Summary: Does love still stand between a warrior and his priestess after so many years have passed between the two? As he sits on the mountain side and age finally catches him, will he see the reason why he was able to go on so long alone?

Disclaimer: I do not own in any way the ideas, characters, or places that are described in this story. They are all property of Yu Watase and I am making absolutely no profit off of this story; it was only posted for mere enjoyment and for other fellow Mysterious Play fans.

Warnings: AU, PWP, character death…

…You Have Been Warned…

Tears of Goodbye's…
By: Twilightkitsune1

Rated: T
Drama/angst

The sun was beginning to pass beyond view, the light fading out of the sky. The golden color was becoming the light reddish orange as it began to pass lower and lower behind the mountain side; night would be coming soon but that didn't matter to him. He sat there as he watched some birds fly into the horizon and disappear into the bright light of the fading sun. He smiled as the wind gently blew past him and shifted the leaves in the trees and brushed over the grass. He always seemed to think of the past when he watched the fading sun; the red light always reminded him of her and the light she always lived in. As he watched the sun begin to sink and the light begin to fade he began to realize just how alone he really was.

It has been many years since he had last seen the other warriors, all dead and gone now but he lived on. He waited, and he watched as all his friends faded into that light that his beloved priestess had faded into long ago. He had not been one lucky enough to die so he could be reborn and forget all about the one woman who had made him realize how to be a man; the one woman who did not truly live in this land. Though she had not lived here, he saw how much she loved this place and its people; she was truly the only priestess of Suzaku there ever could be. She loved and laughed and lived with a light heart, one that could never be over come by darkness. She was the one who taught them all to live and love again, who taught him to live and love again. He would never love another woman as he had loved her.

Though as she lived in a place he could not go to, he thought of her daily, he yearned to see her smile again; and in his sleep he only saw her. She lived in a world he would never get to in this life, a world he could never visit again in this life, a world he knew nothing about. He knew nothing about the world she lived in, but he knew Tamahome was with her there and that he would keep her safe. There were many times he wished it was him who was there with her, smiling in a light he could never quite reach, as Tamahome lived in that light that surrounded Miaka. He knew he was jealous of Tamahome, always had been since the night he saw how she wept over him as they were victorious in retrieving his Iron Fan from the fat phony, as he liked to call him. He did not notice it then, but as time passed with her he became more and more infatuated by her, longing to have her as his own. Yet he knew how much she loved Tamahome, and in the end decided just to watch as she smiled only for him. The only other warrior who knew how much he loved Miaka was Chichiri, but he only found out many years after she had left this world for good.

Chichiri had sympathized with him, and the two old friends were the ones who had felt left behind in time. They had lived long in the Mountains, one in the mountain with the bandit's and the other on Mount Daichi-san with Tai Yi-Jun. As the years began to pass, as did their lives as warriors and when age finally got to them their powers were gone. Chichiri was always checking up on him but as he grew older the visits became rarer and rarer until his last visit in his dreams. Chichiri had died leaving him as the last of the Suzaku seven still alive in this world. He continued to live on as he always did, the fire of life still burning with in him and no end in sight. He had buried many of his men he had started out with, if not all, and as the younger generation of bandits began to come around he finally decided to step down as leader and moved further into the mountains to live out the rest of his days in solitude. Even though he had left he has found himself being visited by the bandits current leader often, just to "check to see if he's still kicken'", though he has a feeling the leader is often just coming to his hut in the woods for advice on how to run the gang. It is not a surprise though since he had rescued the child from death when he was just around the age of ten and had taken him into the gang and raised him. There was a father, son relationship between the two even though they were not related.

As his mind began to remember the past days, in the corner of his eye he caught sight of a strand of his hair blowing beside him. He smiled to himself as he remembered in his youth how burning red his hair had been; now though, it was the color of shinning steel in water with the light of the sun shining on it. His fire had gone out, and his life was finally nearing its end, and all he could think of was his priestess, his Miaka. How he wished he could see her again, both in their youth with no worries for the world around them. He would like to have seen his priestess carefree, as she had never been when he saw her. If he had one wish Suzaku could grant it would be to finally be with his priestess in a world where all the Suzaku seven were and all was at peace. The perfect wish to the only god he has ever served.

