Chapter Seventeen
"Are you sure that you really want to go this far?"
Maichu cast his companion a glance, a flicker of concern stirring in his dark eyes as he observed the Meihi's slow, faltering progress. It was still early, yet the sun had already begun to climb in the dazzling azure sky, and the young soldier knew that although as yet temperatures had not climbed into the highest range, it was still a bright, warm morning in Kounan.
Going to the stream had been Chichiri's idea, for before they had left he had murmured in the young soldier's ear about the wild fruit trees that populated the area and Maichu, still concerned by his Commander's lack of appetite had agreed immediately at the prospect of a quiet, peaceful hideaway which would not only be cool but from which he might be able to coax the Meihi to eat. The stream was not far from the village, but even despite that fact, Maichu was beginning to have second thoughts about his decision. Though he had not complained, Hyoushin was making heavy weather of the slight climb, and guilt flared in the soldier's heart as he registered his companion's evident distress.
If the Emperor had seen his Meihi associate now, he would likely not have even recognised him, Maichu reflected, for there was no sign of the usually immaculate Kutou soldier in either Hyoushin's bearing or his appearance. His thick silver hair fell limp against his back in a single tail, tied roughly at the nape of his neck by a loosely knotted length of ribbon, and wisps of it had worked quickly loose, framing the man's face and somehow accentuating the exotic, tribal nature of his appearance. His amethyst eyes, normally so impassive were clouded by a mixture of pain and something that Maichu could not quite verify, and not for the first time since they had left Hokkan, he was struck by the fact his Commander was not infallible.
As he had watched his companion obstinately dress himself before they had left the farm, tying his own hair even though the fingers of his right hand struggled to bring the strands into a correct, firm knot, Maichu had acknowledged ruefully that the Meihi's illusion of invulnerability had been well and truly shattered. To see him weak and struggling had been somewhat unnerving, but also, as he had pondered on it, the forthright young soldier had realised something else.
"He's always appeared unbreakable, but he's just like Aoi an' me." He had mused. "At the end of it, the Commander is a man, with doubts an' feelin's an' fears…an' somehow knowin' that…makes him seem stronger, not weaker. He's taken Miramu's poison an' shit, I ain't got a clue how he must be feelin'. I know it must hurt like hell, yet he ain't complainin' about it, because there ain't any point in complaining. An' that's how he's always been, now I think it over. He's always just got on with whatever came his way…no matter how he felt about it. It makes me sort of wonder what other kind of shit he's fought through to get this far."
Hyoushin had insisted on bringing his sword with him, even though he was unable to wield it, and even in the short walk it had become more of a supporting stick than any kind of potential weapon as he forced his tired, aching body onwards. He was dressed in simple, Kounan peasant attire, borrowed from Chichiri since his own woollen Meihi robes had been destroyed from the blood and the attempts to save his life that had quickly followed. He had been upset, Maichu remembered, to learn the fate of the garments, though he had not revealed his reasons why, and Maichu had wondered at his sensible, unsentimental Commander's uncharacteristic reaction.
"But it ain't like he's really been himself since we left Hokkan, an' I guess he's still buzzin' with poison of some sort or other." he reflected. "It's hot an' he's tired an' in pain...I guess that can skew with your judgement, even if you're the Commander."
He paused, eying his companion again as he took in the faint flushing in the normally chalk-pale cheeks.
"Hyoushin-sama, if it's too far...we can go back to the farm, you know. It's no big deal to me. After all, it doesn't matter where exactly we are, so long as we keep out of trouble until Chichiri-san and the others get back from the mountain...right?"
"Your concern is appreciated, Maichu." Hyoushin paused to catch his breath, leaning on the sword as he did so. "But if I cannot make even this short a distance, what use will I be when we go East? I am equal to it...I am just taking a little more time over it than perhaps I normally would."
"You don't look so good." Maichu told him bluntly. "I thought you looked kinda sicky when we got to Kounan, but shit, right now...you look like you might fall down an' not get up again, an' I don't want to face Aoi if that happens."
"I see that you have taken to heart my instruction not to concern yourself with good manners over honesty." Despite his weariness, there was a faint flicker of humour in Hyoushin's words, and Maichu frowned, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, right now, I'm sort of protecting you, aren't I?" He said frankly. "It's kinda surreal, really, but it's that way. Even though you have your sword...you can't use it. Can you? So it's kind of...different. It doesn't seem...right now...like you are the Commander. You don't seem at all like yourself since we came here, you know. Even when we were travelling - but now more than ever."
"I see." Hyoushin's expression flickered slightly with something that might have been genuine emotion, then he frowned.
"I am sorry." He said softly. "I am a burden to you, aren't I, in this state?"
"No, not at all." Maichu held up his hands hurriedly, shaking his head. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just...shit, sir, I'm not used to you not knowing all the answers. Since we've been here, I've been taken prisoner by bandits...and you've been shot by a poisoned arrow. It's like total new rules have come into play. When Aoi, Kayu and I were here before, it was on your orders, and with the Emperor's blessing. But...he's not given us that this time. And you...it seems like you have doubts, I guess. About what we're doing. About...whether it's right, acting against Kutou like this."
Hyoushin glanced up at the sky.
"It's not far to the stream, you say?" He asked quietly. "If we could reach it before it becomes too hot, I would be grateful. There is time enough to discuss things there...if there is anything to discuss at all."
"Oh. Yeah. For sure." Maichu looked sheepish. "We're almost there. It's really a nice place, Hyoushin-sama. It's sheltered and shady, and Chichiri said it's probably the coolest place in the area at the moment. Plus the stream is pure and good for drinking water, so we didn't need to bring any with us. Look - it's just over that rise. You can see the trees from here."
"Ah. Indeed I can." Relief tinged the Meihi's voice. "Then it would be foolish to attempt to walk back, wouldn't it? Considering that we are almost there."
"I suppose so." Maichu acknowledged. "I just...I suppose I don't really know what to do, when I'm the one holding the sword."
