A/N: Well, hello…

I want to apologise for not posting in a long time. I've been really, really busy. And as I mentioned before, I don't have many things planned for this story, I'm mainly going with the flow, so chapters are a bit hard to write when inspiration is on vacation. Also, I'm trying to stick in some character development for Akiko, although is slightly hard given the things I have pictured for this story so far. There are definitely some things regarding her being a mute, for example, but I don't see them as major (perhaps that's just me). I can only hope it is satisfactory for you. Sorry for making y'all wait, with a cliffhanger no less. I pray you're still out there *grins*.

But hey… I'm back! *sings the Hallelujah*

I would like to previously apologise for the current situation: Most of what's to come is mainly how the manga/anime goes, with some changes due to Akiko's presence. Only further into the story (I'm not sure how many chapters) will things start becoming different. I ask for your patience and I hope you stick around regardless.

As for the pairing… hm let's say I have decided to go with Nakago. I'm sorry for who was hoping to be Hotohori. I highly considered him and I also took another look at the chance of pairing Kiko with Chichiri. But ultimately, I've chosen Nakago, the handsome villain. I will work hard to do justice to his character and try to weasel my OC into his life in a realistic manner (oh, there's plenty of work ahead of me). If any of you have any suggestions, whether for this particular relationship or for plot in general, I'm all ears, PM me or leave a review.

On another note, thank you so much for the follows/favourites and reviews! Thanks to all those who read this, nonetheless! It's all super lovely.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yûgi or any of its original characters and plot, Watase-sama does. I am not making any profit out of this story, I write it only for entertainment.

Now, without further ado, onto the chapter. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 4: My Emperor's prettier than you

"Akiko!" Miaka's voice ripped through the air as she tackled Akiko. Tamahome, who had followed her friend, fell onto the heap that was Akiko and Miaka.

"Stop!" The Emperor's command came too late as the soldier flung down the sword.

A red light burst out around them three and the sword's end clashed with the light and hurled the soldier back. Akiko shielded her squinting eyes, trying to differentiate her surroundings.

There was an uproar, soldiers running frantic, reaching for the Emperor's palanquin.

"Akiko! What's happening?" Miaka screamed.

When she turned to her friend, her blood ran cold. Tamahome was visible on the other side of Miaka's translucent body.

She was disappearing.

The older girl swiped a desperate hand at Miaka's arm. To her utter shock, it glided right through as Miaka dissipated into nothing.

"No! Miaka!"

No. No, no, no, how did this happen, where did she go?!

Don't leave me! Please –

Another hush swept over everyone when, before Akiko's very own person, Miaka materialised, looking like she'd never gone anywhere.

"Woooah," chorused the soldiers, the townspeople and Tamahome.

"Miaka… you…" Tamahome frowned at the redhead and exchanged a worried glance with Akiko.

"Oi! Guard!" The Emperor called.

"Your Highness?" A man mounting a horse answered.

"Arrest those girls and that boy, immediately," he bellowed.

Akiko whipped to her right, alarmed.

Uh-oh.

The strawberry-blonde poked Miaka's cheek in an attempt to wake the girl.

Her loud snores echoed around the dungeon cell, blended with Tamahome's complaining.

How was she sleeping at a time like this?

Akiko startled, scrambling back as Miaka leaped awake and latched herself to Tamahome.

"Are you all right?" Tamahome commented dryly, looking less than content that Miaka was clinging onto him for dear life.

Miaka gaped at him for a moment, then lunged back hollering 'pervert' and other colourful names.

"What?!" Tamahome exploded, "you're the one who grabbed me!"

Akiko pursed her lips to contain her laugh, wondering when Miaka would come down to earth.

The redhead halted, having the decency to appear ashamed. "Er, right." She looked around and her gaze fell on Akiko. Her face brightened and she seemed to swell in joy.

"Kiko-chaaaaaan!" Aware of her friend's next actions, Akiko dodged the imminent bear hug the other girl launched at her. Miaka huffed and composed herself, clearing her throat. "So, we were captured by those Kōnan soldiers, eh?"

Akiko almost banged her head on a dirty, brick wall. "Argh, are you still half-asleep? You seem pretty calm for someone who was just thrown into a dungeon!" Tamahome groaned, expressing her own thoughts.

