Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ White Stones in the Moonlight ❯ Chapter 10 Epilogues - White Stones ( Chapter 12 )

The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. I do not own them, and do not make any profit from this fiction except for my own enjoyment in spending time with them.

************************************************************* **************************************************************************

Chapter 10, Epilogue I. White Stones (Tasuki, Miaka)

"Found them!" His voice was triumphant as he held her shoes aloft in one hand and his gently burning tessen in the other.

"Yatta!" Her delighted reply drifted across the water from the opposite bank of the pool. He made his way back to her side, his boots crunching on the leaves and stones which were strewn across the path. The sun had just set, the twilight bringing shadows to darken their secret refuge, forcing them to leave it behind and begin their journey to rejoin the real world. The tessen's light reflected off his silk shirt and velvet tunic...which were wrapped around Miaka, her clothes being too cold and damp to wear. Luckily, she was so much smaller than him that his clothes reached to the same length as her uniform skirt, covering her decently.

Tasuki knelt before her, the belts of the tessen holster crossing his bare chest, then slinging low across his hips. Miaka frowned at him in concern. "Are you sure you're warm enough?" He grinned at her. "Yeah, I'm fine...and at least I got the pants! C'mon, gimme those little feet..." He caressed each instep before slipping it into her shoe, making her giggle in delight.

"Cinderella...a bit underdressed, but then so is the prince!" she snickered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind - just a dumb joke. Refers to a fairy tale from my world about a servant girl who disguises herself as a princess to go to a, um, festival to meet the prince. He falls in love with her, but she runs away and leaves her shoe behind..."

"Yeah, I know that one! He searches for her by looking for the girl whose foot fits into the fur slipper..."

She looked at him strangely, surprised that he would know the story...and surprised at his version. "No, Tasuki, it's not a fur slipper - it's a glass slipper."

"A glass slipper? Whoever heard of a stupid fuckin' thing like glass shoes?! Not even His Highness the Emperor of Doofus Shoes would wear glass slippers - they'd shatter and cut his pwecious widdle feet. I'm tellin' ya that it's fur slippers!"

"Come on, Tasuki, think about it. How would it look to go to a festival with big fuzzy shoes? It's glass slippers!"

"No, it's fur, I tell ya! The story comes from someplace cold, like Hokkan or somethin,' and it's fur slippers!"

"Glass!"

"Fur!"

"Glass!"

"Fur!"

"Fur!"

"Glass! "

"Gotcha!" she yelled in triumph. "You said glass! You said glass!" She wriggled in delight as she taunted him.

Tasuki swiftly propped the gently flaming tessen against a rock, then let out a wolflike howl, startling her. "Genrou's Revenge!" he snarled, then leaped on her, tickling her mercilessly. "Say it! Say it!"

"No, never! Ahahahahaha! All right! STOP! I'll say it, already!.…..Glass!" She shrieked as he resumed tickling her. "No, STOP!! I'll say it this time! I PROMISE!"

She looked up into his grinning face, saw his dancing eyes, felt the weight of his body on her... "I love you." she breathed.

His eyes softened as he gazed into her lovely face flushed with laughter, her emerald eyes misty as she smiled up at him. "I love you, too." he murmured huskily. Bending toward her, he took her lips in a gentle kiss, savoring the feeling of her lips as they moved softly against his. He wanted this moment to go on and on... he wanted to hold on to this magic forever...

Far off in the distance, a wolf howled, its lonely cry reverberating through the woods. Tasuki reluctantly broke off the kiss. "We have to go back." he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "Mmmm." she agreed reluctantly. Getting to his feet, he held out his hand to her. She took it, pulling herself up, then grabbing her bundle of wet clothes while he retrieved the tessen. They both turned to gaze one last time at the secluded haven where they had shared so much love… but the shadows had moved in and deepened, obscuring their view. Miaka squeezed Tasuki's hand, and they turned to begin the long trek back to the palace. The trees loomed over them, casting giant shadows across their path while the wind muttered softly in the boughs. Tasuki walked ahead, lighting their way with his tessen and pointing out obstacles. Miaka followed in his footsteps, treading carefully since the tessen only illuminated a small area around them. "Can't power it up any higher without risking a forest fire." Tasuki explained to her unspoken question. She smiled at the way they seemed to be reading each other's minds. They continued for a long way in silence until they reached the intersection of paths that she had seen on her way into the woods.

