Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.
Foreword: You're not getting confused with the characters, right? In any case, here's the list of the Seiryuu and Suzaku, and their friends. It's alphabetical, ya know?
Amiboshi: Derrick - Ashitare: Peter - Chichiri: Vidal - Chiriko: Tsunami - Hikou: Henry - Hotohori: Rayna - Kouji: Cody - Kouran: Kara - Miaka: Kotori - Miboshi: Warren - Mitsukake: Ira - Nakago: Aimee - Nuriko: Tahir - Soi: Cleo - Suboshi: Erick - Tamahome: Lee - Tasuki: Hikaru - Tetsuya: Tatsu - Tomo: Ryan - Yui: Tsuzu
~Gloomy Travels: Dragon's Strength~
Tsuzu glanced around the room that they had been transported to by Seiryuu's power. "It looks like I'm back home," she said with a reassuring smile as she turned to face the Seiryuu seishi. The edges of her dress swirled just above the surface of the water that flowed artfully throughout Seiryuu's shrine. Her dress was a fancy blue one in a style that was popular in Kutou; it was the same dress she had been wearing the day that she had been torn from her world and placed in another.
But something was different about the way she had spoken. Erick looked at Tsuzu in surprise. "You're speaking in Japanese… And so am I! How can I understand a completely different language?"
"It must be what comes from serving a god," Derrick said slightly dryly with a grin. The priestess nodded encouragingly. "I bet that Tsuzu-san wasn't able to speak English before she got to our world, either." She nodded again in agreement and watched Warren look around the room. Or maybe it was Miboshi, and not Warren.
"It's not quite the same as I remember it," he said finally. It had to be Miboshi speaking, then.
Cleo asked, "What do you mean, Warren?" She hadn't been told that Warren actually was Miboshi, or, more accurately, that Miboshi lived inside Warren.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm Miboshi, not Warren," he said dryly. "Warren is resting right now. He said that I'd know how to deal with this world better than he does." And it's true, he though silently to himself, even if it's very, very different.
"You mean that you're the real Miboshi?" Ryan squeaked out, and then he gulped. He, as Tomo, had had some pretty bad run-ins with Miboshi that he barely remembered, but the memories still weren't good. Their personalities had clashed - badly. He nervously edged away from Miboshi.
"Look," he said with a sigh of annoyance, "I'm not the crazy, psychotic Miboshi that you remember, okay? I'm almost a completely different person." He saw that Ryan and Cleo still looked disbelieving. He couldn't blame them because he still wasn't sure that he was quite so different. Warren heard that thought from his place in the back of his mind.
{You are different from that Miboshi!} he protested. Warren knew that Miboshi felt that he was tainted because of how his mind had been twisted by Tenkou, and he thought that those feelings were useless. Miboshi wouldn't listen to him and acted as if nothing had been said.
A sound behind them made them start. The door to the shrine was slowly opening.
A man with brown hair and amber eyes was in the doorway. He looked older than eighteen, perhaps nineteen. "Tsuzu-chan!" he exclaimed. "You're back! You've finally returned!" He rushed forward and swept Tsuzu up in a hug. "I've missed you so much."
She chuckled and put her arms around him. "I've missed you, too, Tatsu," she said sincerely. "How long have I been gone?"
"Three months."
That startled her. "T-three months! My father must be furious!"
"He was furious," Tatsu said wryly, "after the first day." Then he seemed to notice the other seven for the first time. "Um… who are they? And where exactly were you?"
That made Aimee giggle. "It's like watching Warren-kun and Tsunami-chan."
Warren blushed. "I do not-"
"Yes, you do." To Tatsu, she said, "She's the priestess of Seiryuu. We're the warriors of Seiryuu. I'm Nakago."
Tatsu blinked and looked dubious. "You're Nakago?" There were legends about Nakago of the Seiryuu Seishi in his world. He was always a powerful, arrogant, cold, and supremely dangerous man.
