Don't Mock The Moonlight
Authors Note: The name in this fic is in Chinese since I go after the manga and not the anime, none of the character belong to me but to Yû Watase, however Feng-Yue is the work of my imagination. Her name is Chinese and means temptress moon, Feng means temptress and Yue means moon (I think). This is before the first summoning of Suzaku so Amiboshi is still pretending to be Chiriko.
"Pigs, idiots, morons, lunatics, mother fucking swine," the agitated voice of the dishevelled girl was steadily rising as they left the village as though she was making sure they would hear every word she had to say, "I hate you, you male chauvinistic pigs, you just wait until I get my hands on you lot. Boss I'll shove that harisen of yours so far up your ass I'll be able to flame your brain and I'll rip out your heart and eat it for breakfast, Knei-Gong your scar faced sycophant next time I'll break your neck and then chop you up in pieces and feed you to the wolves and you Huan-Lang first I'll pluck all the hair off your body one by one and then I'll rip out your fangs and make a nice necklace for myself then I'll drag YOU after a horse all over the four countries."
More followed and they grow more colourful and more vicious and as they turned at a corner the voice silenced and only the sound of the forest surrounding them.
"What a language!" Knei-Gong said. "I've never heard anything like that before and certainly never from a girl."
"I hear that everyday from you," the boss said, "she must have picked it up over time, although I admit that some of those words I haven't even heard before."
"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her," Huan-Lang said, "she doesn't seem like the person to let this kind of thing slip."
"We know what she looks like if she tries to slip in to get revenge," Knei-Gong said with a smile.
"I'm not so sure about that," Huan-Lang said, "this whole thing doesn't add up."
"I agree," the Boss said, "it all went a little too easily. You two better be on your guard." They both nodded and they stayed quiet the rest of the way back to the lair.
Tasuki, Tamahome and Miaka were down in the city looking at all the goods in the market place.
"I'm hungry," Miaka suddenly said as they stood looking at jewels. Tasuki and Tamahome hid a mutual groan and looked around to see if they could find a food stand but they couldn't so they turned to Miaka who was fidgeting were she was standing.
"Lead the way, Miaka," Tamahome said and she hurried off and they followed.
They had just spotted a food stand when suddenly a smooth voice was heard:
"Oi, Huan-Lang!"
They all stopped but only Miaka and Tamahome turned.
"Huan-Lang, I'm talking to you, fang boy," the voice said and now they spotted the owner. A young female in a sunflower coloured kimono was standing in the middle of the street with her hands on her hips looking directly at Tasuki, her hair that was made in two plain braids had the same colour as the moonlight and her eyes were a velvety black.
"Tasuki, that girl seems to know you?" Miaka said and looked at him; she could see that his hand was twitching to draw the harisen.
"She ain't a girl she's a monster," he said and turned as he draw the harisen, "REKKA SHIN'EN!" Flames spewed out toward the woman and covered her completely. As the flames died out they saw ashes lying on the ground.
"Hasashiburi Tasuki-san," the girl's voice said and they turned around and saw her standing behind them.
"Not long enough," he said and she smiled. They were perplexed to see that she was no longer wearing the sunflower coloured kimono but a jacket and pants, like any normal peasant boy.
"Going to introduce us to your friend, Tasuki?" Tamahome asked and Tasuki forced his eyes from the girl in front of him and looked at him.
"Sure I'll introduce you," he said, "Feng-Yue this is Tamahome one of the Suzaku Shichi and Miaka Suzaku no Miko. Miaka, Tamahome the devil herself Feng-Yue."
"Huan-Lang you flatter me," she said and gave him a playful nudge and he put the harisen under her chin.
"Knock it off bakemono," he hissed and his pointed teeth were bared, "otherwise I'll turn you into a smouldering pile of cinder and this time I won't miss."
"I ain't afraid of your little flame thrower," she said and faced him with a calm expression, "I've gone through hell to find you. Pass on my regards to Knei-Gong next time you see him, seems like I accidentally broke his left clavicle."
"As the boss said you are a walking disaster," Tasuki said and sighed.
