Disclaimer: FY and all its characters belong to their respective owners, etc. Ideas to this story/plot belong to me; no stealing. Original story idea created by Kitty and me, Mercury.

-grin- Enough from me now, on to the story!

Chapter Six – Musings

There was a flash of light and Chichiri appeared in the hallways of Taiitsukun's home. He fell on his knees. He hadn't meant to cause so much trouble, but unintentionally, he had.

He heard whistling coming from one of the other corridors and bowed his head, not wanting to face anyone at the moment. The gravel of the floor crumbled in his fingers and whispered phrases ran through his head. He couldn't catch all of it, but he knew what they were saying. A failure, a monster who destroyed everything he touched. A young man barely in his twenties already accountable for the death of his best friend and had nearly killed a fellow seishi. Chichiri clenched his fist. Why hadn't he let himself die that time? It would have been an easy death too, and he would have paid for his crimes.

The whistling stopped. "Chichiri, you're back!" Suzaku strolled up to him. "How did the test go?"

There was a pained look in his amber eyes as Chichiri raised his head. His lip trembled and he didn't answer.

Suzaku frowned. "By Taiitsukun, you didn't kill any of them, did you?"

"I.... Toroki would have died back there if Amefuri hadn't saved him." He refused to cry, but the tears welling up in his eyes were making it difficult; the stinging made him want to release his tears. Funny. He had thought his tear ducts were dry after all the weeping he had done the day Ryuuno and everyone else in his village had died.

"Guilt is the enemy of Now, and Now is all we have," Suzaku said casually.

"What?"

Suzaku looked at him. "Do you get it?"

"....No.."

"Don't let it bother you," Suzaku translated. "If you remember the mistakes you made in the past, you won't see the opportunities of today."

Chichiri could begin to sense what Suzaku was trying to get him to understand, but he wasn't quite ready to raise himself from the burdens of the past. Maybe someday he could do it, but not now. About Toroki however... He hoped the Byakko warrior would forgive him through time.

Chichiri smiled waveringly. "Thank you."

He felt warmth surround him, an emotion similar to love and extremely different from the chilling waves of hatred. "It's my job."

........

There was a sweet breeze in the air as Nyan walked through the gardens. She knew there was an impending war, but she couldn't help herself. Before it all exploded into an era of endless battles, she wanted to be at peace first.

She reached up and felt the tender leaves of the weeping willow hanging over the bridge she was standing on. Water flowed smoothly beneath her. A soft melody played in the wind and her eyes softened.

Byakko came into view, a wooden flute in his hand. The song continued to play, although the instrument wasn't touching his lips.

"What is it?"

His slight body, extremely lithe just like a tiger, leaned next to her. For the first time, Nyan couldn't help but notice his scent. Rough, but with a gentle bearing to it. Byakko looked at the sky. "War. What an atrocious thing it is. You realize this, right? My brothers and I always knew it would happen, but we hoped it would take much longer for it to finally unfold." His amber eyes, cat-like in their appearance, met Nyan's brown ones. "Tenkou has waited a long time for an opportunity such as this one. The seishi are at the peak of their powers."

Nyan realized this of course. But she knew Byakko was trying to tell her something else. Exactly what it was she didn't know. There was, however, definitely sorrow underlying everything the tiger God was saying.

"There will be no relief for us; we may even be killed. Our only hope...." Byakko closed his eyes. "A Priestess to once again save our world."

A Priestess. Nyan digested the information carefully, for she knew the chances a Priestess arrived in their world now were very slim.

Byakko continued to speak. "Our only mistake was not killing Tenkou when we had the chance. We hoped he was an honorable enemy; we didn't want to kill him because he had fought well against us. In truth, we wanted him to side with us, but it was not to be." He sighed and pushed himself off the ledge of the bridge. "No matter, I shall leave you to yourself now."

Nyan watched Byakko walk away, his white robe fluttering in the breeze. She had known all of this of course, but it was all from secondhand knowledge as it had all happened before she had been born. She smiled a bit. This was the first time one of the Gods had confided to her in the six hundred years she had been with Taiitsukun.

........

Genbu watched from a distance as his brother walked from Nyan. He wondered what their conversation had been about, but knew better than to ask.

He worried about his seishi, but refused to say so. It was not in his nature to display anything other than surliness. He resented this, but it couldn't be helped. Pride. That was his worst enemy.

He leaned his hand against his chin and thought. Over the years, Tenkou had been building up power while they hadn't noticed. Who knew how strong he was now. The demon had always had a lust for power, and no one knew how far he would take things. He supposed he shouldn't muse over these things any longer. The answer would come given time. One never knew the future anyways, and it wasn't good to perform guesswork about it.

Genbu moved to the table where he had set up a map of the world. His fingers traced over the land of Hokkan. His people. He wanted to do something for them to insure their protection, but what was he supposed to do?

Now his hands were stroking a wooden carving next to the map. It was a sculpture of a horse, the pride of his people. Genbu rose and clenched his fists, his mind set. There were some things he had to take care of.

