Episode Eight

Atsuna felt a gasp steal from her throat as she snapped her head down, watching as waves filled the room, quickly rising past her knees, her waist, and all the way to her breasts. "What's happening?" she asked, stumbling forwards from the force of the raging waves.

A strong arm circled her waist, tugging her back into the solid and equally wet form of the bandit warrior. Atsuna turned over her shoulder, eyes connecting with his for a moment before he winced and groaned. "This is the same thing that happened before," he informed with a scowl.

"The water seems to know what it's doing," Nuriko added.

Next to the Willow warrior, Chichiri's head popped from the water, sputtering and brows furrowed. "Hikou! Stop this now! Show yourself!"

Miaka gasped, the water formerly filling her lungs now like a fresh breath of air. She placed her hands against the bubble encasing her, finding that the surface was smooth and hard like glass. As she leaned forward, hoping to call out to her friends as the water continued to trap them in a tsunami, a sphere appeared next to her, catching her attention. Inside the sphere was a vision of two men standing upon a cliff while rain poured around them.

"Why? Why did you betray me, Hikou? Give her back to me!"

Miaka's eyes widened and she shifted her gaze to the monk's as he recoiled against the water. "It's Chichiri's voice," she whispered.

"Who are those guys?" Tasuki asked, turning to Taka as the dark-haired man stood next to him and his sister.

"I think it's Chichiri," Taka replied.

Atsuna turned her gaze to the silent monk as he watched the vision unfold before him. Rock crumbled beneath Hikou's feet, shaking him from his balance. He fell backwards, and Chichiri jumped forward, grasping his wrist before he could fall into the raging river under them.

"Stop it," Chichiri whispered, closing his uninjured eye. He couldn't watch anymore. He knew what was going to happen. He couldn't relive it, not again.

"Help me, Houjun!" Hikou's voice cried out in the vision. Droplets of rain slid between Chichiri's fingers, and his grip softened, releasing the man into the waiting river below.

"Stop it now!" Chichiri cried out, throwing his head back.

A spout of water formed in place of the vision and rushed towards the monk, throwing him back into the nearby wall. The force of his impact cracked the wooden wall, and Chichiri slumped to the floor as the waves lowered from that side of the room. The monk heard his friends call out to him, but he had no energy to respond. The only thing churning through him was sorrow.

Atsuna snapped her head from Chichiri's fallen form against the wall, sensing an additional presence in the room. A man appeared behind Miaka, looming tall and dark. "Chichiri - or rather, Houjun, don't you remember? Eight years ago that was exactly how you killed me. And that is why I am going to take everything from you now. You need to experience the pain of losing everything dear to you. I'm taking the Priestess of Suzaku with me. If you want her back, you'll have to come to me."

Taka reached forward, fighting against the binds of water that raged around his wrists. "Miaka!"

The brown-haired priestess jerked back when water from the room rushed towards her, swirling around the bubble and barring her vision of her friends. "Taka!"

Said man watched in horror as Hikou disappeared, leaving behind his echoing laughter. The bubble containing Miaka burst through the ceiling, leaving wooden debris in its wake. He called out to her again, although he knew it was moot. She was gone.

Atsuna's eyes blinked over the room, watching as the water lowered, leaving the room from under the doors. Ignoring the tight squeeze from Tasuki's arm, she spun around, her eyes falling on the quiet monk as he continued to lay against the wall, defeated. She tore from the bandit's hold, rushing over to her friend despite the lack of traction her shoes had against the slippery floor. She fell to his side, hands resting on his shoulders. "Chichiri? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"He's unconscious," Hotohori informed as he and the other Suzaku warriors walked up behind her.

Tasuki placed his hands on his waist and turned over his shoulder. "How's it goin' on yer end, Nuriko?"

The violet-haired warrior shook his head. "Taka's still a basket case. He won't move or say anything." His eyes fell upon Atsuna's brother as he sat frozen in his spot, his eyes unblinking as they stared through the empty hole in the ceiling.

