Disclaimer: Fushigi Yûgi belongs to Yuu Watase. I tried to buy Tasuki but
she said no. *starts crying* Anyways here's the next chapter. Enter Tasuki.
*Glomps Tasuki* Mine! All mine! Also sentences in ~ are either thoughts or
memories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~
Carrie sighed. ~I really wish Suki or Kyra were here.~ She looked up at the starry sky. Where was she supposed to sleep? How exactly did you revive a seishi? And why was she there in the first place? She'd never even heard about Suzaku and now she was his priestess? Everything happened too fast.
Feeling nothing better to do, and not letting the pressure build up, she screamed. All went quiet as she regained her composure. "I'm okay, really," she said to no one, "but how the hell am I supposed to revive people who are dead. It just ain't done back in the US. But then, who knows if there really is a United States? Who knows where the hell my sanity went, for that matter?"
"You aren't crazy."
An enormous phoenix hovered before her. "First unknown lands, now talking birds. Someone shoot me," Carrie said in response.
"You still remember China. That is real."
"And how do I know you're not a figment of my imagination?" She decided best not to add the Mr. Suzaku sir that she was about to.
"You revive them by finding items that are a representation of the person. I have brought you one to help get you started."
A gray fan hit the ground. She went to pick it up.
"A very big, very heavy fan? I wonder who could have been that hot."
"Don't bother picking it up. Just kneel before it."
She obeyed, feeling strangely like a child as he instructed her on what to do.
"Hold your hands, palms down, over the item or items. Wave them, keeping them flat. No, keep them level. That's better. Now, pretend that you're running them up a roof and come to a point. Bring your hands to your chest and lower your head. Repeat after me. Suzaku, I pray to you. Restore life to this human's soul and bring forth his much-needed power."
She closed her eyes, and started off barely above a whisper. "Suzaku, I pray to you." Then her voice raised in volume. "Restore life to this human's soul and bring forth his much-needed powers!"
The forcefulness in her voice was practiced from hours of repeating poems, practicing for spells. She threw forth what seemed to be most of her energy at the fan, and the phoenix shrieked. The gray fan glowed with a red aura, which raised off of the iron fan and became an entity all its own. It took form and disappeared, leaving a confused man in its place.
"Tasuki," Suzaku said, and the new guy looked at the phoenix. "Help this woman collect the rest of the Suzaku seishi together. She is the new Suzaku no Miko. Fare thee well."
With a great sweep of his magnificent wings, Suzaku was gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Where did you get this?" Miaka asked.
"I don't know, Kyra brought it with her. We tried to read it and."
"And what? Tell me!"
"Carrie disappeared."
A stony silence fell over the few of them in the already somewhat quiet plane.
"We didn't mean it to happen! I know Kyra would never-"
"I never said that," Miaka said softly. "I.I know what happened to your friend."
"You do? Where is she? When do we save her?"
"It's not that easy." Miaka stared at the book for a small while and looked up. "Your friend is in the book."
Suki was quiet for same time. "In the book?" Miaka nodded. "How?"
"I don't quite know. But the book keeps record of what she does. Open it and read."
"Hold on," Suki said and pulled out her cell. "Hey, is Kyra there? Okay. Kyra? I'm going to read the book, k? Oh, what page was I on? There, got it. Here we go."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
An irresistible force pushed her. She tried to stop, but there was nothing below her feet. She was rolling through a tunnel, it seemed. And in her mind a word went over and over.
~Houjun.~
Carrie awoke in a cold sweat, shooting up into a sitting position. What was that? It felt so real.
She shook it off. Just a nightmare. happens to everyone.
The sun peeked over the horizon in a breathtaking blaze. The clouds were pale, and the stars that had still shone at the far reaches of the sky disappeared.
Tasuki yawned and stretched. "Man, I'm starved," he commented and looked around. Carrie dug around in her knapsack. Uh-oh, we only have a loaf of bread and a small bit of dried meat left. She bit her lip worriedly, but then put on a cheerful expression.
"Here ya go. You might want to save it, though. Our supplies are running low." She handed the bread to Tasuki, who tore off a large chunk and stuffed the rest in his bag.
He finished his piece and looked at her. "Aren't you going to have any?"
"I'm not hungry." She picked up her stuff and began walking.
~She sure isn't Miaka~, Tasuki thought.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They had been traveling for days when they came to a place where the trees had been knocked down by an earthquake, some still barely clinging with their roots.
