Aeternum Vale

by nashie-chan

Two years have passed since the legend has ended. But can the most powerful book in the universe actually end? Miaka and Yui find out that the history and fates they thought were true were simply the beginning of a past of lies and a twisted, dark destiny

4. The Stages of Mankind

Disclaimer: Fushigi Yugi is the rightful property of Yuu Watase. Aeternum Vale makes the author no profit (weep), and is written for the sheer amusement of the author and the readers. However, the plot of Aeternum Vale and all new characters belong to me, and I will beat you with my Big Stuffed Fish™ if you take any of it. Thank you! (hugs)

Musical selection: "Everybody's Fool" performed by Evanescence, from Evanescence

xxxxx

- CHAPTER 03: THE STAGES OF MANKIND -

xxxxx

The doorbell rang.

Loudly.

A certain blonde young man, who was beginning to wonder why he even told people where he lived, crawled from under his sheets and blearily glanced at the clock on the side of his bed. A little past eight-thirty. Early for him – early for anyone – but still late enough to be asleep in a nice, warm bed. Maybe it was just a dream. It had better be, damn it. He didn't feel like getting out of bed and going to the door just to answer it. And if it wasn't a dream, maybe they'd take a hint and go away.

RING-RING-RING!!!! RIIIING-RIIIING-RIIIING!!!! RING-RING-RING!!!!

That woke him up. Only one person in the world ever used the Marconi-code for distress whenever ringing his doorbell. Still, that didn't make him feel any happier to drag himself out of bed and go answer the door. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and slouched out of his room, into the living room, and towards the door. He undid the lock and swung the door open.

"Onii-chan!!!!"

A few minutes later, Keisuke found himself being host to Miaka and Taka, making three cups of coffee in the kitchen (with enough sugar and cream in his to keep him up for at least another three hours) and tossing a few oatmeal cookies for Miaka onto a plate. In the living room, he could hear them discussing the book that they had brought over. For what reason on earth they felt like discussing it at his apartment at eight-thirty at night was something his sleep-shaken mind couldn't quite grasp. He glanced into the living room again and saw that the scene hadn't changed since when he had first dragged himself into the kitchen.

The ShiJinTenChiSho lay on the coffee table in front of the couple, its pages open for all the world to see. That is, if all the world could fit into Keisuke's apartment. Taka leaned over the book, thumbing through the pages cautiously, as if wary of being sucked in within any moment. After a few more moments of paging through the book, Taka closed it with a sudden sigh, and turned his head towards the kitchen.

"Keisuke, how much more caffeine are you going to need?"

Man, I don't need this – not at this hour…he thought blearily. Still, he poked his head out of the kitchen and managed a decent glare at the teal-haired young man "Enough to keep me up a few more hours. Unlike some people, I don't have the pleasure of getting a good night's sleep tonight. Instead, two people drop by my apartment at unreasonable hours to look over a book." He disappeared into the kitchen again, reappearing this time with a tray of filled with coffee mugs and a plate of cookies. "Tell me again why we couldn't have gone over this tomorrow?"

Miaka, who had curled up next to Taka on the couch, sat up at the sight of the food and eagerly grabbed at a cookie. "Sorry, 'nii-chan, but I thought we should look over it right away." She reached over to the coffee table and picked up the book, her fingers lightly brushing across the cover, a small smile appearing on her face.

Keisuke flopped down on the big armchair at the head of the table, closing his eyes in exasperation. "Why? There's nothing wrong with the book. From what Taka could tell, the story is still in tact. Nothing's been changed – not the beginning, not the end. It's perfectly in one piece. What more could you ask for?"

"You sure talk a lot for someone who's tired," Taka teased, tossing a balled up napkin at the blonde's resting form. "Miaka never said anything was wrong with it, but would you trust a book that's been a hassle not once, but twice? And as far as we can tell, even though the book was over almost two years ago, Tenkou had no trouble continuing it early last year."

"What's weird," interrupted Miaka, flipping through the pages, "is that this book doesn't even mention Tenkou. Not even once. It stops right after Suzaku granted my final wish."

"That's not true, Miaka," Keisuke said, frowning. He gulped back nearly half of his coffee before standing and walking over behind the russet-haired girl, peering over her shoulder to glance at the book. "Tetsuya and I kept track of the first encounter with Tenkou through the book. It couldn't have ended where Suzaku granted your final wish." Miaka lifted the book and passed it over her shoulder so he could see for himself. Keisuke paged to the end of the story, and glanced down at the Chinese writing. "See, right here…'The priestess bid her seishi farewell, assured that someday they would all meet again. And, with her beloved protector, she vanished from the world of her warriors and returned to her own world. So concludes the tale of the priestess of Suzaku and her adventures in the quest to summon her patron god…'. That pretty much sums up what happened after you defeated Tenkou…" He trailed off, a frown appearing on his face.

"What is it?" Taka asked, helping himself to a cookie.

"There's more writing on the page…" Keisuke noted. Two heads swiveled his way, staring at him as if he had suddenly sprouted tentacles from his neck and was claiming to be the emperor of Sairo reincarnated. "It says: "When all is said and done, the time for the priestess to be within this world fades. She departs, her three wishes granted, and attends back to her own world, to her own time. Yet–""

"'Yet!?'" came a startled reply from both Miaka and Taka.

Keisuke continued, only slightly ruffled by the interruption. ""–the strands of fate are strong and powerful, and once the lives of the priestess' seishi have been touched, nothing can undo fate's hand in the matter. For all eternity, the Seven will be connected to their priestess, devoted always, guardians forever. That is the way all journeys must end, back at the beginning." The blonde stopped and went back to sit in his armchair. "Well, that doesn't tell you much. The Suzaku seven are connected to you. That's a reasonable guess. But why mention it?"

"Another Tenkou is rising up and we have to go back to the book and stop him?" Miaka murmured humourlessly. Her green eyes were downcast. "It doesn't sound too threatening, but you can't always be sure. What else does it say?" Keisuke turned to the book and glanced down at the pages. It was only one page really. No extra pages had mysteriously been added, and the book itself ended rather bluntly at the previous passage. He shrugged.

"That's it. Though it does make one wonder if there was more after it, the way it cut off so abruptly," Keisuke murmured. "'Back at the beginning…' Maybe it's a ploy to make the reader start reading the story again, to pass it along."

"But all the priestesses have been summoned," argued Taka. "What good would passing it along now do?" He paused and suddenly grinned. "Or maybe someone just put it there to drive whoever was reading it insane. 'Back at the beginning' would mean to start the entire story over again. But the wording has it so it would be the priestess of Suzaku the passage is talking about." He flipped to the beginning of the book and showed to Miaka and Taka. "Yet nothing's changed at the beginning. It could just be a reminder to remember everything you just read. Some books do end like that."

Miaka wrinkled her nose, nibbling at another cookie. "That makes sense. A lot more sense than what Keisuke was rambling about." She grinned at her brother as he gave her a furious look, handing him two cookies to calm him down. "Onii-chan, if you keep looking like that, your face will look as bad as Taiitsukun's!" Taka winced.

"Don't say that! She just might show up in the middle of nowhere and hurt us!" he mumbled, looking over his shoulder just in case. When he realized that the oracle was nowhere to be seen (and thankfully glad of it), he turned back to Miaka. "Find anything else interesting at the library?" Miaka nodded, wiping some of the crumbs off her skirt. Keisuke gave her an irritated look, knowing that he would have to be the one to pull out the vacuum cleaner as soon as they left.

"Yui wants to visit one of the janitors," she mentioned between a mouthful of cookie. "He had a heart attack Friday night – which was why the library was closed, by the way – and she wanted to visit him in the hospital. Oh! And we met this awesome person who goes to Jonan! His name is Arai Ryosei, and he works at the library to tutor junior high students studying for their entrance exams. He's really nice, and he's going with us tomorrow to visit the janitor."

Keisuke chucked. "You sound busy. But that doesn't sound like Yui, randomly visiting strangers in the hospital. Did she know him or something?" Miaka frowned, scratching her ear as she struggled to remember why Yui had said she wanted to visit.

"She was really upset, I remember that," said the young woman slowly. "I think it was because he was cleaning near the room the book was in. But I don't think anything happened like that. I don't mind visiting him in the hospital though. Yui told me he had around fourteen grandchildren! Fourteen! That's a lot of little kids…"

RING-RING-RING!

Keisuke nearly jumped out of his seat as the phone next to him began to vibrate unmercifully on the side table. Taka grinned at him and tossed him the phone, causing the older youth to glare at him again. I need to work on my glowers…they don't seem to faze him anymore… "Moshi moshi?"

