Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. I do not own Legends of Dragoon.

Author's Notes: Boy, it's been a while hasn't it. I thought I'd write over the summer, but I got caught up in other things. Now I'm in my senior year of high school, and I find that I have less time now than ever before. I thought somebody said senior year was suppose to be easy?

Chapter 8

Horiko stood between the two battles in an effort to judge who needed more help. Yule may have been smaller the Takashi, but with their armors canceling out, the battle would be won by the better fighter, and both seem to be rather good.

On the other hand, Subarratte seemed to be the witch he had thought her to be. She was firing dark magic left and right. Kamali seemed to be swift on his feet however, and he hadn't been hit yet. Though with Subarratte firing at him, Kamali could do little offensive maneuvering.

He turned his attention back to himself. Surely if he could get the red gem going again, he could at least end one of the battles so they could all work on the remaining demon warrior. He fingered the gem in his hand and felt the sharp edges bite at his finger tips. Surely unlocking it was simple. He hadn't even been touching it before.

"Horiko!" Kamali shouted from his position near the edge of the platform. Subarratte had forced him back and the battle seem to be turning for the worse. Kamali seemed to be tiring, and Horiko feared he would fall over the edge.

"Horiko!" Kamali cried again, "Get angry!"

Horiko stared at him a moment, "What?"

"Demon Warrior of the RAGING Fire!" Kamali shouted, "You need to feel rage!"

"Quiet, boy!" Subarratte shrieked, and released a new volley of dark ki after Kamali, who rolled nearly off the edge in order to escape it.

Surely if Subarratte responded as such to Kamali's advice, there had to be truth in it. Horiko looked into himself. All he needed to do was summon his rage.

Horiko gave out a frustrated cry and glanced around him. He couldn't find a reason to be angry. Sure battle was raging on all around him, but his own rage wouldn't come forth. He needed something to spark it.

"Krin!" Kamali shouted in surprise as he caught a glimpse of something down beneath him. "Run, girl! Run!"

Horiko felt his body stiffen. Krin was in danger! Horiko ran across the platform and peered over the edge. Where was she? Horiko looked around frantically but saw no sign of her.

"The mage took her!" Kamali shouted, "I couldn't see where they went! It was like they vanished!"

Then Horiko felt it. Rage began to surface at the thought of that dark mage getting his hands on Krin again. Surely, he would feel no mercy for her, now that she no longer had that talisman in her body.

The gem ignited and once again Horiko felt the pain as the fire ran over his skin. When the pain and flames vanished, the armor remained. His rage didn't falter as he turned toward Subarratte.

"Die, witch! This is all your fault!"

Subarratte gasped as Horiko pulled free a sword of pure flame from his scabbard. He flexed his own pair of bat-like wings and soared toward her. She brought he rapier to bear and dark magic engulfed it. The two weapons clashed and flame and dark matter went everywhere.

Subarratte was now forced to put both hands on her rapier. She let her grip on the Star Dagger fail and it struck the ground. The two fought heatedly across the platform. Kamali picked up the dagger and dashed for the nearby building. He made the five foot jump with ease and then disappeared from sight.

"Takashi!" Subarratte shouted, "That boy has taken the dagger!"

Takashi shot himself away from Yule and hung out far over the edge of the platform. His wings beat furiously to keep him aloft. "I shall retrieve it, Mistress."

Takashi then speed off after Kamali. Yule turned his attention to Subarratte, but then gasped as he noted that Boushin was no longer on the platform. His armor faded away and the wind stilled once more.

"Where is Boushin?!" Yule cried out.

"Tasuki took him after the battle started," Horiko said as Subarratte dashed off after Takashi. His own armor faded as his rage could no longer sustain without someone to throw it at.

They both panted heavily and turned toward the window they had leapt from.

"I think I saw a storage room down the hall," Yule said. "You'll be needing clothes."

Horiko suddenly realized he was naked again and quickly ran in the direction Yule gestured. Yule himself still retained his shogun armor, which he had donned when they had left he capital. His armor had withstood his transformation; actually had transformed with him. He brought his hand up to his breastplate. The image of a phoenix, representing Suzaku, was emblazed there. For its eye, there was a large green gem that sparkled.

Yule followed quickly after Horiko who stepped put of the storage room in the undergarments worn beneath the Druin's battle armor. Horiko had swiped a scabbard to put his sword in as well.

"I'm going to have to find a flame retardant scabbard," Horiko smiled. "I can't keep stealing these."

