Written in the Stars

By: Lady Harlequin

A "Gensomaden Saiyuki" One-shot Songfic

DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki is NOT mine, and never will be! I'm just borrowing the characters so I can have some fun.

NOTE: Ekai Ungson, a fellow fic writer, initially issued this fic as a challenge after finding out my inability to write one-shots (whether original or fanfiction) and canon. So, just to say that I can do it, I'm giving you THIS. It's essentially a Yaone X Hakkai, though, if your imagination is good enough, I think you can see Kougaiji here instead.

ON THE TITLE: The title and song are taken from Elton John and Tim Rice's musicale version of "Aida". You might have heard of it, as it was once on heavy rotation on MTV and radio stations at one point. Anyway, I bet you will see the relationship of the song and the coupling when I'm through.

EMAIL: ladyharley2002@hotmail.com

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Why did the night seem so peaceful, when the world reflected the exact opposite?

Why did the moon seem so perfect, when the world was not like that at all?

And why, why did the stars have to be out this night?

She could not understand, could not comprehend, why the Fates had to conspire to make everything so beautiful tonight. She did not see the point, when in her heart everything was less than wonderful. In her heart, there was a dark cloud weighing her down, a feeling that made her limbs feel like lead and her mouth taste like sand.

Why did it have to be so, she asked of herself as she continued to trudge down the well-worn path before her. She knew this path so well that she could have walked down it blindfolded.

She knew he would be waiting for her at the end of the path. She knew that he would be there, smiling at her, green eyes gleaming with love and tenderness.

And it hurt her deeply to know that she would have to break his heart, when he had loved her so well…

She had stepped into the clearing then, and just as she expected, she found him there, waiting for her.

He smiled at her, his voice casting the same spell as he spoke her name. "Yaone…"

She smiled up at him as best as she could while trying to hide her true feelings and her true intent from him. She knew him too well. She knew that he would find out what she was feeling if she was not careful, and she didn't want him to know of her intent. Not yet, not yet…

"Konbanwa, Hakkai."

He approached her then, enveloping her in his strong arms, kissing her tenderly, and Yaone nearly wept at the loving way he did so. He was the perfect lover.

And she was letting him go…

"Why did you ask me to come here, koishii?" His voice broke through her thoughts then, and she snapped back to attention. She looked up, green eyes meeting dark amber, and she exhaled.

I have to tell him…if I don't do it now, I'll never be able to get the courage to do so again, and if I keep this up any longer, I will only be hurting him all the more… "Hakkai, I have to tell you something…

I am here to tell you we can never meet again

He smiled at her. "What, koishii? I'm all ears." His smile became broader. "Do you want something from me? You know that you only have to tell me what it is you want, and I'll give it to you…"

She shook her head. "No, that's not it…"

Simple, really, isn't it? A word or two, and then…

It isn't as simple as I thought…Yaone told herself as she gazed up at her lover's eyes. Things of the heart are never as simple as they seem to be… "Hakkai…I have to…we have to…"

Now he sensed her distress. Now he knew that everything was not as right as they should be. "What? What's the matter?"

She drew her breath in, trying to gather up her courage. "Hakkai… I think…I think we should stop seeing each other…forever…"

A lifetime of not knowing, where or how or why or when

Just as she expected, Hakkai fell silent, eyes wide with shock. "Yaone…what do you mean?"

You think of me, or speak of me, or wonder what befell

The someone you once loved so long ago so well

*          *          *

Hakkai stared down at Yaone, shocked beyond words. What did she mean?! What did she say that we should stop seeing each other?! "Yaone…what…what do you mean?"

Yaone's orange-amber eyes returned his gaze, and he could see the tears that we welling up within them then. "It's just as I said Hakkai. We have to stop this. We can't keep this up for much longer."

Never wonder what I'll feel as living shuffles by

Hakkai stared down at her, a mixture of violent emotions swirling through his eyes. How could she do this to me?! How could she treat me this way?! Doesn't she know how I'll feel if she does this?!

You don't have to ask me, and I need not reply

Yaone touched his face then. Tenderly, lovingly, showing him that her decision was truly against what her heart was telling her at the moment. "Oh Hakkai…please, please forgive me…please…"

He smiled in spite of the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes, lightly touching her lip with this finger, feeling it tremble slightly beneath the digit. "Don't say anything, Yaone. Don't say anything anymore…" He knew what she wanted to tell him, without even having to ask her.

