I'm back with a vengeance! Sorry I haven't written a chapter in a few
weeks. So, it's nearly 2 a.m. and I was inspired to stop playing Final
Fantasy X (I died. . .what can you do), and write a new chapter. Even
though I'm not really sure how this part's going to go. Well then. It
goes a little something like this. . .
[NO DISCLAIMER! AHAHAHAHAHA!]
[Insert disclaimer here]
Chapter 8
-----------------------
Nuriko ran up to the man and gave him a kiss, wearing an almost insane grin on her face. The man, who Hikari noticed was not your average looking man (instead he was quite handsome), smiled and gestured back towards her and her group.
All the seishi were staring in complete disbelief, frozen in place with their mouths hanging wide open. Hikari had never seen quite a dramatic reaction before- only in manga.
"Hey, all of you! What are you doing?"
". . .Nuriko-san is married. . ." Chiriko said quietly.
". . .To Hotohori. . ." Chichiri added.
". . .And she's a woman," Tasuki finished. Mitsukake gave him a smack upside the head- he was learning quickly from Chichiri.
Nuriko laughed, still grinning madly. "Well why don't you come in." The four seishi and the priestess shuffled into the house, following Nuriko and the one whom Nuriko claimed to be Hotohori. They seated themselves at a table. "I'm not going to bother bringing tea now, let's get down to business. First of all, Miaka's daughter, who are you?"
"Eto. . .I'm Hikari Sukunami. Apparently, yes, the daughter of, um, Tamahome and Miaka," Hikari stuttered. Nuriko was staring at her intently, and Hikari was very nervous being interrogated. She mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. "I am from the other world."
"You really do look a lot like Miaka," Hotohori said in an awed voice. "Although you're not wearing the odangos."
Hikari laughed nervously. "No, those are kind of out of style at the moment. But I'm sure by now they're back in style, considering I've been gone for a week or two." Everyone nodded stupidly, and there was a lull in the conversation.
"Hotohori-sama, what do you do now that you're not the emperor?" Chichiri asked. Hikari had forgotten that he used to be the emperor.
"I'm actually an advisor for the emperor now. Since that incident when I was ten and my memories were returned, with that other girl, Mayo was her name? He found out that I am his father's reincarnation. The "sama" is not necessary now, you know."
"Old habit," Chichiri said, and they both laughed.
"His highness Boushin-sama trusts Hotohori very much," Nuriko added.
"Which reminds me, I am expected back at the palace as the third bell rings."
"Mm hmm."
"I think it would be wise to introduce the seishi and the priestess to his highness at that time."
"Mm hmm."
"Nuriko, darling."
"Mm hmm?"
"Can you say something else?"
"Mm hmm. Aren't we missing someone?"
"Tamahome," Chiriko said. He turned to Hikari. "How is your father?"
"He's fine, but I hate to tell you that he doesn't exactly seem magical. He's just a geezer and a teacher at my high school. He can't fly or teleport or anything like that." Somewhere in the void of the universe, Taka Sukunami sneezed, and Miaka handed him a hankerchief, both then resuming their position hunched over the old book.
"Yeah, but can ya get 'im over here?" Tasuki said.
"You have to remember that he is no longer Tamahome. He is Tamahome's reincarnation, Taka, who last time we met had not inherited his seishi powers."
"Crap."
"I believe that we should seek Taitsu-kun's guidance for this. Hotohori is right, presenting ourselves at the palace first would be a good decision. Has the second bell rung yet?"
"Yes, not too long ago," Hotohori replied. "We should head towards the palace so that we're not late." Everyone nodded and got up, heading towards the door.
------------------------------
After discovering that the capital used bells and small candles as an inefficient way of time telling, Hikari found that they had quickly arrived at the palace. It was large and elaborate, with many guards in every corner. At first, she had watched with interest as Hotohori calmly entered as if he owned the place and walked quickly through many halls, and she had looked in astonishment at the ornate ceilings and wall hangings and statues. Hikari had the strong urge to open every door they passed just to look inside, but she resisted. Soon, they slowed as they neared two large doors, which of course were decorated elaborately as well. One of the guards standing at the door nodded at Hotohori, who then spoke to the guard in a hushed tone. The guard nodded and went inside; the seishi followed.
Hikari shivered with a nervous excitement as they entered the massive room. Like everything else they had passed, it was decorated beautifully, but Hikari saw that inside, steps led to a raised area with a large golden chair, which she assumed was the throne. Resisting her need to hop from foot to foot, she squeezed the arm of the nearest seishi.
