Chapter Five: "A Ghost In My Own Home"
by Vega
Koji whinged loud and long, but in the end, agreed to forego the adventure - AGAIN - and sit on his arse in the hideout. Genrou managed to convince him by laying on the guilt trip and saying that Koji was, after all, the second in command. Someone had to remain behind and make sure no on did anything spectacularly stupid.
With that fuss behind us, Genrou, Chichiri and I stepped out into the sunlight and towards the nearby glade where we were to travel on the monk's out-spread kesa. He had laid the swath of blue fabric on a patch of grass and I knew from reading the Shiji Tenshi Sho that we were going to somehow sink through the ground on the fabric and end up... somehow... in the courtyard of the Konan Palace.
With butterflies kickboxing in my stomach, I stepped on board and closed my eyes.
A sensation not unlike I had jumped feet-first into a bucket of ice-cubes hit me, and beside me, I could feel Genrou grab onto my sleeve and give a shiver. Then I felt like I was slowly thawing out, toes first, then feet and ankles and up and up until everything between my shoes and the tips of my hair felt like melty little hot puddles of nerve-endings. I closed my eyes and gasped, the air was suddenly sucked out of my lungs, and then... it was over.
I cracked my lids slightly only to come face-to-face with the business end of a spear.
I am ashamed to admit that I gave a girly little scream and leapt backwards to put the bandit between me and the Sharp Pointy Thing. Genrou laughed, a thick heartily amused one and said, "Hold yer weapons, it's me, Tasuki."
The soldiers raised their spears and rested them on their shoulders, and I breathed a sigh of intense relief. It appeared that they recognized him, if only by reputation.
"We're here to see the Emperor, no da," Chichiri stepped forward and bent quickly to scoop his kesa up off the ground. I had to scramble to avoid falling over, and was proud of myself that I didn't manage to do anything else embarrassing, just yet. "Empress Houki too, if she's feeling up to visitors, na no da."
The young Emperor was staring at me.
Well, not so young. Boushin-sama had to be the same age as his father had been when Hotohori-sama had first met my little sister.
Boy, aren't time paradoxes fun?
I knelt before the throne of the Emperor of Konan, Chichiri and Genrou flanking me. Houki-sama, mother of the Emperor and Widow of the former Emperor, look-alike of Nuriko, stood beside him. She was perfectly still, her face impassive, except for her hands. She was gripping a scarf in her hands, twisting it, bunching it, the only proof of her anxiety.
The Emperor showed no such collectedness. He sat with a blatant look of shock on his face, his green eyes wide and his knuckles white where he gripped the arms of his throne.
I imagine his father looked much the same when he had first encountered Miaka.
I couldn't help my smile out of one side of my mouth, and the Boushin-sama saw this and sat backwards, relaxing a little.
"Stand, please," he said softly and the three of us - Chichiri, Genrou, and I - pushed ourselves onto our feet. He stood as well and took a few steps forward to regard us from the top step of his dais. Below him, on the stairs, a mosaic of red semi-precious stones glowed in the torch light, making the image of Suzaku dance and seem to move in the wavering firelight.
"My friends," he said softly, smiling at Chichiri and Genrou. "Once more you come to the aid of my country and its people. Indeed, the Suzaku Shitisenshi are wise and honourable."
Neither Genrou nor Chichiri seemed moved or embarrassed by this. Genrou's lips twitched downwards for a brief second, and then all traces of emotion left his face. They nodded once and then all eyes fell on me.
"And you, elder brother of our beloved Suzaku no Miko. I am told that your sister spoke of you often and fondly." He descended the steps to stand directly in front of me, a young man half my age and already the ruler of an entire nation. I couldn't even begin to image how stressful being responsible for every life in the country must be. He bowed once, deeply, in front of me and I dropped immediately into the lowest bow I could. The Emperor laughed and I looked back up.
"Do not trouble to humble yourself before me," he said with a gentle smile. "If Suzaku has seen fit to bring you to us, then it is us who must be humble towards you."
"I'm not sure why I'm here," I admitted. "I mean... it's not like I can be a Miko." There was a small titter of laughter from Houki and I was glad to hear the sound come out of her. "From what I understand, Suzaku brings a Miko when Konan is in peril. Is the country in peril?"
