Author: Deathangelgw

Disclaimer: None of the charas are mine except for the OC. Any claims other wise are…hehehehe erroneous!

Warnings: AU, OC, language, sap, angst, dark, violence, humor, lemon/lime (later), het.

Pairings: in accordance with the show, TamaxMiaka. The rest…hehehe are up to me.

Rating: Ranging from PG-13 to NC-17. Warning will be given if such.

Timeline: Taking place in the middle of the second season during the series and continuing from there. Starts with a flashback and then goes to the episode where they get the first Shinzaho post Nuriko’s death.

Note: this is an AU. So, it’s a rewrite…cuz I LIKED some of those charas and want them ALIVE! *snickers* also, if my chara seems a bit….omnipotent, it’s not on purpose. And if it bothers you then please stop READING!

Feedback: much loved and appreciated.

‘thoughts’

dream sequence

Hotohori looked around the land that he walked in. Pale shadows disguised his surroundings. He looked up and smiled softly as the sun rose, illuminating the land around him. A figure approached him slowly from the point of the rising sun…a figure he longed to see now. He walked towards the figure, reaching his hand out to the person who visited his dreams nightly. A soft trilling floated through the air as their hands met, intertwined, and he pulled her close to him. A soft sigh left her lips as she looked up at him, her green eyes searching his as she smiled. He smiled back, and then bent his head, taking her lips in a sweet kiss. He ran his fingers through her ebony hair, feeling her slender hands trace into his own long brown mane. Pulling back, he looked at her as a soft voice floated around them, binding them together. "Soon…the stars shall reunite your souls. At the time of the rising of Suzaku and Seiryuu….you shall be together and shall help to save both worlds." They held each other tightly, willing for the time to be now, but they parted slowly as the surrounding world disappeared.

Hotohori woke up slowly, and then sighed softly. ‘That woman. Who is she? Will I ever find her?’ he thought to himself sadly as he turned onto his side. He had thought for a long time that the girl within his dreams was to be the Suzaku no Miko…but he was wrong. Miaka…was indeed a sweet person. And he did care deeply for her. But when he had realized that the Suzaku no Miko was not the one from his dream, Hotohori had hidden his initial disappointment, focusing instead on their search for the other Seven. Sighing again, he sat up and stretched, his lean muscular body protesting slightly. He smirked as he slid his legs out from under the covers. ‘Time for another day. Hopefully we shall be successful in our search.’ He thought to himself grimly as he stood up and prepared for the day.

*~~*several weeks later*~~*

‘At last. We have the Shinzaho. Nuriko…I didn’t fail you,’ Miaka thought proudly as she held the bejeweled necklace gently in her hands. She brought them to her chest and smiled in relieved satisfaction. ‘Now we can summon Suzaku,’ she thought in relief and she sighed.

"Ano, I’m sorry to break into your happy thoughts, but you can’t summon Suzaku yet," one of the guardians of the Shinzaho said softly and smirked.

"Nani?!" Miaka and the remaining Celestial Warriors cried in surprise as they looked at the two eternal guardians.

"That’s right. You need the other Shinzaho from those who serve Byakko in Sairou," he confirmed and they all groaned.

"Well, I remember Taiitsukun saying we needed to start with getting the Shinzaho from Hokkan first, you know?" Chichiri commented as he rubbed his head in bemusement and received a glare from Tasuki.

Miaka sighed sadly, and then gasped as the Shinzaho pulled from her hands and floated into the middle of the ice hall. "Nani? What’s going on?" she asked in shock as they watched it. It began to glow brightly, white light filling the room as they shielded their eyes. A column of light shot up as they watched.

*~~**~~*

Keisuke and Tetsuya read the Book of the Universe of the Four Gods, bewildered. "What…what’s going on? Who’s there!?" Keisuke called in shock as they both looked up, hearing a noise from the door.

A girl stood in the doorway, slight fear and curiosity on her face as she watched them. Tetsuya stood up and she stepped back, fear crossing her face as her hand came up to her chest. "Someone…died," she murmured softly and they stared at her in shock. But, before they could ask her what she meant, the book began to glow brightly. They gasped in shock and watched as a beam of light shot out and surrounded the girl. She gasped in fear, and then tried to step back. With a cry, she was taken into the book before their eyes.

They stared at the book in mute shock. "She….vanished! Right into the book! Like your sister did!" Tetsuya cried, and then looked at Keisuke.

Keisuke swallowed hard, then said softly, "Let’s just hope we can help them all, Tetsuya." Tetsuya nodded once and they returned to the book.

*~~**~~*

Miaka and her friends watched in shock as the bright column of light shrank. They saw in surprise as a figure floated down in the light and lay in a bundle on the ground as the light disappeared. They all blinked a bit, adjusting as the light returned to normal, then looked at the huddled form.

"What the hell just happened?!" Tasuki’s obnoxious voice echoed in the hall as they looked at the form. Tamahome tossed him a glare, and then they all turned when a soft moan floated from the figure.

Miaka moved towards the figure, which she could now see was a girl, as the girl leaned up and brushed her ebony hair out of her face. "Are you ok?" Miaka asked softly to the girl and smiled reassuringly as fearful green eyes met her own brown. The girl nodded slightly, still fearful looking then sat up slightly. Miaka helped her sit up and questioned, "What is your name?"

The girl looked at her in confusion then saw the uniform that matched her own. She looked into Miaka’s eyes and answered softly, "My…name is Naria. Tasaki Naria."

Miaka smiled brightly and said, "Nice to meet you, Naria-san! My name is Miaka. Yuki Miaka. And these are my friends." She pointed to each of the Suzaku Shichseishi as she introduced them. They each nodded to the girl Naria in greeting and she nodded shyly back.

Softly then, she murmured, "Someone…died." They all stared at her in utter shock and she flinched, curling up slightly in sudden fear.

"How did you know that?" Tamahome asked softly, a slight hint of danger entering into his voice as he walked slightly closer to her. She whimpered softly in fear as she curled up tighter, watching them with wide eyes.

"I’ll tell you what she is! She’s a Seiryuu spy, that’s what she is!" Tasuki snarled in anger as he brought out his fan. "Time to fry the spy!" he added in glee as he stepped forward. "REKKA SH-"

"Stop Tasuki! Don’t hurt her!" Chichiri cried as he jumped in front of the huddled girl.

Tasuki blinked, and then growled. "What are you talking about, Chichiri?? She’s a SPY! We gotta kill her! How else did she know about Nuriko’s death?" he asked angrily as he gestured at the frightened girl.

Chichiri stayed between the angered redhead, but a soft voice stopped the ranting cold. "Nuriko? That…was his name? He…died…saving you." They all looked at Naria and saw her green eyes filled with sadness as she clutched at her chest and shivered. "He….loved all of you. Willingly…died," she whispered softly, choking on the final words as she looked down and started to cry softly.

Mitsukake moved forward and knelt down next to the shivering girl. The others watched silently as he placed a gentle hand on her arm. "How do you know this, young one?" he asked gently and she looked at him, tears rolling down her face.

"I…he…." She bit her lip and looked down. "I felt him die," she answered softly and a silence fell over the hall. She shivered again and curled up tighter as she added, "I felt his love for you….his hope….and his call to me."

They all watched her, reliving the grief they had felt at their friend’s death. Miaka finally moved forward and wrapped her arms gently around the other girl. Naria stiffened, then relaxed, shivering. Miaka smiled softly. "You’re cold, aren’t you? And lost as to how you got here?" she asked as she held the other girl. Nodding once, Naria shivered more, her trembling becoming uncontrolled.

"We should give her one of our cloaks before she catches cold," Tamahome said softly as he came up by the smaller group.

"Yea right, Tama. And who’s going to give up their…what the hell’s going on now?!" Tasuki cried in shock as a soft glow filled the room. They all watched as a navy blue and gold coat floated down in front of Naria and the glow then faded.

Mitsukake picked up the coat and smiled sadly. Turning to Naria, he wrapped it around her shivering body. "It looks like Nuriko approves of you, Naria-san," he murmured softly with a gentle smile and she smiled slightly back at him, snuggling into the coat.

"Well, we best get going for Sairou," Tamahome commented with a grin as they all got over the shock.

The two warriors of Genbu smiled softly and nodded. "Go safely, Suzaku Shichseishi. Retrieve the other Shinzaho and summon Suzaku," the white-haired warrior said with a gentle smile. They then turned to Naria and bowed deeply at the waist to her. She as well as the other living seishi blinked in surprise. Naria smiled slightly and nodded politely then edged closer to Miaka. Miaka smiled soothingly at her and turned, leading the way out after waving in farewell to the two Genbu guardians.

Once they got outside of the cave, they stopped in surprise as a wolf stood before them. It growled menacingly at them, its one eye cold and feral looking. Miaka stared at the wolf, then gasped as it leaped forward and snagged the Shinzaho from her hold, jumping back to stare at them in challenge. "Give that back!" Miaka cried out as it took off for the woods then began to pursue the wolf. ‘One of the Seiryuu Shichseishi…I just know it is!’ she thought to herself, not hearing Tamahome’s cries for her as she ran after the wolf.

Naria watched Miaka, and then Tamahome and Tasuki go off after the wolf in confusion and fear. ‘Now….I’m all alone with these guys. And I don’t think they like me very much,’ she thought to herself in worry as she glanced at Mitsukake and Chiriko. She shrank a bit more into her coat, and then looked over her shoulder as a hand placed itself gently on her shoulder. She looked into the smiling face of Chichiri and found herself smiling back slightly.

"You don’t have to fear us, no da," Chichiri said kindly, smiling. Her smile warmed somewhat and he nodded. Looking up, Chichiri smirked as Tasuki returned and the redhead began to rail at Tamahome as the other seishi returned.

"What do you mean, she’s going to meet us at Sairou? You let her go alone?? You’re a fucking moron!" Tasuki shouted at Tamahome, earning a growl from the other man.

"Well, since Miaka-san said we should go ahead, we probably should," Mitsukake commented soothingly. Tasuki growled, but didn’t argue anymore. Tamahome stayed silent as well, his worry for Miaka showing slightly.

"Well, let’s get our horses and head out," Chiriko said cheerfully then looked at Naria.

Naria looked down at the young boy, her hand clenched in the cloth at her neck. Chichiri’s hand squeezed her shoulder again in reassurance and said, "You can ride with me, Naria-san." She smiled at him and nodded her thanks, then followed them to their horses.

They took the two spare horses as well, selling them in town before heading for the west. They rode for a while, noticing the change in their surroundings as the mountains disappeared slowly and were replaced by plateaus and desert. "Well now. This is a nice change of scenery," Tasuki muttered as he looked around.

Chichiri looked over at his friend and said, "We’ll be coming up on the desert soon, no da."

Naria smiled as they bantered a bit. ‘They are so nice. Now I know why Miaka-san felt safe with them,’ she thought to herself and relaxed a bit against Chichiri. His arm tightened reassuringly around her waist and she smiled again. But then she frowned. ‘Miaka….there is something wrong. Why do I have this feeling that you are in danger,’ she wondered, her hand coming up to clench into the cloth of her uniform.

Chichiri looked at Tamahome, who was staring pensively into the distance. "Ne, Tamahome-san. Are you sure Miaka is going to join us at Sairou?" he asked and Tamahome frowned.

"That’s what Taiitsukun said, Chichiri," Tamahome replied and frowned even more. ‘Then why do I get the feeling that Miaka is in danger,’ he thought to himself.

"Tamahome-kun?" Naria’s soft voice brought him back to reality and he looked over at her. She bit her lip, and then said, "I…think Miaka is in trouble. You better…" she trailed off as they all stared at her. She hid her face behind her bangs by ducking her head and sighed. ‘Now they think I’m even more of a freak than they already did,’ she thought to herself miserably. But then she heard a horse’s whinny and looked up to see Tamahome rearing up and galloping away.

"Tamahome! Wait where are you going!?" Chichiri called out as he galloped off.

"You guys go ahead. I’m getting Miaka," Tamahome called back.

Naria looked down again and fiddled with her uniform, but then blinked when Chichiri’s arm tightened around her waist reassuringly again. She looked up and into his smiling face. "Don’t worry, Naria-san. Tamahome will get to Miaka in time I’m sure, no da," he said and she smiled slightly back at him.

"Well, then we better get going," Mitsukake suggested with a small grin and Chiriko smiled.

Tasuki sighed loudly and grumbled. "That stupid asshole…the hell does he think…why does she always get into so much trouble?" he cursed and Naria hid a small giggle behind her hand. She felt Chichiri snicker as well, and then sighed softly as they started out again.

TBC

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