Let the Book be Opened Once More!
Disclaimer: Uhhh….this one's confusing. The original characters and basic idea of the world and stuff belongs to Yuu Watase, but I kinda made up the characters in a funky way. So let's leave it at that. *Sweatdrop* oh, but new characters are mine.
Notes: A few things. There may be some spoilers for the whole series, for one. And also, as it'll be explained later, this is 100 years later, book time. (Question: Why do the new seishi have the original ones' names? Answer: Because the seishi are named after the constellations, and for consistency they would all be named the same) Things get REALLY weird in this fic…and the Suzaku seishi are the bad guys. ^_^ The real world pieces of this fic are set in America, in a town very much like YOURS… *creepy music* But seriously, there's no specific time lapse in the real world because I hate math and don't wanna give myself a headache.
ANY QUESTIONS??? No? OK!! Well then…
LET THE BOOK BE OPENED!! (read: let's start the story)
Chapter 3
"The priestess of Seiryuu," Maggie repeated, shocked. "Laurel…you didn't…you didn't! …Did you?" Laurel looked at the ground.
"It's not exactly like I had a choice or anything," she whispered. "After all, I don't know of any other way to get home."
"But Laurel…!"
"It's alright, Maggie, the priestess is being taken care of," said the young, handsome emperor, who had been all but forgotten until this point. "By the way," he added, "I haven't introduced myself."
"You don't need to, do you? Don't you have someone else to do that for you?" Maggie wondered. The emperor just laughed.
"I feel better doing things this way. You may call me Shoulin…or, if you like, Nakago."
"NAKAGO?!" Maggie shrieked. "B-b-b-but…uh…wha…huh?"
"Mags, I told you…it's been a hundred years," Laurel reminded her. "Remember in the first OAV where Taiitsukun said that there was a hundred-year cycle?" Maggie blinked, and then she remembered what Laurel was talking about.
"So…every one hundred years there's a new priestess?"
"That seems to be the situation." Laurel nodded.
"Does this mean that there will be new Suzaku seishi too?"
"The Suzaku seishi have already begun to gather, awaiting the arrival of their own priestess," Shoulin, or Nakago, told them.
"I assume that, if I had ended up in Konan, I would have been their priestess?" Maggie asked.
"And my enemy," Laurel added. "You weren't thinking of becoming their priestess, were you?"
"What? Naw…you seem to need my help enough." Maggie grinned. "Let them find their own damned priestess, there's no way in hell I'm gonna become your enemy." Laurel laughed; Maggie still cursed almost as much as Tasuki…almost.
"That's good."
"Hey, how many seishi have you gathered?" Maggie asked, looking from Laurel to Nakago (A/N: This is gonna be weeeeeeeeird…).
"Well…" Laurel thought for a moment.
"There is one other besides myself," Nakago told her. "Amiboshi."
"Amiboshi," Maggie repeated, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"He's not the one you're thinking of," Laurel warned.
"Oh really?" Maggie asked quizzically. "Let's just meet this guy."
"And what about me?" Ryn asked, still standing in the same place. He hadn't moved more than an inch in ten minutes.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot all about you!" Maggie said absentmindedly.
"Nice to know I'm loved around here…" Ryn muttered.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it that way! Anyways, this is Ryn. He was nice enough to bring me here, with the help of that wonderfully helpful guard that grabbed me in unspeakable places." Maggie frowned, but then smiled as she remembered the look on the man's face after she slapped him.
"Hi," Ryn muttered.
"This is my friend that I was talking about," Maggie continued, pointing to Laurel. "Laurel."
"Nice to meet you," Laurel greeted him. Ryn just nodded. He then looked at Nakago.
The emperor studied Ryn with interest. His hair, a somewhat blueish shade of gray, was cut short and even. He had deep blue eyes, and seemed oddly familiar.
"Come with us," he said to Ryn. The boy seemed a little offset by this, but bowed and followed anyways.
"So, this Amiboshi…is his seishi power the same?" Maggie asked. Nakago looked at her and Laurel, wondering briefly how they knew so much about the original Seiryuu shichiseishi.
Laurel led them to a small room in the palace, and knocked thrice on the door.
"Come in," said a quiet male voice. Laurel took hold of the doorknob and turned it, revealing a small, orderly room. Of course, there was hardly anything in it in the first place, but still…
A boy sat by the window, staring into nothingness. He was about sixteen, with light reddish-brown hair and green eyes. This was Amiboshi.
He noticed his guests and stood to greet them.
"Good afternoon, Highness," he said to the emperor. "And to you too, priestess. Who are your friends?" Maggie raised an eyebrow. He certainly was polite…
"Hello, Amiboshi. This is my friend, Maggie, and her guest. His name is Ryn." Maggie waved slightly, and Ryn nodded in greeting.
"It is good to meet you, Lady," Amiboshi said, bowing towards Maggie.
"Whoo, talk about polite!" she exclaimed, blushing a little. "And he's cute too…you never find guys like this at home!" She winked at Laurel.
"And nice to meet you as well, Suboshi." Amiboshi said to Ryn.
"What? Sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else…I'm no Seiryuu seishi."
"The symbol on your left shoulder," Amiboshi pointed out. "You haven't noticed it before now?" Ryn pulled at the neck of his shirt until it slid down far enough to reveal his bare shoulder. Indeed, the seishi symbol was faintly glowing blue. Ryn's eyes were wide.
"How…" Maggie whispered. She turned to Amiboshi. "How did you know…?"
"His power as a seishi is to foretell the future," Nakago explained.
"More correctly, Highness, I learn of the future from what the stars tell me," Amiboshi added.
"Sheesh, this is all getting really weird," Maggie muttered.
"Highness, if I may make a suggestion? It is urgent," Amiboshi said.
"Of course. I trust your opinion and judgment highly," Nakago told the young seishi.
"Thank you, Highness. I suggest that we find the other four seishi as soon as possible. The Suzaku seishi are assembled, save two, and they come closer now to finding the ones they seek. I also suggest that we keep the lady Maggie safely hidden from their sights."
"What are you saying? You think that I'll betray you all and go to them?" Maggie frowned. "What kind of person do you think I am?!"
"No, Lady. But the Suzaku seishi are not to be trusted. They will do anything they must to gain what they want."
"And what they want is their priestess," Laurel added, her voce barely above a whisper.
"Well they're not gonna get me! No way, no how! They'd have ta knock me out and drag me the whole fucking way!"
"That's the Maggie I know!" Laurel cheered.
"Damn straight! The unconquerable Maggie Anderson!" Maggie thrust a triumphant fist into the air.
"Highness-" Amiboshi began. Nakago nodded.
"We'll leave right away. I'll go begin making preparations immediately."
3 seishi in 1 chapter! O.O Sorry that it's so short. I've been kinda burned out on creativity lately. I've almost got chapter 14 done for ES, but I'm kinda stuck for tonight. Might get finished tomorrow! I have big plans for this story, and there was MAJOR foreshadowing if you caught on to it… ^_^ Oh, yeah, thanks for the reviews so far! You people make my world go round! ^_^ ('Specially these 3: Starsaber, Ri-chan (for the name suggestions ^_^) and 'Stupid You' for making me laugh my ass off when I was feeling down.) Oh, yeah, preview for chapter 4:
The journey has begun! The Suzaku seishi begin to pop up every now and then, and perhaps a new Seiryuu seishi is introduced?? You'll just have to wait and see! ^_^
By the way, eternal love and Nuriko specials go to anyone who reviews this fic!!! ^_^