Chapter 1

Disturbance in the Cosmos

Clatter filled the air as jolly men drank, gossiped, and sang tunes. Like most bars, the place was a mess. Drinks, dishes, food, and eating wares were scattered all over the place, despite the barmaids' efforts to clean up the place. A cloaked man sat at the counter, staring at the empty bottles before him with his cold, golden eyes. He tapped his fingers on the table, watching the various rings on his fingers. The man rolled up his sleeve, looking at a diamond and garnet bracelet that he found, right after the Maiden of Suzaku left his homeland. After one glance at the bracelet, his eyes went from solid to glassy.

A hand slipped right in front of him and right into his cloak, snapping him out of his trance. Following the hand was a voice of a sensual female. "Hello there stranger, you look rather lonely in your seat. You know, I happen to find your cloak......sexy......"

Trying to keep civilized, the man just ignored her. Regardless of his efforts to make the woman behind him go away, she continued to rub against his hard-rock chest. Irritated, the cloaked figure turned one hundred and eighty degrees, looking up to a tall, raven-haired woman with a tight, green Mandarin gown with no pants at all! Even though she had the hour-glass figure, a well-developed chest, and gorgeous legs, the man did not seem to take an interest in her. Despite his lack of interest, though, the woman quickly crawled into his lap.

"So, what do you say, man-in-the-cloak?" purred the woman, while she reached for the hood of his cloak. Powerful and calloused hands quickly grabbed her wrists.

"With all due respect, miss, I am not in the mood," hissed the man.

"I somehow do not believe you," whispered the girl as she peered into the cloak. "I see eyes crying for company. They say that you want to be touched. They say that you want to be held. They yearn for...love. The eyes are gateways to the soul, you see. I can relieve that yearning, even if it means me going...very far."

"Hmph, and would ya stay 'there' for me?" grunted the man. He tried to act polite yet to the point before, but apparently, his hostess did not take the hint. After letting go of one hand, he tugged the other away and lead the girl off of him while standing up. Quickly, the girl grabbed a filled cup off the counter and splashed it on the cloaked figure's face.

"You lowly bandit!" she screamed in rage while running away, leaving the cloaked figure standing there.

"And that makes ya' much 'higher' for wanting to sleep with this 'lowly bandit'," muttered the man in disgust as he wiped the liquor off his face. However, the prostitute was not far off the mark about his loneliness. Pushing all thoughts aside, the man turned around and sat back on the bar stool. Shortly, a tanned chest with a vest wrapped around it appeared before his eyes.

"Ya' know, for a man, you have issues with women. It usually is women who have issues with women," a familiar voice suggested. The source of the voice leaned against the table, revealing a male with shirt and midnight-blue hair.

The cloaked figure did not say a thing.

"Tasuki, you do not happen to like guys, do you?" said the "bartender" with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes baby, and I have the hots for ya,' Kouji," Tasuki seductively growled while grabbing Kouji as if he was going to kiss him, then withdrawing after their lips were only a centimeter apart. Seeing a shocked Kouji, a now unconcealed and flame-haired Tasuki let out a dry laugh, "You are full of shit, ya' know."

Kouji, quickly getting over his shock, began to laugh. Tasuki joined his best friend in the laugh, then felt someone grab his buttocks. He widened his eyes, then heard the most pitiful attempt to imitate a woman from behind, "Oh my, you look so gorgeous! Can I take you home and keep you!?"

Tasuki widened his eyes and turned his head, just to see a sky-blue haired maiden in white robes, smiling cheerfully. Wait, he recognized the person!

"CHICHIRI!?!?!?!"

"DAAAAAAAAA!" screamed the "woman" in a manly voice. Chichiri quickly shifted back to his original self, then brushed off his tunic and backed away from Tasuki while he still had a limb.

"Gah! Do not scare me like that! I do not go that way!" exclaimed the red-haired bandit. After calming down, he scratched his forehead. "Long time no see, buddy! Where have you been?"

"Perfecting my sorcery, no da," replied Chichiri. Tasuki realized that Chichiri's appearance did not change at all, nor did his attitude. Chichiri felt likewise with Tasuki. "And for your information, I do not swing that way either."

"Ya' just about gave me a heart attack," Tasuki started, then added mockingly, "No da?"

Chichiri gave Tasuki a cheeky grin. "Actually, Taiitsu-kun requests our presence at Mt. Taikyoku."

"What!? Is Miaka okay?" Tasuki asked in a harsh, yet concerned tone. "If anyone has tou..."

"Calm down," the monk interrupted. "To be honest, I do not know. She did not tell me why she wants us there, no da. But we must not turn down her request."

Tasuki inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled. "Alright, but under one condition."

"Yes?" asked Chichiri.

"Can I go with a blindfold on?"

"This is not a time to play around, no da!!!! She said it was urgent!"

"Tee-hee-heee-heee-haaa-haaa!"

Tasuki chortled before walking out the door, yelling out to Kouji, "Keep up with the leadership thing, I must head out...again." Kouji sighed, waving his brother bandit off.

While Chichiri proceeded to follow Tasuki, he found himself surrounded by four women. All four of them looked like the prostitute that flirted with Tasuki, except they had the decency to keep their robes on. A anime sweat drop trickled down the monk's face. "Daaaaaa."

Tasuki closed the door. He folded his arms, waiting for his blue-haired friend in the dim-lit hallway.

"Hey shy guy, do you want to play with meeee?" one of the women cooed, massaging his shoulders.

