The Seiryuu twins sat in a room far within the recesses of Kutou palace. Amiboshi was squirming axiously. "Why'dya think she called this meeting? Is it about Tomo?" Suboshiko shrugged. "I dont know." She then winced. "Damn that Chichiri! My arm STILL hurts!" "Im not suprised."Amiboshi lifted her arm, inspecting it. There werent any bad scars, at least not as bad as he thought they would be, but there were still those annoying red lines... he growled. "So that Chichiri guy took out another one of us?" "Yeah...its weird. Especially what happened with H- chan. It seems that the spell worked really well on her, but as soon as that Chichiri guy came around her, it wore off." "Thats because hes a Suzaku shichiseishi." Miryuu walked in the room, symbols faintly glowing. "A Suzaku shichiseishi protects the miko from ANYTHING, even mind controll spells. Tomo thinks that once Chichiri showed up, the Suzaku constellation on his knee cancelled it out.. Apparently, we underestimated them, and underestimated them badly." Amiboshi hung his head. "Im sorry, Miryuu-hime-" She held out her hand. "Its not your fault. We should have been keeing a closer eye on them. But now it wont be such a problem...I have discovered a way to call Seiryuu without a miko, or rather Tomo did." Suboshiko gasped. "How will we do THAT?" "Capture the Shinzaho. By any means necesary." ^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~* Tasuki sat in the throne room , squirming in front of Taitsu-kun. All of them had to sit on the floor except for Taits-kun (who hovered above them menacingly)H-chan, that lucky &^%$, she got to sit in a throne. Even Hotohori had to be on his knees! It was $#@!in absurd. After many minutes of uncomfortable scilence and apologetic looks to the seishi and K-chan from H- chan, Taitsu-kun cleared her throat. "I suppose youre all wondering why Ive asked you here-" "No %^$#in kiddin-" Chiriko quickly clamped his hand over Tasukis mouth. "Hai, Taitsu-kun." "I wanted to tell you all about the magical objects I alluded to last night, the Shinzaho. Chichiri?" "Hai no da?" "The mirror, kudasai." Chichiri brought a large, ornate mirror, decorated with a large carving of Suzaku, out of his kasa. Tamahome whistled. "That things amazing!" "Domo nan no da!" He handed the mirror to Taitsu-kun. Instsntly a picture of two necklaces appeared in the mirror. "There are two necklaces called the Shinzaho. Using their powers, we can call Suzaku and recive our three wishes." "HOLD IT!" H-chan looked crestfallen. "You mean, I only get three?" "Dont push it." Taitsu-kun wheezed in annoyance at her. "Youre lucky to get that many!" "Hai, Taitsu-kun." H-chan growled in fustration. (Makwe that two! Damn it, Nuriko-) She turned to glare at Nuriko. Nuriko just lokked up at her with such hope...and pleading in her eyes... H-chan sighed. (A promise is a promise...Ah well. Guess I can be happy with two.I could always wish for more wishes...) Taitsu-kun, not oblivious to what was going on with H- chan and Nuriko, harrumphed. Everyone quickly snapped to attention. "Now then. The Shinzaho is a gropu of 2 necklaces wor by the previous mikos of Hokkan and Sailo." "Hokkan and Sailo?" "The other two countrys. There are 4 countrys:" Four countrys appeared in the mirror. "Theres Hokkan, who summoned Genbu;" A white tiger appeared. "Sailo, who summoned Byakko;" A green snake appered. "And Konan and Kutou, who are trying to find mikos and call Suzaku or Seiryuu. We have the advantage, seeing as how we have a Suzaku no Miko, but theyre still looking for a Seiryuu no Miko..." "So..." H-chan said. "Tomo...was he a Seiryuu Seishi like Suboshiko?" "Yes. There are 5 more warriors left to meet, and meet them you will when you leave on the ship." "SHIP!" Tasuki turned breight red. "Noone said anything about a %$#@in SHIP!" "Whats wrong, Tasuki?" H-chan