Slayers FUSHIGI Crossover fanfiction written by Ming-Ling (tama_neko_chan@hotmail.com) - - > http://members.limitless.org/~mingling/sf.html < - - Volume 4: Suzaku no Shichi Seishi Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 13: CURE! CAN THIS WOMAN RESURRECT THE DEAD? IT WAS A SLUMPED and defeated group of travelers who arrived in Choukou later that evening. Tamahome and Nuriko walked like zombies, listlessly drifting after Lina. Chichiri's mood was impossible to discern, considering his mask gave him a constantly cheery expression, but he was not as prone to making light comments or sprinkling no da's in conversation as he normally was. Lina, if anything, was slumped but by no means defeated. She was slumped because it had been a long day of traveling with little food to complement her break-neck metabolism. Once she got something to eat, she would snap back into shape. Determined would be the word to describe her mood; despite the fact that one of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi had died, she was bent on gathering the last two and seeing if Suzaku could be summoned. It wasn't as if she had any control over Tasuki's death. Tamahome blew a sigh as they entered the large town. "Where is this place, again?" "It's Choukou, baka," answered Nuriko peevishly. "Didn't you look at the sign?" He turned and looked at the sign. "Oh," was his reply. Nuriko let out a groan. "Let's go find a place to sleep for the night. I'm so tired..." "Hai. It's been a long journey for all of us, no da. I only hope that Hotohori-sama is having better luck than we, no da." Lina had had enough of their behavior. She spun around angrily and gave them a good chewing out. First, she took a deep breath and composed her thoughts, then she opened her mouth and screamed, "What's with you guys, anyways?" They looked at her in surprise. The eyebrows on Chichiri's mask jumped up a few inches. "You're being so impossible!" Lina ranted. "Just because we had this minor setback, you're all giving up on me! I'm the MIKO, for L- sama's sake, and do you see ME getting all weepy because some guy who's supposed to have the sign for wing on his body kicked the bucket and I might not even be able to call Suzaku? By Philbrizo's Hell, I'm the only one who's even trying to look for the next person! Maybe that Tasuki guy ISN'T dead! Maybe it's some other person! We come all this way and have this problem and you guys just give up while I've been scanning this stupid scroll for the next clues!" They continued to stare. "This is a quest! You have to go on no matter what until you reach your goal! Do you understand me now?" They stared some more. Lina's last words were, predictably, about food. "The least thing you can do is be supportive and find us a place to eat! I haven't eaten since early morning and do you hear me complaining? Of course not!" In the ensuing lull, all that could be heard was a bee's wings buzzing. "And what's with that stupid bee! It's like it's following me or something! Everywhere I go there's also some stupid bug flying around and distracting me! It's enough to make me scream and bite and go get something to eat for dinner!" Tamahome, Nuriko, and Chichiri all got sweatdrops. "I think she's back to normal," Nuriko commented off-handedly. "I suppose we did let Genrou's news get us depressed. I suppose we should go eat and sleep on it, ne?" "At last!" Lina glomped onto Nuriko, squeezing tightly. "Someone's talking sense!" "Foooooo..." gasped Nuriko at Lina's incredibly strong hug. Scowling, Tamahome muttered, "How can you be so optimistic over this whole thing?" Lina popped more than a few veins on her forehead. She slung her fist at Tamahome, demanding, "How can you be so pessimistic over it?" "Fresh fish! Fresh fish!" called a fishmonger as he passed by them. Plop! One of the fish slipped from the top of the bucket and landed in the dirt by them. Lina instantly stopped harassing Tamahome and started drooling. "Fish!" she cried. "Mine! Mine! Itadakimasu!" She flung herself at it, arm stretched forward to snatch it... Her hand landed on another's. A flash of lightening blasted between the two as they realized the sudden competition. The briefest of pauses occurred before... "MINE! IT'S MY FISH!!!! ALL MINE, LET GO YOU OLD MAN!" Lina latched onto one side. The scruffy-looking man was also determined, and would not let go. Tamahome got a sweatdrop as he watched them scuffle. "You'd think she'd go for a nice restaurant instead of some fish in the street," he remarked. "Ne, that's Lina-chan for you," chuckled Nuriko. "If she were any other way, it wouldn't feel right." "Uwaaaah!" Lina slipped on the slippery piece of ground where the fish had landed and lost her grip, tumbling backwards, smashing into somebody. The man beat a hasty retreat, fish in hand. "Umph..." said the somebody behind Lina. "WAIT! MATTE! THAT'S MY FISH YOU JERK! GIVE IT BACK!" The ever- hungry sorceress ran after him. Whoever-it-was that Lina had fallen on slowly stood up. "Ano..." she murmured. Nuriko waved his hands quickly. "Eh... gomen nasai! Please excuse our friend, she hasn't eaten anything in a while and she gets, um..." He searched for a suitable description. "Peckish?" suggested Tamahome. Nuriko gave him a withering look. "Tama-chan!" "Stop calling me that! I'm not a cat!" "Tama-chan! Tama-chan! Taaaaamaaaaa-chaaaaan!" sung Nuriko. Tamahome stormed off to find Lina. Chichiri got a sweatdrop. "Aiyah, no da. Are you hurt, no da?" The woman shook her head, looking rather frail. "Move out of the way!" demanded several villagers, hauling a cart behind them. "Shouka-san! Shouka-san! We need your help!" Nuriko and Chichiri were pushed out of the way by the woman, who bent over a still figure lying on the cart. She looked at the men, "How long ago did he die?" "Just now!" answered one of them, flustered. The two remaining Shichi Seishi exchanged a glance. "Good," muttered Shouka. She bent over and touched her lips to that of the dead man. His eyelids flickered several times as she stood up again. Nuriko and Chichiri gasped as he slowly opened his eyes and blinked them. "Alive!" Nuriko whispered. He pulled Chichiri off to the side and whispered, "Did you see that? Maybe we can get this woman to bring that man, Tasuki, back to life!" "Let's go get Lina, no da," agreed the monk. Lina was, by nature, a fairly logical person. Still, she was extremely possessive over two things: money and food. Take the fish. It wasn't that she couldn't have bought some food that was much more appetizing than a single fish dropped on the ground. It was because a strange man, out of the blue, came up and snatched it when she had already claimed (loudly) that it was hers. She saw it as a direct challenge and therefore started chasing the man through town. She nearly lost him several times, but soon the end was in sight. A small house in disrepair at the outskirts of the village was where the man had hidden himself. Lina stomped up the stairs to advertise her arrival. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a good idea when the house was so rickety. As a matter of fact, her steps were sufficiently forceful enough to cause the third stair to cave in. "Yeow!" gasped Lina as she surveyed the splintered board. There was no answer from inside the house. Lina puffed enough fume marks to be considered an environmental hazard. She furiously (but delicately) tiptoed up the rest of the stairs to the porch. "Nyao!" greeted the white cat that was sitting there, nibbling on a fish. Her fish! The cat smiled at her and purred, licking his paw delicately. Her fish. The cat resumed his meal. Her fish? Some things were just not worth the troubles, Lina decided. There was certain to be a good restaurant somewhere in town. She sighed and turned around, starting down the stairs. "Lina-chan!" yelled Tamahome as he ran up. Crash! He stepped on the third stair and went falling. Lina got a sweatdrop. "Ano..." she muttered. "What's going on out there?" demanded a voice from the house. The scruffy man was looking at them angrily. "Errrrrr..." replied Lina, noticing a large number of bottles and jars behind the man. He must be a healer, she reasoned. "We're very sorry, really, we are, and we're just leaving now, so -" "Lina! Tamahome-kun!" Nuriko and Chichiri ran up as Tamahome stood up shakily. Crash! They fell down in a heap of Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and rickety house stairs. Lina smacked her forehead with the flat of her palm. "Why me?" she asked the skies. A bee flew by. Her eyebrow twitched with suppressed anger. "That wasn't an answer," she muttered. "Lina-chan! Lina-chan!" Nuriko untangled himself from the pile and grabbed her arms. "You've got to come with us! Chichiri and I just met this woman called Shouka who can resurrect the dead!" No one noticed the man stumble. "Resurrect the dead?" asked Lina skeptically. "What good is that?" "Maybe he can resurrect Tasuki!" answered Nuriko, as it was the obvious answer. "Let's go!" He grabbed her and the others and took off for the main heart of town. "Shouka..." said the man, bending down and petting the cat's head. "Could it be?" The cat purred in response. He gripped his left hand, which was bandaged. "Shouka... Wait here, Neko-chan. I must find out who this woman truly is." The cat meowed his agreement. "So you're Shouka-san?" Lina asked the pretty young woman. "Is it true you can raise the dead? Not to be morbid or anything, but there's this certain person we need and he's dead right now, but if you can bring him back to life, everything would work out a lot better." She blinked as Lina sucked in some air. "Yes... I am Shouka. I have a power to bring the dead back to life, but if that person has been dead a while, then when life is returned, the body cannot always return to normal." "It's our only chance," said Nuriko. "Can you help us?" "I... I can try," Shouka answered. "Yosh!" shouted Lina. "In the morning, we're going back to Mount Leikaku!" So it was that Lina, Tamahome, Nuriko, Chichiri and Shouka started the journey to Mount Leikaku early the next morning. Too absorbed in the hope that Tasuki could be brought back to life, no one noticed the man and his cat following at a discreet distance. It was early afternoon when they arrived at the base of the mountain. They were met by the bandits of the mountain, who were much more pleasant this time around. "Eh, whatcha' doing back 'ere?" asked Kouji, fidgeting slightly. "Thought you folks went on your way." Lina pulled the shy Shouka in front of her, announcing, "This gal can bring the dead back to life, so bring on Tasuki and let's get him living again!" Kouji drew back a few steps. "B-b-bring Tasuki back to life?" "Ne, that's what she said. It's really important we have all the Shichi Seishi, you know," snorted Nuriko. "Ah, right... I'll just go tell T-Genrou you're here..." Kouji hurried off, the bandits following. "That was strange," commented Tamahome. "Something's fishy here." "Well, who needs to wait for them? Isn't that graveyard just beyond those trees? Let's get digging!" Chichiri looked a bit disturbed at Lina's morbid humor. "I suppose it's for the best, no da," he managed to say weakly. So it was that the man (and his cat) from Choukou arrived as Lina and her cohorts were studying the different grave markers. "Oi, none of these say 'Tasuki' on them anywhere!" complained Nuriko. Shouka looked a bit pale. It was one thing to heal people who looked as if they were merely asleep and another thing entirely to be digging up graves. "None of these, either," Tamahome agreed. "I was right. Something's fishy here. Those bandits are hiding something..." "Shouka!" cried the healer. She turned in surprise. So did the others. "Hey, it's the guy with the cat," commented Lina. "Juan-kun..." whispered Shouka. "Juan-kun?" Juan stopped in his tracks. "You're alive," he said. "How can this be?" Question marks floated over the heads of Lina and the Shichi Seishi. A tear dripped down Shouka's cheek. "Juan-kun..." He wiped tears out of his own eyes. "This is impossible. You died of the fever over a year ago!" "Juan-kun..." gasped Shouka, trembling. Her body shuddered. "Juan-kun... minna-san... get away from me!" "Nani?" asked Lina. A large demon uncoiled itself from Shouka, hissing, spitting, and being generally nasty. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Shouka screamed. Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 14: @%$#*^&! THE RETURN OF MOUNT LEIKAKU'S FIERY WOLF! SOMETIMES THINGS WERE JUST really strange. Take today, for example. Lina and her Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and a mysterious woman named Shouka had gone to Mount Leikaku to find Tasuki and bring him back to life. It was a straightforward process... or so Lina had thought. Only, the bandits had acted strangely when they mentioned what they were doing and had disappeared, the strange man with the cat from Choukou had followed them, he was apparently on a first-name basis with Shouka, she suddenly had some gigantic and quite ugly monster uncoiling from her back, and it was hissing and spitting and doing generally very stock monster action. Actually, "strange" didn't quite do justice to it. "Shouka!" gasped Juan. "Shouka, what are you doing?" Her eyes were closed, tears spilling freely out of them. "I'm so sorry, Juan-kun... I waited for you but you never showed up... I couldn't even see you one last time, and then... I'm so sorry..." "Shouka!?" Juan gripped his fist, and his cat hissed. "How could you do this? Consorting with a devil? Is this why you can bring back the dead?" The young woman collapsed into a small heap but this didn't hinder the demon at all. It waved around several tentacles in the direction of Lina, possibly because she was the only one resembling a sweet and innocent female. "Eeeeewww," complained the sorceress. "Even the Mazoku look nicer than this." She paused and amended, "...Most of the time." She poked at one of them with the tip of her sword. The prodded portion of monster anatomy was not pleased. It yanked the sword out of her grip and slashed her across the wrist. "Lina-chan! Abunai!" Tamahome grabbed Lina before the demon could inflict more damage, holding her tightly. She flushed, holding her bleeding arm. It wasn't the act of protection that made her cheeks go red. Gourry had done the same thing several times, but always clumsily. There was something else about Tamahome's fierce protectiveness that made her heart thump a little louder. "What do we do?" asked Nuriko. "Shouka is the only hope we have to bring Tasuki back to life, but now... now what?" He eyed the slimy appendages nervously. Chichiri concentrated his powers, then swung his staff out in front of him. A red burst of light cut through the air and slashed through several demonic tentacles. "Uwaaaah!" cried Shouka in pain. Juan ran to her side, calling out her name. He held her tightly in his arms despite the monster's protests. Lina swiftly put a restraining hand on Chichiri's shoulder, stopping him before he could attack again. "Lina, no da?" "I think we should let Juan handle this..." said Lina softly. Shouka looked up at the healer. "Juan... there is something you must do." He shook his head, tears gently sailing away from his cheeks. "I can't... I can't do it..." The monster on Shouka's back stirred, beginning to zero in on him. "You must," insisted Shouka softly. She held his bandaged hand close to her. "At least... I got to see you... one last time..." "Sh... Shouka..." "Sayonara, Juan-kun..." Juan nodded silently. He slowly unwrapped the bandage from his left hand as the others watched apprehensively. "Sayonara, Shouka," he whispered. "Wo ai ni..." she told him, closing her eyes and smiling weakly. "Shouka... I'm sorry..." A red light glowed around his hand and enveloped Shouka. The monster let out a screech before it disappeared, leaving the still form of Shouka lying prone on the ground. Delicately, he picked up her still body, tears falling freely onto her pale face. There was nothing Lina or the others could find to say. Naturally, someone else found plenty of other things to complain about. "What the *%&#$@ is going on here?" demanded a voice behind them, breaking the spell of silence like a giant rock through a glass house. "What do you ^@#$* think you're doing, and with that @#&%^$ monster to boot!? I thought you guys had left yesterday, but then you come sneaking back like a bunch of %@*&# thieves!" Lina popped a few veins in her forehead. "It's not our @&^%$ fault," she yelled, slinging the verbal abuse back in Genrou's face. "She told us she could raise the dead so we thought we'd #&^$ come here and bring Tasuki back to life so we can summon *$&@%^ Suzaku! We didn't know she was a ^@#*$% monster any more than you did!" The Shichi Seishi drew back a step. "$#&*^@$&!!!" yelled Genrou. "You came back here for Tasuki?!" Lina folded her arms across her chest, nodding. "We did. And there's something you're hiding from us, fang boy, something about Tasuki. Kouji and the others went pale as ghosts when we mentioned coming back." "Ah, @#$%&!" Genrou pushed up the cuff of his right shirtsleeve. "I guess you should know..." The character for wing glowed red. "...that I'm Tasuki. Genrou's my nickname up here on Mount Leikaku." It took a few seconds for this to sink in. When it did, however, Lina's anger blew the roof off and sent it into orbit around the moon. "YOU'RE Tasuki?! You, Fang boy?!" she cried, chasing him around the graveyard several times. "STOP calling me Fang boy!" yelled Tasuki, running as fast as he could and showing his incisors in the process. Lina wasn't letting him off that easily. "Why didn't you say that before! You could have saved us all the trouble of coming back and dealing with that monster and ..." She stopped, watching Chichiri talking softly to the healer. Tasuki took the opportunity to hide behind Nuriko. "Juan," Lina said quietly. "That power of yours... are you a Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, too?" He gazed at her, noticing the cut on her wrist. He took her hand before she could protest and held his left hand, palm down, over it. The same red glow that destroyed the monster glowed again, closing the wound as if nothing had happened. "Suzaku's character!" gasped Lina, seeing the character for 'rare cart' on the man's palm. He nodded. "I am the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, Mitsukake. My powers are of healing, but even that couldn't save the one I loved..." His voice trailed away, and his gaze turned back to Shouka, over which Chichiri was saying several prayers. "Um, well..." Lina looked away, feeling awkward. "I'm really sorry..." Juan, or rather Mitsukake, sighed deeply. "It happened a year ago. I thought I had put away the sadness, but seeing her there, talking and moving around..." Tamahome patted him on the shoulder, smiling encouragingly. "I know... sometimes you just don't realize the wound's still there... but it seems that Shouka did get to see you one last time... she even looks happy, there." "She does..." managed Mitsukake. "We need you now," Tamahome continued. "Shouka is gone. We can pay our respects to her, but then it's time to look forward. We need you in order to summon Suzaku." "Yes..." Tamahome patted Lina cheerfully. "Isn't this great, Lina-chan! We've found two more of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi! All we have to do is find the last one and we can return to Eiyo and summon Suzaku!" Lina made a face at him. "And I thought you were the one who was pessimistic over the whole thing." He clapped his hands together. "But everything worked out so well. This is wonderful! We'll be able to call Suzaku and save everything pretty soon." The redheaded girl looked down at the ground, thinking about Naga. How far had she gotten, summoning her own Shichi Seishi? Would Seiryuu be called forth first? And would that really be the end of the story? Somehow, it didn't quite seem so down pat. "Ne, Lina-chan, you're looking glum. What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing." She glanced at Tasuki and changed subjects, "Ne, Gen... err, Tasuki-chan, so why didn't you tell us who you really were at first?" "Um, well, errrr," stuttered the bandit. "You see, I was supposed to be the leader after Hakurou, but I had to leave Mount Leikaku on a mission. When I came back, Eiken took over my position, but I won it back, thanks in part to you. Still, I had just come back and been named leader. I couldn't very well leave them because some strangers show up, you know what I'm saying?" "Yeah, I guess so," nodded Lina. "Anyways, I worked it out so that Kouji's the leader now. So now I can join ya' guys. And I even have this..." He pulled out a large iron fan and smacked it smartly in his palm. "It's Hakurou's tessen, which he handed down to me." "That's the one that shoots fire!" gasped Tamahome. Tasuki grinned, showing his fangs. "Yup. Don't know how Eiken learned the incantation to get it to work, though. Hmph. I guess I'll never know." He slung it back across his back. "And that's that, I suppose." He blinked, watching Lina sneak off. "Hey! What do you thing you're @%$#* doing with my tessen?!" Lina snapped her fingers and sighed. "Shucks, almost got away with it. I mean, a great sorcery genius like me has got to have some awesome weapon to back her up, and since Gourry's so tightwad with his Sword of Light, this seemed like the perfect alternative." Somewhere in Rand McNally, Gourry munched on a loaf of bread. Upon reading Lina's description of him, he instantly protested (spraying crumbs everywhere), "I am not!" Tasuki snatched the iron fan from Lina. "You're not what?" he asked. "Nani?" "Someone just said 'I am not,'" answered the bandit. Everyone looked at each other. Everyone shook his or her head. "What the %$@!? Am I just hearing things, then? Who said that?" "I did!" Everyone looked at each other. "Gourry!" gasped Lina. "What in the... what are you doing right now?" "I'm eating dinner right now!" A sweatdrop rolled down the back of Lina's head. "How typical. Anyways, since you're there and I assume you're reading the book, tell us who the next Shichi Seishi is." There was a pause. Then: "Isn't that against the rules or something? I mean, you don't normally get to know what happens until it happens and, um, something like that. And how come we're suddenly talking again? It's really strange." "No kidding," said Tamahome. "Who is he?" "He's Gourry, the guy whom I'm working with right now. And I have absolutely no idea as to why we can occasionally talk with each other. He's in my home world." "I have an idea," Chichiri spoke up. "This Gourry is reading the book in your world, so a passage between the two worlds is open. Something must be connecting the two, like something found both here and in your world, na no da." "Something both here and there?" asked Gourry's voice. "What would that be?" Lina furrowed her brow in concentration. "Gourry, is there anything of mine in that room?" "Um, let me see." There was a long pause. "Um, you've got one of your bags of stuff in here. Hey, here's one of your spare headbands and..." "That's it!" said Lina before Gourry could list off the articles in that particular bag of clothing. She patted the headband around her forehead, "That must be the link." "I guess so..." "Well, Gourry? Hurry up! Tell us where to find the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi so I can get this over with and go home!" "Go... home...?" blinked Tamahome. "Okay, okay! Give me a few minutes, sheesh! You're always so pushy, you know that, Lina? It says... nani?" Another sweatdrop. "It says, 'nani' now, does it?" asked Lina skeptically. "NO! It doesn't say 'nani', I don't know what it says! The next pages are entirely blank!" "Blank?" "Yeah... hey, wait, I just turned the page and suddenly it's full... and it's... Hey! It's recording our conversation here! Sugoi!" "Gourry, you're getting sidetracked. What do you mean the pages are blank? How the heck do I get home if the story's not even finished?" "Go home?" asked Tamahome to himself. "It's like the rest of the book is blank, but whenever I finish the page and turn it, the next pages are full, but only those pages. I guess maybe you're writing the book right now. Eh, what?" Another pause. "Lina, I have to go clear some stuff with the innkeeper. I'll be back." Lina slapped a palm to her forehead. "Great. Just what I wanted to hear. Come on, guys. Let's go find the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi. Where's the Shijintenchiso? We have to find the clues in it." "So you can go home," said Tamahome, face in shadow. "Yes, that's the whole point, right? Summon Suzaku, get three wishes, go home. Come on, we're wasting time!" The others followed Lina, Tamahome at the very end of the group. No one noticed the tear that traced a glistening path down his cheek. "Going home..." Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 15: LISTEN! BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FROM A SPECIAL FLUTE! TASUKI LET OUT a large sigh. The others echoed is sentiments. They had been searching for the better part of a week and still no sign of the last Shichi Seishi had been found. It was enough to make even Lina's optimism run dry. "Are you sure this is where the scroll says the next Shichi Seishi is?" asked Tamahome for the umpteenth time, eyeing Lina critically. "I seem to recall you mentioning that three days ago in the other village we visited." It was enough to make everyone's tempers short, too. Lina, whose temper was already part of the short end of the stick, hit the boiling point. She thrust the Shijintenchiso at him and snarled, "Well, why don't you tell me where we're supposed to go, Tama-chan!" His eyes narrowed as he grabbed the scroll. "I told you before to stop calling me that!" He turned at looked at the purple-haired Shichi Seishi. "It's all your fault!" "Ne?" asked Nuriko, puzzled. "What is?" "Tama-chan! You were the one who started calling me that and now everyone does!" Nuriko smiled, hoping to lighten the situation, "Well, it's better than Lina calling Tasuki 'Fang-chan', now, isn't it? Tama-chan is so cute." "I am NOT Fang-chan!" cried Tasuki, inadvertently showing his fangs. "I am NOT Tama-chan!" yelled Tamahome at the same time. "Well, excuse me," said Nuriko, miffed. "Oi, this isn't getting us anywhere," interjected Lina, hands on her hips. "Now, Tama-kun, where's the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi supposed to be?" "Tama-kun, now, is it? That name's not any better than Tama-chan! I thought you knew! You were in such a rush to summon Suzaku and go home, after all!" Nuriko tried to calm down tempers, "It's not her fault; we all know how hard the scroll is to interpret. All of us have had troubles trying to figure out where the last Shichi Seishi is!" "Oh, sure, be on her side why don't you, because you both just love to call us -chan and other insulting names!" Tamahome threw down the scroll in disgust. "That's the only copy of the Shijintenchiso we have, no da!" scolded Chichiri as he retrieved it, dusting it off. Nuriko withdrew back several steps, muttering to himself. "Chichiri, where's the next Shichi Seishi supposed to be? Please tell me he's nearby. The sooner I get away from this place, the better." "Actually, I believe that the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi is -" started Chichiri. "What, so you're saying you don't like being around us anymore, is that it?" Tamahome retorted. "Just here for the three wishes and then, poof, you're gone, now is it?" "I don't belong here, this isn't my world. I can't even use my magic here!" growled Lina angrily. "What are you getting so uppity about? Don't you want to save Konankoku? That's the whole point of being a Suzaku no Shichi Seishi!" "-around here somewhere, no da," ended Chichiri, although no one heard him. "The point," said Tamahome through gritted teeth, "of being a Suzaku no Shichi Seishi is to protect Suzaku no Miko, although why I'd want to do that when you obviously don't want it is a mystery to me!" "Fine! I don't need your help any! I'll go find the last Shichi Seishi by myself!" With that, Lina stormed off towards the village. "Hey, Lina, wait!" Nuriko ran after her. Tamahome looked at Tasuki and Mitsukake, who were giving him an odd glance. "What are you two looking at?" he spat. They both got large sweatdrops. "Um, nothing," said Tasuki quickly while Mitsukake bent down to make sure his cat was all right. "Nyao!" purred the cat. "And you!" He turned to Chichiri. "Where's this last Shichi Seishi? We're going to find him before Lina does!" "Daaaaa..." said Chichiri nervously. "He should be in this village, no da." "Great!" Tamahome stomped off in the village, taking a different direction than Lina and Nuriko. "The sooner this is over with, the better!" Chichiri sighed and shook his head. "This isn't going very well at all, na no da." Lina stomped around the town for several minutes, ignoring Nuriko. She had to use her pent up anger before she did something greatly irrational, like lob highly destructive spells at unsuspecting citizens and destroying large portions of villages. Tamahome was being so... so... irritating! What was his problem? He knew the deal with the miko was that she came from another world, summoned the god, and then went home again. Didn't he? Or was he refusing to accept it? Why would he refuse to accept it? "Lina-chan! Ne, Lina-chan, slow down and calm yourself, okay? We can't solve anything or find the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi if we split up into groups that won't even talk with each other!" She stared at him. He stared right back at her. "Damn," said Lina. "I'm being a pain again, aren't I? It's just so frustrating to have suddenly found so many Shichi Seishi and then, the last one keeps slipping through our fingers. And what's happening in Kutoukoku? How's Naga doing? And... and things keep piling up and nothing can make them better. Nothing I know of, at least." They sat down on some steps in front of a large store. Nuriko patted Lina's head lightly, smiling, "Ah, it's okay. We all get like that sometimes." He looked up at the blue sky, and remarked, "It's not like we're perfect just because we're Shichi Seishi or anything. We're human, after all. Everyone makes mistakes." "But why did he get so angry over it?" Lina could not figure this part of puzzle out. Nuriko gave her a quick glance. "You know, don't you? No... you don't... No wonder..." Lina eyed Nuriko, "Know what?" He leaned closer and whispered softly into her ear, "You didn't know that Tamahome's in love with you." Two seconds passed. "WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" screamed Lina at the top of her lungs. Once the initial shock was over, she said in a much more reasonable tone of voice, "You're kidding me, right? Haha, very funny Nuriko." He smiled widely. "A person in love can always tell when someone else is in love, you know. Don't you see the way he protects you? That's why he can get so angry when you refuse him. He wants to protect you with all his heart, but a lot of the time you don't need it, and he sees it as a rejection of his help." Lina's cheeks turned bright red, rivaling the maraschino cherry, the tomato and the cinnamon candy for the reddest objects in the known universe. She held her head in her hands. "Great. The last thing I need is for some guy in some strange world I don't even belong in to go ga- ga over me. At least Hotohori got a clue when I didn't respond to his advances. But I don't think Tamahome will ever give up." "And that's why Tamahome doesn't want to you go home," Nuriko concluded. "Damn, damn, damn, and quadruple damn! As if life wasn't complicated enough! What am I supposed to do now?" "I think," suggested Nuriko, "that we should find the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi." "Damn," said Lina one last time. "Fine. Let's start searching." Tamahome was not happy. He had blazed a trail through the city and found not a single clue relating to the existence of the last Shichi Seishi. It was enough to make his blood boil. And then there was the whole deal with Lina. What was her problem, anyway? She was acting like she could care less about any of them and that summoning Suzaku was her only goal in world. What about the rest of them? What was supposed to happen after Suzaku was summoned? Why couldn't Lina see there was more at stake than just three wishes? Why was he overreacting so much? "Tamahome-kun, wait up, no da!" Chichiri, Tasuki, and Mitsukake ran up behind him, huffing and puffing like bellows. "We'll never find the last Shichi Seishi like this, no da." "Damn!" swore Tamahome. "I know! I know... I... I just don't understand, somehow! Why is everything not working anymore? What's wrong with me?" "Come on, you've got to know," said Tasuki diffidently. "Know what?" Tasuki eyed him. "Come on, come on, stop denying it. It's pretty obvious, you know, even for a guy like me who pretty much hates all women." A giant question mark appeared over Tamahome's head. "What are you trying to say?" "You... you mean... aaaaah! You don't know, do you! Hah! No wonder you're in such a temper!" The bandit let out a peal of laughter, "You don't know what's eating you! Hah, it's such a simple answer..." "THEN TELL ME ALREADY!" Tamahome grabbed him by the collar. Tasuki stared at Tamahome, face to face. "You're in love with the miko," winked Tasuki. He fell to the ground as Tamahome lost his grip. "Na-nani? Whoa... you've got it all wrong! I'm not..." His voice trailed off as he saw Chichiri and Mitsukake nodded their heads in agreement. "I'm not..." Tasuki grinned, showing the tips of his fangs. "See? Told ya'." Suddenly, it all made sense. So that was why he was overreacting. Like Tasuki said, a simple explanation. Of course, it didn't mean he had to accept it. "No way!" The three nodded. Then again, there wasn't any way he could deny it. "Damn... Have I been that big of a lunk head?" Tasuki nodded. "Yup! Noticed it the first time ya guys showed up. Hard to miss. Anyways, shouldn't we be finding the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi now?" "Um... yeah, I guess so..." nodded Tamahome slowly. "Let's go..." Lina and Tamahome's minds were in turmoil. They were both angry and ashamed, peeved and yet, somehow pleased... In a nutshell, their emotions were all out of whack. Naturally, they were not the first to hear the plaintive music that drifted on the air. They were much too concerned with their own problems to listen. "Lina... did you hear that?" asked Nuriko as the notes died away. "Hear what?" The song began again. "Listen... there it is. It's so beautiful, isn't it? Come on, let's take a break and listen to it. It's very soothing, ne? Just the thing to relax us before we continue searching for the last Shichi Seishi." "Uh, hai," agreed Lina. "That sounds good." "Wait," said Mitsukake suddenly, as the music hung in the air. "A flute?" wondered Tasuki. "It sounds very beautiful, no da. And soothing, no da. Let's go listen to it, na no da. It'll give us a break because it doesn't seem like we're being very successful in finding the Shichi Seishi, no da." The haunting melody wandered through the streets. Seven people followed it as it wound past vendors, markets, buildings, and villagers. They met at the well in the center of the town. There sat a young boy, playing his flute for the enjoyment of several others. "Lina-chan!" "Tamahome-kun..." "Great!" said Nuriko. "We're all together again." Several people shushed them. Nuriko got a sweatdrop. "Gomen, gomen." The music flowed up and down the scale, following no particular pattern and yet seeming to meld into one beautiful song. The flute player was oblivious to it all, concentrating solely on his instrument, eyes closed. It had a calming effect on everyone. Lina and Tamahome slowly felt their tempers cooling off. Their argument seemed petty in this new light, their problems seemed less important. All that mattered was the song, the melody and the notes floating in the breeze... The song ended as softly as a sigh. Indeed, many of the listeners let out soft sighs of their own. "Amazing," breathed Lina as the villagers slowly dispersed. "That power, no da," said Chichiri very softly. "It feels like that of a Shichi Seishi." "WHAT?" asked Tamahome. "The powers a Shichi Seishi have are unmistakable, no da. Didn't you feel how the song made you feel better inside? How it calmed you? It was not just the song, no da. It was also the player, na no da." The flutist looked at them. "Ano..." he started. Lina turned to him. "Are you the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi? Do you have a character on your body?" He blinked a few times. "I...I..." "Look!" pointed Tasuki. The boy's shirt was partially torn around the chest area, and something glowed red. Stretching. "You're...you're..." started Mitsukake. "I'm the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi known as Chiriko," he said quietly. "And I have been waiting for you to come." Tamahome hugged Lina joyously. "Isn't this great, Lina? We've finally found the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi! Finally we can go back and summon Suzaku!" Lina was blushing to brightly to answer. Slayers FUSHIGI Episode 16: SUCCESS! A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO KONANKOKU'S PALACE! "AAAAAH," SIGHED LINA HAPPILY, rising from the soft inn bed. After finding Chiriko, the last Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, they had called it a day and relaxed in one of the inns. Chichiri said he would inform the emperor of the good news and would prepare a spell to transport everybody back to the palace. It would take him some time, he warned, but he felt he would be ready by noon. "Perfect," Lina told her reflection, tapping the mirror with a nail. "I can summon Suzaku and get the hell out of here." The mirror clouded over suddenly. Lina stepped back as if she had been zapped. The mirror's reflection shimmered and coalesced into the shape of... EYES! The same eyes Lina had felt in Konankoku's palace, while searching for Nuriko, stared back at her. They were cold and cruel, and they were laughing. They had laughed at her quest in Konankoku, and now they were laughing again, even though the quest was over. Something was wrong. The golden eyes watched her with a sinister merriment, following her every movement. Every now and then, a long wisp of straight grey hair (or was it clear? It was difficult to tell) drifted in front. Something was amiss with her quest. Something was horribly, terribly, utterly incorrect. She had made a dreadful error somewhere, somehow. They were laughing at her because she had screwed up, big time. The eyes grew larger until they filled the entire mirror. Lina felt pinned in their yellow gaze, the way a mouse felt in the gaze of an owl. Frozen to the spot, shaking with fear and anger, there seemed nothing she could do when... A few notes of flute music floated in the air. The eyes turned wrathful. Angry. Furious at the interference! And yet, they were shrinking away. As the music grew strong, the eyes slowly began fading away. At the climax of the song, the eyes disappeared altogether. But they left with a smirk, a feeling of 'I know something you don't know and what you don't know can kill you'. Lina was left blinking at her own, ordinary reflection. Chiriko? She ran to his room, only to run into him instead as he exited. "Miko-sama... are you alright?" Lina blinked. Again. "Whoa, whoa, Chiriko, what's with the miko- sama? Please, I'm Lina. You can call me 'Lina-san'" and the last word was forced out by brute will, "but no miko and no -sama. Sheesh, I'm only like two years older than you!" "Go-gomen, M...Lina-san..." He looked nervous, clutching his flute to his chest. "That song you just played," prompted Lina. "What was it? It... I had this strange feeling and then the song came and it went away... how do you do that?" At last, something he knew well! Chiriko smiled, and held the flute to his lips. "I can send my ki through this flute," he explained, blowing a quick trill. "I've learned that it can be used to soothe people's feelings." "I see..." said Lina, not because she understood but because it felt like the proper response. "Can you, say, banish demons or something like that with your flute?" He nearly lost his grip on the flute, but caught it swiftly enough. "Um, what do you mean?" He fiddled with the rope tied around one end of his instrument. "Like..." Lina paused, thinking about how to describe the eyes in terms that wouldn't frighten the younger boy. "Like, evil spirits and stuff... Well, I can't explain it very well, but you know that strange feeling? It felt like evil spirits, but when you played, they disappeared." "Ah, well, perhaps my music can soothe even evil spirits..." he suggested. "Can you play it again?" He nodded and lifted the flute. Charming music filled the air with its haunting melody. Lina felt instantly better. In fact, she couldn't even remember what had been bothering her so much... "STOP!" she cried. "Lina-san... what's wrong?" She blinked several times and rubbed her head. The past minutes were a total blank. She remembered the song starting, but then... nothing until it stopped again. She had come to him feeling nervous and worried about...about what? For the life of her, Lina couldn't remember. "I... I think I'm getting a headache from all this stress," she complained, making up the fastest excuse that popped into her mind. "I think I'd better go talk with Mitsukake." "It's not... it's not my music, is it?" "No, no, it's not that... I'm just anxious to get back to Konankoku and all... which means I'd better talk with Chichiri too..." Lina's voice drifted off and she hurried down the hallway. Chiriko watched her leave, trembling nervously. "I must be more careful next time," he vowed to himself. He felt better after this promise, and he began to play another song, albeit softly. "Daaa!" For a split second, Lina thought Chichiri had greeted her. A closer look revealed Mitsukake's white cat looking at her expectantly as she entered the room. He purred and rubbed his cheeks on her boots. She smiled and picked him up, petting his tuft of brown fur on the top of his head. "So, where'd the others go, hmm, neko-chan?" she asked it. He batted at her hair for a second before wriggling out of her grasp and landing lightly on the floor. "Nyao!" he told her as he padded out through the door. Lina followed him out the back door of the inn to a small alleyway. Most of the other Shichi Seishi were already there, chatting amongst themselves. "Lina-chan!" smiled Tamahome. "How are you feeling today?" The cat purred and climbed onto Mitsukake's shoulder as she answered, "I'm feeling... a little bit troubled..." "Troubled?" wondered Nuriko. Lina scratched the back of her head nervously. "Well, I got this really strange feeling that something was wrong. Really... wrong. But I forgot what exactly was worrying me. That part is what's troubling me. Something isn't right but I can't tell what." "That is troubling, no da," observed Chichiri. "It sounds serious," said Tamahome. "But what have we done wrong? We've followed the Shijintenchiso and found all of the Shichi Seishi, what else were we supposed to do?" "I think we should head back," suggested Tasuki. "After all, what else are we doing hanging around here? Let's summon Suzaku and whatever." "Everything is ready, na no da." "We're all here? No, where's Chiriko?" spoke up Mitsukake. "Neko- chan, can you bring Chiriko here?" The cat purred his agreement, nuzzling Mitsukake's hand briefly before going back into the inn. "Chiriko," said Lina. Somehow, he was involved in it... Nuriko looked at her. "Ne, what was that?" "Ah, oh, nothing." "We're all ready?" asked the youngest Shichi Seishi as he arrived, preceded by the white cat. I've got to think of a name for that cat, thought Lina irrelevantly to herself. "Yes, no da. Are we ready, na no da?" Chichiri raised his staff and, well, you know the drill. Flash. The trip took mere moments to complete. Before Lina could blink twice, they had arrived in the palace at Eiyo. A palace in flames. Lina gasped and blinked again. The palace was just as they had left it, with the addition of many more vassals come to see all the Shichi Seishi. What was that flash of vision? Where was the fire? Fire? Everything was just like normal. Lina scowled internally. It was like those eyes. Something would go terribly wrong. Or had something terribly wrong already happened? There was no time to ponder the strange image. Hotohori was descending from his dais, coming to greet the miko and the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and to officially welcome them to the palace. He smiled at her, a gentle smile meant only for her. He was truly glad to see everyone. Introductions went all around as the citizens beheld their Miko, their Shichi Seishi, and their hoped-for salvation. Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko were rather stunned to learn that the emperor was also part of their ranks. It took them several minutes to recover fully. Thankfully, the ceremony was over quickly. Hotohori dismissed the audience and brought them into a private chamber. Inside, he let his smiling mask drop. "Hotohori-sama!" gasped Nuriko, rushing to his side. "What's wrong?" The emperor's head was bent, and Lina could see tears welling up in his eyes. "Reports are coming in from all along the eastern border. It's true. The shogunate, Nakago, has brought in a large army, and they are attacking and pillaging all the villages in their way. Many people have fled here to the capital, and many others have run even farther away. Their accounts are truly horrendous. Entire villages have gone up in flames... there is nothing I can do. I have dispatched portions of my army to counter them, but it is of no use. Nothing can stop them." He looked up at stared everybody in the eye. "Nothing except you and me. We must summon Suzaku and ask for his protection. And we must do it now." The news shocked all of them. "Ah...are you sure?" gasped Mitsukake. "All the villages? All the people?" Hotohori nodded. "The preparations for the summoning ceremony must begin immediately. I am truly sorry to have to rush you, but the matter is of utmost importance." They all nodded their agreement. "In that case," Hotohori continued, "I have already ordered the temple to prepare..." EYES! Lina slumped over the table, gripping the edge tightly. Those same eyes bore through her, laughing and taunting her helpless form. "Lina!" cried several of the Shichi Seishi, all reaching out to help. Lina choked as images flashed before her. A palace in flames. A city in rubble. A dragon rising in the east. Something else rising behind it. People fleeing for their lives. An army chasing them. A man with the symbol for heart glowing blue on his forehead. Naga, at his side, casting a strange blue magic spell. Lina. She was among them. She was among all of them. But she couldn't do a single thing. She couldn't put out a single flame, help a single person, or defend herself against Nakago or Naga. And she was alone. The eyes were there, too. They were triumphant. They stared out of Naga's eyes and Nakago's, smirking, laughing, taunting. They were everywhere, gazing at her from everything, from dragon to frightened child. And she was alone. Powerless. Helpless. Unable to do anything but watch. A piercing note shrieked through the air. Lina collapsed into Tamahome and Hotohori's arms, shivering. The eyes had disappeared. "Chiriko," blinked Tasuki, wincing. "Gomen," he apologized, setting down his flute. "I could feel an evil ki here, so... I used my flute to destroy it." "Lina, Lina! Are you okay? What happened? Why are you shaking?" asked Hotohori. "Mitsukake!" cried Tamahome. "Hurry, help Lina!" The healer passed a hand over Lina's trembling form. "She is not sick or injured," he concluded. "This is from fear. I cannot do anything to help." "Fear?!" asked all the others in unison. "Fear of what I am not certain. Something has shocked her to the very core." Lina clung tightly to Tamahome, eyes shut tightly. Never in her life had she felt so scared of anything. She usually put off her fear, especially when it hampered her performance in bandit hunting. She had little fear of anything else save Mazoku and her dreaded oneesama, Luna Inverse. It felt much safer here... "Lina-chan," whispered Tamahome. "What's wrong? Lina-chan! Snap out of it! Wake up! What happened?" Slowly, she opened her eyes. "I saw... I, well, I should start from the beginning," she said slowly. "When I was first searching for Nuriko, I felt these eyes watching me. I still don't know if it was those eyes or me that caused the gazebo to fall. And then, this morning, I felt them again, and they were laughing at me, like we messed up or something. And just now, I felt them, stronger this time. And I saw..." She paused and took a few deep breaths. "I saw some horrible stuff. And the eyes kept laughing at me. I don't know. It... they..." "Eyes, na no da?" The forum was open for debate as the Shichi Seishi looked at each other and began arguing over the significance. Tamahome was the only one who didn't volunteer any suggestions. He was too busy soothing Lina's terror to participate. "There is only one thing we can do," inserted Hotohori into the fray. He was awarded with seven pairs of eyes riveted in his direction. "We must summon Suzaku." Lina felt Tamahome flinch. She knew why he flinched, too. But there was no helping it. Love between two worlds didn't work. There were more important things to consider. Somewhere, the eyes smiled at them and laughed at their attempts. Someone else joined in the laughter. "Ohohohohohoo!"