The Seiryu warriors. If course, they are from Kutou, Konan's enemy. But what was their purpose? That one was easy to answer. To kill us, or to kill me. But death was the force behind their actions. Yumi finished shaving, glad that her hand was steady even though her whole body felt on the verge of collapse. Yumi hated shaving, but she hated hairy legs even more. She started washing her hair, remembering when she and Tasuki had been together. She smiled fondly. She loved him so much it hurt. And she would not give up until she got him back.

But he needs to be kept on a leash… Yumi almost laughed at the mental image the thought conjured. In her hand, she held a thick leather dog leash, and Tasuki had a spiked color around his neck. He even tried to scratch his ear with his foot. Yumi burst into laughter. She couldn't help it; it was too funny. But her mirth was cut short when she remembered the current situation.

How do I…

"Yumi?" Tamahome called again.

"Hey, Tamahome." She replied automatically. Maybe he'll give up soon. I'm still alive, right? She washed her hair and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a large, warm towel around her body. That was when she noticed that her bandages were coming apart, having partially disintegrated in the water. She decided to help them out a little and peeled them off the rest of the way. Immediately, she wished she hadn't; she felt like she was about to split in half, starting from the slash on her spine. Yumi wound the towel more tightly and tucked it in to keep it in place. She sat down and dried her hair.

How do I break the spell? That was the real question. Maybe if the mission is accomplished, then the spell will be broken of its own accord. That would be just fine, if only the mission wasn't my DEATH. Yumi sighed. Maybe I can communicate with him somehow. But she gave up on that idea. It was obvious that Tasuki had not heard her this morning. He wasn't there.

"Yumi?" Yumi hugged her knees to her chest. She couldn't think of a way to get her love back.

"Yumi?" She felt tears pricking her eyes, but she would not let them fall. I already promised myself I wouldn't give up.

"YUMI!" Again, the door burst open and Tamahome came skidding into the bath, looking around frantically. Yumi looked up in confusion.

"Tamahome?" He was searching the tub she had used, calling her name. He turned to face her, slipping slightly on the wet floor. He made his way over to her and checked her over, looking for injuries, presumably. She was just glad he hadn't seen the razor. Tamahome would have wrapped her in a straightjacket if he had noticed that…

"Why didn't you answer me, Yumi?" He asked. He picked her up and took her out of the bathroom despite her struggling.

"I'm sorry! I was thinking and I didn't hear you!" She tried to get away from her warrior, but he was strong, and she didn't want to fall.

"You know that Hotohori will murder me if anything happens to you, right?" Yumi stopped struggling. That was another problem she would have to deal with. But she didn't know how. She knew she didn't want to alienate him. Hotohori was important to her. He was like… she didn't know what, but she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around her. Suddenly, Tamahome set her down and opened a door. He held it open for her. Curious, Yumi looked inside. It was her room. She hadn't realized that they were already back here. Tamahome gently pushed her into the room and closed the door. He looked a little confused that they were there already.

Yumi sat down on the bed. She felt cleaner and a little better. She didn't feel very hopeful, but a little hope was better than none. Yumi wondered if she should ask Mitsukake to bandage her up again, and whether she would let him heal her tomorrow.

-------

Hotohori paced anxiously in the confines of his chambers. He didn't know what to do. I cannot take his place in her heart… he thought with just a trace of bitterness. No matter what he did, the priestess would not love him, and there was nothing he could do about it. As it had once before, a vision of a blond-haired woman with light blue eyes superimposed itself over his vision. Hotohori shook his head slowly, resuming his pacing.

There was a soft knock on his door that distracted the emperor briefly. After a moment, Tamahome slipped in, bowing slightly.

"What is it, Tamahome?" There was something about the young man that put him on edge, like he didn't belong. But, that was probably just the fact that he didn't know him very well.

"Um… I monitored the priestess, and she's fine, Your Highness." He stuttered, bowing briefly once more. Hotohori turned away and stared out his window.

"Very well. Stay outside her door and notify us if there is any change in her behavior." He commanded. He heard the door close again, leaving him alone with his thoughts. She hadn't tried anything, but it had only been a day since her world had been shattered. Yesterday…

He knew that something would have to be done about Tasuki. He would most likely be back, for his mission to kill Yumi had not been fulfilled. Hotohori gripped the sill of his window angrily. He was pathetic. Here he was, doing nothing for Yumi. But he didn't think she would welcome his comfort. Not after… he had…

He was still ashamed. Hotohori did not know what had come over him in that instant. He couldn't believe he had resorted to force. It was just that he loved her so much, desired her so much. And he knew that she loved another, and it hurt him. But he couldn't stop loving her. It was still raining. The clouds had been gray and thick since yesterday, staying at a light drizzle.

