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updated 6.2000
Fushigi Yuugi is copyrighted to Watase Yuu, Bandai, Tokyo Television, Flower Comics, and others. No infringement is intended!
Reminder again: So that everyone won't be confused, I'll just call Toka Amiboshi.
words: dame=no doushite=why
Chapter8: Lifeline
Gyuulou's piccolo sounded throughout the small healer's home. Orume paced the length of the room.
She stopped in front of Gyuulou and glared at him, "Why do you always play that thing when I'm annoyed?" Gyuulou stopped and Orume felt even more annoyed than before, "Why are you brining strangers here anyway? Who knows what trouble they may be up to now."
"Orume," Gyuulou said softly, "You know as well as I who they are."
"Yes, I know," Orume replied shortly and looked into the attached room where Urumiya sat dozing by the injured man. "And I feel their prescence brings an ill omen."
"This is our destiny Orume," Gyuulou stood up and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"What destiny?" she shrugged off his hand, "My destiny if there ever was one is to run this place. Father doesn't have a son, I'm all he has. This is where my responsibility lies."
Gyuulou sat down again, resigned and started playing his piccolo again. Orume listened impatiently, but after a while, she felt a little better and went about her chores. She can reveal her mind to the Genbu no Miko when the girl comes later, now she had other things to attend to.
Kamei stared at the other man; could it be that he was a Genbu Seishi?
"Are you one of us?" Namame asked.
"I am the one called--" the other stopped abruptly and motioned for silence. There were rustling sounds outside the tent and the horses were nickering nervously.
"What is it?" Kamei whispered.
"Stay inside," the man said and motioned Namame to come with him.
Kamei sat on the cot, listening to the sounds. There were some shoutings and sounds of fighting. Kamei got up and paced a little, not being able to just sit there and do nothing. A sudden chill ran up her spine and Kamei looked around the tent uneasily. Stop being so skittish! She told herself. Without any warning, she fell to her knees, feeling numb all over. Nande??
"Greetings Genbu no Miko." From where she was, Kamei could only see the feet and the ends of a black cloak.
Namame and the other man was still outside, fighting, there was no one to come to her rescue. She heard the unsheathing of a sword and thought grimly that this would be her end. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished she had never open that cursed book. She was in danger every single second, Toka had been turned into a monster, and she didn't even care for the stupid wishes or powers she would get. There was nothing for her to gain and everything for her to lose. Right now, that was her life.
Kamei picked up a whizzing sound and she unexpectedly regained her senses. There was a thud and the body of her would-be assassin laid in front of her. She covered her mouth, staring at the arrow in the assassin's chest as blood pooled out beneathe the body, flowing towards her. As she stared at the ever increasing lake of blood, it filled her eyes and her mind. It was that nightmare all over again. It was a memory she had surpressed from her early childhood...
The first sound out of Kamei's throat was a scream. She scuttled backwards away from the dead body. She never wanted to see such a sight ever again. She bumped into someone and screamed again.
"Calm down!" the person reached down and set her on her feet.
"Miko-sama!" Namame rushed in, sword bared, "Unhand her!"
"You killed him!" Kamei whispered, horrified.
"A little thanks would have done it," the young man said exasperated, as Kamei struggled against him. "I just saved your life. You're welcome."
Namame put away his sword, "I'm sorry. You came in the nick of time."
"Never miss!" Kamei had gotten free of him. He was grinning and kissed his bow as she blinked at him. He had long black bangs that protruded from his tall hat and bright azure eyes. He didn't look much older than her and he was kissing the murder weapon. What a horrible world this was.
However, he did save her life. "Thank you," Kamei bowed to him.
"What's a Genbu Seishi for?" He smiled, "I'm Kyo Shinshi, seishi name Tomite."
"Let me introduce myslef as well," the man with the silver hair and icy blue eyes said as he came in. "My name is Hoku Tou, otherwise known as Hikitsu."
"Five now..." Kamei whispered weakly, her whole body was shaking. She couldn't stand another minuet of standing in that tent with the reek of death lingering in the air. "Excuse me..."
"What a strange girl," Tomite mumbled softly.
Kamei threw up unceremoniously the minuet she stepped outside. Namame came up to her and offered her a cup of cool water.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Namame told her, "I..."
"Don't worry about it Namame," Kamei said brusquely.
"It will be all right Miko-sama," he told her. "Tomorrow we will find Urumiya and Hatsui. We only have two more seishis to find."
Then I can go home. Kamei brightened a little at that prospect, but her heart sank again as she thought of Toka. That wasn't Toka! She argued with herself. It must be a trick used by the enemy to fool me. Toka isn't that cruel. Desperately convinced in that belief, Kamei held onto it as a lifeline.
Kamei...
Two voices called her name. Pulling away an emerald veil in front of her, she stared at the two girls standing before her. One had shoulder length brown hair and the other had shoulder lengnth blond hair. The brown haired one seemed to have a reddish glow about her and the blond haired one had a bluish glow around her.
"Can you hear us?" the brown haired one spoke.
"I can..." Kamei stretched a hand towards them, but a thin green film stopped her. "I talked to you before...? Suzaku no Miko..."
"That's me. My name is Yuuki Miaka," the girl with the red glow about her said.
"And I was Seiryuu no Miko...Hongo Yui," the blond haired girl said.
"Help me..." Kamei pleaded.
Miaka stretched a hand towards her with an expression of pain on her face.
"Dame Miaka, we can't," Yui pulled her friend's hand back, but she had an equally sad face.
"Don't worry Kamei, you will find a way out of this," Miaka said, "Only one hours had passed since we last talked."
"There's something else we wanted to talk to you about..." Yui said slowly, "Your brother..."
"Toka?!" Kamei felt hope rising inside, "You've seen him? He's safe in the real world?"
Yui and Miaka looked at each other. Their next words shattered her heart. "Toka has become Amiboshi..."
Her lifeline had snapped. "Doushite? I don't understand!" Kamei cried out.
"We don't either..." Miaka admitted.
Kamei jolted awake. She was sitting in the saddle with Namame riding behind her.
"Miko-sama?" Namame asked.
"I'm ok..." Kamei said on the outside, but she knew she was lying through her teeth.
Hikitsu and Tomite road to either side of them, and they glanced at this young girl that was supposed to be their miko. The two men's eyes met and a feeling of recognition passed between them, alhtough they have never seen each other before.
"There was something I wanted to ask you about..." Namame said, "You called Amiboshi your brother...?"
Kamei immediately tensed.
"What do you mean by that?" Namame asked.
"It..." How could she say that whom they thought was a murder was her brother? How could she explain to them that although it was her brother, it wasn't her brother? "It was a mistake..." That sounded worse. For a "mistake", she had hurt Hatsui, Urumiya, and Namame...
However, he didn't comment on that.
Urumiya woke up from his sleep. He sensed them. Namame and Kamei were alive!
He ran out of the room where Hatsui had only become conscious a little before, almost crashing into Orume with pottery in her arms.
"Where are you going?" Orume demanded.
"Somebody's coming," Gyuulou stood up as well.
"Genbu no Miko..." Orume looked at him as the words fell from her lips.
Till the next chapter...!
