Notes: I've cleaned it up a bit since those first three reviews. (I really didn't think it mattered because no one reviewed at all when I first posted!) Finally people started reading it …Thanks for the imput!

(Notice how I left Asano and Sugimoto out, since they had virtually no role in the books). I tried to be consistent with the themes and overtones of Jyuuni Kokki the anime, and the novels, but I also want independent character development, which I felt was lacking for many of the major characters. Youko chose to live and by doing so, chose to be Queen, but I imagine her thoughts aren't as easy as that.

What would happen if Youko were actually given a real choice? That's where my story is headed. Please R&R. --Kero

Chapter Four

"Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none."

--William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet Act II, Sc.ii

Youko lay cold and slightly damp on a barren stone floor. Everywhere smelled of mold and decay. She could not tell if she had opened her eyes or not for she was surrounded in darkness. She tried to grope and feel around her, but Suiguu was nowhere to be found. She let out a sigh as she remembered what had happened to her last. Scattered recollections told her she had fallen into the river and lost consciousness after being knocked about against boulders in the body of the twisting water. At one point, when the current was pushing her further and further down, she wondered if she was going to drown.

Her body ached and she wondered if some of her bones might be broken. The chains and shackles tightly binding her ankles and wrists told her she was a captive, but other than that, the darkness around her lent no other clues. She resigned herself to thinking of those whom she held dear, and her thoughts came to one whom, in her sudden clarity of thought, was very dear to her.

"Keiki," she recalled as part of a conversation she and her kirin had no long ago. "Why is it that you have no other name, aside from 'Keiki'?" the queen had asked one brisk spring morning earlier on in her reign. She had perched herself rather unceremoniously on his window sill in his room.

"I was not given another name by You-Ou, and you have not given me one," he responded simply as he sat on his bed. It was still too early for the servants to come attend to him, but Youko, out of curiosity had discovered a secret passageway that led from one of her closets to the kirin's apartments. Keiki was rather surprised when he saw Youko sitting at his bedside and watching him as he slept, covered in dark splotches of dust and webs over her white nightdress and her face. She was like a child staring intently at a curiosity that she did not quite comprehend. He had blushed at the proximity of her face to his and sat up uncomfortably pulling the covers up, for he was still dressed in his night robes. Youko couldn't help laughing at his awkward shyness. This had unnerved him even more than the impropriety of her barging into his chambers while he slept.

"Enki is called Rokuta because of his origins in Hourai, but he is also called 'baka,' out of affection, of course," she smiled. In this world, the name means a cross between a deer and a horse utilized the words "ka" and "ba." Youko still found it hilarious every time she thought of it. She also wanted to be friends with her kirin, despite his dour and often stony exterior. But judging by her kirin's expression, still behind the veiled silk curtain of his bed, she knew it was a long, uphill task.

"I may not be able to name you either, Keiki," she sighed to the darkness. Even Jouyuu was gone now and she was completely alone. Though as a Queen blessed by Tentei she would not die of starvation; she was still hungry and was unaware of how much time had passed as she lay there with only her thoughts to comfort her.

After what seemed to be a very long time, as her body was stiff and weak from lack of exercise or nourishment, the stone wall finally opened, and what appeared to be a beautiful goddess stood illuminated in a doorway. She was dressed in beautiful and revealing robes that flowed everywhere. For a moment, Youko thought she had died.

"Not yet, Sekishi," said her captor as if knowing her thoughts. "But I will be the one to kill you. Before that, shall we have a little fun first?"

000

Suzu stood up and slammed a fist against the council room table. The pain from her hand helped her fight back her tears of anger at the thought of losing her friend to a bunch of lousy giant youman parrots. It was so unfitting for her Queen to go down like that.

"Is there nothing we can do to retrieve her?" she asked in a quiet, controlled voice. Shoukei rolled out a map of Kei, the most detailed in all the kingdom that was kept here in the royal strategy room, and measured the li from the beginning of the river to its end when it poured out into Koukai.

"We've been searching the length of the river for seven days now, starting from the point where Jouyuu saw her go down. All we have found is Suiguu and Hekisouju. But perhaps it is not the river that we should be looking at," said Shoukei steadily.