Chichiri had covered for him well, and as of the moment, he had nothing to do to distract him from the hopelessness of his own thoughts. Why am I doomed to this fate? He asked himself. He couldn't think of anything worse than loving someone, but not being able to do a single thing to make her happy, no matter how hard he tried. He was lost in his own pain when he heard the doors of his room crash open. He was too depressed even to jump. Hotohori turned to see a man leaning against his doors, breathing heavily. He waited for Hotohori to address him.

"State your business." Hotohori said tonelessly. The guard stood up straight and saluted briskly before sagging slightly as he gasped out his message.

"There's someone… attacking the palace! He got through the outer guards… like a wolf… orange hair… He's going to kill the priestess!" All at once, Hotohori came out of his stupor. With Yumi's life in danger, everything suddenly came into focus. He no longer cared that she would never love him back, as long as he could love her and protect her from afar. As long as he knew she was happy, it would be enough. He grabbed his sword and dashed out of his chambers, leaving the guard behind. He rushed for the front courtyard, and he saw Nuriko burst out of a room, a grim expression on his face. He passed where Tamahome had been stationed outside of Yumi's room, but he was gone. Not caring how it looked, Hotohori burst into Yumi's room to check if she were inside. Hotohori's breath came in quick gasps, but he was able to relax a little when he saw Yumi and Tamahome sitting on the floor. Yumi was showing Tamahome something when she looked up at his intrusion.

Hotohori hastily ordered Tamahome to keep Yumi in this room, no matter what, then ran off to face the current threat. He left the main hall and stopped dead. There he was. Tasuki stood in the courtyard, dripping in the rain. At his feet lay the unconscious forms of the first rank of guards. He looked up and saw Hotohori. He grinned evilly. Hotohori went to face him, bracing for the charge. There was no way he would ever be able to forget that man's speed. Tasuki drew his weapon, a short sword, and pointed it at Hotohori.

"The priestess. Give me the priestess, and you will be spared." He said, his voice flat and emotionless. Hotohori hissed in anger, drawing his own sword, squaring off to face his adversary, both on the battlefield and in love.

-------

Kirisuto looked at the two empty desks beside her. She hadn't seen Yumi all day. She thought that maybe she had just missed her, but they were in the same Trigonometry class. She should be here. She's never absent. Megumi… Kirisuto's stomach churned, thinking about her friend. But Yumi had completely disappeared. They had all been together on Friday, in the library. Kirisuto left before them, though she had been studying with Yumi earlier. It was highly unusual for a whole day to pass without some kind of contact, and here it was, Monday, and still no word from Yumi. Kirisuto stared at the clock, willing it to move faster. She paid absolutely no attention to the teacher, who was attempting to teach the class about manipulating the graphs of ellipses and circles by their equations. BORING. Kirisuto tried to look as though the lesson was keeping her attention, but she couldn't concentrate. Kirisuto sighed with relief when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day. She threw her books into her bag and left the classroom before anyone could distract her. Kirisuto fought her way through the mass of students and managed to leave the building with all her limbs still intact.

Kirisuto drove away, trying to beat the daily traffic that revolved around school being let out until the next day. She knew where she had to go. Kirisuto didn't know how it would help, but she was going to go to the library. She turned the radio on and hummed along with the tunes, hoping that she would find some kind of clue. Kirisuto signaled for the turn up ahead and glanced at her watch before going down a new, slightly less crowded street. Her parents didn't expect her home for a few hours yet. There should be plenty of time. For fifteen more minutes, Kirisuto wove her way through midday traffic, and finally pulled into the parking lot of the library. She parked and grabbed her purse, straightened her hair slightly, and left the car and entered the library. Everything was quiet and peaceful.

A few people, college students she presumed, sat at tables, reading and studying quietly. Without trouble, Kirisuto found the table the three of them had been working on Friday. It had been no problem because nothing had been touched. Everything Yumi and Megumi had brought was still sitting there at the table, spread out as though one of the girls were going to return to her seat and resume studying any minute. Kirisuto looked around, recognizing her friends' belongings. She glanced at the books spread out across the table, hoping for some kind of clue, but of course there was nothing. Why did I think this would help? Kirisuto was starting to feel slightly foolish. One of the librarians looked over at her, surprised. Kirisuto started to back away from the table, but a book caught her eye. She didn't think she had seen it before. For some reason, it seemed to be… calling me? Hah! But she had to pick it up. By now the librarian was only two tables over from her.