Unfortunatley, it happened to be Chiriko, who was quite skinny and didn't have nearly as much arm bulk as a few of the others. "Ano. . .Hikari-san," Chiriko whispered. "I wish you would please stop whatever you're doing. It hurts."
Hikari looked surprised and realized that his forearm and hand was turning an odd shade of red-purple. The quickly released her grip. "I'm sorry!"
"It's alright, it's just that the circulation was being cut off."
"Ne ne, Chiriko," Hikari whispered quickly, feeling more nervous by the second. She was still clutching his arm, except a little lighter. "What do we do when we meet the emporer?"
He paused and looked thoughtful. "I have no idea," he whispered back. Now it was Chiriko's turn to cut of Hikari's circulation, as he nervously held onto her wrist.
"Touchy feely, eh you two?" Nuriko teased.
"Shush!" Hikari said. After thinking for a moment, she remembered that in the story, Nuriko was the strongest and she immediately started to cling to her.
"You're going to kill me!" Nuriko said in a strangled voice. Suddenly, a guard's voice boomed.
"His Highness, the emperor of Konan, Boushin-sama!" Hikari felt Nuriko drop to the ground, and she was a little confused, but she didn't look to see what Nuriko was doing. She couldn't take here eyes away from the tall figure that had just appeared, which was coming closer and closer, not bothering to sit on the throne.
The emperor, who was descending the stairs, was dressed in billowing, embroidered robes, the likes of which Hikari had never seen before. An odd looking ornament kept his hair in place, which was also framing his face nicely. She blushed as she saw that he was in fact young and quite handsome, and he was looking directly as her.
"Hikari, what are you doing?!?! BOW!" Nuriko hissed at her. Looking around, she saw that everyone else was indeed groveling on the floor.
She gasped and dropped to the floor abruptly, squeaking in pain as her knees slammed against the hard floor. She saw feet. Looking up, she saw the young emperor himself standing over her, looking concerned. "Ano. . .Gomen nasai!" Hikari said quickly, turning red.
"It is quite alright. I just wanted a look at you," the emperor replied, smiling. She heard the seishi around her breathe out in relief. "The daughter of the priestess and a warrior, is that so? I met them when I was very young, both were quite noble."
"H-hai," Hikari said, not bothering to look up from the floor again.
"You are our savior, the new Suzaku no Miko," the emperor said. "There is no need for you to bow any longer. They will bow to you now." Hikari took the hint to stand up, and saw the guards and servants who had been lurking in the corner bow to her. She was surprised.
"Your Highness," Hotohori said, interrupting the brief silence. "May I introduce to you the new seishi as well." They all bowed.
"Please, serve your priestess well. Ah, Hotohori, there was a draft of a new law that I would like you to look over, now. I can't read it for too long by myself, we might strain our eyes. Of course something as horrendous as that will not do, as it will ruin our beauty."
"Hai," Hotohori replied and turned to the seishi, nodding at them briefly. Hikari noticed that he looked as if he was restraining himself from saying something, and he had a pained look on his face for a brief moment. He quickly pivoted to follow after the emperor.
"Oh," Boushin said, turning around once more. "As was the tradition last time, you may stay at the palace for now. We will have rooms prepared for all of you. And perhaps the priestess would be interested in seeing the sacred relics?" The seishi voiced their thanks.
Once the emperor and Hotohori had exited the room, Tasuki snorted loudly. Chichiri smiled. "He does take after his father, doesn't he," he said, amused.
"Miko-sama," a servant said politely, moving towards Hikari. "If you'll follow me, the sacred relics are this way." Hikari raised one eyebrow and started to walk after the woman, the seishi following behind her.
After some time of walking down long hallways, the servant opened one of two large, heavy looking doors, which creaked as they swung open slowly. Inside the room was a prominent gold statue of a phoenix, obviously a tribute to Suzaku. Behind it, farther inside the room, was a long pedestal- like table surrounded by candles and incense.
"These are the sacred relics of the previous Suzaku no miko," the servant said in a hushed tone.
Hikari moved closer to see what they were, the seishi by her side. She leaned forward to look at the objects, and dropped to her knees.
----------------------------------
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuun. What the hell could make Hikari fall to her knees? We don't know. Well, I know, but you don't. Hahahahaha! I thought it was the best place to stop for now, even though the chapter is just a few paragraphs shorter than usual. Although there has been shorter. Saa tte. . . Tune in next time for Chapter Nine! Which I think I'll start immediately. So I can make up for two weeks of no updates. Oops!
