Chapter Two: Seiryu no Miko

When Yui awoke in her room the next morning, she was a little disoriented. This wasn't her room, and she couldn't feel any trace of her mother's warm presence nearby…then she remembered.

"That's right. Kaa-san is dead, and I'm now in a book called the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho." Yui mused, blushing when she also remembered the long embrace she and the shogun, Nakago, had shared the night before.

"And yet, he didn't take advantage of me. Men like him are rare." Yui thought, as she got out of bed and stretched.

"Good morning, your Eminence!" a youthful voice chirped, startling Yui into whirling around to face its' owner.

"Nani? You mean me?" Yui asked, more than a little confused when she was met by a girl that was about her age that was holding out some clothing.

"Hai." The girl replied, with a smile. Yui was dumbstruck; she was someone of importance! And then she glanced at the garments. They were a shade of blue that looked almost as though it had been made with crushed sapphires, and spun gold had somehow been woven into it to create the intricate dragon designs all along the front of the shirt.

"I…..I can't accept this…..It's too fine for someone like me…." Yui muttered, as the servant held the clothing up to her to see if it would fit.

"Nonsense! There will be nothing but the finest for you, Seiryu no Miko!" the girl said, enthusiastically.

"My thoughts exactly." A now-familiar voice stated, from just outside the door.

"Nakago-san!" Yui shouted, as she, for decency's sake, dove behind a screen and got changed into the outfit.

"Ohayo, Yui-sama. I take it you are getting decent?" Nakago asked, as he glided into the room.

"I am. Keep your pants on." Yui muttered, irritably, unknowingly getting a quirked eyebrow as a response from Nakago.

"'Keep my pants on'? Is that a saying from your world, Yui-sama?" Nakago questioned, curiously, and yet with dry humor edging it's way into his voice.

"You could say that." Yui replied, as she emerged from behind the screen and faced the smirking shogun. It was when she was facing him that she remembered her tears the night before, and blushed slightly when she also remembered his kindness towards her.

"Um….Arigato…for being there last night…I really appreciate it." Yui said, hesitantly. Nakago gave her an odd (yet strangely abashed) look, then shrugged.

"Think nothing of it, Yui-sama. It was the least I could do." Nakago said, honestly, then ushered her to his side and they both started walking.

"Where are we going?" Yui asked, as she kept pace beside the shogun. To her surprise, his expression fell slightly before he answered her.

"We're going to an audience with the emperor….He desires to meet you, Yui-sama." Nakago murmured, quietly. Yui then gave the shogun a confused look; why did he sound so somber? And why was there so much pain in his eyes?

"I can't really ask him what is wrong, since I only just met him yesterday…But it looks like he's got some emotional wounds as well." Yui mused, as she gently took his hand in hers', smiled when he looked down in surprise at her, and gave the hand a reassuring squeeze as they entered the throne room.

…………………..

Nakago couldn't believe what had just occurred. This girl, Yui, the Seiryu no Miko, was trying to comfort him of all people!

"Had she somehow sensed what I was feeling? Or seen what I had gone through fourteen years ago? Or is she just able to sense my pain since she has been through something similar?" Nakago wondered, as he gently gripped Yui's hand back, and then released it to kneel before the emperor.

…………………………

Yui watched as the shogun bowed to the man on the throne, then motioned for her to step forward and present herself. With some hesitation, Yui did as she was bidden and stood before the emperor. Almost immediately, however, she wished she hadn't. The man on the throne looked hungrily at her; his roving eyes raking her flesh even more keenly than her father's hands had in her own world. She resisted the urge to shudder when he spoke.

"So, this young lady is from another world, eh? Has she accepted her role as Seiryu no Miko?" the emperor asked, directing his question at Nakago, but never once looking away from Yui.

"Not yet, your highness." Nakago replied, with a slight, almost imperceptible growl in his tone as he rose from his kneeling position to stand alongside the now quivering Yui.

"I see. Though it appears as though you have accepted her as such, Nakago." The emperor said, sitting back in his throne with a displeased look on his ugly face in response to Nakago's protective manner towards Yui. Nakago growled softly again, and Yui noticed that his forehead appeared to be bathed in a soft blue light.

"It's that same light that drew me into the book in the first place!" Yui thought, as she openly stared at the light.

"Feh. Fine, have it your way, then. Give her the scroll!" the emperor ordered, as two servants approached Yui, handed her an ancient-looking scroll, then backed away from her.

"Within that scroll, Yui-sama, are the clues you will need to find the other Seiryusichisei, and the incantation for the summoning of Seiryu. It is up to you to guard it, yet it is up to your seishi to protect you until the time comes. Will you accept the title of Seiryu no Miko?" Nakago asked, quietly.

"What would happen if I refused?" Yui asked, in turn.

"Seiryu would send you back to your world, and choose another." Nakago said, looking somewhat saddened about the possibility of her refusal. Yui gave the scroll in her hands a discerning look, then gave Nakago a warm smile.

"I accept. At any rate, this is the least I can do, since it seems that Seiryu had saved my life back in my own world." Yui stated.

"Excellent! You will depart from here tomorrow to search for the rest of the Seiryusichisei!" the emperor ordered, excitedly, as Nakago and Yui both bowed, and as Nakago led Yui out of the throne room again.

………………………

For the rest of the day, Yui wandered the palace's halls with the scroll in hand. She spent equal amounts of time musing about her now complicated life, and the descriptions of the clues found on the scroll (which, coincidentally enough, was also called the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho).

"It seems that every seishi is identified by a mark on his or her body. And that these marks glow blue when they are using their powers. Maybe that would explain Nakago-san's blue marking…..and why he seemed so protective of me, even in the presence of the emperor." Yui thought, as she walked past what appeared to be a garden.

"Good afternoon, Yui-sama." Nakago's voice said, startling Yui out of her thoughts and making her look around for the shogun.

"Over here." Nakago said, again, this time directing Yui's attention to one of the many stone benches in the garden where he was casually sitting.

"Good afternoon. I didn't really think you were the type for gardens, Nakago-san." Yui commented, as she walked over and sat down beside him.

"Even a military man like me needs some peace and quiet every now and again, Yui-sama. Are you studying the scroll?" Nakago asked. Yui nodded.

"Hai…..but I have the feeling that reading the clues on paper is one thing; finding them on the people in question is another." Yui muttered. Nakago nodded in understanding.

"Indeed, it will be……Yet, then again, simplicity never really was fate's favored way in life." Nakago murmured, sarcastically.

"Got that right." Yui agreed, as a deadpan expression crossed her fair features. It was in that moment that Yui could have sworn that she'd heard someone sneeze in response to those comments. To their surprise, a few chuckles escaped from the both of them into the cool spring afternoon, and it was a few moments before Yui spoke again.

"On another note, Nakago-san, your name is in this scroll as well. Are you also a Seiryusichisei?" Yui asked, curiously. Nakago grimaced slightly and nodded.

"Unfortunately enough, yes I am." Nakago replied, softly.

"'Unfortunately'? Why do you say that?" Yui questioned, sensing that the key to Nakago's pain was almost visible to her.

"The mark of Seiryu…..and the power that is held in it….has brought me nothing but pain so far…..I wish I could be rid of it, I really do." Nakago whispered, as he lowered his gaze from her and stared sorrowfully at the ground.

"Nakago-san….." Yui murmured, as a look of genuine pity took up residence on her face.

"Don't concern yourself with me, Yui-sama. I'm not worth your pity." Nakago said, bitterly, almost recoiling when one of Yui's soft hands touched his face, and brought his gaze back to hers' again.

"I don't know of anything I can say or do that will ease your pain, Nakago-san, but I will do my best to live up to your expectations as Seiryu no Miko. It is the least I can do to repay you for the kindness you have shown me." Yui said, gently.

"Thank you, Yui-sama." Nakago murmured.

"No problem. Just one thing, though. My first request as your miko." Yui said, as she gave him an almost earnest expression. Nakago raised an eyebrow.

"And that is?" Nakago asked, curiously.

"Call me Yui." Yui said. Nakago appeared to think it over for a moment, then nodded.

"I will do so. But you must also agree to just call me Nakago. Agreed?" Nakago queried. Yui nodded vigorously and offered her hand out to seal the deal with a handshake (which the bemused Nakago dubiously accepted into his own).

"Now it's a done deal! No more 'Yui-sama' or 'Nakago-san'. Just Yui and Nakago. Right?" Yui asked. Nakago nodded.

"I suppose so….But that is such an odd custom. Shaking hands to seal an agreement? What other customs do people have in your world, Yui-sa……Yui?" Nakago questioned, just barely catching himself before he could say 'sama'.

"Oh, do I have some 'customs' to tell you about!" Yui laughed, as she began explaining some of the more bizarre things she'd seen in her own world to Nakago, and as Nakago did his best to understand what she was talking about.

Author's Note!

Yeah, I realize that this was a rather strange chapter, but I suppose it will be the norm for this story... Hope it was all right, anyway!

Gemini14