"Hey, girl, what are you doing here?" He asked, whispering loudly enough to be heard. Kirisuto backed away from the table a little more, but not before she snatched the up the book that had attracted her.

"I was just…" she trailed off. The man looked at her curiously.

"How did you get in there? Ever since that accident a few nights ago, no one had been able to get near those tables." Kirisuto looked around, realizing that two of the librarian's assistants were looking at her strangely.

"What?" She asked.

"We tried to clean up, but there was some kind of barrier. Spooky, really." The man tried to come closer, but was stopped by an invisible barrier, and Kirisuto saw red lightning crackle around the table, signifying the boundary. The book in her hands suddenly became warm, as if it were somehow connected to the activation of the barrier. Definitely creepy. But what does this have to do with Yumi and Megumi? Kirisuto smiled disarmingly at the man and made up a story as it came to her.

"Uh, yes. I came here to solve the mystery. You see, this book…" she indicated the book in her hands, "this book contains a spell, and I am going to break it." The man's jaw dropped.

"But… but you're just a high school kid! What do you know about spells?" He was skeptical, and rightly so, for the whole story was just a bunch of crap.

"Well, then how did I get past the barrier when it stopped everyone else?" Kirisuto was glad that she was good at improvising. The man walked off, shaking his head and muttering. Kirisuto watched as his fellow workers came up to him, no doubt asking him what was going on. Ignoring them for the moment, Kirisuto opened the book. She knew she would have privacy, since apparently, no one but her could come near.

Kirisuto started to read the story, her eyes growing wider with each successive page. What in the world is going on? She thought, lost for words. This story… the main character is Yumi! Kirisuto flipped to the back of the book, hoping to find out what happened to them at the end, but in the last half of the book, all the pages were blank. Shaking slightly, Kirisuto started at the beginning again. Maybe this book really does contain a spell. And now Yumi is stuck inside the book as this 'priestess of Suzaku'. Kirisuto read more, following the events and mishaps of the book with a kind of horrid fascination. Nothing good seems to be happening to Yumi… Kirisuto cringed. She knew being raped had to be every girl's worst fear. But it looked as though Yumi had escaped that thus far. Kirisuto turned the page and came upon a new chapter, it seemed. She nearly dropped the book.

"Megumi?" She cried out in disbelief. How did SHE get into the story as well? I thought she was… she continued reading, faster now. How long she sat at that table reading, Kirisuto didn't know or care. The story was engaging, all the more for the reason that her friend's lives were at stake. Kirisuto didn't even notice the looks the other people in the library were shooting at her, she was too absorbed in the story. It seemed that Yumi had fallen for one of her "celestial warriors", and that he loved her as well, but then he was captured and turned against the Suzaku people. She felt sad for the emperor. He was so dedicated to the priestess, but she always pushed him away. Yumi could be like that when she already had what she wanted in sight. She sighed. Kirisuto had been slightly upset when she realized that the other country, not Konan, but Kutou, was intent upon beginning a war of power between the two beast gods. Kirisuto actually did have some knowledge of this type of thing, though not many people were aware of that. Yumi, and Megumi as well, were trying to summon the gods to have wishes granted. But gods don't just grant wishes for free. There was always a price. And unless the priestess had a strong heart… then the sacrifice would be…

"Yumi!" Kirisuto said into the book. "Can you hear me?" There was no answer. She tried again, and this time she heard Yumi's voice answer her.

"Kirisuto? Is that you? Where are you?" Yumi's voice sounded confused. Before Kirisuto could respond, a strong wind picked up, originating from the book itself, flapping the pages around and causing Kirisuto to lose her place. She tried to find the right page again. Having successfully found the right page, Kirisuto began to impart her message to Yumi.

Suddenly, Kirisuto felt a tugging, pulling her INTO the book. She shut her eyes tightly and waiting for the wind to stop. When she opened her eyes, everything was blurry for a moment. She blinked several times and her vision became clear again. Kirisuto wondered what had just happened, but forgot about it as she read the next entries in the book. The corrupt warrior, Tasuki, was back, and he was after Yumi's life. There didn't seem any way to stop him, as had been proven by the earlier fight against Nuriko. Kirisuto wished she could get Yumi out of there before she was killed, but she had no idea how to do such a thing.