Chapter Thirteen:
The Priestess' Panties of Pleasure

I knocked on Dee-chan's door as soon as I woke up the morning after finding out the hobo's true identity. Chichiri answered, hair frizzled in every direction. He rubbed his eye sleepily. "Ohayou…" The monk let out a loud yawn. "…no da."

"Sorry Chichiri, I didn't mean to wake you up. I wanted to talk to Dee."

"Oh, don't worry about it no da. We should all be getting up soon anyway..." Chichiri's head drooped slowly downwards.

"Um... Chichiri… um…" I poked him in the shoulder.

The monk turned chibi and jumped up. "I'm up no da! I'm up no da! Oh.. Harii-chan, I just had a dream we talked no da!" He looked around, blinking in confusion. "What am I doing at the door no da?"

"Eh…" I sweatdropped. "Is Dee-chan awake?"

"Oh." Chichiri looked behind him. "She's not here no da. She must be somewhere else no da."

'Wow, thanks for the advice,'
I thought. "Chichiri…did you sleep all right?"

The monk sweatdropped. "Not really no da. I had a lot on my mind no da."

"About what?" I asked.

He sighed. "I think it's something I need to figure out by myself no da."

"I see… well, I'm gonna go look for Dee. I hope you figure everything out."

"Thanks no da."

"Sure." I smiled as I headed towards the kitchen. Dee wasn't in the kitchen, but Chui was.

"Harii-san!" He ran up and hugged me around the waist.

"Chui-chan! Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah, I sure did! I had a dream that I was a mermaid."

I laughed. "Oh, no, you mean a merman."

"No, a mermaid."

"Oh…" I shrugged. "Chui-chan, have you seen my friend, the other girl Dee?"

"You mean that kinky one that's always with that giant blonde baby?"

"Uh… no, I mean the brunette with the glasses." I was silently thankful Dee - and Nakago - and Soi - didn't hear him say that.

"Oh, no, I haven't. Mr. Scary Face is the only other one of your friends who's awake. He's out getting water from the well."

"I think I'll go say 'hi' to him." I smiled at the boy. "Where's the well at?"

"It's to the right once you walk out the front door."

"Thanks Chui-chan." It only took me a few minutes to find the well, along with a grumbling Genrou gathering water in six buckets.

"Crazy lady. How am I supposed to carry these back without a stick?"

"You don't have to carry them back all at once, silly bandit boy."

"AAAAH!" Genrou jumped, falling into the water.

"Oops." I quickly ran to the pond and stuck out my hand to grab his, pulling the struggling bandit to safety. The bandit crawled out on his hands and knees, gasping for breath as I knelt next to him with my hand on his back.

"Mr. Scary Face can't swim?" Neither of us had noticed the little boy next to us.

"She just scared me, that's all!" Genrou snapped. "With her crazy jumpin' up an' screamin' at me like that!"

"You call that jumping up and screaming?" I asked, sweatdropping.

He just folded his arms and scowled. "With yer face, anybody'd be scared."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" I grabbed him by the collar of his coat. "I'm not the one called Mr. Scary Face here!" I felt my knuckles touch the bare skin on his chest, and blushed. He wasn't wearing the white shirt underneath his coat like usual; instead, he just had a "V" of bare chest. I quickly let go. "Um… Genrou… why aren't you wearing your white shirt like you usually do?"

"Huh?" He looked down at his chest. "Oh, that. Well, I always feel sexy, but sometimes I want to feel extraaa sexaaay." He licked his palm and rubbed his hand from his chest down to his waist. (1)

Bright red flashed over my face, and I quickly covered the little boy's eyes, not realizing then that he was done with his little sexy bit.

(1) Haley note: Anyone notice this too? Sometimes Genrou would wear white shirt underneath, and sometimes he wouldn't. I liked it better when he didn't. He's sooo sexaaaayyy…(gets slapped by Dee-chan)

The bandit began filling up the buckets. "Well, aren't ya gonna help me?" he asked after I stood there for a while, face completely blank.

"Oh, right!" I knelt down next to him and began filling the buckets as well. 'The hobo said to think with your heart…why does that come to me now?' I shook my head. 'It doesn't matter. I can't let what he said… or whatever it is, bother me. But what if it's something that will help me summon Seiryuu? Then I need to find it out…'

"Um… Harii-chan?"

I looked up. Genrou was standing next to me, holding three buckets and staring at me blankly along with Chui. I had already filled the other three buckets, and hadn't even noticed. "Genrou… how long was I just sitting here like this?"

"A pretty long time," he answered with a sweatdrop.

"Oh…heh…sorry, I didn't sleep much last night," I lied. To Chui, I added, "We better not make your mom wait too long." I carried the trio of buckets as the three of us walked off.

xxx

"Dee-chan, you're up! Where were you earlier?" I wondered, entering the kitchen.

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I just came from my room to here."

"Oh… heh, Chichiri must have been more out of it then I thought," I muttered to myself. "Anyway, I need to talk to you." I motioned for her to follow me into the empty hallway. "You won't believe what happened. You know that hobo?"

