Well, it seems as though Tuesday is my updating day! In any case, I spent a weekend as Subaru (wanted to do a Nuriko costume but couldn't decide on one, so I went with Subaru instead since I do have the chest for her) and had great fun at a local Con in Vancouver. Yay Suba-chan! Cool Costume and all! Even met a Miaka there too! Other than that, this chapter is exactly what it sounds like it is…and more!
Enjoy!
Chapter 04:
Revival
"This isn't sounding good." Pithya stated.
"What's happening now?" Catherine asked as she fast-forwarded through the opening of yet another episode of Fushigi Yuugi.
"Iris keeps passing out, and now she's not waking up. Tasuki still hasn't clued in that it's because he's touching her." Pithya giggled a little to herself, "When Iris finds out what's causing her to pass out she's going to be ticked off. She thinks he is, without question, the cutest of the seishi."
"Well, you keep reading, and I'll keep watching." Catherine suggested as she hit PLAY again.
" 'The Suzaku seishi Tasuki galloped on toward the village. Suddenly, a thought which had been in the back of his mind made itself known to him...' "
Tasuki reigned in violently, almost causing his horse to rear. "Shit!" he swore, "Why the fuckin' Hell didn't I realize that sooner? It's me! Every time I fuckin' touch her she does the spooky routine, then passes out!" He quickly got down off the horse and laid her on the ground, then took two steps backward and sat watching her. She seemed very weak, and she just lay exactly as he had placed her, breathing shallowly. It was almost as though she was in a coma. Tasuki watched her intently, desperately counting the seconds between each faint breath and hoping for some change. "Fuck it all, I'm such an IDIOT!" he berated himself, "She was dropped near me, obviously I'm supposed to protect her, and what do I do? Stupidly endanger her life 'cause I can't clue in."
Just then, Tasuki felt a strange tingling sensation like before a thunderstorm. He looked up in the sky, but there wasn't a cloud for miles. When he looked back at Iris, she was faintly glowing with a blue light, and her character had blazed to life again. The glow seemed to be drawn inside her, and she slowly began to wake up. Finally she sat up and looked around her.
"Where are we?" she asked, confused
"About halfway to the capitol." Tasuki answered, "I figured out what was causin' you to pass out: touch. Every time I touched you, you'd do whatever it is that happens when you use your power."
"Touch?" Iris closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay, this is going to be difficult, but I think I can do it."
"Good, 'cause now it's even more important that we get to the capitol and talk to the other seishi. There's gotta be some way around this. How the Hell am I supposed to protect you if I can't even fuckin' touch you? Come to think of it, how are you supposed to get along without touchin' anyone ever? Chichiri had damn well better know some way to fix this!"
"Um, I hate to bring this up, but how am I going to get on my horse if you can't boost me?"
Tasuki groaned. "Well fuck me, how could I have forgotten about that? Well, I guess either we'll have to walk until we can find somethin' you can climb on, or I'll have to fuckin' teach you how to mount your horse without help."
"I'm willing to try anything once, but if we're in that much of a hurry, I don't know what will be faster."
"Why don't you just try to mount by yourself, and if that doesn't work, we'll look for a tree stump or something."
"That sounds like a good idea." Iris agreed and stood up.
Tasuki untied her pack from the saddle, then lengthened the left stirrup. "You do know how to adjust the stirrup once you're up there, don't you?" he asked.
Iris nodded, so he backed up and held the reigns while she approached the horse.
"Okay, now take the left stirrup and turn it around… no, away from the horse… that's it! Now, put your left hand in front of the saddle and your left foot in the stirrup, then put your right hand on the saddle."
"Um, okay, I'm loosing my balance here, what do I do now?"
"Push off with your right foot and pull yourself up, then swing your leg over the saddle. No problem!"
Iris took a deep breath, counted to three and tried… and slid nicely right into the saddle.
"See! I told you it was easy!" Tasuki congratulated her.
"Only because I have a good teacher." Iris smiled.
Tasuki handed her the reigns, being careful not to touch her, then remounted his own horse. Because Tasuki had been madly galloping, and the horses were a little worn out, they kept to an easy trot for a while.
