Opening song: 3 no Junjou na Kanjou; 1/3 True Feelings
kowareru hodo aishitemo sanbun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou wa karamawari I love you sae ienaideiru my heart
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reachMy true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
nagaku nemureani yoru ga kimi e to omoisore wa koi na n desu to sasayaku
yotomedonaku katari nakeru yureru todou wabinetsu majiri no tameiki e to
kawaru
On the long, sleepless nights, the images I send to you whisper "that is love". continuously shaking speech that moves you to tears changes into a slight fever mingled with a sigh
give me smile and shine days kimi no smile deitetsuku yoru samusa no mo good koraerareru
Give me a smile and shiny days, by your smileI can withstand the cold of a frozen night.
kowareru hodo aishitemo san bun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou
wa karamawari i love you sae ienaideiru my heart
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reach
My true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
mannatsu no ame no you ni kawaita suhada uruosu kimi no egao ga mabushikute
Like rain in the middle of summer, the dry, bareness moistens, your smile is bright.
Give me a smile and shiny days, kyuu ni sumasanaidedonna ni konnan de nankan na kabe mo koeru kara
Give me a smile and shiny days, don't clear up so quickly! Because we can overcome any wall that stands in our way.
dore dake kimi wo aishitara kono omoi todoku no daroumitsumerareru to
ienai kotoba ga chuu ni mauhanarereba hanareru hodo itoshii hito da to kizukumotomereba motomeru hodo ni setsunai kyori wo kanjiteru my heart
Whoever you love, these images will reach them, right?Don't say you can find them, your words are dancing in space.The further apart you go, the more it hurts the person you loveThe more I chase them, the more my heart feels the cruel distance
Give me smile and shine daysGive me smile and nice daysmoshi mo kono ude de dakishime-aeta naradore dake kimi wo aishitara kono omoi todoku no
darouyume no naka de wa tashikani ieta hazu na nonikowareru hodo aishetemo san bun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou wa karamawari I love you sae ienaideiru My Heart
Give me a smile and shiny days, Give me a smile and nice days, If only we could meet in an embrace...Whoever you love, these images will reach them, right? If only you had said so in your dreams
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reach
My true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
- - - - -
Episode Two: New Destinies! The Fate of The Gods!
____________________________________________________________________
"The Four Gods. A mystery, a legend untold. Now seven years later Prince
Sou Kishuku is twenty five, Tsuonie Kasaru is twenty-seven, Gi Ayuru is
twenty-eight, and Chen Emtao is thirty..."
---------
"You hopeless fool. Do you really think you can get away from me?" Ayuru glared down into the face of a young thief.
"G-gomen nasai, Lizard-san! I'll give it back, honest!" With that the little boy ran back the way he had come.
"L-lizard?" Ayuru's jaw dropped as he watched the little boy scuttle away.
Kasaru could only laugh. "Now that the kid brought it up..."
"Don't you dare," Ayuru gave Kasuru a sharp look.
"...You do look like a lizard." Kasaru emphasized the second word as he
ducked a punch from Ayuru's strong fist. "Missed me!"
Ayuru clenched his fists and trudged on. "C'mon. We are trying to get to the palace as soon as possible. We didn't come all this way to laugh at me."
"Oh?"
"Shuddup!" Ayuru smacked Kasaru in the head with a stone he found lying on the ground.
---------
"Have all your guests arrived?" the manservant asked the ruby-eyed prince.
"Iie. Gi Ayuru and Tsuonie Kasaru still have not arrived, but Chen Emtao was gracious enough to arrive on time." Kishuku smiled at the manservant, who smiled back hesitantly. "Thank you for asking. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
This made the manservant's smile stronger, "You are very welcome, My Prince. You were always kind." And with that the servant bowed and hurried away.
"I see that you are highly respected. That is good." Emtao leaned against the wall. "So, when do you think those two idiots are going to get here?"
"When you say 'those two idiots' I suppose you mean us?" Ayuru tapped his foot as Kasaru slipped passed him and into the room.
