I know what you guys are going are to say: "ANOTHER OC STORY?! SERIOUSLY?! YOU HAVE OTHER STORIES TO DO!"
But I just can't help myself, the truth is I'm beginning to have writers block for the other stories, I want to make them somewhat original and interesting so you guys would be even more willing and eager to read the stories. However, I really got the motivation to do another Fushigi Yuugi oc story, please don't be mad at me; just been in the mood to write Tasuki stories again. However, I will continue to try and write out the other stories ;-;
In this case, I will try my best to re-tell the awkward story of my OC Tiara; I thought it would be interesting to include the idea of having a, not-so-much a Suzaku warrior but rather a medium for Suzaku to manifest himself into. True, within the series Suzaku does take hold of Miaka to overpower and consume her but I'll be adding my own surprises here and there; enjoy.
Before I Started, I Found You - Prologue
"It is time once again, to find a sacrifice worthy of Suzaku's being; whom shall we offer?" an old man, the chief, spoke out.
His eyes gazed upon the silent village below him as he thought about what he had asked. He closed his eyes as he awaited for the silence to be broken by a response to his question however he knew what person would make the perfect sacrifice for Suzaku. Suddenly, a voice spoke up from behind the chief, finally responding to the question:
"Word has it there is a family within the village whom is in need of money; maybe a fair trade could be done for their daughter? She does carry off an aura that Suzaku would truly crave" the male disciple spoke.
"Hmm, you are right. The rumors have been circulating around the village, that girl, their daughter, Tiara was it? She would make the perfect sacrifice. However, I must ask you a simple question: why her?" The chief asked.
The male disciple snickered as he recalled an incident within the village at one point in time.
FLASHBACK
The male disciple had been walking through the village noting how their village was growing and prospering at a quick pace. He was pleased, until he noticed how one girl had strangely struck a chord within him. She had shoulder-length brown locks, appearing to be a 15 year old, whom was seen arguing with an older man whom seemed enraged.
"I did not touch that wench!" The man yelled in anger at her.
"You clearly think I must be stupid to think that I did not witness you place your hands on this innocent, young girl before me" she argued back with anger.
He noted how the younger girl stood behind her, tears glossing her eyes as she witnessed the older girl defend her. The disciple began to walk closer to the two as both of them began to take notice of the white cloaked man approaching them. The older man grinned slightly as he knew that this girl was going to lose this argument the minute he told his story to the disciple.
"Good evening, what seems to be the problem?" the male disciple asked.
"Good evening to you as well, your holiness; this wench is claiming that I touched this little girl even though all I did was simply look at her" he lied through his teeth.
"That is not true! You approached this little girl and had that flame of disgusting lust in your eyes! I saw you, your hands automatically went for her body; do NOT lie" Tiara argued back.
He slightly growled at the fact that she had the audacity to speak the truth with defensive ease, however he noticed how the disciple was unfazed by these actions as he knew for a fact that the disciple was on his side.
"Well, clearly this girl has no regards towards the danger of how she purposely makes herself appealing to men; it was her fault and he simply reacted in the way that she wanted him to" The disciple argued with ease.
Her face began to contour in anger from what this "holy man" man was spewing, this little girl was only 10 years old, having no feminine development and wearing covered up clothing, yet this man had the audacity to justify this pigs actions as her fault. She began to lose her temper as she pushed the young girl a bit more behind her and felt a surge of adrenaline flow through her.
"What did you JUST SAY?! In what way is this 10 year old girl appealing to PIGS LIKE HIM?! She is not of age whatsoever to have any feminine features as I do so that just proves to show that the man you are clearly failing to defend is a rapist, maybe a child rapist or molester; I suggest you have him removed from this village at once!" Tiara spatted right back at the disciple.
He noticed how some of the villagers began to whisper to one another and form a group, creating attention to the scene that was occurring. He began to feel nervous and quickly sprung into action at once. A loud noise could be heard as it was none other than the noise of something or someone being slapped across the face; the disciple had raised his hand and slapped Tiara across the face as she staggered slightly, still shielding the little girl from what was going on in front of her. She had closed her eyes and took in the pain, allowing the pain to subside little by little but the sting had still remained; opening her eyes she looked at the disciple once more as her anger seeped past its' boiling point.
"What's going on?!" a female voice could be heard cutting through the crowd.
A husband and wife cut through the crowd as they displayed a look of shock from what had been seen; their daughter, Tiara, causing mayhem and mischief once more. They quickly approached their daughter as the husband began to lead the little girl away from their daughter to her mother.
"It seems that your troublesome daughter is trying to start problems once more" the disciple explained with ease.
"Trouble? Trouble?! You defend a child molester and you label me, defending her from that pig, a problem?! Disciple, Drop Dead and Be Gone! You are no holy man!" Tiara yelled out in angered rage.
He enraged her so much that he could have sworn that a red glowing aura had adorned her figure, practically feeling a strong and powerful force push him back. Causing most of the village to step away in fear of feeling the same thing that the disciple felt as he stumbled back.
