Guys, I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in forever. To be honest I lost my muse for it, and it actually quite saddened me. Well, a couple weeks ago, I looked over the story again and was like 'I gotta write more.'

Suffice to say, I now have fifteen chapters written at this time and am almost finished with the sixteenth. I think after a while, I'm going to edit the first chapter and make it more appealing, but I'm leaving it the way it is for now, so be in the look out for that :)

SO THE CHARACTERS DID A THING TOO! They decided something while I was gone and who boy, that changes the direction of the entire story I was going for, but hey, it's an interesting development that is hinted at and will come in way later.

Like, near the end later.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter :D I don't own any original content by the creator, blah blah blah.

Another Side

Chapter 12

Reaching Out For You

"WHAT? THREE MONTHS?!" Hotohori nodded at Miaka, not at all surprised at the young girl's exclamation. He was glad she was here - even though her entrance was more than ungraceful, he was still grateful for the young priestess to arrive back at the palace. However, it was not the happiness of the occasion that was on the forefront of his mind. Miaka then looked worried, a thought just coming to her. "Wait, where's Igneous?"

Hotohori's frown deepened. "I'm afraid she's in a deep sleep at the moment. Here, let me show you." The Emperor led Miaka down some corridors, still speaking to her. "Ever since we have sent you home, Igneous has fallen into a deep sleep and has not awoken. She is fine, but we are afraid she will never awake." He opened a door engraved with the red peacock in soaring flight.

Igneous laid underneath a window shining light unto her, the silken sheets allowing her body to look soft and relaxed. Her red hair fanned around her, creating a red halo that Miaka thought appropriate for her friend. She was breathing shallowly, a small smile gracing her face. Miaka walked forward and sighed, worry painting her body darkly.

The young girl touched Igneous' hand lightly. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long, Igneous, but I didn't mean to make it so long." Miaka patted her hand and then nodded at Hotohori, feeling in her gut that Igneous would be just fine.

"Miaka, I am sorry to drop this on you, but as a Priestess of Suzaku, I must ask this favor of you." Miaka tilted tilted her head curiously. "Please, gather the rest of the constellations as soon as possible!

"Our neighboring country, Qu-Dong, has declared war on us." Miaka was shocked and now very scared - Yui could very much be caught in the crossfire, and Miaka did not want that of her blonde friend. "Every year, we send ambassadors with peace negotiations, but we have been accused of never sending them at all!" Hotohori sighed, the weight of governing a country showing in his slumped shoulders.

"Miaka, Hong-Nan is not a strong country. Please, gather the seven constellations quickly!" Miaka nodded, determination on her face, though in her heart, she worried incessantly over Yui and Igneous both.


"Let's see..." Miaka spoke to herself, marching through the palace looking for a very specific Suzaku constellation. "Yui could be caught hurt in all of this... I could use the power of Suzaku to fix everything and find her! I need to find Tamahome, and together we can -"

"Miaka!" Looking up, the young girl was met with the sight of a very familiar face. "I thought it was you."

"Nuriko, it is good to see you!" He smiled at the young girl, happy that she was back. Nuriko was silently hoping that having Miaka back would awaken Igneous - he had many questions for the redhead, especially about that ugly looking bruise he spotted back at Tai Yu-Jin's palace. "Oh, have you seen Tamahome?"

Hopeless is the word Nuriko would have used to describe Miaka and her love for Tamahome. Though, he wasn't sure if it was actually love, but it definitely seemed like it.

"Ah, he hasn't been here for a few days. He earned some money, and traveled home." Nuriko watched as Miaka's face fell and was suddenly glad that Igneous was not there to witness that expression. He likened the redhead to a very protective pet dog, one that could cuddle or kill you as it pleases. Very troubling image to have there.

"Come with me!" Nuriko didn't have much of a choice as Miaka pulled him along, determination now on her face once again. Once they reached Hotohori, Miaka explained her plan to the both of them. Sighing, Nuriko decided to change.

