Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation - Part 23

Disclaimer: Yuu Watase created Fushigi Yuugi. I own the new characters. There are too many to list.

Author's Note: We are half way to the summoning of the four gods. Byakko and Genbu are done. All they have to do is figure out where the summoning is to take place. We are back in Konan. The land of the mighty, mighty chicken. ^_^ We'll be hanging out here for a while. Good news, I just got all the TV episodes. Tell me if the elements to empires are correct. Please? Also, I borrowed a little idea I got from the Disney movie, Mulan.

Zai Rei was a powerful four elements witch who originated from Hokkan. She is the one who has been following the Suzaku group through Konan. Zai Rei was the same age as Yui. However, she looks only twenty years old. It is the magic that maintains her youth. Zai Rei grew up with the stories of the legendary first Genbu no Miko. She came from a small village that was on the border near Kutou.

As a child, Zai Rei dreamed for the impossible. She wanted to be a miko for one of the remaining gods. For Seiryuu or Suzaku. That was impossible because she was native to the world. Zai Rei envied the mikos because they became something that she couldn't be. Actually, her dream position was to be the Suzaku no Miko. Zai Rei like many natives of the three other empires disliked Kutou because of its attempts to take over the world. Zai Rei thought that the mikos for the two gods would never show. When Miaka showed up in Konan, Zai Rei decided to try her luck in Kutou. She wanted nothing more, but to stop the conflicts that plagued the world. Her entire family was killed because they were so close to the border of Kutou. She had planned to become the miko for Seiryuu, so that she could wish for all the conflicts to end. However, Yui came, and agreed to become the Seiryuu no Miko. What does one do when his or her dreams never come true?

Zai Rei traveled all over the four empires. She collected knowledge. There was no place for her to really go. Her family was dead and her village was gone. She was no one without place to go. A nomad. She was foreigner wherever she went. Zai Rei started to learn more about the world that she lived in. She knew more about the Four Gods of the Earth and Sky than anyone. Her knowledge of the four elements was extensive. In Konan, she learned fire magic. In Byakko, she learned earth magic. In Hokkan, she learned air magic. In Kutou, she learned water magic. All of these elements she mastered. There was on one whose powers were equal to Zai Rei's. It is believed that if she wanted to kill Nakago, she could.

Zai Rei became bitter over time. Her dreams never came true. Zai Rei knew that the world was crumbling before anyone. She is only one step below a god. Her mastery isn't just in the four elements, but in other forms of the magical arts. Zai Rei is a mistress of illusions. Zai Rei learned the same form of possession magic as Seiryuu seishi, Miboshi. She is cunning, highly intelligent, and evil. Her heart is cold and filled with hatred.

* * *

Mariko was with her thoughts again. She thought about what Chichiri had told her. He told her that she had more potential than her mother did at the beginning. Mariko always wondered what her mother really was like. She had heard stories about her and her father. Mariko knew that she had her mother's eyes and her father's dark hair. Hoshi looked like their father. She missed her older brother. Hoshi was the only one who would have understood what she was going through. Mariko realized that Hoshi would have lived with the pain and loss longer than her. He remembered their parents. Mariko felt envy towards him because he had something that Mariko would never have.

Mariko looked at the bracelets on her wrists. They hadn't activated since the duel against Chichiri. By the looks of things, he didn't know how they were able to work either. The bracelets were custom made for Nuriko. However, they were traveling with things from the last group. It was assumed that because Odayaka and Hono'o were seishi it was the reason why they were able to use the magical instruments that their fathers had. It was yet to be determine if Odayaka could use the Deity Sword. He hadn't drawn it once. Tasuki and Chichiri didn't know that Mariko's father was a seishi. But, Mariko was the miko…not the seishi. So, it was a mystery. How was she able to activate the bracelets?

"What are you doing?" asked Mariko. She noticed that the seishi were doing something strange. They were pointing at the sky.

"We're looking at the constellations," answered Sei with a smile.

"The constellations?" asked Mariko as she looked up at the sky. The sky was so clear. It was a beautiful night.

"That constellation over there is Cancer. Each seishi takes the same constellation as the order of the last group. Since, I'm the first seishi. I get the same constellation as Tamahome," said Sei with a secret smile for Mariko. He hadn't told anyone who her father really was. Chichiri and Tasuki knew that Miaka's husband was a man named Sukunami Taka. What they didn't know was that Taka WAS Tamahome.

"The one over there is the Sea Hydra," pointed out Odayaka, "It was my father's constellation. I suppose since I'm second seishi like him that it's mine, too."

