Slayers FUSHIGI Crossover fanfiction written by Ming-Ling (tama_neko_chan@hotmail.com) - - > http://members.limitless.org/~mingling/sf.html < - - Volume 3: Seiryuu no Miko Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 9: SHOCK! TAIITSUKUN'S LENGTHY EXPLANATIONS! "SO SPILL," said Lina. "Why doesn't my magic work in this place?" Taiitsukun floated up a foot. "Tell me, Suzaku no Miko. How does your magic work?" "Um." Lina scratched her chin. "Well, there's three different kinds of magic: Black, White, and Shamanist. I usually use Black Magic, but I do know a few White Magic Spells and some Shamanist Magic, too. But I've seen a couple of people use a type of magic here that I've never seen before." Taiitsukun nodded. "How do you cast your spells?" "Black Magic draws upon the power of Mazoku, and it also involves a lot of incantation and gestures," answered Lina readily, dredging up memories of old lessons. "White Magic is usually used by priests and such, and draws on the power of holiness, and some say the power of the dragons, since they're the opposite of the Mazoku and 'cause dragons also use White Magic, but I don't quite believe in that. And Shamanist Magic summons spirits and elementals and deals with stuff about the Astral plane and Astral projections and what-all else." "Therein lies your problem," said Taiitsukun sagely. "Wha?" wondered Lina, missing the point by several miles. "Where do you draw your power from?" "From Mazoku and ..." Lina's jaw dropped as several pieces of the puzzle clicked together. "Na-nani? You mean..." "What?" asked the Shichi Seishi in unison. "You can't be serious! You mean I can't cast my magic because there's nothing to draw power on from in this world? That there's no Mazoku and no Dragons and ... that's crazy!" Taiitsukun shook her head. "It is not. Your world is very different from ours. The beings you know as Mazoku and Dragons do not exist here; therefore, your magic does not work the way you are used to." Lina felt faint. She felt extremely faint and flopped down into a sitting position before she fell. "You can't be serious," she repeated for her own benefit. "So ...what about other people's magic? Like that fox-faced monk-guy." "My name's Chichiri, not Fox-face or monk-guy. Even though I am a monk, no da..." "Yeah, yeah. How come you can do magic?" "His magic is not the same as your magic," said Taiitsukun. "I have been training Chichiri intensively, and he has learned a lot. In this world, people with a strong ki can concentrate their energy and make do certain things which seem like magic to you. This would include things like teleportation, attacks and shields, which you have probably seen Chichiri using. However, only people of exceptional ability such as a Shichi Seishi have enough power." The ground seemed be to spinning around Lina. This was a wee bit too much to handle in one fell swoop. It's one thing to not be able to use your magic. It's another to be told you can't use your magic because everything you know about it doesn't apply anymore. "I feel...faint..." she mumbled. "Cure! Cure! Fix! Fix!" chorused several Nyan-Nyans. "Don't worry! We'll make you feel better! Cure, cure, fix, fix!" "Kyaaa!" said Lina, frantically waving them off. Taiitsukun popped a vein. Fed up with their behavior, she ordered all the Nyan-Nyans to leave them alone for the time being. The Nyan- Nyans sulked at these orders, but accepted them readily enough. After annoyed Creators and Shichi Seishi had sent two of them into orbit, they were a little more cautious. The Nyan-Nyans departed for places unknown, probably some hyper-dimension where a Nyan-Nyan could stock up on sugar/caffeine/energy/genkiness/whatever else to make them so energetically bouncy. The room seemed a lot emptier and quieter with the Nyan-Nyans gone. It was also a lot calmer, and Lina felt slightly better. She sighed. "I guess that explains a lot," she admitted slowly. "I can't cast anything because I have no power, and there's no power because there are no Mazoku, which throws everything for a loop. At least, everything I'm used to." "I hope that answers your first question," said Taiitsukun. "But I suspect the second one also has you worried." "Yeah, well. Since Black Magic doesn't work here, Naga can't use any of her spells, so ...I'm kind of worried about what happened to her." She added very quietly, "Not like I'd admit that to her, but..." A large mirror appeared out of nowhere, possibly the hyper- dimension the Nyan-Nyans possibly called