"How could I forget him?"

"Well, he's the cat."

"WHAT?" Dee face-vaulted. "You mean that cat full o' attitude?"

"Yup. They're one and the same. I finally was able to grab him last night, and he explained himself. He did leave me a little confused, though." I sighed. "I just thought you should know that."

Dee looked like she might say something, but a sweet, delightful aroma filled the air. "Do you smell that?" she asked with chibi eyes, clasping her hands together.

"Let's eat!"

xxx

"Harii-san! I'll miss you!" Chui hugged me as we all began to set off.

I bent over and hugged him back. "I'll miss you too Chui-chan."

"And I'll miss you too Mr. Scary Face!" Chui released his hold and ran over to Genrou.

To everybody's surprise, the bandit picked up the little boy and lifted him so they were face to face. "Next time I hear of ya, ya better be a tough man that nobody messes with."

The little boy nodded and smiled.

"Naki-chan, did you give that boy some of that kodoku wine?" asked Snoop Dogu. The general shook his head. The twin may not have believed him if it wasn't for the honestly-surprised look on his face.

Genrou carefully put the boy back down.

"And I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow!" The boy ran to a nearby scarecrow, hugging its leg.

Dee sweatdropped. "Damn Kansas jokes."

xxx

We were getting closer to the Sairou, when a girl with dark hair tied in loops and dressed in a traditional outfit stepped onto the path from an adjoining one. Tamahome scrunched his eyes, then yelled, "Xi Fang!" The girl quickly turned around and ran towards us.

"Tamahome, is that you?" Tamahome jumped off the horse and hugged her, much to Nuriko's displeasure.

"Oh, and who exactly is this?" Nuriko asked, grabbing Tamahome's arm to make a point.

"This is Xi Fang, Tokaki's daughter. Xi Fang, this is Nuriko."

The new girl bowed politely. "Please to meet you."

"Hi," Nuriko said snappishly.

Tamahome sweatdropped. "Actually, it's a good thing we ran into you. We need to see your father."

"Oh, I was just going home. I'll take you there."

xxx

"Tamahome! Is that you?" An old woman with very long hair ran up to him. "It seems you've found the priestess and her seishi, but…" The woman looked back and forth between us. "I thought there were only seven seishi."

We face-vaulted off the horses.

"We're the seishi of both Suzaku and Seiryuu no da."

"Oh…"

"Is it really you?" A very grizzled old man walked up to Tamahome, but didn't hug him like the others. He looked the young man up and down, nodding slightly. "You've grown well… Symbol-Ass."

"WHAT?" we all exclaimed, nearly falling off our horses again.

Mitsukake held up a piece of paper: Did you just call him Symbol-Ass?

"Yes. That's what the other little boys used to call him when they saw his symbol."

Everyone was silent. Until…

"HAHAHAHA! SYMBOL-ASS?" Genrou held his side with one arm, laughing, and pointed with his other. He fell on the ground, still laughing helplessly at the incredibly pissed off Tamahome.

xxx

"Symbol-Ass?" asked Colin. "I can never complain about anything anybody calls me anymore."

"When would the other boys have seen his ass?" Max wondered suddenly.

The two boys looked at each other for a moment.

Colin sweatdropped, or would have if he'd been anime. "Good question..."

xxx

The next morning, the group - including Tokaki, Subaru, and Xi Fang - headed towards the shrine of Byakko to gather the second shinzaho. A man with long, greyish-brown hair and soft eyes greeted us. I knew this because I was touching his eyes when we met him.

"Um…" the man mumbled as I stroked his eyeballs.

"Harii-chan, what the hell are you doing?" Genrou grabbed my arm and pulled it down.

"Don't be so rough with her!" exclaimed Amiboshi. "She's a delicate flower."

"A delicate what?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at the flute player.

"I mean, a strong flower."

I glared at him.

"A strong TREE!"

I smiled. "That's better."

Tokaki sweatdropped. "Um…"

Chichiri mirrored the action, bowing slightly in apology. "I'm sorry no da. We do have a strange group."

"You should talk," Tamahome muttered.

"You're the one with the symbol on your ass, Symbol-Ass!" retorted Genrou.

Tamahome grabbed Genrou's collar, hair flying up above his head.

Dee leapt into Chichiri's arms, pointing frantically. "Ah! Scary DBZ character!"

Tamahome ignored her, glaring at Genrou. "At least I don't have a scary face, Mr. Scary Face!"

A lightning bolt flew out of the air and crashed down on the two seishi. They both let go of each other as sparks flew off them, spun around a few times, then dazedly fell to the ground.

Soi smiled as she held onto Naki-chan. "That should shut them up for a while."

"Uh…" The man with the soft eyes smiled as he sweatdropped. "Well, I'm Tatara, guardian of the shrine of Byakko. Come in."

We followed him as he walked into the temple. The room was so massive it needed pillars to support its arching ceiling. In front of us was a statue of Byakko, and in front of that was a statue of a girl with long braids. She was completely naked except for a pair of bright pink panties.

"Oh, Suzuno, my darling!" Tatara ran to the statue and began kissing it. "I hate to be away from you, but I had to greet these people. What's that?" He held his ear to the mouth of the statue. "Oh, I love you too!" he cried, then wrapped his arms around the statue.

All of us except for our host and hostesses stood, chibi-eyed. Tamahome and Genrou walked in.

"What the…!"

Tokaki covered Genrou's mouth. "Shh… Tatara and the real Suzuno have been parted for many years. Please don't make this any harder for him by pointing out it's weird," he whispered. He uncovered Genrou's mouth.

I had overheard. "You mean… you were in love with the Priestess of Byakko?" I asked, trying to inform the others indirectly.

"Were in love?" He broke the hug with the statue, but kept an arm around it as he snapped his fingers while yelling. "I AAAAM in love with her!"

"Oh… right." I sweatdropped. "That's what I meant."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU MEANT?" He snapped his fingers once more, than stopped in mid-snap. "Oh. That's what you meant. Sorry."

"Brother, I think you should stop being in love with the Priestess," said Snoop Dogu. His twin nodded blankly.

My best friend wasn't very good at being indirect. She pointed chibily at the statue's underwear, trying not to look as freaked out as she felt. "Um… why did you put panties on her?"

"This," he snapped the panty waistline with his index finger, making the rest of us shudder, "is the shinzaho."

"THAT?" Dee and I shrieked, turning various shades of blue and green.

"You mean… you mean I have to wear THOSE?" I yelled.

"That's right." He grinned. "And…" He turned the statue around, revealing that the panty was thong-style.

We both face-vaulted.

xxx

"Why is this world so kinky?" asked Colin.

"I don't know, but I wonder what that statue looks like." Max licked his lips.

xxx

"We should get back to the palace soon no da." Chichiri untied his kesa and spread it on the floor. "Everyone step on no da!"

This proved quite difficult, but everyone managed to fit once Mitsukake picked up Chiriko and Soi shimmied into Nakago's arms. He didn't so much hold her as she clung to him, Koala-style, but it worked well enough. As we stepped on, Tatara held out the panties to me. I hesitantly took it.

"Wait." He took it back from me, sniffed it, and then handed it back. I shivered.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you longer," Tamahome told his old teacher.

"You can visit us later. Right now you have a prophecy to fulfill, Symbol-Ass," said Tokaki.

Tamahome forced a smile. Genrou broke it when he chuckled, and Tamahome threw an angry glance at him. We all sunk into the kesa.

xxx

"Wait a second…" said Snoop Dogu, as we arrived in the palace. "Why didn't you use that power throughout our journey to get the shinzahos?"

Chichiri shrugged. "It was more fun the other way no da."

"More fun for the story!" Dee flashed a chibi victory sign.

"Dee!" Hotohori ran to her, and enveloped her in a thick hug. I'm not sure how a hug can be thick, but it was. Like gravy. "I'm glad to see you're all right."

Genrou frowned as he folded his arms. "What about us?"

Hotohori let go of Dee. "I'm glad to see everybody but you is okay." He smiled, and Genrou sweat-dropped as he scowled even harder. I grabbed onto his arm and leaned into him. He looked over at me with a "what'd you do that for?" look.

"You looked like you needed it," I explained.

He sighed irritably.

"We'll start the preparations for the summoning tomorrow," said Hotohori. "Tonight we'll celebrate, and y'all can meet the new empress."

xxx

"Did he just say y'all?" asked Colin.

"Keep reading!" Max snapped. "I wanna get this over with!"

xxx

Hotohori started to list off the different dishes they'd serve at the party that evening. "We'll have sesame chicken…"

"Score!" Dee exclaimed.

"... The best sake in Konan…"

"Hell yeah!" the bandit exclaimed.

"...Cheesecake…"

"Mmm…" mmmm'd Nuriko. Vaguely, Dee and I wondered where they'd gotten the cheese. And the cake.

"...Dog food…"

Everyone sweatdropped, except for Ashitare who "RAH'd" happily.

"What are you rah-ing for?" asked Hotohori.

"Because of the dog food," I explained for him.

"But the party's only for the Suzaku warriors," said Hotohori. The Seiryuu gang - myself included - stared at him. "You have to start the preparations for the summoning right away," he explained. "That way, you can give the two shinzaho to us as soon as you are done."

All of us face-vaulted.

"Chichiri, please take them back now," the emperor ordered.

"Hotohori-sama," the monk said carefully. "I think they should celebrate with us tonight no da."

Hotohori's face grew twice its normal size, and he grew fangs even larger than the bandit's as he screamed. "TAKE THEM NOOOOOOW!" He shrunk again, smiling sweetly. "Thank you."

"Right… no da…" He pulled off his kesa and spread it on the floor again, chibi hands shaking from the emperor's sudden outburst.

"Well, I'll see ya when we get home I guess," I said to Dee.

"Yeah, I hope nobody has stolen my Jeff Boschee bookmark." She clenched her fists protectively, fires lighting her eyes at the thought of her beloved KU basketball player.

"Uh… I don't think you need to worry about that." I turned to the Suzaku seishi. "Thanks for everything," I glared at Hotohori, grinning angelically, "except for you." He ignored me. I smiled at the others. "I'll miss you all," I glared at Hotohori again, "except for you."

To my surprise, the incredibly tall, incredibly muscular, incredibly deep-voiced Mitsukake walked up to me and practically curled over me as he hugged me. He pulled away and handed me a piece of paper. It was written in English. Bad English, but hey, it's the thought that counts: I wil miss u two. I smiled up at him as I sweat-dropped. "Thanks."

"Good luck summoning Seiryuu, Harii-san."

"Thanks Chiriko."

The little guy nudged the bandit, who looked over at him, then at me with a frown. He sighed. "Well, Harii-chan, I guess I won't say I hate girls anymore." He grinned. "I'll just say I hate th' people I hate!" I smiled at him and immediately hugged him from the side. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't hug me back, but then I felt his arms wrap around me. He pulled me back and kept his hands on my shoulders. "Now go summon Seiryuu like ya said y'would."

I nodded, feeling tears brim in my eyes. I quickly walked over to the kesa to keep him from seeing. The Seiryuu seishi all jumped on, and we teleported away.

xxx

"Finally, they're gonna come home!" Colin and Max embraced joyously. They held each other for a moment, then pulled away and cleared their throats.

"Look at these muscles!" Max flexed his forearm, trying to show how manly he was.

"Oh yeah? Check out these." Colin flexed his own.

"What about these babays?" The hobo grinned as he flexed, his biceps bulging much more than the two teens.

xxx

"Here you are no da!"

"Thanks Chichiri." I hugged the monk. "Thanks for everything, and thanks for being so kind to Dee-chan. I know you're important to her."

When I pulled away, I saw the monk was blushing. "Sure no da… I guess I should get back to the party no da. Good luck, Harii-chan!" With that, the monk threw his kasa in the air, and jumped into it, the hat disappearing.

xxx

As we spent the next few hours preparing for the ceremony that would take place tomorrow, I tried not to think about Dee and her warriors partying down one country over. When we were done, I went back to my old room in the palace and fell backwards onto the bed, sighing with my arms outstretched. "I'm glad we're done… that was exhausting."

"RAH!" somebody rah'd from outside the door.

"Come on in Ashitare!" I sat up as he pushed open the door and trotted in on his four legs, then jumped on the bed. I scratched him behind the ear. "I guess I won't see you after tomorrow."

"Rah…" he rah'd sadly, tears beginning to stain his fur.

"Don't cry!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his fur. "If you cry, I'll start crying! And then we'll both be crying!"

Knock! Knock!
"Harii, it's Amiboshi. Can I come in?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes."

He opened the door, and his eyes bulged upon seeing me hugging Ashitare. "I thought you said you didn't love Ashitare."

I sweatdropped. "I don't, we were just saying good-bye."

"Oh, good." He sighed and put his hand to his chest. He straightened up, walked towards me smiling, and took my hand between his. "I came to say good-bye too. I know you don't love me, and I'm okay with that. But, I want you to know, in case you're ever feeling lonely, that I'm always thinking about you." I stood up to hug him.

"Arigatou Amiboshi, but I don't think I'll ever be feeling lonely. Dee-chan's always bothering me about something." I forced a laugh. "I'll be thinking of you too."

He pushed me away to look at my face. "Does that mean you love me?" he asked excitedly.

"Um… no…" We both sweatdropped. "I'm sorry."

He smiled. "That's okay. I'm happy I could be around you as much as I was."

I smiled back. "I'm glad too."

"Rah?" Ashitare cocked his head, and we both looked over at him, laughing.

Suddenly, a red ball appeared above the ceiling, and a hat formed in the air, then dropped to the ground. I heard shouting in the hat.

"Tasuki, get out of the way no da!"

"How c'n ya find the exit in this damn thing?"

"If you'd just be patient I'd show you no da!"

Ashitare jumped off the bed, stuck his snout into the hat, and pulled out the bandit by the back of his coat.

"SOMETHING'S GOT ME! AAAAH!" He struggled chibily, flailing his arms and legs.

"Genrou!" I ran over to him, knelt and hugged him around the neck.

"There's two of the bas… oh, Harii-chan! It's you!" I pulled away to glare at him.

"Did you mistake me for a monster again?"

He sweatdropped. "No… of course not, heh…" He stood up, and I noticed he had a flask in his hand and some bowls in the other. He looked over at Amiboshi. "What are you doing in here?" He scowled. "Not trying to give her a goodbye kiss, are ya?"

"Just a goodbye." Amiboshi glared right back. "What are you doing?"

He grinned. "I thought I'd bring Harii-chan a bit of the party."

Ashitare had managed to find Chichiri, and pulled him out of the kasa by his kesa. Hey, try saying that three times fast.

"Tasuki, you could have helped no da!"

"You should know how to get out of your hat by yourself!"