"I also have the Hydra, like the last third seishi, Nuriko," said Hono'o.

"Mine is the constellation: Gemini," said Shitsu with a smile.

"Tamahome," whispered Mariko. Sei gave her a strange look. None of the other seishi noticed.

"I hope everyone is very comfortable tonight," commented Zhenyou with a smile.

"We're fine. Thanks for asking," said Sei.

Zhenyou smiled again and went back with the guards. He guided them through Konan. This annoyed Odayaka. He knew his way around Konan. He made it a point to know. There was some thing about Zhenyou that Odayaka just didn't like. Zhenyou was too friendly and eager to please for his tastes.

"What are you thinking about, Odayaka?" asked Hono'o.

"About that man. I don't like him," said Odayaka honestly.

"Why not?" asked Hono'o.

"There's just something about him. I don't know. I can feel it. That's all," said Odayaka. He trusted his instincts. Chichiri taught him that it was something that couldn't be ignored.

"I know what you mean. That guy's too good to be true," agreed Hono'o, "But, Mariko says that he could be one of the seishi. We can't just forget him. We'll just have to keep an eye on him.

"I suppose that all we can do for now," agreed Odayaka.

The next morning they continued their journey towards where the shinzahou said that scrolls would be. The shinzahou gave a name of Hakko Village on the Juso prefecture. It was in the countryside.

When everyone got up that morning they realized that they were out of supplies. Odayaka decided to send the guards off to pick up the supplies. He noticed that Zhenyou was gone for some strange reason. 'Maybe, he left for good. I hope so,' thought Odayaka.

"We have to wait for them," said Shitsu. She didn't like this whole waiting thing. She felt like they were behind from the other groups.

"We'll get moving when the guards come back," said Mariko.

"Where did Zhenyou go?" asked Sei.

"I don't know. He said that he needed a walk or something," said Hono'o. She was worried. They couldn't keep on eye on him if he wasn't there.

"I'm so bored. If we don't move soon, I'm going to lose it!" exclaimed Sei.

Everyone sighed.

* * *

Shen and Zhu were walking back with supplies. They were happy that they were contributing to the group. Their Emperor was someone they both admired. He was noble and kind. Emperor Odayaka never acted like an emperor. He acted like their friend.

"We should get back soon, Zhu," said Shen.

"I think I hear something," said Zhu.

"Let's check it out," said Shen. Zhu nodded. They rode their horses over there.

They saw a beautiful woman bathing in the water. She was humming to herself. They watched with amazement as her hair turned into water. Her long flowing bluish-black hair turned into flowing water. She turned around. The guards' jaws dropped.

"A-are you some kind of forest spirit?" stammered Shen in a whisper.

"You've seen too much. That's too bad," said the woman. Her eyes were ruby red. There was a swirl of magic that surrounded her. She became Zhenyou.

"ZHENYOU!" exclaimed Zhu.

"Actually, my name is Zai Rei. But, don't worry…you won't need to remember it for long," said Zhenyou in deep masculine voice. Zhenyou marched up to them. The guards took out their spears. They were in battle stances.

It did them very little good. Zhenyou used his chi. He flung them against the trees. Zhenyou used the possession magic and stole their voices away so that no one could hear them scream. Zhenyou used his telekinesis to rip their bodies apart. He smiled as he ripped out Shen's left arm using his mind. It was very amusing to watch him scream in pain, and have no sound come out. Zhenyou WAS Zai Rei was laughing in a feminine voice.

When she was done, there was blood in the spring. Blood on the trees and grass. There were scattered body parts everywhere. There wasn't a single splatter of blood on Zhenyou's clothes. He had a maniacal smile on his face. The reason why Zhenyou went to the spring was because it was easy for Zai Rei to maintain an illusion for a long time. However, it was exhausting trying to hide it from Odayaka. He was the strongest seishi out of the Suzaku seishi. He would have been able to detect her if she didn't keep up the illusion using a lot of power.

Ran Zhenyou was nothing more but an illusion. A phantom created by Zai Rei. She worked alone. She didn't need thugs to do her dirty work like Nakago. She was also a very fastidious woman. Before Zai Rei left as her disguise Zhenyou, she used her chi and turned the bodies of the two guards into dust. With a swirl of wind, the dust was gone. She cast another spell. There were now cuts all over Zhenyou's body. He limped back to the others.

Everyone saw Zhenyou staggering back to them. Their jaws dropped. Sei and Hono'o supported his arms. They helped Zhenyou to one of the blankets. Odayaka walked up to him to look at the wounds. He used his chi.

"What happened, Zhenyou?" asked Mariko with concern in her eyes.

