Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Fushigi Yuugi: Daydream's Embrace ❯ Episode 21: Exposed Deceptions ( Chapter 21 )

Episode 21

Exposed Deceptions

By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki

A yellow car sped down the newly-tarred road, kicking up loose pieces of gravel as it went. The road was, for lack of a better word, deserted. Although it was still light outside, no inhabitants of the neighborhood were in sight. The eerie calm made it seem as though a curfew had been placed, turning the whole area into a ghost town.

"This isn't Dukes of Hazard!" Joan warned Diana, whose foot had nearly floored the accelerator. Ignoring her friend, Diana kept her eyes glued to the empty road in front of her. The inside of the car, like the neighborhood that it raced through, was soundless and dead. Until Joan's unheeded warning, the two girls had been sitting in complete and utter silence. Breaking the hush yet again, Joan timidly whispered, "Diana?"

Diana exploded, "What?!" Joan answered by tapping the rearview mirror, and Diana's jaw dropped as she spotted the red and blue flashing lights in the reflection. A siren's cry began to creep into the car, as if the mute on a television had been turned off. Joan was practically hyperventilating, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. Diana slowed the car and stopped at the side of the forsaken road. She took a deep breath and grabbed her purse from the backseat, praying that her driver's license would be inside.

An officer who looked in his mid-thirties sauntered up to the side of the car and gestured for Diana to roll the window down, which she quickly did. "Is there a problem, officer?" Diana asked in the best rendition of a sultry voice she could summon in her state of nervousness.

"Well, miss, you were going about forty, that's fifteen miles above the speed limit, in a residential area. License, please?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" gasped Diana as she rummaged through her purse and handed him her license. "I was just in such a hurry and I didn't notice! You see, we had borrowed some books from the library…that we read…at the nursing home up near town, and we had to return them before the library closed," she lied. Joan held up The Universe of the Four Gods in an attempt to verify the explanation.

The officer sighed heavily, "Well…I'm not supposed to do this…but I'll let you off with a warning. This time." He raised his eyebrows questioningly at the girls, who both quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

"Thank you, sir," Diana smiled.

"It'll never happen again," swore Joan as the policeman walked back to his squad car. The car pulled out and drove down the road, and Diana let her head fall down onto the steering wheel with relief. "I told you!" Joan yelled accusingly.

"Just…just shut up and read the book. I'll do the driving, okay?" Diana sighed.

"But…" Joan objected, "but I get carsick when I read!"

*

Katherine heavily sat down upon her bed and leaned back into the mass of fluffy, red and white pillows, pleased to be back at the palace. She let herself slip further into the cushions, her wavy, golden hair fanned out beneath her. Too lethargic to move her head, Katherine's hazel eyes wandered around the room, remembering where she had left everything. She started to close her eyelids, hoping her mind would drift to more peaceful thoughts, like the times before her adventures in Konan had begun.

She licked her lips hungrily, wishing that she could have a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza. Anything would do, really, just as long as it wasn't Chinese food. The constant stream of rice and egg rolls that were eaten for every meal had begun to make the girl sick to her stomach. She had just started imagining all the Italian food that she would sell her soul for when she heard a faint knocking at her door. The priestess slowly sat up, leaning on her elbows for support, and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Nuriko," a soft voice answered through the door.

Quickly standing up and brushing the wrinkles out of her jeans, Katherine cheerfully replied, "Oh! C'mon in! You know you don't have to knock!" She skipped to the door, opened it, and jogged back over to her bed, never noticing the serious look on the lavender-eyed sei's face. Nuriko was wearing his courtier outfit once again, hiding his sexuality from the other inhabitants of the palace with expensive frills and cloth. "So, what's up?" Katherine asked, her head playfully tilted to the side.

Nuriko quietly closed the door, and walked a few steps forward before accusing her: "You both think we're stupid, don't you?"

Katherine's smile immediately disappeared from her face, and her eyebrows narrowed as she tried to comprehend what her sei had just said. "What do you mean?"

Hardening his stare, Nuriko let out a short, agitated sigh. His voice was still in a strangely firm tone that didn't seem to suit him. "You and Christina have obviously been hiding something, and I am tired of listening to your lies," he explained angrily, putting a prominent emphasis on the word `obviously'. His mouth was twisted into a scowl, and his eyes flashed with the pain of someone who had been betrayed.

