"I'm still working on the landings, no da." Yumi jumped and realized that she was still sitting on her warriors. She jumped down onto the ground. Nuriko stood up, dusting himself off. Yumi couldn't help but notice that he looked really good as a man. Too bad he spent all his time trying to be a woman. Chichiri took the lead, heading toward the palace Yumi noticed before. The walk there was uneventful until they reached the gates. Six heavily armed guards stood before the gates, blocking their passage.
"What business do you have here?" One of the guards asked, slanting a spear across Yumi's path. Yumi tried to get past, and the guard was getting ready to swing his weapon at her when he suddenly froze. Yumi was still ducking to avoid the blow when she heard Chichiri's voice.
"Go on, no da. I can't hold them long, no da." The men had all frozen. Yumi hurried past them, but Nuriko took his time about it, making sure he knocked every last one of them unconscious before going on.
"Was that really necessary?" Yumi asked Nuriko. Nuriko nodded and looked at Yumi seriously.
"Since Chichiri could only hold them for a little while, we have to make sure none of them will spread word. We are in enemy territory now." Chichiri was nodding along with what Nuriko said. Yumi sighed.
"We must hurry, no da. Here, this might help." There was a loud popping noise, and suddenly Chichiri had disappeared, replaced by a man wearing the uniform of a Kutou guard. Yumi gaped at him. She knew it was Chichiri, but she didn't believe it.
"I didn't know you could change your appearance!" She exclaimed, pointing at Chichiri. Nuriko tapped Yumi on the shoulder.
"You should take a look at yourself!" Nuriko laughed softly as Yumi looked down at her new outfit. She was now dressed like a maid, and Nuriko was dressed the same. With no further difficulties, Yumi walked into the palace. She held the handbag importantly, as though she had business to attend to. Chichiri stopped by the doors of the palace, telling Yumi he would wait for her there. Nuriko came in with her, and together they wandered through the palace hallways. Yumi had thought Hotohori's palace was extravagant, but this made her sick. Yumi didn't want to think of how poorly the public had to live as a result of all this waste. Nuriko picked up a duster and held it as though he were getting ready to clean something. Yumi stopped a passing maid.
"Excuse me, but could you tell me where the Priestess' chambers are?" The maid curtsied slightly and directed Yumi and Nuriko to the right room without asking questions. When the maid left, Yumi knocked on the door.
"Go away!" Yumi was a little shocked, and backed away from the door. She knocked again and whispered through the door.
"Megumi! It's me, Yumi! I'm coming in, okay?" Yumi didn't hear any objection and opened the door. Nuriko cried out in shock. Everything in the room was broken or ripped. Megumi was sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by shards of broken glass and a ripped pillow. Yumi saw that she was semitransparent. Upon seeing Yumi, Megumi appeared to become more solid. Yumi dropped the bag on the floor and ran to Megumi, hugging her, glad that she didn't pass through her, at least not all the way.
"Oh, Megumi! Are you okay? I didn't know it would take so long to get back! Time flows differently in this world I think." Yumi backed up and began rummaging through the bag, pulling out the items Megumi had asked her to get. Yumi handed them to her.
"Here, your calcium supplements, because I know you won't drink milk. And here's your medication, and some vitamins… Have you been okay all this time?" Yumi ignored Nuriko, who was whispering that they should hurry up and leave. Yumi didn't want to leave her friend so quickly.
"Hey, Megumi, will you come back to Konan with us?" Megumi looked at Yumi and nodded, smiling weakly.
"I'm glad you came, Yumi. I want to leave here. You won't believe it! Guess what I did the other day? I killed the man guarding my doors… strangled him… Ha ha ha…" She trailed off limply, looking at Yumi fearfully. Yumi had never thought that her friend relied so much on medication.
"You need to get out of here as soon as possible. Nakago will be able to sense your presence, and he won't let you leave." Megumi continued, her voice shaking alarmingly. Yumi gathered up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
"Who's Nakago?" Yumi asked quickly as they prepared to leave. Megumi stood up and shifted nervously.
"One of the Seiryu celestial warriors. He wants me to become a priestess." Her friend said softly, making sure she had her medication. Nuriko led the way back to the door when it suddenly burst open, slamming against the wall. Two boys ran into the room. Yumi looked at them again. They looked exactly alike! But she didn't have time to observe them much further, because one of them caught her arms and held them behind her back. Yumi struggled to get free, but couldn't move. Nuriko tried to get past the other twin to get Yumi free, but was halted by a threat from the one holding Yumi.
