Chapter Nine
"Why are you here, Hikari?"
Startled, Ari looked up into twinkling eyes sunken into wrinkles of skin. Fold upon fold warped the delicacies of the normal facial structure. On her bed, legs crossed, sat a very old creature, neither male nor female in form, but seemingly feminine in dress, no self respecting man would wear the floating ribbons this creature seemed to pride herself in. The intruder scowled at the gaping young woman. Ari screamed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! "
Ari flung her legs out from under the covers and stumbled onto the floor. She ran to the door, not caring that she was dressed only in a nightshirt.
The woman, back still turned, held out her hand.
The screen slammed shut as the air around it rippled. Ari stopped up short of the screen and turned to face the thing on the bed.
"W-what do you want from me?"
The woman turned to face Ari with an annoyed expression on her face. "Stupid girl. I asked you a question, and I want an answer."
Ari scowled. "What was the question again?"
"Of all the insolent…" The old creature muttered. "I said, 'Why are you here, Hikari?'"
"First of all, I'm Ari. Not Hikari, just Ari. I have no idea where you got that name."
The creature cocked an eyebrow that appeared to be painted on. "Yes, I know that you are named Ari. But what you are is Hikari. You are light. Now why are you here?" She demanded.
"What do you mean I'm light? What are you talking about?" Ari starred hard at the crone sitting on her bed, but the only answer she got was a purse of the lips and a frown of the eyes. "I'm here because this is the room the palace people gave me."
"Not, why are you here. Why are you here? Why are you not in your world, in your own time, back at the library, shelving books?" Ari heard a tinge of urgency to what she was hearing.
"…I…I don't know."
"You don't know?" The woman violently shook her ancient head in frustration.
"Listen. I don't understand who you are, or how you know where I used to work—"
In irritation, the crone's hand pointed to a full-length mirror that stood against the wall opposite the bed. The glass shattered. Ari gaped as the shards hit the floor, then rose into the air, spiraling around and around. The glass reformed into what seemed to be another mirror. The mirror clouded over, then cleared to reveal scenes from Ari's life. She watched the mirror, spellbound.
The crone spoke in a low, gravel-toned voice.
"I see all."
The words were so simple, but so entirely potent in meaning. Ari gulped as the woman continued.
"You are not supposed to be here. This country is stable, thanks to the efforts and lives of the former Miko and Her warriors. There really is no need of you here."
Ari leaned her back against the closed screen, her arms folded across her chest. "So I'm told."
The woman made a gesture of impatience with her right hand. Ari felt her throat freeze up, effectively silencing her.
"Be silent, you insolent girl! I don't need your cheek! Truly, there is no need of you. And yet, here you are…with more than half your warriors assembled already! I don't understand…" She shook her ancient head once more.
Ari was making gurgling noises, trying to speak.
The woman took the silence off her and snapped, "What?"
"Who are you?"
The crone stared hard at her. "Didn't I tell you?"
Ari, wide eyed, shook her head slowly.
"I am Tai-itsukun, Emperor of Heaven, and Oracle of Daikyokuzan Mountain."
"Ah, of course." Ari nodded slightly, as if she had a clue what the crone was talking about.
Tai-itsukun narrowed her eyes, but didn't comment. It was then they both heard the pounding on the door.
The old one waved her hand; the door slid open, and in tumbled Rui. He was quickly followed by the rest of Ari's warriors, all in similar forms of disarray.
Rui was on his feet in a heartbeat. He saw the intruder and started toward her, anger reflecting in his eyes.
Ari put out her arms and stopped him mid-stride. "No," she whispered to him. "She's a friend…I think." He looked at her doubtfully, but didn't move further.
"You presume much to say I am a friend, but I am no enemy." The woman floated off the bed as the large mirror behind her disappeared.
Ari spoke to Rui. "She was saying the same thing the emperor was, that I'm not supposed to be here…there must have been some mistake…"
"Oh, there was no mistake, you can be sure of that. Suzaku does not make mistakes. I just don't know why He brought you here…He seems to have left me in the dark on the matter." She was hovering in the air before the group of wide-eyed warriors.
Ari stepped forward, one hand slightly reaching out. "So…couldn't you just send me home again? I mean, if there's nothing for me to do here…" Even though she tried, she couldn't keep the hope out of her voice. Rui looked down at her with something in his eyes…Ari turned to Tai-itsukun, pretending not to see.
The crone was silent for a moment brow furrowed in thought. She frowned. "No. There is no way to send you back. You have been here too long for you to go back by yourself…and you have no connection to your own world, so I cannot send you back…"
"What do you mean by no connection?" Ari asked her, puzzled.
"There is nothing 'identical here as there'. Nor have you anyone on the other side with a strong will and deep, intensely shared feelings. You have no one to pull you back to your own world."
Ari frowned, depressed. She was right. There was her family, but they never seemed to share many intense feelings…and her friends weren't that close to her; she seemed to have drifted apart from her best friend, as well. All in all, her situation left her out of options.
"Therefore, you have no connection from this world to your own."
"So, I'm stuck here?" Ari felt like she was drowning…
"Not necessarily, if you do summon Suzaku, you can simply wish yourself home." The woman's gravelly voice was a ray of hope.
Ari's heart rose. "Really?"
The woman gave her a look; Ari shut up.
"So, that's settled. Now all we need is the Emperor to open his stubborn eyes and see it my way." The crone cackled as she snapped her fingers.
Ari, Rui, Kura, Taiyo, and Kei all disappeared from her room, then reappeared in the Emperor's chambers. He was still asleep, the curtains muffling the sounds of his snores.
Tai-itsukun waved the curtains aside, letting the sunlight prepare the Emperor for the assault.
"Boushin!!! WAKE UP!!!" Her voice reverberated throughout the room, as the onlookers' eyes went wide in shock.
The emperor sat up in alarm. "What!! Who!!" He got a good look at the woman floating in front of him. "AAAAHHHH!!!!"
Tai-itsukun frowned. "Stop that. I've come to discuss this whole Suzaku no Miko issue."
The emperor uncovered his eyes. "What about the traitor?"
Ari yelled, surprising herself with her own audacity. "I'm no traitor!!!"
Taiyo spoke up as well. "Father, she is the true Suzaku no Miko and you know it…Stop being stubborn and accept the truth!"
Everyone held they're breath, waiting to see the reaction of the emperor at being berated by his own son. The man formerly called Boushin was turning quiet red in the face.
Tai-itsukun spoke before allowing him time to get any angrier. "Boushin! Stop this foolishness! You have my word that she is genuine. Now, as emperor, you must formerly proclaim that she is the Suzaku no Miko. "
He just frowned his royal eyes.
"Boushin…" There was warning in her voice.
"I have no audience to make a proclamation to." He stated in his defense.
The crone waved her hand and they were in the throne room, surrounded by royal retainers and servants, all heavy-eyed from sleep.
"Now, Boushin!!!"
He reluctantly cleared his throat and stood before his court. He pointed an arm towards Ari and spoke for all to hear. "This woman who stands before you shall obtain the power of Suzaku. Her eminence, the Suzaku no Miko, she who stands before you, shall become the savior of this country!"
"Well done, Boushin." Tai-itsukun nodded.
"And stop calling me that!" He turned heal and stalked back to the royal bedchambers, leaving Ari's group alone in the suddenly empty hall.
Ari looked around, wondering where all the people went.
"Sent 'em back to bed." The floating woman answered her unspoken question.
"Oh."
"Now, if you'll excuse us, I must speak privately with the Priestess." She glared until all the warriors left the room. Ari sat on the edge of the podium while the old woman floated before her.
"Well, now that's out of the way!" Tai-itsukun said rather smugly.
"All that fuss…" Ari started to say.
"It'll be worth it. Besides, it would have been difficult to take Taiyo along without his father's permission, and not to mention the issue of funding…"
"Take Taiyo along…? Where exactly are we going?"
"To search for the other warriors, of course."
"Right." Ari looked down as she swung her feet over the edge, generally feeling foolish.
Tai-itsukun squinted her beady eyes. "So…from here on out, you will be doing much traveling with your warriors. First you must find the final three, then you must search for the Shinzaho in order to summon the beast god, Suzaku."
"What's a Shinzaho?" She thought back to what had been told to her of her task. "I've never heard anyone mention it before…"
"The Shinzaho are sacred treasures that can be used in the summoning. In the past they were not needed to summon Suzaku, but in the last summoning, the Scroll of the Universe of the Four Gods was destroyed. That leaves you no choice but to search for the two treasures."
"Where are they?"
"One is hidden in the bandit mountain of Reikaku, the other resides amidst the great northern rivers of this country. You must bring both together, or face utter failure. I do not recommend failing if you wish to return home. You are allowed only three wishes, so use them wisely. Seemingly, there is no need for you to save this country, so don't worry about that."
"Anything else?"
"One last thing. As the Priestess of Suzaku, you must remain pure… that means no… fooling around with anyone." The crone gave Ari the once over. "However, I'm sure you will have no real trouble with that."
Ari's jaw dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?!?" she yelled, outraged.
The woman cackled and started to disappear into a blinding light. Ari felt something heavy drop onto the base of her throat and looked down at the necklace that rested there. A gold chain boasted a charm at the end. It was in the shape of a great bird, made of a dark red stone she couldn't identify. The charm seemed to contain a glow, and was surprisingly warm to the touch. She let it fall under the folds of her shirt when she heard Tai-itsukun's parting words.
"That is the Light of Suzaku. Guard it well, Hikari. If you run out of options, use it."
"What do you mean, use it? What is it?" she called out to the empty room, not getting an answer. Ari sighed, disgruntled at the crone's riddles. She stood and walked off the podium to go find the others.
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"What do you mean, you have to remain pure!?!" Kei asked her, a mixture of horror and grief in his eyes.
They were back in Ari's room, having a leisurely breakfast together. Ari was laughing at the look on Kei's face at the mention of her forced abstinence.
"Hey, it's never proved to be such a burden before now. So no worries." She just shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat. Her chopstick skills had improved greatly, and now she only dropped her food every so often.
"But…But…"
"Just let it go Kei," advised the prince.
Kei shook his head tragically. "T'is a cruel, cruel world…"
Ari grinned. "It's not like you have to stay pure. " She pointed her chopsticks in his direction, emphasizing her point.
"But this takes you off my list of options, you see," he teased her.
Rui glared menacingly from his end of the table.
Kei caught the end of the meaningful stare."What? It's not like you can have her, either." Kei stated flatly.
Rui flushed crimson. "That's not…what it's about…"
Kei looked sideways at Kura. "Well, if that's the case, how about you're sister?"
Kura blanched and Ari decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "Enough you, that's not the only thing the old hag informed me of. We have to find two treasure thingies, one in the mountains, the other by the northern rivers. And she gave me this…" She held up the necklace for her warriors to see. The bird spun around on the chain, causing flashes of light to dance across the wings.
The group all looked closely at it. "It's Suzaku…" breathed Taiyo.
"Huh?" Ari stopped the charm's spinning and put the chain back around her neck.
"Suzaku, the god that protects this country. The god you are a Priestess of."
"But it's a bird…"
"It is Suzaku," he replied simply, answering all possible questions.
"Hmm." She stated, raising her eyebrows but dropping the subject. Discussions on theology would go nowhere in this world.
"If we're gonna head out today, we should pack now." Kura was standing up, motioning for the servants outside the door to clean up the meal.
"Of course," agreed Kei, standing up as well. They all got up and left the room. Rui refused to meet Ari's eyes.
Once her room was empty, Ari sighed and flopped facedown onto her bed. Rolling onto her back, she held the necklace above her, in the light. She twirled it around, watching the glow in the stone shift.
What's this for? And I'm supposed to protect it? I can't even protect myself.
She rolled off the bed and kicked her pack out from the shadows under it.
Time to pack. Let's see…it's not like I have much here anyway…
She pulled her old clothes out of the bottom of the chest and placed them in the bag. She also slipped in a couple of the robes that sat in the closet gathering dust. She looked around the room, double-checking that she wasn't forgetting anything. Then Ari saw the red sash lying on the floor. She'd hung it on the mirror last night and it had fallen harmlessly to the carpets while that Tai-itsukun had…well, played with her mirror.
Ari picked up the red silk from the ground.
I should give it back to him…
Ari walked out of her room and into the hallway. She wandered down the passage until she came to the room that was given to Rui. She rapped lightly on the door.
"Come on in," she heard him call.
She slid the door open and slipped inside. Ari looked around the room, not seeing him. Rui's room was almost as decked out as her own, albeit there was less red.
"Found it!"
She looked down by the bed in time to see Rui crawling out from under it, his pack in a closed fist. She couldn't help but chuckle.
Surprised, he looked up in time to see her laughing at him.
"Ari…" He got up off the ground and dusted off his pants. "Your Eminence…"
"Oh, stop that Rui." She frowned at the title.
"Sorry," he frowned too. "It's just this whole palace deal, it gets me off guard…" He plopped the bag onto the bed and pulled it open. "You done packing?"
"Yup." Ari walked over to stand next to him. "I was finishing up when I remembered this." She held out the red sash he had loaned her when they'd first met. "Here," She motioned for him to take it. "Looks kinda valuable."
He took the length of fabric from her and looked silently down at it for a moment. "It was my mother's…" he said quietly.
Ari blinked. "Then why'd you give it to me, if it's so important to you?"
"It is important to me…and… that's why I want you to keep it." He handed it back to her, returning to his pack.
"Rui…" she sighed. He was being disagreeable again. She quietly placed the sash in his bag. "I can't just take something that valuable."
He grabbed her hand, stopping her. "No, Ari… I want you to keep it safe for me…"
Having heard that line once already that day, she scowled. "What's that mean?"
Not answering her, Rui placed the fabric back in her hand and closed her fingers around it.
Ari looked up to see him no more than a heartbeat away from her. He was looking down at they're hands tangled in the red silk. Then he met her eyes.
Reveling in his closeness, Ari took in the sight of him. His dark eyes were made to be lost in, drowned in. He shifted closer, gaze intent upon her lips. Ari lifted her chin and let her eyes drift shut, anticipation sending a shiver down her spine.
Rui froze, no more than half an inch away from her mouth, when he realized what it was he was about to do. He looked at her expectantly closed eyes, and pulled back.
He patted her hands, still clutching the sash.
"Keep it safe…" Ari heard him murmur as she opened her eyes, disappointed. She watched silently as he pulled the ties of the pack shut with a practiced tug, shouldered the bag, and walked out of the room.
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Authoress' Note: NOOOOOOOO!!! Rui you idiot! You NEVER EVER leave a girl hanging like that!! Never!!!
To tell you the truth I was beginning to wonder if I should change the genre from action/adventure/romance and just get rid of the romance part…there sure hasn't been much in this story so far…But then I remembered the sash thingy and was inspired. I've never done a kissing scene so I guess you could say I chickened out as much as our boy Rui did here. Sorry about that.
I'm having a blast writing about Kei, I must say. He's just so much fun to play with, you know…I have to come up with some more parts for Taiyo though, since he's gonna have a big part in the end…yes, yes, I have the ending all planned out already. Is that a bad thing? Hope not…
Ummmm…KT-chan, about the teddy bear part thingy, I didn't know about it being chopped up, although it sounds faintly familiar, so just pretend that they sewed it back together for baby Boushin, Okee dokee? And yes, the emperor is old in this world, I did the math and he would have to be about…38 to 40 for the rest of the people's ages to work out…sounds young? Considering that in the summery it mentions this taking place 50 years after Miaka…so I'll just say almost 50 years…maybe like 40…okay just pretend that you can't do math like I can't and it'll all work out okay!
Enter Rui, stage right.
Rui: Wanderlily, I have a question for you.
Wanderlily: Ask away, oh redheaded one, son-of-the-one-and-only-Tasuki!
Rui: …riiiiight. My question was, if I'm Tasuki's son, and Taiyo is Hotohori's grandson… how exactly does that work out?
Wanderlily: ….(O.O) ….Oh crap! ummmm…..I told you, I can't do simple math! Just ignore it and get off my case!
No actually, I did take the time to figure out that question…and here's the answer!
AGE CHART!!!!
Ari:
- age 17
Rui:
- age 18
- 13 when taken by bandits
- 1 when his father left
Kura:
- age 20
- 15 when separated from Rui
- 3 when father left
***Tasuki***
- age 17 when he first met Miaka
- 31 when he met Shin'ya
- 34 when Kura was born
- 36 when Rui was born
(so basically, Tasuki was old…end of story.)
Kei:
- age 19
Taiyo:
- age 19
***Hotohori***
- age 18 when he first met Miaka
- late 19's- early 20's when his son, Boushin, was born to Houki
- 20 when he died. (WAAAHHH!!)
***Boushin/ Current Emperor***
- age 38
- between 17 and 19 when Taiyo was born
(so basically, Boushin was young when he fathered his son, when Tasuki was old, OK?) (he wasn't that old, is he?)
I hope that detours any more questions on the matter, even though there haven't been any yet…I was prepared for once! Yay! Do I get a cookie?
One more thing, you're all welcome to e-mail me if you want to talk more, the reviews must have a limit somewhere…don't they?
Happy Reading!
***wanderlily***