A/N Sorry this took a while to get in but I've been a little uninterested in typing for a long time. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: A New NurikoHikaru awoke the next morning bright and early. She got out of bed and walked over to the window. Drawing the curtains aside, she looked out and saw the sun just rising on the horizon. 'Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day' she thought to herself. 'I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing. Probably completely wasted and totally oblivious to the fact that their remaining children are gone.'
She continued to gaze out the window until she heard a knock on the door. "Hikaru, it's me Jubei. Do you mind if I come in?" "No, not at all." Jubei walked in the room and then strode over to the window where Hikaru was. "I was wondering, Tasuki, my brother and I are going down to the training grounds to train for a little while before breakfast. Would you like to come with us?" Hikaru's expression brightened, it had been a long time since she had practiced her martial arts. "I'll be down in a few minutes." Jubei smiled, "Okay, I'll tell the guys you're coming."
Jubei quickly left the room. Hikaru walked over to the chair she had laid Jubei's clothes out on before going to sleep the night before. She changed out of her pajamas that she had brought with her from her world and put on the other clothes. After making the bed, she left the room. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, however. 'Damn, why didn't I ask Jubei how to get there?' Hikaru wandered around aimlessly, not having a clue as to where she was going, for almost the next twenty minutes. "They're probably wondering where I am."
She continued down the hallway until she reached a door that she thought looked like a door to a training room, if they have a look to them. When she entered the room, it was anything but a training room. There was an enormous statue of a giant bird in the back of the room. In the center was a tall platform that held a giant torch and room enough for maybe one or two people to stand on. Around the platform on the floor were markings of different symbols in ornate patterns. One of the characters was the Japanese kanji for "demon". 'That's strange' she thought to herself, 'why is the character on Tamahome's forehead on the floor in this room? Come to think of it, what exactly is this room?'
Hikaru walked up the steps to the top of the platform where the torch was. When she looked down into the torch, she saw the ashes of paper. She reached down into the torch and picked the ashes up in her hands. 'I wonder what was burned in this torch.' All of a sudden, she heard a majestic voice in her ears. "I see you have found the ashes of my scroll child." "Wh-who said that?" Hikaru asked nervously. The statue of the giant bird glowed a brilliant red and then it came to life. It flew over to Hikaru, who was now shaking she was so afraid. "Fear not child for I am not here to harm you. In fact, I'm here to give you a task." "Who a-are y-you?" "I am known as the god, Suzaku." "You're the god that Miaka told me about." "Indeed, she is the priestess that will some day summon me to this world so I may grant her three wishes." "If she's supposed to summon you, then why have you appeared before me Suzaku-sama?" "I appear before those who are in need and those from a world parallel to this one."
"I can feel great sadness and pain in your heart. What pains you so child?" "I have lost a great deal in my life but I wouldn't want one as great as you to worry about that." "Nonsense child. My priestess and the one who will summon me, Miaka, trusts you and from only speaking with you for a little while. In that regard, I too have put my faith in you." "Thank you Suzaku-sama," Hikaru said, bowing. "If I may ask, why have you appeared before me? All I did was pick up the ashes of something that was burned in the flame." "That flame is known as the flame of Suzaku and my summoning scroll was burnt there. The reason I have appeared before you today is because without seven constellations of Suzaku, my summoning would be utterly impossible."
"What does that have to do with me?" "As I'm sure you are aware, one of the constellations, Nuriko, has passed on from this life because of the Seiryu celestial warrior, Ashitare. I appeared here today because when your hands touched the ashes; I felt strong powers within you. I am going to bestow upon you, Nuriko's character and abilities as a Suzaku warrior." Hikaru was baffled. Not only did she not understand why Suzaku was appointing her as a celestial warrior but she also didn't know what a celestial warrior was supposed to do.
"I would like to thank you so much for this Suzaku-sama, but I don't believe that I could fulfill this position rightfully. I would only be disgracing Nuriko's memory." Just then, a ghost in the form of a person appeared in front of her. He was a very feminine looking man with purple hair. "Are you Nuriko?" Hikaru asked. Nuriko nodded, "I'd be happy if you were to take my place in the summoning ceremony. Suzaku and I have been watching you ever since I died. He told me that I had to be replaced by another being from Miaka's world. I saw how you dealt with all of your problems with your family and I would be honored if you were to bear my character."
Hikaru was stunned. She and her younger brother had been transported to the Universe of the Four Gods, she met Suzaku, and had the deceased Nuriko tell her that she was to take his place as a celestial warrior. And all of this happened in less than twenty-four hours! 'Am I dreaming? This can't possibly be happening to me!' Suzaku smiled at her and said, "You are not dreaming. This is actually happening to you." "Can you read minds?" Hikaru asked. "Of course I can, that was how I was able to contact Nuriko's ghost and give him a human form."
"Will you do it?" Nuriko asked. Hikaru didn't know what kind of answer to give. "I-I'm not sure what to say. If I accept this, what will happen to me?" "Nothing that will harm you. You will be given super-human strength and the character mark for "nuriko" will appear on your upper right chest. Now will you accept this task?" "What happens if I don't accept?" "Either Miaka won't ever summon Suzaku or we will ask your brother if he will do it." "Yuki?" Hikaru asked.
'I can't put this kind of pressure on him. He's only thirteen years old! It would be great of a burden to take the easy way and have him become a warrior.' "Will you do it then?" "I…I will." "Excellent! Before we begin, we must summon all of the other warriors and Miaka here." Suzaku was silent for a moment. Hikaru could a very faint light radiating off of his feathers. He seemed to be contacting everyone. Within moments, the six celestial warriors and Miaka appeared in the room.
They all gasped and said, "Nuriko!" "You must all listen to me," Suzaku said. "Suzaku!" The giant bird smiled, "I have summoned you all here because I'd like to let you all know that Hikaru has accepted the task of taking Nuriko's place as a warrior." "What!" "Is that even possible?" Chichiri asked. Nuriko nodded, "Suzaku explained everything to me after I passed away."
"Nuriko and Hikaru will have to partake in a ritual that will transfer Nuriko's mark to Hikaru's body and give Hikaru his super-human strength. I beckoned you all here to inform you of this but also to check with you. There are a few negative and positive aspects to this sacrament." "What do you mean?" Miaka asked. "Well, for the positive aspects, Nuriko will come back to life." "Really?" all the warriors said with happiness swimming on their faces. Even Nuriko looked surprised at Suzaku's statement. "However, he will be brought back as Liu-Chuan and he will have no recollection of ever being a Suzaku warrior. Hikaru will then have to be referred to as Nuriko."
The tension in the room increased as everyone became torn on decisions. "Who gets the final say?" Hotohori asked. "Nuriko." All eyes turned to Nuriko. "If it's going to help Miaka and all of you guys summon Suzaku for real, then I'm willing to do it. Is it possible for Miaka to wish back my memory as one of her three wishes?" Suzaku nodded, "Once the summoning ceremony takes place, Miaka may wish for your memory of everyone to be restored. If she does, then your mark will return to your body and your strength." "What will happen to Hikaru?" "Nothing. Now, do you wish to do this?" Nuriko nodded, "Yes." "Then let the ritual begin!"
"All of you warriors must stand on your characters inscribed on the floor." The warriors went to their places. "Hikaru, you must occupy the empty space." She got off of the platform and walked to the place where Nuriko would stand. "Nuriko", Suzaku said, "you must position yourself behind her." Nuriko floated over to Hikaru and positioned himself in the correct spot. "Priestess, you must recite this dialogue." "How will I know what to say?" "The words will come to you automatically. Now let us begin!"
Miaka placed her thumbs and forefingers together and began to recite a dialogue. "Let the spirit of "nuriko" switch hosts. Liu-Chuan is no longer of use and the spirit must be switched. Transfer the spirit to Hikaru, the young maiden who is strong and able to take the spirit into her body. Have the memories of Liu-Chuan be discarded so that no pain of his memories will return…SPIRIT TRANSFER!" When she finished, Hikaru began to rise up into the air. The symbols engraved on the floor were glowing brightly and the warriors standing on them being engulfed by the lights. Liu-Chuan floated in front of Hikaru's body and placed a hand to her chest. Energy began to flow out of him and the symbol was disappearing on his body. He could also feel his strength leaving him.
Suzaku was speaking inside Liu-Chuan's head and was instructing him what to do. "To complete the transformation, you must place your lips on hers to give every last bit of "nuriko" to her. Do it quickly!" Liu-Chuan did as he was told. He placed his lips on top of Hikaru's. As soon as he did that, the last remnants of "nuriko" were flowing out of him. As his lips left hers, he lost consciousness.
The transformation was ever and everything turned back to normal. None of the warriors were hurt but many were dazed and lightheaded. Hikaru looked at her chest and sure enough, there was a mark there signifying that she was Nuriko. Liu-Chuan was lying at her feet, his body was solid and he was breathing. Suzaku appeared in front of her again and said, "You are the new Nuriko. That is your name now and it is what you must call yourself. I entrust Nuriko's duty in you."
A/N Okay, so I know that this chapter was probably a little confusing. I was a little confused writing it! Anyways, in case it's not cleared up for you, Hikaru is now Nuriko and when I say Nuriko from now on (until much later on in the story), I'm talking about Hikaru. Tell me if you want me to make this into a Liu-Chuan/Nuriko/Tasuki love triangle. Also, in the manga, Nuriko's real name is Liu-Chuan. Those of you who watch the series know it as something else. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!
