Futame Kinen
"Harmful Memory"
Sorry it took so long for me to get this posted. Lots of stuff was going on lately, to put it lightly. I think there's only one swear word in this chapter. Nuriko takes the last chapter the wrong way and makes a LOT of yaoi-implying comments, but Nuriko's opinion certainly doesn't reflect my own, no da! Oh, and the asterisks invade once more. Things enclosed by (*)'s are thoughts/flashbacks. Arigato!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, or any of its characters and whatnot.
Chapter Five - Haji to Konmei
"Embarrassment and Confusion"
"I can't believe I did that, I can't...I just can't..." Tasuki muttered to himself as he ran off in no particular direction. He ended up almost barreling into Nuriko.
"Hey, Tasuki, why the hurry?" Nuriko asked as he leapt gracefully out of harm's way.
"Huh?" Tasuki replied, coming to a stop and turning on his heel to face Nuriko. Nuriko arched a delicate eyebrow at him.
"I just want to know why you need to rush about so fast. Get yourself into trouble again?"
"Uh, well...no, not exactly...I mean, I don't THINK so...that is...umm..." Tasuki stammered.
"Oh, come on, you can tell ME what happened, huh?" Nuriko implored sweetly. It was, after all, his nature to want to know all that went on around the palace...
Nuriko thought for a moment, and then his eyes widened a little.
"Tasuki, is there a GIRL involved in this?"
Tasuki turned a bright red to rival the vividness of his hair.
"No! Course not...you know that I..."
"Hate women, yes...I know...a guy then?" Nuriko inquired.
"Not the way you're implying!" Tasuki said defensively, blushing even more, though one probably wouldn't have thought it possible.
"Chichiri again?" Nuriko guessed. Tasuki nodded.
"So...what happened?" Nuriko asked. Tasuki bit his bottom lip.
***
Chichiri still stood, stunned, long after Tasuki had left his sight.
* What in the name of Suzaku... * the monk thought, still confused. He shook his head.
* Soon I'll just wake up, and this will all go away... * he assured himself. He didn't really believe it, though, and sighed, sitting down on the floor, feet beneath him.
* Even if I lived as long as Taiitsu-kun-sama, I'd never understand what goes on in Tasuki's head.*
***
"You did WHAT?" Nuriko exclaimed, trying very hard not to laugh and only partially succeeding.
"Well, I'm sorry, I'm not as good with words as you are!" Tasuki replied angrily.
"But...YOU did THAT?"
"It seemed like the thing to do until I did it..."
"YOU did THAT?"
"You said that already," Tasuki responded irritably, not appreciating his friend's teasing.
"It's just...it's just...YOU did THAT?"
"Come on, Nuriko, stop teasing and HELP me!"
"What do you want ME to do about your little lover's quarrel with Chichiri?" Nuriko asked. He laughed as Tasuki glared at him.
"It was NOT a l..." Tasuki began, his voice rising steadily as he spoke. Nuriko interrupted him, placing a slender finger on the indignant bandit's lips for quiet.
"Not so loud," Nuriko chided. Tasuki just continued to glare at him. Laughing softly, Nuriko took his hand away from Tasuki's mouth.
"You could try giving him some flowers," he suggested.
"NURIKO, I'm SERIOUS!"
"So am I! It would be sweet. I'm sure he'd appreciate it," Nuriko said with a grin that clearly stated he was NOT serious.
"Nuriko..." Tasuki growled. Nuriko only laughed.
***
Chichiri sat cross-legged again, taking deep breaths.
* One...two...one...two...one...two... * he thought over and over to focus.
* One...two...one...two...why would he DO that though? No, stop it, Chichiri. But...I don't understand... *
The fact that Tasuki had just said something so...profound...confused Chichiri to no end. He'd known Tasuki had a tendency to form strong bonds with people, but had never known his friend to ADMIT things like that...
Chichiri sighed.
"As if I didn't have troubles enough," Chichiri muttered.
***
"Damn it Kouji, where are ya when I really need ya?" Tasuki grumbled as Nuriko continued his verbal onslaught. Chiriko padded over to where they were.
"Tasuki, did you go see Chichiri?" he asked.
"Yeah..." Tasuki replied.
"Ooh, yes he did!" Nuriko chortled happily before dissolving into laughter. Chiriko looked confused.
"Just ignore him," Tasuki advised. Chiriko tilted his head to one side, looking painfully cute, then straightened, still looking somewhat bewildered. After a moment he shrugged his little shoulders.
"So, how is he?" the small boy asked.
"Probably confused," Nuriko quipped.
"Nuriko, stop it!" Tasuki snapped.
"What, you think he's not?" Nuriko scoffed.
"Well..." Tasuki began, trailing off, unsure as to how to continue.
"See? I'm right! Aren't I right, Chiriko?" Nuriko inquired.
"You leave him out of this, he doesn't even know what happened!"
"And Mitsukake would be very mad at you if you told him...you might scar him for life!"
"It wasn't THAT bad!" Tasuki insisted.
"If I said something like that to you..." Nuriko started.
"That would be another thing entirely!"
"Why?"
"Just...just because!"
Chiriko arched one precious little eyebrow.
"I THINK my symbol's still lit up," he murmured to himself, lifting the hem of his robe up slightly from his foot to check. The red mark of Suzaku rested starkly visible on his charming little foot. Nuriko chuckled, a grin lighting up his effeminate features.
"Yeah, I'll bet you'll have just as clever a response for Chichiri next time you see him, huh?"
"NURIKO, all I did was..."
"Shh! Chiriko!" Nuriko scolded.
"Why does it matter if Chiriko hears?"
"YOU know..."
"No I don't! There's nothing wrong with being close to a friend!"
"Oh, really?"
"It isn't like that!"
"I guess even with the all the intelligence granted me by Suzaku, I'll still never understand the mysterious ways of the human race..." Chiriko muttered.
***
It was no use. Chichiri found he couldn't stay focused for more than a few breaths before his troubles with Tasuki crept back into his mind.
* Suzaku...what should I do? * Chichiri thought, looking up at the ceiling. No answer was forthcoming from the phoenix god, however. Chichiri sighed.
"Looks like I'm on my own...no da..." he whispered.
***
Tasuki gave up on trying to get help from Nuriko.
"I'm goin' ta bed," he announced, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Alone?" Nuriko solicited tauntingly.
"Yes, alone!" Tasuki snarled, scowling furiously at Nuriko. With a quick word of goodnight to Chiriko, he stalked off into the gathering twilight.
"Harmful Memory"
Sorry it took so long for me to get this posted. Lots of stuff was going on lately, to put it lightly. I think there's only one swear word in this chapter. Nuriko takes the last chapter the wrong way and makes a LOT of yaoi-implying comments, but Nuriko's opinion certainly doesn't reflect my own, no da! Oh, and the asterisks invade once more. Things enclosed by (*)'s are thoughts/flashbacks. Arigato!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, or any of its characters and whatnot.
Chapter Five - Haji to Konmei
"Embarrassment and Confusion"
"I can't believe I did that, I can't...I just can't..." Tasuki muttered to himself as he ran off in no particular direction. He ended up almost barreling into Nuriko.
"Hey, Tasuki, why the hurry?" Nuriko asked as he leapt gracefully out of harm's way.
"Huh?" Tasuki replied, coming to a stop and turning on his heel to face Nuriko. Nuriko arched a delicate eyebrow at him.
"I just want to know why you need to rush about so fast. Get yourself into trouble again?"
"Uh, well...no, not exactly...I mean, I don't THINK so...that is...umm..." Tasuki stammered.
"Oh, come on, you can tell ME what happened, huh?" Nuriko implored sweetly. It was, after all, his nature to want to know all that went on around the palace...
Nuriko thought for a moment, and then his eyes widened a little.
"Tasuki, is there a GIRL involved in this?"
Tasuki turned a bright red to rival the vividness of his hair.
"No! Course not...you know that I..."
"Hate women, yes...I know...a guy then?" Nuriko inquired.
"Not the way you're implying!" Tasuki said defensively, blushing even more, though one probably wouldn't have thought it possible.
"Chichiri again?" Nuriko guessed. Tasuki nodded.
"So...what happened?" Nuriko asked. Tasuki bit his bottom lip.
***
Chichiri still stood, stunned, long after Tasuki had left his sight.
* What in the name of Suzaku... * the monk thought, still confused. He shook his head.
* Soon I'll just wake up, and this will all go away... * he assured himself. He didn't really believe it, though, and sighed, sitting down on the floor, feet beneath him.
* Even if I lived as long as Taiitsu-kun-sama, I'd never understand what goes on in Tasuki's head.*
***
"You did WHAT?" Nuriko exclaimed, trying very hard not to laugh and only partially succeeding.
"Well, I'm sorry, I'm not as good with words as you are!" Tasuki replied angrily.
"But...YOU did THAT?"
"It seemed like the thing to do until I did it..."
"YOU did THAT?"
"You said that already," Tasuki responded irritably, not appreciating his friend's teasing.
"It's just...it's just...YOU did THAT?"
"Come on, Nuriko, stop teasing and HELP me!"
"What do you want ME to do about your little lover's quarrel with Chichiri?" Nuriko asked. He laughed as Tasuki glared at him.
"It was NOT a l..." Tasuki began, his voice rising steadily as he spoke. Nuriko interrupted him, placing a slender finger on the indignant bandit's lips for quiet.
"Not so loud," Nuriko chided. Tasuki just continued to glare at him. Laughing softly, Nuriko took his hand away from Tasuki's mouth.
"You could try giving him some flowers," he suggested.
"NURIKO, I'm SERIOUS!"
"So am I! It would be sweet. I'm sure he'd appreciate it," Nuriko said with a grin that clearly stated he was NOT serious.
"Nuriko..." Tasuki growled. Nuriko only laughed.
***
Chichiri sat cross-legged again, taking deep breaths.
* One...two...one...two...one...two... * he thought over and over to focus.
* One...two...one...two...why would he DO that though? No, stop it, Chichiri. But...I don't understand... *
The fact that Tasuki had just said something so...profound...confused Chichiri to no end. He'd known Tasuki had a tendency to form strong bonds with people, but had never known his friend to ADMIT things like that...
Chichiri sighed.
"As if I didn't have troubles enough," Chichiri muttered.
***
"Damn it Kouji, where are ya when I really need ya?" Tasuki grumbled as Nuriko continued his verbal onslaught. Chiriko padded over to where they were.
"Tasuki, did you go see Chichiri?" he asked.
"Yeah..." Tasuki replied.
"Ooh, yes he did!" Nuriko chortled happily before dissolving into laughter. Chiriko looked confused.
"Just ignore him," Tasuki advised. Chiriko tilted his head to one side, looking painfully cute, then straightened, still looking somewhat bewildered. After a moment he shrugged his little shoulders.
"So, how is he?" the small boy asked.
"Probably confused," Nuriko quipped.
"Nuriko, stop it!" Tasuki snapped.
"What, you think he's not?" Nuriko scoffed.
"Well..." Tasuki began, trailing off, unsure as to how to continue.
"See? I'm right! Aren't I right, Chiriko?" Nuriko inquired.
"You leave him out of this, he doesn't even know what happened!"
"And Mitsukake would be very mad at you if you told him...you might scar him for life!"
"It wasn't THAT bad!" Tasuki insisted.
"If I said something like that to you..." Nuriko started.
"That would be another thing entirely!"
"Why?"
"Just...just because!"
Chiriko arched one precious little eyebrow.
"I THINK my symbol's still lit up," he murmured to himself, lifting the hem of his robe up slightly from his foot to check. The red mark of Suzaku rested starkly visible on his charming little foot. Nuriko chuckled, a grin lighting up his effeminate features.
"Yeah, I'll bet you'll have just as clever a response for Chichiri next time you see him, huh?"
"NURIKO, all I did was..."
"Shh! Chiriko!" Nuriko scolded.
"Why does it matter if Chiriko hears?"
"YOU know..."
"No I don't! There's nothing wrong with being close to a friend!"
"Oh, really?"
"It isn't like that!"
"I guess even with the all the intelligence granted me by Suzaku, I'll still never understand the mysterious ways of the human race..." Chiriko muttered.
***
It was no use. Chichiri found he couldn't stay focused for more than a few breaths before his troubles with Tasuki crept back into his mind.
* Suzaku...what should I do? * Chichiri thought, looking up at the ceiling. No answer was forthcoming from the phoenix god, however. Chichiri sighed.
"Looks like I'm on my own...no da..." he whispered.
***
Tasuki gave up on trying to get help from Nuriko.
"I'm goin' ta bed," he announced, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Alone?" Nuriko solicited tauntingly.
"Yes, alone!" Tasuki snarled, scowling furiously at Nuriko. With a quick word of goodnight to Chiriko, he stalked off into the gathering twilight.