Wow, that was a happy author note for being REALLY pissed off at the moment. . . This is going to be the worst month of school, I swear. So stressful, and I just lost some important things that are essential to the project. *Swears*
Please review!!!! Reviewers will receive a hug from the seishi of their choice.
[NO DISCLAIMER! AHAHAHAHAHA!]
[Insert disclaimer here]
Chapter 8
-----------------------
Nuriko ran up to the man and gave him a kiss, wearing an almost insane grin on her face. The man, who Hikari noticed was not your average looking man (instead he was quite handsome), smiled and gestured back towards her and her group.
All the seishi were staring in complete disbelief, frozen in place with their mouths hanging wide open. Hikari had never seen quite a dramatic reaction before- only in manga.
"Hey, all of you! What are you doing?"
". . .Nuriko-san is married. . ." Chiriko said quietly.
". . .To Hotohori. . ." Chichiri added.
". . .And she's a woman," Tasuki finished. Mitsukake gave him a smack upside the head- he was learning quickly from Chichiri.
Nuriko laughed, still grinning madly. "Well why don't you come in." The four seishi and the priestess shuffled into the house, following Nuriko and the one whom Nuriko claimed to be Hotohori. They seated themselves at a table. "I'm not going to bother bringing tea now, let's get down to business. First of all, Miaka's daughter, who are you?"
"Eto. . .I'm Hikari Sukunami. Apparently, yes, the daughter of, um, Tamahome and Miaka," Hikari stuttered. Nuriko was staring at her intently, and Hikari was very nervous being interrogated. She mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. "I am from the other world."
"You really do look a lot like Miaka," Hotohori said in an awed voice. "Although you're not wearing the odangos."
Hikari laughed nervously. "No, those are kind of out of style at the moment. But I'm sure by now they're back in style, considering I've been gone for a week or two." Everyone nodded stupidly, and there was a lull in the conversation.
"Hotohori-sama, what do you do now that you're not the emperor?" Chichiri asked. Hikari had forgotten that he used to be the emperor.
"I'm actually an advisor for the emperor now. Since that incident when I was ten and my memories were returned, with that other girl, Mayo was her name? He found out that I am his father's reincarnation. The "sama" is not necessary now, you know."
"Old habit," Chichiri said, and they both laughed.
"His highness Boushin-sama trusts Hotohori very much," Nuriko added.
"Which reminds me, I am expected back at the palace as the third bell rings."
"Mm hmm."
"I think it would be wise to introduce the seishi and the priestess to his highness at that time."
"Mm hmm."
"Nuriko, darling."
"Mm hmm?"
"Can you say something else?"
"Mm hmm. Aren't we missing someone?"
"Tamahome," Chiriko said. He turned to Hikari. "How is your father?"
"He's fine, but I hate to tell you that he doesn't exactly seem magical. He's just a geezer and a teacher at my high school. He can't fly or teleport or anything like that." Somewhere in the void of the universe, Taka Sukunami sneezed, and Miaka handed him a hankerchief, both then resuming their position hunched over the old book.
"Yeah, but can ya get 'im over here?" Tasuki said.
"You have to remember that he is no longer Tamahome. He is Tamahome's reincarnation, Taka, who last time we met had not inherited his seishi powers."
"Crap."
"I believe that we should seek Taitsu-kun's guidance for this. Hotohori is right, presenting ourselves at the palace first would be a good decision. Has the second bell rung yet?"
"Yes, not too long ago," Hotohori replied. "We should head towards the palace so that we're not late." Everyone nodded and got up, heading towards the door.
------------------------------
After discovering that the capital used bells and small candles as an inefficient way of time telling, Hikari found that they had quickly arrived at the palace. It was large and elaborate, with many guards in every corner. At first, she had watched with interest as Hotohori calmly entered as if he owned the place and walked quickly through many halls, and she had looked in astonishment at the ornate ceilings and wall hangings and statues. Hikari had the strong urge to open every door they passed just to look inside, but she resisted. Soon, they slowed as they neared two large doors, which of course were decorated elaborately as well. One of the guards standing at the door nodded at Hotohori, who then spoke to the guard in a hushed tone. The guard nodded and went inside; the seishi followed.
Hikari shivered with a nervous excitement as they entered the massive room. Like everything else they had passed, it was decorated beautifully, but Hikari saw that inside, steps led to a raised area with a large golden chair, which she assumed was the throne. Resisting her need to hop from foot to foot, she squeezed the arm of the nearest seishi.
Unfortunatley, it happened to be Chiriko, who was quite skinny and didn't have nearly as much arm bulk as a few of the others. "Ano. . .Hikari-san," Chiriko whispered. "I wish you would please stop whatever you're doing. It hurts."
