Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties Part 2: Children of a Blessed Union ❯ Belated Reunion ( Chapter 4 )

IV: Belated Reunion

 

 

A year later, the missing Suzaku warrior had finally made his way back to Konan. Tamahome, after six years of drifting through the enemy nation of Kuto, had finally reported for duty at the Eiyo's grand palace. He was well received by Emperor Hotohori, though the noble ruler had shocking news to tell his comrade. After an abundant feast to celebrate his friend's return, Emperor Hotohori took him to his study to relay what had happened during his absence. Taking a seat behind his large desk, Hotohori began…

 

 

“After the Konan/Kuto War and your disappearance,” the kind monarch explained, “Lady Miaka had renounced her duties as priestess. Thus, the Suzaku Seven has been temporarily disbanded.”

 

 

Tama gaped at Hotohori. “You've got to be kidding me, right, Your Majesty?” They were alone in the study after His Majesty ordered out all his advisors. “Then where are the others? Miaka?” No one could hear his raised voice but them.

 

 

Hotohori stared back at him, looking solemn at his desk. “Rest assured, Tamahome,” said the emperor, “every one is fine. They have just gone off to pursue their own agendas.”

 

 

“But what about Miaka, Hotohori? Where is she now?”

 

 

In his haste for an answer, Tamahome forgot to refer to Hotohori with a title befitting an emperor. But due to the circumstances, His Majesty let it slide. The monarch began to evaluate his next words. This was a matter to be handled delicately. Whatever he said would initiate a chain of events that would alter the comfortable existence for his friends.

 

 

After taking a long breath, the emperor continued. “Miaka has traveled to the Kou Prefecture with Tasuki accompanying her. She is currently living in a farming village.”

 

 

He kept the exact location of Miaka as vague as possible. He didn't want to lie to him, but he couldn't tell him the whole truth. Tama appeared to have depleted in vigor for being away from his lover for so long. If he were to discover of Miaka's marriage to Tasuki and the birth of their son, it would surely put an end to him.

 

 

“Miaka was terribly distraught when you did not return from battle,” he added as an afterthought.

 

 

Tamahome looked as if he had already made his resolve. “Thank you for informing me, Your Majesty.” He bowed low and excused himself to his quarters.

 

 

The next day, Tamahome decided to take his leave from the palace. He refused any accompaniment to the Kou Prefecture, saying that he would make it on his own. Emperor Hotohori watched his loyal friend walk away from his home. He felt guilty for not telling Tama the whole truth of Miaka and Tasuki. He knew it had been dishonorable, but he just didn't have the heart to tell him.

 

 

Though, His Majesty knew this was how fate had determined to tie the threads of their lives. Destiny had a strange way of functioning. Once the gears were finally set in motion there was no way of turning them backwards. Hotohori didn't have the ability to prevent the inevitable. The least he could do for this foreseen love triangle was put Tamahome in the right direction; that way destiny would lead him to the truth.

 

 

The only thing he hoped was that there wouldn't be too much damage afterwards.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Two boys, one was six winters old and his brother barely five-summers, ran amongst the crowds in the marketplace. They swerved to and fro hiding and reappearing in the throngs of people. It was as if they were playing a hybrid game of hide-and-seek and tag-you're-it. With their arms spread like birds, their random play became a race of two phoenixes, each hoping to reach the smithy before his brother. Since they were small children who could do no harm, they went unnoticed. But their father, a well-built man of eleven hands in height, caused more of a commotion as he tried to catch up with them.

 

 

Tasuki cursed as he watched Takato and Sousuke try to beat each other to the local smithy. Their mother had been right to warn him that taking their sons to the market was a regrettable idea. But no, he thought he was spending too much time tending to the fields. So naturally spending quality time with Takato and Sousuke was in order. The former celestial warrior tried to ignore the fuming stares sent at him. As politely as he could, he made his way through the crowd to the shop of Jin the Smith.

 

 

The weary father caught sight of his sons, whom were at the large open-air doorway of the smith's workshop. Both boys were watching with avid interest as the only smith in town pounded the finishing touches on a medium-sized dagger. There were cries of awe as Jin put the red-hot blade in water and pulled out a shining weapon radiating with steam. Takato and Sousuke then asked their `Uncle Jin' if they could touch blade, too. Tasuki sighed in admiration but tried to hide his paternal pride. Like father, like sons, he thought.

 

 

“Hey there, Genrou!” hailed Jin the Smith.

 

 

“Hey yerself, Jin-Chan!” replied Tasuki.