Katherine's heart skipped a beat and jumped into her throat as her eyes widened. As her breathing quickened, a dizzying onslaught of thoughts paraded through her mind. "Why is he asking this now? Why isn't Christina here? How am I supposed to answer? Why is he only asking me?" The room spun, and Katherine opened her mouth, hoping her words would form themselves into an explanation, but the sound didn't come. Nuriko glared at his priestess, his hands on his hips. "Lemme go get Christina," Katherine stammered softly, knowing that she could not come up with a good enough answer on her own.

"No," Nuriko answered determinedly. "Christina can easily make up an excuse; maybe not a very good one, but still an excuse. And I want the truth…now!' he demanded. The priestess felt as though she was shrinking under Nuriko's glare; she felt like she had betrayed him, which, she realized, she had.

Becoming angrier at Nuriko and herself, the priestess quickly stood up and stomped her foot. "Look! I can't tell you alone, okay?!"

Moving closer to the priestess, only a mere inch from her face, he sarcastically replied with a tilt of his head, "Why not? You have a voice, don't you?"

"This is more complicated than it seems," boldly stated Katherine, finishing her statement through tightly-gritted teeth.

Lowering his voice to a soft whisper, Nuriko asked as calmly as possible, "Just tell me, who is Amiboshi, really?"

Katherine's heart, which had been beating impossibly fast, stopped. Her stomach felt as thought it had filled with lead. She stumbled back a step, asking, "H-how do you know? A-about that?"

Nuriko was stunned. Not only had the priestesses kept a secret from him and the rest of the seishi, but they also thought that he was too ignorant to figure out they were lying to him. Insulted and hurt, he shouted, "I'm not deaf! I heard you two fighting about him the other night!"

"W-well, now we definitely need Christina here. We can't leave her out of this," Katherine stammered as she walked past Nuriko and towards the door.

Turning his head in Katherine's direction as she passed, the sei asked innocently, "Well, if Christina's going to be here, why don't we get Hotohori too? After all, you two are a couple." Nuriko couldn't believe that the priestess who had supposedly come to save his homeland couldn't handle one fight one her own.

The priestess automatically stopped in her tracks, and whipped around to face Nuriko's reflection in the mirror that stood on the other side of the room. Nuriko was rooted to the floor of Katherine's room, simply looking up at the ceiling with false naivete. Katherine hated him at that moment, from his flashing purple eyes to the sneer that covered his face. "What does that have to do with anything?!" she hollered, wishing he would just disappear. "Oh, I get it," Katherine whispered, "You're just pissed off because Hotohori likes me."

Nuriko spun around to find Katherine standing proudly, her head cocked and a small sneer on her face. "That's not it at all!" Nuriko defended. Katherine's face broke into a grin as she began to pace around the sei accusingly.

"Suuure it's not," leered Katherine. "Why else would you single me out, when there are two of us keeping the secret?" she questioned arrogantly, waiting for a reply to her comeback. She watched as Nuriko's eyes narrowed angrily, his teeth gritted to hold back tears of anger.

Not believing that Katherine was so ignorant about his feelings, Nuriko hollered, "Shut up!" He felt as though someone had ripped out his heart and stepped on it. He shook his head, yelling, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Katherine decided to take her accusation further, knowing that she was already the victor. "I was wondering why you weren't acting jealous, and now the truth comes out! You've been jealous of us the whole time!"

"I was supposed to be the one to marry him!" Nuriko shouted as he tightly clenched his fists. Crescent marks appeared on his palms as he tightened his grip, his nails drawing drops of crimson blood onto his ivory skin. "Everyone turned against me, because they knew I would be chosen! And then you came waltzing in here and just stole him away!" he hollered, hot tears streaming down his cheeks and spotting the delicate fabric of his shirt. Nuriko's seishi symbol burned a bright red through the pink cloth of his collar, burning like his heart was aflame with anger.

Katherine stepped back, looking at her sei through wide, frightened eyes. She had never known how passionately Nuriko had felt about Hotohori. She had always thought that it was more of an infatuation than actual love. "Look, Nuriko, I'm so-"

"I don't hear it," Nuriko interrupted, his voice strangely calm. He walked to the door and opened it, smearing the brown wood with crimson. "Sometimes I even wonder if he loves you as much as you think he does," Nuriko muttered as he proudly walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Katherine walked to the door, wondering whether she should follow him or not. The priestess took her hand off of the wood and walked back to her bed. She sat down, her own hands leaving tiny spots of Nuriko's blood on the covers.

