Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation – Part 35
Disclaimer: I don't own the original Fushigi Yuugi. I own this story and all the new characters. Yuu Watase is the original creator...
Author's Note: The summoning is drawing near. Finally, we'll be able to see all the four gods in one place at the same time. Hono'o is close to death, but summoning Suzaku should remedy that problem. Or will it? There's more to this than you think...
By the way, for those of you who have questions at the end of this fic, I'll be having a Q & A in the forum so that everyone can see the answers. Also, fire up your memory juices or go to the forum. Everyone is going to be together from here on out. The summoning incantation has been altered a little bit. After all it's special. J
Odayaka continued to concentrate. Everyone opened their eyes when the light faded away. Mariko opened her eyes to find Amai smiling at her. Yoko was standing near Amai with a smile as well. There were fourteen people in tow with them. The rules for the summoning in the scroll allowed for no trespassers, only seishi and mikos.
"Well, I guess introductions are in order," said Mariko. "I am the Suzaku no Miko, Sukunami Mariko. These are my seishi. Seijitsu, Odayaka, Hono'o, Shitsu, Kawa, Taki, and Shiro." Mariko waved her arm in front of her seishi. The seishi waved at everyone.
"Call me Sei," said Sei.
"Why am I the last one to be introduced?" asked Shiro with indignation.
"Because you were the last one to join us, you dumbass," answered Hono'o with the tessen in her hand.
"I AM NOT A DUMBASS!" Shiro shouted back to Hono'o.
Hono'o stuck her tongue out at him. Everyone else sweatdropped.
"Why don't I introduce myself? I'm the Byakko no Miko. My name is Okano Amai. These are my seishi: Inochi, Sakana, Kaze, Kitsune, Tsuki, Neko, and Tsuchi," said Amai with a sweet smile.
"You were the group that figured out where the summoning was going to take place. I'm impressed," complimented Odayaka.
"I'm next. My name is Soohoo Yoko, the Genbu no Miko. These are my seishi: Yogensha, Kokoro, Seizonsha, Kasumi, Atama, Tetsu, and Kori. Glow your kanji, guys," ordered Yoko gently. The Genbu seishi glowed their green kanji. The Suzaku and Byakko seishi followed suit. Hono'o was pleasantly surprised to find that she could glow her kanji. Odayaka smiled inwardly.
"Hey, where's the Seiryuu group?" asked Mariko.
"Your arch rival hasn't arrived yet," answered Amai.
"I don't care about Miwa. For someone to be an arch rival, they need to have some intelligence. I just want to see my brother," said Mariko with a smile.
"Someone wanted to see me?" asked a voice from behind all of them. There was a bright blue light that surrounded the group that had just teleported there. The Seiryuu group had finally arrived.
"Are we last?" asked Miwa.
"It would appear to be so, Lady Miwa," agreed Mori.
"Hoshi!" cried out Mariko as she ran up to give her brother a hug. Ryu hugged his sister back. Odayaka watched this with some interest. 'He looks tough. So, that's her older brother,' thought Odayaka.
"YOU!" declared Hoseki when she saw Odayaka. She was pointing at Odayaka with a shaky arm. Odayaka gave her a strange, clueless look.
"YOU!" declared Miwa when she saw Mariko. Mariko smiled at her sweetly. Miwa had her hand in a fist complete with a throbbing vein in it.
"What?" asked Mariko and Odayaka in unison.
"You're a seishi!" exclaimed Hoseki to Odayaka.
"Who are you again? You look familiar, but I can't place your face," said Odayaka. This was only adding insult to injury for Hoseki.
"I am the Imperial Princess of Kutou, Princess Shunrong! My seishi name is Hoseki, said Hoseki through her teeth.
"Oh, that's right," said Odayaka as he patted her on the top of her head. Hoseki fumed at him. "What did I do to you again?" he asked.
"WHAT?!" Hoseki shouted.
"I honestly don't remember what I did to you, Princess. I can't possible be held responsible for remembering everyone I've tricked," said Odayaka.
'This is the same guy who doesn't read what he signs,' Sei thought.
"ARGH! Emperor Boushin!" shouted Hoseki in sheer frustration.
"So, you two know each other," said Yoko to break the tension. Her seishi fell over superdeformed.
"You're an emperor?" asked Inochi.
"Yes, I am the Emperor of Konan," said Odayaka with a gentle smile. The seishi from the other three groups looked at him with surprise. Most of them had their jaws wide open. 'That Odayaka reminds of someone. Who does he remind me of?' thought Miwa as she looked at Mariko. 'Oh, yes. That's who he reminds me of,' she thought with a frown.
"So, you're Emperor Hotohori's son," said Ryu with a soft smile on his face. He gave Odayaka a slight bow. Odayaka held up his hands.
"There's no need for you to do that, um…Hoshi-san. I mean Ryu," corrected Odayaka with a stammer. For some strange reason, Ryu was making him nervous.
"It's good to see you, Ryu. You, too. Inochi and Yogensha," said Sei with a smile of relief.
"I'm sure that everything is fine," said Ryu as he looked at his younger sister. Mariko nodded, and gave Hono'o a look. Hono'o didn't see it because she was busy yawning. The exhaustion was coming back. 'We'll have to summon Suzaku soon,' thought Odayaka with concern. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? Or have we missed the introductions already. Sorry about that. By the way, I'm Ryu. This is Kinomoto Miwa, the Seiryuu no Miko. You all have heard from Hoseki already. The remaining Seiryuu seishi are: Iwa, Mori, Omoi, Kai, and Kaga."
"The first thing we have to is purify ourselves. I saw a large bath over there," said Amai as she pointed behind the Seiryuu group.
"The female seishi will help us get ready," said Miwa.
"Um…my group doesn't have any female seishi," said Yoko.
"We'll help you!" offered Atama eagerly.
"Yeah! We don't mind!" agreed Kori.
"I don't think so," said Kokoro in a dangerous and protective tone.
"Never mind," said Atama and Kori. They didn't want to mess with Kokoro. The other seishi and mikos sweatdropped.
"That's all right we have enough female seishi for this. The Byakko group seems to have an excess," observed Mariko.
"All the male seishi are to wait here. Behave yourselves or Taiitsukun will be mad at you," warned Mariko. The remaining, male seishi decided to do more introductions and to get to know each other better.
* * *
Mariko, Amai, Yoko, and Miwa were enjoying themselves in the spring. Part of it was hot spring and other part was just clean, calm, and cool water. The female seishi were keeping watch to protect the mikos and to keep the male seishi out of the spring.
"This is so nice and relaxing," sighed Yoko, "You wouldn't believe how bad the blizzards are in Hokkan. It snowed and snowed."
"Sailo's always dry. We worried about getting water," said Amai. She was sitting in the water near the edge.
"I wish I could say that our problems were just the weather or the earthquakes. We were held prisoner near a volcano, and tried for the crimes of the last Seiryuu group. It was a big mess," said Miwa as she floated on her back. What she didn't know was that Mariko had gotten under water and was coming up to her. Mariko deftly flipped Miwa over. Miwa screamed in surprised and was frantically trying to keep herself from sinking.
"HAHAHAHAHA! I got you!" laughed Mariko.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" shouted Miwa. Mariko splashed her with some water.
"Come on now, Kinomoto. Can't you take a joke?" teased Mariko.
"How is it possible for your brother to be so nice, but for you to be so mean?" asked Miwa with annoyance.
"Could it be that you can't take a joke?" asked Mariko with a smirk as she splashed Miwa with some more water.
"STOP THAT!" shouted Miwa.
"Stop that, both of you," pleaded Amai with a sweatdrop.
"Yeah, we're suppose to get along," added Yoko.
"At least my god isn't an overgrown red chicken," said Miwa as she splashed Mariko.
"HEY! MY GOD ISN'T A CHICKEN! SUZAKU IS A PHONEIX!" yelled back Mariko.
Mariko and Miwa glared at each other. "Grr.." they growled at each other.
Amai and Yoko were trying their best to say nothing. They were afraid to say anything. Mariko turned her back away from Miwa. "I'm not going to play any childish game with you," said Mariko, "I'm above that sort of thing."
