Rika stirred a bit in her sleep. Why was it so hot? She didn't open her eyes but pushed at the blankets. Only...the blankets didn't feel like blankets. With a huge groan, she sat up a bit. That's when she felt something tickling her breast. This woke her up completely, and her eyes shot open. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed at the boy with his face buried in her ample bosom.

The boy stirred as well. His eyes cracked open while Rika froze in a panic. He didn't seem to quite know where he was. Then his eyes popped wide open. His breathing stilled. Very slowly, he brought his arms up to her shoulders. Once there he slowly pushed himself up until he stood staring at his very unwilling pillow. "What the HELL?!" his roar as he leaped from the bed—and consequently her—should have woken up the whole palace. "Who are you?! Where am I?!"

Rika unfroze; in an instant she had that ceremonial sword on the wall down and pointed at the stranger's midsection. "I think you're going to be the one to tell me who you are."

The stranger glared at her. He had fiery orange hair and golden eyes. He was taller than she, standing at what must be six feet. He was naked to the waist and looking very uncomfortable. "Where am I?" he took a hasty look around and paused. "Hey! This is my old room! At the palace!"

Rika glared right back at him. "No. This is my room at the palace. And I want to know what you're doing in it!" She restrained the urge to cover her breasts. She was dressed in a shift that given the circumstances seemed very thin and inadequate.

"No!" the boy shook his head. "This is my room. I remember it. I slept here, and Tamahome slept on that side. I think Chiriko had that room." The boy looked around again and nodded to himself. "Yep. Now what are you doing in here?"

"Tamahome?" Rika paused and lowered the sword a trifle. "Chiriko? Weren't those the names of the Suzaku seishi?"

"Damn right! I'm Tasuki, little girl. And I suggest you explain yourself," he whipped out a strange iron fan, "before you're hurt."

"Wow!" Rika dropped the sword and bent close over the fan to study it. "Is that the fan that shoots out fire?!"

"Yes! Now what are you doing here?!" Tasuki sounded grumpy, but who could blame him? One minute he'd been sleeping soundly next to Koji, the next he was laying on the biggest pair of breasts he'd seen since his last visit to his mother. Most guys would be thrilled at the new arrangements. Not Tasuki. He'd had a tremendous fear of big breasts ever since his mother had constantly smothered him when he was a small child in her own huge breasts.

"My name is Rika, and Houki told me I could sleep here," Rika answered defensively. "She told me that you were staying with your bandits. She said you wouldn't want your room just yet."

Tasuki didn't look like he was totally convinced, but he really didn't have a chance to protest. For at that moment, a horrendous scream of mixed horror and rage split the air, eclipsing anything that Rika or Tasuki had managed. This was followed almost immediately by a thump as something hit the wall.

Rika looked up wide-eyed. "That sounded like Aya!"

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it!" Rika dashed towards the door. "Whoever's in that room just got a rude awakening!" Tasuki followed this strange girl out of curiosity and a strong sense of dread, for Tamahome was in the room with this 'Aya'.

Aya was awoken by three things. The first was a scream that was little more than a high-pitched squeal. This was soon followed by a deeper, more masculine shout of rage. But even this did not cause Aya to do anything more than sigh heavily and attempt to roll over. Attempt. This was the third thing. The one that caused her to awaken rather abruptly. Something very heavy was on top of her. And now that she was thinking about it, was actually crushing her! She opened her eyes to see the top of someone's head. This head was covered with hair so black, it looked blue. This head was also face down in her boobs.

"Ah!" she braced herself against the bed and scooted back until the boy's face was lying in her lap. "Get off!" The poor thing was just awakening when she reared back and hit him. This was no open palm sting. This was a full-fledged punch to the face. The force was such that the young man flew into the wall on the opposite side of the wall.

"What the—?!" the boy picked himself up off the floor with such speed and grace that Aya was forced grudgingly to admit some talent. "What was that for? Where am I?"

"That," Aya all but hissed out, "was for burying your face in my boobs! And you are currently located in the middle of your worst nightmare if you don't tell me how the hell you got in here and on top of me!"

The boy, who was quite handsome even with his blossoming black eye, was confused. "On top of you? Listen, you. I went to sleep on a pallet all alone. I don't know who the heck you are, but at least I know I'm not dreaming."

The girl that he had apparently offended glared at him. "You might have gone to sleep on a pallet all alone, but you did not wake up that way. I want to know why you were sleeping with me!"

"Did I have too much sake?" the boy mused totally ignoring her. "I hadn't thought I'd drank that much." He looked back up at her. "Are some whore I hired?"

Aya stood flat-footed for a second. When her poor mind finally processed what he'd said, her eyes darkened until they appeared to be black. "You. Are. Dead," she advanced upon him with a single purpose. That purpose was to render him physically as close to a female as it was possible without precise surgical instruments.

"Hey now," the boy backed up slowly hands raised. "What are you doing?"

Aya answered him with calm. And with Aya, calm is deadly. "I'm going to see if you'd make a pretty girl. I'm not really sure, so I'll just have to try it out."

The boy's eyes widened. "Girl?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

The girl slowed her approach until she was almost floating towards him, "Why, what do you think it means?" Her voice became deep and seductive. "I suppose it could mean just about anything you wanted it to."

He continued to back up until his back hit the wall. "A-anything?" his breath was coming hard by now. And he wasn't sure if it was from fear or desire. This strange girl was very beautiful. And at least she didn't look like she wanted to slit his throat...not at the moment anywaynow.

"Oh, yes," she breathed. Now she was directly in front of him. She drew even closer until he was sure that he could feel every curve she possessed. "Anything."

The boy decided that he felt very afraid and not a little light-headed. "What do you want it to mean?" he managed to ask.

The girl's stunning blue eyes widened. "Why I suppose I want it to mean this," she placed her hand gently on the center of his attraction. The boy gasped as he felt it stiffen.die right then. But she wasn't through yet. "Or maybe I want it to mean this."

Pain was abstract compared to what this girl did to him. The hand that had so gently touched him squeezed. And that alone would have sent him to the brink of insanity. But she also twisted. And this was too much. His vision darkened, and he fell to the floor.

Aya smiled smugly. "Nasty little pervert. That's why men are so easy. They let their other head rule."

"Aya?!" Rika's voice sounded extremely worried.

Looking up, Aya saw Rika practically fly into the room followed by a boy with deep orange hair. "Oh, no!" Aya moaned. "Did you have one, too?!"

Rika stared at Tamahome's prostrate form with mingled horror and amusement. "Oh, Aya! What did you do to him?"

Aya glared fiercely at Tasuki. "Did you wake up to him? Was that your scream I heard? So help me, little boy, if you touched—"

"Aya!" Rika shouted laughing. "Can you come out of righteous warrior mode for a moment?"

Looking unhappy and still glaring at Tasuki, Aya nodded.

"Good," Rika breathed a sigh of relief. "This is Tasuki. That is...," she turned to Tasuki for a moment.

"Tamahome," he answered with a positively gleeful grin at the unconscious boy.

"Tamahome," Rika echoed.

Aya blinked. "You mean like the seishi? Who would name a bastard like that after a seishi," she gestured contemptuously at the form on the floor.

"No, not like the seishi," Rika corrected. "They are the seishi. We're not exactly sure how they got here, but they seem to be appearing in their old rooms."

Aya's eyes widened. "So they aren't perverts trying to get some?"

Several minutes were needed to keep Rika from choking to death. Although Aya couldn't see what was so funny, Rika seemed to think it hilarious.

"You thought he was trying to rape you?!" Rika gasped out at last.

Aya crossed her arms and sat down heavily on her bed. "He called me a whore."

Tasuki, who was trying to revive Tamahome, glanced at her. "Remind me never to call you that. What did you do to him anyway?"

Aya focused her gaze on her toes and mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?" Rika asked playfully.

"I said," Aya glared at them both. "I...I think I might have ruptured his balls," she said rapidly.

Rika stared blankly at her. "You what?"

Just then, Tamahome stirred. "Oh..." he groaned and sat up slowly. "What happened?" he cracked open his eyes. They immediately widened when he sighted Aya. "No! Get away!" He scrambled back until he ran into Tasuki. He frantically grabbed Tasuki's hand. "Tasuki! Quick! Flame her before she gets you, too!"

"Gets me?" Tasuki laughed loudly.

Tamahome shook his head stubbornly as he stood. "She's a wicked seductress! She gets into your head somehow. Then, when you're least expecting it, BAM! She's got you!"

Rika turned to stare at Aya, "What did you do to the poor boy?!"

Aya shrugged. "Nothing less than he deserved."

Tasuki frowned impatiently. "How did we get here, by the way? I was asleep on Mt. Reikaku."

Tamahome seemed to have recovered from his temporary bout of insanity even if he was still a bit wary of Aya. "I was just going to sleep in a village. Where did you say we were again?"
"You're in the palace, pretty boy," Aya sniffed. "You're in your old room apparently."

Tamahome turned white. "The palace? Why? What for?"

Tasuki gave an exasperated sigh. "Now how am I supposed to know?"

Rika's brow was knitted in thought. "Does that mean that Chichiri's back, too? Where did he sleep?"

"A few rooms down if I'm not mistaken," Tamahome mused.

"Then let's go!" Rika hurried from the room, followed closely by Aya.

Tamahome glanced at Tasuki who shrugged. "What can we do? If she is a seductress, I'll get Chichiri to turn her into a man. Does that suit you?"

Tamahome nodded reluctantly and headed with Tasuki towards the room that held Chichiri.