home, possibly just from some old and musty storage closet. As Lina and the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi leaned closer, the mirror's surface clouded over. "Show us Naga the White Serpent when she arrived in this world for the second time," intoned the Creator. She rattled off a long list of complicated-sounding words. The fogginess cleared away and the mirror glowed, forming an image of a quaint village. A bee buzzed by the image as it focused on a tall figure. Lina was not surprised to see it was Naga. The first thing she noticed was that Naga had not changed into her usual outfit. It was probably still wet in an inn room somewhere in Rand McNally. At least she didn't stand out quite as much in the village, but that wasn't saying much. She was the red salmon in a pond of gray trout. Sticking out was Naga's specialty. Naga-through-the-looking-glass paused and looked around herself confusedly. "Ano, this isn't the place we ended up the first time," she said out loud to no one in particular or in general. The mirror followed Naga as she turned around a corner. "Ne, where am I?" she continued to speak out loud, as if for Lina's benefit. "Lina, why didn't you tell me this would happen? What kind of book did you buy?" Lina raised an eyebrow. "Trying to blame me for this, are you?" she said in a dangerously low voice. "How in the world was I supposed to know this was going on? Blame that stupid shopkeeper in the antiques shop, not me!" "This is your friend?" asked Hotohori critically, raising an eyebrow. He was obviously Not Impressed. Nuriko let out a sound of disgust. "Such a weird person! And such terrible fashion sense!" "Yeah. Actually, on her good days she's a lot worse, if that makes any sense. You kind of get used to it after a while." "Look!" said Tamahome, pointed at a group of men behind Naga. They were slowly following her with a sneaky look in their eyes. Naga turned another corner into a dead end. "Great," she grumbled, "Now I'm totally lost in a place I've never even been to. And Lina and Gourry had the gall to leave me behind when they went to that buffet lunch! Hmph, some friends." "Wasn't my fault you decided to read the book instead of followed us to lunch," commented Lina to herself. Naga started to turn around but was stopped by the thugs. They looked very familiar to Lina, but then, she had already encountered two other groups of thugs. After a career of bandit-hunting, all thugs look vaguely familiar. There were several burly men with tattoos and one man with a scar on his cheek. All of them had surly expressions and large, blunt weapons. Naga laughed. The thugs winced. So did Lina and everyone else in the room, except for Taiitsukun. "Ohohohohohoooo! I suppose you're going to attack me and all that other stuff, right?" grinned Naga. "Men! You never change, do you? Ohohooo! Demona Crystal!" She flung her hand out in an elaborate gesture. Nothing flew forth. "Na-naani?" said Naga. She paused a moment and tapped her chin, thinking things over while the thugs watched in confusion. They drew back a cautious step. Naga shrugged. "Alright then. Fireball!" Instead of a large and massive and highly-over-destructive spell flying forth to envelope the intruders (and probably a good two blocks of the village while it was at it), a bumblebee buzzed ponderously between Naga and the thugs. There was a moment of silence in one of those supposedly meaningful pauses. Then the storm broke as the group of unruly thugs charged Naga. She drew her own sword, yelling, "Levitation!" When nothing happened, Naga dropped the subject of magic altogether and started fighting her way through, cursing all the way. "Dammit, Lina! Where in Philbrizo's Hell are you? We're supposed to be working as a team! K'so!" she swore as a thug slashed at her leg. "Now's a good time to show up and take care of these idiots! Lina? Lina! LINA!" The thugs closed in. "Dammit, Lina! LINA?!" Suddenly, the mirror clouded over. That, it seemed, was that. Lina stared at her shocked reflection in the oversized mirror, stunned at what she had seen. "When...when did that happen?" "Three months ago," Taiitsukun supplied. "Three months?" Lina rubbed her eyes. "That's when she and I came the first, time, right? Why did she return the same time and I came here later?" Taiitsukun made a motion with her hands and the mirror disappeared. "Time runs differently in the book than in your world. You must have spent some time in your world doing something else while Naga returned