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Broken Willow Part 1
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Hotohori sighed with regret as he sat upon the throne of Konan for what seemed
like the millionth time. His courtiers kowtowed and murmured the appropriate
words, every now and then bringing something to his attention, but his heart
simply wasn't in listening to any of them. Since Miaka had returned to her own
world to recover from her injuries, there seemed to be little point in any of
his activities. The Suzaku no miko had appeared, the girl he had been waiting
for his entire life, and just as quickly, she had fled, like an illusion or a
dream that was dancing just beyond his grasp.

Every now and then he would glance around the court, wondering why the place
seemed so empty. True, Tamahome had left earlier that week to return to his
mercenary life, but even before that, the court seemed devoid of a certain
presence. It couldn't be because Nuriko had never returned, could it?

Nuriko- now there was a puzzle that Hotohori had yet to be able to come to terms
with. It was impossible to believe that Nuriko was really a man, no matter what
Miaka had told them after they had defeated the mirror's image. Still, it made
so many of the pieces that had confused him fall into place. There had always
been an undeniable quality about Lady Kourin that made other people feel a touch
off-balance, as though something wasn't right.

The court seemed empty without the pretty lavender-haired princess. The trouble
had started almost as soon as Nuriko had vanished. The monster that had taken
Miaka's form had attacked, and it was only through Miaka's heroic efforts that
Tamahome and he had survived. Miaka had taken a shard of glass and run it into
her own chest, something that had wounded her almost to the point of death. She
would have died, if Taiitsukun hadn't shown mercy on them.

The trio had found themselves in the domain of the creator of the world, and she
had sent her servants, the Nyan Nyans, to heal them. Her hideous features had
been unreadable, but Hotohori thought he saw worry in her ancient eyes. Together
he and Tamahome had offered their blood to Miaka to make her well enough to make
the trip home, and the miko had left, promising to return.

The two Seishi had remained at the Mountain at Taiitsukun's request. "Can you
tell me what's wrong?" Hotohori finally found the nerve to ask.

Taiitsukun gave them a dead glance. "I cannot. What I will say is this;
something happened that was not suppose to transpire. Even I do not know what
will pass now."

He exchanged concerned glances with Tamahome. "Will Miaka return?" he asked.

"She will. But she may not like what she finds when she does so- she's managed
to lose one Seishi, through no fault of her own. I did not foresee how fragile
the Willow was, and you have my sincere apologies. Without Nuriko, things may
become even more difficult, and there is Kotou to consider."

"Kotou?" Tamahome asked.

Hotohori closed his eyes, trying to remain calm. "Not many people know, but
Kotou has been threatening to conquer us- and without the Suzaku no Miko, they
just might."

The two were concerned, but there was nothing they could do. With the aid of
Taiitsukun's magic, they were returned to the Imperial Palace.

Tamahome's mind seemed to go by the wayside- Hotohori had been forced to assign
servants to make sure his brother Seishi didn't accidentally kill himself.
Tamahome really loved Miaka; without her, most of him seemed to be missing.

For a while, Hotohori had clung to the belief that Nuriko would return to the
Palace, embarrassed, but ready to perform his duty as a protector of the miko.
As the weeks went by, his hope had gradually died. It seemed as though Nuriko
wasn't coming back- which was a very bad thing. With Kotou encroaching on
Konan's borders, all the Seishi would be needed. And Hotohori had no doubt in
his mind that if Nuriko didn't want to be found, she -he- wouldn't be.

A week ago, Tamahome had announced his intention to return to work. Hotohori had
tried to dissuade him, but the warrior had remained firm. He needed to earn
money, and he wanted to visit his family as well. He'd been idle for far too
long, he had argued, and his skills would atrophy if he didn't use them.

So it was with a heavy heart that Hotohori lost his last brother seishi. If
Miaka returned, she would have to go after him as well, using time they could
ill-afford to spend.

He listened to his advisors with half and ear, mulling over seemingly
insurmountable problems. "You should start the search for the seishi yourself,
heika-sama," said the one who was nearest him.

He shook his head, knowing that he would be unable to find them- that was the
Suzaku no Miko's responsibility. He opened his mouth to tell them exactly that,
when it came. A blinding red light flared, a light that filled Hotohori with a
sense of warmth and homecoming. His eyes tried to find where it was coming from,
but before he located the source, he felt something hit him hard on his head,
and then his lap was full of 108 pounds of teenage female. Flushing slightly, he
looked down into the embarrassed eyes of Miaka, the girl he had been dreaming of
for the last three months.

"Ohayo!" she said, her voice full of chagrin. "Sorry about that."

