Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation - Part 12

Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase. I own the new characters. Please don't steal. ClareBear's brain almost got fried coming up with people.

Author's Note: Do you really think I would go back to Kutou with a cliff hanger dangling in Konan? Nope. I am still in Konan. As I have said before, there is definitely something special about this Suzaku group. I am taking from the TV series for the most part, and some from the OVAs. Some spoilers ahead.

Chichiri came up from behind Tasuki. Lei's kanji was glowing a very bright red. The rest of the family came closer. Even the doctor looked more closely. The kanji had finally stopped glowing. Lei was asleep again. Tasuki ordered everyone out of the room. They all met downstairs, and the doctor left after Ling paid him.

"I always thought that there was something strange about Lei," said Wangshi in a soft voice.

"Is she really a Suzaku seishi, Father?" asked Lingsu.

"I thought that was over before we were even born," remarked Tiaowo.

Tasuki sighed. He looked at his wife and Chichiri. Tasuki had told Ling about the world falling apart, but they didn't tell the children about it. They were going to. So, now was as good a time as any.

"The whole world is falling apart. That's why there have been natural disasters all over Konan. Not just in Konan, but in the other three Empires as well. Emperor Boushin received a message from Kutou two days ago that listed all the new mikos and the first seishi for each miko. Yes. Lei is a seishi for Suzaku. She is the third seishi to be located," said Tasuki.

"WHAT THE FRIGGIN' HELL?! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL US SOONER?!!!" shouted Tiaowo.

"Who are the other two seishi, Father? Who is the new miko?" asked Wangshi.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN NOW? WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO LEI?!!" bellowed Lingsu.

"WE'LL ALL OF YOU STOP YELLING!!!! WE'LL EXPLAIN!!!!" exploded Tasuki louder than anyone. All the boys calmed down quickly.

"But, I wasn't yelling, Father," said Wangshi in a soft voice. Tasuki glared at his son to be quiet. Wangshi closed his mouth.

"The first seishi is from the other world, no da. His kanji is Seijitsu, no da. The reason why he came from the other world was because he could protect the miko already and so that time wouldn't be wasted, no da. I have to admit they managed to find two other seishi in two days, da," said Chichiri.

"Emperor Boushin is the second seishi. Just like his father, Hotohori," said Tasuki.

"His kanji is Odayaka, no da," added Chichiri.

"Your sister is will be known as Hono'o," announced Tasuki.

"Her kanji means blaze. But, sometimes the kanji doesn't fit the power, no da," said Chichiri.

"Actually, there was something strange about the way I found her. The area around was burned, but she wasn't burned. Her skin felt cold. It was like she was dead," said Tiaowo in soft voice. Out of the triplets, he was worried the most about their baby sister.

"Fire. That must be her power. Where did you find her, Tiaowo?" asked Ling.

"Near one of the outer fields of Eiyou. She was on the ground. I picked her up and brought her home," said Tiaowo.

Tasuki looked at his son. He suddenly realized that Tiaowo had a very soft spot for his sister. Tasuki rubbed his shoulder. Tiaowo looked at him.

"It's alright. The new Suzaku no Miko is Sukunami Mariko. She requires good protect from her seishi. That includes, Lei. All the Four Beast Gods must be summoned at once that should stop the world from crumbling. All the seishi must be present for the Four Beast Gods to come. The mikos must do three things. Find their seishi, shinzahou, and the scrolls. I don't know if it has to be in that order, but all this must be done before any of the gods get summoned," said Tasuki.

Everyone was still talking. They talked for hours. So, they didn't notice when Lei came down the stairs quietly. She looked at all of them from behind. Her chi was back and was stronger, but she still felt weak. Lei was able to make a small fire ball. Lingsu noticed Lei.

"Lei? You're up!" exclaimed Lingsu. Everyone else turned to look at her. The fire ball in her palm grew larger. Lei's strength was weakening, but she concentrated her chi. The fire ball launched off her palm and volleyed around the room. It came back to Lei's palm and extinguished. Lei straightened herself up and walked slowly over to all of them. No one seemed to noticed that she was still weak.

