After Mitsukake healed him, and he was properly rested, Tamahome returned to Kutou. Since Nakago believed that he was still under his power, Tamahome figured that he would have no problem getting the Universe of the Four Gods back. Chichiri used his powers to place a protective barrier around Tamahome, just in case. He returned soon, with the book.
While the other seishi spent most of the night talking, and Miaka and Tamahome went to the pond to talk, Nikki just wandered around the palace. She wanted to find somewhere she could think alone, but everywhere she went there were guards or servants.
Finally, a crazy idea came to her. When she was sure that there was no-one watching, Nikki stepped up on the railing of the balcony. With one hand on the pole beside her, she looked down. `Fifteen, maybe twenty feet,' she thought, `Not enough to kill you, but it would definitely hurt. Let's hope this works!' Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself on the rail. She looked up, to where the overhang of the roof was only a few feet above her head. There was a piece of wood that came down a few inches from the edge, just enough to make a decent handhold.
Nikki nodded to herself and jumped for it. She made it, barely, and hung there for a moment before she was able to swing herself up and onto the roof.
The night was cool, but the storm clouds had passed and the sky was clear. Nikki lay on her back, gazing up at the stars.
She must have stayed up there for a while, because the next thing she knew, she could hear Nuriko calling her name. He sounded worried.
Nikki poked her head down over the edge of the roof. "Hey, you looking for me?" she asked.
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Nuriko cried, "You're going to fall and kill yourself!"
Nikki grabbed the edge of the roof and swung down, and jumped back onto the balcony. Nuriko grabbed her by the shoulders. "What were you thinking? You can get hurt doing that, you know."
"I'm fine," Nikki insisted, "I just wanted to think. Besides, I don't want to risk running into Tamahome."
"Why, do you have a bad feeling about him, too?" Nuriko asked.
"No, I just don't like him." Nikki said, frowning, "He beat the crap out of Tasuki, broke Miaka's arm, and then came here and tried to kill us. And everyone expects me to be okay with this?"
"Tasuki, Tasuki, that's all I ever hear from you! Do you ever talk about something other than Tasuki?"
"Of course I do," Nikki said defensively, "I'm sorry, I have been fussing over Tasuki lately. It's just that he's hurt, and he's Koji's friend. Koji saved my life when I first came to this world, and I promised him that I'd look after Tasuki. Besides that, he's like a brother to me." Nikki placed her hand on Nuriko's cheek. "Everybody knows how I feel about you," she whispered as she gently kissed his lips.
She turned to walk away, saying over her shoulder, "I just wish they all knew how you feel about me. I wish I knew how you feel about me."
The next morning at breakfast, Nikki spent the entire time glaring at Tamahome from across the table. Tasuki, who was sitting next to him, did the same.
Finally, Tamahome asked, "What is with you? You could at least introduce yourself the first time you meet someone,"
"First time?" Tasuki screamed, "Don't you remember the last time we met?"
Apparently, Tamahome didn't remember that much, and they started arguing, loudly.
Nuriko took advantage of the distraction, and leaned towards Miaka. "Hey Miaka," he asked, "When you call Suzaku, you get your wishes granted, right? Could you ask him to make me a woman?"
Nikki nearly choked on her rice.
"Why?" Miaka asked, surprised.
"So that I could comfort Hotohori-sama, of course!" Nuriko answered, obviously daydreaming.
Nikki's face fell. Quietly, she excused herself from the table. She ran straight to her room, and locked the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, and slowly slid to the ground. Tears streamed down her face.
`Well, I wanted to know how Nuriko felt about me,' Nikki thought, `He still loves Hotohori. How could I have been such an idiot? He'd never think of me that way.' Nikki buried her head in her arms.
Nuriko knocked on the door. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Nikki frantically wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to steady her voice. "I'm fine," she replied.
"Well, can I come in?"
Nikki unlocked the door and let Nuriko in. They stood silently staring at each other for a while.
