Chapter Seven

"I . . ." While she really had thought of the possibility before, the confirmation of it was what made Suzuno's heart pound. In this world she wasn't some girl who had sour milk poured on her, or a girl who wasn't terribly smart or athletic. She wasn't a friendless girl either; she was the girl who had a chance to save an entire nation. It's a heavy burden, but this opportunity of a lifetime was far more grand than her previous life. Instead of crying of joy, she mimicked his smile, unable to contain herself, and said, "I'll do it! I'll become the Priestess of Byakko!"

"That's it, girl!" Amefuri said as he stood up, winking. "Be loud, just like that!"

"Oh . . ." Embarrassed a little she covered her face with her hands, making him laugh. It was just then that Lanva and Doulin had walked in, hearing the commotion that was within the room. Doulin had in her hand a tray with a wooden bowl of soup and a glass of clear, sparkling water directly from the water supply by the Capital.

"Maybe we should move here," she joked around as she laid the tray next to Suzuno on the bed, "Lanva, the water is so much cheaper here!"

"I agree," he replied, putting his hands on his hips and acting like he was going to reply with a straight answer. "The girls here are very sexy!"

"Stupid!"

"So . . ."

Everyone turned to look in Suzuno's direction, who was smiling shyly. When she spoke she mostly indicated herself towards Amefuri, since Doulin and Lanva weren't warriors. "Umm . . . How are we going to find the warriors? The other six?" Amefuri raised his hand under his cheek and looked around the room, not really studying it since he felt more focused within.

"Well . . . Some might be hard to find, I guess. . . We really have no clues other than the marks on their bodies. Some might not even be noticeable by that, since they could be in places normally not seen. Or maybe there are those that don't know they're warriors."

Earlier Lanva and Doulin had both been told of who Suzuno was while she was sleeping by Amefuri, and supported and believed the fact that she was the Priestess of Byakko. They wanted to help find the warriors as well, even if they weren't them; did the prophecy ever say anything about others not being aloud to travel with them?

Suzuno was curious when Amefuri had mentioned the marks. "You have a mark too?" she asked. He smiled and nodded, then stuck out his tongue; normally it would have seemed rude, but on it was a firey, glowing symbol that said 'net'.

"Kind of a weird spot," he said casually, putting his tongue back in his mouth. "But it's also kind of nice. The girls love it."

"So that's what they look like . . ." It was going to be hard to find them, but Suzuno was determined to make a difference. She wasn't that great, as the legend made it seem, but when she thought of this decision she thought of what her father would do.

Her father . . . He would be a Priest of Byakko if there ever was one, just so he could help people. He wouldn't care about his own sacrifice along the way as long as others could be happy and smiling. She wanted to do just the same.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered to herself as the other three tossed ideas around to each other. "I'm sorry I opened the book, but . . . I'm going to help these people. I'm gonna do it."

x

Puriti smiled a little as she read the book. She could easily tell that the bond of father and daughter was very strong between these two; it was such a rare thing these days, to see father's that weren't so hard at work. Takao did seem like a hard worker, but he also seemed like someone who had other very important priorities, such as his family. It made her wonder of his relationship with his wife, or Suzuno's relationship with her mother.

Takao was at a stop light, the rain still pouring and the streets flooding a bit from the lack of drains. However, the rain had lightened a bit since they were at Genbu drive. He looked over to Puriti who was engrossed in reading and remembered how he was the same way once he learned about the Priestess of Genbu.

"What's happening now?" he asked, waiting for the light to turn green.

She paused her reading, long enough to glance at Suzuno's pleas for forgiveness from her father. She decided not to read that.

"She said she's going to become the Priestess of Byakko, because you would become a Priest of Byakko if something like that was possible."

He laughed. "It's just like her to think that way!" The light turned green, and his laugh faded slowly, letting her turn to eagerly read again.

x

"This is . . . "Suzuno looked around, completely entranced by her surroundings. She was on the market street of the very capital of Sairou, the country she was destined to protect. The buildings at her side were all at different sizes, some two stories, some three, but mostly ramblers. They had many windows, and looked like they were made of a sort of muddy, reddish-brown clay compacted together and baked in the sun.

Despite its texture, however, they seemed fully steady and had beautiful illustrations carved within them, detailed swirls and elegant pictures of people with gold and riches. There were stands lined up in front of the buildings as far as the eye could see, and their drapes to cover the busy bazaar were so large that they hung together, from one side of the buildings to another. Strong ropes attached to the buildings held the covers up.

"Neat place, huh?" Amefuri said, putting his hands on his hips and looking over towards the more festive marketplace from a less crowded spot. "It's always like this. We live right next to it because it's a great place to find eager customers, you know?"

"Customers?" Suzuno looked over to the first celestial warrior curiously. "Do you sell things here . . . too?"

