Seiryuu Den – Gaiden Two

Seiryuu Den – Gaiden Two

Chapter Three: Filling a Void

Yui, Sei, and Soki started dinner without Tetsuya. The boys were quiet because they knew that their mother was very tense because their father hadn't called home to say that he would be late. The phone rang suddenly, and Soki stood up to pick it up.

"Hello, Kajiwara residence. How may I help you?" asked Soki. He listened on the other line, and said, "Yes, hold on a moment."

"What is it, Soki?" asked Yui with concern as she looked at him expectantly.

"It's the hospital. Mom, something's happened, but they won't tell me. You have to talk to them," said Soki in a shaky voice as he handed her the cordless phone with a slightly trembling hand. His blue eyes filled with worry. Yui took it, and said, "Yes, this is Mrs. Kajiwara. Yes. We'll be there. Thank you," she said in a very calm voice. She stood up and hung up the phone.

"What's wrong, Mom?" asked Sei.

"Something's happened. Your father was attacked by someone. He's at the hospital," said Yui as she went to go and get the boys' coats and her car keys. Sei and Soki looked at each other, and Sei decided to put the dishes in the sink, but Yui had returned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no time for that. It's alright. Just leave them, Sei," she said. They put on their coats and set off for the hospital with Yui driving. Sei and Soki eyed their mother nervously, but remained silent. It was like something out of a bad dream.

* * *

Hoshi and Keisuke had a quiet dinner at home. Hoshi still lived with his uncle because he didn't want to move out, and he didn't want his uncle to be alone, even though Keisuke could take care of himself. It was hard to even think of moving out away from home for Hoshi. He came back from his job as an instructor from the dojo where he had been training in since he was five years old.

"Did you get your manuscript done today?" asked Hoshi.

"What do you think?" asked Keisuke in a playful tone.

"I didn't think so," answered Hoshi with a laugh. Keisuke studied his nephew with interest. Hoshi bared a striking resemblance to his father, but Keisuke could see that he was his own man. Around his neck, suspended with a black, silk cord, was a dragon pendant holding a blue lapis stone in its claws. The pendant was given to him as a gift from his miko, Miwa, who bought during a vacation to her mother's relatives in New York City. On his right hand, on his pinkie, he wore a small ring with a red stone on it. It was his mother's wedding band that matched his father's. He wore it so that he could be close to both his parents, especially his mother. He didn't look like Miaka at all, so he wore the ring. He could look at a mirror and feel close to his father.

"What about you? Did you have a good day?" asked Keisuke.

"I got to class late, so I had to be assigned some new foreign exchange student as my partner," said Hoshi with the sound of mild complaining in his voice.

"Then you shouldn't have come to class late then," commented Keisuke.

"But, there was traffic. I left even before you woke up," said Hoshi defensively. Keisuke was always up at around 7:30 in the morning.

"You are more like your mother than you and I even think," said Keisuke with a laugh. Hoshi opened his mouth to say something, but the phone rang. Keisuke went to answer it, and immediately went to get his car keys.

"What's wrong?" asked Hoshi with concern.

"Something's happened. Sei was on the phone. Tetsuya was attacked, and he's in the hospital. I'll go and check it out. I'll call you," said Keisuke as he also pulled up his cell phone and coat.

"I hope, Uncle Tetsuya is alright," commented Hoshi worriedly. Tetsuya was his favorite teacher. He was the one who taught Hoshi how to read advance Chinese, which helped whenever he had to go to Kutou.

"I'll try to be back before dawn. Have a good night," said Keisuke when he finally left.

Hoshi cleaned up right after his uncle left because he had lost his appetite. He decided to bury himself in work, so that he wouldn't have to worry so much. He checked his e-mail. He deleted all the junk mail he had in his inbox. He looked at he screen and realized that he didn't have an e-mail from Miwa. She regularly e-mailed him weekly, sometimes twice a week. 'What's wrong with her?' he thought as he composed a message to her. Maybe, he was worrying too much, she was only two days late. When he went back to his e-mail address, a new message was there. It was from Ivan Nicholas. With slight apprehension, he clicked on the message:

"Sukanami Hoshi,

I decided to e-mail you right away because I needed to know the arrangement for this assignment. Like I said when we exited class today, I would prefer to meet at my house in Tokyo. Please inform me if this is to your liking.

Ivan Nicholas"

Hoshi couldn't believe that anyone could sound so formal and cold in such a short message. It was written in perfect Japanese. He looked at it for a while before he sent a message back to Ivan.

* * *

Keisuke arrived at the hospital in record time. Tetsuya was his oldest friend who always backed him up. He got to the right wing because Sei told him where to go. He found the boys sitting in the chairs. Soki was looking at his soda, but not drinking it.

"How's your father?" asked Keisuke.

