Disclaimer: All that usual stuff.

And now you'll see why I had that random insert of the Seiryuu seishi. :)

Chapter Ten - The Fighting Spirit

Genbu burst out of the War room. "Where is he? Where is Byakko? Where is that demon who hurt him!"

Suzaku had followed close after him. "Genbu, wait! You need to calm down and think this through rationally!"

"You can't hold me back, Suzaku!" Genbu roared. "You cannot!"

Suzaku grabbed Genbu by his arms, barely managing to contain his elder brother. "Seiryuu, help me stop Genbu!"

No one came however, and the phoenix's mind raced frantically. After he had carried Byakko to his room, he had headed to the War Room. Thinking that Nyan had told them the excuse he had provided for her, Suzaku had tried to keep up a brave face to mask the fear pounding inside his heart. But when Taiitsukun had asked him where Byakko was, he had accidentally let up on what had happened. Enraged, Genbu had immediately leaped up and stormed toward Byakko's room. It was all he could do to contain his older brother and without the help of Seiryuu or Nyan, he wasn't sure how long he could do it.

"Stop! None of this is going to help Byakko!" Suzaku almost screamed. "Seiryuu, where are you!"

Was this Tenkou's plan? The demon was indeed devious if he had figured out the Gods' greatest weaknesses. It was each other.

x x x x x

Miboshi was talking with Emperor Habori when Soi entered. The two men had been discussing for nearly an hour, and Miboshi was relieved about the interruption. The emperor, with his bright mind, always managed to keep the seishi on his toes.

"Your Majesty, Miboshi, I have come to announce that Nakago has found the Seiryuu Celestial Warriors Amiboshi and Suboshi," sixteen-year old Soi reported, keeping her eyes bowed. "Is now a convenient time to greet them?"

Habori smiled graciously. "Now is as good as any other time." To Miboshi, he asked, "You don’t mind, do you?"

Miboshi bowed his head. "If Your Majesty wishes, then by all means we shall."

"No need to be so formal, Lord Eniru. We've known each other for years; don't you think we should have dropped the titles by now?"

"As long as you remain my liege, it is my duty to remain respectful to you, Your Majesty. Time has no meaning to me in this matter."

The emperor, seeing that he couldn't persuade his friend, gave up, and the three of them left the room.

As they walked, Soi debriefed the two about the new Warriors. Eager and bright, they were talented teenage twins and wished to serve their country. Amiboshi, the elder of the two, was pensive and had a flute that he always carried with him. As for Suboshi, he had a ball attached to a thin rope as a weapon. A ryuuseisui, something like that, Soi explained. That was the best way she could describe it. She herself had yet to see them demonstrate their powers, but Nakago had, so she took his word for that.

The hallway ended and Soi led them out to the gardens where two blond boys clothed in deep navy were standing. As Emperor Habori approached, they quickly dropped to their knees. "Your Majesty," they said in unison.

Miboshi watched the two twins, switching into his Advisor mode. Were they really the Seiryuu seishi Amiboshi and Suboshi? Just because they said they were didn't mean they really were.They could have been assassins sent to kill the Emperor. He wasn't even sure he could follow Nakago's word. Even the best of people could be tricked.

Habori ordered Amiboshi and Suboshi up. "Do you see this man bowing before me?" he asked, motioning toward Miboshi. "Or this woman? No no, don't bow before me if they don't."

Miboshi stopped Habori with a hand. "Stop. We have no proof that they are Seiryuu seishi other than their word. It is folly to trust them so easily, and I'm surprised Nakago believed them."

"You accuse us of lying!" Suboshi yelled angrily. "And who would you be, huh?"

Amiboshi grabbed his brother before he could do anything rash. "Stop. The man just wants us to demonstrate our powers."

Suboshi was still angry, but he forced himself to calm down. The brothers nodded and each took out their respective weapons.

"I use this flute to channel my chi," Amiboshi explained.

"And my ryuuseisui is controlled by my will," Suboshi said, a hint of anger still in his voice.

Together they bowed, then backed away. Amiboshi put his flute to his lips and began playing a hauntingly sweet melody.

Oddly enough, Miboshi did not sense anything. There was no release of chi, sudden or gradual. Soi too seemed to have noticed, for one of her eyebrows was arched.

Suboshi was frowning, for he couldn't seem to get his weapon to respond. Instead of doing as he was ordering it to do, it lay limply on the ground.

Taking note of this, Miboshi and Soi's eyes met. Miboshi's spindle flashed out, the point stopping at Amiboshi's throat. "Spy," he spat out.

The young man did not waver. "I speak the truth: I am Seiryuu Celestial Warrior Amiboshi."

"Then why are your powers not working?"

"I don't know."

Soi's whip had knocked the other boy's ryuuseisui out of his hands and she straddled him, pinning his arms behind his back. "You dared lie to His Majesty?" she hissed.

