Author Notes: This is a work of fiction, written by Appaku and Alicia (alithealligator). Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase.
Dear Yui,
The situation in Konan is still very dynamic. I still do not know Miaka's whereabouts, but we have recovered one of the warriors, Chichiri. I would like to keep that quiet until we can locate more of the other warriors, or until I can make sure than this will not start any kind of riot.
Speaking of riots, please be careful, even in the palace. I'm sure the situation is not completely settled in Kutou's capital, either.
I hope you are feeling better since the last letter you wrote. I am sorry this is such a short message, as I am very busy right now overseeing the Konan court and making use of their imperial library. I hope that you are enjoying all this time to study for your exams in your own country.
Sincerely,
Doukun
"What did he write?" Soi smiled over Yui's shoulder, who then placed the paper closer to her chest so that she wouldn't be able to read it.
"Not much, he says that he's busy," replied the priestess. "It's nice that he sends them at all, though. Even Suboshi has been a little secluded and moody lately."
"How is that any different from how he always is?" the new empress replied. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go give Nakago his report now."
The halls were familiar, as she had been living in them for a few years as Nakago's wife and subordinate. They felt far more welcoming when she realized that they belonged to her, though. She still wore her armor, as did Nakago, but she longed for the day that she could adorn herself with clothes more fitting for an empress. Sometimes she had to remind herself to take her position a little more seriously, but it still felt a tad euphoric.
Nakago had not let the power get to his head yet, as he was still busy reorganizing almost the entire country, and he was not quite as satisfied as Soi was. "The report?" he held out a hand for it with out even having to look over his shoulder to acknowledge her presence. The instant it was placed in his palm, he quickly snatched it away to read it over, his tenseness enough to make Soi nervous.
The situation has not changed much, except for the better. The soldiers and people in the capital have been increasingly cooperative. We have increased the number of troops on the look out for the Suzaku warriors and priestess. The court has been showing very little resistance.
"A pithy update," he handed it back to her to dispose of. "Almost too good."
"I would expect you to be a bit happier about how well things are going," she cooed, seeing as it was only the two of them, a table, a chair, and a closed door. Perhaps she could take away some of his stress. As she slid her hands down his chest from behind him, she continued close enough to blow air in his ear, "Isn't this what you've always wanted? You've had your revenge against the late emperor and now you have complete control over an empire."
"You're fooling yourself into thinking the situation is perfect," coolly responded he. "You're forgetting that Lady Yui has been reluctant to make any other wishes to aid me."
"Are you afraid that she'll make a wish against you?"
"No. She's merely dangling what I need in front of me."
"What else in this world could you possibly need?" she sharpened her tone.
"Being bound to this world is exactly the problem, Soi," he guided her by the wrists to come around in front of him. "I'm human, and as I am, I wouldn't be able to contend with the gods."
"Gods?" she asked. "Surely, they won't be able to summon Suzaku."
"Whose to say that he won't come uninvited? That is why I wanted her to seal him away completely. Additionally, the Suzaku warriors still have their own powers, and may as well be on their way here right now to try to attack their new emperor all together."
"I wouldn't let them do anything to you!" Soi half-shouted at the suggestion.
"They would be a terrible inconvenience, that's all," he said, almost amused at her quickness to defend him, and also entirely bored by that expected reaction. "It's the gods who are trouble. Kutou is an empire now. Empires expand, but Genbu and Byakko are already granting protection to Hokkan and Sairou. The only way I would be able to spread control over their territory," he spoke quieter, "would be if I were to be able to take them on myself."
"How could you expect to do that?" asked his wife, who was growing more nervous with every idea.
"Lady Yui needs to wish for me to become a god myself."
Soi wasn't sure how to take this. She knew Nakago had an almost unquenchable thirst for power, but would he really go that far? As a Seiryuu warrior, she felt betrayed that he would want such a thing. "Would Seiryuu actually grant that wish?"
"If it's merely for the sake of Kutou's prosperity, what reason would he have to refuse it?"
"It wouldn't be 'merely' about Kutou at that point, if you wanted all the land for yourself to rule!"
