"Yo, Chichiri! What's up with that? That old witch just ordered us all out!" Chichiri ignored the comment, but Tasuki didn't quiet down.
"What's she gotta say to Yumi that I can't hear, huh? You sure she won't hurt her? Hey, Chichiri! Are you listening to me?!"
"Tasuki-kun, it is okay, no da. We can trust Taiitsukun." And he left it at that.
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Yumi felt slightly nervous at being left alone with Taiitsukun. When her warriors were given their gifts, she had felt a warmth flow through her body, but she did not receive anything visible. Yet somehow, Yumi felt stronger than before. She looked up at the woman, trying to figure out exactly what she was. She couldn't be human, not floating in a fire like that. Maybe she's a spirit? Yumi thought absently.
"What do you need to speak to me about?" Yumi asked. "Why do we need to be alone?" She shivered, afraid of what was coming next. When Taiitsukun spoke, it was with the same scratchy voice as before, but this time, Yumi heard every word.
"You need to take this very seriously, Yumi. You are the Priestess of Suzaku. The people of Konan look to you for protection. They are afraid of Kutou, and you serve as a path to safety, if you use your powers with wisdom." Yumi nodded. She already knew all this. It wasn't her fault that her warriors were a little difficult to work with.
"You must make your warriors cooperate." Yumi felt as though Taiitsukun was reading her mind. "They must trust each other absolutely, and you must be able to trust all of them under any circumstance. You will have trials ahead of you. I speak of the Priestess of Seiryu, but also of your own quest. Just because you have had an easy time finding your warriors thus far does not mean it will always be so." Yumi listened, wondering where all this was going. Taiitsukun could have said all this in front of Chichiri and Tasuki and the rest. She stifled a yawn. I know I can trust Nuriko and Chichiri, and Tasuki… and I think Hotohori has his heart in the right place, but I can't make them get along. And what kind of trials will we face?
"I must also tell you this, for you might not be aware of it. You will not be able to leave this world again until you Summon Suzaku. Up until now, you have been able to travel freely between the worlds, but…" Yumi's thoughts were wondering, and Taiitsukun tried to get her attention back.
"Yumi, please pay attention." Yumi jumped, realizing she had been dozing off. "You need to hear this part. The last thing I have to tell you is, as the priestess, you are not to have close relationships with men." Yumi's eyes widened, and she asked Taiitsukun to repeat herself.
"What did you say?"
"No men. The body of the priestess must be pure when she summons the god. If she is not a virgin, she will not be able to summon Suzaku and receive his powers. You must stay away from men, at least until Suzaku is safely summoned." Yumi thought about this, remembering the times she had narrowly escaped being raped.
"I guess we're all pretty lucky then." Yumi said in a bright voice. "Everything could have been ruined before it began if Tasuki hadn't saved me those times, right, Taiitsukun?" Taiitsukun looked down at her in a way that told Yumi she should elaborate.
"Don't worry. I can handle this. No sex. Got it." Taiitsukun looked at Yumi sternly, but she must have realized that Yumi got the message, and so let it drop. It doesn't really change my plans that much, and this way, I have an excuse to stay away from Hotohori. It's not like he really would… but just in case. All in all…
"Your friend, the Priestess of Seiryu, will not be able to summon Seiryu, although she has likely already gathered several of her warriors to her." Taiitsukun said, grabbing Yumi's attention again. Yumi's eyes widened in alarm at this remark.
"Why not? Megumi needs to summon Seiryu so she can go home!" Taiitsukun looked at Yumi. She seemed to be weighing her, judging if she was ready to hear this.
"Priestess of Suzaku, you must find your own constellations, but then, you must help the Priestess of Seiryu in order to keep peace. She will need you. But when the time comes, she won't want to accept your aid. You will have caused her much pain, and she will have hurt you deeply. You must be strong and see through the deception of those who would manipulate you, and be true to your friend. That is all." Yumi blinked. Taiitsukun disappeared and Yumi found herself staring at an empty fire.
