well, this took forever to bring out. I apologize like fifty thousand times for that :( One: it was the holidays, so I was busy on that front, and with said holidays brings craziness at work. I am so sorry to all of you! It also took me much longer than I thought to bring this chapter out into the light - it was giving me some trouble.

I had to stop it where it currently is at - I wanted to include Tamahome's fight in this chapter, but that apparently wasn't mean to be.

More notes: I decided to change the part where Miaka tried to commit suicide. As much as the scene was an integral change in some of her character and how the others interacted with her from this point onwards (*coughcough*Hotohori*coughcough*), I did not like how the manga kept making her this weak measly character. Yes, Miaka does have a lot on her shoulders, but she's also a much stronger person than she first appears.

That, and Igneous is a thing. And this is fanfiction... So ya know...

Anyways, I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, just Igneous. Hope ya'll enjoy!


Another Side

Chapter 29

Storms of the Heart pt 2

Miaka sobbed into Igneous' arms, trying to convey that everything was over, everything was done with. Igneous allowed her to cry, staring angrily into the area before her. Hotohori stood nearby, hovering and wanting to help Miaka any way he could, but there was also something obviously wrong with Igneous.

The girl had never been this angry, nor had she ever had this aura of murderous rage.

He was almost afraid of her.

Igneous stood with Miaka in her arms, following Mitsukake who had Tasuki into the medical wing, Miaka slowly falling asleep, her emotion tiring her out after the night she just had. Igneous didn't blame her, wishing her the best rest she could get. No one got close to Igneous as she walked, her aura speaking for her more than any words she could say.

"Chichiri, what happened?" Hotohori asked, wanting details as soon as possible. Chihiri, with a look of worry on his face, relayed the events of the night to him, not forgetting to tell his majesty that Tamahome no longer had a mark on his forehead, of how Miaka had been throughout everything.

"No mark? What will that mean for us, your majesty?" Nuriko looked back down the hall, keeping an eye out for Igneous to come out of the medical wing. Still, this entire situation was worrying.

"That would mean that Tamahome can't come back too us." Hothori said quietly. He then glanced at Chichiri once again. "Miaka's injuries come from Tamahome?" The man nodded in owrry.

"He's under the influence of some devil magic, some strong poison. I don't know the remedy for it."

"Poor Miaka..."

Chichiri leaned forward, looking slightly frightened. "Did ya'll see Igneous, and how she looked? What was that about?"

The men were silent for a few minutes. "I've never seen her that angry, or that silent. And does anybody know why she can feel Miaka's pain?"

Nuriko shook his head, eyes furrowed. "For now, we just need to keep an eye on both of them. I don't know what Igneous would do, but we have to hold her back as much as possible."

Though no words were spoken, everyone was in agreement. The redhead was a force to be reckoned with, and they all had felt the moment that something changed within her.

They still don't know if they even could hold her back.


Miaka was sleeping quietly, her breath evening as Mitsukake finished healing her. Igneous sat opposite of the man, watching silently.

"Thank you for healing her, Mitsukake." Igneous' voice was quiet, her eyes still hard and distant. "She really needed it." He stared at her for a while before moving on to the next room, where Tatsuki laid in waiting. Chiriko sat in Mitsukake's chair with a soft smile.

"Would you like me to play song for you?"

The glare that Igneous sent his way sent shivers down his spine. "Leave us."

He hightailed it out of there, her firey eyes burning holes into his soul. Chiriko didn't dare look back as he followed Mitsukake into Tatsuki's room, where Tatsuki was yelling at Mitsukake about the man killing him.

Mitsukake simply pushed Tatsuki back until he was lying on the mounds of pillows, wrapping bandages around his cuts and splinting his broken bones. "You have broken three ribs, left arm and leg are broken. You have numerous scraps and cuts covering you. Nothing is going to kill you, much less this."

"Seriously, I feel like I'm in a slaughterhouse! Did you at least heal Miaka?"

The healer sighed. "I could heal her outward injuries, but I'm powerless against those on her soul."

Tatsuki became silent at that. "And Igneous? How is she?"

Mitsukake leaned closer to Tasuki as he tightened the last bandage. "Be careful around her – she's angry."

The door opened behind Igneous, but she did not move from her vigil next to Miaka. Her friend stirred at the noise.

"Miaka, I am glad to see you safe."

"I'm sorry Hotohori. We can't call Suzaku."

"Don't think on it, we're more worried about you."

Miaka smiled, still tired from, well, everything. "I'm fine, my arm is taken care of."

The others filed in as Igneous helped Miaka sit up a bit.

"That's not what I meant." Hotohori's face grew more and more worried, him and Nuriko exchanging glances.

"What else could you mean?"

"And Tamahome?"

