Nuriko was apparently going to seize his chance while he had it, because he was running towards Ashitare full tilt. Soi followed his path before he made it. Apparently he was going to jump for the space behind his opponent. He couldn't maneuver much backed against a brazier. Soi watched as the warrior jumped almost in slow motion. He looked as if he were flying for a minute, until Soi realized that Ashitare had seen Nuriko, and he looked angry.

Soi barely heard Megumi screaming as she saw Ashitare turn and smoothly impale the warrior on the claws of his left hand. Nuriko dangled limply from Ashitare's claws like a rag doll, his mouth open in a silent scream. Through the torn fabric of his shirt, Soi could see rivulets of blood run down his chest.

With a half-hearted gesture, Ashitare flung the warrior to the side, licking the blood from his claws. Nuriko slid a few feet, lying prone on the floor. Maybe he was dead. Megumi looked pale. Soi looked down with wide-eyes. Megumi had turned around and started retching violently. Almost on instinct, Soi held the girl's hair back before returning her gaze to the fight.

Much to her surprise, Nuriko was slowly getting up. Something on his wrists, bracers, she thought, were glowing crimson. Four holes riddled the right side of his chest, streaming blood. His symbol was glowing as well. Megumi was still throwing up rather noisily.

Ashitare rushed at the warrior again as if angry that he dared to still live. There was no way that Nuriko could move out of the way in time. In fact, it didn't look as if he intended to. His bracers flashed crimson as he reached out to grapple with Ashitare, shoving him back. Before the Seiryu warrior could react, Nuriko had grabbed hold of his neck. Soi watched almost impassively as Nuriko gave a final twist and a sickening crack announced that Ashitare's neck had broken. Megumi was still retching. It was amazing how long the poor girl could continue to do that.

Nuriko staggered forward a little before simply dropping like a stone. Maybe he did die… Soi thought. Leaving Megumi to finish her messy business, Soi walked forward. Without the fight to distract her, she noticed that there were no other signs of fighting, which meant Konan had won the first round. She bent down in front of Ashitare and whispered in his ear. Pillow talk with Nakago was profitable, especially after a particularly… successful session. She knew that soon Ashitare would be a wolf. He'd live again.

"Do not return to Nakago if you value your pitiful life, Ashitare. Stick to Konan's woods and I will collect you later." She said before getting up to check on the Suzaku warrior. She should at least bring in his body. But when she knelt down to check him, she watched as his bare chest rose and fell shallowly. The man was actually still alive!

Soi had to make a quick decision. She could leave the man to die, and she would accomplish what Miboshi and Ashitare had not been able to do, or she could help him. Soi sighed mentally as she picked up Nuriko almost gently, grunting a little under his weight. Thankfully he was light by the standards of men. When Megumi finally straightened, pale and flushed, Soi shouldered Nuriko to make carrying him easier and took the priestess' hand like a small child, leading her back into the palace to get some help for the dying man.

-------

After the fight, Suzaku's warriors were gathering in the main hall of Hotohori's palace. Chichiri looked around, checking on who was there. He could see Chiriko traveling in and out of the room, bringing food. Chichiri had told the kid to sit this one out. Chiriko hadn't liked it, but at least he listened. Now, he was handing everyone hot tea, trying to be helpful. Tamahome sat in one corner, sipping his tea morosely as he stared into nothing. Suboshi was trying to talk to him. Mitsukake, who, like Chiriko, hadn't done any fighting either, was checking for injuries. Luckily, there were no serious ones. Hotohori looked tired as he looked around the room. Chichiri wondered where Nuriko and Tasuki had gone. Chichiri sat down to wait, accepting a cup of tea from Chiriko.

"Chichiri?" Chiriko asked. "What if Nuriko is outside still? What if he's hurt?" Chichiri had thought of the possibility, but unless he had come across an extraordinarily strong enemy, Nuriko would be okay. Now that he thought about it, Chichiri couldn't understand why Kutou had retreated so suddenly. It was like the attack was only halfhearted, and when they saw that they were losing, they gave up. Chichiri was lost in troubled thoughts when the doors banged open, admitting cold wind, rain, and the night's darkness. A moment later, Chichiri saw who had arrived and was on his feet in an instant.