He would rather not be killed by an irate redhead for not being able to properly protect Miaka. She was scary enough as is.


It was silent in the palace once again, the counsel leaving Hotohori be for the moment. Sighing, he stepped into Igneous' room once again. He sat in the line chair next to her bed and watched her.

Yes, it was true that Hotohori had a crush on Miaka, but he still admired Igneous. He did not know her story, or what her life was actually like, but she was courageous, funny, and very protective of her friend.

And so, it worried him immensely that Igneous was lying in the bed, looking as if she was sleeping peacefully.

Laying a hand on her forehead, Hotohori checked her temperature. It was the same - not cold, not warm, just a normal feeling that meant she was still alive and very much well.

Her body twitched.

Hotohori froze, watching her body for more movement. Igneous would occasionally move, but it was usually only one movement and then nothing.

She twitched once again, and then again, spasms becoming more frequent.

Hotohori called for a medic, a relieved smile on his face.

Igneous' body bowed and then jumped to a sitting position, a gasp escaping her lips. Her eyes shot open, once blue eyes flickering to brown and back before settling on their normal color. One hand settled over her heart, her breath heavy.

The Emperor laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Please, Igneous, lay back and allow the doctor to check on you."

She blinked a couple times, then narrowed her eyes. "Hotohori?" He nodded, confused. She then relaxed and leaned into the pillows, lax but still very much awake. "It is good to see you."

"It is wonderful to see you awake, Igneous. We have been waiting for you to awaken for three months."

She blinked, shocked. Igneous did not fight the doctor as he checked her vitals, making sure she could move and function well.

"That's... wow, three months?!" Hotohori nodded, a smile painting his lips. "At least that's better than something like a year or something." Once she was allowed to, Igneous got up from the bed and stretched, bones popping allowing her to get the feeling back into her body. "So, where's Miaka? I assume she's around here somewhere, I heard her voice."

Hotohori's eyebrows shot up, but then smiled hesitantly. "She And Nuriko have gone off to search for Tamahome."

Igneous turned to Hotohori, a frown on her lips. "...Tell me what I've missed, please. I have a feeling we'll need to go after Miaka ourselves at some point."

"And why do you say that?"

A smirk. "That girl is a dunce and attracts trouble. Besides, I haven't seen her since she went home - I want to make sure she's alright."

That sounded about right to Hotohori.


"Hey, Miaka?"

Miaka looked to Nuriko, questioning. The darkness obscured her vision a bit, but she knew that Nuriko was still there, confidently guiding the horse towards Tamahome.

"What do you know of Igneous' home life?"

The young girl grew quiet, guilt eating at her from the inside. She dug her head into his back, thoughts swirling in her head.

Nuriko slowed the animal to a trot, looking back at the priestess questioningly. This was... a strange reaction from Miaka, and it made him cautious of what she did actually know of Igneous.

"We met four years ago." Miaka started, smiling softly at the memory. "I was... not feeling well that day, and Yui, our other best friend, went to go get a snack for the two of us. There were these girls that came by, talking and laughing about Igneous..."

~Flashback~

"My god, did you hear?" One girl wa surprised, leaning in close to her three other friends to hear what the first had to say. "We have a new transfer, and she was in that car crash last year!"

"No. Way!"

"Yeah, and there are rumors that she caused the car crash that killed her mother."

Miaka was shocked - that must have been so awful, and here were these girls just making fun of her, and talking about something they had no business knowing. It almost made her sick.

"Miaka, what's wrong?" Miaka turned to Yui, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Miaka, what happened, are you okay?!"

"We have to find her!"

Yui looked startled. "Who?"

Miaka dashed off, determined to find this girl and be her friend. She asked around, Yui apologizing after her and generally being disruptive, but she had her head in the right place.

They found Igneous eating lunch, ignoring the hecklers sitting several feet away from her. Miaka ran up to her, panting all the while, and ignoring that Igneous was wearing the male uniform instead of the female uniform required by all students to wear.

