Chapter One: & Prologue

"This is the story of the Miko of the Four Gods, who gathered the deities and
stopped the destruction of the world of the four countries by finding a new
creator. The story is itself an incantation that will bring the power to cross the barriers that separate reality from imagination. The story will continue and become the truth as soon as the page is turned."

Note:
1. WHAT'S THIS STORY ABOUT!?
This is my first FY fanfic, and I envision it as a continuation of the story
and characters (some), rather than a parody. It centers on
Tasuki and some new characters I'm creating, as well as other
familiar ones, reincarnated. I'm trying to make it romantic, and hopefully
funny, and adventurous at times. Let me know what you think.

Here's a brief synopsis to help you decide if you
want to read this or not: The book mysteriously reappears, the
passage above now luring people into the world of the Four Gods
Earth and Sky. Yet this time, the Four Gods are not summoning
individual Mikos, indeed, something else is going on...something which may
alter the world of the Four Gods, and the real one, forever!

2. SPOILERS:
I'm afraid there may be a lot, since I've seen all the tv anime
and read the manga summaries to the end. But I hope if you're
reading fanfics you've given up on keeping yourself spoiler free, and
admit its just hard to watch all of a given series that is not
commercially available (yet).

4. Warnings and Rating: Pg-13 I guess, I have Tasuki swearing a lot.
Sometimes I'll use #($* for, but some words like h*ll, D*mn, sh*t, I'll
type out. (Basically stuff people would subtitle) that might make
it R, but I'm not sure. Censor yourself if that's stuff you
don't like to read....its not *too* much though.

I'm trying to use Japanese style name-affixes, but I'm putting
given names first, and family names last (ie Yui Hongo not Hongo Yui)
I've seen multiple spellings for some names, so I'm going with what
I thought were correct, based on some pretty complete looking
web pages.

Comments welcomed and encouraged at alinasan@yahoo.com
***************************************************************************
PROLOGUE
Tasuki blinked his eyes, pushing the daze of alcohol away at the sound of
the scream. Terror and fright mixed with rage in that oddly familiar
siren's yell. A woman's voice, one he recognized. Miaka? He wondered
for half a second before instinct kicked in and kicked out the
fuzziness he'd happily been pounding into his brain.

He ran forward into the trees outside the village, ignoring the blinding
pulse of rain streaming down. In the shadows and light of thunder he
could make out the figure of a girl standing, poised to strike as
three men circled her. Again, Tasuki thought of Miaka.
He could hear their taunting voices. She
jumped and took out one, swirled with a back roundhouse kick to
just miss the other. He grabbed her arms by the elbows, her feet
flying up helplessly. The third man laughed, while the second began
to get up.

"LET ME GO!" The girl screamed, kicking the man's knees.

"Oh, no...not now!" The man she'd hit swore stepping closer. "You're going to pay for this..." He laughed as he placed one hand under chin, lifting
it. She pulled in her legs, half twisting,
and kicked him so he doubled up.

"Lot of fight in you..." The man holding her said grabbing her waist and putting a dagger to her throat. "But that's where it ends. Now, you're
going to let all three of us enjoy that energy, and you'll be nice."

The second man stumbled up, and grabbed her legs so she couldn't kick. "You weren't very nice before...so we won't be either." He nodded at the third, and
began to pull her legs apart.

The man smiled dangerously and began to loosen the pants he wore.

Tasuki had seen enough. He'd already had one fight that evening, as
yet another weird guy had tried to kill him. What was dispensing with
some more? Pulling the fan he wore on his back out, he
called out "Lekka SHINEN" and the blaze of fire swept through the rain
and wrapped around the third man. He fell, smoking to the ground.

"HEY!" The other two shouted, dropping the girl with a thud as
they turned to Tasuki. "Now you're going to get it!" The biggest one
complained.

The thin one in the middle held up a hand, "Wait, I recognize those beads...you're one of us aren't you?" He pointed to a necklace he wore
around his own neck. "You're a bandit of Mt. Reika, too..."

