Tamahome has returned, and although the curse of Kodoku is still with him, Mitsukake and Chichiri have succeeded in returning him to himself. With that, the Seven Sei of Suzaku are gathered at last, and preparations for the ceremony to summon Suzaku begin.
However, even with his Miko missing in enemy territory, Nakago is not conceding victory yet, and his best-laid plan has yet to be revealed.
As Yui will all-too-soon discover, not everyone is what they seem.

Episode Twenty-five:

Chiriko had hoped to set out early in the morning, but he’d exhausted himself too much, searching for Miaka long into the night, then laying awake and distracted in bed before finally falling asleep. The sun was well above the horizon when he woke and set out for the marketplace.

Already an army of servants were at work in the palace courtyard, decorating and preparing for the summoning ceremony. Chiriko encountered the other Seishi watching from the palace steps, although Yui was nowhere to be seen, nor were Tamahome and Mitsukake.

“Chiriko!” Nuriko called as he came through the door. “Where were you? I heard you were out until late last night.”

“Oh, there’s a friend of mine living in town,” he said. “I told them I’d look them up if I was ever around. Didn’t find them though, so I’m going out now to try again, if that’s all right.”

“By all means,” Hotohori said. “If you’d like some help finding your friend, the guard is at your disposal.”

“Oh, no,” Chiriko said. “I don’t think she’d appreciate a bunch of guards showing up...”

“She...?” Tasuki said with sudden interest, and elbowed him in the ribs. “Chiriko’s got a girlfriend!”

“Can’t get anything past you, can I?”

“Oh, but Chiriko-chan,” Chichiri said, “we can’t have your girlfriend see you like this no da!” She touched his face, just at the lower edge of the swollen black eye Tamahome had given him the day before, and her character shone as the warmth of her chi melted the bruise away.

“Speaking of girlfriends, where’s Yui?” Tasuki asked.

“Resting,” Hotohori answered. “She’ll be spending tonight in purification rituals and thought it best to get some sleep now.”

Nuriko was still focused on Chichiri and Chiriko. “Say, while she’s at it, she can fix your wrist.”

“Oh?” Chiriko started and took his wrist. “It’s feeling a lot better today...”

Before he could protest, Chichiri gently took his wrist, and he felt her chi flowing through it. As she healed it, could she feel the shape of the scratches? If she could read the message...

“There you go, good as new no da!” Chichiri said with a smile. “It doesn’t seem to have been that bad no da.”

“Thank you anyway, though. That does help,” Chiriko said. “I’d better get going.”

“Just don’t stay out again tonight. We need you rested up for the ceremony tomorrow,” Nuriko said.

“That’s the idea, I want to find her and get back as soon as I can.”

“You’re welcome to bring your friend to the ceremony with you,” Hotohori offered.

“I don’t know about that, but I’ll tell her,” he said. “I’ll see you all later.”

With that, he set off for the palace gate and the market beyond at a brisk walk. No way I could bring Miaka-sama to the ceremonly. Bad enough that I have to be there. Have to come up with some excuse that’s not too suspicious... Well, first I have to find her... Hopefully asking around about a strange dark-haired girl wouldn’t give him away. That was just a risk he’d have to take.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do him much good. Several people had seen her come to the palace gate with Tamahome, and she’d been seen in the marketplace at other times—seemingly alive and well, thank heaven—but no one seemed to know where she was at the moment. He ran to where every sighting of her had taken place, but couldn’t find a trace of her.

Around noon, he paused at the smell of cooked meat and breads from a food-seller’s stand. He’d skipped breakfast in his haste to start the search, and his stomach growled at the scent of hot food. I should eat something. Maybe go back to the palace after that, just so everyone doesn’t wonder about me... I wonder if there would be a way I could get the guard to help and still keep Miaka-sama safe?

“You’d better be able to pay for that!”

“I was really hungry!” a familiar voice wailed. Chiriko started shoving through the crowd.

“I bet, now let’s see some money.”

“Well, um...”

Chiriko burst from the crowd into the small area cordoned off in front of the food-stand. People were sitting down to eat, and at the counter, sure enough, a dark haired girl swathed in a sheet was arguing with the vendor. Chiriko ran toward her and took her by the shoulders. “Sweetheart!”

“Huh!?” she started up so that Chiriko could see her wide brown eyes.

Thank Seiryuu! It is Miaka-sama! “Now, honey,” he said, “I told you to wait for me since I was bringing the money.” He turned to the food-seller. “I’ll pay her way. Sorry about the trouble.”

“Ah! Chiriko-sama!” the man stuttered. “You don’t need to give me any money!”

“Oh, please, I insist.”

“No, no! Consider it a gift!”

“Thank you. I wish I could stay longer, but I’m in a little bit of a rush. Now, come on, sweetie, I have to show you something,” Chiriko said, and led a squirming Miaka away by his hold on her shoulders.

With some difficulty, he managed to find an out-of-the-way nook of sand-colored brick wall where they wouldn’t be overheard, and stopped.

“Suboshi?” Miaka asked. “What are you—?”

“I’m not Suboshi,” Chiriko whispered.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, you’re his brother, uh...”

“Shhh. Don’t say my name. I’m Suzaku’s Sei Chiriko.” Her eyebrows pinched together, but he leaned in close and whispered before she could protest. “And if anyone finds out that that isn’t who I am, we are both in terrible danger. So just call me Chiriko, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Thank goodness I found you... The others were worried sick! We’ve got to get you home!”

“I don’t want to go back!” Miaka protested.

“What? Miaka—” he paused. Best not to risk calling her “-sama” in public. “Miaka, you have to. You here in wartime—it’s crazy!”

“I won’t go back! I hate Miboshi, and Nakago’s gonna be so mad...”

Chiriko sighed. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s just worry about what we do next from here. First I’ll get you a dress, and then... I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t know where else to take you. You’ll be safer in the palace than out here.”

