AN: Merry Christmas minna! And happy holidays!!! I love vacation!!! No school, no getting up early, no cramming before exams…and more time to write of course ^_~.
Thanks to: Bunny Winner (Gun? Are you sure that you're the legal age to have that thing? I'll have go back to my gundanium kitty den after you finish this chapter), Uranus2000 ( hehe, it's good to be on vacation ne? Yip! Isn't Naka-kun a cutie?), Akiko Joy (hum, I can see that you don't like cliffies…), Styx, Tenshi Cat, Love Nuriko (Sorry, I love Nuriko-chan too, but I've spent the past 12 chapters on a Naka/Usa story, I can't just change it now. But Aidenn-chan has an amazing Nuriko/Usa story if you are interested ^_^), Queen Cosmos (you'll see in this chapter ^_~), Jess, Alexandrea Orozco (I have a kitty too, but she only likes friska…picky little thing. It's all my parents' fault for spoiling her :P ), Alianna125 (Wow, *tackles Alianna125* I feel so loved!), Tegasus, Celes (*grins* You are forgiven ^_~. Just don't try to hurt me after you read this chapter ^_^), Galexz, Bettina_okki (Hehe, I wish you good luck finding him!), SenshiJupiter, Cheska, Seeking Serenity (Oookkkkaaaayyyyy…can you just hold your need for killing for a sec? I still need Yui later. But I promise that she's all yours after I'm done with her ^_^), Jordan, Craza2k (*laughs* I almost burned down my high school chem lab like that! ^.^;;; Well with a syringe filled with flower and a match), SA2-chan, Aidenn-chan (hehe, you'll have another chapter to do now!), Themoonmaiden (It's okay, I understand, my parents confiscated my mouse during exam period ^.^;; Happily ever after? *grins evilly*), Kuroi Atropos (hehe, favourite of mine too ^_^), JLSCORPIO78 ( :P Is there a god? He must have heard your pleas today ^_~), Bluejello (daily hun? *huge glomp* Arigato!!!), PallaPalla-chan (I sympathize, I can live on reviews…), Adb (hehe, I already got something planned for Yui ^_^), Mika-chan (*pouts* You're going shopping? So have you picked up my present yet? Just kidding ^_~.), and Dani (glad that you liked Everything ^_^)
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Chapter 11
Everybody watched silently as Nakago kneeled on the cold hard ground, body shaking with silent sobs. From his hand, a faint trail of blood fell, caused by the sharp tip of the necklace. No one dared to say anything as the blond shogun quietly drowned in his grief. Even Tamahome looked at his sworn enemy in unmasked pity. For he too, knew the pain of losing your soul mate.
A small whimpering drew all the attention to the far side of the temple, where a bit of white fur was uncovered by the shadows. Tokaki carefully walked over, mentioning the rest of the group to stay where they were. The unmistable metallic smell of blood perfumed the air as the old Byakko warrior walked closer to the groaning creature.
"Masaka," Tokaki whispered in horror. "Subaru!" Lying on her side, her snowy fur sticky with blood, Furball struggled to breath with numerous deep cuts made by the black roses littered on the ground around the dying white tiger.
Subaru and the group quickly ran over to the old man.
"By Byakko! This is blasphemy!" the female seishi gasped, the person who committed such a horrendous crime against the tiger god would surely be cursed. "Who could've done such a cruel thing?"
"Endymion," the hateful name fell from Nakago's cold lips as he pushed past the Suzaku seishi and knelt down by Furball's head. The dying tiger tried weakly to lift its head, but failed miserably. Carefully the shogun stroked the soft fur behind the tiger's ears, like he did so many times before. "He wouldn't just deliver a clean blow. He enjoys to see to see other slowly drain of their life.
"It's okay, you won't suffer long now. The poison has already diffused through your body. It will just take a very quick ki blast to end your suffering…" the shogun said gently, soothing away the tiger's pain. A faint blue glow gathered in the centre of his hand, waiting to be released…
"Wait!" the gathered ki dispersed at the cry. Everyone turned to look at Mitsukake, as the Suzaku healer unwrapped the cloth covering his seishi character. "We might have been enemies, but we both need Usagi-san to summon the beast gods. So I will help you this time."
Nakago didn't answer. His emotionless mask still on, but he moved aside to let the other seishi squat beside the dying animal.
"Great…healing powers…" Mitsukake called out, as small bubbles of calming green ki appeared in his palm. Everyone watched in fascination as the gathered healing energy was slowly absorbed by the wounded cat. The cuts miraculously closed up, and soon, only the blood betrayed that the cat was close to death.
