Chapter 10 Back Down the Mountain

Mia rode with a zeal for life and everything warm. The promise of scorching deserts lay before them, and she couldn't wait! She was almost singing out loud like a little kid. The only thing stopping her was the image of her new friends stopping to rest thinking that she had gone insane and needed tending. It did make her giggle out loud. For that matter, just the bouncing on Tank in the process of a wide open gallop down the snowy mountain had her laughing like a loon.

Heat, sand, sun, warmth…. She just couldn't wait to be sweating and stripping out of her 4 layers of clothes. Not that her silk camisole didn't feel good, but the cold still found its way in, and she had decided she was a summer type woman.

It had been late in the afternoon when they left the summit, and she was determined that they would at least make it back to the clearing where they camped the night before. Weariness began to drag on her every body part, and even her mind, but she didn't care. Maybe that was why she was feeling so giddy over a successful mission. So far, no bad guys had leaped out of the scenery to murder, maim and steal, so this was a good sign. Maybe, they had slipped in and out before Nakago could get a true read on them. She checked the pocket under her uniform that hid the Shinzaho for the millionth time. It wasn't going anywhere.

All around her, the soldiers and Chichiri were kept an anxious eye on the foliage. It would be too easy to take the priestess unawares in her current happy mood. Chichiri felt a bit uneasy at her exuberance. It was almost unnatural. So, with that in mind, he carefully centered himself on the back of his charging war horse, and closed his eyes. With a bit of preparatory meditation, he calmed his senses so he could reach out with his magical abilities. Opening his eyes, he scanned all the members of the column and the lengthening dark for any hints of danger, enemies or foreign auras. Surprisingly enough, the only color he could detect was the lingering glow of red from the blast of Suzaku's powers that Mia had unleashed earlier. Mia trailed a glow of red behind her like a comet tail, and all the soldiers were tinted with the faintest hint of red.

These repetitive displays of power concerned Chichiri a bit. Surely, it was unheard of that any priestess could wield celestial powers without having summoned a beast god. And even once the summoning was complete; there was absolutely no mention of any priestess being able to continue using such power. This was stranger than anything he had learned in his years under Taiitsukun's mentoring. He wondered if the wizened old hag had experienced anything similar to this.

Another thing that worried him about Mia's power was the possibility of Nakago being able to detect it and track it from long distance. So far they had been fortunate to avoid further interference. But, it still seemed unlikely that the enemy general would simply allow them to move about freely even if he didn't know exactly what they were attempting. Nakago was too cunning not to be intrigued with this second contingent of Konan soldiers moving about the country side.

Mia watched in an exhausted haze as the sun set beyond the receding mountain range. Still, the column continued moving since they had not reached the previous night's campsite. She didn't know why it was so important to cover that much ground in a day, but time was of the essence, and as long as Tank didn't drop out from under her, she meant to keep up with the hardened soldiers around her.

Odd thoughts drifted through her mind as she listened to the encroaching night. The wind whistled through the surrounding forest like a wounded animal. Her thoughts turned to the horrors that her younger self was experiencing at this moment. She remembered the day spent in excruciating agony from the sickness that plagued the city. Her friends could do nothing but approach local doctors in hopes of finding her some relief, only to be turned down. How long had it been that she suffered before Miss Shoka had suggested that they kill her so that she could be revived? It had seemed like a wonderful solution at the time.

Now, all those years later, she felt shame that she could have asked her beloved Hotohori to kill her. She knew what it was like to love someone so intensely, and stand by helplessly while they suffered. It must have been so horrible for the young man to make such a drastic decision to end the life of the girl he professed to love completely. It turned out well in the end, but every now and then, she couldn't help wondering, what would have happened if Hotohori could have completed his task? She would be a zombie and they would never have met Mitsukake.

In the back of her exhausted mind, she tried to calculate how long it would take them to travel to Choko if she decided to lend a hand to the younger Miaka in her warrior gathering mission. Should she warn them of the assassins that were probably heading their way? Should she send Chichiri to their group with information since nothing much was happening up here in Hokkan?

