Chapter Nine: Best Friends Forever
Taka awoke and gazed over to his left hoping to see Miaka. But she was nowhere to be seen. He raised his head and looked around the room. Most of the Suzaku seven hadn't woken yet so he climbed out from under the covers to go talk to Keisuke. He walked over to the bedroom and knocked on the door. It wasn't answered by Keisuke, but by Hotohori.
"Your majesty" Taka said surprised, "I'm sorry to disturb you but is Keisuke up yet?"
"No" Hotohori shook his head quizzically, "What's wrong Tamahome?" he asked concerned.
"It's Miaka. I can't find her. She wasn't next to me this morning."
"Well I wouldn't worry about it I mean" Hotohori said but then the phone rang, "What's that?" he replied curiously.
"It's the telephone. I'll get it" Taka answered, "Hello Yuki residence. Tetsuya. Yui's missing? I was afraid that you we're gonna say that" Taka said as Nuriko and Tasuki both walked into the hall, their hair in complete disarray, "Because Miaka is missing too? I have no idea where she is. Okay. You and the Seiryuu seven meet us at the apartment in about an hour. I should have everyone up by then. Bye" he hung up the phone.
"What's wrong Tamakins?" Nuriko asked.
"Yea Tama" Tasuki replied with a yawn, "Why the long face?"
"Nuriko, Tasuki. Wake everyone up. The Priestesses have gone missing" Taka said as he rushed back into the living room.
As Miaka continued to walk she became more and more suspicious of the Yui that was walking with her. She stopped abruptly and stared at the back of her friend's head.
"Miaka" Yui stopped afterwards looking back, "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"
"It's. Well not really Yui."
"What do you mean?" Yui grinned, "The Miaka I know not hungry?"
"Well I haven't been hungry for awhile now Yui, you know that?"
"Oh right. Well whatever it is I'm sure it will pass" she started walking again, "C'mon Miaka."
Miaka followed her at a close distance.
"Now I know something's wrong" Miaka thought, "Yui wouldn't forget something like that. Who is this girl? Where's the real Yui?"
"Miaka is it much further?" Yui asked her best friend as they continued walking downtown.
"Not much further Yui" Miaka answered, "I promise."
"Something's not right. Something's completely wrong here" Yui thought, "I mean it sounds like Miaka. But it's not Miaka."
"Yui! What's the matter?" Miaka turned her head when she saw her expression.
"Huh? Oh uh nothing."
"You're slowing down."
"Oh am I? Sorry Miaka" Yui walked past a building, taking a brief glance at it.
It didn't look like any normal building. Yui turned around and stopped walking back to it.
"That's strange," she thought as she placed a hand on it, "What is this?"
"Yui?" Miaka came over, "What are you doing?"
"Look at this Miaka, it's a mirror. I never noticed this downtown before."
"It's probably new, just like this new place that I want to eat at. C'mon Yui, I'm starving."
"No Miaka, I want to take a look at this" Yui shook her head.
Meanwhile in another part of the city Miaka was still pondering about the mysterious girl at her side when she noticed a building designed like the one Yui was looking at, at the moment.
"Hey look at this Yui!" she called, "It's like a mirror."
"Miaka" Yui said exasperated, "I thought that you were hungry?"
"I'm not hungry, I already told you that. Come here and see this."
"It's not that big of a deal Miaka. It's a mirror."
"Yes but on the side of a building? That's unusual."
"Whatever you say Miaka" Yui crossed her arms with a frown.
As Miaka stared at it she saw something. Something she didn't expect to see. On the other side of the mirror in her reflection was the reflection of her best friend Yui. Miaka gasped.
"Yui? How could that be?" she thought, "Unless the Yui I have been walking with is a fake. Then the real Yui is on the other side of this mirror. Yui!" she began to pound the mirror, "Yui can you hear me?"
"Miaka?" Yui replied staring at the reflection on the other side pound the mirror and call out her name, "Is that you?"
"Yui, what are you doing?" Miaka replied, "C'mon let's go" she pulled at her arm.
"Let me go!" Yui snatched her arm away, "Miaka I'm here! Miaka I'm right here! I can hear you! Miaka!"
"Yui!" Miaka called, "Hang on Yui! I'm coming!"
"Miaka" the other Yui said, "What are you doing?" she grabbed her around the shoulders, "Stop shouting my name. I'm right here."
