Hello everyone! I hope you all can accept my deepest apologies for not updating in so long…Many things from school to more personal issues have gotten in the way and have greatly delayed my writing, so please forgive me! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7: Suzaku's Temple

"Nani?" Tasuki yelled, "You wanna try to kill Tenma? And just how the hell are ya gonna do that?"

"It does seem like a very…difficult task, Sakuradai-san. Are you sure you wish to go through with this, no da?"

"Definitely. My mind is made up. You two are going to help me, won't you?" Asahi asked, her eyes hopeful as she stared at the two Suzaku seishi. To her delight, Tasuki gave her an all-too-familiar grin.

"Hey, we don't wanna miss out on all the fun! Besides, we can't let you do this all by yourself, right 'Chiri?" The monk gave her a smile, this one different from the one he had on his mask.

"Of course. Even if our presence wasn't mandatory, we can't allow ourselves to let you go alone, Sakuradai-san."

At that Asahi couldn't stop the grin on her face from widening. A feeling of relief passed through her, knowing now that she wasn't going to take on this perilous task on her own.

Chichiri in the meantime blushed beneath his ever-smiling mask, now very thankful he wore the said item. He tried desperately to ignore Tasuki and Tai Itsukun's questioning and mischievous looks. They were both obviously intrigued by the monk's out of the blue kindness towards the new Suzaku no Ten'nyo.

"Uh, well, you said that we needed to head to the temples of the gods, right? Since Suzaku's temple is the closest, let's head there first."

"Hai. The temples a good distance from here, so I'll transportyou there," Tai Itsukun said, all traces of humor completely gone. As she raised her hands in a praying position, she glanced up at Asahi.

"Oh, by the way, I've heard that Tenma has many demon followers, and possibly even some human ones. Some can even disguise themselves as regular people. You can identify them however because they carry the same kind of symbol Tenma had on his chest. I believe in the world of the priestesses, that symbol is called the 'ouroboros'. Good luck to all of you!"

Suddenly the two Suzaku seishi and the Suzaku no Ten'nyo were shrouded in a white mist. Their surroundings became a blur as the threesome felt themselves being transported to the temple of Suzaku.

"Thank you for everything, Tai Itsukun!" Asahi yelled over the deafening roar of the wind.

The din reached it's climax and suddenly all was quiet. Asahi, Tasuki, and Chichiri were gone.

>. >. >. >. >.

Asahi screamed as she felt herself fall through the air. She squeezed her eyes shut as her rear hit something. To her surprise it wasn't wood or tile but…

"DAAAA!"

A certain monk named Chichiri.

"Ah! Chichiri-san! Daijobu?"

"Y-Yes…" Came a strained reply. "I'm fine, no da. Just-"

"BOTH OF YOU GET OFFA ME!" A certain (unfortunate) redhead barked, thrashing his limbs beneath the unceremonious dog pile.

After everyone had untangled their limbs and regained their composure, everyone turned their attention to their surroundings. The temple was stunning and a divine air could easily be sensed within the sacred building. Candles were the only source of light, adding further to the mysterious atmosphere. A golden sutachuu of Suzaku could be seen in the middle of the room. The statue's green eyes seemed to glow, it's light piercing through the thin red curtains surrounding it.

The temple was peacefully quiet; not even the boisterous Tasuki could be heard speaking. The only noise was the crackling of a huge fire which sat in front of the Suzaku sutachuu. The gold surrounding the fire was decorated with the kanji characters of the seven Suzaku warriors. In the middle was the brightest Kanji character of all; the Kanji character for 'Ten'nyo'.

Without another word, Tasuki, Chichiri, and Asahi took their places at the sacred flames. Automatically, as if she was being controlled, Asahi rose her arms to the heavens. In a soft yet strong voice, she spoke.

"Suzaku! God of Konan! Descend from the southern skies and bestow upon me, the Suzaku no Ten'nyo, your blessing!"

Winds suddenly accelerated. They whistled and howled as it became a swirling vortex surrounding the fire. Tasuki squinted, staring at Asahi in amazement. The normally soft-spoken girl stood unflinchingly against the howling winds, her confident stance unmoving no matter how the winds ripped at her.

Chichiri lifted his kesa in a protective gesture as he watched the flames dance and reach higher and higher for the sky. Just when he though the noise would overcome him, the winds vanished, not even leaving the slightest trace of it's presence.

Asahi looked into the fire and was met with a pair of intense emerald green eyes. Flaming red hair, redder than Tasuki's, was probably the entity's most distinguishing feature. A red kanji character could also be seen on the newcomer's forehead. This was the god of the south. Suzaku.

Immediately Asahi's confidence left her. She bowed deeply, not daring to make further eye contact with the phoenix got. To her surprise, she heard a deep friendly chuckle that seemed to sound off throughout the temple.

"Be at ease, Asahi Sakuradai. I am pleased to see you here." Asahi promptly straightened, forcing herself not to stammer.

"Suzaku-sama, thank you for coming to our aid." The god nodded. "I wish to destroy the demon known as Tenma. I was directed by Tai Itsukun to go to the four temples of the gods."

"Yes. Although your own powers will be very strong, to completely destroy Tenma you will need to blessings of me and my brothers. So, Asahi Sakuradai, I give my blessing to you and your two companions, for their strength will be needed as well."

The threesome began to glow red as the southern guardian's blessing coursed through them. Asahi closed her eyes, feeling Suzaku's flame wash over her and surge through her veins. Within moments, the feeling was gone, and Asahi felt no different then before. She looked up at Suzaku, puzzled.

"While my powers can make you stronger, only you can unlock them. The same goes for you, Tasuki and Chichiri." The monk and bandit bowed simultaneously.