"It's getting late and I'm still hungry," Miaka said, "let's return to the palace."
"Please join us Feng-Yue," Tamahome said with a side glance at Tasuki.
"Love to," she said and Tasuki groaned.
"So, how did you two meet?" Hotohori asked as they sat down for supper.
"About six months after Tasuki had joined the bandits of Mt Ligé-San I managed to fake my way into their gang," she said and they looked surprised at her, "I wasn't that keen on sitting at home doing boring calligraphy while my father was looking for a suitable husband for me. After a few months they caught on to me and kicked me out of the gang, pretty embarrassing that a woman or more precisely a mere girl had managed to infiltrate their gang."
"The complete opposite of Nuriko in other words," Tamahome said and Nuriko gave him a fierce look.
"Care to repeat that Tama-chan?" he said and Tamahome laughed nervously.
"Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if I had known that my father was going to ask for my opinion in the matter but he never did and he would have surely chosen some fat old hentai," she said, "so I ran away."
"With your beauty you could have been chosen for the inner seraglio as an imperial consort," Hotohori said.
"Perhaps but I'm from Bei-Jia," she said and they all looked at her and she smiled and raised her glass to Miaka, "a toast to you Suzaku no Miko and lets hope you have more luck in summoning your God than ours Genbu no Miko had."
"What happened to her?" Miaka asked.
"According to legend she managed to gather the Genbu Shichi Seishi and summon the God," Feng-Yue said, "but even though she was a courageous girl she had not will power enough to successfully summon a God and apparently died."
"You mean the Miko dies when she summons her God?" Tamahome and Hotohori said in unison. "She can if she hasn't enough will power," Feng-Yue said, "Byakko no Miko on the other hand managed to summon her God and return home safe and sound."
"So the will power of the Miko will determined the outcome of the summoning, no da?" Chichiri said.
"The outcome will be the same regardless will power it's whether she will survive or not," Feng-Yue said, "but Miaka here looks like she can take on anything and survive I don't think she needs to worry about it."
"As I said," Tasuki said and looked at her, "the devil herself."
"Am I?" she said with a smile, "but I'm not the one with pointed teeth here."
"That does it," he said and threw himself over the table at her but she was up and out of her chair before Tasuki got a hold of her. Still, he was soon up and after her.
The others looked on in utter surprise as she managed to avoid Tasuki with ease despite his speed but as it dragged on they saw that she was not faster than he was, but she was more graceful and she could somehow predict his moves. However one fake move and he caught her and wrestled her to the ground and the rest of the seishi got up and disentangled Tasuki from her.
Sitting down again they awaited the servants to clean up after the fight and then as the food was brought in a more comfortable atmosphere had lowered itself over them.
"How did they find out you were a woman?" Nuriko asked. "Well, one late night when everyone had gotten drunk and passed out I sneaked out to go and bathe," she said, "I would never have realised that Knei-Gong was going to do the same."
"He walked in on you, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"First he didn't notice since he was pretty plastered," she said, "and I was hiding my body beneath the water and everything seemed to be fine until he decided to play a little prank on me and grabbed me around the waist and then he noticed that there was some things that didn't really fit into the man's anatomy. Next thing I knew, I was kicked out."
"As I recalled it you tried to drown Knei-Gong after he found out and some of the guys that weren't that drunk heard the noise and came hurrying to the rescue," Tasuki said, "and we didn't kick you out we just dragged you after our horses to the closest village and dumped you there."
"So who's the monster?" she said and looked at him.
Silence ruled the rest of the supper.
"You have interesting friends, no da," Chichiri said to Tasuki.
"She ain't my friend," he said, "she is a demon from my past."
"Pretty demon," Nuriko said.
"I hate women," Tasuki said.
"I just said she was pretty nothing else," Nuriko said.
"Where is she by the way?" Tamahome asked him.
"She's with Miaka," Nuriko answered, "the poor thing was upset about the story of Genbu no Miko and Feng-Yue went to try and calm her down."
"Wonder why she came back to see you after the treatment she went through when you kicked her out, no da?" Chichiri asked Tasuki.
