Chapter Nineteen

"Are you all right now?"

Hikari slipped carefully through the flaps of the sturdy, tent-like construction, dropping down beside her friend as she cast Shishi a quizzical look. It was late in the evening and, after having sought help from local sheep farmers in the area, the four travellers had found themselves guests for the night, sheltering from the cold wind inside the surprisingly strong and wind-tight dwelling. The people had been kind, if strange in both apparel and custom, and although the tent smelt somewhat of sheep, it was still better than being out in the wintery chill.

At Hikari's question, Shishi glanced up, offering her companion a rueful smile.

"I seem to be making a habit of this." She said with a sigh. "Yeah. I'm fine now. Thankfully people in Hokkan are as kind as people in Sairou, though - I couldn't have walked back to Yukigase tonight."

"Well, I've been thinking about that." Hikari owned. "What are we going to do, now? Doryoku made it clear that she wasn't going to fight Bakaru's decision. Has she said anything else to you?"

"Nope." Shishi shook her head. She shrugged.

"To be honest I think she's keeping a low profile." She added. "Because she knows she hurt me earlier, she's gone into a guilty panic and she's barely said anything to me at all. From one extreme to another - although it's nice to have a little quiet."

She rubbed her temples.

"It's a bit scary." She owned. "Having someone else inside your head."

"Myoume and Aoi are with the farm leaders, finding out whether there's an easier path back towards either Touran or the border." Hikari said gently. "So I guess we need to know which way we are going."

"Well, there isn't a point in us being in Hokkan, if we can't get the Shinzahou." Shishi leant back against the wooden tent support pensively. "I'm still a bit pissed about that. About the fact she used me to stop you guys getting it. Although I know you couldn't have fought an old guy like that - but even so...Hyoushin has it. That means that Kutou have three treasures. And that means..."

"They'll come after me next." Hikari nodded soberly. "I know. But at least they don't know who I am, yet. And I'm not like a mirror or a necklace, Shishi. I'm not something that can be taken that easily."

"You mean that, don't you?" Shishi eyed her keenly, and Hikari looked self-conscious.

"Maybe it's not just you with someone else inside of you." She admitted. "But...it makes things difficult, doesn't? We've tried three times to get Shinzahou before Kutou. The first time, we were robbed. The second time, Jin got killed. And this time..."

She trailed off, and Shishi nodded her head.

"This time, I got way more than I bargained for." She admitted. "But the thing is, Hiki, I don't think Do-nee wants to hurt me. On the contrary, I think she's just really lonely and she doesn't want to be left behind again. So she wants to be useful to me...and it backfired somehow. That's what I think. She's not...scary. She's like Bachisu-san said. A gentle spirit. She doesn't want to fight. She just wants to make sure she does as Genbu asked her and keeps Hokkan safe."

"How can she do that, though, if she comes South to Kounan with you?"

"Bachisu-san told her to trust me." Shishi spread her hands. "So that's good enough for her."

She smiled ruefully.

"I bet Papa had no idea that, when he saved that guy's life seven years ago, it would have this kind of a consequence." She added. "I really am stuck with her, now. At least until I find a way to take this bracelet off. But I have a feeling...that won't be until we finish what we've set out to do. Because Do-nee wants to protect...and she needs me to do it."

"You're calling her Do-nee." Hikari realised. "You sound almost resigned to it, Shishi."

"Ain't nothing I can do about it." Shishi shrugged. "Thing is, Hiki, it occured to me while Myoume and I were waitin' for you an' Aoi to come back with help. If we follow her take on the world - Myoume's, I mean - everythin' leads into somethin' else. Nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. An' if that's the case, well, I guess I just...found out what it is that makes me a part of all of this."

She sighed, glancing up at the roof of the tent.

"Myoume's Byakko's. You're Suzaku's. Aoi's Nakago's son, so that must make him Seiryuu's." She added softly. "Now, because of Bachisu-san, I...I guess I'm Genbu's. Because I have Doryoku."

Hikari's eyes widened.

"You think that was what was going to happen all along?" She demanded. "That you were going to meet Bachisu-san like this...even seven years ago? That that was why the Circus even came to Kounan then?"

