#seiryuu seishi

[ranefea]

It occurred to me I hadn't really shared the Fushigi Yuugi house I spent ages on in Animal Crossing New Horizons! I designed every (known) seishi and miko's normal outfits (except Takiko's, which the game actually has an outfit that is really close, lol) and themed the rooms in my house to each group. I made the second floor Taiitsukun's palace/Mt. Taikyoku to the best of my ability with what the game has.

If anyone has the game and wants to see it "in person", you can visit my Dream Address at DA-9867-9835-4203. It's the house in the very center back.

My overall island (Starfall) is a dark faerie theme, and I also have a Stardew Valley themed house and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer themed house.

[keyofjetwolf]

madegeeky replied to your photo: “Pleased to meet you, we’re the Seiryuu Seishi Bad...

Where is their cute animal sidekick?

MAYBE THAT ONE GUY SKINNED IT FOR ROBE TRIM

[3wishes-rpg]

Paterfamilias

Takes place about a year before game time, just after Aoi revealed himself to be Nakago.  He didn’t consider it at the time, but his action ended up having hard repercussions on both his best friend, as well as his fathers.  Takes place at the Nakakawa estate, in western Kutou.  

Some people of the house lingered in the courtyard, enjoying their dinner from the hilltop gardens, but most of the estate’s staff had started to withdraw into interior rooms, to enjoy the temperate spring air from the comfort of a window.   Likewise, the two lords of the estate occupied a small but cozy writing room, one side open to the beautiful countryside, and the other adjacent to the Nakakawa estate council chamber.  At this hour, they should have still been holding assembly, to check in on the village elders and the dockmasters.  But the day’s meeting had been called off.  The lords at Nakakawa were occupied with graver concerns.  

Mikiya sat upon the tatami mat, while Hatori stood by the sliding door to the outdoors.  Though sitting, his gaze followed after Hatori’s, out to the orchards and to the grassy fields beyond.  Fields cordoned off for horseback training, or for archery, or other military pursuits, had stayed still all day.  Rest days and recreation were unknown to soldiers training at Nakakawa, yet the trainee troops had all disappeared two nights ago, down to the coast.  Their commanders had said no word when they left, which at best was disrespectful, but at worst...

Hatori crossed his arms and frowned anew over their land.  His poised, hawkish face had followed the sun as it faded into the distant west.  The damn man could stand there, calm and unharried, for days if he liked.  He hadn’t spoken his thoughts for hours, just stood around in contemplation.    

Mikiya, on the other hand, could not find a distraction that held him for more than a few minutes.  He sat cross-legged at the oaken tea table, but he had forgotten to drink the tea while it was still warm.  One of his journals sat before him, and his pen and his ashtray, as well as his box of smokeweed.  His long bamboo pipe hung from the corner of his lips, occasionally forgotten as well.  He’d tried reading a historical novel, but now just slammed the thick tome back on the table.  “I can’t focus on this bullshit.”

“Have peace, Mikiya.  What news there is, it seems we will know soon.”

The smoking lord chuckled darkly.  “How many hours you’ve been standing there thinking that?”  

“Only just now.”  Hatori reached forward, and slid the bay door closed against the night wind.  Just before it shut, a blurred shadow darted through the narrow opening, perhaps to an outsider seeming like a cat dashing indoors., But no - within a moment, a young woman, dressed in a drab, old kimono, was before them, and bowed deeply to the two men. Her long brown hair swayed in a braid at her side.

“Mio.”  Hatori tilted his head at the ninja.  “You’ve returned with speed.”

When the soldiers left two days ago, a clumsy handmaid accompanied the troops to the coast.  Mio, uncertain and meek by nature, would not have raised anyone’s suspicions - but even as a knave in the art of ninjitsu, there were few who could rival her raw speed and her ear for eavesdropping.  She served their estate for just a year, but well proved herself in that time.  

Yet, Mikiya could not recall a time she looked as harrowed as she was now.  Her cheeks were red as apples, and her hair unsmoothed, and her feet and hands rough with dirt.  She never presented herself to them as this before.  He drew deeply from his pipe.

“My lords, as fast as I could, though perhaps not fast enough.  You are both in danger.”

“Danger?  Is this related to the mobilized troops?”

“Not directly, but soldiers approach, as well as-”  

“My son,” Mikiya interrupted.

Mio looked at Mikiya, passing a concerned glance over his rougher-than-usual beard, his fuming pipe, his tense knuckles upon the tabletop.  “Ah...of course.  What do you know already, my lords?”

Hatori answered her.  “Very little.  The soldiers training here left no word as to why they left. None of my official contacts in the capital will respond to letters, nor to couriers.  Unofficially, we learned that the Palace is in disarray, but none will tell us the cause.”  He refolded his arms over his chest. “They refuse to comment upon Aoi altogether.”

She looked between them, and her shoulders wilted.  “It is difficult news, my lords.”

“We’re not fools.” Mikiya’s breath as he spoke parted some of the heavy smoke around his face.  “Something happened to our son.”

“Mio,” Hatori said, goading and firm.

She cast down her eyes.  “It was two nights ago.  There was a disturbance at the palace, within the Palace soldiers’ mess hall.  A surprise attack.”  She paused, and struggled for words. “Lord Aoi...he was…”

Mikiya slammed his fist on the table. The thunderous sound interrupted Mio, and scattered the ceramic ashtray and teacups upon the tabletop. “If our son is dead, say so!”

