Disclaimer: Don't own FY...
AN: ah...this WAS going to be short, till I got a burst of inspiration(and switched it fro Romance/Drama to Romance/Angst)
Midnight Cruise
Chapter 1: Bittersweet Revenge
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" She growled, slamming her fists into the table.
"P-perhaps you misunderstood what you saw?" Chichiri said, waving for her to calm down.
A year after their final adventures in the 'book', Chichiri had appeared--a member of an acting troup that had been travelling through Japan. He had all his memories from the start, and said that Tai Yi Jin had told him as a reward fr all they had done for both worlds, and their great bond, Suzaku had allowed all the Suzaku warriors to be reborn in modern times. Though Chichiri had not lost his eyeas a child, he still often wore a mask very similar to what he had in the book, as part of his job.
The only other Warrior they'd met other than Chichiri yet was Hotohori--now a very successful executive, and presedent of some American company...Microsoft or something. Chichiri claimed he'd met Tasuki as head of a biker gang in China, and Hotohori was certain a doctor working in Africa was Mitsukake.
There were rumors of a child progedy in England, but no one had even a hint of where Nuriko was...though Miaka would place good money on the large crowd of women that chased Hotohori around the globe--the problem was, no one knew if he'd been reborn as a girl, or if he'd even bothered crossdressing otherwise.
Though Hotohori lived in the state of Washington, in America, he often visited Japan. Miaka often ended up going to Chichiri for advice, since he lived only a few blocks from her house.
"Chichiri...I saw the kiss!" she said, crossing her arms, and sitting down. "That was no 'dinner date', that was an 'evening date'!"
"Such subtle definition, no da." No one knew how he'd picked up that quirk again...
"Oh, what am I supposed to do? My fiancee is cheating on me with my best friend!"
"Maybe it was a one time thing?" He suggested, "You know Taka can't hold his wine, no da."
"No...he's been sneaking off for weeks!" She sobbed, "And no, there's absolutely nothing even remotely special coming up! I've triple checked every calandar!"
"Well..." He said, worried she might start to get hysterical. "If he truly is cheating on you with your best friend, perhaps you should do the same, no da?"
"Go out with Keisuke?" she said, utterly confused. "I don't even know how 'far' they've gotten..."
"Er...let me rephrase that..." He said, sweating. "First, we should only use what is verifiable--one date and a kiss...now...if Taka went out with the person that had been your rival in love--should you not return the favor, no da?"
Rival in love...? AH!
"You mean date Hotohori?"
"Better wording would be 'go on a date with', but yes, no da."
"I don't know...it sounds good, but..." She said, sighing, "Could I really just use Hotohori like that?"
"Use?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "He is coming here Saturday, and you wanted to visit him anyway...why not go out for dinner as well, no da?"
"Oh...I guess...but..." she mumbled, "Wouldn't it be pointless if Taka didn't see it?"
"Leave that to me, no da!"
VVVVVVV
She was so nervous she felt certain the chattering of her teeth could be heard in Rong-Yang.
Stop it! Like Chichiri said, this is no different from all the times I've went out with him before!
Except this time you plan to kiss him, don't you? A voice taunted from the back of her mind.
"Miaka? What's wrong?"
She jumped nearly a foot in the air, and turned toward the voice. Hotohori stood aways down the sidewalk from her, dressed in his work-tuxm and a brown trench coat.
She had been standing outside his condominium building, working up the courage to buzz his room. Apparently he had not been home yet.
"Um..I...I'm just co-" she said quickly, but before she could finish, a leather trench coat was around her shoulders.
"You should dress more warmly." He chastised lightly.
"S...sorry.." She said, grinning sheepishly at him
"So..." He said with a warm smile, "Where would you like to go?"
"Oh, anywhere is fine!"
Chichiri had decided the best way was for him to establish a mental link with her, and where ever they decided to go, Chichiri would devise a plan to get Taka to go there as well, and if it seemed Taka was unfazed by their chatter, Chichiri would give the mental signal--whatever that was--and Miaka would give Hotohori a quick kiss...of course, if that didn't bother him, whoknew? Miaka might have to resort to violence.
"Ironic as it sounds...I haven't had Chinese in a lifetime..." Hotohori said, rubbing his chin. "Do you know any good Chinese restaurants around here?"
"Hm...Chinese..." She couldn't help the frown that appeared on her face.
"Are there none...?"
"No, it's not that...I was just kind of hungry for American."
"Oh. Well, of course I can get Chinese anytime." He said, shrugging. Despite the fact that he tried to hide it, Miaka couldn't help noticing his disappointment.
"No way!" She gasped, "I don't wanna miss your first taste of Chinese!"
He gave her a funny smile. "Whatever you say, Miaka."
"How about Tin Tin Buffet?" She said, "It serves both Chinese and American food!"
"Sounds perfect."
"Great! Let's go!" Miaka chirped, grabbing his hand and skipping toward the car.
VVVVVVV
Chichiri frowned, the first part of the plan had begun...the couple was headed for a Chinese-American restaurant, the second part would likely prove more difficult...
