Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl Who Didn't Believe ❯ The Gods' Point Of View ( Chapter 23 )

The Girl Who Didn't Believe

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!!! Okay, first things first. Konnichiwa, minna-san!! Have you guessed who the owner of the mysterious voice is yet? If you guessed Suzaku, YOU ARE CORRECT!! Congratulations!! Heheh. Next, I want to tell you ppl that this chapter is not entirely original. It is something of a remake of chapter 22, only this time; it's from the gods' POV. And no, I am not suffering from writer's block, GREAT THINGS ARE YET TO COME!!^^ Actually, this chapter was written for some readers who were requesting for some action in the realm of the gods. ^^ So, here it is. Chapter 23, starring Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko and Genbu!!

Lastly. A big thank you to Nuriko no Mikos. Thanks for beta-editing this fic!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the FY characters. They belong to Yuu Watase. I do own Kitten and Sable though.

`…' = thoughts

//…// = telepathic conversation

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

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

********** = dream sequence

@@@@@@@@@@ = mirror projection

That's all, minna-san!! Enjoy!!

Chapter 23-The Gods' Point Of View

In the realm of the gods…

"SEIRYU!!"

The dragon god rolled his eyes. Suzaku seemed to be getting louder and louder ever since the two mortal girls came to their world.

"Yes, Suzaku?" He turned to see his younger brother stomping towards him.

He was also not surprised to see Genbu and Byakko following close by. Nowadays, an argument was not complete without the two older gods joining in.

"You gave Kamui telepathic power!!" The phoenix was agitated, to say the least.

Seiryu shrugged with indifference.

"So?"

Suzaku turned slightly pink, and Seiryu retreated five steps away from him. He still remembered what happened the last time Suzaku became pissed off and had no wish to relieve the painful experience.

Genbu and Byakko snickered.

Seiryu flicked an irritated glare at the two older gods.

"Anou…Suzaku…" The dragon tried again. "Your mortals are in my territory, and thus, I can do what I want to do to them."

"But…" Suzaku sputtered. "But you gave Kamui telepathic power, and he is using it to read Sable's mind!! That is cheating!!"

Seiryu shrugged again.

"Hey Suzaku, please let me remind you again. Your Chichiri has just given up on Sable, so I don't see anything wrong with helping Kamui to capture his lady's heart when your seishi is so lacking."

Suzaku glared and pulled out a mirror from mid air.

"Chichiri is changing. He is slowly beginning to realize how much Sable means to him."

Another negligent shrug.

"So? Survival of the fittest. I am sure that you have heard of it and that your pea-brain at least comprehends its meaning."

Suzaku decided not to reply to Seiryu's baiting.

"Mirror!!" he commanded instead. "Show me what Chichiri is doing now!!"

The mirror unfogged and cleared to show a sleeping Chichiri.

Genbu and Byakko gathered nearer to watch. Seiryu did not move as he was already near enough to see the mirror.

Minutes passed in silence.

"Uhhh…" Byakko interrupted then. "Are we going to spend the next few hours like some voyeur?"

Genbu and Seiryu sweatdropped.

Suzaku glared at his brothers.

"No, we are not going to sit here and watch Chichiri sleep!!" Before any of his foolish siblings could say anything, he commanded, "Mirror, show me Chichiri's dreams!!"

Once again, the mirror fogged and unfogged to reveal a peaceful glade…

@@@@@@@@@@

"Chichiri!!"

Chichiri turned around just in time to catch a petite woman in his arms.

"Kouran!! What are you doing here?"

Kouran looked up with eyes filled with love.

"Isn't the fact that I'm here enough, my love?"

Chichiri nodded and he hugged the tiny woman to him. How he loved her unique scent, which smelt of home and hearth. He sighed contentedly.

Opening his eye, he looked around. They were in a forest glade. On their left, was a tiny stream, and beyond the stream was…

Chichiri started.

Beyond the stream was Sable. The brunette was looking straight at him, heartbreak and despair evident in bright green eyes that refused to cry. Sable's mouth moved then, and although he and Kouran were standing far away, he could still hear what she was saying.

"Don't you have any feelings for me at all?"

