Chapter Five

Suzuno's heart was beating enough from the parching weather and the now dead-but-once-deadly scorpion, but nothing prepared her for such a thing. She felt the energy drain from her, and her eyes closed tightly to shut away the reality, although even then she could feel his tongue dance around in her mouth. His eyes were closed in an eased manner and the young boy still held her body with ease, although when he kissed her, the hand holding her back had moved up to her neck slightly to lift it. Strangely enough to her though, she felt some sort of warming presence.

After what seemed an eternity to Suzuno, someone who had never even thought it was possible to feel a kiss from someone, he drifted apart, not making a sound. His calm eyes opened slowly, revealing a more than handsome slant to them, and even then did the glowing color of his eyes stand out miraculously. He smiled warmly at her, finally letting her feet touch the ground. At first, she thought she still might fall with the sudden experience. Her legs felt like wobbling jell-o and it took all her might to stand on her own. The boy looked at her with concern.

"You're still afraid?" he asked, one of his hands feeling her cheeks. "That's unusual. A kiss from me usually calms any person I've met down." The boy smirked. "Want another one?"

"What!" Suzuno shouted, covering her mouth the moment she could and muttering a 'no', even if it was muffled. Secretly though, while her heart was pounding and her first kiss wasted on someone who was nameless, the tingling on her lips would not wear off, and it was somehow pleasing . . .

'So this is what a kiss is like,' Suzuno thought, wondering if a second one gave just as much of a rush. In a way, she wanted to take back her reply and ask another one; then she shook her head and realized how stupid she was being. 'Why would I . . .?'

"I heard something as I was walking to the Mr. and Mrs.," he explained, moving his hands as he spoke and ignoring Suzuno's mix of expressions through her inner views. For a moment she was curious as to who he was referencing to. "Colossal scorpions aren't too common or rare here, so I guess when it noticed weak prey it took a chance."

'Weak?' Even though she felt he was right, it still hurt. Especially after she felt a little proud of even thinking of the things she did to try and get away.

"But, I guess you did pretty well," he concluded, making her feel a little better. The boy turned around, and Suzuno noticed that while his hair was mostly short, there were four thin bits of hair that were tied together with strings and beads. They swished about him as he turned his body, creating something smooth and angelic. He walked out of her sight, past a tree trunk and some bent ones from the scorpion as well. Suzuno followed him meekly, taking a few steps cautiously and having second thoughts, then continuing slowly in larger steps to try and catch up.

"Is your cut from that thing all the way gone?" the boy asked after they had reached the edge and were back on the path of sand again. He stood underneath the shadows of the giant leaves, so Suzuno did the same. She looked at him, confused, and then he pointed to her skirt. "The one on your leg. Did it disappear?"

'That's right,' Suzuno thought, rushing to look down. She bent her knees a little and lowered the black sock she was wearing, feeling an oozing liquid. She quickly realized it was blood, and panicked even more as she started to look for a cut . . . "What?"

The boy bent beside and lightly held her leg, making Suzuno fall back a bit from being off balance. She pulled her hands away cautiously, letting him examine her thoroughly. She watched as he held her a little by the ankle and below the knee, twisting it only a little left and right to see the cut. He sighed.

"Good," he said in a relieved voice. "It's not there anymore."

"What?" Suzuno leaned forward and looked at her leg herself, but she couldn't find a cut either. Out of nowhere the boy chuckled.

"Is the only thing you can say'What?'You haven't said anything else but that, really."

"Umm . . . no," she shook her head as she sat up, but she was still sitting on the ground. She wasn't curious any longer of how he got rid of the Collasal scorpion; she wanted to know how he knew about the cut. Was he a psychic? "How did you . . .?"

"I'm a Byakko Warrior," he replied, making her even more confused. She was about to ask something again, even though she felt it sounded strange, but didn't attempt it when he started to continue. "I can control poisons and acids, and when I kissed you I removed the poison. Simple."