“The palace...?” Tamahome’s there...

“Is that all right?”

Miaka nodded.

“Come on then.”

*

“What the... Chiriko is a Sei of Seiryuu!?” Hiro stared incredulously at the page. Just when everything was starting to work out...

“‘It took Chiriko several hours to find local clothes that were to the Seiryuu no Miko’s liking, and late in the afternoon he brought her to Konan Palace. When they had passed through the palace gates, the Seiryuu no Miko turned her eyes toward Suzaku’s Shrine and trembled.’”

*

“What is it?” Chiriko asked as Miaka ducked behind him.

She pointed over his shoulder.

He followed her finger and looked toward Suzaku’s Shrine. Somehow an oculus had been opened up in its roof, and teams of red-robed monks were heaving at a tracery of ropes, raising the golden statue of Suzaku to stand atop the shrine. The sun cast flecks of white light across it as its silhouette rose higher into the blue sky.

Chiriko stared. To have found Miaka here safe, for as long as she had been alone in the city... Even in Kutou, such a thing would be far from certain, and yet here, in Suzaku’s land... I know I of all people shouldn’t be talking to you, his mind said to the statue, but thank you. Thank you for sparing Miaka-sama.

“Such a beautiful sight,” came another voice.

Chiriko looked up to find Hotohori standing beside them, sharing the view of Suzaku’s Shrine. “Yes, it is.”

“I see you found your friend,” he said, turning to Miaka.

Chiriko’s heart pounded in his ears. “Why, yes. Sweetie, let me introduce you to Hotohori-sama. He’s my fellow Sei of Suzaku and the Emperor of Konan.”

Miaka stared up at Hotohori, her lips just parted.

“And I’m very pleased to meet you,” Hotohori said. “Might I ask your name?”

“Uh... Mi... Mia...”

“It’s Miyoko,” Chiriko cut in. “You’ll have to forgive her; she’s never met the Emperor before.”

He gave a soft chuckle. “Yes, my radiant beauty sometimes has that effect. I have other matters to attend to, and I’m sure that Chiriko would prefer to have you out from under my spell, so I will take my leave.” He clasped Miaka’s hand, but only briefly as she trembled under his touch. “But I am glad to have made your acquaintance.”

“Uh, me too,” Miaka said.

“Thank you,” Chiriko said. “Let me know what you need me to do for the ceremony. I’ll be in my room.”

“I’ll see to it,” Hotohori said, and with a slight bow of his head turned toward the crowd of courtiers overseeing a pair of braziers being placed in the courtyard. The silk train of his robe flowed across the ground behind him as he walked away.

Chiriko hardly even dared to sigh in relief as he started leading Miaka again. He pulled her along like a dead weight; her movements were numb, almost dizzy, but he couldn’t blame her. She had probably been just as scared as he was. The Seiryuu no Miko, face-to-face with the Emperor of Konan...

But when he looked over his shoulder at her, her face glowed with a smile, and her eyes were far away as if in a pleasant daydream.

*

Tamahome sat beside Yui’s bed. Through the warm daylight hours, she had rolled out of the blankets in her sleep, leaving them piled up around the edges of the bed now that the sky was reddening with sunset. The last time he’d sat here like this was the night he left for Kutou. Better not to think about that...

The door slid open, and he turned to see Chichiri standing there in a red robe elaborately embroidered with flames and long-tailed phoenixes. An oval ruby rested in the center of her forehead like a third eye, suspended by a gold chain so fine it was almost invisible, and her long periwinkle hair was twisted into an intricate four-stranded braid. “Tamahome-chan no da?” she whispered.

“Wow. You’re decked out.”

She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Well, it seems a little extravagant to me, but I guess this does happen only once every 400 years no da. Since I’m a monk as well as a Sei of Suzaku, I’m taking Yui-chan through the purification ceremonies no da.”

“It is that time, isn’t it?” Tamahome rose and walked over to Chichiri. “It just seems so unbelievable... Like it happened without me doing anything. Well, more like with me screwing up...”

“Tamahome-chan...”

“What? It’s true.”

Chichiri gently took his arm. “I think Yui deserves a few more minutes of sleep no da. Come take a walk with me no da.”

Tamahome obediently followed as she guided him across the garden to the pavilion on the pond. It was almost at the same spot where he had seen her before leaving, when she had tried to warn him about what would happen.

“Do you know something I don’t, with your dreams and that? Are they going to kill me or something?” Tamahome asked. Chichiri, of all people, seemed so solemn as she sat by the water.

“Not... physically no da,” she answered slowly, reaching for her mask, then turning to him. Even in the moonlight, he could make out her surprisingly deep brown eyes. “If you leave tonight, Tamahome-chan, you will not be the same man next time you are within these walls no da.”

He supposed he deserved a good “I told you so”; her words were certainly true. The man who came here with hate and murder in his heart, the man who tried to kill Hotohori and Yui, that was not the Tamahome who had left. That was not the Tamahome that Yui wanted as her “acting big brother.”

Yui. If she had died... It didn’t matter why, or who was controlling him; if Yui had died at his hands...

“Um, Tamahome-chan, I don’t think you should be eating that no da.”

Tamahome blinked, and found himself gnawing on the edge of a ceramic dish that until a moment earlier had been sitting on the railing, holding incense.

“Chichiri,” Tamahome started, then paused to spit out ashes.

“What do you think you’ll do after Suzaku’s been summoned no da?” Chichiri asked, leaning against the railing.

“Well, I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess go back and help my dad and Chuei on the farm. What about you?”

“I’m looking forward to traveling again no da. I think maybe I’ll visit my family for a while no da.”

“You have a family?”

“Hai, my twin brother and his family no da. Houjan and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I love him more than anything else in the world no da. I would do almost anything to help him no da.”

