"Rise and shine, little girl," someone said.

Rurii slowly opened her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Somewhere in the Tatsu Forest. I am the shogun, Nakago."

Rurii blinked several times, trying to get her eyes to focus on the dark surroundings. Even so, there was only a bit of light, coming from the candle in the corner. "Why am I here?"

"You'll learn soon enough. Now, if you don't want to follow your brother's example, you'll behave."

"My brother's example?" Rurii asked, confused. "What are you talking about, Nakago-sama?"

Rurii heard something that sounded like a muffled chuckle. "Didn't the Suzaku Six tell you?"

"Suzaku Seven," Rurii corrected.

"Not anymore. Your brother, Ode, or Chiriko as he was called, has been dead for over a month now."

Rurii felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. "Wh-what?" she whispered.

Rurii heard the swish of fabric. "You heard me. Ode is dead. The Suzaku Six gave you false hope because they didn't want to make you cry."

With a realization, Rurii realized Nakago was right. Miaka's sobbing the first time they might, the hushed whispers that stopped when she entered a room, the sad faces when she sang. They were pitying her and they were sad. They knew Chiriko was dead but didn't want to tell her.

"I'll leave you with your thoughts now."

Nakago opened a door, creating a small shaft of light.

"Wait!" Rurii said and stood up. She immeadiatly fell down. Her legs were shackled to the wall.

Nakago closed the door behind him. The bang smashed Rurii's heart to pieces.

Silent tears fell down her face. Rurii clutched her chest. It ached. She felt as though her heart had been ripped pout and given to a ravenous dog to be devoured.

Ode is dead, she thought. My brother hs been dead for over a month now. How could they have lied to me?

The door creaked open. A girl, wearing the same brown dress that Miaka wore, stepped in.

"Poor girl," she said, wiping away Rurii's tears. "I'm Yui, the Seiryu no Miko. What's your name?"

"Rurii," she whispered.

"Rurii. That's a very pretty name." Yui sat down next to Rurii. "I'm sorry about your brother."

"Why didn't they tell me?" Rurii asked softly. She was too shocked to yell or scream. "Why?"

"Miaka didn't want to," Yui said.

Rurii looked up at Yui. "You know Miaka-sama?"

Yui nodded. "She's a little ditzy, but she's very kind. She probably didn't want to see you hurt. Miaka is very sensitive."

"But why give me false hope? That just hurts even more."

"Miaka feels guilty about Chiriko's death."

"Why? She's not the one that killed him, is she?"

"No. Chiriko died saving Miaka. Miaka was about to be killed and the rest of the Suzaku Seven were being held off by barriers. Chiriko was the kindest of the Suzaku Seven. He knew Miaka, as the Suzaku no Miko, was very important. So he shoved Miaka out of the way and took the blow instead."

Rurii remained silent for a long time. "Why was I brought here?" she finally asked.

"To be perfectly honest, you were brought here as bait."

"Bait? Oh, no. Yui-sama, please warn them for me. Tell them to stay away."

Yui smiled at Rurii. "You're very sweet. I'll go tell them. Don't you worry."

Yui walked out of the room, leaving Rurii in the dark.

It's stuffy in here, she thought. Why is it getting do hard to breath?

With a small shock, Rurii realized why. The room she was in was completely air tight. The remaining air was almost gone. Rurii struggled to breath, her chest pumping up and down very rapidly.

I'm going to die, she thought.

The candle's flame turned blue, flickered, then vanished.