1Okay! I'm back from the dead! Between college and certain hurricanes destroying said college, I haven't been able to write at all! TT Depressing….the good news is that I now have my laptop (that's why I'm on now…) and despite being left at college throughout the hurricane, Mugen (my laptop) has survived. Though I was worried there b/c my poor computer is named after a fav. character…kick ass swordsman but he can't read…so I was worried that he wouldn't know how to swim! O.O Anyways! I've gotten SO many reviews that criticize Yuko. "How could she trust Nakago!" "Doesn't she know Tenkou is evil!" She doesn't know! She hasn't had the benefit of watching/reading Fushigi Yuugi and subsequent OAV's…she's never seen these people in her life! You see some admittedly hott guy on the street. Is your first thought 'Man he's evil….' No. So why would hers be! I'm sorry if this annoys some of you but I'm trying to keep things realistic. I can't stand it when authors create these characters who just "intuitively know" when there is danger or who is evil or not. Call it a pet peeve…Mieri and Rika are my exceptions but that's just because they can read people really well. Aya can to a certain degree but she's basically a bitch to everyone. Yuko however is clueless. I'm sorry. She wouldn't know the Anti-Christ from the Pope. That's just the way she is. :sigh: Now that my little rant is over…On with the RR's!

Star:lol! You are so goofy! And weird...sake is the devil. It's definitely a developed taste...o.O In any case...yes, yes...Tenkou is evil...so is Nakago and all the rest...but give the girl some credit! Man, she don't know anything about them...plus...:points to above: Yeah...And I read your stories. YAY! I loved them! Didn't have time to review and for that I apologize...

Silver:You? Hyper? No...lol Seer! Seer is the best! But I don't drink coffee so I wouldn't know anything about cappachinos...lol And I haven't seen you online...:cries: You're so mean! Get on!

Chaos:Girl...You are gonna HAVE ta stop changin your name...lol You don't celebrate Valentine's Day? Wow...Yeah...manga is SO much better! It goes on...and on...and ON! And...um...Nakago wanted Yuko to have sword lessons because...well...really I wanted Yuko to have the lessons lol And Amiboshi is a poor, tortured creature...whom I shall protect til the day I die::fights off all rabid fangirls of Ami with a stick: Tata!

ET:Yes...I didn't realize it but this plot line is too familiar... P I hated how Yui and Miaka hated each other...And Ami is always cute! Always! Lol

DE8:Yeah...personally I wouldn't trust Tenkou either...but although Yuko is tough as nails...she's a bit dense in the whole judging-people department...And I deeply apologize to all Seiryu seishi fans but they're not being pulled...they're practically running into the jaws of evil. Well–most of them. They can't help it. And they make such darn good bad guys!

LT:Whoot! Hurray for hyper people! Heh heh...And I'm so glad that my story is helping you with FY! That totally makes my day! And I'm so jealous about your FY collection...:cries: Sorry your PC is acting wacky...my internet is on the blink...:cries even harder:

Animemoma:Yay! I am SO happy! I was so excited when I found out that I had an older reader! I was kinda worried that my stories would only appeal to the younger readers...which isn't bad...but it's nice to know that adults can enjoy them too! And yes...there will be romance...I'm just totally slow about working up to it. Lol You want your daughter to read it? Wow...I hope she likes it too...

"Okay! Screw this!" Yuko threw up her hands and sat down suddenly on the soft dirt. "I have no powers! This is bullshit!"

Tenkou was the epitome of grace and calm. "You have powers. You have only to find them."

Yuko glared up at him. "Easy for you to say! You're not the one having to figure out what the fuck they are! With no fucking clue what they are! I could have the power to make people SNEEZE and I wouldn't ever know it!"

"Lady Yuko, I seriously doubt this is the case," Miboshi sat on the ground at the edge of what they used as their practice arena. It was about a mile into the woods – well away from the inn and any potential visitors. The wide circular area had been cleared of any and all vegetation thanks to a series of brilliant lightning strikes from Soi. The dirt that was left was soft if a bit charred.

"Oh, that's it!" Yuko clenched her fists and ground out, "I don't care how many fucking lives I could save! It's not worth it!"

Tenkou glided to her side followed by Nakago. "Patience. It will take time to learn the nature of your powers."

"Perhaps what she needs is real danger," Nakago suggested calmly. "The former Priestess of Suzaku only discovered her latent power of protection after a...frightening encounter."

Yuko glanced quickly at him. "So what you want me to go throw myself of a cliff and see if I can fly!"

Nakago smiled. "Perhaps not in quite that way, but yes. We, of course, would be right there if a rescue seemed prudent."

"Oh, 'if a rescue seems prudent'," Yuko mocked him. She was in a decidedly bad mood and wasn't in the mood to be calmed down as of yet. "I could die!"

