by: Asurahime
A red-haired girl woke up in an unfamiliar place, and as she looked around, a sharp pain at the back of her neck felt as if it was related to the cause of her muddled thoughts.
"Wha... Where... am I?" she whispered to no one in particular as she muffled her scream of pain and tried to remember how she got in her recent state.
A cold, metallic voice resounded from the other side of the room. "Welcome back to Kutou, Suzaku no Miko..."
"Kutou..... Suzaku no Miko.....?? Where and who are those? Iya, more importantly.... who am I?" the girl asked in the direction of the voice.
Other voices, including the one from before were suddenly conversing with each other as if what they heard was something that they could not believe.
"She may be trying to trick us Nakago. How do you know that she's telling the truth?" said another voice.
All conversation stopped as the hidden people seemed to be staring warily at the young woman , who was now trying to fix her now disarrayed hair, which were removed from their odangos long before she woke up. She noticed their silence and she immediately squinted her emerald eyes to try and see who her companions were.
"Where am I? And... since you all seem to know the way around here, could you possibly show me the way out? I heard that one of you was named Nakago, but that doesn't explain to me why I am here." Suddenly, she started to get up, but the pain on her head caused her to fall back down.
Another voice spoke, "Are you serious? You don't even know who we are, and you don't know who we are either?"
That confused her even more. "No... I am sorry, but I can't remember anything ever since I woke up with this terrible pain at the back of my head."
"The girl is telling the truth Nakago; she remembers nothing of the past." one commented.
"How are you so sure about that, Aniki?"
The young girl was now obviously shocked when she seemed to have heard a voice comment, and the same voice ask a question about their own opinion.
"She is not terrified of Nakago. When she was still the Miko of Konan-koku, she used to scream for someone to save her when 'Nakago' captured her and was pretending to 'kill' her. I found this out from one of the palace servants who witnessed that event."
The voice was talking about the image of Nakago that Chichiri wore to save Miaka when she was taken before; the same night that the kodoku-cursed Tamahome broke her left arm... the same night when Tasuki almost died.
"I'll test her.... her honesty, then I'll test Soi's" Nakago said in a lecherous way.
"Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Tasuki, Chichiri, Chiriko, Mitsukake, Suzaku, Seiryuu, Konan, Kutou, 'Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho', Taiitsukun, Miaka...?"
The girl frowned. "Gomen, demo... the only things that I can put even the tiniest shred of familiarity to are Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, and Byakko; these are the gods of the south, east, north, and west. However, for everything else, my mind is drawing a complete and total blank..."
The others stared. "Really? This isn't a trick?" one of them asked.
"I don't really know what is going on, and if you would show me the way out, I'd be glad to go my own way." answered the girl as she was finally oriented enough to stand up.
Nakago sent a ball of ki, which locked the girl in place. "You will not be going anywhere at the moment. Until we are done with you, you will do as you are told." The figures in the room finally revealed themselves as the Seiryuu Shichiseishi.
"Even with your memories sealed, you are still a threat to us summoning Seiryuu and are an even greater threat with the Suzaku Seven gathered." explained Soi.
Just as Nakago was about to do away with her once and for all, a blonde-haired girl barged in. As she surveyed the room, her eyes rested on a red-haired girl in front of Nakago.
Yui then ran to stop Nakago. "Don't Nakago..."
"Who are you?" said a voice quietly.
That caused everyone to stare at her. Yui stood in front of her with eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "What do you mean who am I? Miaka, don't you remember who I am? Aren't you going to cry out in anger, 'Yui-chan, what did I ever do to make you treat me like this? Why did you turn Tamahome against me?'. Well, arent' you?!"
"Why would I do such a thing? You have never harmed me, and I never met you before in my life. So, what reasons so I have to cause you harm, and my name is not Miaka."
Yui gasped and stepped back a few paces. "Miaka, omae..."
Suboshi answered. "She had amnesia, Yui-sama. Her ordeal has robbed her of all memory. She has locked away her memories of the Suzaku Shichiseishi, you, your world, and everything that has happened before she woke up."
As he was saying this, the girl found a way to break through Nakago's barrier and was currently missing. When they realized this, they rushed off and tried to find, and stop her if she tried to escape. To their utter amazement, the former Suzaku no Miko has entered the Seiryuu Shrine.
"What is going on? Isn't the Priestess of Suzaku a servant of her god?" asked Soi.
Tomo shook his head. "This 'Miaka' was the Priestess of suzaku before, but now that she doesn't remember anything, she has ceased to be one of his servants. She still is to some extent, but she won't be anymore once the character of Suzaku disappears from her forehead.""
"And that explains why she didn't fall trembling down inside the Seiryuu Hall like she did before." concluded Amiboshi.
Yui barely heard this conversation, for Nakago has focused her attention to Miaka, who was now at the base of the statue of Seiryuu. A blast of cold blue light surrounded the girl, and an entity of a dragon appeared before her.
-Suzaku no Miko... how is it that you have resisted my barrier? No servant of my enemy, Suzaku is able to roam freely through my hall.- asked the entity.
