Disclaimer: No, I don't own the lyrics to "A Step Too Far" they belong to Tim Rice and all affiliates. I also do not own Fushigi Yugi, Yu Watase and all affiliates hold that honor. I, however, own Lia, Nina Houksai, Ryuen Hiroshige and the storyline. You may not use my ideas or characters unless you have my written consent.

A/N: Many apologies for taking so long in updating my stories. I was in Ireland for three months and my laptop decided to crap out on me. I just recently got back a few days ago and then early yesterday morning my grandmother passed away. So thank you for being patient and understanding. I have yet to give up on this story.

A One Girl Revolution

Chapter Seven: Fortune Favors the Brave

And so Nina smiled through her tears and pulled herself up by her bootstraps. Not one of her seishi doubted for a second that her heart had healed. When she saw that charm necklace her just about broke into two. Be damned if she would ever admit it.

The next morning they had begun preparations to search for the remaining seishi. "Who do you think would be easiest to find first Heika-sama?"

"Well Chichiri could be anywhere in Konan, same with Mistukake. Chiriko would be buried under scrolls studying for examinations and Tasuki would still be on Mt. Reikaku with Koji."

"It might be wise to have the alliance of the mountain bandits now, what do you think Heika-sama?"

"You may be right Tamahome, let us go find Tasuki."

"I'll go tell Nina."

Tamahome found his daughter slowly packing her things into a satchel. "Musume? Are you okay?"

Nina whirled, scared shitless by the sound of her father's voice, "Dad! So, who are we going to find first?"

Tamahome wasn't fooled one bit by Nina's false happiness act, but decided to let it drop for the moment, "We're going to find Tasuki at Mt. Reikaku. Hotohori and I thought it would be easiest to find him first."

Nina smiled at her father, her eyes betraying the falseness of her mood slightly, "Okay sounds good to me."

Tamahome walked out of the room slowly, letting all the fatherly things stick in his throat. Nina, inside the room, breathed a sigh of relief, confident that her sadness hadn't shown through her smiles. She shifted a few of her shirts to discover Ryuen's charm. She took off her necklace and added Ryuen's charm to it and slipped her necklace on her neck. She took comfort in the slight weigh increase. Nina took one last look around the room and joined the rest down in the courtyards.

Once Hotohori's footmen loaded up the horses, Nina insisted on riding on her own. Tamahome's forehead creased in a fatherly manner, "Do you think you can handle a horse by yourself musume?"

"Daaaad," Nina rolled her eyes, "of course I can, Mom made me take lessons. She would never tell me why though."

Tamahome hid a smile from his daughter; Miaka wanted her to be self-sufficient. Sometimes I think you made her too independent, Mi-chan. He silently addressed his lover.

Nuriko was absolutely beyond himself when he found out that he was riding with Hotohori-sama. Tamahome reluctantly rode his own horse. Nina looked expectantly at her father and Hotohori-sama, "Are you guys going to lead the way?"

Tamahome took the lead and steered his horse towards the shadow of a mountain, "this way, musume."

"Hey Dad!" Nina called, "race you!" A mischievous glint growing in her green eyes. A smirk played at the corner of her lips. "I bet I can beat you!" She dragged out the statement like an annoying taunt.

That did it for Tamahome and off he went chasing after Nina. They raced on and off for about a half an hour until they realized that Hotohori and Nuriko were off in the distance. Nina looked over at Tamahome and grinned, "Are you coming guys?" She shouted back to them. Tamahome and Nina waited while Hotohori and Nuriko sauntered their way back to the other two. "So, were you guys having a good time back there?" Nuriko blushed prettily.

Tamahome nodded his head sagely, "That's the only answer I believe we'll get musume."

Now it was Nina's turn to blush, "Ummm…guys remember-" Nina turned around and her eyes went wide as Mt. Reikaku loomed up in front of her; wild and majestic. Nina looked about her in wonder, "This is where Tasuki lives. Wow this is so –" Nina never got to finish her praise for Tasuki's haunting grounds. An arrow had been shot through the trees, nearly taking Nina's arm off. The group was taken by surprise when the arrow shooting out of the trees was followed by shouts. Tamahome rode his horse in front of Nina to protect her at all costs. Tamahome breathed a sigh of relief when he spied a shock of blue hair in the blur of leaves.

"Koji!" he called out, the shock of blue hair froze. Soon he could see the familiar scarred face. "Koji! Don't you remember me?"

