Even after Yui escaped Kutou, the respite of her reunion with her Seishi was not to last. Divisions arose among the Seishi as Tamahome vied with Hotohori for her love. Furthermore, agents of Kutou demanded that Tamahome become a prisoner in that country. Because his home and family were threatened, he left, despite Yui and the other Seishi’s insistence.

Episode Thirteen:

Seemingly for the first time, Yui started to wake expecting to open her eyes and see the Universe of the Four Gods. It was a moment, however, before she woke up to another realization. The room was too quiet. Tamahome should be there...

She tossed aside the blankets and sat up, opening her eyes and looking around the room. There was no one else there. Calm down, she told herself. There are any number of reasons he might have stepped out for a moment... She padded across the room and peeked out the door. The guards there turned and looked at her, but she didn’t see anyone else. Where could he have gone? Surely he wouldn’t...

Then she noticed one of her notebooks, open face-down on the desk. She knew she hadn’t left that there... She picked it up and found a note written in it at the marked place. The handwriting was sloppy and unfamiliar, but she recognized Tamahome’s name in the signature. It was hard enough for her to read neatly printed ancient Chinese, so this was impossible, but she had a bad feeling about it...

“Hotohori! Nuriko!” she called, bursting out of her room, notebook in hand.

“Yui, what is it?” Nuriko asked, rushing up. “What’s wrong?”

A moment later, Hotohori also hurried to her, with a layer or so missing from his Imperial robes and his hair in an uncovered bun. “Yui!?”

“Have either of you seen Tamahome?” she asked.

“Not since last night,” Nuriko said.

“He’s gone,” Yui said. “When I woke up this morning, he wasn’t there. All I found was this note, but I can’t read it...”

Hotohori gently took the notebook and started to read. “I don’t believe it... Even after I told him...”

“He’s gone to Kutou!?” Yui asked.

“I’m afraid so...” he said.

“Lend me a horse,” Nuriko said. “I’ll bring him back if I have to drag him kicking and screaming. Or better yet, unconscious.”

“You’re welcome to try,” Hotohori said, “but if he went with Kutou’s agents like the one we met, they’re known to move quickly and will be difficult to find. I’d rather not take the risk.”

“What does the note say, exactly?” Yui asked.

“‘Dear Yui,

“‘I know this is going to be hard for you, but I hope you can forgive me. You know if I could, I would do anything to stay with you, but you have three other Seishi to protect you, while my family only has me. I promise I will return as soon as the other three have been gathered.’”

“Is that all?” she asked.

“There is one other thing,” Hotohori said slowly. “Just before the signature, it says ‘Wo ai ni.’”

“‘Wo ai ni’?” Yui asked.

“‘I love you,’” he explained softly. He took a deep breath before going on. “Since he promises to return when the other Seishi are gathered, that may be the best thing to do. An attempt to rescue him from Kutou would only aggravate the tension between the two empires, which should be avoided as long as possible.”

How can he say that so dispassionately? Yui wondered. She didn’t see any point in saying it, though.

“You, me, and Chichiri can probably be ready to leave in a few hours,” Nuriko said. “Hotohori-sama?”

“Hm? Ah. Regretfully, I will have to remain here,” he said.

“I understand. Say, where is Chichiri, anyway? I would’ve thought Yui yelling would have gotten her up.” Nuriko paused for a moment. “Maybe she went after Tamahome to bring him back, like when she went after Yui.”

“Sorry, that’s not it no da.” The group turned and jumped as they found Chichiri dangling upside-down from a nearby tree branch.

“Chichiri!” Yui started. “Where have you been?”

“Around no da,” she said, swinging off the branch and hanging from it for a moment before dropping to the ground. “Tamahome-chan has gone to Kutou no da, ne?”

Yui nodded. “Nuriko and I are planning to get ready and go to find the other three Seishi so we can get him back. Will you come with us?”

“Of course; wandering is in my nature no da,” she said with a slightly artificial wink from the mask. “What about Hotohori no da?”

