Divine Intervention

By: Kyoryoku Nazo
..............
Chapter 2:
      Petals
..............

The Priestess began the journey of the Second Literary Prophecy...


It had been five days now since Duo had 'landed' in the Universe of the Four Gods. 
Or at least, he thought it had been. He was now vaguely remembering tales of the Suzaku no 
Miko; time passed a lot slower in the other world. Every waking hour he thought of Heero. 
Was he okay? Did he even...care?

"And every sleeping night I'm haunted by those striking amber eyes," he muttered under his 
breath. Now that his arm had healed, he was able to dramatically run his fingers through 
his long cheasnut hair. 

As if on cue, Tasuki entered with a fanged grin, carring a warm towel across his arm. "Here 
ya go, Duo-man!" he chided, tossing the soothing fabric in the long-haired boy's direction. 
"It's all yours!"

Duo rubbed his eyes with real exhaustion, throwing the covers of his bedding away from his 
weary body. Accepting the towel with a compassionate smile, he headed in the direction of 
his personal door to the garden. 'It sure is strange taking showers outside,' he thought, 
'I keep feeling like someone's about to sneak up on me. Then again, it sure is strange 
accepting the fact that there's no one around to do the sneaking up. However,' he paused
momentarily, 'Sometimes I wish someone would... someone with soft fiery hair,'

It was by that time that he reached the small fenced in water-fed shower. 'Okay man, get 
your mind out of the gutter,' It was a good thing that it took such a long time for the 
water to heat up. A cold shower was exactly what he needed right then.

The cool water ran down his back, driving the thoughts of the former bandit out of his mind 
temporarily. Finally, FIANLLY, he was starting to relax in the cool water, under the warm 
summer sun. It was almost too predictable when the peacefulness was broken by the shrill 
shriek that only a certain monk could create when terrified.

"DAAAAAA!"

Duo's eyes shot wide, jerking his head around swiftly and catching his face in the midst of 
the water blast. Almost knocked out from shock of the cold, the purple eyed youth shook his 
head briskly, grabbing the previously mentioned towel, and running back into the house.

"What's goin' on?!" he demanded, trying to find the source of the scream. However, it only 
took a view minutes for him to find it's origin. Both Chichiri and Tasuki stood gaping in 
the middle in the 'main room', staring blankly into the portal that had somehow formed 
there.

Portal?!

His mind raced, racking his brain for an explanation. But as he looked, really LOOKED at 
what had manifested in the simple house, he felt an eerie sensation of familiarity. For it 
had been five days. Five days since his arrival and the discovery of the Book. Something 
about the depth and eternal aura portal reminded him of what he had been trying so hard to 
forget. The three young men vowed not to mention the Book, the Prophecy, or anything 
having to do with a deity until help arrived from the Palace. This was certainly no matter 
for a handful of 'outlaws' to handle, and the Empress promised that their best scribes and 
historians would be sent to unlock the secrets of the Book of the Universe of the Four 
Goddesses. Until then, she advised them to leave it be. However, only one thing came to 
mind that could explain the unexplainable event.

"Nazo," he stated solidly, "That... that pressence in the portal. That's Nazo's light. I 
saw it before, when I... I opened the book," he shuddered at the memory; at the nausaiting 
feeling that had been bestowed upon him as he hung in the very light of a goddess who had 
yet to explain Her motives for recruiting the young lad as Her priestess. But the light 
wasn't so bad. In fact, something about being selected for something that must be so
important, he couldn't help but speculate further on his feelings towards Nazo and Her 
divine Light, "And for some reason, I feel comfort coming from  it," he chose his words 
carefully, seaching his companion's eyes for understanding.

Tasuki was the first to gradually approach the vortex, examening it's structure. He was 
about to open his mouth to say something, but whatever it was was interuppted by the bright 
flash of light from his left arm.

"What the hell's going on??" he demanded, gaping in an emotion that could only be descibed 
as denial. He looked at his arm -the opposite arm that revealed his symbol of Suzaku- with 
eyes that expressed as much unbrideled fear as Duo had ever seen. Then the light cleared.