"No you're not! You're not Yui! You're not my best friend!" Miaka pulled away.
"Miaka?"
"Leave me alone! Yui can you hear me?"
The Yui on the other side listened as her friend pleaded to her. She pressed her hand on the mirror.
"Yes Miaka I can hear you!" she shouted back.
"Yui, I'm right here!" the other Miaka shouted.
"What am I supposed to do Miaka?" she called back.
Miaka's voice came out of the mirror in a dream state sound.
"Press your hand as hard as you can against the mirror. I think it's a barrier."
"Barrier?"
"That's right. I'll do the same on the other side."
"Okay" Yui nodded pressing the palm of her hand into the mirror.
On the other side of the mirror Miaka was doing the same. As she closed her eyes she could feel Yui's palm against her own. She opened her eyes and realized that the barrier was breaking.
"Yui!" she called.
"Miaka!"
"Just hold on! Don't let go! I'll pull you through!"
"Okay!"
Miaka placed her hand on Yui's and slowly pulled her best friend through to her side of the mirror, knocking herself down in the process with Yui on top of her. Yui was the first to open her eyes, so she shook her best friend till her eyes opened.
"Miaka! Miaka!"
"Uh. Yui" she looked up, "Yui. Are you okay?"
"Yea" Yui nodded, "Are you?"
"I'm fine. Oh Yui I'm so glad that you're okay."
"Me too. I'm glad that you're all right. I knew there was something wrong."
"Mhm. It's a good thing we know each other as well as we do" Miaka smiled as she embraced her friend and they stood all, "After all we're best friends."
"Best Friends forever" Yui added.
"It's most unfortunate for you" a voice spoke.
"Huh?" Miaka and Yui glanced around them.
"Indeed" another voice spoke up, "If you had just played along a little longer, you wouldn't have to suffer now."
"That sounds like me" Miaka replied.
"And the other one sounds like me" Yui added.
"You're both correct" the fake Yui appeared behind Miaka.
"Yui look!" Miaka shouted.
"I see it but I don't believe it!" Yui shouted back.
"Why don't you believe what you see Yui" the fake Miaka said behind her.
"That's supposed to be me?" Miaka replied.
"Well it was convincing up to a point," Yui said.
The two fakes moved closer towards them with their eyes glowing red. Miaka and Yui stood close by each other as the sky around them turned black and the pavement around them began to crack. Fire was shooting out of the cracks, blocking them from any chance to escape.
"Now you have nowhere to go," the fake Miaka replied.
"You'll stay here forever," the fake Yui added.
"Yui?" Miaka looked toward her friend but she was in trouble.
"Miaka!" Yui shouted.
Vines that surrounded her tightened around her body, making it impossible for her to move. As she watched her friend struggle she noticed that the vines were coming out of the fake Miaka's fingertips.
"Yui!"
"Don't worry Miaka" the fake Yui replied, "You'll be joining her" she shot out her own vines that began to wrap around the girl tightly.
"Huh! Ahh!" Miaka screamed.
Somewhere near the park, the Suzaku seven, Seiryuu seven, Taka, and Tetsuya were searching for signs of the priestesses. Taka, more worried then anyone else was irritable again. Suddenly he felt his heart hurt and clutched it tightly.
"Tamakins" Nuriko saw him bend over in pain, "What's the matter?"
"Miaka" he sputtered out, "Something's wrong. I can feel it."
"I'm not surprised you know" Chichiri replied, "You and Miaka have a very strong connection."
"Chichiri" Taka replied, "Can't you sense her life force at all?"
"Well I've been trying you know. But it's not easy. It's like she's not even in this world anymore you know."
"How's that possible Chichiri?" Hotohori asked coming over.
"I don't know, but that's the case."
"Perhaps it would help" a voice spoke up from behind them, "If two skilled monks were to try to find them?"
The warriors looked back and saw the Genbu seven along with Keisuke and Takako.
"Hey what are you guys doing here?" Tasuki spoke up.
"What you think we were going to let you guys go off like that?" Namame replied, "We figured you needed help."
"They came up to Tetsuya's house looking for you guys" Keisuke grinned, "Imagine my surprise and elation to see them. So I brought them here."
"Keisuke" Taka said, "You should go back and be with your mom."
"Yes I know" Keisuke nodded, "I left Toki with them, promising to be back in a couple of hours. But I had to give you this! Good luck you guys!" he waved as he ran back to the van that was parked after having handing Taka what he was carrying.
"He's just going to take off like that?" Nuriko replied.
"Keisuke trusts us Nuriko" Taka smiled, "He knows that we'll do the right thing."
"What did he give you Tama?" Tasuki asked.
"Looks it's the Universe of the Four Gods" Amiboshi exclaimed when Taka showed it to them.
"All right then" Iname said, "As I said before, Chichiri perhaps I can help you find the priestesses?"
"Yea" Chichiri nodded, "It might help you know. But what did you have in mind?"
"We think Takako should go after them," Tomite answered.
"Me?" Takako looked at him stunned.
"Takako? Are you crazy?" Namame replied.
"She is a priestess Namame" Tomite said with his arms crossed.
"But I'm just a reincarnation of one" Takako replied.
"You are still a priestess. You're still Takiko Okuda."
"I don't know about this" Namame said, "It might be dangerous."
"Namame" Iname replied, "You can trust me. Whatever has the other two priestesses will come after Takako as well."
"Not only that you know" Chichiri added, "Because Takako is a priestess, she can sense their life force better than we can."
"I can?" Takako said surprised.
"Mhm. You'll be able to seek them out, while the rest of us send along our life force along with you."
"Okay" she nodded, "It's worth a shot" she began to walk away from the park.
"Once Takako finds them, then what?" Namame asked.
"Then I suppose that's where we come in" Tasuki grinned.
"Yea. The sooner we find Lady Yui, the better" Suboshi replied.
At that moment Yui and Miaka were still struggling to breathe. The vines were wrapped around them very tightly by now. Miaka gasped as Yui closed her eyes in frustration.
"Yui!" Miaka called to her, "Can you still hear me?"
"Yes Miaka. I can hear you."
"We have to do something to get out of this."
"I agree but what? This is so tight I can't move."
"I've been thinking about this. We're in some type of illusion Yui."
"An illusion? But who has the power to do this? Is it Ren Shigyou?"
"I think the plan is his, but not the power. No this is definitely the work of Tomo of the Seiryuu seven."
"Tomo? Since when does he work for Ren?"
"Don't you remember Yui? He worked for Tenkou for a short period of time."
"Right, so he would still be pretty loyal to him then. Okay then this is Tomo's shell."
"Uh huh. And if we're in an illusion we have to wake up."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"Wait a minute" Yui said looking around, "Where did those fake us go?"
"Good question, but I bet they're still here. If only someone could hear us."
"How?"
"We could call out to them. Amiboshi was able to save me once that way."
"Okay Miaka, let's try it. Suboshi!" she shouted.
"Taka! Nuriko! Tasuki!" Miaka yelled.
Takako walked along the sidewalk but stopped when she heard something.
"What's that?" she wondered looking around her.
"Taka!"
"That's Miaka's voice" she thought, "But where's it coming from?" she looked around some more and noticed a shell lying on the ground, "What is this?" she said squatting down and examining it, "A shell?"
"Taka!"
"Miaka's voice is coming from this shell" she reasoned, "But how do I get inside it. I know. Chichiri said that I am able to reach them. So here it goes. Miaka! Yui can you hear me?"
"Miaka!"
"Yui listen to that?" Miaka replied.
"Who is that?" Yui frowned.
"I don't know. Help!"
"Miaka! Yui! Can you hear me!"
"We can hear you! But who are you?" Yui shouted back.
"It's me. Takako Eto."
Miaka gasped.
"Takako?" Yui said in astonishment.
"Takako!" Miaka shouted back, "It's us!"
"Where are you?" Takako asked.
"We're trapped inside an illusion!"
"An illusion" she said slowly, "How do I get you out?"
"You've got to help us wake up!"
"Wake up! How do I do that?"
"You've got to break the shell! Or somehow enter this world!"
As Takako pondered ways to break the shell a light flashed that encompassed her and then she too disappeared inside the shell. She opened her eyes and saw the fire in the area.
"This must be where they are" she guessed as she ran, "I've got to find them."
Authors Note: Hey everyone! Sorry these two chapters are so late! I was sick last Thursday and my computer was down for the rest of the weekend so I will write them today along with three more of Book Four!
Next Chapter: Go Back!
Miaka and Yui find a way to send Ren Shigyou out of their world for good. But what kind of chaos can he cause in the other world?
