"Destiny’s Path"
Chapter 1 – The Ties That Bind
The
capital of Konan, no, all of Konan was buzzing with excitement. The latest
news was of the arrival of Suzaku no miko. Kourin shivered a bit, and instinctively
pulled on her dress, hiding any traces of the red character, willow, on
her chest. The character, a mark of Suzaku, singled her out as a Suzaku
Sichiseishi. She shuddered, remembering that fateful day eight years ago,
the day her destiny as a seishi had been revealed. That street…the horse.
She shivered again, trying to block the memories. Her shivering, however,
had the effect of drawing her companion’s attention. "Daijobu ka, Imouto-chan?"
She looked at her brother, Ryuuen. Her brother was one year older than
her, but they looked so much alike, people often mistook them for twins.
Some even thought Ryuuen was a woman. Kourin had to smile a bit; sometimes
even she wondered if he would look better in a dress than she would. "What
are you smiling about, Kourin-chan?" Korin looked up at her brother once
more and her smile widened.
"Nothing,
‘Nii-chan. I am a bit nervous though," she admitted.
"Oh?"
Her brother inquired, raising an eyebrow. He leaned in closer and whispered,
"it’s about Suzaku no miko, ne?" Kourin blinked in shock.
"Hai,"
she responded, stunned. Usually Ryuuen didn’t read into people’s feelings,
but when he did, he always seemed to hit the problem right on the nail,
so to speak. True, lately she had been both nervous and excited, all because
of the arrival of the Suzaku no miko. It all happened a couple days ago,
when she felt a strange force outside of the capital calling to her. Confused,
she asked her brother if he felt anything. He just shook his head, giving
her a puzzled look. She resumed her daily tasks, hoping the feeling would
go away, but instead, it had gotten stronger. Then they learned that the
Suzaku no miko arrived.
"Imouto-chan,
where are we going?" Her brother’s question startled her out of her thoughts,
and she suddenly found herself standing in front of the palace gates.
"I
don’t know," Kourin admitted, "I was thinking and my feet just led me here."
At that moment, six panicked guards ran by them at top speed. "What’s wrong?"
"A
building collapsed on Suzaku no miko-sama!" One bellowed back, not bothering
to stop in his haste. Kourin’s eyes widened in surprise, fear, and strangely
enough, pain.
"
‘Nii-chan, we have to help her!!" She exclaimed. Ryuuen nodded and the
two ran in the direction of the guards.
Once
they arrived, they didn’t bother to acknowledge anyone, and went right
to the task at hand. Ryuuen lifted large pieces of rubble with ease, while
Kourin used small, controlled ki blasts to turn the rubble into a fine
dust. With the two of them working together, the pile was gone in no time,
revealing a blue-green haired man, and a woman with brown hair. Girl, Kourin
corrected herself, she couldn’t be much over fifteen. Taking a closer look,
she noticed that the girl wore a scandalously short skirt, definitely the
clothes of an outsider. At the clearing of a throat, she turned to see
the two of them at the end of the weapons of some very confused guards.
Hotohori
watched helplessly as the building collapsed on Miaka and Tamahome. After
a moment’s hesitation, mostly due to shock, he rushed to the rubble and
began to frantically try to dig them out. He cursed silently to himself
when he noticed that there were large pieces, pieces too heavy to lift,
even with the combined strength of everyone present. Dismayed, he continued
to dig even while his mind was telling him it was impossible. ‘It isn’t
impossible!’ He thought. ‘Not after I’ve finally found her, it can’t end
this way. It CAN’T!!’ As such was his state of thought, he was only dimly
aware as two ladies rushed to help him. The older looking of the two picked
up large pieces of the rubble effortlessly, pieces he thought were impossible
to move. The other one blasted the slightly smaller bits of rubble, one
by one, into fine powder. Soon, however, they were able to clear away most
of the rubble, revealing the two trapped inside.
