It's here, everyone! The sequel to "Life Lessons." If you haven't read that, I highly suggest you do. Yay for shameless plugs. Life Lessons focused more on Chiriko growing up with people he trusted, and stayed very true to the original series (right?). This is a completely different direction, though… it's going to be so weird for me to write this. xx I love the Seiryuu warriors and all, but it's still going to be weird. I'll still try my hardest to write a good story, so please give me encouragement!
Also, this one isn't completely figured out, like LL was in the beginning. Some of them I already have plans for, but I'm open for suggestions for Ashitare, Soi, and Tomo right now. I have like… no ideas for them. At all.

My fellow warriors of Suzaku taught me many things before we left Konan. Chichiri taught me the value of companionship, Hotohori showed me the flaws in my attitude, Tamahome displayed how important it is to be thankful for your loved ones. Nuriko told me to reach for new heights, Tasuki reminded me not to worry so much. Miaka and I learned together not to give up, and Mitsukake reassured me that who I started this journey as was still important.

My intent for our journey, besides helping everyone find the Shinzaho and summon Suzaku, was to take all these lessons to heart and make them a part of me, and come back a stronger person. I did not intend to kill myself instead. But that was my fate, and the end of my short life.

I didn't die alone, though. Nuriko died well before I did, and Mitsukake and Hotohori followed me shortly. We were all present in Miaka's homeland as she finally managed to summon Suzaku and saved both of our worlds, but since then, we just continued to be dead spirits. I'm sure the others didn't want to die, either, but I'm especially upset that my life was taken from me before I could become that better person I was striving to be.

This was one of the days I came back to the place that I died to generally play the "sad ghost role". If only, if only I had my character at the time Miboshi, of the Seiryuu warriors, had taken my body from me. I know I could have beat him if I had it. But then again, maybe I was just too dependant on it.

Little did I expect another fallen warrior to visiting the same place today, to remember the summoning of Seiryuu. The former general of Kutou, and source of so much of our suffering, was just as surprised to see me there. Even without a physical body anymore, the mere pressure of his life force was enough to make me panic. I tried to run away, but Nakago merely laughed.

"What, little boy of Suzaku, do you think I'm going to do to you?" he asked.

I shook my head to show I didn't know and didn't want to think about it.

"We've both already died. It would be pointless to do anything."

Calming down, I noticed how right he was. He probably could still very well use his life force to harm those around him, but because I'm without a physical body, he wouldn't be able to hurt me. Nevermind, perhaps he still could, but I don't want to find out. "So then… you're not going to do anything?"

"Didn't I just say that?" he raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were the smart one of your group."

My shoulders slumped at that last comment. I was confident he wasn't going to do anything to hurt me, but I still didn't want to remain around him. "If you'll excuse me…"

"Where do you think you're going?" he said in a stern tone, which chills up what would be my spine, if I still had a body. "Don't you think it's rude to leave someone as you've just met? After all, you don't meet new people very often in the afterlife."

I probably had no obligation to stay, but since he put it that way, I did. My mother always did lecture me on manners, though in this situation, she'd probably have told me to run away. However, I'm dead. There's no reason for me to be cautious anymore.

"I really never met you while I was alive," I told him. "In fact, I only saw a few of the Seiryuu warriors, and it was usually very brief."

"I seem to be much more acquainted with your former comrades, then," his eerie little smile stayed on his face. "I saw Nuriko and Mitsukake briefly, and met your emperor for only a few minutes before he met his demise. I never did meet you while you were alive."

I grimaced. He killed Mitsukake and Hotohori, and here he mentioned them so casually. The general took notice of my expression. "You seem to be quite the angry youth."

Angry youth? I have every reason to be angry, especially at this man. He didn't seem to mind, and simply brushed his hair out of his face. It was hard not to notice such flashy locks, since they were very rare in either of our countries. As I recall, there was a tribe many years ago with his traits, but they died out long before I was even born.

"Speaking of them, where are your fellow warriors?" he asked me. He only seemed curious, but I was still apprehensive about answering him.

"Scattered around. There's no rule saying we always have to stay together on Mt. Taikyoku," I replied. "And what about the Seiryuu warriors?"

"The same. But my life force is still strong enough that I can sense where they are."

I can't even imagine life force as powerful as that. I was one of the stronger ones in our group at sensing Miaka's chi, but nothing like him.

"Since we have nothing else to do for the rest of time, would you like to meet the other Seiryuu warriors?" he asked, but seemed unable to wipe the sly smirk off his face. Maybe it was stuck there.

"We don't have to wait forever, Nakago," I tried to change the subject from his offer. "We might be able to reincarnate someday, or we could just pass on."

"Then why haven't you passed on?" his blue eyes lined up with mine, pressing me for an answer I didn't have. "We are still celestial warriors, and are bound to stay ready to protect our priestess until they themselves are ready to pass on. That, and because of our destinies to fight until the very end, most of us probably aren't ready to pass on."

No wonder he was so good at manipulating people; everything he said was very enticing. "What do you mean by that?"

"Your Mitsukake is probably the only one ready to move on, provided he could. But the rest of us still have regrets, and our own problems to tie us down. Some," he eyed me carefully, "more than others."

"That's not really true…" I tried to interrupt, but I was trying to convince myself of that more than him.

"If one could just forget everything in the afterlife and be happy, they wouldn't have to come visit the place they died, now would they?"

How true. His logic pinned me just like it pinned everyone else. Nakago pressed the question again: "Do you want to meet the others?"

Without thinking it over, I found myself nodding in agreement, and followed him out of the rubble-filled monastery, which was still stained with my blood.