Biting down on her lip, Atsuna curled her fingers into Chichiri's robes. "We should get him moved to a bed so he's more comfortable," she suggested quietly.

Mitsukake stepped forward, leaning down to pick the limp monk against his broad chest. He walked over to the nearby bed, removing his drenched shirt before tucking him tight under the blanket. He pulled a chair to his side, dark eyes scoping over his comrade as he slept.

"I have to go after Miaka," Taka announced with a frown.

"Wait, Taka," Nuriko started, reaching for the raven-haired man.

"I have to go after her. If I don't move fast, Miaka could be hurt," Taka interrupted, moving towards the front door.

Nuriko's eyes fell. "I know that. But there's nothing we can do right now."

"Nuriko is right," Hotohori spoke up, turning over his shoulder to peer at the twosome. "Where would you go? We don't even know where he's taken her."

Tasuki cleared his throat, turning everyone's attention to him. "I bet that Chichiri would know, but he's still out of it." He shifted his head towards the healer who sat a silent vigil over the slumbering monk. "Can ya use yer healin' powers to wake him up faster?"

Mitsukake shook his head, keeping his gaze on Chichiri as his chest lifted and lowered with deep, even breaths. "The shock he experienced damaged his spirit more than his body. It would be best to let nature take its course and allow him to rest on his own."

A feeble moan echoed against the water-weakened walls. "I can't fight him."

Atsuna stumbled to Chichiri's bedside, finding his uninjured eye staring a hole through the ceiling above him. She rested her hand against his cheek. "Chichiri? Are you all right? Are you in any pain?"

"You saw it, didn't you?" he continued, ignoring the woman's concerned inquiries. "How I murdered my best friend?"

Licking her lips of their sudden dryness, Atsuna dropped her hand from his cheek. "Chichiri. Don't."

"My beloved left me for Hikou. She claimed that she couldn't stay with me anymore because she had feelings for him. I trusted them both. And then…then the flood came, taking everything that I loved. My family, my beloved… They were gone. But with Hikou, it's different. I can't bring myself to kill him again. I can't." Chichiri turned his head away from his friends, far too pained and ashamed to admit his weakness.

A deafening silence fell over the room, blanketing the warriors in discomfort as they watched the normally jovial monk turn away from them. Mitsukake made a deep-throated noise against his chest as he clenched his hands into fists on his lap. "I understand, Chichiri," he whispered. "I lost my family in that flood, as well. But still, at least I had Shoka with me. I would have been lost without her. She rescued my soul." The dark-haired healer slammed his eyes shut. "But I let her die. Twice. For the longest time, I hated myself for it. I couldn't forget her. But now I know why I have these powers. It's not for revenge. It's to protect everything dear to me. My friends have shown me that. And it's always been your way. You don't have to suffer alone. We're all here for you. I know it's hard to reopen that wound, but isn't it time for you to face your injury? Set you and your friend free? You see that, don't you?"

Taka took two steps forward, coming up next to the seated healer. "Forgive me, Chichiri. All you ever do is look after everyone else. I've always depended on you. You're our anchor, and we need you. I'll go. Just tell me where I can find them."

Atsuna turned over her shoulder, eyes downtrodden. "Taka." Behind her, blankets rustled, causing her to snap her head back towards Chichiri. The monk was struggling to push himself into a sitting position. "Chichiri? What is it?"

A single scarlet eye, filled with vigor and promise, met with the worried lavender of Atsuna's eyes. "I'll go. I will."

Chichiri took one last glance out the window. Night fell over the trees, covering the earth in a silent darkness. Adjusting his robes, he reached for his staff as it leaned against the wall. Sighing deeply, he walked from the room, closing the door behind him.

"Ya know where they are, don't ya?" Tasuki's gruff voice spoke up behind him.

Chichiri turned over his shoulder, watching as Tasuki pushed himself from the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He said nothing. He could tell by the look in Tasuki's eyes that he already knew that answer.