Chichiri was torn. He did not know what to do. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeves. He looked down into Kouran's beautiful doe eyes.

"Who is that woman, Chichiri? She doesn't mean anything to you, does she?"

`Does Sable mean anything to me?' he wondered. `Demo, what about Kouran? I loved her. I SHOULD love her. I cannot be unfaithful. I have no choice. Sou ka…my mind is made up.'

Mutely, he shook his head, his eyes silently conveying all his apologies to Sable.

`Gomen nasai, Sable. Kouran is my love, always has been and always will be…' he thought as he bent down to kiss Kouran on the lips.

"Aishiteru." He whispered against Kouran's lips and at that moment, he did not know to whom were those words directed at.

The tears started then.

They formed rivulets on Sable's cheeks. Helpless, he watched as the girl turned and ran headfirst into the forest.

Then the screams started.

Tortured, anguished cries of fear and terror echoed in the glade.

"Sable." He said even as he automatically started to disentangle himself from Kouran's clingy embrace.

`Clingy?' he thought. `When had he started thinking of Kouran's beloved embrace as clingy?'

"Chichiri," Kouran cried, her hold on Chichiri tightened. "Where are you going?"

The screams were receding, weakened.

"Sable. Sable is in trouble. I have to go and help."

"IIE!! IIE!! Why must you go?" Kouran all but clamped herself to Chichiri.

Her voice turning soft, she asked:

"Don't you love me?"

Chichiri froze. Didn't he love Kouran?

@@@@@@@@@@

"Damn it," Suzaku muttered. "This cannot do. Chichiri is still too wrapped up with his past. I must do something to help him out."

"You can't." That was from Seiryu.

"Yes I can!!" Suzaku retorted. "Just watch me!!"

At that the phoenix closed his eyes and concentrated.

@@@@@@@@@@

//Yeah,// the same voice whispered in his head. //Who do you love now? Make your choice NOW, Chichiri; the brunette is not going to hold out any longer.//

The seishi was very panicked now.

He knew that making a wrong choice now would prove to be fatal for Sable.

He closed his eyes.

`Kami-sama, how the heck am I supposed to choose?'

@@@@@@@@@@

"Oi, Suzaku." Genbu called. "Your seishi is really very dense, you know?"

Byakko grinned as Suzaku turned pink at the insult.

Seiryu was busy glaring at said god of Konan and did not reply.

Suzaku sighed. His brothers were right. Chichiri was really as dumb as a doorpost when it came to affairs of the heart.

He closed his eyes and tried to help his seishi again.

@@@@@@@@@@

The voice came again.

//Who is the person that comes to mind immediately whenever you are in deep thoughts?//

`Sable.'

//Who do you think of before you sleep and right after you awake?//

`Sable.'

//Then what about Kouran?//

"Kouran…Kouran…" Chichiri stammered.

//I think that you have already got your answer, Chichiri.//

Chichiri was stumped.

What answers?

@@@@@@@@@@

The two older gods were rolling around the floor, laughing by now.

Even Seiryu felt better; he was smirking away.

Suzaku was an agitated pink and at the moment, all he wanted to do was to bang his head against a wall.

Repeatedly.

It is either that or go down to the mortal realm to whack a certain blue-haired Suzaku shichi seishi on his very thick head.

But since he was too dignified to do the former and too lazy to go down to earth, he decided to convey his irritation towards Chichiri through telepathy.

@@@@@@@@@@

//I ask you one more time,// the voice sounded more and more exasperated and at the same time, more and more familiar to Chichiri. He was very sure that he heard that voice somewhere before. //Who is your choice?//

The blue-haired seishi felt himself stiffening up again.

`My choice?'

The voice sighed.

@@@@@@@@@@

Genbu and Byakko were back by the mirror.

"Hey, Byakko, I bet that Chichiri will not get over Kouran."

That earned him a whack on the head, courtesy of a certain chicken god.

Byakko's ever present grin widened as a goose egg appeared amidst Genbu's green mane.

"Okay. What do you want to bet?"

Seiryu rolled his eyes. The two older gods have been betting about practically everything nowadays.

"Why not…" Genbu thought. "Why not if I win, I'd be allowed to make your land snow for one month."

