Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play
Chapter 14
Things are Never What They Seem
:Or:
Where are the girls in this danged place?
By:
Night~Mare
With a good ear for story ideas from:
Annikia Valentine
Dedicated to:
Charles M. Schulz T_T
---
Author's Note: I know. This is supposed to be a quote. I just wanted to say that I'm getting back on track. I mean this fic will actually have something to do with episode Five. Believe me!
Sad Note: As you all know…last Saturday February 12, 2000…Charles Schulz passed away from cancer. As a devout Snoopy, Linus and Charlie Brown fan I dedicate this fic to the creator of these wonderful characters. So…Mr. Schulz…this one's for you.
Looking up Always:
Night~Mare
---
Sharon looked at her hand. This was probably the worst hand she'd ever gotten. A seven, a king, a queen, an ace, and a five. A five. One card away from having a royal flush and she got a five. Joy. The others were poker faced, betraying nothing.
The question was…should she bluff? Or should she just fold and have done with it? She glanced at her dwindling pile of acorns. It would be wiser to fold, on the other hand it would be more fun to bluff, on the other hand she was almost out of acorns, on the other hand she might run into a streak of good luck, on the other hand where had all these hands come from? She shook her head out of that line of thought. It was getting slightly ridiculous.
"Do you want to throw out any cards or not?" Tamahome asked. Sharon looked up.
"I can still do that? Whew." She took the five out of her hand and put it in the discard pile. Tamahome gave her a new one. Sharon closed her eyes and crossed her fingers before looking at it. Please let it be a ten, she thought, please, please, pleeaase! She cautiously opened one eye and nearly laughed. A ten! She couldn't believe it! She actually had a ten. Things were starting to look up.
"Uh-oh," Ann said, "I think Sharon has a good hand." The sixteen-year-old frowned; she had kept her poker face…hadn't she?
"What makes you say that Anni?"
"The evil glint in your eye."
"How do you know it was evil?"
"One word Sharon. Monopoly."
"Hey…I was as surprised as you that I was able to build three hotels on the Boardwalk."
"Which is awfully strange considering you wouldn't buy anything for about ten turns after you brought the property."
"Yeah…well…I was just…saving…up. Yeah that's it. Don't you think I can save my money just as well as anyone else?"
"Sharon you can't even keep twenty dollars for more then a few hours."
"So what? It's not like you can either."
"What are you talking about?" Tamahome cut in.
"You don't want to know," Ann said. "Trust me."
"If you say so. Anyway it's your turn to bid."
"Oh it is?" Ann plopped an acorn into the growing pile. So far it only had three. Sharon grinned. She dropped in three more acorns. Hotohori matched her bid without raising any and Nuriko folded. Tamahome reluctantly put in three and called. He had two pair. Ann wrinkled her nose and spread out her cards on the ground. She had absolutely nothing. Sharon laid out her cards with deliberate slowness, soaking in the surprised looks from the other players.
"Since seven's are wild, that one's a jack. Hmmm. That would make it ten, jack, queen, king, ace…now what's that called? I forgot," Sharon said.
"That was sudden. I seemed to remember you saying it last hand," Ann said dryly.
"It must have slipped my mind."
"It's a flush Sharon and you danged well know…" Ann trailed off and her eyes widened at the cards Hotohori had laid down. Sharon looked closer and gaped. Ten, jack, queen, king and ace…no wilds…all spades.
"Is that good?" Hotohori asked innocently.
"It's…it's…a…yeah," Ann said.
"A straight royal flush…." Sharon said in the same awed tone Ann had used. "The rarest combination there is. How…just how often have you played this Hori-kun?" He smiled without revealing anything and collected his winnings.
"Oh. Once or twice."
"Are you sure?"
"Almost."
---
Sharon warmed herself by the campfire. The poker game had long since been abandoned for lack of light. She lied on her stomach before the fire and stared into the flames. So much had happened today.
What was it about this world that made Hotohori love her? Had it suddenly made her attractive? She didn't see a difference. She couldn't explain it…. She didn't know why she was so uncomfortable when he said he loved her. Of course no one had ever said that outside of family and friends. But shouldn't she love him back? Wasn't that how it was supposed to go? She didn't though. She knew she didn't. She didn't believe in love anyway. He was one of her best friends but that was it.
