Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Game ❯ Into a realm of magic ( Chapter 18 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Notes: Beginning a mini-arc now. There should be some actual shonen ai content in the next five parts. About time, really. No smut, but at least we're making progress. I forget how different it is doing a get-together fic instead of quick and hot jump-together fics. o.o;

The 'Import Queue' -

www.arigatomina.com/fanfiction/crossovers/thegame/importqueue18.html

The Game

Part 18: “Into a realm of magic”

It was strange entering the port without Wolfwood. They hadn't seen him before they left because it would have been too awkward. Duo wasn't sure he could have talked to him without looking at him differently. It would take a little more time for things to settle in. Quatre had promised to take care of that. Duo was sure he'd have an easy time of it. The way Quatre had been rushing them all along, Wolfwood probably wouldn't be surprised to learn that they'd gone right back in after only spending a few hours outside. What he worried about was how Wolfwood felt having been kicked off the team. He hadn't thought to ask Quatre what reasons he'd given Wolfwood for removing him. Maybe he hadn't minded that much. Wolfwood had been getting the worst positions in most of the tasks they'd gone through, after all.

Their weapons were in place once they reentered the game, making them wonder what had happened to Wolfwood's cannon. Did it get put into some sort of inventory on the off chance he came back into the game with another team of players? Would he resume his 'status' if he came back in with a fresh team? Not that he ever would, but The Game had no way of knowing that, right? The item bag Wolfwood had been carrying was sitting on the floor when they arrived in the port. At least that was something. They wouldn't have to wait until they earned more credit and used another 'Light Trip' to get another set of elixirs.

If being in the game without Wolfwood was strange, being there without Quatre to monitor and direct them was even stranger. They could do whatever they chose to do. Heero seemed to have already decided what he wanted to do because the first thing he did was step up to Setsuna and ask for the 'Import Queue.' Duo was surprised to see that it had changed quite a bit from the last time they'd used it.

The profiles from the last realm that had been shadowed were gone entirely now. Hilde, Wufei, Zechs, and the blue-haired Touya were available, but the others were no longer listed at all. And three of the older profiles were now shadowed - unavailable, Duo took it.

"They're the ones from Wanderweb," said Duo. He frowned at Setsuna. "Did we do something wrong? So that we can't use them anymore?"

"Those import characters are already in use," Setsuna explained. "While it is rare, players do occasionally cross paths and happen upon the same realms. This is most common with the more popular 'Light Trip' realms such as Wanderweb and Risk."

"Oh," Duo blinked.

It was easy to forget there were other teams playing the game. He wondered what would happen if two teams tried to import the same characters at the same time. Would the fastest team get them? Or would they both be denied? And what happened if two teams wanted to go to the same 'Light Trip' destination? Would the realm be unavailable to the second team until the first was finished?

"Which realm do you want to go to?" Heero asked Duo. "Magic or Random? We've done at least one of each of the others."

"We should try that Risk place eventually, too." Duo frowned. "If it's potentially dangerous, it'd be more like a task than a rest stop. But I want one of those feathers before we go somewhere that could get us killed. We don't have anything to trade right now except elixirs and if anyone can buy those in Wanderweb, they're probably not the sort of things people are looking to trade for."

"We need information, also," said Heero. "Going to random realms hoping to find one with the information we need won't get us far. Risk deals in trade. So if we have something valuable enough, there might be someone willing to trade exactly the information we're looking for."

Duo grinned at the way Heero's mind was working through the problem - their mission. At the rate Heero was figuring things out, his own familiarity with games wouldn't put him at an advantage over his partner for much longer. It almost made him proud, in a fond, playful sort of way.

"Magic first, then," said Duo. "Maybe get a few more stars and import characters. Quatre's idea about sticking with Random is good, but we should go directly to each of the realms first, just in case we're missing something obvious. And the 'Light Trips' each have different things - except that Eden one. Having a game plan is good, but the main thing is to keep our eyes open and check out each place we're sent to. We could have been walking right past feathers and great trade items without even realizing it. Talking to everyone you meet is a big part of long games, so the more people we meet the better."