"My powers have some thing to do with fire. Miss Zhang tested my powers. She burned me using a torch. The fire only burned my inner robes and my hair ornament. Apparently, my body is impervious to fire. There was also a family that was attacked by some very unprofessional bandits," Lei sighed she looked at her father with a smirk, "They attacked and I stopped them. I used a few fireballs. I used a fire arrow. The last attack is what did me in. It was a fire swirl. I must have used too much of my chi when I used it," finished off Lei in a causal tone.

"Miss Zhang? That creepy old lady?" said Lingsu. Most of the children who lived in the area, lived in fear of the woman.

"Wait…your inner robes were burned? That means you were naked somewhere!" exclaimed Wangshi.

Lei shook her head. She placed her right hand over her left, and started a fire ball. She was about to launch it at her brothers, but Tasuki stopped her.

"Hono'o, you're still tired. Stop. Wait until you feel better," said Tasuki using her kanji name. He was using the tender tone that was only reserved for his daughter. Lei lowered her arms to her side. Lei sighed again.

"Miss Zhang is my sensei. She trained me in Wen Li Do. I've been trained by her since I was ten years old. That's where I went everyday for the past five years on my daily walk. Well, Miss Zhang said that my training was complete. So, I have no where to go on my daily walks to get away from them," said Lei as she used her thumb to indicate her brothers.

"FIVE YEARS! YOU'VE BEEN GOING TO A STRANGER FOR TRAINING FOR FIVE YEARS! WHAT THE FRIGGIN' HELL?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!!!!" shouted
Tasuki.

Lei is superdeformed. Tasuki is yelling at her.

"I was going to say something. But…I kept forgetting," said Lei who is now cat like and superdeformed.

"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY! KOU LEI!!!" yelled Tasuki. There was smoke coming out of his ears. The boys had backed away from their father. Ling stepped forward to calm her husband down. Chichiri shook his head.

Lingsu looked at his little sister. 'So, she's been training for five years. Yet…she's never fought us physically. Let's see what she can do,' thought Lingsu with a mischievous look on his face. He walked up to her from behind.

Lei looked at him. Their father was being distracted by Ling and Chichiri who were trying their hardest to calm Tasuki down. Wangshi and Tiaowo looked at them. Lingsu was in an attack position. Lei knew that he wanted to see what she could do.

Lingsu stood with his legs slightly apart. Lei rolled her eyes at him. Their brothers were watching them intently. Lingsu gestured for Lei to attack. 'I won't hurt her that badly,' thought Lingsu. Lei calmly walked up to him. Lingsu punched first, but Lei dodged it. Lingsu looked surprised. Lei placed her foot in between his feet. He tried to punch her again, if he used his feet he would have hurt her for sure. Lei blocked his punch. Wangshi and Tiaowo looked surprised. She didn't even flinch, and she brought her foot back. Her leg came back with a full roundhouse. THUD!

Tasuki, Ling, and Chichiri looked back to see who fell. Lingsu was on the floor. His eyes have swirls in them. Wangshi and Tiaowo were hugging each other, and both looked at Lei with some fear in their eyes. Lei was in battle stance over her brother. Tasuki's jaw dropped. He looked at his wife.

"Well, she's your daughter," said Ling in a matter-of-fact tone.

"…" Tasuki was incapable of speech.

"Help your brother up, Lei," instructed Ling.

"The birds. The stars. They are all swirling around me…" said Lingsu with the swirls still in his eyes. Lei looked at her other brothers. All three of them helped Lingsu to a chair.

"If you could do that, why didn't you just do that to us, Lei?" asked Wangshi.

"Because I thought that it would be more effective if Papa yelled at all of you. I didn't want to waste my energy," responded Lei as she folded her arms over her chest.

"See, Tasuki, she can handle herself, no da," reassured Chichiri.

