Author's side note: All right, we have some childish fighting and some poor writing in this chapter, but it will get better, and thank you for all those who reviewed, you make me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Chapter 8 : Stirring Feuds

"There, you should be fully healed." Mitsukake assured, removing a now clean belt from Akue's right arm.

Akue moved her arm around. "And then some." She added, running her hand over where the gash had been. "Mitsukake, you truly are a miracle worker."

Mitsukake smiled at the compliment.

Just then, a knock was heard at the door. Miaka entered without waiting for a reply. She ran straight to Akue, Saori close behind.

"Akue, are you okay?" She asked, worry in her voice.

Akue laughed. "I told you I was okay when I still had the injury, so of course I'm fine now."

"You all should get some rest." Mitsukake advised. He picked up the makeshift bandage and a tray with a few things on it, and left the room. "You heard him." Akue stood up.

"What about YOU?" Saori asked, hands on hips.

Akue smiled. "I have work to do." She looked down. "Oh no... and I liked this one too..."

There was a long tear in the side of Akue's beige robe, as well as a rip on her right black sleeve. She yanked the material at the wrist, pulling the solitary sleeve off. "Oh well."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes, please hand them to me." Hotohori said the next morning. A Magistrate handed Hotohori a small stack of papers. They were requests for money, and a list of damages done at the Star Festival. He needed to get everything taken care of cleaned up. He sensed that soon he'd be reading a paper announcing Kutou's official declaration of war.

Hotohori's heart went out to the people of Kutou. They had lived in piece for a joyous ten years, and now they were to be forced back into fighting. Hotohori realized that his people would have to fight as well.

"Sire, are you quite all right?" A ravishly dress woman walked in. "You've barely slept in days."

Hotohori smiled. "Houki, I am fine. Please. do not worry about me."

Houki bowed and left the room.

Hotohori was about to sign one of the papers, when he heard noise coming from the walls to his left.

"Well, do you even KNOW what this stuff can do to you?!"

"Like I care! Now GIVE IT BACK!!!!"

"You think you'd be smart enough too leave it be!"

"You just want it for yourself!"

"I would NEVER drink ANYTHING that would do this much harm! It's NOT HEALTHY!!!"

Interested in the argument, Hotohori couldn't help but get up and take a look. He followed the noise to a kitchen area, where he saw Nuriko outside, leaned against the doorway, watching.

"What's going on?" Hotohori asked, coming over.

Nuriko turned to look Hotohori in the face. "They're arguing over a bottle of Sake. They've been screaming for about ten minutes."

Hotohori glanced in to see Tasuki grabbing at Akue, who had a half-filled glass bottle behind her back.

"What the hell is wrong with ya? It's not even yers!!!" Tasuki reached around the Akue's back. Akue turned and ran towards the door, surprised to see spectators.

"Your Highness!" She screamed, dropping the bottle. It shattered over the floor.

Hotohori stepped more into view. "What is going on here?"

"She started it..." Tasuki muttered, but loud enough for Akue to hear.

Akue bit her lip and looked up at Hotohori as if she was going to be punished. She pushed the pieces of broken glass behind her with her foot.

Hotohori sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Akue, please leave things that aren't yours be, and Tasuki, do show more respect for our guest..."

Tasuki's jaw dropped. "But... but..."

Hotohori left, with Nuriko following after him.

Akue turned around, her red robe following her. "Oops." she said innocently. She turned and ran out of the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotohori sat in his throne, reading through his last paper.

"Hotohori-sama?" Came a soft voice.

Hotohori looked up to see Akue standing before him, her hair in her usual halfback bun.

"Yes, what is it?" Hotohori questioned.

"I would just like to apologize. My arguing this morning was irrational and childish. I'm sorry." Akue bowed her head.

"It is quite alright." Hotohori answered.

********************************************

"Nakago!" the Emperor called from his throne.

Nakago entered the room. "Yes?"

"Nakago, my impatience has grown too strong. I don't care what you do, but I want the land of Konan! Retrieve it for me, sound out my armies!"

Though disapproving of the emperor's choice, Nakago did as he was told.

************************************************** ***************************************************

"Yui, Yui-chan, wake up!" Tetsuya shook his girlfriend by the shoulders. Yui opened her eyes, rubbing them with her hands. "What? What is it?"

"WE thought you should know..." Tetsuya turned to Keisuke. "Kutou is attacking." Keisuke finished.

Yui sat up. "What? Again?"

"This time it's official." Keisuke announced.

Hikari began crying in the next room. Yui flipped the blanket off of her, jumped off of the couch, and ran back down the hallway. She returned a few minutes later with a small child. She ran into the kitchen and placed him in a high chair. She went to the fridge, looking around for any baby food. She poked her head around the door. "Well?!" She scolded. "What are you waiting for? READ!!!"

**********************************************

"Taka? Taka, what's the matter?" Miaka asked, walking to him. Taka sat on the bed in their current room, and he suddenly tensed.

"I... I don't know..." he pointed out flatly. "I just had a bad feeling all of a sudden."

Miaka was sick of worrying all the time, but she couldn't help it. It seemed everything was going wrong. "I wonder how Yui is doing..." She plopped onto the bed next to Taka. "And Keisuke, Hikari... Tetsuya too."

"I'm sure their fine." Taka said, placing his hand over Miaka's.

"I wonder if anyone else has come looking for us yet.... it's been a while." Miaka wondered.

"I don't know." Taka wondered himself. "Doesn't time in your world pass more slowly than time here?"

Miaka's eyes brightened. "Oh yeah! That's probably a good thing!"

"But still...." Taka looked grief stricken. "If too much time passes in your world, then..."

Miaka stood up. "Then... what?"

Taka looked up at Miaka with a very serious look. "What about my job? We'll lose money!"

Miaka replied by a swift fist on Taka's head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing in here, Chichiri?" Nuriko asked, walking into the gold room. "Bored?"

Chichiri turned away from the large statue of Suzaku. "I'm just thinking, no da."

Nuriko looked curious. He walked further into the room, meeting up with Chichiri. "Is about the feuding with Kutou?"

Chichiri shook his head. "No, it's about Saori."

"Oh."

"She knows her friend Mayo is in this book, but I can't sense her life force, no da. So she might still be in Miaka's world, no da. If not, then she certainly isn't around here, no da. Or if she is, someone has found her and is hiding her life force, no da." Chichiri laid out all of the possibilities. "It's unfair to Saori, the war, no da. She came here to find her friend, and now she's even more lost than ever, no da."

"She might still be looking for one friend, but she's made several more." Nuriko said smartly as always. "She seems to get along with everyone pretty well, I saw her playing Nisuya with Chiriko the other day, and she looks at you like your her life line."

"Because I'm the one who found her, no da." Chichiri turned to face the faint sunlight running into the room from the open door. "Konan is once again facing strategy, no da. Even the smallest pricking of a feather can affect an entire world, no da."

Nuriko sighed. "For now, we have to look at the bigger things."

Chichiri nodded. "For now, Konan can only sit and wait, no da."

Nuriko folded his arms. "Like sitting ducks, ne? If we know Kutou is going to Strike, we should get them before they get us."

"That can be an irrational decision, Nuriko. All stages of war have to be carefully planned out, no da." Chichiri explained.

Nuriko made a fist. "I know, but things like this make me so mad!" He threw a punch at the statue."

Chichiri's staff jingled as he swiftly moved it under Nuriko's arm. "You should stay calm, no da." He looked up at the golden bird. "Anger is the one thing that will make Konan lose, no da." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tasuki?"

Tasuki stopped and looked into the open door when he heard his name called. "Yeah?'

Saori sat in her room, cross-legged on the floor. Her fingers drew designs in the carpet. "Do... Do you think I'll find Mayo?" she asked.

Tasuki stepped into the room. "If you try, I'm sure you will. If you're really friends with this girl, you'll find her."

Saori's lip quivered. "But what if I can't?"

Tasuki put a hand on his hip. "Then you're not really friends, are ya?"

Saori looked up, and sniffed. She smiled. "Thanks."

Around the corner of the hall, Akue stood listening with her arms folded. She smiled herself, and walked back down the hallway.

**********************************

"The country of Konan sat eagerly for two days, wondering what was going to happen next. The mornings and evenings came and went quietly, and it seemed all was at peace in the country of the south." Keisuke read on, "Even the songs of the morning birds seemed to bring messages of happiness. However, Kutou crossed Konan's borders the third day. striking first the city of Ryoshin."

Yui nervously patted the baby's back as she slowly heard the news. "I wish there was something WE could do." she quietly complained.

"We wish for the best." Tetsuya chimed in. "That's all we can do for now."