Miwa glared at Mariko's back. If she had lasers in her eyes, she could have burned holes into Mariko's back. Instead, with an evil grin on her face, Miwa splashed Mariko with a big wave of water. This also succeeded in getting Yoko and Amai wet and mad.
A huge water fight started. The female seishi stood idly by watching all of this. They let out a sigh and were sweatdropped.
* * *
"I wish we could have helped them," sighed Atama.
"Me, too," agreed Kori.
"You two are a pair of hentai," said Kokoro gruffly.
"There was one time when I thought none of this was going to happen," said Iwa.
"Was it at that volcano?" asked Omoi. Kai looked at his twin then at Iwa.
"Yes," answered Iwa.
"What happened exactly, Ryu?" asked Sei. He noticed that Ryu seemed quieter whenever they mentioned something about a volcano. Ryu stiffed slightly, and his features darkened.
"Nothing important. Excuse me, Sei," said Ryu as he got up. He walked over to where Yogensha, Seizonsha, Kasumi, Tetsu, and Odayaka were sitting. Kaga and Shiro were showing off to each other. Taki and Tsuchi were having a conversation about farming. Inochi and Sakana were watching Kaga and Shiro.
"At the volcano, there was a temple where all the summoning scrolls were being held at. It was also a trap. The villagers put us through an unfair trial for the crimes of the last Seiryuu group," summed up Omoi.
"We were supposed to be all tortured, but Ryu offered to take the torture for everyone else," added Kai softly, "I think that Ryu still doesn't want to talk about it.
"He was in pretty bad shape when he was thrown back into our cell. He kept calling for his mother, father, and sister. Your miko," said Iwa softly. Kai, Omoi, and Iwa didn't want Ryu to hear them. Sei's eyes widened in horror as he turned to look at Ryu. Ryu was talking animatedly to Odayaka. He had a smile on his face. Sei couldn't imagine the pain Ryu must have endured. Sei realized that Ryu was happier now that he had a chance to see that his younger sister was fine. Sei smiled to himself because he had kept the promise he had made to Ryu.
"I wonder where Taiitsukun and the Nyan Nyans are. They should be here. There's something wrong here," observed Odayaka.
"I can't see anything, but I know what you're talking about. Something is just hanging in the air," agreed Yogensha with a frown.
"What do you mean?" asked Ryu. The smile on his face faded away. He noticed that Odayaka and Yogensha were looking around them.
"It's too quiet. Like there's something that's going to happen," said Odayaka, "I just can't shake that feeling. It's the same feeling I had a while ago."
"When did you have that feeling?" asked Sei from the other side. The sound of someone clearing her throat came from behind them. It was Mori.
"We're ready. Sorry it took so long. We had some problems in the spring," said Shitsu. All the female seishi stood by. The four mikos entered. Amai was dressed in a white gown with simple embroidery that Neko's father had purchased for her. Neko helped pick out the dress. Neko beamed when she saw Amai walk in. Inochi smiled at her. Amai blushed at all the attention that her seishi gave her. She was holding the shinzahou in her right hand.
Yoko was dressed in a dark green dress. It was more elaborate in design than Amai. She had the shinzahou around her neck. Her blonde hair was up with some tendrils hanging down that were framing her oval shaped face. Kokoro's ears went a little red.
"You look great, Yoko," complimented Yogensha. All the Genbu seishi nodded in agreement.
"Thanks," said Yoko with a large smile.
Miwa came in next. She had a blue dress on. It was just as elaborate as Yui's summoning dress. It was probably the most elaborate dress out of the four. Emperor Feng was the one who ordered it with the help of Hoseki. Miwa had the shinzahou in her ear lobes. They were the brightest pieces of jewelry on her. She had a golden band that wrapped around her left bicep.
Mariko came in last with the shinzahou on the top of her head. Mariko had the most elaborate shinzahou. The red, silk gown was very simple in design. The dress came down from one shoulder and had an imperial waistline. It looked more modern than other dresses.