Heero nodded and put the item bag in the pocket of his jacket. Duo was reminded of the ring Quatre had given him. Wolfwood's ring. It hadn't changed back into a band like theirs had when they'd entered the game. He had no intention of contacting Quatre unless they had a good reason to, but it worried him that their only means of communicating with the outside was still in 'ring' format. Did that mean it wouldn't connect if he put it on and tried to contact Quatre like he would have with the band?

Another thing that bothered him was Setsuna. She hadn't said a word about their team suddenly being shy a player. Duo wondered if she knew. About who Wolfwood really was. Her role in the game seemed quite limited - she hadn't been able to tell them what a 'Light Trip' was until Duo had asked specifically if it would heal them. She seemed to be partial to them, and they knew she was real now so he no longer had to wonder why her smiles seemed so natural. But something was keeping her bound to her role as their 'guide'. So even if she knew, she probably wouldn't say anything.

He glanced at her as he and Heero stepped over to the Magic portal. She smiled back at him. It was that same knowing smile she'd worn when Quatre had asked her a question and she'd remained silent until Duo repeated it, the smile that bordered on a smirk and hinted at how amusing she found them. He suddenly wondered what sort of guides the other teams had gotten when they entered the game. He'd definitely have to ask Quatre about that later.

They stepped through the portal and into a blurry area, shadows of green and brown and blue that might have been a forest setting.

"The task," said Setsuna, "is to-"

There was a sound then, almost like static or an electrical current. The hazy landscape shivered and flickered for a brief second. Duo felt as if he'd been hit by a minor shock, enough to make his heartbeat skip and then pound in his ears. He blinked a second later and found Heero staring at him with the same startled look he had.

Setsuna was silent for a suspicious moment, then she repeated herself as if nothing had happened. "The task is to escort the sick Miko to Mt Taikyoku and see to her recovery."

Duo started to ask about that jolt - like the game was a laser disc with a scratch on it - but the landscape shifted around them as soon as Setsuna finished speaking. The blurry colors resolved themselves into beaten dirt path cutting through a lush forest beneath a clear midday sky. Duo found himself moving the moment the realm settled into place, and he blinked dazedly at two pointy ears and a horse's mane.

He was on a horse. And he was sitting sideways. On someone's lap. With said someone's arm wrapped around him so a hand rested a little too close to his crotch for comfort.

"Wha...?"

"Duo!"

Duo scrambled out of the embrace just as the person holding him released the hold. He pitched forward and right off the horse. It turned out to be a really tall horse, too, because the landing knocked the wind out of him. That was just as well. If he'd been able to breathe, he might have screamed when he immediately found himself in danger of being trampled by a second horse. Then Heero was beside him and two riders were backing up to stare down at them in shock.

"Heika! What happened?"

Heero, who had found himself walking behind the two riders before Duo's sudden dismount, stepped forward to gain the strangers' attention. The one who'd spoken was a young woman dressed in some sort of extravagant oriental dress, Chinese, perhaps. At least, it looked like a woman, a pretty pale face with a beauty mark on one cheek, graceful figure, and long dark purple hair pulled into loose braid. Something about the voice and the sharp eyes made Heero question the person's gender, but the lovely skirts made it clear that it was supposed to be a female.

"What have you done with Miaka?" the second rider asked.

This one was definitely a man, though his dark brown hair was ridiculously long, almost as bad as Duo's. He was as pretty as the first one, but his deep voice and rigid seat on the horse proclaimed him a nobleman at the very least. Heero didn't react when the man pulled a sword and held it with the point aimed at him and his partner. He was more concerned with the fact that Duo hadn't gotten to his feet yet.

"Tama-chan's gone, too," the first one said, with a sudden look over her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Here's the fun part," Duo muttered. He felt like crap again. His face was too warm, and his head had a groggy, queasy sort of feel to it, like it didn't know if it was too light or too heavy. "Sick Miko, Heero. I'm guessing that's me. And what do you want to bet an elixir won't fix it?"

Heero kept an eye on the two strangers, who looked like they were confused enough to wait a moment before getting violent in their search for answers. He sent a sharp glance over Duo, noting his flushed face and wrinkled nose. "We can try."

"Nah," Duo waved him off. "We can wait and find out what's going on first. It's no worse than having a bad cold or something. But you do the talking this time, okay?"

Heero gave a sharp nod that made Duo smirk at him. It was funny how Heero could handle confused and potentially dangerous strangers in such a straightforward manner. He was getting really good at this whole explaining thing. It didn't hurt that Heero had one of those straight faces that made it hard to believe he knew what jokes were, let alone that he would ever try pulling one on someone. The strangers might think he was insane for what he was saying, but they'd never think he was kidding with them.

These two strangers took it especially well. Almost too well. The tall, stately looking man appeared indignant at first. His attitude made Duo want to slap him upside the head, or maybe just dump him in a muddy puddle so he wouldn't look so uptight and important. He was probably royalty in this realm. He had that whole 'Queen of the World' thing going for him. And, yes, Duo did mean queen because, wow, was the guy ever prissy. Even the crossdresser didn't look that full of himself, and Duo was sure he was the prettiest guy he'd ever seen. He'd be willing to bet that one even had Heero fooled.

Their initial reactions aside, the two strangers capitulated a little too quickly. The tall one made a single supercilious wave of his sword, Heero stiffened and told them they were entirely serious, and all of a sudden the two strangers were staring at them in shock. The next moment they were talking to themselves about something called Suzaku and how there was no mistake, no matter how farfetched it sounded. The pretty crossdresser really looked at Duo for the first time and made a quiet comment about how the attraction was still there. Duo blinked and wondered if he was being hit on. Then Heero turned to look at him, and he realized he was missing a lot more than he'd realized.

There was a glowing symbol on Heero's forehead. Duo had no idea what it meant since it looked like one of those Japanese 'word-signs', kanji, maybe. Whatever it was, it must have been the proof that had stopped the strangers in their tracks. Duo stared for a long moment. Then he snickered at Heero's scowling, confused stare.

"Your forehead's glowing, Heero. It's not as bad as that thing Trunks was doing, with the whole 'hair-turning-blonde' thing, but it's pretty noticeable. I guess the guy you replaced here had that mark on him, too. It's cute. Makes you look like a super hero or something."

Heero ran a hand over his forehead and shot another confused look at the two strangers. He didn't notice when the symbol disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. The strangers had gone quiet again. At least they weren't asking after that Miaka person anymore.

"You believe us, then?" Heero asked the tall man.

"We have to," the woman sighed. "Only a seishi of Suzaku would have that mark."

"Are you certain this will be temporary?" the man frowned sharply at Heero. "Miaka and Tamahome will be returned once you complete this...task?"

"Yes," said Heero. "Our task is to take the sick Miko to the mountain to be healed. Once we've done that, everything here will be returned to the way it would have been without us."

"And I'm the sick one," Duo put in, "so all we have to do is get me to this mountain. You were already on your way there, anyway, right?"

The man gave him a slow look that made Duo oddly uncomfortable. Something was bothering the guy, beyond the fact that his friends had been replaced. But it didn't look like he was planning to share.

The man looked away sharply and addressed Heero again. He didn't so much as glance back at Duo when they finally introduced themselves as Hotohori, The emperor - Duo put the emphasis on 'the' himself - and Nuriko, his consort. Duo wasn't sure what sort of role the latter had, but he got the idea this realm was some old fashioned Asian place. That would make him, or her, since the emperor didn't seem to know any better, either the guy's fiancé, or one of his harem girls. Duo had to seriously bite his tongue not to say anything.

"It will take two days' travel to reach the mountain," said Hotohori.

He frowned at the path ahead of them, a torn expression crossing his face as if he wanted to say something he really didn't want to say. Nuriko immediately got off his horse and went over to Duo. He tilted his head a little and gave him a strange smile.

"You're not Miaka," he started, "but you're definitely Suzaku no Miko. This 'game' you came through - was it a book? Miaka came from another world, too, but she came through a book."

Duo shook off that amused, tongue-biting, need to smirk. He'd never gotten around to asking Yukimura why he'd chosen to dress as a woman, so there was no reason to wonder about Nuriko. He flashed him a weak smile.

