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Fushigi Yuugi: Internal Conflict
When you turn the page..the adventure begins....
Chapter 4: Gathering of the Gods
It was the next day when all seven warriors and their priestess set out for the area where the four regions met. Miaka was excited that she would be able to see Yui again. Yet she was nervous about this meeting. What would it hold and would she be talking to all of the gods? What good was her presence at this meeting? Miaka would only know when she got there. So she decided to cheer up and help the others pack up for the trip. They only had one day to travel to there. Wasn't it quite far? They would have to move quickly. So early morning, they paid for some horses and supplies for their trip. Tamahome wasn't too thrilled to lose his money for a one day trip. They started loading supplies evenly on all of the horses and fed them before they left. Miaka went with Tamahome of course, not like they didn't trust her to ride a horse. They probably could of, if she only knew how to ride a horse, period! As they set off, they quickly went into high gear to cover as much distance as possible. According to Chichiri, this meeting was held at a temple and not just any normal location. There was a temple in the middle of all four regions where it paid respects to all of the gods. It was held deep within a group of large mountains, and it would be probably difficult to bring the horses up there. So as soon as they get to the mountains, they would have to travel up there on foot themselves. It seemed almost impossible to cover that much distance in such a short time. Yet they took off, down the quickest way possible to get to that point. Chichiri was leading the way since he knew where the temple was located. Miaka looked out at the scenery as she rode with Tamahome.
"How are we suppose to get there so quickly?" Miaka asked.
"Supposedly its not too far for everyone. Yet, Konan is actually kind of far from this place," Mitsukake said as he rode on a brown and white horse. Tama clinged to his shoulder tightly, trying not to fall off.
"By dusk? They expect us to get there by today at dusk? Isn't that a little late to be asking that?" Tamahome asked as he tried to keep Miaka's brown hair from blinding his view.
"Actually, we should of started last night," Chiriko replied.
"Oh yeah..and loose sleep. We would be falling asleep in front of everyone! That isn't very smart," Tamahome complained.
"Ah quit complaining! This is more important than sleep!" Tasuki said. Tamahome grunted and looked the other way..making his horse almost slam into a tree trunk.
"TAMAHOME! LOOK OUT!" Miaka screamed. The horse didn't even noticed the cut down tree trunk as Tamahome tried to steer it to the right, but managed to hit the trunk with its hind leg. It then quickly stopped to a halt and flung both of them on the ground. Tamahome quickly grabbed Miaka in the air and he landed on his back with Miaka on top of him. The horse whinnied in pain as it fell over onto the grass in a resting position with its head up. It turned toward the wound and snorted angrily at the pain. The others quickly stopped and jumped off of their horses to see if they were all right. Miaka found herself nicely planted on top of Tamahome and gulped a little. Tamahome opened his eyes only to see her on top of him.
"Wow...I knew you loved me, but I didn't know you wanted me that much!" he teased. Miaka smacked him upside the head.
"Hmph, Pervert!" she said as she got up. Tamahome groaned and sat up.
"Are you ok Miaka?" Hotohori asked. Miaka nodded as she dusted herself off.
"Thanks to me she is.." Tamahome added.
"Thanks to you we are out one horse! Look at that! The horse can't even get up!" Tasuki complained. Tamahome just glared at him and then turned to the horse. It seemed it hit the trunk badly. Tamahome walked over to the cut down trunk and kicked it, only hurting himself. Tasuki laughed at him. Not like anything else was new!
"No, we are not out one horse. I can heal remember?" Mitsukake said to Tasuki.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Tasuki said as he put his hand behind his head, embarrassed.
Mitsukake walked towards the horse and pulled his wounded leg out slowly, being careful so the horse wouldn't kick him. The horse yelled angrily as he almost did kick him, but Nuriko held the horse down. Mitsukake put his hand over the horse's wound and a soft glowing light quickly healed it. The horse looked oddly at Mitsukake. Tamahome pulled on the horse's reigns and the horse quickly got up with no problem. Mitsukake smiled as he petted the horse's muzzle, the horse became gentler towards him. After that, Miaka and Tamahome got back up on the horse. The rest returned to their steeds as well. Then they took off again towards the location they were meant to be.
After hours have passed by, the horses seem to have tired out into a quick trot. The Suzaku seven made sure they would get there as quickly as possible. Suzaku was counting on them after all. They made quick time and within about ten hours, they took a rest from traveling and were finally near the mountains.
