Disclaimer: Since the edible play-doh idea was stolen by some cheap cookie company, I am no longer able to share custody of Nuriko. **sigh** ^_^ Maybe it will be possible again in the future, since Kaze-chan and I intend to sue. If things go our way, we will be able to purchase Nuriko, the entire FY DVD set, and lots of wallscrolls with our winnings, and still have something left over to buy, ohhh….Tasuki’s left fang, or something.

Warnings: Methinks this story’s gonna be pretty long…

Notes: Thanks to all who’re reading this and like it!! And even if you read it and you don’t like it, thanks for giving it a try. ^_^ Thanks especially to Kaaaaaaaaaze-channnnn (said in the Nuriko style) for helping me with names and stuff and preventing me from getting flamed for spelling ‘Mt. Reikaku’ wrong. ~.^;; Heh heh! Thanks to Emily for bugging me to write, and….I feel like I’m giving an Oscars acceptance speech, or something. And…I’d like to thank my hairdresser…and…Jon Bon Jovi!! ( ~.^;;) And Kryssa, if you’re reading, the answer to your question lies at the end of this chapter. ^_^ Hope ya like it, everyone!

Those eyes…those eyes…I’ve seen them…

The boy he had killed…that Ashitare had killed…what seemed like ages ago.

He was fighting for his friends…protecting them, and I…

He remembered the whip, and the man who held it, and shuddered.

He would have killed me, though…he would have killed me. But he did anyway, that’s the pain of it…If I’d have been stronger, I wouldn’t have done it. But I was afraid…

As he stepped wearily through the mess that had been the Imperial Palace of Kutou, Shi clenched his jaw to keep it from quivering. There was nothing he could do about it now, he reminded himself for the thousandth time. All he could do was focus on the present, on the task at hand.

That means…the Suzaku no Shichiseishi were reborn, too.

Baka yo. Of course they were reborn…you just didn’t expect them to be HERE, did you?

Did they remember, as he did? He’d seen fear and pain in the violet eyes of the child…Had that been recognition, though, or just terror brought on by the attack? Had they been sent to help, somehow? What about Tasuki—Genrou—his leader? He had left shortly after Rishun’s attack on Sarasshi, and had not made known where, or why he was going. Could he have come to Kutou? Perhaps the Gods had a hand in this, after all. Perhaps the odds were tilted in their favor, despite the army at Rishun’s back!

The thought renewed his hopes for victory and redemption, as much as the child he had seen still burned like a brand into his heart.

If I hadn’t killed him…if I hadn’t been so afraid…that boy might still be alive. A grown man to fight this usurper, and not a child who might not even understand his powers.

His thoughts were interrupted by Ugou, the burly man who was Rishun’s second-in-command.

"Oi, lad! They’re bringing more prisoners; take ‘em down to the cells, and lock ‘em up good, now!"

"Hai, Ugou-sama," Shi responded, bowing.

Rishun hadn’t wasted any time setting about his goals. The boy emperor and all the nobles had been killed, and none but the smallest girls in the harem had been left alive. The shoguns—though practically useless anyway—had joined their ruler. The new emperor’s first orders had been to go out into the city and find all the immigrants, all the workers from Konan and the other lands who had made Kutou their home, and bring them to the dungeons as prisoners or slaves.

It’s awful. The outlanders in Kutou are only the best of men, Shi thought angrily, careful to keep his face expressionless as he escorted the bandits and their captives to the chilly cellar. They’re the ones who came to help rebuild the country when it fell…the teachers and the priests who gave shelter to the victims of poverty. It isn’t fair. It isn’t FAIR!! He couldn’t even look at the bloody faces being shoved into the cells. All he could tell himself, over and over again, was that it would all be over soon…the Gods must have a plan, the Seishi were gathering…and Rishun’s ends would be squashed before he got a decent hold on them.

He simply did not understand the man. Why was he doing this?? He’d suffered during the war, and in the shambled aftermath…but thousands had suffered, Shi included. The boy had grown up in the capital, had had to scrape to survive just as the others, but he wasn’t about to go off and kill innocent people because of a war over which no one had control. These things happened…the people who were to blame were dead. Maybe Rishun was just plain crazy.

Was there any doubt in your mind?

Climbing back up to the main level of the palace, he berated himself for such useless thoughts. After all, it didn’t really matter: whatever his motives, Rishun had to be stopped, and he should be thinking about how to go about that. He hadn’t been able to leave a message for the bandits for a few days; the last note had contained the madman’s plans to conquer Kutou. With luck, Kouji and the others were already on their way, and had concocted some sort of plan…

"Ashitare!!!"

The whispered voice from the shadows made him freeze.

No. Gods, no…no one knows. No one can possibly know.

Slowly, almost afraid of what he would find, Shi turned and peered into a pair of wide, unbelieving blue eyes.

~*~

The knocking grew louder, and then turned to kicking.

"They’re breakin down the freakin door," Tasuki muttered. Reaching under his coat, he pulled out his tessen. Hn…Wonder if the stupid thing even WORKS anymore… can’t remember the last time I actually had to use it. "Get the kids," he instructed; "I’ll take care of our freakin ‘guests’ and we’ll blow this place…"

With one last thud, the door cracked down the center, and the house was invaded. A huge man, scarred and rough, burst in with his sword drawn, mouth open and ready to shout…but upon seeing Tasuki standing before him, tessen held ready, he faltered and jerked back the slightest bit.

"G-Genrou!" he exclaimed, surprise evident on his face.

"Sheyu," the red-haired Seishi greeted coldly. "I see you’ve found a way to amuse yourself."

The ex-bandit, who had been part of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits for over a year until this unfortunate turn of events, clenched his jaw. "I’ll get more from Emperor Rishun than I ever got from your pathetic little group of half-assed outlaws."

"By destroying the freakin country??" Tasuki exploded.

"He’s saving it! Not destroying it! Once the other lands are under his control, once we’re all united, there will be no more wars!! The Universe will be as one, under one Emperor!"

"Ya really believe that??? Ya freakin moron!!!!" yelled Tasuki. "He’s freakin brainwashed you! If Rishun is such a freakin pacifist, why’s he sending all you guys around knockin on doors with swords?!! And what about the village you burned?? How the hell is that conductive to peace???!!!"

Sheyu’s face darkened.

"There haven’t been wars for ten freakin years!! The only reason we’re facing one now is because of that bastard who’s calling himself the Emperor!!"

"You shouldn’t criticize what you don’t understand," said the Redeemer dangerously. "You don’t understand what a great man he is…how much he will do for the world. And I’m afraid, My Leader, that you never will." He raised his sword and moved to attack…

"REKKA SHINEN!!!!!!!!!!!"

…And was promptly reduced to a smoking pile of ash.

"Gods, I’ve missed you," he murmured lovingly to his tessen.

"What happened, no da?" Chichiri asked urgently, emerging from the bedroom with the children at his heels.

"Nothin I couldn’t handle," Tasuki said proudly, spinning his weapon nonchalantly.

"WOW!!! It’s his tessen!!!!!" Horyuu exclaimed to Kentoku. "He really IS the real Tasuki!!"

"What, you thought we were kidding?!" the bandit demanded.

"Now is not exactly the time to argue, no da," Chichiri reminded them. "We have to get out of here, na no da!"

Kentoku looked up at him. "What’s happening? I thought the coup was over."

"How come you keep telling us to go to sleep, but then you come in right away to wake us up again?" Horyuu demanded.

Chichiri shook his head. He didn’t understand what was going on, why Rishun was sending his men to slaughter people in their homes… Could he have discovered somehow that I’m a Suzaku no Shichiseishi, no da?? That’s impossible, though, isn’t it? I’ve been so careful to keep it hidden, no da…and there’s no way he could have found out so quickly! What’s more, it didn’t explain the attacks on the other houses. What sense is there in succeeding in conquering a city, only to go around killing the people you’ve just conquered, no da?!

"Hey," said Horyuu, "there’s something wrong with the weird kid."

Feeling small arms clutching around him, the monk rested his eyes on Gen’ei. The boy was holding onto him tightly, eyes squeezed shut…

~*~

Gen’ei clutched the shell in his shaking fist, trying to retreat inside himself and forget what was going on around him.

You can escape, a voice hissed to him. You can leave it all behind…won’t have to face the killing again, if you lose yourself inside Me…

He could go into the shell! He could go anywhere he wanted within it…leave this place, with the poverty and the violence…

"Don’t let it control you," said a voice.

Nakago.

"You have to be strong. Show it who holds the power. Don’t let it take hold of you again…"

I’m not strong…I’m afraid!! I’m afraid of who I used to be, of what’s happening now…I want it to go away…

"You can’t hide from it. They need you."

They…need me…

The idea confused him. No one had ever needed him before…he had always been the one who depended on others, for food, shelter, protection…never the other way around.

"Hey!"

Another voice…something poked him in the shoulder, startling him enough to make him open his eyes. He blinked, peering down into a concerned little face.

"Don’t be scared," said Horyuu, giving the taller boy a reassuring grin. "We’ll be okay. We’re all Suzaku no Shichiseishi! We’ll keep you safe." He slipped a small hand into Gen’ei’s—luckily, the one without the shell.

Gen’ei returned the smile weakly, grateful for being pulled out of his little mental hole, but also slightly ashamed to be making people worry about him.

"While this is really freakin cute," Tasuki declared loudly, "I think it’s time to get outa here!!!"

"Here, no da," said Chichiri, removing his kesa and laying it out on the ground. He gazed around expectantly.

The three children looked at him blankly.

"Are…you…decorating?" Kentoku inquired with a slightly puzzled frown.

Grumbling to himself, Tasuki stalked over to the enchanted fabric. "It’s a monk thing; transports ya different places, and shit," he explained, grabbing Horyuu’s free hand and stepping onto the thing. The others followed, and Chichiri touched the kesa with his shakujou, opening the portal and grumbling.

" ‘A Monk Thing,’ no da…"

~*~

"Neeeeee…aniki," said Ryoushin, coming to sit at the table by his brother. "Can I ask you something?"

Tenki rubbed his eye. "Of course."

The slightly younger boy regarded him closely. "Are, um, are you all right? You look tired."

"I’m all right." He wasn’t, not really. He’d barely slept at all, kept up by nightmares, pounding thoughts, and memories of death. Stronger than normal. Much stronger. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Well…" Ryoushin fiddled with his fingers. "I’ve been feeling…kinda weird lately…"

No…it can’t be. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I don’t know…I feel something pulling me…" The boy shrugged uncomfortably. "I can’t explain it. I keep having this weird idea that…I need to go to Kutou." He shot his brother an apologetic grin. "It’s strange, I know…but…"

"It’s probably nothing," said Tenki, as casually as he could muster. "Just ignore it. We need you here, you know that."

Ryoushin looked at the table and sighed. "Yeah, I know…"

"It’ll fade."

"Mm-hm."

As the other boy finished his breakfast, Tenki regarded him worriedly out of the corner of his eye. I can’t let him go. It’s in the past; it’s not real for us.

TBC…

Notes: As always, let me know if you guys notice any plot holes; comments are always appreciated! ^_^