Chichiri gasped, reaching a hand tentatively foward to Tasuki, who seemed to be avoiding 
whatever was about to be revealed.

"It can't be," Chichiri gasped, "It just can't be, no da,"

"What can't be?" Duo demanded, looking to either of the two former Seishi for an answer. 
Chichiri only gestured to the other, specifically at whatever the former bandit was trying 
to cover with his hand. The two of them shared a look, and much to Duo's surprise, 
Chichiri...took off his face? That was the only way he could think to descibe it. For the 
first time, Duo saw his true face, one surprisingly handsome for a man he had only known as 
the Seishi who must have provided comic relief. Tasuki visibly caved, wincing once more, 
then slowly opened one of his eyes, looking down to confirm what he had been fearfully 
predicting.

"Oh Taiits-kun, you old bitch and a half," the bandit growled, glaring distastefully at the 
ebony constalation symbol on his left arm. It shown with a rather metallic glare. "I've 
suspected something like this. I've known since the day you showed up and that damned book 
descided to show off some magic tricks," In fact, the Book of the Universe of the Four
Goddesses hadn't shown any activity since it surrounded Duo in that temporary endless void 
of stars.

This was all so - sudden. There was no other word for it. It didn't make any sense at all. 
From everything the two former Celestial Warriors had told him, those chosen to serve their 
deity were born with a mark on their body that represented the set of stars they were born 
under. And yet, all of the Suzaku Seven had known their destiny before Miaka had 'found' 
them. So why was Tasuki acting like he had no idea that the symbol had been there.

"Does this mean," Duo ventured gently, "That you're a Nazo no Seishi?"

"I can't be a servant to this goddess of yours! I already serve Suzaku!" Tasuki yelled, 
gesturing broadly. "Do you know what I went through to serve my god?! Could you possibly 
understand the emotional trials I've faced? I don't think so! I fact, I think you can take 
your little cross-dressing-wannabe-priestess-butt out of my house before any more 
Suzaku-be-damned PORTALS show up in my LIVING ROOM!" And with that, he turned as if to 
storm off in a traditional-for-him manner, apparently forgetting that the portal he had just
so colorfully cursed was still there, and whatever had created it, wasn't about to give up 
one who'd let themselves in.

"TASUKI!" Chichiri yelled, reaching after the fire haired youth as fast as he could manage, 
grabbing hold of his other hand, the one that Tasuki in return was thrashing out of the 
portal, trying to grab hold of something; ANYthing.

Duo took a moment to respond, still mystified by the whole situation. In a
very un-Duo-like manner, he stood dumbfounded. Then, reflexes taking over,
he first made a dash for the Book, then took after the two older men, who
were now both being pulled into the void.

"Chichiri! Tasuki!" he called, reaching for the monk's outstretched hand, tucking the Book 
under his arm, using his now free hand to grab a hold of the bedpost. 

The three of them fought the power of the portal, despretly trying to resist it's divine 
pull. Duo pulled against the sturdy support of the wooden post, giving everything he had 
into the struggle; however, whatever was pulling them seemed to have more determination than
the pratically nude and still half asleep adolescent. The force of the pull seemed to triple
without warning, taking the long-haired boy by complete surprise, causing him to loosen his 
grip on the bedpost just enough to lose his hold, and with a final, shared scream, the three
young men were wrecnched from their reality. Until the last possible moment, Duo grasped 
around for something to take hold of. His whole world blackened as his struggle proved to be
vain, only feeling something soft in his grip before he too was taken into the great and 
mysterious void.


			*	*	*


Violet eyes fluttered open, heavy lidded and full of haze. He blinked once, twice, then 
seemed to regain to ability to keep them apart. First he recognized his position; spralled 
out on a floor of some sorts. A cold, hard, possibly marble floor to be more specific. Then 
his gaze turned upward.

