Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl Who Didn't Believe ❯ The Rift Is Mended ( Chapter 12 )

The Girl Who Didn't Believe

Hiya!! I'm back with Chapter 12!! Yay!! Ain't that nice?!! Heheh. Well, as usual, please, please, forgive me for my numerous spelling, tenses and grammar mistakes. Gomen-nasai!! ^__^ Okay, onward with the story!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the FY characters. I do own Kitten and Sable, though.

//…//=telepathic conversations

`…"=thoughts

########## = at another place

^^^^^^^^^^ = recall

That's all, minna!!

Chapter 12-The Rift Is Mended

Meanwhile, in the realm of the gods…

"Shimatta…Did you see what happened?!!" Byakko asked his brothers.

"Nope. Why? You saw anything good?"

Genbu and Seiryu were currently relaxed in a hot spring, with beautiful servant girls feeding them pieces of food.

Byakko glared at his brothers.

//Didn't you feel a tug in your senses, as if something waS not right?//

"Well, hai, I think." Genbu answered. "I did feel something."

"Me too."

"Baka!! Don't you two know? Something must have happened to Suzaku!!"

"NANI?!!"

That prompted the two gods to surge out of the water. Almost immediately, the servants efficiently covered them in their clothing.

"What happened?" Genbu asked.

Seiryu didn't bother. After all, he and his kid brother were still bitter enemies.

"Take a look yourself."

Byakko pulled a mirror from nowhere and placed it in front of the older god.

Curiously, Seiryu went to take a look too. The feeling of panic he had felt earlier intrigued him. What had happened to Suzaku?

"MIRROR!! Show me what happened to Suzaku!!" Genbu commanded.

The three gods glanced at the mirror as it slowly cleared to reveal the horrifying events that had happened earlier…

##########

Suzaku was slowly swimming towards consciousness. His vision swam for a while and he struggled to clear it.

"You are awake, Suzaku."

`Sable.' He thought with relief. `I must be safe then.'

"Hai. You are safe."

The god started. He had unconsciously transmitted his thoughts to the brunette.

"The rest of the group is outside, doing their respective chores. They were extremely worried about you…Kami-sama."

Suzaku attempted to move then, but the only result of that endeavor was a whimper of pain.

"IIE!! Suzaku, onegai, don't move unnecessarily. You have been severely injured. Here, let me help you. What do you want to do?"

//I want to go out for a while. Help me please.//

The request, though weakly given, was not a question, but a command.

Sable sighed as she carefully gathered the infant phoenix in her arms.

`After all,' She thought. `What more harm can happen? He is not going to hurt himself since I am going to carry him. Anyway, since he is injured, I figure that I ought to give in to him once in a while.'

The pair left the room.

##########

"How could something like that happen!!" Genbu raged, as he paced furiously among the clouds.

Byakko and Seiryu remained silent. Both were still shaken by the way the bandits had savagely treated Suzaku.

"Anou…" Byakko ventured at last, trying to placate his normally calm brother. "Suzaku was very brave to survive through it all…"

"As much as I loathe to admit, I have to agree with Byakko." Seiryu allowed reluctantly.

When the trio saw the mirror replay the horrifying incident that had happened to their youngest brother, they had paled. It was as if they had felt every stone thrown, every blow directed.

What had further amazed them was that Suzaku had never once lost faith in his seishi. He had fully believed that they would come to save him in time and he was right; they never did fail him. This was something that the other three gods did not have. The complete trust in their seishi. It was obvious that the relationship between Suzaku and his seishi was very deep; Tasuki and Chichiri would not have been able to sense his distress if not for that.

Because of that, the three gods were touched, and their respect for their brother went up a notch.

Genbu calmed down slightly then.

"Now, what are we going to do?" Byakko asked the green-haired god.

Genbu smiled.

"Let's go visit Suzie."

##########

Chichiri saw them first; and he rushed to their side immediately.

"What is the meaning of this, no da?"

"He wanted to come out for a breath of fresh air."

"Demo…demo…"

Sable shook her head and continued past Chichiri. He was such a worrywart sometimes.

Kitten and Tasuki came back to the keep then. Both of them were flushed and grinning like a pair of idiots. They skidded to a stop before Sable and Suzaku

"Suzaku, daijoubu ka?" They chorused.

Suzaku nodded. He was still not strong enough to communicate telepathically.

"Demo, Suzaku, you are still weak, no da!!" Chichiri burst out. "You shouldn't be out here, no da!! You should be resting!!"

Suzaku ignored his seishi and everyone sweatdropped.

"Chiri," Tasuki cut in. "Anou…Sable is carrying Suzie, I don't think that anything much would happen to him this way."

"Yeah," Kitten agreed. She turned to Sable then.

"Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with this man? I swear he worries about everything!! Just imagine what would happen when the two of you are going to have kids; I pity the doctor who is going to deliver your babies!!"