"Soi," he eyed her disapprovingly, "are you denying this wish?"
How could she deny Nakago anything? She never chose to be a Seiryuu warrior, after all. Fate dealt good cards and bad cards. Of course she felt loyalty to the god she already served, but Nakago was the one she had chosen to love and support. If she had to chose between Seiryuu and Nakago, she wouldn't even have to think before making a decision. "Nakago, you already are a god to me," she took his large hand in both of hers and pressed her face against the back of it. "If you want everyone to recognize you that way, then please do as you wish."
"Now if only Lady Yui would feel the same," he replied plainly, having expected this adoring answer the entire time.
"Suboshi!"
He was almost shocked to hear Yui call for him. Behind him, Yui was walking down the hall towards him. "You've hardly been around. Has something been happening?"
"Lady Yui," he said tiredly, just pleased to have her around.
"Something must have happened. You don't seem nearly as chipper as you were a couple days ago. You said then that you were going to introduce me to someone soon. Was there a falling out about that?"
They went where they would be alone, and Suboshi explained to her that he had a twin brother who happened to be a Suzaku warrior by fate, but had chosen against it. He had recently proved his loyalty to Kutou by killing another one of the warriors, but since then, had been acting strangely.
"He won't eat anything. He won't even cry. He just stays curled up on his bed against a wall and looks depressed," he said, clenching his hands as he thought of his brother's face. "I've been trying to get him to feel better and come celebrate with me that we're together again, and part of a better time and place, but he shrugs off everything I say. Doesn't he love me? Isn't that why he came back at all? And now he's… he's regretting it? He's the one who chose to kill him so he could be with me, and now this is what he's going to do after the fact? I should have just killed that man myself if I knew he was going to act like this!" he sounded angrier. "I just wanted a sign that he wouldn't leave again!"
"He's just shocked, that's all. Wasn't it one of his friends? It sounds like you didn't give him much time to think about it," she offered, somewhat surprised by the request Suboshi had made, but yet not bothered by it. Sometimes characters in books did irrational things, and it wasn't worth the effort to try to get into his head. "You just need to be supportive and help him through this."
"He won't even look straight at me," he growled. "He won't even play his flute, he just holds it all the time. I… I just want my brother back!"
"You have him," she didn't mean to smile, but did anyway. "What's the rush? He'll come around."
"Isn't that something like what you said about your friend, the Priestess of Suzaku?" he retorted, "That she'd eventually show up so you could forget all of this?"
Strangely unbothered, Yui replied, "I still have faith in Miaka."
"What, as a priestess? That's impossible!"
"No. As my friend."
The boy opened his mouth to spout something about how she was fooling herself, but closed it promptly, then decided on something else. "Did you want to go meet Koutuku now anyway? He might like talking with you, who knows."
She agreed, and they began walking towards the fairly uninhabited wing of the palace, but before they got very far into it, the walls shook as the ceiling caved in front of them, and they could hear angry men outside shouting as fire started to fill the space in front of them.
The Kutou palace was under attack.
Miaka, Tamahome, Tasuki and Kouji had headed into what was one of the most harshly effected areas of the Konan landscape. The violence of war, both at a celestial and purely human level, has torn floodgates apart and ripped limbs from trees, and shards of villages were strewn over stretches of neglected fields. On either side of their path, the land had steep drop offs, and it wasn't clear whether the land was always like this or not. Miaka had never seen wreckage from a tornado, but she was sure that this had to have been at least half as bad as that would be. Could they really expect to find any warriors here? Perhaps it wasn't entirely unrealistic, as the wreckage provided numerous places to hide, but it certainly wasn't a desirable place to spend a lot of time.
"So is it only me and Tama so far?" asked Tasuki, bothered by the eerily silent story the landscape told and eager to think about something else. "The battles must'a really split everybody up."
"Nuriko, last we heard, was in imperial hiding, but he can still find out what is going on inside the palace," replied she, "and I last saw Chichiri about six days ago. I'm getting really worried about why he hasn't found me again," she frowned.
"What was he doing if he didn't join you?"