Emtao smiled. "I see you are still as green as ever..."
"Excuse me?" Ayuru glared lightning at the thirty-year-old. "Me, green?
I don't think so Mister."
Kasaru laughed. "First a little kid calls him Mr. Lizard, and now he's called 'green'! Ha!"
"Shut up before you hurt too much to laugh."
Kasaru quickly shut his mouth but a smile was still spread across his face. "Don't you even think about it!" Ayuru barked.
"Hai!"
"Good..."
"But then what will I think about?" Kasuru dodged a punch for the second time that day.
"Jerk," Ayuru spat in Kasaru's general direction.
"Loser!"
"Scum!"
"Ugliest thing alive!" Kasaru smirked, but then his eyes began to widen.
He let out a scream and hid behind the prince.
"What?" Ayuru asked, getting cocky. "Did you get scared of me?" /It's about time that little loser wizened up./
Kasaru peeked around Kishuku and shook his head vigorously. "Then what?"
Ayuru glared at the white-haired doctor. That was when Ayuru noticed that Kishuku and Emtao were staring too. "You guys too?"
"L-look behind you..." Kishuku's elegant voice stuttered.
"Fine." Ayuru grumbled and turned. "SUKAKE-BABA!!!" he dropped straight to the floor.
"I don't appreciate that." The hideous old woman floated in the air. "You should show more respect for me."
"N-nani?" Ayuru sat up and looked back up at the monster that had frightened him.
"It's the Lord of Hades." Kasaru whispered in Kishuku's ear.
Kishuku could only nod in agreement. "Stop whispering over there!" the woman snapped. "I have a name, you know. I am Taiitsukun, the creator of the world."
"C-creator of the world?" Emtao was even shaken by the appearance.
"Are you sure?" Ayuru jumped up and began tugging at Taiitsukun's face.
"This isn't some sort of festival mask?"
With a swift motion, Taiitsukun beat Ayuru on the head with a staff. "You moron!"
"Owwwwww..." Ayuru rubbed the top of his head gingerly. "You didn't have to hit me so hard you old hag."
"What did you call me?"
"Nothing, nothing." Ayuru took two steps away from the creator with white hair.
"I have come to enlighten the four of you..." Taiitsukun stopped in midsentance.
"Would you pay attention?!?" She snapped at Ayuru, who was poking Kasaru in the arm.
"Let her speak," Kishuku grimaced as he felt a wave of pain in his body.
Taiitsukun noticed and floated serenely to the Konan prince. "Drink this," and without waiting for his reply she forced him into gulping down a crystal liquid. "That should keep the pain back for a while."
She floated back to the center of the room and cleared her throat, stopping Emtao, as he was about to exit. "Get." She pointed back to where
Emtao had been sitting before and he trudged back. "Nice try. Now, as I was saying... PAY ATTENTION!"
Kasaru looked up from his hands, "G-gomen nasai..."
Taiitsukun began again, "I have come to tell the..." Ayuru raised his hand.
Taiitsukun rolled her eyes, "What is it?"
"Didn't you say 'enlighten' the first time?"
"Yes, I did. Now stop pestering me!" she paused a moment to regain her composer, then she continued. "I have come to enlighten the four of you of your destinies."
"Our destinies?" Emtao asked. "I think we have a clear idea of what we will become. I will continue on as the Hokkan-koku army strategist till I grow too old, or I am killed. Ayuru will be the same loser mercenary till he dies..."
"Hey!" Ayuru started to rise but Kasaru held him back.
Emtao continued, "Kasaru will continue becoming a great doctor, and Kishuku will take his father's place and become Emperor of Konan."
Taiitsukun closed her eyes and shook her head. "You destinies are much greater than that."
"Greater than being an Emperor?" Kasaru asked, surprised.
"Yes, and much more difficult."
"Well, what is it?" Ayuru rested back on his elbows, feet sprawled out in front of him.
"You were born to become gods." There was dead silence that followed in the room.
* * *
Ayuru could only stare at the haggard old face. "It can't be..."
Emtao felt a chill run up his spine. "What do you mean? There are already gods..."
