Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Fushigi Yuugi, except for
Tasuki! ^____^ *Hears the tsunami of lawyers running towards my house holding
up numerous lawsuits* NOOOOOOOO! I WAS
JUST PLAYIN' WITH YA!!! *Starts to bolt door with every resource I can find*
Well, Minna-san, the only character I own is Rei, so while I finish bolting the
door down and going to my battle stations, you can enjoy the fic! Ja! *Goes
Chibi and runs for more ply wood and nails*
Author's note: This story is gonna be a bit darker than the
original plot of Fushigi Yuugi. But overall, its gonna be a good fic. My
character's name is Rei Mikage and she's a very important character. Basically
Rei is me in a way and the way she would handle herself in most of these
situations is probably the exact way I would react. Trust me, im NO Mary Sue or
whatever you call those stupid, prissy girls. Im more of a foul-mouthed tomboy!
^_^ Anyway, Rei isn't a Miko, but she is a Tennyo, which in english terms means
a Celestial Maiden. Rei is the Suzaku no Tennyo, which is an even harder job
than being the Miko on account the Tennyo's job is to protect the Seishi and
their Miko as well as killing the Seiryuu Seishi and the Seiryuu no Miko. Rei
has even more power than the Miko. (With Miaka as the Miko, that isn't sayin'
much) Anyway, I'll be writing some of these 'Author's note' comments through
out the story. So anyway, sit back, grab a soda and some snacks, and maybe even
some tissue because this story is going to have romance, adventure, fantasy,
and a whole lot more!
Chapter 1- Into its Pages
Rei Mikage walked along the busy, lively sidewalk streets of
Tokyo. She didn't really have a lot on her mind, just the fact that she had to
study and pass her high school entrance exams. Which was usually the main
thought on many of the exam candidates' mind throughout Japan. Rei coughed
loudly as a woman passed by her and puffed out a large, smelly cloud of smoke
within Rei's walking path. "Bitch" Rei muttered softly as she fought her way
through the ever-growing crowd. Rei grew tired of struggling, so she decided to
cross the street and take the path through the park to get home. It was a
little longer than taking the subway, but Rei figured she could use the fresh
air. What was she coming home to anyway? An empty apartment and a ton of
homework. Her parents worked all the time. Rei smiled as she felt the warm
sunshine on her face. The sunshine was usually blocked from the numerous
skyscrapers and towers. And you could probably get a tan if you walked around
the city at night. Talk about artificial sunlight. Rei watched as the sakura
blossoms made tiny, pink streams in the air, brushed along by the spring
breezes. Sometimes she felt as if she could get lost within a world of sakura
blossoms if the wind was strong enough. They blew off the branches so easily.
Rei moved to the side when she saw a horse and carriage walk towards her,
carrying about 3 tourists. The walk home through the park took the stresses of
the exams off of Rei's mind and it made her a little more happier. But when she
saw the brass numbers 418 of her apartment door, she thought depressingly 'Now
its time for me to study…' Rei was surprised to see that the door to the
apartment was unlocked. She was a little confused as well. Rei slowly opened
the door, being cautious not to step inside without checking to see if there
were any burglars. Rei looked one step slowly. Then another. She heard pots and
pans banging from within the kitchen. Rei reached for the metal chimney sweeper
that was perched next to the fireplace and she slowly walked towards the
kitchen, holding the weapon high above her head in a striking position, ready
to defend herself if necessary. A few beads of sweat ran down from Rei's
temples and her heart pounded faster and faster, causing her breath to tremble.
'Ok….its now or never!' she thought with confidence. Rei courageously
dashed in the kitchen and let out a 'battle' cry as she was about to strike the
intruder. "REI!!!!!" Rei stopped herself right before the weapon made contact.
She recognized that voice "O—Otousan?!" Rei's father put a hand to his chest
and took deep breaths "Stupid girl! Why'd you have to scare me like that?!" Rei
narrowed her eyes and sighed angrily, putting the chimney sweeper on the
kitchen table next to her "I scared you?! I did that 'cause I thought you were
a robber or somethin'! Couldn't you hum to yourself or something like that so I
KNOW its you!" Rei said, boosting up her defenses. Also surprised at the fact
that at least one of her parents were home before 10pm. Rei's father stood up
and dusted off his dark blue dress pants while putting the slightly charred
frying pan on the stovetop. Rei didn't bother to ask what was for dinner.
Whenever her father cooked, it seemed as risky as eating rat poison, so she
just decided to make up a lame excuse of getting her out of eating her father's
cooking. Rei looked at the giant grandfather clock in the living room. The
antique brass arms read 7:05pm. Rei picked up her backpack and dropped it on
the side of her desk. She reached over for her navy blue cotton bath towel and
decided to go take a nerve-relaxing bath. As Rei walked down the soft carpeted
halls towards the bathroom, she put her long dark red hair up in a bun. She set
her towel down on a hamper and took off her clothes. She sat down on the the
small stool, filled the medium sized plastic container in front of her with
cold water and took a deep breath before she dumped the icy water on her body.
"Damn that's cold!" she stated softly. After scrubbing her body and washing
herself off with cold water once more, Rei jumped into the hot tub. She sighed
in relief as she settled in the toasty water. Steam rose from the tub and
fogged the large mirror in front of the sink. Rei reached over and grabbed a
pretty floral scented bath bead and dropped it in the tub. She watched as the
purple bead melted, releasing it skin smoothing, fresh scented oils. Rei sighed
as she noticed her fingers begin to prune. She stood up and got of the tub and wrapped
the towel around her body and walked to her room to change into her pajamas.
**********************************
After doing two boring hours of homework, Rei finally laid
her self down in bed. 'Thank gods tomorrow is Saturday' she thought in
relief. After a few moments of tossing and turning, Rei finally fell asleep.
**********************************
The next morning was a rude awakening. At 8:30 Rei's
stepmother decided that she wanted to listen to classical music. And since Rei
was the only one in the family with a working stereo/CD system, Rei's
stepmother came in and put in one of her CD's and put the volume up to almost
its highest. Once the violins started playing, Rei woke up and started to
scream a great number of cuss words. After a while of Rei's complaining and the
loud screech of violins, Rei's father got fed up and turned off the music.
Since Rei couldn't fall back asleep, she got dressed in a pair of short jean
shorts, a black shirt and knee-high combat boots. As she was combing her hair,
she heard the tearing sound of fabric and a "Break your self fool!" she
recognized it as the voice of her best friend, Shiro Hibiki (He always talked
like a rapper). Rei turned around and saw her friend smiling at her through her
open window and her light blue curtain half torn from the wall. "Dude! Look
what you did to my curtain!" she said. Shiro looked at the curtain with a
confused smile on his face. Rei walked over and said to Shiro "Homey, ya better
watch who's window you bust into 'cause your gonna get your ass whooped!" Shiro
narrowed his green eyes "Shut up" Rei laughed "Come in through the door" Shiro
sighed walked around to the front door. Rei was happy to have some company and
for about an hour, Shiro and Rei caught up on the latest gossip at school and
stuff. Rei's stepmother opened the door and walked into the room "Rei I need
you to go pay the fine for me at the library" Rei sighed, she really didn't
want to go anywhere at the moment, and the fine was pretty big too. "Gimme the
money" she stated, trying to hide the harshness in her voice. Rei's stepmother
handed her a bill and started to walk towards the door. Rei looked at the bill
confusingly "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait a minute! What is this?!" she said quickly.
The woman stopped. Rei held the stretched out 1 dollar bill in front of her
face "This ain't enough!" she said turning towards her stepmother. Shiro tried
hard not to chuckle. Rei's stepmother put her hands on her hips "Make it
enough" she said, leaving. When the door shut, Rei pounded the ground with her
foot "Damn!" Rei stood up and muttered profanities. Shiro laughed "Well, Rei, I
gotta go home anyway. Call me when you come back, kay?" Rei nodded.
**********************************
Rei walked quickly to the National Library. After about 15
minutes of walking, Rei finally reached her unpleasant destination. Once she
entered through the large glass doors, Rei looked around, slightly in awe. She
never really got a good look at the library before. As she was walking to the
clerk, a high-pitched voice caused Rei to stop. She recognized the voice
immediately "Miaka Yuki…" she muttered. Miaka was from the Neiboring School
that Rei's school had field day with. Miaka was the weird girl that asked
everyone she came across "When is lunch?" she got annoying after a while, but
she seemed like a sweet girl. Rei walked over to the room where the voice was
coming from and she smiled in satisfaction when she realized her ears didn't
deceive her. Miaka and Yui both stood there. Miaka was rambling about a giant
red bird and Yui had her hands on her temples, trying to rub out her headache.
Rei smirked and walked towards them. Miaka and Yui both looked at Rei. Miaka
greeted her with a smiled "REI-CHAAAAAN!" she said happily as she ran up to Rei
and gave her a hug. Rei smiled "Hey Miaka, wassup? Whatcha talkin' about a red
bird for? Ate something bad?" she said jokingly. Miaka pouted and pointed
towards the old, slightly ajar stair case "I saw a giant red peacock looking
bird fly up the stairs!" Rei sweat dropped "Uh-huh...well lets go check it
out!" Miaka smiled "Yeah!" Yui laughed and all three girls snuck up the stairs.
The hall was dark and gloomy. Rei muttered "Are you sure you saw a bird Miaka?"
Miaka nodded with total confidence. At the end of the hall, there was a door
entitled "Important Reference Documents. Keep Out!" The trio completely ignored
the warning and opened the door. The rusty hinges squeaked softly. Once inside
the dusty old room, the girls looked around. "Miaka," Rei began "You musta been
hallucinating! There's nothin' in this room but old books and dust...which Im
allergic to! Now lets go!" As Rei and Yui were about to walk out of the room, a
semi-loud boom sound made them jump. They both turned around and saw a book
lying on the ground. Rei sighed in annoyance and walked over to pick up the old
document and put it back on the shelf. As Rei picked up the book and got a
better look at the cover through the dim light, she noticed the book was
written in Chinese. Rei opened the book slowly. Miaka looked over her shoulder
and gazed in interest as Rei flipped through the first two pages. Once they
came upon an illustration, Miaka shouted "Oh that's the bird!!" Rei looked at
the picture better and the looked at Miaka with an arched eyebrow "You saw a
phoenix fly up the stairs?!" Miaka nodded. Rei rolled her eyes and looked
towards Yui "Oi, Yui! Can you read Chinese?" Yui nodded and took the book. All
three girls sat down. Yui flipped to the first page and began to read aloud
"This is the story of two girls who made their dreams come true after they came
to possess the seven stars of Suzaku. And many powers were bestowed upon them.
The story itself is a spell. The one who reads it through, will be given the
powers and granted a wish just like the girls in the story. Because, the story
begins and becomes real...the moment the first page is turned" Miaka smiled
"Turn the page, Yui-chan!" Rei got interested in the story as well. A few
moments after Yui turned the first page, a bright red light shot out of the
book. Each of the girls let out a scream of fright. The light swallowed up the
girls and sent them within the pages of the book.
**********************************
Rei awoke to a sharp pain in her left shoulder. She sat up,
shutting her eyes tightly in pain. Rei touched the wound gently and opened her
eyes to see her hand covered in blood. "Awww, fuck" she muttered angrily. Rei
felt the hot sun burn her skin. Her eyes widened and she looked around. She was
no longer in the library but in a desert like wasteland with a few trees. She
stood up "WHERE AM I?!" she shouted, looking around. Rei slightly began to
panic. But then realized it wasn't going to do her any good so she started to
walk.
