To Meet Again

Part 22:

Reassurances

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Knote: This chapter is written with a big thanks to Chibi Kaz! *bows*

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            It was hard to believe that just last month, she had been despairing that she'd ever meet the others again. But Taka had been right. They would meet…and they had! First seeing Hotohori on television, then meeting Chiriko and now… Miaka smiled at the violet haired man that was stretched out on the other bed. Hikari was curled up next to him. The boy who was usually so shy around strangers seemed to consider Nuriko family. Of course, Nuriko was family in a way. He'd always been like an older sister to her.  Nuriko met her eyes and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back. Everything was the same about him. It was as if nothing had changed.

            "Have you met any others? Do they remember? How much do you remember? It's so good to see you again!" she said, excited but pitching her voice low. It was late and if Hikari woke up now he'd never go back to sleep. Nuriko shrugged a little.

            "I think I have met others, I don't know. What am I supposed to remember?" he said. Taka's arm slipped comfortingly around her shoulder. Miaka stared at the violet haired man. Nuriko…didn't remember? No…no it couldn't be true! He must be teasing! She laughed softly.

            "You can't fool me Nuriko. You have to remember. You knew who we were. You weren't even surprised to see us."

            "Miaka…" Taka said softly. The familiar warning was in his voice…telling her that she shouldn't have asked because it would hurt to know the answer. But it wouldn't hurt. It was fine. Nuriko was just joking! He had to be. But there wasn't a sparkle of humor in his eyes.

            "My heart knew who you were and I always make a point to follow my heart cherie.  I know that we met in the past but as for what happened then…" he trailed off and shrugged. Her heart lurched. If he couldn't remember what had happened, then he didn't know what he'd been to her. Suddenly, Nuriko seemed like a stranger. His face which had always been so soft and feminine was angular with high cheek bones. The way he was lying was casual, and before, no matter what he was doing, it was always ladylike. This wasn't right! She clenched her hand into a fist. No. This couldn't be. She had to make him remember!

            "You were a seishi. One of the seven who protected me, don't you remember? Don't you remember how you dressed up as a woman to make Hotohori fall in love with you? Don't you remember telling us about  Kourin? Don't you remember Mount Black…" Taka squeezed her shoulder gently. She twisted her head up to look at him. He shook his head once and she realized she'd almost said too much. Nuriko didn't need to be reminded of Mount Black.

            "What you say sounds familiar…but…strange," Nuriko said, drawing her attention back to him. "I know that I have dreamed of them…but everything's dark."

            "I see…" Miaka said, lowering her eyes. It would do no good. Suddenly a thought struck her. She looked back up at Taka again.

            "Do you think that he had memory stones too?" she asked hopefully. She wouldn't mind having to go on another quest as long as it would make Nuriko, Nuriko again. Taka pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head and with a sinking stomach, she knew his answer before he even spoke it.

            "Iie. I don't."

            "I wish there were," she whispered. The other bed squeaked a little as Nuriko got off it. Miaka watched him sadly as he knelt beside her bed and took her hand in both of his. He gently kissed her fingers. Another thing Nuriko had never done…and she could never picture Nuriko doing.

            "Miaka, belle, people change," he said in his thick, French, unNurikoish accent. "We can't stay the same from one life to the next…because every life is different. But don't worry, even if we change, we'll always love you…and remember you. You are part of me…and all of us."

"But everything will be different."

"Oui. I don't doubt that it will. But…if you had a choice…who would choose? Taka? Or Tamahome?"

"Taka is Tamahome," she said with a frown.

"Isn't he different?"

"Hai…but he's the same too."

"And I'm Nick…and also Nuriko. Different…but the same. Just because things change doesn't mean we're going to be any less happy then we were before. We might even find greater bliss.  So don't worry, cherie. No matter if I remember or not, I will always love you." Tears stung her eyes. With a happy sob, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her close, stroking her hair.

