Chapter 44 : Split Partings
"Mmmm...." Yui moaned as she brought her hand up to her forehead, a headache pounding on her brain. She squinted and slowly opened her eyes. It only took her a second to figure out she wasn't at Tetsuya's anymore. Yui quickly sat up and looked around the room, seeing only one other in the room with her. Her jaw dropped.
"N... Nakago?!" She said, startled.
"Good morning, Lady Yui." Nakago said smoothly, smirking ever so slightly. "Welcome back."
Yui was wide eyed. "I'm... I'm in the book!" She thought.
Yui lowered her eyebrows. "Nakago, what's going on?! Why am I here?!" She demanded.
"Oh. But Lady Yui, I've been planning this for a very long time. You see, ~priestess~, we can't summon Seiryu without you."
Yui stood up and glared at the man still calmly sitting. "What are you talking about?! Mayo is the priestess!"
"Exactly, which is why you are here." Nakago stood up and stepped forward, vastly towering over the girl. She did look a little different, and she was older. "It is good to see you again, but we won't need you for long." Nakago turned around and paced a bit. "You see, you, Lady Yui, ~are~ the priestess of Seiryu. However, now that all of us have been reincarnated, we have started over, with a new Priestess, Lady Mayo. However..." Nakago turned around. "Mayo won't be able to summon Seiryu without the powers from the previous Miko."
Yui stepped back, the back of her knee hitting the cot-like bed. "What... What are you saying?"
"The god Seiryu will make sure his priestess is ready for him when he comes. You still have the powers of Seiryu from before, and as long as you are in this world, your energy will be drained and given to Mayo, until again you are an ordinary, pathetic girl."
Yui swallowed hard. So that was it. All the times they were reading the book... those few lines they couldn't read... the Seiryu Seven, Nakago... was talking about her.
"Unfortunately, the process is slow, considering you'd most likely die if we tried to do it all at once, and then the transfer would be incomplete."
Yui walked forward. "You can't..." Yui fell backwards onto the floor, looking up. "A force field?!" She shouted.
"It's our security. We can't have you running away on us." Nakago said coolly.
Yui stood up. "Where's Mayo?!"
Nakago stared down at her coldly. "Lady Mayo is none of your concern, but she is perfectly well.
Yui opened her mouth to say something, but found herself choking on her own words. A strong, sharp pain was emitting from her chest, so strong it seemed to flow through her entire body. She felt her legs weaken and fell to the floor, clutching onto her shirt.
"I see it's working all ready." Nakago smiled.
"You... you won't get away with this." Yui choked.
Nakago stopped before exiting the tent. "And who, Yui, is going to stop me? No one evens knows of your existence here." And with that, he left.
Yui tried to push herself off the ground, shoulders shaking. "Mi... Miaka..." She whispered before collapsing.
*************************
"Yui...." Keisuke said quietly. What was he going to do? Knowing Nakago... if this didn't kill her, he would.
Keisuke put the book down and walked into the kitchen. His niece, still on the floor, started to whimper. Keisuke sighed and picked up the small child, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He went quickly over to the phone hanging up near the fridge, and dialed Tetsuya's cell phone number.
"Keisuke leaned against the wall, his heart pounding as he listened to the ringing.
"Pick up... pick up..." He pleaded.
"Hey, this is Tetsuya, I'm not answering the phone right now... obviously, so leave a message. Rocket power!"
"Damnit Tetsuya!" Keisuke smacked the kitchen phone on the wall. He hung up and hit redial.
ring....
ring....
ring...
"Hello?"
"TETSUYA!" Keisuke yelled.
"Ow! What the heck?" Tetsuya shouted.
"Tetsuya, you need to get back here, NOW." Keisuke said forcefully.
"What? I'm in the middle of work, I'm a little busy. Why? What's so important?"
Keisuke sighed. "Yui, she's in the book... Nakago has her..."
*click*
"Tetsuya? Tetsuya?"
*********************************
Miaka gazed around the surroundings again in the morning light. No one had gotten much sleep.
"We have to find her." Miaka repeated.
"I agree with you, no da, but we must remember that finding the shinzaho is crucial at this point, no da." Chichiri turned his horse around to face the others. "The Seiryu seven are now trying to get our clues as well, as we can't let them get ahead of us, no da."
"Saori won't last long out there if she got away..." Nuriko sighed. "She must be a really fast runner if we still haven't found her." Nuriko sat up on his horse. "Chichiri, we can send a small search party out for Saori while the rest of you go down south. I'll go look for Saori, and I can take Chiriko or someone with me."
Chiriko turned to the magician. "I'm willing to go, Chichiri."
Chichiri nodded.
"I'm going too."
"Miaka, you should stay with us." Tamahome informed.
Miaka shook her head and pushed herself off of Tamahome's horse, landing not-so-gracefully on the ground. "Saori is my friend, and no matter what you say, a friend is more important than a shinzaho." She looked from Nuriko to Chichiri. "Please Chichiri, please let me go."
"Miaka..." Nuriko said, wanting her to be safe.
"Please! Nuriko, Chichiri! Let me go!" She turned to her husband. "If you're worried about me being safe, the Seiryu Seven would be more likely to attack you guys, right? And Nuriko and Chiriko can take care of me." She looked at the ground, then filled herself with determination.
"I'm going, and that's that." She announced.
"Miaka..." Hotohori started, but he didn't finish.
"All right, no da." Chichiri finalized.
Nuriko grabbed onto Miaka's arm and pulled her up behind him on the horse. "Chichiri, if we don't find any traces of Saori within a few days we'll come back, but if there's any hint that she's still alive out there, then I'm going to look until I find her."
Chichiri nodded. "All I know about the Shinzaho is that it's south from here, I can sense it. It will take us a while to search for it, so we'll wait for you three down there."
Nuriko nodded.
"Don't worry Tamahome." Miaka smiled. "I'll be back in no time."
