Hi everyone, I want to extend my congrats to Blue-Fire, my 100th reviewer! As the special treat, I will answer any questions you have about my story plot, why I am not able to update as often as I would like and any other questions you would like to ask! If you have any questions for the following:

April, Kyra, Amy, Opii, or Chineru, e-mail me and I will e-mail them in return.

The best treat goes out to Blue-Fire, however. You, the special winner, is allowed to tell me exactly what you want me to do on the next chapter! Do you want to be included, okay! Do you want me to get the story moving, or to keep it at the pace I am going, okay! Your will is my command! Do you want me to convert a pic of the Fushigi Yuugi gang into a cross stitch and send it to you, okay! (My best craft is cross stitching. April, who knows me well, can attest that I can do some amazing stuff. Just imagine a poster or wall scroll stitched for you to hang on your wall. If you want me to do this, be advised that cross stitching takes awhile and I may be done with the fic before I'm done with the cross stitch. :o) Just pick the picture, and I'll start working on it!

I personally want to thank all of you for sticking with me and for allowing me to not only reach a mountainous mark of 100 reviews, but 25 chapters! I'm so happy!!!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but soon I will partly own a house! (Dancing) Still if you want to sue me for it, ask my parents, their they ones paying the mortgage, they're just signing my name on to it…

P.S. BTW, if any of you were interested, my birthday was on Monday, the 19th! I'm officially 23!

Anywho…

Lost in the Cavern of Dreams

By now, Chineru, the Akuma-Hime and I have walked for hours, trying to find our way out. Through my senses, I can feel the battle still being waged. I must admit to being distressed over this current state of affairs. It is enough that I have to worry about summoning my Otou and defeating the remaining Seiryuu-Shichiseishi, but now there is definitely another force trying to do more then summon a God. The war that is being waged will decide who rules the humans: Heaven or Hell. Normally, I would like to take the time to sit and think about the events that are going on around me, in hopes that I may find a piece of information that would be relevant to the battle, but I have three problems that must be dealt with first. The first problem being that I must escape from these caverns before the Akuma-Hime's master realizes that I am not ensnared within one of her dreams. Two, I must meet up with my friends at all costs, for not only do we need to find the second Shinzahou, but I still hold the first one within my grasp. Third, as much as I hate to be rude, I need to tell Chineru to shut up! I understand that she has been lonely all this time and I appreciate her being friendly and trying to help me, but I do not need to know her life history!

"…oh, and then, there was this one time, when Wan-ji-chan gave me this beautiful horse! I use to love riding that horse! It was the color of dried rice stalks and she was such a gentle horse…"

"Um, Chineru-san…"

"Call me Chineru-chan!"

"Ha…hai, Chineru-chan, have you ever travel to this part of the cave before?"

"No, we've pasted the area that I have known. I don't know the way from here."

I stop in my tracks and begin to sniff at the air. Increasing the amount of light that I am casting, I find the path split into three ways. What I find from my nose is confusing. I right most path smells of fire, the middle of water and the left path smells of stale air. I do not know which way would be best. Though I'm drawn to the fire, due to my nature, I know that it is an unnatural phenomenon in the underground cave…unless it is…

"Ite!"

"Well, maybe you would listen to me more often, and then I won't have to hit you! Did you even hear what I told you about my horse?"

"Chineru-sa…Chineru-chan, I understand that you need to talk, but I'm trying to find our path out of here. Our choices are stale air, water or fire. Personally, I want to check out the fire."

"But, shouldn't we go to the stale air, I mean, there's nothing there to kill you?"

"That's what I'm afraid of, it's too easy."

