Hidden Destiny

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yugi or any of its characters. They belong to Ms. Watase and all those companies that I don't remember the names of ^_^

A/N: I'm not really sure when this fic takes place. It's an alternate universe so I pretty much made happen what I wanted to.

I'd like to say a special thank you to Lynne. Without her help and encouragement I would have never been able to finish this story.

Tasuki stormed through the hideout and into his old office, ignoring the stares of his fellow bandits. He slammed the door behind him, absently noting the changes Kouji had made while he was gone. Sitting down in one of the big armchairs, he put his head in his hands, the pained humiliation from hours ago hitting him full force. He didn't like girls and never had. So why had he ever gotten involved with Miaka? What made her so damn special? A growl of frustration and anger emitted from his throat as he got to his feet and began to pace the large room restlessly. The events of the past few weeks played through his mind, making her betrayal all the worse. All the words she had whispered to him in the dead of the night meant nothing now. Promises faded away like wisps of smoke. There was a knock at the door and he quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Yeah?" He called out.

Kouji cracked the door open and peered around. He forwent his usual entrance, sensing something was wrong with his best friend. "Ya alright, Genrou?"

Tasuki turned his back and stared out the nearest window. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said flatly, resting his hands on his hips. "Think I'm gonna be stayin' here from now on."

"Yer done with the whole summoning thing?" His friend answered, entering the room and closing the door behind him softly.

"I guess ya could say that." Tasuki replied quietly.

Kouji frowned slightly. There was something different about Genrou but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was almost afraid to say anything, feeling that if he said the wrong thing his friend would shatter. "Well, it's great t'have ya back. I gotta admit I'll be happy t'turn the leadership over t'ya. It's more of a pain in the ass than I'd thought it'd be." He watched his friend closely searching for some kind of clue as to what was bothering him. He sighed to himself when he found nothing.

Tasuki merely nodded not moving to face his friend. "If ya don't mind, I'd like t'be alone for awhile." He said in the same flat voice.

"Yeah, sure." Kouji said turning to leave. "If ya need anythin' just let me know." He left closing the door silently behind him. Outside his friend's room he paused and shook his head. He didn't know what had happened but whatever it was, it was bad. Genrou had never been so quiet.

Inside, Tasuki remained at the window, his hands on his hips as he stared out into the black night, unaware of the tears that traced a pattern down his handsome face.

Three weeks earlier:

"Good morning, Tasuki!" Miaka called out as she drew closer to the flame-haired seishi. "Isn't it beautiful here? You are so lucky to have a room facing the gardens."

He grinned at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I guess it's okay." He replied.

As Miaka approached, he quickly noticed that everything was not as well with her as she tried to sound. To put it bluntly, she looked awful, the dark circles under her eyes giving away the fact that she hadn't slept the night before. His hands dropped to his sides, his hands turning into fists. He knew why she looked the way she did. Tamahome. Again. He was sick and tired of that jerk making her cry.

"Are ya all right Miaka? Ya don't look so good…." He frowned slightly as she turned away from him to stare at something in the distance.

"Oh, I'm fine Tasuki! Thank you for asking though."

"Ya sure yer alright?" He persisted. "I mean, it kinda looks like ya haven't slept in a few days…" He had to make sure she was alright, after all, he'd wouldn't want to hurt Tamahome for making her cry again. His smile was skeptical when Miaka nodded her head.

"Oh yes…I'm fine thank you." She smiled brightly. "Just a bit of insomnia-it's nothing to worry about."

He nodded, knowing she was lying, but accepting her word all the same.

"I don't know about ya, but I'm hungry. Come on, let's go eat." He said, reaching out and ruffling her hair.

She giggled and quickly fell into step beside him, soon becoming lost in her thoughts.

Tasuki watched her from the corner of his eye, taking note of the small frown on her face and way her lips trembled slightly as if she were holding back tears. He sighed inwardly. What was with girls? Any time they claimed to be in love, instead of acting happy they seemed to be constantly crying. It was obvious it had to be Tamahome again- why else would she cry?

He felt an all too familiar wave of anger wash through him. Tamahome didn't deserve Miaka's love. But then again, in his opinion, no one would ever be good enough for her.

Miaka walked along, silently staring at the ground. She hadn't really lied to Tasuki, it was true that she had been unable to sleep the night before. She also knew he thought she had been fighting with Tamahome, and it was easier to just let him think that.

Throwing a quick glance at the man at her side, Miaka blushed as she remembered why she could not sleep. Each time she would drift off, Tasuki invaded her dreams.

After lying awake most of the night trying to figure it out, she had come to a rather startling realization. She liked Tasuki- no, more than liked him.

When this realization had hit her, a wave of panic had swept through her body. She had already agreed to be Tamahome's wife, and Tasuki didn't even like girls! What was she going to do? She finally calmed down as reason returned and she sighed in relief. She didn't have to do anything…yet. Her eyes remained on the ceiling until dawn's light cast streaks of pink across it.

She cast another glance at the tall bandit; her blush deepened, and she quickly averted her gaze.

It was so hard to act as if nothing had changed, when every nerve in her body was screaming for her to reach out to Tasuki, to throw her arms around him and confess what was in her heart. But she knew that it would do more than just scare him off, it would also ruin the tentative friendship they now had.

