The Suzaku warriors continued to strive, but they were not as skilled in leading an army as Nakago was, and they were pushed further and further back into Konan territory. At Miaka's insistence, they gave up some of their manpower at the front to send troops on ahead to help evacuate villages in harm's way, but there was no way to care for so many refugees—all they could do was clear them out before their houses were decimated.

Juan had been staying in the sick camps while the others were on the front line, doing whatever he could to care for the injured soldiers. Quite often this meant carrying things and holding things for the doctor, but whenever someone brought in a soldier fiercely clinging onto life but unable to be saved by normal means, he used his powers to heal him, after which he would rest. This was starting to become a near daily experience.

His power hadn't gone unnoticed. Soon word was spreading, and soldiers would go the extra distance to bring their comrades to him, and soon he found himself driven to use his powers multiple times a day. As long as he could stay awake, saving people was as easy as it was gratifying.

Finally, there was a face he recognized. "Uncle Kouji!" he gasped as Tasuki came in, half-way supporting, half-way dragging his fellow bandit. He was semiconscious and had an arrow stuck near his collarbone. "You came all the way here like that?"

"The fighting isn't that far from here now, it didn't take us long," replied the redhead on behalf of his injured friend. "The wound is still fresh, so it should be easy t' take out right now."

"Right. That should come first!" Juan hastily replied, and cleared a few supplies off a cot on the ground. "L-Lay him down here, and—and—and we'll get that out! B-Be brave, Uncle Kouji!"

"Heh, you're the one who sounds like he needs t' be brave," he smirked as Tasuki set him down.

In utmost seriousness, Tasuki looked down into his face and asked, "Do ya need t' hold my hand?"

"I'll be fine, Genro. You just calm down an' help Juan here."

He took his hand anyway in a firm grip. "Okay. You just don't go anywhere on me."

As he stared at Tasuki's tense expression, Juan had a knot in his throat, but instinctively and slowly pulled the arrow out. Kouji growled in pain, but kept himself still. Setting it aside, the boy turned back to him empty handed. "Now I'll take care of—"

"Whoa, hey, whatdya think you're doin!" Tasuki snatched his left wrist. "Don't go wastin' your strength on Kouji here! He can heal up the old fashion way!"

"But we can't take the chance that—"

"We're not takin' any chances, now just go grab some bandages and—"

"Let go of me, Tasuki, he's bleeding!"

"Juan, sto—"

The boy wrestled past him and reached out to Kouji, using his healing power before either could say another word. Just as soon as Kouji's torn flesh returned to its previous state, Juan went limp against the older warrior. "Aw, Kiddo," Kouji smiled weakly as the warmth faded. "Ya didn't need t' do that."

Relieved though Tasuki was about his friend's condition, that merely freed him up to focus all of his tension on Juan. "What are you tryin' t' do to yourself, you little numbskull!" he shouted. "If you were gonna do that, ya should have at least used your water from Taiitsukun instead doin' it all yourself!"

"I'm alright," he smiled weakly and slowly sat back up. "After all, Suzaku has been summoned, so it makes me stronger."

He smiled as gently as he could muster. "Ya still shouldn't push it. Go grab your water an' keep it with you if you're gonna need your power for somebody—and that somebody shouldn't be somebody like me or Kouji." Juan didn't move, and merely looked to the floor with a deep frown, which irked Tasuki, and his gentle smile quickly faded. "Don't tell me it's gone."

"It's gone."

"You used it all!?" he yelled, causing Juan to flinch, and Kouji to lay silently and feel awkward for being the cause of an argument. "You idiot! Didntcha learn this the first time around? You have limits! What's more, you're a kid, Juan. Don't waste yourself away when you're just gettin' started! Your body can't handle it!"

The boy abruptly looked up and made sharp eye contact. "I'm still Mitsukake."

For a moment, the look caught Tasuki off guard, but he continued. "I know ya can't just sit by an' do nothing, and that's exactly why you should be who you are. Take advantage of your memories an' medical knowledge! You were a doctor, not just a healer."

After a pause and a blink, Juan smiled. "You're right."

"Course I'm right."As they heard sounds outside of frantic soldiers carrying their wounded allies from the battle field, Tasuki took a quick chop to Juan's head to knock him out. "But just because I'm right doesn't mean you'll listen to me. Shouka'll never forgive me if ya don't make it out of this war alive."

The officials in the palace were just as busy as the day the war started, but they were growing more and more anxious. "More refugees?" shouted Counselor Chou. "We can't handle any more here in the capital! It's time to close the gates and start sending them westward."

"And provisions!" added Counselor Shu. "Give them minimal provisions before you send them off!"

"We barely have enough provisions for the ones here as it is," the other dabbed his forehead. "Crops were no better this year. And at this rate we're going to miss this year's harvest season."

"Could we ask for aid from neighboring countries?" Boushin asked. He had been seated among the frazzled officials and listening, making few if any comments.

The counselors seemed surprised to hear so much as a peep out of him, and they exchanged frowns before responding. "I'm afraid we've been lax in dialogue. Even they'd respond to such a request, they likely have nothing set aside."

"I see."

"If you so desire, you could draft a letter…"

"No, I see that it was a bad idea," he answered and rose from his throne. "I will leave you to your discussions."

Walking through courtyard, he could see the streets of the capital city were filled with indiscernible crowds of people and tents; the smell of the air was heavy with smoke from campfires and inadequate sanitation. The number of soldiers left to manage them was growing fewer and fewer as they required more aid to the front line. The content of all the reports from Chiriko were all looking depressingly similar, and Boushin couldn't help but wonder why Miaka hadn't used a wish yet in such a dire situation.