They walked through the still-thick woods until the trees stopped. But it wasn't really a clearing.
"A river," Carrie noted. "Well, I for one am tired of walking, and I think I see smoke on that side. Maybe it's a village."
"Probably just a hermit's cabin. We can rest and then go on by foot."
Carrie looked at Tasuki. He had said that way too fast. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all. But when did a little exercise hurt anybody?"
"Maybe when they haven't eaten in a while," she mumbled, and looked into the water.
A tunnel. An irresistible force.
It had been a river in her dream. Was it a bad omen? No, certainly not.
"Come on, it's not like we're going to swim it. Just. build a raft. We should be safe on that."
"Right," he said sarcastically, but helped her make it.
"So, how are we gonna guide this thing?" Tasuki asked. In response, Carrie found a tall sapling and knelt before it, mumbling her words and closing her eyes.
"What? What're you doing?"
"Tasuki, please be quiet." Quietly from her pocket she pulled a knife and cut it down with one stroke. "This is our navigation system."
"A twig."
"You'll see."
She carefully got on the raft. When he didn't come with her, she folded her arms.
"What now?"
"I'm not coming. I don't care if you're the Priestess of Suzaku."
Carrie shrugged. "Fine with me. We'll find you later."
Tasuki's eyes widened slightly. He had wanted her to go his way. He growled, but there was no way he was leaving her to herself. "Alright, I'm coming."
Carrie smirked. ~Who's the boss? That would be me.~
They sailed in silence for a bit, when Carrie spoke finally. "So, you helped the last Suzaku no Miko?"
"Hn, yeah, her name was Miaka. You don't look anything like her. Actually, not like anyone here. Where are you from?"
"A place far away from here. With wonders that you couldn't even comprehend, and buildings ten times the size of trees, some fifty. Where I lived once, a river carved out this huge canyon. Even about a hundredth of its height from the bottom could kill you easily." She pushed away from a rock. "And there's one place where you can touch four sta-er, divisions of the country at once. And there you will see all types of peoples: Africans, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs."
"I've never heard of such a place," Tasuki said. "But then."
"What?"
"Well, something about what Miaka said. She described tall structures lit up at night, but then she told us. that we were only story characters. We're all just part of a book."
He fell silent. "Do you truly believe that is all?"
"Huh?"
"If Miaka came from the outer world, then maybe you are all book characters. But humans don't just jump into a book at will. You must all be in part real if she would become one of you. Same with me."
The silence that followed allowed a rumbling roar to reach their ears. "Rapids," Carrie grumbled and pushed her sapling into a rock to try and push the raft to shore.
It broke.
"Oh, crap."
The white water was now visible, and the roar growing deafening. "What the- "
That's when Tasuki got knocked off of the raft.
"Tasuki!"
Without a second thought, Carrie leaped into the water. She was suddenly grabbed by fear.
~The river.oh no.~
She shook her head. ~No! Where's Tasuki?~
He was found clinging for dear life to a slippery rock. Once she almost reached him, he slipped.
Swimming as hard as she could to him, she managed to grab his ankle and pulled him up for air with her, making sure that she took the beating all the way down the river until it calmed.
She needed air, but that might mean pushing Tasuki under the surface. And she didn't know how good of a swimmer he was. Her grip loosened and her vision faded to black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's a pretty girl," the leader of a small group said, turning the still body of Carrie over. "Is she still alive?"
One of the men reached down. "She's still breathing, and she has a pulse."
"Good, she's mine."
"What shall we do with him?" another man asked.
"Leave him."
Tasuki stirred.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"And so the girl was captured, as was her single companion."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived at the airport and will soon be landing. Please make sure your belts are buckled. When we land, wait for me to give the OK for you to go. I hope you enjoyed your flight and have a nice day."
"Sorry Kyra, I have to go now. I know, and I kept my promise, didn't I? Yeah, talk to ya later." Beep.
"Um, Suki," Miaka said, "did you need a place to stay? We can discuss the book, and if you need a guide or translator."
"Really?" Suki asked. "Oh, thank you so much. With all that has happened, I forgot to make a reservation.are you sure it's okay?"