"It isn't easy to make decisions for other people, sometimes." Hyoushin acknowledged, as they reached the edges of the clearing, pausing as they selected the most secluded place to sit. "Yes. This place will do very well. Already I feel somewhat cooler...to sit somewhere in the shade will do me the world of good, I think. You need not worry quite so much about me, you know...I am stronger than you think I am. I am not about to die quite so easily...if I was, I would have succumbed to Miramu's poison."
"That's true." Maichu agreed, as the Meihi dropped awkwardly down against the trunk of an old tree, settling himself more comfortably on the ground. His young companion followed suit, toying idly with blades of glass as he did so.
"Hyoushin-sama...you're worried about the Emperor, aren't you?" He asked quietly, and Hyoushin nodded his head.
"Yes." He agreed. "That is my greatest concern at present...what might have occured in Kutou. I am quite certain that events are not going according to his plans, and Kikei is a smart individual. Whilst I don't think he will kill Kintsusei-sama, I believe he might try to manipulate him."
"But the Emperor's a smart man. He'll realise, won't he?"
"Perhaps. But if he does, perhaps then Kikei will have no choice but to dispatch his shadow to silence him." Hyoushin said gravely. "Yes, it concerns me a good deal. And I want to go back as soon as we can...as soon as we're able. If I was not so injured, Maichu, I would seek to leave today. But as it is..."
"As it is, you wouldn't survive the journey." Maichu sighed, sitting back against the tree and closing his eyes. "I don't think even Kikei's crazy enough to kill the Emperor, though."
"A man who probably betrayed his own people to death and destruction?" Hyoushin asked. "I beg to differ. I think he is very capable of it...I wish I had realised it earlier. That of all the potential dissidents at his court, the most dangerous was the one who gifted him the throne in the first place. Kikei is a Hin, and I overlooked that fact...but in truth, it is the crux of the whole matter."
"How do you mean?" Maichu's eyes snapped open, and he looked surprised. "Because he's a Hin, he's bad? Hyoushin-sama, that sounds weird - especially coming from you."
"Mmm, but I do not mean it in the way you think." Hyoushin shook his head. "All I mean is that as yet Kintsusei-sama has been unable to get enough support from his ministers to alter the laws regarding men of tribal birth and the governmental positions."
"Come again?" Maichu looked blank, and despite himself, Hyoushin's lips twitched into a faint smile.
"I am glad you are a better swordsman than you are a political statesman." He said chidingly. "You are oblivious of the intricacies of court, aren't you, Maichu?"
"I'm a soldier. I let Aoi care about those things." Maichu admitted. "I guess I didn't think it was important if I knew them or not. I'm never going to read or write or know enough to pass any exams and I don't want that life, anyway. I want to protect Kutou - you don't need to study politics to do that."
"Quite true." Hyoushin acknowledged. "However, in this case, it would be as well for you to know it. Currently the law of Kutou is that men of tribal birth are not permitted to enter the examination process or become government officials beneath the crown."
"Really?" Maichu frowned. "Shit. Then...is that why you hid who Aoi was, then? Because he's smart and might pass them one day - and he's got Hin blood?"
"Not really, although I suppose it became part of it as time went on." Hyoushin shook his head. "He bears the name Kaiga, he carries the ring - he would not be refused, as the son of an influential noblewoman such as Kaiga Ruiren-sama. No. But in Kikei's case, it means that his only source of power is to pursue the religious life in the way that he has. And with Kutou in such unrest, he has far closer counsel with the Emperor than many of the ministers do. Kintsusei-sama does not know who among his council he can trust. So instead he trusts in Kikei. And so long as civil rioting continues...so will Kikei's grasp on power within Kutou. But if we were to bring peace..."
"Kikei would just be a priest." Maichu's face cleared. "I get it. Shit, that's crafty. So you think...all the civil war and stuff..."
"I begin to wonder." Hyoushin admitted. "He took in many lost souls after the war, like Kayu, and trained them and farmed them out to different areas of the country. I wonder whether now he reaps his reward from their loyalty and gratitude. Kayu's actions in Hokkan made me question that exact fact...whether he too had been placed within my regiment as a tool and a puppet, or whether his placement was simply a matter of convenience when it came to my removal."
"Kayu's not someone who'd betray the Emperor." Maichu said slowly. "I believe that. But I also think he's been an idiot in believing that note came from Kintsusei-sama. Probably because he can't see Kikei objectively...like we can. Even so, though, I don't think he's capable of active treason. If he found all this out..."
"Even if he did, I think he would find it hard to sever his loyalties from the man to whom he owes everything." Hyoushin said quietly. "But we digress. My point is that since Kikei cannot take the exams or become an official, he has an interest in gaining power in other ways. And all of this is leading to that exact fact."
"I suppose if that's Kutou's law, sir, you're also barred from becoming any kind of official, aren't you?" Maichu realised. Hyoushin nodded.
"Currently." He agreed. "Although like you, I would not pass a written exam. Besides, it has never been my interest to become politically engaged in any regard. I am the Emperor's man and his defender. I am a soldier, just like you are. The law does not trouble me any...although I would also like to see it repealed, for the sake of others who might wish to follow that dream."
He hesitated, then he smiled.
"I am glad you came to Kounan with me, although I am sorry for your having to choose thus." He added. "Knowing I have people who trust in me has helped me, I think. In truth, I don't know which way the way forward is - not if we were to be wholly on our own. To approach Seiryuu no Miko would not have been possible without Aoiketsu's daring and decisiveness. And I'm not sure if I would have made it so far this way without your navigational recollections. You are both invaluable to me, you know. And when this is over, if we are all still alive to settle it, I will ensure that the Emperor knows of your loyalty as well."
Maichu looked startled, then he grinned, shaking his head.
"It's not important to me if he knows or not." he said honestly. "I just...it's what I always wanted to do. To grow up and, you know, protect my country. To have a story to tell my kids, one day, that I helped to bring peace to Kutou. That I wasn't one of the people who stood by and watched and let other people get killed without doing anything about it. I wanted to be like my cousin - he believed in it, and so do I. My family might think I'm nuts - but that's what I want. That's why I came south with you. Because I know it's what you want too, sir. And I believe in you."
"Such faith is not easily come by in Kutou." Hyoushin admitted. "Especially not to an oddity of a Commander with fated tribal blood. But I am glad of it all the same."
His lips twitched once more into a smile.