‘She
safe!’ His mind sang. ‘Miaka is safe!’ He turned to the two strangers,
who seemed to be paying no attention to him. His guards surrounded them
even as he cleared his throat to catch their attention. The two ladies
whirled at the sound, shock evident in their faces. He frowned, the older
one felt familiar somehow… He dismissed the feeling as he noticed a red
glow emanating from the younger girl’s chest. Without thinking, he reached
over to pull down the opening of her dress to get a better look. The girl
yelled in fright and slapped his hand away even as the older one stepped
in between them, a dangerous warning light in her eyes, the light of a
protective older sibling. "Umm, there’s something glowing on your chest,"
he managed to stammer out. What happened next was unexpected. The younger
girl took a step or two back, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear.
The older woman gave her companion a worried look.
"Imouto-chan,
it looks like destiny has found you. You’d better show them." The firm
tone the elder sister used allowed no room for argument. Sighing, the girl
pulled her dress down slightly, allowing the red character of willow to
show.
"Atashi
wa Kourin desu. Suzaku Sichiseishi-sei Nuriko." Hotohori gasped in surprise,
they found another seishi after all, and a woman at that. But what about
the other one…?
"And
you?" He asked.
"Iie,"
the eldest replied, "I’m not."
"Imouto-chan." Ryuuen stated in a firm voice, "it looks like Destiny has
found you. You’d better show them." Kourin sighed and slightly opened her
dress, allowing her character to show. She watched as the green-haired
man gasped in surprise and turned to Ryuuen.
"Nuriko?"
She turned to see the brown-haired girl she had saved earlier give her
a smile, her eyes shining in excitement
"Suzaku
no miko?" Kourin asked; the girl nodded.
"Un,
but my name’s Miaka." Miaka’s expression sobered a bit, but she still wore
a delighted grin. "Thanks for saving me."
"What
are you talking about?" Kourin asked. "That’s my job." She then noticed
the blue-green haired man standing behind Miaka. She instantly recognized
him as the man shielding Miaka before. "Who are you?"
"The
Suzaku Sichiseishi-sei Tamahome," he replied. He then pointed to the green-haired
man talking with Ryuuen. "And that is the Suzaku Sichiseishi-sei Hotohori."
An uncomfortable silence fell, allowing the three to catch the tail end
of Hotohori and Ryuuen’s conversation.
"…you
ladies can stay here." For some reason unknown to the others, Kourin and
Ryuuen burst out in laughter. "Nani?" Hotohori was confused; did he say
something wrong? Ryuuen managed to regain most of his control, but his
eyes were shining with unshed laughter.
"I’m
Kourin’s older brother, Ryuuen," he stated, bursting into laughter once
more at the expressions on their faces.
"I’m
Kourin’s older brother, Ryuuen," the older woman, no man, Miaka corrected
herself, stated. Her jaw dropped in surprise, and she was dimly aware that
he started laughing again. Hotohori was the first to recover from his shocked
stupor.
"Impossible!
There cannot be a man almost as beautiful as I am!" He declared. Everyone
sweatdropped at his statement. "But as I was saying before, I would like
the two of you to stay here at the palace."
"But
don’t you need permission from the Emperor?" Kourin asked.
"I
am the emperor," Hotohori stated, his grin widening, as it was the two
newcomer’s turn to gape in shock. "However," he continued, "I want you
to treat me as if I were an ordinary person, and not the Emperor." Ryuuen
grinned in sudden amusement.
"Is
that an Emperor’s order?" He asked innocently.
"If
you insist, yes," Hotohori replied, puzzled by his expression.
"Then
we don’t have to follow it, since you’re just an ordinary person and not
the Emperor." Ryuuen’s eyes started to sparkle with barely contained mirth.
"But
I am the Em – " Hotohori halted in mid-sentence as he realized what Ryuuen
was getting at, and they both started laughing. "Well then," Hotohori stated
after they quieted down, "it seems as though you take orders well." Though
it seemed impossible, Ryuuen’s grin grew wider.
"What
orders?" He asked, feigning innocence. The two resumed laughing as they
entered the palace side by side. Tamahome and Miaka looked at Kourin, who
put one hand behind her head.
"Nii-chan
makes fast friends," she said, grinning sheepishly.
She
was alone, and it was pitch black all around her. "Nii-chan?" She called
out, her voice echoing everywhere. However, there was no answer; she was
completely alone. Suddenly, she had the sensation of falling, and fell
flat on her back on a street. A very familiar street. "No," she moaned,
holding her head. "Not again. Don’t do this to me again!" However, if anyone
heard her, they didn’t answer.
"
‘Nii-sama!" Exclaimed a voice, a voice much like her own. She shut her
eyes and clamped her hands over her ears, but she could still somehow hear
and see. In her mind’s eye, she watched as a younger version of herself
run toward a younger version of her brother. She watched a Chibi-Kourin
spotted the runaway horse almost a minute too late. She heard Chibi-Kourin’s
scream of terror as she threw her hands in front of her. Watched as a symbol
started to glow red and envelop Chibi-Kourin in a red aura. Watched as
red ki formed in Chibi-Kourin’s hands, only to strike the ground in front
of her, and creating a wide ditch. Watched as the horse, unable to stop,
fell into the ditch, dragging the cart and driver with it. Watched helplessly
as she heard the horse’s screams of pain as it was gorged by a piece of
rock jutting out of the ground.
"Iiiiiiiieeeeeeeee!!!!" She
screamed, willing herself to wake up, and finding it impossible to do so.
Ryuuen
was restless. He had spent the last half-hour tossing and turning, trying
to fall asleep. Finally he gave up and laid flat on his back, staring at
the ceiling. Something felt not quite right; something was nagging his
mind, something elusive and familiar, something he couldn't quite put his
finger on. Sighing, he jumped out of bed to go take a walk. As he was putting
on his robe, he heard a very familiar scream. "Iiiiiiiieeeeeeeee!!!!"
"Kourin!"
He exclaimed, cinching his robe around his waist. He sped to Kourin’s room,
flung open the door, and ran to her bed. There he found her twisting and
turning in an agitated state of terror. On instinct, he picked her up and
started to rock her back and forth. With a final scream of pain, Kourin
woke up, sobbing. She clutched her brother’s robe and buried he face in
his chest, her body wracked with sobs. "Shhh," he whispered comfortingly
in her ear. "It’s all right, Imouto-chan, you’re safe now, it was only
a nightmare."
"Not
again, not again. Onegai, don’t do this to me again," she whispered, but
her sobs subsided, just a bit. He continued to rock her back and forth,
whispering comforting words in her ear.
"Iiiiiiiieeeeeeeee!!!!"
A female scream woke Hotohori up from a light sleep.
"Miaka!"
He exclaimed, rushing to her room after putting on his robe. However, once
her reached the door, it opened, and they collided with each other. "Miaka,
daijobu ka?"
"Daijobu,"
she answered. "But who screamed?"
"You
mean that wasn’t you?" Miaka shook her head. Suddenly, both their heads
snapped up in realization.
"Nuriko!"
They exclaimed in unison, running toward Kourin’s room. When they got there,
they noticed the door was hastily thrown open. Upon entering, they saw
Ryuuen mumbling incoherent words into his sister’s ear as he rocked her
back and forth slowly. Ryuuen looked up at them and gave them a shaky smile.
"She
just had a nightmare," he explained.
"Is
she okay?" Miaka asked, worry evident all over her face.
"She’s
fine, don’t worry, miko-san," Ryuuen replied.
"Just
call me Miaka. It must’ve been really horrible for her to have screamed
so loud. Do you know what happened?" Kourin muttered a few words to Ryuuen
in between her sobs.
"I
have an idea, so I’m pretty sure I know what it was about. However, Kourin
said she would rather tell you sometime in the future," Ryuuen explained,
his smile going from shaky to strained. It was obvious that his smile was
forced. With doubtful expressions, Miaka and Hotohori retreated back to
their rooms. Tamahome had, predictably, slept through the whole episode.
