Chapter One: First Impressions

It was a relatively quiet day in the eastern kingdom of Kutou. With a sigh, the chief shogun, Nakago, rode through the city on patrol. He was as bored as bored could get, but he could not show that he was in front of anyone. He had an image to keep up, after all. He turned and looked when some of the local riffraff stole some fruit from a vendor two streets away, and sighed again; this time in exasperation.

"Same shit, different day." Nakago mused, as he irritably spurred his horse into a gallop and started his pursuit of the thieves.

"Nakago-sama! Don't concern yourself with that! We'll take care of it!" one of the lower-ranking soldiers said, calling out after the retreating figure of his superior.

"No, I will. Besides, I was bored anyway." Nakago replied, coolly, almost smirking when he heard the soldiers mutter 'He was bored? Sure didn't look it!'. Yet, before he could even get the thieves in sight, Nakago was knocked from his horse by something heavy, and landed face-first onto the dirt road.

"Itai! What'd I land on?" a startled female voice asked.

"Me." Nakago growled, embarrassment coloring that statement as some onlookers wisely departed, knowing it would be dangerous if they laughed or even smiled while in the vicinity of Kutou's most feared shogun.

"Eek! Gomenasai!" the female voice yelped, as the owner of it got up off of his back and kneeled down in front of him to see if he was all right. At first, Nakago was taken aback by the girl's appearance; she was slender, had pale skin, cornsilk blond hair and deep blue eyes filled with an unsullied innocence. Her clothing was also rather unusual; the outfit consisted of a chocolate brown jacket, vest, and skirt (the shirt under the vest, however, was white).

"Daijobu?" the girl asked, concernedly. Nakago managed a sigh, and nodded; even though most of the wind had gotten knocked out of him when he'd hit the ground. With some effort, Nakago got to his feet, then offered a hand to the girl; that of which was hesitantly accepted.

"Where are you from, girl? From what land do you hail?" Nakago asked, aware that some of his underlings had caught up with him and were now openly staring at the strange girl.

"Uh…..I'm from a land called Japan…..Ever hear of it?" the girl asked, looking a little unnerved, now that she realized that something wasn't quite right. This got a number of bewildered looks (from the soldiers behind Nakago) that didn't help the girl's unease in the least.

"Can't say that I have. What name do you go by?" Nakago again asked, as a tiny spark of hope emerged in his soul.

"H-hongo Yui is my name, sir. If you don't mind my asking, what's your name?" the girl asked, in turn. Nakago arched an eyebrow; there was someone in the world that did not know of him? This was something new!

"I am known here as the shogun Nakago. I am a general in the emperor's army." Nakago replied, calmly.

"A general, huh? Never thought I would actually meet a general…..By the way, where am I? The last thing I can recall is being in the library storeroom." Yui said, still a little bewildered about what had happened.

"You are in the kingdom of Kutou." Nakago replied, as he mounted his horse again, and then offered her a hand up.

"Kutou? That doesn't sound like anyplace I have even heard of before…..Unless….it's one of the places inside of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho…..But that's impossible." Yui muttered, as she accepted the proffered hand and climbed into the saddle; sitting before Nakago in it.

"Shi Jin……..! You mean to tell me that you are indeed from another world?" Nakago asked, as some of his hope emerged in his voice.

"Hai…..I guess so…." Yui hesitantly confirmed.

"Then I must take you to the palace at once. Hold on tight, Yui-sama." Nakago murmured, as he urged his horse into a gallop; leaving his now very confused underlings at the scene of the bizarre meeting, scratching their heads and wondering what in the world was going on.

……………………………

Yui gaped in wonder as she beheld the majesty of an imperial Chinese-style palace.

"Oh wow….." Yui whispered, as she took in the sights of the intricately carved marble, the polished mahogany, blue silk, satin, velvet, and all sorts of expensive materials that were used as décor in the place.

"I take it you like what you see?" Nakago asked, startling her somewhat, yet getting an unexpected smile from the girl in response.