The Suzaku seishi crouched over, panting form the vast amount of energy he used.
"Thank you," the quiet whisper was almost missed. Miaka, Amiboshi, and all the Suzaku seishi turned to stare in shock at Nakago. The blond shogun seemed to be full of surprises lately. First he didn't seem to care about power anymore. Second, he had stopped sucking up to his miko. Third, he seem to care a lot about the girl Usagi. And now this.
"Wow, the world must be coming to an end!" No one was surprised that it was the red head bandit who broke the awkward silence. "The almighty Seiryuu leader, Nakago-sama actually admitted that he's not as powerful as he thought, and needs the help of the lowly Suzaku seishi. Fancy that!"
"Tasuki! Shove it!" A hand quickly muffled any more smart ass comments that the bandit was going to make.
"I don't need your pity Tamahome," Nakago said in the same lifeless tone.
Tasuki who bit Tamahome's hand was about to open his big mouth again, when an explosion stopped the senseless bickering. Everyone felt the kis skyrocketing. They were able to recognize the kis belonging to the rest Seiryuu seishi who were not present. However, there was one last ki that neither the Suzaku or the two Seiryuu seishi knew. And it was declining fast.
"Subaru! That was Tatara's ki!" Tokaki cried out before he ran towards the direction of the Byakko shrine. The rest of the group followed closely behind.
~*~*~*~
"For the last time Byakko seishi! Where is the shinzaho?" Yui demanded, looking down at the young man who was chained to the walls.
The dark haired man looked up slowly. Even though numerous lashes covered his body, he still looked up in defiance, sending silent challenges to his captors.
Standing beside the Seiryuu no miko, Soi pulled the whip in her hands smirking. "Come on and hand over the shinzaho. We already told you that we are the servants of Seiryuu, and we need the shinzaho to summon the beast god. Hand it over, or else…" the whip cracked in the air.
The young man looked up, a small smile playing around his lips. "If you kill me now, you will never know where the Shinzaho is hidden."
"You might not care about your own welfare Byakko seishi…but what about the life of your granddaughter?" the female Seiryuu seishi asked slyly.
A bitter laugh echoed in the empty room. "I'm sorry to disappoint you Seiryuu seishi, but after my beloved Suzuno went back to her world, I've been guarding the shinzaho for her, by myself in the Byakko shrine for the past ninety years. So you see, it is impossible for me to have any family, let alone a granddaughter."
"That's where you are wrong. Both my miko and I have met your granddaughter," Soi said smirking. Yui turned around to look at the red head in surprise.
"You are shocked too aren't you, Yui-sama? I didn't know that Tsukino Usagi was the granddaughter of the Byakko no miko and her seishi Tatara, until I over heard the other two Byakko seishi talking about it. It turned out that Taitsukun herself told Tokaki and Subaru that the result of your brief romance with the Byakko no miko was Usagi's mother."
"Usagi is related to the Byakko no miko?!" Yui cried out in astonishment.
Soi nodded, satisfied with the stunned expression on Tatara's bruised face. "Hai Yui-sama. Now I understand. Nakago doesn't care about the little bitch after all. He's just pretending to love her, to get the shinzaho," the seishi hypothesize happily, her own cockiness blocking the truth.
"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" Tatara asked a little suspiciously, although a tangle of happiness filled his body, knowing that even though their union was forbidden by the gods, their love for each other managed to survive across the different worlds.
"If you don't believe us, then I'll let you see her for yourself," Soi snapped her fingers.
A moment later, Suboshi emerged through the walls with Miboshi. In his arms, Suboshi held the lip form of the silver haired goddess. From a silent gesture from Soi, the young man placed the unconscious bunny at the feet of the chained Byakko seishi.
"I can't see like this. Release me," Tatara demanded, jerking the chains, which tightly held his body against the wall.
Soi hesitated at the request.
"It's okay Soi. Go ahead and unchain the Byakko seishi. Even though physically he's young, inside he is more than a hundred years old. Plus, the girl has fallen under my spell. Unless the Byakko seishi wants his granddaughter to sleep forever, locked away in the nightmare she is experiencing right now, I doubt that he will do anything stupid," Miboshi grinned.
Once the chains fell away, Tatara dropped to the ground by Usagi's side. Ignoring the aching in his muscles, he slowly brushed away the lose silver strands that covered her pale tormented face.
A soft gasp of surprise echoed in the room. The hand against Usagi's cheek froze. The features were so similar to his beloved's, there was no mistake about it. A small content smile appeared on Tatara's face. To know that Suzuno and him having such a beautiful granddaughter, the ninety long years of loneliness was well worth it. To be able to see his granddaughter who was as lovely as her grandmother. His only regret was that he couldn't share this wonderful moment with his beloved Suzuno.
"I see that you have admitted that the girl is related to you," Soi smirked knowingly at the warmth on the Byakko seshsi's face as he looked down on Usagi. "I'm sure that it's a very emotional time to be reunited with a granddaughter you never knew you had. And I hate to be the heartless person to break this touching moment, but if you don't give us the Byakko shinzaho right now, you will never see Tsukino Usagi again."
Tatara froze. It was his duty to his god and miko to protect the shinzaho. But he couldn't trade the life of his and Suzuno's granddaughter for an object. He would never forgive himself if Usagi was hurt in any way, and he was sure that Suzuno felt the same way. It was weird how fast the unconscious bunny warmed her way into his lonely soul. Maybe it was because her sweet face resembled Suzuno's when she first face to this world. But Tatara knew, that he would give his life to protect this girl. "If I give you the shinzaho, will you let us go?"
"Of course," Yui answered graciously, eyes gleaming at the thought of being one step closer to revenge.
Gathering the still body of Usagi with one arm, Tatara reached up and took off his earring. Setting the seed on the ground, he muttered a quick spell. To the wonder of Yui and her seishi, a flower grew from the small seed. Resting in the middle of the full bloom, was a small round hand mirror. Caressing the mirror for one last time, the Byakko seishi carefully picked it up. Leaning against the wall for support, he pulled Usagi up, supporting her limp form.
"We have given you the girl, now hand over the shinzaho!" Soi demanded, advancing on the weak Tatara, and the unconscious goddess.
"Let us out of here first, then I'll give it to you."
"No way! What if you leave without giving us what we want?" Suboshi cried out in anger, his ryuseisui ready to attack.
"Suboshi! Let them go. I trust that Tatara-san will keep his end of the bargain." Yui ordered, moving away to let the limping Byakko seishi slowly make his way to the small exit.
"That's far enough," Soi's voice stopped Tatara. "Now give us the shinzaho."
"Byakko forgive me," The long haired young man sent a quiet apology to his god, before he held out Suzuno's hand mirror.
Soi smirked, before she moved to receive the shinzaho. Handing the mirror to Yui to hold, the Seiryuu seishi turned towards the retreating figures of Tatara and Usagi, a dark light glittering in her narrowed eyes.
Tatara cried out in surprise and pain as a bolt of lightening burnt across his back, slamming him against the wall. "What…what are you doing?" the Byakko seishi panted out, plucking another seed off of the necklace he wore.
"I said that we would let you go, but I didn't say that we would let you go alive, did I?" the red haired seishi grinned and causally walked over to where Tatara had dropped Usagi's body. "Why would I let her live, when she tried to steal Nakago-sama from me?" Looking down at the silver haired girl in hatred, Soi was about to kick the unmoving body, when she found sharp thorns cutting into her bare skin.
"No one touches my granddaughter," Tatara gave a sharp pull on his whip made of a thick vein covered with sharp thorns. Soi lost her balance, at the hard tug, and was flung away from the silver haired girl.
"Tatara!"
"Rekka Shinen!!!"
The rest of the Seiryuu seishi stopped midway in attacking the Byakko seishi just in time to avoid the scorching flames.
"Aw…I missed," Tasuki whined out, pulling on Tamahome's sleeve.
"Yui-sama, what are you doing?" the cold calm voice of Nakago broke through the commotion.
"Nakago!" the short haired girl was shocked speechless, she quickly looked towards Soi for help, but the female seishi was still busy trying to free herself from Tatara's whip. "We…"
"I don't want to hear it," The shogun answered in disgust, understanding drawing on his face as he saw the Byakko shinzaho in Yui's hands.
"Tatara!" Tokaki and Subaru cried as their fellow seishi fell against Tokaki. "What happened?"
"U…Usagi. Hurry, you have to help her first. She's under the Seiryuu seishi's spell. If we don't break the spell soon…" The long haired young man said weakly before the strain on his body finally took over, and collapsed.
"Usagi? Is she here?" Nuriko asked, looking around frantically, before he caught sight of the stray silver spilled on the dark stones of the floor. "Usagi!!!" The Suzaku seishi cried, and rushed to the lifeless girl.
But he was beaten by another. After he had guessed what Yui and the others had done behind his back, Nakago only heard part of what Tatara said, before he noticed Usagi's fading ki. Not caring what the others thought of him, he immediately sprint towards his itooshi, after all, only she could bring out such powerful emotions out of him. He had stopped thinking rationally ever since she came back to his life. Who ever said that love was something that could be explained? Thank god that it was Yui who took her, a hard expression settled on his features, how dare she act behind his back! If Usa-chan was harmed in any way…
This dark thoughts of Yui were chased away, when a thick black mist covered his visions.
"What's going on?!?!?!" Confused cries was uttered by Suzaku and Seiryuu seishi alike, separated from each other by the thick fog.
"Coward! Come out and fight like a man!" The unmistakable voice of Tasuki was heard, as the bandit glomped his way in the dark.
"That better not be a hand touching my ass…" another pissed off seishi muttered under his breath, before a fist punched the hentai offender.
"Okay! This is it! If you don't come out and fight me like a man, then…" the bandit was too mad for words when he got punched in the nose by an unknown attacker. "Rekka…"
"Tasuki! Don't do it," Chiriko cried out from somewhere in the mist. "You don't know where the enemy is, and if you attack blindly like this, you can hurt the others!"
A loud mocking laugh stopped the madness, as the fog cleared. Everyone looked around, trying to find the source of the laughter, but there was no one. It felt as if the voice was everywhere, surrounding them.
"Kuso!" the group turned to stare at Nakago. "Usagi is gone!"
"You just noticed Nakago?" The same mocking voice said.
"Endymion," the blond shogun growled out, his kokoro symbol flaring to life.
"If you want to see Cosmos again Nakago, I suggest that you come to the roof. And bring the Byakko shinzaho with you. If I don't see you there within ten minutes, you will truly lose her forever this time…" Endymion's voice echoed in the deathly silent room.
"Yui-sama, give me the shinzaho," Nakago said quietly, breaking the silence.
The miko backed away from her advancing seishi, shaking her head in anger. "No! I won't let you give it to him! Why do you care about Usagi so much anyways? I was the one you saved. I was the one who met you first. I'm the miko who you have been waiting to serve!"
"Yui-sama," this time, the blond man murmured with poorly hidden disgust.
"I agree with Yui-chan," everyone turned to gap in surprise at the Suzaku no miko.
"Miaka, what are you saying?" Tamahome asked in shock.
"I agree with Yui-chan," the red haired miko repeated calmly. "Taitsukun told us that we can not let Chaos have the shinzahos, or else the whole universe will be doomed."
"Demo, demo…Miaka, she also said that without Usagi, you will never be able to go back to your world!" Nuriko cried.
"I don't care about going back. As long as I'm with Tamahome, I don't care about where I am," Miaka looked up adoringly to her beloved.
Tamahome stood frozen. This wasn't like the kind, warm hearted Miaka he knew. How could she sacrifice someone else's life for her own selfish happiness? Not to mention Usagi had saved their lives numerous times before. If it hadn't been for the silver haired young woman, the Suzaku seishi would have perished a long time ago! By the looks on the other Suzaku seishi's faces, they were equally appalled. Not knowing that their klutzy, food loving miko could be so indifferent about another's life.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," everyone turned to stare at the two strangers.
"Where did you two come from?" Tasuki asked in confusion, pointing to the young, white haired woman and her companion, who was a young man with short hair. "And where did Tokaki and Subaru go?"
The young man smirked, before he vanished, only to appear in front of Yui. The surprised miko barely had time to scream before the young man yanked the Byakko shinzaho away.
"How…how did you do that?" Amiboshi stuttered out.
The strange young man smirked, and carefully tossed the hand mirror to Nakago. Without wasting any more time, the blond shogun quickly took off to the roof.
"In simple words, what you just saw was called teleportation. The specialty of Tokaki of the Byakko seishi," the handsome young man grinned at the astonished expression on the Suzaku and Seiryuu seishi's faces.
"But…how…when…?" Tamahome asked, jaws flopping like a goldfish.
Tokaki sighed. "Well, no one said that you are the brightest student around."
"I used a simple spell to revert our bodies to the way they were ninety years ago," Subaru stepped in to explain. "Anata?"
"Ready," Tokaki answered, gathering the fainted Tatara into his arms. Together, before neither Suzaku nor Seiryuu seishi could stop them, the trio of Byakko seishi also made a dash towards the roof.
"Hell! What are we waiting here for?" the red haired bandit questioned, looking around the group of left over seishi. "Let's go before we miss all the fun!"
~*~*~*~
When the mikos and their seishi finally caught up with Nakago and the three Byakko seishi, Endymion was already waiting for them, floating in tonight air.
Usagi was also with the dark prince. Dressed in her shimmering white princess gown by the prince, the unconscious goddess was bounded to a large wooden cross, by numerous threadlike wires. (AN: Think X/1999, Kotori). The hundreds of hair like wires sliced through the thin silk of the gown, and cutting the tender milky skin. The white gown was already stained red by the crimson liquid, and blood from Usagi's bare arms dripped freely onto the roof below.
I see that you have all decided to join me," Endymion chuckled. "I feel so honoured to be able to meet all of you properly this time. Even though I would be content with just Nakago."
The blond shogun shook with anger, a blue glow surrounded his body, as the small rocks around him began to rattle.
"Do you love her Nakago?" The sudden question broke through the seishi's concentration, as everyone turned to focus their attention on the shogun, waiting eagerly to hear his answer.
"Cut the crap Endymion!" Nakago cried out in hatred, hands kept in tight fists. Did he dare to admit his feelings? In front of everyone? To openly display such emotion was to open himself up for pain. Didn't he experience it first hand when Usa-chan died during the Silver Millennium? To have emotions was a weakness. He had taught himself, through the years…But what was life without these troubling feelings? Usa-chan had taught him that, when they first met. Pain was a part of life, just like happiness. You can not have one without the other. Life was not complete with just pain, or just happiness. He had to live in loneliness and hatred all of his life, he had to salvage his happiness before it becomes too late. Before the only meaning of his life slips away forever.
"I'm still waiting," the dark prince said impatiently. "Maybe a little action will help to speed up your decision?"
Chuckling sinisterly, the dark haired man reached up, and tightened the wire around Usagi's neck, until it bite more deeply into the pale slender neck. Making sure that he held all the seishi's attentions, and mainly Nakago's, Endymion slowly lowered his head and licked ruby trail of blood flowing down from the deep slash. "How sweet, the taste of a virgin…"
That was all it took, as a scream of rage came from Nakago. A surge of new powers flooded his senses, pounding against his skin, demanding to be released. All the seishi backed away in hast, shocked as the ground began to shake under the huge amount of power.
"When…when did Nakago get this powerful?" Soi shouted out, covering her face from the flying debris. "This isn't just his seishi powers!"
Up in the sky, Endymion was also wondering about he same thing. Just a few days ago, the baka seishi could hardly even dodge his blast, and now, Nakago was almost as powerful as Cosmos. Cosmos…that's it! Endymion growled and turned to look at the unmoving girl. The Seiryuu seishi must have received some of her powers when they bonded back during the Silver Millennium! And the little bitch must be giving Nakago some of her powers right now too!
"Give her back Chaos!" Nakago demanded, as the blue and silver light around him died down, but leaving him much more powerful than before. He could feel the power of Cosmos flowing in his veins, along with her silent love strengthened his heart.
Always one to recognize when he was in a disadvantage, Endymion considered for a moment. Right now, he was probably stronger than Nakago, but anger could be a huge factor in a battle. And now, the air practically hummed with the blond man's hatred for Chaos.
"If you handover the Byakko shinzaho, I will give you Cosmos in return," Endymion decided that it would be better to wait till later.
Nakago nodded.
"No Nakago!!!" Yui screamed, before the seishi gave the hand mirror away. "We need the shinzaho to summon Seiryuu!!!"
Ignoring his miko's protests, Nakago threw the mirror up. Endymion smiled as he caught the shinzaho. With a snap of his fingers, the wires holding Usagi disappeared, and the bunny was left to fall straight into Nakago's waiting arms.
A dark smile lightened Endymion's face as he looked down at Yui. "Seiryuu no miko, did you know that it is not the shinzahos that you need to summon the beast god, but the power they contain?"
Yui slowly nodded.
"Even without the shinzahos, you can still summon Seiryuu as long as you have something with the power of the beast gods."
"What are you getting at?" the miko asked losing patience.
"To summon Seiryuu, all you have to do…" Endymion paused, "…is to sacrifice Tsukino Usagi."
TBC…
AN: *Stretches, and wiggles her tail* I think that this should be enough for this year, don't you think? Of course if you want to read one more chapter before the New Year, then you'll have to review of course!!! I might get off my lazy bum to write another chapter…but it all depends on you ^_~.