Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or any of
the characters. Not even Hikari. She was created in the third OVA. *sob*
It ALL belongs to Yuu Watase!
"Mama," the girl said. "Mama, you have to continue the story! You always do."
The mother laughed. "But I'm tired!" she whined. "Besides, since when have you called me 'Mama'? I know you, Hikari, you're a fifteen-year- old. Usually it's just Mother or 'Okaasan.'"
"You ALWAYS say you're tired, Mother," the girl protested. "You're just being lazy!" The two of them smiled and laughed at each other. Most would be suspicious of such a healthy relationship between and teenage daughter and her mother, but Hikari and her mom were different. She looked up at the smiling face sitting on her bed. She looked so young compared to her friends' mothers, and she was. Only thirty-four. Hikari's parents had fallen in love early.
"Fine! Fine! You win. But you're still in your uniform!! Ever heard of pajamas?" her mother said, adjusting the ponytail her auburn hair was in and grinning.
"Mou.I will after you tell me more of the 'Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho'! It's only ten o clock, it's not like I go to sleep this early!"
"Okay, okay! So.where have we left off. Ah, sou da. So the suzaku no miko's mine was set-"
"Mom, I know you're the suzaku no miko. You don't have to talk in third person."
"Hee hee hee. So my mind was set- I would go to war with the seishi. They risked their lives for me, and I felt it was my duty. And then.there was a bit of romance, but, um.oh yes! The next day I rode out on the back of Tamahome's horse with him and." her voice trailed off as they heard a shout from the next room.
"Miaka! Miaka, come quick!" Hikari's father's voice shouted from the living room. Miaka jumped up from the foot of her daughter's bed and ran to the door.
"Taka? Taka, what is it?" Miaka threw open the door, and Hikari saw a bright red light come from the hallway. Hikari jumped up and pushed past her mother.
"No, Hikari get back! I'm serious!" Her father, just as young looking as her mother, had a worried look on his face. She had never seen anything like. Hikari was frozen to the spot.
The three of them had lived a peaceful, normal life for as long as Hikari Sukunami could remember. They had a cozy apartment in a high rise in Tokyo and there was mostly no trouble. Her mother, Miaka, worked as a caterer and her father, Taka, was a teacher at a high school. Hikari herself was a smart girl and was working hard for her high school entrance exams. Although her mother always liked to cook way too much food, at least half of which she could consume herself, and her father was a bit finance-obsessed, they had raised Hikari to be a good kid. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened to them, but her mom would continue an on-going story every night for Hikari since she was six years old. It was about her mother when she was fifteen, and how she got sucked into a book and met a charming young man. She had believed it since the beginning, but teenage cynicism had started kicking in and Hikari had her doubts.
But this red light was exactly how Hikari had pictured the red light of Suzaku from the story. And in the center of this light, a battered book was appearing. Forgetting all that was around her, including her father still yelling for her to stand back, Hikari felt as if the book called to her. Suddenly, she had to touch it for herself. Hikari felt like she was watching herself from a distance as her hands reached out and grabbed the mysterious book that had just appeared out of thin air. But as soon as she touched in, the cover flipped open and pages started turning wildly in an imaginary breeze. Hikari was pulled into the red light, and she turned around to see her parents with looks of terror on their faces, yelling and trying to pull her away. Her father was still reaching out to her as she saw her mother drop her arms and fall to her knees.
"Hikari!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Hikari! Just remember everything I told you about the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho!!! Be careful! Please.!" with that, Miaka started shaking uncontrollably and crying harder.
Hikari felt as if time had stood still as she floated through an area completely filled with the red light. She snapped back to reality, whatever reality was, and for the first time within the few minutes all of this had occurred, a feeling of nervousness made her stomach turn.
Just then the red area was replaced with a bright blue sky and clouds. And Hikari was falling through it. She screamed and flailed her arms wildly, continuing to fall rapidly through the sky until she hit something very hard. A large tree branch. Leaves rustled everywhere and fell all around Hikari. Besides a few sharp pains that she knew were bumps in the branch, she felt fine. Until of course, the branch moved slightly from the impact and she fell the rest of the way down to the ground, shrieking once again.
