The ceremony to summon Suzaku was interrupted by Amiboshi…
…who was impersonating Chiriko.
Chiriko!
The real Chiriko was elsewhere.
As the “Universe of the Four Gods” was burned up in the fire…
…they were not able to summon Suzaku.
Taiitsukun then told the Lady Miaka…
…to travel to the land protected by the god Genbu.
“Taiitsukun told the priestess to journey to Genbu’s land…”
“…and gain possession of the Shinzaho…”
Go to Hokkan… To the land protected by Genbu, and get the Shinzaho…?
Will we be able to summon Suzaku if we do that?!
Yes.
So, what is this “Shinzaho” thing, anyway?
I can tell you no more.
You old hag…!
All right, then! I’ll go to Hokkan!
And then I’ll get the Hadou-hou, no matter what!
Shinzaho! You sure you can handle this?
Now that I’ve blown the ceremony…
…I have to summon Suzaku any way I can!
Well, then…
If you’ve decided…
What… What’s this…?!
My fan! It looks like it’s turned to diamond!
What in the world…?
Oh, well… It’s just a little reward…
…for how hard you’ve all worked so far.
I’ve increased your special powers far beyond what they were.
Now that you mention it…
…I do feel like there’s more power in my body now.
That’s great! Taiitsukun! What about me?! What about me?!
Nothing.
I’m not giving you anything special!
You don’t need some old hag giving you presents…
…to help you make your money, do you?
Oh, no… After all the stuff I went through…
Give me that! Give me that! Give it to me…!
Oh, yes. I forgot something very important.
Close your eyes, Miaka.
Sure.
Those are special ashes from…
…the remains of the “Universe of the Four Gods.”
If you have any special power of your own…
…they’ll most certainly help draw them out.
My own… powers…?
Taiitsukun! Me, too! Me, too! Me, too!
Knock it off! Knock it off! Knock it off!
Thank you, Taiitsukun. I’ll do my best.
Oh, well…
We’ll be glad to join you.
We can’t have Miaka getting into trouble all alone, can we?
Guys…
Don’t forget about me.
Tamahome…
Well, let’s get ready!
Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!
I’m not done talking yet!
Would you all step outside so I can talk to Miaka alone?
Lady Yui.
Nakago?
Forgive me for interrupting your meal…
…but I believe something disturbing has occurred.
Oh? What’s wrong?
You almost never get nervous about anything.
First of all, come with me.
What’s that boy doing?
Amiboshi, that boy’s twin brother, has apparently died.
He’s died…? Wait a minute…!
It appears the Suzaku Seven killed him.
I myself have tried to sense his life force, but I’m afraid…
I never expected Amiboshi would be killed.
Damn it all… Damn it all…
I see. That’s why you’ve been crying.
Isn’t it? Because you’ve lost somebody important to you.
Shut up! There’s no way you can understand!
Can’t I?
I think I understand a little how it feels.
You can cry as much as you want…
You can cry as much…
…as you want.
Amiboshi… You were a fool.
What do you want to talk about?
About what else?
The Priestess of Seiryu. About your friend, Yui.
Yui! What about Yui?!
Don’t you understand?
Now that Amiboshi of the Seiryu Seven is gone…
…she cannot summon Seiryu.
Do you understand what that means?
That Yui…
That Yui will go to Hokkan, too, to get the Oshinko!
SHINZAHO!
And that means you two will now completely become enemies.
And I fear you will have to fight the Seiryu Seven as well!
Yui and I will completely become enemies?
No matter which of us gets the Shinzaho first…
…I’ll have to fight Yui.
One more thing. And you must listen to what I say very carefully.
The trial you face now…
…will be far harder and more difficult than before.
Man, what’s taking Miaka so long?
So, you lived in Jozen City, huh?
That’s just a stone’s throw from here, isn’t it?
Well, I was always shut up inside studying for my exam.
Hey, Tasuki! Why don’t you stop being a greedy bandit…
…and take some lessons from this guy?
