Her eyes studied his lips and mouth with hawk-like intensity as he repeated his name, this time slower and with greater deliberation. "Shu-n-u. Shun-u. Shun'u." He paused. "Get it?"
Sute's face broke into a grin that rivaled the sun’s in brilliance. Her head bobbed up and down so rapidly that Shun'u got a headache just watching her. Still, he was extremely pleased at how quickly she was picking up information. They’d only been riding for a day, and she already knew everyone’s name, their Seishi character, and simple everyday words. It was incredible.
Tama favored him with a warm telepathic smile, curled up in the girl's lap and indulging in her attentions and affections. 'She's really quite bright, no matter what her so-called father thought. With us using telepathy to help her "hear" the words as well as seeing you say them, she's putting things together like it's no one's business. Add in the good learning environment, and we’ve got a kid who may end up outsmarting you before the day is out. Not that it'll be too hard.'
Sparing the cat a glare of pure canine malice, Shun'u turned back to the child sitting sidesaddle with him, watching her eyes drink in the landscape. Suzaku, you'd think she'd never seen fuckin' flowers before! He shook his head, a mix of disbelief and irritation boiling in his chest. Ain't fair she had ta live like that fer so many years. But I--he caught himself--we will make up for lost time.
Even though they were still on the move towards Hakukou, the group hadn’t regretted their decision to pick up Sute. She was still extremely nervous about being around anyone without Shun’u, but the other three were doing everything they could to take care of her. She understood that all the men were trying to help, but from what the ketsu were saying, Sute would have trust issues for a long time to come, and it was a huge step for her to even ride with a group she'd barely known a day.
Which further bolstered Shun'u's need to show her what the world had to offer, and that it wasn't as bad as what she had before.
Saihitei's voice, laced with utter frustration, caught his attention. "... such a failure. We should be taking care of the poor, the children, the unwell, rather than dealing with the petty games politicians play."
"You have a whole country to think about, Saihitei-san," Juan said, sounding very pragmatic. "And you are only one man. You can't expect yourself to carry the constant burden of all the people."
"But that is what we must do!" Saihitei exclaimed. "The Emperor is the land. The Emperor is the people. The Emperor should care for the country, for they are ours to watch over! It is our birthright and our obligation to always protect the people, even if it is from themselves!"
"Bullshit!"
Both men turned to Shun'u--Saihitei from the saddle of the second horse and Juan from beside the Emperor. Ryuuen was ahead of them, scouting with Takeshi and Genrou. Kohana walked next to Shun'u, both her and Tama keeping Sute's mind occupied during the conversation.
"Pardon?" Saihitei asked, his voice sharp as his sword. "Please explain what you mean by that."
"I understand ya wanna take care o' the whole country, but that's what it is. A whole damn country. And yer duty as Emperor is ta guide and lead and help the people, not be their fuckin' father," Shun'u said bluntly. "So don't be thinkin' ya need ta take grown people by the hand and baby 'em ta death."
"Surprising as this may sound, I agree with him," Juan added, earning himself some interesting looks. "You are the Emperor; you are not Suzaku. You can't be perfect, and you shouldn't put that expectation on yourself."
"I mean, ya can't read the minds of every fuckin' person in the land, and ya sure as shit can't be everywhere at once," the bandit interrupted, but without skipping a beat Juan kept going.
"There will always be poverty and abuse in the country, but you must not stop working to fix it."
"Ya gotta watch the whole land. Maybe someone's gonna slip through every now 'n then, but it ain't 'cause yer not tryin ta make Konan a better place ta live."
Saihitei listened to their words, but his brow was still furrowed with unhappy thought. Catching a glimpse of Sute waving to Takeshi on his return flight, he sighed and shook his head. "This poor child... to grow up in such a detrimental environment for so long! How could we not know?!"
'Don't start blaming yourself again, Sai-kun,' Kohana cut in. 'Like both Juan and Shun said, you aren't Suzaku and you can't possibly know everything that goes on everywhere. But what makes you a great emperor is the fact that you want to change the things that are wrong with Konan, rather than ignore them or pretend otherwise. You put the people above yourself, not vice versa, and that's why they love you.'
"So stop moanin' and groanin' 'bout all this shit, and just make it better, for fuck's sake!" Shun'u finished. The Emperor remained silent after that, keeping his eyes on the road and his expression tightly closed off.
Aw hells, we just pissed him off, didn't we? Shun'u sighed. Normally, he wouldn't really care who he ticked off, but he did have a grudging respect for Saihitei and didn't mess with him nearly as much as he tormented Ryuuen or Kishuku. Still, Shun'u wasn't repentant of what he told Saihitei. He was rather proud of himself--he deeply doubted anyone else in Konan had the balls to swear at the Emperor.
