Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi, in no way, is my property to claim, as everything belongs to Ms. Yuu Watase, and all animators and voice actors of Fushigi Yuugi.

A/N: Progressing so far. Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

Brought Down From the Heavens

Curious to see as to whom this "Hotonaka" person was, Taiitskun let the perished Seiryuu and Suzaku no Sei get down from the heavens and see this new warrior. Seeing as both Hotohori and Nakago were killed in the process of creating Hotonaka, they, as well, were "brought down from the heavens." A blinding light flashed through the sky, and the warriors were brought down. Nuriko was first to land on his feet, followed by Chiriko, Mitsukake, and Hotohori for the Suzaku no Sei. Ashitare descended, followed by Tomo, Miboshi, Soi, and finally Nakago. (Taiitskun of course never wondered; she just pretended to.)

Hotohori approached this "Hotonaka" cautiously, as to not surprise this new warrior, who claims that he was "the Saviour of the Four Gods." If this were true—of course—then why wasn't Hotonaka summoned earlier?

Stupid, Hotohori scolded himself. You weren't dead at THAT point. Neither was he.

From up above, Seiryuu watched along with Taiitskun, Genbu, and Byakko. Suzaku was sealed away by the Maiden of Seiryuu's wish, and so he was not there.

Genbu's strict eyes wandered through the forestland of Kutou and Konan. The border indeed was interesting, and he found his brother, Byakko, doing the same.

Byakko's narrowed eyes followed the progressing movement of the warriors, stumbling, getting used to the feeling of being on the ground once more. "Brother," he told Seiryuu. "Your warriors. Are they not able to stand on their own two feet?"

"Idiot," Seiryuu countered. "They've been floating up here for so long, how do you expect them to know how to walk?"

But Genbu was not interested in the quarrel. Turning invisible, he descended down, carefully sitting on a branch of one of the sycamore trees nearby. Dark black-like emerald hair flowed softly in the wind as the God watched intently...waiting for something—perhaps—oh, never mind. There they were. Byakko and Seiryuu had somehow resolved their so-called fight—never mind—Genbu saw two slap-marks on their face; Taiitskun had got them—good.

Nakago followed Hotohori, falling just a small bit behind. Maybe it's best if I—NO! BAD Nakago! Seiryuu's Sei scolded himself. Don't think thoughts like that! He's your ENEMY! But he's so damn sexy... Nakago mentally slapped himself. He wasn't supposed to think like that!

With his blonde-auburn hair swaying in the wind, Hotonaka turned to look at the approaching Sei. The elements of which I was composed of, he mused. Brought down from the—wait...a god's energy...three... He made a silver-colored ball with his Chi and threw it at the sycamore trees. Byakko was the first to appear, surprising most of the Sei. His white hair streaked with black spikes flowed behind him while in a loose ponytail, his white-gray eyes narrowing at the formation the Sei had taken. (They were in their battle positions.) Next was Genbu, black-emerald hair up in a ponytail a bit tighter than Byakko's, emerald-black eyes wandering the ground's surface. And finally came Seiryuu, sapphire-aquamarine hair floating in the warm breeze. His piercing navy blue eyes stared with a hard stare at the Suzaku Sei—more hardly at Hotonaka himself—but softened at the sight of his Seiryuu no Sei.

"But—where is Suzaku?" Nuriko asked slowly.

"My Maiden's wish hath sealed thy other brother in thy legendary heavenly realms of the gods," replied Seiryuu, his eyes not leaving Hotonaka. "Therefore, thy brother is not present at thy current time."

The others just stared at him. "What?" he asked. "Did you expect me, Seiryuu, just go up to you and say, 'Hi. My name's Seiryuu, what's yours?' Oh no. I am a god. You are a warrior." Both Genbu and Byakko shook their heads. They chanted in an unknown language the following words:

Cry of the eagle,

Soar into the sky.

Do not tremble,

Soar into the sky higher.

Bring down thy royal brother,

Bring down Suzaku!

The fire god came down. Suzaku's red hair and eyes made a spark contrast with the afternoon's background—the setting sun. Seiryuu just didn't care; if Byakko and Genbu wanted this brother down, then so be it.

Crimson, emerald-jade, sapphire, and silver eyes searched the ground for an answer. Hotonaka wasn't just "The Saviour of the Four Gods;" he was also the "unregistered" fifth brother of the Gods. The eldest, of course. Hotonaka couldn't take Mt. Taikyoku, and therefore was decided that only when two warriors have perished at the same time would he be summoned. This, of course, increased the suicidal rates of many, but Hotonaka never came; legend says that it had to be both a Suzaku and Seiryuu no Sei that have perished through the eyes of Hotonaka, and then would he be summoned.

"He is here for a limited time," explained Byakko. "The Cry of the Eagle will last only three hours, and cannot be used twice the same week; if you want to see him again after he goes back to the heavens, you will have to ask Hotonaka-sama. It will only work—if the warrior is here. "

Hotonaka snorted. "And I suppose that warrior would be I, right, Byakko?"

Byakko nodded. The unlimited power given to his brother was a truly remarkable one, able to be used for healing, pain, death, suffering, destruction, or the recreation of the life; there was almost nothing that Hotonaka could do—except love.

Chichiri was confused. "'Hotonaka-sama?'" he asked.

But Hotonaka waved it off; was there any point of them knowing anyway? He shot a beam out of his hand. It glowed silver, and then asked Seiryuu, "A wish of your Maiden has kept the Suzaku Maiden from returning?"

This time, it was Seiryuu's turn to snort. "You couldn't figure that out earlier?"

Suzaku smacked him hard upside the head. "What was that for?!"

"For being an idiot; a worthless, pathetic idiot."

"Stop, stop!" cried Hotohori, bowing before the four gods. "Your Highnesses, what brings thy godly selves down upon the Middle Kingdom?"

"We are here," said Byakko, "Hotohori of the Suzaku Seven, because our brother as been summoned."

"Ah, yes," said Hotonaka gravely. "I was brought down to make sure that everything is right in the two kingdoms of Kutou and Konan, but through the looks of the Shogun and the Emperor, things are not good. 'Tis my duty to protect and serve both countries, but I cannot do it at the same time—and so the two of you—" he pointed to both Hotohori and Nakago, "—were created in my place—to make sure that I did what I had to do."

"I now understand," said Nakago, sauntering forward. "But what I don't understand, Your Majesties, is that why you call 'Hotonaka' 'our brother.'"

"Well..." began Suzaku, "...I guess he's our brother. From the dawn of time, Taiitskun only meant to create four gods, but something had messed up, and therefore created Hotonaka. Truly, Taiitskun also made four directions—North controlled by Genbu, East controlled by Seiryuu (however much I wanted to control it), South controlled by I, Suzaku, and West controlled by Byakko. The center of the land was called Taikyoku—therefore creating Mt. Taikyoku. But of course, he could not control it, seeing as Taiitskun herself already ruled it. And therefore, he was given the choice: to not be a god, or to be summoned when two warriors of the opposite side were killed."

"And I chose the second," replied Hotonaka, "which caused two to lose their lives. Now we have to work on un-sealing Suzaku and bringing in those from the other world."

Seiryuu's eyes widened. "You can't be sure! That's ridiculous!"

End Chapter

A/N: I wasn't hoping for that effect, but I liked it—especially Seiryuu's reaction.

Please review,

--TranquilityGoddess--