Chapter 8: …The More They Remain The Same

The next morning greeted them with news that Hotohori's half-brother had been detained by palace guards in light of all the incriminating evidence. It had been a harrowing few days, but the veiled danger which had been threatening Konan from within had finally been put to an end, and Miaka gratefully breathed a sigh of relief.

Nakago has been the one who has done the most to help, her heart warmed at the thought, and she found herself smiling for the first time in days. He can be nice if he chooses to be…that is, when he's not being a jerk the other ninety percent of the time!

Even now, she realised that she was no longer able to imagine a life without his presence…When had he become so important to her?

It's hard to believe that there was a time I hated him so much… that I wanted him dead. She shuddered, ashamed of herself for ever thinking of such a thing…she had come so close to never finding out what a good friend he could be.

Shaking her head, she sighed, turning her mind to their current situation. There was nothing more they could do at the palace, and it was time they figured out a way to return to their own reality. Maybe Taiitsukun can send us back, like the time she sent me back! I suppose we need to go to Mt. Taikyoku to look for her. Miaka remembered her previous trip to the mountain all too well. It saddened her, that this time, she would not be making the journey with Hotohori or Nuriko… two friends she had loved dearly.

She blinked back the sudden tears, refusing to let herself get depressed. Perhaps they had already been reincarnated into the real world, and were waiting for her. She would look for them once she got back, and find them, just like she had found Nakago and Tamahome…

And everyone would be together again…

(We will all meet again…Beyond worlds, beyond time, beyond life…we will all surely meet again…)

I'll hold you to that, Hotohori…we'll see each other again soon, because you promised...

He met Houki in the pavilion he had occupied the night before. She was accompanied by her personal maids and had obviously come out for some fresh air. From the looks of it, it was doing her good… the colour had come back to her face, and although she was still weak from the poison, the empress looked a great deal better compared to when he had last seen her.

"Empress Houki," Nicholas inclined his head politely, seeing no way he could avoid her.

She smiled graciously at him, "You are the Suzaku no Miko's friend. They told me that you were the one who saved my life. Thank you," she said simply, "I am in your debt."

He noticed that although she bore an uncanny similarity to the Suzaku shichi seishi Nuriko, her voice was soft and cultured as befitted an empress, whereas the violet haired cross-dresser's had been candid, and more often than not, loud.

You would not be thanking me, if you knew who I really am…He shrugged slightly, hiding his dark musings, "I did what I could. You owe me nothing."

It was becoming increasingly awkward for him to continue talking to her, and he turned to leave. Halfway however, he stopped, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, "Your husband…was a brave man." The statement was abrupt, pitched so that it was just loud enough for her to hear.

It was the only thing he could honestly tell her. He could only hope that it would bring her some comfort.

Houki's eyes widened in surprise, "You…knew him?" she asked in a whisper, her voice trembling a little as she stared at him expectantly.

Nicholas had his back to her and she did not see the bitter smile which crossed his lips, "I met Saihitei once…briefly, a long time ago." He kept his voice carefully neutral so that she would not suspect anything out of the ordinary; purposely making his words sound as if they were nothing more than an afterthought. There were some things she did not need to find out. As far as she knew, the man who had killed her husband was dead.

Without waiting for a reply or even bothering to glance back, he walked away from the pavilion, feeling her bewildered gaze following him with every step he took.

Rounding a corner, he came to a sudden stop. He sensed that something was wrong an instant before intense feelings of shock, horror and grief flooded through him; sending his mind reeling in surprise and causing him to tense defensively as though preparing against a physical attack.

What in Seiryuu's name…? Rapidly sifting through the unfamiliar sensations, he quickly realised that the emotions weren't his own; firstly because he had absolutely no reason to be either grief-stricken or horrified, and secondly, because almost nothing was capable of shocking him in any significant way. Which meant only one thing…

He was picking up someone else's emotions…and he had a niggling suspicion he knew exactly whose they were…

And he wasn't happy about it in the least. In fact, he wasn't happy about it at all.

Blue eyes narrowing in irritation, his mouth tightened into a grim line as he broke into a run. Damn! What could it possibly be THIS time?

She had insisted on seeing Hotohori's half-brother before they left the palace. Standing outside the doors to the room Lord Shinjiku was being currently held in under heavy guard, Miaka felt an acute sense of trepidation. What kind of person was this man? Did he look anything like Hotohori? A million questions floated through her mind…there were so many things she wanted to say…

Keisuke and Taka had tried to convince her not to visit the man, telling her that nothing good could come out of it…but she had insisted on going anyway. Despite their violent protests, she knew that they cared about her too much to allow her to face Lord Shinjiku alone…which was why they were here now, fidgeting nervously as they stood beside her.

I just want to talk to him…ask him why…

Nodding to the guards, she slowly pushed open the door.

And froze.

Lord Shinjiku hung from one of the ceiling beams with a sheet taken from the bed looped around his throat. Swinging slightly, the limp body looked like a macabre puppet out of a gruesome horror movie. The corpse was suspended in the middle of the room, positioned such that its dead, sightless eyes seemed to stare balefully at anyone who had the misfortune of coming in through the door.