Tasuki frowned. He didn't recognize these men, but then he'd been
away for over 5 years. He'd expected some changes. Obviously,
they didn't recognize him, and
bandits don't trust unless they have to trust. The fact that he
belonged to their bandit clan wouldn't stop them from attacking,
if they felt they could get away with it. Everyone was loyal to
the leader, but not to each other. Only the leader was the hub in the middle
of disjointed spokes fighting for power.
And Tasuki, because he'd chosen to be a Seishi was not leader.

He narrowed his eyes. "What if I am?" His grin was dangerous and
cocky.

The thin man smiled just as confidently. "Then it'll make this more fun.
Your beads are mine!" He laughed, stroking the three sets he wore showing
his past victories.

The big man rushed forward, and Tasuki dodged, bringing the man down
with a blow of the heavy iron fan. "F$*! you , I don't think so!"
Tasuki swore. His fist slammed into the man's chest, as that man's
knee knocked into his leg. They fell to the ground scrambling. Tasuki
couldn't grab his fan in this wild frenzy of blows, but he still felt
he had the edge. He rolled, springing back and dodging the foot of the
man attacking him. The second guy was back up, and he saw a sword
flash at him. Now he was fighting three of them, he realized, swinging
up into a tree before jumping down to take one out.

He smiled with his eyes narrowing. Three against one? Fair enough odds he decided, as he felt the mark on his arm burn with energy. A scream
of furry accompanied his chant bringing the flame out and scorching
the big guy's face. He fell, twitching to the ground. The one he'd
burned before backed up, and then fell as the girl slammed a huge
log into his head. "TAKE THAT." She yelled.

This left the thin one with the beads. His face paled, but he darted
forward anyway straight at Tasuki, a dagger in his hand. The blade
barely scratched Tasuki's arm, as Tasuki used the fan to bludgeon
the man into a tree. Unconscious, the guy slunk down. Tasuki
grabbed the string of beads, tugging so hard it broke. The bright colored
glass flew into the forrest.

A soft gasp behind him alerted him to the presence of the girl. He
turned around, peering at her through the rain. Despite the dim
light, he knew one thing. She was not Miaka at all, nor did she
even look like her really. Slightly wavy, purple-tinged hair fell
in short curls around her head, the rest of it hanging down her back
in a slightly messy braid. Wide, large dark-violet eyes blinked at him with
fear and gratitude.

"Are you ok?" He asked awkwardly, not sure what to say.

She nodded, and smiled weakly. "That was awesome! You really
took them out--" She extended a hand to him, for what purpose he didn't
know.

He turned and started heading for the thieve's hideout. What was
Koji doing with such low-quality thieves that they'd attack
a young girl like that? He swore briefly and colorfully as
he trudged up the path. He turned left and right, following
the hidden trail up to the hideout. He'd travelled for maybe
ten minutes, hurling up the mountain, when suddenly he realized
he wasn't alone. He stopped short, and a branch snapped behind him.

He turned, grabbing his follower.
"YOU!? ARE YOU g'damn Idiot? Don't sneak up on me." He said releasing her.

The girl blinked her eyes, expelling her breath, obviously taken
aback. "I...just wanted to thank you, and you just walked off"
She looked up at him. At least, where
he was. He was still walking. "So I followed you."She panted chasing again.

He swore, and said "You thanked me, so leave me alone now."
without even looking at her.

"But I can't, I'm completely lost now!" She turned over her
shoulder, looking into the dense woods. Everything seemed
lost from view, blocked by the dark embrace of the trees surrounding
them.

Tasuki turned, and cut her off with a brusque curse. "I'm not a
f'##ing tour guide. The village is that way." He pointed behind
her. "Just walk straight. You'll get there."

"BUT...But..what if I run into another bandit!" She pleaded. "I'm
safe with you, please, take me there." She looked up at him as if he
were a hero, which he supposed wasn't odd since he'd just saved her.