Yumi stood up slowly. Taiitsukun had given her a lot to think about. Is she guessing, or does she know bad things will happen to us? Yumi wondered. When she walked forward, she felt the jewel Taiitsukun had given her hanging around her neck. She held the glowing pink jewel up in front of her eyes.
"So this will lead me to my other warriors." She said softly, and then she remembered studying them in school, though not as warriors, but as constellations.
"Tamahome. Chiriko. Mitsukake. Then, I'll help Megumi find her warriors. Let me think, what were the Seiryu constellations, again? I already know Amiboshi, Suboshi, Nakago and Soi." She gave up, knowing she wouldn't remember them. Yumi pushed the doors open and was greeted by the bright sunlight outside. She blinked, and looked around. All four of her warriors were still waiting for her. They looked at her questioningly. Yumi smiled back at them.
"Taiitsukun was just giving me some special instructions. Come on! Its still early, maybe we'll be able to find Mitsukake before sunset if we hurry!" Chichiri looked very happy to be leaving at last.
"I need to pack first, but what do you say we all meet in the courtyard, ready to leave in half an hour?" Yumi saw Hotohori look at her strangely, but it wasn't until she was on her way back to her room that she realized that she had taken charge. She tended to do that. Her teachers had always admired that "take charge, get something done" attitude, but it might not work so well when she was working with Hotohori.
When she was back in the room she had taken from Nuriko, Yumi looked around. There wasn't much for her to bring, really. She picked up her book bag and shook it out, letting all her stuff fall onto the bed. The clothes might be helpful, but why did I bring pop-tarts? And my CD player? Really.
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Nakago smiled inwardly. Finally, everything was going according to his plans. When the Priestess of Suzaku fell into his trap, the field would be set. Even now, everything is ready for the next stage. Even if Amiboshi fails, this will not… Nakago marched the hallways towards his priestess' room. She should be awake by now… If she was serious about summoning Seiryu, then she needed to find the other celestial warriors. Again, she would run into his traps and manipulations. Ashitare… will prove interesting. And Tomo, while she does not know it, she has already brought him here with her life force. Soi, Amiboshi, and Suboshi we have. That leaves Miboshi. Another chance to direct Her Eminence.
Nakago reached the right rooms and knocked politely. If I enter differently every time, perhaps she will be caught off guard…
"Come in." The priestess said sleepily. Nakago opened the doors and stepped in.
"Your Eminence, it seems your friend is finally beginning to take her quest seriously. I have received intelligence that she has summoned the help of Taiitsukun and will shortly be setting out to search for her warriors." He looked down at the girl. She lay on her bed with her head in her hands, and she was semi-transparent again. Nakago tried to stay patient.
"Your Eminence?" The girl looked up at him, partially sitting up to speak to him.
"That's nice. I'm glad for Yumi." And she flopped over in bed again.
"Leave Megumi alone, she has an airhead," Suboshi said, peering from the other side of the bed. What's an "airhead?" Nakago wondered. Megumi giggled, wincing and laughing at the same time.
"Suboshi," she said when she could catch her breath. "Yumi's the airhead. I have a headache. Say it with me: head ache."
"Headache," Suboshi repeated, and then looked over at Nakago. "That's what you call it when your head hurts, Nakago. Right, Megumi?" He looked back at the priestess.
"If a headache keeps you in bed, it must hurt pretty bad. Tell me, does an airhead hurt more than a headache? Because if it does, Yumi will never find any warriors…" The priestess seemed to forget her headache for the moment, clutching her sides from giggling so much.
"Suboshi," she began, "Being an airhead doesn't hurt the airhead, just the people around her. Yumi forgot to bring me aspirin! Just because SHE doesn't use it, that doesn't mean I won't need it!"
"Oh." Suboshi looked even more confused. "What's aspirin?" The priestess covered her face in her hands, laughing and moaning at the same time.
"This is so… hopeless…" She whispered. Nakago closed his eyes, praying that when he opened them again, he would be looking at a different girl. One that would make a suitable priestess. But it didn't happen.
"Your Eminence?" He tried again. Suboshi held a finger to his lips.
"SHHH! Megumi has a headache!" Suboshi looked very proud over having said the right word this time.