"Tomorrow, we'll be going to the palace, Lei," said Tasuki with a sigh. Lei smiled at him. The last amount of anger he had melted away. Ling sighed. 'Lei's got him wrapped around her little finger,' thought Ling.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, Boushin was sitting across from his mother, Houki. They had tea time daily. When he was younger, he would try to talk to her. But, their conversations were rather one sided. Boushin would eagerly tell his mother about his magic lessons, but Houki would say nothing to her son. He loved his mother very much, but she never talked to him. Boushin really didn't know how her voice sounded like.

He wondered if he should tell her that he was a seishi for Suzaku. Boushin didn't know how she was going to react to the news. He didn't want to tell her because of what had happened to his father. 'Mother is just as beautiful as ever. But, it's like she's frozen in time. She just sits there. Looking at me. Why do I even bother having tea with her? She might as well not be here. Because she's mother, I love her that's why I'm here,' thought Boushin.

Five minutes into the tea, Houki sighs. Boushin looked at her. A long time ago, he would have thought that she would say something to him, but now he wasn't that optimistic.

"Well, we're talkative today," commented Boushin. He got up from his chair, and went over to her. He kissed his mother's cheek .

"I have to go, Mother. I have some business to take care of. I will see you later," said Boushin as he exited the room.

Houki watched his back as he left the room. She sighed again. 'He looks just like you, Hotohori,' thought Houki.

* * *

It was a little after nine in the morning. Odayaka, better known as Emperor Boushin, was in his chambers. He had just come back from his tea with his mother. He was looking at his wardrobe. Odayaka sighed. He didn't like the looks of this.

'I can't wear these clothes on the journey. I would stick out like a sore thumb,' thought Odayaka.

He had to do something about this. Odayaka thought of telling his servants that he needed new clothes for the journey. That idea was immediately scratched the idea from his head. The servants would probably just get the same kind of things that were already in his wardrobe. He wanted to travel casually in disguise. Odayaka's eyes lit up with an idea. He left his chambers to go look for Sei.

"Seijitsu, I need to talk to you," said Odayaka. He found Sei alone having breakfast. Mariko was bathing in her chambers.

"What is it, Odayaka? What can I help you with?" asked Sei in his ever friendly voice. He and Odayaka were calling each other by their first names. Sei found out that Odayaka preferred it that way.

"Are you going to get some new clothes for the journey?" asked Odayaka.

"I don't know. But, I guess I can't travel around looking like this. It would attract too much attention," answered Sei rubbing his chin. He hadn't thought about it that much. He was wearing new clothes that were really rich looking.

"Yes. It would look ridiculous to be traveling looking like this. So, here's some gold pieces. Go to the market, and get some clothes. We're the same size, so you can try on the clothes. They'll fit me as well. Get stuff that you would wear. Get clothes for me and you. But, you may want to get more shirts for yourself," said Odayaka as he handed a heavy bag of gold pieces to Sei.

"All right. I'll be right back. I'll be sure to get more shirts for myself," said Sei with a smirk on his face.

"I'll see you later," said Odayaka.

Sei left the room. Odayaka had to get ready for his daily council meeting. He let out a sigh, and went back to his chambers.

* * *

Tasuki and Lei arrived at the palace around 9:30. Lei was dressed nicely. She typically didn't come to the palace, but she already knew Emperor Boushin from childhood. He was four years older than her, and she had heard from her father about the tricks he kept pulling on people. Lei admired him like one of her older brothers. Tasuki lectured her to be on her best behavior. Tasuki shook his head at himself, 'Who am I to tell her to be on her best behavior?' thought Tasuki.

They had to waited another hour before the Emperor was done with his council meeting. By this time Sei was back from the market. He had ten pairs of pants and fifteen shirts. He also bought two pairs of fine leather boots, and two riding plain cloaks. Sei spotted Tasuki and Lei.

"Hello, Tasuki. Is this your daughter?" asked Sei as he bowed to them. The servant took the things to his chambers.

"Yes. Let me present my daughter, Kou Lei. She is the third seishi," said Tasuki wasting no time.