"WE ARE SUPPOSE TO CLIMB THAT?? WITH WHAT?" Tasuki asked as he saw how high the mountains were.
"Well, there is a pathway leading up the mountain, we will take that pathway," Chichiri said.
"Why can't we bring the horses with us?" Tasuki asked.
"The horses are really burned out ya know. They were only good for the long sprint here. Besides, there will be no place to put them when we get there," Chichiri said. Tasuki only groaned.
"I think we should get going, it will be dusk shortly," Hotohori said. The Suzaku seven tied their horses to some trees near the mountains after their rest and left them there. They then went up the mountain by the foot of the pathway. Crazy as it looked, it didn't take them that long to get up there actually. The pathway was a very long curling stair case embedded in the mountain. It held two hundred and eighty steps and there were three more for the other celestial warriors to use. It was very cold and the steps were covered in snow as they went up. Going up the steps took them about an hour and a half as each step became harder and harder to go up. When they finally came to the entrance, the doorway had the body of the phoenix embedded in it. The doors slowly opened on its own and they all walked into a courtyard that held a lusciously healthy garden in it. Miaka was amazed and gasped in the beauty of this temple. They all walked along, looking at the scenery. The pathway was a hard stony imprint of the fiery tail of Suzaku. They walked down the pathway and into the temple. When they walked through, they viewed a straight and narrow red and gold carpet that had beautiful oriental designs imprinted on it. The top of the temple roof was open and sunlight poured in to the sacred place. Miaka then saw Yui on her right, standing on a blue and gold carpet. She turned to view another girl on her left, which was standing on a white and gold carpet. She quickly ran to Yui to greet her, yet, Yui did not respond. Miaka looked strangely at her as the expression in her eyes seemed blank. Miaka waved her hand in front of her friend's face only to get no response at all. Miaka frowned. Tamahome called her back as Miaka walked quickly to the rest of the group.
"I wonder what's wrong with Yui," Miaka asked.
"Who is that other girl on the left?" Tasuki wondered.
"That is the priestess of Byakko I am guessing," Chichiri said to the others.
"You see, we have to enter through the south gate. Yui has to enter through the east gate and the girl on our left enters through the west gate," Chichiri told them. They all understood from there.
"How come no one entered through the north gate?" Tamahome asked.
"I really don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Genbu is gone ya know," Chichiri said. Tamahome nodded. Miaka looked at the two other priestesses that stood before her. She then felt an extremely warm hand on her shoulder and went totally cold. Her heart beat sped up quickly as she heard a voice in back of her.
"I would like you to relax Priestess Miaka. I am using your body to speak to the other gods. We all agreed to do it this way so all of the warriors can listen as well. Other warriors can not hear other gods speaking in their presence," Suzaku said in back of her. Miaka gulped and turned around.
"Will this hurt???" Miaka asked. Suzaku only smiled.
"Of course not!" he replied. This made Miaka feel better. The other warriors turned to Miaka talking to herself. They all gave an odd expression of curiosity. Then a loud booming voice was heard among all of the people there.
"Celestial Warriors devoted to the gods, Line up in back of your priestess and do not talk while the gods are speaking," it said as its voice trailed off in an echo. The Suzaku seven lined up horizontally in back of Miaka which stepped up to the other two priestesses in the center. It was only then, that the Suzaku seven noticed the Seriyuu seven and the Byakko seven were also there. They were completely amazed that all of the Byakko Seven attended the meeting. Yet that was not the only surprise, Tamahome's master was also revived of his youth!! So were the rest of them! Tamahome just stared at Tokaki, he looked so young!! He gave a small resemblance to Tasuki in the face, from what Tamahome could see. Not to mention Subaru was very stunning in her youth, with long pink wavy hair and beautiful blue eyes that were bursting with life. They had noticed four others that they did not recognize and of course Tatara was there with the rest of them. When the warriors grew quiet, the meeting began. Suzaku concentrated as Miaka's eyes turned blank just like the other two priestesses. She could no longer move her body as her vision turned black. Finally after a couple of seconds, she could see again. Miaka was amazed to see two massive figures standing before her. She wanted to say something, yet she couldn't anymore. Her eyes peered around to see a massive, long, blue dragon on her right. She looked the other way to see a large white tiger on her left. The tiger must of been as big as two elephants standing on each other. She then noticed a guy that looked similar to the tiger in clothing behind the Priestess of Byakko. She looked back to the right to see another guy that looked similar to the dragon in clothing, behind her friend, Yui. She only wondered what Suzaku's phoenix form looked like in back of her. Finally, the meeting started and all of the Priestesses were now controlled by the movement and speech of their Deity.