Coming out of the forest, Koji was torn between shock and confusion. He called out cautiously, "Obake-chan?" Gods, I only met th' guy once "Obake-chan is that you?"

Tamahome's grin turned into a grimace when heard Koji call out to him. Nina grinned at Nuriko and Hotohori, "Obake-chan?" She stifled her laughter when Tamahome turned to glare at her.

Koji approached the group on horses cautiously, still unsure. "Tamahome? Nuriko? Saihitei-sama?" He said each name questionably only vaguely recalling shadowed glimpses of the people Genrou told him about. The only face he thought he recognized was Nina's; he thought she was Miaka.

Nina leaned in close to Tamahome, she whispered, "Hey Dad, I thought you said Tasuki had red hair."

"He does," Koji answered for Tamahome.

Nina blushed prettily as an awkward silence descended upon the group. Tamahome rushed to fill the silence by making introductions. "Koji, this is Nina, Miaka's and my daughter…"

It suddenly hit Koji like a ton of bricks. The green eyes should've given her away. He should've known. He had met Miaka briefly during her reign as Suzaku no Miko. Suzaku no Miko, what's going on? I thought Taitskun has sealed the portals when Lia and Miaka came back when they corrected the balance between the two worlds. That much he had gleaned from Tasuki after drinking too much sake.

"…Nina, this is Koji. Koji what is going on here? Why were arrows fired at us?"

"About that…do you remember Eiken and his followers from last time? Th' sons of bitches are tryin' to take over th' Stronghold again." Koji snorted, "over Genrou's dead body!"

"Speaking of Tasuki, where is –"

"REKKA SHIEN!"

"I guess that answers your question."

Nina looked quizzically at Koji, "Do you guys want any help?"

"Well, I don't think so. I think Gen-chan-"

"Koji! Where th' hell are ya man?"

"On second thought c'mon!"

Nina looked back at her father, Hotohori and Nuriko, "Well?"

Tamahome sighed, Hotohori and Nuriko looked at each other in amazement, who was this girl that had taken over Nina's body? Nina beamed at her three companions, "Okay guys, we'll leave the horses here so they don't get injured during the battle, they'll be far away enough from the action and we can always come back to get them." She jumped down from her horse and looked at everyone, "Well, c'mon guys!" Tamahome, Nuriko and Hotohori looked at each other in shock. "Well fine then, Koji and I will just go help Tasuki ourselves."

Tamahome hopped down from his horse, " I don't think so musume, not by yourself you aren't. C'mon guys let's go." Hotohori and Nuriko followed Tamahome's lead and Koji lead them into the woods.

Tasuki pounced on Koji the second he came back into the forest, "Where th' hell have ya been man? Are these prisoners—Obake-chan! Hotohori-sama! Nuriko! –"

"Hey Boss! We need ya, they're 'bout ta break through over 'ere!"

After that Nina lost track of the fiery redhead as rogue bandits then surrounded her. They looked at her as though they had found a new toy. Quickly, they surrounded her, thinking that Nina would be an easy target. The greasy bandits advanced on her, grasping at her clothes. She whirled away from them and landed straight into the arms of a burly bandit. Nina squealed in surprise and jammed the heel of her hand in his nose and whirled into a defensive stance facing the group. She challenged them with her eyes; daring them to come closer. A few got impatient and started swinging punches. Nina responded with fire in her eyes and a barrage of well-aimed punches and kicks. After a few had stumbled away with noses broken and blackened eyes, the rest made the wise decision of running off.

Nina felt a surge of pride ripple through her. But it didn't last for long because she saw Koji and some of the other bandits drive off the last of the rogue bandits. He came back to her and grinned, "I think we chased them away for awhile. Its safe to go back to th' Stronghold now. You'll be able to find the others there."

Nina smiled in response and fell into step with Koji. She was exhausted, this was more draining than any of her busiest days; many of them beginning before dawn. Most of the time she would start with martial arts training. While walking back to the Stronghold, Koji was giving Nina sidelong glances. She looked like a combination of Miaka and Tamahome; her eyes, his nose. Her hair was dark with lighter strands peeking through. Nina was athletic by nature; horsemanship and martial arts had given her the body that girls everywhere would die for and the one Koji was oogling. Koji, still silent, was thinking about Nina and her fighting skills. He had seen her become surrounded by bandits and had thought that he would have to come rescue her. He was pleasantly surprised that she had fought her way through it. Koji shook his head; he was the boss's right hand man, he would not think of Miaka's daughter this way.

