Disclaimer: If I am Yuu Watase sensei, I would make a sequel and satisfy everyone, plus smooching all of your money! Just kidding, you didn't see me rich yet…but I do have quite a lot of estates…
"Chichiri! Why did you always come at the wrong times?" Nuriko asked, while trying to squeeze Miaka into the closet – her Mother was making her way up. "Miaka, quit squirming."
"You are the one who called me, no da." Chichiri said in his cute, high-pitched voice. Nuriko flashed a glare at the poor little wanderer.
"You could've come and saved Miaka from those slave traders!" Nuriko scolded, pushing Chichiri behind the screen.
"I was in the middle of a bath at the time, no da!" he protested. "Besides, I sensed your life-force nearby…"
Knock, knock… "Reishun?"
Nuriko hushed Chichiri and opened the door, pasting a bright smile on her face. "I…am trying out the men parts in a play…you know how much I like to act as a boy!"
Her mother snorted. "Then what was that shadow there, behind your screen?" Chichiri immediately wasted no time in revealing himself, him with his bluish monk clothes.
"It's me, no da. I am one of the Suzaku seven, no da. Nuriko is also one, no da. I am Chichiri no da and I -" Nuriko clapped a hand on Chichiri's mouth to stop him from saying that the Suzaku no Miko was in the closet.
"Mother, this is a boyfriend of mine, a Suzaku freak, so pardon him. Let me talk to you all about his lovely adventures!" Nuriko laughed, pulling her mother out of the room. Not that her mother could battle against her strength anyway.
Just then, Miaka burst out of the closet dizzily, gulping the air ravenously. "No… air…oxygen…Nuriko…die…no…cannot…die…Nuriko…"
Chichiri pulled Miaka up. "You are back, no da. You wanted to see us?"
"I…will…tell…you…later…"
"Nuriko is acting weird…" Chichiri mused. Nuriko suddenly burst into the room, with a bright smile on her face, her mother following closely behind.
"We've resolved everything…" Nuriko's eyes focused on Miaka then on Chichiri. Her mother looked shocked in the background. "Why, you cheated on me, Houjun!" she said, in mock sadness and disappointment. "Mother, I will resolve this. So, go out and…"
Her mother did not move. Nuriko gave a very very very gentle push and her mother was out of the room. "Now, if we don't resolve this, I am not Ko Reishun! Chichiri, let's get out!"
They disappeared into the straw hat.
"The priestess of Suzaku met slave traders, and was saved by the Seishi Nuriko, otherwise known as Ko Reishun. After a long conversation, the Seishi Chichiri appeared out of nowhere to help the priestess…this is getting nowhere, Taka," Tetsuya said. Yui agreed.
"You got your work to do. Miaka does not. Go with Keisuke tomorrow morning. We'll take care of this."
They appeared in a garden full of cherry blossoms in full bloom.
"The problem is that my Mother did not realise that I am Nuriko! She treats me as Ko Reishun, so I have to be Ko Reishun to avoid heartbreak, understand? I don't want my Mother to go berserk like my parents in my past life! Oh, and she did not believe in the Suzaku legend. Sometimes I wonder if this was retribution or something. Sorry for shouting at you just now, Chichiri, I had to make an excuse for Miaka's presence."
"Apology accepted, no da."
"So, Chichiri, you are as young as Nuriko, what happened? Did Nuriko grow up or did you become young?"
"It's Tasuki's fault no da. He was envious that everyone got new lives to live so he made a wish so that we both could be at the same age as the others, no da. Said that he did not want to die before them, no da."
"Huh?"
Nuriko explained. "You see, Mayo did not actually wish for anything did she? Suzaku was feeling generous that day (and rather extra) so he gave each of us a wish each, at half price. So we got six wishes. I wished that we would forever remember our lives in every reincarnation, Hotohori wished for the good of Konan, Tasuki wished that Chichiri and himself were younger, Mitsukake wished that Shouka was a bit younger than him, Chiriko wished that him and his girlfriend, M…forgot the name, but he wished that they could be together no matter what and Chichiri wished that his scar would heal."
"Oh, so why do you still wear the mask?" Miaka asked. "You had no need to anymore."
Chichiri smiled. "I look cuter like that! And women did not like men whose face is as odd as mine!"
Nuriko folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "I find it quite alright and I am a woman. Or do you, like Miaka-dear, still feel that I am a boy?" she shrugged. "I guess, I will never figure this out. So Chichiri, how can Miaka summon Suzaku now that she is not a virgin?"
"Hmm, this is hard no da. It seemed that you could actually summon Suzaku still, except that you need a pure body as a medium no da. Mayo proved that no da. If you and the girl could link together and recite the incantation together with the Seishi around you, you could summon Suzaku through the girl, no da."
"Well, it seems to me that we had to find Mitsukake first. Miss Shouka would be glad to help, I expect…" Nuriko muttered thoughtfully. "And maybe Chiriko's girlfriend could help too…this would be easy!"
"Really…I did not expect it to be. We have to find the shinzaho. And all the seven warriors…" Miaka said.
Nuriko shrugged. "I won't mind meeting up with Genrou or Eian again. In celestial Warrior terms, they are Tasuki and Hotohori. Hotohori would be back at the Suzaku village praying to his long dead brother, and Tasuki would be back at Mount Reikaku. This time, we won't have trouble finding all of them again!" she chirped, smiling. It was contagious; Chichiri and Miaka grinned too.
The sakura blossoms were beautiful, and the threesome were a bit sad to leave the place. However, Chichiri promised them that they could come back again. They disappeared to Mount Reikaku to find their beloved Warrior – Tasuki.