Hotohori looked at his fellow celestial warriors, the beautiful woman, Nuriko, and the strange man, Chichiri. He had wanted to meet the others that had been charged with the same task as him. Neither is as beautiful as I, he thought. Chichiri looked at him quizzically.
"Have you been able to determine which girl is our priestess, Chichiri?"
"I'm sure that Yumi is our priestess, Your Highness. She had the chi of Suzaku, no da, and she has already attracted many of her warriors to her, no da." Chichiri said quickly. Hotohori noticed that the man liked to say 'no da' a lot, whatever that meant.
"I think we should go out and look for the other four warriors, your highness, and then we can summon the god to save Konan." Nuriko said, putting on a sweet smile. "I'd be glad to go with her…" Hotohori couldn't understand how such a delicate woman was supposed to be helpful as a celestial warrior, but he didn't ask, knowing he should be glad that three were gathered here already.
"Chichiri, earlier you said that Yumi had found four of the celestial warriors, but we see only three of us here. What did you mean?" Chichiri's mouth turned in a small frown.
"I don't know, exactly, but she was surrounded by the aura of a Suzaku warrior's protection, no da, before I ever found her. I had heard it could happen, no da, but I never saw anything like that before. The chi was definitely a Suzaku warrior, and it doesn't match any of us, no da. Plus, the bond went too deep for you or me to have created upon meeting her. So, I figured it had to be a warrior she met before us, no da." Hotohori thought about this for a moment.
"Do you think she'll remember where he is? If she does, then it would be easy for us to find him." Hotohori suppressed a smile; he could already see the fourth member appearing any time now.
"That's difficult to say, no da. She may not have known he was a star of Suzaku, no da. In fact, it's most likely that she does not know, or she probably would not have left him, no da."
"Keep an eye on the girls, make sure they are safe. We leave this up to you two." Hotohori dismissed the two and went back to his private chambers, feeling the need to freshen up. He sat in his room in front of his mirror, staring at his reflection, but not really seeing it. The priestess had finally come to him. Since he was a small child, he had awaited the girl from another world that would become his priestess. Hopefully, she would become his empress as well. She wasn't as pretty as him, but she had a certain allure in her strange hair and eyes that captivated him.
"Your Highness?" Hotohori snapped out of his daydream and turned to see that Nuriko had snuck into his chambers. He sighed. The girl would not leave him alone!
"Your Highness looks troubled. Can I do something for you?" Nuriko asked sweetly. Hotohori didn't have the heart to tell her to leave, so he shook his head, knowing Nuriko would find something to take care of if he didn't. He was no longer able to think about the priestess for trying to keep the girl off of him.
"Nuriko, you are relieved of your duties as a member of my court. You are a star of Suzaku. We should be planning how to find the remaining four constellations right now." Hotohori said in an effort to keep the distance he had established between him and Nuriko. Suddenly, Chichiri burst into the room without even knocking. Hotohori did a double take. It was the same man, and his chi had the same feel, but his face was different. Slanting across where his left eye would be, there was a ghastly scar. His remaining eye was narrow and a bright, reddish brown. Hotohori now understood the need for the comical mask. Nuriko took the emperor's distraction and turned it into a chance to get close to him. Nuriko threw her arms around the emperor's neck and hugged him tightly. Chichiri looked the other way, but lost none of his urgency.
"Your Highness! I went to go check on the girls, and our priestess is gone, no da!" Hotohori looked at Chichiri in alarm.
"Are you sure? Did you look for her?" He tried to pry Nuriko off of him, but it was no use. Chichiri raised his eyebrows at Nuriko's behavior, but didn't comment.
"I'm certain, no da. Her chi has completely disappeared, as well. The other girl, Megumi, told me that our priestess has gone back to her world, no da. She somehow managed to do it without Suzaku's powers. She is a formidable priestess, no da." Hotohori's heart sank. So the priestess had already left him, and he never got to know her.
"What's with the long face, no da? She's coming back, or so Megumi said, no da. She's coming back for her friend, who was not able to get out of this world, no da."
"Let us pray that she returns to us quickly… Nuriko, do you mind?"
