O.T.: For all of you confu-zed out there, here's a LIST!
Characters From Oldest to Youngest:
Selene: Seiryu Sentinel, sister to Ezra
Ezra: Genbu Sentinel, brother to Selene
Jessica: Byakko Sentinel, sister to Nallely
Nallely: Suzaku Sentinel, sister to Jessica
Chapter 4 - A Reason to Go On
"I've exhausted my reserves! That's it! I'm through!
I'm never going to win! Never going to please you!
All you've ever done is scold me when I try!
And I don't dare say what you do when I cry!
Am I just a stone, a blank slate for you to fill?
A canvas in which you can brag about your skills?
In case you can't tell, I've a life and a mind!
I've hopes and dreams which I intend to go find!
You say I must go on, but it's no longer realistic
I won't listen to your words, I'm not that fatalistic
I might resume my quest, then again I might not
I think I'd rather go astray and pretend I just forgot
Distracted by the sunlight, listening to it's caring song…
Making up the time I wasted with you telling me I'm wrong…
I run to find my own road and my own reasons for going on"
- To Go On, Written by ME! (is so proud)
Selene walked into the dinning hall half-dragging herself to the table. Out of all the things she had been through (and there had be a LOT) this had to be the worst. She collapsed upon the nearest chair and just sort of stared at the roof beams. The dull throb of her arms and legs informed her that she had sprouted several extra hearts. The mud-encrusted sentinel lolled her head back and pondered the purpose of her existence. It took a few minutes, but she eventually realized that the others at the table had fallen silent and were staring at her.
"What?" she snapped irritably.
"Er…is that you Selene?" said Ezra.
"No, it's a bog monster here to devour your soul," his sister told him sarcastically.
"So, how was your day?" Jessica inquired sweetly, "Did anything interesting happen?"
"Seiryu happened," muttered Selene.
"Oh. So I take it he trained you in…" Nallely trailed off waiting for her input.
"Track and field," sighed the mud-spattered girl.
"Well, I'm sure he was just testing your resistance," donated the Byakko sentinel just before falling into peals of laughter. Unable to contain themselves any longer, Ezra and Nallely laughed as well. Selene glared wishing death-beams would shoot out of her eyes.
"I hate you, all of you," the paralyzed girl grumbled. (X.X)
"Oh, before we forget! We've decided to change our names!" announced Nallely.
Selene gave them a blank look. "Excuse me?"
"Well, see it's like this," explained Jessica taking a large bite from an egg roll in the process, "when we are doing our thing with the seishi it will be kinda obvious that our names are extremely foreign. Miaka may be a total idiot, but there is a chance that she might notice."
"So we decided to change our names!" finished Nallely.
"To what, may I ask, did you change them?" the Seiryu sentinel asked.
"Oh! Nallely is now Aisuru, Ezra is Enjo, you're Tsuki, and I'm Miru," replied Jessica.
"Hey! Who said you could change my name?" demanded Selene (now Tsuki).
"C'mon nee-chan, it's a good idea. And for once it makes sense!" said Ezra (now Enjo).
Selene took a deep breath and slowly reached for a teacup.
"Fine," she conceded as she brought the cup to her lips using highly calculated motions.
"YAY! Tsuki-chan I knew you'd understand!" beamed the Byakko sentinel.
"Whatever you say Miru, I'm not in the mood to argue anyway," sighed the exhausted sentinel. Suddenly there were four puffs of smoke and four kami in the room.
"Lunch is over!" Exclaimed the Genbu sentinel happily.
"Ugh…" groaned his sister letting her face hit the table, "Wake me when my life is over."
(A/N: Okay, who's lost. Raise your hands. Kay, here's a list:
Selene - Tsuki
Ezra - Enjo
Jessica - Miru
Nallely - Aisuru)
V.V
The morning had dawned beautifully upon Mt. Taikyoku. A cool version of the sun's rays filtered through the Seiryu sentinel's dark curtains. The faint chirping of birds followed soon after. Just then the door flew open and the two younger girls swarmed in.
"TSUKI! GET UP IT'S MORNING!" they crowed as they jumped upon the large futon. The older girl glared at them from beneath the covers and did everything in her power to knock them down and off her bed.
"C'mon! Class is gonna start soon!" insisted Miru (Jessica).
"So?" muttered the sleep-deprived girl.
