Chapter Seven

It had been some times since they had had visitors from so far away.

Anara pushed open the door of the smallest room in the house, casting a slow, wistful glance around as she felt memories flickering at the back of her mind. Though the room was barren now, devoid of any sign of life, there were still the faintest clues that once it had been more than a spare storage space, and as her gaze fell on the dusty, worn figure of a hand-stitched rag-doll, she felt tears welling up in her indigo eyes.

But they had come seeking Toroki.

She stepped into the small room, scooping up the rag-doll and absently brushing her fingers against the dark woven hair as she fought against her emotions.

It had been four years, she reflected sadly. Four years since the day the Seishi had left Shouki-mura forever...as if walking out of the village and out of existance as she disappeared into the hazy, dust-stormy Kanin mountains.

"Another blade through my heart." She murmured, clutching the doll tightly in her fingers. "There's no lie in the fact that the God's work asks sacrifices of all who are connected to his divine power. Even those of us who have no power at all. Byakko-kami-sama, I have kept faith - I will always keep faith. But why you had to cause my family so much suffering - was it really all for the benefit of Sairou, in the end?"

"Anara-san?"

A voice from the doorway made her turn, and she sighed, setting the doll aside as she registered Hikari in the doorway.

"Can I help you. Hikari-san?" She asked softly. "Does your friend need my help - is she feeling unwell?"

"No...I just...I heard you talking to someone, but there's noone else here." Hikari said slowly, pinkening slightly as she seemed to realise how incoherent her explanation sounded. "I..you look upset and I...I suppose I'm poking my nose in where it's not wanted, aren't I? I mean..."

"No..it's all right." Anara hesitated, then gestured for her young visitor to come join her. "I've been thinking about this, and I think I've decided...come sit down."

"Decided what?" Hikari did as she was bidden, casting her companion a questioning look.

"You came here to find Toroki, didn't you?" Anara said softly, and Hikari nodded.

"Yes. We did." She agreed.

"Will you tell me the reason why?"

"We...we think we need her help." Hikari twisted her fingers together in her lap. "It's sort of hard to explain. But...we were told that she had something that...that we might need. And that...that she might have some advice...for us to take back to Kounan with us. We...we're here not to cause trouble, but...but Kounan and all of the four Kingdoms might be in danger, and so..."

"You seek Byakko's Shinzahou?" Anara asked gently. Hikari started, nodding her head.

"Yes. How do you...?"

"Suzuno-sama's hand mirror." Anara said softly. "The treasure left to Sairou by Byakko no Miko. You seek to take this, then, to Kounan?"

"I...I suppose so." Hikari admitted. "But we won't hurt Toroki. I mean, that's not why we're here. It's just...something is threatening the whole of this world and..."

"All life will be sucked out of it, as each of the stars in the sky is extinguished." Anara murmured. "Trees will drop their leaves, hearts will cease to beat, and no more birds will fly in the skies above our heads. The soul of the world will be erased forever, and so will everything else."

Hikari's eyes widened, and Anara nodded her head.

"That's what you think, isn't it?" She asked evenly. "That's what you want to speak to Toroki about. About the fate of this world, as I've just described it."

"Yes...but..."

"The only thing I don't understand is how you've come to hear such a prophesy."

"I didn't hear it. I saw it for myself." Hikari admitted. Then her hand flew to her mouth, as if she had said something she should not. "Oh! I mean..."

"You saw it?" Anara eyed her keenly. "And who are you, Hikari-san? I was not mistaken, was I, when your friend spoke of Chichiri? He is, is he not, a Suzaku Celestial Warrior? A servant to the Phoenix as Toroki is to the Tiger?"

"Yes." Hikari looked sheepish. "He is. But I'm not sure..."

"He is your father?"

"No." Hikari shook her head. "I just stay with his family...at least I do more recently. My parents are close friends of his, you see. His and Shishi's father - Tasuki."

"So this is a divine calling? You come here on Suzaku's work?"

"In a way, I guess we do."

"And that is why you seek Toroki?"

"Mm." Hikari nodded. Then, "Anara-san, how do you know about the world? I mean, the danger...the destruction. You described it almost exactly as I saw it - how could you do that?"

Her eyes widened.

"You...aren't Toroki, are you?"

