Chapter 2
Meeting the Suzaku Seishi
by Janella
A young man with black hair, and blue eyes came in the national library with a big guy with a nose ring, a younger boy, around 13 with brown hair and green eyes, and a guy, around 17 with long hair.

“Recca-kun”, Yanagi said as she saw Recca walk towards her.

“Hime, what’s going on?” Recca asked.

“Yeah, what’s Koganei saying that something happened to Fuuko?” Domon asked, not even letting Yanagi answer the first question.

“You may find this hard to believe but, me and Fuuko went up to this room Fuuko saw over there”, Yanagi said, pointing to the room. Recca, Kaoru, Tokiya, and Domon look at it. “Actually, people are prohibited from coming in there. When we came in, this book fell on the floor”, Yanagi had shown the book to Recca and the others. “We opened it and then red light surrounded us. We stood up and we were inside that book”, Yanagi said.

“What do you mean inside the book?” asked Recca.

“There’s a world in the book and that’s where we went. I read it, and it said exactly what happened to us there”, Yanagi replied. Tokiya opened the book and started to read it aloud until there weren’t any words to read anymore. They all listened to Tokiya, trying to understand what happened. They still can’t explain what’s going on but, whatever it is, they know it’s out of the ordinary. More letters popped out of the page. Tokiya gave the book to Yanagi. He didn’t say anything, but Yanagi knew he wanted her to read it. She took a deep breath and started to read again.

Suzaku Seishi and 7 of them to protect me with their powers. I’m the Suzaku no Miko so, I’ll be like their princess and they will be my ninjas. It’s just like beating Recca and he becomes my ninja only this time I get 7 Reccas to protect me, not like I need protection. I guess I just want their loyalty not exactly their protection. Fuuko thought after she agreed to me the Suzaku no Miko.

“So what do I do first?” Fuuko asked.

“First you must gather all Suzaku Seishi before you could summon Suzaku” the emperor answered.

“Are you telling me that I should look for them? Don’t they know they have a duty as a seishi?” Fuuko asked.

“They know that, but even though they are Suzaku Seishi, they still have their lives to live. I’m sure they are all somewhere around Konan. And it’s your duty to find them”, he answered.

“Alright, so, how do I know if they are Suzaku Seishi?” Fuuko asked.

“They have a letter in their body which lights up. You would know that it’s Suzaku if it is red. Like this”, The emperor showed the letter on his neck to Fuuko. “It would look like this except we have different letters and on different parts of the body”, he added. “Wait, so if you have a letter, then that must mean you’re a-“,

“Suzaku Seishi”, the emperor finished for her. “You can call me Hotohori”, he said.

“Great, so that means I only have to find 6 more”, said Fuuko.

“Make that 5”, said the woman.

Hotohori and Fuuko both looked at her. She finally caught Hotohori’s attention. Hotohori stood up and walked to the woman. He saw something red on the woman’s chest. He came closer, reached his hand to her chest. She turns away, holding the dress she’s wearing on the part that covered her chest and blushed. “Oh, no, sorry, I was just looking at that, I mean I think I saw a letter on your umm…” Hotohori also blushes.

“Oh, this?” the woman pulls down the cloth that covers the red thing, revealing a letter just like Hotohori’s except it was a different letter.

“So, you’re a Suzaku Seishi too?” Fuuko asked.

“Yes, isn’t it ironic. Anyway, my name is Ryuuen, but my Suzaku name is Nuriko, so you can call me that”, she says.

“Ok, so 5 more”, Fuuko said.

“You may look for the rest tomorrow. You should rest for now. Please take the Suzaku no Miko to her room. Nuriko, since you’re a Suzaku Seishi, you’re gonna have to stay here at the palace too. I hope that will be okay”, Hotohori said.

“S…stay… here… at the palace, yes, it’s ok”, Nuriko agreed. I must be dreaming. Hotohori-sama is actually asking me to stay here… at the palace… where he also stays, Nuriko thought. She suddenly snaps out of it and finds herself blushing. “I-I just have to get some of my things”, she continues. Hotohori nods and sits down on his throne. Nuriko goes out of the palace to go home and pack.

This is all too weird to be true. I’d probably be waking up soon and this whole thing would turn out to be a dream, Fuuko thought. She was in her room, lying on her bed. But what if this isn’t a dream? It all seems so real. Everything just happened so fast. Just a while ago, I was on the school’s rooftop thinking about how boring my life has been since the end of Ura Buto Satsujin, but now, I’m suddenly the Suzaku no Miko. I guess this is the adventure I’ve been looking for. And it all happened just because I came with Yanagi to the National Library. “Yanagi!!!” Fuuko almost yelled. “I almost for got about her. I wonder what happened to her. She probably went back to our world, but then again what if she didn’t? I promised Recca I’d protect Yanagi, but I let this happen. I should go back to see if Yanagi did come back and if she’s safe”, Fuuko said to herself. Maybe, I’m overreacting. We just talked about this a while ago. She’s a grown woman, not a little girl. She can take care of herself, or maybe, depending on the situation. That’s it, I can’t stand just lying down here doing nothing. She decides to take a walk.