Finally, Nikki said, "Why can't you see it?"
"What?" Nuriko asked.
"Hotohori doesn't love you. I do. Why do you still want to waste your time with him?" Nikki crossed her arms and looked away from him, trying not to cry.
Nuriko sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you--"
"Well you did," Nikki said, her tears threatening to fall. Nuriko moved to hug her, but Nikki turned from him. "I won't play games, Nuriko," He looked at her, confused and hurt. "If you can't return my feelings, then I think you should just leave."
Nuriko wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.
Nikki was overcome with relief and joy. She tilted her head back so she could see his face. "So you love me?" she asked. Nuriko smiled and nodded. Nikki smiled back. "Prove it," she said, as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Preparations for the ceremony to call Suzaku were underway. Miaka had gone to get dressed, and the other seishi were gathered in Suzaku's hall. Nuriko and Nikki were the last to arrive.
As they came in, Tasuki looked at them suspiciously. "And where were you two?" he asked.
"We were...discussing something." Nikki answered.
Tasuki noticed that Nuriko's hair was a mess, and Nikki's face had turned bright red. "Sure, sure," he said.
"Well, you seem to be back to your old, annoying self," Nikki stated. Mitsukake must have healed him while she and Nuriko were gone.
Miaka arrived, and the ceremony was about to start. Since Nikki wasn't actually a seishi, she had to remain outside. "Good luck!" she called. The doors were shut, and the ceremony began. Nikki sat staring at the closed doors until she thought she would die of boredom. She hummed to herself for a while, but eventually gave up and resumed staring at the doors.
Suddenly, Nikki heard Miaka scream. Something wasn't right. She forced the doors open. Nikki soon realized what was wrong.
Chiriko was playing his flute, but instead of being soothing, each note felt like it was drilling into her head. Nikki covered her ears, but it didn't help.
`Why is he doing this?' she thought.
For a moment, Chiriko stopped playing. "If you haven't guessed by now," he said, "I am the Seiryuu seishi Amiboshi. I have been putting my chi into you all along, through my melodies. Now, I will destroy you all."
Tasuki pulled out his tessen. "Take this!" he yelled. Flames shot out and hit Amiboshi on his right shoulder, showing his seishi symbol.
Amiboshi just smirked, and began playing again. His flute began to glow blue. This time, the music hurt even worse. The seishi cried out in pain.
Nikki didn't think she could stand it much longer. She started inching her way towards Amiboshi, but just before she could reach him, the pain forced her to her knees. `He's going to kill them!' she thought, `I can't get any closer, my head's going to explode!'
Just when the seishi thought that they couldn't take it anymore, another melody started playing from somewhere else. The notes disrupted Amiboshi's tune, and the seishi were freed from his power.
Tasuki and Tamahome were immediately on their feet. Amiboshi knew he was in trouble. He ran from the hall, knocking down the guards at the door. Tasuki and Tamahome gave chase. Nikki was close behind them, followed by Miaka and Chichiri.
Because of their seishi powers, Amiboshi, Tasuki and Tamahome were able to leap from rooftop to rooftop, while Nikki followed on the ground.
She lost Miaka and Chichiri by the palace gate, but was able to keep track of the others. She pushed her way through crowds, and ran faster than ever before. Not once did she lose sight of Amiboshi.
Eventually, he reached the river, which was running faster than usual because of the recent rain. There was no way across.
Nikki got there only moments after Tasuki and Tamahome. "How could you do this?" she asked Amiboshi, "We trusted you!"
Before Tasuki or Tamahome could attack, Miaka appeared with Chichiri.
Amiboshi leaped into the air, ready to strike Miaka. Tamahome blocked him, taking the blow instead. Amiboshi seemed to remain suspended in the air.
"Chiriko," Miaka said, "Your music is so beautiful. You can use it to cheer and comfort people. Why do you want to use it for cruelty?"