"Sweet mother of all that's holy," Duo murmured, gazing upon the phenominal view presented 
before him. Apparently he was on the edge of massive window sill, mere inches from the edge. 
He scurried to his feet, immediately regretting the sudden movements.

"Owww," he breathed out, shaking his head slightly and slowly looking around.

"Rise and shine, lovely one," spoke a soft voice from somewhere behind him.

Duo spun around, feeling his unbound hair cascade about his shoulders, surely adding to the 
dramatics he knew he was inciting. 'This certainly has been an eventful morning,' he thought
dazedly, 'First that whole 'portal' buisness, now - Wait a moment. The portal. Tasuki! 
Chichiri!'

"Who are you?" Duo demanded, "And where are the one's who were with me?" As his eyes focused
he saw that before him was a rather impressive (as outdated as it may be) looking device 
aimed at the domed ceiling that was closing in the elevated room. 'Now what was that thing 
called?' he asked his mind, trying to remember his overly neglected hisory lessons. 
'Something like a...planetarium,'

"Well pretty one, to answer your first question, you may call me The Chairman. That's the 
only title that you need to be concerned of. Now as for your little friends," the voice 
paused, and Duo was certain that he heard bitter laughter, "The useful one still sleeping 
over here with me. The other however, well, let's just say that his fate wasn't as 
pleasent,"

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Duo demanded, drawing himself up to full 
height, and feeling the previously taken-for-granted towel that had surrounding his waist 
fall to the ground. He hastily gathered it back up about himself. "Where are my clothes?" 
he gritted out from between clenched teeth.

A tall man stepped foward, obviously the source of the voice. He was dressed in a simple 
red shirt with a green tie. His skin was tanned, accenting his pale violet hair in a way 
that Duo couldn't quite descibe. It was obvious that this man had power over anyone he 
wished, something that passed through the long-haired boy's thoughts as his eyes drifted to 
one of the two paraelle couches in the room. And upon that couch lay-

'Chichiri. Oh gods, what happened? Could this man have...no!' His thoughts tried to sort 
out what the enigmatic man had said. 'Then the 'other' must have been Tasuki. His fate 
wasn't as pleasent....oh sweet Nazo, what's going on here?'

"Where's the other one?" Duo asked defiantly.

"You certainly are a pretty little thing," the man crooned, completly oblivious to the boy's
questions. He reached foward, caressing the side of Duo's face with the back of his hand, 
tracing his finger's gently through the younger boy's long hair.

Duo's eyes narrowed, wrenching the older man's hand away. "Here," the man said, that one 
word full of all the arrogance and sultryness that Duo could ever hope to possess. The 
violet-eyed boy caught the bundle of cloth, shaking it out to reveal the clothes he thought 
he had neglected to put back on before the buisness with the portal.

"We're going to take a little walk, so you might as well make yourself descent," and with 
that, the tall man stepped into an overly ornate elevator which was on the opposite side of 
the room. Duo glared after him, putting on his clothes with as much reluctance as he could 
manage. However, before he made his way to follow the obnoxious man, he paused at Chichiri's
sleeping side.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this,"


			*	*	*


"Get your filthy hands off me, ya hear?"

A dark light speckled with all the stars in the heavens flashed inside the small room, 
followed by the bright orange flare brought on by intense flames.

"Lekka-shinen!!!"

Three young boys dressed in light blue school uniforms scampered out of a door marked 
'Janitor' and down the hall of a beautiful looking school campus. Dusting his hands off, 
Tasuki removed himself from the closet a moment after, tucking the tessen back into the 
strap on his back.