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Genro hadn't been able to sleep well since Yumi had left for worrying about her. Only Koji had noticed so far, though. For the first day after she left, he could sense that she was alive, but not anything more than that. Then, suddenly, she had disappeared from his awareness. Genro had never been able to sense chi before he met Yumi, but he was sure that's what was happening, and he had no idea how to describe the sudden disappearance. He shrugged, trying to forget her. She's probably been killed by now… he thought, but that only served to make him feel worse. Why do I keep thinking of her? I don't even like girls… He listened without paying much attention to Koji's report on the advancements of the Kutou army when he suddenly felt Yumi's chi again. It must have shown on his face, for Koji paused.
"What's up, Genro?" Genro looked at his friend, wondering what to tell him.
"I have some business to attend to. Until I get back, I leave you in charge."
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Yumi lay still for a moment wondering where she was. She saw that she was in her bed in her room. Has everything been a dream, then? Yumi was sure it had been real, because she usually couldn't remember her dreams very clearly. Yumi stood up and looked around her room, feeling very unreal. She was brought back to herself when she realized she had been fully clothed, down to her shoes and socks, while she had been in bed. She never did anything like that, and so she knew that it hadn't been a dream. She had wanted to come home so desperately, but now that she was home, she knew she would have to go back into The Universe of the Four Gods. Megumi was still in there. Yumi stretched, feeling as though she had just woken up. She pulled on a jacket and went outside. She could see the rising sun staining the sky pink and orange as the day began. Yumi ran back inside and grabbed the spare key to Megumi's house, hopped on her bicycle, and rode the mile between their houses. When Yumi arrived at her friend's house, she found that it was empty. She unlocked the door and went inside to pick up the things Megumi had asked her to get. Yumi found a handbag and dropped the items into it. She located Megumi's calcium supplements, vitamins, and depression medication. Putting a few more things in the bag, like many essential bathroom items, Yumi left the house and went back home to complete her own packing. When she got there, she saw a newspaper on the doorstep. Usually, Yumi didn't pay attention to the news, but one of the side stories caught her eye.
…a girl was hit by a car yesterday outside of the National Library and is now in critical condition in the hospital. Her friend has been missing since the incident last night. Parents are worried…
Yumi's eyes widened when she realized that the article might have been talking about her and Megumi. Yumi finally realized that she had been inside the book. Does that mean Megumi wasn't actually in the book, but only partially inside it? Nah; that definitely couldn't be it. Yumi rushed inside her house and grabbed a few items for herself. She picked up her make-up and thought of Genro. Why did I just think of him? I don't need to impress him… but I will get to see him again, if he really is one of the Suzaku seven. But… if I've got things figured out, he's just a character in a book. But she still tucked her assortment of eye shadow, blush, mascara and lip-gloss into Megumi's handbag. She also snatched up a few snacks and her mini-sketchbook. Her eyes fell upon her spare book bag, and she decided that bringing a few spare changes of clothes wouldn't hurt. She laughed at herself while she raced to the library. How will my sketchbook help me? But she couldn't leave it behind. It was like a part of her.
Yumi arrived at the library, but it hadn't opened yet. Yumi looked down at her watch, tapping her foot. In five more minutes, the doors would open and Yumi could go back to Megumi. Finally, Yumi was able to get into the library. She found her belongings at a back table, just like in the dream. She found The Universe of the Four Gods and picked it up, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She opened the book and began to read, following the story from the time she had entered the book up to when she left it. When she reached the last part, she couldn't read any more, but was surrounded by a bright flash of red and everything went dark.
Yumi fell with a crash onto something that squeaked. Squeaked? Yumi looked down and saw that she was perched on top of Chichiri.
"You're finally back, no da!" Chichiri exclaimed, gently pushing Yumi off of him.
"Finally?" Yumi asked, confused.
"You've been gone over a month, no da. Hotohori-sama is suffering from depression. He didn't think you would return, no da." Yumi felt as though something heavy had hit her, knocking the breath out of her.
"A month?! What do you mean? I was only in my world for about an hour! Less!" Yumi's eyes widened. If it had really been an entire month, that means Megumi had off of her medication for that amount of time as well.
"Omigod! Where's Megumi? Please, tell me she's okay!" Chichiri backed away from Yumi, a little scared of her outburst. Chichiri didn't answer her immediately, but motioned for Yumi to follow him. Afraid of what she might find, Yumi followed Chichiri, and was relieved when he just led her to the throne room. Hotohori took one look at her and completely ignoring his attendants, jumped off of his throne and ran down the stairs.