"I am so sorry, your lordship!" Tiara's father apologized as Tiara's mother quickly slapped Tiara across the face.
"How dare you Tiara! In the house!" Tiara's mother exclaimed at her daughter as she obeyed.
However, both Tiara and the disciple made eye-contact one last time as she grinned in content. Causing the disciple to look at her in defeated anger and embarrassment.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Let's just say that there is some loose ends that need to be tied up from years ago" the male disciple responded.
The chief nodded as he understood that Tiara was a troublesome nuisance that needed to be disposed off at once.
"Then arrange the agreement and we will begin to set up the sacrificial ceremony" the chief commanded his disciple.
With that, the disciple had the money stashed within his robes as he began to trudge down the wooden steps, itching to finally receive his revenge from that time 2 years ago. He walked through the village noting how all the villagers had stepped out of their homes and began to make their journey up the wooden steps to the holy grounds for the sacrificial ritual. Everything was falling into place, however the main sacrificial lamb was missing; arriving at the home of Tiara, he knocked upon the wooden door and waited patiently for someone to answer the door.
"Yes? Oh! Your holiness, it's wonderful to see you again; how can we help you?" Tiara's mother responded as she opened the door.
"Good evening ma'am, I see your husband, daughter and yourself are not attending the Suzaku sacrificial ritual; any reason why?" the disciple questioned.
Tiara's mother looked down for a moment of silence yet looked at him with a face of fear.
"We can't bear to show ourselves in public with our daughter; for all the trouble she causes and the embarrassment she brings to this family. Currently, we are having issues trying to make due with the money that we have currently, I fear for my husband and myself that we shall not survive at this rate" she admitted.
"Honey, who is it?" her husband asked as he began to step outside from within the house.
"It's the chief's trusted disciple dear; he has graced us with his presence" she responded with a hint of joy.
"Oh! What can we do for you at this hour, your holiness?" he asked.
He slightly grinned as he reached into his robe and pulled out plenty of coins jingling from within a small brown pouch, he handed the pouch of money to Tiara's mother as her eyes nearly fell out of her sockets due to the slightly heavy pouch; noting all the money that was being handed to her casually, as if she'd earned it. Her husband's eyes nearly widened in shock from the money that they were just given by the disciple.
"I understand that you are in a bit of trouble, as your wife had explained to me earlier, Suzaku smiles upon you both and wishes for you to have this money as a token of good fortune and a brighter day to look forward to; however, there is something that needs to be given in exchange for this and I feel that you would be willing to comply. We have chosen your daughter, Tiara, as the sacrificial suitor for Suzaku." the disciple explained.
Both parents quickly agreed in handing over their daughter, finally be-ridding of the bad luck and shame that she had brought upon the family. Both parents had allowed the disciple to step into the house as he also had short pieces of rope to tie up Tiara with beforehand. All three had moved quickly within the house and had gone into Tiara's room, noting how she was sleeping peacefully but not for long.
"Tiara, dear...wake up" Tiara's mother coaxed her with a slight shake.
Tiara mumbled something as she began to stir from her sleep but was brought into reality rather quickly as she felt two hands encase her neck, beginning the process of choking her; she widened her eyes as she realized that her mother was the one choking her. She raised her feet as she quickly pushed her mother off of her, causing her own hands to go for her neck and cough as she began to intake air once more. However, as she stood up, trying to make it to the door, she felt something smashing into the back of her skull, causing her to fall into the depths of darkness once more.
"Good job, you both shall be rewarded greatly by Suzaku" a voice responded; she recognized it to be the disciple before she blacked out.
ON MOUNT REIKAKU.
A group of bandits had looked down from the mountain and noted how the villagers from the nearby village down below were heading up the shrine steps with their lit torches, attempting the same ritual they always do every year; however, this year, they decided to rob this village tonight as they were distracted with the ritual event. Their leader, Hakurou, stood in front of them silently as they were all rowdy and excited to finally be targeting this village; however, he sensed that something was amiss and different from the previous years that the village would attempt this.
"Men, be careful, I sense something will occur; just be on your guard" as Hakurou spoke, turning around and addressing the group.
"Don't worry about it boss! Koji and I will make sure that nothing goes wrong with this heist" Genrou responded confidently to his boss.
Hakurou looked at both men with a solemn look as he slightly nodded and returned his gaze back to the village down below; slowly raising his hand as he gave the signal to let them know that they could begin trudging down for the heist; watching Genrou and Koji leading the way down the mountain with the men following behind in suite.
AT THE SHRINE
Tiara started to hear a loud ringing noise as she began to awake from her forced slumber, noting how she had a major headache yet couldn't move her hands, not even her legs or feet; she looked around and noticed that she had been tied up!
"W-what? What's happening? Why am I tied up on the floor? Since when did I start wearing a white robe?" Tiara mentally asked herself.