Chichiri and Sable turned bright red then.

"Kitten no baka!! I'm going to kill you, you moron!!" Sable yelled. "You just wait until I find somewhere to put Suzaku!!"

Tasuki looked surprised at Kitten's words. Being the dense person that he was, he had absolutely no idea that there was something going on between his friend and the pretty brunette. Now that he did know, he burst into laughter.

"Wow, Chiri, you sure are fast. Man, I didn't know that you had it in you!!"

If that was possible, Chichiri turned even redder. Even Suzaku was beginning to become concerned.

"DAAAAAAAAAA?!!"

The blue-haired man then surprised everyone as he took his staff and started chasing his laughing friend around.

Kouji arrived then, and he surveyed the comical scene with great amusement.

"What's going on here?"

Kitten answered.

"Oh, it was like that. I was telling Sable that…UUUMMMMMPPPPPHHHH!!"

She never got to finish her explanation as Sable shoved Suzaku into Kouji's arms and effectively silenced her friend with her hands.

Tasuki rushed past then, and he decided to help fill in the blanks.

"Hi, Kouji!! Do you know that Chiri and Sable are together?!!" He all but yelled for everyone within 5-mile radius to hear. "Kitten was telling Sable what a worrywart Chiri was and how much she pities the doc who is going to deliver their babies!! Well, seeya!! Chiri as catching up!!" He used his seishi speed then, and sped off.

Kouji started laughing. The four of them really deserves to be together. The serious couple and the childish one. They really rub on each other and pretty much on everyone else, too.

He and Suzaku continued watching as Sable started chasing and yelling after a recently escaped Kitten. Chichiri, on the other hand, had suddenly remembered that he could do magic and immediately, he chanted an incantation which froze a cursing Tasuki on the spot. He then proceeded leisurely to the flame-haired bandit and gave him a few deserving whacks with his staff.

"Itai!! Itai!! What was that for Chiri? This is so unfair!! You used magic!!"

"Well, you used your seishi speed too, so I think that we are on par, no da."

Sable and Kitten were still chasing each other around the now frozen Tasuki.

Suddenly, Suzaku stiffened.

"What is it, Suzaku?" Kouji asked, concerned.

"Something is coming." Chichiri answered. He, too, had sensed something.

Immediately, Sable and Kitten stopped fooling around and Chichiri unfroze Tasuki.

The group gathered closely together.

Tasuki took out his tessen.

"Do their ki feel menacing, Chiri?"

"Iie, no da, they are quite familiar, so I think that it is safe, no da."

"Hmm…" was all Tasuki said, but he did not unsheathe his tessen.

Sure enough, something appeared.

It was a fruit basket.

The group ventured cautiously towards it.

"What the fuck…" Tasuki stared at the object, flabbergasted. He turned towards Chichiri.

"This was the ki you felt? A bloody fruit basket? No wonder you said that it was familiar!!!"

"No da…"

The others sweatdropped.

Tasuki returned the tessen to its sheathe and casually took an apple from the basket. He was about to bite into it when something hit him in the head.

"Itai! Kuso, who did that?"

The group turned as one; the pebble that hit Tasuki had come from behind them.

There, they stared.

Sable gasped.

Kitten groaned.

"Oh no, not you THREE again…"

"Anou…were you the ones who sent that, no da?" Chichiri asked politely.

Genbu and Byakko nodded. Seiryu merely smirked.

"Hai, and they were not for your enjoyment, Suzaku shichi seishi Tasuki."

Tasuki muttered something about the fruits being poisoned and hurriedly put it back in the basket.

"What are you three doing here?"

Kouji looked at the trio and hazarded a guess.

"You are Genbu, Byakko and," he frowned slightly. "Seiryu, right?"

"Hai, and we are here to see Suzaku."

Everyone turned their attention to Suzaku.

Suzaku did not look pleased to see his brothers. In fact, he looked rather pissed off.

Byakko walked up to Kouji, took his loudly protesting younger brother from his arms and walked back to Genbu and Seiryu.

"If you people do not mind, we'd like to talk to our brother." Genbu said politely. "Could you spare us some time?"

Tasuki was about to protest but Kitten merely dragged him towards the cafeteria. The others nodded their consent and trailed off after the duo.

"Well, Suzaku, are you all right?" Seiryu asked.

"Yeah," Byakko said looking down at his brother. "We saw what happened to you earlier."

Suzaku quivered slightly at that reminder but otherwise gave no response.

Genbu narrowed his eyes.

He had noticed Suzaku's look of fright.

"Seiryu, Byakko." He advised. "Can you not see that he is too weak to even mind-talk? Why don't we try to heal him first?"

The other two nodded their agreement and the three concentrated on focusing their ki into Suzaku, who was immediately surrounded by blue, white and green glows.

