"Wait," Chika said, sitting down on a rock and laying her bow and
arrows and sword on the ground. "I can't walk anymore. Let's rest." Her
forest green hair fell around her shoulders as she bent her head forward.
"My feet hurt so much," she groaned. "How far are we from the capitol?"
"After this next village, the capitol should be in sight," Kinu said, brushing a lock of deep purple hair from her face as she slumped down on the rock next to Chika, doing the same.
"Remind me again why I agreed to this," Julia said more to herself than anyone else. She leaned against a tree, as there was no more room on the rock, putting her weapons on the ground. "I mean, this is ridiculous! It's not like we can just go up to the emperor and say 'Hey, Your Majesty, we found someone who we think is a seishi of Suzaku!' They'll throw us out of the palace!"
"But you are a seishi of Suzaku," Chika protested. "I saw the symbol with my own eyes!"
"Will you knock that off already?!" Julia shouted as she took off her shoe and threw it in Chika's direction. "Oh, great," she muttered as her shoe missed Chika and flew passed her into the forest.
Julia sighed, picked herself up, and went in the forest in search of her shoe.
After searching for about five minutes, she heard rustling behind her. She turned around to see what it was. It was a tall, blonde man with armor on. Julia could feel a sense of great power coming from him.
"May I help you?" the man asked. He was looking straight at Julia - or rather at her chest. Julia looked down and saw a red light shining underneath her robes. Was that what the man saw? Did it have something to do with her symbol?
"I-I'm fine, thanks," Julia said, backing away.
"Are you sure?" the man inquired. "Because it seems odd that a young woman as attractive as yourself would be wandering in the forest all alone."
"Leave me alone!" Julia tried to say. Her mouth formed the words, but nothing came out.
***
"Nuriko!" Hotohori cried, sitting straighter on his throne.
"I beg your pardon?" the advisor he was meeting with him asked.
"Nuriko's spirit," Hotohori explained. "We feel it. He's in trouble." He ran towards the door, then stopped when he was halfway there. "No, it's not Nuriko. It's his replacement, Julia. Julia's in trouble!" Hotohori turned to a servant. "Prepare our horse, find us some common clothes, and make it quick. We don't know how much time we have."
"Yes, your majesty," the servant said, bowing and hurrying out of the room.
***
The blonde man advanced on Julia, drawing his sword. There was a sadistic smile on his face. Julia could see something blue shining on his forehead, behind his bangs.
Is this man a seishi of Suzaku? Julia wondered.
Julia was backed up against a tree. The man held his sword against her throat. Julia's mind started racing. What was his most vulnerable spot? How could she get out of this situation? She did a quick once-over, trying to see what part of his body wasn't covered by armor.
Julia longingly thought of her sword, which was back by the rock where Kinu and Chika were resting. Did they know what was happening to her? How long was she gone?
The man put his hand to Julia's robe and pulled it down, exposing most of her chest. He smiled when he saw the symbol for willow glowing on her chest.
"Now that I found the replacement for Nuriko, I will have to kill you," the man said. "When Nuriko died, you came as a replacement. But when you die, there will be no one to replace you." He pressed his sword harder against Julia's throat.
Being a warrior, Julia had been in this situation many times before. The only problem was, she had never been in this situation without her weapons in easy reach. She had to follow her instincts. She drew her fist back and punched the man in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards. His sword dropped to the ground, scratching Julia's chest as it fell.
"CHIKA!" Julia cried. "KINU! COME QUICK AND BRING YOUR WEAPONS!" She picked up the man's sword and pointed it at his throat, a fire burning in her eyes, showing the man that he would not be able to overpower her easily.
***
Hotohori rode his horse as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was going, only following something inside him that said which direction Julia lay.
Before he knew it, he was outside a forest. Two young women were sitting on a rock talking to each other. One woman had an excited look in her eyes and forest green hair. The other woman had dark purple hair, like wine, and had a calmer, more knowledgeable look in her eyes. Both women looked nervous, and the one with green hair was reaching for one of the three swords that lay by the rock the girls were sitting on.
Hotohori cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said. "Is either one of you girls Julia?" They both looked at him.
"How do you know Julia?" the green-haired girl asked. She assumed an air of defense.
Hotohori, feeling his symbol appear, brought his hair over his shoulder and pulled at his color, exposing his neck, and his symbol. The eyes of the two girls grew wide as they saw his symbol burning brightly.
"She... went into the woods," the purple-haired girl explained. "To get her shoe. She hasn't come out for a while."
Hotohori didn't need to hear anymore. He quickly galloped into the forest, followed by the two girls, swords at the ready.
He hadn't been looking about the woods for more than three minutes when the purple-haired girl let out a cry.