 

 

Both men met each other halfway and slapped palms together with equal bravado. Besides Koji, Jin was another close friend of Tasuki's from when he was still was a Reikaku bandit. Back in the old days, Jin had been the gang's personal weapon producer. He could make the surest arrows, the sharpest blades, and spears so articulate they felt like an extension of your arm. If anyone wanted the most kick-ass weapon there was Jin was your man.

 

 

After the hardy hand grip, Jin turned his burly frame to the two boys who literally looked up to him. “Ya' brought the munchkins, I see.” The smith smirked as he patted Takato's head.

 

 

“Yup, just so I could show `em th' awesome heirloom I got from the Boss,” said Tasuki. “Which reminds me, Jin, ya' do have it finished, right?”

 

 

“Sure do.”

 

 

Jin then disappeared into the back of his shop. He then emerged, a moment later, carrying a fairly large object wrapped in cloth. At first he held it under his arm like a potato sack, but when he reached Tasuki he presented it tentatively with both hands.

 

 

“Boss really did like you,” Jin said wistfully, “I was kinda disappointed when ya' stepped down from bein' the next leader.”

 

 

Tasuki gave in to reminisce about that time, nine years ago. He remembered when his mentor, the former Reikaku leader Hakurou, had died from illness. Fortunately, the Boss had made arrangements for him, probably his youngest gang member at the time, to be his successor. However, Tasuki was destined to be part of Suzaku's Seven Warriors fated to protect the Priestess Miaka. There was a huge fight over who would be the leader in his stead. The skirmish had ended when Miaka and the others helped him pacify the rowdy bandits. Tasuki then elected his main man Koji to be the new bandit leader. Since then, Tasuki had gone almost legit in order to accompany Miaka on her quests.

 

 

“Hakurou was right in givin' you this thing; he knew you would've been a good boss.”

 

 

The younger man smiled ruefully, “Yeah, I guess I do owe th' Old Man. After all, he gave me th' choice t' either be part of th' Suzaku Seven or be the new boss. And if it weren't fer his `follow your destiny' crap, I probably wouldn't have met my woman.”

 

 

“I know whacha mean,” agreed Jin. “If I hadn't left like you, I wouldn't have met my old lady and got trapped in the `Family Life of Hell', either.”

 

 

The two old friends burst into hearty laughter as the boys looked on in confusion. Young Sousuke pulled on his father's pants impatiently.

 

 

“I wanna see what th' `Ole Man' gave you, Papa!”

 

 

“Alright, alright, ya' lil' brat! I'm gonna show it!” his father scolded with a fanged grin.

 

 

Despite his son's urging, the father smiled at his younger reflection. Out of the three children he and Miaka had together, Sousuke was the only one that inherited anything from him, including his lack of patience. Sousuke's tugs were getting more insistent, and Tasuki began to unravel the wrapped up heirloom.

 

 

The cloth was slowly pulled away, revealing a silver shine. Sharp pleats were shown venting down into a handle that Tasuki clenched in his hand. Both he and Jin marveled at the weapon that had once belonged to their departed leader. It had been used to protect Mt. Reikaku for decades, only being passed down to a worthy candidate the preceding owner personally instructed. While the men stared at the shiny object with admiration, Takato and Sousuke expressed mild disappointment.

 

 

“It's only a fan!” declared Takato.

 

 

“I thought it was somethin' cool!” whined Sousuke.

 

 

“It's a magical Harisen, ya' brats!” growled Jin. “It can fry th' skin off yer bones!”

 

 

The boys' stares were skeptical.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Miaka sighed as she bounced her baby on her thigh. Little Miyu was a year old and she was just a ball of energy. The relentless child wriggled in her mother's arms in order to be set down. The two of them sat at their front door of their home, feeling restless. She had been waiting for over an hour. Dinner had already been set; her husband and two young sons were still not back from errands.

 

 

Tasuki had said that he needed to get something from the smith, but he wasn't specific on what it was. He had been so insistent on taking the boys with him. She had warned him that it was market day, and there would be all sorts of venders and shoppers filling the streets. The crowds were especially large since it was after the annual harvest.

 

 

Visions of Takato and Sousuke getting separated from their father and crushed within the crowds filled her mind. She made herself forget such things, putting her trust in Tasuki. It wasn't like she didn't trust him to protect their sons. She was just worried that he might let the boys do whatever crazy stunt they had in mind. He just didn't know when to restrain those kids.

