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The Prophecy of Genbu	By : Ree Category: +. to F > Fushigi Yuugi Views: 1222 -:- 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
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Title: The Prophecy of Genbu

Series: Fushigi Yuugi

Rating: MA

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THIS SERIES. The Fushigi
Yuugi universe belongs to Watase Yuu-san and I do not claim this universe
whatsoever. I am only writing a story for fun, not profit. For other notes,
please refer to chapter one.

*�� *�� *�� *�� *

Chapter Nine

Rough Waters

Nakago
patrolled the halls of the Kutou palace, his expression its usual blank
mask.� No one could tell what the young
General was thinking at any given time, which made many of his soldiers afraid
of him.� Others, who would follow him to
hell and back, were quite used to it by now.�
He�d felt the life force of the Genbu no Miko flicker and return full
force after his attack, which irritated him beyond means.� It meant that she had managed to survive
somehow and that he had, for the first time in his life, actually underestimated
someone.� That had been his second
mistake.� The first was being unprepared
for the arrival of the Genbu priestess.�
Everyone in Kutou knew of the prophecy, had seized several scrolls and
documents pertaining to it, and Nakago had been foolish enough to think she
wasn�t a threat.� It won�t happen
again.� He vowed on that.� There was no way he could fail again.

Of
course Nakago knew of the first Genbu no Miko, Okuda Takiko, appearing in
Hokkan nearly 200 years ago, but it further incensed him that Cassandra had
arrived when his own priestess had yet to appear.� It was an outrage!� Not only
that, but he had been a fool to leave Dong Jia alive.� Of course, he�d only been fifteen at the time, clawing his way to
the top, and had made many mistakes.�
But with age came wisdom and experience and he knew not to make such
mistakes now.� The warrior Urumiya would
have proved troublesome in any form but the fact that it was Dong Jia made it
worse.� Jia had a reason to loathe him,
to hate him, to want to destroy him.�
Even though Nakago was older than Iname and Uruki�it was Urumiya that
had him thinking.� And then there were
the last four members of the Genbu Shichi Seishi he had to contend with.� For years he�d felt flickers of energy
inside the palace that signaled a Celestial Warrior, but he hadn�t been able to
pinpoint the location.� Now, however, he
would find this warrior and kill him.�
But where were the others?

�My
spies can take care of many things, but the priestess�� he thought back to
Cassandra.� �She intrigues me.�

�Talking
to yourself again, Nakago?�

The
blonde-haired youth turned and came face-to-face with a young courtier dressed
in sapphire blue and silver silk.� His
eyes instantly narrowed in dislike.� For
this man reminded him of everything he used to be before�before I became the
man I am now.� Nakago turned back
around, giving his back to the other.

�Lin
Haichi.� What are you doing outside of
your�entertainment rooms?�

The man
behind him flushed indignantly, his midnight eyes flashing in anger.� �Don�t insinuate things about me,
Nakago.� You were no better than I am
when you first came to the castle.� I
remember how the Emperor took to you�how beautiful he thought you were��

�Silence!�

Nakago�s
symbol glowed and he knocked Haichi back a few feet with just his powers and
pinned him to the wall.� The breath was
knocked out of Haichi and for a moment, their eyes met.� Pale blue clashed with midnight, both angry
at the verbal wounds they�d inflicted on each other.

�What�s
the matter, blondie?� Did I hit a
nerve?�

�Be
careful around whom you speak, Haichi.�
Especially me.�

�Don�t
worry, Nakago,� he snarled, his voice deadly soft.� �I know exactly whom I�m speaking to.�

Haichi
was dropped and he watched Nakago saunter off.�
He knew he�d touched a nerve with the blonde general and smirked to
himself.� Haichi hated Nakago with every
fiber of his being and it was no secret.�
In fact, the Emperor had been eager to pit them against each other when
they were younger.� You think you�re
all high and mighty, Nakago.� But I
promise you; someday you�re going to be knocked down a few notches.� Holding up his right arm, he studied the
play of veins on the pale flesh on his inner arm and the symbol for
�encampment� appeared in glowing black.�
I�ve heard the rumors.� The
whispers.� My priestess is here and she
will be searching for me.� Then�you and
the Emperor will both be dead.� For
Lin Haichi was only a nickname to him.�
His true name was Hatsui and he was the Genbu Shichi Seishi of
water.� It was just his luck that he was
enslaved in the country whose patron deity controlled water.