"I guess it could be considered a book," Duo admitted. "It's digital, though. I bet you guys don't have computers here, so I can't really explain it. The game takes us to different worlds and then takes us back out after we complete the task in each one. The people we meet are put into a list so we can get help from them in other tasks later. So I guess it would be like your friend Miaka coming here, then going home and bringing one of you with her if she needs help with something later. You wouldn't miss anything in your own world because you get returned as soon as the task is done."

"Hm," Nuriko smirked. "Miaka would love to get ahold of your book. Hers can't even send her home when she wants it to, let alone bring someone with her. If it could, I know just who she'd take..."

Hotohori stiffened and shot them a look. Nuriko immediately switched from sly to sweet and helpful, bowing at Duo a little and offering a hand to help him up.

"You can take my horse, Suzaku no Miko," Nuriko beamed at Duo. "We can't have you wearing yourself."

And the emperor wasn't going to offer to double up with him the way he must have been doing with this Miaka person. Duo got the message and sent a quick look at Hotohori. The guy avoided his gaze so quickly he wondered if they hadn't walked into the middle of a love triangle or something. Either way, he didn't feel like walking for the next two days.

"You don't mind?" asked Duo. "I don't know what was wrong with your miko, but I'll probably be able to walk on my own later. I never get sick, so it'll just take me a little while to get used to it. Feels kind of groggy and hot, like I have a fever or something."

Heero reached over to put the back of his hand on Duo's forehead. He ignored the amused look his partner sent him. "Slight fever," he confirmed. "Your temperature is high, but it shouldn't be life threatening."

"Don't tell me you've actually had a cold," Duo smirked. "With your immune system?"

"No," Heero frowned, taking his hand back. "But I did have a slight infection after I self-detonated. Trowa said the symptoms were similar. You should remain inactive until the fever breaks or you'll risk complicating it. A high temperature can destroy brain cells."

Duo stared for a long moment and then broke into choked laughter. It made his head hurt, but it was worth it. "We can't have that," he grinned. "I don't have many brain cells to spare as it is."

An hour later found him riding, with Heero and Nuriko walking alongside him and the stoic emperor leading the way. The latter hadn't said more than two words to them since they started moving and Duo was fine with that. He'd gotten the impression the guy didn't like him, for more reasons than just because he'd replaced their miko. Nuriko, on the other hand, seemed to get more friendly the further they went. And he was very curious about the game, which seemed to be similar to this book their miko had used to enter their world.

It reminded Duo of Quatre's story about Wolfwood's past. He liked Nuriko and he was sure that if he imported him into later realms, they'd end up being good friends. Would that drive him to consider taking his new friend out of the game if he learned something bad had happened to him? Quatre had chosen men with military backgrounds so they wouldn't get close to the importable people they met. Making friends was dangerous. Duo understood the moral of that story. It was a shame he'd never been as good at heeding warnings as he was at making new friends.

"So she was homesick?" Duo asked Nuriko, with an incredulous expression on his face. "That's it? I'm feeling like crap because she was stressed out and missed her world?"

Nuriko gave a little laugh and nodded. "It might not have been her fault, really. We don't know how the book works, so we thought maybe there was a limit to how long she could stay in our world. That's why we were taking her to the mountain to send her back. The longer she missed her world, the more sick she got."

"Psychosomatic," said Heero. "If she'd already been here that long before getting sick, it's unlikely there was a time limit."

Nuriko flashed him a funny look. "Psy-what?"

Duo grinned over at him. "It means it was all in her head. She was upset and that made her body reflect the emotions she was feeling. We have all sorts of fancy terms for things like that in our world. Take hypochondriacs - they're sick all the time, but it's not because there's something wrong with their bodies. It's because there's something wrong with their heads. People like that don't need a doctor, they need a therapist - someone to talk to who can explain why they're feeling the way they are and how to stop feeling that way."

Nuriko seemed to consider this for a moment. "Miaka is pretty emotional. She's really sensitive to everything around her. But I don't think she'd make herself sick on purpose, not with the way it worried everyone. She's extreme a lot, but she means well..."

