Chapter 26: Heart's Lodging

The last thing Nakago recalled was hearing Tenkou's scream of rage and then, he had been overtaken by a bright red light. The light had been warm, comforting…almost like being in an embrace.

The next thing he knew, he was standing on top of a cliff, overlooking a beautiful valley…and it was almost sunset. Of course, he recognised this place instantly. This was where he had revealed his past to the Suzaku no Miko. A feeling of déjà vu washed over him. However, this time, instead of the Suzaku no Miko, a man with fiery red hair stood beside him.

"It really is beautiful, isn't it?" the man remarked conversationally. "I am Suzaku seikun," he supplied, in response to Nakago's unspoken question.

"What happened to Tenkou?" the blonde shogun asked without preamble. He was not one to beat around the bush when it came to demanding information.

"Sealed," Suzaku said succinctly, but with no hint of malice. He appeared to study the shadows that were slowly lengthening across the valley below, "In the end, he was nothing more than a vengeful ghost who had deluded himself into thinking he was a god."

"The Suzaku no Miko?"

"She's all right, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Nakago detected the slight hint of evasiveness in Suzaku's answer, and instantly suspected that the god was not telling him everything. He turned sharply to look at the divine being.

The god sighed, "Both you and her expanded all your energy summoning me. You had to release your mortal bodies to do that," he said gently.

We're dead? He took the news without surprise. No wonder he wasn't feeling any pain. Death was something he had expected for a long time. However, he had always envisioned Hell to be a little less…beautiful. He never thought he would end up back in this place again…after all the wrongs he'd committed. The Suzaku no Miko, however…

"Not exactly," the phoenix god disclosed calmly, reading his mind, "and she gets to return to her own world."

Nakago made a non-committal sound in his throat, his eyes going back to observe the slowly sinking sun for a moment. There was still one question gnawing at him.

He held up the palm of his hand, and produced a small glowing ball of chi. He didn't have to look in a mirror to know that the kokoro symbol had appeared on his forehead. "How is this possible? Seiryuu was sealed."

Suzaku shook his head slightly, "Seiryuu had nothing to do with it."

"I do not understand."

The red-haired god looked almost sorrowful, "It was a pity Seiryuu got to you first." He tilted his head slightly, studying the blonde man for a moment, "You were never meant to be one of Seiryuu's seishi. This power is all your own, and you've always had it inside you. It was not bestowed by my dragon brother…what he did give you was something to believe in, so that you could use the power for his cause."

Nakago nodded slowly, beginning to understand, "When the Suzaku no Miko made her second wish to seal Seiryuu…I thought that once Seiryuu's power was gone, mine would logically disappear as well. Since I did not believe I possessed any power, I thus lost the ability to wield it," he looked thoughtful. Everything was finally falling into place. Still, not all the pieces of the puzzle fitted. "How…why was I able to use it again?"

The immortal being regarded him with golden eyes that were both gentle and ageless…eyes that were filled with infinite wisdom of things past and things to come. "The symbol on your forehead…it reads 'Kokoro', does it not?" Suzaku paused, allowing his statement to sink in before continuing, "And you had to find yours. Your true power was released the moment you unsealed that which you had locked away for so long…Your heart."

Suzaku smiled beatifically, his ethereal red wings curved around Nakago, the soft feathers brushing him in a whisper of silk.

Thank you, Ayuru…Thank you for protecting my miko, the enigmatic god whispered in his mind before disappearing in a swirl of scarlet feathers and light.


Miaka blinked in surprise. A moment ago, she had been on Mt. Taikyoku, with Tamahome and the others, amidst a loud, noisy celebration. Now she found herself standing on a cliff, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery…

…and Nakago was standing with his back to her, watching the sunset. Just like before.

"Nakago?" she whispered, stepping up to him as he turned slightly. He did not appear surprised to see her.

She looked at the delicate play of colours in the sky, everything was so peaceful, so calm…The world was safe, and Tenkou had finally been sealed. This place would retain its beauty, and would play host to countless more sunsets like this one. "We did it…" she said finally, not knowing what else to say to him. The despair at seeing him tortured before they had managed to summon Suzaku was still too raw.

"So we did," he agreed placidly. The fact that they were both technically dead didn't seem to be bothering him in the least.

They watched the sunset in silence for a moment.

"Suzaku no Miko," the abrupt sound of his deep voice shattered the awkward silence between them, startling her and tearing her attention away from the magnificent view.

"You cried for me…for that, Arigatou," Nakago said simply, the corners of his mouth lifting in a small smile…a real smile this time, the first she had ever seen from him.

Miaka felt the tears stinging her eyes, threatening to overflow…tears of sadness and of joy. Joy, because he had finally found the peace which he had so desperately needed, even though he'd not even been aware that he had been searching for it…and she was happy for him. Sadness, because it was almost time for her to return to her own world. She hated goodbyes.

