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Chapter 2

A few hours after the sun had set Houjun had finished unpacking, his belongings now strewn across the floor of the apartment. Despite the mess, his apartment still looked bare. The movers he had paid to ship his furniture had yet to arrive, despite the fact that they had been scheduled to have been there early in the morning.

The walls were bare except for an antique mirror that he had bought a few years earlier from a flea market. He was transfixed by the intricate design etched into the moment he saw it. It depicted a great bird, possibly a phoenix, rising from a flame and encircling the glass. He had to have it. Unfortunately, the mirror had a tendency to hang crooked so Houjun was having to constantly re-adjust it.

A bright light that was reflecting in the mirror caught his attention, he whirled around surprised--even more so when he was facing a dark living room.

"What the--" a loud tapping sound above him cut him off. He thought that perhaps it could be his vertical neighbors, but then he realized that he lived on the top floor. The only thing above him was the attic…

The tapping came again, louder. "Probably just a…rat…or something." he reassured the empty room.

Baseball bat in hand, Houjun went to investigate. He pushed the hatch open without much trouble, coughing a bit as dust and possibly asbestos drifted out from the attic. Pulling himself up was a bit harder, but he managed, listening intently in the darkness as he waited for his eyes to adjust. A small amount of light from the street lamps was filtering in through the small dust-covered window so Houjun walked towards it, rubbing most of the dust off with his shirtsleeve. It cast the small room in an eerie yellow glow, illuminating the … nothing. Houjun looked around confused, the attic was empty. There wasn't anything that could have explained the tapping sound he'd heard. Well, almost nothing. To his right a large leather-bound book lay, covered in the dust that appeared to cover everything else. Curious, Houjun picked it up, blowing off the dust.

"Well, I don't think you made the noise no da." he told it, examining the cover. "The…Universe of the Four Gods." It sounded sort of familiar, perhaps the name of a story he'd heard as a boy.

He flipped it open, reading the first page aloud to himself. "This is the story of a girl who, upon acquiring the seven stars of Suzaku, made all of her wishes come true." he smiled slightly, it sounded like a fairytale. He flipped through the pages, surprised when a small Polaroid fell out. A smiling girl with a bun on either side of her head stared up at him, surrounded by seven men dressed in odd costumes. He dropped the picture in shock when he saw a face not unlike his own standing next to her. The resemblance was uncanny…if he didn't know better he would have sworn that it was himself.

Looking around warily, he shoved the picture back in the middle of the book . With it tucked underneath his arm, he headed back downstairs.

The rest of his night was spent reading the tome. Time passed quickly, he was so engrossed in the story. Why anyone would leave a book like this behind was beyond him.

"Excuse me, Miss Adia, may I ask you something?"

"Sure." Adia smiled, she seemed in a much better mood than she had when he first met her.

"Who lived in my apartment before I did?"

Her expression dropped suddenly. "Why? Been seeing things?"

"No…nothing like that, I'm just curious."

"A married couple and their son. A woman named Miaka and her husband, Taka. I never knew the child's name."

Houjun's heart was pounding in his ears, Miaka was the name of the girl in the book! The girl in the picture!

"And their last name?" he pressed.

"Sukusomething…Sukunami. Miaka and Taka Sukunami."

He was relieved and disappointed at the same time. It was just a coincidence that they had the same name. "What happened to them?"

A thoughtful expression crossed Adia's face, "Miaka and Taka…they died. On the same day, I think, it was very strange. Their daughter moved somewhere. What's with all of the questions? "

"Just curious." Houjun repeated, smiling. "Thanks."

"Hey, Adia--" a look of shock and disbelief crossed Kouji's face when he poked his head out of the door. "You…" he said, pointing at Houjun.

"Yes?"

"…Nevermind."

Adia watched the exchange in confusion, it seemed as if Kouji recognized Houjun.

"He was asking a bunch of questions about the Miaka woman that used to live in his apartment." Adia related the tale to Kouji as she brushed the young man's hair.

"Miaka…" suddenly something clicked. "That was the name of Genrou's friend! The priestess of Suzaku!"

"The who ha?" Adia stopped brushing and looked at him quizzically. She really didn't understand what he was talking about half of the time. "Well…maybe he knows your friend, too."