TITLE: Embracing Destiny

AUTHOR: Tiffany Park

CATEGORY: Dark Fantasy with Horror Undertones, Angst, Drama, Prequel, Probably AU

SERIES: The series is still untitled. The stories should be read in the following order: "Embracing Destiny," "Choosing Priorities," "Cooking Magic," "Like Sunshine." "The Siren Call and Many Complications of Chocolate Mousse Cake" and "The Further Complications of Chocolate Mousse Cake" can be viewed as side stories to this series. Fai is 10 years old in them, so they follow "Like Sunshine."

SEQUEL: For anyone interested, this story is immediately followed by a sequel, "Choosing Priorities."

SPOILERS: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Chapitres 150 through 172. References to xxxHolic and RG Veda.

RATING: PG-13

CONTENT WARNINGS: Mild language, violent imagery (but nothing worse that what is already in the manga)

SUMMARY: It is King Ashura's destiny to destroy his own country. Every choice he makes to defy his fate only leads him farther down that tragic path, even accepting the wish that brings him his heart's desire. The unwilling prophet fulfills his own prophecy.

STATUS: Complete

ARCHIVE: Please ask first

DISCLAIMER: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, xxxHolic, and their characters (King Ashura, Fai D Fluorite/Yūi, Original-Fai, Princess Tomoyo, Fei Wang Reed, Maru and Moro, and Yūko Ichihara) belong to CLAMP, Del Rey Ballantine Books, Random House Inc., Kodansha Ltd., Funimation, and probably a whole bunch of other people and companies I know nothing about. RG Veda and its characters (Lord Ashura, Lady Kendappa, Lord Taishaku(ten), and Lord Bishamon(ten)) belong to CLAMP, TOKYOPOP Inc., Shinshokan Publishing Co., Ltd., and probably more people and companies that, again, I know nothing about. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story plays heavily with the revelation by Princess Tomoyo that King Ashura was a dreamseer, although in this story he's nowhere near as good at dealing with it as characters like Tomoyo and Yūko.

I stuck with English and tried not to use any Japanese titles, honorifics, or terminology because, quite frankly, I don't trust myself to get them correct in context. I kept "hitsuzen" rather than using "inevitability" (which may have been a mistake), but that's pretty much it.

The dialog and actions in the final chapter of this story are adapted from a scene in the Del Rey translation of Volume 20, Chapitre 157.

If any of this is going to bother you, you'd probably be better off just skipping this story.

Thank you.