"Halfway to the town, Genbu no Miko and Seishi Hatsui, carrying the injured Seishi, Iname, met up with Uruki, Tomite, and Hikitsu, who were headed south to find them."******
"Iname!" Uruki jumped off her horse and ran to Iname's side. She turned to Takiko. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by Kutou soldiers-too many for one person to handle. Luckily, the fifth Seishi, Hatsui, was able to save us."
Uruki turned to Hatsui. "Arigatou." Then she turned to Iname, crying. "BAKA! Don't take on so many soldiers by yourself!"
Iname wiped the tears from Uruki's eyes. "Would you have done any different?" He smiled at Takiko, who was at his other side. "Our destinies….are to protect this one."
Uruki let out a chuckle and turned to Takiko. "He's so devoted to protecting you. Having a purpose in existence means a lot to him." Takiko looked at the injured Iname, and remembering his childhood story, began to cry, flinging her arms around him.
"Hey..hey.." Iname patted her back. "The last thing I need is two crying females worrying over me." Takiko laughed.
******
"The injured Iname was put on top of a horse and brought to a tavern in the town to rest. The next morning, the rest of the Seishi conferred with Genbu no Miko to decide what to do about him."
******
Hikitsu drank some tea. "I think it would be best if we left him here to recover, but we need to go on and find the other two Seishi."
Takiko nodded. I don't want to be apart from Iname, but I don't want him to aggravate his injuries any further. It's best this way.
Tomite nodded as well. "Yes, let's let the cow rest in the pasture."
"I heard that!" Iname limped to their table. "What's that supposed to mean? Just because my character reads 'Cow' doesn't mean that I am a cow!"
Tomite laughed. "I was only kidding. I knew you were behind me." "Liar! How could you have known that?" "I heard you!" "It could have been anyone!" "Not with a limp like that!"
Hatsui laughed and turned to Hikitsu. "Do they do this often?"
Hikitsu held his head, trying to ignore them. "Too often."
Takiko helped Iname sit down. "You shouldn't be walking around!"
"Nonsense, I'm fine now. And I'm coming with you."
"But…"
"No 'buts' about it. This is what I have to do." Takiko understood and nodded.
Hikitsu stared at Iname. "You understand the rest of us might not be able to look out for you?"
Iname nodded. Hikitsu sighed. "All right, then. Let's get going."
******
"In Kutou, the shogun kneeled before his emperor again."
******
"My lord! Twenty of my best men were killed in Hokkan by only two of these Genbu Seishi! They used their ice powers to freeze them completely."
The emperor was shocked. "Twenty down by only two? Completely frozen?" He paused, contemplating. "Well, increase your people! Just take care of this problem before we march in three days!"
******
"Two days passed, and Genbu no Miko and her Seishi had visited two towns without luck. They were headed for the northernmost town in all of Hokkan, and Genbu no Miko had a good feeling about it this time."
******
They entered the next town, and Takiko noticed that Iname had been unusually quiet the whole trip there. Uruki noticed as well and turned to him. "Are you sure you want to be with us here?"
Iname nodded. "It's about time, anyway, I think."
Takiko's eyes widened. He's from very far up north, and this is the northernmost town in Hokkan. It must be the same one he was born in-the one he swore he'd never go back to! She turned to Iname. "Iname, we'd understand if…"
"No, Takiko." He smiled at her. "Didn't you say I should just check up on them, anyway?"
Takiko nodded. "You don't have to go alone, though."
Tomite was puzzled. "What are you guys talking about?"
"His fam…" Iname covered Takiko's mouth before she could say anymore. "It's none of his business." he said with no joking tone in his voice, which he usually had in his spats with Tomite.
Tomite noticed his sharpness and replied angrily. "Well, excuse me for caring!" He grabbed Takiko by the arm. "Come on, let's split into groups to search for the Seishi."
Iname grabbed Takiko's other arm. "No, I want her to come with me."
Tomite looked at Takiko. "I'm sorry, Tomite, I need to go with Iname this time."
Tomite started at Takiko's face and then at Iname's. As if he realized something, he let go of Takiko's arm. "Fine. I can see when I'm not needed." He stormed off.
Takiko didn't want to hurt his feelings. "Wait! Tomite!" Iname held her back. "Let him go; he'll cool off."
Hikitsu nodded. "I'll go with Tomite, then." He went off in the same direction. Uruki turned to Iname. "And I'll go with Hatsui. Good luck, but be careful, your wounds aren't completely healed yet."
Takiko followed Iname in silence. She glanced at his stern expression. What's he thinking right now? As they approached an old shack towards the outskirts of town, Iname paused a moment. He knocked at the door, and a girl, about ten years old, answered. Her eyes lit up with surprise. "Oniichan!"
"Namame!" Iname lifted his younger sister into the air and gave her a hug. "I've missed you!" Namame looked at Takiko. "Did you bring home your bride, Oniichan?" Iname and Takiko blushed. "No…no! She's my friend, Okuda Takiko." He winked at Namame. "I'm not quite ready to settle down yet!"
Namame led them inside. Iname was shocked. "Namame, where's Okasan? And our brothers and sisters?"
Namame looked sad. "After you left, Okasan and Otosan just got worse. Otosan threw out the money you left behind, but Okasan secretly got it back. He was furious when he found out, and he burnt the money left over. He said that he should be the one to support his family and he didn't accept charity from anyone. That was it for Okasan, and she packed us all up to move to Sailo-as far away from Otosan as she could get. Our uncle lives there, and he promised Okasan a job at his tavern and a small home for her and us kids.
"But I just couldn't leave Otosan behind all alone. He may get crazy sometimes, but it's just because he loves his family so much and is angry he can't afford to feed us. Okasan figured I was right that Otosan would need company, and it would be easier for him to support just me, so she agreed."
Namame smiled. "And we were both right. Otosan was devastated that everyone else had left, and he realized that it was because eof his behavior. He hasn't acted crazy since, and we always have enough money to feed the two of us, and sometimes some left over."
Iname hugged Namame. "Namame-my little sister. I'm sorry that you've had to go through so much."
"Nonsense! It's not your fault. And it's all better now. I got a letter from Okasan; she said everyone's doing fine in Sailo."
"I'm glad to hear that. Well, tell Otosan that I stopped by."
Namame's eyes grew saddened. "You can't stay?!"
"I'm sorry, Namame, but we're looking for someone."
"At least see Otosan before you go! He has felt so bad about what he did to you last time you visited!"
"Sorry, but we just can't…"
"Yes, he can." Takiko stepped in. "Why don't you take us to him, Namame?"
Namame smiled at Takiko. "Okay!"
******
They found that Iname's father wasn't at work, so they returned home to meet him. Walking back, Iname turned to Takiko. "Don't you think we should be looking for the other Seishi, Takiko?"
"Don't worry about it right now. The others are looking for them. This is too important! You might not ever have a chance to talk with your father again."
Namame overheard. "Seishi? I heard about Genbu no Miko's appearance. Does that character on your forehead mean you're a Genbu Seishi, Oniichan?"
Iname nodded. "And Takiko is Genbu no Miko."
Namame's eyes widened in surprise. "You are Genbu no Miko, Takiko-san? I mean Takiko-sama?"
Takiko smiled. "'San' is fine. Yes, I am Genbu no Miko. Right now we're looking for the last two Genbu Seishi."
Namame looked happy. "I'm a Seishi!"
Iname laughed. "Let's not fool around with this, Namame!"
"I'm not! I…"
They heard a scream coming from inside their house. "Otosan!?" Namame ran inside to see her father held by Kutou soldiers. "You're the father of Genbu Seishi Iname, aren't you? Where is he?"
"Get away from Otosan!" Namame charged in and one of the soldiers grabbed her. "A little girl-we could use her as a hostage, too, so those Genbu Seishi will come to us."
Iname shoved Takiko behind him. "Go find the others-quickly!"
Takiko shook her head. "Don't take them all on by yourself again! You're still injured!"
"Just move, Takiko!" Takiko nodded and ran to find the other Seishi. Iname entered the house. "Are you looking for me?"
The soldiers in Iname's house started to fight Iname, but he was still weak from the last fight and wasn't doing too well. "Oniichan!" Namame screamed.
"Shut up, Little Girl, if you want to survive this!" the solider holding her yelled. Two soldiers held Iname back, and another drew his sword. "Say 'sayonara,' Genbu Seishi!" He pushed his sword into flesh….it was Iname's father! He had broken loose from his captors and blocked the sword from reaching Iname.
"OTOSAN!!!!" Everyone looked towards Namame, who had a bright green character reading "Wall" shining on her left cheek. She closed her eyes and spikes of ice came out from out of the ground, encasing the Kutou soldiers in icy tombs. Namame ran to her father. "Otosan!"
Iname was alright, but his father had suffered a fatal wound. Tears ran down Iname's face. "Why? Why did you do this for me?"
"Because..you're my son. My oldest child-the one whose birth brought me the greatest joy. I'm so sorry…for the way I treated you..and your mother. You must promise me to look after my little Namame now and to one day visit your mother and apologize to her and your siblings for me."
Iname nodded. "I'll do anything!"
"Promise me…."
"Otosan? OTOSAN!"
The door burst open, and the other Seishi entered, but it was too late. They were shocked to find Iname and Namame weeping over their father.
******
The Kutou shogun left the room of his psychic. It was this psychic who could see what was going on with the troops he had sent to Hokkan and could find out where Genbu no Miko and the Seishi were. So they've won yet another round. he thought. It seems the only way to take care of this is to do it myself!
******
The Genbu Seishi, Iname and Namame, buried their father that evening and said their goodbyes. Genbu no Miko and her Seishi offered their loving support. The next morning, they started on the trip back south to the capitol to find the last Seishi. But that was also the first day of Kutou's invasion…"
To be continued…