 

 

A few past incidents resonated from memory. There was a time when Takato and Sousuke were just toddlers; both were having their teeth come in and screamed due to the pain. Tasuki, who wasn't sober at the time, thought an age old remedy like sake might help their irritable gums. Then the fiasco two years ago when both boys decided to climb a dead tree in the yard; it was almost unearthed from the ground and looked about to fall over. Tasuki had been watching them, and, when the tree gave way to the boys' weight, he didn't do anything. That was because Takato and Sousuke were able to jump down before the tree fell. He had reassured her, saying proudly, “Y'see? Those boys can save themselves better than me!” Finally, she remembered her sons' game of hide-and-seek concerning a tall field of wheat and a pair cropping scythes…

 

 

Her decision already made, Miaka went to the bustling market, taking a burbling Miyu with her.

 

 

~_~

 

 

After smacking Jin upside his head for yelling at his sons, he paid the smith his fee and left into the busy market. The three passed a fruit vendor and he bought apples for each of his sons. When the two complained that the fruits' skin was too tough to bite, he demonstrated his harisen's power. He threw both apples into the air and waved his harisen once, uttering the words `Rekka Shien'. Flames burst forth from the fan, broiling the apples skin's to a brittle crisp. Both boys were in stupefied awe.

 

 

The proud father, tessen in its holster on his back, smirked as his sons jumped around him. The children spewed warm apple chunks as they talked. Sousuke was uttering `let me touch' every 1.5 seconds while Takato chanted `cool, cool, cool' in the background. Though their father just walked along, basking in hero-worship. The boys had insulted his tessen, so as punishment they wouldn't get to touch it.

 

 

“Aw, c'mon, Dad!” whined Takato. “Me and Sousuke are sorry for making fun o' your fan!”

 

 

“Tessen,” Tasuki corrected.

 

 

“Yeah, that thingie!” agreed Sousuke.

 

 

Desperate for a just a touch of the magical `Tessen', the boys began to jump for it. The rowdy father swerved his back so to avoid their futile snatches. He moved left to avoid Takato, and turned right to dodge Sousuke. He even bowed at the waist to duck as they both jumped for it. It ended with the brothers banging their heads together and their father laughing at them. Sousuke and Takato decided to go for the flatter-and-seize approach.

 

 

“Gee, Dad,” Takato began, “tell us how you got your tessen back after loosin' it in the War.”

 

 

“Yeah, Papa! Yer story was so long and interestin'!” Sousuke carried on. He jumped on Takato's shoulders, nearing the redhead from behind.

 

 

The brothers smiled gleefully as Tasuki began to get flustered. “Aw, ya' both already know that story; it's prolly not that great once ya' heard it fer a second time…” Once his sons told him otherwise, he changed his tone. “Oh, alright! I'll tell ya'! It was seven years ago, way before you were born, Takato. There I was on the front lines, fighting Kuto soldiers …”

 

 

As Tasuki rambled about his younger days, the brothers put their ladder tactic to use. For Takato it was difficult to walk and balance his brother on his shoulders. As for Sousuke, he couldn't quite reach the tessen since it was so high on his father's back. The market day's crowds were so dense it was also hard to maneuver. That wasn't even taking Tasuki's speed and dramatic arm movements into account!

 

 

When Tasuki had reached `the time I drank yer Uncle Koji under th' table' section of his monologue, Sousuke got on his feet so he could reach the tessen, putting more strain on Takato's shoulders. The older boy was about to curse his younger sibling until something caught his eye. He turned sharply to look at it, making his brother fall to the ground. Tasuki was too caught up in his memories to notice.

 

 

“So, then, I went back home t' yer mom an'”—

 

 

“Takato, pick me up! I wanna see, too!”

 

 

Tasuki stopped dead in his tracks after hearing Sousuke's voice. He turned to see his sons running toward a gathering of people, probably watching a street performer. Apparently watching some poor showman on the street was more interesting than listening to the epic journey of his tessen. Grudgingly, the redhead walked toward the assembly. Just to make sure his sons weren't kidnapped by a child molester.

 

 

The gasps and cheers of the crowd deafened him, but he was able to spot the boys in a thin group of people. Sousuke was on his Takato's shoulders; both had a front row seat of the spectacle. Tasuki was able to watch them as they watched the show. Being one of the tallest men there, Tasuki was able to watch the engrossing sight without being up close.

 

 

The performer was doing some air-defying martial arts. He was able to do back- flips and high jumps even within his confined space. His few props were a large ceramic vase and a hunk of wood. The man kicked them into the air, juggling them only with his legs. To Tasuki, this didn't seem special, looked like he was showing off. He had blinked when the mystery man used his flimsy sash to obliterate both objects before they hit the ground. The man wasn't facing their side of the circle, but Tasuki could tell he was no run of the mill fighter. He had style and knew how to make a profit from it. Kinda reminds me o' Tama, he thought.

