Early the next morning, Misara woke up later than usual, and she was still tired. She pulled herself out of bed and over to the mirror to look at herself. Her eyes were red and puffy and sleep-deprived. It looked like she had been crying. For a moment, she couldn't figure out why, and then it hit her. She almost fell over when she remembered the events of the previous night. Even though she cried last night, thinking about it this morning only brought anger.
Even though she was mad, her thoughts still surprised her. How dare he mistake me for Miaka, she thought. Nuriko tells me all the time that I look almost exactly like her, but by now he should know the difference. Its obvious now that he's in love with Miaka...

She stopped in mid-thought. If he was in love with Miaka, then there was no way she could have a chance with him.

...And probably no way to convince him that I'm a completely different person, and not just some Miaka-look-alike....

She frowned at her reflection in the mirror, then turned quickly and got dressed. She frowned even harder at the thought that she had probably already missed breakfast.


Indeed, she had missed breakfast, and it was almost time for lunch when she wandered into the gardens to sit and think. Nuriko was nowhere to be found, and his Highness was busy with his advisors. Something bad was going on in Konan, and everyone seemed antsy about it. It appeared that some of Kutou's armies had invaded the borderlands between the two countries, and were pillaging villages. As she was walking around a corner earlier that morning, she heard some of the servants whispering about the Priestess and how she would save them. That made Misara remember that Miaka was coming back today. However, since Misara couldn't find Nuriko, and Tamahome was gone, she decided to keep it to herself. She was in no mood to see Hotohori again, and besides, he was busy. So she went out in the gardens and sat among the roses. After a while, her stomach started to growl, and she pondered the idea of getting up and searching for food. As her hunger got the best of her, she sighed and pulled herself up from the ground. As she headed back into the palace, a servant almost ran into her.

Without bothering to apologize, he hurried on, shouting, "The Priestess has returned! The Priestess is back!!" Misara jerked her head in the direction he had come from and saw another servant running toward her.

This time, she grabbed his arm and asked, "The Priestess is back?"

"Yes, my lady, she is! She fell onto His Highness's head from the sky!"

Misara let go of his arm and he continued running. She smirked at the thought of Miaka breaking Hotohori's neck, then chided herself because it was childish to think that way. She wanted to hurry as fast as she could to the hall where Hotohori was, but in order to do that, she had to take a short-cut through the Temple of Suzaku. Chiding herself again for being so stupid, she climbed the steps to the Temple and opened the door. To her surprise, Hotohori and Nuriko were in there already, with another girl. They all looked surprised to be there as well, and Misara wondered if it was just another trick of Suzaku. As she drew nearer to them, she got a good look at Miaka. Although Nuriko and the others had told her countless times that they were almost identical, she still gasped when she saw Miaka. It was like looking directly into a mirror, except Miaka's eyes were a brownish-hazel color instead of Misara's ocean blue. Miaka looked even more shocked then Misara felt, because she halfway screamed and stepped back. Nuriko started laughing, but was cut off by Taitskun's booming voice.

"What are you doing now?" She demanded, then muttered to herself about 'Celestial Idiots' .

"Taitskun!" Miaka cried. "What's going on?" She turned back to Misara, who waved at her and smiled. This was kind of fun, Misara thought. However, this only seemed to upset Miaka more, and she spun back around to Taitskun, more confused than ever. Misara thought she saw Taitskun crack a tiny smile, but it was gone when she looked again.

"Miaka, this is Misara." Taitskun said sternly. Miaka turned and looked at Misara again, as Taitskun continued. "Suzaku has summoned her as the Goddess of the Sky, and the protector of the Celestial Warriors. To make a very long story short, she is to the Celestial Warriors what they are to you. They protect you with their lives, and she does the same for them. It is up to her, however, if she will protect the Priestess. Of course, she cannot harm the Priestess in anyway, but because the Priestess is not a Celestial Warrior, she is not entitled to the Goddess's protection. Because the Priestess is the Priestess, the Goddess of the Sky must do whatever she asks, short of harming those she is sworn to protect. However, if the Goddess is present at the summoning of one of the beast gods, the Priestess will receive an extra wish and the Goddess with get one of her own."

Miaka interrupted. "So she protects the Warriors of Suzaku? How?"

Taitskun rolled her eyes. "If she touches the symbol of a Celestial Warrior, she is filled with their holy power and may use it to protect them and herself. Also, there is one more thing, Miaka. If a Celestial Warrior should die, the Goddess of the Sky may bring them back to life. Only one may be brought back, and the Goddess cannot do this without your permission. If you ask, she will obey."

"Aren't you going to tell her that-" Nuriko was cut off by Taitskun's angry glare. "Nevermind, then. " He muttered under his breath.

