"I'm ready," she said, and he turned around. His eyes widened when he saw that Megumi had packed a bag as well. He smiled slightly and picked up his ryusuisei, and together they left the room. Megumi couldn't help but smile. Soon I'll see Amiboshi again! Suddenly, as they were walking down a corridor, she felt Suboshi tug on her arm. She looked up and saw Nakago. She felt as though her stomach dropped about a foot, but she wouldn't let the man get her down today.

"Your Eminence? You look better today." Megumi nodded, wishing she hadn't stopped walking when she saw the general.

"Where are you going?" Nakago asked, eyeing the bag Megumi had slung over her shoulder. Megumi decided to tell the truth, because lies were so hard to remember later.

"I'm going to Konan." Suboshi nodded along with her, and Megumi felt strengthened by his confidence. Nakago narrowed his eyes.

"Is that so? Are you aware that Konan already has a priestess? They don't need you." Megumi grinned cheekily at Nakago, ready with a comeback.

"I'm going to search for my Seiryu warriors." Nakago's eyes widened slightly, but immediately returned to their original, cold stare.

"And why would you be going to Konan, Your Eminence?" Megumi smiled confidently.

"Because that's where Amiboshi is." Nakago frowned at Megumi, but she could tell she had won.

"So be it. I will send Soi to accompany you. Do not blame me if what you find is not to your liking, Your Eminence." And with that, he turned on his heel and quickly walked away. Megumi stuck out her tongue at his retreating back, feeling particularly rebellious. Suboshi saw her silly act and laughed softly.

Megumi grinned, and they continued forward. She was feeling lighter than she had in a long time. I can leave this place, and on top of that I get to see Yumi and Amiboshi as well! Plus, I get to gather my warriors too! She thought, smiling continuously. At this rate her cheek muscles were going to freeze up. She and Suboshi reached the courtyard of the palace to find three horses waiting there, with a fourth carrying baggage. Megumi was confused for a moment before she saw her other celestial warrior. Soi, that was her name, right? Megumi suppressed her disgusted reaction. Who in their right mind would do that with Nakago? She must be insane! Suboshi too looked like he was having second thoughts; one of his eyebrows was twitching.

Soi was already mounted on a white mare and the baggage horse tied to her lead. Her outfit was… revealing. The skirt was shorter than that of her school uniform, with an additional cloth flap in front that hung to one side on the horse. She looked around. The other horses were a bay and a chestnut. She smiled fondly at the memory of her horse back home. He was almost a twin to this chestnut one. She selected that horse and tied on her baggage.

"I trust that you can ride, Your Eminence?" Soi said, her voice low and sultry. Is it always like that, or what? Maybe it's stuck… Megumi thought, fitting her small foot into the stirrup and swinging up into the horse with the expertise brought on by many years of practice.

"Of course I can, Soi." She answered. Better than you… Suboshi had already gotten on the remaining horse, and was trying to keep it under control. Soi gave her a disdainful look and moved her horse to the lead. That gave Megumi a plan. A good one.

She urged the horse into a canter and let it move naturally, gradually moving in front of Soi and getting ahead. She could hear Suboshi's horse moving forward, until he was level with her. He wasn't a bad rider himself.

"Trying to ditch Soi?" He asked, his voice almost lost in the wind. She shook her head, smiling excitedly.

"Nope. Just giving her a run for her money!" She answered, and Suboshi laughed. This might turn out to be a very enjoyable trip.

-------

Yumi couldn't help but feel excited. It had been very easy to find Chiriko once they were in the right town, and now they knew how the jewel would react. Once Taiitsukun's gift had given Chiriko his scroll, Yumi couldn't wait to get back to the inn to wait for Chichiri and the others.

"Chiriko," she said, "My name is Yumi. As you already seem to know, I am the Priestess of Suzaku. This," she indicated her fiery-haired warrior, "is Tasuki. He is also a Suzaku warrior." She looked at Tasuki, and he smiled at the kid and nodded.

"Nice to meet you both," Chiriko said. "I have been watching the stars, and they told me you would come to Konan soon." Yumi raised an eyebrow, but Chiriko did not explain himself any further.