*

Hotohori walked down the palace hallway, reading a scroll that contained the most recent news he had missed while he had been travelling with the priestesses. Having the corridors memorized, he slowly turned a corner without looking up from the characters in front of him. Suddenly, a shoulder pushed into his elbow, throwing him off balance. The emperor placed his left hand on the wall, trying to prevent himself from falling. Once he had caught his balance, he glanced down the hall to see who had run into him. His deep golden eyes widened in shock to find purple hair trailing behind the person as they continued to run. "Nuriko?" he whispered, wondering why the sei was in such a rush.

He bent down and picked up the end up the scroll, which had fallen out of his hand when he had grabbed the wall for balance. Rolling up the dust-covered paper, he realized he was close to Katherine's room. He knew she hadn't been getting much sleep as of late, and decided to see how she was feeling. He softly knocked upon her door and took off his crown, knowing how much she despised it. His long, brown hair fell to his shoulders as he lifted that square-shaped hat off of his head. "Katherine, are you in there?" he asked. The door opened slowly, and the smile that had previously graced his face disappeared as he saw Katherine rubbing her eyes, as if she had been crying. "What hap-"

"Nothing. I'm fine, it's just my contacts," Katherine quickly lied, knowing that a chain of unwanted questions would have come if she had told the truth. Before he could ask what `contacts' were, she softly said, "C'mon in," as she moved out of the way and walked towards her bed.

Looking around the cluttered room, Hotohori had no choice but to follow. Katherine sat down on her bed, bending down to hang her head between her legs, her hands on top of her neck, waiting for the blood to flow to her head, hoping the pain would take her mind off of the fight she and Nuriko had just had. Sitting next to her, Hotohori asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," she lied, "I just have a headache."

"Perhaps you should rest," Hotohori suggested, bending down to look into her face. Katherine turned her head and saw him give her a reassuring smile. She smiled in return as she sat up and stretched her arms. Leaning back, he placed his arm around her as she leaned into his chest. He lovingly pushed a strand of hair out of her face and held her closely to his heart, stroking her hair in hopes to bring her comfort.

After a while, Katherine looked up at Hotohori, biting her bottom lip with uncertainty, recalling what Nuriko had said before he left. "Sometimes I even wonder if he loves you as much as you think he does…" Nuriko's warning echoed in Katherine's mind. "Hotohori, you love me, right?" Katherine asked uneasily, searching his deep, golden eyes for an answer.

Hotohori's hand immediately stopped on the back off Katherine's head. He gave her a perplexed look, wondering what he could have done to make her think such a thing. "I've loved you from the first moment I saw you," he whispered, still taken aback from her question.

Chills ran down Katherine's spine as she recalled him saying the exact same sentence to Miaka. She abruptly sat up, grabbing her sides in an attempt to stop shaking. Hotohori lightly touched her shoulder, causing her to tense up even more. She quickly turned towards him, moving her hand away, and whispered, "Sometimes I think we were both so caught up in our fantasies that we never took the time to get to know each other. I mean, I envy Christina and Tasuki `cause they're actually getting to know each other. I swear, it's like they're going through a flirting stage or…or something!" she exclaimed, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"I thought Tasuki didn't like women…" Hotohori assumed, remembering what the bandit had said so many times. Not to mention he could recall many times when Christina had grumbled about men when they were traveling. The two were friends, but Hotohori was quite sure that was only because Christina acted more like a boy than Nuriko did. Hotohori guessed Katherine was just using the first two people she thought of as an example; it didn't make sense otherwise.

"That's beside the point!" Katherine said. She so desperately wanted Christina to be as happy as she was with Hotohori that she automatically assumed that her friend and Tasuki were falling in love, although she had no real evidence to support her scheme. Yet, at the same time, she was questioning her own relationship. Lowering her voice, she continued, "I mean, they would both suffer from the anxiety of wondering if the other likes them in return. Sure, it's torture at the time, but doesn't every relationship need it?"

Hotohori slightly turned his head, his eyes never leaving Katherine's face. "I'm sorry Katherine, but I don't seem to understand."

Looking sleepily at the mattress, Katherine replied, "Never mind…I'm just tired and not thinking properly. Forget I ever said anything."

Standing up, Hotohori quietly muttered, "Alright, I'll let you rest."