Sharon stood up, Ann had fallen asleep all ready…but the others were still awake. She moved away from the fire and sat near to where the horses were. It was cooler there. The fire had become to hot and her head was hurting slightly. The trees parted and she could see the stars. They dusted the sky and stretched back as far as she could see. There were millions of them; far more then she could ever see back home. Some stars were brighter then the others. She guessed they were constellations but couldn't make any sense out of them.
It was so beautiful here. She almost wished she could stay. Despite the danger, she found she really liked this world. There was a part of her that considered this home. Of course that was ridiculous. Ann was the one who belonged here, not her. She almost felt a little jealous of Ann's good luck. She couldn't let herself be jealous though. It wasn't Ann's fault.
"Hey," Tamahome said, breaking into her thoughts. Sharon watched him sit by her, then continued to study the stars. She could feel his eyes on her and wondered what he was staring at. Glancing back down at him, her eyes met his. The distant light from the campfire caught in the violet of his eyes and turned it into a dark purple that almost matched the sky overhead. She couldn't look away. She didn't want to. It made her feel warm inside. It was different from the aching heat in her head and different then anything she had felt with Hotohori.
She had felt it a few times before with Tamahome, but the moment was always snatched from her for one reason or another. Sharon realized she was still staring, blushed and looked away. Gah. What was she thinking? The feeling was nothing. Just…infatuation maybe.
"So," Sharon said. "Where's the crab. Do you know?"
"Do you see that cluster of stars right there?" He pointed and Sharon nodded. "They make up the tip of the claw."
"Cool. Tamahome?"
"Yeah?"
"You really like Ann don't you?"
He didn't say anything for a while.
"I do. She's nice and funny and cute." He laughed a little. "She kind of reminds me of Gyokuran."
"Gyokuran?"
"My oldest little sister…"
"Oh." Sharon smiled. It was nice to know that Tamahome had family.
"Why did you ask?"
"Just curious…that's all," she said, glad he couldn't see her blush. There was absolutely no reason for blushing. Her body, however, did not want to listen to common sense.
"Is that the only reason?" He stared at her as if he could see straight into her soul. She couldn't think for a few seconds. Her body acted against her will again and she started moving closer to him. She just couldn't stop herself. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
"What are you doing?" he asked softly. Sharon came back to herself her face grew hotter. Gah.
"No…nothing…really. Just…. You wouldn't happen to know where the sea snake is would you?"
"Uh. I'm not so sure."
"It's right over there." Sharon jumped when she heard Hotohori's voice right next to her ear. She looked down; he was sitting right beside her.
"Geez you're quiet. I didn't even hear you come up," Sharon said, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Someone should have," Hotohori said, reproach clear in his voice. Tamahome stiffened.
"So, where's the sea snake again?" Sharon said quickly.
"There. To the west. The brightest star marks its tail."
Sharon saw the star, but she couldn't follow the rest of the constellation. She was never any good at it.
"Can you see it?" he asked.
"Sorta."
He pointed to it. Sharon still wasn't sure. She opted not to look stupid and nodded dumbly.
"Oh yeah I see."
"No you don't." Hotohori took her hand and traced it across the sky. The image became clear. Sharon grinned. Tamahome stood up and walked away. She stared after him, annoyed. What was his problem? She shook her head. It didn't matter. He was Ann's anyway.
"That's neat. Can I have my hand back now?"
"Maybe," he said and kissed her fingers.
"Hori-kun..." Instead of letting go he twined his fingers with hers. Sharon sighed. That was much better. She sat for a long time with him; just watching the stars. She was getting uncomfortable. Her head was really hurting and now it was too cold.
"I think I'll go to bed now," she said getting up. He stood as well.
"Sweet dreams."
"Hori-kun? Can you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Well. I know you love me and all that. But…well…I'm really, really confused right now. 'Cause…well let's face it, junk like this doesn't happen to girls like me everyday. So could you please stop trying to…you know…kiss me? I'm just not ready for that…you know?"
"All right."
"Thanks."
---
Kourin looked around the camp. Everyone was asleep. The miko wasn't, surprisingly enough. She was sitting by the dying fire mumbling to herself and shivering. Kourin smiled to herself. Time to put her plan into action.
