Slayers FUSHIGI Crossover fanfiction written by Ming-Ling (tama_neko_chan@hotmail.com) - - > http://members.limitless.org/~mingling/sf.html < - - Volume 7: Sailokoku Episode 25: SPLIT UP! THERE'S TWO THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF! THE SUN ROSE AND CAUSED THE SNOW to turn glittering white, like spun glass. Tamahome yawned as he woke up and looked around the small camp. The others were still asleep, including Lina. She was curled up into a tiny ball, gripping Nuriko's bracelets tightly. Her hair was mused and tears streaked her face. It looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. "Lina-chan..." sighed Tamahome. "It may have been difficult for us but it's been even harder on you." He softly patted her bright hair. "Gourry... no baka..." she mumbled softly, sleeping. Despite everything that had happened, the young Shichi Seishi smiled. "Oi, Lina-chan... minna-san... wake up. It's time to get going." "Go 'way, Gourry. It's too early to wake up," Lina murmured. Tamahome shook her gently. "Lina-chan, wake up!" Her eyes flew open with a start. She blinked a few times and looked around sadly. "A dream..." "Eh?" "A dream," she repeated quietly. "I dreamed I was home and Gourry was being an idiot again. But... I was home." Lina looked up at him. "Tamahome... I want to go home. I want... to go home!" She clung to him tightly, desperately. "Why can't I go home?" He hugged her gently and promised her, "We will get you home. We just have to find both Shinzahou and summon Suzaku, okay? We can do it." "Awake yet, na no da?" Chichiri asked, suddenly sitting next to them. "Uwaaah!" cried Suzaku no Miko and her Shichi Seishi in unison. "Chichiri!" Tamahome shouted accusingly. "We should get going, no da. Let's get a little breakfast and start the trip to Sailokoku. If the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi had gotten the Genbu no Shinzahou, they'll definitely be after the Byakko no Shinzahou. Let's hurry, na no da." "Wait," said Tamahome. Everyone looked at him. "We need both Shinzahou to summon Suzaku, is that right?" Chichiri nodded. "Then we also have to recover the Genbu no Shinzahou. Minna, you go to Sailokoku and get the Byakko no Shinzahou. Lina and I will infiltrate the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi camp and recover the Genbu no Shinzahou. Nuriko... Nuriko died trying to get it for us... the least we could do is finish the job." "Well, that sort of makes sense," muttered Tasuki, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But -" Chiriko blurted out. "That's not right! We can't split up now! We're a team, aren't we? But if we split up, then we're weaker! We shouldn't do this, Tamahome-san!" "Chiriko-chan..." Lina smiled at him. "Chiriko-chan, we can take care of ourselves. I agree with Tamahome, we have to get them as quickly as possible, before Kutoukoku can cause more harm to Konankoku." "But... but!" She held his hand in hers. "Chiriko-chan... I'm counting on you. You have to find the Byakko no Shinzahou. I'm trusting you to help the others to find it. After all, you found out the information about the Genbu no Shinzahou, didn't you?" He nodded. "But still..." He shook his head in confusion. "I... I..." "I trust you, Chiriko. I trust you and the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi." "I..." said Chiriko. "I... understand." "Are you sure it's okay if it's just you and Lina-san, no da?" wondered the monk. Tamahome nodded. "Very well then, I suppose it's decided, na no da." "I hope you don't mind this," Tamahome apologized after the other Shichi Seishi had left. "No, it's fine." Lina slipped Nuriko's bracelets on. "I want to do this for Nuriko, anyway. But Tamahome...?" "Yes?" "Do you know where the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi camp is?" There was a long yet meaningless pause. "Um. I thought you did." There was another long and pointless pause. "You mean you DON'T know where we're supposed to GO?!" Lina fumed, shooting off sparks and popping veins left and right. Tamahome gulped and waved his hands in a placating gesture. "Well, I suppose we could just backtrack a bit and follow the footprints in the snow." "Yosh!" Lina stomped off. "Let's go!" They stopped to catch their breath, leaning against a tree. Lina panted heavily. "Just how much farther away did that psycho boy go?" she gasped, sucking in air. "If it's not beyond that rise, I say we just go with Chiriko and get the Byakko no Shinzahou first." Tamahome had scaled the tree and crouched low on the branch. "Ano, Lina-chan... it is just beyond that rise." "Thank L-sama," Lina muttered under her breath. "I was about to wonder if fate was throwing me a curve ball again." Something buzzed under her nose. It was a bumblebee. Then something buzzed over her hair. It was a bolt of lightning. "Abunai!" screamed Tamahome, leaping off of the tree just before another bolt struck it. "It's Soi!" gasped Lina as she noticed the cloaked figure. "I'll take care of her," grinned Tamahome as the character of oni flashed on his forehead. "You go into camp and get the Shinzahou!" "Hai!" She dashed past Soi and towards the group of tents, readying a flare arrow... ...only to be met with the smells of a large meal. Her stomach growled unpleasantly, and Lina tried hard to forget how long ago breakfast had been. Get a hold of yourself, Lina Inverse! There, Nakago has to be in the tent, right? Go get him! Unfortunately, the smells of food were also drifting in from that direction. It was a good thing Lina wasn't your typical wimpy heroine to be led astray by thoughts of food, whether it be sweet ice cream, hot cinnamon buns, Pocky (the otaku's choice), or even buffet meals, although she occasionally came close. Reluctant but expedient, she gathered the power around her and flung it at the tent. "Flare arrow!" The spell arced nicely through the air and landed on the tent's roof, setting it merrily ablaze. Thick clouds of smoke rose from it. Flames crackled and hissed, and Lina felt warmed by their destruction. But something wasn't right. When the heck is Nakago coming out? Or could he be hiding somewhere else? The tent flap opened as if on cue and, yes, the leader of