"Oh," said Duo, "I didn't mean she got sick on purpose. She was probably as confused and worried as you guys were, on top of feeling so bad it made her sick physically. What I was getting at is that I'm sick because she was feeling bad. So all I have to do is remember that I'm not homesick and the symptoms should go away. Much better than waiting it out, right Heero?"

Heero sent him a droll stare. "You're still not walking until your temperature goes down."

Duo glowered back at him. "So stubborn."

"You're worse," Heero shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I just don't think it's fair that I get to ride while you two walk, all because of something in someone else's head. We could at least take turns doubling up."

"The pace isn't that fast," said Heero.

Duo sighed and flashed a smile at Nuriko instead. "How about you, Nuriko? Want to ride with me? I don't know much about horses, but this guy seems pretty strong, and he's smart - he follows so well I don't even have to steer him."

He realized he'd said something wrong immediately. Nuriko looked startled and Hotohori stiffened and jerked his reins a little so that his horse gave a snort of protest. Heero looked confused by their reactions, but Duo thought he understood his mistake. This was an old fashioned place and Nuriko was supposed to be a girl. So Duo inviting 'her' to double up was the social equivalent of asking for a quick lay. Or something like that.

Duo winced, but quickly put an innocently confused look on his face. He even managed to smile at Hotohori when the man sent him a sharp insulted look.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Duo. "It just doesn't seem fair for me to keep the horse all to myself. Yours handled two people, didn't it? Those skirts must be heavy and two days, that's a long walk..."

He glanced over at Nuriko and was relieved to see that startled look replaced with one of slight embarrassment. Embarrassment was much better than Nuriko thinking he'd been hitting on him.

"I'm very strong," Nuriko said quickly. "That's my skill as a Suzaku seishi. I don't mind walking."

"Still," said Duo. "It's not like-"

"Nuriko may ride with me," said Hotohori.

He said it in a cool tone that brooked no arguments. Not that Nuriko looked like he wanted to argue. He looked like he wanted to squeal with delight or maybe shake Duo's hand for being so helpful. In the end, he didn't do either. He dropped his eyes with a soft 'Heika,' and went over to him as if the unexpected offer - or order, considering the way Hotohori had said it - embarrassed him. Duo bit his tongue again and stared hard at the emperor's back, his eyes dancing with mirth. He really wanted to know if the emperor actually believed his pretty little 'consort' was a girl. Not that it was that important at the moment.

Duo grinned down at Heero. "That leaves you and me, then. Think you can climb up here without knocking me off?"

"I've ridden before," said Heero.

He swung himself up behind Duo and took the loose reins, since Duo hadn't bothered touching them. He pulled the horse up so there was a little more space between them and their escorts. Then he dropped his voice and demanded an explanation.

"What was that?" asked Heero.

"It sounded like I was hitting on Nuriko," Duo whispered with a wry grin. "Sort of like using the wrong fork at one of Relena's dinner parties. I don't know if he thinks Nuriko is a girl nor not, but either way I guess he's not used to guys hitting on his 'consort.' What's a consort, anyway? Do you know?"

"It depends on the context," said Heero. "Something below the rank of wife if it's a married man's harem, or possibly a collection of female candidates for marriage in the absence of a suitable match. Is he a boy, then?"

Duo grinned. Heero had noticed, after all. He should have known. "The hair's pretty convincing, but he's definitely a boy."

"His hair isn't any longer than yours," Heero reminded him.

Duo wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment. He turned a droll look over his shoulder. "Exactly what are you trying to say there, Heero?"

"That hair length isn't a factor. Even with the make up and dress, you wouldn't be mistaken for a girl."

"Oh," Duo sniffed, "I see. You're saying he's prettier than me."

Heero blinked and leaned subtly away. "No..."

"Too late to take it back," Duo waved, turning to the front again. "Get us alongside them. If the only thing we have to do in this realm is get to the mountain, there's no time limit. I'm feeling better already, so that whole 'homesickness' thing is crap. We can ask them about items, look around a little."