"You don't look well," the lady said. Sharon looked up at her. A suspicious frown twisted the miko's face.
"Yeah so?"
"I was just making an observation. You don't need to bite my head off," Kourin said, holding out her hands in a gesture of peace.
"Sorry. I don't feel good either. My head hurts. I probably got a cold again from falling in the water."
"There is a hot spring over there," Kourin said, gesturing vaguely over her shoulder. "It's said to cure any illness."
"Where is it?"
"There's a little path that leads to it. It's not that hard to find."
Sharon stood and scrutinized the seishi's face. Kourin stared innocently back at her. After a minute the miko reluctantly turned away and walked toward the path. Kourin couldn't hide her smile any longer.
"Nuriko?" The woman froze. "Don't tell the guys about this okay? I'll be back in an hour I guess." The Lady Kourin relaxed again.
"Of course."
---
Sharon stared at the bubbling pond. So Nuriko hadn't been lying. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Taking off her socks and shoes, she dipped her foot into the water. It was blessedly warm. She slipped behind a bush and began to take off her clothes.
Sharon nervously looked around before stepping out from behind the bush. The forest was dark all around her and peaceful. A wind came up and made goosebumps rise on her arms. It was freezing out here and the hot spring looked so inviting. Her eyes darted around once more. Still finding no one she slipped off her glasses and barreled into the pond. The water was almost a little to hot. But it still felt good. It was up to her waist now. She sighed and waded to the middle. The water came up almost to her chest. She ducked under it and when she resurfaced, the cold air shocked her.
Sharon hugged herself and shivered until she got used to the air. Then she began to twirl around, her hair swinging with her movement. The water splashed around her and seethed at being disturbed. Sharon giggled and slapped the water with her hands. She began a splash fight with an unseen enemy. The moon slowly rose above the trees and made the sprays of water into crystalline flashes of white.
She stopped when her arms grew tired. She laid back and let the water buoy her. The crescent moon outshone the stars. It didn't look any different from the moon back home. She sighed and closed her eyes. She could fall asleep out here. Something brushed against her and Sharon yelped. Water got in her mouth and she went under. She came back up sputtering and looked around for the thing that had touched her. It was a log. Sharon narrowed her eyes. She had been scared by a piece of wood. She pushed it under the water. It popped back up. She laughed and pushed it all the way to the pond's rocky bottom. She stepped back as it shot up and sprayed water everywhere. After a little shove to get it moving, she twirled around it like a ballerina. It was so fun to dance in the water.
---
Kourin had waited long enough. The miko was probably indecent by now. This was going to be fun to watch. Now to wake Tamahome. He had a pack to himself this time and was sprawled out and snoring. Kourin didn't want to wake anyone up. She grabbed Tamahome's foot and began dragging him away from the camp. She was careful to run him over every stone, stick, or other projecting, uncomfortable, item lying around. When she was far enough she let him go. Tamahome jumped to his feet, bruised and glaring.
"What did you do that for?" he growled.
"Sharon wanted to speak to you," Kourin said mildly. "She's waiting for you over by the pond."
"Couldn't you have woken me up the normal way to tell me that?"
"I could've." Kourin smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. He scowled and walked down the path toward the hot spring. Kourin chuckled and quietly trailed after him. If this didn't distract the slut from Hotohori…nothing would.
---
Tamahome rubbed the back of his head as he went. It was going to hurt come the morning. Why did Sharon want to see him anyway? One thing was for sure. He wasn't going because she'd asked him. He was going because…because…because he wanted to. He was curious. That was all. Nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't as if he loved her…
---
Sharon pirouetted once more around the log. Then she got in front of it and leaped a few times. The log floated faster as she stirred up the water.
"I am the diva," she murmured to herself. She tossed her hair back and kicked out her leg. Pain shot through her as her toe smashed into an underwater rock. A scream ripped out of her before she could stop herself. She made a crying sound and began hopping up and down on her good foot. Suddenly something came crashing through the forest. Her head jerked up. Someone was running toward her full speed. Without her glasses she couldn't see who it was. She screamed again.
