Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been awhile, but I've been busy. You understand, of course - homework, after school stuff, etc. Anyway, I think I've kept you all in suspense long enough. But I'll just shut up now, so you can read!

Chapter 5

"Suzaku.sent you?" asked Nuriko. "Excuse me, but I find that a little hard to believe. Miaka didn't know who the God of the South was when she first arrived, and yet here you are, two more women from her world, and you expect us to believe that Suzaku sent you here?"

There was a silence. Then Rayna spoke, saying simply, "Yes."

More silence, along with looks of distrust on the faces of the seishi, except for Chiriko, who was thinking, Mitsukake, who didn't really show his emotions a lot, and Chichiri, whose mask looked the same as ever.

"How do we know you're not spies or something?" asked Tamahome suspiciously. "For all we know, you could be wearing illusions, and tricking Miaka into thinking you're her friends."

"Oh, gimme a break, Tamahome!" cried Miaka, frustrated. "I know who these two are! Why are you all being so suspicious?!"

"Sorry, Miaka," Tamahome apologized, "but we're just trying to look out for your safety."

Miaka was about to explode again when Kayami's quiet voice broke in.

"Miaka, please, try to calm down," she requested. Turning to the others, she said, "We have no proof to show you that we are not spies. We can only tell you that we aren't, and that Suzaku sent us to protect the Suzaku no Miko. That is all."

The others all started talking at once, angry. Suddenly, a sound cut through the air that stopped them in their tracks, for they had never heard it before. It was the sound of Kayami's cell phone ringing. She thrust her hand into her back pocket and pulled it out, then looked at Rayna in amazement.

Rayna cried, "Answer it, idiot!"

The older sister looked down at the phone in her hand. The little blue screen read, "Miku cell." Slowly, Kayami pushed the button and held the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kayami baby! It's Miku. Listen, there's a new club opening tonight. I was thinking we could maybe have a little dinner, and then go dan-"

"No, Miku." Kayami's voice interrupted him mid-word.

"Aww, come on, honey! It'll be great! Candlelight dining, dancing the night away-"

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?"

"The 'n,'" he answered, chuckling at his joke.

Kayami let out a growl. "Listen, you baka, the answer is no. I will not go out with you tonight, tomorrow night, or any other night in the history of the world! So QUIT ASKING ME!!!!" That said, she swiftly hung up on him.

Rayna sighed. "You know he likes it when you get angry, sis."

"Bite me" was the snarled reply.

"K-Kayami?" Miaka's voice sounded a bit frightened, with good reason.

"What do you want?!" Kayami whirled furiously, but her face immediately softened at the terrified look on her student's face.

"Sorry, Miaka," she said in her normal voice, remorseful. "I didn't mean to snap at you. Now, what did you want to ask me?"

"Ummm.why did your cell phone ring? I don't understand. How were you able to talk to.Miku?"

"I really don't know," Kayami said thoughtfully. "It's very odd."

"Well, uh, could I use it? To call my family?"

"Oh, sure! Although I'm not sure how successful you'll be," said Kayami, handing it over. "But you can try it."

"Thank you!" Miaka eagerly punched in her home phone number, and pushed the call button. Nothing happened. After she had tried two more times, she sighed and handed it back.

"I'm sorry, Miaka," Kayami, putting an arm around her.

"It's okay," the Priestess replied. "It's not your fault."

"Maybe that call from Mr. Baka was like a glitch or something," Rayna thought aloud. "Or maybe it's only a one-way thing."

"Hmmm.you might be onto something, Ray-Ray."

Hotohori cleared his throat. All three females turned to look at the Warriors; they had forgotten they were not alone.

"Well, I can only speak for myself, but I believe you," he said. "I don't see why you cannot accompany Miaka to Hokkan. After all, two more protectors of the Priestess may come in handy."

Tasuki scoffed. "Yeah, right! Us guys can take care of Miaka, no problem! We don't need anyone, ESPECIALLY not any more WOMEN!!! Besides," he added as an afterthought, "I bet they can't do anything anyway."

Everyone's eyes widened a bit or their eyebrows went up (or both) at the bandit's outburst. Miaka let out a gasp and covered her mouth with both of her hands. The two females in question only blinked at him a couple times, and then Rayna turned to her older sister.

In a stage whisper, she asked, "Would it be okay with you if I kicked this baka's butt?"

Kayami shook her head, smiling, and answered also in a stage whisper, "Maybe later, but not now."

Rayna's face fell. "Awww, Mi-mi, you're no fun!"

She only received a pointed look from Kayami. Rayna turned on her heel abruptly and strode over to Tasuki, cerulean eyes flashing once. He was surprised to find her suddenly so close, but he didn't really have time to react because Rayna spoke.

"We'll just see who'll be doing the protecting when the time comes, now won't we, Sparky?" she asked, cobalt eyes narrowed, left hand on her hip, jabbing her right index finger into Tasuki's muscular chest with each word to further get her point across.

Sparky?

Now, Tasuki was pretty much an easygoing guy, except when it came to sake (he went nuts) and women (he hated them, but grudgingly tolerated them since he couldn't get them all off the face of the planet). He got along pretty well with people most of the time, being a good and decent person. However, Tasuki's fire-colored hair was a clue to his temper - quick to be ignited and burn. He didn't appreciate being poked in the chest numerous times, by a woman, no less. Being forced onto a boat didn't help. However, being called "Sparky" was The. Absolute. Last. Straw.

"What did you call me?" Tasuki asked, his voice deadly calm. The intense look in his amber eyes made Rayna want to look somewhere else or back away, but she bravely held her ground. A random thought popped into her head, surprising her.

Wow, he looks really hot when he's pissed off.

Rayna could have smacked herself in the forehead. And that is my one and only thought before I am pounded into a pulp, she berated herself. Oh, hey, but that's all right, because the guy who'll be doing the pounding happens to be incredibly good-looking, so I'll be just fine.

A sudden giggle burst out of Kayami's mouth, and Rayna instantly realized she had not bothered to shield her thoughts from her sister. Everyone turned to stare at her, but her face was stone serious and composed. Only a faint twinkle in her chocolate-colored eyes gave away her deeply- suppressed mirth.

Thankfully, her incongruous laugh had broken up the tension, and Rayna and Tasuki were looking at each other a little bit ruefully. For once, Tasuki was a gentleman and apologized first.

"Sorry I insulted you, your sister, and the rest of the women in the world," he muttered, holding out his hand, if somewhat reluctantly.

Rayna studied him for a moment, trying to determine if he was being sincere. Then she shook the extended hand with a small smile, replying, "It's all right, Tasuki. Sorry I called you 'Sparky.'"

Both dropped their hands, and Tasuki looked over Rayna's shoulder at Kayami. "Do you want an apology, too, lady?"

Kayami held back a smile and said gravely, "No, one is enough, I believe."

"Good."

Rayna smirked, but wisely hid it from Tasuki by turning to the others. Kayami addressed them:

"Well, we now know the feelings of His Majesty and Tasuki on the matter of us coming along with you all. However, this is a group decision, so you should speak up now."

"Or forever hold your peace," Rayna finished quietly. Kayami rolled her brown eyes at her sister, but said nothing.

The other warriors looked at each other, but no one said anything. Chichiri had just opened his mouth to speak, but Hotohori beat him to it, and he shut it quickly.

"You are making this far harder than it ought to be," he said. "Let us vote on the matter, if you will not convey your feelings. All those who would not mind these two accompanying you, raise your hands, please."

Everyone's hand went up, though Tasuki's was understandably the slowest.

"There, now," smiled Hotohori. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Miaka let out a squeal again. "Yea! You're coming with us!!! Hooray!!!"

Kayami and Rayna grinned at each other. A thought popped into both of their heads at the same time.

Now the fun begins!

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*Review Corner*

~Fiery-chan: ::sweatdrops:: Man, that girl can TALK!!! ^_^ Oh, but I love it! Your rambling makes me smile, because I've found another person who can talk as much as I can. . . about nothing in particular! Thanks - no one has said my fic has class! I just have a question or two for you: OC means 'original character,' right? So what does OOC mean? 'Out of character? And what does AU mean? I've seen these everywhere, but I don't know what they stand for. Can you help me out? Thanks for the compliments and conversation!

~Marcy213: [::pokes Fiery-chan:: Look at Marcy's review! It was only ONE LINE LONG!!! Maybe you could learn something from it.HINT, HINT!!! Lol - I love ya, Fiery! You and your reviews!] Hey, thanks for checking out my fic, Marcy! And thanks for the compliment: I'll try to write as fast as I can!!! (And if someone says, "You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" I will hurt them, because that was SO not what I was thinking of!)

~Shadow Hawk: Thanks for another review! Tell me what you thought of the sisters' explanation, k? Feedback is helpful! Still loving your fics; can't wait for more!! See you later!!

~Rhapsody: Okay, I'll do my best to not have yearly writer's blocks - it'll be hard, but I can OVERCOME!!! Lol, you know I update when I can! Thanks for the support, see ya!

Be sure to R/R, okay, everyone? And I don't mean just the people who I've talked to here! I mean everyone who checks out my fic, k? Please? I might write faster if I get more reviews! ::wink, wink!:: See you guys at Chapter 6!

~Cortney~

I don't know if Smack and a few other writers can sue me for this, but putting in a quote from the next chapter is a darn good way to hold a reader's attention; it works on me all the time! So I'll put one here. If you've got a problem, Smack or anyone else who does this, just drop me a line and I won't do it anymore.

Here it is:

"Is something wrong? You look.troubled."

Who's talking to whom? And why would anyone look troubled? Find out in the next chapter!