Chapter 2- "You're the Suzaku no Tennyo"
The next morning was rainy and gloomy. Rei had awoken to
light pattering sound of rain falling on the roof. She groaned a little and
turned over. Her eyes almost looked as if they were going to pop out when she
turned to see Tasuki's sleeping face lying on the same pillow she was using
while he was still sitting on the chair. 'Our faces are so close that I
could...no! I don't need to think those thoughts and besides, guys are nothing
but trouble!' Rei thought defiantly. She just wanted to reach out and touch
the soft face of the sleeping bandit besides her, but fought herself not to.
Rei figured he wouldn't like her anyway, she was not very feminine, she was
aggressive, foul-mouthed and a tomboy. She never had a boyfriend before and she
doubted that someone THAT good looking was going to fall for her in the least.
Rei sat up and got out of bed. She walked across the cold, stone-tile floor to
the window. The mountain side was covered in fog, and rain fell from the sky in
thick drops. She sighed in sadness as she thought that she might not ever be
able to get home again. A tear trickled down her cheek. Where was she going to
go? Rei grew worried. Knowing her so-called family, they didn't even notice she
was gone. A cold gust blew through the window, causing Rei to shiver. A few
moments later, she felt a soft, warm blanket placed upon her and strong arms
embrace her from behind in a possessive hug. "What're ya thinkin' about, huh?"
a soft husky voice asked. Rei looked up and saw Tasuki looking down at her with
a warm smile. She blushed brightly "Uh...I...dunno" Tasuki looked out the
window "I forgot to ask ya your name..." "R—Rei Mikage" Rei replied falling
deeper into his embrace. "Call me Genrou..." Tasuki said. Rei smiled
"Genrou..." she repeated softly. Tasuki placed a hand on Rei's cheek. "Your
cold, you should get back to bed" Rei nodded silently. A moment later, Kouji
burst into the room "Hey Gen---uh?" Tasuki turned towards him "What?!" he said,
the harshness returning to his voice. He let Rei go and walked up to Kouji.
"Whaddya want?!" Tasuki asked. Kouji crossed his arms over his chest and
smirked "Oh you guys aren't gonna do anythin' eh?!" Tasuki narrowed his eyes.
"SHUT UP!!" Rei said harshly as a blush crept its way upon her cheeks. Kouji
sweatdroped "Sheesh what an attitude!" he muttered. Rei glared at him and
turned to look out the window again. Kouji cleared his throat. "Anyway, the
reason I came was because we raided a village near Eiyou early this mornin' right,
and I guess one of the guys ran-sacked a temple and we found somethin' that
we're not quite sure of...so I decided to check in with ya before we open it"
Tasuki arched an eyebrow "Bring it in" he instructed. Kouji nodded and opened
the door to reveal a scruffy looking bandit holding a box wrapped in red silk.
Kouji took it from the bandit and set it down on Tasuki's table. Rei looked at
it closely 'What is it?' she wondered. Tasuki took the silk wrapping off
looked at the box from all angles, trying to see if there was anything
inscribed on it. "I dunno..." he said roughly. Rei noticed that both Tasuki and
Kouji were a little nervous. She sighed. 'Sissies...' Rei walked up to
the two bishonen bandits "Hey Genrou, I'll open it" she said. Both Tasuki and
Kouji looked at Rei funny, but then agreed. "Are ya sure?" Tasuki said. Rei
nodded and flashed him a reassuring smile "Yeah, what harm comes from opening a
box?" Tasuki shrugged his shoulders and Kouji sat her down and put the box in
front of her. Rei grew a little nervous under the bandits' watchful eyes. She
looked at the nicely carved wooden box. All of a sudden, her head started to
hurt. Rei noticed that as she brought her hands closer and closer to the box,
the pain increased. Rei could hear her heartbeat 'W---What's wrong with me?
My heart suddenly---' she questioned herself. Rei's breath was no longer
smooth and in sync, but short and trembly. Beads of sweat ran down her temples.
Ignoring the pain in her head, she put her hands on the top of the box and
slowly began lifting it up. Tasuki looked at Kouji and signaled for him to take
a few steps back. Kouji nodded. "Oi, Rei-san…daijoubu desu ka?" (Are you
alright?) Rei didn't respond. Rei closed her eyes and quickly lifted the top
off the box. The pain in her head was tremendous. So bad that tears started to
fill her eyes. Rei slowly opened her eyes and looked at the object inside of
the box. Kouji arched an eyebrow "What is it?!" Tasuki noticed the Seishi
symbol on his arm begin to glow brightly. He gasped and pulled his sleeve down,
covering it completely. Rei examined the treasure. It was not gold or jewelry,
but a beautiful, sparkling crimson coloured feather. Rei's eyes widened quickly
and she gasped. The feather started to glow. Tasuki pulled out his tessen "REI
GET BACK!!" he screamed. Rei couldn't move. Her body began to tremble and her
mind felt as if it was caught on fire 'Just like how I felt in the alley
when those men attacked me...' The feather began to dissolve into a ball of
red energy. "REI WHAT THE FUCK ARE YA DOIN'?!!! GET AWAY FROM THERE NOW!!"
