"> Echoes of Destiny : Chapter Two : Anniversary

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they belong to Watase Yuu and several other people. This is just fanfiction.

Notes: Alternate Universe. Takes place after the OAV. Contains spoilers, hints of yaoi, language, and hints of violence. Read at your own discretion. Again, pairings aren't canon and things are just starting to get interesting. The Yui mentioned in this chapter is not Hongo Yui, she is Sukunami Yui, daughter of Taka and Miaka.

*thoughts*

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Kouji grinned as he grabbed his old friend and pulled him out onto the balcony, followed by his sister and their parents. "Come on, I want to show you something. From out here, you can see Suzaku's constellations," he replied.

Miaka smiled slightly at her youngest child. "Would you ever have thought that our child would be a former bandit?" she whispered to her husband.

Taka chuckled and smiled at his wife. "I'm not completely surprised," he replied. "But I am surprised that Chichiri married Soi."

"If you think that's bad, wait until Kaen tells you who we saw," Yui replied. She grinned slightly and ran back inside before the others could ask what she meant.

"What is she talking about?" Miaka asked. She started to follow the young girl, only to find that the sliding glass door to the balcony had been locked. "What the-- Yui! Open this door!"

"What!? That twit locked us out here? It's freezing!"

"Genrou calm down. They just wanted you out of there so they could-- uh, never mind."

"Kouji, what are they doing?"

"Answer your father, Kouji."

"Yeah, answer your father, brat."

"Don't call my son a brat," Taka replied, smacking the redhead in the back of the head.

Miaka chuckled slightly and looked at Kouji. "What are they doing in there?"

"I have promised not to tell under threat of electrocution," the blue-haired youth replied. Just then, there was a flash of lightning, as if to emphasize the point. "See."

Before anyone could reply, it started raining heavily.

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"Daaa! Tasuki-kun, calm down!"

The redhead growled slightly as he stomped off to his room to change for the second time that night. "You know I hate water. And I'm sure that wife of yours had something to do with this."

Kaen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Careful what you say no da. You're right Kaen, it is contagious," Saihitei replied. He handed the former Miko a towel before handing her husband a hair dryer. "He's just upset. He doesn't like the fact that he's an old man."

"He's younger than you no da," Houjun replied. He glanced at his watch for a moment then nodded. "He's the youngest of us this time around no da."

"As far as you know," Kaen replied quietly. She helped Yui finish putting up the streamers and made a small motion of her hand. As a yelp of pain came from Tasuki's bedroom, she smiled and looked at her husband. "You're right. I do miss having him around to pick on all the time. And don't even suggest he move back in with us, Saihitei."

The former emperor held up his hands and smiled. "I didn't say a word," he replied. "Although, it wouldn't be a bad idea. I might actually be able to get some work done if he were gone."

"Throwing me out, are ya? Bet you if Nuriko were here, you wouldn't throw him out," Shun'u replied as he walked out of his room. He stopped and glanced at the others. "Sorry. Old habits di-- they're hard to break."

Miaka smiled sadly and looked at Houjun. "I think we need to get this party started, 'Chiri. Now, why did you invite us all here?"

Kaen smiled and picked up the chocolate fudge cake. "First of all, Kouji and Yui wanted to throw you and Taka an anniversary party," she replied. She put the cake on the table as Kouji came in carrying an armful of presents and Yui carrying a second cake. "And second ..."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TASUKI!"

The redhead jumped as everyone in the room yelled and threw confetti at him. "Kuso! Why do you people do that?!"

"Because you hate parties."

"Almost as much as you hate women no da."

"And water," Kaen replied, an evil grin on her face. The redhead backed away slowly.

"Houjun, keep your wife away from me," Shun'u replied. There was a knock at the door and he used the distraction to run away from the brunette. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw a very tall man standing in the doorway. "Um, can I help you?"

The tall man nodded and smiled at the redhead. "Happy birthday, Tasuki. I'll bet you don't remember me," he replied.

"Juan, welcome. Come on in," Taka replied, smiling at the tall man. "Everyone, I'm sure you remember Mitsukake. Well, everyone but you, Yui."

"Mits? Daaa! Five down, two to go!" Houjun replied, smiling. "Well, six down, eight to go."

"Better make that five," Kaen replied softly.

"Make that seven," replied a tall young man from the doorway. His red hair was cut short, but he still looked more like a little girl than a man.

"Chiriko no da!"

Another round of greetings followed, before the group turned their attention to Tasuki's celebration. Miaka kept an eye on Kaen. She had barely gotten to know the old Soi, but she could see hints of her in the teenage bride. And what worried her most was the fear she saw in the younger woman's eyes.

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"Are you sure it was her?" Eeyan asked. She put the last of the boxes away and glanced at the blond sitting at the dining room table. "I mean, there are a lot of brunettes in this city."

Yenting nodded slightly. "I'm positive. I can't forget her chi. That woman was Soi," he replied. "But I didn't recognize those kids with her."

Jason sighed slightly and looked at the cup in his hands. "We knew it was inevitable. She is the last of us," he replied.

"True," the blond replied. "But this isn't Kutou and our powers aren't what they used to be. What possible reason could there be for us to be here, now?"

There was a soft knock on the door as Chuin peeked around the corner. "Ryuuen and I are going for a walk."

"Take the twins with you," Yenting commented. "They know this area better than you two. And the last thing we need to worry about is you two getting lost."

Chuin nodded and smiled slightly as she left the room. Eeyan watched her go before moving to the table and sitting beside Jason. "Why did you let them leave? I thought you didn't want them going out at night," she replied.

The blonde nodded slightly. "Simple. Ryuuen is a Suzaku, Chuin a Seiryuu. Neither of them remember anything about their past lives. If they get in trouble, I'm sure someone will sense it and come running. And then we'll get to see if any of the others are here."

"So then, you are afraid of Sami carrying out his threat?"

The blonde looked to the former wolf-man and nodded slightly. "That's another reason you and Eeyan are going to follow them," he replied. "If Sami tries anything ... kill him."

Jason nodded gravely and picked up the handgun on the table in front of him. "I kind of hope he does. I have to admit, I miss the kill," he replied.

Eeyan rolled her eyes as she slid a similar handgun into a holder on her belt. "Even becoming fully human didn't change you, Ashitare. Come on, we can't let them get too far ahead of us."

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"Are you sure we're being followed?" Chuin asked her slightly taller companion.

Ryuuen nodded and glanced around the older twin's arm. "Yeah, but I can't tell who it is."

Kotoku shrugged and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's probably just Eeyan and Jason. You know how protective Yenting gets," he replied. "Besides, I thought the two of you wanted to relax?"

"How can we?" Ryuuen asked. His foul mood was interrupted by a sudden downpour that forced them to head inside a small shop. "I hate the weather in this town. Totally unpredictable. It's almost like someone turned on a faucet."

The twins glanced at each other, but said nothing. Chuin smiled at the elderly shopkeeper and proceeded to drag the younger twin on an impromptu shopping spree. Kotoku chuckled slightly and watched the violet-haired youth beside him. "What's bothering you, Rene?"

"I just wish we had stayed in LA. At least I knew what was going through his mind then," Ryuuen replied. He then glanced at the taller boy. "And you know he hates it when you call me that."

"It is your name, isn't it?" Kotoku asked. He leaned against the doorframe and watched the rain falling outside. "It's the one you were using at the orphanage."

Ryuuen shrugged and looked at his feet. "It's one they gave me. I have no idea what my real name is," he replied. "Just like the rest of you. All I know is without Yenting I'd probably be dead."

"Even if he is an asshole?" At the stunned look on the smaller man's face, Kotoku laughed slightly. "He'll admit it, just ask him. On second thought, better not. But don't worry, there are none of his spies here. No one would tell him if you called him something out of the ordinary. Come on, where is the Rene I used to know?"

Ryuuen smiled slightly. "He stayed in LA," he replied. With that, he walked over to join Chuin on her shopping spree.

Kotoku sighed as the shopkeeper came up to him. "Your friend is very sad. Perhaps shopping will make him feel better?" she replied. "Or perhaps, a gift?"

"No thanks, lady. He doesn't need anything you could give him," the older twin replied. *What he needs is to get away from Nakago.*

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"They couldn't have just vanished, Jason. Where did they go?"

"I told you, I don't know. If you would get off my back for five seconds and look, you might be able to find them yourself."

"They were right here, they couldn't have gone anywhere. The only thing here is an alley and they're certainly not there." Eeyan sighed and threw up her hands in exasperation. Shortly after they had caught up with the twins and their charges, it started raining. The quartet had ducked into what appeared to be a shop from a couple of blocks back, but now they couldn't find the shop. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Jason turned and glared at her. "I can tell you what will happen if we go back and tell him we lost them. He didn't hesitate once to kill me when my usefulness was over, I wouldn't put it past him to do it again," he replied. He slammed his fist into the wall and turned back down the street. "I'll check this way, meet back here in five minutes."

Eeyan let go of the breath she had been holding and leaned against the wall. "He is definitely still part wolf," she replied quietly. She was about to walk away when the rain suddenly stopped and she could hear voices behind her. She turned and stared straight into the face of an elderly shopkeeper. "GAAAHHH!"

"Eeyan, relax. Where did you come from? I didn't see you out here," Kotoku replied. He thanked the old woman and led the other three members of their group out of the store.

"I ... How did you ... Where did ..." Eeyan stopped for a moment and shook her head. "Never mind, let's just find Jason and get back. I've had enough of following the four of you around for one night."

The twins nodded and distributed the bags of things Chuin had bought. The dark girl smiled and thanked the shopkeeper before falling into step beside Ryuuen. "Goodbye my dears. Have a good night," the shopkeeper replied. Once they were out of sight, the store vanished and she changed into a woman less than half the age she had been. "It will be your last. Excellent work, Tokaki. They didn't suspect a thing."

A young man with light purple hair stepped out of the shadows and smiled slightly. "Thank Karasuki. It was her illusion after all," he replied. He kissed the woman on the cheek as a young girl came running up to them.

"Did I do a good job, daddy? Did we get the bad people?"

The woman knelt in front of the child and hugged her. "You did a wonderful job my dear. Now let's go find your uncle Sami. We have a lot to tell him," she replied. She picked up the child as her husband teleported the three of them away from the empty alley.

~Fin~