“As the emperor, I must stay here and attend to my duties,” he said. “I will wait for the rest of you and pray for your safety.”

“I... see no da.”

“Come on, Chichiri” Nuriko said, sensing that perhaps Hotohori would like to be rescued from this line of conversation. “Let’s go see if we can find a horse that likes you.”

Yui turned to Hotohori as Nuriko and Chichiri walked away. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you behind,” she said. “Now I’ll always be wanting to come back so I can see you.”

“Then I suppose you’ll find the other Seishi quickly so you can come back,” he said with a slight smile. “And I’ll make certain you have a place to come back to.”

“Not totally a bad thing then, eh?” she said, and forced a chuckle. “I’ll miss you.”

“And I you,” he said, and bent down to kiss her.

“Your Majesty!” he recognized the Prime Minister’s voice and looked up to see several of his advisors coming down the walkway behind Yui. “We’ve been waiting for-- Goodness! Your Majesty?”

“I think he’s talking about your eye,” Yui said, pointing to the dark bruise on Hotohori’s face where Tamahome had punched him. He sighed.

“Who could do such a thing!?” one of the ministers exclaimed. “This is unacceptable!”

“I agree,” Hotohori said. “How am I to look at myself this way!?”

Yui took advantage of the moment it took Hotohori’s retinue to respond. “I’d better go after Nuriko and Chichiri,” she said.

“I understand. You all have my best wishes,” he replied, and gave her a quick kiss. It wasn’t the kind of kiss either of them would have liked, but at least it was something.

“It’s only a bruise, Your Majesty, it will fade,” someone finally said as Yui walked away.

“Of course, of course, but until then, how am I to look at myself!?”

*

Tamahome looked around the room in Kutou’s royal palace, where he had been brought and left. “Geez, I hope they executed their decorator,” he muttered, looking around at the sharp geometric patterns. Orange and blue, now there was an interesting color combination. He heard the heavy footsteps of a man in armor and turned as the door slid open and Nakago stepped in.

“I should’ve known you’d have something to do with this,” Tamahome said.

“Really?” the pale shogun asked. “You hardly even know me.”

“I know you tried to kill Yui. That’s enough for me.”

Nakago sighed. “You are right there. That isn’t why I’m in this room right now anyway. Miaka would like to see you.”

“Miaka?” Tamahome said, straightening up. He remembered the mirror at Taiitsukun’s, seeing what that girl had been through...

“Yes. If you’ll agree to see her, though, I want your assurance that you’ll be kind to her.”

“Of course I will,” he said, without hesitation.

Nakago nodded once and gestured to the door. Tamahome stepped out and Nakago led him through several halls, then knocked on a door. “Miaka-chan?”

“Is he here?” she asked. The door muffled her voice a bit, but couldn’t conceal the eager tone.

“Yes, Miaka, he’s here,” Nakago said, sliding the door open.

Miaka immediately darted out the door and threw her arms around Tamahome’s neck, fairly throwing herself at him with such force that he nearly lost his balance.

“Um, hi, Miaka,” Tamahome said, barely catching himself.

“Tamahome! I’m so happy to see you!” she said.

“I’m, uh, glad to see you too.”

Nakago chuckled slightly. “Would you two mind if I left you alone? I have things to attend to.”

“Oh, that’s just fine,” Miaka said cheerily, then turned back to Tamahome as Nakago walked away. “I was worried about you.”

“Really, worried about me?” he asked, finally untangling himself from her arms.

She nodded. “I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I heard what Yui did to you when you were here before.”

“Oh, uh, that. It’s not a big deal, really.”

“Yes, it is,” Miaka insisted. “I’d never do that to the person who protected me. Never, I promise.”

‘The person who protected me’...? Tamahome wondered. Then, he remembered, the first time he’d seen Yui, when Miaka was with her, and he’d saved them from a couple of thugs. When she came back, the same thing happened, but there wasn’t anyone to protect her. I guess that’s why she’s acting this way to me... “So, uh, everyone been treating you OK? Nakago and all them?”