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It was late at night and a middle aged woman lay silently in a large bed as a small group surrounded her. The woman's eyes fluttered open and closed as her breathing was becoming more and more shallow; her skin which used to be a healthy bronze color was now an ashen color with no tent. Her eyes shifted between each person until they landed on the one who was holding her hand, the man she loved, Taka. She knew he would be devastated but it was time to finally let him go. She had lived her life with him, loved him, gave him a family, and now it was time she left.

Her smile was weak, hard to make as her strength was beginning to fail her. "Taka… I'm sorry." Was all she could get out as tears began to fill her eyes, how she was going to miss him.

His eyes too were filled with tears, "It's okay, really, your going to be fine…" his voice was beginning to crack and he tried to smile back at her, "Watch, your going to be right back up and you'll be just as hyper, and just as hungry as you ever were before."

She knew she was dying, she could feel her life force slipping in and out. There wasn't much time left now. Closing her eyes she shock her head only once and looked to him again, "No Taka, it's time for me to go… Just like our friends had too before." She squeezed his hand as tight as she could and tried to fight the tears away, "I'll be fine Taka, and so will you… I want you to keep on living and raise our children to live life to the fullest… I want you to still smile when you see the day… I want you to never forget what we have gone through to get this far… Don't throw it all away now." She pleaded with him.

"I don't want you to leave me Miaka." Taka begged her sliding off the chair and onto his knees, gripping her hand with both of his. The tears that he had now could not be stopped, so much like when he had to burry his own family before. "I don't want to lose the only woman I've ever loved!" his voice chocked.

"You won't lose me Taka, I'll be right here… I'll always be… right by your side." Miaka said, her voice losing strength and becoming quieter as she spoke.

"Miaka." said the other woman in the room who looked to be Miaka's age. She had golden hair that reached just below her back and it was tied tightly with a hair band, and in her left ear she wore a single blue earring she had received when she had gone to the other world with her friend. She felt a hand placed on her shoulder and looked up to see the face of the man who had the same ring on his left finger as she did on hers. His hair was a dark black, and complemented his green eyes that were shining with tears. She tired to speak to him but he only shook his head and looked to the floor. Swallowing her words she looked back to Miaka, tears falling freely from her eyes as she watched her best friend lay on the bed and become weaker and weaker by the second.

"Take care of every one… okay?" Miaka asked again as she heard her friend call her name but could not look away from Taka for fear of never seeing him again. She watched as he nodded. Smiling to him she blinked and finally turned from him and looked to a framed picture across the room.

She smiled as tears began to finally slide down her face as she looked at the photo. It was an old photo, but she had taken care of it ever since she had made it with her friend's many years ago. The memories of her journey and the trials she and her friends faced just to summon the guardian beast Suzaku began to go through her head. How it began, how they all slowly started to become friends, how she had watched and stood by as they died, how there was nothing she could do as they died for her. She had never forgotten their sacrifices, all made for her sake, how they still called her their priestess even though she no longer was, not since she married Taka and started a family. Their lives were lived solely for her and her happiness, they died just so she could live in happiness and be safe.

Her mind then turned to the one with the hottest temper and biggest heart out of all of them, Tasuki. She smiled as she remembered the one who had always been there to help ever since she met him; even though she had caused many problems for him when they first met. He always looked out for her, made sure she was safe, and would throw himself out of the way should she ask it of him; one of her most loyal friends and warriors. Her heart beat with a warmth she did not quite know, she smiled though and knew somehow she was about to see Tasuki again, as well as all the others. Perhaps this time, they would all be born in the same world.

As she was becoming more and more lost in thought her breath hitched and she felt her chest burn with pain. Gripping it tight she knew it was near time and all she could do was look to the roof, but see the beautiful night sky that lay beyond.

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The night sky was as beautiful as it always is, as clean and crisp as ever, and the stars shinned bright in the night. The moon was almost as bright as the sun, casting beams of a soft glow to the world as though it was day again and there were many clouds in the sky to cut out the harshness of it. It was silent except for the small bugs out making their daily rounds of song to the night; the breeze just as calm as before, just as soothing.

