Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Fushigi Yuugi: Daydream's Embrace ❯ Episode 10: The Priestess of Seiryuu ( Chapter 10 )

Episode 10
The Priestess of Seiryuu
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan

"Nakago, explain to me why there are two priestesses," the emperor ordered as he looked down at the blonde shogun from his throne.

"I believe that only one of the Priestesses is the Priestess of Seiryuu. I think one is the Priestess of Suzaku."

"Which one? We should dispose of her immediately!"

"But," Nakago continued, "as of now, I'm not assured which one is the Priestess of Seiryuu."

"Then how will we know?"

"I'm sure we will know soon," Nakago replied over his shoulder as he walked out of the room and down a hall. "Two girls from another world, one must be the Priestess of Suzaku." He thought back to the first girl, "She must be the Priestess of Suzaku. She knows far too much about this world; she must have been here for a while." He turned a corner and walked up two flights of stairs and then down to the Priestesses' room. "I found the second girl back in that alley in the inner-city. I doubt she is the Priestess of Seiryuu, but the other one couldn't be our Priestess either because she knows so much. Miaka must be the Priestess of Seiryuu. But why would Seiryuu choose such a naive child?" He knocked and opened the door. "Lady Miaka?" he asked, "I must speak with you." The girl looked around in shock.

"Lady?" she thought, almost giggling. Miaka got up from the table and walked out the door while Christina watched, confused. Christina narrowed her eyes at Nakago; she didn't trust him talking to Miaka. Miaka was trusting to the point of naivety. He glared back at her, and then led Miaka down the hallway.

"Lady Miaka," he continued as they walked, "I want you to save Kutou."

"Me?" she asked, dumbstruck. He wanted her to save a country?

"Yes, I believe you are the one who will obtain the power of Seiryuu, and get three wishes."

"So I really do get three wishes?" she asked as they turned a corner.

"Yes, once you summon Seiryuu. Any three wishes you want."

"I could eat my favorite food all the time! Or be the kind of girl who looks good in tight dresses! Or have any boy in school! Or even get into whatever high school I want!" she thought happily; then her merry thoughts turned into serious ones. "I could finally go home and see my family again," ever since she was drawn into this world it was one disaster after another. "I'll do it!" she told him, "I'll be the Priestess of Seiryuu."

The gargantuan blue doors that towered before them opened and they walked inside. Miaka jumped when they slammed shut behind her. She looked around in wonder. They were in some sort of shrine. Rocks were placed around the huge room, and waterfalls tossed clear water into small, sparkling pools. A huge gilded statue of a dragon sat before them, its eyes sparkling blue sapphires. Miaka looked at the dragon, and it stared back ominously.

"But there is one thing I must ask of you," Nakago said. "If the other girl, Christina, tries to leave Kutou; do not go with her. I think she wants to be the Priestess of Seiryuu, so she can have the three wishes. If she forces you to go, find some way to come here; I'll be waiting for you." Miaka nodded.

*

"I wonder what's wrong with Katherine," Nuriko said. He was sitting at a wooden table resting his chin his hand.

"Who would know? She's always weird like this," Tamahome answered, kneeling by Yuiren, who was resting peacefully in her bed. She was looking better, and her fever was going down, but she was still sick.

"But this time she seemed really upset," Nuriko replied as he stood up and walked toward the window.

Just then Katherine barged through the doorway. "Christina's missing," she said as she gasped for air. "She... she's in Kutou," she continued as she pointed frantically outside.

"What?!" Tamahome shouted in disbelief. He quickly stood up from the side of Yuiren's bed.

"Why would she go there?!" Nuriko asked incredulously.

"I dunno, to look for Yui?!" Katherine answered sarcastically. The two seishi looked her now shocked and confused by her last statement. She let out a sigh, now becoming very frustrated. "Never mind. The point is that Christina is in trouble!" Right then she noticed that something was missing. "Wait. You guys aren't in..." she started as she pointed aimlessly out in front of her. She was desperately trying to find the right words, but she couldn't. "You know... a human spider web... type thingy." She tried to process everything out. Katherine hated it if she couldn't figure something out; she was a very logical thinker. She sat down at a table where Nuriko was once sitting. "I'm so combuzzled," she muttered to herself as she buried her face in her hands.