But, deviating from the plan she had written into the Universe of the Four Gods could be disastrous. Not that everything was going the way she had outlined. The whole detection by Nakago was a complete surprise. Maybe she shouldn't have left the extra blood on each page for the story to write its own detours. All she could do was stick to the plan and hope that she somehow reached the same result as she had worked towards.

In the hours of endless riding down the mountain, part of her still wondered what it would be like to meet this younger self. For that matter, what would it be like to meet Tamahome? He would seem like a child, just like Hotohori did. Would the feelings still be there? Would they be different since this was a different person? On some level, she felt like her desire to run to this Tamahome was a betrayal of the love she had with her own Tamahome/Taka. A headache grew as she tried to ponder the vagaries of time travel, only to come to the conclusion that it was impossible to understand.

And there was the possibility of meeting this younger, vital Nuriko. Oh, how she had missed her strong, cross-dressing friend. It was so unfair, that just at the point where they were really becoming close friends, that he had been snatched away from her. She had unintentionally heard his confession to Tamahome in the bar, and had never had enough time to digest the fact that he loved her. How could Nuriko love her? He had always mocked her and pushed her away. Still, in the end, he had sacrificed his life so she could gather the Shinzaho and summon Suzaku. But, this Nuriko was not the one of her memories. This man was still at the beginning of his journey of self-discovery. He still loved the emperor, and thought Miaka was an annoyance. Mia laughed to herself as she remembered all the times Nuriko became jealous over the Emperor's affections for his young priestess, and Nuriko's schemes to unite her with Tamahome.

Just before all the light had bled away from the twilight sky, Kanai ordered the troops to veer off their current trail and head slightly west. Chichiri asked from her right, "I thought the idea was to retrace our trek back to the campsite, you know?"

Mia turned her head slightly to look through the puff of steam that she created with every exhale to see the silhouette of the big soldier turn towards them. He explained, "Ordinarily that would be a smart move since we are already familiar with the terrain. But since we have no intelligence on the position of our enemy, we wouldn't want to make it too easy for them to find us. If they were following our trail up towards Mt Koko, they could come upon us in the night and catch us unawares."

As the column headed off on this change of course, Lieutenant Kanai ordered the archers Uno and Furutani to stand guard while he had Arata and Eguchi, the pike carrier and the healer, disguise their tracks leading off the trail and into the woods. While Kanai was giving orders, the Assistant Commander Suitani admitted to Mia that, "Eguchi may primarily be our healer, but he is quite skilled in camouflage. He comes from a prestigious ninja family. And although he did not desire to kill, he still picked up many of their secrets."

Mia simply sat on Tank and watched the four men essentially disappear into the lengthening darkness. Oh how she wished they would allow her to strike a torch. Traveling in the darkness was not her idea of fun. It conjured up too many images from horror movies… bats, crazed killers with chainsaws, aliens, vampires, zombies, blobs…And then there were the terrors in this world. It seemed like everywhere she turned here, there were bandits and evil men wanting to become carnally acquainted with her body. Not to mention the assassins and evil minions of Nakago.

As the men finished their work, she could only tell where anyone was from the sounds of squeaking leather and whinnying horses. But in the dark, those noises seemed so distant. Since she could not see her own hands, she decided she would just have to trust Tank to follow the lead horses.

From somewhere to her left, she heard the Lieutenant comment, "We will be making camp soon. We just need to be far enough off from the trail that the smoke from our fire and the sounds of our camp don't carry to anyone that might be on the trail. We will circle around to the pass from the west and keep scouts on the trail to alert us to any approaching enemy."

Chichiri called to her from the right, "Mia, are you alright? It's been a rather long and eventful day, you know. And you haven't spoken much since we left the mountain. Can you make it to the campsite? You could always ride with me so you could sleep, you know."

Mia snickered in the darkness. "It's really sweet of you to offer Chichiri. But by the time I climbed off Tank and mounted your horse, we could already have been there and setting up. I think I'll just stick with Tank and let him follow the others."

