New chapter! And I'm extremely impressed with myself on something, which I will explain at the end of the chapter. XD Hooray!
Suzuno Oosugi- Hee, Kumoi will have a strong role in this story, but it will take a long time for that role to appear! I hope that I can get it all together correctly. :P Aaaah, so much to reach! I luv it. –Heart- lol!
Ou Yang Jing- Oooh, thank you so much! –Big hugs- I hope the relationship isn't progressing to slowly for you. XD Usually Watase Yuu-sama has love coming in pretty quickly, but I'm not going so fast . . . Oh, but it's so hard! Lol!
quillian91- Hmmm . . . Nope, I'll tell you they won't be warriors. Oh yeah! The thing with Taiitsukun has made me extra-happy too, and you'll have to read the bottom to learn about it! It's like, the coolest thing evar for me. XD lol!
Kaeru Soyokaze- Yup, Kumoi will definitely be like one of those characters. :P But I love those kinds! They're always fun to work with, you know what I mean? I –heart- Taiitsukun too! I'm really happy with how I made her. XD lol!
RabidMantisGirl- Aww, thanks so much! –hugs- I'm actually trying to edit past chapters to help refresh my memory on things and to correct stuff, so over time the errors should be taken away. Hopefully I won't miss too many! XD
Chibi Angels- Thank you so very much! –hug- Yes, Ame-chan is there to make a love triangle, but he has more purposes than that. XD He's also a sort of character who changes others beliefs on certain principles, which is also why I like him! XD
Chapter Thirty-Four
Suzuno suddenly felt a strange curiosity run through her, almost like an excited vigor spring up. "Y-Yes ma'am!" Whatever this journey was, she didn't know enough to get her by.
Taiitsukun turned her back on the other three occupants of the room for a moment, staring up at the beautiful, smooth marble carven statue of Byakko. It was handsome but fierce and strong. His hind legs were higher up and closest to the tapestry of the same Guardian God, while his two front paws were closest to its' audience, one pressed hard onto land while the other curled back like it was ready for attack. The mouth of open wide and the sparkling teeth were showing in multiple number.
'I wonder if that's what the Guardian God Byakko really looks like,' Suzuno thought with wonder, admiring the beauty and supremacy of the figure. It was much of what a king should be- No, a God should be. But at the same time, she was a little intimidated, like how she was at the girls from her school. She looked down to Aoi-Yuki who was lying in her arms comfortably, and she rubbed a spot between his ears with her fingers. She knew he loved it, and smiled. 'Byakko is amazing, but I think I prefer little guys like you!'
After a moment of preparing or so it seemed with the little bits of "Hmmm," or "Oh!" Taiitsukun turned back to the party, the golden jeweled adornments in her body jangling as she twirled. She held out one of her hands, and with a loud 'poof!' it looked like four little holographs floated above it. One was an indigo sea snake, the second a beautiful ruby bird, the third a black turtle with white sea snakes curling around it, and the last a white tiger.
"These-" Taiitsukun began, pointing with her other hand when she listed them, "-are the four Guardian Gods: Seiryu, Suzaku, Genbu, and Byakko. They each represent a country, and wherever that country lies under the stars -be it north, south, east or west- is where the constellations in the sky will be. Do you understand so far?"
"Umm . . ." Suzuno didn't want her to explain it all again, for sure that Tatara and the Emperor understood. It wasn't that she was completely clueless about what she meant, but for some reason the information didn't seem enough. Instead of saying no, decided to ask another question she had been told the answer to once, but had forgotten quickly even though tshe ried to remember it. "Well . . . what are the four countries?"
"Oh, good question!" she said in a sweet voice as if she were a teacher. "The four countries here are Konan- this is where Suzaku is the Guardian God of." Suzuno nodded and made sure to relate the Guardian God with the hologram she had pointed to earlier. 'Konan, Suzaku- the red bird.'
Taiitsukun continued to list them off until they were done, Suzuno paying prompt attention. 'Kutou, Seiryu- the blue snake. Hokkan, Genbu- the black turtle. And Byakko . . .'
"The white tiger, for Sairou," she said out loud with a small voice. "My country."
Taiitsukun nodded. "Yes, very much yours. Now, I'm sure you're curious about the legend and how this ties in, hm?"
Suzuno was really starting to like Taitsukun; of course, who wouldn't? She was the Goddess, the light of their world! She watched over everything! But it was more like the Priestess enjoyed her persoanlity. She was motherly like Subaru always was, but there was something outgoing and sweet, something protective and helpful about her at the same time. It made her feel a little energetic. "Yes!"