The young ninja flinched, and looked upon Mikiya with clear horror.  She held her breath for a moment, trying to compose herself.  A breath before Mikiya lost his patience again, she found the means to steel herself, drawing herself straight up, and spoke firmly.  “Sirs...Lord Aoi is missing.  No one knows if he is dead or alive.  But the Ministry’s position is to act as if he is alive.”

“The Ministry?” Hatori said.

Mikiya sputtered at nearly the same time,  “They don’t know?”

The young woman looked between them, then decided to focus on Hatori.  “Yes, the Ministry of Defense.  They are coordinating the search for Lord Aoi with the Empress’s army, as well as Kutou’s local forces.”

“The Ministry would not concern themselves with a missing soldier, not even a Palace captain.”  Hatori’s eyes narrowed.  “They concern themselves with political enemies, and traitors to the crown.”

“Yes, Lord Hatori.  Yesterday morning, after evidence was presented to the Empress, Lord Aoi was declared an enemy to the crown.  He is the Ministry of Defense’s top concern at the moment.”

Mikiya banged his fist against his table again, though not so strongly as before.  “All this, and you know nothing of his whereabouts, or his state?”  

The ninja only bowed her head,  “I beg your pardon, but I have nothing.”

“Regardless.  The Empress responded very quickly, it seems,” Hatori said carefully.  “What was his crime?”

“Religious treason, my lord.  He attempted to rally his fellow soldiers under the cause of Seiryuu, and when they refused, he attacked them,”  Mio knotted her hands nervously while she spoke,  “He claimed to be an avatar of the gods.”  

For the first time, Hatori appeared startled.  “No…”

She bowed her head.  “There is no mistake.  At the palace, Lord Aoi declared himself to be a piece of the dragon.  Nakago.”

Hatori rocked back, suddenly uncertain on his feet.   Mikiya, on the other hand, shot up from his seat on the floor, pushing past Hatori and pointing an interrogating finger at the ninja.  

“We want to know about the state of our son, and instead you lay these fool’s tales at our feet!”  His eyes glowed, he shook in anger from head to foot  “Who means to mock us with these false accusations?”  

Hatori put his hand on Mikiya’s shoulder, and pulled him back.  “Mio, it was a Minister you heard say this? No less?”

“Yes, in conference with the Governor and a commander from the Palace.”  She looked nervously upon Mikiya, glowering over Hatori’s shoulder, and sunk her head low.  “And I’ve heard it whispered among others, sailors and soldiers alike.  While it is extraordinary, the accounts are consistent.  It is true, so far as anyone can tell.”

“And your brother within the palace, did he confirm this as well?”

She paused, then bowed her head.  It was poor form to rely on other ninjas for information, even a brother, but she would be the type to want to cross-check her information.  “Yes, sir.  Shiori was not witness, but he said the Ministry is treating the accusation with the utmost sincerity.”

Mikiya looked between Mio and Hatori - he thought there was no way either could believe this hogwash, yet, both looked stricken.  The other lord had paled perceptively, but his thin lips remained pursed straight, and he stared down at the ninja.

“Do people believe him to be a seishi?”  Hatori asked.

“Some, maybe.  Nobody really knows what it requires to be one.”  She shook her head, as if confused.  “I don’t know.”  

“Did they speak of a bright symbol on his person?”

A flicker of surprise lit her eyes.  “Yes, my lord.  They said his forehead glowed.”

“And the shape of it?  I know you would remember it if you saw.”

Mio nodded, and drew out the shape of it in the air.  It wasn’t a symbol that Mikiya recognized from the modern script - if anything, the symbol she drew resembled the silhouette of a human heart, composed of broken lines.  While Mikiya couldn’t make heads or tails of it, Hatori’s breath tightened into a gasp.  He stared at Mio harshly, as if seeking deception upon her face.  Then he stiffened, and turned sharply towards his writing table against the wall.  He shifted through his pile of papers until he found a blank, and once he had inked his brush, Hatori knelt down and started writing.  

Fine.  Mikiya turned away from him, and to Mio instead.  She pensively looked after Hatori, and when she noticed Mikiya focused on her, she squeaked and folded herself into a stiff bow.  Mikiya considered her for a moment, then sighed deeply.  He loosened his hands out of their fists, and instead fussed with his pipe.  It could do with being relit, so he focused his large, uneasy hands on the task of striking a match.  

“Lord Mikiya, I–”

“You are completely unsure if he is alive or dead?” Mikiya asked, cutting her off.  He struck the match, and met the flame to his pipe.  “I find it unlikely he could insult the Empire so greatly, yet still live.”

She nodded again.  Mio stood upright, but still avoided his stare.  “They said he dove into the ocean to evade capture.  Patrols have been at the shores, but nobody has found him.”  

“Hm.” His pipe relit, Mikiya took a fresh draw of smoke from it, and considered.  At least that answered the question of why the trainees at this estate were withdrawn.  The Kutou coast spanned a great expanse of land, and they must have needed every available hand.  Two days at sea could have carried Aoi quite far.  The eastern sea was tumultuous, and could have churned him out at any corner of Kutou, not to mention all the islands in-between.      

Mikiya spoke to her again.  “Where did you find the governor?  At the beach?”