"Jouyuu also mentioned that the youman that had first taken Youko had uttered an incantation to forcefully release him from her," said Rakushun. He too was worried about his friend, but tried to remain as calm as possible for the sake of the others. The only others in the room were General Kantai, who had returned with the Royal Army after the disappearance of the Queen to report to Keiki for further instructions, Shoukei and Suzu, the queens loyal advisers, and Rakushun, who had rushed over from the Kei Daikoku the minute he heard from Shoukei what had happened, and Keiki. He was still sitting quietly in the corner of the room, not having uttered a single word since he entered.

"The Goddess Yin," said Shoukei. "I can't say that I've ever heard of her."

"When I was working with my former mistress, I had also traveled to Gozan to retrieve some holy water for her. I had overheard a story among the seinin servants there of a Goddess named Yin who was cast down from Tentei. I don't know why, though," said Suzu.

"The legend of Yin the Demon is among the mythical works included in the university. She was cast down for trying to overthrow the laws of Tentei, that prevented her from being with her mortal true love," suggested Rakushun.

"The Brotherhood has a smaller division set up in a town just south of where Youko was last seen. When I mentioned the name Yin to them, they said she was a demon witch that lived in a tower just on the outskirts of Kei. Legend has it that she had tried to seduce a mortal man after falling in love with him, and when he refused her because he was already betrothed to a human girl whom he loved, out of jealousy Yin tortured and killed them both and became a devil among youman. They said she eats human souls for fun and is the devil plotting the demise of all star-crossed lovers," said Shoukei.

"Either way, this Yin character can't be good news for Kei-Ou Sama. I doubt Yin forced out Jouyuu because she was performing a selfless exorcism," sighed Kantai. The others mumbled in agreement.

"Youko is very strong and has a will like iron," said Rakushun. "She's still alive, surely." A heavy silence filled the room as their worry continued to escalate.

"But she must be found as soon as possible," said Suzu. "There's nothing out there, and without her sword or food, she won't be doing very well. She can't heal as quickly without Hekisouju." Suzu's hands squeezed the edges of the map as she tried to clear her mind of all the terrible things that could have befallen Youko.

"Keiki-sama," said Shoukei gently, knowing that the kirin was still deeply affected by the disappearance of the queen. "Is there nothing that your shirei can do for us to find her?"

"Nothing," said Keiki wearily. All his shirei could not find the scent of the queen in the forest, as if traces of her had been erased or somehow made invisible and unnoticeable to them. The Royal army had tried to hunt down all the remaining youman in Wu Lin Forest before heading back, in an attempt to locate their Queen, but no one had reported seeing a tower or any other structure at the base of the mountains.

"But a kirin can sense his master no matter where she is," he said quietly as he stood up.

"Saiho-sama," said Kantai. "Let us of the Queen's Guard accompany you." Keiki nodded.

"I guess I will commiserate with the Taishi and the Chosai to keep her absence a secret from the other Ministers and from the people for as long as possible," sighed Rakushun.

"I will need Enho and Suiguu's assistance in locating Kei-Ou sama's general location," said Keiki.

"I'm going back to search for her by ground," said Suzu, also standing up. "The Brotherhood will assist me when I get there. Send your shirei to tell us which direction to look, Saiho-sama."

"I'm coming too," said Shoukei. "I'm not staying behind."

Rakushun looked at the two women and sighed. "Who will take care of the kingdom if you all leave to search for Youko?"

"There will be no kingdom if she dies," said Shoukei and Suzu simultaneously.

000

Youko lay in a state between consciousness and sleep, and her mind felt heavy and drugged. The incense burning in the corner of her cell gave up purple swirling smoke that nearly paralyzed her. All of her limbs felt very heavy.

"Why do you hate me so?" asked Youko, panting as she tried to breathe through the smoke.

"It's not personal. I'm waiting for Tentei to strike me down," laughed Lady Yin. Youko stared at her incredulously.

"Tentei has better things to do than trifle with you," answered Youko. "You aren't worth the effort." Her captor laughed dreadfully.

"Even if it's to save one of His precious Chosen Ones, Sekishi?" she jeered. "Without you, the kingdom of Kei will fail. I will oppress its people and eat their souls. Surely that cannot be the Will of Tentei!" She threw a goblet of animal blood at Youko, splashing her face with it. "I've been wanting to beat you with a stick like a common dog, to wipe that disgusting look of self-righteousness off your face. But I've found a more diverting means of toying with your life. The incense you are inhaling now weakens your mind I will soon learn your darkest and deepest fears, and to put it simply, I will drive you mad with them," she laughed. "Fare thee well, dear Queen, for you may no longer be yourself when I am through with you." Lady Yin stepped over and put her hand to Youko's forehead. Suddenly, Youko felt her mind covered in darkness, as if enveloped in a swathe of black velvet, and her vision failed her.