"Uncle Keisuke!" cried Soki who was so relieved to see him. He stood up to hug him, but Sei stayed away.

"He's in intensive care, but he still hasn't woke up yet. He's not in a coma according to the doctors, but he has a really bad concussion. He's got two broken ribs and his right arm is broken. He lost a lot of blood. Mom's still talking to the police and the doctors," reported Sei in an efficient manner. It was one the rare moments when Sei looked more like Tetsuya in Yui. He usually did when he was very serious.

"I see. I'll be right back," said Keisuke, so that he could see how Yui was holding up.

"Yeah, come back soon 'cause we haven't heard anything in a while," said Soki. Keisuke nodded and left. "Do you think that Dad's going to be okay?" asked Soki.

"He's Dad. He's strong than he looks, Soki. Dad's strong, and Mom won't let him go with a fight," reassured Sei in a firm tone.

"I hope so," said Soki. His brother always knew just the right thing to say.

Keisuke came to Yui's side, and she gave him a grateful look. She looked so happy to see him, so they shared a short embrace. She looked tired and sad. "It's alright. I'm here," whispered Keisuke reassuringly.

"He lost so much blood. Thank God that graduate student from the Chemistry department found him and called for help. Who would do this to him, Keisuke?" asked Yui desperately. She wasn't crying yet, but the night was catching up with her slowly. She was worried and tired.

"He's very strong, and he loves you too much to die on you," whispered Keisuke. The doctor came up to them.

"The X-rays seem to be fine. There seems to be no permanent damage to your husband's brain and skull, Mrs. Kajiwara. Despite all the blows he seems to have taken to his head, I'm surprised. We'll have to do an MIR to make sure, and you can see him now," said the doctor.

"Thank you," said Yui in a whisper. Keisuke guided her gently to Tetsuya's room, and she took a seat. He left to get her a cup of coffee. According to the police, they couldn't tell how many men attacked Tetsuya. There was no evidence. No answers to soothe Yui's mind. While waiting for Keisuke to return, he was going to take a while because he was going to tell the boys what was going on, she stood up and went to Tetsuya's bedside. She gently stroked his cheek lovingly and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Don't leave me now. I swear, I won't forgive you if you do," she whispered as she took his hand and pressed it against her cheek. A tear slide down her cheek, she didn't cry in front of Keisuke and her sons. She never showed any weakness because her family needed her to be strong. After Miaka died, it was assumed that Yui only cried right after hearing the news of her best friend's death. That wasn't true. Yui cried for almost a year after Miaka died, but Tetsuya was the only one who ever knew about it. He was the one who made her strong again. She looked at him, and noticed something strange.

There were bruises on his body, but the bruises were uniformed and massive. It didn't look like something that could be done with fist, no matter how big the fist were. They were simply too uniformed. She closed her eyes to blink back the tears. Tetsuya slowly opened his eyes to see her crying, "Hey…don't cry, my Love," he whispered softly as he lifted his hand to wipe the tear away from her cheek. Yui opened her eyes and smiled. She leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the lips. "Ow…," he whispered when she pulled back.

"I'm sorry," said Yui quickly because she felt bad. She made his injuries sorer.

"It's good that your awake," said Keisuke with approval from the doorway. Yui smiled at him.

"Where's Sei and Soki?" asked Tetsuya.

"They're outside," answered Yui. Tetsuya laid down again, still holding Yui's hand. "Go back to sleep, Tetsuya. I'll stay here tonight," she added. Tetsuya looked like he was going to say something further, but he was too weak to fight her, so he just closed his eyes. Everyone spent the night at the hospital, even Sei and Soki. They didn't even notice when the morning came.

* * *

Ivan Nicholas looked at Bryan St. George with a cold glare. The news on the television reported the attack of Kajiwara Tetsuya, so Ivan thought that it was a good time to talk to Bryan. Larissa Chambers was present for the discussion, and she couldn't help but feel bad for Bryan.

"What were you thinking?" demanded Ivan coldly as he looked at Bryan who maintained his silence, "Are you trying to reveal us too soon? We can't have that. All our plans will be ruined just because you have a grudge against Kajiwara. It was foolish of you to act so soon. I told you before to be patient, and that you could take care of him when I said so," continued Ivan.

"I don't know what happened. I just saw him and something snapped," whispered Bryan as he shook his head.

"Don't do anything again like that too soon. Your job is to pay attention to the Suzaku, Genbu, and Byakko seishi. That is your mission. Keep them away from the Seiryuu seishi," ordered Ivan as he finally exited the room. He just couldn't stand the pathetic presence of Bryan anymore. Larissa looked at Bryan and walked up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Just be patient, Bryan. I don't want anything happening to you," said Larissa softly; he reminded her of younger brother back home in England. Bryan stood up, shaking her hand off his shoulder, and walked out of the room without another word. Larissa shook her head because history was repeating itself once again.