"So, you remember the last time that you were late to Seiryu's lessons?" asked Aisuru (Nallely). If possible the oldest girl's glare became darker. It had been almost a month since her first lesson with the war kami and no day had been as bad as that mentioned by the youngest girl. The dragon repaid tardiness by doubling the quota of exercises. After that first tardy, Tsuki (Selene) hadn't been able to move for the rest of the day, not that it had stopped Seiryu from dragging her through the afternoon's drills. Tsuki was certain that the dragon was trying to kill her. With a final growl she ordered the two hyperactive-teens out of her room and slowly got out of bed. Every muscle in her body ached. It felt as if Seiryu had strung her up as a piñata and given every Nyan-Nyan an aluminum bat.
"Ow…ow…ow," she said through clenched teeth as she brushed her hair.
Miru and Aisuru had their ears pressed against Tsuki's door and stifled giggles as they heard her distress. Enjo (Ezra) stepped out of his own room and gave the snooping girls a long puzzled look.
"You know she's gonna kill you the moment she opens that door," he informed them.
"Shhh," hissed Miru, "she's cursing Seiryu!"
T.T
The training in the four heavenly realms continued. In these short weeks, Enjo had managed to increase his knowledge of Hokkan history by reading volume after volume of bloody warfare records. His skills regarding strategy and manipulation had greatly improved with the help of all night chess sessions with Genbu as his opponent. Aisuru had begun to learn how to harness her life-force and manifest it as energy. She had already begun to mend simple cuts and scratches. Miru had also begun to developed a superior sense of balance and flexibility. She could now run across the training beams her ki keeping her conscious of every part of her body. And then, there was Tsuki…
"FASTER!" barked Seiryu as the sentinel nimbly leapt over obstacles whilst carrying a heavy cat-sized stone. The month she had spent in the dragon kami's custody had not resulted in any changes other than making her crankier than usual. Sure, she had improved her time in crossing the obstacle course, but any coach back in her home world could've done that. As she skidded to a halt at the end of the course she tossed the stone to the ground, hoping it would land on the water kami's foot. Seiryu glowered at her but said nothing as the stone missed him by a hair's breath.
His blue eyes narrowed angrily. His demands still weren't getting to her. She should have reached her raging point by now. I'll have to push a little more. Tsuki was still bent over trying to catch her breath when the scenery changed. The floor became stone and sky cloudy with endless nothing in every direction.
"That was pathetic. Even for you," he frowned at her.
"I finished didn't I?" she snapped back.
"You'll need to do more than finish in order to even fit in your armor," he replied coolly.
"Listen you…"
"New lesson," interrupted the dragon, "and do try to pay attention." A wooden dummy with markings on its chest head and arms appeared. The wooden puppet suddenly twitched and stood up. "This is a fighter golem, the weakest opponent anyone will ever use against you. The kanji on its body control it. If you touch any of them the golem is deactivated. Go, deactivate it."
Tsuki warily stepped towards the animated dummy all the while it remained motionless. Gaining confidence she reached out…
…then the world spun around and she found herself on her back with the puppet standing over her gripping her wrist tightly.
"Did I mention that it protects itself?" called out Seiryu in an almost pleased tone. Tsuki muttered several vile things under her breath before kicking away from the wooden doll. Scrambling to her feet she eyed her deceptively impassive opponent. She darted towards the dummy and reached for the kanji on its left forearm. The doll reacted quickly and twisted away reaching for her with its right hand. Tsuki grinned at the expected move and gripped the golem's extended wrist.
"HA-HA! GOTCHA!" she exclaimed triumphantly just nanoseconds before the golem dealt her a sharp left punch to the face.
Seiryu smirked amusedly as the girl fell back. It had been a long time since he'd been this well entertained. I should have thought of this centuries ago…
O.o
"Checkmate!" crowed Enjo. "I WEEN!"
"Wait…" muttered Genbu as he examined the chess board.
"Ah-ah, you can't take back moves," pointed out the boy.
"No, but I haven't let go of my rook so…"
"You're CHEATING!" accused Enjo.
"I am not!"
"You are too!"
"I am the Northern Beast God! Why would I lower myself to cheating!" the kami replied affronted.
"You're the criminal mastermind, not me!"
"How dare you? Besides, that castling you did earlier looked a little iffy to me."
"Oh! So now I'm the cheater here!"
"I'm just saying that why is it that every time my pawns get closer you go and pull…"
"It's a perfectly legal move!" insisted the sentinel.
"Fine, if we can't agree we'll just stop," the tortoise said as the board faded from existence, "Now no one wins."
"See you always do that when you know you can't win!"
"I do not!"
"Do too!"
"Enough, I'm not lowering myself any more with this argument!"
"Cause you know I'm right," mumbled the teen.
"What was that?"
"Nothing sir!" the boy saluted, "Just saluting sir!"
Turning around he summoned a scroll from the shelf. It opened to reveal a gory picture of men at battle.
"Today's lesson will cover the military campaign led by warlord Ling Xu against the Kutou invaders. His brilliant strategies won him many a battle and pushed his enemies back past the border. In his time, Hokkan created provinces in the northern part of Kutou. After these were secured, he marched upon the capital plundering and murdering as he passed. The Emperor himself had to face him in battle, but Xu murdered him."
Like most of the literature in the kami's library, the drawing began to shift and move according to Genbu's narration. Enjo began to stretch but he stopped at mid-yawn as the scroll displayed a soldier being impaled by a curved sword.
"How did Xu die?" asked the boy in morose curiosity. At this Genbu's eyes flashed with amusement.
"He was murdered in his sleep by his mistress." The scroll displayed the action.
"Ow…" winced Enjo.
"Apparently, she was from one of the taken villages in the Kutou border."
"She looks…friendly. What happened then?" he asked with piqued interest.
"A popular nobleman usurped the throne of Kutou and killed the rightful heirs. He then drove Xu's forces back to Hokkan, but their army was too weak to do much else. So Hokkan and Kutou regained their respective borders. Hokkan has remained peaceful ever since."
"And what about the throne of Kutou?"
"The throne has been passed on in the usurper's bloodline," the kami then grinned evilly, "a real pain for Seiryu too. That country has gone to waste after his chosen bloodline was stemmed."
"Wait a minute, you're saying Seiryu chooses his emperors?"
"Every kami, chooses the bloodline of his country's leader," his eyes sparkled maliciously, "I chose Xu's, Suzaku chose Hotohori's, and so on. Kutou's noblemen robbed Seiryu of that right. With my help of course." There was no doubt that Genbu found great pleasure in the fact that he had taken down the war kami several pegs.
"He must've been pissed, losing control like that. But I bet he stayed on his side of the border from then on ne?"
The Northern Guardian nodded. "Especially, when Xu was survived by three sons that later developed the same military capabilities."
"Ooh! That must've reeeeaaally pissed him off! So glad I'm on your side!"
"Wisdom over scheming…always wisdom over scheming."
"Too bad it doesn't always work for you in chess huh?"
Despite himself Genbu smiled wryly. "Are you calling for a rematch?" he asked as the board reappeared atop the scroll.
"You're on! But no mind reading this time!"
;P
Miru was atop the highest beam, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Using Byakko's training, she let her life force gently flow outward. Soon she had a picture of the surroundings in her mind's eye. Slowly, keeping her eyes closed, she took a step forward…then another. Soon she was walking the length without hesitation. As she reached the end of the beam she turned about and returned the way she had come. Confident now, she increased her pace until she was sprinting back and forth atop the narrow plank.
"Very good!" praised Byakko. Her eyes shot open at his voice and her balance wobbled.
"Eep!" Her arms spun in an attempt to regain stability.
"Relax!" called out the tiger kami. "Just remember to release your ki and…"
Miru plummeted to the ground her eyes squinted shut. The kami reacted quickly and caught her before she hit. When she felt herself stop in mid air, she opened a green eye and met Byakko's golden look.
"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.
"It's okay, you just need to learn control. Once you can control your ki you should be able to open your eyes without being distracted. Shall we try again?"
The redhead nodded eagerly. As took her back up to the balance beam, Miru looked fondly at the tiger kami's beautiful face. After several weeks of practice, she had managed to control her furious blushing. Long tresses of his silver hair flowed in the breeze as a soft smile graced the Byakko's lips. He gently deposited her upon the beam, making sure she had solid footing before letting her go.
"Close your eyes now," he instructed, "calm your breathing and relax." Miru nodded and complied. "Don't fight the wind, accept it," he continued, "let it shift your body like a leaf on a branch…Now extend your ki. Reach inside your deepest recesses and harness your energy, then incorporate it into your surroundings."
