Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Universe of the Four Gods ❯ Renewed Hope; Alarming Advice ( Chapter 17 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The emperor’s large chambers are filled with the Suzaku warriors. Miaka sits in a chair at the table in the center of the room, facing Tasuke. The young man sits in his chair with a stiff posture, folded arms resting on the table. Beneath the top of the table, Tasuke’s leg jitters incessantly. Tamahome, standing behind Miaka’s chair, watches Tasuke with a blank expression. Never before had he seen Tasuke so restless.

“So you’re saying we can get her back?!” Miaka repeats Tasuke’s words in delight. The flame haired youth nods with a broad grin, sitting back in the chair while crossing his arms over his chest.

“I am, “ he replies with a vigorous nod. The priestess of Suzaku leaps across over the table, wrapping her arms around Tasuke’s neck and squeezing tightly. Tasuke’s eyes nearly bug out of his head as he turns beet red, hands outstretched in surprise.

“Oh Tasuke, this is great!” Miaka cries, wriggling her head back and forth. Her frizzy hair rubs against Tasuke’s cheek. Her eyes squeeze shut in delight as she continues to hug Tasuke tightly. He makes little squeaky noises as she sways to and fro. In turn, Tasuke’s head sways to and fro.

“Miaka,” Tamahome says gently. His gaze, however, is not gentle. Glancing up, Tasuke stares straight into the eyes of his friend. Jealousy glints like a blazing flame in his optics. Clearing his throat, Tasuke pushes back from Miaka. The priestess, blinking, turns to Tamahome.

A blush colors her cheeks. “Umm errr…” she mutters, scratching the back of her head. Without taking his gaze off of Tasuke, Tamahome bows his head to tell her the incident is already forgotten. Tasuke returns his level gaze.

“Alright! Its night right now, so all we have to do is wait for morning! How are we gonna get there?” The group, simultaneously, glances towards Chichiri. The wizard is perched on a small table near the far wall, his staff resting against his arm. Sheepish at all the attention, Chichiri offers them a nervous smile. “Can you get us there, Chichiri?”

The young magician’s features grow serious. “It’ll be hard, but I can get you there, ya know,” he says after a moment. Tasuke studies Chichiri. The magician returns his gaze, before smiling brightly. Startled, Tasuke arches a brow but says nothing.

“Great!” Miaka cries, rising to her feet. “That settles it! Get some sleep, because in the morning we’re going to get back Zoku!” The priestess slams a fist down onto the table, making a delighted sound.

Mitsukake, who’s leaning against the wall behind Tasuke, grunts in amusement. Chiriko, his almost constant companion, glances up at the timid man, a question in his eyes. Miaka glances over at the healer, as does Tasuke. Whenever he speaks it’s for a good reason.

“Don’t you mean we’ll get back Zoku and Yui?” Mitsukake says in a simply stateful tone. The priestess sits back down in her seat, head bowed and hands resting in her lap. Tasuke glances back towards Miaka. Tamahome steps forward with a hand outstretched as if to console her, but catches himself and continues to stand there.

“Yes…I mean to get Yui back as well,” Miaka announces. Chichiri frowns.

“Is that really wise, Miaka? It could be dangerous, ya know,” the magician points out. Slowly the priestess nods.

“Yes it will be dangerous. But hasn’t anything we’ve ever done been dangerous? And no matter how bleak the situation seems, we always pull through! And this is no exception. It’s just like any of our other missions!” Miaka says, lifting her head to glance about the room at her warriors. Only Tasuke refuses to meet her gaze. His hands are folded over his chest, and his head is resting against his chest.

‘This mission isn’t like any of the others we’ve done. There’s a lot more involved. This is a friend we’re talking about.’ Silence drapes over the room. Opening his eyes, Tasuke blinks and leans backwards slightly. The entire group watches him closely. He realizes then that he’d spoken aloud his thoughts. He shifts around gently. “I mean…”

“No, you’re right,” Miaka says with a sad smile. “Not just Yui, but Zoku. Sure we didn’t know her well, but I just know she has a good heart.” The priestess raises herself up diligently, gazing around the room. Chichiri shrugs his shoulders.