At that moment, he would have let her cut his hands off if that had been what
she said she wanted. He eagerly hugged her, smiling. She smiled back and clung
to his neck as he tried to stand. His advisors, normally so sedate he wasn't
sure if they were actually alive, actually cheered. He smiled and dismissed
then, sure that they would spread the word of Miaka's return to his worried
subjects.

Getting the urgency of the situation through Miaka's admittedly limited mind had
taken a few minutes, but after he had made his point, she was eager to help- she
had such a good heart. Hotohori was always bowled over by her warmth, and wished
that he could claim her sweetness for himself. Still, the hardest duty was yet
to come.

"Miaka," he said carefully, while keeping a close eye on her features. "To
summon Suzaku, we need the shichiseishi- and I have some bad news about that.
Tamahome returned to work about a week ago, but that's easily remedied.
Unfortunately, Nuriko had yet to return- and I doubt she- I mean, he- will."

"Is he ok, do you think?" she asked. "Do you think some kind of monster got him
in the forest or something?" she worried, playing with a strand of her hair.

So sweet, he thought affectionately. "No. I'm sure he's quite all right- he IS
seishi, after all. No, the problem is that if he doesn't want to be found, he
won't be."

She bit her lip, looking worried. "I have to have all seven seishi in the same
place, right? And they all have to participate willingly?" she asked.

Hotohori nodded, letting her work her way through the problem.

"Houston, we have a problem," she said, trying to joke her way around this
situation, but failing miserably. Hotohori looked at her, unable to understand
her reference. "We're going to have to convince him to come back, won't we? I'm
sure once he sees how much he's needed, he'll come back. He has a good heart,
and he's Seishi."

Hotohori's instincts disagreed with Miaka- Nuriko was a whimsical creature with
a volatile temperament, and was likely to be upset. He'd obviously had some
reason for cross-dressing, but with his disguise blown, there was no way for him
to continue as he had. Miaka, in her innocence, wasn't able to understand the
more bitter realities of the world- the fact that things might not work out to a
"Happily Ever After" never occurred to her.

Miaka's smile was bright as she focused her brilliant green eyes on of his face.
"So what has Tamahome been up to?" she asked, her words cutting him to the bone.

***************

Nuriko had spent the last three months wandering around Konan by himself, which
admittedly hadn't been good for his mental health. Day by day he slipped further
into his insanity, unable to think of anything aside from HURTING Miaka. It was
all her fault... everything was her fault. Part of his mind was horrified at the
course he was taking, but the part that currently dominated his thinking was
becoming more and more irrational... soon he would probably convince himself
that Miaka had somehow caused his sister's death in the first place.

The first thing he had done after leaving the forest was steal some men's
clothing, shredding the traveling dress he had been wearing with his bare hands.
He had then proceeded to a nearby farmstead where he had offered himself for any
work they had.

The farmer had been skeptical about how much work the slight man could do, but
his charity in hiring the man for some fieldwork had quickly been repaid
tenfold. Nuriko had worked hard and done the harvest in half the time, using his
strength to help with the bales of hay. The farmer hadn't had much money, but
what he had given to the young man had seen Nuriko to the next town, where he
had purchased some basic necessities- including a comb. He hadn't been able to
bring himself to cut his hair yet, and realized he probably never would.

No matter how much Nuriko was trying to change himself, the past eight years of
his life had left their mark. He still found it hard not to use "atashi", and
his years of being a pampered princess had given him certain habits that were
hard to shake. For one thing, he was an incurable neat freak about his
appearance. He simply hated being dirty, and he hated having dry skin. His skin,
which had been carefully maintained when he had lived at the palace, was
darkening from its pale white, and he blamed it on HER. Kourin NEVER would have
let herself look like the rag-bag he was becoming. Day by day the separation
between who he had been and who he was becoming grew, as did his hatred for the
Suzaku no miko.

Insanity manifests itself in interesting ways at times. Most of the time
insanity isn't noticeable at first- an irrational thought here, an ill-planned
action there. And most people who were going insane didn't realize that they
were. The few unfortunate souls who did recognize their slide into madness were
often helpless and infuriated at their inability to do anything about it.

Nuriko's case, however, was different. He recognized that he was undergoing a
radical change in thinking, but assumed that most of it was due to the fact that
he no longer considered himself female. His thinking patterns, rather then
become abstract, became even more focused then they had ever been before. He was
obsessed, knew it, and made no excuses. At one point in his life he would have
been scared of going crazy, but he was long past the point of no return.