Sei's eyes widened. Lei smiled at him, and turned her head. She glowed her kanji on her neck. Sei's kanji glowed on his forehead.

"My name is Hono'o," said Lei. She turned to look at her father.

"My name is Kajiwara Seijitsu," said Sei with a smile on his face.

"That's your real name?" asked Lei.

"Yes. I was fated almost from birth to be a seishi for Suzaku. My mother was the Seiryuu no Miko. She gave me my kanji as my name. Mariko's …OW!" started Sei. He got interrupted by a whack on the back of his head by Mariko.

"Hello….Sei. I am Sukunami Mariko. I am the new Suzaku no Miko," announced Mariko. Sei was rubbing the back of his head. Mariko gave him a sharp look.

Lei bowed to Mariko. Mariko smiled and shook her head. "I don't need you to do that. But, thanks just the same," said Mariko. Lei straighten up. She was taller than Mariko. Tasuki looked closely at Mariko. 'Why does she look so familiar? I know that Sei is the son of Yui. But who is she?' thought Tasuki.

"What are your powers?" asked Lei as she turned to look at Sei.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. But, since you asked. I'll go first. My powers are speed and agility. But, I have something a little extra," commented Sei as he stripped off his shirt. He was getting better about not being embarrassed about taking off his shirt. Mariko took the shirt from Sei.

He turned around. Mariko motioned for Lei to step back away from Sei. Lei looked slightly bewildered. In a moment the wings came out of his back. There was an explosion of feathers that rained down on the marble floor. The ceilings in the hall were high enough. Sei took off with his wings. He turned. Lei's mouth was wide open.

"You have Suzaku's wings," commented Lei in awe. Sei smiled and came back to the floor. Mariko handed Sei back his shirt. He put it back on.

"Well, you're turn," said Sei. Lei suddenly realized that she had powers. Lei closed her eyes and concentrated her chi. The force built up in the room. It there was one thing the training that Miss Zhang had trained Lei in, it was the ability to concentrate. She let loose a ring of fire that dispelled towards a nearby window. Lei opened her eyes. The fire ring went out like she had planned. Sei and Mariko looked with amazement.

"Welcome to the team, Hono'o!" exclaimed Sei with a big grin on his face.

Tasuki smiled at the three of them as they started to talk about finding the other seishi. 'They have a long way to go. This brings back memories. It's not going to easy,' thought Tasuki.

"We should go and find out if Odayaka's meeting is over," said Mariko as she turned around to walk away. Sei and Lei followed her.

Tasuki's eyes widened for a moment. He caught a view of Mariko's profile. There was definitely something about her. Her smile was the most familiar thing on her face. 'Where have I seen that smile before?" asked Tasuki to himself in a soft whisper.

Tasuki decided to go find Chichiri. There was something about Mariko that bothered him. Something that bothered him whenever he saw her. It was like a ghost was lurking around. An answer that couldn't be grasped. Tasuki found Chichiri meditating in one of the gardens.

"What is it that you want, Tasuki, no da?" asked Chichiri sensing that Tasuki was coming.

"I need to talk to you about the new Suzaku no Miko," answered Tasuki seriously.

"Yes. I've also wanted to talk to you about her as well," said Chichiri.

"I keep thinking to myself that she looks familiar somehow. But, I can't place her," said Tasuki.

"I know what you mean. I've had the same feeling. What about Nuriko's braclets, no da?" asked Chichiri as he got up.

"That's another thing that's bothering me. We know that Miaka took them with her to the other world. Yes, Mariko comes from the same place, but how did she get them?" said Tasuki. He and Chichiri were walking along the gardens.

"Seijitsu is the son of the former Seiryuu no Miko, da. He looks a lot like her, no da. He maybe the son of a Seiyuu, but he is definitely a Suzaku seish, no da. I believe that he would lay down his life for Mariko if he had to, no da," said Chichiri.

"At least he told us something about himself. Do you remember that Miaka told us a lot about herself?" asked Tasuki as he looked at Chichiri.

