TNM looked at the retreating back of the blue-haired, yellow-eyed Seishi as she elbowed her way through the other Seishi. "Ano, Yonjuuichi-san-" she began, but the Seishi whirled and shrieked, "Don't call me that- I can't stand it!" at the top of her lungs. Miko sweatdropped, because saying, "Hey, you over there" didn't seem fitting. She tried again. "Uh... Cassiel-san-" The blue-haired girl whirled and said, "Call me Yonjuu. Just Yonjuu. If you don't call me Yonjuu, I'll... I'll SCREAM!" she yelled. Miko backed away, as Priya cackled and tossed her Insanely Long Hair, Nobara grimaced at the commotion, and Cat cowered. felicia suddenly felt a power welling within her, and with one mighty breath, said, "NI!" Silence reigned, as nearby Baba-chans scurried in fear, and even the young Seishi became quiet. Out of that quiet came a small, "Tamahome..." The entire group groaned and a gag suddenly found its way into Miaka's mouth. Priya grinned. Miko sweatdropped. "Moving on..." she said.
The group gathered in the main hall to speak with Boushin and Houki. "Now, what can we do to aid you in your quest?" Houki asked. "We really don't know much about these things..." Miko thought for a moment, and then said, "Do you have any of those things that Suzaku no Miko used to find her Seishi? You know, the mirror-thingy or maybe a copy of the NiJuuHachi Jin Tenchi Sho or something like that?" Houki looked thoughtful, and said, "Well, we don't have any of those things, but you might ask Taitsu-kun; she's sure to know."
Boushin stood up; despite his gawky frame, there was a sense of majesty about him, and the room hushed. In the silence, Miaka's stomach let out a large rumble, but other than that, quiet reigned. Boushin pointed his finger in a Hotohori-like pose. "By royal decree, we order that this group be shown to Mt. Taikyoku to see Taitsu-kun. We will provide a guide to reach this place; the rest is up to you." The group bowed and left the royal presence, dragging behind a bound and gagged Miaka.
Meanwhile, a young woman, slight of stature and dressed in a school uniform awoke. "What-the-" she mumbled, a slight headache blurring her vision. She took a better look around, and sat up quickly. Trees surrounded a small glade with a very pretty stream and some flowers. However, there was one small problem; she had no idea where she was. She stood, and as she did, stared at her clothes. She was dressed in a typical Japanese school uniform, with one exception-she wore a pair of soft gloves, each with a large round stone on the front. She shrugged, and following the stream, started off into the forest.
In the meantime, Miko-tachi were having a lovely time. The guard Boushin had so thoughtfully provided was the first piece of beefcake these women had seen in days, and although he was neither his Royal Fangedness, nor Kouji-sama, nor Tamahome, he was indeed a fine-looking man, and Miko-tachi were spending more time trying to entertain him than trying to pass through the forest that currently surrounded them. Rence pulled a camera from somewhere and took pictures which, while not rivaling her screencaps, were quite nice, and Nobara, Kristi, Priya, and of course Miko were drooling.
So it was no surprise when they quite stupidly happened upon what appeared to be a fight in progress, with a small girl in a uniform holding off two hoodlums. At the sight of the hoodlums, the would-be guard ran off into the bushes, obviously intimidated by the size of these two men. Yonjuu's birds came flying out of nowhere, attacking the surprised thieves and allowing the small girl to step back. The girl backed away, anger written on her face, when suddenly, an orange light surrounded her, glowing brightly in the gems on her gloves. The light gathered, shot out of the gems, and formed a set of knives in the girl's hands. She lunged forward, attacking the nearest thief, who backed off just in time to avoid becoming mincemeat. Faced with the eleven women, several who looked as if they could be quite dangerous, the hoodlums backed away, and then ran into the forest. The daggers in the girl's hands became a soft orange light that gently faded into the gems. The girl turned to face the group.
"Hi," she smiled, "I'm Kei, yoroshiku onegashimasu! You guys are the first normal-looking people I've seen all day!" Priya smirked. "Obviously she's not looking very deeply..." Miko did a quick calculation on her fingers and jumped for joy, saying, "Yatta! We found the tenth Seishi! Only thirteen more to go!" Kei facefaulted. "Uh, Seishi? What the..." After a short explanation, (a.k.a. the first couple of chapters of this fanfic) Kei finally understood what was going on. "Eeto," Kei-chan said, "if you've already found ten of us, and there's thirteen more to go...We have twenty-three Seishi?" she asked. "Yes, twenty-three," the entire group intoned. "And no bishonens?" Kei asked disbelievingly. "Speaking of which," Kristi said suddenly, "does anyone know where our guide went?" Cassiel stomped her foot. "Oh, great." she said. "We're lost." Miaka, pulling her SNM act, cried out through the gag, "Haaaamaaahooomeee!" And thus, the merry group found themselves lost, somewhere in Konan, in the middle of a Big Scary Forest.
(Chapter Notes: Kei's powers are a not-so-original adaptation of Magic Knights Rayearth. "Yoroshiku onegashimasu" means "pleased to meet you" in Japanese. Cassiel's name means "forty-one," but she prefers to be called "forty." "bishonen" = hot guys. Miko-tachi = Miko and group. Just a few notes for anyone who wants to know. :)