"If you move, your companion dies." Yumi felt pressure on her throat. Nuriko froze. Yumi tried to think of a way to get out of the situation, when she heard Megumi's voice raise an octave.
"Suboshi, let her go! She only came here to give me my medicine. She isn't going to take me away, I promise. Amiboshi, please, lower your weapon. They don't plan to hurt me."
Suboshi looked confused, but at the look in Megumi's eyes, he released Yumi and Amiboshi lowered the knife he had raised against Nuriko, but Suboshi didn't seem satisfied.
"Megumi-san, they have the chi of Suzaku. They are our enemies!" He insisted, gesturing wildly at Nuriko and Yumi. Amiboshi, the other twin, cocked an eyebrow at Nuriko for a moment while his twin continued to rant to Megumi's deaf ears.
As Megumi was asking Yumi if she was all right, Amiboshi drew what looked to be a wooden flute from his belt and raised it to his lips. This action confused everyone but Megumi and the one called Suboshi.
A quick, almost peppy song came from the flute, and Yumi and Nuriko were surprised when Chichiri's disguises began to flicker before they disappeared, revealing Yumi's Jonan school uniform and Nuriko's true gender.
Megumi and Suboshi's jaws dropped and as one, they pointed and whispered in a conspiratorial manner.
"He's a MAN!!" The two said, and Amiboshi's flute was lowered as he struggled to find words. Nuriko smiled cheekily and winked, before clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes at the twins, who promptly backed away. Both of them looked very pale.
"But I have the soul of a woman!" Nuriko exclaimed. Once the twins, and Megumi, had recovered from shock, Yumi gestured toward Nuriko and rolled her eyes.
"Meet Nuriko, Celestial Warrior of Suzaku."
Amiboshi blinked, before putting a hand on Megumi's shoulder, pulling her away from the obviously deranged Suzaku warrior and equally strange priestess.
"Megumi-san, I must insist that you leave and let us deal with these two. Soi was already sent to intercept the third Suzaku affiliate. In fact, he should already-" Amiboshi was cut off when the sound of cracking wood drew every head to the source of the noise. The wood of the ornate window buckled before it burst, and a super deformed Chichiri tumbled across the floor, his disguise gone.
"Ah, sorry about the window, no da!" The little Chichiri sprang up and resumed his regular form, brushing off what looked to be crackling lightening. Amiboshi's jaw dropped and he pointed out the window, muttering nonsense. Yumi sighed. It was a good thing Megumi hadn't agreed to be a priestess, for these warriors would be useless when it came to protecting her. At least she didn't think she had.
Yumi looked at Chichiri, and upon confirming that he was fine, looked to Megumi and whispered,
"Chichiri, another warrior of Suzaku."
Megumi nodded jerkily before glomping onto Yumi's arm. Yumi saw that Megumi didn't seem to recognize anyone from Konan. It must have been a long time.
"Can we, um, go now?" She asked, avoiding the looks both Amiboshi and Suboshi were giving her. Yumi was about to reply, when one of the twins cut her off. On top of being useless, these Seiryu warriors were rude too.
"Megumi-san! You can't leave! You're Seiryu's priestess! Nakago said so, and so does Soi! You have to summon Seiryu!" Megumi's brow knitted together.
"I don't have to do anything, Suboshi! I never agreed to be a priestess anyway! You two just jumped into my room and kidnapped me while I was in Konan waiting for Yumi!" Megumi protested, ducking behind Yumi for protection. It was beyond Yumi how Megumi could tell the twins apart. They were wearing the same clothes and looked exactly the same.
Nuriko and Chichiri came to the rescue however. Nuriko simply hefted the two girls, one under each arm, and Chichiri opened the door, before the two whisked out.
-------
The twin's protests continued as they raced after the four. Who were these people? Megumi-san was their priestess, not Suzaku's! Suboshi fished out his weapon and drew it back before concentrating his chi on it, sending it flying ahead, barely missing the strong girly warrior and grazing the blue Mohawk sported by the super strange one. Suzaku's warriors were odd.
Suboshi drew his ryusuisei back and prepared for another pass at the Suzaku group when Amiboshi flicked him on the ear as they ran.
"Suboshi!! You'll hit the priestess! You know you can't control your chi very well yet." Suboshi pouted briefly, turning a corner and dodging the palace help, keeping the cross-dressing muscle man in sight.