Leave me alone!
Once this is all over, I’m going back to Mt. Reikaku…
…and I’ll be an even better boss than our last one!
That’s why I’ve got this fan, after all!
What do you think you’re doing?!
What’s the big problem?! I didn’t get anything out of this!
That’s ‘cuz you’ve got such a lousy attitude!
Oh, yeah?! Well, you’re stupider than me!
Well, your legs are shorter than mine!
So what if they are?!
You’re even worse than the bandits, you know?
Miaka! Are you finished?
Yeah. Let’s go back to the palace. I’m a little tired.
R-Right…
Miaka…?
Tamahome’s room… Why did I come here?
Is that clear, Miaka?
I don’t like it. I don’t like it, but…
It’s me! It’s me!
A normal girl would’ve screamed.
What was that?
Oh, nothing.
Anyway, what brings you here at this hour?
Nothing special…
I just wanted to see you, that’s all.
Oh, darn. I was hoping you’d come to spend the night.
WHAT did you say?!
N-Nothing at all!
If you wish to possess the Shinzaho…
Is that clear, Miaka?
What? Do I have something on my face?
No, I was just wishing you’d come to me like this all the time.
Miaka… I’ve saved some money.
Both what I’ve earned and the allowance I get here.
You see, after all this, I feel like I’ve grown up.
I was thinking of moving out on my own.
I might be able to afford to build a new house or something now.
I’d be happy even in a little house…
And I kinda want to have a son of my own, so…
So, you see…
I guess what I’m trying to say here is…
I want us to live that life together!
With who?
With YOU, who do you think?!
‘Course, if we’re gonna live together, we have to do it the right way.
Once we leave for the north, we won’t be back for a while.
Before we do, I want to visit my dad.
And if you don’t say no to me…
…I want us to be married.
Please, marry me!
I can’t! It’s too sudden! Besides, I’m only 15…
Yeah, the right age to get married!
I’m also at the right age!
The right age… Really?
I’ve been thinking this over for a while.
I’ll work as hard as I can! I won’t let you suffer…
But…
I will protect you for as long as I live!
And I WILL make you happy.
Tamahome…
Is that clear, Miaka?
No! I can’t say it!
But if I don’t say it now, I’ll never be able to say it!
Say it, Miaka!
Miaka…
What are you saying? That’s silly.
You aren’t serious, are you?
Miaka…
Tamahome, I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea about me.
Asking me to marry you is a joke, isn’t it?
I’m the Priestess of Suzaku…
…and you’re just my guardian, one of the Suzaku Seven, right?
Hey…
Just because I showed you a little affection…
…doesn’t mean you should go crazy!
Hey!
Boys are all the same…
Hey! You’re not… You’re not talking seriously, are you?
Are you, Miaka?!
I’m sorry, Tamahome. I…
I don’t feel that way about you anymore.
Come on, we just had a fun little relationship.
Don’t take it so seriously!
That’s what I came by to tell you.
Well, goodnight, Tamahome.
Why… Miaka, tell me why!
It’s no use. We can’t love each other anymore.
Forgive me, Tamahome…
Forgive me…
I want us to live that life together!
But we can’t… We can’t!
Good morning, Miaka!
‘Morning.
Oh, morning!
Hey, Miaka! Tasuki and I were just talking.
How about we go out on the town tonight?
They’re having the Star Festival!
Come on, let’s go! Come on!
Good morning, Tamahome!
I hear there’s a festival tonight!
Why waste the chance? Go and have fun!
This is the best thing for Tamahome and me.
I have to concentrate on what’s coming up for us to do!
Did you see that, Nuriko? How she just blew him off?
Yeah, Tasuki. I saw it with my own eyes!
Looks like he said all the wrong things again.
So, what’d ya do? Come on, tell us!
I think he’s serious about this…
As you can see, Hokkan is a mountainous country.
We can send our delegation through the Genbu Gate here to here…
No, we should cross the border straight into them.
I think the canal’s our best option.
Miaka?
Oh, Chiriko.
We were discussing the Hokkan Empire…
…and he and Chichiri got the same idea of using the canal to go there.
We’ll ready our best boat for you. You’ll set out there tomorrow.
Aren’t you going, Hotohori?
It’s all right. This time you’ll have six others with you.
Besides, you’ll have Tamahome with you, right?
Miaka?
Y-Yeah, that’s right. Well, see you!
I can’t talk this over with Hotohori, can I?
Chichiri…
Suboshi…
About yesterday… I— I’m sorry I was so rude to you. And…
It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.
I’m just glad you look a little happier today.
Y-Yes… Anyway, Nakago asked that we both come to the shrine of Seiryu.
What are you up to, Nakago?
I thought the only one you bowed to was the emperor.
So, did Seiryu show up? Even after our failure?
Look well into the flames…
Eyes?! What’s going on?!
You know of Taiitsukun, don’t you?
She represents the Yang principle.
This represents the Yin.
I have summoned him here for your sake.
Yui Hongo, Priestess of Seiryu.
If you wish to summon Seiryu…
…then listen carefully to the method I am about to describe.
Summon Seiryu…?
Are there fish around here?
Who knows?
Hey, I’ve been wondering this for a while now.
Why do you wear that mask, Chichiri?
Oh, I’m sorry!
If you don’t like talking about it, just forget I asked.
Still, it lets you smile all the time, doesn’t it?
I wish I had something like that.
Right now, I’ve had to cut myself off from the two people I love most.
But this may be for Tamahome’s own good.
When I learned that Yui was also in love with him…
…I thought I could distance myself from him.
But then Tamahome hit me straight on with how he feels about me.
So did Yui… That’s why I ran away from the situation.
So I wouldn’t hurt them both.
I love both of them, so I wanted them both to know…
…how I really felt, without any lies.
I’d just tough it out… Lame excuse, huh?
But I was stupid to be that direct.
Or maybe that means I’ve just always been stupid.
You didn’t do anything wrong. And neither did Yui.
You just aren’t able to choose…
…between your love and your friendship.
But whichever one you take, you’ll lose the other.
There’s nothing you can do about that.
That’s what this scar taught me, you know?
It happened when I was 18.
I was just a kid, like Tamahome.
I had a fiance I loved and a good friend.
The three of us were so close… We were happy.
But then, one day, it all fell apart.
The man who I thought was my best friend stole my fiance from me.
And then, what did you do?
I just lost my head completely.
I was so angry and hurt by his betrayal…
…that I didn’t realize what I was doing.
I know I didn’t really mean to do it.
But I can remember even now…
The moment my friend passed away, I was crying.
And it was then I realized how much I loved him.
That’s when I got this scar.
And so that I never forget my best friend…
…it will never be healed completely.
But people get upset when they see it, you know?
That’s why I always wear a smiling mask over it.
What should I… What should I do?
There’s no way I can fight Yui!
There’s only one thing I can tell you…
Mi-aka-a-a!
Mi-aka, aka-chan, aka-ma-mu-shii… [Akachan: Baby] [Aka Mamushi: Red Viper]
What’s your problem?!
Yui does love you.
Even more than you think she does.
Even if she doesn’t realize it herself, she loves you dearly.
That’s why she has to work so hard to hate you.
And that’s why you’ll be able to save her.
I’m not sure I understand what you said, but I’ll think about it.
Thanks for hearing me out!
“They went out into the city to enjoy a brief moment of peace.”
“By and by, the priestess forgot the time…”
“…as she enjoyed the festivities.”
I’ve never been out in the city at night before!
All right, then! Tonight, let’s have as much fun as we can!
She must give up her deep feelings for Tamahome.
That is the destiny of Miaka as the Priestess of Suzaku.
The two of them must be apart…
…but their hearts are still connected, strongly and deeply.
Next time, “Star Festival.”
The proof of love is the strength of the heart…