"Yeah…and if I win, I'd make yours melt for one month!!"

Genbu grinned.

"Okay!! Deal!!"

The two gods shook on it.

Seiryu wondered vaguely why he had such moronic brothers.

"That is the stupidest bet I ever heard…"

Genbu and Byakko looked at each other and shrugged.

"We don't mind; it entertains us."

Seiryu waved his hands in the air.

"Fine, fine. Whatever floats your boat."

He glanced back at Suzaku, who was concentrating hard on the mirror.

@@@@@@@@@@

//Yes, Chichiri, please pay attention; you don't have much time. Sable need your help now.//

`Shimatta. Sable, I forgot about her.'

He started towards the forest but found himself immobile. Looking down, he saw Kouran.

`Shimatta. I forgot about Kouran too.'

@@@@@@@@@@

Suzaku was nursing a headache.

Chichiri was going to be the death of him.

Genbu and Byakko were back to laughing and rolling among the clouds.

Seiryu allowed himself a smirk.

"Really, Suzaku," he baited his brother. "I wonder how your stupid seishi and their even stupider miko ever managed to defeat mine."

"Yeah, I am beginning to wonder too." The almost defeated phoenix muttered. "Must be sheer dumb luck."

Byakko and Genbu roared with laughter, and the already pissed off Suzaku flamed them with his fire.

@@@@@@@@@@

//Don't you understand, Chichiri? You have to make a choice!!//

Saying that the voice was getting royally pissed off was an understatement.

`Kouran is already in my past; keeping her so close to my heart would do nothing but hurt those around me and myself. Furthermore, didn't I make a promise to let Kouran and Hikou rest in peace? Why am I still holding on to her? It is time to let her go and concentrate on who is really here now.'

He shut his eye and a familiar looking brunette appeared in his mind; her aqueous green eyes shiny with the tears that she tried so hard to hold back.

The answer came to him and with it, a sense of well-being. His instincts told him without doubt that he had chosen correctly this time around.

`I am such a baka,' he thought ruefully. `So wrapped up with the past that I almost did not see the gift that the present had chosen to give me.'

@@@@@@@@@@

Seiryu lifted an eyebrow.

He was relieved that all his seishi (except the one that was brain-washed) were all dead.

"Chichiri is really fond of thinking, huh?"

The slightly blackened pair that consisted of Genbu and Byakko wisely hid their grins behind their hands.

Suzaku did not bother to reply.

His hands were clenching and unclenching, no doubt imagining a certain seishi of his within his grasp.

@@@@@@@@@@

//SO WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE, CHICHIRI!! YOU ARE REALLY RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!! THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR DEEP THOUGHTS!! SABLE IS STILL IN DANGER, YOU KNOW?!!//

Chichiri sweatdropped. He was now really sure that he had heard that voice before. His sweatdrop disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared when he remembered the seriousness of the situation.

He braced himself for what he had to do next.

Chichiri looked down at Kouran and firmly disentangled himself from her.

"Chichiri…" Sweet doe eyes regarded him with adoration.

Chichiri hardened himself from her look.

"Kouran," He lifted a hand to push away some strands of hair from her face. "Gomen, demo I have to move on. It is no way for me to live my entire life pining after you. Already, I have spent nine years holding your memories close. It is time to let you go…it is unfair for the two of us…furthermore, you should find happiness for yourself too, ne? Demo," he continued. "I will never forget you; a part of my heart will always remember and be thankful for the time that the both of us have shared."

Chichiri honestly expected to get a smack on his face for his words, and he braced himself for them.

But they never came. Instead a gentle hand touched the side of his face.

Surprised, he looked down to see Kouran's gently smiling face.

"Chichiri, I knew that this time would come and I have been expecting it for a long time. Your heart already knew the person whom you love and you just stubbornly refused to believe it. I am really happy for you, that you have finally found the courage to confront me, to confront your past. I am glad that you will remember me with fondness. Most of all," she dropped her hand. "I am glad that you have become the man that you are now."

Chichiri was touched.

"Kouran…arrigato." He reached out to touch the girl, but she stepped back briskly.

"Enough, Chichiri. Your koi is waiting for you. She needs you now. Don't keep her waiting. Farewell, and I wish the two of you everlasting happiness."