'Well don't I feel like the black sheep,' he mused, taking in the surroundings. 'All the 
girls here are dressed in clothes like Miaka wore, only different colors. The guys are 
similar,' he looked down at his own flowing and colorful garments, eventually just 
shrugging and trotting down the hall in the opposite direction of the 'minions', whistling 
as he went. 'Some 'harsh fate' that was. Someone should teach that Akio guy a lesson,'

Ahead of him was a huge building domed with trees and other greenery. Looking around, he 
couldn't find a place that captured his curiosity more, so the former bandit made his way 
in the direction of that strange structure. 'Man, it's been a weird day. It's a good thing 
the freak hadn't heard of the Book of anything. All he could tell was that Chichiri could
command magic and I couldn't. So off I was sent to be 'broken' by some of his lap dogs. In 
his dreams,' he donned a cocky grin, 'As for Duo, I guess the poor guy was just too damn 
good looking to pass up. Not that I disagree or anything,' but he stopped that train of 
thought before it could truely begin.

'Not now boy,' he scolded, 'As -weird- as it is, that guy's the Priestess. They have to be 
pure or whatever after all. 'Sides; like he'd really be interested anyway,' he sighed 
deeply. 'Maybe I should just stop trying,'

"EXTRA! EXTRA!"

Tasuki wheeled around, looking for the source of the high pitched voices. Against the wall 
he was walking by, he could see the shadows of two young girls standing across from each 
other, although he couldn't seem to find the bodies projecting them. Before he could ask 
where they were though, the high sun that was shining down as bright as a summer day 
suddenly inverted to sunset, the sound of bongos reverberating off the high walls of the
school.

"I want a prince to come and rescue me!!"

"But how could that be?! You're a prince yourself!!"

"That doesn't matter! I want the prince to come and love me forever!!"

The former bandit stood wide-eyed, jaw slack with confusion. The two girls -wherever there 
were- were acting out their ridiculous dialogue with little marionettes, jumping around 
like tiny children. However, he couldn't help but feel they were talking to him....

"I used to wait for my prince too, but being surrounded by happy couples, I just couldn't 
seem to motivate myself!!"

"Yeah, but this times it's different!! My prince dresses like a princess!!"

"A princess?! Isn't that a little weird?!"

"So what?! I'm in love!! Just let me have that!!"

"But how do you know that your prince feels the same way about you?!"

"Well, I guess I don't... but that's not going to stop me!! You watch!!"

Then, as quickly as the mysterious 'shadow girls' appeared, they vanished, and the sun 
returned to normal. Tasuki stood staring, walking slowly over to the wall and running his 
palm across the surface of the bricks. "Now that was really messed up," he stated to 
himself, his head tilted to the side with a dazed look.


			*	*	*


Duo paced the room slowly, waiting for the return of the damned elevator. Chichiri was still
sleeping sounding on the couch, his kasa ruffled in a rather suspicion-worthy manner. 'If 
that guy dared to-' but he cut himself off. 'Chichiri wouldn't do that. He told me how much 
Tasuki cares for him, and there isn't anything he'd do to betray his friend's feelings. 
Although, all he's have to do is fulfill Tasuki's wishes,' he thought bitterly. He couldn't 
see a single reason why Chichiri wouldn't jump on the oppurtunity to get the beautiful 
bandit in bed. 

Finally, the elevator returned, sounding with a soft *ding* as the doors opened. He 
straightened his collar with a sharp intake of his breath, composing himself before heading 
towards the beautifully crafted doors. 'All I have to do is walk down there,' he told 
himself. It's no big deal. It's just some freaky guy with purple hair. It's no big deal, 
it's no big deal, it's no big deal...oh Heero! Where are you?!'


			*	*	*


"Duo," Heero murmured, reading the book with more emotion than he was usually willing to 
show, even to himself. "The Priestess of Nazo stepped onto the elevator with precaution, 
still worried about the wearabouts of the first Seishi known as Tasuki. The Priestess's 
thoughts were plagued with the visions of that Warrior, a particular urge he was trying to 
surpress," he read aloud, feeling the dredges of jealousy creep into his voice. The golden 
light behind him grew stronger as his feelings pulsed, until a soft tap on his shoulder caused
him to spin around with shock.