almost immediately." Lina remembered the gorging at the buffet lunch. "Um...What happened to her?" "Unfortunately, someone or something prevented my powers from working. A barrier went up around her and I was unable to keep track of Seiryuu no Miko." Taiitsukun frowned. "It was most disturbing..." "Uhhh..." said Lina. "Lina-chan, what's wrong?" asked Tamahome as Lina swayed dizzily. "I think I need to rest," she answered, and did just that. She woke up alone in a soft bed. As she opened her eyes, two floating and curious Nyan-Nyans looked back at her. So much for being alone. It took several seconds for Lina's tired mind to register this little fact. "YAAAAAGH!" she screamed in fright. "Cure, cure! Fix, Fix!" said the Nyan-Nyans in harmony. "All better!" Lina sucked air into her lungs, attempting to slow down the rapid pace of her heart. "Don't scare me like that!" she growled. "Nearly frightened me out of a year's growth! I'm small enough as it is! And I'm NOT all better if you keep doing stuff like that! Why, I oughta..." She continued ranting on a similar vein for several minutes until she ran out of insulting things to say. Unfortunately, the Nyan-Nyans took it all in good cheer, bouncing around happily in the air and giggling to themselves. Hyper chibi-goddesses are incredibly hard to annoy, as Lina discovered. Finally, sick of the Nyan-Nyans' genkiness, she demanded to know, "Where's Taiitsukun at right now? I need to talk with her." "This way, this way!" said Nyan-Nyan A. (Lina couldn't quite tell them apart.) "Follow me, follow me!" said Nyan-Nyan B. (Lina still couldn't tell them apart.) Reluctantly, the sorceress followed the Nyan-Nyan pair down the hallway into a smaller room, where Taiitsukun was. "Yes, Suzaku no Miko?" "We bring Suzaku no Miko here!" cried Nyan-Nyan B happily. "Just like Taiitsukun told us!" agreed Nyan-Nyan A joyfully. "Good, good!" exulted Nyan-Nyan B. "Great, great!" exclaimed Nyan-Nyan A. Lina felt a headache coming on, although she wasn't about to mention it while certain hyper-active chibi-goddesses were within hearing distance. "No problem!" continued Nyan-Nyan B. "Not at all!" grinned Nyan-Nyan A. Taiitsukun did her patented up-close-and-personal-stare. The Nyan-Nyans stopped talking. "Bye, bye!" said Nyan-Nyan A. "Ja ne! Ja ne!" echoed Nyan-Nyan B. Both of them high-tailed out of the room. Lina coughed a few times. "Um, are they always like that?" "Yes." "Gee," said Lina contritely. "Sorry." "Suzaku no Miko, the only reason why you sought me out alone is because you have a personal request. Is this not true?" "Whoa. Not much gets by you, does it?" Lina laughed nervously, "Anyways... I was hoping you could send me ahead to Kutoukoku." "You wish to see Seiryuu no Miko." "Well, yeah." "Without the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi?" "Yes!" Lina's fangs started showing. "Okay, can you just do it? I've got my own reasons and I don't need the Shichi Seishi mucking things up! It's a personal matter." Taiitsukun turned her patented up-close-and-personal-stare on Lina. "Hmmmm," she said as she considered the request. "You know you will have to be careful. Your magic does not work here. You do not know any of the local customs nor almost anything at all about this world. Is this a wise choice?" "Will you or won't you?!" Lina popped a vein, fed up with this questioning. A pause. Lina gulped. Not good to tick off Creators of worlds, even if they weren't Creators of her own world. "Very well," Taiitsukun sighed. "I will send you in to the capital of Kutoukoku. But you are on your own from then. I nor the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi can help you." "Yosh! Let's go!" Taiitsukun closed her eyes and concentrated her powers. Lina found herself surrounded by a bright yellow light. Poof! She was gone in, well, another flash. Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 10: DANGER! LINA AND NAGA'S REUNION IN KUTOUKOKU! LINA BLINKED HER EYES SEVERAL TIMES to dissipate the effects of Taiitsukun's transportation. She had arrived next to a large wall. Thankfully, no one was around to see her sudden entrance. "So this is Kutoukoku," she said to herself as she walked along, searching for the palace. She noticed the motif of dragons was a little bit overdone. The wall was painted in a rather fabulous mural of sinuous blue dragons. She could see dragon gargoyles jutting out from several roofs and dragons decorating no small number of doors and doorways. Even the kids were playing with dragon carvings! She turned a corner and found the palace. Just as she expected, dragons decorated the columns and the roofs and the walls and the doorways and the windows and she expected that even the floors and ceilings would bear dragon images. It was enough to make her want to puke. "Halt! Where are you going?" Two guards imposed themselves in her path. Their armor bore a dragon emblem. So did their spears and their helmets. Lina was starting to get mighty sick of dragons. She took a deep breath so as not to scream, counted to ten, and then told the guards in her most sweetly innocent and vulnerable voice, "I'm kind of lost... do you think you can... help me find my way?" The guards were made of tough stuff, but the tougher they are on the outside, the softer they are in the inside for cute little girls with big teary eyes. The one on the left instantly smiled and asked helpfully, "Where do you need to go? We can help you find your way." "Well, you see," continued Lina in an appropriately soft tone of voice, "I was trying to find my auntie's house, and I followed her directions but I think I took a wrong turn somewhere, and now I don't know which way to go..." She wobbled her lips as if she was about to cry. The other guard smiled as well (they were such suckers that Lina nearly laughed) and put a fatherly hand around her shoulder. "Here, why don't you show me where you got lost?" Lina nodded, eyes brightening happily, "Mm! I think it was this way..." The guards cheerily followed her down several streets, where Lina pretended to remember how to get to her invented auntie's house. "Arigatou!" she told them as she waved goodbye. The guards smiled and waved goodbye to her departing form. Lina slipped around the corner and glanced back. The guards were just standing there, chatting to each other, probably taking the chance to take a break from their job. It was perfect for Lina. Swiftly, she slipped back towards the palace. No guards had replaced the other two, so she let herself in. "It's amazing how often that trick works," Lina grinned to herself. The inside of the palace had dragons on the floors and dragons on the ceilings. Lina got an enormous sweatdrop. "How can they live like this?" she asked the inanimate dragons. She let out a sigh as she turned around a corner. "Ano..." said the guard who was standing there, looking at her strangely. "What are you doing?" Lina put on her cute and innocent act again. "Well, you see... I think I took a wrong turn somewhere and now I... can't find my way..." Her eyes trembled convincingly as she looked up at him. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, rather like Gourry, although his hair was a lot shorter. That rang a bell. This is that guy that Hotohori-san was talking about! The shogunate! He smiled at her. "I can show you the way out," he told her. Something about his manner set off several alarms in Lina's mind. He wasn't nearly as sincere as he was pretending to be. Still, what could she do but follow him? "My name is Nakago," he told her. "Uh, yeah, I'm Lina," she replied warily, noticing that his armor bore more than its fair share of dragon imagery. "Sorry about all the trouble. I'm kind of new around here, you see." He smiled again, that same, cold smile. "Oh, it's no trouble at all. But I'm curious about something. Your ...clothing is very different. Where do you come from?" "Errrr..." Lina stopped midstep with a large sweatdrop on her forehead. "I come from..." "You see, we have a legend about a young girl who comes from another world." "Um," replied Lina, thinking that Nakago was being a little too blunt. Nakago continued, "This young girl will summon the blue dragon god, Seiryuu, and save Kutoukoku from harm. I am wondering... could you be that girl?" Lina bit her tongue to keep from replying that she was NOT a young GIRL, thankyouverymuch, no matter how small she looked. She managed to cough out, "Uh, yeah, I guess so." Nakago clapped his hands together joyfully. "That is wonderful!" he said, although he did not look overly joyous. "In that case, I must bring you to the emperor!" Bad! Bad, bad, bad, bad! You're supposed to find Naga and hit the road! "Actually..." Nakago grabbed her arm and held it tightly. "It's not far, I promise you." "Hey, lemmie go, you -" "And look! Here we are now!" Lina cursed very quietly under her breath. "Nakago," said the ugly and old emperor sitting on top of the dais, "who is that girl with you?" Nakago bowed low. "Heika, this girl wishes an audience