Miko-tachi stepped out of the fire-gate to find themselves- in the middle of a forest. Talya sweatdropped as she closed the gate, and fifteen pairs of eyes turned accusingly her way. "It wasn't supposed to do that..." she mumbled, as Rence groaned, Priya cackled and tossed her Insanely Long Hair, and the other four newest, drunken Seishi giggled and staggered around laughing. Talya looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I can transport myself via fire-gates. I guess I never tried it with anyone else." She giggled then, as the effects of the alcohol had not yet worn off. Time stood still as everyone made "hang-loose" signs with their fingers- and fell over. Shaking herself off, Miko stood,and said, "Well, we might as well camp." Nobara suddenly chimed in: "Hey, Beefcake's missing, and I can't hear or smell him anywhere." The other four newest Seishi fell over laughing drunkenly at the word smell. Yonjuu stamped off a ways, looked up and flew high into the air. She came back moments later, saying sullenly, "We should head west. I think I see a town of some sort." She walked off, muttering to herself. And so the group headed west, unaware that they were being watched...
Takara watched the little blond and her gaggle of followers with amusement. Am I really supposed to help these people? They're so loud... and some of them are just plain annoying. She glanced over to the little brown-haired girl with the pork-bun hairstyle, and snickered. If she says Tamahome one more time in the next minute- This train of thought was cut off by a wistful, If only Tamahome were here... Which was immediately silenced by a gag and fifteen sighs of relief. Takara continued to watch the group from her perch in the tree, when suddenly one of them stopped and looked right at her. Well, at least someone here can feel chi. With that thought, she jumped out of the tree, landing silently on the soft, grassy earth, and wolflike, loped away.
Takara continued to follow the group for several days, having nothing better to do. Several times she was forced to leave as one or the other of the sixteen would suddenly glance her way, even though she was always well hidden behind a curtain of greenery. However, the group was progressing into rough territory, controlled by several rival gangs. The one she had heard called Rence was always glancing about uneasily, as if she felt the constant press of danger. Of course, a group of sixteen rather loud girls in a land full of men was bound to be noticed sooner or later, and one morning, Takara was woken by a surge of feeling, of people connected to her fighting: fighting for their lives. She ran quickly towards the disturbance, the bloodlust of the wolf coursing through her veins. She entered the clearing where the girls had camped, and came upon a scene of chaos. Miaka-chan and Miko were huddled in the middle, Miaka screaming Tamahome! while the now-familiar nasal voice of Tama-chan serenaded the fight. Several of the yakuza were being blown away by a windstorm that seemed to emanate from the body of the small girl Takara had come to know as Neko-chan. Other gangsters seemed to be wandering around in a state of confusion, their bodies mechanically thrown in front of any threatening blade, as Priya grinned madly on, and as Kristi looked on with determination, rain, and then hail, began to fall on the hapless yakuza.
However, as Takara watched, the small army of bandits began to overrun the small party of girls. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several of the yakuza creeping stealthily through the bushes, toward TNM and Miaka. What they didn't know, however, was that they were also heading towards her. Takara shrugged, stepped out of the bushes, and offered a brazen smile to the six or so bandits. She closed her eyes for a second, concentrated her chi, then yelled, Genjitsu Shinzarou! with her arm extended in front of her, palm down, the merest edge of an orange character glowing from her index finger. Suddenly, in front of her, there appeared five wolves. The largest wolf bowed its head to Takara, and with a fang-toothed smile, she nodded back, and drew her sword.
The battle was over in minutes, as those yakuza that survived the combined attack of seishi, wolves, and annoying theme music ran off in fear, although whether it was fear of the fighters or the music, Takara couldn't tell. She wiped her blade clean, sheathed it, and with a sigh, turned toward Miko. She smiled, a bit of fang showing, and with a hand still glowing orange, waved at the assorted group. Konnichiwa, minna. Well, I guess Id better introduce myself. At that moment, the wolves walked slowly up to Takara, bowed their heads, and vanished. With their absence, the adrenaline left Takara's body in a rush, and she drooped in fatigue. Im Takara... she said weakly, Is there a Mitsukake in the house?
Miko jumped for joy. "Yatta!" she cried ecstatically. "We found Epsilon!" "Excuse me," Takara interrupted, "but I only helped because I hate to see people get killed in front of me, and I am not part of this group. So don't call me 'Epsilon,' 'kay?" Absolute silence reigned for a moment, and then Miko howled. "I WANT TO SUMMON TASUKI AND NOTHING AND NOBODY GETS IN MY WAY!" She shouted, prompting whispers of "Miko ga kowai yo..." from her loyal seishi. "Hey," Takara said, "it's nothing personal. I think Tasuki's hot too, but when we summon him, we go back. We don't even get to keep him, like Miaka couldn't keep Tama-" "Shhhh!" the rest of the group said nervously, glancing at Miaka. "Don't get her started!" "Besides, there's only one of him, and, like..." Takara stopped to count the group, and sweatdropped. "Uh, how many seishi are there, anyway?" Suddenly Kanjiru stepped up. "You WILL come with us," she said, waving her hand in a Jedi-like motion. "I...I..." Takara struggled, but Kanjiru's Amazing Psychic Powers prevailed. "You are no match for me," Kanjiru said confidently, and Takara slumped. Kanjiru released her mental hold, and Takara, stumbling a bit, said, "Fine, I'll come with you, but if you expect me to help you summon Tasuki, you've got another thing coming!"
Takara growled slightly, and Priya, cackling, said wickedly, "We'll just see." Suddenly the forest dissolved away- to reveal a beautiful castle, surrounded by pink bubbles. A shadowy figure stepped forth, to reveal the face of "Taitsu-kun!" the group cried in unison. Miko stepped forward. "Obaba... I mean, Taitsu-kun, please help me find the rest of the seishi. I REALLY WANT TO SUMMON TASUKI!" Taitsu-kun waved her hand, and six forms appeared. "Where Miko is, the Seishi will gather. These six have been waiting for you here. You've successfully collected seventeen seishi, so I guess I can give you these ones." Hikari, Miaka Shunu, Kourika, Jennifer, Maru, and Chanpu appeared. Miko "yatta-ed" again, then made a peace-sign. "I've collected all of them!" She announced, Pokemon-trainer-like, and smiled. "But isn't this TOO easy?" she said. Just then, a vague figure appeared, and before the Seishi had time to react, the figure snatched Miko away and disappeared. "USO!" the group of Seishi cried. "I thought bad people couldn't come to Mt. Taikyoku," Cat said to Taitsu-kun. Taitsu-kun shrugged, and said nonchalantly, "you guys had it too easy anyway. You'd better find your Miko quick, or nobody summons anything." With that, Mt. Taikyoku dissolved around them, and the Twenty-Three Seishi found themselves in the middle of a dark, snowy landscape, with nothing in sight but miles of snow-covered plains.