A/N: ..As the first published year states, it's been a while since I've updated anything. I've been working on this story on and off, then stopped for a variety of reasons. Really do want to get back into it however and always have, so I'm going to try to, but as it is right now, I have a few more weeks of school, which are really important, so updates may be slow. For those of you who read the story before, the reason why this chapter is re-uploaded is because I did a revamp of the previous chapters and adjusted the plot. Deleted the two chapters that were originally after this one because they were changed, and I haven't had time to finish writing them yet. Anyway, hopefully it won't take me another... three years to update this story again. I really do enjoy it, just bah. Dx Going to try to make time to slowly finish it, and hopefully it will be worth the wait.

On a random note, trusting that my writing has improved in that time period so the story should flow better and the characters be more consistent? xD

Episode Four: A Dumb Charade

Haien had a secret. Only her family, the villagers in her hometown, and a few select others knew what it was and she preferred it stayed that way, especially since that was more people than she was comfortable with knowing her secret. Usually when she rescued men from the Nyosein women, she relied on smoke and flash bombs to disguise her teleportation ability. If they were injured, she would do her best to nurse them back to health in a cave concealed by foliage and other useful camouflage. Then when they were ready, she would bring them to a boat tucked into a corner and send them off in the direction of their homeland. No one ever found out her true identity and she wanted to keep it that way. Now however she had revealed that she had powers to a complete stranger and she wasn't even sure why. Also, there was the matter that what she was about to attempt was extremely risky, especially since she had never revealed herself to the Nyosein women. They were sure to have questions for her, none of which she hoped would lead to her self-appointed career of stealing men from their grasp.

Those were her thoughts as they arrived at the forest in front of the palace and slowly made their way forward in time to watch as a line of horsewomen entered through the gates. Haien sucked in her breath as she realized what this meant. It would not be easy to infiltrate, and the young man she had picked up was such a wild card at the moment that she wasn't sure if he'd listen to sense as soon as she explained. Her eyes closed as she contemplated. Could she somehow find a wig and womens' clothing? Nazo was tall though, and he would surely be checked before they were allowed inside. There had to be another way.

Suddenly her impatient charge jerked up. "Nari!" he shouted, and he started to rise from his crouched position.

Haien seized him by the jacket before he could get any farther and forced him to face her. "Are you insane?! Are you trying to force me to rescue you again from that crowd of women?"

"I don't care," Nazo responded fiercely. "That's my sister over there!"

"You get captured again, she probably won't be able to escape unscathed!" Haien shook Nazo. "Or are you too blind to realize that? She's probably only safe right now because she's under the Princess's protection! If you storm out there right now, even the Princess won't be able to protect her!"

"Who is the Princess?" Nazo demanded. "I want to talk to her!"

Haien's eyes widened in anger and her cheeks turned red. "Numbskull! Is nothing I'm saying getting through your thick, thick head?!"

He glared at her and she glared right back. However, he didn't object again, which she decided was an improvement. He let out a gusty sigh, closed his eyes, and tilted his head skyward. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're already doing a lot for me. It's just that- I don't know what to do. She's all I have left."

Haien relented a bit. "You're still a numbskull. And you still have a thick head."

He grinned at her. "I'll take that criticism."

"You better," she said, folding her arms.

There was a moment's silence as they each evaluated the uneasy truce they had come to. "These women have a rather low opinion of men, don't they?" Nazo finally asked.

"Oh, definitely."

"Even lower than your opinion of me?" Nazo asked with just the faintest hint of a smile.

She was amused that he dare challenge her that way. "I don't think that's possible," she replied.

"Hey!" Nazo sputtered.

"You know you asked for that."

He fumed quietly, and Haien laughed. "I was kidding. Why did you ask?"

"Can we trick them into believing that you've somehow seduced me? Get them to trap me somehow and bring me into the palace?"

Strange, why was he blushing? "Are you stupid? They might try to maim you like they tried earlier."

"I think we already established that I'm a numbskull," Nazo said not-so-helpfully. "But what if you can somehow convince them not to do anything to me?"

"What, like claim you're a gift for the Empress or something?"

He nodded.