raised her eyebrows. "Dont tell me...you cant swim!" From the look on Tasukis face, it was obvious she had hit the money. Tamahome laughed. "Tasuki cant swim! Hahahah! How bout a free lesson, Ta-" "REKKKA SHIEN!" A crispy Tamahome fell to the floor. Tasuki, with amazing dignity, refolded his fan and sat down. "I just dont like the water." Taitsu-kun rolled her eyes. "Are we all done? Good. I have to discuss a ground rule with you all." "Such as?" K-chan sat up. "You two-" She pointed at Chichiri and H-chan. "-are not to touch each other in love untill Suzaku is called." H-chan turned bright red. "ah..." Chichiri just sat there with a confused look. "Touch each other no da? You mean, like hugs no da?" Tasuki sighed. "She means %$#@ing, idiot!" Chichiri and H-chan turned bright red, almost simutaneously. H-chan began to stutter. "I dont want to do that with Chi-I mean, I dont want to with any-I mean-I like Chi-but,ano-" Chichiri put a hand on her head. "I understand perfectly no da..." "Good, cause I didnt pick up on a %$#@in word!" Tasuki crowed from the back, prompting a kick from Chiriko. Taitsu-kun slammed her fist down on the table. "SHUT UP! Now then, Ill continue...By the way, that rule goes for all of you. None of THAT-" she paused to glare at K-chan and Tamahome, who glared back "-at all! Now, H-chan, we need to preform a special ceremony, kind of a bonding ritual. If you could sit in front of me, please? "Okay." H-chan sat down, trying to rearrange the ceremonial robes to sit comfrotably while not putting "anything on display" as her mother used to put it. (I wonder what Moms doin right now?) Taitsu-kun nodded in approval. "All right. Now then, everyone get in line in the order H-chan met you...thats good." She studied the line of people with a smile of satisfaction. "Do each of you have a weapon?" Nods went through the crowd. "Good. First off, Chichiri, come forward." Chichiri stepped torwards H-chan on the floor, who gave him a small smile. "One of the nmost important parts of a miko/seishi relationship is trust. Chichiri, Do you trust H-chan to carry out her duties as Suzaku no miko and defend Konan-koku?" Chichiri nodded. "Hai no da." "H-chan, do you trust Chichiri to protect you, even give his own life to save you and Konan untill you call Suzaku?" (Geeze, its like were geting MARRIED! Hee!) H-chan solemnly nodded. "I hope it dosent come to that, tho..." Taitsu-kun nodded. "Chichiri, give H-chan your weapon." Chichiri handed her his staff. She carefully placed it on the ground in front of her, then looked to Tamahome. "Tamahome, you dont carry any weapons, do you?" Tamahome, who was begining to look a bit nervous, nodded. Taitsu-kun sighed. "Tamahome, do you trust H- chan to be suzaku no miko untill she calls Suzaku?" "Hai." "H-chan, do you trust Tamahome with all the trust of Chichiri?" "Hai!" Taitsu-kun pointed to the ground beside H-chan. "Sit." "Nani-" "SIT!" Tamhome sat beside H-chan without another word. Taitsu-kun is not the kind of old lady one is prone to mess with. "Now Tasuki-" Tasuki nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I trust H- chan..." He tried to set his tesen beside her, but Taitsu-kun grabbed his hand. "Dont-unless you really TRUST her!" Tasuki thought it over. Well, she was noisy...and stupid...and annoying...but she was willing to even quit the job of the MIKO to keep a promise. He sighed. "Yeah, I guess I can trust the Oi-miko. The Miko." "H-chan, do you trust Tasuki?" "Umm...yeah." Tasuki glared at her for a minute, as if in warning, as he put the tessen down in front of her. "If my tessen gets hurt in-well, whatever the hell this thing is-" Taitsu-kun shook his head. "The weapons will not be harmed, Tasuki...Chiriko?" Chiriko stepped forward. "I fully trust H-chan to be the miko, Taitsu-kun." "H-chan, do you trust Chiriko?" "Of