Miaka grinned then. "We can't do anything for him anymore. Honestly, I've almost forgotten about him."

"You're lying, Miaka." Igneous said, capturing Miaka in her gaze. "You don't have to act like you're okay."

Miaka froze, trying to keep it together. However, she noticed something was… off about Igneous, something that made her throat stick enough to where her words wouldn't come out. Not without shaking, anyways.

"I'm… I'm not acting, Igneous."

Hotohori pushed, trying to get her to admit to her pain. To get Miaka to stop bottling everything and let them help her. "But Miaka..."

"I said I am fine and that's it!!" Then there was silence as Miaka and Hotohori stared at each other in shock. Hotohori rushed out, Miaka whispering her apologies. Nuriko apologized for interrupting her healing, and then it was just Miaka and Igneous in the room once again. "Igneous, I..."

"Just go to sleep, Miaka. When you wake up, we'll get everything sorted out, I promise." Miaka frowned, looking very tired and guilty the longer she was awake. "It's alright Miaka, Hotohori will forgive you."

Igneous soothed Miaka back to sleep, and the redhead stayed long enough to make sure she was deeply asleep before heading out the door, closing it with a soft click. She traveled to the next room, Chiriko halting his playing for the moment.

Tatsuki was groggy himself, but perked up when he saw Igneous, though he noted that there was definitely something strange about her. He faintly remembered that he saw Igneous, or at least her spirit, before falling unconscious. She was crying, begging him to stay awake, to not cry.

He remembered the pain that stabbed through him at her tears. The bandit did not want to see her cry again, least of all in his expense.

"May I have a moment with Tasuki, please? Oh, Mitsukake," Chiriko scuttled out quickly, getting the sense that the woman did not have patience for him or his presence, leaving behind Mitsukake as he stopped to see what his priestess needed. "Would you stay with Miaka? She does not need to be alone for the moment. Rest while you can." He nodded and then closed the door behind him as well.

Tasuki watched Igneous as she took a seat, her eyes locked onto him. He wasn't sure what he should say to her, so he scrounged up what little patience he had and waited for Igneous to speak with.

"How are you doing?" Her voice was quiet, her previously hard eyes softened as she continued to stare at Tasuki.

"I hurt like a bitch, but I'll live." He reached forward, resting a hand on one of Igneous'. "What bout you?"

Igneous took a shaky breath. She could feel her anger spiking, almost choking out the relief at Tasuki being alive. She was trying to get herself into control, but didn't necessarily want to. "I feel like stabbing something, more like someone actually." Tasuki nearly flinched at that. There was an edge in her voice that spoke of something so deeply angry that he was almost afraid to ask.

"Did Tamahome do this to you?"

"HA! You should have seen him! Gave the bastard some damage too." Tasuki boosted, watching Igneous' smile turn malicious. This was just too damn weird for him to deal with – this was what he got for dealing with fucking women. "Hey, I'll be okay."

Igneous moved herself until she was sitting on the bed next to Tasuki, brushing her hand through his hair gently. "That's good then." She cradled his head, mindful of his injuries as she leaned closer, close enough that their foreheads touched. Tasuki could feel his blood rushing in his ears. "I'll make sure that Tamahome pays for what he did."

"Uh, Igneous?"

She smiled, laying a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry about it, Tasuki."

He watched, baffled, as Igneous walked out of the room.

Tasuki had a bad feeling about all of this.


The storm raged outside the palace, though the rain wasn't as heavy as it could have been. Lightning was constantly flashing, thunder nearly shaking the walls. The air felt electrified, charged with something dangerous. No one dared to step outside in fear of the storm.

Nuriko grimaced, closing the curtains as Mitsukake helped Miaka sit up enough to eat the food that Nuriko bought for her to eat. "It's is storming outside!" He turned, grinning for Miaka's sake. "Igneous had the cooks bring this up, she said you would like it."

Miaka smiled in thanks, though her expression was shaky. "Thanks." She was careful as she spooned food into her mouth, smiling at the familiar warmth of soup filling her taste buds. The tea was warm as well, cinnamon and honey mixed together to sooth her throat.

And, if Miaka knew Igneous like she did, it would help sooth her soul as well.

"Is..." Miaka swallowed her words, wanting to cry. She wanted to die as well, but she simply didn't have the strength to get out of the bed. Igneous and Mitsuakake had taken turns watching Miaka, making sure she wouldn't disappear on them or do something stupid. Igneous had also taken to running off Chiriko if he ever came close to the same vicinity as the girls.

Miaka still needed to talk to Igneous about that, but there was something else that needed to be taken care of first.

"Is Hotohori okay?"

"His majesty is fine, just worrying over you and Igneous." Nuriko smiled gently. "Mostly you though." Miaka felt ashamed at that, though she tried to apologize to Nuriko for her behavior. The warrior waved it off. "His majesty understands what's going on and doesn't blame you. If anything, he loves you even more now."