"Yes, yes, yes. Of coarse, but do they truly exist?" Taiitsukun sighed.
"I have been busy keeping the appearance that the gods the people of this world believed in were true, but it is not so. And I cannot do everything."
"No way..." Kasuru shook his head. "That can't be possible."
"It can. You are to become true gods and unite the people in a true religion." Taiitsukun looked each man in the eyes before continuing. "I cannot tell you any more yet, except this: You will undergo many trials on the path to become gods, and you must beat the evil that would stop you. The next time we meet I will tell you more. Do not tell anyone what has happened today." With that Taiitsukun vanished, leaving behind four stunned men.
"I was wrong," Kasaru blinked once. "You aren't the ugliest thing alive,
Ayuru." The room was enveloped in a blanket of silence.
* * *
Kishuku sat alone in his room, brooding about what the old woman had told him and had told his friends the other day. /The four of us...gods? But what of my country? Who will become the new emperor? My father
is already getting on in years./
There was a knock at the door. "Kishuku-oji?"
"You may enter," he said half-heartedly, his chin resting in his hands.
The double doors creaked as they opened, and a maid peeped in. "Excuse me, but we have prepared for your trip."
"Trip? I didn't know about any trip." Kishuku stopped studying the floor and looked up.
"You didn't? Oh, I am sure you did. The woman who told us said you were planning a trip, and we hurried to get ready. It is time to leave." the maid hurried in and pulled Sou Kishuku to his feet.
"At least tell me where I am to be going." Kishuku grunted as the maid tugged harder.
"Ano... I don't really know." She smiled innocently. "The woman said it was urgent."
/A woman... Something urgent. What could it be?/ Kishuku's crimson hair danced as he ran to keep up with the brown-haired maids quick pace.
Kishuku let himself be jostled onto a waiting black stallion. The next instant Kasaru was beside him, riding a stunning white mare. "Great," he grumbled, "They gave me the girl horse."
Two dun stallions cantered up behind the great black that Kishuku sat upon. "Hey, Oji-chan! Do you know where we're goin'?" Ayuru slapped the flank of his horse, which reared onto his back hooves. "Whoa!"
"I actually have no idea. I was told that some woman orchestrated all this." Kishuku nudged his black stallion forward. "Me might as well go see what this is all about."
"Good idea," Emtao was deep in thought. "Was there any other information you got?"
"It was something urgent." Kishuku replied.
"Urgent," Emtao whispered the word like it was death.
Together the four men traveled through the city, "Guys, I am dead starving!" Ayuru rubbed his stomach. "Those crazed women didn't give me any time to eat."
Kasaru rolled his eyes. "Ask Kishuku."
Kishuku grinned, "I don't know..."
"Please-o please! Oji-chan!" Ayuru clapped his together like he was preparing to say a prayer.
"Okay, why not? We might as well eat now so that Ayuru will shut his big mouth." Kishuku smirked as Ayuru glared. "That is what you get for calling me 'oji-chan'."
"Creep."
"Thanks." Kishuku turned his horse to face Ayuru. "Do you have any money with you?"
/Crap! I have no money with me! I'm a mercenary for crying out loud!/ Ayuru grinned sheepishly. "Uhhh, not at the moment..."
Closing his brilliant red wine eyes Kishuku shook his head and sighed.
"Here, take this, and hurry." He tossed a bag of money to Ayuru, whose eyes glittered with so much money in his hands.
* * *
The darkness was settling over the land like a gentle blanket as the four horses moved slowly onward. "I'm tired." Ayuru complained.
"Too bad for you because we have to keep going." Kasaru's eyes were heavy, and he yawed without covering his mouth.
Emtao looked as if he could be awake all night and not suffer from it. "Would you two stop bickering? Keep you mouths closed unless you have something important to say about this."
Kasaru and Ayuru slumped down further in their horses. "Hey, Kishuku! Do you have idea where we're going?" Kasaru tried to rub some of the sleep out of his eyes.