course! But Chiriko, what weapon-" He reached inside his robe and pulled out a small, bone white dagger. He grinned as he put it beside her. "My first bandit weapon. Its from Migenrou..." "Oh." Hotohori stepped forward. "Suzaku no Miko," he said in a regal voice. "I fully trust you to take care of all the duties of the miko and to serve our country faithfully untill Suzaku is called. And when you do call Suzaku, youre welcome to stay at the palace as long as you like." "I turst you fully, Hotohori. Thank you." She gasped at the ornate, jewel covered sword he placed before her. "Wow, that things NICE..." Hothori smiled as he backed away, leaving Nuriko about to cry. "Taitsu-kun, I dont have anything! Im a girl! Ive never used weapons before!" she began to tear up. "I HATE violence!" (Yeah right) H-chan thought. "Well, do you have anything else?" "Just theese bracelets from Hoto-" "In they go!" Taitsu-kun snapped and they appeared in front of H-chan. "Hey! Those are-" Taitsu-kun galred at Nuriko. "Do you trust her or NOT!" "Well, yes!" "Fine then. H-chan, do you trust Nuriko?" "Hai." (After all, with that kind of motivation...) H-chan looked at Mitsukake. "Mitsukake, Im glad you trust me...but you dont have to put a weapon in." "But H-chan-" H-chan gave him a LOOK. He nodded. "I fully trust you, Suzaku no Miko." H-chan nodded. "And I trust you, Mitsukake." (Im not going to make him fight. Not for MY sake.) Taitsu-kun stared at the eapons. "H-chan, summon the wings." H-chan waved her feather high in the air., bringing the wings, She grabbed a handfull of feathers. "I assume you want me to put a feather on each weapon?" Taitsu-kun nodded. "A clever miko." She palced a feather on each weapon. "what about Tamahome?" "On his forehead, where his constelation is." The sencond hshe touched his head, the constellation appeared. All of the weapons began to glow a bright red. They shone brightly for a second, the went out. H-chan slumped forward. "H-chan no da!" Chichiri knelt forward to prop her up. Her eyes fluttered and she smiled. "I should swoon more often...It just took a bit out of me, Chichiri. No big deal." "Now then-" Taitsu-kun waved her hand. "All of your weapons now each have a special power-" "HOTOHORIIIII!!!" A guard ran in, panic sticken. "There a crazy girl outside! She keeps knocking over the palace statues and demanding to see Gen-chan!" Tasuki perked up. "What did she look like?" "Long orange red hair, fangs-" "NIIIIICHAAAANNNN!!!!" A orange bolt of lighting flew in the room and knocked Tasuki flat. Everyone stared in shock at the fanged girl with the amber eyes who was now sitting on Tasukis chest. "Did you miss me, Ni-chan?" she giggled. Tasuki growled. "Not when you do stupid %$#@ like that, you psycho!" He pushed her off, wher she fell flat on the ground. "Ouch!" She growled. Tamahome went to help her up. "Here-" "OH!" She glomped onto him. "Youre a sexy seishi!" "A-NO!" a fuming K-chan tapped Migenrous shoulder. "Get your hands off my MAN!" Migenrou peered over her shoulder with indifference. "Youre man?" She snuggled into Tamahome, who was now sweating profusely and trying to shake her iron grip."Not for loo-oong..." "AAAHHH!" K-chan struggled to get away from H-chan who had her in a pretty good hold around the waist. "LEGGO! LEGGOOO!!" "Ne, 'rou-chan, hes engaged." Tasuki said. "Oh. Damn." Migenrou let go, pouting. Then she rushed her Ni-chan, who gave her a big hug. "Ka-WAI! Youre not a total jerk, Tasuki!" H-chan cheered. "Yes he is!" "%$#@ you, 'rou-chan!" They got into a sibling-ly shoving match. "AHEM." Hothori stepped foward. "Migenrou, welcome to the palace of Konankoku. Im the emporer, Sai Hitei, Suzaku Shichiseishi Hotohori." "Oh!" Migenrou bowed. "Im Migenrou of the Keitou no college!" "I know, our miko specifically requested your presence." Hotohori gestured