“Fuuko?” Hotohori said as he saw her.

“Hotohori, I just wanted to take a walk”, Fuuko said.

“By yourself, you might—“ Fuuko didn’t let Hotohori finish. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. Besides, Nuriko’s coming”, said Fuuko.

“I am?” asked Nuriko who had just come in where Fuuko and Hotohori were talking.

“Yes, Nuriko, You are. Now let’s go”, Fuuko pulls Nuriko’s hands and drags Nuriko along with her. “See you later, Hotohori-sama” Nuriko said.

“Where are we going anyway?” Nuriko asked.
“I dunno. I just wanted to go for a walk, that’s all”, Fuuko answered.

“So, where do you wanna go?” Nuriko asked.

“I dunno. Do you have any suggestions?” Fuuko replied.

“Nope, let’s just walk around”, Nuriko said.

“Fine with me”, Fuuko answered. They kept walking until they passed by a small alley. Some men blocked their way as they were walking. “You girls shouldn’t be walking by yourselves in alleys like these you know. It’s dangerous”, One of them said.

“What’s wrong with going through danger. I’m always in danger and I’m used to it already. I’m even beginning to like it already”, Fuuko replied.

“Really? Then why don’t you come with us? If you like danger, then you’re certainly going to like what we’re gonna do”, the man said.

“Maybe, but I have a feeling that I won’t. It’s just too bad we won’t find out because the last thing that might happen here is that we come with you”, Fuuko said.

“Fuuko, what the hell are you doing?” Nuriko asked Fuuko.

“Don’t worry Nuriko, I can handle this. I didn’t know there are so many perverts here, but I guess it can be an advantage. I’ll be able to practice my fighting skills with them”, Fuuko said, amused like before. More men came and ran to attack them. “I guess there were more of them than I thought”, Fuuko said. She took out her darts. She hits some of them. She started throwing punches at them and dodged their hits. She sees some guys run towards Nuriko.

“Nuriko!” Fuuko shouted.

“Don’t worry about me, Fuuko. I’m a Suzaku Seishi remember?” Nuriko said. That’s right, she’s a Suzaku Seishi. That means she must have some kind of power. I wonder what it is? Fuuko thought. All her thoughts disappeared when she sees a man trying to hit her. She dodges, “That was close” Fuuko sighs in relief.

“Hhhhiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!” Nuriko yelled, carrying a man above her head and throwing it on another. The 2 men fall down. “Nuriko!!! You… that…” another man interrupted her by trying to attack her. She dodges again and then kicks him. There were still so many of them, but Fuuko knew she could handle it, so did Nuriko.

“Looks like I’m right on time” They heard a man say. He was standing on a roof of a building. He had blue hair. He jumped down from the roof and starts to fight the men Fuuko and Nuriko were fighting with. There were just a few of them left standing, so they ran away. Fuuko and Nuriko had stopped fighting and left it all to the man. Then, they saw a letter lighting up in his forehead.

“A letter!!!” Nuriko said. All the men have been beaten up him. He walks to Fuuko and Nuriko.

“So, it’s you again. I saved you from these men so, you have to pay me some money”, the man said.

“And you! You’re that guy that tried to get money from me and Yanagi”, Fuuko said as she recognized him.

“That’s right, so, give me the money”, he said.

“Why should I?” Fuuko asked getting angry.

“Because I helped you”, he answered.

“Well, I don’t remember asking you to help us. We could have handled it by ourselves”, Fuuko argued.

“So, why didn’t you?” he said. “Because you suddenly came in”, Fuuko said.

“I was only trying to help. This is what I get for helping you?” he said.

“You weren’t trying to help. You were trying to get some money. I didn’t even ask you to help us”, Fuuko said.

“So what? I still helped you”, he said.

“That’s it. Maybe, we should just let my darts settle this”, Fuuko said. She takes out her darts.

“I don’t think I should be beating up a girl”, he said.

“I see, so, what does beating up a girl have to do with us?” Fuuko said.

“Fine, if you wanna fight then I’ll give you a fight, but don’t blame me for beating you up”, he said.

“I surely wouldn’t ‘cause you’re the one who’d be doing that when I’m through with you”, Fuuko replied.

“You two stop that right now!” Nuriko interrupted. “Fuuko, aren’t you missing something here? Did you even see what was on that guy’s forehead?” Nuriko asked.

“What? A letter!!!” Fuuko saw the man’s letter. “You’re a Suzaku Seishi”, Fuuko said.