"So, what the Hell are you anyway?" Tasuki asked her, "You have powers and a fuckin' character like a seishi, but your character isn't one for any of the seishi. You say you're not a Miko but dammit you have to be! I just don't fuckin' get it!"
Iris shook her head. "I don't get it either." she admitted. "And this new power! Well, I've always been good at predicting what might happen, although I have no idea if these really are predictions, and, of course, as a witch I'm pretty good with energy spells… "
"A witch? Do you mean, like, with spells and shit?"
"That's what I just said! Weren't you listening? I'm a witch. That's why I go by the name Iris. It's too dangerous for witches to go around telling everyone their birth names."
"So, what's your real name then?" Tasuki asked, confused.
"I might tell you, someday, but not today." Iris said coyly.
Tasuki glanced at the position of the sun. "We should get a move on. If we hurry, we can make it to the palace by nightfall." He kicked his horse into a canter and conversation ceased.
"Thank you, I feel much better now." Elwing said to the overly helpful Nyan-nyans.
"That was a very dangerous thing to do." Taiitsukun admonished her, "You were already weakened from the use of your power, and for you to use so much chi in your weakened state might have destroyed you if you lost control of it."
"I couldn't just leave Iris out there possibly dying! She's my friend, and the only person from home I have in this weird world!"
"Well, now that Elwing has recovered, you'd better be on your way. Tasuki and Iris will soon be at the palace, and you have to get there before them."
"I guess that means I'll have to use my kasa, no da." Chichiri pointed out.
"Your what?"
"My kasa, no da. It has a spell on it which lets it act as a portal, no da."
"Um, okay, if you say so." Elwing said doubtfully.
"Here, I'll prove it to you, no da." Chichiri offered. He held the kasa above her head and lowered it over her, and she disappeared into it.
"Chichiri," Taiitsukun said as he was about to follow Elwing into the kasa, "you do remember the last line of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho don't you?"
"Yes, and I thought it might have something to do with this, no da."
"It does. Go now." she commanded.
He nodded and disappeared into the kasa.
When Elwing came to she was lying on the floor of one of the bedrooms in the royal wing of the palace, the kasa upturned beside her. "That was decidedly weird!" she said, shaking her head to clear the ringing out of her ears.
As she was doing this, Chichiri rose out of the kasa. "Da! We're here, no da. Now we just have to wait for Tasuki to show up, no da."
"Shouldn't we tell someone we're here?" Elwing asked doubtfully.
"That might be a good idea, no da." Chichiri agreed, "We should at least announce our presence to the Empress Regent. Quietly, though, I don't want too many people knowing about you yet, no da."
In silence, Elwing and Chichiri walked along the passageways of the royal wing, the dim sunlight ruddying the armor of the soldiers standing guard at the door to the Empress Regent's personal suite. The soldiers bowed low before Chichiri, then he whispered in the nearest soldier's ear. The soldier obediently knocked on the door.
"Majesty, Suzaku no Shichiseishi Chichiri is here with a guest to see you." He announced.
"Send him in," she commanded. The door was opened and Chichiri strode in, followed a bit shyly by Elwing, who had suddenly realized she was meeting the bona fide ruler of a country, even if she was only the regent.
"Empress, I wouldn't drop in unannounced like this… "
Houki laughed, "Yes, you would Chichiri, I know you at least that well by now."
"Well, that's true, na no da. In this case, though, I might be staying for a while, no da." Chichiri explained.
"So, who is this 'guest' you bring to see me?" Houki asked.
Chichiri stepped aside and motioned Elwing forward. "Empress, may I present to you Elwing, who yesterday fell out of the sky into the lake near my cottage. She is apparently from the other world, no da."
Elwing curtsied, an action which would, admittedly, have looked better in a skirt. Even so, she silently blessed her grandmother who had insisted she learn how. "My Lady." Elwing said softly, not knowing how to properly address royalty, so picking the first convenient honourific which came to her, "I'm so very pleased to meet you."
