A sweet smell assaulted her nose as Sora awoke a while later. Untangling herself from the honeysuckle bush that she was lying on, she stretched her limbs. She must have been unconscious some time for her body to be this stiff. Pulling a bud from her pony-tail, she took in her surroundings.

A lush forest spread completely over the horizon with the exception of a well-traveled road leading up the mountain a few miles away. When she turned to the scenery behind her, her gaze fell on a road sign. She recognized the worn script instantly.

"Oh, Kami-sama, help me!" she covered her mouth with her hands. "Please don't tell me I'm in China..."

She sat down in the middle of the road with a thud. How had she gotten here? Thinking back, on what she thought to be the previous day's events, two and two clicked together. It had to have been that book. Reading that book had been the last thing she had done.

But that's impossible. Books don't suck people into them, her mind rambled. It just did not make sense. There had to be another reasonable explanation. There had to be!

Too busy lost in her own thoughts, she failed to actually read the sign. It warned travelers heading toward the mountain to beware of the bandits that lurked in the area. Unfortunately, she also failed to notice the rustling noises coming from the trees behind her.

Miaka, Yui, and some of their Seishi were going door-to-door, hoping to reach Sora before she read the book. After a brief discussion, they deduced that the Four Kami, plus another celestial-like energy, had purposely blocked Miaka's warning. What they couldn't figure out, however, was why.

"SENSEI!" her horrifying scream tore throughout the hall as the gray light engulfed her teacher.

Yui and the battle-ready Seishi raced to the apartment at the end of the hall. Instead of finding her gone, Miaka, kneeling in the doorway, sobbed uncontrollably. Taka dropped to her side, hugging her fiercely.

"We were too late," she hiccuped. "Musumeno-sensei been taken into the book. And she's in danger!"

As Sora sat shell-shocked in the road, two shadows emerged out of the shrubbery behind her.

"Well, well, well, Juryo," the tall, wirey one whistled appreciatively while twirling his knife in his hand. "What have we here?"

Horror and a touch of anger filled her widening blue eyes as she whipped her head around. Muggers! She hopped to her feet and backed away several paces.

His partner, a short, plump man, chuckled like he just heard the funniest joke in the world. "The boss'll like this one, Yaseta. Eiken did say to pick the purty ones for him."

"I don't care what that bakayarou said," he snorted in disgust. "Those fuckin' Reikakus shoulda finished him off instead of lettin' him escape. Now, we gotta put up with his ugly mug. I still don't know why the boss took him in."

It don't matter. Let's just nab this one an' go."

As each bandit took an arm, Sora struggled against their vice-like grip. They dragged her up the hill in the direction opposite the mountain. Half-way, she managed to get an arm away and smashed Yaseta's face with her palm, breaking his nose. His howl of pain echoed in the air. Turning toward Juryo, she kneed him between his legs, then decked him in his chin.

"I've got to remember to thank Mejika-chan for dragging me to those self-defense classes when I get back!"

She scrambled up the rest of the way and down the other side, only to be greeted by another bandit and a wagon full of captured women. Not seeing the blue-cloaked man as he stepped around the wagon, she ran right into him and fell.

The bandit pulled her roughly to her feet, although his grip, as he held her, was gentle. Glancing up into the hood, she saw a mischevious twinkle in his eyes as he watched the other two make their way sorely to them.

"All right, Ganjo. Tie her up and throw her in the back with the others," Yaseta ordered as he held a piece of cloth up to his nose. "Watch out, though, she's a fiesty one."

When Ganjo finished tying her bonds, she realized, that with little effort, she could take them off. A thousand questions ran through her mind. Who is this guy? Why is he helping me? Hoping that she would find out soon, she settled back and waited.

"The Tenkyoku no Miko was captured by the thieves and placed into the wagon with the other ten women. However, the third bandit was not who he seemed. As they traveled, the mysterious bandit drove. No one noticed that, at every turn, he steered the horses slightly left. This would, eventually, lead them back toward the mountain."

For the past half-hour, they had been taking turns reading the book. Duke, his ten minutes up, handed the book to Juan Pedro, who was sitting next to him. Before he could begin though, Miaka decided that they should take a food break. Everyone face-faulted.

"I bet that's Tasuki!" Taka smiled ear to ear after pulling himself off the floor. "Fang-boy'll toast those bastards."

"I'll take that bet," Joe, dressed all in black, smirked as he flipped through the open balcony doors. Having been eavesdropping outside and hearing Taka's challenge, he couldn't resist. "How does 600 yen sound, Tama-kun?" He didn't believe that Tasuki would have waited that long to attack. Nor could he also resist calling him by his old Seishi nickname.

"You're on!"

After pulling the horses to a complete stop two miles from the base of the mountain, Ganjo jumped off the wagon and stood there, as if waiting for some sign. Juryo, who fell into a deep sleep during the ride, just rolled over and continued snoring. Yaseta, on the other hand, woke up immediately and demanded to know why they stopped.

"What are you doing? We've only got two days to get these bitches back to the boss!" Finally noticing his surroundings, he realized they had been tricked. He jumped from the wagon and confronted the stranger. "Who are ya? Where's Ganjo?"

Hearing his buddy's shrill cry, Juryo sat up and joined him by his side. Both bandits reached into their vests and pulled out knives, intending to attack him. As they stepped forward, he threw off his cloak. They recognized him from a picture that Eiken had made of the two bandits he hated most. Kouji of the Mt. Reikaku clan.

"Kill him. Eiken said he's worth more dead than alive," Juryo hissed eagerly.

"Just try it!" Kouji leaped back. At the same time, another voice echoed over the field.

"REKKA SHINEN!" A wall of flames flew toward the shocked bandits, scorching them into unconsciousness.

"Removing his cloak, he revealed himself as a member of their rival clan from Mount Reikaku. Distracted, the two bandits did not see the attack from the intruder's companion. A wave of Suzaku's holy fire emcompassed them." Juan Pedro glanced over at the bickering Seishi.

"Arigatou, Tama-kun!" Joe laughed as a grumbling Taka reached into his pocket and handed over his cash. "Come on, Miaka-chan. Let's go get a bite to eat!"