with you. I believe you should listen to what she says." The emperor looked at Lina. Lina paled several shades, wondering what to do. "Well?" he demanded. "What do you have to say?" "Uh, ah-ha-ha-ha," laughed Lina nervously. "I heard you had a legend about girls coming from other worlds and thought, 'what a coincidence! I come from another world!' And then that shogunate saw me and brought me here, so, um, here I am." "You means she's Seiryuu no Miko?" gasped the emperor. The chamber was instantly abuzz with the news. Everyone chattered excitedly with each other. A lot of stares were directed towards Lina. "She looks kind of small," remarked on of the courtiers. Lina's keen ears caught every syllable he said. She spun around angrily and asked, "Do you have a problem with petite people?" He blanched. "Ah, no, actually, er..." This random outbreak led a new round of chatter and gossip, and several doubters raised questions. It took many minutes for the noise level to return to a tolerable position. When it finally quieted down, Nakago motioned to two of the guards. "Before you do anything," he told everyone else in a quiet but dominant voice, "you should meet someone else." Lina turned. Two guards led in another young woman. "Naga!" The taller sorceress stood between the guards, looking slightly dazed. She was wearing the same outfit Lina had seen in Taiitsukun's mirror, and it looked rather worse for the wear. However, she managed to find a skull necklace somewhere, and Lina knew that she was Naga and not someone else. The two sorceresses stared at each other from afar. "Li...Lina- chan?" asked Naga quietly. "Is it...it's really you?" The crowd let out a collective gasp. Only Nakago seemed unsurprised. Actually, he looked smugly pleased. Lina dashed over to Naga. "Of course it is! Who else would come here looking for you in that stupid book, anyways?" Something slipped from Lina's manto. It hit the ground softly, and Nakago bent down to pick it up. It was a red scroll - the copy of the Shijintenchiso that Hotohori had given Lina before they had met Taiitsukun. "This scroll," said Nakago, unrolling it, "is Suzaku's copy of the Shijintenchiso. This girl is nto Seiryuu no Miko, she's Suzaku no Miko!" "Oops," Lina said as all the guards in the chamber surrounded them. "I think it's a good time for us to..." The guards looked at her, waiting for her to complete the sentence. "RUN!!" She grabbed Naga's hand and bowled over the first group of guards. A trail of smoke was all that remained of the two as Lina sped away. They were hopelessly lost. Actually, only Lina was lost, but Naga was still trying to overcome her shock and was of no use, at least in a directional sense. They stopped in an empty room to catch their breath. "Lina, what are you doing here?" demanded Naga. "What do you think I'm doing here?" retorted Lina. "I was trying to find out where you hid yourself! Sheesh. I was kind of worried when I got back to the inn room and found you gone and the book open." Naga frowned. "It's been such a long time! What took you so long to get here?" "Ano..." Lina blinked. Naga slapped her. "Three months! Did you know that? It's been three months since I've been in this world! And you with your silly childish manner think you can just show up and say it's okay? You're so immature, Lina, that's your problem. You think everything's fine because you're here and you're Lina Inverse. I have news for you, Lina. It's not all fine and hunky-dory." Lina took a step back. "Naga...what are you talking about?" Naga stood up to her full height. "I can't believe you! Do you know what's been happening? We were supposed to have been partners, a team, but you left me here to fight my own way! What sort of partnership was that?" She took a deep breath. "Do you even KNOW what happened to me here?" "Naga, I -" "I'll tell you what happened!" shouted Naga. "I was attacked by a large gang of men! And then my magic failed me and I couldn't even defend myself! I couldn't even escape! If we had been working together it would have been a piece of cake! But you weren't there. You weren't around to help me. You were off in some stupid stuff-your-face-full restaurant in Rand McNally! I couldn't defend myself against so many men! Do you know what they DID to me?" Lina could only shake her head. Naga slapped her again. The sound echoed around the empty room. "It's been three long months, Lina Inverse. But you know what? Nakago found me and helped me. He didn't desert me. He was there. Not like