Chapter 12: You Shall Know The Truth…

They made it out of the forest the next day without further incident, finding themselves in a small town at the edge of the desert. Luckily for them, the people were very hospitable. It also helped that the Suzaku no Miko was able to charm most of the patrons in the small establishment which passed for a tavern at the edge of the town. Most of them were male, Nakago noted, and there was no shortage of people offering to buy her food and drink.

He watched from a discreet corner of the room as she recounted to a captive audience how they had killed a wolf which, from her descriptions, had to be about the size of three oxen. He could not help but be amused by her gross exaggerations and more so at the way her spellbound audience seemed to lap it all up. The best thing about it was that some of the men were nodding and confirming her story by saying how they'd had close encounters with the aforesaid wolf…

The Suzaku no Miko was friendly, easy-going…effervescent. That was what drew people to her like bees to honey…or moths to a flame. She seemed to have gotten over Tamahome's death, but he knew that appearances could be deceiving…It did not escape his notice, how the light in her eyes was somehow that little bit dimmer and how at certain times, her cheerfulness seemed a little too forced. For someone who shunned emotions, Nakago was astonishingly adapt at reading them in other people.

His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of a plump, provocatively dressed serving girl. She was so heavily made-up that he was almost certain that if she smiled too widely, her face would crack. Unfortunately, she seemed to have made him her target and advanced on him. Nakago had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

"Hello, Handsome," she cooed, batting her eyelashes at him, unaware of his faint look of distaste.

She leaned towards him, thrusting her ample bosom at his face. She did not seem the least put off by his icy stare. Some people, he reflected, just can't take a hint. It prompted him to change tactics. Might as well make use of this opportunity…

"Hello," he allowed a smirk to tug on his lips.

The woman sighed dreamily in appreciation. The golden haired man sitting at the table in front of her was absolutely gorgeous, and it was hard not to swoon in his presence. And that smile…she would have willingly melted into a puddle at his feet had it not been for the insistent demands for more rice from a patron at another table. She tossed a dirty look at the other customer and turned back to the handsome man. "I'll be back!" she gave him her best come-hither look before departing.

"Take your time," the blonde haired stranger said smoothly.

She served the other customer and made it back in record time, placing a tray of food down on the table in front of him along with a drink. "It's on the house," she winked at him suggestively, implying that she would be happy to provide other…services 'on-the-house' as well.

Nakago was mildly amused at her antics. The stupid woman obviously thought that all her eyelash fluttering and insipid, high pitched giggling would make her attractive to him. Truth to tell, she reminded him too much of the former Kutou Emperor's concubines. It repulsed him.

He graced her with another half-smirk, "Arigatou," he said agreeably. He made it sound as sincere as possible, and she beamed happily at him. Stupid cow, he thought disdainfully.

Thankfully, she was forced to leave him in peace as a fresh barrage of orders were shouted out by other customers.


Miaka watched him out of the corner of her eye as a voluptuous girl started trying to chat him up. The poor girl must have been blind to have missed the fleeting look of disgust which had passed over Nakago's face. Still…Miaka could not help but snigger at the girl's misguided attempts to gain his favour. As the scene between the waitress and her former worst enemy played out, she noticed with growing interest that Nakago had apparently overcome his initial dislike and had started…

By the gods…is he FLIRTING with her?? Miaka did not know whether to throw up or to burst out laughing at the sheer hilarity of it all. Frankly, she had not even dared to imagine Nakago being capable of such a thing.

Miaka gulped as Nakago turned on the charm. She could almost swear that the temperature in the room had just risen by about ten degrees…and he was at the corner furthest away from her! Not only had the blonde shogun been blessed with good looks and intelligence, at the moment, he practically oozed sexuality. He could turn it on and off at will, it seemed…and he wasn't above using it to his advantage, as evidenced by the free meal he'd just managed to charm out of the poor deluded waitress.


The sun hung low on the horizon when they left the town behind. Nakago had informed Miaka that it was better to travel in the desert at night when it was cooler. Both of them carried packs containing food and water given to them by the townsfolk. A gift, they insisted, for killing the wolf which had been posing a threat to the people living near the edge of the forest; although Nakago suspected it had more to do with the Suzaku no Miko's storytelling skills and sweet nature than with the wolf.

Still…he was not complaining. The food and water would come in useful in the desert. Having the Suzaku no Miko around did have its uses after all…

The people were also more than happy to tell them the fastest route to Sairo, through a little known shortcut. According to them, it would cut the time spent travelling by half.

It was strange, the way they had both adjusted to being in each other's company. Neither of them spoke about Tamahome by a mutual, unvoiced agreement. Miaka ceased being nervous in the blonde man's presence, forcing herself to stop questioning his motives and trust him.

After several hours of walking, they crested a sand dune and were greeted with the glittering lights of the desert city of Sairo a short distance away. Miaka was elated. They were almost at their destination! "Yatta!" she crowed ecstatically, "We're finally here!"

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet, Suzaku no Miko," Nakago did not turn to face her, singularly unimpressed by her exuberance. "We still have to find the Shinzahos…which are buried under a lot of rubble," he said evenly. However much he disliked it, he had resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck with the Suzaku no Miko…for better or for worse.

Miaka glared at the back of his head, "You really know how to motivate people, you know that?" she asked sarcastically. She wondered whether Nakago realised that he had just used 'we' instead of 'you'. She decided not to point it out.

They picked up their pace, wanting to get to the city before sunrise.

Without warning, the sand around them lit up with an unearthly glow, and before either of them could really comment on the strange phenomenon, they were both blinded by a brilliant flash of light.

Gold eyes watched the two figures as they vanished, and a strange cackle drifted across the cool desert sands.


Miaka awakened to the sound of her alarm clock ringing. She shot up in bed…if she did not hurry, she would be late for school. She hastily pulled on her school uniform, grabbed her breakfast from the kitchen and dashed to the bus-stop.

Unfortunately for her, the bus driver seemed to take unholy glee in driving off just before she reached the bus. She sighed through a mouthful of bread.

"Good morning, Miaka," a tall handsome man greeted her, smiling indulgently. His dark hair had been tousled by the wind and his violet eyes were affectionate. "You're late…again."

"Mxdhwjdxefldy," Miaka replied intelligently.

The young man sighed patiently, "Talk or eat, not both at the same time." He rolled his eyes when Miaka chose to eat and began frantically stuffing her breakfast into her mouth. "Now we know what your priorities are…"

Miaka finished her bread and flung her arms around the man she knew as her boyfriend, "Ohayo, Taka!" she cried enthusiastically.

Taka Sukunami looked almost exactly like Tamahome. He had the same easy smile and gentle eyes. Miaka was sure that he was the reincarnation of the man she had fallen in love with in the Book of the Four Gods.


Nakago jerked awake suddenly, with an odd feeling which he could not place. He glanced over at the warm body on the bed beside him, tendrils of her long red hair trailing over his chest and arms. He scanned the room, but detected no intruder or anything out of the ordinary. So what was it that had awakened him? Why was he feeling this…unease that everything was not quite right?

"Nakago-sama?" Soi looked at him questioningly. His sudden movement had awakened her as well.

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep," he told her shortly. No need to alarm her unnecessarily.

She seemed more than happy to accept his words and snuggled against him, burying her beautiful heart-shaped face in his chest and pressing her naked body enticingly against his own. Gradually, her breathing slowed and evened out, indicating that she had fallen asleep again.

Idly, he lifted a lock of her hair, watching as he let the silky strands slip through his fingers. He felt restless, troubled…and it was not because of the fact that they were going to war with Konan soon. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room was stifling and the urge to get up and pace became too strong. He carefully disentangled himself from Soi's embrace and got out of bed without waking her.

He quietly and efficiently put on his clothes and donned his usual armour, draping the blue cloak over his shoulders. Then, the most unusual thing happened. As he tried to put his wristguard on his right arm, a searing pain shot up his arm. I don't recalling getting any injury. He examined his arm, but could see nothing wrong with it. Frowning, he tried again, only to experience the same pain. What's going on? There was definitely something strange going on underfoot, and if there was one thing Nakago hated, it was not being able to figure out what it was. Clenching his fist, he slid the wristguard on despite the pain.

He prowled the corridors of the palace, ignoring the guards' startled gasps at his sudden appearance in the middle of the night. Turning into the hallway leading to Seiryuu's shrine, he pushed open the imposing double doors and stepped into the room that housed the magnificent golden statue of the dragon god.

Something nagged at the back of his mind. Something important, yet it remained elusive. Nakago stopped abruptly just inside the entrance of the shrine, sensing that he was not alone. The chi of the other person was familiar.

Tomo.

"Nakago-sama! What are you doing here?" The seishi turned around at the sound of Nakago's footsteps. The shogun noticed that for once, the other man was not wearing his usual garish make-up. Long black hair was gathered into a high ponytail. Nakago could never understand why Tomo always went around with makeup so thick that it threatened to crack whenever he let loose one of his demented sounding cackles.