*

Chichiri walked down the long, lonely hallway of the Konan palace, heading towards Christina's room, and aimlessly noticed that it was much more peaceful to walk around as himself. When he had been posing as Hotohori, it had been impossible to get even a moment alone, always being followed by an advisor or guard to protect him. He also observed that it had grown perceptibly louder ever since Katherine and Christina had returned, mostly because the girls were usually running around the palace, seemingly trying to make as much noise as humanly possible. But Chichiri had no complaints; he felt like he hadn't smiled the entire time the girls had been gone. He knocked on the door that he had nearly walked right by while he was lost in his thoughts. The monk winced as a crash came from within the room, followed by a painful-sounding yelp.

"The door's open!" Christina's voice called. The sei opened the door and walked inside to find Christina picking up a collection of oddly-shaped items that had spilled onto the floor. He would have asked what they were, but decided against it, knowing he would have to spend quite a while getting her to explain their purpose and so on. "Hey Chichiri," Christina smiled, placing her bag back on the table and stuffing her belongings back inside, "What's going' down?"

"I'm going to perform a spell that can allow you and Katherine to talk to Tamahome, no da. Then we can all figure out how we're going to get him back in Konan, so can you get Katherine while I prepare the spell, no da?"

"No prob!" answered Christina as she jumped off of her bed and ran across the room to fling the door open and run out.

"Thanks, no da!" the monk shouted after her retreating form. Christina continued down the hall in such a hurry that she almost ran into a servant, causing Chichiri to wince yet again.

"Sorry!" she apologized as she continued down the hall. The girl began to bang on Katherine's door, yelling her friend's name so loudly that Chichiri wouldn't have doubted if people in Kutou could hear her.

*

A loud barrage of knocks bombarded Katherine's door, pounding not only on the wood, but also in Katherine's head, like a terrible migraine. "Hang on!" she complained, slowly blinking as she pulled the sheets off of herself. She walked to the door, stretching as she opened it to find Christina standing outside. "What is it?" Katherine yawned tiredly, quite frustrated that just when she was about to get some sleep, she was awakened.

"We're gonna go talk to Tamahome, so let's go," Christina said as Katherine shielded her helpless eyes from the sun's dazzling rays.

"Okey dokey then," Katherine sluggishly replied, walking out of her room and closing the door behind her. "What?" she questioned, noticing Christina's wandering eyes on her ensemble.

"Nice PJs," Christina grinned, nodding towards Katherine's mismatched red penguin pants and yellow Cheerios tank top as they walked down the hall to find Chichiri.

*

Hotohori stood upon a balcony that overlooked his palace, which happened to be one of his favorite places to think. He watched quietly as Katherine and Christina quickly walked across a bridge and headed into the inner rooms of the palace. His gaze longingly followed his priestess, wishing for just one moment where he could read her mind. Katherine's heart-breaking words controlled his thoughts. "…you love me, right?" The uncertainty in her voice caused the emperor to rethink everything he had once told her.

"Where're they goin'?" inquired Tasuki, who seemed to appear from nowhere, snapping Hotohori out of his thoughts immediately. The bandit stepped forward and studied the girls as they subtly opened a door and entered the room behind it, shutting the door behind themselves quickly and quietly.

Tasuki had been avoiding Hotohori ever since he found out that he had been traveling with the emperor around Konan, mostly because he forgot the serious ruler was one and the same with his fellow warrior. It didn't help that most of the time the emperor was being trailed by a horde of guards, servants, and advisors who seemed to dislike the bandit's accent and mannerisms with a passion like the sun. Tasuki also knew that the emperor knew all the information he needed to close down his profession and home, which made speaking with him very discomforting.

"Chichiri is going to cast a spell that will allow them to speak with Tamahome," answered Hotohori flatly, his mind elsewhere. To be truthful, he was still thinking about how Katherine hadn't told him what she was feeling. She just dropped the entire subject, as if she thought he didn't care or couldn't understand. The emperor looked over at Tasuki, continuing his thoughts on Katherine's and his conversation. "…I envy Christina and Tasuki `cause they're actually getting to know each other."

"Ya mean th' guy who's in Kutou?" the redhead questioned.

"Yes," replied Hotohori, "now that all of the seishi have been found, he can return to Konan."

"Well, what was he doin' in Kutou in th' first place?"

Hotohori reflected for a moment, admiring the blue-haired sei's selflessness, and answered, "Tamahome traveled to Kutou to prevent a war. The trade was that if Tamahome willingly gave himself up, then the war would halt."

Tasuki tried to find the logic behind what the missing sei had done. Rolling his eyes, the sei grumbled, "Sounds like a stupid thing t' do. Why aren't ya there with `em?"

