I've been TRYING to get these damn characters onto the sea for like three chapters now :( Thankfully, next chapter they will FINALLY be out on the sea onto the next part of their journey :D Hopefully, this chapter isn't too long in waiting - nearly eight pages of writing over like three weeks (I'm so sorry btw) cause of too much working on my part (I've been told several times that I SHOULD JUST GO THE FUCK HOME NOW if that doesn't help put it into perspective). Hope this makes up for it :D
Do not own Fushigi Yuugi nor am I making any sort of profit out of writing this.
Another Side
Chapter 37
Storms on the Horizon
Igneous gaped up at the ship, the hull large and the sails ready to go. It was huge, and it amazed Igneous the longer she looked at it.
"It is yours to use as you see fit until you reach Hokkan." Hotohori said, shaded by four of his attendants as they all stood in the bright sun.
Igneous had come out to see the ship, already finished packing up. She had decided to bring some changes of clothing and that one notebook and fox toy – there wasn't much that Igneous didn't think she needed, though she still needed to talk to Hotohori about bringing some swords or something along with her…
She glared down at her shaking hands at the thought of swords. If Igneous concentrated, she could see the scars that crissed-crossed her palms and across her knuckles. Taking a deep breath, she calmed down enough to stop her hands from shaking.
One mistake would not stop Igneous from trying to protect Miaka.
Ignoring Tamahome and Tasuki roughhousing, she turned to Hotohori, who was talking quietly with Nuriko. It didn't take much of a guess what they were talking about, or rather who – Miaka. She wasn't there at the moment, under the pretense of packing just a bit more.
Igneous knew that Miaka was actually packing just a bit more, but Miaka was a bit more sentimental than her. There were probably tons of memories attached to the items that Miaka chose to pack, including those study books that she insisted went everywhere.
Igneous came out of her thoughts, seeing something bright red out of the corner of her eyes.
She had to stifle her noise of surprise.
Around Nuriko's ankle was the bright red string, but it was taught, and led straight to Hotohori's ankle. Igneous could only stare in surprise, not sure how to feel about all of this.
Hotohori definitely loved Miaka, but did he also love Nuriko?
Igneous frowned, trying to think through all of this. If Hotohori was rejecting Nuriko simply because he was a man, then there would be hell to pay.
Hotohori flinched, turning to see Igneous giving him such a scathing look that he felt as if he would burn if she had the power to do so. Nuriko also became worried, but neither man knew what drew the redhead's ire to the surface. They watched as she took a deep breath, calming herself before walking forward.
"Hotohori, is there any way for me to bring some swords with me?" The emperor blinked, a little bit shocked. Ever since that stormy night, Igneous hadn't gone into the armory, or handled a sword. He thought that she was done with wielding a weapon. It was no small relief, because he wanted to protect both her and Miaka, but he could not say to this determined woman.
"Of course," he replied, smiling. "Any of the weapons in the armory at your disposal."
"Thank you, Hotohori!" Igneous then turned quickly, making a grab for Tasuki so then he could help her choose a suitable weapon. Tamahome followed, heckling the both of them all the way.
Which didn't last long, seeing as Tamahome was essentially thrown back to the emperor's feet, groaning in pain at the two very obvious bruises he sported on his head.
"That's what you get, Tama." Nuriko smirked, not bothering to hide the pride he had for his adopted daughter. If she wanted to be left alone, then she would definitely get her alone time with her precious boyfriend.
Not like that was going to stop any of them, but oh well.
It was hours later when they were ready to disembark on their journey. Igneous and Nuriko were helping loading the ship (albeit Nuriko was carrying way more items than Igneous could ever hope to carry on her own) while Tamahome was, predictably, badgering Tasuki about his fear of open water.
"By Suzaku, it's like we have to do all the work here!" Igneous growled, giving a pointed look at the two men.
"Hey guys, over here!" Igneous perked up, grinning as she turned to see Miaka holding a familiar looking device. With a loud click and a whirr, the camera went off.
"Miaka, you got a camera?!" Igneous went to stand next to her friend, eager to see how the photo turned out. "You're a genius!"
The other three crowded around, curious to see this never-before-seen contraption. As she explained the concept to them, the photo finally came out, the picture dark as it slowly came into view.
Igneous handled it reverently, disregarding both Tasuki and Nuriko as they looked at it over her shoulders. She was careful not to touch the film as she showed the four of them looking straight at the camera, predictably Nuriko looking the most photogenic out of all of them.