Keisuke stumbled backwards in horror at the ghastly scene. Oh my god…his mind kept repeating the phrase over and over again, having lost all capacity for coherent thought.

Taka was in no better condition. He had gone as pale as the corpse hanging in front of him, paralysed where he stood.

Miaka's hazel eyes were still fixed on the dead body, as though mesmerised by its slow sway to and fro above the floor.

The movement brought Keisuke back to his senses. Choking back a gag of revulsion as the bile from his stomach forced its way up his throat, he reached for her, trying to cover her eyes and prevent her from looking…desperately trying to protect her from the horrible reality of seeing someone who had committed suicide. However, part of him knew that it was already too late to reverse the damage. She had already seen all there was to see…

Miaka started to shake violently.

And then, she began to scream.

He found them standing in the open doorway a second before Miaka let out an ear-splitting howl of anguish. In fact, not only did he hear it, but he felt it as well, the sound tearing across his soul like the lash of a whip. Somehow, all her emotions were being channelled to him, and everything she was feeling was affecting him as well.

Nicholas gritted his teeth, forcefully tuning out the pain which was not his, but hers. Taking in the scene inside the room with a single dispassionate glance, he noted that Lord Shinjiku had been dead for several hours at the least, judging from the appearance of the corpse. The man had preferred death to facing the consequences of being branded a traitor.

Not only dishonourable, but a coward as well…he resisted the urge to shake his head in disgust. How disappointing.

His eyes flicked back to Miaka. The cause of her distress was clear…now he had to snap her out of it before it got any worse and she somehow managed to hurt herself.

What he was about to do was drastic, and he disliked having to resort to such measures, but he had no other choice…it was the fastest and most fail-proof method of drawing her attention away from what she had just witnessed. Unfortunately, it was going to hurt her more than it would hurt him…

Famous last words, he thought wryly.

His movements showing no trace of hesitation, he lifted a hand and delivered a stinging slap across her face.

The sharp crack of his palm hitting her smooth skin echoed through the room, abruptly cutting her off mid-scream as her head was jerked to one side with the impact. Her hand flew up to touch her cheek in an automatic reflex as she stared at him, stunned into silence by what he had just done. The force of the blow had been calculated to be just hard enough to sting, and although it had not been hard enough to bruise, her delicate skin was already turning red.

"Get a hold of yourself," he hissed, even as he saw the look of hurt betrayal that her expressive features clearly conveyed. Good. It meant that she was coming back to her senses. Thankfully, the powerful emotions which had been assailing him had stopped along with her screams.

Nakago…slapped…me…? Why…? Miaka could feel bewildered tears starting to form involuntarily at the corners of her eyes, partly as a result of the pain, but mostly because she had no idea why he had hit her.

Nicholas blinked at the sight of her tears, and instinctively extended his hand towards her face without thinking; intending to brush his fingertips across her injured cheek to soothe the pain he had so recently inflicted—

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" Keisuke bellowed, lunging forward from behind his sister and grabbing the former shogun's wrist, thinking that the blonde man was going to hit her again.

The blue of Nicholas' eyes completely iced over at the unwelcome contact. "She was becoming hysterical," he stated coldly. Directing a pointed look at Keisuke's hand which was still locked around his wrist, he did not have to wait long before the other man got the message and hurriedly released him.

"We should leave here," he said shortly, walking past the Suzaku no Miko and out into the corridor.

"But…" Taka stammered, seeing that Miaka was in no condition to respond.

"Do you intend to stay and help them clean up the mess?" Nicholas asked sharply, the words harsh and clipped, as he rapidly lost whatever patience he had left. Being exposed to Miaka's emotions had left him feeling raw and drained…not to mention in an extremely bad mood. In fact, he could not recall the last time he had been� this close to losing his temper completely.

Does he realise how dangerous he looks now? Keisuke wondered, suddenly worried for Miaka's safety. The way Nicholas' entire body had gone rigid with forcefully repressed irritation reminded him of a caged tiger. That can't be healthy. I don't think it's a good idea to be near him right now…

Deciding that keeping his mouth shut would be less painful than losing a limb, Keisuke wisely chose not to contradict Nicholas. Instead, he focused his energies on getting both Miaka and himself away from the room. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he gently pulled her out into the hallway.

Then, to Keisuke's surprise, it was Miaka who defused the tension. Placing a shaky hand on his arm to indicate that she was all right, she turned to Taka and sent the dark-haired man a look; silently begging him not to argue with Nicholas.

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself enough to speak. Her skin still burned where Nakago had hit her, but she had forgiven him the instant she'd realised why he had done it.

The uncontrollable downward spiral towards madness…she had almost allowed her emotions to overwhelm her. Had he not arrived when he did, she would have ended up suffering a nervous breakdown.

He was protecting me…again.

"H-He's right…there is nothing we can do here. We…we should go…" she whispered. Away from here…I need to get away from this place…

Notes:

1) Nicholas/Nakago almost loses his cool! He's not terribly happy to discover that Miaka's the one yanking on his chain. Grin He does not appreciate someone else screwing around with his emotions and being bombarded by everything the Suzaku no Miko feels has left him off-balance and slightly…unhinged.

2) There is a reason why he can sense her emotions. I have BIG plans for this…diabolical laughter All will be revealed in subsequent chapters.