Chapter 16:

Hotohori and Menesku were bend over the open map of Konon that was spread out in front of them. The day was unusually warm and sultry. Their sweat stricken tunic stuck to their back. Hotohori pushed the damp hair out of his face.

"We already have three seishis. You, me and Faraco."He said quietly "That means we still have to find four other seishis in order to be able to summon Suzaku."He looked at Menesku."What do you say?"

Menesku was staring intently at the map, but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere. Hotohori smirked and pushed Menesku a little .It was a rare occasion to find Menesku inattentive during an important discussion.

Hotohori's push brought Menesku put of whatever world he was in. A faint flush of embarrassment adorned his normally bloodless cheeks.

" I..I am sorry my Lord. My mind was else where."Menesku stuttered.

"I saw "Hotohori smiled smugly, a hint of mischief in his eyes "So, who is this fair lady that has robbed your heart? Tell me of her, whose thought cause you to daydream in the middle of such an important discussion."

Menesku remained stoic, the result of long practice "My thoughts were not of a romantic nature my Lord. I was thinking of the black warrior."

"The black warrior?"Hotohori frowned "Is anything worrying you?"

"Actually, yes."Menesku admitted "It has been a week since the announcement has been made .By now all the four lands must know that the Suzaku no miko has arrived. So, I am presuming that the Black warrior must know of this as well. But, so far this week has been ...peaceful."

"What is wrong with peace?"Hotohori sounded incredulous.

"Nothing "Menesku said quietly "It is just that my liaison with the black warrior has made me extremely wary of extended periods of peace. As far as the black warrior is concerned, peace is like the lull before the storm. "

"You were expecting trouble here?"Hotohori probed.

"I know what is you are thinking my Lord. This is one of the most well guarded palaces in the lands. But the fact is that if anybody is suicidal enough to pull anything here, it is him."Menesku said quietly.

"You..Are not serious "Hotohori's eyes flashed "Are you trying to say that the black warrior would dare provoke me here? In my own kingdom? In my own palace? "

" I am perfectly serious my Lord "Menesku's grim voice emphasized his point " I am not saying that he would actually do something, but rather exploring all possibilities .All I am saying is that ... I do not put it above him either."

He paused a while before continuing, "Lady Lee is our strength. But she is also our weakness. If the black warrior should target her.."

Hotohori's eyes flashed red "He would not dare."

"Oh but he would."Menesku argued patiently "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Ironically, our strongest link is also our weakest link."

"You underestimate Lady Lee, Menesku "Hotohori said grimly.

"I don't underestimate Lady Lee my Lord, but ... " Menesku said stubbornly "She is a wonderful person my Lord, kind and caring ...but she is also impetuous and she trusts practically everybody!"

" Ah, there lies the bone of contention "Hotohori smirked "That she trusts easily."

"We are strangers to her .How could she trust us so easily?"Menesku asked, "Did she not listen to her grandmother's tale properly? We could be trying to manipulate her like Nakago."

" Are you trying to say that she should have considered us as prospective villains?"Hotohori's lips twitched.

"We could be, for all she knew."Menesku said quietly " Consider this, I, an innocent girl."

At this point Hotohori choked on the cool juice he was sipping.

Menesku continued unperturbed ". Find myself in an unknown world .All of a sudden; a prince declares that I am a legendary miko who can summon a God, who grants three wishes. Then, I am showered with attention, my every whim satisfied ...How could I not be suspicious that there were ulterior motives involved?"

Hotohori chuckled "Because you were swept off your feet by the aforementioned Prince, who happened to be exceedingly handsome. But really Menesku, you would make a very ugly girl." Then his face became serious "Lady Lee does trust easily, perhaps too easily, but you must understand that she has led a rather sheltered life till now. You cannot expect her to change overnight Menesku. She will learn, Menesku. Until then, it our duty to protect her."

Menesku sighed, "I know."

At this point, the closed door of the room burst open and Lee came bounding in followed by a sheepish looking Faraco. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and her eyes shone with excitement. She skidded to a halt upon seeing the open map and both Hotohori and Menesku's serious expression.

" I..I am sorry .Am I interrupting anything?"She flushed, embarrassed.

"No, my Lady .We are nearly done anyway "Hotohori assured her kindly "Is there anything you wanted?"

"Actually, yes "Lee seemed a bit hesitant "I have heard that a fair is being held in the outskirts of the capital .I..Would like to visit it."

She turned her lovely eyes towards Hotohori, her hands clasped pleadingly in front of her "Can I go? Pleeease..."

' You go girl. Give him both barrels of puppy dog eyes.' The voice in her head sniggered ' If that does not work, I don't know what will.'

"A fair.it sounds like fun."Hotohori grinned ruefully.

"Forgive me for interrupting my Lord. But it is inadvisable for Lady Lee to go there."Menesku said stiffly " It would be awfully difficult to arrange for her safety in so congested a gathering"

" I will be fine Menesku."Lee turned her eyes at Menesku "Faraco will be with me."

"I have little faith in Faraco's skill I am afraid "Menesku was unfazed by Lee's puppy dog eyes.

"Hey, I resent that!" Faraco protested, stung by Menesku's words "I protected Lee from those thieves."

"I prefer to call that beginner's luck. That and the fact that they had no skills whatsoever."

"Come, come Menesku "Hotohori interrupted in a placatory tone "There is no need to be so harsh."

"I prefer to call it beginner's luck. That and the total lack of skills in the people you fought."

"Come, come, Menesku "Hotohori interrupted "You are being too harsh."

"Actually, I am being practical "Menesku argued quietly "Faraco is still a novice as far as the art of war is concerned."

"Perhaps I am " Faraco countered hotly "But I would protect Lady Lee with my life!"

"I don't doubt that Faraco "Menesku agreed "No need to get all sentimental. Wear your emotions up your sleeve and your enemies will use your very emotions against you."

" I know .I know "Faraco grumbled.

Lee stepped in between them "Please Faraco, Menesku... don't argue."

Her lips quivered and her voice was small and disappointed " I understand that you are concerned about my safety. I will not go to the fair. I..I am sorry for bothering you."

Hotohori looked at Lee's downcast face and felt a tad sad as well .He hated to see Lee sad. Suddenly inspiration struck him like bolt from the blue. Not only would it make Lee happy, he would fulfill a childhood ambition as well.

Smiling he took one of Lee's hand "Don't be sad Lady Lee .You shall see the fair!"

Lee's whole aspect brightened up "Really?"

"You must be joking!"Menesku exclaimed in horrified accents.

"No, actually I am perfectly serious. We shall go to the fair in disguise "Hotohori's eyes held an unholy gleam of glee

"We?"Menesku was afraid to ask.

"Yes, you me and Faraco .Who better to protect Lady Lee than her own seishis?"

"But my Lord."

"No buts Menesku, I have decided "Hotohori said with finality "We will go to the fair tonight! "

"Oh Hotohori.Thank you."Lee squealed happily before launching herself at Hotohori and enveloping him in a crushing bear hug "Thank you soo much."

Then as abruptly as she had hugged him, she let him go and bounded out of the room, skipping happily.

The three men remained flabbergasted, standing still like a statue.

' She hugged me ' Hotohori thought joyously pink dusting his cheeks.

' She hugged him.' Faraco thought incredulously. Suddenly he was feeling like throttling Hotohori .Was he feeling jealous?

' She hugged him .In public. That girl has no sense of propriety or protocol ' Menesku sighed.

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Hotohori took another look at himself in the mirror. He had worn a simple brown tunic clinched at the waist with a gray sash .He had bundled his long hair under a turban .He could always hide the sword of Suzaku under the drab brown cloak he would wear .He was confident that no body would recognize him as the prince.

The door burst open and Menesku came rushing in. Hotohori tuned around surprised .It was odd since Menesku always knocked before entering .Now what could have happened to make Menesku forget propriety?

Menesku was looking paler than usual "My Lord, I have bad news."

"I guessed as much "Hotohori said grimly "Sit down Menesku and let me pour you some tea."

Menesku plopped down on a cushion "Thank you. I could use some tea."Then he added as an after thought "Perhaps you better sit down as well."

Hotohori sat down "Now, tell me what has you so upset?"

Menesku's lips were pressed in a thin firm line "He knows."

Hotohori's eyes hardened " But..What does he know?"

"This letter was intercepted at the border."Menesku held up a crinkled yellow silk "Perhaps it was a stroke of good fortune that one of a hunting hawks brought down a carrier pigeon .It was carrying this letter."

Hotohori took the letter from Menesku's hand and proceeded to read it..

'I have come to know about the miko's past. This might give us some idea about Seiryuu .We will be meeting our informant at the sunset shrine on the night of the next full moon. Send you more information later ---Dragon.'

He looked up .His eyes were hard "So, he has found out the truth about Seiryuu.but he is not very sure about it. This presents us with a perfect opportunity to catch the black warrior .If we are lucky ..Then we might kill him. Except something about this letter ...Where is this sunset shrine anyway?"

"It is an abandoned temple situated in a forest about fifteen sundowns from here...if we go there on our fastest horses"Menesku said quietly "It is quite near the Kutou border .It is about five sundowns from there."

"Hmm.I see. And the next full moon is sixteen days from now."Hotohori said thoughtfully "Everything is so clearly mentioned .The place, the time..Everything .It is almost as if."

"They want us to be there."Both of them said in unison.

"My point exactly."Hotohori said grimly "Somehow, I expected the Black Warrior to be a little more cryptic .It makes me feel like that he is laying a trap for us."

"True "Menesku agreed, "But then again, he could really be meeting someone there and he wants us to think that he is laying a trap .In either case, I think it is best to investigate this situation"

"There is another possibility Menesku. "Hotohori said thoughtfully "He could be sending us on a wild goose chase .It could be a ploy to lure us away from the real issue."

"Yes, we were going to search for more seishis as soon as possible .He could be dangling this extremely juicy carrot in front of us to put us behind schedule."

"It seems then that we have no other choice "Hotohori said grimly "We have to divide our forces .One of us will go with Lee and Faraco to search for more seishis. And the other will lay an ambush for the black warrior in the forest."

"It does seem the logical choice doesn't it?"Menesku chuckled "Unless that is exactly what the black warrior wanted. If our forces are separated, it will be much easier to target Lady Lee."

"Arg" Hotohori ran a hand through his tousled hair "No wonder you are so uptight all the time .It seems that your black warrior is like a temperamental woman .No one can anticipate what he will do next."

There was a long moment of silence. Then Hotohori spoke "So, what do we do?"

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Menesku doused the lamp .The discussion had dragged far on into the night. Unfortunately, neither he nor Hotohori could come up with any decision .So; they had decided to wrap things up for the night. They would resume discussion in the morning. Unfortunately, due to this unforeseen circumstance the renzedevous to the fair was canceled. Menesku sighed as he snuggled into the bed sheets. Lady Lee was disappointed and Lord Hotohori was disappointed because Lady Lee was disappointed.but some things required immediate attention...

The wind lifted the lace curtains lazily and Menesku was lulled into complacency by the silence that resided in the room .His tired gray eyes began to close...

It was the creaking of the shoji door that woke him. Menesku was a very light sleeper. Even the slightest noise acted like alarm clocks to him. Instinctively his hand went to the jeweled dagger under his pillow .He cracked an eye open .A dark shadow in the darkness approached him. Menesku's grip on the handle tightened .The figure bend down towards him.

Menesku lashed a leg out. Surprisingly his attack was blocked by the figure. Menesku vaulted out of reach, the naked point of his blade held out in front of him.

He heard a low chuckle "Menesku, do calm down .Its only me."

Menesku stiffened "Lord Hotohori?"

Fumbling around he relit the lamps in his room. Hotohori was sitting on his bed wearing a sleeping robe and what a lesser mortal would describe as an idiotic grin.

"Sit down "Hotohori patted the empty spot beside him.

Menesku stiffly obliged .His brain was playing twenty questions but his tongue refused to co-operate.

"I have decided what to do!"Hotohori grinned triumphantly, his eyes shining with excitement "So the black warrior knows about the scroll and blah.blah ...blah. But his informant cannot possibly know where the scroll is hidden!"

In his excitement he got up and started to pace up and down "There is only one person in the seven worlds who knows where the scroll is hidden. And that is Taiskun!"He paused dramatically "So, the one place the Black Warrior most definitely has to go is Taiskun's abode! That is where we will wait for him!"

Menesku stared at Hotohori pleasantly surprised .The solution was so simple and yet it eluded him.

"That is a perfect plan my Lord."

"Good then "Hotohori grinned, "Now get to sleep."He pulled his robe around him and walked out.

The edges of Menesku's lips curved into a smile "I will."

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