"He was trying to talk to an old friend of his who he had a serious falling out with before."
"How serious are you talking?"
"They almost killed each other."
"Miaka, that's very serious," Tamahome invited himself into the conversation, annoyance showing all over his face. "And you neglected to mention any of this to me?"
"Ahh… oops?" she laughed nervously.
"Miaka, what if one of them finished the job? Did that not occur to you?"
"No… it didn't," she lowered her head sheepishly.
"Look out!" Kouji yelled and pointed ahead on the path. A squad of four Kutou guards was charging towards them, immediately recognizing Miaka as the priestess that they had been told about or had caught a glimpse of on the battle field before. Tasuki reached behind his back for his tessen and Kouji a sword, while Tamahome charged right in to kick one in the face. Kouji took the one to his right, while Tasuki had to change his footing before running in to help.
"Dammit, stay out of the way or I can't use this!" he yelled to his fellow warrior before turning to a third guard to fry. Naturally, while fighting so close ranged on a cliff and trying not to over crowd each other, they lost slight of the fourth who immediately charged towards Miaka, apparently having missed the memo to capture the priestess rather than skewer her on a spear.
Two people reacted at once to protect her. The first was one who they had not been traveling with at that time. As if opposite of the usual black-clad Kutou spies, this man wore a long white tunic and had one end of it wrapped around his face so that only a peak of his eyes were showing. Who ever it was, he waved a sword in front of the guard to stop him before reaching Miaka. Stunned, Miaka looked carefully at him, and even the white fabric covering his features couldn't hide who he was.
Behind the guard, Tamahome had also reacted, but all too aggressively. In his hurry to rescue his priestess and current love, he overused his celestial power by throwing a large red blast of life force. This effectively killed the attacker, but the force of it also blew the body towards the Miaka and her other rescuer, forcing them off the cliff.
"Miaka!" Tamahome tore away from the other guards, but she had already fallen out of sight.
Yui was not in such a great situation herself. Suboshi had managed to pull her away from the initial blast and lead her a few feet away from where the angry mob would be entering, but the direction the attack came from was disturbing him. His brother was still over in that direction.
"What's going on?" Yui could barely come to her senses as the confusion swarmed around them. The halls were already filling with smoke and the crackling was too loud to hear her own thoughts. She held his wrist tightly as he looked listlessly back in the direction they had jumped away from.
My brother is still over there. He needs help, I have to help him, now!
But Lady Yui is here, he quickly looked back down to her scared face. She's just as defenseless. Who should I…?
"This way," he said aloud and pulled her up to her feet so she could run along behind him. Lady Yui is my priestess. She's ultimately the one I have to protect. I love her!
Brother, I didn't abandon you. Please save yourself.
I've betrayed everyone.
I've done the most unthinkable thing to Juan. He was my fellow warrior. We were destined to fight along side each other, not to back stab each other! I've ripped him away from the world, from Shouka, from Miaka and the others.
I can never hope to face them again. I'm the backstabber, even if they did want me back I could never find in myself to see them again in this life.
Kaika hugged his knees a bit tighter to his chest. He had killed people before, and knew it was wrong, but the guilt he felt now kept him from functionally normally. It was not so much guilt as shock of what he was capable of. How could he have been so stupid? All he could do now was mentally punish himself.
I can't even face my own twin brother! I did this to put everything behind me, but I obviously can't do that. I'll never forget them, or what I did! I'm still so attached by these 'Suzaku bonds' Miaka was always talking about. I'll never be able to live happily with him after all, and he'll keep trying to change that. It's futile, Brother.
I really never should have left you to begin with, should I?
I wish I could just start over. Suzaku, if you could just grant me this one wish, I wish I could just start anew.
The smashing of wood snapped him out of his thoughts. He jumped at the sound and looked around for where it was coming from, and then he noticed the fire breaking through at the outside facing walls. The smashing noises must have been from in the hall. If he moved fast enough now, he could still find an escape.
How funny, he briefly thought, that he was still clinging to the opportunity to save his own life. What if this was Suzaku granting that wish?
The wood in his ceiling abruptly started to make cracking noises.