"Are you Igneous Kouruhachi?" Miaka asked in between huffs of breath.

"Who's asking?" Igneous' voice was cold, but not deadly, so Miaka held her hand out and smiled brightly.

"My name is Miaka Yuki! And this is my friend Yui!" Yui waved at Igneous. "And we want to be your friends!"

Igneous scoffed at that and continued to eat, glaring at the table as if it was the one who harmed her.

"...Um..."

"Look, Miaka, Yui." Igneous looked up at them again, and Miaka was hit with the impression that her eyes were very much the sky about to storm - angry and broiling, waiting for some type of release. "I'm sure you've heard everything there is to hear about me, and I'm sure that you're just here to make fun of me, so go ahead and get it over with and we can go on our way."

"Oh, no, that's not -"

"Whatever." And with that, Igneous grabbed her lunch and left, ignoring the gaping looks of both Yui and Miaka.

"They were making such rumors about Igneous?" Nuriko was shocked. Miaka nodded, a little bit of her own anger shining in her eyes. "Igneous does not seem the type to kill her own mother!"

"Because she wasn't. Once we got her to open up, Igneous told us that her mother died ina car accident because of a drunkard, not looking where they were going. Mrs. Kouruhachi's first instinct was to protect her only daughter, and died doing so." Miaka's eyes fluttered, remembering learning about that and finally convincing Igneous that it wasn't her fault.

She had believed that the accident was her ow fault for a whole year, probably because of her father." Miaka growled at the wording of 'father.'

This was what Nuriko was interested in, and encouraged Miaka to continue.

She actually hesitated in telling this. "Why do you ask, Nuriko?"

Nuriko sighed, slowing down the horse even further since the darkness was nearly overwhelming. "When we were at Tai Yu-Jun's palace, I saw a bruise on Igneous' shoulder in the shape of a hand. And… there was the remark that the fake you had made." Miaka's stomach churned, remembering that incident.

She remembered the utter shock and betrayal in Igneous' eyes, and the way it had easily turned to anger in that instance.

"…Her father hates her." Miaka's voice was quiet, and Nuriko thought that the forest had silenced itself just to hear her words. "He blames her for the accident, and beats her."

"How…" Nuriko swallowed his anger and sadness, his hands shaking as he forced himself to concentrate. "How do you know?"

"There was a week about a year ago where Igneous didn't go to school, didn't come out of the house, and didn't take any calls or texts. Yui and I went to go and try to get her out of the house. We were her only friends, and we didn't want her to become the closed off angry girl I found the first time I encountered her." Miaka wanted to cry. She and Yui never told Igneous about this incident, and she doubted that Igneous had any clue about it.

"We went by her house and heard screaming and yelling. There was a lot of crashing and thuds, and…" Miaka stopped herself here. "Yui was the one brave enough to peek over. She was the one who told me that her father was hitting her with a belt, bruises upon bruises on her back. I saw it myself, but couldn't do much more than that." Miaka ignored her tears.

Nuriko was trying to hold onto his anger.

"We later learned that she had been kidnapped earlier that week, trying to get some ransom money from her father. She escaped, fortunately, but she only came home to receive such hate."

It was true that Miaka was young and naïve, but she knew that there was hatred and awful people in the world. She still hated knowing that Igneous was going through such darkness, that she was thrown such a lot by the gods that she hated herself for a full year about something she couldn't control.

"That's all I know about her home life." Miaka's voice was low once again, and that was all she would say on the subject.

Nuriko was almost sorry to bring the subject up, but it gave him insight into Igneous and why she covered up so damn much. He had to talk to Igneous as soon as she awoke, and then Nuriko would make it damn clear to Igneous that he would not allow her to be harmed like that again, for he….

He what? He knew that he didn't love her or had a crush on her like Tamahome and Hotohori did (it still urked him, that last part) on Miaka, but Igneous was definitely precious to him.

Much like a daughter.