 

 

With his performance over, the grateful audience applauded. Those who could afford to threw coins at his feet. The man bowed to everyone uttering thanks for seeing his trifle. When he turned to Tasuki's side of the circle, the redhead caught site of the man's face.

The man was in fact Tamahome.

 

 

And, at that moment, their eyes met.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Tamahome was flabbergasted when he saw the face of his long-lost comrade. Tasuki's face was equally stunned. Both had their eyes as wide as persimmons with their mouths open like suffocating fish. At first, he thought it was just an illusion, the price for working out in the sun for too long. But when he rubbed his eyes, the redhead was still there. It was Tasuki, after so long.

 

 

He was about to call out to him, but the man took off. In effort to reacquaint himself, he ran after him. But not before he got most of the coins his patrons gave him into his purse.

 

 

“So long, folks, I'll be here all week!” he called to the confused public.

 

 

He then went in pursuit of Tasuki. Dammit, why was he running? Where was Miaka?

 

 

~_~

 

 

Ahead of time, Tasuki grabbed the boys before he made a break for it. His sons held on to him for dear life as he gained speed. They sped by townspeople who looked like motionless blurs. The redhead wanted to run, run all the way home and lock the doors. Lock them up tight and pray to Suzaku he wouldn't find him. Though, he couldn't go as fast as he wished with the added weight.

 

 

Numerous questions went through Tasuki's mind. Why was Tamahome here? How did he get to Taitou in the first place? Did he find out about him and Miaka? And if so, did ogre boy come here to bash his face into the ground? Or worse, take Miaka away from him! Since he didn't want to know, the former bandit picked up his pace.

 

 

By then, Sousuke and Takato had passed out from the dizzying super-human speed.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Meanwhile, with Miaka…

 

 

The poor woman was pushed and shoved as she made her way through the Market Day horde. She kept her baby close to her, hoping the child wouldn't suffocate due to her tight grasp. They had been wandering through the mass of shoppers and sellers for fifteen minutes. There was still no sign of Tasuki and the boys. Miaka started to regret ever leaving her spacious home.

 

 

The mother and daughter found relief in the town square, where the decorative tree stood. There they sat in the cool shade, finally away from the hot and noisy crowds. Miyu, once freed to breathe, wasted no time crying in order to fill her lungs with air. Miaka leaned her against her chest, suspecting she might be hungry. She was correct for the infant began pulling at her chemise in order to get to her breast. Pulling away her blouse, Miaka positioned her chest so she could suckle. As she fed her baby, the wife wondered where her husband could be.

 

 

Sleep was about to envelop Miaka, but she saw a distinct blur. A flash of red caught her eye. Expecting it to be Tasuki, she called out to it.

 

 

“Tasuki!”

 

 

~_~

 

 

A familiar hail made Tasuki look to its source. He slowed down some so he could tell which blur was calling out to him. A moving blur to his left came into focus. It was Miaka waving at him. He was already passed her when he finally noticed, so he had to make a U-turn at the town square tree. The redhead stopped when he got a close up of Miyu suckling on Miaka's breast.

 

 

“Tasuki,” reiterated his wife, “my eyes are up here.”

 

 

“Oh! Sorry…”

 

 

Miaka noticed that Tasuki appeared anxious, taking looks behind his shoulder. She also noticed both her sons were gaining consciousness from their amazing ride. Her exasperation turned to concern.

 

 

“Dear, what's wrong? Why were you running? Is someone after you?”

 

 

Tasuki turned back to her. “Look, Miaka. I think we better head back ho”—

 

 

“Tasuki! There you are!”

 

 

Tamahome waved to Tasuki as he saw him near a tree in the town square. As he neared him however, he saw a face that had haunted his dreams for the past six years. The beauty was sleeker and more refined in the flesh, but it was still her…

 

 

“Miaka…”

 

 

He was able to see the whole picture once he was near enough. A burly father holding two sons under his arms. His wife standing by his side nursing the baby. It all added up, yet Tama couldn't believe it. This had to be a joke or a coincidence. It couldn't be…!

 

 

Light headedness settled in. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his legs gave out from under him. The last thing he remembered were Tasuki and Miaka's shocked faces.

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

Author's Note: About Tasuki regaining his tessen after the War, that story will be told in the next chapter. See ya' then!