Disclaimers: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.

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Narrator's POV

The four Genbu Seishi and the Genbu no Miko rode until well after the sun had set. After dark, the already cold temperatures dropped to well below freezing. The fierce wind was deafening and the horses struggled to make their way through the deep snow. Takiko's long hair whipped into her face and the cold wind bit into any part of her left uncovered. She shivered and huddled closer to Tomite, who she was sharing a horse with, wishing that she had tied her hair back.

"Are we caught in a blizzard?" She yelled loudly, but none of her seishi could hear her over the howling wind. Not even Tomite took any notice of her question. She squinted, trying to see Hikitsu who was directly in fount of her. She could barely see his outline through the thick snow. She shivered. 'It's so cold in this country,' she thought miserably.

Iname watched Hikitsu. He seemed to be the only one who knew where they where going and was acting as their guide. He had taken a great liking to the emperor and had discussed where they would go to find the last seishi in great detail with him, using the information that Iname had given the emperor. Iname saw Hikitsu make a hand jester and looked where he was pointing. He squinted, trying to see through the snow, and saw what might have been a cave. But it also may have just been a shadow. He then understood that Hikitsu knew that they needed to find a shelter, fast, and thought that they may be able to be safe inside the cave. If it really was a cave. Iname silently agreed with him, and the small group began to make there way to the shelter, hoping that it was really a cave and not just a shadow.

Lucky, it really was a cave. Inside, it was cold and dark, but at least there was no more wind. Hatsui lit a torch and the cave was lit with an eerie light. The group looked around. It was a small cave, but there was something wrong with it. It seemed... inhabited. There was some old tattered blankets that looked strangely like a bed in one of the corners, and places to put torches so the cave wouldn't be so dark on the walls, among other things. There was even a stack of fire wood. The five worn out companions studied the items, puzzled.

"All these items look as if they have been recently used..." Mused Tomite as he looked at the bed.

"If this cave is inhabited, then whoever lives in it may come back and be angry with us if we stay. They may even try to kill us. And who knows what type of powers they may have," said Hatsui.

"But if we go out into that blizzard, then there is no way that we'll survive. And whoever lives in this cave may be friendly. Even if they aren't, they may not come back while we're still here. I think that it's probably better to risk it," Hikitsu said. The others nodded in agreement, hoping that he was right. Then, they began to settle down for the night. Hatsui made a fire while Iname started to take out the sleeping bags. There would be no need to use the tents while they where in the cave, and they would probably be there for a long time if the blizzard kept going like it was then. They could only hope that it would be over before morning, but none of them had their hopes up.

Soon Hatsui had made a roaring fire that warmed up the cave and cast much more light than the torch had. The group had decided not to use the torch holders or any of the other items unless they really needed them. Tomite began to pass out blankets and everyone began to settle down next to the fire.

Even with the fire, it was still cold in the cave. Takiko snuggled deeper into her blanket. The wind outside howled loudly, making her feel like there was something outside the cave that wanted to hurt her. She desperately wished for Namame and Uruki. She felt so safe with strong Uruki and understanding Namame. Not that she didn't think that her other seishi could protect her. It was just that although she knew Tomite and Hikitsu well, she didn't know Hatsui and Iname that well. It wasn't that she didn't trust them. She did. She just didn't feel quite as safe with them as she felt with the seishi that she knew better and had been with longer. She wondered what Uruki and Namame where doing at that moment. She hoped that they where safe. That Kutou hadn't attacked. She hoped that she and the other seishi could get back to the capital with the last seishi before something horrible happened. Although she had only been there for a little while, Hokkan was almost beginning to feel like her home. She still missed her world and her family and friends, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to go back to it. In Hokkan she had Tomite and the other seishi. She had made priceless friends and she wasn't sure that she would be able to leave all of that, even for everything that she'd had in her world. She sighed, confused by her own thoughts.

"I'm going to bed. Good night everyone," she finally said.