Hikari landed with an "Oof!" and grimaced as she smoothed down her skirt. She was still in her uniform. Damn, Hikari thought. If I had to come to a different world, I would have at least liked to wear something nicer than my seifuku. She sighed and stood up, starting to pick twigs from out of her hair. Just then she heard voices shouting in the distance.
"We heard it coming from this direction!" a male voice shouted. "A girl's voice screaming!" Two men were running across the field towards Hikari. When they caught up, out of breath, they eyed her suspiciously. "Where are you coming from, young lady? Your clothes look foreign!"
Hikari pouted. "Oh thanks. Your clothes don't really look normal either, you know," she retorted.
"From where have you come?"
".Um.the sky?"
"Very funny."
"God sent me?"
"There's four of them."
".Another world?"
"She lies! She can't be from another world. Our suzaku no miko has already come!" the second man said to the first.
"Suzaku.no.miko.?"
"She is an enemy spy! Attack her!" the first man commanded. They raced towards her, growling.
"Chotto! CHOTTO! Wait a second!!!" Hikari yelled, but they weren't going to stop. Evading their first few swings, Hikari rolled up her sleeves. "I'm not stupid, you two. I can throw a few punches myself." With that she hit one of the men in the stomach with her elbow and watched him roll to the ground. She felt the other man's hand clamp down on her shoulder from behind her, and she spun around, grabbing his arm and flipping him to the ground.
"Stop it! STOP!" Another man's voice shouted in the distance. "Do NOT harm the girl!" the man yelled as he came closer. He slowed down as he got nearer to Hikari. "Don't hurt the.! ..Girl."
"Ah, sorry about that," Hikari apologized to this new stranger, laughing nervously. "I didn't mean to knock them out, it's just that I was fearing for my safety. Don't arrest me! Please! IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!!"
The man stared at Hikari in disbelief. "You.! You are." He paused as his eyes widened even more. "Miaka-chan?"
"Mama," the girl said. "Mama, you have to continue the story! You always do."
The mother laughed. "But I'm tired!" she whined. "Besides, since when have you called me 'Mama'? I know you, Hikari, you're a fifteen-year- old. Usually it's just Mother or 'Okaasan.'"
"You ALWAYS say you're tired, Mother," the girl protested. "You're just being lazy!" The two of them smiled and laughed at each other. Most would be suspicious of such a healthy relationship between and teenage daughter and her mother, but Hikari and her mom were different. She looked up at the smiling face sitting on her bed. She looked so young compared to her friends' mothers, and she was. Only thirty-four. Hikari's parents had fallen in love early.
"Fine! Fine! You win. But you're still in your uniform!! Ever heard of pajamas?" her mother said, adjusting the ponytail her auburn hair was in and grinning.
"Mou.I will after you tell me more of the 'Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho'! It's only ten o clock, it's not like I go to sleep this early!"
"Okay, okay! So.where have we left off. Ah, sou da. So the suzaku no miko's mine was set-"
"Mom, I know you're the suzaku no miko. You don't have to talk in third person."
"Hee hee hee. So my mind was set- I would go to war with the seishi. They risked their lives for me, and I felt it was my duty. And then.there was a bit of romance, but, um.oh yes! The next day I rode out on the back of Tamahome's horse with him and." her voice trailed off as they heard a shout from the next room.
"Miaka! Miaka, come quick!" Hikari's father's voice shouted from the living room. Miaka jumped up from the foot of her daughter's bed and ran to the door.
"Taka? Taka, what is it?" Miaka threw open the door, and Hikari saw a bright red light come from the hallway. Hikari jumped up and pushed past her mother.
"No, Hikari get back! I'm serious!" Her father, just as young looking as her mother, had a worried look on his face. She had never seen anything like. Hikari was frozen to the spot.