"I'm goin', too, no matter what ya say to talk me out of it," Tasuki said with a frown. He lowered his head, staring down at his feet. "I have to, 'cause what Hikou did to you is what I was gonna do to Tama. But the thing is, they don't blame me fer any of it. It caught me off guard. I thought of Miaka as a sister. I never thought I'd stoop so low as that. I love Atsuna, an' I almost betrayed her completely, an' just 'cause I had those feelin's deep inside me. I don't really care if I die. For the three of 'em, I don't care at all."

Chichiri cracked a small smile and rested a hand on top of the bandit's wild mane of hair. "Nobody is ever really perfect, you know. That's why no one can successfully live alone, you know. All right, Tasuki. We'll save Miaka together."

As Tasuki pulled his head up, preparing to follow his comrade into the bright moonlight, footsteps approached them from the front. Taka walked through the darkness, a smile hitched upon his face. "Make that three. I'm going, too."

The monk smiled, silently appreciative to have yet another of his dear comrades joining him. "You're going to have to hold your own, you know."

"That won't be an issue," a female voice spoke up from behind Taka. "I'll be there to watch all three of you." Clad in her white and yellow warrior's garb, Atsuna sidestepped from behind her brother, her smile a welcoming addition in the darkness of night. She rested her palm on Taka's shoulder. "I owe it to Miaka to save her after everything that happened." Her smile faded, her eyes snapping away from them. "There is a darkness in my heart I never knew existed. I thought I was immune to the darkness because of my connection with Hikari, but I'm just as human as everyone else. I have known hatred before. And I knew it again, only this time, it was for the girl who stole my brother's heart, the same girl I saw as a dear little sister." Shaking her head, she lifted her gaze, staring first upon Tasuki, then Chichiri. "The four of us will go together, just as it should be."

Chichiri nodded once, snapping his staff against the wooden planks beneath their feet. "All right. Let's go, then."

Miaka felt her heart skip against her throat as water climbed around her, filling the sphere holding her captive. Instinctively, she gathered a quick drink of air in her lungs and snapped her eyes shut, trying hard to avert her attention elsewhere.

Hikou stood under her, arms tucked into his sleeves. A smirk curled over his dark features. "Yes, suffer as I had to. Suffer like I did, Priestess. Only for me, I had to suffer at the hands of the man I thought to be my best friend. Know the pain I felt. Know it." He chuckled, watching as Miaka continued to float in the water-filled sphere. He parted his lips, prepared to inflict more verbal lashings against her to crush her spirit, but in the corner of his eye was a quick flicker of light.

Snapping his head to the side, he watched as a brilliant white light split through the rock of the cave, shattering it to shards. Hikou squinted through the light as it died down, and found the light bearer, Atsuna, with a fine glow surrounding her body, staff of light in both of her hands. Chichiri, Tasuki and Taka came to her side, eyes falling on Miaka as she floated above Hikou.

"Hikou! Release Miaka now!" Chichiri demanded. His fingers tightened over his staff. "Otherwise—"

"Otherwise you'll do what?" Hikou interrupted.

"My friends mean more to me than life itself. And to keep them from being hurt by you, I will kill you first," Chichiri vowed, brows furrowing into definitive points across his forehead.

Hikou smirked. "How fascinating. But you have to save your precious priestess first."

With a quick burst of energy, Taka sprinted forward. "Chichiri! Save Miaka! Me, Atsuna, and Tasuki will take care of him!"

Tasuki jerked the tessen from his back, thrusting it into the rocky ground beneath them. "Rekka Shinen!" The holy fire barreled through the water, cutting a straight path towards Hikou.

However, the fire sizzled to nothing against a wall of water Hikou brought up as his defense. With a quick swing of his arms, bullets of water rose from the wall, whistling through the air towards the ones who accosted him.