"In Kutou?" questioned Hotohori, wondering just how thick the bandit's skull was. The emperor of Konan wandering around an enemy nation was not a good idea.

"No, I mean sneakin' around downstairs an' talkin' t' what's-his-name," clarified Tasuki.

"Chichiri has told me what I need to know."

"So?" continued the bandit, "Aren't you `n Katherine a couple? Shouldn't ya be hangin' out with her anyway an' bein' all romantic?"

"Katherine hasn't been feeling well lately, and needs peace and quiet," Hotohori impassively stated, feeling quite uncomfortable speaking about Katherine, even though he was wondering the same thing. It was as though Katherine had closed up to him, like she was having second thoughts. But the problem was, Hotohori didn't know what she could possibly have second thoughts on. Loving him, perhaps? Marriage? Staying with him forever?

Tasuki smirked, "That's what ya get when ya mess with wimmin."

"I suppose…" Hotohori mumbled quietly.

"Who needs `em?" Tasuki continued. "They only lead t' trouble. Only carin' about how they look an' what men think of `em."

"Not all women are like that," Hotohori disagreed. "Katherine doesn't act like that, and neither does Christina."

"Well, they're oddballs. I guess ya get weird ones in every crowd," Tasuki answered thoughtfully, wondering if all girls from Christina and Katherine's world were so different. He never saw Christina or Katherine sitting around and thinking about men all the time, or trying to figure out what would annoy people, like most women. The two girls were like sisters to the bandit, except for the fact that he liked them, something he couldn't say about his true siblings.

On the other hand, Katherine had Hotohori, and they were the perfect couple. A Suzaku warrior who happened to be an emperor and his priestess, a legendary girl from another world; they were the perfect match. But Tasuki also knew that Katherine spent her free time either with Hotohori, or thinking about him. Girls were just like that. "It's probably `cause all th' girls from their world are all weird `er somethin'. I mean, they don't hang all over ya, they ride their own horses, an' they wear pants fer gods sakes!" he continued.

But Tasuki had to admit, the girls from Katherine and Christina's world seemed a lot better than the women from Konan. At the very least, he didn't mind being around them. But, then again, they didn't act like girls most of the time. In fact, Tasuki couldn't help but laugh whenever they raced their horses and yelled at strangers who had made remarks about their clothes, or lack thereof.

"What they wear and whether they ride horses or not doesn't determine anything," said Hotohori. "Their world is very different from ours, and they just have trouble…adjusting." Somehow, saying those words made Hotohori feel better. Like perhaps Katherine was only homesick, and that was the reason why she wanted to be by herself.

It surprised the emperor completely, but it seemed as though talking to Tasuki had made the emperor's problems vanish.

*

Christina and Katherine found themselves in a room that they had never been to before. The dark red tile floor gleamed in the flickering light of the strategically placed candles, which surrounded the room. "Hey Chichiri," Katherine waved to the monk, who was seated on a mat in a corner of the room, surrounded by even more candles.

"Hello Katherine, Christina," Chichiri greeted. "If you just sit down in front of that screen, then we can begin, no da."

The priestesses knelt down in front of the cream-colored folding screen. Chichiri placed a long, thick piece of parchment covered in symbols on the side of the panel. The priestesses watched as the intricately flowered pattern of the screen faded, like day to night, growing darker and darker until Tamahome was staring right at them in surprise. It was as if the screen had turned to glass, but it was so clear that the girls felt that they could simply walk through to Kutou.

Tamahome was dressed in a plain, dark blue shirt and tan pants. On the side of his cheek was a partially healed wound, a memento of Nakago's torture. He was kneeling on the blue tiled floor that also glittered in the candlelight, though it seemed a much colder place, for the sparkling floor shone almost menacingly. Behind the sei was an elaborate bed, and next to it was a small table and two chairs. Blue curtains fluttered in a cool breeze that seemed to travel through the screen itself, causing Katherine and Christina to shiver in the wintry wind.

"Tama!" Christina and Katherine waved in unison.

"Are you two alright?" Tamahome inquired, ignoring the cheery greeting completely. "I heard that one of you went blind."

"That was me," Katherine said, raising her hand sheepishly, as though admitting to an embarrassing mistake.

"But she's okay," Christina added, "thanks to Mits."

"Who?"

"One of the other seishi," said Katherine, forgetting that Tamahome had yet to find out that all of the seishi had been gathered. "He has healing powers! Oooo!" she said dramatically, slowly nodding and waving her hands in the air.

