Disclaimer: *starts singing to the tune of 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'* I never owned FY, owned FY, owned FY, I never owned FY so don't sue me for it. *bows*


The room that I was pushed into was gigantic, with its floor made of marble that had been polished until it was clear as crystal while silk cloth crisscrossed in front of me, hindering me from seeing the tall, stately form that resided behind it. Immediately, the entire group of soldiers that had sworn me certain death together with Urumiya and Hatsui went onto their knees, leaving Takiko, Hikitsu, Iname and me standing with our mouths agape, looking confusedly at each other.

"What the hell?!" I squawked, only to be caught roughly by the arm by Urumiya and pulled down to my knees. Wincing , I reached out a hand to brush off his grip, only to find it caught by the same hand that transferred from my arm to my hand to prevent it from moving and doing any bodily harm to his body.

"I don't expect you've been taught any respect from where you come from?" he hissed, glaring at me from the side of his eyes. "Don't you know that that's the emperor of Hokkan?"

"The WHAT?!"

Realizing this, both Iname and Hikitsu sank to their knees, mumbling apologies. I stared at everyone, wondering why the place had suddenly grown so quiet and looked up at the form that was pushing through the crisscrossing silk cloth that was being pushed to the side by a few servants whom had their heads bent to look towards the ground. Why wasn't anyone looking up front?

"You may rise," came a deep voice, and I looked up, blinking at the sight of an old, white-haired man who as standing right in front of me, dressed in long, flowing robes that had been woven intricately with gold thread. "Welcome back, Urumiya, Hatsui. Have you found the three seishi whom you were seeking?"

Urumiya stood up straight, his face smiling as he nodded. "Yes, we have, your majesty. Although, we did run into a few problems with the captain of guard…perhaps you would like to explain, captain?"

The captain of something or whatever must have given him a glare, for I could practically see the smoke that was coming out of the helmet as he stood up, clapping his palm to his fist. "Hai, your majesty. It seems that one of these men whom Urumiya-san considers as the Genbu seishi 'Tomite', resembles General Kazushi from Kutou. In fact, your majesty, the resemblance is so striking that I'm afraid that he might be one of the Kutou army that have been sent to spy on us. To resolve this conflict, we wish for your majesty's wisdom to tell us our next move."

I could have sworn that Hikitsu had muttered 'sucker up' at that moment. Well, I couldn't begrudge him of the liberty of doing so- it seemed as if he was harbouring high hopes of getting a promotion by reporting me in as a traitor to the country. Genbu, I shall never understand some people, especially this fussy, stuck up captain.

"Your majesty," Hatsui stood up too, nodding in respect to the tall emperor in front of him. "We do not wish for any mistakes to be made as this arrest was made without any inspection whether Tomite's (he glared at the captain of something or nothing…whatever) identity is really genuine."

The regal, most respected and worshipped man in Hokkan now bent down slightly to study my face as he muttered something to himself before straightening and giving me a smile that I couldn't decipher whether it meant that my life was spared or I was going to the gallows.

"Release him, guards, I wish to talk to him. Captain -no, don't comment about this, I know how terribly particular you are when doing these kind of things-, kindly withdraw your guards from this room. I wish to talk to the Genbu no miko and her seishi alone."

"I must object to your decision, your majesty; this is simply atrocious. If-"

"Captain, the door is that way, in case you haven't noticed."

"But-"

"You are dismissed, captain. Continue your rounds and report when you have finished. Is that understood?"

The plump, armoured figure seemed to deflate slightly under all that metal, and I could swear that he had sunk slightly into the ground after hearing his new orders. "Yes, heika-sama. Men, let us continue our rounds."

It was a relief to see the entire group of clinking metal parts march out after him, but a soft chuckle from the man in front of me brought me back to my senses. I spun around, looking slightly horrified, and started bowing. "Heika-sama, I thank you for your decision and-"

"That's enough," he waved it off as Hikitsu stood up, giving a slight bow to the old man. "Do stand up, Tomite, I do believe that our floor does not require cleaning at the moment. Don't worry about him- he's always fussing over things like these, so it's perfectly acceptable. "

"Uh…"

Takiko leaned back, raising an eyebrow as she raised her eyes to meet mine. "Heika-sama didn't have to question you, Chamka; your symbol's shining as brightly as a lamp on a dark night. Tune down, Chamka, your head's not going to be cut off!"

I glared at her, daring her to raise her fist and whack my skull. "I'm not dumb, head-hitting onna; I have a pair of ears and a brain, if you haven't noticed," I huffed, forgetting about everyone for once as I folded my arms. "Honestly…"

"What brain?" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at me, and I reached a hand to my back, then remembering that the soldiers had confiscated my bow and hadn't given it back. Genbu, why did things always go missing when you needed them? "Why can't you just act relieved like everyone else?"

Hatsui sweatdropped at our argument, holding out two hands. "If the two of you would kindly return to Hokkan, perhaps you would notice that we're facing the emperor now? Couldn't either of you show a little respect?"

Heika-sama didn't seem to mind and was indeed watching us with quite an interest as he raised an eyebrow. "Well, it does look as if we've gathered a rather lively group here. Perhaps you would introduce me to your new found friends here, Urumiya?"

The blond haired seishi frowned slightly, scrunching his forehead slightly. "Honestly, must you call me that? I am your son after all; can't you just call me Seiki?"

He was the…the emperor's son?! Well…that couldn't be very surprising, would it? After all, men were allowed to have numerous wives, the emperor especially with his harem at all, but the idea of this old man frolicking with a twenty something girl was not…quite…an interesting thing to think about. I shuddered. Genbu!

Takiko, however, was regarding with him with another set of wide, saucer like eyes. "You're the prince? Doesn't that make you the next emperor to the throne?"

Urumiya paused, giving her a view of his charming (in my opinion, it was a flirty, but I doubt anyone else would take it this way) smile and bowed slightly. "Indeed, my dear miko, I am also known as Prince Seiki, heir of the Hokkan throne. Does that make me even more desirable?"

Hatsui raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't talk about desirable if I were you," he remarked lightly. "Once your little fan club gets wind that you're back in the capital, you're going to have a damn hard time sneaking out, I tell you. They're not easy to talk to, you know- they'll simply tear your clothes off before you can even blink."

The blond hair ruffled slightly as he shuddered at the thought before turning back to his father. "Anyway, just to introduce, this is our Genbu no miko, father. Yes, this gorgeous, um…self-assertive (I snorted, only to get whacked by our little self-assertive miko) girl is our miko and-"

"Seiki, it is interesting to hear about your obsession regarding girls, but could you kindly go to the facts please?" heika-sama spoke, giving our group a disarming smile that creepily reminded me of Urumiya. "It is indeed a pleasure to find that Genbu has indeed answered our calls for a miko, though," he added, bowing slightly at Takiko's direction, who immediately turned scarlet and started stammering something unintelligible.

Urumiya seemed slightly insulted at his father's disinterest in his adoration for Takiko and his frowned turned on again, making him look like a pouting five-year old. "As I was saying, this is Tomite, our youngest seishi here," he gestured towards me, and I wasn't very pleased to be reminded that I was the youngest among everyone they had found. "He specializes in archery- perhaps we should have a look at your skills some day, Tomite?- and I'm sure will be an enormous help in training our new army recruits in that section."

I was supposed to train army recruits? No one ever told me training a bunch of experience deprived kids was supposed to be part of my job! "I…didn't know I was supposed to help train recruits," I managed to insert cautiously before he could continue his introductions.

"Of course!" the blond haired seishi raised an eyebrow, "We do expect the rest of the seishi (excluding me, of course, but I do help out sometimes too) to help too, Tomite. Teamwork, you know. Anyway, this is Hikitsu whose powers dwell on the ice powers, Iname whose powers have…um…"

"The water and wind element," Iname added in helpfully with a slight smile on her face. "I am trained to control and manipulate the forces of nature of that sort, heika-sama."

"I see," the emperor stroked his beard thoughtfully as he looked at the three of us. "Well, I can do nothing but welcome the four of you to the palace, am I not right? Although I'd like to request for our miko…"

"Okuda Takiko."

"Ah, yes…Takiko-san, I'd like to invite you to have a look at our Genbu shrine that is situated in the east wing of our palace. It is there that you shall have to summon Genbu from," he spoke, nodding in her direction, his white head bobbing up and down like that of a doll. "It is required that the miko enters the shrine of the god as soon as she arrives at the capital, so I beseech you to do so, Takiko-san."

"Uh…hai," Takiko simply nodded, following his actions, but looking more lost and confused than ever. "Um…may I ask where is the east wing?"

Heika-sama laughed easily as he gazed at all five of us. "You don't have to worry about that- I'll send a servant to guide you to the shrine for your convenience, Takiko -may I call you that?-. I'm sure you will be able to find the shrine without much difficulty- it is the most beautiful room in the palace after all."

"You must be tired," Urumiya raised an eyebrow in annoyance at his father who simply chuckled. "Come, I'll have the servants show you to your rooms- if you need anything feel free to ask anyone from the palace. I'm sure they'll be glad to help- unless the compromise has something to do with meeting me, of course."

"What?" I blinked.

Hatsui grinned, his left hand touching his chin while his right arm was half crossed behind it. "I guess it's been a little too quiet for you ever since we've entered the capital, Tomite, but sometimes- well maybe frequently- you'll run across a few girls who'll only agree on doing things for you if you agree to let them meet Seiki here in exchange. These are members of his small fan club…small if you consider 200 girls small, that is, and we've only be able to keep them at bay with our captain that just left over there. Never let them meet him- that happened once and someone almost died. Those girls are serious trouble."

"It is also amusing to find that they haven't marched up to the throne room yet and demanded for your belongings," heika-sama remarked with a rather interested look on his face. "Of course, I hope the servants haven't been bribed to give away any of your underwear- it would simply be madness if it got stolen."

"Do we really have to talk about this here?" Urumiya didn't look too pleased at where the subject was heading at the moment. "Come on, I think I'll show you to your rooms- it's safer walking with you people in case they really try to enter here- they've become pretty unrestrained lately, you know. Would you prefer separate wings from each other?"

The three of us exchanged meaningful looks and replied simultaneously, "No thanks."

As much as I didn't want to be placed in the next room beside our head-hitting miko, I guess it would be better than having to walk over a mile just to arrive back at the throne room. It seemed like overkill if I was to stay in the west wing with Hikitsu and Iname and Takiko in separate wings, just because of some petty rivalry. I wasn't that childish, you know.

He raised an eyebrow. "Fine, you don't have to shout. Follow me, and remember, if you meet any of the girls- you're protecting me…and the miko, of course."

-------

"…And this is yours," Urumiya opened the door to the room opposite of Hikitsu's own room, nodding me to go in. It seemed like a conspiracy- why did I have to be strategically placed between Iname and Takiko? Genbu, it isn't faiiiir

I was just thinking about how my head was going to be chopped off, my legs amputated, my arms tied to my back and slashed out, my eyes gouged and my throat slit my a razor sharp knife when Urumiya prodded me slightly in the sight. "Ne…Tomite. Can I speak to you for a moment?"

I blinked. "Sure. Come in, I guess, since it's sort of my room but not mine really, but…oh, just come in," I invited, getting all confused myself too. "What is it?"

"It's about Takiko."

I blinked again. "Run that by me again? I think I misheard you."

"Ta-ki-ko. You know, the Genbu no miko. The girl with long, black hair, fair skin and the fierce personality. The person that you've been travelling with for…Genbu knows how long. Okuda Takiko."

"Uh…hai…?"

"Are you really, really well acquainted with her?" he asked, his eyes suddenly bright and shining and I drew back slightly. "As in close like engaged, or almost married? Or merely like rivals or siblings?"

"Something like the third one," I managed to blurt out with my open mouth. "Why? What's your interest in her? She's nothing much if you ask me- well, she's damn fierce, but that's all I can think about. Why? Don't tell me-" I narrowed my eyes. "You want her to be in that little fan club of yours?"

He turned slightly red in the face. "Well…she is the Genbu no miko after all, and you know how the miko is supposed to be pure and all that crap. Can't do those kind of things before she's summoned Genbu or she won't be eligible to be a miko. Still, it would be nicer if I could get a little chance to know her better, ne…?"

"Oh, no," I shook my head, immediately understanding what he wanted. "No, I am not helping you in this; go ask Iname or Hatsui or someone else. I am definitely NOT going to help you. Case closed."

He put up a good impression of a hound dog when it had been kicked out, though. "Come on, Tomite," he wheedled. "Look, I took all the trouble to put you in the room beside two girls too, so you should be pleased, ne? All I'm asking is for a very small thing: I just want to, well…get to know Takiko a little better, you know, about her world and stuff. That isn't wrong, isn't it?"

I shuddered at the mention of Takiko's world, recalling the strange 'cars' and the flashing 'camera' thing that she had been trying to explain to me. "Don't worry, she won't bite off your head if you ask her nicely enough…hopefully. Well, she hasn't done it to either you or Hatsui once, so you should be glad. She almost breaks my skull sometimes too."

He gave me a sour look. "You're no fun, Tomite. Don't be so mean now, I'm sure you can do better than that. Listen, you won't have to train the new recruits if it works, okay? No work for you. Come on…"

I sighed. "Well…fine, fine. But only once!" I held up one finger, as if emphasizing my point. "I'm not doing it any more than this time- you'll just have to look for someone else to do your dirty work for you. What do you have in mind, actually?"

He grinned. "Well…since you asked, a little private dinner would be nice…and you'll be so kind to keep everyone else away, won't you, Tomite? Please?"

Genbu, he begged like a small kid asking for a toy from the shops. "Well…okay, but you'll have to tell me when you're taking Takiko to dinner or stuff like that. Of course, that is, if she doesn't break your skull in the process."

"I'll survive," he grinned, poking his head from outside as he gave me a wink. "You won't go back on your promise, I take it? I'll trust you this time round, Tomite. Well, I'm off to ask our dear miko whether she'll give me consent to take her to dinner. I smell the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

And I smell the terrible beginnings of a disaster.


Author's notes:

Well, now everyone knows Urumiya a little better, ne?? No, he isn't like Hotohori-sama (shame on you! Hotohori-sama's more…imperial. ^_^ ) , but he also harbours an interest for the Genbu no miko. Don't worry, Takiko isn't going to pull a Miaka and have guys falling at her feet in every direction, she has an acquired taste. Okay, I'll put it more simply: I don't like Takiko with anyone else. She goes the best with Tomite. So there. :p

Hatsui is still underdeveloped at the moment, I am still currently pending his stats (well, I have them now…a week later, that is), and I'm thinking of how I'm going to develop him. Don't worry, you'll see more of him in the near future…I think. I can't control what I write, so constructive review me (as opposed to 'so sue me', especially when I said not to in the disclaimer earlier) and tell me about it.

What? You think Tomite's giving Takiko away to another guy? Nuuuu…that isn't going to happen. And no, I'm not going to specifically change POVs just so that you people can find out what's going on during the dinner. Hehehehe…you'll just have to make do with you overactive imaginations.

Tomite: They have insane minds, not overactive imaginations. Genbu knows what they'll think of next.

*looks shocked* Tomite, that's insulting to the reviewers! Say you're sorry.

Tomite: No.

I won't tell you what's going on between Urumiya and Takiko then…

Tomite: …Fine. I'm sorry. Okay?

Much better. If that comment offended anyone, then bash Tomite up in a review and tell him how rude he is. Or better, give him a long, rebuking review on how he should behave. That should shut him up a bit. In short: review. It's really simple, isn't it? After reading, click that little drop-down menu on your bottom left and click on the option 'Submit Review'. Wait for a little while until the window appears, type your review, wait for it to load and you can close the window. See? It isn't that hard, is it?

Juggalette, you're the first reviewer!!! ^^ And as for Kang Xiu, don't whack him jusssst yet; you might just see THAT scene in a few chapter's time. (hint hint) I'm still holding my surprise for you, by the way. I haven't seen you online yet!!

Um...Touki Yume, I can't help if I'm wordy and stuff...it's the way I write. All the same, I'll try not to be so wordy next time, okay??? ^_^

Okay, until next time, ja ne~!