“Didn’t seem like it to me, ya know.” The entire group now glances towards Chichiri. The magician scratches his head. “Her heart was…undecided. Even in the brief time I knew her, Zoku had no self esteem what so ever. She didn’t know what to think of herself, and looked to others for that answer,” finishes Chichiri, glancing towards Tasuke. The boy returns the magician’s gaze with a casual expression. “Sure, she seemed independent, and sure sounded it,” the magician cracks a grin, “but she really did seem hesitant of her own abilities.” Mitsukake nods in agreement to Chichiri’s words.

“You’re right,” Tamahome says aloud, tapping his chin. “Remember when we first met her? She was so shy, she hid herself behind Tasuke.” Chichiri nods slowly, as does Nuriko. Miaka sighs and Tasuke closes his eyes at the memory of that day.

Nuriko glances around the group as they lapse into silence. Nobody seems to want to say what they were all thinking. “Basically Tasuke is our key to getting Zoku back,” the cross dresser announces, placing her hands on her hips. “It’s as simple as that.” The group nods, relieved for Nuriko’s bold words.

Tamahome grins. “We have to leave early in the morning, so everyone get some sleep.” He glances down at Miaka, just as she looks up at him. Their gazes lock. Miaka’s sharp golden eyes soften, as does Tamahome. The others go about their business as the lovers share a glance, but Tasuke’s gaze lingers on the pair a moment too long. Envy swells inside him like a raging current. Rising to his feet, Tasuke turns away from the scene and strides from the room.

Chichiri watches Tasuke go in worry. After a moment, he decides to go after him. When Chichiri reaches Tasuke’s room, he steps in to find the young man lying down on his bed, hands cupped behind his head. A knowing look crossing his features, Chichiri halts in the doorway, tapping the wood with a knuckle. His redwood staff, held securely in his hand, clinks gently as he shifts around

Glancing up swiftly from the bed, Tasuke leans forward into a sitting position. His alert gaze instantly melts into sarcasm as he watches the grinning wizard.

“What do you want?” Tasuke asks in a bored voice. Chichiri, head lifting slightly, steps into the room.

“Just to talk ya know,” he replies casually. The fiery haired youth watches Chichiri skeptically as he circles the room before finally resting against the bed post. His eyes close thoughtfully. “I know how you feel about Miaka,” he begins slowly, picking his words very carefully. Tasuke’s eyes widen slightly, but other than that he doesn’t react. “I feel them too.” He chuckles suddenly. “Kinda funny, ya know? How the Suzaku warriors should all care about the Priestess of Suzaku. Alas, she and Tamahome were simply meant to be, ya know.” Tasuke leans back against the bed post once more, folding his hands behind his head.

“What does all this have to do with me?” he grumbles, glancing away from Chichiri towards the table in the middle of the room. The magician chuckles.

“A wise man once said, there can be more than one companion of the heart, ya know,” Chichiri states wisely, in a solemn voice. Blinking in surprise, Tasuke glances over at Chichiri with a startled look.

“What are you talking about?” he asks roughly. The magician shrugs with a knowing grin. Tasuke’s features harden. “You’re insane, Chichiri! I don’t even like girls! The only one I can really tolerate is Miaka.” He mutters the last part to himself. Chichiri turns slightly away, raising a hand to his mouth in feign dramatics.

“Oh I forgot,” he says in a sing song, airy voice, “you don’t swing that way ya know.” Tasuke is at Chichiri’s side instantly, eyes closed. With a snort, he smacks his fist onto Chichiri’s head. The wizard’s eyes go cross eyed, stumbling slightly.

“Care to run that by me again, Chichiri,” Tasuke says beneath his breath. The magician snaps out of his daze and chuckles nervously at the young man.