Slightly chuckling at Katherine, glad to see she hadn't changed a bit, Tamahome asked, "Did you find them all?"

"Yup. Chiriko, Mitsukake, and Tasuki," Christina answered, ticking off her fingers as she counted.

Katherine finished happily, "And with you, Hotohori, Nuriko, and Chichiri, that's seven!"

Tamahome leaned in towards the screen, as though he was whispering a secret, and lowered his voice. "I'm going to leave tonight, and I'm bringing Miaka with me." He looked over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping from a corner, whether it be a maid or a spy.

A look of horror on her face, Katherine began to object, "No w-"

"Tamahome," Christina interrupted seriously, "she's the Priestess of Seiryuu. Are you sure we can trust her?"

"Yes," Tamahome confidently replied, "I'm sure."

Christina paused, then sighed, "Alright then, we'll just trust you on this."

"I can't hold it for much longer, no da!" Chichiri called from the corner, clearly straining to hold the spell.

"Watch out for everyone at the palace, Tamahome," warned Katherine quickly, trying to say as much as she could before the spell ended. "They could know your plans and might…poison you or something like that…" Katherine shivered as she imagined Nakago slipping Kodoku into Tamahome's food, or stuffing it down his throat while the sei was sleeping.

Tamahome shrugged the words of warning off, "Don't worry, I'll keep a lookout."

"Are you sure you don't need us to come get you?" Katherine asked, sincerely hoping that he could escape without any problems.

"No, we'll be fine. I think I'll do what you did and tie the sheets together," he added to Christina with a laugh, remembering his and Katherine's shocked reaction when they had found the sheets hanging out the window.

"Just…" Christina said, praying to Suzaku that all would work out, "just don't do anything stupid, and come back to us in one piece, okay?"

"You got it," Tamahome cheerfully replied with a huge smile.

"Oh!" Katherine suddenly remembered, "Your dad is doing fine, Mits healed him."

"Is everyone else alright?" Tamahome asked quickly.

"Yeah, they're doing fi-"

"Sorry, no da!" Chichiri cried out. A popping noise sounded, and the screen quickly faded back to its original pattern; the paper that had been tacked onto the side fell to the ground, magically ripped in half as the spell ended.

*

Miaka walked hastily down the hallway, carrying a tray of food towards Tamahome's room. She looked down hungrily at the many plates of different varieties of food that rested on the serving dish. The food seemed to call out to her, its aromatic smell reaching into her mouth and nose. But Miaka strained against it, knowing the food was for Tamahome, who hadn't eaten the entire day. She knew the food was not going to stay on the tray much longer if she didn't find Tamahome quickly. She turned a corner to see Nakago leaning against a wall with his arms crossed across his chest. "Hey Nakago," she hurriedly greeted as she continued past the general.

"Priestess, I must speak with you," Nakago's voice called.

Miaka stopped and slowly turned around, careful not to spill the food. "What is it?" she cheerfully asked.

"Tamahome will leave you soon. The plans for his departure have already been made," he stated coldly as he watched the smile disappear from the priestess's face.

"W-what?" she stuttered, not believing her ears.

"You obviously don't want him to leave you," the shogun said, moving closer towards the priestess. "If you put this in his food, he will be yours forever, Lady Miaka," Nakago continued, placing a purple pill on the edge of the tray.

Miaka took one look at the pill and quickly took a step back. "Y-you want me to poison him?" she whispered, shocked at what Nakago was implying. "What…why?" she softly asked, confused at the sei's motive. She looked at the little, round pill, wondering what the drug contained. "How can you expect me to do that?"

Nakago took the pill off the tray, tucking it under his belt as he calmly responded, "As you wish." He turned from his priestess and began to walk away.

Miaka shook her head in disbelief. She stood contemplating her trust in Nakago for a moment or two before she snapped back to reality. "Okay! Gotta get this food to Tamahome!" she announced to herself. She glanced back down to the tray of delicious food and found it filled with empty plates. "When did that happen?" she whined, not believing she had subconsciously eaten the entire meal.

*

The morning birds were singing harmoniously as the glowing sun began to rise, coloring the sky with pink and gold, and dancing upon the dark, serene waters of the ponds in the courtyards. Dew-drenched grass waved in the soft morning breeze that whistled and threaded its way through the trees and flowers. The palace was just awakening; windows were opened to welcome the morning, and everyone began to stir in their beds, roused by the feeling of morning itself, and the promise of another lovely day.