"A snake! Duck Sharon!" Tamahome yelled. Snake? Where? Sharon didn't pause to look around. She recognized Tamahome's voice and ducked. He hit the water sending waves everywhere. When everything was calm, Sharon looked up and glanced fearfully around. The pond was flat and still. The only things rising from it were the little heat bubbles. Where was Tamahome?
"Maybe the snake ate him," Sharon said a little worried. "He's probably being digested right now." Just as she said that Tamahome burst out of the water.
"I'm not dead yet!" he snapped. She blinked and crept closer behind him. She peered at the thing over his shoulder.
"It's a log," he said.
"Well, duh, Tamahome. That's the blatantly obvious statement of the day. Do you always go around attacking hapless pieces of wood?" He whirled around and glared at her.
"I thought it was a snake."
Sharon had to laugh. His bangs were matted down on his forehead, hung into his eyes and generally gave him a sheep dog appearance.
"It's not funny!" he snapped.
"Yes it is. You should look into a mirror."
"So should you. You don't look that good ei…" He trailed off and eyes widened. Then they trailed down to her chest and his face darkened. It was then, Sharon remembered, she wasn't wearing a blessed thing.
"You pervert!" she screamed, smacking him across the face. Then she whirled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. Her face was on fire. Gahh. How embarrassing! He'd seen her totally naked!
"I…I didn't see anything…" Tamahome said in a slightly dazed voice. "Well…not much anyway."
"Shut up," she growled, lowering herself deeper into the water. This was a nightmare. "Why'd you come out here anyway Squash-boy?"
"Nuriko said you wanted to talk to me."
Sharon clenched her teeth. So that's what…oh that little…ooh…grr…grr…she was gonna…oh…grr.
"Why'd you scream anyway?" Tamahome said, interrupting her murderous thoughts.
"I stubbed my toe. It hurt okay?" she snapped defensively. "Haven't you ever stubbed your toe before?"
"Yeah but I don't scream like a baby."
"No, you scream like a girl."
"I didn't come out here for this."
"Then what did you come out here for?"
"I came out to apologize," he yelled. Sharon was stunned into silence. "I'm sorry I was so cold to you. No woman has ever said she loved me. All I care about is money." The water sloshed as he walked away. Soon he was on dry land. Sharon processed his words.
"Hey…hey…wait a minute. Who said I loved you? I never said that! I just said I didn't know if you loved me!" She could hear him running off.
"Come back here Tamahome! I ain't done talking to you yet!"
She turned around in the water without thinking. He was gone. She glared after him. Then her face changed and she blushed again. No wonder he left in such a hurry, she thought. He saw me…oh gah…now that he knows how disgusting I look he's probably off losing his dinner somewhere. Man my life sucks.
There was a thud nearby. Sharon looked up. Nuriko was sitting on the ground, leaves scattered around her and a pained look on her face. Sharon could only stare. What the-? Nuriko met her eyes calmly.
"I thought he would take advantage of you. Apparently Tamahome isn't so much a man as I thought." Nuriko said. The look on the seishi's face was pure challenge. Sharon wished she had something to bash the woman's head in with. She considered using the log, but she couldn't lift it well enough for it to be effective. Nuriko stood and brushed off her dress.
"Oh well. On to plan B," the woman said. Sharon suddenly got an idea.
"Oh thank you Nuriko!" Sharon squealed.
"Huh?" the lady said. Sharon rushed out of the water and smiled at the seishi.
"Now that I know Tamahome doesn't hate me…I can kill you!" She slapped Nuriko so hard her hand hurt. The seishi's head snapped to the side with the force of the blow. The woman put a hand to her reddening cheek and her dark eyes narrowed.
Sharon's world exploded into red and stars twirled before her eyes. She was down on her hands and knees, not really knowing how she fell. Her cheek was stinging as if a million bees had attacked her. When her vision cleared she touched her face gingerly. Oww. It was payback time. She jumped sharply to her feet and glared at Nuriko. The seishi smiled at her patronizingly and turned away. Without a word Sharon wrapped a hand around Nuriko's hair and savagely pulled. When the woman turned, she slapped her again.