Taitskun turned back to Miaka. "Do you understand?" She nodded, then Taitskun turned to Misara. "Do you understand the scroll and your role here?" Misara nodded slowly. "Good." Taitskun said decisively. "Then I shall leave you to search for the remaining warriors of Suzaku. Good luck." With a poof, she disappeared.

Before Misara had time to think, Miaka bounded up to her happily. "So you're from my world, huh? Where're you from? I know we'll be best of friends, right?"

Misara hesitated, then smiled brightly and nodded. "Of course! And I'll protect you the best I can, not that that's promising much..." Miaka laughed, and grabbed Misara's arm.

"We can talk over lunch. I'm starving!"

"Me too! Let's go get something to eat."

"I'm with you! See you guys later!"


Much later, when the two girls had had all they could eat, they met Nuriko and Hotohori in the garden.

"Misara said that Tamahome went off somewhere..." Miaka began.

Nuriko nodded.

"Well, I want to go find him...Will you come with me, Nuriko?" Miaka asked, batting her eyes at the purple-haired man. Nuriko rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He said dramatically, throwing up his hands. "Nothing will keep you from Tamahome, will it?"

Miaka turned at brilliant shade of red, and Misara turned to her, interested in this new information.

Before Misara could speak, Hotohori asked, "Will Misara be going with you?"

Misara shook her head. "As much as I'd like to see that twinkie again, I have to practice my violin. Did I tell you? Taitskun left it in my room as a present! I'm so happy that I get to practice...I'm so out of it right now." She shook her head again, and continued. "Anyways, I have to protect you guys, right? So I can't do that until I touch your symbols, although I'm not sure what will happen."

"Nuriko first, since he's leaving with Miaka." Hotohori said. Nuriko nodded and stepped forward. Pulling the collar of his shirt down, he revealed his symbol, which shone brightly.
He winked at Misara. "I'm sure it won't bite you or anything." Misara winced slightly, then reached for it. The instant she touched it, a dazzling red light shone out and swirled around them. Misara felt wonderfully happy, horribly sad and exhilaratingly dizzy all at the same time. She felt something warming her, and she looked down and saw an identical symbol on her chest. She removed her hand and the light dissipated. Nuriko's eyes were wide as he stared at her. Misara had the horrible feeling that she had done something wrong.

"What?" she whispered, unnerved by Nuriko's startled eyes.

Nuriko shook his head. "Nothing...it's...nothing. I just suddenly felt like all the strength and power I had left me, and then when you let go, it came back."

Hotohori interrupted them. "I believe it is my turn now." He turned to Misara and tried to joke. "I'm sure you will have your hands full protecting me." Misara, still hurt by the events of the previous night, looked away. Hotohori sighed softly, and out of the corner of her eye, Misara could see Miaka watching, looking very interested. Hotohori half turned and pulled his collar down to show the symbol on his neck, which was shining as brightly as Nuriko's. Misara hesitantly reached out and touched his symbol softly. Like before, the swirls of red light and a wave of strong emotions came over her, this time confusion and what felt like love. She couldn't see it, but she knew from the warmth that his symbol had appeared on her neck. The dizziness came too, this time overpowering her as she kept her hand on his neck. It was so strong that she had to tear herself away from him and lean against Nuriko, who looked at her with concerned eyes.

"I'm alright." She said after a minute, pulling herself back together again. However, that unsettling feeling in her mind would not go away, and shook herself out of her daze when Miaka began to speak.

"I suppose that's it...we should get going, Nuriko." Nuriko nodded, as did Hotohori. The two moved to leave, but hesitantly, out of concern for Misara, who had leaned up against a tree. She looked up and saw that they were still there, and motioned for them to go.

"Ok then...we'll be back soon with Tamahome, ok?" Miaka said as she and Nuriko headed off toward the stables. As soon as they disappeared, Misara collapsed onto the ground. Hotohori hurried over as she faded into unconsciousness.


Not much time had passed when Misara woke up. She was still in the garden, she could tell by the smell, but when she fully opened her eyes, she realized that she was in Hotohori's lap. Her first instinct was to get out quickly, but she was far too exhausted to move very fast. She did, however, pull herself out of his lap, and tried to stand. Another wave of dizziness passed over her, but she forced it away. Hotohori stood too, and placed his hand carefully on her shoulder.

"Are you...alright?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine...really." She tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace as she felt her knees buckle again. Struggling to keep herself standing, she said, "I think I need to go rest for a while...I'll see you at dinner."

Hotohori hesitated, and then nodded. "At dinner then. I hope you feel better by then, Misara."
She turned and walked away from him, toward her room, and when she got there, she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.