But what if she did and it hasn't done anything to help?

He shuttered at the thought. Surely she was just holding off for a special occasion, or she was waiting for Chiriko to make sure her wishes wouldn't spell the end of the world—not that he would have time for such research on the battlefield. But one wish out of three couldn't hurt, right? He had told Miaka to save them and trust Konan to fight its own battle, but he was starting to regret those words.

He was starting to regret a lot of things.

As used to be their routine, Houki sat in Boushin's bedroom that night and rubbed his back softly to settle him off to sleep. Neither felt settled, however, as they listened to the rushed footsteps of sleep deprieved servants and officials and their shouts for things that needed to be handled right away. The royal family was quiet and stayed out of their way, melting into the walls if they could. Boushin could tell the officials were avoiding inviting him into any of the discussions, or even making eye contact with him for long. They no longer had the energy to be angry with him, but the broken trust was apparent.

"Mother," he broke their silence, "It was my curiousity that lead to this?"

She drew in a long, quiet breath before responding. "I will not answer that for you, Your Highness."

"I've hurt my people by being so stubborn. You had always told before, as long as there was peace, they would be fine…"

"Peace can mean a lot of different things, my child. It's not always what is best."

"It was better than this."

"You've only begun as emperor. You can't decide you've failed already—this is merely a challenge to meet."

"Hmm," he made a verbal response to be polite. That's only assuming Konan survives.

"We could try to mix ourselves in with some of the provincial troops—they'd be less likely to notice us," Yui offered in a strategizing session with her twin warriors. They were mingled with a refugee camp, but careful to keep their voices among themselves.

"If we're coming from that direction, Nakago is sure to notice our movements, and when he senses our life forces he'll know we're heading towards him," Suboshi tossed the idea aside as he motioned with his fingers on a map. "He's most likely in this stronghold, taking the vanguard position now. After he takes this base here, it will be an easy march into the heart of Konan."

"Then what focus would he even have on what's coming behind him?" Yui motioned, and her fingers bumped his. They both shied away at contact, pulling their hands back. At least they were willing to face each other now, which Kaika was grateful for. At first, he practically had to turn himself into glue get the two to interact and work towards a common goal.

Perhaps it was due the sense of fantasy that comes with being sucked inside of a story book, but Yui felt perfectly justified in making it her mission to strike Nakago's character from the pages. No one could be assured of their peace until he was dealt with. Nonetheless, something didn't feel right about using her last wish to destroy one of her warriors. "We're playing such a game of chicken with Nakago, seeing who can get close first without the other noticing," she mused aloud. "If this is what it's coming down to, then I may as well just call on Seiryuu…"

"I'm sure there's still something we can do, Lady Yui. Don't push yourself to do that."

"I'm going to have to use it eventually."

"So what you're saying is that we'd be completely out in the open if we came from behind him, right?" backtracked Kaika. "But he's probably more focused on the Suzaku warriors in front of him."

"Yes, at least there's that."

"If he's so focused, he wouldn't notice if we mixed ourselves in with the Suzaku warriors, would he?"

Yui grew a smile and could hardly contain a snort. "Are you saying you want to pass yourself off for a Suzaku warrior?"

"The forgetfulness juice did work on you, didn't it, Brother?"

"I-I didn't necessarily mean that," he went on, unsure what merited their reactions. "But there would be more to mask our life forces if we went at him head on, right?"

"I won't work with them," hissed Suboshi.

"You wouldn't have to. Kaika may be right—it could be just enough confusion for him not to notice us. We'll just slip our way in among the Konan troops instead."

"What if we run into the warriors, then?"

"Then we apologize for being enemies before. It's not that hard."

He still stubbornly shook his head. "I only want to do away with Nakago, but if those scum get scraped off this land in the process, it's fine by me."

"Yes, but what will you do after he's gone? Kutou would be hurting without their leader, and you don't want to wind up all alone…"

"Kutou won't be my problem. I don't care."

You haven't grown up at all, Suboshi, Yui mentally rolled her eyes at him. "These things happen. Kutou has come far enough under his rule that I'm sure they'll find some way to manage. If this succeeds, I could always use my wish for something like that."

Mayo was having more luck. The unit she was serving transferred to join the vanguard forces, and she took the chance to run to the head tent, lying to the staff there and saying she had been ordered to join in the general—the emperer's—service. A few days later, she was tasked with bringing tea to the strategizing session.

The men seated at the table were all of intimidating stature and clad in decorative armor, but one easily stood out from the rest. His presence was so overbearing that Mayo's hand shook and she nearly dropped the tea pot. This is the man I need to kill.

As if reading her mind, he shot her a glance with only his cold, blue eyes. She gasped and immediately looked away, busying herself with the tea. As she came to his cup, she was shaking all the way to her elbows. Thankfully Nakago paid her no mind and went on with the session. Once she left the tent and started thinking of how to do away with him, however, she cursed because she hadn't poisoned the tea. The moment the frustrated word left her mouth, however, the curtain opened again behind her, and Nakago stood over her.

"An unladylike word," he commented.

"I'm known for being terribly unladylike."

Without even having remembered to bow, she stared him straight in the face, and he stared back. Somewhere between offended and amused, he was not bothered by her enough to give her a second thought as he passed by, though she stuck out among most servants he had encountered.