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Changing Fate Series 3: The Legend Reborn	By : ctsama Category: +. to F > Fushigi Yuugi Views: 2243 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Ch. 8 � Retribution

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The bodies of his friends lay dead or dying in
some dark underground cell.� Even
Tamahome�s betrayed, accusing mindcalls had ceased.

His fault.� He
had failed them all.

::I�m alive, we all are.�
You didn�t fail anyone.::

He now belonged to Nakago for as long as he
lived.� Nakago�s fingers were moving in
him again, stimulating him even as they prepared him for what was coming.

::It�s not real.�
You�re dreaming.::

The blond entered him slowly, gently, as Tamahome
would have.� Tasuki tried to scream, but
it came out a moan.� Above him, Nakago
smiled triumphantly.

This was his own personal hell, and he deserved to be in
it.

::This isn�t happening.�
We stopped him, and you kept everyone safe.� You.� Didn�t.� Fail.::

Tamahome�s arms enfolded him, and the nightmare
receded.� Warm and safe again, he was
lulled back into a restful and blissfully dreamless sleep.

Tamahome opened his eyes to meet the concerned gazes of his
fellow seishi.� �Another nightmare?�
Mitsukake asked.

He nodded, looking down at the man lying in the bed beside
him.� He refused to be parted from
Tasuki, leading to this status meeting of sorts being held in their room.� �It�s more or less the same one over and
over again.� I can make it go away for a
while, but it keeps coming back.�� He
shook his head, sighing.

It had been almost a full day since they left the home of
the two remaining Byakko seishi.� They
had paused only long enough to collect Miaka and Chiriko, and to say goodbye to
Tokaki and Subaru.� Then they took off
back toward Konan, wanting to get there and perform the summoning ceremony as
soon as possible.� They rode to the
outskirts of the large city and stopped at the first inn they could find.

So far, there was no sign of Tomo or Soi, but everyone knew
it was just a matter of time.� This was
simply the calm before the storm.

Nuriko hadn�t stopped fuming since they left Tokaki and
Subaru�s home.� He spent the whole ride
back from the temple trying to convince Chichiri to find some spell to resurrect
Nakago so he could kill him again.� It
was a measure of how angry the mage was that he looked thoughtful and didn�t
outright refuse.

�Anyway, what did you decide?� Tamahome asked, shaking
himself back to the problems at hand.

Chiriko answered him.�
�Our best bet is to stick to the main roads and head to Konan while
Chichiri is gone.� We�ll be easier to
track, but we�ll get there faster.�
Chichiri is going to bring Hotohori here as fast as he can.� If Soi comes at us as hard as Yui thinks she
will, we�ll need his skill with the Holy Sword.�

They were all more than a little surprised at how fast the
former Seiryuu priestess had come around.�
They�d all expected her to stay closed off, hiding behind her anger and
hurt, but that was before Miaka worked her special brand of magic.� Once Miaka had managed to convince her that
Nakago had been lying to her all this time about being raped and it being
Miaka�s fault, the two had fallen into each other�s arms.� They stayed that way for nearly an hour,
crying out all of the hurt and pain, and leaning on each other for support.

It wasn�t long after that that they realized they had
something new to bond over: neither one of them was going to end up with
Tamahome.� With the final point of
contention between them gone, Yui felt free to put the past behind them, and
Miaka was� as always� eager to forgive and forget.� After talking for a while longer, they both fell asleep, tired
from their emotional reunion.

Nuriko frowned.�
�Hotohori�s advisors are going to let him leave, just like that?�

�Well, not exactly.�
The situation is a little different than it was when we left, no
da.� There�s someone to keep an eye on
things now while he�s away.� Besides,
even if there weren�t, he�d come anyway, no da.� He�s been a little� restless.�

Nuriko cocked an eyebrow in his direction.� �Restless?�

Chichiri answered, looking a little sheepish.� �After my last report, he went a little�
well, nuts, no da.� He trashed his room,
and when his advisors came to calm him down, he threatened them.� They could either let him leave or find
themselves a new line of emperors, no da.�

Eyes widened in shock around the room.� �That�s so unlike him!� Chiriko exclaimed.