"What's a combuzzle?" Nuriko curiously asked.

Katherine lifted her head up and roller her eyes. "Combuzzle means confused. Combuzzled, confused. Confused, combuzzled," she answered quickly.

"Who are you?" Tamahome asked as he pointed to the strange blue-haired man behind Katherine who was smiling merrily.

"I'm just a wandering traveler no da," he replied, with the same placid expression on his face.

Katherine let out a long sigh. She didn't have time to let Chichiri hide the fact that he was one of the Suzaku Seven. "This is Chichiri," she said, exasperated, as she pointed to the monk, "he's one of the Suzaku Seven just like you two."

"Really?! You mean you've already found the fourth one?" Nuriko replied excitedly, "this one looks kinds weird though," he mumbled as he looked at the smiling sei skeptically.

"Better weird than gay no da," Chichiri said, secretly wishing that the purple-haired cross-dresser would stop looking at him so strangely.

"That's it!" Katherine randomly exclaimed as she stood up from the table. "I'm going to Kutou! Sitting around here talking about which one of us is the biggest freak won't do any good!" she yelled, agitated, as she walked towards the door.

"I'm going with you. It's too dangerous for you to go alone," Tamahome countered as he walked towards her.

"Don't forget about me," Nuriko said quickly as he followed them both out the door way, but Katherine quickly turned around. Tamahome turned around after her to see what she was doing.

"Nuriko, can ya do me a favor?" she asked. "Go back to the palace and tell Hotohori everything. I don't want to leave him in the dark," she pleaded as she slightly looked up at Nuriko.

"Okay," he answered as he nodded. Katherine and Tamahome ran up to their horses and rode to the east.

"Well, I ought to be going no da," Chichiri said out of the blue as he disappeared in his kasa. Nuriko looked at the hat in complete awe as it lay stranded on the floor.

*

"What is this ominous premonition?" Hotohori asked himself as he kneeled before the large golden phoenix. He had been praying in the Shrine of Suzaku every chance he could get. "I hope they're safe. Suzaku, our divine guardian, please protect your daughters, Katherine and Christina, the ones chosen to acquire your powers and to protect my country."

*

"Kutou? It's over that-a-way," a man, who was carrying a bag over his shoulder, instructed as he pointed down one of the dirt paths. "The forest over there is a short-cut, but it's a death trap," he continued as he pointed in a slightly different direction, towards the dark

"Thank you sir," Katherine said politely from the top of her horse as the man walked off, continuing on his way. Just when he was out of hearing distance she turned to Tamahome. "Okay! Let's go!" she said excitedly as she trotted her horse towards the forest.

"Didn't you just hear the man?!" Tamahome shouted after her, not believing that she was going to go through the dark, dense forest. "He said it was a death trap!" he continued to yell out of anger even though he had caught up with her and now riding by her side.

"We need to get to Kutou ASAP. If we run into any animal you can just ax- kick it. And don't forget, I know Tae Kwon Do too," she replied smugly. She and Tamahome dismounted their horses and started to walk them into the forest, because it was too thick with trees and vines for them to have ride through it.

*

Joan was pacing around the house nervously anxiously waiting for Diana. She was 5'1" and for that Katherine always made fun of her, since she was one inch taller than her older sister. She had a sturdy built because she trained constantly for Tae Kwon Do, unlike Katherine who just did it for recreation. She had straight brunette hair, which fell down to the middle of her back. She looked down at her watch. It had been exactly thirteen minutes since she had called Diana. It was a fifteen minute drive between their homes, so Joan figured she would have to explain everything pretty soon.

"I guess I better figure out what to tell her," Joan thought. She sighed loudly, trying to think of the best way to describe everything. "Okay, Katherine was sucked into the book when I dropped her off at the library today. She went to Konan, came back and we went to pick up Christina. We came back here, and they grabbed their stuff and got sucked into the Universe of the Four Gods where they became the Priestesses of Suzaku." Joan then reflected on what she had just said. "I sound like a crazy person," she laughed.