“Even abandon your miko?” Tamahome muttered under his breath.

“Yes no da.” Chichiri turned and looked him in the face. “I would kill for Houjan, and I would die for him, and if the choice were forced on me... Yui has six other Seishi to protect her, and my brother has only me no da. If I abandon him, who will he have to turn to no da?”

“Lot of good it did with me, huh?”

“It did do a lot of good no da.” She gently touched his shoulder. “You paid a very high price, far higher than anyone should ever have to pay no da. But it wasn’t wholly in vain no da. You delayed the war, and in doing so saved hundreds of innocent lives; now that we are all together to summon Suzaku, we can avoid it entirely no da. More importantly, you protected your family when they had no one else to turn to no da.”

“I guess...”

“You guess, but we know no da.” She gave him a quick hug and patted his shoulder. “I should be getting back to Yui-chan, but Tamahome-chan, I’m glad to have you back no da.”

Tamahome was silent for a long moment. “Thanks.”

“Now, you should go and get some rest no da. Tomorrow’s going to be a very big day no da.”

“I don’t get to come along for the purification ceremony, huh?”

“I’m afraid not no da.”

“Well, I know you’ll take good care of her. See you tomorrow,” he said, and set off toward his own room.

Yui was already sitting up in bed when Chichiri slid the door open again, and she looked at her and blinked. “He wasn’t kidding, was he?”

“Da? Oh, the clothes no da! I thought you were asleep no da.”

“Kind of half asleep,” she said. “I still need to get dressed...”

“No, you don’t no da.” Chichiri said. “I have two questions before we do this no da.”

“Hm?”

“First, have you though about your three wishes no da?”

“Well, yeah, basically.”

“Good, because you’re not supposed to think about that anymore tonight no da.”

“That’ll be a challenge,” Yui admitted.

“I know you can do it no da,” Chichiri said. “Now, second question: are you attached to that robe no da? I mean, if something happens to it, it’s not your favorite robe or anything, is it no da?”

“No... it’s just a robe.”

“Good no da! Let’s go to Suzaku’s shrine for the ceremony no da.” She opened the door of the room and motioned Yui out ahead of her, and walked a few steps behind her.

Yui paused on the walkway leading out to Suzaku’s Shrine, and looked up at the golden statue on its roof. The red sunset light and the red roof of the temple reflected their hues in the statue, so that it almost seemed to come alive with rosy light. “It’s beautiful...”

Chichiri nodded. “You know, in Sairou, they do this at noon, when the light is most intense, so the statue of Byakko shines white no da.”

“Clever,” Yui said, then paused. “Chichiri?”

“What is it no da?”

“What did you mean ‘every 400 years’? I heard you tell Tamahome that this only happens that often.”

“I thought you’d know no da. The Four Gods aren’t summoned only once ever, but only once every ‘age’ no da. One age is thought to be 400 years; a century for each god no da.”

“No one had told me that,” Yui said. “So there was a Suzaku no Miko before me?”

“That’s right no da,” Chichiri said. “But... the last Suzaku no Miko couldn’t summon Suzaku, because one of her Seishi was killed no da. Because of that, Konan didn’t have Suzaku’s protection and was conquered by Kutou no da. It was just within the last hundred years that this country became independent again, and that’s why Kutou still wants Konan so much no da.”

“They want it back,” Yui surmised.

“That’s what they say; it doesn’t make much sense to me no da,” Chichiri admitted, starting toward the shrine again.

When they reached its doors, she pushed them open for Yui, and the dim light spilling in from the walkway was the only thing illuminating the room. None of the torches were lit. Yui walked in and Chichiri pulled the door shut behind them, closing off the last bit of light. Even in the blackness, Yui could feel the cavernous space of the room, and she heard its warm welcoming resonance, mingled with the light slapping of water.

Chichiri gently lay her hands on Yui’s shoulders and slowly walked her forward. Yui moved cautiously, lest she bump into anything in the dark, but Chichiri guided her with sure hands. “Four steps up here, then stop no da,” she said after a time. Carefully, Yui climbed four stairs. The water was lapping just ahead of her now. “Now I need you to give me your clothes no da.”

Well, no one’s going to see me in the dark. Nobody but Chichiri will anyway, and she’s a girl, too. Yui untied her sash and shrugged off her robe. Her hands and Chichiri’s managed to find each other in the dark as she handed it over, followed by her undergarments and slippers.

Chichiri took her shoulder and gently turned her a little, toward the water again. Yui shivered slightly, and her toes were already getting cold against the stone floor. “Now, four steps down into the water and get comfy no da,” Chichiri said. “Oh, and close your eyes no da.”

Yui closed her eyes—they might as well be closed in the dark. She took the first step carefully, but found the water and the steps beneath its surface invitingly warm. She eased herself down, Two... three... four, and sat down on the second step, so the water lapped around her shoulders.

Chichiri’s footsteps were further away than she expected, and in front of her. Straight ahead, there was a musical phumph of cloth on metal, a whispered “lekka shinen,” and the spitting of an igniting flame. She could see the red glow even through her eyelids. Chichiri came back around the pool behind her, with less-than-solemn speed by the sound of it. “You can look up now, Yui-chan no da.”

Yui opened her eyes. Her robe was burning in a large, shallow brass bowl on the opposite side of the pool; she could still make out the slippers sitting on top of it as they began to catch. The firelight danced, and slowly she was able to make out a heavy scaffolding, extending from the four corners of the pool up to the ceiling. This pool used to be the fountain under the statue. They used this to raise it up to the ceiling... High above her, there was a far-away glint of gold and red from its base. But below that, cloth hung from the scaffolding, some heavy, some sheer and soft, and gradually the image resolved itself into a bejewelled and embroidered red robe amid a gauzy curtain, upon which a scattering of rubies danced near the floor.