Miru inhaled slowly as her ki slowly left her body and became part of her environment. She could hear the distant trill of birds along with the buzzing of honeybees amidst the flowers below. Her mind's eye saw the dull energy being emitted by the wood of the plank, Byakko stood out with all the bright radiance of molten gold. She began her practice, slowly at first then mounting to higher speeds. Her inner sight became blurred as she sprinted back and forth her limbs acclimating to the shifts in the wind and cutting through unhindered. Faster and faster she ran skidding to a perfect stop, before the end of the plank.
The tiger smiled as he saw his pupil's speed begin to reduce her to a blur. Miru was beginning to tap into her life force drawing out strength and energy far beyond the reaches of any mortal. Soon, Byakko would have to provide more challenging tasks for the redhead.
(Jess currently in fangirl induced comma)
XD
Suzaku extended his left hand, a medium sized dagger was clenched in the other.
"Time for your test," the phoenix announced to Aisuru. Then without a second though, he flicked the dagger and gave his palm a quick slash. Aisuru gasped as rich crimson blood spilled from the cut.
"Suzaku-sama! You shouldn't…" she trailed off as he saw the kami's soft ruby eyes.
"It doesn't harm me, although…you might want to hurry."
Aisuru nodded and quickly took his hand in hers. Staring deep into the small scarlet mark, she focused all of her power. Her brow creased and furrowed as her newly discovered energy sparked in the depths of her pupils. Using the strictest regulation, she let her ki flow out in a small trickle. The energy seeped through the collecting puddle and into Suzaku's palm. The wound was not deep, only enough to pierce through the outer layer of skin. Aisuru took a deep breath as she began to pull the cut together and regenerate the damaged skin. She then dabbed the excess blood until his palm was clean. Suzaku winced as she finished and pulled back abruptly. He shook his hand as the last of the cut's sting faded away.
"Are you okay?" asked the young girl.
"Ah…yes, it's just…" he smiled sheepishly, "I'm not used to pain. But you did a very good job," he declared as he studied her handiwork.
The girl had never expected to see Suzaku embarrassed about anything…well, except for the time they had mass glomped him the first day.
"Lets see if we can tap into some mental abilities, shall we?" he asked and Aisuru nodded eagerly. "This will be a little different from regeneration. I healing, you usually just give the broken flesh a nudge and it will begin to heal. You are, in fact, merely supplying the energy needed and giving the process a point in the right direction. Mental manipulation is far trickier. You are compelling the mind to conform to your wishes, so you have to understand how to infiltrate the mind without being noticed."
"Ah, just like what Nakago did to Tamahome with the Kudoku poison," said the girl.
"Not at all. Kudoku poison places a victim in a state similar to hypnosis. It overrides freewill and makes the person susceptible to suggestion. True mind manipulation is all about subtleties. One must make the other person believe that they aren't being forced to do anything. It is a fine art one which Nakago was never trained in. So he must turn to Kudoku. Blunt and unwieldy, but effective," the Konan deity's tone became sour. There was no doubt that he despised and the Kutou shogun. "Anyone can poison. It takes skill to manipulate. Let's start with a simple mind." With that he summoned a light pink bubble. Inside lay a small silk worm. "What you have to do is simply make it crawl to the top of the bubble."
"Okay, I can do this," breathed Aisuru as she began to focus on the bubble.
"Relax you breathing…gather your ki slowly…there's no rush…" he instructed.
Slowly the little white worm began to crawl. Millimeter by tiny millimeter the little silk worm made his way up the bubble's side. Aisuru's brow scrunched and her eyes squinted as she increased her concentration.
"I'm doing it…I'm doing it…" she said under her breath.
Just as the little insect began to reach the top, it began to waver and shake. She clenched her jaw and imposed her will upon the worm. Then, a faint high pitched noise like that of air being forced through a small opening began to manifest itself.
"Don't force yourself too much or you'll…" Suzaku never finished the sentence. As the little insect wriggled through the last few centimeters it convulsed violently and exploded with an audible "pop".
"OMG! I'm sorry!" cried Aisuru as entrails and bits of worm flesh coated the inside of the bubble. "I'm so sorry! Is it okay?" she asked worriedly.
"Well…"the kami replied glancing at the gruesome remains.
"I killed it!" she wailed, "I killed the poor little thing!" The youngest girl looked as if she were about to cry. "I didn't mean to kill it!"
"It's okay, I'm sure he didn't feel any pain," reassured the phoenix as he sweat-dropped.
"I murdered it!" bawled the girl as tears began to form.