"You're hopeless no da…"

"What do you mean by a bit of the party?" asked Amiboshi, obviously a little scared.

"I mean by bringin' me 'n' Chichiri of course! I wanted ta bring Dee too, but that woulda been too noticeable. And also, some of the best sake you can find!" He held up the bottle. He set the bowls down on the table, and poured some in one. Then, he set down the flask and handed it to me.

"For me?"

"Who does it look like I'm handing it to?"

"You know she's never drank before!" exclaimed Amiboshi.

"That's the point! That way she'll remember us even if she tries to forget! Everyone remembers their first drinking experience!" He put an arm around me and held the bowl out again. "Besides, who can teach you to drink right better than yours truly?"

"You have odd logic." I smiled. "I don't think I could forget you guys even if I tried, but so you know I won't forget you…" I took the bowl and slowly sipped some down. I lowered the bowl. "It's pretty strong… but it's good! Really good! And it makes my tummy all warm." I held the bowl up and began gulping it down.

"Hey, watch it!" Genrou grabbed the bowl and pulled it away from my lips. "If it's your first time, you have to go slow."

I sweatdropped. "Sorry."

"Rah…" the wolfman cocked an eyebrow… er, fur-eyebrow... thing. Yeah.

"Yeah, that did sound kinky…" agreed Amiboshi. He then automatically flinched, staying in a crouched position. He slowly looked up, realizing Genrou hadn't heard. The two of us had sat down at the table, and he was pouring himself some sake.

"Hey Amiboshi, if you want some of this, you better come quick." Amiboshi began walking towards the table, but Ashitare grabbed his pant leg with a paw. Amiboshi looked down at the wolfman, who was leaning his head toward the door. Chichiri was in the doorway, with a sympathetic face, motioning for him to come to the hallway. Amiboshi then looked over at Genrou and me, sighing.

"Nah, I don't want any. I'll see you in the morning Harii. Bye Genrou!"

"Are you sure you…?" I started to ask.

"I'm sure." He walked out before I could say anymore, along with Ashitare and Chichiri.

"That's odd. Usually he'd be rambling about how he wanted to protect you." Genrou's eyes got big as he looked at me. "Did you two break up?"

"We were never together!" I exclaimed, but not loud enough for anyone outside the room to hear. "Maybe he just knows…" I mumbled.

"Knows what?"

"Nothing. Genrou, what happened when you first had sake?" I quickly changed the topic.

"I don't remember."

I laughed. "You mean you were really that drunk?"

"Yeah. I don't remember a thing. Koji told me I was dancing on the table with my shirt off, singing about how I loved girls."

I laughed even harder. "You must have been really drunk!"

He nodded, then looked up, a bit thoughtful and confused. "Ya know, I have no idea why I just told you that. I wouldn't have said that if the others were in here."

I changed the subject again. "I bet you're happy about getting to see Koji soon."

He smiled. "I've been away from Mount Reikaku fer too long. I can't wait to get back, but I don't want this to end either."

"Wh… why?" I asked with a small blush.

He shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I've had fun though. Parts of it weren't so great… like Tomo…" He growled. "But there then there were good times too - whoa, that's your second already!" he exclaimed as I refilled my bowl again.

"Well, I probably won't get a chance to have sake for a long time after this, so…" I smiled, and drank the third one, even slower. "How was the party at Konan?"

"Nobody got drunk, if that's what you mean. Well, except for Nuriko and Tamahome, who…"

"No more!" I covered my ears.

"Yeah, we all wanted t'be blind at that moment."

By this time I had finished the third bowl, and set it down on the table. "Aaaaahh…"

His eyes grew big. "Most people would be drunk by now!" I grinned in reply. He sweatdropped. "I don't think you should have anymore. I wouldn't want you to have a hangover at the ceremony tomorrow."

"Yeah, I might mess it up the way Dee-chan did." I laughed. "Y'know, I still don't know what to wish for. Oh well, I'll figure it out when I get there." I was silent for a moment, and then mumbled, "I really wish you would be there with me."

"What? Why do you care if I'm there or not?"

I looked up, startled. I hadn't meant for him to hear, and why did I care? "Well, it's just…" I trailed off, not wanting to say anything, but he sat looking at me silently, waiting for an answer. "It's just that when I'm with you, I feel completely safe, and so happy. I guess it's because… it's because I love you." My eyes grew twice their size as I slapped my hands over my mouth. "GASP!" I gasp'd loudly.

That's what the cat had meant all along! I had finally figured it out, but not in the best way. Then, I smiled to myself in relief. "Oh wait, this is the part where he conveniently doesn't hear me."

"Uh… no. I heard ya loud an' clear."

I face-vaulted out of my chair. He came over and picked me up, sweatdropping. "You really are drunk." He started to carry me to the bed, and when I realized this, I began to blush.

"G... Genrou!" I managed to stammer out as he lay me down on the bed. "I shouldn't…"

"Don't worry." He grinned. "I won't tell anybody about it."

"You mean… you were planning this all along?" I asked, feeling a little betrayed.