you, Lina. He showed me how to use my magic again. I thought you'd come back. I truly did. I thought you'd come back. I thought so for three, long months. But you know what, Lina? It's too late. You abandoned me. I'm going to be Seiryuu no Miko. No... I AM Seiryuu no Miko - I've already found several of my Shichi Seishi. And when I gather all of them and summon Seiryuu, you're going to wish you had never bought that book. You're going to wish you never showed it to me. You know why? Because I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me." She moved to one side and pointed behind her at a large statue of a dragon. In front of it was an altar draped with blue cloth. Behind it was a tapestry depicting the dragon and several constellations. They were in Seiryuu's temple. Something hit Lina, sending her to her knees. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, and she had trouble catching her breath. "You see that, Lina? That's Seiryuu, the blue dragon god of Kutoukoku. This is his domain. And he doesn't like anything or anyone dealing with Suzaku. Especially Suzaku no Miko. Nakago!" He stepped into the chamber with a scornful look. "You see, Lina, this is Nakago. He's a Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi. Nakago? Get rid of her." "Hai, Naga-sama." "Good-bye, Lina. I can't say it's been nice knowing you," smirked Naga as she walked out. "Naga?" Lina was sent flying backwards by a blue blast of energy. Nakago's hands glowed, and so did a character on his forehead. Kokoro. Ironic that the character for 'heart' would be there, but there it shone. Battered but not beaten, Lina stood up and faced her new adversity. "You knew this all along, didn't you?" she accused, tensing for another blast. He shrugged and nodded diffidently. Almost casually, he threw another ki blast at her. Lina dodged to one side and charged him, brandishing her sword. Clang! Nakago blocked it with his metal wrist-guard. "You're not bad, for a little girl," he remarked. Lina's blood ran hot and veins popped on her forehead. "I am NOT," she yelled, "A LITTLE GIRL!" She swung out at him again. Nakago dodged, but Lina feinted to one side and snaked her arm around for a punch. Smack! Nakago stumbled backwards in surprise, wincing and holding his side. "That's the first time anyone's ever hit me," he admitted grudgingly. He regained his composure and his smile swiftly. "And it'll be the last." Lina found herself staring at the largest blast of energy short of a dragon slave that she had ever seen. It was not a good way to end one's day. Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 11: FLEE! RETURN TO A SAFE HAVEN IN KONANKOKU! 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. Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 12: QUEST! THE SEARCH FOR THE WOLF OF MOUNT LEIKAKU! "SO THIS IS MOUNT LEIKAKU?" wondered Tamahome several days later as he shielded his eyes from the sun. "It sure doesn't look like much." "Well, this is the place," said Nuriko, consulting his map. "I wonder where the bandits are?" Lina tapped her chin. "If they're typical bandits, they'd already be surrounding us, hiding in the shrubbery and the trees. Actually, we should probably run into one of their traps right about -" Crash! A pitfall opened in front of them. "- now," Lina finished. "Aiyah, na no da! How did you know that, no da?" "I made a living hunting down bandits. I'm pretty used to what they do. You see, after they realize we realize they're surrounding us, they'll probably come in for a show of arms." Almost instantly, the bushes were alive with a bunch of rough men bristling with weapons. Lina shrugged. "This stuff is like clockwork. One of them will make a challenge, and we'll throw it back at them, and then the battle begins." True to her word, the leader began jawing about trespassing on the Leikaku bandits' territory and penalties and suchlike and so forth. "What's the best way to beat them?" wondered Nuriko, ignoring him. "Excessive brute force," winked Lina over the bandit's speech. "Of course, now that my magic doesn't work, I'm going to have to leave that part up to you three, but at least you know what to do." Tamahome flexed his fists. "Sounds good to me." Nuriko moved so he was standing next to a large rock. "Me too." "Aiyah, na no da!" said Chichiri. "Here they come, no da!" The bandit leader had finally noticed that no one was paying attention to his speech (the bandits because they'd heard it all before and Lina's gang because Lina had heard it all before) and had cut it short. As a group, the bandits charged. The skirmish was over swiftly. Thanks to Nuriko's rock throwing, Tamahome's bandit punching, and Chichiri's ki magic, the bandits were defeated with no casualties to Lina's side. "Wow," commented Lina. "You guys are better than me and Gourry." Somewhere in Rand McNally, Gourry read Lina's words. He yelled, "Just what are you trying to say by that?!" "JuST whAt aRE yoU trYINg to SaY bY ThAt?!" yelled a voice. Everyone turned. "Gourry?" gasped Lina. Somewhere in Rand McNally, Gourry blinked a few times. "LINa?!" "Gourry!" Lina paused, "Where are you?" "I'm iN RaND McNALLy, at tHe DanciNG FiSh INn! WheRE aRe yOu At?" "I'm inside the bloody book, you idiot, where else do you think I am? Are you just being more dense than usual today?" "UmM... I'lL haVE TO geT bAcK to YOu oN ThaT oNe..." Lina got a sweatdrop. "sO wHAt arE You doInG In tHERe?" A few fume marks puffed out from Lina's hair. "I don't know! Why don't you read ahead and tell me what happens?" "IsN'T thAT aGainSt tHE rULEs?" wondered Gourry's voice. "ANd hOw CoME wE CAn suDDEnlY taLK lIkE ThiS?" "Stop asking me, I don't know!" yelled Lina. "Just flip ahead a few pages and tell me if we find the fifth Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, okay?" "OKAy, OkaY... yEEsh... tEMpeR... Um, lEt'S sEE. 'As tHe gIRl anD hER bODYGUarD' - heY! I'm a bODyguARD nOW??" "Hurry UP, Gourry! What happens?" "SOrRY... 'As ThE GIrl anD hEr BodyGuArd WEre tALkiNg beTwEEn tHE wORLdS, anOtHEr grOUp oF baNDitS CAmE uP AnD aTTaCKed thEM. TheY -" True to form, another group of bandits came up and attacked them. Too distracted by Gourry's sudden vocal appearance, none of Lina's group was aware until too late. "MaYBe i shoULdn'T havE sAiD tHat..." observed Gourry rather a bit too late. She woke up with a bad headache, a very, very, extremely excruciating headache. Her temples pounded, her skull felt too tight, and there was a roaring between her ears. Groaning, Lina blinked open her eyes and tried to rub them. Only to find her hands bound behind her. She went from having a bad headache to full battle mode in one second flat. Testing the bonds proved them to be secure. "What happened?" mumbled Nuriko painfully. Lina wriggled her wrists, trying to slip the ropes off of them. "I think that while Gourry was talking with us, another group of bandits showed up and knocked us all out. At least we're all here and in one piece." "Speak for yourself," grumbled Tamahome. "I feel like my head's going to split open." "Daaaa..." sighed Chichiri. "I suppose one of those bandits is also a Suzaku no Shichi Seishi?" Lina nodded, "Probably. But I doubt they'll be very forthcoming if we just ask them. Bandits are not very trustworthy." She finally managed to slip out of her bonds. "Looks like we'll have to find out for ourselves. She set about untying the others. Together, all four snuck out of the room. Hearing footsteps, they hid in an alcove and watched as several of the bandits paused in front of a door near them. One of them, who had a scar on his left cheek, knocked on the door and said, "I'm sorry. 'Who is it?' It's Kouji, here to report to you on the people we captured today. 'Ah, why didn't you say so?' Ah, but I just did! 'Very well, come in.' Thank you." Lina, Tamahome, and Nuriko got sweatdrops. So did a few of the bandits. Chichiri raised an eyebrow. The door opened and Kouji was admitted. Lina and Tamahome pressed their ears against the wall, trying to eavesdrop. Muffled voices could be heard talking. "What do you mean they're gone?" "Eiken, when we returned to bring them here to you, we found they had escaped. They left nothing behind but the ropes." "Kouji, do you know what this means?" "Boss...?" "We have people running loose in our stronghold! Hurry up and find them!" "Hai!" Nuriko pressed his ear to the wall, too, trying to hear what was being discussed. Crack! A large fissure opened in the wall. Nuriko had pressed a little bit too hard. "Sssssh!" hissed Lina. Smash! The rest of the wall came tumbling down, revealing their position to the bandits. "Oops," said Nuriko. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength." Tamahome got a sweatdrop. "Get them!" ordered Eiken. They were quickly surrounded by a variety of Mount Leikaku bandits. Nuriko and Tamahome just as quickly took care of most of them. Lina was able to land a few punches herself, although Chichiri merely waited on the sidelines. "Uwah!" cried Eiken, frightened as Lina and the others marched up to him. "You're the leader, right?" demanded the sorceress. "Then tell me, which one of your men is the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi? With a red character on their body?" Eiken's response was to yell, "Kouji, get them!" "You shouldn't be giving out orders," challenged another person who had suddenly arrived at the window. "Gen... Genrou!" gasped Kouji in recognition. "Taking over Hakurou's job when I was obviously next in line for leader..." Genrou shook his head sadly, "Especially when I was temporarily away. And then not following the Mount Leikaku way! I heard you even tried capturing people..." Eiken's gaze hardened; he was not giving up without a fight. He glared at the newcomer bandit. "Genrou... so you finally returned." "Returned to take back the Mount Leikaku bandits from you," agreed Genrou. "After all, better late than never." Realizing he was standing alone (as Kouji had unobtrusively sidled away), Eiken pulled out a metal fan from under his chair and pointed it threateningly at Genrou. "I know how to use this," he warned. Genrou looked at the tessen and was not impressed. In fact, he snickered a few times and asked, "You stole that from the boss, too, ne? Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson." He fanned out several sheets of paper and threw them at Eiken, yelling, "Wolves, attack!" "Lekka Shinen!" yelled Eiken as the papers transformed into wolves and started attacking him. Flames spurted out from the metal fan, destroying several of them, but Genrou summoned plenty more. Wolves. "Lekka Shinen!" Fire fan. One of them was the fifth Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, Lina realized, but which one? She pulled on Nuriko's shirt, whispering, "One of them is the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi! But I don't know which one!" "Let's get out of here!" said Tamahome as more flames and more wolves flew past. "Good idea," agreed Nuriko. "We'll figure out who's a Shichi Seishi later, when it's safer." They hid again in some bushes surrounding the stronghold. "Hey!" asked Tamahome. "Where's Lina-chan?" They looked at each other. "Uh-oh," said Nuriko. Lina slipped through the shadows of the stronghold. One of the two bandits was the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and she was determined to find out which. She wanted to summon Suzaku and get the whole story over and done with as soon as possible. She tiptoed back to the room, taking refuge in the rubble of the wall Nuriko had broken, and observed. Genrou had run out of his paper wolves, and Eiken and a large contingent of bandits had him and Kouji backed into a corner. Eiken taunted them. "Mysterious Wolf, huh? The Boss gave you that name, didn't he?" "You're not the leader and you know it," Genrou spat. "Everything you have is stolen. Leadership, power, Hakurou's tessen and the knowledge to wield it..." "Yeah. But who's got the upper hand?" Lina couldn't figure out who the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi was, but she was sure of one thing - she sure hoped it wasn't Eiken. She gathered her power and cried, "Digger Bolt!" In the following confusion, Genrou and Kouji attacked Eiken jointly, taking hold of the metal fan in the process. "Listen up," ordered Genrou. "We may be bandits, but we're Mount Leikaku bandits. We follow a certain order, just like Hakurou taught us. You've overstepped your bounds, Eiken." Satisfied, Lina collapsed on the pile of rubble, spent after using her magic. "Lina-chan? Lina-chan, wake up!" Lina woke up grumpily, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Tamahome, Nuriko, and Chichiri. "All better, ne?" was Nuriko's comment. "Umph, what happened? Where did the fifth Suzaku no Shichi Seishi go?" Tamahome paused. "I'm sorry, Lina... We found you with Genrou and the bandits. We asked them, but Genrou said that the fifth Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, Tasuki, was dead. He was very sorry..." "Yeah," Nuriko nodded, "He said that Tasuki was their leader who just passed away recently. But what do we do now?" Lina shook her head, "That's not right! The book said stuff about bandits and fire fans and wolves! It has to be one of them!" "It was one of them. That one has died, however, no da." There was a pause. "Well..." said Lina, taking a deep breath, "I suppose it's time to go searching for the sixth one. Maybe we can think of something later, but right now, let's find the others, okay?" "Hai!" they agreed.