"They don't seem to know anything about the game, though," said Heero. "None of the importable characters have except the ones we met in Wanderweb. Asking them about items would be pointless."

"Maybe," Duo shrugged, "but I've been thinking. About the whole idea of this game being real. You know what that means, right? What happens if someone actually beats the game? They have feathers that can bring people back to life. This thing can do anything. So maybe if we beat the game everything will be reset. Then, even if we can't find Trowa, he'd be released after the game is beaten. Of course, that would mean Wolfwood would be taken back, too. But what about people who die in the game? If players can find feathers to bring them back, the game can probably do it all on its own. So...if you beat the game, those who died in the game would be brought back, you know?"

Heero frowned thoughtfully. "That can't be the purpose to the game. If a player's main goal is to bring a former player back, there would be no original players. There has to be more to it."

"Point," Duo acknowledged. "Still, it's something to think about. Worth a try, you know? So if one of us dies, and we can't figure out where to find those feathers, the other has to promise to try beating the game. Just in case that will reset everything. I know you said you'd quit if that happened, but it's different now. Even if that's not the point to playing, it's our point now. We're playing to get Trowa back. So if one of us gets it, the other one has even more reason to keep going alone. Right?"

Heero frowned and touched Duo's shoulder so he'd look at him. "Are you asking me if I'd still quit if something happened to you?"

That insulted look was back on Heero's face. Duo didn't mind this time. He smiled over his shoulder and gave a deep nod.

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't," said Duo, "but I want to hear it, anyway. I already decided I'd play alone if I had to, to get Trowa back, so I'd definitely keep going for you. We weren't playing this to save lives before, but we are now, so..."

"I'd keep going," said Heero.

Duo beamed at him. "It's a promise, then. Don't look so uncomfortable, okay? I'm done with the weird questions. This just lets me enjoy myself without worrying about possibilities. It's like Quatre said. The reason we're doing so well is because we're approaching this game like it's an actual game. As long as you know you can keep trying till you win, there's nothing to worry about."

Heero still looked disgruntled by the topic. He raised an eyebrow at Duo's teasing grin. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah," Duo smirked. "All done making you squirm. For now. See if you can get this horse to walk faster. I want to see who's copping a feel of who up there. It's awfully quiet."

Sadly, there were no feels being copped. Nuriko was sitting sideway in a similar position to the one Duo had been in when they arrived in the realm. He looked like he wanted to sink into the warm embrace and enjoy it, but Hotohori was sitting so regal and stiff that there was an uncomfortable cloud around the pair. Duo sighed and flashed Nuriko a sympathetic smile. He ignored the sidelong look Hotohori shot him.

"So," Duo said, with forced cheer. "You two know anything about items we might be able to use in this game of ours?"

"What kind of items?" asked Nuriko.

"And that's the problem," Duo winced, "we don't know what we're looking for. It would have to be something special or we won't be able to take it with us to the next realm. We have elixirs - these little bottles that heal you when you drink one. And there are cards that do things like fix weapons. Those are the only ones we've found so far."

"I haven't heard of any cards or bottles like that," said Nuriko.

"What about feathers?" asked Heero. "Phoenix feathers? They're said to be able to bring people back to life in the game."

Nuriko and Hotohori exchanged a startled look and Hotohori turned his full regard on Heero.

"We are Suzaku seishi," said Hotohori. "Suzaku is the God of love and rebirth. The phoenix is his symbol, but I have not heard of anyone using feathers for such a purpose. Suzaku grants three wishes to the Miko who summons him. Although the wishes are said to be unlimited, I do not believe he would overturn death itself."

"Miaka was gathering us before she got sick," explained Nuriko. "Once the seven seishi are gathered, the miko summons Suzaku and wishes for the safety and protection of our country. The other two wishes are up to her, but...I don't think she could ask Suzaku to bring someone back to life. There would be legends about it if Suzaku had ever done something like that."

"But he's been summoned before?" asked Duo. "This god of yours?"

"Yes," said Nuriko. "That's how we knew Miaka for what she was. The seishi are drawn to the miko, all so she can gather them and summon Suzaku."

