-Ten-Faced Paladin
Fushigi Yugi: Dansei Tsure by Ten-Faced Paladin Chapter 5: The Seven Constellations of Suzaku.
Miaka was sitting in her room in a depressed state. Even though she was fresh from the baths and getting ready for bed, she looked anything but peaceful. All the ramifications of being sealed in the book were coming to her mind. Her family and friends were all out of her reach and they might think she was dead before long. Even worse, in her mind, was what she was going to do for underwear.
Outside her room, Tamahome and Matthew, who were partially ready for bed as well, were silently watching Miaka go through her series of gloomy faces. Tamahome was regarding Miaka with a strange eye.
"I take it that this happens a lot," Tamahome remarked.
"From time to time," Matthew sighed. "Except this time she has an actual reason to be depressed. we're cut off from going home."
"I would be depressed about that too if I couldn't go home," Tamahome nodded in understanding.
"Yeah," Matthew nodded. "What are you waiting for Tamahome? Go comfort her."
"Huh?" Tamahome gaped. "Why me? You're from her world. You go."
"But you'd do a better job of it," Matthew argued. "She likes your attention better anyway."
"You're just lucky that I'm not going to charge you since I was going to do that anyway. The emperor is worried about her." Tamahome sighed. "But you're still going to help."
"Whatever," Matthew sighed. "Just go already!"
Tamahome shrugged and walked into the room while Matthew leaned on the doorframe. Miaka was too busy going into her gloom to notice either of them. Tamahome simply took a seat behind Miaka and bonked her gently on the head, catching Miaka's attention.
"Nice faces there," he smiled gently.
Miaka suddenly snapped out of her gloom and looked up in shock at the two boys in her room. She gasped and recoiled slightly.
"T-Tamahome! Matthew! How dare you two sneak into my room!" she shrieked.
"Ah calm down would you?" Matthew sighed. "We're just worried about you. Heck, even that Hotohori guy is worried."
"Yeah," Tamahome confirmed. "The entire empire is going nuts over you, miss preistess of Suzaku. They're even letting me stay in the palace thanks to you."
"Humph," Miaka pouted. "You don't have to keep me company. It's not like I'm lonely or anything."
Tamahome shook his head while Matthew sighed in slight agitation. Tamahome then looked at Miaka who had his back turned to him. In the blink of an eye he wrapped his arms around Miaka and held her close in a caring hug. Matthew smiled and decided to let the two lovebirds have a moment together as he left the room.
"Don't pretend," Tamahome whispered in Miaka's ear.
"Ehh?" Miaka gasped in complete surprise while extreme heat started flooding to her face.
"When it's time to cry, cry with all your heart. That's the first step to feeling better," Tamahome smiled. "Special offer, free of charge. I'll be your big brother. How's that?"
Miaka replied with a sniffle as she gripped Tamahome's shirt even tighter. She felt just so warm and comfortable and didn't want to leave. She didn't care if Tamahome was some character in a book, he was real enough to her.
"You know, I was thinking," Tamahome commented. "If you really want to go home, why don't you just get the power of Suzaku? You'd be home in no time flat."
"He's got a point," Matthew commented from outside the room. "With Suzaku on our side we could do just about anyhting."
"What are we waiting for?" demanded Miaka with a huge smile. "We gotta see Hotohori!"
Miaka then made a mad dash for the door. She was about to race down the hall when Matthew caught her by the back of her shirt.
"As much as I'm sure Hotohori would love to see you in this little ensamble," Matthew snickered, gesturing to her clothes or lack of. "I'm pretty sure you'd prefer to be fully clothed."
"Eep!" Miaka blushed furiously as she went back into her her room to change. Tamahome was hurled out a slpit-second later. The door then slammed shut as Miaka began getting her things.
"Well I say we cheered her up," Tamahome smiled as he stood up.
The door opened as Miaka came out in her full school uniform. Her hair was done up in a simple ponytail as she stepped into the hall.
"What are you two waiting for?" she asked impatiently. "Time's awastin'!"