Nuriko screamed and came at her, fingers twitching into claws. She slammed into the Sharon, nails flashing out. They fell, Sharon on the bottom with the heavier woman trying to claw at her face. Sharon grabbed at the woman's wrists, but Nuriko was too strong. Five streaks of pain slashed across the girl's cheek. She didn't have a chance against Nuriko. Not while she was under her. With an angry growl she threw her weight up against the woman. It worked and she suddenly had the upper hand. Wrapping her hand around the edge of Nuriko's dress, she jerked the woman up and glared.
"Look you stuck up witch! When are you going to get it through your thick head that I don't want to be your enemy?!"
"It's too late for that!" Nuriko snapped. She pushed Sharon off her and stood. "As long as you stand between Hotohori-sama and myself, we will always be enemies."
"It's not my fault that he thinks he's in love with me. Why can't you understand that?"
"The only reason he thinks he loves you is because you seduce him. You pretend to be little sweet and innocent miko…but I know better. You may be able to fool Tamahome, but you'll never fool me." Nuriko tossed her hair and turned to leave. Sharon scrambled to her feet and grabbed the back of Nuriko's dress.
"You aren't going anywhere until you listen to reason!"
"Let go of me!"
"No! Not until you understand dammit!"
Nuriko continued to walk forward until there was a quiet rip. She paused and tried to turn around. Sharon turned with her, keeping well away from Nuriko's claws.
"Let me go you stupid slut!"
"Not yet you stuck up prick!"
"If you don't stop insulting me like I'm a boy, I'm going to get very upset," Nuriko said. Her voice sounded on the verge of tears. Sharon loosened her grip a bit. She didn't want to make Nuriko cry.
"Sorry."
"Could you let me go now?" Nuriko asked softly. Sharon sighed and did so. Nuriko started for the bush that Sharon's clothes rested on.
"What are you doing?" Sharon asked.
"I'm going to see how you like ripped clothes!"
"Oh no you don't!" Sharon grabbed onto the back of Nuriko's dress again. She pulled back as hard as she could as Nuriko moved forward. There was a loud rip and suddenly Sharon found herself flying back. She landed hard on the ground. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was holding a bit piece of cloth. Nuriko whirled on her.
"Now look what you did!" the woman snapped. Sharon couldn't think of anything to say.
"Gah?" she managed after a while. Nuriko…was annoying, conniving, strong and beautiful. One thing however she was not…was female. Sharon blinked. This was certainly an interesting turn of events. Nuriko suddenly seemed to realize he was exposed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"This isn't what it looks like," Nuriko said.
"You're not a girl."
"Well, I'm a woman at heart. "
"You love Hotohori."
"He's beautiful…I'm beautiful…we'd make a perfect couple…don't you think?"
"Nuriko. You're not female. Hotohori wasn't a girl either. Can I ask you a question?" She paused…then yelled. "Where are all the females in this danged place?!"
"Ssh, you'll wake everyone up."
"Personally I think I'm still asleep."
"You're…you're not going to tell anybody are you?" Nuriko asked hopefully. Sharon pulled on her clothes and tied her shoes before answering.
"I won't say anything. If you want to tell them that's your decision. I'm not going to. It's not my place. "
"Thank you," he said relieved.
"But you have to do one thing. Stop. Don't ask what because you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I'm not asking you to be my friend, but I don't want you to be my enemy either."
"All right. Could you do me a favor though and get my spare dress from the larger pack?"
"Yeah sure." Before she left, she leaned against a tree and grinned at the purple haired man.
"You know what? I'm actually kind of glad this happened."
"Why?"
"It's not every day you get to play naked tug of war."
Nuriko stared at her for a second or two. Then smiled and finally started laughing. Sharon left back to the camp, smiling. She loved making people laugh.
---
He watched her go. Sharon was really kind of nice. It was funny, but he'd never really noticed before. Despite her short temper and immaturity, Sharon seemed like the kind of person he could trust. He picked at the hem of his dress. He definitely owed her one. By the way he had attacked her; she had every right to tell the others everything.
He didn't know if they would be friends instantly, but he did know they would be friends. He was determined to do at least that much and if nothing else, he would be her seishi. Nuriko stood and stared up at the stars. There was still a long road ahead of them, but right now, everything felt right.