"Julia!" she cried, running towards a blue-haired girl with a bloody sword in her hand. The girl jumped when she heard the voice, then saw the girl with the purple hair and came running towards her.
"Kinu!" Julia cried once she had reached the group of three. "Didn't you hear me call?"
"No," Kinu replied shaking her head. Then she looked at the bloody sword. "What happened?"
"I was looking for my shoe, then I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I turned around, and there's this blonde man wearing armor."
Hotohori's ears perked up. "A blonde man in armor? Did you catch his name?"
"No," Julia said, looking at him. It was then Hotohori realized he hadn't introduced himself.
"My name is Hotohori," he said, getting off his horse and kissing Julia's hand. "I am a seishi if Suzaku."
"My name is Julia," Julia replied, going scarlet. She noticed her symbol glowing bright red.
"Isn't that sweet!" Chika cried. "Even your symbol is blushing!" Julia rolled her eyes and hit Chika.
"Shut up!" Julia cried. The two girls started bickering.
"What were you saying about the blonde man in armor?" Hotohori asked, hoping to get back to the original topic.
Julia told how the blonde man seemed to know a lot about her, and how he called her a replacement for Nuriko. He didn't make her feel comfortable, and tried to kill her. She ended up punching him in the jaw and sending him running.
"I think I broke his jaw," Julia said when she finished the story. "It's kind of amazing, considering the fact that I didn't punch him that hard."
"It's your seishi power," Hotohori explained, smiling. "Nuriko had super strength, and I guess you do, too." He held out his hand to her. "Would you like me to bring you back to the palace so I can show you to the other seishi?"
Julia took his hand, stepped forward, and tripped. She got up and pulled up the thing that made her trip.
"My shoe!" she exclaimed. Laughing, the four of them left the forest to go to Konan.
A/N: My first chapter of this story to be longer than a page! Yay! Um, to tell you all the truth, I'm not quite sure what to do next in the story. Everything that happened in my dream happened in the last chapter. I have ideas, but they won't come around for at least another two chapters. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You make me feel so special!
And if anyone's wondering; no, I'm not planning on making this a romance fic. I have enough of those already, and hopefully I won't accidentally turn it into a romance fic like I did with Oops!
Harry: Yeah, but if you didn't have any romance, there wouldn't be any drama.
Celestial Princess: I think the Hermione/Nuriko thing was pretty dramatic without having any romance. And what about this thing I'm planning for the story? *whispers in Harry's ear*
Harry: That is too romance!
Celestial Princess: It is not! She doesn't love him!
"After this next village, the capitol should be in sight," Kinu said, brushing a lock of deep purple hair from her face as she slumped down on the rock next to Chika, doing the same.
"Remind me again why I agreed to this," Julia said more to herself than anyone else. She leaned against a tree, as there was no more room on the rock, putting her weapons on the ground. "I mean, this is ridiculous! It's not like we can just go up to the emperor and say 'Hey, Your Majesty, we found someone who we think is a seishi of Suzaku!' They'll throw us out of the palace!"
"But you are a seishi of Suzaku," Chika protested. "I saw the symbol with my own eyes!"
"Will you knock that off already?!" Julia shouted as she took off her shoe and threw it in Chika's direction. "Oh, great," she muttered as her shoe missed Chika and flew passed her into the forest.
Julia sighed, picked herself up, and went in the forest in search of her shoe.
After searching for about five minutes, she heard rustling behind her. She turned around to see what it was. It was a tall, blonde man with armor on. Julia could feel a sense of great power coming from him.
"May I help you?" the man asked. He was looking straight at Julia - or rather at her chest. Julia looked down and saw a red light shining underneath her robes. Was that what the man saw? Did it have something to do with her symbol?
"I-I'm fine, thanks," Julia said, backing away.
"Are you sure?" the man inquired. "Because it seems odd that a young woman as attractive as yourself would be wandering in the forest all alone."
"Leave me alone!" Julia tried to say. Her mouth formed the words, but nothing came out.
***
"Nuriko!" Hotohori cried, sitting straighter on his throne.
"I beg your pardon?" the advisor he was meeting with him asked.
"Nuriko's spirit," Hotohori explained. "We feel it. He's in trouble." He ran towards the door, then stopped when he was halfway there. "No, it's not Nuriko. It's his replacement, Julia. Julia's in trouble!" Hotohori turned to a servant. "Prepare our horse, find us some common clothes, and make it quick. We don't know how much time we have."
"Yes, your majesty," the servant said, bowing and hurrying out of the room.
***
The blonde man advanced on Julia, drawing his sword. There was a sadistic smile on his face. Julia could see something blue shining on his forehead, behind his bangs.
Is this man a seishi of Suzaku? Julia wondered.