"No..." Shishi frowned. "Not exactly. But I asked Myoume what she thought, and she agreed with me. And the catalyst...was you. Your coming here. Everything began to move when you appeared in the valley by Reikaku-zan. Myoume's visions all started to gain clarity an' stuff, then. She began to piece all the bits together into somethin' coherent, an' she was able to understand better what she was seeing."

"So...I did this to you?" Hikari looked troubled. "Am I really that important, that I can shift people's fates?"

"You're from the Miko's world." Shishi said simply. "The only people who have ever come here before you have been Miko, and they've changed countries permanently with their quests and their wishes. It ain't so crazy, when you think of it like that. Right? You're just the next one in the line to come an' alter the fate of this world."

"But Taiitsukun seemed pretty sure I couldn't be Suzaku no Miko." Hikari sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "And if that's the case, what good am I?"

"I guess maybe a Shinzahou has its own power." Shishi shrugged. "I dunno. That kind of thing ain't my department."

She sighed heavily.

"It also...means that...Jin dying like he did was...even more important a factor." She murmured. "Because I think...I think that if all the other things I said are true, Jin was...meant to do that. He was...a guardian. A protector. His purpose in this was to come, fight for us, die for us...that was why he came. It wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't because I asked him to, or because he fell in love with you. It was because...Jin was chosen. By Suzaku. Somehow. And even though he wasn't a Seishi, or anything like it - he was still Kounan's sacrifice. Because it was Suzaku, in the end, who asked him to die for us. And he...he answered the call."

There were tears on her lashes, and instinctively Hikari hugged her.

"It doesn't make it easier, though, thinking that, does it?" She murmured, and Shishi shook her head.

"No." She said heavily. "But Hiki, I...I'm really sure that he was there, with me, when that guy tried to kill me. That somehow it was him - that Suzaku sent him to protect me again, or he did it himself, because he didn't want me to get hurt. Doing Suzaku's bidding made him stronger - strong enough to still be watching over us, even now. And that...that does help, a little bit. If that's where he is...I know he's not so far away as I thought."

"Watching us?" Hikari pinkened as she remembered her conversation with Aoiketsu, and Shishi eyed her keenly.

"Hiki?"

"Do you really think he is? I mean, watching...everything we do?"

"Why?" Shishi raised an eyebrow, eying her friend suspiciously. "What have you done that you don't want him to know about?"

Hikari reddened, glancing at her hands, and Shishi's eyes narrowed.

"You and Aoi have been naughty, huh?" She asked softly. "How naughty is naughty, Hiki? Remember what I said - the four Gods like virgins for their games, and..."

"No! Nothing like that!" Hikari cut across her hurriedly, holding up her hands as she hastily shook her head. "I'm only fifteen, Shishi - I'm not ready for anything like that with anyone right now. It's not like that...believe me, it isn't. I just...he did...kiss me. And I...I guess I...let him."

Shishi pursed her lips, and for a moment there was silence between them. Then she shook her head.

"Jin understood all of that better than I did, really." She said at length. "Knowing, like Myoume said, that by dying he was removing himself from the equation. It's all right. I think he'd have understood."

"It's stupid, though." Hikari admitted. "I...I haven't ever felt like this about any guy before. Not ever. And I'm sure what Myoume said is something to do with it - that we're connected, so it makes our bond stronger. But it's not just that, though. I think I really have...fallen in love with him. And I don't...he says it doesn't matter, that I'll go back home. He said that it only matters that we're together right at the moment and we can worry about anything else when the time comes. But I...I guess I know that I already like him way too much for that it to be that easy. And I...I don't really know what to do about it. If we really are connected - is that just for the length of this mission? Or...is it more than that?"

"Like your mother and father?" Shishi asked softly, and Hikari shrugged her shoulders.

"It happened to them." She said helplessly. "But they went through a lot of hell to be together. And I'm not strong enough to do that. So I...I don't know, right now, what I've got myself into."

"It doesn't weird you out any, that this guy was sent here as a spy - and that he's the son of a guy your father stiffed out?"

"The spy part...no, because I trust him now and I know he is on our side." Hikari shook her head. "I have faith in him - so that's all right. The other thing..."

She shrugged.

"Aoi said himself that he's not his father and I'm not mine." She remembered. "And that, in war, people are killed. It's just how it is...it's nothing to do with us now."

"That's a very military way of viewing it." Shishi murmured, and Hikari nodded.