Crack? Why did that thought seem so familiar? He did not like the way things seemed to be perfectly normal and yet…not. Nakago's patience was wearing dangerously thin, and an encounter with Tomo was the last thing he needed.

"Do I need a reason to be here?" he asked coldly, hiding his irritation.

The younger seishi shrunk back at his reply, lapsing into a nervous silence. Nakago ignored him and looked up at Seiryuu. The Seiryuu no Miko's first wish had been to seal Suzaku…they had been lucky that she had chosen to ignore her best friend's pleas and summoned the dragon god. If the Suzaku no Miko and her seishi had managed to win the Shinzahos, no doubt the first thing they would have done would be to seal Seiryuu…

Seal Seiryuu…

The problem was, Seiryuu had already been sealed. Soi was dead…And Tomo, by all rights, should have been dead as well. The painted freak had been killed in Sairo by Suboshi.

Nakago's eyes narrowed as the restraints on his mind fell away and all the memories came flooding back. Nothing here was real…it was all an elaborate illusion. The only thing he could trust himself to believe was the throbbing pain in his right arm where he had been attacked by the wolf. Everything suddenly became clear to him and he wondered why it had taken so long for him to realise it.

Now that he could see through the illusion, he could detect the slight discrepancy in Tomo's chi. It was Tomo, all right, but there was something else at the edges of the other seishi's chi which he had missed earlier…an unearthly power that was definitely not Tomo's own.

Tenkou…Nakago recognised the power for what it truly was. The deity had probably raised Tomo from the dead to prevent the Suzaku no Miko from succeeding in her mission. Even now, she was sure to be trapped in an illusion, just like he was.

He turned back to Tomo, a dangerous glint in his silver-blue eyes. He knew the wound on his arm was there, although he could not see it. Slowly he lifted his hand, flexing his fingers and feeling the reassuring pain from the injury. He could feel his power coursing through his body, and almost smiled in triumph.

Tomo had fabricated everything a little TOOperfectly. In order to provide realism to the whole charade, the other seishi had conveniently provided Nakago with his Seiryuu powers was well… A very nice touch, Tomo.

He stalked over to the long haired seishi, deliberately invading the other man's personal space.

"Na—Nakago-sama?" Tomo was getting nervous and took a step back. The blonde shogun was acting very strangely and Tomo suddenly felt as though he had just lost control of the situation. He had carried out Tenkou's orders, hadn't he? He had recreated everything perfectly…There is absolutely no way that Nakago will see through my illusion! he tried to reassure himself.

Pale blue eyes stared steadily into his own golden ones. Before Tomo could move, a hand shot out, locking around his throat and Nakago lifted him clean off the floor.

"Did you believe for a moment, that I would be fooled by your pathetic illusion?" Nakago watched in satisfaction as Tomo struggled to breathe, clawing at the hand around his throat.

The corners of the blonde shogun's lips lifted in a thin, chilly smile, "I don't like being deceived, Tomo," he said as he slowly tightened his grip. The blue 'Kokoro' appeared on Nakago's forehead and a split-second later, Tomo's body started exuding an intense blue glow.

Soon, there was nothing left of Tomo as his body completely disintegrated from the force of Nakago's chi.

Almost immediately, the surroundings began to ripple as the illusion started to break apart. The statue of Seiryuu, the walls of the shrine…everything faded away, leaving Nakago standing alone in the desert, a shattered clam shell at his feet.


Notes:

1) Okay...most of you will recognise the scene with Miaka meeting Taka at the bus-stop from the OVA. Before you go "Huh?", I assure you that I did put that in for a reason! Also, I took some other stuff from the OVA (ie, Tomo), pulped, ground, freeze-dried, and then reconstituted them. I toyed around with several ideas for this part...a few of which seemed too unbelievable for words. Remember that part in the OVA where Tamahome was trapped in an illusion where everyone called him "Nakago"? I thought of doing the same here, only in reverse. Then I realised that Nakago is too smart not to notice something out of place if everyone started insisting that he was "Tamahome"!

2) The time frame set in the illusion is supposed to make Nakago believe that Yui has just made her first wish to Seiryuu, and Kutou is about to go to war with Konan.

3) Er...There was a strong temptation to turn this scene into a lemon. Nakago and Soi do a lot more than just lie in bed, you know...but this IS a PG-13 fic. Sorry if I disappointed some of you hentai people out there!