"Absolutely! I have only ever seen places like this in magazines and books about China! I could never have even dreamed that I would actually be standing inside of one in a million years!" Yui said, her enthusiasm warming Nakago's heart slightly. Then the memory of what had brought him to this place fourteen years before returned; freezing him to the core again.

"Nakago-san? What's wrong? Have I said something to upset you?" Yui asked, somehow having noticed that Nakago's thoughts had taken a darker turn. With a shake of his head, Nakago returned to himself, then started walking away.

"This way, Yui-sama." Nakago stated, coldly, as he motioned for her to follow. Confused to no end about the shogun's odd behavior, Yui followed him to one of the palace bedchambers.

"This will be your room, Yui-sama. Let the servants know if you need anything." Nakago stated, as he prepared to walk off.

"Nakago-san? Where are you going?" Yui asked, sounding a little bit afraid now, since the first person she'd met in this strange new world was leaving her side.

"I'm going to see the emperor and set up an audience between you and him. Don't worry, I will be back shortly." Nakago replied, having noticed the fear in Yui's eyes, and trying to allay it somewhat. With a shaky sigh, Yui nodded, then went into the room Nakago had led her to. The room itself was very fine; more than what Yui was used to, in so many ways.

"This is going to take some getting used to…." Yui mused, as she sat down on the bed and looked out the window; watching as the sun began its' slow descent into the west.

………………………….

Nakago sighed and ran a hand through his golden hair. The meeting with the emperor had been more stressful than he'd thought. Several bedraggled-looking messengers had arrived from the Konan/Kutou border claiming they'd been beset by bandits on the way there (setting off the emperor's temper in such a way the Nakago could not get a word in edgewise).

"At this rate, the kingdom really will crumble away into nothing. It is probably better in the long run that he doesn't know the Seiryu no Miko is here." Nakago thought, uttering a low growl when he thought of all the years he'd spent in shame within the emperor's bedchambers as a 'plaything'. He'd silently sworn vengeance then, and now had the means of getting it; through one of Yui's wishes.

"So many years of planning have come to this…I only hope that nothing happens to prevent the summoning." Nakago mused, pausing when he heard what he sounded like crying. His curiosity piqued, Nakago followed the sound to its' source; his heart twisting violently in his chest (for some odd and unexplained reason) when he saw that it was Yui that was weeping. Silently, he approached her window, and, when she did not notice him right away, he called out to her.

"Yui-sama, why do you weep? What is it that troubles you?" Nakago asked. Startled at first by his voice, Yui cast her gaze nervously back and forth, and then looked directly at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"Mother…..she's gone….My mother was murdered before I came here, Nakago-san." Yui sobbed, as she climbed out the window and stood there before him (her room was on the ground level, thus allowing her to do this). Without even realizing what he was doing, Nakago gently (yet a little awkwardly) embraced her.

"Cry as much as you want, Yui-sama. I'm here for you. I'll…..protect you." Nakago said, even though he didn't know why for the life of him he was saying such a thing. To his added surprise, she wrapped her delicate arms around his waist and buried her face into his tunic and robe (he'd since taken his armor off for the night).

"Arigato, Nakago-san…..I'm glad you're here….Even though I only just met you, I get the feeling that, when you're around, this place is a little less scary." Yui murmured, as tears continued to spill freely down her cheeks.

"I am a man of my word, Yui-sama. I'll protect you from whatever took your mother from you. I promise." Nakago said, quietly, the words seeming to slip out from between his lips of their own accord. He only got a slight nod from Yui in response, but he could sense that she was put at ease because of the words, and the sincerity behind them. For a long time, the two of them stood in the moonlight, wrapped in an embrace that was both comforting and confusing for the both of them.

Author's Note!

Yes, I realize that things are moving at an odd pace, but there is a reason. This is a completely different universe. Yui doesn't even know Miaka exists, and the seishi in general are alsogoing to be a little different. So please, bear with me, okay?

Gemini14