**********************************
After about two long hours of walking, Rei began to grow
weak. She was sweating and felt sticky and gross. The sun was right above her
and it felt as if it never shifted at all. Rei couldn't take it anymore and she
collapsed in the desert, right under a tree nearby.
**********************************
When the sunset, Rei decided it was time to get a move on.
She got up and dragged herself a long distance until she saw a little village
over the hill. As she walked towards it, Rei couldn't help but wonder what
happened to Yui and Miaka. Her thoughts were interrupted when she reached the
village entrance. No one seemed to be walking around and the streets where
dimly lighted with from the lights coming from within the houses and burning
oil lamps on the side. "This place looks like ancient china..." Rei muttered. A
loud unison of laughs were heard from outside, Rei figured it must have been
coming from a bar. Rei sighed in anger when she felt the rubber band holding
her hair up break. She decided to forget about it and continue walking. Within
the shadows, Rei noticed 3 men walk towards her. She decided to just walk past
them. As she was about the past them, one of the men purposely bumped into her
"Hey that hurt!" he said. Rei looked at him with a cunning glare in her eye. All
3 of the men smirked "Hold it you!" The man grasped Rei's arm and took a look
at her "Your pretty cute! What's up with your clothes? Are you a foreigner?!"
Rei pulled her arm back "Let go idiot!" she replied harshly. Rei winced as pain
began to fill the wound on the arm that she pulled away from the perverted man.
The man glared at her "What was that?!" he pushed her against the stonewall
"Now who's the idiot?!" he shouted as he grabbed the collar of her shirt. Rei
looked up at him "I said let go! I don't have time to deal with you, asshole!"
The man then kneed her in the stomach, causing Rei to fall to her knees. She
held her stomach in pain and took in big breaths of air. All 3 men were
grinning cunningly at her "Foreigners aren't welcome here!" said one "Lets make
sure that she won't stand up!" said another. Rei cried out in pain when she
received a mighty kick to the ribs. Blood poured out from her mouth. The 3 men
began kicking her repeatedly. She felt too weak to cry. Rei noticed at the end
of the street a shadowed figure that
appeared to be wearing a trench coat walking towards them. But Rei's thoughts
were disturbed when she was kicked in jaw, the blow sent her flying about 5
feet. At that moment, Rei's eyes glowed a bright crimson color "Kisama naaaa"
she said in a voice that wasn't hers. A second later, her eyes changed back to
normal and she gasped "What was that?" she asked herself. She tried to stand
up, but was pinned down by one of the men. "Now Im gonna make you pay for your
attitude, bitch!" he said harshly. Tears finally began to spill from Rei's dark
brown eyes. She knew what was going to happen and she was too weak to fight
back. She tried screaming but her mouth was covered by the man's large hand.
Rei's eyes widened when the dark figure from down the road appeared behind the
man who was straddling her down. The figure reached out a hand, grasped the man
by his long black hair and pulled him off of her and flew him back with one
hand. Rei was surprised by this man's strength. The figure, with amazing speed,
dashed towards the other 2 men and punched one in the stomach and kicked the
other in the face. "If I ever catch ya treatin' a woman like this again...you
won't live to regret it" the man's voice was smooth, husky and sexy. The 3 men who
attacked Rei got up off of the ground and ran away. The mysterious man turned
towards Rei and walked slowly towards her and kneeled down. Rei was a little
scared and she hid her face from him "Oh come now..." he began "If I wanted to
hurt ya, I woulda done it already" Rei realized that he was right and she
slowly brought her face up to look at her rescuer. When she looked at him, she
gasped and her mind began to scream "HE'S SO HANDSOME!!" The man's fiery red
hair was silky and shiny, his amber eyes seem to shine with mischief, his skin
was perfectly tanned and his dangling earrings seem to sparkle in the dim
light. "Are you ok?" he asked softly. Rei grasped her wound softly and tears
streamed down her face. Rei threw herself into the man and cried on his chest
"Arigato Gozaimasu!" she sobbed. Tasuki looked down at the girl with wide eyes.
He didn't know what to do, so he just rubbed her back and hushed her softly. He
examined her clothes, they were foreign alright, but he traveled all over the
country and he never saw clothes like that before. Tasuki had a feeling about
the girl and he said softly "You're stayin' with me" Rei stopped crying and
looked at him "Nani?" Tasuki looked down at the sobbing girl in his lap and
said with in a serious tone "Your not safe wanderin' around by yourself. You
were almost raped and there's no way in fuckin' hell that Im gonna let ya out
of my sight until I know where your from and why you're here!" Rei blushed when
Tasuki wiped away her tears with his thumb. Tasuki looked towards the left and
saw Mt. Reikaku not too far away. He told Rei "Get on my back and I'll carry ya
to the Bandit Stronghold. I can tend to your wounds there" Rei nodded and
obeyed him, but also thought at the same time 'He's a bandit?!' Tasuki
seemed to carry Rei with ease. After a while, Rei began to fall asleep, the
rocking movement that was caused by her savior's walking caused her to grow
tired and the silence made her fall asleep. Tasuki looked at her face that was
perched on his shoulder out of the corner of his eye. 'I don't even know why
Im fuckin' doin' this! I hate women but yet I promised one that I would protect
her! Damnit, this is the LAST time I come to one of these local bars for
sake!!' his mind screamed.
**********************************
Kouji greeted Tasuki at the stronghold entrance. "Hey bro!
That's a nice lookin' female on your back! I get seconds ok!" Tasuki growled.
Kouji was lucky that he was Tasuki's best friend, because if any other man said
that about Rei, Tasuki would have pounded the hell out of them. "Shaddup Kouji!
I ain't sleepin' with her, some men attacked her and Im bringing her here to
treat her wounds!" Kouji chuckled "The almighty Genrou, who claims that he
hates women is all of a sudden bringin' a Kirei girl here to treat her wounds?!
Damn ya musta had too much sake!" Tasuki muttered profanities under his breath
and walked past Kouji, into the stronghold. By the way all of the bandits were
looking at Rei, Tasuki knew that she had to sleep in his room for the night.
**********************************
After about 4 hours of sleeping, Rei
finally woke up. She looked at her wounded shoulder and found it nicely cleaned
and bandaged. Rei looked around the room for a moment. She let out a tiny gasp
when she saw Tasuki sitting on a chair, asleep, facing towards her. Rei
immediately figured out that he was watching over her the entire time. Rei was
so deep in thought that she didn't even realize that Tasuki had awaken and was
staring at her. "You feelin' better?" he asked softly. Rei smiled "Yes,
Arigato!" Tasuki nodded and handed her a glass of water "Here drink this. Ya
must be thirsty" Rei bowed and took the water happily. She drank it down
quickly and wiped the moisture from her lips "Thanks" she said. Tasuki sighed
and crossed his arms "So where are ya from?" he asked. Rei looked around the
room "Tokyo, Japan" Tasuki arched an eyebrow "Where?!" Rei looked at him and
sighed "You don't know where Tokyo is?" Tasuki shook his head in denial. Rei
sighed "Where am I?" "Your in the Mt. Reikaku bandit stronghold in the country
of Konan" Tasuki answered. Rei was confused, she never heard of Konan before.
As she was thinking, she gasped 'Was I sucked into that old Chinese book?'
she wondered. From the looks of her surroundings, she was right. Rei was
utterly confused. What was she going to do? Rei decided that she would figure
it all out in the morning. She noticed Tasuki watching her and she grew nervous
"Um...are ya gonna watch me sleep or something?" she asked. Tasuki narrowed his
eyes "Well, yeah. I don't need any perverted bandits commin' into my room and
touchin' ya and shit!" he said harshly. Rei turned over "Sorry I asked!" she
muttered. Tasuki sighed. Rei stared at the wall for a few moments and then
finally gave into sleep.