Konnichiwa, miina-san!! ^_^ It's been a while. I was
gone all weekend. I saw the Pokemon movie on Friday.
It was pretty good.
Anyway, I'm still trying to get Bishoujo Senshi Sailor
Juraihelm. I appreciate everyone who has offered help,
but I STILL don't know the name of Sasami's elementary
school! Ah well... I'm going to try and go rent it and
re-watch it and find out.
This, as you can see, is Ch. 11 of ALR. I hope
everyone is enjoying it so far! ^_^ I have gotten many
wonderful comments on it. I'm still working on Ch. 13.
I've been one busy shoujo w/out much time for writing.
-_-;; It really sucks. I'm gonna get it done, though
(even if it kills me!!! *Kodachi laugh*). ^_^
Enjoy!
Sakuya-sama ^_^ no Jurai
A Legend Reborn
Chapter 11
"Excuse me, sir..."
"Yes?"
"What city is that ahead?"
"Why it�s the empire of Kutou, boy! Can�t you tell?"
"Uh... yes... of course.... Thank you."
"No problem."
Ryunosuke gives his horse a small kick as a signal to
continue on. He rides at a quick pace to the city
before him.
"I�m almost there...," Ryunosuke thinks, "Chisa must
already be there... She can move faster than I
thought... Why didn�t she tell me she was leaving? I
would have gone with her.... Chisa....."
"Long time no see, Ryunosuke-san, no daa!"
Ryunosuke looks down to see a super-deformed Chichiri
sitting in front of him. Surprised, he pulls his horse
to a sudden stop. The horse rears back, throwing
Ryunosuke out of the saddle.
"I�m sorry, no daa. Did I startle you, no daa?"
"Uh... yeah.... a little bit....," Ryunosuke peels
himself off the ground and brushes himself off,
"You�re... you�re that Chichiri guy, aren�t you?"
"That�s me, no daa." With that, Chichiri returns to
his normal form.
"What about the other old guy who was with you?"
"Who are you calling old you little punk?" Tasuki
says angrily, walking up behind Chichiri.
"Never mind that, Tasuki, no daa," Chichiri says,
attempting to calm him, "You�ve come after Chisa,
haven�t you, no daa?"
"Yes, actually...," Ryunosuke says, "How did you
know?"
"Don�t ask," Tasuki says, "You�d never understand
anyway."
"She�s in Kouto, no daa," Chichiri says.
"Damn! I knew it," Ryunosuke says.
"I sensed a presence with her, no daa. I thought it
might be you, but I guess not, no daa," Chichiri
continues, "Did Shyoka or Boushin go with her, no
daa?"
"No... She went alone. We were on our way to see the
creator and the other night she decided to leave for
Kouto and try to find her friend. All she left was a
note."
"That�s odd, no daa... I�m certain that I sense the
chi of a Suzaku warrior with the miko, no daa.....,"
he says scratching his chin, "My powers haven�t
exactly been as they used to be lately, but I�m
positive on this, no daa...!"
"I don�t know about you guys, but I�m going to
Kutou," Ryunosuke begins to climb back onto his horse.
"Wait, no daa! I�ve got a better way, no daa."
Chichiri takes his kasa off his head and drops it on
the ground. "After you, no daa."
"What do you mean �after you�?" Ryunosuke asks.
"Step into it, no daa," he says, "My kasa will take
us into Kutou, no daa. This way we don�t have to worry
about dealing with guards and soldiers, no daa."
Ryunosuke takes a moment to think it over and then
carefully steps into the hat and disappears.
"Why the hell didn�t you use this earlier, Chichiri?"
Tauski asks, "If you had used this we wouldn�t have
lost Yui!"
"I didn�t get a chance, no daa!" he says, tying
Ryunosuke�s horse to a tree, "By the time we got in
range for it to work, it was too late, no daa. I would
have used my cape, but the resistance is too strong,
no daa."
"So why is it working this time?"
"I don�t know, no daa...."
"So where is Yui anyway?"
"Her chi is still present so she�s still alive, no
daa... She�s more than likely back at Taiis-kun�s
retreat, no daa," he says, "And as soon as we get
Chisa and Misao from Kutou that�s where we�re going to
be heading, no daa."
"All right then. Let�s go!" Tasuki takes a running
leap for the kasa and dives in as though it were a
swimming pool.
"Right behind you, no daa!" Chichiri follows, the
kasa disappearing with him.
***
"Hurry up and open the door!"
"The books are getting wet!"
"All right already! Just let me find the key....
There it is..."
Keisuke, Rei, and Tetsuya rush through the door in a
clump as soon as the door is open.
"It�s really pouring out there!" Rei says.
"It was so clear earlier....," Tetsuya says.
"Where does Miaka keep the towels?" she asks.
"Uhh... There�s a closet upstairs I think," Tetsuya
says.
"Wait, Rei. I�ll go get them," Keisuke offers.
"Okay.... I guess I�ll go get some warm tea started
then."
Keisuke heads upstairs and Rei to the kitchen,
leaving Tetsuya alone on the couch.
_...Tetsuya..._ he hears his name being called.
Tetsuya looks around.
_...Tetsuya..._ it comes again.
He goes to the kitchen, "Did you call me, Rei?"
"Huh?" she says, "It wasn�t me..."
"Maybe it was Keisuke then...."
"...probably..."
He leaves the kitchen and makes his way to the
stairs.
_...Tetsuya..._
"Was that you, Keisuke?"
"What do you mean?"
"I could swear I heard somebody calling my name...."
_...Tetsuya, if you can hear me please answer!_
"I hear it, too....," Keisuke says, "It sounds like
Yui."
"Yui?! How... Where..."
"Quick, what is there here that also exists there?"
"I-I don�t know...," Tetsuya searches himself.
"Look! Your wedding band!" Keisuke points.
Tetsuya turns to see that the ring on his left hand
is glowing. "That�s it!" he exclaims. "Yui! Are you
there? Yui....!" he begins talking into his wedding
ring.
_Tetsuya? Is that you?_
"What�s all the racket out here?" Rei says emerging
from the kitchen.
"Yeah, it�s me!"
"Why is Tetsuya talking to his wedding ring?" she
asks.
"It�s a link to the other world!"
"It really works?"
_I�m so glad! I wasn�t sure this would work..._
"How is everybody there?"
_Well... We�re all a little scratched up, but we�re
all right... Tamahome and I are anyway...._
"What happened?"
_To tell you the truth... I don�t know... I was on my
way to Kutou with Tasuki and Chichiri and Miaka and
Tamahome went after Chisa in Konan.... but somehow we
all ended up back here... Miaka�s still unconscious,
though... I was for a while, but now I�m all right..._
"Don�t you have any clues about why this happened?"
_No... not yet... Taiis-kun�s being very secretive...
Every time we bring it up she changes the subject..._
"That doesn�t make any sense...," Keisuke says.
"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger...,"
Rei says.
_Listen, I�ve gotta go now, but I�ll try and contact
you later. It�s taking a lot to open up this channel
now... Hotohori and the others are using a lot of
strength to keep it open for just a few seconds. I
just wanted to tell you that we�re all right and we
hope to see you all again soon..._
"All right..."
_Bye, everybody.... I love you, Tetsuya..._
"I love you, too... Please hurry home...."
_We will... Bye..._
"Take care, Yui..."
"Bye..."
The glow of the ring fades away along with Yui�s
voice.
***
Chisa�s eyes crack open slightly. It takes a minute
for her them to adjust. Her eyes fly open when she is
able to make out a rat mere centimeters from her face
munching on some crumbs of food. She suddenly finds
herself upright. She lets out a scream, scaring the
poor animal. It scampers into a crack in the wall and
disappears.
"Where... where am I....?" Chisa wonders out loud. A
pungent smell of mold and rotting food fills her lungs
as she takes in breath. She winces in pain and
clutches her head suddenly realizing how much it
hurts. She gingerly turns her head left and right to
surveys her surroundings. The walls are made of gray
stone, cold to the touch. There is a small wooden
door, locked up tight. The window high above is barred
as is the cage-like door.
"...bars....?" she mutters, "Now I remember...." she
says, her headache suddenly becoming worse with the
realization. "This must be Kutou�s prison..." Chisa
stops. The guards just outside the cell do not seem to
hear her or were not paying attention.
The sound of a door creaking open can be heard in the
distance, followed by footsteps.
A third guard appears. He mumbles something to the
other guards, but she can�t make it out.
The other guards bow as he leaves, one of them pulling
out a set of keys.
"Well, it looks like little miss spy has regained
consciousness," the other says with a slight laugh.
The guard swings the door open, the old hinges moaning
and squealing.
Chisa shrinks away a bit as the guard approaches her.
"The priestess wants to see you."
"...the priestess....?"
"I don�t know what she wants with a miserable thing
like you. We should just hang you and get it over
with, but who am I to question orders?" he says. "Come
on, now," he takes hold of her arm and forcefully
pulls her to her feet. His touch is anything but
gentle.
The two soldiers lead Chisa out of the prison cell
and into the palace through many corridors.