"Sorry, Nuriko."

Mitsukake gave Miaka more food, not commenting on the situation. He didn't need or want to anyways – the love triangle shape thing going on here was none of his business. He had other things to worry about as well. She ate obediently.

"Igneous is sitting with Tasuki right now if you want to know where she went." Nuriko said, sipping his own tea. "She's making sure he's resting up properly. He's tried to escape a few times." Miaka had to giggle at that – it reminded her immensely of Igneous.

The two were good for each other.

Miaka was silent after that, trying to fill her aching stomach with food. It was the best she could do right then, instead of having her mind pull and tear itself apart with thoughts that made her want to scream. If she was honest with herself, this was all too much for her. She just wanted to go home, be with her family, and just worry about getting into school with her friends.

This world was far too much for her.

"Hey, Miaka, you okay?" She glanced up, startled, at Nuriko, who was staring at her in concern. "You're crying."

"Oh." She wiped away the wetness on her face. "S-Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Miaka."

Miaka couldn't stop her tears if she tried. Her quiet tears turned into a quiet sob that grew louder and louder the more her emotions overtook her, the dam inside her finally releasing itself. She was hurt, tired from all these hard decisions. It felt like she had carried the world on her shoulders – which was true, actually. This entire world relied on her, her and Igneous, to save them from war and famine, to bring them the peace they so desperately crave.

Miaka blubbered out her tears, her heart aching for Tamahome but knowing that it will never be now. Nuriko hugged Miaka, gesturing to Mitsukake to go find Hotohori. Nuriko had no illusions about this – Miaka needed Tamahome, and as much as it pained him to do this, he knew that Hotohori is the closest the poor girl could get.

Once the emperor rushed through the doors, Miaka practically threw herself at him. She apologized, over and over to him. "This all became too much, and I'm so sorry, but I don't know what else to do, and and and..." Hotohori brought her close, petting her hair as Miaka continued to cry.

None of them turned as the door opened quietly, letting in Igneous. She looked haggard, scrubbing her hand down her face as she approached the two from the side, however, she didn't touch anybody.

"Miaka, it's alright. You don't need to cry. I'm here with you." He leaned down closer to her face, at which point Igneous realized that she didn't need too be here, interrupting their moment. She gestured Nuriko out into the hall with her, Mitsukake already checking in with Tatsuki, which was why she walked into Miaka's room.

"I don't know if Miaka can take any more." Nuriko said, sending a worried look into the room behind him. "She looks like she's going to break."

"She's already breaking, Nuriko." Igneous' voice was small as she hugged herself. She could feel Miaka's anguish, the want to be anywhere else but here, Miaka's heartbreak thrumming under Igneous' fingertips. "She wants to..." Igneous did not dare to say what Miaka had unintentionally told Igneous. That was a thought that she couldn't bear with. If Miaka had gone through with it, Igneous was sure she would have gone insane.

Nuriko let out a deep sigh, wrapping his arm around Igneous' shoulders. He could see it was eating at her as well, pulling both girls down into a deep spiral that seemed to leave nothing behind. It was his duty as a warrior to protect his priestesses.

It was also his duty as a father to take care of Igneous.

"How about we find something to drink? Some tea perhaps."

Igneous' lips lifted, just a bit. "Thank you, Nuriko."


It was hard to see even several feet in front of him, but he made it. He stepped lightly onto a rooftop, the rain nothing more than a small hindrance to him as of this moment. The palace before him was brightly lit in some parts, others darker than the raging storm above it.

Tamahome grinned, making a menacing picture as his cloak flapped in time with the wind, snapping as the thunder rolled across the sky. He knelt down, taking stock of his person. Every limb was still aching to take out the priestess, of wiping her existence off the face of this earth.

Nothing would satisfy him more, that dark voice whispered in him, nothing would endear him more to his precious Yui as well.

His heart thrummed at the thought, his limbs twitching for the impending fight, his blood racing to keep him warm in the cold rain. Still, the thought of fresh blood painting these palace walls kept him warmer still.

"Be on your guard, Guardians of Suzaku. This time..." His grin widened, turning from malicious to absolutely terrifying. "I'm going to kill you."

His soul screamed in agony.

He couldn't hear it over the cackling echoing in his mind.


end of chapter! As some of ya'll might notice, I also took a different route in how Tamahome is controlled by the poison. This makes more sense to me, and also it's just a bit more fun to write anyways.

I also realized that this chapter is like half the length of the last one, so sorry about that :(

Reviews:

DragonMaster789 - thank you for your review! I'm trying to make this interesting, lol.

Tell me what ya'll think! And you're more than welcome to berate me about updates :)

Tiryn