She looks at me in question, but being a gentleman, I decide to take her route first. We entered the left passage way and not more than five minutes past before I noticed three things. Everything is coming in threes…no, don't blank out now, Doukun! The first, is that the passage way is going up. The second, the passage way is getting narrower, while the third, is that I cannot breathe! Chineru-chan floats farther, until she notices that I am not keeping pace with her. She comes back, looking at me with concern, asking if I'm okay…at least I think she does…I need to get out of here! I fumble backwards, trying to escape, but I do not appear to be moving far enough away. Desperate, I finally take off my jacket, top, allowing me to unfold my wings, hoping to move faster. As I do, I also notice the change in the air. Though it seems to take an eternity, I am back to the junction point. I sit for a while longer, gasping as the now sweet air fills my lungs.

"What went wrong back there?"

"The air…it was a poisonous gas…"

"But where could it be coming from?"

Relaxed now that I'm not suffocating, I begin to dwell on this new development. Looking again at the paths, I begin to formulate the reasons for the lack of air. With no time at all, the answer hits me! When I smelled the water, something seemed off with it, as if it was from a hot spring. The air from the left tunnel had smelled stale due it lack of being able to move. Excited to see if my theory is true, I place my head to the ground. As I expected, I hear what I could only hope for. While this trap may have foiled normal person, I have the advantage from my Otou. Grinning, I look up at Chineru-chan with pure excitement in my eyes. To say that she's afraid of this look would be an understatement.

"Did the lack of air get to your head, or something? What did you find by listening to the ground?"

"My escape route. Tell me, I know that you can physically hit me, but can you be harmed by anything?"

"Moshi, moshi! Dead here! I think I have past the phase in life where I can be hurt!"

"Good! First things first, can you go and get my jacket, then? I left it in the tunnel and I know that I will need it later on."

"Okay… just don't do anything without me! I want to get out of this place more than you can know!"

By the time she comes back, I have regain total use of my lungs and I am ready to carry on.

"We need to take the right tunnel."

"The… isn't that where you smelled the fire?"

"Yes, but my birth rite will protect me. Everything from the other tunnels add up."

"Okay, enlighten me."

"The left tunnel is full of poisonous gas, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, the middle tunnel smells like a hot spring."

"Okay…still not getting you here…"

"Alright, let me ask you, how do hot springs form?"

"Don't know, and never really cared."

"Give you a hint, it is the same thing that is letting off the gas…It can heat up water to a super high heat…and it is like fire."

"Ano…chotto, masaka! Kono migi iwa no naka de, yougan! (Um…hold on, it can't be! Inside that right cave, is lava!)

"Hai, sono touri ze!" (Yes, that is correct!)

Walking on to the right tunnel, we come upon a sea of lava.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, now turn around."

"Why?"

"I'm going to take off my belongings and send them to my Obaa. Unfortunately, I can only send small things through, without your master noticing and interfering with my ki, or I would have transported myself earlier."

"Okay…"

She turns around, as I take off everything. Sending my belongings on their way, I fell embarrassed as I slip into the lava. Honestly, I feel as if I'm skinning dipping! With a girl no less! Hmm…skinny dipping…with Gyokuran…Snap out of it, Doukun! Survive first, hormones later! Looking at my wings, I feel them become as fire in response to the pool I am in. Turning around, I let Chineru-chan know that she can turn around. Her response is as I calculated. She screams.

"Get out, get out! You're going to die!"

"Iie, I'm fine! Ready for a swim?"

"But…but…"

"I'm the son of Suzakusei-kun! Any form of fire and I are as one! Don't worry about me! Let's get going, I feel the battle is winding down, and it won't take long before your master finds us out!"

And thus we swim. True to my word, I become one with the lava, acting as if it was the water in a pond, breathing the molten rock in, as if I was a fish in the water. It takes a bit of time, swimming against the current, but I finally find the source. It takes even longer until I find the top of the source; blocked by the build up of an old eruption. Chineru-chan, seeing my problem, floats through the rock, looking for a weak spot for me to puncture. Before long, she has directed me to the right spot and, using my ability to be in tune with the magma, I cause an eruption.

On the bright side, I am out of the tomb, freeing Chineru-chan at the same time. Though it is a bit embarrassing to see her snicker at me , sans clothing. I look down, and flush in shame.