"It's okay, I can get another worm." At this, Aisuru began to shed tears. Suzaku desperately tried to calm his sentinel. He had never had to deal with this before, and for some reason, he detested seeing her cry. The southern kami sighed, and using his…erm…God-given powers deftly grouped the worm's remains and reanimated it. "See, he's okay now. He's alive again."
Aisuru sniffled and looked at the little resurrected silk worm. "Is it really okay?" she asked ceasing her weeping.
At this Suzaku sighed with relief. "Yes, see. He's as…white and…um…wriggly as ever. Care to try again?"
"But what if I kill him again!" she asked worriedly.
"Well, now you know how dangerous it is to over influence a simple mind," replied the kami, "and now, you know just how gentle you must be."
The southern Sentinel nodded and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Let's try again."
XD
Tsuki weakly swung a punch at the mannequin of doom only to receive a sharp whack to the shins.
"OW!" she cried out for the umpteenth time.
"TRY AGAIN!" boomed the dragon as she stumbled back rubbing her bruises. With an aggravated sigh, Tsuki turned away from both the mannequin and the kami. She stormed furiously, putting several yards between herself and the water kami. Then, in an open display of defiance, she sat down. "I said: Try AGAIN!"
"I will not," the sentinel huffed rebelliously at his order.
"I am not asking you, I command you! Now obey me."
Brown-black eyes stared at him, hardened by anger to a steely point. "Make me," she told him enunciating every syllable clearly.
Seiryu's cold azure gaze bore into her, but she didn't so much as flinch.
"I've been taking your orders for a month now, without results," she told him calmly, "and quite honestly, I see no reason to continue."
"You don't see results because you don't allow me to teach you," he replied
"Que estas ciego, desgraciado! (Are you blind, you wretch!) I've done nothing BUT whatever the hell you tell me!" she burst out crossly.
"Yes but…"
"But nothing! The hell with it! I'm through with you and your little Boot Camp O' Death!" she cut him off and leapt to her feet. "You can find yourself another stupid idiot to be your 'sentinel'. I'm through!" She turned to set off into the infinite horizon.
"You can't quit," Seiryu snapped grabbing her arm.
"Give me one good reason," she growled.
"You were given to me to be MY sentinel…"
"I said tell me a good reason," she sneered.
The kami's sapphire eyes then acquired a treacherous glimmer. "I'll show you…" he rumbled in a dangerous tone. The landscape then spun around them. Gray and blue hues warped and swirled. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. Tsuki then had a sinking feeling. She was falling. Seiryu was dragging her down to Kutou.
After several seconds of plummeting, they landed softly, and the world came back into focus. She blinked confused as to what she should be seeing. The skies were black with clouds, and a heavy rain poured down soaking everything. Everything that is, except the kami and his sentinel. She lifted her hand and saw as the fat crystalline drops passed through her as if she were not there.
"What is this?" she asked trying to hide her uneasiness.
"We are only observers, I did not bring our material bodies with us," he told her coldly.
"So this is it?" she asked scornfully. "A demonstration of your power is your reason?"
He remained silent, his gaze fixed beyond Tsuki. She was about to make another derisive remark when it happened. She heard in a painfully familiar voice what was to become her worst nightmare…
"GIVE HER BACK! GIVE HER BACK TO ME!" The voice was filled with rage and hatred.
Tsuki's eyes widened as she turned to see the source of the voice. For the first time, she saw they were on the bank of a swelling river. Shoryuu river… There, directly on the opposite bank, was Ri Houjun. Tsuki felt her face go white. Chichiri…
"Its six years before Suzaku's priestess is summoned, he is now 18," Seiryu's emotionless voice passed through her as she saw the inevitable happen.
"YOU KNEW I LOVED HER! BUT YOU…YOU TOOK HER ANYWAY! BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" he snarled lunging at Hikou. There was a flash of steel and blood.
"No! Chi…Houjun! Stop!" Tsuki shouted above the roar of the river.
Hikou fell into the icy water clinging to the crumbling bank. Houjun's eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and shock. He dropped the dagger and reached out to Hikou, grabbing his hand as the waters churned.
Tsuki ran towards the two, not caring that there was a river between them. Just before she reached the water, an unseen force pushed her back and sent her sprawling against the floor.
"Visions have many limitations," said Seiryu in a bored drawl, "physical contact is not possible. They can't even hear you."
"Help them, please!" she begged the Kami. "I was wrong! I'll do anything! Just please help them!"