“No no, that’s alright, ya know.” His features return to their pleasant self. “Anyway, back to what I was really coming to talk to you about.” Opening one eye to peer at Chichiri, Tasuke sighs gruffly before striding back to the bed. With a sigh, he plops down onto the mattress, elbows resting on his knees.

“Alright I’m listening,” Tasuke announces. Grinning, Chichiri fixes his hair before leaning against the wall closest to Tasuke.

“I don’t believe Zoku wanted to hurt us, either, ya know,” Chichiri says. His voice is firm. Tasuke glances over at the young magician, only to find Chichiri staring fixedly at him. Tasuke sighs.

“Glad someone believes me!” Tasuke throws his arms into the air in exasperation. The magician chuckles.

“The thing I don’t get is…why, in the end, did she go with Nakago? If she is not a spy…why would she leave?” Chichiri places a finger to his chin, tapping it gently in thought. Tasuke snorts. He’d been thinking about that ever since Zoku had departed for Kouto.

“That’s quite simple!” Tasuke says in a wise tone, waggling a finger in the air. “The first thing is that Zoku doesn’t remember anything about her past. When Nakago appeared, he told Zoku that her sister was waiting for her in Kouto. That’s the first reason. But Zoku is a sweet kid, with what looked like a good judge of character. She was, of course, skeptical, but Nakago is very, shall we say,” a sheepish look crosses his features, “persuasive. Then, you came in and saved me, but attacked Nakago. Zoku probably didn’t understand why you were attacking her.” He leans forward suddenly, poking Chichiri insistently in the arm. “You remember how she protected us, then?” His voice is accusing.

A sweat drop rolls down Chichiri’s head as he rubs that back of his neck. “Oh yeah…forgot about that little part.” His features grow sullen. “But then she attacked us again.”

Tasuke leans so far forward that he’s nearly touching Chichiri’s shoulder, voice urgent. One finger is stuck in the air to halt Chichiri. “That, my weird magician friend, is where you’re wrong! She wasn’t trying to hurt us. She was trying to help us. You said she used her power to do it? Well I think she didn’t have any control over it,” he explains, eyes fluttering as he says this. He was still trying to convince himself of this.

As Chichiri drinks this all in, Zoku’s saddened voice flutters through Tasuke’s memory. “Tasuke, I’m sorry. I can’t stop it. I dunno what happened.” She’d uttered those words shortly after the whirlwind started. After Tasuke and Chichiri found their lives in danger.

“Hmm,” Chichiri says beneath his breath, letting his arms fall to his head. Gently, he clicks his staff against the floor. The jarring motion causes the golden trinkets on the top of the staff to jingle. The silvery tone clears Chichiri’s mind. “I guess that could work ya know! But then,” he raises a quizzical brow, “why would Zoku stay in Kouto? You said she came to see you, ya know,” Chichiri asks. Tasuke nods his head.

“Yup.”

“Then why didn’t she stay here, ya know?” Chichiri frowns. “We’d be able to protect her.” A slow smile spreads across Tasuke’s features as he realizes the answer.

“She was trying to protect us. If she ran away and came here…Nakago would most definitely come after her. And, in turn, us.” Chichiri makes a thoughtful sound, while Tasuke nods his head proudly. He jabs a thumb into his chest. “See! I know what I’m talking about!”

The wizard hangs his head with a sigh. “Not too cocky, ya know,” Chichiri grumbles. Tasuke merely pouts. Rising to his feet with a sigh, Chichiri turns towards the door with the aide of his staff.

“Well, it was nice talking’ to you, ya know,” Chichiri says, raising his hand in a gesture of farewell. Grinning, Tasuke leans back against the bed with a nod.

“You too, Chichiri.” The wizard grins.

“Get some sleep,” he advises. Tasuke nods. Turning, Chichiri strides from the room. Each step draws a jingle from the ornaments adorning the top of his staff. Sighing heartily, Tasuke rolls over onto his side, staring at the wall. His lashes slide slowly closed.