"I offered, didn't I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: I know, I know. You're probably wondering why Miaka is in here, right? Well, if she wasn't who else could we torture? Poor Suki. She's staying with Miaka. Any people who actually like Miaka don't flame me for my opinion that Miaka should die a slow and painful death, okay? Ja ne!
Carrie sighed. ~I really wish Suki or Kyra were here.~ She looked up at the starry sky. Where was she supposed to sleep? How exactly did you revive a seishi? And why was she there in the first place? She'd never even heard about Suzaku and now she was his priestess? Everything happened too fast.
Feeling nothing better to do, and not letting the pressure build up, she screamed. All went quiet as she regained her composure. "I'm okay, really," she said to no one, "but how the hell am I supposed to revive people who are dead. It just ain't done back in the US. But then, who knows if there really is a United States? Who knows where the hell my sanity went, for that matter?"
"You aren't crazy."
An enormous phoenix hovered before her. "First unknown lands, now talking birds. Someone shoot me," Carrie said in response.
"You still remember China. That is real."
"And how do I know you're not a figment of my imagination?" She decided best not to add the Mr. Suzaku sir that she was about to.
"You revive them by finding items that are a representation of the person. I have brought you one to help get you started."
A gray fan hit the ground. She went to pick it up.
"A very big, very heavy fan? I wonder who could have been that hot."
"Don't bother picking it up. Just kneel before it."
She obeyed, feeling strangely like a child as he instructed her on what to do.
"Hold your hands, palms down, over the item or items. Wave them, keeping them flat. No, keep them level. That's better. Now, pretend that you're running them up a roof and come to a point. Bring your hands to your chest and lower your head. Repeat after me. Suzaku, I pray to you. Restore life to this human's soul and bring forth his much-needed power."
She closed her eyes, and started off barely above a whisper. "Suzaku, I pray to you." Then her voice raised in volume. "Restore life to this human's soul and bring forth his much-needed powers!"
The forcefulness in her voice was practiced from hours of repeating poems, practicing for spells. She threw forth what seemed to be most of her energy at the fan, and the phoenix shrieked. The gray fan glowed with a red aura, which raised off of the iron fan and became an entity all its own. It took form and disappeared, leaving a confused man in its place.
"Tasuki," Suzaku said, and the new guy looked at the phoenix. "Help this woman collect the rest of the Suzaku seishi together. She is the new Suzaku no Miko. Fare thee well."
With a great sweep of his magnificent wings, Suzaku was gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Where did you get this?" Miaka asked.
"I don't know, Kyra brought it with her. We tried to read it and."
"And what? Tell me!"
"Carrie disappeared."
A stony silence fell over the few of them in the already somewhat quiet plane.
"We didn't mean it to happen! I know Kyra would never-"
"I never said that," Miaka said softly. "I.I know what happened to your friend."
"You do? Where is she? When do we save her?"
"It's not that easy." Miaka stared at the book for a small while and looked up. "Your friend is in the book."
Suki was quiet for same time. "In the book?" Miaka nodded. "How?"
"I don't quite know. But the book keeps record of what she does. Open it and read."
"Hold on," Suki said and pulled out her cell. "Hey, is Kyra there? Okay. Kyra? I'm going to read the book, k? Oh, what page was I on? There, got it. Here we go."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
An irresistible force pushed her. She tried to stop, but there was nothing below her feet. She was rolling through a tunnel, it seemed. And in her mind a word went over and over.
~Houjun.~
Carrie awoke in a cold sweat, shooting up into a sitting position. What was that? It felt so real.
She shook it off. Just a nightmare. happens to everyone.
The sun peeked over the horizon in a breathtaking blaze. The clouds were pale, and the stars that had still shone at the far reaches of the sky disappeared.
Tasuki yawned and stretched. "Man, I'm starved," he commented and looked around. Carrie dug around in her knapsack. Uh-oh, we only have a loaf of bread and a small bit of dried meat left. She bit her lip worriedly, but then put on a cheerful expression.
"Here ya go. You might want to save it, though. Our supplies are running low." She handed the bread to Tasuki, who tore off a large chunk and stuffed the rest in his bag.
He finished his piece and looked at her. "Aren't you going to have any?"
"I'm not hungry." She picked up her stuff and began walking.
~She sure isn't Miaka~, Tasuki thought.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They had been traveling for days when they came to a place where the trees had been knocked down by an earthquake, some still barely clinging with their roots.
They walked through the still-thick woods until the trees stopped. But it wasn't really a clearing.