Mitsukake was standing in a small pavilion that sat overlooking the glittering pond. He watched the sun slowly rise into the sky while he contemplated nothing in particular. He was accustomed to waking up early and thoroughly enjoyed the morning breeze. The sound of footsteps approaching caused the doctor to snap out of his thoughts and look over his shoulder. He let out a small sigh of relief to find the young musician behind him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just wondering why you were awake so early," Chiriko nervously wondered while fiddling with his wooden flute.

Looking up at the sky in front of him, Mitsukake simply answered, "The rising sun calms me."

The doctor didn't appear to be a man who needed much calming, but Chiriko decided not to push the thought any further. With awkward steps, he walked over to the railing and leaned against it, waiting a couple moments before asking his next question. "I've been wondering…is your name Mitsukake or Mits? Because I've heard you called both," he continued, looking around the garden aimlessly.

"The celestial name given to me is Mitsukake, but the priestesses seemed to have taken to calling me `Mits'," the sei replied. Turning his gaze towards the boy, he knew what he was going to ask next. "You may call me either," he answered ahead of time.

"No offense, but you don't seem like the type of man who is particularly prone to nicknames."

The doctor let out a small chuckle before saying, "I've never had one until the priestesses came."

*

Dinner had just concluded, and Katherine strolled down to her room, feeling quite full. "I'm definitely gonna end up sick if I eat all this Chinese food every night!" she thought despairingly to herself. "But it's just so good!" She yawned and stretched, hoping that she would finally get a full night's rest. Lately, it seemed impossible for her to go to bed without being interrupted from her sleep.

A stampede of guards tramped down the hall, causing Katherine to lean against the wall, for fear of being squashed. Many of the soldiers nodded respectively at her, then returned to their quick-paced march. "What's all the rush?" inquired the priestess.

"We've been informed that Lord Tamahome has returned," one guard answered as he ran by, still managing to sound extremely formal.

Katherine mused to herself momentarily, and then called, "Does he have freakishly dark hair and a really ugly earring?"

"I'm…I'm not sure, priestess…" the soldier replied confusedly as he turned a corner.

Another guard turned to Katherine as he rushed past, adding, "The gates will be opening for his return very shortly." Katherine nodded in acknowledgement, and began to quickly walk alongside the line of guards who were headed to the front gate.

She finally arrived in front of the huge doors to see that everyone else had already assembled, and seemed to be grouped off according to who actually knew Tamahome. Nuriko, Chichiri, and Christina were standing as close as the guards would allow, so that they could greet Tamahome as soon as he arrived home, talking amongst themselves about what they would ask him. Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko, on the other hand, were stationed slightly further away, so as to get a good look at the sei they were all impatiently waiting for. Katherine joined Chichiri, Nuriko, and Christina, who had just asked one of the guards exactly when Tamahome would return.

"He was seen in the distance, and greeted the border guards into the city about an hour ago," one of the soldiers answered out of the corner of his mouth. "Lord Tamahome should be appearing soon." Coincidentally, as soon as the guard spoke his last words, the gigantic gates swung open dramatically, and a solitary horse strode in, carrying two passengers, both disguised in old-looking brown shawls.

The captain of the guards marched forward and solemnly greeted, "Lord Tamahome! We rejoice at your return!" He backed off, and stood to the side in formation. The blue-haired sei nodded respectfully, then looked around, his mouth breaking into a huge smile when he spotted his fellow seishi and priestesses behind the mass of guards. The soldiers moved to the side to allow Katherine, Christina, Nuriko, and Chichiri to rush forward just as Tamahome dismounted.

"Tamahome!" greeted Nuriko happily, still running as the gates swung close loudly.

Tamahome laughed, thoroughly relieved to be home. "Guys! It's good to see you!"

"Tamahome!" yelled Christina, who, surprisingly, jumped forward and wrapped him in a big bear hug. "I missed you! Are you okay? Did you have any trouble getting back?"

"I'm fine, it's great to be home!" he marveled, greeting each of his friends in turn. One by one, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko sidled forwards, not sure whether or not to present themselves or wait to be introduced.

"Oh, yeah," Katherine suddenly remembered. "These are the rest of the seishi. Chiriko, Mits, and Tasuki," she said, pointing to each sei in turn.

"Nice to meet all of you," stated Tamahome, receiving smiles from Chiriko and Mitsukake and rolling eyes and a shrug from Tasuki. "Oh!" Tamahome said, running back to the horse. He helped the small figure who had remained on the steed dismount. "This is Miaka…" Tamahome introduced, pushing the girl forward.