Fluidly, his fractured ribs melded back together and his broken wings were set. He no longer felt achy and painful but instead felt energetic. He squeaked slightly with surprise and he tried to communicate telepathically.

//ARRIGATO GOZAIMASU.// He boomed into his brothers' heads.

"Well," Seiryu winced lightly. "He's recovered all right."

//WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING HERE?//

Byakko looked at Genbu, who shrugged.

"We just came down to see if you are still alive." Byakko said caustically.

Genbu and Seiryu nodded their agreement. As annoying as Suzaku was sometimes, he was still their blood brother and they all cared about his welfare. However, they were not going to tell him THAT. If Suzaku have an inkling of what they felt, he would be sure to walk all over their heads.

//OH…BUT I AM,// he puffed up with pride. //MY SEISHI SAVED ME, YOU KNOW.//

"Yeah, yeah. We know." Seiryu said sourly.

He did not like being reminded of the fact that his seishi were the worst of the lot.

The three gods stood around awkwardly. After healing a fellow god, their strength were drained and they were all feeling exhausted.

//YOU GUYS BETTER GO NOW. I SEE THAT YOU ARE ALL TIRED. I WILL BE ALL RIGHT. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AGAIN, ESPECIALLY YOU, SEIRYU. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HELP, BUT YOU DID IT ANWAY. ARRIGATO GOZAIMASU.//

Seiryu was surprised. Suzaku was normally a proud person. He seldom thanked anyone, and never his enemy. What was going on?

"Anou…Suzaku, daijoubu?" Seiryu asked.

//HAI, DAIJOUBU.//

Taking advantage of Seiryu's doubtful silence, Suzaku plunged on.

//SEIRYU, I'D LIKE FOR THIS FEUD BETWEEN US TO END; I DO NOT WANT ANYMORE BLOODSHED BETWEEN US. WHEN I WENT TO THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN KONAN A WHILE AGO, I SAW THE EMPRESS HOUKI AND THE PRINCE REGENT, BOUSHIN.//

Suzaku sounded regretful.

// HOTOHORI SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE TOO, AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE FAMILY. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF YOU AND I, BOUSHIN WOULD HAVE TO BE FORCED TO GROW UP AT A VERY YOUNG AGE SO AS TO RULE THE LAND, JUST LIKE HIS FATHER BEFORE HIM.//

Suzaku looked at Seiryu.

// I DO NOT WANT ANYONE, NOT FROM KUTOU, NOT FROM KONAN TO SUFFER LIKE THAT AGAIN, IF POSSIBLE. SOU KA…WILL YOU CONSIDER A TRUCE, BROTHER?//

Byakko and Genbu looked touched by the speech. Their youngest brother's short stay in the mortal realm had taught him more than all of them could ever make him learn.

Seiryu was slightly astonished by the entire situation. Suzaku was actually willing to forgo his pride to ask for a truce!!

`But then,' he thought. `I myself am also getting sick and tired of this enmity between us…once upon a time, before our mikos arrived, we weren't like that. Being the two youngest, we were extremely close to each other. But then, the mikos had to arrive at the same time, and things just weren't the same anymore. Rivalry pushed us apart and over time, the gap between us widened. Maybe it really is time to end this once and for all.'

Suzaku was anxiously watching Seiryu's expression. His hopes plummeted when his blue-haired brother smirked and turn away from him.

//SEIRYU?//

"Hai…and I accept your truce, by the way."

Suzaku breathed a sigh of relief.

//ARRIGATO.//

Seiryu glanced sharply back at the infant phoenix.

"Don't thank me, Suzie. I agreed because of the fact that you are now all injured and puny and weak and all. Do I need to say more? Oh, and don't expect that to change my challenge for your four mortals. In fact, I think that I should make it harder."

Suzaku immediately puffed up with outrage, much to his dragon brother's amusement.

"As much as I enjoy baiting you, brother, I have other important things to see to. So, ja na!"

As per usual, the god of Kutou disappeared in a puff of his trademark blue smoke.

//WHY THAT SLIMY LITTLE LIZARD!!// Suzaku huffed furiously. However, he was inwardly pleased that Seiryu had decided to mend the rift between them.

Byakko and Genbu merely stared amused at each other. Things were finally looking up and going back to normal. They remembered a time not long ago, when the younger gods would fight and ki blast each other whenever their paths crossed. Now, Genbu and Byakko are glad that that was long over.

"Well…Suzaku, if there is nothing else, we too have to go. There are things we need to do."

//SAYONARA, ONII-CHAN.//

"See you in a month's time." Were the last words the two older gods said before they too, disappeared.

##########

Meanwhile in the cafeteria…

"What are they talking about, anyway?!! I don't want to leave Suzaku with Seiryu for so long!! Who knows what that slimy snake might do to our Kami-sama?!!" Tasuki was pacing about in the cafeteria. "And how can all of you just sit around calmly eating dinner?!!"

