Blazing Divine Flame
Disclaimer: I don't own FY, I never will, and I never have..Although I would really like to...Sadly neither the manga nor the anime is my own...
A/N: This story takes place after Miaka goes back to her world with Tamahome/Taka and Tasuki is no longer needed to protect her..This is a non- yaoi, non-lemon Tasuki fanfic!! Like the last chapter, this one is rated PG- 13, except its this time because an odd situation arises...Nothing that bad though! So don't worry...And,...um...well, I'm not sure how good this chapter is going to be because I switched personalities about 15 times...Oh, and for those who didn't want too much sap, you'll be happy...Um...Enjoy?...
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Chapter 3: Deja Vou
Their feet thudded softy on the floor as they walked down the barren hallway. Once they got to their room Makani couldn't even look at Tasuki anymore. She sat down on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands as she tried to make sense of the thoughts that swirled around inside her head. Do..do I love him?...I don't know...But even if I do, should I trust him?...I don't know...But even if I do, should I trust him? I'm happy when I'm around him, yes, she thought as she looked up at him peeking through a space between her fingers. But is there more behind it than just that?...Grr...I really don't know...I need to clear my head.
"Tasuki?" she said, hands still covering her face.
"Hmm?" he said as he looked down at her.
"Do you know where I could take a bath. I'm starting to reek," and you could use one too...But I need to clear my head and sort out my thoughts more than anything else.
"Yeah, I'll show ya. But I think ya might want some clean clothes first, right? Plus, th' ones ya 'ave now ain't that great either."
"I guess...but..."
"What?"
"Do you guys have any women's clothes up here. I mean, this place is ran completely by male bandits," she pointed out.
"Oh yeah," Tasuki said. Oops...I hadn't thought of that...um... "I guess you could wear some of my old ones."
Makani moved her hands to her sides and looked up at him. He's got to be kidding. But then she searched his face and saw that he was serious. He's not...Maybe he's been living up here a little too long...I think the lack of oxygen and the air pressure might be getting to him. "Sure! Why not?" she said with a sigh as she got to her feet, using her arms to push up off the bed. I could use clean clothes...These ones are grimy and are...Well, just, yuck...I mean, nothing bad could come from this, right?
Tasuki knelt down and reached under his bed, pulling out a blue oblong box. Inside there was an outfit similar to the one he had on now but the pants were a pastel blue and the shirt wasa midnight blue color. He handed the clothes to her and smiled. She walked over and knelt down next to him. Her hand brushed against his as she took the garments from him.
"Any idea where I can get a towel?"
"Yeah. There'll be some at th' pool. Ya ready ta go?"
They both went to strand and nearl hit heads as they finally got to their feet. They both blushed when they ended up mere inches apart. Too close for comfort.
Makani turned towards the door and walked out into the hall way. Tasuki following close behind.
"Follow me," he said after looking around for a few minutes, wondering which way to go.
I'm guessing he doesn't take baths very often.
After walking for about five minutes, turning down various hallways, they came to a sat of double doors. Tasuki held the door open and motioned for her to go inside, like a chaufer. Makani had to hold in her laughter as she passed by him.
There was one large bathing area and a couple of smaller ones off to the sides. There was no one in there right now, and it seemed like there never was that many people who used it to begin with. Tasuki went over to the cabinent in a wall, pulled out a towel, and handed it to her.
"C'ya, in what, an hour?"
"Yeah, probably."
"K," Tasuki said as he exited the room and closed the door behind him.
Makani took all of her things and headed toward one of the closed off areas. Positive that no one else was there, or watching her, she stripped down and lowered herself slowly into the warm, soothing water. she sighed deeply as the liquid caressed her skin and seemed to seep its was through her, relaxing her right down to the bone. She slid back until the water came up to her skin and sat there for a while before she actually started bathing, at leisure, though.
Hmm...This feels so good...I never got to do anything like this before...It was normally just a cold water bath that involved simply a bucket of water being dumped over your head and a wet, dirty rag...This is so much better...Now that I'm alone I can let my head clear...So, first off, what about Tasuki...
She must've dosed off because the sound of a door opening and closing roused her to her senses.
"Hey, Makani! Ya still in here? It's been almost two hours. Are ya alright?' Did she leave and just not bother to tell me? Or maybe she drowned...Hell it wouldn't be the first time someone slipped and fell in, or drowned because they fell asleep.
Before she could respond Tasuki rounded the corner.
"Hey, Maka-?" he stopped in mid-sentence when he looked down and saw her. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, warming them, and causing him to flush beet read before he turned around and stood with his back to her. "I-I...um...s-sorry," he said, stammering. Kuso, how could I've been so careless. Of course she wouldn't've left, she had no where to go! And she has more sense than those bakayaro who died!
Makani tried to coll down her cheeks as she stepped out of the water and wrapped herself in the towel.
"I-It's okay...Just do me a favor, and don't turn around!"
"O-of c-course I wo-won't." Shimatta! I really need to think before I act! I knew she was still here, so why did I?... He had to keep his eyes from trying to sneak a peek behind him. He gave himself a mental slap. What is wrong with me?!...I...
"Okay," Makani said. Tasuki heard the rustling of fabric behind him end. "I'm dressed. It's okay." She smiled faintly, her cheeks still tinged with pink as well as Tasuki's.
All of a sudden, the world seemed to spin around her as a spell of dizziness swept over her. She lost her sense of balance for a moment as she stumbled towards the water's edge, but Tasuki caught her just before she fell back in. He leaned her against his chest for a moment until she could stand in her own two feet again, even if she was a little shaky.
"S-sorry...I just realized...I haven't eaten anything in about three days...Since those bastards took me...I guess it finally caught up with me." Whoa..he's really fast, how did he catch me in time?...I wonder if it has to do with being a Suzaku Seishi...
Tasuki looked down at her and almost laughed. Thank Suzaku she's not obsessed with food! Miaka would never forget to eat, and this one hasn't eaten in three days! Whoa...There are sure as hell some big differences between women.
"How about I take ya back ta our romm ad bring ya somthin' to eat, k?"
"All right." But right after she too ktwo shaky steps, Tasuki realized that this wasn't going to work. He slid one arm behind her knees and one around her back before her picked her up and began to carry her.
"Tasuki, what are you-?" she asked. Startled and surprised, she wrapped her arms around his neck so she couldn't fall and would maintain her balance.
"Hey, ya'd never make it back that way, an' I really don't mind."
"Thanks, Tasuki," she said, as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and loosened her arms around his neck. She held back her laughter as he blushed and started to stammer.
"Ah...um...er...N-no prob."
Ten minutes later they where back in the room. Tasuki set her down on her feet ans she went and sat on the edge of the bed before he went quickly to go get her some food form the kitchen. Less than five minutes later he was back with a large array of foods that she was shoked to find out, were meant only for her, when it looked like it could feed four people.
"Umm...All this is mine?" Makani asked, a confused look on her face.
"Yeah, why? It ain't enough?"
"What?! No! It's more than enough! I couldn't eat this much if I tried!"
Tasuki heaved a sigh of relief. Thank Suzaku for certain now that she isn't Miaka. She woulda eaten us of the mountain if she was."
All she ate was a small salad and a cheese sandwich befoe she was stuffed and couldn't eat anymore. Being poor as she had been, she had learned that you had to he satisfied with what meager food you had, so you never ate a lot anymore.
She refused the soup, biscuits, fried noodles, and rice that he had also brought her. He ate some himself before he brought the left overs back to the cook and took a seat on his bed, directly across from her.
No sooner had he sat down, someone knocked on the door, making him jump.
The door opened and a young boy popped his head inside the room. He looked as Makani for a few seconds, confused, and then he spotted Tasuki.
"Um...Sorry to bother you Genrou-san, but the leader needs to talk to you. He says its urgent."
Tasuki stood up with a puzzled look on his face. What? What could Kouji possibly want to tell me? Everything was fine yesterday. "I'll be right back," Tasuki said as he faced Makani for a split second, flashed her a smile, and then turned his attention back to the bandit trainee. "Okay, let's go."
Tasuki followed the young boy as he practically jogged down the hallway. He could sense that something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Obviously this one knew or he wouldn't be rushing him.
Tasuki burst through the doors into the leader's main chamber. "Kouji, what's wrong?" Tasuki could see his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Tasuki looked to his right and saw tw limp forms laying under white sheets. At that moment, all color left his face. "Wh-what happened?"
"Genrou, those men you killed, do you know who they were?"
Tasuki shook his head, bile starting to climb up the back of his throat.
"They were the leaders of a major slave trading chain. With many devoted followers, I'm afraid. We found those two at our gate this morning, thrir throats slashed. They were young, didn't know better. They took on an assassin that was sent here by the followers of the men you killed. This note," he said, as he help up a ripped and bloody piece of paper, "was held with a dagger that was stabbed into the chest on one of them." By this time Kouji's face was as white as the sheets that covered their young friends. Poor bandit trainees. They had no idea. Kouji handed him the note, his hand shaking. Tasuki walked up to him and took it, his hand no more steady than his friend's.
It read:
'Our piece with the Mt. Leikaku bandits has officially ended. All of you will suffer for the deaths of our beloved leader and his best men. It we can not pass this mountain without confrontations, then we will take it by force. And I asure you, we always get what we want.
Katsu, Leader of the Sureibu Traders'
Kouji looked down at Tasuki and if he hadn't know it was Tasuki standing before him, he would've sworn on his life it was someone else. His normally tanned skin was pearly white, his hair and eyes lost the fire that normally burned deep inside him. He looke scared sick, like he was going to throw up.
Tasuki could only gap at the letter he held in his hands. Kuso! Shimatta! What have I done! I've put the people I care about the most in danger again! The last time something like this happened...When we were attacked... His mind flashed to pictures of dead friends...The ground now crimson, soaked with the blood of both sides...bodies were everywhere...And then...A different scene...He was holding Reirei as she breathed her last breath and died in his arms...He tried shaking his head to clear away the thoughts, the tears that started to well up in his eyes, wanting to break free and slid down his cheeks. He felt the coldness reced as anger filled him, welled up from the depths of his sould until her felt like he was fire itself. No...I will NOT let that happen again, he thought, as he began to almost tremble with rage. Never!
Kouji smiled as he saw his friend gain back the color he lost, but when he looked deeper, it seemed Tasuki was more fire-like than before. Kouji almost pushed his chair back, startled by his friend's rapidly increasing chi. his hair almost seemed to move in a nonexistant breze as a red, fiery aura enverloped his body. Kouji could almost see the fire in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kouji. I didn't mean for this to happen," Tasuki said as he looked up from the piece of paper and then handed it back to his startled friend. He turned around and started walking towards the door. As he gripped the doorknob he let out a deep sigh. Kouji felt Tasuki's chi deminish and watched as the aura of red faded and then disappated. "I will not let Mt. Leikaku get attacked. No one of us will die because of the blood I carelessly spilt." Tasuki turned around and managed to smile and wave at Kouji as he exited the room. "C'ya!" And with that, the door behind him closed, leaving a shoked Kouji alone in the room, aside from the bodies of his dead comrades.
"Please, Tasuki. Be careful and not rash. I don't want to loose you, as had almost happened many times before." Kouji sighed himself and then called for the guards to move the bodies. They would be burnt this evening with a proper cerimony to put their souls to rest. For now, Kouji had to figure out some way of dealing with Katsu and his followers, and pray to Suzaku that Tasuki won't do anything foolish.
* * *
A/N: Well, that's it for the third chapter! Well, what did you think? Did ya like it? Should I write more? Questions, comments, flames? Please review! I need to know! If enough people review, the next chapter'll be out in a few days at the most. If not, than the fic stops here. Until next chapter (I hope), Ja ne!
Disclaimer: I don't own FY, I never will, and I never have..Although I would really like to...Sadly neither the manga nor the anime is my own...
A/N: This story takes place after Miaka goes back to her world with Tamahome/Taka and Tasuki is no longer needed to protect her..This is a non- yaoi, non-lemon Tasuki fanfic!! Like the last chapter, this one is rated PG- 13, except its this time because an odd situation arises...Nothing that bad though! So don't worry...And,...um...well, I'm not sure how good this chapter is going to be because I switched personalities about 15 times...Oh, and for those who didn't want too much sap, you'll be happy...Um...Enjoy?...
* * *
Chapter 3: Deja Vou
Their feet thudded softy on the floor as they walked down the barren hallway. Once they got to their room Makani couldn't even look at Tasuki anymore. She sat down on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands as she tried to make sense of the thoughts that swirled around inside her head. Do..do I love him?...I don't know...But even if I do, should I trust him?...I don't know...But even if I do, should I trust him? I'm happy when I'm around him, yes, she thought as she looked up at him peeking through a space between her fingers. But is there more behind it than just that?...Grr...I really don't know...I need to clear my head.
"Tasuki?" she said, hands still covering her face.
"Hmm?" he said as he looked down at her.
"Do you know where I could take a bath. I'm starting to reek," and you could use one too...But I need to clear my head and sort out my thoughts more than anything else.
"Yeah, I'll show ya. But I think ya might want some clean clothes first, right? Plus, th' ones ya 'ave now ain't that great either."
"I guess...but..."
"What?"
"Do you guys have any women's clothes up here. I mean, this place is ran completely by male bandits," she pointed out.
"Oh yeah," Tasuki said. Oops...I hadn't thought of that...um... "I guess you could wear some of my old ones."
Makani moved her hands to her sides and looked up at him. He's got to be kidding. But then she searched his face and saw that he was serious. He's not...Maybe he's been living up here a little too long...I think the lack of oxygen and the air pressure might be getting to him. "Sure! Why not?" she said with a sigh as she got to her feet, using her arms to push up off the bed. I could use clean clothes...These ones are grimy and are...Well, just, yuck...I mean, nothing bad could come from this, right?
Tasuki knelt down and reached under his bed, pulling out a blue oblong box. Inside there was an outfit similar to the one he had on now but the pants were a pastel blue and the shirt wasa midnight blue color. He handed the clothes to her and smiled. She walked over and knelt down next to him. Her hand brushed against his as she took the garments from him.
"Any idea where I can get a towel?"
"Yeah. There'll be some at th' pool. Ya ready ta go?"
They both went to strand and nearl hit heads as they finally got to their feet. They both blushed when they ended up mere inches apart. Too close for comfort.
Makani turned towards the door and walked out into the hall way. Tasuki following close behind.
"Follow me," he said after looking around for a few minutes, wondering which way to go.
I'm guessing he doesn't take baths very often.
After walking for about five minutes, turning down various hallways, they came to a sat of double doors. Tasuki held the door open and motioned for her to go inside, like a chaufer. Makani had to hold in her laughter as she passed by him.
There was one large bathing area and a couple of smaller ones off to the sides. There was no one in there right now, and it seemed like there never was that many people who used it to begin with. Tasuki went over to the cabinent in a wall, pulled out a towel, and handed it to her.
"C'ya, in what, an hour?"
"Yeah, probably."
"K," Tasuki said as he exited the room and closed the door behind him.
Makani took all of her things and headed toward one of the closed off areas. Positive that no one else was there, or watching her, she stripped down and lowered herself slowly into the warm, soothing water. she sighed deeply as the liquid caressed her skin and seemed to seep its was through her, relaxing her right down to the bone. She slid back until the water came up to her skin and sat there for a while before she actually started bathing, at leisure, though.
Hmm...This feels so good...I never got to do anything like this before...It was normally just a cold water bath that involved simply a bucket of water being dumped over your head and a wet, dirty rag...This is so much better...Now that I'm alone I can let my head clear...So, first off, what about Tasuki...
She must've dosed off because the sound of a door opening and closing roused her to her senses.
"Hey, Makani! Ya still in here? It's been almost two hours. Are ya alright?' Did she leave and just not bother to tell me? Or maybe she drowned...Hell it wouldn't be the first time someone slipped and fell in, or drowned because they fell asleep.
Before she could respond Tasuki rounded the corner.
"Hey, Maka-?" he stopped in mid-sentence when he looked down and saw her. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, warming them, and causing him to flush beet read before he turned around and stood with his back to her. "I-I...um...s-sorry," he said, stammering. Kuso, how could I've been so careless. Of course she wouldn't've left, she had no where to go! And she has more sense than those bakayaro who died!
Makani tried to coll down her cheeks as she stepped out of the water and wrapped herself in the towel.
"I-It's okay...Just do me a favor, and don't turn around!"
"O-of c-course I wo-won't." Shimatta! I really need to think before I act! I knew she was still here, so why did I?... He had to keep his eyes from trying to sneak a peek behind him. He gave himself a mental slap. What is wrong with me?!...I...
"Okay," Makani said. Tasuki heard the rustling of fabric behind him end. "I'm dressed. It's okay." She smiled faintly, her cheeks still tinged with pink as well as Tasuki's.
All of a sudden, the world seemed to spin around her as a spell of dizziness swept over her. She lost her sense of balance for a moment as she stumbled towards the water's edge, but Tasuki caught her just before she fell back in. He leaned her against his chest for a moment until she could stand in her own two feet again, even if she was a little shaky.
"S-sorry...I just realized...I haven't eaten anything in about three days...Since those bastards took me...I guess it finally caught up with me." Whoa..he's really fast, how did he catch me in time?...I wonder if it has to do with being a Suzaku Seishi...
Tasuki looked down at her and almost laughed. Thank Suzaku she's not obsessed with food! Miaka would never forget to eat, and this one hasn't eaten in three days! Whoa...There are sure as hell some big differences between women.
"How about I take ya back ta our romm ad bring ya somthin' to eat, k?"
"All right." But right after she too ktwo shaky steps, Tasuki realized that this wasn't going to work. He slid one arm behind her knees and one around her back before her picked her up and began to carry her.
"Tasuki, what are you-?" she asked. Startled and surprised, she wrapped her arms around his neck so she couldn't fall and would maintain her balance.
"Hey, ya'd never make it back that way, an' I really don't mind."
"Thanks, Tasuki," she said, as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and loosened her arms around his neck. She held back her laughter as he blushed and started to stammer.
"Ah...um...er...N-no prob."
Ten minutes later they where back in the room. Tasuki set her down on her feet ans she went and sat on the edge of the bed before he went quickly to go get her some food form the kitchen. Less than five minutes later he was back with a large array of foods that she was shoked to find out, were meant only for her, when it looked like it could feed four people.
"Umm...All this is mine?" Makani asked, a confused look on her face.
"Yeah, why? It ain't enough?"
"What?! No! It's more than enough! I couldn't eat this much if I tried!"
Tasuki heaved a sigh of relief. Thank Suzaku for certain now that she isn't Miaka. She woulda eaten us of the mountain if she was."
All she ate was a small salad and a cheese sandwich befoe she was stuffed and couldn't eat anymore. Being poor as she had been, she had learned that you had to he satisfied with what meager food you had, so you never ate a lot anymore.
She refused the soup, biscuits, fried noodles, and rice that he had also brought her. He ate some himself before he brought the left overs back to the cook and took a seat on his bed, directly across from her.
No sooner had he sat down, someone knocked on the door, making him jump.
The door opened and a young boy popped his head inside the room. He looked as Makani for a few seconds, confused, and then he spotted Tasuki.
"Um...Sorry to bother you Genrou-san, but the leader needs to talk to you. He says its urgent."
Tasuki stood up with a puzzled look on his face. What? What could Kouji possibly want to tell me? Everything was fine yesterday. "I'll be right back," Tasuki said as he faced Makani for a split second, flashed her a smile, and then turned his attention back to the bandit trainee. "Okay, let's go."
Tasuki followed the young boy as he practically jogged down the hallway. He could sense that something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Obviously this one knew or he wouldn't be rushing him.
Tasuki burst through the doors into the leader's main chamber. "Kouji, what's wrong?" Tasuki could see his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Tasuki looked to his right and saw tw limp forms laying under white sheets. At that moment, all color left his face. "Wh-what happened?"
"Genrou, those men you killed, do you know who they were?"
Tasuki shook his head, bile starting to climb up the back of his throat.
"They were the leaders of a major slave trading chain. With many devoted followers, I'm afraid. We found those two at our gate this morning, thrir throats slashed. They were young, didn't know better. They took on an assassin that was sent here by the followers of the men you killed. This note," he said, as he help up a ripped and bloody piece of paper, "was held with a dagger that was stabbed into the chest on one of them." By this time Kouji's face was as white as the sheets that covered their young friends. Poor bandit trainees. They had no idea. Kouji handed him the note, his hand shaking. Tasuki walked up to him and took it, his hand no more steady than his friend's.
It read:
'Our piece with the Mt. Leikaku bandits has officially ended. All of you will suffer for the deaths of our beloved leader and his best men. It we can not pass this mountain without confrontations, then we will take it by force. And I asure you, we always get what we want.
Katsu, Leader of the Sureibu Traders'
Kouji looked down at Tasuki and if he hadn't know it was Tasuki standing before him, he would've sworn on his life it was someone else. His normally tanned skin was pearly white, his hair and eyes lost the fire that normally burned deep inside him. He looke scared sick, like he was going to throw up.
Tasuki could only gap at the letter he held in his hands. Kuso! Shimatta! What have I done! I've put the people I care about the most in danger again! The last time something like this happened...When we were attacked... His mind flashed to pictures of dead friends...The ground now crimson, soaked with the blood of both sides...bodies were everywhere...And then...A different scene...He was holding Reirei as she breathed her last breath and died in his arms...He tried shaking his head to clear away the thoughts, the tears that started to well up in his eyes, wanting to break free and slid down his cheeks. He felt the coldness reced as anger filled him, welled up from the depths of his sould until her felt like he was fire itself. No...I will NOT let that happen again, he thought, as he began to almost tremble with rage. Never!
Kouji smiled as he saw his friend gain back the color he lost, but when he looked deeper, it seemed Tasuki was more fire-like than before. Kouji almost pushed his chair back, startled by his friend's rapidly increasing chi. his hair almost seemed to move in a nonexistant breze as a red, fiery aura enverloped his body. Kouji could almost see the fire in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kouji. I didn't mean for this to happen," Tasuki said as he looked up from the piece of paper and then handed it back to his startled friend. He turned around and started walking towards the door. As he gripped the doorknob he let out a deep sigh. Kouji felt Tasuki's chi deminish and watched as the aura of red faded and then disappated. "I will not let Mt. Leikaku get attacked. No one of us will die because of the blood I carelessly spilt." Tasuki turned around and managed to smile and wave at Kouji as he exited the room. "C'ya!" And with that, the door behind him closed, leaving a shoked Kouji alone in the room, aside from the bodies of his dead comrades.
"Please, Tasuki. Be careful and not rash. I don't want to loose you, as had almost happened many times before." Kouji sighed himself and then called for the guards to move the bodies. They would be burnt this evening with a proper cerimony to put their souls to rest. For now, Kouji had to figure out some way of dealing with Katsu and his followers, and pray to Suzaku that Tasuki won't do anything foolish.
* * *
A/N: Well, that's it for the third chapter! Well, what did you think? Did ya like it? Should I write more? Questions, comments, flames? Please review! I need to know! If enough people review, the next chapter'll be out in a few days at the most. If not, than the fic stops here. Until next chapter (I hope), Ja ne!