"Even if it is ironic that you are currently my protector." He added. "Your swordsmanship is strong, Maichu, but even so..."
"If you were fit, you'd knock the blade out of my hands." Maichu said ruefully. "I know. But you're not. And I'm not a pushover, either. When that Tasuki guy gave me my blade back, he told me to use it properly, and not waste it or my potential. He said that I'd obviously been trained properly an' that he was glad I hadn't gone full fury at that Shishi kid when she jumped me. He's a pretty scary kind of guy, somehow, but he seems straight down the line, too. So I guess I can't be that bad, if a stranger says somethin' like that."
"I am in no hurry to spend much time with the legendary fire-throwing bandit of Reikaku-zan." Hyoushin said wryly. "I am already quite warm enough, thank you."
"Oh! Do you want me to get some water from the stream?" Maichu was on his feet in an instant, and Hyoushin shook his head.
"No...as it happens, I am quite content." He responded. "It is nice here. Peaceful. I don't feel like anything has been peaceful around me for some time...it's nice. Chichiri was right to recommend it."
"Yeah, it ain't bad." Maichu agreed. "And hey, the trees here have wild fruit, too...it's supposed to be pretty refreshing. I'm kinda hungry, so I might go pick some...I'll bring some back for you too, sir."
"I'm not overly hungry, Maichu."
"I know, but Chichiri wants you to eat and if you don't, everyone'll get pissed at me." Maichu reasoned. "Besides, you need to. Seriously, sir. It's going beyond a joke now...even Aidou-san hasn't made you eat more than a few scraps here and there. Humour me, huh? Fruit's fresh an' it'll give you energy...if we're goin' to Kutou, won't you need that?"
Hyoushin sighed, his gaze flitting to the sword that lay beside him on the ground. Slowly he put his right hand over its blade, as if debating with himself. Then he nodded his head.
"Very well." He said at length. "Do so. Your words are sensible, and I am not ignorant of the need for good nutrition. I will indeed need strength to face the dangers in our homeland...perhaps I can stomach a little."
"Okay." Maichu nodded his head, sending his companion a grin. "I'll be right back...don't go anywhere, okay?"
"I don't believe I will, Maichu. You need not concern yourself with that." Hyoushin assured him, a faint note of irony in his tones, and despite himself, Maichu looked rueful.
"Sorry. I guess not." He acknowledged. "All right. Even so, though, I won't be long. Aoi and I were here practicing swords yesterday, so I know where I'm going - it won't take me a minute to climb up and hoick a few down."
Without waiting for his Commander to respond, he headed into the trees, pulling his sword from his belt as he eyed the branches above him thoughtfully.
"If I climb that one, I should be able to reach a few boughs and that'll do us." He reflected. "At least I talked him around - maybe he really is starting to feel better. I guess it takes more than a bastard assassin to bring down Kutou's Commander, after all. Thank Seiryuu for that...at least Aoi and I aren't on our own after all!"
As the group of travellers stepped over the threshold and into the shrine beyond, all of them were struck speechless by the scene of wild beauty that lay out before them. Despite the dark depths of the chamber's location, and the fact that until a few moments before the shrine had been sealed from all outside intrusion, tongues of red-gold flame danced and glittered in corner sconces, covering the whole scene a warm, protective haze. In the centre of the chamber, a ring of red stone surrounded another flare of spectral amber fire that burned with vibrant light even though there was no evidence of any fuel at its base. The room itself had been carved out of the rock, but it did not seem to have been the work of human hands and as Hikari tentatively reached out a finger to touch the dips and grooves, she realised that they were remeniscent of talon marks - as if a hawk's claws had cleaved the hiding place into existance.
"A hawk...or a phoenix." She whispered, feeling a tingle of something across her skin as she gazed up at the bright, vibrant imagery that adorned the entirety of the shrine's four walls. Pictures of Suzaku, in vivid reds, ambers and gold soared over their heads, as fresh as if they had been painted yesterday, and the bird's piercing brimstone gaze stared down at them as if judging each of them individually on their right to be here. As Hikari ran her gaze along the walls she saw that the murals each depicted something - and her heart stilled in her chest as she realised one of the images showed a clear night sky, with seven sparkling white constellations marked out with chips of pearl-white marble. Beneath the sky, a sole figure stood somewhat in shadow, obscured enough by the careful artwork to be unrecogniseable, and yet Hikari somehow knew who the person was.
"The Suzaku constellations?" She asked softly, and Chichiri nodded, coming to stand beside her as he ran his fingers carefully over each one.
"Without doubt." He agreed pensively. "These are Suzaku's stars - the seven pieces of Suzaku's magic flung wide into this world to help it continue to exist."
"Which...which one is...father's?" Hikari glanced at him, and Chichiri grinned, pointing to a cluster of five tiny white specks.
"That one is Tamahome." He replied.
"And yours? And Tasuki's?"
"This is Chichiri." Chichiri moved to touch another constellation. "And that one - the one with the most stars of all - is our bandit's stellar self."
"Then this...this is...mother?" Hikari brushed her finger against the cloaked figure. "Suzaku no...Suzaku no Miko, watched over by her stars?"
"I think so, you know." Chichiri nodded. "Of course, this picture has been here for generations. It's a prophesy, if you like - a prediction that one day Suzaku would be summoned by a Miko who would use her power and the power of her Seishi to save Kounan and bring it peace. I don't know precisely how old Reikaku-zan is, but I'd bet this has been in place almost as long as the mountain has. When Suzaku first blessed this world."
"Does that mean...this is where the Seishi spirits originally came from, then?" Shishi asked, her tones uncharacteristically muted by the effect of the chamber's atmosphere. Chichiri shrugged.
"I don't know." He admitted. "Maybe. Perhaps Suzaku devised this place to protect Hisei, and then flung us out into the ether to start lives of our own...it's impossible to tell this far into the future. We weren't always Seishi, though our spirits have undoubtedly lived lives before these. The difference is that, in this life, Tasuki and I - and the others - were called on by the Phoenix to protect Kounan. We completed this prophesy - but even Suzaku probably didn't know precisely when it would come into play. He laid the foundations...it was up to us to carry it out."
"And you did." Hikari offered him a slight smile, and Chichiri grinned.
"We did." He agreed.
"Well, at least if that's the case, he ain't gonna be too pissed at us for breaking into this chamber like this." Tasuki said ruefully, wrapping a length of fabric around his slashed palm as he gazed around him. "Shit, and all this was hidin' beneath our feet all the time. A bandit mountain...that Suzaku's got some odd taste, for sure."
"It's beautiful." Myoume murmured, taking a step or two towards the furthest wall. "Suzaku placed this here inside somewhere like this - no wonder Reikaku-zan is called a blessed mountain, Tasuki, when it houses something like this."
"Hotohori-sama's sword is glittering." Aoiketsu pulled the blade from its sheath, glancing at it, then at his Seishi companions. "It's buzzing and throbbing, Chichiri - I think that whatever part of his spirit that's left can feel the aura of this place, too."
"I suppose it can." Carefully Chichiri took the blade from the young soldier's grip, holding it up as he ran his fingers over it. A faint smile touched his lips, and he nodded.
"I can feel his Highness's chi flaring through the metal." He agreed. "Saihitei-sama is long since dead and buried and his spirit is born into a new form, so he can't be resurrected here. But what he charged this blade with to protect Miaka still feels Suzaku's pull in this place - Hotohori is here with us in some respect after all. I think that proves beyond all doubt that we've found Suzaku's hiding place - and that Hisei's relic really is somewhere here."
"The question is, though, where?" Myoume turned, glancing around her as she did so. "It's not like Kitora's shrine. There's no statue of the God here."
"No...no statue." Chichiri looked thoughtful as he gazed up at the pictures. "I suppose that Suzaku's not really the kind of spirit you can confine into cold hard metal or stone. After all, his Shinzahou is testament to that - Suzaku is the God of love and of rebirth. In his divine shrine...I wouldn't have expected him to keep something so precious locked inside something so barren."
"Maybe it's something to do with this." Hikari crossed the chamber towards the centre, where the biggest of the five fires burned. "The fire...Aoi, what did you say about Suiko's shrine and blue fire? Maybe this is protecting Hisei...maybe because Suzaku's element is fire, the relic is somewhere in the flames."
"Don't touch it, Hiki." Shishi said sharply, as her friend reached out tentatively to touch the edges of the flame. "You idiot - you don't go thrusting your fingers into fire without knowing what you're doing!"
"Shishi's right." Chichiri grasped Hikari by the arm, shaking his head. "We don't know what that fire is made from, and I don't want you to be hurt."
"But if I'm part of Suzaku too, surely he wouldn't hurt me?" Hikari looked startled. Chichiri frowned.
"You're Suzaku's and Seiryuu's. Right now I don't know which element is stronger." he admitted. "Besides...you might be the Shinzahou, but it's not usual for a holy treasure to be a person. Even though you are, there's no guarantee that you can even access Hisei on your own. It's not your duty to do so, you know."
"Meaning, I suppose, that it's mine?" Tasuki sent Chichiri a rueful glance, and Chichiri shrugged.
"Possibly." He said cautiously. "Fire is your element too, Tasuki-kun. Your tessen throws fire through a spell, doesn't it? Suzaku connected to that and strengthened both it and you - it would make sense, wouldn't it, that the relic could be retrieved by one Suzaku had trusted with flame?"
"I guess so." Tasuki unwrapped his injured hand, glancing at it for a moment. Then he nodded.
"All right. I'll give it a shot." He said frankly. "But shit, if this burns my hand off, Chichiri..."
"I don't think it will, you know." Chichiri shook his head. "It doesn't have that kind of feel about it. This is your mountain, after all. A place you were drawn to as a kid, Tasuki - one you've always come back to, no matter what else you've done under Suzaku's sign. This place and your spirit are connected...maybe you've spent other lifetimes here, who really knows for sure? I don't think Suzaku will hurt you - but I think it does have to be you."
"Well, noone's sayin' I'm a chicken." Tasuki rolled his sleeves further up his arm, clapping his hands together a couple of times. "That should get the blood flowin' some - so let's see what happens."
"Aoi-kun, are you all right?" Hikari cast the soldier a sidelong glance as Aoiketsu flinched, biting his lip.
"So long as I don't see the blood, I think so." He agreed.
"I thought the sword protected you from squeamishness?" Shishi looked surprised, and Aoiketsu gestured to Chichiri.
"He's got it." He said ruefully, and Chichiri offered him a sheepish smile.
"Then I'll return it to you." He said, holding it out. "I'm sorry, Aoi. I didn't realise Hotohori's spirit had such a strong influence over you."
"I think...while it's glowing like that, I'd rather not." Aoiketsu shook his head. "I'll be all right - I'll just not watch, that's all. I'm not Suzaku's, and even though Hotohori-sama's let me fight with his blade so far, in this place...I think it's better off with someone he knows. After all, my Dad killed him - I don't want him to decide to turn his magic on me."
"You wuss." Shishi snorted. "You're a complete coward sometimes - you know that?"
"Well, the sooner I do this, the sooner he can quit bein' a wimp an' start bein' useful again." Tasuki said pragmatically. "Everyone ready? Here goes."
He hesitated for a moment, then narrowed his gaze determinedly, thrusting his hand into the heart of the blazing fire. For a moment the flames flickered and seemed to glow more brightly, but despite the fact they licked up against Tasuki's skin, the bandit did not flinch or cry out in pain, and Hikari's eyes widened as she watched the Seishi push his hand deeper and deeper into the fire.
"I guess it's not hot, then." Myoume said wryly, and Tasuki shook his head.
"It sorta tickles, but it ain't burnin' me." He agreed cheerfully. "An' there's somethin' in here all right - feels like some kind of a box. I think I got a hold of it - dammit, Suzaku, you didn't half want to make this difficult! Shit, it's a good thing I'm determined!"
"A casket, maybe?" Hikari asked hopefully, and Tasuki nodded, standing up as he pulled his fingers from the fire.
"Looks it." he agreed, dusting the stray ash and dust from his prize as he held out a gem-studded gold and red box, carved with the image of the phoenix across the top. "Well, Chichiri? Did I hit paydirt or what?"
