"We're looking for someone, too, no da!" Chichiri asserted. "Two someone's actually!"
"Yeah!" Tasuki looked angry again. "The little brats snuck off!"
"Have you seen two girls around here?" Tamahome asked them. "They'd be about your age. They aren't from around here, and at least one of them looks foreign. She has blonde hair."
Mieri understandably perked up at this. She paid a lot more attention to the conversation.
"Why did they have to run away?!" Tasuki raged.
"I think we scared them, no da," Chichiri suggested sadly. "Have you seen them?"
Amiboshi shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone like that. Mieri's the only one that I've noticed that isn't from around here." His eyes narrowed, "And I haven't seen anyone with blonde hair."
Tamahome looked hard at him. Nodding he said, "If you see them, let us know. Their names were Aya and Rika."
"What?!" Mieri burst out suddenly. She had been quiet up till this point, but at the mention of her friends' names, she couldn't restrain herself. "Those are my friends!"
"You know the little twerps?" Tasuki asked.
"Twerps?" Mieri narrowed her eyes. Nobody could talk about her friends like that! Except for her… "Don't talk about them that way, you jerk! What did they ever do to you?!"
Tasuki seemed taken aback. Then he processed what she'd said. "What did they do to us? The blonde one just about broke Tamahome's nose and then followed that up with a near castration!"
Oh, Mieri had time to think before Tasuki was off again.
"Not to mention that at least one of them probably managed to bring back our dead friends! While I'm not complaining, it's a little CREEPY!!!"
Mieri topped out at 5'3". Tasuki had to be near six feet. But that didn't stop Mieri from getting right up in his face. "Okay, granted Aya can get a little aggressive at times. And Rika can be pretty bitchy herself! But both of them are really good people, so if you've hurt them…I'll…I'll…castrate you myself!"
Tasuki glowered up down at her. Mieri glared right back at him. Tasuki suddenly spun around in a huff. "Whatever!"
Mieri was a little stunned. She had expected another five minutes at least! But as she looked closely at his face, she noticed that it was beet red.
Chichiri sighed and stepped between Tasuki and Mieri, "Now, now, no da. Let's not start things off like this!" He turned to Mieri. "You must be Aya and Rika's friend, right?"
Mieri nodded sparing one last withering glare at Tasuki, "Yeah, we have another friend, too. Her name is Yuko, but she was basically stolen from me." She would have said more, but a slight nudge from Amiboshi halted her. She cast him a curious glance but didn't elaborate further.
"Check her, too, Chichiri," Nuriko urged. "See if she's the same as the other two!"
Mieri was a little confused but―as was becoming usual these days―didn't say anything. She watched in confusion as seemed to concentrate. "What's he doing?" she whispered at Nuriko.
"I'm checking for your life-force, na no da," Chiriko answered her. He looked slightly worried. "I can't sense hers either. I realize that I'm not as proficient in this area as the Seiryu warriors, but I should be able to pick up something, na no da!"
"So. We can probably assume that the other one, Yuko, is the same," Tamahome's brow furrowed as he tried to sort out what this meant. "Then are they really the priestesses?"
"I don't know. If they are, they're horribly powerful," Nuriko shrugged. "But we have to assume that they are. Which means that the Seiryu priestess is here somewhere as well."
All four warriors turned to Mieri. "We'll have to keep her locked up!" Tasuki suggested with just a little bit too much glee.
"Lock me up nothing!" Mieri shouted backing away. "I'd rather die!"
Chichiri smiled nervously. "I don't think that will be―"
"Grab her!" Tasuki impulsively commanded.
Before he could move, a strong wind came and toppled him over. Every time he tried to get up, a huge gust would send him flying again. It took both Tamahome's and Nuriko's own incredible strength holding him down before he could even stand. Lightning split the sky; and in the distance, thunder rolled.
Chichiri looked up at the sky in surprise. There had been no sign of any storms.
"Don't touch me," came a furious voice. Chichiri glanced at Mieri and froze. She had both hands clenched by her side. Even Amiboshi had backed away from the determination and anger in that voice. But what really caused him to take a second, third, and even fourth glance was the decidedly red aura surrounding her.
"Do you guys see that, too, no da?" he asked the rest.
Tamahome and Nuriko both nodded their heads. Tasuki turned a little pale. "It's in the shape of…a phoenix!" he gasped. It could barely be heard over the still roaring wind.
"Suzaku!" Tamahome voiced what they had all been thinking.
As one all four seishi went down on one knee. Even the rather reluctant Tasuki. The sight of them basically bowing to her caught Mieri up short. She blinked and slowly unclenched her hands. After several seconds, the wind died down; and the black clouds that had gathered disappeared. "Huh?"
"You are the Suzaku no Miko!" Tamahome explained. "We are the Suzaku seishi. We live to protect you, priestess."
"Um…I'd rather be called Mieri, if you don't mind. And you can get up any time now." Now that her anger had faded, Mieri was feeling a little nervous. Her? A priestess? Impossible!
"We need you, na no da!" Chichiri added helpfully. "To summon Suzaku once again!"
"Why?" Mieri asked. "Shouldn't there be someone else?"
Surprisingly, Tasuki stepped forward. Though he stared at the ground, he did say, "No. It has to be you. You were chosen by Suzaku for us to protect." He looked up into her face, "And I for one will protect you with my very life."
Mieri's face burned. Tasuki was a very handsome fellow; and despite their earlier argument, totally attractive. "Uh…thanks! So…what does a priestess have to do again?"
"We already have all seven warriors," Nuriko reminded everyone. "So what are we supposed to need Suzaku for again? What evil is there?"
"Seiryu evil," Amiboshi spoke up suddenly. "If you were brought back, doesn't it stand to reason that the Seiryu seven were also brought back?"
Chichiri nodded solemnly, "Indeed, no da. But first, we need to get the priestess back to the palace."
Mieri looked down at her state of dress and flushed, "I guess a few days on the road really can take it out of a girl. A bath would be appreciated."
"Then let's go, no da!" Chichiri took off the straw hat he'd been wearing. "It'll be quicker this way, no da."
Mieri looked at everyone in confusion. Tamahome walked up to Chichiri and stepped into the hat! Tasuki smiled briefly at her before doing the same. Nuriko took time to actually wink before disappearing into the shockingly empty hat.
At Chichiri's gesture, Mieri too cautiously stepped into the hat. Chichiri glanced at Amiboshi. "Are you coming?"
Amiboshi shook his head. "I've got to find my brother. Maybe this time I can convince him to stay out of this fight."
Chichiri nodded. "I hope you do, na no da. For both of your sakes." With that he stepped into his own hat. The hat was lifted on a strange wind and floated swiftly in the direction of Eiyo, the capital of Konan.
Amiboshi watched the hat until it was just a speck in the sky. With only a small sigh, he cast his senses out again to check for his brother. With a leap of his heart, he noted that the life-force was stronger. And that always meant nearer. He set his footsteps in the direction of Kutou and his brother.
As he walked, Amiboshi thought of Chichiri's words. So they really don't want to fight. I guess that's good for me and Suboshi. But what are the priestesses here for? And everyone coming back from the dead…Now that's just creepy. The flash of an extremely familiar life-force brought Amiboshi up short. Suboshi?! He hurried in the direction he'd felt it coming. It's closer than I thought!
Ahead of him lay the Kutou border. He and Mieri had only been on Konan land for a short time. And on the other side of the border…"Suboshi!" he cried.
The other figure looked up from where he was studying the sky. "Amiboshi?"
Amiboshi tore across the border and finally reached his brother. "Suboshi! You're okay!"
Suboshi grinned, "Of course I am. How could you doubt me?"
Amiboshi lost his gleeful expression. "Why? Why did you feed me the forgetfulness broth?"
Suboshi had the decency to blush. "I-I couldn't forget until I had avenged Lady Yui. I thought you would be better off without me."
"You thought I would be better off without you?" Amiboshi asked quietly. "Even when I didn't remember you, the moment you died I cried. I cried for a week straight. And I didn't know what for! Our bond is too strong to be so easily forgotten, Suboshi!"
Amiboshi was silent. "You died, didn't you?"
"Yes!" Suboshi's features twisted in anger. "Tamahome! He killed me! And with my own Ryuseisui!" Suboshi frowned in thought. "What's happening anyway?!"
Amiboshi shrugged, "I don't know. There are four new priestesses now. I saw some of the Suzaku Seven. They seem to have all of their warriors gathered. They've just found their priestess. They believe that everything is being brought back."
"All of them?!" Suboshi burst out. "They're alive again? After all that hard work!"
"Suboshi!" Amiboshi admonished. "Let's stay out of this one! You don't have to fight! Yui isn't here anymore. It's someone else."
Suboshi stood there in silence next to his brother. "No. I have to fight. The Suzaku Seven are my enemies. I will destroy them." He looked up, "You say that everything has been reset? That means everyone is alive. Even Nakago…"
"Please, don't!" Amiboshi begged. "Don't do this to us!"
"You don't have to come, Amiboshi," Suboshi gazed at him sadly. "You can stay behind in your village again. I won't let any harm come to it."
"You know I won't leave you behind again," Amiboshi snapped.
"Then let's go," Suboshi started out further into Kutou territory. "Besides…can't you feel the Seiryu no Miko's life-force calling to you?"
Indeed he did. Amiboshi could feel it from the beginning. He just hadn't known the other priestesses were here. As much as he wanted to resist, Amiboshi could not ignore both the calling and his brother.
With one last look behind him, Amiboshi followed.
Two identical figures made their way down the road into Kutou. The twin brothers who had long been separated by memory and death now walked the road of their choosing together.