"You're an emotional twit, you know that?" he said. The teasing of his voice was so familiar it only made her cry harder.

"I think it's mostly the pregnancy," Taka said. "Every minute is a new mood swing."

"That's not true!" she said, half laughing, half crying.  Nuriko pulled away a little and looked into her face. He brushed away her tears with his thumb and smiled, but there was concern in his eyes.

"Miaka. I have to warn you. I have always believed that things happened in the Past. I have always believed that I'd meet everyone again. As I said, I follow my heart wherever it leads. But the others will not be so easy to convince. Some of them might even become scared. No matter what the reaction…remember that nothing has ever kept us apart before. Not even death."

"Hai," Miaka said, nodding and sniffling. Then she smiled at him and opened her mouth to tell him just how much she'd missed him. She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Nuriko picked her up and plopped her unceremoniously on Taka's lap. She shrieked in indignation and her husband groaned.

"Oof. Elephant woman," he said. Miaka narrowed her eyes and paid him back for that insult by making herself comfortable and scooting her heavy rear right on his stomach.

"Mercy! Mercy!" he wheezed, waving his hands desperately. She cheerfully ignored him. Nick laughed and opened the door. Miaka's breath caught as she saw who stood there. A young man, tall and thin with immaculately combed chestnut hair. There was a bit of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Despite the changes, the sea-green eyes still held the shy wisdom of Chiriko.

"Duncan, what are you doing here?"

"The study session is over and I thought I'd drop by," he said, never taking his eyes from Miaka's. The miko squealed and clambered off Taka, accidentally elbowing him in the throat. She threw herself at Chiriko, surprised to find them both on the floor a second later. Nuriko hadn't fallen.

"Um…hi?" he wheezed.

"I'm so glad to see you Chirikoooo!" she squealed, ignoring the fact that half of them was outside and it was cold. His eyes widened.

"Miaka? Is that you?"
            "Haiiiii!" She wrapped her arms around his neck again, squeezing as hard as she could. Hands wrapped around her and easily lifted her from her target.

"Nurikooo! Let go! I want to say hiii!" she said, struggling.

"Miaka…cherie…he's unconscious," Nuriko said. She could hear the sweatdrop in his voice. She looked down, noticed the seishi's swirling eyes and sweatdropped herself. Oops. Maybe she'd hugged him a bit too hard.

A few minutes later, they were all inside and conscious. Chiriko and Taka were sitting on the bed nearest the door and she sat next to Nuriko on the other bed.  Even…unfortunately, Hikari. He sat on his new favorite's lap and stared at Chiriko, sucking his pacifier gently. Chiriko smiled and sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his head.

"I didn't expect to see you here Miaka-chan. I didn't know you knew Nick."

"We're old friends," Nuriko said with a wink. Hikari began to struggle in Nuriko's lap.

"Shita ni!" he said around his pacifier. "Shita ni Oji!"  Miaka laughed.

"He says he wants down, uncle," she said.  Nuriko stared at her.

"Uncle? He thinks I'm an uncle?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Hai," Miaka said with a nod. Nuriko's eyes seemed to glow. He let the boy down. Hikari smiled up his thanks, glanced at Miaka, then toddled over to Chiriko. The little boy stared up at the older boy with big, curious eyes.

"Konbanwa Hikari-kun," Chiriko said, a fond smile lifting his face. "Namae Duncan."

"Iie!" Hikari said, stomping his foot.

"Hai," Chiriko said with a patient nod. "Dunhill Duncan."

"Iie! Anata wa Kincho-oji!" the little boy insisted. Miaka stared at her child, then looked at Taka. His eyes were just as wide. Chiriko laughed a little.

"Uncle Stretch?"

"Hai! Kincho-oji," Hikari said, pointing at Chiriko. "Yanagi-oji," he said, pointing at Nuriko.

"Well Nick, you've been dubbed Uncle Willow," Chiriko said. Nuriko laughed.