“I came upon them on the road, as they were returning inland to this estate, sir.”

“How far out is the retinue?”

“Two hours until they arrive here.”  

Mikiya hissed out a smokey breath.  “Shit.  Count?”  

“Only twenty-five originally.  But this afternoon, they were joined by three hundred armored soldiers from the capital, sir.”    

“That is overkill,” he snapped, speaking around his pipe.  He wore a sheathed short-sword at his side, and his broad fist flexed and unflexed slowly over its handle as he considered this news. “Even if all the able villagers helped, we would not be able to resist over a hundred of the governor’s soldiers.”

“I know,” Mio said.  ”But they fear Lord Aoi may have already returned here.”  

“Is that the exact reasoning they gave for calling the guard?  Nothing more?”  It was no secret the Empire desired complete control of Kutou’s central river delta, including the land the Nakakawa owned, but Mikiya had not believed they’d try to make a move on it during his lifetime.  The Ministry of Defense was a flock of dumb posturing peacocks, but they were opportunistic, and a good handful of them would preen at seeing the Nakakawa lords brought down.  

“Nothing else, sir,” Mio simply confirmed.

Mikiya looked to Hatori, to see if he had reacted at all to these details, but the other lord remained kneeled at his writing desk, focused on his paper.  He barely moved, only his practiced hand floating over the page, no doubt that his penmanship would be flawless even in this time of distress.  Mikiya paced around, gnawing the end of his pipe, letting fresh smoke fume out of his nose and mouth.  

“About Aoi.  You said he attacked a group of soldiers?”

“He is said to have knocked out a mess hall of soldiers, at least 30 of them.”  She sucked in a breath and looked at Mikiya, like she expected him to outrage again.  When he didn’t, she continued.  “The unit that arrived as reinforcements saw the room of soldiers unconscious, and then saw Lord Aoi dive into the sea from a balcony.”

“What did the attacked soldiers have to say, when they recovered?”

“They remembered nothing, save for Lord Aoi’s announcement of being Nakago.”   She laced her hands in front of her - she was obviously uncomfortable with this grilling, but she would have to tolerate it.  “They do not remember seeing their fellows fall.  It seems they were all incapacitated at once.”  

“That is ridiculous.  One man cannot do that, no matter how skilled.”

“The governor said the same thing.  But the palace commander was resolute in her position, and claimed she kept witnesses to the act.  Why she would not explain the means of attack to the Governor, I don’t know.”

“Hm.  Sounds like there’s a piece to this story the Empire wants to keep secret.”  Mikiya chewed hard on end of his pipe, no longer even sucking in the smoke.  It seemed like the Empire wanted to keep secret how Aoi took down those soldiers - perhaps it was even a classified piece of technology.  A weapon? The concussive force of a cannon, perhaps.  Mikiya scratched the side of his beard.  The boy had a talent for guns, but the soldiers were merely knocked out, not blasted through.  Perhaps a chemical of some kind...

Mio put a hand on his forearm, startling Mikiya out of his thoughts.  He hadn’t really been paying a lot of attention to her state, save for her nervousness, but her eyes were tinged red and focused intently on him. “I am reporting what I hear about him, but surely they are mistaken, my lord?  Lord Aoi is very kind, and so proud of his military service.  He was beloved among the palace regiment.  He would never attack his fellows.”

Mikiya scowled.  “Even the best soldiers snap.  It’s hard to guess who can take the pressure and who can’t.”  

The young ninja’s face fell, and she drew her hand over her heart instead.  “Do you believe he did it then, Lord Mikiya?”  

He put his pipe aside, his comfort in it exhausted.  Of course a parent shouldn’t believe that their child was capable of such foulness, but Mikiya knew himself to be a creature of cynicism and doubt.  “It doesn’t matter what is true, only what the Governor believes.  If they believe he is a traitor, then we should anticipate the worst.”

Hatori shoved himself up from the writing desk.  He turned to the ninja with his paper already folded tightly and sealed in a wax cloth.  His face was utterly unreadable, his narrow lips drawn tight and his eyes focused upon Mio.

“Return to your master with this letter.” Hatori did not only give her the message, but also a purse, small but weighty.  “After that, you are dismissed from our service.”

“My lord!” she cried.  The young woman looked from him to Mikiya, as if the other lord might intervene.  

Mikiya had guessed this was coming.  Instead of protesting against Hatori, he untied one of the smaller sashes around his torso, the sash that held his short sword to his side.  A bright green emblem marked the leather - the three-slashed insignia of the Nakakawa estate.

“You will take this as well.  This is proof of my authority,” he said, holding the sword by its sheath out to Mio. “You will leave here right now, and you will use this to gather our staff and rally them to the dock.  Take every boat you can to escape down river - burn any you do not use.  No one is to return to this property unless I personally arrive with news, and do not let the people trust relayed instruction.  The Ministry would use any hostage against us, including servants.”

“Will you not follow?”

“If the capital does not find us here, they will rip through the villages to find us,” Mikiya said.  “We will surrender.”  

“Lord Hatori,” the young ninja seemed at a loss for words.  “My master...your brother can–”

“Gensai will do nothing, except watch over his own.”  Hatori looked upon her sternly.  “We are the lords here.  And Aoi is our responsibility.”  

