Chapter Two

After two days, Yukago was tired and hungry. "I should have brought more food with me. Three rice balls is definitely not enough." He dismounted his horse and decided a nap was in order. Finding a shady spot underneath a tree, he checked his route again, closed the map, and dozed. An hour and a half later he was awakened by a shrill scream. "IIE! STOP IT! IIE!!!" Yukago, realizing the scream came from a female, got up and raced toward the sound.

"Onegai... iie..." A raven-haired boy looked at the girl in front of him and grinned. "Hmm. Quiet now. People are around. They may be listening." He pulled a knife from his cloak and proceeded toward the frightened female. Just then a voice emitted from the shadows behind them.

"You're right. There are people that can hear you close by." The brunette and her captor turned their heads to see who had spoken. "Who the hell are you? Show yourself!" screamed the boy. A teen with long blonde hair stepped forward. "Never mind that. You really shouldn't attempt to commit a murder where you know you might be caught. Now let her go before I am forced to hurt you."

The boy with the black hair was adamant. "No way. I brought her here to kill her, and nothing will keep me from fulfilling that task." Yukago shrugged. "Okay then. You leave me no choice." He unsheathed his sword and struck a fighting pose. "Come get me." Raven, as Yukago had begun to call him, just glared. "Why? What have I to gain from fighting you? I can fulfill my thirst for blood right now and not have to bother with anything like that." Looking at the brunette, he grinned menacingly. "Isn't that right?" The girl screwed up her face in disgust at the thought. Yukago outstretched his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the boy's back. "Let her go and fight me, or I will plunge ten pounds of deadly steel right into your spine."

What followed was the bloodiest fight in the history of the Four Gods. When it was finally over, Yukago dug a hole to bury the young teen's body. "I'm sorry it had to end this way," he said sadly as he placed the corpse in the ground. "You were probably an okay guy. But trying to kill that girl was wrong. You should've let her go when I asked you to." He filled in the hole and turned to the girl who had been standing there. "You're still here? I told you to run when we started fighting."

"I couldn't." "Nani?" Yukago was amazed by what the girl was saying. " He tried to kill you. I got him to let you go. And still you wouldn't run away?"

She shook her head. "Like you said, he let me go to fight you. It's only right that I should be here to thank you for your efforts. That is… if you were still here to thank."

"Well… er… you're welcome, miss…?" "Koura. My name is Koura. And you are?" "Yukago, son of the Seiryuu no Miko, Yui, and warrior of the Four Gods." Koura laughed at this drawn-out introduction. "Do you always introduce yourself like that, or am I some special case?" "Sorry. It's just that I was taught to say that when I meet someone." They sat down under a tree and began to talk.

"So, Koura, where are you from?" "Konan. My mother… er... worked in the palace. My father does as well." " 'Worked'? Was she fired?" Koura shook her head sadly. "She's presumed to be dead. The last time she was seen was eight years ago." "Eight years… that's about the time the Suzaku no Miko disappeared…" At this, Koura became very antsy. "Don't get any ideas! I'm not related to her in any way. It just happens to be the same year my mother disappeared. A coincidence, that's all." "Koura?" "Hai?" If it's just a coincidence, why are you sweating?"

"No reason! Jeez, what is this, 20 Questions?!" "Calm down! I just asked a harmless question. And if you need to know why, it's because I have been sent by my mother to search for and find the Suzaku no Miko. They were good friends and she wants to know if Miaka ever returned because no one notified her or my father. There, are you satisfied? I've told you everything but my life story, and I'm not going into that right now."

Koura was quite taken aback by all this, but she was also grateful that he had offered her an explanation. As they sat there in silence, she began to think to herself.

'Maybe I should have been nicer. After all, he did save my life. [pause] Nah! It's not like I didn't already thank him. And what right does he have to ask me all those questions? I mean, jeez! Accusing me of being related to the Miko.' She looked at him. His back was turned, and he was no doubt he was also in thought. 'How in the hell did he figure it out so fast?'