"I do not know what you are saying. I don't even truly know who I am, for all my memories have been sealed. ...You are a simulacrum of the god Seiryuu aren't you? Since you haven't been summoned, therefore you cannot be him. I am not the Priestess of Suzaku, I don't ever remember being so... no matter how much I want to remember." answered the girl truthfully.
-............Is that so?............-
A nod. "There is no other way that I can explain it."
Suddenly, an aura of blue light emanated from her body and lifted her off the floor, but strangely, she did not cry out. Her red hair turned into the color of the ocean (a bright cerulean), and her emerald eyes now changed into a clear blue-violet with amber sparks. Her hair formed a blue halo which framed her face as her school uniform were replaced by clothes befitting a Seishi: knee-high boots and a white tunic whose skirt only reached a few inches above her knees. A thin silver band encircled her forehead, a short scarlet cape went from her shoulders to her waist, silver arm-guards protected her forearms, and a crimson sword with a silver hilt was strapped behind her by a bandolier crossing her chest.
-You are now the final Seiryuu Seishi and are the replacement for Miboshi, who was dead before my Miko could find him. I have been searching for a worthy replacement for him for a long time, and you, despite that you still have a corrupted sign, are my final star. The constellations in the eastern part of the sky will shift their positions and your constellation, "Hikari" will disperse Miboshi's own. Heed my words, as your new god, help my Miko summon me into reality, and protect her until she does. I have kindled your innate, though hidden powers to do so... protect them all...-
As you command, Seiryuusei-kun...., answered the girl as the blue light from her body and the being disappeared. The six other members of the Seiryuu Seven and the Priestess of Seiryuu watched with awe as the white-clothed figure once more was on the floor. To their surprise, she turned around and advanced to Yui, drawing her sword swiftly; but to their relief, she didn't attack, so they calmed down.
Yui, a bit unnerved that Miaka now has cyan hair and blue-violet eyes could barely contain herself from jumping up and sprinting away from there as fast as she can.
The girl who was once Miaka opened her eyes wide and smiled kindly into Yui's eyes. She held her sword vertically and presented it hilt-first to Yui. "Lady Yui, Seiryuu no Miko, Priestess of Seiryuu..." Miaka closed her eyes and the character 'Ko' shone blue with a very slight trace of red on her forehead. "I am from this day forward known as 'Azeruse', the Seventh member of the Seiryuu Seven, and my character means 'light'. My sword 'Asura' and I are ready to serve you against the Suzaku Seven."
This announcement caused the others of the Seiryuu Seven to gape with shock. However, Yui burst into tears, took the sword and hugged Azeruse fiercely with no hesitation whatsoever. She finally believed that her friend is a true friend once again. With their Priestess' reaction to the blue-haired seishi, the others allowed themselves to open up to their new comrade-in-arms; but they still can't get rid of the feeling of wariness they get when they see their newest ally as their sworn enemy.
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Preview of Chapter 3
False Trust, Honest Betrayal
Yui did not have to be told twice and sped away, but to the horror of the others, Azeruse held her ground and drew her sword.
"Azeruse baka!! Don't be reckless and get the fuck out of here while you still can!!" shrieked Soi with what little strength she had left.
However, Azeruse only shook her head. "What kind of seishi am I if I run away and abandon you all at the first sign of danger? Daijoobu, I know what this monster is."
"No... Azeruse, listen just this once..." whispered Amiboshi, trying to hold back a scream of pain and anguish.
The six victims cried out in fear as the monster struck the girl. Blood trickled down the side of her mouth and a cut bled freely on her cheek , but she paid them no heed as she ran and slashed her sword through the adversary. "Asura Revenge!!!"
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Chapter Notes:
Azeruse is a character that I thought of when I was playing as 'Asellus' on Saga Frontier, I just changed the name around to suit my purposes. (I loved her scenario, it was soooo sad!!! I liked Ildon though, he was kawaii in a strange vampiric way. ^_~) Hopefully I get the next chapter done soon, but as much work as they dish out at us in those 'schools', I have to beg and plead on my little knees for spare time to write... oh jeez... (don't worry Tasuki-Miaka fans, I'll get to that part... I just need a few cliff-hangers here and there first...)... now don't make me flame yer ass good Gen-chan, I warn you... I just ate a red M&M... just please YAKAMASHII!!!! Now... on with the... disclaimers.... Sorry minna, but it's mandatory or I'll get sued...
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Disclaimers:
Yes, yes, I don't own any ot the characters of Fushigi Yuugi, I am simply borrowing them for the use of this fic. Azeruse-chan is mine though... (I do wish I own Tas-chan though. ~giggle~ ) ......... I don't like that look that you just gave me Andy.... I was just kidding, you know that. Full list of disclaimers are always located at my Introductions. Flames both coming from or not coming from Tasuki's hali.... ITAIIIII!!!!! All right, Tasuki's tessen and comments welcome at [email protected] Jaa mata ne!!
Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho ^^ Chapter One^^ Chapter Three