“Lord Hatori, please...”  she begged.  Gensai, her master, taught her that a ninja was objective, a tool to their lord, but she could not help her emotion now.  Mio was young, and had admired Hatori and Aoi so dearly.  Despite himself, Mikiya found pity for her.

“I will not be foolish enough to hope.  But if you see my son, there is a message you can convey on my behalf.”  Hatori spoke evenly, and without affection.  “‘Fall from a taller tree next time.’”

“I...Of course, sir.”

“Get a move on, Mio,” Mikiya said, gentle as he should have been this whole time.  He even winked.  “You’ll see us again, I promise.”  

“Sirs.”  She knelt for a moment, the short sword clutched to her chest, her head deeply bowed.   “Heaven protect you both.”  

Then, she bolted out of the room, throwing open the thin sliding door out into the council room.  He could hear the meek ninja suddenly yelling, banging on furniture, rallying the staff.  Two old maids watched Mio bolt past, then looked down the corridor from where she had come and spied Mikiya.  He dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and closed the screen door to the hall.

“Well, that was about the worst that could have gone,” Mikiya said.  His leg bumped against his tea table, and he spared a moment to right the ceramic cups he had knocked over earlier.  He combed his hand through his messy peppered hair and tried to order his thoughts.  “Less than two hours to work with, so we’ve got to-”

Behind him, Mikiya heard a heavy crash.  Hatori collapsed, falling from where he stood down to his knees. His letter knife was in his hand, and he contemplated its silver edge with a harrowingly cold glint.  Mikiya didn’t even think.  He threw aside the low table between himself and Hatori, he dove towards the other lord.

“Hato!” Mikiya knocked the blade away with the back of his hand.  His other hand pinned Hatori’s dominant hand to the ground, so he wouldn’t think of grabbing anything else.  “You bastard!”  

Hatori stared at the knife, now at the other side of the room, then bore his empty eyes upon Mikiya.  “Seiryuu.  It knows my sins, and the sins of my blood.  It has judged me.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“I prayed for its help, even though i was not worthy. I took from the dragon, and it has taken of me.  It chose Aoi for its divine vessel as retribution.”  

“We have no evidence of that.  Hato!” Mikiya grabbed Hatori by the front of his robe, balling the cloth in his fist.  “Come to your senses!”    

Something of that pierced through Hatori’s stupor - he smashed his hand against Mikiya’s chest, shoving the other lord back.  “You come to your senses! We saw him last summer, and he would not bare his forehead to us.  Even you commented on the strangeness of it.”  Hatori’s lips were drawn in a tight snarl; his eyes smoldered.  “They say, of Nakago: the dragon’s heart is ruled from its mind.  That mark is no coincidence.”  

“Hato, that is still not proof–”

“Do you still not understand? I brought this down on him!” Hatori raged.  “I prayed to the dragon to intervene in Kutou’s troubling affairs, and it answered cruelly.  Seiryuu revealed its wrath to the Empire, and made a martyr of Aoi to do so.”  Then his shoulders shuddered, and he dropped his face into his palms, his fingers digging into his temples. “I’ve killed him, our son…”

Mikiya moved in again, clutched Hatori around the shoulders.  His anger spent, Hatori could support himself no better than a bag of rice could.  Mikiya held him upright, while Hatori moaned and laid curses upon himself.  

How could Hatori be so indisposed?  Mikiya could not understand, but he never had.  To him, the dragon myth was nothing more than bullshit stories people told to each other in order to feel like they have some power over their kings.  Only weak people waited for mythical heroes to walk in and solve their problems for them.  To Mikiya, it was the most maddening part about Hatori - that a man so smart and so talented still prayed to ancient phantoms for salvation.  He cared little if people betrayed him, yet shattered himself now over the thought of his god’s abandonment.

Mikiya held fast to Hatori, and tried to think.  His eyes drifted over the walls of the reading room, until they caught on a dark silk coat, displayed with arms wide upon the wall above the writing desk.  It belonged to the old man, Reizu.  His black-silver katana were buried in the forest with him, but the dead general’s favorite haori hung on the wall ahead, a persistent reminder that he was still with his estate in spirit.  Mikiya squeezed his eyes shut.  He hadn’t ever found a god he ever cared for, but at times like now, he drew upon the image of his dead mentor. He wished for nothing more than the old man’s crooked grin, his dark jokes, his ever-true advice.  

Mikiya remembered, nearly thirty years past, Reizu’s spindly finger as it pointed across the archery yard to Hatori. “That one thinks as well as he shoots.  As long as he has a clear sight line, he can guide true.  But in the darkness of uncertainty, he is blind, and he loses himself.”  The old man was not a month away from death’s door, but still commanded himself with strength, clarity.  His coal black eyes burned upon Mikiya.  “Not so with you.  You thrive in the immediate, the uncertain.  When his sight becomes crowded, you must take charge, and clear the way again.”

Darkness and uncertainty, that certainly applied now. Mikiya sure didn’t feel like he was thriving, but he did know he had to do something.  Mikiya carefully shook Hatori’s shoulders, attempting to stir him from his misery.    

“Hato, you must rally yourself.  We have little time left, and much to do,” Mikiya faced his partner square-on as he spoke.  “We’ll burn what sacrilegious things you’ve kept, and my journals, and then lock away what treasures we can in the mausoleum.  Give them less to persecute us by.”  His hand reflexively went to rest upon the sword at his hip, only to find it was no longer there. Mikiya’s forehead creased, yet he continued.  “This will not be the end of the Nakakawa legacy.”  