Assistant Commander Suitani ordered Nishi, the beady eyed, rat like little man from the front guard, to the first shift of watching the trail. She was getting disoriented from hearing all the disembodied voices around her interspersed with sounds of shifting bodies, human and equine. From somewhere off to her right, a strange squeak caused a sudden increase in her adrenaline. She pulled back on the reins, and Tank came to a dutiful stop. She whispered, "Chichiri, did you hear that?"

It was amazing how quickly fifteen men and seventeen horses suddenly became still and silent. A warm hand appeared to her right and grasped her arm in a reassuring gesture. Instinctively, she knew it was Chichiri. So far, he was the only one who touched her in such a friendly gesture. Around her, she could just barely make out the dark shapes of her comrades as they dismounted and vanished into the shadows of the forest.

Minutes stretched into what seemed like hours before she heard a commotion off to the right again. A deep, quiet call reported that "One man subdued. Appears to be long range reconnaissance." Then all the men and horses were once again surging forward in the quietest gallop she had ever experienced.

Mia struggled with keeping her eyes open, even with the impending threat of ambush. The day's events were overtaking her and her eyes were getting twitchy, and rolling up into her head. It was a horrible feeling that she remembered all too well from her days as an undergraduate student at University and the late night feedings of Hikari as an enfant. Although Konan was beautiful and pristine, one major drawback was a lack of caffeine. Oh, what she wouldn't do for a large cup of coffee, or a Mt Dew™. Heck, she'd even go for one of those nasty tasting energy drinks if it would help perk her up.

So, it was no surprise when she felt her head snapping up from where it had fallen against her chest. She had often laughed at classmates who got to this stage as having lecture whiplash. Now that she was experiencing it firsthand it wasn't quite so funny. She wanted to call out and ask how much further, but since everyone was still remaining so silent, she figured there was still the threat of being overheard by the enemy. Suffering in silence in the almost complete dark, made it even worse.

Mia never felt it when her eyes closed against her will. She never felt it when her head slumped forward as exhaustion finally caught up with her. She never felt her body become completely relaxed and lower towards Tank's neck. She never felt as gravity and her body's inability to maintain its balance allowed her to slip noiselessly from the saddle. But she definitely felt it when her sleeping body impacted with the hard ground.

Tank must have felt her slipping, as he stopped moving forward and tried to side-step to get up under her shifting body in an effort to keep her in the saddle. But, she still fell, despite his best efforts. With his rider on the ground, and other horses approaching quickly from behind, the great gray warhorse side-stepped even further until he was actually standing over her body.

The men in the rear guard suddenly exclaimed as their mounts abruptly veered to the left and right to avoid running into the stationary gelding. One horse even reared since he had no where to go and could not stop his forward momentum in time to prevent riding up Tank's behind. It stood up on its back legs, and pivoted completely around until it was facing in the opposite direction. Needless to say, that it was only due to the superior horsemanship skills that none of the soldiers were unseated and on the ground like Mia.

The first thought on everyone's mind was "Ambush!" Weapons were drawn and senses went on heightened alert. Once again, everything became deathly silent as the men searched for the cause of the disturbance. From somewhere in the middle of the group, too far down to be from a mounted rider, a voice hissed a quiet, "Ow." Everyone recognized the voice instantly as the priestess they were guarding. Had someone attacked her? An arrow could easily pick off a single rider in the midst of a battalion.

Chichiri called in a stressed voice, "Mia, are you alright? Where are you?" Lieutenant Kanai added, "What happened? Did anyone see anything?"

A quiet, embarrassed voice echoed up from the ground in the middle of the group, "I seem to be on the ground. My head hurts. I think I fell asleep and fell off my horse." There was a shuffling sound and she added, "And Tank is standing over me." Another shuffling sound was heard and they heard a patting sound, "Good Tank. What a good horse, protecting your silly rider."

Kanai was still tense as he asked for confirmation, "Are you sure you simply fell asleep? You were not struck anywhere? There is no outside influence?" This last was obviously directed at Chichiri. A slight red glow peeked out from under some clothing as Chichiri scanned the area for any enemy auras or anomalies. The wizard reported, "No, there is nothing out of the ordinary in the surrounding woods. Just us."