Tamahome and Matthew looked at each other in slight confusion at her change in attitude. The both just shrugged in resignation and followed Miaka. Unfortunately she still hadn't quite figured out the layout of the palace. It took asking for directions from a servant before they found Hotohori's study.
"Miaka!" Hotohori smiled from his desk. "I'm sorry. I've just been so busy so I couldn't spend any time with you."
"Oh don't worry Hotohori...I mean your majesty," Miaka smiled cutely. "Say, I was wondering just how I could obtain the power of Suzaku."
"I was just researching that myself," Hotohori replied. "It's in this scroll Universe of the Four Gods."
"No way!" Miaka gasped while Matthew's eyebrows rose. "That's the book we're in!"
"Indeed," Hotohori nodded, not getting what Miaka meant. "It is a scroll of prophecies handed down from Tai Yi-Jun to Tai Ju, my ancestor."
"Cool," Matthew nodded. "What does it say about our brand new priestess and her powers?"
"In the book there are twenty-eight holy constellations," Hotohori explained. "Each of the cardinal points, North, South, East, and West claim seven of them. The southern seven are know as 'The Suzaku' in general terms."
"So what do the seven constellations have to do with us?" asked Tamahome.
"I'm just getting to that," Hotohori smiled. "The seven constellations of Suzaku are called Chichiri, Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Tasuki, and Mitsukake."
"Wait a sec," Matthew began.
"Tamahome and Hotohori?" gaped Miaka.
"That's correct," Hotohori smiled brightly as he pulled his collar down to reveal a symbol on his neck. "I Hotohori and Tamahome along with the rest of the seven constellations must protect the priestess of Suzaku so that she may recieve her magical powers."
"So that's what the book meant by collecting the seven constellations," Matthew grinned. "It meant the seven warriors who are meant to protect the priestess!"
"Y-you mean that there are five other people out there with markings on them?" Miaka cried.
"Yes," Hotohori nodded. "If you don't personally find the other five warriors then you will not obtain the power of Suzaku. Says so right here in the scroll."
"What is this?" asked Miaka sadly as she went swirly-eyed. "Some kind of RPG?"
"Would you just get a grip?" Matthew and Tamahome sighed as they tried to calm her down.
When her eyes landed on Tamahome, she seemed to come to her senses. She shook her head slightly before she stepped closer to him.
"Did you know about this Tamahome?" she asked seriously.
"I knew that my name came from a constellation but...I guess I'm supposed to protect you huh?" Tamahome replied, still recovering from his surprise.
"That would be the general assumption," Matthew nodded, his mind curious as to what role he held in this mysterious play.
Miaka suddenly gasped as something came to her. She had only three months until her high school exams. If she didn't find the other five warriors before then...
"I'll be held back!" Miaka cried out loud as she began to flail in panic. "Oh constellation number three, where art thou?!"
"Now hold on, no need to panic yet," Hotohori said calmly. "There's a clue as to the whereabouts of the third constellation. Are you even listening?"
"She'll catch up later," Matthew commented as he peered over Hotohori's shoulder to look at the scroll. "What about that clue?"
"Ah, yes," Hotohori continued. "The third constellation is referred to as the characters gong and wu. The first means palace and the other means fierce strength."
"Which probably means that the third constellation is in the palace and is amazingly strong in one way or another."
"My thoughts exactly," Hotohori nodded. "I do wonder however Matthew, would you by any chance have a birthmark of any kind?"
"Huh?" wondered Matthew. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it just seems to be curious to me," Hotohori explained. "I mean, you have been with Miaka since she first came to this world if what you said yesterday was true. You stuck with her through thick and thin even as you were imprisoned. Not to mention that you were willing to put yourself in danger alongside Tamahome to protect Miaka. That sort of dedication takes a fiercely strong heart in my opinion."
"He's got a point there," Tamahome nodded. "We may not get along all the time but I think we make a pretty good team. Maybe a little fighting experience and we'd be even better."
"Woah, hold on," Matthew said in slight amazement. "You guys think that I might be either Nuriko, Mitsukake, Chichiri, Chiriko, or Tasuki?"