"And the miko changes every time?" Duo pressed. He felt Heero shift behind him and knew he realized where he was going with the questions. Hotohori must have realized it, too, because he stiffened and sent a shuttered look at them.

"Do you intend to attempt summoning Suzaku yourselves?" asked Hotohori.

"We could, couldn't we?" Duo countered. "If we replaced the miko and one of these seishi people, then we could summon him the way they were going to."

Nuriko looked stunned, and possibly amused, by Duo's gall. "You'd still have to gather the other four seishi. Your task was to get to the mountain, right? Won't you mess up if you spend too much time doing other things?"

"There's no time limit," Duo shrugged. "And it's just four people. If they're drawn to the miko, it shouldn't be hard to find them, right?"

"Miaka is the miko," Hotohori said tightly, not looking at Duo.

"But I replaced her," Duo reminded him, in a tone that was just bordering on patronizing. He couldn't help it. If Hotohori wasn't going to come out and explain whatever it was that he had against him, he wasn't going to tiptoe around the guy. "So I'm the miko now."

"You are no miko," said Hotohori.

Nuriko winced and flashed a weak look at the man behind him. "He isn't, but he is. I know he's not a miko, but the feeling is still there..."

"What do you mean?" frowned Duo.

Heero felt a faint smirk pulling at his face. He leaned forward so he could see Duo's expression when he explained.

"A miko is a priestess," said Heero. "A woman."

"Oh." Duo blinked dumbly for a moment, then glowered at Heero's mocking smirk. He shoved him back a little with his shoulder and sent an annoyed look at Hotohori.

"So I'm not a girl," Duo sniffed, "that doesn't matter. The game put me in this role, so technically I should be able to do anything she could. What, did she have some special powers or something?"

"Not like the seishi," said Nuriko. "But we were drawn to Miaka. That's what the miko does, she draws the seishi to her. And she alone has the power to summon Suzaku after gathering the seishi. You do have that power, or the sign of the ogre wouldn't have appeared when Heero protected you earlier. That's the same way it was with Miaka and Tamahome."

He sent a wary look at Hotohori, who was stoicly looking away from them all. "The miko has always been a girl in the legends," Nuriko said slowly, "but Miaka herself said she was brought here because she read the Book of the Four Gods. Maybe anyone who reads it would be brought here in the role of the miko and it's just chance that it's always been a girl..."

"I'm sure you want Miaka to summon this god," Duo said to Hotohori, in an almost placating tone - that took a lot of effort on his part. "But everything we do while we're here will be reset after we leave. We could summon him and then go to the mountain to finish the task and you'd still remember the way it really happened with Miaka instead. It's not like we'd actually change anything."

Hotohori shot him another of those hard to decipher looks, like he disliked him but didn't at the same time. "Are you asking permission or assistance?"

"Both," said Duo.

And he smiled. His smile seemed to bother Hotohori even more, so he widened it until he was beaming at the man. He was rewarded with an uncomfortable look before the emperor averted his eyes.

"We have the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho that was entrusted to Konan. It contains hints that may assist in finding the other four seishi," Hotohori said quietly. "We will continue to Mt Taikyoku. I will not support your endeavor by using the scroll without confirmation from Taiitsu-kun."

"So we're going to the mountain either way," Duo muttered.

"Yes," said Hotohori.

"Figures." Another of those disturbed looks flicked to him, and Duo waved a hand. "I'm not going to push. You're worried about having your plans messed up, maybe your whole world. I get it. To the mountain we go! But we better stop somewhere close to water tonight. This whole fever thing is kind of icky..."

Heero snorted behind him, and Duo flashed him a mock glare. He didn't say anything, though. If Heero thought it was funny that he was stuck with a fever that left him all sticky, that was fine. He'd just see how funny it was when he started to smell ripe in an hour or two.

.-.
TBC

Notes: Hotohori, Nuriko, and the realm, are from Fushigi Yuugi, the first season. Things will be changed a lot due to Heero and Duo's presence, but there may still be slight spoilers for those who plan to watch the anime. And keep in mind I've never written Hotohori or Nuriko, so I make no promises about characterization.