[Prologue - Unwelcome Guest]

She sat in her dimly lit bedroom, staring blankly at a stack of books that nearly equaled her in height. She had been studying for three hours and it was nearly dark outside. She didn't think she could take another minute of it. Yuuki Miaka stretched, not feline in grace, but with the kind of grace that only the vigor of youth allows. She heard footsteps in the hallway outside the small apartment and smiled, knowing Keisuke must be home from his afternoon job. She shook out her limbs again, trying to discard the vaguely foreboding feeling that tingled up her spine and out her fingers and toes, picked up a pile of dirty dishes from her desk and flipped off the light.

A loud chattering noise blared from somewhere in the apartment, probably from the television in Keisuke's room. He never bothered to turn it off, even when he was studying. The noise didn't bother Miaka, but she wasn't keen on listening to another fight between Keisuke and their mother about the waste of electricity. She peered into Keisuke's room to turn it off and blinked, puzzled. The TV wasn't on, for once. Scratching her head in puzzlement, she headed for the main living areas, entering the living room and making a U-turn toward the kitchen. The chattering sound had stopped. Maybe it was just her imagination.

The scraping of a key in the lock alerted her to her brother's arrival—she knew it was her brother because her mother worked nights now and would be gone until morning. She turned, dishes still in hand, reading to give him a warm greeting. The door creaked open and then stopped. She heard muffled voices outside and wondered if maybe Tetsuya had decided to stop in for a bit too, perhaps hoping Yui was hanging around.

"Welcome home, Keisuke!" she said cheerfully. The siblings had grown much closer since the experience in the book. He had a new understanding of her courage and heart, and she had finally learned that his sole purpose in life was not to pick on and aggravate her. It was a mutual bond; another product of that adventure that seemed so long ago.

It had been three years since she and Yui had opened the book. She couldn't say there weren't things she missed, like the rest of her seishi, and the adventure (which was much better than spending hours a day studying for college entrance examinations), but she was glad that time was behind her. Things had gotten back to normal, finally.

Keisuke poked his head inside, and Miaka tilted her head slightly.

"Why are you standing in the hall? Take your shoes off and come inside, silly," she laughed nervously. Keisuke was acting very strange.

"Miaka, I found somebody interesting tonight at work, but I want you to stay calm," his voice was its usual tone with a hint of something else in it—wariness or concern. "I was serving him his dinner and he told me that my name looked familiar. He asked if I had a sister or other relative named Miaka."

Curious now, Miaka approached the door, peering around her brother's tall form. The young woman caught a glimpse of a tall figure behind him and stepped forward. Had he accidentally stumbled upon another of her seishi? He had been the one that found Taka, after all Perhaps he was fortunate enough to run across another.

The silhouette solidified into the tall, broad frame of a man. She thought that it could only be one person, if he truly was one of hers. She pulled the door open and Keisuke moved aside, and she caught a glimpse of what she could have sworn to be blonde hair. She froze when her eyes met icy blue, and she gasped. It couldn't be.

"It's been a long time, Suzaku no Miko."

Miaka's hands convulsed and the dishes crashed to the floor, shattering and exploding with little shards of glass. Miaka felt like her mind was exploding, and just then the chattering she had heard before turned to yelling and shouting, but it wasn't outside of her, it was inside her head. Nakago had moved toward her, beside her, looking at her with cold blue eyes. Some strange power surged around her and through her, and as her brother reached for her shaking hands. The voiced reached a fevered pitch, and she heard a beckoning from somewhere far away. She began to loser he balance and Nakago gripped her arm. Her feet left the floor as black flowers exploded throughout her vision and she fainted.