Tasuki screamed again. Before Rei could have a chance to react, the ball of
energy hurled itself into Rei's chest, causing Rei's eyes to turn a beautiful
crimson colour, matching the colour of the energy ball. Rei gasped and immediately
stood up and backed away from Tasuki, Kouji and the box. Kouji moved farther
back "OI REI!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!" he said. Rei's hair began
to move swiftly, as if a strong wind was blowing it. Rei put her hands to her
temples and screamed. Her voice changed into a deeper, more womanly voice.
Tasuki and Kouji put there hands over their ears. All of the glass in the room
exploded, causing tiny shards to fly all over the room. Rei slowly stopped
screaming and her voice returned to normal. The pain in her head subsided
quickly and she fell to her knees, cutting her leg on a piece of glass. Her
hands were still on her head. Rei's eye colour turned back to normal and she
looked around at the broken glass. "Genrou," she said softly "What did I just
do?!" Tasuki looked at her, his facial expression a mix between shocked and
fear. Tasuki quickly turned to Kouji "GET MY HORSE READY!!" he commanded. Kouji
nodded, took one more fearful glance at Rei and then rushed past the crowd of
bandits watching from outside Tasuki's door. Tasuki immediately wrapped the
confused Rei in a cloak and picked her up off the ground. "What're you doing?"
Rei asked. Tasuki didn't answer, he just started running to the stronghold
entrance.
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Kouji was waiting in the rain with the horse. Tasuki ran out
towards him, still carrying Rei. Tasuki handed Rei to Kouji for a few moments
while he climbed on the horse. "Where are ya goin' Genrou?!" Kouji asked.
Tasuki took Rei and sat her down in front of him "Im goin' to Konan!" Kouji
nodded "I guess I'll see ya later bro" Tasuki grinned "Ya make sure ya guys
don't raid another temple again, kay?!" Kouji laughed. Tasuki sent a powerful
kick to the horse's ribs to give it a speedy start. The rain continued to fall.
Rei was scared. She caused so much damage and she wasn't even aware of it. 'Why
don't I understand what's going on?! What's happening to me!!' The horse
was running very fast, Rei looked up at Tasuki. He seemed worried about her.
His bottom lip was trembling. 'Genrou...why don't you tell me what I did? I
could of hurt you...why?' Rei sighed and looked straight ahead.
"Genrou...where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to keep the fear out of
her voice. Tasuki hesitated for a few moments "Im takin' ya to a priest..." Rei
felt uncomfortable. Why a priest? Couldn't he have chose somewhere else to go?
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After an hour of horseback riding in the rain, Tasuki and Rei
arrived at the palace temple in Konan. It was the best temple in the capital
and open to the public as well. Tasuki mounted the horse and carried Rei
inside. Rei sighed and arched an eyebrow "I can walk..." she muttered. Tasuki
seemed to ignore her comment. He walked up to the door of the temple. It was
closed, but that wasn't going to stop him. He took a step back, then delivered
a powerful kick, causing the door to fly off of its hinges and land on the
ground with a big crash. He quickly walked in "OI! IS ANYONE HERE?!" An old man
walked out from the shadows, he muffled a yawn "What is it?!" The priest rubbed
his eyes and looked at Tasuki and Rei "The wedding chapel is around the corner.
Congratulations" he said, waving his hand. Tasuki and Rei both blushed brightly
"That isn't why we came here!!" Tasuki shouted, SD. Tasuki set Rei down and
explained to the priest the entire story.
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"...And that's what happened" Tasuki finished. The priest was
breath taken. He immediately ran into the back room, saying repeatedly "Could
it be her!? Could it be her?!" Rei and Tasuki both sweatdropped when they heard
a loud boom sound come from the back room. The old man came back out from the
room holding a dusty old scroll. The priest quickly set it down on a small
table and unrolled it slowly. The dust from the old document caused Rei to
sneeze. The priest used his finger to navigate the scroll. When he came to
about the 15th line, he stopped at a certain chinese symbol.