They reached the Stronghold and Nina was properly introduced to Tasuki. "So you were my mother's closet favorite?" Tasuki shrugged and let Nina's comment roll off his back, but secretly took it to heart, Miaka's favorite?

"So, how is dumpling head doin'?" Tasuki asked with a lopsided grin.

"Well, Tasuki, she passed away two years ago." The grin vanished, and a shadow came into his amber eyes, making them seem grey.

"How?" he asked quietly, almost a whisper.

"Of a disease called cancer, the doctors were never able to pinpoint one specific kind. It seemed like it was many rolled into one. Excuse me, I have to go now." Nina excused herself hastily as she felt the tears threaten. Tamahome started to after Nina, but Nuriko held his arm, "let her go. She'll come back." Tamahome reluctantly agreed.

Nina had found herself outside gasping for breath and was choking back the tears. It took a few minutes of focusing on her breathing for the tears to go away. For the first time in hours did her thoughts turn to Ryuen. He was her friend, she was sure of that; her confidant, she was certain that he was; she came to him for everything. Something more? She wasn't so sure about that. She knew what she felt but wasn't ready to put her friendship and her heart as such a risk yet.

"I am certain that I love him…"

Two days travel away; Ryuen was lying under a shaded tree in the gardens of the Kotu palace. He was contemplating where his charm necklace was. He never took it off and when he casually asked Nakago about it, he was met with indifference. After a few days searching he still had no clue. He felt lost without it.

"I'm in every kind of trouble…"

Nina wondered what possessed Ryuen to allow his chain and charm to be abused in such a manner. They had both promised each other that they would guard the charms with their lives. Now Nina wore both.

"But a love can be misplaced…"

I wonder where Nina is. I hope she is okay and doing all right. Ryuen was dying to talk to his best friend. It felt like days since he had last seen or talked with her. When it was just hours ago that he had been made part of the She Jin Te Sho.

"Can't you tell, just look at me, half ecstatic, half dejected, all in all I'm all at sea…"

Nina looked out into the wild beauty that was Mt. Reikaku. Before they had reached the mountain, it was just a mere shadow, towering over the lands of Konan. She thought of the promises that she had made to herself on behalf of the Konan people. Was her growing affection of Ryuen marring those promises?

"Have I compromised my people in my passion and my haste…"

Ryuen thought of this priest/priestess business that he had been sucked into. Find seven people, make three wishes; simple as that. Nakago had been busy finding the seishi for him, just last week he had come back with twin boys, Amiboshi and Suboshi he believed their names were. He had ceased to care anymore.

"Easy terms I thought I wanted fill me now with chill dread…"

Back home, Nina thought ruefully, I could just ask him out without the fear of putting other people's lives in danger. But what was home? Nina already thought of Konan, however temporary, to be her second home.

"I could be his life companion anywhere but where we are…"

Ryuen now sat up and put his face in his hands. When did life become such a mess? Why was everything suddenly so complicated?

"You could never know the chaos of a life turned on its head."

Did liking, even loving Ryuen, the way she did make her unfit to be the Suzaku no Miko? From what she understood, it was her mother's love that had saved her best friend, Lia. So, it must be okay to love her enemy even though he was her friend.

"Am I leader? Am I traitor? Did I take a step too far?"

A crunching of leaves startled Nina out of her reverie. It was Tasuki who felt it was necessary to see that she was all right. "So how're ya?" He asked gently.

Nina formed a smile, "I'm doing okay and you?"

Tasuki smirked, "You don't have any idea jus' how much you're like your mother? She coul' never hide anyt'ing from me. An' neither can you."

Nina looked startled, she looked like she was going to say something cutting, but at the last minute held her tongue. She said the only thing that could be deemed proper in this situation, "thank you."

Tasuki smiled at Nina, "I'm not gonna press ya this time…" he left the rest of the sentence unsaid knowing that his intention had been made. "C'mon Nina let's get back to th' others." He touched his hand lightly to Nina's back. Nina pulled away slightly, she didn't say anything, so he just thought she startled easily. He didn't think that was the real reason either.

The dusk was turning into evening and a young man twisted and thrashed as if in the throes of a nightmare. Someone was whispering "Storm's a-coming." He could see dark, ominous clouds building in the horizon and could hear the low growl of thunder. Suddenly he bolted upwards, a slight sweat covering his brow and his chest heaving deeply for precious air. A thin streak of lightning outlined the chiseled features of his face.