Looking around quickly, she realized that she was lying upon the floor within the shrine and noted how there was a large bucket of water near her head, still trying to put together the pieces that were missing from within her memory. However, her thoughts were disturbed as the shrine door was opened and closed, allowing three people into the room.
"Glad to see you are awake little lamb" the chief began to speak.
Tiara looked at the three people and realized that it was the chief, a shrine maiden and the disciple! Her face contorted into a display of anger as she realized that SHE was CHOSEN or rather FORCED to be the sacrificial lamb this year for Suzaku. She only assumed that this had something to do with the disciple and her parents however she had faith that her parents did not truly give her up to be sacrificed...or did they? The disciple stepped forward and made his way over to Tiara as he kicked her in the stomach; knelled down on one knee and grabbed her face with one hand and forced her to painfully sit up as he smiled darkly.
"Interesting how a bag of coins could quickly change the love of a parent, wouldn't you agree Tiara?" The disciple began.
"You're lying, my parents' would not trade me for a measly bag of coins" Tiara spoke confidently.
"If you don't believe me, then why not see what your mother is holding in her hands later?" The disciple concluded as he released her.
With that, the disciple gave the signal for the shrine maiden to begin the cleansing process. She sat behind Tiara, grabbing Tiara by the back of her head, pushing her face into the cold, holy water attempting to purify and clean her for the ritual. Tiara was doing her best to fight the maiden's forceful grip and motion as she felt herself in taking water and losing oxygen. Yet, she felt the shrine maiden pull her head from out of the water as she began to cough to remove the water from her system and breath properly; this process repeated itself about five times until the chief signaled for the maiden to stop.
"T-trying to kill your precious little sacrificial lamb already? We haven't even begun yet" Tiara mocked the chief.
"Oh no my dear, the process will begin momentarily, we just needed to cleanse and purify you" The chief mocked Tiara back.
The shrine maiden had forcefully pulled Tiara by the arms to stand up, slightly struggling, Tiara managed to stand up as she wondered what was going to become of her. She'd never seen an actual Suzaku ritual since her parents never took her to one of these rituals, however she felt that she was going to find out quickly what happened to those other people whom were sacrificed.
"Time for the ritual to begin." The disciple spoke with a dark smile.
The chief pushed the sliding door towards the left, allowing the scene behind the door to unfold, Tiara's eyes glistening from how the whole village was standing before her with lit torches and angered eyes. Two other disciples had ringed their arms around either one of Tiara's arms as they lifted her, moving forward. As the men carried her out onto the wooden platform, she noticed that the other disciples were wearing their ceremonial white robes standing around the platform in a circle. Tiara was released and fell onto the floor upon her knees, she looked down upon the crowd, searching for her parents to seek the truth and hope that the disciple was lying to them.
"My fellow lambs, tonight we shall perform the ritual of Suzaku; tonight, we shall sacrifice this woman whom was chosen by Suzaku himself to spare of village from calamity and misfortune once more" The chief announced to the crowd.
The crowd cheered as Tiara finally found her parents within the crowd, her eyes widened in shock from what she found, her mother was holding onto a small pouch of money that glistened in the lit torches flames. They noticed that she was looking at them, they merely looked away from her. She felt anger and betrayal, something began to twinge and waiver within her, her adrenaline slowly circulating through her veins. However, she was pushed down to the wooden floor and felt the back of her robe being pulled down, revealing her smooth, creamy and bare backed skin.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Tiara yelled out from this sudden action.
"We're going to apply the ceremonial symbols upon your body my dear, we cannot have you bare for Suzaku" the disciple responded to her with a dark smile.
She turned her head to the left as she saw another disciple bringing a tray that had a small bowl full of something yet she couldn't see anything past that from her position. The chief had turned to the disciple whom was carrying the tray and took both the needle & bowl of red paint within his hands, waiting for his other disciple to bring forth a lit torch. Tiara felt as though she was being punished for a crime that she did not commit, all she wanted to do was to be alone and travel around the world but yet, her wishes fell on deaf ears; felt as though the gods were mocking her for the punishment that had been prepared for her.
"Hold still my dear, this will on take a second, you won't even feel it" The chief said bitter-sweetly.
Tiara could not react as she felt a sharp, thin, extremely heated metal object come into contact with her skin as she began to scream in pain. The chief had originally placed the needle's tip within the flames of the torch, dipped the heated metal object into the red paint and began to tattoo Suzaku's red, feathered wings into Tiara's back. With every motion of the heated object, Tiara cried out in pain and agony, being unable to move, struggling to get away from the people and the needle that burned into her skin. When the procedure was done, she began to blink away the foggy-ness that had befallen upon her eyes that had been crying and releasing tears as she saw drops of her blood fall and splash lightly on the wooden floor. Her eyes began to lose their shine as she was too tired to struggle or fight anymore, she simply wanted to die.
"Now then, The Ceremony of Suzaku can commence" The chief announced to his people.