It was at that moment he felt a pain in his chest and all he could do was open his mouth in a silent cry of pain and grip his chest. It soothed slightly before hitting again, though this time Tasuki was more then ready for it and only ground his teeth together. His eyes shut tightly; he wished he understood what was going on.

"Warrior…" a strong, soothing voice called in his head and he saw in his minds eye the phoenix form of Suzaku, "Do not be afraid." Was all he said before Tasuki felt himself engulfed in a warmth that he knew only Suzaku could give him.

"So it's finally time, huh?" Tasuki mumbled out with a smile. Finally he would get to see his friends again and visit Miaka; even if she wouldn't see him.

Closing his eyes the pain he felt disappeared and he felt himself fade into the red light of Suzaku.

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"M—Miaka…Miaka! MIAKA!" Taka's voice cut through the air as he saw Miaka's breathing hitch and watched as she closed her eyes and her breath stop.

The other woman in the room watched as her oldest friend died silently, her eyes large, she could not longer stand since her body suddenly felt numb and she fell to the floor in tears and sobbed. Her husband bent down to wrap his arm around her shaking form and only stared not believing what just happened. The other man in the room, Miaka's older brother, looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him and he fell down to the floor as well and his tears did the same. As they all cried Taka lifted Miaka's body and cradled her in his arm's as he trembled from disbelief, his head buried in her neck and hair as he took in her scent for the last time. He cried and screamed his sorrow that no one would be able to lift, he felt far emptier then he thought was possible.

As they all were consumed by their grief for Miaka it took them a moment to notice that, just like the priestess of Byakko before her, Miaka's spirit stood unmoving beside the bed as young as she had been when she had first gone into the book. When Taka finally noticed, he looked to her and smiled before he realized she could not see him; curious he looked to where she was looking to see if he could see what she saw; they all did.

Standing not that far away were the six of the Suzaku warriors, all as young as they had been when they all meet inside the Universe of the Four Gods book. All of them were smiling as if welcoming her back home and Miaka was smiling as she had done so long ago. She walked to the warriors and looked to them as they smiled to her before she turned back to Taka and the others. She did not speak, or motion anything, she only smiled as the warriors surrounded her and Tasuki and Nuriko both placed a hand on her shoulder. All of the warriors only looked to their priestess as Miaka only looked to Taka, or rather Tamahome. Her smile never left her face as a red light surrounded them and their forms slowly began to fade inside it; Taka knew that she was at peace, knew that she was not alone in death, and that he would definitely see them all again one day.

Though even knowing all of that, no one's tears were dried…

-----OWARI-----

A/N: wow… This story came out worse then I meant it too. I don't really know what happened that made it start out, "eh, this is okay," to "WTF happened!!!" I'm thinking I kinda rushed it because I wanted to do a Miaka, Tasuki pairing but it kinda came out with the angsty, I love you but I can't have you kind of story I do sometimes. (-sigh-) Just don't ask what happened because in all honesty I have no freaken clue. Well this is my first Mysterious Play/Fushigi Yugi fan fic so maybe it was just a fluke and the next one I make will be better then this one. I hope I didn't miss spell anything, and yes the names for the people were all the Western version's I know and the name for the places were in their original Chinese versions. Yes slightly confusing but I couldn't think of how to spell them in the western way so I just grabbed a few of my manga's and scoured through them to find the correct spelling of them so I at least know the places weren't misspelled. Anyway, I accept any kind reviews and any flame's that are sent my way… I just want the readers to know I am a HUGE Tasuki/Miaka pairing and that's what most if not all other fic's I do for this category will be; sorry but that is my personal taste and if you don't like it no one is forcing you to read my stories.

Thanks to KittyLynne pointing out some mistakes I have gone back through and hopefully fixed the issues. It still probably not the best and still has some mistakes but unfortunately I have fixed it up as much as I can and hope that there are no more problems. If there are you can tell me and point out the mistakes but I probably won't fix them in this story but it will help me in my next story. Thank you if you do :)

ANYWAY R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!