.........

Taiitsukun closed her eyes as she meditated, waiting for Chichiri to arrive. She knew the task before him was no small one, and he had to be prepared for it.

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Taiitsukun said.

Chichiri opened the door and closed it behind him. Taiitsukun immediately sensed that her young disciple was not at peace. Through the years she had known him however, she knew she shouldn't mention anything.

"You summoned me?" Chichiri finally asked.

"I won't ask how the test went. However," Taiitsukun turned so she faced him. "I have a request for you."

Chichiri nodded mutely. He had a feeling where all of this was going to lead.

Taiitsukun continued, although she knew Chichiri was hurting inside. It had to do with what had happened against the Byakko seishi, but until he told her what had happened, she would have to wonder. Somehow, she had to build him into the leader the seishi needed. "Do you know who the Taiitsukun seishi are?"

She noticed the expression of surprise on his face, but it quickly disappeared. Chichiri shook his head. "I know of them, but you never told me exactly who they are."

Taiitsukun flew up to the ceiling and touched it. A chart of the skies spread, and Taiitsukun clapped her hands. Seven of them immediately lit up. "These are the seishi I'm talking about, the ones who volunteered."

Chichiri craned his neck so he could see them. "Tomo, Chichiri, Mitsukake, Chiriko, Tomite, Hatsui, and Hikitsu." He glanced at Taiitsukun. "No Byakko seishi?"

Taiitsukun touched the ceiling again and seven new Constellations sprang up. Chichiri identified them out loud. "Tamahome, Karasuki, Kokie, tatara, Amefuri, Toroki-" his voice caught for a moment, but he continued. "And Iname." A thoughtful look came into his eyes. "You want me to find these seishi, too, no da?" Without thinking, he had let up on some of his stress and had said his trademark 'no da.'

Taiitsukun allowed herself a brief smile. "Just the first seven. We'll find the others later." She tapped the ceiling and the stars disappeared. "You will need this." She waved her hand and a black orb appeared in her hand.

Chichiri took it. "Is this like the one Miaka used to find Tasuki and Mitsukake?"

"The very one."

"I see." Chichiri tucked it safely in his cloak. He didn't know how he was taking this so calmly, but he was. "So what should I bring?"

"That," Taiitsukun said as she began to smile, "is your own decision."

.......

The morning had ended and Chichiri was in his room packing his bag. His hand touched the scroll Chichan had given him. For a moment, he wanted to go back to the old days, when the only things a kid had to worry about was whether or not his playmates were free. The good days, he thought. Then he remembered Ryuuno and Tenmai. Again he wished that they hadn't died. It was true that the two of them had betrayed him, but he, Hidoen, hadn't helped matters much. He had refused to hear them out, wholly believing they had sinned against him and were lying to save their faces.

A small sigh escaped from him and he tied his bag. There wasn't much else he need, except for provisions until he reached the capital of Konan. Most likely one of the Gods would give him some if he asked, so he didn't need to worry about that.

He heard the door open and turned. Nyan was holding a package in her hands wrapped with red silk. "Chichiri..."

He quickly forced a smile, not wanting to show he had been depressed just a few moments ago. "What is it, no da?"

She couldn't hold in her emotions anymore. "Chichiri...!" She fell forward into his arms and he felt his shirt begin to dampen. "Chichiri, I don't want you to go...."

For a moment, he caught a flash of what Nyan could have been like as a little girl. Chichiri hugged her, feeling her hair against his cheek. "This is something I have to do, no da."

"Don't kill yourself then," Nyan said as she laughed shakily. "In this life, you're still my little brother."

Chichiri was silent. Then he pulled away from her, having been struck with a sudden idea. "I know! How about I make a doll of myself?" He placed his hands in prayer mode. There was a flash of red light and a doll of himself, complete with a staff and hat, popped into the air, floating gently down into Nyan's hands.

Her eyes glowed. "Cute!" She hugged it to herself, rubbing its head against her cheek.

Chichiri smiled. It seemed Nyan was still a little girl, although she had the appearance of a sixteen-year old. He picked up his bags and set his hat on his head, tipping it. "Well, I'll be seeing you later then, no da."

He started to disappear under the hat, but Nyan grabbed him. "Wait! I still have to give you your present!"

Chichiri lifted his hat and he reappeared. "What?"

She pressed the package into his hand. "This is from all of us, to help you when trouble finds you." A smile came to her face. "I think you'll recognize it." Then she backed away and waved, still clutching the doll to her. "Good bye! And thank you for the doll!"

Chichiri nodded and disappeared through the hat.

"And don't get yourself killed," Nyan added softly. "You're still my little brother in this life..."

......................

I am still in the process of planning this whole story, so some things might not make sense or be choppy. ; Sorry about that. If I do make changes to a chapter though, I'll make sure to let you people know. Many thanks to those who have reviewed so far!

Oh yeah, and I'll try to bring in some more of the Taiitsukun seishi. So far only two have shown up. XD Next chapter, watch for Hotohori, all you emperor fans!