"A river," Carrie noted. "Well, I for one am tired of walking, and I think I see smoke on that side. Maybe it's a village."
"Probably just a hermit's cabin. We can rest and then go on by foot."
Carrie looked at Tasuki. He had said that way too fast. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all. But when did a little exercise hurt anybody?"
"Maybe when they haven't eaten in a while," she mumbled, and looked into the water.
A tunnel. An irresistible force.
It had been a river in her dream. Was it a bad omen? No, certainly not.
"Come on, it's not like we're going to swim it. Just. build a raft. We should be safe on that."
"Right," he said sarcastically, but helped her make it.
"So, how are we gonna guide this thing?" Tasuki asked. In response, Carrie found a tall sapling and knelt before it, mumbling her words and closing her eyes.
"What? What're you doing?"
"Tasuki, please be quiet." Quietly from her pocket she pulled a knife and cut it down with one stroke. "This is our navigation system."
"A twig."
"You'll see."
She carefully got on the raft. When he didn't come with her, she folded her arms.
"What now?"
"I'm not coming. I don't care if you're the Priestess of Suzaku."
Carrie shrugged. "Fine with me. We'll find you later."
Tasuki's eyes widened slightly. He had wanted her to go his way. He growled, but there was no way he was leaving her to herself. "Alright, I'm coming."
Carrie smirked. ~Who's the boss? That would be me.~
They sailed in silence for a bit, when Carrie spoke finally. "So, you helped the last Suzaku no Miko?"
"Hn, yeah, her name was Miaka. You don't look anything like her. Actually, not like anyone here. Where are you from?"
"A place far away from here. With wonders that you couldn't even comprehend, and buildings ten times the size of trees, some fifty. Where I lived once, a river carved out this huge canyon. Even about a hundredth of its height from the bottom could kill you easily." She pushed away from a rock. "And there's one place where you can touch four sta-er, divisions of the country at once. And there you will see all types of peoples: Africans, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs."
"I've never heard of such a place," Tasuki said. "But then."
"What?"
"Well, something about what Miaka said. She described tall structures lit up at night, but then she told us. that we were only story characters. We're all just part of a book."
He fell silent. "Do you truly believe that is all?"
"Huh?"
"If Miaka came from the outer world, then maybe you are all book characters. But humans don't just jump into a book at will. You must all be in part real if she would become one of you. Same with me."
The silence that followed allowed a rumbling roar to reach their ears. "Rapids," Carrie grumbled and pushed her sapling into a rock to try and push the raft to shore.
It broke.
"Oh, crap."
The white water was now visible, and the roar growing deafening. "What the- "
That's when Tasuki got knocked off of the raft.
"Tasuki!"
Without a second thought, Carrie leaped into the water. She was suddenly grabbed by fear.
~The river.oh no.~
She shook her head. ~No! Where's Tasuki?~
He was found clinging for dear life to a slippery rock. Once she almost reached him, he slipped.
Swimming as hard as she could to him, she managed to grab his ankle and pulled him up for air with her, making sure that she took the beating all the way down the river until it calmed.
She needed air, but that might mean pushing Tasuki under the surface. And she didn't know how good of a swimmer he was. Her grip loosened and her vision faded to black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's a pretty girl," the leader of a small group said, turning the still body of Carrie over. "Is she still alive?"
One of the men reached down. "She's still breathing, and she has a pulse."
"Good, she's mine."
"What shall we do with him?" another man asked.
"Leave him."
Tasuki stirred.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"And so the girl was captured, as was her single companion."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived at the airport and will soon be landing. Please make sure your belts are buckled. When we land, wait for me to give the OK for you to go. I hope you enjoyed your flight and have a nice day."
"Sorry Kyra, I have to go now. I know, and I kept my promise, didn't I? Yeah, talk to ya later." Beep.
"Um, Suki," Miaka said, "did you need a place to stay? We can discuss the book, and if you need a guide or translator."
"Really?" Suki asked. "Oh, thank you so much. With all that has happened, I forgot to make a reservation.are you sure it's okay?"
"I offered, didn't I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: I know, I know. You're probably wondering why Miaka is in here, right? Well, if she wasn't who else could we torture? Poor Suki. She's staying with Miaka. Any people who actually like Miaka don't flame me for my opinion that Miaka should die a slow and painful death, okay? Ja ne!