The others sweatdropped but otherwise continued with their meal.

"Tasuki!!" Kitten yelled. "Stop that and come eat your dinner. We are going to finish it all if you don't."

"Tasuki, no da. Don't worry so much. If Seiryu wanted to kill Suzaku, no da, he would have done so a long time ago. Furthermore, no da, Genbu and Byakko are also there; they won't allow Seiryu to try anything funny, no da."

"Yeah, Gen, come on, and stop acting so paranoid." Kouji added, as an idea came to him. "And as for that comment about Kitten pitying the doctor who is going to deliver Sable and Chichiri's children," Kouji expertly ducked food thrown at him from two different directions. "I think that should apply to you and Kitten too."

"NANI!!"

Kouji grinned. This had certainly made Genrou stopped worrying. Unfortunately, his best friend and Kitten were now glaring daggers at him.

Sable and Chichiri grinned. It was payback time.

"Kouji!! What ever had I done to you to make you say something like that?!!" Kitten wailed.

"Eheheheh…"

Sable decided to add her piece too.

"But Kit," She exaggerated, her eyes widened and looking shocked. "It is true. Didn't I tell you what happened when you were injured and had fainted? No? Well, I let me tell you now."

"I'd rather you not." Tasuki muttered.

Sable acted as if she did not hear.

"Why, Kitten, when you fainted, poor Tasuki here looked as if he was going to swoon as well. Isn't that sweet or what?"

Kitten was turning slightly red.

"Sable…" she started warningly.

"Oh…but Kitten, I'm not done yet!! Did you also know that when the physician was in the room treating you, Tasuki all but beat down the door when he thought that the doctor was taking too long to treat you? He also threatened death on the poor doctor if you were not properly healed. I swear, that was the most endearing sight ever!!"

Both Kitten and Tasuki were tomato-red by now. Seeing that Kouji was rolling around on the floor laughing, they looked at Chichiri for help.

"Anou…" Chichiri started. "Demo, no da, Sable is right…I think that I can imagine Kitten and the doctor who is supposed to deliver the baby in a room and Tasuki in the background, no da, going `Rekka Shin'en' each time Kitten has a contraction, no da!!"

"Then, I suppose that we have to get a lot of doctors, for in case of emergency!!" Kouji added, still laughing.

Kitten looked as if she wanted to die.

"Kami-sama," she called to the ceiling, "can you let me die of embarrassment?"

//I AM HERE.//

"NANI!!" The five of them stopped fooling around. That was Suzaku's voice booming in their heads!!

All of them heard a tiny squawk at the doorway and true enough; they turned to see Suzaku standing there. His bandages were gone and he looked all hale and hearty.

"Suzaku!!" Sable said, rushing towards him. "You look…healed."

"Suzaku seikun, did the other three gods heal you, no da?" Chichiri asked.

//HAI. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I'M FEELING MUCH BETTER NOW THAN I HAD EARLIER.//

"That's good," Kouji cut in, "because, Genrou here was worried that Seiryu had already killed you and cooked you in curry."

//IIE, SEIRYU IS MY BROTHER; THE BONDS OF SIBLINGHOOD WOULD NEVER PERMIT HIM TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. FURTHERMORE,// Suzaku looked genuinely happy. //WE HAVE ALREADY RECONCILED AND DECIDED ON A TRUCE. WITH LUCK, KONAN AND KUTOU WOULD NEVER FIGHT AGAINST EACH OTHER AGAIN.//

"NANI?!!"

That ends chapter 12. Sigh…gomen if this chapter is a little boring. I wanted to show that the gods have emotional problems too. I had also wish to portray Seiryu as not evil, but just competitive. He does not like to lose, like Suzaku, which is why they are enemies. You can also guess that Seiryu is the kind of people who does not like to be kind in an obvious way. He is very prickly, after all, he is the god of war, and it wouldn't do for him to be emotional and for people to be gratified by his kindness. Suzaku, on the other hand is as proud as peacock, pun fully intended. He is also kind of sensitive and wants everyone to be happy, well, that's the god of love for you. But now that they have reconciled and I hope that I have portrayed the gods correctly, not too OOC.

Well, and as for all the `having kids and anxious father-to-be' jokes that are floating around in this chapter, PLEASE don't read anything much from it. Do I sound like a writer who would so easily let her characters be happily married ever after with a few kids coming on the way? NO!! N-O!! IIE!! Coz, I think I wanna torture them first. BWA HAHAHAH!! ^__^ However it was fun writing all those jokes. I certainly have no trouble imagining how Tasuki and Chichiri would react if their beloveds goes into labour…heheheh. I'm so wicked…but what can I say? I LIKE being wicked. It is boring being good, ne? Well, until the next chapter, please review!! Arrigato gozaimasu!!