Tamahome plastered a smile on his face.
"Hut hut!" Nuriko kicked his horse, turning it around the other way and taking off. Chiriko followed after him.
Chichiri turned back to the rest of the group. "We need to go."
"Please... be safe you guys..." Tamahome's mind called.
************************************
Saori stared down at the ground from the steep, rounded rock she was on, seeing that the coyotes weren't coming back, and they weren't even in view. She had moved from one hiding place to another all night long, and the coyotes, who must have been really hungry as she figured it, kept finding her. She finally got to a place where they couldn't reach her, and they gave up about two hours ago, but Saori didn't dare move. The sun was starting to get hot, but Saori's body was dreadfully weary. She pushed herself up and slowly moved to the edge of the rock, sliding down before reaching a four-foot drop. She couldn't even remember how she got up there.
Saori plummeted into the sand, shaded by the huge boulder. She lay there for a moment, not wanting to move. She hadn't gotten any sleep, and she had never run so much in her life. Saori rested her eyes, listening to the silence of the desert. There wasn't even a sound of wind or a bird's chirping.
Saori eventually did sit up and leaned against another rock, unscrewing the lid on one of the canteens she had been carrying around all night during her run. Suddenly the three bags with her, two carrying canteens, felt enormously heavy, and she lifted them over her head, taking a long drink of water. She patted her cheeks a few times to wake herself up, and stood up, overlooking the view.
The way station wasn't even in sight. How far had she run? All there was was... sand, rocks... maybe a few dried up plants.
Saori picked up the miniscule supplies and put them over her shoulder. Oh well, at least she knew the way station was this way...
Saori turned around. "Or is it this way?"
Saori realized she had been all over the place during the night, and was completely and utterly lost.
"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out..." Saori sighed, still tired. "I know at least one of them is looking for me..." Saori looked around her. She couldn't remember anything specific she passed, she had been so focused on getting out alive. "Well, I think I got up on this rock from here..." Saori walked around the boulder a bit. "I suppose I'll head this way..."
So Saori started off, alone in the sweltering desert, her only hope to find someone, anyone, or pray she was headed the right way.
*************************************
"And so the Suzaku Seven, the party going to Nakano, Sairo, traveled further in the desert. No villages were on the way, no people to talk to, and things seemed awfully quiet without the others." Keisuke looked over at the door for the fifth time, waiting for Tetsuya to get home. "Come on Yui..." He said, waiting to find out the latest on her. "Surprisingly, they covered more ground than expected without any delays, and made it to Nakano by the mid-afternoon. Tasuki, who thought it was an illusion, took much convincing by Chichiri that the city was indeed real. Unlike Sairo, Nakano had a few dry forests surrounding it. The city held fond and poor memories for Miaka, though she wasn't present to remember them."
************************************
"Until we discover more clues on the dagger, we just have to keep our eyes peeled, no da." Chichiri informed. He held Miaka's parcel with the clues in it, which Tamahome had possession of before Miaka left. "It shouldn't be too hard to find an Inn, no da. Remember to look for anything that may be our clue, we need to stay here until the others return, no da."
"We can find and Inn and rest." Hotohori added. "Then when anyone is ready, they may go out and look, or explore, or Tamahome, you can see if you can find Tokaki."
The mention of the name cheered Tamahome up a little. "Thanks, I really don't think I can sleep though. I know I was up all night, but I'm just not tired."
"I will insist all of you at least have a little rest." Hotohori urged.
"It would be best." Mitsukake agreed.
The group of now only six maneuvered through the busy streets that were just as busy as they had been in Sairo city. The first Inn was booked solid, but the second had just barely enough space to fit them in.
"This will be tricky." Inami looked around the room. "My room mate isn't here." She said, dropping her things onto a bed. It was true that just about every time they had to share a room or a tent, Inami was usually with Saori. Tamahome was always with Miaka as well.
"I guess you're sharing with me then." Tamahome said, walking past the shorter woman to the next bed. "Both of our "bunker buddies" seem to be unavailable."
"Ah, don't worry Tamakins." Inami smiled. "We'll have tons of fun."
~
After a short nap, Tamahome was again ready to go. He walked down the hallway and knocked on a door.
"Come in, no da."
Tamahome opened the door to wear Chichiri and Hotohori were. Hotohori was on his bed polishing his sword with a rag.
"I just thought I'd check in before I leave. I'll keep a look for anything."
"Are you going to see Tokaki and Subaru no da?" Chichiri asked in his usual cheery voice.
Tamahome grinned. "Of course."
Hotohori put his sword aside. "If you don't mind, Tamahome, I would like to attend with you. I've been wanting to meet these Byakko warriors for some time now."
Tamahome nodded. "It's only fair, right?"
"I'll come too no da." Chichiri said, quickly vanishing off his bed, reappearing behind Tamahome. "It would be good to talk to them again, no da."
Tamahome clutched at his heart. "Chichiri, please, for the love of Suzaku, DON'T do that..."
~
"You goin' then?"
Tamahome nodded, raising an eyebrow at the game of marbles Mitsukake and Tasuki were playing.
"Byakko seven, huh?" Inami said from a chair in the same room. "Well, if they're doing well and all, I'd like to meet them too. That way I can say I know at least one warrior from each god." She joked.
Tamahome waved goodbye as he joined with Hotohori and Chichiri in the hallway to leave.
"I'm thirsty." Inami stated plainly.
******************************
"Strange Nakago, but I feel more energetic today." Mayo said, entering the tent. "Even after all that night travel."
"I'm not surprised, Priestess. I imagine your energy will be up quite a bit now that the powers of Seiryu are entering your body." Nakago said calmly.
Mayo frowned. "Did you make sure Yui doesn't escape?" She said a bit coldly.
"Of course, Lady Mayo."
"Good." Mayo looked around the large tent. "When will the others be back?"
"In due time, Priestess, be patient." Nakago informed. He looked over with his emotionless blue eyes. "I also will be leaving shortly."
"What?" Mayo asked, surprised. "Where are you going? I want you to stay here!"
"I will only be gone for a short time, Priestess." Nakago answered as if not noticing Mayo's expression.
"So you're going to leave me by myself?!" Mayo snapped.
Nakago stood up. "Tomo will be here, and he will use his illusion spells to make our camp hidden, Lady Mayo. I'd imagine you could find something to entertain yourself."
Mayo was dually upset.
"Believe me, Lady Mayo, when I return I will have good news."
Mayo began to retreat to her own tent. "I want you to inform me before you leave."
"As you wish." Nakago replied.
*********************************
Saori slunk down, tired. She didn't want to drink any more water though, she didn't know how long she'd be out here. "I definitely think... I'm going the wrong way..." She leaned against a rock, glad to find them after walking through a scorching plain of sand. Rocks were what little shade she had. She felt her eyes water as she looked up at the cloudless sky. "Where am I?" She whispered, a tear running down her cheek. She couldn't find a single person out here.
Saori shook her head. "Remember Saori?" She told herself. "There's always a good side to things." She remembered the talk she had with Hotohori. "Since there are absolutely no people around here, you know you had privacy when you went to the bathroom earlier..." Saori embarrassed herself for some reason. "Okay... uh... Think of how much more you'll be appreciated when Miaka... or someone... find you! Talk about sweet treatments..."
Saori made herself stand up, carefully walking over the rocks that shaded her. She was at another rocky place of the desert. "Maybe after my skin burns I'll get a tan." Saori looked back at the sun. She did happen to have her uniformed jacket around her waist by pure luck, but it was too hot to put it on, even if she would burn. Saori bent over and pulled her socks up again. "Keep moving Saori, you'll find someone, I know it."
********************************
"There it is!" Tamahome shouted like a little kid. He pointed to the fairly large house. For some odd reason or another, the city of Nakano had close mountains and several more trees than a majority of Sairo, perhaps because over the mountains was a section of a large ocean, and rain clouds did manage to get over the range every now and then. Most of the trees looked like pines with golden needles.
"This is where Subaru and Tokaki dwell?" Hotohori asked.
"Yeah!" Tamahome ran ahead, not bothering to move for tall grass or rocks.
"He's really excited, no da." Chichiri smiled as he walked towards the house, using his staff as a walking stick.
"It is good to see him in such high spirits, especially with Miaka away." Hotohori added.
Tamahome turned around from up ahead. "Hurry up!" He urged. He darted for the front door and eagerly knocked, waiting for an answer.
Someone did come to the door, but it wasn't whom Tamahome expected. It was a fairly young woman, about her late twenties, with a small child in her arms.
"Yes sir? Can I help you?" She asked.
Tamahome looked confused. "Um, is this where Tokaki and Subaru live? They're an elderly couple..."
The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry Sir, I think you may have the wrong address."
Tamahome looked around as Hotohori and Chichiri approached. "No, this is it..."
The woman uncomfortably smiled and adjusted the child she held. "My husband and I moved in about four years ago, perhaps they were the previous owners."
"What about Xi-fang? Do you know anyone by that name?"
The woman shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but good luck." The woman stepped back inside and slowly closed the door.
Tamahome, shocked, turned around to face his friends. "They're not there, these people moved in four years ago."
"Not even the daughter no da?" Chichiri asked.
Tamahome shook his head, walking off the porch. "That's odd..."
Hotohori and Chichiri noticed the severe disappointment on Tamahome's face.
"Don't worry Tamahome, cheer up no da!" Chichiri poked.
"Excuse me."
The three men looked to see another standing in their path. He looked to be no older than twenty. He was fairly tall, about the same size and build as Tamahome. He had long, light turquoise hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail by a single holder.
"Yes, what is it?" Hotohori asked politely.
"Are you three looking for Tokaki? And Subaru?"
Tamahome lit up. "Yes, do you know them?!"
The man nodded. "I can take you to them if you like."
"Really?" Tamahome asked, almost jumping. "Great!"
"Follow me." The man instructed, walking back the way the three had come.
Hotohori quietly leaned over, watching Tamahome as he followed. "Chichiri, is it safe to be doing this?"
Chichiri nodded. "I don't think he's dangerous, no da, but let's see no da."
~
Tamahome and the others only walked for about ten minutes before the unknown man entered a small grove where several trees and grasses were. Tamahome looked around, a bit bewildered for the moment before the man stopped a good deal ahead of him, since Tamahome had slowed down in his walking.
"Here they are." The man said a bit quietly.
Tamahome, worried to what he would see, stepped forward to look for himself. He was right. All he could do was stand there for a moment, silent.
"They passed away a little more than three years ago." The man said as Hotohori and Chichiri caught up. "I'm terribly sorry. Were you close?"
"Yes, in a way." Tamahome said quietly. The headstones were very beautiful, and Subaru's was right next to Tokaki's, just like a husband and wife should be.
"The daughter... where..." Tamahome began.
"Xi-fang?" The man interrupted. "She moved away with her husband a little while afterwards. I believe she lives further south now."
"How do you know them?" Hotohori asked.
The man smiled a bit. "I was a close friend. I was very sad to see them go..." The man stopped, noticing Chichiri behind Hotohori. He looked back to Tamahome. "You two look fairly familiar..." He thought for a moment. "A magician with a masked face and blue hair..."
Chichiri raised an eyebrow.
The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, you look an awful lot like the descriptions Subaru told me of the Suzaku seven who came here about fifteen years ago."
Tamahome looked up. "Subaru told you about us?"
The man nodded, his face lighting up a bit. "So you are? The Suzaku seven, I mean...?"
Tamahome nodded. "Yes. My name is Tamahome." He turned to the others. "This is Hotohori, and Chichiri. We are all of the Suzaku Seven."
The man bowed slightly. "I'm very honored to meet you three. Please, call me Ame. Any friends of Subaru and Tokaki's are friends of mine. Please, if you are not too busy, I would love for you to come back to my home with me, perhaps to get something to eat. Do you have a place to stay?"
Tamahome smiled. "Yes, we do as a matter of fact, but I'm sure we're not too busy, if you don't mind us troubling you." He looked back to Chichiri to ensure it was okay.
Ame smiled. "I'm very glad. I'd like for you to tell me of your journey." He said, walking away from the headstones. "And why you have returned to Sairo, I have much to ask you."
"I have a few things to ask myself, no da." Chichiri answered.
******************************
Tetsuya burst through the door, out of breath as he noticed Keisuke with the book on his sofa. "Yui..." he panted. "Where's Yui?"
"I told you, she's in the book." Keisuke repeated. He looked down at the carpet. "Remember all those lines we couldn't read in the book? Well, I looked back, and they're all in plain and simple characters now. The Seiryu seven were talking about how to bring Yui into their world."
"WHY?!" Tetsuya shouted, falling over as if the whole world was ending.
Keisuke managed to remain calm. "Mayo is their new priestess, and she can't summon the beast god without draining what powers Yui still has from her."
Tetsuya pulled himself together and sat down in a chair across from the couch. "What's happened so far?"
Keisuke bit his lip. "That's where more bad news comes in."
"What?!" Tetsuya asked.
"Well, I don't know if this is bad news, but Suboshi and Tomo attacked after everyone found the fourth shinzaho. And, well, he basically stranded Suboshi there..."
"He died?" Tetsuya asked, jumping to conclusions.
Keisuke nodded.
Tetsuya thought for a moment. "I wonder... how Yui took it..."
"I don't know." Keisuke answered. "I wasn't here. I think I got back right before Yui was sucked in."
"What's the other news?" Tetsuya asked, knowing there was more.
"It's Kawai." Keisuke replied. "She was chased off by Coyotes or something, but she's missing."
"What?" Tetsuya exclaimed again.
"Nuriko, Miaka, and Chiriko went out looking for her, but it's been almost an entire day and she's stranded out in the desert, alone." Keisuke sighed. "Luckily the book did at least mention her, so I know she's alive."
"Phew." Tetsuya said, all of it being too much. He looked around. "Where's Hikari?"
"She's in a highchair, eating something."
"Something?" Tetsuya asked. "Do you even know what you're feeding her?!"
"Relax." Keisuke breathed. "Right now, in some city called Nakano, Tamahome, Chichiri, and Hotohori are with some guy named Ame. They just got to his home." Keisuke looked up from the pages. "Subaru, and Tokaki of the Byakko seven, remember them?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"They passed away a few years earlier." Keisuke announced. "It's too bad, they were a lot of help the first time Miaka was in here."
"Anything new on Yui?"
"Not yet."
"Read."
************************************
"Wow." Tamahome said, walking up to the large house. It was about as big as Subaru's.
Ame opened the front door. "Please come in."
The four entered the house. The room was like a lounge/kitchen, and it was very nicely furnished at that.
"Holy..." Tamahome said, stopping.
The girl in a chair in the corner lowered her book, her scarlet eyes glancing over the three. "What do we have here? New visitors?" She cracked a smile. "How utterly delightful." She said sarcastically.
Tamahome just gawked. The girl, well, she stood out to say the least. Her feet were propped up on a table, her relaxed position on the chair completely un-poised. She too seemed no older than twenty. But the thing that caught Tamahome, and apparently Hotohori off guard was the girl's hair. It was a solid, somewhat bright shade of pink, one Tamahome had never seen before. It was cut to be very choppy, not extending more that two or three inches off her head, making it look almost spiked in some places. Around the girl's shoulders were thin, long braids, two on each side.
"Koki, please." Ame said, closing the door.
"I didn't do nuthin." Koki pointed out, lifting her book back up.
"Who... is this?" Tamahome asked.
"This is Koki." Ame smiled. "She lives in this house with me."
"Are you two..." Tamahome dared to ask.
Ame shook his head.
"Chichiri." Hotohori whispered. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the disk flashed for a moment.
"So, what are you guys here for?" Koki asked again. Her voice was quite low, but still fairly feminine. "Are we having a little party I'm not invited to?"
"Koki, these three are members of the Suzaku seven, the ones Subaru told us about."
Koki sat up. "Suzaku seven?" She looked each one up and down. "Hey, what do you know." She stood up, and walked over, being only about 5'4" in height. "Except you don't fit any descriptions dear." She said to Hotohori.
Hotohori nodded. "I'm afraid I wasn't with the others when they came here 15 years ago."
Koki winked. "Eh, don't worry about it. It's not terribly exciting here."
"So you know Subaru and Tokaki too?" Tamahome asked.
Koki looked over and winked. "Yeah, sure. relative or something of mine."
~
"A shinzaho? For Suzaku?" Ame rested his head in his hands. "That is quite a new case, at that." The five all sat around a low square table on the floor, finishing what remained of their meal.
"It's stupid is what it is." Koki folded her arms. "You have to find seven of these and THEN the actual thing? Who comes up with this crap?"
"Koki." Ame scolded.
Koki rolled her eyes, leaning over the table and batting her lashes at Tamahome. "So, what exactly are you looking for this time, handsome?"
Tamahome hesitated for a moment. "Well, we're not exactly sure."
"We know it's within the city boundaries, no da."
Hotohori gazed out the window. "I'm sorry, it's getting late. We should head back to the inn before the others worry."
"Others?" Ame asked.
Hotohori nodded as he stood up. "Yes, there are three others with us."
Ame stood up and brushed off his robe. "I do hope to speak with you again, thank you for your time."
"Thank you, no da."
"Mmmm...." Yui moaned as she brought her hand up to her forehead, a headache pounding on her brain. She squinted and slowly opened her eyes. It only took her a second to figure out she wasn't at Tetsuya's anymore. Yui quickly sat up and looked around the room, seeing only one other in the room with her. Her jaw dropped.
"N... Nakago?!" She said, startled.
"Good morning, Lady Yui." Nakago said smoothly, smirking ever so slightly. "Welcome back."
Yui was wide eyed. "I'm... I'm in the book!" She thought.
Yui lowered her eyebrows. "Nakago, what's going on?! Why am I here?!" She demanded.
"Oh. But Lady Yui, I've been planning this for a very long time. You see, ~priestess~, we can't summon Seiryu without you."
Yui stood up and glared at the man still calmly sitting. "What are you talking about?! Mayo is the priestess!"
"Exactly, which is why you are here." Nakago stood up and stepped forward, vastly towering over the girl. She did look a little different, and she was older. "It is good to see you again, but we won't need you for long." Nakago turned around and paced a bit. "You see, you, Lady Yui, ~are~ the priestess of Seiryu. However, now that all of us have been reincarnated, we have started over, with a new Priestess, Lady Mayo. However..." Nakago turned around. "Mayo won't be able to summon Seiryu without the powers from the previous Miko."
Yui stepped back, the back of her knee hitting the cot-like bed. "What... What are you saying?"
"The god Seiryu will make sure his priestess is ready for him when he comes. You still have the powers of Seiryu from before, and as long as you are in this world, your energy will be drained and given to Mayo, until again you are an ordinary, pathetic girl."
Yui swallowed hard. So that was it. All the times they were reading the book... those few lines they couldn't read... the Seiryu Seven, Nakago... was talking about her.
"Unfortunately, the process is slow, considering you'd most likely die if we tried to do it all at once, and then the transfer would be incomplete."
Yui walked forward. "You can't..." Yui fell backwards onto the floor, looking up. "A force field?!" She shouted.
"It's our security. We can't have you running away on us." Nakago said coolly.
Yui stood up. "Where's Mayo?!"
Nakago stared down at her coldly. "Lady Mayo is none of your concern, but she is perfectly well.
Yui opened her mouth to say something, but found herself choking on her own words. A strong, sharp pain was emitting from her chest, so strong it seemed to flow through her entire body. She felt her legs weaken and fell to the floor, clutching onto her shirt.
"I see it's working all ready." Nakago smiled.
"You... you won't get away with this." Yui choked.
Nakago stopped before exiting the tent. "And who, Yui, is going to stop me? No one evens knows of your existence here." And with that, he left.
Yui tried to push herself off the ground, shoulders shaking. "Mi... Miaka..." She whispered before collapsing.
*************************
"Yui...." Keisuke said quietly. What was he going to do? Knowing Nakago... if this didn't kill her, he would.
Keisuke put the book down and walked into the kitchen. His niece, still on the floor, started to whimper. Keisuke sighed and picked up the small child, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He went quickly over to the phone hanging up near the fridge, and dialed Tetsuya's cell phone number.
"Keisuke leaned against the wall, his heart pounding as he listened to the ringing.
"Pick up... pick up..." He pleaded.
"Hey, this is Tetsuya, I'm not answering the phone right now... obviously, so leave a message. Rocket power!"
"Damnit Tetsuya!" Keisuke smacked the kitchen phone on the wall. He hung up and hit redial.
ring....
ring....
ring...
"Hello?"
"TETSUYA!" Keisuke yelled.
"Ow! What the heck?" Tetsuya shouted.
"Tetsuya, you need to get back here, NOW." Keisuke said forcefully.
"What? I'm in the middle of work, I'm a little busy. Why? What's so important?"
Keisuke sighed. "Yui, she's in the book... Nakago has her..."
*click*
"Tetsuya? Tetsuya?"
*********************************
Miaka gazed around the surroundings again in the morning light. No one had gotten much sleep.
"We have to find her." Miaka repeated.
"I agree with you, no da, but we must remember that finding the shinzaho is crucial at this point, no da." Chichiri turned his horse around to face the others. "The Seiryu seven are now trying to get our clues as well, as we can't let them get ahead of us, no da."
"Saori won't last long out there if she got away..." Nuriko sighed. "She must be a really fast runner if we still haven't found her." Nuriko sat up on his horse. "Chichiri, we can send a small search party out for Saori while the rest of you go down south. I'll go look for Saori, and I can take Chiriko or someone with me."
Chiriko turned to the magician. "I'm willing to go, Chichiri."
Chichiri nodded.
"I'm going too."
"Miaka, you should stay with us." Tamahome informed.
Miaka shook her head and pushed herself off of Tamahome's horse, landing not-so-gracefully on the ground. "Saori is my friend, and no matter what you say, a friend is more important than a shinzaho." She looked from Nuriko to Chichiri. "Please Chichiri, please let me go."
"Miaka..." Nuriko said, wanting her to be safe.
"Please! Nuriko, Chichiri! Let me go!" She turned to her husband. "If you're worried about me being safe, the Seiryu Seven would be more likely to attack you guys, right? And Nuriko and Chiriko can take care of me." She looked at the ground, then filled herself with determination.
"I'm going, and that's that." She announced.
"Miaka..." Hotohori started, but he didn't finish.
"All right, no da." Chichiri finalized.
Nuriko grabbed onto Miaka's arm and pulled her up behind him on the horse. "Chichiri, if we don't find any traces of Saori within a few days we'll come back, but if there's any hint that she's still alive out there, then I'm going to look until I find her."
Chichiri nodded. "All I know about the Shinzaho is that it's south from here, I can sense it. It will take us a while to search for it, so we'll wait for you three down there."
Nuriko nodded.
"Don't worry Tamahome." Miaka smiled. "I'll be back in no time."
Tamahome plastered a smile on his face.
"Hut hut!" Nuriko kicked his horse, turning it around the other way and taking off. Chiriko followed after him.
Chichiri turned back to the rest of the group. "We need to go."
"Please... be safe you guys..." Tamahome's mind called.
************************************
Saori stared down at the ground from the steep, rounded rock she was on, seeing that the coyotes weren't coming back, and they weren't even in view. She had moved from one hiding place to another all night long, and the coyotes, who must have been really hungry as she figured it, kept finding her. She finally got to a place where they couldn't reach her, and they gave up about two hours ago, but Saori didn't dare move. The sun was starting to get hot, but Saori's body was dreadfully weary. She pushed herself up and slowly moved to the edge of the rock, sliding down before reaching a four-foot drop. She couldn't even remember how she got up there.
Saori plummeted into the sand, shaded by the huge boulder. She lay there for a moment, not wanting to move. She hadn't gotten any sleep, and she had never run so much in her life. Saori rested her eyes, listening to the silence of the desert. There wasn't even a sound of wind or a bird's chirping.
Saori eventually did sit up and leaned against another rock, unscrewing the lid on one of the canteens she had been carrying around all night during her run. Suddenly the three bags with her, two carrying canteens, felt enormously heavy, and she lifted them over her head, taking a long drink of water. She patted her cheeks a few times to wake herself up, and stood up, overlooking the view.
The way station wasn't even in sight. How far had she run? All there was was... sand, rocks... maybe a few dried up plants.
Saori picked up the miniscule supplies and put them over her shoulder. Oh well, at least she knew the way station was this way...
Saori turned around. "Or is it this way?"
Saori realized she had been all over the place during the night, and was completely and utterly lost.
"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out..." Saori sighed, still tired. "I know at least one of them is looking for me..." Saori looked around her. She couldn't remember anything specific she passed, she had been so focused on getting out alive. "Well, I think I got up on this rock from here..." Saori walked around the boulder a bit. "I suppose I'll head this way..."
So Saori started off, alone in the sweltering desert, her only hope to find someone, anyone, or pray she was headed the right way.
*************************************
"And so the Suzaku Seven, the party going to Nakano, Sairo, traveled further in the desert. No villages were on the way, no people to talk to, and things seemed awfully quiet without the others." Keisuke looked over at the door for the fifth time, waiting for Tetsuya to get home. "Come on Yui..." He said, waiting to find out the latest on her. "Surprisingly, they covered more ground than expected without any delays, and made it to Nakano by the mid-afternoon. Tasuki, who thought it was an illusion, took much convincing by Chichiri that the city was indeed real. Unlike Sairo, Nakano had a few dry forests surrounding it. The city held fond and poor memories for Miaka, though she wasn't present to remember them."
************************************
"Until we discover more clues on the dagger, we just have to keep our eyes peeled, no da." Chichiri informed. He held Miaka's parcel with the clues in it, which Tamahome had possession of before Miaka left. "It shouldn't be too hard to find an Inn, no da. Remember to look for anything that may be our clue, we need to stay here until the others return, no da."
"We can find and Inn and rest." Hotohori added. "Then when anyone is ready, they may go out and look, or explore, or Tamahome, you can see if you can find Tokaki."
The mention of the name cheered Tamahome up a little. "Thanks, I really don't think I can sleep though. I know I was up all night, but I'm just not tired."
"I will insist all of you at least have a little rest." Hotohori urged.
"It would be best." Mitsukake agreed.
The group of now only six maneuvered through the busy streets that were just as busy as they had been in Sairo city. The first Inn was booked solid, but the second had just barely enough space to fit them in.
"This will be tricky." Inami looked around the room. "My room mate isn't here." She said, dropping her things onto a bed. It was true that just about every time they had to share a room or a tent, Inami was usually with Saori. Tamahome was always with Miaka as well.
"I guess you're sharing with me then." Tamahome said, walking past the shorter woman to the next bed. "Both of our "bunker buddies" seem to be unavailable."
"Ah, don't worry Tamakins." Inami smiled. "We'll have tons of fun."
~
After a short nap, Tamahome was again ready to go. He walked down the hallway and knocked on a door.
"Come in, no da."
Tamahome opened the door to wear Chichiri and Hotohori were. Hotohori was on his bed polishing his sword with a rag.
"I just thought I'd check in before I leave. I'll keep a look for anything."
"Are you going to see Tokaki and Subaru no da?" Chichiri asked in his usual cheery voice.
Tamahome grinned. "Of course."
Hotohori put his sword aside. "If you don't mind, Tamahome, I would like to attend with you. I've been wanting to meet these Byakko warriors for some time now."
Tamahome nodded. "It's only fair, right?"
"I'll come too no da." Chichiri said, quickly vanishing off his bed, reappearing behind Tamahome. "It would be good to talk to them again, no da."
Tamahome clutched at his heart. "Chichiri, please, for the love of Suzaku, DON'T do that..."
~
"You goin' then?"
Tamahome nodded, raising an eyebrow at the game of marbles Mitsukake and Tasuki were playing.
"Byakko seven, huh?" Inami said from a chair in the same room. "Well, if they're doing well and all, I'd like to meet them too. That way I can say I know at least one warrior from each god." She joked.
Tamahome waved goodbye as he joined with Hotohori and Chichiri in the hallway to leave.
"I'm thirsty." Inami stated plainly.
******************************
"Strange Nakago, but I feel more energetic today." Mayo said, entering the tent. "Even after all that night travel."
"I'm not surprised, Priestess. I imagine your energy will be up quite a bit now that the powers of Seiryu are entering your body." Nakago said calmly.
Mayo frowned. "Did you make sure Yui doesn't escape?" She said a bit coldly.
"Of course, Lady Mayo."
"Good." Mayo looked around the large tent. "When will the others be back?"
"In due time, Priestess, be patient." Nakago informed. He looked over with his emotionless blue eyes. "I also will be leaving shortly."
"What?" Mayo asked, surprised. "Where are you going? I want you to stay here!"
"I will only be gone for a short time, Priestess." Nakago answered as if not noticing Mayo's expression.
"So you're going to leave me by myself?!" Mayo snapped.
Nakago stood up. "Tomo will be here, and he will use his illusion spells to make our camp hidden, Lady Mayo. I'd imagine you could find something to entertain yourself."
Mayo was dually upset.
"Believe me, Lady Mayo, when I return I will have good news."
Mayo began to retreat to her own tent. "I want you to inform me before you leave."
"As you wish." Nakago replied.
*********************************
Saori slunk down, tired. She didn't want to drink any more water though, she didn't know how long she'd be out here. "I definitely think... I'm going the wrong way..." She leaned against a rock, glad to find them after walking through a scorching plain of sand. Rocks were what little shade she had. She felt her eyes water as she looked up at the cloudless sky. "Where am I?" She whispered, a tear running down her cheek. She couldn't find a single person out here.
Saori shook her head. "Remember Saori?" She told herself. "There's always a good side to things." She remembered the talk she had with Hotohori. "Since there are absolutely no people around here, you know you had privacy when you went to the bathroom earlier..." Saori embarrassed herself for some reason. "Okay... uh... Think of how much more you'll be appreciated when Miaka... or someone... find you! Talk about sweet treatments..."
Saori made herself stand up, carefully walking over the rocks that shaded her. She was at another rocky place of the desert. "Maybe after my skin burns I'll get a tan." Saori looked back at the sun. She did happen to have her uniformed jacket around her waist by pure luck, but it was too hot to put it on, even if she would burn. Saori bent over and pulled her socks up again. "Keep moving Saori, you'll find someone, I know it."
********************************
"There it is!" Tamahome shouted like a little kid. He pointed to the fairly large house. For some odd reason or another, the city of Nakano had close mountains and several more trees than a majority of Sairo, perhaps because over the mountains was a section of a large ocean, and rain clouds did manage to get over the range every now and then. Most of the trees looked like pines with golden needles.
"This is where Subaru and Tokaki dwell?" Hotohori asked.
"Yeah!" Tamahome ran ahead, not bothering to move for tall grass or rocks.
"He's really excited, no da." Chichiri smiled as he walked towards the house, using his staff as a walking stick.
"It is good to see him in such high spirits, especially with Miaka away." Hotohori added.
Tamahome turned around from up ahead. "Hurry up!" He urged. He darted for the front door and eagerly knocked, waiting for an answer.
Someone did come to the door, but it wasn't whom Tamahome expected. It was a fairly young woman, about her late twenties, with a small child in her arms.
"Yes sir? Can I help you?" She asked.
Tamahome looked confused. "Um, is this where Tokaki and Subaru live? They're an elderly couple..."
The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry Sir, I think you may have the wrong address."
Tamahome looked around as Hotohori and Chichiri approached. "No, this is it..."
The woman uncomfortably smiled and adjusted the child she held. "My husband and I moved in about four years ago, perhaps they were the previous owners."
"What about Xi-fang? Do you know anyone by that name?"
The woman shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but good luck." The woman stepped back inside and slowly closed the door.
Tamahome, shocked, turned around to face his friends. "They're not there, these people moved in four years ago."
"Not even the daughter no da?" Chichiri asked.
Tamahome shook his head, walking off the porch. "That's odd..."
Hotohori and Chichiri noticed the severe disappointment on Tamahome's face.
"Don't worry Tamahome, cheer up no da!" Chichiri poked.
"Excuse me."
The three men looked to see another standing in their path. He looked to be no older than twenty. He was fairly tall, about the same size and build as Tamahome. He had long, light turquoise hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail by a single holder.
"Yes, what is it?" Hotohori asked politely.
"Are you three looking for Tokaki? And Subaru?"
Tamahome lit up. "Yes, do you know them?!"
The man nodded. "I can take you to them if you like."
"Really?" Tamahome asked, almost jumping. "Great!"
"Follow me." The man instructed, walking back the way the three had come.
Hotohori quietly leaned over, watching Tamahome as he followed. "Chichiri, is it safe to be doing this?"
Chichiri nodded. "I don't think he's dangerous, no da, but let's see no da."
~
Tamahome and the others only walked for about ten minutes before the unknown man entered a small grove where several trees and grasses were. Tamahome looked around, a bit bewildered for the moment before the man stopped a good deal ahead of him, since Tamahome had slowed down in his walking.
"Here they are." The man said a bit quietly.
Tamahome, worried to what he would see, stepped forward to look for himself. He was right. All he could do was stand there for a moment, silent.
"They passed away a little more than three years ago." The man said as Hotohori and Chichiri caught up. "I'm terribly sorry. Were you close?"
"Yes, in a way." Tamahome said quietly. The headstones were very beautiful, and Subaru's was right next to Tokaki's, just like a husband and wife should be.
"The daughter... where..." Tamahome began.
"Xi-fang?" The man interrupted. "She moved away with her husband a little while afterwards. I believe she lives further south now."
"How do you know them?" Hotohori asked.
The man smiled a bit. "I was a close friend. I was very sad to see them go..." The man stopped, noticing Chichiri behind Hotohori. He looked back to Tamahome. "You two look fairly familiar..." He thought for a moment. "A magician with a masked face and blue hair..."
Chichiri raised an eyebrow.
The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, you look an awful lot like the descriptions Subaru told me of the Suzaku seven who came here about fifteen years ago."
Tamahome looked up. "Subaru told you about us?"
The man nodded, his face lighting up a bit. "So you are? The Suzaku seven, I mean...?"
Tamahome nodded. "Yes. My name is Tamahome." He turned to the others. "This is Hotohori, and Chichiri. We are all of the Suzaku Seven."
The man bowed slightly. "I'm very honored to meet you three. Please, call me Ame. Any friends of Subaru and Tokaki's are friends of mine. Please, if you are not too busy, I would love for you to come back to my home with me, perhaps to get something to eat. Do you have a place to stay?"
Tamahome smiled. "Yes, we do as a matter of fact, but I'm sure we're not too busy, if you don't mind us troubling you." He looked back to Chichiri to ensure it was okay.
Ame smiled. "I'm very glad. I'd like for you to tell me of your journey." He said, walking away from the headstones. "And why you have returned to Sairo, I have much to ask you."
"I have a few things to ask myself, no da." Chichiri answered.
******************************
Tetsuya burst through the door, out of breath as he noticed Keisuke with the book on his sofa. "Yui..." he panted. "Where's Yui?"
"I told you, she's in the book." Keisuke repeated. He looked down at the carpet. "Remember all those lines we couldn't read in the book? Well, I looked back, and they're all in plain and simple characters now. The Seiryu seven were talking about how to bring Yui into their world."
"WHY?!" Tetsuya shouted, falling over as if the whole world was ending.
Keisuke managed to remain calm. "Mayo is their new priestess, and she can't summon the beast god without draining what powers Yui still has from her."
Tetsuya pulled himself together and sat down in a chair across from the couch. "What's happened so far?"
Keisuke bit his lip. "That's where more bad news comes in."
"What?!" Tetsuya asked.
"Well, I don't know if this is bad news, but Suboshi and Tomo attacked after everyone found the fourth shinzaho. And, well, he basically stranded Suboshi there..."
"He died?" Tetsuya asked, jumping to conclusions.
Keisuke nodded.
Tetsuya thought for a moment. "I wonder... how Yui took it..."
"I don't know." Keisuke answered. "I wasn't here. I think I got back right before Yui was sucked in."
"What's the other news?" Tetsuya asked, knowing there was more.
"It's Kawai." Keisuke replied. "She was chased off by Coyotes or something, but she's missing."
"What?" Tetsuya exclaimed again.
"Nuriko, Miaka, and Chiriko went out looking for her, but it's been almost an entire day and she's stranded out in the desert, alone." Keisuke sighed. "Luckily the book did at least mention her, so I know she's alive."
"Phew." Tetsuya said, all of it being too much. He looked around. "Where's Hikari?"
"She's in a highchair, eating something."
"Something?" Tetsuya asked. "Do you even know what you're feeding her?!"
"Relax." Keisuke breathed. "Right now, in some city called Nakano, Tamahome, Chichiri, and Hotohori are with some guy named Ame. They just got to his home." Keisuke looked up from the pages. "Subaru, and Tokaki of the Byakko seven, remember them?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"They passed away a few years earlier." Keisuke announced. "It's too bad, they were a lot of help the first time Miaka was in here."
"Anything new on Yui?"
"Not yet."
"Read."
************************************
"Wow." Tamahome said, walking up to the large house. It was about as big as Subaru's.
Ame opened the front door. "Please come in."
The four entered the house. The room was like a lounge/kitchen, and it was very nicely furnished at that.
"Holy..." Tamahome said, stopping.
The girl in a chair in the corner lowered her book, her scarlet eyes glancing over the three. "What do we have here? New visitors?" She cracked a smile. "How utterly delightful." She said sarcastically.
Tamahome just gawked. The girl, well, she stood out to say the least. Her feet were propped up on a table, her relaxed position on the chair completely un-poised. She too seemed no older than twenty. But the thing that caught Tamahome, and apparently Hotohori off guard was the girl's hair. It was a solid, somewhat bright shade of pink, one Tamahome had never seen before. It was cut to be very choppy, not extending more that two or three inches off her head, making it look almost spiked in some places. Around the girl's shoulders were thin, long braids, two on each side.
"Koki, please." Ame said, closing the door.
"I didn't do nuthin." Koki pointed out, lifting her book back up.
"Who... is this?" Tamahome asked.
"This is Koki." Ame smiled. "She lives in this house with me."
"Are you two..." Tamahome dared to ask.
Ame shook his head.
"Chichiri." Hotohori whispered. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the disk flashed for a moment.
"So, what are you guys here for?" Koki asked again. Her voice was quite low, but still fairly feminine. "Are we having a little party I'm not invited to?"
"Koki, these three are members of the Suzaku seven, the ones Subaru told us about."
Koki sat up. "Suzaku seven?" She looked each one up and down. "Hey, what do you know." She stood up, and walked over, being only about 5'4" in height. "Except you don't fit any descriptions dear." She said to Hotohori.
Hotohori nodded. "I'm afraid I wasn't with the others when they came here 15 years ago."
Koki winked. "Eh, don't worry about it. It's not terribly exciting here."
"So you know Subaru and Tokaki too?" Tamahome asked.
Koki looked over and winked. "Yeah, sure. relative or something of mine."
~
"A shinzaho? For Suzaku?" Ame rested his head in his hands. "That is quite a new case, at that." The five all sat around a low square table on the floor, finishing what remained of their meal.
"It's stupid is what it is." Koki folded her arms. "You have to find seven of these and THEN the actual thing? Who comes up with this crap?"
"Koki." Ame scolded.
Koki rolled her eyes, leaning over the table and batting her lashes at Tamahome. "So, what exactly are you looking for this time, handsome?"
Tamahome hesitated for a moment. "Well, we're not exactly sure."
"We know it's within the city boundaries, no da."
Hotohori gazed out the window. "I'm sorry, it's getting late. We should head back to the inn before the others worry."
"Others?" Ame asked.
Hotohori nodded as he stood up. "Yes, there are three others with us."
Ame stood up and brushed off his robe. "I do hope to speak with you again, thank you for your time."
"Thank you, no da."