Chapter 3-

The gates of Toran (?) loomed above them, dominating the area. Suboshi slowed the horse to a trot as they approached it. THIS is where we are going to find the Shinzaho? Its freezing cold and snowing.... I HATE snow.... aniki used to love it though..... At the thought of his brother Suboshi grimaced and broke off that painful train of thought. The harsh wind blew again, the coldness going right through him. Aniki, maybe Soi is right.... demo...... Without a warning the horse reared and promptly dumped them in the snow. The cold shock of brought him back to the present. Yui was pulling herself up, and while she brushed the snow off her coat a look os dissatisfaction lingered on her face.
"why did the horse?" She began, but stopped talking immediatly. She clapped her hands over her mouth and turned as white as the snow around them. He followed her line of gaze. Tamahome, Miaka and another of the Suzaku Seishi stood by the gate, Tamahome and Miaka sharing a horse. The other Seishi looked to be a flat-chested female with short purple hair and amytheast eyes.
"tamahome." Yui glanced down at Suboshi. He was sitting on the ground, his head titled so his bangs covered his eyes. He was shaking, and his right hand was curled into a fist.
"Subosh-?" He got up in one swift movement and grabbed his ryuuseisui. She met his eyes, for just a moment and read everything. The anger, pain, and loneliness eclipsed everything. She could see a glint of darkness in his gray-blue eyes and......... something else. Someothing she didn't like.

Shunkaku grimly concentrated on his ryuuseisui, the thrum of the whirling balls made his heart pound. Tamahome,tamahome,tamahome.... he could only see the green-haired man, smiling. He's SMILING after what he did to aniki? I'll make him pay....... He drew in the darker powers of Seiryuu, and felt the familar sensation of someone taking over. The gray-blue eyes seemed to film over, to darken. The grip on the cord of the ryuuseisui turned from a young boy's inexprienced hands to a young man's experianced grip. Suboshi smriked.

"Suzaku Shichi Seishi Tamahome!" Tamahome turned around from Miaka and met the furious eyes a familar looking youth. He'd seen that face for the first time after he had been under Nakago's kodoku poison. Smiling at him. That same boy.... who tried to kill Miaka with his flute. A Seiryuu seishi.
"Ami..boshi?" The boy's face crumpled for a moment, then the look was replaced by a face devoid of emotion. A blank stare and dull eyes.
"no........ Amiboshi was.... Amiboshi was my aniki! YOU KILLED MY ANIKI!" He hurled the ryuuseisui at the pair. Tamahome pulled Miaka and himself out of the way as the weapon plowed into the horse. Blood sprayed onto the white snow. Miaka screamed. Tamahome held her, a look of disgust on his face.
"Who are you?" he didn't answer just flung the ryuuseisui at them again. He picked her up and rolled out of the way, looking back he noticed the ryuuseisui was following him.
"k'so...." Tamahome couldn't protect Miaka and himself from the whirrling blades, so he'd have to take the boy down quickly.
"Seiryuu Shichi Seishi Suboshi!" Suboshi smirked. That was all there was too it. The boy's soul was so easily invaded, and Tamahome would pay dearly for hurting Amiboshi..... yes.... he'd kill him slowly....... The ryuuseisui hovered, waiting for his command. Yui closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Suzaku no miko!" she cried. Miaka's face paled, and she met Yui's hard gaze.
"Suzaku no miko! We are no longer friends!" With two sentences Yui ripped Miaka's hopes a part. Her mouth moved, 'yu-i-cha-n....' she tried to say it, but the words would not come.
"Yui?" Tamahome was distracted long enough for Suboshi to hit him in the shoulder with the 'shooting-star-spindle' the audible crack of bones echoed in the crisp air. The Suzaku Sei gasped and held a hand over his shoulder. Miaka screamed as blood seeped from his fingers.
"doushite Yui!? DOUSHITE!??????" Yui wouldn't meet her eyes, her left hand clenching. She snarled at the brown haired girl.
"Don't you get it Miaka!? I went through HELL While you were off worrying about Tamahome! My BEST friend! You LEFT ME!" she screamed, lifting her sleeve just enough to show the jagged scar across her wrist. Miaka put her hands on the sides of her face, shaking her head..... no her mouth moved soundlessly. She slid to the ground, her eyes wide.
"yu-i-cha-n......."
"Its over, Yuuki-san," Miaka gave a small pitful shuddering gasp.
"Suboshi, lets go. We still have to get the Shinzaho," He froze, ready to kill Tamahome, one hand poised above his head, the other at Tamahome's neck. He growled, angry at being interrupted, but no seishi could turn down an order from their miko.
"......hai....yui-sama," he pulled away, and threw Tamahome over by Miaka, still glaring fiercely at him.
"Yui-chan! Matte! We've already found the Shinzaho! Nuriko's going to get it, he's already out there on top of Mt. Black! Don't you get it Hongo-san, we've won," The audacity of that little! Yui's hands clenched. She could feel the tears threatening to pour. The stamp of hooves and a short whinny told her Suboshi was ready to leave.
"Not yet, Suzaku no Miko. Not yet......" She was pulled up into the saddle and they rode off, leaving Miaka to tend Tamahome. She smirked, a facil expression most unlike Hongo Yui, but it suited Seiryuu no Miko just fine.


Nakago stared aimlessly at the wall. The wind was blowing the tent was, and they reminded him of sand. He and his mother had once travel across a sandy place, and it shifted with every small gust of wind or puff of air. He could almost feel her ebhind him, smiling and encouraging him the whole way. Don't listen to the Ayuru, you are beautiful. You are my son..... Ayuru.... He frowned, not wanting to remember being helpless, afraid and soon after that, alone.
"Nakago-sama, Suboshi-kun and Yui-sama have returned.... with the location of the Shinzaho," He waved the gaurd away, still thinking wistfully of the warm desert, opposed to this nice cold niche of hell.
"Nakago-sama. The Suzaku Seishi disclosed the location of the Shizanho, its on the top of Mt.Black." Suboshi bowed deeply to the shogun, a mocking look in his eyes. Nakago felt something was wrong, Yui-sama looked harried and Suboshi looked smug.
"What happened with the Suzaku Seishi?" Suboshi just smirked. Yui-sama swallowed, her eyes getting watery. Without a warning she threw her arms around Nakago's neck and began to sob. Her body shaking with each cry. Something made Suboshi jealous with that gesture, something about love.
"Miaka... Miaka was there! I don't want to lose to her!" Yui was saying. Suboshi frowned and let himself out into the cold Hokkan-koku air. The girl was silly and idealistic. She stopped him from killing Tamahome, an enemy and a murderer. He glared at tree, finding nothing else to glare at. He held his hand out to the side and shut his eyes. The power was there, a wamr humming glow that filled him with Seiryuu's gift. He smiled, a smile that would have been childish and innocent had he not grown up the way he did. Pointing at the tree he let lose all the anger and emotion he felt. A blast of telekinesis was released and the tree snapped in two. Suboshi smiled again.

~~~~~~~
Miaka stood there, staring straight ahead into the winter sky. Something was very wrong. She, she felt as if a part of her had been ripped away in a fury of claws and rage. Nuriko...... She felt tears running down her cheeks.
"NURIKO!!!!!!!" she tore past Tamahome running for the looming mountain before her. Stumbling in the snow, her vision blurred with tears. We were going to do it together Nuriko. You can't die on us! she though, biting her lip and hap-hazardly climbing on.
~~~~~~~~
Something shot through his mind, animalistic rage and pain. Ashitare. A smirk. The beast falls at the hands of a Seishi, a Suzaku Seishi. Suboshi felt the loss of a seishi as a minor inconvience, but a part of him was upset at the loss of a life... even one that tried to kill him.
"Nakago-sama! Did you feel that!? The ki of a Seiryuu Seishi!?" He cried, letting the sentimental side win for now. He had more things on his mind, like revenge for Amiboshi.
~~~~~~
Nuriko opened his eyes, it was raining on him. He didn't think it rained when it was this cold....... Miaka's tear-stained face looked down on him, she had been sobbing. Why? He didn't hurt, in fact he felt better then he had in a long time.
"don't cry Miaka-chan......" he whispered, lifting a heavy arm and wiping her tears. She only cried more, holding his hand against her face.
"Nuriko! We were going to do it together! The Shinzaho...." he smiled, it was warm suddenly, and the chains of pained memories no longer bound him. Cho Ryuuen smiled.
"Its there Miaka-chan. Go get it.......," Then, he saw a familar face. Purple hair bound up in two 'buns' at the sides of her head with sparkling amytheast eyes. An angel.
"Korin? How long have you been there?" Miaka's voice got fuzzy as Korin held out a hand. Time to come home nii-chan! He laughed and stood up, no longer feeling the holes in his chest where Ashitare had hit him. Grasping her hand Cho Ryuuen and Cho Korin walked off together. I've been waiting the longest time nii-chan!
~~~~~~~~

Miaka lifted the cool metal from the pedestal, smiling. A single tear tracked its way down her pale face. She finally had it, after all the pain and the lives lost. She had the Shinzaho, and Suzaku could finally be summoned. The two Genbu Seishi stood on either side of the resting place of the Shinzaho. Disbelief and happiness written on their faces.
"Now...... Now we can summon Suzaku," Suzaku no Miko lovingly stroked the gold plated necklace.
"a-anou. You need the other Shinzaho as well or it won't work," A voice shattered her fragile revery. Everyone turned to look at Genbu Shichi Seishi Tomite.
"NANI!?!?!?" The cry reverberated throughout the cavern.
"You need the Byakko Shinzaho as well. There isn't enough power in just this one," Hikitsu explained, both seishi had an odd expression on their faces. Like one trying to keep a straight face, and look sympathetic at the same time. The Suzaku Seishi nodded, looking tired and worn out. Miaka led them outside, as they left the twin doors of the cavern closed slowly. The shadows of the Genbu Seishi dark against the bright green light. If she were to have seen them, she would have seen Tomite resting against Hikitsu.... smiling as tears ran down their faces. After 200 hundred years..... they were free.

Wow, people actually read my stuff! Thanks to all you peoples who reviewed! If your wondering about the..... pairing thing I'm trying to do unusual pairings for ALL my fave anime characters! Starting with Fushigi Yuugi. Also, if the whole Seishi-Spirit and real-people stuff is getting confusing like when Suboshi smirks, but Shun's sad just review or e-mail me and I'll type up a story explaining that! Kay!? Well, this is a short chapter I'll try to get Chapter four out soon! Arigato minn-san!
~Gaberiel Yaslana