Kishuku didn't answer. Kasaru glanced upward to see that the prince was slumped over his horse. /He seems even more tired that Ayuru does./ "Ne, Kishuku, are you alright?"
There was no answer from the prince. Ayuru giggled, "Oji-chan is sleepin' on us."
"At least he didn't complain about wanting to sleep." Emtao folded his arms as he scanned the surroundings for danger. "You two should be more alert. We do happen to have the prince with us. What happens if he gets killed? Do you really want his father coming after your hides?"
Ayuru was about to reply when he noticed Kishuku was shaking terribly. "Um, Kasaru? Do people normally shake really bad when they sleep?"
"No, why?" Kasaru turned his gaze from Emtao to Ayuru.
"Because Oji-chan is either really cold or really sick." Ayuru pointed ahead to where the prince's horse had stopped, and was fidgeting nervously.
"Great creator!" Kasuru spurred his white mare forward. "Kishuku-sama! Are you okay?" He reached the black horse to see that the prince wasn't asleep at all, but was clutching at his chest.
Kishuku's breathing was labored and he did not have the energy to get off the horse on his own. "Emtao! Get him off the horse!"
Emtao gracefully lifted the prince from his mount and laid him on the grass. "What's wrong with him?"
Kasaru gulped. "I think it is another attack."
"You mean his mysterious sickness?" Emtao felt his heart quicken its pace.
"Yes."
Ayuru dropped to Kishuku's side. "Oji-chan! C'mon, snap out of it! Kasaru! Do something!"
"I would, but I don't have much to work with. Here, this should suppress the pain for a while." Kasuru dug through his small bag and pulled out a small jar. He poured the contents into the prince's mouth. "There. He should be able to get some sleep..."
"Are you doctor?" A beautiful voice floated on the breeze. "Please, if you are, help my brother."
Kasaru, Emtao, and Ayuru turned to see a woman who could have been a goddess standing before them. The woman spotted the still shuddering prince and gasped. "Hurry, you can bring him to my family's place. We have room to spare. And as payment you can help my brother, Doctor. Please accept!"
Ayuru looked to Emtao and Kasuru. "Well? Do we accept?"
Emtao sighed. "What choice do we really have? It is Kishuku's life that is at stake if we don't get him somewhere with better conditions."
Kasaru nodded and returned his gaze to the goddess. "All right, we accept. Lead the way, we need to get Kishuku inside."
"I am honored," the goddess smiled. "Follow me."
____________________________________________________________________
Ending Song: Kiseki no Umi (Sea of Miracles)
Sung by: Sakamoto Maaya
Written by: Kanno Yoko
yami no yozora ga futari wakatsu no wa
yobiau kokoro hadaka ni suru tame
The dark night sky that divides two people
In order to bear the hearts that call to each other
kazari nugisute subete nakusu toki
nanika ga mieru
Throw away decoration, and when everything is lost
Something can be seen
kaze yo watashi wa tachimukau
yukou kurushimi no umi e to
Oh wind I stand against you
Let's go to the sea of suffering
kizuna kono mune ni kizande
kudakeru nami wa hatenaku tomo
Bonds They cut into my heart
Broken into pieces Although the waves are endless
nani o motomete dare mo arasou no?
nagashita chishio hana o sakaseru no?
What do you want and who will you fight for it?
Will you force flowers of shed blood to bloom?
toutoki ashita kono te ni suru made
deaeru hi made
Until this hand grabs the precious tomorrows
Until the day we meet
kaze yo watashi wa tachimukau
yukou kagayaki o mezashite
Oh wind I stand against you
Let's go aim for the radiance
inori kono mune ni dakishime
samayou yami no you na mirai
A prayer I hold it against my chest
Wandering a future like darkness
kaze yo watashi wa osorenai
ai koso mitsukedashita kiseki yo
Oh wind I'm not afraid
Love When you've found it, it's a miracle
kimi o shinjiteru yorokobi
arashi wa ai ni kizuku tame ni fuiteru
It's a joy to believe in you
The storm blows so that I can realize my love
kowareru hodo aishitemo sanbun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou wa karamawari I love you sae ienaideiru my heart
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reachMy true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
nagaku nemureani yoru ga kimi e to omoisore wa koi na n desu to sasayaku
yotomedonaku katari nakeru yureru todou wabinetsu majiri no tameiki e to
kawaru
On the long, sleepless nights, the images I send to you whisper "that is love". continuously shaking speech that moves you to tears changes into a slight fever mingled with a sigh
give me smile and shine days kimi no smile deitetsuku yoru samusa no mo good koraerareru
Give me a smile and shiny days, by your smileI can withstand the cold of a frozen night.