“That’s the robe and veil that you’ll be wearing tomorrow no da,” Chichiri said, as Yui stared in awe at it all. “The rubies on the train of the veil are a chart of Suzaku’s constellations no da. By tradition, the monks who tend Suzaku’s shrine take years making that veil, and there are special incantations they have to say over every thread when they spin it, weave it, and sew it, so that when the god appears and touches it, the veil will dissolve no da.”

“Does it really?” Yui asked, then a moment later realized that it was a stupid thing to say. Of course Chichiri would say that it did. How embarassing to have let on about her lack of faith...

“I don’t know no da,” Chichiri answered. “I’ve never seen it no da.”

“It’s almost like you can read my mind,” Yui said. “Sometimes I don’t know how I can do this. I don’t have any... what you’d call religious faith in Suzaku, I guess...”

“Do you think that Suzaku is real no da?” Chichiri asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you think that He will appear tomorrow when you call Him no da?”

“Yes. I know he will.”

“And I knew that you’d know that no da,” she said. “It shows in everything you’ve done no da. Maybe it isn’t what you expect it to be like, but you have all the faith you need no da.”

Yui nodded. That was true, when she thought about it. All she had been through searching for her Seishi, adventurous and dangerous things she had done, walking right into a den of bandits and into the plague in Choukou... All of that, because she believed. From the moment she had first seen the “Star” character glowing on Hotohori’s neck, it had never occurred to her not to believe in her Seishi. Wasn’t that the same as believing in Suzaku, after all?

“Besides,” Chichiri went on, “you felt Suzaku’s presence from the stars in Kutou, and I think you can feel it right now, all around you no da.”

“Yes.”

“Think about that no da. That’s how you’re going to purify your mind no da. Think about yourself surrounded by Suzaku’s presence no da.”

Yui closed her eyes, smiling, and nodded again.

She heard Chichiri’s footsteps, and something moving through the water. “Brace yourself no da,” Chichiri said.

Yui did, but as Chichiri poured the warm water over her head, she realized that she didn’t have to. The water flowing over her was so pleasant, there was no need to protect herself from that sensation.

*

“Nakago-sama!” Suboshi came running toward the palace gate as Nakago entered with Ashitare shuffling heavily along behind him. The torches in the archway cast a pool of golden light around them, into which Suboshi ran.

“What is it?” Nakago asked.

“You were right about Miaka-sama,” Suboshi said. “Big Brother found her. He has her at the palace. And that’s not all,” he said. He darted over to one of the torches and held up his arm. Two lines of characters were scratched into his skin.

Miko found. Palace.
Summoning Ceremony.

“Thank you, Suboshi,” Nakago said. “You’ve done well. Tell your brother I’ll be sending operatives to get Miaka immediately.” He glanced over his shoulder as Ashitare opened his jaws wide and rolled his tongue in a toothy, wolfish yawn. “Then you should all try to get some sleep while I arrange it.”

“But...” Suboshi started.

“I know you’re nervous, but we all need it after this crisis. And you should try to be well-rested tomorrow, for your brother.”

Suboshi was silent for a long moment, then nodded. “Come on, Ashitare,” he said, starting toward their quarters.

*

At dawn, the statue of Suzaku was lowered to a place inside the shrine but high above the floor, where it shone as it let in the morning light. Yui rose from the water without even being told, and Chichiri helped her dry off and put on a light, red under-robe before more female monks entered. With forked poles, they took down the bejewelled robe and the gauzy veil, and they also produced red silk slippers, strands of gold and rubies, and a filligreed golden crown. Piece by piece they dressed her, and under the heavy soft fabric of the robe, her skin still felt clean and new from the water.

The monks arranged the fabric carefully, and even one with a needle and red thread stitched some of the folds to make sure that they would stay perfectly in place. Then the jewelry; Yui almost giggled, thinking of herself as a Christmas tree as they hung these decorations on her, again stitching them in place at times. Finally, they draped the veil over her head, just touching the floor at her feet and stretching out, it seemed, forever behind her. The monks fitted the dainty crown over it and asked her to kneel. With careful hands, they again sewed the veil to the crown, and Yui heard them say those prayers Chichiri had mentioned over every stitch.

At last, they lifted the veil away from her face to drape behind her. “Now, Yui-chan,” Chichiri said, placing a familiar red scroll in Yui’s hands, “here is Suzaku’s ‘Universe of the Four Gods’ no da. In a minute we’ll be going outside to wait for the final preparations, and when all the Seishi are here and the monks open the doors again, you’ll walk straight to the statue of Suzaku and read the incantation in the scroll no da.”

“Where?” Yui asked, unrolling it to look.

“I’ve got it right there, just unroll it to the left no da. Read it over, it says one or two things after it tells you to burn the scroll no da.”

“Okay.” Yui unrolled the scroll and found it. She was afraid that it would be difficult to read, but the words practically seemed to translate themselves for her, right on the paper. ‘The Suzaku no Miko stood in Suzaku’s shrine and said, “Suzaku, god of Heaven and Earth”...’ She quickly read it over. “Wha? It says my name here!” She handed Chichiri one end of the scroll and pointed it out. “See, it says ‘I am Hongou Yui.’”

“It does no da!” Chichiri concurred. “Isn’t it great no da!?”

“Yeah!” Yui said with a laugh. Her heart was already pounding with excitement.

“Now, you know what to do no da?”

Yui nodded.

“All right then no da,” Chichiri said. On impulse, she grabbed Yui and hugged her. “Now, the next person to touch you will be Suzaku no da,” Chichiri said as she backed away, and the other monks lifted the veil over her head again and smoothed it down in front of her.

Several of them took up the end of her train and a few others opened the door. Getting her dressed had taken so long that by now the sun outside was high and strong. The monks led her out of the shrine, not obliquely onto the walkway to her quarters in the palace, but straight ahead, where a wide staircase led down onto the garden courtyard. Yui had expected a crowd, but the courtyard was empty.

