Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation – Part 33

Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation – Part 33

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. You already knew that. Yuu Watase is the original creator. I did create a bunch of new characters and the story. Please don't steal them. You only have a vague idea of how much work I've put into this. But, this is my hobby ^_^. Anyway, use with permission.

Author's Note: I told you it would be an obvious place. Come on, who wasn't thinking it, would be Mt. Taikyoku? I thought up this story in December of last year, but didn't get around to writing it until now. In Sailo, I've introduced you to the new couple, Amai and Inochi. I've designed them to be like Fuu and Ferio from Magic Knight Rayearth. For anyone out there who is thinking about how the tapestry looked like, go to the first art book there is a picture that shows the world. It should give you an idea. We now return to Konan. The Suzaku Group's got some problems that the other groups haven't encountered. This is a serious chapter. At least I hope so. This is the start of the new format. Tell me what you think about this. By the way, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I had finals. My brain is fried... @_@


Hono'o was feeling very weak. She was staggering about a little bit. It had been more than a fortnight since Zhenyou attacked her and stole her powers. Hono'o had an ugly feeling in the pit in her stomach.

'I'm dying. I don't know how I know, but I do,' thought Hono'o. The symptoms of her plight was getting worse. There were now bouts of pain that went through out her body, as if her body was trying to redirect power to other more vital systems. Her chi was so low she could barely glow her kanji. Her strength was waning with each passing day. She hid the pain as much as possible. The only thing keeping her going was the fact that she had to be there for the summoning of Suzaku. She wanted to keep torturing Shiro. Hono'o gave Shiro a hard time for many reasons. His reluctance to join the group and his rescue of her. The latter reason battered her pride even more so. This also prevented people from finding out about her physical state. That is everyone except for Tasuki.

Tasuki was always in tuned with his daughter's feelings. He could sense something was wrong with her. She was sleeping far too much and wasn't doing much other than resting. She was losing weight. Her skin looked paler than usual. In short, Tasuki was worried about his baby.

"Hono'o," called Tasuki softly from behind her door to her room.

"Yes, Papa. You can come in, Papa," said Hono'o. Tasuki opened the door and walked in. She was sitting on the bed, her back leaning against the headboard. Tasuki closed the door behind him.

"I wanted to talk to you, Hono'o," said Tasuki in serious tone.

"What about, Papa?" asked Hono'o innocently. She knew perfectly well what Tasuki was talking about, but she wasn't about to admit to anything. Her father would go ballistic for sure. Tasuki may know her well, but Hono'o knew her father better.

"Is there something wrong with you, Hono'o? It's just that you've been sleeping so much lately. You look very tired most of the time. Are you ill?" asked Tasuki. He was bracing himself for any bad news.

Hono'o stood up and walked away from him, so that she wouldn't have to face him. "No, Papa. Everything is fine. I'm just tired because I'm nervous about the summoning," she lied.

Tasuki didn't believe her for a second. He walked over to where she was standing and placed his hand on her shoulder. 'It looks like she could break at any second,' thought Tasuki as he studied her delicate frame.

"You can tell me anything, Hono'o," said Tasuki gently. Hono'o turned around to stare directly into her father's eyes. She let out a ragged sigh.

"I'm fine, Papa. Stop asking," said Hono'o as she walked past him and sat back down on the edge of her bed. Tasuki's arm was still up, so he let it drop down to his side. Tasuki decided to press her further. He walked up to where she was sitting, and tilted her chin to look him in the eye.

"Hono'o, if there's a problem, then tell me. Is there something wrong with you, Hono'o?" asked Tasuki in soft, gentle voice. His hands were now on her shoulders. Hono'o mustered all her courage to look him in the eye, and lie to him.

"There's nothing wrong, Father. Everything is fine," she said. Tasuki looked into a pair of eyes that were identical to his. He let out a sigh. Tasuki knew that she wasn't about to break, and let it go at that.

"Good night, Hono'o," said Tasuki with another sigh as he walked to the doorway.

"Good night, Papa," said Hono'o as she closed the door behind him with a soft click.

Tasuki stood in the hallway with a scowl in his face. He stalked off to his bedroom. He found Ling brushing her luxurious, dark brown hair. Ling saw the expression on her husband's face and frowned. Tasuki began passing back and forth in front of their bed.

"What's wrong, my love?" asked Ling.

"Your daughter just lied to me," said Tasuki with a growl. He was pissed off.

"Why are they my children when they do something wrong? What did Hono'o lie about, Tasuki?" asked Ling.

"I asked her if there was something wrong with her. She looked me straight in the eye and lied to my face. Can you believe that?!" exclaimed Tasuki loudly as he threw his arms into the air.

"Hush. Not so loud, my love. She might hear you," chided Ling gently.

"I don't care if the all of Eiyou hears me, Ling. Or even all of Konan does. I don't care if the whole world can hear. Even the other one. I want to know what's wrong with her," demanded Tasuki in dangerous tone. Ling could tell that he was going to explode. She has been dealing with Tasuki's temper for the past eighteen years. Not to mention the fact that all of their the children had inherited his temper. Ling stood up from her vanity to walk up to her husband. She placed her hand on his cheek. Tasuki took it with his hand and kissed her palm.

"I know what you're talking about. The boys have noticed it as well. It's like part of her is missing," said Ling in a sad voice. What hurt the most was that Hono'o didn't trust her own family enough to say what was wrong with her. Hono'o never really told her family that much about herself, including her training with Miss Zhang. Hono'o was too good at keeping secrets about herself, in a family where everyone knew what everyone else was doing. It hurt Ling to know that their daughter wasn't a very honest person.

"God, I never thought that Hono'o would make me worry like this. It's always the boys who do this to me," muttered Tasuki as he raked his hands through his thick hair. Ling wrapped her arms around his waist. Tasuki settled his chin on the top of her head. Ling always had a way of calming Tasuki down, even if she was the source of his anger. Tasuki was still in the euphoria of initial love for his wife even after all these years. He knew he could be difficult, but his wife still put up with him. Tasuki knew Suzaku had blessed him with a wonderful family. One that consisted of his soul mate, three sons, and a daughter. 'A stubborn daughter,' thought Tasuki with a frown.

"What are we going to do, Tasuki?" asked Ling looking up at him. Tasuki kissed her softly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know, Ling," answered Tasuki, "I can't believe our daughter's a liar. How did she learn how to do that? I hate this, Ling. She's been lying to us for years. WHAT THE FRIGGIN' HELL IS THIS?! I THOUGHT THAT WE RAISED HER BETTER THAN THAT! WHEN I FIND OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER I'M GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"

"Tasuki, my love, calm down. Take a deep bre—"

"I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, LING!"

"Well, I think Lei is going to tell us when she's ready, Tasuki. So, all we have to do is wait and trust her," said Ling in a calm voice.

"TRUST HER?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" shouted Tasuki as he waved his arms around. "WE'VE TRUSTED HER SO FAR, AND SHE'S DONE NOTHING BUT LIE TO US!" he ranted.

"I must be insane. For dealing with you for the past eighteen years," said Ling with indignation as she placed her hands on her hips.

"AT LEAST, I CAN SEE WHERE SHE GOT SOME OF HER ATTITUDE FROM!" fired back Tasuki. Ling rolled her eyes at him. Tasuki was being unreasonable again, and he was pacing furiously back and forth all around the room. Ling was getting dizzy just watching him. 'It's best to let him go and yell for a while,' she thought.

"I tried to be calm, Ling! I asked her and she just lied to me! We should punish her for her dishonesty!" said Tasuki loudly.

Ling wasn't listening to him anymore. Over the years, she had learned to ignore Tasuki's ranting. She had to otherwise she would have gone truly insane. Ling blew out the candle next to their bed and got underneath the sheets. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"DAMMIT, LING! DON'T YOU DARE GO TO SLEEP ON ME!!" bellowed Tasuki in a frantic superdeformed mode.

* * *

"You really are the Emperor of Konan," said Shiro. He, Kawa, and Taki looked at Odayaka in disbelief. Odayaka was actually sitting in his throne wearing his Emperor's clothes. He was smiling at them. Shiro looked pale. Kawa and Taki's mouths were open.

"Yes, I'm the Emperor of Konan. My apologies for saying nothing earlier. It made our travels easier," said Odayaka in an apologetic tone. He was actually wearing one of those funny hats on his head. He looked so different from Odayaka the Second Seishi of Suzaku. He was in Emperor Boushin of Konan mode.

"You shouldn't have to apologize for anything your Highness," said Kawa as she bowed respectfully. Taki and Shiro followed suit. Odayaka held up his hands to stop them from doing that.

"This is also one of the reasons why I decided to travel in a normal fashion. I'm a Suzaku seishi like the rest of you. Why should anything change? Treat me like you did before you knew I was the Emperor," requested Odayaka. The three of them looked at each other and shrugged. If Odayaka wanted to be treated the way he was before, then there was no way they could say no to his request. In fact, Shiro thought this was very interesting. He couldn't help, but admire Odayaka more for it. Shiro had heard the story of how the last Emperor had died from his father, Kouji.

"Very well, Odayaka," agreed Shiro. Taki and Kawa nodded in agreement.

Odayaka smiled.

* * *

Mariko was staring at the scroll. Suddenly, she had a shiver. It was the same sensation that she felt when she was using the shinzahou. 'Someone must be trying to communicate with me,' she thought. Mariko stood up and picked up her shinzahou and placed it on her head. She concentrated and heard Amai's voice.

"I know where the summoning is going to be. One of my seishi verified the location because she can see it. It's going to be in some place called Mount Taikyoku. It's the exact center of the world," said Amai.

Mariko thought about it. She remembered her brother mentioning Taiitsukun's mountain when he was reading the book out loud. 'Of course! That's got to be it. I'm sure of it. God! How could I have been so stupid? I knew about Mt. Taikyoku before they did!' thought Mariko as she smacked her forehead.

"I hope you aren't going to make a habit of doing that, Mariko," said Odayaka when he saw her. Mariko jumped up and ran up to him. She gripped his arms and had a huge grin on her face. "What?" he asked.

"I know where the summoning is going to be. It was so obvious that I didn't think about it!" exclaimed Mariko happily. All the other seishi came running in. Hono'o was the last one in the room.

"What took you so long, Doll Face?" teased Shiro with a smirk. Hono'o smacked him upside the head with the tessen. "OW! That hurts! God, how can anyone look that cute but act that mean?!" he exclaimed.

"It depends on who I see. How can someone who was so sweet when he was younger grow up to be a jackass?" asked Hono'o with a weak smile. She was trying her best to keep her spirits up. Shiro's jaw dropped.

"Yeah. Well, you grew up to be a stuck up bitch. I almost regret saving your cute little ass," answered back Shiro. Hono'o fumed. All the other seishi were sweatdropped and superdeformed.

"Why don't you just tell us where the summoning is going to be, Mariko? Just ignore the 'Married Couple,'" said Sei as he gestured at Hono'o and Shiro. Sei and Kawa were making fun of Hono'o and Shiro. They dubbed them the "Married Couple." Sei remembered Kouji mentioning his son who was only a year older than Hono'o. Sei took advantage of that, and teased them mercilessly. They acted like a married couple. Over the past few days, the other seishi had to put up with really foul language from both Hono'o and Shiro. Taki and Sei also teased Shiro for earlier resistance.

"I say we just let them kill each other. That way it's over with," suggested Taki with a large grin. Kawa and Shitsu suppressed the urge to laugh out loud. Odayaka and Sei were laughing at Taki's suggestion. Mariko shook her head and smiled.

"No, Taki. We need them for the summoning. Let's just separate them. They can kill each other later. But, not on Suzaku's time," ordered Mariko. Taki grabbed a hold of Shiro. Shitsu took Hono'o.

"You two are acting like children," said Shitsu. Hono'o had calmed down. Actually, she was getting too tired to put up a fight with anyone. She just glared at Shiro. Shiro stuck out his tongue at Hono'o. She turned her head away from him.

"Now, if everyone would like to listen to me, then I'll tell you where the summoning is going to be," said Mariko waiting for them to agree. All of the seishi nodded. "The summoning is going to take place in Mt. Taikyoku. We'll leave in two days. It will take one day for us to get there. The reason why we need three days is because we need to make sure that all of us get there at the same time."

"That makes sense, no da. It had to be Mt. Taikyouku, no da. Why didn't I think of that, no da?" spoke up a voice from behind the seishi. They all turned. Mariko gave Chichiri and Tasuki a smile. Tasuki watch Hono'o carefully. Hono'o and Shiro were degenerated to a staring contest since they were still being restrained by Shitsu and Taki. Tasuki smiled a little.

"So, you will leave in three days. It shouldn't be that hard for you to go to Mt. Taikyouku. You all will have to conserve your strength before that time comes. For now, Mariko, you should practice the incantation for the summoning. Odayaka and Chichiri should help you," said Tasuki.

"I'll leave that to you, Odayaka, no da. I have to go to another temple out of Eiyou, no da. I know that you can handle it, no da," said Chichiri to Odayaka. Odayaka nodded. He looked at Mariko who was grinning. Sei, Kawa, and Taki were back to teasing Hono'o and Shiro. Shitsu was shaking her head and rubbing her temples.

"Come on now. That's not how a 'married couple' should act," teased Sei.

"I wouldn't be married to a flat-chested freak!" exclaimed Shiro in a voice of disgust. WHACK!

"You shouldn't be looking over there in the first place, you HENTAI!" shouted Hono'o as her hand firmly gripped the handle of the tessen. Shiro's eyes were all swirls. Tasuki winced slightly. He could sympathize with Shiro. Tasuki smiled at the irony of the situation. When he had first arrive at the stronghold of the Mt. Leikaku Bandits, Kouji was constantly picking on him and whacking him around. This time things were turned around Hono'o was the one who started most of the fights. Shiro was too much of a gentleman to hit Hono'o back. Mariko made another request, "I want all of the seishi in the palace. If that's not too much trouble for you, Hono'o."

"No. It's no trouble. None at all," replied Hono'o. In fact, Hono'o was secretly glad. She was willing to do anything to avoid her father's constant questioning. Hono'o could see her father frowning out of the corner of her eye. 'I don't like lying to him, but he should stop asking. Why can't he just leave me alone?,' she thought. She was conscious of the fact that Tasuki was observing her again.

"That's good," said Mariko, "All right, everyone. Take it easy for the next few days. Don't tire yourselves. Come on, Odayaka."

* * *

Odayaka and Mariko were practicing for the summoning well into the night. Odayaka was happy that Mariko was a fast learner. She insisted on practicing until she got it right and could do the incantation all the way through without any mistakes. Odayaka watched her with fascination.

Mariko said out loud flawlessly:

"The Four Directions of the Sky

The Four Directions of the Earth

By using the way, mind, and goodness

With deep rules

With truth and justice

Please tell the protector of the South, Suzaku

Now I will complete the words: Seven Constellations

From the sky to the Earth

Through the Four Ultimates

Fulfill for all living things

Please make extinct every kind of evil

By your godly powers

Protect us.

Only I wish

Please listen to this

From the sky

Please come down to us."

"That's it. You've got it," said Odayaka. He smiled at her. She was looked so happy. Actually, Odayaka couldn't help, but smile at Mariko whenever he saw her. It started the day in the woods when they talked about his father and how Odayaka felt about him. Odayaka felt something strange was going on inside him. He never had such strange feelings before, and those feelings were always around. Mariko bit her lip. She looked worried about something.

"What's wrong? You got it right," said Odayaka with concern.

"I'm worried about Hono'o. She's been acting strange lately. Have you noticed how pale she looks?" asked Mariko.

"Now that you mention it, yes, she does look rather pale. She's paler than usual. Do you want me to ask her what's wrong?" offered Odayaka. Odayaka grew up with Hono'o. Since he considered Tasuki as one of his parents, he thought of Hono'o as his younger sister.

"No, I'll talk to her," answered Mariko, "Thanks for your offer, Odayaka."

Odayaka stood there. 'What's wrong with me? Am I ill? This is insane. Why can't I stop thinking about her? I've got to stop. She's my miko. I can't get involved with her. Not that way. What am I thinking? I have to stop this,' he thought. Odayaka let out a groan. He was in a state of utter denial.

"I can't be in love with her. It will end in disaster. I'm not my father. I'm not in love with her. My father was in love with his miko. This is impossible. When did this really happened?," said Odayaka out loud in a frustrated voice. Odayaka could feel something in his chest. The look on his face could tell anyone that he was doomed.

* * *

Mariko found Hono'o in the garden by herself. Mariko was going to walk right up to her and talk to her, but then Mariko noticed that Hono'o was doing something strange. Hono'o held her palm out in front of her. She was concentrating, trying to at least create a small fireball. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes were shut tightly. Hono'o opened her eyes. There was nothing.

"DAMMIT! Come on," whispered Hono'o. She felt so weak that she had to lean against a tree trunk. "How could I be so useless?"

"Hono'o," said Mariko in a soft voice. Her eyes were wide. Hono'o looked at her with surprise. "I knew there was something wrong with you." Mariko had her arms folded over her chest. There was an expression of anger that darkened her features. Anyone could see the resemblance between Mariko and Tamahome at that point.

"I—I didn't hear you coming," stammered Hono'o nervously.

"That's because you were thinking too hard to hear me coming. Your powers are gone," said Mariko in an angry tone.

"Yes," answered Hono'o dejectedly. There was no point in lying to Mariko. Mariko was the first one to notice anything wrong with her. Mariko stomped her foot and glared at Hono'o.

"Why didn't you say anything? How did it happen? When did it start?" asked Mariko. Her eyes had changed to ones of concern. "Zhenyou. He did this. Oh my God."

"He attacked me when I confronted him. Mariko, I was so stupid. I wasn't thinking straight. This is my fault. I'm the one who lost my powers," said Hono'o in a sad voice. Mariko looked at her. She realized that this was nothing like the time Suzaku was sealed. This was worse. The seishi didn't have their powers, but they didn't suffer any physical aliments from the block.

"You're dying," gasped Mariko. She could feel a tightening in chest. 'I'm not going to lose someone else in my life. I can't lose again. I'm going to do something about this. I had no control over what happened to my father and mother. I can control this,' Mariko thought. Her eyes began to fill with tears. Hono'o saw what was happening. She placed her hand on Mariko's cheek, caught a tear with her thumb, and wiped it away.

"I know that I'm dying. I'm not afraid of dying, Mariko. I'm the third and youngest seishi. The third and youngest seishi of the last group died first. Nuriko. Chiriko. They weren't afraid. Neither am I," whispered Hono'o as she gestured at the constellation of the Hydra in the night sky. Mariko looked at her and gave Hono'o an embrace.

"We'll summon Suzaku. I promise you. If not for anyone else, I'll summon Suzaku for you, Hono'o," promised Mariko. The tears were streaming down her cheeks. Hono'o blinked back her tears. She wasn't about to cry. She had been dealing with it for the past two weeks. The pain was becoming unbearable, but Hono'o never complained. "Keep in control, Lei. Never show your pain. Be strong." These were the words of Miss Zhang to Hono'o when she first began her training.

"The only thing I fear, Mariko, is that I won't be there when Suzaku is summoned. I won't finish what I was born to do. Most people go through their whole lives without knowing what they're in this life for. As a seishi, I am blessed with a purpose in my life. I'm afraid of letting you and everyone else down. My family. Uncle Chichiri. The other seishi. The rest of this world. If the world dies, then it would be my fault. I couldn't bear it," whispered Hono'o.

"You're not at fault. If the world ends, then it's Zhenyou's fault. Not yours. I won't lose you. I won't," cried Mariko. She summoned all her strength to stop crying. 'Hono'o is so brave not to cry. She holds her head up high. I should be able to do the same,' she thought.

"I'm going to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, Mariko," sighed Hono'o. She needed to be alone.

"Hono'o," called Mariko after her.

"Yes?" said Hono'o softly.

"You're the bravest person I know," said Mariko softly.

"Thank you. We youngest seishi always are," said Hono'o as she made reference to Chiriko. "Promise me something, Mariko?" she asked without turning around.

"Anything. Just ask," said Mariko.

"Let's just keep this between the two of us, please?" said Hono'o

"I promise," said Mariko. Mariko would promise anything to Hono'o. Who was she to refuse the request of someone who was dying? Hono'o left Mariko to think in the garden for a while. Mariko cleaned up her face. She stayed to think about everything.

* * *

Hono'o was in the processes walking back to her room. She stopped in the hallway in front of her door. She decided to go somewhere first. Hono'o walked down the corridors to the shrine that was in the palace. There was the gold statue of Suzaku in all its majesty before her. There were red tapestries that decorated it on either side. Hono'o stopped to admire the statue. Suddenly, there came an attack of pain.

"Uh," Hono'o gasped. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out in agony. She doubled over in pain. Her limbs were numb. There was a jolt of electricity that seemed to travel down her upper torso to her gut. Hono'o eyes filled with tears. The pain was too intense for her to bear. Hono'o stumbled for something to grab on to. She grabbed on to the base where the statue was situated. She finally collapsed in front of the statue of Suzaku. The pain faded away once again.

Hono'o looked at the golden bird in front of her. Hono'o cried out: "God! Where are you? Why aren't you here?! Please help me! Give me strength! I need to finish what I've started!"

~*ClareBear's Omake*~

Nuriko: This is bad.

Chiriko: I know. Dying wasn't the easiest thing for the both of us, Nuriko.

Hotohori: Dying wasn't easy for any of us, Chiriko. I admire her courage. She gets that from her father. She's got a lot of Tasuki's courage.

Tamahome: She's also got his stupidity, too. She should just admit it to the other seishi that she's lost her powers. She's also dying.

Miaka: You heard her, Tamahome. She blames herself for her mistake in dealing with Zai Rei. None of them know that Zhenyou and Zai Rei are the same person.

Mistukake: Maybe, Hotohori's son can help her. Or Chichiri.

Nuriko: I think the only thing that's going to help her is summoning Suzaku. Even then, we don't know if she's going to make it.

Tamahome: Say…speaking of the summoning, where's Taiitsukun? We haven't seen her lately.

Chiriko: That's right. Isn't she suppose to give the seishi a power up? She did the last time.

Nuriko: Are you sure you want to unleash that woman on Hono'o? With her disposition Hono'o could die from just the shock of seeing her face.

Miaka: Shh. Don't say that, Nuriko. She might be hearing this.

Nuriko: Oh, yeah.

Everyone looks around to make sure that Taiitsukun can't hear them.