Miaka stared in confusion at the myriad choices, uncertain which path led back to the palace. The darkness and the shifting shadows, the cries of the night birds and other creatures, the sighing of the wind in the creaking boughs… all this made the forest seem larger, more mysterious, more threatening. Miaka felt disoriented and a little nervous. She was grateful to have encountered Tasuki in the woods; otherwise, she would have been hopelessly lost. Of course, she was grateful to have found him for more reasons than his ability to find their way home...

Tasuki took a few paces down one path, then turned around and repeated the sequence down another path. Shaking his head, he reversed direction again, choosing yet a third path. "This is it." he said softly to Miaka, the mystery of the woods at night getting through to him, making him talk in hushed tones.

"How can you tell?"

"I'll show you in a moment." he promised, then extinguished his tessen, shoving it back into its holster. She was startled by the sudden darkness until her eyes adjusted to the light of the three-quarter moon, just rising over the trees.

Her lover approached her, his amber eyes picking up the moonlight and glowing strangely in his shadowed face.

"Miaka..." he breathed, gently grasping her shoulders. "I want to tell you something... here, now, before we go back to our other life." She lifted her face toward him, enchanted by his soft enigmatic tones. "I want you to know how much you mean to me, how much your love has changed my life. I know I said that this was the worst week of my entire life... but it has also been the best, because it brought you to me. You're everything that I could ever want, everything that I never even had the courage to dream about before... and I know that I will go on loving you and wanting you for the rest of my life."

"Tasuki..." she whispered, his tenderness bringing a lump to her throat.

"No, don't say anything. I'm not asking you to promise me anything...I know that you can't do that yet - or maybe ever." His voice grew husky as he struggled for control. "I just wanted you to know how I felt. Today... your love... everything we shared... it was the best day of my life! And even if it all ends tomorrow, I will always treasure this moment, this time we shared. Knowing for the first time how it feels to be truly loved by someone is the greatest gift I will ever receive. Whatever you decide, I'll still be the luckiest man in the whole universe - even if I end up alone." A sudden gust of wind caught leaves up in a tiny whirlwind, swirling briefly between them before dying down, dropping the leaves to float to the ground once more.

"Tasuki..." Miaka's voice was choked with emotion, her eyes sparkling with tears. "Today meant everything to me, too! Your love... means everything to me. I want... I wish... If only... Oh, why do I have to be so stupid?! Why can't I just make a choice and stick with it?! What is WRONG with me?!!" she wept.

Tasuki reached out, wiping the tears from her face. He cupped her cheek in his hand, looking intently into her eyes.

"You just love too much, that's all. You love us and you don't want to hurt me or..." Tasuki paused, then continued. "You don't want to hurt either of us. So you balance on the edge of a knife, looking for a way that you can keep from hurting either one of us... but it doesn't exist. So that's why I'm telling you this. I'll be okay, no matter who you choose in the end... I'll find a way to keep going, and I'll be grateful for your love, even if it's not me you choose. Because I know your heart now, and I know that you'll never really stop loving me... just like you'll never really stop loving him. You can walk through life with only one of us, but you'll always love us both."

Miaka stared up at him in shock. Where did this come from? Since when did he have such wisdom, such insight? All of her turmoil, all of her troubled thoughts these last few days - he took one look at the situation and spelled out the problem in only a few well-chosen words. She felt the fog lift from her brain and the simplicity of her choice becoming clear... and she owed it all to him! Not Chichiri, not Nuriko or Mitsukake or even Chiriko... no, this time it was Tasuki whose wisdom brought her out of her vortex of confusion. She stood gaping at him, her mouth slightly open, not realizing that her face was mirroring her thoughts.

Tasuki began to smile, then laugh out loud at her obvious shock and disbelief. He deliberately assumed his bandit smirk. "Hey," he taunted, adopting his thick country accent. "I'm not always as dumb as I look, ya know!"

Miaka snapped out of her trance at his words, then leaped at him, dropping her uniform and grabbing him into a fierce hug. "Don't you insult the man I love, do you hear? You're the smartest, kindest, handsomest, most insightful, most passionate lover any girl could ever want... and I won't hear a word against you, not even from you!"

He laughed at all her superlatives. "Ya know, I said it before... I get the feelin' that you liiiiiike me!"

She grasped his belts, pulling him close and grinning up into his face, then adopted the same country accent he used. "You betcher cute l'il ass I do!" She smirked at him. "Isn't that what you said when you kidnapped me?"

He laughed again, remembering the first time they met. "No, what I actually said was 'Tonight, her cute l'il ass is MINE!' "

"And so it is, Genrou. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?"

*************************************************************** ************************************************************************

They made their way down the path he had chosen. Whenever they came to a branching of the path, Tasuki would stare intently at the ground before choosing which way they would go. He refused to light the tessen, telling Miaka that its flame would just obscure the signs he needed to see. Grasping her arm gently, he pointed at the ground. Miaka finally saw what he had been looking for - white stones set into the path at odd intervals and in strange patterns, stones which reflected the faint moonlight and glowed like tiny white beacons in the ground. Miaka stared at them in awe. "What are they doing here? Did someone place these here deliberately?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they did. Each time I come back from the woods at dusk or at night, there are more of these stones set further into the woods...and they all lead back to the palace. You know, you don't even need moonlight to see them - I've seen them glow just by the light of the stars. But it doesn't matter - as long as you find the white stones, you'll always find your way back home."

"What do these different patterns mean? Or are they just random?"

Tasuki squinted at the single line of four stones in one group, then at the pentagram formed by five stones in the next group. "I think that there's some meaning in each pattern and probably some overall meaning in all the patterns when you look at them in order - I just can't figure out what it is yet. I can't believe that someone could be so indecisive that they keep changing the patterns just because they can't make up their mind. So, no, I don't think it's random... but it doesn't matter about the patterns, anyway. Like I said, as long as you can see the stones, you're gonna make it back."

Miaka smiled. "Well, I think that it's wonderful that someone would take the trouble to set out guidestones in the woods. Who do you think it is? One of Hotohori's servants?"

Tasuki snorted, stepping over a dead branch and guiding Miaka after him. "No idea. It's hard to believe that Hotohori would think of such a thing - I mean, he never makes it out here, ever. How would he know that guidestones would be helpful at night? Hell, his servants never let the poor guy off the leash long enough to even get to know his own property. Makes you wonder who exactly is the servant and who is the boss in that fancy palace there." Tasuki paused, surprised at his sudden pity for Hotohori. "Ya know, my bandit guys would probably think I'm crazy if they ever heard me say this, but I wouldn't trade places with Hotohori for all the ryu in Konan. I'm pretty sure that it sucks to be the Emperor."

Miaka smiled at Tasuki's sudden compassion for someone who seemed to get on his nerves quite often. "Yes, I've always thought that about poor Hotohori. That's why it was exciting to break him out of the palace, first to find Taiitsukun, then to find the rest of the shichiseishi, including you. You know, he seems so happy since we got back from Choko... happy just to be with people who talk to him like a normal human being instead of treating him like a god."

"Yeah, well, he can count on me not to treat 'im like a god. Being that lonely, that kinda explains his obsession with mirrors - poor guy probably didn't have anybody else to talk to until you came along. But it still doesn't explain his taste in shoes..." Tasuki muttered darkly.

Miaka giggled. "Why are you so obsessed with his shoes, Tasuki? They really seem to offend you! He probably doesn't get to choose his wardrobe any more than he gets to take a casual stroll through his own city."

"Yeah, well, he's still the emperor. He has the right to behead the pansy-ass who offers up those stupid things and tells him to wear them. I mean, the rest of his stuff is pretty nice - why does he ruin it with those idiot shoes?"

"Wow, since when have you become the principal citation officer of the Fashion Police?"

"The what?" he asked, confused.

"The Fashion Police - self-appointed arbiters of fashion." She looked closely at him, then at the clothes she had borrowed from him. She noticed the rich colors and fine textures... then thought of his old outfit, with the elaborate coat and jewelry. No common shirt and trousers for Tasuki - ever. She had noted the elegance of his clothes compared to those of the other bandits when he was Genrou, but once he became Tasuki, it was just part of him, part of who he was, like his red hair. It wasn't until now that she really thought about his obvious taste for the finer things. In fact, no other seishi dressed as carefully as he did - except for Nuriko in full concubine mode, which Tasuki had never seen, and Hotohori in his Imperial robes... Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhh.

Miaka burst out laughing. "That's it! You are the Fashion Police! You are! Hotohori's shoes offend your sense of style, that's why you get so mad at him! Hahahahahaha." She rocked back and forth in amusement.

"Urusai, baka! I don't know what this fuckin' Fashion Police thing is, but what's wrong with having a sense of style? Shit, if an ignorant bandit like me can develop one, what excuse does the fuckin' emperor have? Tell me that, huh? I mean, I have to steal the stuff I wear or at least steal the money to pay for it! All he has to do is clap his lily-white Imperial hands, and the Imperial tailors come running!"

He sounded miffed, irritated that she was laughing at him. Her laughter softened and she linked her arm through his, leaning her head against his shoulder as they continued to follow the white stones. "I love this!" she said spontaneously. "Let's not ever change, okay?"

"What're you talkin' about?" he grumbled, trying to stay irritated but yielding to the pleasure of her closeness and her affection.

"Us!... you, me... one minute, we're declaring our eternal love and the next minute, we're arguing about Hotohori's shoes and telling each other to shut up! I love it! One thing I know, life with you will never be boring, Tasuki! Promise me that we'll always have our arguments and disagreements."

Tasuki laughed, his eyes shining at her words, words that seemed to promise a future together - the first time that she had ever spoken about the two of them in that way. "Sure, baka girl! That's an easy promise to keep, considering how difficult and stubborn you are!"

"Mou!" she cried. He gave a wild laugh, releasing her arm and disappearing over a slight rise in the path. She took off after him, catching up to him where he stood at the edge of the woods, looking at the palace glowing golden against the dark night sky, its lanterns lit against the evening's encroaching shadows. Knowing that the shadows of the forest still held them hidden from view, Tasuki pulled Miaka to him, seizing her lips in a passionate kiss. She clung to him, once again dropping her bundle of clothes and pressing her body against his, returning his kiss enthusiastically. Her hands began to wander...

"Mmmph!" Tasuki gasped, breaking off the kiss. "Stop that... and THAT! We have to get... back... we... have to..." his voice trailed off dreamily.

"Tasuki..." Miaka murmured passionately.

"Hmmmmmm?"

"This... is what's called... Miaka's Revenge!" she cried, releasing him, stooping to snatch up her uniform, then running across the moonlit lawn. "NOW try and run after me!" she laughed gleefully, "Catch me if you can!" leaving him cursing at the edge of the forest as she skipped cheerfully toward the light.

******************************************************** *************************************************************************** ****

Epilogue II. Uh, oh... (Tasuki, Miaka, Hotohori, Chiriko, Mitsukake)

Of course he caught up to her, putting on a burst of his seishi speed and catching her around the waist. But they were too near to the palace for him to do anything other than whisper promises of vengeance to be wrought upon her when she least expected it. She giggled unrepentantly, clasping his hand. "And then I'll get even with you again, and it will go on and on..." Her voice took on a dreamy quality as she spoke of their endless cycle of revenge, making him laugh out loud.

They hurried forward into the welcoming glow of the lanternlight, still clasping hands, Miaka laughing in delight.

"I'm STARVING!" she cried out. "Let's get something to eat, Tasuki!"

He smirked at her. "Worked up an appetite, didja?"

She grinned back at him. "I think you did, too! Let's go!"

"Whoa, Miaka. You forget how we're dressed. We'd better get changed first..."

"Oops! I forgot!"

"Let's try to avoid rousing the whole palace, okay? C'mon, try to be quiet..."

They sneaked into the palace like a couple of guilty teenagers returning from a forbidden date, which, when she considered their ages, was technically what they were. They made it past the throne room and were approaching the staircase that led to their rooms when Hotohori emerged from the dining hall, accompanied by Chiriko and Mitsukake. He had been alerted to their arrival by his servants, whom he had charged to inform him immediately of the Suzaku no Miko's return.

"Thank heaven you have returned safely, Miaka..." Hotohori said warmly, then broke off, his dark golden eyes widening as he took in their appearances. Miaka shifted her weight under his shocked gaze, her sockless feet squeaking in her shoes, as he stared at her abbreviated garb of Tasuki's shirt and tunic over her bare legs. A single leaf fell from her auburn hair. The Imperial gaze turned to Tasuki, clad only in his breeches, boots, and belts, blushing furiously all the way down to his exposed chest. Caught in his fiery locks were a few blades of grass and another leaf.

Hotohori turned pale. The tension between the three grew thick in the stunned silence.

Chiriko leaped into the pause cheerfully. "Hey, Miaka - is that your uniform you're carrying? It's soaking wet! Have you been swimming?"

Tasuki shot a grateful glance at the youngest seishi, his tongue finally unsticking itself from the roof of his mouth. "Yeah, that's kinda what happened. Miaka... um, startled me in the woods and I fell into a pond, and she jumped in to pull me out - not that I needed help, but you know that baka girl..." He trailed off as he realized that Hotohori was looking from Miaka's wet bundle of clothes to Tasuki's obviously dry breeches, shirt and tunic.

"Hey!" cried Miaka suddenly. "Are those dumplings that I smell? I'm starving! It'll just take me a minute to change, then I'll be down to join you!" She ran off, her enthusiasm for food causing her to abandon her fifth seishi where he stood, still being stared down by Hotohori.

"Er... may I be excused, Your Highness?" asked Tasuki, exquisitely polite to Hotohori for the first time in his life.

Hotohori fixed Tasuki with one last silent look, then nodded, whirling around to return to the dining hall. Chiriko skipped behind him happily.

Tasuki turned to go upstairs but was stopped by a large hand grasping his shoulder.

"Good story, Tasuki!" Mitsukake grinned at him and winked. "Very, ahem, imaginative..." He laughed and turned to rejoin his dinner companions.

******************************************************** *************************************************************************** ****

******************************************************************* ********************************************************************

Glossary of Japanese terms

Yatta! - a cheer, like Hurray!

Urusai, baka! - Shut up, stupid!

Mou! - a scolding protest, like "Hey, you!"

Author's Note: (2-21-03) Okay, now I'm going to say it once and for all…I DO love Hotohori! I DO! And I swear to stop channeling Tatewaki Kuno when I write him! I didn't make him look stupid here, did I? I was aiming for just shocked and angry.

So, the "Cinderella" argument - who's right? Tasuki! The earliest known version of the Cinderella story originated in ancient China, and the shoe that is lost is a fur slipper. And remember the tiny foot that fits into the slipper - a highly prized female characteristic in ancient China. The glass slippers did not become part of the story until it made its way into Western culture hundreds of years later.

Next, the long-awaited appearance of the white stones (though it's sandwiched between two arguments about shoes - maybe I should have called this epilogue "Shoes!") The white stones concept comes from the album "White Stones" by Secret Garden. (Three songs from this album play a major role in my "soundtrack" for this fic, two being especially important in the last chapter.) They describe the story of two children who overhear their poverty-stricken parents' plans to abandon them in the forest that night. The children gather white stones to drop in the path, so that the stones will reflect the moonlight, helping them find their way back home...and so begins the tale of Hansel and Gretel. Secret Garden sees Music as being the white stones to their listeners, guiding them out of the darkness...but I have a slightly different interpretation.

Finally, speaking of long-awaited appearances...Guess who's coming back next chapter? (Fans of mysterious blue-haired monks, rejoice!) But here's the thing - will the Chichiri of Chapter 11 be the Chichiri you know and love? – or will he be a little…different?

See you next time! Ja ne!