A ninth grader, Hongou Yui, visited the library with her friend Miaka. There, Yui saw an apparition of a red bird. It led her to an ancient book called The Universe of the Four Gods, which the girls began to read. The book had magical powers, and transported them into a strange world. They encountered a man with the character "Ogre" on his forehead. After he left them, Miaka vanished, and Yui travelled to the capital city of Konan to find her. However, Yui was not aware that Miaka had already been returned to their own world. In the strange city, Yui found herself in danger, but the man with the character on his forehead appeared again to protect her...

Episode Two:

Tamahome surveyed the battered and unconscious thugs scattered across the alley--they shouldn't be a problem any more--then turned to the strangely dressed girl he had just saved. "Hey, you all right?"

"Yes..." Yui said slowly, then caught herself. "Where's Miaka!?"

"Beats me." He turned away and waved, heading out of the alley. "See ya."

"Stop!" she shouted. "You took her, didn't you!? Or you were sent to distract me while someone else did! What did you do with my friend!?!?"

"Nothin'." Weird girl, he couldn't help but think.

To his dismay, Yui kept pace with him. "You were the only other person there when she disappeared! Surely you saw something!"

"Maybe, now leave me alone!" he ordered, breaking into a run.

She grabbed the loose fabric of his sleeve and ran alongside him. "What kind of answer is that!? What are you hiding!?"

"Let go of me, you're gonna rip my coat!"

"If you stop running, I won't be pulling on it so much!"

"Fine!" He stopped short and she sailed past him, losing her grip. "Bye." With that, he darted down another street and into the marketplace. Surely he could get away from this crazy girl there with so many people around.

"Oh, don't think you can get rid of me that easily!" Yui dashed after him and shouldered her way through the crowd until she was close enough to grab his coat again. "My best friend just vanished, and I'm not letting you go until I know what you had to do with it!"

People milling past began eyeing them, gathering into a loose circle around the two.

"I didn't have anything to do with it!" Tamahome protested, trying to pull away from her. "I don't even know what you're talking about!" Man, this is embarrassing! I've got to get rid of her!

"A girl dressed like me, brown hair in two buns and brown eyes; very cheerful, slightly airheaded. What happened to her!?"

"I don't know. Last I saw, you two were together when I rescued you. And you never paid me for that, I might add."

"I can't believe you! Is money all you care about!? Besides, it was an unsolicited service. You can't legally charge us for it."

He blinked at her a few times. "Can I have my coat sleeve back?" he asked finally.

"No! I have to find Miaka, and you're all I have to go on!"

"Oh." He paused, then pried her fingers off of his clothing. "Then I suppose you have a problem, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, as if you cared."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're poor, so I don't." He let go of her wrist. "Good-bye."

He only got about ten feet away before Yui realized that he really was all she had. Here she was, in an unfamiliar and obviously dangerous city. On her own, it was questionable whether she could even survive long, let alone find Miaka. "Wait!" she called, running after him. "I can't pay you right now, but... Maybe we can work out something."

Tamahome sighed heavily. "Girl, what are you, a puppy? Stop following me everywhere! You have nothing I want, now go away!"

"What am I supposed to do? I don't know a thing about this place! I'll pay you eventually, I promise. I'll do something to help you make money!"

"Like what?"

Yui opened her mouth, then decided that, on second thought, she'd rather not let him come up with something. "Well, what do you normally do? I'm sure I can help. I'm not so weak, and I'm the top student in my class." She couldn't believe she was trying so hard to tag along with this avaricious jerk, but he was her best hope of finding Miaka...

Tamahome did his best not to laugh in her face, but failed nonetheless. "You are a scrawny little kid. I've already helped you twice, and I don't have time to let you keep getting under my feet. Look, why me?" He pointed to an elderly merchant on the street. "There, I'm sure that old man over there would help you. Or that grandmotherly woman over there. So stop picking on me."

Yui was opening her mouth to retort when an awed "Oh!" echoed through the crowd. She turned around to look, and saw everyone facing a procession coming down the street. There were horses, armored soldiers, and colorful banners surrounding a palanquin hung with silk. "What's going on?"

"It's an Imperial procession. There in the colorful palanquin, that's the Emperor of Konan," Tamahome answered, shouldering his way through the crowd to get a better view.

Yui had to grant him some tiny shred of respect for not fleeing while her back was turned.

"If I could just have one jewel off his crown, I'd never have to worry about money again," Tamahome muttered for no one's ears in particular. He paused for a moment, then grinned sarcastically. "Hey, I know, you can ask the emperor for help. I'm sure he'd LOVE to give you a hand."