"That's right!" She giggled again. "Or, you could say that Nakago is my invisible friend. My name's Aimee." Unseen by anyone else, Nakago rolled his eyes.
"Riiiight…" His voice hinted that he either thought she was crazy or extremely strange. "Tsuzu-chan," he said seriously, "if they are the Shichiseishi and you are the Seiryuu no Miko, we'd better go see your father. Now." The tone brooked no argument.
Tsuzu sighed, but she didn't argue. She and Tatsu led them out of the shrine and towards the emperor of Kutou.
********
"This is nothing like the traditional legend!" protested the Emperor vehemently. "My daughter is certainly not from another world."
Warren nervously looked between Tsuzu and her father. The Emperor did not like the thought of her being in any danger whatsoever, and he was opposing the idea of them traveling to Mount Taikyoku. He knew that the chances were that his daughter could die in the process of summoning the beast-god. He said, "Heika-sama, the old legend does not apply to this summoning at all."
The Emperor looked at him sharply, "And you are?" This was not the best time to irritate him.
"Miboshi. Sir, I am from another world. For some reason, the circumstances of this summoning are almost reversed to the original summoning of Seiryuu by Yui-sama. Tsuzu-sama is definitely the priestess of Seiryuu as surely as I am Miboshi. And we were told by a servant of Taiitsu-kun to go to Taikyoku-zan. I believe that is what I have to do."
Tsuzu looked surprised at his small speech as the Emperor's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that you do not care if my child's life is in danger?"
Derrick spoke suddenly. "Look, sir, I can understand why you're worrying about her, but we don't want anyone to die, either."
"No one should die this time around," Erick quietly agreed.
Peter nodded, too. "The first priestess – Yui – might of not made it because her seishi weren't supporting her. They were supporting another seishi, Nakago."
"I'm not going to let anyone get hurt!" Aimee protested.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "We know that, brat." Her eyes quivered and filled with tears. "I mean-"
Cleo smacked the back of his head. "You're making her cry. Shut up."
"I was just trying to get the point across that we don't support her this time," he complained as he rubbed the stinging back of his head.
She smacked him lightly again. "I know that we don't. We were all gathered together because Tsuzu-san appeared, right? I'll support her as much as I can, even if it's just to get back home." Cleo glanced around her. "Besides, I know most of these seishi from school. I wouldn't want them to get hurt, either."
The Emperor looked contemplative. The room was silent as he considered the options and announced his decision. "Then I will allow this expedition to the home of Taiitsu-kun." He met the eyes of each seishi and held the gaze of his daughter. "I wish you luck." Then he stood and clapped his hands together. "Just promise me this: that the wishes will not be used for selfish reasons, but for the good of many."
"Hai, Heika-sama," the Seiryuu replied more or less together.
"Preparations will be made for you to leave in the morning."
*********
The only sound heard on the mountain path was the steady clop of hooves. There were six horses because Aimee was riding with Warren and Cleo was sharing her horse with Ryan. The latter young seishi was a peculiar color. "I don't feel so good," he moaned. Even after a few days of traveling – and being stared at for the strange, foreign attire of his friends and himself – he was constantly suffering from motion sickness on the horses.
"Miboshi said that we're not going through the main checkpoint for safety reasons. It's probably being staked out by all of the bandits and rebel forces in that area. The way that we're taking is slightly longer, but it's safer."
Cleo threw Warren a glare. "Then you take Ryan. He's sounded like he was ready to throw up on me for the past week!"
He smiled good-humoredly. "Sorry, but I already have a passenger. I'm sure that you'll be fine, if he-" He stopped short as the town that they had been heading to came into view. As they came over the ridge, Miboshi took over.
"It sure has changed over the last century or so," he said softly. His eyes took in the town that had been his birthplace before he destroyed it. "I see that they have rebuilt it."
Aimee looked up at him worriedly. "Miboshi…?"
He shook his head to clear out the bad and good memories. "Ah, it's nothing. Just some ancient memories… This is where we'll be crossing into Konan.