* * *

Yumeno Hikari arrived at the New Temple of Light in a less populated part of Tokyo, that was almost outside the city. In the gardens, he found the guru of the New Temple of Light, and Hikari bowed to the religious leader who appeared to be mediating opened his eyes. "Greetings, Hikari," said the religious leader whose handsome looks could make anyone fall in love with him instantly. His hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and light brown. His amber eyes were surprisingly warm and friendly, but Hikari knew better. He was dressed in the robes of a Tibetan priest without any markings in his head.

"Greetings, Akira," said Hikari. Ishida Akira was the leader of a brand new religion that was taking off in Japan. It was a mixture of Tibetan Buddhism, and something else entirely. The focal of worship was in the form of a dragon. Hikari was listed as one of the religions higher members, but he didn't attend any of the services that Akira held, and he wasn't expected to. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Everything went well," answered Akira with a slight smile.

"Very well, may blessing be with you," said Hikari as he bowed to him.

"And with you," responded Akira with a bow.

'I should report this to Larissa, so that she can pass this on to Ivan,' thought Hikari as he returned to his car and drove back to his apartment in Tokyo.

* * *

Back in Kutou…

Amiboshi, who was known as Kaika, watched as his children argued outside while sitting on a rock. His twin sons couldn't stand their bossy older sister, and they wanted to marry her off to the neighboring pig farmer. He lost his wife to illness when his sons were less than ten years old, so their sister took it upon herself to fill the void. She was constantly trying to tell them what to do. The boys felt like they really didn't need to listen because they were Seiryuu seishi like their father. They didn't take well to following, their sister, Ming's orders. Omoi and Kai were getting more and more agitated and were planning a rebellion against her. Omoi was the older twin, but he was introduced second by his father to Miwa, the Seiryuu no Miko, so he was the fifth Seiryuu seishi for the second generation. Kai was the fourth Seiryuu seishi. Both of them were different from each other. Omoi was the more serious one out of the two, while Kai was more outgoing. Each one had the half of the Seiryuu shinzaho which were the earrings that Yui wore during the first summoning of Seiryuu. Each twin had an earring to guard.

"Will you stop tell us what to do?" demanded Omoi to Ming who was only two years older than them.

"I would if both of you would grow up," she answered in a patronizing tone.

"No wonder you're an old maid, and no one wants you," remarked Kai smugly.

"I'm only twenty years old!" shouted Ming as she threw a rock at Omoi who wasn't quick enough to catch it.

"Ow!" cried out Omoi and Kai in unison. Omoi had a bleeding wound in his forehead, while Kai was also rubbing the same spot. They had the same telepathic link that their father had with his twin.

"Why'd you throw the rock at me?! Kai was the one who said it!" shouted Omoi angrily.

"Because I knew that it didn't matter who I hit, both of you would still feel it," answered Ming tartly.

"Father! Ming's throwing rocks at us again!" shouted Kai.

Amiboshi shook his head at his children, but he still maintained a smile on his face. He really loved his children very much. Amiboshi played his flute, and the sound calmed the children down. He used to play his flute to make the children sleep. Suddenly, something surged through his body, and he stopped playing. Ming looked at her father with concern.

"What's wrong, Father?" asked Ming.

"I don't know," whispered Amiboshi. A feeling came over him. It was a feeling that had long since left him. The void that he had once felt in his heart was now gone and filled in once again. It was as if a missing part of himself had returned to him. The feeling was unsettling because he knew that the void was supposed to stay empty.

~*ClareBear's Omake*~

Nuriko: HA! We've taken back the omake from the Seiryuu!

Miaka: It's been a while since we've put our two sense in.

Tamahome: I have a strange feeling about all this.

Chiriko: That Akira scares for some strange reason. I don't know why.

Tamahome: That Ivan is just creepy. But, I don't know about that Bryan. I didn't like the way Ivan was looking at Hoshi earlier. It's like he's planning to hurt him.

Miaka: Amiboshi isn't feeling well. I can't believe anyone would attack Tetsuya. He's never done anything to cause that kind of attack.

Tamahome: Yeah, he's survived being married to Yui and having a son as a Suzaku seishi. I didn't think that he would die.

Hotohori: It seems like all those people know each other, but they're good about not being obvious about it.

Mitsuke: There's something familiar about everyone.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. I probably don't own half of my cast list for this thing. ^_^

Author's Note: I hope everyone is enjoying this fic. There's a lot of stuff building all around this fic. LOL. I'm enjoying myself on this one. And I think I've dropped a lot of clues, so that everyone understands what's going on. Some of these chapters are really short, but the next ones should be longer.