"Oh . . ." 'Is that why he did it?' Suzuno touched her lips lightly with the edge of her fingers, and looked down at her leg again, trying her best to connect the two. Her other arm rose and pulled up her sock back to normal, fixing the creases. 'Then when he wanted to do it again. . . He must have thought I was still poisoned . . .' "Wha!"

Deep in thought, she hadn't even realized he picked her up again and was holding her in the same position as he had before when he caught her. This time, instead of gazing into his eyes, her face felt flushed and she looked down, resting her chin on her chest.

"My celestial name is Amefuri," he said, finally revealing who he was, even though she didn't understand what he met by 'Celestial Name'. She still had her eyes closed, but opened them and became startled when she felt him turn her head towards him so he could plant a kiss on her forehead. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm . . . I'm-" she wanted to speak, but was too clamored up by the amount of attention. He walked over to a cart and sat her on top of it.

The cart was much like the ones the Americans had used when they first migrated to the west, if she could remember right; Suzuno had never truly been interested in history. It wasn't nearly as large though, and the dark brown wood which held the cart together was engraved with scrapes and deep gashes. The inside was a mystery, as it had been covered up with a thick, almost leather white cloth. There was a round, semi-circle handle attached to the front, and once Amefuri had put her down, got went in between the cart and handle from underneath.

"Be careful not to move around too much!" he shouted a little, turning his head to her as he started to walk, gripping the round wooden latch in from of him and pushing. "The stuff underneath the cloth you're sitting on is water, so be careful not to break it!"

"Ah!" Suzuno suddenly felt even more conscious about the way she sat, and went strait up against the edge, letting her legs kick the side slightly. She wanted to be in a place that would break the leather as least likely as possible. When Amefuri noticed this, he started to giggle a little.

"You're a timid one!" he said while still smiling, looking forward now, "I don't meet girls like you often. It's very cute."

Suddenly Suzuno was very glad he was looking away, for when she had been given a new compliment her face completely turned beet red. She covered her face, ashamed for even the sun to see it. 'I'm cute?' she thought, and even though she was beyond happy so much she wanted to smile, she doubted him a bit too. 'I've never . . . Am I really?'

She stayed quiet for a while longer, putting her hands down on her lap and smiling shyly more to herself, her face still little flushed. Suddenly an excited feeling of energy burst inside her, and she felt restless. She decided to play with her hair, and pulled one of her braids to the front and undid it, separating the three pieces. 'That's strange,' she thought, looking at the small rubber band that held it 'I always use two per braid . . .' Although frizzy, and even a little oily from the days' sun-filled passing, she almost felt that it looked . . . decent. She played with it a little, twisting her hair into new combinations and running through it with her fingers, but soon the feeling of a small tad of confidence faded, and she braided it back up properly.

"Ame . . ." she said in a quiet voice, trying to speak up but fearing if she would sound strange. She tried to make her voice speak again, but decided against it. It was lucky enough for her that he had actually heard her try to call his name.

"What is it?" Amefuri asked. Suzuno looked down and fiddled with her fingers, suddenly ashamed of feeling so nervous of such a little thing, especially after feeling so confident barely a minute ago. Where had it gone? Why was she like this again? Why didn't she even think of asking a question while she was like that?

"Well . . . You mentioned being . . . a . . . um . . ."

"A Byakko Warrior?"

"Uh-huh. . . "

"What about it?" Now she felt very foolish. When Amefuri spoke, it sounded like he and everyone else in the world knew what a Byakko Warrior was. Is it common anywhere in this world not to know? She hoped and she swallowed hard. "What . . . is it?"

x

Puriti listened intently to everything Takao explained, understanding everything through the details he told. He told her that inside this book called The Universe of the Four Gods, there was just that: four Gods. They went by the names of Genbu, Byakko, Seiryu and Suzaku. These Gods needed Priestesses to find their seven warriors, named after the constellations in the sky, to help the four kingdoms they guarded over when they were in danger. Once their seven warriors were gathered, they could perform a ceremony and summon the God and receive three wishes. The Priestesses came from another world as said in their prophecy, and once their journey had been completed, the young girl would come back home.