Joan jumped up when she head a knock on the door. She ran over to the front door, opened it quickly and pushed the screen door open.

Diana walked into the house. She was above the average height at 5'9" and had an extremely lean built. She was always wearing stylish glasses and had short brown hair with died blue tips. Physically, the two were complete opposites. "'Allo, bella," she said to Joan, using her trademark greeting. "What's up?"

"Well, I'll have to explain everything first, but I'm a tad stressed out."

They both walked to the living room and sat on the couch. Diana saw the book lying on the couch. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the red book.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise to not interrupt me until I'm done explaining."

"Okay..." Diana agreed hesitantly. Joan held the book up, but the title was facing away from Diana.

"I guess it all started this morning. I dropped Katherine off at the library; she was going to stay there for three hours. Anyway, when I went to pick her up, she had this with her." She explained as she gestured towards the manuscript.

"We drove over the Christina's house and Katherine ran down and got Christina to pack a whole bunch of stuff and then we drove back over here. Katherine went inside and brought out a lot of suitcases too. Turns out that this," Joan said while turning the book over so Diana could read the cover, "is the Universe of the Four Gods."

"What!?" Diana interjected.

"Listen to me! Katherine said she was taken to Konan for a few months and then traveled back. I wouldn't have believed this at all, but her clothes were all torn and bloody, and I really doubt she could have managed that in a library. But then she and Christina opened the book and they both got sucked in!"

"Ha-ha," Diana started mockingly. "Not funny, hon."

"I know!" Joan agreed, "Just read it!"

Diana flipped to the front of the book and read the passage. "This is the story of the young girls who single-handedly gathered the Seven Stars of Suzaku and gained the power to make all their dreams come true. The story itself is an incantation and whomever reads it gains the main characters' powers to have their wishes granted. This is because once they turn the first page; the story will become real and begin."

"See?" Joan asked.

"Why does it say girls?" Diana asked.

"Because Christina and Katherine are both Priestesses of Suzaku," she clarified.

"This is a really great joke," Diana said in awe, "You guys must have put a lot of work into this. There are even pictures!"

"I'm serious!" Joan said as she grabbed the book back. She flipped back to where she had left off. She stuck the book back under Diana's nose, so that she could see the words appearing on the page.

"What the-" Diana mumbled as she read the emerging words. "Tamahome and the Lady Katherine had begun their journey to save the Lady Christina, who was prisoner in the palace of Kutou."

"Read on, Tetsuya," Joan instructed.

*

Tamahome and Katherine came out of the forest extremely out of breath, but with only a few cuts and scratches on them. "So how many did you beat up?" Katherine asked, still gasping for air, as she mounted her horse.

"Four tigers and a bear," Tamahome answered proudly from the top of his horse.

"Awww man!" Katherine shouted disappointedly. "I only got one tiger and some psychopathic rabid raccoon that kept on chasing after me."

"I win," Tamahome chimed as they continued to trot to Kutou.

*

Miaka looked over from the table, her mouth full of food. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked thickly. Christina was tying all the blue sheets from their beds together.

"Getting out of this hellhole," Christina answered as she tied the last one on the chain. She tugged all of the knots, making sure they were secure. Christina walked over to the window and stuck her head out, making sure no one was watching. She quickly lowered the makeshift rope down to check the length. She made sure that there was enough slack to be able to tie it to one of the beds. She quickly yanked it back through the window, complaining about how she needed another sheet. Christina ran around the room, rummaging frantically in all the drawers and wardrobes. After looking through everything in sight, she looked under her bed in a last-ditch effort, hoping that it was her lucky day. Her hands searched under the bed until finally she grabbed the extra sheet that was underneath it.

"Jackpot!" she exclaimed happily as she pumped her right arm through the air in victory. She tied her treasure onto the rest of the sheets and then put the cluster onto her bed and tried to make it look like a regular bunch of bedding.

"Aren't you leaving now?" Miaka asked.

"Not now, it's broad daylight!" Christina said, gesturing out the window. "I'm leaving tonight, I guess I could hitchhike back to Konan..." she supposed. "You coming?" she asked Miaka. She couldn't just leave Miaka in Kutou.

"I dunno, three wishes seems pretty cool..." Miaka mumbled. Then she realized that Christina was the only person she actually knew, and she was going to that other country. Miaka didn't want to be all alone. "Yeah, I'll guess I'll come."

*

Tamahome and Katherine rode up to the Kutou border. Two guards dressed in blue armor stood sternly by the entrance. "Where are your passport papers?" once as they approached him.

"Papers?" Tamahome questioned naively as he looked innocently at the sky.

Katherine reached behind her and pulled a mini bookbag off of her back. It was exactly like Christina's except for her was crimson, whereas her friend's was black. She opened the zipper in the front and brought out her temps and the papers that came with it. She always kept them in the exact same spot, just to make sure she would never lose them. She signaled Tamahome to follow her horse closely as she trotted pass the two guards and help up the papers and the card for them to see, hoping that she and Tamahome would go by too fast for them to notice that the papers weren't official.

"What the hell is that?" the second guard asked as he pointed at the several sheets of papers in Katherine's hand.

"C'mon Tamahome, let's go!" Katherine shouted as she prepared her horse for a gallop, but the first guard was already standing in front of her, blocking the entrance. She could have easily passed him, but he was threatening her with his spear.

"If you make one move, I'll-" he started, but then he suddenly became startled. Katherine looked at him strangely.

*

Christina didn't go to sleep that night; she knew she wouldn't have woken up in time to get away. Instead she stared out the window and looked to see where the guards were stationed so once she was out of the room, she wouldn't be recaptured. She usually had a very short attention span and was the worst at seriously concentrating at anything. But she had a feeling that she should probably pay close attention and do something right for a change. Every three hours the guards would be relieved and replaced by new sentries. There were only two guards she could see that would be a problem. One of the guards would turn a corner and wouldn't come back for ten minutes. The other sentry would disappear five minutes later and would also defer nearby for ten minutes. "So," she reasoned, "that gives us a five minute window." Christina decided that they would climb down while the guards were switching and then wait in the bushes below for ten minutes until the guards left.

Christina looked through some of the clothes that had been laid out for her. She picked through the outfits until she came up with a pair of black pants and a black shirt that was edged in dark green. She slipped on a pair of small black slippers, hoping that they wouldn't fall off. Christina figured Miaka's outfit would be fine; she was still wearing her brown uniform, and brown was not the brightest color. Christina grabbed her little black bag and stuffed her old clothes in it. Then she walked over to Miaka's bed and gently nudged her until she woke up.

"Time to go," Christina whispered. Miaka nodded solemnly and stood up. "We leave when the guards switch," Christina informed her roommate. They squinted through the darkness, trying to see new guards. Miaka tapped Christina's shoulder to get her attention and pointed below them. Two guards were walking towards the other two. Christina grabbed the sheets off of her bed and threw them out the open window. She quickly grabbed the bed sheet and started to rappel down the side of the palace. It was all too easy for Christina, because she loved to rock climb and rappelling down a three-story palace was no easy feat. The sheets ended about five feet from the ground, so Christina climbed down the rest of the bed linens until she hung by nothing but her hands and dropped easily to the dirt. As soon as she landed, she hugged the wall, trying to blend into the shadow. She looked over to the guards and breathed a sigh of relief. All four of them were chit-chatting.

Christina looked up and saw Miaka's face looking down at her. She gestured her hand, hoping Miaka would spot her and figure out that it was her turn. Miaka hesitantly climbed out the window. She grabbed onto the bed sheets and slowly lowered herself down.

"Hurry up," Christina hissed, "If you don't hurry up, I'm gonna leave without you." Miaka lowered herself quickly. She dropped into the bushes below with an "Ouch!"

"Shhhh," Christina warned.

"Now what?" Miaka asked. Christina didn't answer and both of the girls ducked into the bushes for cover as the two relieved guards swaggered back to the palace.

"Now we wait," Christina answered, "As soon as the second guard leaves, we run."

*

The guard seemed as though he had frozen. Tamahome looked at Katherine, as though he thought that she had done it. Katherine shrugged and they continued through the gate. Suddenly, a man wearing blue armor that was decorated with dragons rode in front of them.

"What is the problem?" he asked one of the guards.

"I... I can't move!" the guard said through clenched teeth.

"Oh?" the man on the horse wondered, "A spell? How weak."

The soldiers could soon move. Nakago turned his gaze to Katherine and Tamahome. Katherine glanced over at Tamahome. Suddenly the man wearing the blue armor looked stiff. Katherine and Tamahome quickly rode past him and towards the palace.

After navigating through the city, they found their way to the palace. They rode into the courtyard and dismounted off of their horses. They proceeded to sneak around until they found a soldier.

*

Christina and Miaka waited for ten more minutes, trying to breathe quietly and not move. The first guard disappeared and Christina sighed with relief. "Five more minutes," she whispered happily.

Five minutes later, the second guard disappeared. Miaka looked at Christina, who nodded back. They burst out of the bushes and started sprinting as fast as they could. Christina hoped that the Kutou palace grounds were exactly the same as their counterparts in Konan. Christina and Miaka turned a corner and ran down the stairs. Then they ran left and turned a corner to where Christina hoped the main gate would be. They saw a wall in front of them, and a cluster of guards standing in front of it. They quickly slid to the side and crouched down in the shadows, hoping that they weren't spotted.

"What do we do?" Miaka whispered.

"I dunno..." Christina mouthed back. Then, salvation came. A guard ran up to the group and yelled for their attention.

"The Suzaku Seven have infiltrated the palace!" he bellowed. The guards looked at each other, surprised. They all grabbed their spears, which were lying in a corner, and ran back to the palace.

"So should we go back to the palace?" Christina thought, "Or just run?"

"I know where to go," Miaka said, "I remember." Christina looked at Miaka strangely, not sure whether or not to trust her. Miaka stood up and ran; Christina had no choice but to follow. Miaka stopped in front of a pair of huge doors.

She looked back at Christina, "We should go in here." Christina looked at her in disbelief.

"Uh-uh, I'm not goin' in there!" she said as she started to back up.

*

"What?!" Hotohori exclaimed as he swiftly rose from his throne. "Katherine and Christina are in Kutou!" he shouted at Nuriko in disbelief.

"Yes, your majesty. I must apologize for my incompetence," Nuriko sadly replied while kneeling before the emperor in his office.

"Bring me my horse at once!" Hotohori ordered his advisors.

"Highness, what are you planning to do?!" an elderly advisors standing beside him inquired.

"I'm going to bring them back!" Hotohori angrily answered as he turned to the advisor.

"Out of the question!" the advisor hollered back, "The emperor can't go into enemy nation by himself."

"But if anything happens to Katherine..." Hotohori said, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"Please calm yourself! Do you want us to start this war?!" the advisor continued as he desperately tried to stop the emperor.

"I understand... I don't know what possessed me," Hotohori said with a sigh as he sat back down in his throne.

"Give orders to the soldiers and give them fast horses! They must retrieve the Priestesses of Suzaku!" the advisor instructed several guards who were standing silently by the doorway. The guards nodded sharply and quickly departed.

*

Tamahome grabbed the guard and put his arm around the man's neck, threatening to suffocate him. "W... what do you want?" the guard gasped.

"Where are they keeping Christina?" he asked.

"Y... you mean the priestesses?" he wheezed.

"YES!" Tamahome yelled, "Take us there."

The guard pointed up the stairs that were before them. All three of them climbed the stairs and ran down the halls.

"It's that one," the guard said shakily, pointing to the door in front of them. Tamahome lifted up his hand and struck the guard in the neck. The man fell to the ground, unconscious.

Tamahome and Katherine burst into the room and looked around for Christina. Katherine spotted something blowing in the wind by the window. She walked over to the windowpane and lifted up the chain of sheets that was trailing out the window. Katherine threw the sheets on the floor in frustration. She lifted her arms up and asked loudly, "WHY CAN'T SHE JUST BE A DAMSEL!? WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO GO AND ESCAPE INSTEAD OF WAITING IN THE STUPID ROOM!?"

To Be Continued...