Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Misted Flame and Flight Unearthed ❯ Taiitsukun's Idea ( Chapter 1 )

Misted Flame and Flight Unearthed

Five Hundred Years After the Sealing of Tenkou…..

Chapter One - Taiitsukun's Idea

Many years had passed since the fourth God, Suzaku, had finally been summoned. Life was peaceful in the five kingdoms. Tenkou had been sealed away and would be so for another five hundred years.

Five countries, but only four Gods. I must do something about that, Taiitsukun thought to herself. Nyosei, the all-women kingdom, had yet a God to summon and watch over their land. The names of the previous four Priestesses ran through her mind. Takiko, Suzuno, Miaka, and Yui. Two had died, two had lived. Yui, the last Priestess to come to this world, had died, but had been brought back to life by her best friend, the Priestess of Suzaku, Miaka. Three she had guided, and she would have helped Yui if she had the chance. Unfortunately, Nakago, leader of the Seiryuu Seven, had worshiped Tenkou. Poor Yui, if only she had arrived a hundred years later. Kutou wasn't really a bad country. Yui just had had the worst possible luck upon arriving. To believe that she had been raped, her emotions twisted until she went against her best friend, who was innocent of all the charges Yui had placed upon her, expect for the fact that she had removed their connecting link once returning home. She pitied her youngest son, Seiryuu. In an effort to protect Konan, Miaka had sealed him away for all eternity. The Seiryuu Seven had lost their powers. Or what was left of them, she thought wryly to herself. Out of the seven, only one had survived, and only because he had lost his memories. But then even Amiboshi had died, killed after saving Yui from Tenkou's clutches. Luckily, she had managed to unseal her youngest in time to banish Tenkou away with the help of her other three sons. But now, all twenty-eight seishi were about to be reincarnated. Perhaps all of them shall lead happier lives this time. The life of a seishi is cursed indeed. Die, or live on with the death of your friends and the leaving of your Priestess with you until you yourself die.

Nyan entered the room and joined Taiitsukun on the balcony. The two stood together in silence for some time. The girl no longer looked the child of five she had been when Miaka and Yui were in their world. Taiitsukun smiled inwardly. The girl was becoming more and more beautiful each day. If only her four sons could see Nyan now. They'd be so surprised! Unfortunately… it took much to summon her sons. She could only call on them upon the most important emergencies.

"Taiitsukun, are you ever lonely?" Nyan asked.

"Yes. Often. With all four Gods summoned, it gets lonely these days. The seishi are no longer needed, as no Priestess will ever come back into our world." Her long silvery hair blew in the wind. "All five lands are peaceful. Tenkou is gone, sealed away for another five hundred years."

"Yes, and Chichiri will no longer be with us after he's reincarnated. I'm going to miss him, Taiitsukun. I want him to stay with us. He's such a cheerful presence." She turned to look at the deity. "Do you think Chichiri will come back to us when he's older? I would love it if he could!" Nyan looked pleadingly into Taiitsukun's eyes. "Please, do you think you could arrange it so he could?"

Taiitsukun looked sternly at her. "Nyan, you know we can not mess with a person's life. It is Chichiri's own decision if he wants to come back to us or not. I sincerely hope he does not, considering what caused him to last time."

"I know, but still…" her voice trailed off. "It would be wonderful if he could…"

Taiitsukun suddenly raised a hand. "Nyan, did you sense that?"

Nyan frowned and nodded.

"Tenkou's back," the two said at the same time.

"But how can he be back? I thought Miaka managed to seal him away for at least another five hundred years!"

"I don't know for sure. I have a slight idea, but right now, we have to reincarnated the twenty-eight seishi as fast as we can," Taiitsukun mused. "Nyan, help me summon the seishi from wherever they are! The sooner we do it the sooner Tenkou will be defeated."

Nyan nodded and teleported away.

Taiitsukun sighed and stared at the serene sky for a little longer, then left the balcony to find her sons.

********

Chichiri and Mitsukake headed to the river, fishing gear in hand. Chichiri readied his fishing pole and settled down by the bank. Mitsukake sat next to him and watched the birds flit around.

"So are you excited about being reincarnated, no da?" Chichiri asked.

"I don't know. I died when I was only 22, so I didn't get a very good chance at life." He smiled. "But I'm glad I did what I did. I was able to save Shouka."

"But Mitsukake, you didn't have to die! If you hadn't died, then you could have saved Hotohori, no da."

Mitsukake replied heavily, "I know. But even if I knew the future, I think I still would have done as I did. Shouka… she was my life. And Hotohori, he was just a fellow Constellation. I never really got the chance to know him as well as the other Suzaku seishi did." His eyes clouded over. "But I wish I could have done something for Nuriko and Chiriko. Those two were real friends, and I couldn't help them." He looked at his hands. "What is my healing power good for? Why did Suzaku choose such a weak power for me? Does he think me not worthy?"

Chichiri placed a hand on Mitsukake's shoulder. "No, he knew it was because you wouldn't want to hurt anyone, no da. Just look at your past self. That's why you were such an excellent doctor. You couldn't help but try to help people to the best of your ability."