The soldiers began to loosen up at the report that nothing evil was lurking about, other than the spy they had caught earlier. Kanai ordered, "Set up camp. We are far enough away from the original trail to avoid detection. Still, take precautions to keep the noise and light level down." Men dismounted and hustled about to erect the tent and gather kindling and wood for the indoor fire. It would have to stay small, but a little fire was better than nothing.

An embarrassed voice called out again from the ground in the darkness, "Could someone come and get me? I can't see a thing. My night vision has never been very good. Although I love Tank for helping me, I don't think it's such a good idea to stay under him like this. What if he wants to go?" Even though, in Mia's sleep addled mind she was thinking "go" in terms of "walking off" it was obvious from some of the snickers drifting around the group that the soldiers had taken it to mean "relieving his bladder" either of which could be dangerous or embarrassing.

Eguchi, the healer with ninja skills, was the one to come to her and assist her out from under the warhorse. It seemed that ninjas were bred to have excellent night vision and he could see as well as if there had been a full moon. 'Lucky stiff.' Mia thought to herself as she was led about like a blind woman which, technically, she was.

In no time she was ensconced within the warm, lit interior of the tent with a wall of soldiers between her and the spy that was being interrogated by Lieutenant Kanai and Assistant Commander Suitani. The spy was of course wearing nothing but black, and had a mask over the bottom half of his face. He looked identical to the spy that she had seen suspended from her ceiling in the Emperor's palace when Nakago had sent the ultimatum for Tamahome to turn himself over to Kutou in exchange for a cease to the hostilities to the outlying villages.

She had to peek around Deguchi's girth to see the proceedings. Beside her, Chichiri kept scanning for any telltale signs of more spies or communication. She whispered in a voice that only traveled to those directly around her, "I've seen him before. He works directly for Nakago. Be careful, he's fast and slippery." Chichiri pulled out a length of rope from the folds of his cape and chanted a binding prayer over it. Mia whispered to him, "Is that like Wonder Woman's golden lasso that will make him tell the truth?" Her blue haired friend looked strangely at her reference to a woman, but then grinned, "That's not a bad idea, you know."

Chichiri pulled out a sutra and wound it around the cord and added a second chant. Then he stepped up beside Kanai and handed the Lieutenant a length of rope. The wizard kept his back to the enemy as he whispered to the Lieutenant to use this as an added precaution to prevent any escape attempts and to compel the truth from the enemy.

Kanai had an eager, piercing look in his eyes as he ordered the man in black to be bound to the entrance pole with the enchanted rope. Immediately, the spy started gasping and struggling against the spell as if he were in pain. Chichiri quietly explained for Mia, "If he is a habitual liar, the very notion of telling the truth would hurt him."

Kanai waited until the man had calmed down and slumped to a sitting position before he started firing questions at the prisoner. "What are you doing here?"

The spy struggled to keep his mouth closed, and sweat broke out on his forehead with the effort. Still, his strangled voice spoke against his will, "Scouting ahead of my battalion."

Kanai grinned like a predator sizing up a wounded deer. He continued, "What are you looking for?"

The spy gritted his teeth and actually bit onto his lower lip in an effort to hold in the answer to the question. "Lord Nakago ordered us to look for a strange power source."

Several soldiers unconsciously looked over to Mia at the mention of the power source. Was their greatest fear realized? Did Nakago know who they were protecting? "Do you know what or who you are looking for?"

The spy struggled a bit less on this question as it really didn't mean much to him, "No, only that they are Konan sympathizers."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief knowing their identities were still safe. Kanai moved onto the more logistic questions that would determine their route out of Hokkan. "How many are behind you?"

The spy resumed his struggle not to divulge this information. You could almost see the fear in his eyes as he realized what would become of him if he betrayed his general. He hissed out, "200."

Kanai continued as if he were asking about the weather, "Are they regular troops? How many assassins?"

A groan escaped the spy's throat as he shouted, "Stop this! I won't tell you….Regular troops and 10 assassins." The man's face fell as his efforts to keep his information to himself failed miserably.