Thank God she had been blessed with patience, otherwise only He'd know how Akiko might handle her friend.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the two girls in clear suspicion. "Beside, who the hell are you? What was that light you gave off?"

Oh, bad, this was bad.

Akiko sprang to action. She scooted closer to Miaka and shook her head in denial, hoping the message came across.

His lips puckered in a pout, "fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want."

A warm hand squeezed her own, grabbing her attention. Miaka looked ready to cry, though Akiko didn't understand whether from happiness or sadness.

"Yui… she went back home…" Miaka muttered.

Perhaps from both.

Relief warmed Akiko's chest, her eyes crinkling in a smile. "That's great news!" she mouthed.

"Oh. Yui is the third girl, no?" asked Tamahome. The older girl confirmed, nodding.

"But… We didn't make it back, Kiko-chan," her friend half-sobbed.

Akiko's smiled slipped off, a frown replacing it. She pulled Miaka into a hug, battling her own tears of stress that threatened to surface.

"Don't cry. I'll find some way to get you girls back. Don't worry," he comforted, his kind smile gracing his cheeks.

Miaka perked up, hope shining in her eyes. "Really?"

"Of course, I was already paid for that," Tamahome smirked.

Miaka's face reddened to match her hair and she dropped her head low. "Idiot," she hissed.

Er, excuse her, had Akiko miss anything? Miaka was blushing as if –

Why, spectacular, Miaka had a crush on their savior!

Akiko struggled not to roll her eyes and disentangled herself from her friend. She offered Tamahome a thankful smile and a knowing smirk, and then crawled over to the cell bars.

"On top of everything, I'm still so hungry," Miaka whined.

Akiko fisted her plaits and smacked her forehead on a wooden bar, regretting it shortly after when her head throbbed in pain.

"You are unbelievable!" She gestured, glaring at her friend.

Undeterred, the redhead pulled a face of 'Eureka' and rummaged in her uniform's pockets. She fished out two packets of bubblegum and waved them in front of Akiko's nose. "Want some?" she flashed a smug grin.

"No!" Akiko threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Your loss," Miaka shrugged, popping one stripe of bubblegum in her mouth.

Akiko grimaced in disgust at Miaka's lack of manners.

"Hey, girl!" A guard yelled, sending Akiko scuttling away from the bars. "What did you put in your mouth? Show me!"

"Wham? Diz?" Miaka mumbled, mouthful, and blew a gum-baloon.

Smack!

It exploded and slammed on Miaka's face, smearing it in blue, sticky chewing gum.

Miaka approached the wood bars and grinned. Her eyes were scrunched and her face twisted by a creepy smile.

"Get away that's disgusting!" The guard cried and then froze, seeming to absorb the information, one second too late. "Aaaaah, a ghost," he yelped, breaking into a run, only to collide straight into the opposite wall.

The keys bounced off and Tamahome caught them mid-air. "Yes!" He cheered.

Akiko succumbed to a fit of giggles, too preoccupied with Miaka's atrocious figure.

"Who was he calling a ghost?" She lifted a brow at Akiko and then her face turned to the blue-haired boy.

"That was quick thinking!" Tamahome appraised.

"You think so? Thanks!" Miaka let out a maniac laugh.

Tamahome screamed, "a – a monster! Akiko, help!" He shrieked, crashing into the wall behind him.

"You're so ridiculous!" Akiko fell on her back and clutched her stomach, rolling on around in a fresh row of soundless laugh. Her breath was ragged and uneven as she struggled to retain oxygen in her lungs. Her face was boiling and she imagined she looked lobster-red.

"Huh, I'm surrounded by morons!" Miaka growled.

The three of them crept along the empty corridors, pricked ears and sharp eyes, alert for the wee bit of movement.

Tamahome stopped all of a sudden causing the two girls to smack into his broad back.

He twirled around, holding the other stripe of bubblegum as though it were a sacred object. He flashed a psychotic smile.

"Are you sure I can keep this incredible thing?" He leaned away. "No taking it back, you hear me?"

"What are you on about?" Miaka whisper-yelled. "You're so stingy about a piece of gum!"

Akiko let out a long-suffering sigh and peered around the curtains.

She gasped and backtracked, brandishing her arms in warning.

Miaka and Tamahome seized their bickering and rushed to find a hiding spot.