Miboshi turned to Habori. "Your Majesty, do we have permission to kill these two spies?"

The door burst open and Nakago stormed inside. Taking his chance, Amiboshi tried flung himself out of the spindle's point, but Miboshi noticed and slashed quickly.

"Desist at once!" Nakago shouted. "These two are the Seiryuu seishi they claim to be!"

"We gave them a chance to display their powers, but nothing happened!" Soi retorted, still sitting on top of a struggling Suboshi.

A hard glint rose into Nakago's ice-blue eyes. "Soi. Attack me with your lightning."

Habori cut in. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Will you explain, Nakago?"

Nakago bowed. "You'll understand in a few moments, Your Majesty." To Soi, "Do it," he ordered. "And release those two immediately. I'm sure they don't appreciate the welcome they've received from the two of you."

"I can't strike one of the Seiryuu seishi, least of all you," Soi protested.

"DO IT!"

Nodding faintly, Soi slowly got off Suboshi, who grabbed his ryuuseisui and crawled over to his brother. A red mark was on his face where he had been shoved to the ground.

Miboshi stared at his spindle, where the tip was a shining crimson. His eyes rested on Amiboshi, who had a thin line traveling from his throat to right shoulder. So he had struck the other young man after all. He hadn't been sure if it had slashed or not.

Stepping a little away from the group, Soi's eyes flickered as she slashed through the air. "Lightning Strike!"

x x x x x x

Back at Mt. Taiyoku, Suzaku had managed to pin Genbu against the wall. Red energy sparked from his fingers and his eyes were livid.

Genbu's lips were drawn back into a snarl as he tried to free himself from his younger brother's iron grip. Who would have thought he be so strong? Apparently he had always underestimated Suzaku.

"Damn it! Stop this, Genbu! We have to think through this clearly!" Suzaku screamed. "This is exactly what Tenkou wants!"

That cursed demon prince. He knew they should have killed him the first time they fought, Genbu thought dully. Sealing him away was too kind for the likes of him. He deserved to be killed slowly, perhaps poisoned. Yes. That was definitely a painful way to die. But through his hazy mind, Suzaku's point shot through, spearing the hatred that had sprung into his heart. Although he wanted vengeance on Tenkou, the best thing at the moment was let Byakko recover. Then together, they would strike.

Sucking in a deep breath, Genbu relucantly cooled down. Suzaku, sensing this, slowly released him.

Genbu closed his green eyes and laughed. "I'm too predictable. Tenkou knew I was going to do something like this."

"I almost did what you did," Suzaku admitted. "If it weren't for Nyan, I would have taken off."

The two laughed nervously.

"Hold on, where's Seiryuu?" Genbu suddenly asked. "Is he with Taiitsukun and Nyan?"

"Shit," Suzaku cursed. He swore a string of curse words, finishing with "Damn it all to hell."

Genbu stared. He hadn't even known his brother's vocabulary was that colorful and here he was reciting like he said them every day. May wonders never cease, he mused.

Suzaku finished and he now turned back to Genbu. "First you, now Seiryuu. Could at least one of you grow a damn brain?"

The turtle God tactfully ignored Suzaku and stood for a moment thinking. He had always known Seiryuu, but he'd thought his brother was more logical than emotional. This was definitely a change from the Seiryuu he had known. There was always a chance he was in the gardens, but this seemed highly unlikely because of the current crisis. Suzaku had obviously realized this, too.

The two brothers looked at each other. With Byakko down for the count and Seiryuu missing, how were they going to defeat Tenkou?

x x x x x x

One could have heard a mouse squeak in the gardens where the Seiryuu seishi spoke. Instead of the lightning Soi had expected, nothing had appeared, much less a spark, from her fingers. She lowered her hand. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Seiryuu," Nakago said smoothly. "Something has happened to him."

Emperor Habori shot up. "Impossible!"

Nakago stared at the emperor coolly. "And why not? Haven't you heard about what's been going on throughout the kingdoms?"

Miboshi turned his head at this. "There is an unbalance in the world, isn't there?"

"Yes. And it's very likely that the Blue Dragon and his brothers have suffered for it. My guess is that none of the other seishi still have their powers."

Soi looked at her hands and clenched them. "There must be something we can do," she insisted.

Miboshi shrugged. "I guess it's just too bad for us." His eyes passed over the twins. "You lucked out this time, boys, but next time..." He wasn't going to bother with those two. He had to find the last seishi even more urgently now and time was wasting. Without another word, he turned and began walking away.

"Aren't you even going to apologize? Aren't you even going to say sorry to my brother?" Suboshi screamed after the seishi.

He ignored him however and continued walking, his long ponytail swinging behind his back.

x x x x x

More in depth on the Seiryuu seishi, especially Eniru. Eniru is the main character in my Seiryuu fic, and I brought him into this one because I liked his personality. :)