Hikari looked surprised and realized that his forearm and hand was turning an odd shade of red-purple. The quickly released her grip. "I'm sorry!"
"It's alright, it's just that the circulation was being cut off."
"Ne ne, Chiriko," Hikari whispered quickly, feeling more nervous by the second. She was still clutching his arm, except a little lighter. "What do we do when we meet the emporer?"
He paused and looked thoughtful. "I have no idea," he whispered back. Now it was Chiriko's turn to cut of Hikari's circulation, as he nervously held onto her wrist.
"Touchy feely, eh you two?" Nuriko teased.
"Shush!" Hikari said. After thinking for a moment, she remembered that in the story, Nuriko was the strongest and she immediately started to cling to her.
"You're going to kill me!" Nuriko said in a strangled voice. Suddenly, a guard's voice boomed.
"His Highness, the emperor of Konan, Boushin-sama!" Hikari felt Nuriko drop to the ground, and she was a little confused, but she didn't look to see what Nuriko was doing. She couldn't take here eyes away from the tall figure that had just appeared, which was coming closer and closer, not bothering to sit on the throne.
The emperor, who was descending the stairs, was dressed in billowing, embroidered robes, the likes of which Hikari had never seen before. An odd looking ornament kept his hair in place, which was also framing his face nicely. She blushed as she saw that he was in fact young and quite handsome, and he was looking directly as her.
"Hikari, what are you doing?!?! BOW!" Nuriko hissed at her. Looking around, she saw that everyone else was indeed groveling on the floor.
She gasped and dropped to the floor abruptly, squeaking in pain as her knees slammed against the hard floor. She saw feet. Looking up, she saw the young emperor himself standing over her, looking concerned. "Ano. . .Gomen nasai!" Hikari said quickly, turning red.
"It is quite alright. I just wanted a look at you," the emperor replied, smiling. She heard the seishi around her breathe out in relief. "The daughter of the priestess and a warrior, is that so? I met them when I was very young, both were quite noble."
"H-hai," Hikari said, not bothering to look up from the floor again.
"You are our savior, the new Suzaku no Miko," the emperor said. "There is no need for you to bow any longer. They will bow to you now." Hikari took the hint to stand up, and saw the guards and servants who had been lurking in the corner bow to her. She was surprised.
"Your Highness," Hotohori said, interrupting the brief silence. "May I introduce to you the new seishi as well." They all bowed.
"Please, serve your priestess well. Ah, Hotohori, there was a draft of a new law that I would like you to look over, now. I can't read it for too long by myself, we might strain our eyes. Of course something as horrendous as that will not do, as it will ruin our beauty."
"Hai," Hotohori replied and turned to the seishi, nodding at them briefly. Hikari noticed that he looked as if he was restraining himself from saying something, and he had a pained look on his face for a brief moment. He quickly pivoted to follow after the emperor.
"Oh," Boushin said, turning around once more. "As was the tradition last time, you may stay at the palace for now. We will have rooms prepared for all of you. And perhaps the priestess would be interested in seeing the sacred relics?" The seishi voiced their thanks.
Once the emperor and Hotohori had exited the room, Tasuki snorted loudly. Chichiri smiled. "He does take after his father, doesn't he," he said, amused.
"Miko-sama," a servant said politely, moving towards Hikari. "If you'll follow me, the sacred relics are this way." Hikari raised one eyebrow and started to walk after the woman, the seishi following behind her.
After some time of walking down long hallways, the servant opened one of two large, heavy looking doors, which creaked as they swung open slowly. Inside the room was a prominent gold statue of a phoenix, obviously a tribute to Suzaku. Behind it, farther inside the room, was a long pedestal- like table surrounded by candles and incense.
"These are the sacred relics of the previous Suzaku no miko," the servant said in a hushed tone.
Hikari moved closer to see what they were, the seishi by her side. She leaned forward to look at the objects, and dropped to her knees.
----------------------------------
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuun. What the hell could make Hikari fall to her knees? We don't know. Well, I know, but you don't. Hahahahaha! I thought it was the best place to stop for now, even though the chapter is just a few paragraphs shorter than usual. Although there has been shorter. Saa tte. . . Tune in next time for Chapter Nine! Which I think I'll start immediately. So I can make up for two weeks of no updates. Oops!
Wow, that was a happy author note for being REALLY pissed off at the moment. . . This is going to be the worst month of school, I swear. So stressful, and I just lost some important things that are essential to the project. *Swears*
Please review!!!! Reviewers will receive a hug from the seishi of their choice.