“Yeah, everyone’s pretty nice to me. They’re not like you, though.”

“Well, not everyone can be this wonderful,” he said, jokingly flexing a muscle.

She laughed and applauded. Tamahome blinked at her for a moment. She must be really lonely here.

Miaka took his arm and gently pulled him to a seat beside her on the bed. “You’re gonna stay here, right? You won’t leave me, will you?”

“Of course not,” he assured her. He glanced towards the door, then leaned towards her and whispered “don’t worry. As soon as Yui gathers the other Sei, I’m going back, and I’ll take you with me.”

“But we’ll be together, so it’ll be okay,” she said, leaning on his shoulder.

He blinked for a moment, then put his arm around her, like he did to Yuiren when she was scared by thunderstorms or the monster in the closet. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you again.”

*

“You OK, Yui?” Nuriko asked, tapping Yui’s shoulder as they rode along.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I just... This is going to sound bad, and I don’t want to insult you, but I feel a little lonely.”

“No, it’s OK, I understand. Tamahome’s gone, and you had to leave Hotohori behind; I can see where you would feel that way.”

“Thank you. Don’t take it the wrong way, though, you’re a great friend, too.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Nuriko said with a smile. “So, any idea where we’re headed?”

“Let me think...” Yui said slowly. “I’m pretty sure the two other clues I found in ‘The Universe of the Four Gods’ were ‘Fire Bandit Mountain,’ and ‘Wisdom of the Ages,’ or something.”

“Fire Bandit Mountain...?” Nuriko questioned thoughtfully.

“I know, I’m going to have to study this country’s language more...” Yui sighed.

“Oh, no, it’s not that. You see that mountain up there?” the guard asked, pointing to a forested mountain that looked a pale misty green in the distance.

It always amazed Yui how much the mountains here actually looked like old Chinese ink paintings. “I see it.”

“That’s Mt. Leikaku. It’s totally overrun with bandits; soldiers won’t even go up there anymore. I don’t know where the ‘Fire’ part would come in, though.”

“That sounds like a dangerous place. Maybe we should try ‘Wisdom of the Ages’ first. Are there any universities in this country?”

“Well, Jouzen-shi’s a center of learning around here. It’s not far, but we’ll have to turn around. --Hey, Chichiri, we’re...” Nuriko turned to look at the monk, but found that she wasn’t behind them.

Yui noticed the silence and Nuriko’s pause. “She isn’t back there?” she asked, turning over her shoulder and seeing no one. “Where could she have gone?”

“Who knows?,” Nuriko said dryly. “I guess we better find somewhere to stop around here so she can catch up to us, and then turn around. We don’t want to lose the monk more than we have to, ne?”

“I guess so,” Yui said. Strange, that mountain in the distance didn’t look nearly as pretty as it had a few minutes ago.

*

Hotohori sighed, unable to keep his mind on the old law codes he was looking at. The mirror on the desk caught his eye, and he turned the chair slightly so it only caught the uninjured side of his face, then tried again to turn his attention to the book. He reached for his pen, and suddenly found his inkwell in the hands of a child-sized Chichiri who was sitting on his desk. “Hi no da.”

With a cry of shock, he jumped back from the desk, knocking the chair over. “Chichiri, what are you doing here!?”

“Your Majesty, are you all right!?” the guards called from the doorway.

“Fine,” he called back.

“I came back no da,” the tiny monk answered, setting the inkwell down.

“Yes, but why?” he said. “Yui needs you; you should be with her.”

“She needs you too, probably more no da. As for why I came back, you seemed sad no da.”

“Well, I appreciate your concern, but you know I can’t go with Yui, however I would like to.”

“Why not no da?”

“Because I have to look after the country as its Emperor,” he explained, in a slightly weary tone. “Besides, my advisors would never accept such a risk to my safety as a quest like that.”

