Houjun stood up and bowed formally. "Heika! Takeshi-ketsu! Many thanks for gracing us with your presence this day!" On the bed, Shonin and Genrou both inclined their heads in a show of respect, while Toshi bowed on his forelegs. The remaining Seishi, however, were too shell-shocked to do more than sketch awkward bows and mumble a greeting. Takeshi took off from his bondmate's arm and landed on the sill next to Kohana, conversing with her as if they'd always known each other.

"It is our pleasure, Ri-san, to see you and meet three other Chosen Shichiseishi," Saihitei smiled to Houjun, his voice nearly knocking Kishuku off his chair with its strength. No wonder people listen when he talks! The Emperor's authority isn't just in his title; the man radiates pure power! But... but it's a warm power, like Suzaku's blessed flames.

Houjun made the introductions around the room, which saved Kishuku from embarrassing himself in front of his Majesty, and made an attempt to return to topic. However, Saihitei seemed more interested in putting the others at ease before starting up any of the discussion matters.

"Please, let's try and get away from such strong formalities. Call me Saihitei-san if you must, but not Heika or Saihitei-sama or any other such title. Our expeditions would be more difficult than necessary if we felt we couldn't speak to one another due to status differences, and our title would only serve as a blatant reminder of said differences," he said, taking the seat on the bed Houjun had vacated. "I would like to get to know everyone on a personal level, not only because it will help in the journeys we'll be taking, but also because..." he reached for the proper words. "Well, I can't say I would like to pass by the chance to truly know the men I will be spending a great deal of my time with."

It was actually a very easy thing to do. Kishuku found his Highness to be an extremely pleasant person to be around, and with all the ketsu around to knock down any remaining barriers it didn't take too long for the five of them to begin chatting as if old friends. Ryuuen had taken up his seat on the windowsill again and Houjun was sitting on the floor between Saihitei and Kishuku. Ketsu were scattered around the room, taking seats on rugs, in laps, or anywhere else they felt comfortable.

I'll bet that there's some Chosen Shichiseishi bond-thingie to help us, Kishuku thought with amusement. It's as if we're meant to be togethe-- and he realized something very important. We are! We are meant to be friends!

'It would be prudent if we were to return to the intended dialogue, my friends,' Takeshi spoke formally. 'We can make time for casual talk later, but Saihitei has needs to which he must attend before the day is out.'

Saihitei sighed and admitted, "Unfortunately, Takeshi is right. We regret that there are matters of which we'd rather avoid but... duty before pleasure."

"Too bad," Kishuku sighed. "Was getting kinda fun, talking with the Emperor and all."

'We'll have more chances, no worries about that, but there is one thing I'm wondering,' Kohana said, then turned to the Priest. 'Houjun-san... are you the Chosen Chichiri Seishi?'

The question surprised the Warrior Trio, evident by their puzzled expressions. Kishuku was about to open his mouth and blurt out, "Of course he is!" when he realized Houjun had never actually implied the fact. He was just sort of there, helping them and offering information without strings attached.

"Well, what makes you think that, no da?" Houjun asked, ever-so-casually.

'Just a guess...' the panda trailed off. 'But you seem to know an awful lot about the Chosen Shichi. I know you're High Priest and all, so maybe--'

"WHAT?" the brawlers exclaimed, all turning to get a better look at Houjun.

"They did not know this?" Saihitei followed their motions of surprise.

"Thank you, Kohana," Houjun growled, hiding his face behind his hand. "I needed this, no da." She replied with a slightly embarrassed, 'Eheheheheh...'

"Not only is th' Emperor of Konan our travelin buddy, but the fuckin High Priest too!" Shun'u sounded far too exasperated for anyone's good. "Shit! Houjun! Why didn’t'cha tell us?!"

"It wasn't something I felt was extremely relevant to tell you during the previous conversation, or even during this one, no da. I was not purposely hiding the information from you. Far from it, in fact, for I knew that I had to tell you at some point, but I was more interested in meeting you as equals than as High Priest and Warrior students, no da."

Kishuku looked the man up and down and realized Houjun's outfit was the same as before, making the illustrious overcoat a dead giveaway to his status. The blue-haired man was most definitely the highest-ranking Priest in all of Konan, his only superiors being Haon-sama and Saihitei himself. Kishuku wasn't quite sure how to feel about this new piece of info, but Ryuuen helped clear up the matter.

He spoke, "Like the way this whole conversation could be way more uncomfortable if we kept thinking about how we have two really important people in this room rather than trying to figure out an actual answer to the proposed problem."

"An ignorance is bliss idea," Kishuku jumped in, finally understanding. He wasn't leaving us out because he didn't trust us, he just didn't want us to stop trusting him.

'Pretty much, you guys. All we have to remember is that nothing has changed, and that we're all alike when together,' Shonin supported her Seishi. 'But to get back to Kohana's question, yes, we are the Chosen Chichiri pair. Saihitei and Takeshi are the Chosen Hotohori pair. The only ones left are the Chosen Chiriko, Mitsukake, and the Miko.'

"Any idea who they are?" Shun'u asked.

"I talked to Lau and she thinks her protégé Ou Doukun may be the Chiriko Seishi," Houjun said.

"Doukun?!" the same set of voices chorused in the room.

"You know him?" the other two sent back.

'I see this will be a running gag among our little entourage,' Genrou noted wryly.

"Th' kid? No way!" Shun'u shook his head.

Saihitei tilted his head. "Why not? Is he not a Seishi like us?"

"Yeah, but he's only 13," Kishuku said slowly. "Kind of young, don't you think?"

'What were the characters for Chiriko?' Toshi asked. 'May as well see how well he fits.'

Houjun was handed the ShiJin by Saihitei and read, "'Wisest owl', no da."

Pause.

"Yup. It works. Doukun's the Chosen Chiriko," Shun'u decided, flinging his arms as high as the bandages would let him.

Kishuku snickered. "Didn't take too much convincing on our parts."

"You know, we can go speak to him later if you like," Ryuuen offered. "I know I've had previous contact with him, and I think these two have also." Both Kishuku and Shun'u nodded in agreement.

Houjun thought a bit and nodded. "That might not be a bad idea, no da. If he knows you, he may be more relaxed and accepting of this difficult truth, no da."

"When we've blown this place, we'll track him down for ya 'n make him understand," the Tasuki Seishi promised.

Oye, poor Doukun.

'Do you know the Mitsukake Seishi?' Genrou questioned.

"I'm not sure, but I believe there's a healer over in Choukou, a northern village, that fits the profile," Houjun mapped out. "None of the Mitsukake Seishi within the Center or Eiyou match it as well as the rest have, but I doubt that will be a problem, no da. If we managed to find six of the seven Suzaku Shichiseishi within the Center and city, we can take up some time to find a single Seishi that's a couple of days away, no da."

"And, dare I ask, what of the Miko?" Ryuuen made the final inquiry.

"She will prove to be the most difficult of all eight to find," Saihitei frowned. "The ShiJinTenChiSho gives no clue or indication as to which Miko she will be."

A collective groan rose up from those new to this fact.

'So are we going to have to gallivant around Konan to find her?' Kohana questioned, sounding both puzzled and irritated. 'Because as fun as that could be, it seems like a very foolish thing for a god to do. Why bother having hints for the Seishi and nothing for the Miko? It just doesn't make sense!'

"I don't know, no da," Houjun spoke regretfully. "The gods are mysterious in their ways, and I hesitate to make another petition, no da. We can only burn one more ShiJin before our final chance to call Suzaku. If we don't use the opportunities wisely, Konan will be destroyed, no da."

"This is gettin a li'l ahead of everythin, but what happens when we find everyone?" Shun'u asked. "This sounds too easy, like we just need two more people to call Suzaku and 'bam!' We're all set for eternity."

Saihitei chuckled. "The portrait you paint does appear rather simple, but there is more than what we've said. Even if all Chosen Shichiseishi and Miko were gathered, Suzaku cannot be summoned until the country itself is in a state of grace, so to speak."

"State of grace, your Highness?" Ryuuen raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten us."

'Better be quick, Sai, because you have ten minutes before the councilors start tracking you and Houjun-san down with a fervor,' Takeshi warned them.

"Summarized, the country must be in a state where no great evils are taking place," the Emperor spoke quickly. "No death caused through unnatural events, no malicious intent within the minds of those calling Suzaku, etc. There are more rules and instructions to be followed, but those are the two biggest, most emphasized ones."

He kept talking about some of the other qualifications, but Kishuku paid his words no attention. I can't believe it. Even if we find each other, even if we try to summon Suzaku, it only works if the whole country's involved. A whole goddamn country! Full of hundreds of thousands of people, doing hundreds of thousands of things at once! Sweet Suzaku, I don't see how we're going to be able to do this! The sheer vastness of the task ahead of his was enough to make poor Kishuku's head start to pound.

Kind of like the rapid knocking on the door.

"Enter," Saihitei told whoever was on the other side. It opened and revealed a few doctors and some bureaucrats, ready to enter and each looking hell-bent on doing their jobs.

"Tell you what, I'll get out of the way and catch you guys later," Ryuuen said as he turned and put his legs out the window. "See ya!" and he slipped out without a backward glance.

Chicken, Kishuku snorted inwardly. Smart man, though. I'd hate to be here too. And the noise began to override his internal monologue.

"Heika, we have a few things to see you with-"

"Shun'u, we're here to do the routine checkup--"

A woman came up to Kishuku with a gestured to the wheeled chair she had by her side. "Please, if you'll move into this, I can bring you back to your room for some well-needed rest."

Kishuku managed to slip from his current seat to the mobile one without too much of a hassle. He didn't feel tired, especially after all the exciting news, but he knew better than to argue with the doctors and healer-Priests. They always won.

"I'll talk to you later," Kishuku waved to the others as he was wheeled out. All acknowledged his leaving before turning back to their individual situations. Toshi followed at a light walk, his back leg still giving him trouble.

'It's a good thing we're heading back,' Toshi said, sounding very pensive. 'We need the rest, and even though we like to think we're invincible, the scars on your leg say otherwise.'

'Guess you're right... hey Toshi?'

'Yes?'

'...I'm kind of worried. I mean... what if, after all our work, we couldn't call Suzaku? Then what?'

Toshi didn't answer at first. 'We just have to hope that we do a very thorough job, and that scenario doesn't come to pass.'

'Thorough job?'

'Of course. Why do you think we're traveling all over Konan? Not only do we need to find the Miko and the Mitsukake Seishi, but if we want to be able to bring momentary peace to this country we have to find the root of our problems.'

'You mean Kutou and the ketsu killer.'

'I'm not talking about the Mt. Reikaku bandits, my dear Seishi.'

Kishuku let his head loll backwards in dismay. I can't do this. All this pressure is going to kill us if we don't kill each other first. By the time he reached his hospital bed, he was looking forward to a few hours of mindless sleep. But I wonder... can we really save the country? So much is at stake, with so many people to care for its overwhelming. Can it be done?

He fell asleep dreaming of his family, trying to protect them against the coming war with a faceless monster that he could not defeat alone.

And Toshi was nowhere to be found.