With a slight wave of her hand, Kouran faded from the glade.

Chichiri smiled softly.

It felt good to be finally at peace with his past.

A whimper pierced the relative peacefulness of the forest, and the man's smile turned into a frown. He leapt across the stream easily and ran into the forest path that Sable had rushed into earlier.

He skidded to a stop at another clearing and saw Sable smack dab in the middle. The brunette was crouched in a fetal position and he saw tear-tracks staining her face.

It made him feel guilty as hell to know that he was the one who caused her such misery.

`Demo, never mind,' he said optimistically. `Sable is very forgiving; she'll forgive my stupidity and I swear that I'll spend the rest of my life making that up to her.' Chichiri promised himself.

Unbeknownst to him, he was just about to break this newly made promise.

Suddenly, Chichiri heard Sable give out the heart-wrenching whimper again. He looked up just in time to see a barrage of arrows directed at the brunette.

Cursing himself for not checking the surrounding for any signs of danger, Chichiri was on the move.

He stepped in the line of fire to create a magical barrier.

However, the arrows passed through the barrier with ease and preceded him.

`Strange,' he thought. `Why did none of the arrows touch him at all?'

@@@@@@@@@@

Suzaku was feeling very satisfied now. Chichiri had finally gotten over Kouran.

Genbu was muttering in a corner whereas Byakko was grinning a fanged grin as he cheerfully transferred all the cold of Hokkan to Sairo.

"Heheh….free air-conditioning for one month!!"

Genbu muttered and slinked off to one corner.

Seiryu shook his head in exasperation. He wondered if there is something such as Alzheimer's in gods, and that if there was, Genbu and Byakko were sure to be afflicted with it.

Suzaku decided to answer Chichiri's question about the arrows.

@@@@@@@@@@

//Because these arrows represent the hurt that you have done to Sable. This is what she have to endure whenever you hurt her.//

Chichiri understood and his guilt increased.

That was a lot of arrows.

Almost immediately he turned back to the girl in another attempt to shield her from the arrows.

However, the distance was too great, and even when he knew that he would never reach her in time, he did not falter.

He was right; he did not make it.

Grimacing, he braced himself to listen to the sickening sound of arrows burying themselves deep into flesh.

He did not hear them.

`What happened? Did the arrows somehow deflect?'

He looked up and saw…

Kamui.

@@@@@@@@@@

"SEIRYU!! YOU BAKA!!"

Seiryu ignored his younger brother and continued concentrating into focusing his ki into the dream.

Curiosity had Genbu snap out of his sulking and Byakko coming out of his newly air-conditioned domain to check out what is going on.

"What happened?"

Suzaku turned to his two eldest brothers and wailed, "He interrupted my seishi's dream!! He is try to psycho him into believing that Kamui is better than him in rescuing Sable!!"

Seiryu shrugged.

"It won't be interesting if Chichiri just gets Sable like this, ne? Furthermore, I need to look out for the interests of my loyal subject."

Suzaku started to mutter something about having Seiryu's loyal Nakago-clone kiss a certain part of his anatomy.

Seiryu ignored Suzaku's insults.

@@@@@@@@@@

Somehow, he had managed to appear in time to protect Sable.

As usual.

He was standing in front of the brunette and was expertly using his sword to deflect the arrows directed at the pair.

At last, all the arrows were deflected and Chichiri was about to make his way to Sable when Kamui extended his hand to help Sable up.

Kamui pulled her up beside him.

"Doushite? Why are you here, Kamui?" Chichiri heard the brunette ask.

The man lowered his head and touched his forehead with hers.

Chichiri stiffened.

`How dare he!!' The Suzaku seishi huffed indignantly with growing jealousy.

Kamui's next few words to Sable were so soft that Chichiri had to strain hard to hear them.

"Because I cannot bear to see you hurt. Always remember that I will protect you no matter what happens, my hime."

@@@@@@@@@@

The mirror fogged and unfogged again to show the sleeping seishi.

@@@@@@@@@@

Chichiri sprang up from his bed. Panting hard, he looked at his surroundings and remembered that he had been sleeping.

