A Second Chance
Chapter 2: The Lady Kourin
By Kaen
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She felt dizzy so suddenly, as if the floor of the world had been abruptly yanked from under her. She staggered backward a few steps, bracing herself finally by rested a flat hand against the tense chest of her tall companion.
"W-what?" Miaka stuttered, gaping at the regal man seated before her. He scowled, his eyes darkening to a deep brown.
"We are Tendou, the fourth emperor of Konan. Would we be correct in assuming that we are not who you were expecting?" he questioned her, the tone of ordinance strong in his voice.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it and looked away quickly. Behind her, Tamahome had grasped her shoulders to steady her, but he too was as shocked as his priestess.
"You are not Hotohori?" Tamahome asked again. However, his voice was too soft to reach the emperor.
"Enough of this!" shouted a guard, approaching the monk that had accompanied the other two into the throne room. He clenched Chichiri's arm roughly, which caused him to wince in pain. However, the eternally smiling mask that stared up blankly at the tall and well-built guard masked the expression.
"Err..! How dare you show so little regard for me! You will prove yourself to the emperor at this moment, or you will suffer the consequences of this false claim!" To demonstrate his point, the man motioned for the sword that hung from his belt. His hand had tightened around Chichiri's arm, grating at the already irritable monk further. He wasn't at all pleased with the situation, but he knew for a fact that the man seated above then was indeed not Hotohori; his chi told him so.
"Chichiri!" Miaka cried to her seishi. He turned and looked at her attentively.
"What is it, Miaka, no da?" he replied, forcing a high and pleasant voice.
"Is that really not him? Is it possible…?" she trailed off.
"I'm sorry, but does not have Hotohori's chi," he explained, his eye downcast behind his mask.
"What treachery are you plotting now, you imposters? You will either prove yourselves, or will be killed. You were already warned of the consequences," the general growled, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he began to draw the razor-sharp blade.
"We are not imposters," Chichiri calmly replied, lowering his voice to its natural pitch.
As if do so would help persuade the court, Chichiri removed his mask from his face and looked at the emperor squarely with his only eye.
"Your highness, we apologize for mistaking you. You bear a remarkable resemblance to the man we are looking for. My celestial warrior name is Chichiri, and this young man is Tamahome. The girl here is the Priestess of Suzaku. We have come a very long way to have a presence with you, your majesty- longer than you could possibly imagine."
The entire court seemed to fall silent for this explanation, but whether it was for the frightening scar over the seishi's eyes or his powerful words, no one could begin to say. Perhaps it was a combination of both?
"Your words are convincing, but you have given us no reason to believe them, 'Chichiri'. I still expect a demonstration of what you claim," Tendou stated blatantly, obviously undaunted by the seishi's introduction.
Sighing heavily, Chichiri requested the best martial artist available in the palace. When on of the steadily built guards stepped forth proudly, Chichiri requested that he remove his sword from his waist as well as his bulky armor and step towards Tamahome. He did so begrudgingly, thrusting his sword to the throe room's floor. The scarred seishi waited to the noise to stop ringing, and then turned back to the seated ruler.
"Tamahome is the Suzaku Star of martial arts. As he battles this man, please watch for the sign of the ogre to appear in crimson on his forehead." Turning to Miaka, he gestured for her to move away and stand with him to the side. "If you'd please begin…"
With that, an intense battle was sparked. The guard, who was maybe a little older than Tamahome, was surprising swift despite his large size. For a little while, they seemed possess skills equal to one another. So it seemed, for the two who knew the Suzaku Star of martial arts were aware that Tamahome was merely testing the other man's abilities, probably as to not hurt him too badly. But as the battle commenced, it was obvious that only one man was tiring. The young guard, in a desperate attempt to win, dropped down and swept his leg behind Tamahome in order to make him fall, but exactly the opposite happened. The seishi leaped very high into the air, a red glow beginning to radiate from his forehead. By the time he landed, it had become a shining crimson that seemed to give him more speed than anyone had thought possible. He landed a swift hand to the back of his opponent's neck, who crumpled to the floor shortly thereafter.