"Hey, Miaka!" waved Christina.

"Hi Christina!" Miaka grinned, happy to know more than one person in the whole of Konan. "How are you doing?"

Christina fidgeted under Katherine's look of disbelief, who was obviously shocked that she was on friendly terms with Miaka. "I'm fine…" she trailed off before instantly changing the subject. "I bet you guys have been traveling for a while! Do you want something to eat? We have real food from back home."

Miaka's eyes widened at the prospect of food. "I'm starved!"

"Cool, because we have so much candy we don't know what to do with it!" exclaimed Christina as she hastily walked towards the palace, motioning for Miaka to follow. With a long sigh and a roll of her eyes, Katherine had no choice but to trail behind.

*

The three priestesses sat around Christina's room. Miaka and Christina sat in chairs directly across from each other while Katherine remained withdrawn, leaning against the bed. Miaka had taken off the long, brown cloak, revealing her school uniform. Christina looked around nervously, noticing tension coming from Katherine's direction. "So…Miaka, I see you and Tamahome have decided to keep your presence on the down-low, right?"

"Yeah," Miaka cheerfully answered, oblivious to Katherine's glare. "We thought it would be best for everyone if they didn't know I was the Priestess of Seiryuu," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

Katherine sighed, laying her head against the bed. Noticing her fellow priestess's sigh of agitation, Christina uneasily changed the subject. "Um…we should probably get you a change of clothes, since the uniform will most definitely give you away, not to mention you've probably been wearing it for a while." She glanced over at Katherine, looking for any telltale signs that her friend might not be able to hold in her anger. Not seeing any evident ones, she tensely continued, "You look about Katherine's size…Katherine, do you have any kimonos?" Christina bit her bottom lip, hoping for a calm reaction.

"Yeah, I have a couple," Katherine responded, with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Well, could you lend some to Miaka?" she muttered, as though if she talked too loud a bomb might explode.

With a slight shrug of her right shoulder, Katherine answered, "Whatever."

Turning to the third priestess, Christina suggested, "Miaka, why don't you wait in Katherine's room? It's right next to mine. I need to talk to Katherine alone."

"Okay…" Miaka softly replied, putting her dark brown cloak back on. Before shutting the door, she apologetically said, "I'm sorry if me staying here is going to be any trouble…"

After staring at the door for a moment to make sure there would be no interruption, Christina turned to her friend and asked with much diction, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't like this, okay?!" Katherine shouted back, feeling like she was always being accused of one thing or another. She felt like she had contained herself quite well in that situation, considering she would have loved to strangle Miaka. The last thing Katherine wanted was for Miaka to be near her, let alone Hotohori. And here was Christina, suggesting that Katherine give Miaka her clothes.

"Why not?! We don't have anything to worry about now! The enemy is on our side!" Christina rebutted, trying to find the logic behind her friend's complaint. "And she's not so bad…" she continued, knowing her friend's hatred for Miaka was uncalled for.

"Unbelievable…" muttered Katherine, not believing her ears. "Now you like her!" she hollered, wishing that Miaka could just go back to Tokyo where she belonged. "And, anyway, if anyone finds out we're being hospitable to the Priestess of Seiryuu, do you have any idea how much trouble Hotohori could be in?! It would be like the emperor betraying his own country! Whether or not he knows she's the priestess, the public's not gonna care if they find out!" she continued in a tense voice.

Christina looked up at the ceiling for a moment before pleading, "Look, just try to be nice to her, okay? Treat her like the kids you baby-sit for or something. I've seen you be `fake happy' before; you pull it off quite well."

"Why should I? You hate Amiboshi, yet I never see you trying to be nice to him!"

"She is on our side! On the other hand, he's trying to kill us!" Christina shouted, tired of hearing her friend's twisted way of thinking.

"Whatever," Katherine muttered as she relented, rolling her hazel eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She walked out the door and slowly started down the hallway, trying to take as much time as possible. Once she reached the door to her own room, she leaned against it and let out a long sigh. "Why me?" she asked herself, shaking her head as she looked out into the sky. "Well, I might as well try to be nice if we're stuck together," she continued to mutter for only herself to hear.

Taking in a deep breath, Katherine opened the door and smiled the widest, cheesiest smile she knew of. "Hey! Lemme try to find something for you!" she cheerfully greeted, walking inside and holding back the nausea that was stewing in her stomach.

To be continued…