". . .That was how it was supposed to be with Takiko," Takao concluded, telling small details here and there about the Genbu warriors and the Genbu Priestess herself in between the main explanation. "But . . . things hadn't gone so well. . ."

"And now Suzuno is in there?" Puriti asked after a long pause. She was still holding the Universe of the Four Gods in her hand, and while being told the story she grasped it tightly. He nodded, running his hands through his blond hair and leaning back on his seat a bit.

"I'm afraid now that she's in there. . . She's the only thing I have left," he stopped for a second, putting a hand over his mouth and leaning his elbow against the window and looking outside. He noticed that the bright morning from earlier was fading away, and that thick, dark clouds were starting to form. "I don't want to lose her. . . I don't want it to end the same way it did with Takiko . . . Uruki . . ."

"Mr. Oosugi . . ." Puriti had never felt so much compassion; not even for his daughter who had been tricked into embarrassing herself and was crying tears of giving up. She honestly felt it was pathetic; but this man seemed so . . . Amazing. Takao Oosugi. Not knowing what to say, she turned back into the book and went to the most recent page starting to form, and read slowly. ". . . Amefuri willingly explained after laughing a little about the Priestess of Byakko, and her mission for Sairou. He said it was prophesized that she-"

"Amefuri?" Takao asked curiously, turning his head and leaning beside Puriti, looking down at the book with her. Something finally struck him. "That's one of the Byakko Celestial warriors . . . Of the seven. . "

"Then that means . . ?"

x

Suzuno smiled at the story he told of the first Priestess that really did fulfill the legend; although he spoke of it vaguely, it seemed wonderful to have been such a journey. She thought of it as the Priestess having a purpose in life, and fulfilling the purpose for the world with friends by her side.

"It sounds wonderful, to be a Priestess," she said, closing her eyes and imagining the idea. She wondered what it would be like to become the Priestess herself, wearing a beautiful robe given to her by a king with her warriors beside her. . . Her friends. Yes, she would have tried her best to make friends with them. Then she'd show her father that she did learn how to make friends, and she would introduce them all to him.

"You listening still or not?" Amefuri brought her out of her fantasy, making her jump slightly.

"I'm sorry," Suzuno mumbled. He waved it off.

"It's alright. . . Say, since you seemed to enjoy the story I told so much, judging by your face-"he glanced at her with a grin that embarrassed her, "- Why don't we do a trade?"

"A . . . trade?"

"Tell me your name."

Suzuno looked up at the clear blue sky for a moment, trying her best to avoid the large sun, although it was a daunting task. She began to recall telling many people her name lately . . . Not that it had become so routine that she could tell anybody. She sighed with relief of such a small trade; because of the kiss Amefuri gave her before, she was afraid it would be something else, even though so far his smiles told that he was a naturally affectionate person.

"Suzuno Oosugi," she whispered, still gazing upwards, her eyes not tired yet from the burn.

"Is that so . . . I have another question for you then."

"Um . . ."

"It's about what you're wearing, and the legend," he said, stopping for a second and resting his arms for a bit, massaging his muscles and rotating his shoulders.

Suzuno noticed that his arms, although not unbelievably muscular, were fittingly strong and toned, with a very dark tan from being in the sun so often. His face was the same way, and it seemed his skin had been burnt numerous times, as there were light childish freckles on his cheeks; his skin was so dark, however, that they were barely visible and you would have to examine him very closely. "Where are you- Oh, would you look at that, there's the Mr. and Mrs."

Suzuno changed her direction from upward to forward, noticing that along the same sandy path as she and Amefuri were none other than Lanva and Doulin. They seemed to be in a bit of a rush, Doulin hastily pacing in and out of the forest, and Lanva was at the opposite side, keeping his eyes set out at the endless desert while covering his face from the sun with his hand. Amefuri raised an arm and waved energetically, jumping up on the edge of the cart and forcing Suzuno to move towards the center.