the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi stepped out looking smug. Lina could see why. His blue ki surrounded him and kept him safe from the flames. Around his neck dangled the Genbu no Shinzahou. "Searching for something, Suzaku no Miko?" he asked. She drew Hotohori's deity sword. "Well gee, let me think a moment. We burst into camp and set your tent afire. I think we all know what I'm after, don't you?" She was sick of the man's games and schemes. "The Genbu no Shinzahou," he agreed, apparently feeling a need to state the obvious. "You won't find it easy to acquire..." Lina felt enough words had been exchanged between the two of them and went for the charge. She dashed towards Nakago and leapt above him, bringing down her sword in an arc over his head. He dodged swiftly, leaving a few split hairs to fall golden onto the snow. The two faced each other again, Lina grimly gritting her teeth, Nakago smirking. And that's when Lina felt them again. Eyes! They bore into her, striking her down, filling her with another vision. The palace was in flames and the city was destroyed. A dragon rose in the east, and a person rose behind it, long straight hair gently riffling in the wake of all the destruction. Nakago and Naga stood under it, throwing blue blasts of magic at people Lina couldn't see but knew were there... And she was all alone again. No, not quite... Tamahome pulled her out of the way as one of Naga's spells exploded nearby. He held her protectively, glaring at their two enemies. Lina felt warm again. Protected. Her heart pounded a little faster. A different Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi (there was no mistaking the blue ki that glowed around his hands) stepped forward to face Tamahome. He was holding something. A clam shell? Tamahome also stepped forward, accepting the challenge. Something Bad Was Going To Happen. It was one of those feelings Lina got as she watched them. No words were exchanged, were any necessary? If they had, it would have been more stock dialogue that Lina had heard a thousand times before. The Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi - Tomo, the name came to Lina, though she knew not why - and Suzaku no Shichi Seishi charged each other. He's fighting to protect me, Lina thought to herself. Just like Nuriko and the others, but they aren't here right now. Why aren't they here? Suddenly, there were five of Tomo, surrounding Tamahome. He was confused. He didn't know which Tomo was the real enemy. Which Tomo could be killed? Then there were ten of Tomo, and then fifteen. Tamahome spun around in shock. Every time he tried to attack one, the other images of Tomo laughed at him, taunting him. Who was the real Tomo? Were any of them the real Tomo? What if they were all illusions? What if none of them could be killed? What then? Was Tamahome fighting a loosing battle? Where were the others? And why wasn't she doing anything? Tamahome was blasted with a blue ki - from Nakago - and... and... He was falling... falling off of an impossibly large cliff. Where had it come from? What had happened to the city in flames? Where did the blue dragon go? Where had everyone else disappeared? ...But that wasn't important. What was important was Tamahome...Falling towards his death... Protecting her, and paying the ultimate price for it. Just like Nuriko had. "We would all give our lives to protect her." But that wasn't what she wanted! "Noooo!" She reached out for him, but it was too late. The eyes, those cold golden eyes, laughed their triumph at her. They grew larger and larger, threatening to swallow her up. Then everything went black. Nakago brushed himself off and nodded to himself. Suzaku no Miko lay on the ground, lifeless. Things were going well. Oh yes, except for the large red ki that suddenly blasted his side. "Nakago!" Soi threw herself in front of him, protecting him from the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi who had come with the Miko. Lightning crackled around her as she shouted, "Let's go! We're done here! We'd better catch up with Tomo, Suboshi, and the Miko, find the last Shichi Seishi, and get the Byakko no Shinzahou!" He nodded his agreement to her, not feeling nearly as rushed as she was. As she distracted Tamahome with an exceptionally bright blast, they made their strategic retreat. His side still hurt, of course. "K'so!" Tamahome cursed as he watched the two Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi ride off. "Cowards, running away from the fight like that. Lina, did you get the Shinzahou?" No answer. "Lina?" He saw her then, lying limp on the snow. Her lips were turning blue already. "Lina!" She wasn't breathing. She didn't have a pulse. Frantically trying to remember everything about artificial resuscitation, Tamahome pushed on her chest in a steady rhythm. He paused and bent over her mouth, breathing air into her. Then it was back to pressing down on her chest. "Lina! You can't die on us! What are we supposed to do if Suzaku no Miko dies? Don't leave us, Lina! Nuriko died already... don't go, Lina! Lina, hold on! Just hang in there!" Episode 26: SETBACK! IT'S TIME FOR A PLAN B! SHE WAS FLOATING, surrounded by darkness. What had happened? Where was everybody? For that matter, where in the world was she? Why couldn't she see anything? What was this darkness that was surrounding her? The last thing she remembered was fighting with Nakago for the Genbu no Shinzahou. Then those eyes, those same cold golden eyes had appeared. She had seen... seen terrible images. Prophecy? Hallucination? Then... then... Far off into the distance, a gleam of light sparkled. She walked... well, walked wasn't the proper word. She couldn't tell if she was floating because she couldn't tell where the floor was, or even if any ground existed. It was an eerie and not very pleasant feeling to be missing the ground beneath one's feet. At least even in a Raywing or Levitation spell you could feel the magic holding you up. Here there was... Nothing. Nothing, except for the strange light. And it was getting closer and brighter, so either she was moving towards it or it was moving towards her. She could make out things, now. What was it? A large field of grass, dotted with