It's good I'm the one doing this, Yui thought. I love Miaka, but she might just be flaky enough to try that

"Now you're trying to get me killed," she said. This might be a new place to her, but she did know a few things about how an Emperor of ancient China was and wasn't treated. However, there was a certain amount of merit in the concept... "But, I suppose you leave me no choice," she said with a little sarcastic melodrama. "Sayonara!"

"Hey, now wait a minute, kid," Tamahome said. He moved to grab her before she did anything stupid, but the shifting crowd cut him off. Ah, not my problem, anyway... he told himself, even as he started after her.

Yui shouldered through the crowd, repeatedly calling out ‘excuse me' as she was jostled back and forth, until she finally emerged slightly ahead of the Emperor's palanquin. She trotted a little farther forward and fell in step beside one of the higher-ranked guards, what she thought was a safe distance from the Emperor. "Excuse me," she said as politely as she knew how. "I'm very sorry to be so forward, but I'm unfamiliar with this city, and my friend is lost here. Are there any police or authorities here who could help me find her?"

The guard, a slim man with violet hair and similarly colored eyes, looked at her with a slight laugh in his eyes. "Impudent little thing, aren't you?"

"I'm very sorry," Yui said quickly. "I don't mean any disrespect, but we've been best friends for years, and I'm really desperate to find her."

The man chuckled slightly, gesturing to her clothes. "You have courage to approach me like this, and you're obviously not from around here, so I'll do what I can to help you. But you'll have to wait. If you'll come to the palace gate around sunset, I'll meet you and we'll see about finding your friend, all right?"

"Thank you!" Yui said. That sounded much more promising then effectively selling herself into slavery. Everywhere she had gone in the city, the palace had stood out on the horizon. Surely the gate wouldn't be hard to find. Just to be sure, she looked over her shoulder toward it.

"Girl, get back here!" Tamahome ordered, emerging from the crowd. "You wanna get in troub--" His foot struck a rock and he toppled forward, slamming into Yui.

She screamed as he knocked her off balance. As she fell, her shoulder hit something solid. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and without looking or thinking, she grabbed onto whatever she could for support. It only took a moment before she identified the sensation of fine silk stretched taut in her hands and realized what she'd done.

SHHRIP!

Yui hit the ground hard, and looked up at the cloth in her hand. Yellow silk. It had to be from... Her heart plunged. I just tore something off of their Emperor's palanquin. They probably think I'm attacking him. They're going to kill me...

"She's attacking the emperor!"

Yui looked up to find herself surrounded by a sea of spear and sword points. Yup, I'm dead. I am so dead... "I'm sorry! It was an accident! Someone just bumped me and--"

"Silence!" one of the guards roared. "I'll cut off your head for such disrespect!"

Yui closed her eyes in anticipation of the blow as he drew his sword, then suddenly felt herself snatched up. There was a whirlwind of motion, and then it stopped. Cautiously she opened her eyes; she was in Tamahome's arms, away from the guards.

"Baka," he said. "You sure got yourself in trouble this time."

"I suppose I owe you a lot of money for getting into it with me," she said numbly.

"Nah, you got guts, and I can respect that. As for the rest of it, I'll take my payment now." He bent over and kissed her gently on the forehead.

Yui was struck speechless. No one outside of her family had ever kissed her before. It felt... nice... In another moment, she had the urge to slap him for it. This man, who wouldn't even help her find Miaka and save her from whatever she might be facing alone in this world, whose name she didn't even know, presuming to kiss her...

There was a jangle of armor, and Yui looked up to find herself and Tamahome surrounded by Imperial guards again; the emperor's palanquin was still less than thirty feet away. "Nice rescue," she said dryly.

"Well, excuse me for breathing."

"What the--" Yui's eyes widened as a warm, electric feeling blossomed inside of her. A moment later, wind and red light exploded all around her.

"What is the trouble out there?" the emperor demanded as the horses nearby reared, and the palanquin tipped awkwardly in the commotion.

"The girl is surrounded in a red light, and trying to disappear," the violet-haired guard Yui had spoken with answered. "Retreat with the emperor's palanquin!"

"Wait," the emperor said. "Red light...?" Could it be...?

*

Where am I? Yui wondered. What's happening to me? She looked around at Tamahome and the soldiers, but she could see through them, to something beyond them, or something superimposed on them. Was it all a dream? Am I waking up? The energy inside her stirred. She had never had a dream like this before. Never had a feeling like that sense of raw energy before, dreaming or awake...

"‘Then, a strange red light shone from the girl's body, and she began to disappear'..." Yui heard Miaka's voice reading the words, slow and halting. It was easy to imagine her struggling with every complicated character...

"Miaka!" Yui called. "Miaka, can you hear me? Where are you!?"

A seemingly infinite landscape of books materialized in Yui's vision, and the bookshelves of the dimly lit room in the library brushed past her, her perspective exaggerated as if they were miles long. Suddenly the last one swept aside, revealing Miaka, sitting on the floor with the book--The Universe of the Four Gods--propped on her knees. "Miaka! This is where you've been! Miaka, I'm here!"

Miaka didn't look up; instead, she merely perused the illustration on that page for a moment, then turned to the next one.

"Miaka!" Yui shouted as her friend, too, swept past her and into the distance. For a moment, she was falling--or flying--through a celestial darkness, with red lights trailing behind her like raindrops. They weren't coming from her. She turned around, or did the closest thing she could manage here, and saw the flowing tail of a fiery red bird. The same one I saw when I followed Miaka...

The bird wheeled around, and a feather fell from its tail. Yui felt herself twisting, and suddenly came to a jarring stop in Tamahome's still-translucent arms. The feather landed on her forehead, and she crossed her eyes to look up at it. It vanished just as she focused on it, sending a wave of warmth through her as Tamahome's arms solidified around her. She looked around at the guards, still with weapons trained on her, but somehow it wasn't so frightening now. Somehow, she knew she shouldn't be afraid of these people...

"Sire, it's too dangerous," the violet-haired guard insisted. "The girl used magic--she may be some sort of witch."

"There is another possibility," the emperor said. "Bring them both."

*

Yui woke cold, her back sore from laying on the rough stone floor. So much for this being a bad dream. "You're here, aren't you? The avaricious one," she said. She wasn't looking forward to facing him again.

"No, I went out for a walk in the garden. Of course I'm here, we were thrown in the dungeon because you ‘assaulted' the emperor, stupid," Tamahome griped.

Yui sighed, opened her eyes, and sat up. She really shouldn't be antagonizing him. He was the only person on her side, and despite what he might say, he was doing it free of charge, or at least on credit. "I'm sorry. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome," he answered with a heavy sigh. "I don't think we've ever introduced ourselves. My name is Sou Kishuku, but everyone calls me Tamahome. You?"

"Hongou Yui."

"Pleased to meet you, Yui. Now, I don't suppose you could do that magic thing again and vanish us out of here?"

"No. I don't even know what happened. But I know now, Miaka is back home, in our world. She's safe."

"That's good. Wish we were, too."

"I... This is going to sound irresponsible, but I think we'll be all right," she said.

"Yeah, sure." He leaned back against the wall and sighed again. "Ah, well, we're still alive; that's more than I would have expected."

Yui sighed. The intangible comfort the red bird had given her was fading, and she wanted something to distract herself. Never hurts to study... she thought, fishing in her pocket for her tape recorder. She popped it open and checked. The English language tape was still in it. This would be awkward without headphones, but it was better than this oppressive silence. Maybe if she kept the volume low...

KLIK

"Ichigatsu. January."

"Nigatsu. February."

"Sangatsu."

"Who's in there?" the guard demanded, whipping around.

"It's just my tape recorder," Yui said. "See?" She held it up to show him.

"Ma--" KLIK She stopped it for a moment before pushing ‘play' again. "--ch. Shigatsu. April."

The guard's eyes widened, and he backed away, the cell keys shaking in his hand. "Gh... ghosts!" There was a moment's pause, and then he let out a blood-curdling scream and ran, tossing the keys in his fright.

"Gotcha," Tamahome grunted, sticking his hand out through the bars and catching them, then moving to unlock the door. "How do you keep the ghosts in the little box, Yui?"

"It's not ghosts, it's just a recording!" she insisted.

"Is that a kind of small demon?"

"No. It's not magic at all." She sighed. "I'm afraid I can't really explain how it works..."

"Then how do you know it's not magic?" He got the door open and checked for other guards in the hall. "Quick, let's get outta here."

"My sentiments exactly," she said, ducking out of the cell.

The two of them navigated the bright gold-and-red hallways of the palace as quickly and quietly as possible. Yui followed behind Tamahome; after all, he probably had more relevant experience than she did. Then, they came across a hallway that looked familiar. "Tamahome, I think this is the way they brought us--" She noticed that Tamahome had gone on a different direction without her, and ran to catch up.