Hotohori nodded in confirmation while Tamahome just shrugged. Miaka, on the other hand seemed to have been listening to the conversation and promptly freaked out.
"Whaaaaaaat?!" she shrieked. "No way! Matthew can't be a constellation!"
Matthew obviously took a little offense to that remark, "And just why can't I? I think I can handle it. I've been helping Tamahome protect you enough to qualify in my opinion!"
"You're so rude!" Miaka huffed. "A constellation must always be respectful and kind to his priestess."
"Name one time when I've been rude to you," Matthew frowned.
"How about when we first met?" Miaka asked. "You barely said two words to me!"
"Do you know how bad my Japanese was then?" Matthew asked incredeously. "With how fast you were talking I barely caught a sentance from you. I was lucky Yui was able to speak English."
"Fine," Miaka huffed, seeing his point. "How about all those times when me or Yui invited you over to our houses? You turned us down every time! That's so mean!"
"You only asked me once," Matthew pointed out. "I was still learning a few customs when you asked. I didn't want to enter your house and accidentaly insult your family. Besides, Yui asked later and she and I have hung out a few times since then."
"Urg!" Miaka grunted, finding that she was losing the battle of wits. "Okay, how about all those times you laughed at me?"
"You do realise that you were doing some really silly things," Matthew replied. "Who wouldn't laugh? I wasn't doing it to be mean."
"Well it still hurt my feelings," Miaka commented quietly.
Matthew sighed and looked at Miaka with a slight frown, "Sorry. I didn't know."
Miaka looked at Matthew and saw the real regret at hurting her in his eyes. She smiled slightly.
"Well now that that's over," Tamahome snickered. "Do you have a mark Matthew?"
"As cool as it would be to be a celestial warrior," Matthew sighed. "I can't say that I am. I don't have any kind of mark that you're looking for."
"Ah well," Tamahome shrugged. "It was worth a shot."
"Not having the mark can still just mean that you are a warrior but are not aware of it," Hotohori remarked. "I wouldn't throw out the idea of you being a constellation just yet."
"I'll keep it in mind," Matthew smiled. "In the meantime, how are we going to discover the third constellation?"
"I actually have an idea about that," Hotohori smiled. "But it will have to wait until morning."
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While the sun was high over the palace, Hotohori, Tamahome, Miaka, and Matthew were all shaded underneath a canopy provided by the servants. In front of them was a single adviser and a small group of soldiers. They were all bowing before their emperor.
"It is quite simple," Hotohori nodded to his friends. "When we find the most valiant man in the palace then we'll have found the third constellation. Simple."
"How are we even sure it's a man?" asked Matthew silently, even if no one heard him.
"As your majesty requested," the advisor announced. "We have selected the finest warriors in the palace."
Hotohori snapped his attention back to his advisor and nodded in acknowledgement, "Well done."
Miaka was looking frantically at the group of soldiers, "Do any of you have a mark that appears on your body?"
Tamahome smirked from his seat, "It doesn't appear just because the guy wants it to. He might not even know he has it."
He smirked before he stood up and walked towards the soldiers while rubbing his knuckles, "Let me test them a little."
He stopped in front of the soldiers with a confident smile on his face, "Personally, I'd prefer the other five to be hot babes, but now then!"
Miaka humphed as a sour look came to her face. Matthew unleashed a silent snigger which got Miaka to shoot him a death glare. He just ignored it before Miaka turned her attention back to Tamahome who was now going at the soldiers.
"Well excuse my lack of babe-itude," she frowned. "But I would rather have five buff guys so there!"
Her rant was cut off as everyone witnesssed Tamahome really kicking some butt. His blows were breaking the shields of some of the soldiers and his punches were being felt by the men despite the armor they were wearing. Soon they were out cold on the ground and Tamahome was in a ready position in the middle of them.
"Huh?" he asked, confused. "Is that it?"
"Get carried away much?" Matthew snickered
"Tamahome," Hotohori sighed. "Our purpose was not to allow you to show off."