"We-we were attacked. Your guards were killed, Emperor Odayaka. Forgive me. I went with them to gather supplies. There were bandits. They refused to surrender any of the valuables with them. They told me to run. I was a coward. Your guards were brave and valiant men," said Zhenyou. He was bleeding from his cuts. Odayaka hung his head down. His guards were murdered. Odayaka wanted to know who did it. It was a horrendous crime to kill Imperial guards. Odayaka tended to Zhenyou's wounds. Zhenyou winced in pain. His wounds were gone in a matter of minutes. Zhenyou couldn't give much details about the people that attacked them. Odayaka frowned.

"I think we should get out of here," suggested Sei.

"We can't. We need to know what happened to my guards," disagreed Odayaka.

"We were wasting precious time. I'm sorry, Emperor Odayaka. But, we should keep moving," in toned Shitsu.

"Well…it's up to you, Mariko. Do you think we should move on?" asked Odayaka.

Mariko thought about it. She knew that Odayaka wanted to know what exactly happened. However, she also knew that Shitsu, Sei, and Hono'o wanted to move on. She had to decided for the majority's sake.

"We'll leave for Juso. For the village of Hakko," said Mariko with a sigh.

Odayaka nodded with that they left for the home village of Tamahome.

* * *

Zhenyou said nothing more about the attack. Mariko thought that he was too traumatized with what he saw. She had her doubts about him before. Mariko didn't trust him, but now it was different. The man was nearly killed. Mariko wasn't sure if they were random attacker or attackers of the Suzaku group. Mariko only knew one thing for certain: he wasn't a seishi.

They came to the first village in the Juso prefecture. Odayaka was the one in charge of carrying the shinzahou. He hid the shinzahou by using an illusion. The village in Juso was prosperous. Odayaka convinced Shitsu not to keep calling him emperor. She liked the idea of Odayaka wanting to travel incognito.

"This is a very nice village," commented Mariko.

"The entire Juso prefecture is well funded in some areas by the order of the Emperor," said Odayaka with a smile and a wink. Mariko couldn't help it but laugh. Odayaka laughed also. Everyone else was looking at them strangely at them with sweatdrops.

"Let's find some place to stay for the evening. It's almost sundown," suggest Shitsu. Everyone agreed with her. They went to an inn for the evening. The girls took one room and the guys took another. Mariko had a bed all to herself while Hono'o and Shitsu had to share one. Zhenyou wasn't feeling well still, so he got a room of his own.

Mariko was having strange dreams again. In her dreams, she was being devoured by Suzaku. She always woke up out of breath and tired from the dreams. This wasn't doing any good. Mariko didn't know why she was so afraid. Was Suzaku going to devour her? The strange thing was she was being devoured from the inside. The devouring usually started in her chest and permeated throughout her body. Mariko always felt like she was on fire. She could here the sound of beating wings against air and the call of Suzaku.

Mariko woke up earlier than the others. She didn't like sleeping anymore. She went to the downstairs. There was talk going around the village. "What's going on?" Mariko asked one of the men.

"Every year, we have a pageant of the most beautiful girls in our village when they come of marrying age. It gives the men a chance to pick the girl," said the man with a smile.

"I think that's awful. They are parading them around like goods," remarked Mariko. This was absolutely sexist. She couldn't believe it.

"You're a very pretty girl. I'm sure you'll find a husband here today as well," complimented the man.

"I'm not from around here. And I'm not interested in getting married to anyone," said Mariko with a slight blush on her face.

"That's right," said a voice from behind them. It was Odayaka.

"Good morning Odayaka," greeted Mariko.

"You shouldn't go wandering off on your own, Mariko," scolded Odayaka.

"I wasn't wandering off," said Mariko defensively.

"Ah. I see. You two are together. Yes, you do make a beautiful couple," commented the man.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"I'm not with her like that! I'm her protection," explained Odayaka frantically. He was superdeformed.

"Yes! That's right," corrected Mariko with a sweatdrop.

"Oh. I see. I thought that you were together. Sorry, my mistake," said the man. He shrugged his shoulders and walked off.

Odayaka let out sigh of relief. "That was close," he said.

Mariko was looking at him funny. 'Why do I have the feeling he just insulted me?' she thought. She stalked off away from Odayaka.

"Hey! What did I say?" asked Odayaka after her. He had to run slightly to catch up with her.

"Let's keep looking for the seishi and the scrolls. We should be getting back to the others," said Mariko. She felt something a sudden tingle. She looked around her. There was an earthquake that struck.