�Just
you wait, Nakago�we�ll see who has the last laugh,� and Haichi disappeared into
his rooms.

The
rooms were lovely, considering.� Draped
in tapestries, paintings, and other works of art, the area reflected elegance
and good taste.� It was a shame that its
occupant was always so cold that he never noticed any of the beauty that
surrounded him.� Haichi fell back onto a
pile of plush cushions, his brown hair falling over midnight blue eyes.� Priestess�you will come for me, won�t
you?� You must, I don�t know how much
longer I will survive here.� For
although he had locked part of himself away to spare himself more agony in
life, a large part of him remained devoted to the thought of his priestess
coming and taking him from this life.�
The Emperor had started asking for him less and less, which made Haichi
worried.� After all, once the Emperor
was through with his whores, only the brothels awaited them.� I don�t want a life like that.� Haichi had always wanted someone to
love.� It was the dream that kept him
from going insane or killing himself.�
It was the dream of love and of finally being united with people who
would care about him and for him.

Hearing
hoof beats outside the window, Haichi glanced up and rose before looking
outside.� Coming into the courtyard was
a young woman on horseback and a masked man.�
The girl is very pretty.� Poor
thing�she has no idea what pain is in store for her.� Haichi turned and decided to intercept this girl.� She was very lovely and he could regain some
favor with the Emperor if he trained her personally.� And, in a way, he did feel sorry for her.� After all, she looked so young and so
innocent.� That�ll soon be taken from
her.� It was taken from all of us who
caught the Emperor�s eye�he closed the door to his room and made his way
outside, his slippers whispering against the stone floor as he walked.� When the guards spotted him, they saluted
him respectfully, even though a few snickered knowingly.� After all, Lord Haichi was one of the most
popular whores the Emperor had.

�Who
are these people and why have they been allowed to enter the castle?� Haichi
demanded imperiously.

�Forgive
us, Lord Haichi, but this man has brought a tribute to the Emperor.� We have searched them both and they are
carrying no weapons that we have found,� one of the guards said.

�Then
why is she out here, you fools?� Bring
her to my chambers and I will prepare her for the Emperor.� Send the man on his way at once.� The more time you waste is more time she
could be trained.�

�Of
course, Lord Haichi.�

Urumiya
glanced at Uruki, who was trying her very best not to look terrified and
inwardly sighed.� Although he felt sorry
for the kid, he had to remain completely in control of his emotions.� Anything else would give them away.� This is for the good of the mission.� He will search the palace and I will
circulate around the main city.� And if
we haven�t found Hatsui, then we�ll abort the mission and start searching the
countryside.� Bowing, Urumiya lifted
Uruki from the horse and turned her over to the guards before mounting his own
horse.� Just as he was about to leave,
he felt a tug on the hem of his coat.�
Uruki was looking up at him, pleading for Urumiya not to leave her all
alone out there.� True to his role
though, and his personality, Urumiya merely brushed Uruki off and rode
away.� Good luck kid.� You�re going to need it, and with that,
he disappeared through the gates.

Struck
speechless, Uruki�s mouth open and closed soundlessly.� I can�t believe it.� I can�t believe it, that bastard just left
me here without so much as a goodbye!� Uruki
was petrified.� After all, she was in
the Kutou palace, with Nakago in the same building, and she was on her
own.� Before she could recover her wits,
Uruki was then pushed inside and down the halls towards Haichi�s rooms.� Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried
not to panic.� If she did, then Uruki
would transform back into her male form and that would be cause for alarm.� What is he going to do to me?� The thought was worrying as the guards
shoved him into the room and closed the door.�
Gathering her courage, Uruki looked around, fighting not to panic.� Her black gaze finally settled on Haichi and
she swallowed.