Atsuna's eyes widened and she flipped her staff into a vertical position. "Get back now!" she cried. She pulled her staff behind her back, preparing to summon her own defensive portal, but Hikou's attack proved too quick. The bullets slammed into Taka and Tasuki, volleying hastily into their bodies. Atsuna watched in horror as the bullets wreaked havoc against the two men, and just as she prepared to go on the offensive, pain snapped through her middle. Bullets drilled into her, knocking her staff from her hand and propelling her back into the wall of the cave.

Chichiri spun over his shoulder, watching as all three of his friends fell against Hikou's attack. "Tasuki! Atsuna! Taka!" Feeling an unrecognizable anger boil to the surface, Chichiri snapped his head towards Hikou, watching as he began summoning a spell.

With his thumbs and forefingers forming an open triangle, Hikou concentrated his energy into his attack. "Ryu Ka Suishin Tesshu!"

Chichiri thrust two of his fingers in front of his face, meeting Hikou's spell with one of his own. "Ban Bukyuu Chou Hou Na Hobaku." His body flickered with the red holy light of Suzaku, enveloping himself with the very power that saved his friends many a time. And now, against a former friend, he would use it again.

"No! Chichiri! Don't fight with your friend!" Miaka suddenly shouted out against the water.

Swinging his staff in a single intricate movement, Chichiri released a large beam of red spiritual energy just as Hikou completed his own spell, a mixture of water and his own blast of life energy. But the holy power of Suzaku easily bested him, pushing the great king back effortlessly. Chichiri's face fell as he heard Hikou cry out in retaliation, knowing full well that he could do nothing to stop the attack from slamming into him now.

Tasuki and Taka tugged Atsuna to her feet as Chichiri's attack died down. All three stared in awe as the monk stood victorious, Hikou faltering on wobbly knees from the impact of Suzaku's holy power. "Wow. That was incredible," Taka murmured.

"No shit, man," Tasuki mumbled back with a nod of disbelief.

"Hikou, stop!" Miaka shouted again. "Can't you see that Chichiri loves you? Can't you see how this fighting is hurting him?"

"Silence!" Hikou spat, snapping his head towards the floating priestess above him. His dark hair fell from its ties, matting against the side of his face.

"If you were his friend, you would understand!" Miaka continued, despite the lag against her lungs.

Chichiri's lips cracked into a smile. "I swear that I will save you this time." Adjusting his fingers from a vertical to horizontal position, his body phased away.

Atsuna's eyes blinked twice, watching her friend disappear. Her senses searched hurriedly for his life force signature, trying to discern what exactly he had in mind. But as he eyes shifted over to Hikou, she knew. Chichiri appeared behind the dark-haired water-wielder, tunic flapping in the air. Chichiri wrapped his arms under Hikou's, and his tunic formed a perfect sphere around them.

"Tasuki! Use your fire power on my robe! Concentrate everything on burning the robe! If you do that, we'll break the water wall and the flames will reach inside his barrier!" Chichiri shouted.

Tasuki's fingers twitched against the handle of his tessen. "What? What the hell are ya talkin' about? If I do that, you'll die, too!"

"We don't have much time!" Chichiri screamed. "Do it, Tasuki!"

Horror filled Tasuki's amber eyes. "Yeah, but not this way!"

Inside the robe, Hikou turned over his shoulder, smirking at the monk as he held him fast. "Your penetrating my water barrier is quite an impressive feat, Chichiri. However, you can't use any special powers in here. Holding me is taking all of your strength. His flames? That amateurish trick will never work. You're such a fool, Chichiri."

Ignoring him, Chichiri turned his attention back to the immobile bandit outside the barrier. "My body can't take this pressure very much longer! Do it, Tasuki! Do it now!"

Tasuki shook his head, painful memories of Chiriko's sacrifice filling his mind. "No! It's all happenin' again! It's the same thing! God damn it!"

Taka watched as his friend released a slew of curses, and just as he was prepared to do the same thing, the gentle call of his name snapped him from his stupor. He turned his attention to the brunette priestess as she floated in the sphere of water.