Chichiri stopped Yui at the top of the Shrine’s stairs, and the monks bearing her train carried it around to her right and spread it out at the foot of the stairs below her. “Now, when the time comes, you just turn around and walk right in no da,” Chichiri said.

Yui hugged ‘The Universe of the Four Gods’ to her chest. “Thank you, Chichiri.”

“It’s been my pleasure, Yui-chan no da,” she said. “Now, you wait here while I get everyone no da.”

Yui watched Chichiri cross the garden toward the doors of the palace. It seemed like forever waiting. In the silence she could hear birds singing, and the wind sighing across the lake in the garden. She heard heavy creaking from inside the shrine; probably they were doing something else with the statue.

Finally, she saw red flags of Konan raised up on the other side of the courtyard and heard a distant cheer as they slowly moved toward her. The procession was obscured by the trees of the garden, but she could watch those tall flags come closer and closer.

*

“‘The braziers burned with red flames and the Priests of Suzaku led the crowd of people in prayers before the palace of Konan as Chichiri came for the other Sei of Suzaku. Surrounded by guards and holy men, the Seven walked in procession through the palace and into the inner courtyard, where the guards raised red flags of Konan. The people at the palace steps saw the flags and cheered as the Seishi came to the steps of Suzaku’s Shrine, where the Suzaku no Miko awaited them, surrounded by monks.’”

Hiro’s heart was pounding, too, but for different reasons. He could feel the pull of dread deep in his chest. Chiriko was a Sei of Seiryuu... The summoning ceremony itself was a trap...

*

Yui had entertained a whimsical hope that Hotohori would come around the trees first, but no. First were the guards, then clergymen. The first Sei to appear was Chichiri, then Tamahome and Nuriko. Hotohori came next, in his most elaborate imperial robes and a hat that looked like a mortarboard with fringe across the front, then Chiriko, Tasuki, and finally Mitsukake—Yui smiled to see Tama on his shoulder. The guards and priests took places around the foot of the stairs as the Seishi came in the order of their constellations on the train of Yui’s veil, and moved in a smooth line to take their places at its hem. There were no spectators, except the priests and monks. Yui supposed it must be security considerations if nothing else.

She took a moment to smile down at her Seishi—Chiriko obviously needed it; he was positively white—before she heard the massive doors of the shrine unlatch and swing slowly open behind her. With a deep breath, she held the scroll tightly, turned left—Do not step on the veil—and walked resolutely through the door. The statue was back on its base, with water flowing from Suzaku’s feet and sunlight raining down on him from the ceiling. The brass bowl of fire was now set up on an altar before the fountain. Between the flickering reflections in the statue and the pull on her veil, she was vaguely aware of the Seishi carrying it behind her, and when she stopped before the altar, they knelt and lay it down on the floor.

This is it... Yui unrolled the scroll, took a deep breath, and read the words with her full voice.

“Suzaku, god of Heaven and Earth, god of fire, together with your people, the Empire of Konan, I call to you. I am Hongou Yui. I have come from another world to stand before you, under the blessing and protection of the Seven Sei of Suzaku.

“I am the Suzaku no Miko, and I call upon you to fulfill the vow you made to the people of Konan at the beginning of their history. Appear before me! Join together with me, and together we will walk the Earth and perform three miracles for the sake of your people!

“I have come to you through the perils of the Earth, and now I speak into your Heaven. I summon you now, by that part of yourself that walks the earth as the Seven Sei of Suzaku, by the flames of this scroll, the sign of your promise, and by my voice as Suzaku no Miko.

“Suzaku!” Yui shouted. She threw the scroll into the flame in a flourishing trail of paper. “I summon you!” At her words, the scroll was consumed in a sudden plume of ruby-red flame.

And then silence.

What is it? What did I do wrong!? Yui thought. Her heart pounded in her chest. She thought she might count off seconds, but she knew she wouldn’t get through more than three or four before she panicked...

A sound swelled up out of the silence: one note from a flute, rich and wonderfully steady.

“Chiriko?” Yui whipped around.

Chiriko had his flute to his lips, blowing that note, constant and smooth as glass, as he rose to his feet. At last he stopped, not suddenly, but not trailing off, either. “Everyone, Yui,” he said, “I’m sorry about this.”

What!? But Yui found she couldn’t speak or lift a hand. Her body was as frozen as that note in the air. No one else moved either, except Chiriko.

“My name isn’t Chiriko,” he said. “I’m Seiryuu’s Sei Amiboshi, and I did what I had to do. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”

The paralysis was beginning to fade along with the memory of the note, and Yui pushed herself back toward him.

The Sei of Suzaku were beginning to stir as well. “You... bastard...” Tasuki growled through his teeth.

Before anyone could move enough for any kind of retaliation, Amiboshi raised the flute to his lips again and played the low, sweet notes of a traditional lullaby. The monks, priests, and guards wavered and fell at the sound of it, and it wrapped Yui’s mind tightly in soft sleepiness, so that she stumbled over her veil and struggled to raise her head and see him turn and walk out of the shrine, playing the same song as he went.

*

Nakago knew that it was a waiting game at this point. There was nothing to say, even sitting here facing Suboshi, who sat staring at the floor, leaning on his own lap with his hands hanging between his knees. They’d been over the plan so many times... There was no use in saying again now that it was the closest thing to “safe” he could come up with. That was why Amiboshi had agreed to do it. With any luck, he could just walk out without hurting anyone or being in danger. At last he bent over to reach and took one of Suboshi’s hands.

“It’s happening now,” Suboshi said. “I think so. My heart’s pounding...”

*

Yui’s head cleared as the music dwindled into the distance. The Seishi were back on their feet as well, and Nuriko, Tasuki, and Tamahome ran out the door in pursuit.

