Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, they belong to Watase Yuu and several other people. This is just fanfiction. Nakago and all other unnamed characters have been given names for the duration of this story. (Feel like you’re reading one of those FBI warnings yet?) Do not pass go, do not collect $200 ...
Notes: Alternate Universe. Contains spoilers for entire series, hints of yaoi, language, and violence. Read at your own discretion. Again, pairings are not canon.
*thoughts*
“Is everything going according to plan?”
Uruki nodded and looked at her husband. “Yes, Tomo has turned against his own ‘brothers’ and we will soon have one of the Suzaku as well,” she replied.
Tokaki smiled slightly before hugging the Genbu Seishi. “Good. As long as their fighting each other, they won’t realize what we’re doing,” he replied. He glanced at his daughter, who was sleeping on a nearby bed and smiled sadly. “I just wish her mother hadn’t turned against us. We could have used Subaru’s help.”
Uruki placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him. “Forget her, my love. We have the shinzaho, we can still summon our gods,” she replied. “Subaru chose to go against us. It was for Karasuki’s own good that her mother be removed from the picture.”
“I know,” he replied sadly. He took both of her hands in his and kissed them. “You should rest, love. It won’t be long until Nakago figures out what’s going on.”
The violet haired woman nodded and left the room. Tokaki stood in the doorway for several more moments before turning and walking to a room at the end of the hall. As he passed through the doorway into the outer conference room, he could hear several voices coming from the next room. “Are they still at it?”
The gray haired man next to him nodded slightly. Hikitsu glanced at Tokaki and smirked slightly. “You’re perfectly welcome to go in there and try and get them to stop,” he replied.
“I’m not that crazy,” Tokaki replied, looking at the older man. He sighed as he leaned against the wall. He straightened his stance as the door opened and several people walked out of the room.
“Tokaki, good, you‘re here. We need for you to go see how things are going with Tomo. I would send your wife, but she has done enough already,” a tall brunette replied. Tatara glanced at the other members of their group and nodded slightly. “That will be all gentlemen, ladies. Do not forget what we discussed.”
The group nodded and left the room, several mumbling about the ‘crazy old man’ and his weirdo friends. Hikitsu watched them leave before turning to Tatara. “I take it the meeting didn’t go well?”
“It went fine. That is, if you like getting in an argument with Him,” Tatara replied. “Personally, I’d rather deal with Miboshi any day than argue with him.”
“A very wise choice,” replied a voice from the inner room. The three men jumped as an older man walked out of the room and smiled at them. “But I don’t think she would be much of a challenge for you in this life. Eeyan isn’t as good as she used to be.” He glanced at Tokaki and nodded slightly. “Your wife and little girl have done well, Tokaki. But I think that you were right about my grandson knowing what you are doing.”
Tokaki jumped slightly. “How did you --- yes sir. He seems to have learned to control his powers more. But that may have more to do with his mental state than practice,” he replied.
The older man nodded slightly and sat in a chair facing the trio. “I would imagine so. But those young boys with him seem to have their own way to calm him. Unfortunately, the Suzaku doesn’t seem to be responding as well as I’d hoped,” he replied. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair for several moments before looking to Tatara. “I want you to personally bring him here. And the others if they try to stop you.”
The brunette nodded and walked out of the room. Hikitsu glanced at Tokaki before looking to the older man. “Sami, what do we do about the others? They don’t seem to understand what’s going on,” he replied.
Sami nodded slightly. “They wouldn’t. Mere mortals can not understand what we are, Emtato. We are seishi from another world. Most humans would think we were insane for even thinking other worlds exist,” he replied.
“But why are you going after the Suzaku and Seiryuu seishi?” Tokaki asked.
“Because if they were to summon their gods, they could stop us from combining this world with the Shi Jen Ten Chi Sho,” Sami replied. “With Byakko and Genbu in this world, their powers will no longer be sealed in a book.”
Hikitsu glanced from the younger man to his long time friend. “Are you sure that’s such a good thing, Hatsui? Unleashing two animal gods on a world like this one?”
Hatsui smiled slightly. “You forget, there are three wishes for each god,” he replied. “Once we find the Mikos.”
“And how do we do that? The Mikos from our world came from this one. But now, this is our home. Does that mean--”
“Yes, Tokaki. The four Mikos will come from the Shi Jen Ten Chi Sho. That is why we must find the book before the others figure out that little fact,” Hatsui replied. He reached into a nearby bookshelf and took out a file folder. “That is why you have to find the former Suzaku and Seiryuu no Mikos. Sukunami Miaka, age 40. She and her husband, the Suzaku no seishi Tamahome, moved to New York ten years ago with their two children. The book used to be in her possession, but it is unclear if she still has it or if she gave it to her friend.