"I don't know," he said and walked off.
They watched him leave.
"I would say Feng-Yue is in love with Tasuki," Nuriko said, "she looked at him with a strange, longing glance in her eyes during supper."
"Poor girl, na no da," Chichiri said and looked up at the moon. "Where is Chiriko, no da?"
"I'm here," he said and they saw him coming walking up the steps from the garden.
"Can you use that flute of yours to get Tasuki a little frustrated, no da?" he asked him and Chiriko looked confused at him.
"How do you mean?" he asked.
Tasuki sat on the banister with his back against a pillar looking out over the garden bathing in light of the new moon. He could hear the sound of Chiriko's flute and the music was a little eerie in the way that it seemed to set the blood in ones veins afire and it was making his body feel tight and uncomfortably warm.
Stepping out into the moonlit garden he decided to take a walk to try to calm down or cool off since the breeze was comfortably cool.
Walking around without an aim he suddenly heard a sound and looked through the bushes and saw someone bathing in a pond. He could see it was a girl with long hair that was floating in the water around her thighs. The woman's skin looked like white china and the hair was white in the moonlight, no the hair had the same colour as the moonlight. It was Feng-Yue.
"Konban wa, Tasuki," she said without turning, "I know ya are there so there is no reason for you to hide in the bushes like a little brat."
"You seem a little different," he said and stepped into view still she stood with her back against him.
"Most people are like onions," she said, "for each layer you peal off there is another beneath it and in the end when you reach the centre you find that it wasn't worth the effort or the tears."
"I was nearly expecting you to throw in a 'no da' at the end because you sounded almost like Chichiri for a moment," he said and she turned her head and looked at him with a little smile.
"We are all created by our environment," she said and turned fully. His first instinct was to turn away but he found that he couldn't move transfixed by her he could do nothing but look at her.
"Finding something to your liking?" she asked him and he narrowed his eyes.
"Release me yoma," he said and she stopped in front of him.
"I'm not a demon," she said, "and you seem to enjoy what you are seeing."
"I hate women," he said.
"Of course you do," she said and unbuttoned his shirt, "but I'm not your sisters or mother, I am a woman that can treat you the way a woman should treat a man."
"What are you..." she cut him off with a kiss.
"Just a girl," she said.
His breath came out as little gasps or moans as feather light kisses was placed over the column of his neck and small hands removed the last of his clothes, she sat up and looked at him with glazed eyes, she leaned forward and kissed him.
"You are more beautiful than I ever imagined," she whispered against his lips.
Slowly he lifted his hands to her shoulders and let them caress the velvet smooth skin of her back, down to her waist and up again to her shoulders.
"Why?" he asked her and she smiled down at him.
"Don't ask question when you don't want an answer," she said to him and she was right he didn't really want an answer. Without really knowing why he rolled them both over so he was laying over her and she looked up at him with surprise written in her dark eyes.
"Want you," he said to his great surprise and he bent down to kiss her with a force that surprised him, she kissed him back with equal fire.
She looked down on the sleeping form on the bed and smiled, in the soft glow from the candles shadows played over the muscular chest, she bent down and kissed him, a light brush of her lips against his. Taking a last look at the handsome face she brushed away a look of fiery hair that had fallen down over his eye.
"Sayonara Tasuki," she whispered, "wo ai ni."
Not bothering retrieving her clothes from the floor she walked out of his room and started toward the gate of the palace.
"Leaving so soon, Feng-Yue, no da?"
She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the voice belonging to the ever smiling, blue haired monk. Slowly she turned around and saw him standing there in courtyard without his mask, so he had been hiding a scar beneath it, she thought for a fraction of a second.
"Guess Tasuki was right you are a monster after all, no da," he said and pointed at her with his staff and she just smiled.
"So you saw the tattoo," she said, "many men has and they have all survived."
"It was not the tattoo, no da," he said. "That I saw when you came walking, no da. No it was your ki and speech pattern that was strange, no da?"
"Did you really think I would let you remember what I told you about Genbu no Miko," she said and laughed, "no, Chichiri, I would never let you remember that."
