Author's Notes: Glad to hear the last chapter was liked. Moving on to the next one now! Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, not even the manga, much less the rights to it or the anime. It all belongs to someone else.

Chapter Two: No Rest for the Righteous

Her attacker stared in shock as she disappeared in a flash of red light. Yui felt a horribly lurching motion, which gave way to the feeling of free fall. She heard the shrill, yet somehow beautiful call of a bird, and even caught a glimpse of something with fiery wings and golden plumage. But it all swept away from the brightest and finest of colors to the semi-darkness of the library room where Miaka and her had first found the book. "Miaka!" she cried, heedless of the idea of being caught where only authorized people could enter. "Miaka! Where are you?"

As she searched the rows of shelves, she did not find her friend, and her worry made her sick in heart and soul. Turning back towards the door, she saw on the floor the book that Yui suspected was the source of her trouble. On the ground beside it was one, long flight feather of a brilliant red hue with the lingering scent of aromatic spices, like myhrr and frankencense. "What is this thing?" she wondered, "that it could do this?"

Approaching the old-looking book, she picked it up timidly and sat down on the thin, carpeted floor to read it again. As she opened it to the third page, she discovered that writing was just making its way down the dusty-smelling, yellowed page. It said, "The Suzaku no Miko was accosted by a greedy bandit, but was saved from slavery by the timely arrival of the Suzaku no Shichiseishi Tamahome..."

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Looking up at her savior, Miaka trembled, half from fear and half with relief. "A-arigato," she stammered, tears making a path down her cheeks. The young man bent down and wiped away her tears in a brotherly fashion.

"He didn't hurt you?" he asked kindly, his purple eyes warm and full of concern. She could smell the dry scent of the desert and the spicy/sweet smell of a market place about him. This person saved her from harm, he could be trusted.

"N-no," she replied. Then, as the idea of what could have happened all began to sink in, she grasped the front of the young man's tunic with a sob and weakly slumped onto his chest and wept. Her sobs shook her small frame like a leaf in the wind.

Not knowing why he cared so much of why her sobs tore his heart, Tamahome put his arms about her as he did for Yurien when she was hurt. Patting her back as he did his kid sister's, he murmmered comforting words like, "It's alright, there's nothing that can hurt you now, ok? You're going to be just fine," all the while wondering how the frail-looking girl made him feel protective and vengeful against the man that scared her so badly...

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A man sat by a stream, fishing line in hand, and pondered this feeling in his heart. Trepidation, mixed with a little relief, filled his heart from an unknown source. He had a feeling he knew the source, but a trip to his master's house would answer his questions, he believed. He took a deep breath, inhaling the clean scent of mountain waters and the misty scent of the fog that eternally clung to the foothills he enjoyed walking. He had an inkling that the miko that would guide him and his star brothers had arrived in the world of the Four gods...

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Author's Notes: I think I was half-concious when I wrote this... Oro! I know it's short, but I felt like it fit to write it like that. Besides, short chapters are easier to read. Keeps up a hype de gozaruyo. I'll make them longer soon, I promise. I just have to get things rolling first is all. Hope you enjoyed. Please review!