“Yes, Suzaku Seishi. My name is Tamahome. That’s why you shouldn’t mess with me”, he said.

“Why you!!!” Smoke started to come out of Fuuko’s ears. Nuriko held her back, stopping her from attacking Tamahome. “Tamahome, you have to come with me to the palace”, Fuuko said when she had finally cooled down.

“Why is that?” Tamahome asked. “’Cause you’re a Suzaku Seishi and I’m the Suzaku no Miko and I have to find all Suzaku Seishi before I could call out Suzaku”, Fuuko answered.

“You’re asking me to stay at the palace?” Tamahome asked.

Fuuko nodded. “Sure”, he replied. Tamahome came with Nuriko and Fuuko back to the palace. She only has to find 4 more Seishis to call out Suzaku.

It was night. They had eaten dinner a few hours ago and Fuuko was standing by the railing along the corridors of the palace, leaning against it. I wonder what happened to Yanagi. I still can’t help worrying about her. What if she didn’t go back to our world? The reason I even came with her to the library is because Recca wanted me to make sure she’s safe. To protect her if anything happened. It looks like I’m the one who even brought her trouble. If anything happened to her, I’m responsible for it. I won’t forgive myself if anything happened to her.

“Fuuko”, her thoughts were all stopped by Hotohori’s voice.

“Hotohori? How… how long have you been there?” Fuuko asked.

“Not very long. Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking about… No, never mind”, Fuuko answered.

“Why? What is it? You can tell me”, Hotohori said.

“It’s just that, I’m worried about my friend, Yanagi. I came with her to this world, I’m not really sure what happened, but she just disappeared right before my eyes. I don’t know where she went, if she went back to our world or… I don’t know. I told Recca I’ll keep her safe, but I don’t even know where she is. I just want to know if she’s ok”, Fuuko said.

“Maybe, it would be best if you go back to your world. I don’t think you’d be able to concentrate to being the miko if you’re thinking about your friend”, Hotohori said. Fuuko looked at Hotohori. Her blue eyes widened.

“Go back? To my world? I could go back?” Fuuko asked.

“Yes, tomorrow, we’ll go to Mt. Taikyoku and ask Taiitsukun to send you back to your world”, Hotohori answered.

“Taiitsukun? Who’s that? Never mind, I’m pretty sure whoever that is, she has some kind of power to send me back, right?” Fuuko said.

“Hai, you better go rest, we’ll be leaving early tomorrow”, Hotohori said. Fuuko nodded and turned to go to her room.

“Fuuko?” Hotohori called out again.

“Hai?” Fuuko turned to the emperor again.

“I see you’ve found another Seishi, Tamahome is his name, I think”, Hotohori said.

“Yes, I’m pretty good, ne, Hotohori?” Fuuko replied. Hotohori grinned at this. “Actually, I’ve met him before, when I first arrived here. He tried to save me and Yanagi from a couple of perverts. He was just too late”, Fuuko said, looking proud of herself. “I didn’t know he was a Seishi until he fought another group of perverts a while ago. We didn’t even need his help. If only he wasn’t a Seishi, his family won’t even recognize him after I’m through with him. He’s really lucky”, Fuuko smiled at him. Hotohori smiled back. “Hah, finally, I’ve made you smile”, Fuuko chuckled. “You look so serious all the time. A smile suits you better. It makes you look more beautiful”, Fuuko said, still smiling.

“I know, I am beautiful”, Hotohori replied.

Fuuko laughed. “I wish I could say that to Mi-chan. He also looks so serious. A smile would also make him look more beautiful, but talking to him is just like talking to a block of ice. He’d just call me a monkey”, Fuuko said.

“The Suzaku no Miko compared talking with the certain friend of hers to talking to a… block of… ice”, Yanagi read.

“Block of ice? Gee, I wonder who that could be?” Recca snorted, and being totally sarcastic. Domon puts his hand on the upper side of his head and tilts his head a little bit showing that he is thinking. Recca does the same. “Hey, wait, I know who it is. It’s…” “Mikagami!!!” Recca and Domon said together. Recca and Domon laughed hysterically. Yanagi and Kaoru sweatdropped. Tokiya still sat down on his chair, not affected at all by what was happening.

“Excuse me! I just want to remind you that this is a library and it’s no place to be laughing like animals”, the librarian said since they were causing too much noise. Recca and Domon started to turn red as soon as they realized that everyone has been staring at them. They sat down quietly pretending that nothing happened. Everyone went back to what they were doing. “Do animals laugh?” Domon whispered to Recca. “I dunno”, Recca answered.

“Bakas”, Tokiya said, his voice soft not making them hear him.

Yanagi started to read the book again. “Hotohori and the Suzaku no Miko both went back to their rooms to sleep. The next morning they shall go to Mt. Taikyoku”, “Fuuko, don’t worry about me, I’m right here” Yanagi said, hoping Fuuko would hear her. Then, Yanagi kept reading.

Fuuko opened here eyes. She stood up from her bed and looked out the window. It was morning and Fuuko had remembered that she was supposed to go to Mt. Taikyoku to let someone named Taiitsukun send her back to her world. “Fuuko, don’t worry about me, I’m right here”, Fuuko’s eyes widened. I swear, I just heard Yanagi’s voice. She shook her head, thinking it was all on her mind.

“FUUKO!!!” Nuriko said while knocking on Fuuko’s door. “Wake up, Hotohori-sama said were going to Mt. Taikyoku”, Nuriko said.

Fuuko opened the door. “Ok, just give me a few minutes, Nuriko”, Fuuko answered.

“Alright, we’ll wait for you outside”, Nuriko said. Fuuko sighed. She took her school uniform and dressed up. She didn’t have any other clothes. It’s good that Nuriko let her borrow a nightgown. Fuuko didn’t want to borrow any more clothes. Fuuko just felt so uncomfortable wearing somebody else’s clothes and she has no intention of wearing dresses that Nuriko usually wears. The most feminine clothes that she could be wearing are mini skirts that aren’t even very comfortable except for her school uniform. She got used to wearing it and it felt comfortable. She wore her jacket and then went out the door to meet Nuriko, Hotohori and Tamahome.

“Are you ready Fuuko?” Hotohori asked. Fuuko nodded. There were three horses. Tamahome and Hotohori each rode one. Nuriko and Fuuko ride one. The sun had set and it was getting dark. They stopped in the middle of the forest to rest. It was cold. Tamahome had made a fire. Nuriko took out the food that they had brought. They decided to spend the night there. Fuuko was lying there looking at the stars. She couldn’t sleep. She was still worried about Yanagi. She decided to stand up and take a walk for a while. She wasn’t sleepy and maybe if she gets tired from walking, she might feel sleepy. She looked at her Seishis first. She looked at Nuriko. She was the very first person that entertained me when I came here. I can’t believe she’s a Seishi. Now that I think about it, I wonder what kind of skill she has that Suzaku had gave her. No wait, I remember what she did to those guys in that alley. Fuuko remembered how Nuriko had carried a man larger than her and threw it at some other guy that knocked them both down. I forgot to ask her about that. That’s probably it, superhuman strength. Fuuko smiled to herself. That sure suits her well, Fuuko thought sarcastically. She then looked at Hotohori. Such a sweet guy. He seems kinda lonely though. He seems so young and he’s emperor, leader of Konan. And Tamahome, he looks so innocent when he’s sleeping, like, he won’t do anything bad or naughty, but he’s the exact opposite when he’s awake. But although he pisses me off, I guess kinda enjoy his company. I enjoy arguing with him. I know it’s sounds weird but, I enjoy watching his reaction when I argue with him and waiting for his answer and thinking on how to answer him back. We’ve only been together for a day and I like him already. I think we’ll be good friends. Fuuko laughed at her extremely insane thoughts and started to walk. She made sure she knew where she was going. She had a good memory. She knew where she turns and where she goes straight. She looks at the trees, remembering how they look to make sure she won’t be lost. Fuuko was walking straight until she saw a mirror right in front of her. Instead of seeing her reflection, she saw a long table with food on top of it. They looked really good.

“Wow! Food, how convenient. I’m still kinda hungry”, Fuuko said to herself. She reached out her hand to touch the mirror, but pulled it back to herself. “Wait a second. A mirror? In the middle of a forest? This might be some kind of trap. I don’t know, but, I have a bad feeling about this”, Fuuko said. She suddenly sensed something. She felt that someone was watching her. “I know someone’s out there. Why don’t you just show yourself”, she said louder than before. She took out her darts, ready to attack anytime. She felt it leave, but she knew there was still someone there. There were two people watching her. One had already left. The other was still there. Someone suddenly came out from behind a tree. It was a man with red-orange hair. He was wearing a black coat and earrings and also some necklaces. She looked behind her where the mirror was standing, but it was gone. The mirror was gone. I looked back at the man.

“Relax, will ya? I don’t want to have anything to do with those darts”, he said.

“Who are you?” Fuuko asked.

“My name is Genrou and I was just passing by so, you would keep those fuckin’ darts away from me?” he said. Fuuko kept the darts. “So, what’s girl like you doing in the middle of the forest by yourself?” Genrou asked.

“I’m not by myself. I’m with some friends, but they’re sleeping right now and I wanted to go for a walk”, Fuuko answered. “Ya lost?” he asked. “No, I know exactly where they are. I really should be heading back”, she said, turning around to go back. “What’s your name? I told you mine so, it’s only fair you tell me yours”, Genrou said.

“Fuuko”, she answered.

TO BE CONTINUED
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