Nakago seemed about to offer yet another meaningless reassurance when his head snapped up. "Ah. It's about time. I was wondering if he would ever get here."

"Who?" Yuko asked, shocked out of her tantrum.

The other seishi looked up, too. They all seemed to be focusing on the same patch of woods. Yuko stared but could determine nothing special about the bushes and trees in that area.

"Who are —" she was interrupted by a violent shaking from said patch of woods. Her eyes grew wide and she took a few steps back. The shaking stopped, only to start again. No one spoke. No one moved.

Just when Yuko thought she would pass out from the tension, a dark figure leapt from behind the safety of the thick brush. She screamed and threw her hands up. And sharp crack deafened her for an instant before hands grabbed her hard around her stomach and pulled her.

"Oof!" she hit the ground with a thud and rubbed her stomach. Pulling up her shirt, she determined that — no — there were no bruises. "What in the world happened?" She asked without thinking and before she could look around.

An entire tree lay on the ground before her. The trunk nearer to the ground had been splintered, causing it to topple over. Had she not been moved, she would undoubtedly been crushed beneath the monstrous weight of the thing.

"Whoa..." Yuko looked at the gathered group with wide eyes. She quickly picked out a new face — though perhaps saying 'face' was being generous. The figure now half-crouching before Nakago was almost as much beast as man. From what Yuko could see, his entire body was covered with dark hair. Dark hair extended down his neck like a mane, and sharp canines protruded from his mouth. Brown eyes were fixed upon the ground. His nails had grown out until they resembled claws, and when he spoke it was a harsh, guttural sound.

"I am here." This simple sentence seemed to sum up everything. This could be none other than Ashitare: the last of the Seven. The final piece in the puzzle.

"Did you do that?" Yuko asked suddenly. She pointed to the huge tree now lying helpless on the forest floor.

Tenkou suddenly appeared before her, startling her. "No, my dear. You did."

"Me!" Yuko laughed. "You've got to be kidding me! There's no way I could do that! I didn't even get near it!"

"And yet the moment you extended your hand, the trunk...exploded."

Yuko looked at her hands. A thought came to her, and she thrust them away from her body. "What do I do with them?" she looked at Soi, about to panic.

Soi laughed. "Don't worry. You shouldn't have any problems with blowing yourself up. You haven't done it yet, have you?"

"No..." Yuko answered slowly. She slowly lowered her hands back to her side, though they were a bit stiff.

"Try to blow something else up," Tenkou encouraged. "We'll need to see if it was a fluke."

Sniffing, Yuko cautiously pointed at another tree. This time she made sure there was no way it would fall on them. Nothing happened. "Well, guess that solves that mystery," she cursed.

"Concentrate," Tenkou instructed firmly. "This time try thinking of something that frightens you."

"I'm not scared of anything!" Yuko protested.

"You only used your powers when Ashitare leapt out of the brush and frightened you," Tenkou countered.

Yuko muttered but called to mind the most frightening thing she could think of. She pointed again and...nothing. She glared at Tenkou.

Tenkou sighed. "Lady Yuko, you're going to have to —"

A large wolf growled suddenly behind them. Fangs flashed momentarily before it bounded straight towards Yuko's throat. She screamed again and threw up her hands. The tree behind the wolf splintered into a million pieces, leaving not even enough to fall. The wolf immediately disappeared.

"It appears that her aim could use some improvement," Tomo intoned with that creepy laugh of his. He held his Shin in one hand mockingly.

Yuko sat gasping for air. She wasn't used to being frightened and never twice within five minutes. "You — you bastard! I almost had a heartattack!"

"And yet now we know what you're true power is," Nakago commented. He turned towards Tenkou. "Is there any way to use it?"

Tenkou stared at her for a moment before regretfully shaking his head. "Her power is far too destructive. I need something with a gentler touch. Something with more control."

"What now?" Soi asked. The twins were silent and merely watched.

Tenkou paused. "There are still three other Priestesses. Each presumably with her own powers. One of them has to work. We will just have to find them and...convince them to join our cause."

Yuko felt tears well up. "Actually, there's only two left. One of them died."

Tenkou frowned. "No, there are —"

"I watched it happen," Nakago interrupted. "The one called Mieri was killed by wolves shortly after I found them. She tragically did not survive."

Tenkou frowned for a moment before nodding. "It's possible that I could be mistaken. It is difficult even for me to sense them. I merely assumed that I had lost contact."

Yuko angrily shook her head, banishing the tears. "Whatever. I don't want to talk about it."

"As you wish," Tenkou bowed slightly from the waist. "Well. Since it seems we have all seven of the seishi as well as having discovered Lady Yuko's powers...there is only one thing left to do."

"What's that?" Amiboshi spoke up suddenly. Beside him, Suboshi stiffened.

Tenkou smiled, slow and deliberate. "We find the other Priestesses, of course."