"Okay…" A concerned frown was still on her face, but she didn't press the issue. Miboshi's chi felt troubled.
A few villagers came out to meet them. Their life forces also felt uneasy – not a good sign. One, an older man with a worn and wearied face, said, "Y-you're not from a rebel group, are you?"
Miboshi shook his head. "No, we're just travelers." He looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set over the trees. "We'll stay at the inn here tonight, if you have room."
"Just travelers?" the man said with relief. "In that case, follow me. I run the only inn in this town."
It promised to be a normal, boring night, until…
A scream carried through the village. It was followed by shouts of, "We're under attack!" and more screams. The seishi were woken up by that and the acrid smell of burning as the wind carried the smoke through the town.
Miboshi quickly took charge in the confusion. "Ashitare – Peter – take Tsuzu and Aimee and any stragglers in the town. Get them to the river, or across it, if you can. Derrick, Erick, Cleo, and Ryan, go with them," he said as he hustled them out of the inn. He began to run down the street away from them. "I'm going to try to help the villagers. Just stay away!"
"But-" Aimee tried to follow, but Peter stopped her.
"You heard him. We need to get away. He can take care of himself, so we just have to trust in him," he said. She nodded after a moment, and then they began to run for the river.
A group of men with weapons with a motley assortment of clothing and weapons blocked their way. They were bandits, possibly rebels, and their intent was to kill. "This is what this village gets for not following our orders!" one man shouted as they attacked.
A fierce look grew on Peter's face as he placed himself in front of Tsuzu, Aimee, and Ryan. "I won't let you harm anyone!" he growled. A blue light surrounded him, and he somehow got under the first man's attack and gave him a punch that sent him flying. He crashed into two of his allies, and their jumbled weapons incapacitated the others. Blood spilled on the ground.
Cleo watched with surprise as Peter began to fight. It wasn't anything she had expected; he was usually so calm. But his fierce attack had left Tsuzu and the two kids undefended. A man began to rush towards them, but Ryan also began to glow blue. The man stopped in his tracks, held in some strange illusion world. Another man that attacked was blasted away, but not killed, by a ki blast from Aimee.
Two more men were quickly taken out of the fight by Cleo's lightening. At her back, she could hear Erick using his flute to knock out anyone attacking from that direction. Derrick was using his Ryuuseisui and telekinesis to pull townspeople out of the fighting. The number of people to protect was growing.
Miboshi stood alone in front of the larger horde of bandits and rebels. There was no one else to protect the town – his town.
'I promised myself never to use my powers for harm again, but I will protect the place that I once destroyed. No matter what.' With that thought running through his mind like a mantra, he opened up his summoning powers, but he did not open them to the demon world. Instead, he sent a plea with his magic to more neutral realms. 'Help me save innocent lives! Please!' A shining blue light answered his plea as a portal opened.
To his surprise, many tiny flying beings poured out of the portal. They were all a deep blue and giggling until the noise was like the movement of a small stream. He realized that they were all water fairies. With them, they brought a powerful mist and rain.
The rain hung over the town and doused all of the fires, and whenever the mist touched a rebel, he fell unconscious. The fairies herded it before them like a flock before streaming back into the portal. "Arigatou!" he called out to them before they completely disappeared. A louder wave of giggling was his answer as the portal swirled and disappeared.
When they were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and jogged slowly back to his friends. Troops of Kutou soldiers had arrived and were beginning to tie up and disarm the enemy fighters.
He reached his friends and stopped short. Cleo was lying on the ground, and everyone else was crowded worriedly about her. A red stain covered the front of her shirt. A wave of horror hit him like a brick. "What happened?!" He barely noticed that all of the enemies around them were unconscious or dead.
"A fighter got in close to Tsuzu-san," Peter said sadly as he looked down at her. "I don't know what got into me, but I wasn't paying attention to them. Fighting was the only thing on my mind. With the soldier so close, she couldn't use her lightening, so-"
"She blocked the attack with her body," Miboshi breathed in disbelief. "She's barely alive." She was definitely in a coma.