"But Aniki!!" Suboshi protested as the chase proceeded into the gardens. Amiboshi shook his head. The flute made an appearance once again and Suboshi automatically covered his ears. The shrill tune pierced through the minds of Nuriko and Chichiri, but didn't seem to touch the two girls. While the Suzaku warriors were distracted and Amiboshi was keeping up his song, Suboshi rushed forward to scoop the semi-transparent Megumi away from Nuriko. Suboshi brought Megumi back to his brother, letting Amiboshi finish off Konan's warriors. But as soon he set her down, Megumi went over to Amiboshi and grabbed his flute, dragging it away from his face.
"Amiboshi, stop! She's my friend! If you hurt her, I'll never be your priestess of Seiryu!" Amiboshi looked at Megumi and stopped trying to get his flute back from her.
"We must help them escape! They are no threat to us, but they will die if Nakago catches them." Megumi begged Amiboshi, holding his wrists so that he couldn't continue his song. Suboshi rolled his eyes. He knew his older twin was soft at heart, but he wouldn't let tresspassers and traitors get away without punishment.
"Okay." Amiboshi said. "I understand. I'll help them however I can." Megumi smiled up at Amiboshi. Suboshi was ready to feel sick. It was so obvious that his brother was falling for this strange outlander, but no one but him seemed to see it. Since Suboshi knew he wouldn't win an argument when both Megumi and Amiboshi were against him, he decided he could help too. Taking matters into his own hands, Suboshi called to the wary Suzaku trio.
"You! If you want to leave, follow us, or Nakago will be eating the three of you for dinner!"
The three held a short, whispered conference. The man with blue hair seemed to be the leader among them.
"It could be a trap, no da." He was saying, but Yumi shook her head.
"I've known Megumi since we were little, and she would never betray me."
"Anyway," said the one with long hair, "We don't really have any other choice. If it turns out to be a trap, I'll hold off any attack while you get Yumi out of here, okay, Chichiri?" Yumi was shaking her head.
"No! Nuriko, you'd die! Please, Chichiri, tell me we'll be okay?!" Chichiri looked at Yumi.
"Right now, that seems like the best plan we have, no da, and the longer we wait, the more likely we'll be ambushed, so let's go now, no da!" And with that, the three broke up their conversation and followed Suboshi and Amiboshi.
"Hurry! We must be quick; for I'm sure your presence has not gone unnoticed. I know a way that will most likely be unguarded." As they ran toward the back end of the palace, Suboshi shook his head in amazement. The Suzaku warriors were so… well, he didn't know how to explain it. Innocent. Yes, they are innocent. Suboshi was sure they knew he could hear their entire conversation. They'd sacrifice themselves for the sake of another of their number? Suboshi thought, remembering Nuriko's offer to stall any attack, most likely at the cost of his own life.
They had reached a small bridge, and Amiboshi halted the party. The bridge spanned a small stream running along the back of the palace. Amiboshi looked around, and seemed satisfied they were not being watched. The blue-haired one, Chichiri, seemed on edge.
"I feel a strange presence, no da. I don't think it's safe, no da." Suboshi wished the man would stop saying "no da." It was getting annoying. Suboshi couldn't sense anything, and passed the man's nervousness off as inexperience.
Without further ado, the girl, Yumi, ran across the bridge. Nuriko and Chichiri both gasped, but she made it just fine. She turned around and waved her arms, gesturing for her warriors to hurry up and follow her. Nuriko and Chichiri rushed out across the bridge, but when they were halfway across, they seemed to run headlong into a wall. They both fell backward, and got up again looking dazed. Suboshi tried not to laugh at them, but it was hard. Then he remembered that Chichiri had felt the presence of someone's chi. He was better than Suboshi had at first thought. The two Suzaku warriors tried to break the ward, but it was impossible.
Megumi turned to Amiboshi with tears in her eyes.
"Please, Amiboshi, please help them! They need to go back to Konan!" Suboshi knew his brother would give in again, and sure enough, Amiboshi brought his flute up to his lips for a third time.
"Aniki, stop! Nakago will kill you! Don't help them! I don't want him to hurt you!" But Amiboshi ignored his twin and played a sharp, eerie tune. Suboshi looked over at the Suzaku warriors. They would be the death of his brother… he just knew it. Chichiri was concentrating, holding his sutra beads in one hand, his staff in the other. Nuriko was pushing against the barrier. Suddenly, Nuriko fell forward. The barrier was down! Chichiri rushed through when he saw that it had fallen. Megumi ran forward, arms outstretched, but was stopped by the invisible wall, which had sprung up again once the Suzaku warriors had passed. Yumi tried to get back to her friend, but she was stuck on the other side. Nuriko hefted her onto his shoulder and dragged her away. Megumi had her hands flat against the barrier, but she couldn't get through.
"Goodbye, Yumi. Please forgive me…" Suboshi heard her say quietly.