She thought she heard screaming, but faintly recognized the voice as her own. Her head felt as if it was being split in two by a butcher's knife as she felt a foreign presence probing further and further into the recesses of her mind. Then the pain finally stopped. She wondered if Lady Yin was through with her, but her head was still throbbing. Youko thought she was hearing voices in her head, but the voices gave way to a vision. She was back at Kimpa Palace. You-Ou was brushing her hair in front of a looking glass and it was as if Youko were right on the other side.

The prior queen was dressed in comfortable royal robes draped loosely over her shoulders over a simple gown. Her eyes looked haggard and hollow, as if she had not slept for months. Youko knew that You-Ou had left most of the administrating to the Ministers and the rest to Keiki, so she knew her predecessor could not have been overworked. But the responsibilities of the kingdom were taking a toll on her, as her youth began to disintegrate, and her mind became unstable. The blessing of Tentei was leaving her. She got up and opened the closet door to where the secret passage lay and disappeared through it.

Youko found herself looking into Keiki's room, where he was quietly sitting at a table pondering some ancient manuscripts. He looked up, ever unchanged by his immortality, surprised that You-Ou should be standing there.

"Kei-Ou Sama," he addressed politely.

"Keiki," said You-Ou and Youko at the same time. Her heart told her that she truly missed him and wished, or rather hoped, he would find her soon and get her out of here. In the meantime, she was forced to watch the scene playing out before her.

"The Minister of the Interior told me a very interesting story about these rooms. Legend had it that a prior ruler of Kei had fallen in love with her kirin, and had their rooms connected to carry out a love affair," smiled You-Ou. "Keiki, you love me, don't you?" asked You-Ou. He paused to think about her words and his response.

"I care about you very much…and I care about the kingdom. But I cannot love you in the way that you wish me to. It is against the Will of Tentei."

The face of You-Ou visibly colored. "Keiki, you are so awful!" screamed You-Ou. "You name me Queen but cannot give me the one thing I ask for in return! I hate you for doing this to me! I can't even resign or leave or else I'll die. This palace is no better than a prison. I can't trust anyone but you and you won't love me. I'm no good at government and you know it!" With a wave of her arm she swept off the manuscripts on the table and the parchment papers went flying and fluttering everywhere.

"If you could but learn some of the basics…" he started, almost apologetically.

"I can't learn any of this! I'm so miserable here!" she cried out and headed back to the passageway from which she came. Keiki stood in her way.

"Kei-Ou sama, you must abandon whatever feelings you harbor for me. It is poisoning your mind and it is aging you unnaturally. At this rate, you'll die…" he said softly. You-Ou's face brightened and she hugged him. "Oh, Keiki, you do care for me," she sighed and buried her face in his chest.

A kirin is supposed to be pure whispered a voice in Youko's head. That is how he maintains his power. To disobey the Will of Tentei means certain death…

Youko was still looking into Keiki's room, except the furniture was different, and the color of the room was different. A tall blonde man, also a kirin apparently, stood before the windowsill looking out at the pale face of the full moon. He was dressed loosely in night robes and Youko could see the soft pale light against his bare shoulder. On his bed a woman stirred herself awake, and she sat up while pushing back the curtain. She was beautiful; with long dark hair that washed in waves down her back. Without clothes she walked over to the kirin and rested her head on his back. Sadly, they were a very beautiful pair.

"We will surely be punished for this," said the kirin slowly.

"Then I defy the Will of Tentei to love you," whispered the woman.

"We will not survive the end of the year," he stated truthfully.

"Then I have never known happiness in my life until now. I do not regret forfeiting my life for this," she answered.

"The kingdom will suffer for what we have done," he sighed, the pain obvious in his voice.

"Then for this I am truly sorry," responded the woman honestly. "But I cannot stop loving you. May history forgive me for my crime, and may Tentei be merciful in bringing my death. Hold me once more my love. We have nothing to lose now…" her voice drifted. Her kirin turned around to embrace her and press her body into him.