"Yeah, but Aoi is a soldier." She said with a shrug. "And the truth is, Shishi, that's what he's always been. Since he was a little kid, he's been trained and educated to make a difference somehow for Kutou. He's never had a proper family, only the military and that Hyoushin guy...so it makes sense, the way he thinks."

"Hyoushin." Shishi frowned. "The guy who has the Shinzahou. Are we going to go after him, then? I can't imagine Aoi'll raise a blade against him, if we do...though I'm sure I can make Do-nee track the treasure if need be."

"No." Hikari shook her head. "We're not going after him. I believe Aoi when he says that Hyoushin isn't the one who's behind all the trouble. Before you came into the temple, he apologised to me for Jin's death. I didn't ask him to, but he did - and he was sincere when he did it, too. I don't think he's our enemy. He's strange and he's distant and he seems completely oblivious to the danger of taking the Shinzahou to Kutou. But then, if Kutou haven't had the information we've had...I think I'm starting to think about all of this a little differently."

"Because you're in love with Aoi?" Shishi challenged, and Hikari blushed.

"No, I don't think it's that...although hearing his stories about Kutou has made me think of them as victims rather than as antagonists." She admitted. "But it's more than that. It's more...what Myoume said, too, about Kintsusei-sama and him being desperate. Chichiri did say that war was created by a few evil individuals, not a whole country. I don't think Hyoushin is one of those individuals. But even so..."

"He's still going to take that necklace to Kutou." Shishi sighed. "And even if it isn't him, there's someone there who's going to try and use it for bad ends."

"How, though?" Hikari murmured. "This is what confuses me. How can they use the power of these things - and why? To destroy the stellar spirits? Is that really it? It's confusing and it doesn't make any sense."

"Kutou generally don't, but I see your point." Shishi nodded. "It's what Myoume said about borders not being important, I guess. Because you'd think that first on their agenda would be to invade the South again an' get revenge for eighteen years ago. It ain't like that, though. They seem to want to keep us out of it. We've got ourselves involved. That's the difference. They're avoidin' us when they can - like Miramu avoids Myoume."

"He's another problem altogether." Hikari rubbed her temples.

"Well, for tonight, we're here." Shishi said wisely. "I ain't moving till the morning, and hopefully they're goin' to feed us, because I'm starving hungry. Tomorrow, we'll move. If we're not going after Hyoushin, then we're going to go South, you think?"

Hikari was silent for a moment. Then she nodded.

"Bakaru-san was right." She said unwillingly. "We have to go to Kutou, sooner or later. I have to go there, if I'm going to find any way to raise Suzaku in all of this mess. I need the other Shinzahou to do it. Kutou don't have a Miko, so as long as they don't know I'm the Shinzahou, they can't unite the four treasures or do anything about it. Hyoushin seemed to think that Yui-san would come back to Kutou if the treasures were aligned, but that's crazy. You said the Mikos were virgins, right? Yui-san's married and they have a child. And that's the same reason Mother can't come here any more, too. Their roles as Miko are over. So I think whoever is behind all this evil crap, it's the person who's spreading these stories about Seiryuu no Miko, in order to give the people around them false hope. And that being the case...we need to get there, raise Suzaku and put everything to rights. Don't we?"

"When you put it that way, I guess we do." Shishi agreed. "But you said south...you're not going to Kutou yet?"

"Right now, I'm not strong enough for that. None of us are. Not when Miramu might be in the equation." Hikari shook her head, resolution glittering in her hazel eyes. "You said yourself that you need to get stronger, to deal with Doryoku's attachment to you. She offered you her power - and maybe, if you can get stronger, you can find a way to use it. Myoume has power - we saw it for the first time properly when we were coming to rescue you, and she's not the kind of person you'd want to face in battle. Aoi's a strong fighter, and he's quick on his feet. We can rely on him for that. And I...if I can find a bit more of Suzaku's power, then I'll be strong enough to try and raise him properly - using what's inside of me it must be possible, if I had the other Shinzahou to help."

"So we'll go home, and consult Chichiri and Papa, huh?" Shishi's eyes flickered with comprehension, and Hikari nodded.