“Well, that’s easy enough to fix no da,” Chichiri said with a smile.

“What do you mean?”

“If the Emperor must stay behind in the palace, then he can no da.” Suddenly she was surrounded by a poof of smoke; a second later, when it cleared, she was replaced by an exact replica of Hotohori, down to the two loops of the golden knot hanging from his--or her?--belt. “I can look after things while you go with Yui,” she said in an exact imitation of his voice.

“You’re certain about this?” he asked.

“No one will know no da,” she said in her own voice again.

He stared at her skeptically. She stared back, giving him a rather unnerving rendition of his “Emperor” look.

“It’ll be fine no da,” she assured him a moment later. “I’m certain; last night I dreamt that I was you no da.”

“Forgive me, but what does that have to do with anything?” Hotohori asked.

“Oh, I never told you, did I no da?” She paused for a moment. “In fact, I’m not completely sure if I actually told the others either no da. My dreams are sometimes prophetic; they guide me in my actions no da.”

“I see. And this is why you’re willing to do this, so that I can travel with Yui and protect her?”

She nodded.

He looked at the floor thoughtfully for a moment. “I...” he started slowly, then suddenly straightened. “I am far more beautiful than that!”

“What no da?!”

“I have longer creases at the outer corners of my eyes!” he insisted. “The bridge of my nose is sharper. You don’t look charming enough! Change again!”

Chichiri blinked at him for a moment, then fell over with a cry of “Daa!” “I can’t make it any better no da! And I am very charming looking no da!”

*

Nuriko drummed her fingers on the inn’s table, the wood straining with every strike. “I hope Chichiri catches up to us soon. This is a little closer to bandit territory than I’d like if we’re going to try Jouzen-shi first.”

You had to tell me that, didn’t you? Yui thought.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal,” Nuriko tried to assure her, with limited success. “They’re just like street thugs, only more of them. Nothing to worry about.”

“I think the groups of street thugs I’ve seen have been quite big enough, thank you,” Yui said, toying with the rice on her plate.

“I’m just saying, nothing’s gonna happen, so don’t wor...” Nuriko trailed off, catching a glimpse at a pair of snickering men at a nearby table. “Great Suzaku, they’re everywhere, aren’t they?”

“Let me guess...” Yui started. Oh, no, not this again...

“You didn’t eat any of that food, did you?” Nuriko whispered, standing up as the men began to rise.

“A little...”

“Let’s hope it wasn’t drugged, then.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here to tell me these things!”

“Couldn’t help but overhear your conversation...” the burliest guy in the cafe said, walking up to their table. “Gimme your money, and you won’t have to find out the hard way.”

“Yui, run,” Nuriko hissed, moving in front of the girl. “Look, Ape-man, why don’t you just keep on moving before you get yourself hurt?”

“Ooh, pretty-boy here’s trying to be tough. Isn’t that cute?”

Nuriko landed a punch squarely in the middle of his face, sending him soaring across the room. “Absolutely adorable,” she answered, turning to the other one.

“Not so fast!” the other thug shouted. He darted to intercept Yui as she reached the door and grabbed her arm. “You don’t want her to get hurt, do you!?” Yui tried stomping his foot, but missed, and he kicked her legs out from under her, knocking her to the floor.

“Leave her alone,” Nuriko ordered, taking out her money bag. “Here, just take it. Trust me, you’re not going to like the consequences if you hurt her.”

“Oh, you really are the tough one, aren’t--” He suddenly stopped short and let out a scream of pain.

Yui gasped, jumping back in shock and revulsion as his now-severed hand fell limply from her arm. She realized the doorway was open, and looked up. “Hotohori!?”

“Told ya so,” Nuriko gloated to the thug.

“Yui, are you all right?” Hotohori asked, taking Yui’s shoulders to steady her.

“I’m fine,” she said, glancing at the thug who was still screaming, clutching the bleeding arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Nuriko agreed. She whistled for the innkeeper, then pointed to the unconscious thug. “He’s paying our bill! See ya later.”