“Mitsukake-chan, can you make sure no one’s hurt no da?” Chichiri asked.

Mitsukake nodded as he set the now-sleeping Tama-chan safely aside, and Chichiri ran out the door also.

“Yui!” Hotohori cried, and dashed over to her as best he could in his imperial robes and shoes.

She was trying to rise, but the veil still caught at her feet. Finally she seized the golden crown from her head and tossed it aside, then Hotohori took her arms and half-pulled her out of the tangle of sheer fabric as she kicked it away, only to stumble back over the thick red robe. She turned to it next, but the sash wouldn’t come untied... “Aaah! They sewed me into this thing!”

“Come on,” Hotohori said. With an arm around her waist he started for the door, while Mitsukake was trying to shake someone awake.

Hotohori kicked off his ornate shoes on the stairs of the shrine, and Yui did everything she could to pick up her skirts, but especially over the unsmoothed ground of the garden, they were both so encumbered by their clothes that when they got to the front doors of the palace, Amiboshi was already halfway to the outer wall. Tamahome and Tasuki followed at a distance, occasionally trying to close in on him, but then stumbling back, obviously hit by the effects of the sleep-song. Even where she was, Yui’s mind was hazy at the strains of it.

Nuriko was still beside the palace doors, shaking a sleeping guard and shouting at him. “—The bowmen on the towers, dammit! Crap, they’re asleep, too...”

“Nuriko, what’s happening!?” Hotohori asked.

“Everyone in earshot of him is asleep except us!” she said. “And we can’t get close! Dammit, there’s nothing to keep him from just walking out of here!”

“Who’s that?” Yui cried, pointing.

“Who?” Nuriko looked around. Off in the crowd of prone figures, someone was standing, holding something to their mouth...

TWEEEEEEEEEEET!

The whistle shot through the fog in Yui’s brain, shone through the lullaby like a laser. Tamahome and Tasuki ran forward, following that beam.

Tamahome got to him first. His right hand drew back while the left hand seized the shoulder of Amiboshi’s shirt and whipped him around.

*

Suboshi’s hand was ripped away from Nakago’s as he cried out and fell, sending the chair clattering across the floor.

“Suboshi!” Nakago immediately fell to his knees as Suboshi clutched his face with both hands. He gently pried Suboshi’s hands away and saw his left cheek reddened, looked like the start of a deep bruise... Amiboshi! No!

With another grunt of pain Suboshi clutched his wrist.

*

Amiboshi still clung to the flute as he pushed himself up on his elbows, struggling to get back to his feet, when Tasuki’s boot slammed down on his wrist. When he raised his head, all he could see was the iron fan.

“Don’t move!” Tasuki shouted. “Let go of the flute!”

Amiboshi stared at the fan for a long moment, then sighed and opened his hand. He flinched as Tamahome immediately snatched the instrument and snapped it in half.

Nuriko, Yui, and Hotohori started down the palace steps and Chichiri materialized in the courtyard as Tasuki hauled Amiboshi to his feet. Sure enough, Yui could see a blue glow behind the torn fabric on his shoulder as he walked with lowered face.

With sudden violence that belied his air of defeat, Amiboshi stomped his heel into Tasuki’s foot. Even as he recoiled from the blow, Amiboshi yanked his arm around and bit into his hand.

Tasuki screamed as Amiboshi broke away from him, narrowly dodging as Tamahome made a grab for him.

“Stay back!” Nuriko cried, darting in front of Yui and Hotohori, but Amiboshi ran sideways across the courtyard, away from everyone. “What’s he doing...?”

He rammed his shoulder into one of the burning braziers with such force that he and it toppled over together and the burning coals spilled out onto a bare patch of ground. Tamahome and Tasuki paused in pursuing him, wondering what he was going to do next. Rather than getting to his feet, Amiboshi took one step on his knees and pushed his forearms into the coals as the grass around him started to catch fire.

Chichiri darted across the grass and took hold of him as the others stood paralyzed with disbelief. “Nai no da!!” she shouted, pulling at his shoulders. “Amiboshi, stop no da!!” He curled up tight, fighting her even as he screamed in pain. Finally, with a roar of effort, she dragged him up from the ground almost limp, his arms blackened. “Hakuujinraiho!” she cried, and at her command rain began to fall, a light drizzle over most of the courtyard, but intense enough on that spot to put out the flames.

*

Suboshi screamed and clutched his arms to his body as Nakago tried to get hold of him. “Suboshi! Don’t move!” At last he managed to haul him up into a sitting position, get hold of one of his arms...

The message was still written on the underside of his forearm: “Miko found. Palace.” Before Nakago’s eyes, Suboshi’s arm seared red, and the characters boiled away as blisters rose like bubbles in his skin.

“DOCTOR!” Nakago screamed at the door. “GET A DOCTOR!!”

Suboshi stopped screaming and sat against Nakago, panting for breath.

“A doctor is coming,” Nakago said. “Sit still.”

“I can’t feel him! Where’s my brother!? I can’t feel him!!”

“Calm down!”

“He’s dead!” Suboshi screamed. “He’s dead!!”

“No!” Nakago shouted. “Calm down and listen!”

With effort, Suboshi got control of himself and turned to look at Nakago.

“I won’t lie to you. I think your brother is badly injured. Look at your arms,” Nakago said. Suboshi grimaced at the sight of his blistered forearms. “They’re badly burned,” he continued. “But now it’s suddenly stopped. Amiboshi isn’t dead, he’s hurt badly, and the link broke to protect you.”

“But he’s hurt, and he’s trapped there...”

“He’ll be all right,” Nakago said. “He’s been captured, yes, but I’ll do everything I can to get him back. And the Sei of Suzaku are not the kind of people who would let him die.”

*

“Tamahome-chan, watch him no da,” Chichiri said, then ran back into the palace, leaving Amiboshi unconscious on the grass. “Mitsukake-chan no da!” she called into the distance.