Amiboshi's expression softened. As he landed, he stepped too close to the edge of the river, and the wall crumbled beneath him. He fell, but Miaka and Nikki rushed forwards and were able to grab hold of his flute, which he still held tightly.
Even though both girls held him, he began to slip. "Honey, give me your other hand," Nikki pleaded, "I can't hold you!"
Amiboshi smiled up at Miaka, then let go of the flute. The current quickly pulled him under.
"Chiriko!" Miaka screamed. Nikki and Tamahome pulled her away from the river. She still held the boy's flute.
They returned to the hall of Suzaku to tell the others. Everyone was saddened by the news.
Everyone, that is, except Tasuki, who argued, "I'm glad he's dead! He deserved it!"
"No," Miaka said, "A bad person could never have played such beautiful music."
"Look, Tasuki," Nikki said, "I never completely trusted him, but he was still our friend. No-one deserves to die." Surprisingly, Nikki wasn't that upset about what happened. It happened so suddenly, it didn't really seem like Amiboshi was dead.
From behind them, a young boy appeared. Nikki guessed his age to be about thirteen. He held a leaf to his lips, and used it to play the tune that had interrupted Amiboshi's chi.
"A kid saved us?" Nikki asked, amazed.
"I'm Chiriko," he said, showing the symbol on his foot, "I would have come sooner, but I was studying for the government exam. I came here because I saw misfortune in the stars."
`Okay,' Nikki thought, `Einstein here is starting to creep me out,'
Miaka was overjoyed. "We have all seven seishi. It might not be too late to do the ceremony!" Everyone turned to the large fire in the centre of the room. "Alright everyone, pray!" Miaka said.
Everybody did as they were told, including Nikki. `Please work, please work, please work!' she repeated.
A minute passed. Nothing happened.
"Nothing came," Miaka said quietly.
Suddenly, an old woman's face appeared in the flames. The seishi screamed and jumped back, except for Nikki.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
"Taiitsu-kun!" Miaka said.
`I would've guessed Yoda's girlfriend, but whatever,' Nikki thought.
Taiitsu-kun said to Miaka, "The ceremony failed. Since you threw the Universe of the Four Gods into the fire already, it's too late. You were foolish."
While the other seishi spent most of the night talking, and Miaka and Tamahome went to the pond to talk, Nikki just wandered around the palace. She wanted to find somewhere she could think alone, but everywhere she went there were guards or servants.
Finally, a crazy idea came to her. When she was sure that there was no-one watching, Nikki stepped up on the railing of the balcony. With one hand on the pole beside her, she looked down. `Fifteen, maybe twenty feet,' she thought, `Not enough to kill you, but it would definitely hurt. Let's hope this works!' Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself on the rail. She looked up, to where the overhang of the roof was only a few feet above her head. There was a piece of wood that came down a few inches from the edge, just enough to make a decent handhold.
Nikki nodded to herself and jumped for it. She made it, barely, and hung there for a moment before she was able to swing herself up and onto the roof.
The night was cool, but the storm clouds had passed and the sky was clear. Nikki lay on her back, gazing up at the stars.
She must have stayed up there for a while, because the next thing she knew, she could hear Nuriko calling her name. He sounded worried.
Nikki poked her head down over the edge of the roof. "Hey, you looking for me?" she asked.
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Nuriko cried, "You're going to fall and kill yourself!"
Nikki grabbed the edge of the roof and swung down, and jumped back onto the balcony. Nuriko grabbed her by the shoulders. "What were you thinking? You can get hurt doing that, you know."
"I'm fine," Nikki insisted, "I just wanted to think. Besides, I don't want to risk running into Tamahome."
"Why, do you have a bad feeling about him, too?" Nuriko asked.
"No, I just don't like him." Nikki said, frowning, "He beat the crap out of Tasuki, broke Miaka's arm, and then came here and tried to kill us. And everyone expects me to be okay with this?"
"Tasuki, Tasuki, that's all I ever hear from you! Do you ever talk about something other than Tasuki?"
"Of course I do," Nikki said defensively, "I'm sorry, I have been fussing over Tasuki lately. It's just that he's hurt, and he's Koji's friend. Koji saved my life when I first came to this world, and I promised him that I'd look after Tasuki. Besides that, he's like a brother to me." Nikki placed her hand on Nuriko's cheek. "Everybody knows how I feel about you," she whispered as she gently kissed his lips.
She turned to walk away, saying over her shoulder, "I just wish they all knew how you feel about me. I wish I knew how you feel about me."
The next morning at breakfast, Nikki spent the entire time glaring at Tamahome from across the table. Tasuki, who was sitting next to him, did the same.
Finally, Tamahome asked, "What is with you? You could at least introduce yourself the first time you meet someone,"
"First time?" Tasuki screamed, "Don't you remember the last time we met?"
Apparently, Tamahome didn't remember that much, and they started arguing, loudly.
Nuriko took advantage of the distraction, and leaned towards Miaka. "Hey Miaka," he asked, "When you call Suzaku, you get your wishes granted, right? Could you ask him to make me a woman?"
Nikki nearly choked on her rice.
"Why?" Miaka asked, surprised.
"So that I could comfort Hotohori-sama, of course!" Nuriko answered, obviously daydreaming.
Nikki's face fell. Quietly, she excused herself from the table. She ran straight to her room, and locked the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, and slowly slid to the ground. Tears streamed down her face.
`Well, I wanted to know how Nuriko felt about me,' Nikki thought, `He still loves Hotohori. How could I have been such an idiot? He'd never think of me that way.' Nikki buried her head in her arms.
Nuriko knocked on the door. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Nikki frantically wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to steady her voice. "I'm fine," she replied.
"Well, can I come in?"
Nikki unlocked the door and let Nuriko in. They stood silently staring at each other for a while.
Finally, Nikki said, "Why can't you see it?"
"What?" Nuriko asked.
"Hotohori doesn't love you. I do. Why do you still want to waste your time with him?" Nikki crossed her arms and looked away from him, trying not to cry.
Nuriko sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you--"
"Well you did," Nikki said, her tears threatening to fall. Nuriko moved to hug her, but Nikki turned from him. "I won't play games, Nuriko," He looked at her, confused and hurt. "If you can't return my feelings, then I think you should just leave."
Nuriko wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.
Nikki was overcome with relief and joy. She tilted her head back so she could see his face. "So you love me?" she asked. Nuriko smiled and nodded. Nikki smiled back. "Prove it," she said, as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Preparations for the ceremony to call Suzaku were underway. Miaka had gone to get dressed, and the other seishi were gathered in Suzaku's hall. Nuriko and Nikki were the last to arrive.
As they came in, Tasuki looked at them suspiciously. "And where were you two?" he asked.
"We were...discussing something." Nikki answered.
Tasuki noticed that Nuriko's hair was a mess, and Nikki's face had turned bright red. "Sure, sure," he said.
"Well, you seem to be back to your old, annoying self," Nikki stated. Mitsukake must have healed him while she and Nuriko were gone.
Miaka arrived, and the ceremony was about to start. Since Nikki wasn't actually a seishi, she had to remain outside. "Good luck!" she called. The doors were shut, and the ceremony began. Nikki sat staring at the closed doors until she thought she would die of boredom. She hummed to herself for a while, but eventually gave up and resumed staring at the doors.
Suddenly, Nikki heard Miaka scream. Something wasn't right. She forced the doors open. Nikki soon realized what was wrong.
Chiriko was playing his flute, but instead of being soothing, each note felt like it was drilling into her head. Nikki covered her ears, but it didn't help.
`Why is he doing this?' she thought.
For a moment, Chiriko stopped playing. "If you haven't guessed by now," he said, "I am the Seiryuu seishi Amiboshi. I have been putting my chi into you all along, through my melodies. Now, I will destroy you all."