wildflowers. Surrounding it was a lush green forest. It was a beautiful, pleasant, ideal place. But it was also... Nothing. It was empty. There was no life. There was no wind to blow the leaves in swirled patterns, no breeze to make the flowers sway. There were no animals eating the grass, no children making daisy-chains from the flowers... No birds were singing, no insects were chirping, no bees were buzzing, no... no nothing. So why did she feel so at peace here? Her feet touched the edge of the grass. She stopped and looked around. It was beautiful... Still, there was no scent of soil, of grass, or of wildflowers. This place had... Nothing? That feeling of peace wavered. She was wary, and yet... and yet the calmness called to her. After such a hectic lifestyle, wouldn't it be nice to just lie down and rest for a little while? Rest a little while? Lina Inverse, famed bandit killer and dragon spooker, terror of no small amount of people (mostly folks who got the label of 'stock villain', but people nonetheless), rest? There were still bandits to bust, treasure to collect, and food to eat! She couldn't rest, not yet, not when a thousand adventures called to her! And what of her current escapade? She still had to find the Shinzahou - two Shinzahou, in fact - and summon Suzaku and help Naga and save Konankoku! People were counting on her! The Suzaku no Shichi Seishi were depending on her! She couldn't lie down on the job! And still the tranquil meadow attracted her. Hadn't she been through enough? Couldn't she rest for just a few minutes? Wait. Another glimmer of light, from far away. It was red. It was in a pattern of lines forming... The symbol of 'oni'? Tamahome... No. She couldn't sit down and rest. Not even for a minute! Nakago had taken the Genbu no Shinzahou! Every minute, every second was crucial. She had known this from the beginning, when she chose such a lifestyle. She knew it was going to be dangerous, she knew it would be stressful, she knew it wouldn't always be easy, but she took on those responsibilities and accepted the risks. Lightly, her feet left the grass of the meadow. She floated again towards the character, towards Tamahome and the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi, back towards the battle between Suzaku and Seiryuu. And when she reached it, she was dazzled by the bright light that flooded her with hope. It wasn't working. Tamahome gasped for air, tears streaking down his face. Lina's inert body lay before him, lips already starting to turn blue. No pulse. No breath. No life. It was a nightmare. A nightmare! Nothing was working out! Why was this happening? First, his friend and fellow Shichi Seishi Nuriko... now Lina, too? It wasn't true, it couldn't be! Lina shuddered. "Li...Lina?" Her eyelids fluttered. Her lips twitched. And suddenly her eyes opened wide and she started coughing. His tears turned to tears of joy. Speechless, he hugged her tightly, as if affirming that yes, she was actually living and breathing and complaining that she couldn't breathe because he was squeezing her too hard. "Lina... I'm so glad... I thought you were gone forever..." She smiled weakly and tapped him on the nose. "Baka," she chided. "Not even Ruby-Eyed Shaburanigdo could beat me!" "I know... just... Don't ever do that. Don't leave me again." Lina froze. She was supposed to return to her world when this whole story ended, wasn't she? Yet, staying here no longer seemed like such a bad choice. What would her third wish be? "So, what should we do know?" Lina asked herself as she rode with Tamahome down the path leading from Hokkankoku to Sailokoku. It had been two days since the failed attempt to recover the Genbu no Shinzahou, and their only plan had been to meet up with the rest of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi and gain possession of the Byakko no Shinzahou first. It wasn't a very good plan and Lina didn't like it very much, but there wasn't much of a choice. They were running on bare bones at this point; despite having taken every salvageable thing from the Seiryuu camp, they had only enough money to buy a horse and a few supplies. Setbacks, setbacks, setbacks. They probably wouldn't find their comrades until they reached Sailokoku, which would not be for at least another day. And even if Sailokoku wasn't as large as Hokkankoku was, it would still be difficult trying to contact the other Suzaku no Shichi Seishi. It was not a good situation to be in. It was time to formulate a new plan. Unfortunately, Lina was out of ideas. Actually, she usually didn't plan things out. It wasn't her way; she usually just went with the flow of things. She couldn't remember a single time when she and Gourry had planned ahead for more than a handful of days. Still, you couldn't face the enemy without a plan. (Okay, Lina conceded, she had done this many times before, but this time was different!) "Ne, Tamahome, where do you think we'll find the others?" One thing that had to be done was to find the Byakko no Shinzahou. "I mean, how will we get in touch with them? It's a big country, at least that's what I assume. Are you sure we shouldn't still try to get the Genbu no Shinzahou?" "What!?" yelled Tamahome. "When Nakago nearly killed you? Are you insane? We can't fight him alone! I know this now. We're not strong enough if we're alone. We have to fight him as a team! We have to get the others before we even think about recovering the Genbu no Shinzahou, let alone face Nakago! Next time... next time you could die..." He was right, of course. Lina let out a long sigh. Like it or not, they would have to face the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi at some time. Here, Lina paused and counted mentally: Nakago, Amiboshi, Soi, Suboshi, Ashitare... that was only five. Who were the other two? - Tomo - Tomo. The vision again, those dratted golden eyes with their strange images of disasters befalling her. Tamahome falling off the cliff. Next time you could die... No, realized Lina. Next time it might be you. "Do you think we're in Sailokoku yet?" "Um, well, I think so. According to the fellow the other day, we should be there pretty soon. Where should we look for the others first?" Lina tapped her chin thoughtfully, trying to ignore the smells of the cooking food in front of her. Her stomach was gurgling unpleasantly, but dinner wasn't that far off. "Well, I'm sure they won't be hard to find. We do rather stick out, don't we? Ask for a guy in a smiling mask, another guy with red hair and a big metal fan, a tall guy with a cat, and a short little fellow, and I don't think there's anyone they could be mistaken for, ne?" "That's true," nodded Tamahome. "We're like one big happy family. A strange family, to be sure, but one nonetheless." "Ne, Tama-kun... tell me about your family. You really don't talk much about yourself outside of being a Shichi Seishi." "Yeah, well..." "Well?" Lina not-so-subtly prompted. "What about your family?" Tamahome retorted. "Me? I've got a scary big sister named Luna. So? Oneesama isn't someone you'd like to meet, I assure you." "I'm the eldest sibling. I have two brothers, Chuei and Shunkei, and two sisters, Gyokuran and Yuiren. Yuiren's my favorite. Our mother died not long after having her, so I helped take care of her. My father is pretty sick, so I go out to get jobs in order to pay for food and stuff. Chuei helps out a lot in the fields, and Shunkei helps when he can. Gyokuran helps in the house, and Yuiren's... she's the little baby of the family, so we all love her... And, well..." "ITADAKIMASU!" exclaimed Lina when it became obvious that Tamahome wasn't going anywhere. "Oi, Lina, don't eat all of it!" A scuffle broke out as they struggled to get enough to eat. By some luck, they managed not to spill or drop anything in the ensuing brawl, and each managed to get roughly half of the share of food. It's strange how things can work out sometimes, especially when nothing else seems to be going according to logic. "You know what, Tama-kun?" Lina asked through a mouthful of her dinner. "Mm?" "We'd better find the others really soon, or we won't have anything left to eat! Imagine that! Me, without food? Ugh, the simple thought repulses me..." He laughed and she joined him. "I bet that if you were really hungry and had to face down the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi you'd eat them! Or at least you'd scare them off by the loud sounds your stomach would be making!" Lina bared her fangs. "Don't you know I'm my worst when I'm hungry? Well, actually I'm my worse when having to endure Naga's laughter, but I'm also pretty bad when I haven't eaten in a while." They laughed again, but it had a slightly hollow sound to it, as if they were trying to convince the other that they were happy when they really weren't. "Yeah, well, I'm going to get some sleep then," said Lina after an awkward pause. "Oyasumi nasai." "Mm," replied Tamahome. Lina opened her eyes slowly. Somewhere to her left, the fire had reduced itself to barely glowing embers. Somewhere on the other side, she could hear Tamahome snoring ever-so-softly. She sighed quietly. She had fallen asleep only to be chased by nightmares filled with images of cliffs and of glowing blue ki. Tamahome fell again and again, and always in a different way. Here he slipped off when the rock gave way. Here he was forced backwards until he lost his footing. There he was blasted backwards by a strong blue ki. The result was always the same. And it was because he was protecting her. Shielding her from attacks from the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi. The most prominent figure was the strange man holding a clamshell, his face painted gaudily with stripes of white, blue, and black. Tomo? But who was Tomo and how did she know his name? Nakago was also a dominant person, but glimpses of the others were visible from time to time. Then those eyes would appear, smiling at her, laughing at her, triumphing over her. And was it her imagination or did she hear Naga's infamous laughter echoing in the background? Every time the laughter boomed, she woke up. Every time, she went back to sleep, only to be met with the same images. It was not a good formula for a good night's rest. Silently, she stood up, being careful not to wake the slumbering Shichi Seishi. Quietly, she walked away from the camp, needing space to move around without bothering Tamahome. Her footfalls made almost no noise in the grass underfoot. The woods were quiet, although the low murmuring noises made by the insects never ceased. The cool air did much to help her regain her composure. So did walking around. At some point, she would have to go back and get some rest. She'd be useless if she was falling asleep while trying to find the other Suzaku no Shichi Seishi. Right now, however, it felt good to be strolling under the night sky, where a pale moon smiled down on her. She could easily imagine that everything was going beautifully, that when she went back to camp, Gourry would be there snoring loud enough to rival cicadas, that the only worries the next day would bring would be which spell to toss at incoming bad guys. She was lost deep in thought, her mind not even registering the pattern of rocks as a rockslide but only as things to be detoured around. And when the rocks slid again, she was caught totally unprepared. Dust clouds puffed up from the ground where Lina landed. The rocks were piled all around her, and her right foot and arm were trapped under one. Despite her struggles, she was unable to free herself. Oh, just great, Lina Inverse. What a pathetic end for such a famous sorceress, trapped under a boulder. Before she could gather enough breath to yell for Tamahome, she saw a light coming near her. It bobbed up in down, slowly growing larger, and finally resolving into a lantern. And holding it was... "At last I've found you," he said, holding the lantern up high. Suboshi!? Episode 27: CONFUSION! WHO ARE YOU REALLY? IT WAS ANOTHER ONE of those bad situations Lina got herself into from time to time. This time it was because she was insomniac. Those golden eyes had invaded her dreams and gave her no chance to rest, so she decided to walk it off. Walking it off wasn't supposed to include falling down a rockslide and getting trapped under several small boulders. It also wasn't supposed to involve arch-nemesis, or at least bitter enemies who came through the night saying, "At last I've found you." The only thing worse than it being Suboshi was if it had been Nakago himself. Still, it didn't make the situation go away or make it any less dire. Lina was caught in the classic 'big pinch' and boy, did she feel mighty stupid about it. The young boy reached into his sleeve, pulling out a long dagger. Lina wasn't going to take this one sitting down (or in her current case, sprawled on the ground.) If she could just move her hands to cast a Flare Arrow... "Get down!" he ordered. Get down? It was a strange thing for him to yell, but Lina ducked anyways. It was a good thing she did, too. The blade sliced through the air like, well, a knife. It nicked off a few of Lina's top hairs. What in the world?! A large animal of some sort that looked to be a cross between a wildcat, a bear, and a weasel slumped over, dead. "Are you alright?" asked Suboshi, although Lina was seriously wondering if she was still sleeping. He helped Lina free herself from the rocks. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? I haven't seen you before - are you visiting the village?" "...Wha?" Lina was feeling mighty confused. "Let me take you back to the village," he told her. "You should get a healer to look at your leg." "...Wha?" Lina swayed dizzily. This was... this was a wee bit too much for her to handle. Suboshi blinked. "O...Oi!" He caught her before she could crash into the ground. "I'd better get you to that healer right away!" "But... what about Tamahome?" Lina asked herself, but it was too soft for him to hear. So, instead of being in the icy clutches of the enemy awaiting grim and bizarre tortures, Lina found herself propped up in a nice bed with clean linen sheets in the home of a very sweet elderly couple. A doctor had come by already and bandaged her leg, telling her to be gentle on it for the next few days. And the whole time Suboshi watched her fretfully, making sure she was settled in and feeling okay. It certainly didn't seem like Suboshi. His eyes (Lina noticed peoples' eyes a lot more recently) were much softer than what she remembered of Suboshi. She didn't think Suboshi would ever have acted the way the boy was acting, especially considering his previous actions. But the alternate was impossible! Amiboshi, the twin brother of Suboshi, had died earlier after the aborted attempt to summon Suzaku. Yet, the elderly couple called him their son, "Kaika." Could there be another person that resembled the twins? "Gaaaaagh!" Lina gripped her hair and shook her head in frustration. The Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi (whichever one it was) popped his head through the door. "Are you okay, Lina-san?" "No, I'm NOT okay, if you couldn't tell!" Lina snapped, her temper already at the fraying point. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm hurt, I'm stuck in this bed, I'm frustrated, I'm supposed to be doing about a hundred other things right now that are a lot more important, and I'm HUNGRY!" "Well, I..." Kaika blinked. "Kaika-san, why don't you play your flute for her? Maybe it will soothe her. It always soothes the others," suggested his mother. "Hai," he agreed. Flute? A few notes drifted into the air. This song... Lina was frozen in place, stunned at the melody. The same song Amiboshi played when we first met him. It is him! But... how? How did he survive? What's with this "Kaika" thing? True to form, the song did soothe her. It didn't go as far as to make her forget, as Lina recalled happening a while ago, but it did help calm down her temper. She told herself to think rationally (no hard feat in Lina's book) and get to the root of this whole crazy mystery. "Thanks," Lina said. "Look, I'm sorry about that whole yelling bit, but when I get cranky, I get really cranky, so don't take it personally or anything." Kaika/Amiboshi smiled. "No, that's alright. Your situation isn't very pleasant right now, it's in your rights to get mad. I just hope you'll feel better soon." She picked at the covers before a second. "Am... um... Kaika, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "Do you know anyone named Suboshi?" He blinked several times, looking confused. "I... what do you mean?" Lina looked at him intently. His confusion was feigned, and he was hiding his true surprise. "Amiboshi... WHAT are you doing here?" "I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Time to pull out the big spells. Lina pulled something out of her manto. "What about this?" "My flute!" Amiboshi blurted out in shock before he could stop himself. "Yup. Your flute." Lina smacked it into her palm several times, mentally congratulating herself for having acquired it off of Tamahome earlier. "Amiboshi." His eyes softened as he reached out and took it from her. "Gomen nasai, Lina-san. I was hoping... but I suppose I can't always run away, can I?" Before Lina could respond, he continued, "After I fell in the river... I was swept a long way. I don't know how, but when I woke up, this elderly couple was pulling me out of the river. Their son died some time ago and they adopted me as their own. At first I couldn't remember who I was, but when I did... I didn't want to leave. I love them like my parents. I love this life - I hated being a Shichi Seishi, I hated the fighting. I only fought because Nakago-sama assured me it was the only way for peace in Kutoukoku... but he was wrong! Konankoku wasn't planning on invading - Kutoukoku was! But here in Sailokoku... all that seemed so far away. I didn't want to go back to that." "..." Lina struggled to come up with a proper response. "I don't blame you. I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have brought this burden back on your shoulders." "No... I shouldn't have been the one to run away from my duty." Amiboshi shook his head sadly. "Your duty! Hah! I wouldn't follow Nakago's orders if he promised me the Hikari no Ken, Philosopher's Stone and a ten course banquet!" Amiboshi shook his head again. "As a Shichi Seishi my duty is to protect the Miko - but I wasn't talking about that duty. I meant my responsibility to take care of my brother." "..." she repeated. "Oh. But what makes you think that Nakago or someone's going to come haul you back to Kutoukoku? It's not like I'm going to something as half-hearted as that, and I wouldn't tell anyone I found you here if you don't want." The boy blinked several times. "I forget that those of Suzaku are much more generous than those of Seiryuu." "Don't you forget it," winked Lina. "Once that healer pronounces me fit, I'll be off with no one the wiser about you. Okay?" Amiboshi smiled. "Arigatou, Lina-san." It should be noted that at this point in time, some distance away, someone was very unthankful towards Lina. "DAMMIT, LINA, WHERE ARE YOU?!" came the call from a certain Shichi Seishi after he woke up to find her missing. All of her stuff was still here, so she couldn't have gone far. So where did she go? Why didn't she respond to his call? Tamahome gripped his hand into a fist. "This is just like that girl to go wandering off in the middle of the night on some god- forsaken adventure without even leaving me a note! She can be so frustrating!" His voice trailed off because while ranting is a good form of letting off steam, it really only works if you're ranting to someone. Ranting to the empty air was rather pointless. Of course, this only served to fuel his anger. First, he attacked the camp, cleaning up everything and stuffing everything back into their packs. Then he looked at them. Although he could easily carry them both, it would be awkward. So he slung them in a tree, carving a small mark in the bark to identify it, and paused again. He could see faint boot-prints leading away from the area, so he followed them. And he followed them. And still he followed them. It didn't seem like he was getting anywhere fast. He had been tracking the trail for over an hour now, and many times he wasn't sure if he had lost the original trail or gotten it mixed up with another. Yet he continued to follow them. Finally, he reached some sort of plateau. The surface was smooth, and all signs of a trail disappeared. Peering carefully over the edge showed a nasty vertical drop. She's not that stupid, Tamahome reasoned. So now that I've lost the trail, how far do I backtrack? "Why, hello there," said an unfamiliar voice behind him. Tamahome turned slowly and nearly face-faulted. The man standing there looked positively strange. His face was painted in stripes of white, blue, purple, and black, and he wore a blazing crimson jacket and jet-black boots. He had some sort of crown on his head, and in it were two long black-and-white feathers. To tell the truth, strange wasn't a strong enough adjective. "...Hi." Tamahome managed to say with a barely straight face. "It looks like you're trapped between a rock and a hard place, ne Tamahome?" the stranger (stranger in more than one sense of the word, as previously noted) remarked. "..." Tamahome said, his astonishment and his humor vying hard to make him say something else that was probably inappropriate. "I'm Tomo, by the way," smiled Tomo. "A Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi." "Seiryuu!?" Something in Tomo's hand glowed bright blue as vines grew from the ground and ensnared Tamahome. "And I was sent by Nakago," he added sweetly. "Uwaah!" The flute fell to the floor, landing with a soft clank against the wood. "Ne, Amiboshi, what's wrong?" "It's... Tamahome! I can sense his ki, and the ki of a Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi!" "Wh...WHAT?!" Lina screamed. "It's... It's Tomo! And he's hurting Tamahome!" Tomo? But that means... "Stay here, Lina-san. I have to go and see what's wrong!" "Hey, back up a second here. I thought you didn't want to get involved in this stuff anymore!" Lina looked angry enough to spit nails. "And what makes you think you're going off without me? Excuse me, but I'm Suzaku no Miko, so I should be the one going to help Tamahome." "That's... that's not right!" Lina blinked. "Run that by me again?" "The duty of a Shichi Seishi is to protect the Miko. It doesn't go the other way around! The duty of a Miko is to summon the god!" Lina narrowed her eyes angrily and froze the young boy in his place. "I don't care what your rules are," she hissed softly, "but when my friends are hurt I don't just sit down and leave them because someone says it's not my duty. And if your duty is to protect your Miko, why are you here in the first place?" "Aaah...I..." Lina whipped the covers off of her and posed dramatically on top of the bed. "Let's go! And to hell with duty! Let's just get the whole thing over with." She paused and looked down at Amiboshi. "By the way, I hope you know where they are because I'm not prancing around the area for hours just trying to find them." A large sweatdrop rolled down the back of the Shichi Seishi's head. "I... I think I know where they are. I can sense their ki. Follow me!" "Yosh!" Tomo chuckled to himself. This was such an easy job! He toyed with the man before him, enjoying himself to the fullest. Before this one died, Tomo would indulge himself to the fullest... He swiveled around as he heard footsteps behind him. What in the... Lina had already charged up a spell, and she lobbed it at him before Tomo could finish his thought. "FLARE ARROW!" ...world? The spell caught him squarely. He was burning, literally. Stunned, he stumbled a few paces backwards, to find the ground no longer under his feet... Tamahome blinked as Tomo slipped over the edge of the cliff. At the same time, the vines around him dissolved. "Tama-kun! Are you okay?" "Lina! That's -" Amiboshi knelt down. "Tamahome-san, please forgive me for my actions." "It's Amiboshi," explained Lina. Her mind spun wildly. Was her vision wrong? Was it really Tomo who fell off the cliff? Suddenly, Amiboshi leapt up. "Tomo... his ki is still here! That means...LOOK OUT!" Vines shot up out of the ground and wrapped around Amiboshi. A blinding flash of blue light made Tamahome wince and shield his eyes. He stepped back a few paces reflexively, momentarily forgetting the edge of the cliff. "Tamahome, no!" The ground crumbled under his feet. He reached out for Lina, for Amiboshi, for the edge of the cliff, for anything, but his hands grasped only empty air. With a look of utter shock, he fell from the cliff. "How amusing," said a very amused voice from behind Lina. Lina didn't turn around. She didn't have to. She remembered that vision from before, in which Nakago had blasted Tamahome off of the cliff. "Now, don't be shy." Slowly, reluctantly, Lina turned around on her heel, to stare directly into a pair of ice blue eyes. Nakago's eyes. Episode 28: ILLUSION! WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT ISN'T? NAKAGO SMIRKED AT LINA and Amiboshi. Lina stared back, stunned. Her vision - it was all coming true, just like the other ones had come true before, and all because of those annoying golden eyes laughing at her... Now Nakago laughed at her. "It would seem your options have run out, Suzaku no Miko." "Lina, watch out!" Amiboshi yelled suddenly. "Tomo's power is of illusion! It's - agggggh..." The vines tightened around his throat and he struggled to breath. "Now, now, Amiboshi, don't spoil all of the fun. Don't make me the one to have to kill you." Tomo's power is of illusion? Then Lina noticed him holding something. A clam shell, just like the one in her vision. It wasn't Nakago at all - it was Tomo! She had somehow defeated an illusion-Tomo, but the real one was still alive and hiding somewhere. "Tomo, I presume?" asked Lina, drawing out Hotohori's deity sword. The image of Nakago blurred, replaced with the unique visage of Tomo. In his hands, a clamshell glowed faintly blue. "Oh, you have spoiled the fun, Amiboshi. But that's okay. As long as I kill Suzaku no Miko, Nakago-sama won't mind if I, say, accidentally killed you, too." "Leave him out of this!" Lina yelled instantly. "I'm your enemy, remember?" She leveled the sword and glared. Tomo snickered. He blurred, and soon more Tomo than you could shake a deity sword at surrounded Lina. Lina glared some more, since there wasn't much else for her to do. She glanced behind for a moment, confirming that more than a dozen images of the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi had arranged themselves randomly around her. They all looked alike, so who was the real one? That nagging thought came back again. They could all be illusion. None of them might be the real Tomo. Of course, that didn't help Lina any. She had to figure out which of the Tomo illusions was not an illusion - if that was possible. A dozen pairs of long feathers shot out at her, threatening to wrap her up tighter than a mummy. She spun the sword around in an arc, slicing most of them neatly. As the broken pieces of fluff drifted to the ground, they disappeared again. More illusion! Somehow, the illusions had substance - how else could the illusionary vines bind Amiboshi? Hitting them did no good unless she was able to hit Tomo. And that wasn't looking very possible. "Why don't you just come out and fight me?" she growled angrily, getting mighty fed up with this whole charade. All the Tomo replied in unison, "But what would be the fun in that?" And Amiboshi cried, "Behind you!" She whirled around to slice through Tomo. The blade passed cleanly through him as if he was a ghost, or more precisely, as if he was only a projection. "Get out of here, Lina! You can't fight him like this!" It was a good point. Time to retreat, cool her heels, and think out a plan. She ran straight through another image of Tomo, heading towards Amiboshi to cut him loose so they could beat the hell out of this forsaken place. A wall of fire burst up before her, separating them. It was only an image, wasn't it? Taking the gamble, Lina leapt through the flames, with only the tips of her split ends getting singed. She was met by three images of Amiboshi, each one bound by the same vines. One of them had to be the real one, but which? "Lina, get out of here!" "Lina, save yourself! Run!" "Don't worry about me, just go!" The sorceress looked intently at all three. Something had to distinguish the real Amiboshi from the imposters. Each one looked exactly like Amiboshi. Each one was struggling against the vines that trapped his body. Each one had a flute in his right arm. Was it her imagination or did the one on the right have tears in his eyes? "Abunai!" all three screamed in unison. Too late, she sensed movement behind her. Something hit her back, sending her sprawling on the ground. "Well, Suzaku no Miko, which boy will you save?" came the droll voice of Tomo. Lina pulled herself upright and looked at the three boys. She pointed the deity sword at the boy in the middle, then charged. Tomo smirked. At the last moment, she swiveled and sliced the vines holding the boy on the right. They disappeared, and he fell to the ground, shaking. "Very perceptive, Suzaku no Miko. You even had me fooled for a moment. But are your senses keen enough to get you off this cliff?" She saw that Tomo had used his illusions again and made the landscape look like a cliff on all sides. She couldn't tell where the path she came in from was anymore. A glance at the ground showed that their footprints had been scattered past all recognition. Tomo disappeared. "You can't win this time." A blast of blue ki and rocks rocketed towards them. A burst of pure dissonance rocked the air. The blue ki wavered and was blocked by Amiboshi's own. "A...Amiboshi!" winced Lina. He paused for breath, telling her, "My duty is to protect the Miko. Maybe it doesn't matter which Miko." "You can't win. You can't!!" screeched Tomo's voice. More rocks and various other projectiles came flying at them, only to be blocked by Amiboshi's power. On his right shoulder, the character for high spirits shone bright blue. The situation was getting a little hairier every moment. Amiboshi couldn't keep up for long... Just as she thought this, an exceptionally powerful blast of ki forced its way past the younger Shichi Seishi's barrier, catching him in the stomach and sending him sprawling. Lina was there instantly, blocking the next wave with the deity sword. What she would give for an astral vine spell or a flow break! It was maddening to know plenty of ways to beat Tomo but be unable to do anything. Then she remembered the time in Genbu's cave, when the Genbu no Shichi Seishi had challenged her. She had cast the Flare Arrow and it had somehow wrapped itself around the sword, amplifying its power. Could it work again? There was only one way to find out. "Flare Arrow!!" A trio of arrows flared into existence in front of her. Instead of releasing them at her enemy and causing property damage, she reached for the magical power, entwining them together, spinning them around the blade... And it worked. The deity sword crackled with the spell, burning as brightly as the Hikari no Ken (but still without the annoying hum.) She kept feeding the arrows energy, keeping them alive as another of Tomo's attacks shattered the ground around them. She couldn't keep this up for long, however. The spell demanded more and more energy and that frightened her. She would reach her limits soon, and then what could she do? Tomo's attacks were relentless. He never stopped, sending blast after blast at them, and every blast sent her back a few inches. Finally, one blast came that sent her and the deity sword in two opposite directions. She was painfully reacquainted with the ground and its stony embrace. "Itai..." grunted Lina, spitting out a pebble. Several more images of Tomo appeared: one by her, one by Amiboshi, and another equidistant between them. "Well, while this has been highly amusing, all good things must come to an end." His voice was droll as his illusions conferred with each other. "Which one should we take out first?" Lina struggled to rise, but was unsuccessful. She had drained herself flat from all the magical energy, and it would take a lot of sleep to recover. "Well, Suzaku no Miko, I'm afraid I should probably finish the job and return to Nakago-sama." She winced. If she only knew which Tomo was the real one... "Still, there's Amiboshi to be dealt with as well. He is a traitor several times over. He never returned to camp after his mission to botch up your summoning ceremony and now he's taken it into his head to guard you instead of rejoining his own side. Tisk, tisk. Nakago-sama would never let a traitor live after that. Isn't that so, Amiboshi?" The boy coughed something that neither could make out. "I can't say it's been nice knowing you," said Tomo sweetly. "GET AWAY FROM MY ANIKI!" screamed a mad voice from behind them. A piece of rope flew towards them, wrapping around the Tomo standing next to Amiboshi. "Suboshi!" It wasn't a piece of rope at all; it was Suboshi's ryuuseisui. It bound the elder Shichi Seishi and slashed through him. "Impossible," Tomo managed to gasp, dropping his clamshell onto the ground. The illusions instantly vanished. "How did you know...?" "You're a Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi!" growled Suboshi. "I can sense your ki!" The ryuuseisui did not relent on his attacks. Tomo slumped to the ground, mumbling, "Nakago-sama...I'm sorry..." "ANIKI!" Suboshi pushed past her and knelt down to help his brother stand up. "Aniki, are you okay?" He smiled weakly. "You came just in time. But why are you here?" "Nakago-sama told me to keep a watch on Tomo. He said he didn't trust Tomo. But then I could feel your ki here... why didn't you come back before? Why did you leave me alone!? Aniki..." Lina felt it was prudent to make a quiet escape. She started to tiptoe away, but clumsily picked up the deity sword. The blade made a loud scraping sound as it scratched the rock. Suboshi whirled around to face her. "Ah-hah-hah-hah!" said Lina nervously. "I'll just be on my way now, if you'll excuse me..." The ryuuseisui instantly wrapped around her. "HEY! Now just wait a minute here!" Lina yelled angrily. "Suboshi!" said Amiboshi sharply. "Let her go." The other twin gritted his teeth. "She's Suzaku no Miko. We shouldn't let her live. Naga-sama and Nakago-sama said that-" "What they said doesn't matter. They were lying anyway. Suboshi, please listen to me. The Suzaku no Shichi Seishi aren't evil or bad or mean or anything like that. I didn't go back because I didn't want to fight anymore. An older couple adopted me as their son here, and I liked it. It reminded me of our old home, before the war. I didn't want to go back to the fighting. It's not her fault or the fault of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi... it's Nakago's fault and Naga's fault! Please, Suboshi, listen to me." "Aniki, I -" "Please... join me. Let's stop fighting everybody and live a normal life, here, in Sailokoku. I don't want to fight anymore." "..." replied Suboshi. "Please... Let Lina-san go." Slowly, the ryuuseisui unwrapped itself from around Lina and she could breathe a little more easily. "Aniki!!" Tears ran freely down Suboshi's face as he hugged his brother tightly. "I will... just don't leave me again! Not like mom and dad!" "I promise." Lina felt it was a good time to take her leave. She was lost. But then, that had ceased to make her do anything but bat an eyelash. She really wished someone had created a 'You Are Here!' spell that created a little map with a flashing star at the caster's location in relation to other Points of Interest, but alas, such things did not exist. She was getting tired, sore, and worse, hungry. Her stomach snarled angrily, demanding to know when it was time to be fed, but she had nothing to appease it. "Map... Appear!" she cast, closing her eyes and holding her palm open expectantly, although she didn't really imagine anything would happen. Someone grabbed her hand. "KYAAAAA!" she screamed reflexively, snatching her hand back. "Sorry if I scared you, no da!" "Ch...Ch...Chichiri!" her voice was laden with disgust. "What in the world were you thinking of, scaring me like that?" "Gomen, Lina, but I though you'd like to join the rest of us, and you had your hand out, but I didn't know what to do so...daaaaaaaa..." His voice trailed off as Lina throttled him. "Never Scare Me Like That Again! You never knew when I'll throw some spell at you first and ask questions later!" "I said I was sorry, no da!" Chichiri said as he swayed back and forth in Lina's angry grasp. "But where's Tamahome-kun?" Lina dropped him faster than if he had just announced there was a ten-platter banquet being held the next hill over. "Oh, um. We got split up you see, and..." "Split up?" asked Chiriko worriedly, as he and the others arrived in the clearing. "Yeah, where is Obake-chan, anyways?" wondered Tasuki. "It's..." She was saved by her stomach. It growled loudly again. "First, can I pleeeeeeease get something to eat?" she begged.