Julia was backed up against a tree. The man held his sword against her throat. Julia's mind started racing. What was his most vulnerable spot? How could she get out of this situation? She did a quick once-over, trying to see what part of his body wasn't covered by armor.
Julia longingly thought of her sword, which was back by the rock where Kinu and Chika were resting. Did they know what was happening to her? How long was she gone?
The man put his hand to Julia's robe and pulled it down, exposing most of her chest. He smiled when he saw the symbol for willow glowing on her chest.
"Now that I found the replacement for Nuriko, I will have to kill you," the man said. "When Nuriko died, you came as a replacement. But when you die, there will be no one to replace you." He pressed his sword harder against Julia's throat.
Being a warrior, Julia had been in this situation many times before. The only problem was, she had never been in this situation without her weapons in easy reach. She had to follow her instincts. She drew her fist back and punched the man in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards. His sword dropped to the ground, scratching Julia's chest as it fell.
"CHIKA!" Julia cried. "KINU! COME QUICK AND BRING YOUR WEAPONS!" She picked up the man's sword and pointed it at his throat, a fire burning in her eyes, showing the man that he would not be able to overpower her easily.
***
Hotohori rode his horse as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was going, only following something inside him that said which direction Julia lay.
Before he knew it, he was outside a forest. Two young women were sitting on a rock talking to each other. One woman had an excited look in her eyes and forest green hair. The other woman had dark purple hair, like wine, and had a calmer, more knowledgeable look in her eyes. Both women looked nervous, and the one with green hair was reaching for one of the three swords that lay by the rock the girls were sitting on.
Hotohori cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said. "Is either one of you girls Julia?" They both looked at him.
"How do you know Julia?" the green-haired girl asked. She assumed an air of defense.
Hotohori, feeling his symbol appear, brought his hair over his shoulder and pulled at his color, exposing his neck, and his symbol. The eyes of the two girls grew wide as they saw his symbol burning brightly.
"She... went into the woods," the purple-haired girl explained. "To get her shoe. She hasn't come out for a while."
Hotohori didn't need to hear anymore. He quickly galloped into the forest, followed by the two girls, swords at the ready.
He hadn't been looking about the woods for more than three minutes when the purple-haired girl let out a cry.
"Julia!" she cried, running towards a blue-haired girl with a bloody sword in her hand. The girl jumped when she heard the voice, then saw the girl with the purple hair and came running towards her.
"Kinu!" Julia cried once she had reached the group of three. "Didn't you hear me call?"
"No," Kinu replied shaking her head. Then she looked at the bloody sword. "What happened?"
"I was looking for my shoe, then I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I turned around, and there's this blonde man wearing armor."
Hotohori's ears perked up. "A blonde man in armor? Did you catch his name?"
"No," Julia said, looking at him. It was then Hotohori realized he hadn't introduced himself.
"My name is Hotohori," he said, getting off his horse and kissing Julia's hand. "I am a seishi if Suzaku."
"My name is Julia," Julia replied, going scarlet. She noticed her symbol glowing bright red.
"Isn't that sweet!" Chika cried. "Even your symbol is blushing!" Julia rolled her eyes and hit Chika.
"Shut up!" Julia cried. The two girls started bickering.
"What were you saying about the blonde man in armor?" Hotohori asked, hoping to get back to the original topic.
Julia told how the blonde man seemed to know a lot about her, and how he called her a replacement for Nuriko. He didn't make her feel comfortable, and tried to kill her. She ended up punching him in the jaw and sending him running.
"I think I broke his jaw," Julia said when she finished the story. "It's kind of amazing, considering the fact that I didn't punch him that hard."
"It's your seishi power," Hotohori explained, smiling. "Nuriko had super strength, and I guess you do, too." He held out his hand to her. "Would you like me to bring you back to the palace so I can show you to the other seishi?"
Julia took his hand, stepped forward, and tripped. She got up and pulled up the thing that made her trip.
"My shoe!" she exclaimed. Laughing, the four of them left the forest to go to Konan.
A/N: My first chapter of this story to be longer than a page! Yay! Um, to tell you all the truth, I'm not quite sure what to do next in the story. Everything that happened in my dream happened in the last chapter. I have ideas, but they won't come around for at least another two chapters. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You make me feel so special!
And if anyone's wondering; no, I'm not planning on making this a romance fic. I have enough of those already, and hopefully I won't accidentally turn it into a romance fic like I did with Oops!
Harry: Yeah, but if you didn't have any romance, there wouldn't be any drama.
Celestial Princess: I think the Hermione/Nuriko thing was pretty dramatic without having any romance. And what about this thing I'm planning for the story? *whispers in Harry's ear*
Harry: That is too romance!
Celestial Princess: It is not! She doesn't love him!