Keisuke and Tetsuya finally arrive in Morioka. Miaka asks Tamahome to meet her in the tower that Xing told her the legend about. Tokaki reminds Tamahome that he and Miaka will be split up when Suzaku is summoned. While waiting at the tower, Miaka sees Yui and Nakago. After checking the police station and library, a taxi driver introduces Keisuke and Tetsuya to a friend with old newspapers on microfilm. They find the article regarding the Okuda murder and where it took place. Tamahome goes to the tower and finds Miaka’s hair tie. The rest of the Suzaku Seven join him, and Tasuki fries a monster about to eat him. Tokaki and his wife, Subaru, tell them that Tatara, the guardian of the Shinzaho of Byakko has been taken. Nakago finds Miaka sneaking into where he and Yui are staying. Miboshi, one of the Seiryu Seven, steals Miaka’s voice and Nakago knocks her unconscious. The Suzaku Seven follow Miaka. Keisuke and Testuya arrive at the location where the Okuda murder took place and find it is called Genbu Grotto. Miaka wakes up in a cell with Tatara and Yui enters.
Event Year: 1995
Sunlight of Rebirth
Tamahome, Tasuki, and the rest of the Suzaku Seven rescue Miaka from Suboshi. They arrive in Sairou and stay with Tamahome’s master, Tokaki. Tamahome kisses Miaka and says that they cannot love anymore. Tokaki tells him he made the right decision and that their love would never have consummated. Miaka and Chichiri contact Hotohori through and magic mirror and provide him with a very brief (and incomplete) update on their situation. Suboshi returns Amiboshi to Makan Village. Nakago tells Yui that he loves her, Soi overhears this. Xing, Tokaki’s adoptive daughter, tells Miaka a legend that if two lovers kiss at sunset atop a tower next to a nearby temple nothing will separate them. Miaka helps Xing prepare dinner. Miaka’s cooking is horrible, but after she leaves the room Tamahome eats all of it. Xing is told by Tokaki to help Tamahome forget Miaka and when it appears they are about to kiss Miaka enters the room.
Deceptive Love
Miaka reads about the constellations of the four gods again and is again confused, but Aono Tomo distracts her by asking her to come to his house to study later. Tamahome’s master find him and releases him from the illusion he was under when he was thrown from the cliff. As Miaka and Tomo pass the library, Miaka feels like something important happened there and tries to figure it out, but Tomo distracts her with a promise of cake. Miaka discovers the cake was a lie and is distracted again by the library, which she can see from Tomo’s window. He distracts her by kissing her. When she is about to give herself to him, she is confused by something she cannot remember. She remembers going into the library with Yui and going into an old book. Tomo tells her that is was just a dream but she continues to remember what happened and breaks the illusion (but is still trapped in it). Tomo has to use all of his life force to keep Miaka trapped and Amiboshi uses this opportunity to break free. He gives his strength to Miaka using his flute. She stabs Tomo in the mark on his forehead using the lucky pencil he gave her. Shin (the shell Tomo used to create illusions and trap Miaka) breaks and Miaka reappears. Amiboshi protects Miaka from Shin, but is defeated. When Tomo is about to kill him Suboshi arrives and kills Tomo. Amiboshi offers Suboshi forgetfulness leaves so that they may live in peace together. Suboshi pretends to accept them, says he loves Yui, and forces the leaves back on Amiboshi. Suboshi attacks Miaka in the same manner in which he thinks Yui was.
Bewitched Illusions
Soi reveals to Miaka that Nakago failed to rape her and that Tomo is fighting Tamahome and has him trapped. Amiboshi helps destroys Tomo’s illusion creating shell with his flute. Miaka arrives and Tamahome defeats Tomo. Miaka excitedly tells Tamahome that she is unspoiled. Amiboshi is trapped and Tamahome is stabbed and dragged off a cliff by Tomo (They only defeated an illusion of him). Tomo traps Miaka with an illusion created from her life force. He explains to Amiboshi that because of the manner in which the illusion was created Miaka is trapped inside the illusion physically, as opposed to just mentally. Tomo puts himself into the illusion as Aono, with the intention of taking Maika’s virginity. He uses the illusion to convince Miaka that she has a crush on him. Miaka sees Tamahome’s name in a book she is studying and becomes confused. Aono stops by and gives her his older brothers lucky exam pencil, putting an end to her confusion. Miaka agrees to go out with him. Aono asks if he can call her “Miaka” and asks her to call him “Tomo.” Back in the real world, Keisuke calls their mother and explains to her that they did not return home because Miaka is studying with him and Tetsuya.