In all the chaos, the two idiots all but managed to bump against one another.

What a pair! Akiko yanked their wrists and shoved them inside a door.

When she tried to enter herself, she was flung back, as though blocked by an invisible shield, and landed on her butt.

"Kiko-chan, what are you doing? Get in!" Miaka hissed.

"I can't!" The shorter girl fussed. She lunged at the door again and her hands banged on an invisible barrier.

Footsteps were sounding closer while Akiko raked her brain for a solution.

Bless my soul, here goes nothing.

"Stay hidden," Akiko ordered. "I'll distract them!"

"Have you lost it?" Miaka yelled and Akiko shushed her as Tamahome clapped a hand over the redhead's mouth.

"I'll be back!"

Right then, three guards rounded the corner and exclaimed in surprise.

Akiko backed out slowly and sprinted back the way they'd come, the men growling and chasing after her.

The blue-eyed girl poked her head out of the alcove she was cowering in, eyes scanning the empty hallway.

She'd manage to mislead them and discover a narrow gap in the corridor's walls. Crawling out, Akiko dusted hers clothes off, the lack of weight from her bags not passing unnoticed.

She resumed her escape, meaning to return to Miaka when reality struck her: she was lost again.

She chanced her luck and followed down the left hallway. What felt like a hundred twists and turns later, Akiko spotted an exit.

She cheered inward-way, pumping her fist into the air.

The strawberry-blonde stepped out into a sun-lit, courtyard.

An empty courtyard.

She moaned in frustration, stretching her sore muscles and rubbing her aching temples.

She darted around, in her distraught quest to locate her friend.

What was she supposed to do?!

I'm lost, Miaka is missing and we've left Tamahome somewhere in between!

Her eyes blurred with unshed tears that Akiko forced herself to rub away. Crying was worthless.

An amused, foreign giggle snapped her out of her stress, her senses keening in apprehension.

Akiko's jaw slackened and her eyes bulged out of her face. The girl gasped, aghast.

Perched on a handrail was a stunning woman clad in long, flowing lilac robes. Her dark-brown hair cascaded to her mid-back and shadowed half of her fair-skinned, unblemished face. Even so, her thin lips curved into a dashing smile, eyes sparkling.

The girl squinted at the woman's face and blanched. Were her eyes golden?!

Before Akiko so much as had the opportunity to assert it, the woman extended her arm sideways and pointed to her right.

A crease bloomed in Akiko's forehead.

"What is wrong? You are lost aren't you? The gate is over there. You can get out," the woman claimed.

The girl nodded, albeit reluctant and took a step to her left, her back facing the strange woman.

"You are one of the girls they captured before, are you not?" The woman inquired, her tone hardening a tiny bit, almost imperceptible.

The strawberry-blonde faltered in her step and did a double-take. Her blue eyes flickered left and right. The woman's voice – she recognised that strong, calm tone.

That or I'm imaging things.

"It seems you are. Is it true you were rude to His Highness?" The woman insisted.

Er, busted. That had been an accident!

Heavens help her, what was she meant to answer?

She gazed at the woman over her shoulder and her hand came up to scratch the back of her neck. She pointed at herself as though asking 'who, me?' and chuckled for good measure. Then gave a vehement shake of her head and wiggled her fingers in farewell.

"It is all right," the woman interrupted her escape again. "I am on your side. I shall not call the guards so, please, relax."

What.

Akiko regarded the woman with doubt, uncertain of whether to believe her or make a dash for freedom.

What freedom is that? A small voice at the back of her mind sniggered. Miaka and Tamahome are out there. And you are alone.

Drawing a sharp, quivering breath, she mustered some courage from the pits of her persona and addressed the golden-eyed young woman. "Do you know how I can find my friends?"

"Oh," she blinked and hopped off the rail, coming to stand in front of Akiko. "You cannot speak?"

The girl averted her gaze. "No. D'you mind answering me? I must find them," she mouthed, trying not to come across as rude. "I can't go back to my world alone and leave her here." Akiko gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. She shouldn't have said that! This would be her undoing. The woman would deem her lunatic or worse, a witch.

The brown-haired woman gaped. "Your world?" She invaded Akiko's personal space. "Are you saying you and the other girl are not from this world and come from another?" She looked bewildered, like a king contemplating the kingdom he'd always wished for.