She wanted to punch some sense into him for coming up with such a risky idea. At the same time, it could work if... She gritted her teeth, then looked at him. "You are going to do exactly what I say, and hopefully. Hopefully. We won't get skinned alive."

x

Nari rode behind Shoshi silently. She could still scarcely believe the kind of world she had landed herself into. It was a relief that she had found someone like Shoshi so quickly, who was willing to protect her, but she still wished for her brother. There was something about him that just made her feel safe whenever she was around him, even if she could sense that he himself was scared. At least when he was scared too, it was a relief to know that she wasn't the only one frightened. There was comfort in numbers.

Nari looked around nervously. Shoshi had now ridden past the gates and entered the palace courtyard. It was beyond anything she had ever seen or experienced before. Again she questioned whether or not she was dreaming. There was no real place like this, right? There couldn't be a huge stone castle like this that had never been discovered before. It had the look of one of those old English castles she was sure she'd seen in documentaries before. And the clothing of the women? It was similar to traditional Japanese clothing, but somehow she knew it was definitely Chinese. She knew of no one or any nation even now that wore clothing like that, so where was she? On some undiscovered island? If so, how had she gotten here? Was she really in another world like Shoshi had said?

A small marketplace was inside the gates, and Nari marveled at all the goods that had been set up. Many of the stalls hosted fish and fruit. It was bustling, almost a small metropolis in its own right, if this backward place could have something like that. Her stomach growled as the delicious scent of noodles drifted past her nose. She was hungry and hadn't eaten anything since lunch, which seemed like hours ago. Even though all of what was happening was almost impossible to comprehend, she still found it funny that she still had at least some sort of appreciation for good food.

A woman dressed in black armor rode up to Shoshi. A feather stood up straight from her tightly wound ebony hair, and her eyes were a murky brown. Nari instinctively shrank back when she realized that it was the same woman from before that had led the attack on her brother and herself. The woman noticed this and her gaze rested on Nari for a few seconds, then to the girl's relief, focused on Shoshi.

"Your Highness," the woman said. "Ran reports that she has seen a strange presence in the forest behind us."

Shoshi nodded. "All right, take some of the women and go investigate. If there is anyone though, bring them back alive." Her eyes narrowed. "And unharmed. I want to know what exactly is going on."

The woman bowed. "As you wish." She turned her horse around and galloped off, bringing with her five or six other women to join the three already heading toward the forest.

Nari bit her lip as she watched them depart. "What if it's my brother?"

Shoshi smiled reassuringly. "If it is, you'll be reunited with him, right?"

Nari's eyes brightened. "You're right! But.." her eyes turned worried. "They won't hurt him, will they?"

Shoshi shook her head. "Not without my permission."

"All.. right," Nari finally said. Shoshi, seeing her discomfort, reached over and touched her shoulder.

"Let's go inside," she said. "You should change your clothes."

x

As the women approached Haien and Nazo, Haien straightened her shoulders. She still didn't know why she was risking so much for this young man, far more than she usually did for those under her charge, especially since he could be so infuriating. She had never gone so far as to try to infiltrate Nyosei like she was trying to do so now. Because she was not a native of the island like some of the women there and because she did not actively spend time in their society, she did not know or understand all their customs. She studied them, but it didn't mean she took them to heart. She preferred to have as little contact as possible with the women when she rescued the men. Nazo was different however. Was it because he was so touchingly worried about his sister? He reminded her of her own brother. It was obvious the two were close. She also wondered about his random appearance. She hadn't seen any boats on the horizon today and she'd never seen his style of clothing before.

Then it hit her.

Was he a Summoner? But that was impossible; the Summoners were always female. Did that mean his sister was the Priestess then? Could it be that the legend of Tenkyoku was finally unfolding after all these years? Was the prophecy unfolding? If that was true, why were they both here and what was Nazo's role in all of this? She could never remember a time when the Summoner had been male. The only time there had been two Summoners before had been with the Priestesses of Suzaku and Seiryuu; two best friends had entered this world at the same time and ended up in a bitter conflict.

It was a disturbing thought. Surely the two siblings were not meant to fight each other? Were the four countries outside of Nyosei at war? No, that could not be it. There had been no inkling of this; she would have heard about this from the marooned men. Did that mean Nyosei was soon to be invaded by a horde of seishi searching for their Priestess? How many of them would actually dare to, considering most seishi in past legends were men? Was it possible that Nazo was actually the Summoner instead of his sister? Most importantly, why, why, why had he been dragged into this world, especially being the sex he was?