Again, he felt the same sense of familiarity. The light flashed again, enough
that he could tell that her clothing seemed odd. Short skirt,
jacket, and a shirt underneath. That's probably why
he thought she looked like Miaka. Maybe dressing
like the Miko was a new trend, or something. He scowled at her.
"You already have, idiot, *I'm* a bandit....and you're not
safe with me."

"You mean, you are one of them!?" She asked in surprise.
"But you saved me!"

He laughed at her horrified expression. "Shimatta..
You're making me regret it. But I didn't do it for you. They challenged me."

She levelled her gaze, disappointment crumbling the pedestal she'd obviously
placed him on. "Oh...sorry to bother you. Thanks again. I'll be off then. ."
She turned around, and walked maybe two steps before she started sliding
into a net.

Tasuki laughed at the sight of her astonished face, as she bobbed
upside down, skirt folding up, legs twisted in her braid.
"You went the wrong way!" He chuckled.

"Help!" She pleaded. "I'm upside down! I'm dizzy..."

He took out a knife, and cut the string holding her and she slammed
into the ground.

"OUCH." She yelled, standing up, rubbing herself where'd she's hit the
ground. "What was that!!?" She curled up, almost like a kitten licking
its wounds.

Tasuki raised an eyebrow at her expression, and cocked his head. "A trap
for travellers...Mt.Reikaku bandits like to protect themselves from
unwanted guests."

"Oh...well, thank you again." She said bowing as gracefully as she could
and then she bowed and turned, and fell flat on her face.

CHAPTER ONE:

"Yuiren?" A voice whispered in her ear, as her head lifted from the dusty
text book she'd been reading. She knew that voice, in fact, it probably
had been in her dream. Was it real? Was he here? She swivelled her face,
suddenly bumping her nose against Kyosuke's jaw.

"OUCH." He swore as he leaned away. "Do you have to be so clumsy!?"

She flushed. "Sorry, I was startled!"

He grinned that smile that had recently started making her heart flutter like a field of butterflies. "Yeah, guess you were asleep. Head in the book and everything. ut hey, what are you doing here?" He gestured around the University library's dark halls.

"I had to do some research, and the books at school were not enough." She said. "And I thought you might be here...I haven't seen you lately...at
the dojo I mean. My brothers and I miss you, Kyosuke-kun"

He nodded, and slid casually into the chair next to her. "Yeah, my dad
forbid me to do any more training, til I can get my grades somewhere
even near yours! You always were too smart...but I don't need
to be. " He grinned again winking. "Besides, I'm going to open a martial arts school like your Dad, so all this school stuff..." He made a gesture with his
hand indicating how little it mattered.

She looked upset. "Your father must be very annoyed..."

Kyosuke made a face. "I don't want to talk about it....So, little kitten,
do you have a boyfriend yet?!" He pulled the book away from her. "But I guess you're too young for that."

"You're only two years older than me!" She protested, grabbing
for her book back. "Besides, I'm almost eighteen...if anything I'm
a rarity for not having one!"

He smiled. "Oh, so why don't you?! You're such a cute little thing!"

She felt as if her world stopped. "I...no, I've been so busy with
my jobs, and school, and..."

"And your brother's have probably frightened any of the guys who have
tried, right?" Kyosuke grinned. "Well, if they're not around, remember
you can rely on me to stand in for--" Suddenly his
expression changed, as his
eyes locked on something farther away. "Oh my god it's her...." Suddenly a
sneaky smile lit his face. "Maybe it's fate you came here today, Yui-chan,
I think you may do me a big favor."

She blinked. "Of course, Kyosuke-kun, anything for you." She said without
thinking then blushed. "That is, I'll be happy to help." Idiot, she thought
to herself.

Kyosuke leaned down and kissed her. It was a fleeting kiss, more on
the corner of her mouth than anything else, but she felt her face
go crimson. She'd never been kissed before. "Great. You're a pal."

"pal? But what did you want me to do!" She asked barely able to form
the words above her racing pulse. Kyosuke had kissed her! She couldn't
think straight.

He smiled down at her, but his eyes were focussed somewhere just above her
head. "Nothing...nothing, just sit there--one, two, three, Oh, hi Megumi san..."