kowareru hodo aishitemo san bun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou
wa karamawari i love you sae ienaideiru my heart
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reach
My true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
mannatsu no ame no you ni kawaita suhada uruosu kimi no egao ga mabushikute
Like rain in the middle of summer, the dry, bareness moistens, your smile is bright.
Give me a smile and shiny days, kyuu ni sumasanaidedonna ni konnan de nankan na kabe mo koeru kara
Give me a smile and shiny days, don't clear up so quickly! Because we can overcome any wall that stands in our way.
dore dake kimi wo aishitara kono omoi todoku no daroumitsumerareru to
ienai kotoba ga chuu ni mauhanarereba hanareru hodo itoshii hito da to kizukumotomereba motomeru hodo ni setsunai kyori wo kanjiteru my heart
Whoever you love, these images will reach them, right?Don't say you can find them, your words are dancing in space.The further apart you go, the more it hurts the person you loveThe more I chase them, the more my heart feels the cruel distance
Give me smile and shine daysGive me smile and nice daysmoshi mo kono ude de dakishime-aeta naradore dake kimi wo aishitara kono omoi todoku no
darouyume no naka de wa tashikani ieta hazu na nonikowareru hodo aishetemo san bun no ichi mo tsutawaranaijunjou na kanjou wa karamawari I love you sae ienaideiru My Heart
Give me a smile and shiny days, Give me a smile and nice days, If only we could meet in an embrace...Whoever you love, these images will reach them, right? If only you had said so in your dreams
Even if my love reaches the breaking point, 1/3 of it won't reach
My true feelings are just spinning on air, my heart isn't even saying "I love you"
- - - - -
Episode Two: New Destinies! The Fate of The Gods!
____________________________________________________________________
"The Four Gods. A mystery, a legend untold. Now seven years later Prince
Sou Kishuku is twenty five, Tsuonie Kasaru is twenty-seven, Gi Ayuru is
twenty-eight, and Chen Emtao is thirty..."
---------
"You hopeless fool. Do you really think you can get away from me?" Ayuru glared down into the face of a young thief.
"G-gomen nasai, Lizard-san! I'll give it back, honest!" With that the little boy ran back the way he had come.
"L-lizard?" Ayuru's jaw dropped as he watched the little boy scuttle away.
Kasaru could only laugh. "Now that the kid brought it up..."
"Don't you dare," Ayuru gave Kasuru a sharp look.
"...You do look like a lizard." Kasaru emphasized the second word as he
ducked a punch from Ayuru's strong fist. "Missed me!"
Ayuru clenched his fists and trudged on. "C'mon. We are trying to get to the palace as soon as possible. We didn't come all this way to laugh at me."
"Oh?"
"Shuddup!" Ayuru smacked Kasaru in the head with a stone he found lying on the ground.
---------
"Have all your guests arrived?" the manservant asked the ruby-eyed prince.
"Iie. Gi Ayuru and Tsuonie Kasaru still have not arrived, but Chen Emtao was gracious enough to arrive on time." Kishuku smiled at the manservant, who smiled back hesitantly. "Thank you for asking. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
This made the manservant's smile stronger, "You are very welcome, My Prince. You were always kind." And with that the servant bowed and hurried away.
"I see that you are highly respected. That is good." Emtao leaned against the wall. "So, when do you think those two idiots are going to get here?"
"When you say 'those two idiots' I suppose you mean us?" Ayuru tapped his foot as Kasaru slipped passed him and into the room.