Miaka smiled as she brushed a stray hair back behind her ear. She then put on her most charming smile and a strange sparkle came to her eyes.
"Looks like it's my turn," she smiled.
"And what would you have in mind?" asked Hotohori curiously.
"I'll be fine!" she smiled. "The only thing my teachers ever compliemented me on was my speed!"
"Oh yes," Matthew nodded. "Faster than a speeding dodgeball, more powerful than a string with food, able to leap entire worlds with a single bound, it's...Super Miaka!"
He then met with a fist to the back of his head from Miaka herself. He staggered slightly but soon regained himself. He smiled brightly at Miaka who just frowned darkly at him.
"Anyhow," Miaka sighed, returning to her train of thought. "A truly valiant man would never touch a girl. Sort of like how dogs don't bark too much. Just watch."
As Miaka prepared herself to execute her plan, Three extra witnesses to the festivities could be found watching from the palace. Three beautiful women to be exact. The woman in the lead seemed deadset on seeing everything while the other two apparently just wanted to leave.
"Kang-Lin, we have to go back!" one begged. "We'll be scolded for this!"
"So that's the priestess of Suzaku that everyone is talking about," the leader Kang-Lin said out loud, ignoring her friend's words. She watched with a frown at how close Miaka was standing next to the emperor.
"Why is she so friendly with his majesty?" she asked with a frown. "She is no empress."
Her eyes then darted over to Tamahome. She stared at him for a moment before she continued to speak again, "Who is that man standing over there?"
"He is one of the protectors of the priestess. A celestial warrior of Suzaku. Tamahome," one of the two other women replied.
"Hmm," Kang-Lin pondered before she turned her gaze to Matthew, "What about him? He is rather tall and his eyes seem a bit larger than normal."
"Oh," one of the girls giggled, "I have heard that his name is Matthew. Odd isn't it? His majesty thinks that he might be one of the celestial warriors. I don't care either way, he's still just as handsome."
"A foreign charm," the other girl sighed. "If the emperor does not choose me as a bride then I might just go after him."
"Ugh," Kang-Lin sighed. "Spare me. The emperor is the only one for me. No other man will suffice."
While the girls talked, Matthew actually noticed them spying on the proceedings. Deciding to check it out, he turned to Hotohori.
"Excuse me for a moment," he whispered. "But some young ladies seem interested in seeing this."
Hotohori smiled, "Ah how some people flock. Feel free to invite them over. I'm sure they would love to if they are trying to see from so far away."
Matthew smiled and stepped out of the shade of the canopy. He walked to the stairs and began making his way up the stairs to the three women. The two behind the pillar were growing nervous while the one who was in full view seemed unfazed.
"Good day ladies," Matthew smiled. "Can I ask why you three are all here while everyone else is down with the emperor?"
"Well," the lead woman sighed. "We three are from the Inner Seraglio. We are supposed to be there at all times in case the emperor is in need of our 'attentions'."
"Uh-huh," Matthew nodded. "So then you technically can't be here despite the emperor being here."
"Correct," the woman in the lead nodded. "Really we need permission to travel to the other places like this since we are so important to the future of the empire."
"I'm sure," Matthew nodded. "Well, since I am a friend to the emperor and the priestess of Suzaku, would my permission to join us down there be enough?"
The woman brightened intensely, "Oh of course it is! My name is Kang-Lin. These two are my friends Xong-Sui and Ko-Long! Come on girls!"
Xong-Sui and Ko-Long both stepped out and nodded in thanks to Matthew. They were both striking in their own ways, Matthew noticed. Xong-Sui was a girl of fair complexion with heir black hair tied back in a bun. Ko-Long let her hair fall back freely and had jeweled ribbons running through it. They were both blushing as Matthew smiled at them.
"So polite," Ko-Long giggled.
"So charming," Xong-Sui smiled.
"Shall we ladies?" asked Matthew, gesturing to the crowd. The three women nodded excitedly.