Odayaka covered her with his body. There were pieces of the debris that fell from the doorway that they were under. The entire building across from them down on a crowd of people. The shaking continued. Mariko closed her eyes. Odayaka did his best to keep her calm. He used his powers and activated a shield around them. The red aura kept them safe. The earthquake finally stopped. Odayaka lowered his shield. They both looked around them.

"Over there, Odayaka! Look!" shouted Mariko. The building across the street wasn't completely crumbled.

"HELP US!" shouted someone from underneath the rumble.

"SHE CAN'T KEEP THE SHEILD UP FOR LONG!" yelled someone else.

"Odayaka, I think one of our seishi was in that building," said Mariko.

"Either way we have to help these people," said Odayaka.

"I'll run back to the inn and bring back the others. Get started, Odayaka," said Mariko.

"Right!" agreed Odayaka. He took off one of his outer robes. He used his magic to search through the rumble. The heaviest pillars were taken off using his powers. His kanji was glowing brightly. There was a crowd of people gathering around him. They looked with amazement. This man was a Suzaku seishi.

"What are you people standing around here for? Help your townspeople," ordered Odayaka. They listened to him. They cleared more of the rumble. The other seishi came running.

"We felt the earthquake," said Sei.

"Let's get to work," suggested Hono'o.

"Right," said Shitsu.

They got to work lifting the rocks and plaster. Mariko helped them. Someone asked her, "Are you the Suzaku no Miko?"

Mariko nodded. "The Suzaku no Miko is here!" the man declared.

"Yes. We are her seishi," affirmed Sei.

"But, introductions can wait we have to save your people," interrupted Hono'o.

They continued their work and cleared all the rumble without any problem. They finished in a couple of minutes. When the rumble was cleared, they found a group of people surrounding a young woman. She had collapsed. However, there was a residual red glow around her body. She was face up. Her left palm had a glowing red kanji on it.

"Kawa. River. She's a seishi," said Mariko. She looked around her. Mariko noticed that there wasn't any rumble around the people. It was in the shape of a perfect circle.

"Let me help her," said Odayaka. He went to check her injuries. "Thank Suzaku. She's only unconscious." He turned back at the townspeople.

"Who is she?" asked Sei.

"Her name is Shi Meirong," said a man in the crowd, "I am her fiancée."

"Did you know that she was a Suzaku seishi?" asked Mariko.

"No, Suzaku no Miko," said the man shaking his head.

"What's your name? And, how long have you been engaged to her?" asked Mariko.

"My name is Jiang Fei. I've been engaged to her since only this morning," answered the man.

Sei and Mariko nearly fell over. They kept forgetting that people got married very young around there. Everyone else was looking at them superdeformed.

"As a seishi, she is required to do her duty," said Hono'o.

"But, she can't leave. We're suppose to marry by the end of the week," said Jiang Fei.

"Is there some place we can talk privately?" asked Odayaka. He didn't like the crowd that was collecting around them.

"We can go to her house. I think her parents are worried about her," said Jiang Fei. He picked her up. They followed him to a large house in another part of the village. Sei knocked on front door.

A man dressed in fine robes came to the door. "I am her father. I am the mayor of this village," said the finely dressed man.

"Sir Shi, we need to tell you something about your daughter. May we come in?" asked Mariko respectfully.

"Please enter my humble home, Suzaku no Miko," said the mayor as he bowed to her. The seishi followed her into the house.

"I'll put her down in bed," said Jiang Fei. He left the room.

"May I ask what brings you to my village?" asked the mayor.

"We were just passing through. We're going to a village named Hakko. Your daughter is the fifth seishi we need," said Mariko.

"What?" asked Sir Shi. Mariko clutched her teeth. It was obvious that the man viewed his daughter as a tool just to continue his family line. 'What a stubborn pig! The world is ending and he's thinking of useless things!" thought Mariko. A vein was coming out of her forehead. She was about to lose her temper. Sei noticed. He had seen her temper before. His mother said it was just like Mariko's father's temper. He scooted away from her. Sei was superdeformed. Shitsu and Hono'o were superdeformed. Odayaka cleared his throat.

"Please wait in another room everyone," instructed Odayaka calmly. Everyone looked at him with question marks around them.

"But, Odayaka…" started Mariko.

"Just wait outside. Trust me. I can get him to agree with me, and allow his daughter to join us. No problem," said Odayaka with a calm smile.

"All right," said Sei. They went to another room. They stopped Jiang Fei from going into the living room. Odayaka used his magic to seal any sound from leaving the room when he was satisfied he decided to speak.