"Tennyo..." he whispered. The priest opened one of the nicely polished drawers
and pulled out a piece of paper. He turned around and with ink and a brush,
painted something on the paper. Before he turned to face Rei, he said to Tasuki
"Sir, I think you might want to back away from the lady" Tasuki, knowing what
Rei was capable of, backed away with no objections. The priest turned around
and held the paper in front of Rei's face. It was a picture of a circular
symbol with Suzaku's kanji symbol in the middle of it. Rei's eyes widened and turned
that familiar crimson colour again. The headache wasn't as strong as it once
was before though. Rei gasped and took at step back. The priest took a step
forward. Images came flooding back to Rei like when she was attacked by those
men, talking to Shiro in her room, meeting Miaka and Yui in the library, being
saved by Tasuki and then experiencing this change for the first time. A small
red light appeared in front of Rei's forehead. The light slowly sank into her
head and took the shape of the symbol for Suzaku. It glowed brightly upon Rei's
forehead. Rei didn't seem to struggle anymore and she looked at the paper the priest's
trembling hand was holding, her eyes narrowed in a cunning glare. The priest
felt the paper get warmer beneath his fingertips. Rei's eyes snapped open even
wider, causing the paper to catch on fire. The priest shouted and fell back,
landing on his rear. Rei's power began to fade from her once again and she
returned to normal. Rei gasped 'I---It happened again!' Tasuki looked at
her with nothing but concern in his amber eyes. The priest got on his hands and
knees and bowed "Gomen nasai, Tennyo-sama!" Rei blinked in confusion
"Tennyo-sama?! Wha?!" The priest stood up. "That power you just experienced was
the power of your Tennyo alter ego! That power is of great importance to help
the Miko save the Konan empire!" Rei took a step back almost unconsciously
"Wait, Im just a normal 15 year old girl!" "You aren't anymore..." the priest interrupted.
"You are the Suzaku no Tennyo, a powerful, Celestial being who has fallen from
the heavens to save our empire and destroy the opposing Kutou empire. You no
longer have to worry about going to school...Your main priority now is to
destroy our enemies and to protect the Miko, as well as the Suzaku Shichiseishi,
who will also be serving as YOUR protectors. You will be meeting in the
morning, along with the emperor, Saihitei" Rei felt a great burden on her
shoulders "What?! I just got here and your already forcing all of these responsibilities
on me?! What the hell!?" The priest closed his eyes and smiled "Well,
Tennyo-sama, if you refuse, your hands will be permanently stained with the
blood of over a million lives that were destroyed by the opposing army" Rei's
eyes widened. She looked at Tasuki 'And Genrou...is one of those million...'
Tears streamed down her face "FINE!!...I'll do it..." she said, choking on her
sobs. The priest smiled and gave Rei a hug "The gods will bless you,
Tennyo-sama" Rei didn't hug back, but only thought 'What have I gotten
myself into?' The priest looked at Tasuki. He walked up to him and bowed
"Arigato gozaimasu for all your kind help sir, but Im afraid only the Suzaku
Seishi and the Miko can be near her now" Tasuki crossed his arms over his chest
"Well, since IM a Seishi...I have a right to be near the Tennyo also!" The priest's
breath got caught in his throat. Rei looked at Tasuki with wide eyes, also
feeling the pang of happiness blanket her heart. The priest swallowed hard
"You're a S---Seishi?!" Tasuki nodded, revealing his Seishi symbol on his right
forearm "Im Suzaku Seishi Tasuki" The priest bowed again "Forgive me for
questioning you honored Celestial warrior! The Suzaku no Tennyo is yours to
protect. You and the rest of the Seishi please take care of her!" Tasuki put
his arm down and looked at Rei, who in return was staring at him with tears in
her eyes. "Ya heard that, Rei Mikage? Im stuck with ya for a long, long time!"
Tasuki said jokingly to cheer her up. Rei ran towards the soaking bandit and
tackled him to the ground in a hug. "Oh Tasuki! Your stayin' here with me!!"
Rei cried. Tasuki smiled and rubbed her back "Yeah...Im stayin' with ya" The priest
smiled and walked into another room to get the Suzaku no Tennyo and her
Celestial warrior set up for the night.
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Nakago sat in his blue silk arm chair. His eyes were closed and a frightening grin played its way across his lips "So...she has finally awakened..."
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Author's
note: Heheh, ya like? *smiles* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Sorry
it was short thought ^^;; Im really happy that so many people reviewed with
such nice comments. Arigato! Emailing me is always welcomed ^_^ Anyway, in the
next chapter: Rei meets the rest of the Suzaku Seishi and the Miko. And also
takes a quick trip back to her world, along with Miaka. But what happened to
Yui?! Well, there's a slight twist in the next chapter, so stay tuned! (Also,
Gomen nasai if you think Tasuki was out of character)