A/N: An update? Sorry for the long wait, brainstorming for this was easier than actually writing. I overthought it then just decided to write whatever felt right. As always, I hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave a review!

Chapter 5

A soldier bowed to a man with long blond hair and sharp blue eyes. "My apologies general, our men still haven't retrieved Suzaku's priestess." He says nervously, his gaze never straying from his feet.

"The only good news we have at the moment is that she hasn't been discovered by Konan either. Keep searching for those as well as those bearing the symbols of Seiryuu." The man ordered. Nakago watched as the soldier gave a hasty bow and ran out of the room. He sighed. What were the chances that their priestess and Suzaku's priestess would be found in such a short time frame? With both sides gearing up for war, the emperor was desperate to kill Suzaku's priestess before she could gather any guardians.

"Still no luck Nakago-kun? You'd think someone so evil would be easy to spot." Haru pouts, crossing her arms. The eccentric girl had accepted her current situation whole heartedly when she found herself trapped in a book. Here she wasn't the weirdo with no friends. Instead she had her very own knights and would bring justice to the kingdom! She was interrupted from her thoughts, blushing heavily as Nakago gave her slight smile.

"The witch will not be able to hide forever." He reassures her, lifting her hand to give it a delicate kiss. As the teen practically melted with the small sign of affection Nakago was all too aware with how his beauty was a double-edged sword. -Soon, I will use the power of Seiryuu to exact my vengeance on this world.-

XoXoXoXoXo

It took three days of traveling on foot but Yoshiko and her guardians finally made it to Tasuki's home. There was a tense atmosphere that had the young priestess on edge, her traveling companions hadn't seemed to pick up on it yet. "Tasuki-nii, how long have you been gone again?" Yoshiko asks nervously.

Tasuki just patted her head in reassurance. "Don't worry about it. I'll just let my brothers know you're here to help. If any of them make you uncomfortable, just hit them with that walking stick you found."

Yoshiko sweat dropped. The small fox responsible for separating her from the others had returned with what looked like a wooden staff. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Maybe it felt guilty? "Are you sure we can't just go with you?"

"Don't worry, Mitsukake can keep an eye out. And the boss doesn't harm kids." Tasuki says before walking off.

Yoshiko sighed. First Tasuki says that she needs to speak up, then walks off when she actually voices a concern. "Can we go over those herbs in the book again?" Yoshiko asks, figuring that they'd spend their time doing something useful. Mitsukake nodded a bit stiffly, maybe she wasn't the only one that had a bad feeling.

"This is a corydalis, they're used as a pain reliever when prepared in the correct way. And this one is-"

The sound of a twig breaking was the only warning the two had gotten before they were surrounded by bandits. Tasuki-nii you idiot! Yoshiko thought, not liking the looks that she in particular was getting from the men.

It took four men to restrain Mitsukake and even then he'd only submitted when Yoshiko had been captured. Seeing the barely restrained anger in his eyes made Yoshiko hope for the bandit's sake that the man stayed restrained. They were pushed roughly into a holding cell, one of their captors looking at Yoshiko with a sneer. "The boss will be happy to see another pretty face."

The door to their cage was locked as Yoshiko watched the men walk away, a gut feeling telling her that this "boss" wasn't the one Tasuki spoke so affectionately about. She was also thankful that they'd decided she was too weak to worry about and even let her keep her staff. At least that was an advantage of being a damsel in distress in these sorts of novels.

"I might be able to melt the lock if I concentrate hard enough. But I don't know if we'll be able to escape." Yoshiko says, hoping that Tasuki was safe wherever he was. At this point they'd need him to get out of here.

XoXoXoXoXo

Tasuki, on the other hand, was entirely clueless about the situation. His best friend, Kouji, had seen him and immediately pulled him aside. "Where have you been?" He demands.