"Then why tell it, no da?"
"To let Tasuki think that I was still the demonic girl he met among the bandits," she said, "as for my ki being odd, well that was connected to the speech I had to let my ki manipulate you to forget it."
"Care to tell me what brought you to us, no da?" he asked her and she sighed.
"Why not," she said, "if nothing else it will amuse you."
They sat down in Chichiri's room he had leaned her his kesa so she was at least covered up.
"As I said I'm from Bei-Jia and I was born sixteen years before Genbu no Miko turned up," she began, "I was the youngest daughter of the emperor and also very wild. Early in life I was starting having dreams of young boy that played with wolves or was surrounded by feathers or fire."
"At first I dismissed them as dreams but when I started doing calligraphy I started drawing some characters more frequently then others, 'wing' and 'wolf' also 'fire' sometimes crept into it, when they asked me why I so often used those characters I said that I liked them. Then when Genbu no Miko arrived and started gathering her celestial warriors I was given the first clue to my strange dreams and that was when I first saw the mark appear on their bodies."
"The dreams became more frequent during the time the miko was there and ended when she went back to her on world, but I was still a princess and the law required of me to get married and so I had to oblige. But during the wedding I saw a vision of the boy now a man storming in and flaming fire all around, encouraged by the vision I knocked my husband out cold and fled the palace and country and started to roam the four countries looking for the man with wing written on his body."
"I was there when Byakko no Miko appeared and I were looking around her warriors but I didn't find him; they got a little irritated at me for poking around on their body's looking for their signs. By than I had already learned many ways of prolonging my life span some I only used when I absolutely had to and others I used when I needed."
"Now that you have found him you are going away, no da," he said and she nodded.
"I have to," she said and looked at him, "your future holds no place for me so I must leave, perhaps I will one day meet him again and maybe I won't."
"So now you are leaving, no da?"
"I'm leaving the city yes," she said and rose from her chair and went over to the door, on the way she let the kesa drop to the floor and she stood there naked, "now I can finally start living again, not just staying alive waiting for someone, I had hoped for a life with him but he has other obligations."
"So you are leaving for good, no da?"
"Yes, I'm leaving," she said and walked out of the room.
No one saw her leave the palace or the city, though she met some night owls no one saw her. Outside the city wall she broke down and cried for the first time in two hundred years, she had found the one she had looked for and lost him in one night.
The battle between Suzaku and Seiryu came to pass and both miko returned to their world. Suzaku no miko returned with her amnesiac warrior and together with the old team defeated the demon Tenku.
It was quiet a peaceful evening despite the full inn, since it was getting late many of the patron that had a little too much to drink had passed out or fallen asleep. Tasuki stretched out in his seat by the fireplace trying to get close as close to the fire as he could without falling off the seat.
"Tasuki-kun no da," Chichiri said and Tasuki turned and looked at him.
"Hai," he said.
"Should we press on tomorrow despite the blizzard or should we wait it out, no da?" he asked him and Tasuki took a look out the window into the dark night, the blizzard that had forced them in here did its beast to try and rip out the windowpane and he shuddered.
"We wait the blizzard out," he said and Chichiri clearly he had no desire either to get out in this weather.
Suddenly the door burst open and a little figure covered in fur and snow came in.
"Someone, please help," the voice was of a little boy - a scared little boy at that, "my mom is injured and needs help."
Tasuki and Chichiri was one their feet and rushed up to the boy.
"Take us to your mother," Tasuki said and they followed the boy out into the blizzard and about ten meters from the inn they saw another little figure sitting beside something lying on the ground. Chichiri took a quick look at the woman and looked up at Tasuki.
"We need to get her inside," he had to scream to be heard over in the storm, "I didn't know the extent of her wounds but it doesn't look good, no da."
Tasuki picked up the woman and carried her back to the inn and up to the room that they rented.
Tasuki was struggling with both kids in an attempt to get them out of their wet clothes as Chichiri examined the woman's wounds, but it seemed impossible since they were two and he one, they had him outnumbered from the start.
Finally surrendering he got up from the floor and over to Chichiri, he paled at the amount of blood there was on the woman clothing and the depth of her wounds.