�It�s been building for a while since we left for Hokkan
without him.� He�s angry.� He feels powerless because he wants to be
around to help us, but he has other responsibilities, no da.� Can you blame him?�

None of them gave an answer to that.� It wasn�t necessary.

�All right,� Mitsukake said after a moment.� If that�s it for now, I suggest everyone
gets some rest tonight.�� With a smile
and a wave, Chichiri disappeared into his hat.�
Nuriko and Chiriko left for their rooms, leaving Mitsukake with Tamahome
and Tasuki.

Mitsukake pulled a chair up to check Tasuki�s
condition.� He had only been able to
heal the life-threatening injuries the previous day before he�d had to stop and
recharge.� In the end, he had gotten the
bandit out of danger, but he was still in pain from all of his other injuries.� As much as he would have liked to use it, he
had to conserve the Holy Water for situations that he couldn�t otherwise
handle.� The incident with Nuriko had
driven home that point very well.

He touched a hand to Tasuki�s chest to assess his progress,
but the bandit groaned and twitched away from the touch almost
immediately.� Mitsukake pulled his hand
back as if burned.� The doctor
frowned.� That was one hell of a bad
sign.� As far under as he was, he
shouldn�t have even been aware of the touch.�
�Do you know what happened to him?�

Tamahome scowled.� �I
don�t know, and it�s driving me crazy.�
I know whatever Nakago did made him hate himself and feel like he
betrayed me somehow, but that�s all.�

�You said earlier you took over his body.� Could you tell what was going on?�

Tamahome shook his head.�
�No.� He was in so much pain� it
took all the concentration I had just to get Nakago.� Afterward, he was too tired to keep me out.� I could have raided his memories to find out
what happened, but it wouldn�t have been right.� If it was anything like his nightmares�� Mitsukake, I�m probably going to regret asking but I need to
know.� Did Nakago�� Was he��

�Raped?� No, at
least, there wasn�t any damage to show that he was.� But you saw the bite marks on his neck when we found him, and for
him to shy away from someone touching him like that�� Something happened, but I don�t know any more than you
do.� You�re just going to have to wait
for him to tell you.�

�Waiting�� A small,
wry smile ghosted over Tamahome�s features.�
�I don�t have a whole lot of patience where he�s involved.�

�Just take things one problem at a time.�� Mitsukake tried again to heal Tasuki, this
time letting his qi flow into him before he actually touched him, hoping Tasuki
would recognize his energy and know he wasn�t a threat.� It seemed to work; he didn�t try to get away
again.� After a moment, he sighed and
some of the tension seemed to drain out of him as Mitsukake�s energy leeched
more of his pain away.� �I think I�ll be
able to finish healing him tomorrow night, but it will still take time for him
to recover enough energy wake up.� He�ll
be out for a while longer, I�m afraid.�

Before he left, he touched his fingers to Tasuki�s forehead
for a couple of seconds, using a little of his qi to put him into a deeper
sleep.� �There, that should do it.� He should be too far under to have anymore
nightmares tonight, so you don�t have to pull guard duty.� So get some rest or I�ll put you under,
too.�

�Okay, you don�t have to tell me twice,� Tamahome said
yawning.� He waited until Mitsukake
left, and exchanged his usual clothing for a light pair of sleep pants.� He got into bed and gathered Tasuki to him
as tightly as he could, hoping that the close physical contact could somehow
make up for the vastly muted presence in his mind.

Mercifully, sleep wasn�t long in coming.

********************************************************************************

Tamahome sighed, missing the normalcy of waking up with
Tasuki sprawled haphazardly across him.�
He was still curled up in the same position he had been in the night
before, an extremely rare occurrence.� A
few times he had wished Tasuki was a less energetic sleeper.�

Now he cursed himself for ever having the thought.

********************************************************************************

The group got underway as soon as possible, sticking to the
main road as Chiriko had suggested and riding as hard as their horses could
handle.� When they crossed the border
into Konan late that afternoon, they decided it was safe enough to take a
break.� Yui and Miaka were sore and
tired.� They were completely unused to
riding, let alone riding at a fast clip for almost an entire day.