Tamahome leaned down and checked the condition of the other man and once he had assured that he'd be all right, stood up straight and faced the emperor so that he may observe the mark. He was only greeted with silence because no one was really quite sure what to say about the battle in the throne room.
Taking initiative and using the silence to his advantage, Chichiri began again, "Tamahome has demonstrated his powers for his majesty and court. Is this sufficient?"
"Y-yes," the emperor stuttered, obviously taken aback by the fighter's captivating skill. "I will provide living quarters for the three of you immediately. I beseech you to protect this country, blessed servants of Suzaku, and request forgiveness for my rudeness."
"There's nothing you worry about!" Miaka exclaimed cheerfully. "We will be able to gather the other warriors to us in a short amount of time, so Konan will be peaceful forever!"
"Thank you, Priestess," the emperor smiled, making him look more like Hotohori than anyone could have thought imaginable. "Guards, please show our blessed guests to their chambers right away, and send in maids quickly to serve them."
"Yes, sir!" they all resounded in unison, a chorus of deep voices. The were being shown out of the throne room as Miaka suddenly had an idea.
"Your majesty?" Miaka said, turning around once again. "There is another star of Suzaku in this very palace. Would it be too much trouble if I could go recruit hi-her?"
She smiled brightly, trying to disguise the fact that she had almost revealed Nuriko's secret to the last person who should know.
"A star here in the palace, and a female none the less? Is she a maid or servant? Surely you couldn't mean a harem woman?"
"I know it sounds strange, but I really must see her. Can I have permission to enter the harem quarters?" Miaka pleaded, her entire being radiating the excitement of seeing an old friend again.
"We suppose it would be all right…"
"Thank you!" Miaka chimed, latching on to Tamahome arm as the three of them were led to the requested quarters.
Chichiri had long since replaced his mask, not wishing to imprint a disturbing impression in the minds of the other palace dwellers. The walk seemed like an endless pattern of brilliant gold ornaments, elaborate doors, and red wood rails, but at long last they reached their destination and dismissed their escorts.
A lady of court curiously approached them, entranced by Miaka strange clothing. Her eyes then drifted up to Tamahome face, where she paused and smiled sweetly.
"Can I help you?" she inquired innocently, folding her hands in front of her. She wore an elaborate outfit, consisting of many layers of silk, lace, and gold.
"We're looking for a… woman named Kourin. Do you know her?" Chichiri asked, smiling pleasantly underneath his mask.
"I recall passing her in the hall to too long ago. I can take you all to her. Please, follow me."
They once again began their journey through the palace, but this time over a smaller range. Finally, the young woman stopped and gestured with an elegantly manicured hand, "The lady is there by the small lake with the blooming lotus'."
"Thank you!" Miaka squealed happily, running ahead as Chichiri and Tamahome both offered the woman a small bow.
"Nuriko! Nuriko!" Miaka cried, rushing down the trimmed path and waving frantically.
The person at the lake's edge turned just in time to see a strangely clothed girl running at them, creating more than enough racket to wake the dead. Instead of opening their arms, like the girl was probably expecting, they just stood there and looked at her quizzically.
Repeating the lady before them, they spoke, "Can I help you?"
"Nuriko! I finally get to see you again. I missed you so much! Oh, Nuriko!" Miaka cried, throwing her arms around the beautiful cross-dresser before her.
Nuriko, on the other hand, simply stood and waited for the girl clinging to her to say something first, for they were at a loss for words. As for as they knew, they'd never seen this strange girl before let alone had a close relationship with her.
"I don't think that I know you, so let me introduce myself. I am Kourin, a princess in his majesty's harem," they said as properly as thy could, given that there was a weird girl embracing them.
"Oh, Nuriko, you don't need to be so polite… It's me, Miaka-baka! And… what the…?" Miaka trailed off, suddenly becoming aware of the two rounded swells on "Nuriko's" chest.