`A dream, I have been dreaming…demo, why did it feel so real?'

Chichiri did not know what was going on.

But one thing he knew for certain:

`Kamui, watch out, for I am going to fight you for Sable.'

@@@@@@@@@@

The mirror cleared then, back to its reflecting properties.

There were a few minutes of silence.

Then Suzaku whooped.

"Hey, Seiryu!! Arrigato!! I think that you just managed to make my Chichiri more determined to win Sable back over now!! Did you see his jealous look, did you? Huh, huh?"

Seiryu muttered something incomprehensible underneath his breath.

Byakko and Genbu grinned.

"As usual, Seiryu's stupid plans never fail to make a fool out of him and to entertain us!!"

The god of Hokkan looked at his pissed off dragon brother.

"Yeah, I agr…ARRGGGHHH!!"

Suzaku turned in time to see his two older brothers being sprayed by strong gushes of water erupting from Seiryu's hand.

Forgetting the fact that he had just used his power earlier to do the same to the said pair, he sweatdropped.

Chapter 23 done. How is it? Please review. I am itching to hear all your comments. Feel free to dissect or even analyze the entire chapter. Arrigato gozaimasu!!

And oh yeah, the mini translation thingy. I'd like to thank Metajoker for all the help that she had given me regarding this. Thanks for giving me the Japanese `tutorials'. ^^ I'd also like to make it known that since the translation thingy is not so mini after all, I am going to put them all here once and for all. Thus if there is any Japanese words that you all do not understand, chapter 23 will be the permanent reference chapter. I am just too lazy to put them all up at each and every chapter. Kay, `nuff said. Here it is.

Japanese----English

Koi----Love

Koibito----Beloved

Doushite/Naze----Why

Minna----Everyone

Sugoi----Awesome

Sumimasen/Gomen/Gomen nasai----Sorry/Sorry/I am very sorry

Kawaii----Cute

Konnichiwa----Good afternoon/also can b used as a greeting, like `Hi!'

Onegai----Please

Nani-What (An exclamation)

Ne----Acknowledgement

Itai----Exclamation of pain

Aishiteru----I love you

Onna----Polite term for woman

Demo----But

Honto/Honto desuka----True/Really?

Matte----Wait

Anou----A/N: I don't know how to explain this but it is something like `Uhh…"

Sou ka----I see/Is that so?

Wakarinai----I don't know

Daijoubu ka/Daijoubu----Are you alright?/ It's alright

Ohayo gozaimasu----Very good morning

Chigou----No way

Doko----where

Watashi wa----I (general, for both males and females)

Atashi wa----I (females only)

Boku wa----I (for males only. Polite.)

Ore wa----I (impolite way of saying `I')

Kami-sama-God

Kowai----Scary

Kirei----Beautiful

Owari----End

Anata----Darling (Wife to husband, can be used as a polite way of saying `you')

Hayaku----Hurry

Mou----My goodness (Used by females only, a mild curse)

Oyomesan----Bride

Betsune/Nan demo nai----nothing

Hai----Yes

Iie----No

Gambatte----Keep on fighting/Keep trying (used to cheer people on)

Uso yo----liar

(name)-san----`san' is used for those who are older than you or someone you just met. Polite.

(name)-sama----Lord (name). Used for someone you worship/respect a lot. Or for those of high status, like the emperor.

(name)-kun----`kun' can only be referred to boys. Used by girls to call the boy whom they are relatively close to. Like a close friend.

(name)-chan----Used by both females and males. Used to refer to a close friend or someone younger than you. Informal way of addressing people. `san' is formal.

Vulgarities

Okay, I am not going to write down all the vulgarities that I know, just the ones that I have used.

Chikuso/kuso---Damn/Damn it/ Shit

Bakayarou----Dumbass

Hentai-Pervert

Ecchi----Pervert (This is the softer version of hentai)

Bakasaru----Stupid monkey

Baka----Stupid

Sunakake-baba----This word is meant for ugly women like Taitsukun

(name) no baka----Stupid (name)

Shimatta----Damn/Shit/Oh no

That's about it. Anything that I have not put in and you guys don't understand, feel free to mail me to ask about it. Lastly, please review!! Thanks.