"Good night, Takiko," Tomite responded softly and the others nodded or also said "Good night." She yawned as she climbed into her sleeping bag, and fell asleep almost immediately...

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Namame's POV

Kutou was attacking. Uruki and I where out on the battlefield defending the capital. The emperor was also fighting. It had surprised me when he had told us that he would be fighting along with his soldiers, although I suppose it shouldn't have. I already knew that he loved his country and his people. That he was willing to do anything to protect them, even if it meant risking his own life. But it still surprised me that someone who could be safe in his palace surrounded by guards, was willing to fight along with the rest of us. I don't know Heika-sama as well as most of the other seishi, and I suppose I have a bit of a bias view on all rich people. I knew that the emperor wasn't an ordinary rich person, (I did know him well enough to figure that out, and even if I hadn't, I still would have know from all the stories about what a kind and wonderful man he is.) but still... My experience with the rich and powerful was that they didn't care about anyone but themselves. After you believe something for a long time, it's hard to stop believing that even if you have proof that it's not true.

Uruki was with the emperor, protecting him and making sure no harm came to him. She knew him better. That's why she had been given that certain assignment. Heika-sama was the most important person in all of Hokkan, except for maybe the Genbu no Miko. And that was only a maybe. I suppose that's why he needed a body guard. Any Kutou soldier would love to bring his head back to their emperor. They all knew that if he died, Hokkan would be a mess. There may even be a civil war as people fight for the throne! We couldn't let that happen. So Uruki was with the emperor and I was off fighting on my own.

Kutou had surprised us. They had snuck up on us while everyone was still asleep, killed the guards at the gate to the capital before they could raise an alarm, and then attacked violently while it was still dark outside. If they hadn't made so much noise when they started attacking, they may have successfully destroyed the entire capital without anyone knowing what they were doing. Lucky, they did make a lot of noise, and people where awakened from their peaceful slumber to see a living hell. Kutou soldiers where ruthlessly murdering anyone they saw, and the dying cries of animals, men, women, even some children, filled the night air.

Of course, the noise couldn't be heard from the palace at that point. But one of the villagers was able to get to the palace and warn the emperor. We were lucky. If that person hadn't risked his life to warn the emperor of the danger he was in, we may have all been dead.

It was very dark. The only thing telling me who was an enemy and who was a friend was their emotions. I absently wondered how everyone else could tell who was who. But I didn't have time for absent wonderings. I put all of my other thoughts out of my mind and focused on the enemy. That was all that mattered. Protecting the capital. I cut down more and more Kutou men, but there seemed to be no end to them. The pile of dead Kutou soldiers around my feet was growing. Just looking at them made me feel sick. I had caused all those deaths. No doubt they deserved it, but what would their family and friends say when they found out that this many people had died, killed by one of the Genbu Seishi. Killed by me. They were fighting for what they believed was right, as was I. Who knew what they had been told back in Kutou? If they hadn't had anyone to tell them otherwise, then who could blame them for believing what they were told by the people in Kutou?

And not all people from Kutou could be bad, right? Just like not all people from Hokkan could be good. Iname wasn't bad, and he had been born and raised in Kutou. He had told the other seishi and I how his parents and everyone around him had told him horrible stories about Hokkan. How as a child, he had never experienced real love from his parents, like I had. Yet, he was still kind to people around him. He still hadn't forgotten how to laugh. I didn't know if I would have been able to do that. I think that I probably would have just broken down and believed the people around me. But he didn't. Perhaps he was stronger than me.

All my life, I always thought that I was strong. I was one of the Genbu Seishi. I was the strongest person in my village. Because Genbu had chosen ME. Not anyone else. ME. But I wasn't. I had learned that during my time with the other Genbu Seishi. Hikitsu, who had lost Sora, his one true love, and his entire tribe. Yet, he was still able to love Uruki. Tomite acted cheerful (and sometimes he really was), but underneath, I could since a great saddness. But he still woulden't let others worry about him and went on with his life. Takiko was so far away from her home, family, friends, and everything that she had ever known. Yet, she never complained or cried. Iname had to feel like he was betraying his contrary and the god that he had worshiped since he was a child, Seiryu, by helping us. Yet, he never showed any sign of regretting his decision. Uruki loved a man that she thought she could never have, yet she still was able to hope that someday they could be together. I didn't really know much about Hatsui, but I was positive that he was also strong. Stronger than me. Compared to them, I was weak. I had gone through so little, while some of them had sacrificed everything.