"Ano…you're welcome…" she blinked back the tears, swallowing the lump which had suddenly risen in her throat. "I…I couldn't have done this without you," she blushed, looking down at her feet. "And I never did thank you…for protecting me."

She raised her gaze to meet his, and could not help staring in wonder, "Your eyes…they're that beautiful shade of blue again, like the sky on a summer's day…" she whispered in awe. It was true. What she had seen so briefly at the inn as he had been laughing at her had not been an illusion.

A perfect cerulean blue. And as clear as crystal.

Nakago looked mildly amused and lifted one slender blonde eyebrow at her almost-dreamy description of him.

Suddenly, a soft red glow enveloped her, shimmering incandescently at the edges of her form. They both knew that it was almost time for her to go. As unbelievable as it sounded, he was going to miss the annoying girl…or more precisely, he was going to miss goading her and watching her reactions to his teasing. It had been…his mind searched for an appropriate word; It had been fun.

"Goodbye, Suzaku no Miko—" he began.

"No!" she interrupted him, hazel eyes glittering fiercely, "No goodbyes! Friends never say goodbye!" He blinked at her announcement, and she grinned widely at his muted display of surprise. "One day…One day, we'll meet again. And this time around… we'll be friends!" Miaka said the words with the utter certainty of a promise.

She could feel her own world calling to her; could feel herself being pulled towards it by an irresistible force.

One more thing…

Impulsively, she closed the distance between them, and rising up on her toes, she kissed him on the cheek.

He had not been expecting that.

"See you later!" she whispered, smiling shyly as she stepped back. She was already fading quickly, becoming as immaterial and translucent as a ghost in a dream.

"Until the next time then…Miaka."

Her eyes widened at his use of her given name.


Nakago smiled faintly.

Her look of extreme surprise just before she had completely disappeared had been priceless.

Funny how the idea of friendship had never appealed to him before. He'd had allies, lovers, enemies, and everything else inbetween…but never friends. A concept so simple, something which could be easily understood by a child…and to think he had lived his life never knowing what it was. He was just beginning to realise how much he'd missed out on in his single-minded quest for revenge.

So much for superior intellect, his mental voice interjected with its usual caustic humour.

Aren't you supposed to be part of my "superior intellect"? he questioned dryly.

That effectively shut the voice in his mind up. Nakago smirked at the ridiculous argument he was having with himself, resisting the urge to laugh at the fact that he had just told himself off.

He supposed he had been hanging around the Suzaku no Miko for far too long, and her infectious light-heartedness had begun to rub off on him like an insidious disease…or, more accurately, growing on him like some sort of weird, parasitic fungus. The corners of his mouth twitched in mirth at the hilarious thought.

He found himself contemplating the colours that the sunset painted across the landscape. So diverse, yet seamlessly blending into one another. From his vantage point, he could see for miles in every direction...right until the place where the earth met the sky. Or was it the other way round?

It was a pity Seiryuu got to you first. Suzaku had said. What if...

Perhaps if Suzaku had found him first, maybe things would have been different.

Looking back, he couldn't say that he was proud of some of the choices he'd made. Too many times, he'd turned left when he should have turned right…had made countless mistakes and committed so many crimes that he had often wondered if he could ever begin to wash off all the blood that had accumulated on his hands…So many wrongs.

Too many regrets.

In short, he was responsible for royally screwing up his own life. Well, mostly anyway.

Nakago took one last look at the sunset with its magnificent view, before turning and walking away without a so much as a backward glance…

…towards where two women were waiting patiently for him. One blonde, the other with long red hair; both with welcoming smiles on their faces. He realised now, that he had been searching for the wrong things all along, focusing on all the wrong aspects. Home was not so much a physical place, as a state of mind, he reflected philosophically. It didn't matter where it was, as long as you found peace there.

Incredibly, by luck, by chance, or by a trick of fate, he had somehow managed to find his way to the home which had been eluding him for so long…in large part thanks to the help of a certain annoyingly cheerful, russet-haired Miko.

Friends…He decided he liked the sound of that.


Notes:

1) This is what happens when Alcestis tries to write WAFF...a weird fusion of philosophical musings, humour and sap. sweatdrop I wanted Nakago and Miaka to have a tender moment alone together, to say what they needed to say to each other. I'm not really good at writing sappy stuff. Gomen!

2) Whew! It took 26 chapters to get a genuine smile out of Nakago, Fushigi Yuugi's resident Ice Man. Their relationship undergoes a subtle change when he (after long last) addresses Miaka by her name, and not "Suzaku no Miko". He has finally accepted the offer of friendship she holds out to him. Before this point, he has always called her by her title because he does not wish the familiarity.

3) Nope, it's not finished yet! There is one last chapter, where I'll tie up all the loose ends! Stay tuned! :-)