"Are there any Seiryu warriors in or leading your battalion?" Kanai asked turning serious again. If Nakago were that close, they were in serious trouble. The General of Kutou was a brilliant strategist, and their little company would never be able to defend against such overwhelming odds under the command of the General.

The spy simply hung his head now and stopped fighting the compulsion from the rope. His voice was low and mournful, "No. The threat was not great enough."

Kanai motioned for Suitani to produce the map of the area that they had previously used to chart their path to Mt Koko. "Are there any soldiers waiting along the route back?"

"Yes."

Kanai's eyes narrowed again, "Where and how many?" Suitani was prepared to mark the locations and numbers of the enemy troops.

They spy looked up through his bangs and eyed the Lieutenant. Just by looking at his eyes, you could tell the evil man was grinning, thinking that their win was inevitable, "50 at the mountain pass. 50 at the border. 100 on the trail half a day behind me."

Assistant Commander Suitani tapped the map and studied the path they intended to travel. He stepped up and asked a question while Kanai paused. "Are you planning any ambushes?"

The spy huffed at the thought. His voice dripped with disdain, "No, the terrain is too unpredictable."

The Lieutenant drew the man's attention back to himself as he asked a follow up question. "What were you supposed to do if you found these sympathizers?"

The spy grinned an evil smirk that could be seen even through the half mask that covered his face. "Take prisoners if possible and report back to Lord Nakago."

Mia leaned over to Chichiri again as the men around her began squirming. "Hey, Chichiri? What are we going to do with the spy once we get all we need to know from him? I mean, can you make him forget he ever saw us? Or that we caught him? It'd be really great if he went all the way to Touron looking for us. That would give us a big head start to Sairou."

Before anyone could react, the spy let out a painful scream as he was engulfed in a cloud of green glowing gas. Slowly, as the soldiers reacted, his body dissolved. A strong wind blew in through the flap door and circled about the room. The remnants of green dust were whisked out into the night air. A sinister laugh could be heard echoing on the wind. Mia gasped out loud, "Nakago!"

Lieutenant Kanai and Assistant Suitani leapt away from the scene in shock and immediately began issuing orders to the stunned men. Chichiri pushed Mia up against the back of Deguchi and turned to place his back up against her in a defensive stance, effectively sandwiching her between them. On her sides, Yamane and Tashima protected her flanks. There was no way they were going to let anything get to her.

Chichiri raised his staff and began scanning for any traces of the evil general, but there was nothing there. He admitted, "I can't feel his presence, and there is no hint of his aura. Is it possible for him to have done such a thing without even being here?"

Mia quietly commented from behind his back, "Isn't it possible that Miboshi can transport Nakago the same way you transported yourself? Maybe Miboshi has some way of monitoring spies from a long distance. It would explain why Nakago was always ahead of us in our quest when I was younger."

Kanai walked over to the huddle of manpower protecting Mia and shook his head, "If nothing else, we know he is now aware of our presence. So we can make our way to a different pass that is not guarded, and avoid their forces. It might cost a few extra days, but it's better than a confrontation." Everyone could see their Lieutenant formulating new plans and strategies to counteract this new development.

As the men loosened up their protective stance around Mia, she looked dejected at her circle of friends. "Well, there goes the idea of being sneaky. If we're going to be fighting whole armies, we might have to head home for reinforcements. Or maybe we could trade in these scratchy uniforms and gallop around in plain clothes?" Her smile brightened at the thought of wearing something cool like Nuriko used to wear, or was that, still wears… whichever.

Finally, Mia cleared her throat to get some attention and commented, "Well, this is all nice and cozy, but if you guys don't mind loosening up, I'd really like to get to sleep. And I can't change into my night clothes if you guys won't give me a little breathing room." The protective soldiers reluctantly agreed to give her only enough space for propriety's sake in changing. Mia still felt a little disgruntled, but came to the conclusion that she didn't care enough to make a fuss. All she really wanted was her bed. Not even the threat of a lurking Nakago was enough to deter her. With an ungraceful flop, she was face down in her bedding before anyone could even comment.