Hotohori and Nuriko followed Yui as she ran down the steps and looked into the still-sleeping crowd for that lone figure... Now Yui could see it was a very small person, probably a child, walking slowly toward them...

She found the spot between the rows of people and hurried toward the child as best she could, and when she came close it was a boy in a green robe, with brown hair in a ponytail that stuck straight up in the air and a wide blade of grass in his hands, folded into a whistle. “You saved us!” she cried. “Who are you!?”

He blinked at her. “Um, excuse me just a moment,” he said; tilting his head to each side in turn, he removed a small wad of cloth from each ear. Looking closely, Yui could see the torn-away spot in the hem of one of his sleeves. “Can you say that again, please?”

“Wow!” Nuriko said. “You certainly are resourceful.”

“Thank you,” the boy said, and blushed.

“Who are you?” Yui asked.

“My name is Ou Doukun,” he said, “but, um...”

The boy picked up the hem of his robe and lifted his foot. There, framed nicely by his black slipper, the character “Stretching” was written in red light.

“Chiriko!!” Yui cried. Without a thought, she dropped to her knees, threw her arms around the boy and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t come find you! Thank you so much!”

“Um, you’re welcome, Suzaku no Miko-sama...”

“Oh, the ceremony!” she realized, and straightened up. “Chiriko, come with me.” Yui turned over her shoulder, looking over at where Tamahome was standing over Amiboshi and Tasuki had begun shaking onlookers awake. “Tamahome, can you carry him!?” she shouted.

“Uh, sure.”

Yui was already running through the crowd back toward the palace steps, with Chiriko, Hotohori, and Nuriko close behind. “Take him back inside! We’ve got to get back to the Shrine!”

Tamahome lifted the unconscious Amiboshi, and they all went running after Yui. Mitsukake and Chichiri met them in the garden, and immediately turned around and followed the others as Yui stumbled up the steps of Suzaku’s Shrine in her robes, dodged around the discarded veil, and finally arrived breathless at the altar. The scroll... There was still a faint glow among the ashes; maybe she could still...

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Yui made sure her Seishi were all there behind her, then turned back to the statue of Suzaku, trying to remember something of the words. “I am the Suzaku no Miko!” she cried, amid panting for breath. “I stand before you with the protection and blessing of the Sei of Suzaku! By the part of you that is in them, by the flames of the scroll of your promise, and by my voice I summon you! Suzaku! I summon you!”

She watched with a pounding heart as the last red glow faded away, and a wisp of smoke curled up from it. Yui was just about to let herself collapse, when she realized that the smoke wasn’t fading away, but growing larger and denser, tracing out a shape. She heard various breaths of anticipation beside her as the wisp became a cloud of thick smoke that began to bleed color and realized itself into a shape, like a picture coming into focus...

“Taiitsukun!?” Yui cried as the smoke formed into Taitsukun’s wrinkled face and the trailing wisps became her floating sashes.

“The ceremony failed, Yui,” Taiitsukun said simply. “Suzaku isn’t going to appear.”

Yui stumbled back, stunned. “What!?”

“You didn’t have all seven Sei of Suzaku, and by the time you did, the scroll had already been burned.”

“So that’s it...?” Yui said. “It’s over...? No! I don’t believe it! We all tried so hard... Those people who died on the road... In Choukou... And what happened to Tamahome... All that’s for nothing now!?” she screamed. “Is Suzaku that kind of a god!? Is he that petty!?”

“Suzaku is a god!” Taiitsukun said. “He isn’t of the earthly plane, and he has a lot on his mind. It takes a very specific combination of things to get his attention. You knew from the start what you had to do.”

“So now he’s just going to throw Konan to the wolves, is that it!?” If Chichiri was right, he did last time...

“Yui’s right!” Tamahome said. “This can’t just be the end of it.”

“There is another way, isn’t there no da?” Chichiri added.

“Now, calm down!” Taiitsukun said. “My student is right, there is another way to summon Suzaku, but be warned, it will be much more difficult than what you’ve been through already.”

“What is it!?” Yui asked. I don’t care what I have to do, I’m not going to let it end this way...

Taiitsukun took a deep breath before beginning the explanation. “Every Miko who has summoned one of the Four Gods has left behind a Shinzahou, an object of personal significance to her, which her god associated with her presence. To show yourself to the Four Gods as a Miko, you must posess the Shinzahou of the gods who have already been summoned in this age: Genbu and Byakko. To get them, you will have to travel to their empires, first Hokkan, then Sairou, and there, you will not enjoy the protection that Suzaku can give you in his own borders.”

“I understand,” Yui said.

“I doubt that,” Taiitsukun said, “but I know that you’ll do it, and that’s the important thing.” She looked past Yui to the Sei of Suzaku, and Yui turned to look at them. “And you? Do you all agree with her?”

The Seishi immediately returned a chorus of affirmatives, after which Hotohori spoke for them all. “Of course we do. We will do whatever we must to protect Yui and to help her summon Suzaku.”

Taiitsukun smiled, a very strange sight indeed. “You seven must be the strangest mix of Seishi I’ve ever seen a god come up with!”

“Hey, watch it!” Tasuki snapped.

“Shut up while I finish!” she shot back. “Seeing where you all came from, and all the bickering you’ve done, I wouldn’t have had much faith in you all, but you’ve proven me wrong. You have proven yourselves up to now, and you’ve come together in spirit when you had to. Now you prove your courage again by setting out against odds you don’t even understand. And for this, I think you all deserve what help I can give you.”