"You are from the other world?" Houki asked.
"Yes, my Lady."
"How did you come to be here?"
"I was reading a book called The Four Gods' Sky and Earth with my friend, and we fell through, my Lady." Elwing explained.
"There are two?" Houki asked Chichiri, surprised.
"Indeed, we expect her with Tasuki soon, no da." Chichiri explained, "We must consult with the spirits of the other seishi, no da. Will it be possible for you to have the temple prepared, no da?"
"Of course." She affirmed, and walked over and opened the door and spoke to one of the guards, who immediately saluted and went off to prepare the shrine of Suzaku for the ceremony to contact the spirits of the Shichiseishi.
"How have you and his little highness been, no da?" Chichiri asked, "I hope they're not swamping you with paperwork, no da."
"No, I've been alright." Houki sighed, "I really miss my husband, though. He would have handled all this so much better that I do."
Chichiri nodded sadly. "We all miss Hotohori, no da."
"Boushin is well, although he's still not talking. I worry sometimes..."
"He's only two, give him time. Sometimes children simply don't want to talk, no da." Chichiri reassured her.
"Excuse me, my Lady," Elwing interrupted, "but if it might help put your mind at rest, I was one of those silent children myself. I didn't speak until I was almost three years old, but within the first day I was talking in sentences. Your son may just not want to talk, and as long as he's getting what he wants in other ways, he probably sees no reason to speak to get it."
One of the inner doors opened, and the object of their discussions wandered out rubbing his eyes. When he noticed Chichiri he grinned and ran over to him, arms upraised in a silent plea to be picked up.
"Da!" Chichiri exclaimed, "It's my favourite little Emperor, no da!" He lifted Boushin over his head, then settled him in the crook of his arm, "I'd like you to meet someone, no da." Chichiri told him and turned so the Boushin could see Elwing, "This is my new friend Elwing, no da." Elwing smiled as he peeked through his fingers at her. She bent until she was at his level, then peeked through her own fingers back at him. This made him giggle, and he held out his arms that she might hold him.
Elwing glanced at Houki, who nodded, so she reached out, being careful not to touch Chichiri, and took the little Emperor of Konan in her arms.
He giggled. 'I like you!' she heard in her head.
Elwing was so startled that she almost sat down. 'You little sneak!' she smiled.
'You can hear me?' he seemed surprised, 'I didn't think there was anyone else who can talk this way. Don't tell!' he pleaded.
She smiled kindly. 'I won't.' she thought back.
A knock came at the door. "Majesty, you wished to be informed when Suzaku no Shichiseishi Tasuki arrived. Also, preparations for the ceremony have been completed at the temple."
"Good. Tell Tasuki to meet us there, no da." Chichiri instructed the guard, "We have to go to the temple now," He told Boushin, "do you want to come with us, no da?"
Boushin nodded and gripped tight to Elwing.
"It seems he's chosen you as his official transport tonight." Houki smiled.
As they walked to the temple, Elwing marveled at the mazelike complexity of the hallways and wondered how she would ever find her way if she was alone in them.
In front of the Temple, she caught sight of Iris and waved at her.
"That's my friend, Iris," she explained to Boushin, who nodded in that knowing, grave manner that all two-year-olds seem to have at times.
"What the Hell are you two doing here?" Tasuki asked Chichiri.
"Someone had to warn the palace of your arrival, no da." Chichiri teased him, "Actually, Taiitsukun sent us, no da."
"It would be the old bag, wouldn't it," Tasuki muttered to himself.
"Are you feeling better?" Elwing asked Iris.
"How did you know I was ill?" Iris asked.
"Taiitsukun told me."
"Well, yes, I'm much better, thanks."
"Empress, may I present Iris from the other world." Tasuki announced.
Iris curtsied, as Elwing had. "Pleased to be here, my Lady." she said.
"This is your friend?" Houki asked Elwing.
"Yes, my Lady."
"Since the temple is set up, we should probably get started, no da." Chichiri suggested.
"Might as well." Tasuki agreed.
They all entered the temple and the guard closed the doors behind them.