"Well, whatever's inside of that thing, it's got powerful spiritual magic." Chichiri agreed. "It feels like Suzaku's magic, Tasuki. I think that's it."
"The thing isn't even locked." Tasuki continued, flipping the lid open casually as he set it down on the floor in front of the flames. "After all that, I guess Suzaku was lax on the security after all."
"More likely your blood unsealed it as you brought it out." Chichiri set the shinken down against the wall, kneeling down carefully beside the casket. He peered at the contents intently, then glanced up. "Yep, this is what we're looking for. Suzaku's feather - Hisei, the relic of the Phoenix. Tasuki, if you touch it with your blooded hand - maybe we'll be able to speak to her."
"Mmm." Tasuki glanced at his hand, then he shook his head. Deftly he pulled his knife from his belt, offering his friend a smile as he held it out.
"This mage's spirit depends on who raises her, right?" He said softly, and Chichiri looked startled, staring at him in confusion.
"Yes." He agreed. "But you're it's guardian, so it's meant to be you."
"I think Suzaku'd want us to do this together." Tasuki shook his head. "You an' me, we make a good team. An' if we add your blood an' my blood to the mix, then surely we can't mess this up - right? Our mage is gonna be woken properly - an' we've come this far. What do you think? Are you up for it?"
Hikari cast the sorcerer a glance, seeing the flicker of understanding in the depths of his ruby gaze. Slowly he nodded, reaching out to take the proffered knife.
"I see what you mean." He acknowledged, eying the blade for a moment, then drawing it neatly across his own left palm. "If that's how you want it, I don't have any objections. You're right. We are a team - we've always been one. And Suzaku is our business...I guess it won't hurt to show his mage our solidarity, will it?"
"My thoughts exactly." Tasuki offered him a wolfish grin, tearing a strip of fabric from the hem of his shirt and wiping it across his still bleeding palm. He held it out to his companion who followed suit, then handed it back.
"You know, that's really not hygenic." Hikari murmured doubtfully. "Are you sure it's okay, mixing your blood around like that...?"
"It'll be all right." Myoume assured her. "Don't worry about it, Hikari. Seishi blood is stronger when put together...Tasuki's right. We need Hisei to be strong - and to trust us right from the start."
"It was a good thought." Chichiri added, pulling a length of clean fabric from the folds of his clothing as he carefully and deftly bound his bleeding fist. "All right, Tasuki. Go for it, you know...I think it's time we heard the mage speak."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Tasuki assured him, dropping the bloodstained cloth down over the top of the feather with a flick of his fingers.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, just as Hikari was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong, the flames at each corner of the chamber suddenly flared up towards the ceiling, glittering with a bright ethereal light as the whole of the red casket began to shimmer and vibrate. Instinctively the young girl took a step back as the entire chamber seemed to be engulfed in the spectral flame and then, just as quickly as it had come the fire was gone, and in its place hovered the misty,
translucent form of a young woman.
"H...Hisei?" Hikari whispered, and at the sound of her name, the figure turned, her gaze softening as she registered the young girl's appearance. Slowly she nodded, holding out her hands.
"Well, Suzaku no Shinzahou." She breathed, her words soft and gentle like the crackle of fire on wood. "So you have come."
Hikari swallowed hard, unable to respond as she took in the figure's unusual appearance. As though born of the fire itself, the apparition's flame red hair curled over her shoulders and down her back in wild, flame-like waves, and her eyes glittered with goldish bronze light which made Hikari gasp as she suddenly realised the similarity between Hisei's eyes and those both Tasuki and Shishi possessed. She was robed in reds and golds, in a direct contrast to Doryoku's more muted earth tones, and her aura glittered with amber light, making her seem even more otherworldly.
"Hisei-sama." Chichiri was the first to recover his composure, stepping forward and holding his own hands out towards hers as he offered her a smile. "We're sorry to disturb you, but we've come to ask for your help."
"I know this, Suzaku no Chichiri." Hisei put her head on one side, eying him pensively. "Your blood mingles through me, just as your companion's does. I feel your wishes and I understand your fears. I am bound by Suzaku to serve his people - and I will do my best to help."
"She looks like she's family to Shishi and Tasuki." Aoiketsu murmured. "Don't you think so? She looks just like them...the hair and eyes and everything."
Hisei's gaze flitted towards the soldier, eying him carefully. Then she smiled, nodding her head.
"You are the one prophesied to come here." She said, seeming pleased. "Seiryuu's legacy - this is good to see. And you...Byakko no Toroki." She reached out a finger to brush Myoume's cheek, and Myoume let out an exclamation, flinching back.
"You knew we'd be here, too?" She demanded, and Hisei nodded.
"I was instructed by Suzaku to rest here until the time Suzaku called on me to help this world." She agreed. "He told me it would be a time when all the lands would need to unite, and so they have."
"Then you know what danger we face." Chichiri said gravely. "And why we've come."
"You seek to raise me from this place and use my powers of flame to support you in your quest East." Hisei responded, and Chichiri nodded.
"That's about the size of it." He agreed. "We don't know quite how, but with the power of the Shinzahou - it's possible to do that, isn't it?"
"It's possible, yes." Hisei agreed. "But regardless, it's a path I cannot let you take."
"You...can't?" Dismay welled up in Hikari's heart. "But...why not? Why won't you help us? Surely if you're strong...if you have Suzaku's power...Kutou have two risen mages already, and we have Doryoku but it's not the same, and..."
"Shh." Hisei reached out a ghostly finger to touch Hikari's lips, essentially stopping her in mid-sentence. "Hear my reasons, Suzaku no Shinzahou. Your power is required to raise me from this place - do you truly understand what that means?"
"Means?" Tasuki echoed. "She's the magic, isn't she? I mean, the key...the one who can raise you...right?"
"It would take a good deal of Suzaku's power to raise me from this place." Hisei shook her head regretfully. "The scars Tenkou left on me and my sister mages mean that we can only be fully revived with help. But if the magic was used to raise me..."
She faltered, eying Hikari sadly.
"Suzaku and Seiryuu long ago made a pact." She said softly. "That the last land to be saved would be Seiryuu's Kutou, but it would be the land whose Miko would save all things, not just the people of the East. Seiryuu understood that his land would be filled with danger and mistrust, and so he and Suzaku made this pact. You were chosen as Seiryuu no Miko before even your parents were born - I feel it in your spirit that you are the chosen Miko who Kutou's Seishi should have been born to follow. And yet you have no Seishi to support you...you only have your own power. For this reason, Suzaku no Shinzahou, you have Suzaku's own magic beating within your heart. And in order to raise Seiryuu - in order to succeed - you will need that power from within as well as the power from outside. My resurrection would compromise your strength...I cannot consent to that."
"I see." Chichiri bit his lip. "So in effect, to bring a mage to life means a Shinzahou no longer has the same power as it had before?"
"Whilst the mage draws strength from it, no." Hisei agreed.
She turned, eying Shishi contemplatively.
"I feel my sister mage's spirit within you." She murmured. "If I may, I would like to speak with her, also - if you are able to raise her without compromising your own safety."
"Do-nee?" Shishi looked startled, then she nodded. "I suppose so. I mean, Do-nee can come out on her own, without using me...she just can't do it for long, that's all. Doryoku, if you heard that - come out and speak to Hisei-sama a moment, huh?"
There was a glitter of silver light, and slowly Doryoku took form before them, the snow-flecked beads of her hair glittering in the flickering firelight.
"Hisei." She whispered, and Hisei nodded, holding out her hand to brush against her sister's.
"Are you committed to Suzaku's cause now, Doryoku?" She asked softly, and Doryoku nodded.
"Shishi's cause is my cause. Shishi and I are connected now, after all." She agreed, and Hisei smiled.
"Then I have some advice I can give." She said frankly, turning back to the group as a whole. "Whilst I cannot leave this place, or travel with you to Kutou, I can advise you and perhaps guide you in the way that Suzaku would hope me to."
"Then get on with it already." Tasuki said bluntly. "Since we came all the way down here, and so far all you're doing is talking."
"Tasuki, shut up." Chichiri shot him a glance, and Tasuki shrugged.
"I didn't stick my hand in a fire to get a lecture on magic, or be part of a mage reunion party." He said frankly. "I want to know what we can do about it - I leave the theorising to you."
"He is impatient." Hisei looked amused. "Yes, he's Suzaku's fire spirit all right. The one who belongs on this mountain - it's a pleasure and an honour to finally meet you, Reikaku-zan no Genrou-sama. Even though you've been here many times before - at last we meet face to face."
"Many times..." Tasuki faltered, despite himself, and Chichiri grinned.
"Looks like your connection to this mountain has gone deeper than just this lifetime after all." He reflected. "Aoi's not wrong, though - Hisei does look like she's a part of your family. I suppose if Suzaku created your spirit to one day be Tasuki, he meant it to be that way all along."
"All of this has been planned since before any of us were even thought about." Myoume murmured. "Even before the last Toroki was protecting Sairou...even before that."
"And that means...I am Seiryuu no Miko?" Hikari added. "But...what about Yui-san? I mean, she came here..."
She faltered, and Hisei shook her head.
"Hongou Yui was brought here by Suzaku no Miko when Suzaku first called Yuuki Miaka to Kounan." She said matter-of-factly. "That accident meant she could cross the divide, and it tainted things irreversably. She became Miko, drawing the celestial spirits out of those who would be the Miko's protectors - but she was not strong enough to raise Seiryuu and save Kutou, nor was she able to unify her Celestial soldiers under one aim. Therefore she was not the true Miko. All of the others succeeded in these tasks. Okuda Takiko. Ousugi Suzuno. Yuuki Miaka. All of them brought peace. Hongou Yui did not. She was not the one who would. That one is you...and always has been. But Hongou Yui had to come here. She was part of strengthening your father's bond with your mother, Hikari. To fight against adversity is the quickest way to forge a connection, after all. And also, of course, to leave Kutou with a Shinzahou that one day a stronger Seiryuu no Miko would be able to use."
She smiled.
"Hongou Yui did her part." She added softly. "Seiryuu placed his final hope in Suzaku no Shinzahou...and here you are. All is well in the end."
"All is well?" Aoiketsu demanded, anger flickering in his blue eyes. "You're saying Kutou suffered war and slavery and pain and death and all of that...and it wasn't even for a proper reason? That they were just being used so that the Gods could shift around the heavens and play games with them? All those people...people like Hyoushin-sama's family...and noone really came to save Kutou at all? All the people who placed hope in Hongou Yui-sama - and it was all a fraud?"
"The people of Kutou defined their own fate." Hisei shook her head. "The Gods are not to blame for everything. They are not the ones who make men turn on each other and slay those not of their kind. It was the nature of Kutou's people that meant till now they could not be saved. Till they reached out for help, not in conquest...till they had learnt that lesson, noone could save them. Until they had an Emperor who sought peace, not war - and people to uphold his hope...what could a Miko do? Even Seiryuu's chosen Seishi spirits were forced to life and twisted by the darkness that swamped that land. Your country are to blame for their own ills, soldier. Noone else."
Despite himself, Aoiketsu faltered, looking stricken, and Hikari reached over to squeeze his hand.
"We'll put it right, though. I'm going to be the Miko and I'm going to do it properly, remember?" She said softly.
"I'm glad you feel that way." Hisei offered her a smile. "It won't be easy to do, because Kutou still has dark elements that need to be overcome. And if you are correct and they have raised mages - those mages must be defeated before you can use the Shinzahou to raise Seiryuu over the Kutou skies. Still, you have a strong heart, Suzaku no Shinzahou. It's Suzaku's heart as well as your own, after all."
She spread her hands, sparks of ghostly flame sprinkling over the floor as she did so.
"I'm not Seiryuu's and I will not tell his Miko what wishes to make." She added. "But I believe in you - that if you follow your heart, you'll know what it is you need to do."
"But if we defeat mages...what about Do-nee? Will we have to suppress her, too?" Shishi asked, and Hisei looked surprised.
"Doryoku?" She echoed, and Shishi nodded.
"Because she's risen, sort of, isn't she?" She replied. "And I promised her I wouldn't abandon her...so..."
"I'm not risen from a Shinzahou, Shishi." Doryoku's eyes softened and she shook her head. "So it isn't the same thing at all. And I'll keep my promise to help you."
"You'll need that help." Hisei admitted. "Seiryuu no Miko, Doryoku is not a fighting spirit. But do not take her lightly. You will need her protection and her strength to succeed in your task - of this I have no doubt."
Hikari cast Shishi a glance, and Shishi shrugged.
"I'll be with you." She said frankly. "And Do-nee and I are sort of a package deal, so that goes without saying, doesn't it?"
"I think I'm going to need all the help I can get." Hikari admitted, and Doryoku inclined her head slightly in the schoolgirl's direction.
"Shishi's cause is mine, now. In Hisei's place, I'll do my best to help you." She promised. "If there's any way I can, I will."
"This is about all four lands, after all." Hisei agreed. "Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryuu, Byakko - this involves all of them, and whatever help we can give them."
"If we have to fight Suiko and Kitora, it's going to be tricky." Aoiketsu murmured. "Suiko alone is a handful for anyone, but the both of them together..."
"Fight Suiko..." Myoume echoed, a strange expression crossing her face, and Hikari frowned, shooting her a confused glance.
"Myoume?" She murmured. "Is something wrong?"
"Fighting..." Myoume's eyes widened, and she shook her head, fear flickering in the depths of her indigo gaze as she took a step or two back towards the entrance to the chamber.
"It's now." She whispered. "It's now, when we're here, and why didn't I..."
She faltered, wheeling on Aoiketsu and grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Why didn't you tell me Kayu was in Kounan?" She demanded, urgency and anger in her tones. "Why didn't you tell me before we came in, Aoi? Why not?"
"I didn't know until we fought those people on the mountain." Aoiketsu started, staring at her as if she was mad. "But he wasn't with those men - and Suzaku's Shinzahou is here with us, isn't she? So is Hisei - why? What are you talking about - what's wrong?"
"The prophesy...the things I saw..." Myoume swallowed hard, and for a moment Hikari thought her friend might faint. Then she seemed to get a faint grip on her composure, shaking her head as if to clear it.
"I have to go." She muttered thickly. "I have to...even though it's probably too late...I have to go. Byakko have mercy on them, I have to..."
She pushed Aoiketsu aside, hurrying out of the chamber, and Hikari stared after her, confusion in her hazel eyes.
"What was that about?" She demanded. "Prophesy? What does she mean? What's going on?"
"Who is this Kayu, anyway?" Shishi added. "Did we meet him already? Or is he just another Kutou soldier who's been lurking around the place?"
"Hikari's met him." Aoiketsu said with a frown. "When I first came here, he came to Chichiri's place to check up on me. He pretended to need an apothecary - Hikari and I were there. But...if he's come back, he must have come to find Hikari. And she's here, so..."
Hikari bit her lip.
"That was Kayu?" She demanded, and Aoiketsu nodded.
"Yes." He agreed.
"Then he knows what I look like?"
"Yes, but I haven't told him you're the Shinzahou, so he can't possibly know that. And like I said - he hasn't come here."
"No, he hasn't." Chichiri's gaze became grave. "Aoi-kun, remind me again of what it was Maichu said regarding Toroki's prediction in the cave in Sairou? We've focused a lot on Hyoushin's involvement or otherwise - but what about...the rest of it? Did Maichu tell you any more than that?"
"Maichu?" Aoiketsu's expression underwent a transformation, then, "Shit! Is that what she means? She said something would happen to Maichu if he was in Kounan...is this what she was talking about? Something to do with Kayu - something to do with..."
He trailed off.
"I have to go after her." He murmured. "If Kayu was involved in seeing off the Commander, and he thinks Hyoushin-sama's some kind of traitor...If he finds him like this, God knows what might happen."
"Aoi!" Hikari reached out a hand to stop him, but Aoiketsu shook his head, brushing her off.
"I can't, Hikari." He said softly. "These are my friends...I have to get involved."
With that he was gone, and Hikari bit her lip, anxiety glittering in her expression.
"What on earth did Myoume see?" She whispered. "What freaked her out like that...and Aoi too - what's going to happen?"
"Whatever it is, Aoi went without a weapon." Chichiri glanced down at the shinken which still rested against the shrine wall, then scooped it up in his hands. "We should head after him, before he gets entangled in something he shouldn't be. Tasuki, can we leave sealing this place to you and Shishi? It's your mountain after all - and I think the sooner I catch up to Myoume and Aoi the better."
"No problem." Tasuki's expression became one of comprehension. "Leave it to us - go play referee with the kids...if there's goin' to be trouble I'd rather the cub was kept out of it for the time bein'...an' besides, I have some prisoners to play with as it is."
"Do you think...there'll be a fight?" Shishi asked anxiously, and Chichiri frowned. Slowly he nodded his head.
"I do." He agreed gravely. "Which is why I can't waste any time in catching the both of them up."
Well, there was no mistaking Maichu's endeavour.
Hyoushin sat back against the tree trunk with a resigned sigh as his young compatriot disappeared into the woodland, sword already in his hand as he hurried off to find the best laden branches. Somehow, despite the awkwardness of their situation and the fragility of his physical health, he felt reassured by Maichu's characteristic impulsiveness. The boy did not have Aoiketsu's academic skill, he reflected pensively. And yet, as he had observed to Chichiri, the heart of a loyal soldier beat in his young chest, and it comforted the Meihi to know it.
"He brought me my sword at the risk of his own life, and he's continued to stick by me regardless of what it may mean for him if we fail." He murmured. "If I had been killed by Miramu, he and Aoiketsu would have been alone in this strange land...or at least, so far as we knew, when we arrived here. That we have Suzaku's aid is reassuring...but unexpected. He can't have known it would have been this way before he made his choice to come."
He glanced down at his injured arm, gingerly running his right hand over his bared skin as he felt the faint prickles and twinges of pain that greeted his touch. It was almost as though something had scalded through his limb, he realised, for even though he could barely move it, it was tender to the touch and with a sigh he drew his other hand back.
"Perhaps it will not recover...certainly not in time for us to travel." He admitted to himself. "I may never hold a sword again. It may even be better to remove the limb altogether, if it continues to be such a hindrance to me...although such drastic surgery is something I don't relish particularly. Besides, I already lost enough blood yesterday morning...Miramu's arsenal carries many different threats."
He frowned, his eyes narrowing as he remembered Chichiri's casual account of his rescue.
"Aoiketsu helped to stop me bleeding to death." He recalled. "The man who has never been able to face blood managed to stem his fears long enough to help me. Is that a sign of his loyalty to me, or something else? I wish I knew...I sense a change in the boy, and yet...I don't understand yet what it is. Perhaps it's knowing that young girl - they say that encountering a Miko changes one forever, after all. I suppose time will tell, in the end."
The rustle of branches jerked him from his reverie and he glanced up, expecting to see his young companion, his arms laden with fruit. As his gaze fell on the other person, however, his eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and consternation. Across the clearing, the intruder was similarly struck, his expression one of shock and dismay as he registered the stricken Meihi before him.
For a moment, nothing in the grove moved. Then, at length, Hyoushin found his voice.
"Kayu." He whispered, and at the sound of his name, the young soldier seemed to spark back to life, resolution hardening in his dark eyes as his fingers strayed to his belt.
"Hyoushin-sama." He murmured, then, "I was told you were dead."
"You were told wrongly, it seems." Hyoushin kept his tones level, though inwardly his thoughts were racing. His gaze fell on his left hand, and a flicker of panic surged through him as he realised he would not easily wield his blade in his own defence. Yet somehow he managed to keep this out of his voice as he faced his former subordinate impassively.
"I apologise for the inconvenience."
Kayu's brow creased, and Hyoushin could tell he was fighting something out with himself. Then, at length he sighed, pulling his weapon and holding it aloft as he took a couple of steps forward.
"I'm sorry, sir." He said softly. "But you...I can't...the Emperor has decreed..."
"Kintsusei-sama has decreed what, exactly, Kayu?" Hyoushin made one final attempt to shift his left hand in the direction of his blade, but instead a stab of pain shot through his damaged nerves and it was all he could do not to cry out. "Explain yourself."
"I don't have to explain myself to you." Kayu said firmly, although there was a flicker of doubt in his dark eyes. "You're an enemy of Kutou. A traitor. An exile. And an outlaw. Kintsusei-sama has ordered for you to be killed. He sent men to finish the job. If they have failed, then I...I must..."
"You must do their duty in their place?" Hyoushin asked softly, and Kayu flinched. For a moment he hesitated, then he nodded his head.
"I must." He said quietly. "Kikei-sama explained to me everything...and I have no choice. I have to sever your influence over my comrades and I have to help the Emperor bring peace to Kutou. You are now his enemy, Hyoushin-sama. It's not something I can ignore. I've been sent to retrieve Aoiketsu and Maichu from your clutches - and to carry out Kintsusei-sama's bidding. If you're here...it complicates things."
"I see." Hyoushin pulled himself to his knees, glancing at his right hand briefly before reaching it out to grasp the hilt of his sword. It felt odd and foreign between his fingers, and as he used it to force himself to his feet, Kayu let out an exclamation, seeming to realise for the first time his former Commander's physical condition.
"So the assassins did find you." He murmured. "Yet you escaped them somehow?"
"I am not an easy man to kill, Hei Kayu." Hyoushin said quietly, his amethyst eyes clouding as he weighed his chances of disarming and incapacitating the young soldier before Maichu's return. With the help of his young comrade, he knew that subduing and imprisoning the man would be easy - but from the look of determination that now burned in Kayu's eyes, getting to that point would be no easy matter.
"Even so, you're not strong enough to fight me, are you?" He observed now, swinging his blade briefly as if to illustrate his point. "You can't take your weapon in your left hand - you're injured somehow, and you can't come at me like you normally would. Can you?"
"That does not mean I am not willing to fight for my life." Hyoushin said softly. "In my Emperor's name, Kayu, there is very little I would not do."
"In your Emperor's name." Kayu snorted, a flicker of anger stirring in the depths of his gaze. "You've been condemned as a traitor, yet you still say those things?"
"I am not a traitor to anyone." Hyoushin forced himself to stand erect, his grip on his blade tightening. "If I die with that ideal in my mind, I will not be dying without purpose. I am not blinded by loyalty like you are, it seems. Or did you not know, Kayu, that I am not the only tribesman who serves your King?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Kayu said flatly, and Hyoushin shook his head.
"What did I tell you in Hokkan?" He asked quietly. "So long as you follow your Emperor's order, all will be well - yes? That nothing would inspire you to betray him?"
"Yes." Kayu's words were stiff. "I remember. And now look at where we are."
"Indeed we are." Hyoushin agreed gravely, inwardly cursing how dizzy and unsteady he felt now he was on his feet. "I don't believe you would betray him, either. Not intentionally. And yet, if you slay me, you will be a step closer to doing so."
"Do you think he values your life so much, then?" Kayu demanded angrily. "The Emperor has ordered..."
"The Emperor, or Lord Kikei?" Hyoushin cut across him, and Kayu's eyes narrowed.
"Don't speak so about a man who serves the King properly." He snapped. "Not when you've committed the crimes you have. Here you are, in the heart of Suzaku's territory. You cannot pretend to me that you have not colluded with Kounan's people. They are not our allies, Hyoushin-sama! Yet you're in their midst - you are a traitor - proven by your own actions! You cannot lecture me or call into question my superiors! Kikei-sama has done nothing to harm the Emperor, and you should not speak like that to me about him!"
"Kikei-sama was born a member of the Hin tribe." Hyoushin said bluntly, and Kayu's eyes widened for a moment, then he frowned, shaking his head.
"I don't have to listen to your slanders." He said firmly, raising his blade as he shifted into a more combative stance. "And in any case, such things aren't important. There is only one tribal traitor to his Highness and that isyou...Kikei-sama's heritage has nothing to do with it. You're trying to make me doubt in the man who has given me everything since the day I was orphaned and I won't be so easily swayed. I do the Emperor's bidding - and he has ordered your death. Your own words have only cemented my resolve. If the assassins can't do their duty, then in Kintsusei-sama's name, I will!"