Matthew led the way down the stone steps with the three women following him. He idly wondered how the guys back home would react to him having three beautiful women flanking him. They'd probably ask what he did with them and if he could get anymore for them. He looked to see that Miaka was in trouble...again.
Apparently, Miaka had thought that goading the soldiers to attack her would be a smart move. That way she could tell which one was the constellation by how they would refrain from attacking her. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on none of them apparently being the constellation. That turned out to be the case as all the concious soldiers were taking swipes at her. Even as everyoe watched, one guard was picking up heavy stone carvings and was preparing to hurl them at Miaka.
"Dammit!" Matthew cursed, "Excuse me ladies!"
Matthew then raced for the main grounds to get the soldiers to stop. Ko-Long and Xong-Sui watched in fascination as he ran. He blew right past Hotohori as Tamahome began teaching the soldiers a lesson. Miaka was currently standing underneath a small structure. The carvings that the soldiers had thrown had hit several pillars and were causing the structure to wobble.
Hotohori noticed this as he saw Matthew charge forward, "Miaka! Get away from there!"
Miaka looked up as the building began to shake more violently. Tamahome also gasped as he saw what was happpening. Without thinking, he charged forward towards the young girl. Hotohori could just stand before the entire structure came crumbling down.
"MIAKA!!!"
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Back in Miaka and Matthew's world, things were apparently running rather smoothly. At the moment, Yui and a couple of her friends were at the bookstore making a couple of purchases. Yui was just at the counter paying for what she picked out.
"Hey Yui," one of the girls called. "What did you buy?"
"A textbook," she replied seriously. She held the look for about a moment before she broke out in a smile. "Just kidding! I got some manga."
"Oh sure," another friend pouted. "Geniuses don't have to study."
The girls shared a small laugh at this. They were about to leave when one of them gasped and pointed at Yui.
"Yui!" she cried in shock. "What happened?!"
"Huh?" was Yui's only reply. "What do you mean?"
"Your skirt!" the same friend spoke. "There's blood on it!"
"Not only that," another friend gasped. "It's running down your arm too!"
Yui looked down at herself and saw that her friends were actually right. There was a large dark red stain on her skirt. She also checked her right arm and saw that there was blood dribbling down her hand. She checked her wrist and found no injury but that the blood was coming from her wristwatch. Yui secretly hoped that she could get whatever it was out. Matthew had given it to her for her birthday even though he was only in Japan for a few weeks. She cherished the small timepiece because of that. He was truly a good friend despite what Miaka thought.
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Miaka shifted slightly in the darkness. She could feel a stabbing pain running through her leg and the hot blood pooling out of it and soaking into her outfit. She knew that the building had collapsed on her but she just wasn't sure about one thing.
'How am I still alive?' she wondered to herself as she opened her eyes. Her eyes then bugged out at what she was seeing.
Above her were both Tamahome and Matthew, holding up the rubble. Tamahome was straddling Miaka, keeping the rocks from crushing her while Matthew was using the right side of his body to keep the rocks from caving in on that side. Miaka could feel something warm touching her hand and she looked to see that it was blood dripping onto her hand. She looked up to see that the blood was dripping from Matthew's forearm.
"Tama...home?" she gasped quietly. "Ma...tthew?"
"Urgh," Tamahome grunted. "Most of the soldiers are out cold so there aren't enough people to move this stuff!"
"You'd think that an emperor would have more than just those here to protect him," Matthew groaned.
Miaka stared wide-eyed at her two friends. She did feel something cover her before all the rubble crashed. Not to mention that it had felt lighter on her right side than the left.
"You guys have to stop!" Miaka cried desperately. "You'll be crushed by this stuff. Please stop!"
"Stupid! I told you I'd look after you right?" Tamahome asked with a grunt. "So no matter what, I'll always protect you!"
"Heh," Matthew groaned. "I may not be a celestial warrior, but you are still my friend Miaka. No way I'd just let anything happen to you."
Miaka was struck speechless by the declarations. She blushed healthily at Tamahome's words. Matthew's words touched her soul and made her realise that maybe the things Yui had said in his defence were actually true.