"What is this?!" Tasuki hissed, a confused frown on his face. "I am here, not there!"
"Well, this is just a picture of you!" Igneous giggled at Tasuki's face. "You know, like a painting?" Tasuki poked the picture, his frown turning into a murderous scowl. He grumbled as Igneous gave Nuriko the picture next, allowing him to fawn over it as Miaka spoke to someone else, gathering everybody together.
"Come on, Tasuki, Miaka wants a group photo." Before Tasuki could protest even further, Igneous dragged him over, both Miaka and Igneous standing in the middle, Miaka doing a cool pose as Igneous simply put her arm around Tasuki's waist.
The redhead stopped protesting after that, one of the nine photos showing that he was giving her a fond, mostly besotted look. That photo… That photo Igneous kept, treasured in her notebook in the very front.
No matter how many bad memories the damn thing gave her, Igneous told herself, at least with that photo, there was always something good to look forward to.
"Thank you, your majesty!" Igneous looked over, seeing Miaka and Tamahome excited about something or other while Hotohori looked on fondly. She came over, seeing Hotohori get an increasingly red face. Tamahome and Miaka spoke excitedly while Hotohori explained to Igneous what he had offered the young man.
Igneous grinned. "That's really kind of you, Hotohori. Though, uh..." She captured all three of their attentions with that one very awkward sentence starter. "It may be difficult for you to find them to bring them here."
"Why?" Tamahome was cautious, bordering on angry. This was his family after all – did they go missing, is everyone all right?!
Igneous looked Tamahome in the eyes, despite wanting to look anywhere but there. This, he deserved the truth on. "Look, I asked your family to go and hide somewhere safe. I gave them plenty of gold – sorry about that Hotohori, I kind of took it from you – to do so, and forced them not to tell me where they went." Shocked silence surrounded her. It seemed like everyone else listened in as well.
Tamahome was not sure how to feel about this.
"Why would you do that, Igneous?" Miaka asked, a frown on her face. She trusted her friend, and knew that the redhead wouldn't do something like that without a really, really good reason.
"You know those bad feelings I get, right before something dangerous happens, or we get in a lot of trouble?"
"Yeah?"
"I had one of those feelings." Igneous paused here, trying to explain it in a way that would make sense to everyone else. "I knew that if I didn't get them to hide or at least move, then something terrible would have happened."
Miaka nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"I still want to go to home." Both of the girls turned to Tamahome, who stared at Igneous with a look that she couldn't identify. "I just… I need to make sure that everyone is going to be okay, or left me a clue as to where they went."
"That's fair." Igneous gestured to Tasuki to come closer. "Why don't we all go then, before leaving?"
"Wh- all of us?!"
Igneous smiled at Tamahome's embarrassment. While one part of her felt it was kind of cute, another part of her was insanely mollified at the fact that she could make Tamahome feel embarrassed at all. Ah, the wonders of petty revenge.
"We shouldn't leave each other behind, and this deals with your family. If they're important to you, then they're important to the rest of us." Igneous elbowed Tasuki when he looked like he was going to protest.
Tamahome, the smart boy that he was now, didn't argue with the redhead.
Nuriko, Tasuki, and Igneous stayed back while Miaka and Tamahome wandered the stalls, selecting gifts for his siblings, talking quietly and bonding. The others elected to stay behind, to make sure that everything for the journey was prepared and that the ship itself wouldn't fall apart at sea.
The three of them shopped as well, but Igneous kept her eye on her best friend and her friend's… well, the best word must be soulmate, thanks to that red line. As Igneous watched, she could see the red band between them grow stronger, thicker and more resilient.
It was nice, she thought, just slightly envious, that Miaka had a soulmate of her own, here and loving her so easily.
There was a warm arm that laid across her shoulders, drawing her in close to a body that Igneous was becoming steadily familiar with. "Ya worry too much."
Igneous gave a worried grin. "With Miaka, I fear I do not worry enough." She turned back, her grin transforming into a soft smile. "Though, I think that being here has helped her, morbid as it is. She's matured in the few months we have stayed here. It's a good look for her, I think."
"It's a good look on both of you." Nuriko said, drawing a hand through Igneous' hair. He grinned as she scowled fixing it back up into the neat ponytail she had going on.