As the sun began its final descent to the horizon, everyone
was on alert.� Even the very air felt
heavy.� The wind began to pick up, blowing
in clouds that began to darken the sky.�
Whether it was a normal storm or not no one knew, but they weren�t
taking any chances.

The group left the road for the relative safety of the
trees.� Tamahome got the still
unconscious Tasuki off their horse and got him settled while Mitsukake tied the
horses and Nuriko saw to the worn-out girls.�
It was then that Tamahome and Nuriko noticed Chiriko standing
stock-still, staring up at the sky and frowning.� �There�s danger coming,� he muttered before turning to the rest
of the group, wide-eyed.� �It�s here!�

Tamahome felt it first.�
A cold tickling along his spine.�
He cursed and picked up Tasuki, leaping away from where they were
sitting.� Lightning shot out of the
cloudy sky, putting a sizeable dent in the ground he had just vacated.� Only a little of the blast caught him, but
it was enough to jolt him, sending him and Tasuki crashing to the ground.

Yui and Miaka clung to each other screaming as the scene
around them changed into something out of a horror movie.� Before anyone could make a move, the trees
they sought to shelter under turned against them.� Branches shifted and lengthened, grabbing their arms and wrists
and holding tight.� Roots slithered up
out of the ground, wrapping around their ankles and holding them immobile.

When the world pulled back into focus, Tamahome�s heart
nearly stopped.� Soi and Tomo were here
somewhere, and there was no one between them and his unconscious lover.� �This is not happening!!�� He pulled at the branches wildly, but they
wouldn�t give.� The more he pulled, the
weaker he felt.� The things were
leeching his energy away!� �Nuriko!� Can you get out of this?�

�What do you think I�ve been trying to do??� These things are draining my powers!�� Nuriko yelled back, frustrated.� He put all the force of his strength into
getting himself free, but the warped trees wouldn�t budge.� �This doesn�t make any sense!�

�That�s because it�s an illusion!� It�s not real!� Chiriko yelled, wishing he had his leaf whistle
to try and disrupt it.

�Aren�t you a smart little boy.� Unfortunately for you, even if you know it�s an illusion, you
can�t break out of it without your mage around.�

Tomo and Soi materialized in front of them, seemingly out of
nowhere.� Tomo wasn�t wearing his usual
costume or makeup, and his disheveled appearance betrayed the fact that he
probably hadn�t slept in days.� And Soi�
the madness and barely restrained wrath in her eyes was chilling.

Chiriko felt the tears starting to well in his eyes.� He looked to the other seishi, but they too
were helplessly trapped.� Tomo and Soi
were going to kill Tasuki, and there was nothing any of them could do!� But just maybe� he could.� If he could just find the courage to do it.

Neither of the two paid any attention to any of the bound
Suzaku seishi.� They went straight to
Tasuki.� �This is the one that ended
Lord Nakago�s life?� This� boy?� It shouldn�t have been possible!� Tomo
snarled.

Soi scowled down at Tasuki�s still form.� �It was him.� He was the only one there.��
She drew back and kicked him in the stomach as hard as she could, but to
her disgust, there was no reaction beyond a flinch and an involuntary grunt at
the impact.� He was out cold.� �I still say we take him back with us.� Killing him here and now while he can�t feel
pain or see his death coming is too good for him!�

Chiriko forced himself to stop crying, and to think.� �It�s real because my senses are telling me
it�s real.� But I know it�s just an
illusion, and my senses are wrong.� So I
just have to override them.�� He closed
his eyes and concentrated harder than he ever had in his life, willing himself
to be free of the illusion.� He focused
his mind on what he knew to be real: the trees were not binding
him, and Tasuki was in danger.� His
character mark flared to life, and when he opened his eyes, the trees were in
their natural state, as they always had been.

�Just do it, Soi,� Tomo growled.� �The sooner we avenge Lord Nakago, the sooner we can deal with
things in Kutou.�

Wasting no time, Chiriko ran straight for Tasuki and stood
between him and the Seiryuu seishi, throwing his arms wide to make his small
body as big of a shield as it could be.�
Nuriko, Tamahome, Miaka and Mitsukake were all yelling at him to stop,
to run, but he ignored them.� He�d sat
crying on the sidelines while everyone else fought for too long.� It was his time to help now, and he would
not let Tasuki down.