"I brought a healer for the boss." Tasuki says, a tick mark appeared on Kouji's head as he punched Tasuki's head. "The boss passed away two weeks ago! And since you weren't here Eiken took over."

Tasuki's blood froze. That perverted bastard took over? How?! "Boss said we were supposed to take over. What happened?" He demands.

"He has the Tessen and burned anyone that protested his leadership. But with you here again, we can overthrow that bastard!" Kouji exclaims.

"Dammit, I thought it would be safe to bring them here. Gather up everyone that you can, hopefully Mitsukake can keep the little lady safe from that creep." Tasuki says.

Kouji raised an eyebrow, it wasn't often that Genro spoke fondly of women. Perhaps he'd matured during his journey after all. "A girlfriend of yours?"

Tasuki looked affronted. "No way, she's like a sister. One that isn't a demon in disguise." He grumbles.

XoXoXoXoXo

Yoshiko found herself dreading when the bandit leader would finally show himself. "The boss is ready to see you now." Yoshiko winced as she was pulled roughly from the holding cell, leaving Mitsukake alone. Despite the dire circumstances, something in the back of her head reassured her that everything would turn out alright.

She was led to a large room, a large man sitting on a throne with a tessen rested beside it. He was taking a bite from a piece of meat, not even attempting to clean up after himself. "So this is the girl that you found. This one has quite a pretty face." Yoshiko watched as the man stood from his throne, a hand outstretched to grasp her face. She shivered at the feel of cold and greasy hands. The look of hunger in his eyes like that of a predator. "And healthy as well. She should last a while."

One of the bandits looked sympathetic to her plight and interrupted with a cough. "The men said that she had an escort. Perhaps we could demand a ransom from her family." Kouji suggests. Eiken removed his hand to stroke his chin thoughtfully, Yoshiko would have fallen to the ground in relief if Kouji hadn't intervened. "We'll get you out of here safely Yoshiko, you have mine and Genro's word." He whispers.

Who is Genro? Yoshiko wondered, then it dawned on her. That must have been Tasuki's alias!

"I suppose you are right." Eisuke says gruffly. Yoshiko visibly jumped as they heard a loud commotion coming from outside. Eisuke grabbed the tessen with an annoyed scowl. "What's going on now?"

One of the bandits ran in, covered in fresh bruises and visibly wincing. "Genro has returned and is leading a coup!"

Eisuke only smirked. "He'll have to pry this tessen from my cold dead hands and he'll be charcoal before that happens."

XoXoXoXoXo

"You speak so surely for a coward that used poison to get his position." Tasuki states, looking unphased by the chaos outside. Behind him was Mitsukake, unrestrained.

"How dare you make such baseless accusations!" Eisuke pointed his tessen at Tasuki. "Tasuki-nii! Mitsukake-sensei!" Yoshiko exclaims.

Eisuke opened the tessen but before he could activate it's power Tasuki already had several talismen ready. Several wolves materialized and snarled as they ran towards Eisuke, the man losing his grip on the tessen and cowering behind the throne.

"Scared of illusions. You don't deserve the title of boss." Tasuki says, disgust lacing his disappointed tone. He picked up the tessen, watching as Eisuke flinched as it opened. "Burning would be too good a death for you."

Several bandits, this time on Tasuki's side, rushed in and dragged Eisuke to a holding cell.

Yoshiko ran over to Tasuki, nearly knocking over the older teen. "Next time I have a bad feeling, listen to me."

Tasuki scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that. If I don't listen feel free to hit me until I do."

She hugged Mitsukake as well, almost getting crushed in return. "So does this mean that you'll be taking over?" Yoshiko asks Tasuki, looking visibly distressed at the thought of Tasuki leaving.

Tasuki and Kouji looked to each other briefly. Kouji sighed. "I can keep things under control here now that Eisuke no longer has the tessen. I'll find you and kick your ass if you don't visit." Kouji says, punching Tasuki's shoulder.

"Like you ever could." Tasuki says with a grin.