"Well, about the constellations in the sky above each country- remember?" Suzuno nodded. "There are seven above each country, twenty-eight in total. These have the same names as the Warriors that represent each God."
Finally, she closed her hand and the holograms went away. For a moment Suzuno was a little upset, thinking that this was all of a lesson she was going to get. She didn't want to get greedy, however; being a Priestess, she wanted to be grateful that she had gotten what she was given. But even then as she tried to shove down any form of hunger that was erupting, she was happy to see a wide scroll appear as Taituskun opened her hand again.
"Read this," the Goddess said, putting her hand down. The scroll stayed in it's place, hovering above the ground. "These are the twenty-eight constellations, all in categories by their Guardian God."
Suzaku- Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake, Chiriko.
Seiryu- Nakago, Soi, Amiboshi, Suboshi, Miboshi, Tomo, Ashitare
Genbu- Hikitsu, Tomite, Uruki, Iname, Naname, Uniyame, Hatsui
Byakko- Amefuri, Subaru, Toroki, Tokaki, Kagasuki, Ekie, Tatara
Suzuno smiled as she saw the last name and turned around to look at her companion, who had been behind her quiet as could be the whole time. "Here you are!" she said. He smiled back, and another fluttering sensation swept through her. It wasn't the same as her being excited, but for some reason it was the closest thing she could relate to it.
"Genbu's Priestess has already come," Taiitsukun began to explain. "It's been one hundred years since then, and you are our second Priestess, only for Byakko."
"What was she like?" Suzuno asked. Suddenly the eager emotion she had before was gone, and she was almost nostalgic, even a little sad. What was she like? Was she shy like her, someone who couldn't make friends easily/ Sure, she felt like she knew the entire world here, but where she was born, where she had to go back to someday. '. . .Home . . .'
"Takiko Okuda?" Suzuno was shocked at the mention of the name, her mind instantly remembering the name of the woman from her childhood. "A wonderful Priestess. She said she had low self-esteem, that she wasn't very brave, but at the same time, she never really showed the weakness here. Always brave, always confident."
She was confused, but at the same time there was one thing she was sure of: she absolutely hated the name with all her being. If there was anyone she hated, even if it was someone she never met, it was her. How could she become a Priestess? Was this the same Takiko Okuda? Something told her it was, but she didn't want to believe it.
"Now . . ." Taiitsukun closed her hand again, and even though it had been resting at her side the floating parchment still sealed itself up. Nothing popped out from nowhere again like the last two times. The scroll that was in the Emperor's hand the entire time abruptly opened, making a loud snapping noise that made Suzuno jump as it did so. It was another list, but a bit more specific, and didn't have anything to do with Suzaku, Seiryu or Genbu.
"What are these . . .?" Suzuno said, glancing from the paper to Taiitsukun. She didn't seem so attentive and ready to explain as last time, since instead of inspecting the Priestess she was inspecting her golden painted nails. Suzuno didn't want to interrupt her, but she really wished that she would pay attention.
She heard a small rustle behind her and felt Tatara's slight breathing near her ear; he wasn't really whispering, just bending beside her so he could see the scroll as well. For a while, he read it in silence, and she watched as his eyes traced the words. After a moment he told her, "These are clues to finding the Byakko Seven."
"Oh . . ." Instead of looking to Tatara, it was her turn to read:
Amefuri- Rejection, Passion
Subaru- Sairou, Heart
Toroki- Byakko, Bravery
Tokaki- Konan, Loss
Kagasuki- Hokkan, Mask
Ekie- Pain, Regret
Tatara- Alone, Passion
"Amazing," Suzuno said as she turned to Tatara again, who was still leaning over her shoulder a bit. He let up only slightly as he finished reading. He noticed how she frowned when reading some and smiled. She seemed very fascinated by this paper alone, so how would she act by meeting the rest of the Warriors themselves? "Tatara, look at this."
First she put Aoi-Yuki down onto the floor and the little tiger curiously moved about, staring high up at the marble statue. She pointed onto the scroll and it twitched as if it were alive, then stopped. She started at Amefuri's name first, then her finger traced down to the bottom where Tatara's name was. "Both of you have the same description."
"Passion . . ." he repeated the word to himself so softly that not even the Priestess herself could hear it. The term almost frightened him a little, to be truthful. How could two such words stand next to each other? Alone? Passion? But as he looked at the other with one of the same descriptions, his was just as confusing. Rejection?