Alright...Tamahome's never been one for subtlety, so...
"Hey, Tamahome...are you hungry for Chinese...or American? No da?"
"Eh?"
VVVVVVV
He smiled down at her as she scarfed down her food, making a pitiful attempt at manners.
"You know...I really do like it here."
"Why?" She asked, swallowing a pork chop whole.
"Here in Japan...everyone here so ignores my company that noone follows me around and harassas me."
"Huh? Why would owning a company be that bothersome?" She asked. "Not like you're a celebrity!"
"Miaka...don't you realize what owning Microsoft means?"
"Um...a nice house?"
He laughed heartily, "That's what I mean!"
"Huh?"
He only smiled as he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with chopsticks.
"So...is it as good as you remember?"
"Hardly!" He said, making a face, "But...it is true that I have only eaten the work of royal cooks before."
"Except when you went out with me those few times..."
"Ah...yes...you are correct."
"Good times, eh?"
"Indeed."
"Speaking of that..." She said with a smirk."How do you deal with not being Emperor anymore?"
He gave her a mischevious smirk. "You still don't know, do you?"
"Come on, tell me!" She huffed.
"Alright..." he said, leaning forward as if to reveal a dark secret.
Eagerly, Miaka leaned close to hear, but to her surprise, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before leaning back in his chair, and saying with a childish smile, "I don't want to."
"Hotohori!" She frowned. "You are so not fair!"
He shrugged, "Well, you did lean forward..but how was I supposed to know you were already so infatuated--"
"Hotohori!" She snapped, slapping his wrist. "That ego of yours is going to get you into big trouble!"
"Yes...so my advisors tell me."
"You mean 'told'."
"Oh, right...'consultants'." He said, rolling his eyes. "Two words, same level of incompitence."
"He's becoming a real pain...no da."
Why...is he jealous?
"No...he's trying to steal all the tips. No da."
Miaka glared at her food in disgust. I hate you, Taka!
"I'm sorry, Miaka...I did not mean to offend you..." Hotohori said, catching her glare.
"Ah! No...it's just I think I ate a bad grape."
"Oh..." he sighed,"Are you alright?"
"Yeah...but come on, let's go home..."
"A-Alright..." He said, somewhat taken aback by her lack of apitite as he wrote the check.
I'll make you jealous, Taka! You just wait!
The little voice in her mind burst into tears at the thought.
VVVVVVV
"I'll kill him!" Taka growled, fighting to get past Chichiri.
"C-calm down! No da!" he insisted, "They aren't doing anything!"
"You saw that sneaky kiss! And he's flirting with her!"
"Come on, His Majesty won't steal Miaka from you, no da!"
"Maybe not 'His Majesty', but he's not him anymore! He's Mister Shu Gates! Richest man in the whole freakin' world!"
"Money has nothing to do with it!" Chichiri snapped, "Now sit and eat, no da!"
"L-look! They're leaving! We need to follow!"
"And spy on His Majesty?"
"We're not spying on an emperor, we're spying on a rich guy's illicit affairs! That's perfectly acceptable!"
"For the paparazzi! No da!"
"Bring a camera!"
VVVVVVV
"I've got him to follow, don't worry, no da."
Where?
"Taxi behind you, no da."
Is he watching?
"...More or less?"
Good then...I'll give him something to watch!
"You're not actually..."
And I'm going to enjoy it, too!
"Hotohori?" She purred, looking up at him.
"Ah, yes?"
"Thanks for tonight."
"Oh, that was--" He started, but she cut him off by planting an overly-showy kiss on his lips and holding it there. His eyes widened in surprise, then to her shock he leaned forward and deepened the kiss, pressing her against the door of the limo and ravashing her mouth.
What seemed an eternity later, he broke the kiss, and looked at her with a desperate hope glimmering in his eyes.
"You...din't do that...last time!" She gasped, breathless.
"Amazing what one can learn in America."
"Wait.." she said, a sneaking suspicion coming over her, " That... wasn't your..."
"Of course not!" He said with a sporting smile, "I live in America after all! Why should I give you both my first kisses?"
She rolled her eyes, and leaned on her shoulder.
So...is he jealous?
"...Oh...somewhat..."
There was an odd tone in his voice, and that tiny voice in her mind was sobbing miserably.
"But...if it means anything to you..." He said quietly, somewhat sadly. "I did give you my last kiss as well..."
"What!" She gasped, " But...how?"
He shrugged. "Unlike America, Hong-Nan's rituals didn't require one to kiss."
"Why...?"
He just smiled ather, and held her tight.
Perhaps it was because her voice was wailing and mourning, or perhaps it was because she realized he must've given her his only kisses, but she found herself crying softly in shame.
AN: As you can see, I use Manga words...Hong Nan is Konan fer most've ya, Rong-Yang is the Capital city, and in the manga, Hotohori's real name is Shu Xing.
I don't know if it actually shows him kissing Feng Qi(Houki) in the Hotohori Novel thingy, butA: I haven'tread it, B: I don't want my mind poisoned with such things if it did ;p and C: this IS an AU fic!