�Who
are you?�

�First
rule,� he snapped.� �No questions.� Second rule, you address me as Lord
Haichi.� Third, you answer all of my
questions, are we clear?�

�Now
wait just a-�

�I said
are we clear?�

Uruki�s
mouth opened and closed disbelievingly before she finally scowled at him.� �Yes, Lord Haichi.�

�Very
good.� What�s your name, girl?�

�Fa
Kourin, Lord Haichi.�

�Well,
Fa Kourin, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Kutou palace.� Here, you will become one of the Emperor�s
many pleasure toys.� If he does not
enjoy you or finds you undesirable, you will be given to the General or perhaps
the garrison.� If they do not enjoy you,
then you will be sold to a brothel.�
Whores without talent or desirability are not kept around here.� I will teach you to ensure being sold does
not happen.� For it�s a cruel fate for
anyone.�

�Yes,
Lord Haichi.�

Uruki
was starting to become very nervous.�
Especially considering his female form was a virgin.� I guess that�ll be getting fixed sometime
soon�she shuddered at the thought.�
Gazing into Haichi�s blue eyes, Uruki tried to see some glimmer of
emotion there, but she couldn�t see anything.�
They�re worse than Urumiya�s eyes.�
At least when he looks at Cassandra, you can see a bit of him that�s
human.� This man�it�s as though his very
soul has been killed.� She could
only wonder how long Haichi had been a whore in the palace in order to obtain
such a deadened look in his eyes.� While
Uruki was sizing Haichi up, he was also doing the same to her.� Maybe I should have just pretended to be
a servant instead�

�Well,
have you nothing to say for yourself?� Haichi suddenly demanded.

�No
sir.�

�Good.� Now tell me�� he moved around and closed the
windows and doors, checking to make sure they were alone.� �What news of the Genbu no Miko?� I hear she has already gathered three of her
warriors.� Is she still searching for
the other four or is she content to rest on her laurels for now?�

To hear
someone talk about Cassandra with such blatant disrespect made Uruki forget
momentarily about her charade and immediately struck back, black eyes flashing
dangerously.

�How
DARE you talk about the Genbu no Miko in such a fashion?� You don�t even know her!� You don�t know how far she�s willing to go
for her warriors and for the people of Hokkan!�
She almost died for me after Nakago-�

Uruki
quickly covered her mouth.� She had no
intention of revealing the truth, but it had just come flying out.� When she looked closer at Haichi though, she
noticed there was a glint in his eye.�
All of a sudden she was overcome with a chill.� It was the look of someone tinged with madness.

�You�you�re
one of the Genbu Shichi Seishi?�

�I��
she couldn�t deny it and sighed as she shifted back to a male and pulled aside
his robes to reveal his mark.� �My name
is Xiang Ling.� But my true name is
Uruki.� I know no other.�

�It�s�you�you�re
a man?�

�Yes I
am but that�s beside the point at the moment.�
Please,� Uruki�s voice was pleading.�
�Do you know of anyone here who bears the mark of Genbu on his or her
body?� We�re searching for-�

�Hatsui?�

�Yes!� How did you�?� he paused, looking
shocked.� �No.� No, this is too much of a coincidence.�

�Believe
it,� and he concentrated on the inside of his arm once more until the glowing
symbol appeared.� �I am known as Lin
Haichi, but my given name is Hatsui.� I
am the Genbu Shichi Seishi of water.�

Uruki
was so shocked that his jaw almost hit the floor.� This stroke of luck was something he hadn�t been counted on.� I can�t believe it!� I didn�t even have to go near the
stupid old Emperor!� Grinning a mile
wide, Uruki ran over and practically knocked Hatsui over as he hugged him.

�I
don�t have to face that pervert of an Emperor!�
Thank you!� Thank you so much!�

Hatsui
stiffened as soon as he felt Uruki hug him.�
No one had ever hugged him in such a way before�it felt odd, but in a
good way.� Awkwardly, he tried to get
the other man off of him.� This must
be his power.� The ability to transform
between male and female.� Interesting�before
Hatsui could ask anymore questions though, he heard footsteps in the hall.� Stiffening and pushing Uruki off of him,
although he did so gently, Hatsui wondered who would approach his chambers.

