Chapter 3

I'm sorry I haven't worked on this one in a while! I've been so busy with my other story (that's no excuse, I know) but now I've gotten recommitted to this one, so expect to see more chapters out soon! Thanks!

The tour of the palace and the gardens ended too quickly for Hibari when the emperor told her it was almost time for dinner. On their way to the dinning hall, they made one last stop--at the shrine of Suzaku.

Hibari politely followed the emperor inside, not really interested in the giant bird or any of the legends that the emperor began talking about. But training had taught her never to act the way she felt, so she half-listened to him talk. The other half of her mind wondered what was for dinner.

"You have a similar legend in Kutou, am I right?" the emperor asked her, interrupting her thoughts and making her curse herself for not paying attention. What was he talking about again? Oh, right--Suzaku.

"Uh, yes…" she said quickly. "Seiryu, I believe." He nodded calmly.

"Do you believe in the legends?" he asked, and Hibari had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She had always thought that stuff was for children, and had never really believed that a girl from another world would come, be the Priestess of Seiryu, and save her country. Although Kutou obviously needed all the help it could get. She tried in vain to think of a good answer, but could come up with none.

"No, not really." She said to him, turning back to the statue of the giant phoenix, hoping he would get hungry quickly.

"Why not?" he asked, a little taken aback. Hibari turned to him again, confused as to why he would ask, and saw a strange, disbelieving look on his face.

He doesn't honestly believe this, does he? He's older than I am and he still believes in the legend of Suzaku! But still, he was waiting for an answer, and once again, she didn't know what to say.

"Well…" she hesitated. "I suppose…I guess I never really believed that something like that could happen…" she trailed off, but apparently he didn't need any more explanation. He looked at her with what could only be pity, then turned back to the statue.

"From the time I was first told about the legend, I've always believed that the girl would come and rescue my country. I had hoped…" he stopped, and turned to her, his eyes serious. "Not many people know this," he said, "but I am one of the people destined to protect the Priestess of Suzaku." With that, he pulled down his collar and Hibari saw a shining red symbol on his neck. Her eyes widened and she took a step back without thinking. She had seen something like that, once, a long time ago when she was only a child, and even now, she wasn't sure if it was just a dream or not. He saw her apparent shock and quickly covered it back up. He was about to apologize to her when a servant entered the shrine and announced that dinner was ready. Both the emperor and the princess gratefully acknowledged the announcement.

The emperor gave her his arm, but didn't go anywhere. "Now do you believe?" He asked solemnly, raising his eyebrows at her.

She looked at him again, and for once told exactly what she felt, which wasn't much. "I…don't know…" she said softly.

He nodded, looking certain that she would be a believer in the next few days. Finally he took a step toward the door, and she gratefully went along. Just before they exited the shrine, he said one last thing to her.

"You may call me by my Celestial name, Hotohori." He said, smiling. "I like it much better than 'Your highness' and things like that. Would you do that for me?" She nodded, a little glad to be even a little less formal than she had to be.

"I don't have a Celestial name," she said jokingly, "but you may call me Hibari."