While I was thinking, the fighting had become a pattern. I attacked and defended. I killed. I did it all without thinking. As I whirled around, avoiding my attackers attacks, everything became a blur. A mix of thoughts and reality. I had finally realized that the word "strong" could have more than one meaning. There was, of course, physical strength. I had that. But the more important definition was a little harder to find. It was a kind of strength that you couldn't just tell that someone had by looking at them. This kind of strength meant that you could go through tragedy after tragedy, and still keep you chin held up high. That you didn't always have to have someone to lean on whenever something bad happened to you. Someone with this kind of strength could win a battle against someone who was much stronger physicaly. I did not have that kind of strength. If someone needed to lean on someone else, I could be the person that they leaned on. But when something bad happened to me, if I didn't have someone to lean on and pour out my troubles to, I would break down. I wouldn't be able to take it. No. I was not strong.

I thought of Uruki and how strong she was. I thought of our conversation just earlier that night. It seemed so long ago, but it had really only been a few hours. 'I need to talk to her. The others are gone right now, but she is still here. She's strong. She will be able to lead me out of this maze. This maze of confusion and depression.' I thought. But thinking of Uruki brought me out of my daze. She should have been near the emperor. She had told me to come over to her after a while so that she would know that I was all right. I was her friend, not just one of her fellow Genbu Seishi. She was worried about me. Plus, she knew that Takiko would never forgive her if she let something happen to me. They needed me to summon Genbu. She had also said that she would find me, but she couldn't leave her post beside Heika-sama. It was her duty to protect him, and I knew that Uruki would do her duty or die trying. That was just the sort of person she was.

I looked around to see where she and Heika-sama where. Finally I spotted them, and began to fight my way over to where they where. That was when I sensed it. A great feeling of confidence and gladness. Normally, I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, but these emotions seemed evil somehow. It was almost as if something inside me was telling me that something was wrong and that I had to find out what. I looked around and spotted where the emotions where coming from. It was from an enemy archer who was sitting up on the highest branch of a very tall tree near me, but still to far away from me to reach quickly. He had his bow drawn and an arrow to the string. I looked at where he was aiming. It was right at Heika-sama's heart!

"HEIKA-SAMA, LOOK OUT!!" I yelled as loudly as I could. He didn't hear me. But, thankfully, Uruki did. She looked at me and then around her. She saw the archer just as he let his arrow fly. Every day of my life, I will replay that horrible moment in my mind, thinking of all the things that I could have done to stop what happened next. To stop that moment of agony and fear. But, of course, there is nothing that I could have done. There was no time. No time for anything. I couldn't stop the horrible thing that happened next. Because I was weak. But Uruki was not weak. She was strong. She did the first thing that came to her mind in the millisecond that she had to decide what to do. And she did it because she was strong.

"URUKI!!!!"
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~End of Chapter 20~

Wow! That was a really long chapter. I made a huge cliff hanger at the end this time, didn't I? I'm so evil. But it's so fun to do things like that. I, as the author, get to make you wait as long as I want to read the next chapter! But don't worry. I probably won't make you wait long. I write chapters pretty fast.

Today is September 11. It's already the second anniversary of a tragedy that rocked our nations foundations. I am truly sorry for anyone who lost someone important to them during the tarriest attacks, whether it was a family member, a friend, or any other type of relationship. I was lucky enough not to lose anyone, but a friend of mine almost lost her aunt. I hope that on this sad day you know that you aren't alone. That there are others that share your pain. Also, I feel that we can't only morn the deaths of those lost, but that we must also celebrate their lives.

The next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Please review!