"You remember how to do this, no da?" Chichiri asked Tasuki.
"Of course I do, dammit!" Tasuki snapped.
Chichiri and Tasuki took their places on the dais, then Houki led Iris and Elwing to stand before the brazier. Elwing put Boushin down to stand on his own and the two seishi began to concentrate their chi.
"We humbly request of you, great Suzaku, that the spirits of the Suzaku no Shichiseishi Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, and Mitsukake be sent to us." Houki incanted, "We have need of their council, great Suzaku, and wish that their spirits might come down from the sky to speak with us."
As she finished the incantation, glowing spots appeared above the places of the other seishi. All of a sudden, both Elwing's and Iris's characters began to shine brightly. The glowing spots grew, gathering in sparks of light until they resolved into the forms of the five deceased seishi. This was all that had happened any other time they called the seishi, so the next occurrence shocked Houki and the two living seishi. Instead of staying as insubstantial bodies of light, the forms of the seishi began to solidify, drawing in matter and becoming less and less transparent and more and more substantial and massy. Suddenly, in unison, all five of the seishi who had died during the struggle between Suzaku and Seiryuu drew breath, and Elwing and Iris both passed out in dead faints on the floor.
The newly revived seishi looked around in confusion.
"How can this be?" Houki whispered, stunned. Half in dream she walked over to Hotohori. "Heika, you live again?" she asked and reached out to touch his face.
"Apparently I do." he said, a little stunned himself.
"Do those two young women need my help?" Mitsukake asked, indicating Elwing and Iris.
Tasuki and Chichiri snapped out of their rather stunned state and rushed over to stand between Mitsukake and their unconscious charges.
"Don't you dare!" Tasuki menaced.
"Don't touch them, or use your power on them, no da!" Chichiri exclaimed, "If you want to help, call some guards to carry them to beds where they can sleep until they recover their spent chi, no da." he suggested.
Mitsukake nodded and left to get the guards, and Chichiri and Tasuki turned to encounter an interesting confrontation; Nuriko was being introduced to Houki.
"B.. but how?" he was spluttering.
On all the previous instances of calling the seishi, Houki had been veiled and had not looked at the seishi, not wanting to rip open the grief in her wounded heart, and subsequently Nuriko had never really seen her.
"You look just like Kourin would have." he said sadly, "How did I never meet you at the palace?"
"She arrived after you set off to get the Shinzaho of Gembu." Hotohori explained.
"She really does look an awful lot like you, Nuriko." said an unfamiliar voice.
Everyone turned to locate the source of this strange voice and for the first time since the seishi were revived they really noticed Chiriko. The smallest seishi no longer looked like a child. In fact, he seemed to be a young man of sixteen, although he still wasn't exceptionally tall, he was now at least Nuriko's height.
"Apparently we have come back as the age we would have been had we never died." he explained when he saw their confused looks.
Mitsukake arrived then with a couple of fairly stunned-looking guards to carry Elwing and Iris to rooms where they could sleep more comfortably.
"What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" Tasuki objected as one of the conscientious guards moved to pick Iris up, "Didn't I say not to fuckin' touch her?! Touch makes her sick, dammit!"
Chichiri cleared his throat. "Eto… actually, it's only seishi touch that's the problem, no da." He explained to his irate companion, "The guards can carry her with no danger to her health, it's something to do with the innate powers of a seishi, na no da."
"Great. Just bloody wonderful. This still doesn't make it any fuckin' easier for us to protect her."
"And Elwing as well, no da. Both of them are sickened by the merest touch of a seishi. My next task is to teach them control, so hopefully that problem won't last long, no da."
"What exactly is going on here?" Tamahome asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, no da." Chichiri admitted, "Maybe we should follow the guards though, I want to be able to keep an eye on Elwing. She was already weakened once today, and although the Nyan-nyans healed her, I would rather err on the side of caution, no da."
"Iris too." Tasuki added, "Until that weird light this afternoon she was in about the same state she is now. It would be a bad example of a man if I just let her lie there unattended!"
Everyone gave Tasuki funny looks.
