Disclaimer- No own already! *crosses arms*
AN- Get this. I lost the original draft to Phoenix. Next thing you know, I've gotten most of it typed, then the computer breaks down and it's lost again. I've had a hard life, OK? But finally it's here (again) and I'm kinda annoyed but hey. (By the way I know this is strange but I write for me not reviewers in this case…)
Atsuna, though most obviously ticked off, agreed to transport the shichiseishi to Taikyokuzan. It was, as she explained rather tersely, a huge drain on her resources. The fact that she was in part responsible for her sister's death wasn't helping her mood, in any case. Her eyes had gained a sort of haunted look in them, an expression hard to see, but one that once noticed would never leave you.
"Where's the mountain?" Nuriko whispered, violet eyes scanning the landscape. He could see only vague outlines of ordinary mountains, certainly none that fit his recollection of Taikyokuzan. "Are we in the right place?"
"Entirely," Atsuna gritted out, slowly reaching out with her ki. "As you know, the mountain is protected. Those with evil intentions see only a hill. It is this hill that we seek right now." Her face, darkened with concentration, focused on one solitary mound. "There…"
Chichiri blinked his good eye rapidly. "And you propose to get in how nda? Tis still a holy mountain, run by an evil god or not."
"I have my ways, mage of Suzaku. Misari was weak to begin with, having only the task of ruling the world. He has also been pretty much banished; we have naught to fear from him. It is his daughter we do not wish to cross." She yanked on her ponytail, finally setting off in a general southern direction.
"What of his daughter?" Chiriko inquired curiously. "It would seem she would pose no threat… is she powerful?"
Atsuna sighed. "Never underestimate the wrath of one angered. Sankara, unfortunately, is very easily swayed to the purposes of others. Once she considers you an enemy, she is formidable indeed. This, coupled with the fact that she is immortal, creates a problem for us."
In the background, Tamahome rolled his eyes quite visibly. "Honestly."
She turned on him. "Do you have a better idea, Tamahomesan? If so I'd love to hear it." The acid in her voice would have destroyed the entire palace were it set loose. "I'll have you know that it is no laughing matter dealing with the gods."
"Nerves," Mitsukake diagnosed under his breath.
The group silently filed through a door that appeared only after an intense spell on Atsuna's part. Once inside, the home of Tai Itsukun revealed itself in all its original splendor. The only thing that struck the seishi at first was the silence- their footsteps seemed to echo into infinity in the cold marble halls.
"Misari, may I add is clueless," Atsuna informed them. "We shall have no problems with him, only Sankarasan. With luck she will not discover us until we are long gone. I would hope not to meet her."
"Luck is not with you, dear cousin." The young woman stood at the doorway, a decidedly smug expression on her fair face. "Atsunasan I presume? Tis a pleasure to meet you here."
"Likewise," Suzaku's daughter returned through clenched teeth. "I expect you shall not allow us to pass you peacefully…?" Behind her back, she fingered a small knife, her favorite weapon and one she handled with deadly accuracy. It was a blade of a beautiful ivory shade, its hilt studded with tiny rubies that reflected light with an intense brilliance. Few, though, had had time to appreciate it.
Misari no Sankara glanced behind her counterpart, alerted by the movement. "Do you expect to use whatever you hold behind your back…?" she asked dryly, lightning crackling ominously around her fingertips.
"I'd like not to," Atsuna answered serenely. "But I shall if the need arises."
"Would this be a threat…?" Sankara raised one elegant eyebrow.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Move over, Sankarasan, it is not you with whom we have our business." As she spoke, flames danced across her face. "They say water conducts electricity. I shall opt for burning rather than drowning then…"
"If you wish."
"Move out of the way," she hissed back to the seishi. "You can do nothing here." Slowly, she began preparing a spell, fierce concentration evident. Sankara waited only out of the barest of courtesy.
"Normally," Atsuna mused more to herself than anyone else, "I would consider the repercussions of so harming one of the immortals. In this case, however, I must say though I shall sorely regret it I will go through with this…"
"Then do so. I tire," Sankara announced. Despite her brave words, Chichiri could sense her frantically setting up a shield spell. Plainly she was not as powerful as her attitude and status would indicate.
The dark-haired woman bowed. "I will expect to meet you once more, someday. In the meantime I could not hope for you to forgive me… so til then!" She grinned rather cheekily before shattering the older woman's shield and effectively knocking her out.
"Fascinating," Chiriko observed, already storing information in the interests of future study.
"Well then." Atsuna wiped her hands off on her shirt, sighing a bit. "That was certainly interesting, though I hope never to repeat that experience. Honestly, it isn't a good idea to place yourself in a position where the gods do not favor you."
"I would think so," Tamahome muttered.
"Amazing, I'd never expect you to think."
Chichiri poked her. "A-ano… Atsuna… Aren't we supposed to be sealing Misariseikun so that we can summon Suzaku na no da?? Miaka's kinda waiting for us at the palace nda yo…"
"And probably consuming it," Nuriko added rather helpfully.
"Just a second…" She kicked Sankara's limp body over to the side, scorn decorating her features. "To think I once considered her my friend…" She gathered herself. "Misari shall be no challenge now, thankfully. I have spent much of my energy on this scum. Let us proceed."
****
Their mission accomplished, the seven warriors of Suzaku and the woman who seemed to be their leader left the holy mountain of Taikyokuzan. It had taken some struggling, but finally they could do what they had set out to do once, on a day that seemed so long ago.
It was time to Summon Suzaku.
*blinks at the chapter* Have I ever done weirder? Oh dear… Scary. Well I'm currently working out a plan of how this story should go in my mind, so it'll get weird. All I can say is that though I have had doubts, Atsuna is not me. She's gonna be doing a lot of things that would make me cringe were this a self inclusion, if my plan works out. *twitch* Well anyways I see that this story is getting progressively weirder, so I'd like feedback on whether to kinda try to keep it on a normal level. 'rigatou minna!!!