"Thank you, Sei. Odayaka. I love it," said Mariko. She knew who came up with the design. She gave a hug to Sei, and kissed him on the cheek. Mariko gave a quick peck on the cheek to Odayaka. Odayaka tried his best not to look surprised or embarrassed. Sei gave him a look, and he looked at Ryu. Sei was relieved to see that Ryu didn't notice anything. He knew that Odayaka had feelings for Mariko, and decided not to let Ryu know about them until later. Sei knew that Odayaka was in love with Mariko. Sei was wondering when Odayaka would say something to Mariko. If he wasn't carefully, Mariko would figure it out soon by herself.
"There's an altar over on the other side. Kaga and I saw it," said Shiro.
Everyone walked over there. All the groups were with their respective mikos. They all were silent. The day of reckoning was here. The altar was a large circle with the statues of the four gods in the four directions. The statues were made out of white marble. In the center of the circle was a large torch that had to be lit for the second scrolls to burn. The center circle was actually a step up away from the statues. The circle was so large that the mikos were going to be a good twenty yards away from their seishi. There were seven smaller circles in front of the large statues of the four gods. There was a silence that Odayaka, Yogensha, and Tsuki felt uncomfortable. Hono'o could feel something strange as well. It was something that she could almost recognize, but the feeling faded away. Shiro gave her a worried look.
"It's time to start," said Yoko, "Everyone take your positions."
Yoko, Miwa, Mariko, and Amai went up the tall step. They walked over to the center. There were four circles around the large torch. When the mikos stepped onto the circle the torch activated, and was a blaze. Yoko took her place in the North position. Amai took her position in the West. Miwa stood in the direction of the East. Mariko stood in the direction of the South.
"I'll say my direction first. Followed by Amai. Then Miwa, and finally Mariko," said Yoko. The seishi took their places at the circles in front of the statues.
"Everyone must lower their chi to allow the gods to access our powers so that they will emerge. From there, the mikos will take over," instructed Odayaka in a clear voice. It was clear to everyone that he knew more about how this was going to happen than anyone. The other seishi had learned that he was a student of one of the original Suzuku seishi. Everyone nodded. All the mikos had the second scrolls ready with the shinzahou.
In unison the four mikos began the incantation:
"The Four Directions of the Sky
The Four Directions of the Earth
By using the way, mind, and goodness
With deep rules
With truth and justice"
"Please protector of the North, Genbu," declared Yoko.
"Please protector of the West, Sailo," declared Amai.
"Please protector of the East, Seiryuu," declared Miwa.
"Please protector of the South, Suzaku," declared Mariko.
They continued:
"Now We will complete the
words: Seven Constellations from the North, West, East, and South
From the sky to the Earth
Through the Four Ultimates
Fulfill for all living
things
Please make extinct every kind of evil
By your godly powers
Protect us.
Only We wish
Please listen to this
From the sky
Please come down to us!"
At the end of the incantation, all four of the second scrolls were thrown into the fire. The fire went up into the air. The four mikos stepped back away from the fire. The fire roared and went back to normal. There was an utter silence. All was still. The seishi looked around them. Up at the sky. At the water that surrounded the altar on one side. Nothing.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" exclaimed Kokoro breaking the silence. All the seishi looked around. Mariko heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
"And there shall be no trespassers…" quoted a familiar voice from the text from the first summoning scroll. The footsteps were coming closer.
"Zhenyou," gasped Mariko in a whisper as her eyes widened.
~*ClareBear's Omake*~
Miaka:
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! This is a disaster!
Tamahome: This is
bad! I almost forgot about
Zhenyou! Where the Hell did he come
from?
Nuriko: BAKA! You forgot that Zhenyou is Zai Rei.
Hotohori: Boushin
was right. There was something wrong.
Chiriko: He and
the other two seishi, Yogensha and Tsuki, must have noticed. He, or rather she, kept her chi down long
enough for them to lower their powers.
Mistukake: I
wonder if all of them have enough power.
Tamahome: Why are
we so worried? There's twenty-eight
seishi there. They could beat her. Right, Chiriko?
Chiriko: I don't
know about that. You saw what she did
to those imperial guards. We've seen
everything that she's done. Remember,
she has enough power to take and keep chi from someone. Look what she did to Hono'o. She didn't use a lot of power to do it.
Miaka: You mean
all the work we've done and all the work they've done is going to be over? I don't believe this.
Tamahome: Our children at her mercy.