Emtao smiled. "I see you are still as green as ever..."
"Excuse me?" Ayuru glared lightning at the thirty-year-old. "Me, green?
I don't think so Mister."
Kasaru laughed. "First a little kid calls him Mr. Lizard, and now he's called 'green'! Ha!"
"Shut up before you hurt too much to laugh."
Kasaru quickly shut his mouth but a smile was still spread across his face. "Don't you even think about it!" Ayuru barked.
"Hai!"
"Good..."
"But then what will I think about?" Kasuru dodged a punch for the second time that day.
"Jerk," Ayuru spat in Kasaru's general direction.
"Loser!"
"Scum!"
"Ugliest thing alive!" Kasaru smirked, but then his eyes began to widen.
He let out a scream and hid behind the prince.
"What?" Ayuru asked, getting cocky. "Did you get scared of me?" /It's about time that little loser wizened up./
Kasaru peeked around Kishuku and shook his head vigorously. "Then what?"
Ayuru glared at the white-haired doctor. That was when Ayuru noticed that Kishuku and Emtao were staring too. "You guys too?"
"L-look behind you..." Kishuku's elegant voice stuttered.
"Fine." Ayuru grumbled and turned. "SUKAKE-BABA!!!" he dropped straight to the floor.
"I don't appreciate that." The hideous old woman floated in the air. "You should show more respect for me."
"N-nani?" Ayuru sat up and looked back up at the monster that had frightened him.
"It's the Lord of Hades." Kasaru whispered in Kishuku's ear.
Kishuku could only nod in agreement. "Stop whispering over there!" the woman snapped. "I have a name, you know. I am Taiitsukun, the creator of the world."
"C-creator of the world?" Emtao was even shaken by the appearance.
"Are you sure?" Ayuru jumped up and began tugging at Taiitsukun's face.
"This isn't some sort of festival mask?"
With a swift motion, Taiitsukun beat Ayuru on the head with a staff. "You moron!"
"Owwwwww..." Ayuru rubbed the top of his head gingerly. "You didn't have to hit me so hard you old hag."
"What did you call me?"
"Nothing, nothing." Ayuru took two steps away from the creator with white hair.
"I have come to enlighten the four of you..." Taiitsukun stopped in midsentance.
"Would you pay attention?!?" She snapped at Ayuru, who was poking Kasaru in the arm.
"Let her speak," Kishuku grimaced as he felt a wave of pain in his body.
Taiitsukun noticed and floated serenely to the Konan prince. "Drink this," and without waiting for his reply she forced him into gulping down a crystal liquid. "That should keep the pain back for a while."
She floated back to the center of the room and cleared her throat, stopping Emtao, as he was about to exit. "Get." She pointed back to where
Emtao had been sitting before and he trudged back. "Nice try. Now, as I was saying... PAY ATTENTION!"
Kasaru looked up from his hands, "G-gomen nasai..."
Taiitsukun began again, "I have come to tell the..." Ayuru raised his hand.
Taiitsukun rolled her eyes, "What is it?"
"Didn't you say 'enlighten' the first time?"
"Yes, I did. Now stop pestering me!" she paused a moment to regain her composer, then she continued. "I have come to enlighten the four of you of your destinies."
"Our destinies?" Emtao asked. "I think we have a clear idea of what we will become. I will continue on as the Hokkan-koku army strategist till I grow too old, or I am killed. Ayuru will be the same loser mercenary till he dies..."
"Hey!" Ayuru started to rise but Kasaru held him back.
Emtao continued, "Kasaru will continue becoming a great doctor, and Kishuku will take his father's place and become Emperor of Konan."
Taiitsukun closed her eyes and shook her head. "You destinies are much greater than that."
"Greater than being an Emperor?" Kasaru asked, surprised.
"Yes, and much more difficult."
"Well, what is it?" Ayuru rested back on his elbows, feet sprawled out in front of him.
"You were born to become gods." There was dead silence that followed in the room.
* * *
Ayuru could only stare at the haggard old face. "It can't be..."