Every moment of my life from now until I die

I will think or dream of you and fail to understand

How a perfect love could be confounded out of hand…

She lowered her gaze then, as if afraid of looking at him straight in the eye. Then again, she probably was. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Hakkai. It's just that…I don't want to hurt you…you've been through so much…and I…I could never…"

Hakkai held her close then, letting her lean her head against his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Yaone. I just feel…sad that our love…it was so perfect…and yet…and yet…"

Is it written in the stars?

He gazed up at the stars then. Why did it have to be so, he asked the still, silent sentinels of the night as they shone down on them. Why? Why…

Are we paying for some crime?

He didn't know what he had done to deserve this. Have I ever done anything wrong to deserve this? I just wanted someone to love…I just wanted to love someone…and I found everything in Yaone…

Is that all that we are good for?

Just a stretch of mortal time

Is this some god's experiment

In which we have no say

In which we're given paradise

But only for a day

This is unfair, he thought to himself as he held Yaone closer to him, trying to burn the feeling of her body close to his into his memory. How could the gods be so unreasonable?! They make us suffer for so long, and then when we finally find happiness at last, they decide to tear us apart…

*          *          *

Nothing can be altered, there is nothing to decide

No escape, nor change of heart, nor any place to hide

Yaone tried her best to keep the tears from flowing. This is unfair…for me…but for Hakkai especially…but what I can do? If I do not do this, then I  risk getting Hakkai killed…

Hakkai must have noticed how quiet she had become, because he whispered, "It wasn't your fault, Yaone. It wasn't your decision…"

Yaone nodded, but her mind dwelt on other thoughts. But once this is done, once this is over with, we will have to go our own ways…we can't change this…there will be no turning back…

You are all I'll ever want but this I am denied

She smiled slightly as she buried her face in Hakkai's chest. "You were everything I ever wanted, Hakkai," she whispered to him. "You were everything I wanted and needed…"

Hakkai chuckled softly in her ear. "I feel the same, Yaone…"

Sometimes in my darkest thoughts I wish I'd never learned

What it is to be in love and have that love returned

"Sometimes," she whispered. "Sometimes I wish I'd never met you…"

          She could feel him jerk slightly in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

          "Because if I hadn't met you, I'd never know this heart wrenching feeling…I'd never know what it is to have to live with a broken heart…" She looked up at him then, smiling. "But then again, if I hadn't met you, I would never have learned to love…"

          Is it written in the stars?

          She gazed up at the stars that shone down on them from overhead. "Sometimes I think that the stars were against us all along…"

          Are we paying for some crime?

          "…sometimes I think that we were forced to pay this price after all the crimes we committed long ago…what with killing so many…humans and demons alike…and all in a quest for power that would benefit neither side…"

          Is that all that we are good for?

          Just a stretch of mortal time

          "… Is that all love is worth? Is that how far our love is going to go? Just one lifetime? And I always thought that love would be forever…that it would go beyond death and the afterlife…"

          Is this some god's experiments

          In which we have no say?

          In which we're given paradise

          But only for a day

          Hakkai shook his head then, crushing her slender frame against his own. "Yaone…our love will always be forever…remember that."

          She smiled up at him, the tears coming so fast now that she didn't bother to wipe them away. "I know that it will be that way, Hakkai…but sometimes, I can't help but wonder…if the gods were playing a cruel joke when they got us together…"

          "Maybe they were," Hakkai murmured, "but in truth, I couldn't give a damn at all." He drew away from her then, peering deep into her eyes. "I love you, Yaone, and there is nothing you, I, or the gods can do to change that. So even…even if it hurts me so to have to be parted from you… I will do it. But I will always hope that we will find each other again, gods or no gods."

          Yaone could not help it. She had to do it. She threw her arms around Hakkai's neck, and kissed him full on his lips, a bittersweet kiss, for it was their last. "Hakkai…Hakkai, aishiteru…"

He responded to her in kind. "Aishiteru Yaone…aishiteru…"

She drew away from him, knowing that if she did not do so, she would never be able to leave. And she said the final words that would put an end to everything that they had been: "Sayonara."

He nodded stiffly, tears brimming in his green eyes, though he did not shed them yet. "Sayonara aishiteru, Yaone…"

Aishiteru…

~FIN~

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, my first one-shot ever. Do tell me what you think, okay? Ja!