For the first time Mikiya could remember in their long lives together, tears threatened at the corners of Hatori’s eyes.  “But it is the end, if Aoi has died.”

Mikiya planted his hands over Hatori’s shoulders, to support him, and to make him listen.

“I can’t tell you with certainty that he isn’t dead.”  Mikiya kept his voice strong.  “But they are coming after us.  They continue to search the coasts.  They believe he is alive, and more importantly, they think he is a threat.  You heard that three hundred elite soldiers approach?  If he is out there, they believe he has a way to resist their forces.”  

“Miya, treachery is the most severe crime, so far as the Empress is concerned.  If they find him, they will execute him immediately.”  Hatori pressed his thumbs to his face, pushing away the tears. “Even if our son is alive now, he cannot stay so for long.”

“You have better faith in him than that.  If that boy escaped, and weathered the ocean’s current, then there is no reason at all to believe him dead or captured.  You trained him to survive in the wild yourself!”  Mikiya watched his partner consider this, saw some light return to Hatori’s dark eyes.  “Think.  You know we raised him to be resilient and unpredictable, if occasionally clever.”

Hatori shook his head slowly.  “Perhaps you are right - we cannot know.  But even if he lives, you are in grave danger if you remain.  Though you are beloved by the people of this delta, I doubt that will save you from the Empire’s wrath for long.”  

“Well, hopefully your few decades of serving the capital means something to them.”

Hatori bowed his face low.  His long, silver and black hair, thrown loose from its bun, shifted as he downturned his face.  “They will believe me to be a traitor as well.”  

Mikiya sighed.  “Well, we can’t help what they decide to do to us.  We can only do what we can to preserve this estate, and to protect the villages.”  He tilted Hatori’s chin upright.  “Beyond that...if we hope to see Aoi again, or at least hear news of him, then we must endure.  Remain quiet, but refuse to give anyone the satisfaction of our death.  We will bide our time as long as we can.”  

Hatori’s eyes steeled.  “No.  You must go.  I cannot lose both of you.”

He couldn’t help it–Mikiya actually laughed.  “I am also lord here, Hato - how many times do I have to remind you of that?  You’ve been trying to get me to leave this place since we were boys, and it sure as hell won’t work now.”  

But Hatori shook his head urgently, started to stand up.  “You do not understand. This sin is mine.  I cannot allow you–”

Mikiya bore his hands down on Hatori’s shoulders, keeping him at a kneel, and forced a hard, smoky kiss upon him. Rough, demanding, but it always was that way for them.  Eventually he slowed, but he did not relent, not until long after Hatori caved and responded in kind, grasping at the back of Mikiya’s haori.  Time was precious, but Mikiya needed this.  He needed Hatori to understand.

He squeezed his partner’s shoulders, and whispered in the short space between their lips.  “I won’t leave you.  If I don’t have you, then I have nothing.”   

Their life together, as it had been for the thirty years since they inherited the estate, was over.  Mikiya knew that much, but didn’t let his fears race beyond that.  He instead committed to memory this view of his other half, on Hatori’s sharp eyes seemingly untouched by the years, his noble-formed brow, his chest and arms that could belied muted power, even at their age. His partner, somewhat dazed, slowly collected himself, and then looked back upon Mikiya.  He usually would be cross at being caught so off-guard, but this time, he seemed contemplative.  He also looked over Mikiya, and even drew his fingers along Mikiya’s scruffy jaw.  Mourning dominated his face, his pensive caress.  

“I love you, Miya,” Hatori said, quietly, as if even now, he was afraid to give voice to his feelings. His eyes lingered upon Mikiya for a moment more, then dropped to the floor.  He covered his face in his other hand, to shield himself even now from exposing his emotions. “I am sorry.  I’ve never said it enough, and now I fear I will not get the chance again.”  

You aren’t the only one, Mikiya thought, though he was too cowardly to say so himself.  He wished now, as he had many times in the past, that he could simply hand his beating heart over to Hatori and be done with it, because words and touch never seemed to convey half as much as he wanted to.  He reached forward, and took Hatori’s hand in his own and held it tight.  This would have to do for now.

“I’ll tolerate all the sweet talk you want, when this is over,” he promised.  Mikiya smiled, though thin.  The estate had become silent - but an hour remained to them.  “Come on.  We’ve got to get moving.”

[sunrises6]

Some Seiryuu Thought

Re-reading Fushigi Yuugi and Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden makes me all nostalgic and bitter about the Seiryuu side. I always think Yui’s journey in the book as well as the development of her seishi were really unfulfilling, which I already explained why in this post . They were reduced to villains since that was Miaka aka Suzaku Arc, and the more I think about it the more I truly feel like Seiryuu story wasn’t supposed to happen at that time at all.

In OVA 1, Taiitsukun said that Yui’s appearance in the book disrupted the 100-year cycle (one priestess for every 100 year) and that led to the conflict between Suzaku and Seiryuu. Of course the OVA is not canon material but the canon does support this somewhat. In Fushigi Yuugi, we know that Genbu Arc happened 200 years ago in the book time. Tokaki and Subaru, seishi of Byakko, said that they were active seishi 90 years ago. In Byakko Ibun, Neiran told Miboshi about the summon of Genbu which occurred 100 years ago. So it’s safe to say Osugi Suzuno did come into the book 100 years later than Takiko. And 100 years after Suzuno, we had Miaka as Suzaku’s priestess. Following this pattern, Yui was supposed to go into the book after Miaka had summoned Suzaku for 100 years. 

Another evidence that Yui wasn’t meant to go at that time lies in how the girls entered the book. Put aside Suzuno since we know nothing about her circumstance, Miaka and Takiko entry into the book were exactly the same in which:

They both saw something related to their role. Miaka saw Suzaku and Takiko saw a snowy landscape.

They were both in distress and strongly wanted to escape from their current world.

Yui lacked those two things. She neither saw anything Seiryuu-related nor she had the desire to escape from reality. In fact, she seemed quite content with her life at that time. I personally think the priestess wanting to leave their world is a requirement for them to officially enter another world. Actually, this rule seemed to apply to every character. Those who had crossed worlds - Takiko, Nakago, Suboshi, Miaka, and Suzaku seishi - all desired to go at that moment. When Yui wanted to save Miaka in the beginning, she wanted Miaka to get out of the book and not for her to get into it. Yui was the only character who didn’t wish for it but was forcefully sucked into another world anyway.

I have this theory. Yui was accidentally pulled into the book the same time as Miaka because she happened to be there when Miaka got her call. The priestess’s appearance signified the start of their respective Beast God Arc and Seiryuu story was forced to happen sooner. Since this is unnatural and disobeying the rule of the book, Seiryuu people were doomed from the start and had to be eliminated from the story. Amiboshi survived simply because he forgot his role as a Seiryuu seishi thus cancelling his relation to this side of the story and saved his life. 

Yeah, I know this is just a theory and I doubt Watase Yuu thought about it when she first created Fushigi Yuugi. But I do hope it could be true since it might work as the foundation for a Seiryuu arc revise. I’m aware it’s unlikely for Seiryuu to have their own arc but one can dream :P. Besides, Watase Yuu really fuels my dream with her interview that was posted in the scanlation of Genbu Kaiden’s final chapter (you can read it on mangapark). She said, “Because this series has become my life work I want to complete the Universe of the Four Gods and make the series whole. Therefore, I will return to the world of the Suzaku and Seiryuu Arcs.” To be honest, ‘the world of the Suzaku and Seiryuu Arcs’ could just mean that the book world in general and not necessarily a revise for those arcs. But like I said, one can dream :P; though at this rate, I might as well write a fanfic based on my theory lol.

On a side note, I think it’d be nice and fitting if the story ends with Seiryuu. Well, according to wikipedia, Genbu symbolizes winter, autumn for Byakko, Suzaku is summer, and Seiryuu embodies spring. Ending the whole journey at spring seems like everything comes in full circle to me. 

[3wishes-rpg]

Aoi and Xia brainstorming

A prompt I’d love to see people tackle is everyone’s motivations for summoning their given gods - or even if they care about summoning their gods. Or what it would take to make someone’s character care about summoning the god.

Aoi

Right now, summoning Seiryuu means everything to Aoi.

When he got his mark, three years ago in the military, he knew what it was and what it meant, since he grew up on Dragon stories from Hatori. What Aoi could not comprehend was why the mark would appear when the world seemed so orderly and peaceful. Aoi was raised with a privileged background, and even though his fathers instilled in him a sense of duty towards those poorer and weaker than him, Aoi never realized to the extent that people suffered until he got his mark. He also didn’t realize how shitty the military could really be to the people, since most of his career was spent at the palace.

After two years of hiding his mark and trying to find an answer, Aoi’s control over himself snapped. Hiding his magic and the mark weakened his resolve, and he developed delusions in which he genuinely thought he could lead a revolution from within the palace. Because of this terrible snap, even though Aoi survived, his betrayal cost his fathers and Anik dearly. He didn’t realize what he had done until after.

So Aoi is driven by a true sense of justice and desire to save the world. But he is also driven by terrible guilt - as far as he knows, he sacrificed his fathers and Anik in order to come forward as Nakago. He hangs onto the hope that they are okay, but part of him knows that is a lie, and that the Empire has no mercy towards traitora. Also, he now knows that as a soldier, he was killing ‘rebels’ who were right to resist the Empire. In Aoi’s mind, the only thing that can possibly justify the terrible things he has done is to successfully summon Seiryuu, and save the country. Anything less is unacceptable.

Xia

Xia has literally no clue why Suzaku wants to be summoned, or why she would be picked as Hotohori. At this point, Xia has assumed that maybe seishi are just always around, but only get together if the world is in obvious danger. Xia lives in the capital city and has absolutely no clue what could be wrong with Hongnan. The people are happy, shopkeepers are generous and donate their leftover food to charity, the arts are thriving, etc. Xia assumed that she would never actually be needed, and thank god for that, cause her powers are useless.

So meeting Meilan, the priestess, will be a huge shock to Xia. How could Suzaku make such a big mistake as sending a priestess to a peaceful country? Xia is horrified, and wants to help Meilan get home. It is super not right for Meilan to have to be away from home for so long, and the idea of sacrificing her for wishes? Out of the question.

Also, though Xia understands that the Empire does not like seishi, she doesn’t believe the Empire would kill them, especially since they haven’t done anything. Xia might even entertain thoughts of telling the Governor what is up, cause the Governor is a nice lady and Hongnan is a good country - surely if Governor Tan knew that the team has no intention of summoning Suzaku, they would all be left in peace (oh no).

[3wishes-rpg]

Great Escape

A flash fic for Z - Aoi and Agni do something stupid.  Who knows if it will be canon or not, but if it is, probably takes place at least the year 62.

They blew over the rough desert, easily capable of covering leagues per hour in a mecha horse so robust–for the villains the Empire could be, it seemed at least that they employed competent mechanics.  Agni braced himself as they had to navigate over uneven earth, boulders, weak sand–but even with a machine this big, Agni moved with it, and was starting to get the hang of it, as if it was his own well-worn steed. 

Even if it was not his at all.  Even if there were still the Empire’s agents pursuing them to get it back.  

“A soldier!  Catching up!”  Aoi, who sat behind Agni, hollered over the wind and the hoofbeats.   

“I’ll outrace it…”  but Agni glanced behind himself, and saw how quickly the new mech was gaining. “Or not.”  

Aoi shifted–no longer seated behind Agni, but instead on his feet and crouched on the back of the mech.  Agni heard Aoi take in a sharp breath, and then stood up in the seat, making himself quite the tall, easy, rocking target for the pursuing soldier to focus on.    

“Wait-”  Agni felt tension in his mind and heart; this man was to his team what Agni was to his, and Agni couldn’t possibly risk letting Aoi get killed.  Yet Agni’s gut was undisturbed by this development.   So Agni just swallowed, and glanced again behind him.  Aoi still stood upright on the back of the mecha, sandaled feet balanced perilously behind the saddle, and his hand braced on Agni’s shoulder.  And the soldier caught up, only ten feet to Agni’s right and behind.

The soldier’s lance shot forward.  Aoi grabbed it just short of the bladehead.  The soldier audibly gasped, and then with both arms tried to wrest the lance out of Aoi’s grip.  That didn’t work, so the soldier had one other, obvious option - speed up, and spear Agni and Aoi both by closing the distance.  

Gravel ahead.  Agni ducked closer against his mech and with all his focus, navigated through the weak earth.  Too late, he realized that by ducking, that he had prevented Aoi from bracing himself against his shoulder.  But the Seiryuu seishi was still there, still wrestling with the lance.

“Right!”  Aoi yelled, and though it would bring them closer to the Empire soldier, Agni steered in that direction without a second thought.   He glanced back, and watched Aoi jerk the lance right out of the soldier’s hands.  And then he jumped, and crossed the distance between the two mechs as they raced at breakneck speeds.  

Agni’s mind screamed again, but yet again, his gut merely hummed.  So Agni just looked at Aoi with his mouth open but unspeaking.  The soldier was a lot more vocal, and hollered and tried to wrest away his lance from Aoi, who had landed in front of the saddle, between the soldier and the front of the mech.  If the lance is what the soldier wanted, then that’s what he got.  Aoi pushed the lance back at the soldier’s hands, and with his now-free fists, the former captain slugged the soldier across the face, and shoved the man off of the mech.  Agni braced himself for a crunch of bone, but somehow, Aoi had avoided trampling the soldier, who rolled to the ground along with his lance.  

Landed too well, and knelt upright and pulled the lance backwards.

“Duck!”  Aoi yelled, crouching low on his mech.

Agni didn’t.  He swerved, hard, to the left.  The soldier’s lance flew harmlessly through the air where he had just been.  Aoi, still standing on the saddle of his new ride, grabbed a glass globe from his belt, filled it with bright energy, and tossed it behind them.  Behind them was a flash of light, and a spraying burst of sand, and then the mecha horses pulled too far away for the soldier to possibly do anything else.

Agni held his breath, but he already knew nothing else was coming.  After a few dazed moments, he eased his mech closer to Aoi’s, and yelled to his companion.  “I can’t...that was amazing!”  

The Kutou man smiled.  “I know.  I’m glad it worked.”  

Agni glanced at the road, then back to Aoi.  “Loose ground ahead, time to get seated.”

“Huh, not quite the real thing...”  Aoi lowered himself into the saddle, but immediately he was lurched forward, then back again.  The mech staggered, started to slow, and swayed like a sick horse actually might.  And a patch of loose sand was soon approaching.  The possibility of the mech toppling over, and taking Aoi down under it, flashed clear in the younger man’s mind.  

“Agni!”  

His intuition finally twitched.  A lot of things could go wrong to make a mech lose sync, but he had a hunch.  Agni eased his mech towards Aoi’s, then reached over, leaning perilously far out of his seat.  His fingers reached for the mecha’s ear, and he found a small, depressed button that quite reasonably might not have even existed on this model.  He pressed it, then pulled himself upright and veered his horse back into its previous trajectory.    

The jostling, jerking trot of the soldier’s mecha horse became more limber, and finally settled into the real loping rhythm of a horse.  Aoi’s hand brushed over the button he missed as he stared down at his steed, and then over at Agni.  “Smoother now!  Almost like the real thing!”   He laughed again, that low, easy laugh that completely understated the feat they just accomplished.  

Finally, both mechs sped at their full speed across the cracked desert.  All of Agni’s various body parts finally had nothing to say, except perhaps for his eyes, which cracked with electric energy.  “There’s a lot more to this than pointing it in the right direction!”   He grinned, and leaned into his mech.  The machine roared, like it had never been allowed such freedom in its life.  

“We can outrace the Empire, Aoi, but can you outrace me?”  

“Friend, I’m not in the habit of losing.”  

  -----

Epilogue:

Aoi:  Great!  Now we'll take both back to Meg's place

Agni's Intuition: She will fucking end us

Agni: nah...let's go to Shahil's

[3wishes-rpg]

Aoi Brainstorming #3

There are a few things I mentioned for Aoi’s development, but the big few are here:

He is going to have to deal with his dads at some point. Even though Aoi has been wandering Kutou, he has been specifically avoiding a chunk of land west of the capital - the Nakakawa estate and the towns surrounding it, which are influenced by his lord fathers. Lords Hatori and Mikiya are in a bad situation, because they maintain their autonomy and estate only because they lend their land for the Empire's military training, but of course now their only son is a major enemy of the state. They are under a lot of pressure to find him, or else face consequences.

How Aoi meets his dads again is something we can work out later. I was thinking that in an attempt to protect Aoi from the government, they do manage to capture him and lock him up at the estate. In which case, the Seiryuu Seishi need to figure out either how to free Aoi, or how to convince his dads to let him go. Of course, I want threads involving fights against the dads, cause they are both notoriously powerful warriors.

(Juicy tidbit - Hatori actually blames himself for Aoi being Nakago! He is secretly a devotee of the old dragon religion, and he is utterly heartbroken because he thinks his devotion put Aoi in the dangerous position he is in today.)

2) Aoi actually needs to figure out what he is fighting for. Of course, he loves justice and helping the weak, but he does not have a specific goal in mind when it comes to bringing peace to Kutou. Honestly, he has no idea what is wrong with Kutou! If Maritess asked him to write a three page essay on why she should die to save Kutou, he'd fail. He fights mostly because he is a Seiryuu warrior, so obviously something is wrong, but he can’t articulate his purpose beyond that. So as he travels, he needs to learn more about Kutou's underlying problems, and figure out how he can best save it.

Aoi DOES know that the Empress’s military is fucked up, given the Bad Thing he and Anik witnessed just over a year before game start. But whenever he starts to think about combatting army corruption, he just has no idea where to start. The military is a pretty big thing, after all.

3) For his entire life, Aoi has identified himself as a warrior, soldier, and protector. This strongly colors his early interactions with other characters - he WILL protect them, at any cost. This is so core to Aoi’s identity that if someone he cared about took a (literal or metaphorical) bullet for Aoi’s sake, he’d actually fucking lose his shit on that person. He would be FURIOUS that someone he cared about would get hurt just to save him - that isn’t how things are supposed to work! I’m sure Anik witnessed this before and got the shock of his life.

So Aoi really really wants to teach his fellow seishi how to protect themselves and fight, but there is a part of him that always sees himself as the person who must always be at the front line, drawing fire from his friends. As the Seiryuu Seishi come into their powers more and want to be more engaged in conflict, Aoi might actually be a hindrance to them, because he is afraid that he can’t be in a position to save them.

There is also two undercurrents to Aoi’s human shield inclination. For one, he does not believe he will survive this Star Warrior business, and he might be right to be so pessimistic, given that he understands the power of the army well. And second, a dark voice within him reminds Aoi that he betrayed the three people he cared about the most - his parents and Anik. Maybe dying for this noble cause is the best he can do to redeem himself of the shame.

[3wishes-rpg]

Aoi's Q&A

• What is your character’s patronus?

Blue-spotted monitor lizard! Sleepy lizards suit his style, and the bright blue is reminiscent of his devotion to Seiryuu. I can easily imagine him with a nest of monitor lizards that sort of live in his hair and coat.

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6108/6318636280_2ae3e5d704_b.jpg


• How does your character react to sudden and unexpected hugs?

I think the kind of hugs he was used to as a kid were the big bear hugs that lifted him off the ground and swung him around a bit, so his impulse even as an adult is to go limp fish at first and just accept it. That's not the same as him disliking a hug - he will smile slowly, and ask for the occasion, and probably sling an arm back around you.


• What incredibly dorky thing does your character do while thinking that it’s actually super cool?

Aoi thinks his blunderbuss immediately makes him look 500% cooler, when most people probably wonder why he put a horn on a stick. He is just a little ahead of his time.


• What is the craziest thing your character has done?

Hahahaha.......probably reveal himself as a Seiryuu Seishi at the Empress's fortress, while surrounded by soldiers. He genuinely thought a few of them would be on his side. Oops.


• What are some of your character’s weaknesses?

Aoi is a bit more preoccupied with what he imagines should happen in a given scenario, rather than the realities of situations. Because he tends to imagine idealistic outcomes to many situations, he often horribly misjudges himself and ends up in trouble.


• What’s your character’s biggest secret?

Aoi is mostly an open book - the only subject he will not talk about whatsoever is his parents. His fathers, who are well-respected Kutou generals, did everything humanly possible to raise Aoi successfully. Despite Aoi's conviction that he did the right thing by openly declaring himself a seishi, he knows he must have brought incredible shame and inconvenience to his fathers. He tries not to think about it, but he is miserable at the thought of hurting them. If they personally came to stop the Seiryuu seishi, Aoi would be incapable of fighting them.