---
The old one waved a hand, causing the image of the seishi to fade and go black. So…Konan had its miko. Not quite what they had expected, but then miko's never were. The miko had done well with changing her seishi's attitude. Still the old one couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this miko was quite ready for her responsibility.
---
Amanda rubbed her face. For some reason she hadn't felt anything. Even as she was reading about the fight and knowing she should have felt a little pain. She hadn't even gotten wet. She didn't understand. Before when Sharon was hurt, Amanda was too. Had things changed? Or maybe there was a connection that had somehow been severed.
The girl tried to puzzle the mystery out and failed. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. The kanji blurred. Amanda took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Translating was hard, especially without a dictionary. At least the pictures helped…a little. She poked her glasses back on and went back to reading.
---
Sharon was proud of herself. She had possibly diverted a very bad incident. When Hotohori had asked about her face Sharon had told him the truth. Her and Nuriko had had a fight but now they had reconciled their differences and everything was fine. Hotohori had wanted to 'talk' to Nuriko about it…but she had told him not to. She had explained that it wouldn't help her and Nuriko's situation at all and would have made it worse. He had agreed. The sixteen-year-old sat straight in the saddle and beamed. She had done something right for once. She smiled at her friend who grinned back and waved.
"Hey Ann," she called. "Duck!" Ann giggled.
"Cow!"
"Chicken!"
"Tama-homie!"
"What? Whap! Ow!" they said the last line in unison and erupted into a fit of giggles. Tamahome and Nuriko sweatdropped and Hotohori just shook his head.
"But anyway back to relative normality," Sharon said.
"Very relative."
"Well what did you expect? Anywho, wanna sing something Anni?"
"As in practice for choir? Sure."
"No. As in insanity singing, you know. A parody."
"Okay…" They sang a few songs, each weirder then the last. Oh prisoners, prisoners to the tune of Oh Baby, baby a parody of the Star Wars: Phantom Menace. Obi-wan…to the tune of the Sugar Plum Fairy music and I Want to Go Very Fast to the tune of the Pokemon theme song.
Sharon laughed again and Ann shook her head. The other's looked a little freaked out by the general insanity. Sharon had a feeling though that they were getting used to it. Then she got an idea. She grinned evilly at her friend.
"Oh man. Do you know what's so perfect for this place?"
"What?" Ann asked leaning forward eagerly. Not so eagerly however that she was in danger of sliding off the horse.
"The theme song of Fooshigee Loogee." Ann groaned and sweat dropped.
"Not this again."
"Seriously though! It fits perfectly. Now let's see, we have to change it a bit. Umm. What's that dude's name?"
"Tomoea?" Ann offered.
"No, no, no. As if I could forget him. No. That dude. The…uhh…the rooster dude."
"He's a phoenix," Tamahome muttered.
"Suzaku," Hotohori put in.
"Oh. Right. It can go… Soar high, Suzaku. Miracle la…"
"Sharon…" Ann said, "No."
"But…"
"No."
"Not even…"
"No."
"But I can…"
"No."
"It would be so…"
"No."
"Will you let me finish…"
"No."
"Are you…"
"Yes."
"No?"
"No."
"No." Sharon sighed, oh well. So much for that idea. She shrugged; it wasn't much of a loss. They rode on…and on…and on. The silence was becoming boring but Sharon couldn't think of anything to say. She looked at the reins. If only she knew how to ride. It might be fun. It was better then listening to the monotonous clip-clopping of the horses.
'One hoof up…the other hoof down.' Sharon grinned at the memory that preceded that thought.
---
The old one raised an eyebrow. The miko was stranger then even she had anticipated. Perhaps a bit too strange. The old one shook her head. She would have to test the girl to see if she was truly the Suzaku no Miko. She would wait until that night to cast the spell. With that decided the old one snorted. Rooster indeed.
---
Ann stared at the stars with her friend. The day had passed without incident and she was glad. Interesting times were fun…but when it got too interesting, things tended to wear on the brain. She hoped nothing else would happen between here and Mt. Tai…Tai…Tai…Peachez.
The thought of going home was a happy one. But like any silver lining, this one had a cloud. Someone would have to come back. Someone would have to take the position as the miko. They couldn't just leave the people of Konan stranded. Ann didn't think it was her place to be it either. Not that she wouldn't have accepted the responsibility if it were. It was just that she didn't think it was right.