Youko felt as though she should not have been watching, but she couldn't help it. The scene and their words were heartbreaking in that quiet room with the silver moonlight spilling over them. Youko had never heard of this queen, but instantly sympathized with her.

Don't you wish that it was you and your precious kirin?whispered a voice in her head.

"No," answered Youko flatly. "Keiki and I aren't like that."

Silly girl. I reached far into the recesses of your mind and I found this lingering in your heart. You had seen it through Suiguu because you had wondered who else had used the hidden passage you found that linked your two rooms together. Somewhere deep inside you you've always wanted to be loved. Neither your parents nor anyone else could give that to you. Now what do you have? You have the total affection of two men, one who is part mouse and other part deer. What a choice! The voiced laughed in mockery.

"Stop it," demanded Youko.

But, there is only one man who has been constantly by your side since he crowned you Queen. One who is never far from your thoughts. Surely it has crossed your mind…? After all, you are imperfect, little girl, and likely to make the same mistakes as your predecessors…

Youko suddenly found herself naked in a dark room awash with moonlight, with a pair of strong arms holding her close. The familiar scent of Keiki, like a faint ocean breeze in the morning, filled her nostrils.

"No!" protested Youko. She looked up and saw Keiki's gentle violet eyes staring back at her. "This is not what I want," she said weakly as he leaned over and touched his lips to hers. The strength left her arms and she could no longer push him away. Youko realized that she had never been kissed before, and she had always been curious…

"No…stop this…," she whimpered as he kissed her fully and deeply. Youko felt as though she wanted to weep. This isn't what I want. He brought her over to his bed and lay her down gently. Youko tried pushing him away but found her strength gone.

"This isn't what I want!" she cried out. "It isn't real! Ah--" she sucked in her breath as Keiki nuzzled the back of her neck with his nose and started to kiss behind her ear. She felt as though her body were on fire as she responded to his touch. His body then lay on top of hers, pressing against her.

"Stop it!" Youko demanded. "Stop this now!" She willed the vision to stop and all of it faded away. Youko was again on the floor of her cold cell, on her hands and knees beating a fist into the ground. Teardrops fell to the stone cold floor.

"Unlike you, I dared to achieve forbidden love and I was cast out of Heaven since I defied Tentei's Will. But you on the other hand will end up ugly and horrid just like You-Ou," smiled Lady Yin. "You might as well defy the Will of Tentei now, for all of your efforts will be for naught. It is your Destiny. You will fall in love with Keiki. Your love will ruin you and Keiki will suffer the Shitsudou, just as you saw in the past. Side with me and help me overthrow Tentei. When I take Heaven's Throne with my army of youman, I could let you and Keiki live on, without inhibitions, without regret. You can be with him forever," she smiled.

"And at what cost?" asked Youko simply. "No matter how I feel about Keiki, or how I will feel about him, I will not let my people fail or my capital fall to ruin simply because I am imperfect. I have faults enough, but such selfishness will not be one of them. Kei Koku needs me and I will not abandon my people." In the darkness, she heard the approach of Yin's hand and felt a swift slap across her cheek. She could taste the blood on her lip.

"I am merely accomplishing what you could not," Youko replied, using a finger to smear the blood on the Queen's face.

"You are a fool then who does not dare to live. You will simply do what they expect you to do, fall into the rules and laws of Tentei like a good girl. I am done with you, disgusting creature," she spat, and slammed the cell door behind her. Lady Yin leaned against the door and tapped at it thoughtfully.

"Unlike Tentei, I've given you a choice, ungrateful girl. I will have to carry out my other plan then. The one where I crucify your headless body at Heaven's Gate. Let us see who will save you, Sekishi. Or will you merely die horribly and your people will suffer nonetheless? I can't wait to see what happens." She let out a nasty little laugh and walked away.

Comments:

The Will of Tentei wants a utopia, but good never exists without evil in human or godly form. Granted, the people of Juuni Kokki can be pretty rotten, but if Heaven cast down Lucifer, and Narnia had a witch, and Oz presumably had one witch for each major direction (two of them evil), and Sauron's Master was also an outcast god in the Silmarilion, then the world of Juuni Kokki needs a devil. (I tend to think in patterns).

Unfortunately, I couldn't make up anything else about Yin for this chapter. Advice is always welcome. Hopefully, she's at least plausible. Please R&R. --Kero.