Soi was there, one hand guiding the priestess of Seiryu, while over her other shoulder was…

"Nuriko!!" Chichiri cried, rushing over to Soi to relieve her of her burden. Chichiri gently pulled Nuriko off of Soi's shoulder and put him on the floor. He felt as though he would be sick. Nuriko was in great need of medical attention. His shoulder was torn and bleeding, and through his chest… how did Nuriko get those gashes through his chest? Chichiri looked up, but Mitsukake was already there.

While Mitsukake tended to the wounded warrior, Chichiri sincerely hoped he was still alive, Chichiri looked to Soi for an explanation.

"Soi? What happened, no da?" The Seiryu warrior looked torn, but shrugged.

"He fought a Seiryu warrior." Chichiri pondered this for a moment. How Soi could be so calm, he didn't know. Either a Suzaku warrior or one of her own companions would die from a confrontation like that.

"Which one, no da?" Chichiri asked. Miboshi was already dead, and Suboshi had been with Chichiri and Hotohori the whole time. He had never seen Nakago, but it did seem like the kind of thing he would to from what Chichiri had heard. Shred a person up and leave them to die slowly. Soi smiled slightly.

"Ashitare." Chichiri recognized the name and wondered why. CRASH!

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Tasuki had burst into the room, still dripping from the rain. Chichiri remembered that he had been out in the fighting, but as soon as he came in, he went to go check on…

"What, no da?" Tasuki glanced frantically around the room.

"Where is she?" He looked scared. "I left her fer only a minute, and she's gone!" Nuriko, who had regained consciousness by now, looked at Tasuki and asked weakly.

"What are you talking about?"

"YUMI!" He cried angrily. "She's gone!" Chichiri cocked his head to one side.

"Are you sure, no da?" Tasuki looked at him, his eyes fierce and bright. He didn't answer. Okay… don't panic no da. Maybe she went to hide somewhere or something, there was fighting, after all, no da… But he knew that was wrong. Too late, Kutou's objective became painfully clear. They took the priestess, no da. He didn't want to tell Tasuki what happened, but Hotohori seemed to have realized it already.

"They took her…" Hotohori whispered, but everyone in the room could hear. Megumi, who had been staring in morbid fascination at Nuriko the whole time, suddenly looked around the room.

"Uh, guys, where's Yumi?" No one answered. Chichiri looked at her. Everyone looked at her. Wasn't she listening, no da? Megumi shifted awkwardly, muttering something that sounded like 'hearing deficit.' At that moment Mitsukake was trying to prop Nuriko up so that he could determine the full extent of injuries. Nuriko was coughing up blood. That was not a good sign.

Megumi looked down at that moment, trying to avoid everybody's startled glances, obviously embarrassed. Nuriko then heaved forward and coughed up some more blood. Megumi already looked pale, and she stared down at the blood on the floor. Chichiri was almost embarrassed for the poor priestess of Seiryu as she turned her back to her audience and began to be noisily sick on the floor of Hotohori's palace.

-------

Yumi was gone. That was the only thing that registered in Tasuki's brain. She's gone, kidnapped by Kutou. I promised I wouldn't leave her, and now… Tasuki ran a shaky hand through his hair, wondering what they would do to her. After a moment, he decided he didn't want to think about that. He was brought back to reality when he felt Nuriko's hand on his shoulder. He realized with a jolt that Mitsukake had already healed Nuriko. It must be after midnight, then, if was able to do that. His mind registered numbly.

"Hey, Tasuki." He said lightly. Tasuki looked over at his fellow warrior. Nuriko pulled back, presumably due to the expression on Tasuki's face. Nuriko's smile slipped a little. How can the man still be chipper? Or even just pretend to be happy? They might…

"Don't' kill yourself, Tasuki." Nuriko said. "Chichiri will figure out where she is and we'll get Yumi back in no time!" Nuriko was obviously trying to cheer him up. Tasuki appreciated the effort, but he really just wanted to have Yumi back. Tasuki felt empty, hollow inside. I can't even protect the one I love most… useless. That's what I am, useless. She's too good for me, but I still want to be with her, all the same. Tasuki looked up and saw that he was the only one left in the hall. With a sigh, he headed back to his room. Tomorrow, they would go get the priestess back, but he had to wait for his companions to be ready. It would take too long to get to Kutou by himself, and Yumi might already be killed or worse by the time he got there.