"Me first," another woman pouted as she began to run her frail hands against his chest, just to feel something...different. She looked at his chest, gave it a big squeeze, and felt two soft sponges on his chest. Confused, she looked in the collar of Chichiri's tunic and widened her eyes. "AHHHHHHHH! It has boobs!"

The other three girls gasped and peeked in their selves, Chichiri smiling obnoxiously. They screamed and ran out the door, the other woman trailing behind, yelling, "There are hermaphrodites here!"

Tasuki felt a door slam on him as four screaming prostitutes darted out of the tavern area. Even though he was focused on the pain from the slam, he swore he heard one woman screaming, "There are hermaphrodites in the building!"

The bandit "snapped" the door from his face, rubbing his jawbone and putting it in place. He watched the screaming prostitutes run down the hall, puzzled by their actions. Then Chichiri walked out of the tavern, brushing "dirt" from his hands. Then the monk turned to Tasuki, saying, "Sorry about that."

At that instant, Tasuki found who scared off the four ladies. "Hey now..."

"Daaaaaaa?"

"WHAT ARE YA' DOING SCARING OFF OUR HOOKERS!?"

Chichiri whistled innocently, just for a herd of women to trample on him and run out of the tavern, screaming hysterically. He stood up, dirt stains covering his body.

"Okay, not four - nearly all of them!" yelled Tasuki.

"How else was I going to get them away from me, no da? Did you not say 'no, no' to women?"

"Ya' made them all run off! There goes part of Mt. Reikaku's economy! Let us see...that was one hundred today? On average," Tasuki started, while counting his fingers. "one woman makes ten thousand silver coins a day and...HA!"

Quickly, Tasuki pointed his finger at the monk. "Ya' little fox, you lost us one million silver coins today, if not for more days to come!"

"You are beginning to sound like Tamahome, no da," Chichiri calmly said, walking ahead and unfazed by Tasuki's rhetoric.

"No way!"

"Hai."

"Iie!"

All of a sudden, both figures heard an old woman's voice come out of nowhere. "YOU TWO ARE ALREADY TEN MINUTES LATE!"

Acting on impulse, Tasuki jumped in Chichiri's arms, whining, "AHHH, MOMMY!" He did not even see Taiitsu-kun and he was already intimidated by her. "Save me from the Sunukake Baba!"

"Alright, she is already getting impatient with us, no da," the monk said while dropping his purple Suzaku-patterned cloak on the ground. "No one is looking, come on!"

Tasuki took the hint, jumping on the cloak. Both seishi sank into the cloak, only to fall out of it and before an old, floating, and gray-haired crone dressed in sage-like robes: Taiitsu-kun. Chichiri knelt and lowered his head in respect, pulling the witless Tasuki in the same position, saying, "I offer my sincerest apologies Taiitsu-kun. We had...difficulties in the tavern."

"Like I was not watching," sarcastically grumbled the woman. "There has been a disturbance in the cosmos and the way of things, something that neither I or the Four Gods can detect. I have spoken with all four of them on the matter and both do not feel positive about the situation, nor do I."

Despite his careless demeanor, Tasuki began to worry.

Taiitsu-kun, seeing that she has both seishi's attention, continued. "I normally would have you two take your time when disturbances rise, but unfortunately, this is something that we must investigate in haste. The Gods and I concluded that the disturbance has extended to Yui and Miaka's world and--"

"WHAT!?" Tasuki screamed, after hearing the name of his Miko, while clenching his fists.

Losing her patience, Taiitsu-kun roared, "Will you please have the decency to let me finish what I am saying!?"

Tasuki sighed, waving off in apology and politely saying, "Carry on."

"I want you two to check it out. It will take much effort for all three of us, but I can transport you to Miaka's world. Granted, you may not be taken at her exact location, but it will be close," Taiitsu-kun finished. "I really hate to ruin your daily routines, but this world, 'her' world, and everything of the Cycle depends on it."

"We will do it," the monk wittingly responded.

Tasuki raised his voice in protest, "H-hey, I did not--"

"Shush you. You know you want to see Taka and Miaka again," interrupted Chichiri while wagging his finger.

"Then it is settled. Both of you must stand on the circles of this platform, then close your eyes, keeping Miaka in your mind - remember, any bit of distraction can send you both in a different dimension," advised the crone.

"Well, at least your ugly face will not distract me, since my eyes will be closed," Tasuki teased, chortling in the process. Before he chortled further, he found himself thrown into the sky by some supernatural force before landing on the ground. The bandit rubbed his butt, cursing the most obscene words in the history of language. Taiitsu-kun brushed her hands together in glee.

"Okay, I feel better now," said the old woman. She telekinetically moved the two seishi on top of two magick circles, while stepping back and reminding them, "Concentrate on Miaka - that is the key."

Both seishi closed their eyes, obeying Taiitsu-kun. Within less than a second, she began to recite incantations. A ruby aura surrounded all three of them as their bodies became translucent, soon transparent. In a flash, the ruby aura turned into a crimson light, which swallowed the seishi and ascended into the Heavens. Taiitsu-kun watched the remaining Suzaku Seishi with deeply concerned eyes. A small and white cat crawled out of nowhere and to Taiitsu-kun, meowing in concern. Taiitsu-kun sighed petting the cat and saying, "Yeah, me too."

Author's Note: Start pouring in the reviews! :) The first few chapters will probably be a bit short.