to H-chan, who quickly bowed. "Im Haruka, but pretty much everyone calls me H-chan...Im Suzaku no Miko." "Sugoi!" She raised her eyebrows. "Ne, Gen-chan, shes cute. Good job." "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN? SHE GOT A GUY!" Tasuki growled and grabbed Chichiris arm, pushing him torwards Migenrou. "So stop trying to hook me up!" "Just because I care about the well being of my Ni- chan..." Migenrou snorted, then turned to Chiriko. "Hiyah, Chirikooo!" "Um, hi..." H-chan studied Chiriko with glee. (Hee! Hes BLUSHING!) He turned bright red as she swooped in for a hug. "Its so &^%#in good to see you again!" "Yup." Chiriko quickly busied himself with the inspection of his bone dagger. Migenrou shrugged and turned to Chichiri. "Boy, youre ^%$#in funny lookin. Is that a mask, or what?" Chichiri laughed. "Youre pretty smart no da!" He peeled off his mask. Migenrous eyes went wide. "Suuugoi! Youre GOREGEOUS!" "Domo no da..." Chichiri turned bright red. "Ne, Chichiri, the blood vessels in your face are gonna burst if you keep this up..."Tamahome muttered. Hotohori stepped in between the two. "As the emporer of Konan, Id like to invite you to stay for the stargazing festival tonight. and then you may stay here for as long as you like." "WAII!" Migenrou bowed. "Domo arigatou goimazu!" Chichiri sighed at the carnage, then turned to H-chan. "ne, H-chan, lets take a walk no da?" "Okay." ^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~ The courtyard was peacefull, the sounds of destruction and mayhem far behind them. The trees were in bloom, and H-chan was cheerfully handing off of Chichiris arm. In short, all was well with the world. "Ne, Chichiri? Whats the stargazing festival?" "Its the one night, every year, when all of the constellations can be seen around the Miko no hoshi no da." "The Miko Star?" "Its the star all of the constellations gather around no da. It happens around midnight no da. Its beautiful no da...Oi, H-chan no da?" "Hai?" Chichiri stopped and looked down at her. "You said you saw Kouran...what happened?" H-chan stared back up at him. "She was...beautiful, Chichiri. I can see why-" she choked a bit, then continued, kind of quietly. "I can see why you loved her."She looked away. "Yes, I do love her... she was my world, H-chan." He took off his mask. "Did she say anything about me?" "That she didnt want you to be sad." H-chan looked back at him, into his eyes, as if to try to emphasize what she was about to say. "That she wanted you to move on." Chichiri started back, breifly. "Dont be hostile, H-chan..." "Im not." (Your just in love with a ghost, thats all. Normal, everyday occurance.) "H-chan..."Something inside him was desperately yelling at him to stop, but the nagging thought had to be appeased. "Did she say she loved me?" "I...dont remember." "H-chan." He grabbed her arm. "Try to remember." His voice grew harsh, his grip was tight. "Chichiri...ite..." "H-chan, PLEASE!" She sighed. "Yes. But damn it, Chichiri..." Chichiri glared at hwer. "What? Its important to me H- chan. I wish youd understand that. Youre being selfish." "No Im NOT!" She jerked her arm away. "Im being selfish! Thats kinda weird, seeing as how youve been living in the past for the past two years of your life!" "I killed my two best friends! You cant understand the pain I caused them!" Chichiri glared at her. "I love Tenmei. I still do. I care about you, H-chan, but you have to understand!" "She FORGAVE YOU! I TALKED TO HER!" "Stop yelling." "I DONT CARE WHO HEARS ME! IM GOING TO YELL UNTILL YOU UNDERSTAND THIS!" H-chan had finnaly lost her temper. Tears poured down her bright red cheeks. "H-chan, calm down!" "IT IS OVER! WHAT HAPPENED IS IN THE PAST! TENMEI IS DEA-" H-chan clamped her hands over her mouth. (oh shit, why did I say that-) Chichiri turned away from her. "H-chan...please leave." "But Chichiri-san-" "Go. Please." The sadness in his voice was like a dagger. She waved the feather in the air and dissapeared. Chichiri waited intill he heard the flapping of her wings grow faint. Then he threw off his mask and cried. Up in the air, H-chan hovered and listened to Chichiris cries, high whimpers like an injured animal. (Kitsune-ka...Im so sorry...) She reached into her wings, pulled out the feather that Mitsukake gave her, and let it float away in the breeze. ^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~ "WAIIII! What a beautiful dress!" Nuriko modeled her dress for Hotohori. "A beautiful dress for me beautiful bride to be." Hotohori kissed Nuriko on the cheek. "As soon as we call Suzaku, we can get married." (Yeah. As soon as we call Suzaku, Im officially not guaranteed a death sentence!) Nuriko gave a nervous giggle. "Are we ready to rock?" "Hai!" H-chan flew in on her wings. "Theres an hour untill the stars are lined up1 K-chan, Tamahome, Migenrou, and Tasuki are outside. Chiriko is staying here with Mitsukake, I dunno why." Nuriko raised his eyeborws. "Hes got a little crush?" "A little crush? More like one the size of Hotohoris e- Ah, eminence!" "Large indeed." Nuriko giggled at Hotohori. "Why dont you go out and meet them, me and Nuriko will be along shortly." "Okay!" H-chan kept the fake smile plastered on her face for as long as it took to get out the door. Then her worried, lip biting grimace returned. She handt seen Chichiri since that afternoon...ah well. She didnt want anyone worried about her, after all... "Ne, H-chan!" K-chan waved. "Wheres Chichiri?" "Um, hes meeting us there!" (Yeah, thats it.) "Well, come on! I dont got all ^%$#in night!" Migenrou grabbed H-chans hand and pulled her to the ground. Tasuki snorted. "That dumbass is probaly off writing a love sonnet." H-chans voice was hard. "I doubt it." Tasuki looked suprised. "Oinu, whats the-oof!" He was cut off by a punch to the gut from Migenrou. She gave him a definite look-SHUT UP. He just grinned an even wider grin as they approached the festival. The brightly colored lanterns swung in the breeze and the sounds of pitchmen filled the air. "Fish for sale! Fresh, delicious fish!" "Win you daughter a doll! Win one for the specail girl in your life!" "Special magnifiers for the light1 See the stars better than ever!" Despite herself, H-chan giggled. "Ne K-chan, this is just like a county fair! Cmon, lets have some fun! Cmon, 'rou-chan!" Arm in arms, the three ran off giggling. Tasuki stared after them. "I wonder what up with the oinu?" Tamahome shrugged. "Girls from the otherworld are fickle, Tasuki. Best to just let her sort it our herself." "Shes $%#@in crazzy." "I know that." ^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~ H-chan, K-chan, and Migenrou sat on a hill, giggling madly, surrounded with the things they had both bought and won. The evening had been dotted with memorable events, such as- -Migenrou winning a strongmans contest (by cursing till the other competitors turned red and dropped their weights, -K-chan bought Tamahome yet another shirt (and drooled ofr over 15mins at the thought of him bare-chested) -and H-chan won a dart contest with her feathers and 10 consecutive bullseyes. Now they were sitting on a hill, giggling over the events of the evening. Finnaly, H-chan just had to ask: "Ne, Migenrou, why does Tasuki hate women?" Migenrou rolled his eyes. "Its a grudge against our old dad." "What do you mean?" "Well, when Mom died, he satyed in greiving for approxiamtely 3 days." "Thats horrible!" "I know, Wanna know why? The whole time my mom was married, he was really in love with one of the servants! Her name was Xian, and they carried on for quite sometime...finnaly they dumped us at a bandit mountain and moved on to warmer climates." "Im sorry, 'rou-chan..." H-chan leaned over to give her a hug. "S'allright...Gen-chans been my brother forever, but I guess hes been my father, too...anyway, Gen-chan has come to the conclusion that all women do is seduce men and warp them." "But...IT WAS HIS DAD!" K-chan yelled in exasoeration. Migenrou just shrugged again. "My Ni-chans warped, what can I say?" "Amen to that." H-chan laughed. "Hes an okay guy, your Ni-chan..." "H-chan ,where is Chichiri? I was sure you two would be smooching under the stars by now!" K-chan giggled. "I wouldnt count on that...in fact, Id be suprised if he liked me at all anymore." "Why? What the %$#@ did you DO to make him hate you that much?" "Well..." H-chan sighed. "We were walking..and then he asked me about Tenmei...how I saw her and all..and the thought of him living in the past, wasting his whole life just for one thing...I said something I shouldnt have." "So?" Migenrou snorted. "Whaddya mean 'SO?'! He totally despises me now! Im such a jerk." H-chan grolwed, head in her hands. "What the %$#@!" Migenrou whacked her in the head. "Owww!" "Pick yourself up, Miko!" Migenrou shook her by the shoulder. "You care about this guy!" "Yeah, but-" "And he cares about you, right?" "Well, yeah, but-" "NO BUTS!" Migenrou shook her head. "Dont sit here and tell me you love him! Summon your wings and GO!" "Youre right. Youre absolutely right." H-chan summoned her wings. (The last thing I can afford to give him right now is what he wants...) ^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~*^_~ Chichiri sat by the river, staring up at the stars. Hits constellation, as usual, was the last one moving torwards the miko star. (Ironic no da.) He looked down at his hand, at the feather in side. H- chan must have lost it while she was flying away. He felt...he didnt know. The look in her eyes when she told him to move on...why hadnt he been able to tell it was killing her? Her words had stabbed him right where it hurt. She just didnt get it. He was forever in gult for what he had done. There was no kind of redemption for what he had done, no matter how earestly she...she loved him. The moent he had seen them kissing, his soul had collapsed. When he killed him, the world had collapsed... But H-chan, she wouldnt give up. That feather, it was her chi...and it had flown torward HIM. He sighed. "Why do things have to be so difficult for me no da!" He heard a sudden movement next to him...he already knew who it was, of course. "H-chan no da?" "Hai, Chichiri-san." He heard her sit beside him, still not turning. "Chichiri, Im sorry..." "H-chan...I almsot killed myeslf." She gasped. "Today? "No...when I first got to Mt Leikyaku. I would just sit there...with a knife to my chest. Taitsu-kun would sit and watch and I would sit and point. It would go on for hours....but in the end, I would always put the knife down." "Why?" "Because...I have a duty. As a Suzaku Schichiseishi, I live and die for the miko. I wouldnt let myself die, no matter what." "Oh...Chichiri..." She leaned over and hugged him. "I dont know what to say..." Chichiri smiled down at her, mask long gone. "H- chan...please. I dont want to think of the past, only the future. Please...this will be hard for you. It will be hard for both of us." (Oh, god, is he breaking up with me?) H-chan looked down at her hands. "If you dont like me anymore..." "Thats not it!" He tucked the feather in her hands. "I just want you to realize that I care about you...but its going to be hard for me. and both of us, to deal with...us." "I see...Chichiri-san?" "Hai, H-chan?" She swallowed hard for a second, then held him tight. "I love you..." As his constellation finnaly floated into place over head, he bent donwn and kissed her for the second time that day. He broke away, then swept the hair away from her blushing face. "I know." END CHAPTER 14!