A Legend Reborn
Chapter 6
"Look! They�re here! They�re here! Tasuki! Chichiri!"
"Hey, Nyan-nyan! You�re looking pretty grown up these
days, no daa."
"Chichiri! Tasuki!" Miaka and the others come running
out to meet them, "It�s been forever you guys!"
The old friends exchange handshakes and hugs.
"Tamahome! Getting a little thin there on top?"
Tasuki jokes.
"What about you, beer belly?!"
"All right, boys, settle down!"
"It�s really great to see you all again!" Miaka says,
tears in her eyes, "Everyone�s here... Yui, Tamahome,
Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Mitsukake, Tasuki,
Chichiri.... We�re all together again..... I missed
you all so much..."
"So do you have any news on Misao and Chisa?" Yui
asks.
"Well, Chisa�s been in Konan with us, no daa...."
"So she�s safe then....? I�m so relieved.......!"
"...but... we haven�t seen Misao... we didn�t even
know she was here....."
Yui�s face becomes distraught.
"Do you think she could be in Kouto?" Miaka asks.
"Could be, no daa...."
"There�s one way to find out for sure....."
"AAAAA!!!" Tasuki and Tamahome scream.
Taiis-kun takes Tasuki�s fan and smacks them both
upside the head with it.
"How, Taiis-kun?"
"Through my mirror of course."
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about the mirror!"
"Why didn�t we use it earlier?!"
"I have my reasons......"
"Well what are we waiting for?! Let�s go already!"
***
"Good day, priestess...."
".... Good day....."
"Hello, priestess...."
"..... Hello....."
"Suzaku no miko, how are you today?"
"..... Fine, thank you....."
"Oh! Chisa-sama! Good afternoon!"
"..... Afternoon....."
"Salutations, miko....."
".....Uh, hi...."
"Priestess....."
"Miko......"
"Suzaku no miko....."
"Chisa-sama....."
"All day long! All the girls in the harem.... every
priest in the city.... the senators... the
councilmen.... everybody!! I�m very well aware that I
have decided to take up the role of priestess of
Suzaku, but does everyone have to keep rubbing it in
my face?!" Chisa thinks. Shutting her bedroom door
behind her, she flops down on her bed. She takes hold
of her necklace and begins to play with it, running
the chain through her fingers. "Mom..." she whispers,
breaking down into tears.
***
*knock knock*
"Come...."
"Y-your highness....?"
"Shyoka..... What can I do for you?"
"It�s... it�s Chisa, sire... I�m worried about
her...."
"What is the matter....?"
"Haven�t you noticed? She�s been in her room all day,
she walks around the palace listless, she doesn�t eat
meals regularly..... Sir, she�s sick....."
"Are not your powers healing, Shyoka?"
"She�s homesick, sire.... I can�t do much to help
that..."
"...I see... It has become too much for her... She
has been gone too long from her own world.... The same
thing that the first miko went through....."
"Have your men been able to locate her friend yet?"
"No.... They have searched every part of Konan....
including the surrounding villages...."
"...I think we both know the only way to help her..."
***
"Chisa..... Chisa......"
"Wha...? Mom... Dad... Misao... Uncle Tetsuya....
Uncle Keisuke..... Aunt Yui and Aunt Rei... You�re all
here! I thought I might never see you again......"
"Hello, Chisa....."
"I�m..... I�m back home.....? I�m home!...."
"No, Chisa....."
"....what....?"
"You�re not really home, Chisa...."
"You�re just dreaming....."
"No! It can�t be... I... I... no... I wanna go
home..."
Chisa awakes from her dream crying. Suddenly she
notices someone standing over her.
"Ryu-ryunosuke.....?! What are you doing in my
room?!" Chisa asks angrily, wiping her eyes with her
sleeve.
"I... umm... Well,.... everybody�s worried about
you... It�s late and you haven�t gotten out of bed all
day....," he replies.
"....I just don�t feel like it....."
"You can�t just lock yourself up in here... It�s
almost time for dinner... Why don�t you get dressed
and come with me...?"
No response.
"We�ll go out to the country......."
Chisa slowly turns her head around.
"We both should get out of the palace for a while...
I think the fresh air would do you some good...,"
Ryunosuke says, "Come on..... What do you say......?"
Chisa looks into Ryunosuke�s eyes, "....They�re so
blue... How can I say �no� to eyes like that....?" she
thinks. "....All right....."
"Great... I�ll meet you outside in a few minutes...."
***
Shyoka walks quietly down the hall to Chisa�s room.
She makes a fist to knock on the door when Chisa comes
bursting from the room, throwing the door wide open.
"Oh! Sorry, Shyoka! Did I hit you?"
"No, I�m fine, but...."
"Good.... I�ll see you later!"
"Wait, Chisa...... Where are you going?!"
"Ryunosuke and I are going out.... We�ll be back in a
little while....."
"But Chisa....!"
Chisa runs to the front of the palace where Ryunosuke
sits on a horse waiting. Shyoka chases after her.
"Bye, Shyoka!"
"Chisa!!"
Shyoka watches as the palace gates close behind them
and Chisa and Ryunosuke disappear.
"That girl.....," she sighs.
***
"Well, this is it....," Ryunosuke says stopping the
horse underneath a tree on a hill side.
"Wow..... The view from up here is great....."
He dismounts and then helps Chisa down off the horse.
"I come up here every once in a while.... It�s been a
while, though since the last time I was here....
Sometimes I just come up here to sit and think...."
Ryunosuke turns around to see that Chisa is already
seated beneath the tree and stuffing her face,
"Hmmmmm? Were you saying something....? I�m sorry....
I just realized how starving I am......"
"Uhhh.... It wasn�t important anyway....."
Ryunosuke sits down next to Chisa, leaning back
against the tree.
"The air is so clean here.... it�s a lot different
from where I�m from..... There are so many tall
buildings and bright lights that you can�t see the
stars at night... It�s noisy and crowded, but here....
it�s so peaceful... the land is so beautiful.... Of
course I like my home, but... I think this place is
starting to grow on me, too....."
"I�ve always wanted to travel, to explore, but I never
have gotten around to actually doing it.....," he
says, "I never have been able to leave my village..."
"I love to travel... My dad takes a lot of business
trips and sometimes he�ll take my mom and I along...
One year we went to America and another to France and
then there was the one time he let me miss a whole
week of school on a trip just him and I to
Hawaii...... My mom called in for me everyday saying I
was sick, but nobody really believed it when I came
back to school with a tan....," Chisa smiles, "I
really miss my family....."
"So do I...," Ryunosuke says, "Mine all died when I
was little....."
"Oh, my.... I�m so sorry....."
"Don�t be.... It was a long time ago...," he says,
"For a long time I wished I had gone with them, but
not anymore... Especially since I met you......"
Chisa turns her head quickly toward Ryunosuke, her
face red, caught off guard by the comment. Her mind
races.
"Do you mind if I.....?"
"Is he asking what I think he�s asking?!" she thinks.
"...okay......"
"Thanks," Ryunosuke grabs the food.
"....Oh.... he just wanted the food... Why do I feel
somewhat disappointed......?" Chisa thinks.
She tries her best to shake the thoughts from her
mind, "The sunset�s beautiful......"
"It�ll be dark soon.... We had better head back...."
Ryunosuke stands and offers his hand out to help Chisa
up. She accepts it and begins to pull herself up, but
in a clumsy move manages to accidentally pull
Ryunosuke down on top of her.
The tension between them thick like a fog, Chisa
stares into his eyes, her heart beating faster,
scared, a little excited, unsure what will happen
next.
"....meow...."
Mii-chan suddenly appears between them, walking on
Chisa�s stomach. He begins to purr and lick Chisa�s
nose.
"Mii-chan...! H-h-how did you get here....?" The
moment gone, Ryunosuke and Chisa separate. Chisa sits
up and pets Mii-chan, scratching his back as he swipes
his tail under her chin, "He must have followed us
here.... or maybe he stowed away in the saddle
bag...." "Oh, Mii-chan...," Chisa thinks, sighing to
herself.
"....Like I said..... we better get going....."
"Oh..... right...."
Chisa and Ryunosuke climb back on the horse and they
head back to the city, the sun setting as they journey
back.
"He�s not saying anything.....," Chisa thinks,
stroking the cat nestled in her lap, "That look he
gave me... when he was helping me up onto the horse...
was it... disappointment.....? No.... Couldn�t
be......"
A fog begins to set in and the scenery begins to
change.
"None of this looks familiar...," Chisa thinks,
looking about her nervously, "I have a bad feeling
about this....."
"Ryunosuke, are you sure this is the right way?"
"....Yeah.... It�s the same way we came...."
Chisa looks down at the cat, his fur bristling, he
hisses and leaps down off the horse.
"Mii-chan....? Where are you going.....?"
Suddenly, a large hand reaches out from the darkness,
grabbing Chisa�s mouth, yanking her off the horse.
"Chisa!" Ryunosuke pulls the horse to a halt.
"Hey, buddy, You don�t mind if we borrow your
girlfriend here for a while, do ya?"
"Leave her alone!" Ryunosuke snaps suddenly, leaping
from the saddle.
"I wouldn�t do that if I were you, kid," the man pulls
out a knife, placing it right at Chisa�s throat.
Chisa stares at the blade, her eyes full of fear. She
turns her eyes to Ryunosuke, "....his forehead...."
"Let her go.....," Ryunosuke demands.
"A prize like this? You�ve gotta be kidding. I�m not
giving up this cutie without a fight!"
"I�m warning you! If you hurt even a hair on her head,
I�ll make you regret it....."
Chisa watches as the symbol begins to shine brighter.
"Whoah! You think you�re tough?!" the man laughs,
"Boys, teach this punk a lesson."
>From the shadows several other unclean, scarred,
mean-looking bandits appear.
One of the bandits ventures out to be the first
attacker, the others following his lead. His forehead
now glowing a crimson read, Ryunosuke goes into full
battle mode, the attackers falling backward as soon as
they approach.
"This is it... I�ve got to take this chance....,"
Chisa thinks. Chisa clamps her jaws down on the hand
of the kidnapper. He yelps in pain, promptly releasing
his grasp on Chisa�s mouth. In one swift movement, she
takes the man by the arm, flipping him over and
slamming him onto the ground, knocking him unconscious
on contact.
"Thanks for the martial arts lessons, dad!" she says
to herself.
"Ryunosuke....!" she gasps. She watches as he
continues in the fight. Suddenly, he finds himself
being smashed into a tree, the sound of bones breaking
clearly audible. Ryunosuke collapses.
"No!!!!!" Chisa screams.
Ryunosuke slowly pushes himself up only to be kicked
in the stomach and fall again.
The men taunt him, telling him to give up, but he
rises once again and continues to fight.
Tears of anger fill her eyes, blurring her vision.
Chisa begins throwing punches and kicks left and right
to help Ryunosuke, but somehow she and Ryunosuke are
cornered again.
Trembling, her entire body begins to glow bright red,
forming a shield for her and Ryunosuke. The remaining
attackers vanish.
As the dust settles, the light disappears along with
the strange fog. All that is left is Chisa and
Ryunosuke.
Bruised and physically drained, Chisa uses the last
ounces of her strength to help Ryunosuke back to his
feet.
"....Ryunosuke....!"
"....Did.... did they hurt you....?"
"Don�t worry about me! You�re bleeding!!"
"...I don�t care... I just wanted to make sure you
were okay....."
"...Ryunosuke.... I�ll get you to Shyoka. Just hold on
till then, Ryunosuke....."
".... As if this couldn�t get worse.....," Chisa
thinks feeling a down pour of rain from the heavens.
The horse long gone, Chisa and Ryunosuke stagger
together back to the palace.
***
"So you have survived test number one.... Suzaku no
miko....."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Legend Reborn
Chapter 7
"Sire! There are three people outside the front
gate."
"One of them looks to be the priestess."
"Chisa....?"
"Yes, along with a young man and a small child."
"A child?!"
"She�s carrying the priestess and Ryunosuke, your
majesty."
"That is absurd! A small child carrying two full
grown people?"
"It is the truth, sire."
"I�ll go look into this, Emperor Boushin."
"Shyoka...."
"If it is them then we had better get them inside
fast."
Accompanied by the guards, Shyoka runs through the
rain and mud to the front gate to see just what the
guards were describing. There is a young, rain-soaked
girl of about eleven or twelve years of age, her
purple hair pulled back into two little buns on the
sides of her head, standing there, Chisa slung over
one shoulder, Ryunosuke over the other.
"I think these belong to you....."
***
"The guys sure are missing a lot of this... I wonder
if I should wake them up....," Rei thinks to herself.
She looks over at Keisuke, "They were so tired... I
better just let them sleep......"
Keisuke begins to stir.
"Oh! Good morning, sweetheart."
"*yawn* I really needed that sleep... Thanks for
taking over...."
"Oh, I�m happy to do it... I�ve really gotten into
this story.... It�s getting really interesting
now....."
"Yeah? What�s been happening?"
"Here...," she hands him the book, "You look for
yourself. I�ll get some breakfast started...."
"You know, sometimes you�re too good to be true."
"I know....," Rei smiles.
"I really don�t deserve you...."
"I know that, too...," Rei jokes, "I married you out
of pity.... Plus you�re just so cute.....!"
***
"So have you been able to get anything in yet?" Miaka
asks.
Taiis-kun and Chichiri have been trying for the past
few hours to get the mirror to work with no success.
"The interference is tremendous, no daa," Chichiri
says, his hands constantly moving.
"Do you think it might have something to do with the
rain? Sometimes when it rains, our TV doesn�t work
very well....."
"Something like rain wouldn�t affect it, Miaka.
Something.... or maybe someone.... is trying to keep
us from using it."
"Who or what would be able to do something like
that?"
"I have no idea. This is the first time I�ve really
had trouble with this. I�ve never felt such strong
resistance......"
"We�ll keep trying, but it�s really looking hopeless,
no daa......"
"All right...," Miaka sighs. Quietly she exits the
room.
"We both know all too well who is doing this, no
daa...," Chichiri says as soon as Miaka has left.
"Yes, but still I pray that my suspicions are not
true... I pray that I am wrong... There is no absolute
proof of it yet so until then I will not worry Miaka
and the others..."
"You will have to tell them about her sooner or
later, no daa..."
"I know, but for now I feel it is best not to......"
"What will happen to Chisa and Misao, no daa?"
"Only she knows...," Taiis-kun says, "She is the
author of the second prophetic scroll after all......"
***
"Still nothing?" Tamahome asks seeing Miaka come down
the hallway.
"Nope...."
"This is strange.... What could be causing something
like this.....?" Yui asks.
"There have been a lot of weird things happening
lately...."
"One thing I still don�t understand is how Chisa and
Misao even got here! I mean, Chichiri put a seal on
the book so this couldn�t happen......"
"The seal was broken....."
"That�s obvious, but how....?"
"Who knows?"
"Even Taiis-kun and Chichiri have been wondering...."
"Actually.... I think Taiis-kun knows more than she�s
letting on....."
"What do you mean, Chiriko...?"
"Just a feeling I�ve been having....."
"I think the best thing for us to do is go to Konan
and Kouto ourselves."
"That�s a good idea, Tamahome."
"Miaka, you and I will go to Konan and Chichiri and
Tasuki can escort Yui to Kutou."
"Hey! I don�t want to take orders from you!"
"You got a better idea, Tasuki?!"
"Fine... Whatever...," Tasuki huffs, "but I�m not
doing it because Tamahome said to!!"
***
Chisa awakes to warmth. Squinting, she sees the hand
hovering over her again.
".....Sh.... Shyoka....?"
"Ah! Chisa! You�re all right! I�m so relieved!"
"Where.... where�s Ryunosuke?"
"He�s in his room...."
"You took care of him first, right...? He�s healed
now, too, right.....?"
"Actually....."
"What happened.....?"
"Well, you see when I told him that I can only do
this special healing thing of mine once a day.....
well, he insisted that I heal you first....."
"Once a day....?"
"Yeah...."
"But.... but he was the one in real pain! Why did he
do something like that.....?"
"I don�t know, but he absolutely wouldn�t hear of me
helping him first... Believe me I tried to convince
him that you weren�t very bad off... really I did...,
but he was absolutely stubborn about it....."
"......Ryunosuke.....," Chisa sighs.
"What happened out there anyway?" Shyoka asks, "You
two came back in pretty bad shape....."
"We were on our way back here when we were attacked
out of no where by some bandits....."
"Bandits.....?"
"Ryunosuke saved me.... he fought them off...," Chisa
says, "but they weren�t ordinary bandits... I could
feel it.... There was definitely something strange,
almost not human, about them......"
*knock knock*
"Enter..."
"Hi. The cook asked me to bring this to you....."
"Who are you....?"
"Oh, Chisa, this is Keiko."
"Pleased to meet you, Suzaku no miko!"
"Keiko is the one who found you and Ryunosuke. She
carried you both all the way here."
"Carried us....?!"
"I know it�s hard to believe, but she really is quite
strong....," Shyoka says.
"I found you and that guy passed out near my house
and I had recognized that you were the miko so I
figured that I should bring you back here."
"Thank you, Keiko....."
"Oh! The food! The cook figured you would be really
hungry so he sent me to take this to you....."
"Mmmmmm.... Smells great!" Chisa quickly snatches the
tray away from Keiko and begins chowing down,
finishing it all within a matter of minutes. She
pushes the sheets away and leaps out of bed.
"Where are you going?"
"I�m going to go see Ryunosuke now."
Chisa walks down the hall to Ryunosuke�s room where
several of the royal physicians surround his bed.
"Excuse me...."
"Oh! Miko."
"Could you allow me to talk with Ryunosuke
privately?"
"Of course. We were finished anyway."
The physicians quietly depart from the room, bowing as
they pass her.
"Uh... Thank you...."
Quietly she approaches Ryunosuke.
"Don�t let all those doctors scare you.... I�m really
fine...," a bandaged Ryunosuke says sitting up in bed,
"They were just dressing my wounds...."
"I�m... I�m so sorry, Ryunosuke...."
"Don�t say that.... I knew what I was doing.... I
wouldn�t have just left you there for them to
kill....."
"I know that....," Chisa says, "but... but I don�t
want you to go and get yourself killed..... You knew
you were outnumbered.... Why would you do something
like that....?"
"I just had to.... It�s my job....."
"Do you really think I�m that stupid.....? I know
that�s not all... I know it... Why wouldn�t you let
Shyoka take care of you first? I was fine... Look at
you...! Your ribs are broken for crying out loud...! I
want to know why!"
"What does it matter...."
"It matters to me... You matter to me...! Tell me
why!"
"Because.... because I love you dammit!!" Ryunosuke
snaps, "I admit it, okay...? I don�t know why, but
ever since I first saw you... I knew... that I had to
protect you... I knew that I couldn�t let any harm
come to you.... From the start......"
Chisa simply stands there. Her hands over her mouth,
tears in her eyes, her mind racing.
"The truth is.... even if you had decided not to be
the miko.... I�d still protect you.... I couldn�t do
that for anyone else......"
No response.
"Now that I�ve made a complete idiot of myself.... I�m
going to get some sleep.....," Ryunosuke says coldly.
"But.... Ryunosuke....," Chisa stammers.
"Just go....."
Chisa slowly and quietly leaves the room, shutting
the door behind her.
Chisa stands outside the door in shock, her hands
still covering her mouth, Ryunosuke�s words echoing
through her head.
".... but..... I love you, too....," she whispers.
***
"Hey all you sleepy heads! I thought you were going
to leave today! Get up! Wake up!" Nyan-nyan calls out.
"But the sun isn�t even up yet!"
"Don�t make me force you up again! *clink*"
"Nuriko!!"
"You don�t have to be like that!"
"Do you really think we�d over sleep with something
this important to do?!"
"Yeah....," Nuriko shrugs.
"You know, you could�ve at least hesitated a little!"
***
Chisa sits alone outside on the porch of the palace,
watching the sun rise.
"I didn�t sleep at all...," Chisa thinks, "It seems
like the longer I stay here the worse it gets... That
stupid Ryunosuke... Why does he have to love me.....?
Risking his life like that... The idiot...," at this
Chisa begins to cry, "What am I thinking...?! I�m the
idiot... I just hope he�s all right... I hope he�s not
mad at me....."
She turns to see a figure approaching. "Ryunosuke...?
Oh... what am I going to do... I�ll just be cool...
Just don�t worry about it....," she thinks as she
wipes the tears from her eyes, "Maybe he doesn�t
remember anything about last night.... What the heck
am I thinking?! Of course he remembers!!!" "Uh... good
morning...," she says.
"Mornin�"
"So..... Shyoka took care of you already?"
"Yeah...."
"I�m glad to see you feel better...."
Ryunosuke continues to walk by her.
Chisa hangs her head low and sinks to the floor, "How
did everything get so messed up all of a sudden....?"
She buries her face in her hands as the tears return
to her eyes, flowing down in streams as she sobs.
"There you are, Chisa," Shyoka says, "The emperor has
called us to his chambers for a meeting......," she
stops, "Chisa... What�s the matter....?"
"Nothing.... I�m fine....*sniffle*," Chisa wipes her
eyes again.
"No you�re not.... You�re crying.....," Shyoka kneels
down next to Chisa, "Please.... Tell me what�s
wrong....."
"It�s... it�s nothing.... I just don�t want to talk
about it right now....."
"All right... but please... as soon as you are ready
to talk about it, I�d be more than happy to do what I
can to help....."
"*sniffle*.....okay....."
"Why don�t you get dressed and then we�ll go to the
emperor�s room together? I�ll wait for you."
"I guess I should clean up a bit......"
"All right....."
Chisa walks into her room and begins to change.
"Shyoka is so nice... She reminds me so much of
Misao.... She even looks like her.... a little.... not
really... Well her hair anyway.... She�s so nice to
me... Misao is always willing to listen to me....."
Chisa splashes her face with a little bit of water.
"Maybe now I won�t look quite so bad...."
"Okay... Let�s go...."
Chisa walks with Shyoka to see the emperor.
"You didn�t get any sleep last night did you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Chisa sighs.
"What happened last night after you went to see
Ryunosuke?"
"Actually it was when I visited him that all of this
started."
"Really?" Shyoka stops walking.
"Yeah.... I guess I can talk about it now....."
"Then I guess I can listen now....."
"What about the meeting with the emperor....?"
"Just talk while we walk...," Shyoka says, "We can
take the long way if you want....."
Chisa lets out a deep sigh and tells Shyoka about the
night�s events, the picnic, the bandits, and the
confession.
"Oh.... I see now.... That explains his mood this
morning... You had quite a rough night..., huh....?,"
Shyoka says, "So what do you think you�re going to
do....?"
"I don�t know...," Chisa replies, "That�s what I spent
all night worrying about....."
"Well, don�t worry about it too much... I�m sure
things will straighten themselves out...."
"The thing is, though.... that.... I love him,
too...."
"I knew that already...."
"....really....?"
"I knew you two liked each other.... I mean, why else
would a guy jump in front of a runaway horse?!" Shyoka
says, "I�ve seen the way you look at each other...
That night, our first night at the palace... and then
the carnival.... I was just waiting for you two to
realize it....."
Chisa stares at the floor.
"Just don�t let it bother you too much... that�s all,"
Shyoka says, "I know that everything will work out the
way it�s supposed to be......"
"Shyoka.....?"
"Yeah?"
Chisa wraps her arms around Shyoka suddenly.
"Thank you.... I�m really glad that I�ve gotten to
know you and that you�re so nice to listen to me.....
You�re the only one I can turn to......"
"It�s no trouble at all...," Shyoka says, returning
the embrace, "Now, let�s go.... I don�t think we
should keep the emperor waiting much longer...."
"You�re right..."
"And one more thing, Chisa...."
"Huh?"
"Don�t forget to smile......"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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