Ryuuen
watched as the two left, doubt evident in their faces. At least Kourin
had stopped crying, for that he was grateful. However, he didn’t know what
was worse, the uncontrolled crying, or the silence that reigned afterward.
"Are you sure you don’t want me to tell them, Imouto-chan?’
"Hai, Aniki. They don’t need
to hear it, especially Miaka-chan." Kourin gave her brother a weak smile
as he raised his right eyebrow.
" ‘Miaka-chan’?" He
inquired, obviously curious. Kourin blushed.
"We got to talking after you
left with Hei…I mean Hotohori-san. We became friends soon afterwards. You’re
not the only one who can make fast friends, Aniki," Kourin stated in a
teasing tone.
"It’s good you’ve made friends
with Miaka-san, Kourin-chan. You might need someone to talk to sometimes."
"What are you talking about,
‘Nii-chan? I always come to you to talk," Kourin stated.
"Well, I," started Ryuuen,
but he paused. "No, nevermind."
"What
are you talking about, ‘Nii-chan? I always come to you to talk," Kourin
stated, a knot starting to form in her stomach.
"Well,
I…no, nevermind," He stated. Kourin started to get nervous. ‘ It’s not
possible! He couldn’t…!’ It was obvious Ryuuen wasn’t going to comment
any further, so Kourin climbed back into her bed.
"Destiny’s
calling, Imouto-chan," whispered Ryuuen, positive that Kourin had fallen
asleep. However, she heard him. Even as she was drifting back into a deep
sleep, she heard him.
In
a realm of existence where only the four gods can enter, three of the gods:
Byakko, Genbu, and Suzaku were watching as Kourin woke up abruptly from
her nightmare, screaming. For some reason, Seriyuu wasn’t present.
"Poor
girl," commented Byakko, "I thought that nightmare had finally stopped
coming to her."
"I’m
just glad her brother is there for her. What do you think, Suzaku?" Asked
Genbu. At that moment they felt a surge of chi, obviously Seriyuu’s.
"I
think they won’t be together for long," commented Suzaku gravely. "I think
Seriyuu just made a grave mistake." The three gods settled down and continued
to watch, for watching was the only thing they could do. At the moment.
Getting
to Kutou took anywhere from two days to two weeks, depending on your mode
of transportation. For Ryuuen, however, it only took two seconds. ‘I have
to thank Imouto-chan again for teaching me this trick.’ The trick, as you’ve
probably guessed, was teleportation. He didn’t know why, but he had felt
a sudden, unexplainable urge, no, more like a need, to go to Kutou.
Now normally, he wouldn’t just get up and leave on a whim, but Ryuuen learned
that it was wise to trust ones’ feelings. Uncertain what to do, he started
wandering aimlessly through one of the poorer sections of Kutou’s capital.
No sooner did he take five steps, however, when out nowhere came a shrill
scream of terror. Curious, he ran over to investigate.
He
got there just in time to see two men jump on top of a very frightened
girl. Now normally, it takes quite a lot to get Ryuuen mad. However, the
loss of his sister, plus seeing this horrible scene, made for one pissed
off Ryuuen. With quick, angry strides, he walked over and grabbed both
of the men up by the scruff of their shirts. By the reactions of the men,
he was dimly aware that his character was glowing. With a sneer of contempt,
he smashed the guys’ heads together. Not hard to kill them, but enough
to make sure they wouldn’t be moving for a while. The sneer left his face
as he noticed the condition of the girl; it had been a close call. Kneeling
down, he gave her a comforting smile. "Konbanwa, umm…"
"Yui,"
she supplied. "Hongo Yui."
"Yui,"
he affirmed with a small smile, "that has a nice ring to it, you know.
Can you stand?" He asked, offering his hand. She took it, and he gently
helped her to her feet.