"You can't tell?" Lanva shouted, ringing his arm around Amefuri's neck, "Both his mom and him are you-know-what's! He's even more popular than her!"

The two seemed to instantly notice the reaction in the young girl and looked to her, seeing her hands cover her mouth as she gasped. And silence filled in between the three as they found no words to help explain. She seemed more frightened than surprised, and Amefuri rudely pushed Lanva off of him when he had realized it. The older of the two boys didn't seem nearly as concerned.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry!" she shouted before running off into the marketplace. Amefuri reached out a hand as if he had wanted to stop her, but at the same time he wanted to let her go. He turned and stared daggers into Lanva's eyes.

"What?" he said, annoyed after being glared at for what seemed longer than appropriate. "I was telling her you were a hooker; big deal! You guys are going to be around each other for a while, so why lie?"

Amefuri gave him a blank expression for a moment, then an annoyed one. "The Mrs. is right; you really are stupid. Can't you tell she's sensitive to that sort of thing? When I told her Mom was one she looked disgusted, and she doesn't even know her."

". . ."

"You're still not following me?"

"Uh . . . No."

Amefuri sighed and walked off into the marketplace, waving an arm back as to say goodbye.

"I'm off to go look for the Priestess!" He didn't bother to see if his companion would follow him or not, and it didn't matter to him either way. Instead he decided to focus purely on Suzuno, since he knew that she wouldn't be safe in such a place. It was crowded, and with her foreign clothing she would catch far too much attention. Plus, she was a very vulnerable person to boot. 'Hopefully she won't get into any trouble . . .'

x

Suzuno pushed through the crowds of people in the marketplace, trying to run as far as she could from both Lanva and Amefuri. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings, and she didn't mutter apologies to the people she bumped into. She couldn't believe that she had gotten so close to someone like that!

She felt a little uncomfortable when he mentioned his mother, and even sorry for him, but the fact that he was one . . . one of those . . . He looked nearly her own age! So young . . . And she was told by her father a log time ago that no matter how friendly some people may be, one shouldn't always trust them so easily.

"He's a . . ." she whispered under her breath, trying hard not to think of what she was going to say next. To think . . . What could he have done to her? She didn't want to know; just the idea seemed horrible enough. She wanted to go as far away as she could, just to get out of there.

"Hey!"

Suzuno was so deep in thought of mixed emotions she didn't even notice when her face had run straight into the stomach of a large man, tall and muscular with wild red hair in the packed bazaar. Suzuno saw this man's fierce blood eyes under the same colored thick eyebrows and tiny pupils and suddenly felt much smaller and timid than usual. She gulped when she noticed the sword that was even bigger than him on his back.

"I-I'm sorry," she murmured, and when she went to run on she felt a powerful grip on her shoulder. When she looked a dark, large hand covered her entire side. She looked up, her body shaking, and that same scary man was there. At first she saw the same menacing face, but then it turned into a gentle smile and while still a little nervous, she was eased. Perhaps she had judged too soon.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a deep but hearty voice, patting her shoulder. It took a lot of effort not to move under such a heavy weight. "You're crying, you know."

"I . . . am?" Suzuno reached up and felt her face, and while she wasn't crying as much as normal, she did feel a few tears, and quickly dried them with the sleeve of her uniform. "I'm . . . I'm alright, th-thank you . . . I . . ."

"Do you need someone to talk to?"

'Not really,' she thought to herself, looking down at the ground. She was just upset, but there wasn't anything she could say . . . But she couldn't possibly say no to someone who had offered her a hand, so . . . "Thank you."

"That's good. Talking about stuff makes it better." She suddenly felt something push her knees forward, making her fall back onto something large. It took her a moment to realize that she was sitting on the elbow part of the man and that he was so large he had effortlessly lifted her, landing her on his shoulder. She was frightened on the outside and on the inside as well, but she also sort of felt excitement from it. This man was so tall she could see as far off as she wanted! "Let's go then; less crowded places make it easier to talk, and I have to deliver stuff for my friends."

The large man reached into one of his giant pockets and pulled out knives -which normally would look big- now toothpicks in comparison to his wide fingers. He implied that his friends weren't of his enormous stature. "Little guys gotta protect themselves."

'Knives . . . I guess in this world, protecting yourself means so many different things,' she suggested as the man started to walk. People quickly moved out of the way of him. 'They openly sell weapons on the street . . . Does that mean it's alright to kill here, too?'

Just thinking of killing someone sent chills through her spine. She would never, under any circumstances, do such a thing.

x

Amefuri had long since given up trying to follow Suzuno; he wondered how someone as obviously weak as her even got through such a place so crowded. He stood on the edge and out of the way of everone passing, leaning against one of the mud-clad buildings.

"This is great," he muttered sarcastically crossing his arms and pouting, blowing some of his bangs out of his eyes, which naturally crept back over. "I'm a warrior, and yet I can't even keep track of the Priestess I'm supposed to protect."