"We were attacked by a mountain lion," the boy said as he was helping his sister out of her fur coat, "mom tried to fend it off but after it attacked her she had no other choice but to kill it."
"You were lucky you made it this far," Tasuki said before turning to Chichiri, "is she going to make it?"
"I doubt that," he said, "her wounds are deep and she has lost a lot of blood, no da."
"Can't you at least stitch her up," Tasuki said, "it would at least stop the bleeding."
"I doubt it would help, she has internal bleeding and I don't think it will help," he said, "but it would at lest be something, no da."
"I'll clean her wounds while you prepare your things," Tasuki said and soaked a cloth in water and set to clean her wounds when a slender hand took hold of his wrist.
"Keep your hands to yourself," the woman said and he thought her voice was familiar and took a better look at her face and got a shock.
"Feng-Yue," he said with an almost inaudible voice, her face and pale blond hair was covered in her own blood but her black eyes could not be mistaken even know with pain written all over her they were as radiant as ever.
"Tasuki," the name came hesitant over her lips as though she was unsure of it.
"Mom," the little girl ran over to the bed and climbed up in it sitting as close to her mother as she could, the boy followed suit and sat down by his sister.
"I thought you were dead," he said to her and she smiled.
"You wished I was dead," she said, "I left you and if I hadn't you would have been torn between me and Suzaku no Miko and I know where you loyalties lie, you may pretend not to care but I see right through you and always have."
"Whose children are they?" he asked almost afraid of the answer.
"Whose do you think?" she asked him instead of answering. "I don't hold you responsible for them."
"If you die," he said sitting down on the bed, "they will become my responsible."
"Who said I'm going to die?"
"You can't touch us and you would never harm your children, no da," Chichiri said and she began laughing but it ended in a cough.
"Chichiri take the children downstairs and let me talk to this red-haired baka," she said and the children followed him outside leaving them alone.
"So you are happy to see me," she said with a crooked smile.
"As happy as I would be to meet a viper," he said with a fanged grin.
"Good," she said, "now how about you stay with me and raise our children like a proper family."
"But you are dying," he said.
"I don't have to die if you do me a favour," she said with a secretive smile.
"And that favour would be?" he asked hesitantly.
"Share your life-force with me."
Chichiri sat down in the dining room and looked at the children as they played some children game in front of the fire. It was clear that the children were twins and they were a beautiful mixture between Tasuki and Feng-Yue they boy had inherited his fathers face and eye colour but he had his mothers hair, the girl looked like a exact replica of her mother but the hair was the same colour as Tasuki's and both kids had Tasuki's pointed teeth which was clear when they smiled, either of them seemed to have inherited their father's temperament, but it wouldn't matter if they had their mother's intelligence - not that Tasuki didn't have any he just never used it.
Suddenly the building began to shake and red light shone through the crack in the ceiling, the immense release of ki made him feel dizzy.
He looked at up at the kids and saw that they sat comely looking up at the ceiling, neither were moving, their faces completely void of emotions of any kind. The light disappeared and the girls face brightened in a smile.
"Mom is alright," she said and the boy nodded and they went back to their game and now Chichiri saw what they were doing, they were drawing runes, completely harmless but never the less it was magical runes.
Curious he took a look at them with help of his magic and saw that they had immense power another little gift from their mother no doubt. The sound off footsteps on the stairs made him turn around and he saw Tasuki and Feng-Yue come down the stairs, she looked even paler now then before but that could have something to do with the red spots on her cheeks, she was leaning heavily on Tasuki and even he looked tired.
"Sorry about the lightshow," she said as she sat down at the table, "but it's hard to do these things discreet."
"You know that this will only give you half a life, no da," he said and they both nodded.
"They will be grown up by the time we will die," Tasuki said, "it doesn't matter to me anyway I have something now."
"And my life is complete as well," Feng-Yue said, "all my dreams are fulfilled."
Chichiri nodded and they sat there watching the kids play, none of them noticed the fact that the wind had stopped howling and the pale light of the moon shown in through the window.