Tamahome's arms suddenly began to buckle as he struggled to keep the weight up. Matthew wasn't much farther behind him as he started shaking from the sheer weight as well.
"Dammit," Tamahome groaned as he was pressed closer to Miaka. "I can't hold it...much..."
Miaka didn't know what to do now. She was about to be crushed under tons of rock and she was going to take not only Matthew, but Tamahome with her. She felt despair sink into her heart at the end drawing so close. She thought it was going to happen when more rumbling could be heard. Tamahome and Matthew felt their strength about to give out when the weight was suddenly lifted from their bodies. They turned to the light as a new voice called to them.
"So, you're still alive?" the new person asked. "You lucky devil you."
The three trapped in the rubble turned to see who had saved them. It appeared to be a woman with long hair done up in a braid and had a mole below her left eye. Tamahome and Miaka didn't seem to know her, but Matthew had a different reaction.
"Kang-Lin?" he asked in shock. "How did you get us out of here?"
"Oh Matthew," the woman giggled. "A woman never tells her secrets. Now you'd better get out here. Xong-Sui and Ko-Long are so worried about you."
Matthew, Tamahome, and Miaka were all brought out of the rubble. They were seated on the ground while the healer made his rounds to each of them. Xong-Sui and Ko-Long were fussing over Matthew like he was on his deathbead.
"Really girls," Matthew sighed as he gripped his wound. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch really."
"But it's so deep!" cried Ko-Long.
"Yes!" Xong-Sui nodded. "You could have died!"
"But I didn't," Matthew smiled. "So what's the fuss about? Once I'm healed up then it'll be like it never happened."
Hotohori smiled at the attention Matthew was recieving. He was very modest. No doubt he would have made an excellent priest if he had chosen to take the position rather than Miaka. Thinking of her, he turned his attention to her and his fellow warrior.
"Doc, I'm dyin," Tamahome groaned faintly.
"You did very well in protecting the priestess Tamahome," Hotohri smiled.
"He didn't do very well at all!" Miaka snapped angrily. "What would we do if he died?!"
Tamahome grinned weakly as he sat up straight, "I only did what I felt like doing. Eventually though I will be expecting some expensive thank-you gifts."
Miaka blushed again as she nodded a small thanks. Satisfied that things were in hand, Hotohori turned his attention to Kang-Lin.
"Aren't you from the Inner Seraglio?" he asked. At her nod, he continued. "That power you showed, removing stones of incredible weight as if they were noting. You wouldn't happen to be..."
Kang-Lin smiled as she pulled down the neck of her robes to reveal a marking near her collar bone.
"I am Kang-Lin," she introduced. "Or Nuriko as in the constellation."
"Always in the last place you'd look," Matthew remarked in surprise.
"So she's a woman!" Miaka exclaimed while standing up. "Thank you for rescuing me! I'm Miaka Yui!"
Kang-Lin, now known as Nuriko, just wordlessly walked past Miaka and towards Matthew and Tamahome. She then turned to face Miaka with a mischevious smirk on her face.
"The only one's I wanted to save were these two handsome men," she smiled. "Matthew because several of us in the Seraglio are curious about him and Tamahome..."
Nuriko decided to let her actions do the talking. She walked gracefully over to Tamahome where the doctors were tending to him. She grabbed his arms and before he could get two words out, she planted her lips right on his, stiffling any protests he had.
"T-T-Tamahome!?" Miaka gasped.
Matthew watched the fierce liplock in slight surprise. He also felt something like the willies run down his spine. He wasn't sure why but for some reason he had began to feel creeped out when he saw Nuriko kiss Tamahome. He just figured it was just nerves.
How wrong he would find out he was.
To Be Continued...
A/N: I'm back folks. After a nice relaxing christmas break and some time to collect my thoughts, here I am to send you more chapters to my stories. I hope you all enjoy this. Now three warriors are found. You're probably still wondering just how Matthew is playing into all this, you'll find out eventually. Bet you can't guess though.