"Keisuke! Is Miaka there?" Keisuke rolled his eyes and glanced over the phone at Miaka, who had rested back in Taka's arm, paging through the book carelessly, a smile coming to her face every so often as she read through what could have been a biography for her. The same reminiscing look in her eyes appeared in Taka's as he sorted through Tamahome's memories of the adventures within the book.

"Yeah, Mom. She's here," replied Keisuke, causing Miaka to look up from her stroll down Memory Lane. "Yeah, I'll tell her…I think she knows, Mom…alright. Okay, then…well, I'd have to pick her up in the morning anyway…yeah…I understand, Mom…okay…okay…hm-hmm, I love you too…I'll tell her, Mom…okay…okay…bye." He hung up the phone, looking exasperated. Miaka looked curious albeit worried over what the conversation had been about, though Taka looked positively smug at having to hear Keisuke pronounce that he loved his mother over the phone. Keisuke decided to beat him up over it later. "Mom was wondering when you'd get back since tomorrow's a school day. I told her you might as well stay here since I'd have to pick you up in the morning anyway."

"Woo-hoo! Sleepover!"

"But as for you," Keisuke said, turning to Taka, "you're going to have to go. If Mom found out that you were here too, we'd both be dead." Taka nodded, and rose to leave. Miaka also got to her feet, wrapping Taka in a good-bye hug and giving him a sweet farewell kiss. Keisuke pretended not to gag as the two exchanged lovey-dovey partings. Miaka then scampered off down the hallway to Keisuke's bedroom to find something appropriate to wear to bed.

Keisuke began to walk Taka to the door. "You really don't think it means anything, do you?" Taka raised an eyebrow as Keisuke gestured to book left on the coffee-table. A dark look passed through expressive gray eyes, and he shook his head, a grim smile on his face.

"If it does, I suppose we'll find out eventually, right?" he asked, opening the door. "I just don't want to worry Miaka." Keisuke grinned at his future brother-in-law and gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder, which Taka received in humour. The two gave a quick parting before Taka strode down the hallway towards the elevator. Keisuke closed the door and locked it, turning back to the book on the table. Down the hall, he could hear water running in the bathroom, and smiled to himself. Taka was right. If anything was wrong, they'd find it out eventually. He didn't want to worry Miaka either, not his baby sister who he almost lost to the book twice.

He picked up the book, tossed it lightly in his hands, and placed it the bookshelf next to the television. Sighing, and hoping there would be no more visitors that night, he turned to venture down to his bedroom to rescues some sheets, knowing that Miaka would have laid claim to his bed and he would be unfortunate enough to sleep on the couch.

Sisters…can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

xxxxx

Somewhere else, someone twisted in their sleep, nightmares ravaging their mind.

A nightmare that would be forgotten by morning.

xxxxx

As promised, the next afternoon, Miaka and Yui stopped by the library to wait for Ryosei to join them for their trip to the hospital. They arrived a half hour before hand so they could finish some homework while waiting for him to finish up tutoring a small, wide-eyed ninth-grader who seemed to be struggling over some of the more advanced steps of geometry.

Only one table away, Miaka watched in respective awe as Ryosei explained to the girl the easiest methods to retrieve the answer, and noticed the surprised delight on the girl's face as she finally got the right answer, flinging her arms around Ryosei in a crushing hug. The jade-eyed young man turned a distinct shade of red from the hug, but managed to untangle himself so they could work on the next problem. Miaka sighed dreamily, turning back to her own work. Yui smiled at her.

"He seems so nice," she whispered from across the table, taking a few notes in her notebook from the textbook she was reading out of. "And so generous too."

"Well, when you're a genius, I guess being nice and generous is the least you can do for others not as gifted as you," Miaka noted dryly, but smiling nonetheless as the girl squealed from having received the right answer yet again. "I wonder if he has a girlfriend…?"

"The lucky girl," Yui responded. "Now, shhh! That librarian is giving us one of those warning glances." Miaka glanced behind her back, only to catch the aforementioned librarian staring them down, and turned red, turning back to her homework and quieting down.

A few minutes later, the girl Ryosei was working with began collecting her books into her bag, a signal that it was time for Yui and Miaka to begin to doing the same thing. They joined the first-year high school student as soon as the girl departed, and soon, the trio left together after saying their good-byes to Sakashi-san, who advised them to tell Nishimura-san that she said hello. After assuring her that they would, they left from the library and made their way to the hospital, only a few city blocks away. As soon as they far enough away from the presence of the library, Miaka turned to Ryosei with a broad grin on her face, a grin that told everyone that what she was about to ask was really none of her business.

"The girls seem to like you!" she chirped. A flush spread across Ryosei's cheeks while Yui gave her friend an exasperated look for having embarrassed the young man right in the middle of the street like that. Miaka blinked, and then looked properly abashed, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Sorry, Ryosei-kun. I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean to embarrass you…" Ryosei laughed.

"No offense taken," he replied good-naturedly. "But that doesn't mean I have to answer your question." With that, he smirked as it became Miaka's turn to blush, hiding her cheeks behind her hands. Yui laughed at the sudden turn of the tables. He was quick with words, despite his sometimes shy persona. Perhaps, she thought, it was a façade to fool anyone narrow-minded enough to assert that he was another pushover. She nodded in approval.

Deciding to spare her best friend any more discomfiture, Yui turned her attention to Ryosei in a more pleasant, conversational matter. "Do you know Nishimura-san?" Ryosei nodded.

"He's usually the first night janitor to show up for work, so I've talked with him a few times while I was there late," he replied. "He's really nice – funny, too. Though it seems weird that he would have a heart attack. He's extremely healthy for his age, almost as healthy as me." With that, he wrinkled his nose and twisted his lips up into an odd smirk. "Or, that is, any other young jock. With enough brains to fill an entire thimble." Yui raised an eyebrow. Now that was unusual. A jock who picked up on the stereotype of other jocks – and actually mocked them. Ryosei caught Yui's look and laughed slightly. "You have to admit, it's true sometimes. I can give you proof even from Jonan's football team."

Miaka hesitated to jump into the conversation, but finally threw all care to the wind. "You guys are playing against Yotsubadai on Friday."

Ryosei grinned. "Yeah. You guys are a tough school to beat. Are you two going to be at the game? It's nice to see familiar faces from other schools in the audience. It takes the pressure off sometimes." Yui and Miaka shared looks. They had already promised Joruri and Motoki that they would go to the game, even if only for a little while to share in the school spirit. They nodded. "Great! It'll be fun, then."

"'Then'?" teased Yui as they rounded a corner. "You don't have fun at your own football games? Isn't that a little, I don't know, cryptic?" Ryosei shook his head, a small smile appearing on boyish features.

"That's not it," he replied. "I have a rival at Yotsubadai. I don't even know his name, but he's a great football player. Fast, too. I can hardly ever keep up with him, and every time he comes onto the field, I know my team rarely stands a chance." Miaka blinked.

"We have a star player at our school?" she gaped. Yui was puzzled as well. She had never heard of such an excellent player on their football team, especially not from Joruri, who would have positively buzzed with the news. Unless, of course, thought Yui with a smile, the young man was way out of Joruri's league, an incident that happened rarely, and when it did, she refused to even acknowledge their existence. She wanted to laugh at the triviality of her friend's behaviour sometime, but she knew it was for naught. Only Motoki seemed to find that attractive – either that, or he knew that she may perhaps have been a great person beneath her arrogant, sometimes stuck-up, exterior.

The conversation continued in other matters of sports and academics until they reached the hospital. It wasn't a very large hospital, like the ones Miaka sometimes saw on the daytime soap operas. In fact, it was rather quaint, almost bordering on cute. It was a squat white building, hardly five stories, with a glass first floor façade, peering into a delicate tan lobby. Outside, in the middle of a circular driveway, was a great sculpture of a doctor standing tall and proud amidst shrubbery and violets. It may have been regal looking in the spring and summer when surrounded by blooming flowers, but with the prime of fall looming in the horizon, it may well have been just another aesthetic monument.

The group entered into the lobby and headed towards the front desk. A cheerful, plump middle-aged woman sat behind the desk, working at the computer, which was decorated with cute little furry stickers and post-it notes. Ryosei cleared his throat. "Excuse me, ma'am." The woman turned towards him and gave the three a big, broad smile. Miaka immediately liked this woman for that smile, not one of the plastic ones that most plebeians gave youngsters, but a genuine 'how can I help you?' smile. "We're looking for Nishimura Masazumi. He was admitted here Friday night on account of a heart attack." The woman nodded and turned back to her computer to type in the information.

"Yes, Nishimura-san…is in Room 308-B." She pointed down the hallway. "Go down the hallway to the elevators and take them to the third floor. When you get out, take a left and continue down for around four doors, and you'll find his room. Oh, and don't mind if there are around ten people milling around his room. He's had visitors in and out since Friday." Ryosei grinned and thanked her, and the trio walked down the hallway to get to the elevators.

"He has five children, and fourteen grandchildren," Ryosei explained with a chuckle as they waited for the elevator to reach the first floor. "All of the grandchildren are under the age of eleven. Half of them are under five." Miaka nearly laughed at Yui's wince as the elevator chimed to announced its arrival. By the look on Ryosei's face, she could tell that he was only amused by the thought of being surrounded by grabbing little hands and wailing voices. She was a bit more used to taking care of rugrats due to her job as a daycare attendant, and didn't mind little children. In fact, she absolutely adored them. Yui would have pronounced her crazy on the spot for liking the tiresome job, but Miaka always felt it was a good tired.

The elevator doors opened slowly, and the group of three exited, following the woman's directions from the front desk to find Nishimura Masazumi's room. In fact, they actually heard where his room was before they actually saw it. They turned a corner and saw a cluster of four adults and five children standing outside the room in the spacious hallway. All five of the children looked to be under four and were currently tugging Mommy or Daddy's hand so they could visit the gift shop, whining loudly as they did so. One of the adults, an intimidating-looking man who was beginning to gray, turned to give them a suspicious look.

"Yes, may I help you?"

Ryosei was the first to step forward, as polite as ever. "Hello. My name is Arai Ryosei. Are you all Nishimura-san's relatives?" The other three adults turned. One of them was a slim, elderly lady who appeared older than the other adults, and Miaka assumed that this was perhaps Nishimura-san's wife. The man who had spoken before nodded.

"Yes. I'm his brother. Have you come to visit him?" At Ryosei's nod, the man gestured towards the room. "Well, he's currently being visited by other family members, so you'll have to wait unless you're in a hurry."

Yui peeked into the room and saw that at least eight other people – not including the three little heads bobbing around the bed – were already in the room, surrounding a man in his late fifties. The man looked overwhelmed at being surrounded by so many family members and also bored at the prospect of being stuck in bed for the past four days. Yui felt sorry for him. Of all the places to be stuck for an extended period of time, the hospital must have been very low on everyone's list, even a hospital as nice and quiet as this one.

Miaka also peered into the room beside her friend and suddenly let out a squawk of surprise. "Kaneko-san!" A young woman who appeared to be in her late to mid twenties spun around from where she was sitting in a chair and noticed Miaka standing in the doorway looking absolutely flabbergasted. "What are you doing here?" The young woman in question seemed a bit flustered by Miaka's sudden appearance, but soon a broad smile appeared on her face.

"Miaka-san, who knew I would run into you all the way out here?" she exclaimed, rising from her chair with difficulty. Yui immediately saw why – the woman was several months pregnant. She walked over to Miaka and gave her a bit of a hug. "You know my father?" Miaka shook her head and explained the situation to the woman, who smiled a greeting at Yui and Ryosei. "Well, that's it, then!"

"Where are Ami-chan, Emi-chan, and Fumi-chan?" Miaka asked, looking around the room for the two-year-old triplets. "Left them at home with their daddy today?" Kaneko laughed and nodded, gesturing for the three teenagers to come into the room. Miaka and Ryosei, already having known at least one person in the room, were not as suddenly self-conscious as Yui felt as curious eyes turned towards them. She felt like blushing profusely and excusing herself, but firmly decided to remain planted where she was. After all, she had come to visit Nishimura-san, hadn't she?

"Ryosei-kun!" a voice boomed from the bed. "What are you doing here? You wanted to see me being pampered by the nurses and the doctors who still won't let me leave?" A handsome man in his early thirties shook his head in exasperation, as if he had heard the comment more than once.

"Dad, you know what the doctors said," he murmured. "Not until you regain your strength."

"Oh, phooey with that!" Masazumi replied, sitting up in his bed, careless of the various wires attached to him. He glared at the adults in the room with an annoyance that obviously said no matter how weak they thought him to be, he was still their father. "I'm not sick. I'm as healthy as he is." He pointed towards Ryosei, who reddened slightly as some of the gazes turned towards him. Masazumi chuckled. "Poking me with a bunch of needles and stuffing me full of that paste they call food is not going to make me any better."

"Grampa! Grampa! Lookie!" a tiny, chubby hand reached over the edge of the bed and Yui found it comical that she couldn't even see the body to which the hand belonged to, only a patch of dark hair. The hand dumped a little shoe onto the bed and then the patch of hair began jumping up and down. "Mommy bought me new shoes! See! See!" The adults in the room laughed as the man who had spoken earlier scooped up the child – a boy with a face full of freckles – and the shoe and placed them both on his lap as he put the shoe back onto the foot it came off of.

Kaneko turned to Miaka and sighed, situating herself back in the chair. "That's my brother Eien and his son Hayato." She turned to the others in the room and began pointing out her sister, her two children, two cousins and the husband of one of them, and two uncles. The room was filled with the flurry of greetings, with Masazumi still looking exasperated right in the middle of it. Miaka knew that she would never be able to keep anyone's names straight after being introduced to so many people, and resolved just to stick to last names.

Masazumi turned towards Ryosei. "So, why did you come see an old fart like me?"

Ryosei laughed. "Sasaki-san said 'hi'. Besides, no one can clean up the library as well as you can." This caused a round of laughter to go around the room, and Miaka envied Ryosei's ability to easily endear himself to strangers by simply reaching them on common grounds, in this case, Masazumi.

One of the little children, one-year-old Kuma, approached her suddenly, and tugged on her shirt, making the universal gesture of 'up', reaching tiny little arms in the air. Miaka giggled and obliged, swinging the little boy up onto her hip and began a quiet game of peek-a-boo. The infant giggled in delight and clapped his hands together. The parents of the child looked at each other, and the mother (one of Kaneko's cousins, Miaka mentally noted) said, "He likes you. He usually doesn't go up to complete strangers." Kaneko grinned.

"Miaka-san works as a daycare attendant where I drop the troublesome trio off sometimes," she explained.

"It helps that I like children," added Miaka, bouncing the boy against her hip, causing him to erupt in gurgling giggles.

Yui watched her best friend with a proud look in her eyes, her gaze turning to rest on Masazumi. A brief shudder ran through her body, and she unconsciously swept her fingers through sleek blonde locks, suddenly hesitant. Another dream had crushed any chance of a decent sleep last night, this one more foreboding than the last. She could have sworn she had heard a serpent of some kind (she still was hesitant to acknowledge it has a dragon), and had seen a powerful blue light. And the book. The book had been there too, glowing with a faint iridescent golden light before being smothered by rolling dark shadows.

Could it really be that he had a heart attack, Yui thought, clicking her teeth together in concentration. Or something else? He was near the room…did he see the book or did the book…? She glanced at the man, as he made some side comment to something Ryosei had joked about. I have to ask him, even if I sound foolish doing so. I need to know. I just need to know.

She walked over to the side of the bed where Ryosei was standing, and introduced herself again to Masazumi. A wide grin spread over his face. "A library patron come to visit an old janitor! Now I've heard everything!" Yui wondered how in the world she was going to ask him about his heart attack without sounding like a complete idiot in front of all these people. Ryosei was still standing right next to her, but some of the family members had been caught up in their own conversations. Miaka was talking with Kuma's parents and Kaneko, and it seemed that no one except for Ryosei and Masazumi were giving her any attention.

"Nishimura-san…I was wondering…" she started quietly, "…about your heart attack…you were near the Important Documents room when it happened…?" Masazumi went very quiet, and Yui caught the brief flash of hesitancy in his eyes when she mentioned his heart attack. He doesn't believe it, she thought incredulously. He doesn't believe it was a heart attack. Discouraging herself from jumping to conclusions, she asked another question that would have seemed remarkably inconsequential. "Does the Universe of the Four Gods mean anything to you?"

Masazumi's eyes widened at Yui, looking at her as if she were some sort of demon goddess – beautiful, yet wickedly deadly. She almost thought she saw Ryosei stiffen next to her, but when she glanced at him, he was glancing at her with a confused look in his eyes. Well, why shouldn't he be confused? She had just asked a man who had supposedly had a heart attack whether or not he had heard of certain book before. She swallowed, turning an apologetic look to Masazumi. "I'm sorry, sir. I was just wondering." He looked at her for a long moment, and finally realized what she was getting at.

"A-hem!" he cleared his throat loudly, causing all attention to revert to him. A chipper grin appeared on his face as he began gesturing towards the door. "Family, you know I love you, even though you give me a grandchild or grandniece or grandnephew every other month. But, I need to talk to Hongo-san about a few important changes that have been at the library. Confidential business, and all that." A few of the family members shot Yui suspicious looks, and she managed not to turn red under their questioning glances and quickly whispered something to him. "Oh, and Yuki-san too. Um…friendly support. It'll only be for a moment."

It took a few more moments of convincing before the room cleared out of all people. Ryosei mentioned that he would go and take some of the children down the gift shop so that their parents could actually talk in peace. Yui hid a smile as Ryosei was suddenly laden down with five screaming, energetic children, and could only hope that he wouldn't end up in the hospital himself from losing his sanity. Miaka still supported Kuma on her waist, but she soon found a chair near to bed to sit in and began bouncing the infant on her knee.

The minute the door closed, Masazumi's face darkened. "How did you know about that book?" he asked suspiciously, and Yui noticed that Miaka nearly dropped Kuma from the mention of the book. She didn't even need to be told exactly what book it was.

"We've known about it for nearly two years, sir," explained Yui, motioning for Miaka to give her some support. The russet-haired girl nodded in agreement, though her green eyes were wide in shock. "When I heard of your…accident, I didn't think it was for natural causes." She glanced sideways at him. "You didn't have a heart attack, did you?" Masazumi glowered at her, but finally sighed, a weary look replacing the fierce one he had had on his face just seconds earlier. He shook his head.

"I was confused when I first came here and they said that I need to recuperate from a heart attack," he explained, sitting up in bed. "Because I think I would have remembered having a heart attack. But…I do remembering going into that room, tripping over the book, and putting it back in the shelf. Then, as I left…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "It sounds silly now. I tried telling my wife when she first came in here, and she said it was a dream. I could have expected that, but a dream does not feel that real!" Yui and Miaka shared similar glances as the room went quiet, except for the beeping of the heart monitor. It couldn't be true…could it?

"Anyway, I heard this…voice, I guess you could say, saying something about a god being sealed and some priestess awaiting her destiny," Masazumi continued, a look of pure consternation appearing on his face. "It sounds something straight out of a children's fantasy book – in fact, I thought it was at first – but then, these…shadows spilled from the book…and the last thing I remember is something…or someone…choking me…" He glanced up at the girls. "Lucky me someone forgot his wallet and had to come back to the library." He peered at the two girls and found that both of them had gone a startling shade of white, especially the one sitting on the chair and holding his grandnephew. She turned huge green eyes towards the blonde girl, her mouth gaping in surprise.

"Yui-chan…it can't be true…" she managed to choke out. "The book is over! It's been over for almost two years! This can't be happening!" Yui herself was thinking along the same lines, and felt her breath quickening. The book was over, it had been over even when Tenkou had tried to crush the them last year. But with this new situation…the book actually attacking an innocent bystander…and a god being sealed? What in the world was happening?

"We have to tell Taka…" Yui gasped out, turning to Miaka, stunned. Miaka shook her head vehemently, trying to grasp the reality of this situation.

"Yui-chan, there's more…there's more to the book at the end," she explained, tripping over her words. "Keisuke read it to me last night. It said something about the celestial warriors being connected with the priestess forever, and that all journeys start back at the beginning. What can it mean? Is the book starting over again, or what?" Masazumi looked completely confused by this point by the girls' rambling, and he was starting to worry that one of them would faint dead away. He didn't want to believe that what had happened to him Friday night was actually true, but he found no other way to explain it, especially if these girls, who weren't even there, knew that it was lie when they said he had had a heart attack.

Miaka rose to her feet, still holding Kuma at her hip, and looking a bit unsteady. "Nishimura-san, I want to thank you for…for telling us the truth. You have no idea how much this helped…" Masazumi glanced and saw that there was still shock brimming on the edge of her eyes. He wondered if he had actually harmed them more than he had helped them. And why was it so important to them that they know of the shadows that were in the book? He was more confused now than when he had been when they first brought him to the hospital.

"What's so dangerous about that book?" he asked as they headed towards the door. Both girls stopped and turned, both giving him incredulous stares as he fixated them with a stern grandfather look. "I know from your reactions that the book is dangerous – it nearly killed me after all. How are you two caught up in this book, and what's going to happen with that book?" Miaka gave Yui a long look before walking towards Masazumi, her head bowed slightly.

"It's a dangerous book, you're right," she said quietly, her voice shaking slightly. "We found that out two years ago when we first found the book in the library. There's a spell over it, and we thought it was over. But…I guess there's more to it than we thought. Please." She looked up suddenly, and the sincere pleading in her emerald eyes took Masazumi's breath away. "Please, Nishimura-san. Don't tell anyone else about this book. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Especially not your family. Just…just believe that you had a heart attack and forget about this. Please."

Well, he had never heard someone so sincerely ask for his cooperation before, especially not from someone so young. And she looked so desperate for him to say yes, as if the world was depending on his agreement. It made him wonder what they were planning to do. If the book was so dangerous, it wouldn't be safe for them either. And he wasn't someone who would just let people go ahead and propel themselves into danger without knowing they'd be alright.

The pause was relentless, and Yui almost thought that he would refuse. But then, she saw him nod his head in understanding, a calm look appearing in dark eyes. "Do what you must. A few days ago, I would have proclaimed you both crazy. But…you have to promise me one thing." Miaka nodded. "Don't do anything stupid. You'll have to take care of yourselves. I know whatever you're going to do is going to be dangerous, and I won't be able to forget about this unless you promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course," Miaka replied. "Of course." She gave the man a sad smile before turning and exiting the room. Yui also gave a farewell nod to Masazumi before following after her best friend, leaving him to contemplate exactly what the hell had just happened. Soon, his family flocked back into the room, ready to engage in various bits of conversation and to chide him not to work so hard anymore. Outside, he could see Miaka give Kuma back to her mother and Ryosei return with the flock of grandchildren, dumping them off with their respective parents before following Yui and Miaka down the hall to leave.

Did that really just happen, he thought to himself as a tiny shoe landed in his lap. He frowned.

Who were those two girls really…?

xxxxx

"So that's what happened, huh?" Tetsuya sighed, glancing through the book on his lap before closing it wearily. He ran his hand through dark locks and shook his head, placing the book onto the table in front of him. "I can't believe it. After all this time, and now it's starting all over again. I guess…I guess it's a good thing you guys did get the book. Looks like we're going to need it again."

As soon as they had departed from Ryosei, Yui and Miaka had made a beeline for Keisuke's apartment. Keisuke had found on his doorstep two very upset priestesses, and, after ushering them in, offered them enough tea to soothe their nerves. When they had manage to calm down enough to explain what Masazumi had told them, Keisuke had immediately called Tetsuya and Taka to inform them of the latest news concerning the book. Neither had been too happy to hear of the possible dangers emerging from it.

Yui sighed. "But it makes no sense. The book just cuts off right at the end, and nothing has changed at the beginning. Even when we fought Tenkou, there was something mentioned in here at the end." She took the book from Tetsuya's lap and glanced warily at the front cover. "All we know is that it has something to do with the seishi being always connected with the priestess and that all journeys start back at the beginning. Does that tell us anything of importance?"

Taka frowned, sitting back in the couch. Miaka was curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest and looking for all the world to see as if someone had just put in charge of all the nations of the world. Her soulmate wrapped an arm around her before raising his eyes to meet his other three companions. "I'm not saying that this is exactly the right thing to do, but maybe we should just let whatever has to play out happen first. Right now, we can't really anticipate what this all means." He took in a deep breath. "It sounds confusing, but maybe the questions will be answered soon."

"Yeah," murmured Miaka distractedly as she look at the book in Yui's hands. She had hoped that when Masazumi was attacked, it was because of some defense mechanism in the book, but the odd words that had mysteriously filled the last pages had left her ruffled. Back to the beginning? The Seven connected to the priestess? Had it just been stating the obvious or was there a subtle warning in the message, a hint of dire things to come?

Miaka shivered and buried her face in Taka's sweatshirt, closing her eyes. She didn't want to go back. Even though she couldn't deny what had happened in the book (Taka was her living proof), she didn't think she was strong enough to handle whatever trials might come up next. The first time, her adventure had cost her Yui, four of her faithful warriors and dearest friends, Tamahome's family, dozens of innocents caught up in the war, and even those she had left behind to deal with a war-ravaged Konan. Could she deal with a new quest?

I know they expect me to be strong when it comes to this, Miaka thought dejectedly, biting her thumbnail. But if what I feel comes true, I'll shatter. I won't be able to…oh, Taka, give me strength…

She turned her attention back to the conversation, emerald eyes downcast with worry and dreaded anticipation. "So we wait then. Something big is going to happen, and it might be even worse than with Tenkou if the book isn't mentioning anything." The others flinched at the thought of dealing with someone or something even worse than Tenkou, but there was nothing any of them could really do to stop it. Miaka sighed.

And so, it begins again…

xxxxx

Somewhere else, close by or faraway, a young man looked out his window and sighed, shaking his head. "And so, the beginning of the end is already here…" He wrinkled his nose and checked his watch. "And who would have thought 7:41 would be such an important time?" The clinging noise behind him told him that his bagel was ready, and he approached the toaster hesitantly. The little machine always had a knack for sending toast and bagels flying into his face, burnt to a crisp.

Maybe I should buy a new one…, he thought darkly as a blackened wheat projectile clonked him on the nose. Well…this is embarrassing…

He muttered something under his breath as he tossed the burnt bagel into the trash and opted for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

xxxxx

Miaka hated gym class.

In fact, she rather preferred facing Nakago or Tenkou than suffering through this torturous hour every other day. At least they wouldn't give her a grade on performance and her ability to work along with the team. And why was it that whenever they were split into teams, she was always stuck with the jocks who left her out of everything and treated her like a nuisance? All the nice people were always on the other team.

Well, at least it never bothered her if her team lost.

She swayed on the base she stood on, feeling altogether bored as one of her teammates, a burly young man who was on the wrestling team, stomped up to home plate. The members of the opposite team all seemed to take a few giant steps backwards – the young man's kicks were infamous. Miaka remembered one time when someone had gotten hit in the head with one of the balls and received a very nasty lump that left him unconscious for more hours than should have been needed.

"Ugh, I hate this game," Miaka grumbled, crossing her arms. Kickball, she believed, was one of the many sports that school created just to annoy and frustrate students. The boy standing guard of the base she was on grinned.

"You and me both," he chuckled as the pitcher rolled the ball forward and the wrestler took a running start towards it. Miaka sighed as the foot and the ball connected, and watched as the kickball went soaring over the fence into the teacher's parking lot. Her team cheered loudly as one of the girls on the opposite team scrambled over the fence to go retrieve the ball. Miaka didn't run to the last two bases, knowing that there was no need to. She calmly walked to home plate, earning her team another point, before going to sit in the bleachers.

Sayoko smirked at her as she sat down. "You seem so enthusiastic out there, Miaka-chan." The copper-haired girl made a face.

"Yeah, yeah. I just hate kickball. In fact, I hate gym."

"I can see the love blossoming on your face right now."

Miaka rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Sayoko giggled, and the two watched as the rest of the game continued, not really interested, since they already knew who was going to win. And within ten minutes, their assumptions were proved correct as Miaka's team began cheering loudly at their victory, having won by six points. A bell interrupted the revelry, and soon the students were heading back inside the building to the locker rooms.

"So, I heard that you've been talking to this guy from Jonan," Sayoko teased gently as Miaka buttoned up her shirt. "He tutors, he's cute, and he's smart. It seems as if you've given up on Taka." Miaka's face burned red, and she struggled to hide it as she brushed out her hair.

"No…that's not it," she mumbled. "He's a friend, that's all. We ran into him at the library. He's nice, but there's no way I'm giving up on Taka." Not after I defied heaven and earth to get him, she thought to herself as she slipped on her forest green jacket. "Besides, why would I try to get another boyfriend when you don't even have one?" Sayoko glared at her, but laughed anyway as she wiped her glasses on her skirt. "I can introduce you, if you like. His football team is playing ours after school." Sayoko shook her head.

"Sorry, but I have to pick up my little brother as soon as the game starts," the redhead explained with a wink. "My parents are off to a romantic weekend up north for their anniversary. So guess who gets to baby-sit all weekend?" Miaka grinned at the face her friend made as they left from the locker room and headed towards their last class, study hall. Along the way, Yui joined them and the three girls fell into a conversation about the classes they already had today. Miaka noticed that Yui looked a bit tired and downcast. There seemed to be a spark missing in her eyes, and the Suzaku no miko didn't have to wonder why.

The news that the book wasn't quite over had taken its toll on all of them, leaving all anticipating and dreading the worst. If anything was worse than Tenkou, Miaka sure didn't want to have to face it. She didn't want to die and she certainly didn't want to lose her friends again. Keisuke had been right when she had first told him about the book – it was dangerous and she shouldn't have gotten involved. But in some way, she was right too, and she was still being proven right. The book would never relinquish its hold on her until she finished it.

But when would it be finished? They had thought it was finished twice. How many more endings could there be? How much information could be packed into the one extra passage? She had been wondering about that all week since their meeting, and had come up with nothing. It had ended so abruptly, so ominously. And that's what probably scared her the most. The glimpses of nightmares she couldn't remember when she awoke haunted her dreams, and left her shaking, sobbing, and sweating. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember those dreams. She supposed they were bad enough, but she didn't remember them.

Why would I want to remember them? Miaka thought sourly as she walked into the classroom and took her seat behind Yui. Whew, I'm glad this is study hall. I hate having to go to a class right after gym! I'm always too tired…and too hungry…to pay attention. She opened her school bag, pulled out a notebook and her copy of King Lear and began reading through it. She wondered if they would be done reading the tragedy before the new teacher from America arrived. She hoped so – at least then, maybe it wouldn't be so hard to understand.

She was deep into the latter part of the second act when a folded piece of paper landed on her desk. Miaka blinked, lifted her head and looked around the room. Save for the whispered conversation between the teacher and a student, the room was silent. She glanced at the bow-tie shaped note and glanced at Yui, who tilted her head slightly and winked at her. Miaka grinned and silently unfolded the sheet of paper.

The game doesn't start until an hour after school ends. Want to get something to eat with Joruri and Sayoko before then?

Miaka smiled happily at the thought of food, and tapped Yui on the shoulder, nodding her reply. Yui gave her a grin before turning back to her own book, leaving Miaka to contemplate exactly what she was in the mood for. She tapped her pencil against her notebook, chewing the eraser thoughtfully, before looking down at the Shakespearian language in front of her. Well, here was one of the things she possibly hated more than gym. When Kiyoso-sensei found out that quite a large number of the students in his class had failed the King Lear test, he had been…well, furious would be quite the understatement. As punishment, all the students had been assigned to take up another Shakespearian play and right an entire five-page essay on it.

Yui had already chosen The Twelfth Night, but Miaka had no idea what to choose. Everyone's going to choose the same thing, I bet! I can't believe he could be so mean…! She looked down at the paperback in front of her and scrunched up her nose, opening it to the inside flap, where the rest of Shakespeare's plays were named. I bet this guy didn't even want his works to be dissected by mean old grumpy English substitutes…I hate English! She peered curiously at the list, chewing her eraser even more. I wonder how much he'd like it if I wrote about the ShiJenTenChiSho! Of course, he'll probably think I made it up since I'm one of the main characters!

Her train of thought paused as a certain title caught her attention. She looked around the classroom and saw that the teacher had returned to his desk and was reading the newspaper. Satisfied, Miaka quietly tore a small band of paper from her notebook and wrote a note to Yui. She stuffed the note in her book and handed it to her friend. Yui turned, blinked at the strange gift, and gave Miaka a look. The confused look disappeared off her face once the folded piece of paper fell out.

A few moments later, the piece of paper, once again folded into a bow-tie, dropped back onto Miaka's desk, and she quickly unfolded it to read it.

It's a romantic comedy. I think you'd like it – it has lots of fantasy in it, and there's a happy ending. I definitely recommend it. It's not as hard to understand as King Lear – it's a fun read. If you do choose it and read it, tell me how you enjoyed it!

Miaka smiled happily, tucking the note away in her school bag. It looked like after the game tonight, she would have to pay a visit to the library. She winced at the thought of the library, not as she would have done two years ago, because it was something academic. Now, whenever she thought of the library or books, her mind would always wander back to the thought of the book that had both cursed and blessed her.

I bet Shakespeare didn't put magic spells on his books, she thought, looking up at the ceiling. I'd hate to be transported to King Lear's time. But then again, so many people have read his books, someone would have noticed if they were bad or not…unless they never get out…what if all these people in his stories are actually real people who got stuck…oh, man…I'm losing my mind…She scowled briefly before burying her head into the tragic play.

"What's with the long face?" Yui asked as they walked out of class together along with Sayoko. Miaka made a face – was it really that obvious that she had been pouting all throughout study hall? Yui grinned. "You look as if someone told you that there were no restaurants nearby." Sayoko giggled as Miaka stuck out her tongue.

"That's not it, Yui!" she exclaimed. "I was just thinking about the…ah, uh…assignment! Yeah! The assignment Kiyoso-sensei gave us. You know how unfair he is! It's not our fault half the class can't understand old English! Some of us are still grasping modern day English as it is." Yui and Sayoko shared looks, and Miaka suddenly groaned. "Let me guess. You two actually passed the test." Sayoko smiled and rubbed the base of her neck.

"Well…it wasn't that hard if you read the beginning part of act two like you were supposed to…"

"I hate English…the only subject I like at school is…"

"Lunch?"

"Yui, you know me too well."

The trio emerged from a side door in the school where Joruri was waiting for them. The dark-haired girl was flipping through a fashion magazine, and didn't notice the group until they were standing right next to her. She finally looked up, gave them all a brief frown that told them that she hated waiting, and then stuffed the magazine into her bag. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to go to this football game. And I can believe Motoki refused to go!"

Miaka frowned. "But didn't Motoki's hockey coach call an emergency practice thing?" Joruri mumbled something under her breath and Miaka took that as a yes. She scratched her head. "I think you'll see him again. Last time I checked, he wasn't abducted by aliens or sucked into some sort of magical book." Yui shot her a look that was a mixture of disapproval and amusement, and Miaka had to shrug as Sayoko and Joruri shared looks. "Anyway, where are we going to eat?"

The girls argued for around five minutes until Yui suggested a small little café just around the corner for a small, light meal. "It's sometimes crowded around this time because students from the college a few blocks away visit here," Yui explained as the quartet walked down the street. "But I think if we hurry we can beat the afternoon rush." Miaka had cheered at the thought of sandwiches, and was also anxious about the game in an hour. The past week had been tumultuous, what with learning about the book and preparing herself for a possible battle in the near future. Of course, Ryosei's presence had calmed her a bit. The sixteen-year-old's enthusiasm and cheerfulness were contagious and whenever she was around him, she felt a whole lot better.

Maybe because he's something new, someone not associated with the book, a voice in her head piped up. Miaka had to agree. Ryosei was a breath of fresh air when destiny seemed to suddenly crush her. She hated that all this was happening within a week's time. (But then again, when something like this had happened before, everything had always taken place within a week…)

The girls entered into the café and sat themselves at a booth that allowed them to watch people coming in and leaving out of the small restaurant. A waitress came up to their table almost immediately and gave the group a practiced brilliant smile. "Hello, minna-chan. My name is Megumi. Is there anything I can get you to drink or are you ready to order?"

"Just drinks, right now," Sayoko commented, and the waitress wrote down their orders before disappearing behind a door that led to the kitchen. The redhead looked around the café and smiled. "This is a cute place, Yui."

"Cute?" Yui asked, blinking. "Well, I guess that's one way to describe it." She began paging through the menu before looking up. "So, Joruri-chan, have you convinced Motoki-kun to take up football? I know you two were arguing about it earlier this week…"

"I don't argue," Joruri muttered, flipping a strand of ebony hair over her shoulder. Miaka resisted the urge to say something about the girl's uppity attitude, and instead turned her eyes towards the different sandwiches the café had to offer. "And, no. He didn't change his mind. He's sticking to that stupid hockey. Honestly…" Miaka suddenly lifted her head up, remembering the conversation she and Yui had had earlier in the week when Ryosei had mentioned something about a star player on their football team. She hadn't really thought much of it since then (the presence of the book occupied most of the thoughts in her mind), but the scampering memory was finally nailed down.

She ran a hand through her auburn waves (for once, she had decided not to put it up in her classic odango-style) and glanced at Joruri. "Joruri, I remember a friend of mine saying that we have a star player on the football team. Do you know who he is?" Joruri blinked and then flushed indignantly, confirming Miaka's thoughts. Whoever it was must have been way out of Joruri's league – either that, or he gave her the brush off when she tried to flirt (which Miaka prayed was before Motoki).

Yui noticed Joruri turn red and cleared her throat, shooting a glance at Miaka that told her to knock it off. "Yeah, we just heard about it from someone who plays for Jonan's football team. Arai Ryosei?" Joruri blinked.

"Arai-san? You know him?" At Yui and Miaka's dumbfounded nods, Joruri gave a brief squeal. "I can't believe you didn't tell me. He is the hottest guy at Jonan, I swear! And he's smart and he plays for the football team, the baseball team, the basketball team, and he's in chess and debate!" Joruri waved a hand in front of her flushed face, and sighed melodramatically, hazel eyes flashing in memory. The other three girls shared looks and simultaneously rolled their eyes. For someone who had a boyfriend, Joruri sure was getting all hot and bothered by someone a year younger than them.

Miaka quietly began folding her napkin into an origami frog, ignoring the rest of the group as Sayoko and Yui chastised Joruri for wanting any other boy other than Motoki. Well, it's not like Motoki-kun is bad or anything…, Miaka thought, frowning in concentration. Okay, so maybe it seems like he's not all there all the time…but I'm sure it's not his fault he's always so spacey. She made a face. Now, he's a real jock. Well…except he's smart too…but he never acts smart…he's a big goofball…but I like him. He's funny, sometimes.

The waitress came back to the table then, balancing a tray holding their drinks in one hand. The girls thanked her, and immediately went back to their conversation. Well, the other three did, as Miaka added the finishing touches onto her origami frog, sipping quietly at her soda and removing herself from the conversation. After a few moments, she turned her head to gaze out the window.

None of them would be too happy with me about now, she thought as she watched people pass along the sidewalk. They'd say I was moping around too much. Nuriko would say that I worry too much, and Mitsukake would try to comfort me. Hotohori would be there for me too, and Chiriko…well, he'd probably advise me to get my mind off it by studying. Tasuki would mutter something about girls being worrywarts and Chichiri would give some good advice on dealing with this…

Miaka felt a lone tear run down her face, alerting her to its presence. She gasped slightly and quickly wiped it away before the others could see it. She glanced over at her three friends – pretty Joruri, intelligent Sayoko, and…Yui. Her closest of all her friends. But, deep in Miaka's heart, despite how much she loved Yui and the others, she would have given anything to be sitting at that table with the Suzaku seven. She missed them so badly. Would they be able to help her this time like they had when Tenkou had arrived?

No…by now, they've been reincarnated into their chosen forms, Miaka thought, twirling her soda and ice with her straw. Even so, I can't go back into the book. I wonder how many years have passed…it's only been two here…I wonder how Tasuki and Chichiri are doing…I miss all them so much…

"Earth to Miaka!"

Miaka's head snapped up, and she blinked into three different pairs of eyes. "Huh? What did you say?" Joruri snorted, giving Miaka a bit of a disappointed look.

"See, I told you she wasn't paying attention." Yui gave Miaka a worried look, disconcerted by the sadness emanating from emerald-green eyes. But…did she also look guilty? Yui wondered about that, even as Miaka plunged back into the conversation. She wasn't entirely sure what has caused such feelings to appear in Miaka's eyes, but she had a sinking feeling that it was connected to the book.

It seems that lately, all of their problems were tired back in to the book. Yui had really believed that the book was complete when Tenkou tried to bring domination to the two worlds, but now…? What if they faced someone even stronger than Tenkou? Yui didn't want to see anyone else die. She wanted to live a peaceful life. The curse of being a priestess should have passed since that adventure early last year. At least…that's what she wanted to think.

I wonder if the same thing happened to Takiko and Suzuno, Yui thought as the waitress brought them their food. No, it couldn't have happened to them. Takiko…died when she returned from the book, and Suzuno was forced to live her life without Tatara. That was the pain they had to go through. She frowned. But Miaka got Taka in the end, and neither of us were in pain from being consumed by the beast god. Well, that's all thanks to Miaka. She made those selfless wishes in order for those around her to be happy. She smiled as she glanced over at Miaka, who was cheerfully teasing Sayoko about a secret admirer. And her reward was Taka.

"Great! Now Yui's spaced out!"

Yui blinked, and realized that the attention had turned towards her. She laughed slightly, before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Sorry, you guys. I was just thinking about that test tomorrow for chemistry. After the football game, I'm going to have to go and study for it." Miaka made a face at her best friend and Yui gave her a raspberry. "I can't help it if I find the time to study, and you can't. Maybe if you stopped making googly-eyes at Taka all the time…"

"I do not make googly-eyes at Taka!"

"…then maybe we could study together tonight." Joruri and Sayoko turned their attention to Miaka, who was now beet red. She glared down at the huge sandwich and then back up at Yui, pouting. She seemed to be contemplating this offer as she picked at the lettuce of the sandwich. Finally, she lifted her brunette head, a huge grin on her face.

"Yui, I think it's time that you get a boyfriend!"

The screeching and laughter that followed answered the statement.

xxxxx

He knew he was coming before he even appeared.

The young man rounded the corner, a bag slung over his shoulder, and looking a bit dazed as his eyes fell on the figure resting against the wall of the gym. He blinked uncertainly, and then cocked his head to the side. "Waiting for someone?" The black-clothed man lifted his head, and the young man peered in the fathomless shadows of the hood. The only things he could see of the man's features were the man's lower face and a few wispy strands of platinum-blonde hair.

The man seemed to be watching him curiously, as if studying him. "Yes. I am." He straightened up from his position on the wall, a small smile curving onto his face. "I've been waiting for you." The young man was about to remark something along the lines that he'd never seen this stranger before in his entire life when he noticed the darkness surrounding the man. It wasn't literal darkness, but inky aura that seemed to cloak him like some second coat was almost as disturbingly visual as the coat he actually wore.

"Hey, I'd love to talk," the young man murmured, stepping away from the dark man, "but I'm late as it is." He turned to sprint away, but he found that his body would not cooperate with what his mind was screaming at him to do. He hesitated, and then turned to glance at the figure, who was still watching him with keen interest.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me," the man whispered quietly, a note of sadness in his voice that was not at all cloaked the smile he was still wearing. "But…it's been awhile, hasn't it?" The young man didn't know what to say to that. Maybe it was one of his parent's weird friends – heaven knows they had a ton of them.

He wasn't at all prepared for the sudden darkening of his vision. He had been too wrapped in his thoughts to notice the minute twitch in the man's hand, hardly enough to be considered a movement, but just enough to take him by surprise. His bag dropped to the ground as he stumbled backwards, crying out in surprise and fear. What the heck…what's going on!?

Something inside him was reacting to the bottomless cold blackness that was enveloping his mind, something oddly familiar. Whatever it was, it seemed to be an anchor in the pitch darkness, and, he desperately tried to grab it, to hold onto it. But when he was certain his mental fingertips were just brushing the faintly glowing something, it too was wrapped in the darkness, yanked away faster than he could reach it.

No! he shouted in his mind, trying to get it back. He needed whatever it was. He hadn't even known he had had it, but it was his. And the darkness was trying to take it away. It was important, then, if those shadows were trying to take it away from him. He reached out for it again, mentally kicking and screaming, but the shadows that had ripped that something away were now holding him back roughly. He cursed bitterly in his mind, trying to pull himself away from the darkness, but finding that the presence was far too overwhelming to ignore. No matter how much he pushed and pulled, he simply didn't have the strength to fight against that power.

The man watched as the youth sank to the ground in a dead faint, half-collapsing on his bag. He approached the slumped body with an air of amusement as he quietly searched his victim's mind, kneeling down on the ground next to him, and frowning. It seems the boy was a fighter – he certainly wasn't giving up that hidden portion of his mind so quickly.

"So this is the type of person you've become…" the man whispered as the young man whimpered quietly under his mental assault. The mind-link wasn't as strong as it could be, but with just the slightest thought, the stranger could annihilate the boy's memories and mutilate what would have been left of his mind, leaving him a simple shell of his former self. He shook his head as the shadows within the young man's mind confined him, pulling him from that something he held so dear, no matter how hidden it was. "Well, we'll see how much you know."

He paged through the young man's memories as if they were his own, frowning as he came across the past month of the his life. A smooth, uncanny smile drifted across the man's face like some demonic ghost. "And this is where I come in." He grasped the mental lines that tied the two men together, and began twisting them around, altering memories, replacing them with new ones.

The trespassing of the mind, the personal, sacred space of all, is on many levels worse than rape, which is something, when considered, plausible. But the rape of the mind is something unheard of, and the deep recesses of the mind should never be violated. The thought didn't even cross the man's mind as he continued his work. The shadows that he had planted in their earlier meeting had taken control some times, but now, it was time for complete dominance. He buried the hallowed something beneath layers and layers of shadows, and rose to his feet as he disconnected the magical lines that had linked their minds. Even as he pulled out of the boy's mind, he could sense the glowing presence of the thing, trying to break the chains he had wrapped around it.

"And this is how it will begin," he whispered, sounding not entirely apologetic, but not wholly detached either. He took one more glance at the prone body of the boy before walking off into the shadows created by the building.

A few moments later, the young man walked from behind the building, completely oblivious to the missing minutes in his life, and no longer remembering the something buried deep within his mind.

xxxxx

Miaka, Yui, and Joruri arrived at the football field around fifteen minutes before the game was supposed to start, soon after departing from Sayoko. The Yotsubadai field was a hole in the ground – literally. It wasn't at all level with the surrounding buildings – instead, it was built around ten feet below the ground, with the stands surrounding it on its north and south borders. Rain often proved disastrous for the field, as giant mud puddles would suddenly take up all the available space on the usually verdant playing fields. The goalposts for American football were currently down until next month, when the training began.

The stands surrounding the field were slowly on their way to becoming crowded, and the three girls were surprised to find nice wide space on the second row from the field. A few of the football players who played for Yotsubadai were leaning against the rail that separated the field from the stands and talking to some of their classmates. The other players were out on the field, stretching or doing other exercises to help prepare for the game. Miaka glanced around the field, and saw that the players from Jonan were a little further down. She hesitated when she didn't see Ryosei.

Yui followed her gaze as they sat down and grinned. "Don't worry. He'll be here." Joruri raised an eyebrow at the two, but her eyes quickly landed on the captain of the football team. She watched in complete adoration – though, Yui noted with dry approval, it was restrained enough to give respect to the absent Motoki – until the captain's girlfriend came up to him. Soon, she rolled her eyes away in disgust and Yui and Miaka shared looks.

"You know, I've been thinking, Yui," Miaka murmured as she glanced at the scoreboard, "who are we supposed to be cheering for?" Yui opened her mouth to respond, and then stopped. What a good question. She blinked at her friend, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity and then, simultaneously, they both looked up at the scoreboard. "Yeah, those were my exact thoughts."

"Well, I hoped you'd cheer for me, but…"

The two girls spun around and saw Ryosei leaning against the rail and grinning up at them. Joruri gasped slightly, and then quickly turned her attention to her compact, which she hastily pulled out of her purse. Miaka grinned at the young man, who was resting one foot against the black-and-white football. "Hey, I didn't see you earlier. You just get here?" Ryosei shook his head, causing his spiky bangs to bounce against his forehead.

"We all got here at the same time," he replied, gesturing to the rest of his teammates out on the field. "But I sort of wandered off. Not exactly the best idea if you want to deal with my coach, who pretty much yelled at me for being irresponsible, blockheaded, rude, ignorant, and whole bunch of other things that simply aren't true." He grinned as Miaka rolled her eyes and Yui hid a snicker. Joruri glanced briefly at him before turning her attention back to her compact, blushing furiously.

Miaka looked out at the rest of the team. "So, is your rival here?" Ryosei frowned a bit at the world "rival" and seemed to almost look a bit confused. A second later, an expression of understanding bloomed across his face and he glanced briefly out towards the fields. He turned back to them and shook his head, looking perplexed again, and then looking back out to the other team's players.

"If he is, I don't see him," he murmured, so quietly that neither Miaka or Yui could hear it. "But that makes all the difference, doesn't it?" He suddenly turned back to his friends, grinning. "But if you see someone running like the blazes out there, it's definitely going to be him. I swear, he's fast." Yui could have sworn Miaka murmured something about red-haired bandits under her breath at that moment, but chose to ignore it. Instead, she gave Ryosei a thumbs-up as the referee suddenly blew the whistle so the teams could plan their strategy in the ten minutes before the game started.

While the teams split into their two separate groups, Miaka glanced over at the Jonan team. She knew a few of the players on the team, including Chomei and Haru from gym class, Izumo from English, and Matsu from world studies. There were also two boys from her chemistry class, one from computer sciences, and a couple of upperclassmen as well. A few of them appeared to be out of Joruri's league, but she couldn't very well be sure without meeting them. She glanced at the boy who had run into a tree earlier in the week – easily recognizable by the bandage on his forehead and the way he seemed to bounce from one player to the next with incessant energy – and sighed.

Miaka glanced over at Yui, and was surprised to see that her focus wasn't on their school's team, but on Jonan's team. In fact, the way she was glancing made Miaka think she wasn't looking at the team as a whole, but more at one…

The resounding smack on the forehead was nothing compared to the sheer stupidity that washed over Miaka at that moment. She could have called herself "baka" in at least six different languages (if she had known six), and nearly did. Of course Yui would be attracted to Ryosei, even if he was a year younger than them. He was smart, funny, athletic, handsome, and just an all-around good-guy to be around. If it hadn't been for Taka, she probably would be drooling at him too. And it didn't help that Miaka had earlier teased Yui about getting a boyfriend. She giggled to herself. Of course, now she would have to tease Yui about dumping poor Tetsuya out on the street.

Ooh, I'm gonna fry her after this game is over! Miaka snickered. After all that talk that I look at other guys when I'm with Taka…she's gonna get it!

Miaka was still thinking of ways to embarrass her friend when the game started. Fans of the Jonan team cheered from one side of the field, while Yotsubadai's players received their encouragement from the other. Miaka still wasn't quite sure who to cheer on, and decided to stick with the ambivalent 'go, team!' phrase – if any one asked her, she could always say she was cheering for either team. Of course, she would have loved to call out Ryosei's name, but that would have earned her enough poisonous looks to silence her for the rest of the game.

It wasn't as if it was a bad game. In fact, it was very interesting, as far as football games go. Each team chased the tail of the other, and whenever one side scored, within a few minutes, the other team was right behind them. The goalies were doing their job as much as they could, but they couldn't prevent all footballs from flying into the nets. Miaka watched with the intensity of one not learned in the sport, but still eager about the competition. From the little she knew about football, these players were very good. She noticed some fancy footwork and teamwork going on out there.

And I still don't see Speedy, she thought to herself as Jonan scored a point. Maybe he's a secret weapon…or something. She watched in amusement as students from her school powered their way down to their goal. Yui was also cheering their team along, though Miaka could tell whenever she wanted to cheer Ryosei, she converted to Miaka's cheering slogan. Joruri had settled back between watching the game and talking on her cell. It wasn't as irritating as it used to be, but it still bordered on annoying.

The score was tied five to five by the time Yotsubadai asked for a brief time-out. The football players all looked like a various degrees of hell, and Miaka had a feeling that they were exhausting themselves just to keep up with Jonan. Not that anyone could blame them – Jonan wasn't just exceptionally good at academics. The trophy case at their school was a testimony to that. Miaka tugged at a thick strand of russet-colored hair and then made a face at Yui. "I have a feeling we're going to lose."

"And to think, I'm not in the least bit upset over that," Yui replied with a teasing grin. "I want Ryosei's team to win…"

"But I want us to win too!" exclaimed Miaka as the referee's whistle blew. "Well, either way it goes, we win some, we lose some." Yui rolled her eyes at the poor joke before laughing quietly, and turning her attention back to the ongoing game. She liked some sports too, but she was a far cry from the enthusiastic students at school who practically lived for school spirit. Sports just weren't her thing when it came to expressing love for the school – academics suited her more comfortably. Yui looked out at the field and watched as Jonan captured the ball again and began heading towards their goal. Their team was beginning to wear out from the abuse, and Yui prepared herself for the inevitable.

Of course, the inevitable is never written stone.

Yui blinked as she realized the Jonan no longer had the ball. In fact, all she had really seen was one of their players dribbling the ball down the field, getting ready to pass, when suddenly, the ball simply wasn't there anymore. The gasp and cheers from the crowd behind her told her that their team obviously had the ball. But who…? She readjusted her shocked vision to follow the Jonan players as they suddenly realized that their point was no longer assured. She watched as they suddenly turned in the opposite direction and began chasing one of the Yotsubadai players towards his goal.

Miaka, who was just as shocked as the rest of them to suddenly see the balance altered, looked at the lithe football player as he dribbled the ball down the field at astonishing speeds. He agilely avoided the opposite team's defense as he headed towards the Jonan goalie, who looked dazed at the sudden turn of events. Miaka frowned. He was too far away to make out his facial features, but he looked like one of the boys in her chemistry class, the one with the chin-length black hair and aristocratically beautiful face. She simply could not take her eyes off him, even after he delivered a sweeping kick to the ball that gave Yotsubadai the advantage in score.

For the rest of the game, Miaka followed the young man with her eyes, shockingly impressed by his athletic ability and his complete nonchalance to all other players. Suzaku, does he look bored? she thought incredulously as he scored another point for his team. The players on his team were looking mighty proud of their fellow teammate, while the players on the opposite team were giving the youth looks that were a mix of envy and admiration. Even the students and families who had come out to support Jonan's team were in silent awe of the young man's talents.

Miaka turned her gaze to Ryosei for the one moment she was able to break away from the unknown player. She was surprised to see the barely concealed hostility and frustration in his eyes every time he confronted the black-haired star. In fact, the expression looked so abnormal on the boy, she did a double take. Usually, Ryosei spoke of his rival with the highest regard, a respect that was reminiscent of the times of feudal lords and the samurai. But this dislike in Ryosei's eyes almost shattered Miaka's previous image of deference the green-eyed youth had for the Yotsubadai student.

The shaken feeling stayed within her all the way until the last whistle was blown. Needless to say, Yotsubadai has blown Jonan out of the water in the last half of the game, winning with almost even points more. The crowds were beginning to stand up and leave as the players gave each other respected bows before turning to leave.

Miaka caught Ryosei's eye, and was surprised as he completely dismissed her and turned his attention to the raven-haired player. Upset, Miaka followed his gaze and gaped when she was piercing eyes glaring at her from across the field. Was there hostility in that look? She blinked and opened her mouth to shout something when the young man gave her an obvious cold shoulder before walking off. Now, Miaka steamed and crossed her arms. What was that all about!? I've never even done anything to the jerk! All the respect that she had fostered over the game flew right out the window. Arrogant, bigheaded, annoying little…

This tirade continued in her head even as Ryosei approached, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry about all that. I noticed you guys cheering, but I sometimes get really caught up in the game." Yui gave him an understanding nod.

"Don't worry about it," she grinned, winking at him. "It happens to the best of us." She gave Miaka a look and coughed slightly at the brooding look in her friend's emerald eyes. "Or the worst. Miaka, what in the world are you pouting about?" The girl mumbled something and Yui rolled her eyes. "When you want to talk so that others can understand you, then maybe I'd be able to reply." Miaka sighed and glanced over at Ryosei, who blinked innocence.

"Gomen nasai, Miaka. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings earlier."

"You don't have to apologize," Miaka said with a sigh. "I'm not mad at you." Ryosei grinned at her, and gave her a brief two-fingered salute before saying good-bye and running off to join his teammates. Miaka hesitated as her two friends got to their feet – was it just a bit of imagination, or had she seen a brief flash of hatred flash in Ryosei's eyes? What was with it and hostility among these football players? She thought most of that stuff was reserved for basketball, and even then, most of the crazy stuff happened over in America.

"Hey, are you just going to sit there all day, or are you coming with us?" Miaka glanced up at her friends, and reddened slightly, before getting to her feet and scampering after them.

"I'm coming! Meanies!"

xxxxx

He watched and waited.

And then, in moment of uncertainty and darkness, he was gone.

And the spell began.

xxxxx

Author's Note: (8-30-04) Okay, this chapter was excruciatingly long. I really didn't mean to make it this long. It just sort of happened. I have a number of things I need to get done per chapter, and this one had quite a few plot points to randomly drop in. And I hate separating chapters. As it is, both parts of Aeternum Vale are going to both end up having a total of thirty-five chapters (thirty-six, if you include the prologue).

So, we learn more about the book. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm not giving away anything. You're just going to have to keep reading to find out. (Hey, two new mysterious characters!). Plus, the dark man makes his third appearance, and plots more.

I didn't know this until recently – all four gods are male. Unfortunately, I have Byakko as a female. I really don't feel like going back and changing this, but since it's only in the prologue, I'll probably end up doing it. Other than that, I've changed the intro format to all other chapters, but I think it'll be awhile before this story is updated again. It's already been two months since my last update (of course, with chapters that are 10K-plus pages long, I think I'm reasonably excused for not getting a chapter out every other week). Well, I promise, the next chapter will be shorter! I promise! No, really.

I haven't started chapter four yet, and I probably won't until I get some progress on Chapter 5 of Cinderella. And I'm not even going to try to get my Christmas chapter out before Christmas. It's not going to work, I already know it.

Well, that's enough of me ranting. I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Remember, read and review (because reviews make a story grow – plus they encourage the author, and all that lovable goodness).

Muchas gracias!

- Nashie-chan