"We thought you would never show Suzaku. Your warriors are slow," Seriyuu snorted. Miaka watched as the dragon's mouth moved, the human form of the dragon spoke, and Yui interpreted in an echo. Yet Miaka strangely could understand the god's speech, even though she never learned it. It was scary how their same tone of voice flowed through all three beings smoothly. I guess that is why she is the priestess of Seriyuu.
"My warriors came late into play, unlike yours Seriyuu. You are not forgetting that you had a head start over the others and I didn't," Suzaku said. Tamahome watched Miaka as she said those words.
"That doesn't sound like Miaka or Yui....what is going on?" Tamahome thought.
"But four of my warriors were as late as yours when they had to retrieve my priestess," Seriyuu said.
"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU! This is not the time to bicker between two gods. Seriyuu you foolish pig, how dare you say you want to claim Hokkan when Genbu isn't even there to protect it! You are over stepping your boundaries and abusing your powers as a god," Byakko shouted. Chichiri watched the other girl with the long hair speak towards both Yui and Miaka.
"They must be controlled by the gods. This is interesting. They probably wanted us to hear this as well," Chichiri thought.
"I shall do WHATEVER I WANT, Byakko," Seriyuu hissed.
"Stop it you two! We should concentrate more on finding out the disappearance of Genbu," Suzaku said.
"This fight does NOT concern you Suzaku. I don't even understand why you decided to come! You are worthless here," Seriyuu growled.
"Seriyuu, do not try my patience," Suzaku said glaring at him.
"Did I hurt a nerve?? GOOD! You are stupid and weak any way," Seriyuu taunted.
"Like your warriors are any better! Their powers are so ugly," Suzaku retorted.
"At least my warriors know how to fight!" Seriyuu said getting even more angry.
"And you tell me to stop fighting? You are no better Suzaku!" Byakko said turning away.
"IS ANYONE HERE CONCERNED WITH GENBU AT ALL?" Suzaku shouted in a mad fit. Tamahome and the others gulped and watched as Miaka yelled. Even the Seriyuu and Byakko warriors looked at her with a bit of surprise in their eyes.
"SHUT UP! You fool! I don't give a rat's ass if Genbu is dead or alive!" Seriyuu snorted as his bluish scales flare up a little.
"YOU SHOULD YOU GIANT WORM! You are screwing up the balance with your selfish pride!" Byakko yelled in a piercing tone.
"What is going on...now they are just yelling...is this how god's talk?" Tasuki whispered to Tamahome. Tamahome shushed him before they got caught. Miaka, Yui, and the Byakko priestess turned to Tasuki and Tamahome which jumped in a very scared manner.
"YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY WARRIOR?? SPEAK UP!" the priestess of Byakko yelled.
"Uh..Uh..I uh..nothing. I swear!" Tamahome stuttered.
"Idiots! Your warriors can't even keep their mouth shut!" Yui shouted.
"You two disappoint me!" Miaka said glaring at them. They quickly looked down as to not catch the glare that could probably pierce their eyes out.
"Yikes, I wouldn't want to be him," Suboshi thought as he looked at Tamahome.
"Poor Tamahome," Amiboshi frowned.
"Heh..idiot," Nakago smirked.
"Augh..it had to be him. Hasn't he learned anything I taught him?" Tokaki groaned silently.
"This is getting dangerous for just a simple meeting," Subaru thought.
All of the priestesses turned back to the meeting. Seriyuu only laughed immensely towards the other two. Both of the gods grew serious and glared at him.
"What are you laughing about?" Byakko asked.
"You expect me to lose to this??? A bunch of morons? I will succeed and you can never stop me! There is only one god and that is me! The all powerful Dragon, Seriyuu!" Seriyuu said with domineering spirit.
"NOT IF I CAN HELP IT! Ill take you down Seriyuu! Your warriors are no match for the Strength of the Tiger!" Byakko said as he tightened his fist.
"This is going no where I see," Suzaku whispered to himself as he crossed his arms.
YOU TRICKED ME SUZAKU! You told me this was a meeting of peace!" Byakko growled as he turned to Suzaku.