The silence was stifling the two, and so Nuriko brought up the one subject that would make Miaka happy – Tamahome.

"You know, you should have seen Tama-baby when you left. He's been completely out of it, just waiting for you to come back. I'm sure he would be ecstatic to see you, since he's stuck on only you." Nuriko couldn't stop the grin on his face saying that. 'Ecstatic' would definitely be one word for it.

The horse tripped, throwing Nuriko and Miaka from the back of the horse. He neighed and ran off, leaving the two to be left alone in the darkness.

"Oh no, where's my ribbon?" Nuriko squinted through the darkness, allowing the natural moonlight to adjust. He spotted Miaka just as she grasped her ribbon and a sword came down to stab her hand.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Miaka yelled, standing up defiantly.

"Who are you?!"

Nuriko immediately relaxed, recognizing Tamahome's voice. Sighing, he crossed his arms and watched as villagers came forward with torches, allowing Miaka and Tamahome to see each other for the first time in three months.

After whispering to each other, the two hugged each other, tightly and lovingly.

If that wasn't proof enough that they were crazy for each other, Nuriko thought, then he wouldn't know what would be.

He coughed, getting their attention. "You do realize you have an audience, correct?" After they separated, looking completely like tomatoes, Nuriko followed up with another question. "Who are these people?"

Tamahome grinned and turned towards the men who followed him. "This is Miaka, one of the Priestesses of Suzaku, and this guy is queer." Immediately, Nuriko hit the man, not enjoying being called by such a wrong word. "I mean, this is Nuriko, a fellow constellation."

He then turned to Miaka and winked. "You heard of Qu-Dong, right? There have been a lot of suspicious creeps popping up lately, and guard duty doesn't pay too badly."

Miaka was just glad that Tamahome was safe. That was one thing off her list, now she just needed Igneous to wake up and find the other constellations of Suzaku.

Then, the light of the torches went out, all at the same time. Both Nuriko and Tamahome went to protect Miaka, looking ready to attack anything in their way.

"Everyone, calm down!" Tamahome easily directed the villagers. "Someone go back to the village and grab more lights."

There was an indistinguishable noise behind the two males, and they turned to see Miaka disappear into the darkness.

Nuriko cursed, knowing that something more sinister was happening. Tamahome just freaked the fuck out, which Nuriko thought was actually kind of appropriate.


LONG CHAPTER IS LONG! Lord, I forgot how long these chapters could be, but it's nice and satisfying :)

So, I'll be skipping a lot of stuff that happens in the manga itself. This is because the manga focuses on Miaka and her journey, while my fanfiction focuses on Igneous and her journey. This is also how I will put in some story elements and character development, while also putting in what i thought should have happened in the manga. Knowing this, expect a few major changes BECAUSE THINGS THAT HAPPENED SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED! Bleh.

Also, my writing style DID change a bit. I tried to keep in the old writing style, but I think the way I'm going is pretty fantastic too :)

I MIGHT REPEAT MIGHT try to update once a week or every other week, just so you guys have somewhat of a schedule here for this fanfiction. I still have to update all the others (I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT I'M WORKING ON IT) but it's slow going because I don't have internet.

So I'm mooching wifi and data to update this on my computer and on my phone when I get the chance.

Anyways, REVIEW REPLIES:

Lady of the Spirit: Aw, thank you :) I needed to find a way to make Igneous not OP, because that wasn't what I was going for with this character. On the plus side, it allows her a connection that's more direct than Miaka gets, which can hinder and help her... Also, with the Mom? BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THAT BECAUSE THAT BECOMES SUPER IMPORTANT I PROMISE!

Kittycat0521: Thank you and here you go :)

Himeno Kazehito: Yep :D There might be more, there might not, but I'm trying to develop something thanks to what the story has now gone in. it's hinted at in the last chapter ;)

Guest 1 and Guest 2: Thank you and here you go :D

I'm hoping to see more soon! Review if you can :D

~Tiryn~