She darted through a doorway after him, and found herself in a spacious, dimly lit room. She had just come up beside him when she stopped. In the center of the room, there was a huge gold statue of a bird--much like the bird she had seen earlier when she ‘tried to disappear'--surrounded by golden clouds. The statue sat atop a fountain, with tiers of clear water flowing down it. She drew a deep, awestruck breath.

"That's our god, Suzaku, who protects the empire of Konan," Tamahome explained, noticing her expression. "This is one of four empires, each with its own god to protect it. Hokkan in the North has Genbu; Sairou in the West, Byakko; Kutou in the East, Seiryuu; and we're the South. Of course, each of the gods is worshipped in their own empire...

"But right now we have to get out of here." He started for a door and peeked. "Follow me," he whispered a bit too softly; at the same time, Yui started back the way they'd come in, whispering "Follow me."

By the time Yui realized Tamahome wasn't with her, she knew she couldn't go back for him. I hope he'll be all right, she thought, but the best thing she could do now would be to get out herself. After all, Tamahome could obviously take care of himself. Sure enough, down the familiar-looking hallway, there was a gate, and she stepped out into the sunlight.

"Oh, no," she said quietly, surveying the unfamiliar gardens spread out in front of her. "This isn't the way we came in. Which way do I go now?" Guilt tugged at her; she'd abandoned Tamahome for nothing...

"It's that way," came a low, soft, and vaguely familiar voice.

"Pardon?" she asked, nervously turning towards the speaker.

A lady with long, chocolate brown hair, wearing a long white robe, was sitting there, pointing with her right hand. "You're looking for the way out of the palace, I assume? That is the way."

"Ah. I... Thank you!" Yui said, hurriedly bowing, then walking towards it.

"I heard about a girl in foreign clothes who was arrested. Wasn't that you? I heard you were impolite in front of the Emperor."

Yui froze. "I..."

"It's all right, I'm on your side. I won't turn you over to the soldiers, so don't worry."

*

"Where did that stupid girl get to?" Tamahome wondered, peeking around a corner. "I don't have time for this."

He felt a tap on his shoulder and sighed in relief. "Yui, there you are," he said, turning around. His face fell as he found himself nose to nose with, not Yui, but the violet-haired guard they'd seen earlier that day.

"I didn't know you missed me," the guard said, grabbing his wrist. "Now, where's the girl?"

*

"So, you want to find your friend?" the lady asked.

Yui nodded. "He's involved in this because he tried to help me. I can't just abandon him. He's the only one who's been kind to me in this world."

"This world? That is, you aren't from this world!?"

Yui slapped her hands over her mouth. I shouldn't have said that. Now she's certain to think I'm insane or something just as bad.

"Is that it?" the lady prompted.

"I know it sounds quite odd, and I don't really understand it myself," Yui said slowly. "But I... I am not from this world, no. Please believe me, I'm not insane."

"Oh, no, I think it's wonderful," the lady said, sounding as if she were on the verge of excited giggles. "It's so interesting! A girl from another world..."

Yui looked at her suspiciously for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "You aren't just patronizing me, are you?"

"Not at all, not at all! I'm just... very happy to have met you. Please, call me Hotohori, although people usually call me by another name."

"I'm Hongou Yui. You can call me Yui if you like." She turned toward Hotohori and paused for a moment, finding herself looking into the woman's shining brown eyes, just partially obscured by a few stray locks of silky, dark hair that brushed across her smooth face.

"Is something wrong?" Hotohori asked.

"No, no, not at all," Yui said. "It's just... I think you're beautiful."

Hotohori smiled. "A lot of people say that."

"Hey, let up, would you! That arm is attached!" Tamahome's voice came as footsteps echoed across the courtyard.

"It doesn't have to stay that way."

"That's him; that's the man who was helping me," Yui said with alarm.

"I see," Hotohori said, sounding more serious. She set off toward the voices. "Wait here."

Yui hesitated for a moment before following. "Wait!" I don't want her to get in any trouble for me...

Tamahome grunted as his back struck a column on the edge of the courtyard. "I have just about had it with you," the violet-haired guard growled, pushing him against the masonry. Several other guards who had joined them to share in the credit chuckled. "If you try to pull away from me again, I will rip your arm out of the socket and feed it to you. Am I understood?"

"You've been trying pretty hard already," Tamahome grumbled.

"If you doubt I could do it, by all means, keep being a smart aleck," the guard snarled, twisting his arm. "Now, tell me where the girl is."

"I don't know."

"Stop playing these stupid games, I'm sick of it. Just tell me where she is."