"Save Chichiri, Taka," she choked out weakly. "Save him. Please."

Taka's eyes widened as he watched consciousness escape her, and he jerked his head to his sister as she stood silent next to him. She held out her palm, her staff glittering to life back into her hand. They exchanged a quick glance at one another, silently forming a plan together. As soon as Atsuna nodded to him, Taka spun over his shoulder at the still-cursing bandit. "Tasuki!"

The bandit lifted his tear-filled eyes, his glare snapped back and forth between the siblings. Taking a deep breath against his straining lungs, he flexed his knuckles over his tessen, positioning it into an attack stance. "Run, Tama!" He lifted his tessen above his head, flames flickering at the tips. He watched as Taka spun around and sprinted forward. "Rekka Shinen!"

Inside the robe, Hikou tensed against Chichiri's hold. "The barrier. It's collapsing."

"Don't be afraid, Hikou," Chichiri spoke up softly. "You're not going to be alone this time." His fingers threaded through his former friend's, holding tight. "I have your hand. And this time, I'm not going to let go of you. In heaven, the three of us will be reunited."

Hikou's breath stilled at his words, eyes widening. "Let me go," he murmured.

On the outside, as Taka continued to sprint towards the enflamed robe, Atsuna held her staff horizontal, quietly chanting a spell of her own. White light glowed around her body as she stood next to Tasuki, who had his eyes closed as he concentrated on burning the water barrier.

Atsuna's chant ended, and the light forming around her body fluttered off, her staff dissipating into little white fireflies of light. Her power rushed forward in a grand whirlwind, forming around Taka's body as he continued forward. She snapped her gaze over to the bandit standing next to her. "Tasuki! Do it now!"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Tasuki's eyes flashed open. He pulled his tessen back again, tapping into a second-level fire spell. "Haku Ro En!" Swinging the diamond weapon down, the spherical robe burst into flames, crumbling the water barrier around Hikou and Chichiri.

Taka pulled his fist back and cried out as Atsuna's light swirled around his hand, protecting him from the flames surrounding him as he burst through the fallen barrier. Inside the flames stood Hikou and Chichiri, and he slammed his fist straight into Hikou's middle. Atsuna's light gave Taka's fist a much-needed boost of power, knocking the air from Hikou's lungs and throwing his influence over water off kilter.

"I…I can't believe this is happening," Hikou choked as he stumbled over. "Against mere children…"

Chichiri stepped back, eye wide, as darkness spread over Hikou's body.

The bubble holding Miaka airborne popped, and she fell straight into Taka's waiting arms. He knelt down, cradling her as she coughed up the water that filled her lungs. Taka smiled wide when she opened her eyes, smiling up at him. He turned over his shoulder at Tasuki and Atsuna. "Hey, Miaka's okay! We did it!"

Tasuki stumbled against a rock, holding his tessen limply against the rocky floor. "Yeah, we did. But my nerves are shot. I thought we were all gonna die for a second, ya jerk. I'm beat."

Atsuna cupped a palm over her mouth, muffling her giggle. She rested her free hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up at her. Their eyes connected for a short moment until Tasuki let go of his tessen, his fingers spreading through hers. He squeezed tight, and in a wordless silence, they both knew that everything would be all right for them.

Chichiri leaned over Hikou, the remnants of his body submerged within the water he once controlled. "Why…why aren't you letting go of my hand?" Hikou croaked, his eyes falling upon the monk as he hovered protectively above him.

Smiling, Chichiri only tightened his grip. "I told you I wouldn't let you go this time."

Hikou stared blankly up at him. "We will all be reunited in heaven. You're still such a nice guy. That's why she loved you. She always loved you, Chichiri."

"Hikou, don't."

"Did you ever believe that she would ever betray you? I never meant to take her away from you. Just once I wanted to hold her in my arms, feel the softness of her lips, the warmth of her skin. She valued faithfulness so much that she didn't think she deserved to be with you after being kissed by another man. It was only once. I can't say I didn't understand her reasoning. Yes, I was the one who wrecked it all. I deserved to die. But I hated you, and I let a bitter demon possess me. And for the sake of a fool like me, you were hurt. If she had seen that scar, she would be hurt."

Chichiri's face fell, pain striking him through the heart as he watched his friend's appearance continue to deteriorate. "That moment when I let you go, I should have held on no matter what! I should have held on to you! When I saw you there lying lifeless in the water, I felt lost. I couldn't move a muscle. If I had the powers I have now, I would have saved you. Somehow." He closed his eye, regret filling his veins once more.

Hikou released a long sigh of air. "Oh, Chichiri, we were young. Could really close friends really have been so quick to distrust each other?"

Chichiri snapped his eye open, tears pouring down his scarlet-flushed cheeks. "What are you saying? You are my dearest friend even now! And you always will be. I love you. I've always loved you. I'm sorry. Don't go!" He closed his hand tighter around his friend's hand, and as he did so, it turned to water, bursting into drops that sprinkled over his own hand. "Hikou!"

"To water I return, Houjun. Forgive me. Please."

Chichiri succumbed to his cries as his friends hovered around him, as well as the necklace Hikou adorned, the last thing he left behind for the friend he lost long ago.

Atsuna leaned over the windowsill, staring out into the continuing darkness of night. Despite the fact she could see nothing and everything else around her was asleep, she felt a warming level of comfort. Everything seemed to be shifting back into a relative state of normalcy. She felt at ease for one of the first times in a while.

She could hear her friends speaking in the next room and knew that one of them would undoubtedly come for her if she lingered alone for too long. Pushing herself away from the windowsill, she released a deep breath and loosened her shoulders. Her fingers fell away from the wood of the window and she spun around, a smile plastered across her lips.

Her eyes did not meet the open door as she thought it would. Instead, lavender matched with tired amber. Atsuna hesitated for a moment, her gaze traveling over the bandit's form. He was slumping over, blinking slowly. Licking her lips of their sudden dryness, she stepped towards him. "You look exhausted," she said softly. "Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to get some rest."

Tasuki nodded once. "Yeah. I'm pretty tired after today," he answered quietly.

Atsuna glided her hand along the top of his shoulder. "Well, then, I'll leave you to your sleep. I'm going to join the others." She stepped to the side, preparing to walk around him, but a hand clamped over her arm, tugging her back.

"Wait," Tasuki said, shaking his head. "I…I haven't apologized to ya yet."

Atsuna stared at him for a moment before smiling. "You don't have to apologize for anything. I know everything that I need to know."

Tasuki rested his hands on her arms and leaned forward, his forehead grazing against hers. "Is it really that easy?" he murmured. "Can ya really forgive me just like that? After everythin' I did to ya?"

Atsuna slid her palm over his cheek. "It is that easy because you've done nothing to require my forgiveness. I know just as well as you do what prompted everything. You can't be held accountable for that." Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes. "You weren't the only one made a slave to the hidden darkness in your heart."

Tasuki pulled away from her, head tilted to the side in confusion. "What? What are ya talkin' about?"

"I was affected by the darkness just as you were, and because of it, I was almost convinced that I hated Miaka for trying to take you away from me, even though I was aware Miaka knew nothing about what was going on with us. I feel ashamed for letting the darkness affect my judgment. Otherwise, I would have noticed earlier that you were being affected by a spell. I could have stopped it. But my own darkness clouded my vision. I could have stopped all of this from transpiring had I known."

As Atsuna snapped her head up, prepared to continue her tearful explanation, Tasuki's mouth crashed over hers like a warm ocean wave. The force of his sudden kiss sent her staggering backwards, Atsuna's fingers quickly tangling up into his wild hair. Tasuki wrapped his arms around her back, yanking her tight against the contours of his body.

Tasuki's tongue slid into her mouth, prompting a moan to vibrate against her throat. It was warm, smooth, and inviting to have his taste swarm her, to have his hands glide gently under her shirt and against the soft curve of her back. She surrendered to the passion of his kiss, the apology unspoken behind it.