Emtao felt a chill run up his spine. "What do you mean? There are already gods..."
"Yes, yes, yes. Of coarse, but do they truly exist?" Taiitsukun sighed.
"I have been busy keeping the appearance that the gods the people of this world believed in were true, but it is not so. And I cannot do everything."
"No way..." Kasuru shook his head. "That can't be possible."
"It can. You are to become true gods and unite the people in a true religion." Taiitsukun looked each man in the eyes before continuing. "I cannot tell you any more yet, except this: You will undergo many trials on the path to become gods, and you must beat the evil that would stop you. The next time we meet I will tell you more. Do not tell anyone what has happened today." With that Taiitsukun vanished, leaving behind four stunned men.
"I was wrong," Kasaru blinked once. "You aren't the ugliest thing alive,
Ayuru." The room was enveloped in a blanket of silence.
* * *
Kishuku sat alone in his room, brooding about what the old woman had told him and had told his friends the other day. /The four of us...gods? But what of my country? Who will become the new emperor? My father
is already getting on in years./
There was a knock at the door. "Kishuku-oji?"
"You may enter," he said half-heartedly, his chin resting in his hands.
The double doors creaked as they opened, and a maid peeped in. "Excuse me, but we have prepared for your trip."
"Trip? I didn't know about any trip." Kishuku stopped studying the floor and looked up.
"You didn't? Oh, I am sure you did. The woman who told us said you were planning a trip, and we hurried to get ready. It is time to leave." the maid hurried in and pulled Sou Kishuku to his feet.
"At least tell me where I am to be going." Kishuku grunted as the maid tugged harder.
"Ano... I don't really know." She smiled innocently. "The woman said it was urgent."
/A woman... Something urgent. What could it be?/ Kishuku's crimson hair danced as he ran to keep up with the brown-haired maids quick pace.
Kishuku let himself be jostled onto a waiting black stallion. The next instant Kasaru was beside him, riding a stunning white mare. "Great," he grumbled, "They gave me the girl horse."
Two dun stallions cantered up behind the great black that Kishuku sat upon. "Hey, Oji-chan! Do you know where we're goin'?" Ayuru slapped the flank of his horse, which reared onto his back hooves. "Whoa!"
"I actually have no idea. I was told that some woman orchestrated all this." Kishuku nudged his black stallion forward. "Me might as well go see what this is all about."
"Good idea," Emtao was deep in thought. "Was there any other information you got?"
"It was something urgent." Kishuku replied.
"Urgent," Emtao whispered the word like it was death.
Together the four men traveled through the city, "Guys, I am dead starving!" Ayuru rubbed his stomach. "Those crazed women didn't give me any time to eat."
Kasaru rolled his eyes. "Ask Kishuku."
Kishuku grinned, "I don't know..."
"Please-o please! Oji-chan!" Ayuru clapped his together like he was preparing to say a prayer.
"Okay, why not? We might as well eat now so that Ayuru will shut his big mouth." Kishuku smirked as Ayuru glared. "That is what you get for calling me 'oji-chan'."
"Creep."
"Thanks." Kishuku turned his horse to face Ayuru. "Do you have any money with you?"
/Crap! I have no money with me! I'm a mercenary for crying out loud!/ Ayuru grinned sheepishly. "Uhhh, not at the moment..."
Closing his brilliant red wine eyes Kishuku shook his head and sighed.
"Here, take this, and hurry." He tossed a bag of money to Ayuru, whose eyes glittered with so much money in his hands.
* * *
The darkness was settling over the land like a gentle blanket as the four horses moved slowly onward. "I'm tired." Ayuru complained.
"Too bad for you because we have to keep going." Kasaru's eyes were heavy, and he yawed without covering his mouth.
Emtao looked as if he could be awake all night and not suffer from it. "Would you two stop bickering? Keep you mouths closed unless you have something important to say about this."
Kasaru and Ayuru slumped down further in their horses. "Hey, Kishuku! Do you have idea where we're going?" Kasaru tried to rub some of the sleep out of his eyes.