Chichiri walked up to the Lieutenant and commented, "I think I'll go and set up a few sutras to create a barrier that will disguise our presence, you know. It won't do much good if we are seen, but it should stop Nakago from being able to sense our location so easily." Kanai nodded, "I'm doubling the guard around the camp from here on out. No point in leaving ourselves so open. Up until now we assumed we were traveling undetected. Seems our arrogance has caught up with us. Tomorrow we will have to come up with a different route out of Hokkan and a better plan to protect your priestess." Kanai looked directly into Chichiri's eyes, "My men are among the best, but I don't know how much protection we can be against celestial warriors and wizards who can sweep into our camp on a breeze. I'd like to say we could guarantee her safety, but I'm not willing to risk her life on my pride. We need to get word to his Highness of this development and seek his input. He had given us a great responsibility and I refuse to disappoint him."

Chichiri headed towards the flap door and advised, "I will contact the Emperor at the earliest opportunity. But first the barrier." Out in the bone-aching cold, the blue-haired warrior moved cautiously about the little clearing. His eyesight was not much better than the average human's, but he could make out the slightly darker shapes of trees in the almost pitch blackness. He raised his hand in his typical chant position and said a small prayer before infusing the slip of paper with a bit of his power. It flared with a lovely shade of blue before dimming to a glow reminiscent of a firefly. He carefully placed the sutra on the first tree and moved to the other cardinal points in the clearing. While he was working, a stray thought broke into his concentration. "I wish Suzaku were here to guard the camp tonight."

As if in response to the thought from the warrior, a screeching call from a hunting bird reverberated about the forest. Chichiri was so shocked, that he actually dropped the sutra he was working on to the snowy ground. He jumped when the bit of power contained in the paper sparked before dissipating. For a second he thought "I'll have to start over with that one." before searching for the source of the echoing cry.

His skin began surging with the prickling power of his god. This was the same feeling he had at his first meeting with the great Phoenix protector of Konan. Searching eyes finally found the sight they yearned for. A growing red glow was traveling through the forest from the west. Chichiri immediately dropped to his knees at the sight of Suzaku in human form as he strode silently into the clearing.

As he felt the piercing eyes of the beast god turn to pierce him, Chichiri bowed his head in reverence, although he kept his eyes pinned on his god. Suzaku inclined his head in recognition and walked to the first of the sutras the wizard had set. Suzaku raised his arm and gently touched the slip of paper with one of his perfectly formed, long fingers. The paper flared and then exploded into a red flame.

Chichiri was shocked at the destruction of his protective ward and gasped out loud. Still, he did nothing as the beast god walked to the other 3 papers and repeated this gesture. Finally, Suzaku floated over to Chichiri and reached down for the forgotten sutra on the ground. It too exploded into flame as Suzaku lifted it and placed it upon the tree that Chichiri had intended to use as the final corner of the protective barrier. With the placement of this last bit of flame, a strange web of red light seemed to weave itself back and forth above the campsite in a lacy dome.

In awe, Chichiri approached the dome and carefully reached out to finger one of the shiny red filaments. It danced harmlessly over his skin and returned to its place in the web. Chichiri barely had a voice to speak his question but he managed a squeak, "A barrier?" With shocked eyes, he turned back to face the Phoenix. A beautiful, disarming smile appeared on the previously unemotional face of the god as he gestured towards the tent that held the sleeping priestess. The chocolately deep voice echoed, "I will protect that which is mine." Then the red and gold armored figure dissolved into a mist of glittering red dust. But, unlike last time, this mist did not disperse or return heavenward. Instead, it drifted over the tent and filtered down through the fabric itself.

As the last hint of red glow faded from the tent roof, Chichiri scrambled up from his kneeling position and sprinted for the flap door. Murmuring and gasping could be heard from the interior of the tent as he whipped back the flap and entered the scene. Battle-hardened soldiers were staring in open-mouthed shock as the red mist coalesced into the shape of the beautiful Phoenix god. Even though the attack was futile, Deguchi, Kanai and Yamane charged towards the intruder to protect the sleeping Mia. Amazingly enough, the smile on the god's face grew even larger as he carefully swept his hand before him, like swatting away a fly. The three men found themselves sprawled on the ground on the opposite side of the tent from where they had started.