"Tasuki, we should go back and wait for the others, right?" She saw that he had already grabbed hold of their horse and managed to make it stand still. Yumi led Chiriko up to the gray stallion and helped him up onto the sturdy animal's back. Yumi then tried to get on behind Chiriko, but her foot slipped, and she was falling backwards. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing for the fall, when she felt something catch her.

"Can't let ya do anything, can I?" She heard Tasuki say. Her face turned red. Sure, he had caught her, but his hands had hold of her butt! He must have realized, though, and pushed her onto the saddle. He cleared his throat.

"I guess that means I'm gonna stay on the ground, right?" Yumi looked down at her warrior. He was gathering the reins in his hands and walking ahead of the horse, leading it down the street. The horse. I'm tired of calling him "the horse."

"Hey, Tasuki," she said after a moment. He looked back at her.

"What's up, Yumi?" Yumi couldn't get over his fangs. It's just so… cool. Oh yeah, the horse…

"Does this horse have a name?" She asked. He turned to face the traffic again, shrugging slightly.

"Dunno. I don' think so." Tasuki carefully wended his way through the street, determined to give her a smooth ride, it seemed. Yumi smiled.

"Then let's give him a name! I want to call him Kohaku. Does that sound okay to you?" Tasuki laughed a little before answering.

"Sure, it sounds fine. Chiriko? What do you think?" Chiriko just nodded, watching the streets go by from his vantage point sitting in front of Yumi.

Yumi reached around Chiriko and stroked Kohaku's mane. Megumi would know how to describe him, but the best Yumi could do was say that Kohaku was sturdily built, while graceful, and that he was gray. Yumi liked how his dark gray mane and tail contrasted with the lighter, speckled gray of his body.

"Hey Yumi! Yer spacin' out there! We're here!" Yumi shook her head, bringing her attention back to her surroundings. It was true. They were standing in front of the inn they had stayed at the night before. She felt a pat on her thigh, and looked down to see Tasuki waiting to help her off.

"I can't let ya do it yerself! You'll fall." Yumi sighed, wishing she were more adept when it came to riding horses. Tasuki grabbed her and hoisted her off the saddle and set her on the ground. Then he reached up and pulled Chiriko down the same way. Chiriko looked at Tasuki.

"Thank you. If you don't mind my asking, I'd like to know what other warriors you have found, and what they are like. Will I get to meet them soon?" Yumi headed off to the side of the street where the party wouldn't be in the way of traffic and sat down against the inn. Chiriko followed suit. Tasuki went to tie Kohaku to a post, so he wouldn't wander away, presumably.

"You are the fifth one I have found so far, but you are the first one I found using the jewel. Taiitsukun gave it to me." Yumi pulled the jewel out to look at it again. "The others, in order of appearance-" Yumi felt Tasuki grab her around the waist and set her on his lap. Oh well. It's more comfortable here. She leaned back against Tasuki's chest and he put his arms around her, pulling her close. She could feel his breath on her neck. She sighed, completely distracted from Chiriko's questions. Let this moment last forever…

"Your Eminence? Yumi?" Chiriko asked innocently when she didn't continue immediately. "What were you saying?" Yumi opened her eyes and looked at Chiriko.

"Hmmm? Oh! Yes, the first warrior I found was Tasuki here. Then I stumbled across Chichiri, and I met Hotohori only a few moments before Nuriko." She watched as Chiriko nodded. He looked up at her. Yumi hoped she wasn't scaring the child, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want Tasuki to let go of her. She closed her eyes, and let Tasuki describe each of the warriors. Yumi smiled as she heard each description from the bandit's point of view, and wondered how they would describe him.