"That was my thought." She agreed. "I'd like them to come East with us, but I don't know if they can. Still, though, they're Suzaku's people. There's a lot they know that we don't...Chichiri especially. And if that's what we're going to do, Shishi - we need all the help we can get. I'm really determined now. I'm the only Shinzahou Suzaku has left...and I'm not going to be taken and used to destroy the whole of this world. We're going to go to Kutou and somehow we're going to fix everything. For Jin's sake, for Aoi's sake, for Meikyo and Eiju and everyone in Kounan - we're not going to let anyone do any harm to the ShijinTenchishou!"

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It was getting colder.

As Maichu made his way carefully through the silent streets, he gritted his teeth against the bitter wind that whipped through him at intervals, pulling his cloak more tightly around him as he resolutely pushed forward towards the mountain path. At his waist, his Commander's sword clanked against the scabbard of his own at intervals, and somehow bearing the extra weight of the Meihi's weapon made him anxious, not secure. Hyoushin's sword was, after all, different from all the other swords he had ever seen. Crafted especially for its left-handed owner, and gifted him by the Emperor, the hilt bore the carved form of Seiryuu winding his way angrily from tip to blade, and something about the Dragon's indignation set Maichu on edge.

"I wonder if Seiryuu is really pissed by all of this." He murmured with a sigh, as he passed through the Touran gate and on towards the dark outline of Koku-zan against the blackening sky. "Shit, now I sound like Ouno. But I guess I'm spooked. What Suiko said - that message - it's all messed up. And what the hell I'm doing...I don't even know. Am I a traitor, now? Or is it like Aoi said? What appears to be treason isn't, but it's hard to make out the difference? I wish I knew where he was, or that he was with me. He'd probably be able to tell me where the Commander was, too. Even though I'm sure he wouldn't go to the Meihi...where can he go, other than Koku-zan? He wouldn't stay in the city, and he doesn't feel the cold like the rest of us do. So...it has to be this path."

He sighed, setting his teeth against another brush of the biting wind.

"Shit, doesn't this country ever have a summer?" He muttered under his breath. "Even spring would be an improvement on this. Surely Hokkan's not always as frigging cold as this? Dammit, how do the people live, if it is? I couldn't do it."

He paused, assessing the path in front of him with a grim realisation.

"This path's damn dangerous in daylight, especially if it's frozen." He mused. "In the dark, without a torch flame, it's probably suicide. But even so, I promised Suiko - and dammit, if I don't find him and something happens to him...I can't let that happen. Hyoushin-sama's not a traitor to the Emperor. He's been set up. Kintsusei-sama never sent that message, and if that's so...it must be Kikei that's behind all of this. If Suiko's right and he really is a Hin...then he's tribal, too. Which makes it all make sense. It ain't Aoi. It ain't Hyoushin-sama. It's Kikei who's the Emperor's real enemy. And shit, now he's knocking off the people in his way. Hyoushin-sama's his scapegoat, because there ain't any hiding his tribal roots. Because of Toroki's prophesy, Kikei's found a way to get rid of the Commander, because he knows the Commander'd sooner swallow poison than let anything happen to Kintsusei-sama. Aoi's in the South, I've been there too - Hyoushin-sama said that he had faith in the two of us, didn't he? An' Kayu..."

His eyes darkened as he remembered Kayu's secret mission on the Priest's behalf.

"Kayu's an idiot. A goddamn puppet." He decided, kicking out at a loose stone vehemently as he did so. "Kikei's done a few good things for him, so he's too stupid to see treason when it jumps up and bites him. But even so, to betray the Commander..."

He trailed off, as the pathway required all of his attention at that moment, and for a good twenty minutes he did nothing but focus on negotiating the awkward, icy scramble of rocks and ledges that created an increasingly sheer rise towards Koku-zan's peak. The moon was already high in the sky, and Maichu was sure that it was past midnight, but he ignored the exhaustion of his early morning ride and the events that had followed, redoubling his determination as he remembered the look the Commander had sent him before he left.

"He wanted me to find Aoi, but I'm going to find him first." He muttered. "Dammit, not all soldiers are so easily swayed from doing the right thing. Miramu was wrong. We ain't all sheep. I know what's right and I'll stick to it, even if it kills me. That's why I came to the capital in the first place, after all - to fight for what was right. Not to be manipulated by a greedy, fat priest."

His foot slipped against a patch of frozen snow at that moment, and it was all he could do not to cry out as he desperately reached out to steady his grip. At first it seemed to no avail, then the heavier, unusual sword of his Commander caught against a rock, halting his fall and allowing him to regain his balance. He grasped the sword in relief, eying it ruefully in the dark.

"I guess that's the favour returned." He murmured wryly. "I'm riskin' everything to find your master, ain't I? So you're goin' to help me get there, too."

He faltered, then shook his head as if to clear it.

"Shit, I'm talking to a sword." He muttered. "Does exposure make you go nuts, too?"

He released his grip on the carved sword hilt, taking a deep breath as he returned his attention to the pathway ahead. There was a cave not far on, he remembered, and as he did so, he recalled Ouno saying that this was where Hyoushin had tethered his horse when he had disappeared from the city the day before.

"He wouldn't go to the Meihi village. But he might go there." He realised with a jolt. "Because it's cold on the mountain and no fool except me would come looking for him in the dark, when it's freezin' enough to make your fingers drop off. I must be the crazy one - but I guess that's all right. Crazy is better than traitor, so I'll take it."

He pulled himself up onto the next ledge, glancing up at the stars to get his bearings, and as he did so, something reached out of the darkness, dropping a heavy hand down on his shoulder. Maichu yelped, spinning around as he struggled to gather his wits. His hand went instinctively to his sword hilt, but even as he prepared to fight, he found he could make out his companion's pallor in the soft moonlight, and he sighed, dropping his hand.

"Hyoushin-sama." He murmured. "Shit, sir, you scared the life out of me."

"What are you doing here of all places, at this time of night?" Hyoushin asked softly, a question in the amethyst eyes. "It's a dangerous path, Maichu - only a fool would attempt it in the darkness."

"I'm a fool, then. And crazy too, I think." Maichu said frankly. "But I'm not a traitor, sir. And that's why I came here. To find you and tell you that."

Hyoushin's eyes widened in surprise, and at his hesitation, Maichu unhooked the heavy left-handed sword from his belt, holding it out.

"This is yours." He added. "Kayu took the Shinzahou, but I thought you might need this, now things are as they are."

Wordlessly Hyoushin took the sword from his companion's grip, then he raised his gaze to the young soldier. Maichu smiled, suddenly feeling awkward.

"I guess I'll be in some shit when Kayu and the rest realise I've gone." He added. "But it's done now. I don't believe you're a traitor, sir - I told you that before, and I mean it now. Someone's trying to set you up, that's all. And I'm not so much of a fool that I'd fall for it. I know you better than that."

Hyoushin stared at him for a moment. Then, much to Maichu's surprise, the look in the amethyst eyes softened into something which almost equalled a smile.

"Well." He said quietly. "And you have made your choice to come after me, Shi Maichu? Despite the danger, you have sought me out to tell me this?"

"Yes." Maichu agreed. "I'm not going back, either. You're my Commander. And I'm sticking with you - whatever that means."

He shivered as a cold wind whipped around them, and at the sight of it, Hyoushin frowned. Then he slipped his sword back into its customary position at his side, taking the young soldier by the arm and leading him across the snow towards the shelter of the cave. As they stepped inside, Maichu registered the flame torch glowing in one of the alcoves, and as Hyoushin gestured for him to sit down, he watched the Meihi kick together some dry twigs and leaf litter from the cavern floor, taking the torch from its sconce as he lowered the burning wood to light a fire.

"It will be warmer here." He said quietly. "The cold is no problem for me, but I do not want to see you expire of hypothermia. Even if you have done something reckless by coming here. That letter bore the Imperial seal - to disobey its command is treason."

"The letter didn't say anything about following you." Maichu said evenly. "Besides, I don't think the Emperor had anything to do with that letter, Hyoushin-sama. I think it was a set-up job and that he knows nothing about it. Because Kintsusei-sama is a soldier and he has honour. He wouldn't just evict you like that without at least giving you a chance to explain yourself to him. He's not that way. So...I think that letter was a fake. And I'm sticking with what I know isn't."

Hyoushin sat back against the wall of the cave, and for a moment he didn't speak. Then he nodded.

"It will be dangerous, to ally yourself with me." He murmured. "I also believe there was something untoward behind that message. I do not know if the Emperor did or did not authorise it - but I do know that everything is not as it should be in Kutou at the present time. I have tried to make contact, and have been unable to. And if I am now marked as a traitor, I am probably also marked for death. Miramu would like nothing better than to hunt me down - to come with me would be to put yourself in the line of fire from both Kutou's authorities and the assassin of the West."

"I don't care." Maichu said firmly. "I trained to face danger, didn't I? I'm a soldier, I'm not a girl, sir. And I believe in you. You're not the traitor. Besides...Suiko told me something, when she gave me your sword. She said that Kikei is a Hin. Which means he's tribal too - doesn't it?"

"Suiko gave you my sword?" Hyoushin's eyebrow arched at this, and Maichu nodded.

"She said she wanted to help you, but she was tied because the Shinzahou and the scale are in Kutou and under other people's control." He agreed. "But she asked me to bring it to you. And I'd already made up my mind to find you, so I agreed. She doesn't believe you're a traitor either. She said you were one of the few people who still believed in Kutou, and because of it she had faith in you."

"I see." A flicker of comprehension flared in Hyoushin's clever eyes, and he nodded. "Of late she has tried to warn me of danger. I should, perhaps, have listened to her more closely. But, I confess, I had my own concerns and I allowed them to - somewhat - cloud my judgement."

He sighed, spreading his hands.

"As for her assertion, she is correct." He added. "I do not know how she came by the information, because even I should not know of Kikei's true origins. It was a confidence the Emperor took me into - he is the only one who, officially, is aware of Kikei's Hin past."

"But then...isn't he...Toroki's prediction..." Maichu trailed off, and Hyoushin nodded.

"Most likely." He agreed. "My only preoccupation has been whether or not Toroki's prediction truly held merit, or whether, as you said, it was delivered simply for the benefit of deceiving us."

"Aoi believed in it." Maichu remembered gravely. "He said that the things she predicts are real."

"Aoiketsu." Hyoushin's expression became thoughtful, then he nodded his head.

"You are determined to follow me, Maichu, despite the danger?" He asked softly. Maichu nodded his head.

"Yes, sir."

"I may be unable to afford you much - or any protection, if that is your wish."

"You've trained me not to need protection." Maichu said firmly. "Aoi aside, I'm as good as any of the others. Better'n some. I'm all right. I'm not asking you to protect me. And I'm coming because I believe in Kutou, too. Like Suiko said. Like you do. I want to help my Emperor and my country. And I know you're the last person who'd ever betray Kintsusei-sama."

A faint smile touched Hyoushin's lips.

"You have as much determination now as you did six years ago when I first asked you if you truly wished to be a soldier." He remembered, and Maichu reddened at the memory.

"That was a long time ago. I was green then."

"True." Hyoushin nodded. "But I have never regretted giving in to you, or allowing you to train with my men. You still have that resolute spirit that characterised you then, and I am glad to see it. If it is your will to accompany me, then I will not try and change your mind. You are a man and you can make your own decisions as regards your life, after all."

"Then that's settled." Maichu shuffled closer to the fire, pulling his cloak more tightly around his body. "Shit, it really is cold up here."

"Take this." Hyoushin rummaged in a pile of rolled cloth, pulling out a heavy woollen cloak and holding it out. "It will help against the wind, and in the morning we will leave here."

"Thanks." Maichu took the object gratefully, wrapping it around his shoulders. "That's better. This is warm stuff - where did you get it from, anyhow?"

"The Meihi on this mountain, with whom I apparently colluded." Hyoushin said softly, and Maichu stared at him, seeing a glimmer of emotion in his companion's violet gaze.

"Why were you on the mountain with them anyway, sir?" He asked hesitantly. "I mean, I know it ain't any of my business, an' I know it wasn't about treason...so I shouldn't really ask. But you...you gave in to Kayu's babbling because you wanted to protect those people - didn't you? An' I just...wondered about it."

Hyoushin frowned, closing his eyes for a moment, and with a jolt Maichu realised that his normally steady Commander was composing himself. For an instant, the Meihi seemed somehow fragile, and then, as he opened his eyes again, the moment was gone.

"You cannot understand the things that those people have already faced." He said quietly. "I am glad you cannot. I hope that one day there will be a world in which no man will understand such things. The Meihi only ask to be left in peace to live their lives. They hurt noone. And I will not be the reason for them to suffer more harm."

"Ouno said...you were with a...a woman there." Maichu admitted awkwardly. "That Kayu saw...saw you."

"I see." The Meihi's lips twitched into an ironic, humourless smile. "I can see in what direction your thoughts have gone. You are a good soldier, but far too interested in the licentious side of life. Not all men are as you are, you know...you should not assume the worst."

"I...I'm sorry." Maichu reddened. "I didn't mean to be rude, or intrusive. I just...I..."

"She is my sister, Maichu." Hyoushin cut across him, and Maichu faltered, staring at him in surprise. Hyoushin nodded.

"Now you understand." He added. "I will not let harm come to her. Twenty-five years ago, when we were separated, I could not protect her. This time I will. No matter what."

"Your sister." Maichu breathed. "Shit, and I didn't even know you had a family. So that's why they gave you the Shinzahou? Because you're related to one of them?"

"I suppose it was." Hyoushin agreed.

"But Kayu has that now." Maichu frowned. "What are we going to do?"

"The answer to that should be clear." Hyoushin said evenly. "We are going to find your young friend, and discover what he knows about Kounan and their motives. Thanks to my mountain friends, I will be able to discard my armour and conceal myself as a member of my tribe - with any luck it will attract less attention that way, since I am sure you still have your merchant's attire from your previous trip to Kounan."

"Friend? You mean Aoi?" Maichu stared, and Hyoushin nodded.

"I encountered him also today." He said plainly. "In the place where the Shinzahou was concealed. He had the sword of Kounan's Emperor in his hand."

"Aoi did?" Maichu's eyes almost fell out of his head. Hyoushin nodded again.

"Coupled with your words, I am certain he has discovered something important." He agreed softly. "Possibly the treason we are only just beginning to unearth ourselves. It will be dangerous, but from what you have told me, I believe Aoiketsu may be closer to a solution than we are and we need his help. Besides, there is another thing which has become more significant in my mind than the Shinzahou. Suiko told me that we were on the wrong quest, and I think she's probably right. The girl from Kounan was also in Aoiketsu's company. And from things she said, it became clear that she was acquainted with Seiryuu's Miko, Hongou Yui."

"Which means what?" Maichu looked blank. "I'm sorry, sir, you'll have to join the dots. My brain is too frozen to make sense of it."

"Hongou Yui has not been to Kutou in eighteen years, Maichu." Hyoushin said simply. "But the child - Sukunami Hikari - she isn't even as old as you or Aoiketsu are. She is a girl of no more than fifteen or sixteen. There is no way she could have met Hongou Yui. Unless..."

He trailed off, and Maichu's eyes widened.

"Shit!" He breathed. "She's from the Miko's friggin' world?"

"That is my conjecture, yes."

"But...if she...if she's from...is she...Suzaku no Miko?"

"No." Hyoushin shook his head. "That legend is over. I am sure of it. Whatever the girl thinks her role is or isn't, I am certain she is not here to raise Suzaku. It is Kutou's legend that requires closure, not Kounan's. And Suiko did say that if we could assemble the four Shinzahou, Seiryuu no Miko would appear. Sukunami Hikari is in possession of - or knows the location of - Suzaku no Shinzahou. She more or less admitted as much before me. In light of this, Maichu, I am quite certain. The child may have been sent to Kounan, and she may be the daughter of Tamahome. But she is still from the Miko's world. And she is still Seiryuu no Miko. She is the one who will save Kutou and the Emperor. And we must find her - before Kikei is able to."

"Shit." Maichu breathed. "That's what Aoi's discovered? That's what he was afraid to tell me, in case it got to the wrong people?"

"I believe it possible." Hyoushin nodded. "And more, that he has become her protector because he realises her importance to Kutou. He is a step ahead of us, and therefore a step ahead of Kikei and whatever it is he plans in the East. Clearly at present we cannot go to Kutou - I am concerned about the Emperor, but I do not believe anything will befall him until all the Shinzahou are gathered. In which case, we have a little time. And there is only one course of action open to us."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"We must go to Kounan and negotiate with the South." He said quietly. "And we must bring Seiryuu no Miko to Kutou - before it is too late."

Genbu no Takara

::Owari::