Tasuki pulled out his tessen. "Take this!" he yelled. Flames shot out and hit Amiboshi on his right shoulder, showing his seishi symbol.
Amiboshi just smirked, and began playing again. His flute began to glow blue. This time, the music hurt even worse. The seishi cried out in pain.
Nikki didn't think she could stand it much longer. She started inching her way towards Amiboshi, but just before she could reach him, the pain forced her to her knees. `He's going to kill them!' she thought, `I can't get any closer, my head's going to explode!'
Just when the seishi thought that they couldn't take it anymore, another melody started playing from somewhere else. The notes disrupted Amiboshi's tune, and the seishi were freed from his power.
Tasuki and Tamahome were immediately on their feet. Amiboshi knew he was in trouble. He ran from the hall, knocking down the guards at the door. Tasuki and Tamahome gave chase. Nikki was close behind them, followed by Miaka and Chichiri.
Because of their seishi powers, Amiboshi, Tasuki and Tamahome were able to leap from rooftop to rooftop, while Nikki followed on the ground.
She lost Miaka and Chichiri by the palace gate, but was able to keep track of the others. She pushed her way through crowds, and ran faster than ever before. Not once did she lose sight of Amiboshi.
Eventually, he reached the river, which was running faster than usual because of the recent rain. There was no way across.
Nikki got there only moments after Tasuki and Tamahome. "How could you do this?" she asked Amiboshi, "We trusted you!"
Before Tasuki or Tamahome could attack, Miaka appeared with Chichiri.
Amiboshi leaped into the air, ready to strike Miaka. Tamahome blocked him, taking the blow instead. Amiboshi seemed to remain suspended in the air.
"Chiriko," Miaka said, "Your music is so beautiful. You can use it to cheer and comfort people. Why do you want to use it for cruelty?"
Amiboshi's expression softened. As he landed, he stepped too close to the edge of the river, and the wall crumbled beneath him. He fell, but Miaka and Nikki rushed forwards and were able to grab hold of his flute, which he still held tightly.
Even though both girls held him, he began to slip. "Honey, give me your other hand," Nikki pleaded, "I can't hold you!"
Amiboshi smiled up at Miaka, then let go of the flute. The current quickly pulled him under.
"Chiriko!" Miaka screamed. Nikki and Tamahome pulled her away from the river. She still held the boy's flute.
They returned to the hall of Suzaku to tell the others. Everyone was saddened by the news.
Everyone, that is, except Tasuki, who argued, "I'm glad he's dead! He deserved it!"
"No," Miaka said, "A bad person could never have played such beautiful music."
"Look, Tasuki," Nikki said, "I never completely trusted him, but he was still our friend. No-one deserves to die." Surprisingly, Nikki wasn't that upset about what happened. It happened so suddenly, it didn't really seem like Amiboshi was dead.
From behind them, a young boy appeared. Nikki guessed his age to be about thirteen. He held a leaf to his lips, and used it to play the tune that had interrupted Amiboshi's chi.
"A kid saved us?" Nikki asked, amazed.
"I'm Chiriko," he said, showing the symbol on his foot, "I would have come sooner, but I was studying for the government exam. I came here because I saw misfortune in the stars."
`Okay,' Nikki thought, `Einstein here is starting to creep me out,'
Miaka was overjoyed. "We have all seven seishi. It might not be too late to do the ceremony!" Everyone turned to the large fire in the centre of the room. "Alright everyone, pray!" Miaka said.
Everybody did as they were told, including Nikki. `Please work, please work, please work!' she repeated.
A minute passed. Nothing happened.
"Nothing came," Miaka said quietly.
Suddenly, an old woman's face appeared in the flames. The seishi screamed and jumped back, except for Nikki.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
"Taiitsu-kun!" Miaka said.
`I would've guessed Yoda's girlfriend, but whatever,' Nikki thought.
Taiitsu-kun said to Miaka, "The ceremony failed. Since you threw the Universe of the Four Gods into the fire already, it's too late. You were foolish."