"Yes. But, Mariko says nothing about herself. She is obviously familiar with Sei and his family. Perhaps, her family is just friend of his," said Chichiri thoughtful.

"But, she said that Yui was her godmother. Maybe, she knows Miaka…" thought Tasuki out loud.

It had been so long. Tasuki and Chichiri thought about Miaka often. She was their friend and miko. They wondered about what became of her. They knew how much she loved Tamahome. Miaka's final wish was not to be with Tamahome, but to repair the damage done to her world. Tamahome accepted it. His body was killed during the battle with Nakago because Suzaku was sealed. They thought that Tamahome had died like the rest of their fellow seishi.

"We should have asked her sooner," agreed Chichiri.

They continued walking along the palace gardens. They reminisced their days as active seishi. Tasuki discussed how worried he was about Lei and Boushin. Chichiri tried to reassure him that they would be fine. Chichiri also said that he was worried about Sei and Mariko. Tasuki agreed with him.

* * *
Odayaka was still stuck at the council meeting. He let out a sigh, and the council merely ignored him. They were just too set in their ways to care. Odayaka was writing more incantations, and making mental plans for locating the other seishi. The Prime Minister cleared his throat. Odayaka looked up to see the entire council staring at him. He sighed, and gave them all a "so what?" look.

"Your majesty. You are a Suzaku seishi like your father," said the Prime Minister solemnly.

"Yes. I am Odayaka," said Odayaka as he raised his right arm to show his kanji.

"You are very well trained in the magical and healing arts, sire," added the Vice Minister.

"I will have to leave Eiyou," said Odayaka. He saw this coming. He had to say that he was leaving.

"What?" said the Vice Minister in disbelief.

"You can't do that, your Highness!" cried the Prime Minister in disbelief. There were mummers that went throughout the room. Odayaka knew that all of this was going to happened. He stood up to speak. When Odayaka stood up, the entire council froze in their positions, and quieted down.

"I will be leaving. What is the point of me staying here? What? To wait for our world to end. I think not. We must find the other seishi, then go with the other groups, and summon the gods. My skills are needed. I am a Suzaku seishi. There is no time to waste. I don't need your approval to do anything. You all should know that by now," said Odayaka in a firm voice.

The council looked like they were trying to come up with a rebuttal to Odayaka's statements, but he stopped them.

"Before you say something about my duty to my country, let me tell you right now…this is my duty to my country. To my world. I have been chosen by Suzaku to save it. My word is final," added Odayaka. He sat back down. The council was speechless.

"Yes…your Highness," said the Prime Minister after much silence. He was the first one to recover. Odayaka looked at him with his gold-hazel eyes.

"I think it would be wise not to announce that our world is crumbling. Not to keep it a secret. Because it's starting to be obvious. However, there might be wide spread panic. There could be riots. Besides, I have hope that we will be able to summon the gods before the problems get worse," said Odayaka. This was the most he had ever said in a meeting. The council listened intently. The council nodded in agreement with their Emperor's words.

"When you leave you should have some protection, Emperor…Odayaka," said the Vice Minister.

"Very well, but I get to chose the guards. I'll be taking two with me," said Odayaka. He had to negotiate with them. They wouldn't let his father go before, but now it was more important for Odayaka to go.

Odayaka stood up to leave the room. The council stood up after him, and bowed to him. With that he left the room. The council broke up to leave after that.

* * *

Odayaka found Mariko, Sei, and Lei in one of dining rooms having a leisurely lunch. When Odayaka entered the room, the three of them stood up and bowed. Odayaka waved his arms in front of them as a gesture to get them to stop. He smiled and sat down. The servants brought some food for him.

"Lei is one of us. Her powers have a lot to do with fire," said Mariko brightly.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from the daughter of Lord Tasuki," said Odayaka.

"Well, I don't have to ask you about your powers, your Highness," said Lei, "I already know that your powers are like Master Chichiri's."

"All we have to do now is find the other four seishi and summon Suzaku," said Sei with a grin on his face.

"But, we have to find the shinzahou and summoning scroll first," said Mariko.

"Then, we have to find out where we all have to be to summon all the gods," added Lei.

"And we don't even know if the other mikos and their first seishi will succeed. It's too early to tell, Sei," intoned Odayaka.

"Come on you guys! Think positive!" exclaimed Sei.

"I just thought of something funny," said Lei as she drank some of her tea.

"What?" asked Mariko. She wasn't eating much, so she was taking a bite of her food.

"Just think about it. My father was a seishi. I'm one, too. Odayada's father was a seishi, too. Sei's mother was the Seiryuu no Miko. Don't you that's strange?" said Lei thoughtful.

"But, that's not all. Mariko is…" started Sei. He got elbowed by Mariko who was sitting next to him. "OW! Will you stop that, Mariko?" cried Sei.

Odayaka and Lei are superdeformed looking at them with question marks.

"Anyway, Odayaka, are we leaving tomorrow?" asked Mariko sweetly. Sei was rubbing his ribs.

"Yes. Final arrangements are being made as we speak," said Odayaka with a satisfied smile on his face. He got the council to actually listen to him. That was a satisfying feeling.

"We should get some rest for tomorrow. Because this maybe the last time when we're all going to be really comfortable," said Sei. He shot a look at Mariko. He wanted to know why she kept stopping him from telling them the truth about her parentage.

They all nodded in agreement. They planned out what they had to do.

* * *

The meeting between the miko and seishi broke up after awhile. Odayaka and Lei talked some more. Mariko decided that she wanted to be alone for a while, and she went off to the garden alone. She walked along the path of the garden. Admiring the flowers, she touched them with her fingers. The petals were soft.

Tasuki and Chichiri stopped when they saw her standing in the garden. Mariko sighed and walked some more. Tasuki and Chichiri kept themselves hidden for the time being. They heard the noise of someone running. It was Sei.

"Mariko! Mariko! I need to talk to you," said Sei. Mariko turned to look at him.

"What about, Sei?" asked Mariko.

"You keep hitting me or something every time I try to say some thing about your mother," said Sei cautiously. He stepped back away from her. Mariko looked at him with emotionless eyes.

"I don't want to talk about her, Sei," said Mariko in a whisper. There was burning pain in her chest.

"Why not?" asked Sei in an exasperated tone. He didn't understand at all.

"I just don't want to," said Mariko folding her arms. She turned her head to face the wall. She didn't like the way Sei was looking at her.

"I think they have a right to know. I feel terrible. A lie of omission is still a lie, Mariko," said Sei. He reached out to make her face him, but his arms dropped to his sides.

"I don't want to talk about my parents. I don't want people talking about my parents," whispered Mariko. Her eyes were watery. She had never cried for the deaths of her parents. She was clutching her hands into tight fists. Her knuckles were white.

"What about Tasuki and Chichiri? Why won't you say that you're the daughter of the last Suzaku no Miko? Why are you denying that you're Miaka's daughter?" asked Sei frantically.

Tasuki and Chichiri's eyes widened. Mariko turned around. Her back was to Sei.

"BECAUSE…YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT DEAD PEOPLE!" shouted Mariko at the top of her lungs. Her hands were clamped over her ears, and she sank down to her knees.

~*ClareBear's Omake*~

Hotohori: What a shock it must be for Tasuki and Chichiri! (he hangs his head down)

Miaka: I didn't think that Mariko was that upset about us being dead. She never was before.

Tamahome: I think it was wrong for her to deny you, Miaka.

Nuriko: She's obviously in pain.

Tamahome: I can't stand this. I can't stand to see my baby in pain.

Nuriko: What do you think Chichiri and Tasuki will do?

Chiriko: I have no idea.

Hotohori: On the upside, my son got the council to listen to him. He has my presence. (with large watery eyes of pride)

Nuriko: But, he still doesn't act or think like you. And the council is letting him leave. They didn't do that for you! Maybe, his presence is greater than yours. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Everyone else laughs with Nuriko.

Hotohori: That's not funny! (who was NOT laughing)