The three of them had lived a peaceful, normal life for as long as Hikari Sukunami could remember. They had a cozy apartment in a high rise in Tokyo and there was mostly no trouble. Her mother, Miaka, worked as a caterer and her father, Taka, was a teacher at a high school. Hikari herself was a smart girl and was working hard for her high school entrance exams. Although her mother always liked to cook way too much food, at least half of which she could consume herself, and her father was a bit finance-obsessed, they had raised Hikari to be a good kid. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened to them, but her mom would continue an on-going story every night for Hikari since she was six years old. It was about her mother when she was fifteen, and how she got sucked into a book and met a charming young man. She had believed it since the beginning, but teenage cynicism had started kicking in and Hikari had her doubts.
But this red light was exactly how Hikari had pictured the red light of Suzaku from the story. And in the center of this light, a battered book was appearing. Forgetting all that was around her, including her father still yelling for her to stand back, Hikari felt as if the book called to her. Suddenly, she had to touch it for herself. Hikari felt like she was watching herself from a distance as her hands reached out and grabbed the mysterious book that had just appeared out of thin air. But as soon as she touched in, the cover flipped open and pages started turning wildly in an imaginary breeze. Hikari was pulled into the red light, and she turned around to see her parents with looks of terror on their faces, yelling and trying to pull her away. Her father was still reaching out to her as she saw her mother drop her arms and fall to her knees.
"Hikari!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Hikari! Just remember everything I told you about the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho!!! Be careful! Please.!" with that, Miaka started shaking uncontrollably and crying harder.
Hikari felt as if time had stood still as she floated through an area completely filled with the red light. She snapped back to reality, whatever reality was, and for the first time within the few minutes all of this had occurred, a feeling of nervousness made her stomach turn.
Just then the red area was replaced with a bright blue sky and clouds. And Hikari was falling through it. She screamed and flailed her arms wildly, continuing to fall rapidly through the sky until she hit something very hard. A large tree branch. Leaves rustled everywhere and fell all around Hikari. Besides a few sharp pains that she knew were bumps in the branch, she felt fine. Until of course, the branch moved slightly from the impact and she fell the rest of the way down to the ground, shrieking once again.
Hikari landed with an "Oof!" and grimaced as she smoothed down her skirt. She was still in her uniform. Damn, Hikari thought. If I had to come to a different world, I would have at least liked to wear something nicer than my seifuku. She sighed and stood up, starting to pick twigs from out of her hair. Just then she heard voices shouting in the distance.
"We heard it coming from this direction!" a male voice shouted. "A girl's voice screaming!" Two men were running across the field towards Hikari. When they caught up, out of breath, they eyed her suspiciously. "Where are you coming from, young lady? Your clothes look foreign!"
Hikari pouted. "Oh thanks. Your clothes don't really look normal either, you know," she retorted.
"From where have you come?"
".Um.the sky?"
"Very funny."
"God sent me?"
"There's four of them."
".Another world?"
"She lies! She can't be from another world. Our suzaku no miko has already come!" the second man said to the first.
"Suzaku.no.miko.?"
"She is an enemy spy! Attack her!" the first man commanded. They raced towards her, growling.
"Chotto! CHOTTO! Wait a second!!!" Hikari yelled, but they weren't going to stop. Evading their first few swings, Hikari rolled up her sleeves. "I'm not stupid, you two. I can throw a few punches myself." With that she hit one of the men in the stomach with her elbow and watched him roll to the ground. She felt the other man's hand clamp down on her shoulder from behind her, and she spun around, grabbing his arm and flipping him to the ground.
"Stop it! STOP!" Another man's voice shouted in the distance. "Do NOT harm the girl!" the man yelled as he came closer. He slowed down as he got nearer to Hikari. "Don't hurt the.! ..Girl."
"Ah, sorry about that," Hikari apologized to this new stranger, laughing nervously. "I didn't mean to knock them out, it's just that I was fearing for my safety. Don't arrest me! Please! IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!!"
The man stared at Hikari in disbelief. "You.! You are." He paused as his eyes widened even more. "Miaka-chan?"