"Ha! What peace? The only peace is if you two die!" Seriyuu yelled with a lot of hate in his voice. They all stared at him with a bit of shock. Seriyuu only grinned as his eyes narrowed.
"I thought it would be a meeting of peace, but you leave me no choice. Seriyuu! You must die and everything that is left of you must be obliterated," Suzaku informed him.
"And how do you propose to that with those weaklings that you have?" Seriyuu grinned curiously.
"I will go to Hokkan to steal the warriors away from you! At least we will have a fighting chance," Suzaku explained.
"Not if I get there first!" Seriyuu hissed.
"NOT IF I GET THERE FIRST! Seriyuu! I will kill you!" Byakko roared as he broke the link between him and his priestess. All there was, was an echo that was the last of his presents.
"WARRIORS OF BYAKKO! Seriyuu is now your enemy! You may give them the honor of a very terrible death!" Byakko commanded.
"Hmph....fine. So be it Byakko," Seriyuu said as he also broke the link with Yui.
"Seriyuu Warriors, punish the Byakko warriors for serving their master and torture the ones who weakly plead for mercy! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Seriyuu laughed as his voice echoed through out the temple.
"Grr...This was completely useless," Suzaku said as he broke the link with Miaka as well.
"Suzaku warriors, please keep the balance safe. I entrust you with the highest honor and belief that you will do your best to stop this war from happening," Suzaku told them as he was the last of the echoes heard in the temple. Miaka, Yui and the priestess fell over as all of the warriors ran to their priestess before their fell.
"Miaka!! Miaka!! Please wake up!" Tamahome pleaded as he grabbed her before she fell.
"Lady Yui! Are you ok?? Lady Yui!" Suboshi said as he picked her up in his arms.
"Is she ok?" Amiboshi asked.
"She will be fine. She is just tired from the trance that Seriyuu put her in," Nakago said calmly.
"Suzuno! Speak to me! My love, please wake up!" Tatara begged as he held the priestess of Byakko on the ground.
"Suzuno.....so that's what her name is," Nuriko said quietly as he turned to the Byakko Seven. At the same time, all three of them woke up and looked around. They all seemed tired, yet they were just as healthy as before.
"Miaka! What happened??" Tamahome asked.
"Yeah! You guys seemed to be almost at each other's throats there!" Tasuki said.
"I cant believe we got yelled at! How embarrassing," Nuriko said as Tamahome and Tasuki pulled their head down a little as if they could hide from Nuriko's wrath.
"Why did you even bother to talk, Tamahome?" Hotohori asked as he crouched down on the floor, next to him.
"TASUKI STARTED IT!" Tamahome finally yelled. He was waiting in anticipation for the chance to finally get that out of his system. The others looked at him, then at Tasuki. Tasuki's face turned pale as he waved his hands in front of everyone.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don't give me that look all at once! You wouldn't think I would do such a thing??" Tasuki said trying to get out of it.
"You liar! You made me shush you and we both got into trouble!" Tamahome shouted.
"Excuse me...you both are extremely loud. This is a sanctuary," Subaru said as she looked at both of them. Tasuki jumped back behind Tamahome.
"He did it" Tasuki said. Tamahome smacked his forehead and fell over. Miaka blinked and looked up at Subaru.
"You look familiar," Miaka commented.
"I hope so! I did meet you before," Subaru said cheerfully as she pushed back her pink hair as it came down from her shoulder.
"You are...no way...you are that old woman that I saw before when we were trying to get the Shinzaho of Byakko!" Miaka said astonished. Miaka remembered the time when they stopped in Sairo after their battle with Tomo. They stayed at Subaru and Tokaki's house for a while. She remembered their great hospitality.
"I guess you must of forgotten my power is time magic! I can make myself as young as I want!" Subaru said happily.
"What do we do now that the gods have decided our fate?" Miaka asked.
"The only thing we can do now, is follow their orders," said a young golden blond girl that walked up to her. It was the Priestess of Byakko with Tatara behind her.
"Why do we have to fight? Why can't we just settle this ourselves?" Miaka asked.
"According to Nakago, the gods have a right to expel powers and kill their own warriors if they do not do as they are asked," Yui said as she walked over to Miaka with her warriors.
"Oh my god.." was all Miaka could say as she looked up at Tamahome. She didn't want to lose him again or Yui. She didn't want to lose any of her friends again.
"How come Nakago isn't attacking us?" Nuriko whispered to Chichiri.