He sighed. "Not that she wants my protection . . . That Lanva is an idiot. Good thing he's getting married to someone who actually has brains."

"Amefuri!"

As if she had heard him speaking of her Doulin came running to him, her face in worry. She stopped before him, bending a little and resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Lanva wasn't with her. When she straightened back up, he knew just what she was going to ask. "Did you really lose Suzuno?"

He nodded. "Yeah . . . Lanva told her about me and she took off. . . "

"Oh, the poor dear . . ." Doulin looked over to the crowd in the marketplace, tracing her eyes around to the people, looking for Suzuno's locks or her swishing skirt. She knew it was a pointless effort though, since even a Warrior of Byakko couldn't find her.

"I wish I had the ability to find her," he said, practically reading her mind. "My acids and poisons don't have anything to do with looking for people, or finding my way to them. I have to find her soon too, because I leave tommorow for the palace."

"The palace?" Doulin said in a curious voice; then she remembered the conversation back in the desert and furrowed her brow. "She has a right to be disturbed; even at this time, your job is all you think about."

"You think you can judge me based on that?" he snapped back, irritated. "Listen, my mom's pride may have died out a while ago, but I still have plenty left! I am a Warrior of Byakko, but how was I supposed to know the Priestess was coming at this point and time of my life?"

"Is that your justification?"

"I'm just living my life like everyone else. No one said it's easy; you think it's always fun when everyone looks down on you before even getting to know you?"

That reason seemed to be far more understandable than the one before, and even Doulin couldn't find an excuse. It was true; in this world, everyone was judged before they were known. She had judged Lanva when she met him, only basing him on his pretty face, and Amefuri was always based on his profession. Then she thought, 'He probably wouldn't have brought himself up that way if his mother was the same . . .'

"He-lew?" Doulin was realizing what a fool she had just been for a moment, and hadn't come back to reality until Amefuri pulled on her cheek with his hand. It hurt, and she was about to yell at him for it, but he just smiled. It was so disarming she completely forgot about her shouting.

"It's okay, Doulin; I forgive you." With his right hand, which was still bandaged, he gave her an awkward sort of salute, "So, do you want to get Lanva and search for the Priestess?"

Doulin paused for a moment, still feeling a little guilty but knowing that it was far less important than what their problem was now. She decided she wouldn't push the topic any longer and just let the guilt disintegrate. She was so worried about Suzuno; that girl was one who couldn't possibly make it on her own, and even more so now that she's been thrown on such a responsibility.

"No," she said finally. "Getting Lanva right now isn't worth it. There are so many people out here, that we can't waste time! Who knows who she could run into?" The thought got her worked up quickly and in a rush she grabbed Amefuri's bandaged wrist and started to run through the crowds. The once thick crowd seemed to die down in a haze right before them.

'How strange . . .' he thought, trying to look at the people surrounding them, but finding them in an odd blur. 'Are we going this fast . . .? . . . Wait! Could she be!"

When the two had reached the other side Amefuri swung Doulin around, scaring her a little. He scanned the front of her, looking for any sort of symbol or sign that was appearing. Since they were under such warm weather, she had long since removed the heavy cotton robe she often wore for protection against the heat and wore a large, yellow silk ribbon across her chest that had no straps around her shoulders. Her hair was so thick and long that it easily gave her enough protection, not to mention the drapes over the town that generously gave shade. This meant she had plenty of body on the top to reveal, and yet he saw nothing.

"Maybe it's on the lower half . . ." he muttered to himself. She overheard, and not knowing what in the world what he was talking about she quickly slapped him across the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she shouted, pushing him away and sticking out her tongue. "I'm not going to be directed around by any man, no matter-"

"Dummy," he said through a grunt, massaging his cheek. "Now I know why Lanva complains sometimes! I was looking for a mark of Byakko, and I couldn't see one, so I thought it might be on your legs!"

"Oh."

"That's all you have to say after hitting me!"

"Uh-huh. I've never seen any marks before, so I doubt I'm a warrior." She laughed, waving her hand. "That would be far too strange anyway! What ability in the world would I have!"

Amefuri sighed, putting his hands on his hips and looking around now at the other side of the marketplace. Only the spots in the drapes where business was were there people; otherwise, it was with only a few people standing around, unsure of their destination. There were no signs of Suzuno anywhere.

"Dear . . ." Doulin held her hands to her chest and looked to the ground worriedly as if praying. "I hope she's alright . . ."

X x x x

Author's notes: Chapter Seven edited! My, my, Ame-chan is a prostitute. It plays such a huge role in the way he lives and acts that it's an important aspect to know in this story. I think a lot of people like this way about him though; it seems to get a positive response every time. :D

Special thanks to Kaeru Soyokaze, poppy, Suzuno Oosugi, Hydra-Star, The Muses Tk and Zv, babysparrow and Lady Rhian Knightmage.