�Lord
Haichi, open this door.�

�Nakago,�
he hissed and straightened Uruki�s robes hastily.� �Quick, change back into a female.�

Without
waiting to see if Uruki had done what he was told, Hatsui went and opened the
door.� Nakago and several armed guards
stood in the doorway.� There was a look
in the man�s eyes that Hatsui didn�t trust.�
Scowling, the young man stood strong against the intimidating General.

�General,
what is the meaning of this?�

�I have
reason to suspect that the girl who was brought in is one of the Genbu Shichi
Seishi.� I want her to be brought to the
interrogation room immediately.� Where
is she, Haichi?�

The
interrogation room�the
thought made Hatsui pale around the edges.�
The interrogation room was Nakago�s domain and he wasn�t known for his
mercy.� Glancing back at the frightened,
though thankfully female Uruki, Hatsui straightened and put on his best scowl
and strongest voice.

�On
what grounds do you have to suspect this girl?�
She has no mark on her body, I have seen to that.� Kourin, you�re to remain where you are until
General Nakago�s had his head examined, is that clear?�

�Yes
Lord Haichi.�

Nakago�s
lip curled as he stood behind the door.�
�She is well-behaved.� As to the
grounds of my suspicion, the man who brought her here bore a striking
resemblance to Dong Jia and now he has vanished.� It seems far too convenient.�
Now hand over the girl, Lord Haichi.�

�Nakago,
you�re growing senile in your old age.�
This girl has nothing to do with the Genbu Shichi Seishi and I�ll bet
you�re just fishing for a reason to interrogate her yourself,� and he opened
the door, sneering.� �Am I right?�

His
eyebrow twitching, Nakago glared down at Hatsui, who merely returned his harsh
look with a serene smile.� Leaning in
close, the blonde youth�s eyes flashed menacingly as he spoke.

�I will
have you sold to the worst brothel in the city, Haichi, but not before I�ve had
the pleasure of making you scream myself.�

�You
can go ahead and try Nakago, but I sincerely doubt you will succeed.�

There
was a strained silence that stretched between the two.� Nakago had never liked Haichi. �The man was older than him by three years,
but he acted as though he was so superior to him.� It made him want to take his whip and introduce its sting to the
upstart young Lord�

�This
isn�t over, Haichi.�

With
that, Nakago turned on his heel and left.�
Although he was a General, Haichi had been given a title for splendid
�service� to the Emperor and technically outranked him.� Watching him go, Hatsui closed the door and
sighed, his blue eyes dark with anger and dislike.

�We
must leave at once, before it�s too late.�
If Nakago discovers who you are, then we�re both dead.�

�I
agree, Hatsui.� I don�t want to face
Nakago now, especially while he�s on his home turf.� Is there a good time we can flee?� Are there servants� entrances we can use?� And what about disguises?�

�I�ll
find you a disguise and you should change back into a male so we can make our
escape.� I�ll return as soon as
possible, Uruki.�

With
that, Hatsui slipped from the room in search of disguises for the two of
them.� As he made his way through the
halls towards the servant�s quarters, he placed his hand against his
chest.� My heart�s been racing ever
since I met Uruki.� But it hasn�t been
because of fear.� Strange�and he
continued on.� Uruki was left alone and
sighed, male once more.� Who knew that
I would find Hatsui so soon?� Or that
he�d be so cute?� He grinned,
settling down to wait for the other man�s return.� Thinking that no one would dare to come to the room, Uruki didn�t
notice the cloaked figure that appeared and then vanished through the wall.

�It�s
just as you suspected, General.� The
girl was Uruki of the Genbu Shichi Seishi and he�s planning to leave with Lord
Haichi who is Hatsui.�

�Excellent.� Now the question remains is if we wish to
capture them�or if we should kill them on sight.�

Nakago
had hated Haichi the moment he�d set foot in the castle and for many
reasons.� The least of which was the
fact that the man managed to worm out of every trap he�d set to get rid of him.� At least he distracted the Emperor enough
for me to begin my training.� Everything
Lord Haichi had done at the palace remained spotless and impeccable�until that
moment.� Now Nakago finally had the
chance to put the little upstart behind bars and then under his personal
interrogation whip.� One touch and
he�ll be screaming for mercy.� Heading
back to Haichi�s room accompanied by several of his personal troops, Nakago
pounded on the man�s door.

�Haichi,
you are under arrest for treason against Kutou.� Open this door.�

Uruki
leapt to his feet, his eyes wide as he debated what to do.� Hatsui isn�t back yet�and he didn�t
think he should reveal himself just yet.�
If they broke down the door though, he�d be prepared and drew his fan.

�Nakago,
what is the meaning of this?� I told
you-�

�Seize
him.�

Hatsui
had retuned with a bundle of clothing hidden in his robes, and a few other
things as well, when he was seized.�
Struggling against the firm grip of Nakago�s guards, Hatsui cursed
lowly.

�Damn
you, Nakago, release me!�

�I
think not, Lord Haichi.� Or should I say
Hatsui of the Genbu Shichi Seishi?� Did
you think you could hide from me forever?�
Take him to the dungeon and break down this door.� I want Uruki in chains.�

�Yes
General!�

Before
they could storm the door, a powerful gale blew the door and many of the guards
away. �Rushing out in the confusion,
Uruki�s fan slashed the throats of the guard who held Hatsui, took his hand,
and ran for it.� Not caring one whit for
Hatsui�s own running abilities, Uruki booked it.

�Uruki?�

�Less
talking, more running.� We�ve gotta get
outta here.�

The two
men raced across the courtyard of the Kutou palace with the guards hot on their
heels.� Hatsui was starting to feel
light headed as he struggled to keep up with Uruki.� He moves so fast!� He�s
like the wind itself!� I can�t keep
up!� Struggling to breathe, Hatsui
had to slow down and fell to his knees, panting harshly.

�Hatsui!�
Uruki skidded to a halt and went to his fallen comrade.� �Hatsui, come on, you must get up!�

�I�can�t��
he gripped Uruki�s sleeve as he heard the sound of boots and armor clanking
around them.� �I�m sorry�go, leave me
here��

�Not a
chance.�

Uruki
growled as he drew his fan, the steel spikes gleaming in the light of the
sun.� Spears were leveled at them on all
sides and Uruki felt his heart start to pound harshly in his ears.� Trapped.� He still had both arms around Hatsui as Nakago stepped forward,
his eyes triumphant.

�Take
them both.� I want them in chains�then
they shall be publicly executed.�

�Not if
I have anything to say about it, Nakago.�

I
just hope this works.� Uruki hadn�t tried anything this big
before, but he had to.� He wasn�t going
to let Hatsui be taken by Nakago.� I�m
not going to let anything else happen to him.�
And with that, his symbol began to glow as he made a large, sweeping
arc with his fan.� The wind picked up,
blowing around them in gusts powerful enough to drive the other soldiers
back.� Even Nakago had to raise his arm
to shield his face.� In the center of
the wind was Uruki, his brows furrowed as he moved his fan in another arc.� The winds closed around the two of them and
lifted them into the air.� It was slow
going, but the force soon got them up and into the sky.� Please�let me reach the old man�and
Uruki kept a tight grip on Hatsui as the wind started to take them towards
their designated meeting point.

Now,
there were few things that Hatsui was afraid of.� One of them was height.�
So when he opened his eyes and saw that they were hovering hundreds of
feet in the air supported by nothing but the wind�he promptly passed out.� Uruki chuckled as the two of them slowly
made their way across the sky.� He
didn�t want to push himself too hard, otherwise they wouldn�t make it to
Urumiya and that was essential.� They had
just made it to the border of Kutou and they would be in the clear.� After all, the plan was for Urumiya to
wait a few days at the border and then we would search the countryside.� He didn�t know how far they�d gone when a
sharp whistle from below caught his attention.�
Uruki glanced down and spotted Urumiya.

�Never
thought I�d be so happy to see that old fart again,� he chuckled and glanced at
Hatsui.� �Still out cold.� I suppose that�s a good thing, considering
we�ll have to make a rather steep descent.�

Uruki
could feel his powers fading faster the closer they got to the ground.� When they finally touched down and the wind
settled, Uruki realized just how exhausted he was.� But that could wait.�
Leaning down, he shook Hatsui, calling to him, and hoping that he�d wake
up.� After a few moments, the youth�s
deep blue eyes fluttered open and he stared up at a shadow above him.

�What
in the-?�

�That
would be Urumiya, one of the Genbu Shichi Seishi.� Don�t mind him.� Urumiya,
this is Hatsui, but unfortunately he wasn�t built for flying.� Poor guy.�
Didn�t think I�d find him so fast, did you?�

�Hello,�
Hatsui waved weakly.

�He
certainly doesn�t look like a Celestial Warrior,� Urumiya studied Hatsui with
mirth.� �Then again, neither did you,
Uruki.�

�Hey!�

�Uruki
how did you manage to fly the entire way here without being spotted?� And how did you find Hatsui so soon?� Tell me everything that happened, some
things could be crucial.�

�I used
a technique I�d heard the former Uruki did.�
He was able to travel long distances in the very wind.� I never attempted it before, so I�m glad it
worked.� As for finding Hatsui, it turns
out that he was the one who was supposed to be �training� me for the
Emperor.� He insulted Cassandra, I lost
it and let slip that I was one of the Genbu warriors, and thankfully we managed
to make a break for it before Nakago could capture us.�

�You
always were too much of a show-off for your own good.� Now your powers are drained, I can feel it, which means you�ll be
useless in a fight.� We have to get out
of here now and get to Konan.�

�I
agree, we need-�

Uruki
was suddenly interrupted when Hatsui excused himself, struggled to his feet,
went over to a bush, and was violently ill.�
Uruki winced as he realized that this was probably his fault.� I didn�t mean to make him sick�and he
went over to Hatsui and began to rub the man�s back gently.

�Che,
pathetic.�

�Shut
up, Urumiya, you have no right to criticize.�
You have night terrors after all.�

Urumiya
bristled and snarled.� �They are not
night terrors.� They are memories.�

�Either
way, you have no right to insult someone just because they�re afraid of
something.� Cassandra is afraid of many
things and yet you�re willing to fight for and with her,� Uruki�s voice was
heated as he continued to massage Hatsui�s back.� �I think he�s a bit better.�
Urumiya, wet my handkerchief with one of the water skins and bring it
here.�

Ready
to snap at Uruki not to order him around, Urumiya paused when he saw the look
in the youth�s black eyes.� Sighing and
growling, he snatched the offered handkerchief and went to dampen it with one
of the water skins on the horse.� Once
that was done, he brought it back.

�Here.�

�Thanks,�
Uruki accepted it stiffly and turned back to Hatsui.� �You keep watch while I tend to him.�

Grunting,
Urumiya went to stand watch as Uruki eased Hatsui to lie down on a cool, clean
patch of grass.� He gave Hatsui some
water, coaxing it down his throat, and dabbed at his forehead with the damp
handkerchief.� Speaking in a low,
soothing tone, Uruki tended to his newfound comrade, his heart fluttering in
his chest.� It felt�well it felt nice to
be able to help someone like this.

Hatsui
was puzzled by Uruki�s tender care.� He
didn�t know what to make of the other man.�
Still, it was nice to be fussed over by someone for once.� I�ve never had anyone take care of me
like this�and he saved my life to boot�and he pressed a hand to his
chest.� Why is my heart pounding like
this?� It�s almost painful.� He found himself looking into Uruki�s black
eyes with a question that he didn�t know how to voice, seeking an answer he
wasn�t sure he wanted to hear.

�There.� You seem to be doing much better.� I do apologize for doing that to you, but it
was the only way we could escape.� We�ll
rest for a while, until you�re able to ride a horse.� All right?� Uruki smiled at Hatsui warmly.

��All
right�� and Hatsui tried very hard not to blush at the warm smile.

*�� *�� *�� *�� *

Okay, Ree is VERY SORRY for not
updating sooner, but NaNo is coming up, I�m working longer hours, and I haven�t
had time for the fic.� There are
seventeen chapters hand-written though, so expect more updates!� �Just not as frequently as before.� *Grins*�
Thanks all!� And please review!

Ree
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The Prophecy of Genbu