Hotohori ignored the aside and led Yui out the door, with Nuriko following while the innkeeper was still dazed. He helped Yui onto his horse, then mounted and started down the road, with Nuriko following on her own horse.

“You OK, Yui?” Nuriko asked.

“Just shaken up, that’s all,” she said.

“Thank you for the rescue, Hotohori-sama.”

“No trouble,” he said. “I wish I had gotten there sooner.”

Yui knew she should be touched that Hotohori had come to her rescue, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he had to do it in such a gruesome fashion.

“May I ask a question about that?” Nuriko asked. “Meaning no disrespect, of course.”

“Of course, go on.”

“What are you doing here at all?”

“It seems Chichiri has the power of disguise as well,” he explained. “She offered to take my place so that I could come and protect Yui.”

Nuriko paused for a moment, trying to find a way to phrase her next statement. “Chichiri is running the empire right now?”

Hotohori nodded.

“Not to question your judgement, but are you sure that’s... wise?”

“From what I’ve seen of her, I believe Chichiri is a fair-minded person. The empire won’t collapse if she looks after it for a short time.”

*

“Your Majesty,” the Minister of War said. “Have you considered my point about the defense of the border villages yesterday?”

“Your point about the defense of the border villages,” Chichiri-Hotohori said thoughtfully. Uh oh....

“Of course. It was the last thing we discussed yesterday evening. Have you come to a decision?”

I should have asked Hotohori for notes, she thought, trying to figure out a course of action that wouldn’t look too conspicous. The pause drug out for an unusually long time. “Well, you did bring up quite an interesting point.”

“Then you agree?” the minister asked.

Chichiri paused for a moment again. “Actually, I’m still considering,” she finally managed to cover. “Would you mind going over the major points again?”

He blinked once or twice. “It’s really quite simple, Your Majesty. Not much in the way of major points.”

You’re just trying to make my life difficult, aren’t you? “Indulge me.”

“I said that we have spread our forces too thin protecting the border. We don’t have the troops for an optimal resistance at any one point, and if the enemy punches through that line, we don’t have enough troops to defend the capital. We should pull them back, in my opinion.”

“I see.” Her mind flew. She was certain that Hotohori hadn’t intended for this to be a snap judgement, but she didn’t seem to have much choice, did she...? Ugh. “Well, it is very important to safeguard the capital... At the same time, the communities along the border need protection as well.... It seems to me that the best course of action may be to increase the military as a whole.” Where did that idea just come from?

“Volunteers have tapered off,” another minister said. “The army won’t grow on its own, and you’ve consistently rejected our suggestions to draft new soldiers. The branches are better sacrificed than the root, I should say.”

“It’s best to save the entire tree.” I’m going to get in trouble for this when Hotohori gets back, I know it. “I’m sure more volunteers can be encouraged; we’ll simply offer more incentives for joining.”

“Such a thing is easier said than done,” the Minister of Treasury protested. “The Imperial Treasury isn’t endless.”

“I’m sure the money can be found.” Ah, why not? If I’m going to get in trouble, I may as well deserve it. “I want the annual budget and the tax records for the last five years delivered to my quarters this evening.”

The advisors looked at each other, and the Minister of Treasury was visibly nervous. He’s never done that before...

*

“Well, if you think Chichiri can handle it, I’m sure you’re right,” Nuriko said. “Kutou probably won’t move unless Seiryuu is summoned, so I guess it’s not as though she’ll have to make any major decisions.”

Yui leaned back against Hotohori as she rode in front of him on his horse. She was happy to have him here with her, but at the same time, in a way she would rather that Chichiri had come with them and he had stayed behind. She didn’t want him to be in danger, and although she loved him just as much and felt just as happy about being close to him, it troubled her that the kind, loving Hotohori she knew was also capable of what happened to that bandit back at the inn. How stupid of me. All this whining about having to leave him behind... I shouldn’t complain now that I’ve got what I want... She looked up, and saw that same mountain, now not so distant. “Wait... I thought we were turning around...?” Yui said.