The sound of marching reached her and she shoved Nazo behind the pile of rocks. He managed to catch himself and "Be quiet!" she hissed to him. "Remember what we talked about!"

Seconds later, the armored women of Nyosei's guard came out from the bushes. "Who are you?" one of them demanded. "We're under the orders of Princess Aremi to bring you back!"

Haien gently took Nazo by the wrist and walked forward. "I am He Haien, a newcomer from the south," she announced. "I bring a special guest and gift with me."

The women positioned themselves in a circle around the pair, their spears pointing inward. Haien recognized several of them, having had run-ins with them before because of previous escapades she had planned out. Luckily, none of them would be able to identify her, as she had always used her smoke bombs before interfering with their work. The one who seemed to be leader pulled her sword out and lifted Haien's chin with the tip. "A gift?" she asked sneeringly.

Haien leveled her gaze at the circle. "I have something the Princess may want," she said.

The woman nodded impassively and but kept her spear pointed at her. "What is it?"

Haien bowed. She backed away until she was level with the rock pile and gently took Nazo by the wrist and pulled him in front of her. As soon as he saw them, panic flashed across his face and he tried to bolt, but one of the women swiftly punched him in the gut and he doubled over, knees on the ground. Before he could move, she touched the tip of his spear against the back of his neck.

The leader smirked at Haien. "This is the same man we ran into earlier. He somehow managed to escape. Is he the gift to the Empress or one of the princesses?"

Haien smiled. "Of course. I found him in the forest and tricked him into coming here." A shaking trill she wasn't even aware she could do escaped in the form of a laugh. "He seems to be deaf though, so he can't hear a thing I am saying. I haven't even figured out his name yet! In fact," and now Haien snickered. "I think he came here because he thought I would do things with him. That's how I certainly made it out to be at least!"

The leader laughed, throwing her head back. "Now isn't that like men?" She extended a hand out to Haien. "I am Mai, captain of the guard. You should have introduced yourself to me sooner. I like your way of thinking. Come with me, and I shall take you into the palace."

Haien smiled and took Mai's hand. "Thank you," she said. She knelt and kissed Mai's hand. The two drew away from each other as Haien stood up. "I have been hoping for a chance to prove my worth to the empress."

The other women looked at Nazo suspiciously as they crowded around him. One of them seized him by the hair and tilted his head back. "Well, he's not bad," she said gruffly. "But I certainly wouldn't want him."

Haien mentally rolled her eyes at the insult. To his credit, Nazo was keeping any reaction to this treatment tucked inside. She could admire that. He had more grit than she would have given him credit for. She winced as one of the warriors whopped him across the face and blood trickled down his nose. Having studied the women, she knew that they treated their prisoners roughly, but she hadn't expected this. Hopefully Nazo would be able to find it in himself to forgive her for getting him into this later.

As she watched, he was yanked by the hair again and dragged off. Nazo made no attempt to resist, not with the spear tip against his throat. One of the women wrapped ropes around his body, binding his arms close to him and effectively immobilizing him from his torso up. He struggled, more for effect than anything else, and she slapped him immediately across the face. "Behave," she mocked. The only good thing was that she didn't gag him. The blood had slid down to his chin now and was threatening to drip onto his clothes.

The woman kicked Nazo. "Walk," she said, shoving him toward the north. Nazo stumbled, then began walking. The rest of the women followed after him, and he found himself head of the strangest parade he had ever seen.

Haien fell into step next to him, her eyes straight ahead of her. Not once did she look over at him. If she had made a mistake, she could only pray that she rescued Nazo in time.

x

This was stupid, Nazo reflected. This was ridiculous, and he doubted it'd get him anywhere near Nari, but it was what Haien had told him to do and since she seemed relatively sane and not trying to chop off his manhood, he figured listening to her would be a better idea than to try to bulldoze his way to his sister. It was largely his fault, too, for coming up with the suggestion. She had just taken it and run wild with it. Then again, hindsight was always 20/20. His chin tickled from the blood and he wanted to scratch it, but his hands were bound to his side. He glanced down and saw that his jacket was splattered with blood. Great. He hoped his nose wasn't broken.

Unfortunately, their brilliant plan had given him another problem to worry about.

He had to act like a deaf man and frankly, he had no idea how they acted. Some of the women had seen him already, and they knew he had been able to hear them earlier. He could only hope that they would think the bomb had temporarily deafened him. He knew in Japan deaf people could communicate relatively well with hearing people and had even developed their own language, but here in Nyosei, things had to be different. Did they wave their arms around wildly and speak incoherently because they had never heard another human voice? Were they able to pronounce words correctly? Did they have their own language? The way the society was run so primitively, he wouldn't have been surprised if that scenario really had been the case.

As they marched along however, despite the ropes binding him, his throbbing nose, and the blood trickling down his chin, Nazo was still somehow able to appreciate the majestic forest he was going through. Being a child from the city, he was not often given the opportunity to admire this sort of scenery, and he found himself surprisingly glad that he was able to now. It was a pity his sister wasn't able to share it with him.

"How are you holding up?" he heard Haien whisper softly to him. "Don't answer. Just nod or shake your head."

She was the one who had gotten him into this situation. He tilted his head backwards and rolled his eyes toward her. Haien sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, but this is the safest way to get you to your sister."

He grumbled an assent, telling her he acknowledged that, but it didn't mean he was happy. Still, if this meant he was going to be reunited with Nari, he was willing to go through much worse. Nazo cast a glance at Haien. Truth be told, he was glad it had been her he had run into. She was a lot more patient than most people would have been. She had mentioned saving other men from the island before. Maybe that was why she was able to empathize with him. He hoped at least that he wasn't the craziest one that she had to rescue. Later when things had calmed down, he'd definitely have to apologize to her for his behavior. It was just with his mind so wrapped up around Nari's safety he tended to be less level-headed than usual. A sister complex? Yeah, he did sort of have one, but if that meant being fiercely protective of his sister, he'd be the first to admit it. He also had a lot of questions that he hoped to bombard Haien with later, too.

Nazo's body suddenly began to tingle, and the leader of the group shouted, "Stop!" Everyone halted in their tracks. Nazo, confused and uncertain of what was going on, looked to Haien for help, but she too was frowning.

"You two, go investigate in the bushes," the captain ordered, and the two nodded, drew their weapons, and approached the designated area.

Haien and Nazo looked at each other uncertainly. What was going on? Some sort of disturbance had just gone through the air, but it was gone now. Then the expression on Haien's face changed abruptly and she pushed Nazo to the floor with far more credit than he would have given her slight frame of a body. He fell to his knees, holding in a yelp of pain, and then his chin hit the dirt ground as she followed after him. Stars circled around his head and he knew his chin was scraped and going to be sore for many a day. His glasses were dislodged, too.

"Haien, what are you-"

The floor below them shook violently, knocking the women and horses off their feet. One of the horses broke free and galloped away. "Everyone! Stay down!" Mai shouted. The captain was lying down flat and holding her sword with one hand while her other arm was wrapped around a tree trunk. The other women had also simultaneously grabbed their own handholds so they were secured.

Just as suddenly as it began, the forest stopped shaking. Time seemed to freeze. No one dared to speak, only casting nervous glances at each other. Earthquakes weren't something that often happened at Nyosei, and when it did, the effects tended to be disastrous. They were an island nation after all, and something like this could cause the waves to sweep over the island if strong enough.

"What was-"

"Watch out for the aftershock!"

The ground rumbled again, and everyone covered their heads. Nazo squeezed his eyes, unable to believe his luck. Not only was he separated from his sister, but he was also bound in ropes unable to defend himself, and there was an earthquake going on around him?

A low-pitched laugh surrounded them, and Mai raised her head. "Who's there?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

A man stepped out of the shadows and the women gasped collectively. Another one of them! Just where were they all coming from? They were like weeds sprouting on their beloved soil! This man's black hair was bound in a tight bun with bangs brushed to the side, and his plated armor was black. The cloak flowing behind him and his shirt were both a deep emerald green. His arms were protected from elbow down by black metal braces. One arm was stretched out, and he had a foxy grin on his face.

"Greetings," he said as he raised an elegant eyebrow. "I am the one they call Genbu."

Next Episode: Reckoning with a Turtle - What business does a god have to do with the mundane affairs of mortals? Closer and closer, Nari and Nazo get to each other, but will they ever be reunited?