"Sir Shi, we really want your daughter to come with us. The truth is we can't summon Suzaku without her. The world around you is crumbling. The only way to save it is to summon Suzaku along with the rest of the gods. There are four groups, including this one, that are traveling in the four empires. You will be allowing your daughter to come with us," ordered Odayaka calmly.

"What kind of punk kid are you that you can come into my house and village making demands?!" bellowed Sir Shi. Odayaka looked at him with his arms folded over his chest. "Who the Hell do you think you are?! You should show some respect to your elders, boy!"

"Well, I didn't want it to come down to this. You leave me no choice. You should show me some respect," said Odayaka with a smile. Sir Shi's mouth dropped opened at the young man's insolence. "Because…I am the Emperor of Konan," finished Odayaka with a sigh.

"What?!" yelled out Sir Shi.

Odayaka took the sword off his side. There was the royal crest on it. Sir Shi knew that Odayaka was the emperor. Only the emperor had that sword. No one was stupid enough to run around calling themselves the Emperor of Konan. Sir Shi was now on his knees in front of Odayaka.

"Please forgive me, Emperor Boushin," pleaded Sir Shi without looking up.

"I do forgive. I also give an imperial order to anyone who is a seishi to perform their duties as such. Your daughter is ordered to come with us. You don't get a say in it. You are the mayor of this village. The village belongs to the people. Since, I am the Emperor, I out rank you. I can relieve you of your position and put someone else in charge, but I won't. I already said I forgive your behavior. By the way, do not say anything about what we've discussed outside this room," ordered Odayaka in a very calm voice.

"As you wish, Emperor Boushin," said Sir Shi humbly.

"Also you will have us for the evening. You will not call me Emperor Boushin, but rather by my seishi name, Odayaka," he said.

"Yes, my lord," said Sir Shi.

The others were outside the door. Hono'o and Sei had their ears pressed up against the door. They couldn't hear anything because of the spell that Odayaka had cast.

"Do you hear anything?" asked Mariko. Shitsu and Jiang Fei wanted to know as well.

"Nope. Not a thing," said Sei. Suddenly the door opened with such force that Hono'o and Sei were flattened against the wall.

"It worked. Kawa will be coming with us. The mayor has agreed to let us stay for the night," said Odayaka with a smile.

"That's wonderful, Odayaka," said Mariko happily.

"Yes! We have another seishi. All we have to do is wait for her to wake up and tell her," said Shitsu.

Hono'o and Sei are still pressed up against the wall.

"Ugh. That hurt," mumbled Sei.

"Ow. A lot," said Hono'o as they both sank to the floor. Odayaka was looking at them. He thought about it and realized that they were listening at the door. He went superdeformed and said in a very cute, high-pitched voice, "Oops. Sorry about that. I didn't know you were at the door!"

"Wait. My fiancée has to go with you? Sir Shi, I'm suppose to marry her at the end of the week," said Jiang Fei.

"Well, you can't if she isn't here. Meirong has to go. It is by imperial order from the Emperor of Konan. The situation is more dire than anyone realized, Jiang Fei. The world is ending. If the miko and the seishi do not perform their duty, then you will not be married to my daughter for very long," said Sir Shi.

"Imperial order? The world is coming to an end?" asked Jiang Fei. He looked a little pale.

"Yes. We must summon the gods all at once," confirmed Mariko. There came a knock at the door.

"Hello? Is the Suzaku no Miko and her seishi here?" asked a familiar voice.

"It's Zhenyou. He's our guide. Please let him in," said Mariko. Sir Shi nodded and Jiang Fei let the man inside. He had a very busy day. He was the one who created the earthquake with hopes of delaying them. His or rather, her, plan had backfired. Because there was another seishi found. Zai Rei had to come up with something else. For now, she would have to work the group from the inside…destroying them.

Patience was a virtue. Zai Rei had waited half her life for her chance. A little more wouldn't hurt.

~*ClareBear's Omake*~

Miaka: They are in big trouble! That horrible woman! Oh my God! Did you see what she did to those guards?!

Tamahome: It took so long for the villain to show her true colors. She's a good illusionist.

Hotohori: I'm surprised that Boushin hasn't figured it out yet.

Tamahome: She's quite a gender-bender. She's got ClareBear confused and she made her up.

Nuriko: She fools people better than me.

Tamahome: Yeah! And she's an actually woman. Better than you! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Nuriko gives Tamahome an upper cut. Tamahome is launched into the air.

Nuriko: ANYONE ELSE WANT TO SAY SOMETHING!!! COME ON!!!

Everyone is superdeformed and sweatdropped.

Nuriko: I didn't think so. Humph!

Nuriko is walking around showing off his muscles.