'Balls or stupidity, take your pick,' Genrou chuckled and dodged Shun'u's swinging boot.
They rode a few miles in companionable silence, with the only sounds coming from Sute as she happily pointed at random objects and tried to say their names, though the words could only be described as gibberish at best. But Shun'u inwardly beamed as she pointed to him and Genrou, and "spoke" their names over and over with childlike excitability.
'Good news, everyone,' Takeshi 'spoke from the air. 'We're about five minutes away from Hakukou, and everyone's waiting for us.'
With a howl of delight, Shun'u urged the horse into a fast canter, bringing a squeal of surprise from Sute as they galloped under Takeshi's shadow. A grin broke onto Shun'u's face when he saw Doukun run out from the cover of the nearby foliage with what looked to be a mini-Kishuku hot on his heels. He waved to the boys but rode right past them into the center of the quiet village. He sped past a multitude of houses, tracking his Seishi brother's ki, and when he finally saw Kishuku step out from behind a tall wooden fence, Shun'u quickly sent the horse flying at his brawling buddy.
"KI-KU!"
Kishuku turned his head, and his mouth and eyes widened to inhuman proportions when he saw the maniacally grinning Shun'u charging towards him. "SHIT!" he screamed, and dove back for the cover of the enclosure.
Laughing his head off, Shun'u reined in the horse right at the fence's opening. He casually dismounted, and as he helped Sute down, said to the figure in the dirt, "Yer lookin' a lil' jumpy today, Ki-ku. Izzat stick up yer ass hurtin' more than usual?"
The Tamahome Seishi opened his mouth, ready with a scathing retort, but when he saw Sute ardently studying him, he quickly shut it and smiled softly at her. "Hello, there. I don't believe I've seen you around."
Sute merely tilted her head to the side, and Kishuku tossed his friend a very puzzled look. "She's deaf," Shun'u said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We, er, 'picked 'er up' on th' way here."
Unable to stop himself, Kishuku grinned. "Explains why she was probably able to put up with your awful accent."
"Fucker."
"Don't flatter yourself."
"Would you two stop that, no da?" a stern voice cut them off. Shun'u faced the house and saw Houjun coming out to greet them, carrying a blond boy on his back. "Though one set of ears may not work well, there are three more here that are quite willing to hear what the 'big kids' are saying, no da!" As if to punctuate that fact, a young woman about Shun'u's age stepped out from the house, a little girl on her hip and another peeking out from behind her robe.
"Hey, long time no see, monk man!" Shun'u exclaimed, then frowned deeply. "Wait--when'd you get hitched and have brats? Don’t'cha got vows o' chastity, 'r somethin'?!"
"They aren't mine, no da!" Houjun hotly defended himself, putting down the child and hiding his flushed cheeks. The girl at his side also blushed a remarkable shade of crimson as Kishuku got up and whapped the back of Shun'u's head.
"Stupid ass! The kids are my brother and sisters, and Miaka's no one's wife! She's the Chosen Suzaku no Miko!"
And Shun'u's mouth moved without his mind's intervention as he faced her. "You're the Chosen Miko? No shit!!"
She glared daggers at him, and when she spoke her voice was full of stubborn hardness. "Yes, I am! And if you're a Seishi, you owe me your respect!"
Oh, hell no! Shun'u mentally growled. She didn't just mouth off ta me, did she?
Before anything worse could happen, a welcome interruption appeared. 'Please excuse him, Miaka-san,' Toshi said, coming up behind Shun'u and Sute. Behind him were the rest of the Seishi and ketsu, watching the scene with definite interest. 'Our Shun'u isn't very well known for his tact, but he's not a bad guy. And... since everyone's finally arrived, we should begin introductions, before someone ends up with his head bitten off.'
Shun'u sulked as Saihitei introduced their group to Miaka, who was incredibly pleased with the sudden appearance of the last four Chosen Suzaku no Shichiseishi. Kishuku introduced his group and family to the newcomers, but before they got any further, Miaka grabbed Tama in her hands and began to shake the cat with great fervor.
"You're kidding!" she shouted at him. "Why didn't you say so before?!" Tama's only answer was incoherent yowling.
"Miaka, what the hell are youWHOA!" Kishuku demanded, but cut himself off as the Chosen Suzaku no Miko tossed the dazed cat-ketsu into his arms. Before any of them could blink, she grabbed Juan by the arm and dragged him into the house with Yuiren skipping after them.
Stunned silence hung in the air before Houjun weakly spoke up. "She's a bit excitable, no da."