Yule nodded, "Was there no armor in there?"

"No, must be in another room," Horiko said as they took off down the hall. "We have to find the others."

"Agreed," Yule said. "After we have located them, we should track down Kamali. If he still living, it was very foolish to run off with that dagger."

"But it caught their attention and left us free to find the others and an escape. You know as well as I do that neither of us would have lasted much longer. We don't have practice using that armor," Horiko argued. "We have to find Krin now, that's more important. Then we can worry about that talisman."

Yule nodded, though it was apparent that he had his sights set on Boushin and not Krin, "I must return to my emperor's side immediately."

They made their way back to the room Chichiri and Krin had been, but found it empty. Horiko expected to. Krin had to have some reason for being outside when that evil mage captured her. Perhaps she had gotten separated from Tasuki and Chichiri.

"Look," Yule pointed through the window that led from the room. Outside they could see Chichiri leaning heavily against the wall of the other building. Tasuki stood over him with his eyes searching the area. Beside them, on bended knee, was a woman dressed in white armor. She had bat-like wings and seemed to be tending to Chichiri.

They leapt through the window and ran over to them. The woman raised her head and Horiko came to a grinding halt.

"Krin?" Horiko stammered, "But-but, Kamali said he saw-That bastard! He tricked me!"

Horiko felt his anger rise, but pushed it back down. There was no need for his armor at the moment. Krin and the others looked confused, but said nothing.

"Where is Boushin-sama?" Yule asked Tasuki, "Horiko said you took him from the platform."

"I did," Tasuki said, then gestured back behind Yule. "He's still unconscious. I have him sitting beside the wall over there."

Yule turned to face the window they had just exited to see Boushin propped against the wall beside it. Yule walked the short distance to Boushin with three brisk steps and knelt beside him. The wound that had been formed in Boushin's chest was gone without a trace and him seemed perfectly unscathed. Yule removed his cape and wrapped it around Boushin's bare upper body.

"If only I had brought my cloak," Yule said. "It would cover him better."

"He's decent. He'll be fine," Tasuki said.

"He's our emperor!" Yule shouted back at him, "He should not be looked upon in such a state!"

Tasuki shook his head, "A ridiculous problem in a situation like this. We are surrounded by the enemy. As long as he ain't @&*$ing naked, he's fine."

Yule seemed to shake in anger but said no more.

"Moving on," Horiko said to change the subject. "What happened with Krin?"

Krin raised her head, "I'm a demon warrior as well. When Tasuki brought Boushin, my mother's brooch began to glow."

"She is a healer, no da," Chichiri said brightly. "Might useful, indeed."

Chichiri then rose to his feet. Krin had apparently took the time to restore his energy now that her armor was in place. He stood up without swaying and seemed as sturdy as if he was running at his prime.

"Good, now that that is taken care of," Tasuki said. "Let's get a @&*$ing move on."

"I thought I removed you from your vulgar habits, Tasuki-kun," Chichiri mentioned.

"And I'll do my best to drop them @&*$ing later," Tasuki said.

"He is right, Chichiri-sama," Yule sighed. "This is not another of your diplomatic conferences. I doubt the soldiers attacking us will even notice or care."

Yule picked Boushin up from the ground, "We should find the others and leave."

"Kamali has the Star Dagger," Horiko explained. "Those two demon warriors went after him. We need to find him before they do."

Chichiri nodded, "Yes, if we could show Taitsu-kun one of the talismans, it might help her identify them."

"We should find those other three men as well," Krin mentioned. "They are still around here somewhere."

"Picoro is horrible at hiding," Yule stated. "They would have found him already. I would not be surprised if he isn't already in a cell. Unless of course, Linku is with him. Linku is a master at hiding away. Kento is also well-trained. He would not be with Linku and Picoro. He likes to run into danger headfirst."

"I thought you said these guys were your best," Horiko reminded.

"They are, despite these flaws, they are excellent warriors, and they are my friends," Yule smiled. "I would not worry about their welfare. They will do just fine."

"Let's find Kamali first anyway," Chichiri insisted. "We will need him and the Star Dagger. Something about Kamali troubles me."

Yule glanced over his shoulder as they began to walk between the alley of the two buildings, "What do you mean?"

"I've been sensing an odd energy from him," Chichiri said. "I do not know what to make of it."

"Kamali is trustworthy," Yule said with finality. "I know my soldiers well."

"We shall see," Chichiri said with equal confidence. "But he is not as he appears to be."