“Oh?” Hotohori said. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well there might be a Sei here, but it seems like a dangerous place to go when we don’t have any guarantees...”

“Why don’t you check that mirror?” Nuriko suggested.

“Ah, of course.” She could slap herself for forgetting that, and pulled it out of her pocket. Small characters, ‘Willow’ and ‘Star,’ appeared toward the edges of the mirror, and between them was a new, larger character, ‘Wing.’ “It’s showing something. There is a Sei--”

“Hotohori, Yui, do you hear that?” Nuriko asked, interrupting Yui.

The two immediately fell silent and listened, looking around. There was a rustle in the bushes.

“Maybe we’d better get out of here,” Yui said. Hotohori began to wheel the horse around.

“Not so fast!” someone said. Bandits began emerging from the bushes around and behind them, cutting off the way back.

“We’re going to have to try to outrun them,” Nuriko said.

“Fine,” Hotohori said, turning the horse around again and kicking it into a gallop.

Yui held on as best she could; she’d never been on a horse that was moving that fast before. She thought she heard a soft ‘twang’ and saw a pale line drawn across the approaching landscape--a rope stretched between two trees, approaching rapidly, at about the level of her neck. “HOTOHORI!”

She felt the horse slowing down, but as the rope drew closer she knew it wouldn’t stop in time. The moment after she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, she felt something touch her chest and face; Hotohori’s arms, she realized, crossed over where the rope would hit...

Yui barely knew what happened when they ran into it. For one moment Hotohori’s arms pressed painfully against her, then the saddle was torn away underneath her and she was falling. A split second later she hit--something softer than the ground. Only after she had rolled aside a bit did Hotohori’s cry of pain register in her mind. I landed on him! If he’s hurt...

A second later, Nuriko’s slowing horse passed, and the rope struck her in the chest, yanking her off her horse. She slammed into the ground about ten feet away from them and was just pushing herself up when a club-weilding bandit appeared over her and struck her across the back of the head with a soft ‘crack,’ knocking her unconscious.

“Nuriko!” Yui cried.

“Looks like now we just have the ladies to deal with,” said one of the bandits, coming down the road with several of his cohorts.

Hotohori got to his feet, pulling Yui up with him, and drew his sword. His sleeves were torn and stained with blood “Yui, get out of here!”

“What about you!?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “Go!”

“No, don’t do that!” one of the bandits shouted as Yui started back. After a few steps backward, she felt a wire under her heel, and tried to pick her foot up again, but it was too late and she heard a wooden ‘clunk’ at the side of the road.

Hotohori heard it too, and saw the horrified looks on the bandits’ faces. “YUI!!!” he shouted, whipping around and dashing toward her as a rack of sharpened stakes swung across the roadway. He threw his arms around her and pushed her down as the weapon swept over them.

When the rush of air died away, Yui picked herself up to look at Hotohori and felt his arm laying limp across her back. The fabric of his shirt at the shoulder was torn and bloody. A moment later, she saw a red tint slip into the highlight in his hair. “Hotohori! No!!” she cried, hugging him frantically, close enough to feel his breath against her face. He’s alive. Thank goodness!

“Let’s not do that anymore, okay, girl?”

Yui looked up to see the bandits standing over them. There was nowhere to go, and she couldn’t abandon Hotohori and Nuriko. They seem to want to capture us alive. Surely they aren’t going to kill us now. Surely...

*

“‘The Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi, Hotohori and Nuriko, were captured by the bandits of Mt. Leikaku,’” Hiro read. “Oh, geez. I don’t know how much more of this I can take...”

To Be Continued...

*

PREVIEW

Although the bandits bring Yui and her Seishi to their stronghold unharmed, the fortress contains dangers of its own. The pieces of a puzzle that leads to another Sei seem to be falling into place.

Next Time: