Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation - Part 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. Yuu Watase is the brains behind that. I do own all the new mikos and almost all the new seishi. Don't steal them.

Author's Note: Welcome back to Konan. The Suzaku group has set off on their journey to find the other seishi, the shinzaho, and the summoning scrolls. What fun they'll have!

"Where are we going, Hono'o?" asked Sei from his horse.

"Odayaka, you said that there was a rumor about a blacksmith who makes the best weapons in all of Konan, but you don't know where to find him. I have an idea where to start," said Hono'o with a smile.

"But, where are we going?" asked Sei again.

"To the mountains. Mt. Leikaku," answered Hono'o with an unwavering smile.

"Let me see if I remember correctly. Mt. Leikaku is known for something…it's just slipped my mind right now. I can't remember," said Odayaka as he thought deeply. He knew a lot about his Empire, but he couldn't remember everything. There was bound to be something that slipped his mind.

"Which way do we go?" asked Mariko. She was riding the gentlest mare from the Imperial stables. However, she was starting to feel sore from riding all day.

"Turn over there," said Hono'o. She was pointing to a bridge. They rode over it. Suddenly, out of no where, they were surrounded. The bandits had weapons pointed at them.

"We're surround! We should have known better than to take directions from you, Hono'o!" exclaimed Sei. Odayaka didn't look the slightest bit disturbed by this. Mariko had a look of fear on her face.

"Calm down, Sei. Don't get your wings in a tangle," said Hono'o.

"Calm down!? How can you say that? We're about to be mugged!" yelled Sei.

"Give us all your valuables. And maybe we won't hurt you," said a deep voice from within the crowd of bandits.

"That's right! That's what Mt. Leikaku is known for. Bandits," said Odayaka as he snapped his fingers.

"I am so glad that you remember," murmured Mariko sarcastically.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU AND GIVE US YOUR VALUBLES!" shouted the same deep voice.

The guards that were with them were wearing cloaks and were about ready to defend them, but Odayaka gave them a stern look that stopped them. Hono'o rolled her eyes.

"Come on now, Uncle Kouji. You aren't going to attack your best friend's daughter and her friends, are you?" asked Hono'o.

"Lei? Kou Lei?" called the deep voice. Emerging from the crowd of bandits came out a tall man dressed in dark clothes. His hair was dark and he had a scar that ran along his left cheek. His skin was dark and his eyes were a hazel. Hono'o got off her horse. The man ran to go hug Hono'o. He picked her up off the ground.

"Lei! It's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown up quite a bit," declared Kouji.

"It's good to see you, Uncle Kouji. Could you put me down?" asked Hono'o.

"Of course. What do you think you are doing? This is Genrou's daughter," said Kouji when he saw that the other bandits hadn't put down their weapons. They all dropped their weapons on the ground.

"Genrou's daughter?!" exclaimed one of the bandits.

"Please forgive us. Don't tell your father. He'll hurt us," begged one of the bandits.

Mariko and Sei fell off their horses superdeformed.

"Why am I not surprised by this?" said Odayaka out loud as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Come with me," invited Kouji. Everyone followed him back to the Bandits' hideout.

* * *

Kouji gave them good food to eat. Everyone was very comfortable. Kouji was friendly to all of them. Hono'o introduced everyone, and told him everything. Hono'o introduced everyone by their kanji names, and she didn't introduce the guards.

"This is a surprise. Genrou must be so proud. His daughter a seishi. Just like him," said Kouji in very proud tone.

"I also have this. I hope you don't mind," said Hono'o as she took out the tessen.

"Your father gave you that?" asked Kouji. The tessen was a symbol of the head of the bandits of Mt. Leikaku. What's more Taiiitsukun made it so that it was iron, and only Tasuki could use it.

"How does it work?" asked Sei. He saw it earlier, but he didn't know how it worked.

"Like this. LEKKA SHINEN!" shouted Hono'o as she flamed him. Sei was black and superdeformed. He was fried.

"You could have showed me without flaming me," coughed Sei.

"You asked," said Hono'o smugly. Kouji started laughing.

"You've really grown up, Lei. I mean Hono'o. Your father should be careful. Someone might try to steal you away from him," said Kouji with a smile and laugh.

"I'm better now. Thanks for asking," said Sei sarcastically. It seemed like Hono'o and Kouji had forgotten about him. Some of the other bandits were acting as lookouts. They saw the two guards that were with them.

"Who are you?" demanded one of the bandits.

"We are Imperial guards for the Emperor of Konan," answered Shen.

"The Emperor is among us?" questioned another bandit.

"Yes," answered Zhu.

They looked around and spotted Odayaka at the table. They knew that Sei wasn't the Emperor. Their eyes widened when they saw the Deity sword. Only the Emperor of Konan carried it.

The bandits bowed down. The other bandits followed suit. Every bandit in the room, except for Kouji. He looked at them all with questioning eyes. Odayaka saw his guards. He realized what happened. He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. He looked at everyone again and groaned.

"What's going on around here?" asked Kouji. "Get off the ground, all of you," he ordered.

"It's all right. Yes, I am Emperor Boushin of Konan, but I am here as a seishi," declared Odayaka. Was this going to happen throughout this entire trip?

"You're the Emperor. You don't look like it. I mean…I…" stammered Kouji. It wasn't as if he was the first Emperor that he had ever meant, but it was quite a surprise.

Odayaka started laughing at everyone's discomfort. Mariko gave him a sharp look. Odayaka smiled at her. "Please stop that all of you. I really wanted to travel causally in disguised; it would be easy for me," said Odayaka. Everyone else stood up. Their Emperor was among them.

They made sure that the Suzaku no Miko and her seishi were comfortable. They offered separated rooms for them, but they declined. Mariko and Hono'o shared a room. Sei and Odayaka shared another room. The next morning Hono'o asked Kouji where they would find the blacksmith.

"The blacksmith lives in the woods. He's along the river bank. He doesn't really live near a village, town or city. We bought weapons from him. The reason why he's so out of the way is because he has too much business. But, I think you can still have weapons forged by him. Considering, who you people are," said Kouji.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Kouji. We have to get going. I'll tell my father you sent your greetings," said Hono'o with a smile.

"You know…I have a son who's only a year older than you, Hono'o…" started Kouji looking at her with interest.

"Um. GOTTA GO! BYE, UNCLE KOUJI!" exclaimed Hono'o as she got up to leave. Odayaka had nothing but sympathy for her. Sei was laughing hysterically. Mariko had to drag Sei out of the room.

They rode off to the river in search of the blacksmith.

* * *

They rode along the bank for a long time. They still hadn't seen a hut or anything. They all stopped to rest their horses. Mariko stepped into the water a little bit. Odayaka stretched out his arms. Sei was achy all over. Sure, he knew how to ride a horse, but his body wasn't used to this. Hono'o was also stretching.

"Let's get something to eat," suggested Mariko.

"Yeah. I'm hungry," agreed Hono'o.

"We might as well take a break. I know that you two aren't use to riding as much as Hono'o and me," said Odayaka.

"That would be good. Thanks," said Sei.

They had food in the saddle bags. Mariko ate her food slowly. She was thinking about how hard it was for her mother. But, her mother had succeeded. Would she be able to do the same?

"What are you thinking about?" asked Odayaka.

"About how we're going to find the other seishi and all the things we need," lied Mariko.

"Don't worry about it so much. Suzaku wants us to succeed. It can't be that hard," said Hono'o brightly.

"For once, I agree with the pyromaniac," said Sei with a smile.

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Hono'o in an argumentative tone. Sei and Hono'o got into another fight. It ended when Hono'o flamed him using a fireball without the fan. Odayaka was laughing at this, and Hono'o flamed him. Mariko was just smiling. It was hard just to be happy. Not with all the doubts that were stirring inside her.

Mariko got up from the group for a moment. She felt the bracelets on her wrists. She had forgotten about them. 'How do these work?' thought Mariko as she touched them.

The woman from the garden off in the distance was watching them unseen. She had followed them by teleporting to all the places with them. She wanted to know what strength this group had. She wanted to test them. The woman focused her chi. "Powers of the unseen. Cast a spell on the Suzaku no Miko," whispered the woman. As soon as she finished her incantation. Mariko fell on the ground writhing in pain.

Sei, Odayaka, and Hono'o heard her fall. They rushed over to her side. She was on the ground; her body was shaking. Odayaka came down to her on the ground.

"I've never see anything like this before. I don't know what happened," said Odayaka.

"She was just standing there a minute ago without a problem," said Hono'o.

"Do something, Odayaka. You're a healer," said Sei.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. How can I heal her? What if it isn't an illness?" asked Odayaka. He didn't want to hurt her, but he could see that she was in pain.

Her body stopped moving. Her breathing was stopping. Her skin was pale.

"DO SOMETHING!" screamed Sei at the top of his lungs. He couldn't stand to watch his best friend die.

"I don't know what to do," whispered Odayaka.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?" demanded Sei.

"Calm down, Sei. Yelling isn't going to help her. Odayaka, please do something. We won't blame you, if you can't help. Just try something," pleaded Hono'o in a quiet voice.

Odayaka pulled Mariko into his arms. He placed his hand underneath her chin at the pulse point. He could feel it faltering. Odayaka focused his chi. He hoped that this would work.

Odayaka closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against Mariko's lips in a deep kiss focusing his healing chi around her. Her lips were cold underneath his. His body glowed his chi around him, and his kanji glowed. Sei and Hono'o watched speechless.

Odayaka broke the kiss when he felt the warmth return to Mariko's lips, and when he felt her pulse.

~*ClareBear's Omake*~

Tamahome: GET YOUR SON'S GRUBBY HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!!!!

Hotohori: But, he healed her.

Tamahome: He's touching her. Can you believe that Miaka? Miaka?

Miaka (with big dreamy eyes): Isn't romantic? It's like something out of a fairy tale.

Nuriko: She wasn't even conscious for it. Besides, it wasn't that long a kiss.

Mitsukake: Interesting healing technique. It seems like he focused his chi to come out of one part of his body to heal her.

Chiriko: That was interesting.

Tamahome: Don't watch that! (frantically)

Chiriko: But, we're already died. I don't think it matters.