Sharon had been the one chosen, not her. Though the girl was immature, insane and otherwise not suited for it, that didn't matter. She had been chosen. She was the Suzaku no Miko and nothing could change that. Somehow Ann needed to convince her best friend of this. Sharon was stubborn and it was always hard to convince her of anything. Ann had to try.
"I can't wait to go home. Can you?" Ann asked.
"Me either. When I get home the first thing I'm gonna do is warm up some cheese sticks and pop in a Fooshigee Loogee video."
"I guess I'll have to watch it too huh?"
"Of course. You'll grow to like it soon enough."
---
Tamahome watched the girls talking. The moon shone down on them and made her look beautiful…them look beautiful. He came closer to them, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. He just wanted to watch. He didn't intend to eavesdrop on their conversation but found himself listening in anyway.
---
"So…when are you planning on coming back?" Ann asked.
"To where? Here?"
"No. To Japan. Of course here."
"Oh I dunno. Sometime."
"Sometime as in when?"
"Hmmm. How about…never?"
"Sharon!" Ann snapped. Sharon blinked at Ann's tone of voice.
"What?"
"You have to come back."
"No I don't. Who says?"
"You are the Suzaku no Miko. You have to come back."
"Why can't you?"
"Because I'm not the miko."
"I won't come back," Sharon said. Ann stood up suddenly and glared at the girl. Sharon paled, this was the first time she'd actually seen Ann angry.
"Sharon don't you have any concept of the word responsibility?"
"Sure. Responsibility…noun…"
"I'm serious Sharon."
"So am I!" Sharon stood as well and glared at her friend back. She knew what was happening. Ann didn't want to come back so she was trying to convince Sharon to. Didn't Ann see that becoming the miko was obviously her destiny?
"No you're not!" Ann snapped.
"I am so!"
"You have to come back. You had to ever since you took us both here for the second time!"
"If we went home when I said to this wouldn't have happened!" Sharon snapped.
"And when was that?" Sharon blinked as Tamahome came up to them. He looked angry.
"What does it matter to you Squash-boy?"
"She was planning to go the day I came back," Ann said.
"Oh. So you were just going to leave. Is that it?"
"Yeah. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, of course there is and you know it," Ann said.
"Whose side are you on Ann?"
"You were just going to go home and never come back," Tamahome said.
"Yes. Thank you Mr. Obvious."
"With that attitude I'm definitely not on your side."
"What? Ann…what is your problem?"
"You. You need to start acting your age."
"You were going to leave my country without a miko and unprotected?"
"Oh please, Squash-boy. You never believed I was the miko anyway."
"That's not the point! When you thought you were the miko, you still didn't want to take responsibility."
"It's not mine to take."
"Yes, it is," Ann said.
"I knew you were a coward. I just didn't know how much of one until now," Tamahome said.
"What is that supposed to mean Squash-boy?"
"He means you're running away. You're leaving something undone because you're too scared to do it," Ann said.
"But I…"
"But I know that's not true," Ann said.
"Thank you. See Tamahome? She doesn't think I'm a coward. So there."
"You're doing it because you're to selfish to do anything else. Everything is about you, you, you. You want to go home. You don't want to be the miko. I can't believe your so self centered Sharon."
"You don't understand. It's not that…"
"Then what is it?"
"Everyone got along with you first Ann. I had to work at it and it's still uncertain. All the bad stuff has happened to me-"
"That's because you brought it on yourself. Don't you dare blame her!" Tamahome shouted.
"I'm not blaming her! I-"
"The reason no one can get along with you is that you're too impossible to get along with!"
Sharon turned away from them, the tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she blinked them away. They didn't understand…she couldn't make them understand. She couldn't stay here any longer. Sharon broke into a run and soon was enveloped in the fog that had suddenly and mysteriously enshrouded the woods…
***********
A red book flips open and the words at the top say…
Tomorrow's Episode: How Do You Say Goodbye?
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Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is a creation of Yuu Watase
All other characters are under my jurisdiction and cannot be used with my permish although why you'd WANT to use 'em I dunno but just in case.