"Arigatou,
umm, I didn’t quite catch your name."
"Ryuuen.
Chou Ryuuen."
"Arigatou
Ryuuen-san."
"Just
Ryuuen is fine," he replied. His eyes widened as he felt someone behind
him, and he turned to come face to face with another man. He fell into
a defensive stance as the man watched him coldly. The man, of high power
most likely, Ryuuen figured, was wearing a helmet adorned with a blue dragon,
the fabric of the helmet covering everything but his cold, sapphire blue
eyes. However, what was most startling was the fact that he _felt_ wrong,
like he had something differentiating him from others. What had put Ryuuen
on defensive, however, was the almost concealed malice in his eyes, eyes
full of contempt and filled with a dark promise of pain and horror. "Seriyuu
Seishi," Ryuuen stated, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach.
"Hai,"
the man responded, giving Ryuuen a cold, calculating stare. "Seriyuu Sichiseishi-sei
Ashitare. You are…"
"Nakago.
Seriyuu Sichiseishi-sei Nakago," Ryuuen replied, narrowing his eyes. He
did not like this at all.
"Nakago,"
the man stated, "you do know who the lad behind you is, ne?"
"Hai.
Seriyuu no miko," Ryuuen replied.
"Not
quite. A potential candidate to be exact." He turned away slightly. "Come.
You two are welcome to stay at the palace." A tense silence reigned for
a few minutes before Ryuuen reluctantly dropped his stance and followed,
still suspicious. Yui followed him, not quite sure what to do.
Kourin
woke up with a gasp. For some, unknown reason, a sinking feeling had settled
inside her stomach. Throwing off her covers, she quickly located her robe
and hastily threw it on. As she made her way to her brother’s room, the
feeling increased. Now she knew that something wasn’t right, something
that had to do with her brother. Kourin was shaken out of her thoughts,
as she felt something else. Before she could figure out what it was, she
fell flat on her back and an apologetic Miaka was beside her. "Gomen nasai,
Kourin-chan! I didn’t realize you were there." Miaka gave Kourin a curious
glance as she stood up. "Where were you going?"
"I’m
going to check up on my brother because I have a really bad feeling. Care
to join me?" The two traveled over to Ryuuen’s room, only to find the door
wide open. Upon entering, they found the bed unmade and the drawers all
array. Upon closer inspection, they found a small not on the bed. " ‘Kourin,
I’m sorry to leave without saying goodbye, but something suddenly came
up and I had to leave in a hurry. Stay healthy and make friends with the
other seishi! Wo a ni, Imouto-chan. – Ryuuen.’ " Tears blurred Kourin’s
vision as all the pieces finally came together. "Destiny’s calling,
Imouto-chan." Now Kourin finally understood. "He…he actually…left.
He actually had to leave to perform his duties as a Seishi. But why now?
Why now of all times?" Kourin’s voice cracked toward the end, and she collapsed
on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Author’s Notes – I would like to clear up one
thing first: I AM NOT MAKING RYUUEN
AND YUI A COUPLE!!!!!! Too many of
my pre-readers asked me if that was what I was doing, and I’m not!
Another
thing people have been asking me is why I didn’t just replace Ashitare
with Ryuuen, and why I replaced Nakago with Ryuuen and Ashitare with Nakago.
Well, Ryuuen is still a little sensitive about the…uhhh… "A" word. He would
have killed me if he suddenly became the "A" word.
Another
important thing is that I will NOT be referring to Kourin as Nuriko and
Ryuuen as Nakago, it just feels…well, weird. However, the seishi will be
referring to them by their seishi names, so don’t get confused about that.
:Please enter your disclaimer
here, ‘cuz I’m too lazy. E-mail me at [email protected]
or [email protected]
with comments, complaints, or even just to say hi!
~ Lady Shinnite, V.P. of the D.G. Council of Five*
*See the DG headquarters section of my page:
http://www.geocities.com/lady_shinnite
for an explanation.