"Domo arigatou, Suzaku-sama. We will help Sakuradai-san in her quest as much as we can."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot, yer holiness." Suzaku nodded, his eyes fixed upon his two surviving seishi.

"At the moment, Asahi has no yet fully awakened to her powers. Until she realizes her full potential, I must request that the two of you train her as you journey to the other three countries."

"Of course, Suzaku."

"Tasuki, before you leave for the next country, take Asahi back to Mt. Reikaku and have her choose a weapon. She shall use that as she continues to discover her skills."

"Chichiri, you in the meantime shall train Asahi to control and unlock her celestial powers. I am sure you will know how to do that?"

"Yes, Suzaku-sama. Thank you again."

"Douitashimashite. Now hurry, and good luck to you." There was a crackle of flames, and the phoenix god was gone.

>. >. >. >. >.

Asahi smiled as she looked up at Mt. Reikaku. The place for the daring mountain bandits had now practically become her home. Thankfully, since they were in a Suzaku temple, Chichiri thought it would be alright to teleport to the mountain instead of walk. And, although the landing was…rough, Asahi was glad to be back.

>. >. >. >. >.

Tasuki decided not to waste too much time and took Asahi straight to the armory with Koji and Chichiri in tow.

Asahi gasped. She had never seen so many weapons before! Spears, swords, and daggers of all lengths and sizes could be seen on the walls. There were some bows, both long and short, an assortment of armor, and even some clubs. Tasuki grinned, obviously finding Asahi's amazement entertaining.

"Well, whaddaya waitin' for? Try some stuff out, see what ya like!" Asahi nodded obediently, walking toward one of the weapon covered walls.

After about 30 minutes Tasuki was feeling both shocked and annoyed at Asahi's lack of knowledge when it came to weapons. Koji in the meantime was trying hard not to burst out laughing and Chichiri simply sat patiently, not speaking at all.

Poor Asahi had absolutely no prior knowledge of weaponry and could have been compared to a bull in a china shop at the way she clumsily handled any of the accoutrements. Many a time she tried picking up a seemingly light sword or dagger, and she would almost kill herself or someone else with it as it's weight would be too much for her and she would topple over with the weapon still in hand. Any blades that she could lift were about as flimsy as a child's toy and were just as useless as the heavier blades.

Spears were not much better, considering Koji had started telling a gruesome tale about a spear incident he had with another bandit, resulting in a flat refusal to try any spears out no matter how much Tasuki tried to coax her.

It seemed like Asahi would never get a weapon until…

"Koji-kun?"

The blue haired bandit jumped at the sound of his name, wiping away some drool as he rubbed all traces of sleep from his eyes.

"What's that, over there?" Koji looked to where Asahi's finger pointed. It was a bow. Perfect for both long distance shooting and shooting from a horse, the weapon was just a little smaller than a long bow. Its string was in perfect condition and the wood looked sturdy and strong. Koji walked over to it, picked it up and a matching quiver of arrowed and handed them both to Asahi.

"Hm…this stuff looks like it was made by a real expert," He said, examining them. "Whoever the hell made this sure knew what he was doin'! So, How does it feel?"

"It's very light!" Asahi replied happily, "and it fits in my hand perfectly! Tasuki-kun, what do you think?"

The red head took the bow, plucked its string, and experimentally tested the strength of its wood. When he was done, he gave Asahi a smile and a thumbs up sign.

Finally! He thought, grinning. "Looks good ta me, Asahi-chan!"

Asahi smiled. She turned towards Chichiri when she suddenly remembered his cold words.

"With all due respect, Sakuradai-san, I think of you only as someone who needs to see Tai Itsukun, and I am simply your escort."

The mental fatigue Asahi felt that night suddenly rushed back to her, and her shoulders began to slump. Tasuki and Koji began to speak about her sudden mood swing when…

"Boss! Boss!" A young man, probably just a bit younger than Chichiri, raced into the room, his panic-stricken face sending fear into everyone.

"What's the matter, Kazuki?"

"We're under attack! It's a youkai!"

>. >. >. >. >. >.

Ah, I'm soo evil...I love it. Once again, sorry for having such an incredibly late update...I did work really hard though so...(I've already got part of the first draft of the next chapter started too, so I'm not completely hopeless! 'Course I did forget to write up the next chapter for "Eighth Star" but...oh well...)

Well, time to indirectly answer reviews! (haha, take that, off, I'm so sorry about not updating...(again) so to a certain reviewer, please don't smack the shit out of me like a pinata! (you know who you are)

Next, to a certain reviewer who has reviewed despite how terrible my updating has been, Happy (belated) birthday! (If you have no idea who you are, check the review page :)

Lastly, thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing the chapter! I'm so sorry I haven't updated again, but please try to understand that a lot of shit has happened to me recently so it wasn't quite all my fault. Kudos to all of you who reviewed:throws Kudos at reviewers:

Reviewer 1:Kudo hits them in the eye: OW! YOU CRAZY BITCH!

Reviewer 2: ABUSE! ABUSE! GET HER!

Pil-Z: ...SHIT!

Okay, the first person who reviews gets to own Chichiri for the day:holds up Chichiri with a "for sale" sign on him: Just kidding. :throws Chichiri away: But review anyway or I shall send him after you:holds up sign that says "Beware of attack monk": Kidding on that too. REVIEW ANYWAY!

Translations for stuff:

sutachuu: Statue

douitashimashite: You're welcome

sama: Respective word put at the end of people's name (more respective than 'san', in some fanfics you may see 'sama' added to Hotohori's name since he's an emperor)