"This place isn�t so different from Konan...," she
observes, "It�s almost an exact replica in
architectural design... except the colors here are
blue... Konan and Kouto are really pretty similar...
Why do they fight like this?" She looks at the men
standing on either side of her. "She�s already become
the priestess... I got here too late...." Chisa heaves
a sigh. "If only I had been quicker... I�m sorry,
Misao.... I�m so sorry...."
They come to the end of the hallway to a set of
gigantic doors where two more soldier stand guard.
"We have brought the prisoner to see the priestess,"
one of the two says.
They bow and then begin to push against the doors.
The doors open slowly and they continue inside.
"It�s beautiful...," she awes. Precious silks and
many kinds of jewels adorn the pristine white walls
along with the hand-painted blue dragons. Blue, marble
pillars support the roof of the palace.
At the end of the room is a throne. There are people
who stand one either side of it, but it is obvious
that they are not soldiers.
"...five...six...seven...," Chisa counts them out to
herself, "...three of them are women...."
There is a sound of another door opening, a side
door. They all drop suddenly to one knee, bowing.
The guards harshly force Chisa down to the same
position before she gets a chance to see who is
entering.
There are footsteps in the distance, gentle
footsteps. The sound becomes louder and louder, coming
towards Chisa until she can see the feet in front of
her face.
"....Ch-Chisa....?" comes a familiar voice.
Chisa slowly raises her head to meet the face of her
best friend.
"Chisa... i-is it really you....?" her voice quivers,
the tears forming in the corners of her eyes sparkle.
"Chisa!" Misao cries out dropping to her knees and
embracing her friend, almost toppling her.
"....Misao...," Chisa says. She returns the embrace,
tears trickling down her face.
"I found you... I finally found you, Chisa... You
don�t know how much I�ve missed you..... I was so
worried about you...," Misao sobs, holding Chisa
tightly, "I didn�t think I�d ever see you again...."
Chisa can�t speak for the lump in her throat.
Misao stands up, bringing Chisa up with her and
release her. "So much has happened here, Chisa!
Everyone has been so nice to me," she says excitedly,
sniffling and wiping her eyes, "Come on. There are
some people I want you to meet." She takes hold of
Chisa�s hand and drags her over to where the people
are lined up.
She points them out one by one.
"This is Tomokazu...," a man of possibly twenty. He is
tall with blonde hair and gray eyes. He looks like a
warrior, dressed from head to toe in armor.
"...Mayumi...," a young girl, maybe a year older than
Chisa although her form-fitting and somewhat
scandalous attire give off the appearance of an older
woman. She has dark hair, pieces of it braided on each
side of her face, but the rest drapes down to past her
shoulders. Her eyes are a pale, familiar blue.
"...Ongaku...," a young man of about sixteen or
seventeen. He has short, light-brown hair and violet
eyes.
"...Mariko...," she is almost a female version of
Ongaku. They have the same color eyes and hair and
even similarly-shaped faces.
"...Yasuda...," a strange looking young man probably
in his late twenties. His face is painted with some
kind of war paint and his dark hair is pulled back
into a ponytail. His eyes are very dark, almost black.
"...Chiharu...," a girl of about nineteen. Her eyes
are very cat-like. Her skin is darker than that of the
others and her hair is jet black. In the center of her
forehead is a red jewel, a third eye. She appears to
be of Indian descent. Golden jewelry adorns her nose,
ears, and neck. Her clothes are the color gold and
very decorative. They somewhat resemble a sarong that
an Indian woman might wear.
"...and Eguchi...," he may be the strangest of them
all. His hair is gray, but it looks more like animal
fur than human hair. A pair of sharp, pointy teeth,
more like fangs, can be seen through his closed lips.
His eyes are beady, like those of a beast.
"Everyone, this is my best friend Chisa, the one that
I�ve been searching for since I came here," Misao
says. "I�m really happy to see you, Chisa..... but I�m
a little confused...." She turns to the two guards. "I
thought that you were going to bring that Konan spy to
meet me..."
The two men share a confused look.
".... Priestess.... This... this is her...."
"What...?"
"This is the one you requested to speak with..."
"It can�t be...," Misao�s says in disbelief. "There
must be some mistake..... Chisa, tell them... You�re
not her... are you? Y-You�re not the Suzaku no miko...
You can�t be..."
Chisa turns her face away from Misao and says nothing.
"Are you... Chisa...?"
Chisa still refuses to answer.
"Answer me, please! Tell them they�re wrong!" Misao
pleads. "Chisa... please..... You�re not...."
"Misao....," Chisa turns to face her friend. She looks
her straight in the eye, "...I am she, Misao... I am
the Suzaku no miko...."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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