Suddenly, Nyan popped in front of Chichiri and landed in his lap. "Oops," she said sheepishly, blushing furiously. "Sorry, Chichiri."

Chichiri turned red, but luckily, Nyan couldn't see since his mask was covering it. "It's ok, no da. So what's happened?"

Nyan became serious. "Tenkou's been unsealed. Taiitsukun's decided to reincarnate the twenty-eight of you early. She wants me to find all of you so I can tell you guys. Do you know where everyone else is by any chance, Chichiri?"

Chichiri thought for a moment. "Let me try to sense them, no da. Hmm… Tasuki's with Chiriko and - WHAT?! Tasuki, I'm ashamed of you! Taking Chiriko to a bar! Are you insaaaane, no da?!"

Mitsukake stood abruptly. "Chichiri, I'm going to find some of the Genbu Seven. Namame was with Iname, if I remember right. Try to sense the others."

Chichiri was still muttering about underage drinking. Then he looked up. "I'm sorry, no da. Mitsukake, did you say something?"

"I'm going to find the others, all right?" Mitsukake repeated. "Nyan, do you want me to find the rest of the Suzaku seishi, too, or just the Genbu?"

"Both would help. Thanks, Mitsukake." Nyan grinned cheerfully, then looked adoringly back at Chichiri.

Mitsukake sighed and left.

*********

Hikitsu and Tomite surveyed the scenery around them. They would soon be reincarnated. Tomite glanced at the bow he was holding in his left hand, then at Hikitsu. The two of them had been through a lot together, what with the journey with Takiko and the other Genbu seishi, then guarding the Genbu Shinzaho together. At times, they hadn't gotten together too well, but now the two were best friends.

"Hikitsu, what do you want your new life to be like? Same as before?"

The one-eyed seishi turned to face Tomite. "My old life was interesting, and it had both good times and bad. I learned many things. But this new life? I don't know. I suppose I'll just take what I get. What about you, Tomite?"

Tomite shrugged. "I don't know either. But I just hope my new life won't be boring. Of course, being a seishi is never boring, but since Genbu's been summoned, there won't be much we could do. Get what I mean?"

Hikitsu nodded. "Yes. I don't even know if I'll know it's you when I meet you after we're both reincarnated."

Tasuki burst into the room. "You guys, we've got trouble! Tenkou's been unsealed! Taiitsukun's called th' group of us early to reincarnate! Go find th' others for meh, couldja?" He whirled out of the room and raced to find the Byakkou seishi.

Tomite and Hikitsu blinked. "Um, could you understand him?"

Tomite shook his head. "Nope. Only that Taiitsukun wanted us to find the other Genbu Seven and go meet her."

The two shrugged and left the room.

*******

Soi and Nakago looked deeply into each other's eyes. After several centuries, Nakago had finally accepted her love. Oh, how she loved his long golden hair, his tender blue eyes. His gentle smile reserved just for her. She kissed him gently on his cheek. Her hands explored his muscular body. She loved the way he felt. His skin was smooth under his armor and clothing. She laid her head on his chest and breathed in his masculine scent.

Someone knocked on the door. Soi felt a puff of annoyance. Whoever that person was had the worst timing in the world. "Who is it?"

The person opened the door. "It's Tomo. Taiitsukun's called a meeting of all twenty-eight of us. Where are the others?"

Nakago answered for Soi. "Suboshi and Amiboshi are in the garden. I believe Amiboshi's playing his flute. Or," he sneered, "Amiboshi could be with the Suzaku Seven. You never know these days. Perhaps he should be reincarnated as a Suzaku seishi instead of a Seiryuu."

Tomo nodded. "All right. I'll go look for them. Thank you, Lord Nakago."

He closed the door behind him and left the two lovers alone. Nakago…. So I suppose Soi's your only lover now… I guess I wasn't good enough for you. He blew out. Time to find the others.

*********

There were many things he missed from his past life. Sure, being at Taiitsukun's palace was nice, but the only people he could talk to were the seishi. He missed his older brother. He slid his knife back into its sheath and leapt off the tree. He landed softly on the grass and crouched down. His long, dark green braid slipped off his shoulder and touched the ground. His light grey eyes looked alertly around. All right. There was no trouble around him.

Tokaki teleported in front of him. "Toroki! Taiitsukun's called a meeting of all twenty-eight of us! Mitsukake told me it's really urgent! Come on! Everyone else should be there already."

Toroki didn't say anything, but he nodded to show he had heard. Standing, he leapt into the air and landed on a branch. He continued leaping until he found the others, Tokaki just behind him. He landed, softly as a cat, besides Amefuri.

~Hey, what's happened so far?~

~Taiitsukun hasn't told us yet. Where were you? I was looking for you~ Amefuri asked.

~On my favorite tree watching time go by. You?~

~Nothing much. I was talking with Hatsui again.~

Taiitsukun clapped her hands and Amefuri and Toroki stopped their mind-conversation.