They followed along the not-couple, the market place thinning out into a forested path that led to Tamahome's village that was about a thirty minute walk from where they currently were at. If Igneous was right, they should be back at the boat by mid-day, late afternoon at the latest.
Igneous prayed that Tamahome's family listened, prayed that they took the money and hid themselves where they couldn't be found until it was right and safe to do so. They walked in silence for a while, and when Igneous knew they were close to the village, she noticed something… off.
She looked around, brows furrowed as she tried to figure out where this offness came from.
The wind blew slightly, the leaves rustling together as if they were whispering in their own secret language to one another. Back behind them, Igneous could hear the oh so faint chatter of the market place. Besides that, everything else was silent.
Igneous stopped, keeping a tight grip on Tasuki's wrist. The bandit looked back, irritated, but stopped at Igneous' fearful look that crossed her face. She stepped closer to him, looking around as she whispered, "something is wrong."
Immediately, Tasuki had a hand on his fan, eyes sharpened to take in every single detail. Nuriko was next to the two of them, a hand on Igneous' lower back as he, too, surveyed the area around them.
Igneous took in a deep breath, her gut growing warm with the sense of warning that the redhead was becoming dreadfully familiar with. "I don't know what it is, but something is wrong. We have to catch up with Tamahome and Miaka. Now." The three of them rushed up behind the couple, Igneous growing more nervous the closer they got to the village.
Her bad feeling magnified once they stepped into the village's boundaries.
There was no sound to be heard.
Everything was still and silent.
"Miaka." Igneous caught up to her friend, laying a hand on her elbow. "You two, be careful. Something's up here." Miaka frowned, but nodded, sliding a look to Tamahome. He was happy to be here, but still very cautious.
When they got to their house, they could all tell that no one had been there for a long while. There was dust on the windows, and it seemed like the garden had been overgrown with weeds. Tamahome went inside, finding nothing but dust and empty rooms inside. Igneous sighed gratefully – she was glad that wherever his family was, Tamahome's family was not here.
It was when everyone started checking the other houses that things became horrifying.
Nuriko hugged Miaka to him, shielding her eyes as the rest of them could only gag on what they found.
Blood painted the walls, splattered against the ceilings and floors. Bodies were littered, left carelessly on the ground. Igneous had to go and calm herself after the second house, finding a little girl and boy hugging each other, their faces frozen in fright.
Igneous leaned against a tree, her eyes wide because she couldn't close her eyes. Every time she did, all she could see were the bodies, the lives lost in this senseless tragedy. She tried to figure out the why, thinking that someone did this in a rage.
That was the only reason she could come up with, however. Someone did this as revenge, and none of them knew who or why. This was dangerous.
"We have to go." Tamahome was cautious, making sure that Miaka was with him while Tasuki stood in the back, hand on fan and seriousness turned up to ten. He wouldn't have anybody hurt either the priestess or Igneous. "I don't know if the perpetrator..."
Flute.
The sound of a flute filled their ears.
Igneous whipped around, surprised, as Miaka looked about as confused as the rest of them felt. "But… Amiboshi is..."
Miaka looked up, a shadow falling over her. Standing on one of the houses was a boy swathed in a large cloak. Igneous, feeling sick, recognized the darkened stains on said cloak as dried blood. His arms were up, holding a flute that looked similar to the one they had confiscated from Amiboshi.
"How is this possible?" Igneous hissed, her terror quickly turning into anger. Whoever this was, they would pay for every single life they had taken today. The wind picked up, revealing a boy that looked exactly like Amiboshi, except his eyes were full of hatred, and there were these long cloth-like weapons with ball-like ends on them. "You killed them all!"
"That's right, I did!" His cloak flew off, revealing his body was also covered in splatters of blood, his flute an almost exact replica of Amiboshi's. That flute was sitting on the boat, an item too dangerous to be left alone for too long, or be anywhere near Amiboshi, despite the fact that he was still alive, just no ki to use it with. "This was revenge, revenge for the brother that you killed!"
Tamahome immediately stepped in front of Miaka, all of them stepping back. It was obvious now to Igneous that this must be the twin that Amiboshi missed, the one that completed his soul. This was fucking weird, but…
"I'm the Seiryuu-Seishi Suboshi, twin brother of Amiboshi!"
"That explains the resemblance..." Igneous muttered to Tasuki. The redhead was wishing that she had grabbed a sword or some kind of weapon before heading to this village. She was now beating herself up, scolding herself for the naivety of thinking that this place was safe from this type of slaughter and fighting.