He knelt down by her to get a better look at the injury. It was nasty gash near her stomach and still bleeding quickly. "She won't survive that long if we can't stop the bleeding," he observed coldly. Miboshi was holding back on his emotions of worry and doubt. They wouldn't help anything. "We'll get you to a healer immediately."
"Can I be of service?" said an old and tired voice. He turned to see an old woman with a large roll of bandages. When he nodded, she hobbled over to examine the wound. Within minutes, the wound was tightly bandaged and some color was flowing back into Cleo's face. "It'll hold for now," she said finally. "You need to get her to a real doctor and get it stitched up, but I'm the best that they've got in this town. The next doctor is a week away from here."
Miboshi knew that Taiitsu-kun's mountain was no more that a week away, too. He made his decision. "We'll keep on going. There's a couple of very good healers where we're going, and it's no more than a week away."
"Then good luck to you, young man. Just don't endanger the life of your friend," the healer said before walking away.
He looked down worriedly at Cleo. [She'll make it,] he said to Warren. [She has to, ne?]
{I hope she can. I know she can,} Warren replied. He wasn't so sure himself, but Miboshi needed reassuring.
Tsuzu laid a comforting hand on Warren/Miboshi's shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll be fine," she said firmly. "She was willing to protect me and the others with her life. We'll get her to Taikyoku-zan alive."
He was startled by the strength and courage glowing quietly in her eyes. "Of course we will, Tsuzu-sama," Miboshi said with a slight bow. It seemed as if Tsuzu was a much better miko than he had believed. The battle had brought out their strength, it seemed. Smiling slightly, he stood up with much more confidence that everything would turn out right in the end.
~TBC~
Approximate Translations:
arigatou – thank you
-chan – an endearing title, used between girls or boyfriend and girlfriend. Usually not used for guys.
hai – yes; shows understanding/agreement
Heika-sama – Emperor
ki/chi – life force (I use them interchangeably, but I usually use ki for attacks and chi for the sensing of emotions.)
ne – right?
-sama – a title showing respect, like Lord or Lady
-san – polite title, like Miss, Mister, etc.
Seiryuu no Miko – Priestess of Seiryuu
seishi – celestial warrior(s)
shichiseishi – seven celestial warriors
-zan – mount/mountain
Chibigreen's Ending Rant: Um… Sorry for the delayed update. I had lots of homework and a huge writers block.
Rime: No kidding. But, you did draw that nice picture of me. It's not too bad, though you would've written quicker if you hadn't read so many other stories!
Chibigreen: But I like fanfics. And you shouldn't be complaining; at least I drew you fairly well. Ahou. *grumbles about pushy muses*
shareefa – I was more than happy to give Kouji a part. The Tasuki/Chichiri part should begin next chapter… And I guess that Tasuki would be hot as a girl. If not exactly 'hot', she's pretty cute in a tomboyish way… I guess. *shrugs* Next chapter, I'll have the characters explain how they look different from their past selves.
Kaneta – I won't stop writing; don't worry. (And thanks for putting me on your favorite authors list!!!) ^___^
Hotaru – There won't be any Tomo/Nakago (not at their ages!). If I do a Tomo/Nakago (as in Ryan/Aimee), it'd be another short story (maybe three chapters) and it'd be a kind of sequel to this that'd happen when Aimee is 18 and Ryan is 23. *nods* In fact, I'll probably write that, sooner or later.
Evil Hunter – The extra-long rant was interesting. I suppose I'll be thinking of Miboshi as Kowaii Mi-Chan from now on (Scary Mi-Chan? It fits him). Um… interesting dance… ^___^;;
CLAMPraven – Rime wanted me to assure you that he's not losing his edge. I'm going to assure you that he's nicer than he thinks he is. He makes good angst, but in the meantime, he doesn't mind helping out with the romance (as long as he can throw some angst in).
Flying heart – Reincarnation fics are pretty easy to get confused with. (Me, I just read what I can and hope that I remember what plot was in which story.)
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