As soon as he had changed into his sleeping clothes and got into bed, Tasuki had fallen asleep.

-------

Yumi sat alone in a darkened room. She didn't know where she was and she couldn't see anything. When she tried to move, Yumi found that both her wrists and ankles had been bound. Yumi had tried to explore her surroundings by touch and ended up falling flat on her face. She had a headache to match Megumi's worst, and Megumi had killer migraines. She thought she heard a sound nearby.

"Hello?" Yumi said tentatively. "Who's there?" Yumi tried to keep her voice level. She didn't understand what was happening. Where am I? Why am I here? Yumi hated admitting it to herself, but she was afraid. She remembered going to sleep, but then when she woke up, she was in a completely different place. When I went to sleep, Tasuki was right there, and we were in my room. So where am I now? She thought she heard someone breathing softly.

"Who's there?" She asked again. For a moment, Yumi thought she must have been imagining things, for there was no answer. Yumi could feel herself shaking, but from fear rather than cold. She felt a soft touch on her shoulder. Hands. She jumped slightly, startled, and instinctively pulled away.

"Who is it?" She asked again. She felt the fingers travel to her chin, tilting her face up. Dimly, Yumi could make out the silhouette of a man. The only thing she could tell about him was that he was much bigger than her and that he had long hair.

"So you are the priestess of Suzaku." His voice was deep and cold. Yumi tried to back away from him, but he grabbed her by her waist with both hands. His hands completely encircled her body, and they felt strong enough to break her where she sat. For some reason, Yumi couldn't call out for help. It was like her voice no longer worked.

"Don't worry, priestess. I won't hurt you. Yet." He said softly, effortlessly pulling her across the floor toward him. Yumi could feel tears of frustration spring into her eyes. I can't speak and now I can't even struggle? Why are men so…? Her train of thought was distracted when there was suddenly firelight in the room and Yumi got a good look at her captor. He had piercing blue eyes and long, silky blonde hair. But Yumi didn't care how he looked, because at that moment, his eyes were traveling over her body in a most… uncomfortable… manner. She felt as though she was a show horse and he was the judge, checking to see that none of her muscles were underdeveloped, that her fingernails were healthy, that her hair was clean. But the worst part was that she couldn't even move or look away from him. It felt as though an invisible net were holding her in place and freezing her voice.

After what seemed forever, he seemed to be satisfied, and he thankfully stopped studying her. It couldn't have been more than a minute, but Yumi had felt as though it was hours. And she still couldn't move. She sat there, staring at the stranger as he stared at her. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Your name. Its Yumi, isn't it?" He didn't wait for her to respond, probably knowing she couldn't anyway. Yumi wished he would stop talking, or that someone would come in and save her, but neither happened.

"I've heard a lot about you, priestess of Suzaku. You may have heard of me, as well. I think you'll do just fine. My usual partner isn't here right now, and I've been rather bored recently." What is he talking about? "It's too bad, though. I thought… or rather, hoped, you might have been of my own race, but now I see you are not. The priestess of Seiryu… she was your friend, was she not?" Yumi could feel him staring into her eyes. Is he talking about Megumi? What happened to Megumi?

"Blue eyes." He said quietly, then stood up and turned around, as though ready to leave the room. Yumi started to relax, looking forward to being alone.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try to resist." Suddenly, Yumi felt the force holding her in place dissipate, and she could move again. Even the bindings on her wrists and ankles were gone. What is he going to do? And why does he give me the chance to resist when he wants me to be docile? But Yumi didn't even have time to stand when the man turned to face her, shrugging out of his coat and calmly undoing the ties on the front his shirt. On his forehead, a blue symbol glowed.

"You're a Seiryu warrior?" Yumi asked, trying to stumble away. Nakago. So this one is Nakago. Yumi managed to get to her feet and made for the door, but when she was barely a hand's breadth away, a strong force pushed her away from the wall, sending her sprawling. Yumi looked up. Nakago was still there, arms crossed over his chest, looking at her, slowly making his way toward her.

"What… what are you going to do to me?" Yumi asked, not caring that her voice shook. Her heart seemed to be pounding in her throat, and she couldn't think properly. Nakago smiled icily before responding.

"I'm going to make it so that you can never summon Suzaku."