He worked his way across Konan, plotting and scheming. He had no illusions about
his abilities; he was undoubtedly the strongest man in the world, and could
probably take either Hotohori or Tamahome on, providing he was able to attack
from a distance. If they got within arms' reach of him, though, he didn't have a
chance. After the passing of the months, some more of the Seishi had probably
surfaced, and he had no idea what their powers were likely to be. He wasn't
foolish enough to battle the other six, so he decided on subtlety. If he was
lucky, he could catch Miaka when she was separated from her Seishi, particularly
Tamahome and Hotohori.

The thought of the beautiful Emperor was enough to send his already confused
thoughts reeling. He had lost Kourin, and his chance at winning Hotohori's love.
Thanks to her.

Tramping across the country, he had finally wound up at the foot of a mountain
pass, not really sure how he had arrived there. One place was the same to him as
another, so he continued to trot along, hoping that the next town would give him
some ideas on ways to get back at the miko. Lost in his thoughts, he was
startled when a group of men leapt out of trees to surround him.

Nuriko looked at the ragged band of men who had intercepted him. Bandits,
obviously, but ones who had fallen on hard times. "Konban wa," he said formally,
bowing mockingly at the waist. "To whom do I owe this honor?" he asked as his
mind worked furiously. These bandits might have their use.

"Eiken rules the Mount Reikoku bandits now," said the lead bandit, one who had a
scar on his face. "So just be good and hand over any money you may have, and
we'll get along just fine. If you actually want to go somewhere, you'll have to
persuade Eiken. If I were you, lady, I'd just give the money and run."

Yet again someone had mistaken his gender, and this time, he wasn't going to let
that misconception stand. "I'm no woman," he said, they he looked around the
group. Ten bandits- he could take them easily, since none of them were seishi.
If they got within his reach, they were toast.

Some of the bandits gave him hard looks, but the lead bandit just accepted it.
"Whatever. I'm sure there are some guys around here who'd like a bishounen," he
said bluntly.

"Really," Nuriko practically purred. "I would love to see them try."

The bandits knew a quarrelsome person when they heard one, and even though it
was only a slight boy, they drew their daggers and swords, ready for a fight.
The lead bandit nodded and two of his men stepped forward. "Give it up," he
said.

"How about you take me to this Eiken and I'll ask him to give it up instead?"
Nuriko asked impatiently. The front two bandits rushed him and he grabbed the
first by the arm, snapping it with one hand the way most people would snap a dry
twig. The man howled in pain and the rest of the bandits pulled up short.

"Now how about taking me to see your leader?" he asked in a sweet voice,
ignoring the sobbing man at his feet.

"H-hai," the lead bandit stuttered.

Nuriko looked down at the man, who was cradling his broken arm. "Sorry about
that, but sometimes it's the best way to make a point," he said, sounding
sincere. The man's eyes were fastened on Nuriko's pale features, looking
hypnotized. Nuriko bent down and knelt beside him. "It wasn't that clean a
break, so it should be set as soon as possible." He took the arm in his hand,
and with a quick, efficient movement, set the arm with ease. The man screamed
and fainted. Nuriko looked around quickly at the men, who were staring at him
with various looks of horror on their faces. For some reason the fixing of the
arm had disconcerted them even more then the original breaking had. "At least he
didn't bite off his tongue," Nuriko said pleasantly.

The bandits were frightened enough to take the slender youth up into their hide
out. Many of them disliked Eiken, but at least he was a known evil. The braided
man was something outside of their realm of experiences, and they didn't like
it.

Nuriko's eyes followed the men carefully, making sure they weren't misleading
him. Luckily for them, something had warned them that this man wasn't worth
messing with.

One of them opened the door and called out. "Eiken! We have a guest!"

Nuriko smiled to himself. If he had his way, he wouldn't be just a guest for
long.

***********

Miaka was, as usual, in a tight situation. This time, though, it didn't look
like anyone would be able to rescue her in time.

Things had gone to hell in a hand basket. Yui had been found, but it turned out
that she was the Seiryuu no Miko, and bore a grudge the size of China. Yui had
managed to take Tamahome, and now Miaka had managed to get captured by a bunch
of rough-and-tumble (and not very nice) bandits. One of the bandits had dragged
her into a small room, saying that their leader wanted to look her over. This
made her nervous, to say the least.

The door swung inwards, and a slender silhouette entered the room. Miaka
squinted. The figure was back-lit, so it was hard to make out features.

"Who's there?" she called out fearfully.

"It's me, Miaka- don't you remember?" a voice came softly. Stepping into the
light, a pair of soft lavender eyes regarded her. Nuriko looked at the Suzaku no
Miko that knelt before him. "Daijoubu?" he asked gently.

Ignoring her scraped elbows, Miaka nodded, flinging herself into the petite
man's arms. "Nuriko!" she called gladly. "I'm so glad you're alright! Where have
you BEEN?!"

Nuriko, though, was having none of that. He smiled grimly and wrapped his hand
through her long brown hair, yanking her head back cruelly by the roots. Her
eyes started to water with tears as he brought his face down so it was less then
an inch from her own. "Konnichi wa, Miaka-chan," he purred, and it seemed as
though the red flecks in his eyes were burning with barely suppressed insanity.
"I wish I could say it's a pleasure, but it isn't... at least for you. I've been
waiting quite a while for you to do something stupid enough to separate you from
the rest of your Seishi. And right now, I have you and Hotohori exactly where I
want you... in my power."

Miaka was unable to believe that this was happening. Nuriko was one of the
Seishi, sworn to protect the miko! It simply wasn't possible for him to betray
her... wasn't it? "But... but you're one of the Seishi..." she whispered.
"You're suppose to be one of the good guys."

Nuriko's grip tightened on her hair, and she whimpered. "I was," he hissed
dangerously. "But then I was betrayed. You took the things I loved most and
destroyed them like a careless child in a glass shop."

"But I never..." she began, but was cut off by as he began to lift her by her
hair. It was so easy to forget how strong he was by looking at his slender
build.

"Don't make yourself even more of a liar!" he said, then threw her back
suddenly. She went flying into the nearest wall rather forcefully, and yelped in
pain as she hit it, but was thankful Nuriko had restrained himself that much,
knowing that he could have thrown her through that very wall with little effort.

"What- what are you going to do?" she asked fearfully.

He smiled coyly, tilting his head in a fashion that made her think of a cat.
"Do? That's a very good question, Mi-a-ka-sa-ma," he drawled, dragging her name
out mockingly. "Actually, I have had a rather entertaining idea..." he knelt
down beside her so that their faces were no more then three inches apart. "Did
you know that the Suzaku no Miko has to be a virgin to summon the God?" he said.

Her eyes widened in horror. He surely couldn't mean....

He noted the panic-stricken green eyes and reached out and brushed her cheek
gently. "Unfortunately, my tastes don't run your way, but I have had a few of
the guys express an interest in you, and since they were SO helpful in
apprehending you and my lovely heika-sama, I've decided to let them have their
time with you." His grin was the epitome of vengeance. "I will take away what
you value most, just as you did to me- you will no longer be the Suzaku no miko,
and I doubt Tamahome will want a soiled girl."

"You CAN'T!" she protested. "Onegai, Nuriko!"

"I can and I will," he answered, pushing himself to his feet, and then he
grabbed her. Walking over to the door, he opened it and called out, "Eiken! I
have a little present for you!"

**************

Genrou was not a happy camper. This was a bad thing.

After tramping around Konan for about a year, he had finally made his way home-
to the Mount Reikaku. To his horror, he learned that the former leader had died
in his absence, which was cause enough for sorrow. But what was worse was that
some new guy had come in and taken over.

He looked at Kouji, who had slipped away from the rest of the their fellows. "So
tell me about this new guy," he said. "How did he ever manage to become leader?"

Kouji's eyes were haunted. "I wish I knew. He just walked right in and put Eiken
aside, which wouldn't have been such a bad thing if he wasn't absolutely
insane."

"Who? Eiken?" Genrou asked.

"No, Nuriko's the one who's a few cards short of a deck. He's very angry about
something, but I haven't figured out what it is yet."

Genrou flinched at that name. "Did you say Nuriko? That's the name of one of the
shichiseishi.... I wonder what a Seishi is doing out here," he mused, more
thoughtful then usual.

"You tell me," Kouji replied ironically. "None of the others caught the name's
meaning aside from me, but that may be because of certain- acquaintances I have
made, if you get what I mean."

Genrou scowled at him. "I hope you haven't mentioned it to anyone- remember, I'm
GENROU, got it?" he said.

"Yeah, yeah," Kouji said. "Right now he's up to no good- he just captured two
women and he's going to let Eiken's bunch have their fun with them."

Genrou sprang to his feet. "We do NOT take prisoners! There's enough whores in
nearby villages who are perfectly willing to sell their favors. I will NOT
sanction rape!" he howled. His eyes were furious as he raced away, and Kouji's
eyes lost track of his friend within seconds.

"I'd hate to be Nuriko right about now," Kouji mused to himself aloud. He went
after Genrou, well aware that he would miss all the action- after all, as
Tasuki, Genrou's power was speed.