"No." Anara smiled, despite herself. "I'm not Toroki. But you are close to the mark. The words are hers, not mine. I heard them so many times they burned themselves into my brain. The number of times she'd cry out in dreams, or sob them into my chest as I tried to calm her down..."

She hesitated, fighting with her composure as she reached for the doll once more, brushing her hand against it absently as if trying to draw some scant comfort from its soft form.

"Toroki saw what you saw." She said at length. "The end of this world."

"Then she did used to live here? That was true?"

"Yes." Anara nodded. "And closer than you think."

She glanced at the doll, then,

"This was hers." She murmured. "When she was only a baby, I stitched it for her. She would take it everywhere with her, when she was still a child. Until she was ten years old...she was...but things changed, then. Things changed..."

Hikari's eyes widened.

"Toroki...lived in this house?" She whispered. "You and she...are family?"

"Toroki is my daughter." Anara nodded, pain in her gaze as she met Hikari's dumbstruck hazel eyes with her own dark indigo ones. "Geiyo Myoume. I gave her the name "Bright Eyes" because she inherited my blue eyes over her father's dark ones and I was proud that she did...but...but the name grew to have a second meaning - as she grew up it became something of a curse in itself. She was Byakko's, and never truly mine, Hikari. You have no idea of the pain a mother feels when she realises her child has a higher calling that transcends even family love."

"I'm sorry." Hikari bit her lip. "I guess that must suck...especially if she just took off one day and didn't come back."

"No...it wasn't so simple as that." Anara sighed, shaking her head. "The truth is, Hikari-chan, that I was relieved when Myoume left the village. Don't get me wrong - I love my daughter." As Hikari looked startled. "But...well, she wasn't my only child. I had a son, too, four years older, but he...it's fair to say he died in all our hearts when Myoume was ten years old. They were close - very close - and it was then that I began to lose my little girl to Byakko's spell."

She fingered the doll's worn clothing, then,

"Myoume always had Byakko's blood flowing through her." She murmured. "The sign of Toroki and the visions and dreams that it brought. But as a small child, they were always fairly minor. Even the nightmares we were able to quell - to comfort and talk away. Some of my neighbours thought her a little odd, but she was never really isolated. After all, she always had her brother to protect her from the worst of the stares. But after my son..."

She closed her eyes, aware of the tears that had begun to form on her lashes.

"The day I lost my beloved son was the first day Myoume had that vision." She whispered. "It was dark and different from the others, and it kept on coming back. As time went on, her power became more and more defined, and she had more and more disturbing delusions and dreams. As she grew, she began to lose her grasp on herself and her sanity - Myoume became swallowed up by Toroki and I found it hard to tell them apart. But most of all I found it hardest to see my daughter suffer so much. I couldn't do anything...in the end, even my being near her caused her more pain, not less."

She rubbed her temples, as if struggling to decide something, and Hikari waited patiently for her host to unburden herself further.

At length the woman looked up, faint indecision in her indigo eyes.

"Your name, Hikari, means light." She murmured. "And it might be a coincidence...but..."

She trailed off, and Hikari frowned.

"I don't understand." She admitted. "What has my name to do with anything, Anara-san?"

"Toroki...my daughter..." Anara hesitated, then she shrugged.

"She spoke often about the end of the world." She murmured. "But...she also talked about other things. Among them, a light. A powerful, guiding light. She was never...overly coherent on what she meant. Just that somewhere in the depths of her turmoil, this light flared out and gave her something to cling onto. I think she believed it was an omen - that somehow it was connected to the future she kept seeing. And that somehow it was a means by which...the end of existance could be stayed."

Hikari's eyes opened wide with surprise.

"But..."

"I realise how strange that sounds." Anara acknowledged. "A lot of the things she said are strange even to me. But you are here now, Hikari-san. You and your friends, from the South, seeking my daughter and the treasure she guards with her life. And I...I do not think you are bad people. You seem genuinely concerned for the health of your friend - and the fact that you were more willing to tend to her wounds than continue on your quest has somewhat decided me that you mean Toroki no harm."

She sighed.

"It may be coincidence." She added. "But you are called Hikari. And Toroki did say the light would come. Ethereal, divine light...I thought it must be Byakko's, but she...she didn't think that it was. Just that...whatever it was...it reached out to her. To this world. And steadied it somehow. Through divine intervention."

Hikari was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Was it red light?" She asked hesitantly, and Anara looked startled, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know." She replied. "Toroki never told me that. Why do you ask?"

Hikari pinkened, twisting her hands together.

"No reason in particular." She said eventually. "I just wondered...since we're here on Suzaku's bidding, and I...I'm called Hikari...whether it was...because of that. I mean...we are trying to stop the thing your daughter prophesied. The thing I've seen, too. And I...I suppose I know that my being here right now is significant in itself. So perhaps..."

She paused, her eyes widening as if she had suddenly remembered something important.

"To do so...is my destiny." She murmured

"Hikari-san?" Anara sent her a puzzled look, and Hikari shot the woman a sheepish smile. She shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired." She said slowly. "But if I saw this world, and Toroki did too, maybe...maybe she's expecting me to come. Maybe she wants us to have the Shinzahou, if she thinks - if she knows - that I've come to help."

Anara buried her head in her hands.

"If you can take that Shinzahou away from my girl, I would be more grateful than you'd ever know." She whispered. "She has always been charged with protecting it, and it's strange powers are great. Yet she won't let it go, even though it heightens her abilities and makes her life more difficult. She withdrew from the village because she knew she couldn't be around people any more - their lives, their pasts, their futures flooding through her at the least flicker of contact. She could have abandoned the Shinzahou, but she believes in being Toroki. So she took the treasure and she left. And I have not seen her since."

"I see." Hikari murmured, then, "But...you do know where it is she's gone?"

"Yes." Anara admitted. "And I...I will tell you. So long as you promise not to harm my daughter, I will."

"You have my word." Hikari promised solemnly, and Anara's heart clenched in her chest at the hope that flared in the young girl's eyes. "And thank you. This is important to all of us. I want to...to help the people in Kounan, and stop this from happening. I want...I want to try."

"None of Myoume's visions have ever been prevented." Anara said quietly. "They have not all come true yet, but those that have have never been changed. Although she spoke of light, Hikari-san, neither she nor I could understand enough what it meant to be able to know for sure if our assumptions were sound, or wishful thinking on both our parts. And I don't know how receptive she will be to you - as I said, she withdrew because being around people became too much for her to bear. She may not wish to speak to you - she may not wish to make contact with you at all."

"We won't know unless we try." Hikari said softly, and Anara offered her a faint smile.

"I like that spirit." She murmured. "If you are sent by Suzaku's people...if you are associated with those men who came here and elicited the loyalty of our Seishi so long ago, I believe you don't mean my daughter harm. And perhaps...if you can somehow help her..."

She sighed.

"Nothing can bring my son back to me." She added bitterly. "Nothing on this Earth. I am resigned to that fact. But Myoume...perhaps...my daughter...maybe she is not yet entirely beyond my reach."

"You really love her, don't you?" Hikari asked gently, and Anara nodded.

"I love both my children more than my own life." She said sadly. "But by Byakko's will I can no longer see or speak to either of them. Such is the cruelty of life in the Beast God's shadow, Hikari-chan. Doing divine work comes with sacrifices...at all levels."

"I...suppose so." Hikari frowned. "My father...my father was Tamahome, Anara-san. One of the Suzaku Seishi, like Chichiri and Tasuki. My mother was Suzaku no Miko. They fought for Kounan once. I know that they lost friends along the way...and before that, even before they had come together, some of them suffered personal pain on account of their latent power within them. I guess...I guess I know what you mean, when you talk like that. That it doesn't matter which God - it's still difficult."

She smiled slightly.

"I don't really know much about the Byakko Seishi, although Chichiri said my father once trained with the one named Tokaki." She added. "And that they were allies during the war with Kutou, before I was born."

"Toroki's spirit was reborn inside my daughter, but it's the one past she doesn't remember." Anara reflected. "She knows that she was once the Toroki who fought alongside Suzuno-sama for the sake of Sairou's peace. But she doesn't remember it. She knows all the stories about Tokaki and Subaru, and the sacrifice of Tatara at the temple in the desert sands. She's always been fascinated by the tales of Byakko's people. But her own past...her own former life...has always been the one life she has never been able to see. Perhaps it makes her doubly more determined to prove herself as Toroki in this life - she feels that Toroki has not yet fulfilled her reason for existance."

"She sounds like a very sad person." Hikari murmured, and Anara nodded.

"I would say that's true." She agreed with a sigh. "But a strong one, Hikari-chan. Whatever else she is, my daughter...she's both stubborn and strong. And completely committed to what she believes in, no matter what the cost."

Hikari was silent for a moment, and Anara eyed her hopefully.

"You will...help my daughter, if you can?" She asked softly. Hikari nodded.

"If we can. When Shishi is well enough to travel." She agreed. "If you can tell us where we're going, we should catch up on ourselves in no time. It has to be better than wandering around the desert aimlessly and none of us really know Sairou as well as we might."

She looked rueful.

"I did hope that we might get a clue as to where this treasure was, but even though we're probably close at hand, I haven't any idea at all." She added. "So we really do need your help, Anara-san."

Anara nodded.

"You and your friends must stay here so long as Shishi-san needs to rest." She said firmly. "And then I will sketch a rough map of the mountain area for you, so you can find her cave quickly and safely. It is not easy to get to, unless you know the local paths...and I will share with you that knowledge. Do you read?"

"Chinese?" Hikari looked surprised, then she shrugged.

"Some." She admitted sheepishly. "Not as much as I probably could. But Shishi and Jin both can - Tasuki's made sure of it. And they're both good at following maps, too - I'm sure that they'll be able to understand."

She spread her hands.

"I'm a bit hopeless in both respects." She acknowledged, and Anara smiled.

"You have a kind heart, however." She observed softly. "Sometimes that can go a long way. I think...I think maybe Toroki...no, Myoume...I think she might take to you. At least, I think she will hear you out, Hikari-san."

"I'm glad about that." Hikari looked relieved. "Thank you, Anara-san...you have no idea how much this means to us!"

With that she flashed the apothecary a grin, disappearing out of the room as she headed back to share her news with her friends. Once alone again, Anara sat back, a pensive expression on her face.

"Nor do you know what it means to me." She murmured, her gaze flitting to the doll once more. "Myoume-chan...do not turn these people away. I think they truly want to help you. If there is any way to retrieve my daughter from within the Celestial Warrior, please, let these people find it somehow!"

------

They had survived their night out of doors.

Hyoushin stood at the edge of the cluster of desert trees, gazing pensively out across the horizon as the first rays of sun began to glimmer across the sandy landscape. His gaze rested on the peaks of the Kanin mountains, and he frowned, his amethyst eyes narrowing as he contemplated the day ahead.

They were not far off, he decided, even with the illusion of distance that the sand and the hazy atmosphere provoked. And they would indeed face Toroki that day.

"And gain the Shinzahou, because I must." He murmured softly. "For the sake of Kutou."

"Remind me never to sleep in the desert again."

From the makeshift camp behind him, Hyoushin could hear Maichu's sleepy tones and a faint smile flickered across his lips as he realised his companions were beginning to stir. As he made his way back towards them, he ran his mind over the best procedure for the day's events, remembering only too clearly Miramu's words the night before about the Celestial Warrior who guarded Byakko's treasure.

"He won't come with us, so I must account for him some other way." He reflected inwardly. "I will not leave him unattended, but I must venture into Toroki's cave myself to do my Emperor's bidding. Which means I must delegate responsibility for Miramu's actions to someone else. It is not ideal, and I do not trust the rogue out of my sight. But it is unavoidable in this case. Whilst I will keep my Emperor's word, I cannot guarantee an assassin will keep his own."

His gaze ran over the stirring solders, and his lips thinned as he made up his mind.

"It will have to be so." He acknowledged to himself. "Of all the men, Aoiketsu is least likely to be swayed or tricked by Miramu's deceptions. His patriotic spirit for Kutou is strong, as is his loyalty to the Emperor. And he is an able soldier, should he choose to use his skills. Much as I dislike the thought, I will leave him to mind the Sairou troublemaker. I should like to have him with me – but keeping Miramu to heel is as important when we are not so very far from Eiroku territory."

He turned his attention to the other young men in his retinue, considering each by turn. Of the six soldiers who had accompanied him to Sairou on this trip, Aoiketsu and Maichu were the youngest, although if he was honest with himself, he felt they were also among the most reliable in the Kutou palace guard. Next there was Kayu, an outspoken, wiry young man of twenty one who was prone to complaining but quick with his sword and deft on his feet in a moment of conflict. Hyoushin's eyes narrowed slightly as he reflected on Kayu's progress in the palace retinue. Despite his skill and agility, the young man had never been too keen on taking responsibility for his own mistakes, and it rankled with the Meihi somewhat that a man of arms would be willing to blame his fellows for his own errors in judgement.

"But he is a good soldier, and he does not often err." He acknowledged, his gaze shifting from the still sleepy Kayu to the next man, who was busy polishing the blade of his sword as if to conceal unease at the mission ahead. Ouno was twenty three, from merchant folk and deeply superstitious, and despite his diligence, Hyoushin immediately discounted him as a potential member of the party to tackle Toroki in her cave.

"Not in the presence of Divine magic." He decided firmly, as his glance darted over the remaining two warriors. At twenty five and twenty six respectively, Jakou and Bouri were the longest serving members of the palace guard present and both solid, if unimaginative men of brawny build and forceful, well-practiced swordsmanship. That neither one of them possessed the creative instinct to handle an unpredictable battle situation also counted them out in Hyoushin's mind and he sighed, turning his attention back to the younger members of the party.

"Then it is decided." He reflected out loud, drawing the attention of the nearest soldiers as they scrambled to bring themselves into a more presentable formation.

"Are you talking to yourself again, Ghost of the East?" Miramu's sly tones came from behind him and Hyoushin frowned, suppressing his surprise at the man's sudden appearance.

"No, I am working out the tactics of the day ahead." He said evenly. "I am glad you are up, Miramu. I wish you to confirm the path into the mountains."

"You want me to take you to the door, basically." Miramu snorted, and Hyoushin nodded.

"That is appropriate." He agreed. "The arrangement was that you should not face Toroki. If you lead us to that place, it will not be in breach of your promise from my Emperor."

"Yeah, yeah, all right, I get it." Miramu shrugged. "And your little sheep? What of them?"

Hyoushin's eyes narrowed, but he did not retaliate. Instead he turned his gaze once more towards the soldiers.

"Listen well, all of you." He said in the quiet, even tones that all who served under him recognised as the voice of command. "Ouno, Bouri, Jakou – you will remain here and attend the horses and the bulk of our supplies. We will return here as soon as possible. It is your duty to mind our beasts and to divide and prepare rations for all of us – I am putting great trust in all of you, and am placing Bouri in overall command, as the eldest."

"Yes, sir." The three men saluted, Bouri clearly pleased with the responsibility, while Hyoushin did not miss the flicker of relief that flared in Ouno's often wild brown eyes. He nodded.

"The rest of you will come with me." He said softly. "To Toroki's cave. However…"

He paused, then his gaze rested on Aoiketsu.

"Aoiketsu, I do not wish you to enter the cave with us." He said frankly. "Miramu will guide us there, and you will wait with him for us to emerge. Maichu and Kayu will accompany me into the cave itself. Is this understood?"

"You think I need a babysitter?" Miramu sounded amused, as Aoiketsu's expression registered surprise at the strange command. Hyoushin nodded.

"Yes, I do. To ensure you do not break the terms either." He said bluntly. "You have caused us enough trouble already, and I will not risk you causing further upset to your fellow Westerners."

He offered Aoiketsu a faint smile.

"I realise I am asking an unpleasant task of you." He added. "Yet I have faith in you to complete it with the minimum amount of fuss. Do you accept my orders, Aoiketsu? Do you understand your duty?"

Aoiketsu hesitated for a second, then nodded, raising his hand in a salute.

"Yes sir." He said softly. "I understand, and I won't let him out of my sight."

"Easier said than done." Miramu snorted, and Hyoushin shot him a dark look.

"Aoiketsu, if he threatens your life, or otherwise compromises your safety or the safety of our party, you are authorised to strike him down." He said coolly.

Aoiketsu's eyes widened with shock, and Miramu chuckled.

"Oh, so if I'm a bad boy, Aoi-kun can kill me, huh?" He queried. "Well. Now that is a frightening proposition!"

"Just because he looks like a pretty boy doesn't mean he doesn't know how to fight back." Maichu defended his friend hotly at this juncture. "So you better keep your mouth shut, Miramu – because he's as good a soldier as any of us, and he'll make you sorry if you don't listen to Hyoushin-sama's words."

"You people…" Miramu shook his head slowly. "All right. I understand. I have no intention of upsetting your little party anyway…but I will submit and allow Aoiketsu to 'mind' me."

"Then it is settled." Hyoushin nodded. "Maichu, Kayu, I will be putting a lot of faith in the both of you to be attentive to potential danger. We do not know what kind of person this Toroki truly is…or whether she is or isn't a danger to us. Either way, what we come here to do is bound to cause her displeasure. Possibly anger. We must be ready. And most importantly of all – we must not take her life. This your Emperor has promised, and this above all things must be upheld."

"We'll be fine, Hyoushin-sama. You can count on us." Maichu said firmly, and Kayu nodded, his thick tail of hair falling over his shoulder as he did so.

"We'll do as the Emperor asks." He agreed. "I don't really want to kill some girl anyway…she's not going to be that much of a challenge, against three of us, surely?"

"And what about me?" Suiko demanded sulkily, before anyone could respond to Kayu's words. "What am I going to do? Mean Hyoushin, are you trying to leave me behind?"

"I don't overly care what you do." Hyoushin said evenly. "You dislike desert and the mountains are unlikely to be filled with water sources. If you wish to stay here with Bouri and the others, I am sure they will provide you with protection."

Suiko's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head.

"You are stupid sometimes too, you know." She said flatly, flickering her ghostly fingers in the direction of the mountains. "Those peaks are full of underground water repositories and I can feel the flow of it from here. Besides, I don't want to stay here with these dirty soldiers. I want to come with you to see Toroki."

"I thought you didn't care about Byakko?" Hyoushin raised an eyebrow, neatly warding her off as she sought to wrap her arms around his neck once more. Suiko pouted, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"I don't know about Toroki. She might be different." She said petulantly. "She's not like him. Byakko didn't throw her away."

She thrust her fingers in Miramu's direction, and Hyoushin definitely saw a flicker of annoyance cross the assassin's strange indigo eyes. He snorted.

"Take your weird witch with you, Hyoushin." He said frankly. "She might be helpful, against Toroki's power."

"What is Toroki's power, Miramu?" Aoiketsu wondered. "You've met her, and you said that she predicted…things. But is that…all she can do?"

Miramu's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.

"Don't underestimate the power of knowing someone's past, present and future." He said darkly, a hint of bitterness in his tones. "Besides, she's not just a prophet. She's a Seishi – a Celestial Warrior who embraced her powers and more, one who possesses Byakko's holy treasure. Or are you ignorant of these things? I'm sure the water witch can tell you all about the power of a Celestial Warrior and how it is increased by proximity to the Shinzahou."

"I see." Hyoushin frowned, considering the man's words carefully. "Then before we set off, I would like you to clarify this for me a little more. Toroki has the power of sight, but she also has other magic, yes?"

"In a sense, yes."

"In what sense?"

Miramu smiled lazily.

"Don't let her touch you with her right hand." He said casually. "At least, if it's uncovered…you'll regret it if you do."

"Why her right hand?" Maichu looked flummoxed. "What's wrong with it? Does she have some kind of weird disease or something?"

"Worse." Miramu responded. "She has a curse. Toroki's mark appears on the first finger of her right hand, and if she touches you, she will know all your immediate thoughts and feelings. If she takes you off guard, she might even be able to rummage around inside your memories, and even alter your perceptions – but most significantly of all, she draws strength from such contact. And with that strength, she has the ability to manifest psychic energy at her opponents."

"Psychic…energy?" Ouno murmured, and Hyoushin could tell that the man was relieved not to be going inside the cave.

"Clarify." He said brusquely. "What do you mean, psychic energy?"

"Imagine being struck by a wave of thoughts and feelings and pictures of things from deep within someone's soul." Miramu said softly. "Imagine that your own deepest, darkest thoughts and memories were pulled from within you and flung into the ether, poisoning and tainting those around you with your most traumatic fears and nightmares. Her magic causes delusions, Hyoushin. Delusions of reality, whether through her own eyes or through the eyes of those she makes contact with."

He smiled slightly.

"Now you understand why I will not see her." He added. "The more negative the energy, the more strength she can draw from it, and the greater her arsenal is. With my profession, there is much darkness inside of me. I would be a hindrance to anyone who was foolish enough to bring me into her range. And more, I do not wish to have my thoughts, my memories and my life ransacked by her touch."

He spread his hands, shooting Hyoushin what could only be described as a malicious smile.

"I wish you luck, Hyoushin-sama." He murmured.

Hyoushin's brows knitted together as he carefully considered this.

"If this is the case, it is as well to know that her right hand holds such potential power." He said eventually. "And we will endeavour to avoid it – and immobilise her before we seek to take the treasure. We will not kill her – but we can render her unable to attack. It is good to have prior warning, Miramu – thank you for your information."

Miramu seemed startled by this, as if he had expected more of a reaction from his Meihi companion, and Hyoushin turned his attention back to his men, secretly glad that he had been able to respond in such a level, even manner.

"But I too may be a liability for my Emperor's forces, to enter a cave with an opponent like that awaiting us." He reflected. "What strength could she draw from my past, I wonder? It would be as well not to find out."

He paused for a moment, then his gaze flitted to Suiko.

"Perhaps it would be preferable that you accompany us." He said softly. "It may be that we require a form of fighting which does not require direct personal contact."

Suiko's expression changed in an instant from a dark sulk to a radiant beam, and Hyoushin half wondered if he had made the right call.

"Then shall we move out?" Was all he said, however. "Suiko, you may come to the mountains so long as you cease to drape yourself all over me. The Sairou climate is antisocial for all of us and it does not make my progress any easier to have you to take into account as well."

"Fine. I can walk." Suiko folded her arms, but her eyes still glittered with excitement. "After all, you want me to come with you, Hyoushin. So you do like me after all."

Hyoushin shot her a look, but decided it was better not to respond, and instead he gestured to his men to gather their weapons and prepare to part ways.

"We will return as soon as we are able." He told Bouri, who saluted, nodding his head. "Maichu, Kayu, Aoiketsu – bring only what you need carry – your swords and water for the walk across the land. Miramu, we are following your lead. We wish to take the quickest path to the mountains – the sooner we face Toroki, the sooner we can all return to Kutou."

"Then follow me." Miramu said easily. "If you track through the paths I know, we'll be there in an hour or maybe even less than that."

"That suits." Hyoushin agreed. "Let us go."

-------

So they both came ever closer.

Toroki rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes as she sought to make sense of the dizzy whirl of images that infiltrated her mind. Vague whispers and flickers of thoughts and memories not her own had begun to claw at the edges of her sanity, and she knew beyond all doubt that before too long the men of the East would confront her in the desert chamber.

"But this is how it must be." She whispered, pulling herself to her feet as she cast a reluctant glance in the direction of the Shinzahou. "I do not know the outcome, or whether it is for good or bad that they come here. But that they must come…that I must meet them face to face. Here, in this cave."

She glanced up towards the uneven cavern ceiling, pursing her lips as she remembered the day four years ago that she had first taken refuge in the mountains. Although there had been many more convenient openings in the cliff face, several of which were closer to ready streams of fresh mountain water, she had not satisfied herself until she had found this one. Of all of the caverns in the Kanin peaks, this one alone matched the fleeting premises of her vision – that in a cave such as this one she would encounter the forces of the Dragon and the Phoenix in quick succession.

"It has been four years." She sighed, stretching out on her back as she slipped her fingers beneath her head. "But this day is the day."

She closed her eyes a second time, focusing her attention on the elusive pictures as she strove to visualise the people she would be facing. As she did so, a little gasp escaped her lips, and her eyes shot open, dismay flickering in their depths.

"Miramu." She breathed. "After so many years – do you choose today to face me? This is not that day. This day is different. This day…is something else. But even though you seek to hide from me, I know you're there. I know you're coming, Miramu, and with you are coming men of the Dragon's land. Men who seek Suzuno-sama's divine treasure…the mirror which I swore to defend with my life."

She fell silent, the images in her head cresting and falling like waves on the seashore as she let her strange, precognitive powers take control of her thoughts.

"I must preserve Byakko's treasure." She reflected. "It is the duty he gave me, to protect Suzuno-sama's mirror with my life. But if today is not that day, then I am not destined to face Miramu. Nor is my death a possibility. In which case…their coming…"

She frowned, pulling herself into a sitting position as she wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly to her chest.

"They've come to take it." She murmured. "And Byakko forgive me, but I…Toroki…I am going to let them."