Kishuku didn't answer. Kasaru glanced upward to see that the prince was slumped over his horse. /He seems even more tired that Ayuru does./ "Ne, Kishuku, are you alright?"
There was no answer from the prince. Ayuru giggled, "Oji-chan is sleepin' on us."
"At least he didn't complain about wanting to sleep." Emtao folded his arms as he scanned the surroundings for danger. "You two should be more alert. We do happen to have the prince with us. What happens if he gets killed? Do you really want his father coming after your hides?"
Ayuru was about to reply when he noticed Kishuku was shaking terribly. "Um, Kasaru? Do people normally shake really bad when they sleep?"
"No, why?" Kasaru turned his gaze from Emtao to Ayuru.
"Because Oji-chan is either really cold or really sick." Ayuru pointed ahead to where the prince's horse had stopped, and was fidgeting nervously.
"Great creator!" Kasuru spurred his white mare forward. "Kishuku-sama! Are you okay?" He reached the black horse to see that the prince wasn't asleep at all, but was clutching at his chest.
Kishuku's breathing was labored and he did not have the energy to get off the horse on his own. "Emtao! Get him off the horse!"
Emtao gracefully lifted the prince from his mount and laid him on the grass. "What's wrong with him?"
Kasaru gulped. "I think it is another attack."
"You mean his mysterious sickness?" Emtao felt his heart quicken its pace.
"Yes."
Ayuru dropped to Kishuku's side. "Oji-chan! C'mon, snap out of it! Kasaru! Do something!"
"I would, but I don't have much to work with. Here, this should suppress the pain for a while." Kasuru dug through his small bag and pulled out a small jar. He poured the contents into the prince's mouth. "There. He should be able to get some sleep..."
"Are you doctor?" A beautiful voice floated on the breeze. "Please, if you are, help my brother."
Kasaru, Emtao, and Ayuru turned to see a woman who could have been a goddess standing before them. The woman spotted the still shuddering prince and gasped. "Hurry, you can bring him to my family's place. We have room to spare. And as payment you can help my brother, Doctor. Please accept!"
Ayuru looked to Emtao and Kasuru. "Well? Do we accept?"
Emtao sighed. "What choice do we really have? It is Kishuku's life that is at stake if we don't get him somewhere with better conditions."
Kasaru nodded and returned his gaze to the goddess. "All right, we accept. Lead the way, we need to get Kishuku inside."
"I am honored," the goddess smiled. "Follow me."
____________________________________________________________________
Ending Song: Kiseki no Umi (Sea of Miracles)
Sung by: Sakamoto Maaya
Written by: Kanno Yoko
yami no yozora ga futari wakatsu no wa
yobiau kokoro hadaka ni suru tame
The dark night sky that divides two people
In order to bear the hearts that call to each other
kazari nugisute subete nakusu toki
nanika ga mieru
Throw away decoration, and when everything is lost
Something can be seen
kaze yo watashi wa tachimukau
yukou kurushimi no umi e to
Oh wind I stand against you
Let's go to the sea of suffering
kizuna kono mune ni kizande
kudakeru nami wa hatenaku tomo
Bonds They cut into my heart
Broken into pieces Although the waves are endless
nani o motomete dare mo arasou no?
nagashita chishio hana o sakaseru no?
What do you want and who will you fight for it?
Will you force flowers of shed blood to bloom?
toutoki ashita kono te ni suru made
deaeru hi made
Until this hand grabs the precious tomorrows
Until the day we meet
kaze yo watashi wa tachimukau
yukou kagayaki o mezashite
Oh wind I stand against you
Let's go aim for the radiance
inori kono mune ni dakishime
samayou yami no you na mirai
A prayer I hold it against my chest
Wandering a future like darkness
kaze yo watashi wa osorenai
ai koso mitsukedashita kiseki yo
Oh wind I'm not afraid
Love When you've found it, it's a miracle
kimi o shinjiteru yorokobi
arashi wa ai ni kizuku tame ni fuiteru
It's a joy to believe in you
The storm blows so that I can realize my love