“Kajiwara Yui, also age 40. Former Seiryuu no Miko and best friend of Mrs. Sukunami. Last known residence, Hamburg, Germany. That was fifteen years ago. There is no record of her or her husband since then. I’ve sent Iname and Kokie to Germany to look for any traces of the couple or their children.”
“Children?”
Hatsui nodded slightly. “According to what we’ve been able to discover so far, Yui and Tetsuya Kajiwara had at least three children before they vanished. Their names are unknown, but we do know there is at least one son, aged 22 and a daughter aged 19, the same ages as the Sukunami children.”
“Do we know anything else?” Hikitsu asked, looking at an old picture of the children.
The oldest of the trio shook his head and pulled another picture out of the file. “No. All of their files have been sealed. None of our attempts to get information on them have been successful,” he replied.
Tokaki sighed slightly and looked at the last picture. It was of the young couple and their two oldest children, along with an infant. “What about the youngest? What do we know about him?”
“We’re not even sure it was a boy. All we do know is that the youngest of the Kajiwara children would be 18.”
Hikitsu looked through the information for several moments before turning to Hatsui. “If their files were sealed, then that must mean that the parents are dead and the children are wards of the state,” he replied. “Either that, or they don‘t want to be found.”
Chuin looked up from the prone form on the floor and sighed slightly. “I told you to stay out of it, Suboshi,” he replied quietly. He then glanced at Jason, who was standing on the other side of the hallway, tending to his own wounds.
“How could you do that, Chuin? Shunkaku has always been your friend,” Jason replied, trying to get away from the smaller seishi.
Chuin smiled slightly at the older man before laughing and pointing at something behind the taller man. “I did nothing, Ashitare. Toroki is the one who attacked Suboshi,” he replied.
Jason cringed slightly and the sound of the other man’s laughter and was about to turn to see what he was pointing at. Before he turned completely, he was struck by someone’s fist and knocked to the floor. He looked up to see a tall man with short blue hair grinning slightly. “Your friend is right. I was the one that attacked the boy,” he replied. “And I will do the same to his brother once he gets here. Then they will both die. Two less seishi to worry about.”
The former wolf-man lunged at Toroki, only to be stopped short as several vines wrapped around his legs and arms. “Stop toying with them, Toroki. Where is the other one?” Tatara gently placed a hand on Chuin’s shoulder and looked to the blue haired man.
“He hasn’t been here all day. I’ve taken care of Nakago, though. He won’t be bothering anyone for quite a while. Why are you here?”
“Sami wants the Suzaku. And it wouldn’t hurt to take along a few extras for the others to practice on,” Tatara replied. He smiled slightly at Chuin and indicated the trapped and fallen Seiryuu. “Keep an eye on them for us.”
The younger man nodded as the Byakko seishi left. He then looked at Jason as he sat against the wall and placed his chin on his hand. “What did they do to Nakago?”
Jason glared at the young illusionist. “Like you don’t know. They nearly killed him. He’ll be lucky if he gets out of this in less than two pieces.”
Chuin nodded slightly and leaned back against the wall. “Serves him right. At least I participate in my torture,” he replied. He looked to the unconscious twin and smiled slightly as the blond flinched.
Kotoku stopped just outside the door of the mansion and looked at the others. “I don’t know what’s happening, but Suboshi is still in pain,” he replied.
“Then why can’t we feel it?” Eeyan asked.
“Because he’s unconscious,” Kaen replied. She glanced from her husband to the quiet violet haired young man then back again. “Houjun, I don’t think the two of you should be here. We have no idea what’s going on in there.”
Houjun shook his head slightly. “I’m not leaving,” he replied.
“Neither am I. Like it or not, these people are my family. I’m not about to leave when one of them is in trouble,” Ryuuen replied.
The former monk nodded and reached for the door. His hand stopped just above the handle and he looked to Kotoku. “Do you have a security system in the house?”
“Of course, but it’s not connected to the doors. It‘s motion sensitive,” Eeyan replied. She lightly placed a hand on the older twin’s shoulder and looked at Houjun. “What’s wrong, Chichiri?”
“Just a feeling. They know we’re here already,” Houjun replied.
The blonde cracked open one slightly bloody eye as he heard a beeping noise coming from the desk. Forcing himself to stand, Yenting stumbled to the console and looked at the image of the five seishi at the door. “More guests for the party, huh? I guess I should go welcome them,” he replied. He turned toward the door and nearly collapsed from the dizzy spell that hit him. As he fell, a pair of strong arms reached out and grabbed him before he could hit the floor. “Wha-- What happened?”
“Your friends decided to pay you a visit,” the tall man replied. Juan half-carried, half-dragged the blond man over to a chair and forced him to look at him. “Shouka called me shortly after they arrived. I got here as soon as I could.”
Yenting looked from the dark haired man to the woman beside him. “Shouka, where are they?”
Shouka moved to stand beside her husband and sighed slightly. “Don’t worry about them right now. You’re lucky to be alive,” she replied. She glanced at the same console he had looked at earlier and shook her head. “Juan, they’re here already.”
Juan nodded slightly and placed his hand on Shouka’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on him. I have to stop them before they get themselves killed,” he replied. He squeezed her shoulder lightly before walking out of the room. As he entered the main room, the front door opened to admit the former monk and friends.
“Mitsukake, what are you doing here?” Houjun asked once he saw the older man.
“Long story. Let’s just say Nakago and I are old friends,” Juan replied. He glanced over the group once before settling his gaze on Kaen and the purple haired man beside her. “Ryuuen, take Kaen to the basement and wait for one of us to come get you. Soi, do not trust what you do not know.”
The brunette nodded and grabbed the smaller man. After they left, Eeyan turned to Juan. “What’s going on, Myo-san? Why did you make them leave?”
“We don’t have time for explanations,” Kotoku replied as he grabbed his head in pain. “Shun is trouble.”
The other three seishi nodded and followed the dark blond up the stairs. Houjun nearly ran over the other man as he stopped short at the top of the stairs. “What’s wrong, Amiboshi?”
Kotoku pointed to the still form of his twin on the floor and the puddle of blood under him. Standing above the fallen blond, Chuin was smiling slightly as he saw the new arrivals. “Well, well, well, looks like I have some new toys to play with. Where’s your other little friend, Chichiri? I’ll bet he’d love to see Ashitare again,” the small man replied, gesturing to the trapped form of Jason.
Eeyan ran toward him, only to be thrown back by an invisible wall. She collapsed at someone’s feet and looked up at her former prisoner. “Not so fast, Miboshi,” Tatara replied, grinning slightly. “You once delighted in torturing the souls of others. How nice that you finally get to know how they felt. It must hurt not being able to help the one you care for.”
“Leave them alone you monster!” Houjun yelled. Closing his eyes, he chanted one of the many spells he had learned from Taitsukun. Using Tomite’s powers, he concentrated the chi ring on the Byakko no seishi, only to feel it closing in on himself.
“You can not use your magic unless I want you to, Suzaku,” Chuin replied. He was surrounded by blue light as the small man vanished and the taller figure of Tomo emerged in full costume. The bodies of Shunkaku and Jason vanished as the group reappeared in the streets of Kutou’s capital.
Houjun gasped as the chi ring began cutting into his arms. “An illusion?!”
Juan reached into his medical bag and pulled out a small gun. “Tomo, let him go!”
“You won’t kill me! It goes against everything you are!” With a wave of his hand, the chi ring cut deeply into the former monk’s arms. Juan closed his eyes against his friend’s pain as he fired the gun at the illusionist.
Houki jumped as her two companions gasped and dropped their coffee cups. “What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw the looks on the faces of the two seishi.
“Something’s wrong ...” Taka began as he clutched at his arms. “... one of the others ...”
“Chichiri ... we have to find Houjun, now,” Saihitei replied. He threw some money onto the table and pulled the other man to his feet. “Come on. I will not sit here idly as my friends die this time.”
Kaen was searching through a box of old belongings when she heard something shatter. “Ryuuen, are you alright?” she asked when she saw the young man hugging his arms to his chest and kneeling on the floor.
The purple haired man shook his head and reached for something on the floor. “We have to stop him. We have to stop him before he kills Chichiri,” he replied shakily as he pulled a book from under the broken mirror.
Kaen reached for him as a wave of pain shot through her entire body, causing her to fall to her knees, clutching her stomach. “No ... not again.” As her vision blurred, she saw the purple haired man kneeling beside her, a red aura enveloping both of them as he lifted her from the floor. “Nuriko?”
“It’s okay now, Soi. It will all be okay,” the small man replied as the brunette closed her eyes. “By Suzaku, I will not let them ruin our chance at a happy life.”
