Flee!

Return to a Safe Haven in Konankoku!

Episode 11

Lina stared at Nakago, who was rubbing a sore spot on his side. Had she really managed to punch him?

She didn't have much time to wonder. Nakago's hands glowed bright blue and the character for heart on his forehead flashed. "Shi né," he said, throwing the ki blast at Lina.

"Abunai, na no da!" screamed someone, pulling Lina to the ground.

"Chichiri-chan!" gasped Lina.

"Suzaku no Shichi Seishi?" asked Nakago in surprise. "Through the barrier? Impossible!" He directed another blast of blue energy at them.

Chichiri stood in front of Lina, protecting her. He held his staff out in front of him, creating a shield of red light that deflected Nakago's attack. Despite Nakago's very obvious attempts to do them great bodily damage and then some, the monk did not return an attack. He stood still, concentrating his power through his staff.

A fierce battle ensued. Nakago didn't give them any reprieve; bursts of blue light flew through the air, making sparks (and parts of the building) fly. Behind Chichiri's shield, it was like being in the eye of a hurricane, but it was a dubious shelter. Lina could tell that Chichiri wouldn't be able to hold it up for much longer.

Just as Lina thought this, a needle-thin blast sliced through Chichiri's shield, cutting through his mask. The discarded mask fluttered to the ground.

Lina gasped. Where the monk's left eye should have been was a massive scar.

"Time to go, na no da!" he said quickly, not bothering to get his mask. He threw his hat up into the air and spun his staff around it. A flash of red light surrounded Lina and him.

Nakago cursed. He was the only person left in the room.

Well, not quite.

"Nakago-san," said a voice behind him.

Without turning, the shogunate said, "Gomen nasai, Naga-sama. I promise that next time I will finish the job."

"Hmm." Naga folded her arms across her chest and scowled. "I think that next time, I'd rather finish the job."

Nakago nodded his agreement. "Hai, Naga-sama. If that is your wish."

Naga withdrew into the shadows again. "It is," she replied.

Naga threw herself on her bed, her mind all cluttered. An image of Lina appeared in her head - many images of Lina. Lina, giving Naga the victory sign after a fight won. Lina, gobbling down plates of food and rubbing her stomach contentedly. Lina, her eyes large and wobbly as she pulled a fast one on an unsuspecting innkeeper. Lina, waving to Naga and urging her to hurry up.

Naga threw her pillows on the floor for lack of anything else to destroy. How could Lina just show up like this? Why didn't she show up months ago when Naga actually needed her help? What was Lina up to? Where had she been all this time?

"Who does she think she is, anyways?" Naga asked her reflection in the mirror.

Her reflection had tears on her cheeks.

Hurriedly, Naga wiped them off and sniffed. It was too much to handle. Had Lina returned because she was really worried about Naga? Did she misunderstand Lina's intentions? What if Lina hadn't been able to return until just now?

The mirror clouded over and an image of a man with long grey hair appeared. He smiled, the wisps of hair gently blowing around his face, occasionally obscuring his golden eyes. The eyes seemed to be smiling, too. Somehow, Naga felt oddly protected; it wasn't the first time she had seen the image, and she always saw it when she felt confused and hurt. It was as if the image was trying to console her in some way...

"Naga-sama?"

She looked up as the image faded away. "Nakago?"

He knelt down in supplication. "I'm afraid I must apologize to you again," he began.

"Ne, Nakago-san, what if Lina really did come back for me?"

Nakago eyed Naga coldly, sternly. "Naga-sama, I've told you time and time again, if that Lina had been your true friend, she would have come immediately. She wouldn't have waited this whole time and then shown up as if nothing was wrong. She betrayed you, Naga-sama. I am here to make sure she cannot do that again."

"But, Nakago..."

"Who do you trust, Naga-sama? Me, or her?"

"..." Naga stared down at her hands.

"She left you here all alone. I am sorry I could not have helped you earlier, but I have tried to make up for that lack. I have given you everything you need. You have recovered nicely. I even taught you to use your magic again. Who do you trust?"

"You." Naga sat up straighter. "Lina was never very trustworthy, after all. She was too childish and immature and prone to wild and risky acts. She never stops to think about what she does, she just does it. And she... and she..." Tears threatened to spill over again.

"Naga-sama..." Nakago held her tightly. "I promise that I will protect you. No matter what, I will be here for you."

Naga clung to him desperately. "Arigatou, Nakago," she whispered. Yet, in her mind, she remembered those smiling golden eyes...

Lina and Chichiri arrived on Mount Taikyoku. The Nyan-Nyans instantly glomped on the two, proclaiming their usual chant, "Cure, cure, fix, fix!"

Lina swatted them away like pesky flies (and managed to swat away a pesky bee,) but they would not leave this time. Reluctantly, she allowed them to pull her off and treat her.

"Lina-chan!" Tamahome dashed up and grabbed her in his arms protectively. He squeezed her tightly, disregarding the protests of the scattering Nyan-Nyans. "Lina, what were you doing, going to Kutoukoku alone? You could have been killed! Then where would we be?"

She had never let anyone hug her like that before. Lina was usually detached from all emotions except fear and anger, which she reserved in order to save herself on numerous occasions. She never felt any deep feelings for anyone, not even Gourry. Especially Gourry, thought Lina to herself, yet it felt so good, so warm, being in Tamahome's arms...

A drop of water fell across her cheek.

Tamahome was... crying?

"Ta-Tamahome-kun?"

He released her gently. He was crying - tears streaked his face. "Lina, if you had died, where would we be? You can't take such risks anymore. You're Suzaku no Miko. The hope of Konankoku."

Lina was, once again, at a loss for words.

"Lina-chan is too used to risks to forsake them altogether," said Chichiri seriously. "She is used to doing things herself, not being sheltered, no da."

Lina turned. Chichiri had not replaced his mask, and the scar gleamed on his face.

"Chichiri... your face?"

He smiled. "This happened to me three years ago because I didn't trust a friend. Lina, no matter what your friend Naga has done or said to you, you must keep trust in her. I learned that giving up trust could mean giving up your friendship forever. Don't let that happen to you."

"Chichiri..." Lina paused, digesting the advice. "Hai."

"We must return to Konankoku!" said Hotohori, suddenly appearing at Lina's side.

"Uwaa!" she cried in fright.

"We have to gather the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi as quickly as possible!" he continued. "If Kutoukoku also as a miko, then they might be able to summon Seiryuu first. If that happens... Suzaku protect us, Konankoku will be in dire straits."

"Oh no!" cried Lina.

"What?" asked everyone else in the same instant.

"Hotohori-san, that scroll you gave me... I think Nakago has it!"

There was a popping sound in front of Lina. She automatically held out her hands as something fell into them. It was a red scroll.

"Eh?" She turned to see who had done that.

Taiitsukun nodded to her. "Suzaku no Miko, you really should be more careful with your things," she chided.

Lina snorted.

Chichiri stood up and replaced his mask. "I can take us back to the palace in Eiyo, no da," he offered, smiling.

Lina turned to Taiitsukun again. "Arigatou, Taiitsukun," she said. "For the scroll... for everything."

Taiitsukun smiled. "--"

"Bye-bye!" cried a Nyan-Nyan happily (or possibly sadly, but the Nyan-Nyan was too hyper to tell the difference between the two emotions.)

"We'll miss you!" cried another.

"Ja ne! Come back soon!" exclaimed a third.

"We'll be waiting!" proclaimed a fourth.

"Cure, cure! Fix, fix!" added a fifth and a sixth for no good reason except that it was something every Nyan-Nyan said.

"WILL YOU LET ME SPEAK?" yelled Taiitsukun angrily.

The Nyan-Nyans scattered.

"Suzaku no Miko, you must be careful in your actions. Remember what has happened here and in Kutoukoku. And remember what Chichiri said. Trust your friend, even when it seems she has turned her back."

Lina nodded.

And, once again, they were off in Chichiri's patented flash.

They landed in a large room in Eiyo's palace. And when they landed, they landed. In a rather large, undignified heap on the floor, except for Chichiri, who somehow managed to float down a short distance away from the others.

"Itai..." complained Nuriko.

"Heika!" yelled several vassals as they ran to investigate the loud sound.

Hotohori instantly extracted himself from the pile and brushed himself off all before the vassals made it to the door. In short, he looked impeccably like the emperor. "What news do you have?"

Nuriko, Lina, and Tamahome untangled themselves behind him, standing up and groaning. Lina glared at Chichiri, who shrugged apologetically.

The vassal bowed. "Heika, we have been getting reports of attacks on our eastern border. Many of the villagers are fleeing their homes and coming south. They say a man with blonde hair was leading the attacks."

"Nakago!"

Everyone turned to look at Lina.

"Nakago - he's a Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi. He's that shogunate you were talking about, Hotohori-san, and I think he's been influencing Naga to side with him."

"Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi?"

"But if he's leading the attacks, how could he also be in Kutoukoku's capital?" asked Lina to no one in general.

"These reports are several days old, no doubt," answered Hotohori. "Still, this bodes badly for Konankoku... Lina, we must find the rest of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and summon Suzaku quickly. Otherwise..."

"Yeah, yeah, bad stuff will happen and all that." Lina opened up her scroll. "So who's the next person?"

Hotohori broke off from his conversation with several of his counselors, who had arrived in the meantime. "Lina-chan, gomen. There is a lot of business I must take care of here. You must go with Chichiri, Nuriko, and Tamahome to find the rest of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi."

"Hotohori-san... are you sure?"

"Hai. It is best for the emperor to stay here and make sure everything is running well, right?" He smiled and winked, but looked troubled.

"Hotohori-sama..." said Nuriko worriedly.

"Mountain!" yelled Lina, interrupting everybody. "The clue to the next person is mountain!"

Tamahome winced. "Mountain?"

Lina shoved the scroll in front of Tamahome, pointing at several characters. "Mountain, right there, see? Right, so let's go find this mountain!"

"Ano, Lina-chan," ventured Nuriko, "There's lots of mountains in Konankoku."

"Nani?" asked Lina, turning to Nuriko.

Tamahome nodded. "There's got to be more of a clue than mountain, don't you think? That's too vague." He took the scroll from Lina and scrutinized it. "Hmm... what is this? It's talking about something like wolves and bandits? Hmph, this part next to the mountain doesn't make much sense. A fire fan?" he wondered out loud, reading the characters.

"Bandits?" asked Hotohori. "There have been problems with bandits on Mount Leikaku recently. And I recall that their leader is referred to as a wolf, although someone said several months ago that the leadership had changed hands."

"Mount Leikaku!" said Lina happily. "Yosh! Let's go to this place and find the next Suzaku no Shichi Seishi!"

"Alright!" agreed the others.

"...Right after I get something to eat!" amended Lina.

Everybody in the room got a sweatdrop.

Continue: Episode 12: Quest! The Search for the Wolf of Mount Leikaku!