"Hey, Hahmu!" he shouted as loud as he could, his voice echoing. The two looked up at him, pausing their hurried movements just for a moment. They squinted their eyes, then smiled and waved back. They came right before Amefuri's cart.

"You brought our water a little earlier than usual," Doulin said with a smile, stopping right in front of the handle where the young Warrior of Byakko stepped down in again. Amefuri smiled back.

"Well, I have an appointment with the Emperor come soon, so I wouldn't be able to deliver it at the right time." He cupped his mouth and leaned a little closer to them, and Lanva and Doulin did the same. "You see, I was told that both the Prince of Kutou and the Princess of Sairou are equally inexperienced, so they need a professional."

Lanva was especially interested, and seemed surprised. "You mean you get to . . . you and the Princess?"

"Yup!"

"Man, you lucky dog! Sometimes I wish I was a-"

"Lanva!" Doulin yelled in an angry voice, hitting that back of his head, "Do you men only think about sex all day! You don't even remember what we came out here for, do you?"

"Ow! Yeah, yeah, I remember."

"Then ask!"

Lanva massaged the back on his head a little, wincing from the sudden pain, but got right to doing as his fiancée demanded. "Amefuri, did you ever see a girl in weird clothes? Shorter than Doulin, with blonde-ish hair and green eyes?"

"A shy looking one?" Amefuri inquired, and the two of them nodded. He also nodded back and turned to point behind him onto the cart with his thumb. "Right behind me. She got into some trouble with a Colossal Scorpion and so I took her along to deliver the water."

"Oh, thank the Gods!" Doulin said in a relieved voice, jumping onto the cart quickly and making it bounce up and down so the water inside rocked. She pulled Suzuno into a fiercely tight hug, surprising the young girl who before had tried her best to hide from them, even if there was no place to hide. When she saw them from the distance, she was more than ashamed and afraid that they were going to be furious.

'Why . . .' Suzuno thought to herself as she felt Doulin's strong grip around her. She unconsciously laid her head on the beautiful woman's chest, questions running through her mind. 'Why isn't she mad at me? Shouldn't she. .. If I ran away? I barely knew them though . . . '

"We were worried abut you, Suzuno," she heard Lanva say as he rested his crossed arms on the edge of the cart and looked up at the two girls. "We had no idea what happened to you, so we set out right in the morning to find you!"

'They did? They were worried . . . about me?'

"Suzuno, we . . . Suzuno?"

Suddenly she couldn't control it, and something in her chest felt so incredibly overwhelmed tears rushed down her cheeks. Her eyelashes dripped with the salty water when she shut her eyes to stop them, but it only forced more to come. She was overjoyed; the only time she ever in her life remembered hearing someone say that was her father. . . There were never any other relatives, or friends . . . It was so incredibly strong, listening to those words. Someone worried about her. How could she not contain her delight?

"Oh, dear . . ." Doulin said with a soft grin, holding her in a comforting manner as a mother would, caressing her hair. "It's alright . . . Everything is fine."

"Uh . . ." Suzuno wiped away the tears on her sleeve and Doulin and Lanva looked over to Amefuri, who had gotten out from in between the handle and cart. "I don't want to break this moment, but the leather . . .That leather can only take so much-" Before he could finish a tear from the center of the rawhide was heard crackling apart and the two girls fell through, splashing into the water. "-weight."

Lanva snorted then burst out into full-out laughter, not bothering to cover up his mouth. And, instead of hitting him, Doulin started to as well. A sudden united amusement came from everyone there, even Suzuno, who started to feel giddy from the unusual presence of warmth around her. However, that presence was quickly ruined when they all felt something rumbling from underneath them.

X x x x

Author's Notes: The fifth chapter edited. Now we have four of our main characters together. :D Amefuri, Doulin, Lanva and Suzuno. What a party so far! I still love Ame-chan. Amazing after writing about him so much he's still the most interesting . . . Yes!

Special thanks to Suzuno Oosugi, otaku-no-miko, Kaeru Soyokaze and TamaKat.