The dragon's icy look met her tearful eyes. "Why should I?" he told her callously. "You're the one who cares. You help them."
She gawked at Seiryu in disbelief. He couldn't be doing this…no matter how cold or indifferent the kami could be, he wasn't his cruel… he can't do this.
"Hikou…"
"Houjun! Don't let go! Onegai!"
Clenching her jaw she threw herself against the barrier between them. White energy crackled against her singeing her hair. I'm coming. Hold on. I'm coming Chichiri. Centimeter by tiny centimeter she began to pierce the barrier. But she wasn't fast enough. A broken log sped towards the two boys and smashed against Houjun's face. He gave a scream and released Hikou's hand. The pain was intense as the wood tore into the side of his face. Through the crimson agony he realized what had happened. Hikou was gone, swallowed up by the raging waters of the river.
"Hikou! IIE! HIKOU!" his shouts echoed across the landscape. Tsuki fell to her knees, exhausted and still captive behind the vision's barrier. Hot tears sprang from her eyes as she saw the look of complete and utter despair upon Houjun's face. His face was streaked in scarlet blood and held so much pain. Moments later, the river claimed him as well. The world spun once more.
She suddenly found herself back in Kutou heavens, but the tears wouldn't stop and Chichiri's face lay branded in her mind. Her hands were balled into fists that shook violently at her sides.
"I couldn't save him…" she whispered as her eyes continued focused on the floor. "I was there. I was right in front of them, and I couldn't…save him."
All of a sudden, Seiryu felt energy drain away from him and he smiled. I've finally reached her! I've finally reached her raging point. Tsuki continued to draw more energy from the kami as her anger and sadness became overwhelming. The dragon took this opportunity to speak.
"You asked for a reason, and I gave you one," he said putting a hand upon her shoulder, "if you want to save all your precious seishi from pain, you cannot abandon your duties."
Tsuki's jaw clenched in fury.
"If you had developed your powers the way you were supposed to, Chichiri would still have his eye. Not to mention his friend and family."
Without warning, the dragon felt an even larger drain of his power. Her vision became a world of blue-white brilliance…
O.O
Genbu moved his rook into place seeing a weakness in Enjo's defense.
"I got you now," the tortoise said smugly.
"Aw, no way!" whined the sentinel.
"It's over! Check-mate," grinned the kami.
"Wait, no…I…"
Just then lightning cracked and the ground shook violently. The black and white pieces were scattered about the board and the stacked scrolls tumbled down from the shelves.
"An earthquake, in heaven?" asked Enjo perplexed. Genbu's emerald eyes narrowed, and he stood facing south-east.
"Seiryu's realm, something's amiss…let's go," he ordered, and instantly both disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
O.O
"Slowly now, don't over think it," instructed Byakko.
Miru was presently doing a handstand atop a beam and trying not to fall over.
"Okay, you got it, now take out your left hand and…" he never finished his sentence. A violent shockwave knocked Miru off her hands. She fell but managed to twist her body so she landed on her feet. Ice began to rain from the skies, their sharp crystalline points driving into the ground and pounding against the wooden beams.
"Byakko-sama!" cried out Miru trying to shield herself from the barbed shower of crystals. The tiger kami promptly protected them both with an energy barrier.
"Something is wrong," finished the kami, "and it's coming from Kutou."
Without another word he transported both of them towards the dragon's realm.
O.o
Aisuru gently mentally prodded a worm up a tree branch, taking care not to overwhelm the little creature. Aisuru eased off whenever she felt the caterpillar shake. Suzaku gave her encouraging words throughout the exercise.
"See, it's just a matter of practice," explained Suzaku as she completed her goal.
"I did it!" She exclaimed. "I really did it!"
"Superb job, Ai-chan."
Just then a slight tremor shook the frail branch. The vibrations increased and shook the pale caterpillar off the branch. Soon the ground itself lurched up and made both Kami and student stagger to maintain their balance. Large gusts of wind howled around them and the phoenix kami had to shield his sentinel to keep her from being blown away.
"Suzaku-sama! What was that!"
The southern kami looked up towards the northeast. His brow furrowed as if he were trying to understand something. "So many negative feelings in the air. I don't know what that was, but I have a pretty good idea of who might."
Taking Aisuru's hand he teleported to the border.
-.-
O.T.: If possible, this chap has to be the most confusing ever. I blame you! (points accusingly to muses). For all those confused here is the list again.
Characters From Oldest to Youngest:
Selene (Tsuki): Seiryu Sentinel, sister to Ezra
Ezra (Enjo): Genbu Sentinel, brother to Selene
Jessica (Miru): Byakko Sentinel, sister to Nallely
Nallely (Aisuru): Suzaku Sentinel, sister to Jessica
But anyway…the other important bit of business I have here is the following:
I AM LOOKING FOR A BETA! Anyone remotely interested in beta-ing for this story please feel free to e-mail me to the address in my profile. My only requirement is that you PLEASE have the commitment to put up with my nonsense, not to mention the time.
Being the paranoid psychopath that I am I will only allow members to be my beta…unless I've obviously known you for a VERY long time. :)
Ah, any thoughts on this Chap? Cliffy, yes. Yes it is. Why? Cause if I keep writing the chap will be much to big to handle and there are A LOT of Seiryu-based issues I have to basically work through. I gave you guys a hint at what Seiryu might want as a favor from his sentinel. I wonder if I made you hate him enough… So to the two people that are still reading this, be assured the next chap is on it's way.
AND NOW: Another announcement!
I invite all you peoples to visit my C2 community "Houjun no Kasa Keepers"! It's up and running and if you like this story, you'll love the stuff I have there! See, with the exception of the two fics that are mine…those are REAL authors. I may be a crappy writer but I'm a very picky reader so only the best is there! Be sure to check out this month's featured fic. (this is starting to sound like a commercial) But most importantly, BE SURE TO REVIEW! You have no idea how much of a difference it makes. Even if it's just "hey this was good keep it up" it definitely pushes the person to keep writing. (is losing faith in her other fic :cries:)
And now…
THE REVIEWS!
Otaku-no-miko: Heh-heh…I'm thinking you REALLY want to fry Seiryu now. The muses didn't like my BBQ. They sorta ran away. Yes, wielding a cleaver sure puts the spice back into life.
Nytingale: Eek…you probably thought I'd given upon this fic huh? Sorry about the delay. The trainings are…unique. I wanted each character to specialize in something instead of just the "oh they all use magic" bit. I think the kami's are pretty matched up personality-wise, don't get me wrong, I luv Suzaku. But I know that I'm a cold-blooded Seiryu when it comes to fighting. (remembers certain incidents) Let's just say I have more war than love in me. (insert nervous laughter here)
Koneko03: I would die too…I am so unfit it's not even funny. (is currently on a diet v.v) As for Selene er…Tsuki…she'll be…um…in therapy for a while. You know, I really hated having to write this chap. So much sadness. Romance between the seishi and sentinels? (eyes her two muses) They wish. (gets attacked) Okay, okay, I wish too. It's just gonna be very, very difficult to pull off. Whatever happens I seriously want to avoid this turning into a self-gratification fic. Those are fun, but wrong and they make lousy fics. (begins to ponder how much she CAN get away with)
Bronze Dagger: AH! Please don't hurt me with your mallet! I'm really, really sorry about making you wait so long! All in all, as dangerous as you are, I'm glad to have entertained you for so long. I'm guessing the training will only go on for one more chap after which we'll get into the real plot. You have to understand, I'm cramming 6 years worth of lessons in one chap…that's really hard even for us psychopathic scientists. Hotohori…not saying partly because I'm still figuring out how I'm going to work around the whole "I love the priestess" thing. I will give you this, Nuriko and Hotohori are the first characters we'll interact with. (this might change so don't kill me if I've misled you)
CosmicMoon: (stares at "guy in the sky") Hey, that's a bird…glad you love it. Then again you LOVE everything I write…cause I stole your socks. Mwahahaa! Anywho, talk to ya laters and hope you like this chap too…(if you actually read it XP)
Jessica Wolfe: Yes, everyone wants to kill Seiryu…my work here is done. I bet you're wondering about that flashy light thingie now eh? Everyone is anxious to bring in the Suzaku, as you can see today wasn't a very good encounter. But it DID highlight the importance of training.
Eternal Sovereign: Yeah, I hate self-inserts too…(see first end note) I guess this fic is so good cause it wasn't meant to be a self-insert in the beginning, my own stupidity made it turn out that way…(sweatdrop) Ookay then, hmm…another person eh? That would provide other unforseen plot twists…must sleep on it and see if I can butcher…I mean be creative on this respect.
Welp that's all of them. See ya next time then!