With that, Taiitsukun raised her hand, and a ball of white light appeared just above and before each of the Seishi’s faces, lowering slowly. Chichiri was the first to raise her hands to the light, and at her touch, it formed itself into a shape and the light blinked away, leaving a golden charm in her hands. The others quickly followed the example, and one by one the lights flickered into gifts at the touch of their hands. As Yui glanced them over, most of them seemed obvious enough—a silver-white Tessen for Tasuki, a medicine jar for Mitsukake, a sword for Hotohori. Nuriko’s ball of light wrapped around her wrists and formed heavy bracelets, and Chiriko closed his hands on his from the side, only to have a scroll appear between his hands and have to fumble to catch it.

Tamahome grinned as he cupped his hands under the glow, which then blinked out like a popping bubble, leaving nothing behind. “What!? What happened!? Where’s mine!?” he cried.

“I’m not giving you anything you can sell,” Taiitsukun said.

“That’s not fair!” Tamahome wailed.

“Maybe it isn’t. You’ll find out.”

“Taiitsukun-sama,” Chiriko said diffidently. “What are these things?”

“These are your sacred tools,” Taiitsukun said. “They were created for each of your abilities. As Sei of Suzaku, you have far more power than you have yet realized. These tools will bring out that hidden power and teach you to use it.”

“Thank you, Taiitsukun,” Yui said.

“As for you, Suzaku no Miko,” she answered, turning back to Yui, “I have business with you also, and I must speak to you alone. —So all of you out of here!” she said, shooing the Seishi out with her hands, then pointed to Amiboshi. “And for goodness sake, get him out of here too! You can’t imagine how it disrupts the energy, having him here...”

Yui and Hotohori’s eyes met for a long moment, and she smiled at him before he turned to go. Tamahome and Tasuki were too absorbed in their new gifts or lack thereof, and Nuriko picked up Amiboshi and carried him out of the shrine, flanked by Chichiri and Mitsukake. Hotohori was the last one out the doors, and at a gesture from Taiitsukun, they swung shut behind him.

“Yui, you too have exceeded my expectations, but now there are several things I must tell you,” Taiitsukun said. “First, since you couldn’t bear to watch what happened to your friend in Kutou, I did.”

Yui frowned. “Why?”

“Because no one knew exactly how much happened then, and it was very important for someone to. Since the two of you are on opposing sides, perhaps I shouldn’t, but I will tell you this. Miaka is yet a virgin.”

Yui took a moment to find her voice. Nakago had gotten to her in time... Miaka hadn’t been... “Thank you!” she cried. “Thank you, Taiitsukun, that’s wonderful!”

“Don’t be so quick to thank me,” Taiitsukun said. “This is bad news for you.”

“What!? How can you say that?”

“If she weren’t a virgin, Miaka would not be able to summon Seiryuu.”

“...Do they know that?”

“Nakago knows of the risk, but his faith is so strong that it doesn’t matter. Even though he sees the faults that have grown in your friend, in his heart he believes in her, much as your Hotohori believes in you. —And that is what brings me to my second point, and as the Suzaku no Miko, this is one thing that you have truly done wrong.”

“What?” Yui said, taken aback.

“Although the Miko and her Seishi must live in total devotion to each other, there is a barrier between them, a barrier that you have crossed. To summon the god, the Miko must be a pure virgin, untainted by human touch. And especially, it is not for a Sei to touch his Miko with love.”

“What... What do you mean? ‘Untainted by human touch...’? I’m supposed to be totally devoted to my Seishi, but I’m not supposed to love them??”

“You know what I mean!” Taiitsukun snapped. “You must be a virgin. But between you and Hotohori, it isn’t only that. Despite tradition, many Seishi have fallen in love with their Mikos through the ages, and I will tell you this now. It comes to nothing.” Yui opened her mouth to protest, but Taiitsukun cut her off. “From now on, you must not let him touch you with love, nor you touch him! None of your romantic notions will make this untrue! Do you understand me?”

Yui turned her face away as hot tears came to her eyes, but she nodded.

“And now I have one last thing for you.”

Yui didn’t look up at her.

“As I said, you also have exceeded my expectations. You have proven yourself to be clever and wise, but also caring and brave. You have placed yourself in danger when you could simply have let your Seishi protect and serve you, because you thought you were doing the right thing. I respect this in you, but it will come to nothing if you’re killed doing such things. So, in anticipation of you continuing in this manner, I have a gift for you as well.”

Yui looked up despite the tears on her face, and watched as Taiitsukun reached her hand toward the brass bowl. Some of the ash particles began to glow with a red light as the others blew away from them toward the edges of the bowl, until the grey ash stood in a ring around a pool of red glow, which gathered itself up into Taiitsukun’s hand. Yui closed her eyes as Taiitsukun held that hand over her head and sprinkled the ashes over her. Each one felt like electric warmth that fell right through her clothes and skin to find its place inside her.

“These are the ashes of Suzaku’s ‘Universe of the Four Gods,’” Taiitsukun said. “Perhaps you have already experienced some small connection to Suzaku’s power, and now that connection will grow greater. In times of need, when your Seishi cannot protect you, you will be able to call upon his power.”

“Thank you, Taiitsukun,” Yui said again.

“And now, Suzaku no Miko, I will take my leave. It is a hard road ahead of you, and you and your Seishi have my best wishes.”

*

“‘With those words, Taiitsukun the Overseer of the World disappeared in the smoke, leaving the Suzaku no Miko standing alone before the golden statue.’”

Hiro closed the bookmark in ‘The Universe of the Four Gods’ and squeezed the book to his chest. Thank goodness they can still summon Suzaku...

But as he lowered it into his lap, he knew that he should open the book again and turn the page. He knew that things would keep happening, and he had to know about them, but his hand shook when he touched the cover. He wished he could stop reading. He wished he could rest...

And he had no idea how much longer this might last.

*

To Be Continued...

*

PREVIEW

In the wake of the failed Summoning Ceremony, Yui and her Seishi must reconcile what has happened, even as they prepare themselves to continue. The preparations allow a moment of respite, but time to oneself can bring its own personal challenges.

Next Time: