Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yu Watase, therefore I am only borrowing it. I made up Jade Stevens, Tara Robinson, Taran the hawk, and the altered storyline.
Chapter 10: Fifth Seishi
Miaka kneeled on the floor, sobbing as she clutched the piece of paper in her hand. Jade cocked her head at the upset Miko. "If that wasn't Tamahome, where is he?" she asked Nuriko. The older seishi shook his head. "He's a captive in Koutu. It was either him or they would destroy numerous villages on the border, one of them being Tama-kin's home village. He left a few nights ago. Meanwhile, we decided to look for the other three seishi...and you." The Celeste Warrior nodded. "Where's Chichiri?" Nuriko grinned. "He's filling as emporer so His Majesty could come along. He was really worried about you. His exact words were 'Find her, no da. Keep her safe. Tell her I said hi, no da.' He then ran off to find Hotohori." he replied. Jade asked what had happened in Koutu before Tamahome left, and Nuriko explianed how Miaka had found Yui and Tara. Yui then turned against her and Nakago tried to kill her and Tamahome, who had come to her rescue. Chichiri had saved them, and by his magic, they returned to Mt. Taikyoku. Then, they arrived home safely. "What about Tara? Did she say anything?" the anxious girl asked. Nuriko turned away. How could he tell her that Tara was angry that she hadn't shown up? "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Miaka later..." was his reply. Genrou walked over happliy. "Yes! I'm the leader again, all thanks t' you Jade!" he said, grinning at her. Kouji tapped him on the shoulder. "Genrou, do ya wanna go see the boss's grave tomorrow?" The redhead nodded. Miaka got up, sniffing slightly. "Genrou, do you know where to find Tasuki? We need him to summon Suzaku." The bandit leader turned away. "He was our old boss, so in other words, he's dead." Miaka gasped. "Oh no! We needed him! What are we gonna do?" she cried. The others decided to spend the night and think it over in the morning.
**************
The next day, they all went down to the grave of the old bandit boss. Genrou touched the coffin. "Great guy...it's an honor to take over for him." Jade watched as the new bandit leader turned away. She felt a sense of loss. Tasuki couldn't be dead...the Gods wouldn't do this to them... Sighing, she slid down the wall she was leaning against. Why did she always have the worst luck? At least she had friends... She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a bandit mention a special healer that could raise people to Genrou. She grabbed him and shook him. "Where is this healer?!? Tell me!!!" she yelled at the unfortunate man. Genrou chuckled. Jade was good when it came to beating around the bush. The man yelped something about a village called Choukou before blacking out. The Celeste Warrior sheepishly laid him down and turned to Genrou. "Genrou-san, how far is it to Choukou?" The bandit leader pointed out the window to the road. "Follow that road for about a day, and you'll see a town. That's Choukou. Good luck, Hisui-chan." Jade blushed slightly at the good bye. Miaka and the seishi packed up their things and thanked Genrou and Kouji for their hospitality. The two bandits watched as the small group travelled up the road. Kouji grinned at his redheaded friend. "Yer gonna miss 'er, aren't ya, Gen-chan?" The redhead glared at his friend. "What the hell are ya sayin'?!? That I like Jade? I can' believe you!" he yelled. Kouji laughed and walked back in. Genrou sat and watched the group disappear. "Goodbye, Jade-chan..."
*************
Darkness had almost fallen by the time they had reached Choukou. Walking through the town, Jade watched Hotohori. 'What a wonderful guy...he cares so much about Miaka... My love for him doesn't matter anymore. He will always love her...how I envy her! All these men...that care about her... Will I ever have that?' she thought sadly. Suddenly, they bumped into a lovely blonde woman. Miaka placed her hands on the woman's chest. "Yep, definity a woman." Jade roared "Miaka, must you always do this?!? I'm so sorry, miss. She doesn't usually do this..." The woman laughed. "That's okay. You must be travellers. My name's Shoka. Do you need somewhere to stay?" she said, smiling. They nodded thankfully, and she led them to her home. Suddenly, a group of men ran in bearing a dead woman. Shoka nodded. "Put her down. I'll revive her." Laying her down, the men backed away from the corpse. Shoka bent down and kissed the woman. The woman's eyes flickered open. "Where am I?" she asked weakly. Shoka smiled. "You're alive now. You can go home." The men bore the woman out, yelling thank yous. Jade stared at Shoka in disbelief. "How..." Shoka smiled at the younger girl. "We have an epidemic here, the Shikkonki. You have blistering fevers, partial paralysis, and you eventually die. This is the only way to escape the disease. Luckily, I can revive the dead." Jade gasped. "So you're the healer! Please come with us, Shoka! We have somebody for you to revive!" she said, gently grabbing Shoka's arm. The healer shook her head. "If I leave the village, I will lose my powers." Miaka frowned. "I guess we'll have to bring Tasuki here! Let's go ask Genrou if he'll help us bring up the body." The two seishi, Priestess, and Celeste Warrior ran out the door. Shoka watched them leave, an odd smile playing on her lips.
*************
The quickest way back to the bandit hideout was to travel through a graveyard, but Miaka didn't hesitate. Jade, on the other hand, was scared to death. Even though they were dead, corpses bothered her. They were all cold and clammy... She shivered unhappily. Nuriko noticed this, and put an arm around his younger friend. "Jade, you okay?" The Celeste Warrior nodded slightly. Maybe if she closed her eyes... Miaka screamed out, and Taran gave out a loud squalk as he tumbled off her shoulder. Jade immediately drew her sword, but almost dropped it at the sight of Miaka's attackers. Dead people were coming out of the ground! Jade grew pale, but still held her sword in the warrior's position. Suddenly an hand grabbed her leg and started dragging her into the ground. Paralyzed by fear, she was only able to scream. A voice yelled "REKKA SHIN'EN!", and a blast of fire disinagrated the zombie. She almost choked when she saw her rescuer. "Ge-Genrou?" she managed to sputter. The redheaded bandit grinned at her. "Geez, Jade-chan, ya can' go without getting into trouble, can ya?" He helped her to her feet, the pushed her protectivly behind him. They were suddenly hemmed in by thousands of zombies. Four grabbed Genrou and ripped the tessan from his hand. The bandit cried out in pain as they dug their nails into his skin. Jade felt anger surge through her like never before. She lunged forward, changing form in midair. She landed on the zombies as one of the fiercest animals on earth, a siberian tiger. Batting them away easily with her huge paws, she let out a furious roar. Genrou grabbed his tessan and yelled "REKKA SHIN'EN!!!" All of the zombies burned up instantly. He watched as Jade growled triumphantly. The others emerged, thankful to the bandit and the Celeste Warrior. Genrou turned away. "To tell you the truth, I wasn' gonna come... But then, Kouji and the others persuaded me to come, and they knew it was what I had to do...Kouji's the new leader." Miaka cocked her head. "What do you mean, Genrou?" The bandit chuckled. "Nutcase, haven' ya figured it out yet? Genrou is just my nickname." He pulled down his right sleeve, revealing the symbol "wing", which glowed a firey red. "I'm Tasuki! Sorry for trickin' ya like that." Jade gave a surprised growl, and Miaka grinned happily. Nuriko and Hotohori weren't as happy. "You should have told us this a lot sooner!" the crossdresser yelled. "After all we've been through! I can't believe you!" Hotohori replied angrily. Genrou, now revealed as Tasuki, grinned. He turned to Jade. "Hey Jade, why doncha change back?" he asked. The girl cried out with her mind //I don't know how!!!// She concentrated on becoming a girl again, and she felt herself changing shape again. Fur became bare skin, ears slid down onto the sides of her head, paws became slender hands, and her tail disappered. "Yay! I did it!" she cried. Suddenly, she noticed that she was being stared at. Looking down at herself, she realized that she was naked. Tasuki had a glazed expression, Nuriko started busting up laughing, Hotohori averted his eyes, and Miaka pulled out some clothes, which she handed to the extremely embarassed girl. Jade pulled them on as quickly as she could, blushing furiously. She turned away angrily. "Stupid hentai-perverts!" she muttered. Suddenly, she collapsed. The others ran over. Nuriko supported her head gently. "fever...burning up..." she whispered. Miaka fainted away beside them. Hotohori grabbed her. "It must be the Shikkonki! We have to get them back to Choukou!" he yelled, running back towards the town. Nuriko lifted Jade up easily and ran after them, followed by Tasuki.
The Shikkonki... What will happen? Tune back later to find out!
Chapter 10: Fifth Seishi
Miaka kneeled on the floor, sobbing as she clutched the piece of paper in her hand. Jade cocked her head at the upset Miko. "If that wasn't Tamahome, where is he?" she asked Nuriko. The older seishi shook his head. "He's a captive in Koutu. It was either him or they would destroy numerous villages on the border, one of them being Tama-kin's home village. He left a few nights ago. Meanwhile, we decided to look for the other three seishi...and you." The Celeste Warrior nodded. "Where's Chichiri?" Nuriko grinned. "He's filling as emporer so His Majesty could come along. He was really worried about you. His exact words were 'Find her, no da. Keep her safe. Tell her I said hi, no da.' He then ran off to find Hotohori." he replied. Jade asked what had happened in Koutu before Tamahome left, and Nuriko explianed how Miaka had found Yui and Tara. Yui then turned against her and Nakago tried to kill her and Tamahome, who had come to her rescue. Chichiri had saved them, and by his magic, they returned to Mt. Taikyoku. Then, they arrived home safely. "What about Tara? Did she say anything?" the anxious girl asked. Nuriko turned away. How could he tell her that Tara was angry that she hadn't shown up? "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Miaka later..." was his reply. Genrou walked over happliy. "Yes! I'm the leader again, all thanks t' you Jade!" he said, grinning at her. Kouji tapped him on the shoulder. "Genrou, do ya wanna go see the boss's grave tomorrow?" The redhead nodded. Miaka got up, sniffing slightly. "Genrou, do you know where to find Tasuki? We need him to summon Suzaku." The bandit leader turned away. "He was our old boss, so in other words, he's dead." Miaka gasped. "Oh no! We needed him! What are we gonna do?" she cried. The others decided to spend the night and think it over in the morning.
**************
The next day, they all went down to the grave of the old bandit boss. Genrou touched the coffin. "Great guy...it's an honor to take over for him." Jade watched as the new bandit leader turned away. She felt a sense of loss. Tasuki couldn't be dead...the Gods wouldn't do this to them... Sighing, she slid down the wall she was leaning against. Why did she always have the worst luck? At least she had friends... She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a bandit mention a special healer that could raise people to Genrou. She grabbed him and shook him. "Where is this healer?!? Tell me!!!" she yelled at the unfortunate man. Genrou chuckled. Jade was good when it came to beating around the bush. The man yelped something about a village called Choukou before blacking out. The Celeste Warrior sheepishly laid him down and turned to Genrou. "Genrou-san, how far is it to Choukou?" The bandit leader pointed out the window to the road. "Follow that road for about a day, and you'll see a town. That's Choukou. Good luck, Hisui-chan." Jade blushed slightly at the good bye. Miaka and the seishi packed up their things and thanked Genrou and Kouji for their hospitality. The two bandits watched as the small group travelled up the road. Kouji grinned at his redheaded friend. "Yer gonna miss 'er, aren't ya, Gen-chan?" The redhead glared at his friend. "What the hell are ya sayin'?!? That I like Jade? I can' believe you!" he yelled. Kouji laughed and walked back in. Genrou sat and watched the group disappear. "Goodbye, Jade-chan..."
*************
Darkness had almost fallen by the time they had reached Choukou. Walking through the town, Jade watched Hotohori. 'What a wonderful guy...he cares so much about Miaka... My love for him doesn't matter anymore. He will always love her...how I envy her! All these men...that care about her... Will I ever have that?' she thought sadly. Suddenly, they bumped into a lovely blonde woman. Miaka placed her hands on the woman's chest. "Yep, definity a woman." Jade roared "Miaka, must you always do this?!? I'm so sorry, miss. She doesn't usually do this..." The woman laughed. "That's okay. You must be travellers. My name's Shoka. Do you need somewhere to stay?" she said, smiling. They nodded thankfully, and she led them to her home. Suddenly, a group of men ran in bearing a dead woman. Shoka nodded. "Put her down. I'll revive her." Laying her down, the men backed away from the corpse. Shoka bent down and kissed the woman. The woman's eyes flickered open. "Where am I?" she asked weakly. Shoka smiled. "You're alive now. You can go home." The men bore the woman out, yelling thank yous. Jade stared at Shoka in disbelief. "How..." Shoka smiled at the younger girl. "We have an epidemic here, the Shikkonki. You have blistering fevers, partial paralysis, and you eventually die. This is the only way to escape the disease. Luckily, I can revive the dead." Jade gasped. "So you're the healer! Please come with us, Shoka! We have somebody for you to revive!" she said, gently grabbing Shoka's arm. The healer shook her head. "If I leave the village, I will lose my powers." Miaka frowned. "I guess we'll have to bring Tasuki here! Let's go ask Genrou if he'll help us bring up the body." The two seishi, Priestess, and Celeste Warrior ran out the door. Shoka watched them leave, an odd smile playing on her lips.
*************
The quickest way back to the bandit hideout was to travel through a graveyard, but Miaka didn't hesitate. Jade, on the other hand, was scared to death. Even though they were dead, corpses bothered her. They were all cold and clammy... She shivered unhappily. Nuriko noticed this, and put an arm around his younger friend. "Jade, you okay?" The Celeste Warrior nodded slightly. Maybe if she closed her eyes... Miaka screamed out, and Taran gave out a loud squalk as he tumbled off her shoulder. Jade immediately drew her sword, but almost dropped it at the sight of Miaka's attackers. Dead people were coming out of the ground! Jade grew pale, but still held her sword in the warrior's position. Suddenly an hand grabbed her leg and started dragging her into the ground. Paralyzed by fear, she was only able to scream. A voice yelled "REKKA SHIN'EN!", and a blast of fire disinagrated the zombie. She almost choked when she saw her rescuer. "Ge-Genrou?" she managed to sputter. The redheaded bandit grinned at her. "Geez, Jade-chan, ya can' go without getting into trouble, can ya?" He helped her to her feet, the pushed her protectivly behind him. They were suddenly hemmed in by thousands of zombies. Four grabbed Genrou and ripped the tessan from his hand. The bandit cried out in pain as they dug their nails into his skin. Jade felt anger surge through her like never before. She lunged forward, changing form in midair. She landed on the zombies as one of the fiercest animals on earth, a siberian tiger. Batting them away easily with her huge paws, she let out a furious roar. Genrou grabbed his tessan and yelled "REKKA SHIN'EN!!!" All of the zombies burned up instantly. He watched as Jade growled triumphantly. The others emerged, thankful to the bandit and the Celeste Warrior. Genrou turned away. "To tell you the truth, I wasn' gonna come... But then, Kouji and the others persuaded me to come, and they knew it was what I had to do...Kouji's the new leader." Miaka cocked her head. "What do you mean, Genrou?" The bandit chuckled. "Nutcase, haven' ya figured it out yet? Genrou is just my nickname." He pulled down his right sleeve, revealing the symbol "wing", which glowed a firey red. "I'm Tasuki! Sorry for trickin' ya like that." Jade gave a surprised growl, and Miaka grinned happily. Nuriko and Hotohori weren't as happy. "You should have told us this a lot sooner!" the crossdresser yelled. "After all we've been through! I can't believe you!" Hotohori replied angrily. Genrou, now revealed as Tasuki, grinned. He turned to Jade. "Hey Jade, why doncha change back?" he asked. The girl cried out with her mind //I don't know how!!!// She concentrated on becoming a girl again, and she felt herself changing shape again. Fur became bare skin, ears slid down onto the sides of her head, paws became slender hands, and her tail disappered. "Yay! I did it!" she cried. Suddenly, she noticed that she was being stared at. Looking down at herself, she realized that she was naked. Tasuki had a glazed expression, Nuriko started busting up laughing, Hotohori averted his eyes, and Miaka pulled out some clothes, which she handed to the extremely embarassed girl. Jade pulled them on as quickly as she could, blushing furiously. She turned away angrily. "Stupid hentai-perverts!" she muttered. Suddenly, she collapsed. The others ran over. Nuriko supported her head gently. "fever...burning up..." she whispered. Miaka fainted away beside them. Hotohori grabbed her. "It must be the Shikkonki! We have to get them back to Choukou!" he yelled, running back towards the town. Nuriko lifted Jade up easily and ran after them, followed by Tasuki.
The Shikkonki... What will happen? Tune back later to find out!