"I said I don't know ‘cause I don't know. She might have run off while you've been threatening to feed body parts to me. Oh, and I'm just about sick of that, too." Suddenly he kicked his leg around, sweeping the guard's feet out from under him.

As the sounds of angry voices turned to those of a battle, Yui started running. She passed Hotohori, who was still walking calmly, and skidded around a corner just as Tamahome threw a punch at the violet-haired guard. The ground was already littered with badly bruised and groaning soldiers. To her surprise, though, the standing guard caught his punch.

"I do hope you've gotten that out of your system," the guard said, squeezing.

Kuso, Tamahome mentally grunted as his fingers started popping. He's strong. He threw a punch with his other hand, only to have it caught as well.

"I guess not," the guard said, twisting and tossing him over his shoulder, then snatching up a spear from one of his fallen compatriots.

"Please don't hurt him!" Yui shouted. "It's me you're looking for."

Immediately two of the wounded guards found the strength to jump up and grab her.

"Stop!" It took Yui a moment to recognize that voice as Hotohori's, it had such a commanding tone. "Without my order, you are not to touch either of these people. Let them go!"

The guards immediately released their prisoners and knelt with a round of "yes, sire"s.

"Who are you?" Tamahome asked, picking himself up defensively and looking at Hotohori.

"That's the Emperor, baka," the violet-haired guard hissed.

"The Emperor? The REAL one?!"

Yui gasped and turned to Hotohori. "Are you really...?"

Hotohori nodded, and Tamahome immediately dropped to the ground in a deep kneel.

"Please forgive me!" Yui cried, falling to her knees and bowing as well. "I had no idea..." Fortunately her face was down where no one could see it, because she was blushing crimson. I thought the Emperor was a woman! How could she be so foolish? What she could see of his figure didn't look necessarily feminine, and she should have known from his voice. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was the same voice she had heard from the Emperor's palanquin in the city...

"It's all right, please stand," Hotohori said. "I didn't mean to deceive you, I only wanted to get to know you better without my rank interfering."

Yui hesitantly stood, a bit confused. Hotohori was smiling at her. He didn't seem at all offended at how she had treated him, but if he was the Emperor, she should show him respect... She wasn't sure how to act.

*

Miaka looked around. It was getting too dim to read, but she was afraid someone would notice if she turned on the light, so she just plunged ahead. "‘The girl then discovered that Hotohori was..." she stopped. She couldn't be reading that character correctly. Digging through her schoolbag, she found a dictionary and looked up "Emperor." Sure enough, it was the same character. "Whoa!" She dropped the dictionary and picked the book back up.

"‘The emperor was kind to the girl, but he also had a request to make of her...'"

*

"However, I do have something to ask of you," Hotohori said as Yui stood before him in his Imperial court. She marvelled at how different he looked, in the elaborate robes, with his hair pulled up in a jeweled box. One would hardly have known he was the same person.

Tamahome, however, was more concerned with trying to ignore the stern gaze of that violet-haired guard that just wouldn't go away.

"Yui," Hotohori continued, "there is a legend in Konan that when the empire is in danger, a girl from another world will appear. She will become the Suzaku no Miko, and gain the power of our god, Suzaku, to protect the empire.

"So I ask, will you be that girl?"

"Me? But I... I'm not special. I'm just an ordinary girl," Yui protested. Then she paused. How normal is it to be drawn into the world of a book? And Suzaku... the Red Bird... is that who let me see Miaka today? She remembered the feather that fell on her... Maybe I really am the Suzaku no Miko...

"Forgive me, but you hardly strike me as ‘ordinary'," Hotohori said.

"You can say that again," Tamahome muttered under his breath. The guard cleared his throat, and Tamahome looked about innocently.

"I..." Yui started nervously. She didn't know what she would have to do as the Suzaku no Miko, but doubtless it would be a heavy responsibility... "I'll try my best."

Hotohori stood, and called out in a commanding voice. "This is the Suzaku no Miko. Everyone, show her respect! She is the one who will gain the power of Suzaku to protect this country."

*

"‘The people formed lines and prostrated themselves before her'," Miaka read. She sighed and leaned back against the bookshelf for a moment. This is soooo unfair! All the cool stuff happens to Yui. She is so lucky! Sighing again, she leaned back into the fading light and turned the page.

To Be Continued...

*

PREVIEW

Now that Yui has become the Suzaku no Miko, she finds she must gather the Seven Sei of Suzaku. She is just beginning her search when a structure collapses, trapping her and Tamahome. Help arrives from an unexpected source...

Next Time: