Disclaimer: Because I have to put one of these things up. ^^; Fushigi Yuugi and all related characters belong to Yuu Watase-sama. I don't own them, nor will I ever. (Although it'd be nice to be in possession of a shiny new Nuriko...) I do, however, state my claim on Genbu seishi Inami, Hinote Arashi here. She's a completely made-up idea on a Genbu seishi, so nyah nyah. :P
The story's set at the summoning of Genbu. Only a few people will understand what's going on otherwise, so I'll explain. Firstly, Inami's power is control over fire. It runs through her blood, and because of that her skin is fiery to the touch. No one can touch her skin unprotected; they'll be burned.
Right as Takiko summoned Genbu, raiders attacked the seven Seishi. While they fought bravely, Tomite was surprised by an attack from behind, and was run through with a sword. He and Inami had become close friends during their adventures, and the story continues from there...
You know we might die, I had said. You know, and still...you go on. Why...?
At that, he hadn't said anything else. Just given me one of those cocky, lopsided grins of his, coupled with a victory sign. I smiled to myself, thinking of the moment; with that attitude, he could take on the world with one hand tied behind his back.
...Or maybe just a leg. After all, it takes two hands to use a bow.
I- in that moment, I couldn't stay focused in the present. I couldn't force myself to stay there, in that moment, as Takiko-chan disappeared into a ghostly light. As the other five Seishi gathered around in a small circle, kicking aside the lifeless bodies of fallen enemies.
Back then, in the frigid, remote reaches of Hokkan...it had only been a "what if". The kind that you always wondered about, but one of those things that never should be answered.
Now, Tomite would answer it.
My head spun, going back to that time over and over again in my head. How he could continue with that weight on his shoulders –how any of us could go on- was a mystery to me, even then.
I had asked him the question again a few times as we journeyed. He never gave me an answer, except to say that he wasn't afraid. 'You're never afraid,' I would answer with a smirk. 'Whenever you are, I wanna be there so I can laugh at your shaking knees.' Then he would lean in close with that same grin. A pause, after which he dove forward to peck me on the cheek. A very faint sizzling followed as he pulled away, lips lightly burned from the touch.
'I told you. I'm not afraid.'
My thoughts shifted to the present, to the boy who was dying in my arms. No- not dying. Never dying, never, ever dying. He couldn't...and, he wouldn't...
But he was.
"Well?" I asked with one, weak attempt at a smile. "H-how about now?" Vivid green eyes, clouding over now, rolled up to look at me. Tomite grinned, flashing a victory symbol with a shaky hand.
"Not afraid," he said. His voice was unusually...quiet. Dry, and hoarse in his throat.
"Your knees are shaking," I lied.
"Well...wouldn't you know it...I guess they are." He laughed, the action morphing into a sputtering cough after a few seconds. His eyes closed.
"T-Tomite!" I hissed, tensing.
"Now who's scared." I didn't answer as my jaw set into a frown. "Hey...Inami?"
"Hmm..?"
"It was...for her. Always..." I have him a puzzled look. He cracked one eye open and grinned...he was always grinning... "For Takiko-chan. And for Hokkan." I smiled weakly, and nodded. "That's...all we really live for..."
"No! N-no, that's not right," I said. I felt my cheeks warm, reddening with...what was that, anger? Maybe... "We live for ourselves, always! Don't we? Our lives...our lives don't revolve around that one person! Right...right?" For a moment my eyes went up and skimmed the faces of my friends. Uruki had his back turned to us; Namame was silent, but teary-eyed. Hikitsu's one eye stared downward at Tomite with some kind of muted shock...or sadness?
Tomite...didn't answer. His eyes remained closed; his bloodied chest neither rose nor fell.
All at once, I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe, couldn't see or hear…I felt the sobs of a friend nearby, but didn't hear the sniffling, didn't see the tears. With a feeling of absolute numbness, I was moved away and pulled to my feet. I took a few staggering steps backward before steadying myself...and leaving the shrine.
I didn't return until my red eyes were dry; until my crying had stopped. It was nearly nighttime by then; the bodies had been moved away, the floor cleaned and polished until it shone as it had that morning.
I nearly vomited at the sight of it. My entire body trembled at the shining floor and the polished statue of our country's patron god. Everything…everything looked clean, as if nothing had happened that afternoon to tarnish the pretty floors. Maybe if I went back, Takiko-chan would be in her room, reading...maybe Tomite would be out in one of the training yards with Urumiya...maybe...maybe...
My legs collapsed beneath me as I fell to the floor, holding myself up with my hands. I knew...that that wouldn't happen. They wouldn't be there. And suddenly, an anger bubbled up in the pit of my stomach like I'd never felt before.
"Genbu!" I shouted at the gold-plated statue, mere feet in front of me. "Genbu, why! He...he was just a boy! You hear me, he was still so young! Why him...and not me?! Or any of us?!" Crawling forward on hands and knees, I pressed my forehead against the statue to hide my crying eyes. My fist slammed against the cool metal of the base over and over again with no effect; I pulled my hand away sore and red, still asking the question, Why...?
Everything has a reason.
The voice was calm but very, very vaguely strained. I turned and looked around...saw nothing, felt nothing, but the presence of such power it was dizzying.
Everything does...however, some of us are not meant to know that reason.
My eyes snapped upward; I stared at the statue with hatred I couldn't contain. "Why! Why can't I know?! He was- he is my friend, I deserve to know why you decided to take him from me!"
Why, why...you ask 'why, why?' but do you really want to know the answer? Don't ask questions, Shichiseishi Inami. Just think...and learn. Learn, and accept. Accept, and move on.
I slowly rose to my feet, and put a hand on the statue. "G-Genbu...Genbu-Seikun," I whispered. "I- it...hurts. I miss him already, so much..." There was a pause, and a slight wind picked up around me. I could feel it tugging through my hair, pulling me into its embrace.
I'm sorry. A pause. ...You will find him on Mt. Black.
The voice faded, as did the presence that went with it. I was alone in the room. But... "Thank you."
---
"You know, two hundred years came and went pretty fast."
"I suppose they did."
"Hell, even the first hundred weren't so bad."
"I suppose they weren't."
"I was worried I'd be bored hanging around here for so – Hey, are you listening?"
"You should be grateful that I let you wait here for this long." I grinned sheepishly at the elderly form of Taiitsukun.
"Sorry, sorry," I muttered, waving a hand. The old woman really wasn't listening, though – instead, she stared into a round mirror, which projected a moving image before her. I peeked over her shoulder at the picture...a slight, brown-haired girl surrounded by six men. She held a necklace in her hand – Takiko-chan's necklace from the summoning ceremony. "So," I said, lifting an eyebrow. "That must be the Suzaku no Miko you were talking about, ehh? She's not like the others."
"She received the Shinzaho a short while ago," Taiitsukun answered shortly. I feigned a wince at the icy tone.
"Ouchu," I muttered in response. "You're so cold...what was it the green-haired guy called you...Sunukake Baba? Heh, cute nickname..."
"Would you like for me to forcibly throw you off of this mountain?"
"Okay, okay, I'll behave!"
"Of course you will. You've waited quite a while for this, it would be a shame if you suddenly couldn't see him."
"Y-you wouldn't do that! Would you? I- I mean..." Then, my stomach tied into an excited knot. "Wait! You mean, he's here? Where? I don't see him! Where is he?" I jumped up and down, looking every which way.
"Calm down, will you! Look for yourself." Taiitsukun lifted a stubby hand and pointed towards one of the mountains surrounding her home. There was a lake near it; perfectly round, with clear, cool water. Every so often, I would borrow a Nyan-Nyan and take a swim in it.
The form of a boy stood a few feet in front of the lake. His back was turned to me...but I recognized the hat. That stupid fuzzy bucket hat he had always insisted was a fashion statement.
Floating...is possibly the strangest feeling in the world. It makes you feel so incredibly light, and so shapeless. It's almost like your form disappears and it's just your mind that wanders through reality. My feet touched the ground beside him soundlessly –a rather easy trick when one has no real body to speak of. He didn't seem to notice. With a grin, I reached up and thumped the hat.
"Still toting around that terrible excuse for an accessory, I see." His head turned and he looked at me, blinking a few times. I flashed him a grin.
"I-Inami! Hey, it's really you? Unbelievable! You're here after so long...? Wait, why are you here? This is amazing, I never thought I'd see you again!" I snickered privately; Jeez...and the old hag thinks I'm easily excited...
"Settle down a bit," I said, waving a hand. "I, ah- I don't think we have long, though."
"You don't." I jumped – Taiitsukun had a habit of appearing and disappearing without warning. "If you think this was the last of your troubles as Shichiseishi, you were sadly mistaken. Unfortunately, the cycle of the legend will be repeated...once more, at least, if not indefinitely."
"How long can you give us?" Tomite asked, solemnly.
"...An hour. At most."
"One hour!" I cried. "But-! Taiitsukun, that's not nearly long enough! Can't you-"
"You're lucky I'm giving you that long," she replied calmly. "Make good use of it." She disappeared without giving either of us a chance to object.
"One hour," I muttered. "That's...that's nothing, compared to two hundred years! How unfair!" Tomite said nothing, and an awkward silence fell between us. Habitually, I began walking...he followed.
The silence seemed to last forever. I began to worry if I would even get to talk to him before our time was up. There were a hundred questions...a hundred thoughts, words, things I wanted to say and ask. But I couldn't think…I couldn't decide how to begin.
"Hikitsu should be around here too, somewhere..." he muttered under his breath. I didn't hear him at that moment, though- I needed to say something. Anything, to start on the train of thoughts that were running through my head.
"I...ah. I wanted...to go to Mount Black. To see you." Turning to look at him, I noted that his eyes were on the ground.
"To see me?"
"Well...yeah! You never finished answering my question, y'know?" I laughed anxiously; this wasn't how I had wanted to start things out at all.
"Oh- right, I didn't." Grinning awkwardly, he paused and thought. "I thought over it...and over it...and over it, a few..hundred times," he started. "And...well, I just don't know. Why we live? I don't think that's something that anyone can ever answer. If we could, what would be the point in living...?"
I...couldn't find a response. Nodding, I let the question go. So much for the thrilling conclusion to two hundred years' worth of waiting, huh. Some climax...
It was sort of pathetic, actually. Needing some kind of excuse to say something to him. For a while, we went on again in silence. Then we started with small talk...reminiscing about the past, thinking of friends, things like that. He told me about the Suzaku no Miko that he had met; told me a few things about her and her friends.
"They seemed happier than we were," he said at one point. "But weighed down by an incredible sadness..."
"Taiitsukun...told me, that they lost one of their Seishi," I muttered in response. "Because the two Mikos were in the book at the same time. They were fighting." Tomite was silent for a while; he had changed so much...
"None of this is over." He looked at me.
"...What?"
"I mean...it's not like this is just a story or anything, right? It'll keep going. We'll be reborn, and we'll have new lives. Meet new people, find new friends..." His voice trailed off to a whisper. I bit my lip and looked at the ground. He seemed almost sad about it.
"Well...let's make a promise, then." He blinked at me. "I'm serious about this. You're my best friend, I'll have you know, and when I get attached to someone it's damn hard to make me let go. So you can't get rid of me, you hear? I don't care what it takes, or how many times I have to be reborn or whatever. I'll find you again, got that?" I stuck a hand out. He paused a minute and then grinned.
"Even if I wanted to object, you wouldn't let me. So I might as well spare myself the trouble of arguing, right? It's a promise." His hand reached out and grasped mine in a firm handshake. Lifting an eyebrow, he added, "Your hand's not hot anymore." I chuckled.
"It's kind of hard to have red-hot skin when you don't have a body, y'know?" After a moment, the smile faded. "We probably don't have much longer."
"You're probably right. But remember your promise, we'll meet again." I nodded, using his trademark victory sign-and-grin combination.
"Of course. I don't forget my promises."
Taiitsukun appeared beside him. I always hated when she did that. "Are you both ready?" Slowly –reluctantly- I nodded.
"Yeah..."
"Then it's time you both re-entered the world."
Leaning forward, I pulled him into a hug. Felt his arms slide around me, his hand running through my hair; pulled him closer. Never wanted to let go.
"I'll miss you," I said. I love you.
"Not for long," he replied. "Don't you dare forget me."
"Never. Never ever. You're my best friend."
All at once, the world seemed to split in two. A shiver ran through me as my vision clouded over. It felt like...like my body was disappearing. I couldn't tell – my eyes didn't seem to work anymore. Nothing did – I was frozen there, clinging to the last thing left of my past, unable to move or think or speak or see.
Genbu, I thought desperately as the last of me vanished. When we meet again, please let me be good enough for him...
And all returned to darkness.