"I will return when Her Eminence is feeling better." Shaking his head despairingly, Nakago left the room. That girl had been right about one thing. It was hopeless. Somehow, he would get her to grant his wishes, but he just kept hitting dead ends.
At least this plan won't fail. Nakago lifted his spirits when he thought about what he had in store for Konan's priestess. If the priestess won't hate Yumi, then he would get Yumi to hate the girl. His spies kept close watch on the followers of Suzaku. It seemed that Yumi was very fond of all her warriors. If one of them were to disappear… and if Megumi were to blame…
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On her way to the courtyard, Yumi checked her bag one last time. I can't forget anything, because I won't be able to come back for it. Since her talk with Taiitsukun, Yumi felt much more adult and responsible. She had realized what being the priestess meant. It's not just being surrounded by gorgeous guys and getting everything I want. People depend on me, and I won't let them down. With a sense of purpose, Yumi pledged not to return to the palace until the last Suzaku warrior was found.
"Let's see, I have a change of clothes, my deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, and my comb. I'm ready to go!" It had been difficult not to pack her textbooks and journal, but she left them behind. Yumi bound into the courtyard to find all of her warriors waiting for her next to four horses. Four? But there are five of us…
"I'm ready, everybody!" She looked around and noticed that Hotohori was nowhere to be seen. She was about to ask about this, but everyone was getting onto the horse he had chosen.
"Hotohori isn't coming, no da. He has other duties, no da." Yumi made for the last horse, a sleek black mare, rather small. It was perfect, her dream horse. Something stopped her, and then she saw someone else climb onto it. That's mine! She thought savagely.
"Tasuki?" She asked. "Who is that getting on my horse?" She indicated the stranger on her horse. My horse! That's mine! It's as pretty as Megumi's horse back home! He looked at her, and Yumi gasped.
"Hotohori!" She cried, staring at him. His hair was loose around his face, pulled back into a queue that hung down to his waist. He was wearing plain peasant clothes. All in all, Yumi could understand why she did not recognize him. Wow. He should dress like this all the time. She caught herself. She shouldn't think such things, not when… Tasuki…
"We have decided to come, after all." The emperor said in a lofty voice. "We must protect the priestess, right?" He was very careful not to look at Tasuki, making it very obvious what he intended to protect her from.
"Um, Hotohori-sama," Nuriko began, "You are the emperor! And we only got four horses ready. It would cause even more delay than Yumi's packing to get another one." Hotohori looked down at Yumi thoughtfully, a smile pulling the corners of his mouth. Forget how pretty the man is, Yumi, and get your horse back!
"That's MY horse, Hotohori!" But Yumi's comment was ignored.
"Then you can just ride with me, right?" Before she knew what was happening, a large gray horse blocked her view.
"HELL NO!! You planned it like that, didn't you?" Yumi looked up and saw Tasuki sitting astride the horse that had come between her and Hotohori. Yumi couldn't see Hotohori's face, but by his tone, she could tell he was angry.
"We will overlook any accusations, Tasuki, but we remind you need to watch your language." That just made Tasuki angrier, and he clenched his fist, but he didn't say anything. Ignoring the emperor for the moment, Tasuki reached down and pulled Yumi up to sit in front of him. Yumi was glad she had chosen to wear jeans today. Chafing did not sound fun.
Yumi glanced over at Hotohori and winced. He did not look happy at all. She heard the clip-clop of hooves, but did not attach any importance to it.
"Come on, Yumi," Yumi heard Nuriko's voice in her ear, "Why don't you ride with me?" Yumi would have agreed, just to stall any arguments, but before she could reply, Nuriko had picked her up with one hand and plopped her in front of him and his chestnut horse. I don't even get a say! Yumi looked warily at Chichiri, hoping that he wouldn't continue this game of "musical horses." Chichiri smiled at her.
"NO! I'll stay here with Nuriko!" Yumi said before Chichiri could come up with a new arrangement more to his liking. Chichiri laughed softly.
"Well, that's all settled, no da." Hotohori sniffed audibly, and Tasuki growled softly. Nuriko just giggled. I should have known. Nuriko always gets his way…