Chichiri watched with a feeling somewhere between awe and concern as the glowing figure knelt beside Mia's sleeping form. A long, graceful arm reached out a hand to caress the side of her face that was barely visible since she slept face down with her arms crossed under her head. Power increased from the pair, a power that even those soldiers who had no spiritual abilities could feel. Then, Suzaku reached his other hand out and rubbed her back until it glowed like a red-hot poker. When this occurred, he moved the rubbing hand to center over her back where her heart was housed, and moved his other hand to the back of her tousled head. The Phoenix's arms began glowing even brighter as his power sank into the figure of the sleeping priestess.

The soldiers could hear words being spoken by the great beast god, but they were nothing that could be understood. Still, this continued for a long moment before the power evaporated. By this time, Kanai had circled around to stand beside Chichiri at the front door. The wizard noticed this movement and absently wondered if the Lieutenant was happy, now that he got his wish to actually see the great Phoenix protector of Konan. At least, from what he could tell, none of the soldiers had soiled themselves in shock.

The rich, deep voice was again understandable as the beautiful, tall god brushed a finger down Mia's cheek. "I will be with you soon, priestess." Then the figure unfolded his seven foot tall frame from his kneeling position and stood to look about the room. His smile vanished and his look was one of gauging the hearts of all the men present. Chichiri noticed several men had knelt in reverence, while others remained on their feet in pride and defiance. Kanai himself seemed to tense as if in preparation for an attack against his men.

Instead, the beast god closed his eyes and lowered his head in concentration. Several crimson beams shot out from him and struck each man within the confines of the tent. Half the men were blown over by the power, and the other half stood glowing in the ethereal fire of his presence.

It only lasted a second before the light in the tent returned to its previous dimness. Only the meager firelight flickered among the men, casting strange and fearsome shadows on the god. Without making a single sound, the god approached the flap door where Kanai and Chichiri still stood. Behind him, Deguchi, Yamane and Tashima took up defensive positions between the door and Mia. Not that they could do much against a god, but it was still their duty to protect their friend.

Standing at nearly seven feet tall, Suzaku towered over Chichiri by a head and a half, and over Kanai by at least a head. Normally, just the sheer presence of someone so much taller staring down at you would have been intimidating. But neither man felt any such negative feeling. Both were struck with a feeling of awe and anticipation. What would happen next?

Although the fire was directly behind the god, everyone could see his face with the ease of daytime. There was no aggression on that incredibly beautiful face, only concern and appreciation. His glowing eyes beheld his warrior and he spoke again, "You need only to call and I will come if it is for the protection of my priestess." He reached out and carefully grasped Kanai's right hand in a non-threatening manner as he continued, "Those of you found worthy have been marked as assistants to my warrior and priestess." He held up the hand and showed the Lieutenant that a small symbol the size of a thumbnail had been etched on the palm of his hand in red. As the beast god continued to speak, this symbol glowed a warm, soothing red, as did the mark on the other soldiers that had received it. "You who bear my mark have been charged with the duty of protecting this woman. If she is in need of my assistance, you may also call out to me and I shall come. But only for this solitary purpose. Those not chosen will not remember this encounter at all." All about the tent, the men who had not been knocked to the ground were gasping at the discovery of the glowing mark on their dominant hand.

A moment later, Suzaku released Kanai's hand and again faced the Lieutenant and Chichiri. The smile faded as he looked at the two men in charge with a stern and serious face. His voice lowered for only them to hear, "My priestess is not well. The illness she contracted from her world is slowly eating away at her body, just as changing her past is slowly eating away at her soul. I charge the two of you with the additional duty to call me if she worsens. My powers sustain her on this quest, but when she expends them, her body deteriorates. If she exhausts all the powers I have lent her before I can return to replenish them, I fear she will die." His eyes turned to cast a loving look back towards the unaware Mia as he added, "I ask this of you, because I know my priestess is too stubborn to call me for her own well being."

Then without further comment, the god strode between the stunned Chichiri and Kanai and exited the structure. Once they had swarmed out the flap door to follow him, Chichiri noticed the beast god examining the web-like barrier. He explained, "Erect this barrier every night to prevent your enemies from detecting her spiritual powers. It would not bode well for them to find her in her weakened condition." Then, with a loud, trumpeting screech, the inhumanly beautiful man transformed into a giant red Phoenix and ascended up through the lacy barrier, without disturbing it, and was gone.

Chichiri and Kanai just exchanged glances and then turned to face the other men who were apparently found worthy, because they were conscious and standing about outside the tent entrance. It seemed most of the front guard was present except for Nishi, the rat-like man, and Ohara, the round soldier. Of the rear guard, only the healer Eguchi and one of the archers, Uno, were standing beside the large man, Deguchi. Kanai scanned the scene and noticed that his Assistant Commander was not before them. Did that mean that the man had not been deemed worthy? Or had he simply remained within to guard the unconscious soldiers and sleeping priestess? Kanai surely hoped it was the second reason since he had known Suitani since they were children and had vouched for his character on numerous occasions.

The Lieutenant took a moment to collect his thoughts, and rubbed the now invisible mark on the palm of his right hand. He announced to those before him, "We will not speak of this to the others. It would be too hard to explain, and might cause discord in the ranks. Each of you knows what you witnessed and are aware of the duty that has been charged to us by the highest authority in our lands." The soldiers straightened up even taller at the recognition they had received. Kanai continued, "We shall not be remiss in our duty, and will defend our priestess to the utmost of our ability. The guard shall be doubled, but it will not pass beyond this barrier. Eguchi, you shall go and retrieve Nishi from his position guarding the trail. If the others are any indication, you may find him unconscious, so look carefully. We cannot afford to have any of our men outside this celestial barrier. The rest of you should return to rest since it seems we shall be having a few interesting days ahead of us."

As the men murmured among themselves and Eguchi vanished into the night, Kanai turned to Chichiri and quietly asked, "Is this normal behavior for a priestess and god? I mean, I've heard the stories of other priestesses. I just don't remember hearing anything about gods visiting them, healing them, and commissioning assistant warriors."

Chichiri could only shrug his shoulders, "It's nothing that I've ever heard of either. I will have to contact Taiitsukun soon for her counsel on this matter. There are many things about this quest that are unheard of. The largest anomaly is of course, the ability for the priestess to travel back in time. Or, for the priestess to wield the god's powers after the summoning and wishes have been granted. Also, I have never known a god to take a personal interest in his priestess. I just don't know what to expect anymore." Chichiri rubbed his temples to stave off the headache that was building at trying to understand such conflicting events.

Kanai grinned a lopsided smirk as he motioned for Chichiri to precede him into the tent. He commented, "Well, it is patently obvious that this particular god is quite taken with this particular priestess to the point of seeming quite possessive. I'd hate to see what would happen if she were to be injured."

Chichiri shivered, and not from the cold, "True. One of the reasons Taiitsukun taught me for keeping the protective gods distant from humanity was just such a reason. With the power to create and destroy entire universes, an angry god is a dangerous god."

Kanai edged back to his regular sleeping position to the left of a still sleeping Mia. He noticed that, thankfully, his assistant commander was awake and rubbing the spot on his palm where a mark had been a few moments ago. Chichiri settled back on his pallet to Mia's right. As both men stared into the small fire and contemplated the changes of the evening, the Lieutenant snorted one last thought, "The power to destroy entire universes. Just great. No pressure there!" then flopped his head down on his bedding and tried to fall asleep.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

AN: Whew, I didn't mean for that to be such a long chapter. It just kept writing itself. Please forgive any spelling errors I didn't catch while editing. Editing kept evolving into adding to the storyline. Sheesh.

So, I hope this makes up for the long dry spell you readers had to endure while I studied for the Bar Exam. Needless to say, I survived, but I didn't get a t-shirt. I won't know the results for 2 months, so I'm in limbo.

Please review just to let me know I didn't lose any readers. I'd hate to disappoint any of you.