"Well, you're definitely not a boy anymore, are you?"

Luckily, I don't have to worry for long about my lack of clothing and modesty due to the down side. The down side, is that the Akuma-Hime's boss has been acknowledged of this feat, and, being defeated by my Oji, comes to greet us. The man floats before us, clothed in black. Long, silver hair flows around him, while his hands, with the sharp red nails drenched in blood, clench.

"So, a little fool such as yourself actually escaped, did you? Maybe you should learn where you belong! And you, Chineru, you have the audacity and utter stupidity to betray me? I will make this a day that I shall never forget."

Though she trembles, I see Chineru-chan stand up straight as she looks the man in the eye.

"I got out of the cave. As to our agreement, I am free! You are no longer my master, you have no say in what I may or may not do!"

"Child, think about who you are dealing with! Since when do I keep my word?"

He chuckles at the enraged look upon Chineru-chan's face as he turns to face me.

"So, young phoenix, where is your father to protect you, hm? Certainly He doesn't believe that you can even be a match for me, does He?"

I say not a word, but look at him dispassionately. I refuse to rise to his barbs.

"Maybe, boy, you should be taught a lesson. Obviously Seiryuu doesn't know how to even torture anyone properly anymore! What I once saw in him, I don't know!"

I raise my guard, as the man powers up. I know that this blast will hit me hard, but I will teach him that, child, young adult or not, I will not give up without a fight. This I proclaim, not as a demi-god, but as a Shichiseishi. However, the blast never reaches me. The man should never have taken his eyes off his other opponent. Before either of us can react, I fell Chineru-chan dragging the man off into one of her nightmares.

"Go! I can't hold him forever! You need to get out of here and prepare for your final battle with him!"

"But, Chineru-chan! I…I can't just leave you alone in this battle!"

"This is something I should have done a long time ago! Remember, I'm already dead! No matter what, in the end, I'll be fine! I will never forget you! Now, go! And remember, that after your fight for the Ascension of your father, then this man will be your opponent! Remember that you must prepare for your fight against him, and never forget his crimes nor the name that goes with them; Tenkou!"

I watch as the vertigo swallows the two of them up. I try to reach for Chineru-chan, but as if I was swimming against the lava, I feel myself being pulled towards my Obaa's mountain. Closing my eyes, I scream Chineru-chan's name. As I open my eyes, I find myself in my personal room within Her palace, looking down at my clothing, freshly washed and folded upon my bed. Thus, knowing that the soul of a girl that was for a short time my friend, is banished from the earthly plain, I grieve. I have not long to wait, before my Okaa wraps her arms around me, petting my hair and whispering that everything would be okay. My Otou, looking rather sad in comparison to His normal self, stands in my doorway.

"You Okaa-san is correct, Doukun. Everything will be okay. Normally, the souls that Tenkou brings into his service are eternally damned, however, due to her bravery and her selflessness, Chineru's soul has finally been brought up to Heaven. Within a few years, given that she has been dead for quite some time, she will be reincarnated and you will see her again. Her next life will be full of the happiness that she barely was allowed to hold on to in her former life. Do not be sad for her, for better things await her. For now, acknowledge her sacrifice and set your course for the future. Much work is to be done and before it is through, you must see Miaka through her trials safely. Focus on what must be done and work through any guilt you may have. You must see the tasks through to the end."

"Ha…hai."

"Now, get dressed and you Obaa will send you down to where you are needed most."

"Back to Miaka-san's side?"

"No, at this moment, she has the other Seishi. I mean that you must help out one of Mine who is lost."

I t takes me but a second to realize who. I dress quickly and hug my ryoshin (Parents) good-bye. I close my eyes once more and open them to find my friend, passed out within the cold snow.

"Tamahome-san…"

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There you guys go! I hoped that you enjoyed the chapter! I know that I essentially killed off Chineru, but don't worry, she will be reincarnated!

See ya!