"I couldn't let you leave without knowing you got a little taste. I'd feel like I'd let you down." He frowned. "Didn't you want some?"

"Well… I… I do love you, but I can't." My heart sank, wondering how someone I trusted so much could try and trick me like this.

He stared at me, confused. "What does love have t'do with drinkin' sake? Damn, you really are drunk."

I blinked once, twice, and then laughed with relief. "I thought…" I shook my head. "Nevermind."

Someone knocked on the door. "Tasuki! We need to get back soon no da!"

"All right Chichiri, just a second!" He turned back to face me. "Good luck Harii-chan. You'll probably remember tonight, so don't feel stupid about saying you loved me. I know you didn't mean it. Hell, I told Koji that one time." I felt partly relieved and partly disappointed, but I managed to force a smile. The emotionally-challenged bandit stood up and waved. "Good luck Harii-chan, although rakki Harii probably doesn't need any." He began to walk out.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm, and he looked back, startled.

"You have good coordination when you're drunk."

A small sweatdrop appeared on my forehead, and then I looked straight at him to see his reaction. "Since I won't see you again…" I didn't want to ask, so I just pulled him closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. As soon as he pushed me back, I planted a kiss on his cheek, and then held him tight again. "I would kiss you on the lips, but I have a feeling my breath kind of smells."

"I think yer reasonin' is better when yer drunk." I was glad he couldn't see my giant sweatdrop at that moment. We were both silent for a while, and I broke it.

"Genrou, I'll miss you."

I didn't hear anything for a while. Finally, he muttered somewhat reluctantly, "Yeah, yeah I'll miss you too Harii-chan." I smiled and squeezed him even closer. "Ack! What're ya doin'? Givin' me the death grip?"

I laughed as I finally pulled back, and smiled at him. "Sorry."

"Tasuki! Let's go no da!"

"All right Chichiri! I'm comin'!" He looked back at me, and flashed his fanged grin. "Sayonara Harii-chan."

"Sayonara Genrou." He walked out of the room, and the red light flashing in the door crack told me they were gone.

xxx

Max heard a noise to his left. He glanced over at Colin, who had his face buried in his sleeve. "Are you…are you crying?"

"No, I'm just… it's just… WAAAAAAH!"

Max raised his fist threateningly. "Do you need me to-?"

"NO! NO!" Colin forced a stony face and sat still.

xxx

Someone shook me awake. "Huh?" I felt slobber on my arm and immediately jumped up. Ashitare smiled from the side of the bed. "Ashitare! Don't scare me like that! I thought for a second the hobo had come and licked me!"

"RAH!" He tugged on the blanket.

"You sure are excited."

Before I could even stand up, Nakago - wearing his old general clothes instead of his new baby doll ones - slammed opened the door. I stared at him with chibi eyes. "Good, you're awake." He pulled a bucket of water out of nowhere and dumped it over my head. "Now you're purified." He snapped the earrings onto my ears, then crammed the panties on over my pajamas as I immediately turned crimson. "And now you're wearing both shinzaho. Let's go!"

He grabbed my forearm and literally dragged me to the shrine, Ashitare following.

The others were already waiting for us. Snoop Dogu's mouth dropped when we came through the doorway. "Naki-chan! What do you think you're doing? We have to follow the steps carefully!"

"We're following them," he bluntly said, and threw me towards the fire.

I hit the pedestal with a SLAMMO! "Ouchies…"

"Harii-chan, are you okay?" Amiboshi ran up to me.

"I'm fine." I grimaced as I stood up. "We better get this over with." He nodded, gave me a quick hug, and then ran to his spot. I saw Soi out of the corner of my eye fidgeting. It must have been hard for her to be away from Nakago for more than two seconds. "So what do I say now, Naki-chan?"

"Say 'Oh Seiryuu, oh Seiryuu, come forth now or I'll bust your balls.'"

Everyone face vaulted. "Nakago, don't poke fun during this!" exclaimed Amiboshi.

"RAH!" added Ashitare.

"It says you can make up your own words. We're doing this the quick and dirty way."

I shrugged. "Whatever you say." I really wanted to pick the giant wedgie the thong was giving me, but realized everyone would undoubtedly see. Instead, I took a deep breath. "Oh Seiryuu, oh Seiryuu. Come forth now or I'll bust your balls."

"Does Seiryuu have balls?" asked Soi, a devious grin forming on her lips.

Snoop Dogu put a finger to his lips. "Shh!"

Suddenly, the flame in front of me turned blue, and I found myself surrounded by mist. None of the seishi were around me, but a tall man with stern eyes and a wardrobe that screamed BLUE! stood in front of me.

"Priestess, I am Seiryuu. To make a wish, just say kaijin, and then ask for your wish."

I just stared at him, unable to speak. No one had told me gods were sexy.

"Um… do you have all that?" he finally asked with an elegant, godly sweatdrop.

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"Good. Oh, and also, tell Nakago I'll be the one busting balls if he ever says anything like that to me again."

I sweatdropped and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Then I was back in the shrine. Amiboshi ran up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "You're here! We thought you had gone back to your world!"

"No, I just had a talk with Seiryuu, that's all."

"Seiryuu?" they all cried.

"RAH?"

"Did you ask for your wishes?" asked Soi, clutching onto Nakago.

"No. If I want them, I have to say 'kaijin'". At that moment, a symbol appeared on my forehead and I was enveloped in a blue light. "Dammit." I smacked myself on the head. "I guess I have to decide on a wish now."

"Wish to seal Suzaku away," suggested Nakago.

"What?" I looked at him like he was crazy. Come to think of it, he was. "Why the hell would I wish to seal Suzaku away?" The light flared brightly, then faded out along with the symbol.

"Rah?" Ashitare cocked his head.

"Hm…" I shrugged. "Maybe there's a time limit."

Nakago chuckled and wore a dangerous smile. "You just said 'I wish'."

My eyes widened in realization. "Oh shit…"

xxx

Back at the Konan palace, rice dropped from Chichiri's mouth as he felt his powers droop. Can powers droop? Anyway, everyone else had stopped at that moment, except for the Priestess, who was stuffing her face, and the elegant empress, Houki.

"This is so good!" Dee swallowed a mouthful. "It's sad to think this may be my last meal with you guys." She frowned and looked up at the monk, who was staring off into space. "Chichiri?"

"Did you feel that no da?" His voice was surprisingly low and serious.

The others nodded.

"I just forgot… how to find the area of a circle," said Chiriko, his already big eyes widening even further.

Dee looked back and forth between everyone, growing more confused by the second. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't feel anything," Houki said.

Genrou stood up, unsheathing his tessen.

Dee jumped up, waving her chibi arms wildly. "Tasuki, don't do that in…!"

"REKKA SHINEN!"

Absolutely nothing happened.

Dee's eyes widened. "Your power…"

"Everyone's power…" corrected Chichiri.

"It's gone," finished Tamahome.

xxx

"You bastard!" I lunged at Nakago and punched him square in the jaw. Soi grabbed me under the armpits and pulled me away from him before I could get in a second swing.

Nakago rubbed his jaw, smirking. "It's not my fault. You're the one who repeated me."

"What the hell are you planning?" I demanded, still struggling to get away from Soi.

"I'm planning to launch an attack on Konan. Without their seishi abilities, your friends will be in deep doo-doo."

All of us, including Soi, face-vaulted.

Nakago blinked. "What?"

I stood up and laughed. "Deep doo-doo? You don't sound threatening at all when you say that! You just sound stupid! And you are stupid, because…" I stood tall. Well, as tall as I could get, which really wasn't very tall. "Kai…"

At that moment, Nakago jumped forward and held a hand to my throat. I felt cold magic surround me. I pushed him off and yelled, "…!" I turned chibi as I held my throat, mouthing words with nothing coming out. Furious, and unable to do anything, I ran to my room to take off the ridiculous shinzahos.

"RAH!"

Ashitare jumped for Nakago's throat, but Nakago just calmly held out his hand. A tiny blue blast shot out of his palm, knocking Ashitare across the room. He hit the wall with a yelp and collapsed, unconscious. Amiboshi hurried over to his fallen ally while Snoop Dogu jumped between Nakago and the others, meteor bells spinning in his hands. "You bastard! You just attacked a fellow seishi!"

"A fellow seishi? Screw you guys, you're the ones who dressed me up like a baby and called me Naki-chan!"

"You shouldn't be mad about that," said Soi, cuddling next to him. "I thought you looked cute." He sweat-dropped.

"Well you shouldn't have made us all drink that kodoku wine!" retorted Amiboshi.

"Oh yeah?" Nakago set his hands to his hips. "Well you shouldn't have… um… your face is stupid!"

xxx

"DAMN IT!" Max smacked his forehead against the open pages of the book. "When the hell are they gonna get home?"

"They better hurry this up," Colin growled.

xxx

Dee frowned, glancing from one powerless seishi to the next. "I wonder if Haley and the Seiryuu seishi are having the same problem?"

"I think they might be the problem," said Hotohori.

"But Haley wouldn't do anything." Dee frowned. "Unless Naki-chan tricked her..."

Chichiri looked at her. "Harii-chan isn't stupid enough to get fooled by him no da."

"You don't know my best friend." Dee sweatdropped. "She's the kind of person who would actually look up if someone told her that gullible was written on the ceiling." A flowerpot flew out of the air and hit her in the head, courtesy of yours truly. "Ouch! Okay, geez, sorry. That doesn't make it any less true, though."

Genrou growled as he clenched his fist. "I'm sure it's Nakago. He was always trying t'keep us from summonin' Suzaku." The bandit stood up. "I'm going t'find out what's goin' on."

Chichiri stood up, blocking the other seishi's escape. "You can't no da. It's too dangerous. Nakago has all his powers, and you have none no da."

"Somebody's gotta make sure Harii-chan is safe," he said, trying to get around the monk.

Dee put a hand on his arm. "I'm worried about her too, but I don't want you walking into a trap. Besides, she'll be all right. Amiboshi and Ashitare will make sure nothing happens to her."

The bandit looked at the Priestess for a moment, and then sat back down. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Our spies told us that Kutou was planning to advance on us. I was hoping their general would change his mind after all of this, but I guess we'll have to prepare for war now," Hotohori said gravely.

Nuriko sweatdropped. "Maybe we shouldn't have called him Naki-chan."

xxx

I heard a knock on my door. I tried to reply, but then remembered that Nakago had stolen my voice. I just opened the door instead.

"Harii-chan, I'm so sorry!" Amiboshi immediately embraced me in a hug. "This is my fault! I was hoping you would stay, but I never meant for something like this to happen!" I pushed him back and waved my arms around while smiling, trying to tell him it's okay. He grabbed his hair with his hands. "Aaaagh, I said I was sorry! Geez, you have to make me feel worse!"

I sweatdropped, and instead pulled a Mistukake: writing on paper, and handing it to him. He stared at it. "I can't read this." I face-vaulted. I had forgotten that I couldn't read or write their language. Instead, I hugged him to show him I wasn't mad.

He pushed me back a little more and closed the door. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in close. "Don't worry," he whispered. "We're not going to let that bastard win. Suboshi…" He noticed my confused look. "I mean, Snoop Dogu, Ashitare and I will kill Nakago when we get the chance. He's too strong for us to challenge face-to-face, but we'll catch him off-guard during the war." He hugged me again. "Don't worry Harii-chan. We'll end this before anyone gets hurt."

I sweatdropped, wishing I could tell him not to be so melodramatic again. Unable to tell him, I only hugged him back.

xxx

"Your sister hugs a lot," said Colin.

"No kidding."

The hobo appeared with a finger to his head. "Doesn't the hugging only increase the melodramaticness?"

"No. And melodramaticness isn't a word," stated Colin, hick accent emotionless.

xxx

Dee looked up as Chichiri entered her room that night. His eyebrows were scrunched oh-so-cutely, which made her eyebrows scrunch too, though somewhat less oh-so-cutely. "Is something wrong?"

"A lot's wrong no da."

She sweatdropped. "You meant what I knew."

He smiled his oh-so-cute smile, then turned serious. "I don't want you to go to battle tomorrow no da."

"I don't want me to go either, but I have to!" she exclaimed. "There's gotta be something I can do even if I can't fight. And besides, if we get Suzaku unsealed, I can summon him then."

He frowned. "That's smart, but not so smart at the same time no da. If something happened to you… then…"

"I know, I know, we wouldn't be able to summon Suzaku. But what happens if you need me to summon him?"

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about no da," he said carefully.

Dee cocked her head curiously. "Then, what is it?"

He took off his mask. "I refuse to help kill another person I care about."

"Chichiri…" She sighed, then looked down. "Oh, fine. If it means that much to you, then I won't go."

He dropped the mask and immediately suffocated her in a thick hug. I'm still not sure how a hug can be thick, but there you go. Molasses Hug. "I'm glad no da."

She blushed. "Just promise me you won't get killed, okay?"

He pulled back. "I'll be all right no da." His smile was oh-so-cute even without the mask. "Thank you for understanding no da."

xxx

Snoop Dogu kicked open the door, dragging the unconscious wolfman in. "Amiboshi! Did you forget something?" I immediately ran to help him, and the three of us hauled Ashitare onto the bed. I put my hand on his neck to feel for a pulse. "He's not dead, just unconscious," Snoop Dogu assured me. "We already checked that."

I tried to sign another question to them, but Nakago slammed open the door, just like he had not too long ago. He pulled a rope out of thin air and tied it around my hands, then grabbed my forearm and dragged me out the door. "Off to battle! Huzzah!"

He carted me all the way to the stables, then picked me up and threw me on top of a horse. Nakago jumped on behind me and kicked us into a canter. As he rode out of the palace, the entire army fell into step behind us.

"Nakago-sama! Nakago-sama!" Soi chased after him, hurrying to catch up to her beloved.


Next Episode Preview...

FREAKY CAT THING: Thus, the war between nations begins! Two sides are pitted against each other in a fierce battle, neither knowing who will survive, who will be victorious! Will the dastardly Nakago succeed, or will the Suzaku seishi pull a miracle out of their asses and save the day? It's enough to get my dramatic blood boiling!
DEE: Oh, cut the crap, Cat-san. Like the entire audience doesn't know how this is gonna end.
HALEY: And don't make it sound so dark and dangerous. This is "Fushigiggles," remember?
FREAKY CAT THING: You mean no heroic battles? No selfless sacrifices? No crying for fallen comrades?
DEE: That's gonna be a Negative, Charlie.
HALEY: There might be some more oh-so-cute romance moments...
DEE: With a certain oh-so-cute monk and a certain oh-so-semi-cute high schooler?
HALEY: Mm... Could be!
DEE: SCORE! In that case, I'm parkin' my Fushigi-lovin' buns right here and waiting for the next delicious chapter: "War - UGH! What Is It Good For?"