"Well, she did land in my hay pile, I have some responsibility to the girl, okay?!"
They just shrugged and Tasuki picked up Iris's backpack from where it was resting against the door as they followed the guards out of the temple. The last to leave was Houki, who had had to locate Boushin. Being rather startled by the ceremony, he had hidden behind the statue of Suzaku when the seishi started to solidify.
"Hotohori," Chichiri stopped the Emperor with a hand on his arm, "there's someone you really should meet, no da." he indicated Houki who was carrying Boushin.
As they caught up, Houki smiled. "Boushin, my little one, I'd like you to meet your father. He had to go away, as I told you, but he's back now."
Boushin held his arms out to his father, and Hotohori took the child in his arms.
"I'm pleased to meet you." He said, "Have you been a good boy?"
Boushin nodded and grinned mischievously.
"You'll have to meet all the other seishi. I'm sure they'll like you very much." Hotohori assured his son. With what, on any other man, might be considered a silly grin, he caught up with the rest of the seishi.
"Everyone, you've met Houki now, but there's one other member of my family I'd like you to meet. This is my son, Boushin." Hotohori announced.
"Hello, your Highness." Chiriko nodded, and Boushin nodded gravely back at him.
Tamahome smiled a little sadly. "You look like a good little kid." He said to Boushin and patted the child on the head.
"Hi there, little Highness." Nuriko said.
Boushin found Nuriko a little confusing. He kept looking back at his mother, then at Nuriko, then Houki again.
"No, I'm not your mom," Nuriko explained, "I just look a whole lot like her." he gave Hotohori a significant glance, "Which makes me wonder about things a bit. Good thing for you I've gone straight. Or maybe too bad?" he asked coyly with cocked eyebrow and giggled. Hotohori got a scared look on his face. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing." Nuriko reassured him and nodded politely to Houki.
Mitsukake came over for his chance to greet the little Prince. He laid his big hand gravely on Boushin's little shoulder. "I'm glad to meet you, Boushin," he said. Boushin grinned at him and he couldn't help smiling back a little. Two-year-olds tend to have that effect on people sometimes. What actually made Mitsukake grin, though, was when a little furry head poked out from Chichiri's kesa.
"I took good care of him for you, no da." Chichiri said with an answering grin.
He held out his arm and Tama scurried over to Mitsukake to take up his accustomed perch on his broad shoulder.
Hotohori took Boushin back to Houki, since he had fallen asleep in the young Emperor's arms. "You should put him to bed. I have a feeling that once my advisors learn that I've come back to life they'll be scrambling to figure out what to do given the circumstances."
"I have a feeling you're right. I'll try to delay their finding out if I can, at least until these miraculous girls wake up." Houki said with a faint smile, "Probably the best way for me to do that is to be asleep."
"Goodnight then." Hotohori leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, "I'll see you two in the morning." He watched with a strange look on his face as his wife walked away, his son cradled in her arms, then caught up to the others.
Once Elwing and Iris were interred into beds in adjoining rooms, all the seishi gathered to discuss what should be done next.
"How was this possible?" Nuriko asked, voicing the question they all needed answered.
"Frankly, I have no idea, no da." Chichiri admitted, "By all I know it shouldn't have been possible at all, no da."
"Who are these girls?" Hotohori asked the other question they had all wondered about.
"That I have more of an answer for, no da. Do you remember the last line of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, no da?"
" 'And then shall come Suzaku no Mi and Suzaku no Mune, who will show the way to brilliant new future'?" Hotohori asked, quoting.
"That's the line, no da. It seems likely that these two girls are those two, at least, that's what Taiitsukun implied, no da."
"Suzaku no Mi and Suzaku no Mune… We know so little about them." Chiriko mused, "Could these two young women really be those mysterious figures from the Crimson Legend? And yet, what else would explain our coming back to life?"
They live again! And in the upcoming chapters we'll find out more about these mysterious prophetrixes (a point of language: prophetrix is the feminine of prophet, or at least I'm saying it is, since prophetess just sounds silly) Next chapter out next Tuesday, see you all then, and thanks for reading!