Tomo and Soi started; they hadn�t expected anyone to be able
to break out of Tomo�s illusion, certainly not this small boy.� �I won�t let you hurt him!� Chiriko said,
determination written all over him.� He
knew he couldn�t fight them, but he didn�t have to.� All he had to do was stall them for as long as he could.

Soi chuckled.� �We�re
not going to hurt him, little one.�
We�re going to kill him!�

Tomo just frowned, finding no humor in the situation.� �Move aside.� Unlike Miboshi and Suboshi, I don�t kill children.� But I will hurt you if I have to.�

Chiriko�s small frame shook with fear, but he stood his
ground.� �I may just be a child, but I
am one of the Suzaku seishi. You�ll have to go through me to get to him!�

Soi grimaced and raised her hands.� �Enough of this!�� Tomo
grabbed her wrist and forced her to pay attention to him, a warning.� She jerked away from him, irritated, but she
did heed the warning.�� Instead of a
killing bolt, she only used enough of a charge to knock Chiriko aside and stun
him.

Chiriko cried out in pain as he was thrown backward, hitting
the ground hard.� There was nothing more
he could do.� He prayed that he�d been
able to stall them long enough.

Soi raised her hands once again to call down the
lightning.� The energy swirled and
gathered high in the clouds, building into a maelstrom.� Soi let the power build, laughing mirthlessly.� Finally, she deemed it powerful enough to
suit her rage.� The laughter ended
abruptly, and her face twisted into a snarl.�
�It�s time to pay for what you did to Lord Nakago!�

Lightning swept eagerly out of the sky.� Tamahome could hear the girls and the other
seishi screaming, but he couldn�t join his voice to theirs.� He could only watch in shock as the scene
before him unfolded.� Briefly, he
wondered if he would die as well.

The thought calmed him.�
He hoped it was so.

Tamahome closed his eyes, unable to watch.� He waited for the agony of having Tasuki
ripped from his mind and soul, but it never came.� He finally opened his eyes to see what was going on.

Relief so profound it made him dizzy swept through him; he
would have fallen to the ground if the contorted tree branches hadn�t been
holding him up.

Chichiri knelt before Tasuki and Hotohori, one of his
barriers protecting them all.� He was
gasping with the effort and his mask had fallen apart under the onslaught, but
the barrier held out through the attack.

Angered, Soi quickly gathered more energy and tried again,
but this time Hotohori stopped the attack.�
He stood over Tasuki, his Holy Sword raised and pointed toward the
roiling heavens.� When lightning
screamed out of the sky, the blade intercepted the energy.� Its blade sparked and glowed red with the
absorbed power of the lightning.

Hotohori swung the blade in a wide arc, catching both Soi
and Tomo in the reflected blast.� They
went sprawling, and Tomo�s shell, the vehicle for his illusions, fell to the
ground.� Chichiri chanted a spell,
leveled his staff at the accursed thing and shattered it.

The illusion faded, taking with it the strangling trees and
the false energy drain.� Tamahome
slumped bonelessly to the ground in shock.�
Nuriko growled and made straight for Soi before she could recover.� He grabbed her arms, wrenching them
painfully behind her.� She was
immobilized and unable to call the lightning again.� Another of Chichiri�s spells stopped Tomo before he could rise
again and held him still.

Sword still in hand, Hotohori approached the two remaining
Seiryuu seishi.� �Why are you pursuing
us?� You must know you have no chance of
summoning Seiryuu now.�

�One of you killed Nakago,� Soi spat.� �He has to die for it.� While he still breathes, nothing else matters!�

Yui jumped into the conversation angrily, surprising
everyone.� �Nakago was nothing but a
user and a liar, you have to know that.�
He used you just like he used me!�

Soi�s eyes narrowed.�
�He didn�t use us.� We served him
because we loved him!� If you hadn�t
been so eager to find someone else to blame for all your problems, Lord Nakago
would never have been able to convince you to go up against your so-called best
friend.� And for what?� The attention of a boy you only met
once?� Pathetic!� she spat.

Worried for her friend, Miaka reached out and grabbed Yui�s
hand.� Yui squeezed it for support.� �You�re right.� It was pathetic, but now I�m free and I�ll never be that stupid
again.� What I don�t understand is what
you all were really after.�� With her
intellect finally working again now that she wasn�t blindly following her
anger, Yui had started to put the pieces together.� �When I told Nakago I�d give him one of my wishes, he seemed�
satisfied.� Like he expected it.� What was so important about that wish?�

Tomo scowled.� �You
were too busy wallowing in your own self-pity to see the world around you.� We all suffered, all of us, much worse than
you could ever imagine because of the Emperor and all that he allows to happen
in Kutou.� And Lord Nakago had it the
worst of us all.� Yes, he used, he lied,
and used every tool at his disposal, but not for any reason you might
believe.� His goal was to kill the
Emperor and take down the corrupt state he fostered!�

Something in Hotohori changed at hearing that.� His posture stiffened.� His eyes narrowed, and everything about his
demeanor became both remote and imposing at once.� He was no longer Hotohori, one of the Suzaku seishi.

This was Saihitei, Emperor of Konan.

�Hear me now.� You
say that destroying Kutou�s government was Nakago�s goal.� He is gone now, and if you were as devoted
to him as you profess, it falls to you two to complete the task.� I am willing to let you leave here with your
lives if you swear to me that is what you will do.�

Miaka jumped up to protest, but after a warning glance from
Saihitei, the protest died unvoiced.�
She�d never seen this side of him before, and it was intimidating to say
the least.

Soi looked ready to refuse outright, but Tomo regarded him
warily.� �What about your little friend
there?� Don�t you care about keeping him
safe from us?�

Saihitei allowed his lip to curl into a faintly mocking
smile.� �You and I both know that you
would never agree to leave him be.� If
you wish to waste your life trying to kill one of us, by all means.� Please try.�
I have a broader interest in seeing Kutou�s Emperor taken down.� Now, do we have a deal?�

Behind her back, Soi�s fingers ached to call the lightning
down once more and put an end to the life of the boy who killed the only man she
ever loved.� But it was pointless, and
she knew it.� He was too well protected
now.� The Suzaku seishi holding her
would kill her if she tried it.

She looked to Tomo, knowing his thought process was the same
as hers.� As much as they hated each
other, they worked well together.� Their
vengeance would have to wait until they had fulfilled Nakago�s ambitions.� But after that�

Tomo turned to Saihitei.�
�You have a deal.� But know that
someday, we will come for him,� he spat.

The Emperor nodded.�
�Do as you will, as long as you understand that the next time you set
foot in my country, your lives are forfeit.�
Nuriko, Chichiri.� Let them go.�

A frustrated growl arose from Nuriko�s throat.� He wanted to snap this woman like a twig to
keep her from harming her friends.�
Grimacing, Chichiri considered the fact that he would have gladly used a
spell to destroy Tomo for the same reason.�
Instead, they let them go.� They
had been issued an Imperial command, and they could not disobey it.

With one last malice-laden glare at Tasuki�s prone form,
Tomo and Soi pulled themselves up and turned back toward Kutou.� Tomo knew that as painful as it was to leave
things like this, it was for the best.�
If they were going to have to oppose all of the Suzaku seishi in the future,
they were going to need more power.

Fortunately, Nakago had shown him just who to go to to get
it.

Tamahome had been listening to what was going on, vaguely
disinterested in what was being discussed.�
The shock of the last few minutes had him drifting and feeling
disconnected.� Until he realized what
was going on.� Anger flooded him,
crashing him back into reality.

A cold growl from behind him made the young emperor turn
around.� �You�re just going to let them
leave?� Even knowing that they plan to come
back and kill Tasuki?�

�I am sorry Tamahome, but it had to be done.� I�m kept well informed of what Kutou�s
Emperor is up to.� He is an evil,
corrupt man who cares only for himself, and nothing for his people.� He has allowed countless innocents to be
slaughtered in the name of conquest and wealth.� He lets this happen, all while enjoying the luxuries of his
palace and the pleasures of his harem, which is not entirely populated by
adults.� If they can remove him from
power, it will save many lives and hopefully create a more stable state that
won�t threaten its neighbors every few decades.� I wish there was another way, but there isn�t one.�

Hotohori�s explanation barely registered to Tamahome.� In the past two days, he had been forced to
leave Tasuki to battle a sadist on his own, and he�d had to go without that
warm, steadying presence in his mind because of it.� And just now, he�d had to look on helplessly while two of their
enemies tried to kill him.� The same two
enemies that Hotohori was setting free.

It was just too much.�
Something in him snapped.

Energy welled up inside of him, begging for release.� �If you won�t do it, I�ll kill them
myself!�� Tamahome let his rage explode
in a qi blast that headed straight for the fleeing Seiryuu seishi, but Hotohori
intercepted it with his sword before it could get very far.� He braced himself against the onslaught, the
impact hard enough to send his feet sliding backward in the dirt.� He immediately plunged the sword into the
ground, releasing the absorbed energy.�
The ground beneath him rumbled and rolled for a few moments before going
still again.

Infuriated, Tamahome made to try again.� Angry red energy began to build up around
him.� He saw Nuriko running for him and
heard the others shouting at him to stop.�
He even felt Chichiri trying to immobilize him with a spell, but it only
slid off the energy swirling around him.�
It didn�t matter what they did.�
There was nothing they could do to stop him.� Tomo and Soi were going to kill Tasuki if he didn�t do this, and
that�s all he cared about.

Before Nuriko could get to him, a too-quiet voice in his
head stopped him cold.

::Enough, Tama.�
Stop.::

Tamahome snapped back to himself at once, all of his rage
running out of him like water.� The
energy around him dissipated.

::I didn�t catch all �a that, but it sounds like
Hotohori�s right.� If lettin� them go�ll
save lives, let �em go.� If those
assholes want a piece �a me, let �em try.�
I�ll fuck �em up.::

Tamahome turned and walked over to Tasuki, sliding bonelessly
to his knees.� Tasuki still wasn�t
awake, but even so�� ::Gods, it�s
good to hear your voice.::

::Sorry.� �M still
too tired ta manage much more �n this.�
I keep tryin� ta wake up, but my body won�t let me.� So quit goin� apeshit.� I�m tryin� ta sleep.::

A real smile curved Tamahome�s lips for the first time in a
couple of days.

::It�s okay.� I�m
back now, and I promise not to go nuts again, for a while, at least.� Go back to sleep.::

When he came back to himself, Hotohori was kneeling before
him, a hand on his shoulder.� His entire
bearing was now heavy with regret, and Tamahome realized that if there had been
any other way, Hotohori would have taken it.�
He began to understand just how much pressure the office of emperor put
on his brother warrior.

Now he felt like an ass for making the guy worry.� Tamahome scratched his head, looking
sheepish.� �Sorry about that.� I kinda lost it there for a second.�

Hotohori smiled sadly.�
�Don�t apologize; it�s completely understandable.� From what I hear, the last few days have
been a little difficult.�

Tamahome arched an eyebrow at him and gave him a look,
making Hotohori chuckle.� �My advisors
tell me I have a gift for understatement.�
I am Emperor Saihitei, and I have to think of the bigger picture, even
when I�d rather do the exact opposite.�
But that doesn�t mean Hotohori can�t be around when you need him.� Even if Tasuki wasn�t a friend, I owe him.� A few years ago, he and the Mt. Reikaku
bandits saved me from having to deal with a rebellion from one of my older
brothers.� When Soi and Tomo come back,
they�re going to have to deal with us all.�
None of us are going to leave the two of you to stand alone.�

�If they want a fight, they�ll get one from all of us, no
da.� That�s assuming Tasuki-kun doesn�t
get annoyed and kill them himself first!�

Hotohori draped a friendly arm around Tamahome�s
shoulders.� �Good point.� For now, I think we should get moving.� There�s a village nearby where we can stay
for the night.�� The arm around him
tightened threateningly before Hotohori went on, more quietly, �And on the way
there, you can explain to me why you couldn�t have figured this whole
you-and-Tasuki thing out weeks ago before Miaka decided you were Mr. Right
instead of me!�

Tamahome cringed, fairly certain this wasn�t going to be a
pleasant conversation.

********************************************************************************

With the threat of Tomo and Soi gone for the time being, the
group was free to take a slightly easier pace getting back to the palace less
than a day�s ride away.

On the way there, Hotohori told them of his marriage to
Houki, much to everyone�s surprise and Nuriko�s dismay.� It was obvious from the way he spoke of her
that he cared for her deeply.� Secretly,
Nuriko was happy that the emperor had finally found someone he could love and
who would be a good partner for him, but it wouldn�t do to let everyone else
know that.� So, he threw a hissy fit
worthy of even Tasuki�s approval, with much hand wringing, bemoaning, and
bewailing of his tragic fate.� At first
Hotohori had been more than a little concerned, but then Nuriko winked at him,
and he relaxed and played along.

Miaka and Yui made it their personal mission to cheer up
Chiriko and keep him occupied during the trip back.� He was extremely worried about Tasuki.� Everyone praised him for his quick thinking in escaping Tomo�s
illusion and stalling for time, and his bravery, but it didn�t really matter to
him.� There was only one person he
wanted to hear it from, and he was still unconscious.

However, after talking for a while, he and Yui became fast
friends.� They bonded over their mutual
love of all things academic, exasperating (and boring) Miaka to no end.

By the time they arrived back at that palace that evening,
Hotohori�s councilors and advisors had a full entourage waiting for them.� With a longsuffering sigh and a wistful
glance back at his friends, he allowed them to lead him away.

While everyone trickled off to their rooms to rest or talk,
Mitsukake went with Tasuki and Tamahome to check on the bandit and finish
healing him.� When he finished, Tamahome
was looking at him anxiously.

�It won�t be much longer now,� Mitsukake reassured him.� �All the damage to his body�s been mended,
and his qi is building back up to normal levels.�

Tamahome breathed a sigh of relief.� �Good.�
I don�t know how much longer I can take the quiet.�

�Quiet?�

�Yeah.� It�s too
quiet in my head.�� Mitsukake cocked an
eyebrow, wanting a further explanation.�
�I�m sure you�ve been around running water for a long period of time
before, like a waterfall or a fast-moving river?� And then when you leave, everything seems too quiet.� It�s like that, but a thousand times worse.� Not to mention the cold�� He keeps me warm; I don�t know how else to
explain it.� It gets so cold without
him�� He broke off, shaking his
head.� �I just want him to wake up.�

Mitsukake was beginning to get a good idea of just how deep
the bond between these two went.� �It
will be soon now.� Are his nightmares
getting any less frequent?�

�No.� They keep
getting worse, and it�s got me worried.�

�Well, the best thing you can do is get some rest.� I have a feeling he�s going to need you when
he does wake up.�

Now that they had the priestess, all the seishi gathered in
one place, and the two Shinzaho, they could finally summon Suzaku and ask him
to protect Konan.� They would perform
the ceremony as soon as their fifth member had recovered, making the group
whole again.� Now, all that remained was
for him to wake up, and everyone waited for that moment anxiously.

****************

WooHooo!� Go
Chiriko!� Yaaaay Hotohori!� Hmmm��
It looks like Tamahome�s power level is over nine-thousand again!

Next chapter: Tasuki finally wakes up, and has to find some
way to deal with what Nakago did to him.

To Yahnkehy: Agh, Nakago is such jerk!� I had a satisfying time writing Tama�s
Revenge.� And yes, you definitely have
it in writing.� Next chapter, promise
I�ll fix Tasuki up nice!� I seriously
doubt Tamahome will let him hang on to his silly notions of self-blame for very
long.� ^_^�

To tasukigirl78: Yep, Nakago definitely deserved to
fry.� That boy can be such an ass
sometimes!� I�m glad you likie!� ^_~

To anon: Thank ya very much!� I�m really glad you�re enjoying this story.� I will definitely continue it to the end; in
fact, we�re in the home stretch.� Only
two or three chapters to go!
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Changing Fate Series 3: The Legend Reborn