She couldn't simply keep these feelings inside, though, knowing they would be traveling together constantly. Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she pondered how to approach him. Breathing a deep sigh of frustration she finally decided to try subtlety.

"Tasuki…when you said you don't like girls…do you mean all girls?"

Tasuki's walk slowed to a halt, as he frowned down at her. "Yeah, pretty much. Girls are weird and they never play fair. They say one thing and mean another. Why?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

She giggled and waved her hand.

"Oh, no reason! I was just wondering." She said brightly, even as her heart sank.

"I ain't gay like Nuriko is, if that's what ya wanna know." He said quickly.

She shook her head, unable to stop the grin that spread across her face. "That thought never even crossed my mind." She said truthfully, the very notion making her giggle.

"What'cha laughin' at?" Tasuki put his hands on his hips.

Miaka merely shook her head, unable to speak. All she could do was hold her sides and laugh until the tears poured down her face, knowing that it wasn't that funny, but for some reason not wanting to stop. When at last she caught her breath, she smiled up at the perplexed seishi, laughter still tingeing her voice. "I don't know what I'm laughing at really. I guess it's just the thought of you in a dress." She explained, then had to stop as a fresh wave of mirth hit her.

Tasuki scowled , wondering what was so funny about him wearing a dress- it just sounded stupid to him. His scowl soon faded as he watched the girl in front of him. The only word that came to his mind as he watched her was… beautiful.

Her auburn hair was not in its usual twin buns, but gathered high on her head in a ponytail. Instead of the usual school uniform, she now wore a pair of shorts and a form-fitting T-shirt. The morning sunlight caressed her hair, revealing the different shades of red and brown that it contained. Her green eyes sparkled with tears of hilarity making them seem even brighter than normal.

Later he could not say what possessed him, but at that moment all he wanted was her. Nothing more, nothing less. His hands reached out on their own accord and pulled her to him, his mouth lowering and capturing hers gently, putting an end to her giggles.

Miaka's eyes widened then slowly fluttered shut as Tasuki's mouth moved against hers. Her whole being was flooded with awareness of him, the way his hands felt on her arms, his mouth- surprisingly soft, and the way he smelled. No one existed for her but him, nothing mattered to her but this moment with Tasuki.

She moaned softly and pressed against him, longing for something she could not define, then felt him pull away from her. She blinked in disappointment, looking up into his panic-stricken eyes.

"Oh shit." He whispered, releasing her arms quickly. "I…I'm sorry." He turned, obviously intending to rush away from her.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm and held on tight as he tried to break free. "I-it's okay, Tasuki." She said softly.

His movements ceased and he turned to look at her. Instead of seeing the anger and disappointment he expected, he saw tenderness, and something else he didn't recognize. He opened his mouth to speak then quickly shut it as he saw who was approaching the two of them.

"Hey guys." Tamahome greeted them cheerfully, slipping an arm around Miaka's shoulders. Looking back and forth between Miaka and Tasuki, he frowned slightly. "What's going on?"

"Nothin'." Tasuki muttered, turning and heading in the opposite direction without another word.

Miaka forced a smile to her lips and looked up at Tamahome. "We were just on our way to breakfast."

"I see. So what's up with Fang Boy?"

She shrugged lightly. "I really don't know." The lie stuck in her throat, making her unable to say anything else. Instead she stepped from Tamahome's embrace and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the dining hall.

"I'm starving!" She called over her shoulder, emotions that she had never even thought of before rushing throughout her body. What had just happened? Tamahome had kissed her several times but they had never made her feel this way. She could still feel the heat in her face and body and her hands were shaking slightly.

As Miaka entered the dining hall with Tamahome at her side, she glanced at Tasuki and caught him watching them. Quickly looking away from him, she took her usual seat.

Tasuki stared at his food all through breakfast, afraid to look at the girl that had been in his arms only moments before.

He could still feel the softness of her lips beneath his and the memory made his face flush. Grabbing her like that had been the stupidest thing he had ever done. Despite what she had said, it was not okay. Nothing was okay and he didn't know how to get it back like it was. Now being around her would be awkward to say the least- never mind being around Tamahome! He couldn't even glance at the other man, fearing that Tamahome would somehow be able to see right through him.

Tasuki pushed back his chair and stood abruptly, causing the others to look at him in surprise. He started to apologize, then shrugged and walked out of the room, not caring where he was going, as long as it was away from Miaka and Tamahome.

What did he care what they thought? He was only with them temporarily anyway. But if he didn't care what anyone else thought, then why did he feel so guilty for kissing Miaka? Why did he hope that Tamahome didn't find out what had happened between the two of them? He rarely felt guilt at anything and now that he was flooded with it, he didn't like it one bit.

Swearing under his breath, he leaned against one of the palace's outer walls, nursing the fist that he had just slammed into it. Soon he was sitting, his head in his hands. Kissing her was not what was bothering him; that was something he had wanted to do since he first met her. No, what was bothering him was that she responded. She was supposedly in love with Tamahome, but the way she had acted was putting a kernel of doubt in his mind, a hunch that he could not afford to believe- for if he did, he would end up fighting a man who was becoming one of his best friends.