"Don't you 'Hi Megumi-san' me, you...you...!" The woman spat unable to find a word disgusting enough to fit him.

Yuiren slowly looked over her shoulder at the woman who seemed about to
breathe fire.

"Oh, you sound jealous, Megumi-san...which, since you said you wouldn't
date me is rather odd" He said casually, as he waived. He scooted
off the table, waived over his shoulder, and said "Back to the books."
He walked away turning a corner in the building from the main open study
area.

"Kajiwara-kun!" She said her lips pouting. She rounded on Yuiren who tried to sink into her book. "All right, who are you and what is your relationship with him!"

A few people turned and asked for her to be quiet. A few others
encouraged them to go on, with snickers.

"Kyosuke and I? That is, we don't-" Yuiren protested blushing.

Megumi flushed, but her hand gripped Yuiren's shoulders and with frantic
strength she hauled her out of the chair. "You and
I are going to discuss this! Kyosuke Kajiwara is not making a fool
out of me!"

Yuiren tried to grab the chair, but instead snagged her backpack insted,
and Megumi dragged her to the end of the corridor. She took a look
around, swore, and then continued upstairs. "Got to be somewhere private!
I don't want all those gossips listening!"

She started trying random doors. Finally one opened, and they stumbled
into a dark, dusty room. Megumi flipped the light switch, and then
began her interrogation, as Yuiren backed up against the rear of the room
behind a freestanding bookshelf.

"Now that we're alone, you'd better explain why Kajiwara-kun was kissing
you!" Megumi announced.

Yuiren studied the proud beauty in front of her. Tall, with glossy brown
hair and large eyes framed by long dark lashes and the kind of figure Yuiren
thought only possible by surgery or imagination. "Why?" She asked,
bumping into a table in the middle of the room. She braced her
palms against it. Her eyes widened as she saw Kyosuke slip into
the room, and hold a finger to his lips.

Megumi pounded one fist into the other. "He's been pursuing me hard all year,
you know. So don't think he's seriously interested in
you. He couldn't be!" She snapped her fingers. "Its impossible.
How could he turn from me to you!?. "

Yuiren felt a surge of anger well up inside her. "You don't own him..and
I love him!" She blushed, hoping he couldn't see her face. She
hadn't meant to say that. "and I won't let you take Kyosuke-kun! He's the best man in the world, and if you hurt him...I'll never forgive you!"
Had she just said she loved him? What did she mean by that? But she
hoped the speech she'd lifted from her favorite classic anime would
suffice to cover that slip up.

Megumi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Do you seriously have some
relationship with him?"

Yuiren blushed. "We're very close." She said truthfully. Of course, they'd
grown up together, and until he'd hit junior high, they'd played and
trained together in the martial arts school of her father. They'd been
for awhile, inseparable friends...all of them, her four older brothers, her
and Kyosuke to whom she'd been the closest in age. "We're betrothed." She added. Of course that wasn't serious, but their parents *had* pushed for it. If it weren't the modern world, they would have been. She sighed. "And
we love each other." They'd always been friends, but love? She'd
been waiting to see him, but?! Her heart thundered in her chest.

Megumi laughed, but somewhat bitterly. "You're just a school kid. If he was
so in love with you, why was he after me?"

"I'm 17!" She protested. "And he just finally noticed I've grown up,
that's all.." And I finally realized why I feel so excited when I see him,
she thought, thinking the word, love.

Megumi stamped a foot in irritation. "We'll see about this. I
won't lose him to you. I'm going to tell him how I feel, and we'll
see if he still wants you!" She laughed, which objectively Yuiren thought
a disgusting sound. "So try your best to keep him."

Yuiren took a step forward. "I don't have to try!" She sounded almost
dangerous.

Megumi shoved Yuiren against a row of books, causing some of them to
fall on her. "Little witch!! OOOOOOOOOH." With
a sniff the other woman ran out of the room.

Yuiren breathed out and she heard Kyosuke's voice call out. "Yui-chan,
you ok? You overdid your part and asked for that you know."

Yuiren blushed. "What?" She felt him help her stand up.

"You're smart, so I figured you'd get that I was trying to make
her jealous, but what was with that "I love him, and
We're betrothed stuff?". I almost lost it laughing... But
you know, it doesn't matter, she bought it. Now she'll be going
after *me* for a change, and I'll just let myself be caught." He
stepped out from the bookshelf. He grabbed Yuiren's shoulders. "I could just kiss you!" He said and lightly kissed her head. "Ok, Yui-chan,
I'll see you later."

Yuiren stared after him, her head smarting from both the book clobbering
her and from the brief kiss. She rubbed her head, and bent sighing
to pick up the books that had fallen. She tried swallowing, but
her embarrassment wouldn't allow it. He'd used her! To get
another girl! She'd blurted out her feelings in front of him,
and he thought she'd been making it up...he still did think of
her as a school girl. The more she thought about it, the harder it
became to breathe. She wiped the tears forming and stuffed
the first book on the shelf. Silly girl. She told herself.

Why was she crying over this? He wasn't in love with this
horrible Megumi. Sooner or later, he'd wake up and
realize that he was meant to be with Yuiren. He had too...she just
had to wait a little longer. Hadn't her mother always told her
that love, true love, is a struggle but worth fighting for? That
men sometimes were stupid when it came to love? Right then though,
she wanted to forget all about it all.

Her cellular phone rang, the quiet disturbed by the shrill
peal of its beeping. Trying not to sob, she answered it.
"Hello?"

"Darling, could you go to the store and pick up--what's wrong?!" Her mother's voice asked. "You're crying."

"No...I just...I " She thought about lying, but knew her mother
would know. "Something happened...no, something stupid...just
there's this boy that I like and--"

"What did Kyosuke do now?" Her mother sighed. "Should I have his
mother pound sense into him?"

"MOM! You know?" Yuiren gasped. "But...I just realized it myself..."

Her mother laughed and said in a squeal, "You've been staring at him like a puppy for a year now, I wondered when you'd realize you love him. You know
your father and I couldn't be happier with another Son-in-law."

"MOM!" Yuiren protested as the color flooded and then left her face. "He's
after some other girl...he doesn't even care how I feel!"

"Men are stupid like that, Yu. Even your father, though he knows better now!
When I first told your father I loved him, do you know what
he said?" Her mother giggled. "I don't remember exactly, but he said something
rude like all he cared about was money, and...."

" I did not." A voice protested. "But if Kyosuke hurt you, kitten,
I'll.." Her father's angry voice cut in.

"Taka, no baka, that's not what she want's to hear!" Her mother's voice
said in the background. "Give that back!"

"But anyway, you're too young for boys! Just study, and keep up with your
jobs." Her father continued.

Yuiren wailed with embarrassment "DAD!" She heard the sound of something
popping, and then her mother's satisfied "humph! Men!"

"Don't listen to him sweetheart."Her mother assured her.

"Too young!" Her father's voice repeated, as the two were obviously
struggling for the phone.

"She's not too young, you two married at that age." her second oldest
brother, Chuei interrupted. "Sorry, Yu, I just picked up the phone to call,
and heard the end, what's going on?!"

"Yu finally realized she's in love with Kyosuke, but the idiot
is pursuing some other girl. We'll have to straighten him out." Her
youngest (older) brother, Ryuuen added.

"You too!" Yu gasped, fury mixing with surprise. "Why are you on
the line Ryuuen!? You don't even live at home anymore!"

"Visiting...but, I admit I was eavesdropping the minute I heard
Mom squeal about love..."Ryuuen said, teasingly "But I can't believe he
would reject *my* sister!"

"You're probably the reason!"snapped her *eldest* brother.

Great, they were *all* listening. She didn't even bother to ask
why *he* was at home. A sharp click cut off the squabbling voices
off her parents and brothers. Great, Yuiren thought, everyone knew...
Now she felt she couldn't even face her parents or Kyosuke, not unless she
wanted to die of embarrassment.

The phone rang again. She stared to make sure the number wasn't
one that was her family's. It wasn't, so she answered "Hello?!"

"Imouto, what's going on? Ryuuen called. You're in love with
Kyosuke?"Her last brother Saiheti asked gently. "If he hurts you, I swear I will..."

She hung up, and turned the phone off. He must have changed his phone
number again, she forgot how often he did that to maintain his privacy from his admirers....Great, now everyone knew how
she felt, except Kyosuke, who seemed oblivious to the fact that she'd
just spilled her heart out and he'd thought it was a joke. A game
to help him get another woman! She wished she'd never said a thing.

More than anything, she wished she could just disappear for a little while.
She slid down against the book rack, wondering how to pick up the pieces
of her life and ego right then.

She felt something hot against her hand and she dropped the book she'd
been holding. It landed, flopping open. Adjusting her backpack so she
could bend she picked up the book, and then turned it over to read
the spine. "The Four Gods Earth and Sky" She whispered.
Strange, she was sure it was written in ancient chinese, which she could
just barely make out.

"This is the story of the Miko of the Four Gods, who gathered the deities and
stopped the destruction of the world of the four countries by finding a new
creator. The story is itself an incantation that will bring the power to cross the barriers that separate reality from imagination. The story will continue and become the truth as soon as the page is turned."

"Become true??!" Yuiren wondered turning the page. "What kind
of story *is* this?" A multi-coloured rainbow of light surrounded her,
part red, blue, green and yellow. She could barely marvel at its beauty
before she found herself, standing in an unfamiliar forrest.

"Where is this?" She wondered, shivering in the rain that fell. She
turned seeing three figures in front of her. "Excuse me, but,
where would I be?"

One of the figures stepped forward. "In trouble! She looks fun, men."
The guy said menacingly as they approached her. "What's in the bag
little wench?"

She screamed for help, and then crouched preparing to help. She knocked
one with her bag, hoping her laptop didn't suffer too much. Another she
knocked out his knees, and he fell splattering into the mud. But it wasn't
enough. There were three of them, and one of her. She'd fought all her
life, but in orchestrated matches with rules. Not like this! She
screamed in pain as one of them grabbed her from behind. The other began
to pull her legs apart. Suddenly, a miracle happened and a wall of flame
tumbled one of her attackers to the ground. Like a whirlwind, a man
appeared slashing into the men and scattering them like bowling pins.

When the dust settled, she started to thank him, but he seemed to ignore
her and kept going. So of course, she followed him. Her head felt
very fuzzy, and dizzy, and she could barely see him in the dark and rain.
Yet she forced herself to keep up with him. Then he said he was a bandit
too! Disappointed she'd turned to walk away, and everything had
gone dark as she felt herself falling.

She awoke with a splitting headache, and a stiffness pervading her entire
body. Light streamed in over the room, one she did not recognize at all.

What had happened? Where was she? She'd been reading the book,
then she must have fallen asleep, and dreamed she was in a forrest being
attacked. Had to be a dream. But then how did she get here?

She sat up, suddenly realizing someone
had undressed her. Who? Why? She started to wrap the sheet around herself,
but something tugged it downwards.

She turned her head, and gasped. A man lay there, eyes closed, arms
flung above his head, and from what she could tell, all he seemed to
be wearing were the beads on his necklace, and the earrings decorating
his ears. His fingers had clenched on the sheet when she'd sought to
remove it. She tugged, but then realized, whereas she was lying under the
sheet, he was on top of it. A small cloth was his only covering, giving
him a small measure of decency, draped over his hips and reaching to his
thighs. It was round, and as she stood, she realized he must have taken
it from the table against the wall. A pitcher lay strewn on the floor,
along with other little decorations that must have been on the table.

Near the window, she could see the pieces of her uniform hanging,
next to a bunch
of garments she supposed were his. "That's right..." She thought,
last night there had been too much rain. She'd been soaked when he'd
carried her back somewhere dry, the man who'd saved her. Yet she couldn't
remember anything else, such as how she'd gotten to such a predicament
at all.

She bit her lip, as she dressed. What a ridiculous situation she had gotten
herself into. The man stirred
and swore. He squinted at her against the window which now gave more
light as her clothes were not blocking its light.

"Damn it, why the #)$# are you doing up?" He muttered sitting up
and then standing. Belatedly, he seemed to remember he wasn't
wearing anything, as he scrambled to grab the cloth, blushing
as red as the highlights of his hair. "shimatta...#($*" He concluded
clothing himself with it.

"I'd like to know what I was doing sleeping here!" She shot back.
"Like that!" She indicated him as he gave her a weird look. "With
you, and without this." She tugged her uniform.

He shrugged. "I don't know I was #($* blasted out of my #($*'n mind."
He paused, one eyebrow raising up. "Oh, yeah, and your stuff
was wet. Mine too. I figured we'd get sick with it on." He stood
and grabbed his clothes and began to dress.

"You...you....undressed me!?" She exclaimed her face as red as his hair.

He paused,in bending over as he slipped his pants on,
and then looked up at her, a rather dangerous smirk on his face. "Don't
worry, I didn't enjoy it. I don't like women."

She didn't really believe him, but then, she supposed he had no real reason
to lie about that, or to have helped her. Guilt tugged her, and she turned,
her back to the light and the window.
"Thank you." She said at last, her
tone changing as she smiled. "I didn't mean to be rude. But it was
a rough night...and I'm still shaky. I didn't expect to see you when
I woke." She smiled widely.

"Miaka?" He muttered as he blinked. Who else could be that cheerful?
And his explanation, though mostly true, hadn't been meant to
reassure her that much--just to take the edge of panic off but leave
a cautious doubt in her mind. That way, she wouldn't try anything
stupid like screaming or crying on him. Of course, she hadn't
reacted at all like he'd expected. He shook his head,
and she stepped back into the light.

"What did you say?" She asked, as he walked closer to her, grabbing
his shirt, coat and fan.

As he did, he studied her closely, with the sunlight illuminating
her fully. Dark hair, only barely pulled into a long braid, and intelligent dark eyes, tinged with
purplish highlights. Why had he thought she looked like
Miaka? Her features were completely different. Was he losing
it completely now, if he's sunk to seeing her features everywhere?

"Rough? Hell yes....it was that." He waived a hand, and leapt from the
balcony. He needed to get going while he could.

"What--wait, where are you going?" She said leaning over the balcony.

He turned and looked up at her over his shoulder. "You'll be fine now.
My friends are waiting."

A knock sounded at the door, as the inn owner screamed about
payment for using the room.

She frowned, grabbed the rail and jumped. He was moving pretty
quick, uphill, into the mountains, but she kept up with him fairly
well. She couldn't believe this place she thought, but most of
all, what kind of savior was this?! Sticking her with the
room bill?! She didn't have any money on her!

"WAIT..." She screamed as she pushed herself after him. "You
can't leave me there...I don't know this place! I'm lost, broke
and I"M HUNGRY!!!!"

He stopped, and turned around. "You idiot, you can't follow
me here! I told you last night, this is Mt. Reikaku...
there are bandits here, so I took you back to the village.!"

"SO! I don't care." She said. "I couldn't stay there!" her voice
rose in volume and tone.

"Moron...keep it down, you're in deep shit already as a girl to come up
here, but you'll really be f'#$*d if your screaming wakes 'em up!"
He grabbed her, placing his hand across her mouth. "Now for your
own good--OWWWW That g'damn hurt!" He said, pulling his now wounded
hand away. "You bit me!" He swore.

"Sorry,but you grabbed me first!" She said. "I wouldn't have had to chase you
if you hadn't run away like that!!"

"I wasn't running away...I just had somewhere to be." he argued. He
looked at her determined gaze. "So get the hell out of here already."

She hadn't realized how far they'd travelled, up the mountain.
She swallowed hard looking down. "I can't go back, I don't
know how. " Determinedly
she met his gaze. "I'm not from around here. And I
don't know how I got here, but I'm lost and I'm ticked off and
I"m...."She swallowed the urge to cry in her frustration.
"HUNGRY." She finished pulling out her anger. Her
stomach gurgled. "So, please, help me! You did before...you
took me to that inn, right?!"

He laughed at her.
"I only helped you because you reminded me of someone. A favor
to my memory of the Suzako No Miko, but you certainly push your
luck don't you?"

"Suzko no Miko?" She responded. 'Who's that?"

Tasuki looked surprised. It was already a legend, but one
everyone knew since the Miko had disappeared only five years
ago. "You don't know?"

"I've never heard of it. Anyway, why don't we introduce ourselves,
since you're going to be helping me? I'm Yuiren ?. She smiled.

Tasuki took a step back, right into a tree. "?" He uttered a
small sound that had no real meaning but for once wasn't profane.

She nodded. "I tried calling, home, but the phone's not working."
She held up a strange square device. "So if you have a phone I could
use, I could probably get one of my brothers to pick me up...however
I got here. ..I noticed there wasn't one at the inn, it was really
rustic, wasn't it? But .."

Tasuki tried to think, hard. It couldn't be, he thought. Not again,
he thought. The worlds were sealed forever, weren't they? But the
name, what kind of a coincidence was that? He frowned. He might
as well ask. "Do you know a Tamahome...no, Taka or ? Miaka ?"

She looked surprised. "That's my dad...and mom."

"No way! It's only been three years, and you look about 15!" He
complained.

"I'm 17!!!" She argued exasperated. "And what do you mean its
been three years!?" She looked up at the guy who didn't look older
than in his early twenties, close to the age of her brothers. "You
know my parents?"

He shrugged. "I guess I do." He still seemed stunned. "Parents?"

She nodded. "I'm the youngest. I have four older brothers!"
She grinned. "I have pictures in my bag!" She began to fish around.

Tasuki stared at her incredulously.. "Idiot, this isn't the time for pictures."

She blushed. "Oh, you're right. So how do you know my parents?
Did you study at our Dojo? I don't remember seeing you there.."

He shook his head. "You don't realize it yet, do you? You're not in
your world, Yuiren. You're in the world where your parents first met..."
He frowned, looking up at the top of the mountain. Sorry, Koji, he thought,
but again I won't be coming. But maybe its better this way.

"The world where they met?" She asked puzzled.

"I don't know how the hell you got here, or why, but I'd better take you to
Taitskun. If anyone can get you back, its that f'#$* old hag."He said. He motioned for her to follow as he turned back down the mountain.

"You mean, you'll help me get home?!" She said gratefully. "Oh, you're
so nice, I knew it." he swore, but she ignored it. Images of her
family flashed through her mind, and then Kyosuke's face.

Then again, maybe she wasn't so eager to get home.

******END PART ONE***************

'New' Characters list: (boy, I've thought this over too much...
But this is to keep you and me straight on who's who. )

Sukinami Family
Yuiren Sukinami--17 yr old high school student, youngest with four
older brothers.
Ryuuen Sukinami--Her youngest brother, around 22, clothing
designer
Saihitei Sukinami--Third oldest, around 24, a politician looked
upon very favorably to rise quite high.
Chuei Sukinami--Her eldest brother, works with her father at their
Dojo.
There's another brother. I didn't use a name, he's not important;)
There's too many of them as it is.
(Mom & Dad: Can't you guess ;).

**************
Kyosuke Kajiwara--19 yr old, college student. Only child, of career
obsessed parents ;). Guess who? Grew up with Yuiren, and trained at her father's Dojo. Doesn't like studying, prefers sports and martial arts, and
chasing women ;). He's something of a flirt himself, he's more charming
then being just visually appealing. He's goofy and cocky at the same time.
And he wears sunglasses all the time.....;). Just like Dad.

***************
Sakura Megumi--19, college student, beautiful but a little temperamental.
Likes being the center of attention (only child with a father who's never
around). Because of her looks she's never had many female friends,
and doesn't know how to deal well with women, or men when she's not flirting.
Can be a bit of a crybaby, but gets tough when necessary.