Hotohori threw his arms around Yumi, holding her close, books, bags, and all.
"I'm so glad you came back to us! I missed you!" Yumi carefully extricated herself from the man's embrace and smiled up at him.
"I didn't mean to take so long. Time flows differently between the worlds. I was only in my world for about an hour. I had to get some things for Megumi." Yumi said, indicating the handbag. Hotohori looked uncomfortable.
"Where is Megumi?" Yumi asked. Hotohori didn't answer. Yumi tried not to jump to conclusions, but if Megumi had been off of her medication for an entire month…
"Please tell me she's okay…" Yumi begged.
"Actually, we don't know." Hotohori said. "Three days after you left, the palace was attacked by Kutou, an enemy country, and Megumi was kidnapped." Yumi gasped. An attack? Kidnapped? Yumi looked around, searching for the faces of her celestial warriors.
"Don't worry." Yumi heard Nuriko say. "We held up well. You didn't lose any of us." Nuriko seemed to be able to read Yumi's mind. Yumi sighed inwardly, glad that at least Nuriko, Hotohori, and Chichiri were all safe.
"What will the Kutou do to Megumi?" Yumi asked tensely.
"They probably want a priestess, too. A Priestess of Seiryu, no da." Yumi collapsed on the floor, crying with relief. If they needed her to be the priestess, then they would be taking good care of her. Yumi looked up at Hotohori.
"I need to go to Kutou right away. Whether she wants to come back or not is irrelevant, but I have to give something to Megumi." Hotohori hesitated.
"Of course you may go. Nuriko and Chichiri will make sure you come back home safely. After that, you can look for the other stars of Suzaku and wish for peace. I may not always be able to accompany you, for I have duties that I must attend to." Yumi nodded. She hadn't realized she had been asking for permission to go. She was going to Kutou whether her warriors helped her or not, but she realized that it would be much easier if she had their protection. That way, she wouldn't be delayed by every slaver and gangster she encountered on the way. Grabbing Chichiri's arm, Yumi led him out into the courtyard, followed closely by Nuriko.
"We need to go quickly. The longer we wait, the greater danger Megumi will be in." Yumi said breathlessly. Chichiri, we need supplies. Nuriko, for god's sake, at least dress like a man when you're going to have to protect me." Yumi was amazed at how quickly Nuriko and Chichiri complied with her wishes. Chichiri reappeared a moment later with a bag of food slung over his shoulder. When Nuriko returned, Yumi gasped. Changing his clothes made a world of difference. He looked VERY NICE. Yumi restrained herself from squealing. Nuriko smiled sarcastically at her. Oh well.
Hotohori had come out to wish them luck. In the middle of his little farewell speech he stopped, pointing at Nuriko.
"Yumi, who is that man you are taking with you?" Yumi laughed, realizing that Hotohori hadn't figured out that Nuriko was a man. A strange man, granted, but a man all the same.
"Hotohori, meet the celestial warrior of Suzaku, Nuriko!" And with that, the three of them rode out of the palace courtyard, laughing at the expression on the emperor's face. After a while, Chichiri looked over at Yumi and called to her over the sound of the horse's hooves.
"It would be faster if I took us to Kutou, no da!" Yumi nodded, hoping that his way didn't involve riding horses. Yumi was a terrible rider and always would be. Megumi had owned horses since middle school, and Yumi was now regretting turning down her friend's offer of lessons. Yumi pulled on the reins and managed to bring the horse to a stop. She and Nuriko watched as Chichiri jumped off of his horse and took off his hat. He held the hat out for Yumi and Nuriko.
"Go through here, no da. I'll follow right after, no da." Yumi looked quizzically at the hat. She decided to trust her protector and stuck her hand into the hat. She went through! The rest of her body passed through the hat as well, and for a moment everything disappeared in a flash of white light. When she was able to see again, she found herself sitting on top of Nuriko and Chichiri. She looked around, startled to see that the landscape was no longer beautiful and serene, but rather filled with many villages, both inhabited and burned. Not too far off, she could see a palace. It was larger and grander than Hotohori's, but it also looked far more forbidding.