make the bleeding stop!" the other warrior yelled back. The more he pressed, the more Tasuki winced. To drag his eyes away from the sheer amount of blood, Tamahome looked up to Tasuki's face. He was sweating and miniscule tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. In some places he looked flushed, in others, like his skin had no pigment at all.

"Dammit," he murmured, then quieted as Tamahome kept struggling to help him. The more he did so, though, it more he noticed quite how serious a predicament his friend was in.


Miaka jerked as Tomo pulled his hand away. The Seiryuu warrior looked at his fingers carefully and waggled them a bit. "Hmm. No blood. The guy must be like a cockroach."

The Priestess's body shook in terror, imagining what she had caused to happen to her warrior. Her knees became weak, so she sunk, but Tomo still had a grip on her hair to keep her upright.

"Cover your ears!" She felt numb to the sound of Kaika's voice at first, but he called again. "Miaka!"

Right! I can't let him do anything else to me! As she held the sides of her head tightly, she screamed a bit; partly to block any sound, and partly to release her shock. Tomo noticed her actions, and fortunately Miaka's scream had startled him enough that he couldn't cover his own ears fast enough, and therefore, was left vulnerable to the sound.

"Aaauughh!" he dropped his hold on her and held his own head. "Stop that infernal noise!"

The problem with playing the flute is that you can't yell to someone to get away while they have the chance, so Kaika continued playing, though he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep Tomo at bay while still not harming Miaka with any of the sound.


The cloaked figure attacking the others still had not backed down. "We can't even get close to him," Nuriko wiped some sand away from his mouth which flew up at him during a narrow escape. They had been stuck in a high-stakes game of chicken. At least the attacker was only down to one meteor ball now, as Hotohori had been able to slice one off the tether. They found it curious that the attacker was so careful not to remove his hood, and perhaps more concerned about concealing his identity than about actually killing the warriors. This bothered Nuriko to no end. "It's as if he's toying with us."

"That's enough," a female voice said from a distance. The others instantly recognized the voice as Soi's, and before they could yell anything in her direction, the more mysterious figure had made a swift exit.

"What's enough?" Hotohori wondered aloud in all seriousness. Whatever it was, it did not bode well, so they took off in the direction Tamahome and Tasuki had gone before.


Mitsukake, not wanting to be weighed down by damp clothes, had stripped his coat off while following his cat, who would wait for a few moments at a time before darting off again. He was sure now that Tamaneko was leading him somewhere, even if he didn't know which one was Tasuki. The cat could probably have been able to pick up on the scent of blood somewhere and had registered a connection between that and where Mitsukake was usually rushing off to back home: the sick and injured. It would have been a fine moment to appreciate the things nature blesses different creatures with, he thought, if only he weren't in such a hurry. Soon, his own nose caught the coppery scent, and he spotted up ahead Tamahome and Tasuki, who was sprawled out on the sand. Tired as he was, his feet started moving faster.

"Mitsukake!" Tamahome jerked up. His botton lip was shaking and he was shamelessly letting a few tears fall from his face. "Tasuki, he's… he just shut up. He's not talking or saying anymore… he might… you might be too late."

All too familiar words. Mitsukake felt the color drain from his cheeks whenever he heard them.

"Come on," he turned his attention back to the silent warrior. "Say anything. Just… you can't be done! If you give up now, all of this is going to happen to Miaka. You…" he trailed off. Mitsukake knelt beside him, and before even bothering to take a pulse, he dipped his hand in the holy water Taiitsukun gave him and then tried to use it to heal Tasuki. The blood disappeared from the shirt Tamahome had been using to stop the bleeding, as well as from Tasuki's own clothes. But the warrior was still silent. The two other warriors waited… painfully.

He's gone, Tamahome let his head hang. It was as if an uncontrollable fire had just flickered out.

"Are you crying, Tama?"

"Why do I need to answer that. Of course I'm crying."

"Like hell I'm 'done'."

Tamahome and Mitsukake opened their eyes quickly to see the smug look on Tasuki's face, and then he burst out laughing. "Of course I ain't dead! But wow, I didn't know you could be such a sucker, Tama. You fell for it!"

"You… you just pretended to be dead!? That's despicable! I should kill you for that!"

"It wasn't even for five seconds, geez. Take a joke," he sat up and smiled just as widely, although he might have actually been covering up his own unease about how close he had actually come to death. He was now even more fired up to find Miaka and rescue her from whatever was going on. Before he was about to stand up, he looked to his other side and saw Mitsukake-- Mitsukake, who was wearing an angrier expression than Tasuki had ever in his life expected to see on the gentle man. "Ohh! Mitsukake… uh… didn't mean t' fool the doctor, too."