"I'm the boss of the bandits of Mt. Reikaku. The other warriors are all different. The firs' one I met is Nuriko. He's a nice enough guy, I guess, but he's gay. He cross-dresses and is in love with Hotohori. Hotohori is a pretty-boy pansy, and he doesn't know how to keep his hands off of what doesn't belong to him!" Yumi tried not to laugh at the ferocity Tasuki's voice picked up when he described Hotohori. Of course, he completely omitted the fact that Hotohori is emperor of Konan. Yumi thought about this for a moment. Tasuki, you don't have to be jealous of him, if it's me you want. You've already got me, right? She thought to herself, but she also knew that Hotohori wouldn't give up. Not yet. He's the emperor, and he's used to getting his way. When Yumi brought her mind back to the present, she heard Tasuki continue his description.

"And the last one, Chichiri-" he began, but was interrupted.

"What about Chichiri, no da?" Yumi heard a familiar voice say. She opened her eyes to see Chichiri leaning close, his masked face blocking her view of anything else. Then she heard Hotohori's voice, and he seemed to be suffering from a mixture of emotions. Yes, suffering, that sounds like the right word.

"I told you we couldn't trust them, Chichiri." Chichiri backed away, and Yumi could see Hotohori, still astride the beautiful black horse that Yumi had wanted so dearly. Nuriko was leading his chestnut horse to the hitching post. Yumi felt Tasuki's arms tighten around her, as though she might be torn away from him at any moment. Nuriko came back and saw Yumi and Tasuki. He smiled pleasantly, otherwise unconcerned.

"Why are you not looking for Suzaku's chosen?" Hotohori's voice was starting to sound accusing. Yumi tried to intervene on Tasuki's behalf, but for some reason, her voice wasn't working. When she found it, Hotohori was accusing Tasuki.

"You thought you'd take advantage of Yumi when you were alone together, didn't you?" Tasuki wasn't even given a chance to respond. "Take your hands off of the priestess right now." His voice lowered dangerously. Chiriko looked from Tasuki to Hotohori and sighed. Smart little guy… Yumi thought vaguely.

Chichiri tried to lighten the mood by indicating Chiriko.

"Look, no da, they were talking to a child, no da, so they couldn't have been doing anything, no da." But Hotohori didn't seem to hear him.

"We said," Hotohori repeated in a low, dangerous tome, "Take your hands off the priestess." Tasuki only growled, further tightening his hold on Yumi.

"No, dammit! I'll hold her if I want! Anyway, we deserve a break! I don't see any new Suzaku warrior with you guys!" Tasuki shot at the emperor. Hotohori's hand went to his sword. Yumi brought her hand up to touch Tasuki's cheek, trying to calm him. She didn't want them to fight. She knew that Tasuki could be executed if he pulled a weapon on the emperor.

"It's okay, Tasuki," she began, finding her voice at last, but he didn't let it lie.

"The hell it is! He just wants you fer himself, so he forbids me the thing he wants to take! I… I love you, Yumi! And I won't let him take you away!" He said, his voice threatening to break with emotion. Yumi felt as though time had frozen. She put her hand over her mouth, and brought it down again when she saw that she was shaking. Vaguely, Yumi noticed that people in the street were starting to stare.

"Yumi," Hotohori said softly, "Please understand that I love you also, and that I care only for you and your happiness." Yumi didn't know what to say to that without embarrassing him, so she changed the subject, addressing the more pressing matter.

"Hotohori…" She managed to say shakily, indicating the child sitting with them, "let me introduce you to Chiriko, a celestial warrior of Suzaku." Hotohori looked over at Chiriko with more interest than he had given him a moment before. Tasuki still didn't let Yumi go. While Hotohori, Chichiri, and Nuriko were introducing themselves to Chiriko, Yumi decided she could give Tasuki an answer. She reached up from her position on his lap and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his face down to hers.

"You idiot," she whispered before tilting her head up and pulling him down to kiss her. He obliged willingly. When she could breathe again, she opened her eyes.

"Tasuki, you don't have to fight him. You won. You never had any competition." She smiled faintly at the confusion in his eyes. Finally, he released her. Yumi stood up, and Tasuki followed suit. She still couldn't believe it. Yumi looked over at Chiriko, who was now being questioned by Nuriko and Hotohori. Chichiri glanced at Yumi, and shook his head, smiling slightly, before turning back to Chiriko. Tasuki pulled Yumi into the inn, leaving the rest of the party outside.