"Greetings, young one," said a tall redheaded main, stepping forth from a pillar of golden 
light speckled with bursts of darker gold. It looked as if a thousand suns had erupted in 
that holy glow. "I believe that we have much catching up to do. Unlike your little friend 
in the book, Ukyou's Seishi have already gathered,"

Heero raised an eyebrow, "Meaning?" As usual, the stoic boy used as few words as possible. 
His striking blue eyes shown with defiance, staring down the older man who was wearing what
appeared to be a dress. "Nice skirt," he replied sarcastically.

The red haired man only grinned, turning a little further foward out of the light, revealed 
a drawn out 'X' shaped scar across his left cheek. And yet, there was nothing but kindness 
of in his eyes. Nothing but unbridled compassion. "Allow me to introduce myself, perhaps 
that will clear things up a little. I am Kenshin, one of the Ukyou Seven. And you, are our 
leader. Come, Heero! Come take your place as the Priestess of Ukyou! Golden Mare of the 
East!"

Any normal person who had ever met Heero would have expected him to scoff at the one named 
Kenshin at best - and kill him at worst. But that just went to show how little Heero let 
out about himself. Ever since his childhood, he'd heard the tales of the Universe of the 
Four Gods and the respective Priestesses of each. How he longed to serve a deity in such a 
personal way. How he strove to follow in the footsteps of the Great Mikos. He'd only told 
one person; the last person he should have ever told. Dr J. 'He laughed,' he reminded 
himself, 'He laughed and then he beat me for being effeminate. Told me that I had my head 
stuck in the clouds; that a solider didn't think of such childish things. I'd forgotten. 
I'd forgotten for so long. Then he came along. Showed me how to live. And maybe, if I become
one too, then I'll meet up with him again in the Book.' 

He looked up Kenshin, letting the corner of his mouth quirk up in a sly grin.

"Mission accepted."


			*	*	*


"Walk with me," the tall man shouted back to Duo as he emerged from the elevator. "Tell me 
what you know of our world,"

"I don't know a damned thing," Duo snarled, looking up at him from under his wild bangs, 
"I don't even know what your name is,"

"Well, if it really means that much to you, I go by Ohtori Akio. This fine school here's 
named after me,"

"We're in a school?" Duo asked in surprise. This surely was a nice school... "Where is it? 
What's it near?"

"What's it near? You obviously don't know anything then! This is everything! This is my 
world! And I! I, am the Ends of the World!"

"Huh?" was all Duo could say.

"Let me try and explain it to you," Akio said with a glint of insanity in his eyes, grabbing
Duo by the shoulders and pulling him around to look him in the eyes. "I want eternity. In 
fact, I used to have it. But I must get it back since Dios is no longer a part of me. 
That's where the Bride comes in. You must Duel for her, and once you become the one engaged,
you will possess the power to revolutionize the world!"

"So why am I here?" Duo speculated.

"That's easy enough," Akio's eyes returned to normal, giving him a sidelong glance as he 
continued to walk once more. "You're the Priestess of Nazo. Once you summon Her, you will 
be granted three wishes. I want eternity. It will be mine!"

"But won't I need to Duel for the uh, Bride? I mean, to gain eternity here, don't I need to 
do, um, that?"

"Are you insane? You expect me to let you Duel without a Rose Signet?"

It was at that point that the two young men were encountered by a fire haired youth with a 
very exasperated and confused face.

"Tasuki!" Duo exclaimed, unable to contain his joy for seeing the Seishi he thought he'd 
lost.

"I...have had...the strangest...day....of my life!" the bandit exclaimed. This was all 
however, before he saw Akio. "You! I'll teach you a lesson you sick bastard!" The Light of 
Nazo flared, displaying his character on his arm, hair flying back as Akio stared in 
disbelief.

"I don't believe it!" Akio blurted out, for once hardly able to sustain his emotions. 
"It's....it's Eternity!!"


*************************************
GUNDAM WING, FUSHIGI YUUGI, AND SHOUJO KAKUMEI UTENA BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS
ORIGINAL FICTION IS CONSIDERED PROPERTY OF KYORYOKU NAZO
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I bet the Doctors never expected these happenings...