"Fuuuuck, I ain't got words to say what I'd call her," Shun'u grumbled, earning another smack across his head. "Wha-at?"
"Do not disrespect the Suzaku no Miko," Saihitei frowned, then turned to Kishuku. "There's a great deal we need to talk about. Perhaps we should leave our things here, and go find someplace to talk." His eyes subtly flicked to the children standing nearby, and everyone caught his meaning.
Don't need any squealers hearin' what we're gonna be talkin' 'bout. Though I suppose bringin' this one along couldn't hurt, Shun'u thought as he ruffled Sute's hair. "A'ght, lemme get Sute settled in, then we--"
"Nii-chan!" Yuiren's cry rang from the inside of the house. "Nii-chaaaan!"
"Holy shit, now what?!" Ryuuen shouted. Kishuku (with Tama still in his arms) flew into the house without a backward glance, and though his siblings tried to follow, they were held back by protective arms.
"Lemme go! Lemme go!" Gyokuran twisted in Saihitei's grip, and Shunkei let out a pitiful sob when Houjun wouldn't put him down. Chuuei dashed after his brother with Doukun and Chie, having failed to keep the blue-haired boy back, right behind him. Shun'u immediately pulled Sute behind him, protecting her with his body against whatever caused Yuiren to scream. But before anyone could pull out weapons, a mindvoice came at them.
'False alarm, everyone!' Chie said, her 'voice filled with relief. 'Yuiren cried in excitement, not fear. Juan healed Sou-san.'
"Tou-san's all better?" Shunkei perked up. With a murmured prayer, Houjun teleported away with Shunkei, Gyokuran, and Saihitei inside the house. Seconds later, the Seishi and ketsu left outside could hear sounds of great joy and excitement echoing from the children, and everyone let out their collective breath.
"Shall we enter, and join in the festivity?" Ryuuen grinned.
'I'd hate to be left out of such a good party,' Shonin laughed, practically bouncing as she led the way inside. Genrou, Takeshi, and Kohana decided to remain outside, though, since they weren't certain there'd be enough room for them.
They were right. Ten steps into the house, Shun'u could tell it wasn't meant to hold more than five full-grown adults. Still, he stayed unusually silent and made no outward comments about it.
Ryuuen, Shun'u, and Sute quickly reached the back room, following Shonin and Toshi's excited pawprints. All the Sou children were huddled around their father, smiling and crying and singing Suzaku's praises in utter happiness. The ketsu floated all around the family, keeping protective vigil over them.
Shun'u poked Doukun, who stood a respectable distance from the family with the other Seishi. "What's goin' on?"
Doukun's voice dropped so low only Shun'u and Ryuuen could catch it. "Kishu-kun's father was extremely ill. We--Houjun-san and myself--harbored fears that, unless he received some kind of treatment soon..."
"He would die," Ryuuen nodded, finishing the sentence. "I understand."
"But Juan healed 'im, so he'll be good, right?" Shun'u asked.
The boy shrugged. "I do not know the extent of Juan-san's abilities, but I assume that he has healed Sou-san completely. From what the ketsu have said, Sou-san will no longer be ravaged by disease. But I'm a bit worried about Juan-san..." And he pointed to his right, where Juan sat on the edge of a chair, looking horribly pale while his breathing came in shallow gasps. Miaka knelt in front of him, wringing out a washcloth and wiping his brow with it, as Tama nervously sat in Juan's lap. Houjun hovered nearby, ready to help the bigger man in any way possible.
"Every time Juan heals someone, he ends up using some of his own ki," Ryuuen explained to Doukun. "So he can only heal once a day, or run the risk of draining himself dry."
"Seishi-san..." Chuuei caught everyone's attention, even though his voice was no louder than a polite murmur. He had come up to Juan and bowed beside Miaka, and in his hands was a string of coins. "This is all the money we have, and--"
"I don't want it," Juan kindly stopped him. "Use the money to buy some fish for your father." Tama butted his head against his Seishi's hand. "Oh, and for him, too."
'I haven't had a good fish in days!' Tama meowed. 'You'd be doing us a great favor if you got some.'
"Yes, sir!" Chuuei straightened and ran off.
Kishuku stepped up next, rubbing the back of his neck and looking extremely uncomfortable. "Yeah... I owe you big, too, Juan-san."
Juan just shook his head. "There's nothing to owe. My only reward is seeing your family whole again."
'So if you keep badgering my Seishi, I'm gonna have to hurt you!' Tama teased. Kishuku made the motion of whacking Tama, then thought better of it and just grinned evilly.
"Don't make me give you back to Miaka!" he threatened, and the cat quickly buried himself in Juan's shirt. Then he noticed Saihitei's expression. "Sai-san?"
Saihitei was looking around the room with a look of absolute shock on his face. "What miserable conditions these children have to live in... we never knew the people could be so wretchedly poor."
"Well, I'm sorry if we're not all rich like you, Heika," Kishuku bristled, but Saihitei took no notice of his friend's irritation. Instead, he brought himself to his full height and put his right hand over his sword's hilt, as if making a vow in front of the whole country. "As Emperor, it is our duty to help the impoverished rise above these living circumstances! It is not only a duty--it will be our mission!" he spoke with majestic intensity, failing again to notice Kishuku's obvious chagrin.
"Ahhh, not to interrupt your lovely speech, Sai-san, but we don't want to let too many people know the Emperor is riding around Konan. Could be bad for your health," Ryuuen tactfully suggested. "Besides, you don't want to totally embarrass Kishuku-kun or his family."
"We do have our pride, you know," the Tamahome Seishi grumbled. Luckily, Sou-san was too busy listening to the prattle of his children to hear Saihitei's statement. However, Miaka had heard the promise very clearly, and was currently staring at the Chosen Hotohori with a limp jaw. Then, when Doukun poked her in the side and murmured something about looking like a dead fish, she snapped her mouth shut, but continued to watch Saihitei with a very bemused expression on her face.
Once Chuuei returned with the fish and everyone was fed, the Seishi and Miko politely ducked out of the house and headed towards a large patch of empty flatlands for their conversation. Takeshi and Chie had offered to stay behind and watch the Sou family, and Shun'u asked Genrou to look after Sute for him, which the wolf didn't mind. The harder part was convincing Sute that she'd be fine without Shun'u around. It took the Tasuki Seishi ten extra minutes to reassure her that she'd be all right under Genrou's care, and even after he promised he would return to the house, she still watched him leave with a look in his eyes that screamed "don't abandon me."
Shit, I can't take this anymore. Suzaku, I don't mind watchin' Sute, but I can't deal with this... insecurity. I need ta find a good family that'll watch 'er. He decided to bring that subject up to everyone as soon as possible.
The first thing they discussed was each of their separate incidents, which was suspiciously barren of good news. Shun'u related the tale of Sute, while both Juan and Ryuuen talked about the Choukou episode. Kishuku told about the rescue of Miaka and all connected happenings, while Doukun spoke of the pyres in nearby villages--evidence of the Kutou army's movement. Houjun mentioned that he knew Kutou had acquired the Chosen Seiryuu no Miko and at least one of her Chosen Shichiseishi. Miaka herself spoke of the multiple attacks on her life, but beyond that she kept very quiet.
None of this brought a smile to anyone's face. Great. Not only do we have our own country ta worry 'bout, we got Kutou fuckin' ridin' our asses! Shit!
For the rest of that conversation, which quickly moved into politics, Shun'u stayed out of it. He had no interest in said subject, and didn't feel today was the best day to start showing one. Important stuff, but it ain't nothin' I can help with, and nothin' I wanna hear, he thought indifferently, watching the expressions on everyone's face. The only other person who looked as out-of-place as himself was Miaka, who sat quietly with her knees to her chin. Eventually, the dialogue turned to the situation of the Chosen Seishi, and that's when Miaka spoke up.
"So... I feel really dumb for asking this, but what does it mean that I'm the Chosen Miko?" she asked nervously. "I know I've got to summon Suzaku, but..."
'But you're not sure of what your role entails,' Tama finished.
Miaka nodded. "Why do you talk about bringing the country into grace if that's something only Suzaku can do?"
A quick glance around the circle, and Saihitei was the first to begin. "From what we have known and studied from the ShiJinTenChiSho, the Chosen Suzaku no Miko is able to call Suzaku from the heavenly realm with the assistance of her Chosen Suzaku no Shichiseishi. Once this is done, the Miko is able to acquire the powers of Suzaku, and may thus have her every wish granted."
"It's not simple, though," Houjun picked up, erasing the happy glitter from Miaka's eyes. "There are some restraints upon summoning Suzaku, no da. The first is that the country must be in a state of grace, which in essence means that the whole country must be at peace with itself, no da. There can be no unnatural death, no fighting, and so on and so forth. Second, those that are summoning Suzaku must match into the clues that He has given within the ShiJin, no da."
"Why?" Miaka asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if that's what He wants of us, then who are we to go against His will, no da?" the Priest offered, and everyone around the circle nodded.
"Is there anything else that Suzaku wants us to do?" Ryuuen put forth.
'We think so, but nothing beyond those two rules are written in the ShiJin,' Shonin said. 'It gives details upon the summoning ritual itself, but doesn't tell us any more orders for actually invoking Suzaku. Take a look at it for yourself.'
Houjun pulled the ShiJin from inside his kasa, and opened it to what was supposedly the correct area. However, all that Shun'u saw was nothing but whiteness for nearly three hand-spans before it picked up with descriptions for the ceremony. He wasn't happy.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!" Shun'u snarled, contemptuously tossing his arm at the scroll. "What the hell is wrong with Suzaku?! He fuckin' did this with th' Miko, and now he's tryin' ta tell us, 'you need ta follow these rules, but damned if I'm gonna give 'em ta ya!' That's horse shit!"
"There's no point screaming and carrying on about it," Kishuku shook his head as Houjun replaced the ShiJin. "My question is, why don't we just try summoning Suzaku now? We have the two, and probably the most important, criteria. Why not just figure out how to let those two come to pass, and we'll be set to summon Him?"
"We've already got one of the conditions met--all eight of us are present. I'm sure we can figure out how to bring momentary peace to Konan," Ryuuen said firmly.
'The question is, how do we do it?' Kohana asked, shooting down her beloved's idea.
"We cannot make peace an imperial order, for people may not follow it or even understand it, and there are those who may be traveling through the country and not consider themselves tied to the decree," Saihitei frowned, deep in thought. "We cannot separate into smaller groups to enforce it. The ShiJin makes it clear that all seven Seishi must be present with the Miko during the summoning."
Doukun's face suddenly lit up with a grin and his Seishi symbol. "We can always ask for our ketsu companions to aid us."
"How?"
"The ketsu are able to read minds--telepathy, if you want to name it. Through telepathy, they are able to tell what a person is thinking and feeling. If all the ketsu in Konan were to form a telepathic connection with each other, it is possible they could also connect every human mind and thus tell them of what we are doing. In addition, there are Seishi who are also telepathic who may assistance us."
Juan stroked Tama's fur thoughtfully. "Does the ShiJin make mention of how the people may be brought to peace? If there are no guidelines, then is it possible for the ketsu to hold all the people in Konan through hypnosis?"
'You mean force the land into peace.' Toshi's voice was blunt.
Juan shrugged noncommittally. "I said nothing of force. I merely stated that the ketsu could momentarily give the people a hypnotic suggestion."
"So what you're thinking of is a giant mind-web." Ryuuen propped his head on his fist. "A way of holding the whole population as one mind, one being, one spirit. That way, there's no one suddenly disrupting the state of grace."
'This is an incredibly intelligent idea, but you're all banking on the idea that us ketsu can do that,' Tama cut in.
Miaka tilted her head in pained confusion. "You mean you can't?"
'We're powerful, and we are able to act as the center of multiple mental conversations, but what you're talking about is huge. There are about 350,000 people in Konan, but only twenty-five hundred Seishi,' the Mitsukake ketsu explained.
'If you do the math, you see there's only about one Seishi to every one hundred forty normal people,' Toshi clarified for the rather stunned Shichiseishi. 'Less than one percent of the people, in any given country, are Seishi.'
"Sweet Suzaku, that's outrageous!" Kishuku choked out. "I never knew there were so few of us..."
"Shit and damn, we got our work cut out fer us!" Shun'u rubbed his forehead.
'That's not to say that you guys don't have a good idea, but we ketsu would be spreading ourselves out too thin,' Kohana tried to soothe the shock. 'But something that neither Toshi or Tama pointed out is that most of the people live in either Eiyou, the capital, or Kigasho,' she said, referring to the second largest city in Konan. 'Those that don't live in the city are very often graced with the presence of a traveling Seishi in their towns. So even if there aren't a large number of Seishi pairs, the country isn't lacking for them.'
Doukun ahhhed in understanding. "I think I see what you're speaking about, Kohana-ketsu. If we are able to arrange for the Seishi in the cities to, say, strengthen an edict of peace given by Saihitei-sama, and have a number of traveling Seishi stay within the small villages, it won't be necessary to completely mind-web the whole country."
Ryuuen caught on next. "Most of the Seishi are in the city to start with, and they can rally the people. If the declaration only lasts for a short period of time, and given at a set date, the Seishi can help coordinate the ones in the city. We'd have voluntary cooperation of the people, and the ketsu wouldn't have to work nearly that hard."
"Villages work well together, especially around a Seishi," Miaka piped up. "If we can make sure the small towns are centered around even one Seishi, we won't have to ask the ketsus to mind-web with everyone--just with each other."
"And they would let us know what's going on and when the country's at peace so we can perform the ceremony," Kishuku finished, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I like it!"
