Chapter 3: Siblings…

"Hey, Atsumi! Atsumi, get up!" Seriyana grumbled as she burrowed deeper into her covers and started conjuring her illusion spell.

Suzaku burst into the room, all smiles. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" Seriyana groaned.

"How many times have I told you not to come into my room for the past month and a half?" Suzaku threw open the curtains and Seriyana hissed in annoyance at the sudden light.

"I lost count," he replied cheerfully. "Besides, you won’t get up unless I make you." Seriyana raised an eyebrow at his unusual behavior. Propping her upper body up with her elbows, she finally turned around to face him.

"And since when have you been so cheerful in the morning? You usually snap at everyone you see until breakfast." Suzaku turned to face her – his smile never slipping.

"I finally get to meet the new Dragon God heir!"

" ‘New Dragon God heir’?" Seriyana didn’t like surprises like this. It meant she had to be twice as careful now that another god was in the palace. ‘He probably has loads of magically gifted bodyguards too,’ she thought sourly. ‘Dammit!’

"Yes, apparently something had happened to the original heir, and Taiitsukun had appointed some poor human soul as the next one. Poor guy had to give up his humanity to become a dragon." Now Suzaku really had her attention.

"What’s his name?" Seriyana had a bad feeling about this, and Suzaku’s next statement only confirmed her suspicions.

"Seiryuu." Seriyana frowned.

‘Oh shit.’

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Seriyana grumbled – her face pale as a sheet – as she waited nervously for Seiryuu’s arrival. Suzaku – however – was puzzled. Why would she be frightened of Seiryuu? Then an idea crossed his mind.

"Don’t worry, Atsumi. I’m sure Seiryuu will be very much like me." A grim smile worked its way to Seriyana’s face.

"No. The two of you are different. Very different." Suzaku blinked, startled. They knew each other?

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as a servant scurried into the room and bowed. "Suzaku-sama, Seiryuu-sama has just arrived." Suzaku jumped to his feet, causing the servant to flinch. Suzaku took no notice, but Seriyana did. She set it aside to investigate later.

"Shall we go?" With a barely noticeable nod, Seriyana trudged after the ecstatic god.

And she felt like she was about to face the Night Servant himself.

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Ghalako tried to groan as she slowly forced her eyes open. There was a terrible itch on her nose, so she lifted up a finger to scratch it…

And then her eyes flew open completely as she realized she couldn’t move. Not a muscle from the neck down would respond. Was she paralyzed?

‘You are awake, little one? Good. This exercise is much more enjoyable when you scream.’ Ghalako frowned; she had been captured by a villain with some of the worst lines ever.

A raspy chuckle pervaded the room. ‘The lines may be fake. But the pain is very very real.’ Ghalako felt a slight prick on the back of her neck as she slipped into a semi-conscious state.

And then she arched her back, screaming.

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Seiryuu learned a new rule the moment he walked in the door.

No Hell hath no fury like a youko pissed.

He winced as he was picked up and slammed against the wall by Seriyana. But with the illusion spell around her, Seiryuu failed to recognize the danger he was truly in.

Perhaps if he did, he would have chosen his words a bit more carefully.

"What are you doing?!" He exclaimed, his haughty tone of voice shortening her already nearly non-existent temper. "Let go of me at once!"

Seriyana’s grip tightened as she drew Seriyuu in closer until they were almost nose-to-nose. The action caused the necklace around her neck to slip, drawing Seriyuu’s attention.

He paled, only one person would have the youko heirloom…

"Seriya– " She shook him a bit, cutting him off.

"I don’t go by that name here," she hissed.

"What are you doing at the Phoenix Temple?!" He whispered back fiercely. Seriyana’s snarl tempered down to a frown as her grip slightly relaxed.

"I’m staying here." Seiryuu raised an eyebrow.

"And why are you, a youko, able to stay with a phoenix without killing each other?" Something clicked in his mind. "He doesn’t know what you are, does he."

Seriyana’s snarl was all the proof he needed. "Well, dear ‘nee-chan, it looks like you can’t touch me. All I have to say is one little phrase…"

Seriyana growled as she slammed Seiryuu into the wall a second time before releasing her grip. She turned abruptly and started stalking down the hallway. "I’ll be in my room," was the last thing he heard before she disappeared from view around the corner.

Suzaku started to chuckle nervously. "Please excuse Atsumi’s behavior, she – "

"It’s okay," Seiryuu interrupted, extracting himself from the wall. "In a way, I deserved it. Se – onee-chan and I didn’t exactly part on…favorable terms." Suzaku choked.

" ‘Onee-chan’?! She’s your sister?!" Seiryuu smirked.

"My twin, actually."

"Naaaniiiiiiiii?!" The smirk widened.

"Yup." A tense silence invaded the room for a few minutes until Suzaku cleared his throat.

"Atsumi seemed upset – I should go check on her." Suzaku all but bolted around the corner – he was beginning to see why Atsumi disliked her brother’s attitude.

Especially the smirk.

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Seriyana gritted her teeth as she plopped down on her bed. Her illusion flickering as she started to lose her concentration. Sighing in frustration she dropped it, it would do more harm trying to maintain it.

Damn him. How dare he forsake the knowledge of their mother and become a god. Even though a quirk of fate had left him completely human, he still had the gifts of magic and illusion born in all youkos.

And he had forsaken it – forsaken her! – only to become one of the enemy.

‘I shouldn’t be surprised,’ she thought bitterly. ‘Not after what he’d done to okaa-sama.’

A knock on the door shook her out of her thoughts as she quickly scrambled to erect her illusion again. "Atsumi? It’s Suzaku. Can I come in?"

"No!" Seriyana shouted frantically. Her illusion wasn’t working! There was silence for a few moments on the other side of the door.

"I think I should come in." Seriyana cursed as the illusion started to slowly take form from the head down. And her emotional mental state wasn’t helping.

And then the door started to open. In the blink of a moment Seriyana positioned herself so only her head – completely illusioned – was showing.

"What do you want?" She hissed, willing the illusion to complete itself. Suzaku blinked.

"Atsumi? Are your eyes gold?"

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Author’s Notes ~

*Evil chuckle* Cliffhanger!!

Actually, originally there was supposed to be more in chapter three, but I really really really liked Suzaku’s question, so I decided to use it as a cliffhanger.

But anyway, is sibling love grand? Trust me, though, Seriyana has good reason for it, though. I actually hinted at in chapter one. If you manage to spot it and e-mail me, you’ll get nothing except a possible pat on the back.

What? You actually expected something good?

Fushigi Yugi is not mine, but except for the easily spotted characters and concepts, everything else is mine.

In fact, I actually plan to use a similar plot for an original writing, but we’ll just see how that could possibly turn out…