Boushin thought about this for a moment and said, "No, I do not believe it is. But I could be mistaken." He turned from me and to a nearby guard. He spoke softly into the man's ear, covering his mouth from lip-readers with the sleeve of his robe. Then he turned back to me. "I have sent emissaries to the Rulers of the other Three Kingdoms. They will enquire as to whether or not other Mikos or… visitors have arrived, or if they are having any troubles. I hope that all of my emissaries will be met with peaceful receptions. If they are, then the other rulers will still be, hopefully, my allies."
"That is wise, Boushin-sama," Chichiri murmured.
The Emperor nodded once, and made a gesture I took to be one of dismissal. Everyone except a few guards, the Empress Dowager, and the four of us guys left the room. I looked around me, watching as ministers and military vanished into the depths of the palace.
"Now!" Boushin said, a very un-emperor-like grin on his face, "Let us celebrate, Keiske-sama! We shall have a feast! Tell me, do you have your sister's legendary appetite?"
How exactly do you party with royalty?
According to Genrou, pretty much the same way to party without them.
The 'feast' was absolutely astounding. There was enough food to feed three times as many of us, and the sake bottles never seemed to get empty. Boushin, Chichiri, Genrou and I sat around the same end of the table and traded stories of Miaka and Tamahome, Mik-chan, Hotohori, the Suzaku Seven, and times past.
Chichiri recounted an exciting tale of horror that told of a time when he stumbled upon a village where a demon was possessing people. He exorcised it without breaking a sweat.
Boushin-sama recounted his earliest memories of the warriors of Suzaku.
Genrou treated us to a tale of high adventure and peril … in which he went home to visit his mother. She didn't seem to care that he was a Warrior of Suzaku – she had tried to suffocate him in a hug all the same.
Even Houki-sama was enticed into telling the story of how she fell in love with Hotohori-sama.
Then they turned on me and demanded to know everything about my world. It was a very tall order, and kept my mouth dry for most of night. Genrou took it upon himself, of course, to make sure that my lips remained wet and the last thing I remember before I passed out, was muttering to myself about never drinking with bandits ever again.
I was dreaming.
It was late morning somewhere, and my mother was on the phone. She was talking with Miaka. I could hear both sides of the conversation.
"...isn't here," she was saying. "His coat is gone."
"I'm sure he just went out," Miaka said, her voice electronically amplified. "Maybe he went to the convenience store."
"He's been gone all morning," Mom insisted. "There was no note, nothing. He always leaves a note."
"Mom, I'm sure he's fine."
There was a pause. Mom was clutching the cord of the phone as if it was her lifeline. "Of course. You're right, dear," she said. Her voice was reassuring, but her face was sad. "How's the baby?"
"Oh, he's starting to wobble a little," Miaka said, and there was laughter in her voice. "Not quite standing, but you know, he's getting there. He'll be off on adventures before we know it."
I walked up behind Mom and tried to take her hand. Mine went right through hers. I felt her shudder, and she gasped into to phone.
"Mom?" Miaka's voice asked. "What just happened?"
"I... I thought I felt... no, it's nothing, dear."
I was startled by this revelation. I could... could Mom feel me?
"Mom?" I said, experimentally, right beside her ear. She jumped and looked around, then shook her head.
"No, Mom, what was it?" Miaka insisted.
"Tell her I'm in the book!" I said, as loud as I could. "I'm in the book!"
"… in the book…" Mom repeated under her breath.
"What did you say!" Miaka squeaked on the other end of the line. "What about a book?"
"What?" Mom jumped and seemed to come out of her daze. "Nothing – I think I heard the neighbour's cat again. Dreadful thing is always yowling at me."
"No!" I cried, "I'm in the book! Tell her! Tell Miaka! I'm in the book!"
"A cat?" Miaka asked. "I thought you said something about a book."
"Mmm?" Mom shook her head. "No, I didn't."
"Yes she did!"
"Yes you did."
"Of course I didn't, dear. Anyway, give my love to Taka-san and Mik-chan. Sorry for troubling you. Have your brother call me if you see him?"
"I... I will," Miaka said, but she sounded distracted, unsure.
Mom hung up the phone and turned. She was looking right into my eyes and didn't see me.
I woke up with a gasp, clutching the covers of an expensive duvet.
I sat up slowly, my head throbbing, and covered my eyes with my hands. I sat there for a long time and tried to catch my breath.