"You just barely owe him your life and then you go and scare him, too!?" the other one lambasted him. "What about before he got here? Were you just pretending to scare me then, too?"

"Uh… dunno what you're talkin' about there. I only woke up when I felt the water on my face."

"In any case, Miaka's still in danger," Mitsukake pointed to the direction from which he came.


Tomo noticed, despite the ear-splitting noise filling his head, that Miaka was started to get away. He turned back into a wolf's form and lunged for her, putting a deep scratch into her elbow which was sticking out as she covered her ears. She yelped and pulled her hands away, which forced Kaika to stop playing. Able to attack a full strength again, Tomo growled loudly and began to run towards her again, only to be interrupted by a wall of flames. The wolf quickly looked in the direction they came from, only to see Tasuki resting his tessen against his shoulder and letting the blood drip freely from his elbow. "I remember seeing this puppy before."

"Tomo!" Tamahome recognized him as he came up from behind him a little slower, supporting Mitsukake now.

"I don't care what his name is, he's dead meat to me."

"Tasuki!" Miaka beamed as she saw him.

"Get out of the way, or I'll be feeling this in the morning," he gestured with his chin for her to move. She scampered as fast she could in the sand, just quick enough to avoid the impending attack: "Rekka… Shinen!!" Tomo whimpered… but Tasuki had left him no escape from the flares, and the wolf perished. As soon as it was safe, Miaka ran to her rescuer's side.

"You're alright," she said with the utmost relief. "I was so scared. Then Mitsukake made it in time?"

"Barely," answered Tamahome as he joined them. "What do you know, the clown got to live."

"You're never' gonna let me live that down, are you, Tama?"

"Shouldn't you be treating us all a little bit nicer by now, Tama-kins?" asked Nuriko as he butted in and pulled on the said warrior's cheek. Hotohori and Chichiri were right behind him, quite relieved to see that everyone seemed alright.

"What was all that about, anyway?" the monk looked back in the direction Soi and the other person had fled. "It seemed like a distraction for something no da."

"Miaka!" Kaika snapped more alert at Chichiri's words. "The shinzaho!"

Her eyes grew wide. "They must have it!"


The Seiryuu camp had been a little less interesting. Nakago suggested Yui rest a bit after her frozen ordeal as they waited for Soi and the others to return with the other shinzaho. The priestess, as impatient as she was to get further out of the cold region, was quietly very pleased that things were already going so well.

"I'm glad you suggested that we go out and look for the Shinzaho ourselves," said Doukun and he placed a bowl of soup in front of her. "Things wouldn't be moving so fast if you hadn't."

"They hardly feel fast enough while we're waiting," she sent him a small forced smile. "Soup again?"

"There's hardly anything out here to prepare," he frowned.

"There's not much to do, either. What is Nakago up to?"

"Preparations for the summoning."

"Already?" she raised her eyebrows. "He did tell me to rest so that I'd be prepared for the summoning, but does he mean to do it out here? I thought we'd do it in the shrine back in Kutou."

"That would be desirable, but it's not imperative to hold the summoning there once you obtain the Shinzaho. Rather, we should be more concerned about the Suzaku warriors using our own plan against us by purloining the Shinzaho back, so they should be used as soon as possible."

"I understand, but," she gave him a unimpressed expression, "do you really think they're capable of that? We've usually had the upper-hand before."

"They're still celestial warriors and should not be underestimated."

"Hh-hmm," she pretended to acknowledge, but didn't care to think much of it. "What about Miboshi? What is he doing right now?"

"Oh," the boy got an awkward smile. "He's searching himself."

"In the Buddhist sense, or what?"

"The personality changes are becoming more troublesome for him. I've been trying to help, but…"


"Miboshi!" the boy had called out to his fellow warrior. "I managed to do some research about people with multiple personalities, and I may have found something that will help. I'm only going to ask you a few questions, alright?" he smiled and tried to hide a giggle while he hid what he was really going to do. So long as Miboshi answered in his true personality, Doukun would answer back, but if he used the other personality, he would ignore him, and eventually it would train him to only use the original personality. Perhaps.

"What a pointless idea," the other rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and rested his chin in palm. "Fine, go ahead."

"I'll start simple. What do you define as your occupation?"

Another eye roll. "I am a Seiryuu warrior who to defends my priestess and country, who," he paused, then changed his tone, "who destroys other people's lives in order to assist myself. Which is," he paused again and switched back to the previous tone, "completely justified."

Not exactly as clear of an answer as he was hoping for, but Doukun accepted it. "What about… your likes and dislikes?"