"Nuriko, you have… Why do you have boobs?!" she demanded, grabbing the high collar of the lady's under-kimono.
"Uh... eh… It's not really something I can help, you see…" she said, blushing furiously as she noticed the two men standing atop the nearby hill. "And… I'm not Nuriko… I told you, I am Kourin, although…"
"What is it?" Miaka asked, finally releasing her death-grip on the other poor girl.
"I have a brother with that celestial connotation, Nuriko, that is. If you are looking for him, you won't find him in the palace… Why were you looking in the harem for a boy, anyway?" she questioned, putting two and two together, and finding the outcome to be even more confusing.
"Well, he used to be in here," Miaka replied.
"My brother was in the harem?" Kourin repeated, her eyes bugging out. "I think you're insane…"
"Not too far from it, no da!" a voice called from the top of the hill, as both of the men began to jog down it.
"Lady Kourin, would it be too much trouble to take us to your brother? We need his help in order to summon Suzaku," Tamahome said, smiling reassuringly.
"I'd be happy to, if I were permitted to leave the palace."
"Well, I think this could be counted as a special case. My name is Chichiri, this is Tamahome, and this crazy girl is Miaka, the Priestess of Suzaku, no da! We're searching for the other constellations in order to protect Konan," Chichiri greeted her, bending at the waist.
Despite his chipper attitude, Chichiri was truly quite concerned about eh unusual situation. Nuriko had once told him that his sister had died in an accident when she was small, hence the reason that he began to cross dress. But now Kourin is certainly alive and Hotohori isn't the emperor. What could it possibly mean? Taiitsukun hadn't warned them about such an outcome. Well, at least they knew that Nuriko was alive, which couldn't exactly be said for Hotohori.
"The Priestess of Suzaku?" Kourin repeated, her lovely eyes widening as she comprehended the title. All were silent for a while as she pondered the best course of action, the only noises to be heard coming from the small waterfall as it joined the lake and the bird happily chirping in praise of the beautiful day.
Finally her eyes met Miaka's and she announced, "I'll take you there, but I won't go out into the city alone. After all, I have no reason to trust you. Allow me to bring a companion, and I shall lead you, but under no other circumstances will I venture out of the palace."
"That's reasonable," Chichiri complied, secretly marveling at the young woman's wisdom.
"Good!" Kourin exclaimed, clasping her hands together as she smiled warmly. "I shall go fetch her, while you had the servants prepare us horses. Please meet me by the great doors soon so that we may depart quickly."
With that, she made her way up the stone path and into the harem members' living quarters, disappearing completely from their sight.
"She certainly better-mannered than Nuriko, isn't she?" Miaka giggled, already feeling close to the intelligent and beautiful girl that had just met.
"Yes, she's certainly beautiful," Tamahome agreed, receiving a smack across the chest from Miaka for his comment.
Chichiri laughed good-naturedly, feeling his tension lighten at the couple's strange actions. Nodding slightly to Tamahome to tell him that he was going, Chichiri turned and made his way up the hill like Kourin had done, but this time in search of a servant who could carry out his request.
'Things can't be too bad, if we could still meet such rational people. Even if they're not whom we were expecting, could this someone be part of a greater plan? Oh Suzaku, what in the world has happened? Why does it feel like another adventure is about to commence?'
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I apologize for the shorter chapter; I just started to run out if inspiration towards the end and it seemed lie it stared to drone a bit. ^^& I'm sick right now, so that's really the only reason that I've even had time to sit down and write at all. I'm really busy with lots of other things, so I'm very happy that I was even able to update this story. I really do have such big plans for it- it's actually quite disappointing to write these less interesting chapters. Anyway, I'd absolutely adore you if you'd please review! It really does keep me going and makes my day (or night) a lot brighter. Thank you for reading, and plase review!
-Aku Kaen (Bad, bad, bad.)