Squirming her eyes shut, Akiko waited for the unavoidable shout for the palace's guard to leave the woman's lips.

"That's amazing," she breathed, folding her hands together.

Akiko nearly choked on her breath. "Huh?" She sputtered.

"How interesting!" The woman squealed, fanning herself in a dramatic manner. "Another world, you say. That's… astonishing." Her hands cupped Akiko's cheeks, raising her face to meet her intense golden gaze.

"My name is Hotohori, despite being called by another name more often," Hotohori introduced herself.

"Err, Kitakawa Akiko. Friends call me Kiko," Akiko managed.

"I'm ever so pleased to have made your acquaintance," Hotohori smiled.

A shiver raked her spine, and Akiko had to gulp down the sudden lump in her throat. A flush of discomfort clawed up her neck. She's too close for m liking.

"What is wrong?"

"N-nothing. You're – you're very pretty, t-that's all," Akiko stammered.

"Indeed, I am," Hotohori drawled, her voice dropping several tones. Akiko's hairs at the back of her neck stood.

Instant scepticism overcame her embarrassment and her eyes narrowed of her own accord. Something was amiss.

The girl put some distance between them and barely registered Hotohori's horrified face before she was tackled to the ground with enough force to knock the air off her lungs.

"Kiko-chaaaaan, I found you!" Miaka screeched, tightening her grip.

Akiko sighed in relief, seeing her best friend unharmed.

"Get off!" The strawberry-blonde gestured, trying to pry her away.

Miaka rolled off Akiko and assisted her up.

Akiko assessed Miaka's bright, cheerful and renewed demeanour and face-palmed.

"You have been eating, haven't you?" Her hand slid down her cheek and fell limp.

"How'd you know?" Miaka grinned.

"You feel heavier," Akiko chirped, grinning back.

"Oi! Hey, who's that? I – Oi! What are you doing?"

Hotohori was dragging them out of sight, behind the corner of the building. "Quick, hide!"

Just then, a team of soldiers waltzed into view, hauling along a dismal Tamahome.

Akiko was sure better decisions would have been made, had Miaka possessed half a brain.

As it was, she did not. And that's likely what propelled her to dash around the corner, screaming – for a change.

"Wait!"

Rolling her eyes, Akiko followed suit, the good friend she was, to prevent Miaka from doing something dumber.

"Miaka! Akiko! Stay back!"

"Please, don't hurt him!" Miaka begged meaning to head forward, but Akiko held her in place.

"Probably not a brilliant idea that you throw yourself into a mix of spears and swords, Miaka!" The older girl warned.

"You idiotic girls, what are still doing here?" Tamahome snapped.

"Because I couldn't just leave you!" Miaka shrieked her confession.

One of the armed men advanced on them and yanked Miaka away from Akiko's arms, shoving the smaller girl to the ground.

"Tamahome!"

Tamahome roared in fury and ripped off his bindings. His forehead glowed red and a sense of déjà vú swarmed Akiko as the blue-haired boy tore his way through the guards, swinging at them.

In less than thirty seconds he was standing in front of Miaka and heaving Akiko upright. Miaka clutched her arm bringing her closer. "You lay one finger on them, I'll make you sorry!" Tamahome gritted out.

"Silence! Silence, all of you!" A commanding voice hollered, hushing every soul present. "These three are not to be harmed under my orders!"

The three of them swung around to face Hotohori, who displayed herself stoic and imposing.

Like an emperor… Holy cricket! It dawned on her like an ice cold bucket of water.

Hotohori wasn't a woman.

Tamahome blanched. "Who-who the hell are you?" He pointed a finger as if none of them knew who he was referring to.

The last soldier standing stuttered and spluttered. "It's – it's the Emperor."

A/N: That's it! I hope it wasn't too disapponting nor boring, considering this follows pretty much the original story. This chapter was shorter than the previous one, but I thought that was a good place to end it.

I apologise for any mistakes. It's kind of late and I haven't given this the proper number of once overs. To be honest, I think the chapter can be better, but I was kind of in a rush to post something. So, I promise that as soon as I can, I'll edit it and make some adjustments, correct mistakes and all that jazz.

I like hearing your opinions, so do grace me with them; any comments, suggestions, concerns. Feel free to PM me.

I'll catch y'all next chapter!

- Hallee