"And this one," This time she pointed to Toroki, a name that everyone was curious about. Not just the Warriors, but all of Sairou and Kutou that had been attacked by the mysterious creatures all about. "Their description even mentions Byakko . . .They must have even stronger ties."
"Could Toroki be Byakko himself?" Tatara asked out loud, finding it the only possible solution to come up with in his mind. He saw how Taiituskun was taken off of her nails-trance and gave him a wondering glance, then she turned to the Emperor. The moment she did, the scroll wrapped itself up and the warrior stood up straight again, though he was still standing closely.
"Another very good question," Taiituskun said, only the Emperor seeing her sweet smile. She flicked her hand a little and the scroll fell into Suzuno's hands lightly. It shuffled as if it were being tickled again. "But, I'm afriad that's all I can explain to you, darling; this is your journey, after all, Priestess of Byakko."
There wasn't even a sign of something otherwordly in the room but as the Goddes pushed her hand before her it dissapeard into thin air. She looked like she was walking in an invisible, but she stopped when she felt a small tug on her dress and turned around. There she was, Suzuno Oosugi with an almost desperate look on her face. "Something wrong?"
"N-No," Suzuno reassured, looking away a bit. There was a bit of a pause, but Taiituskun showed no impatience. Meanwhile, the younger of the two women was battling to herself on the inside, her face scrunched into a bit of a nervous stare. 'What did I stop her for . . .? What question did I have? Was there a point to this before?'
"Yes? Taiituskun asked, nothing angry at all in her voice.
'Should I ask? Would it sound stupid? Of course it would! I'm speaking to the Goddess . . . But what if it didn't? What if everything turned out okay? But what if she got angry . . .?'
Suzuno shook her head a little as if she were clearing her thoughts. She hated asking questions, and now she was before someone who was of higher authority than a King. But it had bothered her since the beginning of this journey, and it was something she wanted to know . . . had to know.
"Could . . . Could you . . ." Slowly the words were starting to form and her heart beat faster. She wasn't going to stop now. This was a little step further, something to help her clear her head. "Please . . . If you could tell me . . . why me?"
Taiitsukun's hand came back into view and she turned her body around instead of just her face, giving Suzuno a puzzled expression. The Priestess was right about her theories before; she did feel stupid for asking something like that to a Goddess. Even the Goddess could probably tell. But at the same time, the problem that was weighing on her didn't seem to be weight anymore. Something about her felt incredibly clean about it.
At last, Taiituskun smiled; not her foxy grins or playful gestures. It was warm, something that drained all feelings of stupidity out and filled Suzuno with, if anything, a bit more confidence. The Goddess took both of the Priestess' hands into her own and kissed the younger girls' forehead, then let go and turned around.
"That's something," she started her hand going through the invisible tunnel again, "that you need to answer for yourself on this journey. Good Luck Priestess!"
And after that moment, she was gone.
X x x x x
Well, there is your wonderful Taiitsukun-ness. XD Ha ha! Anyways, before I go on about this chapter, the awsome news for me. put up partial translations of chapter ten of Genbu Kaiden, and part of what inspired me to make this story was the start of Genbu Kaiden:P And when I saw the little baby, the Mysterious Child in the first chapter, my first thought was, "It must be a younger version of Taiitsukun!"
So, to have fun with this, I decided to make the Taiitsukun for Byakko like a young, beautiful and fun girl. And guess what? You learn in chapter 10 that the little kid is Taiitsukun! So, my theory was right and everything works out! Granted there will be plenty of thing different in this story that wont work with Genbu Kaiden because I already have plans and stuff, but hopefully things wont get too crazy!
Anyways . . this chapter. XD I love this chapter! If you really think about it, Suzuno knows her mission but didn't know the details. That's why she needed this! And the scroll with the clues! Mwahaha. I'm gonna have fun with these, and it took me forever to put down some! Many foretell some pretty obvious stuff, but others you're going to have to wait a while to figure out. XD I am especially excited about revealing Toroki and Ekie, for some reason. Yeay! And then there's stuff with Takiko and Suzuno . . . Yeah!
Sooooooooooooo . . . Hope you liked this chapter! –Goes off to type more-
Oh yeah. Genbu Kaiden PS2 GAME! –Is gonna by a Japanese PS2 so she can play it- I love the pictures! Anyone need anything from it? IM me and I'll tell you what I know!