As the bandit pulled away, releasing a ragged breath of air, he folded a stray lock of indigo hair behind her ear. His mouth nipped teasingly against hers. "I love ya so damn much," he rasped. "I hope ya know that."

Atsuna's fingers curled into his sleeves, and she smiled against him. "I've always known, Tasuki. I'll always know."

"I'm really pissed off," Nuriko grumbled as he folded his arms over his chest. "You're really cold, Chichiri."

Chichiri peered up at his comrade as he sat on a small bench in the corner of the room, Mitsukake's warm healing power flowing over him like the afternoon rays of the sun.

"Stop teasing him, Nuriko," Miaka said with a giggle.

"We're just all glad you made it out all right," Mitsukake spoke up with a smile.

"The water in town is receding," Hotohori informed. He turned to Atsuna, who was hovering rather protectively over Chichiri's side. "Well done to the both of you, Chichiri and Atsuna. To Tamahome and Tasuki, as well."

"It's a lot of hard work stopping a flood," Nuriko added.

"You're pretty good at that kind of work, Nuriko," Chiriko said, smiling wide.

Laughing, Nuriko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think I am, too." He turned to Atsuna. "So, are those two asleep?"

Atsuna nodded, turning slightly over her shoulder towards the doorway. "They're dead to the world. They've both had a rather long day." She peered down at the monk. "They were both insistent that they help out with your problem, Chichiri."

Chichiri nodded at her. "This time, I'm indebted to them. If they hadn't been there, I would have—" Chichiri bit off his sentence with a surprised gasp and he stood up against Mitsukake's healing session. "Who's there?"

Atsuna turned her head towards the front door, wide open to allow the night's refreshing air into the room. Her eyes scoped over the intruder, his appearance menacing even against the cover of night. She could sense the darkness fluttering about in his heart.

Standing at the doorway was a man masked by the darkness, hair long and spiky. "You were able to sense my life force. Impressive, Chichiri. I understand how you could have beaten Hikou. My name is Yousui, the last of the four great kings. I have come to kill the priestess of Suzaku."

"What the hell is this guy jabbering about?" Nuriko asked as he took a step forward.

Chichiri blinked when he noticed a shimmer of light in the corner of his eye. Strings were now staggered about the room in all directions. "Miaka, everyone, stay where you are! Don't move!"

"They have encompassed our bodies, as well," Hotohori observed with a frown. "How is this possible?"

Nuriko winced when he pulled back his hand, taking a string along with it. "It looks that way, Your Majesty. And they don't look like normal threads, either."

Just as Atsuna was about to offer her thoughts on the matter, she felt a familiar kick of energy in the bottom of her stomach. She snapped her head to the side, peering over Yousui's shoulder with unblinking eyes.

Chichiri noticed Atsuna's sudden tension immediately. "Atsuna? What is it?"

Slowing shaking her head, Atsuna swallowed the growing lump against her throat. "It…it can't be. It just can't be."

Chichiri opened his mouth to question her, but as he did so, he caught a red flash of light from outside. Jerking his head towards Yousui, he watched as a red life force blast caught the final king in a crossfire of familiar holy power.

Atsuna's heart skipped against her chest as a red symbol flickered in the dead of night, filling her with warmth she hadn't felt for what seemed like ages.

"That life force…" Chichiri stammered with a widened eye.

"It's definitely him," Mitsukake said firmly.

The threads dissipated from around their bodies, and Atsuna took several steps towards the open door, hands trembling at her sides.

"It's time for you to get lost, Yousui."

Atsuna finally found the ability to blink, wondering if she was being ruthlessly tricked. Was she truly hearing the comforting, deep voice she could never forget? Was she truly staring into the same lavender eyes as her own? Was she really looking upon the glowing red ogre symbol that prompted a childhood of teasing?

"Hikari above," she whispered. "Kishuku?"