"Hey, that's a misunderstanding!" Nuriko, ever the passive-aggressive one, was trying to diffuse the situation. "We didn't kill Amiboshi!"
"I don't want to hear anything else!" Suboshi sent his weapons towards Miaka, causing Tamahome to pull her away, dodging the weapon. Igneous watched with wide eyes as the weapon broke a tree in half. That was a dangerous thing, and it was aimed at them.
"He has two!" Tasuki pulled himself and Igneous away, dodging the second one that was headed towards them. A crater stood where they once were. "Fuck!" Tasuki growled, stance lowering more into a fighting one.
"This entire village is dead because of you!" Igneous yelled at Suboshi.
The boy smirked, face devilish. "I would have taken his family, but they are nowhere to be found. I am now the only one left in my family!" He sent another of his weapon towards Igneous, growing more irritated as the two redheads kept dodging, though Igneous was tripping a fair more than Tasuki was. "I have you to thank for that!"
Tamahome jumped in front, taking the brunt of the weapon that was headed their way. "Tamahome!" Igneous wanted to step forward and pull him away from the harm, but Tasuki held her back, as Nuriko was doing the same to Miaka.
As warriors, their first priority was the two women they had sworn to protect.
Right now, Igneous felt like throwing that edict away and throwing a punch at the little boy.
Once the assault, Tamahome glared at Suboshi and said, "Is that it? Is that all you can do?"
As one, Tasuki and Tamahome jumped forward, both of them lending a kick to the boy, pushing him back off the roof.
That was when Igneous noticed that there was something demanding her attention. She turned, eyes wild as thy caught the sight of another cloaked figure, standing and watching the proceedings. As Igneous watched, the person held one of their hands high, a dark cycle of clouds forming above them. Igneous could hear the crackle of electricity the more it moved.
"Guys, watch out!" Igneous jumped forward, pushing Miaka away as a beam of light connected with her and Nuriko.
Pain lanced through their bodies, crying out. It was unexpected, and once the light faded, they fell to the ground, electricity jumping and arcing between their bodies, the pain sharp and never ending.
Igneous wanted to pass out, not deal with the pain.
"Igneous!" Miaka filled her vision, hand reached forward but hesitating. None-the-less, Miaka picked up Igneous' head, eyes filling with tears. "You saved me..."
"You're my best friend. Couldn't let you get hurt." The words were gritted through teeth, filled with hard pain as Igneous struggled to stay awake. She could hear Nuriko's groans as well, though he seemed to be handling them a lot better than Igneous was.
"Shit!" Then there was Tasuki, his face full of panic as he hovered over the two girls, feeling shame at the fact that he couldn't protect his one and only. "Igneous, stay awake." His words soothed Igneous, her breath rasping against his shoulder as he lifted her up into his arms. Tamahome hovered over Miaka, his expression matching that of Tasuki's as he realized that Miaka wasn't hurt.
They all looked up at the sound of a woman's voice, smooth and sweet, one they haven't heard before. "Now you see what happens when you get too much self-confidence Suboshi, you aren't ready yet!" The cloaked woman was carrying Suboshi, who looked worse for wear after that double kick to the chest.
"Be quiet, Soi! I don't need help."
The woman chuckled. Igneous' vision was fading, dots appearing in her vision, but she didn't miss the honey-brown eyes that looked down at their own little party. "This was just an example of my power. Next time..." She faded out with Suboshi, her words echoing down to them. "I hope you Suzaku-Seishi are stronger."
I actually do have a couple of favorite parts of this chapter - the picture part (which I think is simply adorable) is my favorite because honestly it is too damn adorable. AND THEN THE STRING OF FATE! BETWEEN NURIKO AND HOTOHORI! I honestly think that Nuriko got a bit shafted in both the manga and anime considering Hotohori. I don't give a damn if later Nuriko 'develops feelings for Miaka' (not happening in this, btw), I just think that Hotohori and Nuriko are a damn cute couple. So... that's happening in this fic :D
Probably not in the fashion that ya'll are thinking, but it's happening :)
Reviews:
thank you nowitsagummybear for your review! I will never abandon this! I am on a mission to complete this damn fic! It may take forever, but I will continue to update it and give it chapters :)
Tell me what ya'll think!
Tiryn