Miboshi grew an amusing smile. "I enjoy watching Tomo put on his make up. His deep concentration is humorous what with the result he gets." Then his face became more serious. "And I dislike being forced to do things against my will. Especially when it's against my beliefs."

Which one of those if the real Miboshi and which is the fake, I wonder? the boy struggled. Perhaps it would be better to try a more direct question. "If Yui were dying, what would you do?"

The subject forced himself to think before answering. "I would do everything in my power to prevent her death."

Once again, Doukun wasn't able to distinguish which personality was speaking. "What is your most important possession?"

Miboshi held out his prayer wheel but blurted, "My immortal soul. It's the only thing I have left, after all."

"That was almost a detached-sounding statement."

"I have no need for possessions. Nothing is truly mine anymore, I have nothing to call my own."

"Now that might be causing some of your problems!" Doukun got excited, pleased that his little game of psychology might have some results after all. "You have to make sure that you constantly reaffirm yourself that you belong to you, otherwise you naturally won't have any control over yourself."

"I try! I really do!" the other warrior imploringly. "You don't know how hard it is, what it's like to have someone else with you... Why won't he just fizzle out like all the other children!? It's like a tick. A tick that talks and won't stop talking."

Doukun responded with an air of deep concern in his voice. "The problem with ticks is that the longer you let them stay, the larger they become."

Miboshi furrowed in thought, then asked in a rational voice, "And you think it would eventually consume me?"

"It seems entirely possible."

"That's nonsensical," he screamed back irately. "He's only a little tick of a child, and I could never be completely overtaken by a simple child! Why would I even have this ability if I wasn't capable of harnessing it properly, like I have for nearly a dozen bodies? For decades? It's infuriating that you'd even think about an annoyance becoming anything dangerous!"


Yui chortled on her soup. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh," she said back to Doukun as he was recalling the previous conversion. "But it sounds like he did have more control of himself by the end, even if he was angry."

"It certainly sounds more appropriate of him, doesn't it?"


Miaka and her warriors, healthy although tired, charged through the sand, not questioning Kaika as he motioned for them to follow his directions. It seems wrong to use my sense of my brother's life force to track them, but what choice do I have? At least sometimes it's useful to be related to your enemy, so you at least know--

He tripped over his feet a bit as he thought, realization almost completely knocking him down. That's how they were able to find us and take the shinzaho! He was following me the whole time! He wasn't sure whether he was more angry at Suboshi for doing that or at himself for not noticing sooner.

"If they were only delivering the shinzaho, they're probably going to meet up with more of the other warriors no da!" cautioned Chichiri. "We should be prepared for another fight!"

"I'm up for it," grinned Tasuki. "They're already down two warriors."


"Lady Yui?"

She and Doukun jumped at the sound of a boy's voice, and turned to see Suboshi lifting the curtain door into the makeshift room. "We have the Byakko shinzaho. Soi is presenting it to Nakago right now."

"Oh," smiled the priestess. "Thank you, Tomo."

"Suboshi," his expression sank. "I'm Suboshi." His glance shifted over to Doukun who had been standing beside the table Yui sat at. "Oh. And Amiboshi's here. Don't you go anywhere?"

"We've been very busy here."

"Yes, we've already got the Genbu shinzaho as well," clarified Yui. "I guess Nakago will want to do the summoning right away."

"Wow, everything's been going so fast. We're barely even met," he said.

"I've been here long enough, that's for sure," replied Yui, much to Suboshi's chagrin.

"You still have time to make preparations yourself before the summoning," he continued trying to make conversation, now that he finally had the chance. "The Suzaku warriors- what's left of them, anyway- were on our trail. But you don't have to worry. I'll protect you."

Doukun nodded. "This is part of what we had been preparing for. Miboshi will meet them before they get to camp and distract them while the rest of us assist Yui at the ceremony."

Suboshi grimaced. Thanks for stealing my thunder. "Why distract them? Shouldn't he just use his demons and get rid of them all?"

"I suspect that you might not want them all obliterated," the other warrior gave him a sharp look. "After all, one of them seemed distinctly--"

"No! They should… the ones who know they're loosing will get away while they can, so they're not worth a second thought."

"I don't want Miaka to get hurt, either," frowned Yui.

In the pit of his stomach, Suboshi had a sinking feeling. Tomo had meant to kill the priestess, did he not? By now, he had to have--

Come to think of it, he couldn't sense Tomo's life force anymore. Shortly before he got back to camp, something felt strange, but he didn't even think of the wolf-man. Did the Suzaku warriors kill him?

Miboshi floated outside quietly, eyes closed in contemplation. With the same visceral knowledge as Suboshi, he opened his eyes again. They've killed Tomo. And they're headed this way.


Author Notes: Ha ha, psych!!