"Merci! I think. How would you say it in Japanese?" he asked. Miaka tried to say it but the words wouldn't come out. Surprise had tightened her throat. How had Hikari known what their symbols were?

"Arigatou," Taka said.

"Aligatoe Hikari," Nick said. Hikari giggled, ran to Nuriko and glomped his leg.  Miaka watched Chiriko's smile and wondered how much he remembered.

"Chiriko…"

"Hmm?" the twenty-year-old asked looking at her.

"Do you remember who you were in a past life?"  His eyebrows rose and a skeptical look crossed over his face.

"I don't believe in reincarnation. When we die. We die. We only live once."

"Aww, but that's not fun," Nuriko said. "You are such a cynic mon cher."

"Well pardon me if I don't choose to believe in UFOs or the great cosmic wheel of fate," he said with a little laugh. Miaka tried to stop the sadness that clenched her throat and remembered what Nuriko had said. Still, knowing that it would be all right in the end didn't make the present much easier.

"Miaka-chan? What's wrong?" Chiriko asked. She shook her head and tried to smile.

"Nothing. I'm just a little tired."
"Well…maybe I should leave then…"

"Iie! Iie, not right now," she said, reaching out for him. "It's been so long since I've seen you."

"You've never seen me," he said with a fond smile. She nodded, not able to agree with him. There was a small silence.

"I have an idea," Taka said. Miaka looked up at him hopefully. Taka always found some way to make everything right.

"You want to play a game Chiriko?"

"Sure."
            "Okay. I'll say a word and you tell me the first thing that pops in your mind."

"Okay sure," Chiriko said with a little shrug and an uncertain smile.

"Suzaku," Taka said.

"The phoenix god of Chinese myth who ruled the southern cardinal point and was the god of fire and love. It's also known as Ho-Oh which means man/woman and is supposedly the symbol of predestined, unmistakable love," Chiriko said. Nuriko laghed.

"He asked for a word mon cher!  Not a lecture."

"Sorry, " the boy said with a blush. Miaka giggled. Some things hadn't changed at all.

"Let's try something simpler," Taka said. "Hotohori."

"Emperor."

"Tasuki."

"Fire."

"Nuriko."

"Gay," Chiriko said and was immediately flattened with a pillow. Flattened quite literally in fact. Miaka laughed with everyone else. She'd never known Chiriko to be so bold!

"Okay, okay," Taka said with a laugh. "Chichiri."

"A monk who practiced three years at Taikyoku, wears a mask and has a strange speech impediment."  Miaka stared at him, excited. Did he remember?

"Chiriko…" Taka said, sounding just as excited. "Do you know why we call you that?"

"Er…I suppose because I'm young. I did some research and discovered that Chiriko was the name of one of the constellations in the Southern hemisphere. I found it cross-referenced with a book called 'The Universe of the Four Gods'. It's a mythology book originally Chinese but translated into Japanese in the 1920's by one Okuda Einosuke."

"Are you going to get to the point sometime before next week?" Nuriko asked dryly.

"Oh. Well, the book was about the struggle between the priestess of the southern empire and the eastern empire. The priestesses each had seven celestial warriors named after the constellations. I find it interesting that-"

            "Duncan!" Nuriko snapped.

            "Oh…right…umm… Chiriko was one of the constellation warriors. He was a boy, about thirteen…fourteen…and kind of weak."

            "He was not weak!" Miaka said indignantly.  Chiriko shrugged.

            "It was just a story…and an unbelievable one at that. Girls from another world? Summoning beast deities? Please," he said, rolling his eyes.

            "You never know Duncan. Anything can happen," Nuriko said. Miaka looked back over to him. He was cradling Hikari who'd surprisingly fallen back asleep.  She bowed her head. So Chiriko didn't remember…and maybe might not ever remember. But as she looked at her son, fast asleep in her best friend's arm, she remembered his words. Even if Chiriko never remembered… Everything would be okay.