"You may all be wondering why I've called the twenty-eight of you together. This is because Nyan and I have discovered that Tenkou has been unsealed. He was supposed to be sealed for another five hundred years, but somehow, he's been released. We must do something about it in order to prevent him from destroying the world. We need your help in order to seal him away again."

Tasuki blurted, "Whadya want us to do?"

Taiitsukun frowned at him. "I was getting there. Now, as I was about to say, I am going to have to reincarnate all of you as soon as possible so we can deal with the threat. I will need volunteers to help Nyan, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, Seiryuu, and me to fight Tenkou as we don't have a Priestess to summon a God anymore."

The seishi looked at each other. Fight Tenkou? How would they do that? Tenkou was extremely powerful, nearly the equal of Taiitsukun! Tamahome raised his hand.

"Taiitsukun, just how are we going to help you fight? We're just seishi. Our powers aren't strong enough without a Priestess to protect."

"As I said before, I will need volunteers. I will explain everything after I have fourteen."

Chichiri immediately raised his hand. "You can count on me, no da!"

Chiriko asked timidly, "Is it all right if I help, too? I know my power's only intelligence, but I could help."

Taiitsukun smiled gently at him. "Yes. Any help is wonderful."

Mitsukake spoke up. "I'll help, too. In a battle, there'll definitely be injuries, and you'll need someone to help heal them."

"I too shall help. I want revenge against the demon who killed me at my second chance of life," Tomo put in.

Tomite and Hikitsu looked at each other. "We'll help, too."

Taiitsukun beamed. "Wonderful! Now we only need eight more people."

Hatsui raised his hand. "My Earth powers may not do too much against his Wind and Water, but I should be able to help, too."

Tatara, Kokie, Karasuki, Amefuri, and Toroki all raised their hands. "We'll help, too."

Iname spoke up. "Since Tomite's helping, so will I."

Tamahome said cheerfully, "I'll help if you pay me some money!"

Nuriko threw a shoe at him and knocked him out. Then he turned to face Taiitsukun again. "I would help, but you already have fourteen seishi."

"So would I," Tasuki chimed in.

Taiitsukun nodded approvingly. Then she clapped her hands for the seishis' attention. "All right, the fourteen of you who volunteered will get additional powers. The first seven will be known as the Seven Constellations of Taiitsukun. The other seven would be Nyan's but she doesn't have enough chi to support all of you. Chichiri, since you were the first, you will be the leader and in charge of finding the thirteen of them as you age. Understand? Now time to reincarnate all of you. Follow me." She turned and left the room.

The seishi stood up and followed her and Nyan, who had become Nyan Nyan. The deity stopped in front of a closed door. "All right. This is where the reincarnation process begins. None of you will remember this when you have begun your new lives. All of you come in." She magically opened the door and stepped inside.

The seishi followed her and there was a group gasp when they saw the inside. Mirrors. Mirrors that reached the floor from the sky-high ceiling to the carpeted green floor. And floating in the room were twenty-eight bubbles, seven of each of the four Gods' colors. "Step inside one of the bubbles marked by your God's color."

Each of the Constellations complied and chose a bubble. Chichiri, Mitsukake, and Chiriko chose bubbles next to each other. Amiboshi and Suboshi's were next to each other, too. Tomo made sure to stay away from Suboshi. He still hadn't quit forgiven him for killing him before and wanted to make sure he wouldn't try to do anything to Suboshi. Toroki watched as Kokie and Karasuki smiled at each other, then stepped into the yellow bubbles next to him. He sighed inwardly to himself.

The other seishi quickly chose their bubbles and awaited Taiitsukun's orders. As soon as she saw that everyone was finished, she clapped her hands once. The bubbles slowly rose.

"As soon as you disappear from this room, you'll be reincarnated. While all of you are in your bubbles, I'll give the fourteen of you your powers. However, you won't discover them until your sign glows black. Got that? For the later seven, instead of black, your sign will be grey." She closed her eyes and made a motion with her hand. Immediately, bubbles began flying toward Chichiri, Chiriko, Mitsukake, Tomo, Tomite, Hikitsu, Hatsui, Tatara, Amefuri, Kokie, Toroki, Karasuki, Tamahome, and Iname.

The room darkened and the bubbles containing the seishi vanished.

Nyan turned to Taiitsukun. "Taiitsukun, please, can you let me help them? They won't know what to do!"

Taiitsukun gave her a long look. "All right, Nyan. But you are forbidden to tell them anything. Their memories must come back on their own. If you tell them, your human body will die. Understand? They must remember on their own!"

Nyan nodded.

Seeing this, Taiitsukun said, "All right. Step through a mirror and I'll send you after them."

As soon as Nyan did so, Taiitsukun clapped her hands and the girl vanished, traveling to join the others.

Taiitsukun sighed. They were in for a long war. "Suzaku, Byakkou! I want you to guard the front entrance. I'm going to go to my room to work on strategies."

The two Gods appeared before the deity and nodded. "Yes, Mother." Then they vanished. Taiitsukun followed suit and returned to her room.

A figure appeared in the reincarnation room. He looked around and whispered softly, "So. You think you have outsmarted me? I have already infected some of your chosen ones, Taiitsukun." He laughed and disappeared.