"This is a sanctuary, they aren't allowed to attack us in here. Yet as soon as we walk out, we are in immediate danger ya know," Chichiri said as he tightened his grip on his gold colored staff.
"Im sorry whoever you are, that it is our destiny to clash," Suzuno said to Yui. She then turned around and walked out through the west gate with the Byakko Seven.
"See ya kid! Don't die on me ok??" Tokaki said as he walked out after Subaru, pinching her butt before they left the gate. Subaru gave him a glare before they walked out. Tamahome almost laughed because, he was the only one who noticed it. Tokaki may have been his master, but he is still as perverted as ever!
"Miaka....will you fight against me too?" Yui asked. Miaka looked down. If she didn't, ultimate destruction and chaos might be the result. Yet she couldn't kill her best friend.
"Of...of course not Yui. Why would you ever think that?" Miaka said as she put a fake smile of reassurance and then turned away. Tamahome helped her up and they walked out. Miaka wanted to cry as they went out of the south gate. When they came out, Miaka broke down crying. Fighting Yui was not what she wanted to do again. She felt so trapped and she had to pick a side.
"Miaka....." Yui said softly as Nakago put a hand on her shoulder.
"Im sorry that this has to happen to you Lady Yui," Nakago said with an emotionless face.
"NO! THIS CANT HAPPEN! Why do we have to fight for such a selfish GOD??" Amiboshi yelled in a fit.
"Calm down brother!" Suboshi said as Amiboshi pushed him away.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Amiboshi kept yelling. He didn't want to fight with the Suzaku Seven. He didn't even understand why they were going through with this in the first place. Nakago walked over quickly and punched Amiboshi hard in the stomach. Amiboshi quickly bended over and saliva flung out of his mouth. He dropped to his knees in pain. Suboshi was in shock as he grew extremely angry. He ran quickly to Amiboshi.
"BROTHER!" He yelled as Nakago punched Suboshi square in the face, making him fall backwards. Suboshi quickly covered his face with his hands.
"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" Yui yelled as she grabbed Nakago's arm. Nakago glared at her, but he stopped.
"I will not tolerate disobedience to our master Seriyuu. Those who want to challenge his powers will have to go through me," Nakago informed everyone. Soi glared at him.
"You disgust me," she said. Even she couldn't believe he would do such a thing. Nakago seemed very stuck up at the moment.
"Who gave you the right to be god's interpreter?" Soi asked him angrily.
"Who gave you the right to question me?" Nakago said as he got in her face. Soi winced and back down. Nakago then left out of the east gate. Miboshi gulped and looked at Tomo.
"It seems this won't be a free choice," Tomo said as he walked out quietly. Miboshi took one last look at Suboshi and Amiboshi and floated off out of the east gate behind Tomo.
"This is insane," Soi said as she walked out as well. Yui put her hand softly on Suboshi, yet she looked at both of the twins.
"Are you guys ok? Im sorry Nakago did that to you," Yui said to them. Amiboshi got up and rubbed his stomach. He helped up Suboshi as he took a look at his face.
"He hit you hard..." Amiboshi said. Suboshi nodded as he grunted and turned away in shame.
"Come on brother, we need to catch up with the rest," Amiboshi said as he took Suboshi's arm and slowly walked out the door. He was leading Suboshi because he was hurting a lot and couldn't see too well from the swelling. Amiboshi stopped to wait for Yui as she ran after them and caught up. They all walked out together. Silently.
"NO WAY! We have to go all the way to Hokkan to revive the warriors of Genbu???" Miaka groaned.
"We don't have much of a choice ya know. The Seriyuu warriors and Byakko warriors will do the same! And in the worst case they will control them poorly for their own use," Chichiri said. Hotohori just crossed his arms and leaned against the entrance to the sanctuary. Chiriko looked out in the distance.
"Its a long way to Hokkan," was all he could say.
"I guess that settles it. We will leave tomorrow for Hokkan," Nuriko said as his braided purple hair flapped back and forth.
"Come on Miaka! Its for a good cause!" Tamahome said trying to cheer her up.
"Ok..ok...I will do it. Only if...*stomach growls* I get something to eat..." Miaka said as she put her hands on her stomach and put on a miserable face. Everyone fell over.
"Same old Miaka," Mitsukake mused.
"Well then, we will get something to eat, a good rest, then get started tomorrow!" Hotohori said happily.
"Right! We are setting off for Hokkan Tomorrow!" Miaka cheered.